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undoubtedly recognized Himself as the Christ, the Son of Man in the sense of the prophecy of Daniel (7), and despite the profound reform He made in the messianic beliefs of His people, He did not renounce their religious essence: the coming judgment and salvation are as immutable as God Himself and as the word of God testified in Him, the Son of God.

This is what the prophets had already taught, and Jesus saw in himself their fulfillment. The eschatological concept of the kingdom is closely connected with the basic religious idea of Christ, and with the concepts that were developed during the history of Old Testament Israel. The Kingdom of God comes by the power of God, and not by the effort of man. The effort of the human will is needed to bring forth the "fruits of repentance" or the "fruits of the kingdom"; it is needed in order to "rapture this kingdom" (οἱ βιασταὶ ἁρπἄζοθσιν αὐτὴν, Μph. 11:12) or to "enter into life" by fulfilling the received word. But just as the seed of the word is given by God (as a gift and as a task), so the kingdom or dominion of God itself depends on the Father alone. No one knows about the day and hour of his coming, not even the "Son" himself – only the "Father" knows (Mark 13:22 = Matt. 24:36). Further, this kingdom in its power and glory is by no means the mere realization of a perfect, moral society or union of men. The very image of judgment, so closely connected with every word of Christ's preaching, just as the image of the wedding feast with the heavenly bridegroom, points to other ideas. That the messianic feast (Psalm 25:6ff) is understood here in a real sense is also indicated by the early Christian apocalyptic tradition, in addition to the parables of Christ and His words at the farewell supper (Matthew 26:29). Finally, the coming kingdom of eternal life is the "resurrection of the dead," and the "sons of the kingdom" become sons of God and sons of the resurrection, and can no longer die equal to the angels (Luke 20:36, ἰσάγγελοι). This belief in the resurrection, attested to by the entire New Testament, is inseparable from the teaching of Christ: God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living (θεὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔστί νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων, πάντες γὰρ αὐτῶ ζῶσιν {47} ib. 38).

Thus, the kingdom of God is defined as the work of God. It is the realization of God on earth, which depends on God. Man must "seek" this kingdom, knock on it,

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but he is obviously unable to accomplish it: it is impossible for man. He can only pray for his coming, for the Father's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. The "moral organization of mankind" can be viewed as a condition of salvation or as a church, as a society of believers who already have "the beginnings of life" on earth; but the kingdom itself is in God and has to "come," to be revealed in glory. Peacemakers will be called the sons of God, the pure in heart will see God, the meek will inherit the earth, those who mourn will be comforted – in the future. The Kingdom of God, which is to transform the world and give to His sons life, resurrection and incorruption, is understood by Christ as a miracle of God. And in His preaching, Jesus points to His healings as a sign of the kingdom at hand.

V

At the present time, none of the critics of the Gospels denies the authenticity of Christ's healings, especially the healings of the demon-possessed, no matter how different the proposed explanations of these healings may be. A few years ago there was no such unanimity; Now neuropathology itself does not allow us to deny the possibility of such healings, and, perhaps, in time, the field of scientific possibility, will expand even more. Of course, this will not abolish the religious question of "by what power" Jesus performed His healings, a question that arose during Jesus' lifetime, as it does now. But what is important for us first of all is not the explanation of the miracles, but the actual attitude of Christ Himself to them, for Whom they were indubitable. He who believes in Christ will accept His attitude to His healings; he who does not believe in Him will explain them without God; but in any case, it is important for the historian to know only how Christ looked at miracles, and not how His judges view them.

In his words to Cornelius, an early example of apostolic preaching, Peter sums up Christ's earthly life in this way: "He (God) sent the word (τὸν λόγον) to the children of Israel, preaching the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ... You know what happened in all Judea, beginning with Galilee, after the baptism;

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