The "mystery" of the Kingdom

In Mark 4, Jesus teaches several parables about the coming Kingdom, beginning with the parable of the sower.

“As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, ‘To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables, in order that while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, lest they return and be forgiven." Mark 4:10-12

Most teach that the “mystery” refers to God’s long-awaited Kingdom breaking into history with the ministry of Jesus and the giving of the spirit at Pentecost. Thus, in this view, there is a “now, yet not now” aspect to the Kingdom—or, as it is popularly called, “Already, Not Yet.”

On this view, the Kingdom started small and remains hidden at present, growing invisibly and spiritually among Christians, yet inevitably heading toward its so-called “consummation,” i.e., the visible, physical manifestation of the Kingdom and its King Jesus at his parousia.

This single truth is then said to be illustrated by Jesus in the parable of the sower and others like the mustard seed or leaven. They are taken to explain the “mystery” (especially to the disciples, who received private explanations) while concealing it from opponents. Thus, Isaiah’s prophecy about spiritual blindness is seen as fulfilled, and only a few receive the Kingdom “spiritually”—that is, in their hearts and in the church. Those who reject Jesus, on this reading, hear only stories without grasping the deeper truth.

According to this view, the belief of the Kingdom conquering the world gradually by inner transformation was utterly foreign to Jewish thought—far from what most of Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries expected—and has contributed to their continued rejection of Jesus as their promised Messiah to this day.

But the wrongheadedness of this view is already exposed by the misleading translation of the Greek word mystērion as “mystery.” The NET Bible footnote on verse 11 says:

“The traditional translation of this word, ‘mystery,’ is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand. The key term “secret” (mystērion) can mean either (1) a new revelation, or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation, as in Daniel 2:17–23, 27–30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the New Testament consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1–4; Heb 1:1–2)."

In Ephesians 1, Paul defines that “secret” (not “mystery”) as God’s now-revealed Kingdom plan, first announced by Jesus (Mark 1:14–15; cp. Heb 2:3).

In Galatians 3:8, Paul says this Gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham as a promise involving property, progeny, and prosperity. This promise now extends to the inheritance of the whole world, exactly as Jesus promised in Matthew 5:5. But this will happen only at the physical, visible parousia of Jesus, when he comes back to establish the Kingdom on a renewed earth (Rev 5:10). At that time Jesus will begin to rule with the saints from all the ages into "the age of the ages" (Rev 11:15; cp. Dan. 7:18, 27).

So the “secret of the Kingdom” comes down to how God by the Hebrew patriarchs, the prophets of old, Jesus, and his apostles first defined the Kingdom of God:

• Genesis 17:4–8 God says to Abraham: “You will be the father of a multitude of nations.” “I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.” “I will give to you and to your seed after you…all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.”

• Daniel 2:44 sees a vision when “The God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever.”

• Psalm 2:6–8; Isaiah 9:6–7 God will appoint His uniquely chosen Son to rule the nations.

• Isaiah 11:1–10; Psalm 102 (LXX) describe that rule on a renewed earth.

• Matthew 19:27 Peter asks Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What reward will we get?” 28 Jesus replied, “I am telling you the truth: you who have followed me, when the world is reborn and the Son of Man will sit on his throne of glory, you too will sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left their homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or properties, because of me, will receive back a hundred times more, and will inherit the life of the age to come. But many will be last who are now first, and first who are now last.”

• 1Cor 6 Paul admonishes the church saying: "How dare any of you who has a dispute with another go to court before the unrighteous and not before the saints! 2 Do you not understand that the saints are going to govern and manage the world? If you are going to manage the world, are you not able to judge less important matters? 3 Do you not understand that we will be judging angels? Then why not matters related to this present life!  9 Do you not understand that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. 

Added to all this was the revelation that the prophesied, violent, militant Messianic king would first come to suffer and die for sins (as a lamb led to slaughter, Isa 53:7; Acts 8:32; cp. 1 Pet 1:19), and only after a long time would return to finally judge and kill the wicked and establish God’s Kingdom (cp. the parable of the nobleman in Luke 19). Thus, the real political Kingdom spoken of by the prophets will only be realized at his parousia, the second coming of Jesus.

All this should make clear several things about what the “secret” of the Kingdom is—and is not:

• The secret is not that the Kingdom has become a purely inner, invisible reality gradually taking over people through good ethics and morals only.

• The secret includes the revelation that the Messianic King must first suffer and die for sins, and only after an extended period of time return to judge the wicked and establish God’s political Kingdom on a renewed earth.

• The seed in the parable is not the Kingdom itself, but the word, the message or announcement about that coming Kingdom. As the saying goes, “Don’t confuse the message with the messenger.”

• This means that neither the person nor the ministry of Jesus, nor his apostles, are themselves “the Kingdom.”

• The church is not the Kingdom either. The church is the community of Christians who proclaim that the Kingdom is coming. The church was never sent to “build” or “spread” the Kingdom as if God’s Kingdom belonged to, or originated from, this world-system. As Jesus himself says to the politician Pilate in John 18:36:

“If my Kingdom did belong to this world-system, my servants would be fighting, so that I would not be handed over to the Jewish leaders. But as it is, my Kingdom does not have its origin from this system.”

Do not be deceived, my friends: the secret has been revealed as God’s ancient Kingdom promises of a real world government under His Messiah on a renewed earth. These secrets have been clarified and expanded by Jesus and his apostles—not as a present, hidden form of that Kingdom, as if it had already entered the world in advance of its King, Jesus the Messiah!

Wednesday study 3/11/26 Psalm 72

Psalm 72 – Introduction

The last psalm of Book 2 (which began in Psalm 42).

The Psalms are divided into 5 books, some say to mirror the 5 books of the Torah (Pentateuch):

1. Psalms 1–41

2. Psalms 42–72

3. Psalms 73–89

4. Psalms 90–106

5. Psalms 107–150

The title of Psalm 72 can mean “of Solomon,” i.e., Solomon was the author (just as “of David” normally means that David wrote the psalm).

Or it can mean “for Solomon,” i.e., someone else (perhaps David) spoke these words about Solomon (cf. the Davidic covenant with its dual prophecy in 2 Sam 7).

If the latter, then it is a prayer for David’s son, beginning with Solomon, to rule and protect God’s people, defend the poor and needy, and bless all the nations of the earth—the “widescreen gospel.”

Similar to Psalm 2, it looks forward to the kingdom’s ultimate fulfillment in the son of David, the Messiah, who will sit on his restored throne.

The NET Bible on v. 20: Heb. “The prayers of David, son of Jesse, are concluded.”

As noted earlier, v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter. In the present arrangement of the Book of Psalms, not all psalms prior to this are attributed to David (see Pss 1–2, 10, 33, 42–50, 66–67, 71–72), and several psalms attributed to David appear after this (see Pss 86, 101, 103, 108–110, 122, 124, 131, 138–145).

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Overall Theme: The Davidic King’s Status

• The king holds the highest possible status on earth.

• He serves as God’s earthly counterpart to what Yahweh (God) is in the heavenly realm.

• He carries out on earth the same kind of rule and authority that God exercises in heaven.

In Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, Jesus tells his followers:

“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,”

showing a similar link between earthly and heavenly authority.

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Psalm 89, by Ethan the Ezrahite, echoes Psalm 72: the Davidic king receives worldwide authority from God, which explains his “godlike” description.

This will be ultimately fulfilled by his seed/son, the Messiah Jesus.

Psalm 89 describes the Davidic king as God’s “firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth,” while the king calls Yahweh “my Father, my God.”

Compare God as the “Most High” over the kings of the earth and over His angelic ministers.

The Messiah is exalted above all kings and rules the nations, but he remains God’s Son and servant who receives authority from the one true God, the Father.

• v. 19 – “Your godly one” = the prophet Nathan (2 Sam 7:17; 1 Chron 17:15). Compare the same LXX word “godly/holy” used for Jesus in Acts 2:27: “You will not abandon your holy one to the grave.”

• v. 20 – “I have found David my servant.” Compare “I found/elected Israel” (Hos 9:10).
  Israel is also called the suffering servant (Isa 49–53), later applied to Jesus by the NT. In Acts 3:13; 4:30 Jesus is described as the servant of God.

• David is described as “mighty” (gibbor), like the “mighty men of David” (2 Sam 23:8). Compare the “mighty ones” of God (’ēlē gibborim) in Ezek 32:21 with Isa 9:6, where the child born is also called “Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

• v. 25 – “The right hand of David” parallels “the right hand of God” (Exod 15:6; Ps 118:16).

• v. 26 – The Davidic king says to Yahweh: “You are my Father, my God…” Compare Jesus’ words: “My Father and your Father, my God and your God” (John 20:17).

• v. 27 – God says David is His “firstborn,” in terms of rank and status, not time. Compare the procreated son in Psalm 2:7–12; Romans 8:29 (“firstborn among many brothers”); Colossians 1:15 (“firstborn of all creation”); Revelation 1:5 (“firstborn of the dead”). All refer to status/rank rather than literal time, as in preexistence.

• vv. 29, 35–37 – The permanence of the Davidic throne is a metaphor for the eternal kingdom and its rulers. Cf. Ps 78:
  68 “He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves.
  69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently [the earth was made to last!].
  70 He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.”

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Other Parallels

Righteous judgment

• Of David:
  “He will judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted ones with justice.” (Ps 72:2)

• Of God:
  “He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity (i.e., justice).” (Ps 98:9b)

Like life-giving rain

• Of David:
  “Let him be like rain on the grass, like showers that water the earth.” (Ps 72:6)

• Of God:
  “So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.” (Hos 6:3)

Name and fame among the nations

• Of David:
  “May his name endure forever; as long as the sun shines, may his fame increase. May all nations be blessed by him and call him blessed.” (Ps 72:17)

• Of God:
  “My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets.” (Mal 1:11a)

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Shared Titles and Actions

The king acts as God’s personal agent, doing God’s work on earth, in line with the principle of agency.

But shared titles and qualities do not mean the same identity, contra Trinitarian claims.

Compare Psalm 45:6 and Isaiah 51:16, where God gives His servant the power to establish new heavens and a new earth. This is applied to the Son in Hebrews 1, where the eternal nature of God’s rule is applied to the king/Messiah.

In Psalm 45, the word Elohim is applied to the Davidic king.

The NET Bible adds that “the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth,” i.e., a person appointed by a ruler or head of state to act as an administrative deputy.

The Revised Jerusalem Bible notes that “since judges are also similarly addressed [as gods in Ps 82:6], the small letter ‘god’ may be more appropriate” in Psalm 45:6.

NOTE: Most translations of v. 6 render the text with a capital “God,” which would imply two Gods, instead of lower-case “god.”

Back in 2020 I emailed the Catholic committee behind this translation to ask why they translated the verse differently across its editions.

• In the 1970 edition the verse reads “O God.”

• In the 1991 edition it was changed to “O god.”

• In the 2010 edition it was changed back again to “O God.”

The Associate Director replied that it was changed back to “O God” to reflect the Letter to the Hebrews applying this verse to Christ.

So even on their own explanation, “O God” is driven not by the Old Testament usage, but by a later Christological reading from the New Testament.

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What’s in a Name?

The prophetic hope repeatedly portrays the future Davidic ruler not merely as David’s successor, but as “David” himself raised up in the latter days:

• Ezekiel 34:23–24; 37:24–25 — God will appoint “my servant David” as the single shepherd and everlasting prince over a reunited Israel.

• Hosea 3:5 — “Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king…”

• Jeremiah 30:9 — “They shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”

The name “David” is used typologically (cf. the name “Elijah” used for John the Baptist).

The Aramaic Targums consistently render these verses as “King Messiah” or “the Messiah, son of David.”

Jeremiah 30:9 is especially striking:

The restored people “shall serve the LORD their God and David their king.” Compare 1 Chron 29:20, where Israel worships before God and the king.

The point is: to serve/worship God is to serve His king, both placed on the same plane (cf. Ps 110:1). God and His king are inseparable, working as one (cf. “I and the Father are one,” John 10:30).

Jeremiah 30:21 goes on to describe the ruler as one who arises “from among them” (i.e., humans, not some preexistent being or angel!). He is a “majestic one” whose heart is bold enough to “approach” God on behalf of the people (cf. 1 Tim 2:5):

“For there is one God and one mediator between that one God and humanity, Messiah Jesus, who is himself human.”

1 John 2:1–2

And if anyone sins, we have an advocate [helper/comforter] with the Father — Jesus Messiah the righteous.

2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but for the whole world.

David serves as the great biblical Messianic type: a deliverer-king rejected and persecuted (hunted by Saul; struck on the cheek, Mic 5:1) before final exaltation and enthronement.

And did you know in David’s day his children functioned as a special category of “priests”?

2 Samuel 8:18 – “David’s sons were priests.”

The Messiah parallels David’s story: shepherding Israel (Ezek 34), executing justice and righteousness (Jer 23:5), reuniting the tribes, and reigning forever in a kingdom of unsurpassed glory (Isa 9:7; 11:1–10; 55:3–5).

This sets the pattern for understanding what Jesus preached, practiced, and who he was: God’s anointed Messianic king and uniquely procreated human Son!

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So What?

Psalm 72, along with others, shows how a human king can be described in “God-like” terms without being God.

This is the same framework that should be applied to Jesus in the New Testament: the exalted human Messiah, the Son of God the Father.

G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible (1988), p. 181:

“So completely is the ideal Davidic king identified with the purposes of God that he can be dignified with the titles of God himself (e.g., Ps. 45:6). This practice of treating the agent as though he were the principal is of the greatest importance for New Testament Christology.”

https://thehumanjesus.org/2023/02/14/biblical-agency/

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END WITH: Zech 12:8-10

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Recommended: Bob Shutes

https://theologicalconference.org/

Saturday study 3/7/26 Baptism series: Introduction

Baptism Saves Us!

Origins, Meaning, and Importance

Christian baptism is not unique as a washing ritual, but the belief of being baptized “into” the name of the Father, the Son, by the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins is unique. Jews practiced ritual washings for purity and for new converts (proselytes). Many pagan religions also practiced ritual washing for purification or initiation (Egypt, Hinduism, Shinto, Islam). But for Christians, baptism is not optional. It is a God-given commandment and an expression of the “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5). It is closely linked with repentance, forgiveness, new birth, and ultimately entering the coming Kingdom. Baptism begins with John the Baptist’s New Covenant preaching and is later confirmed by Jesus and continued by the church.

Paradigm Shift: John’s Baptism, Mark 1:1–20

John proclaimed “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” He also announced the coming Messiah:

“Someone more powerful than I is coming… he will baptize you with holy spirit.”

Jesus himself baptized (through his disciples; John 4:1–2).

Mark 16:15–16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

From the beginning, baptism is tied to repentance and forgiveness (Acts 2:38). John did not mean forgiveness by inner faith alone, but repentance expressed in action—being baptized. Christian faith is not merely intellectual or “head knowledge,” but active—the obedience of faith. John’s water baptism prepares people for the coming one who will baptize in holy spirit. This introduces the biblical pattern: Water + Spirit.

If refusing to believe Jesus brings condemnation, then refusing his command to be baptized is an act of disobedience rather than obedience.

The Apostolic Church: Acts 2:37–41

Acts 2:38: “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of holy spirit.”

The people ask what they must do to be saved. Peter’s inspired answer is twofold:

1. Repent +

2. Be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah

God responds with:

1. Forgiveness of sins +
2. The gift of His Spirit

Those who accepted the message were baptized (v.41).

What About Matthew 28:19?

Jesus commands baptism "into the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit.” The word "into” refers to the shared authority and mission of the Father and the Son, carried out by the power of the Spirit.

In Acts, Luke uses different expressions:

• Baptized in the name of Jesus

• Baptized into the name of Jesus

• Baptized upon the name of Jesus

These are not contradictions. They simply emphasize different aspects: Matthew emphasizes purpose and direction (“into”). Acts emphasizes authority and proclamation. The apostles also use similar triadic salvation language:

Titus 3:5–6 Saved through the washing of rebirth by the Holy Spirit poured out through Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:11 Washed and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit of our God.

1 Peter 1:1–2 Chosen by God the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ.

These are triadic descriptions of salvation, but not evidence for a Trinity.

Addendum: Water Vs Spirit

• John the Baptist had already foretold this when he said Jesus would baptize “in holy spirit” (Matt. 3:11).

• Note Jesus alone is given the power/authority to baptize in holy spirit (contra hyper or ultra-dispensationalism).

• They argue that the church did not begin at Pentecost (Acts 2) but later, with Paul’s ministry (around Acts 9 or 13).

• They treat the events early in Acts—including Peter’s message in Acts 2:38—as still under the Old Covenant, a Jewish “kingdom gospel,” not the gospel of grace for the church.

• Water baptism, they say, was a Jewish rite tied to Israel’s repentance and kingdom offer, later set aside as the mystery of the church was revealed to Paul.

• They stress that Paul’s later epistles—especially his prison letters—speak only of Spirit baptism (e.g., Eph 4:5; Col 2:12) and give no command for water baptism, concluding it is not for the church today.

Historical Deniers

• Quakers emphasize the presence of the "Inner Light," the belief that every individual has a direct connection to the divine.

• This belief led to a rejection of sacraments and outward rituals, including baptism and communion, in favor of a more personal and experiential form of worship.

Some unitarian groups

• A form of hyper or ultra-dispensationalism unique to non-trini, unitarian group The Way International and offshoots like Spirit & Truth Fellowship.

• The Way Int. founder and guru Victor Paul Wierwille, The Bible Tells Me So, American Christian Press, 1971, p. 134.

• On Acts 1:5: “In other words, with the coming of the greater (holy spirit), the lesser (water) came to an end. This replacement was initiated on Pentecost. On Pentecost the replacement first applied.”

Spirit & Truth Revised English Version Bible Commentary

Acts 1:5 John’s baptism was a shadow of what was to come, and even John himself said this (Matt. 3:11). Sadly, there are some who teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation. But Jesus never made water baptism a requirement for salvation, nor did any of his apostles. The apostles continued to baptize with water as commanded by the Lord Jesus (cf. Matt. 28:19), not for salvation, though, but for the symbolism of the washing away of sin and the new life of the believer in Christ.

• This verse does not say or even imply that water baptism was suddenly replaced by holy spirit baptism, starting with the Day of Pentecost.

Is This a Salvation Issue? 1 Peter 3:18–22

Verse 21: “Baptism… now saves you—not as the removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Messiah.” Peter explains that baptism is not merely washing the body. It is a pledge or appeal to God for a clean conscience. Additional passages that connect baptism with salvation.

Titus 3:5 “Washing of rebirth and renewal of holy spirit.”

Colossians 2:12 “Buried with him in baptism… raised with him through faith in the working of God.”

Romans 6:3–4 “All of us who were baptized into Messiah Jesus were baptized into his death.”

Baptism unites believers with Messiah’s death and resurrection. It marks dying to the old self and beginning a new life (Rom. 6:6). It also points forward to our future hope: resurrection at the parousia.

Entering the Kingdom

Jesus’ teaching on new birth fits the same pattern seen in Acts.

John 3:5: “Unless a person is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”

The pattern is the same:

1. Water baptism +

2. Spirit as God’s gift (Acts 2:38)

Entering the Kingdom requires obedience to Jesus:

“This is My beloved Son… listen to him!” (Luke 9:35)

Acts 8:12 “When they believed Philip preaching the Gospel about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Messiah, they were baptized, both men and women.”

The pattern in the apostolic church is clear:

1. Hear the Gospel of the Kingdom

2. Believe in Jesus the Messiah

3. Be baptized

There is no gap between genuine belief and baptism. Faith is expressed in action.

Summary

Luke 16:16 and Matthew 11:13 say the Law and the Prophets were in force until John. John’s baptism ministry marked the beginning of a major transition. His call to repentance and baptism offered direct forgiveness outside the Temple system, which had depended on sacrifices and priestly mediation. John even rebuked the religious leadership:

“You brood of vipers!” (Matt. 3:7)

His ministry prepared the way for Messiah’s New Covenant work. Jesus then gave the church the Great Commission: Matthew 28:19–20

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I commanded.

Bottom Line

Baptism is essential to Christianity.

As Pastor Dan Gill wrote:

“No one today can say that he is being faithful to the kingdom message preached by the apostles if he is not preaching that same water baptism.” https://focusonthekingdom.org/Water%20Baptism.pdf

Addendum: Rebaptism

The gospel is not merely “accepting Jesus into your heart.” It involves understanding and believing the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 28:20; Acts 8:12). The apostles preached this message together with:

• Jesus’ death for sins

• His resurrection

• His future return (parousia)

If that understanding was missing from your baptism, it may be worth being baptized again.

What if you died? https://jesuskingdomgospel.com/should-you-get-baptized-to-be-saved/

The Kingdom of God, Not of Men

Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24 (closely following Daniel 9) that the end will not be driven by human events but by God’s set events and timing: a Daniel-style abomination of desolation, the great tribulation, then earthly and cosmic signs that lead to the parousia, when Jesus will gather his church. Jesus said the exact timing is unknown to humans and angels—even to the Son. Only the Father knows (Matt. 24:36).

Jesus describes his parousia as sudden and disruptive, coming after those events, not as a gradual evolution or "breaking in" of the Kingdom into human, as so-called “already/not yet,” amillennialism, and other end-times views tend to interpret it. In Matthew 24, life is going on “as in the days of Noah,” and then the Son of Man appears and everything changes at once (Matt. 24:30–31, 37–39). That fits the premillennial picture much better than amillennial or postmillennial views, where history slowly transitions into the Kingdom. Daniel 9–12 and Matthew 24 show a pattern: a series of crises → the great tribulation → Messiah’s decisive parousia. The Kingdom does not emerge from history; the Kingdom will break into human history by God’s direct word, not by any man or nation.

Scripture also shows that sin itself is part of God’s judgment. Romans 1 is the clearest example: because people rejected God and worshiped creation, “God gave them over” to their desires (Rom. 1:24–28). So the moral collapse of a society can itself be a form of judgment. In that sense, increasing disorder, pride, and rebellion in a culture can certainly be part of God allowing humanity to reap what it has sown. As Paul warns in 2 Tim. 3:13, “evil people and charlatans will get worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” But even then, that is still judgment within history. The final judgment and the arrival of the Kingdom are different, according to Jesus in Matthew 24, when the Son of Man appears and brings to an to this present evil age that leads to the age to come.

Postmillennialism (and often amillennialism in practice) can drift toward a “baptized Babel”—a confidence that history will slowly “become” the Kingdom through human events and industrial–technological advances. But Jesus and Daniel show that the Kingdom finally arrives by God’s intervention—sudden, disruptive, and unstoppable—at the parousia. Meanwhile, Christians are commanded to preach, to endure, and to remain faithful, but we are not called to help engineer the age to come. We are not to be part of the political–military–industrial complex that seeks to bring this about. Only God the Father, by his set times and seasons, will bring the Kingdom through his Son, who will establish the Kingdom on a renewed earth.

In Acts 1, just before his final ascension, the apostles asked Jesus:

“Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus replied:

“It is not for you to know times or periods which the Father has set by His own authority.”

Later Peter warns:

"The Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will pass away with a terrific noise, the heavenly bodies will melt in intense fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be laid bare. Since all these things are to melt in this way, what sort of people should you be in holy and godly living, as you look out for and hasten the coming of the Day of God? That Day will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the heavenly bodies to melt with intense fire. But, according to His promise, we are expectantly waiting for new heavens and a new earth, where uprightness will live." (2 Peter 3:10-13) 

Hebrew, Israelite, or Jew?

Many Christians note that in the Old Testament “Hebrew” and “Israelite” are broad labels for the twelve tribes of Israel, while “Jew” originally comes from Judah and can be narrower in certain historical settings. But here’s what often gets missed (or conveniently ignored): by the Second Temple period—New Testament times—“Jew” (Greek Ioudaios, “Jew/Judean”) had become the standard cultural-religious designation for the people of Israel as a whole. That’s why the New Testament typically speaks in the simple, audience-ready categories “Jews and Gentiles,” not “Hebrews" or "Israelites vs. Jews,” as though they were separate peoples.

The New Testament itself makes this obvious, especially in John’s Gospel, where “the Jews” often functions broadly as a designation for the Hebrew/Israelite people in religious contrast to Gentiles or Samaritans. Speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus says:

“We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

Here Jesus is referring to the entire salvation-historical story—the promises, the Scriptures, the Messiah, and so on—coming through the nation of Israel as a whole (which would include the Abrahamic covenant), not merely “Judah” in a narrow tribal sense.

In John 8, “the Jews” claim Abrahamic covenant identity (“Abraham is our father” John 8:39) and Jesus argues by defining true sonship by doing Abraham’s works (John 8:39–40). He even calls Abraham “your father Abraham” (John 8:56) and the writer adds:

“The Jews said to Jesus: And you have seen Abraham?” (John 8:57).

Taken together, these verses show that in this context “the Jews” functions as an umbrella term for the Abraham-descended covenant nation of Israel in Jesus’ day, not a narrow “Judah-only” label.

Likewise, before the high priest, Jesus says, “I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together…” (John 18:20). In this context, the term refers collectively to the broader Hebrew/Israelite peoples engaged in "Jewish" religious life (Judaism), not merely some "Judean" only leadership in a strictly geographic sense, a narrow subgroup.

Later, in John 18:36, speaking to Pilate during his trial, Jesus refers to being “delivered to the Jews.” Here “the Jews” functions as a collective term for the Jewish authorities (and, by extension, the nation of Israelites) involved in his arrest and trial. Jesus representing the "Jewish" people, the kingdom of Israel as a whole, in opposition to his coming kingdom.

Other examples include:

• Acts 6:1: “Hellenists” and “Hebrews” are both Jewish believers; the difference is language/culture, not ethnicity (Greek-speaking vs. more traditionally Hebrew/Aramaic).

• Acts 21:40–22:3: Paul speaks “in the Hebrew language” and says plainly, “I am a Jew.” “Jew” is the umbrella; “Hebrew” is the in-language/in-culture marker.

• 2 Corinthians 11:22: Paul piles up terms like “Hebrews… Israelites… offspring of Abraham” as overlapping credentials, not competing identities.

• Philippians 3:5: “Of the people of Israel… a Hebrew of Hebrews” again, a pedigree claim within Jewish identity.

So, “Hebrew” in the New Testament is not “non-Jew.” It typically functions as an internal label for "Jews" in general (cultural, linguistic, or ethnicity) within the wider Jewish world.

While it can be helpful to understand the historical development of these terms, the point is that the New Testament itself does not make this an issue. By that time, “Jew(s)” had already become the common umbrella term, which is why the NT consistently speaks in the straightforward categories “Jews and Gentiles.” Period.

The NT writers were fully capable of using any term in its proper historical settings, yet when it coms to this topic they never do. So insisting that "Jew(s)" is “incorrect” or “confusing” does more than unnecessarily correct fellow Christians today—it effectively amounts to criticizing how Jesus and Paul themselves chose to communicate.

More importantly, in the Messiah such terms (whether framed as “Hebrew,” “Israelite,” or “Jew”) are no longer covenant-defining. The NT repeatedly emphasizes that what ultimately matters is not ethnicity but the faith of Messiah, and living under his new-covenant gospel of the Kingdom (Gal. 3:28–29; Eph. 2:14–16).

That’s why pressing the Hebrew/Israelite/Jew distinction today often misses what really matters. In many cases it ends up being used—especially in some Hebrew Roots circles—to rebuild “the middle wall of separation” (Eph. 2:14) and push the church back toward Torah observance as the defining marker of God’s people. But the Christian message is that in the Messiah the church is now the new-covenant people of God, not a return to debates over outdated semantic distinctions.