{"id":649,"date":"2011-05-12T02:09:45","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T07:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=649"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:39:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:39:26","slug":"where-is-the-kingdom-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/05\/12\/where-is-the-kingdom-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is the Kingdom of God?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 6 of series:
\nWhat Was the Message of Jesus?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Where is the Kingdom of God?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So far in this series we\u2019ve seen that Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God using a variety of words and works. The essence of his message is summarized in Mark 1:15: \u201cThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up as a Christian, I always read this verse as saying: \u201cThe time for your personal salvation has arrived. Be sorry for your sins and believe in Jesus as your Savior so you will go to heaven after you die.\u201d After having spent much of my life studying Jesus, I no longer believe this is what Jesus meant in Mark 1:15, though I still believe in the truth of what I once attributed to Jesus. We do experience personal salvation through Jesus, partly through acknowledging our sins so that we might trust Jesus as our Savior. Our salvation does include life beyond physical death. But I don\u2019t any longer believe this is what Jesus meant when he proclaimed the presence of the kingdom. Part of my problem in the past was that I wasn\u2019t clear on the location of the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

The language of Mark 1:15 certainly suggests that God\u2019s reign is coming on earth. This fits, as we have seen previously, with the promise found repeatedly in the Hebrew prophets: someday God will come to reign on earth, establishing justice and peace for his people and, indeed, for all nations.<\/p>\n

The earthly location of God\u2019s reign is also revealed in one of the core teachings of Christian faith, that which we call \u201cThe Lord\u2019s Prayer.\u201d In Matthew 6 Jesus taught his disciples to pray:<\/p>\n

Our Father in heaven,
\nhallowed be your name.
\nYour kingdom come.
\nYour will be done,
\non earth as it is in heaven . . . . (Matt 6:9-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The parallelism of this prayer interprets \u201cyour kingdom come\u201d as \u201cyour will be done on earth <\/em> as it is in heaven.\u201d In other words, we are to pray that God\u2019s reign will be experienced on earth as it is right now in God\u2019s own heavenly presence. When God\u2019s rule is completely established in this world, then all things will be ordered according to God\u2019s perfect design.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fascinating to discover how much this prayer of Jesus is similar to the prayers offered up by faithful Jews in the first century. Consider, for example, the following prayer that many scholars believe to have been offered daily in the time of Jesus:<\/p>\n

\u201cMay God establish his kingdom in your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of all the house of Israel, even speedily and at a near time.\u201d (Kaddish <\/em> prayer)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sounds quite a bit like, \u201cThy kingdom come\u201d, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ruins of the synagogue in Capernaum. Photo used by permission from http:\/\/www.holylandphotos.org\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then there\u2019s the eleventh blessing of the so-called Eighteen Benedictions that were spoken during weekly synagogue services:<\/p>\n

\u201cRestore our judges as at the first, and our counselors at the beginning; and reign Thou over us, Thou alone. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who lovest judgment!\u201d (Benediction 11 of the \u201cEighteen Benedictions\u201d)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By proclaiming that the kingdom of God was near, Jesus was saying that these prayers were being answered. God was beginning to rule on earth as he did in heaven \u2013 in the ministry of Jesus himself.<\/p>\n

When I have taught before on the location of the kingdom of God, people sometimes remain unconvinced. \u201cWhat about the kingdom of heaven<\/em>?\u201d they wonder. \u201cAnd didn\u2019t Jesus himself say his kingdom was not <\/em> of this world? How do you explain these passages?\u201d In my next post I\u2019ll address these questions.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 6 of series: What Was the Message of Jesus? Where is the Kingdom of God? So far in this series we\u2019ve seen that Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God using a variety of words and works. The essence of his message is summarized in Mark 1:15: \u201cThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8514],"tags":[1743,8515,8591],"class_list":["post-649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jesus-what-was-his-message","tag-kingdom-of-god","tag-message-of-jesus","tag-where-is-the-kingdom-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere is the Kingdom of God?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part 6 of series: What Was the Message of Jesus? Where is the Kingdom of God? 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