Why did Jesus Christ become Incarnate
in the first place? Was it to leave us with a book, or to establish a Church?
Well, in this verse He told us one of the reasons 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, to be 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
The Kingdom of GOD will last forever:
"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. Note: Saint Matthew normally used the term Kingdom of
Heaven instead of Kingdom of GOD,
as his Gospel was addressed to the Jews and they were forbidden to
even say the Name of GOD.
"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 an earthly
kingdom.
"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