Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Jesus Christ » Kingdom of » Its nature
and he said, "I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven at all. Anyone, therefore, who is as unassuming as this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven,
He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not belong to this world.
Another figure which he used in speaking to them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people were asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. And when the wheat came up and ripened, the weeds appeared too. read more.
And the owner's slaves came to him and said, 'Was not the seed good that you sowed in your field, sir? So where did these weeds come from?' He said to them, 'This is some enemy's doing.' And they said to him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, for in gathering up the weeds you may uproot the wheat. Let them both grow together until harvest time, and when we harvest I will direct the reapers to gather up the weeds first and tie them up in bundles to burn, but get the wheat into my barn.' " Another figure which he used in speaking to them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the largest of plants and grows into a tree, so that the wild birds come and roost in its branches." Another figure which he used with them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and buried in a bushel of flour until it had all risen." Jesus said all this to the crowds in figures, and told them nothing except in figures, to fulfil what was said by the prophet, "I will open my mouth in figures, I will utter things that have been hidden since the creation." Then he left the crowds and went into his house. And his disciples came up to him and said, "Explain to us the figure of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The sower who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed is the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the wicked. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned, this is what will happen at the close of the age; the Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather up out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and the wrongdoers and throw them into the blazing furnace; there they will wail and grind their teeth. Then the upright will shine out like the sun, in their Father's kingdom. Let him who has ears listen! "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a hoard of money, buried in a field, which a man found, and buried again. And he was overjoyed, and went and sold everything he had and bought the field. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dealer in search of fine pearls. He found one costly pearl, and went and sold everything he had, and bought it. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the sea, and inclosed fish of all kinds. When it was full, they dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets and threw the bad away. That is what will happen at the close of the age. The angels will go out and remove the wicked from among the upright, and throw them into the blazing furnace. There they will wail and grind their teeth. "Do you understand all this?" They said to him, "Yes."
And the owner's slaves came to him and said, 'Was not the seed good that you sowed in your field, sir? So where did these weeds come from?' He said to them, 'This is some enemy's doing.' And they said to him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, for in gathering up the weeds you may uproot the wheat. Let them both grow together until harvest time, and when we harvest I will direct the reapers to gather up the weeds first and tie them up in bundles to burn, but get the wheat into my barn.' " Another figure which he used in speaking to them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the largest of plants and grows into a tree, so that the wild birds come and roost in its branches." Another figure which he used with them was this: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and buried in a bushel of flour until it had all risen." Jesus said all this to the crowds in figures, and told them nothing except in figures, to fulfil what was said by the prophet, "I will open my mouth in figures, I will utter things that have been hidden since the creation." Then he left the crowds and went into his house. And his disciples came up to him and said, "Explain to us the figure of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The sower who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed is the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the wicked. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned, this is what will happen at the close of the age; the Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather up out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and the wrongdoers and throw them into the blazing furnace; there they will wail and grind their teeth. Then the upright will shine out like the sun, in their Father's kingdom. Let him who has ears listen! "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a hoard of money, buried in a field, which a man found, and buried again. And he was overjoyed, and went and sold everything he had and bought the field. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dealer in search of fine pearls. He found one costly pearl, and went and sold everything he had, and bought it. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was let down into the sea, and inclosed fish of all kinds. When it was full, they dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets and threw the bad away. That is what will happen at the close of the age. The angels will go out and remove the wicked from among the upright, and throw them into the blazing furnace. There they will wail and grind their teeth. "Do you understand all this?" They said to him, "Yes."
and people will not say, 'Look! here it is!' or 'There it is!' for the Kingdom of God is within you."
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not a kingdom of this world. If my kingdom were a kingdom of this world, my men would have fought to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom has no such origin." Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "As you say, I am a king. It was for this that I was born and for this that I came to the world, to give testimony for truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth listens to my voice."
So from that time on, I have estimated nobody at what he seemed to be outwardly; even though I once estimated Christ in that way, I no longer do so. So if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new being; the old state of things has passed away; there is a new state of things.
For though I do live an earthly life, I am not carrying on an earthly war, for the weapons I use are not earthly ones, but divinely strong for destroying fortresses. I destroy arguments and every obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, and I take captive every thought and make it obey Christ,