The Kingdom of God portrays the rightful society ruled by God, where each member dedicates to their moral and spiritual development, and the principle of righteousness and virtue is dominant. According to Christian beliefs, people fell from God’s grace thousands of years ago, being seduced to disobey His orders, after which they endured suffering and hardships. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to Earth to restore the Kingdom of God and help people return to grace, teaching the ideas of spiritual growth and the development of virtues and moral qualities. The kingdom of darkness, ruled by Satan and aimed at poisoning people with lies and delusions, opposes these ideas and tries to ensure that suffering and injustice will continue. While the modern world is highly different from where Jesus lived, this fight between two kingdoms for people’s souls is highly actual today.
In the Scripture, the Old Testament describes God’s creation of the cosmos, Earth, plants, animals, and humans. At first, once created, Heaven and Earth were empty and formless (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, Gen. 1:1–2). Then, it describes the people’s fall, being seduced by the serpent. He persuaded them that they would not die if they ignored God’s order and ate fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, Gen 3:1–5). After that, people fell from God’s grace and could not live with Him. They started to live on Earth, enduring hardship, diseases, and injustice. In the New Testament, it was predicted that Jesus Christ would come, the Son of God, who aimed to return people to the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, the idea of the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven, appeared in the New Testament. There is no such idea in the Old Testament, where people were described as disconnected from God after their fall. It describes only the human kingdom, and God orders His people to build “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, Ex. 19:6). The earthly ruler was considered as the keeper of God’s virtues, justice and order over the Earth and human nations. The Kingdom of God may be regarded as the continuation of these ideas: in the time of the Jesus Christ’s born, John the Baptist preached that the “kingdom of heaven has come near” (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, Mat. 3:1–3). It is the Kingdom of God, where people will again be close to God and His grace and dedicated to righteousness.
Thus, the Kingdom of God is an apparent term for those who believe in Christian Scripture, but it still can have several interconnected meanings. It is predicted that Jesus will return to Earth to stop the injustice, punish sinners, and develop the Kingdom of God on Earth (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, Rev. 12:10). Along with that, it is said that the Kingdom of God is reached via righteous deeds, peace, and joy with Holy Spirit (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, Rom. 14:17). In that way, the Kingdom is the condition of holy order, a connection between the people and God. It requires a high level of spiritual development and ensures that this order will be safe, stable, and virtuous.
The King of the Kingdom is God, the Supreme Ruler of Earth and Heaven. His desires include the best for every human on Earth, including their moral and spiritual development, and establishing a just and virtuous society. Jesus Christ, after His resurrection and ascension to Heaven, became the second person of the Holy Trinity, while the third is Holy Spirit, who comes to people and baptizes them (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, Ac. 1:2). The kingdom of darkness is the opposite of the Kingdom of God: it is ruled by Satan, God’s enemy, the serpent who seduced people long ago (Holy Bible: New International Version., 2011, 2 Thess. 2:8–10). He uses lies and violence to reach his goals to poison people’s hearts, make them forget themselves, and live in delusion.
While the theology of the Kingdom was described and proclaimed two thousand years ago, it is actual today, when people live in better material conditions and strive for a fair and safe society. Modern problems include a lack of spirituality and widespread depression, life dissatisfaction, and harmful habits such as drug and alcohol addiction. These are clear signs of Satan’s kingdom’s impact, which make people lost, confused, and immoral. Spiritual development, described in the New Testament, would be a perfect solution to fight those dark influences and return the life full of sense and true joy.
Therefore, the idea of the Kingdom of God, proclaimed by Jesus Christ and His apostles, is the core of the Christian Scripture, actual for all times. It is the future Kingdom built by Jesus after his Second Coming, as well as the spiritual idea of a rightful society that can be reached by the active spiritual development of everyone. The opposite kingdom of darkness is Satan’s rule, which aims to poison people’s hearts with a lie, leading to them forgetting their true selves and acting unjustly. For almost two thousand years, people suffered from poverty and social injustice, but believing in God and His salvation supported them and inspired them to overcome those painful obstacles. Today, people enjoy a much higher life level but suffer from widespread immorality and mental issues. Christian ideas of the Kingdom and the spiritual development necessary to reach it can help people return the sense in their life and build a society they truly want, without lies and delusions.
References
Holy Bible: New International Version. (2011). Zondervan.