Thy Kingdom Come...Or...Thy Kingdom Here and Now?

I have often heard it described that this church age, this post ascension time is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth described by Jesus Christ and his apostles in the bible. I wonder, was the known history of mainstream Christianity really the plan God had for his church or have we somehow gone down a different path and gotten it wrong yet again? Have we once more misunderstood God and his plan for us?

When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons in the name of Satan, Jesus used this opportunity to make the point that a kingdom divided against itself will not stand. And for nearly 2,000 years since the time of Jesus, Christianity has been continually divided in its understanding and application of the printed word of God.

Ecumenical efforts of the past 40 years between the Catholic church, the Protestant Reformed churches, the Greek Orthodox church, the Lutheran World Federation and others could one day see, if not corporately, certainly politically, a united Christian front.

And while ideology and doctrine are negotiated in council chambers around the world toward a search for common ground, what are the prospects for its outcome? Will this be the virgin bride or the whore described in the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John? Should we be attempting to tie the branches together, or has Jesus been quietly nuturing a different tree?