Kingdom of God
What's All This Kingdom Stuff: An Introduction to Kingdom of
God Theology: Week 1
Observing the Stuff!
Jesus Was Kingdom
Kingdom of God theology is rooted in the Old Testament.
The prophets declared the Kingdom as a day in which men and women would live
together in peace, where social problems would be solved and the evil would
In the New Testament and central to the ministry of Jesus was
the concept of the Kingdom of God. The authors of the
Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) filled their books with teaching about
the Kingdom. They often summarized the material as the beginning of Mark
illustrates. "Now after John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and
proclaimed the gospel about the kingdom of God. He said, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near! Repent, and keep believing in the
gospel! (Mark 1.14-15). Mark's brief summary demonstrates the idea of the
words and works of Jesus.
Matthew summarized in a similar fashion. He succinctly shows the
ministry of Jesus in
as it centered on the Kingdom. Jesus also summarized the message of the Kingdom
when he gave instructions to his twelve disciples
10.5-15). The gospel of the Kingdom is the only gospel that he instructed
his disciples to preach. When Luke recorded the sending of the seventy
10.1-12), Jesus used similar language.
The term Kingdom was frequently on the lips of Jesus and the
idea of the Kingdom was central to the proclamation of Jesus. His words were
designed to demonstrate for us how to enter the Kingdom
His works authenticated that the Kingdom was present in his ministry
12.28). His parables informed us about the mysteries of the Kingdom
13.11). His prayers modeled for his disciples the desire of his heart,
which was that the Kingdom would come to earth
6.10). His death, resurrection, and ascension made us the instruments of
1.8). His Second Coming promises the consummation of the Kingdom for his
What Others Think about the Kingdom
history, the Kingdom of God has been interpreted many ways. Here are a few
Behind The Scenes.
Dodd held that the Kingdom of God was realized fully in the ministry of
Jesus. The Kingdom of God is an earthly place where there is righteousness,
peace, and joy. These are the benefits for those who live yielded lives to the
Rule of the Spirit. The Kingdom as a present reality is based on such passages
A second way the Kingdom is viewed is that it is a place
of future blessing which occurs at the Second Coming for the people of God
25.34). The followers of Jesus enter the Kingdom when he returns. The
coming Kingdom would bring about an end to the old order of humanity and begin
a new existence in a heavenly order. Thus, the Kingdom is altogether future and
supernatural. Its basic proponent was
Von Harnack suggested another theory. For him, the Kingdom was reduced to a
subjective realm. It is an inner spiritual redemptive blessing
14.17). The Kingdom is expressed by the new birth
3.3) and is an inward power which enters into the human spirit and takes
hold of it.
Yet another view of the Kingdom of God was created by
Augustine. He believed that the Kingdom and the Church were the same thing.
This view is still common as suggested by our current language. We talk about
bringing people into the Kingdom, which is a synonym for church. He believed
that as the church grew, so the Kingdom grew. As the church takes the gospel
into the world, the Kingdom is extended. Still other views emphasize: that the
Kingdom of God should be likened to the governments and nations of the world
11.15); that the Kingdom is a realm into which one must enter now
21.31); the Kingdom is a realm into which one must enter tomorrow
8.11); the Kingdom is at the same time a gift of God given in the future
12.32), and a gift which must be received in the present
Interpreting the Stuff!
What is the
Realm: Kingdom is
normally understood as a realm over which a king rules. A modern day example of
this idea was the United Kingdom which was made up of many nations: Great
Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, etc. People live in the Kingdom (a place)
and are subjects of the King or Queen who exercises his or her authority over
his or her subjects.
Reign-Rule: Another way to
view the idea of Kingdom is found in its dictionary definition: "The reign or
rule a king has over his subjects." This definition is closer to the primary
meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words than the concept of realm. In Hebrew the
word for Kingdom is
(mal-coot). The Greek word is
The Kingdom in the Old Testament
James Kallas suggests in his book Jesus and the Power of Satan that
Jesus never explained the Kingdom because the people to whom he was speaking
knew what it meant or thought they knew what it meant (Kallas. 1968. 119). The
Old Testament presents the Kingdom in the context of Jewish messianic
expectation and eschatology. They believed that God would deliver them, which
was their hope for the future. Israel reached its apex during the rule of King
David and King Solomon. From that point forward Israel began to descend. At the
death of Solomon the Kingdom divided into two Kingdoms with their own kings and
governments. This division set in place a longing among the Jews for God to
restore to them their past blessings. There were two ways which the Kingdom
began to be understood. The first is called the Davidic Concept and the
Second the Apocalyptic Concept of the Kingdom of God.
The Davidic Concept of the Kingdom
Israel's hope was that God would send a king like David. Israel's focus was
militaristic and geographic. Israel wanted a nationalistic kingdom to return.
The prophets of the Old Testament began using a phrase "the day of the Lord,"
which was a two-sided belief system including restoration and judgment. Israel
believed that the "day of the Lord" was a time when Israel would be fully
8.4-8). The nations would be judged
1). The message of Amos came to pass when the Northern Kingdom virtually
ceased to exist after the Assyrian invasion. When the Southern Kingdom went
into exile, the hope remained and glittered again during the Restoration Period
a descendant of David, became king. This hope is reflected in
126. The Davidic hope for a military and political power emerged again
during the time of Zerubbabel. Judah hoped that the descendant of David was the
one to return them to the glory of David's rule. Haggai and Zechariah mirrored
the expectation which surrounded Zerubbabel. But when his kingship failed, hope
began to wane.
Once again during the
revolt these old nationalistic aspirations had a revival. However, the rise
of a Davidic king, an anointed one to bring them to political power with
military might, did not occur. When you turn to the pages of the New Testament,
there is a remnant of those who still believed that God would restore a
nationalistic kingdom to Israel
The Kingdom of God was thought to be a Kingdom of this
world which would be peopled by the Jews. There was nothing spiritual or future
about it. The Kingdom was a dream of Jewish nationalism (Kallas. 1968.
The Apocalyptic Concept of the
The second view which arose during the life of Judaism
centered around the
Period (404 B.C.6 B.C.). During this period there arose a new kind of writing
within Judaism called Apocalyptic Literature and the term Kingdom of God came
into popular usage. Hope did not diminish; it only assumed a new language with
a modified meaning. The prophets hoped for a nationalistic kingdom, while the
hope of the Apocalyptic writers was for a heavenly kingdom which would end this
Present Evil Age. A new world would break into the present world and bring the
rule of God. This view developed a belief that Satan dominated this Present
Evil Age; it was under his rule. When Antiochus Epiphanes unleashed his
persecution on Israel (175-164 B.C.), this view began to
flourish. This horrific deluge of evil could only be the result of a cosmic
conflict. Evil was winning. Good was losing. The demonic and sickness were in
control. It was here that the Jews' consciousness of evil spirits began to
develop. The books of the Intertestamental Period give us a window to view the
beliefs of the people in a specific period of time. In
54.3-6 Satan is pictured as the ruler of a kingdom of evil with many
followers, the demons. The book of
23.29 suggests a golden age to come in which God himself would usher in his
kingdom reversing the evils of Satan. Good would triumph, healing would occur,
the demonic would be defeated.
Doin' the Stuff!
It is always important
to apply what you have learned. Pause at this point and ask for the help of the
Holy Spirit to meditate on and put into practice some or all of the following.
How would you summarize the ministry of the Kingdom in
In what ways have the words and works of Jesus affected
How do the concepts of realm and reign-rule affect the way
you have traditionally understood the Kingdom of God?
How does the idea of Jewish nationalism fit into the
current belief system which sees the need for Israel as the centerpiece of God
working out the end times?
BibleHandbook: Resource Stuff
Read the following Dictionary Articles from Easton's Bible
Dictionary. Easton's is about a century old, therefore, some of the
information is not current with newer Bible Dictionaries. You might read the
articles off-line in a number of different Bible Dictionaries. If you do not
own a Bible Dictionary, I would recommend New Bible Dictionary 3rd Edition. If
you like lots of color pictures, try
Dictionary. One of these should suit your personal