Hi Mike,

What is the difference between entering the kingdom and inheriting the kingdom?

Can we say we enter the kingdom now when we receive the Spirit of Christ, and then if we are given to endure to the end, we shall be given to inherit the kingdom?

I look forward to your input.

Ybitc,

M​____

Hi M​____,

Thank you for your question… “What is the difference between entering the kingdom and inheriting the kingdom?”

The answer is that both are spoken of in the aorist tense, meaning that both are in the process of being fulfilled at this very moment.

Look at how the holy spirit speaks of entering the kingdom:

Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter^{G1525 [G5632]} into the kingdom of heaven.

G1525 is the Strong’s number for:

G1525
εἰσέρχομαι
eiserchomai
ice-er’-khom-ahee
From G1519 and G2064; to enter (literally or figuratively): – X arise, come (in, into), enter in (-to), go in (through).

The number in brackets gives us the Greek tense of this verb ‘eiserchomia‘ meaning “to enter”. This is the tense of that verb:

G5632
Tense-Second Aorist See [G5780]

When we look up [5780] this is what we find:

G5780
Tense-Second Aorist

The “second aorist” tense is identical in meaning and translation to the normal or “first” aorist tense.  The only difference is in the form of spelling the words in Greek, and there is no effect upon English translation.

See “Aorist” [G5777]

Many scholars, deprived of the keys to the kingdom, will tell you the aorist tense is best understood as referring to the past. How absurd! How can the act of looking forward to entering into the kingdom of God for us be best understood as being in the past? How can something we are “hoping for… [and] with patience waiting for” be in the past?

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Now let’s look at how the holy spirit speaks of our inheriting the kingdom:

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit^{G2816 [G5657]} the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Again the first number is the number for the Greek word translated as ‘inherit’ and the second number, the bracketed number is the Greek tense which is:

G5657
Tense-Aorist See [G5777]

When we look at [G5777] this where we read this obviously erroneous bit of scholarly nonsense:

G5777
Tense-Aorist

The aorist tense is characterized by its emphasis on punctiliar
action; that is, the concept of the verb is considered without
regard for past, present, or future time.  There is no
direct or clear English equivalent for this tense, though it is
generally rendered as a simple past tense in most translations.

The events described by the aorist tense are classified into a
number of categories by grammarians.  The most common of these
include a view of the action as having begun from a certain
point (“inceptive aorist”), or having ended at a certain point
(“cumulative aorist”), or merely existing at a certain point
(“punctiliar aorist”).  The categorization of other cases can
be found in Greek reference grammars.

The English reader need not concern himself with most of these finer points concerning the aorist tense, since in most cases they cannot be rendered accurately in English translation,
being fine points of Greek exegesis only.  The common practice
of rendering an aorist by a simple English past tense should
suffice in most cases.

This is absolute nonsense. Greek has a past tense, a present tense and a future tense just like English.

When the holy spirit refuses to use any of those three tenses, and defers to the aorist tense it is for a very good and very important reason the finer points of which the English reader most definitely must concern himself.

When you state that the aorist tense expresses a thought “without regard for past, present, or future time”, a close examination of the words under discussion will always reveal that the reason for this fourth Greek tense (with its Hebrew equivalent, known as “the Qal stem”) is that it is speaking of something that is, was, and will be taking place. It is without regard to the past, present or future simply because it includes the past present and the future. The aorist tense is used whenever something is in the process of taking place, and that is of utmost importance to an “English reader” in whom Christ dwells.

I hope this helps you to see that both our entering and our inheritance are both in the ‘is, was, and will be’ process of being fulfilled.

YbitC, Mike