Thursday, October 17, 2019

What Accompanies The Kingdom?

"Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." (Matt. 4:23 nasb)

The gospel of the kingdom involves the coming of the Messiah and his rule, which reign will be marked by "healing" of every sickness and disease. When all sickness and disease are removed from this present evil world, then will the kingdom of God and Heaven be everywhere present in its destined fullness.

Said J. Dwight Pentecost (emphasis mine):

"...the miracles reveal the conditions that will prevail in His kingdom when He reigns. It will be a kingdom where there is no sickness, no hunger, no sin, no death. All creation will be under His control. These same conditions were predicted by the prophets in their descriptions of the messianic kingdom." (Things To Come, page 207, see here)

This is profound and must be understood to know what is the essence of the promised kingdom of God and Heaven.

"Jesus answered and said to them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Matt. 11:4-5 kjv)

When healing and resurrection have been completed, then and only then will it be true that "the kingdom of heaven is with men" in its fullness and everlasting character. As long as there is sickness, disease, hunger and want, grief and pain, and death and mortality, the kingdom of God will be a matter of hope.

What will characterize the kingdom of God being on earth? It will be populated by only immortal happy people!

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