14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)
Almost three years ago I embarked on a mission to share aspects of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" on this blog. I may come back to this subject, as God directs, but for now, this will be the 22nd and final installment on this subject. To do so, I want to touch briefly on two relevant sub-topics: 1) The Kingdom, Israel, and the Church, and 2) When Will the Kingdom Come?
The Kingdom, Israel, and the Church
There is no doubt about the fact that Jesus offered the Kingdom to Israel. When He sent the disciples on their preaching mission He told them to not go among the Gentiles, but to "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mark 10:6) When Israel rejected the Kingdom, the blessings which should have been theirs were given to those who would accept them. They refused John the Baptist's message of repentance in anticipation of the Kingdom and they rejected the blessings of the Kingdom offered by Jesus. They were like children, refusing to play either wedding or funeral (Matthew 11:16-17). Whereas under the Old Covenant God had dealt with Israel primarily as a family and a nation, under the New Covenant the Kingdom and its blessings are given to those who will accept it on an individual basis. The offer was not of a political or materialistic kingdom, offering instead a relationship with God Himself (grace) through a personal decision (faith). Just being the natural offspring of Abraham did not qualify one for the blessings of the new kingdom (Matthew 3:7-10; Romans 4).Although the first Christian believers were almost exclusively Jews, the Jews as a whole refused this new relationship and the Gospel of the Kingdom was then taken to the Gentiles. Confession of Jesus as Messiah and confession of the Kingdom are in essence the same. Yet the primary expectation was that with the coming of the Messiah would mean the end of This Age and the appearance of the Kingdom in power. They did NOT expect the Kingdom to come in mystery form. In bringing the powers of the Age to Come into the midst of This Present Age, Messiah would die and three days later rise from the dead. Knowledge of this would and does come, only by divine revelation. Upon the rock of that divine revelation Christ would build His church (Matthew 16:16-19). The restoration of Israel would be at a future time, not yet disclosed (Acts 1:7).
So now the church has the keys of the Kingdom and it is in and through the church that the redemptive activity and rule of God among men is at work and where men experience the blessings of His rule. These keys open the door to the Age to Come aspect of the Kingdom of God. In the Present Age aspect of the Kingdom, God is dealing with a holy nation after the spirit and not a physical nation after the flesh (1 Peter 2:9). The church is not the Kingdom of God, God has created the church and works in the world through the church. Wherever the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached, some receive it and are loosed; delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of God's love (Colossians 1:13). Others reject the Kingdom and remain in darkness.
Paul illustrates that there is, and always has been, but one people of God. Not an Old Testament people and a New Testament people. The natural olive tree (which was Israel) in Romans 11 is this people. Because of unbelief, some branches were broken off and then others from a wild olive tree (Gentiles) were grafted in. The tree remained one tree, the present state of which does not represent god's last work. Some of the natural branches which were broken off because of unbelief will yet believe and be grafted again into the olive tree (v. 23, 25). When God's purposes with the Gentiles is fulfilled, there will come the salvation of Israel. The church has not replaced Israel. And until Christ comes again, ushering in the Age to Come, we will be engaged in the struggle with evil in this world. The church will not usher in the Age to Come by overcoming all evil, but she will be an instrument of salt and light, shining like stars in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Matthew 5:13-16; Philippians 2:15).
When Will the Kingdom Come?
The Kingdom of God has come, is coming, and will come. It initially entered this present evil Age in the person and work of Christ, continuing through His church. It will come: 1) at the Second Coming of Christ which will include the Rapture/Resurrection; fulfillment of the Mystery of God in the salvation of Israel; as the Word of God battles and defeats the two beasts; and as the Millennium begins and the devil is chained in the bottomless pit, and 2) at the end of the Millennium when death and Satan and sin are totally and completely defeated and the Kingdom is realized in its ultimate perfection.So when will it come? The answer is in the first Scripture cited above (Matthew 24:14). And the context in which this preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be accomplished is chaos: physical trauma like the world has never seen; persecution, betrayal and deception like the world has never seen. These will be days so bad that for the sake of the elect, they will be amputated (Matthew 24: 21-22). Jesus will be with the church, even in these times, for He said He would be with us, even to the end of the Present Age (Matthew 28:19-20). It will be just as it was at the birth of the church, with the Word being confirmed with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20). Daniel says of these dark days that those who know their God shall be strong and do exploits, shining like the brightness of the firmament (Daniel 11:32; 12:3). Through the technological wonders of today (Internet, social media, smart phones, satellite phones, TV, radio, etc.) the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom to all people groups may come sooner rather than later. With it shall come the Great Tribulation, but the Great Tribulation will be cut short by the return of our Blessed Lord.
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22:20 (NKJV)
