Kingdom of God
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The Kingdom of God (Greek: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, Basileia tou Theou[1]) or Kingdom of Heaven (Hebrew: מלכת השמים, Malkuth haShamayim; Greek: Βασιλεία τῶν Ουρανῶν, Basileia tōn Ouranōn) is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is within (or among) people,[Lk 17:20-21] is approached through understanding[Mk 12:34] and entered through acceptance like a child,[Mk 10:15] spiritual rebirth,[Jn 3:5] and doing the will of God.[Mt 7:21] It is a kingdom that will be inherited by the righteous[1Cor 6:9] and is not the only kingdom.[Lk. 11:18]
The phrase, "Kingdom of God," is found in Mark, Q, special Matthean tradition, special Lucan tradition, and John, with "echoes in Paul, despite the fact that the "Kingdom of God" is not Paul's preferred way of speaking." The phrase is also found in various writing styles such as parable, beatitude, prayer, miracle story and aphorism. [2]
The original Hebrew phrase is Malkuth haShamayim (מלכת השמים) which first appears in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Jeremiah where it means "the Queen of Heaven".[dubious ][44:17] In the Vulgate Latin Bible the same phrase becomes "Reginae Caeli"[3] also meaning "the Queen of Heaven" as does the Greek version of this phrase that appears in the New Testament gospels as "Basileia ton Ouranon" (ἡ βασιλεια των οὐρανων).[Matt 3:2]
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[edit] English translation
In the synoptic Gospels, Mark and Luke use the Greek term "Basileia tou Theou", commonly translated in English as "Kingdom of God." Matthew, on the other hand, prefers the Greek term "Basileia tōn Ouranōn" (Βασιλεία τῶν Ουρανῶν),[Mt 13:45] which has been translated as "Kingdom of Heaven." Biblical scholars speculate that the Matthean text adopted the Greek word for "heaven" instead of the Greek word for "God" because, unlike Mark and Luke, it was written by a Jew for a Jewish audience. It was the Jewish practice to avoid using God's name as an act of piety. In Matthew, "heaven" stands for "God."[4][5] The basis for these terms being equivalent is found in the apocalyptic literature of Daniel 2:44 where "the 'God of heaven' will set up a 'kingdom' which will never be destroyed."
The word “kingdom” is a translation of the Greek word basileia which in turn is a translation of the words malkuth (Hebrew) and malkutha (Aramaic). According to C. H. Dodd, the common translation of malkuth with basileia in Greek and hence kingdom in English is problematic. A translation with “kingship,” "kingly rule," “reign”, “queen”, or “sovereignty” should be preferred.[6] The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states that the word basileia can be translated as "kingship," "kingdom" or "reign".[7] In contrast, the Hebrew word "Malkuth", has a very physical world meaning, implying that the translation "kingdom" may be understood as both realm and a temporal kingdom.
From a purely etymological viewpoint, the word "basileia" is believed to have derived from the Mycenaean Greek word basileus meaning "royal".[1] Some writers prefer erroneously to connect the word with "base" but this is not supported by etymology.
Scholars during the current third quest for the historical Jesus have translated the phrase as "God's imperial rule", or sometimes "God's domain", to better grasp its sense in today's language.
The Jesus Seminar has chosen to translate basileia as "empire". John B. Cobb points out that this has the disadvantage of implying a hierarchical nature to the realm of God, a concept clearly lacking from Jesus thought, in Cobb’s view.[8] Fr. Richard Chilson, C.S.P., suggests the term "Love's Domain," "Love's Dominion," or "Love's Rule" because the Kingdom of God is where the God who is Love rules.[9] Even with the debate over the translation of the term, modern scholars see the concept of the kingdom of God as the main message of Jesus.
[edit] Abrahamic faiths
[edit] Judaism
The Kingdom of God is referred to frequently in the Tanakh (see 1 Chronicles 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 and Daniel 4:3 for example). It is tied to Jewish understanding that God will restore the nation of Israel to the land. The Kingdom of God was expressly promised to King David, because he was a man "after God's own heart."[1 Sam 13:34]
[edit] Christianity
The phrase occurs in the Gospel according to the Hebrews and in the New Testament more than 100 times, but not at all in the Hebrew Bible and only once in the deuterocanonical/apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon (10:10)[9] and is defined almost entirely by parable.When speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, God tells Moses that Israelites "will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." The priest as king is mentioned in early Judaic writings. "Then Melchizedek king of Salem [Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High".[Ex 19:3-6] In Second Chronicles the LORD said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever."[2 Chr 33:4] Cyrus king of Persia agreed and is quoted as saying: " 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.[2 Chr 36:23] During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions ...and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.[Heb 5:7-10] The prophet Zechariah taught of a king of Jerusalem stating "Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you,righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.[Zech 9:9] This theme is presented in the verse I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.[Rom. 1:16]
The term Israelite comes from the name given by God to Abraham's grandson Jacob. "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with human beings and have overcome."[Gen 32:28]
Spiritual warfare is referred to throughout the bible with God ultimately winning and establishing God's kingdom. "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,and he will reign for ever and ever.' And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: 'We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign'.[Rev. 11:15-17] "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ'."[Rev. 12:10]
Eusebius identified basileia with monarchy while Augustine foresaw a merger of the church and basileia.[10]
Aquinas ignores the concept and it was relatively little discussed by Christian theologians until Johannes Cocceius (1660) and Hermann Samuel Reimarus in the 18th century, during what has become known as the "first quest" for the historical Jesus.[11][12]
Jesus assumes his audience understands the Kingdom foundation that was laid in the Hebrew Scriptures. When Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God he speaks of the time of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants─a time of a restored earth where the faithful will worship and serve their God forever under the rulership of a righteous leader of the Davidic line. This was the Messianic hope of the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures and was carried over and echoed in the words of John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, Paul and others in the Greek Scriptures.
Jesus would attach the theme of the gospel message itself with this Kingdom idea. Luke 4:43 tells the reader that Jesus' very purpose for being sent was to "preach the gospel about the Kingdom." He then would send out his disciples to speak this message even before they understood anything about his death and resurrection. Compare Luke 9:1-6, Matthew 9:35, 10:7, etc. The seed that must be sown in the hearts of men was also identified as the word of the Kingdom by Jesus in 13:19. Shorthand for the word of the kingdom was given in Mark and Luke's version of the parable of the sower as "the word"[Mk 4:14] and "the word of God".[Lk 8:11]
Jesus often spoke of the Kingdom of God as the theme of his gospel as well as the destination for the righteous in the end of days.[13] Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount shows that those who follow the "beatitudes" are rewarded with the Kingdom of God/inheriting the earth/comfort etc. Matthew 19 gives an account of Jesus equating popular terms such as "eternal life" and "saved" as the same thing as entering the Kingdom of God when it is established upon the earth. Jesus even taught his disciples to pray: "Let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Some believe this defines the Kingdom as the time when God's will is done on the earth as it is done in heaven. Others contend that the two petitions are separate in the prayer, leaving the Kingdom of God to be more than simply a perfect execution of God's will on earth.
The Kingdom of God as spoken of by Jesus carried with it more than a picture of the wolf and the lamb dwelling together and the end of war.[Isa 11:1-9] In fact, Jesus used the Kingdom as the reason why people should repent.[Mk 1:14-15] There was a good side as well as a judgment side of this Kingdom that was communicated in many of the parables (e.g., tares and wheat[Mt 13] and the sheep and goats.[25] Paul and others would continue this theme in their preaching of the same gospel.[Ac 17:30-31] Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to the world that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead). When they spoke of Jesus coming to judge the living and the dead they were saying the same thing as the Kingdom coming because he was in fact appointed to be the King of the Kingdom.
The coming of God's Kingdom, described as Judgment, is also described in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Revelation, as a military conquest over the opponents of the Kingdom.[Rev. 20:7-10] Revelation 21 speaks of the Kingdom of God in the new heaven after the establishment of God's eternal reign.[14]
[edit] Historical Jesus scholars
The method of historical Jesus scholars essentially aims at investigating the social, religious, political and cultural climate of the early first century in order to place the human figure of Jesus within and around these structures. One of the major areas of conflict among Jesus scholars is the proximity of Jesus’ "Kingdom". Some believe it is wholly manifested in the presence of Jesus’ words and deeds, others believe that it is completely in the future, and some acknowledge the arguments of both these camps and place Jesus’ "Kingdom" somewhere in between being manifested in the present and also more completely manifested in the future.
C. H. Dodd and John Dominic Crossan argued that the “Kingdom” was fully manifest in the present teaching and actions of Jesus. Through his words and deeds the "Kingdom" was brought into the present reality of Palestine. Dodd coined the term "realized eschatology"[15] and largely based his argument on Luke 11:20, and Luke 17:21, claiming that "the kingdom of God has come to you" and “the kingdom of God is within you”. Crossan imagined Jesus as a cynic-like peasant who focused on the sapiential aspects of the "Kingdom" and not on any apocalyptic conceptions.[16]
Albert Schweitzer, Rudolf Bultmann, Norman Perrin and Johannes Weiss argued that Jesus’ "Kingdom" was intended to be a wholly futuristic kingdom. These scholars looked to the apocalyptic traditions of various Jewish groups existing at the time of Jesus as the basis of their study.[17][18][19][20] In this view, Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher who would bring about the end times and when he did not see the end of the cosmic order coming Jesus embraced death as a tool in which to provoke God into action.
The most common view of the "Kingdom" in recent scholarship is to embrace the truths of both these parties─present reality and future manifestation. Some scholars who take this view are N.T. Wright and G.R. Beasley-Murray. In their views, the “Kingdom” that Jesus spoke of will be fully realized in the future but it is also in a process of “in-breaking” into the present. This means that Jesus’ deeds and words have an immediate effect on the “Kingdom” even though it was not fully manifested during his life. Even greater attention has been paid to the concept of the “Kingdom of God” by scholars during the current third quest for the historical Jesus (with which N.T. Wright is associated).
Another important recent observation on the meaning of the “Kingdom” was made by Rudolph Otto who took a feminist approach to the study of Jesus. He claimed that “it is not Jesus who brings the kingdom; on the contrary; the kingdom brings him with it…”[21] This approach attempts to take Jesus out of the Jesus movement that followed after his death and resurrection; by doing this the communal aspects of the “Kingdom” become emphasized and not just the focus on Jesus as a man.
[edit] Catholic interpretations
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that the coming Reign of God will be a kingdom of love, peace, and justice.[22] Justice is defined as a virtue whereby one respects the rights of all persons, living in harmony and equity with all.[23] The Kingdom of God began with Christ's death and Resurrection and must be further extended by Christians until it has been brought into perfection by Christ at the end of time.[24] The Christian does this by living the way Christ lived, by thinking the way Christ thought,[25] and by promoting peace and justice.[26] This can be accomplished by discerning how the Holy Spirit (God) is calling one to act in the concrete circumstances of one's life.[27] Christians must also pray, asking God for what is necessary to cooperate with the coming of God's Kingdom.[28] Jesus gathered disciples to be the seed and the beginning of God's Reign on earth, and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide them.[29] Jesus continues to call all people to come together around him[30] and to spread the Kingdom of God across the entire world.[31] However, the ultimate triumph of Christ's Kingdom will not come about until Christ's return to earth at the end of time.[32] During Christ's second coming, he will judge the living and the dead. Only those who are judged to be righteous and just will reign with Christ forever.[33] Christ's second coming will also mark the absolute defeat of all evil powers, including Satan.[34] Until then, the coming of the Kingdom will continue to be attacked by evil powers as Christians wait with hope for the second coming of their Savior.[35] This is why Christians pray to hasten Christ's return by saying to him "Maranatha!" which means "Come, Lord Jesus!".[36]
According to Fr. William Barry, S.J., we can understand the Kingdom of God as God's intention for the universe. God has revealed that God's intention for our world is that all humans live as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters of God (Is 2:2-5, 11:6-9, 40:4-5, 9-10;&version=ESV; Eph 1:3, 9-10). Our thoughts and actions can either be in tune with God's intention or not. Only by being in tune with God's intention will we ever know true fulfillment or happiness in this life. Prayer, discernment and knowledge of God's revealed Word are needed to discover how one can be in tune with God's intention.[37]
According to Fr. Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., the Kingdom of God primarily refers to the era when Christ comes again to bring the final establishment of God’s rule over all creation, which will include a final judgment where the righteous are rewarded and the wicked are punished. The concept of the Kingdom of God offers the goal for Christian life: those who follow the example and teachings of Jesus will be vindicated when the Kingdom of God comes and will reign with Christ forever.[38]
In Biblical scholar John P. Meier's Mentor, Message, and Miracles (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, v. 2, 1994, pp. 235–506), the 'Message' is the kingdom of God. The book examines that the subject as found in:
- The Old Testament and Pseudepigrapha and at Qumran
- Jesus' proclamation of a future kingdom
- The kingdom proclaimed by Jesus' words and deeds as already present in his ministry (pp. 451-53).
Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth, says there are "three dimensions" to the Church Fathers' interpretation of term Kingdom of God. The first, which comes from Origen, is that Jesus is himself the Kingdom in person.[39] The second "sees man's interioriry as the essential location of the Kingdom."[39] This second dimension also comes from Origen. "The third dimension of the interpretation of the Kingdom of God we could call the ecclesiastical: the Kingdom of God and the Church are related in different ways and brought into more or less close proximity."[39] That is to say that the Church is the Kingdom of God.
[edit] Eastern Orthodoxy
Within the theological tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the Kingdom of God is the future of all humankind and the created world, in that God will be in direct communion with the cosmos. This communion is that all humankind will experience their existence in the presence of God, God as being the Kingdom of God, God as paradise and punishment.
[edit] Pre-millennial approaches
A number of groups take a political/eschatological approach to the Kingdom of God emphasizing a physical reign of Jesus Christ on earth after the parousia. These groups often place special emphasis on the role of a restored kingdom of Israel.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considers the church itself as the Kingdom of God on the earth. However, this is limited to a spiritual or ecclesiastical kingdom until the Millennium when Christ will also establish a political Kingdom of God. This will have worldwide political jurisdiction when the Lord has made "a full end of all nations" (Doctrine & Covenants 87:6). However, Latter-day Saints believe that this theocratic "kingdom" will in fact be quasi-republican in organization, and will be freely chosen by the survivors of the millennial judgments rather than being imposed upon an unwilling populace. See Council of Fifty; Theodemocracy.
Jehovah's Witnesses extend the idea of the Kingdom of God to more than just a state of mind or heart. The belief is that the Kingdom is a government headed by Jesus Christ as King, ruling in heaven since 1914. Jehovah's Witnesses come to the year 1914 by two lines of reasoning: Bible chronology dealing with the end of the Times of the Gentiles[40] and observed world conditions.[41] The miracles and preaching of the Kingdom that Jesus carried out while on earth is a work that gave hope, illustrated the benefits the Kingdom would bring, and urged efforts to gain God's favor. Jehovah's Witnesses try to imitate that preaching work in their door-to-door work by highlighting the Kingdom of God.[42] In fact, the full name of the Watchtower is "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom." In short, the Kingdom is the means through which God sanctifies God's name and vindicates God's sovereignty[43] and accomplishes God's will through Christ, and restores conditions on earth to those similar in the Garden of Eden. Additional information on the Kingdom in relation to the Last Days and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Christadelphians believe in an end time political kingdom. This viewpoint says that in the last days Christ will return to rescue Israel (the nation), judge all who are responsible to God's judgment, and make an immortal administration for the Kingdom of God re-established on earth. It will be based in Jerusalem, and will provide the faithful of all generations with the land promised to them because they are heirs of the land of the Middle East, with Abraham. The Kingdom will grow to rule over all other nations, with Jesus as the King and with his administration (immortal saints) ruling over the nations with him. Those ruled over will firstly be the Jews who are alive then (although mortal) and the survivors of all other nations (also mortal). During that time, lifespans of mortals will be greatly increased, and justice will be carefully maintained. Thus the world will be filled with peace and the knowledge of God.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church accepts the doctrine of the Kingdom of God dividing it into two phases. These are the Kingdom of Grace which was established immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, and the Kingdom of Glory which will be fully established when Christ returns to earth for the second time.
[edit] Other viewpoints
Leo Tolstoy was a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Gandhi[44] and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Leading feminist theologians, especially Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza emphasize the feminine gender of the word basileia and the feminist nature of the early teachings of Jesus and the important and counter-cultural role and contributions of women in the Jesus sect.[45]
Jesus' use of the phrase "Kingdom of God" is believed by the liberation theologians to have been a deliberate but indirect criticism of the Roman system of domination.
Some scholars (most notably P.D. Ouspensky, in his book A New Model of the Universe, chapter 4) propose that "The Kingdom of Heaven" could actually be an esoteric group, that one should 'seek' within our own society.
Some universalists believe that God will use the Kingdom to bring about the salvation of all humankind. [3]
[edit] Islam
For Muslims, belief in the Kingdom of God may refer to the belief in God's absolute dominion over all things. Thus, in Islam every place, all creation, may be considered God's Kingdom if those that live there "hold onto good qualities and good actions".[46]
The notion of God's kingdom on Earth, however, constitutes the establishment of and adherence to Allah's laws within human society, in order to maintain a lasting peace and unity within the lives of the devout, at all levels. These include personal, criminal, state and international levels. As such, some Muslim groups hold the view that the Kingdom of God constitutes a caliphate/Imamate, a geographical region unified under the faith of Islam, and Matthew 13:31-33 has been suggested by Islamic scholars to be in fact referring to a caliphate which will be spread across three continents.[citation needed] According to mainstream Islamic beliefs, the Second Coming of Jesus and the arrival of the Mahdi will usher in this ideal caliphate/Imamate, which will put an end to the "tyranny of the Antichrist", and this reign will ensure tranquility and peace for the world.
A third perspective among Muslims is that the Kingdom of God is a spiritual concept entirely, rather than a material one. After the Day of Judgment, when Allah judges all humankind based on their deeds, one either goes to hell or to heaven; the latter being the Eternal Kingdom.[citation needed]
[edit] Bahá'í Faith
In the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, the kingdom of God is seen both as a state of individual being, and the state of the world. Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, claimed that the scriptures of the world's religions foretell a coming messianic figure that will bring a golden age of humanity, the kingdom of God on earth. He claimed to be that figure, and that his teachings would bring about the kingdom of God; he also noted that the prophecies relating to the end times and the arrival of the kingdom of God were symbolic and referred to spiritual upheaval and renewal.[47] The Bahá'í teachings also state as people perform good deeds they become closer to God spiritually, so that the can attain eternal life and enter the kingdom of God while alive.[48]
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