Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
In the foremost Lord's Prayer, found in Matthew 6, we discover that Jesus makes a very important piece of information available to us in that manner of prayer. He says, 'Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'
Very vitally, in the synoptics, particularly the Book of Matthew, there is a constant use of the phrase 'kingdom of heaven', otherwise called 'kingdom of God'. Over the years, different theories have emerged as concerning what the kingdom is. Is it where we go when we die? Is it an ephemeral, abstract concept of God, his word, or his work in the earth?
Our study of the scriptures seems to open our minds to see the kingdom of God in different multilayers of understanding, insight, experiences, and application.
In this work, we will delve into this subject in a holistic manner. The Old and New Testament books will be treated as a singular document, seeing them as complementary, not as one taking precedence over the other, since doing so would require jettisoning concepts found in one for the other. Jesus didn't teach the scriptures that way. In fact, in Acts 1:2-3, Luke records that Jesus' teaching for 40 days was concerning the kingdom of God, otherwise called the kingdom of heaven in Matthew's synoptic.
Acts 1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: Vs 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
In Acts 28, the same writer, Luke, records that Paul was teaching concerning the kingdom of God.
Acts 28:31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
Of course, one of the very opening statements in the Book of Acts shows that after Jesus taught about the kingdom, he ascended before the apostles and disciples. This event informs Peter's sermon in Acts 2, where he declares that, being exalted at the right hand of God, he has shed forth this which you now see and hear.
Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Obviously, there's something current, real, and ongoing about the work of Christ in the Book of Acts that prompts us to go back into the Four Gospels , then the Old Testament, and forward read into the Epistles to see the concept of God's kingdom.
Here, we intend to engage ourselves on different issues-the coming of Christ; the rapture of the saints, as it is properly called; and more vital concepts that the believer needs to understand.
Biblical truths are usually by default, things that we are meant to wrestle with-not in a negative sense, but in a way that requires research, study, meditation, proper application, and often prayer over those facts that we see.
Therefore, research is a key and critical part of studying any biblical concept, and more so the whole Bible itself. So in this work, we expect the believer's mind to be opened up to the many verities, truths, and realities found in the concept of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God.