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THY KINGDOM CAME-CHAPTER I
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THE ELIJAH OF THE KINGDOM
“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Malachi 4:5
What a site to behold. A rugged outdoors man dressed in a camel hair robe with a leather belt, and they say his diet is locusts and wild honey. It was not just his looks that drew the crowds, it was his message and who he claimed to be. The harbinger of the Messiah Who is this man? Where did he come from? Who gave him his authority?
Let’s go back about thirty years earlier. It was just another day of priestly service for Zacharias. His lot had been chosen, and it was his turn to carry the incense into the temple on behalf of the people. While the host of worshipers waited outside, Zacharias enters the temple as he has done so many times before, but today would be different. Gabriel an angel of the Lord appears to Zacharias and tells him that he is going to have a son. Fearful and afraid, Zacharias questions Gabriel as to how this could be possible. He is late in his years, and the husband of a barren wife. As a sign of the truthfulness of the angelic message Zacharias will not be able to speak a word until after the child is born. As he leaves the temple for the court yard it quickly becomes evident to the people that he has seen a vision. He tries to communicate with his hands, but cannot speak a word. It would be almost a year before he would utter another sound. That would come at the occasion of naming this child with a God given mission. He will be called John, Zacharias told the gathered crowd. He would not be named after a family member according to custom, but according to the instructions from the angel sent from God.
We know little about the life of John or when he decided to leave home. We do know that he would be a Nazarite from his birth, (Luke 1:15; Num. 6:1-12). He would live out most of his life in the desert mountainous areas of Judea lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. His life would be one of obscurity until it was time for him to begin his brief ministry. Although short lived, that ministry would be significant and powerful. No one would question that this man believed he was on an important mission for God.
The story of John the Baptist really begins in the last book of the Old Testament, with Malachi the prophet. “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me.” (Mal. 3:1a). “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.” (Mal. 4:5) Jesus would make clear during his ministry that this “Elijah” would not be the resurrected prophet of old, but John the Baptist. “10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” (Matt. 17:10-13) Malachi says the coming of John would precede “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” (Mal. 4:5b). It would be a time of judgment In Mal. 3:1-6 describes the judgment with such terms as :suddenly come”, “like a refiner’s fire”, “refine them like gold and silver”. In Mal. 4:1-5 we find terms like, “burning like a furnace” ,“set them ablaze”, “leave them neither root nor branch”. But it would also be a time of rejoicing. 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” (Mal. 4:2) It would be a time of judgment and a time of blessing. This was the message of John. Keep these important passages from Malachi in mind as we look at the message of John. They will be a key to understanding his message as the messenger sent to prepare the way for the Lord.
John’s message was of the coming Kingdom of Heaven. It was a message of urgency, because, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:20), and “the axe is already laid at the root of the trees...” (Matt. 3:10a). While John would be the first to introduce the message of the coming Kingdom, he would not be the last. Jesus, and the disciples would spread the same urgent message. (Matt. 4:17; 10:7). The Jewish nation was familiar with the concept of a coming Kingdom. The prophets had foretold a time when the Messiah would come and establish His kingdom. Daniel was one of those prophets.
As a young man Daniel was deported to Babylon where King Nebuchandnezzar ruled. Daniel interprets a dreams that the King had. Daniel sees four kingdoms, the first of which is Babylon and Nebuchandnezzar as it’s King. The Medo Persian and Greek kingdoms would follow, and the fourth kingdom seen by Daniel would be Rome, (Dan. 2:39-43). Then Daniel says, “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” (Dan. 2:44).
When Jesus began His ministry, He preached this same message of the coming Kingdom of Heaven. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark. 1:15). “The time is fulfilled”, most assuredly refers to the time of the coming of the Kingdom, spoken of by Daniel and the other prophets.
All of these statements of urgency from John and Jesus caused the first century listeners to expect the Kingdom to come in their generation and life time. How could they think anything else when they heard Jesus say, “Truly, I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matt. 16:28).
Yet in spite of these obvious verses millions have been led to believe today that the Kingdom did in fact not come in the first century. John, Jesus and the disciples all said it was “at hand”. Daniel placed it within the time period of the fourth kingdom of Rome. So what could cause people to believe that the kingdom didn’t come? They have been taught that it was postponed! Let me share a quote from the leaders in this line of thinking.
Hal Lindsey from his book, “There is a New World Coming” said this, “Had the people received Him, He would have fulfilled the kingly prophecies in their day in addition to the one regarding the suffering Messiah. But when the Jewish nation as a whole rejected Christ, the fulfillment of His kingship was postponed until the final culmination of world history.” (Page 30).
Similar statements can be quoted from the writings of others like John Walvoord, C.C. Ryrie and others. I want you to think about that for a moment. Now ask yourself, if a rebellious nation could cause God to change His mind and will, what would stop that from happening again? Can you believe that God spoke through His prophets that there would be a kingdom established during the Roman period, and then was forced to change His mind? Can an all knowing God be caught off guard, surprised, left fumbling for a new game plan? If we believe that, then every other promise made by God is brought into question. Can we trust the Word of God? YES! Can we trust the thinking, reasoning and
words of man? NO!
Right in the midst of Malachi’s prophecy concerning John the Baptist is a powerful statement about God and change. “For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6). We saw in the introduction to this study that God had a plan “before the foundation of the world”. (Eph. 1:4). That plan had within it a “seed” promise and although the devil fought that plan for thousands of years, God preserved it and Christ was born. It is God’s work of preserving that see that Malachi refers to above when he says, “therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” No, God did not change his mind. All of the events, including the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish nation, were know to Him. 9 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure...” (Isa. 46:9,10)
You either trust the word of God or you don’t Either Jesus told the truth and did what He said He would, or He is not telling the truth to His followers. Listen to Him, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” (Mark 9:1). Jesus said that some of the very people hearing His words, standing in front of Him, would not die, but would see the Kingdom “after it has come with power.”
Was this coming Kingdom of Heaven the one spoken of by the prophets? Listen to those who had heard Jesus speak of this coming Kingdom. As Jesus make his triumphant entry into Jerusalem the people are laying their garments down and palm leaves in His path. Here is what they said, “Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who come in the name of the Lord, Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!: (Mark 11:9,10).
The message of John the Baptist was not just of the coming of the Kingdom, but also the judgment that that Kingdom would bring when it came. It is my opinion that the scope of this judgment is broader than just the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, but I will develop that line of thinking later in this book. For now, the scope of judgment that John focuses on is most assuredly the Jewish nation to which he had been sent. Listen as he speaks of the judgment that will accompany this coming Kingdom.
“10. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11. “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matt. 3:10-12).
There is only one reason you aim your axe at the root of a tree. You plan to kill it once and for all. We noticed in the introduction of this study that God had grow a great tree from the seed that began outside of Eden. We traced that seed over thousands of years. That once great tree had been cut down by God’s judgment of his rebellious nation, but we saw in Isaiah’s prophecy that God would bring forth a “shoot” from the “root” to bear fruit. “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit”...”The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,..” (Isa. 11:1,10). Jesus was that shoot. Although God had brought judgment on His people before, this would be different. Now John says, “the axe is already laid at the root of the trees” . The final judgment and complete destruction of that once great tree is at hand. This new tree from the sprout of Jesse will now include “all nations” Remember what Malachi said concerning the great and terrible day, 1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” (Mal. 4:1). The prophet saw this as the end of Israel, no root or branch as phophecied before about Jesus. John pictures the same thing.
If the axe is “already” laid at the root of the trees and God will kill it at the root with the coming destruction of Jerusalem, where is the basis for a nationalist hope for Israel today in the 20th. Century. Notice I said “nationalist” hope. God’s chosen people today are not determined by Jewish blood flowing through their veins, but they are those who because of the blood of Christ are His. When John spoke God’s axe was already aimed at the root. In AD 70 that axe killed that tree once and for all.
John also refers to a two fold baptism in Matt. 3:10-12, one with the Holy Spirit and one with fire. Some of those who hear John’s message will repent and be prepared for the out pouring of the Holy Spirit that is to come on the Day of Pentecost. (see Acts 2), while others will continue their rebellious ways and receive the baptism of fire. Throughout the Bible the term “fire” has been used as a symbol of judgment. Take your concordance and look at all the reference to fire and how it is used in scripture. Some have said that the fire here refers to the tongues of fire that floated over the heads of those gathered at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was pour forth. These tongues of fire would hardly be a baptism of fire when the term baptism means to immerse, plunge, etc. The destruction of Jerusalem would have been a baptism of fire or in another word, judgment. Malachi referred to this fire as a “refiner’s fire, (Mal.3:2,3). Notice also, that Jesus is the one who would bring both the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the baptism in fire. As God used Babylon to punish His people before, Jesus would uses the Roman army in AD 70 to bring about the destruction of His nation.
John now refers to a separation process that will accompany this judgment at the coming of the Kingdom. The separation of the wheat from the chaff. This would not be the last time that a “general judgment” and “the separation of the good and bad” would be referred to with reference to the coming of this kingdom. Many today who believe that the Kingdom did come in the first century make a separation between the judgment against Israel in AD 70, and the general judgment that they associate with a future second coming of Christ, such as the separation of the sheep fromthe goats in Matt. 25. While I plan to touch on this in more detail later, notice briefly the following:
27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. 28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matt. 16:27,28)
In these two verses you see a “general” judgment, “every man according to his deed”. You also see it takes place at the same time of the coming of the son of Man in His kingdom. The “time” of that coming was in the life time of some of those standing there before Jesus THEN. Conclusion? A general judgment comes with the return of Jesus in His Kingdom in the first century.
Here is an important question. How many Second Comings of Christ are there? How can we divide scripture in a way to say He came back then and will come back again in our generation or some future generation? John the Baptist was a special messenger sent to prepare the way of the Lord. I
am reminded that every time the President of the United States plans to go into a city, there is a forward party that proceeds him. They literally close roads, block traffic, secure the area. When the President arrives, he is able to move through an area without delay, because the way has been prepared. In essences, that is what John did. He would be a bright light for only a short time. He would clear a path for Jesus to travel. He would prepare disciples to follow their coming King. He would decrease, but the King would increase in influence. Jesus said of him, “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.” (John 5:35). John’s ministry lasted only about six months, and was brought to an end because of his straight forward message to Herod about his life style. His imprisonment eventually lead to his death.
Now we will focus on the “nature” of this coming Kingdom.
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