CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD - YEHOVAH

Imago Dei is a Latin theological term signifying a unique, though somewhat mysterious, relationship between deity and humanity. "Then God - Yehovah said, 'Let Us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God - Yehovah created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:26-27).

The Hebrew word for "image" in this passage is "tzelem," which refers to the nature or essence of a thing and not necessarily the physical form. Similarly, the word for "likeness" in this passage is "demut," which is used to indicate a simile, not an exact replication of the actual form. Thus, the verse is not suggesting that man resembles God in physical appearance (head, arms, legs, feet, etc.), but that the resemblance is with regard to aspects of God's essential nature. Even then, it is only a “likeness” not total equality.

For example, the passage seems to imply that part of the "likeness" and "image" is with regard to rulership over creation, and yet man's authority, though greater than the rest of creation, is less than God's – Yehovah’s. It is only in the image or likeness of, not equal to. "Neither of the words imply that persons are divine. They were endowed with some of the characteristics of God - Yehovah. There is a likeness but not a sameness" (Holman Bible Dictionary, p. 688).

"This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God - Yehovah created man/woman, He made man/woman in His likeness. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created" (Genesis 5:1-2). "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God He made man" (Genesis 9:6). "For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God - Yehovah" (1 Corinthians 11:7). "With it (the tongue) we bless our Lord and Father - Yehovah; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God - Yehovah" (James 3:9). See also Psalm 8, in which there is at least an implication of such.

Some have assumed, and actively proclaim, that these passages declare man is immortal by nature .... that he is inherently immortal (since he is created in the "image" and "likeness" of the immortal God). This is a false assumption, since the Scriptures make no such claim for the terms "image" or "likeness." Indeed, 1 Timothy 6:16 clearly declares that He "alone possesses immortality." It is also an illogical claim, for why would this single attribute of divine nature be the only one given to man? Why not the others? Why not eternal pre-existence, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, or any other strictly divine attribute? "There is no valid reason, then, why immortality alone should be singled out as the one unique characteristic intended by the phrase 'image of God - Yehovah.' We must therefore conclude that creation in the divine 'image,' or 'likeness,' no more proves man's immortality than it proves his eternal pre-existence, omniscience, omnipotence, or possession of any other exclusively divine attribute" (Leroy Edwin Froom, The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers: The Conflict of the Ages Over the Nature and Destiny of Man, vol. 1, p. 32).

"Early theologians were greatly influenced by Greek philosophy in their interpretation of the 'image of God.' They saw an individual as a spirit being living in a physical body. This Greek dualism was the background out of which the early Christian theologians drew their understanding" (Holman Bible Dictionary, p. 688).

Many feel the ultimate testimony as to the "image of God - Yehovah" is seen in Jesus, "who is the image of God - Yehovah" (2 Corinthians 4:4). "And He is the image of the invisible God - Yehovah, the first-born of all creation" (Colossians 1:15). Thus, it is suggested by some that the best way to determine the true "image of God - Yehovah" is to discern the nature of Jesus. What were the qualities of His life that made Him God-like, so that when one saw Him one saw the Father? It is also suggested that we today may truly realize this special quality within ourselves by being "conformed to the image of His son" (Romans 8:29).

As one can imagine, there are many theories as to the significance of being created in the "image" and "likeness" of God. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) regarded this as the human ability to think and reason, to use language and art, far surpassing the abilities of any animal. Thus, being in the image of God, for some, refers to intellectual and relational abilities not found in lesser life forms -- the ability to think and reason, specifically to make moral decisions.

Others feel it refers to the powers of self-transcendence and self-awareness. Thus, we are creatures capable of being introspective, retrospective, or prospective. We may reflect upon the past and anticipate the future, and even discern the workings of God in nature, history, and our own lives. It is awareness far superior to that of the rest of creation. Still others regard the "image of God" as a reference to man being gifted with mind and intelligence, or the power of choice, or the capacity to love and express emotion, the existence of will, conscience, imagination, and moral responsibility. Some see it as the capacity for worship.

The noted rabbi Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) suggested that by using one's intellect, one is able to perceive things without the use of the physical senses, an ability that makes man "like" God. The PBS television show Faith and Reason stated "Humans differ from all other creatures because of their rational structure -- their capacity for deliberation and free decision-making."

Brother Ron Rose, in Heartlight Magazine, wrote, "Mankind was designed to reason independent of instinct, to dream and sing and express emotion, to create and build and invent, to feel love and compassion and hope, to ask why and why not." The Holman Bible Dictionary declares, "More accurate is the suggestion that the image consists in humankind's lordship over and stewardship of creation, for this is the theme of the following verses -- Genesis 1:28-31" (p. 675).

In my view, perhaps the best explanation is the one given by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi in his excellent book Immortality or Resurrection? -- A Biblical Study on Human Nature and Destiny (p. 44). He writes:

• "The image of God is associated not with man as male and female, or with an immortal soul given to our species, but rather with humankind's capacity to be and to do on a finite level what God is and does on an infinite level. The creation account seems to be saying that while the sun rules the day, the moon the night, and the fishes the sea, mankind images God by having dominion over all these realms (Genesis 1:28-30).
• "In the New Testament, the image of God in humanity is never associated with male-female fellowship, or physical resemblance, or a nonmaterial, spiritual soul, but rather with moral and rational capacities: 'Put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator' (Colossians 3:10; cf. Ephesians 4:24). Similarly, conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 15:49) is generally understood in terms of righteousness and holiness. None of these qualities is possessed by animals. What distinguishes people from animals is the fact that human nature inherently has godlike possibilities. By virtue of being created in the image of God, human beings are capable of reflecting His character in their own life.
• "Being created in the image of God means that we must view ourselves as intrinsically valuable and richly invested with meaning, potential, and responsibilities. It means that we have been created to reflect God in our thinking and actions. We are to be and to do on a finite scale what God is and does on an infinite scale."

PSALM 40 - MY HELP AND MY DELIVERER

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

I. I waited patiently for Yehovah; He inclined to me and heard my cry.

 
2. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

 
3. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God [Elohim].
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in Yehovah.

4. Blessed is the man who makes Yehovah his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!

 
5. You have multiplied, O Yehovah my God [Elohim], your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

 
6. In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

 
7. Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book, it is written of me:

 
8. I delight to do your will, O my God [Elohim]; your law is within my heart.”

 
9. I have told the glad news of righteousness in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Yehovah.

 
10. I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

 
11. As for you, O Yehovah, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

 
12. For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have  overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

 
13. Be pleased, O Yehovah, to deliver me! O Yehovah, make haste to help me!

 
14. Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to  snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!

 
15. Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

 
16. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is Yehovah!”

17. As for me, I am poor and needy, but Yehovah takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God [Elohim]!

What awesome words from the mind of Yehovah to His servant David that reflects not only David's character but also points to the character and feelings of the lord Messiah Jesus [Yehoshua].

May all of the sons and daughters of Yehovah our God, members of His household strive to develop the character that the lord Jesus had in his lifetime and has now at the right hand of his God and our God his Father and our Father Yehovah. We can do so by the enabling power of the Spirit of our God and Father Yehovah that He by His amazing grace has given to us.

As Jesus was and is now the outshining of God's [Yehovah's] glory, the true reflection of His nature; let us strive to be a reflection of his character and nature in all we do in this world! May our God and Father Yehovah enable us by His Spirit to truly live as His sons and daughters who are in this world, but are not of this world!

DANIEL 7 AND THE ECLIPSE OF THE kINGDOM OF GOD - YEHOVAH

In order to lay before you my approach to getting at the Truth of the Christian faith let us begin with a quotation from Professor A. Lukyn Williams, DD, Cambridge professor and Hebrew scholar, delivering a series of lectures on the Hebrew Christian Messiah (1916):

With the lord Jesus, as with every Jew, the Old Testament was the court to which, in the last instance, all appeal was made. It was the head from which flowed the waters of spiritual life in unadulterated purity and strength. With him again, as with every Jew of Palestine, the limits of the Old Testament did not exceed those of the present Hebrew canon.

Within that canon, Jesus of course was familiar with the Book of Daniel and it was in that book that he found the vision of the Son of Man and his investiture as sovereign in the Kingdom of God - Yehovah. (The same vision is found also in the Similitudes of Enoch, but we will not press the evidence of that document since it may have been written after the time of Jesus. At any rate, it simply reflects the Danielic vision of the kingdom of God - Yehovah.)

Note: We need to emphasize the critical matter of establishing Daniel as a “base of operations” for the study of Jesus and the faith.

Howard Clark Kee points out most usefully that Mark’s account of Jesus shows a “disproportionate interest in Daniel.” He notes that in Mark, “Daniel alone among all the OT books is quoted from every chapter. Moreover, Daniel is of the highest level of significance for the NT as a whole as a result of its overwhelming importance for Mark. Mark has been influenced directly by Daniel in his representation of the career and intention of Jesus” (The Community of the New Age, 1983, p. 45).

The vision of Daniel 7 gives us a marvelously simple pattern of the development of world history, a veritable theology of world history out of which the NT works. Its scheme is not complicated. It speaks of the replacement of bestial governments by the government of the Son of Man, the ideal of humanity, what man was intended to be.

We know that the book of Daniel was read avidly by the Qumran community and it is obvious that it left a clear imprint on what Jesus has to say about his own career in Palestine and in the future. The appearance of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah in Daniel 7 is placed only after the demise of the fourth beast, of which the last stage is marked by the appearance of a kind of chaos monster, the little horn who exhausts the saints - holy ones for a brief period.

It is on the ruins of that last, fourth beast with its evil tyrant that the Kingdom of God - Yehovah arises. The Kingdom of God - Yehovah is clearly as much a government as the preceding beast powers. Its arena is obviously the earth since it is to be set up “under the whole heaven” (Daniel 7:27). The Son of Man, as a corporate figure representing the saints - holy ones, is unmistakably the agent of God - Yehovah for the administration of a sound government on the earth.

Note: The nature of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah as Daniel foresaw may not be subjected to the disastrous “spiritualizing” tendency typical of much commentary.

The sober comments of the International Critical Commentary warn us not to sacrifice common sense and sound-mindedness in the interest of trying to force on Daniel some sort of abstract Kingdom or present social ideal. Nebuchadnezzar would have been amazed if anyone thought his kingdom was mainly an abstract idea. The empire that follows the demise of the fourth evil empire is clearly just as much a visible concrete worldwide rule. It is in fact God’s - Yehovah's revolutionary government, a true theocracy, a regime destined to do away with all present human governments. The International Critical Commentary says (p. 178):

“The last Kingdom replaces the first Four in the dream, and is, in the idea of the scene, spatially bound as are its predecessors; the Mountain fills the whole earth and is not a ‘spiritual’ Kingdom of Heaven.”

John Goldingay in his illuminating commentary on Daniel (Word Biblical Commentary, state of the art in evangelical commentary) notes:

When God’s - Yehovah's time comes, His Kingdom requires the destruction of earthly Kingdoms rather than His working through them. They are God’s - Yehovah's will for now, but not forever; and when His moment arrives, His Kingdom comes by catastrophe, not by development. Daniel promises a new future, one which is not merely an extension of the present. It is of supernatural origin. But it is located on earth, not in heaven… Daniel envisages no dissolution of the cosmos or creation of a different world. His understanding of this Kingdom is more like the prophetic idea of the Day of Yahweh, than that of some later apocalypses. The problem of politics and history can only be resolved by a supernatural intervention that inaugurates a new Kingdom, but this involves changing the lordship of this world, not abandoning this world.

The new Kingdom will fill the earth. History is not destroyed: other sovereignties are… Daniel has not turned the Kingdom into something individualistic (His kingship is to be realized in the individual believer’s life), or otherworldly (it is to be realized in heaven). He reaffirms the universal, this-worldly, corporate perspective of Isaiah 40-55. Daniel is talking about a reign of God - Yehovah on earth and that continues to be more and more an object of hope than of sight.

We still pray, ‘May Your Kingdom come’ (Luke 11:2), and; in the light of Daniel’s revelation; have to be referring to a rule that is temporal, worldly, and social. Precisely at moments when such a vision is difficult to believe, Daniel’s readers are urged, via his final declaration to the king (v. 45b) to take it with utmost seriousness (cp. 8:26; 10:21; Revelation 19:9; 21:5; 22:6). (from pp. 59-61, italics are his).

These facts have enormous importance for the teaching of Jesus about the Kingdom, and about the Gospel in fact. We should not forget that the Gospel - Good News as it fell from the lips of Jesus and Paul has a specific label. It is always “the Gospel about the Kingdom of God - Yehovah.” Jesus uses his Kingdom message (the reason for which he was commissioned (Luke 4:43) to recruit the saints - holy ones whom he gathered around him. This is the core of the subject matter of the Gospels. And the Old Testament text plot from which this matter is taken is certainly the book of Daniel and principally the seventh chapter of Daniel (along with the 2nd chapter which likewise teaches us about the Kingdom which is to supersede present nation-states, not by development but by catastrophe (Daniel 2:44). The Kingdom, it is quite clear, will not come by evolution but by revolution. But such revolution is appropriate only when the Messiah Jesus returns. The Kingdom of God - Yehovah was not set up in Acts when the spirit came, much less in AD 70, as is fantastically suggested by Preterists.

Of course, Daniel 7 is not the only passage of Scripture to speak of the Messiah and his service for the Kingdom of God - Yehovah. We must include in the same picture the righteous sufferer in the psalms and of course the rejected prophets and the suffering servant of Isaiah. The thread that holds together all these “saints - holy ones” (of whom Jesus is the chief) is their destiny. This involves temporary, if intense suffering, followed by vindication when the Kingdom of God - Yehovah becomes theirs. According to the pattern laid out in Daniel, vindication comes only at, and not before, the demise of the final evil ruler, who arises out of the fourth and final beast power. The NT echoes this scheme when it summarizes the faith by saying; “Through many tribulations, we are destined to enter the Kingdom” (Acts 14:22).

Daniel 7 and the Christian Gospel

What, then, is the importance of this for our understanding of the Gospel - Good News Message Jesus preached? When Jesus came into Galilee and launched his opening salvo: “The Kingdom of God is at hand: Repent and believe in the Gospel, i.e., about the Kingdom.” It is a fatal mistake of interpretation to ignore the background to the Kingdom of God - Yehovah in Daniel 7. To do this is to distort the Gospel. Jesus must be understood in his own context, not ours. The peril is so great that we simply impose on Jesus our own ideological agendas and construct a Gospel to suit ourselves. History shows that we human beings are fond of attaching the label Jesus to our own projects and ideals and thus baptizing them as genuine expressions of the will of God. This method must be avoided.

We cannot afford to misunderstand Jesus when it comes to the Gospel because “whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it…Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, in this sinful and adulterous society, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father” (Mark 8:35, 38). Notice how the Gospel is parallel to and defined as the words of Jesus.

The Kingdom of God Defined by Daniel 7 and a Standard Lexicon

The term “Kingdom of God - Yehovah” is perhaps the most important word in the Bible. As someone has said, the whole genius of the Christian faith is concentrated in the words “Kingdom of God - Yehovah.” Jesus said that the whole point of his mission was to proclaim the Gospel about the Kingdom of God - Yehovah (Luke 4:43; cp. Acts 8:12).

So what is this Kingdom of God - Yehovah? What, in fact, is the Gospel - Good News which Jesus commands us to believe (Mark 1:14, 15)? Sometimes Christians would do well to go back to a standard Bible lexicon to find a proper definition. Let’s look at the famous lexicon by Thayer for enlightenment. Under the entry “Kingdom of God,” the lexicon gives the information from Daniel which provides us with this idea of the Kingdom of God, the subject of the Christian gospel:

Daniel has declared it to be God’s purpose that after four vast and mighty kingdoms had succeeded one another and the last of them shown itself hostile to the people of God - Yehovah, at length its despotism would be broken and the empire of the world would pass over forever to the people of God - Yehovah (Daniel 2:44; 7:14, 18, 22, 27).

Thayer then speaks of the foundation of the Kingdom which has already been laid in the preaching and miracles of Jesus in his ministry on earth. Then he refers to the primary meaning of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah:

But far more frequently [i.e. than any references to the “presence” of the Kingdom] the kingdom of Heaven/God - Yehovah is spoken of as a future blessing since its establishment is to be looked for at the Messiah's solemn return from the skies, the dead saints - holy ones being called to life again - resurrected and the ills and wrongs which burden the present state of things being done away, the powers being hostile to God - Yehovah being vanquished: Matthew 6:10, “your Kingdom come,” 8:11, Luke 13:26: “When you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom,” “until the day when I drink the wine new with you in the Kingdom of God - Yehovah,” Luke 22:28: I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom shall come,” Mark 9:1: a reference to the second coming (See vv. 2:2-9 and Peter’s interpretation of the transfiguration as a vision of the Second Coming (2 Peter 1:16-18), Mark 15:43: Joseph was waiting for the Kingdom of God - Yehovah, just as Jesus is still now waiting for his enemies to be put under his feet (Hebrews 10:13); Luke 9:27 with its fulfillment in the transfiguration in vv. 28-35; Luke 14:15; 2 Peter 1:11,: “everlasting Kingdom”; also in the phrase “enter the Kingdom of God - Yehovah,” (Matthew 5:20; 7:21; 18:3; 19:23, 24; Mark 9:47; 10:23, 24, 25; Luke 18:24, 25; John 3:5; Acts 14:22; James 2:5: “heirs [not yet inheritors] of the Kingdom” (James 2:5): “inherit the Kingdom of God - Yehovah” (Matthew 25:34; I Corinthians 6:9; 15:50; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5).

Thayer speaks of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah as occasionally a description of persons (Christians) who are being made fit for admission into the Kingdom of God - Yehovah when it comes (Revelation 1:6). But it should be noted that the first and dominant meaning of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is the one given us by Daniel 7, from which the whole NT idea of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is derived.

Note carefully the time sequence given us by Daniel:

In the vision of chapter 7, there is a sequence of four beasts and a final tyrant (horn). Following these four beasts and the horn the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is introduced. It will be governed by the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13, 14). Note again most carefully the time sequence. Where does the Kingdom come in relation to the other events? The answer is very simple. First, the Beast's power is slain and his body is destroyed by being given to the flame [the lake of fire] (see Daniel 7:11; “I watched until the Beast was slain…”). At that same time the dominion of the rest of the beasts was taken away (Daniel 7:12). Only after this is the Kingdom is given to the Son of Man.

Note now how the interpretation given to Daniel reinforces a proper understanding of the Kingdom in the sequence of events. First, there are four Beasts (Daniel 7:17). After that, the Kingdom is given to the saints (Daniel 7:18). No less than three more times, this sequence is emphasized. First the 10 horns of the fourth Beast appear, as does the little horn (vv. 20:21). And then (and here we have our answer about the timing of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah) “the time comes that the saints - holy ones possess the Kingdom” (Daniel 7:22). Again the same point is made: Verses 23-25 first describe the rule of the Beast power which culminates in the arrival of a final tyrant (horn) who persecutes the saints - holy ones. But this is only for a limited time (v. 25). The dominion of the little horn is removed and he is consumed and destroyed (v. 26). Following the removal and destruction of the Beast; the Kingdom of God - Yehovah on earth, “under the whole heaven, ” is given to the saints - holy ones and all nations and languages serve and obey them” (Daniel 7:27, GNB; RSV, etc.)

From this essential background in Daniel, it is a very simple matter to understand that the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is, as Thayer says, “far more often spoken of as a future blessing.”

The Book of Revelation which of course develops the themes of Jesus’ teaching and particularly the matter of the Kingdom in Daniel, tells us exactly what we would expect from our study of Daniel 7. First, the Beast is slain in Revelation 19:20 by being thrown into the lake of fire. This event happens when the rider [the Messiah] on the white horse appears as a warrior king accompanied by the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:11-15). Jesus arrival in these verses is his second coming which, of course, has not happened yet. He comes in fact to “rule [i.e. set up the Kingdom over] the nations with a rod of iron” (Revelation 19:15). This same event is the one also described in Revelation 11:15-18, when “the Kingdoms of the world will become the Kingdom of God - Yehovah and the Messiah.” This happens at the 7th trumpet, the trumpet announcing the resurrection of the faithful dead. If this has not yet happened, then obviously the Kingdom of God - Yehovah has not yet arrived.

This sequence of events; the first four Beasts, culminating in the final anti-Christ, then the Second Coming of Jesus to establish the Kingdom; is exactly the sequence laid out by Daniel 7, as we have seen. There are three critically important “inceptive aorists” telling us about the Kingdom of God - Yehovah in Revelation: In Revelation 11:17: “God - Yehovah has begun to reign through His son Jesus the Messiah,” at the time when the Kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of God - Yehovah at a future crisis. So in Revelation 19:6: “Hallelujah, because God - Yehovah has taken up His reign through His son,” at the time of the future marriage banquet. And again in Revelation 20:4 the saints - holy ones “came to life and began to reign with the Messiah for the 1000 years.” As Mounce says (Comm. on Revelation, New London Commentaries, 1997, p. 354) Daniel’s vision of the 4 beasts, their judgment, and the passing of the kingdom to the saints of the Most High is undoubtedly the background for much of John’s presentation.

Why does all this matter?

“What about consumers of the Gospel [Good News message that leads to salvation when it is accepted]? Are they getting the pure untainted message? Or are they getting the gospel loaded with American or post-Constantinian additives?” The question was asked by Jim Reapsome, director of the Evangelical Missions Information Service and editor of Evangelical Missions (Christianity Today, Oct. 2nd, 1995).

Note: “Are consumers getting the gospel in a depleted form with essential nutrients missing?

Jim Reapsome continues with words that call forth a hearty “amen.” He says, “As I look back over nearly half a century of work in world missions, no question worries me more. My greatest worry is not about money for missions, people for missions, or the strategies and management for missions. It’s about the content in the package we call the gospel; the cure for people's sins; and whether we have administered the right medicine.”

He goes on: "I once attended, a study conference where missions scholars and executives wrangled for a weekend, trying to define the meaning of conversion. But I have never been to one where the Gospel - the Good News message itself was addressed. We just assume we know. This can be a fatal assumption.”

Could it be that the single most valuable pearl has been lost from the string of ideas presented to potential converts interested in salvation in Jesus?

Note: Is it sufficient to quote 3 verses from Paul (typically I Corinthians 15:1-3) to the effect that belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus is all that he taught as the Gospel?

Can we afford to overlook the obvious fact that Jesus and the Apostles preached “the Gospel of the Kingdom” without at that stage saying a word about the Messiah’s death and resurrection? Can it possibly be right that the phrase “Gospel of the Kingdom” is not the way we describe the Gospel, though Luke insists that the Kingdom was the content of the Gospel which Paul (following Jesus) always took to the people both Jews and Gentiles? (Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31. Cp. Acts 8:12).

Surely it must be the part of wisdom to adopt the “standard of sound words” recommended by Paul as a sort of creed 2 Timothy 1:13 by habitually using the very words of Jesus as the basis of our teaching? These words of Jesus Paul calls “health-giving words” (1 Timothy 6:3). Without the words and the Gospel of Jesus (Romans 10:17; 16:25) we are as, Paul said, ignoramuses. And John could not have warned us more vigorously when, late in the NT period, he said, “Anyone who ‘progresses’ and does not remain in the teaching of the Messiah does not belong to God - Yehovah. He who remains in that teaching has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 7-9). Jesus' one and only emphasis was on the coming Kingdom of God and what one has to do to obtain entrance into it!

Revival and unity amongst believers will be underway when the Hebrew Bible again takes its place as the repository of divine truth lying at the basis of what Jesus believed and taught. When the teaching of men/women as a whole persons needing to acquire immortality through resurrection is reinstated believers will be able to identify with the Apostles for whom the hope of the Kingdom and immortality in it was the great driving force behind Christian living and evangelism.

The re-orientation toward the future must not be blocked by arguments about the need for some other gospel in the present; often a plea for the reduction of Christianity to ethics. But NT Christianity is not just ethics; its ethics are set in a very particular and Jewish setting which cannot be discarded. Calling the Danielic, apocalyptic setting of the NT a useless husk from which we must extract a valuable kernel of timeless ethics is a dishonest practice, an excuse for unbelief.

The teaching of Jesus is to be accepted lock, stock, and barrel and that includes obeying the words his God and Father Yehovah gave to him to give to the world. Only then can we do what Jesus calls “doing well”: You call me teacher and lord and you do well. For so I am” (John 13:13). Do we hear enough about accepting Jesus as lord (meaning that we are to obey all his words God - Yehovah gave to him to give to us). How seldom is there a plea to accept him as “rabbi/teacher” in all his splendid Jewishness and as the model preacher of the saving Gospel - Good News Message?

While the cry goes out that “doctrine divides” and ethics unite, we will not achieve unity. Let us indeed unite, not however to comfort ourselves with easy optimism that all is well with the status quo, but to dialogue and admonish one another to return and obey the basic teachings of Jesus, under the overarching theme of the Gospel about the Kingdom of God - Yehovah.

Unity in the Bible is unity in the truth as it was presented by the lord Jesus the Messiah. This can be achieved when tradition (however long-standing) yields after careful inspection of the truth of Scripture. Opportunities for the necessary Berean exercise are available to all of us in this information-packed early 21st century.

Let's summarize: The basic teachings of Jesus are the basis for establishing a relationship between ourselves and God - Yehovah. Truth, not error, is essential if we are to serve God - Yehovah “in spirit and truth,” in the holy spirit, in fact, which is the “spirit of the truth,” and the operational presence of God-Yehovah, his vitalizing energy (Psalm 51:11), and the mind of the Messiah Jesus. The Gospel is the vehicle of that energy and must not be tampered with (Romans 1:16; I Thessalonians 2:13). The Gospel - Good News Message is to be defined first by the words of the historical Jesus and not first from isolated texts in Paul. Jesus’ own example forces us back to the Hebrew Bible and especially the Book of Daniel in order to get our feet firmly planted on solid exegetical ground. 

Contemporary statements about the Gospel are in danger of promoting a vague gnosticism unless they are rooted in the Hebrew soil of the Bible.

The Assembly of God - Yehovah has changed it's approach to Bible study, which sheds the unwanted accretions of Greek philosophy against which Paul warned. The Gospel as the technical term par excellence must not become a kind of wax nose to be bent into various shapes and defined in a myriad of different ways (Certainly not divided into 8 different gospels as Bullinger [Companion Bible] proposes!). The Gospel is in the NT, a fixed quantity understood by readers and writers.

When we ask how Paul went about creating faith and love in the Assembly, we find that it was often by pleading for a clear idea about the content of hope. He speaks about “faith and love which spring from hope” (Colossians 1:4, 5 ). No wonder he prayed for the Ephesians to have their mental eyes opened to the hope of the future inheritance (Ephesians 1:14-18). Paul recognized that it was because of future joy that Jesus endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

The Jesuanic covenant, based on the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants made by God - Yehovah with Jesus, was the gift of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah (Luke 22:28-30: “Just as my Father covenanted with me… so I covenant with you to give you the Kingdom”). Co-ruling the world with Jesus is likely to provide a much better stimulus to good ethics now than Platonic promises of disembodied life in heaven! News about the Kingdom is the heart of the Gospel as Jesus preached it, and the spreading of that news to the far corners of the world is the task of the Assembly made up of the disciples of Jesus the Messiah until he arrives (Matthew 24:14). “Fear not, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom,” he had said earlier (Luke 12:32).

The Kingdom of God, - Yehovah is the heart of the Gospel - Good News as Jesus preached it, concerns a yet future world-order initiated by the future coming of the Messiah Jesus. It will be God’s - Yehovah's revolutionary theocratic government ruling this earth through His son Jesus the Messiah. That message must grab us in the present and the spread of that message is the Assembly’s and the disciples of Jesus main concern and commission.

In no text of the NT does anyone say that we are now reigning with the Messiah, much less than the dead are. Paul urged the Corinthians not to believe that they had already become kings (I Corinthians 4:8), while he wished the time had come (which it had not) when they would indeed become kings together (ibid.) In Romasn 5:17, as also in 2 Timothy 2:12, the “co-ruling” word (“we shall reign”) is again deliberately in the future tense” We shall reign in life”; “life” is a synonym for the Kingdom (see Matthew 19:17, 23). As Eric Sauer says so well: “The Church - Assembly is the official administrative staff, the ruling aristocracy of the coming Kingdom” (From Eternity to Eternity, 1993, p. 93). Moffat caught the spirit of this astonishing teaching in his translation of 1 Corinthians 6:2: “Don’t you know that the saints are going to manage the world, and if the world is to come under your jurisdiction…The unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom” (1 Corinthians 6:9). To inherit the Kingdom is parallel to managing the world co-ruling with the Messiah Jesus. Why do Christians insist on obscuring the biblical hope with their vague talk about “going to heaven”? Jesus said that “the meek were going to inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5), and they will rule with him on the earth (Revelation 5:10).

Is this not a beautiful, realistic, comforting, and inspiring prospect for all believers; so easy and straightforward and asking only for a child-like acceptance on our part?

And in I Corinthians 15:50 Paul says that apart from a new glorified immortal body at the resurrection it is impossible to inherit the Kingdom of God - Yehovah. Such is his fight with Gnostic attempts to move the future into the present and thus have no future. You can have June’s weather in April, but you cannot pretend that April is really June.

And finally, may we please do Luke the honor of noticing that early in Acts he sets up his scheme of redemption with precision. The spirit is to come in a few days (Acts 1:5) but the coming of the Kingdom is to be at a time unknown in the future (Acts 1:6, 7). Therefore the Kingdom of God - Yehovah was not inaugurated at the ascension, though the spirit as a downpayment of that future kingdom was poured out. That fact is likely to have a profound effect on some received traditional understandings.

The following is a useful confirmatory quotation from a leading NT scholar (Edward Schweitzer, Mark, pp. 45-47):

The Kingdom of God - Yehovah. “When Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is near, he is adopting a concept which was coined in the O.T…… [the Kingdom] is primarily God’s - Yehovah's unchallenged sovereignty in the end-time (Isaiah 52:7). Judaism spoke of the reign of God - Yehovah which comes after the annihilation of every foe and the end of all suffering…. In the NT the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is conceived, first of all, as something in the future (Mark 9:1, 47, 14:25, Matthew 13:41-43; 20:21; Luke 22:16, 18; 1 Corinthians 15:50, et al. which comes from God (Mark 9:1; Matthew 6:10; Luke 17:20; 19:11. Therefore it is something that men can only wait for (Mark 15:43) [Had Joseph missed the boat?!], Matthew 6:33, receive Mark 10:15, cp. Luke 12:32 and inherit I Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:21; James 2:5, but he is not able to create it by himself.”

Written by Anthony Buzzard and added to and edited by Bruce Lyon

THE NEW BIRTH

The term "born again" is widely used among Christians, and the verse that says "You must be born again" (John 3:7) is often quoted. But many Christians do not understand what it means to be born again, often because they begin by looking only at what the epistles say, and fail to base their understanding on the words of Jesus. Some people state that when one is born again, it is "incorruptible" which was taken to mean that once you received it you couldn't lose it. This is based on a misunderstanding of I Peter 1:23: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God - Yehovah, which lives and abides forever." But this verse tells us that it is the seed that is incorruptible, not the person who receives it. So the teaching "once saved, always saved is a lie, and totally unscriptural."

Others teach that the new birth is referring to the resurrection, because Acts 13:33 says, "God - Yehovah has fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm,  you are my son, this day have I begotten you." The wording in the KJV seems to suggest that the day Jesus was begotten is the day he was raised from the dead. This, combined with Colossians 1:18 which calls him the "firstborn from among the dead," is taken to mean that Jesus was "born again" at his resurrection and we will similarly be "born again" when we are resurrected at the Messiah's return. New Testament references to the new birth are then interpreted as being prophetic of the future, and not a present reality. This teaching is also not scriptural.

Notice: the word "again" is not in the Greek of Acts 13:33, and the term "raised up" does not automatically mean resurrection if the words "from among the dead" are not included. It is the Greek word "anistemi", and can also mean to be raised up to prominence (as in Acts 5:36,37; 7:18; 13:22). It is used this way specifically referring to God - Yehovah "raising up" Jesus as a prophet and high priest (Acts 3:22; Acts 7:37; Hebrews 7:11; Hebrews 7:15). The context in Acts 13 is talking about the entire body of prophecy concerning the promise to send the Messiah. Verse 33 refers to God - Yehovah raising Jesus to prominence, and is linked with "This day have I begotten you" (Psalm 2:7). Only in the next verse (v. 34) is the resurrection from the dead specifically mentioned, and it is linked with two other prophecies: "I will give you the sure mercies of David" (Isaiah 55:3-4) and "You shall not suffer your Holy One to see corruption" (Psalm 16:9-10). There is no basis in Scripture for identifying the new birth with the resurrection.

What, then, is the new birth?

In order to get the entire picture, one must consider all the Scriptures about a given subject. I Peter 1:3-4 says: "Blessed be the God and Father of our lord Jesus the Messiah, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah from among the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." Paul says that those in the Messiah are "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17) and were saved by the "washing of regeneration" (literally "washing of rebirth") in Titus 3:5. These all refer to something that happens in this life, not just at the return of the Messiah.

This rebirth is based on "seed." John refers to being "begotten of God - Yehovah” in his epistles (I John 5:1,18) and states that whoever is “born of God - Yehovah” has God's - Yehovah's seed in him (I John 3:9). The above mentioned I Peter 1:23 refers to being born again of incorruptible seed [the seed is incorruptible], “Being born again … by the Word of God - Yehovah." Also, James 1:18 says, "Of His own will He begat us with the word of truth..." What is this "Word" by which one is born again?

Notice: The Scriptures do not refer to themselves as "the Word," they refer to themselves as "the Scriptures." In the Bible, the term "the Word" refers to the overall message, that is, the wisdom and plan of God - Yehovah. Sometimes it refers to a specific message that a prophet was given to speak forth. When used in a general sense, though, it is the overall message about His coming Kingdom.

Too often the words of Jesus are interpreted in light of the later New Testament writers instead of the other way around. It is important that we understand the words of Peter, James, John, and Paul in light of the Master. It is his words which are the standard for interpretation of the rest of the New Testament.

Jesus Christ’s words, "You must be born again" are well known, but his other references to the new birth are often missed or forgotten. He said the new birth was so vitally important that one could not see the Kingdom of God without it (John 3:3). But of the four Gospels, John’s is the only one that uses the phrase "born again." How could something so important not be mentioned in the other Gospels? The fact is, Jesus, did speak of it, but he used other terms.

Jesus identified the new birth as being essential for entering the Kingdom of God in John 3. In the key parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus likewise states that receiving the word about the coming kingdom of God - Yehovah is essential for salvation.

Mark 4:11-14: And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God - Yehovah: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know you, not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower sows the word [message about the kingdom of God - Matthew 13:19].

Luke 8:11-12: Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [the message about the kingdom - Matthew 13:19]. Those by the way side are they that hear; then comes the devil, and takes away the word out of their hearts, LEST THEY SHOULD BELIEVE AND BE SAVED.

Mark and Luke point out that if one does not receive the seed, which is the Word of the Kingdom, they will not believe and will lose out on being saved." Matthew even more specifically defines what the seed is.

Matthew 13:18-19: Hear you the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside.

The seed that the sower sows is the Word of God - Yehovah, which is the Word of the Kingdom. The devil steals that word away from those who do not receive it, like the seed by the wayside. Others receive the word and retain it for a short time, but fall away when tribulation or persecution arises, like the seed on stony ground with no roots. Some others receive the word but are distracted by the cares and riches of this world, like the seed on the thorny ground. The last category is those who receive the seed on good ground and bear fruit. This parable of the sower is considered by Jesus to be the foundation of all the other parables ("Know you, not this parable? and how then will you know all parables?" Mark 4:13). It presents the foundational truth of how to be saved, or have eternal life, which begins with the intelligent reception of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah. The references to being born of seed in the epistles are to be understood in this light. The seed is the Gospel of the Kingdom, and believing that Gospel is the key to eternal life and the new birth.

Part of the hope of the Gospel is that one day the world will be restored to its original state when the Messiah rules in God’s - Yehovah's Kingdom and we co-rule with him. Jesus refers to this in Matthew and uses another word from the same root as "gennao", the word for born or begotten.

Matthew 19:28: And Jesus said unto them, truly I say unto you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration [paliggenesia] when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory [the throne of David], you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

This word paliggenesia is only used twice in the Bible. Once in this reference to the regeneration of the world to come, and one other place in Titus.

Titus 3:3-7: For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that, the kindness and love of God - Yehovah our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration [paliggenesia], and renewing of the Holy Spirit; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus the Messiah our saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

In these two occurrences of this word, we see two instances of regeneration. The world will be regenerated when God's - Yehovah's Kingdom comes to pass, and in the meantime, we experience a foretaste of it in our own lives as we are regenerated by the Word and renewed by the holy spirit. This process changes us from the way we once began with receiving, understanding, and believing the Word about the Kingdom of God - Yehovah, which is the Gospel that Jesus and his disciples preached.

Throughout Acts, when people believed that Gospel, they were called to repent. To repent [it means to die to self-interest] does not just mean to stop sinning, although that will be a result. However, no one will be completely free of sin until the Messiah returns. The word 'repent' means to turn. Specifically, it is to turn your heart away from your past sinful life and to turn it towards God - Yehovah in faith and obedience. It is not salvation by works, but it is a turning toward God - Yehovah, in response to the wonderful news of His soon-coming Kingdom. From that point on you are totally commtted to living with a whole new purpose.

This is what is meant by confessing Jesus as lord, referred to in Romans 10:9. In order to confess him as lord you must know what he is lord of. You must know who he is and what he is all about. It also says to believe God - Yehovah raised the lord Jesus from the dead. The proof that he is the Messiah is that he was raised from the dead (Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Acts 17:30-31; Romans 1:4; I Corinthians 15:12-19). It is also the proof that God - Yehovah will raise us up as well when the Messiah returns (I Corinthians 15:20-23; 2 Corinthians 4:14).

So to confess Jesus according to Romans 10:9 is to believe that he is the promised Messiah, the coming King and that he rose from among the dead after dying for our sins, and is coming again to judge the world and reign over all nations, as promised by the Prophets. All this must be understood in order to make Jesus lord.

It is not enough to just say "Jesus is lord" if you don't know what that entails. Knowing what that entails includes knowing what is asked of you, namely to repent or turn your heart towards God - Yehovah, and decide to live in light of the Gospel - the good news message of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah, obeying the words that God - Yehovah gave to Jesus to give to the world!

In John 3:5 Jesus told Nicodemus: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." When saying these things, he implied that it was not something that was unknown. "Are you a master of Israel, and know not these things?" he said in verse 10. The Old Testament Prophets spoke of a rebirth of Israel that was to come. Isaiah 66:8 asks: "Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Ezekiel describes a vision in chapter 37 about the dry bones coming to life again, which is specifically identified as the "whole house of Israel." It says that God would bring them up out of their graves and would put His spirit in them, and they shall live.

We saw in The New Covenant that what came on the day of Pentecost was a foretaste of the ultimate fulfillment of His promises to Israel. These promises include being "reborn" and God - Yehovah pouring out His spirit. The new birth which we partake of now is based on the "seed" of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah and is a foretaste of the ultimate restoration. All of that will be accomplished when God - Yehovah brings His Kingdom to pass on earth.

Ezekiel 36:22-30 says that in addition to a new heart and a new spirit, God would sprinkle clean water on them. This language is echoed in Titus 3:5, when Paul refers to "the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit." When a person hears the Gospel, believes it, and repents, that Word - seed is implanted in his heart. At that point, a regeneration process begins, which continues working in him, with a view to inheriting eternal life. It will be complete when the Messiah returns and we put on immortality.

Because the New Birth is our entrance into the New Covenant, we are expected to do something to demonstrate our faith. By the power of the holy spirit, our sins are washed clean because of the shed blood - a sin-offering sacrifice of Jesus. To symbolize our identification with that sin-offering sacrifice, and the change which takes place in our lives, we are commanded to be baptized. A close examination of the Scriptures reveals that Jesus commanded this act as a public declaration of faith and repentance. It is not the baptism of John, which was incomplete, but the baptism in the name of Jesus, which is a baptism - immersion in water in his name. It is accompanied by the baptism of the holy spirit, which Jesus himself accomplishes. Nowhere does the Bible say that baptism in water is replaced by baptism in spirit.

Since the seed which we receive is the Word which is incorruptible, the question arises, can one lose this seed? There are a number of verses that refer to the conditional nature of this new birth (I Corinthians 10:1-12; 15:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:10; Hebrews 3:12-14; 6:11). We are saved by grace through faith and not by works. But we must continue in that faith until the end. If we do not continue in the faith, the Word which is working in us will not remain in our hearts. This becomes easier to understand when you realize that the seed is the Word and not a "new birth seed" that is in you unconditionally, regardless of what you do afterward. This idea of "Once Saved Always Saved" is one of Satan's deceptions spawned by his ministers.

So salvation begins with receiving the creative Word of God - Yehovah, the Word about the Kingdom. That Word - seed must remain in the heart and grow and produce fruit. This is how the new heart, which Jesus said was required for righteousness, is received. Ultimately it will result in immortality at the return of the Messiah. The change that can be experienced in the meantime comes about because of the close connection between God's - Yehovah's Word and His spirit.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR, CLOSE AT HAND

Jesus the Messiah announced that the Kingdom of God - Yehovah was "at hand." Many interpret this to mean that it had arrived. But "at hand" means "near" not "here." Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Your Kingdom come..." (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2). If it was here, why would he tell us to pray for it to come? Even at the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea still "waited for the Kingdom of God - Yehovah" (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51). Clearly it had not arrived yet. In addition, when Jesus spoke of the signs in the heavens that would precede his coming, he said, "...When you see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God - Yehovah is close at hand." (Luke 21:31). Even at that future point, the Kingdom will not have come, but will be "near" and about to come to pass.

There is a certain amount of disagreement among Bible scholars as to whether the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is present now or yet future. This is largely because there are some passages of Scripture that present it as a future event, while others seem to say it is a present reality, and still others simply refer to it without indicating whether it's present or future. The error is in assuming that it must be one or the other. We shall see that there is a sense in which both present and future aspects are true. The best way to understand it is first to get straight what is meant by the term "Kingdom of God - Yehovah" from its Old Testament Foundation, and then examine what Jesus meant in light of that.

The first book of the New Testament, the Gospel According to Matthew, begins by saying that Jesus the Messsiah is "the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1) He is the direct descendent of two foundational figures of the Old Testament, with whom God made specific covenants: Abraham, to whom God - Yehovah promised land, descendants, and blessings to the whole world; and David, to whom God promised that his throne would be established forever. The promised descendent of David would also be God's - Yehovah's son, and the Gospel of Mark begins with "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the son of God." The first thing to be said about Jesus the Messiah to his mother Mary was by the angel Gabriel.

Luke 1:30-35: And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favour with God - Yehovah. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS - Yehoshua. He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the Highest: and the Lord - Yehovah God - Elohim 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. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God - Yehovah.

The Magi - wise men from Persia came looking for him because they knew of the prophecies of a coming king of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-12). The specific prophecy about where he would be born said that out of Bethlehem "shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel" (Matthew 2:6).

Everything about who Jesus was pointed to his fulfillment of the prophecies about the coming ruler of a restored kingdom. The titles attributed to him provide a strong link with those prophecies. The titles "Christ" and "Messiah" both mean the same thing: the Anointed One, specifically the one anointed to be King. Jesus the Messiah himself claimed to be the Messiah (John 4:25-26), the anointed King to come. He frequently claimed to be the Son of God - Yehovah, which is a Messianic title, based on 2 Samuel 7:14 and Psalm 2:7.

More than any other title, Jesus referred to himself as the son of Man. The term "son of man" literally means "a man", and is used as such in a number of places in the Old Testament, referring to other men, especially the prophet Ezekiel. But the title of "The son of Man" comes from Daniel and refers to the man to whom was given "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom." It is a title that is closely linked to the Messiah's rule of God's Kingdom.

Daniel 7:13-14: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Jesus frequently referred to the son of Man coming in his glory. At that time he would come with his angels and be glorified. He would reign in his kingdom, and judge the world. Then the righteous would inherit the Kingdom of God - Yehovah.

Matthew 13:43: Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 25:34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

When Jesus preached about the coming Kingdom of God - Yehovah, he was not talking about the rule of God - Yehovah in people's hearts. He was referring to the specific time foretold by the Prophets when the Messiah, the son of Man, would judge, or rule over the world and reign in God's - Yehovah's Kingdom. He would not only rule Israel, but the whole world, including Gentiles (Matthew 12:18, quoted from Isaiah 42:1; see also Acts 17:31). He is given authority to judge because he is the Son of Man, according to John 5:27. He is given judgment over the whole world, even power of life or death, and that power is committed to him by God - Yehovah (John 5:18-30). This judgment is part of his being the Messiah, the coming king.

We saw in What is the Gospel? that the overall theme of his preaching and teaching was the Kingdom of God - Yehovah . When he began his preaching ministry, he announced that it was "at hand" or "near" and called on people to repent and believe the Gospel (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15). What he preached about that Kingdom was in line with the Old Testament Prophecies.

He didn't go into a lot of detail about what he meant by the Kingdom of God - Yehovah, because the Jews at that time knew what was involved. They knew that the Hebrew Prophets foretold a time when Israel would be restored to their land when the coming Messiah would judge the world and rule in righteousness, when evil and wickedness would be done away with when there would be no more war, and when there would be peace and prosperity for all who worshipped and obeyed the One True God - Yehovah. He did not need to explain it; he simply proclaimed that the long-awaited Kingdom of God - Yehovah was "at hand" and that he himself was the Messiah, the one whom God - Yehovah had anointed to be King of the Kingdom. This is also why today one can easily miss what Jesus meant, without a knowledge of the Old Testament Foundation of the Kingdom Gospel.

The phrase "in the Kingdom" is always presented as something that will happen in the future. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will sit down "in the Kingdom" (Matthew 8:11) and Jesus said he would not eat the Passover again until it is fulfilled "in the Kingdom" which is parallel with the Kingdom "coming."

Matthew 26:29: But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

Luke 22:15-18: And he said unto them, With desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God - Yehovah. And he took the cup and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God - Yehovah shall come.

So being "in the kingdom" equals "the kingdom coming" and is a future event. James and John understood it to mean the Messiah's future reign when they asked for special positions in the kingdom. The parallel records in Matthew 20:21 and Mark 10:35-37 show that "in thy glory" is equivalent to "in your Kingdom." And in Matthew 25, the "son of Man coming in his glory" is linked with "inheriting the Kingdom."

Matthew 25:31-34: When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

All these parallel references demonstrate that the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is a future event, to which the disciples looked forward. Jesus spoke of reigning in the kingdom, and offered his followers a chance to reign with him. This was also part of what had been foretold. Isaiah referred to that when he said, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment" (Isaiah 32:1). There are also references to "thrones of judgment, thrones of the house of David" in Psalm 122:5, and to the judges being restored "as at the first" in Isaiah 1:26. After the above quote about the son of Man, Daniel 7 goes on to say, "But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever" (Daniel 7:18). In light of this, Jesus spoke of the disciples sharing in his reign.

Matthew 19:28-30: And Jesus said unto them, truly I say unto you, That you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life.

Luke 22:28-30:  But you are they that have continued with me in my temptations; and I appoint unto you a kingdom, even as my Father appointed unto me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and you shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Notice that being in the kingdom is associated with having everlasting life. Mark 9:43 defines the two possible destinies of man: enter into life or enter into "hell" (Greek, gehenna, or the lake of fire - a future place of destruction, not to be confused with hades, the state of the dead to which everyone goes when they die). Verse 47 of the same chapter rephrases the choice as either entering into the Kingdom of God - Yehovah or entering into hell (gehenna) fire. So entering the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is equivalent to entering into life, as opposed to the lake of fire (gehenna), which is the "second death" (Revelation 20:14; 21:8). Both these destinations are in the future.

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah is clearly dominant in the synoptic Gospels. John's Gospel doesn't use the phrase Kingdom of God - Yehovah more than a couple of times but frequently refers to "everlasting" or "eternal" life. Jesus specifically spoke of people having everlasting or eternal life, not as disembodied souls in heaven, but because he would raise them up on the last day if they believed him and ate "the bread from heaven" (John 6:22-59). The idea of resurrection was not new. Daniel referred to the time when Israel would be delivered, saying, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2). The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, but the Sadducees did not and tried to challenge Jesus in Matthew 22. But Jesus spoke of eternal life as being the result of resurrection, in connection with the good news of the coming Kingdom. He spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being in the Kingdom of God - Yehovah, and many coming from the east and west to sit with them (Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:28-29), which means they would have to be resurrected. Notice he said nothing about going to heaven.

While there are a few passages that speak of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah as being present in some sense (which we will deal with in another article), most often when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God - Yehovah, he meant the future time when he would rule over the nations on a restored earth. This period of time would be preceded by God's - Yehovah's cataclysmic intervention (Matthew 24:27-31; Mark 13:19-27; Luke 17:24-37; 21:20-28), ushering in a new age. John equates it with "eternity" and "eternal life" but those words can be misleading in English because we are accustomed to thinking of eternity being something "beyond time" just as we tend to think of heaven as a "realm beyond earth." But such thinking is foreign to the Bible.

There are two Greek words translated as "world" in the New Testament - one is kosmos which refers to the ordered creation. The other word is "aion" from which we get our English word "eon." This word refers not to place but to time. It is literally an "age" which is a better translation than "world," and is so rendered in some of the more modern English versions.

When the use of this word is traced through the Bible, we find that it speaks of two "ages." One is the present evil age (Galatians 1:4), and the other is the Age to Come. Matthew 12:32 refers to the entire time of man's existence, and describes it as including "this age, and the age to come." Paul also refers to this age and "that which is to come" in Ephesians 1:21 (where the Greek word for "world" in the KJV is aion). In Mark 10:29-30 Jesus refers to having blessings with persecutions in this "time" (kairos) and eternal life in the age (aion) to come, showing that it is contrasting two periods of time. Jesus didn't speak of rewards in another "place" but in another "time."

Satan is called the god of this age in 2 Corinthians 4:4. The word for "course" in Ephesians 2:2 is aion, and "world" is kosmos. "And you has he quickened - made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past you walked according to the course (aion, age) of this world (kosmos), according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." This describes the nature of this current evil age as worldly and devilish rather than godly. In the parable of the sower, the cares of this age choke the Word (Matthew 13:22).

This age is destined to end, and in the Age to Come, Messiah will rule with God's - Yehovah's authority, and there will at last be peace on earth. The transition from this age to the next is clearly defined in the Bible. Matthew 24:3 identifies the coming of the Messiah Jesus with the end of this age, while Luke 20:34-36 connects the resurrection from the dead with the future age.

Matthew 24:3: And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [aion, age]?

Luke 20:34-36: And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world [aion, age] marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world [aion, age], and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God - Yehovah, being the children of the resurrection. [see NASB]

Taken together with the Old Testament prophecies, we can see that the present age will come to an end when the Messiah returns and the dead are raised, and then the next age, in which the Messiah reigns, will begin. This cataclysmic change from the present age to the next is what the Old Testament called "the Day of the Lord," to which the New Testament also refers (I Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14; I Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10).

The adjective form derived from the root aion is also an important word to understand. It is "aionios" and is most often translated as either "eternal" or "everlasting." But this does not give a clear understanding of its meaning. Being from the root aion, it literally means "age-lasting" (according to Young's) or "belonging to the age" (according to Bullinger). Eternal life is literally "life in the age to come" and refers to life in God's - Yehovah's Kingdom that is coming when this present evil age is over. It is only then that we will gain immortality. Until then those that have died sleep in the dust of the ground (Daniel 12:2).

The parable of the nobleman in Luke 19 clearly illustrates the fact that the Kingdom involves Messiah and his saints - holy ones ruling over an earthly kingdom, as well as the fact that it would not happen immediately.

Luke 19:11-19: And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God - Yehovah should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, lord, your pound has gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, you good servant: because you have been faithful in a very little, have you authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, lord, your pound has gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be you also over five cities.

The nobleman going away to receive the kingdom and then returning illustrates a kingdom that had not come yet but would come after a period of time when the nobleman returned. In addition, the returning nobleman rewarded the faithful servants with authority over cities. Jesus offered his followers not only life in the age to come but also the chance to rule with him in his Kingdom (Daniel 7:22,25,27; I Corinthians 6:2). This is much more real a hope than "going to heaven." One can see how it motivated the first-century believers to give their all. One can also see why Satan will do anything to keep this truth from being known. Man/woman was created to live on earth, and when God's - Yehovah's Kingdom is fulfilled, God - Yehovah will finally get what He created man/woman for in the first place. He has always wanted people to love and worship Him and to rule the earth on His behalf. As followers of Jesus the Messiah, we can be a part of that. This is the Good News of the Kingdom.