Jewish Expectations of the Age to Come Part 1

The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. (^ESV Psalm 103:19)

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (^ESV 1 Corinthians 15:24-25)

¹God’s “kingdom” is referenced throughout the Old and New Testaments, and it is clearly a kingdom thatpresentlyrules overall creation(cf. 1 Chron. 29:11; Ps. 103:19; 145:11ff; Jer. 10:7ff; Dan. 4:3, 34; Jn. 19:11; Acts 17:24; Rev. 4:2ff). However, there are also many messianic references to aneschatologicalkingdom that is establishedon the earth(cf. Ps. 2:6ff; Is. 9:7; Dan. 2:44; 7:14; Mt. 8:11; 20:21; Lk. 22:30; 2 Pe. 1:11; Rev. 11:15). This distinction has been the source of much controversy, which is simply solved by distinguishing between the two primary thrones of creation: one in the height of the heavens (cf. Ps. 2:4; 113:5; Is. 40:22; 66:1) and one delegated to man on the earth (cf. Gen. 1:26ff; Ps. 8:4ff; 115:16). Thus, when referencing the “kingdom”, we need to delineate between the “universal kingdom”, ruling over all creation from everlasting to everlasting, and the “messianic kingdom”, to be established upon the earth at the end of the age restoring the original Adamic order. However, the particular phrase, “Kingdom of God,” which only occurs in the New Testament, needs to be understood as Jewish phraseology used during late Second Temple Judaism to refer specifically to the Messianic Kingdom. This was clearly the common Jewish expectation, and it is the plain meaning of the phrase in thevast majorityof its usage.

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (^NIV Daniel 7:13)

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. ² The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. ³ He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ⁴ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music… ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; ⁹ let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. (^NIV Psalm 98:1-9)

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats… ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (^NIV Matthew 25:31-34)

Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (^NKJV Revelation 11:15)

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. ² For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. ³ And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising… ¹¹ Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession. ¹² For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste… ¹⁵ Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. ¹⁶ You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (^ESV Isaiah 60:1-16)

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey… ¹⁰ He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. (^NIV Zechariah 9:9-10)

So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. ³² Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” (^ESV Mark 15:31-32)

You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; ²⁹ and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you ³⁰ that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (^NASB Luke 22:25-30)

He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God… ⁶ So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (^NIV Acts 1:3-6)

A. Messianic Birthright/Primogeniture

I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, ⁴ I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations… ²³ I shall crush his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him. ²⁴ My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, and in My name his horn will be exalted. ²⁵ I shall also set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers. ²⁶ He will cry to Me, “You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.” ²⁷ I also shall make him My firstborn [cf. “inheritance rights as the oldest son” Heb. 12:16], the highest of the kings of the earth. (^NASB Psalm 89:3-27)

Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness… ⁸ He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth… ¹⁷ May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. ¹⁸ Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. ¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. (^NIV Psalm 72:1-19)

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him… ⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious… ¹² He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. (^NIV Isaiah 11:1-12)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. (^NASB Col. 1:15-16)

B. Jewish Birthright/Primogeniture

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, ²³ and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'” (^ESV Exodus 4:22-23)

With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn [cf. Ps. Sol. 13:9; 18:4; Sirach 36:17; and 4 Esdras 6:58]. (^ESV Jeremiah 31:9)

There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. (^NIV Rom. 2:9-11)

It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. (^ESV Acts 13:46)

Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. (^NIV Romans 3:29-30)

As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (^ESV Romans 11:28-29)

You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. ¹⁴ For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. ¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. ¹⁶ For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory… ²¹ So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem ²² when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD. (^NIV Psalm 102:11-22)

In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. ²² They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. ²³ The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously. (^NIV Isaiah 24:21-23)

Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. (^NIV Isaiah 65:17-19)

But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. (^ESV Matthew 5:34-35)

A. The Davidic Throne

When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you… ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (^NIV 2 Samuel 7:11-14)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. (^ESV Isaiah 9:6-7)

The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. ¹² If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.” ¹³ For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place… ¹⁷ “There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. ¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.” (^ESV Psalm 132:11-18)

In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the LORD, who will do these things. (^NIV Amos 9:11-12)

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”( ^NIV Luke 1:30-33)

And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (^ESV Mark 11:9-10)

B. The Messianic Temple

When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you… ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (^NIV 2 Samuel 7:11-14)

In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. ³ Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. ⁴ He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. (^NIV Isaiah 2:2-4)

As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, ⁵ the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. ⁶ While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, ⁷ and he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. (^ESV Ezekiel 43:4-7)

Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. ¹³ It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two. (^NIV Zechariah 6:12-13)

You have wearied the LORD… by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” ^3:1 Behold, I 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 the LORD of hosts. ² But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? (^ESV Malachi 2:17-3:2)

While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵² Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³ And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (^NIV Luke 24:51-53)

A. Universal Stewardship

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (^ESV Genesis 1:26)

For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” ¹² So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (^ESV Romans 14:10-12)

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. (^ESV 1 Corinthians 4:1-5)

B. Jewish Stewardship

The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. ²⁴ Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. (^NIV Leviticus 25:23-24)

But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. ¹⁵ For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. (^NASB 1 Chronicles 29:14-15)

For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. ⁷ And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. ⁸ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. ⁹ The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts. (^ESV Haggai 2:6-9)

There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit… ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” (^ESV Matthew 21:33-41)

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. (^ESV Romans 3:1-2)

They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. ⁵ To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (^ESV Romans 9:4-5)

So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. (^NRSV Romans 11:11)