Composition Year | 1986 |
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Contents |
Complete Score
*#887991 - 0.87MB, 3 pp. - -) (- !N/!N/!N - 12×⇩ - Pseudotonal
PDF typeset by composer
Pseudotonal (2023/12/12)
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Work Title | Laying Hold of the Kingdom of Heaven |
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Alternative. Title | The Kingdom of God Comes Through Violence |
Composer | Drehmer, Earl Richard |
I-Catalogue NumberI-Cat. No. | IED 71 |
Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp. | 1986 |
First Performance. | 2001/06/11 |
First Publication. | 2011 |
Average DurationAvg. Duration | 2.4 minutes |
Composer Time PeriodComp. Period | Modern |
Piece Style | Modern |
Instrumentation | piano |
Extra Information | this concept will be misunderstood by most people |
Matthew 11:12 -- "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." I like the KJV translation even better: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." You have to have radical determination to make yourself follow Christ. The draw of this world and the temptations of the flesh and the devil pull us down all the time. This is what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 18:8&9: "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire." In other words, do what ever it takes to follow Christ and abide in Him.
I chose an etching of the stoning of Stephen because he exemplified the forceful laying hold of the kingdom of heaven. See Stephen's story in Acts 6 and 7. If we are not hated for the sake of Christ, it could be because we are not laying hold of the kingdom of heaven for ourselves.
I hope this piece of music helps a little to represent the extreme nature of advancing the kingdom of heaven here on earth.