From the religious perspective, especially Christianity and Judaism in their different versions, the concept of the Kingdom of God is an idea that expresses the eternity of God. At the same time, it refers to the place where God dwells, the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, it also means the power of God over the world.
The concept of the Kingdom of God is eminently spiritual, since it cannot be compared to any kingdom of humanity. In other words, the Kingdom of God is used to communicate the presence of the Creator among men. It must be remembered that in the prayer of the Our Father mention is made of the desire of Christians for the kingdom of God to come to earth (“your Kingdom come, your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven”). In other words, the Our Father is a request to the Creator to bring his goodness to our world, a goodness that already dwells in heaven.
Considerations on the Kingdom of God
Theologians and scholars of the sacred texts contribute several reflections in relation to the concept that we are analyzing. In the first place, they indicate that the term Kingdom comes from the Greek word Basileia, which means power or maximum authority. In this way, the Kingdom of God remembers that there is a Creator who has the highest authority, for he is the Almighty.
On the other hand, it is appreciated that there is a singularity in the concept, since there is a Kingdom of God but it is invisible to humans. The perception of it belongs to the order of faith and it would not make sense to understand it from rationality.
Judaism expresses the idea that the Kingdom of God will come true one day, which means that it will be visible and for all men.
Believers must aspire to be part of the Kingdom of God and to achieve this the first step is to submit to his power in a humble way and through faith in Jesus Christ in the case of Christians.
In the Bible there are several mentions of the Kingdom of God. Thus, the prophets remember that when the Kingdom of God arrives, a government will be created that will last forever and will govern all men equally. When this happens, human governments will disappear (as detailed in Daniel’s prophecy). Finally, when the Kingdom of God is imposed among men, human suffering in all its manifestations will cease to exist.
The concept of the Kingdom of God is subject to permanent debate by scholars of sacred texts. Questions are raised about the difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God or doubts about how Christians have to incorporate into their lives the message of Jesus Christ regarding the Kingdom of God.
Photos: iStock – grace21 / Horst Gerlach
Following