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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
C.O. Stadslkev - 1959
Introduction
ALL THE PROPHETS and the apostles, as well as the Lord in
His kingdom parables, spoke of the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven,
as a way of life which was to be established and come into manifestation
here on earth.
The prophets and the apostles also taught, just as did the Lord,
that the Kingdom of Heaven on earth would become manifest on earth in the
last days.
These inspired writers also taught that in the “last days" the
Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven, on earth would be the greatest and
the most exalted kingdom or nation on earth.
Since our study of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth will be largely
limited to what the Lord taught, we shall cite but few passages from the Old
Scriptures. At this juncture we want to call your attention to Micah 4:1:
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the Lord
shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted
above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.”
The word “mountain,” as every Bible student knows, symbolizes
kingdom, and “hills” symbolize nations.
Therefore Micah 4:1 could be paraphrased to read, “But in the last
days it shall come to pass, that the kingdom nation of the house of the Lord
shall be established at the top of the kingdoms, and it shall be exalted
above the nations..."
In order to clearly and firmly establish in our minds the fact that
God's great ultimate purpose throughout the ages has been, and still is, the
Kingdom of God on earth, we shall quote a few scriptures and list others.
While it was left largely to the prophets to set forth God's
ultimate and long-range purpose for this earth, this purpose is clearly
indicated throughout all the Scriptures.
One such scripture is Numbers 14:20-21 where we read, "And the Lord
said, I have pardoned according to thy word: But as truly as I live, all the
earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord."
Psalm 72 sets forth God's final purpose for this earth, so we shall
note a number of verses from this beautiful prophecy that will soon be a
reality.
"Give the king thy judgments, 0 God, and thy righteousness unto the
king's son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with
judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little
hills, by righteousness.
"He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children
of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee
as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
"He shall come down like rain upon tile mown grass: as showers that
water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of
peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the
wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust...
“Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve
him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him
that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the
souls of the needy...
"His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as
long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him
blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous
things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth
be' filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen."
Rather than quoting here more scriptures revealing God's ultimate
purpose for this earth, please read at your leisure Isaiah, chapters 2, 11,
32, 35 and 66.
The prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Micah, Zephaniah and
others all prophesied that God's ultimate purpose for the earth is the
Kingdom of God on earth, when the will of God shall be done in earth as it
is in heaven. For this reason this Kingdom of God on earth is often spoken
of as the Kingdom of Heaven because it is of heavenly origin.
With this summation in mind of what the Old Scriptures teach
concerning the Kingdom of God on earth, we shall consider what the Lord
taught relative to the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven, on earth.
In Matthew 6:9,10 Jesus exhorted His disciples to make the Kingdom
of God their first petition. In these verses we read, “After this manner
therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." The church has
prayed this prayer for 1,900 years and now, according to prophecy and the
Lord's parables, the time has come for this prayer to be answered.
One of the first references in the New Scriptures to the Kingdom of
Heaven on earth is Matthew 8:11,12: “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. But the children of the kingdom shall be
cast out into outer darkness: There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Here we learn that the Kingdom of Heaven on earth will be the
fulfillment of the promise of a great nation that was given to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.
The first recorded promise God made to Abraham is found in Genesis
12:2 where we read, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing."
Subsequent prophecy makes it clear that this nation was to come into being
in the “last days" as we have shown in our book, "The United States in Bible
Prophecy.
From the Lord's statement in Matthew 8:11 we would expect most of
the people who enter this kingdom or nation to come from, or enter from, the
east and the west rather than from the north and the south. The expression
“sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” means
that the people who are fortunate enough to enter this nation would enjoy
and take part in the national and material blessing God promised to the
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In verse 12 Jesus makes a statement which He repeats and emphasizes
in great detail in other kingdom parables, namely, that this kingdom of God
would be cleansed, and even the children of the kingdom who defy kingdom
laws and principles will eventually be removed from this nation. This would
cause weeping and gnashing of teeth - loud protests and anger.
Matthew 13 opens as follows: "The same day went Jesus out of the
house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together
unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude
stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables."
There are seven parables in this one chapter of fifty-eight verses,
and six are kingdom parables. The first parable is the parable of the Sower
and the Seed. And it apparently is an introduction to the other parables on
the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
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