The sequel is breathtaking. The Jews, having been brought forcibly to see how far they have gone away from God, return to Him and find the peace of reconciliation and forgiveness. From all the nations under heaven, a mighty Exodus begins, dwarfing the present-day Return, with two great streams of returning Jews from north and south. “In far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return. I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria,” writes Zechariah (10:9,10). “He will raise an ensign for the nations,” adds Isaiah, “and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (11:12).
As in the original Exodus, the rebels are purged out, and those who complete the journey are united in the land of Israel with their brethren who have survived the northern invasion. Here the repentant people become the nucleus of a mighty empire ruled by King Jesus, whose reign will bring peace and joy to all the nations of the earth. “At that time,” rejoices Jeremiah, “Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem” (3:17). “Out of Zion shall go forth the law,” reads Micah, “and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples” (4:2,3). “With righteousness,” writes Isaiah, “he shall judge the poor … and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked … They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (11:4,9).
The wilderness transformed
At last, the plan of God comes to its climax. After thousands of years of preparation, the people of the kingdom are brought together. The leaders and princes are the faithful disciples from all ages, raised from the dead with the apostles to reign with their king. The subjects are the restored Israel, and the nations of the earth who share in their happiness. Now, at last, the reason why God chose that tiny land become plain, as it forms, at the hub of the continents, the headquarters of Christ’s administration. And now the promises made to Abraham about his descendants are fulfilled – promises made so long ago but never forgotten by Abraham’s God.
As Jesus brings relief to the oppressed and teaches men all over the world to love one another, the blessings God once promised begin to fill the earth. The wilderness turns into fields and forests to feed the hungry. “May there be abundance of grain in the land,” sings the Psalmist, “on the tops of the mountains may it wave” (72:16). Yes, even on the hills, barren from neglect and the exploitation of greedy man, great harvest crops will be provided by a bountiful God. “Like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands” (Isaiah 65:22).
What a glorious picture this is to look forward to, something in which all can share! To see the earth set free from endless war and violence, from disease and tears and suffering. “Your eyes will see the king in his beauty,” promises Isaiah, “Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation” (Isaiah 33:17,20). “The ransomed of the Lord shall return,” he concludes, “and come to Zion with singing … they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (35:10). “They shall be priests of God and of Christ,” wrote John in the Book of Revelation, “and they shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). For all that time Jesus and his immortal princes will reign over the earth. “He must reign,” writes the apostle, “until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25,26). Although during the kingdom disease and famine will have been restrained and life lengthened, death will not finally be taken away until all sin, the cause of death in the beginning, has at last been rooted out from the hearts of men. And those who see that glorious end, and live on eternally into the time beyond, will be one with God and His Son for ever.
This kingdom of which the Bible speaks lies just round the corner in time, but the invitations to belong to it have already gone out. For the last 2,000 years people of all nations have been called out, as we have seen, to prepare for its coming. Our share in its benefits is independent of race. We do not have to be Jews to be there. All we need is the faith that Abraham had, and the will to obey.
In one of his parables, Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God as a wedding banquet, to which people were summoned, even from the highways and hedges, to sit down at the feast. What an honour it would be, if we received through the post an invitation to dine with our earthly sovereign or president. The fact is, we have been invited to something much greater. Through the Bible, we have received an invitation to sit down at table with Jesus, the king of the kingdom of God! Usually when we are invited to a wedding, we feel we have to go out and buy a new suit or dress. But in this case, the wedding garments are provided by the host himself, free of charge. Jesus’ own blood is the covering for our sin, and we have only to “put him on”, in the ceremony of baptism, to be made clean and fit to stand before God. “As many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ,” Paul wrote, in a passage at which we have already looked (Galatians 3:27).
The coming kingdom
“And if you are Christ’s,” he continued, “then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29). Imagine that: to be able to enjoy, today, the same mercy and forgiveness God will show to Israel in His kingdom! And when it comes, to be heirs to Abraham’s land, restored in all its beauty, and fellow-heirs to David’s throne, and to a world where nations live at peace.
But first, a warning. The coming of Jesus will bring a Day of Judgement, when the hearts of Jews and Gentiles are to be inspected by Jesus, the king. We need to make ready for that day. “God’s righteous judgment will be revealed,” warned Paul. “To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour,” he continues, “he will give eternal life; but for those who … obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury” (Roman 2:5-8). Glory, honour, immortality – all these can be ours in the kingdom of God. In his last letter, Paul describes this great reward as “the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me,” he concludes, “but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
That day of Jesus’ appearing could be very close. There is nothing in the world to stop us from laying hold of the wonderful promises God made to Abraham. The way has been prepared, through His great plan. He has shown us, through the history of His people the Jews, that we can trust His word – the message of the Gospel contained in the Bible. But we must believe, and be baptized; and then live the life that Jesus requires of his disciples. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
All Bible quotations are from the Revised Standard Version
