PMW 2024-097 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.
THE APPROACHING OF THE KINGDOM
In the Gospels we discover Christ being introduced to Israel and the world through the ministry of John Baptist (Luke 1:76). John himself even fulfills prophecy by being the Messiah’s forerunner (Isa 40:3; Matt 3:3). He prepares the way for Jesus by preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2). And Jesus picks up on this theme as he begins his own ministry in Mark 1:14–15:
“And 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 the gospel.’”
Let’s consider three crucial factors flowing out of this important pronouncement.
First, Jesus declares “the time” has arrived. What is “the time” to which he refers? It surely speaks of the prophetically-anticipated time, the time of the coming of David’s greater Son to establish his kingdom. We may surmise this in that he immediately adds: “the kingdom of God is at hand.” After all, the Father sent Christ into the world in “the fullness of time” (Gal 4:4; Eph 1:10), to initiate the “favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:16–21). This favorable year of the Lord is also called “the acceptable time . . . the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2). It is the very day righteous men and angels in the old covenant long desired to see (Matt 13:17; Luke 2:28–30; 10:24; John 8:56; Heb 11:13, 39–40; 2 Pet 1:10–11).
Second, Jesus proclaims that the time “is fulfilled.” He does not say “the time may be fulfilled — if you will receive the promise.” Or: “the time will be fulfilled at some unknown date in the future.” Rather he forthrightly declares that the God-ordained time is fulfilled now. Because of this Paul can later call this “the now time” (2 Cor 6:2; cf. Rom 3:21–26; Eph 3:10; 2 Tim 1:9–10). Though John and Jesus announce that the time is fulfilled, Jerusalem did not recognize the coming of “the time” (Luke 19:44; cf. Matt 23:37).
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Third, “the kingdom of God is at hand.” Since “the time” has arrived, and since it is “fulfilled,” the kingdom of God is finally close, being right at hand. The coming of the kingdom does not await the distantly future return of Christ. Rather, during his first coming, at the very opening of his ministry, Jesus preaches that “the kingdom of God is at hand.”
All of this is crucial to our eschatological understanding — and in keeping with postmillennial expectations. The kingdom’s early new covenant revelation declares its nearness in time, not its potential nearness, and certainly not its distance. As a result of this glorious reality, Jesus promises that some of his hearers would live to see the kingdom’s acting in great power in history: “There are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power” (Mark 9:1).
Thus, not only is his kingdom present in his ministry, but some of his disciples will actually live to see its exhibition in power. This exhibition would not be immediately, for some of his disciples would die first. Yet this must occur within the lifetimes of others, for “some” standing there would witness it.
The announcement in Mark 9:1 apparently refers to the dramatic AD 70 destruction of the temple and the removal of the Old Testament worship system. The writer of Hebrews anticipates the old covenant’s conclusion: “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear” (cf. Heb 8:13; 12:25–28). This occurs as a direct result of Jesus’ prophecies of the altering of divine worship (John 4:21–23) that results from the destruction of the temple (Matt 21:33–46; 22:1–7; 23:31–24:34).
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THE ESTABLISHING OF THE KINGDOM
Jesus opens his ministry with the declaration that “the time” is “fulfilled” and the “kingdom of God” is “at hand.” Thus, we should expect the kingdom to appear in Jesus’ ministry and in the Gospel record. This is precisely what we discover in the Gospels.
Perhaps one of the clearest Gospel proofs of the presence of the kingdom is Matthew 12:28: “if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.” Since Jesus does cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom has come. The very fact that Christ invades Satan’s kingdom and takes away possessions (demoniacs, Matt 12:25–29) proves that the kingdom comes during his ministry.
Luke records for us another announcement of the kingdom’s presence in Luke 17:20–21:
“Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or, “There it is!” For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.’”
Notice that Christ answers the Pharisees’ specific question regarding “when” the kingdom should come. He answers them in the present tense, informing them that the kingdom is present now. It is not awaiting a future, visible, Armageddon-introduced manifestation, complete with signs; it exists spiritually now and among them.
Because of this, even during his ministry men enter into it: “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it” (Luke 16:16). Christ’s kingdom is not awaiting some distant future coming.
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During his trial under Pilate, the Lord speaks directly of his kingship and kingdom:
“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.’ Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.’” (John 18:36–37a; see also: Matt 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3)
Here Jesus defines his kingdom as something other-worldly, rather than as a this-worldly political kingdom. His kingdom differs from Caesar’s political kingdom — and it differs from the dispensationalist’s political conception of the Messianic kingdom. He claims to have his own “servants” (even though they do not fight with sword to defend Him, John 18:36b). He even clearly states “I am a king” (John 18:37a). And, as we might expect, given our study of Mark 1:14–15, he states that he has come into the world for the purpose of being king (John 18:37c). Thus, his kingdom is already present for we read of Jesus’ affirmation that he is a king: “You say correctly that I am a king” (John 18:37a).
In all of this we see Christ himself stating that he was establishing his Messianic kingdom during his earthly ministry in his first coming. This is precisely the position of postmillennialism, though this contradicts the position of dispensationalism.
To be continued.
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Postmillennial Worldview 
I agree that the kingdom is in our midst, and has spread throughout the whole earth, since the Mark 1:14-15 announcement. Jesus reigns at the Fathers right hand. As a result it has grown and is as prominent as it could ever be vs 2000 years ago. Jesus must now come a second time, future, to consummate it. Then it will become physical reign and kingdom on earth, as the Jews had mistakenly expected during His earthly ministry. Any thoughts of the church literally reigning and ruling this world (without Christ Himself physically present) have been debunked by history. Things are falling to pieces, systematically. But our job will have been done, to preach the gospel to all the world. Not to convert everyone, but to obey and preach his word everywhere.
It ain’t over, til it’s over. Think of how many years passed between God’s promise of a redeemer to Adam (Gen. 3:15) and his actual appearing in history. Remember: a day with the Lord is as a 1000 years and that God is not slow concerning his promise but providing time for men to repent (2 Pet 3).
You can’t dismiss the postmillennial hope until Christ returns, because postmillennialism does not say that the full victory of the gospel will be accomplished by 2024.
Is Matthew 24:14 also about the destruction of the temple? It seems like it is about the end times (confirming our view, nonetheless), but how would a verse about the last days fit into the context of the destruction of the temple? I know you believe (and so do I) that Jesus speaks of the destruction until verse 31, 32-35 are transitional, and 36 picks up on the second part of the question asked in verse 3, and from now on Jesus speaks of the end times. Any help on this would be much appreciated!
Can orthodox preterists claim that “the gospel of the kingdom” was “preached in the whole world”? Indeed, we can — and on the basis of the biblical record itself? Yes, we can.
In Acts 2:5 Luke records the composition of the crowd hearing Peter’s pentecostal sermon: “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven [pantos ethnous tn hupo ton ouranon].” Using House and Ice’s approach we could dispute Luke’s record: surely there were no representatives from the “Western Hemisphere,” were there? Yet Luke records that men are there “from every nation under heaven” — and the Western Hemisphere is certainly “under heaven.” Obviously Luke does not mean to include the Western Hemisphere; to press his words in that direction would be patently wrong.
Here in Acts 2:5, then, we have a gathering to hear the witness of the gospel. This gathering meets the requirements of Matthew 24:14, at least representatively, for these people were “from every nation under heaven.” But there is more.
In Romans 10:18 Paul states regarding gospel preachers: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world [oikoumens].” Thus, in AD 55 Paul can declare that “the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17) has already gone [aorist verb: past tense] “to the ends of the oikumen.” Was he stating that these words had penetrated to the Western Hemisphere?
Interestingly, in Romans 1:8 Paul writes: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world [hol t kosm].” Their faith is the Christian faith, and Paul dogmatically states that it is being spoken of throughout the “whole world.” What is remarkable about this statement is that Paul uses a term for “world” that generally applies more broadly than oikoumen.
Here Paul uses the word kosmos that often means the entire planet, “the sum total of everything here and now, the world, the (orderly) universe” (BAGD 561). This word appears in texts that even mention the creation of the world at the beginning (Matt. 13:35; 25:34; Luke 11:40; John 17:5; Rom. 1:20; Heb. 4:3; 9:26) — and this is the case here in our very context in Matthew 24: at verse 21. If Paul can state that the faith of these Christians is being spoken of throughout “the whole world” (hol t kosm) around AD 55, does not this fulfill Jesus statement in Matthew 24:14?
Elsewhere Paul also speaks of the gospel “which has come to you, just as in all the world [panti t kosm ]…. [T]he gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed [aorist participle: past] in all creation under heaven [en pas t ktisei t hpo ton ouranon]” (Col. 1:6, 23). Turner discounts these references on the basis that Paul still longs “to take the gospel to previously unreached regions (Spain).” But the point remains: if Paul can state Romans 10:18 and Colossians 1:6 and 23 as fact in his lifetime, why may we not see these as fulfillments of Matthew 24:14?
Before moving on, I would note a couple of other samples of such global assertions used in a limited context. Josephus can speak of Nebuchadnezzar’s concern regarding those that would succeed him “in the government of the whole world” (tou kosmou pantos) (Ant. 10:10:4 [205]). And Eusebius traces the history of the early church under the apostles, noting that Christ’s message “ran through the whole world” (panta ton kosmon) (Eccl. Hist. 2: “Contents” III).
Matthew 24:14 is no hindrance at all to the preterist viewpoint. In fact, it harmonizes beautifully with many other Scriptures — much more easily than does dispensationalism’s view that must run roughshod over the clear statement of Matthew 24:34.
This statement is significant as Jesus declares the coming destruction of the temple. Earlier he speaks of himself as greater than Israel’s temple (Matt. 12:6). He is thus setting himself up as the greater new temple into which he must gather his new people. When we get to Matthew 24:31 we will see the worldwide gathering that begins in earnest with the temple’s AD 70 destruction. France observes that “the end of the old order will be the cue for the establishment of the universal reign of the Son of Man and the gathering of a new people of God from the ends of the earth.”
Excellent defense of the preterist and post millennial positions that the kingdom of God was ushered in during Jesus’s ministry and then after His ascension, the gospel was in fact preached in the entire world even before the New Testament canon had been completed in the first century.
Could the phrase that Christ’s kingdom will come with power be referring to the apostles’ ministry to spread the gospel throughout the world being accompanied by signs and wonders in that day?
This prophecy of Christ is debated even among orthodox exegetes. It could be referring to: (1) the transfiguration, which is probably the majority view; (2) the resurrection/ascension, by which he entered his state of glory. Judas died before either of these happened. Your alternative is also reasonable. But I tend to cautiously hold to (3) the AD 70 view.
That it might refer to the transfiguration does not contradict Jesus’ statement that some of them would not die before it happens. This is because he was not letting them know exactly when it was going to happen, but assuring them that it would not be beyond their lifespans.