We have noted how premillennialists claim that Old Testament prophecy is “literal” and predicts events in our daily newspapers and in our immediate future. This claim leads to a distorted understanding of the restoration of Israel.

The Prophecy Clock (Part 1)

1 Israel Was Restored

It is claimed that there was a “parenthesis” in history —a period unintended and not prophesied— because Jesus at his first coming failed to restore Israel and establish his kingdom. The theory asserts that God had to stop the “clock of prophecy” and postpone the restoration of Israel for around 2000 years until Christ’s second coming.

The kingdom of Israel had been a mighty empire in the time of king David and his son Solomon. But later there was only a remnant1 of the kingdom left. Yet, among the prophets of that time, there was hope of a restoration.

Here is a small sample of their prophecies...

• "And my servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd..." (Eze 37:24).
• "The sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king" (Hosea 3:5).
• "I will raise up the fallen booth of David, wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old... declares the Lord" (Amos, 9:11-12).
• The prophet Nathan had conveyed this promise from God to king David: "I will raise up your descendant after you... and I will establish his kingdom... your throne will be established forever" (2Sm 7:12-17).

2 Christ Established a Heavenly Kingdom

The hero of Israel who would bring about this restoration was the Messiah2 (Dan 9:25). When Messiah came, however, he did not set up David’s throne again in Jerusalem on earth. People might have thought that Messiah would conquer the world in a political or material sense, and establish an earthly kingdom of the same nature as the kingdom of David and Solomon. But that didn't happen, nor was it meant to.

The prophecies were to be fulfilled by a greater heavenly kingdom. Where the prophets described the kingdom in material terms, they were speaking figuratively and symbolically:

• Jesus made that clear: "My kingdom is not of this world" (Jhn 18:36) .
• He set up a heavenly kingdom and sat down on a heavenly throne —of which David’s throne on earth had been a "type" or figure, a shadow (Gal 4:24-26).
• People might have expected the Messiah to liberate the earthly city of Jerusalem and once again make it the capital of a great golden empire. However the gospel tells of a new Jerusalem —not an earthly city, but "the heavenly Jerusalem" (Heb 12:22-23). Although we live on earth just now, we belong to this heavenly city, and we are pilgrims going there (Php 3:20, Heb 11:8-10,16, 13:14).
• This new Israel is not like the old nation, since its constitution is a "new covenant... not like the [old law]" (Heb 8:8-10).
• The kingdom which Jesus established is his church, and its members have already been "translated from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son" (Col 1:13-20).

3 Prophecy Was Fulfilled On Schedule

Peter says, "David was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne. He looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ" (Acts 2:25-36). Peter understood, and claims that David understood also, that the kingdom of Israel would be restored at the resurrection and ascension of Christ.

In part 2 of this lesson, we will look more closely at this “prophecy clock” notion. Here in part 1 we have concentrated on the fulfillment of the prophesied restoration of Israel. This happened at Messiah’s first coming, when he died, arose, and ascended to the throne in heaven. The fulfillment of the prophecies was not postponed until his second coming.

Footnotes

1 In this lesson I do not imply that the physical remnant of Israel ever ceased to exist, or that it could never achieve nationhood. I do teach that, whatever its fortunes may turn out to be in God’s providence, the earthly nation of Israel never was, and never will be, the Messianic kingdom established by Jesus.

2 We are more familiar with the word "Christ" which is the Greek translation of Messiah (Jhn 1: 41). Within the scope of this discussion it is not a matter for argument that this Messiah turned out to be Jesus of Nazareth. All Christians know and believe this.