To bring about God's Kingdom on Earth

• The concept of the Kingdom of God was a key part of Jewish thinking, and in the time of Jesus, there were several ways of thinking about it
• Way of thinking about the Kingdom of God:

  Jewish rabbis thought of the Kingdom as linked to the keeping of the Torah (all 613 commandments set out in the Law). The Kingdom would, however, be brought about by God
• Way of thinking about the Kingdom of God:

  Many Jewish people of Jesus' day thought of it in terms of the coming of the Messiah as a military figure who would liberate Israel from Roman occupation
• Way of thinking about the Kingdom of God:

  Christians believe that Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom
• Way of thinking about the Kingdom of God:

  Some Christians think of it as an event entirely in the future, linking it to their belief in the Second Coming of Jesus and Judgement Day, referring to Jesus' teaching in the parable of the sheep and the goats
• Way of thinking about the Kingdom of God:

  Other Christians believe that although the Kingdom will be fully realised after death, it is also a partial reality now
• Some see it as their purpose to live in such a way that the values of the kingdom are realised fully on earth. this links to the concept of stewardship, which christians understand as the responsibility of caring not only for their fellow humans but for the whole of god's creation
• bible links to christians living in a way that realises god's kingdom on earth:

  • the Old Testament prophets spoke of a new age marked by justice, peace and the fulfilment of everyone's needs
  • the eighth century prophet Hosea envisaged god making a new covenant with the whole of creation
  • instead of waiting for god to intervene, humans are called to work actively for the realisation of the kingdom on earth by pursuing justice, etc
• youcat 139: '(Christians) are sent to engage in society so that the kingdom of god can grow among men'
• youcat= the youth catechism of the catholic church