The Bible in Context
Is the kingdom of God created or uncreated? The book of Hebrews says: At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what … Read more
First century Jews were expecting something big to happen. We see this in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth: Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. (Lk 2:25 NIV) There was also a prophet, Anna, … Read more
The kingdom of God is one of the primary themes of the Bible. Jesus talked about it at the start, middle, and end of his earthly ministry. Since I have already given an overview of the kingdom in a previous post, in this post I will highlight three passages that show the heavenly nature of … Read more
The kingdom of God is one of the most exciting and intriguing topics in the Bible. My previous post focused on the “kingdom of heaven” in Matthew. Since Matthew’s “kingdom of heaven” is synonymous with the “kingdom of God,” I thought it would be best to include the remaining New Testament references to God’s kingdom … Read more
The Gospel of Matthew has a special emphasis on the kingdom of God, which he usually calls “the kingdom of heaven.” What do we know about this kingdom? Nature Joyful: a huge feast (8:11) and the place where Jesus will drink new wine with his disciples (26:29) Pure: at the end of the age a … Read more