How correctly is the kingdom of heaven or kingdom. Where does the expression “May the world rest in peace” come from?

“The kingdom of heaven be his” - it is customary to say in our society to the deceased. This means the wish that the soul of the deceased will certainly end up in God’s Kingdom. Let's look at what the Holy Scriptures say about the Kingdom of God. Where is it, and how to get there?

Before the crucifixion, Jesus Christ told his disciples: “I’m going to prepare a place for you. And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14:2, 3).

The truth about Heaven makes it one of the most amazing places imaginable. According to the testimonies of Jesus and the Apostle John, the capital of the future glorious Earth will be the new Jerusalem being built in Heaven. Here's what the Bible says about it: “And I John saw the holy city Jerusalem, new, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).

Currently, the Lord is preparing monasteries for all faithful Christians. The day will come when this glowing snow-white city will descend to earth to become an eternal home for the saved, and the earth itself will become part of the Heavenly Kingdom. The streets of the New Jerusalem will be so clean and beautiful that John compares them to pure gold.

Saved believers there will have real bodies of flesh and blood: “But our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also await the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be conformed to His glorious body” (Philippians 3:20, 21). How exciting it is to know that our present physical, corruptible nature will be changed to an imperishable one.

Jesus said that “many will come from the east and the west and sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). This indicates that we will be able to recognize these Old Testament heroes. We will be united forever not only with those we loved on earth, but we will also become acquainted with these majestic giants of the spirit who inspired us from the pages of Scripture.

Most people enjoy evenings of reunions and memories. What a joy it is to meet old friends or relatives after many years! Heaven would not give joy if we could not recognize each other there.

In one of the visions, the Apostle John was shown the glory of the New Jerusalem. The city shone with such dazzling brilliance that the prophet was completely stunned. In the New Jerusalem, God Himself will dwell with the saved, and the saved will live both in the city and on the renewed earth. “And I will build houses, and dwell in them, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof” (Isaiah 65:21).

The Lord will meet us and guide us through the Holy City. The saved will walk along the golden streets, along the river of life, and will see the tree of life, which will bear new fruit every month, and its leaves will be used for the healing of nations. And all this splendor will be available to us only because the Son of God Jesus Christ once did not spare His life and gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins on Calvary. Through His death and resurrection, our sins will be forgiven. There will be a clean and wonderful new world before us. There will be no more sin in him. Animals will frolic freely on lawns, in the forest, by the river: “Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the ox will be together, and a little child will lead them. And the cow shall feed with the she-bear, and their cubs shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6, 7).

It will be a world in which there is no grief and tears. IN Revelation 21:3, 4 says: “And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them; they will be His people, and God Himself with them will be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death; There will be no more crying, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away.”

The Bible says that in the land of the saved there will be children, they will play everywhere and in complete safety. “And the streets of this city shall be filled with boys and damsels playing in the streets thereof” (Zechariah 8:5). Isn't this wonderful!?

With bodies that will never tire, we will be able to explore God's fabulously great city. The entire Universe will be open to our contemplation and exploration. To visit billions of extraordinary planets, star systems and galaxies that have never been defiled by sin, perhaps even an eternity will not be enough. But we can go there.

Unimaginable beauty and happiness await us in the Kingdom of God. The Bible says: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Now let’s ask ourselves a question, the answer to which is yours: “When the saved enter the Kingdom of Heaven, will I be among them?” Every person has the right to become residents of the Kingdom of Heaven. The main thing is that you have time to take advantage of this right while living here on earth.

Know God, repent of all the sins you have committed, and obey His Word. Come to Him, our Protector, bow down, humble yourself in heart and entrust your life to the Lord. He will accept you, forgive you, transform your sinful heart, and when the great Day of Salvation comes, you will be able to unite with saved people of all ages, so that together with them you can enter this beautiful city, New Jerusalem, and settle there forever. Don't miss this opportunity. God bless you!

Prepared by Victor Bakhtin

The phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” was most likely used by Jesus as the name for his “school”, i.e. that circle of people who learn from Him here on earth, while the phrase “Kingdom of God” denotes that Heavenly reality, which will be fully revealed to people only after the second coming of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I bring to your attention an article by Doctor of Theology Alexander Bolotnikov.

a thematic approach to the study of the Bible leads to the formation of a system of “cliches”, established concepts that have existed for centuries and are automatically used in the interpretation of Biblical texts.

One example of such a cliche is the term “Kingdom of Heaven” (in Greek basileia tone ouranon), which appears 31 times in the Gospels exclusively in the Gospel of Matthew. In Orthodox culture, we often hear the expression “the kingdom of heaven be upon him” used in relation to a deceased person. If this phrase comes from the lips of a believer, then it is understood unambiguously. The speaker wishes that the soul of this deceased be in heaven. Thus, there is this undisputed stamp about the meaning of the expression “Kingdom of Heaven”, as the place where all the saved who have received eternal life will find themselves.

This is where a lot of difficulties arise.

Firstly, already at the very beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, in the so-called Sermon on the Mount, the following statement of Jesus is found: “So whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people so, he will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; and whoever creates and teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (). It turns out that in eternal life the saved are divided into classes and there is inequality. In the Church of Latter-Time Saints, popularly called Mormons, this verse is understood literally. That is, there is a higher and lower heaven. On the highest are the greater righteous, and on the lowest are the lesser. In other words, if a person “did not reach” a certain moral and spiritual standard, then he will still be saved, only he will be less. If this is so, then it becomes absolutely unclear where the “lowest level of righteousness” is located, below which salvation is impossible. It is for this reason that most Christian teachings reject the idea of ​​grading those who have received salvation into greater and lesser ones.

However, the problem of more and less in the Kingdom of Heaven does not end there. Jesus speaks of his cousin, John, who with his prophecies predicted his coming, the following words: “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen a greater one than John the Baptist; but the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he” (). If we apply the traditional Christian understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven as the place where the saved spend eternity, we get complete confusion. Will the greatest man on earth really not be able to overcome the bar of salvation? The next verse, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force” () generally threatens to erase the entire essence of the doctrine of salvation by faith, and not by works, preached in Christianity since the time of Martin Luther.

The problematic nature of the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” was noticed by the church fathers. Unlike the phrase “Kingdom of God,” which is found in other Gospels, the expression “Kingdom of Heaven” is found, as we said, exclusively in the Gospel of Matthew. Most of Jesus' parables as recorded by Matthew are parables about the "Kingdom of Heaven." In fact, Jesus uses 10 parables to explain this seemingly simple term to his disciples. One has only to take a quick look at these parables in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew to discover that the concept of “Kingdom of Heaven” is absolutely not equivalent to the concept of “paradise.” For example, in the parable of the net () the Kingdom of Heaven is a net into which good and bad fish fall; and only “at the end of the age” “angels will separate the wicked from the righteous.” Obviously, a net is not a paradise in which, by definition, there cannot be evil people. It’s the same with the parable of the wheat and the tares (, 37-44). Here in this parable the Kingdom of Heaven is specifically compared to the work that Jesus is doing on earth. Those who follow him are called “sons of the kingdom,” but there are also “sons of the evil one,” who were uprooted during the harvest “at the end of the age.” Moreover, when Jesus gives an explanation of the parable of the tares in verses 27-44, he directly says that at the end of time the Son of Man “will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all who offend and those who practice iniquity.” It is clear that in paradise there are neither temptations nor those who practice iniquity. That is why the church fathers believed that the “Kingdom of Heaven” is the Church of Christ itself, in which there are “wheat and tares.”

However, such an interpretation based on the above parables does not help in any way to explain the “hierarchy” mentioned in the two texts of the Gospel of 11:11. And even if we make an assumption about what the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe church hierarchy contains, then this in no way can explain why John the Baptist, the greatest of those born of women, found himself in the lowest position in the church.

It is surprising that the majority of even exegetical commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, compiled by both conservative and historical-critical scholars, give very streamlined and non-specific explanations of the use of the term “Kingdom of Heaven” in the above texts. This confirms our assumption that Christianity often uses established clichés to fit the biblical text. But the second reason for this vagueness is that for these scientists, most of whom are Protestants, it is very difficult to internally agree with what Jesus says at the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount.

In order to understand the meaning of the words “Kingdom of Heaven,” it is necessary to examine in detail the context of the Sermon on the Mount, of which this phrase is part. The sermon begins at verse 17 of chapter 5:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until it is all fulfilled. So, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so, he will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; and whoever does and teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For, I tell you, if your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, then you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven" ().

Verse 17 is often understood by many Christians to be exactly the opposite, suggesting that Jesus came to fulfill the law so that Christians would no longer be under his burden. The problem with this understanding is that in Christian theology the concept of “Torah”, translated into Greek by the word nomos (law), is perceived exclusively as a set of some rules and regulations that God specifically invented in order to burden the Jews with them. However, in Hebrew the concept of “Torah” is interpreted much more broadly. It comes from the Hebrew noun or, light, and is perceived as God's revelation or enlightenment as recorded in Psalm 19: “The law of the Lord is perfect, strengthens the soul; The revelation of the Lord is true, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are righteous and gladden the heart; The commandment of the Lord is bright, it enlightens the eyes.”

Based on what is written in verse 18, the Torah occupied a priority place in the teaching of Jesus. Moreover, his statement about the iota and the line clearly does not encourage the modern attitude towards detailed students of the laws of the Torah, who in many Christian circles are considered formalists and literalists. However, the words of Jesus, written in Greek as iota et he mia keria (one iota and one dash), contain very important information. The fact is that in this context, iota (י) is not used to mean the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The word keraia, translated as trait, is interpreted by many commentators as an element of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Indeed, in terms of writing, Hebrew letters can be divided into simple elements, where the bar is a straight line in the letter and the iota is a rounded one. In other words, even if you look at any first-grader who is learning to write, he is first trained to draw the elements of letters. Thus, contrary to the opinion of many commentators, Jesus is not talking about some abstract small part of the law, but about the letters of the Torah, or rather about the accuracy of their writing.

Unlike modern alphabets and scripts, first-century Hebrew writing, written with primitive tools on the rough surface of leather or papyrus, is very difficult to read. For example, even with the typographic quality of the fonts, beginners learning Hebrew have difficulty distinguishing between the letters bet ב and kaf כ or dalet ד and resh ר. And in ancient texts the situation is even more complicated. In particular, the letters Yod (yota) י and Vav ו, as can be seen in the letter, differ from each other only by the presence of a vertical line, which, as if continuing the letter Yod, makes the letter Vav from it. As you can see, the Hebrew text does not forgive a careless attitude, and therefore, both in ancient times and today, very high demands are placed on both the sofer, the scribe, and the reader of the text. After all, incorrect reading or spelling of letters can lead to distortion of the text of the Torah.

So, if in verse 18 Jesus says that He does not intend to change a single letter in the Torah, then it turns out that He is the most important “letter-eater.” However, in early Judaism, this literalism was extremely important. The fact is that, both in the first century and now, every Jew who wanted to seriously study the Torah had to become a student of a rabbi in a yeshiva. The term yeshiva in Hebrew comes from the verb yashav, to sit, and in modern parlance means a study session. Literally, this “session” looked like this: the students, sitting around the rabbi, studied the Torah. The Talmudic Haggadah tells how the famous Jewish leader of the late first century, Rabbi Akiva, at the age of forty, sat down with his son to study with Rabbi Eliezer and began with aleph and bet. In other words, in the first century, Torah study began with teaching the basics of literacy. After all, ordinary people at that time did not know how to read and write, and without this it is impossible to study the Torah.

It turns out that in the Gospel of Jesus he is talking about the program of his yeshiva. This is why Jesus is constantly addressed as “rabbi” or teacher. Moreover, the disciples of John the Baptist, after he pointed them to Jesus, immediately turned to him with the words “Rabbi, where do you live” and followed him. At that time, most of the famous rabbis were very poor people and gathered students in their homes. Thus, we see that Jesus began his ministry by opening a yeshiva, into which he began to recruit disciples. If you walk through Brooklyn today, you can see a yeshiva at every street corner. Each yeshiva bears either a name that distinguishes it from the others, or the name of its founder. In the first centuries, most yeshivas bore the names of their founders. For example, at the end of the first century BC, two rabbis, the founders of Pharisaic Judaism, Shammai and Hillel, founded their yeshivas, which were called Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel. Jesus decided not to call his yeshiva by his own name, but called it, according to the Hebrew Malchut Hashamayim written in the Gospel, “The Kingdom of Heaven.” That is why in one of the parables about the “Kingdom of Heaven”, in the parable of the tares, Jesus calls his disciples b’nei malkut, sons of the kingdom (), and based on the parable it is clear that the concept of b’nei malkut is not limited only to the circle of his 12 apostles and even a circle of 72 close to him. Just as the Yeshivas of Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel existed after the death of Shammai and Hillel until the time of the destruction of the Temple, and were taught by the followers of these rabbis, the Yeshiva of Jesus exists until the "end of the age" and the followers of Jesus study and teach there.

It was not by chance that Jesus chose the name “Kingdom of Heaven” for his yeshiva. Jesus deliberately emphasizes the contrast between his attitude toward the Torah and that which was practiced in the yeshivas where the students of Shammai and Hillel taught. By the end of the 1st century. BC, rabbinic Judaism developed the understanding that the correct interpretation of the Torah is the one supported by the majority of rabbis. For example, of the two constantly competing yeshivas of Shammai and Hillel, only the interpretation of the Torah given by Hillel's students is recognized, due to the fact that there are more of them. By taking the words “she is not in heaven,” written in the book, out of context, the rabbis ascribed to themselves the final right to decide what the truth is. By calling his yeshiva “the Kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus wanted to emphasize that the interpretation of the Torah is the prerogative of the Almighty.

Thus, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is, in fact, Jesus' presentation of his yeshiva. That is, in the first 16 verses of chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew, known as the “beatitudes,” Jesus formulates the requirements that he makes of those who want to learn from him. Then in verses 17-20 he outlines the essence of his “curriculum”, which is based on fidelity to the principles of the Torah and the traditions of its study. That is why in this context Jesus says that any of his disciples who violates the slightest commandment of the Torah and teaches this to others will be called the least in his yeshiva, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven. The Greek word luo, “to untie,” translated in the Russian Synodal Bible as “to break,” has a deeper meaning in rabbinic Judaism than just execution. Most likely, luo renders the rabbinic term matir, to allow. In the Hebrew of the Mishnah, the two terms matir and assir - to permit and to prohibit - are used in relation to rabbinic halachic decisions, which are legal norms in Judaism. From the use of the verb luo it follows that Jesus is addressing His disciples as future rabbis. And, to put it in modern language, he warns them that if, having learned from him, they, with their rabbinic authority, will “untie,” that is, resolve the violation of even the smallest commandment, then he will “give them a bad mark.”

Understanding the "Kingdom of God" as the name of Jesus' yeshiva also helps us understand the meaning of Jesus' words to John the Baptist. He is called the least of the least in the “Kingdom of Heaven.” The story of Jesus' baptism is told in all four Gospels, but only the Gospel of John details how the disciples of John the Baptist, leaving him and calling Jesus a rabbi, actually went to his newfound yeshiva. For this reason, John says that Jesus must increase and John the Baptist must decrease. Thus, the disciples of John the Baptist, having completed their studies with him, went on to study with Jesus. It turns out that the Yeshiva of Jesus is an “educational institution” of a higher level. Therefore, in the 11th verse of the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew it is said that even the most novice student of the yeshiva of Jesus is a graduate of John the Baptist who has moved to a higher level of spiritual training.

Read more on the topic “Interpretation of Scripture”:

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

From the very beginning of His sermon, our Lord Jesus Christ gives first place to the Kingdom of Heaven: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand(Matt. 3:2). To achieve eternal bliss in it is the ultimate goal of our life.

Word kingdom(Heb. Malchut; Greek Basileia) in the biblical books has two meanings: “rule of the king” and “territory subject to the king.” The Evangelist Matthew uses the expression 32 times Kingdom of heaven and 5 times Kingdom of God(6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43). The evangelists Mark, Luke and John have only Kingdom of God. Comparison of parallel places convinces that these expressions are synonymous. The Kingdom of God represents the absolute power (dominion) of God over the visible and invisible world: The Lord has set His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all(Ps. 102:19). Some passages of the holy books show that the concept of the Kingdom of God has another meaning: the dominion (power) of the Lord God, to whom we submit ourselves of our own free will and to whom we voluntarily and joyfully serve. With this understanding, the meaning of asking for prayer is revealed to us. Our Father: Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven(Matt. 6:10). The Kingdom of God only becomes real for each of us in earthly life when we strive to fulfill the will of the Lord. If people live willfully and work in sin, then only the kingdom of the devil is real for them. Only when the Lord deprives Satan of his power over us (if we consciously strive for this) do we again find ourselves at the invisible, but real, gates of the Kingdom of God. Where Christ is, there comes His Kingdom, which is not of this world (John 18:36). This is the most important point of disagreement between Jesus Christ and the Jewish leaders who expected an earthly king in the person of the Messiah. They thought that he would overthrow and abolish all the then kingdoms on earth, and would form a single power from the entire human race, in which the Jews should take first place. Jesus Christ undoubtedly responded to such expectations: My kingdom is not of this world; If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight for Me, so that I would not be betrayed to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here(John 18:36).

During His earthly ministry, the Savior gradually revealed the secrets of the Kingdom. Only one who is born again of the Spirit can see it (John 3:1-8). It is not exclusive to the Jews: many will come from the east and west and lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven(Matt. 8:11). All believers in Jesus Christ receive it as a gift by responding to the call of the Lord (1 Thess. 2:12): I bequeath to you, as My Father bequeathed to Me, the Kingdom(Luke 22:29). It increases like mustard seed(Matthew 13:31) and similar sourdough changes lives (Matt. 13:33). For those who believe in the Gospel and repent, the Kingdom of God is already manifested in the present, but will come in its entirety in the future. When the dates are fulfilled and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ takes place, the Kingdom of God will be established in power and glory: And the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying: The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.(Rev. 11:15).

The Lord determines the life and condition of those who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven with a word bliss(Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5:3-12). The Kingdom of God is within you(Luke 17:21). Greek the preposition entos means inside, but with plural nouns and pronouns it can also be understood as by (among). Modern researchers try to explain this verse in words in the middle of you(See The Gospel of Luke. Commentary on the Greek text, M., 2004, p. 196). However, in patristic exegesis, starting with Origen, this place is understood as an indication of a special grace-filled spiritual state that a righteous person can acquire. This theological understanding is entirely consistent with the preceding verse: Having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them: The Kingdom of God will not come in a noticeable way.(17:20). Rev. John Cassian the Roman writes: if the kingdom of God is within us, and this kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy, then whoever has them is, without a doubt, in the kingdom of God(First interview. Chapter 13).

The saints are already here joining the Kingdom of grace. ON THE. Motovilov talks about a conversation with Rev. Seraphim of Sarov: “And when I looked into his face after these words, even greater awe fell upon me. Imagine in the middle of the sun, in the most brilliant brightness of its midday rays, the face of a person talking to you. For example, you see the movement of his mouth and his eyes, a change in the very outlines of his face, you feel that someone is holding your shoulders with their hands, but you do not see not only his hands, but neither yourself, nor him, but only one the most dazzling light, extending for several fathoms all around...” (Notes of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Motovilov..., M., 2005, p. 212). How is this achieved? According to St. Seraphima: So the acquisition of this Spirit of God is the true goal of our Christian life, and prayer, vigil, fasting, almsgiving and other virtues done for the sake of Christ are only means to acquire the Spirit of God.

I often hear: “May the earth rest in peace.” It is clear that this is “atheism”. But what do they really want, what is the meaning hidden in this phrase? Lyudmila, Pushkino.

First of all, it must be said that the expression “may the earth rest in peace” has not atheistic roots, but pagan ones. This expression originates from ancient Rome. In Latin it will sound like this: “ Sit tibi terra levis" The ancient Roman poet Marcus Valerius Martial has the following verses: « Sit tibi terra levis , molliquetegaris harena, Ne tua non possint eruere ossa canes". (May the earth rest in peace to you, And softly cover the sand so that dogs can dig up your bones )

Some philologists believe that this expression was a funeral curse addressed to the deceased. However, we have no reason to say so, because this expression was used even before Martial. On ancient Roman tombstones you can often see the following letters: S·T·T·L- this is the epitaph from - “ Sit tibi terra levis" (rest in peace). There were options: T·L·S – « Terra levis sit"(May the earth rest in peace) or S·E·T·L — « Sit ei terra levis"(May this world rest in peace). Currently, a similar epitaph can be found in English-speaking countries, where tombstones often have the inscription - R.I.P. (Rest In Peace) - rest in peace.

That is, the expression “may the earth rest in peace” is much older than atheism and carries precisely religious connotations, not atheistic ones. Is it possible for a Christian to use this expression? Definitely not, because Christianity is fundamentally different from pagan ideas about the afterlife of the soul. We do not believe that the soul is in the earth along with the decaying body. We believe that, having died, a person’s soul goes to God for a private trial, which decides where it will await the general resurrection on the eve of Heaven or on the eve of hell. The pagans had a completely different idea. They wanted “the earth to rest in peace,” meaning that it would not put pressure on a person’s bones and would not cause discomfort to the deceased. By the way, hence the pagan fears of “disturbing the dead” and myths about rebel skeletons, etc. That is, all this points to the pagan belief that the soul can reside next to its body or even in the body itself. That's why there are such wishes.

I also often hear people use the expression “may the earth rest in peace,” but I have never seen a person who would put exactly the ancient pagan content into this expression. Mostly among people untrained in faith, the expression “may the earth rest in peace” is used as a synonym for the words “Kingdom of Heaven.” You can often hear these expressions in conjunction.

Here you need to have reasoning and a sense of spiritual tact. If you heard a grief-stricken person say at a wake, “may the world rest in peace,” then this probably would not be the best time to reason with him or have a discussion. Wait for the time and when the opportunity presents itself, very carefully tell the person that Orthodox Christians do not use such an expression.

Pavel Velikanov about the Kingdom of Christ

I came to my people, and they didn’t accept my people...

If you carefully read the Gospel and think about all the words of Christ about the Kingdom of God, it becomes obvious: it was this teaching that became fatal for His earthly life. The Jews longed for the Kingdom, raved about the King - but not the kind that Christ turned out to be. And the Savior was ready for this: unlike many false prophets and false messiahs, He was not at all worried about the external effect of His preaching. He knew what he was doing. And he understood perfectly well what the price is for words and what the price is for deeds. It is enough to remember how, after words about the need to eat His Body and drink His Blood as an immutable condition of life with God, many turn away from Him and leave. And so, instead of, as they would say today, “change tactics” and “make adjustments” for greater effectiveness of preaching, Christ turns to His closest disciples: “Don’t you also want to leave?”...

The doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven is key to the entire gospel narrative. From the point of view of the Jews, all this is nothing more than some kind of abstraction, in no way connected with the realities of life. Therefore, He Who so boldly dares to assert His Sonship of God - and thereby transform this “incomprehensible fiction” into Divine Revelation - must be killed, and killed shamefully, as an edification to all others, so that no one would be bothered to try to destroy what they believed Old Testament Jews - preserved the authenticity and integrity of the Jewish people for centuries. Who else, besides the Jews, perfectly understood and remembered what the Kingdom is? Saul, David, Solomon - all of them were inscribed in the history of the Jewish people not only as saints and prophets, but also as builders of that very kingdom, through the ruins of which this newly minted Prophet now walks and tells strange things about the Heavenly or Divine Kingdom!

Christ's questioners - Jews - are very specific people in their attitude to everything that concerns areas of life that are important to them. The rich experience of survival in a hostile environment taught them exceptional pragmatism, and the complex institutions of the Mosaic Law delicately honed this ability for a quick rational response from generation to generation. And when you read how they listen to Christ’s words about the Kingdom, you get the feeling that this incessant aggressive background of questions is literally ringing in the air: “Where is this Kingdom, show it to us! When will this Kingdom come? And what can you compare it to, how can you touch it, touch it, see it? Isn’t all this a bluff?...”

And the Answer was before their eyes, walking, talking, healing the sick... Only later, after the Resurrection, the Apostle John will remember with a deep feeling of sincere amazement - how they could see Him, the Word of Life, the Son of God, with their eyes, touch with their hands, eat and drink with Him. This is difficult to fit into the consciousness of even His closest disciples - those who saw Him Risen. What then can we say about those who looked at this wandering preacher like that, out of the corner of their eye, casually - there are a lot of people walking around here...

Vertical or horizontal?

When we talk about the Kingdom of Heaven, we are immediately confused by its “heavenliness,” which is subconsciously perceived by us as something not entirely real, exclusively spiritual, or at least unearthly or beyond the grave. However, in the gospel texts, “Heaven” is a synonym for the name of God, and, accordingly, the “Kingdom of Heaven” is nothing more than His, God’s, rule on Earth - and nothing more. But this is such a living and real presence of God in human life that it turns out to be the very pearl for which everything else is easily sold and forgotten. The Kingdom of Heaven is infinitely far from the state of “spiritual comfort” or “pocket God in the soul,” which our contemporaries so love to justify their practical godlessness. Here God comes to man precisely as a King, a Master - and this revelation cannot be confused or imitated. A king cannot exist without his subjects: in the same way The Kingdom of Heaven appears only where there is a meeting between man and God- a meeting, the result of which is a new life for this person.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not food and drink, not power and might, not contentment and wealth. All this is a horizontal plane: and at any point in this space a new reality can appear - a vertical, which is built only between God and man. The Kingdom of God is already here, among you, Christ says to His disciples: they look around in amazement, looking around, not understanding that they just need to see themselves next to Christ. There is no need to look for this Kingdom either in time or in space - it is always nearby.

But Christ is meek and long-suffering, He does not break into the soul as an Imperious Master, but stands at the door and only modestly knocks in the hope that those outside the door, inside, will hear and themselves will want to let in. Hence the abundance in His speech of images and comparisons that help to understand His teaching about the Kingdom. And at the same time there is a constant emphasis: “ Yes, I am the King, but not of the Kingdom that you all dream of. My Kingdom is different. It is where there are not the power-hungry and the proud, but the meek and modest; where there is no pomp and religious hypocrisy, but childish simplicity and sincerity; where God is not a mental fiction, but a Living Lord, really present in life!” It is not difficult to imagine how difficult these words were to hear: just look around - who is to blame for our troubles today? The powers that be? Thieves and bribe takers? But what difference does it make - all the same, the gaze glides along the path worn over centuries, and long before Christ this path had already been trodden. To paraphrase Christ’s words about the Kingdom of God, one could say this: no matter what kind of ruler you install, even the most holy, sinless and full of all virtues, this will not solve the essence of our problems: after all, our main enemy is not somewhere outside, he is inside; more precisely, we are our own enemies number one.

Where does the Kingdom begin?

The Kingdom of God - the Kingdom of Heaven - begins when a person finds his King and Lord: and for Christians, this entry into the Kingdom is directly related to the birth of water and the Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism. When the priest asks the person being baptized: “Do you believe Him?” - the one preparing to be born into the New Kingdom answers: “I believe as the King and God!” Therefore, baptism is not just some kind of “cleansing” ritual, but a highly responsible moment: accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior, plunging into His death and rising with His Resurrection from the waters of the font, he takes an oath of allegiance to his King and God. From now on, man is no longer alone: ​​he is in service, he is “at work,” he does not belong to his desires and lusts, but works for his King and God, thereby manifesting His Kingdom in this world. But this is not only what a Christian prays for every day when he asks in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy kingdom come”: his prayer is not only that there should be more and more of these points of God’s living and active presence in the world through His faithful subjects. Our hope and expectation is to see that moment when the firmament will curl up, the stars will disappear, the dead will rise - this long, such an endlessly long cold night of sin will end, and a new Day will open, the Bright Day of Christ's Kingdom.

However, we must prepare for this day now. " He who has not seen Christ here in this life will not see Him there either.", said the Venerable. Barsanuphius of Optina.

“My kingdom is not of this world,” says Christ. And His followers, Christians, on the one hand, have no other world to live in than this, which by default is hostile to Christ. But on the other hand, the Kingdom by which they live - the Kingdom of Christ - is not of this world. This internal tension - from the inevitability of life in this world and the impossibility of living according to its worldly laws - turns out to be very productive in real life: this is how asceticism, the science of strategy and tactics in the spiritual war against sin and passions, is born. It is in this deep inner tension that a Christian matures. Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is “needed”, taken with effort, it “pushes its way” only with the hands of man himself, with his personal labors it conquers more and more territories on enemy soil.

What does our heart yearn for?

The entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven is opened by the Sacrament of Baptism, and each time, blessing this Kingdom at the Divine Liturgy, the faithful to Christ undergo a serious test of their “professional suitability” to participate in this Kingdom. On the one hand, this unity of human persons turned to Christ forms the Church as His Body. On the other hand, this mysterious multi-part and at the same time single Body turns out to be a court for each specific member of the Church and a witness of his conformity, his attunement with the Spirit who gives life to this Body - the Holy Spirit.

And to get into this Kingdom, you don’t need to go somewhere or wait a painfully long time for it to come “in power and glory”: after all, it has already come, this Kingdom walked across our land - and to this day walks with the feet of those who She considers Him to be her King, living according to the Gospel, fulfilling what He, Christ, expects from His brothers and friends. It is always nearby: if only the receiver of our soul is tuned to this frequency of the Heavenly Kingdom. And when this happens, the Christian becomes living evidence of the objective existence of this Heavenly Kingdom already here and now. Ivan Ilyin once remarked that it is impossible to hide the light of religiosity - it will still break through and shine on the world. The entire innumerable host of Christian saints are precisely such “fireflies”, the lights of God’s truth, but their strength does not lie in some kind of their own exclusivity, but in the fact that they all shone with the same light of the Kingdom of Christ - albeit each in their own way. But the source of their light was always one - Christ.

This living presence of Christ not only in the church community, but also in the soul of every Christian was such an obvious and important criterion for the Apostle Paul that he dared to assert: “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ is not His, that is, not Christ!” (Rom 8:9). Christ Himself is the Kingdom of Heaven, and when He speaks about this Kingdom in parables, images, examples, He always speaks about Himself. Life with Christ, life according to Christ, life in Him is not an abstraction at all, but a very real reality for a church person.

And not at the level of feelings or sensations: this state of internal “synchronization” with the life of the Body of Christ turns out to be much deeper than any psychological experiences, it goes into the ontological sphere, into the area of ​​the fundamental principles of existence. Therefore, what happens in the temple, the Sacraments performed by the hands of the priest - all this resonates not with some external feelings, but with the elements of earth and heaven: here angels are not just present, but co-serve with the priest in fear and trembling. And this invisible spiritual power becomes obvious to those who are pure in heart and open to God. Here, in the temple, is His territory, His Kingdom - unless, of course, the temple is filled with those faithful to Him - and not with traitors and deserters. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that once just crossing the threshold of the temple, a person finds himself until the end of his days enraptured by this new reality that suddenly embraces him from all sides - not ours, but that better, cherished, desired one - for which only the living human yearns heart.

Heaven or Christ?

A Christian is not one who lives the dream of going to heaven, but one who lives by Christ. For a believer in Christ, heaven both opens and can close already in this life. Therefore, for him, every day, every minute of this seemingly transient and therefore meaningless life is actually priceless. And the “mechanical” placement of the soul, not transformed by Divine grace, in a place where the righteous and saints live, will not change the quality of life: there is no escape from oneself, and the one who carries the hell of pride and passions in his heart will himself run away with contempt and anger at these "saints" and "hypocrites". Without becoming a subject of the Kingdom of God here on earth, there is too little chance of getting into it after death. Looking for Christ, His closeness, His tangible presence - not only in the temple and sacraments, but also in the daily events of life - is not such a difficult task if you hear His commandments and try to fulfill them. But in reality there is only one commandment: to be imitators of Christ, to live and be inspired by Him, to act as He acted; to think as He thought, to desire what He strove for. Strange as it may sound, we must speak about this today loudly, again and again: Christianity is Christ-centric, and not “paradise-centric,” or, even worse, “sin-centric.” For us, heaven is where Christ is, and not the other way around. And His Kingdom - whatever you call it - God's or Heavenly - is already here on earth, with us, among us. If only we ourselves - in our hearts, in thoughts, words and deeds - are with Christ.

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