Part 12: Awaiting the Kingdom

Kingdom Expectation at the Close of the Old Testament

The close of the prophetic testimony of the Old Testament

Hosea 3:4–5 (LSB): 4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols.

5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek Yahweh their God and David their king; and they will come in dread to Yahweh and to His goodness in the last days.

Malachi 3:1–6 (LSB): 1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says Yahweh of hosts.

2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a smelter’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

3 “And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.

4 “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh as in the ancient days and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the sojourner and do not fear Me,” says Yahweh of hosts.

6 “For I, Yahweh, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Malachi 4:5–6 (LSB): 5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh.

6 “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land, devoting it to destruction.”

Kingdom Prophecy “Word Cloud”

A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Second Division, Vol. II (§ 29. The Messianic Hope)

§ 29. THE MESSIANIC HOPE

Jewish Messianic Expectations

Source: A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Second Division, Vol. II

The last tribulation and perplexity

Elijah as the forerunner

The appearing of the Messiah.

Last attack of the hostile powers.

Destruction of the Hostile Powers

Renovation of Jerusalem.

Gathering of the Dispersed.

The kingdom of glory in [the land of Israel].

Renovation of the world.

The general resurrection.

The Last Judgment. Eternal Salvation and Condemnation.

Appendix. The suffering Messiah.

Kingdom Expectation in the New Testament

Luke 1:54–55 (LSB): 54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and his seed forever.”

Luke 19:11 (LSB): 11 Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately

Matthew 19:27–30 (LSB): 27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive one hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

30 “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

Luke 24:25–27 (LSB): 25 And He said to them, “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures

Zechariah’s Prophetic Utterance

Luke 1:68–79 (LSB): 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

For He visited and accomplished redemption for His people,

69 And raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of David His servant—

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—

71 Salvation from our enemies,

And from the hand of all who hate us,

72 To show mercy toward our fathers,

And to remember His holy covenant,

73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,

For you will go on before the Lord to make ready His ways,

77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation

By the forgiveness of their sins,

78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

79 To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To direct our feet into the way of peace.”

Simeon’s Prayer

Luke 2:25–32 (LSB): 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the comfort of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

28 then he took Him into his arms and blessed God, and said,

29 “Now Master, You are releasing Your slave in peace,

According to Your word.

30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

31 Which You prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32 A Light for revelation to the Gentiles,

And for the glory of Your people Israel

Luke 2:34–35 (LSB): 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—

35 and a sword will pierce through your own soul as well—that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

The Apostles Expectation

Acts 1:3–8 (LSB): to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over forty days and speaking about the things concerning the kingdom of God.

4 And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;

5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

7 But He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority;

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.”

Acts 3:19–21 (LSB): 19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,

21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time

Israel’s Future in God’s Program

Romans 11:25–36 LSB

For I do not want you, brothers, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be repaid to him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.