The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven – Part 9

The Positive and The Negative Application of Every Word

Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Introduction

Not understanding that all scripture has both a positive and a negative application has served to keep the keys to the kingdom of heaven hidden from those to whom those keys have not been given (Mat 13:9-15). Exodus 14:20 is speaking of Christ, who we are told was the “cloud [that] went before them.”

Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The same cloud was to one people bright light as in the middle of the day, while on the other side of the very same cloud, there was such thick darkness that those in that darkness could not see their own hands in front of their faces.

Peter tells us that God has made Jesus “both Lord and Christ”. Here we are told, “The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud.”

Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

The word ‘Lord’ in Exodus 13:21 is translated from what the Jews call ‘the tetragrammaton’, meaning ‘the four letters’, and those four letters are YHWH. Those who have added the vowels have generally agreed to ‘Yahweh’. Some scholars add an ‘o’ between the ‘h’ and the ‘w’, translating the tetragrammaton as ‘Yehowah’, which is then Anglicized into ‘Jehovah’. We have several FAQs which give the scriptures proving that Christ, “the Word” is the ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’ who did much of the speaking of the Word in the Old Testament. ‘Yahweh’ appears more than any other name in the Old Testament with 6528 entries. In the King James Version it is almost always translated in all caps as the LORD. The only exceptions are that it is translated as ‘God’ four times and as ‘Jehovah’ four times.

It was Yahweh who talked with Moses out of the burning bush:

Exo 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Exo 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Exo 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

Yahweh, the LORD, spoke with Moses, and it was Yahweh who had spoken with and had eaten a meal with Abraham about 500 years earlier when He came to tell Abraham that Sarah would have a child:

Gen 18:13 And the LORD [Hebrew: Yahweh] said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

It is Christ Himself who reveals to us that it was He who spoke to Abraham, and it was He who was the cloud that led them through the wilderness when He tells us this:

Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

So it is Christ Himself who was as dark as the darkest night to the Egyptians, and it was Christ who was at the same time light to Israel, His elect in type. Christ is not just a pillar of cloud. He is also the Word. Here is the New Testament revelation of what the pillar of cloud which was darkness to the Egyptians while at the same time being light to the Israelites means:

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

If it is true that Christ is the Word, and if it is true “Ye have neither heard his voice at any time“, then it in no way contradicts those two truths to replace the word ‘made’ with the word ‘said’ in verse 3, and it would still agree with the sum of the Word of God.

Here is how it would then read:

Joh 1:3  All things were [said] by him; and without him was not any thing [said] that was [said].

One of the clearest applications of this key to the kingdom of God, this principle of being light to those who are given eyes that see while at the same time being total darkness to those who are not given eyes to see, is explained for us all in Matthew 13 where Christ explains to His disciples why He always spoke to the multitudes in parables:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

It was given to Israel to see what God was doing, but to the Egyptians it was not given. Everything that happened there at the Red Sea was just a type and shadow of what Christ came to reveal to those to whom He gives eyes that see and ears that hear.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

It seems impossible that the very words that reveal the mind of God and His Son to His elect, the very words that nourish and feed and give light and life to God’s elect, are the very same words that poison, weaken, blind and give darkness and bring death to our “old man… the first man Adam”.

Is this true of every word of God?

So, how far do we go in applying this dark to one and light to the other, this positive to one and negative to the other, key to the kingdom of heaven? If indeed Christ is the Word, and if the scriptures are in fact His written Word, then the principle revealed to us in this particular key to the kingdom of heaven must surely apply to “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” What is it we are told of “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?”

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other. (ACV)

If it is true that the Word of God is darkness to those who do not know God and it is light to those to whom He is revealing Himself, and if it is true that “man shall… live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, then it follows that we must all live first in that spoken and written darkness before we are given eyes that see and ears that hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Is that a true statement? Do the scriptures confirm that we are all first the Egyptians who could not see their hands in front of their own faces because of the extent of the darkness in which they were living?

Here is the scriptural answer to that question via the pen of the apostle Paul:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

There is our answer. “We all had our [way of life] in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” What this key to the kingdom reveals in practice is that every man lives out both the positive and the negative words, the blessing and the curses, that have proceeded out of the mouth of God, including these very dark, negative words:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

No man is able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels… [who were given] the seven vials full of the wrath of God are fulfilled in that person’s life, which life is the temple of God, as the apostle Paul told all those who were in His charge:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

If indeed Christ is the Word, and if we are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, does that not mean that we must confess to all the sins of all men and bear all the curses as well as all the blessings of scripture? Is that not exactly what Christ, our Savior, did?

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Are these words which have no personal application to you and me? The keys to the kingdom of heaven, which kingdom is within us, reveal that both the bright side and the dark side of Christ are ours. It is not just the bright, good, lighted side which is ours. The keys to the kingdom of heaven reveal that we, too, must fill up in our own bodies that which is behind of the afflictions of “He [who] is despised and rejected of men.” We, too, must have no beauty that we should be desired. We also must be despised and rejected of all men. It is given to us to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It is given to us on His behalf to bear the griefs and sorrows of our fellows. It is given to us to be wounded for the transgression and bruised for the iniquities of our fellow man; to be “crucified with Christ” for the very same reason, goal and purpose for which Christ was crucified.

It is also given to us to be required to bear all the sins of all men from Adam on, just as did Christ Himself:

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

[Read this link for more on who this ‘scapegoat’ symbolizes: The Spiritual Significance of the Scapegoat and the Nazarite Vow]

Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Let’s examine the depth of the application of this particular key to the kingdom of heaven which teaches us that there is both a bright, positive side to our Lord as that pillar of cloud, which was at the very same time dark and negative, as He stood between and delivered His people from their enemies, all of which we now know was a type and shadow of the kingdom of God which is within us.

Here is what is involved in being saved from sin and death for those who are given to receive it. This is what is given to the “scapegoat”, the Lord’s “living sacrifice…” to bear the sins of the people (Rom 12:1, Lev 16:10-21):

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he [Saul of Tarsus] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Heb 13:3  Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Does this all sound negative and dark? The fact is that this is the best thing to which any of us could possibly be called. If it is not given us to bear these words, then the proverb is true:

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy [spiritual] strength is small.

The godly, the unjust and the day of judgment

Who are the unjust whom the apostle Peter tells us are “reserve[d]… unto the day of judgment?

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
2Pe 2:11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Whoever verse 10 is speaking of must surely be some especially reprobate person:

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

Do we think of ourselves only as ‘the godly’ whom the Lord knows how to deliver out of temptation? The keys to the kingdom of heaven within us, and this key concerning the light and dark side of the same cloud, the negative and the positive application of every word of God, will open our eyes to see that we ourselves are that man of verse 10. It is we ourselves who are “chief… of… sinners”. It is we who have taken Uriah’s wife and murdered Uriah to cover up our sin.

Only when we see ourselves as being that dark side first will we understand what the spirit is telling us when Christ said:

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

That “kingdom of heaven” is not just “likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.” It is also likened unto “his enemy [our “old man” who] came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” The keys to the kingdom of heaven reveal that the kingdom of heaven is also likened to the householder, Christ, who tells his servants to “let both [the wheat and the tares] grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest… gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

When is “the harvest”? The harvest is the judgment. Whether it is now or at the great white throne judgment, that is when the tares are gathered first in bundles and are burned up.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are, the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

So when are the tares gathered together in bundles and destroyed with the brightness of His coming? When are God’s elect judged and purged of all the tares in their lives? Here is when that day of judgment takes place in the kingdom of God within us:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The tares are even now being gathered and bound up in bundles and being burned up by the brightness of the coming of Christ and the Truths of His doctrine in all those who now are the house of God. Here again is how they are being “burned”, and here is how the wheat is being gathered into Christ’s barns:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Using ‘the dream is one’ key (Gen 41:26), and being told by Christ that the kingdom of heaven is within His people and that the wheat symbolizes His own words, His doctrine, we must conclude that God’s barn and God’s temple are both the same. They both symbolize those He is gathering together, those in whom He dwells as His temple, those who have Him within them and live by His words and His doctrines.

Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom [within us] all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Conclusion

“Them that do iniquity” of Matthew 13:41 is our own old man within all of us, who is even now being judged and is now being crucified with Christ and is even now dying daily. What a blessing it is to know the mind of Christ and to have all these keys to the kingdom of heaven, and to know that the dark side of that cloud that is Christ is simply the first Adam whose demise is the birth of the new man, the bright side of the same cloud, the last Adam; the birth of Christ Himself within each of us:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

[Part ten can be found here.]