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The Revelation of Jesus Christ and of the end of the age, among other things, He said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14).
Are we preaching the Gospel of the kingdom now? It was preached by the Lord Jesus Christ; it was preached by John the Baptist when he came into the world, saying, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3: 2). "The kingdom"; that is, the "rule" of heaven is "at hand." When Jesus came, He sent out the twelve, and then the seventy, not among the Gentiles, but among the Jews; and they preached saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." The rule of the heavens is at hand. That kingdom was presented to Israel by the prophets in the Old Testament days. The preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom culminated in the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where He presented Himself officially to the people of Israel. And they cried out, "Hosanna to the son of David." But the leaders came and arrested Him; and instead of recognizing Him as King, they put Him on a cross, nailing over his head the superscription, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. They jeered at Him then. but there will come a day when those who have rejected and disowned Him will tremble before Himl For the period which is the age of grace, this present church age, the preaching of "the gospel of the kingd9m" ceased. The kingdom was set aside, or postponed; and on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God came into the world as had been promised by the Lord Jesus. His message was different. It was not: . "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand": it was the Gospel of the Grace of God, the Gospel of Christ. It was the Gospel of grace, of which the Apostle Paul was talking, when he said, "It is the power of God unto sal vation to every one that believeth" ( Rom. 1:16) . It is the Gospel of grace, the acceptance of which makes us heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. It is the Gospel of grace which makes us members of the Body of Christ. The Gospel of the kingdom.......as it was preached by John, and as it will be preached again after the church age is over never made the offer that the Gospel of grace makes. Let me repeat: The Gospel of the grace of God makes one a heavenly saint: the Gospel of the kingdom makes a man an earthly saint.
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