It is my position that
Kingdom Come does conform to the definition presented
of an apocalypse, for
the most part. The discrepancies between Collins’ definition and Kingdom Come, presented above, are interesting, however. To some,
the fact that it is not presented as divinely inspired may eliminate Kingdom Come
from being considered an apocalypse. As Harris Lenowitz writes in The Jewish Messiahs, “Messianic events take place at points
of pressurized confusion. They tend to run into each other – chronologically
or geographically; religion does not cause them but only provides them with an expressive mode.” Religion does not cause the desire
for hope which fuels the apocalyptic mentality. In an age where assertions of
divine inspiration are looked upon cynically, the desire for hope in the face of culture shock has not disappeared. This has caused contemporary thought to express itself without the auspices of divine sanction.
Kingdom
Come utilizes traditional components of an apocalypse and changes them to agree with the feelings of the time it was produced. In particular, it has adapted the role of humanity’s choices into a pivotal
point of eschatology. This is a result of a more human centric view of the universe
caused in part by a growing secular culture and the creation of the atomic bomb, which puts the fate of humanity in human
hands with or without God. These differences are the mirror about which McGinn
wrote. Through Kingdom Come, we can
examine changes in our beliefs in God that otherwise may not be expressed. For
example, some Christian groups would deny that God’s plan can be altered by humans or that God requires human assistance
in cosmological events. These same groups are involved in millenarian activities,
such as the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, which would seem to demonstrate that they do believe their actions can influence
cosmic events and the coming of the End of Days. To bypass the discrepancies, intentional
or unintentional, between what people say they believe and what they actually believe sources like Kingdom Come and popular culture, in general, are valuable tools that should not be dismissed as “juvenile”
or “trash.”
