Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven, or simply the Kingdom is the theological concept of God’s relationship with and rule over those who have placed faith in him. While the concept is found to some degree throughout the whole Bible, it is featured primarily in the Gospels as one of the key teachings of Jesus. At the time of Jesus’ life on Earth, he announced the Kingdom was at hand- not in a physical reality, but within the hearts of believers and at a future time the kingdom will come to fruition. Many times when the concept of the Kingdom is presented, it is connected with judgement in the end times and the separation of believers and unbelievers.

Throughout the Bible the “Kingdom” is simply referred to as that. Only in the New Testament, is the specific terminology of “Kingdom of God” used and elaborated in detail. The wording “Kingdom of Heaven” is only found in the Gospel of Matthew (albeit quite extensively).

Parables
One of the major ways in which the concept of the Kingdom of God is conveyed is through Jesus' parables. The parables are found in multiple locations, often lumped together in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The parables are used as illustrations by Jesus to depict certain characteristics of the kingdom in a story format that would be easy to understand by his hearers.

In sum the parables teach that the Kingdom is difficult to accept and is growing out of notice of most people, before it will overwhelm everything else. The Kingdom is patient- not coming to fruition until the end of days when it will be fully revealed and the true members will be recognized while those not part of the kingdom will be cast into Hell.