The Kingdom of GOD promised
in Holy Scripture is inseparably joined to the Catholic Church.
Note: Saint Matthew usually used the term Kingdom
of Heaven instead, as he directed his Gospel
to the Jews and they were forbidden to even say the Name of GOD.
Why did Jesus Christ come Incarnate in the first place? Was it to leave
us with a book, or to establish a Church? Well, He just happened to tell
us why:
"But He said to them, "To the other
towns also I must PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM OF GOD, FOR THIS IS WHY I HAVE BEEN
SENT"."
Luke 4:43
"For the Son of Man came to seek and
to save what was lost."
Luke 19:10
And how are we, who are the lost ones, saved? It is through the Church
which He founded.
"Therefore, if you harken to My voice and keep My covenant, you shall
be My special possession, dearer to Me than all other people, though all
the earth is mine. YOU SHALL BECOME A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS, A HOLY NATION."
Exodus 19:5-6
"You, however, are a chosen race, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION,
A PURCHASED PEOPLE; that you may proclaim the perfections of Him who has
called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
1Peter 2:9
"And when your days shall be fulfilled and you shall sleep with your
fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which shall proceed out of
your bowels, and I WILL ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM. HE SHALL BUILD A HOUSE TO
MY NAME, AND I WILL ESTABLISH THE THRONE OF HIS KINGDOM FOREVER...AND YOUR
HOUSE SHALL BE FAITHFUL, AND YOUR KINGDOM FOREVER BEFORE YOUR FACE AND
YOUR THRONE SHALL BE FIRM FOREVER."
2Samuel 7:13, 16
"And among my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he has chosen
Solomon my son, to sit upon the THRONE OF THE KINGDOM OF THE LORD OVER
ISRAEL. And He said to me: Solomon My son SHALL BUILD MY HOUSE AND MY COURTS,
FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM TO BE MY SON, AND I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM."
1Chronicles 28:5-6
So Solomon will sit on the throne of the Kingdom of GOD, an earthly kingdom,
clearly a Typeof
the Church which will be manifested in the New Testament.
"He shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his Kingdom: to establish
it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, FROM HENCEFORTH AND
FOREVER."
Isaiah 9:7
"He shall be great, and be called the Son of the Most High; and the
Lord GOD will give Him the throne of David His father, and He shall be
King over the House of Jacob forever; and OF HIS KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE
NO END."
Luke 1:32-33
And He said, "To what shall we liken
the Kingdom of GOD; or to what parable shall we compare it? It is like
a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the earth, is the smallest
of all seeds upon the earth; yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes
larger than any herb, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of
the air can dwell beneath its shade."
Mark 4:30-32. See also, Mark 4:26-29.
This is a clear analogy of the Church which Jesus Christ founded.
"But if I cast out devils by the Spirit
of GOD, then the Kingdom of GOD has come upon you."
Matthew 12:28. See also, Luke 11:20.
"And I will give you the Keys of the
Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Matthew 16:19
Keys are a symbol of Authorityas shown in Isaiah 22:20-24, and of the Primacyof the one receiving them. Also notice the earthly
connotation denoting that the Kingdom of Heaven is here on earth.
"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather OUT
OF HIS KINGDOM all scandals and those who work iniquity."
Matthew 13:41
Since there are no scandals or workers of iniquity in heaven, His Kingdom
has to be on earth.
"Amen I say to you, there are some of those
standing here who will not taste death, till they have seen the Son of
Man coming in His Kingdom."
Matthew 16:28
Obviously all of those He spoke to died, so His Kingdom had to be that
of His Church on earth.
"But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! because YOU SHUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AGAINST MEN. FOR YOU
YOURSELVES DO NOT GO IN, NOR DO YOU ALLOW THOSE GOING IN TO ENTER."
Matthew 23:13
Did the Scribes and Pharisees have any control over a heavenly kingdom?
It had to be earthly.
"And I appoint to you a Kingdom even
as My Father has appointed to Me."
Luke 22:29
Jesus passed His Kingdom to His Apostles.
"Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to GOD the Father,
when He does away with all sovereignty, authority and power."
1Corinthians 15:24
Obviously the Kingdom of GOD is not heaven, as this verse tells us.
"He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into
the Kingdom of His Beloved Son, in whom we have our redemption, the remission
of our sins."
Colossians 1:13-14
We have the remission of sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation in
the Catholic Church. The Church is the "Sons of the Kingdom, the good
seed".
Matthew 13:38
The Church is the "Key of Knowledge", taken by heretics, from
those seeking to enter the Kingdom.
Matthew 23:13, Luke 11:52
The scribes learned from the Kingdom of Heaven, the Church, and brought
forth things both new and old,
Matthew 13:52
The Church is the "Kingdom which cannot be shaken",
Hebrews 12:28
"But in the days of those kingdoms the GOD of heaven will set
up a Kingdom THAT SHALL NEVER BE DESTROYED, and His Kingdom SHALL NOT BE
DELIVERED UP TO ANOTHER PEOPLE; AND IT SHALL BREAK IN PIECES, AND SHALL
CONSUME ALL THESE KINGDOMS, AND ITSELF SHALL STAND FOREVER."
Daniel 2:44
Saint Paul had fellow workers who were members of
the Kingdom of GOD,
Colossians 4:11
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