Israel is the descendants of the 12 tribes who are gathered back into the land. Through intermarriage and all it is arguable that all those are pure in Israel today but perhaps like Rahab or Ruth they made it in. The scriptures speak of the kingdom and the millennium and the covenant made in many places. We agree one covenant now for salvation and in that I hope we have unity in the Spirit on that.
The key to me is a difference between the covenant with the land and the promise that in your seed all the nations will be blessed. This promise of the seed is actually attached to the promise of the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent. Then later it is added to David his seed will not lack one to sit upon the throne. We get to Jesus and it is clear that the seed of woman and the seed of the serpent are the two masters that you can only serve one. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Abraham's seed are those who have faith and are accounted righteous.
This area of truth we share and I do not see this having anything to do with the covenant of the land and the nation made up of the descendants of the 12 patriarchs. God redeeming Israel in the end is the great sub plot to this whole narrative. The passages like acts one bring up the kingdom. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[fn] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The apostles understood that the kingdom would be coming again and Jesus did not say the kingdom of God is inside you or already here. The 2 angles or men in white “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
The coming kingdom on earth in Dan 2 is described as a stone cut without hands and when it comes it crushes and leaves no trace of the image of the kingdoms of man. It becomes a mountain that covers the earth and this is the kingdom that has no end. Zech 14 shows Jesus descending on a day when it is proclaimed the LORD is king over all the earth. It is a day when the MT of OLives splits in two and a new valley and river forms that flows year round. It is a day when it says the LORD comes with his saints on a day when Jerusalem is being over run and the enemies of God are melted. It shows the Jews saying the LORD is one when it is the day Jesus has come. This is the great day of redemption. It shows a clear continuation of events on earth as from that time on the nations must keep the feast of tabernacles or they get no rain. Jude quotes Enoch “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” The book of Revelation has two groups saying they will reign with Jesus upon the earth. in ch 5
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
Rev 20 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
When we pray the our father we say thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The angles declare in Rev 11
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms[fn] of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
This judgment and rewards is not the great white throne. The parable of the Minas is the reward here
“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' And the judgment will be over who is allowed to enter in the sheep vs the goats.
The binding of Satan during this time for 1000 years is literal and note when he is loosed there is a 1000 period where the nations who were once deceived are no longer deceived and you can see the antitchrist and false prophet are both in the fire for 1000 years. Dan confirms this in Ch 7 we see the 2nd coming of Jesus and the establishment of the kingdom without end and we see the pompous one being thrown into the fire and the other beast have their dominion taken away for a time and a season. Satan looses his dominion at the 2nd coming and never gets it back. Their lives being prolonged is 1000 years and the season is when they are released to tempt the world once more.
This interpretation is affirmed by the description of what happens at the end of the tribulation vs what happens at the end of the 1000 years. After the 1000 years Satan gathers an army and fire comes down from heaven and that is it then the great white throne and the new Jerusalem. The many promises of Israel and Jerusalem in this kingdom age run parallel to this timeline.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Luke 1
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
This deliverance takes place at the 2nd coming and the Jews are now Messianic Jews having believed on Jesus think about how great that day is when Jesus has come and destroyed those who are destroying Israel and they see the scars on His body and they realize Jesus was one with the Father and is LORD, They will weep and mourn and He will then give them the oil of gladness.
