Mat 3:1-2; There Is No Kingdom of Heaven Without the Presence of the Son of Man.
length: 28:57 - taught on Dec, 7 2023
Class Outline:
Thursday December 7, 2023
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
The kingdom of heaven at hand means that it is very near.
As the ministry of Jesus unfolds, His wording seems to indicate that it is even nearer, in fact here - “has come upon you.”
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 "Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
And we should note that here is where the major transition takes place when the offer of the kingdom is taken off the table for that generation, not forever.
But in our passage in chapter 3, the kingdom is near.
“is at hand” - eggizo = perfect indicative. It has drawn near and is still near.
The kingdom is near because the King is on the earth.
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
What is the kingdom of heaven? Is it something different than what the OT prophets foresaw? Is it different than the kingdom of God?
Amillennial and postmillennial views with their own variations.
My view is premillennial.
The Scripture does not clearly differentiate between kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God - God ruling.
God is the subject, not kingdom.
The gospel should not be more about the kingdom than it is about the King.
The kingdom of heaven / God - the sovereign rulership of Christ.
Jesus’ message is the same as John’s:
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
“the kingdom of heaven is at hand” - God’s promised reign is on the verge of beginning.
Have you dropped everything to follow Him?
The concept of God’s rule is fundamental to the entire Old Testament.
And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.
The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
"Rule in the midst of Your enemies."
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The city of the great King.
In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "HOLY TO THE LORD." And the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them.
Is this the kingdom that John and Jesus proclaimed? It most certainly is.
This expectation of the ultimate triumph of God appears in many different ways in the OT prophets, but reaches its most definitive expression in the Book of Daniel.
"I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
10 "A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened.
Notice that “thrones” is plural and that God took His seat. It is as if there is at least one other empty throne.
He has millions of angels attending to Him and millions more standing before Him (army).
Then Daniel sees the conclusion to his prior vision of the beasts. The little, boastful horn represents the epitome of the kingdoms of the earth.
"Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. 12 "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.
Then we see the Son of Man Presented
"I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
14 "And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
The Son of Man is the Messiah.
God’s people are in captivity. An army of millions and millions of angels are at the ready. But no one is leaving heaven to help Israel, instead one Man is actually entering heaven.
And then given to the Man are dominion, glory, a kingdom, all peoples (Gentiles included) will worship Him, and His dominion is eternal.
What is new. What is strange is that this is all given to a Man.
Somehow this Man is God and He is given a throne next to the Ancient of Days.
Son of Man is a favorite title that Jesus uses for Himself.
So then, when John the Baptist says:
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
You have the Son of Man in you if you are a believer.
We do not have the kingdom. That will not come until He comes again. However, we do have the most important aspect of the kingdom, the King, and therefore, we can live the life of the kingdom before it comes. That is the most amazing of callings and privileges.
All of your obedience and allegiance must be to Him. You have no other choice. You must kiss Him.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. [KJV]
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