What does “the
kingdom of heaven” mean? We find this phrase 40 times in the Bible. They are ALL
in the book of Matthew. Why? Matthew is the most Hebraic of the Gospels. He was
careful to not over-use God’s name.
So rather than say
“kingdom of God” (like all of the other Gospels), he would replace the name of
God with “heaven.” This was not to say that this kingdom’s physical location was
IN heaven. Rather, this was the kingdom that was serving as a representative OF
heaven or God.
It is easy to
misunderstand what is being said because we often do not understand the culture
or context, and because we are working through translation and interpretation
difficulties.
When Yeshua said
that the kingdom of God was “not of this world,” did he mean that it was up in heaven?
In Hebrew the word “olam” is sometimes translated as “world.” In Jewish theology
the present age is the Olam Hazeh. The Olam Haba is “the World to Come.”
The World to Come is
not that of a different planet someplace, nor is it one of floating on clouds up
in heaven. It is a belief in an AGE to come, here on this planet, when Messiah
will rule. So the kingdom of God will be in an age to come.
But isn't the gospel
the story of salvation through Jesus?
The Gospel
If you were to ask
the average Christian what the gospel was, he would probably say it was the
story of Jesus dying for our sins so we can go to heaven when we die. But, is that really what
the “gospel” is all about? What is the gospel anyway?
The word “gospel”
means “good news.” What was the “good news” about?