The Kingdom of God
God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of the temptation of Jesus and how other sects defined the Messiah.
The Kingdom of God defined by the Israelites as a physical place here on earth. The Kingdom of God is also called the “Kingdom of Heaven.” It means God’s rule in the lives of His chosen people and His Creation. In the Old Testament, the people in God’s kingdom were the Israelites. In the New Testament and now, the people in God’s kingdom are those who believe in and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus comes again, then God’s kingdom will become visible to all people. The term “Kingdom” according to (Kingdom of God,2011) means the rank, quality, state, or attributes of a king; royal authority; sovereign power; rule; dominion; monarchy. It can also be used in the context of a divine kingdom, the term Kingdom appears 13 times in Matthews, 7 times in Luke and 2 times in John.
The Kingdom of God has a similar meaning. It exists wherever God's will is at work. And God's will is at work wherever people are faithful to the command ...
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...fe, death and resurrection.
References
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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During his time of teaching, he started to openly speak about the Reign of God coming among the people; however, his public speaking of this matter and the “Kingdom of God” started to upset a numerous amount of people . The “Kingdom of God” that Jesus spoke about basically meant that...
Robinson, B. A. (2008, March 30). Books of the Hebrew Scripture . Retrieved May 7, 2011, from Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_otb3.htm
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Some passages in the Bible refer to the Kingdom of God as God 's reign. Other passages refer to God 's Kingdom as a realm to which we may be allowed to enter, and experience the blessings of His reign. The entrance to this realm depends on if we have lived the life that Jesus has planned for us. Still there are other passages that refer to a future realm, which will occur only with the reappearance of Jesus Christ. Therefore, these are three examples of the Kingdom of God that mean different things throughout other verses of the Bible. One only has to study all the references and interrupt its context to fully fit these pieces together to find the answers. The gospel of Luke sheds some insight into the Kingdom of
The Holy Bible New International Version: Containing the Old Testament and the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Bible, 1988. Print.
The Kingdom of Heaven, according to Thomas' Jesus, is within each one of us. This concept of god and the kingdom being a part of everyone is a common theme throughout the Bible (Lk 17:21). In the third saying, Jesus tells his followers that the way to gain access to this Kingdom inside us is to learn about ourselves. The knowledge that we came from the Kingdom (GTh 49), that we are "sons of the living father" (GTh 3), and that are human bodies and lives are not worth anything (GTh 87) are the keys to the Kingdom. If we do not know ourselves then we will not enter the kingdom and we will be in poverty forever (GTh 3). He also says that once we get back into the Kingdom there is nothing that we will not understand (GTh 6b).
Levine, Amy –Jill and Douglas Knight. The Meaning of the Bible: What Jewish and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us. New York: HarperOne, 2011
A place that is not seen or discussed but only felt in a way that is incomparable to any feeling ever felt by the living. Yet while people retain their own images of the Kingdom of God the Bible itself gives a subtle definition through a series of parables or short stories, told by Jesus in order to pass along the message of who is God and what is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus, through his sayings and parables showed that the kingdom was being revealed in his own life and work. He preached his message of the coming of the kingdom through memorable stories, which in his day could and did relate to things of everyday life. Though most of Jesus' followers didn't recognize the kingdom till after his death it was still brought to them by the Holy Spirit with a full understanding of his word and actions. Yet it was evidently difficult for them to understand before his death due to the previous ideas of the kingdom as a whole.
The Kingdom of God is a new creation, “full of God’s grace, and creation’s destiny being fulfilled” (Powell, 2008, pp. 174). It is the hope and redemption for Israel. The preaching of the Good News embodies the Kingdom of God (Powell, 2008, pp. 175). Jesus preached the affirmation that Israel was God’s elect people, and that He came to bring forth God’s grace and mercy to the world. In addition, the Kingdom of God brought forth holiness, the fulfillment of the prophecy’s from the Old Testament Prophets, the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the fulfillment of the Messianic King, God’s rule over sin, and the opportunity for Israel to turn away from their wickedness and choose to be faithful and obedient to God (Powell, 2008, pp. 175-183).
Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005.