Alva J. McClain — Blog — Dr. Tim White

Augustine in his City of God refers to “Chiliasts” or the “Millenarians” as those who believe in a literal future 1000 years enjoyed by those who are raised in the first resurrection. Augustine rejects this view because the “Chiliasts” and “Millenarians” have carnal and not a spiritual view of the 1000 years: “They assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only to shock the feeling of the temperate.”[2] Ryrie counters this false accusation: “Since when is the church only spiritual and the kingdom only carnal?”[3] In 1 Corinthians 3:3, Paul accused the church at Corinth of being “carnal.”

Review of The Greatness of the Kingdom: An Inductive Study of the Kingdom of God by Alva J. McClain (1888-1968) who was the founding president of Grace Theological Seminary and Grace College from 1937-1962.

Part One---Introductory Considerations

I. The Greatness of the Kingdom

McClain contends that “The Kingdom of God is, in a certain and important sense, the grand central them of all Holy Scripture.”[1] He adds that “the Kingdom as set forth in Biblical revelation, with its rich variety and magnificence of design, may actually blur the vision of good men to other matters of high theological importance to Christian faith.”[2] Michael Vlach agrees: “When you study the kingdom you are examining the grand theme of Scripture and the solution for all that’s wrong.”[3]

II. Various Interpretative Ideas about the Kingdom

McClain explains briefly eight different views on the Kingdom. The seventh, The Liberal Social-Kingdom Idea is the view that Walter Rauschenbusch and other Social Gospel advocate held to. McClain notes that according to this view “the Kingdom of God is the progressive social organization and improvement of mankind, in which society rather than the individual is given first place. The main task of the church is, therefore, to establish a Christian Social Order which in turn will actually make (next McClain quotes Rauschenbusch) ‘bad men do good things.’”[4]