UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 7

IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Jesus said to his disciples in John 14:2 that “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you”

For many hundreds of years now in the body of Christ, this has been translated to mean that there are mansions in Heaven prepared for believers who go there to live forever after they die. This is very contradicting to the purpose of God for the Kingdom. The Bible made it clear that the Kingdom of God will be established on earth many times both in the OT and in the NT (see lessons 2 & 3). So a dream of living in a beautiful gigantic building in heaven cannot be true. Since this is the only place in the entire bible that MANSIONS in the Father’s house was mentioned. So as not to fall into error, good bible students will not use this verse in isolation but do a proper exegesis to see if this was actually referring to the claim above.

Now, follow closely…

Jesus said; Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Now the disciples were at first troubled when Jesus told them about this mansion in his father’s house.  So we must first understand why they are troubled before we understand the meaning of jesus’ statement.

It is important to note that Jesus in the preceding chapter has just told them about his death and glorification and that he will leave them for A MOMENT. This was what made the disciples to be troubled. They never wanted Jesus to leave, they were afraid of what could befall them and all sort of things…

See what he said towards the end of Chapter 13…

 VERSE 33 - Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

Note that Jesus said BOTH THE JEWS AND THE DISCIPLES cannot go to where he is going. If it were to be heaven, Jesus must be telling lies here. There are many people in heaven already, just before this conversation, Elijah and Moses had just come from there. So Jesus was not referring to heaven or paradise as where he is going and where the Jews and the disciples cannot come. Are you following?

Then after that Jesus said…

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

Peter was actually the one mostly troubled, so he asked again, this is because he came to understand that Jesus was not talking about paradise, that where Jesus was going is not heaven, so he said “where are you going?”… Now see the newly improved reply Jesus gave to him, he said HE MUST GO THERE FIRST AND THEY WOULD FOLLOW HIM AFTER (this is not rapture, just follow to the end please)

Now, this was what they discussed till John 14, lets follow the conversation a bit more and we will get there now.

John 14:1…

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Peter’s reactions and probably all of them, made Jesus to say this.

Is Jesus saying the disciples did not believe him before? Yes! They were never born again. One can only be born again by believing. This leads us to the next point Jesus raised…which is tied to believing Jesus.

^“ In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Some versions use “rooms” instead of “mansions”. Whether rooms or mansions, Jesus said they are in his father’s house. We have established in lesson 1 & 2 of this series that heaven is not the home of God, so the father’s house could not be heaven. Don’t forget Jesus had just told them that they cannot come to this place now, but will follow him after. He said “follow” because he would first go there to prepare a place for them. This is not rapture!

The father’s house here is the kingdom of God! The mansions or rooms are our lot or places in the kingdom. Jesus was first to enter into this kingdom as the firstborn son of God, then the disciples were second to enter, like that like that till today. They said they cannot follow him because they were not born again, they were not sanctified, they were not saved, they were not yet Sons – both the disciples and the Jews were not yet qualified to enter God’s kingdom at that time.

Jesus must be the one to redeem us all and then bring us into the kingdom. That was why he specifically said even they cannot come to where he was going unless he go there first, it is not heaven it is the kingdom of God!

Then he said…

^“ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

This is not rapture. Going to prepare a place was what Jesus did within three days of his death and resurrection. You remember what Jesus told Mary Magdalene when on that resurrection morning? “he said, I have not YET ASCENDED TO THE FATHER! He was supposed to go to the father for the redemption work to complete and then come back (which he did) to bring the disciples and all others that would believe him into the place he has prepared with himself in the Father! He is not talking about a rapture here!

The whole book of Hebrews 8, 9, 10 explained this in detail. He said “I will receive you to myself”, this is not rapture! This is what happened to all of us at salvation. We were made to sit with Christ in the heavenly places at the right hand of God; our life was hid with Christ. We return to our source. So where he is right now, is where we are also. He is not talking about going to Heaven to live forever. All these words of Jesus have been fulfilled already. He has truly prepared that mansion or room in the heart of the father and he has brought us into Mount Zion, the city of the living God! those who die before resurrection go to ABRAHAM’S BOSOM, WE GO TO THE FATHER’S HEART!

Let’s finish this quickly…

“ And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Jesus finally concluded it here with the answer to all the questions they have been asking; he said “I GO TO THE FATHER!” he was not going to heaven to build beautiful houses; he is going to the father! He was going to atone for our sins; he was going to offer himself as our substitute that we may be allowed into the kingdom of the father! Rapture and Heavenly mansions are not included in this passage at all!

I hope you get it?

There are no mansions in heaven my friend!  You have been deceived for long. In fact many of the preachers of these things will add their version to it that THE TITHE YOU PAY HERE ON EARTH is being used to CONSTRUCT THOSE MANSIONS FOR YOU OVER THERE. WHAT DECEPTION OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!

THE WORD OF GOD IS TRUE AND PURE!

There are NO BRICKLAYERS IN HEAVEN, NO CEMENT, NO BRICKS, NO IRON, NO SAND, NO SHOVEL, NO LABOURERS, and YOUR TITHE IS NOT RELEVANT! GET OUT OF IGNORANCE NOW!

I have said and will repeat, going to heaven is not the goal of the believer at all! Heaven is just a point of transition! We will not live in heaven forever! There is no big deal in going to heaven as a believer! You are already citizens. Our focus is the Kingdom not heaven. You are meant to establish the kingdom of God here on earth! NOT IN HEAVEN!

So stop chasing an ambition because someone told you there are mansions in heaven!

And since some of you love beautiful things or because you have lived in a face-me-face-you all your life, you are struggling to go to heaven to live in big mansions built by Jesus forever. Welldone sir! Imagine that when Jesus said I go to prepare a place for you that he meant he wants to go and do bricklaying work for us. Haba!

Those who are wise will not remain the same after reading this!

There are too many deceptions in the body of Christ!

But people like us will not rest till we uproot all the tares!

This is judgment day!

Religion is in trouble!

Ignorance is destroyed!

UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 6

MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Just because Matt 22:14 says “Many are called, but few are chosen”, unskillful teachers of the word have HANDPICKED THE VERSE and used it to scare many believers, warning that some of them will go to hell if they do not obey certain rules and attain certain holiness.

On the issue on holiness, we have trashed that out, read lesson 5 over and over again and you will be blessed! 

Now the phrase “many are called, but few chosen” – what this mean?

In other to understand the meaning, we must first understand the context of the passage of which it was drawn from.

May I say that the phrase occur just ONCE throughout the entire bible and that is Mathew 22:14. The “many are called few are chosen” that occur in the KJV in Matthew 20:16 is not found in some versions of the bible, because the authenticity of its presence in the original manuscript is being questioned. But whether present or not, we shall explain how it was used in both passages and see for ourselves that it has nothing to do with a believer going to heaven.

It is just one of the verses THAT WAS HANDPICKED OUT OF ITS CONTEXT and used to rob believers of their peace and rest in Christ.

Now unto Matthew chapter 20:16…where it was first used.

When you read from verse one, the passage was about the lord of a vineyard who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. Later on he went into the streets to CALL/INVITE (note the word) others whom he saw idle on the streets, and at the end paid them all the same amount. This made the first laborers to protest that they came in first to work, and that others whom he gave the same wages came in the late hour. Then the Lord after asserting his lordship and will said; they that shall be first shall be last; they that are last shall be first and that for many are called, few chosen.

What is Jesus trying to say with this parable? And as you already know, this parable is likened unto the kingdom of God. So why is he saying “many are called” …who are the many, and who are the FEW who were chose?

Now follow closely, let’s see the other passage where the same thing was said after another similar parable…

In Matthew 22, Jesus gave another parable about the Kingdom of heaven and this time around he likened it unto a king, who wants to make a wedding banquet for his son, then he sent his servants to those whom he has invited before, that it is time come for the banquet. However, when the servants got to those people, it was said that they refused to come, he sent another set, many gave flimsy excuses of businesses and other things and yet did not show up, and again the king did not give up, he sent the servants again to these invited people, and this last time, the invited people arrested and killed the servants of the king. This made the king to be angry, he sent his army to destroy those invited people and their city. Now, finally the king thought of making the invitation an open invitation to just anybody…the bible specifically used the word “ANYBODY, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD”. So the hall was full of MANY PEOPLE. Afterwards, a guy was caught without a WEDDING DRESS which everyone was putting on. He was DIFFERENT and did not have this wedding dress, which made him to be casted out. It was after this, that the king said “many are called but few chosen”….

Now, if you to look into the two passages and strictly at the context you will see just two major characters, THE JEWS and THE GENTILES!

The Jews were the first laborers that were CALLED to work in the vineyard, they are the ones entrusted with the kingdom of God from the onset, they are the ones who first heard about it, but the Gentiles were brought into the scene towards the end. The Jews had received the promise of the messiah for many years and have been waiting seriously for it…the bible talks about one man Joseph of Arimatea that “he has been waiting for the Kingdom”, there are many of them like that…that was what made the Pharisees come to Jesus the other day to ask when the kingdom of heaven will come.

Similarly, the INVITED GUESTS of the king to the WEDDING BANQUET ARE THE JEWS, they are the ones who have received the invitation since ages past, God kept reminding them through Moses, Isaiah, Daniel and many others. The GENTILES ARE THE “MANY PEOPLE, GOOD OR BAD” that was invited on the HIGHWAYS AND STREETS at the late hour when the invited guest rejected the invitation to come to the wedding of the King’s son.

And of course we know the Vineyard, and the Wedding banquet here are symbols for the Kingdom of god while the Lord and the King in the passages are symbols for GOD HIMSELF.

Now to the question, who are the MANY that are called?…from the context of the two passages, the MANY are the GENTILES (nations that are non-Jewish). Note carefully how the word “are” was used for the many, while past tense “chosen” was used for the few. So the FEW chosen are the Jews.

The word “are” that preceded “chosen” was added by the translators of the KJV, the correct phrase is actually FEW CHOSEN, not FEW ARE CHOSEN…the word “are” is not present in the original manuscript of the bible. So it is “many are called, few chosen”

According to the parable of Jesus Christ, this is referring to how God extended the plan of salvation to the gentile nations. This Jews have were CHOSEN, the gentile nations were not. The Gentiles were CALLED/INVITED into the kingdom after the attitude of the Jews towards Jesus. This was exactly what Paul the apostle explained in Romans 9, 10 and 11. He explained how that the Jews rejected the gospel of salvation and nailed Christ to the cross, and then God took the gospel to the Gentiles who accepted the gospel easily.

The phrase is not talking about making heaven!

The phrase is not saying that some believers will not make heaven

The phrase is strictly about TWO SETS OF HUMAN RACE WHOM GOD APPOINTED UNTO SALVATION

That guy who was bonded and thrown into the outer darkness did not have the wedding garment; the WEDDING GARMENT IS A SYMBOL FOR THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Gentiles (believers) are clothed with the righteousness of God upon salvation.

All those who believe and are clothed with righteousness of God upon salvation enters the kingdom of God, they cannot be thrown out!

MANY ARE CALLED means MANY WILL HEAR THE GOSPEL! When they hear and believe, they RECEIVE THE WEDDING GARMENT, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS IMPUTED BY FAITH!

See how Paul puts it “Whereunto He CALLED YOU BY OUR GOSPEL” (2 Thess. 2:14)

So some people have taught wrongly that using this passage that few people will be in the kingdom of God! NO!

This verse is not about us being few; it is about the Jewish nation being few!

Why will they be few?

1.  The Jews are just one out of over 200 nations in the world, so they will be few compared to the Gentiles!

2   The Jews who believed the gospel are very few, majority did not believe Jesus Christ even while he was alive in their midst, when he died, and even up till now!

Although they have been chosen before by God, to be his people, yet they will be few, WE WILL BE MANY!

Halleluyah!

Don’t live in fear of hell any longer! You are covered! Grace covered you! YOU ARE AMONG THE MANY THAT HAVE BEEN CALLED!

Finally, see the end of THOSE OF US that are called…

‘And those he predestined, he also CALLED; those he CALLED, he also JUSTIFIED (Amen?); those he justified, he also GLORIFED!” (Glory!!!!!)

UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 5

WITHOUT HOLINESS, NO MAN SHALL SEE GOD – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Hebrews 12:14 is one of the most misinterpreted verse of the bible that has caused a major havoc to the body than the kingdom of darkness. Many have used this particular verse to chase people away from the true faith. Many have scared the life out the people who were supposed to be fruitful for the Kingdom. They see the Christian faith has a burden of laws. They live with fear of hell every day, because of what they have been told that this verse mean

Today is judgment day, we shall uncover the mask that is laid upon this verse and we all shall see how we could have been useful for the kingdom as a body, rather than spending all of one’s life chasing an ambition of Holiness that is not needed.

Dear reader, salvation is not achieved by works but received by faith in Christ Jesus and by FAITH ONLY!

No works is required for salvation! Not a single work is required!

God does all the saving! Believing the Gospel of this saving is entering into the Kingdom of God. 

You cannot enter into the kingdom by YOUR RIGHTEOUS WORKS OR HOLY LIVING!

It is unfortunate how many have used Hebrews 12:14 to scare believers into thinking that what Christ did ALONE is not enough to save a man and keep him saved— you have to pursue peace with all men and holiness if you want to "see the Lord" Very few have tried to find out what the writer was REALLY saying?

Let’s settle this quickly…

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”

A problem arises when we attempt to read a text, especially from the Bible, and conclude for the writer. This is extremely dangerous. An honest exegesis will let us understand better.

Now before this particular chapter, see what the writer said earlier…

Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified”

So he's not asking believers TO BE holy in order to "see" God. He ALREADY tells you that you are!

We are not in the PROCESS of becoming holy, we ALREADY are. Under the Old covenant, they strive to be holy, under the new covenant, we have been made Holy! You remember how that Peter said we are royal priesthood and a HOLY NATION? Good!

The passive tense in Heb 10:14 means that we did not make ourselves holy, the action was performed ON us. How? By the offering of the body of Jesus Christ! His offering made us holy! We are holy once for all!

Remember that the book of Hebrews is an ENTIRE letter and the SAME pattern of thoughts permeates the entire letter. It wasn't chapterized and versed at the writing. Chapterizing and versing the Bible was a human conjecture. It was originally a WHOLE letter. So, the writer CANNOT begin by saying we are holy and then later say that we should try to be holy again.

Now when you read the whole chapter or read contextually, you will find out that the passage is not related to going to heaven at all…

Before this, the writer talks about the discipline of God, that is, persecution which believers face because of their faith. He encourages them to stand strong in vs. 12-13. It speaks of the CONDUCT or THE LIFESTYLE of the believer and not his STATE.

After writing about the STATE of the Man in Christ in previous passages, the writer goes on to talk about our conduct with one another and with the world (which persecutes us). The whole context speaks of CONDUCT.

That is, there is a way we as believers should live when we are been persecuted that will draw people to God. They will be surprised at how we respond to every persecution we face and therefore SEE GOD IN US! That is what the verse means!

In other words, the verse can be paraphrased as: In your CONDUCT, live peaceably with all men for if you don't, men CANNOT experience God in your life. You are the means by which men PERCEIVE Christ. That is, let others see Jesus in you.

This is not a SALVATION verse but a CONDUCT verse!

No heaven in this verse at all!

Rather it means live peaceably with all men, this is holy conduct. For if you don't, men cannot experience God, whom you profess, in your life. You are the only means by which men can perceive the invisible God. Make Him evident and visible in your conduct.

This is not talking about HOW HOLINESS MUST BE ACHIEVED

IT NOT ASKING YOU TO ATTAIN A LEVEL OF HOLINESS TO BE SAVED OR TO MAKE HEAVEN

SALVATION IS BY FAITH IN THE FINISHED WORKS OF THE CROSS ALONE

So it is foolishness to start putting up some self holiness to make heaven, it is a slap to the finished works of the cross of Christ. It is saying that what Jesus did was not enough!

The verse in Hebrews is not about making heaven! Wake up!

It is about your lifestyle, in bringing souls to God!

Without Holiness, no man (unbelievers) can see God in you (a believer)!

I hope this bless you!

UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 4

ENTERING THE KINGDOM IS SAME AS SALVATION

Jesus told Nicodemus "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit"

Entering the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of God is the same as salvation!

Anyone who has believed the finished works of the lamb has been translated into the kingdom of God.

Believers are not travelling to the Kingdom of God! There is no travelling, neither is there any race involved at all! Believers are already in the Kingdom of God and are doing all things from there!

See how Paul puts it to the Colossian Church …

who has delivered us from the power of darkness and has TRANSLATED US INTO THE KINGDOM of his dear son” – KJV, and has BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM of the son he loves – NIV, and has TRANSFERRED US INTO THE KINGDOM of his son of his love – AMP

You see how that HE HAS BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM AND THAT WE DID NOT BRING OURSELVES THERE OR THAT WE ARE GOING THERE! No one can bring his or herself into the kingdom; it must be by God himself. Salvation is by GRACE through FAITH in Jesus Christ ONLY! There is no addition, no subtraction! So we are not just going into the kingdom, we are there already!

ALL BELIEVERS ARE ALREADY IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Oh but you may say, we are talking about making heaven – a location we go after we die. We have said it over and over again in the previous lesson that, going to heaven is not in the list of the believer’s goal. That the believer will visit the location called heaven was not emphasized by Jesus Christ at all. Paul never emphasized it too. All of those verses or passages of the scripture that has been coined by legal and heavenly-minded teachers will be dealt with one by one before the end of this teaching. What the bible teaches is the coming of the kingdom to earth, not the going of the believers to stay in heaven forever. Even if the believer would go, it is yet not a big deal, because servants of God like Elijah, Moses, Enoch among others have been there, so what’s the big deal with the SONS?

Let’s see some scriptures now…

Paul said in Philippians “but we are CITIZENS of the state which is in heaven, and from it also we earnestly and patiently AWAIT the lord Jesus Christ”…can you see how that we AWAIT and that we are going there to live forever?

Ok see how Jesus Christ puts it …

“Behold I AM COMING soon, and I SHALL BRING my wages and rewards with me…” can you see how that we are not GOING THERE to get the reward but that HE IS COMING WITH THE REWARDS?

This is plain scriptures! This is the word of God!

Forget about those bible passages that have been interpreted to mean that we shall go to heaven to eat food and live in mansions. They are all MISINTERPRETATIONS which we will do our best to attend to before the end of this teaching series.

ALL BELIEVERS ARE CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN!

THERE IS NO BELIEVER THAT IS NOT A CITIZEN!

NOT ONE BELIEVER!

The day you became born again is the day you enter the Kingdom of God. You remember Jesus’ word to Nicodemus? Good! The born again experience is the ONLY requirement for entering the Kingdom!

There is no other requirement! Not even your Holiness and your Righteousness! Many have taught falsely that holiness is the requirement for the kingdom of heaven MISINTERPRETING THE SCRIPTURE IN HEBREWS 12, don’t fall for it. This is the next lie we shall attend to in the next lesson.

One common scripture again that is used to defend the saying that not all Christians will live eternally is Matthew 7:21-23, we would just take a few important part of this passage because of space…

“Not everyone who says to me, Lord, lord, will ENTER the kingdom of heaven … And then I will say openly I NEVER KNEW YOU; depart from me …”

Now this same scripture is what we have in Psalm 6:8, a scripture under the old covenant … it is important to note that this scripture is referring to UNBELIEVERS not BELIEVERS.

It says not everyone who says to me lord, will ENTER…believers have entered already. We are citizens!

Again Jesus said I NEVER KNEW YOU! He didn’t say I KNEW YOU BEFORE or THAT YOU HAVE BACKSLIDE. The word was “NEVER’, so he never knew them, they have never been saved before. They are pure unbelievers!

Don’t ever harbor the thought that a believer will go to hell

NO BELIEVER WILL GO TO HELL

EVERYONE WHO HAS RECEIVED ETERNAL LIFE ARE SAVED FOREVER AND ARE PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD FOREVER

NOTHING CAN UNSAVE YOU

A person can go astray but is still part of the kingdom!

Have you read the parable of the prodigal son? That’s a typical illustration for anyone who you think has been removed from the kingdom because of one thing or the other. Aren’t you surprised how Jesus calls him PRODIGAL and still retains the identity SON? Let alone, they later end of his story.

Don’t live a life of fear!

You can enter the kingdom of God by believing the Gospel and by believing ONLY! NOTHING ELSE!

Jesus said “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; REPENT ye, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL” Mark 1:15…just note the keywords, that’s how to enter into the kingdom, very simple!

No works is required

No struggle

No strive

No holiness

No righteousness

Except ALL THE BLESSINGS IMPUTED AND MADE AVAILABLE BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS!

Remain blessed!

UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 3

THE GOAL IS NOT TO MAKE HEAVEN

Jesus told his Father in John 17, “My prayer is not that you take them out this world… … as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world”

What is Jesus talking about here? He should be talking about how we are supposed to leave this world and make heaven, so why is he praying that we should not leave the world?

Paul said in Ephesians 1, that the God of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The eyes of your understanding may be enlightened; THAT YE MAY KNOW WHAT IS THE HOPE OF HIS CALLING, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints…

The amplified Version of the Bible renders the words I have capitalized as SO THAT YOU CAN KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE HOPE TO WHICH HE HAS CALLED YOU

With many heaven seekers and heavenly-minded Christians rampant in this generation, it is clear that some believers don’t know the reason why they have been called out of the world

There is a reason why the plan of redemption was exhibited

There is a foreordained counsel which was hidden throughout the old covenant but manifested to the sons revealing the essence of salvation

There is a reason for the death and resurrection of Jesus

There is a reason God had to sacrifice Jesus Christ to save the world to himself

It is simply because of the Kingdom!

The kingdom of God is the whole essence of salvation!

If you have ever wondered why you need to become a believer or that you are already a believer and have been wondering what’s next, I tell you that it is because of the kingdom of God!

The kingdom of God needs to be established on earth and this can only be done through the saved ones, through the believers!

The kingdom of God was given to the first man Adam, but he lost this Kingdom to Satan

And through the death and the resurrection of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, we regained back the dominion and kingdom from Satan

The kingdom was restored back into the hands of the sons of God

Jesus Christ being another Adam, the last Adam to be specific, came and recovered the lost kingdom of God from the Devil and handed it over to Man who was supposed to propagate this Kingdom

That is why all of Jesus’ preaching and parables was centered on the Kingdom!

Jesus Christ’s major goal was to defeat the powers of darkness and regain the lost Kingdom!

This is the theme of all the scriptures too!

The prophets Isaiah and Daniel have mentioned many times in their books about this Kingdom of God been established on earth and that this kingdom is everlasting

Due to their deficiency of not been filled with the Holy Spirit, they could not explain better, and that’s why Jesus centered almost all his teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven.

Painfully, the legal carnal Pharisees have taken the kingdom to be a physical restoration of Israel and the unskillful legal Christian have taken the Kingdom to mean a future ecstasy.

Jesus Christ, wanted the people of that era to change their mindset about this kingdom

And that is why both Jesus and John the Baptist always like to start their preaching about the kingdom with the word REPENT… and then they say the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This is because the word “repent” as used in the scriptures means “to change one’s mind”, it is not associated with sins or guilt at all. It is a changing of the thoughts you have about something. It is the English meaning of the word that many are preaching today not the scriptural meaning.

In order words, Jesus was saying CHANGE YOUR MINDSET EVERYONE, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NOT A PHYSICAL KINGDOM NEITHER IS IT A FUTURE THING BUT IT IS AT HAND/IT IS NEAR!

All of Jesus parable is talking about Kingdom establishment!

All of Jesus parable about the kingdom is talking about how this kingdom will overthrow the current kingdom of darkness and how believers would be saddled with the responsibility of regaining our dominion over creation

All of Jesus parable is compelling us to see our dominion mandate and responsibility as believers

This is the meaning of what Paul said in Romans that “The creation waits for the manifestation of sons”. The creations have been subjected to corruption and death for a long time since the time that the kingdom was lost. Satan had been ruling the creation

God’s utmost intention for saving YOU AND ME is to ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH

It is not TO MAKE HEAVEN!

ANY BELIEVER WHO GETS BORN AGAIN and then they are thinking of MAKING HEAVEN is AGAINST THE ETERNAL PLAN OF GOD and therefore calling the work of redemption unnecessary.

Those who teach that believers should START THINKING ABOUT MAKING HEAVEN are enemies of the CROSS

The MANDATE HAS BEEN GIVEN even before we were born! WE ALL HAVE BEEN SADDLED with the responsibility to bring about kingdom establishment and kingdom advancement, you are not to waste all your live playing church or playing religion.

Do not LIVE WITH HEAVEN AS YOUR GOAL!

HEAVEN IS NOT THE GOAL OF THE CHRISTIAN!

Those who teach that heaven is the goal have forgotten how that the book of revelations says that we shall live on earth forever! Nowhere in the bible will you see that believers will live in heaven forever!

We were created to live and function on earth; angels are the set of God’s creation that should live in heaven forever, not man!

Man was created to dominate the earth and to rule all of God’s creation on earth!

IF YOU SPEND ALL YOUR TIME TRYING TO MAKE HEAVEN, YOU WILL BE DISSAPOINTED TO SEE THAT WE ARE COMING DOWN TO THE EARTH TO LIVE FOREVER!

THE BELIEVER WHO FAILS TO JOIN KINGDOM ESTABLISHMENT WILL BE BEATEN WITH MANY STRIPES, he or she is not doing his or her lot in fulfilling the eternal counsel of God!

I hope you were blessed?

Philip Oklu

UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 2

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN – WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

One of the lies we have swallowed deeply into the body of Christ through some unskillful bible teachers is that - to ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD OR HEAVEN is to die and then live forever with God in Heaven after. What a WHITE LIE!

This was exactly the theme of all of John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ preaching. Most times they say “the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Almost all of Jesus’ parables are about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of God is not different from the kingdom of Heaven. I have heard many teachers try to distinguish between the two, but all are just putting up coined human manipulations and theological jargons.

The “kingdom of Heaven” was used interchangeably with the “Kingdom of God” several times by the both Jesus Christ and John the Baptist in the four gospel books.

Since Heaven is considered as the throne of God, which is same as his presence and territory, then it is sufficient to interchange the word “Heaven” for “God”.

So the KINGDOM OF GOD is the same as THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Just like saying, “the government of Nigeria”. Since it is the president that is ruling the country, we can as well call it “the government of Buhari”.

I hope that is clear now?

Now we define properly the kingdom of God as the rulership of the Sovereign King, God. It does not refer to a place in paradise! That is heaven, not the Kingdom of Heaven!

The kingdom of God or Heaven is an act of God’s control over his territory. The kingdom of God is not a location you go after death, it is a location you go after salvation.

The kingdom of God or Heaven is NOT THE SAME as The Heaven!

Since the word “kingdom” refers to RULERSHIP, CONTROL AND DOMINION over a certain entity

So the kingdom of Heaven is the rulership of heaven (the presence of God) over an entity

So when the bible talks about ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD, just like Jesus told Nicodemus, it is not the same as MAKING HEAVEN.

Entering the Kingdom or becoming part of the Kingdom of God does not mean that after you die, you wear white cloth and joyfully enter the gates of heaven with dances and songs.  NO! The bible does not teach that drama!

Entering the Kingdom of God is becoming born again!

Entering the Kingdom of God is receiving the Holy Spirit!

Entering the Kingdom of God is regaining relationship with God to dominate this earth!

Entering the Kingdom of God, is receiving from God and acting in his stead!

We will see this in few scriptures now…

See how Jesus put it in Matthew 6:10, “thy Kingdom come (the Kingdom of God), THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, as in heaven” this was a prayer before the death and resurrection of Jesus and before the day of Pentecost.

See what John the Baptist said in John 1...”the TIME IS FULFILLED, and the Kingdom of God is at hand… “Time is fulfilled means NOTHING IS DELAYING the kingdom to arrive, referring to the COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!

See a scripture that will raise your eyebrows in Luke 9:27… “but I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here; WHICH SHALL NOT TASTE OF DEATH, TILL THEY SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD” You see?? Jesus cannot be talking of a kingdom that you will enter with white cloth after death if he said to those people that THEY WILL NOT DIE BEFORE THEY ENTER INTO IT . For him to say they will not die, it means arrival of the kingdom is near to happen as at that time he was speaking and that the kingdom he was talking about is meant to be on earth. I hope you get it?

Because of space, we take this final one… very special one for those that are always dreaming of a white kingdom of Jesus Christ with a massive show of angels. Luke 17:20-21… “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God COMETH NOT WITH OBSERVATION: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or Lo there!, for behold, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU” Case closed!

So when Jesus Christ or John the Baptist says that the kingdom of God is at hand, they refer to the nearness of the coming of the rulership, dominion and control of the earth through the believers by the help of the Holy Spirit. In order words, the kingdom of God THAT WAS NEAR according to John the Baptist and Jesus was referring to nearness of the day of the Pentecost, the arrival of the Holy Spirit of God. This is because the Holy Spirit is the orchestrator of the Kingdom of God.

See how Jesus puts it in Matthew 12:28 “but if I cast out devils by THE SPIRIT OF GOD, then THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS COME UNTO YOU”

The believer is connected to God through the Holy Spirit joined together with his or her born again spirit. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus, except a man is born of water and of SPIRIT; he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the presence of the Kingdom of God/Heaven!

So the KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND does not refer to some future event.

The Kingdom has already come more than 2 THOUSAND YEARS BACK!

The kingdom of God is in every country right now and is already taking over the earth through citizens of the kingdom!

The kingdom of God is not physical kingdom; it is the Holy Spirit ruling through the kings (believers)

We (believers) are the ones legislating God’s kingdom on earth! We are the ones who will establish FULLY this kingdom.

We have been made Kings! That’s why Jesus Christ is called the King of kings! We are the ‘kings’ he rules.

We are the ones who will bring about the full establishment of the kingdom of God; going to heaven is not why we were saved!

We were saved in order to restore the kingdom of God lost by the first man, Adam!

Though not yet fully established, we are in the kingdom of God already, don’t be deceived!

Philip Oklu

UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 1

HEAVEN – WHAT ABOUT IT?

Although it is good that we should always sit and learn from our Christian fathers and teachers of the

word of God. It is however expedient that we do not swallow everything they offer us. Some of these things sound cool and perfect, but we ought to be careful with how we bind them to our hearts without proper scrutiny of what was offered.

And because most of us have allowed our pastors to do our thinking for us (we are lazy to sit down, study and think), we have believed a lie for long and it has become part and parcel of our faith also. Some of us (believers) nevertheless have taken time to research many of these things in the history books and the Holy books, but again we are yet ruled by our imagination of what the movie industry have depicted. One of these misunderstanding is the subject of HEAVEN. We have allowed our movie industry to rule our hearts with their view of what heaven is, and we put away or neglect the true word of the Creator God.

So an average person will say with confidence that heaven is a place where God lives or that heaven is a spiritual location of the good people who have died. Unbelievers have no different definition either. Majority believes that Heaven is white, beautiful and located above the clouds.

Alright, we will uproot many things during and before the end of this series. We hope that you will be liberated!

Let’s see Genesis 1:1…since it is the first place the word “heaven” was mentioned…

In the beginning, God created the HEAVEN and the earth

So, heaven has a date of creation. Heaven was the first thing created by the lord God of the universe in the beginning.

So if God created “the” heaven (note the word “the”), it is clear that he (God) was existing before the heaven. He created it at a certain day and time, or we say that time began to tick when heaven was created. So heaven did not existed before God, God existed before the heaven.

This is the foundational point we all need to understand. Also, man came out of God and has its source from God.  Another point is that heaven has a beginning and an end, heaven is not forever or I should say that the heaven that was created is not going to exist forever. Since it was created in a day, it will be destroyed or will stop existing one day.

Let’s see how the bible puts it in Revelation 21:1…

 And I saw a NEW HEAVEN and a new earth: for the FIRST HEAVEN and the first earth were PASSED AWAY…

So the heaven created by God in the beginning was meant to span a period of time. How then can heaven be the home of God? or the home of the saints?

Heaven is not the home of God!

God existed in eternity and will never stop existing in eternity! He cannot be bound with time!

God has been dwelling in LIGHT and will continue to be there!

See how Paul puts it in 1 Tim 6:16…

Who hath only Immortality, DWELLING IN THE LIGHT which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see …

That’s it! God dwells somewhere in eternity where everything is LIGHT. Not the light you think, it is the only way Paul can convey the message, that’s why he said NO MAN CAN APPROACH THE LIGHT, NO MAN HATH SEEN THE LIGHT, and NO MAN CAN SEE THE LIGHT!

Forget Moses and those who you think saw God, they did not see God!

God had never appeared to any MORTAL MAN!

Moses saw an ANGEL whom God appointed over the OLD COVENANT, not God!

Jesus Christ was first to clear the doubt of his disciples and the multitude when he said “no man has seen God at anytime”, he said NO MAN!

It was Paul through revelation that then made it clear that the law was given to Moses by AN ANGEL not God. So Moses never saw God! God dwells in an UNAPPROACHABLE light, when they say something is unapproachable, it is!

You may say, Jesus taught his disciples a prayer beginning with “our father who art in heaven…” what then is Jesus saying again…is heaven the light? Or is the light heaven? NO! We have just said that the light cannot be approach by any, but heaven has been habited from ages.

Now listen, heaven, earth, everything you could think of, all of God’s creation came to be because of man and the God’s desire for the kingdom of sons!

Man existed in God, before the heavens and earths were created in the beginning! Yes! You heard me right, you and I (or I say believers, the elect of salvation) were existing with God from eternity past. This is a mystery which I cannot demystify now, it is important that we stick to the theme.

So the heaven and the earth were creations subject to God and to his sons (Man).

It is true that God created man after he created the heavens, but it is also true that MAN ONLY CAME INTO PHYSICAL EXISTENCE at that time.

Paul said in Ephesians that “he has chosen us in him, BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD”, in Titus, he said “he promised us eternal life BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN” and many more scriptures like that, so we existed before heaven existed and we existed in God.

So God is our source, God is our home!

Heaven was created for a PART of God to inhabit in other to rule the earth from there. David said, it is the THRONE OF GOD! Throne means where God rules from, so heaven is just like an office where God must move to, in order to relate with the SONS he put on earth.

Heaven is not our Home, God is our Home!

Heaven, earth and everything are constituents of the divine God of which we are joined to!

Hebrews 2:10 says “for it became him, FOR WHO ARE ALL THINGS (you get that?), and BY WHO ARE ALL THINGS (you understand?), in bringing many sons unto glory…”

See a clearer one in Colossians 1:16…

For by him were all things created, that are in HEAVEN (you hear?), and that are in earth, visible and invisible…all things were created by him and FOR HIM (including heaven). And HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS and by him ALL THINGS CONSIST.

Stop chasing an ambition to make heaven!

The kingdom will be established on earth, not HEAVEN!

You have been deceived!

Don’t be in a hurry; all other lies about heaven will be exposed before the end of the third day.

I hope you we were liberated?

Feel free to express your thoughts or ask questions.

Philip Oklu