The Crucified Messiah

Jesus commanded his disciples to proclaim the Good News of salvation and his kingdom to every inhabited corner of the Earth . The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about reforming society or fixing governments. His message summons all men to repent and join an entirely new social order and political reality, the Kingdom of God . His “ Good News ” is contrary to the political philosophies of this present “ evil age .” Responding positively to his invitation is vital considering the approaching disappearance of the existing order from the Earth.

Jesus is the one who unveils the mysteries of God, and only he is qualified to reveal the “ unseen God .” In him, all the promises of God find their substance. He is the interpretive key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and provides the correct understanding of Bible prophecy. The proclamation of “ Christ Crucified ” is the “ power and wisdom of God ,” and there is no knowledge of the Father apart from him.

Jesus declared, “ The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life .” His statement echoes the principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The “ flesh ” is not inherently evil, but it has no lasting life apart from the Holy Spirit. This principle was demonstrated at the original creation, and now the same Spirit is essential for the bodily resurrection of believers and everlasting life in the age to come.

God has spoken His decisive and superior “ word ” in His son, and He did so “ upon the last of these days .” This refers to the end of the period epitomized by the Levitical code with its priesthood and repeated animal sacrifices, a system of worship centered in the Tabernacle and the later Jerusalem Temple. With the appointment of Jesus as the High Priest “ after the order of Melchizedek ,” a new and final era of salvation commenced.

The arrival of Jesus will be an event of great victory and utter finality. That day will include the resurrection and the New Creation . The return of Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament as a singular event, one of great finality. His “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the appearance of the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the judgment and punishment of the ungodly, “ the gathering of his elect ,” and the end of Death.

Paul explains the Gospel in detail in his Letter to the Romans . He wrote to the Assembly in the city of Rome to deal with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish members, and to prepare the ground for taking the Gospel to the western provinces of the Empire. In doing so, he touched on key topics, including death, redemption, the Law, resurrection, and New Creation. Believers are justified through the Nazarene’s death, and they are saved and receive immortality through his resurrection.