Posted on 03/01/2014 10:42:07 AM PST by PhilipFreneau
Are the Kingdom of God and Heaven the same?
The teaching of the kingdom began in the days of John the Baptist, whose ministry was the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. These are the prophecies and their fulfillment:
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isa 40:3 KJV)
"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts." (Mal 3:1 KJV)
"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." (Mat 3:1-3 KJV)
"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." (Mark 1:1-4 KJV)
John also fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6:
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Mal 4:5-6 KJV)
"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Mat 11:13-15 KJV)
Jesus made it clear that John the Baptist was the only Elijah that was to come:
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." (Mat 17:11-13 KJV)
Now, after his baptism, and anointing with the Holy Ghost, Jesus began his ministry in Galilee where he preached the kingdom:
"Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mat 4:12-17 KJV)
"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15 KJV)
That should be enough to prove the kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven are the same. But we will delve a little further. This is Jesus preaching to his disciples the Sermon on the Mount, as written in the books of Matthew and Luke:
"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 5:1-3 KJV)
"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20 KJV)
Here, the "two" kingdoms are mentioned by Matthew and Mark in similar verses about little children:
"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 19:14 KJV)
"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:14 KJV)
In the following verses, Luke and Matthew interchange kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven in writing virtually the same statement:
"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." (Mat 11:11 KJV)
"For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (Luke 7:28 KJV)
And Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are in "both" kingdoms:
"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 8:11 KJV)
"But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." (Luke 13:27-28 KJV)
Here, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are used in the same passage about the rich man:
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Mat 19:23-24 KJV)
Even in the parables, the "two kingdoms" are interchangeable:
"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: 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." (Mat 13:31-32 KJV)
"And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it." (Mark 4:30-32 KJV)
The evidence is overwhelming that the kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are the same. But what are they, and when were they created? Here, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven existed during his ministry, at least since the days of John the Baptist:
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." (Mat 11:12 KJV)
That is crystal clear. In the following passages Jesus prophesied that he would eat meat in the Kingdom of God, and he fulfilled that prophecy shortly after this resurrection:
"And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16 KJV)
"And I appoint unto you [his disciples] a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Luke 22:29-30 KJV)
"And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him [Jesus] a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them." (Luke 24:41-43 KJV)
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven has existed at least since the days of John the Baptist, and the Kingdom of God existed at least since shortly after the Lord's resurrection. But, if they are the same, and the evidence is overwhelming that they are, then the kingdom of God also existed since, at least, the days of John the Baptist. Check this out:
"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [Israel,] and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." (Mat 21:43 KJV)
I don't know what nation Jesus was referring to, since the "kingdom" seems to have been given to anyone who believes in Christ, Jew or Gentile. It is clear that the kingdom of God existed at least before Matthew 21. We also know that the physical kingdom ended during the reign of Zedekiah about 600 BC. Let's get to the heart of the matter:
"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21 KJV)
So, the kingdom of God (or, heaven) is spiritual.
In any kingdom, there is the ruler (Christ,) and his servants, who rule and watch over the kingdom. We know of some servants, who were mentioned earlier: his disciples:
"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Mat 19:28 KJV)
Other servants are mentioned as part of the first resurrection:
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Rev 20:4-6 KJV)
In summary, it appears the kingdom was taken from Israel, and given to everyone; and those of the first resurrection reign over the kingdom as servants of Christ.
Philip
>>>I see; when you support Preterism you have no problem taking things literally, or spiritually, or whatever works best<<<
And you don’t? Give me a break.
>>>Were Daniel’s 70 weeks contiguous or interrupted?<<<
Suppose you tell me. Are they contiguous or is there a gap?
Philip
>>>The main half truth being presented is somebody claiming they have a question when they post an article, when they refuse to look at the evidence and have a preformed decision.<<<
Where’s the evidence?
Philip
>>>Do you mean the Roman who heard the Word face to face, had the authority to set him free, and still ordered him to be tortured and crucified ? Will you next present the defense for Judas Iscariot ?<<<
Life is too short...
>>>You are trying to change what Jesus said. He did not say the Land of Israel would be trodden down of the Gentiles, he said Jerusalem.<<<
He also said his generation would not pass away before his coming with his holy angels to gather his elect. Yet you don’t believe that plain statement by Jesus. But obscure statements you will argue about for hours on end.
Life is too short ...
No, that timeline does not complete the prophecy.
Perhaps you misunderstood him. Life is eternal.
Similar to 20th Century Europe, only this time it will be Jerusalem, Israel that is the target. Your doctrine will be adopted by a strong delusion as the Gentiles conspire to dismantle and ultimately go to war against the State of Israel under the auspices of the Antichrist. Did you ever imagine America would elect a Muslim President twice just after 9/11 ? A falling away and strong delusion is certainly possible.
What is the consequence of your doctrine if you and your fellow futurists are wrong? Generations of Jews will never hear the words of Christ.
Who knows because under that scenario we are in uncharted waters, abandoned for almost two thousand years with no unbroken chain of the faith once delivered to the saints, just a cascading web of myriads of denominations and sects without unity.
It will take a bona fide miracle for the nation of Israel to hear and believe the words of Jesus. The two witnesses of Revelation (Moses and Elijah) come to mind.
Post 22 provided the link.
The evidence is all around us.
It only took 20 or so posts in this thread to reveal the purpose (clear to me by the title).
Par for the course. He tried to lay out his own version of preterism, on another thread but quickly found out the preterist theory is built on out of context rebuttals and shifting hermeneutics.
>>>Post 22 provided the link. The evidence is all around us.<<<
The link proved nothing. Do you have any real evidence?
I think you are quite aware of the passages in scripture that show when Israel was no longer autonomous. Sure, there were periods of partial self-government, while paying tribute/tax to the controlling Gentile empire of the era. But since the complete downfall to Nebuchadnezzar, up until 1948, they have not been totally autonomous (still trodden under foot); always the subjects to the Gentile overlords.
It’s always the same with false teachers isn’t it? It seems to boil down to take as literal what fits a predetermined belief and allegorize anything that doesn’t fit that belief. Maybe throw in a little re-writing of history to make it realistic.
First you should realize afvet is using a gentle approach in responding to your shifting interpretive methods. I did not see one “nasty” post from that gentleman. I think his posts are pointing out your threads “beg the question.”
>>>No, that timeline does not complete the prophecy.<<<
483 years is 483 years. Did you add a month every few years like the Jews did to make the Lunar/Solar calendars coincide? Otherwise the feasts will eventually end up in the wrong season.
It doesn’t really matter. The timeline clearly showed that when Christ showed up, it was at the end of the 69th week, no matter how you slice and dice it. He began his ministry at the beginning of the 70th week, confirmed the covenant with Israel for one-half week, at which time (in the midst of the week) he was cut off (or crucified.) His disciples and apostles continued to confirm the covenant (with Israel) for another one-half week, until the end of the 70th week, when the new covenant took over (e.g., Amos 9:11-12 was fulfilled) and the Gentiles were allowed into the kingdom. Cornelius was the first around Acts 10.
That is the 70 weeks. It ended 3 1/2 years after Christ was crucified. Only the items mentioned in 9:24 were determined or decreed for the 70 weeks:
1. to finish the transgression
2. to make an end of sins
3. to make reconciliation for iniquity
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness
5. to seal up the vision and prophecy
6. to anoint the most Holy.
One part that is confusing to a lot of people is the first clause of verse 26. It does NOT say that Christ was cut off AT THE END of 69 weeks, but AFTER, which was determined to be in the middle (midst) of the 70th week in verse 27.
Philip
>>>But since the complete downfall to Nebuchadnezzar, up until 1948, they have not been totally autonomous (still trodden under foot); always the subjects to the Gentile overlords.<<<
John said it was only for 42 months. How do you interpret that?
Philip
>>>First you should realize afvet is using a gentle approach in responding to your shifting interpretive methods.<<<
Shifting, huh? Prove it.
Have you read all the posts between AF-Vet and me? I doubt it. I think he can defend himself.
Yes I am painfully aware of your exchanges with afvet. He has the gift of patience.
What do you do with verses 13-15???
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