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Question
Greetings Professor Cox,
In my class at the University; we are discussing: "Who are the rulers of the Kingdom." Can you give us a little more insight into this subject?
Thank you.
Lawrence.
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15)
John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God.
The Jesus Christ announced the coming of the Kingdom of God. All of Jesus’ parables concern the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is the material world filled with the Life of God. It is not a spirit world devoid of matter. Our hope is not that of going to Heaven to live forever in a spirit mansion, our hope is that our body will be raised into eternal life and we will be part of the new Jerusalem that will be established for eternity on the new earth.
The essence of the Kingdom of God is the doing of God’s will in the earth as it is in Heaven. It appears the main purpose of the Christian Era has been the developing of rulers, of the lesser kings and lords. When we consider the multitude of believers, and then the small number of cross-carrying saints, it reminds one of the efforts of Pierre and Marie Curie. They had to work with great amounts of pitchblende before they were able to extract a small amount of radium. So it is true that from the multitudes of believers of all ages there will be drawn the rulers of the ages to come.
The faithful will be joint rulers of the kingdom:
Matt. 25:34 -- "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,."
Rev. 2:26-27 -- "And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will 1 give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."
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Answers by Expert:
Professor Noel Cox
Expertise
I can answer questions on theology, Anglican ecclesiology, and ecclesiastical and canon law.
Experience
I am Professor of Law, and a barrister (advocate). I am also undergoing training for ordination as a priest (in the Dioceses of St Davids and Auckland). Formerly based in New Zealand, from 2010 I have been head of the law school at Aberystyth University, Wales. I am a Distinguished Academic Associate of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University.
Organizations
Association of Lambeth Degree Holders;
Australasian Law Teachers Association;
Commonwealth Lawyers Association;
Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans;
Legal Research Foundation;
The Australian and New Zealand Law and History Society;
The Burgon Society (Fellow);
Credo Cymru - Forward in Faith Wales;
The Foundation of the College of St George;
The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral;
The Friends of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell;
The Friends of St Davids Cathedral;
The Royal Historical Society (Fellow);
The Society of King Charles the Martyr;
The Society of Legal Scholars;
The Ecclesiastical Law Society;
Honourable Society of the Inner Temple;
Affirming Catholicism;
The Mission Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda;
International Commission and Association on Nobility;
Irish Peers’ Association;
Centre for Law and Religion.
Publications
Church and State in the Post-Colonial Era: The Anglican Church and the Constitution in New Zealand (Polygraphia (NZ) Ltd, Auckland, 2008);
“The Anglican Church and its decision-making structures” [2008] New Zealand Law Journal 121-124;
“The Revenge of the Arcane Exclusion Clause: The Civil Registration of Marriage and the Royal Family” (2005) 5(2) Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal 179-204;
“The nature of ministerial authority in the Anglican Church in New Zealand” (2005) 119(2) Churchman 105-136;
“The Symbiosis of Secular and Spiritual Influences upon the Judiciary of the Anglican Church in New Zealand” (2004) 9(1) Deakin Law Review 145-182;
“Dispensation, Privileges, and the Conferment of Graduate Status: With Special Reference to Lambeth Degrees” (2002-2003) 18(1) Journal of Law and Religion 249-274;
“The Influence of the Common Law and the Decline of the Ecclesiastical Courts of the Church of England” (2001-2002) 3(1) Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion 1-45
Education/Credentials
Apart from my legal training I have an MTheol from the University of Auckland (on the validity of Anglican Orders), an MA from the Archbishop of Canterbury's Examination in Theology (a "Lambeth degree", on the basis of the legal authority of the Anglican church in New Zealand), and an LTh from the University of Wales Lampeter.
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