The Kingdom of God in the Gospel of Mark

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1989
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Abstract
Since Johannes Weiss' work in 1892, it has been assumed that the Kingdom of God is a Judaic apocalyptic concept. According to this assumption, the Kingdom of God refers to the full manifestation of God's sovereignty that was expected at the end-of-history. The Gospel of Mark took this concept leaving the basic content unaltered. The only modification Mark made involved the temporal position of the Kingdom. Depending on the specific interpretation, the Kingdom of God was changed from a future hope to an imminent expectation or a present reality. This thesis contends that the Kingdom of God was a polyvalent symbol. The Kingdom of God was a unification of concepts and ideas connected with Yahweh's kingship and his salvatory actions as king. The Kingdom symbol has four basic aspects or dimensions. First, the Kingdom of God is eternal. It is not confined to a specific period of time. Second. the Kingdom is a soteriological category. It represents God's salvatory actions as king. The Kingdom of God implies the protection of the divine monarch. It also may ref er to the realm/community that enjoys the protection of the heavenly sovereign. Third, there is a obligatory aspect to the Kingdom. The subjects of the divine king must demonstrate their loyalty through adherence to God's law. Finally, the Kingdom of God has a communal dimension. The Kingdom connotes the people who have enjoyed the saving actions of the divine sovereign and the community that adheres to the laws. It is the Kingdom of God as a polyvalent symbol that Mark incorporated into his Gospel. The Markan understanding of the Kingdom contains all four aspects of the symbol. However. the symbol has been modified by Mark ·s christology. The Judaic views of Kingdom of God are intertwined with the Markan mission and the evangelist's proclamation of Jesus.
Description
Bibliography: p. 135-165.
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Citation
Moore, M. A. (1989). The Kingdom of God in the Gospel of Mark (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/15815
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