Is THE "'Great Commission" FOR THIS AGE? - Dee L. McCroskey

Is THE "'Great Commission" FOR THIS AGE? 

 Dee L. McCroskey

MISUNDERSTANDING of Matthew 28:19-20, the so-called "Great Commission," is the cause of a great deal of damaging confusion among Christians today. It is not a hard scripture to understand and place properly in God's order of things, as we shall see. Yet the ignorance, even among fundamental preachers, on this subject is amazing. This so-called commission reads:

"Go ye therefore; and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

The first thing that ought to arrest the thoughtful Christian is the fact that the very disciples to whom this command was given never practiced it themselves. They are told here to baptize in the name of all three Persons of the Trinity. But as they went about preaching in the Book of the Acts they did not baptize in the name of the Trinity, but always in the name of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And as for going into all nations, Peter didn't want to go to any Gentiles at all (Acts 10), and yet he was there the day the "Great Commission" was given. This commission is not for the present age.

The Book of Matthew

To understand this command in Matthew 28:19-20, we need to make use of the principle of rightly dividing the Word of truth, as we have it in II Tim. 2:15. The first step in "rightly dividing" is to learn the difference among the three great companies of humans that God's Word deals with, namely, Jews, Gentiles and the Church. By Jews we mean here Israel as a nation, and not individual Jews. See I Cor. 10:32 and I Cor. 1:22-24.

The book of Matthew is not doctrine for the Lord's Church of today. The Church did not even exist at that time. Matthew is a Kingdom book and also a National book. It presents Jesus Christ as the King of Israel and looks forward to the time when He will come to earth again and set up His Kingdom, with Israel, or the Jewish race, as His chosen nation. It also deals with the Gentiles as NATIONS, as well as individuals.

The Message tor the Nations

The 24th chapter is the Great Tribulation chapter. That is the little period which must follow the present Church age and will precede the setting up of His Kingdom on earth. A careful reading of the whole chapter will be edifying, but we will quote the 14th verse just now:

"And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all NATIONS; and then shall the end come."

End of what? The answer is in verse three, and our English Bibles render it "end of the world." But it is not the end of the world, for many more things are to happen after this. It should have been translated "the end of the age," as it is in most well-edited margins. It is speaking of the end of the Tribulation age. The Lord will raise up certain Jewish servants during the Tribulation and they will go back to the message of John the Baptist, preaching. the gospel of the Kingdom, and then shall the end of the age come.

These Jewish servants of Matthew 24:14 appear to be the 144,000 sealed men of Rev. 7:4. They are all Jews, 12,000 from each tribe. Their message will be: "Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand."

The Judgment of the Nations

Now we turn to the 26th chapter of Matthew and see God's great program for the nations coming to a close. The divine King comes to earth and sets up His Kingdom throne. He immediately orders the nations of the earth before Him for judgment. The nations, probably represented by their governments, are divided into two classes, namely the sheep nations whom He places on His right hand, and the goat nations whom He places on His left.

"And before Him shall be gathered all NATIONS, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." Read Matthew 25:31-46.

The nations have been preached to; they know about the coming of the King and of His Kingdom. Some have taken heed and treated the Jewish remnant kindly. Others have persecuted them terribly and will be sentenced to the everlasting fire for their crimes. Those nations which by then have a record of showing kindness to the Jewish remnant for Christ's sake, will be told: "Come ye blessed, into the Kingdom."

Nations Already Lining Up

It is possible that the great nations of set up His Kingdom, with Israel, or the Jewish race, as His chosen nation. It also deals with the Gentiles as NATIONS, as well as individuals.

The Message tor the Nations

The 24th chapter is the Great Tribulation chapter. That is the little period which must follow the present Church age and will precede the setting up of His Kingdom on earth. A careful reading of the whole chapter will be edifying, but we will quote the 14th verse just now:

"And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all NATIONS; and then shall the end come."

End of what? The answer is in verse three, and our English Bibles render it "end of the world." But it is not the end of the world, for many more things are to happen after this. It should have been translated "the end of the age," as it is in most well-edited margins. It is speaking of the end of the Tribulation age. The Lord will raise up certain Jewish servants during the Tribulation and they will go back to the message of John the Baptist, preaching. the gospel of the Kingdom, and then shall the end of the age come.

These Jewish servants of Matthew 24:14 appear to be the 144,000 sealed men of Rev. 7:4. They are all Jews, 12,000 from each tribe. Their message will be: "Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand."

The Judgment of the Nations

Now we turn to the 26th chapter of Matthew and see God's great program for the nations coming to a close. The divine King comes to earth and sets up His Kingdom throne. He immediately orders the nations of the earth before Him for judgment. The nations, probably represented by their governments, are divided into two classes, namely the sheep nations whom He places on His right hand, and the goat nations whom He places on His left.

"And before Him shall be gathered all NATIONS, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." Read Matthew 25:31-46.

The nations have been preached to; they know about the coming of the King and of His Kingdom. Some have taken heed and treated the Jewish remnant kindly. Others have persecuted them terribly and will be sentenced to the everlasting fire for their crimes. Those nations which by then have a record of showing kindness to the Jewish remnant for Christ's sake, will be told: "Come ye blessed, into the Kingdom."

Nations Already Lining Up

It is possible that the great nations of •"Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?"

But as He looked upon them in Matt. 28:18, He began to speak in prophetic terms, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all NATIONS," etc. They knew, and we know, that "all power" is not given Him in earth yet. Satan is declared by holy writ to be the present God of this world. With the world in its present violent and corrupt condition it would be accusing God's Son of criminal negligence to say He possesses "all power" in earth today.

But He spoke to the disciples that day as representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel, whom He will gather to their Land when He sets up the Kingdom. In that day He will reign on earth, on the throne of His father David, and will possess "all power." And He will reign until his enemies are made His footstool. He even taught His people how to pray in the Tribulation period, a prayer now misused as a Church prayer, and referred to as "The Lord's prayer." -In the Tribulation they will know the reality of praying, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." In other words, that He will hasten the day when "all power" is given Him on earth.

How wonderful and blessed it is that God has a great plan for the peace-loving Gentile nations, as well as for His special nation Israel. With His coming to the earth again, the glorious and triumphant Son of the living God will quickly assert the fact that all power is at last given Him. The peace-loving nations will acknowledge this with joy. The violent ones will be erased from the earth. His invitation to the sheep nations will be: "Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25:34.

The Sheep Nations

Some of these peaceful, sheep nations are named in the Word of God as those to go into the Kingdom. One is Ethiopia, that will stretch out her hands unto God and princes shall come out of Egypt (Psalm 68:31). There is Tarshish, another blessed nation in the Scriptures, along with the "young lions," her dominions. It is her ships in Isa. 60:9 that bring the outcasts of Israel back to their land. She is also a haven of safety for them in Isaiah 66:19. There is a strange nation described in Isa. 18, which some believe to be the U.S.A. Whether it is or not remains to be seen, but in that day this nation brings a present to the Lord of hosts.

The Baptism of the Nations

As the scene for the judgment of the nations of the earth becomes clear to us we can begin to see our Lord's great desire to draw the sheep nations closer to Himself. He calls His Jewish servants together and says: "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." He allays their fears with the comforting words that He will be with them, even unto the end of the age.

Just what kind of a baptism this will be, is not told us here except that it will be in the name of the Trinity. It is most important to realize that this command has no reference to water baptism in this age, nor to the message for today. We are to preach the gospel to individual sinners, showing them that Christ died for their sins and that eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Nor does the Lord's Church today wait for the Kingdom to come in. We wait for the Lord Himself to come, who shall "change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like unto His glorious body."

Recovery Of Truth - O'Hair - YouTube

 How God Saves Men

Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.

Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.

Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4

Read the KJV BIBLE in large print (Click Here)

(A 10 Minute Video)

Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)

Posted By Cecil  and Connie Spivey  
cspivey1953@gmail.com 

    Share this Bible Message with your  friends