[JJ]

Originally Posted by testallthings

Mat. 3:2 “And Saying, Repent for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (RcV)

It is very interesting that John the Baptist didn't have to explain what the kingdom of the heavens was. That means that every Jew understood what he meant. The Lord Jesus was the son of David, the King of the Jews (2:2; “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 27:37; “...and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:32-33). The Lord Jesus came to establish the Messianic kingdom promised to David, of which every Jew knew very well.

Let's come to footnote 2.2 and 2.3. In the first one the RcV says that the kingdom of the heavens is different from the Messianic kingdom. In the second, that according to Mat. 16:18-19 “the terms church and kingdom of the heavens are used interchangeably.” If these things were true, than we should expect John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus, and the apostles to clearly tell the Jews that their were mistaken in expecting a literal kingdom to be established according to what God promised in the O.T.. Concerning the word church it should be noticed that in the O.T. there was a church. Act 7:38 “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us” (K.J.V.) Why the RcV doesn't use the word church in this verse?

The RcV draws a parallel between church and kingdom of the heavens because the two terms happen to be in the same context. Let's see how the same interprets these two verses. Mat 19:23: "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (K.J.V.) It is actually here there the two terms are interchangeable and not in Mat. 16:18-19! Footnote 24.2 makes a distinction between these two terms, but its position is not defensible. Why the double standard in finding synonyms, we might ask?

But, let's assume for a moment that church and kingdom of the heavens mean the same thing and read Mat. 3:2 again: “And Saying, Repent for the church has drawn near.” How does this verse sounds now? The church is coming! Therefore repent! This doesn't sound very scary. After all isn't the church, as the Body of Christ, living in the age of grace? This is absurd. John was telling the Jews that the wrath was coming! The axe was laid at the root of the trees. That Messiah would thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Mat. 3:7-12). That's why he was urging the people to repent and be baptized.

Witness Lee didn't equate the term "the Kingdom of the Heavens" to just to the church (see his chart after Matthew 5:4 in Recovery Version), it includes the church and the Millennium age with the Messianic Kingdom within it.