THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2 ESV) “And behold, I am(JESUS) coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7 ESV) “Behold, I am (JESUS) coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:12-13 ESV) “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (Revelation 22:16 ESV) He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20 ESV) To repent, or “change one’s mind,” in the OT called for a change in a person’s attitude toward God that impacted one’s actions and life choices; it involved the idea of “turning,” that is, from one way of thinking and living to a different way. Common external signs of repentance included prayers of remorse and confession and renouncing of sin. The term kingdom of heaven is found only in Matthew’s Gospel but is interchangeable with “kingdom of God,” found in the other Gospels (cf. Matt. 19:14 and Mark 10:14). is at hand. The kingdom of heaven has come near to people in the person of Jesus (the Messiah), who was soon to be revealed as the “beloved Son” of the Father (Matt. 3:17), and who himself was soon to begin proclaiming that message of repentance, because “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17). Here John calls for the people to remove the obstacles from their lives that might hinder their reception of the Messiah and his kingdom. From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17 ESV) Unlike these days in our churches and outside the churches, we/ church has forgotten her main purpose. In that we are called to turn the world back to God but instead the church is turning the people to materialism. This is what Ap. Paul said In 2 Timothy 2:14–26 Paul introduces the false teaching (v. 16) and explains how Timothy should respond to it and be different from the false teachers. In 2 Timothy 3:1–9 he describes the false teachers more extensively. Having exhorted Timothy to steadfast endurance, Paul now begins to address the problem directly. [Godlessness in the Last Days] But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7 ESV) [Some Will Depart from the Faith] Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1 ESV) The means by which the Spirit … says is not made clear. It may have been something the Holy Spirit revealed directly to Paul ( Acts 20:29–30) or a prophecy that came through others. expressly. Explicitly, clearly. The later times (Gk. hysterois kairois) in view here clearly include Timothy’s day (see the similar phrase in 2 Tim. 3:1). As is typical in the NT, “later times” refers to the time that began with the outpouring of the Spirit after the work of Christ. Those who hold to the false teaching depart from the faith, which shows that this teaching is outside the bounds of true Christianity. Furthermore, the source of the error is demonic, for these teachers follow deceitful spirits. The false teaching and resultant apostasy are no surprise. God said this would happen, so his church should not panic but should carry on in faithfulness (see 2 Tim. 2:17–19). MAY THE LORD GUIDE OUR HEARTS TO DISCERN THE TRUTH. AMEN
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 03:05:22 +0000
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