KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Sunday, June 2, 2019, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
“The Godly have heaven already….no soul shall ever come to Heaven, but the soul which has Heaven come to it first” (Jeremiah Burroughs)
“The hour is at hand for the King of Glory to show forth to His subjects the “riches of his glorious Kingdom, and the honor of His excellent majesty.” He is preparing a great feast, and will assemble His own to His table, where He will feed them upon the riches of His Living Word, and give them to drink of the new wine of the Kingdom. This feast is not a feast for those still in the highways and by-ways of worldliness and sin. It is a feast for those of His household, His servants and subjects. It must take place before His great worldwide Harvest feast of ingathering.” (Frances Metcalfe)
It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (Mt. 13:11)
Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
As we minister from the Kingdom of God within us, we often do so from the earthly pressing into worshipping Christ in Heaven thus releasing Christ through us via the Holy Spirit. This is good! But I believe we have come to a time for the Church to apprehend Heaven on earth. Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. (Heb. 9:33)
The Lord’s Kingdom saints are now being prepared to rule and rein with Him, when the Kingdom of Heaven is openly established on the earth. In this preparation, His saints are to be given a “preview” of the riches and power and glory of that reign. They are to taste of the powers of the age to come. The mysteries of the Kingdom, so long hidden, are now being unlocked, and revealed to humble, simple-hearted believing ones.
Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them. (Mt. 13: 15-17)
The true copy of the tabernacle and/or temple is in Heaven. Moses was commanded to build the tabernacle according to the pattern given to him on the mount. The Word of God says, Heaven is God’s throne and earth is His footstool. In that same verse he says Jerusalem is His city. Heaven came to earth at the time of the building of the temple.
I believe we have moved into the Kingdom age and are moving and living NOW in the principles, benefits, and responsibilities of the life of the Kingdom. There are those who have moved into the transition of two ages. We are walking, and having our being in Heavenly places, yet living on earth.
The life of the Kingdom of Heaven will produce a people who are heavenly in culture, in language, in character, in authority, in message and proclamation, and in life style.
We enter the Kingdom of Heaven by birth and not by death. (Jn. 3:1-8; Eph. 2:1-6).
Mat 4:17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mar 1:14Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.
Since Jesus’ first appearance to the apostles, he continues to appear to the remnant before His great worldwide manifestation as Judge and King.
Ecc. 3:1: To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecc. 8:5: A wise man/woman’s heart discerns both time and judgment.
Heaven came to earth in bodily form as the Son-of-Man, Jesus Christ. Jesus knew the times and seasons of God for His earthly ministry. He said, the time is fulfilled. It was given to the Sons of Zadok to know the signs of the times.
“It is an irrefutable fact that God has his own set times and seasons for accomplishing His purposes and fulfilling His Word. Century after century, God’s plan for man has been unfolding in perfect accord with His appointed times---God’s time is as immutable as His Word! It is equally certain that the Bible should and does reveal God’s own unique calendar which He established in the beginning.
Nevertheless, mankind lives by an altered and corrupted time schedule of their devising. Satan seeks to confuse men concerning God’s Word and His times. The anti-Christ shall think to change times and laws (Daniel. 7:25).
In the days of the Patriarchs such knowledge and attunement did exist. They understood that God is running the earth on a heaven-set stellar chronometer. God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the days, and years?
The knowledge of the meaning of the stars, both as to signs and seasons, and the ability to tell God’s time by the North Star, the great star-clock, which God has placed in the northern sky.
Through disobedience and sin, men lost count of God’s time and became disoriented from it. Mankind grew indifferent to God’s time and followed the profane calendars of the pagan nations wherein they lived. This includes horoscopes and all false prophecies concerning God’s timing.
Job 24:1Since times are not hidden from the Almighty,
Why do those who know Him see not His days?
Mankind’s failure to discern the times does not stop God’s time-pattern from continuing to unfold as His clock ticks out the centuries. When, at His appointed time (faithfully predicted and pre-figured in His Word) God brought Israel forth out of the land of Egypt. He revealed to them his calendar and seasons. They faithfully observed His sacred day (the Sabbath), and His week, month and year.
The disciples asked Jesus, what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world? Mat 24:36“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
We hear many talking about the signs of the times, but what use is it to observe the signs if we do not know the times?
Are we not repeating the mistake of those who failed to recognize God’s fullness of time for the coming of His Son into the world?
God’s Word is more or less a closed book unless the Holy Spirit reveals and interprets it to the heart of the believer. It is He who breaks the seals of the Word on earth, just as it is the Lamb who breaks the seals in heaven! Praise God for the
wonderful teacher He has sent to guide us into all truth.
The early Christians did indeed know God’s times and seasons, for they were taught and led by the Holy Spirit. The Word says they were children of the day.
1 Th. 5:1-2: Concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly…..
I will be ministering tomorrow on the ministry of angels. I believe the LORD has released millions upon millions of angels in the earth at this time to bring to earth a great visitation of Heaven on earth. I believe we have past through the closing days of the last dispensation. Like Anna, we are standing in one age and holding in our arms the next age.
Spiritual men and women are becoming more and more aware of this in-breaking of Heaven on earth. The Holy Spirit is opening our eyes to see, our ears to hear and our hearts to understand the ministry of angels. It appears to me we are entering a a set period in God’s Time, and that He has sent forth His angels to prepare us, and to assist us as the Kingdom of Heaven breaks through to our spirit.
The Kingdom of God is within us. (Luke 17:21) Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. We do not have to wait until we go to Heaven to experience the Glory of the Kingdom. The living soul of a Godly man is raptured by the Holy Spirit into the Kingdom of Heaven. When Heaven has come to us, we live, move and have our being in the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth as it is in Heaven.
Now this is a great mystery to have the Kingdom of heaven in the soul. No man can know this but the soul which has it. The Heaven within the soul is like the white stone and the new name, that none besides those that have it can understand it. The soul is the mind, will and emotions. When Heaven rules our soul, we have the mind of Christ, desire the will of God, and yield our emotions.
“Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above,
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.” – Fanny Crosby.
Frances Metcalfe in the book, Ladies of Gold writes of being raptured into Heaven and being invited to the King’s feast:
“Jesus spoke of the great feast set before us at His table, and He invited us to feast on His choice fruits, and to drink of the new wine of the Kingdom (Mt. 9:17),
This is revealed in type in the first chapter of Esther. There the King gave a great feast to reveal the glories of His Kingdom. The first company He invited was the Royal Household. They were given to drink from golden vessels, each diverse from the other. But the drinking was without compulsion. Our King is likewise calling the royal household to come feast with Him! He showed us that many will not come because they are so busy laboring for Him, and they will not take time out to rest and feast. And such are apt to condemn those who do respond to His call. ‘The time is too short,’ they say, ‘We must hurry to get souls saved before the Lord comes.’ They are in a feverish rush of “service” and are unaware that the King is now sitting at the table with those He has called to the feast. They are saying, like Judas, why all this waste? But the Mary Company is saying,
While the King sits at His table, my spikenard sends forth the smell thereof. (So. 1:12)
Others respond to the call and come to the table, but do not put on their garments of praise (Mt. 22: 11-13) (wedding garments), nor enter into the spirit of holy festivity. These are asked to leave the table. Who would offend a King by appearing unwashed or clothed in working garments?
We must be bathed and anointed with oil and perfume, and then put on our beautiful garments, to appear at His table. Of course, I refer to the oil and garments of the Holy Spirit…
So, at the King’s table, what a joyful time do the children have; but how hard it is for the learned! Some come to the table well dressed, but are reluctant about what they eat. So new and varied are the rich foods upon this table that they seem suspicious of them, and are afraid those rich foods will not agree with them, or might even poison them. In this case, St. Paul’s gospel applies very well. Let them eat in faith, nothing doubting.
Rom 14:23And he that doubts is damned if he eats, because he eats not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Let us partake of the King’s table trusting in Him who bids us come and dine, having provided that which is best for us. We shall find many new and wonderful foods at this table which if eaten, digested and assimilated will greatly strengthen and enhance the new body being formed within us.
Many find the wine too strong or reject the meat preferring the milk. They only sip, then set down their vessel. But others drink deeply of both milk and wine; and experience divine inebriation, being made drunk on the Spirit. They discover the new wine of the Kingdom to be the divine life of Christ. The wine of the sacrament represents the human life of Christ poured out on Calvary for our redemption---even His precious blood, and now He is pouring out His divine life, and it is, in essence, divine love.
Oh, to drink deeply of this love which is better than wine; and to be divinely strengthened! But so many refuse to drink; and since the drinking is voluntary and not by compulsion, they will not become revived and inebriated by the Holy Elixir of God.
I (Frances) saw a beautiful golden platter coming down out of heaven. It was set in the center of this feast table. When I was told to look upon it, I saw twelve fruits. The Lord said, this is the fruit of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of the Father. This fruit shall be eaten only by those who have partaken of everything on the table. In other words, the fruit of the tree of life is the dessert, the last course to be served! To eat of the tree of life is for the full overcomer, and is one of the last steps of walking into eternal things (Kingdom of Heaven) while still on earth.
Frances writes this was an actual experience of entering into the feast of the King. Everything took on a different meaning. It was made a reality. Heaven’s feast was like pictures suddenly brought into the third dimension. The feast was made alive---a reality in us.”
Even the wedding feast of the King will be alive in us as the Kingdom of Heaven is to be alive in us.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from K.J.V. and N.K.J.V.
I entered into the labors of Ladies of Gold, The authorized Compilation by James Maloney, Westbow Press, 1663 Liberty Drive, Bloomington, In. 47403 (as noted in parenthesis). Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those who I enter into their labors.