The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1297 page)

 
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Kingdom of God
.

A symbol or concept in ancient Judaism (though more usually ‘kingdom of heaven’) especially prominent in the preaching of Jesus. In rabbinic literature the idea of keeping the
Torah
was likened to taking upon oneself the ‘yoke of the kingdom’. In Jesus' preaching the kingdom of God (or equivalent ‘kingdom of heaven’) was a central theme (Mark 1. 15; John 3. 5) but its meaning is elusive. Usually it is said to belong to the future (e.g. Matthew 6. 10; Mark 14. 25); sometimes it appears to be already present (Luke 11. 20); most often it is spoken of in
parables
(‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed … ’, Mark 4. 26 ff.).
The identification of the kingdom of God with the Church was made by
Augustine
, who opposed it to ‘the kingdom of the Devil’. Following him, medieval writers tended to equate it with the visible hierarchical church. Modern liberal theologians tend to speak of the kingdom of God generally as that state of human affairs in accord with God's will.

 
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Kings, Books of
.

Two books belonging to the Former Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and to the historical books of the Christian Old Testament. In RC edns. of the Bible they are usually called 3 and 4 Kings, titles deriving from the
Septuagint
.

 
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Kingship, Chinese
.

Traditional Chinese concepts of kingship were sacralized, the political, moral, and economic powers of the emperor all having a religious dimension. The emperor was seen as pivot and sustainer of the cosmic order, ruler of the four quarters of the world and mediator between
Heaven
and earth. As the ‘Son of Heaven’, he lived in a palace complex called the Purple Forbidden City, modelled on the Purple Protected Enclosure, where the God of Heaven (
Shang-Ti
) dwelt in the circumpolar region of the sky.

 
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Kingship, Sacral
.

In Judaism, the beliefs associated with the ruler chosen and supported by God. The king was God's chosen, his anointed one (
messiah
), the man sanctified by God's spirit. The relationship between God and the king was perceived as that of father and son (see Psalm 89. 27), but at the same time there was no suggestion that the king was anything but mortal. With the destruction of the Northern Kingdom in 721 BCE and the Southern Kingdom in 587 BCE, kingship came to an end, and hopes vested in God's anointed one were transferred to a future Messiah. The positions, rights, and limitations of the king are elaborated in the
Mishnah
(
Sanh.
2. 2–5).

 
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Kinot
(lamentations)
:

see
KINAH
.

 
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