God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all
authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies
under His feet."

There is a still more extensive body of Scripture which anticipates a
literal kingdom of righteousness and peace upon the earth; this theme
being the burden of the Old Testament prophets, and was announced by
John Baptist, by Christ and His disciples. This announcement was simple
and plain: "The kingdom is at hand." The expression "at hand" here used
is significant; indicating not necessarily the immediate future, though
the kingdom was definitely offered to that generation; but that the
earthly kingdom was the next event which had been clearly announced by
the prophets. When the Messiah had been positively rejected by the Jews,
He began, alone, without even the sympathy of His disciples, to unfold
this forthcoming mystery-age, which had been kept secret in the councils
of God, and which was more perfectly revealed to Paul, the first
messenger to the Gentiles. Of this revelation of a hitherto unknown age,
Paul writes in Eph. 3:1-11: "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of
Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of
the grace of God which is given to me to you-ward: how that by
revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few
words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the
mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons
of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body,
and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made
a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by
the effectual working of His power. Unto me, who am less than the least
of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what