“…And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force…”

“…The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it…”

I place my question in the past tense, as though the violence has quite disappeared. But that is not a given. What was happening then could well be happening now.

The Kingdom of Heaven. First we must discern whether Christ referred to a revived nationalism involving the people of Israel, or the overall reign of Jesus Christ in the hearts of men now and in the future, or that state of affairs that will prevail when the Heavenly City descends to Earth and the Millennial rule of Christ begins. I am sure that the available interpretations are all over the map in this regard.

Our God has always planned a ruler-ship over this planet, and He has designated His own Son to be the inheritor of the Kingship thereon. It was to be the “Son of David” Who would sit on David’s very throne one day and pick up where fallen Israel left off in shame. But the Kingdom would have to undergo some major reforms.

Especially in need of reform would be the hearts of the ruled. This task was accomplished through the institution of the new Covenant of the Kingdom, a reign directly from God over the hearts of men.

Jeremiah 31:33, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

So we do not have to choose one or the other of the possible reigns of God over His people, after all. It is all one. And what was the state of that Kingdom before the ministry of John? Absolute disarray. The prophets had not spoken for 400 years. Israel moved from one bondage to another until the present and most horrid of all, slavery to pagan Rome. Sporadic freedom movements flared up and as quickly burned out. One of Jesus’ disciples was himself a part of a Zionist effort to restore the ancient glory of Israel by armed revolt against Rome. Fat chance, that.

Then came the Voice crying in the wilderness. In the light of what was to come we have not seen the full glory that accompanied the preaching of John. The multitudes flocked to the wilderness, heard him preach, repented, changed, reformed. And intently looked for Messiah who would be next on the scene. Hearts were made ready. In the Spirit world, a violence had intruded into the sleeping hopes of a dejected people. They had lost all hope. But the outlandish preaching of the outlandish prophet changed things. The Enemy Himself was on edge, ready for even further violence against his rule.

Compared to John, Jesus’ person and work and teachings and miracles were even more of a shot in the arm to the Kingdom people, and a shot to the heart of Satan’s Kingdom, that was trying to superimpose itself on the Kingdom of Heaven, and doing a pretty good job, at least from any onlooker’s perspective.

But here comes Jesus. Now blind eyes aren’t blind any more. Take that! The deaf can hear. Wham! Demons are on the run. Food is multiplied. Diseases are canceled by a word. Violence! Warfare! Victory! It gets worse (for the Devil). Death itself cannot keep people down. A prayer and a command from Jesus, and the dead live again! The Resurrection and the Life Themselves are on the Earth, in the person of the Violent One, Jesus.

John, Jesus, the Spirit, and soon, His apostles, are taking the Kingdom by a spiritual force totally unknown before. The gates of the Kingdom have reopened to men, and they press in by the thousands. Since then, by the millions. The strong man, Jesus, has taken the City, and the saints in hiding now come in from every direction. Territory is won. This Gospel is preached all over the world and everywhere it goes, the power of God goes with it to establish a new beach-head for Jesus Christ.

May we be in our place in these days when Jesus continues to seek for citizens of this Kingdom, citizens who one day will, under the Headship of Jesus , claim the entire Universe as their own. And “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun doth its successive journeys run; His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore, ‘til moons shall wax and wane no more!”