The Sword of the LORD

During the time that Jesus walked on the earth in flesh and blood, He taught many parables about the kingdom of Heaven.  He wanted His disciples at that time (and all of His disciples down to this current age) to understand how the kingdom works, and how we should function as citizens of that kingdom.  The longer we consider God's kingdom only as a place we will inhabit one day after Christ's return, the longer we hinder enjoying the blessings and power of that kingdom in this life.  We are waiting for Christ to return, but God is waiting for us to grow up into Christ and become mature sons of God (Ephesians 4:14-16).  "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God." (2 Peter 3:11,12a).   In Matthew, we find a very simple parable that speaks of the mystical nature of the kingdom of God.   "Another parable spake...

In part 1 of this series we established from scripture several truths about the kingdom of Heaven. They are: 1.      The kingdom of heaven exists today, as it always has, in the heavenly region where God dwells, but will someday be established as a physical kingdom on this earth.   "Thy kingdom come.   Thy will be done in earth,   as it is in heaven."   (Matthew 6:10).   The Jews missed the prophecies concerning Christ's passion, death, and resurrection and thought, instead, that the Messiah would set up an earthly kingdom at His first appearing.   2.      The gospel of the kingdom was not introduced (though it was prophesied) until the New Testament when John the Baptist announced that, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."   (Matthew 3:2).   Afterwards, Jesus preached the same message to Israel (Matthew 4:17), making it clear that God was beginning a new dispensation, and a new covenant, with ...

The message of the kingdom of heaven (or the kingdom of God as it is also referred to) is one that is central to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ; but many Christians either misunderstand it, or are ignorant of its importance in their day-to-day lives.  The kingdom of Heaven is a place they hope to inhabit after they die, but has no real relevance to them in this present world.  Without a proper understanding of the heavenly kingdom, they fall short of living a truly Spirit-filled life, and become entangled in a temporal system which God has condemned totally, and means to ultimately destroy.    As John the Baptist began preaching in the wilderness of Judea, his message was simple and direct: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).  He was sent to announce the imminent appearance of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the ushering in of a new dispensation; but also, He was announcing a shift from the importance of an earthly, v...