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The Kingdom of heaven has nothing to do with that of human achievement.
Yes, The works are Gods through man
It actually depends on who those humans are and their motivations, I believe what the Scriptures are about is the foretold reformation
It’s about Righteousness from the Top down
Rom 1:16**For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17**For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
God's Wrath on Unrighteousness
Rom 1:18**For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
It actually depends on who those humans are and their motivations, I believe what the Scriptures are about is the foretold reformation
It’s about Righteousness from the Top down
Rom 1:16**For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17**For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
God's Wrath on Unrighteousness
Rom 1:18**For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
The scriptures were written using our ancestors' primitive mindset wherein all negative consequences in life no matter their actual origins were considered the wrath of God. This completely obscured and rendered impotent Jesus Christ's powerful sacrifice and demonstration of God's True Nature and Holy Spirit of agape love and forgiveness on the Cross. It has been completely misinterpreted to be the result of the wrath of God which has perpetuated our ancestors' erroneous beliefs about the nature and motives of God.
Despite the advance of knowledge and understanding that should eventually have brought enlightenment and corrected that misunderstanding, it has been retained as a sign of faith in God. Truly heroic efforts of rationalization by theologians have endeavored without success to put lipstick on that pig of primitive misunderstanding with created jargon and twisted logic to explain it away. Failure to address it directly will never achieve the unity desired, IMO, Meerkat.
The scriptures were written using our ancestors' primitive mindset wherein all negative consequences in life no matter their actual origins were considered the wrath of God. This completely obscured and rendered impotent Jesus Christ's powerful sacrifice and demonstration of God's True Nature and Holy Spirit of agape love and forgiveness on the Cross. It has been completely misinterpreted to be the result of the wrath of God which has perpetuated our ancestors' erroneous beliefs about the nature and motives of God.
Despite the advance of knowledge and understanding that should eventually have brought enlightenment and corrected that misunderstanding, it has been retained as a sign of faith in God. Truly heroic efforts of rationalization by theologians have endeavored without success to put lipstick on that pig of primitive misunderstanding with created jargon and twisted logic to explain it away. Failure to address it directly will never achieve the unity desired, IMO, Meerkat.
Do you not believe in the power of God to be able to transform and reform?
This is what I believe in
Mat 19:23**Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24**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.
Mat 19:25**When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26**But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Mat 19:27**Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28**And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29**And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30**But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
G3824***(Strong)
παλιγγενεσία
paliggenesia
pal-ing-ghen-es-ee'-ah
From G3825 and G1078; (spiritual) rebirth (the state or the act), that is, (figuratively) spiritual renovation; specifically Messianic restoration: - regeneration.
Pro 3:1**My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Pro 3:2**For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Pro 3:3**Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4**So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5**Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6**In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7**Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Pro 3:8**It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
Pro 3:9**Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
Pro 3:10**So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Pro 3:11**My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Pro 3:12**For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Pro 3:1**My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Pro 3:2**For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Pro 3:3**Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4**So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5**Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6**In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7**Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Pro 3:8**It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
Pro 3:9**Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
Pro 3:10**So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Pro 3:11**My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Pro 3:12**For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
In your not-so-subtle way, I realize you are trying to get me to accept that there still are and may still be for quite a while yet, people who need the fear of God's wrath to motivate them despite Christ's demonstration that it does not exist. Sadly, I concur but it is depressing.
I believe only a few people on this planet put the Kingdom first. What that means is these people are always being of service to others. They put others before themselves. That is the key to the kingdom. Jesus said not everyone needs a doctor but only the sick. The others, pretty sure me included, inherit Heaven as well but do not serve God in the inner tabernacle. We do get to visit the Throne but don't reside there.
On the topic of seeing God.....A man had a car crash on the one year anniversary of his son's own death and had NDE, met his son in heaven. His son told his dad---Dad, don't ever worry about me, everything is so wonderful beyond any words can describe , we all do things we love doing, but the reward, THE reward, the thing above and grander than ALL things is...seeing God. THAT is the reward. You want to stay there, it IS the pinnacle of ALL things, seeing God ..yes, that is the reward> You cannot stop looking at God but we go and do things he told his dad. This is one NDE that has stuck with me for years.
You are correct zero, that is why Jesus said only a few will be saved. I definitely agree that includes putting others above ourselves, in fact that is what the word minister means, a servant. It isn't a burden however, as there is truth in what Jesus said about giving, there is definitely more happiness in being able to do good to others. Putting the Kingdom first, more literally means place God above man, render Him His due in other words. He doesn't ask much, but what He does ask is not negotiable. Those who do observe His commandments, actually show Him that they love Him 1 Jn 5:3
"My kingdom is not of this world", Jesus said to Pilate. I do not think that the kingdom he spoke of and which we are enjoined to seek means a future golden age of peace on prosperity on earth. I pray for that to happen, and it is a godly thing to wish for. But that isn't what he meant when he spoke of his kingdom.
When Jesus comes, he is coming from where to where Arizona? When he comes he is going to remove those who do not know God, and who do not obey the Gospel 2 Thes 1:8,9; Ps 57:9-11. Notice how the meek are going to inherit the earth? Verse 29 says they will live on it forever.
When you pray for that Kingdom to come, where is it coming from, and where are you asking for it to come to?
When the Kingdom comes Rev 21:3,4 gives us a glimpse of it, one of the things mentioned is no more death, death is an earthly thing, there has never been death in heaven.
The Bible tells us that satan being cast to the earth would start a period of woes, what Christians refer to the last days, the time period that satan has till the time Jesus comes and removes him from the earth. If this is not to happen on earth, why would satan be removed from it, and then let loose out of his prison 1000 yrs later to try to deceive people again?
That is just a small amount of reasoning why we believe that the vast majority of Christians will live on the earth.
I believe only a few people on this planet put the Kingdom first. What that means is these people are always being of service to others. They put others before themselves. That is the key to the kingdom. Jesus said not everyone needs a doctor but only the sick. The others, pretty sure me included, inherit Heaven as well but do not serve God in the inner tabernacle. We do get to visit the Throne but don't reside there.
On the topic of seeing God.....A man had a car crash on the one year anniversary of his son's own death and had NDE, met his son in heaven. His son told his dad---Dad, don't ever worry about me, everything is so wonderful beyond any words can describe , we all do things we love doing, but the reward, THE reward, the thing above and grander than ALL things is...seeing God. THAT is the reward. You want to stay there, it IS the pinnacle of ALL things, seeing God ..yes, that is the reward> You cannot stop looking at God but we go and do things he told his dad. This is one NDE that has stuck with me for years.
I agree with you Zero, placing others above ourselves is putting the Kingdom first. In fact that is the meaning of the word minister, a servant. It also means to place God above ourselves, not allowing the pressures of life to prevent us from rendering Him His due. Most people today we speak to state very clearly they do not have time, yet the Bible encourages us to buy out time for God. He don't require much and His commandments are not burdensome, in fact giving our time for others gives us much happiness as Jesus said it would. Doing God's commandments shows us that we love Him 1 Jn 5:3
Matthew 12:28 "... the Kingdom of God has arrived among you."
Wonder why Phillip didn't know that CC? (Acts 8:12) . . .But when they believed Philip, who was declaring the good news of the Kingdom of God . . .
Wonder why Paul didn't either? (Acts 19:8) . . .Entering the synagogue, for three months he spoke with boldness, giving talks and reasoning persuasively about the Kingdom of God. . .
The reality is that the version you used didn't translate those words understandably. Here is a better version that harmonizes with the rest of the Bible: (Matthew 12:28) . . .But if it is by means of God’s spirit that I expel the demons, the Kingdom of God has really overtaken you. . .
There is different aspects of the Kingdom, there is the heavenly part which is already established, however the earthly part is yet future, it has not yet arrived. It will come with the return of Jesus and his removal of the wicked.
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