Kingdom of God 1: Hope of the Kingdom 

Prayer:  With expectant hearts and minds, we seek your truth, O God. In this study, help us to be attentive as we listen, careful as we speak, and awake to your wisdom. Open our hearts to your Scripture and give us the courage to change in light of what we read. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

With your group, take turns reading the introduction and text and answering the questions in each section.

Introduction

“In that city that we long for, that we feel so far away
Where the dawn will drive away our tears
And we’ll meet in the New Jerusalem someday
Maybe next year
Maybe next year
Next year in the New Jerusalem”
— From the song “Maybe Next Year,” by Andrew Peterson

For ancient Jews, the kingdom of God was physical.

God promised to the people of Israel through their fathers, kings, and prophets in their Scriptures that someday he would make everything wrong with the world right again. Many Christians believe that heaven is their destination after death, but the Bible tells us a different story. The future kingdom described in God’s covenants and in the prophetic books is one of physical abundance, health, and protection on earth, under one human ruler.

Many of the Old Testament prophecies about the kingdom hope were written in the time around the most tragic moment in Jewish history: the carrying away to Babylon. God’s people, living in the land he had promised to their ancestors, were displaced by the Assyrians and the Babylonians, the then-largest conquering world powers. Significant themes in these prophecies are that Israel will come back to their homeland, this time to stay.

Today, modern Jews recall this hope as they conclude their largest annual celebration: Passover (Pesach). The common ending to the passover celebration is an expression of expectation to return to their land: “next year, in Jerusalem!”

But this hope isn’t just for Israel. Gentiles, that is, non-Jewish peoples, are included in this kingdom hope in the New Testament. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the apostles taught and wrote that God’s plans to heal the world and bring his people back to the land now included anyone with faith in Jesus.

This study will begin with God’s promise to king David of a ruler over his future kingdom. We will then journey through some of the most famous prophecies about this future hope and look briefly at the inclusion of the Gentiles in the New Testament.

Section 1: God promised King David that one of his descendants would reign over God’s kingdom forever.

1 Chronicles 17:11–14^{1 17:11} “When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. ^17:12 He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent. ^17:13 I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you. ^17:14 I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent.”

Question 1: What does God say that he will never withhold from the prophesied future son of David?

Section 2: The prophet Isaiah describes the kingdom as a time of morality and world peace.

Isaiah 2:2–4
^2:2 In future days
the mountain of the LORD’s temple will endure
as the most important of mountains,
and will be the most prominent of hills.
All the nations will stream to it;
^2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the LORD’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so he can teach us his requirements,
and we can follow his standards.”
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction;
the LORD’s message will issue from Jerusalem.
^2:4He will judge disputes between nations;
he will settle cases for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.

Question 1: In verse 4, what are the two implements people will beat their swords and spears into? What are they used for?

Question 2: These verses describe God’s temple and instruction in a physical location. Where?

Section 3: A second section in Isaiah predicts: justice for the oppressed, safety from wild animals, physical healing for both people with disabilities and the land, and the end of sadness.

Isaiah 35:4–10
^35:4 Tell those who panic,
“Be strong! Do not fear!
Look, your God comes to avenge;
with divine retribution he comes to deliver you.”
^35:5       Then blind eyes will open,
deaf ears will hear.
^35:6       Then the lame will leap like a deer,
the mute tongue will shout for joy;
for water will burst forth in the wilderness,
streams in the arid rift valley.
^35:7       The dry soil will become a pool of water,
the parched ground springs of water.
Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,
grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.
^35:8       A thoroughfare will be there—
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it;
it is reserved for those authorized to use it —
fools will not stray into it.
^35:9       No lions will be there,
no ferocious wild animals will be on it —
they will not be found there.
Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,
^35:10      those whom the LORD has ransomed will return that way.
They will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,
happiness and joy will overwhelm them;
grief and suffering will disappear.

Question 1: Identify which verse(s) refers to each:
A. justice
B. safety from wild animals
C. healing for the disabled

Section 4: The prophet Amos says God will bring his people back to their abundant land and they will never be taken from it again.

Amos 9:13-15
^9:13       “Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the LORD,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper,
and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter.
Juice will run down the slopes;
it will flow down all the hillsides.
^9:14       I will bring back my people, Israel;
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;
they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce.
^9:15       I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,”
says the LORD your God.

Question 1: What do you think it means that “the plowman will catch up to the reaper”?

Section 5: In the New Testament, Gentiles are included in the family of God (and the associated promises) through Jesus.

Ephesians 2:11a–13, 17–20
^2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh…^2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ^2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ… ^2:17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, ^2:18 so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ^2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, ^2:20 because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

Question 1: How does Ephesians 2 describe the Gentiles’ past relationship with the “covenants of promise” (verse 12)?

Read through the texts again below.²

Section 1:

1 Chronicles 17:11–14
^17:11 “When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. ^17:12 He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent. ^17:13 I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you. ^17:14 I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent.”

Section 2:

Isaiah 2:2–4
^2:2 In future days
the mountain of the LORD’s temple will endure
as the most important of mountains,
and will be the most prominent of hills.
All the nations will stream to it;
^2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the LORD’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so he can teach us his requirements,
and we can follow his standards.”
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction;
the LORD’s message will issue from Jerusalem.
^2:4He will judge disputes between nations;
he will settle cases for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.

Section 3:

Isaiah 35:4–10
^35:4 Tell those who panic,
“Be strong! Do not fear!
Look, your God comes to avenge;
with divine retribution he comes to deliver you.”
^35:5       Then blind eyes will open,
deaf ears will hear.
^35:6       Then the lame will leap like a deer,
the mute tongue will shout for joy;
for water will burst forth in the wilderness,
streams in the arid rift valley.
^35:7       The dry soil will become a pool of water,
the parched ground springs of water.
Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,
grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.
^35:8       A thoroughfare will be there—
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it;
it is reserved for those authorized to use it —
fools will not stray into it.
^35:9       No lions will be there,
no ferocious wild animals will be on it —
they will not be found there.
Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,
^35:10      those whom the LORD has ransomed will return that way.
They will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,
happiness and joy will overwhelm them;
grief and suffering will disappear.

Section 4:

Amos 9:13-15
^9:13       “Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the LORD,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper,
and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter.
Juice will run down the slopes;
it will flow down all the hillsides.
^9:14       I will bring back my people, Israel;
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;
they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce.
^9:15       I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,”
says the LORD your God.

Section 5:

Ephesians 2:11a–13, 17–20
^2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh…^2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ^2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ… ^2:17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, ^2:18 so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ^2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, ^2:20 because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

Discussion and Application Questions:

1. Which aspect of the physical future kingdom appeals to you most? Why?
2. When we encounter illness, war, and disease, how do the kingdom prophecies offer hope? Are there any specific areas of your life where this truth brings renewed hope?
3. Contrast the kingdom hope with the common belief that, in the afterlife, people will float on clouds playing harps in a spiritual realm. How are these ideas different?
4. What do God’s plans to heal his world tell us about his character?
5. If the future kingdom is physical, how should we treat our bodies? How should we treat creation?

Conclusion

Challenge: This week, consider God’s intentions for his creation. When you encounter someone saddened by this world’s brokenness, encourage them with God’s plans to heal the world.

Blessing: May you walk in positive expectation of God’s future plans. May you live in patience, knowing that someday, all will be made right in the world.