The Mystery of the Kingdom
Our Lord during His earthly ministry spoke frequently of the gospel of the kingdom. (Mt 9:35). He often would speak of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 3:2; 4:17). After He was blasphemed, recorded in Matthew 12:24-31 (His miracles attributed to Satan), He spoke to His disciples privately in Matthew 13 about the mysteries of the kingdom. “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God...” (Mk 4:11).
Israel’s rejection of their Messiah was the rejection of their human and divine King. The kingdom would not appear immediately; Jesus would depart for a long time before instituting kingdom rule on earth. “While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So, He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return” (Lu 19:11-12)—see remainder of the parable in vv. 11-27. This period of absence prior to the kingdom is also mentioned in Acts. “Therefore, repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time” (Acts 3:19-21).
Thus, Christ informed His listeners that a long time would pass before His kingdom rule would be installed.i In anticipation of His suffering, He also, quite radically, changes the missional approach from somewhat reckless in the sending of the 70 (Lu 10:1-12). take no food, extra clothes, or money, to a more lengthy and arduous approach—pack well, prepare, bring a weapon. “And He said to them, ‘But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one’” (Lu 22:36).
For discussion: consider what is involved in our Lord preaching the gospel before He is crucified and raised. Some of the ‘challenges’ would be preparing people to leave the Mosaic covenant for the new covenant which would be ratified in Christ’s blood (Mt 26:28). Also, consider that the nation of Israel rejected the kingdom offer. “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to . . .” (Mt 21:43) (see also Luke 19:41-44 on the rejection of the King).
The meaning of the phrase, the gospel of the kingdom, has three major options:The King has arrived, and the kingdom has been spiritually inaugurated, but a spectacular realization of the kingdom in the future is yet to take place. Theologian, Alva McClain, provides a further delineation. He suggests that the kingdom will see three offers in total.ii
1) One, the offer of the kingdom to Israel through Messiah at His first coming, b) second, the offer of the kingdom in the Church Age beginning in Acts. For the gospel of the kingdom encompasses the whole unfolding of the good news about Christ’s kingdom—the matchless opportunity for entry into Christ’s kingdom opened not only to the lost house of Israel, but to the Gentile nations, and c) third, the offer of the kingdom in the coming Messianic Age (the millennium). For in His rule Christ’s scepter goes out to the whole world from earthly Zion in rule, worship, and instruction. iii
2) The second option, the kingdom message refers to a spiritual kingdom only. In this view, there will be no visible future reign on earth of Christ in redemptive history. The eternal state, the new heavens and earth follow immediately upon His return, redemptive history comes to an instant close.
3) The third option, the term, the gospel of the kingdom is simply code for the Christian gospel.
Is the gospel of the Kingdom the gospel of the cross? Or, is the gospel of the Kingdom primarily the relieving of affliction, suffering, and poverty (Mt 9:35)? Is the definition of the gospel to be drawn from the words of Jesus in the synoptic gospels or from the Book of Romans? ivIn the synoptic gospels our Lord speaks of forgiving and loving one’s enemies, doing deeds of charity, and working for social justice (Mt 5:39-48; Lu 6:27-38). This begs the question, is the gospel of the kingdom different than the gospel of Christ the King crucified and risen? Both the gospel preached by Jesus and the gospel preached by the apostles are good news. But again, this brings the question to mind, is the gospel we preach now the same as the gospel preached to Israel before the cross (i.e. the O.T. prophetic promise of the kingdom)? The answer is that the gospel messages were not the same in terms of precise content.
The key distinction between the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of the cross is that Jesus did not disclose the mystery of the kingdom publicly. Christ concealed the secret of the kingdom in numerous parables. The hidden mystery is that the King of the kingdom would be crucified and risen. Even Christ’s disciples did not grasp the truth He announced of His coming death (Lu 18:31-34). His going to the cross to be crucified was only revealed publicly after the fact (Lu 24:25-27; Acts 13:26-33ff.).
The gospel of the kingdom comes with a new covenant in Christ’s blood. The new kingdom comes through a new covenant (1 Cor 11:25-26). Only this new covenant promises boundless forgiveness of sins through the finished atonement (Jer 31:34; 33:8; Ezek 36:29). And that is only possible through the effectual atonement made by the King (Heb 9:14-15). The blood of Messiah inaugurates the new covenant and inaugurates His future kingdom on earth (Heb 10:10-18). The new kingdom can only come through the new covenant (Heb 8:6-13). These central truths are hidden from the proud and self-reliant (Mt 13:11-17). The progressive revelation, or historical unfolding of the secrets of the covenant must be respected. For, there is a cumulative dimension, the disciples understood only after their Lord suffered, rose from the dead, and appeared to them (Jn 20:20; 21:14). Again, this transitional period between old and new covenant was filled with mystery—the ‘mystery of the gospel’ (Rom 16:25; Eph 6:18-20; Col 1:26).
Christ and Him crucified for sinners is an all-sufficient work not divorced from the gospel of the kingdom which includes the promise of a new heavens and a new earth (2 Pet 3:13; Rev 5:9-10; 21:1ff.). The promised kingdom is the promise of the hope of glory at Christ’s return (Rom 5:2; Col 1:27; 1 Thess 5:8; 2 Thess 2:13-14). There is a sense in which these blessed realities begin at the new birth, yet the glorious reality of the kingdom is yet future (Eph 1:13-14; 2:4-10; Col 1:13-14).
The gospel of the Kingdom points to Christ’s glorious return as our hope The gospel of the King crucified and risen includes the eschaton, the glorious hope at our Lord’s Second Advent. It is the hope of a changed world made up of changed people (Is 65:17ff.). No wonder our Lord preached the urgency of repentance, and that the kingdom was nigh (Mk 1:15; Lu 10:9). But, ever since the event of our Lord’s finished work on Calvary you can only see the kingdom of God through the cross of Christ (1 Cor 1:21). Why is that the case? It is because the kingdom has been inaugurated spiritually in the present age. “My kingdom is not of this world. . . not of this realm” (Jn 18:36). And its citizens are new men and women with new natures (Col 3:9-11) in a new covenant who anticipate a new heaven and a new earth (Phil 3:20; Titus 2:13; 1 Pet 1:13; Jude 1:20-21. These people with kingdom hope are reconciled by the sacrifice of Christ in His substitutionary atonement (2 Cor 5:17-21).
The terms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are used interchangeably by our Lord. They refer to His work on earth. The N.T. Greek word for kingdom (basilea) means the realm in which a sovereign God rules. Christ rules in the hearts of believers now. For as our Lord said, His kingdom is not of this world, otherwise His followers would be fighting (Jn 18:36). Jesus preached that the kingdom of God is near—for the King of the kingdom was in their midst (Mt 4:17). The Son of God came to earth preaching and performing testifying miracles (Acts 1:3) (infallible proofs—testifying criteria of certainty). His primary focus during His earthly ministry is calling men to repent and believe the gospel. Repent of your sin, believe upon the Son of God and follow Him (Mt 8:22; Mk 1:15; Lu 9:59; 14:27; 18:22; Jn 10:27; 12:26).
The kingdom will not come politically in this present age. For in the present, we suffer with Christ (Rom 8:17; Col 1:24; 1 Pet 2:20-24). We are not kings yet says Paul (1 Cor 4:8-16); that will have to wait until the kingdom appears (Rev 1:5-6). Peace and joy in the Holy Spirit now are fruits of repentance—that is the present blessing of the kingdom, not kingdom feasting which will have to wait (Is 25:6-9; Mt 26:29; Rom 14:17).
Only the penitent may enter the Kingdom
The gospel of the kingdom is the good news which addresses the need of repentance and restoration by grace—so that a man or a woman might become a part of His eternal kingdom. Yet, Jesus said the way is narrow and difficult (Mt 7:13-14). Few would enter because of the humanly impossible standards. Only by the gift of a new heart will a man want to repent and leave behind his love of darkness (Jn 3:3; 1 Thess 1:9). Those who receive the truth of the gospel are citizens of heaven freed from the bondage of this world (Gal 4:4-7). Now in their service to the King, they are ambassadors of God’s kingdom (2 Cor 5:17-20). They follow His code of conduct as sojourners here (Jn 8:31-32; 14:21; 15:7-102 Cor 5:14-15).
As citizens of His kingdom, genuine believers are ambassadors on assignment, on mission to live with a kingdom mindset (1 Jn 3:2-3). That means having the promises of ruling and reigning with Christ in the future Kingdom on earth as their controlling hope (Rev 2:26-29). The gospel of the kingdom was Jesus’ message everywhere He went. It was the good news that God was bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. The good news of the coming kingdom of God requires the response of repentance and faith; for people must be made obedient to God in preparation for the coming kingdom. Thus, only if He rules in your heart now, setting up His throne there, will you rule with Him when He returns (Rev 2:26-28; 21:7-8).
The proclamation of the Kingdom message is to be filled with urgency
In summary, the gospel of the kingdom is the announcement that the kingdom has arrived in the Person of Christ and that the kingdom has been inaugurated spiritually in the present age and that there is a promise of a full and spectacular realization of that kingdom in the future. The gospel of salvation terminates on Jesus as Savior of lost sinners. The gospel of the kingdom expands that hope to the good news of Christ’s ascension, enthronement, and earthly reign in which believers will be co-glorified co-regents (Col 3:3-4).
The kingdom is first and foremost a message about God, that He is King, that He reigns, that evil is temporary, that He is coming as King to set right what our sin has made wrong. The term kingdom of God could easily be translated the reign of God or the Kingship of God. Thus, the message of the kingdom is about God’s royal power, His absolute reign and rule and that His purposes proclaimed in the gospel are directed by His self-giving redeeming love.
For additional study and meditation:
Christ is coming in His Kingdom
Israel crucified her King, rejecting the kingdom, yet even after Christ’s ascension ‘kingdom language’ is used in association with gospel sermons in the book of Acts (3:21; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). Therefore, what is the significance of Christ’s second coming being described as Him coming in His kingdom (Mt 16:27-28)? The Son of God is given the kingdom by His Father which He bestows on the saints (Dan 7:27; Lu 22:29-30). Discuss the significance that believers are regarded as Christ’s inheritance (Rom 8:17; Eph 1:11-14), and the fact that Christ promises to drink new wine with believers in His Father’s kingdom (Mt 26:29).
History is poised for the revelation of God’s glory
At the day of the Lord, God will ‘do Himself to humanity’. This will be a fuller revelation of His attributes, especially the ‘Omni’ attributes, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence. This revelation of God's glory will be a devastating interface with creation of blinding glory. We think of the words of Jeremiah about the Day the Lord—words come to mind such as, retribution, fury, wrath, rage, anger, recompense. At the cross, and at the Day of the Lord, God does Himself to us. “The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Rev 6:14-17). (See also Joel 2:11, 30-32; 3:9-21; Zeph 1:14-18; 2 Thess 1:6-10).
God doing Himself to His creatures, to humanity, is a prevalent and arresting theme in Scripture. This devastating revelation of the majesty of the Divine will occur in a very public way—accompanied by the overturning of cosmic order. The culmination of the age of grace will reach its violent consummation at the Day of the Lord. It will be a grand demonstration of God’s glory, righteousness, holiness, might, wrath, mercy, love, and justice (Amos 5:18).
The Kingdom message is ‘news from the future’
Now, there’s a fascinating thought here that the proclamation of Christ’s coming Kingdom, is actually news from the future. For the true believer has a citizenship that is from the future (Phil 3:20-21), a belonging that is from the future (Rev 3:12), a membership in an everlasting ‘country’ that is from the future (Heb 11:13-16; 13:14), and residency in an eternal city that is from the future (Heb 13:14), a co-regency or ruling with Christ that is from the future (Rev 2:26-27). Thus, every genuine Christ-follower is a walking, talking message from the future. No wonder Tom Wells titled his book about the belonging and permanence of life in the Father’s house, Come Home Forever.
Christ’s resurrection is the iron-clad warranty of His coming Kingdom
Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and glorification is the warranty, the very guarantee of our resurrection, our glorification, and our new bodies (1 Cor 15:20-23). Christ’s resurrection and His new body is the guarantee of the transformed and glorified church (1 Cor 15:42-58). Our Savior’s rising is the warranty and guarantee of a New Heavens and a New Earth. Christ’s resurrection victory over sin and death marks the ‘undoing’ of the curse and of the ruin introduced by the First Adam’s sin (Rom 8:18-25). And His resurrection is proof that the atonement He made on our behalf was accepted by the Father for our eternal justification (Rom 4:25).
The Son of God will be publicly vindicated at His glorious return
A great public vindication is coming at Christ's return, a vindication of our Savior's authority, a vindication of His glory, His honor, His promises, His Godhood, His worthiness to be King. For every knee of every sentient being in creation will bow before Him (Phil 2:9-11). God has linked the vindication of Christ with the vindication of Israel. “Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name’” (Ezek 39:25). “When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations” (Ezek 39:27). (See also Ezek 39:21-29).
In Scripture the common Hebrew word for justice is mishpat. The semantic range includes fairness without partiality, a judgment or verdict which is just, and vindication. And we think about the vindication of God’s servants who have been maligned and persecuted. The Apostles, most of whom were martyred will sit as judges on thrones in the coming dispensation (Mt 19:28). True believers will be claimed before the Father as belonging to Christ (Mt 10:32; Rev 3:9).
And so, in the pursuit of this biblical theme, we would ask the following questions, what is the nature of this vindication? Who will be vindicated? And what is the basis for their vindication? And again, the vindication of Christ’s followers is joined to the very public nature of Christ’s Second coming, His judgment of the nations, His rule and reign, and His separating the sheep and the goats (Mt 25:31-46). Everything Christ does from now on, will be very public in nature. We think of Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” See also the ‘public’ revelation of the sons of God (Rom 8:18-25).
A passion for God’s glory is joined to longing for Christ’s vindication
Your passion for God’s glory ought to show itself in seeking to understand how and why God will vindicate the honor of Christ by means of the tribulation, by means of the Day of the Lord, and by means of the Messianic Age known as the millennium. God has made promises concerning Israel and Israel’s future. And the Kingdom promises made to Israel are coterminous with the vindication of Christ in His messianic reign beginning at the Day of the Lord. Our Lord’s first advent was as a Lamb; His second advent will be as a Lion (Rev 5:5).
The unspeakable horror and carnage of the Tribulation and Day of the Lord does not mesh with a Kingdom that comes before the tribulation. If you place the Kingdom before Christ’s return, you won't be able to square the Kingdom and Kingdom life with the severity of the tribulation and the Day of the Lord. For consider how catastrophic the time of Jacob’s trouble actually is (Jer 30:7), and how that seven-year period is described in the book of Revelation and by the O.T. prophets. If the events of the tribulation and the Day of the Lord are spiritualized, the role of cosmology and in end-time prophecy is all but removed.v Let’s be honest about this. Scripture says that at the end of the age, crime will increase, deceivers will proliferate, scoffers will abound, and false Christ’s will be numerous. An honest handling of Scripture’s message about end times means we come face to face with the biblical themes of crushing judgment, violence, demonic proliferation, holocausts, destruction, wickedness, deception, and chaos (2 Tim 3:1-13).
At the end of this age, the condition of the human race and the creation will require the installation of the third cosmology, the new heavens and Earth (2 Pet 3:9-19). No wonder the view of Christ’s premillennial return guards against a liberal butchering of the texts.
Deal faithfully with the Bible’s description of Kingdom cosmology
The cosmology of the Kingdom will involve a blessed reduction in the curse and in creation’s enslavement to corruption and decay (Rom 8:20-21ff.). The Lion Program comes with a new cosmology (Is 60; Is 61; Is 65; Is 66). Scripture says in Isaiah, that there will be no more war (Is 2:4). They will turn their spears into pruning hooks and their swords into plowshares (Is 2:4; Mic 4:3). We see numerous references to this change in cosmologies throughout the book of Isaiah. Kingdom cosmology means a change in the order of the world and the order of creation, a change in the order of world governments. The changes to be brought about in Kingdom cosmology are cosmic in scope—reaching to the angelic realm and to every part of creation.
Neoplatonic philosophy undermines the authorial intent of Scripture
Kingdom passages are descriptive of what’s going to take place in time-space future history. Some of the early church fathers leaned heavily toward allegory, almost insisting that every text had an allegorical interpretation as well as an exegetical interpretation. Philo had an allegorical hermeneutic, as well as Origen and Augustine. This hermeneutic has been handed down, and has produced a theology known as supersessionism. In that view God has replaced Israel with the church. But you can’t get to replacement theology without breaking the rules of normal language.vi
By spiritualizing and allegorizing the text, there is a refusal to do the hard work of exegesis, namely applying the grammatical historical method of interpretation. But if you allow the Spirit to disabuse your mind of any crippling bias, and you are willing to go to authorial intent, and handle Scripture with its intended perspicuity, you’ll find the Bible is absolutely explicit about a future thousand-year kingdom which Jesus will make happen (Doug Bookman).
It is fair to say, states Doug Bookman, that premillennial churches, by means of the grammatical historical hermeneutic, are guarding against the slow creep of liberalism and its attack on plenary verbal inspiration. It’s interesting, if you start moving away from a grammatical historical hermeneutic, you might find yourself undermining passages that speak of great power and supernatural interaction with human history. So, let’s be honest, Philo, Clement, Origen, Augustine had a certain infatuation with Greek philosophy, with Greek dualism. This was very common among the church fathers. Plato had the view that heaven involved a salvation or deliverance from the material. Part of the platonic worldview is that we live in a shadow world; actual reality is the transcendent, the immaterial, the Logos with its pure forms. According to Neo-Platonism, what we see down here are only, shall we say, ‘shadows’ of the actual forms.
But back to the texts which describe the coming of the Kingdom. God intends that Christ be exalted and publicly vindicated. Thus, God has synchronized the vindication of His Son with the vindication of Israel at the end of the age. In fact, God says that He is going to sanctify His name through the deliverance of Israel and through installing His throne and Kingdom in Zion (Ezek 39). Thus, the vindication of Christ and Israel will be accomplished together. This is a very important part of eschatology, and it’s our firm belief that spiritualizing and allegorizing Kingdom texts erodes this great purpose and our understanding of this superb vindicating intent of God.vii
Those ready for the Kingdom are doing the Father’s will now (Mt 7:21)
How do we reconcile: the way is narrow, few find it (Mt 7:13-14)—with, fear not the Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom (Lu 12:29-34)? Kingdom consciousness embraces the attitudes enjoined by Scripture in view of the Lord’s glorious reign.viii What would you add to these scriptural attitudes? Eagerness for His return, pursuit of holiness, a willingness to suffer with Him, faithfulness in service, an eternal value system, reverential fear knowing a judgment is imminent, strong hope, doing the work of an ambassador.
There are numerous warnings in James, First and Second Peter, and First John about not being overcome by the lusts of the flesh and the love of the world. In fact, there are terrifying cautions directed at those who do not overcome—to those who have made some sort of start in religion, but then are finally overcome by sin (2 Pet 2; Rev 21:8).
We also think about the scoffers who, having bought into the evolutionary myth of origins, are willfully blind to the reality of the Kingdom. The irony is cruel—for having swallowed the creation myth of Darwinism, they have made it impossible to welcome news of the Kingdom of Christ, Lord of the cosmos. Mockers have no interest in the reality of the Kingdom (2 Pet 3:3-7). They have been fooled by the creation myth of philosophic naturalism (Darwinism), and have sunk down into blindness, darkness, ignorance. For they accuse believers of subscribing to a religious myth, though God has borne testimony through His Son concerning the certainty and reality of the Kingdom—of which Christ’s life and resurrection are the infallible proof.
The glory of the Kingdom is only perceived by spiritual eyes and ears
Only those with spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear truly perceive the beauty, the desirability, the wealth, the wonder, the refuge of the coming Kingdom of God (Mt 13:16-17). Only those who have received the spiritual faculties of a new nature granted in the new birth will ‘see’ the beauty and the mystery of the Kingdom. And only regenerated individuals will make the sacrifices necessary to be an overcomer (see Rev 2; Rev 3; Rev 21).
Every overcomer is a kind of stakeholder, in other words, a shareholder, an investor who is deeply invested in this coming Kingdom (Lu 16:16). And as it says in Matthew chapter six, every man is controlled by what he esteems to be his treasure (Mt 6:19-21). For our Lord has told us that a man speaks of his treasure, guards his treasure, invests in his treasure, and is ruled by his treasure. And so, we would ask every Christian who professes to follow the Lord, “Are you indeed motivated and animated by the treasure that is the Kingdom?” (Mt 13:44-46).
Kingdom consciousness incentivizes Kingdom readiness
Every genuine Christ-follower is preparing now for the Kingdom, for your present faithfulness will have a great deal to do with your assignment in the Kingdom. “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ ‘The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities’” (Lu 19:17-19).
Are you struck by the reality of co-regency with Christ—of the promise made to overcomers—that they will rule and reign with Christ (Rev 2:26-27)? Kingdom consciousness is descriptive of a transformative awareness of the coming Kingdom. When that cognizance fills our consciousness, it induces preparation and readiness for the Kingdom. “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:13).
Christ requires that we believe fully His testimony about the future (Mt 24; Lu 17; 21; 2 Pet 3:1-2ff.). To what degree do these Kingdom truths control you and animate you, and stir your affections? If they do so to a high degree—motivating your trust and obedience, then you are prepared and ready for the future (1 Jn 2:28). If not, take immediate action that you may be prepared and ready for the coming Kingdom (Lu 21:34-36).
End Notes:
i Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, “What is the Gospel of the Kingdom?” July 2019
ii Alva McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom
iii Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary
iv Trinity Bible Church, “Confusing the Gospel of the Kingdom,” July 1, 2020
v Doug Bookman on the hermeneutics of eschatolog
vi Ibid.
vii Ibid.
viii Jay Wegter, Gospel for Life’s monthly article, “The Kingdom Consciousness of a True Disciple, Parts One and Two.”