The Gospel of the Kingdom part 1 From The Call of Abram to the Throne of David

The Jesus, or Yeshua, if you prefer his wonderful Hebrew name, that you and I follow must in every respect be both the biblical son of David and the prophet greater than Moses. Any other Jesus or Yeshua is a counterfeit and an antichrist. Welcome to Call to Glory, the cutting edge weekly podcast dedicated to helping you know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. If this is your first time tuning in, please be sure to like, share, comment, and subscribe. Now in this episode of Call to Glory, we're going to look at what can rightly be called the original gospel or good news that Jesus and John the Baptist proclaimed to the people of Israel at the beginning of their public ministries. And truth be told, this good news was and still is, in its purest sense, a Jewish gospel. Think about it. Christ himself said he was only sent to proclaim this good news to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and as the apostle John wrote, he came to his own, and his own did not receive him. So what was this good news? And why did Christ expect that it would be good news to those who heard him in Israel and Samaria? The gospel of the kingdom. Now let me be perfectly clear. I am not a Jehovah's Witness, and I am in no way promoting their counterfeit gospel of the kingdom, not by long shot. What I am talking about is the gospel of the kingdom spoken of by the Hebrew prophets, John the Baptist, the apostles, the New Testament writers, and Christ himself, or as it's also called in the New Testament, the gospel of the kingdom of God. In our last episode, we looked at one example of this from Mark's gospel. Here are two more, one from Matthew and a parallel passage from Luke, from the New King James. Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9 35. From Luke. Now it came to pass afterward that he went through every city and village preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. Luke 8.1. It's very important to remember that everything Christ said, every single word was spoken within a biblically Hebraic, historical, theological, and eschatological context. Same with the writers of the gospel accounts, and for that matter, the entire New Testament. The New Testament scriptures must be read, interpreted, and understood in a manner that's faithful and true to that context. And so it is here. At its most basic level, Christ's statement to his fellow Israelites that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand meant that the long-awaited covenant promises God had made to Abraham, King David, the nation of Israel, and the Jewish people were finally coming to pass, just as it had been foretold by the Hebrew prophets. This is the gospel of the kingdom. He was not, as so many preachers and Bible teachers claim, inaugurating or announcing some new kingdom to the people of Israel. That's absurd. The only way anyone can come to such a conclusion is to either be ignorant of what the Hebrew scriptures clearly teach, the very same scriptures, by the way, that Christ and the apostles look to as authority for his claim to be the Son of God, disregard them as irrelevant, or reinterpret them to replace every reference to Israel with a Gentile church. And that is major error. It's not only dishonest and unfaithful to the testimony of Scripture, but invariably leads to another Jesus and another gospel. And let me be perfectly clear. This is not something we can just agree to disagree about. Just as there is only one true Jesus, there is only one correct interpretation and understanding of the gospel of the kingdom. And it is firmly and eternally rooted in God's promises to Abraham and his seed as promised in the Hebrew Scriptures and affirmed in the New Testament. As we'll see, those promises have many aspects. Taken together and viewed as a whole, they give us a complete, balanced, and harmonious picture of God's plan to redeem not only mankind, but the entire creation. Good news indeed. Now that of course raises the question, what exactly are those promises? Broadly speaking, they are that the land of Canaan from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates would be Israel's possession and inheritance forever. That God would circumcise their hearts and write his law on their hearts and in their minds, so that they would love him. That he would come as a true and faithful shepherd to regather all of the scattered people of Israel back to the land. That he would judge Israel's enemies and deliver the Jewish people from their power. That he would restore Israel to her rightful place as a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and God's special treasure above all the other nations of the earth. That one of David's descendants would sit on his throne and rule the world forever from Israel as a righteous king. That there would be prosperity, righteousness, justice, and peace on the earth, that the curse of sin and death would be reversed, that the earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord, and that he would ultimately create new heavens and a new earth. They all point to Israel's calling and place at the center of God's plan to restore mankind and all of creation to our original destiny, purpose, and glory, which actually raises another related, equally important and somewhat complex question, one that has long perplexed theologians, scholars, Bible teachers, and followers of Christ. Who exactly is Israel? That's a topic we'll be looking into sometime in the future, and if that would be of interest to you, please be sure to subscribe to this channel, hit the like button, and leave a comment below. But I digress. Many of these promises are very well known in Christian culture and theology. For centuries, however, they've been, in one way or another, ripped out of context and transformed into something neither the Hebrew prophets, the apostles, nor Christ himself would recognize. Generally speaking, they're either misappropriated by supersessionist theologians as now belonging to the church, or relegated by dispensational theologians to an earthly Jewish kingdom, while the Gentile Church spends eternity doing no one quite knows exactly what in heaven with Jesus, neither of which is biblically correct. In fact, I have to wonder whether anyone who holds to these beliefs has ever considered where John the Baptist, Peter, John, Matthew, James, Paul, Barnabas, the other apostles, Stephen, Apollos, Aquila, Priscilla, and the rest of the Jewish disciples are supposed to be in heaven with the church, or here on earth with Christ and their Jewish brethren. What about Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Deborah, Gideon, Esther, Mordecai, King David, Ezra, Nehemiah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, and the rest of the Hebrew prophets? Or Simeon, Anna, Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, and his sisters, Mary and Martha? What about Jesus' earthly father Joseph? And of course, what about his mother Mary? What about the fact that the Bible clearly says that at his second coming, Christ will return as a conquering king to defeat his enemies, defend Jerusalem, save a remnant of his Jewish brethren from those enemies, pour out the spirit of grace and supplication on the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, cleanse them of their sin and idolatry, sovereignly give them a new heart and a new spirit, take his rightful place on the throne of David, and establish his long-awaited millennial kingdom, not in heaven, but here on this earth, which takes us right back to the gospel of the kingdom. Now an in-depth study of this topic is again well beyond the scope of this podcast. We can, however, look at some of the highlights and main points from the biblical record and see what the word of God, as opposed to church or religious tradition, actually says. So let's begin with the call of Abram in Genesis twelve from the New King James. Now the Lord had said to Abram, Get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you will shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Next, let's look at God's promise to give Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, beginning in Genesis chapter thirteen, starting at verse fourteen. And the Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward, for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever, and I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you. We see the promise of the land again in chapter fifteen, and then later in Genesis seventeen we also see the following. When Abram was ninety nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am Almighty God. Walk before me and be blameless, and I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan has an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. Then ultimately, in Genesis twenty two. Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and said, By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son. Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. The Lord later confirmed this covenant with Isaac and with Jacob, and speaking of Jacob, most of us know that the New Testament refers to Jesus or Yeshua in Hebrew, as the lion of the tribe of Judah, and that, like everything else in the New Testament, has its source and origin in the Hebrew scriptures, in this case the Torah. Turn with me to Genesis chapter forty-nine, where we see Jacob's last words to his son Judah. Judah, you are he whom your brother shall praise, your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies, your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's wall, from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the people. This is the foundational prophecy about the nature, identity, and origin of the one who will be king over Israel and ultimately over the entire earth. It also foreshadows the Davidic covenant, of which we'll speak much more in a bit. Now, while David is not specifically named, Jacob prophetically saw that rulership over God's kingdom would come from the tribe of Judah. And this, of course, was fulfilled when David was anointed as king of Israel, and it is ultimately fulfilled in the life, death, resurrection, and millennial reign of Christ. Moving forward to the covenant that he made with Israel at Mount Sinai, God promised that if the people stayed faithful to him, Israel would be his special treasure above all the other nations, a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. In Deuteronomy chapter thirty, he sovereignly reiterated his earlier covenant with Abraham and promised Israel the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River. He further promised that Israel would return to him in the future, at which time he would restore them to the land and they would become more prosperous than they had ever been before. And he further promised to regenerate the people of Israel by circumcising their hearts so they would love him. This is the great promise of the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah, another extremely important and greatly misunderstood topic that we'll be looking into sometime in the future. And again, if that would be of interest to you, be sure to subscribe, like, and leave a comment below. Now God also promised that he would judge Israel's enemies, that they would obey him, and that he would ultimately bless and prosper them in their obedience. These promises later took on an infinitely greater scope and dimension with the Davidic covenant. So what exactly is the Davidic covenant? Let's look at this very carefully. Simply put, it's God's promise to establish the throne of David forever. It was a sovereignly established covenant that not only amplified the seed aspect of the earlier Abrahamic covenant, but also reiterated God's earlier promises to plant Israel permanently in the land. God specifically promised David that he would set up his seed after him and establish his kingdom. He further promised David that one of his descendants would build a house for his name, that he would establish the throne of his kingdom forever, that God would be his father and he would be his son, and that David's house, throne, and kingdom would be established forever. Let's look at the actual account in 2 Samuel 7, as this is where it officially, so to speak, began. From the New King James. Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside ten curtains. Then Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord. Would you build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts. I took you from the sheepfold, for following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness suppress them any more, as previously. Since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the son of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Now, while some of these promises certainly apply to David's descendants, such as Solomon, their ultimate fulfillment was, is, and will be in Christ. Hence, the importance and necessity of including the genealogies of Jesus in the gospel accounts to both validate and establish his Davidic lineage. Many other passages such as 2 Chronicles 21 7, Psalm 89, 20-36, Isaiah 9, 6 through 7, Jeremiah 33, 14 through 22, Ezekiel 37, 24 through 28, Hosea 3, 4 through 5, and Amos 9, 11 through 15, both reiterate and affirm this. And just in case anyone is thinking this was just for the Jews, we see the exact same promise made to Mary in Luke's gospel. Let's look at chapter 1 of Luke. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary, and having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. But when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Notice not only what the angel Gabriel told Mary, but also that Luke made a point of stating that Joseph was at the house of David. Now this was intentional and for very good reason. God made it clear throughout the Hebrew scriptures that the Messiah had to come from the house of David. The New Testament writers all knew and understood the eternal importance of showing both the people of Israel and the Gentile nations that Christ in every way met and fulfilled the biblical criteria to be the rightful Messiah and heir to the throne of David. And this is precisely why the Apostle Paul opened his epistle to the Romans as follows. Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, which he promised before through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Notice how he made a point to say Jesus was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. Now it must be emphasized that this requirement is by divine fiat. We dare not disregard, change, or somehow try to reimagine it. No son of David, no Messiah, and no salvation. No throne of David, no Messiah, and no salvation. This is the biblical source and significance of the Jewish Messianic title, Son of David, which we see many times being applied to Jesus. It's also the source for other messianic terms we see used in the scriptures such as the key of David, and we also see this affirmed in other scriptures such as Psalms 2, 110, and 122. But let's further connect passages like this to Jesus and the New Testament. For example, we read in Luke's Gospel. Now there was a dispute among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so Among you. On the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater? He who sits at the table or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the one who serves. But you are those who have continued with me in my trials, and I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as my Father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Now you can be sure this was neither spoken nor heard in a vacuum. Those Jewish apostles knew exactly what he meant, and we would do well to understand this too. See, together with the promise to Israel in Deuteronomy eighteen that God would raise up a prophet greater than Moses, this is the biblical foundation of the gospel of the kingdom. Moreover, these Jewish messianic titles, promises, and prophecies are inseparable from Christ. They cannot be properly understood or interpreted unless viewed and read in the context of the gospel of the kingdom that God promised to David and to the people of Israel. So take heed. There are many false Christs being taught and proclaimed not only in the religious world but within Christendom, the Messianic movement, and also what is generally known as the Hebrew roots movement. The Jesus or Yeshua, if you prefer his wonderful Hebrew name, that you and I follow must in every respect be both the biblical son of David and the prophet greater than Moses. He must be the coming king of Israel who will be returning to this earth to establish his throne and kingdom from Jerusalem, claim his inheritance just as God promised David, and build a house or temple for God's name. Any other Jesus or Yeshua is a counterfeit and an antichrist. This, by the way, is the true meaning of Christ's statement in John fourteen about his father's house re temple, having many dwelling places, not mansions in heaven or anything of the sort. The true temple of the living God of which Christ is the head and the saints are being built up into his body as living stones. Make no mistake, this is the real Jesus of Nazareth. The gospel of the kingdom is not some strange new doctrine or the counterfeit religion of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is the original gospel of the New Testament, and it is inseparably related to what the New Testament writers call the gospel of Christ. The good news that Jesus is the promised Son of David who is coming to this earth as the righteous King of Kings and Lord of Lords to save the remnant of his Jewish brethren, destroy the enemies of God, inherit and rule the nations from the throne of David in Israel, take the earth as his possession, and build a house or temple for God's name. Now it's when we get to the Hebrew prophets, however, that all of these promises to Israel begin to crystallize and coalesce into a cohesive, glorious, and absolutely mind-boggling vision of God's ultimate plan to redeem and restore not only mankind, but the whole creation. And if this were not enough, the prophets further expanded the vision of the kingdom into eternity with the promise of a new heaven and new earth. So to put everything together, the gospel of the kingdom is the announcement by Christ and John the Baptist that these wonderful promises were finally coming to pass. You cannot ever separate Christ from the promises that God made not only to Abraham, King David, the nation of Israel, and his Jewish brethren, but above all to him. In our next episode, we'll look at what the Hebrew prophets saw and wrote about the kingdom of God, or if you prefer, the kingdom of heaven. If this is your first time tuning in, please be sure to like, share, comment, and subscribe, and ring the bell so you can be notified whenever we post new episodes. If you like what you've heard today, please also leave a review wherever you're listening to this podcast. Tell us what you loved about this episode, how it may have helped or encouraged you, or you can simply leave a comment about any other topics you'd love to hear us cover in the future. Finally, remember to always keep your lamps trimmed, lit, and full of oil. Show them and see you next time.