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THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Mat. 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

This parable is one of the seven parables told by our Lord Jesus Christ in Mathew 13 about the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember that there are two kinds of kingdoms: The Kingdom of Heaven (Heavenly Kingdom) and the Kingdom of Earth (Earthly Kingdom).

To explain further these two kingdoms, we must know that in the beginning, our Lord God created two realms: the Spiritual realm and the Physical realm commonly known as the Heaven and the Earth (Gen. 1:1). These two are two opposite worlds or realms. Heaven here represents the spiritual realm while Earth here represents the physical realm (in the beginning, God did not only create Earth, of course, He also created the Sun, Planets, stars, galaxies – the whole universe. This is why Earth here represents the physical world or the whole universe). Then God created the angels: created beings who are spirits but have no physical bodies to inhabit the spiritual realm. He also created the animals: created beings that have physical bodies but have no spirit to inhabit Earth. These all happened in Genesis 1:1, a period of the beginning which we call the Prehistoric World, before the creation of Man.

Then something happened to Earth in Genesis 1:2. The Earth became “without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.“ Take note that this only happened to Earth. Nothing happened to Heaven or the Spiritual realm. So why did this happen to Earth? This is because it is the time when Lucifer and his angels, although they are spiritual beings and are meant to inhabit the spiritual realm, left Heaven (the spiritual realm), their first habitation (Jude 1:6), and chose to conquer the physical realm (Earth) (Rev. 12:3-4).

When a spiritual being leaves the spiritual realm that he is made of, they will die. Death means a separation. He is spiritually separated from Heaven. Those angels were dead, just like a fish separated from the water, a tree separated from the soil, or a man separated from God. This is why, according to John 8:44, there is no truth in Satan, his angels, and his children. Because they left the spiritual world, which is made of truth, to settle in the physical world, which is ever-changing. The food of every spiritual being should be the truth, just like it is the food of our spirit. But they left it, and that’s why they are dead spirits. They cannot partake of spiritual things.

This is when Lucifer became Satan. When Satan and his angels succeeded in conquering the physical world (Earth), they also attempted to conquer heaven (Spiritual world). However, Michael and his angels fought back, and Satan and his angels failed in their plan to conquer heaven, (Rev. 12:7-8). This is why, between these two realms, only the Earth (Physical Realm) became void and was engulfed by darkness in Genesis 1:2, while Heaven (Spiritual Realm), remained the same. After that, Lucifer and his angels were cast down to Earth (Rev. 12:9-12). From then on, Satan became the ruler of Earth (physical realm) (John 12:31, 2 Cor. 4:4).

So there are now two kingdoms: The Kingdom of Heaven (also known as the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of the Lord, the Mystery of Godliness, or the Spiritual Realm), and the Kingdom of Earth (also known as the Kingdom of Satan, the Mystery of Inequity, or the Physical realm).

When Satan possessed the physical realm, he made sure that no Spiritual being can live here. When God created man, He created him with both spirit and a physical body so that man could access both the physical and the spiritual realms. But as I said, Satan does not want that something spiritual can live in the physical world. So he devised a way to kill the spirit of man through the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And He succeeded.

Then God became a man and started to build His Kingdom (the Kingdom of Heaven) in the physical realm. Satan also tried to prevent this by pursuing to kill the Lord Jesus when He was still a baby. But Satan failed. The Kingdom of Heaven was established on Earth. The moment a person is indwelt by the Spirit of God, that person becomes a member of the Kingdom of Heaven. That person becomes a spiritual person. Although they are still in the physical realm, they now belong to the spiritual realm (the Kingdom of Heaven). So the Kingdom of Heaven, described in the seven parables of the Lord in Matthew 13, started during Pentecost when our Lord first indwelt man. That is the time when the Kingdom of Heaven began in the physical realm.

Now, in Revelation 2-3, this Kingdom of Heaven, composed of people indwelt by the Spirit of God, is also referred to as the Church. According to it, there are seven Church Ages. If you take a closer look at the Seven Parables of Matthew 13, each parable actually talks about the condition of each of the Seven Church Ages. Each parable corresponds to each Church Age. For example, the parable of the Hidden Treasure above is the 5th parable in Matthew 13. It also describes the condition of the 5th Church Age, which is the Sardisean Church Age or the Church of Sardis.

In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven or the Church is likened to a hidden treasure in a field found by a man who sells everything he has to buy the field. This man is actually Martin Luther, the messenger of God sent to the 5th Church Age. Luther found the hidden treasure of Justification. He was a Roman Catholic Priest and a teacher, but he left (sold) all of it just to possess the hidden treasure he found.

Next to the parable of the Hidden Treasure is the parable of The Pearl of Great Price (Mat. 13:45-46), which corresponds to the 6th Church Age – the Philadelphian Church Age (Rev. 3:7). The messenger of God sent to this age was John Wesley. He is the man who found the pearl of great price and also sold everything he had just to possess it. That Pearl of Great Price is none other than the truth of Sanctification.

The last or the 7th parable was the parable of the Drag Net (Mat. 13:47-52), which corresponds to the 7th Church Age – the Laodicean Church Age (Rev. 3:14). It is the last Church Age. It is our Church Age. We are now in the last Church Age. The messenger of God sent for this age was Brother William M. Branham. He had the ministry of casting nets and gathering the catch. But not all that were caught are a good catch; some are bad. The bad ones were then thrown away.

But what I want you to take note of in this parable of our age is the statement of the Lord in verse 52 that says:

“Then said he unto them, therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

This last statement of the Lord about the bringing forth of treasures in this last parable connects it to the other two parables which are also about finding treasures. The Lord told us here that in this last Church Age (in our day), there will be scribes instructed to the Kingdom of Heaven who will bring forth out of his treasure things new and old. The questions are the following:

What are these hidden treasures that need to be brought out?
How can these hidden treasures be brought out?
Who are those scribes?

According to the parables, these treasures are so valuable that once you catch a glimpse of them, it’s worth sacrificing everything you have in order to obtain them. Even though to others you may appear as a fool, throwing away your money to buy what seems like an unprofitable field, you know that the treasure in that field is worth all you have!

So what are these treasures? They are none other than the Spiritual Truths – the Knowledge of God. As Proverbs 2:4-5 says:

“If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

Every time you uncover these hidden treasures, you find spiritual truth; you find the Knowledge of God. You find God. You become one with God. That is because these treasures are the Spirit of God Himself revealed to you, or the part of God that will become a part of you once you discover them. Each time a spiritual truth is revealed to you, that is also the moment when God becomes a part of you. This is why these treasures are worth everything we have, because God is worth everything we have. This is also the reason why Martin Luther and John Wesley were willing to give up everything just to possess the truth of Justification and Sanctification. For possessing them also means possessing God. Paul in Philippians 3:8 and 10, was also willing to give up everything he had just to possess these treasures:

“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection…”

The Bible refers to them as heavenly treasures that cannot be destroyed by rust nor by moth (Mat. 6:19-21). And this is true because nothing can destroy Truth. Not the Lake of Fire, not even the Lord God Himself. To destroy Truth means to destroy God, for Truth and God are one (John 16:13, John 17:17, Psa. 119:160). God cannot destroy Himself (Heb. 6:18), which is why Truth is indestructible. This is also the reason why those who are part of the Truth cannot be destroyed in the Lake of Fire. All children of God are a part of Him, and that’s why they have Eternal Life and cannot be destroyed in the Lake of Fire. Those who possess the Truth, those who possess these treasures, cannot be destroyed in the Lake of Fire.

In the Bible, there are two kinds of spiritual things that we can possess: those that we can find in the open and those that are hidden. The hidden ones are the treasures with great value. This type the physical world, where there are essentials for life that can be found in the open (e.g., rocks, water, plants, etc.), and there are hidden treasures that you need to seek and dig up to obtain (e.g., gold, diamonds, precious stones, pearls, etc.). These hidden treasures cannot simply be found in the open.

Examples of spiritual things that can be found in the open, or those that we can readily know from the Bible, include the following: the existence of a Creator God, Satan, angels, the presence of both physical and spiritual realms, heaven, and hell, among others.

Examples of hidden spiritual treasures in the Bible that hold great value include Justification, Sanctification, the Born-again experience, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Godhead, the concept of Original Sin, the Glorified Body, Rapture, the Mysteries of Iniquity and Godliness, and many more.

These are examples of treasures that were hidden before but are now being revealed before our eyes. This is because someone came looking for them, dug them up, and discovered them. And there are still many hidden treasures in the Bible waiting for someone to search for them, excavate them, and discover them.

So why does God need to hide these treasures? Why not place them in the open like the other spiritual things? According to the Bible, there are two answers to this: first, He hides them from unbelievers. Second, He hides them for His glory and the glory of the kings. Let’s address them one by one.

Matthew 7:6-11

6 “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

The first verse tells us that we must not cast pearls on dogs and pigs. Why? Because you cannot see dogs and pigs wearing pearl necklaces. Pearls have no value to pigs; they will just trample them. Pigs cannot appreciate spiritual treasures, which is why they don’t desire them. Some people are compared by the Bible to dogs and pigs because they do not love Biblical truths. Revelation holds no value for them, so they do not seek it. All they want are temporary physical things like money, food, wealth, and comfort in this world.

Verses 7 to 11 tell us that we should ask, seek, and knock for them because, SURELY, those treasures will be given to us; we shall find them, and the door shall be open for us to obtain them. Our Lord is even more generous than our earthly fathers who will not refuse to give us these things. Remember that these treasures are rewards for those who ask, seek, and knock. They are rewards for those who genuinely seek the Lord. The reason they seek the Lord is that they love Him, and you cannot find this love among unbelievers or those who are not seeking them. That’s why these treasures are only for those who love the Lord—those who seek Him.

Proverbs 25:2: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”

Remember that those who will be raptured are referred to as lords and kings by the Bible (Rev. 17:14). We will sit on thrones alongside our Lord someday (Rev. 20:4), becoming future kings.

The phrase “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing” means that concealing these treasures brings glory to God because once you discover them, they are not your only rewards; God Himself is also revealed to you. Therefore, your greatest reward here is not just those treasures but God Himself (Gen. 15:1). Every time you find these treasures, you find God. Each time these hidden things are revealed to you, God is revealed as well, and this is what gives Him the glory. Finding these treasures reaffirms the existence of a living God, and you will undoubtedly glorify Him. That’s why concealing things brings Him glory.

“But the honor of kings is to search out a matter” means that discovering these hidden treasures will bring honor to those who find them. Why? Because you will be the first to possess God. If you share them with others, it will be through you that others also come to know God. This is why there will be great joy for those who discover them (Mat. 13:44). Once again, these treasures are the exceedingly great rewards of the kings.

One of the best examples of this is my own experience. People have told me that the reason I keep seeking these hidden spiritual treasures is that I want to acquire more “head knowledge” about them. Discovering these hidden treasures certainly provides you with head knowledge about them, but my greatest joy is not in that head knowledge. My greatest joy in discovering these hidden treasures is every time I discover them, I come to discover Christ! Each time I possess them, I possess Christ. Each time they are revealed to me, Christ is also revealed. That is where my greatest joy lies—they lead me to our Lord Jesus Christ!

Colossians 2:2-3:

“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.“

It is in Christ that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. So, when you find these treasures, you also find Christ because these treasures are hidden in Him. Or, to put it differently, when you find Christ, you also find these treasures. So, if you seek them, you are seeking Christ. If you find them, you have found Christ.

These verses are emphatically telling us, “Look for Christ! All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him!” I hope you now know where to search for these hidden treasures. Do not look at other things; just focus on Christ. Do not let your attention be diverted by other things; fix your gaze on Christ. This is what Hebrews 12:2 is conveying:

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We often focus on so many things that they take our focus on Christ. Some of these are non-treasure things like church activities, programs, church buildings, number of attendees, tithes and offerings, and beautiful singing in the church. These are non-essential things that take away our focus from our Lord. Remember that you will excel at what you are focusing on. If you focus on good singing, then you will certainly become a good singer in the church. If you focus on increasing the number of church attendees, then surely, the number of attendees will increase. But focusing on them will take your eyes on the Lord. Focus on Christ and surely, you will excel in Christ. Just fix (focus) your eyes on Him and you will find those treasures that are hidden in Him.

Col. 3:3-4 “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

Remember that not only are those treasures hidden in Christ, but you are also hidden in Him. Therefore, two things are concealed in Christ: YOU AND THOSE TREASURES. Every time Christ is revealed, those treasures are also revealed, and you are also revealed. Every time you find those treasures, you find Christ, and you also find yourself. This revelation of the hidden treasures and of yourself can only happen if you fix your eyes on Christ.

Therefore, this is now our equation: the more those treasures are revealed to you, the more Christ is revealed, and the more you are revealed. YOU MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS EQUATION.

Also, remember that someday, Christ will be fully revealed, and we will also be fully revealed with Him in glory. Achieving our Glorified Body means being revealed in glory, and it is the only state in which Christ can be fully revealed in glory through us. Therefore, WE WILL ONLY ACHIEVE OUR GLORIFIED BODY ONCE CHRIST IS ALREADY FULLY REVEALED IN US. AND CHRIST WILL ONLY BE FULLY REVEALED IN US ONCE THOSE HIDDEN TREASURES ARE ALREADY FULLY REVEALED AS WELL.

Again, the more those treasures are revealed, the more Christ is revealed, the more we are revealed, and the more we achieve our Glorified Body. The revelation of those treasures and the revelation of Christ are directly proportional to our Glorification. This is the reason why those who love these treasures, will make it to the Rapture.

Remember also that those treasures are spiritual truths, and according to John 8:32, only the truth can set us free. So the more treasures (truths) we bring out, the more we are set free, and the more we can achieve our ultimate freedom, which is having our Glorified Body. Sharing these treasures with others means more people can also be set free, and they can achieve their Glorified Body too. We will be Raptured.

Currently, Christ is only partially revealed to us (1 Cor. 13:12). But we know that someday, He will be fully revealed to us, and we will see Him as He is. That’s when the manifestation of the sons of God (Glorified Body) will also be fully evident in us, as written in 1 John 3:3:

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Today, part of Him is revealed that’s why only part of us is also revealed. But when those hidden treasures are fully revealed, then Christ will be fully revealed, and we will be fully revealed also. That’s why we need to concentrate on knowing Him fully.

2 The. 1:10 “On the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony.”

During the Rapture, our Lord will be glorified in us, not by us but IN US. It is not that we are merely among those spectators waiting for Christ. This event will not be a stage performance for us where we sit in some venue and watch an amusing or beautiful spectacle in which we have no part. We will be the STAGE. We are going to be involved in it; we will be part of it. It is an event that will not only be revealed to us but also IN US.

We will know how the Rapture will happen. We will know precisely when it is time to happen, just like a caterpillar knows when it will become a butterfly. We will know what to do because it is only through us that Christ will be revealed. He will be seen in us so that others may believe.

Let’s now proceed to the main part of this article, which is “How to Bring Out thesse Hidden Spiritual Treasures?”

Remember that Matthew 13:52, the last of the seven parables, talks about the condition of the Church in the last age, which is our age. It discusses how the Lord will use some scribes in our day to bring out “treasures things new and old.” WE ARE THOSE SCRIBES – THE BRIDE OF THE LORD. We will be the ones whom the Lord will use to bring out those treasures, provided that we are seeking, asking, and knocking (Mat. 7:7-11) because those who seek are the only ones who can find (Mat. 7:8).

Now, for an analogy on how to bring out these spiritual treasures, I was thinking of the techniques used by treasure hunters to find hidden treasures. However, I lack experience in that area. Nonetheless, I do have an experience that is somewhat similar to treasure hunting – hunting duck eggs.

When I was 7 years old, my father taught me how to search for duck eggs. After the rice was harvested, duck farmers in our area would release their ducks into the rice fields to eat the fallen grains of rice. This practice was beneficial for both the duck owners, who no longer need to buy food for their ducks, and the rice field owners because ducks are voracious eaters, consuming not only the fallen grains of rice but also snails and their eggs, which are pests for the rice. Duck droppings also served as fertilizer for the rice. Every morning, about 500 ducks were let out into the fields, and every afternoon before sunset, they were herded back into their enclosure.

The exciting part was that most of the time, these ducks would lay their eggs in the fields wherever they pleased. Sometimes, the duck owners couldn’t find all of these eggs, as some were submerged in water, some in the mud, and some were hidden among the rice stalks. The duck owners would allow anyone who found these eggs to keep them. This is where the rice field owners (us) came in. Just before evening, when the ducks were already in their cage, my father and I would go to the rice field to search for these hidden eggs.

With no experience in looking for duck eggs, at first, I was just searching for anything white. Most of the time, those white objects turned out to be feathers. Then my father instructed me not to look for anything white but to search for greenish-brownish-white because that’s the color of duck eggs. This was not easy to do because we are doing the searching at the twilight zone and the color of rice stalks was also greenish-brown, nearly the same as the eggs. However, once I found my first egg, the characteristics of what to look for were registered in my mind. I familiarized myself with it and trained my eyes and brain accordingly. After finding the first egg, the next one was much easier to locate because I had a standard imprinted in my eyes and brain.

This is similar to searching for hidden spiritual truths in the Bible.

First and foremost, it’s essential to know that the owner of these treasures, our Lord Jesus Christ, wants us to have them (Mat. 7:7-11). It is for His glory and our honor (Psa. 25:2). He will be the One who reveals them to us if we seek them.

To discover these treasures, the first requirement is that you must seek them. Initially, it can be challenging to find them because you haven’t seen an actual one yet. But once you find one, you will have a tangible example to remember and familiarize yourself with. You will then train your spiritual eyes and mind to recognize them, which is when your spiritual insight will develop. Since you have trained yourself, even a glimpse of these treasures will be enough for you to recognize and understand them. You will become spiritually aware of them and know where to look, as you’ll notice that most treasures can be found in a particular area.

Other techniques that have never failed me in searching for spiritual treasures include regularly reading the Bible, listening to the preaching of true ministers of God, reading articles or books authored by them, and using physical things to understand the spiritual, as the physical often serves as types and shadows of the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46). And most importantly, the one that never fails me, is sharing what you have discovered to others and surely, your treasures will multiply (Mat. 25:16-17).

As a believer, I wish I could have a better grasp on these things. As a preacher and writer, I wish I could explain and communicate them to you more effectively. But for now, I love studying this topic about hidden treasures. The more they are revealed to me, the more I come to know Christ, and the more I am revealed. The more we are revealed, the more certain we will achieve our Glorification. They give me tremendous hope for the future. I believe our Lord will continue to reveal Himself to us. There are still more revelations He will give to us until we are completely revealed.

We are currently at the Water Gate, and until this gate is close, the Lord will keep pouring out His revelations to us. All He needs is someone He can use—someone who loves Him deeply and is willing to seek and dig to find Him.

There are still many treasures hidden in the Bible, especially in areas like the Godhead, the Original Sin, the Seven Thunders, the Three Components of Man, Grace, Rapture, Glorified Body, and more. These cannot be discovered by one person alone; there should be others who are willing to seek and dig them. I hope you will be that person.

As our Rapture approaches, I can see our Lord much more clearer now. I can see us, much more clearer, and we will become even clearer in the coming days.

My prayer is that our Lord continues to reveal Himself to us!
God bless!