“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.” Matthew 24:14 (NCPB)
When Jesus says “this gospel of the kingdom”, he means the one he preached and not the one the Pharisees preached.
The big switcheroo….
Unable to grasp Christ’s invisible kingdom, many assumed his kingdom must be the same as the Pharisee’s physical kingdom, the one they always heard preached. And must have assumed that was the kingdom he spoke of.
Wrong.......
The main difference between Jesus’ kingdom and the Pharisee’s kingdom is their make-up. Jesus taught the kingdom is spiritual. The Pharisees taught the kingdom is physical. Jesus preached a kingdom of faith. The Pharisees preached a kingdom of sight. Jesus said the kingdom was present, the Pharisees said it was future because they could not see it. If you put it into theological terms, Jesus preached Amillennialism (= no millennium) and the Pharisees preached a type of Pre-Millennialism (= a physical kingdom based on Judaism).
But today, many side with the Pharisees and substitute Millennialism for the Amillennialism Jesus preached. Which makes millennialism a false gospel. The following are many proof texts that show Jesus taught an Amillennial kingdom only.
Please consider the spiritual nature of the Kingdom:
“And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) (KJV 1900)
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) (KJV 1900)
“Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28) (KJV 1900)
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Corinthians 15:50)
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) (KJV 1900)
“Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36) (KJV 1900)
“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:” (Luke 17:20) (KJV 1900)
“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) (KJV 1900)
“But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.” (Luke 11:20)
“The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” Luke 16:16 (KJV 1900)
“because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
“Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone.” (John 6:14–15)
“He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves,” (Colossians 1:13)
“When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer.” (Mark 12:34) (HCSB)
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) (HCSB)
“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” Revelation 1:9 (NASB95)
“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 8:12 (KJV 1900)
“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (KJV 1900)
“And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Acts 19:8 (KJV 1900)
“And when thy days [David] be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” 2 Samuel 7:12–13 (KJV 1900)
So when Jesus preached the gospel of the spiritual kingdom, the Pharisees rejected him because it wasn’t what they expected. According to Daniel, God set up his everlasting kingdom in the time of the Roman Empire. But since the Pharisees read the kingdom prophecies literally, they rejected Jesus. Not grasping that the kingdom prophecies use symbols to represent spiritual realities. For instance, Ezekiel’s temple symbolized Christ who is the third temple made without hands. This is the most common mistake people make today in prophecy. They assume the symbol will come to pass instead of what the symbol represents. Jesus by teaching a spiritual kingdom showed us that the kingdom prophecies used material symbols to represent the spiritual realities in the kingdom of God. Some more examples follow.
Where the Pharisees expected Elijah’s return, according to Jesus, John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah instead.
Where the Pharisees expected David’s descendant to reestablish and rule from his throne over the world in Jerusalem, scripture teaches that Jesus now sits on David’s throne in heavenly Jerusalem above.
And so it remains today. Many look for the prophetic symbols to appear instead of what they represent. And read the kingdom prophecies as the Pharisees did. And look for a future physical kingdom that will never happen.
When Jesus says “this gospel of the kingdom”, he means the one he preached and not the one the Pharisees preached.
The big switcheroo….
Unable to grasp Christ’s invisible kingdom, many assumed his kingdom must be the same as the Pharisee’s physical kingdom, the one they always heard preached. And must have assumed that was the kingdom he spoke of.
Wrong.......
The main difference between Jesus’ kingdom and the Pharisee’s kingdom is their make-up. Jesus taught the kingdom is spiritual. The Pharisees taught the kingdom is physical. Jesus preached a kingdom of faith. The Pharisees preached a kingdom of sight. Jesus said the kingdom was present, the Pharisees said it was future because they could not see it. If you put it into theological terms, Jesus preached Amillennialism (= no millennium) and the Pharisees preached a type of Pre-Millennialism (= a physical kingdom based on Judaism).
But today, many side with the Pharisees and substitute Millennialism for the Amillennialism Jesus preached. Which makes millennialism a false gospel. The following are many proof texts that show Jesus taught an Amillennial kingdom only.
Please consider the spiritual nature of the Kingdom:
“And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) (KJV 1900)
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) (KJV 1900)
“Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28) (KJV 1900)
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Corinthians 15:50)
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) (KJV 1900)
“Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36) (KJV 1900)
“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:” (Luke 17:20) (KJV 1900)
“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) (KJV 1900)
“But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.” (Luke 11:20)
“The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” Luke 16:16 (KJV 1900)
“because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
“Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone.” (John 6:14–15)
“He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves,” (Colossians 1:13)
“When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer.” (Mark 12:34) (HCSB)
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) (HCSB)
“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” Revelation 1:9 (NASB95)
“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 8:12 (KJV 1900)
“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (KJV 1900)
“And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Acts 19:8 (KJV 1900)
“And when thy days [David] be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” 2 Samuel 7:12–13 (KJV 1900)
So when Jesus preached the gospel of the spiritual kingdom, the Pharisees rejected him because it wasn’t what they expected. According to Daniel, God set up his everlasting kingdom in the time of the Roman Empire. But since the Pharisees read the kingdom prophecies literally, they rejected Jesus. Not grasping that the kingdom prophecies use symbols to represent spiritual realities. For instance, Ezekiel’s temple symbolized Christ who is the third temple made without hands. This is the most common mistake people make today in prophecy. They assume the symbol will come to pass instead of what the symbol represents. Jesus by teaching a spiritual kingdom showed us that the kingdom prophecies used material symbols to represent the spiritual realities in the kingdom of God. Some more examples follow.
Where the Pharisees expected Elijah’s return, according to Jesus, John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah instead.
Where the Pharisees expected David’s descendant to reestablish and rule from his throne over the world in Jerusalem, scripture teaches that Jesus now sits on David’s throne in heavenly Jerusalem above.
And so it remains today. Many look for the prophetic symbols to appear instead of what they represent. And read the kingdom prophecies as the Pharisees did. And look for a future physical kingdom that will never happen.
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