69 passages · Kingdom
The psalm looks ahead to all the earth remembering the LORD and every family of the nations bowing to Him. Future generations will be told of what God has done.
The poet declares that the king's throne endures and rests on justice. God has anointed him for loving righteousness, and the scene shows his fragrant robes, ivory palaces and the queen at his side.
David vows to exalt God as his King and to bless His name every day forever, because the LORD is great and greatly to be praised and His greatness cannot be fully searched out.
David praises the LORD as gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and good to all He has made. All creation will thank Him and His people will speak of His kingdom, which is everlasting.
Isaiah sees a future day when all nations go up to the LORD's house to learn His ways, and He settles their disputes so that swords become plowshares. He then urges Jacob to walk in that light.
God will punish the powers in heaven and kings on earth, who will be locked up like prisoners. Then the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion with glory, and the moon and sun will be ashamed.
The feet of the messenger who announces peace and says 'Your God reigns' are called beautiful. Watchmen sing as the LORD returns to Zion, and the exiles are told to depart in purity.
Daniel tells the king the dream of a statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay, struck by a stone that becomes a mountain. He explains that the head of gold is Nebuchadnezzar, followed by other kingdoms, and God will set up an unending kingdom.
Darius writes to all nations commanding reverence for the living God of Daniel, whose kingdom will never end. Daniel prospers under both Darius and Cyrus.
Daniel sees thrones set, the Ancient of Days seated in judgment, and the boastful beast destroyed. One like a son of man comes with the clouds and is given an everlasting dominion over all peoples.
Alarmed, Daniel asks one of those standing there for the meaning. He is told the four beasts are four kings, but the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom forever.
The prophecy ends with restored Israelites taking possession of surrounding lands, including Edom's mountains. Deliverers go up Mount Zion to rule, and the kingdom belongs to the LORD.
Micah foresees the LORD's house raised up and many nations coming to learn his ways. He will settle disputes, weapons will be turned into farm tools, and each person will live in peace, while Israel walks in the LORD's name.
On that day there is a unique light at evening, and living water flows out of Jerusalem east and west all year. The LORD will be king over all the earth, and Jerusalem will be raised up and live in safety.
John the Baptist appears in the wilderness calling people to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near. Matthew links him to Isaiah's 'voice in the wilderness,' and crowds come to confess their sins and be baptized in the Jordan.
Hearing that John was imprisoned, Jesus withdraws to Galilee and settles in Capernaum. Matthew sees Isaiah's words about a great light for Galilee fulfilled, and Jesus begins preaching the same message John did: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
Jesus travels throughout Galilee teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing many kinds of sickness. His fame spreads and large crowds from many regions follow him.
Jesus opens his teaching by declaring who is blessed: the poor in spirit, mourners, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers and the persecuted. He tells his followers to rejoice, since prophets before them were also persecuted.
Jesus gives a pattern for prayer: honoring God's name, asking for his kingdom and will, and requesting daily bread, forgiveness and deliverance from evil. He adds that God's forgiveness is tied to forgiving others.
Jesus sends the twelve to the lost sheep of Israel to preach that the kingdom is near, heal the sick and cast out demons freely. They are to travel simply, rely on hospitality, and shake off the dust of towns that reject them.
After Jesus heals a blind, mute demon-possessed man, the crowds wonder if he is the Son of David, but the Pharisees say he uses Beelzebul's power. Jesus answers that a divided kingdom cannot stand, and casting out demons shows God's kingdom has come.
Sitting in a boat, Jesus tells of a farmer whose seed falls on the path, rocky ground, thorns and good soil, with only the good soil producing a large crop. He ends by saying whoever has ears should hear.
Jesus says the secrets of the kingdom are given to the disciples but not to others, and quotes Isaiah about people who see and hear but do not understand. He calls his disciples blessed for seeing what many prophets longed to see.
Jesus explains that the seed is the message of the kingdom and the soils are different responses to it. Some hearers lose it, some fall away under trouble, some are choked by worry and wealth, and some bear fruit.
A man sows good seed but an enemy sows weeds among the wheat. The owner refuses to pull the weeds early, since that would uproot the wheat, and says both will grow together until harvest when they will be separated.
Jesus says the kingdom is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a large plant, and like yeast a woman mixes into flour until it all rises. Matthew notes Jesus spoke only in parables to the crowds, fulfilling a psalm.
Jesus explains that the sower is the Son of Man, the field is the world and the weeds are the sons of the evil one. At the end of the age the angels will gather the wicked for judgment, while the righteous shine like the sun.
Jesus compares the kingdom to a hidden treasure and a fine pearl, each worth giving up everything to have, and to a net that catches good and bad fish to be sorted at the end. He closes by likening a trained scribe to a homeowner bringing out new and old treasures.
The disciples ask who is greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus sets a child among them. He says they must change and become like children, and that whoever humbles himself is greatest and welcoming such a child welcomes him.
People bring children for Jesus to bless, and the disciples rebuke them. Jesus tells them to let the children come, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these, and he lays his hands on them.