The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God

By Earl B. Schrock

God has prepared a kingdom (John 14:1-3) through Jesus Christ our Lord. The kingdom is free and available to all willing to be a child of God (Romans 8:14)

Inheriting the kingdom of God does not take place by desire. Nor can it be entered into by force. Its not a place that you can see or touch or feel or search for on a map. It is not a place, it is a relationship. It is the relationship mankind has with their Creator God when they surrender their all to Him allowing Him to be the King of every aspect of their lives. Thus they become the children of God.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devils work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because Gods seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not Gods child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. (1 John 3: 7-10)

The kingdom or inheritance of God is entered into by the righteous. Its entered into by those who recognize they are lost sinners who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 5:9; 12:11). Its inherited by those who surrender their will to God allowing Him to mold them into what He wants them to be, as the potter molds (Isaiah 64:8) the clay in making a useful vessel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493156948

Earl B. Schrock

Earl Schrock is a 1979 theology major graduate of Southern Missionary College. He has enjoyed writing, studying, teaching, and learning about the Bible, especially Bible prophecy for many years.

Book preview

CONTENTS

CHRIST LIVING IN YOU

SYNOPSIS OF THE GOSPELS CONCERNING THE KINGDOMS OF HEAVEN AND OF GOD

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

BIBLE TEXTS CONTAINING THE WORD KINGDOM

COMPLETE BIBLE TEXTS REFERRING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

The author, Earl B. Schrock, is a 1979 Theology Major graduate of Southern Missionary College (Southern University), Collegedale, Tennessee. He has presented this commentary to the best of his current knowledge and understanding. He reserves the right to adjust his thinking and interpretations in the future since understanding the mystery of the kingdom of heaven gospel message continues to unfold and expand. He also invites you to be flexible in your religious positioning realizing that we all are being led day by day by the Holy Spirit who is guiding us into all truth (John 16:13). This guidance should cause us to be willing to adjust our way of thinking to get more in line with God’s way of thinking in our Christian experience as He leads. May God bless us all as we continue to grow in grace every day.

Other eBooks written by Earl B. Schrock are:

1. The Three Secrets of Success and Happiness

2. Los Tres Secretos del Éxito y Felicidad

3. Hodgepodge: Thoughts and Tales from Davidson County, North Carolina (a co-writer)

These eBooks are available at Xlibris.com; Amazon.com, and other eBook web sites. If not at the web site you desire just ask them for it.

Contact Information

Earl B. Schrock, P.O. Box 2302, Thomasville, NC 27361

[e-mail]

This book is dedicated to all the current and future

servants and saints of God who are willing to

"follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Revelation 14:4).

May God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the constant instruction and companionship of the Holy Spirit abide with you every day as you daily surrender and dedicate your all in His service.

CHRIST LIVING IN YOU

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Ezekiel 36:26-28

And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 24:7

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 11:19

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Colossians 3:12-17

YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE MYSTERY OF

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

AND

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

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I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 24:7

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27

Dear servant of the living God, (Malachi 3:17, 18)

God has prepared for you a kingdom (John 14:1-3) by way of (via) Jesus Christ our Lord. The kingdom of heaven is free and available to you and all who are willing to be a child of God (Romans 8:14) right here and right now.

Inheriting the kingdom of God does not take place by desire. Nor can it be entered into by force. It’s not a place that you can see or touch or feel or search for on a map. It is not a place, it’s a relationship. It’s the relationship mankind has with their Creator God when they surrender their all to Him allowing Him to be the King of every aspect of their lives. Thus they become the children of God.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

1 John 3: 7-10 NIV

The kingdom or inheritance of God is entered into by the righteous. It’s entered into by those who recognize they are lost sinners who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 5:9; 12:11). It’s inherited by those who surrender their will to God allowing Him to mold them into what He wants them to be, as the potter molds (Isaiah 64:8) the clay in making a useful vessel, like you.

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The following scriptures are addressed specifically to you.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Ephesians 5:1-6 NIV

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

As a servant of the living God you are living in the kingdom of light right here and right now. The following pages are written with the desire to consider the scripture references to the kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God to help understand what it is, how it came about, what it is for, and how we can be citizens of that kingdom, not as a future event, but right now, today. May God bless you richly as you live the life He desires for you in His service promoting His kingdom to a dying world.

Your neighbor in the kingdom,

Earl B. Schrock

SYNOPSIS OF THE GOSPELS CONCERNING THE KINGDOMS OF HEAVEN AND OF GOD

The kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God stories are interchangeable. They both refer to the same thing. This is revealed in comparing them in the first four books of the New Testament in this gospel synopsis.

(The bold text signifies where the scriptural explanation or commentary is located)

* Complimentary text but not mentioning kingdom, Kingdom of Heaven, or Kingdom of God.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Dear Bible Student,

DON’T DO AS I DID!!!!

I hope your experience in reading this book will not be as one I had a number of years ago. While visiting an old book store I came across a worn commentary on the book of Revelation. While considering the Bible instructor’s interpretation of Revelation 1:10 I was totally turned off from reading the rest of the book since his concept of what the text was saying was completely different from that of my own preconceived interpretation and understanding. As time passed and my own Bible study took on greater meaning I came to realize that the old Bible instructor was correct. What else did I not learn from not reading the rest of his commentary?

Please do not let your previous studies, training, interpretation, and understanding of Scripture prevent you from considering all this book has to offer. It’s better to make an intelligent decision, of what is correct or not correct, once you have all the information and not just a portion. Relying on engraved impressions and not being able to assimilate new information is termed by the Bible as having "hardened hearts" (Mark 6:52) *. Understand that the Holy Spirit will always guide you into the truth (John 16:13) and He will never let you be swept away by error (Titus 1:2) as you place yourself in His hands.

May God bless you as you consider the importance of understanding the full meaning of the kingdom of God. He will continue to bless you beyond measure as you dedicate and surrender yourself completely to Him daily.

Sincerely,

Earl B. Schrock

* Many, but not all, scriptural references are accompanied by their texts in this book. It is well to keep your own personal Bible handy to look up the Biblical references that are not able to be included due to space limitations.

Scripture References

Following are the books of the Bible in chronological order divided into the Old and New Testament. If you are unfamiliar with your Bible be sure to use the table of contents at the front of your Bible to find the appropriate page number for the book you wish to find. There are also many free online Bible sources available including, Biblos.com, which I utilized extensively in my research for this book.

Old Testament book order and references

New Testament book order and references

This book does not claim to be the final word concerning the kingdom of God. It’s the hope of this author that this writing will open the door to greater understanding of God’s glorious kingdom and of its importance in the salvation of mankind. It is also desired that other men and women continue to discover more of the beauty of the kingdom of God as revealed in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in their own personal Bible study.

How to use this book

It’s possible to enjoy reading this Bible commentary on the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God from cover to cover and receive a great blessing. You may also want to keep this book handy as a reference guide as you consider the explanation of specific texts concerning these kingdoms. The individual scripture texts discussed forthwith concerning the kingdom of God are in their normal Biblical chronological order. You may notice some duplication as you venture from one text under consideration to another. This is because these texts are closely related and may need to be substantiated with connected themes.

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THE KINGDOM OF GOD

There are three requirements of a kingdom:

1) A kingdom must have a king.

2) A king must have territory to reign.

3) The territory must have servants that serve the king.

The kingdom of God meets those requirements because:

1) God is the eternal King.

2) His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom reaching the vast unending universe and it is also found in the human heart.

3) His dependents, or servants, are all His created beings, including mankind.

The following Bible texts support the above statements:

1) Isaiah 43:15; Matthew 21:5, 27:37; Luke 19:38; 1 Timothy 1:17, 6:13-16.

2) Job 38-40; Luke 17:21

3) Job 1:6-8; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, 7:20-24.

WHAT DOES GOD WANT?

The Infinite (Limitless) God wants finite (limited) human beings to understand the mystery (Mark 4:11) of the heavenly concept about the existence of His great kingdom and His far reaching love for all mankind. In His Holy Bible God uses finite human terms, ideas, object lessons, and human history to explain these infinite concepts, including the reality of the kingdom of God. The ark of the covenant, or ark of the testimony, was located in the center of the sanctuary God had sat up with Moses and the children of Israel. The sanctuary is also called the tent of meeting (Exodus 25:20-22). It was another way in which God attempted to communicate (Hebrews 1:1, 2) and reveal His will to the human beings He created and loved. It was through

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the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob God tried to create a smaller Kingdom of God that would reveal His characteristics and desires, if only they would loyally perform and obey as He requested (Jeremiah 7:23).

Consider the circles below. The outer ring is God’s limitless universe or His eternal kingdom of glory.

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Within God’s great eternal kingdom exist smaller kingdoms? Think of it as a wheel within a wheel within a wheel (Ezekiel 10:10). The eternal everlasting great kingdom of glory is larger than the limitless universe. The other kingdoms are progressively smaller. For our consideration, as inhabitants of this earth, the first smaller kingdom is the space we call our universe.

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It is here God has tried to express the infinite to the finite for the last six thousand years. He has done this in a number of ways, including using the heavenly bodies such as our planets; the sun, moon, and stars and all the things within our outer space.

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Consider the following illustration:

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After our known universe, the next smaller kingdom is our own solar system and all it contains. The next smaller kingdom following our solar system is our own world, where God personally interacts with all mankind. It is here he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45).

The way each person respects God’s interaction with mankind establishes the kingdom in which each belong, live, and have their being which determines the relationship they have with God. Those who develop a good relationship with God live in the kingdom of God. Those who reject or ignore a good relationship with God live in the kingdom of men.

This next smaller kingdom is invisible. It is spiritual and it is not one but two separate circles, though each a kingdom. These two are the kingdom of God (Daniel 2:44, 4:3) and the kingdom of man (Daniel 4:17, 32). These kingdoms are set up as two different kingdoms and are determined by each individual living on our planet. Each person has the freedom to decide which of the two spiritual kingdoms they choose to belong. Acceptance of God places mankind in the kingdom of God (Revelation 22:14) or kingdom of grace; rejection of God places mankind in the kingdom of man (Revelation 22:15).

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The kingdom of God is further divided into two kingdoms. This is completely explained in the following paragraphs.

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Those in the kingdom of God are the sons and daughters of God (2 Corinthians 6:18, Genesis 6:2-4, Galatians 3:26-29). His children recognize Him as the King of His kingdom. Jesus has united the smaller kingdom of God (kingdom of grace) on this earth with the great eternal kingdom of God (kingdom of glory) which was separated by sin. He bridged the gap that sin created by His life, death, and resurrection. This was not by accident; God had promised King David that He would establish His kingdom through Jesus. 2 Samuel 7:12 says:

And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. (Please read 2 Samuel twelve through sixteen.)

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Today this kingdom of God is further divided into two smaller kingdoms. This division is determined by what portion of the human heart a person surrenders to God. There are those who follow Jesus with all of their heart (Mark 12:30) and there are those who follow Jesus with a portion of their heart (Acts 8:21), though they recognize Him as their Lord and King. Only God knows who they are and to what kingdom they belong. God has likened them to sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-34, as well as to the wheat and tares in Matthew 13:24-30.

At this time, in the kingdom of God, the sheep and goats graze together like the wheat and tares grow together. NO person is to try to determine which camp each person belongs. The wheat and tares along with the sheep and the goats will be individually determined, by their own choices, in the amount of the heart each surrenders to God. There is a time coming when God himself will separate the sheep from the goats and the wheat from the tares. Today is the day to give God all your heart before that time comes.

FURTHER EXPLAINING THE KINGDOMS OF GOD AND OF MAN

There are two main kingdoms on this planet that include everyone who lives here. These are (1) the kingdom of God and (2) the kingdom of man. In the kingdom of God we have two different groups of people who serve God on this globe. The one group serves God (A) with the total heart and the other serves God (B) with a partial heart.

Those who serve God with a total heart include Him in every portion of their existence and desire to do His will in all they do. The Bible refers to these people as saints (Daniel 7:22). Those who serve Him with a divided heart recognize Him but are unwilling to give their all in a desire to enjoy sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25) yet keep a religious appearance (2 Timothy 3:5) "having a form of godliness".

(2) The kingdom of man is made up of the group of individuals who refuse to recognize or serve God. The invitation is always present to encourage the unbeliever to believe and respond to the call of a loving God to serve Him, but the ultimate choice to accept Him or deny Him is up to each individual. Those living in the kingdom of man have chosen, for now, to ignore or reject Him.

God has prophetically portrayed these three groups in the book of Revelation. The three groups are:

1) Those who serve God with the entire heart. (2 Thess. 1:10)

2) Those who serve God with a divided heart. (Matthew 6:24)

3) The kingdom of man where God is not served or respected at all. (2Thessalonians 1:8,9)

God symbolically represents these three groups in the book of Revelation. He does this with the figurative terms of (1) the HEAVEN, (2) the EARTH, and (3) the SEA. The HEAVEN figuratively represents those who serve God with all their heart, mind, and soul (Mark 12:30). The EARTH represents those who serve and recognize God in their lives but are not willing to give Him their all. The third group of people who reject and refuse to recognize or serve God (1 John 5:10) is symbolically referred to as the SEA in the book of Revelation.

Notice Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."

NOTE: This text, Revelation 21:1 is an example of a Bible text with dual application. It is true that God will literally create a new heaven and a new earth, since he will destroy this one with fire (Revelation 20:9, Malachi 4:1) at the end of time. The new earth will surely have bodies of water on it. As one applies the symbolism of the heaven, earth, and sea, in the book of Revelation, as a reference of relationship between man and God, then the interpretation of this great apocalyptic book becomes clearer. Understand that the heaven, earth, and sea symbolism does not apply to every textual reference (Exodus 20:11) concerning them in the entire Bible, just in the apocalyptic scriptures using symbolic or figurative language.

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At the end of time God will create in mankind a new heart. Thus besides creating a new literal heaven and earth He will create a NEW heaven and a NEW earth heart in mankind. The reason He recreates the heaven and earth is because no matter what portion of our heart we give God, here and now, we are still imperfect, mortal, corrupt, sinful human beings, saved by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8). Notice what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:53 when talking about the resurrection of the saved dead, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

In Revelation 21:1 the reason there is no more sea is because sin and sinners will be completely destroyed (Matthew 7:13, 14). At the end of time God will cleanse His universe of all sin and all rebellion (Malachi 4:1). Those who refuse to serve God now, will not be happy or content serving Him in the future. God gives all mankind the choice now to adapt to His leadership or not. Those unhappy with His governing in their lives now will also be unhappy in the earth made new. The choice for eternal life is the choice you, and everyone else, makes today, right here and right now. If you haven’t already; now is the time to open your heart today (Revelation 3:20) and let God come in to be the King of your life, now and for all eternity.

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THE ORIGIN OF SIN

To better understand the concept of the kingdom of God let’s go back to the origin of sin. The hope of Christianity, from its inception, has been the second coming of Jesus (Titus 2:11-15). This hope is grounded in Scripture. This hope can be defined as the desire in human hearts for God to return to this earth to resurrect the dead (Acts 24:14, 15) and to establish His eternal sinless glorious kingdom (2 Peter 3:13) wherein mankind will have the privilege of physically walking and talking with Him on a continuous basis throughout all eternity.

This hope is soon to be realized. Jesus is returning to perform the final stages in establishing His eternal sinless kingdom of God. Some may ask, When did God begin establishing the eternal kingdom of God? Hopefully this book will help answer that question! Another question each individual must ask is, Am I ready for Jesus to come? If not, then today is the day to get ready by simply surrendering to His will allowing Him to reign within your heart temple.

How did sin enter God’s original sinless kingdom?

The Bible is God’s Word and His modern day communication with mankind. God does not need to speak with us in dreams, though sometimes He does, nor with His voice since He has shared so much with us in His Word. All we need to do is study it daily to know, understand, and follow His will (Deuteronomy 18:18-20). From what God has revealed in His Bible, we understand that God’s original heavenly kingdom (Psalm 145) was sinless and existed in complete 100% harmony (Genesis 1:1-2:15; Titus 1:2) before this world was established (Geneses chapters one and two). This harmony was threatened when some of God’s created beings, His heavenly angels, decided to rebel and to challenge God’s authority (Isaiah 14:12-17). Since this had never happened before God arranged for the rebelling angels to have the opportunity to reveal to the universe what happens when God’s way is circumvented. God could not destroy the rebellious angels even though He knew their way would only lead to pain, heartbreak, sadness, misery, and death.

God is all knowing. He knew there would be a rebellion even before creating the heavenly angels. Though God knew of the upcoming misery, before He created the angels or mankind, He had to permit it. If God would have destroyed the doubting angels, all other created beings would serve Him from fear and not from love. He did not want His angels serving Him out of fear, nor does He want us serving Him out of fear today. He wants us to follow Him with love and trust. If God would have killed the rebellious angels He would have promoted a service of fear for them and for us for all eternity. That is not God’s desire for free willed created beings with the freedom of choice.

Our world is not the only world with living creatures. In the vast space beyond our earthly confines, beyond our solar system, beyond the known universe of man, exist other living creatures God created. The book of Job reveals this in Job chapter one verses six and onward. God’s vast universe is so huge it’s difficult for us little human beings to grasp it immensity. Yet we are not alone. The biggest difference between them and us is that sin does not exist on the other worlds; it only exists here on earth, in our small part of the universe, where sin is quarantined. Its here sin began, it’s here the truth of the results of rebellion will be displayed, and it’s here that sin will eventually be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10-13). God will not let the rest of the universe become contaminated with the sin plague.

God could have annihilated sin at its beginning or even before now, but since He is a God of love, He did not. He has not. But He does have His appointed time (Daniel 8:19) to completely destroy sin (Malachi 4:1-3). It was the death of Jesus on the cross that was the final step in making it possible for God to destroy the devil (Hebrews 2:14, 15) without causing His created beings to reject Him or misunderstand His actions.

For 6000 years God needed to let sin mature and reveal its ugly self on our earth. So why hasn’t God destroyed the rebellious angels and sin before today? Surely the sinless inhabitants and sinful man have had enough time to see that disobedience leads to death, even the death of the Son of God!!!

If God would have destroyed the first doubting angels prematurely then the universe would never understand the depth of God’s love or the depth of the problems that arise from disobedience to God. God showed His unfathomable love by leaving the majesty of (1 Chronicles 29:11-13; Psalm 96; Isaiah 9:6) heaven, lowering himself to become a man (Psalm 8:3-9), and dying our eternal death on the cruel cross for the salvation of all mankind. Sin has shown itself over the centuries to be a very horrible manifestation of evil but God is not ready to destroy it just yet.

Why??

Because the total results of sin is not yet in.

The degree of degradation and the results of sin on a world-wide scale have not yet been demonstrated. But it soon will be. When sin has raised its ugly head to the maximum degree that it can, God will put an end to it (Daniel 8:23). It’s what Bible scholars term the full cup measure when sin has reached it limit.

Two things are yet to happen.

1) When the sinners of this world are ready to fight against and kill the God of the universe (Revelation 17:13, 14) and His followers (Revelation 13:7, 15), God will be ready to destroy them. This is known by some as the Full cup measure (Matthew 23:31-33). Genesis 15:16 helps us realize that God allows time for sin to mature and Revelation 17:4 tells of a creature whose cup is full of sin, just before it is destroyed.

2) When God’s people have such a hate for sin and a love for God that they would rather die than sin (Revelation 14:3-5, 12), then sin will be ended. As of now these two things have not happened. When God’s people collectively refuse to enjoy the thrill of sin, when they refuse anything that separates them from Him, then the time of destroying sin will be at hand.

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FULL CUP MEASURE OF SIN

How and why did sin begin here in our planet earth? Isaiah 14:12-14 refers to the original rebellious angel as Lucifer. In an act of love to the unfallen worlds and for the future eternal happiness of His universe God permitted Lucifer and his rebellion to exist but He placed the rebellion in a small corner of His huge universe to prevent the rest of His heavenly kingdom (Psalm 103:19) of glory from being polluted with sin and the results of sin. God created a special small kingdom for this theater of the universe and he called it EARTH (Genesis 1-2:6). On this earth God placed another smaller kingdom and called it the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:7-25). The earthly kingdom was purposefully created to allow sin to run its ultimate course. Before sin, God called the place of joy, for communion between Him and man, the Garden of Eden.

In this Eden kingdom, God placed mankind (Genesis 2:8). Before mankind rebelled God could walk and talk with them face to face (Genesis 1:27-31; 3:8, 9). In the beginning there was no separation between God and mankind.

God was honest and open with his created beings and He warned them that if they sinned, by disobeying Him, they would die (Genesis 2:17). After they sinned this death prophecy came about by mankind being separated from God, the Source of life (Genesis 3:8) and death was the result. Adam and Eve both died, not immediately but in time. Death started with disobedience.

God and mankind were not alone in the beautiful earth paradise. God had not forgotten the reason for creating the world and for bringing mankind into existence. This world and mankind were created to permit the rebellion of the fallen angels to be demonstrated for the evil that separation from Him brings. Thus the fallen angels also inhabited this new kingdom along with God and man.

It was not long before the destructive works of the devil manifested themselves. Over a period of time the fallen angel convinced the human inhabitants that eating of the forbidden tree was tolerable. He convinced them that God was holding back a fuller life for them and they would be better people if they were to partake of the forbidden fruit. The devils, then as well as today, promoted the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life to humanity (1 John 2:15-17). Thus Adam and Eve fell, as we do, to these temptations and the harmony of the earthly kingdom paradise was broken.

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As soon as the human pair sinned it was impossible for God to walk and talk with them as He had done the day before. Immediately the entire earth was negatively affected by this sin of disobedience. Death had entered God’s creation. Man began to die. God could not associate with mankind as before because if He were to come into their presence, they would die immediately. So God had to suffer separation from His created beings until this gap between them could be bridged. Separation from God brings death because God is the source of life, yet for the sake of humans, God had to distance himself from them. The human race would suffer death. It would not be a sudden death. It would be a death that began at birth.

The history of mankind is revealed in the Bible. It is here this story of seven millennia of sin is told and foretold. From Genesis to Revelation the story unfolds of how God interacted with mankind and mankind with Him. Obedience brought about good and disobedience brought about evil.

The story begins with an earthly kingdom established by a God of Love.

The story takes a twisted turn when the earthly kingdom of God is lost in the Garden of Eden by rebellious human beings.

The story takes on new meaning when the kingdom is won back at the cross of Calvary by a self-sacrificing God who came to die for those He created.

God’s desire is that we understand the history of sin. His desire is for us to have the answers to the questions of where we came from, what we are doing here and where are we going. His desire is for us to try to comprehend the price that was paid in the death of Jesus so that the communication between God and man could be restored and in so doing He would restore the kingdom of heaven that was lost in the Garden of Eden.

TALE OF TWO KINGDOMS

God is King.

The fallen angels rejected the King.

Then fallen humanity rejected the King.

For this, the kingdom of God was taken away from them.

God’s kingdom can only exist when His servants willfully serve the King.

Not only did God put mankind in His kingdom garden to maintain it but God permitted the rebellious angels to dwell on this earth also. It was in this earthly kingdom that mankind first heard and listened to the voice and words of the serpentine demons (Genesis 3:1-15). Adam and Eve accepted Satan’s words as being more accurate than God’s when he told them they would not surely die (Genesis 3:4). They ate of the forbidden fruit, and thus they disobeyed. This changed the arrangement God had with mankind just like God said it would. He could not communicate with them as He had before. He had to separate Himself from them so they would not immediately die (1 Timothy 6:16) in His holy presence, though they did begin to die immediately, as He had warned (Genesis 2:17). Geneses 5:5 tells us Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

When man sinned God had to take His Eden kingdom from them. He had to separate Himself from them so they would not die in His holy presence (Lamentations 3:22-26). But it was not the end. He provided a way for mankind to find their way back to Him by placing a burning sword in the path that would eventually lead to the entrance (Genesis 3:22-24) of His Eden kingdom. Today that two edged sword, that leads to eternal life in the kingdom of God, is known as the Word of God, our Bible (Ephesians 6:17).

Today we have this sword for us to understand and to find the way back to the kingdom of God (Micah 6:8). This burning sword is the Bible (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16, 6:4). It is the light (Psalm 119:105) of the world. It is here we can find the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). This Word tells us in order for us to find our way back to God we must first die to self. Not only does this sword point the way to Christ, this sword also kills. We must allow the sword to kill us spiritually (Revelation 13:10) in order to clearly reveal the way of life back to the Father and to His kingdom. We must become captivated to the wisdom, guidance, truth, teaching, and discovery that the Bible, the Sword, has to offer. Like Paul we must die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) to self and we must be born again in Jesus (1 Peter 1:23) as we surrender our all to Him in His heavenly kingdom.

Notice the words of Revelation 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. To die by the sword is to die to self (1 Corinthians 15:31). What this text is saying is that God’s servants or saints will be the ones who will be captivated by the Bible and who will then lead others into its captivity. The Bible is the basis for all missionary endeavors (Psalm 145:2-7). The Bible is the basis for all witnessing that is done from a believer to an unbeliever. It is the Book of books that once picked up, cannot be put down. It is the Book of books that provides the hope and security a lost race of people need. The Bible student, the servant of Christ, will be a captive of the Bible and will desire to lead others to claim the promises and healing found within its sacred pages. The Bible student is captivated by the Bible and his/her primary goal in life is to lead others captive to it.

It is God’s saints that will kill with the sword. In order to lead another into captivity you must be a captive yourself. In order to kill someone with the sword you must first have been killed by the sword. To die by the sword is a figurative way of stating ones total surrender to the will of God (Matthew 10:34-39).

In order for us to "lead (another person) into captivity" we must first have been led "into captivity" or surrendered ourselves to God. In order for us kill with the sword we must have first been "killed by the sword" (Revelation 13:10, 14; Mark 8:35). We must surrender and die to Christ every day. Paul said I die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) referring to his daily surrender to the will of God. We must also die daily to self in our desire to serve God in His kingdom, for Him to mold us into the person He wants us to be (Job 10:8, 9).

To be a captive and to die by the sword is to accept everything God says and do everything He desires. It is learning to discard or to die to all you believe and know, and to learn to live and accept all that He wants you to understand. All this is revealed in the Bible. God has revealed His way and His will to fallen human beings in His Word. It is up to us whether we follow and serve Him completely or not.

It is a huge mistake to rely totally on others to reveal God’s will to you by their explanation of the Bible. The Bible instructor and the Pastor of your church each have their role to play, but each individual person or church member must study for themselves in their own personal walk with God. The scriptures are written in such a way that all can understand God’s will. We must study His word faithfully and prayerfully every day asking for the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13-15). We must each read and study the Bible for ourselves. To the worldly individual the word of God is foolishness, but to God’s people it is life. (1 Corinthians1:18, 25). The Bible can only be correctly understood by those living in the kingdom of God because spiritual things can only be understood by the spiritually minded (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Study God’s word for yourself. Do not be fooled. Make a personal decision that says, It is God’s way or no way. Like a popular Christian song says,

"If God says it then I believe it and that settles it for me.

If God says it then I believe it and that settles it for me.

Though some may doubt that His word is true

I’ve chosen to believe it now how about you.

If God says it then I believe it and that settles it for me."

GOD’S PLAN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD

God is never caught off guard (Isaiah 46:9, 10). He knew the fate of mankind before He created this earth. Thus He had a plan for our salvation before the foundation of this world was laid (Hebrews 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8). Because God knew that there would be human beings that would want to live in His presence (1Corinthians 1:21) He developed a plan just for them (Ephesians 1:3-5). He promised them that He would restore His kingdom (Genesis 3:15, 2 Samuel 7:12-16) and would allow His faithful followers to live in the land flowing with milk and honey (Leviticus 20:24). This land is called the heavenly kingdom or Canaan (Deuteronomy 11:8-17), though men misunderstood God’s intentions and thought that He was referring only to the earthly real-estate of the ancient land of Canaan. In reality, those currently living in the earthly kingdom of God are looking forward to the same spiritual land of Canaan (Hebrews 11:8-10) that Abraham looked for and desired, but never saw. Jesus Himself revealed in John 18:36 that His kingdom is not of this world and never will be.

God’s kingdom is not of this world (Hebrews 11: 8-16). His kingdom is built by His hands (Hebrews 9:24) and not man’s hands. His kingdom is not made of wood, soil, bricks, and mortar. His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom open to all who wish to abide therein no matter where they live on this earth, right here and right now. God’s kingdom is not restricted to one small part of this world. His is the heavenly kingdom and is referred to as the New Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12, 21:2, 3) and Mount Zion (Psalm 48). His spiritual kingdom is prepared for His spiritual Israelites, those who accept the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for their sins, no matter what national blood runs through their veins. Jesus prepared this kingdom (John 14:1-4) for all mankind to live with, and for God, right here and right now.

GOD COMMUNICATES WITH FALLEN HUMANITY

In order for mankind to understand how to live for God, how to find the way to his kingdom, He had to communicate with them. To believe God exists is not enough to prove allegiance to Him (James 2:19). To reveal ones love for God a person needs to trust and obey Him (Proverbs 3:5, 6; Nahum 1:7; John 14:15). When a person understands that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants to be their God, their first questions are, What do I do?, How do I live to exemplify my devotion to my heavenly Father?, How do I learn what God’s will is for me? God had to make provision for these questions to be answered. So God chose a people through whom He would communicate His will, a people that He could entrust His message to deliver to all mankind (Romans 3:1, 2). God chose a people He would reveal Himself to, in like flesh, from their descendants (John 4:22). God chose the descendants of Abraham. God did not choose these people at random.

It was not the nation of Israel that was chosen. It was a man (Genesis 17:1-4) that was chosen, who would be the father of this nation. God chose a man who was willing to be led by Him, a man who would listen and obey Him. God chose a willing vessel to begin to communicate His will to all mankind. This man was Abram (Genesis 11:26-25:10) a willing faithful servant (Romans 4:7-13; Hebrews 11:8-18).

Because Abram was an obedient servant of God (Genesis 12:1-4) God promised that He would make Him a great nation and that out of his seed (Genesis 12:3; Hebrew 2:16) would come the Savior (Deuteronomy 18:15) of the world that would restore the Eden Kingdom (Genesis 12:3; Exodus 19:5, 6). It was not because the Israelites, Abrahams descendants, were any better or worse than anyone else that God chose to give them the privilege of being the guardians of His promises (Romans 3:1, 2). It was because God had made a promise to faithful Abraham that He would not break, no matter what. But God also warned this nation that continued disobedience would not go unnoticed or unpunished (Deuteronomy 28, 29).

God wanted to prepare a people that would enlighten the world about His promises (Hebrews 6:13, 14) concerning restoring His kingdom. God wanted all people to be aware of His kingdom in which His will would be done and His ways would be recognized, known, and honored. This was the job of the children of Israel. It was a privilege and a responsibility they had "to prepare the way of the Lord" (Matthew 3:1-3), to prepare a people for His coming. It was their job to enlighten the world of how to live for God. It was for them not only to tell about living for God but to demonstrate to the world how to live for God. They were to be His ambassadors (Ephesians 6:19, 20) to a fallen world.

Exodus 19:4-6 reads:

And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.’

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

In front of Moses the children of Israel made a promise to serve and obey God (verse 8) forever. But just a few weeks later, they were disobeying God in ways hard to imagine (Exodus 32). Though God attempted to establish a kingdom of God with the children of Israel, His attempts were fruitless. The Old Testament of the Bible is a witness of the numerous times God tried to establish His kingdom with the Israelites and the numerous times they rejected Him and His way. God gave them promise after promise of what He would do through the Israelites, if only they would obey Him and do His will. They became egocentric in their dealings with God’s blessing and they rejected His teachings and His desires for them. Though unfaithful to God the Israelites claimed they were His kingdom, without exhibiting the traits of being a kingdom of God in obedience to Him.

When Jesus came as a man His message to all those He taught was "behold the kingdom of God is at hand (Matthew 3:2, 10:7; Mark 1:15). Jesus wanted the chosen Israelites to realize that the prophecies pointing to the Messiah, which would re-establish God’s eternal kingdom, were being fulfilled in Him right before their eyes. Because they had so distorted the scriptures and misunderstood what the kingdom of God is, they were not willing to accept what Jesus was saying. The Israelites considered themselves God’s chosen people and that all others, outside their camp, were lesser beings, heathen, and dogs" (Mark 7:25-30). They called them gentiles.

All the texts about God setting up His kingdom (Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2) were mistakenly taught by the Jewish religious leaders to mean that God was going to overthrow the worldly governments and set the Israelites up as the leaders of this world. This erroneous message, similar to that of the Israelites, is being promoted today, using the same scriptures. That is the reason the disciples argued amongst themselves of who would be the greatest when Jesus set up his soon coming kingdom (Mark 9:33, 34; Matthew 20:21). Even after Jesus’ resurrection they still expected Him to set up His kingdom, as a literal kingdom on this earth, with Israel being the center of this worldly kingdom (Acts 1:6). But that is not what God meant or wanted, then or now.

In Acts 1:6-8 Jesus reveals to them what setting up His kingdom really is about. Jesus said, "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The mystery of the kingdom of heaven was a hidden heavenly mystery up to the time of the apostles (Ephesians 3:1-7). Jesus revealed to the disciples that the truth about the kingdom of God would be made available to all peoples through their efforts. Once again, He was not referring to a world leading nation; He was referring to a relationship with Him. Remember Matthew 24:14, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Those who are the true spiritual Israelites of today are the ones sharing the gospel message to all the nations. These are the real ambassadors of God and they are made up of individuals from every nationality all around this world.

A GULF FIXED

When Adam and Eve sinned they created a separation or