Mt. 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea
Mt. 3:2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

What did John the Baptist mean by “The kingdom of God is near”?

Mt. 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.
Mt. 4:9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

How does the kingdom of God contrast with kingdoms of the world?

Mt. 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Jesus began his earthly ministry by saying the same thing that John the Baptist said, “The kingdom of God (or heaven) is near.” This means that the presence of Jesus Christ on earth was not synonymous with the presence of the kingdom of God.

Mt. 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “`Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Mt. 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

When Jesus Christ taught his disciples how to pray, he told them to pray for the coming of the kingdom of God.

Mt. 12:28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Here Jesus Christ pinpoints what the kingdom of God is; it is operating in the power of the Spirit of God—the divine power. In contrast, the kingdom of this world is all about operating political or military power.

In the beginning

Ge. 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Ge. 2:7 (KJV) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Ge. 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
Ge. 3:3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Ge. 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
Ge. 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

God created mankind just as He created other animals. Then God decided to make mankind a spirit being, by breathing into mankind His Spirit. Mankind became a living soul. “Living soul” means that the soul of man can grow and can also decay or decrease, just like a living thing. In order to grow, the soul of mankind has to feed on some food. Since the soul is a spiritual entity, its food is also spiritual. Hence, in the Garden of Eden, we see the two trees in the center of the Garden; they were meant to produce food for the souls of mankind. The tree of life is God and His fruit is the Word. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is Satan and his fruit is his word.

God released His fruit or word to Adam; the word was a command to never receive Satan’s word, else he would die. This word was meant to keep mankind alive, but mankind rejected the word and received Satan’s word. Sin entered man and the Spirit of God in man was grieved and left mankind. This way, mankind lost the divine power which comes with the Spirit of God.

He. 2:7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor
He. 2:8 and put everything under his feet.” [Psalm 8:4-6] In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.

The fallen man does not have the divine power to control nature on earth. He can only wield political and military power over fellow human beings. Man is in an endless struggle to protect himself from the vagaries of nature. But God’s initial purpose for man was for man to rule over nature by the divine power.

The return of the Spirit

Jn. 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jn. 1:2 He was with God in the beginning.
Jn. 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Jn. 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Jn. 1:9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

Mankind rejected the word of God and the glory of God departed from mankind. Even though God had continued to give His word to some worthy human beings all over history, His Spirit could not return to mankind because of sin living in mankind. Mankind was spiritually married to Satan and it is only death that could end the marriage.

Ro. 7:2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
Ro. 7:3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

Mt. 13:31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.
Mt. 13:32 Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”

God planted a seed on earth when He breathed His Spirit into Adam. That single mustard seed has developed into a giant tree, currently with billions of branches. The sad truth though is that birds of the air (evil spirits) lodge in those branches. The whole of the human race is one Adam. The human race came out of one man. It was that one man that got married to Satan. Can you explain how it is that every people of this world has a history of idolatry?

Ro. 5:14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

Adam was a pattern or type of the one to come.

Jn. 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
Jn. 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

He. 10:5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

When it was about time for Christ (Anointing) to get back into mankind, since the old Adam (the human race) was not qualified to be married to God, due to the already existing marriage to Satan, God prepared a new man (Adam) for His Spirit. We all know the story about how Virgin Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, which led to the birth of Jesus Christ. Later in his life, God breathed into Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit, just as He did to Adam in Ge. 2:7. Satan also contested over the soul of Jesus Christ (Mt. 4:1-11), just as he contested over the soul of Adam. The very location in the desert where Satan tempted Jesus may well be the same place where Adam was tested, which is why the land of Israel is God’s land (Garden). During Jesus’ trial by Satan, Jesus held on to God’s words, and by so doing, he fed his soul so much with the fruit of the tree of life. His soul grew mightily as the words of God he held on to released great measure of the Holy Spirit into his soul. He therefore overcame Satan by holding on to words of God.

Lk. 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

God’s purpose in bringing Jesus Christ into the world was to save some branches of the old Adam, before the giant tree is finally cut down and cast into fire (Mt. 3:10). In order to save branches of the old Adam, the marriage between the branches and Satan must be annulled. The only way to annul the marriage is by death. Even though Jesus was never supposed to die, since he never ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he willingly laid down his life for the sake of the branches of Adam that are to be saved.

Ro. 6:3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death?
Ro. 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Any branch of Adam that wants to be saved needs to join himself/herself to the death of Jesus Christ and thereby make the death of Jesus Christ her/his own. This is done through water baptism. Any person who has faith in Jesus Christ and who gets baptized into him in water has been cut off from Adam and has been grafted into Jesus Christ. The person is now qualified to receive the Holy Spirit. All it now takes for the person to receive the Holy Spirit is to pray for it (Lk. 11:13). Any person who receives the Holy Spirit has joined the kingdom of God.

Jn. 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

Bearing Fruit

Jn. 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
Jn. 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Jn. 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Having joined the kingdom of God by receiving the Holy Spirit, your soul is just like a new born baby (born again) in the kingdom of God. Your soul needs to grow and become a functional member of the kingdom. No natural baby remains a baby for too long; in the same way, if your soul does not grow, it could die again. Your soul needs to feed regularly in order to grow. The only food that the soul eats is God’s word.

Jo. 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Jn. 3:34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

In order to grow in the Spirit, build yourself up in knowledge of God’s commandments and promises. Then form the habit of always speaking out God’s words. As you do so, God continues to increase the measure of the Spirit in your soul. As you continue, it becomes easy for you to obey God’s commandments, because it is the Spirit that works in you to will and to act according to God’s purpose (Ph. 2:13). You begin to do miracles, because the Spirit in you releases the divine power when you speak. How easy it is for you to be holy and to do miracles depends on the measure of the Spirit in you, which in turn depends on how much of God’s word you feed your soul. That is the secret revealed by God to Joshua (Jo. 1:.

Let me give examples of speaking God’s words.

Ro. 3:24 And are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Mt. 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

“By your grace, O God, I shall be perfect, even as you, heavenly Father, are perfect.”

Mk. 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
Mk. 16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

“By the grace of God, I shall cast out demons. I shall speak languages that I never learnt to speak. I shall pick up snakes with my hands and they shall not harm me. Even though I drink or eat deadly poison, it shall not hurt me at all. I shall place my hand on sick people, and they will get well. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Kei144:
In the beginning

Ge. 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Ge. 2:7 (KJV) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Ge. 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
Ge. 3:3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Ge. 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
Ge. 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

God created mankind just as He created other animals. Then God decided to make mankind a spirit being, by breathing into mankind His Spirit. Mankind became a living soul. “Living soul” means that the soul of man can grow and can also decay or decrease, just like a living thing. In order to grow, the soul of mankind has to feed on some food. Since the soul is a spiritual entity, its food is also spiritual. Hence, in the Garden of Eden, we see the two trees in the center of the Garden; they were meant to produce food for the souls of mankind. The tree of life is God and His fruit is the Word. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is Satan and his fruit is his word.

God also gave the same breath of life to even animals He created.

14 They and every kind of animal on the earth were in the boat. Every kind of cattle, every kind of animal that crawls on the earth, and every kind of bird were in the boat.
15 All these animals went into the boat with Noah. They came in groups of two from every kind of animal that had the breath of life.
16 All these animals went into the boat in groups of two, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind Noah - Genesis 7 vs 14 - 16

Are we then to also assume that animals are spiritual beings with souls, this since you concluded of your own that God giving the breath of life to Adam implied God made Adam a spiritual being with a soul ?

Kobojunkie:
God also gave the same breath of life to even animals He created.
Are we then to also assume that animals are spiritual beings with souls, this since you concluded of your own that God giving the breath of life to Adam implied God made Adam a spiritual being with a soul ?

Ez. 37:9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”
Ez. 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.

The Bible is a spiritual book and not a biological book. God is not a physical being, and so does not breathe oxygen or air. God is a spirit and so breathes spirit. When God speaks, He releases His spirit. He does not speak by sending sound waves.

Kei144:

Ez. 37:9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”
Ez. 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.

The Bible is a spiritual book and not a biological book. God is not a physical being, and so does not breathe oxygen or air. God is a spirit and so breathes spirit. When God speaks, He releases His spirit. He does not speak by sending sound waves.

Ezekiel's word in the passage you quoted only reaffirms what is stated in Genesis 2 and Genesis 7 that the Breath of Life, as given by God, installs life in beings and not a Spirit and a Soul as you claim.... try to re-read my post to you again.

God also gave the same breath of life to even animals He created.

14 They and every kind of animal on the earth were in the boat. Every kind of cattle, every kind of animal that crawls on the earth, and every kind of bird were in the boat.
15 All these animals went into the boat with Noah. They came in groups of two from every kind of animal that had the breath of life.
16 All these animals went into the boat in groups of two, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind Noah - Genesis 7 vs 14 - 16

Are we then to also assume that animals are spiritual beings with souls, this since you concluded of your own that God giving the breath of life to Adam implied God made Adam a spiritual being with a soul ?