In the first part of our study, we provided the background for the idea of redemption within ancient Judaism. It emerged from the three convictions held by all Jews: (1) There is only one god, the God of Israel; (2) Israel is his chosen people, and this relationship is codified by the giving of the Torah, which articulates God’s will and covenant with Israel (see Exodus 19:5-6); and (3) Only when Israel is free can she truly worship God in the manner that he desires. Thus, it contained both political-national and spiritual hopes and expectations. Roman rule over Judaea challenged these three assumptions, which led to the development of three streams of thought as to how redemption would happen: militant activism, apocalyptic passivism, and redemptive activism. The idea and language of the kingdom of Heaven emerged within the stream of redemptive activism.
The phrase kingdom of Heaven in Hebrew is malkut shamayim (מלכות שמים). The first word, translated as “kingdom” is a verbal noun meaning “rule, reign.” “Heaven” does not refer to God’s celestial dwelling; rather, it refers to God Himself. Thus, there is no difference between the kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of God. Jews, speaking in Hebrew, in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, used other terms and ways of speaking about God, without pronouncing the divine name. The technical term for this is circumlocution. Jews speaking in languages other than Hebrew, like Greek or Aramaic, did not have to avoid uttering the divine name, which was only in Hebrew. Thus, the substitution of Heaven for God’s name in the phrase kingdom of Heaven attests to its Hebrew origin. (This would have been the language Jesus used when he spoke about it as well).
There is no difference between the kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of God.
The first mention of God’s rule appears within the Bible in Exodus 15:17-18, which belongs to the Song of the Sea sung by the children of Israel after God delivered them from Egyptian bondage and Pharoah’s forces: “You brought them and planted them on the mountain of Your inheritance—a place for Your dwelling You made, O Lord; a sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands established. The Lord reigns forever and ever” (Exodus 15:17-18). The appearance of God’s reign in connection with his deliverance of Israel from Egypt meant that the kingdom of Heaven related inherently to Jewish redemptive hopes, both political-national and spiritual. Several other passages from the Hebrew Bible-Old Testament became key for the formation, expectations, and expression of the idea of the kingdom of Heaven within Judaism (Exodus 19:5-6; Leviticus 25:55; Isaiah 52:7; 61:1-3; Zechariah 14:9; and Psalm 146:7-10).
The Sages of Israel believed God’s actions, specifically his redemptive acts, magnified and sanctified his name in the world. So too did Israel’s obedience to his commandments (Torah). Israel’s obedience sanctified his name and served as a catalyst for the realization of his reign (see the words of Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazar in Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael on Exodus 15:2). God’s “kingdom,” then, connected to his actions or Israel’s obedience in the world, as can be seen in the words of the ancient Jewish prayer, the Kaddish:
“Their Father who is in heaven; magnified and sanctified be His great name. May establish His kingdom (literally: May He cause His kingdom [מלכתו] to reign) in the world which He has created according to His will. He who makes peace in his highest, may He make peace for all Israel.”
The proclamation of God’s reign ties to his redemption, characterized as bringing peace for Israel, which also expresses the appearance of his glory. God’s glory, peace, and reign fit together within ancient Jewish thought. As such, they speak to God’s redemptive workings for Israel (see Ben Sira 36:1-22; Psalms of Solomon 5:18-19; 11QM 11:5-13; 1 Enoch 1:8; Luke 2:14; 19:38; the Kedushah; and the Kedushah de-Sidra).
The Sages told a parable concerning God’s reign and the giving of the Torah. God’s deliverance of Israel provided the grounds for him to rule them as their king and give them his commands. One accepted God’s rule by living in obedience to His commandments.
“’I am the Lord your God’ (Exdus 20:2). Why were the Ten Commandments not said at the beginning of the Torah? A parable is told, to what may the matter be compared? To one who entered a country and said, ‘May I rule over you?’ They replied to him, ‘Have you done anything good for us that you should rule over us?’ What did he do? He built the [city] wall for them, brought water [into the city] for them and fought battles for them. Then he said to them, ‘May I rule over you?’ They replied, ‘Yes, yes.’ So, also the Ominpresent brought Israel out of Egypt, parted the sea for them, brought down the manna for them, raised the well for them, brought the quail for them and fought the battle against Amalek for them. He said to them, ‘May I rule over you?’ and they responded, ‘Yes, yes.’ Rabbi [Yehudah ha-Nasi] says: This makes the excellence of Israel known, for when they all stood before Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, they were all of one mind to receive the Kingdom of Heaven joyfully” (Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael on Exodus 20:2).
The acceptance of God’s reign manifested itself by obedience to his commandments. For this stream of thought, Israel’s enslavement to Rome happened because of Israel’s disobedience (see Deuteronomy 28-30). Obedience to the Torah, repentance, and acts of piety, could serve as a catalyst to move God to bring about redemption.
The proclamation of God’s reign ties to his redemption, characterized as bringing peace for Israel, which also expresses the appearance of his glory.
“’If they were wise they would understand this’ (Deuteronomy 32:29). If Israel had kept the words that Jacob, their father, spoke to them, no people or kingdom would rule over them. And what did he say to them? ‘Take upon yourselves the kingdom of Heaven and emulate one another in the fear of Heaven and practice kindness to one another’” (Sifre Deuteronomy on Deut. 32:29).
If Israel obeyed the Torah, no kingdom would rule them. If they loved God and their neighbor, which is equated with taking upon oneself the kingdom of Heaven, no kingdom would rule over them. This is also expressed in the Aramaic Targum Onkelos on Ezekiel 2:10: “If the house of Israel transgresses the law, foreign nations will rule over her, but if they keep (יעבדון) the law, mourning (see Isaiah 61:2; Matt. 5:4), tribulation, and lamentation will depart from her.”
A Sage who lived during the First Jewish Revolt named Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai explained Israel’s foreign subjugation as due to Israel’s disobedience:
Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai said: “‘And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl’ (Ex. 21:6): Why was the ear specified of all limbs? Because it heard at Sinai. ‘For me the children of Israel are servants’ (Lev. 25:55) yet cast off the yoke of [the kingdom of] Heaven and accepted the yoke of flesh and blood. Thus Scripture states: Let the ear come forward and be pierced, for it has not obeyed what it heard. Another interpretation: he did not want to be enslaved to his Creator, let him be enslaved to His [the Creator’s] sons” (t. Baba Kama 7.5-6).
Yohannan ben Zakkai’s statement affirmed the illegitimacy of foreign rule over Israel, but it came because Israel did not obey the Torah. If the casting off the yoke of the Torah accepted the yoke of flesh and blood, then his words imply the acceptance of the yoke of the Torah would remove the yoke of flesh and blood. It seems the Jewish rebels of the First Revolt assumed the casting off the yoke of foreign rule through force meant the acceptance of the reign of God. A subtle yet significant shift from the position of ben Zakkai.
A close connection existed between the idea of liberty and the kingdom of Heaven. Liberty as a religious concept was unique within Judaism. Liberty as a religious concept was anchored in Israel’s election, which is codified in the Torah. Liberty leads to the idea of political independence and the illegitimacy of foreign rule. Establishing a foreign government over Israel, “accepting the yoke of flesh and blood,” means the removal of the “yoke of Heaven,” i.e., only when Israel is free can she truly worship God as he desires. The saying of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai refers to a “yoke of flesh and blood,” meaning foreign rule over Israel. The Sages usually used the phrase a “yoke of flesh and blood” to refer to foreign rule over Israel. Yet, on two occasions, they used it to refer to the attitude of the Jewish rebels (the militant activists), who sought to establish Jewish liberty by the sword, drawing a parallel between the Jewish rebels’ behavior and that of the foreign, pagan powers. The rebels cast off the “yoke of Heaven” and accepted a “yoke of flesh and blood.”
Rabbi Hananiah, prefect of the priests says: “He who takes to heart the words of the Torah is relieved of many preoccupations—preoccupations with hunger, foolish preoccupations, unchaste preoccupations, preoccupations with the evil impulse, preoccupations with an evil wife, idle preoccupations, and preoccupations with the yoke of flesh and blood…But he who does not take to heart the words of the Torah is given over to many preoccupations—preoccupations with hunger, foolish preoccupations, unchaste preoccupations, preoccupations with the evil impulse, preoccupations with an evil wife, idle preoccupations, and preoccupations with the yoke of flesh and blood”…He used to say: “Do not look at me because I am dark and the sun has tanned me [my mother’s sons were angry with me]” (Song. 1:6)—these are the assemblies of Judah who broke off the yoke of the Holy One, blessed be He, and caused a king of flesh and blood to reign over them (Avot de Rabbi Nathan version A, 20; emphasis added; see also t. Sotah 14:1).
Liberty became a slogan unto itself for the Jewish rebels. The pursuit of it led them to pervert justice and righteousness to achieve their ends. While the idea of liberty was bound with the kingdom of Heaven, it was only one aspect; the Jewish rebels forgot the other aspect: the exclusive rule of God over the whole world, which meant obedience to His commandments. The idea of the kingdom of Heaven, then, as it developed, served as an anti-slogan to the militant activism of the Jewish rebels. Foreign rule came from Israel’s disobedience. So, if foreign rule happened because of disobedience, then what would be the consequence of obedience? Of loving God and neighbor? Of accepting God’s reign, the kingdom of Heaven? The answer: redemption, which meant political independence so Israel could worship of God as he desires.
A close connection existed between the idea of liberty and the kingdom of Heaven.
One can presently live in the kingdom through obedience, but in the future, God’s reign will be universally recognized throughout the world.
“When will the name of these people [the Amalekites] perish? In the hour when idolatry is uprooted together with the idolaters and the Omnipresent will be unique [i.e., worshipped exclusively] in the world and his Kingdom (מלכותו) will be [established] forever and ever. In that hour, ‘The Lord will go out and wage war’ (Zech. 14:3), ‘and the Lord will be king [over all the earth, and on that day the Lord will be one, and His name one]’ (Zech. 14:9)” (Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael on Exodus 17:14).
The future appearance of God’s reign will bring an end to idolatry and idolaters. Thus, the kingdom of Heaven possessed an eschatological and universal aspect to it as well.
The Sages, however, criticized the apocalyptic passivists who only looked for God’s reign in the future: “If Israel at the [Red] Sea had said, ‘The Lord reigns (מלך) forever and ever, no nation or kingdom would ever have ruled over them. But they said, ‘The Lord will reign (ימלוך) forever and ever,’ in the future to come (Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael to Exodus 15:17). These words of Rabbi Yose the Galilean play with the Hebrew wording of Exodus 15:18. He attributes Israel’s subjugation to foreign powers to the refusal to accept God’s reign (obedience to his commandments) in the present. He also chided those who looked to God’s reign only in the future. The kingdom of Heaven does not only refer to the future state for the Sages. God’s kingdom is already upon us, although only potentially; in the future, it will appear visibly throughout the world.
For this reason, within the Sages’ idea of the kingdom, it remains passive although it belonged to the ideology of redemptive activism. It waits for a person to act on it, and in this way, Jesus’ idea of the kingdom differed from that of Israel’s Sages. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korhah said: “Why does the section, ‘Hear, O Israel,’ precede, ‘And it will come to pass if you obey’? So that a person may first accept the kingdom of Heaven and afterwards accept the yoke of the commandments” (m. Berachot 2:2). What is the connection between the kingdom of Heaven and the “Hear O Israel” (the Shema)? Zechariah 14:9, which mentions God’s reign, is the only other passage in the Bible where the phrase “God is one” appears, apart from Deuteronomy 6:4. The common language tied to the two ideas together, the Shema and God’s kingdom.
Moreover, according to the words of Rabbi Joshua ben Korhah, the kingdom waits for human action. The person first accepts the kingdom and afterwards the commandments. So too, in the parable quoted above, God’s reign waits for Israel’s acceptance of his commandments. For the Sages, then, the kingdom waits for human obedience to activate it, and thus, it is passive.
This was not the position of Jesus; for him, the kingdom is breaking forth. And it’s to this we turn in our next and final piece on the kingdom of Heaven.