What Does ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is Taken by Force’ Mean?

What Does ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is Taken by Force’ Mean?

by | Oct 25, 2015 | Difficult Scriptures

Scripture in Focus:   Matthew 11:12 

“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12 ESV).


This is a difficult scripture for many people to understand.  How, we might ask, could the very Kingdom of God himself be “taken” by force?  However, there are at least two possible meanings to Jesus’ words that seem to reflect what he may have meant.

Certainly the inhabitants of God’s growing Kingdom – including Jesus himself – have suffered violence at the hands of those opposed to them throughout the ages.  But if that is the meaning of the first half of the verse, does the second half of the scripture signify that the human enemies of the Kingdom would “take” it by force in the way an enemy army might “take” a castle or city it besieged? Jesus promised his followers that the very “gates of hell” would not prevail against the Church that he would build (Matthew 16:18).  Because the Church and Kingdom are intertwined in the post-New Testament era, it seems unlikely that the Kingdom of God could be overthrown by human aggression, but not the Church.

Another possibility is that Jesus meant something quite different.  The NIV and Holman versions both give a variant translation for the first half of the verse – that rather than being “subject to violence” the Kingdom of Heaven has been “forcefully advancing,” and the ESV gives the similar variant “has been coming violently.”  There are grammatical reasons why this might be correct.  The sentence can be understood as being in either “middle” or “passive” voice – both possibilities could be correct – we must choose which makes the most sense.  If we view Jesus’ statement as being in the “middle voice” (as “forcefully advancing”), the second half of the scripture “…and the violent take it by force” would then mean that those striving to enter the Kingdom are doing so.  

The New Testament commonly uses words such as “struggle,” “fight,” “wrestle” and other terms of this type to signify the Christian calling and life, and so it need not be surprising that Jesus would say the “violent take it by force” in the sense of “the energetic take the Kingdom by vigorous action.”  In that sense, the expression is not a lot different from what we see in Paul’s epistle to Timothy: “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called …” (1Timothy 6:12a NIV).

So, understood this way, the two halves of Jesus’ statement recorded in Matthew 11:12 fit together and make good sense. It is perhaps more likely then, that rather than the Kingdom of God being susceptible to suffering violent overthrow (something which hardly applied “From the days of John the Baptist” till the ministry of Jesus), the Kingdom was indeed “forcefully advancing” at that time.  And those who were willing to forcefully act on the knowledge they had were “taking” or entering it. 
Mark His Words: Bible Highlighting

Mark His Words: Bible Highlighting

by | Oct 19, 2015 | Bible Study, Tactical Articles

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It doesn’t take long for most Christians to discover that a marked Bible can be a whole lot more useful than an unmarked one. Not only does Bible marking make important verses stand out, but also it enables us to add notes and symbols that help us remember, review, and teach from the word of God.

But Bible marking can end up as a mass of blotches, corrections and changes if it is not planned carefully, and it can become a drain on our valuable study time if it becomes overly complicated.  Our new article, uploaded today,  shares some guidelines that can help you get the most out of effective Bible marking and highlighting – of printed, digital, and online Bibles.  You can read “Mark His Words” here.

Seeing the Fear of God Correctly

Seeing the Fear of God Correctly

by | Oct 11, 2015 | God

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“Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin” (Exodus 20:20 ESV).

The Bible makes it very clear that humans are intended to fear God – in fact, there are over three hundred instances of the concept in the Old and New Testaments (Ecclesiastes 12:13, Matthew 10:28, etc.). However, a proper understanding of  the concept of godly fear can sometimes be difficult to grasp.    

The difficulty comes from the fact that many people only see half of what is involved in fearing God.  For them,  such fear appears to be a purely negative thing. Like a sign saying “beware of the dog” or “danger, minefield,” the statement “fear God” elicits only negative emotional responses.

But there is a scripture that gives us the other half of the equation and helps us to see the fear of God much more accurately, as we should.  That scripture is Exodus 20:20 – the verse quoted above.  I think of Exodus 20:20 as my spiritual eyesight verse – it’s the “20/20” eye check report we all need if we are to see this aspect of our relationship with God clearly.

Notice that in speaking these words, Moses told the ancient Israelites three important things:

1. “God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you”:  These words make it clear that God wants to be sure that we do have the proper fear of him.

2. “that you may not sin” or “to keep you from sinning” (NIV): The clear purpose of that fear is to protect us from hurting ourselves or others through wrongdoing.

3. “Do not fear”:  Even though God wants us to fear to do evil so that we do not receive punishment from him, he actually commands us not to fear him for any other reason.

When we see the balance of this verse, we see that God treats his human children as we should treat ours – he encourages proper respect for the protection of the children themselves, but does not instill fear in any negative sense.  The morbid concept of a stern and judgmental God demanding abject fear is a figment of human imagination, as we read in Isaiah: “… their fear of me is a commandment taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13b). 

In the New Testament we see that Christ also reiterated fear of God in proper context:  “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).  These words are followed immediately by the affirmation of godly love: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29).

That kind of fear is analogous to the healthy respect of a child who hesitates to disobey its parent, yet who feels secure in the parent’s love and who knows it need not fear the parent in any other way. 

When we see the true parental love of God in our lives, it should not be difficult to see the fear of God correctly – to realize that we can fear God positively without fearing him negatively at all. 

We Are All in This Together

We Are All in This Together

by | Oct 4, 2015 | Discipleship, Great Commission, Updates

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We must never fall into the trap of thinking that Christianity is something that missionaries and ministers do, and that the rest of us are observers to what they do. 

The apostle Paul makes this fact clear in many of his writings, but perhaps nowhere clearer than in his epistle to the Philippians.  In fact, Paul’s letter to that church might be called “the message of Christian involvement”!

Paul begins his letter: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons” (Philippians 1:1), and although Timothy is not the “coauthor” of the letter, his inclusion sets the tone continued in the mention of all the believers as well as the elders of the congregation.  It is important to remember this stress on both members as well as ministers, laity as well as leaders, in reading what Paul continues to say.  Throughout the letter we find the apostle makes many statements based on equal involvement in the work of the faith, as we see in the following examples (emphases added) and many others:

In Chapter 1, Paul gives thanks for the church’s (read “everyone’s) “partnership in the gospel“ (Philippians 1:5.), and says that “all of you share in God’s grace with me” (vs. 7). He states that because of his own captivity “most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear” (vs. 14), and that “through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance” (vs. 19). Paul also says “…I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith” (vs. 25), and that they should all be “striving together as one for the faith of the gospel” (vs. 27) since they  were going through “the same struggle you saw I had” (vs. 30).

Chapter 2 continues from exactly the same perspective.  Paul speaks of the “…common sharing in the Spirit…” (Philippians 2:1), “having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” (vs. 2). And he shows that this unity is expressed in all of the Philippians having the same goals and rejoicing in the same successes of the work:  “… I am glad and rejoice with all of you.  So you too should be glad and rejoice with me” (vs. 17). In this chapter Paul also speaks of the work of Timothy, and of “… Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs” (vs. 26), clearly showing the direct involvement of Epaphroditus and the congregation in Paul’s work.

This ongoing pattern is found throughout the rest of the epistle.  Paul mentions other members of the congregation who were deeply involved in his work – members such as certain women who “… have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life” (Philippians 4:3). He tells us that the Philippians shared in his troubles (4:14) and sent him help (4:16), and when Paul closes his letter with his blessing on the Philippians, he includes “all God’s people” – both all of them and all of his own group (4:21). 

If you ever doubt the importance of every Christian’s involvement in the ongoing work of God as well as the personal acceptance of the gospel, read Philippians. You will see that Paul includes all of God’s people in this work – including you.