According to the New Testament, the central message of Jesus was the kingdom of God. He called for repentance in preparation for the kingdom that was “at hand.” The kingdom of God referred to the reign or rule of God, and in Jesus’ ministry that reign of God was announced as present. The presence of the kingdom, however, was not full and complete, and, therefore, was often referred to as a future event. Students of the New Testament have argued over whether Jesus and his followers expected the kingdom of God to be fully present in their generation. The unresolved state of that debate is registered in the two expressions often used to characterize the New Testament teaching about the kingdom: “already” and “not yet.”
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