The Kingdom of God

I do not have a good enough response for you, so I will not reply to your OP, but I want to warn you about the links that were given to you.

They are from a Jehovah's Witness. JW's reject the trinity and believe that Jesus is a created being. They do not believe Jesus to be equal with God, nor the Holy Spirit equal with God.

Some Christians consider them to be a cult. I won't go that far, as when I was younger I was taught for a little while by JWs, but I will say much their beliefs do not line up with Christianity at all.

Another reasonable translation would be "the rule of God." In the first Century, Jews were in a sense still in exile. They were waiting for the Messiah to come, defeat the Romans, and establish the promised restoration of Israel. Jesus said he was here to do that. It's just that the restored Israel wasn't a political kingdom. You'll often hear people say "not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one," but I think that's misleading. Jesus didn't want a purely spiritual kingdom, but rather a tangible, this-world kingdom, where people lived the way God wanted them to live. It's just that this wouldn't come by replacing Rome (or more locally, Herod) by another ruler. Rather, it came from a community of people living as God wanted.

That's why it's a mistake to see Jesus' main job as to make sure I get to heaven. That leads to an individualistic concept of Christianity, focused on me and my spiritual situation. Jesus certainly said that we would be held accountable by God for how we respond to Jesus, but he expected us to live in this world as he taught, and much of what he taught can't be done in isolation: forgiveness, reconciliation, honoring covenants, showing love to others.

The Kingdom of God exists where Jesus reigns.

The Kingdom of God is within true believers who defer to Jesus Kingship.

The signs of the Kingdom being manifest were spelt out by Jesus and are as follows...

Matt 11:
“Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 those who are BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

One other thing: Matthew normally uses "Kingdom of heaven" where Mark and Luke use "kingdom of God." It's the same thing. Jews were reluctant to say God's name. So they would often use "heaven" where they meant God. So Matthew wasn't advocating a special, more spiritual Kingdom than the other Gospels. It was a different term for the same thing.

They also used passive voice to avoid saying God. So "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" actually means "God will comfort them." There are lots of examples of this in the Gospels.

Tellyontellyon said:

I've heard the phrase that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God.
There are also parables that Jesus told that describe what the Kingdom of God is like....
So I'm guessing that this phrase doesn't mean 'Heaven' as such, but something else, or is saying something more.

Would you please explain what the Kingdom of God is?
Would you explain why Jesus explained the Kingdom of God through parables and what he was getting at?
What is the significance of Jesus preaching this?

Thank you ❤️

Click to expand...

The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of the King, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. His subjects are those in His Body. The Kingdom is not of this world. On the last day the Kingdom will be realized in its fullest form and capacity when all who have been made incorruptible will live and reign with their King, Jesus Christ of Nazareth,forever.

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." A little ditty from the Lord's prayer that sums up Jesus' mission, to restore God's will over the will of man. Governance of the Father over the governance of man in a new world, the second Eden.

It is funny how man will rebel against living under the authourity of God, yet have no problems living under the authourity of fellow man (even fighting each other to establish their own oppressor).

Tellyontellyon said:

I've heard the phrase that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God.
There are also parables that Jesus told that describe what the Kingdom of God is like....
So I'm guessing that this phrase doesn't mean 'Heaven' as such, but something else, or is saying something more.

Would you please explain what the Kingdom of God is?
Would you explain why Jesus explained the Kingdom of God through parables and what he was getting at?
What is the significance of Jesus preaching this?

Thank you ❤️

Click to expand...

The Kingdom of Heave and the Kingdom of God are used interchangeably in parallel accounts, so they are both referring to the same concept. "Heaven" is a circumlocution for "God" kind of like how Jews will traditionally say "Adonai" or "HaShem" in order to avoid saying God's name.

The Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:20-21). The Kingdom of God is the Messianic Era when Messiah will rule and reign over the whole world and restore the Kingdom of Israel at the time of the great redemption. Saying it is at hand is like saying that the King is here standing at the door on the brink of arrival, but has not yet stepped through the door and made his presence fully known. In Mark 12:28-34, Jesus said that a scribe was not far from the Kingdom of God when he showed the right heart attitude about the Mosaic Law, so closeness to the Kingdom was about the scribe's heart and not about a timeline or geographical location. So it's not about the Kingdom being far away and getting closer, but that it accessible, here already, and poised to be revealed at any moment.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Jesus had come to bring the Messianic Era, but the offer was contingent upon the repentance of the generation. Jesus longed to usher in the era of godly rule, a time of peace, of prosperity, and of revelation, and not just for the Jewish people, but for the whole world, and that is what the Gospel is about, but God will not bring redemption to His people until they repent (Matthew 23:36-37).

A kingdom is the land and the people under the rule of the king and those who receive the Gospel are citizens of the Kingdom and receive its spiritual benefits because we are subjects of the King until this world physically comes under the rule of the Messiah at the second coming. So while it is not yet seen by the eye, the Kingdom is already here within us.

Tellyontellyon said:

This reminds me of the Sufi/Islamic saint Rabia of Basra.... She could carry a torch of fire in one hand and a container of water in the other.... When people asked her what she was doing she said that the water was to put out the flames of hell and the fire was to burn down heaven.... In other words, her philosophy was simply to serve and please Allah, and not worry about where she would end up... She would go wherever God wanted..

Click to expand...

We sure have a labyrinth of deceptions to deal with - the deceiver has been quite busy !!!

hedrick said:

Another reasonable translation would be "the rule of God."

Click to expand...

Exactly. Not only an actual place but the governance of God, His Kingdom/governance. Often overlooked in the US as they have an aversion to kings and the like, but oddly they have no problem being governed by man while avoiding the kingdom/governance of God

hedrick said:

It's just that this wouldn't come by replacing Rome (or more locally, Herod) by another ruler. Rather, it came from a community of people living as God wanted.

Click to expand...

Which became the original church... the Way.

But in true human style of course this was later reversed and the gentile church became not only aligned with Rome as a worldly power, but made itself into a human government of man based upon it's Roman model.

hedrick said:

That's why it's a mistake to see Jesus' main job as to make sure I get to heaven.

Click to expand...

Right. He opened a door where we could choose to live under God's will rather than our own in a place dedicated to that concept.

The Gentile church in following it's own concept of re-establishing a worldly kingdom much like the Jews were looking for (and of course following the ways of the Adversary) made the religion over in their own image and made it all about what's in it for us rather than about the will of God, justifying their existence using God rather than changing themselves to follow the will of God. The blind now lead the blind.

Tellyontellyon said:

I've heard the phrase that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God.
There are also parables that Jesus told that describe what the Kingdom of God is like....
So I'm guessing that this phrase doesn't mean 'Heaven' as such, but something else, or is saying something more.

Would you please explain what the Kingdom of God is?
Would you explain why Jesus explained the Kingdom of God through parables and what he was getting at?
What is the significance of Jesus preaching this?

Thank you ❤️

Click to expand...

It is unfortunate that the word "kingdom" tends to get the association that it does in English, it's certainly not a bad translation from the Greek (basileia) but it is misleading. The word basileia refers to the dominion, the royal authority and power of a ruler or king (basileus in Greek). So when Jesus speaks of God's kingdom He doesn't mean "that place God rules", but rather He means what it looks like for God to be King, what God's kingly power is like, and what it means.

It's why the central prayer of Christianity, the One Jesus Himself taught us, says, "Your kingdom come". The prayer is for the coming of God's kingdom, the Lord continues, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". The kingdom is the reality of God's rulership manifest, and its being established here.

What kind of kingdom is God's kingdom? In what way is God King? What does it mean when God is the King? That's why Jesus says what He does about the kingdom. God's way of being King is completely different than what power and rule look like here. Jesus says that in God's kingdom the least are greatest, the last are first, it is the lowly, the slaves, the weak who have "status".

Jesus doesn't just speak about God's kingdom, but rather does God's kingdom. His entire ministry, His miracles and healings are about the inbreaking of God's kingdom into the world through the Messiah, through Jesus. And this reaches its climax when Jesus is arrested, tried, handed over to Pilate, and is crucified, dead, buried, and then on the third day rises again.

What does it look like for God to be King? It looks like Jesus hanging on the cross, the One who suffers for the sake of the world, the Self-offering of God in humility and death for a world of violent sinners. And it looks like the empty tomb, for the death of Christ is not the end. And so bursting forth from death is life, victory over death, in the Person of Jesus. And so through Him the kingdom has come, the inauguration (as it were) of God's reign.

This is why Jesus says to His interrogators, "The kingdom does not come with observation, no one can say, 'Look, over there!' or 'See! Over here!', rather the kingdom is in the midst of you." By which He means the kingdom is standing in their midst, that is Himself.

Christ after His resurrection ascends, and we speak of Him being "seated at the right hand of God the Father", this is the language of enthronement. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, seated on a throne as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Victim and the Victor, or as St. Augustine says, Christ is victor quia victima, "Victor because a Victim".

The reign of God, the kingdom of God, is present in part here through the Church. Not through political power of any kind, but through the preaching of the Gospel, the grace of God working through Word and Sacrament which Christ has given the Church in its purpose as His Mystical Body in the world. Announcing forgiveness of sins in His name, proclaiming peace with God, ministering to both the spiritual and bodily needs of the world through its faithful mission of proclaiming Christ the Lord and following Him in humble discipleship, washing the feet of others, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, loving others, serving, giving, showing compassion, etc. That is the Church's purpose, and is how Christ rules as King and Lord through His Church.

We also confess that the day is coming, when the kingdom comes in its fullness; what is now known in part shall be seen in full ("For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12). Christ's return, the resurrection of the body, and the renewal of all creation, when God is all-in-all. Or as the ancient Prophets spoke, "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the seas." (Habakkuk 2:14).

Where Christ is present and active, there the kingdom is. It is here in the preaching of the Gospel, the administering of the Sacraments, in the love of God for all creatures, in the healing and reconciliation of the world, in the outpouring of love and grace toward the world. It is in loving service toward others that God's kingdom is present; it is never in power, violence, or "glory"; but humility, service, selfless giving. Of God to us, and the invitation of us to join with Him in giving ourselves away also in love and sacrifice toward others.

-CryptoLutheran

Tellyontellyon said:

I'm guessing that this phrase doesn't mean 'Heaven' as such, but something else, or is saying something more.

Click to expand...

Hi First, I now understand that God's kingdom is God's realm of how He is and what He experiences and how He is ruling.

So, the kingdom of God is . . . God's realm.

And the kingdom of Heaven is . . . Heaven's realm.

But they have something in common. There is God and His love in Heaven and in God Himself. So, the realm of Heaven and of God is the same, including in how the love is.

By saying "kingdom of God", this shows we are talking about God in His love.

But, also, saying "kingdom of Heaven" can help bring out how God's kingdom is not of this earth, but higher . . . better . . . since it is God's kingdom.

com7fy8 said:

But, also, saying "kingdom of Heaven" can help bring out how God's kingdom is not of this earth, but higher . . . better . . . since it is God's kingdom.

Click to expand...

Not man nor the Adversary. Only He rules.