Part 1.1 - ..The Word Of The Kingdom
Introduction-The Word Of The Kingdom The New Testament starts with the Gospel of Matthew for a very good reason; it presents the King and the Kingdom, which is the central theme of the Scriptures. All of the prophetic Scriptures point to one glorious event, and that is the day in which God’s Son-His Anointed King, Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world-will come to this earth and take the scepter of the Kingdom of the Heavens (as rendered in the Greek text) to rule over this earth for 1,000 years. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to God’s King, but He has not begun to exercise His absolute reign over this earth. This day is coming soon, and we must be readied in this day to stand in His presence in His Day. The Gospel of Matthew is unique because it alone uses the phrase the Kingdom of the Heavens, and the title of this book comes from this phrase. In the translation of the New Testament from the Greek to English, the meaning of some words and phrases has been lost or diminished. The words can seem sort of static. The Kingdom of the Heavens is one of those phrases that loses some of its original meaning. The Kingdom of the Heavens is best translated as the Reign of the Heavens. The word reign implies action (ruling, governing), and the heavens describes where the action is occurring. The Scriptures declare that the heavens do rule (Daniel 4:26ASV). Since the Bible focuses almost entirely on the affairs of this earth and not on God’s Universal Kingdom that encompasses His entire creation, the heavens do rule declares that the rule over this earth, in this age and in the age to come, comes from the heavenly realm associated with the earth. In other words, whoever sits in the heavenly realm rules. In writing to the Ephesians, Paul the apostle used the phrase in the heavenly places (high places in some translations) five times in referring to where Christ is seated, where His people are seated and from which they receive every spiritual blessing, and where the powers of darkness, the rulers of this world, also are seated (Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 1:20; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12). The word heavenly means "above the sky," and the word places, which is not found in the original Greek, was added by the translators for readability. Perhaps it would be best to paraphrase this term as reigning from the heavenly places.
Thus, the Kingdom of the Heavens or the Reign of the Heavens means that powers and principalities in the heavens or the heavenly places rule this earth. Today, the heavenly rulers are the angels; but when the Kingdom of God’s Son comes, the rulers will be man, the one new man in Christ. The writer of the Hebrews letter, which was written with the coming Kingdom Age in view, declared: For He did not subject to angels the world [age] to come, concerning which we are speaking (Hebrews 2:5). The rule of the earth comes from the sphere of heaven in which the earth is suspended, and one day, the rulers of this earth will be those born-again sons of God who will have been found worthy to attain unto the Kingdom Age, to rule with Christ as He sits upon His throne (Revelation 3:21).
According to the Scriptures, the Kingdom of the Heavens or the Reign of the Heavens is revealed in what the Lord Jesus described as the Word of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:19), which very simply is the message of the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Contained also in this message is the need for every born-again child of God to walk worthy of their calling into the coming Kingdom (Ephesians 4:1). It is about the King and the Kingdom and those who will be found worthy to reign with the King of kings and the Lord of lords during His millennial reign. The Lord Himself has left us His word on the way into the Reign of the Heavens.
"Not everyone who is saying to me, ‘Lord, lord,’ shall come intothe reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens." (Matthew 7:21YLT {ea})
Obeying the will of God is the key to entering the Reign of the Heavens. Today, the Holy Spirit is searching for an obedient people who will be called out of the Body of Christ into the place of dominion (ruling and reigning with Christ), and this requires those who have believed on Jesus (born again) to walk worthy of the God who calls them into His own Kingdom and Glory (1 Thessalonians 2:12). At the heart of the Word of the Kingdom is Christ, the Author and Captain of salvation, and the bringing of many sons unto glory (Hebrews 2:10).
It cannot be stressed enough that there is no greater subject in the Scriptures than the subject of the King and the Kingdom. In fact, it is the message of the prophetic Scriptures. The prophets of old looked for the King and the Kingdom. When Christ came the first time, the Jews were looking for their King to come and deliver them and set up His Kingdom on earth. John the Baptist proclaimed the Kingdom; Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom; the apostles preached the Kingdom. The book of Acts begins with the resurrected Jesus teaching His disciples on the Kingdom, and it ends with Paul under arrest and yet unhindered in preaching the Kingdom. The Bible, from the beginning, sets the principle of the Kingdom, as man was created to have dominion, to rule over this earth; and it ends with the arrival of the King of kings as Christ Jesus, the second Man, steps back on this earth, takes the scepter of the Kingdom of the Heavens and sits upon the throne of David. In that day, the Son of God will restore man back to his very purpose for being created-to have dominion (Genesis 1:26-28). Those called out from the one new man in Christ will sit upon His throne as co-heirs of the Kingdom. The Son of God is God’s King. It is the Kingdom of the Son of God’s love (Colossians 1:13NKJ) to which all Scripture points. The King and the Kingdom cannot be separated. To understand God’s King, we must understand the Kingdom. To understand the Kingdom, we must understand the King. We cannot separate the King and the Kingdom any more than we can separate the Word of God and the Word of the Kingdom. They are one word and they center entirely on God’s Son and God’s purpose and plan. They are one; for God has set His King on His holy hill of Zion, and He is coming to rule over this earth with a rod of iron until all His enemies have been subdued, until even death itself is no more (Psalms 2:6; Psalms 2:9; Revelation 19:15; 1 Corinthians 15:25-26). The Kingdom of the Son must come before the eternal ages are ushered in. In fact, it is the Kingdom of the Son that brings in eternity, when God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). A careful study of the New Testament will reveal that the Kingdom that is coming was the central message of the early church. Whether the word kingdom is used or not, this was the view of the first pioneers of the church. Since the birth of the Church, the spiritual battle that every Christian is brought into, whether they know it or not, is over this matter of the Kingdom. The battle that rages with the unseen powers of darkness is over the Word of the Kingdom.
"When anyone hearsthe word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil {one} comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart." (Matthew 13:19{ea}) The Reign of the Heavens is the central message of the Bible and is explained through the Word of the Kingdom. This is the message that Satan seeks to rob from God’s people. Why? Because the day that the Kingdom of the Son comes, Satan and his angels will be completely and utterly defeated and cast out of their places of dominion in the heavenly places. In that day, Christ will rule supreme, along with those who are counted worthy to reign with Him. The Kingdom is so central to all Scripture that if we miss the true nature of the Kingdom, we will miss the very purpose for the creation of man, the redemption of man, the battle over man, the millennial reign; the place of the Gentile nations, the nation of Israel and the Church of God during the Kingdom Age; and the ultimate intention of God in the eternal ages. The message of the Kingdom is what connects all prophetic Scripture and expresses God’s purpose and plan for the 7,000-year history of this earth upon which we live. Miss the Kingdom and we will miss the very key to understanding the Bible. Miss the Kingdom and we will miss the purpose for man’s creation and redemption. Miss the Kingdom and we will miss God’s heart for sending His only begotten Son to this earth to die for the sin of the world. Miss the Kingdom and we will miss the King!
Since the very beginning of God’s restoration work (Genesis 1:2 b), everything in the history of man and this world has been moving toward one tremendous and glorious day when God’s Son will take the scepter of the Kingdom of the Heavens and rule over this earth for 1,000 years. Very soon, God will break into the history of this world, forever changing the kingdoms of this world. The King is coming!