This Article: (5 Pages)
- 1. Jesus' View of the Kingdom
- 2. What is a Kingdom?
- 3. Other Prophets write of the... Kingdom of the Lord
- 4. Kingdom in the New Testament
- 5. Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament
3) Other Prophets write of the Kingdom of the Lord
The Hebrew prophets make many references to this future divine Kingdom on earth .
Haggai (date 520-505 BCE) states that the strength of the nations will be destroyed and they will be subject to God's power.
I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them. The horses and their riders will come down, everyone by the sword of his brother. (Haggai 2:22 WEB)
Chariots were the engines of warfare of the nations until the end of WW1, and swords were used in warfare as late as 1918. Haggai says God will overthrow the instruments of warfare of the nations. This is not poetic language is it is very specific, Haggai predicts the physical destruction of the power of Nations on earth.
Zechariah (dated 520-490 BCE) writes of the power of the Lord over all the earth.
Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9 WEB)
This is a very clear statement. It says that God is not king over the earth at the time Zechariah was writing. It says he will be a king, that is, he will be a ruler with power as a political leaders have.
Micah (dated 735-700BCE), shows that the centre of government for this kingdom is in Mount Zion, in Jerusalem in Israel.
I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever." (Micah 4:7 WEB)
A kingdom requires a centre of government which the prophets unanimously agree will be located at Jerusalem.
The nature of the government of this Kingdom is captured by Isaiah (dated 740-690 BCE) in many places in his prophecy, but the following quotation briefly encapsulates this.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying. "There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Yahweh, and their offspring with them. (Isaiah 65:19-23 WEB)
This prophet gives a vision of an ideal society on Earth in the future where people live, build and work. The context makes it clear that this is with the direct rulership of God.
This kingdom that Isaiah write of is for idealists, as throughout history rulers have often been less than just, with many being violent and corrupt.
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice. (Isaiah 32:1 WEB)
There are many references to the establishment of a future kingdom in Israel in the writings of the O.T. Those given above are but a glimpse of the promised future of glory and peace for this earth.
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