The End

Matthew 24:14, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."

There are plenty of doomsday prophets who would point to wars, and earthquakes, and volcanoes as a sign that the end of time is coming, that Jesus is on His way back. Frankly, I wonder if those prophets read their Bible because Jesus clearly states that wars and rumors of war are not the end. (Matt 24:6, Mark 13:7, and Luke 21:9) I will even go out on a limb and say that the world will not end in December of 2012 as some would say the Mayan Calender predicts. This is because Jesus says wars are not the end, but rather the sign of the end is the gospel of the kingdom will be preached as a testimony to the whole world, "and then the end will come."

I personally choose to trust Jesus on this one. However, it begs the point of what is the gospel of the kingdom? What does Jesus mean with the word "preached?" What is the "whole world?"

Thanks to the studies of Dr. Weymouth a more literal translation of the Greek yields this passage to read, "This good news of the royal reign shall be heralded in the whole inhabited earth, to set the evidence before all the nations; and then the end shall come."

T Austin-Sparks says of this interpretation, "That is a remarkable verse, for it comprehends nothing less than the whole mission, work, meaning, and purpose of the person, incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ, and it carries that through as the very meaning and business of His Church."

The gospel of the Kingdom, the sovereign reign of Christ is not going to be just spoken throughout the earth. The end is not coming because of a satellite television network sending God's word to the nations. On the contrary it is going to be heralded. The gospel of the kingdom is going to produce tangible results that will signal Christ return. The heralding of the gospel of the kingdom is going to be accompanied with a set of evidence... it is not going to be words but action. The evidence is going to be powerful, and it is going to be polarizing.

No one has seen this heralding of the gospel of the kingdom. Had they, then they would have also seen the return of Christ. In fact, few even understand what the gospel of the kingdom is or entails. But this is where God would have us go. Deep into the kingdom of God. He would have us go deep into the experience of the kingdom of God, because it is the good news, the gospel, that Jesus brought. Salvation is good news, but it is not THE good news. Salvation is the beginning. Sanctification/resurrection/reconstruction is the entrance. And once inside the kingdom of God (or should I say once it is inside of you) there is miles of spiritual journey remaining.

Ask God to reveal to you His kingdom, and watch what happens.