Page 412 - ILIAS ATHANASIADIS AKA RO1

Since God’s power is in some respects omnipresent, Jesus may have seen “the
kingdom,” in the sense of God’s presence, as being especially evident in his

own words and deeds

The parable that the kingdom is like yeast that gradually leavens the entire loaf
(Matthew 13:33) indicates that Jesus may have understood the kingdom of God

to be beginning in the present.

These other ways of viewing the kingdom do not, however, dominate the
teaching of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels.

Statements about the heavenly kingdom, or the kingdom as partially present on

earth, do not negate the eschatological nature of Jesus’ message.

The essence of his teaching is that the kingdom would come to earth in its full
power and glory, at which time God’s will would be done “on earth as it is in

heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus died before heaven came down to earth, and this, coupled with the
Resurrection appearances, led his followers to expect him to return in the near

future, ushering in the kingdom and ruling in God’s stead.

Jesus himself apparently anticipated the arrival of a heavenly figure whom he

called “the Son of Man,” who would come on clouds of glory and gather the
elect.

The Hebrew Bible laid the foundation for this teaching in two ways. First,

several prophets expected “the day of the Lord,” when the wicked would be
punished or destroyed and the good would be spared, though the emphasis was

on punishment (Amos 5:12–20; Zephaniah 1; Joel 1:15; 2:1;

Obadiah verse 15). Second, Daniel 7 describes various kingdoms that are
represented by four fantastic beasts, all of which are destroyed. Then,

according to Daniel,

the Son of Man, representing the people of Israel, ascends to God and receives
“dominion and glory and kingship” (Daniel 7:14),