Beloved, our Jesus Christ spoke about the Kingdom of God from His first Sermon on the Mount till the last day of His physical stay on earth – Matt.5:3; Acts 1:3.
He actually linked the end of this age to the revival of His Kingdom-gospel – Matt. 24:14. Our Jesus had been so prolific in preaching it Himself. Yes, this was His supreme mission for coming on earth; and He prosecuted it to the full – LK.4:43.
The mission of Jesus
My friend, seeing the big picture of Jesus’ first coming is important. You know, God gave us the Bible so that we see the way He does.
Our Jesus had a mission and a strategy to fulfil the mission. He came to re-establish the structures of God’s Kingdom on earth as in Genesis one and two – and even more.
The Lord Jesus’ mission was to take us to the beginning – to the initial Kingdom era of the Garden of Eden – Lk. 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
From the beginning, it was not so
“…Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning, it was not so.” – Matt. 19:8.
Beloved, what was lost on earth was not just mankind, but a System known as the Kingdom of God by which man ensured the rule of God on earth.
Because mankind fell short of the glory of God through sin, God allowed them to live short of His express Will, all throughout the Old Testament – Acts 14:15-17; 17:29-31.
For example, He allowed men to divorce their wives for any reason at all. When our Jesus came however, He declared that the period of living short of God’s glory was over and that, He was lifting fallen man to live as in the beginning.
Now, for every good thing that humans fall short of, Jesus will say “…from the beginning it was not so.” Jesus’ mission is, therefore, to take the mankind of God (at least) to the beginning of their Kingdom state in Eden.
This is why Jesus taught more about God’s Kingdom or rule on earth, both before and after His resurrection than any other subject. As we noted, His first preaching-words to the public are recorded in Matt. 4:17 as: “….repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand”.
This means God’s Kingdom or influence was here with us, ‘not’ that it would be in future. It is “at hand”, so you can pick it now – Matt. 12:28b,“…the Kingdom of God is come unto you.” “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” – Matt. 5: 3.
The strategy of Jesus
The way Jesus ‘was’ going to fulfil His mission of ‘Kingdomizing’ the earth is enumerated as: cast out demons, work miracles, share the Kingdom-word, form and train the Apostles, die on the cross, ascend to Heaven, give us Holy Spirit, build His Church etc.
These activities and events are not the mission of Jesus. They are the means to realizing the mission -1 Cor. 15:24, “Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
Beloved, the ultimate of Jesus is not to die for us but to deliver up to God an earth filled with His System called the Kingdom. So, our Jesus’ ‘Kingdomization’ mission is an on-going process, presently delegated to His Church, and which will climax in His thousand-year rule on earth, known as the Millennial.
The Church and the Kingdom
The mission of Jesus therefore has to do with the establishment of the Kingdom of God. That is His ultimate. The Church ‘was’ constituted to be the instrument of manifestation and administration of God’s Kingdom – Matt. 16:18b-19,
“…I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”
Here, our dearest Jesus links the Church to the Kingdom of God. This means the Church must have and model this System of God, in order to open it up to all mankind.
The Kingdom of God is not necessarily the Church, but a position, lifestyle and arrangement that brings about the influence or rule of God everywhere, including in the Church – Lk. 12:32.
My friend, the Church is to be a gathering of Kingdom-people with a Kingdom-mandate and Jesus’ Kingdom-message. Yes, the Kingdom existed before the Church and will continue to exist even after the Church age.
The surest sign of the end
Beloved, our Lord Jesus inferred in Matthew 24:14 that, in spite of His extensive and relentless preaching of the Kingdom, it was going to die down, only for it to be revived as a sign of the end.
The Apostle Paul partly spoke to this – Acts 20:25, 29-31. The surest sign of the end of this age is therefore not bad events, natural catastrophes or increased sinfulness, but the re-preaching of what Jesus preached i.e. the Gospel of the Kingdom.
This message of the Kingdom is only revealed to people who seek it. It is because as a treasure, it is hidden from common sight. You know, God is so sincere that He cannot give you what you do not want – Prov. 25:2.
You know, in His dealings with mankind, God usually reveals a little to you, as a teaser, and when you are interested and you follow on to know, He then increases His light on a subject to you – Hos. 6:1-3.
This renewed preaching of the Kingdom is going to be a sign of the end, probably because by it, mankind is going to be prepared for the full Kingdomage or the Millennial-rule of our Jesus on earth.
In other words, before the Lord Jesus comes again, there is going to be a revelation and an asserting of God as King over people’s and nations. Yes, God will show up as Lord or owner of all things, who does what He likes with His own.
He will show royal favour to individuals and people-groups, as He rises in His full elements as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Before then, earthly kings and kingdoms will assert themselves one against the other, because first the natural, then the spiritual. God is about to shake the status quo, immobilize the powers of ruling entities, and prove to all living beings and living circumstances that, the Most High super-rules in the kingdom of men – Dan. 4:17.
Beloved, God is going to shift ruler-ship in the family of humans, so that all of mankind will always remember that, it is only His Kingdom that endures forever. God is about to restore His Kingdom or rule to all people-groups. None should exclude themselves. Hallelujah!
