Are the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven the same?

March 1, 2014 | PhilipFreneau

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>Philip, what in your understanding of dispensationalism leads you to believe that I could not be a cessationist?<<<

I possess what I believe to be a traditional understanding of cessationism. I believe the miraculous gifts the early Christians received on the Day of Pentecost (e.g., speaking in tongues, healing the sick, prophesying, etc.) disappeared after their generation. I have stated that belief on FR in recent posts.

The reason I believe that dispensationalists cannot be cessationists is because of their belief that the great city, Babylon, is a future city, and not the old Jerusalem of the first century. If that was the case, how could this be the reason for the city's punishment?

"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." (Rev 17:6, KJV)

"And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." (Rev 18:24, KJV)

“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.” (Rev 18:20, KJV)

If prophecy ceased in the first century, where did all those prophets come from? And how could any modern city have anything to do with their blood, since Jesus said their blood was on Jerusalem's head: not just the blood of the prophets, but all righteous blood, as follows:

"Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." (Mat 23:34-36 KJV)

"Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation." (Luke 11:47-51 KJV)

"Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem." (Luke 13:33 KJV)

"For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22 KJV)

"Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:" (Acts 7:52 KJV)

One single statement by Jesus--that a prophet cannot perish out of Jerusalem--should be enough to convince anyone that Babylon the Great was old Jerusalem.

I believe we have been fresh out of prophets since John wrote the Revelation prior to 70 AD. I also believe the apparent prophecies by Paul, Peter and others were merely restatements from the Revelation which John had revealed to them previously, for this reason:

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." (Rev 1:1-3 KJV)

That may explain why there are so many similarities between the predictions of Paul and Peter, and the words of the Revelation.

Philip