God in times past spoke to the fathers by the law and the prophets in fragments through a series of condemnations, judgement, mourning’s, and woes, followed by a promise of renewal. This renewal was never meant to be part of the creation of time and matter but a metamorphosis into something else. It was described in terms mankind would understand as being a kingdom but never meant that the kingdom would be in a physical sense.Â
Man thinks of a kingdom in terms of physical components having a capitol city with walls structures and buildings and having a governing body and, from old time terms, a king and a queen with a hierarchy and an army. What about Gods kingdom?
The old testament prophets were taken in visions by seeing “something like” then he would describe this vision in terms the people would understand, like with Ezekiel 40.2 He was taken in visions OF GOD (about God). And he saw, but not with human eyes, “something like the structure of a city” when He saw visions, or likenesses OF GOD. He then explained it in terms the people would understand, words they commonly used like that of a building but not a building but like a building. He distinguished His city as being Holy by saying “This is the place of my throne, where I dwell” and tell them “when they set their threshold by my threshold and their door posts by my door post they defile My Holy Name”,
They profaned God and His kingdom by thinking He was just like them of the earth. They misunderstood Him and thought He was just a guy in the neighborhood a few doors down. This is an abomination to make trite, or common, the things OF GOD.Â
The words from the prophet describing eternal realities were interpretated by the people as none other than of earthly composition. The call from eternity was neutralized by the carnal mind. God is not a man, man is made in His image, just a likeness. Man is of earthen dust, the buildings were earthen. This is a far cry from being a Holy God in His Holy city of a heavenly composition. Ezekiel saw a vision OF GOD, of the City from God, not creation being as eternal and pre-existent as God, being components of God Himself.
We need a renewed mind in the things OF GOD (about God). The new testament term is seen in the “transfiguration”. As Jesus was transfigured in view of the disciples so similarly are we transfigured “by His spirit into the same full image from the Glory to the Glory”. And this is an important point. There is no transformation in hoping for an earthly city to be made  for the man Jesus. That is a carnal fascination with zero spiritual value. Redemption is to take us to God, not to bring Him here. He already was and still is just not the way you might understand. We need to “be renewed in the spirit of the mind”, the inner man to the things OF GOD.Â
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What the law and the prophets lacked in presenting Gods Kingdom in things “like” those made according to the pattern in Sinai or Horeb in tents, or even Solomon’s temple of fabulous stones, these were expired when God sent His Son and now Gods Son has spoken and said these words. “He who has seen me has seen the father”. There is no need to resurrect the old pictures and patterns or city because the voice from heaven said “This is my beloved Son, Him you will hear!”
So since Jesus said “if you have seen  Me you have seen the Father”, then does the Father have long hair, a glowing robe and a beard holding a radiating heart as depicted all over the world as the man Jesus? Once again that is the carnal mind trying to bring the Lord down from His Throne to appease the carnal nature. They want to make visible the invisible. They too think God is just a neighbor, like one of us. “When you put your doorway by my doorway you defile my Holy Name”. They think He has a mailbox?
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However true it is that the ones who see Jesus see the Father, He showed us the Fathers true nature, not of manly features to the human eye but by word and deed with invisible attributes. His visage is not for the human eye, and it is not a man named Jesus who comes down to rule the planet in a man made structure that has a zip code in Israel. That ‘s silly. God has shown that He can manifest Himself to us any time and way He would like to, even through a talking donkey but that is not the point or the objective. The objective and purpose of salvation is to redeem a people to Himself. He became small for us to become big, not for Him to become the created, for he already did that . He did that  for us to be renewed, to be transformed. And His Son is the full and final revelation for how can a building or any other created thing be God? They couldn’t and they didn’t so God sent His Son “For the time now is when you will no longer worship in Sameria or Jerusalem or any where but spirit and truth and this is spirit and truth. It is for the invisible God to have your invisible interactive soul to Himself.Â
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As Peter said”receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your soul. This is Gods prize from us and where His prize dwells in us. The body will return to dust as promised but it cannot add or take away what God is doing, for flesh and blood does not inherit the kingdom. Nor can any physical eye see it. (1st Timothy 6.16 + Exodus 33.20) It comes not with observation but it is seen with the eyes of understanding. Eye has not seen nor ear heard, but they have been revealed by the spirit, even the deep things of (about) God. Yes those in His farthest reaches. Wow!
Think of it like this. If I had told you I went  to the house I was raised in and found a box of pictures in the attic, you would think of pictures maybe of my grandparents with an old car, maybe relatives from the old country. But if I then proceeded to show you some children’s building blocks with the alphabet, colored and having images of animals on various sides, you would think I was loopy. What do baby toys have to do with heirloom pictures?
 Similarly  it is written of in Ezekiel 40.2 that he was taken in visions OF GOD, then he talks of “something like the structure of a city” that the carnal mind goes to Israel on planet earth. Excuse me but didn’t the verse say visions OF GOD?  The Lord say’s that His ways were higher than our ways? I mean what does modern day Jerusalem or any day Jerusalem have to do with visions OF GOD? The likeness of a city? It is not a city but an aspect of God and a person of the GodheadÂ
So when Ezekiel saw visions of and OF GOD who is in heaven. The place before time. This place that is from God is in God. This place God rested from His works and calls us to himself.  In a place that was before anything was made. The things that exist there are only things that can be described as existing before creation. These things being eternal and in contrast to the things created being there before the word was said, this is (about)God, this is God, all of it, all things of God that are with God are God. These things are different aspects and characteristics of the nature of God being the components and inside workings of God being presented as His Kingdom.
Are we not receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken? That the shakable will be removed so that the eternal will remain? That our inheritance that is undefilable is reserved in Christ? The place where after all is burned up righteousness dwells? Well we have that now for those who have eyes to see. God is the only thing Eternal and everything that is eternal is an aspect of Him and this is His gift to us. So when Jesus said that the kingdom of God is at hand, this is that kingdom. “He comes and His reward is with Him” for it is Him. All things eternal are not of this world but existed before it. These are “In Him”, “in Christ”
After Jacob wrestled with the angel of God he said that he saw God “face to face”. He wasn’t talking about seeing with his physical eyes, for that is impossible for no man shall see Him and live, but Jacob did in fact see Him, with the eyes of his understanding. In the spirit. So too with Isaiah, he saw the Lord high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple. And what about Moses? When the Lord was explaining the difference between the prophets and Moses He said the prophets would see him in visions but Moses would speak with him face to face. Â Paul at his conversion he saw a light brighter than the sun. This is the light that shines in the heart of every man. Not humanly visible. Wow, if this could happen to each one of us! To have the eternal light from God Himself indelibly scorch His image on our hidden person, and this is what He does, this is called the “new name” but it is not new in that it was not before, it is just never fading but reserved in eternal glory. For whom He foreknew He predestined to be conformed, transformed into the image of His Son, these He called, He justified and He glorified, and this is not something that is actuated not at some second coming some 2000 years later in a distant point in time having a star date and a zip code. That is silly. You cannot pinpoint God in time or matter or any created thing. The eternal God cannot truly be a created. He would present a false self and that is not the truth.
From Jacob to Isaiah, Moses, Paul and all who knew God did so not with human reasoning attached to human senses. They all saw Glorious things of God, from God, about God and explained them from words and concepts common to their day. Â “He spoke to them in parables and without a parable spake He not to them” Now He has spoken to us through His Son who said he who has seen Me has seen the Father. Thomas says “show us the Father” and this is what the carnal mind does, but Christ said “have you not been with me this long and have you not known Me?” And yet we formulate a series of events to take place to bring down to earth Him who always was and is and is to be non matter, non time dimensional. This is not knowing God and to do this too many times is actually rejecting God.
So simply put. The spoken things are things that are created to be un-created, and the things that were already are things eternal that cannot be un-created. This is His gift to all who follow Him. Now see if this verse from II Corinthians has new meaning.
17Â Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18Â And all (new)things are OF GOD (from God, about God), who hath reconciled us to himself (not Him to the earth) by Jesus Christ, (to be in Christ where all things eternal are) and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; This is the eternal gospel message
So for those who believe this there is and exchange program. The visible for the invisible. Put these on.
The kingdom of God is at hand.