The prophets knew all about it

A lot of people can't understand their Bibles. And the least understandable part of it all, many feel, is the Old Testament.

There are a number of reasons for this:

One is the language. There are more King James Version Bibles out there than any other. And even though that translation is often the most accurate, and gives the clearest meanings (once you understand what is being said), that archaic language is tough to work through.

Another is the poetical style. Those of us in the television generation don't have much time for or rapport with figurative language.

Another related problem is that sometimes the prophets talk about things that are yet future as though they had already taken place. They have projected themselves so completely into the future that they look back upon the return of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom.

And then sometimes events appeared to the prophets like distant mountain peaks .. . seemingly very close together, but in reality having great valleys, or great distances of time between them. The best example of this can be found in Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the broken-hearted, to announce liberty to captives and to open the eyes of the blind. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God's favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies."1

Now Jesus quoted the first part of this verse from Isaiah, but he left off the part about wrath and vengeance, the underlined part.2 Why? The time for that vengeance would not be until the end of the Great Tribulation, possibly some 2,000 years from that time. But Isaiah had compressed both the first and second comings of Jesus Christ together in the same paragraph, in the same breath.

Scholars call this "telescoping". It can make the Old Testament hard to understand, if you don't know when it's talking about ancient history, or the first coming of Christ, or the second coming of Christ, or the kingdom of the future. (How can anybody know? It takes work and study . . . and some help from the expert commentators, men who have devoted their entire lives to studying the scriptures and other commentators.)

But maybe the biggest obstacle of all to understanding the Old Testament, and especially the prophets, is understanding that they were looking forward to a real kingdom on this earth. Once the reader understands that, everything else falls into place. The Old Testament prophets almost never, ever talk about going to heaven. This literal, earthly, glorious kingdom with a floor under it was the common thread that ties up all the thoughts of the prophets, from the first on down to the last.

The Lord, via the Holy Spirit, revealed this truth of the kingdom to all the different prophets.3 Different men, different times, different places -- but one, unified, singular concept of the kingdom of heaven!

Here is an abbreviated survey of the prophets on the promised kingdom:

Job. (1520 B.C.) "But as for me I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. And I know that after this body has decayed, . . . Yes, I shall see him, not as a stranger, but as a friend!"4

David. (990 B.C. - 920 B.C.) David wrote most of the Psalms. The following ones look ahead to the kingdom: 1, 2, 8, 16, 22, 24, 45, 48, 68, 69, 72, 85, 89, 93-99, 102, and 110.

Psalm 72 says: "He will come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace, till the moon shall be no more." (The latter referring to the eternal state when there shall be no more need of the sun and moon.)

Psalm 45 says: "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth." Or as the Living Bible puts it: "Your sons will some day be kings like their father. They shall sit on thrones around the world!"

Psalm 96 says: "Say among the heathen that the Lord reigns: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and people with his truth."

Isaiah. (760 B.C. - 698 B.C.) "And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain (prophetic language for government) of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."5

"In that day shall the branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem; when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning. And Jehovah will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night (note: the Shekinah glory that was with ancient Israel in the wilderness); for over all the glory shall be spread a covering. And there shall be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain."

Or, as the Living Bible puts it:

"Those whose names are written down to escape the destruction of Jerusalem will be washed and rinsed of all their moral filth by the horrors and the fire. They will be God's holy people. And the land will produce for them its lushest bounty and its richest fruit. Then the Lord will provide shade on all Jerusalem -- over every home and all its public grounds -- a canopy of smoke and cloud throughout the day, and clouds of fire at night, covering the Glorious Land, protecting it from daytime heat and from rains and storms."6

And:

"The royal line of David will be cut off, chopped down like a tree; but from the stump will grow a Shoot -- yes, a new Branch from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel and might; the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight will be obedience to the Lord. He will not judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay, but will defend the poor and the exploited. He will rule against the wicked who oppress them. For he will be clothed with fairness and with truth.

"In that day the wolf and the lamb will lie down together, and the leopard and goats will be at peace. Calves and fat cattle will be safe among lions, and a little child shall lead them all. The cows will graze among bears; cubs and calves will lie down together, and lions will eat grass like the cows. Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes, and a little child who puts his hand in a nest of deadly adders will pull it out unharmed. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so shall the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

"In that day he who created the royal dynasty of David will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, for the land where he lives will be a glorious place. At that time the Lord will bring back a remnant of his people for the second time, returning them to the land of Israel from Assyria, Upper and Lower Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath and all the distant coastal lands. He will raise a flag among the nations for them to rally to; he will gather the scattered Israelites from the ends of the earth. Then, at last, the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end; they will not fight each other any more. Together they will fly against the nations possessing their land on the east and on the west, uniting forces to destroy them and they will occupy the nations of Edom and Moab and Ammon. The Lord will dry a path through the Red Sea, and wave his hand over the Euphrates, sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams that can easily be crossed. He will make a highway from Assyria for the remnant there, just as he did for all of Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt."7

"Here on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the Lord of Hosts will spread a wondrous feast for everyone around the world -- a delicious feast of good food, with clear, well-aged wine and choice beef. At that time he will remove the cloud of gloom, the pall of death that hangs over the earth; he will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe away all tears and take away forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken -- he will surely do it! In that day the people will proclaim, 'This is our God, in whom we trust, for whom we waited. Now at last he is here.' What a day of rejoicing!"8

"Look, a righteous King is coming, with honest princes! He will shelter Israel from the storm and wind. He will refresh her as a river in the desert and as the cooling shadow of a mighty rock within a hot and weary land. Then at last the eyes of Israel will open wide to God; his people will listen to his voice. Even the hotheads among them will be full of sense and understanding, and those who stammer in uncertainty will speak out plainly."9

"Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God, with a recompense; he will come and save you."10

"And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."11

"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion."12

"Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Eternal is risen upon thee."13

Jeremiah. (518 B.C. - 477 B.C.) "O sinful children, come home, for I am your Master and I will bring you again to the land of Israel -- one from here and two from there, wherever you are scattered. And I will give you leaders after my own heart, who will guide you with wisdom and understanding. Then, when your land is once more filled with people, says the Lord, you will no longer wish for 'the good old days of long ago' when you possessed the Ark of God's covenant. Those days will not be missed or even thought about, and the Ark will not be reconstructed, for the Lord himself will be among you, and the whole city of Jerusalem will be known as the throne of the Lord, and all nations will come to him there and no longer stubbornly follow their evil desires. At that time the people of Judah and of Israel will return together from their exile in the north, to the land I gave their fathers as an inheritance forever."14

"But there will come a glorious day, says the Lord, when the whole topic of conversation will be that God is bringing his people home from the countries of the north, where he had sent them as slaves for punishment. You will look back no longer to the time I brought you out from slavery in Egypt. That mighty miracle will scarcely be mentioned any more. Yes, I will bring you back again, says the Lord, to the same land I gave your fathers."15

"For the time is coming, says the Lord, when I will place a righteous Branch upon King David's throne. He shall be a King who shall rule with wisdom and justice and cause righteousness to prevail everywhere throughout the earth. And this is his name: The Lord Our Righteousness. At that time Judah will be saved and Israel will live in peace."16

"The fierce anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it."17

"The day will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new contract with the people of Israel and Judah. It won't be like the one I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt -- a contract they broke, forcing me to reject them, says the Lord. But this is the new contract I will make with them: I will inscribe my laws upon their hearts, so that they shall want to honor me; then they shall truly be my people and I will be their God. At that time it will no longer be necessary to admonish one another to know the Lord. For everyone, both great and small, shall really know me then, says the Lord, and I will forgive and forget their sins.

"For the time is coming, says the Lord, when all Jerusalem shall be rebuilt for the Lord, from the Tower of Hananel at the northeast corner, to the Corner Gate at the northwest, and from the Hill of Gareb at the southwest, across to Goah on the southeast. And the entire city including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley shall be holy to the Lord, and so shall all the fields out to the brook of Kidron, and from there to the Horse Gate on the east side of the city; it shall never again be captured or destroyed."18

"At that time I will bring to the throne the true Son of David, and he shall rule justly. In that day the people of Judah and Jerusalem shall live in safety and their motto will be, 'The Lord is our righteousness!' For the Lord declares that from then on, David shall forever have an heir sitting on the throne of Israel. And there shall always be Levites to offer burnt offerings and meal offerings and sacrifices to the Lord.

"Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and with the night so that day and night don't come on their usual schedule, only then will my covenant with David, my servant, be broken so that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne."19

Ezekiel. (484 B.C. - 463 B.C.) "Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant."20

"As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be king over you."21

"And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my Servant David shall be a Prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken it. I will make a peace pact with them, and drive away the dangerous animals from the land so that my people can safely camp in the wildest places and sleep safely in the woods. I will make my people and their homes around my hill a blessing. And there shall be showers, showers of blessing, for I will not shut off the rains but send them in their seasons. Their fruit trees and fields will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken off their chains of slavery and delivered them from those who profiteered at their expense, they shall know I am the Lord. No more will other nations conquer them nor wild animals attack. They shall live in safety and no one shall make them afraid. And I will raise up a notable Vine (the Messiah), in Israel so that my people will never again go hungry nor be shamed by heathen conquest. In this way they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God. You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my men and I am your God, so says the Lord."22

"For the Lord God says: I am gathering the people of Israel from among the nations, and bringing them home from around the world to their own land, to unify them into one nation. One king shall be king of them all; no longer shall they be divided into two nations. They shall stop polluting themselves with idols and their other sins, for I will save them from all this foulness. Then they shall truly be my people and I their God.

"And David, my Servant -- the Messiah -- shall be their King, their only Shepherd; and they shall obey my laws and all my wishes. They shall live in the land of Israel where their fathers lived, the land I gave my servant Jacob. They and their children after them shall live there, and their grandchildren, for all generations. And my Servant David, their Messiah, shall be their Prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting pact. I will bless them and multiply them and put my Temple among them forever. And I will make my home among them. Yes, I will be their God and they shall be my people, and when my Temple remains among them, then the nations shall know that I, the Lord, have set Israel apart for special blessings."23

Chapters 40 through 48. Here God gives Ezekiel a highly detailed picture of the millennial temple, the new order of service and the new division of the land among the tribes of Israel. This fulfills God's promise in chapter 37 where he says he will place his temple in the midst of them and dwell among them as their God forever. This is such an important aspect of the millennial kingdom of heaven that we will devote an entire chapter to it later.

Daniel. (607 B.C. - 534 B.C.) "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."24

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a Son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."25

"And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Here is the end of the matter."26

Hosea. (785 B.C. - 725 B.C.) "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God."27

"But I will court her again, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly there. There I will give back her vineyards to her, and transform her Valley of Troubles into a Door of Hope. She will respond to me there, singing with joy as in days long ago in her youth, after I had freed her from captivity in Egypt.

"In that coming day, says the Lord, she will call me "My Husband" instead of "My Master." O Israel, I will cause you to forget your idols, and their names will not be spoken anymore.

"At that time I will make a treaty between you and the wild animals, birds, and snakes, not to fear each other any more; and I will destroy all weapons, and all wars will end.

"Then you will lie down in peace and safety, unafraid; and I will bind you to me forever with chains of righteousness and justice and love and mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and love, and you will really know me then as you never have before."28

Joel. (800 B.C.) "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people; and the strength of the children of Israel."29

"Then you shall know at last that I am the Lord your God in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem shall be mine forever; the time will come when no foreign armies will pass through her any more. Sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and the hills shall flow with milk. Water will fill the dry stream beds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the Temple of the Lord to water Acacia Valley. Egypt will be destroyed, and Edom too, because of their violence against the Jews, for they killed innocent people in those nations. But Israel will prosper forever, and Jerusalem will thrive as generations pass. For I will avenge the blood of my people; I will not clear their oppressors of guilt. For my home is in Jerusalem with my people."30

Amos. (787 B.C. - 763 B.C.) "The eyes of the Lord God are watching Israel, that sinful nation, and I will root her up and scatter her across the world. Yet I have promised that this rooting out will not be permanent. For I have commanded that Israel be sifted by the other nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost. But all these sinners who say, 'God will not touch us,' will die by the sword.

"Then, at that time, I will rebuild the City of David, which is now lying in ruins, and return it to its former glory, and Israel will possess what is left of Edom, and of all the nations that belong to me." For so the Lord, who plans it all, has said.

"The time will come when there will be such abundance of crops, that the harvest time will scarcely end before the farmer starts again to sow another crop, and the terraces of grapes upon the hills of Israel will drip sweet wine! I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild their ruined cities, and live in them again, and they shall plant vineyards and gardens and eat their crops and drink their wine. I will firmly plant them there upon the land that I have given them; they shall not be pulled up again," says the Lord your God."31

Micah. (750 B.C. - 710 B.C.) "But in the last days Mount Zion will be the most renowned of all the mountains of the world, praised by all nations; people from all over the world will make pilgrimages there.

"Come," they will say to one another, "let us visit the mountain of the Lord, and see the Temple of the God of Israel; he will tell us what to do, and we will do it." For in those days the whole world will be ruled by the Lord from Jerusalem! He will issue his laws and announce his decrees from there.

"He will arbitrate among the nations, and dictate to strong nations far away. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks; nations shall no longer fight each other, for all war will end. There will be universal peace, and all the military academies and training camps will be closed down.

"Everyone will live quietly in his own home in peace and prosperity, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord himself has promised this. (Therefore we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever, even though all the nations around us worship idols!)

"In that coming day, the Lord says that he will bring back his punished people -- sick and lame and dispossessed -- and make them strong again in their own land, a mighty nation, and the Lord himself shall be their King from Mount Zion forever. O Jerusalem -- the Watchtower of God's people -- your royal might and power will come back to you again, just as before."32

"O Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past! God will abandon his people to their enemies until the time of Israel's spiritual rebirth; then at last the exile remnants of Israel will rejoin their brethren in their own land."33

The American Standard Version has it this way:

"Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel."

Zephaniah. (630 B.C. - 611 B.C.) "At that time, I will gather you together and bring you home again, and give you a good name, a name of distinction among all the peoples of the earth, and they will praise you when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes, says the Lord."34

Haggai. (520 B.C.) "For the Lord of Hosts says, 'In just a little while I will begin to shake the heavens and earth -- and the oceans, too, and the dry land -- I will shake all nations, and the Desire of All Nations shall come to this Temple, and I will fill this place with my glory,' says the Lord of Hosts. The future splendor of this Temple will be greater than the splendor of the first one! For I have plenty of silver and gold to do it! And here I will give peace,' says the Lord."35

Zechariah. (520 B.C. - 487 B.C.) "When I looked around me again, I saw a man carrying a yardstick in his hand.

"'Where are you going?' I asked.

"'To measure Jerusalem,' he said. 'I want to see whether it is big enough for all the people!'

"Then the angel who was talking to me went over to meet another angel coming toward him.

"'Go tell this young man,' said the other angel, 'that Jerusalem will some day be so full of people that she won't have room enough for all! Many will live outside the city walls, with all their many cattle -- and yet they will be safe. For the Lord himself will be a wall of fire protecting them and all Jerusalem; he will be the glory of the city.'"36

"Listen to me, O Joshua the High Priest, and all you other priests, you are illustrations of the good things to come. Don't you see? -- Joshua represents my servant the Branch whom I will send.37 He will be the Foundation Stone of the Temple that Joshua is standing beside, and I will engrave this inscription on it seven times: I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. 'And after that,' the Lord of Hosts declares, 'you will all live in peace and prosperity and each of you will own a home of your own where you can invite your neighbors.'"38

Or as the American Standard Version has it in engaging al fresco fashion:

"In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall ye invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree."

And:

"The Lord of Hosts says, I am greatly concerned -- yes, furiously angry -- because of all that Jerusalem's enemies have done to her. Now I am going to return to my land and I, myself, will live within Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called 'The Faithful City,' and 'The Holy Mountain,' and 'The Mountain of the Lord of Hosts.'

"The Lord of Hosts declares that Jerusalem will have peace and prosperity so long that there will once again be aged men and women . . . with canes, and the streets will be filled with boys and girls at play."39

"The traditional fast and times of mourning you have kept in July, August, October and January are ended. They will be changed to joyous festivals if you love truth and peace! People from around the world will come on pilgrimages and pour into Jerusalem from many foreign cities to attend these celebrations. People will write their friends in other cities and say, 'Let's go to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us, and be merciful to us. I'm going! Please come with me. Let's go now! Yes, many people, even strong nations, will come to the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem to ask for his blessing and help. In those days ten men from ten different nations will clutch at the coat sleeves of one Jew and say, 'Please be my friend, for I know that God is with you.'"40

"The Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal line will be as God, like the Angel of the Lord who goes before them! For my plan is to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

"Then I will pour out the spirit of grace and prayer on all the people of Jerusalem, and they will look on him they pierced, and mourn for him as for an only son, and grieve bitterly for him as for an oldest child who died. The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem at that time will be even greater than the grievous mourning for the godly King Josiah, who was killed in the valley of Megiddo. All of Israel will weep in profound sorrow. The whole nation will be bowed down with universal grief -- king, prophet, priest, and people. Each family will go into private mourning, husbands and wives apart, to face their sorrow alone."41

And then, finally the great 14th chapter of Zechariah:

"Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming soon! On that day the Lord will gather together the nations to fight Jerusalem; the city will be taken, the houses rifled, the loot divided, the women raped; half the population will be taken away as slaves, and half will be left in what remains of the city.

"Then the Lord will go out fully armed for war, to fight against those nations. That day his feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a very wide valley running from east to west, for half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. You will escape through that valley, for it will reach across to the city gate. Yes, you will escape as your people did long centuries ago from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the Lord my God shall come, and all his saints and angels with him.

Here we look ahead to the eternal state:

"The sun and moon and stars will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how! There will be no normal day and night -- at evening time it will still be light. Life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in winter and in summer.

Back to the millennium:

"And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord -- his name alone will be worshipped. All the land from Geba (the northern border of Judah) to Rimmon (the southern border) will become one vast plain, but Jerusalem will be on an elevated site, covering the area all the way from the Gate of Benjamin over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses. And Jerusalem shall be inhabited, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed."

Here the prophet looks back to the actual physical war that Jesus Christ makes on the enemies of Jerusalem at his coming.

"And the Lord will send a plague on all the people who fought Jerusalem. They will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away; their eyes will shrivel in their sockets, and their tongues will decay in their mouths.

"They will be seized with terror, panic-stricken from the Lord, and will fight against each other in hand-to-hand combat. All Judah will be fighting at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the neighboring nations will be confiscated -- great quantities of gold and silver and fine clothing. (This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camp.)"

Now the prophet looks ahead to religious life in the new world order.

"In the end, those who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, to celebrate a time of thanksgiving (author's note: the feast of tabernacles, in many translations). And any nation anywhere in all the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, will have no rain. But if Egypt refuses to come, God will punish her with some other plague. And so Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they refuse to come.

"In that day the bells on the horses will have written on them, 'These Are Holy Property'; and the trash cans in the Temple of the Lord will be as sacred as the bowls beside the altar. In fact, every container in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord of Hosts; all who come to worship may use any of them free of charge to boil their sacrifices in; there will be no more grasping traders in the Temple of the Lord of Hosts!"42

Malachi. (397 B.C.) "And then the one you are looking for will come suddenly to his Temple -- the Messenger of God's promises, to bring you great joy. Yes, he is surely coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can live when he appears? Who can endure his coming? For he is like a blazing fire refining precious metal and he can bleach the dirtiest garments! Like a refiner of silver he will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away. He will purify the Levites, the ministers of God, refining them like gold or silver, so that they will do their work for God with pure hearts. Then once more the Lord will enjoy the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did before. At that time my punishments will be quick and certain; I will move swiftly against wicked men who trick the innocent, against adulterers, and liars, against all those who cheat their hired hands, or oppress widows and orphans, or defraud strangers, and do not fear me, says the Lord of Hosts."43

And the Old Testament closes with this thought from God through Malachi:

"See, I will send you another prophet like Elijah before the coming of the great and dreadful judgment day of God. His preaching will bring fathers and children together again, to be of one mind and heart, for they will know that if they do not repent, I will come and utterly destroy their land."44

New testament prophets

All the Old Testament prophets -- Job, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi -- were looking for the same thing: a restoration to the land of the two divisions, Israel and Judah, great blessings upon the unified kingdom, and spiritual and physical blessings that would pour out of their land throughout the whole world because God himself was to come and live in their midst.

Did this expectation somehow change when Jesus and his apostles and followers arrived on the scene some 400 years later?

Should we, like many Christians, close out the book on the Old Testament and just look to the New Testament for our information and theology?

Should the believer in the true God now point toward making his way toward the third heaven where God himself lives at this time, and expect to live there forever?

Did God change his plans for Israel -- and for the rest of us?

Absolutely not.

Jesus said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."45

It was the early Christians who lost this vision of heaven some 300 years after the time of Christ. (A full explanation follows in a later chapter.)

But 400 years after the prophet Malachi, the vision of this great kingdom was still alive and well. There was a man named Simeon, for example, a good man, very devout, filled with the Holy Spirit and constantly expecting the Messiah to come soon.46 A prophetess named Anna was also looking for the Messiah.47 And so, too, was Joseph of Arimathea.48

When we pick up the story even before the birth of Jesus we find the angel Gabriel sent to Nazareth to deliver a message to Mary.

"Congratulations, favored lady! The Lord is with you!" Gabriel said.

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.

"Don't be frightened, Mary," the angel told her, "for God has decided to wonderfully bless you! Very soon now, you will become pregnant and have a baby boy, and you are to name him 'Jesus'. He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he shall reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom shall never end!"

So here we have, not a whole new regime being introduced, but rather a fulfillment of the old promises to Abraham and David.

Some 33 years later under the interrogation of Pilate, Jesus said that he was indeed a king, and that that was the very reason he was born into the world.49

He was a king when he was born.

He was a king through the time that he died.

And, in the early part of his ministry, he engaged himself in the affairs of his state, as we might expect a king to do.

The first order of business was to proclaim the kingdom. And he did, everywhere he went.50

"At last the time has come!" he announced. "God's Kingdom is near! Turn from your sins and act on this glorious news!"51

That was in Galilee.

He soon attracted a following. The crowds started to follow him everywhere. At Capernaum, they begged him not to leave, but he said: "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places, too, for that is why I was sent." So he continued to travel around preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.52

And he manifested the signs of the kingdom: the healing, the miracles, the power over nature itself. He became so famous that he started to attract people from as far away as Syria.

And as soon as he had selected his staff of twelve, he sent them out to do the very same thing . . . to preach the kingdom, and manifest the signs of the kingdom.53

Was Jesus really serious? Did he really want the long-promised kingdom to be established at that time?

Yes, he was, and yes, he did. That's one of the more important facets of the so-called Lord's Prayer. As the Living Bible puts it: "Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name. We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven."

What about us Christians? What would have happened to us?

Well, for those of us not fortunate enough to be the physical seed of Abraham, we would have learned about God from the Jews. The Jews would have become a nation of priests to the Gentile world. That would have fulfilled that part of the covenant with Abraham that called for Abraham to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. That will yet again be the role for the Levites in the millennium -- to administer the holy things of God for the other nations of the world.

To put it simply, and in other words, the Jews would have become the 'Christians,' or the 'insiders,' and the Gentiles would have become like the Jews of today, 'outsiders' with respect to their relationship with God. Our roles would have been reversed.

But didn't Jesus know that the kingdom was not going to be established at that time?

Yes, he surely did. He was the one that inspired Isaiah to write that 'his visage was marred more than any man.'54 He inspired David to compose the thoughts that he was to have on the cross.55 He fully knew what lay ahead of him.

"But then it was all planned out in advance -- the Jews really didn't have a chance!" you say.

Not true. They really could have had the kingdom the first time Jesus Christ came. If they had counted 483 years -- and some did -- from the commandment to rebuild the temple by Artaxerxes to the Messiah, they would have gotten a pretty good indication of the time that Messiah was due. If they had believed the healings, the miracles, they would have known this man was different. But they were hard of heart. So hard, in fact, that at one point Jesus said that if a man came back from the dead to admonish the living, they wouldn't believe that either.56

Do you know somebody so well that you know what they are going to do, in a given situation, ahead of time? Of course you do. You know your family that well. Well, the Jews were family to Jesus. Family in the deepest sense. He made them. Then he was born one of them. He lived alongside them -- working, playing, drinking, eating -- for 33 years. Of course he knew what they were going to do.

But, nevertheless, for the sake of justice and for the record, he gave them a full opportunity.

They turned it down. As Jesus said: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets, and stones all those God sends to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me. And now your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you are ready to welcome the one sent to you from God."57

Jesus was disappointed. He wants this kingdom to be set up much more than we do. But he wasn't surprised.

As early as the ninth chapter of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to have to suffer, in fact, be rejected by the Jewish leaders, the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the Law. And then be killed. And then be brought back to life!

He went on to say that when he comes (back) in glory, he would be ashamed of all who are ashamed of him and his words.

We also see the change in his preaching and teaching when he went to visit Zacchaeus, a tax collector. The kingdom changed from one that was 'at hand' to one that would be established when he returned at a later time.

Parable of a certain nobleman

Because Jesus was getting close to Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the kingdom of God would begin right away:

"A nobleman living in a certain province was called away to the distant capital of the empire to be crowned king of his province. Before he left he called together ten assistants and gave them each $2,000 to invest while he was gone. But some of his people hated him and sent him their declaration of independence, stating that they had rebelled and would not acknowledge him as their king.

"Upon his return he called in the men to whom he had given the money, to find out what they had done with it, and what their profits were.

"The first man reported a tremendous gain -- ten times as much as the original amount!

"'Fine!' the king exclaimed. 'You are a good man. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, and as you reward, you shall be governor of ten cities.'

"The next man also reported a splendid gain -- five times the original amount.

"'All right!' his master said. 'You can be governor over five cities.'

"But the third man brought back only the money he had started with. 'I've kept it safe,' he said, 'because I was afraid (you would demand my profits), for you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn't yours and even confiscating the crops that others plant.'

"'You vile and wicked slave,' the king roared. 'Hard, am I? That's exactly how I'll be toward you! If you knew so much about me and how tough I am, then why didn't you deposit the money in the bank so that I could at least get some interest on it?'

"Then turning to the others standing by he ordered, 'Take the money away from him and give it to the man who earned the most.'

"'But, sir,' they said, 'he has enough already!'

"'Yes,' the king replied, 'but it is always true that those who have, get more, and those who have little, soon lose even that. And now about these enemies of mine who revolted -- bring them in and execute them before me.'"58

So Jesus was going to go on a journey back to the capital (Heaven), and invest (the Holy Spirit) with us until his return and the establishment of his kingdom, when successful investors would be rewarded with rule over cities.

The same story is told another way in Matthew:

Parable of a certain landowner

"A certain landowner planted a vineyard with a hedge around it, and built a platform for the watchman, then leased the vineyard to some farmers on a sharecrop basis, and went away to live in another country.

"At the time of the grape harvest he sent his agents to the farmers to collect his share. But the farmers attacked his men, beat one, killed one and stoned another.

"Then he sent a larger group of his men to collect for him, but the results were the same. Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking they would surely respect him.

"But when these farmers saw the son coming they said among themselves, 'Here comes the heir to this estate; come on, let's kill him and get it for ourselves!' So they dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him.

"When the owner returns, what do you think he will do to those farmers?

"The Jewish leaders replied, 'He will put the wicked men to a horrible death, and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him promptly.'

"Then Jesus asked them, 'Didn't you ever read in the Scriptures: The stone rejected by the builders has been made the honored cornerstone; how remarkable! what an amazing thing the Lord has done?'

"'What I mean is that the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation that will give God his share of the crop. All who stumble on this rock of truth shall be broken, but those it falls on will be scattered as dust.'

"When the chief priests and other Jewish leaders realized that Jesus was talking about them -- that they were the farmers in his story -- they wanted to get rid of him, but were afraid to try because of the crowds, for they accepted Jesus as a prophet."59

To come again

After an early ministry of proclaiming his kingdom, and yearning for its establishment at that time, Jesus spent the latter time of his ministry talking about the fact that he would come again:

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds."60

"Then Peter said to him, 'We left everything to follow you. What will we get out of it?' And Jesus replied, 'When I, the Messiah, shall sit upon my glorious throne in the kingdom, you my disciples shall certainly sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And anyone who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life.'"61

By the time of the prophecy on the Mount of Olives, the disciples had begun to accept the fact that Jesus was going to have to leave, and then return to establish the kingdom: "What events will signal your return, and the end of the world?"62

Jesus went on to say:

"For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the Messiah, return."63

"And then at last the signal of my coming will appear in the heavens and there will be deep mourning (note: as Zechariah predicted) all around the earth. And the nations of the world will see me arrive in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory."64

"Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh."65

"So stay awake and be prepared, for you do not know the date or moment of my return."66

He also compared himself to a bridegroom who was to be delayed in his coming.67

"But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."68

"And in the future you will see me, the Messiah, sitting at the right hand of God and returning on the clouds of heaven."69

"When the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?"70

And John again records it, this time just as plainly and directly as possible: "I will come again."71

And again, as for emphasis: "I will come to you."72

Confirmed by angels and apostles

Following the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples. He had always talked to them about the kingdom of God. They wanted to know if it was then to be established. But he replied that it was not for them to know. Only the Father knew.

Was the program changed now?

Now that the nation had rejected him, crucified him, and then seen him resurrected?

Was it all off for Israel, and 'all on' for the Church that was about to be formed?

Were we going to heaven now, instead of Jesus coming back to us?

Not at all.

It was now time for the certain nobleman, the certain owner of the vineyard to go on his journey. " . . . he rose into the sky and disappeared into a cloud, leaving them staring after him. As they were straining their eyes for another glimpse, suddenly two white-robed men were standing there among them, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has gone away to heaven, and some day, just as he went, he will return!'"

Ten days later came the Pentecost. This was the feast of weeks for the Jews, a holy time. Jerusalem was packed. As the believers met together, the Holy Ghost, as promised, roared down upon the disciples. Tongues of fire sat on their heads. They spoke in strange languages.

When the crowds heard the roaring above the house where the believers were meeting, they came running. They had never seen anything like it. Someone said: "They're just drunk!"

But Peter explained that this was most definitely not the case. That King David had foreseen the day when the Messiah would be resurrected from the grave. And that Messiah had poured out the Holy Spirit on this gathering of believers. And David knew that God had sworn an oath to him that his seed would rule the house of Israel forever. Peter knew this seed was the Messiah.73

Peter later exhorted: "Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old."74

Stephen was another member of the early church. He was not an original disciple who walked with Jesus. He was one of seven disciples chosen from many to handle routine business matters in the church, such as the ministry to widows. We would call him a deacon. As a newcomer, perhaps he had a new and revolutionary idea about the ultimate destiny of the believer, perhaps one about 'going to heaven' permanently and omitting the establishment of the kingdom on this earth?

In fact, he was charged by the Jewish officials of the same thing that Jesus was: blasphemy. Specifically, teaching the changing of the Mosaic customs.

How did he answer?

He went back to Abraham's covenant, and noted that Abraham had not yet received his promises from God: "And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a posssession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child."75 This meant that the fulfillment of those promises and establishment of the promised kingdom were yet future. He went on to explicate the Old Testament Scriptures concerning the Messiah who was to come, and how Jesus fulfilled these Scriptures.

He didn't mince his words. And so he was stoned to death.

All the Jewish leaders approved.

One of them was a man named Saul of Tarsus. He was a devout Pharisee, educated by the finest teachers, respected by all the Jewish leaders, a leader among the leaders himself. But God struck him down, turned him around and drafted him into his service as apostle to the Gentiles.76 Now no prophet of old foresaw the calling of the Gentiles. This was a controversial idea. One that Peter had some difficulty accepting.

Now since Paul was addressing these Gentiles who were formerly outside the faith, did he pioneer a new message for them . . . one of 'going to heaven, omitting Christ's kingdom on the earth?' Or did Paul stick with the traditional, accepted idea of the return of Messiah to rule on earth? (with a temporary period in heaven for the dead in Christ?77

That's exactly what he did.

Paul taught the return of Messiah and the establishment of his kingdom:

"He expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening."78

And, as has always been the case, some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

Paul talked about:

"The revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ."79

"Until the Lord come . . . ."80

"Don't you know that some day we Christians are going to judge and govern the world?"81

"The world in its present form will soon be gone."82

"For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are re-telling the message of the Lord's death, that he has died for you. Do this until he comes again."83

"But the fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead, and has become the first of millions who will come back to life again some day . . . . Each, however, in his own turn: Christ rose first, then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again."84

"And when Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with him and share in all his glories."85

"For what is it we live for, that gives us hope and joy and is our proud reward and crown? It is you! Yes, you will bring us much joy as we stand together before our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes back again."86

"And may the Lord make your love to grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love does toward you. This will result in your hearts being made strong, sinless and holy by God our Father, so that you may stand before him guiltless on that day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns with all those who belong to him."87

"And now, dear brothers, I want you to know what happens to a Christian when he dies so that when it happens, you will not be full of sorrow, as those are who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and then came back to life again, we can also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him all the Christians who have died.

"I can tell you this directly from the Lord: that we who are still living when the Lord returns (note: Paul thought that Jesus would return almost immediately; he did not foresee a 2,000 year hiatus) will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a mighty shout and with the soul-stirring cry of the archangel and the great trumpet-call of God. And the believers who are dead will be the first to rise to meet the Lord. Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with this news."88

"May the God of peace himself make you entirely pure and devoted to God; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept strong and blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes back again."89

" . . . at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire . . . when he shall come to be glorified in his saints."90

" . . . fulfill all he has told you to do, so that no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. For in due season Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only Almighty God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords."91

"If we endure we shall also reign with Him."92

"The Lord . . . will save me unto his heavenly kingdom . . . . "93

"Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."94

"And even when he reached God's promised land, he lived in tents like a mere visitor, as did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. Abraham did this because he was confidently waiting for God to bring him to that strong heavenly city whose designer and builder is God . . . . If they had wanted to, they could have gone back to the good things of this world. But they didn't want to. They were living for heaven. And now God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has made a heavenly city for them." (Note: Speaking of the eternal state following the millennium.)95

And, of course, the entire 11th chapter of Paul's writings to the Hebrews is a chronicle of many who were 'living for heaven.' The heaven that Jesus would establish in his reign here in the earth . . . and the eternal heaven in the new earth that would follow when the new Jerusalem would come down out of heaven.96

James admonished believers to be patient until the coming of the Lord.97

Peter wrote about the revelation of Christ that was to come.98 "For we have not been telling you fairy tales when we explained to you the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. My own eyes have seen his splendor and his glory: I was there on the holy mountain when he shone out with honor given him by God his Father; I heard that glorious, majestic voice calling down from heaven, saying, "This is my much-loved Son; I am well pleased with him."99

John admonished believers to live such that they would not be ashamed at his coming.100 He said that when he comes, we would be made to look like him.101 And that everyone who has this hope purifies himself. And to John, the apostle whom Jesus loved, was given the great (book) Revelation of Jesus Christ concerning the end times, and the establishment of the 1,000 year kingdom.

"Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those who had been given the right to judge . . . . Blessed and holy are those who share in the First Resurrection. For them the Second Death holds no terrors, for they will be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.102

All the prophets -- starting with Job some 2,000 years B.C. through John up to 96 A.D. -- had the same destination in view: the kingdom of God on this earth. They knew it was promised to Abraham, and then to David. The prophets of the ancient days saw that Messiah would come to fulfill this promise and establish the kingdom -- but first suffer, and suffer horribly. The New Testament prophets actually saw the Messiah suffer -- and then be resurrected. They didn't necessarily expect a church age to intervene between them and that coming, but then they always said that day would come like a thief in the night . . . when least expected. For them, that day came the day they died.

Jesus said he came to fulfill the prophets and the ancient promises they banked on. Stephen hooked up to the ancient promises. So did Paul. So did John, Peter, James. These men were knit together with the prophets of the ancient days like links in a chain.

When you read your Bible from this perspective, it starts to make sense. Any part of it, every part of it makes sense. It's no longer just the history book of one people, or a sentimental story about a good man named Jesus, it's the destiny of the world. It's your destiny -- you, the reader.

For the apostles of the early church, there was a time when the Lord was with them, and then a time when he was crucified, and then a time when he was resurrected, and with them again for a short while, and then a time when he was gone . . . returned to heaven to wait for the restoration of all things, the times of refreshing.

For us, there will be a time when we will have been in the church age, and then a time when he returns, and a time when the kingdom is established. It's not far off.

One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.103

 

FOOTNOTES
Chapter 7
THE PROPHETS KNEW ALL ABOUT IT
1 Is. 61:1,2 LB

2 Luke 4:18
3 Amos 3:7, Dan. 2:28
4 Job 19:25-27 LB
5 Is. 2:1-4
6 Is. 4:2-6
7 Is. 11 LB
8 Is. 25:4-9 LB)8
9 Is. 32:1-4 LB
10 Is. 35:4
11 Is. 40:5
12 Is. 59:20
13 Is. 60:1
14 Jer. 3:14-18 LB
15 Jer. 16:14,15 LB
16 Jer. 23:4,5 LB
17 Jer. 30:24
18 Jer. 31:31-34, 38-39 LB
19 Jer. 33:15-21 LB
20 Ez. 16:60 (Note: Palestinian covenant.)
21 Ez. 20:33
22 Ez. 34:24-31 LB
23 Ez. 37:21-28 LB
24 Dan. 2:44
25 Dan. 7:13,14
26 Dan. 7:27
27 Hosea 1:10
28 Hosea 2:14-20 LB
29 Joel 3:16
30 Joel 3:l7-21 LB
31 Amos 9:8-15 LB
32 Micah 4:1-8 LB
33 Micah 5:2,3 LB
34 Zeph. 3:20 LB
35 Haggai 2:6-9 LB
36 Zech. 2:1-5 LB
37 Jesus-Jeshua-Joshua
38 Zech. 3:8-10 LB
39 Zech. 8:2-5 LB
40 Zech. 8:19-23 LB
41 Zech. 12:8-14 LB
42 Zech. 14 LB
43 Mal. 3:1-5 LB
44 Mal. 4:5,6 LB
45 Matt. 5:17
46 Luke 2:25
47 Luke 2:36
48 Mark 15:42
49 John 18:36,37
50 Matt. 4:23, 6:10; Mark 1:15, 4:11; Luke 4:43; 8:10, 9:2,11
51 Mark 1:15
52 Luke 4:43 LB
53 Matt. 9:35, 10:7; Luke 9:2
54 Is. 52:14, 53
55 Psalm 22
56 Luke 16:31
57 Matt. 23:27-39 LB
58 Luke 19 LB
59 Matt. 21 LB
60 Matt. 16:27 ASV
61 Matt. 19:28, 29 LB
62 Matt. 24:3 LB
63 Matt. 24:27 LB
64 Matt. 24:30 LB
65 Matt. 24:44
66 Matt. 25:13 LB
67 Matt. 25:1-3
68 Matt. 26:29
69 Matt. 26:64 LB
70 Luke 18:8
71 John 14:3
72 John 14:18
73 Acts 2:29-36
74 Acts 3:19-21
75 Acts 7:5
76 Rom. 11:13
77 2 Cor. 5
78 Acts 28:23, also Acts 19:8, 20:25
79 1 Cor. 1:7
80 1 Cor. 4:5
81 1 Cor. 6:2
82 1 Cor. 7:31 LB
83 1 Cor. 11:26 LB
84 1 Cor. 15:20, 23 LB
85 Col. 3:4 LB
86 1 Thess. 2:19 LB
87 1 Thess. 3:12,13 LB
88 1 Thess. 4:13-15 LB
89 1 Thess. 5:23 LB
90 2 Thess. 1:7,10
91 1 Tim. 6:14 LB
92 2 Tim. 2:12
93 2 Tim. 4:18
94 Titus 2:13
95 Heb. 11:9,15,16 LB
96 Rev. 21:2
97 James 5:7
98 1 Peter 1:5,7,13; 4:13; 5:1
99 2 Peter 1:16-18 LB
100 1 John 2:28
101 1 John 3:2
102 Rev. 20:4,6 LB
103 2 Peter 3:8