[CS-FSLUG] TH The kingdom of Heaven

[Nigel Ridley]

On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 16:23:46 -0500
Ed Hurst <softedges at tconline.net> wrote:

> Nigel Ridley wrote:
> > The teaching this week at the fellowship was about the Kingdom of
> > Heaven and was based on Luke 17:21 and also Luke 13:18-21 (parallel
> > passage Mt. 13:31-33).
> 
> [snip]
> 
> > a better translation is "the Kingdom of Heaven is amongst you" --
> 
> I was under the impression grammatically Jesus was saying, "This
> Kingdom of which I speak is the sort of thing you find inside
> yourself, if you find it at all."
> 
> Of course, that puts us at about the same place, given the practical 
> application is identical. Membership in the Kingdom means Jesus in
> you. He *is* the Kingdom, and we participate by being in Him.
> 
> > What are your thoughts on this? Is the Kingdom of Heaven roughly
> > equivalent to the Church age or is it always the same as in 'God in
> > eternity'? If it is the Church age then I can see that Christendom
> > contains 'the birds of the air' ie. Christian cults and also
> > contains much sin, even spread throughout all the different
> > denominations.
> 
> Being no Dispensationalist, I still can accept the term "Church Age"
> if we mean generally that period of time between Pentecost and His
> Return. Thus, "Kingdom of Heaven" in this context is that period of
> time when Jesus lives in our hearts prior to seeing Him face to face.

How do the 'birds of the air' and the 'yeast' fit into the picture? How
can evil and sin be a part of the Kingdom of God if it is an eternal
state within us? This is a tricky passage and I really want to be able
to understand it.

> 
> I doubt we can easily find any other implication for the words here. 
> However, there is an ambiguity to many things Jesus said, as did His 
> followers. It would be typical, I think, of a Hebrew teacher to speak
> on two levels at once in some places. So it's altogether possible
> Jesus meant to say at the same time the Kingdom was eternal in the
> larger sense. There always has been, and will be a Kingdom wherein God
> reigns, since He is the source of all things.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Ed Hurst
> -----------
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Blessings,

Nigel

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