The Kingdoms and Religion

In this study of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God, we want to understand where we are today with these kingdoms. This will help us to understand the kingdoms and religion.

We have seen thus far that the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom over which Jesus will rule on earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem.  He will rule as King of kings over all nations.  He’s not ruling yet, but he will when he returns.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus taught that a person entered the kingdom of heaven by his own righteousness when he obeyed the law of Moses and Jesus’s refinement of those commandments in the law, as in Matt 5-7.

While he was here, Jesus also taught on the kingdom of God.  He said that this is not a kingdom that would come with observation, but rather that it is within you. And we’ve seen that righteousness in this kingdom is not man’s own righteousness by doing the law but God’s righteousness given to him by faith in Jesus Christ.

To continue learning about the difference in righteousness between these kingdoms, we’ll study Rom 10:1-13.

Rom 10:1-5 shows you the trouble with Israel following the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  They try to establish their own righteousness because they are ignorant of God’s righteousness.  They are still in the mindset of the Old Testament.

Rom 10:6-13 shows you God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.  This is the New Testament.  Righteousness is not obtained by keeping the law.

Furthermore, the kingdom of God today is not an earthly kingdom, like the kingdom of heaven, but rather a spiritual kingdom.  It’s attributes are not tangible and earthly.   

For example, look at Rom 14:17 and Col 2:16.  The kingdom of God is not meat and drink (as in the Old Testament law) but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.  When you receive Jesus Christ, you have his righteousness, peace with God, and the fruit of the Spirit, which includes joy.

You might ask, “What does this have to do with the study of the kingdoms and religion”?  Much, when you consider what religions do with the kingdom of heaven and what the antichrist is going to do.

Religions that preach righteousness by keeping the law are preaching righteousness as in the kingdom of heaven.  But the kingdom of heaven is, essentially, on hold.  Jesus, the king of this kingdom, is in heaven next to the throne of God.  He won’t resume his work in this kingdom until he returns to earth.  The only kingdom we should be concerned with right now is the kingdom of God.

Religions that preach the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven believe in what some call replacement theology.  That is, they teach that the church replaces Israel in the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.  And, thus, they teach that righteousness is obtained by works like you see in Matt 5-7.

For example, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that the pope is the ordained vicar of Christ in the kingdom of heaven.  They believe Jesus founded the church on Peter and gave him the keys to the kingdom.  Their priests are like the Old Testament priests, they do works for salvation like the sermon on the mount, and the church seeks earthly dominion, like Israel will have.

The Mormons have their prophet in Salt Lake City and they work for their dominion in the kingdom, believing that they are the only ones who are right, doctrinally.  Likewise, Jehovah’s Witnesses are working to be in a kingdom on earth.

Each of these have a replacement for king Jesus, whether it’s a pope, a prophet, or the Watchtower society.  They’re bringing in their kingdom.  Islam is doing the same thing.

These religions, which are confused about the kingdom of heaven, are facilitating the antichrist’s rise to power in 2 Thes 2:4.  He will profess himself to be God, and the world will fall for him, because they are already looking to an earthly religious figure in an earthly kingdom.

If these religions understood and believed what you now know about the differences between the kingdom of heaven and the  kingdom of God, their followers wouldn’t confuse righteousness by faith in Jesus with their own righteousness by works.

Yet, the nature of man is to be religious.  Cain offered the first sacrifice in Genesis 4.  Nevertheless, he was the one who killed Abel, just like the religious Pharisees were responsible for the death of Jesus.

This ignorance of the kingdoms and religion plays right into the religious nature of lost man.  They look for an earthly religion and religious leader.  And they are going to end up with the worst killer this world has ever seen, the devil incarnate (Jn 10:10a).

To study and listen to the previous sermon in this series, see Righteousness in the Kingdom. To study and listen to the next sermon in this series, see Kingdoms of God and Heaven.