Introduction

Who believes they have a sound, well-supported understanding of what Jesus was talking about when He taught on the Kingdom of God/the Heavens?  I thought I did.  And I almost did.  But one of its key characteristics – when it started – I have been completely mistaken about.

This piece was prompted by listening to a Christian teacher answer a series of questions during a recent Zoom meeting, one of which was what he thought about a quote by Dallas Willard (from his “The Devine Conspiracy”[i], a book I can’t recommend more strongly):

“Also God did not start to bring His Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Heavens, as Jesus often called it, into existence through Jesus’ presence on earth.  All too frequently it is suggested that He did.  But Jesus’ own gospel of the Kingdom was not that the Kingdom was about to come, or had recently come into existence.  If we attend to what He actually said, it becomes clear that His gospel concerns only the new accessibility of the Kingdom to humanity through Himself.” (My emphasis added.)

This caller wanted to know if the teacher agreed with this statement, or not.  The teacher essentially agreed that God had always, since Creation, administered His Kingdom encompassing that Creation, but then equivocated as he didn’t know Willard’s meaning, and admitted he had never finished reading his book.

Let’s look at some of the things Jesus did say about His Kingdom, and then reason out this answer, if possible.

Jesus Announces the Kingdom

One of Jesus’ most well-known announcements of the Kingdom is Mk 1:14-15 (Mt 3:2):

[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Here Jesus is apparently announcing that God has withheld His grace long enough; now it is time to pour it out on humanity (through Jesus) so that they can be adopted as God’s children:  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand”.  Now He doesn’t say that God’s Kingdom wasn’t “at hand” previously.  But He certainly seems to be saying that before this time (that is now fulfilling something), something was obscuring it from the people that has now been removed, making that Kingdom “at hand” – close to them.

Jesus reemphasizes the closeness of the Kingdom in Mt 10:7:

[7] And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

One other passage that has overtones of the advent of the Kingdom into humanity is Lk 17:20-21:

[20] Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, [21] nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

We should notice that the Pharisees were not asking about the Kingdom Jesus was talking about.  They were asking about what they understood to be the coming Messianic Kingdom in which the Davidic Messiah would serve as Israel’s king; all dispersed Israelites would return to Israel, the Temple would be rebuilt, foreigners would stream to Jerusalem to admire it and worship it’s God, etc., etc.

So since Jesus understood this version of the Kingdom to be fiction, He didn’t answer the “when” question, but rather described that they wouldn’t recognize it – wouldn’t be able to see it or point at it.  And then, once again, He emphasizes its proximity – “in the midst of you”.

It is clear from His responses that His kingdom is going to be spiritual, not a physical, political one.  Virtually no one appearing in the Gospels ever understood this during Jesus’ lifetime.  We find him being questioned not only by these Pharisees but later by His own disciples about the reestablishment of the Kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6), as well as by Pilate at His trial, asking if Jesus was King “of the Jews” (Mt 27:11).

These are the most telling verses attributed to Jesus in which He comments on the immanence of the Kingdom.  Of course, there are dozens more in which He describes it or exhorts His hearers to “seek first” the Kingdom of God (Mt 6:33).

Can We Find the Kingdom of God in the Hebrew Bible?

There are a few mentions of God’s kingdom in the Hebrew Bible.  For example Ps 45:6

[6] Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

This verse seems to be saying that God’s kingdom, signified by His throne, as king, is forever.  Then we have Ps 103:19:

[19] The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

This verse claims God’s throne (thus Kingdom) is “in the heavens”, yet claims it “rules over all” by which it assumedly means all things on earth too.

Then we have this exuberant proclamation in Ps 105:11-13:

[11] They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

[12] to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

[13] Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The LORD is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]

Then we have an interesting prophecy about God’s kingdom in Da 2:44:

[44] And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

The interesting thing about this verse is that it seemingly identifies the creation of the kingdom in time (“in the days of those kings…will set up”).  However, here we have to keep in mind that the only model the Jews had of God’s kingdom was that of the earthly, physical, and political kingdom of their Davidic Messiah.  When Daniel wrote (from Babylon), the kingdom of Israel didn’t exist as a polity.  So from his perspective, it was going to be essentially created (again) “in the days of those kings”, sometime in the future.  Therefore, it seems likely that in Daniel’s mind, this was not to be so much a “creation” as a “reestablishment”.

Daniel certainly doesn’t seem to be dogmatic about this position because a couple of chapters later we read (Da 4:3) this worship poem:

[3] How great are his signs,

how mighty his wonders!

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

And this prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years of struggling in the wilderness, alone (Da 4:25):

[25] that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

This verse seems to see God’s kingdom as just that – God’s kingdom – and not merely the earthly one hoped for to restore Israel to a place of prominence over all the earth in the future.

Interpretations

First, it appears that Biblical authors long before Jesus knew of God’s Kingdom and His unassailable and everlasting authority over it.  It was not, therefore, something Jesus was inaugurating (as I have been mistakenly portraying).

Next, it appears that Dallas Willard was exactly correct in asserting that Jesus never claimed to be creating/establishing/inaugurating the Kingdom of God.  What He did preach was that it was close to us – in our midst.  And, it seems He went out of His way to not take the bait, either from the Pharisees’ questions or those later of His disciples, concerning the advent of some political Kingdom (in which Christ would be King and, His disciples hoped, they would be His princes (Acts 1:6)).

Glimpsing Jesus’ Kingdom (of God)

To say that Jesus’ statements concerning the Kingdom of God were enigmatic is to hugely understate the situation. 

Who’s Is It?

First, we need to sort out Who’s kingdom it is.  We encounter some ambivalence in the Bible as to whose Kingdom it is; God’s or His Messiah’s.  In Luke’s narrative of God’s announcement to Mary of her impending pregnancy, he says this (Lk 1:32-33):

[32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Here, quite clearly, we have a picture of God handing over His kingdom to the one being foretold – His Messiah.  These verses contain multiple allusions to OT prophecies foreseeing this Messiah.  It seems unlikely God is referring to two different kingdoms – His and His Messiah’s.  So, God is at some point going to hand His kingdom to His Christ.

Further, we have a couple of more statements on whose possession the Kingdom is.  In John 18:36 we read:

[36] Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Here Jesus unabashedly claims God’s Kingdom (the Kingdom of the Heavens) as His, as He does here in Mt 16:28:

[28] Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Keep this in mind as you read all of Jesus’ references to the kingdom as the “Kingdom of God” (or, in Matthew’s case, “heaven” or “the heavens” to avoid his use of the word “God”) throughout the Gospels.

Who Is Allowed In the Kingdom?

What did Jesus have to say about who occupied the kingdom?  We first encounter Him mentioning it in His Sermon on the Mount.  In reciting the “Beatitudes” He identifies seemingly two types of people who will in some sense possess the kingdom: the “poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3), and “those who are persecuted” (Mt 5:10). 

Who is the Lord referring to by “those who are persecuted”?  The thinking of scholars is that they represent the total of those who have been declared “blessed” in the previous seven verses (a sevenfold blessing, and therefore a “full” or “complete” blessing to His Jewish hearers), as a way of communicating that all of them will be persecuted for their faith.  So rather than designate a separate blessing, He simply repeats the first, implying that all those who have any of the characteristics that result in them being blessed possess the kingdom.

In Mt 5:20 we learn that those in the kingdom will be those that have great righteousness:

[20] For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Those who are unrighteous won’t be allowed to inhabit it.  Jesus later tells us how we are to live so that we may enter the kingdom in Mt 7:21

[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

It seems that whatever one’s character, he must be faithful in doing the will of God in obedience to be able to inhabit the Kingdom.  (Contrary to much Christian orthodoxy, the Christ-follower must be one committed to doing the will of God.)  This is where Jesus says that many who think they have done things “worthy” of entry to His kingdom will be surprised to learn that those things (i.e. religious activities – prophesying and casting out demons in this case) were not the obedient-to-God actions God was looking for from His children.

In Mt 8:11-12 Jesus says this:

[11] I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, [12] while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

In v12 His reference to “sons of the kingdom” is a reference to Jews (who will reject Him) – as members of the kingdom of Israel – who will be among those “thrown into the outer darkness” (i.e. not allowed entry).  You can see this theme reprised in Mt 22’s parable of the wedding feast.

There are several other statements concerning those allowed/denied access to the Kingdom (e.g. Mt 18:4, Mt 19:14, Mt 21:31, Mt 21:43 plus their synoptic equivalents) which you can review at your leisure.

Access to God’s Kingdom

Willard claims that Jesus’ announcements of and preaching on the Kingdom were announcing its accessibility to humans through Him.  Let’s see if we can see what Willard sees. Mt 12:28:

[28] But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Here He seems to be tying together the idea of His presence and the presence and activity of the Spirit of God (i.e. “casting out demons”) as a sign, and also, perhaps, a prerequisite, for the presence (“on earth as it is in heaven”) of the kingdom.  The idea is that if the Holy Spirit is working through Him (and ultimately through the people) to accomplish God’s will, it represents (and is) an instance of the Kingdom of God coming from heaven to earth.

So far we know that the Kingdom is close to us; that it is present if the Holy Spirit is working among the people, that only those obedient to God’s will and possessing exemplary righteousness will be able to inhabit it.  What hasn’t been revealed yet is how one is to enter.

John’s gospel, while covering some portions of the story of Jesus’ ministry, concentrates more on who Jesus was.  In his first statement he says, effectively, that Jesus was God:

[Jn 1:1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John also is our source for a conversation between the Pharisaic priest Nicodemus in which after Nicodemus acknowledges that Jesus is “from God” Jesus “replies” (Jn 3):

[3] Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus amplifies that statement two verses later in response to Nicodemus’ question as to how it is possible for a person to be “born again”:

[5] Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Here we’re getting closer to our answer.  Jesus says that to enter the Kingdom of God a person has to be reborn “of water and the Spirit”.  Now there is some controversy over the meaning here of “water”.  Some think it refers to water baptism (which Jesus never performed), while others think it refers to natural birth (with clear amniotic fluid taking on the role of “water”).  It is also possible that, for Nicodemus’ benefit, Jesus is invoking the image of water’s role in ritual purification in Jewish law and ceremony.  While Jesus here doesn’t explain where that metaphorical purification would come from, those familiar with His story know very well: from Christ’s atoning death.

With John’s understanding of Jesus as God, we later read John featuring a statement by Jesus in His farewell speech to His disciples (Jn 14):

[6] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Here, the plot thickens.  John has already asserted that Jesus is God.  He is divine, in other words.  Now Jesus Himself is equating Himself with God.  And here we get our first clue as to how it is that one is to enter God’s kingdom.  It is “through” Jesus, whatever that means. (Of course, God reigns over His Kingdom.  So the metaphor of “coming to” the Father is a perfect euphemism for entering into His kingdom – the precinct where He is reigning.)

At this point, we understand what it takes to be granted access to the Kingdom of God/Christ, and that it is only entered “through” Christ Jesus.  But so far we haven’t seen an explicit instruction to follow that allows us to enter.  However, we do see one in Jn 17:20.  Here Jesus is praying to the Father both for His disciples and also for those who will believe in Him through the Apostles’ preaching:

[20] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

He seems to have confirmed His role, and the role of belief in Him, in coming into the presence of the Father earlier in Jn 10:7,9:

[7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

[9] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

Now granted, gaining one’s salvation is different than entering into God’s Kingdom, right?  Isn’t it?  Many Christians today (those who have even thought about the question) would say “yes” and tend to think: “We’re saved by belief in the Gospel of God.  Entering His Kingdom is optional, as it requires obedience through one’s commitment to live in God’s will, and nowhere in the Bible is that claimed to be a requirement for salvation.”

Jesus, in announcing His ministry, seems to see the two as one thing, at least in the passage we looked at earlier: Mark 1:14-15

[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Conclusion

Here we haven’t attempted to define God’s Kingdom, only when it “began”, who’s it is, who is and isn’t allowed to inhabit it, and how one is allowed to enter it.  There are dozens of verses in which Jesus characterizes what it is like (all of his metaphoric “The Kingdom of God is like…” statements) which are worth your time to study and meditate on.

God’s kingdom has been reigned over by God from the beginning.  Certainly Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, and David (despite their shortcomings), along with likely thousands more, inhabited it.  Why?  Because they sought to be obedient to God’s will, as His children.

Where was Christ then?  And why didn’t these people have to come to the Father “through Me” – that is, through Jesus, as He would later pronounce?

There are at least two possible answers.  The first is that before Christ’s advent, He wasn’t involved in justifying those who through obedience to God’s will met the requirements of citizenship in God’s kingdom, as members of His family. 

The other possibility is that He was involved but that we simply do not have sufficient information in the Hebrew Bible to tell us in what manner.  Many interpreters read Christ into a variety of Hebrew Bible texts, particularly those involving angels of the LORD, or other theophanies.  And they are entitled to their opinions as, with a lack of textual evidence one way or the other, one can believe what he wishes on the subject.  (Absence of evidence is NOT evidence of absence).

For myself, I don’t see a problem, due to my fairly unique viewpoint on the persons of what is normally referred to as the Trinity[ii].

The question we asked at the top is: Is Dallas Willard right in asserting that Christ didn’t introduce a new thing called the Kingdom of God, but that He did (through His life, death, and resurrection) make it accessible?

We’ve seen that God thought He had a kingdom long before the time of Christ’s incarnation in various OT texts.  We’ve seen that Jesus laid out various requirements for one inhabiting that kingdom.  We’ve seen that He defined it as a spiritual kingdom, not one of this world.  And finally, we saw Him stipulate that, in addition to its obedience-to-God requirements, one had to believe Him, and the message/gospel He brought.

I think we’ve shown here that Willard has analyzed the scriptures correctly.  Christ, through faith in Him, was the new door into the Kingdom of God that itself had existed from the beginning.  And passing through that door was the expected response by the believer in the gospel, at least as seen by Christ.

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[i] Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God. 1st ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.

[ii] I consider myself a modalist, but one who considers all of the modalities of God to be active as His needs demand (i.e. Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  Essentially, this view says that there is one and only one God, but that He can operate in different so-called “modalities”, akin to personalities, or perhaps persons.  So for me, the question of which version of God saw to the adoption of people into His kingdom before the advent of the Christ “version” makes little sense, not to mention difference.