The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The Kingdom of God has been a major concern of New Testament scholars for many years. What did it mean to Jesus? What does it mean for Christian belief and practice today? "To understand what was meant by the Kingdom of God," writes Margaret Barker, "it is necessary to recover what remains of that hidden tradition of the holy of holies and the high priesthood. . . Recovering the original Kingdom. . . enables us to glimpse again the original vision. We see. . . the complexities of the Kingdom that explain what it became in later Christian teaching."
The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God shows how the variety of beliefs about the Kingdom, and the related problems of eschatology, all derive from Temple traditions about the holy of holies. This inner sanctum was the Kingdom in the midst, the Unity beyond all change and decay. It was the state whence the Lord came forth, and where the faithful would go, to see him in his glory.
Top Highlights
“‘Son’ in temple tradition did not have the meaning it has for us, nor did Firstborn.” (Page 24)
“the Lord coming forth to bring the judgement, when the angels had to worship him” (Pages 23–24)
“Jesus knew that he was returning to the glory he had shared with his Father before the world was made” (Page 23)
“To Jesus alone as our high priest were the secret things of God committed” (Page 2)
“Rejoice with him heavens, bow down to him, sons of God” (Page 24)
- Title: The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God
- Author: Margaret Barker
- Publisher: SPCK
- Publication Date: 2007
- Pages: 144
Margaret Barker is an independent biblical scholar who has been developing her Temple Theology for many years, most recently as the basis for a theology for the environment. She is a former President of the Society for Old Testament Study, a member of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s Symposium on Religion, Science and the Environment and a Methodist Local Preacher.