The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God

The next passages are taken from the Last Passover or Marriage Feast of the Lamb of God (which a betrothal dinner for all who partake of it by revelation of Christ Jesus, as LORD), but before I go there I must look at what Jesus warns all of us not to become a part of, as recorded in Matthew 9, Mark 2:21 and Luke 5:36. I do this not because I had so planned to but because of a revelation I received after dropping my grandson off at school this morning and while I was driving back home. Beginning with Matthew 9 at the verse where he is sitting with the tax collector at his table, which is in verses 9-13, 14-17: As Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named* Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He said to him, Follow Me**. And he arose, and followed Him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, Why does your Master eat with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard that, He said to them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go and learn what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. *(Mat. 21:31-32, Mark 2:14-17, Luke 15:1-2, 19:2-10), **(1Kings 19:19-21, Acts 9:1-16, Galatians 1:16-17)

Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples fast not? Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom (Jesus as LORD and Messiah is this bridegroom) shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. No man puts a piece of new cloth (Luke 5:36, a cloth unscoured or not washed with fuller's soap or refiners fire, and the disciples under the law of the kingdom will become) unto an old garment (the new man made traditions added to Judaism by the priests from Ezra forward), for that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. (parallel passage Exodus 23:2, 24, Leviticus 18:3, 19:19, 26:14-15ff, Deuteronomy 22:11; Mark 2:14-22 and Luke 5:27-39)

It must be noted that all who choose to become disciple's of Christ after redemption, and while still in the state of redemption, are gently washed and refined as with fuller's soap and refiners fire. This cleansing is for the sole purpose of revealing our own undoneness and total bankruptcy. Because we cannot see ourselves as we are for seeing only others in a false standard and our greater need for Christ within us. And this process at times causes us great discomfort and even depression because of the loss we suffer. For the LORD holds His disciples as precious in His sight, it is while here that He, in the person of the Holy Spirit, does His beginning works within us. You see in Redemption we are given only “the right to become” sons of God. We are further told to seek and search (work out our own salvation, like Noah did) the scriptures to learn of Him. It is in this learning of Him, that we will if we stay the course, turn not away from so great a Salvation, which lays ahead. But here He is telling those present at the table, that their former traditions of men, in the religion of Judaism (that is to say, those which were added by man, since Ezra, are a greater burden than God's original, and are indeed rottenness and not acceptable before God, they who practice these are in heresy and are hypocrites). For any who remain in the new tradition of Judaism are as old cloth and are as dead and worthless as old wine skins. This skin is old, hard and often rotten because of age and the effects of sun light upon it. Because to place an unscoured cloth on as a patch causes an even larger tear when washed, just as new wine in an old wineskin will cause a bursting or tearing of the skin. In both are illustrations of a deeper heresy, and an even greater separation from God is the result, more so than mans original sin. Now bringing this home for us, if we remain under man's religion (the house built on sand, a house divided) we are being farther separated from God by our own self will through the traditions of man as seen in the parable. Again, this is also the revelation of Lazarus's grave cloths and the chains of the demoniac. Now I will move into the Last Supper and Marriage Feast, though veiled, to which all Israel had been invited during the time of Jesus' ministry. In this action, mankind gives a writ of divorce to his former life in exchange for the promised new life of Genesis 3:15 and Jeremiah 31:33. In it, Jesus reveals that the days were accomplished (as seen in Luke 12:50, 18:31, 22:37 and John 19:38) and He was about to bring in the consummation and inauguration of all that is about to become, and all that has been, is now about to become past history. Man is not to commingle the spirit of the world (a familiar spirit known as Religion) as was the situation at the time and season of both John the Baptist's and Jesus' coming, with that of God. Paul will later come to reveal this revelation in his Hebrew, Roman and Corinthian letters, with farther and deeper (or higher) spiritual revelation in his other Epistles.

The Marriage Feast

Matthew 22:1-14, 15-22, 23-33, 34-40, 41-46 Jesus answered and spake to them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king (God the Father), who made a marriage for His son, and sent forth His servants (the prophets and disciples) to call them (Israel and more particularly the Priests, as honored guests) that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and fatlings which are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.(this happened in 66-70 AD in accord with Daniel 9:26) Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy (Romans 9-10, 11:25). Go therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he said to him, Friend, (the worlds fornicators and idolatrous Religionists) how came you in here not having a wedding garment*? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few chosen.(parallel passage Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22 Luke 14:15-24, 22:19, 1Corinthians 11:23-34; *2Corinthians 5:1-8, 1Peter 5:5, Romans 13:14, Galatians 3:27)