Basileia regards Basileia Communities as colonies of heaven on earth that we build in the Promised Land of Christ’s victory over sin, Satan and death, not as exiles in Babylon where we only hope to die and go to heaven. In that Eden may be regarded as the first “colony” of heaven on earth, so the Promised Land was a variation on that theme, a restoration of Eden in part, as a colony from which to advance the Kingdom to the four corners of the earth.
We recognize that when the kingdoms of this world colonize they do so in a way that dominates and imposes their particular culture on others. This is what happened at Babel. But the Kingdom of God does not function that way; it celebrates the diversity of cultures, nations, peoples and languages by establishing colonies of heaven on earth that connect earthly cultures first with heaven, not putting them “under” another earthly culture. When earthly cultures are connected with their true source in heaven, then they are set free to prosper and form alliances with other cultures without fear of domination. This is what kingdomculture does. In contrast, it is subcultures and countercultures that form colonies that dominate and destroy the God-given uniqueness and gifts of individuals and other cultures. Thus, Basileia advances the kingdomcultural alternative to establishing colonies and repents when we act in subcultural and countercultural ways.
Another function of colonies is their basic role in advancing civilization into zones where it has never been before. There are many uncivilized zones in all areas of thought and life yet to be discovered and colonized.
Also see Alliance, Kingdomculture, and Thin Place.