The Gospels and their Raptures (Kingdom - Part 2)
Origin
The gospel of the Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven, which can be understood as the gospel of the Kingdom which is from heaven), is proclaimed by John the Baptizer and Jesus throughout the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The message proclaimed in this Kingdom gospel is unique to these four books and to the period of time from John the Baptist to the ascension of Christ.
Matthew 3:1-3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The gospel of the Kingdom is first preached by John the Baptist who called for the repentance of the Jews. His message of repentance was in preparation for the kingdom of heaven, (or the kingdom of God, which comes from heaven). Although this gospel centered around Jesus Christ, John did not preach about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, like our gospel today. His message focused on announcing and preparing the Jews for the King's arrival, as the book of Luke suggests,
Lk.1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Like John, Jesus also started His ministry by preached the Kingdom gospel,
Matt.4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
In addition to this, Jesus' message focused predominantly on the Kingdom He would usher in. His parables and teachings laid the foundations for living in the law and constitution of that future kingdom.
Message
The core message of this gospel, the good news, was a call for Israel to get ready (and to repent and get baptized) as the prophesied Millennial Kingdom was at hand.
Mark 1:14-15 Now after that John [the Baptist] was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye [referring to the prophecy of Daniel, Daniel 7:13-14, where the reign of Christ among men is expressly foretold], and believe the gospel.
What was this kingdom of God which was at hand?
Since the time of Moses, the prophets had proclaimed a kingdom in which Israel would be the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13) among the nations and that God would set them above the nations of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:1). Hundreds of passages in the Scriptures prophesy this kingdom. The essential features of it were that Israel would be supreme among the nations of the earth, the Messiah would rule from Jerusalem as David's greater Son over the entire earth (Zechariah 14:9), the earth would be restored to Edenic splendour (Jesus referred to this as the "regeneration" (Matthew 19:28), lifespans would be vastly extended, the animal kingdom would be at peace (Isaiah 11:6-8), the earth would be without war (Isaiah 2:4), and this kingdom would be one of unparalleled greatness (Isaiah 2:2). It is this kingdom that was at hand and that the Jews were expecting based on the writings of their prophets.
Part 3 will continue with the 'conditions' of this Kingdom gospel.
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