“ENTER ye in at the strait gate: for WIDE is the gate, and BROAD is the way, that leadeth to DESTRUCTION, and MANY there be which GO IN there at: Because strait is the gate, and NARROW is THE WAY, which leadeth unto LIFE, and FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT.”
(Matthew, 7:13-14).
What is the REWARD of being SAVED? Go to Heaven after death? If you think like this, you can’t help but to WORK HARD, so you might go to Heaven when you die. And then, “Once you miss, you’ll lose your SALVATION and go to the ‘Hell Fire’ to SUFFER an ENDLESS SUFFERING!” If that’s the case then, CHRISTIANITY has no difference from other RELIGION. This was the reason why EVANGELISM and Gospel TRACTS had lost its CREDIBILITY and EFFECTIVITY! Why? Since other Religions, and all UNBELIEVERS of the Lord Jesus Christ believe in “life after death”. They believe that if they do “good” then, they will receive a “REWARD”, otherwise, “PUNISHMENT”.
Did you ever found a passage in the 4 Gospels about Jesus PREACHING like, “Hey, I’m gon’na SUFFER and die on the CROSS. If you BELIEVE in me you will go to Heaven when you die! Or else, you will be PUNISHED in an ENDLESS SUFFERING.” You might think of the PARABLES. You should UNDERSTAND that the PARABLES is to picture the COMING KINGDOM of God and the GREAT TRIBULATION. The PARABLES are made CLEAR in the 2nd Phase of UNVEILING the MYSTERY.
Just what do you think Heaven? What is Heaven like? What did Jesus mean when He taught His disciples to Pray, “Thy WILL BE DONE on EARTH, AS IT IS in HEAVEN (Matthew 6:9-10).” Please, read it again in your own Bible. What is the Will of God in Heaven that can be done on earth? Or, what is in Heaven that can be DONE here on earth? Think of the HAPPIEST MOMENT you’ve ever experienced, think of the GREATEST THING you want to experience, think of the most AMAZING and AWESOME places you’ve ever seen, AMPLIFY it millions times millions! Think of an ENDLESS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, and PROSPERITY. A place where there is harmony, no hatred, no jealousy, no greediness, no selfishness, no disease, no pain, no loneliness, no fear, no doubt, no self-pity, NO CONDEMNATION, NO PROBLEM! This is the HEAVENLY LIFE.
If you really UNDERSTOOD what Heaven is like, you would begin to CHANGE all your NEGATIVE thoughts, NEGATIVE feelings, NEGATIVE emotions, NEGATIVE attitudes, NEGATIVE words, LUSTFUL desires and SELFISH ambition. Now does it make CLEAR that we can also experience Heaven down here on earth?
Now, if you really belong to CHRIST and not of this world (of the devil), you should have the DESIRE to turn from committing SIN, then obey God’s LAW and follow His WAYS! You should WORK OUT for your INHERITANCE, the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM! The WAY to the KINGDOM of God is NARROW! “Because strait is the gate, and NARROW is THE WAY, which leadeth unto LIFE, and FEW there be that find it.” (Matthew, 7:13-14). This passage is often interpreted as Heaven and hell. It puts in our mind that the ETERNAL, LIMITLESS and ENDLESS Heaven has a NARROW GATE. That if you can’t ENDURE, then, you can’t enter Heaven after death. Or else! You will SUFFER an ENDLESS PUNISHMENT to the “Hell Fire”? The Prophet Isaiah wrote,
“And an HIGHWAY shall be there, and a WAY, and it shall be called THE WAY OF HOLINESS;
the UNCLEAN shall not PASS over it; but it shall be for those: the WAYFARING men , though FOOLS, shall not err therein. (Isaiah 35:8).
Only those who can follow God’s WAY OF HOLINESS, God’s LAW (not MAN-MADE DOCTRINE), can ENTER the KINGDOM of God. Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY and the TRUTH that leads us to the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM.
The passage, Matthew 7:13-14, is mistakenly used to illustrate that the GATE is NARROW towards Heaven and the WAY to the “Hell Fire” is WIDE. In other words, many are on their way to the WIDE GATE that LEADS to the “Hell Fire”. What’s the result of this heresy? That you should WORK HARD so you can enter Heaven after death. If this be TRUE, well, meaning, our God is so CRUEL! That He created Human and live a FEW YEARS, then, many will SUFFER an ENDLESS PUNISHMENT to the “Hell Fire” because the way to Heaven is NARROW. This heresy DECEIVES us and makes us think that FEW CAN GO TO Heaven. Is this THE MIND OF CHRIST? To SAVE us from the “Hell Fire” and go to Heaven after death? Did you find this in the Bible? What’s the POINT of RESURRECTION?
The WAY to the KINGDOM of God is NARROW, not to the ETERNAL, LIMITLESS and ENDLESS Heaven! The KINGDOM of God is exclusive! Only few will be QUALIFIED to ENTER! I repeat, the WAY to the KINGDOM of God is NARROW!
During the time of Exodus, God Promised Canaan, a LAND with flowing MILK and HONEY. In the national history of Israel, Exodus is a very significant event. Exodus is the ESCAPE of God’s people from the Egyptian bondage (persecutions, POVERTY and SLAVERY). The WAY towards the PROMISED LAND was NARROW! Their LOVE, OBEDIENCE and TRUST towards God were tested! Many FAILED the TRIAL! Because of Distrust, Disobedience and Defiance or REBELLION against God in spite of God’s PROVIDENCE and PROVISIONS, they WANDERED in the wilderness. God ALLOWED them to wander for 40 years to DISCIPLINE them.
It only takes few days towards the Promised Land (a place of PEACE and PROSPERITY). They were DOUBTERS and always QUESTIONED the Will of God. ALL the UNBELIEVERS died in the wilderness without experiencing PEACE and PROSPERITY in the PROMISED Land.
The same manner, the UNBELIEVERS and DOUBTERS cannot ENTER the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM of God. God ALLOWS us to wander in the “Wilderness”. This “Wilderness” symbolizes TRIALS. Sometimes, God ALLOWS UNDESIRABLE things and UNWANTED situations that come on our way for our OWN BENEFIT. God had to take us through the “Wilderness” to GET RID of every NEGATIVE emotions, NEGATIVE feelings, NEGATIVE thoughts, NEGATIVE attitudes and NEGATIVE words. To GET RID of some things that is NOT GOOD to us. In order for us to shed some excess so we can become more FOCUSED and DETERMINED to PERSEVERE in PURSUING our PROMISED INHERITANCE. It sounds like the song, “TRUST and OBEY for there’s NO OTHER WAY…” Because the WAY to the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM of God is NARROW!
Our PROMISED INHERITANCE is the PROMISED, MILLENNIAL KINGDOM. God had to lead us towards the “Wilderness” in order to CLEANSE, REFINE and PURIFY us, so that we will be QUALIFIED to ENTER the PROMISED, MILLENNIAL KINGDOM. “Many shall be PURIFIED, & MADE WHITE, & TRIED; but the wicked shall do wickedly: & none of the wicked shall understand; but the WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND.” (Daniel 12:10). Blessed are those who UNDERSTANDS THE WISDOM OF GOD for they shall UNDERSTAND their PROMISED INHERITANCE. Begin to ask the Lord to give you this kind of MIND. DESIRE for it and SEEK the FACE of the Lord. Meditate the Book of Law, the Word of God as much as possible. Try to ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS (Worldly Addictions, Selfish Ambitions, FEARS for Today & WORRIES for Tomorrow). So that “You will RISE AGAIN to RECEIVE the INHERITANCE SET ASIDE for you.” (Daniel 12:13, NLT).
You should feel like a SOLDIER saying, “No Guts, No Glory!” and a BODYBUILDER that encourages himself, “No PAIN, no GAIN!” In other words, it takes COURAGE towards your GOAL. What is the GOAL of a Christian? Go to Heaven after death and receive “CROWN”? I think this was made CLEAR earlier. Our GOAL should be the COMING KINGDOM of God when Jesus Christ COMES BACK! This is our BLESSED HOPE! And He is COMING very SOON! You need to BELIEVE!
We will REIGN with the Lord Jesus Christ in the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM of God. I repeat you need to BELIEVE! You will RECEIVE what you BELIEVE, according to your FAITH! Then WORK hard to POSSESS that PROMISE. Because “Faith without WORKS is DEAD!” (James 2:17). It’s in the PROMISED, MILLENNIAL KINGDOM where we will receive CROWNS if we don’t QUIT in seeking and following the WAYS of God and God’s LAW, not Heaven after death! It takes PERSEVERANCE and DETERMINATION while LOOKING FORWARD to that BLESSED HOPE. This shall answer the controversial, “Salvation by Works”.
“And, behold, I come quickly;and My REWARD is with me, to give EVERY MAN according as his WORK shall be.” (Revelation 22:12).
This was illustrated by Jesus in His PARABLES to picture the KINGDOM of God. Jesus Christ will come AGAIN and EVALUATE us and give the REWARD according to our WORKS. The REWARD is not to go to Heaven after death at all! We have the HOPE of RESURRECTION. Now, if you insist that the REWARD is going to Heaven, you can’t help but to WORK HARD, so you might go to Heaven after death. And then other Christians will CRITICIZE you with “Salvation by WORKS”. No other different from other RELIGION and PAGAN beliefs! Remember, you are CURRENTLY SEATED in Christ in the HEAVENLY places!
In addition, “WE ARE CITIZENS of HEAVEN, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are EAGERLY WAITING FOR HIM [The 2nd Coming] for Him to RETURN as our Savior. (Philippians 3:20, NLT). YOU ARE ALREADY IN HEAVEN! If you are a citizen of a certain nation, then, you belong to that nation. And you live in that nation. The same manner, if you are a CITIZEN of Heaven, then, you belong to Heaven. In other words, if you are a Christian, therefore, you are living in Heaven, where the Jesus Christ lives, TODAY!
The real Gospel message of Christ about the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM of God was not UNDERSTOOD and was kept SECRET. It is a MYSTERY that should be REVEALED! Blessed are those who WAIT on the Lord Jesus Christ’s 2nd Coming and HOPE for the PROMISED, MILLENNIAL KINGDOM. “And He [Jesus] said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the MYSTERY of the KINGDOM of God… all these things are done in PARABLES.” (Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10, Matthew 13:11) And is now REVEALED by the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, in these “Last Days”! “That it might be FULFILLED which was spoken by the Prophet, saying, I will open My mouth in PARABLES; I will utter things [Reveal] which have been KEPT SECRET [Mystery] from the FOUNDATION of the world.” (Matthew 13:35). Some PARABLES concerning the KINGDOM of God were REVEALED by the Lord Jesus Christ and are discussed later.
Moreover, “We are EAGERLY WAITING for Him” (Philippians 3:20). Jesus Christ is COMING SOON! He will come to SAVE us! But what it means that we are SAVED by GRACE on the CROSS? That’s what we mean “God DECLARES His Will in the END from the BEGINNING.” Yes! SAVED from what? He will certainly DELIVER us and SET us FREE from this evil world, and even from DEATH! This is to make CLEAR about the HOPE of RESURRECTION. “For the WAGES of sin is DEATH; but the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). Each of us will RECEIVE a GLORIFIED, HEAVENLY body that will never die and will not PERISH.
“ALL CREATION anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious FREEDOM FROM DEATH & decay [Perish]… And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a FORETASTE of FUTURE GLORY, also groan to be RELEASED from PAIN and SUFFERING. We, too, WAIT ANXIOUSLY for that day when God will give us our FULL RIGHTS as His children, including the NEW BODIES He has PROMISED us. Now that we are SAVED, we EAGERLY LOOK FORWARD to this FREEDOM. For if you already have something, you DON’T NEED TO HOPE for it. (Romans 8:21, 23-24, NLT). Oh I SEE, now that we are SAVED, it’s not a HOPE no more, because we’ve RECEIVED it already through FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember? “When God DECLARES, consider it DONE.”
We will certainly RECEIVE our FULL RIGHTS as His children, including the NEW BODIES He has PROMISED us (Romans 8:23). We will have GLORIFIED BODY and no more weeping, no more sorrow, no more pain, and no more DEATH! “Our EARTHLY BODIES, which DIE and decay, will be DIFFERENT when they are RESURRECTED, for they WILL NEVER DIE… When they are RAISED, they will be SPIRITUAL BODIES. For our PERISHABLE EARTHLY BODIES must be TRANSFORMED into HEAVENLY BODIES that WILL NEVER DIE.” (1 Corinthains 15:42, 44, 53, NLT). Yes, we who die in Christ will also also be given NEW LIFE after the RESURRECTION. “What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that FLESH and BLOOD CANNOT INHERIT the KINGDOM of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever.” (1 Corinthians 15:50, NLT). Oh, I SEE.THIS IS THE HOPE OF RESURRECTION!
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
What about KINGDOM of Heaven in the Gospel of Matthew? Just what do you think, KINGDOM of Heaven? The term, “KINGDOM of Heaven” occurs 31 times in the Book of Matthew. But we should UNDERSTAND that KINGDOM of Heaven is the same as KINGDOM of God. Read your own Bible and you will find that Matthew’s KINGDOM of Heaven exactly PARALLELS to the KINGDOM of God in the Gospel of Mark and Luke. KINGDOM of Heaven is not the same thing as Heaven. KINGDOM of Heaven is something you can find in Heaven. This shall make CLEAR that the KINGDOM of God or the KINGDOM of Heaven is the KINGDOM that Jesus mean when He said, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, INHERIT the KINGDOM PREPARED for you from the FOUNDATION of the world.” (Matthew 25:34). Yes, the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM of God was PREPARED in Heaven.
Now, when Jesus COMES BACK the RIGHTEOUS and the OVERCOMER shall, “RECEIVE the INHERITANCE SET ASIDE [For those who will ENDURE the NARROW WAY].” (Daniel 12:13).
When we HEAR the word, Heaven, first thing that comes first in our MIND is ETERNAL, INFINITE, NO END, BRIGHT, HOLY, a PLACE where God lives! John, the Baptist, began to PREACH, “And saying, REPENT ye: for the KINGDOM of Heaven IS AT HAND.” (Matthew 3:2). In the New Living Translation, it is translated us, “TURN from your sins and TURN to God.” Why? Because ONLY the RIGHTEOUS and HOLY are QUALIFIED to ENTER the PROMISED, ETERNAL KINGDOM of God.
From that time Jesus began to PREACH, and to say, “REPENT ye: for the KINGDOM of Heaven IS AT HAND.” (Matthew 4:17). Then in the “BEATITUDES”, Jesus DISCUSSED about who shall INHERIT the KINGDOM of Heaven. “When the Son of man shall COME in His glory, & ALL the HOLY Angels w/ Him, then shall He SIT upon the THRONE of His glory: And before Him shall be gathered ALL NATIONS [World Ruling Gov’t]: & He shall SEPARATE them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And He shall set the SHEEP [Overcomer, the Righteous] on HIS RIGHT HAND, but the goats [Doubters and Quitters, the Wicked] on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on HIS RIGHT HAND, Come, ye BLESSED of my Father INHERIT the KINGDOM PREPARED for you from the FOUNDATION of the world.” (Matthew 25:31-34). Who are the BLESSED of the Heavenly Father? Those that are mentioned in the “BEATITUDES”, found in Matthew 5:3-11. Notice, when the GLORIFIED Christ will COME AGAIN, ALL of the HOLY Angels will COME with Him. It also tells us that this EVENT shall occur here on earth, then, ALL NATIONS will GATHER before Him. Why? Because the KINGDOM of God will be a World Ruling Government, being ADMINISTERED by the KING of Kings, which is Jesus Christ, Himself.
The RIGHTEOUS and the OVERCOMER shall INHERIT the PROMISED, MILLENNIAL KINGDOM of God that was PREPARED in Heaven. They will REIGN as KINGS with Jesus Christ, the KING of kings. What will happen to the WICKED? They will face the GREAT TRIBULATION. This is what Jesus mean when He mentioned, “Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth”. WEEPING means, intense SORROW, intense SUFFERING, intense FEAR, etc… While GNASHING of teeth means, intense ANGER and HATRED. More of this in the following chapter. “For God has RESERVED a priceless INHERITANCE for His children. It is KEPT in HEAVEN for you, PURE and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” (1 Peter 3:4)
