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KINGDOM

What Is the Kingdom in Biblical Terms?
The word "kingdom" (basileia) is a noun that generally refers to a territory over which a king rules. Three senses are prominent in the theology of the N.T. 

  • Jesus uses the term to denote the reign of God over the nation of Israel (Mt. 21:43). That divine system would become obsolete with the termination of the Mosaic system, being replaced by a new kingdom, the church (1 Pet. 2:9-10). The destruction of Judaism in A.D. 70 was Jehovah's epitaph upon the Hebrews as a favored nation. 
  • The term "kingdom" is commonly used in the N.T. as an equivalent to the "church," the former expression emphasizing the administrative composition of the Lord's regime, the latter stressing its relationship to the world. The terms "church" and "kingdom" are used interchangeably at times (cf. Mt. 16:18-19; Lk. 22:29-30 with 1 Cor. 10:16; Jn. 3:3-5 with 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18; Heb. 12:23, 28). The kingdom is entered when the believing penitent is baptized in water (Jn. 3:3-5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). Acceptable worship is rendered within that domain (Lk. 22:29-30). 
  • The word "kingdom" also may refer to the final, heavenly state of blessedness in which the people of God will abide eternally (2 Tim. 4:13; 2 Pet. 1:11), i.e., heaven itself. 

The theory (called premillennialism) that Jesus intended to set up his kingdom at the time of his first coming but postponed that enterprise due to a surprising rejection by the Jews, and so, will establish the kingdom at the time of his second coming, is false. See DISPENSATIONALISM.