9 WORDS!
Let’s imagine for a second that you want to inspire people and start a global movement. You’ll need to convince people of the importance of your mission. So what words will you choose?
Most people, when facing a situation like this, choose the words that they believe convey their most important and most fundamental message.
DON’T BURY THE LEAD!
And this approach is exactly what communication experts will tell you to do! When you are trying to communicate an important message, you must find the right words for an attention grabbing headline and a concise message. The words you choose should tell the reader ALL they really need to know about your message! And these powerful words should NEVER EVER be placed in the middle or at the end of your message. This advice is such a basic truism of communication that even first year journalism students know it. It’s called- don’t bury the lead!
NEVER BURY THE LEAD!
Therefore, you must LEAD your message with your most important information. You must find a way to capture the most important aspect of your message and lead (i.e. start) with it. If you can do this well, then you will get your readers to pay attention to your message!
And that is exactly what Jesus did! So let’s examine what He said in His 'leading' message and capture His pearls of wisdom!
SO WHAT WAS CHRIST’S LEADING MESSAGE?
Jesus first spoke to the public in Matthew 4:17 (KJV). And it was a WARNING delivered in 9 words! The verse says:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
1. Repent
2. for
3. the
4. kingdom
5. of
6. heaven
7. is
8. at
9. hand.
His headline was the word: REPENT.
And His concise message was: FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.
If this 9 word message was all that you EVER knew about Jesus, would it be enough for you to understand why He came to earth? I want you to-
§ Forget about Him feeding the 5000 men, never mind women and children, with five fish and two loaves of bread.
§ Forget about Him raising Lazarus from the dead.
§ Forget about His crucifixion and the resurrection.
Just focus on those 9 first words. His leading message! His vision and mission statements!
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
LET'S ANALYSE HIS MESSAGE
§ Repenting is something that each human being must do.
§ Repentance results in a change of behaviour (i.e. a turning away from).
§ Repentance allows individuals to avoid the inevitable spiritual (heavenly) judgment that is coming.
§ For there to be a kingdom (of heaven), it means that there must be a King! Do we know who the King is? (see 1 Samuel 8:7 for a clue)
§ Get prepared. Time is short.
Obviously, Christ believed that this ‘kingdom of heaven’ message was an important message that we needed to hear. It is a message of WARNING and it is a message of coming JUDGMENT. Remember, Christ’s ‘gospel of the kingdom’ message, which He delivered later on in His ministry, includes two related concepts- the ‘kingdom of God’ and the ‘kingdom of heaven’. In last week’s article, we considered the meaning of the ‘kingdom of God’.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
The term the ‘kingdom of heaven’ is used 33 times in the Bible. And ALL of these references are made in the Gospel of Matthew! Did you know that? This term is NEVER used in the Old Testament. And it is also NEVER used in the 17 books of the Pauline writings. Did you know that?
And we can explain why this term is never used in the Old Testament or in the Pauline writings!
The kingdom of heaven represents the place where the souls of the people of God will live for ever and ever. Entry into this kingdom depends on us meeting one of these three criteria.
§ CRITERIA A: If you are one of the saints who gave their life for the faith, then you get to enter the kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).
§ CRITERIA B: If you are one of God’s remnant who has kept the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus Christ in the last days, then you too will get to enter the kingdom (Revelation 12:17 and 14:12).
§ CRITERIA C: If you are one of the people who survived their Book of Life judgment because of their works for the kingdom of God, then you too will get to enter into the kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46, 1 Peter 4:17-19 and Revelation 20:12-15).
Three criteria. That’s it!
But this ‘kingdom of heaven’ (i.e. the new heavens) DOESN'T EXIST YET! It will only be created during the end times after the battle of Armageddon (see Revelation 21:1). Remember, minus a few exceptions since Adam and Eve, all the souls of all the dead are still ‘sleeping’ in sheol.
1. Repent
2. for
3. the
4. kingdom
5. of
6. heaven
7. is
8. at
9. hand.
His headline was the word: REPENT.
And His concise message was: FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.
If this 9 word message was all that you EVER knew about Jesus, would it be enough for you to understand why He came to earth? I want you to-
§ Forget about Him feeding the 5000 men, never mind women and children, with five fish and two loaves of bread.
§ Forget about Him raising Lazarus from the dead.
§ Forget about His crucifixion and the resurrection.
Just focus on those 9 first words. His leading message! His vision and mission statements!
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
LET'S ANALYSE HIS MESSAGE
§ Repenting is something that each human being must do.
§ Repentance results in a change of behaviour (i.e. a turning away from).
§ Repentance allows individuals to avoid the inevitable spiritual (heavenly) judgment that is coming.
§ For there to be a kingdom (of heaven), it means that there must be a King! Do we know who the King is? (see 1 Samuel 8:7 for a clue)
§ Get prepared. Time is short.
Obviously, Christ believed that this ‘kingdom of heaven’ message was an important message that we needed to hear. It is a message of WARNING and it is a message of coming JUDGMENT. Remember, Christ’s ‘gospel of the kingdom’ message, which He delivered later on in His ministry, includes two related concepts- the ‘kingdom of God’ and the ‘kingdom of heaven’. In last week’s article, we considered the meaning of the ‘kingdom of God’.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
The term the ‘kingdom of heaven’ is used 33 times in the Bible. And ALL of these references are made in the Gospel of Matthew! Did you know that? This term is NEVER used in the Old Testament. And it is also NEVER used in the 17 books of the Pauline writings. Did you know that?
And we can explain why this term is never used in the Old Testament or in the Pauline writings!
The kingdom of heaven represents the place where the souls of the people of God will live for ever and ever. Entry into this kingdom depends on us meeting one of these three criteria.
§ CRITERIA A: If you are one of the saints who gave their life for the faith, then you get to enter the kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).
§ CRITERIA B: If you are one of God’s remnant who has kept the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus Christ in the last days, then you too will get to enter the kingdom (Revelation 12:17 and 14:12).
§ CRITERIA C: If you are one of the people who survived their Book of Life judgment because of their works for the kingdom of God, then you too will get to enter into the kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46, 1 Peter 4:17-19 and Revelation 20:12-15).
Three criteria. That’s it!
But this ‘kingdom of heaven’ (i.e. the new heavens) DOESN'T EXIST YET! It will only be created during the end times after the battle of Armageddon (see Revelation 21:1). Remember, minus a few exceptions since Adam and Eve, all the souls of all the dead are still ‘sleeping’ in sheol.
No one is in heaven and no one is in hell!
This is why this term is not used in the Old Testament! It is only AFTER Christ's Book of Life judgment takes place that our souls will be able to enter the new heavens or will be sent to hell.
The term the ‘kingdom of heaven’ is also never used in the Pauline books. Why? This concept contradicts their false doctrine of justification by faith. The Pauline writings dismiss Christ’s Book of Life judgment as being of no consequence! Instead, the Pauline writings teach believers that when they die, they go straight to heaven! Somehow your faith in Christ means that you get to escape being held accountable for your personal sins.
I believe that Pauline Christians are in for a rude awakening because Christ NEVER taught this exemption doctrine!
And just like the Pharisees, their self-righteousness will not save the Pauline Christians. Paul may have hated Jews, women, and LGBTQ people and only focused on piety. But Christ told us CLEARLY how He intends to judge us.
The term the ‘kingdom of heaven’ is also never used in the Pauline books. Why? This concept contradicts their false doctrine of justification by faith. The Pauline writings dismiss Christ’s Book of Life judgment as being of no consequence! Instead, the Pauline writings teach believers that when they die, they go straight to heaven! Somehow your faith in Christ means that you get to escape being held accountable for your personal sins.
I believe that Pauline Christians are in for a rude awakening because Christ NEVER taught this exemption doctrine!
And just like the Pharisees, their self-righteousness will not save the Pauline Christians. Paul may have hated Jews, women, and LGBTQ people and only focused on piety. But Christ told us CLEARLY how He intends to judge us.
WE WILL BE JUDGED BY OUR WORKS OF LOVE AND COMPASSION. Those without works of compassion will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven! Read Matthew 25:31-46!
Never once did Christ condemn gay people. Never once was Christ misogynistic. Never once was Christ racist. Remember always that God loved David but David was an adulterer. God spoke to Moses but Moses was a murderer. God chose Ruth to be in Christ’s genealogy but Ruth was born a pagan.
Never once did Christ condemn gay people. Never once was Christ misogynistic. Never once was Christ racist. Remember always that God loved David but David was an adulterer. God spoke to Moses but Moses was a murderer. God chose Ruth to be in Christ’s genealogy but Ruth was born a pagan.
God and Christ do NOT judge as men judge!
So, if you want to understand PERSONAL SIN from Christ’s perspective, then read and re-read James Chapter 2!
So this message of the ‘kingdom of heaven’ gets to the very heart of Christ’s GOOD NEWS! His announcement about the kingdom of heaven means that our souls will finally get a pathway to be reunited with the souls of those we love, IF we meet the criteria for entry!
BIBLICAL SYMBOLISM
For those of you who have an interest in biblical symbolism, I am sure that you will not have missed the symbolism in Christ’s first message!
Remember, the Bible often uses symbolism to protect God’s message from mistranslation or misinterpretation! Here are some examples:
§ God’s word sustains us and therefore we call it the ‘BREAD’ of life.
§ Christ is the atonement sacrifice for original sin and therefore He is called the Lamb of God.
§ The number 6 symbolises the number of man.
§ The number 7 symbolises the number of spiritual perfection.
§ The number 8 symbolises the number of new beginnings.
Did you notice that Christ’s FIRST message to the world had 9 words in it? This alone tells us that it is a message of JUDGMENT. Why? Because the number 9 is the number that symbolises judgment!
So get prepared!
ANOTHER PIECE FOR OUR PUZZLE
Christ’s first message delivered His vision and mission statements. A central theme in His message was the importance of turning away from sinful behaviour (sinful behaviour as defined by Him and not Paul).
As we continue to put the pieces of our puzzle together, we now KNOW that a member of God’s remnant:
1. Worships God and not Christ.
2. Keeps sabbath on Saturday.
3. Has the testimony of Jesus Christ (i.e. the Apostolic Scriptures).
4. Accepts that Christ’s ‘gospel of the kingdom’ is the MAIN message of the New Testament.
5. Accepts the duty and the obligation of having faith and works (i.e. builds the earthly kingdom of God).
6. Understands the correct definition of sin, actively repents and hopes to be allowed into the kingdom of heaven.
*****
‘HARVEST TIME Prophecies’ is the blog post site of TNG Academy. Our blog post site gets its name from Matthew 13:30- i.e. the separation of wheat and tares that will occur at harvest time (i.e. the endtimes). Remember, the ‘wheat’ symbolises Godly things and the ‘tares’ symbolise things of the devil.
The purpose of these blog posts is twofold. Firstly, they are written to encourage more focus on Christ’s core message- i.e. the ‘gospel of the kingdom’. And second, they are written as an aid for our discipleship journey- i.e. improving our understanding of God’s expectations of us. I hope, these posts assist you on your journey of ‘becoming’!
Visit our website- WWW.TNGACADEMY.ORG, to get copies of our Bible study books. Which books would I recommend for you to read first? Start with these three-
If you enjoy these posts, please share and help others get prepared for harvest time too!
#theapostolicscriptures
#gospelofthekingdom
#Remnant
#endtimes
#deconstruction
So, if you want to understand PERSONAL SIN from Christ’s perspective, then read and re-read James Chapter 2!
So this message of the ‘kingdom of heaven’ gets to the very heart of Christ’s GOOD NEWS! His announcement about the kingdom of heaven means that our souls will finally get a pathway to be reunited with the souls of those we love, IF we meet the criteria for entry!
BIBLICAL SYMBOLISM
For those of you who have an interest in biblical symbolism, I am sure that you will not have missed the symbolism in Christ’s first message!
Remember, the Bible often uses symbolism to protect God’s message from mistranslation or misinterpretation! Here are some examples:
§ God’s word sustains us and therefore we call it the ‘BREAD’ of life.
§ Christ is the atonement sacrifice for original sin and therefore He is called the Lamb of God.
§ The number 6 symbolises the number of man.
§ The number 7 symbolises the number of spiritual perfection.
§ The number 8 symbolises the number of new beginnings.
Did you notice that Christ’s FIRST message to the world had 9 words in it? This alone tells us that it is a message of JUDGMENT. Why? Because the number 9 is the number that symbolises judgment!
So get prepared!
ANOTHER PIECE FOR OUR PUZZLE
Christ’s first message delivered His vision and mission statements. A central theme in His message was the importance of turning away from sinful behaviour (sinful behaviour as defined by Him and not Paul).
As we continue to put the pieces of our puzzle together, we now KNOW that a member of God’s remnant:
1. Worships God and not Christ.
2. Keeps sabbath on Saturday.
3. Has the testimony of Jesus Christ (i.e. the Apostolic Scriptures).
4. Accepts that Christ’s ‘gospel of the kingdom’ is the MAIN message of the New Testament.
5. Accepts the duty and the obligation of having faith and works (i.e. builds the earthly kingdom of God).
6. Understands the correct definition of sin, actively repents and hopes to be allowed into the kingdom of heaven.
*****
‘HARVEST TIME Prophecies’ is the blog post site of TNG Academy. Our blog post site gets its name from Matthew 13:30- i.e. the separation of wheat and tares that will occur at harvest time (i.e. the endtimes). Remember, the ‘wheat’ symbolises Godly things and the ‘tares’ symbolise things of the devil.
The purpose of these blog posts is twofold. Firstly, they are written to encourage more focus on Christ’s core message- i.e. the ‘gospel of the kingdom’. And second, they are written as an aid for our discipleship journey- i.e. improving our understanding of God’s expectations of us. I hope, these posts assist you on your journey of ‘becoming’!
Visit our website- WWW.TNGACADEMY.ORG, to get copies of our Bible study books. Which books would I recommend for you to read first? Start with these three-
- WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
- MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN!
- THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES.
If you enjoy these posts, please share and help others get prepared for harvest time too!
#theapostolicscriptures
#gospelofthekingdom
#Remnant
#endtimes
#deconstruction
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