Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Taking The Kingdom Of Heaven By Force
In Matthew 11 when Yeshua (Jesus) was asked by the disciples of John if He was the Messiah, He told them to tell John what they had seen and heard. He then listed raising the dead, miraculous healing of disease, sight to the blind, and preaching of the gospel to the poor. Isn’t it interesting that the gospel is included by Yeshua (Jesus) as the equal to these other items? Why might that be? After all, today we traditionally think as the gospel as the news about the Messiah and the result is rebirth spiritually if we confess our sin to God and ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. And that is the gospel, and if you are reading this and have not asked Him to be your Lord and Savior, do that now and receive that blessing. In the case of what was said here, however, Yeshua (Jesus) had not yet died, so their was no salvation through His blood yet. What might He be referring to, and how would that equate to the violent taking the kingdom of heaven by force? What did the poor get that was equivalent to these other miracles? It does not say, but if the other three results were reversal of the darkness of the evil one, what is the reversal of the darkness of the poor? Deliverance from poverty? Perhaps the answer can be found by looking at places in scripture where the preaching of the good news, the gospel, is presented.
There are three places in scripture where this occurs. In Romans 10:15 Paul quotes two Old Testament prophets that said,
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (KJV)
The two prophets are Isaiah and Nahum. In Isaiah 52:7 we read,
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (KJV)
The word salvation here means aid, health, deliverance and prosperity – the whole person. So, for the poor, moving into prosperity is fitting to be compared to these other miracles, right? And what is that word in the Hebrew? Yeshua! That is correct, that is also the name given to the Messiah – Yeshua (Jesus). So now, how is it that we can we do this, and more importantly, what might Yeshua be referring to since we know that He had not yet died for us? Let’s look at the other prophet quoted.
In Nahum 1:15 we read,
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. (KJV)
Here we see Nahum saying the same as Isaiah. However, he tells us of a way to publish peace – keep the solemn feasts and perform your vows. Vows are what we say we will do, but what the solemn feasts? The Fests of the Lord in Leviticus 23! Yeshua (Jesus) was doing what He always did, telling the people to keep it simple and follow God’s commandments. What is the result? The wicked one has to depart and leave us alone, including financially in this case for the poor!
Tonight at sundown is the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles that everyone keeps when Yeshua (Jesus) returns (Zechariah 14:16-20) and is a part of the commandments that Yeshua was referring to in His ministry. From sundown tonight to sundown tomorrow is considered a High Holy Day. I say let’s publish peace and send the enemy running! Let’s keep the Feast of Tabernacles!
Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for giving us the ability to say and do Your commandments. Thank You for the New Covenant, the law written in our hearts. Thank You for Your Feasts! In Yeshua’s (Jesus) name. Amen.