In Part One of this book I have shown clearly that Jesus fulfilled those Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament that spoke of a suffering Messiah. This means that Jesus is the one and only Messiah.
Thus, in Part Two it will be my intention, not to prove that Jesus will also fulfill the prophecies in the Old Testament of the kingly Messiah, but to show how and when He will fulfill them.
However, in this chapter I will simply list those prophecies written in the Old Testament which show that God will establish a kingdom on earth with the Messiah as the reigning King.
In the following chapters, I will illustrate how Jesus will accomplish the fulfillment of the prophecies listed here. I will also be including New Testament prophecies that concern His second coming, the events surrounding it, and His reign as the King.
With that understanding, let us turn again to the Book of Daniel to get the foundational prophecies of the Messiah and the kingdom He will rule over:
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set
up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the
kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it
shall stand forever."
- Daniel 2:44
The Messiah's kingdom will take precedence over all kingdoms that have come before it. It will be ruled over, not by other people, but by God's Messiah alone.
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of
man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.
And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should
serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not
be destroyed."
- Daniel 7:13-14
The Messiah's kingdom will be ruled by one like the "Son of man". Jesus identified with this phrase and frequently used it to refer to Himself:
"But that you may know that the Son of man has power on
earth to forgive sins, (then said He to the sick of the palsy,)
Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto your house."1
"But when they persecute you in this city, flee you into
another: for truly I say to you, You shall not have gone
over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."2
"For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day."3
"And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it
shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the
Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this
world, neither in the world to come."4
"The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall
gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and they
which do iniquity."5
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He
asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the
Son of man am? ...And Simon Peter answered and said,
You are the Messiah [lit. Christ], the Son of the living
God."6
"And Jesus said unto them, Truly I say to you, That you
which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son
of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you also shall sit
upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."7
God will give the Son of man, the Messiah, the kingdom of the world to rule over. He will be sitting upon a throne ordained for Him by God, the Ancient of Days, which will last for eternity. He will receive glory and obeisance from all people forever.
The psalmist, King David, also prophesied of this Messianic kingdom:
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain
thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His
Anointed [lit. in Hebrew mashiach which is Messiah],
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away
their cords from us. He that sits in the heavens shall laugh:
the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak
to them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure.
Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion. I will
declare the decree: the LORD has said unto Me, You are
My Son; this day have I begotten You. Ask of Me, and I
shall give You the heathen for your inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall
break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O you
kings: be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the
LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son,
lest He be angry, and you perish from the way, when His
wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in Him."
- Psalm 2:1-12
David prophesies that before the Messiah begins His reign, He will execute judgment upon the kingdoms of the earth who have opposed God. He will break them and rule His kingdom with a "rod of iron".
The prophet Jeremiah also mentions the manner in which the Messiah will reign over the world:
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise
unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and
prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the
earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall
dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be
called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."8
As you read in Chapter 3, the "Branch" is another name for the Messiah. Jeremiah confirms the execution of righteous judgment by the Messiah in another passage:
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform
that good thing which I have promised unto the house of
Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that
time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up
unto David; and He shall execute judgment and
righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the
name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our
righteousness."9
During the Messiah's reign, lawlessness will no longer go unpunished. However, unlike human judges who rule with a sinful human nature, the Messiah's judgments will be righteous and fair.
I have already referenced the following prophecy in this work as pertaining to two different aspects of the Messiah's coming to earth. The first was to show His humanity and the second His deity. A third component to this prophecy, which is appropriate for the subject under discussion, concerns the reign of the Messiah-King:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the
government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name
shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of His government and peace there shall be no
end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will perform this."10
The Messiah's kingdom will be unlike any other kingdom that mankind has experienced. There will be justice and fairness among the people. In response the people will love, serve, and glorify the Messiah King. There will finally be true peace on earth.
Lastly, the Old Testament states that the Messiah will rule from Jerusalem where He will rebuild the Temple of God:
"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaks the LORD of
hosts, saying, Behold the Man whose name is the
BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He
shall build the Temple of the LORD. Even He shall build
the Temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and
shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a Priest
upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between
them both."11
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the
mountain of the LORD'S house [i.e., Temple] shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go
up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of
Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk
in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the
word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge
among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they
shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more."12
There is a desire on the part of some Jews in modern Israel to rebuild the Jewish Temple. However, there is some disagreement between them and other Jews over this issue. Because of the above verses some Orthodox Jews believe that only the Messiah should rebuild the Temple. Nevertheless, in recent history there have been some very controversial attempts to lay the cornerstone for the building of the Jewish Temple. I do believe (because of New Testament prophecy) that a Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem before the Messiah comes to build His Temple. I will discuss this in a later chapter.
The Old Testament prophesies not only a kingly Messiah but also where and how He will establish His kingdom. It will be a kingdom of righteousness, fairness, justice, and above all a kingdom of peace.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, from this point on I will be interspersing both Old and New Testament prophecies that concern the "end-times".
The approach that I have chosen is to write the next several chapters in the order by which the end-time events will occur. Though there is some disagreement among Christians as to the exact time and placement of these events, I will list them in the order that I believe many Christians accept.
1 Matthew 9:6
2 Matthew 10:23
3 Matthew 12:8
4 Matthew 12:32
5 Matthew 13:41
6 Matthew 16:13,16
7 Matthew 19:28
8 Jeremiah 23:5-6
9 Jeremiah 33:14-16
10 Isaiah 9:6-7
11 Zechariah 6:12-13
12 Isaiah 2:2-4
