Humanity on the Edge of
Annihilation
Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
(Matthew 3:2)
Change your view of the
world you live in: the Royal Family of the Universe is approaching.
(Plain English)
What
did Jesus mean when he spoke these fateful words and,
was he looking straight through history at our world when he spoke them?
Time will clearly write the history of the future looming before us. And, that
history will perplex and shock humanity for eternity. No period in human reality
has ever witnessed the world so delicately balanced on the precipice of social
upheaval and environmental disaster. Yet, all but a few of the travelers in the
"developed" countries on this tiny speck of universal real estate seem oblivious
to the calamity about to befall them. The majority, in the "undeveloped world",
already have their own personal "Hell on Earth"; experiencing starvation,
drought, disease, wars, filth, oppression, poverty, and rampant crime as a way
of life. The others, which are in the distinct minority, float in a matrix of
deception and confusion; lulled into a false sense of comfort and security, with
their heads shoved and held firmly into shifting sands of illusion.
The ministry of Jesus began after a 40 day
fast in the wilderness and that ministry is described this way: "From that time
Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand." (Matthew 4:17) This often repeated phrase, "Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand", evokes visions of religious zealots parading in a public
forum, waving a Bible and harassing people trying to go about their business.
Let's analyze that phrase for its actual meaning.
"Repent"
Repent is taken from the Greek word 'metanoeo',
pronounced met-an-o-eh'-o, meaning; to think differently or afterwards, i.e.
reconsider. It is not simply professing your sins or mistakes and expressing
regret; it is changing your mind about how you view something. Since there is no
specific reference to what mankind should "reconsider", we can safely assume it
is generic and means the world in general. And, throughout his ministry, Jesus
emphasized the contradictions between his teachings and the accepted ways of the
world. Complete rejection of the world and its influences can be found in
scripture here: *Jesus and the Apostles on the World* Therefore, when Jesus says
to "repent", he is saying that mankind must reconsider the way it views life and
change the direction it is heading, not just regret its past.
"Kingdom"
The word "Kingdom” is
accepted as "Heaven", the place people, who meet certain criteria, such as,
accept Jesus Christ as their savior, or not being homosexual, go after death. It
is always considered a "place", separate from the Earth and reserved for the
"chosen". Yet, the Bible clearly says that those "chosen" will be "on" the
planet, ruling the nations with him: "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my
works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule
them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to
shivers: even as I received of my Father." (Revelation 2:26 -27) This is clearly
in the context of "terra firma" and the "nations" he rules over with a rod of
iron are nations on the planet Earth.
The reason for this
glaring contradiction is a misunderstanding of the word "kingdom" as it was
originally defined. Kingdom, is translated from the Greek word 'basileia',
pronounced bas-il-i'-ah, meaning; properly, royalty, i.e. (abstractly) rule, or
(concretely) a realm (literally or figuratively): It is not a place, it is the
station the Family of God: "Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
named," (Ephesians 3:15), and power and dominion it possesses. It is not just a
physical place that is coming; it is the royal dominion and power of Jesus that
is approaching.
"Heaven"
Again, as with "kingdom",
heaven is considered a "place" good people go, after death. And, this belief is
also based on a misunderstanding of the word, as it was originally defined. The
word heaven is translated from the Greek word ouranos, pronounced oo-ran-os',
meaning; the sky. The word "heaven" or "heavens" is translated, in the Bible,
from words that mean "the sky" in all but 2, or 99.7%, of the 730 times it
appears in the Bible. It is not a place with "pearly gates", the "holy city", or
"new Jerusalem" John saw in the Revelation. In fact, a simple reading of the
coming of that city, so often portrayed as "Heaven", is actually coming down,
onto the Earth, from "heaven:
· "And
I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
(Revelation 21: 2). The "heaven" where God dwells, comes down "from", goes
"into", and rules "over" is the entire universe, not just some ethereal gated
community.
This is why we say that
"Change your view of the world you live in: the Royal Family of the Universe is
approaching." gives more clarity to the warning Jesus preached throughout his
ministry. And, this belief is echoed many times in the Bible. We have
collected a number of verses that clearly show the view of the world from the
perspective of Jesus and the Apostles he chose:
Jesus and the Apostles on the World
What is the connection between our
modern era and the end-times conditions Jesus spoke about?
Why Does Mankind Need to Change?
