QUESTION: What is the meaning of the Kingdom of God?

ANSWER: I have a thirteen week Bible study at the following link that may help you identify an answer to your question.

See Kingdom of God

I am beginning a weekly Bible study on the book of Revelation. You can sign up here.

Revelation is as much a challenge to the comfortable within their society as it is comfort for those whose commitment has brought them into tension with the host society of this present evil age. It is a challenge and protest as well as comfort and encouragement.

Prophecy “experts” like Jack van Impe, Hal Lindsey, and the recent Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye with their mode of interpretation which looks at the meaning of Revelation as it applies to international politics and dosmestic policies have, in my opinion, misguided readers of this book for decades.

I will attempt to “decode the visions” of Revelation with a bit more sanity. I hope you will join us for this journey.

QUESTION
What does the Bible say about Premarital sex? What did Jesus say?

ANSWER
Jesus speaks of a list of humankind habits of life in which sexual immorality is mentioned. The term “sexual immorality” is the word fornication and means “sexual intercourse” outside of the marriage relationship. Jesus’ list can be seen in the Gospel of Mark at 7.20-23.

In the New Testament book of Galatians written by Paul, he writes a list of human habits of life which are not pleasing to God. They are called the “works of the flesh.” (Gal. 5.19-21) The first three “works” and the last one comment on sexuality.

SEXUAL SINS
Sexual immorality: Sexual intercourse outside of the marriage relationship (Illustration: 1 Cor. 5.1ff). Intercourse outside of marriage breaks down the stability of a family. The word “adultery” found in the KJV does not appear in reliable manuscripts.

Impurity: The general word for immoral activity that shuts a person off from God’s presence. The opposite lifestyle is found at Matthew 5.8 where Jesus says that God will bless those who have a pure heart. One could translate “pure in heart” as “with no ulterior motives. Those empowered people will have continued fellowship with God. It is fair to say that our motives should be adjusted to God’s motives. This is a change of Story, for the story we live in to God’s Story.

Debauchery: This means lack of restraint. A love for sin so reckless that the one sinning has ceased to care what God or man thinks of his actions. No attempt is made to hide the sin; it is committed in the open (1 Pet. 4.3; Jude 4). Debauchery shocks public civility. It does not care what God or people think.

Orgies: Sexual orgies were characteristic of pagan worship.

I trust this answer will help in your ongoing discovery process.

QUESTION
Do you know in scripture where it supports that pets and animals will be in heaven?

ANSWER
I know of no Scripture that suggest that pets or animals will be in heaven. Animals are real in Scripture as well as often used as metaphors. So one has to be careful to build a theology around a metaphor as something that is factual. So when Scripture says that outside the New Jerusalem there are dogs (Rev. 22.15) the author is not referring to real dogs. This is a metaphor as shown by who these “dogs” are.