Soldier of Christ Disciple Training Ministries
A ministry of Acts III Global Ministries – USA & Malawi – www.God.mw
Lesson 104 – The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven – Part 4
The final piece of the Puzzle, what is the “Kingdom of Heaven” referring to? For starters, the phrase, Kingdom of Heaven, is found 32 times in the whole Bible, and they are all in Matthew! This is the same Gospel that tells us that Jesus is giving us the Keys to the Kingdom. So first we will look at a sampling of how this phrase is used in Matthew.
The first occurrence is by John the Baptist. He says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is in Matthew 3:2. In Matthew 4:17, the next time the phrase is found, Jesus is saying the same thing, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is after John was put in prison.
In Matthew 5:3, Jesus begins His first recorded sermon with this phrase, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This sermon lists eight ways that people will be blessed. This is very important. He also ends the same list of eight types of blessedness with this, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10.
The vast majority of the times it is used, it is telling people how they can enter and not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Often times Jesus uses the phrase in parables that start something like this, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like…’ He then teaches a lesson using a physical example to relate to a spiritual truth. Here is one from Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
So the Kingdom of Heaven is simply ‘heaven.’ Now what? How do we have the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven? Read this passage first from Matthew 13:10-11, “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”
Recall in our previous lesson that Jesus rebuke the ‘Lawyers’ for hiding the key and preventing others from entering? Now he has turned the tables on them. He explains that there are people whose hearts have grown exceedingly wicked so that they do not hear. They have not repented yet. So now He is entrusting the Keys of Knowledge to the Church…to each Saint.
Notice Jude 3, “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”
The Gospel is in our hands. The knowledge He has given us is the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. But there is more. Jesus, speaking of the Jews, said that only had A Key of knowledge. Meanwhile, He says that He is giving us the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. How is there more than 1 Key to the Kingdom?
It is very simple. They Keys are the Parables. They are the Keys to understanding Heaven, how to get in, and how not to get in. Recall that all occurrences of ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ are in Matthew. Matthew also tells us about the Keys to the Kingdom, and Matthew is the only Gospel written to use that phrase for His parables. One final piece of the puzzle comes from Mark 4:13. Jesus has just taught the Parable of the Sower (also found in Matthew & Luke). When He is done, is disciples asked Him what it meant. This is what He answer, “And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?” Jesus is telling them this one parable is the Key to all the other parables. If the Parables are the Keys to the Kingdom, then we need to understand this Sower Parable. That is the next lesson.