randman writes:
I think Wright was saying that the kingdom of heaven and heaven are indeed the same thing, and I agree to a degree. I would just qualify that there are layers or levels of this kingdom and realm.....there are heavens.
Actually I don't think that is what he is saying. Wright has written a commentary on the NT and in the back of each book he includes a series of definitions. He defines "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" together. Here is his definition:
quote:
“Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven
Best understood as the kingship, or sovereign and saving rule, of Israel's God YHWH, as celebrated in several psalms (e.g. 99.1) and prophecies (e.g. Daniel 6.26f.). Because THWH was the creator God when he finally became king in the way he intended this would involve setting the world to rights, and particularly rescuing Israel from its enemies. “Kingdom of God” and various equivalents (e.g. 'No king but God!') became a revolutionary slogan around the time of Jesus. Jesus' own announcement of God's kingdom redefined these expectations around his very different plan and vocation. His invitation to people to 'enter' the kingdom was a way of summoning them to allegiance to himself and his programme, seen as the start of God's long-awaited saving reign. For Jesus, the kingdom was coming not in a single move, but in stages, of which his own public career was one, his death and resurrection another, and a still future consummation another. Note that 'kingdom of heaven' is Matthew's preferred form for the same phrase, following a regular Jewish practice of saying 'heaven' rather than God. It does not refer to a place ('heaven'), but to the fact of God's becoming king in and through Jesus and his achievement. Paul speaks of Jesus, as Messiah, already in possession of his kingdom, waiting to hand it over finally to the father )1 Corinthians 15.23-28; cf. Ephesians 5.5).
Everybody is entitled to my opinion.
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