KINGDOM OF GOD (1)

People will not say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ because God’s kingdom is within[a] you.”    

Luke 17:21

What is the kingdom of God?

A kingdom is a place where a king rules.  The kingdom of God is wherever God reigns over the lives of His subjects.  The kingdom of God is not visible because God is not visible.  It is a spiritual kingdom, not a visible one.  Jesus Christ said, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).

Jesus gave us, in the Lord’s Prayer, a petition to God: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10).  This prayer shows the priority Jesus gave to the kingdom of God.  Can we not say that the kingdom of God will come on Earth when the will of God is as respected here as it is in heaven, when the visible world totally reflects the invisible world?  I think we can.  In the kingdom of God, everything is subject to God’s power.  Instantly, with no question. In the visible world, there is resistance to God’s will.

In the kingdom of God is eternal.  At the present time, it is an invisible kingdom here in our midst.  Wherever there are those who honor Jesus Christ, the King, and wherever the Spirit of the King is, there is the kingdom of God. 

God’s Sovereignty.  FOUNDATIONS OF THE KINGDOM.  The necessary beginning point in studying the theme of "the kingdom of God" is the Bible’s opening verse.  Here we meet the Sovereign of all the Universe, whose realm, reign, and regency, are described at the outset.

1.     His realm (or scope of His rule) is transcendent: that is, not only does it include the entire physical universe, but it exceeds it.  He existed before all creation.  He expands beyond it and by virtue of having begotten it.  He encompasses all that it is.

2.     His reign (or the power by which He rules) is exercised by His will, His word, and His works.  By His own will He creatively decides and designs; by His own word He speaks creation into being; and by His own works, His Spirit displays His unlimited power.

3.     His regency (for authority to rule) is in His preexistence and holiness.  He is there before creation “in the beginning.”  Thus, as its Creator, He deserves to be its Potentate.  His benevolent intent in creating things “good” reveals His holy nature (that is, complete and perfect), and thus His moral right to be creation’s King.  All kingdom power and authority flow from Him. 

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/ CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THREE HEAVENS (3)

THE THRONE OF GOD

 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know- - God knows.  2 Corinthians 12:2 (NIV)

Third Heaven - This is where God and the holy angels (and creatures) and spirits of just men dwell. (Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Psalms 115:16; 148:4). (1Kings 8:27) - “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.” (Psalm 2:4) "The One enthroned in heaven laughs; The LORD scoffs at them.”   The location of the abode of God is not revealed in Scripture.

• Heb. 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, (Jesus ascended to the place he was before he became man) Heb. 7:26 “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” meaning he is more important than the dwelling place of God and angels. Heb 8:1 As our high Priest, he “is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”

Note: The fact that Jesus passed through the heavens gives evidence there is more than one heaven.

Summary

Seemingly, Paul was speaking about a vision he himself had, and "third heaven" was an expression of being in the presence of God in heaven itself. Verse four says he "was caught up into paradise." Since paradise and heaven are one and the same, we can gather that "third heaven" means the same thing that we would normally call heaven, right?

I believe that Jesus meant that after His return and our coming resurrection, He will only THEN be able to receive us unto His SELF in body as He already is! — In His resurrected body! He will then resurrect us all and marry us, the Bride of Christ, which he won't be able to do until then!

Jude 1:14 "And Enoch also… prophesied of these, saying, 'Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints"

RECEIVE US UNTO HIMSELF!

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre o

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THREE HEAVENS (2)

THE SECOND HEAVEN

The Celestial Outer Space

 (The Sun, Moon, And Stars)

Deuteronomy 17:3; Jeremiah 8:2; Matthew 24:29

CELESTIAL - se-les'-chal (epouranios, "above the sky," "heavenly")

The second heaven is the starry heavens, where the atmosphere ends. It is the heavens in which the sun, moon, and stars are secure in orbit. The stars are endless and the distance between all of them is astounding. The Bible says in Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork."

Note:

·        Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Matthew 24:29).

Stars are said to be in heaven

·        And take heed, lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage (Deuteronomy 4:19).

Heaven of Heavens

Scripture also speaks of heavenly spheres beyond that which is visible from the earth. It is called the heaven of heavens.

The firmament, or expanse, raqiya` “In which the sun, moon, stars, and constellations are fixed. Genesis 1:17: And God placed them in the Firmament of heaven. Isaiah 40:22: He stretcheth out the heavens as a CURTAIN, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.”

Psalm 19:4,6 - “In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun... It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;...” 

Jeremiah 8:2 - They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens which they have loved and served....”        …to be cont’d

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre o

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THREE HEAVENS (1)

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.                                                                                           Genesis 1:1 (NIV)

HEAVENS

Let’s talk frankly: have you ever pondered on the word "heavens?” I have.  Note. In the very first book (Genesis 1:1; 2:1) of the Bible, it states thusly, "God created the heavens and the earth". If you’re anything like me when you meditate on the word of God, there were times when, as I read scripture, I will run across "heavens" and then at another time, "heaven" and wondered of the difference. To further add to my confused mind, I recall as a child the many times I was cautioned, "if you want to go to heaven and be with God, behave!" Well, I decided to put an end to the confusion…for all of us, I pray. I did what I do best…research. Here’s what I found:

• In the Bible, there are 551 references to the word: "heaven", and there are 127 references to the word "heavens". There are three "heavens" found in the Bible.
• The Hebrew word for "heavens" is shamayim, and it is in a plural form, meaning "heights," "elevations." The Bible teaches in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, he did not make another heaven after this time. The phrase “heavens and earth” are used to indicate the whole universe (Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish tradition from the Bible, there were three heavens. Each are attributed to God as the creator. Psalm 102:25  "Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands."

The Bible speaks of three heavens not 7 and these are not dimensions.

                (1) Our Immediate Atmosphere

                (2) Outer Space (The Sun, Moon, And Stars)

                (3) The Home of God

Today, for our first study we will look at the First heaven - The firmament, Earth’s Atmosphere -which is the immediate sky, where the "fowls of the heaven" (Genesis 2:19; 7:3,23; Psalms 8:8, etc.), "the eagles of heaven" (Lamentations 4:19), it is our atmosphere that surrounds the earth.

• Gen 1:14  Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night.” The first heaven consists of the clouds and the atmosphere, the heavens above us, until we come to the stars.

• Psalms 78: 23-23  “Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven.”

The expression doors of heaven or windows of heaven involved the firmament, our atmosphere. Descriptions used of this heaven is from where God would provide food or rain. Genesis 7:11-12: “the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.” Genesis 8:2: “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained” Malachi 3:10 Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”
 

And this concludes segment one of our study of the First heaven.                                   ….to be cont’d

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
www.biblestoriestheatre.org
info@biblestoriestheatre.org

A BATTLE WITH THE WIND

She tried to peg the washing

on the old-need-to-be-replaced washing line

of knotted snakes instead of dangerous wire

She tried to peg the washing

with the old and new

but pathetic hopeless need-to-be-replaced pegs

from the $2 shop, the new ones were from

She used to throw them in the garden

to its overgrown bushy leafy monster

and boy did she have a swearing stress of a time!

She battled with the wind,

the clothes, the snakes, the line, the pegs

The wind fought back!

along with the clothes, the snakes, the lines and the pegs

She was always defeated!

With the angry Wellington wind,

the hitting clothes,

the hissing angry knotted snakes,

the banging of the bars of the line

having a Theresa W attention seeking tantrum,

and the old-need-to-be-replaced washing line

the old and new but pathetic hopeless 

need-to-be-replaced pegs

And she now has finished writing:

                   A BATTLE WITH THE WIND                        Manasseh Bailey

Submitted by,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts [BSTFPA]

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THE GOD AMONG US

As the prophet Isaiah’s warnings echoed through the homes and courtyards of Judah, few were listening. What God was saying through His prophet was not what the people wanted to hear. But deep within the warnings and indictments was an astonishing statement: God would one day come to earth.

Eight hundred years later, Jesus announced that He was God in the flesh who had come to pay for the sins of the world. He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies. Again, few were listening.

Yet the life of Jesus Christ fits Isaiah’s profile of the "God who would come to earth." The Anointed One would be:

§  A descendant of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1);

§  Miraculously born of a virgin (7:14);

§  A miracle-worker (35:5);

§  Wounded and bruised for us (53:5);

§  Our sin bearer (53:12);

§  Rejected by His people (53:3);

§  Buried in a rich man’s tomb (53:9);

The overwhelming evidence points to Jesus as "God among us." He came to bring us into a complete and satisfying relationship with God. Isaiah explains how Jesus would do this:

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us al" (Isaiah 53:6).

Our sins separate us from a holy and righteous God. Christ’s death paid for our sins – past, present, and future.

He now invites us into a relationship that will last beyond time. 

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (3)

RECAP.  The 6^th Commandment: Thou shalt not kill

Respect for Human life. The better translation from the Hebrew would be “Thou shalt not murder” — a subtle distinction but an important one to the Church. Killing an innocent person is considered murder. Killing an unjust aggressor to preserve your own life is still killing, but it isn’t considered murder or immoral.

                                                   and

A full list of the 10 Commandments is given twice in the Old Testament (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5), and each commandment is mentioned many more times. But some have argued that obeying the 10 Commandments would not be required of Christians if they are not listed in the New Testament.

Essentially, the Old and New Testaments make up a unified whole, and God’s spiritual law and His thinking do not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).

RESUME.  The 7^th Commandment

 Thou shalt not commit adultery
The sixth and ninth commandments honor human sexuality. This commandment forbids the actual, physical act of having immoral sexual activity, specifically adultery, which is sex with someone else’s spouse or a spouse cheating on their partner. This commandment also includes fornication, which is sex between unmarried people, prostitution, pornography, homosexual activity, masturbation, group sex, rape, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia.

8. Thou shalt not steal

v The seventh and tenth commandments focus on respecting and honoring the possessions of others. This commandment forbids the act of taking someone else’s property. The Catholic Church believes that this commandment also denounces cheating people of their money or property, depriving workers of their just wage, or not giving employers a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion, and vandalism are all considered extensions of violations of the Seventh Commandment.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

v Jesus Christ said of God the Father, “Your word is truth” John 17:17. The Bible throughout teaches that “God is not a man, that He should lie” Numbers 23:19. As the source of truth, God requires that His servants always speak truthfully. God expects truth to permeate every facet of our lives. Everything in the life of a Christian is anchored to truth.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife

v …forbids the wanting to or taking someone else’s property. Along with the Seventh Commandment, this commandment condemns theft and the feelings of envy, greed, and jealousy in reaction to what other people have.

CONCLUSION

The law is like a chain as learned from the effects and shortcomings of the law and breaking one law is breaking all laws. James 2:10: For whoever will keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Every person is guilty by the laws and no one will be saved by keeping the laws. We all need pardoning and the savior; Jesus Christ.

Salvation is only by grace through faith.

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org