What do you think?
Rate this book
Coming of the Kingdom
alternate cover
592 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1962
26 people are currently reading
346 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 24, 2017
"There is gold in them hills." But "them hills" are made of solid granite! Though this book is dense and difficult to wade through without getting sleepy, it is worth the effort. I won't be reading through it again, but I will refer to it when handling the subjects of God's Kingdom, Christ's mission, and the interpretation of some notably difficult texts. I can't fault Ridderboss for the apologia against Liberals and Radicals, but I'm not too fond of the protracted dissection of their views. An abridged version would be helpful.
January 11, 2010
just okay.
But I'll expand. The contents of this book were helpful in some areas, but to find them I had to wander long in the desert of bloated redundancy. I love tomes, but Ridderbos often took 40 pages to say what he could have in 4. A tome written to be a tome, for its own sake, does not make for good reading.
This was an insider's book. It is a theology wonk expounding for the sake of theology wonks. If you do not need your Greek translated and you are familiar with the arguments on the subject of the kingdom throughout the 19th and 20th century, then this book is for you.
Don't get me wrong, there were some helpful sections. Sections spread far apart. What this book needs is a good editor or an abridged version; that would be golden.
But I'll expand. The contents of this book were helpful in some areas, but to find them I had to wander long in the desert of bloated redundancy. I love tomes, but Ridderbos often took 40 pages to say what he could have in 4. A tome written to be a tome, for its own sake, does not make for good reading.
This was an insider's book. It is a theology wonk expounding for the sake of theology wonks. If you do not need your Greek translated and you are familiar with the arguments on the subject of the kingdom throughout the 19th and 20th century, then this book is for you.
Don't get me wrong, there were some helpful sections. Sections spread far apart. What this book needs is a good editor or an abridged version; that would be golden.
April 24, 2013
A classic.
July 19, 2021
I'd give it 2.5 stars if I could, but I'll round it up to three in lieu of the alternative. This book is a challenging read or a cure for insomnia; whichever one you're looking for. There's some excellent stuff in the book. This is a monumental work on the theology of the kingdom of heaven in the Gospels. I'm not left scratching my head pondering different questions regarding that theological motif and theme due to Ridderbos' thoroughness. I also now know more about Albert Schweitzer, Snackinghausen (yes, a real theologian), and other German theologians' views on the kingdom of God in the Gospels. I believe there's great assistance for the theologian, exegete, preacher, or seminarian in this book in understanding the doctrine of God's kingdom. I also thought there was some good exegesis on more difficult passages in the Gospels; those were the best parts of the book.
However, this was one of the most tedious and boring reads that I've read. This book is dense, wordy, and simply hard to grasp at points. Granted, it is a translation from the Dutch, but this book could have been done with way less pages and lengthy sentences. I also thought that the book was outdated with the numerous refutations of German higher critical scholars and representatives of the radical and liberal schools of theology from turn of the century and later Germany; very few hold to those views of form criticism any more save for a few. Therefore, my main critiques have to deal with writing style, density and poor elaboration at points, and, primarily, outdatedness. I'm sure this was a foundational book in refuting German scholars back in the day, but it is no longer so.
I'd recommend this book to students or theologians interested in dense theological topics regarding New Testament theology, those interested in 19th-20th century German higher criticism and their views, or those who need a good night of sleep from a long day's work.
However, this was one of the most tedious and boring reads that I've read. This book is dense, wordy, and simply hard to grasp at points. Granted, it is a translation from the Dutch, but this book could have been done with way less pages and lengthy sentences. I also thought that the book was outdated with the numerous refutations of German higher critical scholars and representatives of the radical and liberal schools of theology from turn of the century and later Germany; very few hold to those views of form criticism any more save for a few. Therefore, my main critiques have to deal with writing style, density and poor elaboration at points, and, primarily, outdatedness. I'm sure this was a foundational book in refuting German scholars back in the day, but it is no longer so.
I'd recommend this book to students or theologians interested in dense theological topics regarding New Testament theology, those interested in 19th-20th century German higher criticism and their views, or those who need a good night of sleep from a long day's work.
March 16, 2017
This book is a beast. It is not light reading, but it is richly rewarding. Ridderbos works through the synoptic Gospels looking at the central, biblical theme of the Kingdom of God. There are times when I got a bit bogged down as he dismantled one liberal scholar after another (I was glad for him to show the faults in liberal theology, I was just often thinking, “OK, I get it… so, now just tell me what IS the biblical interpretation.”), but nonetheless, this is a phenomenal work and I’m glad for whatever portion of it (however small) I was able to absorb. This was my first attempt at reading Ridderbos, so I’ll look forward to approaching some of his other works.
July 18, 2018
A great, yet dense and difficult tome. A classic on the nature of the Kingdom Of God. Ridderbos shows the profound redemptive historical impact of the coming of kingdom in the first century. The section on God’s law and the kingdom was especially helpful. Before reading one should do a little research into the old liberal eschatology as Ridderbos is often responding to their ideas. This also makes the book redundant and repetitive at points. The main point, however, that the kingdom has truly come, but is not yet consummated, is thoroughly proven from the Synoptics. There are lots of great word studies and exegesis of important passages.
August 16, 2020
This book really deserves a 4.5 star. There are 2 things keeping it from a perfect score: 1) He spends some significant time parsing through the interpretations of his contemporaries. I'm sure this was beneficial to some people especially those of his era, but it certainly wasn't helpful for me. 2) The last chapter of the book where he detailed out the "future" of the kingdom lacked clarity. There were several times where I got done reading a section slowly and still couldn't discern the viewpoint of the author. Apart from these flaws, the book is golden.
Though the Kingdom is a central theme of the bible and is a focal point of the Gospels, few Christians can give a good answer to "What is the Kingdom of God?" Ridderbos spends 600 pages expertly exegeting texts from the Synoptic Gospels to answer that very question. Despite being a translation, the writing was brilliant and easy to follow (albeit I did have to look up some words, especially latin phrases he uses semi-regularly). After reading the book, I was left thinking about how impactful ones view on the Kingdom is for their life and conduct. May His Kingdom come, on
Earth as it is in Heaven.
This is squarely in the "must read again" category.
Though the Kingdom is a central theme of the bible and is a focal point of the Gospels, few Christians can give a good answer to "What is the Kingdom of God?" Ridderbos spends 600 pages expertly exegeting texts from the Synoptic Gospels to answer that very question. Despite being a translation, the writing was brilliant and easy to follow (albeit I did have to look up some words, especially latin phrases he uses semi-regularly). After reading the book, I was left thinking about how impactful ones view on the Kingdom is for their life and conduct. May His Kingdom come, on
Earth as it is in Heaven.
This is squarely in the "must read again" category.
February 2, 2021
A top shelf contribution from Herman Ridderbos! A biblical exposition of the Kingdom of God (The Kingdom of Heaven) that encompasses the entire analogy of faith and helps the reader to ground himself in the present and eternal reality that Jesus is on the throne and that His Kingdom is now and yet forthcoming. There is some really good theology to be had here and I would highly recommend this work to any who wish to understand and appreciate the plan of God for this age and the age to come.
March 25, 2025
A good book. Unfortunately, I couldn't make heads or tails of what Ridderbos meant in his last sentence which is a funny way to put a book away and makes you question whether you understood any of it.
May 6, 2019
Wonderful!
Read
September 12, 2019The Coming of the Kingdom is not currently available at local libraries.
May 27, 2020
Good luck!
June 4, 2020
Fantastic. Demonstrates the central message of Jesus and the NT, and also the clear reality of the already and not yet.
April 23, 2021
Helpful in navigating the interpretion the synoptic gospels especially in regards to the kingdom and its consummation and unfulfilment.
January 24, 2023
Not an easy read, but worth sticking with it for Ridderbos’ thoughts on the Synoptic Apocalypse.
April 29, 2023
There are some great bits of insight, especially in understand parables, but overall it is very dense and hard to follow.
July 18, 2025
Read all but the final section - Ridderbos is great.
December 2, 2025
Would be 10/10 if easier to read.
July 31, 2015
This is something of a Theology of the Gospels seen through the lens of Jesus' preaching on the kingdom of God/heaven. This is truly a great topic, but I was less than enthused by Ridderbos' treatment of it. He is unclear in his conclusions. As a product of late-19th century European schooling, he spends more time interacting with students of the German liberal critical school than advancing his own exegesis of the relevant texts.
The book is well laid-out topically--about that have no doubt. But he builds up no momentum, builds no cumulative case. And he is hamstrung by his unwillingness to consider how much the destruction of the temple in 70 AD served as a fulfillment of much of Jesus' teaching on tribulation, the coming of the kingdom, what needs to happen before he can return, etc.
Who knows how much of this was caused by reading the English translation rather than the original Dutch (not that I could have even if I wanted to). It would be nice for someone to go through the book and produce a 150-200 page treatment of Ridderbos' teaching on the kingdom (I volunteer). That would be far more useful to today's church, which is fighting few of the battles that Ridderbos was in his time.
The book is well laid-out topically--about that have no doubt. But he builds up no momentum, builds no cumulative case. And he is hamstrung by his unwillingness to consider how much the destruction of the temple in 70 AD served as a fulfillment of much of Jesus' teaching on tribulation, the coming of the kingdom, what needs to happen before he can return, etc.
Who knows how much of this was caused by reading the English translation rather than the original Dutch (not that I could have even if I wanted to). It would be nice for someone to go through the book and produce a 150-200 page treatment of Ridderbos' teaching on the kingdom (I volunteer). That would be far more useful to today's church, which is fighting few of the battles that Ridderbos was in his time.
Read
August 4, 2011Ridderbos shouldn't be read as the last word on the subject, but maybe he should be read as the first word. This is a good introduction that sheds light on Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom of God. There is a perennial temptation in Reformed thought to see Jesus-in-the-gospels as maybe good for children who are ignorant and need a good story, but the real meat, the real important stuff is the Systematic theology taught by Paul, especially in Romans. In fact, only in Romans.
Ridderbos can get us to look at Jesus and the Kingdom in a different way. Jesus is the climax of world history and the focal point of God's story of Redemption.
There are a few problesm in this book. It has a dense style and much of the scholarship is quite dated. Riddebos spends a lot of time shadow-boxing dead German liberals and avoids some painfully pressing texts. Speaking of the kingdom, for example, is Isaiah 65:17-20 a metaphor for "heaven" or does it refer to an advanced stage of life on earth?
Ridderbos can get us to look at Jesus and the Kingdom in a different way. Jesus is the climax of world history and the focal point of God's story of Redemption.
There are a few problesm in this book. It has a dense style and much of the scholarship is quite dated. Riddebos spends a lot of time shadow-boxing dead German liberals and avoids some painfully pressing texts. Speaking of the kingdom, for example, is Isaiah 65:17-20 a metaphor for "heaven" or does it refer to an advanced stage of life on earth?
October 6, 2013
It’s hard to say whether this is a study of the kingdom theme in the Synoptic Gospels or whether it is a theology of the Synoptic Gospels that takes the kingdom of God as the central theme that all other themes in the Synoptics relate to. Either way, it is an excellent study of the kingdom theme.
Ridderbos’s detailed exegetical discussions of parables and miracles and key events and teachings are rich and thoughtful. When studying any passage from the Synoptics, it would be worth consulting the Scripture index of Coming of the Kingdom to see if Ridderbos has discussed the passage.
As to his view of the timing of the kingdom, Ridderbos holds that the kingdom arrived with the coming of Christ but that a gap opened up between the coming of the salvation of the kingdom and the coming of the judgment of the kingdom. We live in this gap and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom so that men and women can be saved from the coming judgment.
Ridderbos’s detailed exegetical discussions of parables and miracles and key events and teachings are rich and thoughtful. When studying any passage from the Synoptics, it would be worth consulting the Scripture index of Coming of the Kingdom to see if Ridderbos has discussed the passage.
As to his view of the timing of the kingdom, Ridderbos holds that the kingdom arrived with the coming of Christ but that a gap opened up between the coming of the salvation of the kingdom and the coming of the judgment of the kingdom. We live in this gap and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom so that men and women can be saved from the coming judgment.
May 31, 2012
A magisterial piece on the 'now' and 'future' dual aspect of the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus. Excellent interaction with German scholarship. A great textbook for New Testament Theology and eschatology.
June 10, 2013
Tremendous work focusing on the centrality of the Kingdom in Scripture, both the 'already' and the 'not yet' realities. Very dense, slow reading as it was translated from dutch, but a very important read.
November 9, 2013
A must-read for anyone teaching, preaching, or studying the synoptic gospels. He brings much clarity to the terms 'the kingdom of heaven' and 'the kingdom of God' used throughout the synoptic gospels. Highly recommended.
April 14, 2008
A hard deep read for those interested in theology.
July 18, 2012
A great book I read in seminary.
Reading can be difficult. Ridderbos is tight and well thought-out. Being written in Dutch and then translated into English has taken its toll on readability.
Reading can be difficult. Ridderbos is tight and well thought-out. Being written in Dutch and then translated into English has taken its toll on readability.
November 29, 2013
This is not an easy read. It is also the best single book on the entire subject I have ever read. Wow! Jesus is the King, snd he rules his kingdom.
Want to read
December 20, 2017Sproul ranks this pretty high as far as books in church history go.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews