The phrase, “Kingdom of Heaven,” occurs 31 times
in Matthew. (It doesn’t occur anywhere else in the Bible.) The natural tendency
is to suppose that Jesus was talking about life after death.
Actually, says [N. T.] Wright, Jesus was talking about this life.
This phrase is related to another common one: Matthew 6:10 “Let your Kingdom
come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so
on earth.” (This is part of the Lord’s Prayer.)
The Wikipedia has an article
on the Kingdom of God, and it says that Matthew uses Kingdom of Heaven instead
of Kingdom of God, but that they are equivalent. As to the meaning of the
phrase, this is what the Wikipedia says:
No overall agreement on the theological
interpretation of "Kingdom of God" has emerged among scholars. . . .
Some scholars have interpreted it as a Christian lifestyle, some as a method of
world evangelization, some as the rediscovery of charismatic gifts, others
relate it to no present or future situation, but the world to come, often based
on the theological leanings of the scholar in question
Mark 9:1 He said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, there
are some standing here who will in no way taste death until they see God’s
Kingdom come with power.”
That uses a phrase close to “Kingdom of Heaven,” or “Kingdom
of God.” It is possible that Jesus was deceived, or knowingly made a false
statement, here. It is also possible that He was talking about the
resurrection. But a literal reading agrees with Wright – He was talking about
His Kingdom on earth, which He established, and which Kingdom was strengthened,
and placed on a firm foundation, when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. Except
for Judas, all of the Twelve saw the arrival of God’s Kingdom, in this way,
with power. So did many others.
The above material is an excerpt from my self-published e-book, Does the Bible Really Say That?, which may be obtained free of charge, or purchased from Amazon for $0.99, which is the lowest price Amazon lets an author set. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.
The previous post in this series, on the topic of the idea of going to heaven, is here. God willing, the next post in this series will continue with a related topic. Thanks for reading.
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