The Church Triumphant

Old Testament Reading – Daniel 2:31-45
New Testament Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

The Church Triumphant
“The Gospel of the Kingdom”
Matthew 24:1-14  

Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor

   In Mathew 24:14, Jesus told His disciples, “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.”

• The word “gospel” means “good news.” Matthew and Mark tell us that, when Jesus left the Jordan River, He walked to the region known as Galilee of the Gentiles, and He began to preach; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
• In the parables of the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Dragnet, Jesus described what the Kingdom of Heaven is like and who will, and will not be, allowed in it.
• The night before He was crucified, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks, and shared it with His disciples, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.
• While the Lord’s kingdom will come and His will will be done on this earth as it is in heaven, Christians cannot do anything to enhance the arrival of that kingdom.

   However, with the rise of “TRUMPISM,” there are several groups that believe this is the time to encourage Christians to rise up and reclaim “dominion” over the seven major aspects of our culture.

• The New Apostolic Reformation – (NAR) – whose goal is to establish Christian dominion over religion, family, education, government, media, arts & entertainment, and business.
  • They believed God ordained the Church to have dominion over the world, and if Christians can be placed in leadership in those seven areas, the world can be cleansed of evil, and the Kingdom of Heaven can be ushered in.
  • Over three million people in the U.S. attend churches supportive of the NAR, primarily in the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches.
• The Kingdom Now or Dominionists – who believe that God lost control of the world to Satan when Adam and Eve sinned; that God has been tryng to regain control over the world by seeking out a special group of people through which the culture can be brought under God’s authority.
• They believe, since Christians are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit as Jesus, God has given Christians the authority to demolish the devil’s kingdom, transform this world into a righteous kingdom, and present it to Jesus when He returns at the end of the Millennium.
• About 40% of Americans (120 million people) now embrace this Satanic lie, including those who attend Catholic and evangelical churches.

   In John 18:36, Jesus told the Pharisees, “My kindom is not of this world.”

• Nowhere in the Scriptures are Christians told to cleanse the world of evil before the Lord returns.
• Christians are to live in this world as God’s people, to serve as living witnesses to the world of His power to deliver us from our sins and to protect and preserve us from the evil one until He calls us home.

1.  “Jesus Predicted the destruction of the Temple” – Vss. 1-2 – “Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple, and Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

   Near the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus made His last visit to the Temple in Jerusalem.

• Matthew said Jesus not only “went out” of the Temple, i.e., from the inside to the outer court, He “departed” from the Temple, never to return again. He was through with the Jewish religion and the Jewish religious leaders.
• The disciples revered the Temple, and they longed for the day when Jesus would declare Himself King of Israel, remove the corrupt religious leaders, and restore Temple worship to its former purity.
• Jesus had said the Jewish religious leaders had turned God’s house of prayer into a den of thieves and robbers – the Temple had become a hindrance to their worship of God.
• Jesus told the disciples that it would not be long before their beloved Temple would be destroyed, and it was in A.D. 70 – as Jesus said, “Not one stone was left upon another.”

   In 1 Corinthians 3:8-17, the Apostle Paul discussed the materials that should and should not be used in “building” of the Church.

• Gold, silver, precious stones – represent the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.
• Wood, hay, straw – represent man’s methods
• In 2 Corinthians 5:10, the Apostle Paul said the day will come when every Christian will stand before the Lord and give account of the days of our lives on earth, and our work will be tested by fire.
• On that day, those who believe they are doing the work of the Lord by using deceptive methods will discover that they did more harm than good.
• While some will be saved, their works will be wasted, and they will receive no crowns to give to Jesus, for His glory.
• To adapt Hudson Taylor’s famous quote: “God’s work must be done in God’s way to achieve God’s purpose.”

2. Jesus Predicted the End of the Age – Vss. 3-14 – Vs. 14 – “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.”

• Jesus said there would always be false messiahs, false prophets, false prophecies, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and all kinds of catastrophic events, and then, during the Tribulation, both the Jews, and those who received Jesus Christ as their Savior will endure the hatred world, hatred from each other, betrayal, and martyrdom.
  • The whole world will be ruled by the Antichrist, and, because of the hatred, and the betrayals, and the martyrdom, the love between humans will cease.
  • However, the gospel of the coming kingdom of God will be preached in all the nations, and then the end will come, and those who survive to the end will be saved.

  There is no biblical or prophetic basis for the NAR or Kingdom Now movement – it will not advance the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven.

• They do not believe in the rapture of the Church – which nullifies 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and Revelation 3:10.
• They believe in Replacement Theology – when the Jews refused to receive Jesus as the God-sent Savior, all the promises God made to Israel were given to the Church.
• They do not believe in the sufficiency of Scripture – they add extra biblical literature, including their own version of the Bible.
• They believe Christians must cleanse the world of evil before the Lord Jesus will return and assume leadership of His Kingdom – that denies the truth of Revelation 19:15.
• They say the Church is to take over the systems of government – but the Bible says the Church is to preach the gospel.
• They say The Church is Christ on earth – but the Bible says the Church is the Body and Bride of Christ.

   If the NAR and the Kingdom Now/Dominionists take over the evangelical churches:

• The church will relax its standards even more than it has already – cultural Christianity will be the norm.
• The church will become more interested in addressing the social issues of life rather than the salvation of souls.
• The church will forge alliances with other religious groups that do not share our core doctrines or moral values.
• The church will preach and teach even less about biblical prophecy.
• The church will be building Satan’s kingdom rather than God’s.