Already
2 Cor 6.2: λέγει γάρ· καιρῷ δεκτῷ ἐπήκουσά σου καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ σωτηρίας ἐβοήθησά σοι. ἰδοὺ νῦν καιρὸς εὐπρόσδεκτος, ἰδοὺ νῦν ἡμέρα σωτηρίας.// For it says, ‘I heard you in the acceptable time, in the day of salvation I helped you.’ Look! Now is the day of salvation.
I am translating through 2 Corinthians for a class and I was struck by how confusing this must have sounded to the average adherent to Judaism in Paul’s day. I mean, to say that the time promised by Isaiah in Is 49.8 is now being realized—and realized among these fledgling group of house churches!—surely sounded ludicrous to say the least. The promised time of the renewed creation and people of God, according to Paul, was already happening in and through an executed Jewish peasant and a rag-tag group of bickering folks throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. It is easy to forget how bizarre this must have sounded to the ‘real world’ of Paul’s day.
It sounds kind of silly even today. Let’s face it, a large number of Christians do not accept the line that God’s Kingdom has been in existence (or in development) for 2000 years. How many can look at the last two millennia of history and conclude that it represents a Heavenly Kingdom worth getting excited about. Obama’s election alone is enough for many to pooh-pooh the whole idea.
They much prefer an apocalyptic event to bail them out in the not too distant future. Kinda like some first century Jews…