jewellpage.com

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  What does it mean to seek the kingdom first? What is the kingdom? Jesus came preaching the kingdom as did John the Baptist. Repentance was a key ingredient to be able to enter the kingdom. Since repentance is crucial to the entering of this mysterious kingdom then we need to understand what repentance is.  The formal definition is, "a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done…"  So, a radical change of mind and purpose is necessary for one to repent and to enter into the kingdom. How is that change possible, when the heart is totally corrupt as Jeremiah says (Jeremiah 17:9) and as Paul emphasizes (Romans 3:10)? How can one who is not seeking the Kingdom and has not the least bit of interest in the good, make a radical change of mind?  Paul even goes as far as to say that, all are dead in tres...

I keep hearing Jesus say over and over, the Kingdom, the Kingdom, the Kingdom (52x in Matthew’s Gospel). I've never noticed how much he spoke about it. We must know what he means or we breeze through said texts with no notion about what he wanted to tell us. In the U.S. when we think of a kingdom we think Disney, as in Magic Kingdom. We revolted against England to escape the king. We are “free” people. We don't want a king telling us what to do.  When Jesus talked about the Kingdom, he was speaking about his coming perfect rule over his people. He initially spoke only to the Jews but then sent his men to tell the World. In Acts 10 the centurion Cornilus and his family became the first Gentile converts to Christ and that expansion of the Kingdom theme has continued to the ends of the earth.  The Kingdom for Jesus was presented to the Jews over 2000 years ago and according to plan, they rejected it. Notice that I said, “according to plan”. It was actually according to plan that ...

In his masterpiece work, Pilgrim Theology, Dr Michael Horton explains in layman's terms the Reformed theological perspective of past and present doctrines. His summary of the book of Revelation and understanding of Matthew 24 is concise and clear. Thus the following extended quote will help us grasp a seemingly difficult teaching called Amillennialism.  "It is easy to summarize Jesus' sequence of events (in Matthew 24): (1) destruction of the temple in Jerusalem ("the abomination of desolation" [Mt 24:15], which occurred in AD 70); (2) the tribulation of those days” (v. 29), involving long period of persecution, apostasy, general calamities, and yet the progress of the gospel throughout the world; (3) the coming of the Son of Man from heaven; (4) the gathering of the elect; and (5) the last judgment. "The immediate recipients of the book of Revelation would certainly have recognized themselves in our Lord's description of the great tribulation, as would ...

  What is the Kingdom of God? We pray for it to come, like Jesus told us to do. We see it titled: kingdom of Heaven, Christ, the Lord and just, kingdom. When we think of it, if we ever do, it seems to be this fuzzy streets of gold and that “I’ve got a mansion, just over the hilltop, vision. Our mind might also try to imagine the pearly gates and God’s throne in the middle of the celestial city. Almost Oz-like. In Matthew, Jesus talks a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven, which, by the way, is synonymous with the Kingdom of God. In fact, his sermon on the mount was literally his giving of the new law of the kingdom. Some believe that Jesus' message was for the, then 2000 year future, Millennial kingdom. However, when you read and study the sermon, Jesus never says, “Your great great great great etc. grandchildren, when I come to establish my kingdom in 2000 years or so, will put these principles into practice.” That would have been silly wouldn’t it? He was talking to his followers in ...