Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God Now and Not yet Pappachan Pallath

The inspiration behind this article is the interpretation of certain Bible passages that I happened to hear recently at some Bible conventions.

There is no doubt that the kingdom of God came to this earth with the Incarnation. But it is not correct to say that Jesus came to transform this earth into heaven. There are several Biblical references to the concept of the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. Here are some examples. "I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world" (Jn 17:14).

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2).

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world" (1 Jn 2:15).

In the above-mentioned verses ,"the world" refers to a worldly life-style that does not go with the will of God. But Jesus came to save those who were immersed in the kingdom of this world . "...as it is written... no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor 2:9). Jesus came to take us to the kingdom of God. It is this mandate that Jesus carries out in the Church even today through the Sacraments and through the word of God. When we say that the kingdom of the world will cease to be and the world will eventually be transformed into the kingdom of God, then the last sinner must reach a state where he cannot sin.

Let us see if Jesus has taught us whether such a state will ever come to be. Jesus' teaching about the end of the world is seen in Mathew 13:37-43. "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world,and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with the fire, so will it be at the end of the age." If the worldly kingdom is changed into the divine kingdom, there will be no weeds, even the last weed would have been transformed into a wheat plant. Also, there will be no harvesters,no thrashing, no casting into the fire.

When we take another word of God and meditate on it, we can see that it is impossible for this world to change into heaven. "For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man"(Mt 24:37:39). Like the common people of today's world, they did not know the disaster until they were destroyed in the flood . The second coming of the Son of God will also be like this. There is no indication that all men living on the earth will know the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and put an end to the worldly kingdom, and that the world will become a heavenly kingdom.

If it is this world that will be transformed into a heaven, Jesus would have said, "When the worldly kingdom comes to an end and is transformed into a heavenly kingdom, I shall come again and dwell amongst you". Jn 14:3 says, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also". According to this word of God, it is not this world that will be changed into a heaven.

We believe that the dead will rise again. When this world becomes a kingdom of heaven, those who have to reach heaven after their resurrection will come into this world that has become heaven, that is, all those who have departed in peace from the time of Adam. In that case there will be two kinds of people in heaven. First, the generations who are alive and know the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Second, the people of the resurrection. Their life-style also will be different. "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven"(Mt 22:30). Thus in this indestructible world, that is heaven, some will be marrying or getting others married off. Another group, living like angels. Will not this be a curious heaven? "What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (I Cor 15:50). To confirm that the Lord will never destroy the world, Genesis 9:11 is quoted: "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth".

This verse only shows that the world will not be destroyed by water. It does not follow that the world will not be destroyed at all. Moreover, St Peter says that the next destruction will not be by water. " But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed"(2 Pet 3:10). The Lord taught us. "Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken"(Mt 24:29). Are we to understand that even in this state the world will not be destroyed? The teaching propounded by the Apostles and disciples throughout the Bible is the same as that of Jesus. In the light of these facts, to say that the earth will not be destroyed, the kingdom of the world will only come to an end and this earth become an open heaven, creates surprise and doubt in thousands of listeners.

What then is God's kingdom? Paradise? Where will it be? We can look at it from a very simple point of view. In Genesis 3, we have the description of man being with God and, in consequence of his transgression of God's commandments, being banished from paradise. God did not, however, abandon him. Instead, he constantly covered him with his providence. It was in God's plan to again give man paradise (God's kingdom) which he forfeited through sin. And for that an offering of reparation was necessary. That was why he designed to give his only Son to save the world.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (Jn 3:16-17).

But it is not said that all men will accept this favour of God. There will be people who accept and those who do not. It is here that salvation and punishment come into play. With the Incarnation of Jesus, the kingdom of God has come into the world. Just as a house into which the Blessed Sacrament is brought for a sick person, does not become a church, there is a difference between the coming of God's kingdom to earth and the earth becoming God's kingdom. "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you"(Mt 12:28).

Why then did Jesus teach us to pray, "Thy kingdom come"(Mt 6:10)? The Kingdom of God which is Jesus has not yet come into the hearts of millions of people. We have to pray that it may come. Put forth our best efforts for realising it. What is the experience of the kingdom of God? "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14:17).

How does this experience become one's own? "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid"(Jn 14:27). When we receive Jesus into our hearts, the Father and the Holy Spirit also come to live in our hearts. We have the experience of the kingdom of God. But this experience is not the fullness of the kingdom of heaven promised by God. An earnest of what is to come, we might call it. Why is it not a fullness or perfection? This treasure (The Blessed Trinity) is received into a clay vessel, the clay vessel of our body. Many are the cases of those who once have had the experience of the kingdom of God, but deplorably fell away later. The Bible teaches that this can happen. "For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt" (Heb 6:4-6).

That means people can fall away. This is the treasure in clay vessels. But "what I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (1 Cor 15:50).

The clay vessel must be broken here, "... all must go to their eternal home... the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain...and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it" (Eccl 12:5-7). Then, as St Paul has described, what is corruptible becomes incorruptible and what is temporal becomes eternal. That is, in truth, Heaven. "...we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" (1Cor 15:52).

At that time all those who are alive till then and all those who have departed from this world beginning from Adam, will have the same body. "It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body"(1 Cor 15:44). It must be of this body that Jesus taught in the verses of Mt 22:30, quoted earlier.

Where can such a spiritual body dwell? "And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Rev 21:2).

The first heaven and the first earth have passed away. The sea has also disappeared. It is after saying this that Jesus adds, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also" (Jn 14:3). That life will be eternal and what we have now is temporal.