Christian Living

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Thy Kingdom Come On Earth As It Is In Heaven

During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said we should pray thus:
“Thy Kingdom Come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).


Many misunderstand this passage. They think it means we should strive to be good on earth like the good that is in heaven. But Jesus is asking us to pray for something much more substantial than this. He is saying that the Kingdom of God we seek manifests here on earth. He prays that what already exists in Heaven will displace the evil and futility that is currently on earth.



What is Heaven? Simply put “Heaven is the spiritual realm where God and His heavenly hosts live”. God is a spirit so heaven is ideally suited for Him (John 4:24). There are levels in Heaven. Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows—was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak” (2 Co 12:2-4).


We all strive to get to Heaven but do we know what Heaven is. Heaven is not complete fulfillment that guarantees upon entering you are made perfect. To the contrary to those in heaven fulfillment is dependent on us who are here on earth. They are waiting for their complete fulfillment until after we break through. Heaven, without earth, is a place of waiting until they are made complete and brought to the Kingdom of God on the earth. It is not a bad place to wait but a waiting area it is.



Hebrews 11 lists certain men of God who overcame while on earth (Abel, Elijah, Moses and many more). Then Hebrews 11:39-40 says about those men: “and all these [listed in Heb.11] having gained approval through their faith, DID NOT RECEIVE WHAT WAS PROMISED, because God had provided something better for us, so that APART FROM US THEY SHOULD NOT BE MADE PERFECT”. They are made perfect when we finish our job here on earth. Apart from us they in Heaven are not made perfect.


As you will see below, earth holds fulfillment for God’s people living or dead. None of the patriarchs experienced the complete fulfillment of God’s promises, but they saw them from “afar off”. In Heaven they have yet to see manifest what they were focusing because heaven is not the complete fulfillment. Revelation 6:9-11 says of the some men/women of God in Heaven: “And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “HOW LONG, O LORD, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? “And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also”. These men were in heaven yet they cried for fulfillment.


So Heaven is a stopping off place for men/woman of God while they wait for the Kingdom that comes on earth. Scripture clearly says that when the Lord returns He will bring them with Him to earth. The following is an account of the Lord coming again to the earth; but He’s not alone. “And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses” (Revelation 19:11-14).


Those who came with the Lord from heaven, and the saints left alive on the earth, then ruled on earth with Christ. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Rev 24). They didn’t reign in heaven, they reigned on earth for a thousand years.


God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep (died) (1 Thess. 4:14). He is coming bringing with Him the spirits of those who have died in Him. As in Rev 19:11–16, when Jesus brings with him the company of the redeemed already in heaven. They join his faithful people yet on earth and still alive to meet him (cf. Zech 2:6 and Deut 30:4). “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (1 Th 4:13-14). Therefore the dead do not remain in Heaven; they come back to earth to reign with Him. It is at that time the Kingdom of God comes on the earth (Matthew 6:10).


God will not come to earth until the earth is made a footstool for His feet. “For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I MAKE THINE ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR THY FEET” ’ (Luke 20:42-43; Psalm 110). “…but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET” (Heb 10:12-13). Making the earth a footstool for God’s feet is symbolic of defeating all His enemies. Who do you suppose accomplishes this? It is the armies of the Lord on the earth who defeat Christ’s enemies and therefore make a place for Him on the earth.


At one time Satan was in Heaven. However he was cast out after a war in heaven. “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon [Satan]. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
”Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev 12:7-10). Once Satan was defeated in Heaven he came down to earth where he again needed to be defeated. When Christ talks about His enemies He is speaking mainly of the Devil, the accuser of the brethren. He is also speaking of the satanic nature infused in man at the fall. He must be banished from earth before the Lord returns. This is the job of those who remain on the earth, the Saints of God. Only then can the Kingdom of God come on the earth; when all enemies are vanquished.


Christians are too focused on getting to heaven by being good and doing good works to realize the spiritual battle they are in here on earth. There will be no Kingdom until all things that make offense are overcome. That is the primary role of the Body of Christ – to be the army of the Lord. Paul said: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:12-13).


Heaven on the earth will be a place where no offense against God will exist. Death does not exist in heaven (Isaiah 25:8; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Rev. 21:4). Only the righteous inhabit heaven (Matthew 5:17–20). It will be the same on earth.


Isaiah describes one level of heaven on earth: “And they shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They shall not build, and another inhabit, They shall not plant, and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My chosen ones shall wear out the work of their hands. “They shall not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD” (Isaiah 65:20-25).


And: “the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the kid, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze; Their young will lie down together; And the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9).


These scriptures indicate a state of righteousness on earth like it is in heaven. “AND I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. “And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:1-5).


The angel carried John to show him greater things: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God” (Rev 21:10-11). The new earth and the New Jerusalem did not stay in the spirit realm but came down to earth. Again noting the earth as the resting place of the New Jerusalem, John says: “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it” (Rev 21:22-24).



Those who are waiting for the temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem will be surprised when they see that no temple exists in the Kingdom. Actually the Sons of God are the temple. “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Co 3:16); Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM” (2 Co 6:16). So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit (Eph 19:20); And I did not see a temple in it, for the Lord God All-Powerful is its temple, and the Lamb” (Rev 21:22). The Saints of God form the temple graced by the presence of the Lord. Like the ancient Holy of Holies which housed the Ark of the Covenant and only the High Priest could enter only the priests of God will be included in the temple of the Kingdom.


And again a level of fulfillment on earth: “AND he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street [symbolic of the Word] And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:1-5). The hints that the earth is being talked about are: The river came down from the throne of God; the fruits and leaves were for the healing of the nations on earth; no more curse; Earth is lifted out of the futility that has existed since the Fall.


God is going to bless man where he is – on the earth. He is not suitable for a spiritual existence like the Angels who were born spiritual. Would God go to the trouble of creating the earth as a place entirely suited to man if He didn’t plan for man to live there? Actually man will live in both realms as a spiritual man in a new body will be able to walk in Heaven as he does on earth. The two places, heaven and earth, will be one.


I hope we all understand this concept. Heaven will come to earth and more besides (a New Jerusalem, a new earth)! That’s why we pray as the Lord directed: Thy (the Father’s) Kingdom come on earth, His will be done, On earth as is in heaven.

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