Downward Not Southward

The Kingdom of God (interchangeably spoken of as the Kingdom of Heaven) is one of the most misunderstood teachings of Jesus - which is unfortunate since it was the foundational concept that supported all of his teachings and actions. I think most people would just assume that the kingdom references in the gospels point to the traditional idea of "Heaven." (i.e. the place we go when we die, angels, worship, etc). All of this is off target. I wrote this short six pager a year ago (February 2008) for an assignment in a gospels class. We were challenged to read through each gospel in one sitting, beginning to end, while keeping an eye out for - and making notes on - how Jesus described the kingdom of God/Heaven. Though I know that I could articulate my thoughts better today than I could one year ago (this is the oldest paper I'll be posting), I want to put this up as a starting point for discussion.N.T. Wright often uses the language of the "veil;" especially in his book Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on D