Kingship and kingdom of God

The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" but does not include the term "Kingdom of God". Also, a Kingdom of the Gods is common in paganism such as Mount Olympus in Greek mythology or the phrase King of the Gods.

The "Kingdom of God" and its equivalent form "Kingdom of Heaven" in the Gospel of Matthew is one of the key elements of the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. Kingdom of "heaven" appears in Matthew's gospel due primarily to Jewish sensibilities about uttering the "name" (God). Jesus did not teach the kingdom of God per se so much as the return of that kingdom. The notion of God's kingdom (as it had been under Moses) returning became an agitation in Palestine 60 years before Jesus was born, and continued to be a force for nearly a hundred years after his death. Drawing on Old Testament teachings, the Christian characterization of the relationship between God and humanity inherently involves the notion of the "Kingship of God".

The Quran does not include the term "kingdom of God", but refers to Abraham seeing the "Kingdom of the heavens". However, Bahá'í writings do use the term "kingdom of God".

The term "kingdom of God" does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, although "his kingdom" and "your kingdom" are sometimes used when referring to God. "Yours is the kingdom, O Lord" is used in 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 and "His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom" in Daniel 3:33, for example.

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