The Spiritual Kingdom Of God!

.....One area of understanding that still needs to be clarified today is in regard to the Spiritual Kingdom of God. This Kingdom will reign on the earth, beginning at the return of Jesus Christ. However, those living on the earth will not be in that Kingdom. They will merely be ruled over by it. Many in traditional Christianity do not understand this message because they teach that the Kingdom is about heaven. Much of this confusion comes from scriptures that refer to the Kingdom in the context of heaven. Therefore, they believe they must go to heaven to be in the Kingdom. They simply fail to grasp that the Kingdom comes from God. It receives its power and authority from God, but it will come to reign on the earth at the end of this age. But what is that Kingdom?

Let's start with this scripture...

.....“Then Jesus said unto His disciples, verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, 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” (Matthew 19:23-24).

.....Jesus Christ is explaining how difficult it is for the rich to follow the way that leads into the Kingdom. Being rich physically or spiritually, in this context, represents an attitude about oneself. It is an attitude of pride—how human nature sees itself. It seeks to justify self. Human nature tends to see itself as right; it is wealthy in its own eyes. So much so, that it will not listen to instruction and correction from God. A mind of inflated self-worth cannot be changed against its will, yet God makes it clear that we must repent of our ways and receive the one and only true way of God, which will lead us into His Kingdom. But again, what is that Kingdom?

.....The “Kingdom of Heaven” spoken of here is the Kingdom of God. It shows the same origin—it must come from God out of heaven. Such expressions are speaking about the same thing. This is easier to see when you begin to understand the role of the Messiah. He will come to this earth to rule in a literal Kingdom, as the King of kings. That Kingdom will rule the earth— rule over mankind for 1,000 years. But what is difficult for people to grasp is that the Kingdom of God is spiritual. God the Father—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—Yahweh (the Eternal God) of the Old Testament is a spirit being, composed of spirit. His power, by which He created the universe, is of the spirit. It is often called the Holy Spirit because it reveals the source as coming from God, who is Holy. The Holy Spirit is the power that proceeds from God. It is not a separate spirit being (sometimes called the Holy Ghost), as some believe. God the Father is a spirit being, and He created other spirit beings, called angels. There is a spiritual realm. Angels dwell there. Some of those angels, along with Lucifer, rebelled against God and were cast to this earth. They became known as demons, foul spirits and fallen angels. Lucifer became known as Satan the Devil. Although these things are clearly in the Bible, few people really believe them.

.....Yet, God is spirit, and His Son, Jesus Christ, is now spirit. Jesus Christ was born into a physical world. His Father was Yahweh (the Eternal God) and His mother was the virgin Mary. He lived as a physical human being until He was killed—put to death as the Passover for all mankind.

.....The apostle Peter spoke of this by saying, “For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

.....Jesus became the first person to be resurrected, as a spirit being, and born into a spiritual family—above that of the angelic realm. After His resurrection, He manifested Himself in human form to the disciples and taught them for forty days. Spirit beings can appear in human form when God gives them the power to do so. When these beings are in their spirit form, physical human beings cannot see them.

.....After Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He appeared to Mary the following morning and told her to go tell the disciples that He was now going to ascend to His Father and their Father. Later that same day, as evening drew near, Jesus came upon two people walking and He began to talk with them about the events of the past few days. However, they did not know that it was Jesus who spoke until He departed from them. But notice how He departed. “ And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight” (Luke 24:31). He simply disappeared before their very eyes.

Later that evening, Jesus appeared before the disciples. Notice the account.

.....“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). The doors where the disciples were gathered together were shut, yet Jesus Christ suddenly appeared in their presence and spoke to them.

Here is another account of this same occasion.

.....“And as they thus spoke, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are you troubled? and Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me have” (Luke 24:36-39). The disciples were so shaken that Jesus had to calm them down by letting them know that they couldn’t see a spirit and showing them that He had literally manifested Himself physically to them.

.....So when Jesus Christ comes in His Kingdom, as King of kings, to reign over this entire world, He will manifest Himself in physical form, just as He did to His disciples. Jesus Christ will be the King of kings in this Kingdom. But others, who are part of this Kingdom, will also come to this earth with Jesus Christ.
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