Kingdom Of God

The Kingdom of God or Reign of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a concept theological dimension eschatological of Judaism and Christianity and, to a lesser extent, of Islam. It takes an older concept of divine kingship found in the ancient Near East.

The concept of the Kingdom of God and the announcement of his coming form the heart of the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth.

Judaism

Judaism former

In ancient Judaism, the development of the concept of the Kingdom of God goes back to the Psalms through which appears the idea of kingship permanent and eternal God of Israel. This is associated with divine kingship Temple - "Palace of God" in the earthly replica of the heavenly sanctuary at the same time as the place of residence of the God-King and his worship on earth.

During the exile in Babylon , augments this initial concept, with the prophet Isaiah , a sense of empowerment by God .

The two expressions "kingdom of God" and "Reign of God," reflect two realities, the first space and the second time, this divine kingship . The Kingdom of God can be understood now as immanent reality, sometimes as a transcendent reality, in a design that varies depending on whether it concerns a spiritual transformation or politics. In order immanent, the kingship of God is sometimes presented as direct, establish, or indirect, to restore : in the latter case, in a less radical than the first, he is expressing politico-religious option consisting mainly in the hope of the coming of a king, "Son of David."

Judaism of ^first century

For Judaism's ^first century , the kingdom belongs to God whose earthly sovereigns are representatives . The Roman occupation was secondary to a sinful state of Israel was to have to do the will of God that is revealed to him or the kingdom. For the Jewish rabbis of that time, there were two stroke - present and future - of the kingdom: that of the present where God reigned in law and that the end times when Israel would be freed from occupation and God's reign de facto , revealing the Kingdom at all .

In the context of this idea of the Kingdom, religious groups are questioning the various political powers in place, Hasmonean , Herodian and Roman. Radical currents as the Zealots lead in hopes of hastening the release of eschatological Israel, a struggle against the Roman army and proclaimed the sovereignty of the Caesars, in a battle they considered a divine command to establish the single reign of God . The various authorities are therefore a dim view this notion of the Kingdom of God, people who claim it and the groups that formed around this idea .

The concept of the Reign / Kingdom of God is linked to the image of the prophet as a spokesman for God. At that time, as evidenced by Flavius Josephus , several charismatic individuals come forward and try to be designated as "new prophets," as the image of Moses , Model "Master" or Elijah , a model of "Judge" . Some part of the politico-religious challenging those in power, like Theudas , which will cause a revolt against Roman rule in 45 and will be beheaded. Others, like John the Baptist belonged to the category of itinerant preachers who offer the forgiveness of sins .

Jesus of Nazareth

For most Jewish contemporaries of Jesus, the coming of the Kingdom had to match the release of the Roman occupation .

John the Baptist , whom Jesus is a disciple free himself before, already preached the coming of the Kingdom of the Jewish people and probably beyond. Baptized for the remission of sins in the name of the imminent arrival of the Kingdom .

Jesus of Nazareth - whose preaching is part of the Judaism of his time - replaces the Kingdom of God in the Temple cult in a message to a universal content. It does not define this notion of the kingdom which is obvious in ancient Judaism. If the idea takes rabbinic kingdom, it differs in one dimension prophetic explaining that not only the end times is imminent, but also that the new era of redemption has already begun . Thus, it literally opens the Kingdom whose coming is seen as imminent following a dialectic of "already" and "not yet" which pre-exists in Judaism .

The concept of kingdom is the subject of many parables in his preaching and miracles that it operates to want the witness to the Kingdom already present . One can also think that Jesus made his death the condition of the coming kingdom .

Christianity

The passages in the Gospels where Jesus speaks of God's kingdom are many .

Seeking the Kingdom of God is inseparable from a certain vision of the future :

"He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. "(Lk 9, 62)

Jesus associates the image of the fig tree in bud in the coming kingdom of God.

References

Bibliography

• Christian Bunch, The Kingdom of God before, and with AD, ed. Labor et Fides / The World of the Bible, 2001

See also

Internal Links

• Jewish eschatology
• Judgement Day
• Apocalypse
• Parousia

• Portal of Jewish culture and Judaism
• Christianity portal
• Islam Portal

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