Myths and Realities about Easter

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Day of Atonement, or the Fast

Next, let us read Leviticus 23:26-27, 31-32: “And the Lord spake … saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls [fast] …. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.”

Wonderful mystery! At-one-ment with God! Man at last made one with his Maker!

Again, in the 16th chapter of Leviticus, verses 29 and 31,where the symbolism of the Day of Atonement is explained, we find it instituted a holy sabbath to be kept forever: “And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you …. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.”

in Leviticus 23:32, the expression “from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” Every Sabbath keeper quotes this passage to show that the Sabbath begins at sunset. If we believe that, then why not keep the sabbath that this very text is speaking of—the high sabbath of the Day of Atonement, instituted forever?

The Day of Atonement pictures a wonderful and great event, to take place after the Second Coming of Christ, which the world is in total ignorance of because it has failed to see the true significance of these annual sabbaths holy unto the Lord. It has failed to keep them as a constant reminder of God’s plan of redemption!

The symbolism is all expressed in the account of the events of the Day of Atonement, as carried out before the crucifixion, in the 16th chapter of Leviticus.Verse 5—“And he [Aaron, or the high priest] shall take of the congregation
of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering ….”

Verse 6—The high priest offered a sin offering for himself and his house.
Verses 7 and 8—“And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; the one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat [margin,Hebrew, Azazel].”

The Comprehensive Commentary has:“Spencer, after the oldest opinions of the Hebrews and Christians, thinks Azazel is the name of the devil, and so Rosen …. The word scapegoat signifies the goat which went away.” The One Volume Commentary says: “The word ‘scapegoat’ in the av is not a translation.” It is merely an interpretation of the supposed meaning by the translators.

True, the English word scapegoat signifies “one who bears blame or guilt for others.” But scapegoat is an English word, and is not a translation of the Hebrew word Azazel. The word scapegoat, and the meaning attached to this English word, is not a translation of the Hebrew word Azazel, and therefore it is not the word inspired originally.Continues the One Volume Commentary: “Azazel is understood to be the name of one of those malignant demons.”

These two goats were, of course, types. Notice, it was necessary to be decided by lot, which one was qualified to represent Christ, and which Azazel. Some say both were qualified. The scripture does not say this. Let us not assume it.

Now one lot was for the Lord—this goat typified Christ—but the other lot was not for the Lord, did not typify Christ, but Azazel—Satan! These words most naturally suggest that Azazel is the name of a person, here contrasted to the Eternal! Notice the contrast—one for the Lord, the other for Azazel.

Now the goat which God selected—through lot, to represent Christ—was slain, as Christ, its antitype, was slain. But the other goat selected by God to represent Azazel was not slain, but was driven, alive, into an uninhabited wilderness. It was not a resurrected goat, symbolizing the resurrected Christ, for it never died. The uninhabited wilderness, to which this goat was driven, cannot, as we shall show, represent heaven, where Christ went. Heaven is neither uninhabited, nor a wilderness.

the high priest (verse 11) killed the bullock for a sin offering for himself, then took the burning coals of fire and the sweet incense into the holy of holies, also sprinkling the blood of the bullock before the mercy seat, typical of the throne of God, covering the tables of testimony (the law). This the high priest was required to do in order to purify himself to officiate, and to represent Christ as High Priest. In the antitype, this was not done, for Christ, our High Priest, had no need of this purification as the typical substitutionary priests did.

Next, the goat which God selected by lot to represent Christ, as the sin offering of the people, was killed. Thus the sins of the people were borne by the goat, even as Christ, finally, once for all, bore our sins on the cross. But Christ rose again from the dead, and ascended to the throne of God in heaven.

The risen Christ, now at the right hand of the throne of God in heaven (1 Peter 3:22), is called—what? Our High Priest! What was the earthly type of God’s throne? The uninhabited wilderness? No! That is where the live goat went!

The earthly type of God’s throne was the mercy seat in the holy of holies. After Christ died, He went to the heavenly mercy seat interceding for us, as our High Priest. “[E]ntereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (Hebrews 6:19-20).

Now, again, who, or what, in the Levitical ceremony of the Day of Atonement, typified the risen Christ, our High Priest, who went within the veil to God’s throne in heaven? The one goat had been slain. It represented the slain Christ. It can no longer represent the risen Christ. The slain Christ was not our High Priest, because the Levitical priesthood, with its high priest, did not end until Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven as a High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. But the risen Christ was High Priest.

Now who took this part in the Levitical ceremonies, temporarily re-enacted year by year, on this eternal holy day? Why, it was the Levitical high priest, not the goat representing Azazel!

 

[prove-all]

The High Priest—Type of Christ

As soon as the slain goat was dead, who went within the veil, presenting the blood of this goat before
the typical throne of God?

Leviticus 16:15-16—“Then shall he [the high priest] kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and [now the high priest himself typifying the work of the risen Christ] bring his blood within the vail … and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place.

And so it was the high priest taking blood within the veil, to the mercy seat, that typified the risen Christ figuratively taking His blood, once for all, within the veil to the very throne of God in heaven, there to intercede for us as High Priest.

The high priest going within the veil, into the holy of holies, symbolized Christ’s return to heaven. The work he did while in the holy of holies symbolized Christ’s work these 1,900 years interceding for us, presenting His shed blood before the mercy seat in heaven. Now, coming back out, symbolizing Christ’s return to Earth, what did the high priest do?

“And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him [Fenton: shall carry upon itself] all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. And Aaron shall … wash his flesh with water …. And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat [Azazel] shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp” (verses 20-26).

Is not God a God of justice, as well as of compassion and mercy?Who is the real author of our sins? The devil is the author of them, even as Christ is the author of our salvation. Jesus took our guilt—our blame—our sins—upon Himself as an innocent substitutionary sacrifice.

Is it justice for Christ to bear guilt that is not His, while the devil goes off scot-free? Do you not suppose God’s great plan will finally work full justice by placing that original blame and guilt right where it belongs?

But justice certainly demands that God place right back on the head of the devil his guilt—not our guilt, but his own guilt—for leading us into sin. We were guilty, too—and our guilt Christ bore—yet all our sins belong right back on the devil as his own guilt!

The Azazel goat carries away the sins of all the people already forgiven. These sins already were fully paid for by Christ’s substitute sacrifice, symbolized by the killing of the innocent goat before those same sins were finally laid on the live goat. They had been previously paid for by the death of the slain goat.

The devil is the real author of all sin. Can we, then, be finally made at one with God, as long as this instigator of sin is with us? Can we not see he must first be driven away? And there would not be justice with God unless his own guilt in our sins were placed right back on his head? Is it justice for Christ to bear the devil’s guilt, as well as our own guilt, for our sins?

The driving away of the second live goat shows the final atonement, by placing the sins on their author where they belong, and the complete removal of the sins and their author from the presence of God and His people—and thus the complete deliverance of the people from the power of Satan.

after laying both his hands on the live goat, Azazel, Aaron had to wash and cleanse himself before coming in contact with the people. So, too, the “fit man” also had to wash his clothes and bathe himself after coming in contact with the Azazel goat, before he came into the presence of the people. The symbolism is certainly that of having come in contact with the devil!

Notice, now, this act of putting these already expiated and forgiven sins on the head of this live goat does not take place until after the high priest returns from the holy of holies within the veil—so this typified an act to take place after the Second Coming of Christ to this Earth!

and the high priest returning to place the sins finally upon the head of the live goat represented the return of Christ, who will place the sins He bore on their author, the devil, and who will send him away alive into a desolate uninhabited wilderness—the “bottomless pit,” or abyss, of Revelation 20:3.

In the 19th chapter of Revelation, we have the prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ. At the beginning of the 20th chapter, what is to happen?Exactly what the 16th chapter of Leviticus shows. The devil is sent away—the symbol here used is the “bottomless pit” symbol of an uninhabited desolate wilderness (Revelation 18:2)—and he is sent there by a fit man—an angel from heaven. Now the devil is not killed. He does not die. He is still alive a thousand years later—after the Millennium (Revelation 20:7).

Both goats were “[presented] before the Lord.” Can Satan be presented before the Lord? Job 1:6 and 2:1 say he has presented himself before the Lord. Note, too, Azazel was driven away from the holy of holies, a symbol of God’s presence.

And so the annual Day of Atonement was instituted forever to keep continually before God’s children and His Church the plan of redemption, to occur after the Second Coming of Christ.

And we find this annual holy day recognized in the New Testament. In Acts 27:9, it is recorded that Paul was on his perilous sea voyage to Rome, “when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past ….” See the margin in your Bible. The fast refers to the Day of Atonement—the 10th day of the seventh month.

 

[prove-all]

Feast of Tabernacles

Now we come to the festival of Tabernacles—or feast of booths—the sixth festival. Let us notice
the instruction concerning this occasion:

“Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter …. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the [Eternal] thy God in the place which the [Eternal] shall choose: because the [Eternal] thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice. … [A]nd they shall not appear before the [Eternal] empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee” (Deuteronomy 16:13-17).

Here is the festival of Tabernacles, to be kept for seven days, beginning the 15th day of the seventh month of God’s sacred calendar. Notice Leviticus 23:33-35: “And the [Eternal] spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,

The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the [Eternal]. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”

On the first of these days is a holy convocation—a commanded assembly. No work is to be done. “[A]nd ye shall rejoice before the [Eternal] your God seven days. … It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month” (verses 40-41).

After Christ has died for our sins to redeem mankind— after He has sent us the Holy Spirit and picked out a people for His name to become kings and priests through the thousand years—after His glorious Second Coming—after He has finally restored the redeemed by placing all the sins upon the head of Satan, their real author, and separating both him and the sins from the presence of God and His people, thus finally perfecting the at-one-ment, making us finally joined in one—then we are ready for that final series of events, the commencement of the “marriage of the Lamb,” the actual making of the New Covenant, the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth and the reaping of the great harvest of souls for a thousand years.

This festival is the picture of the Millennium!

In the Holy Land there are two annual harvests. The first is the spring grain harvest. Second comes the main harvest.

the festival of Tabernacles is to be held “at the year’s end” (Exodus 34:22). In this verse the festival of Tabernacles, or booths, is specifically called the “feast of ingathering.” The harvest year ended at the beginning of autumn. Just as Pentecost pictures the early harvest—this Church age—so the festival of ingatherings, or Tabernacles, pictures the fall harvest— the great harvest of souls in the Millennium!

Today is not the only day of salvation. Today is a day of salvation. Isaiah said so: chapter 49, verse 8. In fact, the original Greek words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:2 should be translated “a day of salvation,” not “the day of salvation.”

Turn to the book of Zechariah to understand this more thoroughly. In the 12th and 13th chapters we have a picture of Christ returning and the reconciliation of the world commencing. Here the meaning of the festivals of Trumpets and Atonement is made plain.

Next, notice the 14th chapter. The time is the Millennium. “And the [Eternal] shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one [Eternal], and his name one. … [T]here shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited” (verses 9, 11). It is the time when “living waters”—salvation, the Holy Spirit—“shall go out from Jerusalem” (verse .

In that day, when the Earth is safely inhabited, when the Holy Spirit is granted to all mortal flesh, what happens? “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles” (verse 16).

Notice this 16th verse of Zechariah 14. After Christ returns, the nations—mortal Gentiles who have not yet received salvation— will come to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles! How could they keep a festival that was abolished at the cross? They could keep it only if it were commanded forever.

And what will happen if they refuse to obey God? “And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain” (verse 17).

And if the nations still won’t obey? “[T]here shall be the plague, where with the Lord will smite the heathen”—there are still heathen nations just beginning to learn the way of salvation—“ that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment

To receive salvation even the Gentiles will have to keep this festival. Of course, it is commanded forever!

Now we customarily quote Isaiah 66:23, showing that the Sabbath will be kept in the Millennium, as proof we must keep it now. Will we, then, when we read Zechariah 14:16, showing that the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept in the Millennium, be consistent by keeping it today?

Notice that Christ kept the Feast of Tabernacles. The Apostle John devoted an entire chapter of his Gospel—the seventh chapter—to describe what Jesus said and did during the Feast of Tabernacles in the last year of His ministry.

 

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Why Called the Feast of Tabernacles

During the Millennium, the Kingdom of God into which we may be born will rule the nations which are composed of mortal men begotten by the Spirit of God. The billions of mortal men alive during the Millennium will still be heirs to the Kingdom of God. They will not yet have inherited it as long as they remain mortal flesh, for “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50). “Ye must be born again”—“of the Spirit”—to inherit the Kingdom, said Jesus.

Remember that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were merely heirs when they dwelled on Earth (Hebrews 11:9). While heirs they dwelled in tabernacles, or booths, sojourning in the land of promise. Booths, or temporary dwellings, pictured that they were not yet inheritors. Thus we read of the Feast of Tabernacles that “Ye shall dwell in booths seven days … That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt …” (Leviticus 23:42-43).

The Israelites dwelled in booths in the wilderness before they entered the Promised Land. Those booths pictured that they were only heirs. Even during the Millennium, when the Kingdom of God is ruling over mortal nations, the people will be only heirs to the Kingdom. They must overcome and grow in knowledge and wisdom to inherit the promises.

What a marvelous picture. God says of Ephraim (a type of all Israel) that they will “dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast” (Hosea 12:9). Israel, in the wilderness, was a type of all people who must go through trials and tribulations to inherit the promises. They were wanderers, waiting to inherit the promises of salvation.

The Feast of Tabernacles is, strictly speaking, seven days long—to picture the entire Millennium. Seven is God’s number of completeness. Therefore, there must also be seven festivals. Let us notice where it is mentioned: “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. … [O]n the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you … it is a [day of] solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein” (Leviticus 23:34, 36).
“the last day, that great day of the feast”
“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. … [O]n the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you … it is a [day of] solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein” (Leviticus 23:34, 36).

This eighth day, technically a separate feast, is called “the last day, that great day of the feast” (John 7:37).

Notice what Jesus preached about on that day: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. … [O]ut of his belly [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive …)” (John 7:37-39).

This was Jesus’s sermon giving the meaning of the Last Great Day!

Now turn to Revelation 20. After the Millennium, what happens? A resurrection! The dead stand before God. This couldn’t include true Christians today, as they will appear before the judgment seat when Christ returns. It couldn’t refer to those converted during the Millennium. They have already inherited the Kingdom during the Millennium, after living out a normal lifespan. Those in this resurrection must be those who died in ignorance in past ages! They are not brought to life until after the Millennium (Revelation 20:5).

 

[prove-all]

Pictures the Day of Judgment

This is that judgment day mentioned in Matthew 10:15. It is a time when Gentiles who died in ignorance will be given an opportunity to receive salvation. Ezekiel 16:53-55 make this very plain. Even those in Israel who died in their sins will be given their first opportunity to understand the truth of God and His way (Ezekiel 37). The prophet wrote that God would pour out His Spirit on those resurrected (verse 14). This is precisely the salvation that Jesus mentioned in His sermon on that great day of the Feast in the autumn of a.d. 30.

This eighth day, which immediately follows the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, pictures the completion of the plan of redemption. It is just prior to the new heaven and the new Earth. All—parents and children, young and old—will be resurrected.

Notice that the “book of life”—typifying salvation—is opened (Revelation 20:12). Revelation presents the final view of the “judgment day” as the present material heaven and Earth are perishing—and the faithful are receiving their eternal reward at the throne of Christ. The wicked—those who disobey—are seen perishing in the lake of fire!

What a marvelous plan! All will have an equal opportunity.

And finally, notice in Leviticus 23:37-38. After describing these annual holy days, it says: “These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations … eside the sabbaths of the Lord ….” We are, then, to keep these besides the Sabbath of the Lord.

Sunday is the weekly rest day of this modern churchianity,but the Sabbath is the day of the Lord. Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, and a host of others are the holidays that have come directly from paganism, but these seven annual holy days are the holy days of God! Let us forsake the pagan holidays of this world, and observe the true holy days of God.

 

[john832]

Prove-all, that is a wonderful explanation of the plan of God.

 

[MarcR]

Pictures the Day of Judgment

This is that judgment day mentioned in Matthew 10:15. It is a time when Gentiles who died in ignorance will be given an opportunity to receive salvation. Ezekiel 16:53-55 make this very plain. Even those in Israel who died in their sins will be given their first opportunity to understand the truth of God and His way (Ezekiel 37). The prophet wrote that God would pour out His Spirit on those resurrected (verse 14). This is precisely the salvation that Jesus mentioned in His sermon on that great day of the Feast in the autumn of a.d. 30.

This eighth day, which immediately follows the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, pictures the completion of the plan of redemption. It is just prior to the new heaven and the new Earth. All—parents and children, young and old—will be resurrected.

Notice that the “book of life”—typifying salvation—is opened (Revelation 20:12). Revelation presents the final view of the “judgment day” as the present material heaven and Earth are perishing—and the faithful are receiving their eternal reward at the throne of Christ. The wicked—those who disobey—are seen perishing in the lake of fire!

What a marvelous plan! All will have an equal opportunity.

And finally, notice in Leviticus 23:37-38. After describing these annual holy days, it says: “These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations … eside the sabbaths of the Lord ….” We are, then, to keep these besides the Sabbath of the Lord.

Sunday is the weekly rest day of this modern churchianity,but the Sabbath is the day of the Lord. Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, and a host of others are the holidays that have come directly from paganism, but these seven annual holy days are the holy days of God! Let us forsake the pagan holidays of this world, and observe the true holy days of God.

Good job showing how the appointed times relate meaningfully to believers in Jesus.

I don't agree with everything you said; but that doesn't negate the fact that you did an excellent job here.

 

[prove-all]

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Satan was still here on Earth as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is also the “prince of the power of the air” today (Ephesians 2:2), holding sway over the whole of mankind.

“As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
If ye continue in my word [His message], then are ye my disciples indeed .… 

ut ye seek to kill me, because my word [His gospel message] hath no place in you. … But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God .… [F]or I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. … And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. … And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?”

But Satan connived to set up a powerful Gentile religious leader with a counterfeit religion—the ancient Babylonian mystery religion. He hatched a counterfeit “gospel.” He even appropriated the name of Christ, calling that religion “Christianity.”

In Samaria, north of Jerusalem, lived a Gentile people whom the Jews of Christ’s day spurned, calling them “dogs.” They had been moved there from areas of the Babylonian Empire about 700 b.c. by various kings, including Shalmaneser of Assyria (2 Kings 17:18, 21-24, etc.). They had brought with them into the land of Samaria their own Babylonian mystery religion. In the eighth chapter of Acts you’ll read of their religious leader in the time of Christ, Simon Magus the Sorcerer.

The True and the False Church

In the book of Revelation are pictured two churches, each of which go under the name of Christ. One, pictured in the 12th chapter, portrays the true Church of God, small in number, reduced through persecution and martyrdom, but obedient to God’s law, and hated by Satan. The other, in the 17th chapter, called “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth” (verse 5). In other words, the Babylonian mystery religion steeped in “iniquity”—abolishing God’s law.

During the time of Paul’s ministry, these same Simon Magus ministers were troubling the Corinthians. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ [the true Church, in the resurrection, is to be married to Christ, spiritually].

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he [a minister of Simon Magus] that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit [of rebellion and disobedience], which ye have not received, or another gospel …” (2 Corinthians 11:2-4).

But notice, they were proclaiming another Jesus—as well as another gospel—and they followed another spirit—of rebellion and not obedience. That deception has continued through the centuries and is the state today. They took the name of Christ. They called their Babylonian religion “Christianity.” But they not only presented a counterfeit gospel but a counterfeit spirit of self-centeredness and a counterfeit Jesus, completely different to the Jesus of the Bible.

Of these false ministers, Paul wrote further to the Corinthians: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness …” (verses 13-15).

Peter wrote of these deceivers: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies .… And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you …” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

John wrote of these same perverters of the true gospel, denying obedience to the way of God. “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us 

Jude warned us that we should “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [license to disobey] .… Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion [government], and speak evil of dignities. … Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Almighty God has decreed that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations …” (verse 14)

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel .…” What gospel? “… the gospel of the kingdom of God .” That is the gospel Christ proclaimed.The message He brought was the message about the Kingdom of God.

Jesus came into Galilee “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Jesus said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent” (Luke 4:43).

Jesus commissioned His disciples to teach the Kingdom of God. “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and … he sent them to preach the kingdom of God …” (Luke 9:1-2).

“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12).

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom …” (Matthew 4:23).

Jesus’s parables concerned the Kingdom of God.

Again, “Then said he [Jesus], Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?” (Luke 13:18)
—and then came a parable.

“And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven …”—and then follows the parable of the leaven

One of His most important parables is recorded in the 19th chapter of Luke: “… he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear” (Luke 19:11).

Then He gave the parable of the nobleman going to a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return—the picture of Christ’s ascension to heaven, where the coronation ceremony shall take place, and His return to Earth to rule all nations, as King of kings and Lord of lords, in all the supreme power and glory of the great God.

Notice, just before Jesus ascended into heaven. Luke had previously recorded what Jesus had done and said “ntil the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy [Spirit] had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:2-3).

after His resurrection Christ was speaking to His disciples about

“the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”