Coming to Restore the Kingdom to Israel 

At one point during the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension, the disciples questioned Jesus about the future of Israel. The Lord’s reply is revealing. 

Acts 1:6-7:  “So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’  7 He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.’” 

The reason I say it is revealing is that some people believe that the nation of Israel has no future restoration to look forward to. They believe that God is finished with Israel, that the Church has replaced her as God’s people. This means that all the promises of a great future for Israel were merely figurative language and are “spiritually” fulfilled in the Church, which is “spiritual Israel.” 

I completely reject this notion. The promises to Israel are so many, so detailed, and so often repeated that only by the wildest, most fanciful exegesis could they be applied to the Church. If God uses language so loosely as to convey no intelligible meaning, as would certainly be the case if those promises did not refer to Israel, then we are in a desperate case. We can base nothing on prophecy. If Jesus knew that the Old Testament promises to Israel were merely figurative, and not to be taken literally, this would have been the best possible time for Him to say so. In fact, for Him not to say so would have been misleading. Instead of saying, “You don’t understand; the Father is finished with Israel. Those promises apply to the Spiritual Israel, the Church,” He said: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”  He did not deny Israel’s restoration; He merely refused to set dates. 

In reading Scripture we make allowances for metaphor and poetic language. We interpret certain things literally and other things figuratively. But poetry conveys real, concrete meaning. The similarity expressed in metaphor and simile is real. Jesus is the “door into the sheepfold” because through Him we enter into God’s protection and guidance. He is the “Light of the World” because only He has revealed the mind and heart of God. The Pharisees are said to “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” because they majored on minor details and “left undone the weightier matters of the law.” As we look at the promises to Israel in the Old Testament, see for yourself how unreasonable and fantastic it is to say that they have now been fulfilled in the Church. You will find metaphors and poetic language, but you will be convinced that the core meaning is to be taken literally. 

Isaiah describes a future glory for the nation of Israel, which can neither be applied to the Church nor said to have already come to pass: 

Is. 60:10-21:  “Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. 11 Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations — their kings led in triumphal procession. 12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. 13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet. 14 The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. 16 You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. 18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. 19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. 21 Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.” 

This prophecy seems to combine pictures of the Millennium and the final Eternal Kingdom. And certainly it contains figurative language. But the description is too detailed, too specific to refer to anyone but Israel and to any time before the return of Christ. The remnant of God’s people will possess the land forever.

Speaking to the Exiles in Babylon Ezekiel predicted a reuniting of Judah and Israel under Messiah, the Son of David: this has never occurred in history. 

Ezekiel. 37:19-25: “say to them [the exiles in Babylon], ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph — which is in Ephraim’s hand — and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offences, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David [David always refers to Christ in the later prophecies] will be king over them, and they will all have One Shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there for ever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.” 

Christ will rule over Israel, and from Jerusalem. He (and we with Him, remember) will rule the world out of Jerusalem. As we look at further scriptures notice that the nation of Israel in the short run faces a terrible attack from the nations of the world. As many as one half of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be killed. Then Christ will destroy the nations that are attacking Israel, and after that Israel will be safe forever.

Zech. 14:1-5: “A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives...Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” [See I Thess. 3:13; Jude 14-14; Matt 25:31]

Joel 3:1-2; 11-21: “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land...Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD! Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow--so great is their wickedness! Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. [See Rev. 14:17-20] The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel [not the Church]. Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias. But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon. The LORD dwells in Zion! (Joel 3:1-21) 

That the promises of the restoration of Israel are not “highly figurative” references to the Church Age should be evident by now. But let us look at a few more Scriptures. 

Acts 3:1921: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you — even Jesus. 21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.” 

When Peter speaks of restoring everything that God promised long ago through His prophets, what do we think of first?  Is it not the restoration of Israel, which God promised so often?  This is made more explicit in a saying of Jesus: 

Matt.19:27-28: “Peter answered him, ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’” 

Judging the twelve tribes of Israel!  You won’t be surprised by now that some people say that the “twelve tribes of Israel” refers to “the whole body of Christ,” the number twelve being “a complete number,” not literally twelve. The “renewal of all things” means the “new birth.” So this must mean that during the Church age, the immediate disciples of Jesus will be seated near Him in heaven, participating in His present rule over the Church, which is “spiritual Israel.”  What? Christ must remain in heaven until the New Birth?! 

But no one, on reading this with unbiased eyes, would ever come up with anything of the sort. There was no reason for Jesus to speak of the Church as “the twelve tribes of Israel.”  He seems clearly to be saying to the twelve (later to exclude Judas and include Matthias) that they would sit on literal thrones and rule over a literal restored Israel. This promise would be fulfilled when Christ would sit on His “glorious throne.” At present Jesus is not sitting on His own throne, but must “remain in heaven” at the Father’s throne until His return. 

Rev. 3:21: “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” 

Matt. 25:31-32:  “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.” 

From this scripture we see that Christ’s throne will be on earth at His return, that nations will come before Him for judgment.  He is definitely not speaking of the Church age, but of the age to come. Come, Lord Jesus and restore the glory of Thy people Israel.  Amen.