What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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John2 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:07 pm Ben wrote:
Do you think that Paul has Torah observance in mind when he refers to the kingdom of God?
No way, Jose. This (in my view) is what made him so disliked by at least some Jewish Christians (and surely the kind who used Matthew).
I think that Torah observance is second tier to the real idea behind the kingdom of God/heaven, which is simply that God, as the sovereign of Israel, must rule in order for justice to finally prevail. Israel/Judah languishing under the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans just will not cut it; God has to reign supreme, and not through one of those foreign powers. No, God must rule on his own merits; Israel must be a free country, possibly even the seat of its own empire; and only approved surrogates must rule over Israel in God's name (Aaronid priests and a Davidic king/messiah are the main candidates for the job).

If God rules, then of course what God says goes, and for many/most Jews that would be the Torah. But the cart cannot come before the horse. Torah observance is the effect, not the cause, of the kingdom of God being enacted on earth.

Other ideas which go along with the kingdom of God are, for example, the reconstitution of the nation of Israel in its own land and, as an accompaniment to that, the resurrection from the dead, on the grounds that it is only just for the nation's faithful forebears to participate in the kingdom of God.

Another term for the kingdom of God, essentially, is "the age to come," the age during which all wrongs will be righted and justice will prevail.
gmx wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:14 pm Is the kingdom of heaven the same as the kingdom of God? Synoptic parallels to Mark 1:15 would indicate that is the case?

Why does Matthew alone alter the phrase?
Synoptic parallels all over the place would indicate that Matthew often substitutes heaven for God in this phrase: Matthew 5.3 = Luke 6.20; Matthew 8.11 = Luke 13.28; Matthew 11.11 = Luke 7.28; Matthew 11.12 = Luke 16.16; Matthew 13.11 = Mark 4.11 = Luke 8.10; Matthew 11.24 = Mark 4.26; Matthew 13.31 = Mark 4.30 = Luke 13.18; Matthew 13.33 = Luke 13.20; Matthew 19.14 = Mark 10.14 = Luke 18.16; Matthew 19.23 = Mark 10.23 = Luke 18.24; Matthew 22.1 = Luke 14.15 (?).

A customary explanation is that periphrastic expressions were often used for God out of respect. But it is not as if Matthew avoids the term "God" or anything, not even in this expression: refer to Matthew 12.28; 19.24; 21.31, 43. So it may just be a preference.
Last edited by Ben C. Smith on Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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I deleted my brief comment wondering why (along with gmx) Matthew says kingdom of "heaven" instead of "God" since Ben responded to that question.

Ben also wrote (after a good explication of the Kingdom):
If God rules, then of course what God says goes, and for many/most Jews that would be the Torah. But the cart cannot come before the horse. Torah observance is the effect, not the cause, of the kingdom of God being enacted on earth.


This makes me wonder. Why do I have the impression/gut feeling/hunch that it could be the other way around, that observing the Torah is what causes the KIngdom of Heaven? I feel like I've seen this idea somewhere, but maybe I'm wrong.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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John2 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:35 pmDoes Jesus (or any Jewish Christian writing) foresee a "rapture" to heaven, or is it only in Paul?
I do not think that even Paul imagines a rapture to heaven:

Colin R. Nicholl, From Hope to Despair in Thessalonica: Situating 1 and 2 Thessalonians, pages 43-44: As Peterson demonstrated at some length, ἀπάντησις was often used in Greek papyri, epigraphs and literary texts in a technical sense of an important dignitary’s reception (Einholung) by the inhabitants of a city, who come out of the city to greet and welcome in their honoured guest with much attendant fanfare and celebration. In the case of 1 Thess. 4:16–17a, ἀπάντησις would conjure up a picture of the dead and living leaving their polis, the earth, to form a reception party to welcome their Lord. This proposal is compelling. This technical usage of ἀπάντησις/ὑπάντησις is found elsewhere in the New Testament in Matt. 25:1, 6; John 12:13; and Acts 28:15. That this technical sense of ἀπάντησις applies in the case of 1 Thess. 4:16–17a can hardly be doubted in view of close correspondences between verses 16–17a and secular Einholungen, especially the presentation of the Lord as a particularly important figure, as demonstrated by the αὐτός. Some in the first centuries of the church seem to have read ἀπάντησις in this way, most notably Chrysostom and the copyist(s) responsible for the ὑπάντησις variant reading of manuscripts D∗, F and G. Certainly it would have been difficult for the original Greek readers not to read ἀπάντησις according to its technical usage, especially where Jesus is being presented as κύριος, an imperial title, and his coming as his παρουσία, a title for a dignitary’s official visit to a city in his jurisdiction. Moreover, it is more likely that the direction of the saints would conform to the direction of their Lord than the converse. Further, since the context (esp. verse 15b) confirms that verses 16–17a refer to the ‘parousia’ and since the παρουσία in eschatological contexts in the New Testament is frequently used as a technical term for Jesus’ future coming to earth, it seems preferable to understand the next movement as downward.

Cicero, Letters to Atticus 8.16[.1]: See how they are rushing to meet Caesar, and parading their loyalty to him! Why, the country towns are offering him prayers as though he were a god, and not sham ones, as those offered on behalf of the other when he was ill. But the simple fact is that whatever mischief this Pisistratus abstains from doing is as much a subject for gratitude as if he had prevented some one else from doing it. They hope the one will be lenient; they believe the other to be enraged. What processions do you suppose there to be from the towns [quos fieri censes ἀπαντήσεις ex oppidis], and what honors!

Cicero, Letters to Atticus 16.11.6: The municipal towns show astonishing enthusiasm for the boy. For instance, on his way into Samnium he came to Cales and stopped at Teanum. There was a wonderful procession to meet him, and loud expressions of encouragement [mirifica ἀπάντησις et cohortatio].

Josephus, Wars 7.5.2 §100: But when the people of Antioch were informed that Titus was approaching, they were so glad at it, that they could not keep within their walls, but hasted away to give him the meeting [ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπάντησιν].

1 Thessalonians 4.17: 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet [א, A, B: εἰς ἀπάντησιν; D, F, G: εἰς ὑπάντησιν] the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Basically, the ἀπάντησις or ὑπάντησις was the procession that the citizens of a city would make out to greet a visiting dignitary and escort him into the city.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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John2 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:47 pmThis makes me wonder. Why do I have the impression/gut feeling/hunch that it could be the other way around, that observing the Torah is what causes the KIngdom of Heaven? I feel like I've seen this idea somewhere, but maybe I'm wrong.
Someone somewhere may have been of the opinion that the kingdom would not come until Torah observance was all it should be. But that is not the point; what I am saying is that the kingdom of God is simply the rule of God. The Torah is involved on the condition that it is God's will; God is not there on any condition that the Torah must somehow involve him. What counts is that God is (finally) completely in charge.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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Ben wrote:
Other ideas which go along with the kingdom of God are, for example, the reconstitution of the nation of Israel in its own land and, as an accompaniment to that, the resurrection from the dead, on the grounds that it is only just for the nation's faithful forebears to participate in the kingdom of God.

Another term for the kingdom of God, essentially, is "the age to come," the age during which all wrongs will be righted and justice will prevail.
Regarding the resurrection, do you think Jesus is saying that the resurrected will live on earth (and observe the Torah along with everyone else in the "Kingdom of Heaven," excepting marriage) in Mk. 12:24-27?
Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
I could need to revisit the "world to come" idea in Judaism too.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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Ben wrote:
I do not think that even Paul imagines a rapture to heaven ...
Oh, that would simplify everything, then. Cool.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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John2 wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:54 pmRegarding the resurrection, do you think Jesus is saying that the resurrected will live on earth... in Mk. 12:24-27?
Basically, yes.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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John, I highly recommend N. T. Wright for his book-length summary of Jewish beliefs and practices as they relate to Jesus and the early Christian church: https://books.google.com/books?id=YJ1aR ... 22&f=false. Wright is one of the most naïve theologians in the business when it comes to assuming that the historical Jesus did or said this or that, but his expositions of Jewish and Christian theology are very frequently excellent, IMHO. At the very least, this book will give you a great overview of the primary texts (not to mention a fair many secondary texts) involved in reconstructing the beliefs and practices of the period.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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I will check out that book, Ben. Thank you.

And if I don't have to worry about the "rapture" to heaven, then it seems clear to me now. Thanks to Daniel (which I see as being written during the Maccabean era), the Kingdom of Heaven was seen to be like Zech. 14:16-21, with resurrected dead people.
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Re: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

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And I how could I forget good ol' (in my view) Hegesippus? This is how he describes the "kingdom" in EH 3.20.6:
And when they [the grandsons of Jesus' brother Jude] 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.
Hm. The kingdom isn't "earthly" here, but rather "heavenly and angelic" (I reckon since some Jewish Christians are said to have believed that Jesus was an angel), but at the same time Jesus' judgment of the living and the dead seems to nevertheless take place on earth, and there is no "rapture" to heaven (and note the emphasis on "works," which I take as a reference to Torah observance). It is like you are saying above, Ben, and "heaven" appears to come down to earth here.
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