'The gospel of the kingdom'

Here is a question I have heard asked recently that, if any random person picked up a Bible, they should come to ask: “What exactly is The gospel of the kingdom”. We find in the four gospels, Matt-John, that Christ told His disciples to preach "The gospel" way before they even understood anything about Him even being crucified. So there is no way it could have been the same gospel that we need for our eternal salvation. Sadly, this is a truth rarely understood in modern Christendom today. Fist we’ll look at the state of Israel at the time Christ came to them. Hosea is a great book to see this. Here are just a few examples from that book:

Hsa 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, [departing] from the LORD.

Hsa 1:8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

Hsa 1:9 Then said [God], Call his name Loammi: for ye [are] not my people, and I will not be your [God].

Hsa 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye [are] not my people, [there] it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of the living God.

Hsa 1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.

I really urge you to continue reading in Hosea. It is very revealing about just how corrupt and apart from God the nation had become. Also, by reading this book, you will see their "Good news" sprinkled throughout it.

Hsa 2:14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

Hsa 2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

Hsa 2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, [that] thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

Hsa 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

Hsa 2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

Hsa 2:19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

Hsa 2:20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

Hsa 2:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; Hsa 2:22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they sha

ll hear Jezreel.

Hsa 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to [them which were] not my people, Thou [art] my people; and they shall say, [Thou art] my God.

So, I believe that Israel was in this state of "Loammi" "Not my People" when Jesus came to them. Christ and His disciples went out preaching "The kingdom of heaven is at hand". This "Kingdom of heaven" is what is described in Hosea 2:14-23 and can also be found in Jer 31:31-34. There are many other descriptions of this earthly kingdom that you will find through diligent searching. This was "The gospel of the kingdom" that was preached unto Israel in Matt-John. Jesus Christ came to reign as the King of that kingdom, if they would have accepted Him as such. But we can see that, even at His birth, he was unaccepted:

Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

It is my personal belief that they were troubled because they, both Herod and the Jewish religious leaders, thought they could loose their religious power to Christ the new King. Now, there wasn't just the fact that a man came claiming to be this prophesied king. There were many signs that He showed unto them that they should have recognized. Just look at these verses:

Isa 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Isa 35:4 Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come [with] vengeance, [even] God [with] a recompence; he will come and save you.

Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame [man] leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Again, the surrounding verses here would be a great read to learn more about the promised earthly kingdom to come. This is also a great proof text to show that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. Verses 5 and 6 are an exact description of what Jesus did while here on earth. These things should have shown the Jews that the time had come for this "Kingdom" to be manifest. But they were so blinded in their religion that they failed to see it. Check these verses out:

Mat 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

And this one really shows that these signs showed the kingdom was ready:

Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Now another facet of it all that is mostly overlooked today, is the fact that the parables that Christ preached were actually laying out this kingdom right before their eyes. Not so that the scribes and Pharisees could understand, but rather to "The faithful remnant".

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

Luk 8:9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

Luk 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

So He spoke in parables to perplex even more the unbelieving, blinded Jews, (taking away even the little they had) but He always explained and revealed this kingdom further to the truth seeking "Little flock of believers" (giving to those that had, see Matt 13:12). All of this can bring so much light into the book of Acts. Look at their question in Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? A reading of the book of Acts will show that this kingdom was continually offered to them if only they would repent of their killing of Christ the king.

Act 3:12 And when Peter saw [it], he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let [him] go. Act 3:14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; Act 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. Act 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Act 3:17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did [it], as [did] also your rulers. Act 3:18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: The Jews continually rejected these offers throughout the book of Acts until the end of Acts 28, when the kingdom hope was finally totally interrupted and our present dispensation was put in place. Act 28:23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into [his] lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and [out of] the prophets, from morning till evening. Act 28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. Act 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Act 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: Act 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Act 28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and [that] they will hear it. This is the final declaration of the Jews rejecting their good news. Then in Acts 28:28, Paul shows that salvation now belongs to the Gentiles totally outside and apart from Israel. Before this, Gentiles had to come into the program through Israel, and became part of the provoking ministry of Romans 11 to turn Israel back to God. But now all men are saved and put into "The church the body of Christ" purely by believing our gospel as laid out by the apostle Paul. 1Cr 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 1Cr 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 1Cr 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 1Cr 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him: Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Eph 1:13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. The promise of an earthly kingdom is not ours today. But instead, we have a heavenly kingdom hope. So no earthly kingdom hope today, therefore those signs of the kingdom have "Ceased". 1Cr 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies, they shall fail; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall vanish away. The scripture shows these gifts as temporary and for a specific purpose. Too bad that modern day Christendom is content to stay in the dark on these issues and try and make these things work today that are not meant to. I believe that where these "Signs of the kingdom" are shown, the earthly kingdom hope must have still been alive. Act 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. Act 28:9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: If you look at Paul's books written after the Acts period, you can see that people were left sick rather than being healed. This shows that since the gifts were gone, then the purpose for the gifts must also have been gone. I hope that all that read this can learn to rest in the hope for today. To dwell with Christ after the resurrection! Later, Paul