prodigal son (15:11). We should seek to discover the central truth of any parable and not try to fix a doctrinal

significance to all the details, which will only side-track from the main teaching. The issue to get clear is: what did

it first mean to those to whom the Lord gave it? It is possible that more truth resided in the parable than they could

apprehend. Even so, this must square with the teaching of the Lord as a whole and the remoter context of the rest of

the New Testament. It is unwise to base fundamental truths upon parables or symbolic prophetical Scriptures, such

as the book of Revelation. This generally shows a weakness; if such truths are really basic and foundational, they

will be treated as plain doctrine in other parts of Scripture.

The most important thing is to get a Scriptural conception of that aspect of the kingdom to which the Gospel

parables pertain. In the New Testament we have several phrases embodying the word kingdom: the kingdom of

heaven, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the Father, the kingdom of His beloved Son, and variants of these.

We have to decide whether all these are synonymous, or have they differences of meaning? The kingdom of God

occurs throughout the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. It is found in Paul's earlier epistles written

during the Acts and in those written afterwards from prison. It must therefore be all-embracive, including things in

heaven as well as things on earth, the whole of God's mighty redemptive plan in Christ being envisaged in it. There

can be nothing that pertains to God outside this universal sovereignty. The kingdom of heaven occurs thirty-two

times in Matthew's Gospel and nowhere else. This phase of the kingdom must therefore be restricted to the scope

and purpose of this Gospel which is peculiarly related to the people of Israel and God's purpose for them as made

known in the Old Testament. Here, Christ's ministry and that of the twelve was exclusively to Israel (Matt. 15:24;

10:5,6), which is the central channel, from a human standpoint, through which God planned to bring in His kingdom

the world over, taking the knowledge and light of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, so fulfilling His original

promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is aptly expressed in the Lord's prayer of the Sermon on the Mount. `...

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven ...' (Matt. 6:10), or as Moses expressed it centuries

before: `... as the days of heaven upon the earth' (Deut. 11:21). After the forty days instruction by the Lord after His

resurrection, the disciples do not hesitate to ask: `... wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?'

(Acts 1:6), showing clearly that this earthly aspect of the kingdom is linked with the people of Israel and not the

Church.

The occurrences of the kingdom of God in the Gospels are parallel to this, as a comparison of Matthew 11:11

with Luke 7:28 shows, but we must not infer from this that these expressions are synonymous, but as the lesser is

included in the greater, the two can now be parallel as far as the Divine purpose is expressed in the Gospel records.

The final realisation of God's kingdom upon the earth awaits the return of the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev.

19:11-16; Matt. 24:29-31). At that time, the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of

His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever (Rev. 11:15).

What is the character of this kingdom? Is it spiritual or literal and visible, or a combination of both? That it

starts in a spiritual sense is made clear by such passages as Matthew 21:31, where Christ declared to the chief priests

that publicans and harlots were entering the kingdom before them. If God's kingdom is ever to be realised on earth

or in heaven, then its subjects must have changed hearts and minds and God always begins with the inward and

works outwards. Consequently the kingdom of God begins with the new birth (John 3:3), and basically the

`kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost' (Rom. 14:17).

Here the spiritualiser and amillennialist will heartily agree, but Scripture makes it plain that this, of itself, is not the

complete fulfilling of the kingdom; it is only its beginning. A moment's reflection will surely make clear that if

every inhabitant of, say, a large city were saved and practically exhibiting the Christian life, there would be sure to

be a practical effect on the outward conditions of that city. Going wider, if a whole nation became truly saved

believers in Christ, it would be sure to have an overwhelming effect upon that nation and its daily life, and also upon

every nation who had any contact with it. Going wider still, when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth, `as

the waters cover the sea' (Hab. 2:14), the effect on the world in its actions and practical business relationships will

be tremendous. It will be nothing less than a colossal revolution. Such a kingdom could not possibly be confined to

the mind and heart alone. The final realisation of the kingdom of heaven upon earth is therefore both inward and

spiritual, outward and literal, and to see anything less than this is to fall short of the Biblical conception.

However, the kingdom as used in relationship to the Church which is Christ's Body is in the spiritual realm

entirely. This church has a homeland which exists not on earth, but in heaven (Phil. 3:20). It is urged not to set its

mind on earthly things (Phil. 3:19), but on those things above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God (Col.