The Kingdom of Heaven and The End of the World   Thomas Paul      
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel"(Mk 1:15). This was the first word proclaimed by Jesus Christ. Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God in this world and to make the kingdom of this world his footstool and thus destroy it. Thus the world will become heaven: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth"(Is 65:17). "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away"(Lk 21:33). What will pass away are the former heaven and earth. The kingdom of this world-its impurity and its lusts-will come to an end. All will become the children of God. "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come" (Mt 24:14). The testimony is that everyone in this earth believes in Jesus and experiences the Trinity dwelling within him. This is the experience of the kingdom of heaven; one who has this experience is purified, divinised; reaches a state wherein he cannot sin, attains perfect freedom from the desires of this worldly kingdom. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever"(I Jn 2:15-17). Those who renounce the kingdom of this world and enter the kingdom of Heaven realise this truth. They will never live according to the evil desires of the flesh.
 
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God"(Jn3:3). Every one who is renewed accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, is filled with the power of the Trinity and is born anew in the Spirit and becomes a new creation. The Trinity dwells in such a person. Where the Trinity dwells, there is heaven, the kingdom of heaven. Thus everyone can enter the experience of the kingdom of heaven while on this earth. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Jn 3:6).
 
Those who are renewed in this manner are born again in the Spirit.
 
The people of the world were destroyed in the time of Noah. "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them"(Gen 6:5-7). This blotting out is completed at the end of the world. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.... 'Behold, I make all things new"'(Rev 21:2,5).
 
In Noah's time, mankind was destroyed by flood. Only Noah and his family were saved. Noah offered burnt offerings to the Lord. "And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odour, the Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth"(Gen 8:21).
 
"Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned" (Rom 5:12). Through Adam's sin the hearts of all men were inclined to sin. "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, ...I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth....This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth"(Gen9:9-13). God made a covenant with mankind. He would purify the people who had hearts inclined to evil, save them from damnation and make of them a new people. The explication of this plan is revealed in the prophecy of Ezekiel, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses; and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you"(36:25-30).
 
According to this covenant, God will take away the heart of stone from every individual and give him a heart of flesh, dwell within him through his spirit and cause him to observe his laws and ordinances. In other words, he will make him sinless. Thus all will be purified. When purified, they experience the Trinitarian God dwelling in their hearts. That is the individual experience of the kingdom of heaven, the experience of paradise. The paradise God gave our first parents was forfeited through their sin. The experience of the kingdom of heaven is to experience the recovery of the lost paradise. This experience becomes possible through the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity.
 
All these Old Testament prophecies have been fulfilled through the Incarnation, the proclamation of the word, the Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus and the Pentecost. The whole of mankind has thus been initiated into the experience of the kingdom of heaven. It becomes a personal experience when one believes with all his heart. Moreover, since attachment to the world is enmity towards God, those who live according to the principles of the worldly kingdom, work against the God who dwells within them. Therefore, they do not attain the experience of the kingdom of heaven.
 
Those who hear the good news about Jesus Christ, repent of their sins. Hence the necessity of going to the outermost limits of the world, the kingdom of this world to preach the word of God with fervour. "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come" (Mt 24:14). The end-that is the end of the kingdom of the world will take place and the whole world will become a heavenly kingdom. That is the end of the world. The message of God which the angel Gabriel gave Mary is being fulfilled, "He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end"(Lk 1:33). The prayer that Jesus taught points to the same fact: "Our Father who art in heaven...Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"(Mt 6:9-10).
 
This great mercy which God has given to the whole human race, becomes the right of people of all religions. As an earnest of this right, the Spirit of Jesus dwells in a hidden manner in people of all religions. Since they do not know about it, they continue to live in darkness. However, according to the covenant made with Noah and his descendants, they will come to know about it, discover it in the fullness of time. "I will be found by you, says the Lord"(Jer 29:14). That is why Jesus Christ said, "Ask and it will be given you"(Lk 11:9).
 
Also, Jesus said, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well"(Mt 6:33).
 
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"(Mt 5:3). "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"(Mt 18:3).
 
Thus the Spirit of Jesus has brought about the kingdom of God in everyone. This kingdom of God established in every heart by Jesus, is hidden. When his will is done on earth as it is in heaven, the earth will become a heaven. When the world comes to an end and the kingdom of heaven is established, this prayer too will be fulfilled. And then Jesus will come again on the clouds. "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven"(Acts 1:11).
  What will pass away are the former heaven and earth. The kingdom of this world-its impurity and its lusts-will come to an end. All will become the children of God.   [ Contents ]