The soon-coming already-here kingdom of God is part of the larger narrative of messianic hope and expectation in Christian Theology. This theology is contrasted to the soon-coming already-here messiah of Judaism. In the first, the features largely are an historical-theological eschatological perspective. Jesus in his historical embodiment ushers in the kingdom of God. With the promise of his second coming, the theological idea of the reign of Christ in time culminates in history. Both messianic versions center around the central figure of worship, Jesus.
Like Christianity, Judaism's traditional messianic theme centered around a figure. Whether it was Elijah or Moses, this redeemer came from the
haeretz Israel, was connected with the historic reality of Israel, and would therefore consummate the redemption narrative there, although not all were natives. A second concept sees a non-embodied messianic reign. Those like Rav Kook, and perhaps even Maimonides, who did not consider the messianic person a principle of Jewish faith, saw messianic expectation as the ushering in of good will and universal love. With these in place, the need for a supernatural personality is displaced and the messiah becomes transparent in the action of the people.
Both Judaism and some versions of Christianity have this idea of mending the world to bring in messiah. While no formulaic theological concept exists for this impulse in Christianity, the idea of
tikkun olam in Judaism is the idea of doing the work of messiah. Messianic expectation is therefore communal and participatory. In Christianity, the idea almost appears redundant, provided one only assumes it as a type of preparation for full communion, which most Christians who subscribe to this notion do.
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