Jesus introduced human beings to the Kingdom of God...

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,

" Violet " <violet.tubb wrote:

 

In reference to 'this kingdom'... the author (in the URL below)

states that it must have four (4) basic elements which are:

 

1) a king, supreme ruler, or governing agent;

2) territory, with its specific location and definite boundary lines;

3) subjects or citizens within that territorial jurisdiction;

4) and laws and a form of government through which the will of the

ruler is exercised.

 

The author also states that: " If we ignore any one of these essential

elements, we will have a distorted faith — one that will not bring

salvation. "

 

This is true. A kingdom does need all of the above elements, and Shri

Jesus and Shri Mataji do explain who is the ruler, the territory, the

subjects and the laws or government through which the will of the

ruler is exercised. This knowledge is definitely essential for our

'hope of salvation' (a.k.a. spiritual liberation or moksha).

 

1./ Who is the king, supreme ruler, or governing agent? Jesus makes

it clear that it is God Almighty, the Father in Heaven:

 

Words of Shri Jesus:

 

" Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven. "

(Matthew 6:9-10)

 

Jesus gives the above prayer for all of us so that we can have God's

Kingdom come on the Earth... 'as it is in heaven'. This is a

continuing happening as individuals allow the Light of the Kingdom of

God to enlighten them from within (spiritual enlightenment). As this

Light of His Kingdom increases in its brightness and lightens up

every corner on Earth... His Kingdom will definitely be established

on Earth... 'as it is in heaven'.

 

The Psalmist (Singer) sings this Song of Joy... for the Time of God's

Ascending and Reigning on the Earth... as the " King of the Earth " :

 

God, the King of the Earth.

 

" O Clap your hands, all peoples;

Shout to God with the voice of joy.

For the Lord Most High is to be feared, (to 'have awe for')

A great King over all the earth.

He subdues peoples under us,

And nations under our feet.

He chooses our inheritance for us,

The glory of Jacob He loves.

 

God has ascended with a shout,

The Lord, with the sound of a trumpet,

Sing praises to God, sing praises;

Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is the King of all the earth. "

(Psalm 47)

 

John, the revelator in the Book of Revelations in the Bible, also describes his

vision of this Happening:

 

" And a voice came from the throne, saying, " Give praise to our God,

all you His bond-servants, you who fear ('have awe for') Him, the

small and the great. " And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great

multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty

peals of thunder, saying, " Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the

Almighty, reigns. " (Revelations 19:5-6)

 

 

2./ What is the territory, with its specific location and definite

boundary lines?

 

This territory is coming out of heaven and coming among men:

 

The New Heaven and Earth

 

" And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first

earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new

Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for

her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, " Behold, the

tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be

His people, and God Himself shall be among them. "

(Revelations 21:1-3)

 

Shri Mataji has taught that we can experience 'heaven-on-earth' right now... by

entering the Kingdom of God in the 'human tabernacle' just as John, the

revelator revealed, and the last breakthrough in human evolution whereby we

enter the Kingdom of God is felt as a 'cool breeze of the Holy Ghost... emitting

out of one's fontanel bone area':

 

" The cool breeze of the Holy Ghost of Pentecost is this power that you can feel

in Sahaja Yoga. In the Gospel of St. Thomas, very clearly describes the Sahaja

experience as the ultimate of our religious life. Also it says we must look

after our centres. This Kundalini has to ascend and pierce through six subtle

centres, which are placed in the spinal cord and in the brain. The last

breakthrough is the actualisation of the baptism as one feels the cool breeze of

the Holy Ghost emitting out of one's fontanel bone area. "

(Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi)

 

 

3./ Who are the subjects or citizens within that territorial jurisdiction?

 

(The Psalmist (Singer) David gave this answer when he said):

 

" All the ends of the Earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the

families of the nations will worship before Thee for the Kingdom is the Lord's

and He rules over the nations.

(Psalm 22: 27-28)

 

In the Book of Revelations... John (the revelator) also reveals that Jesus 'the

Christ-Spirit' admonishes us to hold on to our spiritual birthright... 'our

crown'... and not to allow anyone to take it from us. The Energy Centre at the

'crown of the head' is referred to by Hindus as the " Sahasrara " . This is the

place within human beings where their Spirit within their heart ascends to the

Throne of God Almighty (the Sahasrara) at the Time of the Resurrection or Second

Birth of the Spirit. This process happens through the Holy Spirit (the

Kundalini). This is also the Location of the Kingdom of God within, which also

gets reflected without, but the Kingdom " is within " ... " and then gets reflected

without " . (IT HAS TO COME FROM WITHIN; NO SPIRITUAL THING EVER COMES FROM

WITHOUT). The Holy Spirit (Kundalini) in fact raises us up to that city of God

that is 'coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for

her husband'.

 

John further reveals who will be the citizens of the new Jerusalem where the

'usually last' will end up to be first... and where the 'usually first' will end

up actually being the last. This will be a Reign of God Almighty on Earth,

whereby Jesus's Prayer of " Thy kingdom come... Thy will be done... On earth as

it is in heaven " is in the process of becoming true. It is already happening,

since the Christian Comforter has started this process:

 

" Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are

Jews, and are not, but lie - behold, I will make them to come and bow down at

your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of

My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which

is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the Earth. I

am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your

crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and

he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My

God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out

of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the

Spirit says to the churches (the spiritual body of Christ). "

(Revelations 3:9-13)

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi has described what the spiritual state or nature of the

citizens of the Kingdom of God is:

 

" Once you get into Virat, then all your ideas of separating or differentiating

goes away. You do not have any more ideas of races left, of nationality, of your

city, of your village or anything. At that stage, you don't belong to any place.

You belong to every place and you don't belong to any place. Such a situation

comes in. When you don't hanker after any particular food, you don't like any

particular type of people, you can adjust yourself into any circumstance, into

any families, into any kind of people. You can live with drunkards. I mean, I

have lived with drunkards. Lived means I have shaken hands at least with so many

of them. You can be with any kind of person. Nothing bothers you because you are

in the Virata state because everything is absorbed by the Virat and you do not

feel anything. Whatever sort a person may be, you do not feel it. The Virata has

to suffer, not you and that is what is the best state where I want all of you to

reach and to become absolutely free. Nothing can impress you, nothing can

influence you, nothing can dissuade you, but you stand on your self-esteem and

understanding about yourself that you are a Sahaja Yogi and that you are

connected with this Power and you are a citizen of Kingdom of God. "

(Cabella, Italy - 16 August, 1992)

 

 

4) What about the laws and a form of government through which the will of the

ruler is exercised?

 

The Pharisees actually posed a legal question to Jesus and Jesus explained to

them 'in a nutshell'... exactly what the whole Law and the Prophets are, thereby

making it easy for all to understand. (This is different to what the

'pharisaical lawyers' do):

 

" And one of them (one of the Pharisees), a lawyer, asked Him a question...

testing Him:

 

" Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? "

 

And He said to him:

 

" You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,

and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second

is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments

depend the whole Law and the Prophets. " (Matthew 23:35-40)

 

The laws in the Kingdom of God are really very simple and not convoluted as are

the 'pharisaical laws'. Even children can understand the laws of the Kingdom of

God. In fact, Jesus taught that we need to become like children (doesn't mean to

become 'childish' but 'child-like'; innocent and pure) in order to be even able

to enter the kingdom of heaven:

 

" Truly I say to you unless you are converted and become like children, you shall

not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he

is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3-4)

 

Jesus, the Christ also tried to raise the spiritual consciousness of people by

helping them to understand that in the Kingdom of God, there will be " no

pharisaical type of laws and administrations " . He was very much against these

unloving-man-made-pharisaical-laws:

 

Pharisaism Exposed

 

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying:

 

" The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to

their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them.

 

And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they

themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

 

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their

phylacteries... http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12046a.htm ... and lengthen the

tassels of their garments.

 

And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the

synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by

men, Rabbi.

 

And do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is

in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is,

Christ.

 

But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

 

And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall

be exalted.

 

(Matthew 23:1-12)

 

Shri Mataji states that you cannot actually force any organisation on God, but

they only thing you can do is enter into God's Kingdom. She says many still try

to organise God's Kingdom for Him:

 

" You cannot force on the organisation of God anything. He is on His own, His

organisation is His own. Only thing you can do is to enter into His Kingdom and

become a part and parcel of that blissful domain.

 

You would never like to change it either. It is so wonderful. It is so

protective; it's so loving, is so gentle, so kind, so compassionate, that you

would hate to change that organisation... but we do! We try to organise God.

 

For people who think that that is the ultimate you have to seek, its all

arranged to enter into the Kingdom of God. The time has come. This is the Day of

Resurrection. These are the Days of Resurrection. "

(Hampstead, UK - July 22, 1982)

 

 

Shri Mataji also explains how Jesus, the Christ... through His Resurrection

created the space (vilamba) for us to enter into the Kingdom of God... which She

says " is placed within us - is not without " :

 

" Today I want to tell you about the Agnya Chakra (energy centre at forehead

where Catholics put sign of the cross)... about Jesus Christ, who advanced to

this Centre of Agnya Chakra where you see this read mark (bindi; or red dot on

forehead).

 

Behind that, inside the brain on the crossing of the optic chiasma, is this

subtle centre where this great Deity (Jesus the Christ) is placed through his

crucifixion.

 

And through this Resurrection He has created this space for us to enter into the

Kingdom of God which is placed within us - it is not without. " (Houston, USA -

October 6, 1981)

 

Below are more readings on the Kingdom of God from the website of " Shri Adi

Shakti: Kingdom of God " ... (http://www.adishakti.org/) for your further

enjoyment.

 

violet

 

 

Elaine Pagels writes about the Kingdom of God, as given in the Gospel of Thomas:

 

" So according to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus ridiculed those who thought of the

" Kingdom of God " in literal terms, as if it were a specific place: " If those who

lead you say to you, 'Look, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds will

arrive there before you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' " then, he

says, the fish will arrive before you. Instead, it is a state of self-discovery:

 

" . . . Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you

come to know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will realize that you

are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, then

dwell in poverty, and it is you who are that poverty. "

 

But the disciples, mistaking the " Kingdom " for a future event, persisted in

their questioning. His disciples said to him, " When will . . . the new world

come? He said to them, " What you look forward to has already come, but you do

not recognize it. " His disciples said to him, " When will the Kingdom come? "

(Jesus said), " It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of

saying 'Here it is' or 'There it is.' Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is

spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it. "

 

That " Kingdom, " then, symbolizes a state of transformed consciousness:

 

Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, " These infants being

suckled are like those who enter the Kingdom. " They said to him, " Shall we,

then, as children, enter the kingdom? " Jesus said to them, " When you make the

two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the

inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and female one

and the same . . . then you will enter [the Kingdom]. "

 

Yet what the " living Jesus " of Thomas rejects as naïve — the idea that the

Kingdom of God is an actual event expected in history — is the notion of the

Kingdom that the synoptic gospels of the New Testament most often attribute to

Jesus as his teaching. According to Matthew, Luke, and Mark, Jesus proclaimed

the coming Kingdom of God, when captives shall gain their freedom, when the

diseased shall recover, the oppressed shall be released, and harmony shall

prevail over the whole world. Marks says that the disciples expected the Kingdom

to come as a cataclysmic event in their own lifetime, since Jesus had said that

some of them would live to see " the Kingdom of God come with power. " Before his

arrest, Mark says, Jesus warned that although " the end is not yet, " they must

expect it any time. All three gospels insist that the Kingdom will come in the

near future (though they also contain many passages indicating that it is here

already.) Luke makes Jesus say explicitly " the kingdom of God is within you. "

Some gnostic Christians, extending that type of interpretation, expected human

liberation to occur not through actual events in history, but through internal

transformation. "

(Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels)

 

Jesus explains the meaning of the new birth and the kingdom of heaven:

 

" Nicodemus visits Jesus in the night. Jesus reveals to him the meaning of the

new birth and the kingdom of heaven.

 

1 Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews, and he was earnest, learned and devout.

2 He saw the master's signet in the face of Jesus as he talked, but was not

brave enough to publicly confess his faith in him;

3 So in the night he went to talk with Jesus at the home of Jude.

4 When Jesus saw him come he said, Full blessed are the pure in heart;

5 Twice blessed are the fearless, pure in heart;

6 Thrice blessed are the fearless, pure in heart who dare to make confession of

their faith before the highest courts.

7 And Nicodemus said, Hail, master, hail! I know you are a teacher come from

God, for man alone could never teach as you have taught; could never do the

works that you have done.

8 And Jesus said, Except a man be born again he cannot see the king; he cannot

comprehend the words I speak.

9 And Nicodemus said, How can a man be born again? Can he go back into the womb

and come again to life?

10 And Jesus said, The birth of which I speak is not the birth of flesh.

11 Except a man be born of water and the Holy Breath, he cannot come into the

kingdom of the Holy One.

12 That which is born of flesh is child of man; that which is born of Holy

Breath is child of God.

13 The winds blow where they please; men hear their voices, and may note

results; but they know not from whence they come, nor where they go; and so is

every one that is born of Holy Breath.

14 The ruler said, I do not understand; pray tell me plainly what you mean.

15 And Jesus said, The kingdom of the Holy One is in the soul; men cannot see it

with their carnal eyes; with all their reasoning powers they comprehend it not.

16 It is a life deep hid in God; its recognition is the work of inner

consciousness. "

 

Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ 75:1-16

 

 

 

-- In ,

" Violet " <violet.tubb wrote:

>

> Dear All,

>

> The 'kingdom of God within' was introduced into the spiritual

consciousness of humanity by Jesus... approximately two millennia

ago. However, many people at that time just could not understand this

'kingdom' that Shri Jesus talked about. It was often mistaken for an

external kingdom, however the territory that Jesus was introducing to

human beings was not an external kingdom at all! It was (and still

is) an internal spiritual kingdom instead! Even some of Jesus's

closest disciples found it most difficult to ascertain or make sense

of this internal spiritual kingdom.

>

> The 'Christian Comforter' (Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi) has now

clarified the nature of this 'Kingdom of God' just as Jesus promised

would happen at this Special Time of Resurrection, whereby we can now

enter into this 'kingdom' that Jesus taught about approximately two-

thousand-years-ago. In reference to 'this kingdom'... the author (in

the URL below) states that it must have four (4) basic elements which

are:

>

> 1) a king, supreme ruler, or governing agent;

>

> 2) territory, with its specific location and definite boundary

lines;

>

> 3) subjects or citizens within that territorial jurisdiction;

>

> 4) and laws and a form of government through which the will of the

> ruler is exercised.

>

> The author also states that: " If we ignore any one of these

essential elements, we will have a distorted faith — one that will

not bring salvation. "

>

> This is true. A kingdom does need all of the above elements, and

Shri Jesus and Shri Mataji do explain who is the ruler, the

territory, the subjects and the laws or government through which the

will of the ruler is exercised. This knowledge is definitely

essential for our 'hope of salvation' (a.k.a. spiritual liberation or

moksha).

>

> violet

>

>

> What Did Jesus Preach?

>

> Jesus Christ came to earth as a messenger from God the Father:

>

> Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.

And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even

the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is

coming, " says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

>

> Jesus did not speak His own words, but the words that the Father

gave Him (John 8:38-42; 12:49-50; 14:24). His message was not

primarily about Himself, but rather the good news that the Father

ordained to be announced on earth. While Jesus Christ was

categorically the most important individual ever to walk this earth,

the Bible shows clearly that the gospel that Jesus brought was not

simply about Himself: And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in

their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing

all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

(Matthew 4:23) And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,

teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom,

and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

(Matthew 9:35)

>

> Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching

the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, " The time is fulfilled,

and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the

gospel. " (Mark 1:14-15)

>

> [Jesus] said to them, " I must preach the kingdom of God to the

other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent. " (Luke

4:43) Now it came to pass, afterward, that [Jesus] went through every

city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings [gospel] of

the kingdom of God. (Luke 8:1)

>

> The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the

kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.

And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one

tittle of the law to fail. (Luke 16:16-17)

>

> The inspired Word of God makes it abundantly plain: The " good news "

that Jesus Christ brought was about the Kingdom of God! The " gospel

of Jesus Christ " is simply the message of good news that Jesus

preached—not a message about Jesus. It is not primarily a message

about the events in His life and of His becoming the Saviour of the

world—although it most certainly does include all that. But if the

events of His life are not seen in the proper context, the resulting

" faith " will be full of error and ultimately disastrous!

>

> The announcement of " good news " —the very best news that could be

heard today—which the Father gave through Jesus Christ, was about His

Kingdom. But what is a kingdom? It is essentially a nation, with all

of its citizens, land, and laws, ruled by a government. In biblical

usage, a kingdom can also mean a family from a single parent grown

into a nation.

>

> A kingdom has four basic elements: 1) a king, supreme ruler, or

governing agent; 2) territory, with its specific location and

definite boundary lines; 3) subjects or citizens within that

territorial jurisdiction; 4) and laws and a form of government

through which the will of the ruler is exercised. If we ignore any

one of these essential elements, we will have a distorted faith—one

that will not bring salvation.

>

> http://thetruegospel.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/basics.tour/ID/2/What-

> Did-Jesus-Preach.htm

>