“Jesus never said that His kingdom is not of this world, despite wrong translations of John 18:36. The Revised Standard Version translates John 18:36 closest to the original Greek: “My kingdom is not from this world.” Christ’s kingdom is certainly of and for this world, but it does not arise from the authority of worldly powers in the way that Herod’s kingdom did. Rather, it descends from heaven to earth, like Jesus. Thus, Christ taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come on earth . . . as it is in heaven” (Mt. 6:10). As used in the gospels, the expression “kingdom of heaven” refers to God’s lordship being brought to bear in the present reality. This draws on the theology of passages like Daniel 7: 26–27 and is the same crowning vision we find in Revelation 11:15: “'The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.'” Saints and Scoundrels, page 36
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