The old kingdom was not restored, but the kingdom of God was set up on Pentecost. Christ is on the throne, where he will sit till all his enemies are subdued. (Acts 2:35.) The last enemy to be abolished is death. (1 Cor. 15:26.) Death will be destroyed when the whole human family is raised from the dead. Jesus will occupy his present throne till that event is consummated. He will deliver up the kingdom to the Father. (1 Cor. 15:26-28.) That leaves no room for Jesus to reign on another throne before all the dead are raised. Yes, the apostles spoke of the return of Christ as future; but, unfortunately for the future-kingdom theory, they did not put the establishment of his kingdom in the future. Neither did these ambassadors for Christ tell us that the Jews would yet be restored to Palestine.
Pointed Paragraphs:
Instead of recognizing that God was working out through them his plan for the redemption of the world, the Jews concluded God cared for no other people. The promise to Abraham and their own prophets should have taught them the truth, but they were too much wrapped up in themselves to see the truth.
From the things we learn from God’s dealings with nations, it can be safely said that no nation falls so long as it serves a purpose in God’s plans. That was true anciently, and it is true today.
WILL JEWS RETURN TO JERUSALEM?
From Tennessee comes this question: “Do the Scriptures teach that the Jews will return to Jerusalem and then Christ will come and rebuild the temple there?”
We learn from a note accompanying the question that a Holy Roller or some similar kind of preacher is creating a little confusion by teaching that the Jews will return to Jerusalem and Christ will soon come and rebuild the temple.
There is no way to keep fanatics from making wild guesses, nor to keep speculators from perverting the word of God. But if people studied the Bible as they should, such fellows would create very little confusion. It is hard to tell just why such a high fever has lately developed about the future of the Jews. Some preachers seem not to have much thought for any one but the Jews.
God promised Abraham to make of his seed a great nation and to give to them the land of Canaan. (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17.) After Israel came out of Egypt, God entered into a covenant with them, promising to make of them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, on condition that they obeyed his voice and kept his covenant. (Ex. 19:5, 6.) But as they neared Canaan, Jehovah said to them: “And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah thy God, and walk after other Gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations that Jehovah maketh to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God.” (Deut. 8:19, 20.) The nations spoken of perished permanently, never to inhabit Canaan again. Israel was to perish as they did, if they turned from Jehovah in rebellion against him. I think one can safely say that not a future-kingdom advocate believes that Scripture just as it reads.
Some, at least, of those who look for the return of the Jews to Palestine and the restoration of their old kingdom tell us that the land promise to Abraham and his seed was an unconditional promise. If so, why have the Jews been deprived of their land for eighteen and a half centuries? If the Jews were driven out because of their conduct, then the land covenant, or promise, was conditional. It seems to me that their theory virtually charges God with a failure to carry out an unconditional promise. Just here the interested reader should read carefully Deut. 27 and 28. But some will tell us that the land promise and the national promises have not yet been fulfilled to the Jews; but in so contending they run squarely against plain statements of Scripture.