John and the Kingdom of Heaven - Evangelical Caucus/Devotional

Gracetoyou.org ^ | 2008 | John MacArthur, Grace Community Church

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“‘From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force’” (Matthew 11:12).

“The kingdom of heaven” refers to God’s general rule and represents His purpose, message, commands, and activities regarding humanity. This great concept was associated in some fashion with violence since John the Baptist began preaching. Wherever he went, his call for repentance and entrance into the kingdom generated strong and eventually violent opposition.

The verb translated “suffers violence” carries both negative and positive connotations. First is the idea of the kingdom being treated violently by its foes—by those outside it, like the Jewish leaders. They vociferously rejected its spiritual dimension, and so its earthly dimension could not begin for some time.

Second, there is a more proactive and primary meaning to the phrase “suffers violence”—which sees the kingdom as vigorously pressing forward and people forcefully entering it. The angel’s prediction before John’s birth illustrates this positive element (see Luke 1:16–17). Jesus was already teaching about the narrow gate and the narrow way (Matt. 7:13–14), declaring that kingdom citizenship requires self-denial and cross bearing (16:24; cf. 10:38).

To be a Christian today means swimming against the world’s flow, going against its grain, because its satanic system is extremely powerful. Those who truly enter God’s kingdom do so through faith and with great effort—effort that is not their own, but from the sovereign, converting power of the Holy Spirit.

Ask Yourself

You’re certainly familiar with the kingdom of God arousing violent opposition from without. But have you ever thought of it flexing its strength to bring you into its borders?

How has the kingdom met you in brute force, causing “violence” to your former manner of living?

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Studying God’s Word ping

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Ping.

And you’re on.

[tired&retired]

My Father’s Mansion has many rooms. There are many levels to Heaven. This is why Paul spoke of knowing a man who went to the “Third Heaven.”

In the model prayer Jesus gave us, it refers to “Thy Will being done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Meaning, when Jesus returns to earth, he will bring Heaven to earth.

When Jesus spoke of “going to prepare a place for us,” He was speaking of the lower level of Heaven being cleansed of evil so that our souls could go there without turmoil.

When I died, I crossed through a long cloud of darkness before entering Heaven. I died again about two years ago during surgery and they had to put my body on a ventilator for a few hours until I returned. During this, I had a vision of darkness coming to earth. It was so dark, I headed to the basement to survive.

Upon coming up from the basement a few days later, the darkness was gone. I went outside and everything glowed, exactly as I saw it when I had crossed over into Heaven.

They explained to me that the “Period of Darkness” that I crossed through when I went to Heaven must come to earth to cleans evil from earth before Heaven can come to earth.

Before Jesus prepared the place for us, it too had to be cleansed of evil. Thus the scripture refers to Jesus cleansing the lower level of Heaven of evil to prepare it for us.

Like Paul, I too crossed over to the higher levels of Heaven where the Love and Light was even stronger and brighter than the lower level of Heaven.

Whether this happens in body or out, I cannot say as I perceived having a physical body in my vision when I went outside after Heaven came to earth. However, I was out of my body when I visited the Third Heaven.