Pt 2 - The Kingdom of God was at hand

When the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ took place at the beginning of the first century, there were many devout Jews who were waiting for the Messiah. This simple, documented fact is striking.

"Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus." (Mark 15:43, Luke 23:51)

"And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ." (Luke 2:25-26)

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." (Luke 19:11)

A common theme, albeit an undercurrent, is apparent when Jesus came on the scene. The people were waiting for the kingdom of God and for the Christ (the anointed One of God). Not waiting as in someday, but a near expectancy, as in, any day now. It is apparent that they knew the promised time of the arrival of God's kingdom had come. They knew because Daniel clearly prophesied that during the days of the fourth world power (Dan 2:44, 7:23, 9:24), the Messiah would come to set up the everlasting Kingdom of God. They knew that they lived in that prophesied time.

Of course we must remind ourselves that when Jesus started preaching and teaching all around Judea, his message was "The kingdom of God is at hand (almost upon us)!" Click here to see all the many many times he spoke of it.

They clearly expected it to happen in their lifetime, Jesus showed up saying it had almost arrived, and indeed the consistent message of the first century church (as we proceed into the letters written among the churches especially), is that they would witness its inception with their own eyes within a few short years.

Pt 1 - John the Baptist's arrival marked the end

The closing words of the Old Testament is where we will begin as this sets the stage perfectly for the tone and undercurrent of this topic.

John the baptist was the first sign that the great "Day of the Lord", as prophesied throughout Jewish history, had finally arrived. Malachi (the final prophet recorded in the Old Testament) in the last few verses of his short book, prophesied that John the baptist's ministry would mark the arrival of the long-awaited great "Day of the Lord":

"Lo, I am sending to you Elijah the prophet, Before the coming of the day of Jehovah, The great and the fearful. And he hath turned back the heart of fathers to sons, And the heart of sons to their fathers, Before I come and have utterly smitten the land!" (Malachi 4:5-6, Young's literal translation)

These fearful words rung in the ears of the Jews for centuries (there was no more prophetic utterance recorded after that) until John came on the scene, announcing the arrival of the Messiah and the final judgment on the disobedient twelve tribes of Israel. When the angel met Zacharias in the holy place in the temple one year before John's birth, as recorded in Luke 1, he foretold that John would be the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy:

"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. " (Luke 1:17)

Years later, when John went about preaching and baptizing in the wilderness of Judea, he himself declared to the people:

"As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight... Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath (about) to come?... And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (Luke 3:2-9, see Greek text for the word 'mello', or 'about to')

Later Jesus sealed this truth (that the arrival of John was the fulfillment of the final words of Malachi and so marked the great day of the Lord and the end of the age) by saying:

"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. " (Mat 11:13-14)

Jesus indisputably recognized that John the baptist's ministry fulfilled the words of Malachi the prophet. The end of the age had arrived (1 Cor 10:11, Heb 9:26, 1 Pet 1:20), the kingdom of God was "at hand" (which is what Jesus went everywhere proclaiming), and the great day of the Lord's judgment was finally upon them (James 5:8, 2 Thes. 2:2, Heb 10:37, Rom 13:11-12, 1 Pet 4:7, 1 Cor 7:31). I highly recommend reading those passages I just listed with this first-century time-frame in mind (and these are just a few of the many imminency statements recorded among the first century church). This is the consistent theme of the eschatology of the New Testament. The end of the age, the second coming of the Lord, and the great day of the Lord's judgment were not for some distant time and culture (like many modern prophecy teachers theorize), but rather were first century events which would be experienced firsthand by the apostles and the infant Christian church.

To be frank, what we believe is irrelevant -- this is what Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, the original Apostles, and the infant first century Church firmly believed (and it is plainly evident throughout their teachings & writings) on this important subject. Either they were all completely deceived (including Jesus), or they knew something on this subject that we tend to miss...

I must vouch for the latter.

In the next installment, we will jump into some of Jesus' own most revealing time statements regarding his second coming!

Welcome! Intro...

On this blog you will find an ongoing series on the eschatology of the New Testament. For those who may be new to this term, eschatology is simply the study of "last things" in the scriptures.

Although I do not believe that this subject is a "salvational" one, it is nevertheless important because it permeates the books of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, there are pertinent verses, passages, and even whole books focused on this subject in particular. What one believes on this subject may not determine their rightness with God, but it most certainly effects their understanding of the nature of God, why he has places us on this earth, and what his eternal plan for us is.

The old testament has much to say on this subject. However, just as one cannot properly understand the point of the old testament without the proper lense of a revelation of Jesus Christ, so one cannot hope to properly interpret the eschatological passages in the old without seeing them through the lense handed to us by John the baptist, Jesus, and the apostles. They had some very specific and very revealing things to say about this subject, and so it behooves us to begin with their eschatological teachings. And it wouldn't hurt for us to end there too.

So add yourself as a follower, or email me (sean_hyatt@msn.com) and request to receive an email each time a new post is made. Share it with your friends and leave a comment or question from time to time. It is my sincere prayer that this blog will aid you in "rightly dividing the word of truth", because even though it usually takes some seeking to find it, the truth is not hard, it is easy; it is not complicated, but simple.

If there was ever a subject that needs more understanding in this present day, it is this one. Let us get back to the truth.

~Sean

Oh, and PS - check out this blog's sister blog which deals specifically with the book of Revelation at http://www.biblicalbanter.blogspot.com/.