The Old Testament prophesied of the birth of a Messiah who would overcome the world, set up His Kingdom, and bring peace to all.  Just as from a distance, two mountains are often seen as one, the Jews from the distance of the Old Testament viewed the Messianic coming as just one event.  The Old Testament hinted at what they failed to glean:  the Messiah would come to suffer and die and then judge and establish.  Their mistaken perception of distant events became a stumbling block in believing that Jesus was their Messiah.

       As the gap of time progressively continues to narrow between prophecy given and prophecy fulfilled, the prophecy itself begins to become clearer.  We can now see that the Old Testament texts that seemed to present the Messianic coming as one event were, in reality, referring to two separate fulfillments: one near and one far, separated by an unspecified amount of time. The time between the fulfillments is often referred to as a prophetic gap. This particular gap is called “this present age” or the “church age.”

             Jesus taught about the prophetic gap between His First Coming and Second Coming. In Matthew 17:11-12, Jesus said that “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.” Here, he referred to John the Baptist, who came in the spirit of Elijah to preach repentance but was rejected without fully accomplishing his mission.  Elijah will have to return to finish his mission. Jesus went on to say that just like Elijah, He would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders. That’s what happened. Jesus’ mission was cut short because Israel rejected Him, and this rejection necessitated a Second Coming.

       Another way Jesus alluded to the prophetic gap was during His reading of Isaiah 61:1-2 when he stopped mid-sentence, not reading the rest of verse 2, specifically: “And the day of vengeance of our God,” which refers to His Second Coming. (See Luke 4:16-21). The part He read refers to what He fulfilled during His First Coming. And the part He didn’t read refers to what He would fulfill during His Second Coming. Jesus knew about the prophetic gap. This prophetic gap is what we refer to as “this present age” or the “Church Age;” it is the age we currently are in.

 The Mystery Kingdom

       The word “kingdom” is used in many different ways throughout the Bible. The Kingdom of God refers to God’s sovereign rule over the entire universe. He created the earth and then man to rule over this earthly Kingdom. When man sinned, man handed his control over to Satan. God then promised a Messiah who would take back the earthly Kingdom and reign over Israel and the world from the throne of David. Christ offered Israel this Kingdom at His First Coming, but they rejected His offer.  As a result, Jesus began to reveal a different form of God’s Kingdom that would intervene between His First Coming and Second Coming, a mystery kingdom that had been previously hidden but now was being revealed through Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:11).

       Jesus describes this Kingdom in the seven parables of Matthew 13. These parables address the progression of the Kingdom between His First and Second Coming. In Jesus’ Messages to the Seven Churches of Revelation, we discussed the letters to the seven churches that describe the progression of the Church during this intervening age.

Revealed Mysteries: Character of this Age

       Not only did Jesus reveal the mystery kingdom to believers, but Holy Spirit also gave believers the ability to spiritually understand other mysteries previously hidden but now revealed.  Some of these mysteries include the hardening of Israel so that Gentiles might be brought into the Kingdom (Romans 11:25), the mystery of the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-43), the formulation of the Church made up of both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 3:3-9), Christ Himself and his relation to man’s redemption (Colossians 2:2, 4:3), the development of evil culminating into the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:7), and the apostate religious system (Revelation 17:5,7). These mysteries describe the character of this present age, an age that is like the valley that could not be seen from the distance, but nevertheless was there and has now been revealed to us through the Holy Spirit.

Kingdom Parables – Course of this Age

       Jesus in Matthew 13 presents to us seven parables that provide the essential characteristics of the course of this present age. These parables offer further evidence that Jesus foresaw the gap between His First Coming and Second Coming. Let’s explore the seven parables:

Parable of the Sower

       The present age is characterized by the sowing of the Word to which people will respond in different ways depending on the soil’s preparation. The seed is God’s Word and the soil, people’s hearts.

Parable of Tares Among Wheat

       At the same time the Word is being sown, during this present age, weeds will also be sown among believers. Satan sows these weeds to deceive the Church, but these weeds will be destroyed by fire in the end.

Parable of the Mustard Seed

       The mystery kingdom has a small beginning, but it will grow to significant proportions and include Gentiles.  Additionally, believers and unbelievers alike will benefit from its blessings.

Parable of the Yeast

       There are two interpretations of this parable. The first interpretation compares the yeast to sin and apostasy’s growth until they take over the world during the Tribulation. The other describes the yeast as the Kingdom of heaven that receives its power from the inside, spreading rapidly and changing everything it touches.

Parable of the Hidden Treasure

       This parable also has a couple of interpretations. It could describe salvation as something that, once revealed, is so valuable that people are willing to give up everything to possess it. Another variation is that God is gathering to Himself a treasure during this present age (the Church).

Parable of the Pearl

       This parable, like the parable of the hidden treasure, could be describing salvation and the value in finding it or also could be referring to God gathering the Church, as treasure for Himself during this present age.

Parable of the Net

       This parable refers to the judgment at the end of this age. When fishing with a dragnet, both good and bad fish were caught up in the net. The fisherman had to separate the good from the bad. Likewise, those who profess to be believers will be separated and judged at the end of this age.

Increased Apostasy

       Through studying the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 1 and 2 and the seven kingdom parables in Matthew 13, we see that as this present age progresses, so does apostasy. The Book of Jude encourages believers to contend for their faith and warns them about what apostasy looks like.

       Jude describes the apostates as ungodly, morally perverted, Christ deniers, flesh defilers, rebellious, ignorant, self-destructive, grumblers, fault-finders, self-seekers, arrogant speakers, flatterers, mockers, dividers, worldly-minded, and finally without the Spirit.   

       But Jude doesn’t leave us without a strategy to deal with the apostasy we are seeing during this present age. He tells us to build ourselves up on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves in the love of God, and waiting anxiously for Jesus. He also tells us to have mercy on the doubters, snatch others from the fire, and still with others to have mercy with fear. He then ends reassuring us that God IS ABLE to keep us from stumbling and that He can make us stand in His presence blameless and with great joy!