Post by The Ambassador on Aug 14, 2019 10:07:09 GMT
From:
How God’s Kingdom Will Come
The Untold Story! | Part Two | by David C. Pack
The establishment of the Kingdom of God is our focus. No true Christian doubts that Christ is coming. But no one is explaining how He will come—when He is coming (under what conditions)—where He will arrive—why He must come—and how He will ultimately set up His Kingdom. They simply don’t know.
Mustard Seed Kingdom
Everyone knows Jesus spoke often in parables. In Matthew 13 alone, He presented seven—most very short. Each illustrates aspects of the Kingdom, collectively painting a full picture. The place to start is verse 31: “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof” (vs. 31-32). The mustard seeds Jesus’ audience was familiar with were extremely small—very hard to see. This is why He called them the “least [meaning small in size] of all seeds.” God’s Kingdom is akin to microscopic when it arrives! No one focuses on this. It eventually grows into a WORLD GOVERNMENT, becoming the “greatest among herbs”—a “tree”—but it does not start that way. This parable is never mentioned because nobody truly understands it.
So there could be no doubt of the Kingdom’s small beginning, the next parable confirms this: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened” (vs. 33). The Greek word “hid” is egkrupto, meaning concealed in. Think of the modern equivalent—encrypted. Jesus says—literally—He is bringing an ENCRYPTED KINGDOM. It is initially hidden but it expands because leaven always spreads.
Jesus underscores this in a third parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field” (vs. 44). “Hid” here comes from krupto, meaning “to conceal by covering.” Christ’s message is again made clear: God’s Kingdom starts tiny, hidden—and covered. One must go and find it!
Yet another parable confirms this: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls” (vs. 45). Rare and precious, naturally occurring pearls are hard to find. “Who, when he had found one pearl of great price [it was hidden and he had to look for it], went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (vs. 45-46). Besides reinforcing the mustard seed and leaven parables, the hid treasure and pearl parables also add focus to the value of entering the Kingdom.
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Before looking at the three remaining parables of Matthew 13, realize that every kingdom on Earth today has four necessary components: (1) Land, property or territory—however large or small. There must be clear boundaries establishing the size of the kingdom. (2) A ruler or king leading the government. (3) People—subjects—living within the territory governed. And (4) a system of laws and rules with a basic structure of government.
Despite its size, when the mustard seed Kingdom arrives, it does have all four elements. When Christ repeatedly spoke of the Kingdom being “tiny” and “hidden,” He was referring to the numbers of subjects—which would grow dramatically in the second and third “measures of meal.” Christ’s power and the territory He will govern will be anything but tiny.
It is a literal Kingdom. Do not spiritualize it away as a church, or something “in the hearts of men.”
Three More Parables
A fifth parable shows expansion of God’s Kingdom from a small beginning, as well as something else no one seems to notice: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea…” (vs. 47). The net starts out empty. Over time it fills with fish of “every kind”—people from all nations. But not all “fish” belong: “When it was full, they drew to shore, sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world [or age, when Christ moves to Jerusalem]: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just [note this!], and shall cast them into the furnace [or oven] of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (vs. 48-50). (The end of the wicked is incompatible with an ever-burning afterlife. For more on this, the reader will want to read our booklet The Truth About Hell.)
Abandon any notion that the Kingdom of God begins with only divine spirit beings. This parable dispels that misconception. The wicked can get into the Kingdom and must at a point be removed!
Yet another Matthew 13 parable describes wheat and poisonous tares initially growing together in the Kingdom of Heaven. Obviously the Kingdom is not in heaven. Christ instructs that the tares must remain with the wheat until the harvest—when He shifts to Jerusalem. He explains that, at this point, as when the net is pulled to shore—after the mustard seed Kingdom has been on Earth for some time—angels gather “out of the kingdom” the tares and “all the things that offend and do iniquity,” repeating that these are burned in a furnace.
So then, the Kingdom is such that, as it grows, the wrong kinds of people can get in. Christ said this twice, using easy illustrations so the point cannot be missed. Verse 43 calls the harvest the time when the righteous in the Father’s Kingdom “shine forth as the sun.” The Greek means “become resplendent.” Other passages make clear it is at this point many more saints, people who qualified for rule in God’s Kingdom, join Christ and the Father in Jerusalem where He will superimpose His Kingdom over all nations. It will have by then sprouted into the large mustard tree that started from the smallest seed.
The very first parable in Matthew 13 brings yet another perspective, showing those who ultimately succeed in the Kingdom. Jesus spoke of a sower that cast seed, with some falling on good ground, some on stony ground, some where thorns could choke it, and some falling by the wayside. As with the wheat and tares, Jesus went on to interpret it for us: “Hear you [or understand] therefore the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one [Satan], and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that hears the word [of the Kingdom], and…with joy receives it; yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word [many do not want to hear of the Kingdom], by and by he is offended” (vs. 18-21).
Notice also that tribulation and persecution are associated with subjects in the Kingdom! Yet the rewards will be awesome. No one ever hears that such a thing is possible.
Continuing the parable, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the [same] word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (vs. 22).
Here is the last category: “He that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word [of the Kingdom], and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirty” (vs. 23). This is the only category of hearer who survives—and these thrive.
Matthew 13 alone is enough to understand that all popular Kingdom narratives are woefully incomplete—and often totally wrong! Be careful of rejecting or spiritualizing away PLAIN TEACHINGS about how God’s Kingdom will come simply because you have never heard them before—because no one else teaches them. God has His Church and this is where He reveals His truth.
But there is much more to learn in part three.
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