THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Jesus Christ is hailed as the great shepherd by his followers but in his day and age he was a black sheep. Jesus was a poet and a prophet who spoke against the mass-consciousness of his day. He was crucified as a blasphemer because he did not bow to their god that required submission and sacrifice but taught the people of his father, showing them how to Love unconditionally, and live harmoniously with the world and each other, not out of fear, duty, and obligation to an almighty deity.
He allowed himself to be swallowed by the religious machine and crushed in the teeth of the gears in order to stop the wheels from turning. He destroyed the temple, ripped the curtain in two and put the priest-hood out of work, and established a new kingdom…a kingdom not of this world.
The “kingdom” of heaven is quite different from our worldly concept of kings and kingdoms. Jesus’ thoughts on leadership include statements such as “whoever wishes to be first among you must become the least.” “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” He turned the paradigm of hierarchy upside down with visions such as: “the lion shall lie down with the lamb and a little child shall lead them.” In fact being born again and becoming like a little child was a pre-requisite for being a part of his heavenly kingdom.
He said things like… “Let the little children come unto me and forbid them not for such is the kingdom of heaven.” and, “If you do not become as a little child you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In the parable of the rich young man he spoke of the renunciation of material possessions and even said that it was easier for a camel to go through the “eye of a needle” than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He made a clear distinction between the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of heaven “you cannot serve two masters…you cannot serve both God and Money.” He commanded his disciples to not carry extra clothes, or staff (used as a weapon against thieves), or Money when he sent them out in two’s to spread the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.
In any kingdom of man, laws are instituted to protect persons and their property from the hands of selfish and greedy people; mechanical mechanisms to discourage crime. A hierarchy must be established to enforce these laws. Jesus’ remedy to this dilemma was simple: “Do not store up for your selves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal…” “Observe the birds of the air, they neither sow or reap or gather into barns, but your heavenly father feeds them.”
To the converts from Judaism, the coming of the Messiah marked the end of God’s vertical, hierarchical, second hand relationship with his people and the beginning of an intimate, personal, first-hand relationship. “The time has come and now is when the true worshippers shall worship God in Spirit and in Truth.” To observers of the Torah he was the fulfillment of the prophesy of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Hosea.
Jesus brought “God” to the people by calling him ‘Father’ rather than “Lord”. He included humanity in the Godhead when he said “I am the vine and you are the branches…” He put himself on an equal plane with his followers when he said “who is my mother and brother and sister? Those who do the will of my Father.” The apostle Paul said: “We are the body of Christ…”“we are no longer slaves but friends.”
All of the revolutionaries in the history of Judaism spoke of someone coming after them that was greater, from Moses to John the Baptist who said, ‘ I am not even worthy to unloose his sandal straps.’ Jesus as well prophesied of someone coming after him greater than he when he spoke of the “Holy Spirit”. For his followers, an event called “The Pentecost” was the manifestation of this spirit and exemplified the phenomenon of the people experiencing “God” on a horizontal plane which resulted in the formation of an egalitarian community; however this community was corrupted when the apostles elevated themselves above the people and created a hierarchal system.
Temples don’t grow and evolve but bodies and vines never stop. A vine will never grow to the capacity it was designed to reach if it is transplanted and confined to a pot. Its roots will either break thru the structure that contains it or its growth will be stunted and it will eventually shrivel and die. “God” is alive and cannot be contained. “God” cannot inhabit man-made structures without ripping the curtain in two and demolishing it completely not leaving one stone on top of another. King Solomon said, “The heavens, even the highest heavens cannot contain you oh, lord how much less this temple I have built with my own hands.” Just as the vine cannot be contained in the pot, or “God” in the Temple, or Jesus in the Tomb; neither can the Church (The Body of Christ) be contained within a religeo-political hierarchical structure.
“God” is Spirit. “God” is LOVE.
The idea of a stationary god in another realm is a conceptual misnomer. The concept of Omni-presence suggests that “God” is everywhere at once, thru all and in all, inhabiting and yet transcending creation. The personification of “God” is merely a metaphor. The feeling of the absence of “Gods” presence is nothing more than a lack of perception and the overwhelming experience of ecstatic and intrancsive worship is a revelation, a heightened sense of awareness of the presence of “God.”