by Dwight A. Pryor
WHEN IT COMES to the life of Jesus of Nazareth few subjects are more important – or more challenging to interpret – than the Master’s teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven. Is the Kingdom here or is it in the hereafter, in heaven? Is it now or is it not yet but coming?
Is it presently advancing in our midst or will it appear suddenly, with apocalyptic disclosure, when the Son of Man returns to judge the earth?
The multiple witnesses of the four Gospels speak about the Kingdom in diverse and seemingly competing ways. We can get a reliable window on Jesus’ worldview, however, if we return to his original historical setting within Second Temple Judaism and the theological framework of Israel’s pious sages.
This seems a logical thing to do given that Jesus’ terminology “Kingdom of Heaven” –Malkhut Shamayim in Hebrew – is not found in the Tanakh (Old Testament), nor in the Apocrypha, the Pseudipigrapha or even the Dead Sea Scrolls. We find it in two ancient Jewish sources: the Gospels (yes, they are Jewish documents!) and the literature of the Sages.
Jesus does not invent novel terminology to describe his mission. He builds upon, personalizes and radicalizes the foundational Jewish concept of Malkhut Shamayim(Kingdom of Heaven, with “Heaven” understood as a circumlocution for “God”) as taught by Israel’s learned men. What can we learn from them?
First, the original proclamation of the Kingdom of God is found not in Genesis, with the creation, but in Exodus, beginning with Moses’ Song at the Sea and Israel’s receiving of the Torah at Sinai.
The fact that God is our Creator and ultimate Judge is inescapable and unconditional. By contrast, entering the Kingdom and submitting to God’s authority is volitional and conditional. It requires the assent of our wills and the commensurate responsibility of our obedience of faith.
Second, where the Kingdom is present God’s redemptive, saving acts are manifest. In Exodus the mighty God redeems the children of Israel from Egyptian enslavement and then rescues them from Pharaoh’s menacing army by casting horse and rider into the Sea. In response, Moses and the children of Israel break into the prophetic song called Shirat ha-Yam (Song at the Sea) and acknowledge the Kingship of God in the memorable words: “Adonai yimlokh le’olam va’ed”- “The Lord shall reign (be King) forever and ever!” (Exo. 15:18).
Third, for the Kingdom to advance, redemption must be joined to revelation and mutual responsibility. From Egypt God brings Israel to Sinai. There atop the mountain He gives the Jewish nation Instruction (Torah) about walking with Him in holiness. Like a bride pledging her betrothal to her beloved, Israel reciprocates God’s grace by pledging, “Na’asei v’nishma” – “We will hear and do” all that you say (Exo. 24:7). They voluntarily take on the “yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven,” and God – the Creator of all nations -- now becomes uniquely the King of one nation, Israel.
THESE INTERWOVEN THEMES of redemption, revelation and (especially) responsibility form the backdrop to Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom. He declares that the Kingdom consists of those who do the will of his Father in heaven (Matt. 7:21). He teaches that when we pray for the Kingdom (God’s rule) to “come” ever more so in the earth, we must reciprocally pledge that our heavenly Father’s will “be done” in our lives (6:10).
Jesus prioritizes the Kingdom, not as a place, but as God’s redemptive power breaking in upon people doing the will of the King in order to sanctify His name.
This present and expanding reign of God will come to its promised fullness in the Last Day with the Advent of the Son of Man. Then the Kingdom will be consummated, not in heaven, but in Zion!
Here the “dwelling of God” forever will be with men (Rev. 21:3). Here, Jew and Gentile, together with one voice, will “glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus” (Rom. 15:6). And what shall they sing? To the God of Israel, now King over all the nations, they will sing the “Song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3): Adonai yimlokh le’olam va’ed.
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Want to study this subject in-depth? We recommend Unveiling the Kingdom of Heaven.
Take me back to the library. Or if you prefer, back to the topic Kingdom of God.