KINGDOM OF GOD:
a symbol that has an extraordinarily rich and varied history. The term
means "REIGN of GOD." NEW TESTAMENT scholars are divided as to the exact meaning
of the term in the preaching of JESUS. AUGUSTINE identified the Kingdom of God with the
elect. His usage easily slipped over into the identification of the Kingdom of God with
the CHURCH in medieval Europe. CHRISTIANS, who tend to equate the Kingdom of God with
God's sovereignty tend to see it both as present and as the final culmination of world
history.
