There are few books out there that I would fully endorse, but Joshua Immanuel's 2024 work - My Kingdom is Not of This World is one of them. A friend of this website, Immanuel excels at laying out some of the basic ideas surrounding the nature of the Kingdom and the ethics that flow from it.
He amplifies the New Testament's call to otherworldliness and discusses the effects of the Constantinian Shift in the 4th century. The results of this shift have plagued the Church ever since, and while today's Christendom frameworks (that are all the rage within the Christian Right) are quite different in form, in substance they represent the same turn and defection from the apostles that we find in the days of Constantine and Theodosius - and a rejection of Christ's simple and yet profound declaration regarding the nature of His Kingdom.
Fleshing out the framework of Biblical Theology, Immanuel repeatedly returns to questions of dominion, the Two Kingdoms, and antithesis, and as such it was (I must say) music to my ears and something of a doctrinal feast.
He spends a chapter on the Created Order and the supernatural reality which undergirds all of creation and how this relates to the Kingdom Christ reveals in the gospels. He also touches on some of the symbolic and typological meanings associated with things like water, mountains, the sea, and trees. At just under 350 pages, the book is packed with solid redemptive-historical theology and is workshop in sound hermeneutics. And yet the book is still very accessible.
In Imaging God and The Divine Council he deals with the question of sonship, the nature of the Sons of God and the elohim. He addresses questions concerning land and kingdoms and the cosmology that undergirds the Biblical testimony. And (very importantly) he addresses the nature of Biblical prophets and prophecy, something that is grossly misunderstood by those who interpret these figures in terms of politics and culture - or we might even point to today's Charismatic movement and its abuse of the concept.
The prophets spoke the Word of God which they heard in the presence of the Throne and the Divine Council. That oracular presence is tied to the very nature of the Kingdom and a proper understanding of this reveals the false nature of Christendom as well as those who would erect a kind of theocratic order - a reality that is impossible in the context of the New Testament. The only post-Mosaic Theocracy is the Kingdom of Heaven which is not of this world but which we (through union with Christ and by the Spirit) are nevertheless part of - living at once both in This Age and The Age to Come.
Immanuel then does a fine job in his treatment of Eden, and how it was a prelapsarian expression of the Kingdom and the Divine Presence - indeed the Holy Mountain. It's a model which fell into sin and apostasy and was forever sundered from this present evil age. Israel reintroduced it typologically in anticipation of the Kingdom which would be brought into being by the Second Adam.
Working his way through the fall and the antediluvian world, he lays out a robust and multifaceted treatment of that temporary era and its relation to redemptive-history. This in turn defines the parameters for how Abraham and Moses are treated. In all cases, the New Testament is the guide - a refreshing change from how these sections of Scripture are so often treated in the contemporary context whether by Dispensationalists or Theonomic Postmillennialists - as both camps fall into patterns of Judaizing.
Chapter 9 on the Inauguration of Christ's Kingdom is essential reading, touching on apostolic interpretation, Christocentrism, Multiple Fulfilments, Symbolic and Poetic Language, Prophetic Perspective, the Already-Not Yet, and questions of Imminence and the Parousia. This is followed by a longer discussion concerning Christ as the Last Adam and His various roles and functions in the economy of redemption.
Immanuel then treats the structure of the Kingdom in the New Covenant and its call for antithesis - wherein he touches on issues of application, such as separation from the world, worship, and ethics. This chapter also expands on ecclesiology and ties it in with some of the earlier redemptive-historical themes.
What follows is a helpful discussion of the Great Commission, touching on some of the often missed aspects it entails as well as some of the misunderstandings which seem to be gaining ground at the present.
Finally, he turns to Last Things, the eschaton, and the conclusion of This Age. This leads to Peter's question regarding that in light of things, what manner of persons ought we to be? - a chapter wherein Immanuel treats questions such as calling, occupation, family, time, money, and basic piety in this corrupt and doomed world.
It was a encouraging read to say the least and I hope to return to it in the near future. I would urge all readers of this website to get a copy. It's well worth it.
Joshua Immanuel hails from India and has provided me with considerable insight about the Church situation there. He grew up in a Brethren context and yet has moved well beyond it. I look forward to more works coming from his pen. Our exchanges have been a blessing and encouragement.
I've included an Amazon link to his book:
https://www.amazon.com/My-Kingdom-Not-This-World/dp/B0D9B9NV6S/