Paper on the Forerunner Message

At IHOP, we believe that the Lord is raising up messengers to prepare the way for the 2nd coming of the Lord. Their ministry as forerunners, like John the Baptist, is to prepare hearts for the arrival of Jesus. As part of the Media Apprenticeship in which I am participating, I got an assignment to write a 3 page paper on the question "What is the forerunner message?" Following is that paper.

What is the forerunner message? Or to phrase the question in the more widely known vernacular of the western evangelical church, what is the gospel of the Kingdom? In short, the forerunner message is the good news that, through Jesus, we have been brought into intimate fellowship with the eternal Trinity, true, unselfish, self-giving Love, and that currently God is in the process of restoring all things to again reflect His perfect goodness. The next major step in that restoration process is the literal and physical return of the Man Jesus Christ to rule the earth for 1,000 years, preparing it for the eternal dwelling of God the Father on earth with His creation.

Since the end of the 1st century AD, the full gospel of the Kingdom has not been preached. The blessed hope of the Church as presented in the New Testament is "the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13) When the Roman Emperor Titus completely leveled Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70AD, it sent the Church into a state of confusion. Their main question was, "How is Jesus going to return physically to Jerusalem and the Temple as prophesied in Scripture if the Temple is destroyed?" Since that time, the presentation of the gospel has shifted from the restoration of all things, both physical and spiritual, to merely the restoration of our souls, our spiritual entities. This has caused our gospel preachers to say something like this, "Jesus died to save you from hell, the punishment for your sins." While this is true, it is not the whole gospel.

The full gospel is summarized by Paul in his inspired letter to the Colossians. "It pleased the Father...to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him [Jesus], whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who were once alienated and enemies...yet now He has reconciled." (Colossians 1:19-21, emphasis added) A conversation in eternity past can almost be imagined between the Triune Members of the Godhead. They are so overflowing with self-giving agape love that together they came up with the whole plan of creation and redemption to put that love on display. True love "does not seek its own" (1 Corinthians 13:5) but seeks to give itself. Jesus Christ is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," (Revelation 13:8) because the Lord chose the plan of redemption before time. When man sinned, God did not say, "Oh no! I didn't see this coming! What are We going to do now?" His perfect plan from eternity past was to display His perfect love in the supreme horror and supreme beauty of His Son on the cross. The good news of the gospel, that eternal plan, is that man, though once enemies of God because of sin, has been reconciled to right relationship with God through the blood of Jesus, His Son, who came to die as an expression of His love, His mercy and His justice. And not only has the cross of Jesus restored man to God but it also restored all things to the right relationship to God as He has originally created them. God said 5 times in Genesis 1 that His creation was good. When He created man in His image, He declared that it was "very good" (Genesis 1:31). The sin of Adam has caused everything in creation to be twisted and dead. But the good news is the reconciliation and resurrection of all things. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22, emphasis added) All of creation, including man, is being currently restored and will be fully restored in the age to come. That is the gospel.

As if restoration was not enough, God went even further to display His self-giving love and mercy. He has brought us into the intimate fellowship of love in the Trinity. He has even allowed us to move His holy heart. "You have ravished my heart...with one look of your eyes." (Song of Solomon 4:9) It is almost scandalous that the Almighty has made Himself vulnerable to man and his choices! This is good news!

How is this restoration coming about? The next major development in the divine drama is the return of Jesus Christ in the flesh to the earth. Peter taught in Acts 3:21 that, "heaven must receive [Jesus] until the times of restoration of all things." The Jewish Man Jesus is returning for the purpose of preparing the earth to be the dwelling place of the Father (Revelation 21:3). "This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in the like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11) After reigning for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4), He will hand over the earth to the Father. "Then comes the end, when He [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father...for He [Jesus] must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." This full restoration is good news!

What exactly is meant by the term forerunner? A forerunner is one that goes ahead of another to prepare the way before him. John the Baptist was a New Testament picture of a forerunner. The angel Gabriel proclaimed that John the Baptist "will also go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." The forerunner messenger goes before the physical coming of Jesus and prepares hearts for His arrival. Does the forerunner message differ from the gospel as described above? They are one and the same. The only slight difference is the timing. The gospel does not change but preaching it during the eschatological judgments of God put it in a unique context and perspective. While the gospel has been proclaimed for 2,000 years, the forerunner message is the full gospel presented in the generation just prior to the return of the Lord in which we now live.

In summary, the forerunner message is the gospel of the Kingdom. The good news is that we have been restored to right relationship with God, and not only man but all of creation. This plan of God to bring us into fellowship with Himself was formed in eternity past and executed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The next major event in the restoration process is the physical return of Jesus to the earth to prepare it for the dwelling of the Father. This is such good news! It is no wonder that God is raising up forerunner messengers throughout the world to proclaim His goodness to all!