The Gospel of the Kingdom 9

For this final study, we shall turn to a single verse in our

Lord's teachings. The truth embodied in this verse is, from one point of view, the most important of this entire series of studies for the

Church today. It is a text whose meaning can be grasped only against the background of the larger study of the

Kingdom of God. We have discovered that the Kingdom of God is God's reign, defeating His enemies, bringing men into the enjoyment of the blessings of the divine reign.

An initial manifestation of God's Kingdom is found in the mission of our Lord on earth. Before the age to come, the

Kingdom of God has entered into this present evil age here and now in the person and work of Christ.

We may therefore now experience His power, we may know its life, we may enter into a participation of its blessings.

If we have entered into the enjoyment of the blessings of God's Kingdom, our final question is, what are we to do as a result of these blessings?

Are we passively to enjoy the life of the Kingdom while waiting for the consummation at the return of the

Lord? Yes, we are to wait, but not passively. Perhaps the most important single verse in the

Word of God for God's people today is the text for this study, Matthew chapter 24, verse 14.

This first suggests the subject of this chapter, when will the Kingdom come? This of course refers to the manifestation of God's Kingdom and power and glory when the

Lord Jesus returns. There is wide interest among God's people as to the time of Christ's return.

Will it be soon or late? Many prophetic Bible conferences offer messages which search the

Bible and scan the newspapers to understand the prophecies and signs of the times to determine how near to the end we may be.

Our text is the clearest statement in God's Word about the time of our Lord's coming. There is no verse which speaks as concisely and distinctly as this verse about the time when the

Kingdom will come. The chapter is introduced by questions of the disciples to the

Lord as they looked at the temple whose destruction Jesus had just announced. Tell us, when will this be and what shall be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?

Matthew chapter 24, verse 3. The disciples expected the age to end with the return of Christ in glory.

The Kingdom will come with the inauguration of the age to come. Here is their question.

When will this age end? When will you come again and bring the Kingdom? Jesus answered their question in some detail.

He described, first of all, the course of this age down to the time of the end. This evil age is to last until his return.

It will be forever hostile to the gospel and to God's people. Evil will prevail.

Subtle deceitful influences will seek to turn men away from Christ. False religions, deceptive messiahs will lead many astray.

Wars will continue. There will be famines and earthquakes. Persecution and martyrdom will plague the church.

Believers will suffer hatred so long as this age lasts. Men will stumble and deliver up one another.

False prophets will arise. Iniquity abound. The love of many will grow cold. This is a dark picture, but this is what is to be expected of an age under the world rulers of this darkness in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12.

However, the picture is not one of unrelieved darkness and evil. God has not abandoned this age to darkness.

Jewish apocalyptic writings of New Testament times conceived of an age completely under the control of evil.

God had withdrawn from active participation in the affairs of man. Salvation belonged only to the future when

God's kingdom would come in glory. The present would witness only sorrow and suffering. Some Christians have reflected a similar pessimistic attitude.

Satan is the God of this age. Therefore, God's people can expect nothing but evil and defeat in this age.

The church is to become thoroughly apostate. Civilization is to be utterly corrupted. Christians must fight a losing battle until Christ returns.

The word of God does indeed teach that there will be an intensification of evil at the end of the age, for Satan remains the

God of this age. But we must strongly emphasize that God has not abandoned this age to the evil one.

In fact, the kingdom of God has entered into this evil age. Satan has been defeated. The kingdom of God in Christ has created the church and the kingdom of God works in the world through the church to accomplish the divine purposes of extending his kingdom in the world.

We are caught up in a great struggle, the conflict of the ages. God's kingdom works in this world through the power of the gospel.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.

And then the end will come. In this text, I find three things. There is a message.

There is a mission. There is a motive. The message is the gospel of the kingdom.

This good news about the kingdom of God. Some Bible teachers say that the gospel of the kingdom is not the gospel of salvation.

It is rather a gospel announcing the return of Christ, which will be preached in the tribulation by a Jewish remnant after the church is gone.

We cannot deal at length with that problem, but we can discover that the gospel of the kingdom is the gospel which was proclaimed by the apostles in the early church.

We must first, however, notice a close connection between this verse and the Great Commission.

At his ascension, the Lord commissioned his disciples, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And lo, I am with you always to the close of the age. In Matthew, chapter 28, verses 19 and 20.

When one compares these verses, they speak for themselves. What shall be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?

This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. And lo, I am with you always to the close of the age.

Both verses speak about the same mission, worldwide evangelization until the end of the age.

This fact ties together Matthew, chapter 28, verse 19 and Matthew, chapter 24, verse 14.

The book of Acts relates that the apostles set out upon the fulfillment of this mission. In Acts, chapter 8, verse 12,

Philip went down to Samaria and preached the gospel. The Revised Standard Version accurately describes his mission in these words.

He preached good news about the kingdom of God, literally translated the words are gospelling concerning the kingdom of God.

New Testament Greek has the same root word for the noun gospel and the verb to gospel or to preach the gospel.

It is unfortunate for our understanding of this truth that we do not have the same idiom in English.

Matthew, chapter 24, verse 14, speaks of the gospel of the kingdom and Acts, chapter 8, verse 12, speaks of gospelling about the kingdom.

This gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world. Philip went into Samaria gospelling concerning the kingdom of God, that is, preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

We have in Acts, chapter 8, verse 12, the same phrase as that in Matthew, chapter 24, verse 14, except that we have a verb instead of the noun with the preposition about inserted in the phrase.

When Paul came to Rome, he gathered together the Jews, for he always preached the gospel to the Jew first.

What was his message? When they had appointed a day for him and they came to him at his lodging in great numbers and he expounded the matter from morning till evening, testifying to the gospel of God and trying to convince them about Jesus.

Acts, chapter 28, verse 23, the testimony about the kingdom of God, the gospel of the kingdom was the message

Paul proclaimed to the Jews at Rome. However, Paul met the same reaction as our

Lord when he appeared in Israel announcing the gospel of the kingdom in Matthew, chapter 4, verse 17.

Some believed, but the majority of the Jews rejected his message. Paul then announced the divine purpose for the

Gentiles in the face of Israel's unbelief. Let it be known to you, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the

Gentiles. They will listen. In Acts, chapter 28, verse 28, Paul preached to the

Jews the kingdom of God. They rejected it. Therefore, this salvation of God was then offered to the

Gentiles. The fact that the gospel of the kingdom of God is the same message as the message of salvation is further proven by the following verses.

And he lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the

Lord Jesus Christ, verses 30 and 31. The kingdom was preached to the

Jews and when they rejected it, the same kingdom was proclaimed to the Gentiles. The good news about the kingdom of God was

Paul's message for both Jews and Gentiles. We now turn again to the scriptures, which most clearly and simply describes what this gospel of the kingdom is.

We have expounded this truth in detail in chapter 3, and so need only review the facts.

In 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 24 to 25, Paul outlines the stages of our Lord's redemptive work.

He describes the victorious issue of Christ's messianic reign with these words. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the

Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power, for he must reign. He must reign as king.

He must reign in his kingdom until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Here is the biblical description of the meaning of the reign of Christ by which his kingdom shall attain its end.

It is the reign of God in the person of his son, Jesus Christ, for the purpose of putting his enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be abolished is death. The abolition of death is the mission of God's kingdom.

God's kingdom must also destroy every other enemy, including sin and Satan, for death is the wages of sin, in Romans chapter 6, verse 23.

And it is Satan who has the power over death, in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14.

Only when death, sin, and Satan are destroyed will redeemed people know the perfect blessings of God's reign.

The gospel of the kingdom is the announcement of Christ's conquest over death. We have discovered that while the consummation of this victory is future, when death is finally cast into the lake of fire, in Revelation chapter 20, verse 14,

Christ has nevertheless already defeated death. Speaking of God's grace, Paul says that it has now been manifested through the appearing of our

Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, in 2

Timothy chapter 1, verse 10. The word here translated abolish does not mean to do away with, but to defeat, to break the power to put out of action.

The same Greek word is used in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 26. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

This word appears also in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 24. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God, the

Father, after destroying every rule and every authority and power. There are therefore two stages in the destruction, the abolition, the defeat of death.

Its final destruction awaits the second coming of Christ. But by his death and resurrection, Christ has already destroyed death.

He has broken his power. Death is still an enemy, but it is a defeated enemy. We are certain of the future victory because of the victory which has already been accomplished.

We have an accomplished victory to proclaim. This is the good news about the kingdom of God, how people need this gospel.

Everywhere one goes, we find the gaping grave swallowing up the dying, tears of loss, of separation, of final departure, stain every face.

Every table, sooner or later, has an empty chair. Every fireside its vacant place.

Death is the great leveler, wealth or poverty, fame or oblivion, power or futility, success or failure, race, creed or culture.

All our human distinctions mean nothing before the ultimate, irresistible sweep of the grim sickle of death which cuts us all down.

And whether the mausoleum is a fabulous Taj Mahal, a massive pyramid, an unmarked forgotten spot of ragged grass, or the unplotted depths of the sea, one fact stands, death reigns.

Apart from the gospel of the kingdom, death is the mighty conqueror before whom we are all helpless.

We can only beat our fists and utter futility against the unyielding and unresponding tomb. But the good news is this.

Death has been defeated. Our conqueror has been conquered. In the face of the power of the kingdom of God in Christ, death was helpless.

It could not hold him. Death has been defeated. Life and immortality have been brought to light.

An empty tomb in Jerusalem is proof of it. This is the gospel of the kingdom. The enemy of God's kingdom is

Satan. Christ must rule until he has put Satan under his feet. This victory also awaits the coming of Christ.

But we have discovered that Christ has already defeated Satan. The victory of God's kingdom is not only future, a great initial victory has taken place.

Christ partook of flesh and blood, he became incarnate, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.

In Hebrews chapter 2 verses 14 and 15, the word translated destroy is the same word found in 2

Timothy chapter 1 verse 10, 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 24 and 26. Christ has nullified the power of death.

He has also nullified the power of Satan. Satan still goes about like a roaring lion, bringing persecution upon God's people.

In 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8, he insinuates himself like an angel of light into religious circles in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 14.

But he is a defeated enemy. His power, his dominion has been broken, his doom is sure.

A decisive, the decisive victory has been won. Christ cast out demons, delivering men from Satanic bondage, proving that God's kingdom delivers men from their enslavement to Satan.

It brings them out of darkness into the saving and healing light of the gospel. This is the good news about the kingdom of God, Satan is defeated and we may be released from demonic fear and from Satanic evil and know the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

Sin is an enemy of God's kingdom. Has Christ done anything about sin?

Or has he merely promised a future deliverance when he brings the kingdom in glory?

We must admit that sin, like death, is abroad in the world. Every newspaper bears an eloquent testimony of the working of sin, yet sin, like death and Satan, has been defeated.

Christ has already appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The power of sin has been broken.

We know this, that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.

Here a third time is the word to destroy or abolish. Christ's reign as king has the objective of abolishing every enemy.

This word is indeed future, but it is also past. What our

Lord will finish at his second coming, he has already begun by his death and resurrection.

Death has been abolished, destroyed, Satan has been destroyed, and in Romans 6, the body of sin has been abolished, destroyed.

The same word of victory, of the destruction of Christ's enemies, is used three times of this threefold victory over Satan, over death, over sin.

Therefore we are to be no longer in bondage to sin. The day of slavery to sin is past.

Sin is in the world, but its power is not the same. Men are no longer helpless before it, for its dominion has been broken.

The power of the kingdom of God has invaded this age, a power which can set people free from their bondage to sin.

The gospel of the kingdom is the announcement of what God has done and will do. It is his victory over his enemies.

It is the good news that Christ is coming again to destroy forever his enemies. It is a gospel of hope.

It is also the good news of what God has already done. He has already broken the power of death, defeated

Satan, and overthrown the rule of sin. The gospel is one of promise, but also of experience.

And the promise is grounded in experience. What Christ has done guarantees what he will do.

This is the gospel which we must take into all the world. In the second place, we find in Matthew chapter 24, verse 14, a mission as well as a message.

This gospel of the kingdom, this good news of Christ's victory over God's enemies, must be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations.

This is our mission. This verse is one of the most important in all the word of God to ascertain the meaning and the purpose of human history.

The meaning of history is a problem which is today confounding the minds of thinking people.

We do not need to be reminded that our generation faces potential destruction of such total proportions that few of us try to envisage the awful reality.

In the face of such threatening catastrophe, people are asking as they have never asked before, what is history all about?

Why are people on this earth? Where are we going? Is there a thread of meaning, a purpose, of destiny that will bring humanity to some goal?

Or to repeat a metaphor, are we simply a group of puppets jerking about on the stage of history whose fate is to have the stage burned down, destroying the human puppets with it, leaving nothing behind but a handful of ashes and the smell of smoke?

Is this to be the destiny of human history? In a former generation, the philosophy of progress was widely accepted.

Some thinkers charted the meaning of history by a straight line which traced a gradual but steady incline from primitive savage beginnings upward to a high level of culture and civilization.

The philosophy of progress taught that humanity, because of its intrinsic character, is destined to improve until it one day attains a perfect society, free from all evil, war, poverty and conflict.

This view has been shattered upon the anvil of history. Current events have made the concept of inevitable progress intolerable and unrealistic.

Other interpretations have been utterly pessimistic. Someone has suggested that the most accurate chart of the meaning of history is the set of tracks made by a drunken fly with feet wet with ink staggering across a piece of white paper.

They lead nowhere and reflect no pattern of meaning. However, it is the author's conviction that the ultimate meaning of history must be found in the action of God in history, as recorded and interpreted in inspired scripture.

Here, Christian faith must speak. If there is no God, man is lost in a labyrinthine maze of bewildering experiences with no thread of meaning to guide him.

If God has not acted in history, the ebb and flow of the tides of centuries wash back and forth aimlessly between the sands of eternity.

But the basic fact in the word of God is that God has spoken, God has been redemptively at work in history, and the divine action will yet bring history to a divinely destined goal.

If there is no God who has his hand on the helm of history, I am a pessimist. But I believe in God.

I believe God has a purpose. I believe God has revealed his purpose in history, in Christ, and in his word.

What is that purpose? Where are its outlines to be traced? When travels through the

Near East and gazes with wonder upon the ruins which bear silent witness to once mighty civilizations, massive columns still reach to the heavens, while elsewhere only huge mounds scar barren plains marking the accumulated debris of dead civilizations.

The sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, the pillars of Persepolis, the towers of Thebes still bear eloquent testimony to the glory that was

Egypt and Persia. One may still climb the Acropolis in Athens and tread the Forum in Rome and feel something of the splendor and glory of first century civilizations which, in some respects, have never been surpassed.

But today, ruins, toppled pillars, prostrate statues, dead civilizations.

What is the meaning of it all? Why do nations rise and fall? Is there any purpose? Or will the earth someday become a dead star, lifeless as the moon?

The Bible has an answer. The central theme of the entire Bible is God's redemptive work in history.

Long ago, God chose a small, despised people, Israel. God was not interested in this people for their own sake.

God's purpose included all humanity. God, in His sovereign design, selected this one insignificant people that, through them,

He might work out His redemptive purpose, which eventually would include the entire race. The ultimate meaning of Egypt, of Assyria, of the

Chaldeans, and of the other nations of the ancient Near East is found in their relationship to this one tiny nation,

Israel. God set up rulers and cast them down that He might bring forth Israel. He raised up this people and preserved them.

He had a plan and He was working out this plan in history. We speak of this as redemptive history.

The Bible alone, of all ancient literatures, contains a philosophy of history and it is a philosophy of redemption.

Then came the day when, in the fullness of time, appeared on earth the

Lord Jesus Christ, a Jew, a son of Abraham after the flesh. God's purpose with Israel was then brought to a great fulfillment.

This does not mean that God is done with Israel, but it does mean that when Christ appeared, God's redemptive purpose through Israel attained its initial objective.

Up until that time, the clue to the meaning of the divine purpose in history was identified with Israel as a nation.

When Christ had accomplished His redemptive work of death and resurrection, a divine purpose in history moved from Israel to the church, the fellowship of both

Jews and Gentiles who accepted the gospel. This is proven by our Lord's saying in Matthew chapter 21, verse 43, which is addressed to the nation

Israel, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.

The church is a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9.

And it is in the present mission of the church, as it carries the good news of the kingdom of God into all the world, that the redemptive purpose of God in history is being worked out.

The ultimate meaning of history between the ascension of our Lord and His return in glory is found in the extension of the gospel in the world.

This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.

The divine purpose in the 2 ,000 years since our Lord lived on earth is found in the history of the gospel of the kingdom.

The thread of meaning is woven into the missionary program of the church. Someday when we go into the archives of heaven to find a book which expounds the meaning of human history as God sees it, we will not draw out a book depicting the history of the

West or the progress of civilization or the glory of the British Empire or the growth and expansion of America.

That book will be entitled, The Preparation for and the Extension of the

Gospel Among the Nations. For only here is God's redemptive purpose carried forward.

This is a staggering fact. God has entrusted to people like us, redeemed sinners, the responsibility of carrying out the divine purpose in history.

Why has God done it this way? Is He not taking a great risk that His purpose will fail of accomplishment?

It is now 2 ,000 years and the goal is not yet achieved. Why did

God not do it Himself? Why did He not send a host of angels whom He could entrust to complete the task at once?

Why has He committed it to us? We do not try to answer the question except to say that such is

God's will. Here are the facts. God has entrusted to us this mission and unless we do it, it will not get done.

This is also a thrilling fact. The Christian church today often has an inferiority complex.

A few generations ago, the pastor of a church was the most educated and respected leader in the community. There was a day when, because of the cultural situation, the church exercised the predominant influence in the structure of Western community life.

That day has long passed. We have often felt that the world has thrust the church into a corner and passed us by.

The church does not count in the world at large. The United Nations is not calling upon the church for advice in the solution of its problems.

Our political leaders do not often depend upon leaders in the church for their guidance. Science, industry, labor, education.

These are the circles where wisdom and leadership are usually sought. The church is brushed aside. Sometimes we get that feeling that we really do not count.

We are on the margin of influence. We have been pushed over onto the periphery instead of standing squarely in the center and we pity ourselves and long for the world to pay attention to us.

Thus we fall into a defensive attitude and attempt to justify our existence. Indeed, our main concern seems to be that of self -preservation and we assume a defeatist interpretation of our significance and of our role in the world.

Let this verse burn in our hearts. God has said this about no other group of people.

This good news of the kingdom of God must be preached, if you please, by the church in all the world for witness to all nations.

This is God's program. This means that for the ultimate meaning of modern civilization and the destiny of human history, you and I are more important than the

United Nations. What the church does with the gospel has greater significance ultimately than the decisions of the

Kremlin. From the perspective of eternity, the mission of the church is more important than the march of armies or the actions of the world capitals because it is in the accomplishment of this mission that the divine purpose for human history is accomplished.

No less than this is our mission. Let us be done with this inferiority complex.

Let us forever lay aside this attitude of self -pity and lamentation over our insignificance. Let us recognize what we are as God sees us and let us be about our divinely appointed program.

This good news about the kingdom of God must be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations and then shall the end come.

I am glad, indeed proud, to be part of the church of Christ because to us has been committed the most meaningful and worthwhile task of any human institution.

This gives to my life an eternal significance for I am sharing in God's plan for the ages. The meaning and destiny of history rest in my hands.

Finally, our text contains a mighty motive. Then the end will come.

The subject of this chapter is when will the end come? I am not setting any dates. I do not know when the end will come.

And yet I do know this. When the church has finished its task of evangelizing the world, Christ will come again.

The word of God says it. Why did he not come in A .D. 500? Because the church had not evangelized the world.

Why did he not return in A .D. 1000? Because the church had not finished its task of world evangelization.

Is he coming soon? He is if we, God's people, are obedient to the command of the

Lord to take the gospel into all the world. What a sobering realization this is. It is so staggering that some people say,

I cannot believe it. It simply cannot be true that God has committed such responsibility to people.

When William Carey wanted to go to India to take the gospel to that country, he was told, sit down, young man.

When God wants to evangelize the heathen, he will do it without your help. But Carey had the vision and the knowledge of God's word not to sit down.

He rose up and went to India. He initiated the modern day of worldwide missions. God has entrusted to us the continuation and consummation of that task.

Here is the thing that thrills me. We have come far closer to the finishing of this mission than any previous generation.

We have done more in the last century and a half of world evangelization than all the preceding centuries since the apostolic age.

Our modern technology has provided printing, automobiles, airplanes, radios, and many other methods of expediting our task of carrying the gospel into all the world.

Previously unknown languages are being reduced to writing. The word of God has now been rendered, in part at least, into over 1 ,100 languages or dialects, and the number is growing yearly.

So can we finish the task? A worldwide evangelization in our generation? Someone will say, this is impossible.

Many lands today are not open to the gospel. We cannot get into China. The doors into India are closing.

If the Lord's return awaits the evangelization of the world by the church, then Christ cannot possibly return in our lifetime.

For so many lands are today closed to the gospel that it is impossible to finish the task today.

Such an attitude fails to reckon with God. It is true that many doors are closed at the moment, but God is able to open closed doors overnight, and God is able to work behind closed doors.

Remember Ethiopia? My concern is not with closed doors. My concern is with the doors that are open, which we do not enter.

If God's people were really faithful and were doing everything possible to finish the task,

God would see to it that the doors were opened. Our responsibility is the many doors standing wide open, which we are not entering.

We are a disobedient people. We argue about the definition of worldwide evangelization, and we debate the details of eschatology, while we neglect the command of the word of God to evangelize the world.

Someone will say, how are we to know when the mission is completed? How close are we to the accomplishment of the task?

Which countries have been evangelized and which have not? How close are we to the end? Does this not lead to date setting?

I answer, I do not know. God alone knows the definition of terms.

I cannot precisely define who all the nations are. Only God knows exactly the meaning of evangelize.

He alone, who has told us that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony into all the nations, will know when that objective has been accomplished.

But I do not need to know. I know only one thing. Christ has not yet returned.

Therefore, the task is not yet done. When it is done, Christ will come.

Our responsibility is not to insist on defining the terms of our task. Our responsibility is to complete it.

So long as Christ does not return, our work is undone. Let us get busy and complete our task.

Our responsibility is not to save the world from moral collapse, or culturally or socially.

We are not required to transform this age. The very paragraph which is versus the conclusion tells us that there will be wars and troubles, persecutions and martyrdoms until the very end.

I'm glad these words are in the Bible. They give me stability. They provide sanity. They keep me from an unrealistic optimism.

We are not to be discouraged when evil times come. However, we have a message of power to take to the world.

It is the gospel of the kingdom. Throughout the course of this age, two forces are at work, the power of evil and the kingdom of God.

The world is the scene of a conflict. The forces of the evil one are assaulting the people of God, but the gospel of the kingdom is assaulting the kingdom of Satan.

This conflict will last to the end of the age. Final victory will be achieved only by the return of Christ.

There is no room for any unqualified optimism. Our Lord's Olivet Discourse indicates that until the very end, evil will characterize this age.

False prophets and false messiahs will arise and lead many astray. Iniquity, evil are so to abound that the love of many will grow cold.

God's people will be called upon to endure hardness. In the world, you have tribulation in John chapter 16, verse 33.

Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God in Acts chapter 14, verse 22.

We must always be ready to endure the tribulation as well as the kingdom. And patience, which are in Jesus.

In Revelation chapter 1, verse 9. In fact, our Lord himself said, he who endures to the end will be saved.

In Matthew chapter 24, verse 13. He who endures tribulation and persecution to the uttermost, even to the laying down of his life, will not perish, but will find salvation.

Some of you, they will betray to death, but not a hair of your head will perish. In Luke chapter 21, verses 16 and 18.

The church must always in its essential character, be a martyr church. As we carry the gospel into all the world, we are not to expect unqualified success.

We are to be prepared for opposition, resistance, even persecution and martyrdom. This age remains evil, hostile to the gospel of the kingdom.

There is however, no room for an unrelieved pessimism. In some prophetic studies, we receive the impression that the end of the age and the last days are to be characterized by total evil.

Undue emphasis is sometimes laid upon the perilous character of the last days. Like in 2

Timothy chapter 3, verse 1. The visible church, we are told, is to be completely leavened by evil doctrine.

Apostasy is to pervade the church, that only a small remnant will be found fateful to God's word. The closing days of this age will be the

Laodicean period, when the entire professing church will be nauseatingly indifferent to eternal issues.

In such a portrayal of the last days, God's people can expect only defeat and frustration. Evil is to reign.

The church age will end with an unparalleled victory of evil. Sometimes so much stress is laid upon the evil character of the last days that we receive the impression, unintended to be sure, that the faster the world deteriorates, the better, for the sooner the

Lord will come. It cannot be denied that the scriptures emphasize the evil character of the last days.

In fact, we have already made this emphasis. The evil which characterizes this age will find a fearful intensification at the very end in its opposition to and hatred of the kingdom of God.

This does not mean, however, that we are to lapse into pessimism and abandon this age and the world to evil and Satan.

The fact is, the gospel of the kingdom is to be proclaimed throughout the world. The kingdom of God has invaded this present evil age.

The powers of the age to come have attacked this age. The last days will indeed be evil days, but in these last days,

God has spoken to us by a son, in Hebrews chapter one, verse two. God has given us a gospel of salvation for the last days, a gospel embodied in one who was

God's son. Furthermore, in the last days, it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, in Acts chapter two, verse 17.

God has spoken for the last days. God has poured out his spirit in the last days to give power to proclaim the divine word.

The last days will be evil, but not unrelieved evil. God has given to us a gospel for the last days, and he has given a power to take that gospel into all the world for a testimony unto all the nations.

Then shall the end come. This must be the spirit of our mission in this evil age.

We are not rosy optimist, expecting the gospel to conquer the world and establish the kingdom of God. Neither are we despairing pessimist who feel that our task is hopeless in the face of the evil of this age.

We are realist, biblical realist, who recognize the terrible power of evil, and yet who go forth in a mission of worldwide evangelization to win victories for God's kingdom until Christ returns in glory to accomplish the last and greatest victory.

Here is the motive of our mission. The final victory awaits the accomplishment of our task, and then the end will come.

There is no other verse in the word of God which says, and then the end will come. When is

Christ coming again? When the church has finished its task. When will this age end?

When the world has been evangelized. What will be the sign of your coming into the clothes of the age?

In Matthew chapter 24, verse three. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then, and then the end will come.

When? Then, when the church has fulfilled its divinely appointed mission.

Do you love the Lord's appearing? Then you will bend every effort to take the gospel into all the world.

It troubles me in the light of the clear teaching of God's word, in the light of our Lord's explicit definition of our task in the

Great Commission, that we take it so lightly. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

This is the good news of the kingdom. Christ has wrested authority from Satan. The kingdom of God has attacked the kingdom of Satan.

This evil age has been assaulted by the age to come in the person of Christ. All authority is now his.

He will not display this authority in his final glorious victory until he comes again, but the authority is now his.

Satan is defeated and bound. Death is conquered. Sin is broken. All authority is his.

Go ye therefore. Wherefore? Because all authority, all power is his, and because he is waiting until we have finished our task.

His is the kingdom. He reigns in heaven, and he manifests his reign on earth in and through his church.

When we have accomplished our mission, he will return and establish his kingdom in glory. To us it is given not only to wait for, but also to hasten the coming of the day of God.

In 2 Peter 3, verse 12. This is the mission of the gospel of the kingdom, and this is our mission.