Here is a very shallow look at how the ‘kingdom’ is treated in the Gospel of Thomas.
Thomas has some pretty sketchy things to say about what the ‘kingdom’ is like (not where it is or how to get in, etc). I use the term ‘sketchy’ because I found them pretty hard to reconcile one against another and with how the term ‘kingdom’ is used.
There are 8 sayings where Jesus says what the kingdom is like. While I assume they are all talking about the ‘kingdom of heaven’, they are not titled that way, the sayings identify ‘it’ (I’m not sure that heaven is being used in this gospel the same way I think of heaven) three different ways and the ‘kingdom of heaven’ are words that are not spoken by Jesus in this gospel, they are spoken by the apostles.
The apostles only ask one question on what the kingdom of heaven is like, it is in the 20th saying . Jesus responds by saying it is like a mustard seed. In every other mention (7 mentions) of the ‘kingdom’, Jesus compares it to a person (both male and female).
In every other instance where he describes what the kingdom is like, it is not in response to a question (although I suppose there was some question asked that he was responding to). The ‘kingdom of the father’ is used 5 times ( 57, 76, 96, 97 and 98). and It is described as a person with some attribute or performing some action.
Kingdom of the Father
–a man who had good seed
— a merchant who had a consignment
— a woman who took a little leaven
–a woman who was carrying a jar
–a man who wanted to kill
Twice Jesus describes what ‘the kingdom’ is like. Not the kingdom of heaven, and not the kingdom of the father, just the kingdom. These occur in Sayings 107 and 109.
— a shepherd who had a hundred sheep
— a man who had a hidden treasure
I’m not even close to figuring out what these sayings mean. I strongly believe that they may mean different things to different folk (frame of reference and all that). In any case these words have me pondering on the nature of God and, while I lack the capacity to understand the full nature of Him, the contemplation does yield good fruit, even if that fruit is the contemplation itself