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The Old Testament: Problems To The Kingdom Of Heaven

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The kingdom of heaven was taught often in John’s messages and the center of Jesus sermons. The Old Testament was based that there would be kingdom of God that was a rule from heaven. It was the reason for ordinances, both civil and religious as well as the foundation for its institutions. It helped explain the history of people and how God dealt with them through the preaching of the prophets. Without understanding the kingdom of heaven the Old Testament remains a mystery as the Old Testament prepared people for the rule of heaven and the kingdom of God. The two main issues that presented problems to the kingdom of heaven was Israel’s reluctance to embrace Jesus as their king and the opposition of the surrounding nations to conform to Israel’s rule. Therefore Israel longed for a Messiah that would establish righteousness and join all the kingdoms of the earth under His dominion. Thus the three ideas that the kingdom of God emphasized would be universality, heavenliness, and permanency. …show more content…

The Nationalist party of Israel longed for this kingdom in a political sense but not a spiritual one. Even Pontius Pilate when he interviewed Jesus understood the Jews were looking for a king and asked Jesus the question, “art thou than a king?”. Jesus answered the question by stating that his kingdom is not of this world for if it were his servants would fight (John 18:33 – 37). The terms kingdom, kingdom of God, and kingdom of heaven were used interchangeably. The term heaven was used so the Jews would not have to continually use the name of God. Matthews’s gospel DiCicco page

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