A Study of the Changes in the Concept of Kingdom of God in the Bible
Subject Areas : Christianity
Hossein Heidari
1
(استادیار دانشگاه کاشان، گروه ادیان و عرفان، کاشان، ایران)
Muhammad Aqajani
2
(کارشناسی ارشد دانشگاه کاشان، رشته ادیان و عرفان، کاشان، ایران)
Keywords: Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus Christ, the Devil, the Bible,
Abstract :
In his teachings and words, Jesus frequently promised early advent of God’s kingdom. However, from the outset of his call, both his followers and opponents couldn’t get the exact meaning of this expression. So, they interpreted it as a political-social concept. When speaking about kingdom of God, Jesus tried to apply metaphors in order to teach this significant notion to his people. Nonetheless, his opponents employed such statements to charge him with leading a riot against Romans in order to gain power. Applying semantic approach, the present study attempts to investigate the background of the notion of kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven) in the Old and New Testaments. Then, Gnostic teachings about evil, the governance of devil in the current world, the positive role of wisdom in saving man, and the duality of matter and spirit are notified. The findings indicate that the term kingdom of God in Jesus’s words refers to God’s governance in the universe. It is found that Jesus is chosen as a prophet in order to promise kingdom of god and provide the situation for absolute kingdom and kingship of God on earth, as it appears to be in the heaven. At the end of the world, God’s will and power will dominate and destroy devil’s governance. So, there will be an absolute kingdom and kingship of God. Beside aforementioned meanings, this concept is presumed to refer to the mystical notion of intuition and certainty about god’s absolute power and governance, to which some believe in current world and others finally will believe when the end comes.