Bible Question:
WHO WILL BE OUTSIDE THE KINGDOM ? WHAT IS A RESTRICTIVE KINGDOM? WHAT IS A UNIVERSAL KINGDOM, |
Bible Answer: Hi openmyheart: Welcome to the forum! "Universal Kingdom" is a term used outside of scripture that simply means all of God's creation. --"The kingdom of God embraces all created intelligence, both in heaven and earth that are willingly subject to the Lord and are in fellowship with him. The kingdom of God is therefore, [universal] in that it includes created angels and men. It is eternal, as God is eternal, and it is spiritual—found within all born-again believers. We enter the kingdom of God when we are born again, and we are then part of that kingdom for eternity."--excerpt from; www.gotquestions.org/kingdom-of-God.html I too, have not to date heard of the term 'Restrictive Kingdom' I suppose that it could be argued that sense everything is part of God's creation, no-one or no-thing is outside of God's creation, that all things are in the Kingdom of God, or [Universal] Kingdom of God; although that would be stretching it quite a bit. Here is some more commentary that I hope proves helpful. God bless John --"Kingdom of God (In Matthew, generally, Kingdom of Heaven). In this expression the innermost teaching of the Old Testament is summed up, but it should be noted that the word kingdom means ruling as well; thus it signifies not so much the actual kingdom as the sway of the king . We find the theocracy sketched in Exodus 19:6; in the establishment of the kingdom, 1 Samuel 8:7: "They have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them." Still more clearly is it indicated in the promise of the theocratic kingdom, 2 Samuel 7:14-16. It is God Who rules in the theocratic king and Who will avenge any neglect on his part. The Prophets dwell on the thought that God is the Supreme King and that by Him alone all kings rule; And when the temporal monarchy has failed, this same thought of God's ultimate rule over His people is brought into clearer relief till it culminates in the grand prophecy of Daniel 7:13 to which the thoughts of Christ's hearers must have turned when they heard Him speak of His kingdom. In the New Testament the speedy advent of this kingdom is the one theme: "Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand", said the Baptist, and Christ's opening words to the people do but repeat that message. At every stage in His teaching the advent of this kingdom, its various aspects, its precise meaning, the way in which it is to be attained, form the staple of His discourses, so much so that His discourse is called "the gospel of the kingdom". And the various shades of meaning which the expression bears have to be studied. In the mouth of Christ the "kingdom" means not so much a goal to be attained or a place -- though those meanings are by no means excluded; it is rather a tone of mind (Luke 17:20-21), it stands for an influence which must permeate men's minds if they would be one with Him and attain to His ideals; It is only by realizing these shades of meaning that we can do justice to the parables of the kingdom with their endless variety. At one time the "kingdom" means the sway of grace in men's hearts, e.g. in the parable of the seed growing secretly (Mark 4:26. Matthew 21:43); and thus, too, it is opposed to and explained by the opposite kingdom of the devil (Matthew 4:8; 12:25-26). At another time it is the goal at which we have to aim. Again it is a place where God is pictured as reigning (Mark 14:25). In the second petition of the "Our Father" -- "Thy kingdom come" -- we are taught to pray as well for grace as for glory. As men grew to understand the Divinity of Christ they grew to see that the kingdom of God was also that of Christ -- it was here that the faith of the good thief excelled: "Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom." So, too, as men realized that this kingdom stood for a certain tone of mind, and saw that this peculiar spirit was enshrined in the Church, they began to speak of the Church as "the kingdom of God"; cf. Col., I, 13; I Thess., ii, 12; Apoc., I, 6, 9; v, 10, etc. The kingdom was regarded as Christ's and He presents it to the Father; cf. I Cor., xv, 23-28; II Tim., iv, 1. The kingdom of god means, then, the ruling of God in our hearts; it means those principles which separate us off from the kingdom of the world and the devil; it means the benign sway of grace; it means the Church as that Divine institution whereby we may make sure of attaining the spirit of Christ and so win that ultimate kingdom of God Where He reigns without end in "the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:2)."-- excerpt(s) from: www.newadvent.org/cathen/08646a.htm |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Bible general Archive 4 | Author | ||
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raz | ||
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lionheart | ||
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Juan4U | ||
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mrsnicolelane | ||
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Frank Ortiz | ||
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gospelcompilation | ||
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carbonnc | ||
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nuduwara | ||
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nuduwara | ||
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openmyheart | ||
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BMyers | ||
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stjohn |