The kingdom of God is a spiritual place for redemption and salvation. A safe place for even little children. A place where a child is safe and free to be a child: we know children make mistakes and they are expected to make mistakes, but they are also expected to learn from those mistakes and to not keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Mark chapter 10 verse 14 says "... Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God. (A person must be Childlike to enter the Kingdom of God)" Mark 4:26 - 29 says "And he (Jesus) said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. This passage of Bible scripture lets us know that we could never understand the fullness of the kingdom of God, but we can be witness to the kingdom of God through our spirit and in the end our spirit will be harvested by God to come back to the source.
Mark 4:30 - 32 says "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." This passage of Bible scripture lets us know that we, just like the mustard seed, may appear to be small and insignificant, but the kingdom of Gods holy spirit, when we allow it to grow in us, allows us (humans) to become greater than all of the other creatures on the earth and we (the saints of God) will be able to provide shelter for other people who have not come into the faith and believe the teachings of Jesus.
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Mark 9:1 says "And he said (Jesus) unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power (If your interpretation of this scripture means this will be fulfilled when Apostle John describes the Kingdom of God in the book of Revelations, wait until you read the rest of this article before you make your final interpretation.). This passage of Bible scripture is really interesting to me. For one thing, Jesus is telling his disciples and other the people that were around at the time he was speaking that the kingdom of God is at hand right now. Basically, he is telling them some of them will see the kingdom of God come with power before they die.
Let's read about what happened on the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2 verses 1 - 4. "And the when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (This describes people receiving the Holy Ghost)." Knowing Jesus disciples and others were all together on the day of Pentecost, I believe this to be one of the examples of the Kingdom of God being witnessed among men and women. This made the kingdom of God very clear to me.
The kingdom of God is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us. Jesus had it from his birth, but his disciples and us had to wait until the Holy Spirit was sent from heaven as a comforter to us humans who believed in the teachings of Jesus the Christ. If you read in the Bible Luke chapter 8 verses 4 - 8 Jesus himself makes this very clear with a parable about the sower. Jesus spoke another parable explaining the kingdom of God in the Bible book of Luke chapter 13 verses 20 - 21. Read it for yourself.
When is the kingdom of God coming?
If my previous supposition is correct and the day of Pentecost was a manifestation of the kingdom of God coming, then the kingdom of God is already here. In Luke chapter 10 verse 9 Jesus is giving His disciples instructions on how to go forth and preach the kingdom of God to people in other cities and it says "And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." We all know that when a person dies, their spirit is removed from their mortal body, so Jesus is instructing his disciples to let the sick know death is near and your spirit will be going home to God soon. With this in mind, I believe what Jesus was sharing with his disciples was two fold; 1. Give the sick the truth about their spiritual well being through informing them the kingdom of God is near to them and 2. Give the sick hope in believing in the power of God by healing them.
The ultimate statement of when the kingdom of God is coming is found in the Bible in the book of Luke chapter 17 verses 20 - 21 says "And when He (Jesus) 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. (The Holy Spirit dwells in us.) " This passage of scripture clearly lets the reader know that the kingdom of God is within them and there is no need to try to observe the kingdom of God through our natural senses because it is a spiritual place that God has created for His children to come to while they are alive and here on earth. This is the message that must be preached.
Why has the kingdom of God come?
The kingdom of God has come to give us the TRUTH. Man had become so corrupt in his beliefs and his thinking until God had to send the TRUTH to us so that we could see ourselves as failed human beings who needed salvation. While Jesus taught on earth, He dealt with the beliefs many people had and comparatively speaking gave them TRUTH to test their beliefs. People can choose to believe a lie, if the want to, but it is important to know that God is not deceived and he gives other people the ability to know the truth when lies come forth from people.
Luke 4:43 says "And he said (Jesus) unto them (his disciples and others who followed him), I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent."
Jesus proclaimed he was sent by God to tell the truth, to tell people to repent and inform people that the kingdom of God was not made by mans hands, but is a spiritual safe place, something that can only be experienced through the indwelling of Gods Holy Spirit. John 14:6 says " Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
God sent his only begotten son Jesus to proclaim the truth and tell people to repent because the law had gotten so corrupt and the people who administered the law had become evil and absolutely corrupted by their own lustful desires to be rich and have power. To this end, the administrators of the law did not care about the people of God and begin to change Gods laws to fit what they wanted to do. Does this sound familiar to you?
How do you enter into the kingdom of God?
The question of "How do you enter into the kingdom of God?" is a personal one. Every person takes a different path to get to having a relationship with God. In my opinion the one single thing everyone who has a relationship with God has in common is, they come through understanding what and who Jesus, the Christ, is. Jesus, the Christ, is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE which every human being must come to understand to enter into the kingdom of God. Think about it. The King James Bible is full of scriptures which helps us understand "how we enter into the kingdom of God?".
John chapter 14: 1- 6 says " Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. "2": In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. "3": And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
"4": And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. "5": Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? "6": Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Matthew 5: 3 says "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5: 8 says "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
Matthew 5:20 says "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Mark 10:15 says " Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."
Mark 10:23 says " And Jesus looked around about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!"
Mark 10:24 says "... Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 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."
Mark 12:32 - 33 states what a scribe said to Jesus regarding there being only one God, and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. In Mark 12:34 Jesus answers the scribe by saying "... Thou art not far from the kingdom of God."
In the Bible scripture Luke 9:62 it says "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
In the book of Acts all of the teachings of Jesus culminates into the day of Pentecost at which time those that dwelled in the upper room were filled with the Holy Spirit. After they were filled with the Holy Spirit people watching were astonished and wanted to know what was going on. This is when Peter began to preach to them, one of the most elegant and profound sermons in the Bible. Peter preached to them and instructed them to follow the teachings of Jesus, Acts 2:37 - 41, to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost as they had witnessed all of the disciples of Jesus obtain on the day of Pentecost.
Acts Chapter 2 verses 37 - 41
37: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39: For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40: And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41: Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Conclusion
By no means is this article a complete analysis of the kingdom of God, hopefully, it is enough to stimulate the mind to study the word of God for yourselves. This article is simply my understanding of the kingdom of God.
It is my belief and understanding based on reading the Bible, philosophy books, psychology books and social science books that us human beings are made up of a combination of physical body, mental mind, and spiritual soul. Based on these reference materials, the Bible is the most clear to me regarding the spirit humans' posses.
The human spirit was created by God to return to God through allowing God's Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Only through willingly allowing God's Holy Spirit within us shall we achieve making a successful journey to the kingdom of God. I don't believe the kingdom of God to be a place made by man, but rather a spiritual place where all of God's children are welcome to abide forever. This by no means is automatic. There is a choice that every human being must make to determine if they will be in the kingdom of God; that choice is whether or not to willingly allow and accept God's Holy Spirit to dwell in them and be the controlling spirit in them. It does not mean a person will be perfect, it simply means a person will allow God's spirit to lead and guide them into all truth and righteousness: Read in your Bible the book of John chapter 4 verses 23 - 24. "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
Do you believe in the one true God? Do you worship God? Do you worship God in spirit and in truth? Do you want to be in the kingdom of God? I would like to hear your response to this article? So many people believe they are doing things to usher in the kingdom of God, but they forget the scriptures. What do you think? Don't be deceived.
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