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Some of us were in church this morning and not anxiously sitting here waiting to jump on the internet to face a hostile audience.

The Kingdom which Christ preached about was first prophesied in the Old Testament. It was the promise that out of the lineage of David would come One who would rule and reign forever.

Here are some associated prophecies, though it is not limited to just these:

2 Samuel 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

1 Kings 9:5
then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

1 Chronicles 17:12
“He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

1 Chronicles 17:14
“But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”’”

Daniel 2:44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

The theme is continued in the New Testament:
Luke 1:33
and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Hebrews 1:8
But of the Son He says,” YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.

From these passages, we see the Kingdom of God is something in which the Son of God reigns. Thus far, none of the Scriptures mentioned stated that such a kingdom is salvific. Rather, they are indications of the promise of God that through a Son of David, an everlasting Kingdom will be established for the good of Israel and the world.

Next, we turn to
Revelation 12:10
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

Here we see the kingdom of God distinguished from salvation and power. We also see it as something which has come when the accuser of the bretheren no longer has access to the throne room of God. Since during Paul’s day, and since Satan’s accusations against us continue to this day, this is a future event. The kingdom, in this way, is future.

Lets look at a few more verses:
Colossians 4:11
and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.

Here, the kingdom of God is something to be worked for. We don’t work for salvation.

1 Corinthians 15:24
then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

Here it is seen as something in the future that Christ will hand over to the Father when He has abolished all rule but His own.

Acts 14:22
strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “ Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Here it appears to be something that one enters into after salvation.

Acts 1: 6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Does Jesus say, “no, you idiots! Don’t you realize that the kingdom of God is your salvation?” No. He replies” ...It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”

But wait:
Jesus also says: Luke 17:19-21
19And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. 20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Here it appears to be something internal within the individual and not physical and something that is there right now. Other versions say “the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

But wait again:
Luke 21:31
“So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.”
Well, now here it is still something in the future that has signs as to its fulfillment.

So.... what exactly IS the Kingdom of God.

First, it is not salvific. There is only one way that man is saved, by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Second, it is physical: Luke 22:30
that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

and again, the verses from above:Acts 1: 6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Third, it is spiritual: Luke 18:17
“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

Wow! Lots of hard to sort out data here.

Here is what I would submit.

The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that Jesus reigns. The devil can believe Jesus reigns and not be saved. So, it is not salvific. However, it is entered into in the spiritual sense when one is saved. Christ is already ruling and reigning in the hearts of His children right NOW.

Nevertheless, the gospel of the kingdom also proclaims the establishment of a physical kingdom in which Christ sits in Jerusalem and reigns over the world, and His children with Him.

Isaiah 24:23
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

Ezekiel 37:21And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

Revelation 20: 4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

The good news of the gospel of God’s grace is evident throughout Scripture and IS salvific. It is synonymous with the gospel of Salvation, the gospel of Christ, and the gospel of God.
Ephesians 1:13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise

Romans 1:16
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

And it is contrasted with “another” or “perverted” gospel of Galatians
Galatians 1:6
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:7Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

It is not specifically about Christ’s rule. It is about Christ’s redemption and the person of Christ Himself.

One can believe in the coming kingdom of the Messiah without being saved. Many believe in a coming Messiah. Some even believe in a twisted version of Jesus the Messiah’s coming kingdom while yet rejecting key elements of His person (I’m thinking of cultists here and we know who they are). One can not reject who Christ is and what He did for us and be saved.

That is the difference between the two gospels spoken of here. One is attained through salvation. The other is salvation.