The Kingdom of Heaven

[michaeldimmickjr]

I am very interested in what exaclty "The Kingdom of Heaven" means. I have been hearing it a lot lately... have been thinking about it a lot lately... I discussed it briefly with my priest and he gave me some information about it. I was wondering what you guys think it means. Thanks in advance for taking time to discuss this!

in IC XC,
michael

[michaeldimmickjr]

does no one have any thoughts on this? :(

[EricTheRed]

I dont know but just here to say. SOMEONE RESPOND. That is all


-Eric

[MariaRegina]

The Kingdom of Heaven is within us.

God is with us.

We are in the Kingdom right now, but alas, few of us are really aware of this.

Lord have mercy on us and save us.

[michaeldimmickjr]

but what is the Kingdom of Heaven that is in us? this is what i mean... the "Kingdom of Heaven" is used over 100 times in the new testament, which leads me to believe there is a lot to be said about this. also, i think, in my great lack of understanding of course, that it is used in different ways... i don't know. i need to know as much as humanly possible and that God allows...

in IC XC,
michael

[Sacrum Silentium]

I'm a little in the dark on this myself. I know that the Kingdom of Heaven has to be used in different ways in the New Testament. For example, look at this quote from Saint Isaac the Syrian...

"A man cannot receive spiritual knowledge unless he is converted and becomes like a little child. Only then does he experience that delight which belongs to the Kingdom of the Heavens. By 'Kingdom of the Heavens' the Scriptures mean spiritual divine vision."

[michaeldimmickjr]

thanks for that Blake... good stuff =) anyone else?

in IC XC,
michael

[Marjorie]

The Kingdom of God (or in the gospel of Matthew, the Kingdom of Heaven) means, in the language of Jesus and his contemporaries, the reign of God. It is an assertion of what it means for God to rule-- in direct opposition to human political or social order that set itself apart from God's rule. The Kingdom of God, Jesus's favorite preaching point, describes his vision of a life with God radically at the center-- and how this transforms the world. This is very entwined with the ancient Christian insistence on Jesus being "Lord"-- this title (Kyrios) was the title used by emperors, essentially meaning that they were in control, that they reigned over the world. Christians disagreed: God is the only Lord, God is the center of our reality, and we are going to center our lives on God, as we have learned from the all-consuming love in the life and death of Jesus, not on a system of violence and greed and power. Within Jesus's context, the discussion of the "Kingdom of God" was a spiritual reality but also a political statement-- one of opposition to the claims made by the Jewish and Roman elites. And it is a phrase which contains immediacy-- the Kingdom is not after death, or in some distant future, but instead: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is here among you." God is at the center, at the deepest, most intimate heart of reality. And God is calling for us to take notice of that, to repent and give ourselves entirely to that call-- to live according to God's will, the will of love and gentleness and justice and the peace only God can give, not according to the fallen world which has always been about war and corruption and violence and sin.

The Kingdom of God is the call to transformation, inside and out, that (as Jesus said) is the yeast that moves through the whole dough of the cosmos. We respond to God, and the universe responds, slowly moving from grace to grace.

In Jesus,
Marjorie

[MariaRegina]

The Kingdom of God (or in the gospel of Matthew, the Kingdom of Heaven) means, in the language of Jesus and his contemporaries, the reign of God. It is an assertion of what it means for God to rule-- in direct opposition to human political or social order that set itself apart from God's rule. The Kingdom of God, Jesus's favorite preaching point, describes his vision of a life with God radically at the center-- and how this transforms the world. This is very entwined with the ancient Christian insistence on Jesus being "Lord"-- this title (Kyrios) was the title used by emperors, essentially meaning that they were in control, that they reigned over the world. Christians disagreed: God is the only Lord, God is the center of our reality, and we are going to center our lives on God, as we have learned from the all-consuming love in the life and death of Jesus, not on a system of violence and greed and power. Within Jesus's context, the discussion of the "Kingdom of God" was a spiritual reality but also a political statement-- one of opposition to the claims made by the Jewish and Roman elites. And it is a phrase which contains immediacy-- the Kingdom is not after death, or in some distant future, but instead: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is here among you." God is at the center, at the deepest, most intimate heart of reality. And God is calling for us to take notice of that, to repent and give ourselves entirely to that call-- to live according to God's will, the will of love and gentleness and justice and the peace only God can give, not according to the fallen world which has always been about war and corruption and violence and sin.

The Kingdom of God is the call to transformation, inside and out, that (as Jesus said) is the yeast that moves through the whole dough of the cosmos. We respond to God, and the universe responds, slowly moving from grace to grace.

In Jesus,
Marjorie
Thanks, Marjorie, for you excellent post. ;)

[michaeldimmickjr]

The Kingdom of God (or in the gospel of Matthew, the Kingdom of Heaven) means, in the language of Jesus and his contemporaries, the reign of God. It is an assertion of what it means for God to rule-- in direct opposition to human political or social order that set itself apart from God's rule. The Kingdom of God, Jesus's favorite preaching point, describes his vision of a life with God radically at the center-- and how this transforms the world. This is very entwined with the ancient Christian insistence on Jesus being "Lord"-- this title (Kyrios) was the title used by emperors, essentially meaning that they were in control, that they reigned over the world. Christians disagreed: God is the only Lord, God is the center of our reality, and we are going to center our lives on God, as we have learned from the all-consuming love in the life and death of Jesus, not on a system of violence and greed and power. Within Jesus's context, the discussion of the "Kingdom of God" was a spiritual reality but also a political statement-- one of opposition to the claims made by the Jewish and Roman elites. And it is a phrase which contains immediacy-- the Kingdom is not after death, or in some distant future, but instead: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is here among you." God is at the center, at the deepest, most intimate heart of reality. And God is calling for us to take notice of that, to repent and give ourselves entirely to that call-- to live according to God's will, the will of love and gentleness and justice and the peace only God can give, not according to the fallen world which has always been about war and corruption and violence and sin.

The Kingdom of God is the call to transformation, inside and out, that (as Jesus said) is the yeast that moves through the whole dough of the cosmos. We respond to God, and the universe responds, slowly moving from grace to grace.

In Jesus,
Marjorie

thank you for this!:thumbsup: