"The Kingdom of God Must Still Be Preached Today

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In the Matthew 24:1-51 (and Mt 25:1-46) Olivet Prophecy, Christ was asked about those events that would be the signs of His Second Coming and the end of the world (age). He answered that a number of different trends and conditions would occur first.

One event preceding Christ’s Return is described in Mt 24:14: “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.” The true gospel was foretold to be preached until “the end come.” This plainly means that someone will be preaching it now, in our present age, because the end has not yet come.

Some history: The knowledge of the true gospel was restored by Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986). It had not been preached to the world for almost 19 centuries until Mr. Armstrong began preaching it in January 1934, as the Matthew 24:14 prophecy began to unfold.

Understand! Not since the first century had the world as a whole heard this message. Throughout a 52-year ministry, until his death in 1986, God used Mr. Armstrong to reach hundreds of millions with this understanding. It was this man who taught me the true gospel and under whom I was trained to be able to take this same message to the world.

Remember, the end has not yet come. Therefore, The Restored Church of God is continuing this commission, boldly preaching this greatest of prophetic truths. The arrival of God’s kingdom is sure—it is certain! When it comes, you too can be a part of it.

7,000-year Plan

Cut off from God by sin (Isa. 59:1-2), mankind has believed the lies of the god of this world for 6,000 years. The span of God’s plan with men encompasses 7,000 years. Few have understood this. Many have correctly understood at least some little of the verses describing Christ’s coming 1,000-year Reign, to begin at His Return (Rev. 20:4-6). But they know nothing of God allotting 6,000 years, or six millennial days of a “seven-day week,” to man’s rule, under Satan, prior to the seventh 1,000-year “day.” We are very near the end of the “sixth day.”

Let’s understand! The Bible states, “But, beloved, be not IGNORANT of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8; Ps. 90:4). Of course, most are “ignorant” of almost EVERYTHING that the Bible teaches.

But you can know!

Man (under the invisible sway of Satan) has been given six “days,” or 6,000 years, to try his own ways, governments, religions, philosophies, value systems, codes of conduct, and forms of education. Under the influence of Satan, he has practiced sin and disobedience to God’s commands for all this time. He has then tried to treat all of the ill effects this has brought on, instead of the cause, which is the breaking of God’s commandments. God is allowing humanity to learn hard, bitter lessons. The masses, who have never known the precious truth of God, must learn that their own ways do not work!

Soon, the whole world will see the fulfilment of Revelation 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.”

Jesus Christ was born to be a King who will rule all nations of the earth forever with the help of other spirit-composed kings: “And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron.… and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:15-16).

Has anyone ever told you of these passages? I never learned of them or even heard of them in the church of my youth—and yet, here they are, written with unmistakable clarity of meaning for all who will heed.

Kingdom of God Explained

Matthew 6:33 states, “But seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness …” If you seek something first in life, you had better know exactly what you seek.

The main purpose in this chapter is not to explain in detail the kingdom of God. (This will be done later.) It is to explain the definition of the true gospel and mankind’s awesome potential.

So let’s understand. The word “kingdom” simply means government. Of course, you cannot have a government without a nation to govern. Therefore, a kingdom is at least one nation with a government.

There are four necessary components to any kingdom: (1) land, property, or territory—however large or small. In other words, one must have a specific and definite set of boundaries that constitutes the size of the kingdom; (2) a ruler, king, monarch, or governor leading the government; (3) people or subjects living within the territory; and (4) a system of laws and rules along with a basic structure of government. No kingdom is complete without all of these fundamental elements.

But how does this apply to God’s kingdom? Most do not understand the most basic elements of the kingdom of God. Is it a literal, physical place on Earth, with people and laws, presided over by a ruler? Many believe the kingdom is merely something in the hearts of men. Others believe that it is wherever you find a particular church. Still others believe that it is Jesus Christ Himself. Some believe that it is here on Earth now and others believe that it is yet to come, but do not understand—have no idea—how this will occur. We may ask: how does one actually enter the kingdom of God?

One Must Be Born Again to Enter the Kingdom

Paul wrote that Christ is “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18), and also “the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). When connected, these verses show that Jesus is merely the firstborn from the dead, with many others to follow. But when, and into what, will these others be born?

In John 3:3, Christ said to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily [this means truly, truly], I say unto you, Except a man be BORN AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In Jn 3:6, Christ continues, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Simply believe the plain meaning of this verse. One must become spirit to SEE the kingdom of God.

Paul taught, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). The next two verses explain that the resurrection will occur at the Seventh (last) Trumpet, when “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Christ returns when the Seventh Trumpet of Revelation 11:1-19 blows. This is when the resurrection of the dead will occur. Do not misunderstand this climactic event, more carefully explained much later. Suffice to say here, people who were once fleshly human beings will be changed into spirit—will be born again—and enter into the kingdom of God. No physical people can enter this kingdom.

John 4:24 states, “God is a Spirit.” Under the Father, Christ leads His kingdom, which is composed of spirit beings. At His Return, Christ, as a member of the God Family, will have many younger “brothers and sisters,” who will have qualified to rule with Him.

Think of it this way: There is a plant kingdom, an animal kingdom, human kingdoms and an angelic kingdom. There is also the kingdom of God.

Now notice Genesis 1:26: “And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.” When referring to themselves, the One speaking says, “Us, Our” and “Our.” This is proof that there is more than one Being in the Godhead—there are presently two! In this scripture, the Hebrew word for God is Elohim. This is a uniplural term like group, team, committee, or family. All of these represent one entity, comprised of several members or persons.

Thus, we will see that the Bible teaches that there is one God, composed of two Persons—the Father and Christ—with many more persons to be added later. The first great time when God will add more sons to His Family is when Christ’s kingdom is established. But entering God’s kingdom will not be automatic for anyone.

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