Table of Contents
Copyright @ 1959, The Paternoster Press
ISBN 0-8028-1280-5
Reprinted 2000
TO
CHARLES E. FULLER
Whose voice has brought the Gospel
of the Kingdom to millions around the
world
The Bible text in this publication, unless translated
by the author, is from the Revised Standard Version
of the Bible, copyrighted 1946 and 1952 by the
Division of Christian Education, National Council
of Churches, and used by permission
FOREWORD
SERIOUS students of the Bible sometimes lose sight of the fact that the study and interpretation of Scripture should never be an end in itself. God has given men His Word written for a practical purpose: That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (II Tim. 3: 17). When a gulf exists between the lecture-room and the pulpit, sterility in the class-room and superficiality in the pulpit often result.
The present author has given much attention to the technical study of the Biblical doctrine of the Kingdom of God. No teaching of the New Testament has been more vigorously debated than this. However, the Kingdom of God was the central message of our Lords ministry. He went about all Galilee ... preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4: 23). This element of proclamation has often been engulfed in debate and argument.
The following pages are proclamation. While it is obvious that a distinct point of view underlies the proclamation, the purpose is not to defend the point of view or to discuss optional interpretations or critical and theological problems, but to attempt to follow our Lords example by proclaiming Good News.
These studies were originally delivered as addresses in the pulpit and in Bible Conferences and have been recorded and adapted for publication. The style therefore is simple and direct, the objective is devotional and practical, and the appeal is to the heart and will. The book is committed to the press with the prayer that the reality of the Kingdom of God may bring blessing to many readers, as it has to the author.
GEORGE ELDON LADD.
Pasadena, California.
INTRODUCTION
ESCHATOLOGY has always been a fascinating subject. It appeals to both Christian and non-Christian alike. Everyone is curious about the future. That is why we have always had so many magicians and fortune-tellers. Especially today do men long to know what lies ahead. However, apart from the Word of God we can only speculate. It alone discloses Gods purpose both for the present and the future.
I have read many books on prophecy. I am familiar with the various schools of thought and interpretation. Much has been written about the Kingdom of God. But of all the books I have read, I have never come across one that so clearly and so Scripturally deals with the Kingdom as does Dr. Ladds new volume, The Gospel of the Kingdom.
Dr. Ladd shows that the Kingdom of God belongs to the present as well as the future. He conceives of the Kingdom as the rule, the reign, the government of God in this age in the hearts and lives of those who yield themselves to Him, and in the next age over all the world. He sums it up in the second chapter in this way:
The Kingdom of God is basically the rule of God. It is Gods reign, the divine sovereignty in action. Gods reign, however, is manifested in several realms, and the Gospels speak of entering into the Kingdom of God both today and tomorrow. Gods reign manifests itself both in the future and in the present and thereby creates both a future realm and a present realm in which man may experience the blessings of His reign.
His interpretation of the parables is most illuminating. He does not believe that an interpretation has to be found for every detail. His understanding is that the Kingdom, though insignificant in appearance at present, is a reality and that it is destined to dominate the whole world. God will some day rule over all. This is a conception quite different from the usual interpretations given by the various schools of prophetic study. It should encourage the discouraged and give hope to the hopeless. Gods government regardless of appearances is bound to triumph at last. Nothing can withstand it.
Dr. Ladds interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is the clearest I have ever read. No one can study it without being deeply convicted. It cuts squarely across the practices and teachings of our day. Divorce, lust, anger, oaths, etc., are dealt with in no uncertain way. The interpretation is evangelistic and Scriptural in every sense of the word. It will make the Bible a new book.
It seems to me that the authors emphasis on the absolute necessity of a decision with all that it involves is of the utmost importance. Dr. Ladd does not minimize the cost. Discipleship always costs. There is a price to pay. The rich young ruler had to give up all. Gods government demands complete submission. His subjects must put Him first. The Kingdom is entered only when a decision has been made and the price paid.
Then too, he makes it clear that the Church is to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom right up to the end of the age, and that only when the task has been completed will the King return.
It is my hope that this book will be studied by ministers, students, and Christian workers everywhere. I congratulate Dr. Ladd upon having written it. He has made a real contribution to the Church in our day.
OSWALD J. SMITH
Los Angeles
February, 1959
CHAPTER I
WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
WE live in a wonderful and yet a fearful day. It is a wonderful day because of the amazing accomplishments of our modern scientific skills which have provided us with a measure of comfort and prosperity undreamed of a century ago. Great metal birds soar through the air, swallowing up thousands of miles in a few hours. Floating palaces bring to the ocean voyager all the luxuries of the most elegant hotel. The automobile has freed man to explore for himself scenes and sights which to his grandparents were contained only in story-books. Electrical power has brought a score of slaves to serve the humblest housewife. Medical science has conquered the plague, smallpox, and other scourges of physical well-being and is on the threshold of other amazing conquests.
A marvellous age, indeed! Yet happiness and security seem further removed than ever, for we face dangers and hazards of unparalleled dimensions. We have come victoriously through a war in which the foundations of human liberty were threatened; yet the columns of our newspapers are stained with unbelievable stories of the suppression of human freedom, and the fight for freedom goes on. New discoveries in the structure of matter have opened unimaginable vistas of blessing for mans physical well-being; yet these very discoveries hold the potential, in the hands of evil men, of blasting society from the face of the earth.
In a day like this, wonderful yet fearful, men are asking questions. What does it all mean? Where are we going? What is the meaning and the goal of human history? Men are concerned today not only about the individual and the destiny of his soul but also about the meaning of history itself. Does mankind have a destiny? Or do we jerk across the stage of time like wooden puppets, only to have the stage, the actors, and the theatre itself destroyed by fire, leaving only a pile of ashes and the smell of smoke?
In ancient times, poets and seers longed for an ideal society. Hesiod dreamed of a lost Golden Age in the distant past but saw no brightness in the present, constant care for the morrow, and no hope for the future. Plato pictured an ideal state organized on philosophical principles; but he himself realized that his plan was too idealistic to be realized. Virgil sang of one who would deliver the world from its sufferings and by whom the great line of the ages begins anew.
