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VI.
The Sure Word of
Prophecy
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Chapter 49
:
The Gospel of the Kingdom
1. WHAT gospel did Jesus preach?
"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of
the kingdom." Matt. 4:23.
2. How extensively did He say this should be
preached?
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Matt. 24:14.
3.
What shows that it has always been God's purpose that
all the world should hear the gospel?
"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and
in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
Gen. 12:1-3.
"And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify
the heathen through faith, preached before the
gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations
be blessed." Gal. 3:8.
4. How did God warn Israel
against formalism?
"Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with
their mouth, and with their lips do honor
Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their
fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men:
therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work
among this people: . . . for the wisdom of their wise
men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent
men shall be hid." Isa. 29:13,14.
5.
What shows that they had substituted the ritual service
of the temple for heart service?
"Thus saith the Lord, . . . Amend your ways and your
doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
Trust ye not in lying words, Baying, The temple of the
Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord,
are these." Jer. 7:3,4
6.
What national disaster did they bring upon themselves by
their apostasy from God?
"So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and,
behold, they were written in the book of the kings of
Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon
for their transgression." 1 Chron. 9:1.
NOTE.-From the earliest times it has been God's
purpose that those who receive the gospel should
make it known to others. For this purpose He chose a
special people and established them in Palestine, in
the highway of the nations; but they shut up the
revelation of the truth to themselves, and so lost
it. A few, like Daniel and his companions,
maintained a personal connection with God, although
surrounded by spiritual declension and dry
formalism, and so were chosen by God to carry out
His plan that the gospel of the kingdom should be
preached in Babylon. They were tested and trained m
Babylon, as shown m the first chapter of Darnel, and
then, being ready to make known the gospel, the way
providentially opened for them by the dream of
Nebuchadnezzar.
7.
In interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream, what kingdom did
Daniel say would follow the four world empires?
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed." Dan. 2:44.
8.
What was this kingdom to do to the other kingdoms?
"The kingdom shall not be left to other people, but
it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms." Same verse.
9.
How long is this kingdom to continue?
"And it shall stand forever." Same verse, last
clause.
10. What words of Christ imply the
gospel's final triumph?
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build My church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it." Matt. 16:18.
NOTE.-Anciently the gates to cities were places for
holding courts, transacting business, and deliberating
on public matters. The word gates, therefore, is used
for counsels, designs, machinations, and evil purposes.
The gates of hell mean the plottings, stratagems, and
designs of Satan to overthrow the church. But none of
these are to prevail.
11. What promises to David will thus be fulfilled?
"Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established
forever: . . . thy throne shall be established forever."
2 Sam. 7:16.
NOTE.-By uniting His divinity with humanity in
becoming the Son of David, Christ laid the
foundation upon which He built His church, and thus
established the house of David forever. The kingdom
of God, the house of David, and the church of Christ
are so inseparably connected in this prophecy that
the establishment of either involves the
establishment of the other two.
12. Through whom are these
promises to be fulfilled?
"He shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give
unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall
reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His
kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:32,33.
13. In order to fulfil these promises, whose son did the
Son of God become?
"The son of David." Matt. 22:42.
14. What is this union of divinity and humanity called?
"And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into
glory." 1 Tim. 3:16.
15. What did Jesus call this same mystery?
"And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know
the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them
that are without, all these things are done in
parables." Mark 4:11.
16. In what confession did the wise men of Babylon deny
any knowledge of this essential doctrine of
Christianity?
"And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and
there is none other that can show it before the king,
except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."
Dan. 2:11.
NOTE.-The union of the divine and human in the
person of Christ is "the mystery of godliness," or
"the mystery of the kingdom of God." In the case of
the seed which is sown in the field, this same
principle is illustrated by the union of the
reproducing power with the material form. As the
seed is thus capable of multiplying itself, so
Christ reproduces His own character in believers, by
making them partakers of the divine nature. At His
coming He bestows upon the subjects of the kingdom
the gift of immortality (1 Cor. 15:51-53), and so
the kingdom will stand forever. It is quite likely
that the wise men of Babylon did not understand
about the incarnation of God in the flesh in the
coming Messiah, but in their statement that the
dwelling of the gods was not with flesh they
announced the fundamental error of Babylon, both
ancient and modern, and really denied the vital
principle of Christianity. This was the essential
secret, or mystery, of the kingdom of God, which
needed to be known in Babylon, and which is still to
be proclaimed throughout the world.
17. Concerning what did Daniel and
his companions pray?
"Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known
to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: that
they would desire mercies of the God of heaven
concerning this secret." Verses 17,18.
18.
What would have been the result of failure on their part
to obtain a knowledge of this mystery?
"That Daniel and his fellows should not perish with
the rest of the wise men of Babylon." Verse 18, last
part.
19. How was the secret concerning the king's dream
revealed, and thus the mystery of the kingdom of God
made known in Babylon?
"Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night
vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven."
Verse 19.
NOTE.-The most vital truth of the gospel of the
kingdom of God was denied in the religion of
Babylon. This made it necessary that this very truth
should be preached in Babylon. This mystery of the
kingdom of God was the real and essential secret
which the wise men of Babylon could not make known
to the king, and which could be learned only by
revelation. This is the mystery which "from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God" (Eph.
3:9); and the "riches of the glory of this mystery"
is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27),
or "the mystery of the gospel " (Eph. 6:19).
20. How did Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge God as the
revealer, and thus Daniel's intimate fellowship with
Him?
"The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it
is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of
kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest
reveal this secret." Verse 47.
21. When the gospel of the kingdom has been fully
preached, and Christ appears as King, what invitation
will be extended to those who have learned "the mystery
of the kingdom"?
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all
the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the
throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered
all nations. . . . Then shall the King say unto them on
His right hand, Come,
ye blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you .from the
foundation of the world."
Matt. 25:31-34.
Thy
kingdom come. Thus day by day
We lift our hands to God, and pray;
But who has ever duly weighed
The meaning of the words He said?
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