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The
Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus
had come in Adam's place to restore the lost Garden of Eden, to
establish the
kingdom of heaven on
earth. He chose twelve disciples and seventy men, with whom he
undertook this task.
From the beginning of his ministry Jesus proclaimed, "Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven
is at hand." (Matt. 4:17) As Luke reported,
"He went on
through
cities and villages,
preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God."
(8:1)
Jesus
gave many parables pertaining to the kingdom of heaven. He compared it
to sowing
good seeds in various
soils; to a tiny grain of mustard seed which would grow into a large
tree; to leaven hidden
in meal; to a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found with joy
and then bought at the
cost of everything he had; to a merchant who, finding one pearl of
great value, went and
sold all that he had and bought it; and to a net thrown into the sea.
He
compared the kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a marriage feast for
his son and
invited all people,
but they would not come; to ten virgins, five wise and five foolish,
who took their lamps
and went to meet the bridegroom; to a man who called his servants
to account for the
talents which he had entrusted to them. In the Beatitudes, Jesus
described the nature
of those who would enter the kingdom of heaven.
To
his disciples Jesus partially revealed the secrets of the kingdom, but
to the public he
spoke always in
parables. (Mark 4:11) Jesus said that it was not easy to enter the
kingdom. One must be
like a child, showing that quality of obedient acceptance. For a
rich man it was
particularly difficult, so that Jesus compared a rich man entering the
kingdom to a camel
going through a needle's eye.
Jesus
came to bring a physical kingdom into the world, and not merely a
spiritual
kingdom in the hearts
of his followers. Because the kingdom's foundation had to be laid
during Jesus'
lifetime, its establishment was imminent and urgent. Therefore Jesus
directed his followers
to seek his kingdom and righteousness first, without giving undue
thought to what to eat
or wear.
Jesus
sent out his disciples, urging them to preach that the kingdom was at
hand. In fact,
the time was so urgent
that Jesus commanded: "Leave the dead to bury their own dead;
but as for you, go and
proclaim the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:60) At another time he
said, "No one who
puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of
God." (Luke 9:62) In teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus' first petition to
God was
"Thy kingdom
come." Jesus proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of heaven
because he
was the one by whom
the kingdom was to be established. Therefore, the kingdom of
heaven was the entire
theme of his message.
To
enter the kingdom, one must be perfect. As Jesus said, "You,
therefore, must be
perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) After man attains
perfection, he
comes under God's
Direct Dominion in marriage blessed by Him. Perfected men and women have no need for
forgiveness because they have in themselves no sin.
Descendants
of such parents will be born free from original sin, and therefore
will have
no need of a savior.
Jesus
came to subjugate Satan, thereby freeing men from evil and from
original sin. He
came to raise them to
perfection-to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. This
kingdom was to be much
more than the reign of God in peoples' hearts. He meant to
establish a tangible,
visible kingdom. It was to be built by the efforts of men filled with
divine love and truth.
It was to be a Garden of Eden in which true families of perfected
parents would live
with God in a full relationship of reciprocal love.
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Glorious
Prophecy for the Messiah
God's
purpose in sending the Messiah was to establish His kingdom on
earth, beginning
with Israel. Isaiah
prophesied the Messiah's role in God's kingdom.
For
to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will
be upon his
shoulder, and his
name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting
Father, Prince of
Peace." Of the increase of his government and of peace there
will be no
end, upon the throne
of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it
with
justice and with
righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. (9:6-7)
From
the throne of David, the Messiah was to govern his people with
justice and
righteousness. He
was to reign with wisdom, as Wonderful Counselor; with power, as
Mighty God; with
love, as the Everlasting Father. And the peace of his kingdom was to
last forever. Not
only his human followers, but all nature was to dwell in his peace,
as
Isaiah foretold.
The
wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid, and the
calf and the lion
and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The
cow and
the bear shall feed;
their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw
like
the ox. The sucking
child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child
shall
put his hand on the
adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
(11:6-
9)
Isaiah
further prophesied the glorious days the Israelites would see in the
kingdom of the
Messiah.
Arise,
shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen
upon you ... Lift
up your eyes round
about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your
sons
shall come from far,
and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then you shall see
and be radiant, your
heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea
shall
be turned to you
.... Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall
not be
shut; that men may
bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in
procession. For the
nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those
nations
shall be utterly
laid waste. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the
plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of
my feet glorious.
The sons of those who oppressed you shall come bending low to you;
and all who despised
you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the
Lord, the Zion of
the Holy One of Israel .... Violence shall no more be heard in your
land,
devastation or
destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls
Salvation, and
your gates Praise
.... The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a
mighty
nation; I am the
Lord; in its time I will hasten it. (Isaiah 60)
This
is the glory and joy that the Israelites were to share upon the
establishment of the
Messianic kingdom.
Their long suffering and sorrow would be ended. Their blessing
would reach
throughout the whole world, and earth would be the Garden of Eden.
Such
glorious prophecy is found also in the Gospels.
And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall
call his name
Jesus. He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God
will give to him the
throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of
Jacob
forever; and of his
kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:31-33)
The
angel Gabriel informed Mary that her son would be the Messiah,
fulfilling the long cherished
hope of Israel; that
he would rule a kingdom of eternal peace. The wise men of
the East came to pay
homage to the newborn Jesus as the prophesied King of the Jews.
Shepherds
in the fields heard from angels that the Messiah was born in
Bethlehem.
Simeon and Anna were
in the temple at Jerusalem when the baby Jesus was brought
there. Through the
Holy Spirit they immediately recognized him as the promised King
and Messiah. Upon
hearing of Jesus' birth, King Herod was afraid of losing his
position, and sought to have him killed. At last, John the Baptist
was sent to prepare the people by
his direct witness
to the Messiah.
God
painstakingly prepared the people of Israel for the Messiah by
sending prophets,
angels, and
witnesses. Thus He sought to assure Israel's recognition and
wholehearted
acceptance of the
Messiah, which the establishment of His kingdom required.
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