Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Understanding the role of the Kingdom in Christianity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” shows up one hundred and nineteen times in the New Testament (Arndt, 8). The Christian Church refers to the kingdom as the Kingdom of God. The kingdom can be interpreted in many ways ranging from it being a domain, a higher power, even being within us. Throughout its interpretations it is always described as being in the future and that it will be coming soon, we are in the already but not yet stage. Once the kingdom has arrived the end of the world will have come and judgment will be upon us, then the Son of Man will return to Heaven. The Kingdom of God is in the making so to speak, through God it continues to evolve. The righteous and unrighteous are presently living side by side but will be separated in the end. With Jesus being the Messiah, he had made the kingdom a reality because God made it through his existence. It is quite easy to enter into the kingdom the sole thing you need is to accept Jesus as our Savior. Also, you need a pure heart, you cannot just do righteous things and expect to get into the kingdom. The source of sin is the human heart, and repentance can cleanse it. The book of Matthew frequently brings up the Kingdom of Heaven, which is used instead of God because at the time it was not good to mention God’s name frequently-according to the Jews. Also, John had used the term eternal life when referring to the kingdom. Matthew and John both refer to the terms of the kingdom with different names, but ultimately know it as a time of judgment that occurs and eternal life will be granted once you enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
The kingdom of Heaven occurs thirty two times in the Gospel of Matthew (Green, 473). Matthew relates the kingdom to Jesus’s kingship by spreading th...
... middle of paper ...
...lly mentioning the kingdom but it can be imagined this is how it will be (Luke 23: 43).
The Kingdom of Heaven is ultimately a reward that we will receive by living a righteous life. The eternal life that we have is something that we all can maintain with our unbiased belief in our Savior and all his teachings. With knowing that we have eternal life in our hearts and repenting our sins, we will be able to enter the kingdom when it comes. Also, we have to maintain healthy relationships and friendships, as well as trying to live as Jesus had. If we go into a field that lets us receive great fortunes, we must give away most of it to help others. Whatever we lose on Earth, will be gained in heaven and vice versa. It is not our place as human beings to judge one another, as we need to wait for God to come down and evaluate us when the time of salvation has arrived.
Christianity is the number one practiced religion out of the top five religions with an estimated total of 2.1 billion followers. (Pew Research Center 1) To Christians the place of heaven along with hell alike, appears within the religious belief’s sacred text called the Bible. A prime example of how the religion views these destinations comes from the book of Mathew in the bible. The scripture reads, “enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
Donald Kraybill’s The Upside-Down Kingdom does a wonderful job explaining the realities of Jesus’ life and teachings. Kraybill examines the literary text of bible and adds the historical and religious facts of that time to further show the true context behind the life of Jesus. Kraybill takes the teachings of Jesus and brings to light the importance of the political and social climate. Kraybill reveals that Jesus’ teachings directly correlated to the social conditions of his time. He addresses how the teachings of Jesus were directly influenced by the economic, political, and religious struggles that the people of Jesus’ time faced. Throughout the book Kraybill explores the ideas of Jesus, and examines the facts that Jesus’
The Lord God All Mighty is the sovereign Creator ruler and divine authority and judge over all His creation in the heavens, in the earth, in the sea, and under the earth. He is "the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace" (Isaiah 9:6,KJV) the "Eternal-One" "Who is from "everlasting to everlasting"(Psalms 90:2) the Great "I AM" Who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He is "the high and lofty One [Who] inhabiteth eternity"(Isaiah 57:15)"Who sits upon the circle of the earth" (Isaiah 40:2), where every creature is laid wide open and naked before His all-seeing eye (cf Hebrews 4:13). Therefore, "Heaven is His throne and the earth
The Gospel of Matthew exhibits the plan of atonement and salvation for all people and the beginning of a new era. The Kingdom has come. Matthew’s Gospel is eschatological. Through the direct use of and allusions to the Hebrew scriptures, as well as fulfillment citations Matthew clearly connects Jesus’ life and ministry with Israel’s traditions and promised history.4...
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition Bible. Eds. Dom Bernand Orchard, Rev. R. V. Fuller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1966. Print.
Baptist Publication Society, 1886). Clarke, Adam; ed. ; pp. 63-63. Clarke's Commentary (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 2003). no date. Criswell, W. A. & Co., W. A. Expository Notes on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).
Silva, Moisés. Philippians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
•God shows us the promise of new life in the resurrection and of new society in the Reign of God
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.
"Genisis, Matthew, and John." Holy Bible: NIrV, New International Reader's Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1998. N. pag. Web.
Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1995. Print. (BS195 .C66 1995)
In the beginning of both of these traditional Christian sayings, “Our father who art in heaven” counterparts “I believe in God, Almighty” (Lord’s Prayer; Apostles’). Both, by placing God before anything, stress a strong belief and respect in the Creator. Moving forth from that, “thy kingdom come” relates to “the holy catholic church” (Lord’s Prayer; Apostles’). As stated before, God is said to be present in the company of two or more in his name, therefore the church metaphorically establishes his kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven”. Written after, the people ask God to “give us this day our daily Bread” (Lord’s Prayer). Through allegory, the daily bread could be taken as Jesus, who is affirmed as “the resurrection of the body” in the creed (Apostles’). Through a similar figurative concept, the bread could also refer to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which again are valued in the creed by encompassing the belief in the Holy Spirit, “I believe in the Holy Spirit” (Apostles’). In 1 Corinthians 12: 8-11, the “gifts” are outlined and symbolically stand for the daily bread Christians ask for in the Lord’s Prayer: “To one is given through the Spirit…” is The World of Knowledge, The Word of Wisdom, The Gift of Faith, The Gift of Healings, The Working of Miracles, The Gift of Prophecy, The Discerning of Spirits, Different Kinds of Tongues, and The Interpretation of
how to get in to the Kingdom of God, what it is, and what it means to
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
Surprised by Hope is broken down into three parts. In Part One, “Setting the Scene,” Wright addresses the confusion of heaven and God’s Kingdom. Many Christians, according to Wright, view heaven as the place you go when you die (p. 18). If this is what has been taught for many years, what could be the alternative? Wright argues that “the language of heaven in the New Testament doesn’t work that way. ‘God’s kingdom’ in the preaching of Jesus refers not to postmortem destiny, not to our escape from this world into another one, but to God’s sovereign rule coming ‘on earth as it is in heaven’” (p. 18).