# Of the Kingdom of God by Nature explained — Leviathan > Chapter companion for Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. ## What happens Hobbes distinguishes between the natural and prophetic kingdoms of God, grounding God's sovereignty not in creation or gratitude but in His irresistible power. He argues that natural laws and worship are dictated by reason, and that natural punishments follow from breaches of those laws. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the utility of his moral philosophy for sovereigns. ## Themes in this chapter ### State of Nature and Social Contract Hobbes reiterates that the condition of mere nature is anarchy and war, and that laws of nature guide men to avoid it through commonwealth and sovereign power. ### Sovereignty and Absolute Power God's sovereignty is derived from His irresistible power, not from creation or pact; this parallels Hobbes's earlier argument for sovereign right arising from pact. ### Religion and Civil Authority Distinguishes between God's natural kingdom (governed by reason) and prophetic kingdom (governed by positive laws to the Jews), and discusses the limits of civil obedience when it conflicts with divine law. ### Justice and Law Natural punishments (e.g., intemperance with diseases, rebellion with slaughter) are natural consequences of breaking the laws of nature, not arbitrary effects. ## Character check-ins ### David Quoted from Psalms (97:1, 99:1, 73:1-3) to illustrate God's kingship and the problem of the prosperity of the wicked. ### Job His expostulation with God over undeserved affliction is used to show that God's right to afflict derives from power, not sin. ### Adam Mentioned in the context that death entered the world by sin, but that God could justly afflict even without sin. ### Plato Referenced for his opinion that sovereigns must be philosophers; Hobbes contrasts his own view that natural justice is the only necessary science. ## Key lines > That the condition of mere nature, that is to say, of absolute liberty, such as is theirs that neither are sovereigns nor subjects, is anarchy and the condition of war: that the precepts by which men are guided to avoid that condition are the laws of Nature: that a commonwealth, without sovereign power, is but a word without substance, and cannot stand: that subjects owe to sovereigns simple obedience, in all things wherein their obedience is not repugnant to the laws of God, I have sufficiently proved in that which I have already written. Hobbes summarizes his earlier arguments: the state of nature is a state of war; natural laws guide men to peace; a commonwealth without a sovereign is meaningless; subjects must obey sovereigns unless commanded against God's laws. _This opening recapitulation sets the stage for the chapter's focus on divine law._ > The right of nature, whereby God reigneth over men, and punisheth those that break His laws, is to be derived not from His creating them, as if He required obedience as of gratitude for His benefits, but from His 'irresistible power.' God's right to rule and punish comes from His omnipotence, not from His role as Creator or from any obligation of gratitude. _This is a key theological argument grounding divine sovereignty in power rather than in a pact or creation._ > And though punishment be due for sin only, because by that word is understood affliction for sin; yet the right of afflicting is not always derived from men's sin, but from God's power. While punishment is for sin, God's right to afflict people does not depend on their sin; it stems from His absolute power. _Hobbes uses the examples of Job and the man born blind to illustrate that suffering may serve God's purposes without being punitive._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leviathan_se/chapters/xxxi-of-the-kingdom-of-god-by-nature - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leviathan_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leviathan_se/chapters