In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt. 3:1-2)
Prophecies of a Messianic King appear throughout the Old Testament and many in the Jewish leadership saw John’s arrival on the scene as their fulfillment. They sent representatives to the place where John was baptizing to see if he was the promised Messiah. He said he wasn’t, but that the one they had been expecting was even then in their midst (John 1:19-28).
750 years earlier Isaiah had said when the Messiah came He would reign on David’s throne forever (Isaiah 9:6-7) but when John appeared on the scene the throne of David had been vacant for 600 years. He had come to tell them the time was finally at hand and they had better get ready for Him.
When Jesus began His ministry, John introduced Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:8) and publicly testified that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:34). Right from the beginning Jesus began teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven was near (Matt. 4:17), and sent His disciples through out the land to alert the people to this fact as well (Matt. 10:7-8).
But even with Isaiah’s prophecies, John’s testimony, and the Lord’s teaching, the Jewish leaders refused to accept the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. They questioned His claims, His doctrine, and His miracles in spite of the fact that all were clearly foretold in their prophecies.
Isaiah had also said when the Messiah came He would have no beauty or majesty that would attract them to Him and that nothing about His appearance would make them desire Him (Isaiah 53:2). Even so, the fact that Jesus was not like they expected Him to be was a big problem for them. They were looking for a conquering King, like David, and He didn’t fit the description.
Just before John was executed, He had sent a delegation of his disciples to confirm for themselves that Jesus was who He claimed to be.
In reply Jesus said, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matt. 11:4-6)
Jesus fed the multitudes, walked on water, healed the sick and raised the dead and still they asked for a miraculous sign. Finally in frustration He responded, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:38-40). They would get their sign, but only after they had executed Him.
Later, just a few days before His execution, He warned them again. “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matt. 21:43). He was speaking of the coming Church.
After the resurrection, having performed the miraculous sign He promised them, Jesus waited 40 days for them to acknowledge it. But upon being informed of the empty tomb the Jewish leaders bribed the soldiers to keep them quiet and refused to recognize the Lord’s fulfillment of the sign of Jonah (Matt. 28:11-15).
At the end of the 40 days His disciples asked if He was now going to restore the Kingdom to Israel. Jesus said it was not for them to know the times or dates the Father had set by His own authority (Acts 1:6-7) and after telling them to wait for the Holy Spirit to appear He ascended into heaven (Acts. 1:8-11).
An Ambivalent Answer?
Some have criticized His response as being ambivalent, but I disagree. The disciples knew 69 of Daniel’s 70 weeks had passed, and there was one week (7 years) left to fulfill. They knew the Messiah had been cut off (put to death) like Daniel had prophesied (Daniel 9:26) and from His teaching they knew why. It was to fulfill three of the six objectives the angel had set forth when he gave Daniel the 70 weeks prophecy over 500 years earlier.
“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy”. (Daniel 9:24)
The purpose of the Lord’s death was to finish transgression, put an end to sin and atone for wickedness. What was left was to bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, and anoint the Most Holy. Bringing in everlasting righteousness is a reference to Isaiah 9:7 which says the Messiah will reign with justice and righteousness forever. Sealing up vision and prophecy means to bring them to their conclusion by fulfilling them. Anointing means to consecrate or sanctify, and the Most Holy probably refers to the Temple.
By telling the disciples it wasn’t for them to know the timing of the kingdom’s restoration and immediately changing the subject to the coming Holy Spirit, I think the Lord was saying the offer of the kingdom was still on the table for Israel, but His focus was about to change. Obviously God knew they had rejected the kingdom at that time, but He was leaving the door open for them to accept it at some point in the future.
This is borne out by a prophecy He spoke through Hosea 750 years earlier.
“Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me” (Hosea 5:15). Please note the word “until” because it conveys the notion of “not now” rather than “not ever.” The door was still open.
A Parenthetical Statement
10 days after the Lord’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came to the disciples, and for about 20 years what would become the Church remained mostly an offshoot of Judaism. Then James, the Lord’s half brother, revealed that the Lord was first going to take from among the Gentiles a people for Himself before moving to restore Israel (Acts 15:13-18). This was a clear promise of a future for Israel apart from the Church.
But shortly after that Israel ceased to exist as a nation and has been absent for most of the past 2000 years while God’s focus has been exclusively on the Church. Because of this many scholars began to express doubt that Israel would ever return, even asserting that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan and all the unfulfilled promises to Israel have been inherited by the Church. As far as they were concerned, there was no longer a reason for Israel to exist.
I’ve been going to church all my life but I was nearly 50 years old before I realized that the Age of Grace, aka the Church Age, only exists in a parenthesis between Daniel’s first 69 weeks and the coming 70th one. It began when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost after the Lord’s Ascension and will end with the Rapture, which James also hinted at. The Greek words translated “taking from the Gentiles” in Acts 15:14 can mean “to carry away, out of the nations” Once the Church has been carried away the Lord will turn back to Israel to fulfill Daniel’s 70th week and implement the kingdom Daniel prophesied.
“In the time of those kings (the Gentile powers who control the Earth) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44).
In Daniel’s time it was already understood that this kingdom would be headquartered in Israel, but would have authority over all the Earth. Speaking through David, God said, “I have installed my King on Zion, My Holy hill” (Psalm 2:6).
He was referring to His Son, to whom He said, “Ask of Me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the Earth your possession” (Psalm 2:8).
Have You Forgotten Anything?
Those who teach that there’s no future for Israel have forgotten that James had foretold of one that would begin after the Lord finished with the Church (Acts 15:13-18). They have also forgotten that Paul confirmed this in Romans 11:25-27. And they’ve forgotten (or ignored) all the unconditional promises God had made to Israel.
This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name:
“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms” (Ezekiel 37:21-22).
I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God (Amos 9:14-5).
There are probably dozens of others, but I’m sure you get the idea. Only by refusing to read these promises as they’re written can one deny that they are meant for Israel.
The Offer Still Stands
So the offer of a Kingdom to Israel was never rescinded, it was only set aside while the Lord builds His Church. Following that, He will turn His attention once again to Israel for the final segment of Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy. To say this will be a difficult time would be a gross understatement because Israel has to atone for the sin of rejecting the Lord’s earlier offer. Jesus called it the worst time of trouble the world ever has or ever will see (Matt. 24:21) but just as Hosea had prophesied, in their misery they will earnestly seek Him.
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence” (Hosea 6:1-2).
God will hear their prayer and pour out His Spirit of grace and supplication, allowing their hearts to be softened and their eyes to be opened to the fact that the one they put to death was their promised Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). After a period of intense mourning, they will admit their sin, and the blood guilt that He has not pardoned, He will pardon (Joel 3:21). It will be national conversion and it will change everything. Remember, it doesn’t matter who you are, no one comes to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6).
Thy Kingdom Come
Then the Lord will appear over Jerusalem and fight against all the nations of the Earth, who have gathered against His people (Zech. 14:3). He will strike them with a plague that causes their flesh to rot while they’re still standing. Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. Those who survive will be stricken with great panic and actually begin attacking each other (Zech. 14:12-13). At the end of the day the victory will belong to the Lord, and He will be King over the whole Earth. There will finally be only one Lord and His name the only name. (Zechariah 14:9).
After that, the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it (Isaiah 2:2).
From all over the world people will say “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore (Isaiah 2:3-4).
This will be a time of rejoicing for Israel such as the world has never seen. The creation itself will join in the celebration.
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God (Isaiah 35:1-2).
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12).
The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isaiah 35:10).
For this is what the Lord says, I will extend peace to her like a river and the wealth of the nations like a flooding stream. When you see this your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass (Isaiah 66:12,14).
The promised kingdom will have come to Israel, and the world will finally be at peace. Next time, the Gospel of Grace.
The Gospel of the Kingdom Vs. The Gospel of Grace, Conclusion
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Part 2. The Gospel Of Grace
The word “grace” appears 170 times in the English translation of the Bible, 37 of them in the Old Testament. Of the remaining 133, only four are contained in the gospels and they all refer to the Lord Jesus (Luke 2:40, John 1:14, 16, 17). The Book of Acts contains 10 appearances, and 2 others can be found in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1:4, Rev. 22:21) where they essentially open and close the book. That leaves 117 references to grace in the various Epistles.
As it’s used in the New Testament, grace is clearly a word that is meant for the Church. It comes from the Greek word charis, which in the Biblical context is defined as “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”
Much has been written about the different approaches taken by Peter and Paul in presenting the Gospel of Grace to their audiences. The Bible makes it clear Peter believed in salvation by grace. In Acts 15:11 he said, “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we (Jews) are saved, just as they (Gentiles) are.“ But some claim that Peter didn’t mention having our sins forgiven by the Lord’s sacrifice but instead preached a message of repentance and baptism.
In contrast, they say Paul emphasized the redeeming power of the Lord’s blood, shed on the cross. He didn’t say much about baptism, claiming the Lord hadn’t sent him to baptize but to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17), and spoke even less about repentance. From this some have concluded that Peter and Paul preached two different gospels.
Let’s take a closer look at this opinion. We’ll use Peter’s first public message after the Ascension as an example. Remember, he was talking to the crowd on the Temple Mount during their observance of the Feast of Pentecost. All of them were Jews and many of them were well versed in their scriptures. Let’s join the conversation.
“Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36-38)
To repent actually means to change our mind about something. While it can bring about a change in behavior, none is necessary to fulfill the meaning of the word. In the case of Peter’s audience the Jews had to change their minds about what it takes to be saved. They had been taught that obedience to the law is what makes one righteous and that was wrong. Peter said it’s believing in Jesus that brings forgiveness. It’s exactly what he had heard the Lord Himself say on numerous occasions (John 3:16, John 6:28-29, John 6:38-40). Later Peter would say, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Believing in Jesus means believing He was the Son sent by the Father to die for the sins of the people. He was both Lord and Christ.
Then Peter told them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. According to my concordance, the Greek phrase translated “in the name of” invokes every thought or feeling that is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, or remembering the name being referenced. It can be used to establish one’s rank or authority, and to convert a request into a command. A servant acting in the name of his master had the authority of the master himself.
To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is to recognize His authority to do what He came to do and promised to do (to save us from our sins). It means we believe He has such authority and has exercised it on our behalf. That’s why John’s baptism didn’t bring either salvation or the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7). He had no authority to save us from our sins. Only Jesus had that authority (Mark 2:6-12).
And finally Peter promised them the Holy Spirit. There’s only one way to receive the Holy Spirit and that’s to believe that the Lord’s death paid the full price for all our sins as confirmed by His resurrection. The Holy Spirit was not given to anyone until the Lord’s atoning sacrifice had been perfected in His victory over death (John 7:37-39, John 20:19-23) .
Somewhere in our past, legalistic preachers began teaching that repentance means to change our behavior, and without a change in behavior there was no repentance. But if that was the case, the phrase “repent and be saved” would require us to stop sinning before we could ask God to save us. (It amazes me that some of the same preachers who preach this also lead their congregations in singing “Just As I Am” while issuing an altar call.)
In his answer to their question, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter did not invoke the Law or their traditions, nor did he set forth any other preconditions. He simply said, “Repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit.” To his Jewish listeners these few words carried the full impact of the Gospel of Grace.
A Matter Of Perspective
I’m convinced that the whole debate over whether Peter taught a different Gospel than Paul can be resolved by a clearer understanding of the vastly different perspective of their two audiences.
Peter didn’t speak of the blood because the Jews already understood the idea of shedding innocent blood for the remission of sins. Untold thousands of innocent animals had shed their blood in the previous two millennia to set the sins of the people aside and stay the hand of judgment against them. Their Temple was called a house of blood because at times blood had flowed like a river from beneath the altar. They needed to change their minds and understand that all those animals they sacrificed were but a temporary substitute for the sacrifice the Messiah made on their behalf, and while the blood of animals had set temporarily aside the peoples’ sins, the blood of Jesus washed them clean forever (Hebrews 10:1-4, 11-14).
On the other hand, Paul didn’t speak of the need to repent because Gentiles didn’t need to change their mind about the way to salvation. They had no way to salvation. They needed to learn that there is a God and they were sinners destined for His judgment. They needed to know that this God had made a way for them to be saved from the penalty of their sins, and that way was the blood shed by the Lord Jesus for the remission of their sins.
Put another way, Peter summarized the Gospel like this.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1 :18-21).
While Paul said it this way.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
It sounds like the same gospel to me. Please remember that although these two men certainly had their differences in the flesh, when they preached or wrote about the Gospel they were both under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, who cannot contradict Himself. The idea that Peter and Paul taught different gospels is not supported in Scripture.
A New Race Of Human
Whether Jew or Gentile, here’s what the Gospel of Grace means to us.
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-28).
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility (Ephes. 2:14-16).
In building His Church, God was taking some from among the Jews and some from among the Gentiles to create a new race of mankind. We’re saved only by His grace, through faith (Ephes. 2:8-9), for the purpose of demonstrating the manifold wisdom of God to the heavenly beings (Ephes. 3:10-11). All the sins of our life have been forgiven (Colossians 2:13-14) and we’ve been invested with the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (Ephes. 1:13-14). We’ve also been given the authority to become the very children of God (John 1:12-13) and heirs with Christ in His inheritance (Romans 8:17).
Being in Christ, we’ve become a new creation in God’s eyes. The old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). From His perspective we’re already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, in order that in ages yet to come He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephes. 2:6-7). To this end God has taken ownership of us and accepted responsibility for making us stand (1 Cor. 6:19-20, 2 Cor. 1:21-22). There’s no power in Heaven or on Earth that can do anything to change that (John 10:27-30, Romans 8:38-39).
Soon he’ll descend into the upper atmosphere and with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, He’ll call us up to His side (1 Thes. 4:16-17) and carry us off to the place He has prepared for us in His father’s house (John 14:2-3). From that time on and forever we’ll always be with Him, joint heirs with Him in the inheritance His father has given Him (Psalm 2:8).
Meanwhile, Back On Earth
At the time of our departure the Gospel of Grace will see its fulfillment and the pause between the 69th and 70th Weeks of Daniel will come to an end.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)
By saying the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world again the Lord provided us with another confirmation that the Age of Grace will have ended and Daniel’s 70th Week will have begun.
In the New Jerusalem, the incredible home our Lord has been preparing for us, the Church will be enjoying the first chapter of our eternal life with Him, hidden away like a bride in her bridal chamber. But on Earth Daniel’s 70th Week will bring horrific judgments as God prepares the creation for its restoration.
Then the Times of the Gentiles will end, the creation will be restored to its original splendor. The Lord will assume His rightful place as King of the whole Earth, and the Kingdom Age will begin. The New Jerusalem will descend out of Heaven to take its place as the source of light for the world (Rev. 21:24). The Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Grace will have both found their fulfillment in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Selah 11-03-12.
