Demystifying the Kingdom of God

We often speak of the “Kingdom of God” or the “Kingdom of Heaven” in Christian circles but I am afraid that very few of us actually know what we are talking about.  I say this because there seems to be volume upon volume written on the kingdom, each volume trying to present the kingdom slightly differently and, at the end of the day, it seems most believers are confused as to what the kingdom actually is and are unable to clearly articulate the kingdom when asked to define exactly what the kingdom of God is.   I have seen a teacher pose that question to seasoned believers and the saints questioned looked dumbfounded and were at a loss for words to clearly articulate exactly what the kingdom is.  It is a significant issue that we struggle to understand something that is at the cornerstone of Christian theology and is at the heart of the apostolic proclamation of the gospel.

Now, obviously I cannot give the kingdom a full treatment in one post.  Volumes have been written on the kingdom so any small thing I can post here cannot even begin to be exhaustive.  However, I believe a few short words about the essence of what the apostles, and Jesus, actually meant when they used the term “The Kingdom of God” may help to demystify the kingdom making it much more approachable and understandable.

Two Primary Misunderstandings

I believe there are two primary misunderstandings that have caused confusion about what the kingdom actually is.  The first misunderstanding arises in the fact that the word kingdom is a foreign word to the western mind.  We operate in  governmental structures that are rooted in the ideas of democracy and, to a lesser extent, a republic and so the word kingdom is foreign to us.  For us it is a word that we encounter only in fairly tales and ancient history.  It is not something that we can tangibly relate to.  Dictator would probably be the closest word to kingdom that we could understand, but it has negative connotations that make its use unsuitable.

The second misunderstanding that causes confusion is the influence of Greek thought on Christianity.  Because of Greek influence on western thought and culture, we spend more time looking for the “ultimate meaning” of a passage rather than wrestling with the literal words in front of us as the Hebrews would.  Compounding the issue is Matthew’s description of the kingdom as the “Kingdom of Heaven” which, because of the Greek dualism which separates “heaven” and “earth” that we have embraced, makes the kingdom even more ethereal.  So, because of our heritage of Greek thought, we are looking for the ultimate meaning of a kingdom that seems just as ethereal and mystical as “heaven.”  Because we think that “heaven” is some other ethereal realm, we struggle to create ways to make the “kingdom of heaven” relevant and tangible to existence on the earth.  Understanding the misunderstandings that have clouded the definition of the kingdom for us, let’s now look at a few simple concepts that will help us gain a better understanding of what the kingdom actually is.

The Kingdom is Simply a Government

The simplest way to properly view the kingdom, coming from a western perspective, is to use the word government rather than kingdom.  When you swap this word it is amazing how clear Biblical passages become.  When Jesus or the apostles declare the “kingdom of God” they are essentially declaring the “government of God.”   When you read a passage and substitute the word government for kingdom,  just that word substitution will immediately enable the western mind to better understand the passage as the apostles intended.

The second concept that can help us understand the kingdom, or government of God, is understanding why Matthew uses “Kingdom of Heaven” rather than “Kingdom of God.”  First, Matthew never wrote “Kingdom of Heaven.”  He wrote “Kingdom of Heavens.”  (Use any Bible software, or consult commentaries, and you will see clearly that heaven in the book of Matthew is always plural even though it is translated in English in the singular.)   Now, this did not make sense to the Greek mind and so translators have rendered it “Kingdom of Heaven” in accordance with the Greek concept and model of reality which defined two distinct realities consisting of “heaven” and the physical, or earthly, realm rather than according to the Hebraic understanding of one unified reality consisting of both the heavens and the earth.

So what is the “Kingdom of Heavens”?  This is explained in Genesis 1:1 when we are told that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  God created the heavens as the place of His throne, or His government, and then created the earth as man’s place of government.  The earth then was under the heavens, or subservient, to God’s throne.  This idea is all throughout the Old Testament once you understand what the language means and understand that the word “heaven” is never in the Old Testament as a singular but is always plural.

The Old Testament is filled with consistent references to the heavens as God’s dwelling place and as the seat of all power and authority over the earth.  This was the Jewish, and apostolic, understanding of the universe.  The key is understanding that the Greek idea of “heaven” is foreign to the Jewish mind.  Once you understand the basics of the Jewish concept of “the heavens” the Old Testament becomes much more understandable and the simplicity of the Jewish understanding of the cosmos becomes very apparent when you read the Scriptures.

The Apostolic Proclamation of the Kingdom

Now it is a popular misconception that earth is under satan’s rule until Jesus returns.  This is actually false.  The earth is still completely under the power of the heavens.  This is actually the correct understanding of the sovereignty of God.  The sovereignty of God is not primarily His ability to manipulate events to produce a desired outcome, but rather His present rule over all of creation.  The Bible makes this completely clear in multiple places.  Just a few references that are helpful on this subject are Daniel 4:32, Psalm 103:19, Romans 13:1-2, and 1 Peter 2:13-23.  (Leave a note in the comments if you are struggling to understand the present authority of God and I’ll try to write a post on that topic in the future.)

So we now can understand that “kingdom” is another word for government and “heaven,” or the more accurately “the heavens” is a reference to the throne of that government.  Now notice how Young’s Literal Translation helps us understand this even futher:

And in those days cometh John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens,’ – Matthew 3:1-2 (YLT)

Young’s translation, being literal, makes the text clear.  John was proclaiming the the ruler of the heavens, in other words God Himself, was coming near to them.  Can you see now why the people flocked to John to repent and to cleanse themselves in an act of baptism?  John was not announcing some sort of ethereal or “spiritual” kingdom, but rather was declaring that the ruler from the throne over all creation was coming near among the people.  The ruler of the heavens, the location of God’s throne, was now coming near His people as a man.

If ever anything would drive men to repentance this would be it!  And so it did with the people flocking to John to prepare their hearts for his arrival.  They knew full well how disastrous it was when God appeared to His people in the wilderness during the Exodus so they were now preparing their hearts for His visitation in their day and time.  You can see now also why Matthew used the phrase “Kingdom of the Heavens.”  He was writing to a Jewish audience so that phrase clearly conveyed what he was trying to convey which is that the very ruler of the government of God was among them.  In addition, the Jews would have read “the Heavens” as a euphemism for God since the heavens are His dwelling place.  This would allow Matthew to clearly convey the Kingdom of God to a Jewish audience.

The other writers were targeted on a wider audience than Matthew so they used the phrase the Kingdom of God because the Greeks, and others, did not necessarily have the same understanding as the Jews of the heavens so they, rather than using the euphemism that Matthew used, just plainly used the term the kingdom of God which clearly communicated that they were referencing the very government of God.

And Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus – Acts 17:7 (ESV)

We can see clearly that the apostolic presentation of the gospel continued in this same vein.  They clearly preached the government of God.  In fact, this is one of the major factors in the early persecution of the Christians.  The Jews shared the morality and monotheism of the Christians, but it was the aggressive message of the early apostles of a real and present government over the government of Caesar and the coming of the ruler of that government, Jesus, to shatter all the governments of the earth that caused such an uproar.  The Romans could not tolerate such preaching because they were declaring another kingdom that was going to usurp Rome.

In fact the Greek words used to refer to the preaching of the gospel in the New Testament are the same words that were used of a messenger of Caesar who was delivering Caesar’s decree to the people in remote places.  In other words, the proclamation of the gospel was a governmental decree carried by messengers of God’s government called “apostles,” which simply means “sent ones.”  The apostles were offering the people redemption and forgiveness that they might have right standing with God’s government and be kept safe in the hour when God Himself chose to smash the rebellion of the nations and to move His governmental headquarters from the heavens to the earth.

Can you see now why Paul who write letters encouraging the saints of their citizenship in the kingdom of the heavens and their role as ambassadors of this government?  The early church clearly understood the “Kingdom of God” to be a governmental reality that they were declaring, both as a present reality and as a coming reality in the installment of Jesus as an earthly, as well as in the heavens, king and the destruction of all unrighteous government.  This why the church in Thessalonica, though Paul was only with them a very short time, had been taught eschatology.  Paul simply declared the government of God and the repentance that was necessary before that government destroyed the rebellion of other governments.  The apostolic proclamation of the kingdom was governmental.

This is also why Jesus could say that the kingdom was within us when our hearts were submitted to His government.  The earth at present is in rebellion against His government and is in the delusion that the rebellion is successful.  Those who have repented understand that there is a higher government consisting of a present king that is also coming to destroy the delusion and rebellion on earth.  In their repentance, they now become messengers of this government, carrying the reality of it in their hearts and in their witness.   This coming government, along with the offer of redemption and immorality through the Spirit, is the cornerstone of the apostolic proclamation of the gospel.

Why is the kingdom demonstrated when signs and wonders occur?  It is simple.  Healing and other signs serve two purposes.  First they demonstrate the nature of God’s government.  Satan has deceived man that God is a tyrant who desires to inhibit man from true freedom.  Healing and deliverance oppose that lie by demonstrating the true nature of God’s government.  These signs clearly demonstrate that satan is actually the tyrant and it is God’s government that brings the maximum freedom and pleasure to man.

The second purpose these signs serve is to validate the governmental proclamation of the gospel.  We are to declare a present ruling King as well as a King that is coming.  How are men, under the delusion of the present rebellion, to know that this proclamation is valid?  In order that men might know, God grants signs and wonders as a miraculous testimony that our proclamation is true because they demonstrate an authority beyond that which man, or satan, can exert.

There is much more than can be written on this topic, but this should help to simplify the issue of the “Kingdom of God” or the “Kingdom of Heaven.”  Hopefully you can see that it is much simpler than we have made it out to be.  It is simply God’s present government which also includes a future military action, led by Jesus, in which He will destroy all rebellion and relocate the headquarters of His government from the heavens to the earth.  Many valid insights have been taught over the years, but I fear we have made the kingdom too mystical and not as practical and real as it is.

Let us return to the roots of the faith and the simplicity of the gospel proclamation rather than trying to examine the apostolic proclamation through hundreds of years of philosophy and cultural mindsets that are different from the cultural understanding that Jesus and the apostles preached from.