Indeed, there will be a separation of the wicked from the among the just…. at the end of this age. But what is meant by the words “heaven” and “hell”? The “kingdom of heaven” is the reign of the heavens.
Please bear with me as I try to explain what I’m thinking about the word “heaven” and the phrase “kingdom of heaven. I know it is a long post.
To me, “Heaven” is the “air” through which words travel to others ears. It is the atmosphere through which words fly… as birds fly through the air. Think what “Twitter” represents to us today….a “bird” is its icon and people “tweet” their thoughts to others.
Words find places to land in others’ hearts. If a man will love Jesus, he will keep His words of life and spirit.
In the beginning, the Spirit of God “moved”…that is, it “fluttered” upon the waters. The dove was sent out by Noah…and it looked for a place to “rest”. The Spirit is likened to bird…a dove…looking for a place to rest as it is sent down from “heaven”. It looks for a humble heart to rest in so that we may also speak His Word to others. Birds “keep seed alive upon the earth”.
KJV
(23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
He that will not love Him will not keep His sayings which is the Word of the Father in heaven .
(24) He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
The Lord sends forth His words….the “messengers”…the “angels”…in the Spirit to see if any will understand and seek God. But the earth was without form and void…..there was no understanding as they had all gone aside. The Spirit had no place to rest.
KJV
(1) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
(2) The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
(3) They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Some will hear the Word and resist what they will hear. It is sown in the hearts…but the “fowls of the air” come and devour it up. The word “air” in , is the same as “heaven”.
The “fowls of heaven” are the words that will come out of the mouths of those who will not believe in what they will hear. They will be contentious in their wrath rather than responding with a contrite and quiet spirit…breath. The Spirit will not be able to “rest” upon them as they will resist the Spirit. Their own words will devour what was sown within them as they trodden down (along the road/way side) what they hear.
KJV
(3) Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
(4) And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
Men shall gather themselves together to make war against the Word of God that sits on the white “horse”. They will make “war” against Him with their words . They will contend with the Word of Truth as preached through the Holy Spirit. When we preach the Word of God through the Holy Spirit…it is powerful. We are to be judged by our own contentious words (the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven that gather against the Word).
KJV
(17) And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Those who will contend with the Word of God as spoken through the Spirit shall “perish” in the Day of Judgment. Our own words of contention…speaking evil of the things that we do not understand…will be responsible for our own perishing from off the earth as the contentious words will eat the flesh of those who will exalt themselves against Him.
(18) That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
(19) And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
But thanks be to the Lord that He is very patient not willing that any should perish but should come to “repentance”….to change our minds from our own thoughts and ways and receive His.
KJV
(9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Words have power. They have power to deceive others and lead them down the wrong path to destruction. They have power to bring life. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
How do we enter into the “reign of the heavens”? By humbling ourselves to the hearing of the Word and having love for our brothers who come to preach the Word through the Spirit.
We are to rein in what comes out of our mouths in response to the hearing of the Word of Truth as spoken by our Lord through the Holy Spirit. Blessed are the “poor in spirit”…the poor in breath…for theirs is the “kingdom of heaven” .
If we can humble ourselves to His words, He will exalt us and give us a mouth and wisdom that the enemy shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. We shall “rule” with His words in the “heavens” …the air where words travel…as we preach the Scriptures in His wisdom for others to hear.
KJV
(15) For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
The assembly of the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, etc. could not win their disputing with Stephen…for he spoke with the wisdom and Spirit of God. "Stephen" which means "crown"...ruled in the heavens with Christ. When they could not win against the Word with their disputing, they fell from “heaven” so to speak and resorted to false accusations and murder.
KJV
(9) Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
(10) And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
When Jesus speaks, He is sending forth His “messengers”. He will open up His mouth in parables and will utter things (sending them forth the words in the air to others’ ears) which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. It is like a “net” that is cast into the sea (the multitude) and gathers of every kind.
KJV
(34) All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
(35) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
To those who love what He says (His disciples) and come to Him, He will interpret the parables. The mysteries of the kingdom are given to those who will have love for Him and His words. But He sends away the “multitude”…that is, the people who will not hear and receive Him.
(36) Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
(37) He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
(38) The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
(39) The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
(40) As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of man shall send forth His “angels”...His “messengers”…His words of life and spirit in the end of this age as the time comes when He will speak plainly of the Father. This will create a division between those who will believe in what they will hear and those who will not. Those who will not believe will resist the Spirit.
(41) The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
The “multitude” will not hear and believe are sent away. They are cast into a “furnace of fire” where shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. There will be lamentation and rage…sorrow and wrath.
(42) And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
(43) Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Evil men shall wax worse and worse in their evil speaking (the furnace of fire….the tongue is a fire)as the “fowls of the air” shall gather together to eat of the flesh of those who exalt themselves. These will be outside the kingdom of heaven. But the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
KJV
(12) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
(13) But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution from those who will not believe. When the “unclean” spirit…that is, the unclean breath that speaks evil from the heart….goes out of a man (out of his mouth), it “walks” through dry places not finding a place to “rest”. When we are persecuted by others with their evil words, we are not to render evil for their evil…thereby, giving that breath no place to rest upon us.
KJV
(43) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Evil men shall wax worse and worse as they “burn” in the “fire”. The tongue is a “fire” that sets the whole course of nature on fire.
Their own evil words will return to their own “house” from where it came out and will take 7 other spirits more wicked than itself and will enter in and dwell within their hearts which have no place for His Word….for it will be “empty” of His Word. No place of rest will be found for His Word within their hearts.
(44) Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
(45) Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
“Babylon” …the flattering tongue that once ruled over and deceived many…..will fall at the hearing of the Word of Truth as spoken by the Spirit. The mouth that once spoke with goodly words and flattering speeches will change to one that will be full of evil things to say…becoming a “cage of every unclean and hateful bird”…evil words…and we are not to keep company with such when we see these things come to pass.
KJV
(2) And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
