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The Kingdom of Heaven is Like . . .
Bible study on heaven.

I was reading the gospel of Matthew and noticed that Jesus frequently told the disciples about the kingdom of heaven (i.e., the kingdom of God). Jesus would often say something like: "The kingdom of heaven is like . . ."

So, I began to compile Jesus' teachings concerning the kingdom which I would like to share with you in a series of articles. This series will not be week-to week, but I hope to occasionally write an article on the kingdom of heaven.

The word "kingdom" means the domain of the king denoting rule, dominion, and sovereignty. It can denote a king's territory. And, it can denote specific divisions of a king's territory (cf. 1 Ki. 4:21).

The first thing that we notice about Jesus' teachings (during His earthly ministry) is that He taught about the kingdom in a limited sense. Our knowledge of the kingdom is increased through apostolic teaching, but Jesus' teachings do not consider the kingdom from the broader perspective which we understand today.

For example, from apostolic teaching we understand that Jesus is God (Jn. 1:1). We also understand that Jesus is Creator (Col. 1:16) and Sustainor (Heb. 1:3) of all that has been created. We understand that Jesus is ruler over the kings of the earth being King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 1:5; 19:16). But Jesus did not personally teach that He was God (though He intimated it), that He was the Creator, and that He was the Sustainor of the creation.

Much of the time, Jesus' teachings are from the perspective of a kingdom that was at hand (Matt. 4:17). And upon one occasion, Jesus taught the people saying: "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power" (Mk. 9:1). And on another occasion Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled" (Matt. 24:34). So from this perspective from which Jesus taught about the kingdom, it would be present upon the earth before some people hearing Jesus' teachings would die.

Later Paul teaches us that Christians living upon the earth are in the kingdom saying: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13).

Sometimes, Jesus' teachings also considered the kingdom from the perspective that the Jews were in the kingdom. Jesus told the Jews a parable about some wicked vinedressers. The landowner sent three servants to the vinedressers to get the fruit from the vineyard. The vinedressers beat one servant, killed one servant, and stoned the other servant. Then the landowner sent more servants and the vinedressers did the same thing. Finally the landowner sent his own son whom they killed.

In this parable, the landowner is God, the servants are the prophets, and the son is Jesus. Then Jesus tells the Jews: "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it" (Matt. 21:43). And on another occasion, Jesus spoke concerning the Jews saying: "But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 8:12).

As we begin this series together, we need to realize that Jesus' teachings about the future kingdom of heaven concern the people of God. When Jesus teaches about the kingdom, He is teaching us about the way we should live today. Next time we will overview Jesus' teachings in the sermon on the mount concerning the people who would enter the kingdom of heaven.