Page 44 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

will give way to the age to come. These two aspects of the kingdom of
God will be separated by two dramatic events: the second coming of
Christ and the resurrection of the dead. These events are illustrated in
Figure 4.2 below:

The Second
This Coming The Age
Age and the to Come
Resurrection

Figure 4.2—The Events Separating The Ages

Christ’s coming will follow the preaching of the gospel to all nations.
Twice the disciples asked Jesus about the time of His coming kingdom.
In Matthew 24:3 they asked, “What will be the sign of your coming and
the end of the age?” Later, in Acts 1:6, they asked, “Are you at this time
going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

On both occasions, Jesus answered by telling them that they must
preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. To the first question, He
answered, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the
whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”
(Matthew 24:14). To the second He answered, “It is not for you to know
times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth” (Acts 1:7–8).

The coming of Christ and the end of the age will follow the preaching
of the gospel of the Kingdom in the power of the Spirit to the ends of the
earth. These two “ends” will happen at the same time.

Peter said that we can “look forward to the day of God and speed its
coming” (2 Peter 3:12). How can we do this? By obeying “the command
given by our Lord and Savior” (v. 2). To what command is Peter referring?
He is likely referring to Christ’s command to preach the gospel to all
nations and people (Matthew 28:18–20; Mark 16:15–16). Today, we call

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