Scripture Folios

The Kingdom of God

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

The Lord Will Reign Forever

The Kingdom of God Is Near

The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like

Theirs Is the Kingdom of Heaven

The Kingdom of Our Lord


Israel sang it on the far side of the sea: “The Lord will reign forever and ever!” His throne is in heaven and his kingdom rules over all, and Daniel, an exile in Babylon, sees the God of heaven set up a kingdom that will shatter all the others and never be destroyed. Then Jesus comes into Galilee saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near.” It does not come with observable signs. It is already in their midst when he drives out demons by the Spirit of God, and it is not of this world, so his servants do not fight. He tells what it is like rather than defining it: seed that sprouts while the farmer sleeps, a mustard seed that becomes a tree, leaven worked through the flour, one pearl worth everything a merchant owns. It belongs to the poor in spirit and to little children, and no one sees it without being born again. Tax collectors and prostitutes go in ahead of the religious. A thief on a cross asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom and is told, “today you will be with Me in Paradise.” It is given, not taken: “your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” Paul calls it righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, a kingdom we are receiving now that cannot be shaken. People will come from east and west to sit at its table, the King will give it to those who fed him when he was hungry, and heaven has the last word: the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.