THOMAS
The Kingdom of heaven. What is it and where? In philosophical and religious books, imagination, or in general in the next world? Not everyone, even a churchgoer, can answer such questions from the point of view of the Church. We asked priest Sergius Kruglov to talk about what we can learn about the Kingdom of Heaven from the Gospel and the Old Testament, how to understand the calls of Christ and what we pray for when calling on His Kingdom.
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Christianity has often been and is being reproached for its illogicality, for the fact that the same Gospels are full of contradictions. For example, in one place Christ says: The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. And in another, he teaches people to ask God so that it will come only someday in the future: Thy Kingdom come... You won’t understand, they say, whether it has come, this Kingdom of God, or not. Whether it will be on earth - after all, there were attempts to realize it, manifested in the construction of the sacred spaces of Byzantium, Holy Rus', the Holy Roman Empire, but the past has grown and will never be repeated; or, as Jehovah's Witnesses believe and actively preach and a fair portion of weary humanity dreams, will only be built, conquered, or brought down from above, from heaven, to earth. Either the “Kingdom of Heaven” is a new Eden, the kingdom of universal contentment, brotherhood and justice, which More and Campanella, the creators of the Third Reich and the builders of communism, dreamed of, or the “Kingdom of Heaven” is simply an illusion, a self-consolation to which a person clings uncontrollably drawn by the flow of life to the same end for all - to old age, decay, death...
How can we, Christians, explain to our friends, relatives, and fellow questioners of this century who are far from the Church, what the Kingdom of God is? First of all, trying to understand this important issue ourselves.
Where is the Kingdom of God?
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From the words of the Savior it is clear that the Kingdom of Heaven is near, you just need to repent, and now, it is already achievable. Thus, people had to understand that nothing had changed in their lives at that moment, all the rulers and powerful people of that world remained in place. Nothing has changed except that from now on Jesus Christ is next to them. This means that He is the Kingdom of Heaven. But no one was given the opportunity to understand this; even the apostles could not fully understand this truth, because “their hearts were petrified.”
It is necessary to understand that the disciples of Christ were raised in their environment, on the commandments of the Old Testament. The Jews considered themselves God's chosen people, and therefore lived in the belief that the Kingdom of God belonged only to them. And Jesus said that everyone who believes in Him, who renounces sin and repents, will achieve the Kingdom. People will come to it from all over the world.
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How could one immediately accept such a teaching? For the Jews, this was akin to being brought down from heaven to earth. That’s why the Lord preached, that’s why he showed miracles of healing, resurrection, turning water into wine and others, in order to attract people’s attention, to make them understand that a different reality, a different time had come. He showed his mercy, kindness and foresight so that his disciples - not only among those close to him, but also among all the people - would understand how to walk along the road leading to the Kingdom of God.
And Christ, in parables, images and examples, spoke about the Kingdom of God as about Himself. It is He who is this Kingdom. Life with Him next to Him, according to His commandments, this is the reality that the contemporaries of His coming to Earth had the opportunity to experience. That is why, if they had the opportunity to listen to sermons, drink, eat, sail on a boat, accompanied by the Kingdom, they achieved it so quickly and easily. It itself chose them, overshadowed them with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
"I scared him to hell"
The usual explanation of the term “Kingdom of God” is known to everyone: firstly, it is the power of God as King, Master, over people and the universe, and its manifestations. Secondly, the territory in which this power operates. But for an ordinary person, with such an explanation, a lot of disturbing thoughts immediately arise: where does this territory end? What if I myself and those who are dear to me find myself outside of it?..
The fear of being in hell, in a place of abandonment and torment, is one of the fundamental fears of humanity; our daily life is full of hellish manifestations, and in order to be afraid of hell, it is not at all necessary to be a Christian.
Let us recall the story about one of the famous French atheists of the 18th century. Having seen at an inn that a certain priest could not get repentance from a dying man, he took the matter upon himself as a bet - and was successful. And when asked how he, an atheist, managed to evoke repentance in a person, he shrugged his shoulders and said with a grin: “I just frightened him with hell”... No, on the fear of torment alone, on the fear of being rejected, nothing lasting and good can be achieved. build, especially in the Christian sense. And with regard to the thesis about the power of God as a King over us, man has concerns: having come into our world, such as it is, full of sin and ugliness, what will the King do? Of course, he will execute people right and left, and so that, again, we ourselves will not fall under the distribution, because we know well what power is and how merciless and unfair it can be, from the example of our kings, leaders, Fuhrers and other rulers. Not a single king on earth retained royal power, acting only with goodness, mercy and love. Let's remember the Star Boy from Wilde's fairy tale - even he, having become a king, subjected his enemies to repression, and the whole truth of life was revealed in the fairy tale with its final phrase: “And his successor was a tyrant”...
Why does the Church of Christ still exist?
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It was precisely because the Lord, in His coming, approached the apostles and introduced them into the Kingdom of God, that is, into Himself, that these, essentially simple people, founded our Church.
They themselves became subjects of the Kingdom of God, and therefore, through persecution, torment, persecution, and opposition from the authorities, they were able to found a Church that exists to this day. It is impossible to explain its existence by other reasons.
They became imitators of Christ, lived and were inspired by intimacy with Him, and acted as He acted. The apostles and other followers of Christ began to think the way he thought and wanted the same thing that He was striving for - closeness to the Heavenly Father.
Examples
1. When the door opened and a coffin made of dark wood appeared, and then the yellow, terrible face of the dead man, women passing by fearfully exclaimed “The kingdom of heaven to him.”
2. The priest greeted the inconsolable relatives, went into the room where the deceased was, quietly said: “The Kingdom of Heaven” and began the funeral service.
3. According to the canons of Christianity, the Kingdom of Heaven will come after the second coming of Jesus Christ. But nowhere in the texts of the Bible is there any indication or hint given as to the time when this will happen.
How wrong
It would be wrong for a person who considers himself to be a Christian to say “rest in peace,” since this expression goes back to paganism and carries an atheistic meaning.
Seek the Kingdom
The search for the Kingdom is put in contrast to the search for what all people are looking for, what everyone living on earth strives for - what to drink and what to wear? In other words, if I apply my strength to caring and fussing about earthly things, if my thoughts are occupied with this, then I am NOT SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD. This is the meaning of the word “seek” that Greek dictionaries give us.
Seek - seek, try, achieve, strive, ask, demand, explore, study, feel the absence.
Tsar
As we have already said, in the kingdom there is a King whom everyone else must serve. He controls everything. The Word says that we were created as His workmanship for the works that He prepared for us to do. Now we just have to figure it out and decide for ourselves.
WHAT kingdom am I in, WHO is the king there, WHOM do I serve and WHOSE desires do I fulfill?
As we read above, you cannot serve two masters. One will always be on the sidelines. This is very clearly seen in our ordinary everyday questions. When you have to go to a parent-teacher meeting, or to an anniversary, but your attachment to work does not allow you to be free. And you SACRIFICE this or that invitation.
But if you or your children are sick, you have to sacrifice work. Although we are often ready to work until the last minute, even when we are sick. Or something else will happen that can “overcome” the power of work over you. Why am I writing this? Very often we tell ourselves that we CANNOT do something for some reason. I'm talking about spiritual things. We cannot go to a meeting to serve our brothers and sisters, we cannot sit and quietly read the Bible. We cannot “ close the door behind us and pray .” Because there is something in our life that we put above this.
I don’t mind us working, taking care of the house, cooking, taking care of the children. The goal of our discussion is the Kingdom of God and the King.
Laws of the Kingdom
So. How would we describe what we are looking for?
We would look for those who do not seek power over other people, do not dominate, but serve and are willing to sacrifice themselves for others. And this applies not only to ordinary believers, but especially to ministers.
Our words
Often, when you have spent some time in a certain country and spoke a different language, this leaves an imprint on your communication style. Or you were in the company of people whose speech differs from yours. And if you are going to another country, even for a while, you will study the language and features of this place.
To seek the Kingdom in this case is to learn the language of the Kingdom.
Thoughts
As you prepare to move to another country, you will learn to think and live like them. Many testify that there is no such thing as hospitality abroad. The doors of the house are not always open. Even for parents. It is said that we have the mind of Christ, which means that the ability to think must come from God.
Leave everything
It is quite natural for an emigrant to get rid of everything in the country from which he is leaving. And even more so, he is unlikely to buy anything important. Because his main home is elsewhere.
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?”...
Photo by Vladimir Eshtokin
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 was? Saul, David, Solomon - all of them were inscribed in the history of the Jewish people not only as kings, 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 this all 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...
