Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Kingdom of GOD is the Catholic Church!

"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
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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 type of 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 Authority as shown in Isaiah 22:20-24, and of the Primacy of 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.

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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
home.inreach.com/bstanley/kingdom.htm

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