#518 – The Universality of The Kingdom of God.
The Various Viewpoints of Our Existence.
The Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom.
June 25, 2012
We started this series of studies on the Kingdom and introduced the Government of God as “God’s Redemptive Totalitarianism!” We have done this several times over the last many years. This viewpoint of God’s Redemptive Totalitarianism is very offensive and is greeted with distaste, opposition and is objected to by most all modern concepts about redemption. While the absolute Sovereignty of God is acknowledged by many as doctrinally correct, the personal aspects of His Totalitarian Sovereignty are rejected on the basis of GRACE! The fact that the Holy Spirit has come to enforce God’s Totalitarian Sovereignty is totally rejected on the basis of God’s Love! When we present the objective of this present day government, it is rejected on the basis of “Calvary’s Salvation.” Since this “eternal objective” is not influenced by personal feelings or human opinions or by Christian doctrines or concepts about salvation but was decided and enacted before the world was restored in Genesis 1, it stands alone and is unshakable. This is also rejected on the basis of God’s Mercy and the One who has ascended to the Mercy Seat!
Even though that is certain, the Holy Spirit has been given a special and exalted position in the church age!
Luke 12:8 “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God; 9 but he who denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. 10 “And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.
We then presented the Kingdom as God’s Total Redemption, opening the way into the reality that exposes and rejects all the relativism of the current church programs and systems. We then assumed that since the Kingdom has lost its reality in the visible church that the visible church has “LOST THE KINGDOM.” This “FACT”is generally rejected by most Christians and labeled as heresy. The response has often been that “We inherited the Kingdom by the new birth.” Our response is the Kingdom is NOT given on the basis of new birth, or faith or justification but on the basis of producing the fruit of the Kingdom. The fact that this “fruit” is not doctrinal but experiential, and it is quite obvious that Fruit = Experience.
The term “THE PROTOTYPE SON” is objected to because “prototype” is not a Bible word. Our response is that “We are to grow up in all things into Christ and be conformed to His image” and that makes Him the “prototype Son.”
prototype >noun 1 a first or preliminary form from which other forms are developed or copied. 2 a typical example of something.
The point I am making is this; The Kingdom is not an easy subject to preach because nearly every aspect of the Kingdom is objectionable. Its very demands makes its message distasteful and sets a great gulf between it and the modern gospel. If the modern gospel is correct then the Gospel of the Kingdom is certainly a great heresy. Of course, because of the great conflict between these “gospels,” the opposite is also true. If the Gospel of the Kingdom is true then this Gospel of the Bargains in false! My interpretation of the modern gospel is that it is a great heresy and rejects the very basis of the Kingdom of God and its unshakable Sovereignty. To reject the Kingdom is tantamount to rejecting God’s appointed King. If our Great King has no KINGDOM He is without power or authority but is just a figurehead and maybe just a “symbol” of something future.
All this points to the reasons that certain scriptures must now come into the Light!
Mat 13:8 “And others fell on the good soil, and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
Mat 13:11 And He answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 “For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Mat 13:14 “And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I SHOULD HEAL THEM.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 “For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
It is certainly true that the Kingdom will not be a popular message among those who have natural eyes and natural ears because these words of the Kingdom cannot be seen or heard in the natural / earth / world realm by the natural man. For that reason Jesus told Nicodemus that FIRST you must be “born again” to have your eyes opened to this realm and you MUST be born of the water AND the Spirit to enter into this realm. Of course, Nicodemus was a leader in Israel but had no idea what Jesus was talking about!
Now, this presents a big problem for the Charismatic, Apostolic, Prophetic and Pentecostal Churches which assume they are “born again”, been baptized in water, and have received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Why? Because, they relate that statement to these three births in which we have entrance into these realms. However, it is also clear that they all reject the message of the Kingdom as too radical or is just futuristic.
Nevertheless, it is also VERY clear that the Kingdom is ONLY given on the basis of FRUIT and not on the basis of a simple entrance (doorway) into the Kingdom!
Therefore, we may conclude that, at this time, ONLY a few which will actually hear the message of the Kingdom and only a FEW will be able to see into this invisible realm or to participate in its reality. However, this presents another big problem. Jesus told us to preach this message in every nation.
Mat 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
John 12:37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him; 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” 39 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES, AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART; LEST THEY SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND I HEAL THEM.” 41 These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
This is VERY bold to say that “”HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES, AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART; LEST THEY SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND I HEAL THEM.”
The response we hear is this; “Well, the God I KNOW would not do that.” The problem is that the God of the Bible DOES DO THAT! Finally, it becomes clearer why this “gospel of the Kingdom” is not being preached by the visible churches. The Kingdom excludes those who either are excluded by God, and those who exclude themselves, simply because they can’t be bothered about bringing forth the fruit of the Kingdom. Of course, since the visible church “lost the Kingdom,” multitudes are still ignorant of the demands for kingdom FRUIT or any knowledge about the Kingdom at all! This is pathetic since we have had two thousand years to figure this Kingdom message out.
None of the seriousness of this message is hidden so only a few can find it. I will add to this study some of the warnings associated with the Kingdom so we can see this is not a peripheral message. “Salvation” understood in the illumination of the Seven Spirits of God will cause the Kingdom to look quite different from the “salvation” being presented as “the gospel.”
MAT 7:27 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.”
LUKE 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This {very} night your soul is required of you; and {now} who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 “So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
LUKE 12:39 “And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
LUKE 13:7 “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’
MAT 13:40 “Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
MAT 13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering {fish} of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good {fish} into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
MAT 18:33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?’ 34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. MAT 18:35 “So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
LUKE 14:23 “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel {them} to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’
LUKE 16:9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of righteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 “If therefore you have not been faithful in the {use of} unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true {riches} to you? 12 “And if you have not been faithful in {the use of} that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
LUKE 19:26 “I tell you, that to everyone who has shall {more} be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”
MAT 21:31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The latter.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.
MAT 21:40 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the {proper} seasons
MAT 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you,
and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it. MAT 21:44 “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
MAT 22:11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And he was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few {are} chosen.”
MAT 25:10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “And later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’12 “But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
MAT 25:29 “For to everyone who has shall {more} be given, and he shall have an
abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.30 “And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
JOHN 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he
bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
When the Gospel of the Kingdom is fully preached it will be clear that what is being preached as “eternal Salvation” is really based upon man’s concepts derived from a few verses of scripture. The error is that they have ignored the Kingdom of God in which we must see “salvation” in its relationship to God’s Ultimate Government! Is this a radical doctrine that is much too legalistic for the modern church? Probably! My theory is that THIS is the true gospel and if you don’t agree with it, you must deal with it AS IT IS and not as you thought it should be or hoped it would be!
The Kingdom is the REAL WAY! Either it is this WAY or the Highway because any other WAY is NOT THE WAY! On the off ramps on the limited access highways it always says “NOT THE RIGHT WAY.” You can see it if you are attempting to access the highway from that direction. It seems the visible churches not only have lost the Kingdom they have lost all the WRONG WAY signs. Now you can go whatever way you like because “God loves you.” Today, it is possible to go the wrong way on the Highway to Zion because there is so little traffic in the right direction. You can just fall in step with those going in the wrong direction and assume the majority can’t be wrong.
Psalms 84:4 How blessed are those who dwell in Thy house! They are ever praising Thee. Selah. 5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; In whose heart are the highways to Zion! 6 Passing through the valley of Baca, {weeping} they make it a spring, The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
If we are actually traveling the RIGHT WAY on the highway to Zion, eventually we will appear before God in Zion. Traveling the WRONG WAY on this highway is NOT an option for anyone who expects to arrive in His Presence or expects to see His face! The Highway of the Kingdom IS THE HIGHWAY TO ZION. This is certainly NOT complicated nor should it be confusing. If we expect to go to Washington, DC, DON”T get on the highway to Chicago. It is this mind numbing stupidity and eye blinding ignorance of the Kingdom that is confusing the real issues and emasculating the real gospel!
Isa 35:8 And a highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. 9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the LORD will return, And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
The “FOOLS” who think they can live like the devil and still go to Zion because of the forgiveness of sins, obtained at Calvary, will have a very rude awakening. When we understand that Zion is the Old Testament word for the dwelling place of God, His Holy Mountain, we should understand that it also refers to the Government of that Most Holy Place which is the Kingdom of God. The Law shall go forth from Zion! The Character, Attitudes, Integrity, Reality and Honesty required of the Kingdom person is also the requirement of Zion. This is why living according to the Moral Law of God is just the minimum requirement to permit entrance into the Kingdom reality. Because of that fact, liars, thieves, adulterers, and deceivers are forbidden from participation in the Government of God. All these characteristics can be found in human governments but will NOT be found in God’s Eternal Government! Fools and the unclean are eliminated from the Highway to Zion and from the Kingdom dimension of Life and ministry. Neither can those with a beastly nature walk there.
Well, brother, aren’t you making the Kingdom too exclusive and judgmental. The truth is it is much more exclusive and judgmental that I can possibly make it. Why? Only God knows what He will accept or whom He will accept in His Eternal Government to carry out ONLY His will in the nations. We can easily eliminate all self-willed persons who insist upon things being done their way. They are forbidden from even approaching or even come within view of this Highway of Holiness. If this is really true then nothing else matters. If this is really true why isn’t EVERYBODY preaching this Gospel of the Kingdom? That is a question that only God can answer but probably relates to what Isaiah said that Jesus quoted. They have an inner problem that has not yet been solved. Why? The Machaira has not yet exposed the “hardened heart” and the garbage within that has been held back from the fire.
Thayer Definition: “machaira” 1) a large two sided knife, used for killing animals and cutting up flesh {I.E. The word of God, Heb 4:12} (not a sword)
If these 20 scriptures I printed at the beginning of this document do not convince ANY ONE of the severities of the Kingdom of God and its irrevocable requirements, then what can we conclude? Certainly, SOMETHING must be removed and SOMETHING VERY positive must be added to that individual to remove this incredible blindness. This “process” of removal and addition is assigned to these seven Outer Court experiences which obviously must be a Life reality if the Kingdom is to be addressed intelligently.
The Universal Kingdom is in effect over ALL of creation. Even if we don’t believe that it cannot negate the fact that God created it all by His Word and His Eternal Government is revealed by His Word. This “WORD” became flesh and demonstrated the Kingdom as it relates to Man and to Eternity! “I do nothing on my own initiative and I only speak what I hear” is the revelation of the Kingdom in human response. The Kingdom, therefore, is not just a doctrine to be believed but a “LIFE” to be lived in this age. How do we know that? Because the Prototype Son demonstrated the Kingdom by His Life and by His actions of casting out demons and healing the sick and introducing the Kingdom as God’s practical answer to the rebellion and fall of man. The Kingdom Government of God, as a PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, is essential for the total recovery of mankind to participate in the Eternal Purpose of God! This “recovery process” is what we call redemption, sanctification, restoration or full salvation.
When we observe a selfish and self-centered life that is common among the “saved,” who are “saved as far as the church” but still outside the realm of the Kingdom salvation, it seems obvious that this kind of “salvation” is actually opposite to what we see in the early church.
The inner Laws of the Kingdom should have been installed when we were “re-created” in Christ Jesus. How do we know that? It is because the Life of the Kingdom is inherently infused within the Sperma by which we were born again. Why? It is because the Life of God and the Life of the Kingdom are the SAME LIFE! This is also the “LIFE” that was infused into the Son of God. It is this “Life” that makes the Christian different from all the other persons upon this earth. If you don’t have this “LIFE” you are not saved regardless of what doctrine you were taught!
We will have to include the Great Tribulation in another document because these themes contain a different viewpoint of the Kingdom of God.