What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
soberxp
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2018 8:59 pm
Location: china

Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

Post by soberxp »

mat

22:1
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:

22:2
"The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

22:3
He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

22:4
"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

22:5
"But they paid no attention and went off--one to his field, another to his business.


when i said to people , you should believe in god,I used a lot of ways, people often told me "god can give me what? " "I have business" "I don't trust in god" etc .i have seen these situation as the parable。too bad so sad.

http://www.earlywritings.com/forum/view ... f=3&t=4109
Garon
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:33 am

Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

Post by Garon »

God is the councilor of his council (kingdom). God is an amoral councilor of the Universe, who lets it's sun shine and rain fall on everyone. Logos, greek word translated as word, really means mental faculty or mind energy. Which purpose is To Balance the universe. When you are in balance you are without disease. Christianity does not teach, "The Kingdom of God" as Jesus did. Christianity teaches the "Cross" and "Sin." Jesus' God does not judge sinners because it doesn't see any. "Lets it's sun shine and rain fall on everyone" without repentance for "sins."
Sin or mistakes has their own penalties. Jesus God isn't involved. Take the correct road and stay out of trouble. Take the incorrect road and you have Mental Torment, AKA Hell in your life and on earth. That's why "God" is always pictured as an old man with white hair, to depict wisdom ruling the earth. Your own Mind teaches you balance when you listen. No God can.
John2
Posts: 4309
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 4:42 pm

Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

Post by John2 »

Stefan Kristensen wrote: Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:40 am
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven
(Matt 5:18-19)

Apparantly heaven and earth will "pass away/pass by" (παρελθη). Matthew also has the saying that the resurrected will be like the angels, i.e. non-fleshly (not able to reproduce like humans, 22:30).

gMatthew has:
33 times: "Kingdom of heaven"
4 times: "Kingdom of God"
4 times: "the Kingdom"
1 time: the kingdom of "the son of man" (16:28)
3 times: the kingdom of the father (6:10, 13:43, 26:29)

There have been many suggestions why Matthew chooses to use the term kingdom of "heaven". It could refer to the future kingdom, while "Kingdom of God" then refers to the present Christian community. And the 'kingdom of the son' is different from 'the kingdom of God/the father', while 'the kingdom of heaven' covers both.

I think the reason he chooses this term is because of the strange double nature of the Christian eschatology: The new order, i.e. the kingdom of God, is to be fully established after the great judgement and resurrection etc. and this will entail a change in nature of the earth and the humans. But this change has already begun to take place, i.e. with the Christians beliving in Christ, having received the spirit. Jesus rules already now from heaven, among the believers, so this is the kingdom in its build-up. Like a field of grain growing before the harvest.

But I think that the kingdom will change, according to Matthew, when it will be fully established (the 'harvest' time), and that's why he chooses the term 'kingdom of heaven': it can cover both stages. It is simply a stylistic term that means the Kingdom of God, at first managed by Jesus (the present), but soon enough by God himself. The point is, it is the rule of heaven. So the term should be read just like "the kingdom of God" in the other Gospels, I believe.
I think all the "kingdoms" are the same. For example, gmx pointed out upthread how Mt. 4:17 changes "kingdom of God" in Mk. 1:15 to "kingdom of heaven," so those expressions were apparently the same for Matthew, and in my view the same goes for the kingdom of the "son of man." Take Hegesippus for example. He calls Jesus the "son of man" in EH 2.23.13 and mentions only one kingdom in EH 3.20.6:
And he answered with a loud voice, 'Why do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself sits in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come upon the clouds of heaven.'
And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every one according to his works.


To me this is in keeping with what Jesus says in Mt. 16:17:
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
And with Rev. 21:1-8:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
You know in spite of all you gained, you still have to stand out in the pouring rain.
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