PURPOSE OF GOD'S TRUE CHURCH

The true Church of Jesus Christ bears the name of  'The Church of God' - which is mentioned twelve times in the New Testament (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 1:2, 10:32, 11:16, 11:22, 15:9; 2 Cor 1:1; Gal 1:13; 1 Tim 3:5, 3:15; 1 Thess 2:14; 2 Thess 1:4). Jesus Christ Himself promised that he will build His church and it could never be destroyed (Matt 16:18). It is worthy to note that He did not say 'churches' - meaning to say that there is only one true church, and by definition, to the exclusion of all others who are outside the rule and government of God. The word 'churches' is used only to identify one from another within the same body with the same doctrine and purpose - not those of differing denominations and doctrinal persuasions, often conflicting ones!

According to the Bible and authenticated through church history, there are seven church eras, namely Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodiceans (Rev chapters 2 & 3) in that order of time. These seven cities were located on a mail route in Asia Minor, now western Turkey. They reflect the time of the founding of the Church by Christ in AD 31 to His Second Coming. Apart from the eras of Smyrna and Philadelphia, all the other five eras have their unique set of doctrinal and spiritual problems that eventually led to their downfall. However, each time when that happened, God has raised up a leader for the Church to enter the subsequent era. We are now in the final era of the Laodiceans - the lukewarm Church which will be spitted out of the mouth of Christ to face the Great Tribulation!

Due to apostasy, division and egoistic leaders, the Church has failed to proclaim the Gospel according to Jesus Christ for some nineteen centuries since about AD 50 to AD 1953, until God raised up Herbert W. Armstrong to proclaim the true Gospel of the kingdom of God. What has been preached all along is the Gospel about the person of Christ, and most churches wrongly assumed it is the same as the kingdom of God. The Gospel of the kingdom has been preached by the prophets in the Old Testament and by Christ even before His crucifixion. As the Apostle Paul rightly expected before it happened, 'But even if our gospel is veiled (hidden), it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.' (2 Cor 4:3-4)

The purpose of the Church is NOT to convert all unbelievers into Christianity in this age. While Christ was on earth, there was no attempt by Him to invite people to believe in Him. He simply drafted twelve men to be His disciples - all called by God the Father (John 6:44). If the Church is the instrument of God to save the world, then all humanity outside of Israel before the time of Christ were doomed! The word ekklesia in the New Testament Greek means the called-out ones - an assembly, a congregation, a gathering or a group. In the Old Testament Church, it was a 'congregation of Israel'. However, the true Church has the sanctity of the name Church of God - used twelve times in the New Testament. Simply put, when Christ said in Matthew 16:18 - I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it - He was saying that He will call out of Satan's world disciples, to grow into an altogether new and different world, which will be God's kingdom. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church (Eph 5:23).

The Church was created for the divine purpose of saving the whole of humanity, but in accordance to God's Master Plan and time order.Those who are called out of this world and into His church now are being called for a specific purpose and for a specific work (1 Cor 12:18). The specific purpose and work is to be trained in the government of God to prepare for the time when all of humanity will be converted to God's way of righteousness. The time will come for the salvation of mankind when Satan is removed from his throne (Rev 20:1-3) and Christ installed as King and the born again saints made immortal as kings to rule and reign on earth (Rev 11:15). Christ will be the King of kings and Lord of lords - Rev 19:16 - (kings - those who are called to form the true Church in this age and lords - those who will be converted in the Millennial age to come).

Jesus did not come to save Satan's world while Satan is still on his throne (2 Cor 4:4). The time for the salvation of all humanity is yet ahead. So why did Jesus Christ come some two thousand years ago to earth. He came for the following reasons:

1. To qualify to rule where the first Adam failed, and to replace Satan on the throne at His Second Coming.
2. To proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom of God - the future establishment of God's government on earth to be ruled by His divine Family.
3. To die for the sins of mankind so that we all can have eternal life with God in eternity through His resurrection.
4. To establish the Church of God to be trained to rule and reign under Christ.

Satan's world is filled with deception, strife and violence, envy and coveteousness, vanity and self-centredness - all contrary to the righteous laws of God's government. Since then, mankind has been on collision course with God. Despite all the mounting problems and disasters mankind is facing, man is unrepentant and like a Titanic heading toward the coming Great Tribulation (the wrath of Satan) and the Day of the Lord (God's wrath). The Good News is after all that, there will be a new world dawning with God intervening in the affairs of man, with Christ and His immortal saints ruling and reigning on earth. The true Church (firstfruits) is the Bride who will eventually marry the Lord Jesus Christ at His Return (Rev 19:7-9) to become His 'help meet' (Genesis 2:18). God the Father, God the Son and His Bride will form the divine Family that will rule the universe for all eternity. The Apostle Paul put it succinctly in Romans 8:19, 'For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God'.

PREDESTINATION AND FREE WILL

Most professing Christians and preachers believe that all those who had died accepting Christ as their personal Saviour will end up in 'heaven enjoying eternal life of bliss'. Conversely, they also believe that all those who had failed to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour in this life-time will die 'burning in eternal hell fire'. But all these beliefs are false as they are not supported by Scriptures. Some even believe that only a small elite group of people are called to salvation and most people are predestined to be eternally lost forever. They are projecting God to be in the business of condemnation as an unfair Judge without giving them an opportunity to know the whole truth!

Such wrong belief stems largely from a misunderstood verse, ' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold,now is the day of salvation - 2 Cor 6:2' The Apostle Paul was quoting Isaiah 48:9 which states, 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you'. The King James translators wrongly translated it as 'the' when it ought to be 'a'. If as it is claimed, then the only acceptable time for salvation would be during the time of Apostle Paul in the first century, and we are all doomed! Clearly, the true meaning is when God revealed to you the truth, that is the time He is calling you as He had predestined you to be a son in His divine Family in the kingdom of God. But the offer is good only if you obey His laws and commandments to pursue Christ-likeness, that is, seeking His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Sadly, many are called but few are chosen (Matt 20:16; 22:14) - for they failed in their obligation to obey and abide in Christ.

God has given all mankind free will to choose their course of actions. They have to learn that there is a cause or causes for every effect, and they need to seek Godly wisdom to choose wisely. However, in this present age, God is calling only a small group of people to understand and obey His truth, in preparation for them to become rulers and priests in His coming kingdom of God (Rev 20:6). These men and women were predestined and chosen by God long before even they were born, ' He chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will - Ephesians 1:4-5'. Hence, predestination is not about God determining who should be saved and who should be lost - for those who are not called in this age to be sons of God are neither saved nor lost, for their time of salvation has yet to come - but is all about God calling a small group of true believers to be the firstfruits (James 1:18) that will form the true Church of God for the fulfillment of His divine plan.

Many may wonder why God is favouring some whom He has called, in this present age, to be His sons and not others. The reason is that God knows each of us best even when we were in our mother's womb. He knows the make-up of every individual human being even before birth and who would best fit the task cut out for each of His sons in the kingdom of God. Do not forget that those who are called in this age has to undergo trials and tribulations - to overcome selfish ambition and desire, the temptation and deception of Satan and the riches and glamour of society. All humans who have ever lived but were not called in this life-time will be resurrected as reconstituted human beings (Ezekiel 37) to be told the whole truth, repentance and offer of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). They will have an easier opportunity for salvation as Satan will be bound, and the world would be a paradise at the close of the millennium age, after the restoration of all things by Christ and His saints ruling the world (Acts 3:21).

The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:29-30 puts it succinctly, 'For whom He (God the Father) foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He (Christ) might be the firstborn among many brethren. Morever whom He (God the Father) predestined, these he also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified'. These two short verses summarise God's Plan for His true church of God who will become joint heirs with Christ as brethren in the coming kingdom of God. Those who are being called, God's Holy Spirit is leading and guilding them to conform to the image of Christ (JUSTIFIED). When Christ return, they will be in the first resurrection (Rev 20:6), glorified as immortal spirit God Beings (1 John 3:9) to rule with Him in the kingdom of God (Rev 11:15).

Take heart, all who died without Christ are just 'sleeping in the grave'. Nowhere in Scriptures is it mention that God is trying to convert the whole world in this present church age. The verse in Matthew 24:14 states that the Gospel of the Kingdom is to be preached in all the world as a witness to the nations - not converting all of them! Come judgment day (Matt 11: 21-24), they will see the errors of their way and be given the truth and opportunity for salvation. God is preparing those whom He has called (and chosen) for the latter harvest yet to come in the millennial age. Then the saints shall be as gods (born again sons in the divine Family) leading many to salvation (Micah 4:5) in the kingdom of God.

Just as in the times of the Old Testament, God has chosen a special group of people as His special treasure (Exodus 19:5-6; Deut 7:6; Psalms 135:4). In these last days, God has also called a special group of people to be His special treasure - the true church of God - for His special purpose.  God has revealed special knowledge (Matt 13:11) with special reward (Rev 2:17) for a special group of people (special treasure) who truly love Him (1 Cor 2:9). If you are predestined and called, will you heed to accept the offer since you have found the 'one pearl of great price - Matt 13:46'?

THE MYSTERY OF MAN

The educated man of modern times is a subject of much curiosity and is often, enigmatic. The higher is the educational attainment, the greater the ignorance of knowledge outside his area of expertise. It is geared primarily toward materialism - on how to make a full living - but not how to live life to the full. Much of modern education is centred on a combination of the agnosticism of evolution, the politics of Karl Marx, the economics of Adam Smith, the philosophy of Plato and the morals and social norms of Sigmund Freud. As such, higher education does not adequately address the purpose of mankind and human civilization. It also fail to teach that all things are a matter of cause and effect. For every resultant outcome - whether it is positive or negative - there is a cause or causes involved.

The primary sectors of human civilization in the form of government, family, education, business & finance, arts & entertainment are all secular, shutting out God in their scheme of things. They therefore are totally ignorant that Satan, as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2b) is their ultimate master and are doing his bidding. Hence, mankind is facing mounting problems in all fronts, even its own survival, and no amount of higher education and technological breakthrough can solve these problems which are getting worse by the days! The root causes of these are spiritual.

 God's purpose for man is to instill character in him so that he can qualify to be born as an immortal spirit being with righteous spiritual character like Christ. But such righteous character cannot be attained overnight, it has to be acquired through hard work and much effort, involving suffering, sweat and tears at times, even to the point of physical death. Once this is done, man is ready to be born again as immortal spirit being, born of God into the divine Family of God incapable of sin (1 John 3:9). Then man will be complete and ready to restore God's government on earth which Satan had usurped by default due to the Fall of man through Adam and Eve.

All things physical is subject to change. But once made a spirit being, it is finished creation and is not subject to change. God's purpose for mankind on earth is to help restore the government of God on earth and to restore the physical creation of earth and the vast universe where the rebellious angels turned to ruin. In the process, God's purpose is for man to qualify to inherit as members of His divine royal Family to become God Beings just like Christ, albeit of lower status than the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Man was first created of matter from the dust of the earth so that if he adopts Satan's "get way of life", he could be changed to God's "give way of life" - a life of love - and subsequently qualify as overcomer to become sons of God in the life to come. Should he refused to abide in God's way after being given the whole truth, then he will be blotted out of existence as if he was never born. Man current physical life is incomplete as it was inherited from Adam. But he will be made spirit being because of Christ,  the last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Cor 15:45-46).

Although man was created mortal and does not have self-containing life, God has given man a human spirit that when united with the Holy Spirit will beget immortal life beyond physical death. Man is not saved by the death of Christ, but only reconciled to God the Father by Jesus' death. We shall be saved by His life (Rom 5:10) - notice the future tense "shall be saved", as salvation will occur only at our resurrection! The teaching in most churches of the dead in Christ go straight to heaven is utterly false. For Christ said, ' No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven' (John 3:13). The Apostle Peter preached after Christs' resurrection and ascension to heaven on the day of Pentecost that David is both dead and buried (Acts 2; 29), 'For David did not ascend into the heavens (Acts 2:34), but fell asleep (Acts 13: 36). If the dead in Christ go straight to heaven, why is there a need for resurrection then? Some theologians claim that the resurrection is for man to have a bodily form to become complete. But the Apostle Paul categorically states that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50), and the kingdom of God cannot be seen by the eyes of man (John 3:3).

All these truths should propel us to live life meaningfully with the overarching goal of inheriting eternal life in the kingdom of God when Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth!

GOD'S DIVINE FAMILY

Most people live their lives with no clue why they were born to live life on planet earth. Their common assumption is that they are simply the product of their parents' union and a cog in the order of life and death that plague all mankind. Philosophers, evolutionists and educators are in constant debate about the meaning and purpose of life - but never come to the knowledge of the truth! But only those who truly search the Bible will understand that there is a transcendent life purpose determined by the Godhead, currently composed of two Supreme Supernatural God Beings, Who are working to build a divine Family of immortal and powerful god beings to restore  the government of God on earth (by default ceded to Satan and the demons) during the millennial age and then the universe during the age of eternity.

The world's religion has held back God's gospel message since the time of the first century church. As the gospel message of the kingdom of God involves God's government and God's family ruling His kingdom, Satan has a vested interest in thwarting the true gospel from reaching the masses. In this church age, Satan is still sitting on his throne (2 Cor 4:4), but all these is about to change. He knows his days are numbered as he lost his right to govern to Jesus Christ some two thousand years ago (Matt 4:3-11). Christ is now in heaven awaiting His inauguration with the coming kingdom of God when He returns to earth (Luke 19:12). Christ true disciples are to live by faith with hope and love (1 Cor 13:13)   while awaiting His return. But faith and hope will fade away when the perfect comes (1 Cor 13:10) as His true disciples will be born again as immortal god beings into His divine family, and only love will remain for all eternity - hence the  greatest of these three virtues is love!

God's divine family involves the very purpose of your life and mine. But the wise men of this world (Satan's kingdom of darkness) refuse to know and scoff at God's revelation, choosing to go in cahoots with Satan and his demons to deceive the people of the world. The Apostle Paul had to rebuke the Corinthian church of the first century for being carnal, like babes in Christ choosing to feed on milk rather than solid food, with envy, strife and divisions among them (1 Cor 3:1-3). Unfortunately, such rebuke is still relevant in the twentieth-first century. For many know not that the goal of a Christian is to receive an immortal spirit body at the resurrection to fulfill the very purpose of being - to bear the image of the heavenly Man ( which is Christ Himself  - 1 Cor 15:49)

But God's spiritual creation of man is still work-in-progress, basically unfinished. Job understood the purpose of God for his life for 'All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You. You shall desire the work of Your hands.' (Job 14: 14-15). He knew that God was at work within him to prepare him for eternity. God is the potter, we are the clay (Jer 18:6).  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them ( Eph 2:10). However, God is only working among those whom He has called in this church age. Even then, only relatively few of those who are called will eventually qualified to be in the first resurrection (Matt 20:16b; 22:14) to inherit the kingdom of God ( little flock - Luke 12:32 ) to become members of God's royal divine family. The rest of humanity will have to wait till when Christ returns and Satan bound to be in the qualifying process.

To build the very character of God is the very reason you and I exist. However, it is hard work as it takes time, effort, discipline and experience to acquire godly character. But the Spirit of God is helping those whom He has called in the process. Those who try to do so on their own effort will not make it. Our role is to obey by yielding to Him and let God accomplish His purpose in and through us. It is Christ in us (Gal 2:20; 4:19; Col 1:27; Eph3:17; 2 Cor 13:5) that does the character building process which the Heavenly Father guides through the Spirit of God indwelling in the mind of those He has called. Those who are carnal will not qualify (Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5; 1 Cor 6:9-10). Make no mistake, only members of God's royal divine family (they have to become inheritors, not just heirs, to see and enter the kingdom of God) will rule the earth during the millennial age and the whole universe in the age of eternity! (Hebrews 2:5-11).

THE HUMAN MIND

The human mind is incredibly superior beyond the size of the physical brain. No animal in the animal kingdom can come close to the power of the human mind in terms of its creativity and power of analysis. What is so unique about the human mind is due to the 'spirit in man' that gives it the edge over all other earthly creature. Animals have brains, but no intellect. They operate mostly on instinct, but no ability to develop moral characters, let alone Godly ones.

God's purpose for creating man is to reproduce Himself with Godly spiritual character that will be perfect like Him and will not sin once he is born of God - 'born again' (1 John 3:9). But such spiritual character cannot be canned, it has to be developed through time, experience (trials and tribulations) and discipline. Hence, the purpose of mortal human life on earth is to accomplish God's plan for mankind.

For this to happen, God has placed in man a human spirit (1 Cor 2: 11). Although the human spirit does not impart life in that it cannot think, feel, see or hear, but the human spirit records every thought, character and knowledge through the five senses. Notice that it is the spirit in man that enables him to acquire human knowledge; but it is the presence of the Holy Spirit implanted in his mind that empowers him to understand spiritual knowledge (1 Cor 2:11). That is why mankind in general, without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in their mind is unable to understand the spiritual truth about the kingdom of God (spiritual knowledge)  because they are not spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2: 14).

All matter in the physical is transient and changeable. But the spiritual is immortal and unchangeable. Once the rebellious angels decided to rebel against God's righteous law, there is no turning back. Although the demons do not die as they are immortal spiritual beings, they will lose their sense of purpose without hope and joy for all eternity. For man, they have a choice to make - to follow God's way with the hope of eternal life or be annihilated in the second death (Obadiah 16; Malachi 4:1) from which there is no hope of resurrection. If God had made man spirit being right from the start, that would be the greatest of all tragedies for those who refuse to repent from Satan's way of life. That explains why God had to seal off the tree of life from man after the Fall (Genesis 3:24), or else man would partake of it and  live eternally in sin!

The indwelling of the 'spirit in man' infuses him with a human mind that differentiates him from an animal. The indwelling of God's Holy Spirit allows the Spirit of God to connect with the mind of man to impart spiritual understanding and character. That makes him a true believer and a Christian as he is being led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). As the true believer allows the Spirit of God to impart more spiritual knowledge and understanding through bible study, prayer and obedience, the character of Christ is slowly being formed in him as he partakes of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). Like a foetus growing to full term, he will be 'born again' at the first resurrection when Christ returns to become an immortal spirit being (son of God) to be like Christ (1 John 3:2). Their role is to ultimately bring God's government upon the whole universe - consisting of a trillion galaxies and more!

The spirit in man acts as the mold that encapsulates the character, knowledge, attitude, shape and form until the point of physical death. Man's spirit will return to God upon death (Eccl 12:7; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59), but the human spirit is not conscious of anything by itself and God will perfect it (Hebrews 12:23) for the day of redemption. Only at the first resurrection will the true believer who is dead comes alive, born of the spirit (born again) at the next second of consciousness since his time of death! Job understood this full well (till my change comes - Job 14:14), so did David (I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness - Psalm 17:5b) and Daniel (And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake - Daniel 12:2). If mankind truly understands the true Gospel of the kingdom of God and the incredible human potential,  most of the problems and evils of this world can be resolved. For those whose mind is not indwelled with the Holy Spirit, they are more susceptible to deception from the forces of darkness as Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) who deceives the whole world (Rev 12:9).

THE DESTINY OF BEING

The theory of evolution has deceived millions into believing that man is a product evolved from some lower animal species like the ape family through millions of years. But the evolutionists failed to understand that man is specially created in the image of God, in His likeness (Genesis 1:26). But this means is that man was created with the potential to be like God, for man was created to be the 'God kind', while all animals have no such potential.

This is the true Gospel message that Christ came some 2,000 years ago to preach to reveal the good news (the Gospel) of the total abolition of Satan's power over the world and banishment from the earth upon His return. The earth will be restored to the rulership of God with Christ as the King and the resurrected sons of God as kings. To those Jews who believe in Him, Christ said, 'If you abide in My word (the Gospel of the kingdom of God), you are my disciple indeed... you seek to kill Me, because My word (the Gospel message sent from the Heavenly Father) has no place in you... you do not understand My speech because you are not able to listen to My word (the Gospel message)... he who is of God hears God's words, therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.' (John 8:30-47). Christ commissioned His disciples to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God and the church was raised to back such mission.

Man can understand the Gospel because human kind is created far beyond just the physical brain. 'But there is s spirit in man, and the breadth of the Amighty gives him understanding' (Jobs 32:8)  Man has a spirit which none of the species in the animal kingdom possess. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:11 gives an astonishing statement, 'For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God'.  What this means is that man can acquire human knowledge only because of the human spirit in him; and he can acquire spiritual knowledge only when the Spirit of God is indwelling him. Thus all human beings were created to receive two different kind of spirits - one at birth (the spirit in man) and the other upon repentance and baptism (the Holy Spirit).

Since only a small group of God's elect possess the Holy Spirit, man in general is unable to solve the problems of mankind which has spiritual roots at the core. This is inspite of all the advancement of mankind in medicine, science and technology. The converted mind possesses both the human spirit and the Holy Spirit, and both are working in harmony to produce the fruits of character, begotten of God and ready to be born again as immortal spirit being at the first resurrection (Romans 8:16-17). Character building is a process that takes time and the spirit in man is involved (Proverbs 16:32). When the physical life of the disciple has run its course, the human spirit is returned back to God (Ecc 12:7; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59) with the personality, character, knowledge and a complete life history of experience intact ready to be merged with a new spiritual body at the time of resurrection (Hebrews 12:23). The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 states thus, 'Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Human beings must acquire knowlege from the time of conception  in order to function properly. Animals operate mostly by instinct and is able to acquire only limited knowledge and nothing beyond that. While animals only have brains, a human being has a mind, containing the human spirit - and that sets man apart from animal. As such man has the power to choose between right and wrong. When the first parent Adam rejected the Tree of Life, he rejected the opportunity to receive the Spirit of God.  Since then, all man has cut himself off from God and the opportunity of eternal life. Except for a small group of those who are His elect, mankind is totally cut off from God until when Christ returns to earth to set up His kingdom. Man without the Holy Spirit is incomplete and a work-in-progress until Christ returns and make available the Holy Spirit to all who believe and accept the way of God.

When Christ returns to earth, He will bring reward to each person whom God has called in this age according to his works (Matt 16:27). However, the spirit in man is not by itself conscious. It will unite with the Spirit of God at the time of resurrection - the very mold that unlocks all that a person is from beginning to end. It is the spirit in man that works with the brain to form the human mind  and not the 'immortal soul' that many wrongly assume will transcend death. Man does not have a soul but man is a living soul (Genesis 2:7). And the soul who sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4,20). If man already has an immortal soul, how could he be changed from mortal to immortality as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:54?

All who are called in this age are now in training to be ready for Christ's return to serve as priests and rulers for the great harvest yet to come upon the multitudes that survive the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. God has always warned His people from mixing truth with error, failing to heed the warning would result in death!

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS CHRIST

For almost 2,000 years, theologians and preachers have misunderstood the true gospel. They were and still are preaching the gospel about the Person of Christ instead of the gospel of Christ - which is the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom of God is NOT the gospel of grace or about the Person of Christ. Instead, Christ is to be preached in conjuction with the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father as a Messenger to proclaim the coming kingdom of God that will be ushered in when He returns to reign over all the earth and displace Satan as the god and ruler of this world (2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). If the gospel is about saving grace and the Person of Christ, it would be meaningless since when Christ started to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God with His disciples, none of His disciples then knew that He would be crucified, and could not have preached the gospel without having any knowledge of it!

Jesus Christ came to be KING over all the earth when He returns to reign with the kingdom's headquarters in Jerusalem. The kingdom of God will be the time of  'Sabbeth rest' that those who are called and chosen to be sons - members of the Divine Family - they will have to strive now (Hebrews 4:11) to become overcomers (Rev 3:21) in order to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). When the kingdom of God is ushered at His return, sufferings, misery, wars and evils will disappear - world peace and prosperity, happiness and righteousness will prevail over all the earth. In essence, the gospel is the Good News of the coming government of God that Christ was sent by the Heavenly Father to preach (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43) and all His disciples are commissioned to do likewise (Matthew:28:19-20).

The Apostle Philip preached the gospel of the kingdom of God AND the name of Jesus Christ to the Samaritans (Acts 8:12) as two separate matters. Similarly, Paul preached the gospel of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles for three months (Acts 19:8). And  to both the Jews and Gentiles, Paul preached the kingdom of God (Acts 20:25)... repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 21)... showing that the gospel is preached alongside the role of Christ as Saviour and Lord. When Paul was in house arrest, he faithfully preached the kingdom of God AND teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:31).

The Apostle Paul warns in 2 Cor 11: 4 about preaching 'another Jesus or a different gospel'.  If Christ is the gospel, why would Paul cites these two as separate doctrinal errors? Paul plainly distinguishd the teaching of a false Jesus and a false gospel as two separate errors! All these clearly show that the Messenger is Christ and the gospel message is the kingdom of God. A deceived world has confused the gospel message with the Messenger. They simply focus on the Messenger and ignore His message. Such grave ommision will bring about God's judgement upon the coming Day of the Lord!

The message about the coming kingdom of God is the very core of the Bible. Enoch - Noah's great grandfather - prophesied that the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all (Jude 14-15),  a reference to Christ's Second Coming to reign as King over all the earth. Noah is the eighth preacher of righteousness (the coming kingdom of God) - 2 Peter 2:5 - while Enoch is the seventh preacher, showing that there were eight preachers in all proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God with Abel as the first preacher of righteousness in the centuries leading to the Flood.

The same gospel was also preached to Abraham (Galatians 3:8) - probably by Melchizedek - in that through him all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This can only happen when Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth. Since Moses penned the book of Genesis, he must have known of the gospel of the kingdom. In many of his Psalms, David wrote of the coming kingdom of God, like 'For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth' (Ps 67:4). The major and minor prophets of the Old Testament all preached the gospel of the kingdom of God.

The prophet Isaiah is a great preacher and writer of the coming kingdom of God. In the often quoted but misunderstood verses of Isaiah 9:6-7, he prophesied of the First and Second coming of Christ Who will sit on the throne of David (currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II of UK) to establish His government of peace and righteousness forever. It will be a time when the knowledge of God will be made known throughout the entire world (Isaiah 11:9) and how the government of God will be spread throughout the earth and war will be no more (Isaiah 2:2-4). The prophet Micah recorded this identical prophecy in Micah 4:1-3. Christ spoke of this in His parable of the leaven recorded in Luke 13:20-21 in which the kingdom of God is like a leaven which spreads until it fills its host.

 The prophet Jeremiah foretold of a time when Christ the King shall reign over all Judah (Jews and Benjaminites) and Israel (the 'lost ten tribes of Israel') as the THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5). This can only happen when Christ has returned to earth to reign as the King of kings and Lord of Lords! Ezekiel describes of a time when God will bring all the Israelites, who are now scattered all over the earth, into the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) - Ezekiel 36:24.  Daniel wrote of a time when God will set up a kingdom that will stand forever (Daniel 2:44).

As to the minor prophets, with the possible exception of Jonah (he probably did but was not recorded), all of them wrote and preached the gospel of the kingdom of God (Hosea 2:16, 19; Joel 2:21-27; Amos 9:11-15; Obadiah 21; Micah 4:1-3; Habakkuk 2:14; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Zechariah 14:1-3, 8-9; Malachi 3:1-3) in one way or another. The Apostle Peter spoke and wrote that God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets the gospel of the kingdom since the world began (Acts 3:21). All who are called by God to be His servants will preach the same message as Christ preached, as did all the prophets and the Apostles. The Lord Christ Himself affirmed that, 'the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me' (John 14:24).

Make no mistake, no man can bring about the kind of government that will solve man's problems. Only a miraculous divine intervention through Christ will bring about permanent change ruled by the Family of God with Christ as the King. The ultimate destiny of man is to be born again as immortal spirit god-being upon resurrection to participate in the future spreading of God's government - not just upon the earth, but throughout the universe (Isaiah 9:7)! Those who have ears, let them hear.