In part 1 of this article we put forth the evidence that the receiving of the kingdom of God was received by the Body of Christ in the first century. According to Hebrews 12 (and supported by Hebrews 8:13, 10:9, and 2 Corinthians 3:11), when the Old Covenant was completely removed and the New Covenant fully established, the saints would receive the Kingdom of God.
There is absolutely no scriptural reason to believe that the kingdom which arrived in AD70 was not the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to “come (return) in his kingdom” within the lifetime of his first century disciples (Mathew 16:27-28). This much we have proved.
We also demonstrated logically and theologically, that the “kingdom-futurist” places himself upon an unsure foundation when he maintains that the kingdom received in AD70 was not the anticipated Messianic kingdom of both the Old and New Testaments. In part 2 of this article, we will build upon the evidence already put forth.
We will show that Jesus’ promise of the coming kingdom in the first century (Mathew 16:27-28), would be the fulfillment of both Old and New Testament texts which all “futurists” interpret as the final (eschatological) establishment of the kingdom at the coming (return) of the Lord.
Allow me to express this as a syllogism.
Major premise:
The coming (arrival) of the kingdom of God in AD70 (Hebrews 12:26-28) was the fulfillment of Mathew 16:27-28.
Minor premise:
But, Mathew 16:27-28 refers to the full and final coming (arrival) of the kingdom of God at the coming (return) of the Lord as prophesied in both Old and New Testaments.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the coming (arrival) of the kingdom of God in AD70 was the full and final arrival of the kingdom of God at the coming of the Lord.
Since we have already proven our major premise to be true in part 1 of this article, we will now show that our minor premise is true in order to establish our conclusion. Please understand that if we are able to do this, then it is irrefutably true that the consummated kingdom of God has been established on earth in Jesus Christ, and will exist forever in a purely “heavenly nature”. And, that the doctrine of a future “earthly” (geo-political) kingdom of God must become a tradition of the past.
We will now demonstrate that Mathew 16:27-28 refers to the final coming (arrival) of the kingdom of God at the coming (return) of the Lord as prophesied in both Old and New Testaments. Let us begin.
Mathew 16:27-18
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
First, let’s look at the Old Testament source of this prophesy.
Isaiah 59:17-21
“He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the coastlands He will make recompense…. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord. As for Me, this is My covenant with them…”
Notice the parallels in these two texts.
- Both prophecies were spoken to the nation of Israel.
- Both prophecies concern the coming of the Lord.
- Both prophecies concern the establishment of the kingdom of God (Zion is the place/realm of the kingdom in the Old Testament – Psalm 2, 110)
- Both prophecies predict the coming of the Lord in judgment (to repay every man according to their deeds).
There are several more parallels which are implied by the context, but these are enough to establish that the texts are in fact parallel. Notice specifically the perfect parallel concerning the judgment aspect of both prophecies.
“…. will then repay every man according to his deeds…” (Mathew 16:27)
“According to their deeds, so He will repay….” (Isaiah 59:18)
Jesus is clearly quoting the prophet Isaiah, which his first century audience would have understood. By Jesus promising to “come (return) in his kingdom” within the lifetime of his disciples, and to “reward every man according to his deeds”, he was promising to fulfill Isaiah 59.
But, as many scholars and teachers agree, the coming of the Lord to establish the kingdom in Isaiah 59 is prophetic of the final (second) coming of the Lord. To deny this would be to deny the words of the apostle Paul.
Romans 11:25-26
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
For brevity sake, we will not get into the many fine details of Romans 11. But notice, in verse 26 Paul quotes Isaiah 59:20 as his source for the final (second) coming of the Lord to redeem Israel and establish the kingdom. Therefore, according to Paul, the coming of the kingdom at the coming of the Lord in Isaiah 59, is the final (second) coming of the Lord to establish the kingdom of God.
What this proves beyond any shadow of doubt is that the coming of the kingdom in Mathew 16:27-28 refers to the final and ultimate (eschatological) coming of the kingdom at the coming of the Lord.
Look at it below in a syllogistic argument:
Major premise:
The coming (arrival) of the kingdom of God in AD70 (Hebrews 12:26-28) was the fulfillment of Mathew 16:27-28. (If not, why not?)
Minor Premise:
But, the coming of the kingdom of Mathew 16:27-28 refers to the final (second) coming of the Lord of Isaiah 59 and Romans 11 to establish and consummate the kingdom of God.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the kingdom of God was fully received and established in AD70 at the coming of the Lord in fulfillment of Isaiah 59 and Romans 11.
What this means is that there is no future-to-us coming of an “earthly” kingdom. There is absolutely no biblical text which prophesies of another kingdom-to-come, or another “coming of the Lord” beyond that of Isaiah 59 and Romans 11.
Now before we end this article, I would like to make a couple more “connections” from Isaiah 59 which support a first century “kingdom consummation”. Below is the text again.
Isaiah 59:17-21
“He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the coastlands He will make recompense…. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord. As for Me, this is My covenant with them…”
Notice that the coming of the Lord in Isaiah 59 was his “coming in vengeance” (v.17) to repay “wrath to His adversaries, and recompense to His enemies” (v.18) for shedding “innocent blood” (vs.3,7). But, it was Israel who had “turned away from their God” (v.13), who had shed the blood of the innocent (the righteous), and had therefore become the enemy of their God.
So, Isaiah 59 is a prophecy of the final coming (second coming) of the Lord in vengeance, to repay Israel for “shedding innocent blood”.
But according to Jesus, Israel (Jerusalem) would be repaid for shedding innocent blood (all the blood of the prophets) in his generation.
Luke 11:50
“…. the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation”
And, according to Jesus, the judgment upon Jerusalem in AD70 was the “days of vengeance”, when the Lord would “come in vengeance” and render “wrath” to Old Covenant Israel.
Luke 21:20-23,27,32
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near…. because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people…. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory… Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
So, consider the following:
Israel would suffer the wrath and vengeance of the Lord for shedding innocent blood, at the coming (second coming) of the Lord. (Isaiah 59)
But, Israel would suffer the wrath and vengeance (days of vengeance) of God when He avenged the innocent blood (all the blood of the prophets) of the righteous in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. (Luke 11:50, Luke 21)
Therefore, the second coming of the Lord of Isaiah 59 was fulfilled in AD70, when the Lord returned to render vengeance to Old Covenant Israel for shedding the innocent blood of the righteous.
But that’s not all….
The coming of the Lord in Isaiah 59 was also to establish the kingdom and to bring redemption to “those who turn from transgression in Jacob” (v.20), through the consummation of the New Covenant (v.21).
But according to Jesus, the Lord would return (second coming) to bring redemption and to establish the kingdom of God in the first century generation.
Luke 21:27-32
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”…. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
And, according to the writer of Hebrews, the New Covenant would be consummated when the Old Covenant was removed, and taken away. (Hebrews 10:9, 12:26-28) So, consider the following:
Jesus would establish the kingdom at his second coming, when he returned to bring redemption to Israel. (Isaiah 59)
But, Jesus would establish his kingdom at his second coming and bring redemption to Israel at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, which would establish the New Covenant. (Luke 21, Hebrews 10:9, 12:26-28)
Therefore, the Lord returned and established his kingdom in AD70 which brought redemption to Israel through the consummation of their New Covenant.
Conclusion:
In Mathew 16:27-28, Jesus promised his first century generation that he would return in their lifetime to establish his Messianic kingdom, bring vengeance upon the unfaithful of Israel, and consummate the redemption (the atonement) of the righteous (the elect), in fulfillment of Isaiah 59.
It’s time we believe the words of our Lord, and put off man’s tradition of a future earthly kingdom. For His words, they are Spirit and they are Truth.
Dan Dery
Titus 1:9