The next questions I started asking myself were:
When is the Kingdom of Heaven coming and where?
As I grew up the thought was reinforced that the Kingdom of Heaven is just there, in Heaven. It is not on earth and wouldn’t come to earth until the Book of Revelation came to pass, Jesus returned, “raptured us out,” defeated Satan, and established his eternal kingdom- the new Jerusalem, the new heaven and new earth . . .
I don’t really believe that any more.
Here are some things Jesus says about the Kingdom of Heaven:
Matthew 3:5- “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17- “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus sent out his disciples telling them to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven:
Matthew 10:7- And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Luke 10:8-9- Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.‘ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
When healing, releasing the oppressed from demons, or contending with Pharisee’s he proclaimed the kingdom:
Matthew 12:28- ” . . . But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Luke 11:20- But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you
Mark 1:15- “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 12:32-34- And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Luke 17:19-21- Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
As I have bowed my heart to the Holy Spirit and allowed him to teach me he is communicating that one day, the complete fullness of the Kingdom of God will be fully realized when Christ returns, but it is not some futuristic thing only to be obtained or experienced at the “End of the Age”.
Each and every person is capable of living in, laying hold of, and bringing to others the Kingdom of God now- just as Jesus did when he walked the earth. He taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,“ because I believe, he wanted us to know this is truly possible with God. But it only happens when we are completely bent in submission to the Lord; when we die to self; when He has full reign and full rule in our hearts and over all our faculties.
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I found one particular parable interesting as I studied the questions of when? and where?
In the Parable of the weeds seen in Matthew 13:24-30 the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who sows good seed in his field. It says while his men were sleeping his enemy sowed weeds and so the weeds grew up with the crop. The man didn’t want the weeds to be pulled out of the field while the crop was growing for fear that the good would be pulled out with the bad. So they waited until the harvest, then his workers gathered both the crop and the weeds. When Christ explains this parable listen to what he says:
“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.”
First he says the field is the world. He is obviously the man sowing good seed. Satan is the enemy and the weeds are all the sons of the evil one or, sinners that have rejected the grace of Christ’s death on the cross. The harvest time is the end of the age. At the harvest time, at the end of the age, all causes of sin will be gathered OUT OF HIS KINGDOM. In this second reference to the field or the world, he calls it HIS KINGDOM.
Notice the Kingdom of God is not likened to the barn– It does not say, “the kingdom of heaven is like a barn at harvest time when all the wheat (righteous people) is pulled from the field (world) and put into the barn (kingdom)”.
I always grew up thinking the Kingdom of God was coming at the end of the age, but in this parable the kingdom of heaven is likened to the man sowing good seed in his field.
The Kingdom of God is the Son of Man sowing his good seed into the hearts of every believer here and now in the world . . . we are not far from the Kingdom of heaven, it is in our midst!!
The reign and rule of the Lord Jesus. Where He reigns, the Kingdom comes!
Are you living in the Kingdom of God?
Is it in your midst or do you feel in the midst of darkness?
