The Kingdom of Heaven/God Is?

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Jul 22, 2014
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#21
Thank you; One of my favorites is the passage from Hebrews, too.

Hebrews 13:14
"For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come."
Here is a good animated video, that uses the passage from Hebrews above.

[video=youtube;j3lwsOPEpMw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3lwsOPEpMw[/video]
 

Hizikyah

Senior Member
Aug 25, 2013
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#22
Thank you; One of my favorites is the passage from Hebrews, too.

Hebrews 13:14
"For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come."
Truly beautiful.

Ezekiyl 48:35, "The distance around the city will be eighteen thousand measures; and the name of the city from that day will be: YAHWEH SHAMMAH! (Yahweh Is There)"

Revelation 21:3-4, "And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying: Behold, the tabernacle of Yahweh is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and Yahweh Himself will be with them, and be their Father. And Yahweh will wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor will there be any more pain, for the former things have passed away."
 

Angela53510

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2011
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#23
Just to clarify.

The Kingdom of God means the same thing as the Kingdom of Heaven. The only difference is that Matthew was a Jew, writing to Jews, and they did not say the name of G-d. Kingdom of Heaven only appears in Matthew. So basically it is a Jewish euphemism for the Kingdom of God.

As for what the Kingdom of God is, I have read several books on this topic. But in the end, I found that for me, a growing awareness of Jesus being the King, having a Kingdom, and the inheritance believers have in the Kingdom, has solidified the idea of living in a country, (not yet in this world!) with God the perfect, just and holy ruler! And he rules and reigns in our hearts!

"Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." Luke 17:20-21
 

Reborn

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2014
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#24
Thank you.
I learned a thing or two.:D
 
Jun 4, 2014
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#25
Romans 14

17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

It is a state of mind. You can choose to toil for a living or you can enjoy life in peace.
 

JesusLives

Senior Member
Oct 11, 2013
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#26
This pertains to a question on another post, that got me thinking, and talking to a few via PM.
What does the Kingdom of Heaven / Kingdom of God / and just simply the word Heaven, each mean, when they are used in the Bible?

Going through hundreds of past posts/ Google search, there seems to be a huge difference of opinion of what exactly each of these three mean-- or how each are to be understood, in context, in the verse in which they are being used in?

(KJV)


Matthew 16:19


And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 5:12

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.


Matthew 6:33


But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
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...and over and over again throughout the Books.

Question (s):
- Should it be obvious on all 3, or is it a deeper understanding?
- Are all 3 the same ?
- Are all 3 different ?
- Are 2 the same and 1 different?
- Do they slightly change depending on the verse?
- A physical place, a spiritual "place" , etc?
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Depending on what we believe this changes the meaning of each verse slightly...or rather drastically?


I ask, because I'm surprised at how many different interpretations of these 3 have been given throughout the Christian Era.....Some rather simple....some really complicated.

:DEven if this only gets a response or two, maybe it can help clarify a few things/questions for anyone who may stumble across this thread.​
I do believe the Kingdom of Heaven is a place because there are lots of angels there, God is there, Jesus is there, the tree of life is there and the river of life and they are building mansions for us there. Elijah and Enoch and Moses and others are there first two didn't see death, but Moses had to be resurrected as he was seen on the Mt. of transfiguration with Jesus.

Got to be spiritual too as there are too many spiritual beings there too. This is just my 2 cents worth. Interesting thread.
 
Jul 22, 2014
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#27
The Kingdom is a place.

Matthew 25:31-40

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The Kingdom is a state of mind (Romans 14:17), which is from the result in abiding with God.

For Kingdom is brethren. For the Kingdom is like leaven hidden in three measures of meal (Matthew 13:33).

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (Romans 11:25).

The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to living your life for Jesus in all you say and do. For Jesus is the Pearl of Great Price whereby you sell everything else in order to get it (Matthew 13:45-46).
 
Jun 4, 2014
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#28
The Kingdom is a place.

Matthew 25:31-40

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The Kingdom is a state of mind (Romans 14:17), which is from the result in abiding with God.

For Kingdom is brethren. For the Kingdom is like leaven hidden in three measures of meal (Matthew 13:33).

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (Romans 11:25).

The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to living your life for Jesus in all you say and do. For Jesus is the Pearl of Great Price whereby you sell everything else in order to get it (Matthew 13:45-46).
I gave you the verse SPECIFICALLY STATING what it was. This is just stubborn! Be ye transformed by the renewal of YOUR MINDS!
 
Jul 22, 2014
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#29
I gave you the verse SPECIFICALLY STATING what it was. This is just stubborn! Be ye transformed by the renewal of YOUR MINDS!
So in Matthew 25:31-40, Jesus is telling believers to inherit righteousness, and joy of the Holy Spirit even though they would already have those things? Also, how can you not see that Matthew 13:33 and Romans 11:25 are not related to each other? In fact, Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world. So was Jesus talking about righteousness?
 
Jun 4, 2014
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#30
So in Matthew 25:31-40, Jesus is telling believers to inherit righteousness, and joy of the Holy Spirit even though they would already have those things? Also, how can you not see that Matthew 13:33 and Romans 11:25 are not related to each other? In fact, Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world. So was Jesus talking about righteousness?
Yes! Don't go with those who claim the kingdom is over here or over there or in the sky. The kingdom is WITHIN you! There is a difference between ours and HIS righteousness.
 
G

Goldi

Guest
#31
I believe in the Kingdom of Heaven! It's so spiritual when you say there are lots of Angels there along with God, Jesus, the tree of life and the river of life. Oh bless his name. To God be the Glory.
 

Reborn

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2014
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#32
Angela53510
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." Luke 17:20-21
I just ran across this the other day. Nice.
 

Chopper

Senior Member
Nov 8, 2014
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#33
Chopper, brother, I know the verses...what does it mean to you though?
This is really simple as to what it means to me...

There will come a time when Yahushua sets up His Kingdom here on Earth when it is made new, which was given to Him by our Father in the Shamayim, Yahuwah. When Yahushua sets up His Kingdom, the laws of that Kingdom which have been established from the beginning shall reign under the rule of the king Yahushua, King of all kings! When a King has a kingdom, that kingdom territory is also established, with will be the entire Earth, as that former king of the earth will have been removed from his throne forever. HalleluYAH!
 
Jul 22, 2014
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#34
Yes! Don't go with those who claim the kingdom is over here or over there or in the sky. The kingdom is WITHIN you! There is a difference between ours and HIS righteousness.
In this particular passage, Jesus is saying that the Kingdom is made up of God (i.e. the Kingdom is within you) and that God's Kingdom would not exist without God living in the hearts of his people. However, if you are suggesting that there is no Heaven, Kingdom of God (or Heaven), then what you are proposing is the "New Age religion" whereby God's people are just going to be joining God in some kind of blissful nirvana like state within no actual place. But you should know that Heaven and or the Kingdom of God and or the Kingdom of Heaven is also a real place in the universe. For Paul was caught up to the third Heaven. Jesus told the disciples that their names were written in Heaven. The city of New Jerusalem will come down from out of Heaven upon the Eternal New Earth.
 
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Jul 22, 2014
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#35
In this particular passage, Jesus is saying that the Kingdom is made up of God (i.e. the Kingdom is within you) and that God's Kingdom would not exist without God living in the hearts of his people. However, if you are suggesting that there is no Heaven, Kingdom of God (or Heaven), then what you are proposing is the "New Age religion" whereby God's people are just going to be joining God in some kind of blissful nirvana like state within no actual place. But you should know that Heaven and or the Kingdom of God and or the Kingdom of Heaven is also a real place in the universe. For Paul was caught up to the third Heaven. Jesus told the disciples that their names were written in Heaven. The city of New Jerusalem will come down from out of Heaven upon the Eternal New Earth.
Jesus also said He came down from Heaven. Paul said the last Adam (Jesus) is the Lord from Heaven. Revelation 11:19 says the Temple of God was open in Heaven. Hebrews 10:34 says we have a more enduring substance in Heaven. So if these passages are not talking about a place, then one has reduced the Scriptures to confusion and or in having no clear meaning.

For I am sure when folks heard the words, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" I don't think they were thinking of righteousness. They were thinking of not wanting to miss out on God's Kingdom or Heaven. In other words, there is no reason to complicate the Scriptures beyond what it actually says. The context in many verses lets us know Heaven is a real place.
 
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Jul 22, 2014
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#36
I just ran across this the other day. Nice.
Luke 17:20-21 is not saying that there is no Heaven that believers will one day see. Jesus was telling them that the Kingdom of God is not going to come about in such a way that the people of this world will physically witness for themselves in their current state of living. Meaning.... that nobody here is going to set up Heaven here on Earth under our current world system of evil. The Antichrist is going to promise peace and make it like he is going to bring a heaven here on this Earth (Whereby someone can say... Hey, look, this is Heaven). But Jesus said we are not to look for a heaven here. Jesus is going to destroy this world and it's evil nations. Then from out of the ashes, Jesus will re-create this current world for the Millennium. Then after the Millennium, this Earth will pass away and a New Heavens and New Earth will come; And God and His people will live together there for all eternity.
 
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jeff_peacemkr

Guest
#37
well, the kingdom of heaven IS ALREADY present(yes, in 2014, on earth, though RARE) , "inside you" Jesus told the ones who believed Him.
the pure at heart.
the disciples who follow Jesus, and DO what He says to do.(it is simple).
the believers who "no longer lie to one another" and "avoid EVERY kind of greed" and flee fornicationEtc

NOT present in most churches. rather prevented by them. just as it is written, and Jesus Himself says.
(simple, read it). (reserved for little children - as Jesus says "you must become as little children" over and over, in many ways)
well, read AND ask the Father in heaven for His Revelation/ Truth/ Life seeking Him Fully. (He's no part way fudge- all or naught)
 
Jul 22, 2014
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#38
well, the kingdom of heaven IS ALREADY present(yes, in 2014, on earth, though RARE) , "inside you" Jesus told the ones who believed Him.
the pure at heart.
the disciples who follow Jesus, and DO what He says to do.(it is simple).
the believers who "no longer lie to one another" and "avoid EVERY kind of greed" and flee fornicationEtc

NOT present in most churches. rather prevented by them. just as it is written, and Jesus Himself says.
(simple, read it). (reserved for little children - as Jesus says "you must become as little children" over and over, in many ways)
well, read AND ask the Father in heaven for His Revelation/ Truth/ Life seeking Him Fully. (He's no part way fudge- all or naught)
So you believe Heaven is metaphorical and that believers will one day just be in a nirvana mindless blissful state with God within no specific one place within the universe?
 
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jeff_peacemkr

Guest
#39
nothing i said is metaphorical nor accepting of any relation at all to 'nirvana' (i.e. no worldly, carnal, or sinful pleasures)
 
O

oldthennew

Guest
#40
MATTHEW 5:5.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

19:28.
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That you 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.

PS.37:29.
The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

LUKE 17:21.
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is (within) you.

the NKJV has in the side-bar, (in your midst)

we have to ask ourselves, (was the KINGDOM OF GOD within the Pharisees that were plotting
to later crucify Jesus?

THE APOLOGETICS STUDY BIBLE, among others says that THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AMONG YOU'.