Message of the Kingdom

Transcript

GR 651
11/20/1983
Message of the Kingdom
Matthew 3:1-3
Gil Rugh

The first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel deal with events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ. Chapter 1 shows that Christ is of the lineage of David and presents Him to be the heir to David's throne. Chapter 2 presents the worship accorded to Him by the wise men from the east who honored Him with gifts befitting One born to rule.

Chapters 3 and 4 tie together fittingly to give the background for the public ministry of Christ. They deal with events immediately preceding the embarkment on His public ministry which begins in chapter 5.

Matthew opens chapter 3 with a consideration of John the Baptist. Between chapters 2 and 3, almost 30 years have transpired. The Gospel of Luke records an incident when Jesus Christ was 12 years of age at the temple with His parents, but other than this event, Scripture is silent on His developing years. As Mark records the beginning of Christ's ministry in his Gospel, chapter 6 informs us that Christ had been functioning as a carpenter in Nazareth with His father, Joseph, who also was a carpenter. The people asked in verse 3, "Is not this the carpenter ... ?" During His early years in Nazareth, He evidently learned the trade of His father. But Matthew has nothing to say about that even though we would like to know more of the details. Luke recorded in Luke 2:52: "And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

As we come to the events of Matthew 3, Jesus is about 30 years of age. Matthew now wants to present to us the person who has the responsibility to introduce Jesus Christ as the Messiah to the nation Israel. After all, Jesus Christ is the King, the Messiah. As such, it is fitting that He have someone come and announce Him and prepare the way for Him.

Without any background, we have the greatest of all the Old Testament prophets introduced to us in Matthew 3:1: "Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea..." Preaching in the wilderness was a general expression in those days and simply means that John the Baptist came preaching. He is called "the Baptist" because the key part of his ministry was baptizing people. Those who came to John and heeded his message were baptized by him. Thus he was given the title, "John the Baptist". This is not the same John who wrote the Gospel of John, the epistles of John or the book of Revelation. The writer of those books was the Apostle John.

John the Baptist "...came preaching in the wilderness of Judea..." We are familiar with this area today because it is much in the news, referred to as the West Bank. Though John was on both sides of the Jordan, the West Bank is included in the area where John carried on his preaching ministry. Interestingly, John did not go into the city of Jerusalem. You would think that one coming with a message to proclaim the introduction of the King of Israel would go to the capital, perhaps even to the temple, to make his proclamation. But that is not the case. He went to the wilderness, and the people flocked to him in order to hear him. His ministry of preaching indicates he was a herald, one who is given a message to proclaim or announce. John was given the ministry of announcing the coming and presence of Jesus Christ.

Luke gives much more detail in his Gospel about John the Baptist than does Matthew. Luke tells us that John was the son of a prophet. His birth was supernatural in its own way. John was born to parents who were advanced in years, his mother having been barren until his conception.

While his father, Zacharias, was carrying out his priestly ministry in the temple, he was confronted by an angel in Luke 1:13 where the baby's birth was announced and his name specified: "But the angel said to him, ’Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.’" The angel continued his announcement in verse 14: "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth." His birth will cause great joy because of his special ministry. His birth will signify the coming of the Messiah, because the reason he was born was so that he could prepare the way for the Messiah.

Don't overlook the first statement of verse 15: "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord..." John was not necessarily great in the sight of men. He would eventually be executed by Herod, the son of Herod the Great. John was not greatly appreciated, but he was great in the sight of the Lord. Sometimes we wonder how we should measure greatness. John was truly great because in the eyes of God he was great. It didn't matter what men thought.

Verse 15 adds that John will be a Nazarite -- "...and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb." John was unique in that he was filled with the Spirit of God from the time he was in the womb of his mother. This declares to us the specialness of this man and his ministry.

Verse 16 describes his ministry of preparation: "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God." His ministry will involve turning Israel back to God. Verse 17 continues: “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Luke 1 gives us other details about John, including his birth. After his birth, Luke records, beginning with verse 67, "And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant.’” Because of the prophecy of the angel, Zacharias recognized that John would have a unique ministry. He knew that the birth of his son signaled the coming of Israel's Messiah. The most significant event ever to occur in the nation Israel was the Messiah's coming. Zacharias saw the ministry of his son John as being special and unique in that context. He knew that God had visited and accomplished redemption for His people because the coming of the Messiah was for the purpose of bringing redemption for Israel. He was to be the Savior and the King.

John comes preaching in Matthew 3 with a proclamation in verse 2: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." There are two aspects to the proclamation: One, repentance, and two, the reason for the repentance.

If you do not understand repentance, you cannot understand John's ministry. It also seems that you cannot understand the biblical message of salvation if you do not understand repentance. The word is somewhat misunderstood today. We often associate repentance with tears, sorrow or crying. Those things may accompany repentance, but they are not repentance.

The Greek word which is translated repentance is a compound word meaning to be of another mind or to change your mind. John is really announcing, "Change your mind!" This refers to a change of mind that leads to a change of life, a concept we will see in our next study. John did not accept as repentance anything that did not lead to a changed life.

The principle is the same today with salvation. Those who have truly believed in Jesus Christ have trusted Him as Savior and been cleansed from their sins. They have changed their minds about their sin and about Jesus Christ. That change of mind results in a change of conduct. We sometimes speak of repentance as a change of mind, but we should not draw the line there. Repentance is a change of mind that will of necessity lead to a changed life. The mind is where the decisions are made. The Scriptures tell us that out of the heart are the issues of life. In this sense, the heart and the mind are synonymous. You can tell what I think by what I do.

Repentance, as John preached it, brings about a change of life. John is saying that repentance means to change your mind about sin and about your relationship to God. To repent means that one must quit seeing himself as righteous or as acceptable to God by his works. One who repents believes in Christ and realizes that He is the source of salvation. The result of that will be a changed life.

The message of repentance is just as valid today as it was in John's day. There are some who draw a line saying repentance was only for John's day. That is not true. The call to repentance continues throughout the New Testament.

Repentance is an inseparable part of saving faith. Repentance does not signify something in addition to faith in Christ. You cannot believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior unless you change your mind about your sin and change your mind about Him. If you have ever believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you recognized you were a sinner and that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for you. That was a change in your thinking. Up to that time, you had not seen yourself as a sinner, as one who needed to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. Anyone who has believed in Jesus Christ has repented. He has changed his mind.

Several passages of Scripture make it clear that repentance is part of salvation. While delivering his sermon at Mars Hill in Athens, Paul spoke of repentance in Acts 17: 30-31: "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." God demands that all people everywhere must repent! He is going to judge the world in righteousness. That ought to cause you to see that your own righteousness will not be sufficient. Jesus Christ is the Judge. He is the One who was raised from the dead. You should change your mind about Him.

Paul again is the speaker in Acts 26:19-20 as he presents his case before Agrippa. "So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance." Paul's proclamation to Jews and Gentiles alike was, "Repent! Change your mind, and then live a life that is a reflection of that changed mind." The life of the believer must manifest the character of God. Repentance is crucial to this.

Repentance is not sorrow. Some teach that repentance is a separate act, one of the steps you must take in receiving salvation. They teach that repentance as a step of salvation demands contrition, sorrow, agony or anguish -terrible remorse over sin. But sorrow is not repentance. After getting caught for stealing, you may weep and cry. The tragedy is that such sorrow is often over getting caught, not an indication of changing the mind about what was done.

Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 a letter he had written earlier to the Corinthians: "For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it -- for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while -- I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death." There is nothing wrong with sorrow, but we need to be careful that we don't equate sorrow with repentance. Some people who are under conviction for their sins weep and are in deep anguish. That is wonderful if it leads them to repentance. But some people are in sorrow and anguish over their sin without having it lead them to repentance. Such sorrow is not godly sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to repentance, but sorrow itself is not repentance.

Some people may have repentance without the visible signs of sorrow or weeping that others experience. There is obviously nothing wrong with sorrow because it can be used by God to lead the person to repentance. Paul indicates sorrow was used that way with the Corinthians. But an emotional display of sorrow is not a requirement for repentance.

We must be careful not to allow the pendulum to swing too far to the extreme. We sometimes become so concerned about emotionalism that we want to make sure that we do nothing to make people weep because we fear that they may make a decision based on their emotions. However, Paul said he had made the Corinthians sorry, and he was glad because that sorrow had caused them to change their minds.

We do not want to simply manipulate people with their emotions. But people often are made sorrowful for their sins under the conviction of the Spirit of God. That sorrow is part of God's preparing them to change their minds about their sins. What a tragedy that so many people are sorry about their sins but are unwilling to change their minds about them and believe in Jesus Christ.

Repentance is granted by God. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:24-25: “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.” God's repentance is a work of the Spirit of God in the life just as true saving faith is the work of the Spirit. If true saving faith is the result of the Spirit of God in the life and if repentance is an inseparable part of that faith, then repentance itself is also a result of the work of God in the life. The Holy Spirit must bring a person to see himself as God sees him and then cause him to change his mind and believe in Jesus Christ.

We should be preaching the message of repentance. Every time you exhort someone to trust in Jesus Christ, you exhort him to change his mind -- to quit trusting his church, his baptism or his good works. He must change his mind and see himself as the sinner God says he is and trust Jesus Christ as the One to cleanse him. Such true repentance is what John the Baptist proclaimed.

He came preaching a message of repentance to a nation that was self-righteous. The Jews though that since they were the sons of Abraham, they were accepted by the Messiah and were going to heaven. Religious people are just like that today. They think that because they go to church regularly, they will go to heaven. The Jews thought they were going to heaven simply because they were the sons of Abraham. None of those things has anything to do with going to heaven. John preached to them in Matthew 3:2, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He was telling them to change their minds and see things the way God sees them.

John told them that the reason it was so crucial for them to repent was because "...the kingdom of heaven is at hand," an expression meaning that it is drawing near. The same expression is used later in the Gospel as Jesus was drawing near to Jerusalem. It indicates that something is on the verge of coming. It is close. John is telling them that they need to repent because this kingdom is at hand -- a kingdom which will be set up by the Messiah.

The Jews all were familiar with this from the Old Testament Scriptures. They knew that the first thing which will occur in that kingdom will be a judgment of those who have not repented. They were so familiar with those facts that John did not even have to go into the details from the Old Testament. They knew that the kingdom would be set up by the Messiah, who would begin by judging the rebels in the nation and excluding them from His kingdom. Therefore, repentance is crucial if the kingdom is at hand.

The synonymous expressions, the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of the heavens, are the kingdom which is referred to throughout the entire Old Testament. It is the literal, earthly kingdom promised to the Jews beginning in Genesis 12 with the Abrahamic Covenant and reiterated in the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7. This kingdom is emphasized in the messages of the prophets and is the kingdom that Israel anticipated. Stanley Toussaint, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, has a very excellent commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. He gives several reasons why this has to be a literal, earthly kingdom. Let me list those reasons for you.

First, there was no indication by John the Baptist or by Christ that any other kingdom was in view. When John told them that the kingdom was at hand, the Jews naturally would have assumed that he was talking about the kingdom they were expecting, which the prophets had prophesied in passages such as Isaiah 2, 9 and 11. What other kingdom would he be talking about if he did not instruct them otherwise? For John to tell the Jews that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and not explain it as being another kind of kingdom, the Jews would obviously assume that he was speaking about the literal, earthly kingdom they were anticipating.

Secondly, this message of the kingdom which was prophesied to Israel was restricted to the Jews. If this kingdom were a spiritual kingdom, why would he say it was restricted to the Jews?

After Christ chose the twelve disciples, His instructions to them are recorded in Matthew 10:5-6: "These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: ‘Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'" The disciples were instructed to take the message of this kingdom only to the Jews. They were not to go to the Gentiles; neither were they to go to the Samaritans who were half-Jew. If this kingdom were a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of all men, as is proposed by some, what was the point of restricting the message of this kingdom to the Jews? Since it was restricted to them, this tied it to the Old Testament kingdom that was promised to Israel.

Thirdly, the disciples, even after they had extensive exposure to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, assumed that He had been preaching and teaching about an earthly kingdom. As Jesus presented His parables of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13, he commended the disciples, saying in verse 11, "...To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven..." They were the ones who were to know and understand the facts concerning the kingdom. Yet when we get to the end of Matthew, the disciples still assumed that He was talking about an earthly kingdom. He did not do anything to correct them if they were misunderstanding Him.

In Matthew 20:20-21, the mother of James and John came to Jesus asking for a special place for her sons in the kingdom. "Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, 'What do you wish?' She said to Him, 'Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.'" She was still anticipating at that time a literal, physical kingdom where Christ would sit on a throne. She wanted her sons to occupy positions on His right hand and on His left hand. He told her that it was not His prerogative to make that kind of decision.

At the time the events of Matthew 20 occurred, the ministry of Christ had gone on for an extended period. Those close to Him still assumed that he had been talking about a literal, earthly kingdom. He did not tell them, "Oh, you don't understand. That is not the kind of kingdom we are talking about."

By the time we come to Acts 1, the death and resurrection of Christ had already occurred, and He had been ministering for 40 days in His post-resurrection ministry. At that time the disciples were still assuming that Christ would come to set up a literal, earthly kingdom. Notice their anticipation in verse 6: "So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, 'Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?'"

Let's consider the fourth reason why this kingdom must be a literal, physical kingdom. For John to come and announce that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and be talking about a spiritual kingdom in the hearts is ridiculous. The spirit kingdom in the hearts of believers over which God rules has always existed. John is not announcing a spiritual kingdom which is limited to Jews.

There are many who deny that there will be a literal, earthly kingdom for Israel. They say that the only kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that exists in the hearts of men. Such an interpretation does violence to the Scriptures. It is unbiblical and anti-biblical.

God has always ruled in the hearts of believers. Psalm 37:30-31 speaks of this concept: "The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is Jews. Ruth, a Gentile in the Old Testament, had the law of God in her heart. God's law is in the hearts of all the righteous and always has been. It is improper to speak of the kingdom over which Christ will rule as being only in the hearts of men. It would make no sense for John to come and announce that such a spiritual kingdom is now at hand. What do you mean, at hand? It has always been here.

If this kingdom were to be a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men, then His teaching had not been very good. I say to you that if Jesus Christ was not talking about a literal, earthly kingdom when He talked about the kingdom of heaven, He was a very poor teacher! He spent three years with those men. He was now about to leave them, and if it were going to be a spiritual kingdom only, they still did not understand what the kingdom was! A literal, earthly kingdom was the heart of what they anticipated the Messiah's ministry and life to be all about. Thus their question, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

The foundation for the kingdom is the reception of the Messiah by Israel. The kingdom will include Gentiles, but the kingdom will not be established until the nation Israel accepts its Messiah, Jesus Christ. That is why the seven years of Tribulation is yet in the future. That will be a refining time which will prepare Israel to accept Christ as its Messiah. The kingdom cannot exist until the nation Israel accepts Him. Since the days of the prophets, the Jews have been looking for a literal, physical, earthly kingdom.

If this is to be a spiritual kingdom, why does Matthew 10:5-6 instruct the disciples to go only to the lost of the house of Israel? The kingdom with God ruling in the hearts of believers has always existed in the hearts of Gentiles as well as Jews. To say this is to be only a spiritual kingdom makes no sense.

The church did not even exist at the time John was preaching regarding the kingdom. So if John were talking about the church, he would have been talking nonsense. Yet it was assumed that the Jews would, and did, understand what he was saying. When Nicodemus came to Jesus Christ in John 3, Jesus talked to him about the kingdom. But He did not have to go into a great detailed explanation about what the kingdom was. He simply told Nicodemus that he could not be part of the kingdom unless he was born again. He assumed that Nicodemus, as a Jew, knew what kingdom He was talking about.

Such confusion must wait until our day for some foolish people under the guise of theologians to come up with some ridiculous concept that a Jew would never have grasped or understood in the first place. John is clearly talking about a physical, literal, earthly rule of the Messiah.

The expression the kingdom of heaven is unique to Matthew, who used it 32 times. Another expression, the kingdom of God, is used in the other Gospels. Matthew also uses this expression, but very sparingly. My understanding of these expressions is that they refer to the same thing -- the literal, earthly kingdom that will be set up and ruled over by the Messiah with the nation Israel as the heart of the kingdom.

The background for this expression comes from the Old Testament. Matthew may well have used the kingdom of heaven because his is a Jewish Gospel. The Jews had an aversion to using the name “God, ” so it is possible that he used the kingdom of heaven in the context of the kingdom of God.

The Old Testament prophet Daniel spoke fervently of the kingdoms of the earth. He wrote in Daniel 2:44, "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever." The kings referred to in this verse are the 10 toes on the image which is the 10-nation confederation spoken of in prophecy. The point we want to draw out of this verse is that the God of heaven will set up a kingdom. As such, it is a kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is the rule of heaven on the earth. Since the God of heaven is setting up a kingdom, it is natural to call it the kingdom of heaven.

Daniel 7 records a heavenly scene. Verse 9: "I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat..." Daniel continues with his description of the Ancient of Days and the glory around Him with the myriads of angels. The vision continues in verses 13 and 14: ”I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom...” It is in the context of heaven that this kingdom is set up, so it is the kingdom of heaven, and it is bestowed upon the Son of Man in the heavens. Then He assumes His role on the earth. Therefore, the expression is related to the Jews, not using the name God, but using instead the term heaven, thus enabling them to speak about it without using the name God.

Viewing these terms as synonymous is not the test of the faith. Many good Bible scholars such as Lewis Sperry Chafer, C.I. Scofield, Frank E. Gaebelein and others hold that there is a difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God. Those who hold this view say that one difference between them is that the kingdom of heaven includes professing believers among true believers while the kingdom of God is limited only to believers. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, "...unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Thus the new birth is necessary in order to enter the kingdom of God.

The same is true also for entering the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:20: "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must have righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, a righteousness which exceeds human righteousness. That means you must have God's righteousness to enter the kingdom of heaven. That is the same requirement to get into the kingdom of God, because it is the same kingdom.

Jesus spoke of entering the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to Me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Getting into the kingdom of heaven is limited to one who does the will of God. The will of God is to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. John expressed in his Gospel that only those who do the will of God get in. Professing that name is not enough. One must be a possessor of God's life in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The question was raised by the disciples in Matthew 18:1, "...Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” The answer is given in the following two verses: "And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.'" Conversion, or the new birth, is necessary to get into the kingdom of heaven just as it is to enter the kingdom of God. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are synonymous expressions.

The message regarding the kingdom of God being at hand in the Gospel of Mark is the same as it is regarding the kingdom of heaven being at hand in Matthew 3. Turn to Mark 1:14-15. ”Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ’The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” John said in Matthew 3:2, ”Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Both writers are speaking about the same kingdom, the earthly kingdom promised to the nation Israel in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament had prophesied that John would come to prepare the nation for the Messiah's coming. In Matthew 3:3, Matthew is quoting from Isaiah 40:3: ”For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, ’The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!’”

The roads generally were not paved in New Testament times, so they were frequently washed out and in terrible condition. When the king was planning to go through a certain area, workers were sent ahead to smooth out the road, knocking down the bumps and filling in the ruts so he would be able to travel on a smooth road that had been prepared for him.

The ministry of John the Baptist coming before Jesus Christ is seen in this analogy. John has come to prepare the hearts of the nation for the Messiah. He comes on the scene, perhaps six months before Christ, preaching with a dynamic and powerful ministry in the wilderness so that the nation flocks to hear him. His message to them is to get their hearts ready before God in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. Then when Jesus comes, John can introduce Him, as he did in John 1:29: "...Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John's ministry is to prepare the hearts of the nation for the coming of the Messiah.

Luke quotes in his Gospel from two verses in Malachi to describe the ministry of John the Baptist: Luke 1:16-17: "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" His ministry was to turn the people to God in preparation for the Messiah. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, also refers to this in Luke 1:76 as he quotes from Malachi 3:1: "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways." The ministry of John the Baptist was not a ministry with an end in and of itself. It was a ministry of preparation to soften the nation and prepare the people for the Messiah. It was particularly meant for the believing remnant within the nation who were prepared by the Spirit to believe the message of John and trust in the Messiah. In our next study we will consider the boldness of John as he lays into the Pharisees and Sadducees of his day because they would not repent.

The emphasis of our preaching today is not about a coming kingdom. It is about the rapture of the church. We do not tell people today to prepare their hearts because the kingdom of heaven is at hand; we tell them to prepare their hearts because Jesus is coming. When Christ returns in the rapture, believers in Jesus Christ will be removed from the earth. This will be followed by seven years of turmoil on the earth, after which Jesus Christ will return to set up His kingdom. Therefore, the kingdom is not at hand as it was with John. Jesus was then present, alive on the earth and ready to embark on His ministry in offering the kingdom.

The kingdom of Jesus Christ is at least seven years away, but He may be coming today for His church. In the 2,000 years since John the Baptist proclaimed his message, "Repent," we continue to proclaim the same message, urging people to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as their Savior.

Some people wonder if Jesus Christ is really going to come back. They think the world is going to be involved in a nuclear holocaust which will be the end of civilization. But the Bible says this is not the way it will be. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, "The Lord is not slow about His promise...” --to return -- “...as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." In this verse you see the mercy and grace of God. He is gracious in allowing you to hear the message of repentance. That shows the graciousness of God because He has not cut off your opportunity to repent.

God has allowed you to hear the message again because He does not delight in people perishing. Rather, He desires that you come to repentance, change your mind and cease being stubborn and self-righteous. He wants you to see yourself as you really are -- a sinner in need of salvation. Your salvation was provided at great cost by a loving God who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross to pay the penalty for your sins. He raised Him from the dead because the penalty was completely paid. Now He offers salvation as a gift and says, "Change your mind. Accept My gift of salvation. Believe in My Son, Jesus Christ, and have the forgiveness of sins."