Christ’s Message—An Advance Announcement

Like a newscaster far ahead of his time, Christ came to make an announcement about a complete change in the way the world would one day be governed. With this change would come unprecedented world peace, happiness, harmony, universal health and prosperity.

Everywhere He went, Christ spoke about the kingdom of God. It was the subject of most of His parables. When He commissioned His twelve apostles and sent them to preach, the instruction was to preach about the kingdom of God (Luke 9:1-2). When He later sent out His seventy disciples (Luke 10:1), He also commanded them to preach the kingdom of God (Lk 10:9). Paul preached this same “kingdom of God” message everywhere he went (Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31). The terms kingdom and kingdom of God are found scores of times throughout the New Testament. Yet, it is absolutely astonishing how nearly everyone has lost the knowledge and true meaning of what this kingdom is!

The word “gospel” is an old English word meaning “god spell” or good news. The word “kingdom” is also an old English term simply meaning government. In other words, Christ preached “the good news of the government of God.” The coming of world peace, happiness, health and abundance will certainly be good news for a mankind that has not known it for 6,000 years.

Christ’s disciples asked Him what the SIGN of His Coming and the end of the age would be (Matt. 24:3). He warned the disciples of deception from many who would come “in His Name,” saying, “Christ was Christ” (Mt 24:5). He meant that they would put an emphasis on the PERSON of Christ instead of the MESSAGE He brought. But, He also prophesied that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the END come” (Mt 24:14).

We are NOW in the time of the end. Remember, if the kingdom of God had been preached through the centuries, from the time of Christ to the present, proclaiming it today could not be a sign that the world has reached the end of the age. Impostors and false leaders suppressed the preaching of the true gospel to the world until the 20th century. Starting in 1934, Herbert W. Armstrong began the fulfilment of this prophecy. It continues today—The Restored Church of God is preaching this gospel.

Life After Death?

But when Christ spoke of the “kingdom,” what did He mean? The gospel of the kingdom of God has two separate aspects.

Many speak of salvation—the belief in an afterlife. Some have supposed that the gospel is exclusively about “receiving eternal life” or the popular idea of “going to heaven” upon death. Of course, the Bible has a tremendous amount to say about salvation. Actually, salvation is directly related to—is one aspect of—the gospel of the kingdom of God. (Read our booklets Is There Life After Death? and What Is Your Reward in the Next Life?)

Most assume that God is trying to save the world now—that today is the only opportunity for salvation for all mankind. (A third booklet, Does the Bible Teach Predestination?, explains that God is not trying to save everyone now and why. It outlines His entire plan and purpose for humanity.) Most people have no idea why they were born—why they were put on earth. They also do not understand why man cannot find peace, happiness, health and abundance on his own. The whole world has been deceived about salvation and the most important questions and answers of life. This booklet asks and answers many of those questions.

The other aspect of the kingdom of God is GOVERNMENT. As mentioned, the word kingdom means government. When the kingdom of God arrives, it will be a world-ruling SUPER GOVERNMENT. The Bible describes this government in detail.

Message About Government

The rest of this booklet will explain the “government” aspect of the kingdom. The above-recommended booklets primarily address the “salvation” aspect.

Prior to the birth of Jesus, an angel appeared to His mother, Mary. These verses describe this encounter and what she was told: “…the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto…Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, you that are highly favoured…you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall REIGN over the house of Jacob forever; and of His KINGDOM there shall be no end” (Luke 1:26-33).

In John 18:36, Jesus stated to Pilate, “My kingdom [government] is not of this world.” Pilate asked, “Are you a king then?” Christ responded, “You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world” (Jn 18:37).

Jesus Christ was born to be a KING!

Here is what was prophesied in Isaiah about Christ: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the GOVERNMENT shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. Of the increase of His GOVERNMENT and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon HIS KINGDOM, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever” (Isa 9:6-7).

When Christ establishes God’s government on earth, it will usher in peace for all nations!

All God’s Prophets Preached the Gospel

During a sermon in the book of Acts, the apostle Peter stated an amazing but almost entirely unknown fact of Bible history. He spoke of a time “…when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution [restoration] of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21). Of course, heaven has received Christ “until” the restoration of all things. But this restitution has not yet happened—hence, the word “until.”

Imagine! Every one (“all”) of God’s true servants has preached that the time is coming when Christ will return and “all things” shall be “restored.” Prior to Satan’s rebellion, God’s government was present on earth. (Read our booklet Who Is the Devil? to learn about this rebellion.) For thousands of years, God’s servants have foretold the details of its restoration to earth. You may wish to examine all of the Old Testament prophets to see if each of them announced, in one fashion or another, the coming of the kingdom of God and the restitution of all things. I have studied the verses many times, and you will find that they all did. (Our booklet Which Is the True Gospel? examines this in detail.)

Here is an account in the New Testament, referencing just one of God’s Old Testament spokesmen.

The book of Jude records the preaching of Noah’s great-grandfather Enoch. It is a record of what was spoken over 4,500 years ago—even before the Flood. Consider the incredible scope of the following verses: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly…of all their ungodly deeds which they have…committed, and of all their hard speeches…sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15). Get the clear meaning of this passage. It reveals that the saints (all true Christians) are coming with Christ to judge the world—to judge “all” according to their conduct.

The Bible has much more to say about the kingdom of God than you have supposed. Once again, the truth is absolutely astonishing—even shocking—and you need not be ignorant of it.