For a long time it has been recognized that the phrase «the kingdom of God» (or, as Matthew always renders it, «the kingdom of heaven») on Jesus» lips designated, not heaven, nor yet the church of history, but the coming
reign of righteousness and
peace among men, to which the prophets had looked forward: the time when God's will should be done on earth as it is done in heaven, when justice and love should hold universal sway in a redeemed humanity, when
peace and freedom should cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.