THEOLOGY XIII. Kingdom of God Ladd holds a premillenial view of the Kingdom of God. He writes that there are three meanings of the Kingdom of God in the New Testament 1. The primary meaning is God’s rule or authority (see 1 Cor. 15:24,25). 2. The realm or places over which God reigns. a. The present realm of this age (see Mark 1:15). b. The future realm inaugurated when Christ returns and culminating with the eternal kingdom in the age to come (see Matt. 25:34). 3. The people over which God reigns (see Rev. 1:6). The Kingdom of God began at the First Advent of Christ. God established his rule or authority through the sacrifice of Christ. The realm of the Kingdom of God includes all Christendom—the places where the Gospel has spread. In item 3 above, Ladd suggests that there are only Christians within the Kingdom of God. Stringfellow writes that all those in the Church—both true believers and those who only profess to believe in Christ—are in the Kingdom of Heaven. Stringfellow differentiates between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is only mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, whereas the other New Testament writers refer to the Kingdom of God. Jesus described the Kingdom of Heaven in twelve parables in Matthew. Christ interpreted the first two parables (see Matt. 13:3-23, 24-29,36-43 ), and their interpretation serves as a guide for interpreting the other ten parables. In the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the wheat (true believers) and the tares (those only professing to believe) were allowed to coexist (in the Kingdom of Heaven) until the time of harvest (when Christ returns. The Kingdom of Heaven lasts from the First Advent through the end of the Millenium, and at the end of this age, Christ will handover the Kingdom of Heaven to God the Father, so it will become the Kingdom of God (see 1 Cor. 15:24 ). 21 Not all theologians differentiate between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. Let us simply refer to the Kingdom of God. Based upon the above, the following definition is offered The
