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The New Testament reveals that the church and the kingdom are closely related. The Lord’s word in Matthew 16:18-19 indicates that the kingdom of the heavens is wrapped up with the church: “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” The phrase the kingdom of the heavens in verse 19 is interchangeably used for the word church in verse 18. This proves that the genuine church is the kingdom of the heavens in this age. Where the genuine church is, there the kingdom of the heavens is also.
In Matthew 13 while on the seashore, the Lord spoke parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom. These parables were of a prophetic nature, covering the entire span of Christian history. They encompass the main points of Christian history between the Lord’s first coming and His second coming. In this lesson we will see, from the parables of the mysteries of the kingdom, the prophecies concerning the church with respect to the kingdom of the heavens.
The kingdom of the heavens, as a specific section within the kingdom of God, is also called the kingdom of God. Matthew 4:17 says, “From that time Jesus began to proclaim and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” However, according to Mark 1:15 the Lord Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn near.” This indicates that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. In Matthew 13:11 the Lord Jesus said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens.” However, in Mark 4:11 He said, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.” This is another indication that the kingdom of the heavens, being part of the kingdom of God, is the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of the heavens is a specific section within the kingdom of God. It is the section in God’s kingdom where God reigns in a particular way, in the sense of life. With the patriarchs and the children of Israel, the kingdom of God was present in a general way, not in a particular way. At the beginning of the New Testament, John the Baptist called on people to repent, proclaiming, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2). This indicates a new beginning. The kingdom of God was there, but it needed a new beginning. This new beginning was the kingdom of God in a particular way, in the way of life. Although the Israelites in the Old Testament times were in God’s kingdom, they were in the kingdom of God only in the sense of God’s power and authority, not in the sense of life. To be in God’s kingdom in the sense of life is something new, something of the New Testament. Therefore, at the coming of the New Testament, God sent John the Baptist as a forerunner to proclaim that God’s kingdom was about to have a new start, a start in life. The ministry of John the Baptist was for people to prepare themselves to enter into another stage of the kingdom, to enter into a new start of God’s kingdom. Through regeneration man can enter into God’s kingdom, that is, the kingdom of the heavens, in the sense of life and in the way of life.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, there are three aspects of the kingdom of the heavens: the reality, the outward appearance, and the manifestation. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the inward content of the kingdom of the heavens in its heavenly and spiritual nature, as revealed in chapters 5 through 7. The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens is the outward condition of the kingdom of the heavens in name, as revealed in chapter 13. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens is the practical coming of the kingdom of the heavens in power, as revealed in chapters 24 through 25. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the proper church life (Rom. 14:17). The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens includes false believers who are not regenerated. Both the reality and the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens are with the church today.
As a particular section of the kingdom of God in the sense of life, the kingdom of the heavens must comprise the church age. Today we are in the dispensation of grace, which is the age of the church. The dispensation of grace is altogether a matter of life. Hence, the church has to be a matter of life. Within the church there is the kingdom of God in the sense of life, and this kingdom of God in the sense of life is the kingdom of the heavens, which makes all the kingdom people heavenly in everything and in every aspect, causing them to be people in life and people of the heavens.
The kingdom of the heavens began at the church’s beginning. This means that when the church began on the day of Pentecost, the kingdom of the heavens also began. The beginning of the kingdom of the heavens is indicated by the parable of the tares in Matthew 13. Through the parable of the tares, the Lord prophesied concerning the beginning of the kingdom of the heavens, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field. But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat and went away” (vv. 24-25). This parable began to be fulfilled when the church was produced on the day of Pentecost. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is established by the sons of the kingdom—the wheat. They are genuine believers regenerated by the divine life. The kingdom of the heavens and the church began at the same time and go on in parallel. Through this parable the Lord prophesied that when the kingdom of the heavens was established, that is, after the establishment of the church (Acts 5:11), the enemy would sow tares, false believers, among the wheat, the genuine believers.
In Matthew 13 through the parable of the tares (vv. 24-30, 36-43), the Lord prophesied concerning the establishment of the kingdom and the producing of its false constituents. In verses 24 and 25 the Lord said, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field. But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat and went away.” This parable discloses that the kingdom of the heavens is established by the building of the church. However, not long after the establishment of the kingdom, the situation of the kingdom of the heavens changed. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens was established with the sons of the kingdom, the wheat. But the enemy sowed the sons of the evil one, the tares, in the field at the same time to grow amidst the wheat. The tares are false believers, believers only in name, who do not have the divine life in them. They form the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.
According to the Lord’s explanation, the man who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed are sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one (vv. 37-38). That both the tares and the wheat grow in the field means that both the false believers and the genuine believers live in the world. The sons of the kingdom, the wheat, form the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, but the sons of the evil one, the tares, grow up to alter the situation, forming an outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. The sons of the kingdom constitute the kingdom, whereas the sons of the evil one form the outward appearance of the kingdom.
In Matthew 13:31-32 the Lord used another parable to prophesy concerning the abnormal development of the kingdom: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, and which is smaller than all the seeds; but when it has grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches.” The church, which is the embodiment of the kingdom, should be like an herb that produces food. However, its nature and function were changed so that it became a “tree,” a lodging place for birds. This is against the law of God’s creation that every plant must be according to its kind (Gen. 1:11-12). This change occurred in the first part of the fourth century, when Constantine the Great mixed the church with the world. He brought thousands of false believers into the church, making it Christendom, no longer the church. Hence, this parable corresponds with the third of the seven churches in Revelation, the church in Pergamos (2:12-17). The church in Pergamos signifies the church in union with the world through the influence of Constantine. Through the baptism of many unbelievers, the “church” has become abnormally great. The mustard is an annual herb, whereas the tree is a perennial plant. The church, according to its heavenly and spiritual nature, should be like the mustard, sojourning on the earth. But with its nature changed, the church became deeply rooted and settled as a tree in the earth, flourishing with its enterprises as the branches in which many evil persons and things are lodged. This resulted in the formation of the outward organization of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.
In Matthew 13:33 the Lord used the parable of leaven to prophesy concerning the corruption of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens: “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened.” In the Scriptures leaven signifies evil things and evil doctrines (1 Cor. 5:6, 8; Matt. 16:6, 11-12). Meal, for making the meal offering, signifies Christ as food to both God and man (Lev. 2:1). Three measures is the quantity needed to make a full meal (Gen. 18:6). The church as the practical kingdom of the heavens, with Christ, the unleavened fine flour, as its content, must be a loaf of unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:7-8). However, the Roman Catholic Church, which was fully and officially formed in the sixth century and which is signified by the woman here, took in many pagan practices, heretical doctrines, and evil matters and mixed them with the teachings concerning Christ, leavening the whole content of Christianity. Hence, the woman hiding the leaven in three measures of meal signifies that the Catholic Church has leavened in a hidden way all the teachings concerning Christ. This mixture became the corrupted content of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.
The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens exists along with the church in the church age, but it does not exist within the church. As a principle, we do not allow tares in the church life, and we do not allow the big tree with its abnormal growth or leaven with its corruption to be in the church. The function of the kingdom people as the reality of the kingdom of the heavens should be like that of the wheat and the mustard seed, supplying life and producing food for the satisfaction of both God and man. They also should be like a lump of fine flour to be food for God and man. This kind of genuine church life is the reality of the kingdom of the heavens.
When the Lord Jesus comes back, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be realized. This is prophesied in Matthew 24:44 through 25:30. Only the overcomers who are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today will participate in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the future. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be a reward, a prize, to the overcomers in the church.
The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be the manifestation of the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. This means that in the next age the reality of the kingdom will become the manifestation of the kingdom. The kingdom of the heavens will exist in the millennium during the age of the millennium. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is with the church in this age, and the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be in the coming age. During the present age, the reality of the kingdom and the outward appearance of the kingdom develop simultaneously. When the Lord Jesus comes back, however, the reality of the kingdom will be transferred into the manifestation of the kingdom, and the outward appearance of the kingdom will be burned away. The Lord’s angels will bind the tares into bundles and cast them into the fire (13:40-42). At His coming back the Lord will first deal with the outward appearance of the kingdom, and then He will transfer the reality of the kingdom into the next age to become the manifestation of the kingdom.
The manifestation of the kingdom will be the kingdom of the Father, that is, the heavenly part of the millennium. The millennium will have an earthly part and a heavenly part. The earthly part will be the kingdom of the Messiah (2 Sam. 7:13), the tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16), and the kingdom of the Son of Man (Matt. 13:41; Rev. 11:15). The heavenly part of the millennium will be the kingdom of the Father (Matt. 13:43). This will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens as a reward to the overcomers. The overcomers who participate in the heavenly part of the millennium will reign with Christ over the earthly part, which will be the restored kingdom of David, where Christ as the Son of Man, David’s royal descendant, will be the King over the children of Israel.
The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be a reward to the overcoming saints, including the overcomers in the church in the New Testament age. Paul says, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will save me into His heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18). The heavenly kingdom is “the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43), “the kingdom of My Father” (26:29), “the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph. 5:5), and “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11), and it will be a reward to the overcoming saints. The heavenly kingdom in 2 Timothy 4:18 equals the crown of righteousness in verse 8 and is an incentive to the believers who run the heavenly course.
The New Testament reveals that the kingdom of the heavens is wrapped up with the church. In Matthew 13 the Lord spoke concerning the revelation of the church with respect to the kingdom of the heavens. He also prophesied concerning the main points of Christian history between His first coming and His second coming.
The kingdom of the heavens is also called the kingdom of God. It is in the section of God’s kingdom where God reigns in a particular way, in the sense of life. At the beginning of the New Testament the kingdom of God was present, but it needed a new start in the way of life. According to the Gospel of Matthew there are three aspects of the kingdom of the heavens: the reality, the outward appearance, and the manifestation. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the inward content of the kingdom of the heavens in its heavenly and spiritual nature. The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens is the outward condition of the kingdom of the heavens in name. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens is the practical coming of the kingdom of the heavens in power. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the proper church life. The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens includes false believers who are not regenerated. Both the reality and the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens are with the church today.
The kingdom of the heavens began on the day of Pentecost, beginning at the same time and going on in parallel with the church. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens was established with the sons of the kingdom, the wheat. They are the genuine believers regenerated by the divine life. The enemy, however, sowed tares, false believers, among the wheat, the genuine believers, to form an outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. The development of the outward appearance is like a mustard seed, the smallest among seeds, growing into a tree. When thousands of false believers entered into the church, the world was mixed with the church. With its nature changed, the church became deeply rooted and settled as a tree on the earth, flourishing with its enterprises as the branches in which many evil persons and things are lodged. The Lord used the parable of the leaven to prophesy concerning the corruption of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. The church must be a loaf of unleavened bread. However, the Roman Catholic Church, which was fully and officially formed in the sixth century, took in many pagan practices, heretical doctrines, and evil matters and mixed them with the teachings concerning Christ, leavening the whole content of Christianity. The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens exists along with the church in the church age and will continue until the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, that is, the manifestation of the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens will be burned away. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens will be transferred into the next age to become the manifestation of the kingdom. The manifestation of the kingdom is the kingdom of the Father, the heavenly part of the millennium; it will be a reward to the overcoming saints.
