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The Kingdom Of God
Kat:
This is a scriptural study about the kingdom of God.
Heaven
“The phrase “heaven and earth” is used to indicate the whole universe.”
Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Jer 23:24 “Can anyone hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? says
Jehovah. Do I not fill the heavens and earth? says Jehovah.”
According to the Jewish belief, there are three heavens.
The 1st heaven ~
The firmament, as “birds of the heaven.”
Psalms 8:8 “the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and all that pass through the paths of the seas.”
The 2nd heaven~
The starry heavens.
Jer 8:2 “And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of the heavens…“
The 3rd heaven~
“The heaven of heavens.”
Deu 10:14 “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to Jehovah your God, the earth also, with all in it.”
Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this house which I have built?”
Psalms 115:15 “Blessed are ye of Yahweh, who made the heavens and the earth: v.16 As for the heavens, the heavens, belong to Yahweh, but the earth, hath He given to the sons of men.”
The kingdom of God
Psalms 103:19 “Jehovah has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all.”
Matt 6:10 “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Luke 17:20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, v. 21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."
John 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."
1Cor 15:50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. v.51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, v.52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, v. 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, v.21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." V. 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, v. 17 saying, We thank You, O Lord God Almighty, who are, and who was, and who is coming, because You took Your great power and reigned. V.18 And the nations were full of wrath, and Your wrath came, and the time of the judging of the dead, and to give the reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to the ones fearing Your name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those destroying the earth.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels of Heaven, but only My Father.
v.37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man.
v.38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark.
v.39 And they did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man.
v.40 Then two shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
v.41 Two shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
v.42 Therefore watch; for you do not know what hour your Lord comes.
v.43 But know this, that if the steward of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be dug through.
v.44 Therefore you also be ready, for in that hour you think not, the Son of Man comes.
v.45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over His household, to give them food in due season?
v.46 Blessed is that servant whom his Lord shall find him doing so when He comes.
Matt 25:31 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His glory.
v.32 And all nations shall be gathered before Him. And He shall separate them from one another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.
v.33 And indeed He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats off the left.
v.34 Then the King shall say to those on His right hand, Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
v.35 For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in;
v.36 I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
v.37 Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? Or thirsty, and gave You drink?
v.38 When did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and clothed You?
v.39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You?
v.40 And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me.
v.41 Then He also shall say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
v.42 For I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink;
v.43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.
v.44 Then they will also answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?
v.45 Then He shall answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.
v.46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.
So this study is leading me to a better understanding of heaven the invisible realm, where God and all the spirit beings abode.
I believe heaven fills the universe, it is all around us, just as God is.
But since it is invisible kingdom, we do not see it or it’s subjects.
When Christ chooses someone and gives His Spirit to them, then our eye begin to be opened to the understanding of heaven.
We are begotten and have a guarantee that when Christ returns we will be with Him in heaven.
For now we must be waiting and watching.
(Good New Bible)
2Cor 5:1 For we know that when this tent we live in---our body here on earth---is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever.
v.2 And now we sigh, so great is our desire that our home which comes from heaven should be put on over us;
v.3 by being clothed with it we shall not be without a body.
v.4 While we live in this earthly tent, we groan with a feeling of oppression; it is not that we want to get rid of our earthly body, but that we want to have the heavenly one put on over us, so that what is mortal will be transformed by life.
v.5 God is the one who has prepared us for this change, and he gave us his Spirit as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
v.6 So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord's home.
v.7 For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight.
Mercy, peace, and love
Kat
rrammfcitktturjsp:
Kat,
I have not made it all the way through Ray's papers, but I was wondering if we could prove that hell did not exist, does heaven not exist as well.
I am wondering if heaven can be a state of mind rather than a physical place. If anyone knows where Ray talks about heaven, by all means please post so that I can go and read.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Anne C. McGuire
Chris R:
Hello,
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, [even] the Son of man which is in heaven. Jhn 3:13
This verse indicates Christ was in heaven, while he was on earth
The Kingdom of God/Heaven are one in the same, Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luk 17:21
Hope this helps
Chris R
Kat:
Hi Anne,
I found this in Ray's LoF series part 9.
I think it covers Ray's stand on heaven really well :)
http://bible-truths.com/lake9.html --------------------------------------
GOD’S HEAVEN IS HIGHER THAN MAN’S HEAVEN
Satan is the god of this world (I Cor. 4:4). Satan possesses ALL the kingdoms of the world (Matt. 4:8-9). Satan appears to the heads of his nations as an angel of light (I Cor. 11:12). It was Satan who appealed to the heaven of Eve’s mind. It was Satan that caused the people to build a tower that would reach MAN’S concept of heaven. The heaven of the minds of those conceiving of such lofty things. It was Satan who caused the king of Babylon to be lifted up in his own heaven, his own mind. Listen to his own words:
"At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, is not this GREAT BABYLON, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of MY power, and for the honour of MY MAJESTY?"
The king of Babylon had a dream, and in the dream his kingdom was likened to a tree:
"The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached into HEAVEN…" (Dan. 4:11).
The kingdom of Babylon didn’t grow into GOD’S heaven, that’s for sure. No, Daniel identifies who the tree represents:
"The tree that you saw… It is YOU, O king, that are grown and become strong: for your greatness is grown, and reached unto HEAVEN…" (Dan. 4:20a & 22).
The king of Babylon reached the same heaven that the city of Capernaum reached:
"And thou Capernaum, which art exalted to HEAVEN, shall be thrust down to hell [hades/death/the grave]" (Luke 10:15).
Sinful Capernaum was never exalted to GOD’S heaven, but to their OWN HEAVEN, the heaven of their own minds. Their city never left the surface of the earth, but IN THEIR MINDS they thought they had reached "heaven." Now then, with this in mind, let us move ahead two verses and see how all these Scriptures tie in and harmonize together. Verse 17:
"And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the DEVILS are subject unto us through your name. And he said unto them, [I know] I BEHELD Satan as lightning fall from heaven [when and as it was happening through the commands of His disciples]."
Christ’s disciples were filled with JOY over the power that Jesus had given them so that even spirits were subject to them. Jesus had just said that He would thrust Capernaum down from THEIR HEAVEN, their high place in their own mind. Next the disciples report back that they were able to cast down spirits (demons) from men’s minds, from their own heavens. They were excited to tell Jesus what they had done. They had the power to cast down DEMONS from men’s heavens, from out of their MINDS. And Jesus answered them back by saying, YES, I KNOW, I BEHELD Satan (prince of the devils and demons), fall from the heaven of men’s minds while you were doing it! And then even Jesus "rejoiced" (Verse 21).
God has a heaven. It is a SPIRIT REALM. It is where God lives and has His Being. Men too have a heaven. It is likewise, the REALM where they live and have their being—they spiritually live in their own minds, their own heavens.
Notice Prov. 23:7, "For as he THINKS in his heart, SO IS HE." The ‘heart’ is the innermost seat of our deepest emotions, but it is accessed through the MIND. It is what one thinks that determines what one is. When the king of Babylon THOUGHT that he had ascended into heaven in his mind, then that is where HE WAS, "so IS he." But ... BUT, it was man’s heaven and not God’s. No ‘man,’ no ‘carnal man’ has ever ascended into God’s heaven of spirit,
"And NO MAN has ascended up to heaven [God’s heaven], but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man WHICH IS IN HEAVEN [right at the very time He was speaking these words]" (John 3:13).
Jesus could live "on earth" and "in heaven" at the same time! But carnal men live in the heaven of their minds all the time. Man’s heaven is a place of spiritual delusion; whereas God’s heaven is a place of spiritual enlightenment.
"And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the EARTH [of man] and the HEAVEN [of man] fled away; and there was found NO PLACE FOR THEM… And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And I saw a NEW heaven and a NEW earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." (Rev. 20:11, 16 & 21:1).
It would be mind-boggling enough to think that the entire UNIVERSE could "flee away," but it would be quite another to then suggest that, "there was found NO PLACE FOR THEM." That would be absurd if taken literally. ALL THESE THINGS ARE SPIRITUAL! In the white throne judgment there will be no more a place for the flesh, for the carnal mind, for man’s heaven. There will truly be no place found for them. They will be annihilated in God’s "CONSUMING FIRE" (Heb. 12:29 & I Cor. 3:15)!
God will give man a new earth and a new heaven, and as for the great sea of carnal, God-defying humanity, "…and there was NO MORE SEA."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mercy, peace, and love
Kat
Deborah-Leigh:
Hi Kat
What stood out for me in your study was : v.5 God is the one who has prepared us for this change, and he gave us his Spirit as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
I did a quick search to find some more hidden treasure in His word and came up with this meaning to the word guarantee in the translation you present. Here is what I found.
Thayer Definition:
1) an ernest
1a) money which in purchases is given as a pledge or down payment that the full amount will subsequently be paid.
Strongs Definition:
Of Hebrew origin [H6162]; a pledge, that is, part of the purchase money or property given in advance as security for the rest: - earnest.
Your wrote : So this study is leading me to a better understanding of heaven the invisible realm, where God and all the spirit beings abode.I believe heaven fills the universe, it is all around us, just as God is. But since it is invisible kingdom, we do not see it or it’s subjects.
Yes Kat. I believe the Church has grossly mis-lead us all by firstly teaching that the Bible and word of God should be understood carnally or literally. Jesus said His words are Spirit and are Truth but the Church in defiance teaches that the Bible is literal. This revelation was brought to me through the LOF teachings on this site. I have come to the conclusion that literal is carnal but for years I was set up and mislead towards the misleading expectation to believe that the Kingdom of God will return in a carnal visible and literal way when Jesus returns to rule the earth also in a carnal visible and literal way. I have heard it taught that Jesus Christ Himself would descend to a carnal visible and literal presence on earth as an Earthly King and that He will come out of visible clouds in a literal sky and all eyes of flesh will see Him. Yet God’s Kingdom is not of this world it is of His Spirit. John 3 : 3,5 I assure you most solemnly I tell you that unless a person is born again anew from above, he cannot see, know be acquainted with and experience the kingdom of God. 5. |I assure you most solemnly I tell you unless a man is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
I did not know that it is a mistake to think that Jesus will return to flesh in order to rule flesh. God is Spirit and His Son Christ Jesus has overcome flesh of the world and the call to us is likewise to overcome carnality and literal carnal thinking. Our hearts have to seek His Kingdom that is unseen.
Jesus answered the Pharisees Luke 17 : 20 The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with visible display. The Kingdom of God among us – does not make its first entry with outward carnal show, a one minute sinners prayer, a tithe paying Sunday service attending tongue speaking proselytes bowing to man made traditions and doctrines of demons. This display is not the evidence of God’s Kingdom.
I believe that in God’s due time HIS SPIRITUAL Kingdom will be manifest but not visible, like the wind manifests but is not visible. I believe that Gods Kingdom will be fully set up on the Earth as a spiritual heavenly Government Governed by Christ and ruled via and in co-operation with His agents on earth who have inherited the earth. I believe that those who inherit the earth will be the highly honoured of God among men who will lead and direct the rest of humanity in their ongoing process towards perfection, purification and final salvation.
I have heard it taught, claimed and assumed falsely that this authority is what the Church is manifesting now through its own stage performances of signs wonders and miracles. I do not believe there is any truth or scripture to back this claim and see this only as blindness leading blindness. Jesus said we shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God. I have not seen anyone claiming to be Abraham, Isaac or any of the prophets of the OT lately! Don’t tell anyone! We might get a few pop up here or there!…especially on TBN!
For me, the race is still on for that high calling!….and seeking first the KIngdom of God is a good way to run.....
Peace to you
Arcturus :)
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