THE KINGDOM OF GOD
What is a Kingdom?
A realm or sphere in which one thing is dominant.
A state or government having a king or a queen as
its head.
Why are there terms Kingdom of God and
Kingdom of heaven in the Bible and do they
mean different things?
Mark and Luke use the Greek term "Basileia tou
Theou", commonly translated in English as
"kingdom of God.
So if we belong to the Kingdom of God, then we
recognized God as the ruler of our lives and we
are here to serve Him.
Matthew, on the other hand, employs the Greek term
"Basileia tōn Ouranōn” which is translated as "kingdom
of heaven 31 times and "kingdom of God" only 6 times,
with "the kingdom" with no qualifier appearing a further
ten.
Some Biblical scholars speculate that the Matthew 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 is a Jewish practice to avoid using God’s name as an act
of piety. In Matthew, "heaven" stands for "God."
WHEN IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
Is the Kingdom of God a present reality or
something that will occur in the future?
Some scholars argue 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.
Other scholars argue that Jesus’ "kingdom” is
intended to be a wholly futuristic.
The most common view of the "kingdom" in recent
scholarship is to embrace the truths of both these
concepts ─ present reality and future manifestation
This is called Inaugurated eschatology.
When we begin to look at what Jesus said about
the Kingdom of God, we find that He is telling us
how we need to live as part of God’s Kingdom.
Read Matthew 4:17
What do you get from this verse?
Repentance is the activity of reviewing one's
actions and feeling contrition or regret for past
wrongs.
It generally involves a commitment to personal
change and resolving to live a more responsible
and humane life.
It typically includes an admission of guilt, a
promise or resolve not to repeat the offense; an
attempt to make restitution for the wrong.
In Hebrew, the idea of repentance is represented
by two verbs meaning to return and to feel
sorrow.
In the New Testament the Greek word translated
repentance is Metanoia which means change of
conduct, change of mind and heart, or, change of
consciousness.
Read Matthew 10:7
Notice that Jesus uses the term “at hand’, what
does that mean?
At hand can mean “imminent” or coming soon.
So at this point in time, the Kingdom of God has
not yet arrived.
So if the Kingdom of God had not yet arrived
at this point in time, what would signify its
arrival?
The Kingdom of Heaven was not believed to be
fully come until the pouring out of the Holy Spirit
after Christ's ascension.
So we are looking at the arrival of the Kingdom at
Pentecost.
Another set of verses to indicate that the
Kingdom of Heaven had not yet come at this
time.
Read Matthew 6: 9-13
What do these verses say about the Kingdom?
God is the ruler in heaven and Jesus is preparing
the way for Him to rule on earth.
Read Mark 12: 28 - 34
What do you take from these verses?
I think it means that the man understands what it
takes to be a part of the Kingdom of God, now all
that is lacking for him is the coming o the Holy
Spirit.
Read Luke 9:27
What does this mean?
We can see that this is true if the Kingdom of God
begins at Pentecost.
But it would fail if this were some event that is to
take place in the distant future.
In the Kingdom of God soul can be happy, though
the body is greatly afflicted and oppressed in this
world.
Read Luke 17:20
From the time of Daniel, writers were concerned with the
signs that would mark the end of the age and show that
God was about to destroy the present world order.
They believed that really bad things would have to happen
before God would intervene to destroy the present age
and bring in the new era of his rule.
They particularly watched for wars, social collapse, and
natural disasters.