THE OTHER HALF OF THE GOSPEL

“Genesis begins with the fall of man. Revelation concludes with the restoration of man. In Genesis the curse falls on man. In Revelation the curse is “no more.” In Genesis are the promises that the “seed of the woman” and the seed of Abraham will destroy the enemy and bless all of the families of the earth. In Revelation, that seed (the Lamb and 144,000), destroys the enemy and blesses all of the families of the earth. This is the kernel of the Gospel.

In another sense Jesus (the “Lamb” of Revelation) is also the kernel of the Gospel. Many fail to see or to acknowledge the SUBSTITUTIONARY sacrifice He made. The Scriptures abound with information which demonstrates that “the man Christ Jesus … gave himself a ransom (a corresponding price) for all, to be testified in due time. (1 Tim 2:5, 6)

It was Adam who sinned, and in him died the entire race. It was Jesus, the “lamb of God” which took away that one original sin (singular — John 1:29; 1 Cor 15:21, 22; Rom 5:19). This fulfilled the standard stated in God’s law: A LIFE FOR A LIFE. The death of “the man Christ Jesus” guaranteed the release of Adam (and all in him) from death so that they will be granted a new trial (Ah! there’s that pesky second chance many are in denial of). Some obtain that release early — now during the Christian or Gospel Age. (Rom 8:1) However most of mankind will obtain that release when the KINGDOM COMES (Matt 6:10) when they will be judged as their work “shall be” (Rev 22:12).

(1) Why did God create the earth and mankind?

(2) What is God doing in the earth today?

(3) What is the Gospel?

(4) What is the Church?

(5) What is the ultimate purpose of the Church?

(6) Are all outside the Church forever lost?

(7) What about the Jew?

Answers to these questions lay the necessary groundwork for an examination of Revelation. Without comprehending God’s overall plan for mankind, the study of a subject like Revelation certainly will bear little fruit. Because of this we devote this chapter to a consideration of the Gospel — the “good news” of the Bible. Please understand that we do not want to delay the examination of Revelation for you; but Jesus cannot be revealed to the mind which does not fully comprehend His purposes. This chapter is designed to review truths long lost sight of – truths which help Revelation make sense.

The title of this chapter, “The Other Half of the Gospel,” suggests that what we regularly hear preached as the Gospel is incomplete — and this is, indeed, the case. An examination of the Scriptural definition of the Gospel will prove that the Gospel is actually “good news” in a fuller sense than most Christians have ever dreamed.

In Gal 3:8 the Apostle Paul makes an interesting statement. He claims that the Gospel was preached to Abraham. This is a concept not generally appreciated — that the Gospel is also in the Old Testament. Abraham and his descendants believed God and His promises, and their belief, the core of traditional Judaism, is based upon the Gospel which God preached to Abraham. What is this belief?

It is basically this: Messiah will come and bless everyone on earth through the agency of Abraham’s children (or seed). This blessing will include resurrecting those who died. (It was because of Abraham’s faith in the resurrection that he was willing to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God. Heb 2:17-19)

Paul summed up all of this belief in the words spoken to Abraham, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Remember, Paul called this very promise “the Gospel.” It is a beautiful Gospel, too. It promises that all mankind will be blessed. (See the original promise in Gen 22:15-18.)

Christianity however does not define the Gospel in quite the same manner. The general teaching of Christendom is that only faithful believers will go to heaven when they die. (All others both non-believer and heathen alike are eternally lost. Whether or not this implies eternal torment or some form of separation from God is dependent upon which particular creed you consult.)

A chart to compare these two versions of the Gospel might be helpful:

On the surface Judaism seems better, doesn’t it? After all, it includes all men in the blessing, whereas Christendom excludes all except Christians. But our examination of the matter is not complete. As we look into it more, remember that we cannot immediately judge either of these definitions of the Gospel as being wrong. Judaism got its belief from God’s own prophets; we would, indeed, be presumptuous to ignore that testimony. And Jesus, who was a Jew, never disputed the Gospel as preached to Abraham. But we must acknowledge that the Bible also teaches that faithful Christians will go to heaven. These two versions of the Gospel are not inharmonious. By accepting them both, we learn the full Gospel.”

The Gospel is summarized in God’s promise to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all nations be blessed.”

What does this mean? Notice that it involves two distinct and separate part

1. Abraham’s seed.

2. All nations (or families) of earth.

Abraham’s seed is not totally as Abraham might have expected, for the Apostle informs us in Gal 3:29 that “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” This is a key to our understanding. It says that faithful Christians are counted by God as being Abraham’s seed or children. It also says that because of this they become “heirs” according to the “promise.”

What promise? The promise was that the seed would bless everyone else. Now we are at the crux of the matter. If true Christians are the seed, we see God’s eventual purpose for them: the blessing of all the nations of the earth, and the resurrecting of all those who have died even as Abraham expected so that they too could be blessed. Now our chart is harmonious. Those who go to heaven will be part of the great Messiah which will bless those here on earth. (Obadiah 21)

But the chart is harmonious only if we retain “the other half of the Gospel” — the part Judaism believes. And that part is, not only will the “seed” be saved, but so will the rest of mankind! It is actually saying that there are two salvations. First, the seed (true Christians) are saved; and secondly, they (the seed) save and bless everyone else. Yes, the complete Gospel really is GOOD NEWS! (Rom 2:28-32; l Tim 4:10)

The New Testament informs us that there will be two kinds of resurrection, one in heaven for the true seed (the “first resurrection“), and one on earth for all the rest of mankind. This is the whole Gospel Christendom and Judaism both have been incomplete in themselves. Each had one half of the Gospel. But now we see that those who will go to heaven in the first resurrection will not go to float on clouds and play harps, but rather to participate with Christ in the ruler-ship of his kingdom which will bless all the families here on earth. Christ’s kingdom will have two parts: a heavenly (or spiritual) phase and an earthly phase. If this were not so, why would the Lord have taught the disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth“? (Matt 6:10) Or how could the angels have predicted “Peace on earth, good will toward men“? (Luke 2:12-14) Or how would it be a blessing for the meek to “inherit the earth“? (Matthew 5:5)

Paul also mentions these two salvations in 1Tim 4:10 where he says, “We trust in the living God who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe.” It is clear that Paul still had in mind the seed and all men as being the two parts of the Gospel because he says that salvation is:

1. For all men, and

2. Especially for those that believe (now).

The “special” salvation is, of course, the salvation of the “first resurrection” (the heavenly resurrection — Rev 20:6). It is the salvation of true Christians (the fully consecrated), those whom God recognizes as His own true Church — “the seed of Abraham.”

Understanding the two salvations, the earthly and the heavenly (or the two parts of the Gospel), answers many questions about certain scriptures.

For instance, consider Matt 11:11: “Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of heaven (the spiritual phase) is greater than he.” This tells us what a great man John the Baptist was. Yet in the same verse we have our Lord’s own words that John will not be a part of the heavenly phase of the kingdom. John instead will be a part of all the nations of the earth who will be raised and blessed right here on the earth by “the seed” — the Church raised to heavenly glory. (Heb 11:39, 40)

So then, in short, the Gospel is the beautiful promise that all men will be raised and be given an opportunity to attain human perfection and everlasting life on the earth. The exception to this is those who faithfully serve the Lord during this present life since Jesus’ first advent. They will live in heaven as spirit beings, and their job will be to bless the race of man on earth. The true Gospel is a combination of the best basic traditional expectations of both Jews and Christians.”

Continued with next post.