Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

KINGDOM OF GOD, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

The sovereignty or realm ruled by God. The image of the kingdom of God/heaven is an important one for understanding the message and ministry of Jesus, particularly as he is portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels. This image builds on the images of kingly rule found in the OT, and it gives rise to NT discussions of the end times (or eschaton).

Old Testament

A focus on the monotheism of the Hebrew people often obscures the polytheistic reality of the ancient Near East. For Israel’s neighbors, the power of their king rested in the power of the god(s) which they worshipped. The gods ruled as a result of having overthrown other evil gods in the process of creating the land; they continued to create each year, bringing fertility to the land and its inhabitants. This creative power linked them forever with the land itself, and the rule/reign of any particular god extended only as far as the political boundaries of the country which worshipped that god. In this context, armies fought not just for political gain, but for the honor and power of their god as well.

While the Hebrew concept of the kingdom or reign of Yahweh may have been influenced by this political and religious context, the land which the Hebrew people received as a result of Yahweh’s “promise” came as a manifestation of God’s power over other gods rather than as a result merely of God’s creative abilities. After all, according to the OT, Yahweh created the entire earth and its inhabitants; the promise of a particular land was linked to Abraham’s righteous response of obedience. In addition, the Hebrew idea of God’s reign seems also to have been influenced by their recognition that Yahweh’s power extended far beyond the boundaries of Canaan. Yahweh was able to reach down into Egypt, deliver them from Pharaoh’s slavery, and provide for them in the desert of Sinai.

The OT also records some conflict concerning the kingdom of God. With the establishment of a royal line, first Saul and then David and his heirs, came a strong challenge to the idea that Yahweh was to be king over Israel. The books of the Former Prophets record the nation’s fitful progress from judge to king, and suggest that God was not altogether pleased with the national outcry for a human king. The glory days of the Davidic line were short, but God’s revision and renewal of the covenant with both David (2 Sam. 7) and Solomon (1 Kgs. 9) laid the foundation for a return to the idea of God’s kingdom and reign.

Apocalyptic and Intertestamental Literature

The decline of Israel and her kings, which resulted in Babylonian captivity, presented a serious theological problem. Yahweh had promised David and Solomon that the royal line would continue and that the kingdom of Israel/Judah would be a sign of God’s presence and rule. The fortunes of Judah, however, seemed to be moving in another direction. The Latter Prophets began to suggest that God’s rule was not dependent on the presence of an earthly king, or even a nation. The success of the nation and its king, rather, depended on their obedience to Yahweh. The history of Judah between her return from Babylonian captivity and the events of the NT is relatively devoid of kings who reigned with security and continuity. In the absence of this sense of security, apocalyptic ideas began to emerge; many of these ideas and images were linked both to the reign of God and the hope of an earthly king who would reestablish both the rule of God on earth and the line of David in Judah. That hope lay in the coming of God’s “anointed one” or “messiah” who would bring about the kingdom of God in the last days. This kingdom would come with prosperity for the faithful and judgment for the enemies of God (who, coincidentally, happened also to be the enemies of Judah/Judea). God’s kingdom would again be restored in Canaan, and those who occupied the land and oppressed God’s people would be driven off and destroyed in the terrible judgment to come.

New Testament

The brief taste of freedom for the Hebrew people during the time of the Maccabees made the Roman occupation of Palestine even more galling. By the time Jesus began his ministry, the apocalyptic hope in the coming of God’s kingdom had become a well-established idea. Only the establishment of God’s rule would remove the onerous Roman rule. In fact, the Roman Empire, and the reign of Caesar, offered a serious challenge to the idea that God reigned supreme. Caesar not only held political sway over most of the Mediterranean world; he had begun to assume a divine identity as well.

Into this context John the Baptizer came, proclaiming the coming of God’s kingdom and messiah and calling the nation to repent. Shortly thereafter, Jesus appeared, announcing that the kingdom of God had come/was near. In fact, the kingdom of God seems to have been the central theme of Jesus’ proclamation, particularly during his Galilean ministry. (Matthew uses the circumlocution “kingdom of heaven” sometimes found in the OT, presumably out of deference to his primarily Hebrew audience who would have balked at the possible idolatry in the use of the divine name.) Scholars agree that Jesus used this image to refer to God’s heavenly and eternal rule, God’s rule on earth in the obedience of the faithful, and God’s future rule in the eschaton. Here the scholarly agreement ceases, though, as debate rages over which of these ideas best characterizes the nature of the kingdom. An additional question has been raised concerning the present rule of God: is it merely a spiritual rule in the hearts and minds of obedient faithful, or did Jesus intend to establish the reign of God in a more political or social way?

What is clear is the importance of the kingdom of God to the message and ministry of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. Many of his parables are told in order to help his hearers grasp his concept of God’s rule. They range in scope from stories which have their origin in peasant customs to stories of kings and landowners. They present the kingdom as a treasure beyond price, a magnificent banquet, or a wedding feast. Even the parables of Jesus which do not seem to have a surface connection to the kingdom address the need for proper behavior and relationships in the light of the coming of God’s kingdom.

Outside of the Synoptic Gospels, interest in the kingdom of God seems to shift back toward the apocalyptic and/or eschatological focus of the intertestamental period. In John’s Gospel Jesus denies having an earthly kingdom to Pilate, placing the emphasis more on the eternal and heavenly rule of God. Paul’s focus is also apocalyptic/eschatological, perhaps in a response of urgency to Jesus’ message of a kingdom now present and soon to be completed. Unlike Paul, those NT writers writing toward the end of the 1st century are dealing with the problem of Jesus’ delayed return. They must find some way to emphasize the eternal power of God in a world which grows more repressive of Christians. They must find new words of hope, which the writer of Revelation offers in the form of his apocalyptic vision of the future coming of the kingdom in triumph. This final vision is the one which seems to have captured the imagination of centuries of Christians, and most of the discussion of the kingdom of God throughout the history of Christianity has centered around a conception of the kingdom of God as a time of judgment for the evil and deliverance for the faithful somewhere in the future.

Conclusion

Biblical scholars continue to debate the nature of the kingdom of God/heaven. More recently, the discussion has focused on the presence of the kingdom in the ministry of Jesus. In fact, some have suggested that the kingdom came in its full power in the earthly ministry of Jesus, and our attention must now turn to the salvation of individuals. Others have countered with attempts to see the kingdom of God in the teachings of Jesus as encompassing all of the work of Christ, from his earthly ministry, through an interim time, and culminating in a triumphal return (parousia) to rule and judge. God reigns already . . . and not yet, in the tension of Jesus’ proclamation.

Bibliography. G. R. Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids, 1986); J. Moltmann, Theology of Hope (1967, repr. Minneapolis, 1993); N. Perrin, The Kingdom of God in the Teaching of Jesus (Philadelphia, 1963); C. S. Song, Jesus and the Reign of God (Minneapolis, 1993).

Steven M. Sheeley

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

KINGDOM OF GOD, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)