The Lord Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
John 14: 2-3
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
This is the promise that Jesus Christ has made to us. When Jesus Christ comes again in the last days, He will take us to the place He has prepared for us; this is to enter the kingdom of heaven. However, many brothers and sisters think that the place Jesus Christ has prepared for us should be in heaven, and that when Jesus Christ comes in the last days He will take us up into heaven. Is that really the truth? “Heaven” usually refers to God. So the kingdom of heaven refers to God’s kingdom, and it is the kingdom where God is in power, it is Christ’s kingdom. Is God’s kingdom on earth, or is it in heaven? Jesus Christ said, “Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). Jesus Christ’s words are very clear. Jesus Christ requires that we pray for God’s kingdom to come down to the earth, so that His will may be carried out on earth. Jesus Christ did not say that God’s kingdom would be established in heaven, and He particularly did not have us hope and pray for the day we would be raptured up to heaven. So isn’t always hoping to be taken up to heaven to enter into God’s kingdom out of line with Jesus Christ’s words, and out of line with His will? Let’s read from Revelation 21:2-3: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven…. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Let’s turn to Revelation 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” These prophecies mentioned “the tabernacle of God is with men,” “… new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,” “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” This proves that God will build His kingdom on earth, and He will dwell on earth alongside mankind. The kingdoms of the world will all become Christ’s kingdoms, and they will last forever.
Just as God says, “When humanity has been restored to their original likeness, when humanity can fulfill their respective duties, keep their own place and obey all of God’s arrangements, God will have obtained a group of people upon the earth who worship Him, and He will also have established a kingdom upon the earth that worships Him. He will have eternal victory upon the earth, and those who are opposed to Him will perish for all eternity. This will restore His original intention in creating man; it will restore His intention in creating all things, and it will also restore His authority upon earth, His authority among all things and His authority among His enemies. These are the symbols of His total victory. Henceforth humanity will enter into rest and enter into a life that follows the right track. God will also enter into eternal rest with man and enter into an eternal life shared by God and man. The filth and disobedience upon the earth shall disappear, as shall the wailing upon the earth. All upon the earth that opposes God will not exist. Only God and those people that He has saved shall remain; only His creation shall remain.”
From: Grow in Christ
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The world is beset by disasters and the Lord’s day is upon us. The Lord Jesus said, “Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). It can be seen that only those who truly repent can enter into the Kingdom of heaven. So, what’s true repentance? How can we achieve true repentance? Click here to discuss with us.
