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Jesus came from heaven to earth proclaiming the “gospel of the kingdom” of heaven. Before Jesus died and rose again, Satan had the authority to barter with all the kingdoms of the world (Matt. 4:8-9). But afterward, Jesus became “ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5).

Jesus told us to pray that the Father’s kingdom would come “on earth…as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), and then He proceeded to become the King of all earthly kings, usurping Satan’s authority over the kingdoms of the world. When Jesus came to earth, He overthrew the tyrants of darkness (Col. 2:15) and started a revolution—a movement that has forever changed history and continues to transform not only individuals but the entire world.

For most of church history, the predominant understanding of the gospel was that Jesus was the Victor over sin, death, and the devil. (This is not to downplay other viewpoints of the atonement because the gospel is too grand to describe from only one perspective.) Yet somehow, in modern times in the West, most of us have reduced the gospel to a message of individual salvation not only from hell but also from this world that seems to be increasingly hellish. But the gospel that Jesus preached sounds much different.

If our gospel has been reduced to an escape plan from earth, then what could it possibly have to do with fixing everything that’s broken in the world? But if Jesus came to bring heaven to earth, to transform earth, and to establish a kingdom that would grow to fill the “entire earth” (Dan. 2:35), then the “gospel of the kingdom” must have something to do with fixing all that’s broken.

The typical ancient “gospel” message was the royal proclamation of the good news of the victory of the king in battle. The gospel of Jesus Christ is an epic narrative announcing that Jesus is King—the Victor, and as such, the Ruler of the kings, presidents, prime ministers, and CEO’s of earth. And because the rulership of earth has changed, it is inevitable that this Ruler will also change “all things” (Acts 3:21; Col 1:16, 20; Eph 1:10; Rev. 21:5).

Read the book, The Epic Gospel We’ve Forgotten.

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