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THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS WHEREVER CHRIST DWELLSWhat do the Scriptures tell us the Kingdom of God is?
Behold the kingdom of heaven is within you, is another parable this is crucial to understand. Without the Spirit of Jesus dwelling or residing in us, we do not truly know Him, nor does He know us. When we are given the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, the eyes of our understanding are illuminated by the light unto life (Luke 17:21, Rom 8:9, Eph 1:17-18, John 8:12).
Matt 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
To be carnally or worldly minded is unto death, but to be spiritually minded is unto life and peace (Rom 8:6).
Jesus Christ the Messiah will come again a second time with his Holy Angels, and He will sit upon the throne of his glory. The reapers are his angels, and they shall gather and remove all that practice iniquity. These are the ones who are taken to hell, those who are left behind are Christ’s Elect (Mat 13:30-41, 25:31-34, Luke 17:26, 36).
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
In John 14:3, Christ is referring to the fulfillment of the prophecy He gave in Matt 6:10; thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
When our inheritance or treasure is mentioned in association with Heaven, it always refers to one of two promises; the crown of righteousness (our Salvation) is given to the Elect at His second coming, when He returns from Heaven. And, the New Jerusalem which comes down from Heaven represents our final dwelling place with Jesus after the millennium reign on earth (1 Thes 4:15-17).
2 Tim 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
The Apostle Paul will receive the crown of righteousness at the same time as all those that love Christ’s appearing do. This occurs upon His return to the earth. To teach that one shall be taken to receive the reward of eternal life before the tribulation, while the Apostle waits until the end of the tribulation for his is beyond ridiculous.
Matt 25:33-34 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
The kingdom of heaven represents where Christ reigns both physically and spiritually.
1 Thess 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
We are not caught up in the clouds, but rather gathered together with those who come in (G 1722) the clouds, to meet or encounter the Lord of the air (1 Thes 4:17).
In 1 Thes 4:17, the Lord in the air is an incorrect translation. The word of, (G 1519) should be used as it indicates the point reached or entered of place, time, or (figurative) purpose.
The word in, (G 1722) denotes a fixed position in place or time. And we were in the ship…Acts 27:37. Another example is, Jesus was born in Bethlehem…Mat 2:1.
Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
When we see the prophecies of the end times come to pass then is our Redemption or Salvation very near. The Pre tribulation Rapture deception is a false hope that many cling to. The tribulations that once strengthened Christianity, are now avoided at all costs.
Luke 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
These things represent the end time events of the great tribulation.
Acts 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Modern day Christianity has developed for themselves at the hand of their false teachers an escape plan known as the pre tribulation rapture, wherein they might escape tribulations.
John 17:15-16 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Jesus refutes the notion of as pre tribulation rapture, or gathering of the Saints before the appointed time.
Christ made it very clear that after the tribulation He would gather all of the elect together. It would be unnecessary to gather the heavenly host, if it were not for the fact that they also were to reign on earth with Him (Mat 24:29-40).