The Daily Word of Righteousness

Heaven, or the Kingdom of God?, #7

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Daniel 2:44—NIV)

How long will it be before we change from our traditions to the words of the Scriptures? Who among us cares enough, or has integrity enough, to abandon that which is not scriptural in favor of that which indeed is scriptural?

We are not supposed to be preaching the gospel of Heaven. There is no gospel of Heaven found in the Scriptures. The gospel of Heaven is found in the Muslim religion, other Eastern religions, and that of the American Indians (the happy hunting ground). But the true Gospel from God is the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Good News that God has not forsaken the earth but shall return in power and glory to establish righteousness among the nations of the earth. This is taught by both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The parables of the Lord Jesus reveal that the Kingdom of God is something that is born in us, that grows in us.

After we are born again we are not to wait to go to another place. After a baby is born it does not wait to go to another place. It begins to grow.

After we are born again we are to begin to grow. If we are to grow in Christ we must pray every day, read our Bible every day, turn away from the malice and wickedness that are in the world, meet with fervent believers (if we can find any), seek the Lord for a place of service in His Kingdom, give of our means as we are able, and do all else associated with wholesome Christian living.

Each day we will be presented with problems. Each day we will be given Divine grace to enable us to overcome those problems through Christ.

When we continue to make our decisions according to our fleshly desires and understanding we remain an adamic creation. We remain unchanged. No salvation has taken place. The Kingdom has not prevailed in our life.

When we turn away from our fleshly desires and understanding and look to Jesus for our decisions we are changed. Adam dies. Christ is formed in us. Another living stone in the eternal Temple of God comes closer to completion.

The process of salvation, of entering the Kingdom of God, takes place hour by hour, line upon line, command upon command, here a little and there a little. We are the flesh being made the Word, as Christ is formed in us. This is the Kingdom of God.

Matthew tells us that in the last days the angels will come and gather out of His Kingdom all that offends God. The angels will not gather out of Heaven all that offends God but out of the Kingdom, according to the Scripture.

Today the Spirit of God has come to the Christian churches, which are the Kingdom of God on the earth, to gather out all that is offensive to God. We are being required as never before to turn away from the pursuit of the world and receive Christ into our personality.

To be continued.