1. “What kind of persons ought you to be in holy manner of life and godliness, expecting and hastening the coming of the day of God” (2 Pet. 3:11-12).
When believers pursue the kingdom of the heavens, they not only can obtain the kingdom of the heavens, but they also can hasten its coming. When Peter speaks of “hastening the coming of the day of God,” he means hastening the coming of the kingdom of God, which is the coming of the kingdom of the heavens. The coming of the kingdom of the heavens requires people on earth to cooperate with God by fighting for the kingdom of the heavens. Revelation 12:10 shows that the kingdom of God comes because there is a group of overcomers in the church who overcome God’s enemy, Satan (vv. 5, 11).
When we are pursuing the kingdom of the heavens, we are actually fighting for the kingdom of the heavens. Satan still occupies the air and the earth today, and he works to prevent God’s authority, His kingdom, from coming to the earth. Thus, the Lord wants us to pray for the kingdom of God to come and for His will to be done on earth (Matt. 6:9-10). However, we cannot simply pray without having a living that reinforces our prayer. If we would pray for the kingdom of the heavens, we must also seek the kingdom of the heavens in order to strengthen our prayer and so that we can cooperate with our prayer for the kingdom. In Matthew 6:10 the Lord asked us to pray for the kingdom of the heavens, and in verse 33, to seek the kingdom of the heavens. To pray is to beseech, and to seek is to live. Prayer that beseeches the Lord for the kingdom of the heavens must come out of a living that seeks the kingdom of the heavens so that our prayer can be strengthened and so that our cooperation can be effective. If we would pray for the kingdom to come, we must also seek the kingdom of the heavens. If we would seek the kingdom of the heavens, we must also have a living that seeks the kingdom. Peter spoke of this living as a “holy manner of life and godliness.” To be holy is to be compatible with God’s nature, and to be godly is to bear God’s likeness. God will burn anything that is not compatible with His nature or image, so those who pursue the kingdom of the heavens should not participate in such things. Pursuing the kingdom of the heavens means that everything in our human living must be according to God’s nature and likeness; everything must have the element of God and manifest His image. This requires us to deny ourselves and live in God, taking God as our all. We must have such a human living in order to pursue the kingdom of the heavens. If we pursue the kingdom of the heavens in such a holy manner of life and godliness, we will not only enter into the kingdom of the heavens but also hasten its coming. God needs such people. God’s kingdom has not yet come because there is a shortage of such people. May we be willing to set our minds on God’s heart’s desire and to rise up to meet God’s need by becoming those who pursue the kingdom of the heavens to hasten its coming.
1. “Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:11; see also 3:7—4:10).
All the important matters in the New Testament are typified in the Old Testament. Since entering the kingdom of the heavens is a very important matter in the New Testament, it also is portrayed in the type of the Israelites entering the good land of Canaan in the Old Testament.
Many believers throughout the ages have viewed the good land of Canaan as being a type of heaven. However, heaven is not occupied by enemies, nor is there any warfare in heaven, but both of these matters were present in Canaan. Thus, Canaan cannot be and is not a type of heaven. According to the Bible, Canaan is a type of the kingdom of the heavens. There were seven tribes of enemies occupying the land of Canaan; today Satan and his angels occupy the earth to which the kingdom of the heavens will come. When the Israelites entered Canaan, they had to destroy the enemies who were occupying it. When the believers enter the kingdom of the heavens, they will deal with Satan and his angels occupying this earth. In the days of the Old Testament the children of Israel took the land; in the future the believers will inherit the earth when they enter the kingdom of the heavens. When the Israelites entered Canaan, God obtained a kingdom, and when the believers enter into the kingdom of the heavens, He also will obtain a kingdom. Thus, the Israelites’ entering the land of Canaan is a type of the believers’ entering the kingdom of the heavens. This is the reason Hebrews 3:7—4:11 and 1 Corinthians 9:24—10:11 both use the matter of the Israelites entering into Canaan as a warning to us.
Hebrews shows that the Israelites fell in the wilderness and were unable to enter into Canaan because of their unbelief and disobedience to God’s word, even though they had been saved by God from Egypt. The Holy Spirit warns us with this matter and tells us that God has reserved a rest for us to enter into, just as He placed the land of Canaan before the Israelites as a place of rest. This rest is the coming kingdom of the heavens. Therefore, we must be watchful lest some of us, like the Israelites, fail to enter the kingdom of the heavens because of unbelief and disobedience to God’s word.
First Corinthians shows that the Israelites were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea and followed Moses to run the course along the way to enter into Canaan, just as we have been baptized into Christ in the Holy Spirit to follow Christ and run the course along the way into the kingdom of the heavens. The Israelites all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, just as we receive Christ and drink of the Holy Spirit. However, most of them were not well pleasing to God, and they were strewn along in the wilderness and did not enter into Canaan to obtain the good land promised by God. The Holy Spirit uses this to warn us to not be like them in lusting after evil things, worshipping idols, committing adultery, tempting the Lord, and murmuring, lest we fall along the way and are unable to obtain the kingdom reward, the crown in the kingdom, or to enter into the kingdom of the heavens to obtain the kingdom promised by God.
There were at least several million Israelites who left Egypt, but only two of those who left Egypt, Joshua and Caleb, were alive when they entered into Canaan (Num. 14:26-30); two others who were dead, Jacob and Joseph, were brought into the land (Gen. 49:29; Josh. 24:32). This is a type showing that although many are called, only a few will enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 22:14); some will be raptured alive, as typified by Joshua and Caleb, and others will die and be resurrected, as typified by Jacob and Joseph.
The example of the Israelites leaving Egypt and entering Canaan shows that God’s full salvation is to save us out of the world (Egypt) and to save us into the kingdom of the heavens (Canaan). However, too many of us have not fully enjoyed God’s salvation; instead, we have enjoyed only part of it, the part which includes being justified by faith, being redeemed by Christ’s blood, obtaining His life, and receiving the Holy Spirit. This can be likened to the Israelites who kept the passover, sprinkled the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, ate of the passover lamb in Egypt, and ate of the manna and drank of the water from the riven rock in the wilderness. Just as the Israelites should have also obeyed God’s word and relied on God’s power to enter Canaan and obtain the rest, we should obey God’s word, rely on God’s power, Christ, to run the race, enter the kingdom of the heavens, and obtain the rest. The goal of the Israelites’ running in the Old Testament times was Canaan, and the goal of our running in the New Testament is the kingdom of the heavens. Many of those who kept the passover and ate the meat of the lamb did not enter into Canaan, because they did not obey God’s word, trust in God’s power, and endeavor to enter the good land. In the same way, if we receive only Christ’s redemption and have Christ’s life, we cannot enter the kingdom of the heavens; we must also obey God’s word, rely on the power of Christ, and endeavor to pursue Him in order to enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
For the ancient Israelites, leaving Egypt and entering Canaan were two different matters. Although they kept the passover, sprinkled the lamb’s blood to be spared from God’s judgment, ate the meat of the lamb, left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea to escape Pharaoh’s control, ate the heavenly manna and drank water from the rock in the wilderness, served in the worship of God with His tabernacle and His presence in their midst, and were led by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, they did not enter into Canaan. Although they did not enter into Canaan, we cannot say that they did not keep the passover, that they were not redeemed, that they had not left Egypt, that they had not returned to God, or that they did not belong to Him. They truly were redeemed by the blood to be the people of God. Nevertheless, they still were not without problems. They needed to press on and endeavor to enter into Canaan to fulfill God’s highest will for them. Through this type we can see that entering the kingdom of the heavens is not a guaranteed matter, even though we have been saved, have been redeemed by the blood, have the life of Christ, have been baptized in the Spirit, have left Satan’s authority of darkness, have enjoyed Christ as life, have drunk of the Spirit, have served God in worship to Him, have the presence of God in Christ, and have the leading of the Spirit and the Word for the way ahead. However, even though we may not enter into the kingdom of the heavens, we cannot say that we are not saved, have not been redeemed, have not escaped the authority of Satan, have not been reconciled to God, or do not belong to Him. We truly have been redeemed by the precious blood and have become the people of God. Nevertheless, we cannot say that we have no further problems. We must endeavor to pursue in order to enter into the kingdom of the heavens to fulfill God’s highest will for us.
If an Israelite wanted to enter into Canaan, he had to pass through five steps: (1) keep the passover to deal with his sins and escape God’s wrath; (2) leave Egypt, cross the Red Sea, and escape the authority of Pharaoh; (3) pass through the wilderness and deal with the Amalekites, putting to death the things of the flesh; (4) cross the Jordan River to put off the old man (Josh. 4:1-11); and (5) engage in warfare to deal with the seven tribes in Canaan. The Israelites had to pass through these five steps before they could enter Canaan and obtain the kingdom. This means that their sins, Egypt and the authority of Pharaoh, the Amalekites, their self, and the seven tribes of Canaan all had to be dealt with before they could enter Canaan to obtain the kingdom. This type shows that if we want to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, we must receive Christ’s redemption to deal with our sins and to escape God’s wrath, be baptized to escape the world and the authority of Satan through our co-death with Christ, deal with the flesh so that all fleshly things may be terminated completely, put off the old man, which is the self—through a deeper experience of the death of Christ, and engage in warfare to deal with Satan’s authority in the air (Eph. 6:11-13). We must pass through these five steps before we can enter the kingdom of the heavens and obtain the kingdom. This means that our sins, the world and the authority of Satan, the flesh, the old man, which is the self, and Satan’s authority in the air all must be dealt with before we can enter into the kingdom of the heavens to obtain the kingdom.