"Pennington's study underlines the importance of the heaven-and-earth theme and offers a helpful way of considering its significance. His rejection of the reverential circumlocution and Semitic origin hypotheses of this language is convincing."--Warren Carter, Biblical Interpretation

The theme of heaven and earth is a much-overlooked aspect of the Gospel of Matthew. In this work, rising scholar Jonathan Pennington articulates a fresh perspective on this key interpretive issue. He challenges both the scholarly and popular understandings of the meaning of Matthew's phrase "kingdom of heaven" and overturns some long-held assumptions in New Testament scholarship.

Pennington argues that rather than being a reverent way of referring to God, as is typically assumed, "heaven" in Matthew is part of a highly developed discourse of heaven and earth language. He explains that Matthew's way of using heaven language serves one overriding theological purpose: to highlight the tension that currently exists between heaven and earth or God and humanity, while looking forward to its eschatological resolution. Now available in paperback, this volume will appeal to students of the New Testament, including those interested in its theological and pastoral applications.