The Kingdom of God (Greek: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, Basileia tou Theou[1]) sometimes translated as Reign of God[by whom?], is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is within (or among) people,[Lk 17:20-21] is approached through understanding[Mk 12:34] and entered through acceptance like a child,[Mk 10:15] spiritual rebirth,[Jn 3:5] and doing the will of God.[Mt 7:21] It is a kingdom that will be inherited by the righteous[1Cor 6:9] and is not the only kingdom.[Lk. 11:18]
The phrase, "Kingdom of God," is found in Mark, Q, special Matthean tradition, special Lucan tradition, and John, with "echoes in Paul, despite the fact that the "Kingdom of God" is not Paul's preferred way of speaking." The phrase is also found in various writing styles such as parable, beatitude, prayer, miracle story and aphorism. [2]
The original Hebrew phrase is Malkuth haShamayim (מלכת השמים) which first appears in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Jeremiah where it means "the Queen of Heaven".[44:17] In the Vulgate Latin Bible the same phrase becomes "Reginae Caeli"[3] also meaning "the Queen of Heaven" as does the Greek version of this phrase that appears in the New Testament gospels as "Basileia ton Ouranon" (ἡ βασιλεια των οὐρανων).[Matt 3:2]
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Any attempt to measure the Christian character of the nation would have to take seriously the only phrase in the biblical text - "the kingdom of God " - that ...
