![]() Ultimately, the mission of the church is to bind and loose on earth what has already been bound and loosed in heaven. What has been bound and loosed in heaven, will now also be bound and loosed on earth. He is saying that the laws and decisions which have been in effect in heaven are now coming to earth. This idea fits well with what Jesus says about binding and loosing in Matthew 16:19. The kingdom of heaven is any part of the universe that falls under the jurisdiction of heaven. It is the kingdom that has many of the same rules, characteristics, and traits as heaven. No, the kingdom of heaven is the kingdom that is ruled by heaven. It is not a kingdom that will begin at some point in the future. The kingdom of heaven is not the same thing as “heaven.” Nor is the kingdom of heaven a kingdom that is in heaven. When it comes to Matthew 16:19, the events on the other side of the stage is the phrase “Kingdom of heaven.” Most of the lights and fireworks of the debate surrounding Matthew 16:19 have focused on who Jesus is speaking to, whether it applies to the church or not, and how to translate the “periphrastic future-perfect passive participles.”Īlmost nobody asks what Jesus meant by “Kingdom of heaven,” which is where the solution to this verse lies. If he says, “Look over there at my beautiful, scantily clad, periphrastic future-perfect passive participle partner!” that is the time to look the other way, and see what is happening on the other side of the stage. ![]() It’s like in a magic trick when the magician is waving one hand about, with lots of color, light, and flourishes, that is the time to watch what his other hand is doing. ![]() I am convinced that most of the big theological debates in church history are a result of theological sleight of hand. I suppose that when it comes to translating the verse, I side with the “periphrastic future-perfect passive participle” view.īut frankly, with my understanding of the verse, it really doesn’t matter too much how you translate the words, or whether you know what a “periphrastic future-perfect passive participle” is. The other main view is based off the “periphrastic future-perfect passive participles” of the verse, and says that the decisions which are made on earth, are decisions that have already been made in heaven, and we are simply implementing these decisions here. ![]() When a decision is made by the church, or one of these select leaders, Jesus “rubber stamps” it from heaven. Some think that we do have this authority, or at least, some church leaders (such as the Pope) have it. ![]() We saw yesterday in my post about Locking Others out of Heaven that there are two main views about Matthew 16:19. Lots of churches and church leaders want to use Matthew 16:19 and Jesus’ statement to Peter about the keys of the kingdom of heaven as justification for judging and condemning others for their beliefs or their behavior. ![]()
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