I still think you’re reading far too much later (gnostic) theology into the texts, and there’s not much I can do about that. But I’m not saying that the kingdom that Jesus announces is not supernatural or spiritual in its nature - it is a victory over Israel’s enemies and that includes satan and death; and it is a victory by way of suffering and trust in the God who remains faithful to his promise to Abraham.

But the fundamental point remains: ‘kingdom’ has to do with how God deals with Israel’s enemies; it is not used in the New Testament to define a programme of social action. Whether we regard the exorcisms and healings as evidence that the kingdom has already come or as prophetic signs of the future renewal of the people of God and future defeat of evil, makes no real difference in this respect. They are closely associated in Jesus’ mind with an event that will deliver Israel from the hierarchy of powers, from the Jewish leaders upwards, that oppress it.

The kingdom doesn’t so much guarantee protection of the church, as guarantee and demonstrate its victory over the opposing powers. This victory comes about in surprising ways - with death and martyrdom sometimes being the prime engine of further victory and growth.

I would agree with this - except I don’t see the conflict between ‘protection’ and ‘victory’. Israel’s king would protect or defend or safeguard or deliver the people by winning victory over their enemies.

On the missional question, here’s how I would put it. The gospel in the New Testament was the announcement, first to Israel, then to the world, that God was acting as king to judge, redeem, restore and that he was doing this through Jesus Christ. The outcome of that is that his restored people now exists, dispersed throughout the world, ultimately secure under the lordship of Christ, as a community that bears witness to the creator God.

Because of Christ we no longer have to deal with the wrath of God and the eschatological consequences of that: that is the sense in which we are a post-eschatological church. Our missional task is to live, as an active, generous and dangerous presence, in the midst of the nations and cultures of the world as God’s new creation. Everything about us should be evidence or a sign of the fact that God acted sovereignly in Jesus to redeem his people and that we now live under Christ and not Caesar or any other power. But that is simply the precondition for being God’s creational microcosm, for experiencing the blessing of living an authentic created existence, which is the gift that we have to give to the world.