Customer Reviews

The Kingdom of God (Series a)

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The Kingdom of God by John Bright, renown Professor Emeritus of Hebrew and the interpretation of the Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary in Va., is the best cpompanion book you could read along with the Old Testament. This man has a deep understanding of how God works in history, then and now. His profound insights are founded not only in his ability to think in Hebrew and understand original meanings, but also his knowledge of history. His personal knowledge of who God is the thread that makes this book prophetic as well as practicle. I have been reading it over and over for 20 years without tiring. It is a book for the layperson as well as the student. If this book appeals to you, I highly recommend "A History of Israel" although it is much more of a textbook.

While this book was written many decades ago, it is very relevant to today's church. It overviews Israel's history and shows why the Israelites didn't understand Jesus' talk about the Kingdom of God. Even the Israelites in the Old Testament didn't grasp God's spiritual kingdom. This book is a must read!!

This is a powerful exposition on the biblical concept on the kingdom of God. It is a call to faith, as we look for and await 'a city which has foundations' and 'an imperishable hope'.
I think perhaps the most powerful moment comes when the author explains how Jesus of Nazareth, recognizing his messianic calling and joining it with that of Isaiah's suffering servant, lays down his life, thus becoming a suffering messiah (a novel concept at the time)and, incidentally, our sin offering and example.
Its comprehensive but not an overly difficult read. Highly recommended.

John Bright's well written book, "The Kingdom of God," certainly is profound in the depth of its insight. For example, he says, "It must be underscored and underscored again that while there is not a sign of defeatism or of despairing passivity regarding its mission in the early church, there is in all the New Testament no brave talk of winning the world for Christ and of unshering in his Kingdom-not so much as one syllable!" I totally agree with him on this and almost every other point he makes in this excellent book. For to long, we have been fed a fear producing lie that if we do not get the gospel to the unreached the end won't come. Also, because of our sin, these pagans will go into a Christless eternity.

Yes, believers are to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. All Christians have a part to play in this endeavor. God loves us so much he wants to use us in carrying out his mission. But we can give, go to the mission field, etc, etc, etc when God hasn't called us to do so. What our Savior is most interested in is believers learning to hear his voice and walk in obedience to it. In short he wants relationship with his children.

When descibing the temple religion in Israel, Bright shockingly, but in my opinion accurately calls it a cult. While David, the man after God's heart, had some good points, he also had many flaws. For one he had many wives, which brought with them their pagan "cult" religions. He also was a man of war, who had done much killing. So much in fact, that becuase of this, God had Soloman build the temple. David covered up his murder of Uriah the Hititte for a full year. Only when confronted by the prophet did he repent.

And while Israel under it's most Godly leaders had all the proper religious form in the temple ritual, its adherants usually lacked the love that is the heart of the law. For example, Soloman built his Eygptian wife, Pharoh's daughter a lawish palace with conscripted Israelite labor. His many other lavish building projects were carried out the same way. His lavish spending, which so awed the Queen of Sheba, put a severe strain on Israel's economy and caused the levy of high taxes on its citizens.

Soloman like his father had many pagan wives, which enticed the Israelites to follow other God's, and led to their downfall. Rehoboam followed in his father's footsteps and spent lavishly. This, along with a desire to return to the old charismatic leadership found in the book of Judges, is what caused the ten nothern tribes to break of from the two southern ones. Yes, their leadership was no more righteous than that of David and his family.

Throughout the book, Bright talks about the ancient paths. In our day, we are nastolgic about the past. What Bright is calling for isn't outward reform, but an inward change of heart. The ancient paths are from the beginning of time and are the Father God's paths of love and justice. People walking in the old or ancient ways see their sin for what it is. They see that apart from the Savior's empowering they are hopeless to walk in obedience to his commands, which are all based on love and not outward ritual. This book gave Scriptural backing for some beliefs of mine for which that was needed.

I found this book to be a very readable yet scholarly writing of the history of God's people from the time of Egypt to the present. I have read no other books that are so comprehensive in their dealings with this subject. An excellent book which should be in any Christians library.

This book changed the way I read the Bible and see world history. I was originally given this book from an old friend whose library was overflowing. I've kept it and re-read it many times and am so glad it's now available on Kindle. The book tells that Jesus' ministry was not about earthly success but establishing his kingdom. Similarly, God was not solely concerned with the Hebrews getting the land but in getting their hearts--a lesson they've missed to this day. A must read for Christians wanting to get to know God and the Bible better.

Published in 1953, "The Kingdom of God" was written during that grand period in scholarship when everything was being unturned. The first bundle of the Dead Seas Scrolls had just been discovered, casting new light on last Second Temple Judaism. The time was dawning when the theologians would begin to recognize the cultural understanding of Jesus' words in Mark 1:15, "The time has come; the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

In fact, in a few short years, George Ladd would publish Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God (1958) based upon his lectures at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary.

Yes. It was a jewel; a kinda "pre-jewel."

So what did this jewel have to offer?

It offered a look at the "biblical concept of the people of God, and the concomitant expectation of the Kingdom of God" from their roots in the "Mosaic faith to the closing vision of the New Testament of `the holy city, the Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God' (Rev 21:2)."

It offered a unique look at how the international politics and environment of the Ancient Middle East shaped the nation of Israel and, indirectly, the concept of who was `in' the Kingdom of God.

It blended the writings of the prophets with the chronological history of nation of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament in an effort to bring new light the prophetic words of Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and others.

It showed the simple truth that not all those born under the nation of Israel are children of Abraham for the Kingdom of God is not depended on race, nationality, or organization. Those in the Kingdom are those who follow the King of Kings with their whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

It is to the remnant that the Kingdom comes.

Gave an easy to follow theology that is sound with scripture. The "already - not yet" presentation of God's Kingdom flowed in an understandable presentation. I also appreciated the applicability of Bright's ideas to the Christian life.

In many respects, the book title "The Kingdom of God" is misleading, as is the first sentence of the book: "The Gospel according to Mark begins the story of Jesus' ministry with these significant words...". It gives the impression that the main focus will be on the "Kingdom of God" that is mentioned so often in the New Testament but never in the Old. However, almost the first 200 pages (two-thirds of the entire book) are focused on Old Testament background.

This Old Testament focus makes sense given the author's background. He was Professor Emeritus of Hebrew and the interpretation of the Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary. He has a vast understanding of the Old Testament and of the historical context of the time, and it makes very interesting reading. For those who want to learn more about this context, this book is fantastic.

Alas, though, the book was purported to be about the Kingdom of God and much of the first 200 pages is only tangentially related to that theme.

For those looking for a more direct focus on the Kingdom of God, I recommend Ladd's "Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God" It is one of the best that I've read on this topic.

Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God

You can tell this was written with quite difficult theological language of the 1950's - yet it is a magnificant overall biblical framework for the topic of "The Kingdom of God" and how it relates to our everyday lives.