Jesus began His ministry when He came into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15).
Jesus proclaimed repentance in connection with the gospel of God’s Kingdom, or government. He said you have to be willing to change—to repent of your wrong ways—in order to enter that Kingdom.
Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Just believe in me.” He said, “Believe the gospel.” What was this gospel, or good news? Jesus came preaching the good news—not only about Himself as Savior—but about the Kingdom of God—the message that God is supreme Ruler of the universe, that He is soon going to establish His government on Earth, and that we should begin to acknowledge His rule in our lives now. This is the true gospel! That is the message Jesus brought to this Earth from God the Father!
Gospel Revealed to Mary
Before Jesus was born, an angel told Mary of His destiny: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).
This inspired angelic messenger from God revealed to Mary important truths of which this world is in total ignorance. He revealed that Christ would some day take over an actual throne—an earthly throne—the throne of David! History and prophecy both prove that David’s throne is in existence today—awaiting Christ’s return! (If you do not already understand this truth, request our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.)
The angel also foretold that Christ was to rule over the house of Jacobforever. He did not say “reign spiritually, invisibly, in the hearts of believers.” He said “reign over the house of Jacob”—a literal nation. Christ is to rule from an actual earthly throne!
Coming Kingdom Proclaimed
1. Does God intervene in world affairs without first revealing it to His prophets? Amos 3:7.
2. Hundreds of years ago, did Isaiah the prophet foresee a time when God shall establish His Kingdom here on Earth? Isaiah 2:1-4. Is it pictured as being a literal kingdomon Earth? (The mountains referred to here symbolically represent kingdoms or nations. See Daniel 2:35, 44.) Will there be strife and war in God’s Kingdom as there is now among nations? Isaiah 2:4.
3. Is God’s rule over this Earth foretold by Daniel? Daniel 2:36-45. Will other kingdoms still be in existence when Christ begins to set up His rule? What will happen to them? Verse 44.
All this indicates that Daniel knew God’s Kingdom would be a literal kingdom with power over all the nations.
4. Did David speak of God ruling over the Earth? Psalm 67:4.
5. Did Micah say God would establish His Kingdom on Earth in the near future? Micah 4:1-5.
6. Where does Jeremiah say the throne of this Kingdom will be located? Jeremiah 3:17.
7. Notice who Isaiah prophesied would rule over Earth. Isaiah 11:1-4. Who is the ”stem of Jesse”? Acts 13:22. Isn’t it David? Then isn’t the rod, or shoot, Jesus Christ? Verse 23. Does the Branch that grows out of Jesse’s roots also refer to Christ? Jeremiah 23:5-6. This prophecy reveals that Jesus Christ will rule on Earth!
8. Did Daniel foresee a time when the saints will be given rule over the Earth in God’s Kingdom along with Christ? Daniel 7:18, 21-22, 27.
9. From our study, don’t we find that the Old Testament prophets all agree in telling us that God will intervene in human affairs and establish His government—His Kingdom—here on Earth under Christ? Does God’s basic purpose ever change? Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8.
We have now seen that God, through many inspired Old Testament prophets, gave advance notice to the world of the coming Kingdom of God. But, in addition to this, He also sent Christ as His special messenger to proclaim the advance news of this same glorious event.
Christ—God’s Messenger
1. Was Jesus sent to Earth with a specific message? John 12:49; 14:24.
2. From where was Jesus sent? John 3:13.
3. Who sent Him? Verse 34.
4. To whom was He sent? John 1:11.
Christ was sent primarily to “His own” nation—the Jews—with His message of the gospel concerning the coming of the Kingdom of God. Later however, He prophesied that His disciples would proclaim the message to the whole world (Matthew 24:14).
5. In the first sermon to Gentiles, Peter tells more. Read Acts 10:36-37 and ask yourself these questions: (1) Who sent this word, or message? (2) To whom was it sent first? (3) By whom was it preached? (4) Where was it preached? (5) Where did Christ begin preaching it? (6) When did this message first begin?
6. Read Mark 1:14-15. (1) When did this message begin? (2) Who preached it? (3) From where did He begin preaching it? (4) What was the message, sent from God, that He preached?
7. In Mark 1, compare verse 1 with verse 14. Is the gospel of Jesus Christ the very gospel He preached—the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God? Then it is not primarily a message about Himself, personally, is it?
Few know what “the gospel OF Christ” really is! People today are taught in the churches that the “gospel of Christ” concerns only the events in the life of Christ, and of His being our Savior. They are told a gospel about Christ—not the gospel message He brought—the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God!
8. What does the expression in Mark 1:15, “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” mean? Remember, the gospel of the Kingdom which Jesus preached was not a message about restoring self-rule to the people in Palestine 2,000 years ago. How do we know? Let’s read on.
9. When the Jews wanted to make Jesus their king, what did He do? John 6:15. When the disciples asked if Jesus would restore the Kingdom then, what was His reply? Acts 1:6-7. Did Jesus deny the Kingdom would be of that age? Did He not rather imply it would be of a future age? John 18:36. The Greek word used here for “world” is cosmos; that is, the system, or the age, of man’s way. The meaning of Mark 1:15 is that the time is “at hand” for us to repent so we can qualify to enter God’s Kingdom.
It also means that since Christ had just overcome Satan (verse 13), He now qualified to replace Satan as the ruler of the Earth (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4) and was free to start the Church—the organism through which those called out of the world would be trained to rule with Christ as long as they would overcome as Christ did (Revelation 3:21). The Church—the Kingdom of God in embryo—was “at hand.”
The word gospel means good news, or glad tidings. You are now reading of the “good news” of the Kingdom! God knows far more than we can realize what a joyous place it will be! Four things are necessary to constitute a kingdom: (1) territory of a (2) king or ruler, over (3) subjects or citizens, with (4) laws and government. Therefore, we might define the true gospel as the good news of the territory of a king ruling over subjects with laws and government.
The true gospel, therefore, includes the message about Christ, who is the King. However, that is only the beginning. Christ, when He comes, will become the supreme Ruler over all nations, ruling them by the laws of God. And the true gospel also includes the message of salvation by which one can become a member of the ruling spiritual Kingdom of God.
When Christ Will Return
1. Did the people in Jesus’s day anticipate that the Kingdom of God would be established in their time? Luke 19:11. What did Jesus speak in final answer to this mistaken idea? Verse 12.
2. In this parable, who is the nobleman mentioned in verse 12? What is the far country? Compare Matthew 25:13-15 with the parable in Luke.
3. Will Christ receive a kingdom while away in heaven? Compare Luke 19:12 with Daniel 7:13-14. Doesn’t this parable plainly cover the present Church age after which Jesus returns from the far country—heaven?
4. Is there a duration of time during which the servants must trade and increase their talents? Who are the servants in Luke’s parable? Are Christians ever called servants? 1 Peter 2:16.
5. What are true Christians to be doing while Christ is away? Luke 19:13. Did Jesus promise to be with His Church in its preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom untilthe end of this age? Matthew 28:20.
As these scriptures show, the true servants of Jesus Christ, through the one true Church He founded, will be supporting God’s Work on Earth, and growing and overcoming thereby (Luke 19:15-19), right up until His return at the end of the age.
6. What was Paul’s gospel? Acts 28:31. Was it the only one he preached? Galatians 1:9.
The churches today preach a gospel about Christ the person—and not the gospel message He came to preach. Their gospels are not the true gospel of the Kingdom of God (verse 6).
7. Not long after the New Testament Church began, did false teachers arise proclaiming that the day of Christ had already occurred? 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2. Did Paul reject the doctrine that Christ had already returned a second time? Verse 3. Isn’t it plain that the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) was not Christ’s Second Coming?
8. Was an apostasy to occur before Christ returns? 2Thessalonians 2:3.
The word translated as “falling away” is the Greek word apostasia. It means apostasy, or defection from truth. It is translated as the great revolt in the Williams translation and as the final rebellion against God in the New English Bible. “That day”—the return of Christ—cannot come until this falling away from God’s truth has occurred in the Church of God! It happened after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong in 1986! (For a complete explanation, request our free book Malachi’s Message to God’s Church Today.) The fact that this “falling away” has occurred reveals that the return of Christ is imminent!
9. Did Daniel also prophesy of this apostasy to take place in the end time? Daniel 12:4.
The King James Version does not translate this verse well. The Moffatt translation states that God told Daniel to “keep the book shut as a secret, till the crisis at the end; ere then many shall give way and trouble shall be multiplied on earth.” The phrase “many shall give way” refers to an apostasy by the people of God’s own Church (see The Companion Bible).
10. In spite of this rebellion, was there to be a remnant that would “prophesy again”? Revelation 10:11. Was this to be during a time of no more delay? Verse 6.
The words “time no longer” are better translated “delay no longer.” After the great apostasy, and a temporary delay God’s Church transitioned into its final phase to “prophesy again.” This time, there will be no more delaying God’s Work. Note the context in Revelation 11 that follows the command to “prophesy again.” This work of the Philadelphia Church of God immediately precedes the work of the two witnesses during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 11:2-3) and the return of Jesus Christ! (verse 15).