The Kingdom of Heaven

If this, then, is the day of the rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David, as prophesied by Amos and as confirmed by the apostle James, then it is the day of the Royal Priesthood, when Christ Who is both King and Priest, is joined unto those in His Body who, by virtue of this joining, become "kings and priests unto God." When Jesus was here He taught the mysteries of the Kingdom in the form of parables, because the hearts of the people had become dull and blinded.

The best He could do was to implant as it were a seed of truth in the form of a parable, knowing that as the seed was given a chance to germinate in the earth, eventually it would spring forth in Kingdom-life. "The kingdom of heaven," He said, "is like a seed that is planted in the earth." He warned us that the Kingdom of God "cometh not with observation." He reminded us that it was not something that would suddenly burst forth upon the earth in a blaze of glory, but something that would grow, and grow, and grow... "first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear" (Mk. 4:28). John the Baptist preached a message of repentance to prepare the hearts of the people for this Kingdom. Wherever He went, Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Little by little the truth began to dawn upon the hearts of the disciples: Jesus must die... He must rise again from the dead... He must ascend into the heavenly Zion. God's Kingdom was not to be confined to one nation, but was to become universalized throughout the whole earth by the preaching of the gospel. Israel, the true Israel, was to take on enlargement in "one new man," the Church. Henceforth the true Israel would be a heavenly people. They would be called "The City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Christ was to reign at God's right hand in Zion, this heavenly Zion, till all His enemies "were subdued under His feet." We have seen the sprouting of the seed and the blade of the Kingdom in the early Church. We have seen the ear coming forth in the centuries that followed.

We are about to witness the "full corn in the ear," as God brings the Kingdom to fullness of fruition. Notice: the full corn... the fruit of the Kingdom for which the Husbandman has been waiting... the full corn must be formed in the ear. Not far off some where in the heavens, but right here in the earth where the seed was planted and grew--and there it comes to maturity. Jesus Himself was the good kernel of wheat that fell into the ground and died.

Therefore we can be sure that the "full corn in the ear" can be nothing less than Jesus Himself enthroned and embodied in the lives of a people who have come into being because Jesus was faithful to the Father's will... and fell into the ground and died.

Let us not forget the Law of the Seed, which God established in both the Old Creation and in the New: It is the inherent life in the seed that determines the ultimate form, and expression, and character of the fruit! It cannot be inferior to the good seed, or God is dishonored. It must be good fruit, perfect fruit, from good Seed, Perfect Seed--the Seed that was planted in the earth. He must bear fruit after His kind. It is the Law of the Seed. (See Gen. 1:12.)