page_title: Kingdom of God (Christian denominational variations)
section_title: Catholics
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of God (Christian denominational variations) / Specific interpretations / Catholics
context_page_description: The Kingdom of God has different meanings in different Christian denominations and they interpret its meaning in distinctly different ways. While the concept of Kingdom of God may have an intuitive meaning to lay Christians, there is hardly any agreement among theologians about its meaning in the New Testament, and it is often interpreted to fit the theological agenda of those interpreting it.
  As new Christian denominations have emerged, experiments linking personalism with ideas about the sharing of property found in the Acts of Apostles have produced eschatological perspectives that include social and philanthropic issues in the religious interpretation of the Kingdom of God.
context_section_description: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that the coming Reign of God will be a kingdom of love, peace, and justice. Justice is defined as a virtue whereby one respects the rights of all persons, living in harmony and equity with all. The kingdom of God began with Christ's death and resurrection and must be further extended by Christians until it has been brought into perfection by Christ at the end of time.
  Catholics do this by living the way Christ lived, by thinking the way Christ thought, and by promoting peace and justice. This can be accomplished by discerning how the Holy Spirit (God) is calling one to act in the concrete circumstances of one's life. Christians must also pray, asking God for what is necessary to cooperate with the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus gathered disciples to be the seed and the beginning of God's Reign on earth, and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide them. Jesus continues to call all people to come together around him and to spread the kingdom of God across the entire world.
  However, the ultimate triumph of Christ's kingdom will not come about until Christ's return to earth at the end of time. During Christ's second coming, he will judge the living and the dead. Only those who are judged to be righteous and just will reign with Christ forever. Christ's second coming will also mark the absolute defeat of all evil powers, including Satan. Until then, the coming of the kingdom will continue to be attacked by evil powers as Christians wait with hope for the second coming of their Savior.
caption: The emblem of the Holy See includes the Keys of Heaven which Catholics interpret as those given to Saint Peter in Matthew 16:18[6]