The Kingdom of Heaven and the End of the World
Christ Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
The Kingdom of Heaven is a kind of spiritual entity. But we often consider it in analogy with a material entity. And Christ Jesus must have known that we do so.
From a historical point of view, it was Christ Jesus that took and sowed a small seed in this world 2000 years ago. And as he preached, the Kingdom of Heaven started from one man, Christ Jesus, to cover the whole world today, if you believe the teaching of Christ is the foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven. Influences of Christ Jesus can be seen in many fields of human activities in the world, including literature and art.
But, Christ Jesus also predicted the end of the world coming with some horrible tragedies. Then, what is the relationship between the Kingdom of Heaven and the end of the world? Does it mean that even if our souls come to live in the Kingdom of Heaven, our physical bodies are destined for experiencing the end of the material world?
The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the spiritual sphere, but the concept of the end of the world is related to this material world. They might coexist, somewhat overlapping with each other through our real existence across the spiritual and material worlds.
Another issue of the Kingdom of Heaven is as to whether this concept can apply to other religions, such as Judaism and Islam.
Probably, Muslims enter the Kingdom of God through their religion Islam; Judaists enter the Kingdom of God through their religion Judaism; and Christians enter the Kingdom of God through their religion Christianity. They will live in the world where the only religion in it is called the Kingdom of God. Truly, if Muslims, Judaists, and Christians all reach their destination, the Kingdom of God, through their respective religions, they don't need their own religions any more.
Indeed, Muslims in the Kingdom of Heaven would say, "We were followers of Islam before, but now we are residents in the Kingdom of Heaven"; Judaists in the Kingdom of Heaven would say, "We were members of Judaism before, but now we are members in the Kingdom of Heaven"; and Christians in the Kingdom of Heaven would say, "We were members of Christianlty before, but now we are residents in the Kingdom of Heaven."
However, meanwhile this material world, including the communities of Muslims, Judaists, and Christians, might all face the end.
In that case, the whole world might be put into devastating confusion and catastrophe. In the worst case, terrorists might use advanced weapons of mass destruction in Europe, the Middle East, North America, and so on, resulting in the fall of this modern civilization that has been built in these 2000 years after the emergence of Christ Jesus.
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Joh 8:17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.