the idea, yet accommodates His teaching to the limitations and the finiteness of man. An idea, so complex, so vast and so allinclusive, forever hovers in a mist of elusiveness; we catch a glimpse now and again of the reality,—we reach for it, and lo, it is gone; we seek to define, and the illimitable conception baffles our most strenuous endeavors. The utmost that humanity can do is to throw out words at the august object, in the hope that they may be measurably adequate; an approximation of the truth is all that we can hope for.

We hesitate, then, to define the "Kingdom of God," but should the rash attempt be made, our approximate definition would be this: The Kingdom of God is the absolute sovereignty of the Universe, the absolute rule of the World and of each individual by the Will of the Omnipotent and Righteous God; exemplified and made possible to humanity in the Person of Jesus Christ; it is the full realization of the mind and character of God. The great difficulty, however, encountered in any attempt to define the Kingdom of God, renders more imperative the duty of determining what is the basic and fundamental idea of the phrase. Hence, we learn that the expression means, in the last analysis, a rule or sovereignty, having its source and seat of authority in God, and in character, illustrating the principles which obtain and prevail in Heaven.1

It is now our privilege to inquire: What is the Origin and Development of the Idea expressed by the words, "The Kingdom of God" or "The Kingdom of Heaven"?

See Appendix C, "Various Definitions of The Kingdom."

CHAPTER II

THE ORIGIN AND PRE-CHRISTIAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA

Of all the solutions of the problem of human existence, that offered in the Bible has seized most forcibly upon the minds and hearts of men. The Bible, indeed, offers the highest philosophy of life: it is the truest philosophy of history, and the noblest history of philosophy.

The Bible, however, is an entire library in itself; and although it is the production of many ages, of many pens, and of many minds of varying degrees of intellectuality and spiritual insight, written for different peoples, called into being by manifold circumstances, and aimed to meet diverse needs and exigencies, there is a substantial unity underlying the whole. There is, as it were, a silken cord running throughout the entire literature, binding together the various parts, and differentiating this from all other literature: that cord is The Kingdom of God. However the authors of the various books may treat their subject, when their writings are analyzed, their theme is found to be "The Kingdom of Heaven." The careful historian, the farseeing statesman, the ecstatic seer, the quiet philosopher, the powerful preacher, the sweet-spirited poet, the thoughtful scholar, the practical man of affairs-all contribute their share to the Sacred Literature, and vie with each other in setting forth the Kingdom of God. The Hebrews, in fact, were essentially a people of one idea, and their literature reflects their life.

The Bible, indeed, is the history of the revelation, the evolution and the realization of an idea-The Kingdom of God; a revelation not complete and final in its beginning, but gradual and progressive, ever adapted and accommodated to the receptivity of man, and following the law of development that is written everywhere in the Universe, "first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." Let us trace this develop

ment in bold, brief outline, with just enough attention to detail to mark the various steps in the progress and their significance.

In introducing the problem of the world and of life, the Scriptures begin with the declaration: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). The writer also informs us of the satisfaction felt by the Deity with the work of His hands: "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31). At once, however, the question arises-What is meant by the expression "very good"? What is the standard of comparison that is to determine the "goodness"? The world, or creation, was "very good," but "very good" as related to whom, or to what? Manifestly, the standpoint of God is intended. That creation was "very good" means that, in its relation to God and to all other creatures, everything created was as it ought to be. This, indeed, is the true standard of goodness in every age. There was

a condition of perfect harmony between the Creator and the created. There was There was no antagonism, but perfect obedience; Creator and creature were at peace. On every side the mind of God was revealed; His laws were admitted and obeyed; God was King, the world of Creation was His Kingdom.

This relation of God to the physical world is throughout the Old Testament emphasized by prophet and by psalmist. Psalm 47:7 reads:-"God is the king of all the earth." In the Psalms generally, and in many passages of the Old Testament, this Kingship of God is represented as extending over angels and men, the nations and kingdoms of the earth; in fact, this sovereignty is co-extensive with creation, even the forces of nature are regarded as His ministers, while all things serve Him (Isa. i; Chron. 29:11).

But instantly the question arises: "Have not men rebelled against God; do they not oppose His will?" If so, how can God be their King, and the world of men constitute His Kingdom? This question is a natural and a logical one, and while it is apparently unanswerable, it was both raised and answered of old. The true and adequate answer lies in Shakespeare's famous dictum:

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will."

Indeed, this well-known and seemingly weighty objection to the Supremacy of God, as apparent in an early age as in this, did not cause the Biblical writers to minimize for an instant God's full and entire sovereignty over man. Again and again the Old Testament teaches God's providence over all, nations and individuals, heaven and earth alike. One of the most explicit and interesting of the passages is Daniel 4:34, 35. Jeremiah, too, represents men as clay in the hands of God, who moulds them even as the potter moulds his clay. He tells us that if nations will not be moulded into vessels of honorable use in serving the divine ends, they will be moulded to other uses as vessels of dishonor. Again Psalm 76:10 declares that even the wrath of man is made to praise God, while the residue of wrath is restrained.

Thus the Biblical conception is, that despite the opposition of nations and of individuals, God's providence rules over all; that so great and superb is God's plan, so august is His Omniscience, so invincible and far-reaching His Omnipotence, that due-account of human self-will and human opposition was taken ab initio, without detracting from the fact that God is King and that the world of nature and the world of men constitute His Kingdom. Hence, when looking toward the ultimate outcome of creation, we may believe with entire freedom of faith, with England's late laureate:

"That there is

One God, one law, one element

And one far-off divine event

To which the whole creation moves."

We may believe this fully and freely, because "There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." Such a faith, indeed, is essential to rational existence; life, without it, is unintelligible. God began as Monarch and He reigns as Sovereign.

While this view is eminently comforting to those who are concerned about the denouement of Creation, it is eminently unsatisfactory from the standpoint of Heaven, and even from the standpoint of those men who have a keen sense of the "fitness of things" and are alive to the deep problems of life. Can

God, in view of His very nature, be satisfied with such a Kingdom or Sovereignty? God, in the essence of His Being, according to the Bible, is Free-will and Love, no less than Power. If God is Liberty and Love, we cannot expect Him (humanly speaking) to be satisfied with a sovereignty over men, which is non-moral in character and the product or force, rather than loving co-operation. Hence there is, in the very nature of God, the potentiality of a far-higher and nobler Kingdom than one founded upon mere authority. An earthly parent desires the free and loving obedience of his children, not an obedience rendered to his authority alone. So it is with God. He desires and seeks the submission of men to His authority, their obedience to His rule, but an obedience which is both intelligent and willing, conscious and affectionate.

The world of nature, let us remember, obeys the will of God, because His laws are inherent in its very constitution; there is no freedom of the will, no power of choice, no selfconsciousness; it must proceed in its God-appointed channel. In the world of men, however, there is freedom of the will, a power of choice, self-consciousness. Man is not a machine, made, wound up and designed to run. Man is a personality; he is alone capable of entering into the closest relationship with his Creator; man can love and consciously obey. Therefore, the great world-problem is not what it is often supposed to be: Will God's end in Creation be attained? Rather is it: Will man co-operate with God in the realization and attainment of that end? Thus, as in the inherent nature of God, there lies is the essential nature of man, the possibility of, the foundation for, and the prophecy of a Kingdom of God, far higher and nobler, because moral and spiritual, than that which exists in the world of nature. The Kingdom of God in the physical world, indeed, is one thing; the Kingdom of God in humanity is another.

Now this idea of a Kingdom of God in humanity was God's object in Creation, if the Biblical standpoint be accepted. Upon the Kingdom of God in the physical world, God would rear a Kingdom of God in humanity; the one representing an unconscious obedience; the other, a conscious and willing obedience to His will. But it must be noted that in man's ability to do good there lies also the possibility of his doing evil. The very