Pertanyaan: 976. Apa Perbedaan antara "Kerajaan Allah" dan "Kerajaan Surga"?
Ekspresi "kerajaan Allah" dan "kerajaan surgawi" digunakan dalam arti yang berbeda dalam Kitab Suci. Kadang-kadang "kerajaan Allah" dimaksudkan untuk mencakup seluruh alam semesta; lagi pula, "kerajaan surgawi" diterapkan pada wilayah surgawi, di mana Kemuliaan Ilahi bersemayam. Di gereja Yahudi diajarkan bahwa ada berbagai tingkatan atau tinggi dalam kerajaan surgawi (lihat II Kor. 12:2). Doktrin rabbinik kuno membuat perbedaan dari tiga surga, yaitu langit langit, langit bintang, dan "surga surgawi," yang merupakan tempat kediaman Allah yang hadir di mana tertinggi dari ciptaan spiritual-Nya bersemayam, dan itulah surga terakhir yang disebut Kristus sebagai "rumah Bapa-Nya" (Yohanes 14:2). Lebih lanjut lagi, frasa "kerajaan surgawi" sering digunakan dalam Injil sebagai arti bahwa di mana pun pemerintahan Kristus didirikan dalam hati manusia, "kerajaan surgawi ada di dalammu." Ketika kita berdoa "datanglah kerajaan-Mu," kita menantikan waktu ketika ujung-ujung bumi akan mengakui kekuasaan Allah dan pemerintahannya akan universal.
Question: 976. What Is the Difference Between "Kingdom of God" and "Kingdom of Heaven"?
The expressions "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" are used in different senses in the Scrip- tures. At times the "kingdom of God" is meant to include the whole universe ; again, the "kingdom of heaven" is applied to the celestial regions, where divine Majesty sits enthroned. In the Jewish church it was taught that there were various degrees or heights in the heavenly kingdom (see II Cor. 12:2). The old rabbinical doctrines made the distinction of three heavens, viz., the firmament, the starry heavens and the "heaven of heavens," which is the abode of the omnipresent God and of the highest of his spiritual creation, and it is this latter heaven which Christ called "the house of his Father" (John 14: 2). Still further, the phrase "kingdom of heaven" is frequently used in the Gospels as meaning that wherever the rule of Christ is set up in the hearts of men, "the kingdom of heaven is within you." When we pray "Thy kingdom come," we look forward to the time when the ends of the earth will acknowledge God's supremacy and his rule will be universal.
