Te Kingdom of God / Kingdom of Heaven:

A Bible Study Guide

Rev. Canon Mark E. Rudolph
August 4, 2014
Abstract
What is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven? Why are these
phrases used so ofen? How did the disciples understand these phrases?
Regarding these and related questions, notes and references are given and a
method for study is suggested. Not all implications and conclusions are expressed
in this document. Te facilitator will have to do his/her own preparation and
planning before using this study, in order to determine the extent of the study for
their context.
With deep Christian afection, I dedicate these notes to the most well-read, mature,
thoughtful, provocative, patient, tenacious, and fun group of guys Ive ever had the
pleasure to know and serve the Tursday Morning Bible Study!
Contents
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Origin Of Tis Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Why is this an interesting question? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Notes And References 4
2.1 Uses of Kingdom in the Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Uses in the Gospels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3 Uses in Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.4 Uses in the Pauline Epistles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.5 Uses in the Catholic Epistles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.6 Uses in the Book of the Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 A Suggested Method For Study 6
3.1 General Toughts For Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2 Study Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4 What is the Kingdom of God? A Tentative Defnition 8
4.1 Extensive Defnition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2 Summary Defnition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1
5 Tis Is Te Song Tat Never Ends 9
6 Indices 10
6.1 Index Of Referenced Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6.2 Index Of Referenced Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7 Notes On Te Kingdom of God / Heaven 13
2
1 Introduction
To these He also presented Himself alive afer His sufering, by many
convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and
speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. (Acts 1.3)
1.1 Origin Of Tis Study
Tese notes outline a Bible study conducted with the Tursday morning Bible study
group of St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in suburban Philadelphia. Initially
prompted by the groups study of the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the phrase the
kingdom of God in chapter I, verse 3 prompted us to begin asking questions about
what that meant, to what Jesus might have been referring, and so on.
Intended to be a short excursus in the context of the study of Acts, our litle rabbit
trail (the rabbits for which, we all agree, we bred ourselves) ended up being a three
month hunt and one of the beter remembered and appreciated studies that excellent
group has done!
1
Not all implications and conclusions are expressed in this document. In fact, a
thorough work on this topic would be a major efort and a Meisterwerk of biblical
theology.
Nevertheless, I should quickly point out that this study need not take 3+ months!
Notes and references are given and a method for study is suggested and one could
conclude this study over the course four weeks though this would require home-
work for the study group. Te facilitator will have to do his/her own preparation and
planning before using this study, in order to determine the extent of the study for their
context.
1.2 Why is this an interesting question?
Tere was an inherent assumption in the early uses of the phrases kingdom of God/
heaven, both in John the Baptizers and in Jesus preaching (e.g., Mathew 3.2 &
4.17). Te assumption was that those who heard the phrases kingdom of God or the
kingdom of heaven would have understood that to which the speaker was referring.
Tis same assumption continues in Acts 1.3. Terefore, at least three questions arise.
1. What did the people understand when they hear these phrases?
2. What is/are the kingdom of God/kingdom of heaven?
3. And what does these things tell us about the gospel of the kingdom?
A review of the texts of Scripture from both Old and New Testaments demonstrates
that the idea of kingdom becomes increasingly specialized. Initially, a kingdom is an
individual ruler, or a dynastic city-state. As the meaning and use evolves, kingdoms
1
Tankfully, we did not give heed to the warnings about the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. We sallied
forth against said beast of nasty, big, pointy teeth and a vicious streak a mile wide, and did slay it most
thoroughly.
3
become larger realms. Ultimately, one sees the idea of a kingdom as referring to a
spiritual realm.
Te following is an outline of the multiple ways in which the phrases are used.
2 Notes And References
2.1 Uses of Kingdom in the Old Testament
1. Sauls kingdom in Israel: 1 Samuel 13.1314 (also similarly used regarding
Solomon, 1 Kings 2.12; and Jehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles 20.30, among many oth-
ers.).
(a) Personal sovereignty and authority are virtually identical with the sove-
reignty and authority of the city-state; i.e., kingdom and individual were
bound together.
(b) See also the nations over whose boundaries Israel would cross in the Exodus
(Deuteronomy 3.21): in this case, city-states and ethnic regions.
2. Gods sovereignty within Israel, 2 Chronicles 13.8: in which Abijah of the south-
ern kingdom of Judah fghts against wicked Jeroboam in the northern kingdom
of Israel.
3. Idols of city-states as kings over that city-state and God represented by Sen-
nacharib as the god of Israel only (2 Chronicles 32.918), rather than the God of
the whole earth. Te idea that there was a god over all gods, or that this God
could be such a god, was not part of his thinking. Tis is an introduction of a
spiritual aspect to the idea of a kingdom, i.e., a kingdom of the gods.
4. Purely spiritual kingdom in view
(a) Psalm 45.6.
(b) See Daniel 7.27 regarding Gods eternal kingdom.
2.2 Uses in the Gospels
1. Kingdom of heaven (only used by Mathew): Mathew 3.2; 4.17; 5.3, 10, 19f; 7.21;
8.11; 10.7; 11.11f; 13.11, 24, 31, 33, 44f, 47, 52; 16.19; 18.1, 3f, 23; 19.12, 14, 23; 20.1;
22.2; 23.13; 25.1.
2. Kingdom of God
(a) Mathew 12.28; 19.24; 21.31, 43.
(b) Mark 1.15; 4.11, 26, 30; 9.1, 47; 10.14f, 23f; 12.34; 14.25; 15.43.
(c) Luke 4.43; 6.20; 7.28; 8.1, 10; 9.2, 11, 27, 60, 62; 10.9, 11; 11.20; 13.18, 20, 28f;
14.15; 16.16; 17.20f; 18.16f, 24f, 29; 19.11; 21.31; 22.16, 18; 23.51.
(d) John 3.3, 5, 18.36.
4
3. Kingdom of heaven / God used interchangeably (e.g., Mathew 19.1624).
(a) Fathers kingdom: Mathew 6.10, 33, 13.4143, Luke 11.2.
(b) Te Sons kingdom interchangeable with the Fathers? Mathew 16.28,
20.21, 26.29, Luke 1.33, 22.2930, 23.42, John 18.36.
4. Natural / adopted children of the kingdom: Mathew 8.1112, 13.38.
5. Gospel of the kingdom: Mathew 4.23; 9.35; 24.14; Luke 16.16.
6. Word of the kingdom: Mathew 13.19.
7. Keys of the kingdom: Mathew 16.19, with parallels in Mathew 18.18 and John
20.23.
8. Kingdom of God by inference: Mathew 12.2528, 25.34, Mark 3.24, 11.10, Luke
11.1720, 12.3132.
9. Parables of the kingdom: Mathew 13.3 f., Luke 19.1127.
2.3 Uses in Acts
1. Act 1.38: Jesus talks about the kingdom of God. Does this relate to what Jesus
said in Luke 24.4647?
2. Act 8.12: Philip preaches the good news of the kingdom of God: go back to 8.5
and youll see that he was proclaiming Christ.
3. Act 14.2122: Afer Paul is stoned in Lystra, he preaches that through many
tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
4. Act 19.8: Paul reasoning in the synagogue in Ephesians about the kingdom of
God. How would the Jews familiar with the phrase from its Old Testament
use have understood Pauls use of it?
5. Act 20.2425: gospel and kingdom identifed with each other.
6. Act 28.23 & 31: Paul in Rome teaching about the kingdom and about Jesus.
2.4 Uses in the Pauline Epistles
1. Kingdom of God: Romans 14.17; 1 Corinthians 4.20; 6.9f; 15.24, 50; Galatians
5.21; Ephesians 5.5; Colossians 4.11; 1 Tessalonians 2.12; 2 Tessalonians 1.5; 2
Timothy 4.1.
2. Kingdom of heaven: 2 Timothy 4.18.
3. Kingdom of the son: Colossians 1.13, 2 Timothy 4.1, 18, Hebrews 1.8.
4. Kingdom of the Father: 1 Tessalonians 2.12.
5. Kingdom of Christ and the Father: 1 Corinthians 15.24, Ephesians 5.5, Hebrews
12.28.
5
2.5 Uses in the Catholic Epistles
1. Kingdom of heaven: 0 x.
2. Kingdom of God: James 2.5.
3. Kingdom of the Lord Jesus: 2 Peter 1.11.
2.6 Uses in the Book of the Revelation
1. Kingdom of heaven: 0 x.
2. Kingdom of Christ: Revelation 1.6, 9, 11.15.
3. Kingdom of the Lamb: Revelation 5.10.
4. Kingdom of God, authority of Christ: Revelation 12.10.
3 A Suggested Method For Study
3.1 General Toughts For Preparation
It must be emphasized that this study demands more of both the group and the
facilitator than is typical.
It requires more of the group, because this study purposely expects the tenacity
needed to look at every text and its context, in order patiently to derive a holistic view
of the topic mater.
It requires more of the facilitator, because some basic knowledge is assumed. It
is not necessary for the facilitator to already have a fully developed theology of the
kingdom of God. Te facilitator can discover that along with the group.
But here are a few things that the facilitator should know and be able to do.
Te facilitator does not have the luxury of jumping to conclusions. Te facilitator
should be able to keep situational awareness of the material already covered,
so that the composite picture becomes clearer, not muddier.
Some knowledge about the doctrine of the covenant will be tremendously helpful,
if not necessary. Tis is partially because the doctrine of the covenant will begin
to bubble to the top of the subject mater, the deeper the group explores. More
importantly, the study assumes a covenantal hermeneutic. Tis study actually
has very litle purpose, if one does not hold to the essential unity of Scripture
from front to back, Old Testament and New Testament.
At the beginning of the study, it will be helpful to know a litle about city-state
political and economic systems, as well as Near Eastern history.
2
Expertise isnt
necessary. A few hours on Wikipedia should probably do.
3
2
Looking up the relevant Old Testament texts in this document and researching the names and people
groups mentioned will probably sufce.
3
Gasp! Yes! Wikipedia! Try it; youll like it. If youre an academic, its time to admit that Wikipedia is,
loosely speaking, a peer-reviewed academic resource on a massive scale.
6
Finally, if the facilitator is like this author namely, someone who dislikes being
caught fat-footed being at least one sessions worth of material ahead of the
group will pay of handsomely.
3.2 Study Method
Now, lets get to the core of the study method I have used.
1. First, begin with the question, why is this an interesting study? Note that John
and Jesus have made assumptions about the meaning of the kingdom, because
virtually nothing is said about its meaning in their frst sermons. Tey simply
assumed that there was good news
4
in their preaching about the kingdom.
2. Second, note that kingdom in the Old Testament has several meanings. Tose
meanings evolve.
(a) From the very localized individual sovereigns (e.g., the listing of kings in
Genesis 14.810,
(b) to city-state dynasties of the ancient Near East (as in 1 Samuel 12),
(c) to something more universally understood (regions of authority, ofen
connected with regional gods, as in 2 Chronicles 32),
(d) to the most universal meaning of a spiritual realm superseding all other
realms, as in Psalm 45 or Daniel 7.
3. Tird, once this background information has been covered, the class needs to
do the work. Here, the nature and tempo of the study will change signifcantly,
slowing down to cover each text and its context, verse by verse.
(a) Tell them that they are going to look at many diferent texts and its their
job to discover for themselves the meaning of the various phrases.
(b) Starting at this point, I found it helpful to cover every verse in this study,
one by one.
(c) Use the gospels to create a basic defnition; and then use the remainder of
the New Testament texts to refne the defnition.
(d) I required the class to make notes as they went along and to keep track
of those notes throughout the study. I provided a study sheet for them
entitled Notes regarding the Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, and
Gospel of the Kingdom. Under the title, I put an initial sentence at the
top of the paper reading: Defnition: Te kingdom of God is that realm
where . . . (see section 7, page 13 for sample).
(e) Among the questions I gave them to keep in mind were these.
5
4
Dont forget that gospel is the translation of the Greek word euanggelion, which means good news.
5
Tese questions are provocative enough that a thoughtful group will come up with all sorts of implica-
tions and corollary questions. For example, if Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom, why dont we
hear the gospel preached that way today?
7
i. Are the phrases kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven the same
in meaning, or diferent?
ii. What exactly do these phrases mean? I used this goal: By the end of
this study, I want us to have a one paragraph defnition of the kingdom
of God/Heaven.
iii. All along the way, be asking yourself and your hearers: how did this
text change, or afect the apostles and disciples relationship to the
world around them?
iv. Also, what implications do these concepts have for our understanding
of the church, the family, the sacraments, our relationship to civil
authorities, and other realms of life?
v. What is the gospel of the kingdom?
4 What is the Kingdom of God? A Tentative Defni-
tion
As was noted at the outset, it is the job of the entire Bible study to contribute to the
meaning of the phrase Kingdom of God/Kingom of Heaven. However, you may
fnd the following extensive and summary defnitions helpful as benchmarks for your
study.
4.1 Extensive Defnition
1. Te kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal sovereign God over all creatures
and things.
2. Te kingdom of God is the designation for the sphere of salvation entered into
at the new birth.
3. Te kingdom of God is synonymous with the kingdom of heaven.
4. Te kingdom of God embraces all created intelligence, both in heaven and earth
that are willingly subject to the Lord and are in fellowship with Him. Te
kingdom of God is therefore universal, including angels and men.
5. It is eternal, as God is eternal.
6. It is spiritual found within all believers.
7. We enter the kingdom of God when we are born again and we are then part of
that kingdom for eternity.
8. It is a relationship born of the spirit and we have confdent assurance that it is
so because the Spirit bears witness with our spirits.
9. Tat portion of creation that is not subjected to God will be destroyed. Tat is,
only that which is part of the kingdom of God will remain.
8
4.2 Summary Defnition
Te kingdom of God/Heaven is . . .
1. Tat realm in created time where there is the interpenetration of the Triune
Gods sovereignty with the kingdom of this world and until the subsuming
of all things under that authority where the kingdom of this world also
interpenetrates the kingdom of God.
2. It is that realm outside created time, afer Christs return, in which the rule of
the Triune God is fully seen, whereby a) Christ Jesus, b) with the authority of
the Father, is ruler and sovereign, and whereunto, c) we sealed by the Spirit of
Holiness as Gods subjects forever.
5 Tis Is Te Song Tat Never Ends
I hope that this study is clear and helpful as a beginning! I know that this topic is
actually the gateway to an enormous biblical-theological realm and could cover large
areas of thought and application.
In any event, any suggestions you might have about how to make these notes
clearer and more helpful are welcome.
Te Rev. Canon Mark E. Rudolph
Rector, St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church
Willow Grove, PA
215-396-1970
mark@toknowchrist.org
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6 Indices
6.1 Index Of Referenced Texts
Please note that these texts are in alphabetical order, not numeric order. Tis means
that 3 follows 26 and 12 follows 13.1314.
6.1.1 Genesis
14.810, 7
6.1.2 Deuteronomy
3.21, 4
6.1.3 1 Samuel
13.1314, 4
12, 7
6.1.4 1 Kings
2.12, 4
6.1.5 2 Chronicles
13.8, 4
20.30, 4
32.918, 4
6.1.6 Psalms
45.6, 4
45, 7
6.1.7 Daniel
7.27, 4
7, 7
6.1.8 Matthew
10.7, 4
11.11f, 4
12.2528, 5
12.28, 4
13.11, 4
13.19, 5
13.24, 4
13.3 f., 5
13.31, 4
13.33, 4
13.38, 5
13.4143, 5
13.44f, 4
13.47, 4
13.52, 4
16.19, 4, 5
16.28, 5
18.1, 4
18.18, 5
18.23, 4
18.3f, 4
19.12, 4
19.14, 4
19.1624, 5
19.23, 4
19.24, 4
20.1, 4
20.21, 5
21.31, 4
21.43, 4
22.2, 4
23.13, 4
24.14, 5
25.1, 4
25.34, 5
26.29, 5
3.2, 3, 4
4.17, 3, 4
4.23, 5
5.10, 4
5.19f, 4
5.3, 4
6.10, 5
10
6.33, 5
7.21, 4
8.11, 4
8.1112, 5
9.35, 5
6.1.9 Mark
1.15, 4
10.14f, 4
11.10, 5
12.34, 4
14.25, 4
15.43, 4
23f, 4
3.24, 5
4.11, 4
4.26, 4
4.30, 4
9.1, 4
9.47, 4
6.1.10 Luke
1.33, 5
10.11, 4
10.9, 4
11.1720, 5
11.2, 5
11.20, 4
12.3132, 5
13.18, 4
13.20, 4
13.28f, 4
14.15, 4
16.16, 4, 5
17.20f, 4
18.16f, 4
18.24f, 4
18.29, 4
19.11, 4
19.1127, 5
21.31, 4
22.16, 4
22.18, 4
22.2930, 5
23.42, 5
23.51, 4
24.4647, 5
4.43, 4
6.20, 4
7.28, 4
8.1, 4
8.10, 4
9.11, 4
9.2, 4
9.27, 4
9.60, 4
9.62, 4
6.1.11 Acts
1.3, 3
1.38, 5
14.2122, 5
19.8, 5
20.2425, 5
28.23, 5
28.31, 5
8.12, 5
8.5, 5
6.1.12 Romans
14.17, 5
6.1.13 1 Corinthians
15.24, 5
15.50, 5
4.20, 5
6.9f, 5
6.1.14 Galatians
15.50, 5
6.1.15 Ephesians
5.5, 5
11
6.1.16 Colossians
1.13, 5
4.11, 5
6.1.17 1 Tessalonians
2.12, 5
6.1.18 2 Tessalonians
1.5, 5
6.1.19 2 Timothy
4.1, 5
4.18, 5
6.1.20 Hebrews
1.8, 5
12.28, 5
6.1.21 James
2.5, 6
6.1.22 2 Peter
1.11, 6
6.1.23 Revelation
1.6, 6
1.9, 6
11.15, 6
12.10, 6
5.10, 6
6.2 Index Of Referenced Terms
6.2.1 Index
Abijah, 4
church, 8
city-state, 3, 4, 7
civil authority, 8
family, 8
idols, 4
Israel, 4
Jehoshaphat, 4
Jeroboam, 4
sacraments, 8
Saul, 4
Sennacharib, 4
Solomon, 4
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7 Notes On Te Kingdom of God / Heaven
Over the course of this study, we are working to complete following thought, Te
kingdom of God is that realm where . . .