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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Kingdom of God</title><script src="https://dtyry4ejybx0.cloudfront.net/js/cmp/cleanmediacmp.js?ver=0104" async="true"></script><script defer data-domain="newadvent.org" src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08646a.htm"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="In this expression the innermost teaching of the Old Testament is summed up, but it should be noted that the word kingdom means ruling as well; thus it signifies not so much the actual kingdom as the sway of the king"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://feeds.newadvent.org/bestoftheweb?format=xml"><link rel="icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><meta name="robots" content="noodp"><link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../utility/screen6.css" media="screen"></head> <body class="cathen" id="08646a.htm">  <br/> <div id="capitalcity"><table summary="Logo" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="100%"><tr valign="bottom"><td align="left"><a href="../"><img height=36 width=153 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></td><td align="right"> <form id="searchbox_000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0" action="../utility/search.htm">  <input type="hidden" name="safe" value="active"> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0"/> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:9"/>  <label for="searchQuery" id="searchQueryLabel">Search:</label> <input id="searchQuery" name="q" type="text" size="25" aria-labelledby="searchQueryLabel"/>  <label for="submitButton" id="submitButtonLabel" class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</label> <input id="submitButton" type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" aria-labelledby="submitButtonLabel"/> </form> <table summary="Spacer" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td height="2"></td></tr></table> <table summary="Tabs" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../"> Home </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_white_on_color" href="../cathen/index.html"> Encyclopedia </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../summa/index.html"> Summa </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../fathers/index.html"> Fathers </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../bible/gen001.htm"> Bible </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../library/index.html"> Library </a></td> </tr></table> </td> </tr></table><table summary="Alphabetical index" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"> <a href="../cathen/a.htm"> A </a><a href="../cathen/b.htm"> B </a><a href="../cathen/c.htm"> C </a><a href="../cathen/d.htm"> D </a><a href="../cathen/e.htm"> E </a><a href="../cathen/f.htm"> F </a><a href="../cathen/g.htm"> G </a><a href="../cathen/h.htm"> H </a><a href="../cathen/i.htm"> I </a><a href="../cathen/j.htm"> J </a><a href="../cathen/k.htm"> K </a><a href="../cathen/l.htm"> L </a><a href="../cathen/m.htm"> M </a><a href="../cathen/n.htm"> N </a><a href="../cathen/o.htm"> O </a><a href="../cathen/p.htm"> P </a><a href="../cathen/q.htm"> Q </a><a href="../cathen/r.htm"> R </a><a href="../cathen/s.htm"> S </a><a href="../cathen/t.htm"> T </a><a href="../cathen/u.htm"> U </a><a href="../cathen/v.htm"> V </a><a href="../cathen/w.htm"> W </a><a href="../cathen/x.htm"> X </a><a href="../cathen/y.htm"> Y </a><a href="../cathen/z.htm"> Z </a> </td></tr></table></div> <div id="mobilecity" style="text-align: center; "><a href="../"><img height=24 width=102 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></div>  <div id="mi5"><span class="breadcrumbs"><a href="../">Home</a> > <a href="../cathen">Catholic Encyclopedia</a> > <a href="../cathen/k.htm">K</a> > Kingdom of God</span></div> <div id="springfield2"> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-top' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <h1>Kingdom of God</h1> <p><em><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/na2"><strong>Please help support the mission of New Advent</strong> and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99...</a></em></p> <p>(In Matthew, generally, <em>Kingdom of Heaven</em>).</p> <p>In this expression the innermost teaching of the <a href="../cathen/14526a.htm">Old Testament</a> is summed up, but it should be noted that the word <em>kingdom</em> means <em>ruling</em> as well; thus it signifies not so much the actual kingdom as the sway of the king  cf. <a href="../bible/dan004.htm#vrs28">Daniel 4:28-29</a>. The Greek <em>basileia</em> of the <a href="../cathen/14530a.htm">New Testament</a> also has these two meanings  cf. Aristotle, "Pol.", II, xi, 10; II, xiv; IV, xiii, 10. We find the theocracy sketched in <a href="../bible/exo019.htm#vrs6">Exodus 19:6</a>; in the establishment of the kingdom, <a href="../bible/1sa008.htm#vrs7">1 Samuel 8:7</a>: "They have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them." Still more clearly is it indicated in the promise of the theocratic kingdom, <a href="../bible/2sa007.htm#vrs14">2 Samuel 7:14-16</a>. It is <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> Who rules in the theocratic king and Who will avenge any neglect on his part. All through the <a href="../cathen/12543b.htm">Psalter</a> this same thought is found (cf. <a href="../bible/psa010.htm#vrs5">Psalm 10:5</a>); it is constantly insisted that <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God's</a> throne is in <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heaven</a> and that there is His kingdom; this may explain St. Matthew's preference for the expression "kingdom of heaven", as being more familiar to the Hebrews for whom he wrote. The Prophets dwell on the thought that <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> is the Supreme King and that by Him alone all kings rule; cf. <a href="../bible/isa037.htm#vrs16">Isaiah 37:16-20</a>. And when the temporal monarchy has failed, this same thought of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God's</a> ultimate rule over His people is brought into clearer relief till it culminates in the grand prophecy of <a href="../bible/dan007.htm#vrs13">Daniel 7:13 sq.</a>, to which the thoughts of <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ's</a> hearers must have turned when they heard Him speak of His kingdom. In that vision the power of ruling over all the forces of <a href="../cathen/05649a.htm">evil</a> as symbolized by the four beasts which are the four kingdoms is given to "one like the <a href="../cathen/14144a.htm">son of man</a>". At the same time we catch a glimpse in the <a href="../cathen/01601a.htm">apocryphal</a> Psalms of Solomon of the way in which, side by side with the <a href="../cathen/15073a.htm">truth</a>, there grew up among the carnal-minded the <a href="../cathen/07630a.htm">idea</a> of a temporal sovereignty of the <a href="../cathen/10212c.htm">Messias</a>, an <a href="../cathen/07630a.htm">idea</a>, which was (<a href="../bible/luk019.htm#vrs11">Luke 19:11</a>; <a href="../bible/mat018.htm#vrs1">Matthew 18:1</a>; <a href="../bible/act001.htm#vrs6">Acts 1:6</a>) to exercise so baneful an influence on subsequent generations; cf. especially Ps. Sol., xvii, 23-28, where <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> is besought to raise up the King, the Son of <a href="../cathen/04642b.htm">David</a>, to crush the nations and purify <a href="../cathen/08344a.htm">Jerusalem</a>, etc. In the Greek <a href="../cathen/15666a.htm">Book of Wisdom</a>, however, we find the most perfect realization of what was truly implied by this "rule" of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>  "She [Wisdom] led the just man through direct paths and shewed him the kingdom of God", i.e. in what that kingdom consisted.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>In the <a href="../cathen/14530a.htm">New Testament</a> the speedy advent of this kingdom is the one theme: "Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand", said the <a href="../cathen/08486b.htm">Baptist</a>, and <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ's</a> opening words to the people do but repeat that message. At every stage in His teaching the advent of this kingdom, its various aspects, its precise meaning, the way in which it is to be attained, form the staple of His discourses, so much so that His discourse is called "the gospel of the kingdom". And the various shades of meaning which the expression bears have to be studied. In the mouth of Christ the "kingdom" means not so much a goal to be attained or a place  though those meanings are by no means excluded; cf. <a href="../bible/mat005.htm#vrs3">Matthew 5:3</a>; <a href="../bible/mat011.htm#vrs11">11:11</a>, etc.  it is rather a tone of mind (<a href="../bible/luk017.htm#vrs20">Luke 17:20-21</a>), it stands for an influence which must permeate men's minds if they would be one with Him and attain to His ideals; cf. <a href="../bible/luk009.htm">Luke 9:55</a>. It is only by realizing these shades of meaning that we can do <a href="../cathen/08571c.htm">justice</a> to the parables of the kingdom with their endless variety. At one time the "kingdom" means the sway of grace in men's hearts, e.g. in the <a href="../cathen/11460a.htm">parable</a> of the seed growing secretly (<a href="../bible/mar004.htm#vrs26">Mark 4:26 sq.</a>; cf. <a href="../bible/mat021.htm#vrs43">Matthew 21:43</a>); and thus, too, it is opposed to and explained by the opposite kingdom of the <a href="../cathen/04764a.htm">devil</a> (<a href="../bible/mat004.htm#vrs8">Matthew 4:8</a>; <a href="../bible/mat012.htm#vrs25">12:25-26</a>). At another time it is the goal at which we have to aim, e.g. <a href="../bible/mat003.htm#vrs3">Matthew 3:3</a>. Again it is a place where <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> is pictured as reigning (<a href="../bible/mar014.htm#vrs25">Mark 14:25</a>). In the second petition of the "Our Father"  "Thy kingdom come"  we are taught to <a href="../cathen/12345b.htm">pray</a> as well for grace as for glory. As men grew to understand the Divinity of Christ they grew to see that the kingdom of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> was also that of Christ  it was here that the <a href="../cathen/05752c.htm">faith</a> of the good thief excelled: "Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom." So, too, as men realized that this kingdom stood for a certain tone of mind, and saw that this peculiar spirit was enshrined in the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a>, they began to speak of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> as "the kingdom of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>"; cf. <a href="../bible/col001.htm">Colossians 1:13</a>; <a href="../bible/1th002.htm">1 Thessalonians 2:12</a>; <a href="../bible/rev001.htm">Apocalypse 1:6-9</a> and <a href="../bible/rev005.htm">5:10</a>, etc. The kingdom was regarded as <a href="../cathen/08374c.htm">Christ's</a> and He presents it to the Father; cf. <a href="../bible/1co015.htm#vrs23">1 Corinthians 15:23-28</a>; <a href="../bible/2ti004.htm#vrs1">2 Timothy 4:1</a>. The kingdom of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> means, then, the ruling of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> in our hearts; it means those principles which separate us off from the kingdom of the world and the <a href="../cathen/04764a.htm">devil</a>; it means the benign sway of grace; it means the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> as that Divine institution whereby we may make sure of attaining the spirit of Christ and so win that ultimate kingdom of <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a> Where He reigns without end in "the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of <a href="../cathen/07170a.htm">heaven</a> from <a href="../cathen/06608a.htm">God</a>" (<a href="../bible/rev021.htm#vrs2">Revelation 21:2</a>).</p> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-bottom' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <div class="cenotes"><h2>Sources</h2><p class="cenotes">MAURICE, The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven (London, 1888); SCHURER, The Jewish People in the Time of Christ, div. II, vol. II; WEISS, Apoligie du Christianisme, II and X; and especially ROSE, Etudes sur les Evangiles (Paris, 1902).</p></div> <div class="pub"><h2>About this page</h2><p id="apa"><strong>APA citation.</strong> <span id="apaauthor">Pope, H.</span> <span id="apayear">(1910).</span> <span id="apaarticle">Kingdom of God.</span> In <span id="apawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="apapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company.</span> <span id="apaurl">http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08646a.htm</span></p><p id="mla"><strong>MLA citation.</strong> <span id="mlaauthor">Pope, Hugh.</span> <span id="mlaarticle">"Kingdom of God."</span> <span id="mlawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="mlavolume">Vol. 8.</span> <span id="mlapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company,</span> <span id="mlayear">1910.</span> <span id="mlaurl"><http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08646a.htm>.</span></p><p id="transcription"><strong>Transcription.</strong> <span id="transcriber">This article was transcribed for New Advent by Chris Boore.</span> <span id="dedication"></span></p><p id="approbation"><strong>Ecclesiastical approbation.</strong> <span id="nihil"><em>Nihil Obstat.</em> October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.</span> <span id="imprimatur"><em>Imprimatur.</em> +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.</span></p><p id="contactus"><strong>Contact information.</strong> The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster <em>at</em> newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.</p></div> </div> <div id="ogdenville"><table summary="Bottom bar" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"><center><strong>Copyright © 2023 by <a href="../utility/contactus.htm">New Advent LLC</a>. 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