Visualizations Of The Kingdom Of God

VISUALIZATIONS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

The Seeds of the Kingdom:  Good and Bad

Matthew 13:24-30 NET  He presented them with another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.  (25)  But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.  (26)  When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.  (27)  So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?'  (28)  He said, 'An enemy has done this.'so the slaves replied, 'Do you want us to go and gather them?'  (29)  But he said, 'No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.  (30)  Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First collect the weeds and tie t hem in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn."

The enemy can either be Satan or false teachers energized by Satan or demons.  It can also be someone who distorts the gospel of the Kingdom. According to sources, darnel or wild wheat and domestic wheat look exactly alike until they bear fruit. The wild seed has a dark grain, while edible wheat has a light brown grain.  The farmer ordered the harvesters to delay the separation of the wheat and darnel (weeds).  I have read that the roots of the grain and darnel are so intertwined that it is virtually impossible to pull up one without uprooting the other.  The same difficulty will appear in human separation and intervention.  It is not always possible for a person to distinguish the saved from the unsaved – only God has that ability, therefore He will do the separating.

There is no way for humans to entirely know the hearts of other humans.  One of Satan's most effective schemes is religious activity.  People appear to be spiritual but they are inwardly not.  The wheat and tares look alike, but time reveals the difference. Many people are fooled by religious appearances masquerading as true spirituality.  Only the grace of God can help believers understand the fakery and resist error.

Satan is not able to uproot the true wheat (Christians) so he plants counterfeits among them.  The good seed is the Word of God but in this parable the good seed represents true believing Christians.  The field is not necessarily human hearts but is the world of the Kingdom of God.  When a true believer is planted, Satan plants a counterfeit.  The churches have many counterfeit “Christians” with a counterfeit gospel.  At the end of the age there will be a counterfeit Christ known as the beast or man of sin.  We must work against Satanic influences and expose the lies of false gospels, but we must also sow the Word of God and bear fruit in the place where He has planted us.

God will gather the tares together and burn them at the end of the age.  It is difficult to tell the false from the true today, but the angels will separate them and place them into the lake of fire.

The kingdom of God (heaven) designated by the church is not going to be a perfect representation.  That which is not true, that which is not genuine, that which is false will arise within the Church, that is, the tares will be there with the wheat.

The Great Mustard Tree

Matthew 13:31-32 NET  He gave them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  (32)  It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches."

The mustard seed is a small garden seed and a relatively small leafy plant.  The Kingdom of God began with one man, Jesus, sowing the seed in the garden of Judea.  However, this normally modest plant becomes a great tree.  It grew bigger than what it really is intended to be.  This depicted parabolic mustard plant has an abnormal growth until it resembles a tree or a world empire.  The end of the age tree has little reference to its beginnings as a humble plant.  Its vastness and lack of true substance now allows wild birds to make their homes within it.

The wild birds represent Satan and his demons with their untrue versions of the gospel.  Its complex organization with many branches is filled with organizations that do not represent the Kingdom of God.  It has become an abnormal forced thing of man, not representative of the true righteous kingdom of heaven, and it will become a shelter for all kinds of evil purposes, as the church has been used today as a shelter for all kinds of evil purposes.

Some make this parable teach the worldwide success of the Gospel. But that would contradict what Jesus taught earlier. If anything, the New Testament teaches a growing decline in the ministry of the Gospel as the end of the age draws near.

So here the Lord forewarned the disciples that during His absence the kingdom would experience a phenomenal growth. They should not be deceived nor equate growth with success. It would be an unhealthy growth. Though the tiny seed would become an abnormal tree, its largeness would become “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird” as the end of the age mystery, Babylon.

He shouted with a powerful voice: "Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast.

(Revelation 18:2 NET)

The Flour and the Yeast

Matthew 13:33 NET  He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen." 

This parable has been interpreted in two diametrical opposite ways:

(1)  The Incorrect Interpretation:  The yeast is the gospel of the Kingdom or the Church as it starts very small but gradually develops and grows until it influences the whole world for good.  In agreement with this thesis the Utley Commentary says:  In the OT yeast was often a symbol of evil, but here it was an obvious symbol of the pervasiveness and growth of the Kingdom of God.  In disagreement the Chuck Smith Commentary states:  As I look at the world today, I cannot honestly rejoice for the tremendous effect that the world has received from the influence of the church. I look at a sick world; a world that seems to me is getting sicker every day. I have difficulty with that particular interpretation.

(2)  The Correct Interpretation:  The use of leaven in the New Testament is an unhealthy ingredient and is symbolic of sin and/or evil.

Three measures of meal was the exact amount customarily used in a grain offering to God, and leaven (which always is a picture of evil and sin in the Bible) has absolutely no place in a grain offering.  The idea of hiding leaven in three measures of meal would have offended any observant Jew. This would certainly not be a picture of the church gradually influencing the entire world for good.

The mustard seed of the previous parable illustrates the false outward expansion of the kingdom, while the leaven illustrates the inward development of false doctrine and false living. Throughout the Bible, leaven is a symbol of evil. It had to be removed from the Jewish homes during Passover (see Exodus 12:15-19; 13:7).

Bread made without yeast must be eaten for seven days; no bread made with yeast shall be seen among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.  (Exodus 13:7 NET)

Yeast (or leaven) was excluded from the sacrifices (Exodus 34:35), with the exception of the loaves used at the Feast of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21).

Jesus used leaven to picture:  hypocrisy;

Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  (Luke 12:1 NET)

False teaching;

Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

(Matthew 16:12 NET)

Paul used leaven to picture carnality in the church (1Corinthians 5:6-8) and false doctrine (Galatians 5:9).  Sin is like leaven (yeast): It quietly grows, it corrupts, and according to Paul, it “puffs up” (KJV) or makes one arrogant (NET).

Some have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power.  (1 Corinthians 4:18-19 NET)

 It would seem that making the growth of the leaven a picture of the spread of the Gospel throughout the world would violate the meaning of this important symbol. It would also contradict the other parables concerning yeast.

Satan has worked hard to introduce false doctrine and false living into the ministry of the Word of God. From the very early days of the church, true believers have battled false doctrine and hypocrisy.

The kingdom of God (heaven) began with the sowing of the Word of God in the hearts of men. Much of the seed did not bear fruit; but some was fruitful. Satan opposed the work of God by sowing counterfeit Christians, by encouraging a false growth, and by introducing false doctrine.

Come Out of Her, My People

COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE

Revelation 18:4 NET  Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues,

Come out of her, my people.  A simple phrase that has been distorted, contorted, misused, and taken out of context.  Hopefully, you noticed the scripture verse comes from Revelation chapter 18.  It is verbalized in scripture immediately before the destruction of mystery, Babylon the Great at the end of the 70^th week of Daniel (the last 7 years) during the wrath of God.  It is a message from God to the people of mystery, Babylon to leave before the beginning of its destruction.  It can apply to current earthly inhabitants to stop participating in and being a part of the Babylon mystery that invades the entire earth.  As I have written about several times in the past, the end-times control center of mystery, Babylon the Great will be the last-days capital of the world empire of the beast (antichrist), which will be Jerusalem, not New York City or Washington DC. 

During the wrath of God and the destruction of Babylon - Jerusalem, the majority of the world

will be extremely near to total destruction if not completely.  Until the disclosure of the beast (antichrist), Babylon can be considered the entire world.  Many people have their own personal location for the mystery city, but the current most popular choice is New York City and the USA, by extension.  A web search for “USA Babylon” lists 4,900,000 results.  Books have been written and blogs are dedicated to this subject.  Many modern exegetes and commentators preach this issue, and some have moved out of the USA to central America, Taiwan, or Israel to escape the wrath they claim will be coming to the country.  One expositor claims that God will make a way for all Christians, who heed the call, to go to Israel so they can escape into the wilderness according to the statement of Jesus in Matthew 24.  In my opinion this person is taking scripture extremely out of context and is wrong (and deluded).

Matthew 24:16 NET  then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.

It is admitted the USA is corrupt and getting worse by the day, but so is the rest of the world.  There are still more people attending church and pretending (possibly) to be Christians than any other country on the planet.  This USA-Babylon theory is based on current views of the world, its lifestyles, and its politics.  The world will exponentially change as the end-times get nearer.  As a matter of fact, the current government is depressing the economy and sending industry and jobs overseas to the point that everyone will soon be lower class with no middle.

The original Babylon, both city and empire but mostly the tower of Babel city, is supposedly the cradle of anti-god idolatry.  I have read it stated that the Masons originally linked their craft to the tower of Babel with Nimrod as the master mason.

Nimrod figures in some very early versions of the history of Freemasonry, where he was said to have been one of the fraternity's founders. According to the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: The legend of the Craft in the Old Constitutions refers to Nimrod as one of the founders of Masonry. Thus in the York MS., No. 1, we read: "At ye making of ye toure of Babell there was a Masonrie first much esteemed of, and the King of Babilon yet called Nimrod was a Mason himself and loved well Masons." (Wikipedia on Nimrod)

Nimrod was killed and returned to life as a figure sometimes referred to as Ninus.  The Nimrod and tower scenario was quickly considered too controversial for the masses and new uninformed initiates, so the story was changed.  The revised version revered  the temple built by Solomon and the master mason named Hiram Abiff.  The story line is Hiram Abiff was killed by three ruffians and then brought back to life.  This also happens to be the final act of the initiation passage from Fellowcraft to Mason Mason of the blue lodge ritual.

Again, it must be noted that the Babel or Babylon of Nimrod is the symbolic image and stereotype (One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type), of all idolatry and moral corruption of the human race.  The anti-god religious system of Babel was carried across the world when God changed the common language of the people to many languages.  This is the reason some version of the flood story and various myths of fallen angels (or watchers in Enoch) occur everywhere on the planet, although many non-believers consider that Moses borrowed the story from another culture.  The correct Genesis version of Moses came from God and not from Nimrod.

The importance of Nimrod in any study of the occult cannot be over-emphasized. Because of the powers given him by the (mythic) clothing of Adam and Eve, Nimrod became the first man to rule the whole world. He indulged that power by launching excesses and horrors which have never been equalled. Ever since the time of Nimrod, Babylon has been the symbol of depravity and lust.

(From http://www.whale.to/c/nimrod.html)

The entire world is filled with false religions and sexual corruption.  Some have been developed from the original Nimrod religious system and pre-flood mythos.  Others have assistance from the father of liars, which is Satan (devil, deceiver, accuser) in my opinion – yours may be different.  The elite powers, attempting to return to the one world empire of Nimrod, are religious, but their religion is anti-god Luciferianism or Satanism.  (I call it the worship of Satan and demons but they call it the worship of Lucifer and spirit guides  – long story but not for this article).

The Illuminati is a Luciferian religion that is counterfeit to the church of Jesus Christ (not the Mormon version). Illuminati means, "Light Bearers" or "Enlightened Ones". The Illuminati belief system says that freedom is only obtained through the entrance of true or pure light (sodomy) and life (sacrifice) is only obtained through death. They tell their people that nothing can ever penetrate that power because the [unholy] trinity of Cain, Nimrod, and Joseph seals it in. The core religion of their belief system comes from the Cabala, a book containing mysticism, and written by a sect of the Pharisees who went into Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem. As a matter of fact, the holy language of the Illuminati is Hebrew. THE MASTER PLAN OF THE ILLUMINATED ROTHSCHILDS: Ron Patton interviews Marion Knox

New York City and/or the USA is not the Babylon of the world.  Again, the entire world is filled with false religions, mythologies, atheistic teachings, and sexual corruption.  This is not just a USA characteristic and the USA did not develop these things and export them to the world.  Prior to WWII, Berlin was called “little Babylon” due to the pornography, sexual perversion, and prostitution practices.  This is one thing that A. Hitler wanted to eliminate (and I am not sympathizing with Hitler).  You may guess the group of people responsible (it may be the same group responsible in the USA).

To “come out of her my people” does not mean to leave the USA.  Where would you go?  Not every Godly person can leave the country.  It means to: stop committing idolatry; stop worshipping money (mammon) and things of the world; stay away from drugs and alcohol; do not commit whoredom, adultery, sexual corruption, homosexuality, and perversion; stay completely away from pornography (it does nothing but ruin your mind); do not get a divorce and remarry which makes one an adulterer; do not destroy and steal things that are not your personal property; follow the guidelines of the Sermon the Mount; worship the Lord and be a citizen of the Kingdom of God.  That is the current and only way to “come out of her, my people” until events alter the programming at the end of the 70^th week of Daniel.

The Kingdom of God Today

THE KINGDOM OF GOD TODAY

1-21-2015

The beginning of The Kingdom of God was announced by Jesus.  A major aspect of His ministry was devoted to preaching the arrival of the Kingdom.  The purposes of the kingdom include:  salvation; grace; the reign of Jesus; and the inclusion of Gentiles (or all people of the world).  We are now living in an age between the inauguration of the kingdom and its complete fulfillment at the return of Jesus (the millennial age).

Jesus was crucified, died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father as King of the Kingdom of God, so what comes next?  The kingdom has come at the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, however, the kingdom has not been fully consummated. 

What is the Kingdom of God?

The profound nature of discipleship is knowing Jesus is worth everything. The paradox concerning salvation is that it comes freely by God's grace alone but it costs the disciple everything.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.   (Matthew 13:44 NET)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.  (Matthew 13:45-46 NET)

A believing scribe will be able to draw truths from the Old Testament as well as see the fulfillments in Jesus' teachings.

Then he said to them, "Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old."  (Matthew 13:52 NET)

There will be an end-time separation of the believers and unbelievers based on their response to Jesus and the gospel.  The Jewish teachers believed that God would empower a human leader to inaugurate the new age kingdom by force. From the New Testament Gospels we realize the Kingdom of God is “now” but “not yet.”

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous

(Matthew 13:47-49 NET)

The Kingdom Of God Presently

Jesus is currently the King of the kingdom. 

He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  The word authority means the right to use power. There was authority to His teaching (Matthew 7:29). He exercised authority in healing (Matthew 8:1-13), and even in forgiving sins (Matthew 9:6). He had authority over Satan, and He delegated that authority to His Apostles (Matthew 10:1). Since Jesus Christ today has all authority, we may obey Him without fear. No matter where He leads us, no matter what circumstances we face, He is in control. By His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated all enemies and won for Himself all authority.

Then Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  (Matthew 28:18 NET)

He has been deemed both Lord and Christ.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ."  (Acts 2:36 NET)

All things have been placed under His feet.

This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And God put all things under Christ's feet, and he gave him to the church as head over all things. Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.  (Ephesians 1:20-23 NET)

All authorities and powers have been made subject to Him.

And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you -- not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.  (1 Peter 3:21-22 NET)

The reign of God is now administered by Jesus.

He is the ruler over all kings, rulers, and administrators of the earth

and from Jesus Christ -- the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood   (Revelation 1:5 NET)

He is King of kings, and Lord of lords.

       

 to obey this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ -- whose appearing the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time. (1 Timothy 6:14-15 NET)

He will reign until all enemies, even death, are placed under His feet.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be eliminated is death.  (1 Corinthians 15:25-26 NET)

How do people enter the kingdom now that he has departed?

Jesus answered, "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  (John 3:5 NET)

He said, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!"   (Mark 1:15 NET)

The blessing of the Kingdom of God is not one channeled through any political organization, Jewish or otherwise. The Kingdom belongs to God, not to any group of men. Citizenship requires a new entity, the body of Christ, all those who are united to Him in faith in His conquest of sin and death and who look to His lordship over heaven and earth. The Kingdom of God is above the nation of Israel and the church, although both have an important place. The Kingdom of God is about Jesus Christ to whom has been given all power in heaven and in earth.

What is the `king' of the kingdom doing now?

He is sitting at the right hand of God.  He is the Messiah, the new David, the creator of all things and the ruler of all things.  He is supplying assistance and blessings to his servants who are doing His assignment of spreading the gospel of the kingdom.

The Spirit of Jesus impacted the apostles.

When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this,  (Acts 16:7 NET)

An appearance of Jesus converted Saul.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" So he said, "Who are you, Lord?" He replied, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!   (Acts 9:4-5 NET)

How will God's saving purposes be carried out now?

All may be reassured that God's saving plan, his kingdom, is continuing to be worked out through the crucified and risen Lord Jesus in keeping with Jesus' own teaching.  The interim period is about the continuation of those saving promises, the kingdom of God, through the Lord  Jesus is still the mediator of that kingdom, the one who administers those saving promises and the one who carries out God's saving plan.

God's promise to pour out the Holy Spirit in the last days has been fulfilled (2:16-17). The reason for this is that the promised Davidic King has come and has been raised for ever to sit on David's throne.

But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: 'And in the last days it will be,' God says, 'that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.  (Acts 2:16-17 NET)

In the Old Testament, this phrase from Joel referred to the end of time and the coming of the Messianic or Millennial Age. In the New Testament the "last days" most likely referred to the time between the initiation of the kingdom of God and the fulfillment of the kingdom.  The kingdom began at the resurrection and ascension of Jesus (some say the incarnation in Bethlehem.  We live in the period between "the already" and "the not yet" of the Kingdom of God.

What are the blessings of the Kingdom?

The blessings in the present  age would include: 

God's forgiveness of sins through the death of the ultimate sacrificial lamb, that is Jesus Christ.  Why were animal sacrifices an essential part of temple life prior to Christ?  It was essential to spotlight the final sacrifice for the sins of all mankind through the atoning death of Jesus.

God's care for all citizens of the kingdom even if oppression and discrimination are sometimes necessary for the institution of the kingdom.

God's family encompasses other believers and the fellowship of the church.

God's Spirit is the Holy Spirit with which all believers are filled.

Blessings in the future Millennial reign of God include:  God's eternal kingdom, God's eternal city, God's eternal presence, and God's eternal care.