Personally I now see the center of all theology and, as a result, missions as the Kingdom of God. The phrase the “Kingdom of God”, or “basileia tou theou” in Greek, refers to the reign and rule of God over all creation.

This concept goes beyond personal salvation or the idea of Christendom as a physical realm controlled by God and captures the heart and mission of God. He is in the middle of a war with the kingdom of darkness for the rule of both human life and the rest of creation.

It is described in Isaiah 61 where He will “bind up the brokenhearted . . . proclaim freedom for the captives . . . release from darkness for the prisoners [and] comfort all who mourn.”

Unlike a closure theology of mission (i.e. Matt 24:14 – as previously mentioned), Kingdom Theology removes the danger of deception. For example, under a closure missions theology, the main focus is planting churches in every people group. If a missionary has to disguise this goal under the umbrella of social action, that is acceptable as feeding the hungry or taking care of the poor is just a means to an end. [@more@]
 
Under a Kingdom of God theology, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil [1 John 3:8], which includes sickness, disease, hunger, sadness, and demonic oppression [Matt. 4:23, 10:1, 25:34-36, Isaiah 61].

Practically, this means that every time you reach out in the name of Jesus to help someone in bondage, whether spiritual, emotional, or physical, you are engaging in the cosmic battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

Social action no longer becomes a means to an end, but it becomes part of the battle.