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What Is The Kingdom Of Heaven?
What is the “Kingdom
of Heaven” anyway?
Growing up in Christian
circles, I always had the impression
that the kingdom of Heaven was a place
that was far, far away; Similar to the
“Land of Oz”. But is that really the
correct concept of the Kingdom of God?
As we shall discover in this article,
the “Kingdom” is far more than just
a place that all mankind seeks to attain,
but much, much more.
Let’s start by looking at what we already
know.
Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall your
Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him?
Matthew 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say,
brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither
doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Matthew 8:11 And I say
unto you, That many shall come from
the east and west, and shall sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
in the kingdom of heaven.
These verses tell us what most of us
already know. Which is that Heaven is
the abode of the Almighty, and is a
“place” that is separate from finite
earth. Heaven is no longer on earth,
as Adam and Eve were “kicked” out of
the garden in which the presence of
God dwelt. And that “Holy of Holies”
would not become open again until the
Second Adam (Christ) would come and
give us the key to the “Tree of Life”
that was blocked when they were expelled
from the garden. This concept of what
things were like in the garden will
be very beneficial in our study on this
topic. But I want to make it very clear
that the "kingdom of Heaven/God" is
most definitely a place that one day
we will inherit. But this concept is
only half of the story as we shall see.
The kingdom of God is more than just
a place. And the kingdom has everything
to do with the Spirit. Let's begin our
excavation of this topic.
John the Baptist not
only declared the following statement,
but Jesus Himself declared it as well
when he said in Matthew 4:17 From that
time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand. Think about this for a moment.
Is Jesus saying that Heaven has come
to earth? What is really going on in
the thoughts of both Jesus and John?
By the end of this article we will be
more equipped to answer this question.
Now, let us dig deeper
and explore some of the passages in
scripture where the Messiah Himself
describes for us just exactly what is
the “kingdom of Heaven”. And He does
this mainly through parables. It is
important to point out that the "kingdom
of Heaven" and the "kingdom of God"
are the same thing. The two phrases
are Hebrew idioms that are synonymous
and are used interchangeably in scripture.
For example, Mathew says that the "kingdom
of HEAVEN is like a mustard seed, while
Mark says the "kingdom of GOD is like
a mustard seed. One is declaring the
name of the Kingdom (Heaven) and the
other is declaring its king (God).
24 ¶ Another parable
put he forth unto them, saying,
The kingdom of heaven is likened
unto a man which sowed good seed
in his field:
25 But while men slept, his
enemy came and sowed tares among
the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was
sprung up, and brought forth fruit,
then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him,
Sir, didst not thou sow good seed
in thy field? from whence then hath
it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy
hath done this. The servants said
unto him, Wilt thou then that we
go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest
while ye gather up the tares, ye
root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time
of harvest I will say to the reapers,
Gather ye together first the tares,
and bind them in bundles to burn
them: but gather the wheat into
my barn.
What is the “kingdom
of Heaven” like? Jesus tells us over
and over again what it is like. In this
parable it is like a field in which
grew good wheat, but also tares. What
is the wheat? What are the tares? What
is the harvest? Let’s keep reading.
36 Then Jesus
sent the multitude away, and went
into the house: and his disciples
came unto him, saying, Declare unto
us the parable of the tares of the
field.
37 He answered and said unto
them, He that soweth the good seed
is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world;
the good seed are the children of
the kingdom; but the tares are the
children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them
is the devil; the harvest is the
end of the world; and the reapers
are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares
are gathered and burned in the fire;
so shall it be in the end of this
world.
41 The Son of man shall send
forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into
a furnace of fire: there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom
of their Father. Who hath ears to
hear, let him hear.
With this one parable,
we can see that the “kingdom of Heaven”
is more than a place. And that this
"kingdom" is not IN Heaven yet. Let’s
look at another one.
44 ¶ Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure
hid in a field; the which when a
man hath found, he hideth, and for
joy thereof goeth and selleth all
that he hath, and buyeth that field.
What is the field? The
field is all the people of the earth.
The man is Christ who gives all that
he has (His life), to redeem all mankind
from the sting of sin which cannot be
shaken. And the “treasure” are those
that accept that payment and are willing
to be purchased. So the Kingdom of Heaven
is in this parable are those that are
the treasure of God amongst all of the
world (those that are His).
47 "Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a
dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering
fish of every kind;
48 and when it was filled,
they drew it up on the beach; and
they sat down and gathered the good
fish into containers, but the bad
they threw away.
Again, the “kingdom
of Heaven” is described as a dragnet
of love that is cast throughout the
entire earth. And those that accept
that love and pursue it will be given
eternal life. Those that reject it by
living their lives the way that they
want, will be burned up in the lake
of fire. Once again, the kingdom is
described as having good people and
bad people in it in which one day they
will be separated so as the true kingdom
will become evident.
23 "For this
reason the kingdom of heaven may
be compared to a king who wished
to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 "When he had begun to settle
them, one who owed him ten thousand
talents was brought to him.
25 "But since he did not have
the means to repay, his lord commanded
him to be sold, along with his wife
and children and all that he had,
and repayment to be made.
26 "So the slave fell to the
ground and prostrated himself before
him, saying, ‘Have patience with
me and I will repay you everything.’
27 "And the lord of that slave
felt compassion and released him
and forgave him the debt.
28 "But that slave went out
and found one of his fellow slaves
who owed him a hundred denarii;
and he seized him and began to choke
him, saying, ‘Pay back what you
owe.’
29 "So his fellow slave fell
to the ground and began to plead
with him, saying, ‘Have patience
with me and I will repay you.’
30 "But he was unwilling and
went and threw him in prison until
he should pay back what was owed.
31 "So when his fellow slaves
saw what had happened, they were
deeply grieved and came and reported
to their lord all that had happened.
32 "Then summoning him, his
lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave,
I forgave you all that debt because
you pleaded with me.
33 ‘Should you not also have
had mercy on your fellow slave,
in the same way that I had mercy
on you?’
34 "And his lord, moved with
anger, handed him over to the torturers
until he should repay all that was
owed him.
35 "My heavenly Father will
also do the same to you, if each
of you does not forgive his brother
from your heart."
Here, the kingdom of
heaven is described as people who forgive
with their hearts.
The Parable of the Vineyard
33 ¶ "Listen to
another parable. There was a landowner
who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A
WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS
IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented
it out to vine-growers, and went
on a journey.
34 "And when the harvest time
approached, he sent his slaves to
the vine-growers to receive his
produce.
35 "And the vine-growers took
his slaves and beat one, and killed
another, and stoned a third.
36 "Again he sent another
group of slaves larger than the
first; and they did the same thing
to them.
37 "But afterward he sent
his son to them, saying, ‘They will
respect my son.’
38 "But when the vine-growers
saw the son, they said among themselves,
‘This is the heir; come, let us
kill him, and seize his inheritance.’
39 "And they took him, and
threw him out of the vineyard, and
killed him.
40 "Therefore when the owner
of the vineyard comes, what will
he do to those vine-growers?"
41 They *said to Him, "He
will bring those wretches to a wretched
end, and will rent out the vineyard
to other vine-growers, who will
pay him the proceeds at the proper
seasons."
42 Jesus *said to them, "Did
you never read in the Scriptures,
‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;
THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND
IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?
43 "Therefore I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you, and be given to a
nation producing the fruit of it.
44 "And he who falls on this
stone will be broken to pieces;
but on whomever it falls, it will
scatter him like dust."
45 And when the chief priests
and the Pharisees heard His parables,
they understood that He was speaking
about them.
Here we have an interesting
parable. This parable has been incredibly
misinterpreted over the years to mean
that the Jews killed Jesus and because
of that, God changed His chosen people
to the Gentiles. Nothing could be farther
from the truth.
Let’s look closely.
God is the landowner that chooses his
people (the vineyard) and protects them
by putting a wall (the Word of God-the
Torah) around them. Then, God “rents”
(entrusts) his people to the vine-growers
(the priests and leaders), who were
to grow the people of God spiritually.
Then God sends his slaves (the prophets)
to warn the leaders to repent and teach
the people to follow their God, but
they are rejected and some of them killed.
Then, He sends His only begotten Son
to redeem the field from the wretched
leaders. But the Son of God is also
rejected and killed outside the city
walls, just as scripture foretold. Then,
in verse 43 we read that God takes the
“kingdom” from the “vine-growers” (the
leaders) and gives it to a nation (another
people) that live out the will of God.
Paul calls this nation
one in which their is no Jew, no Gentile,
man or woman, but all are united under
the banner of Christ. Gal. 3:28 And
how do we know that it is the “leaders”
that are stripped of their watch over
the kingdom? Because the last verse
gives it away: 45 And when
the chief priests and the Pharisees
heard His parables, they understood
that He was speaking about them.
Who were the vine-growers?
The Pharisees and religious leaders
of that day. So, what this entire parable
is about is the unfaithful and bad leadership
of God's chosen people. And you can
just see Jesus at the very end of telling
this story, look directly into the eyes
of the Pharisees when He says, "Therefore
I say to you, the kingdom of God will
be taken away from you, and be given
to a nation producing the fruit of it.
44 "And he who falls on this stone
will be broken to pieces; but on whomever
it falls, it will scatter him like dust."
And what is it to fall on "this stone"?
Those who trust Christ
and prostrate themselves before Him
will be broken. Meaning, that their
pride will be broken and healing will
befall them. For those that the stone
fall on, they will be destroyed. Those
that refuse and constantly reject Christ
will certainly find themselves being
judged by Him and destroyed. What does
Jesus mean when He says that the kingdom
of Heaven will be taken away from them
(the leaders) and given to another nation?
He is telling them that at a time in
the near future, they will no longer
have authority over His people.
The Kingdom of Heaven
is supported by the Spirit of the Father.
And the Spirit holds the name of the
Father, which is YHVH (Yahweh). And
that name brings great authority. Originally,
God wanted a personal relationship with
His creation when He made Adam and Eve
in the garden. But as time went on,
the people wanted a king like other
nations. The prophet Samuel warned them
that having someone other than Yahweh
leading them will end up in disaster,
as they will lord over them and make
them pay taxes, etc... So the priests,
judges and kings came into the picture
and ruled over the people of God and
the people were no longer under the
direct authority of God Himself, but
had to go through the priests to access
the Living Lord. Jesus came to restore
the kingdom (the spiritual authority
and access) to the people. No longer
will people have to go through any man
to have access to the Father, for they
will all be a kingdom of Priests and
Kings before the Father (Rev. 5:10).
Their authority would now be Christ.
Jesus said "I am the Way, Truth, and
the Life, no man comes to the Father
but by me." John 14:6
The Pharisees and religious
leaders that were listening to Jesus
give this parable knew exactly what
He was saying. They knew He was telling
them that they no longer were "going
to be needed". Their authority would
be coming to an end because of their
rebellion and misuse and abuse of the
vineyard that they were suppose to tenderly
grow. This subject of authority will
be discussed more in the upcoming article
on authority.
So what is the “kingdom” of God? It
is not only a “place”, but a “who”.
The “kingdom” IS THE PEOPLE OF GOD!
Over and over again, the Kingdom of
God is described as a “People”. Then
how can it be a place, you ask? Because,
in reality the kingdom of God is the
place where His Spirit resides. Heaven
is where the Father is (Mat. 7:11).
And where the Father is, there is His
Spirit. Would Heaven be Heaven without
the Spirit of God? No. It is only Heaven
BECAUSE the Spirit (God) is present.
So, now let’s back up
and see if we can answer our original
question of “How can the kingdom of
God be at hand”, as declared by John
the Baptist and Jesus Himself? Because
the Messiah was the Word, which was
the Spirit made flesh. Jesus was full
of the Spirit of His Father. And when
Jesus brought the Spirit to earth, He,
in a very real sense, was bringing the
“kingdom of Heaven” with Him. And why
did He say that He must go? So that
He could send the Comforter. And who
is the Comforter?
None other than the
Spirit of the Living God. And for all
those that choose to follow the Son,
to those, are given the Spirit as well.
And so, each one of us that are true
disciples of Christ are holding inside
of us a part of the “kingdom of God”.
Think about this most incredible truth.
WE are the “kingdom” of God! We are
the ones that are representing the presence
of God to the world. We are to show
them what Heaven is like. No longer
do we have to depend on the priests
and leaders to teach us the will of
God, because the Spirit will teach us
all things" John 14:26).
What was taken away
from the “vine-growers”? The authority
to mediate between God and man. Now,
every man is a priest and has the right
to come before the Father through the
Son. And as each individual believer
begins to see that they are now in submission
to Christ, and then to those that are
part of His body, personal responsibility
and spiritual growth will be inevitable.
One final question:
Why does Paul tell us not to forsake
meeting together? Why are the “gifts
of the spirit” so important? Why does
Paul spend so much time teaching his
converts how to come together and worship?
Because Paul understood what the “kingdom”
was. It was the people of God, COLLECTIVELY!
Just as when at the end of time all
believers will TOGETHER, rule and reign
with Messiah for a thousand years, so
in part, it is today. Every time believers
come together to worship the Almighty
God, Yahweh, they are simulating what
it will be like to be truly in the presence
of God in Heaven.
When believers unite
together and display the gifts and nature
of God collectively, the Spirit of God
is SUPPOSED to be profoundly manifested.
Unfortunately, because most “church”
institutions are set up in the image
of our “Roman” forefathers, the concept
of “community”, and personal responsibility
is all but vanished. And what we are
left with is a system that promotes
a kind of "spectator sport", verses
a living, breathing, responsible, and
life-giving “kingdom” that is united
and fully representing its King.
With that, I will leave
you with a few pondering thoughts. There
is very much two real kingdoms: The
kingdom of God and the kingdom of His
enemy. Everyone is a part of one of
those two kingdoms. Which one are you
representing?
If you are sure that
you are part of the kingdom of Heaven,
then would John the Baptist say of you
what he said of Jesus? "Behold, the
Kingdom of God is at hand". Does your
life reflect the "Kingdom" that you
are a part of? If those that know Him
are part of the kingdom of God, then
why isn’t the world astounded by its
beauty?
Maybe, we should STOP
building our own kingdoms and playing
"church" every Sunday, and START BEING
the “Kingdom of God” through local fellowships
with REAL community! Maybe then, those
that rightfully doubt the power of God
through His church will begin to see
that His power is real, vibrant, full
of life and ready to fill the emptiness
of all who call upon His name.
Jim Staley
Originally written-6/26/04
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