The Kingdom of God has different meanings in different Christian denominations and they interpret its meaning in distinctly different ways.''Divine Government: God's Kingship in the Gospel of Mark'' by

R.T. France Richard Thomas France (1938–2012), known as R. T. France or Dick France, was a New Testament scholar and Anglican cleric. He was Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, from 1989 to 1995. He also worked for the London School of Theology. ...

(10 Mar 2003) pages 1-3 While the concept of Kingdom of God may have an intuitive meaning to lay Christians, there is hardly any agreement among theologians about its meaning in the New Testament, and it is often interpreted to fit the theological agenda of those interpreting it. As new Christian denominations have emerged, experiments linking personalism with ideas about the sharing of property found in the

Acts of Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

have produced eschatological perspectives that include social and

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

issues in the religious interpretation of the Kingdom of God.

Overview

Given no general agreement on the interpretation of the term "Kingdom of God", significant diversity exists in the way

Christian denominations Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

interpret it and its associated

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...

. Over the centuries, as emerging Christian denominations introduced new concepts, their teachings and experiments with the linking of personalism with new notions of Christian community often involved new interpretations of the Kingdom of God in various socio-religious settings.''The Eastern Orthodox Church: Its Thought and Life'' by Ernst Benz (Jul 31, 2008) page 158 Thus the denominational attempt at incorporating the ideals expressed in the

regarding the sharing of property within the Christian community came to interact with the social issues of the time to produce various interpretations regarding the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.''Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Contemporary Issues'' by Craig Ott, Stephen J. Strauss and Timothy C. Tennent (May 1, 2010) pages 139-141 Eschatological perspectives that emphasized the abandonment of the

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...

visions of human achievement and the placement of hope in the work of God whose Kingdom were sought thus resulted in the linking of social and

issues to the religious interpretations of the Kingdom of God in ways that produced distinct variations among denominations.

Specific interpretations

Anabaptists, Early Unitarians, Dissenters

In the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the

Radical Reformation The Radical Reformation represented a response to corruption both in the Catholic Church and in the expanding Magisterial Protestant movement led by Martin Luther and many others. Beginning in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th century, the Ra ...

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

and Early Unitarians, and later

Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

combined

Christian mortalism Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the interm ...

with eschatological views emphasizing the future aspect of the kingdom of God and the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...

. For example, John Disney in his ''Reasons for quitting the Church of England'' (1873) speaks of "the future everlasting kingdom of God". Anabaptist descendants including the

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

Old Order Mennonites Old Order Mennonites ( Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss German and south German heritage who practice a lifestyle without some elements of modern technology, who still ...

, and

Conservative Mennonites Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Con ...

believe in the two kingdom concept which "essentially" views the Church as the Kingdom of God.

Catholics

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that the coming Reign of God will be a kingdom of love, peace, and justice.CCC 2046 Justice is defined as a

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...

whereby one respects the rights of all persons, living in harmony and equity with all. The kingdom of God began with Christ's death and resurrection and must be further extended by Christians until it has been brought into perfection by Christ at the end of time. Catholics do this by living the way Christ lived, by thinking the way Christ thought, and by promoting peace and justice.CCC 2820 This can be accomplished by discerning how the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

(God) is calling one to act in the concrete circumstances of one's life. Christians must also

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified an ...

, asking God for what is necessary to cooperate with the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus gathered disciples to be the seed and the beginning of God's Reign on earth, and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide them. Jesus continues to call all people to come together around him and to spread the kingdom of God across the entire world. However, the ultimate triumph of Christ's kingdom will not come about until Christ's return to earth at the end of time. During Christ's

second coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...

, he will judge the living and the dead. Only those who are judged to be righteous and just will reign with Christ forever. Christ's second coming will also mark the absolute defeat of all evil powers, including

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

. Until then, the coming of the kingdom will continue to be attacked by evil powers as Christians wait with hope for the second coming of their Savior.

Eastern Orthodoxy

Within the theological tradition of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Church the kingdom of God is the present and future of all mankind and the created world.

Christians believe that the Kingdom of God is present within the Church and is communicated to believers as it interacts with them.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

believe that the kingdom of God is the central theme of the Bible, of Jesus' message while on earth, and of their own door-to-door preaching. They believe their door-to-door preaching is part of a "sign" before God's kingdom destroys the world's governments, in order to have God's will done on earth as it is in heaven. God's kingdom is said to be an actual government, set up by God in heaven, that will rule over the earth after removing all human governments at

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

. Jesus Christ initially rules as king of the kingdom, with all authority in heaven and on earth delegated to him by God, with only God himself having more authority. Jesus rules along with

144,000 144,000 is a natural number. It has significance in various religious movements and ancient prophetic belief systems. Religion Christianity Book of Revelation The number 144,000 appears three times in the Book of Revelation: * Revelation 7:3–8 ...

humans raised to heaven. These are said to be part of the "First Resurrection", as immortal spirit creatures. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus began ruling as king of God's kingdom in 1914. Jesus' rule of the kingdom is to last for one thousand years, during which time earth will be transformed into a paradise. During that time, righteous and unrighteous humans—excluding those who died at Armageddon or other specific judgments by God—will be resurrected in perfect human bodies, which they call the "Second Resurrection". Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan will be imprisoned during the thousand-year reign, unable to influence humans. Perfect humans on earth will not get sick or age, but will not be immortal, and will need to eat and breathe in order to keep living.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) takes a combined political/

eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...

approach to the kingdom of God, emphasizing a physical reign of Jesus Christ on earth after the

Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...

. It also places special emphasis on the role of a restored kingdom of Israel. The LDS Church considers the church itself as the kingdom of God on the earth. However, this is limited to a spiritual or ecclesiastical kingdom until the

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

when Christ will also establish a political kingdom of God. This will have worldwide political jurisdiction when the Lord has made "a full end of all nations". However, Latter-day Saints believe that this

theocratic Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fro ...

"kingdom" will in fact be quasi-republican in organization (

theodemocracy Theodemocracy is a theocratic political system proposed by Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. According to Smith, a theodemocracy is a fusion of traditional republican democratic principles—under the Un ...

), and will be freely chosen by the survivors of the millennial judgments rather than being imposed upon an unwilling populace.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom Of God Biblical phrases Christ the King Christian eschatology Christian terminology