The gospels use two different phrases--the "kingdom of heaven" and the "kingdom of God." ...Why the difference? Because in Jesus' day, and even now, Jewish people show their reverence for God's name by not pronouncing it. Instead they substitute a respectful euphemism like "heaven."
....By using "kingdom of heaven," Matthrew's gospel was preserving the culturally correct expression. The rest of the gospel writers used "kingdom of God" in order to communicate more clearly with their Greek audiences, who would not have understood that "heaven" meant "God."
....In other words, a simple way of translating "kingdom of God" or "kingdom of heaven" would be God's reign, or how God reigns, or those whom God reigns over.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Book Quotes: Kingdom of Heaven
From Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler, Lois Tverberg (page 182-183):
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