Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 10): Understanding God’s Timeline and the Gospel of the Kingdom

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 10): Understanding God’s Timeline and the Gospel of the Kingdom

The Division and Purpose of Time

Time is not an endless, directionless stream. God, who exists outside of time, created it with a definite beginning and has ordained a specific end toward which all creation moves. Throughout the ages, God has divided time into distinct dispensations—specific periods wherein He reveals His purposed will and deals with mankind under definite conditions. The scriptures declare that God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has meticulously ordered the ages according to His eternal purpose in Jesus Christ (Heb.1:1; Eph.3:11).

To understand the Bible, one must first recognize that chronology is central to divine revelation. There was a period from Adam to Moses where men lived without the written law, followed by a period where Israel was placed under the schoolmaster of the Law of Moses until the fullness of time brought forth the Son of God (Gal.4:4). Solomon observed that to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven, noting that God hath made every thing beautiful in his time (Eccl.3:1,11). The work of God spans from the beginning to the end, and when time has run its complete course, creation will rest in the eternal purpose established in Christ before the world began (Eccl.3:11; Eph.1:4).

Believers who handle the Word of Truth are expected to discern the times. Rom.13:11 instructs believers that knowing the time, now it is high time to awake out of sleep. Knowing where a passage sits within God's progressively revealed timeline prevents the confusion that arises when later revelations are forced back into earlier time periods. When reading the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, one must approach the text sequentially, understanding what was revealed up to that point without anticipating advanced revelations given only after Christ’s ascension.

The Prophetic Framework of Daniel’s 70 Weeks

A core pillar of God’s timeline regarding the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem is found in the prophecy of Daniel’s seventy weeks (Dan.9:24-27). God explicitly determined seventy weeks—periods of years—upon Daniel's people and upon the holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. This prophetic clock is divided into three distinct time segments.

The first segment comprised seven weeks, or forty-nine years, beginning with the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. During this initial period, the street and wall were built again, even in troublous times, fulfilling the first portion of the decree. Following this, a second period of sixty-two weeks, total listing four hundred and thirty-four years, ran its course leading up to the public manifestation of Messiah the Prince. Together, these sixty-nine weeks accounted for four hundred and eighty-three years of fulfilled prophecy on Israel’s calendar.

The final remaining segment is the seventieth week—a seven-year period reserved for a time of unprecedented wrath and trouble such as never was since there was a nation (Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21). Prophecy details a coming prince who will magnify himself above all that is called God, speaking great blasphemies and making war against the saints of the Most High (Dan.7:25, 11:36). This impending period of desolation was fully anticipated in Old Testament prophecy as the final stage preceding the establishment of the promised kingdom.

"From That Time": Christ’s Preaching in Matthew

When reading Matt.4:17, the phrase "from that time" marks a precise chronological marker in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Prior to this moment, John the Baptist operated as the prophesied messenger sent to prepare the way before the Lord, calling Israel to repentance in light of the coming kingdom (Isa.40:3; Mal.3:1). Once John was cast into prison, his public ministry concluded, and Jesus departed into Galilee to begin His own public proclamation (Matt.4:12).

Picking up the identical message preached by John, Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt.4:17). In Matt.4:23, this proclamation is specifically named: Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. The term gospel itself simply means good news or a glad proclamation, but the noun that follows the preposition defines the specific nature and content of that message.

The Gospel of the Kingdom was not a proclamation of salvation through the cross, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Indeed, at this point in the narrative, Jesus had not begun to reveal His coming death to His followers. That revelation did not occur until three and a half years later, near the close of His ministry (Matt.16:21). When He finally did mention His upcoming death and resurrection, the disciples were astonished and openly rejected the thought, proving they had no prior knowledge or understanding of a crucified Saviour (Matt.16:22; Lk.18:34).

While the Gospel of the Kingdom was preached exclusively to the lost sheep of Israel regarding an earthly Davidic kingdom requiring national repentance, the later Gospel of Grace revealed to Paul was offered to all nations, focusing on personal faith in Christ's shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection (1Cor.15:1-4). The Kingdom of Heaven proclaimed by Christ refers directly to the literal, earthly kingdom foretold by the Old Testament prophets. In Dan.2:44, the prophet declared that in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. This promised dispensation involves the Lord Jesus Christ reigning from Jerusalem on the throne of David, governing the nations with a rod of iron and enforcing righteousness across the earth (Ps.2:9; Isa.9:6-7).

The Limited Commission to the Lost Sheep of Israel

As Jesus expanded His earthly ministry, He ordained twelve apostles and sent them forth with explicit, restricted instructions regarding their field of service. In Matt.10:5-6, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel".

This specific commission restricted the preaching of the Kingdom exclusively to the covenant nation of Israel. The apostles were not sent to proclaim individual salvation to the world at large, but to present Israel with the arrival of their promised Messiah and kingdom. As they went, their assigned message was straightforward: "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt.10:7). Every Jew who heard this message understood its prophetic context, as their holy scriptures were filled with promises of this messianic rule.

Throughout this period, the imminent arrival of the kingdom was tied directly to the completion of the prophetic timeline. At the start of Christ's ministry, approximately three and a half years remained in the sixty-two week period of Daniel’s prophecy. According to what had been revealed in the Old Testament, once those years concluded, only the final seven-year tribulation period remained before the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom. From the perspective of comparative prophecy, Israel stood roughly a decade away from the fulfillment of all kingdom promises.

Yet, God held a secret that no Old Testament prophet had seen, and no earthly power had anticipated—a mystery that would pause the prophetic clock and open an entirely new dispensation.

The Secret Hidden from the Princes of This World

While the Old Testament prophets laid out a clear timeline detailing Israel’s suffering and subsequent messianic glory, God reserved a profound secret in His sovereign council. The scriptures declare that God kept a divine mystery secret since the world began, hiding it from human understanding and spiritual powers alike (Rom.16:25; Eph.3:9). Paul writes in 1Cor.2:7-8 that God ordained this hidden wisdom before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. Had the spiritual forces of darkness understood what God intended to accomplish through the crucifixion, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

By masking this grand purpose, God took the wise in their own craftiness, turning the ultimate plot of Satan against himself (Job 5:13; 1Cor.3:19). The very act meant to destroy the Son of God became the means by which redemption was purchased for fallen man. This present age—the Dispensation of the Grace of God—was not foretold in Old Testament prophecy, nor was it made known during Christ’s earthly ministry. It was an unprophesied interlude inserted into the divine calendar only after Israel rejected her Messiah, pausing the countdown of Daniel’s seventy weeks.

The Shift in "At Hand" Across Scripture

As one traces the timeline of Scripture, the phrase "at hand" undergoes a distinct doctrinal progression that reflects God's changing dispensational dealings. During the ministry of John the Baptist and the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven was declared to be "at hand," meaning near in time or place (Matt.3:2, 4:17). Following the resurrection, when the disciples asked if He would at that time restore again the kingdom to Israel, Jesus informed them that it was not for them to know the times or the seasons which the Father put in His own power (Acts 1:6-7).

Later, as the Apostle Paul received the revelation of the mystery and wrote to the Thessalonians during the current Grace Age, he issued a direct warning regarding kingdom timing. In 2Thess.2:2-3, Paul instructed believers not to be shaken in mind or troubled as that the day of Christ is at hand, clarifying that the day shall not come except there come a falling away first and the man of sin be revealed. During this present dispensation, the prophetic kingdom program is paused, and the day of the Lord is not 'at hand', or immediate.

Finally, when the narrative advances past the Church Age to the prophetic vision of the book of Revelation, the terminology resets. Rev.1:3 declares that the time is at hand, signaling that the text applies directly to the final 70th week of Daniel and the resumption of God’s program with Israel. Discerning these variations demonstrates that Scripture must be read in its proper context rather than assuming every book addresses the present age.

Gospel of the Kingdom vs. Gospel of the Grace of God

To maintain clarity when reading the New Testament, one must distinguish between the distinct messages entrusted to God's servants. While the generic term gospel appears throughout the text, the prepositions following it define the precise character of each message. Paul highlights his specific calling in Acts 20:24, declaring his desire to finish his course with joy and the ministry received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Grace and kingdom are not identical concepts, and treating them as interchangeable creates doctrinal confusion.

Paul clearly defines the Gospel of Grace in 1Cor.15:1-4 as the proclamation that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day. In 1Cor.1:18,23, he summarizes his message simply as the preaching of the cross, determining in 1Cor.2:2 not to know anything among believers save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Through this revelation, salvation is offered as a free gift of justification through faith in the redemptive work of Christ, without the works of the Law of Moses (Rom.3:24; Acts 13:38-39).

This message stands in clear contrast to the Gospel of the Kingdom, which focused on the public manifestation of David's earthly throne and required national repentance from Israel. Similarly, scripture distinguishes between the Kingdom of God—a spiritual kingdom existing within the believer—and the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the physical, observable reign of Christ set up on earth (Lk.17:20-21; Matt.11:12). While these realms ultimately unite under Christ's supreme headship, recognizing their distinction is essential for proper biblical study.

Distinct Commissions and Practical Integrity

The distinction in ministries is also clearly seen when examining the ordinance of baptism. John the Baptist explicitly stated his purpose in Jn.1:31, declaring that he came baptizing with water so that Messiah might be made manifest to Israel. Water baptism was deeply tied to Israel’s washing rites under the law and served as a national witness. In stark contrast, Paul wrote in 1Cor.1:17 that Christ sent him not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Had Paul's commission been identical to John's or the early commission of the twelve, such a statement would contradict his divine mandate.

In Gal.2:7-9, Paul outlines the formal recognition of these distinct stewardships by the early church leadership in Jerusalem. The apostles perceived that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto Paul, just as the gospel of the circumcision was committed unto Peter. Peter was sent primarily to the Jewish nation with the messianic message, while Paul was designated as the apostle to the Gentiles to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ and the body of Christ where Jew and Gentile are made one (Eph.2:14-16, 3:8).

Believers are called to approach God's Word with absolute honesty and structural integrity. Rather than forcing conflicting passages into artificial harmony or relying on human traditions, one must study to show oneself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2Tim.2:15). Like Paul before King Agrippa, who confessed that after the way which men call heresy, so worshiped he the God of his fathers, believers must remain fully persuaded by the literal text of Scripture regardless of popular opinion (Acts 24:14). Building faith directly upon the rightly divided Word ensures a grounded, mature understanding of God’s eternal plan.

An adapted lesson from Paul Lucas here.