All excellent points Vanderhoven. I counted the phrase "gospel of ______ " in the Textus Receptus (King James Version) once and this is what I found:
Gospel of Jesus Christ (or Christ ) – 12 times
Gospel of God – 7 times
Gospel of the kingdom – 4 times
Gospel of peace – 2 times
Gospel of the grace of God – 1 time
Gospel of your salvation – 1 time
Gospel of the uncircumcision – 1 time
Gospel of the circumcision – 1 time
Gospel of his Son – 1 time
Putting the list in one place makes it easy to see that by far the good news is about (in order of frequency):
1. Jesus / God (salvation & grace)
2. Kingdom
So, the salvation and grace that is offered by God through the person of Jesus is the primary message of what the Kingdom is, in the New Testament. He is the one who predicted that he would be killed and that he would resurrect himself from the dead...... something only God could do. He is the one who guarantees our safe passage into God's family with his own blood. Jesus is primarily the good news. We are all related to him as sons and daughters of Adam, hence he has the legal right to redeem us as our Kinsman Redeemer and pay our debt if he chooses to do so. He chose to do so.
Yet, Jesus singled out the good news of the Kingdom when speaking to his closest Jewish friends about end times, the end of one dispensation (of grace) and the beginning of another (the kingdom age).
But, Paul later stated that God gave the apostles the ministry of reconciliation to preach to the Gentiles about.
Why the seeming discrepency in messages? That is what this tread is all about.
As always, the bible answers itself and there is no need to shop around for theologians who may or may not be filled with the Holy Spirit that guides believers is all tuth. The answers are found in the Mystery Kingdom Parables, one in particular.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
Mt. 13: 44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Most people interpret this short parable to mean that it is about a man who became a believer and sold everything he had to cherish and posess his new found faith.
That is NOT what this parable is about. The answer key is clearly outlined in vss 37-39
37 - 39 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
So, now that we know that the "Man" is none other than Jesus Christ, and the "Field" is the world we can reread the parable and understand what Jesus meant about the Kingdom:
Mt. 13: 44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Jesus is the man who because of his great love for the world of mankind, gave up everything he owned and purchased the field the (world of humankind) with his own blood.
Jesus himself is the treasure, he hides it "in the field" inside of people. Again: Jesus himself is the kingdom that he hides inside of believers:
Luke 17: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Other scriptures echo this:
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you... Col. 3: 15
Also:
I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: of whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory - Col. 1: 25-27
Clearly the Kingdom of God exists in not one place, but TWO.
First: During the Church Age, the Kingdom of God exists in its mystery form, not readily discernible, hidden in "the field" inside of (mostly gentile) believers when they become "born again" and receive a new spirit as a downpayment for the entire redemption of the believer's soul and body to come.
Secondly: The literal Kindom of God will suddenly manifest when Jesus physically returns to end the genocidal reign of the Anti-Christ and establish his 1000 year reign on earth. If he didn't return, scriptures says that unless those days were cut short no flesh would be saved.
This will be incredibly GOOD NEWS, but to who? Not you and me living in relative peace during the church age. No, but it will be fantastic news to those living during the reign of the Anti-Christ who through his various wars and conquests subjugates nearly the entire world where perhaps 2/3 of earth's population will die.
If you are alive at this time, for you the only thing that could count as good news, is if someone told you that a King was coming with the military muscle to unseat this Royal Genocidal Jackass - the Anti-Christ. A message about the Kingdom inside of you will not be good news at that time. Only a military solution that will stop the genocide will count as "good news"....someone who can put an end to all the killing.
And this is exacly what Jesus was talking about when addressing his Jewish friends in answer to the question, "When will the things be adn what will be the sign of your coming....and this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations and the the need will come".
144,000 male Jewish virgins will spearhead that global message. The real 144k will do it, not the fake ones in New York who claim to be (spiritual ) Jews. Remember, the Jews are still under blindness and are destined to go through the Great Tribulation (along with the rest of unbelieving mankind.) The Church will not be on earth at this time. Having not been "appointed to wrath" they will escape the GT when they are evuacated at the Rapture.
So what is the real take-away of all this for you and me living in 2024 as XJW's?
If you really want to defeat the Watchtower. If they have stolen your family, your mental health and happiness; if you really want to win - then Jesus has a message for you:
Rev. 3: 9 - Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Whether you are a believer or not; If you are an XJW, you have the same enemies as Jesus does. He wants you to know that. If you accept his invitation to get your sins forgiven and allow him to rule in your hearts during this age of grace, then he will exalt you in due time and you will witness Knorr, Franz, Russell and all the other impostors be forced to bend their knee before king Jesus, and they will be forced to know, before they are cast into everlasting fire, that Jesus loved you and rejected them.