The Kingdom of Heaven is AT HAND

"From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" - Matthew 4:17

The word for "repent," here, is "metanoeo." It means "to think differently afterward." It's not so much the "I was walking this way, now I've turned around and am walking the opposite direction," or changing the way you behave because you know it's wrong, as I've seen illustrated many times. It's more changing the WAY you think, which leads to turning around and behaving righteously.

What causes this thinking differently afterward is the fact that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Literally, it's within arms reach, ready to be grasped and utilized. It's here, where we are, all around us, available for us to live in. It's filled with righteousness, peace, and joy by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bob Hamp at Gateway Church puts it something like this: Think about before God created the universe. When it was "In the beginning, God". Before there was anywhere or anything. "Place" isn't an accurate word, but we'll use it because as humans we can't understand it any other way. So, in this place, where there is only God, what's there? Well, the Bible says that God is love. So there's love. The love that has spent all time working on preparing us to be Christ's bride. He is also the God of all peace. So it's full of peace that's beyond understanding, because there has never been, nor will there ever be a threat to God. Period. He is also a righteous God. Every good and perfect thing comes from Him, and so there would be nothing not good in this place. The fruit of the Spirit. All the things that are true about God, are in this place.

While it's not explicitly stated in scripture, wouldn't this place -- where there is nothing but God -- be accurately called His kingdom?

This has helped me big time with the "in the world, not of it" way of life. As a citizen of heaven, I get to have these things at my disposal at any time. In this world, I can live rightly in peace and joy, regardless of the circumstances caused by the people and events that are outside this kingdom, because the Spirit and the kingdom are in me. Circular, I know, but it makes sense if you put some effort into thinking about it.


I may not have it all figured out, but I do say what I think. If you have any questions about faith in Jesus, don't hesitate to email me. It's my job to help you out.Have an idea for me? Let me know in the comments!If you see any spelling/grammatical errors, PLEASE let me know in a comment. I expect others to use correct English, so I should too.Twitter:@GetItReallyRealPlease subscribe and/or share.