Bible Question:
Matthew 3:2 and 4:17 both contain "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (ESV) What does "... the kingdom of heaven is at hand" mean? Is that simply a statement that the Messiah has arrived on earth? |
Bible Answer: Hi, Justin... The idiom "at hand" simply means nearby or soon. John the Baptist was the prophet, sent by God, just before the ministry of our Lord, to prepare His way (John 1:23). One scholar described the Kingdom as "God's people in God's place under God's rule." That is poetic and helpful, but I think Anthony Hoekema gave a more perspicuous description "the reign of God dynamically active in human history through Jesus Christ, the purpose of which is the redemption of his people from sin and from demonic powers, and the final establishment of the new heavens and the new earth." There is a sense in which the Kingdom is here already with the advent of Christ, and another sense where it is still to be fully consumated. In Him, Doc |