We address pushbacks and concerns on the podcast like this one. "Hello Pastor John, I'm a joyful graduate of Bethlehem College and Seminary. I was also able to fly back this year to attend the Pastors Conference. I've been blessed by God's work in your ministry for years and find myself consistently in agreement with you.

However, one area of difference that struck me at the 2017 Pastors Conference was the statement you made that Jesus' reign isn't good news, which was recently reposted online. Here's my struggle. The statement "the kingdom of God is not good news" seems to conflict what I see in Isaiah 52 7, especially in light of Hebrews 2 verses 5-9.

I am in full agreement that the atonement is necessary, but rather than seeing this as odds to Jesus' reign, I see it, atonement, as a vehicle of his reign, that is, his reign demands that all of his enemies are under his feet. This includes sin and death according to 1 Corinthians 15 verses 55-56.

And the means of their defeat was his suffering, as we see in Hebrews 2 verse 9. Am I wrong in seeing Jesus' reign in this way? I hope this makes sense and comes across with the great respect that I have for you and the earnest desire for your response.

Pastor John, what would you say? Well, I doubt that we have a basic disagreement, but let me say what I was thinking and see if this helps. When I say, and I don't say it often because it's so blatantly wrong at one level and right at another, when I say, "The kingdom of God is not good news," I know that I'm saying something which, out of context, contradicts numerous texts of the Bible.

Luke 4:43, Jesus says, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God." Good grief, it's so clear. Yes, it's good news. The kingdom of God is good news. Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom, and of course, it is based on Isaiah 52.7. How beautiful, how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.

What good news? "Who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" So to those who have Him as their God, that's really good news. I fight for you. So why do I say something so blatantly opposite to what the Bible says in its own language? And I say it because it's true in the way I mean it and the way I explain it, and it's true biblically.

When the kingdom of God is established, finally, with the new heaven and the new earth, those who have not repented and received the forgiveness of sins offered through the gospel of Christ's shed blood and perfected righteousness will perish. They will perish precisely because God reigns. They will perish precisely because the kingdom came decisively and finally and gloriously.

Here's a description of what's going to happen. Second Thessalonians 1.7. Here's what happens when the king comes. The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might. And Revelation 6.16 describes what will happen when the throne is exalted and people see it. They will call on the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb." That's not good news to them.

That's the worst news they could possibly hear is that God reigns over their unrepentant rebellion. So what moves me to use this drastic language, "The kingdom of God is not good news," is that some preachers today, some younger preachers, older preachers, are downplaying the centrality and prominence of the personal work of salvation through the cross in the forgiveness of sins and the propitiating of the wrath of God.

And they are instead foregrounding cosmic, global triumph of God over the world and the restoration of all things to the way it should be. And it is possible to wax very global and social and environmental and holistic and comprehensive and eloquent as if the preachers of the traditional historic personal gospel that Christ died for the sins of individuals somehow didn't know that Romans 8.18-25 is in the Bible where the whole creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God who have been individually redeemed.

I've always taught the renovation of the universe is a playground for the children of God who've been saved. And what I'm concerned about is that the magnificent propitiating work of the blood of Jesus to remove the wrath of God from his people by his blood is minimized. It's treated as an afterthought, a footnote.

You have to raise your hand and say, "What about that?" And then they say it. But there are those who even despise it. When I said, "Farewell, Rob Bell," I wasn't reacting to his view of hell. I was reacting to his despising the atonement in his video where he made fun of the work of God to propitiate God through the sacrifice of his son.

But that's not the impression you get when you read the New Testament. You don't get the impression that the personal saving, forgiving, justifying, reconciling work of Jesus for particular people who are guilty before God is backgrounded. You don't. You do not get that impression. You read the New Testament, and of course there's a global, cosmic, glorious consummation to all things, but nobody's going there with a guilty conscience.

We must be forgiven for our sins. We must have the righteousness of Jesus. We must have our guilt removed. So my way of responding to that emphasis is to say, "If you're going to talk about the kingdom as the essence of the gospel, you better be clear that millions and millions of people will experience the final coming of the kingdom as the worst thing that could ever happen to them." The best news in all the world is how the king has chosen to reign.

He has chosen to come in two stages. The first time as a servant to give his life as a ransom for many, Mark 10.45. The glory of the king is going to be upheld. Oh, yes, it will. And wonder of wonders, traitors, penitent, believing rebels are going to be pardoned, even adopted into the king's family because the king became a curse for us.

Galatians 3.13, "In his flesh, our sin is condemned." Romans 8.3, "He bore in his body what we should have borne." Isaiah 53, 1 Peter 2. This is the heart of the gospel. And without it, the reign of God is only bad news. And with it, with this cross, the reign of God is our joy and our glory.

Amen. Thank you for that clarification, Pastor John. We really do welcome and invite critical pushback of things we have published or said in the past. We don't hide from pushback and we know we're not infallible. So we welcome your criticisms and your questions. And you can email those to us through our online home at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn.

Well, there's been a lot of talk lately about catechisms, especially with the release of TGC's new catechism, the New City Catechism. But the question comes back, what's a better investment of my time, studying a catechism or memorizing scripture directly? What are the pros and what are the cons? We'll hear from Pastor John on that next time.

I'm your host Tony Reinke. We'll see you then. Amen.