Keys to the Kingdom

We know the kingdom of heaven is the way of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The keys to the kingdom - the comprehension of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Rock- Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

With all that in mind let us read more on the kingdom of heaven-


Mat 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter and upon this rock (HIMSELF) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

(And the grave did NOT prevail against Christ!)

Mat 16:19  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven


Mat 16:19 ...and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Mat 16:20  Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

And Christ gave to His disciples the KEYS of the KINGDOM of HEAVEN. And KEYS do what? They open the lock, they make it possible to unlock something so you can open it.  The keys of the kingdom of heaven open the way to the kingdom. You can enter the kingdom if you have the keys to unlock the way. The disciples were given the keys, the way to the kingdom, and with those keys they were to show others the way to Christ.

The disciples would know right from wrong, the disciples would know what the Kingdom of Heaven was all about without exception. The truth would come from the disciples and only the truth. They would teach not only the Jewish people but the Gentiles, the truth would go to all. None would be able to say they didn't know RIGHT from WRONG.

We only have to search the Scriptures and then we know TRUTH! And it is a searching.  So many wish to take a verse here or there and pluck them from their setting so they can corrupt the meaning.

Binding something on earth and in heaven from history is something the Jewish people would say in that day and age. Here read an excerpt from a Bible Commentary-

Clarke's Bible Commentary-

'That binding and loosing were terms in frequent use among the Jews, and that they meant bidding and forbidding, granting and refusing, declaring lawful or unlawful, etc…'

The disciples would be filled with the Holy Spirit which would guide them to all truth. They would then instruct others in the truth. They would explain what God would give to them to the people. 

We don't realize what a HUGE deal is was for the truth to go to the Gentiles. Mingling the Jews with the Gentiles was forbidden unless a Gentile converted to become a Jew. The idea of the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven being given to the Gentiles WITHOUT them converting to Judaism was unheard of!

Another huge change for the disciples which were all Jews, was the temple's ceremonial laws were no longer in affect.  This was HUGE! This wasn't something that was easily comprehended.

People have their cherish perceptions and when someone comes along and those perceptions are to be altered, not everyone can accept that.  Asking the Jewish people to change their way of life- a life centered around the Sanctuary and its services- was asking A LOT! Stripping away their religion and replacing it with another. Is it any wonder that  many did not, they refused to believe in Jesus Christ, they refused to believe their Messiah had come. They refused to believe in the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus had preached and given to His disciples to preach.  The Jewish religion still exists today and its adherents still refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

To go from the Jewish religion to the altered religion, the newly revised religion that did NOT do away with the moral commandments of the old religion but reinforced them significantly, was something that took a lot of faith in Jesus Christ. When you take away something a void is left if NOT filled with something else. Taking away the ceremonial laws, taking away the temple sacrifices, taking away so much, it was all replaced by Jesus Christ and the new ordinances He gave to the disciples to give to the people that would believe in Him and His truth. 

Christ gave everything the disciples would need to them in order to bring the truth to light, a truth that would endure until His return.

Christ's word is our truth. Is it any wonder we need to study it so intensely and LIVE the truth when it is revealed to us?

Christ's word is a living word, vital for us to survive in Him. If anyone thinks they can truly be Christ's without living His word, they are going to be very disappointed.

The keys to the kingdom, the way to the kingdom of heaven is through Jesus Christ our Lord and all must learn of Him, learn of His life giving sacrifice, all must believe in Him and His LOVE.

All by HIS GRACE and MERCY!

Please Lord, teach us, ever teach us! Save us! We would be with You in the kingdom of heaven that You are.

Life is the Kingdom of Heaven

The Kingdom of Heaven PARABLES

Mat 13:31  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Mat 13:32  Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

A grain of mustard seed is tiny.
Sown in a field.
Once grown from the tiny seed, the mustard tree it becomes is huge.

The kingdom of heaven once sown in a heart encompasses the entire life, leading to eternity!

Christ must be a huge part of our lives! He must be our lives!

Mat 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

A little bit affects a lot.

The kingdom of heaven brought to us by ONE will fill all the hearts of the many who will be Christ's.

Mat 13:44  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.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN- treasure hid in a field

The kingdom of heaven is worth EVERYTHING!
The kingdom of heaven is more important then anything else, because the kingdom of heaven is CHRIST.

Mat 13:45  Again, the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Mat 13:46  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN- merchant finding a great pearl
That pearl means everything!

Our Savior is stressing the importance of the kingdom of heaven.

We treat it as part of our AFTER life, and after life that is NOT Biblical. We treat it as something not to be too overly concerned about and the truth of the matter is, it should be the ONE thing we are MOST concerned about right now, while we live!  Our life must be Christ's NOW, not in the last five minutes before we take on death's sleep, or the last five years of our lives when we feel we've reached an age that dying is almost certain.  We can't have Christ for a few hours on the weekend and holidays, but then forget about Him. The kingdom of heaven, our Christ is EVERYTHING!


Mat 13:47  Again, the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Mat 13:48  Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
Mat 13:49  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
Mat 13:50  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - a net

A net trapping good and bad.  Just as there will be those who believe they are Christ's, that they believe that the Kingdom is theirs, they'll cry  'Lord, Lord,' and He'll tell them He never knew them,  they have a pretense of being Christ's but it's not a reality. They'll be in the net and at the end of the world the good in the net of the Kingdom of Heaven will remain, the bad will be destroyed.

Mat 13:51  Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

Mat 13:52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Things old and things new.

The old testament pointed towards the Messiah, the new Testament reveals the Messiah.

The old and the new- all are of the Kingdom of Heaven- Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

Why do we believe Heaven isn't something that should occupy our  thoughts constantly? Why do we believe that it shouldn't be important, life important right NOW!

Have you thought about the Kingdom of Heaven today?  We should think about it, everyday. EVERYDAY!

Please Lord, help us to LIVE with the Kingdom of Heaven paramount in our minds, in our lives!

By YOUR GRACE and LOVE, LORD! All by YOU!

Until the End of the World- God's People and Satan's Are Together

The KINGDOM of HEAVEN IS...

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  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?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30  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.

Jesus explains the parable-

Mat 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 13:35  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Secrets kept from the foundation of the world!

Mat 13:36  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.

Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the KINGDOM; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41  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;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the KINGDOM of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Sower of good seed- Son of Man.
The field- the World.
Good seed- the children of the kingdom.
Tares - the children of the wicked one/Satan.
Harvest- the END of the WORLD.
Reapers- the angels.

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field
Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man

The kingdom of heaven is LIKE a man sowing good seed in his field.
The kingdom of heaven IS the Son of man.

The kingdom of heaven is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

And the kingdom of heaven is our Lord, sowing good seed.

The good seed are the children of the kingdom.

We, who would be Christ's, are seed sown by Him.  He takes us in His hand, He sows us in fertile ground, we take root, we are nourished, we grow up into Him, and when we are full grown at the end of the harvest we will be HIS.

Farmers cannot sow seed for a harvest and leave their crop unattended.  If a crop is left unattended it can succumb to weather, vermin, disease. Sure, sometimes there isn't a whole lot a farmer can do against some of those things- severe droughts can tax even the deepest of water sources; a plague of locust, unstoppable; an infectious blight of an unknown strain, all these things can and do happen. However a good farmer will do all in their power to nurture their crop, not expecting to plant and disappear and then come back to harvest a crop left unseen.  A good farmer will even have workers tending the crop if he doesn't do so personally. A crop can be the livelihood and sustenance for a farmer, to be inattentive would only encourage his own ruin.

Our Savior does all He can do to tend to the crop He's planted. Our Savior will never leave us unattended. Our Savior is ever ready to protect us, to help us even as we have tares growing up all around us. Living in this sin-filled world, filled with the willfully wicked, we truly are growing up among those that would destroy us.  If we are NOT Christ's then we are Satan's. Too many want to believe that they are on neutral ground- neither Christ's or Satan's, as if there were some other choice.  These people are exceptionally blind, refusing to see, holding fast to their deadly delusions.

Christ gave this parable so those who would see, could see, and the rest would not understand.

Do you see?

Do you understand?

Wheat or tare?  Two choices.

Please Lord, let us be YOURS- good wheat sown by YOU, growing in YOU, harvested by YOU.

Please Lord, let us NOT forget that the wheat and the tares grow together right up until the end of the world, right up until You return.

Bless us, Lord, keep us IN YOU forever! Protect us from all the tares that would destroy us, that would encourage us to leave You.  Let us every be with YOU.

By YOUR GRACE!
By YOUR LOVE!
By YOUR MERCY!

Always, YOU!

Heart Soil for the Seed of the Kingdom

The Parable of the Sower- (A Parable of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN)

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

Listen to this parable-

We know what a seed sower is, right? I mean we know how and why they sow seed.  Let's imagine it for a moment. A farmer carrying a sack of seed on their back slung so they can reach inside and grab a handful of seed, tossing some of the seed to the ground WHERE he wants the seed to take root and grow into a plant.  He doesn't sow recklessly, the seed is important, it means his livelihood, his food source. He wants each individual seed to be fruitful, to grow, to produce the plant he needs it to.  With this in mind...

Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the KINGDOM, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Not understanding the word of the kingdom-allows the wicked one to steal away the seed that was sewn in the heart.   The kingdom not understood, this causes the seed to fall to the side of the heart, it's not on fertile ground. Satan will do all he can to cause the seed that is sewn to make it anywhere but the heart. Satan knows if the seed isn't in the heart it won't grow to its fullest, it won't produce the fruit necessary.

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Receiving the seed, not rejecting it. Receiving the seed but NOT into the soft, nutrient rich ground of the heart, but rather in a hard stony place. One who hears the message of the Kingdom of Heaven with joy, but does NOT let the message of the Kingdom settle into their hearts. No root is allowed to grow.  If the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is not in our hearts growing, then whenever problems arrive we are offended, we let evil grow in our hearts- wanting to render evil for evil because we are offended rather than filled with the compassion of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Receiving the seed of the Kingdom of Heaven, hearing the word, but again not letting it into the heart but rather outside the heart among the thorns. The thorns are the CARES of this WORLD, the DECEITFULNESS of RICHES. These thorns choke the message of the Kingdom of Heaven and it cannot live.

Mat 13:23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Hear the word of the kingdom of heaven, understand the word of the kingdom of heaven, bearing fruit, bringing forth that which is worthy for the harvest. The fruit grown from the seed planted in the fertile ground of our hearts will produced a unique seed. Like a Dandelion gone to seed, the seed flies off on the wind to produce more fruitful plants.  We are to spread the news of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

More tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

May we fill our hearts with God's truth, with His love, with His Salvation- the Kingdom of Heaven!

Parables, Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, Conversion, Healing.

Jesus spoke in a lot of parables… why?  Let the Bible and Jesus, Himself answer that question...

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

*******

They seeing- see not.
They hearing- hear not.

Without the ability to truly comprehend, you cannot understand.

Ear dull of hearing.
Eyes they close.

This is a purposeful, willful desire to remain ignorant to the truth. Those who do this, those who choose to be ignorant, choosing to ignore the truth, they cannot understand no matter what it spoken to them. Jesus spoke in parables and those who desired understanding of those parables would get it, but those who chose to remain in ignorance would do so as well.

It's hard to imagine anyone truly wanting to remain ignorant, isn't it? Why would someone not desire the truth?

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Loving evil prevents a person from comprehending the truth.

People who love evil- whether it is the evil of selfishness, the evil of covetousness, the evil of lying, the evil of hatred, the evil of not forgiving, the evil of pride, the evil of self absorption, the evil of … you name it, the evils in our world are seemingly endless.  Any cherished evil, no matter how huge or how small is enough to keep a person blind, willfully blind.

*

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

We can know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, it is ours to understand if we love truth rather than evil.

Loving truth.

Hating evil.

Mat 13:15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Hearts waxed gross.
Ears dull of hearing.
Eyes they have closed.

People LOVE their evil! 

People do NOT want to be healed!

People say they want to be healed but they don't.   People don't want to be converted because conversion means hating the evil in your life, despising the evil around you and all the evil in the world.  Our cherished sins are evil, all sins are evil. If we harbor sins, cling to them, not wanting Christ to forgive us for them, not wanting to repent of them, not wanting to go and sin no more- then we are intentionally keeping ourselves blind, deaf, and our hearts closed to the truth. We cannot be converted and healed by Christ if we love sin more than we love Him.

I'm not saying we won't sin, but encouraging it, accepting it without fighting against it and striving to keep from doing it, is all a part of cherishing it.

When we give in to the sins in our lives that are so easily besetting us, when we stop repenting and seeking forgiveness, we are giving into the despair that Satan wants us to give into. If Satan can cause us to stop seeking Christ and His forgiveness, His love, His righteousness, then we are lost.

No matter how often we sin, we can't give up!

Please, LORD, please let us have our eyes wide open! Please, let us have our ears open! Please, let us have our hearts open all to you!  We need you to convert us! We need you to heal us!

Your will, LORD, Your will. We would be YOURS and we would know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven!

All through your LOVE.

Jesus said, '...the kingdom of God is come unto you.'

Imagine living in a time when you are under the yoke of an unyielding tyrant of a ruler. I know we feel this way at times in our own government when we are forced, yes, forced to pay taxes, forced to get healthcare, forced to follow the rules of the government. But our being forced is NOTHING like living under the terror of a government that thinks nothing about crucifying you for minor offenses, and to show the strength of their power. Living under that sort of tyranny has to be awful in a way none of us in the United States can comprehend.

You live under oppression like that and you long for freedom from oppression. That longing becomes a hope like no other. That longing for freedom, to live without fear, becomes something strived for and something to  give your children, and they- their children.

The Jewish people had prophets from God and those prophets foretold of a Messiah, a coming King, a Savior who would bring them freedom to live without fear.  These people had this wonderful hope and were looking for the arrival of this Messiah.

When the Messiah came, the Jewish leaders didn't recognize Him because they had imagined Him so much different.  This was done by God for a reason, to let only those who desired God's truth to really comprehend, while all the pretenders would remain blind to the truth.

Those pretenders didn't realize their own blindness, they only saw others being what they believed was deceived and felt a need to set them straight.

A possessed man brought to Jesus-

Mat 12:22  Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Mat 12:23  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Mat 12:24  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Mat 12:25  And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Mat 12:26  And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
Mat 12:27  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
Mat 12:28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

*******

We can comprehend how some businesses, governments, kingdoms fall- history has shown time and again that often these are taken down from the inside, not the outside. People who are trusted betray that trust and that betrayal destroys everything.  When you have two opposing factions, either one of those factions can be can be destroyed by the other. It's a well known practice to bribe someone on the inside to help in the destruction. 

For the Pharisees to say that Jesus was working miracles by the power of the devil, healing where all the devil did was destroy was a huge matter. They were claiming that  Jesus who went about doing ONLY good, was doing it by the power of the devil.  Jesus was casting out the devil by using the devil to do the casting out.  And not only that, the Pharisees themselves having their own cast out devils were supposedly doing it by God.  They said Jesus was doing it by the devil, but their people by God, their lies were ludicrous.

Jesus called them on it. 

Casting yourself out is impossible.

Even when we loath ourselves we are still stuck with ourselves, aren't we?

Satan cannot cast out Satan.

Sure, Satan can take away any illness if he gives that illness in the first place, if it suits his plans. And sure there are plenty who belong to Satan who seemingly heal others and cast out demons, they're liars and they know they are liars. The truth of them can be found out easily enough when you take them to the word of God and compare their lives to the truth. If they are NOT following God's truth, all of God's truth, then Satan can use them if they reject the truth and willingly remain blind, tugging those blinders tightly over their eyes, their hearts. By their fruit you will know them, and the fruit is what they produce in their lives- THEIR LIVES- not only the deeds they do. There are plenty of evil men and women who are seemingly honest, loving, caring, good and their deeds only seem to prove this and yet behind closed doors they harbor great evil. Their hearts are dark and loveless yet no one can see it, God knows it, God knows the hearts. And while we are to recognize them by their fruits, all we see is good, their fruit appears good to us but it's spoiled. 

With this sort of deception out there, people are fooled.

Christ's entire life was on display. He was surrounded by His Apostles and many disciples all the time, hiding nothing. He took no bribes, no payment, no one could go to him and buy a miracle. Jesus lived His life in poverty. He had no home, no job for the three years of His ministry. Jesus wandered from place to place and lived a life without any frills at all. No Pharisee could point at Him and say, "Look, He lives like a king, He uses dark powers, He's a sorcerer." They couldn't do that because all He was, was completely self evident.  When they did lie and get Him condemned it was all lies, even the Romans saw through the lies and yet to keep peace they went along with the lies.

Jesus said…

Mat 12:28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

The kingdom of God- the way to God's kingdom was there!  Jesus used the power of God to fight against Satan's control over the possessed, over those afflicted by the evils of the Devil.  Jesus preached LOVE and all things pertaining to LOVE. The truth of God was all that came from Christ's lips. No lies, never a single lie came from Him. There was no coveting, no thirst for power at all.

The kingdom of God was there! The door was opened! The freedom land in sight! The WAY was illuminated! Jesus was preaching the Kingdom of Heaven and the eyes of the people were opening, hope was rising up within them. The kingdom of heaven was truly at hand! And ever since Jesus came to make the way available it has ever been available to us, never taken away, a door opened and not shut.

We are going to continue to study on the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, by the grace of our LORD.

We are going to keep praying for insight, for the spiritual sight we need to see only HIS truth and not be deceived by Satan's many lies and deceptions. 

Please, Lord, bless us! Love us! Help us to love You! Please let us learn as much as we can, as much as we need to of Your coming KINGDOM!

All by YOUR GRACE!

Desperate for the kingdom

Least in the kingdom.
Greater in the kingdom.

In the kingdom it will NOT matter which position you hold- the least or the greatest. There will be NO resentment at all whatsoever for anything. There will be no boasting, no vying for a higher position, none of that will exist.

When we read about being the least in the kingdom we know that position is one we would gladly take, just to be in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said this-

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John the Baptist, the greatest born among women. Yet-- the least in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist.

Why? Wouldn't we in our own intelligence place John right up there in the realm of the greatest to be in heaven? People, Bible scholars have interpreted this verse to mean different things.  I can't help but wonder if right then as Jesus spoke those words the greatest prophet ever to walk the earth was at that moment asleep in His grave, not in the kingdom of heaven yet at all.  And if John hasn't attained the kingdom, the least there WOULD in fact be greater than John because John had yet to go to the kingdom of heaven and will wait in His grave, asleep, until Jesus Christ comes again and raises the dead from their graves.  We know factually that there are people in heaven right now that have ascended to heaven- Elijah for one. And others God has taken.  Elijah didn't die, there was no grave for Him ever.  We know God has the power to take those special few to heaven, just as we know this--

Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

When Christ died many graves were OPENED. Why? Because the saints in those graves, those who died in the love of God and slept death's sleep, were awakened from that sleep! We don't know which ones, we have no way of knowing, and we know not ALL those who are God's were taken out of their graves and awakened because it says MANY, not ALL. These people who were awakened and taken out of their opened graves went into Jerusalem and MANY saw them. They weren't ghosts, they were real people, real bodies that could be seen. 

John was NOT in the kingdom.

Those who were in the kingdom, the least in the kingdom were greater than John because HE was not in the kingdom of heaven yet. He would sleep in His grave.

Of course, not all believe this is what is meant. 

Yet, John the Baptist, the greatest born of women the least in the kingdom?

The next verse...

Mat 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Wesley in His Bible Commentary wrote this-

'And from the days of John - That is, from the time that John had fulfilled his ministry, men rush into my kingdom with a violence like that of those who are taking a city by storm.'

Scofield in His Bible Commentary wrote this-

'It has been much disputed whether the "violence" here is external, as against the kingdom in the persons of John the Baptist and Jesus; or that, considering the opposition of the scribes and Pharisees, only the violently resolute would press into it. Both things are true. The King and His herald suffered violence, and this is the primary and greater meaning, but also, some were resolutely becoming disciples. '

Barnes in His Bible Commentary wrote this-

'And from the days of John ... - That is, from the days when John began to preach. It is not known how long this was, but it was not probably more than a year. Our Saviour here simply states a fact. He says there was a great rush or a crowd pressing to hear John. Multitudes went out to hear him, as if they were about to take the kingdom of heaven by force. See Mat_3:5. So, he says, it has continued. Since “the kingdom of heaven,” or “the gospel,” has been preached, there has been a “rush” to it. People have been “earnest” about it; they have come “pressing” to obtain the blessing, as if they would take it by violence. There is allusion here to the manner in which cities were taken. Besiegers “pressed” upon them with violence and demolished the walls. With such “earnestness” and “violence,” he says, people had pressed around him and John since they began to preach. There is no allusion here to the manner in which individual sinners seek salvation, but it is a simple record of the fact that multitudes had thronged around him and John to hear the gospel.'

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The kingdom of heaven.

The wonders of the kingdom are beyond our full comprehension. It is to be DESIRED greatly! The kingdom of heaven- perfection in ALL things, in ALL ways.

We need to earnest seek the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Daily we should be contemplating the kingdom of heaven as the hope our Savior came to give us.  Our Savior died for us, died so we could inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Something so incredibly valuable as that is something we must LIVE for. Eternity with Jesus Christ in His Heavenly Kingdom- this is our HOPE, our life now and everlasting.

Do we seek the kingdom earnestly enough? Do we want the kingdom with a real desperation?

IS the kingdom of God REAL to us?

By the grace of God may it become real to us! Our Lord died so we could have the kingdom!

Please LORD, we would have YOU, and in having YOU, have the kingdom you came and preached to all.

By YOUR LOVE!