GOSPEL  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD

The gospel literally means "good news" and is concerned mainly with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mk. 1:1)  The Kingdom of God refers to God's sovereign rule in the universe - He is the King of the heavens and the earth.  But more specifically, it refers to the entry of God's long-anticipated Anointed One - the prophesied Messiah, the promised Son of David who would not only be the Savior, Deliverer, and king of Israel, but of all mankind. 

"In those days John the Baptist  came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" (Mt. 3:1-2) "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfulled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the Gospel." (Mk. 1:14-15) 

Declaring the Kingdom "at hand," that is "drawing near," both John and Jesus Christ were announcing that the rule of God's King was about to overthrow the power and rule of all evil - both human and demonic.  The Kingdom was near because the King was already here.  And His presence, introducing the power of "the Kingdom of God," meant a new world of potential hope to mankind.  As God's King, Jesus offers the blessings of God's rule, now available to bring life to every human experience, as well as deliverance from the dominance of either flesh or the devil. Jesus declared: "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the Kingdom of God has come upon you." (Mt. 12:28) "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." (Mt. 9:35)

"Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick." (Lk. 9:1-2) Here we see the flow of power of Jesus the King, who extends the rule of God over the devil and human hurt (disease) by training His disciples to do the same thing.  The same type of ministry was given to the Early Church as it spreads the Gospel message. (Acts 8:4-12)

After His death, burial and resurrection the Lord Jesus Christ "presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (Acts 1:3) When the disciples asked Him, "Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?'  And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:6-8) Our Lord made three points in His statement.  First, it is not for the disciples to know when the Kingdom would be restored to Israel.  Second, the power given by God in His Kingdom is not political but spiritual.  Third, the power given through the Holy Spirit is for the purpose of witnessing and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the world.

The Great Commission includes our Lord's promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Empowerment for world evangelism is tied very closely to this promise.  If people are to perceive the Kingdom of God through the preaching of the Gospel they must see and experience the power of the Holy Spirit.  "For the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power." (1 Cor. 4:20) "God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will." (Heb. 2:4)

In the discourse on His Second Coming our Lord prophesied one of the signs of the End Time concerns world evangelism.  "And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Mt. 24:14) This prophecy is being fulfilled in our time and age as we are now involved in preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom on the Internet.