Lookahead: In 2021, they might express themselves traditionally with a sincere respect for the Ten Commandments….they might deliver illustrated sermons in which they blow balloons across a stage with an air gun representing the Holy Spirit…they might paint breathtaking portraits of angels and Jesus from the age of eight…but to each one has been given the keys to the Kingdom.

I had mentioned that a large percentage of people were probably Kingdom Occupiers (KO’s) in the Acts Church days, because Jesus’ teaching was still so fresh, and His presence was so strong.  Their behavior would represent a good template for today’s KO wannabe’s.  So how did the nascent Christian Church depicted in the Book of Acts act, in this regard?  I believe that we can relate their behavior to the Kingdom paradigm that Jesus personally introduced them to a few years prior.    

Jesus taught extensively on the Kingdom of Heaven during His earthwalk.  In so doing, He established a Kingdom Framework—as well as indirectly describing what KO’s (Kingdom Occupiers) looked like, individually and corporately.  Then and now, KO’s have behaviors that are byproducts of that Kingdom Framework; for example, Jesus said that children had a very special place in the Kingdom.  Therefore, a KO would never have oppressed children.  And indeed, any oppressive behavior would have made them a Kingdom Wrecker (to be addressed in next week’s post). I did a Blue Letter Bible search on “Kingdom of Heaven” to delineate some of the other details of His Framework:

• As mentioned in Kingdom Post #20, things are 180-out in the Kingdom—someone who would not be considered the greatest according to the world’s definition would be the greatest in the Kingdom.  (Per that post, John the Baptist was considered the greatest prophet and yet the person in the Kingdom who was least, therefore was the greatest servant, would be considered greater than John the Baptist.) (Morli-ism)
• The Will of the Father was clearly communicated in the Kingdom—and understood.  That is, a natural byproduct of Jesus’ framework was doing the will of God the Father whenever possible. The Father was allegorically symbolized by a farmer who sowed seed into good soil, as God sewed His Word into the willing hearts of men.  Acts KO’s  had a greater understanding of the Word and the Word made flesh, both of which had been deeply planted in their hearts.
• The Kingdom of Heaven was imminent/near/here.  KO’s lived with a sense of hope and expectancy—and were very happy people.  But the Kingdom of Heaven could also come when they least expected it.  So KO’s lived in a state of preparedness. 
• The Kingdom of Heaven grew, but they didn’t know how it grew, therefore, it was not human beings who grew the Kingdom.  Not only that, the Kingdom of Heaven grew exponentially.
• The Kingdom of Heaven was no respecter of persons…Occupiers could be older; they could be younger…they might be older acting like they’re younger….or younger acting way beyond their years…

Side Note 1:  In 2021, they might express themselves traditionally with a sincere respect for the Ten Commandments….they might deliver illustrated sermons in which they blow balloons across a stage with an air gun representing the Holy Spirit…they might paint breathtaking portraits of angels and Jesus from the age of eight…but to each one has been given the keys to the Kingdom.

• To my point, the Kingdom of Heaven was all about Equal Opportunity (EO).  But (sadly) Jesus did not, and does not, get the number of takers that He would desire (i.e., everybody).  He taught a parable about a wedding in which none of the invitees showed (lost Jews); so the host expanded the invite list to include everybody else (gentiles).  Some tried to sneak in without the appropriate wedding attire (lost v. saved gentiles).  (This underscores today’s fact that KO’s have accepted Jesus Christ and surrendered to Him.)
• Also, the fact that it was an EO Kingdom meant that it didn’t matter if someone was an accomplished sinner—they could get in just as easily as veteran believers.  If they submitted and surrendered and repented, the door was open to them.
• The Kingdom of God was referred to as having His righteousness; so Matthew 6:33 said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and the righteousness” that people would get when they became occupiers.  In addition, He said that people should seek Him for all the things that they needed—what they ate, what they drank, what they wore, $$$—that everything would be provided by the King.

Side Note 2:  That is perhaps the most prominent characteristic of a KO.  They are hungrily chasing after God. 

• In the Kingdom of Heaven, supernatural things would happen; devils would be cast out by the Spirit of God.
• The Kingdom of Heaven evidently did not hold a major attraction for wealthy people…in many cases they were quite content with the world system, so they wouldn’t typically be seeking the Kingdom and the King.

This Kingdom preaching continued on after the cross.  John the Baptist had begun preaching the soon-coming Kingdom; then, sure enough, the Kingdom had gloriously arrived with Jesus; and now the apostles picked up the torch and ran with it.  Philip, the apostle/disciple… proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ in the Book of Acts. (8:12) Paul talked extensively about the Kingdom of God in addition to being the absolute top notch KO template of all time. He spoke often about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade people to come into the Kingdom.  Acts 28:23: He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God…Obviously Paul was not only talking about the Kingdom. He was also talking about the King; And the other apostles were similarly evangelizing about the King, because you can’t have the Kingdom without the King. The second half of Acts 28:23 says: from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. Plus Acts 28:31 confirms that Paul was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

What the Acts generation saw was that Jesus was still around, His manifestations were still there, and they were now watching everything that He had said about the Kingdom unfold before their eyes;  they were seeing the gifts in operation and they were seeing Jesus’ ambassadors disabling the enemy using the Name of Jesus.  Basically, Jesus was in the midst of two or three of them and if they asked anything in His Name, he did it.  They were living that, and witnessing the miraculous, morning, noon and night.  They realized that the King was there, and so they realized the Kingdom was there for the duration.

I believe it was much easier to be a KO in the Acts Church, because you saw all the miracles popping like popcorn.  Instead of going to the doctor, you just tracked down an apostle or disciple—or, for that matter, just laid hands on yourself and prayed for your own healing in the Name of Jesus.  Instead of a couple of hundred people getting healed in a crusade of 60,000, all the people in Peter’s path were getting healed in the Name of Jesus—as long as they made sure that his shadow fell on them! 😊

So why did people back off Acts?  I believe that well intentioned men thought they were supposed to try to enlarge the Kingdom themselves to make the King happy.  I don’t believe that God was asking for huge cathedrals full of Christians—or religious empires dedicated to His Name.  He was asking us to seek Him; Essentially…He wasn’t looking for religion—He was looking for relationship.  And bottom line, if God’s not running things, the devil sleazes his way in.  Then we get centuries of Christian corruption on a massive scale—and horrific abominations like inquisitions, crusades, pogroms, and the holocaust.  More on this next week, as we discuss Kingdom Wreckers.