Did Jesus usher in the kingdom of God?
No. As High Priest, He came to restore the breach. But as King of kings, He will usher in the Kingdom. This is why during His ministry He kept running away from those who tried to set Him up as king. It wasn't time.
He preached about the coming kingdom during His ministry, saying anyone who wants to be part of the kingdom should repent now, but it was not time to
usher in the kingdom. He had a critical first task to accomplish (The Cross). He actually told His disciples to keep His mission a secret.
Recall after the Resurrection (in Acts 1) that the apostles ask Him this question. They asked "
Is now the time to restore the kingdom of Israel?" ("The kingdom of Israel" and "the kingdom of God" and "the kingdom of heaven" are always used interchangeably), to which He answered, "
It isn't for you to know the times and seasons that The Father has set in His Authority. But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you you will preach." (paraphrasing). It wasn't yet time to usher in the kingdom. It was time to cleanse and to build.
This is the plan of The Almighty laid out in bullet form:
1. Create mankind in His image, give Him dominion and dwell with mankind forever
His Word can not return to Him void but must accomplish what He set out to do.
Problem: Mankind broke the law and deserved to die...but His Word is not voided. So corrupted man has dominion. Corrupted man must be cleansed. He will not start over else He is a liar.
Solution:
1. Establish His royal nation of priests. He picks Israel.
2. Spread the knowledge of Yah to the nations as His representatives. Cleaning them up.
3. Defeat sin and then death and then dwell with mankind forever
His Word can not return to Him void but must accomplish what He set out to do.
Problem: That selected nation broke the (marriage) covenant and deserved to die. But
His Word can not return to Him void. He picked Israel.
Solution: Send The Messiah to restore what was broken. Until He comes, have them rehearse what He will do.
1. The Messiah comes to die in the place of Israel to pay the price. This was the reason for all the blood rituals they had to do; to rehearse/predict year after year what Messiah would do to redeem Israel.
These blood works were what He fulfilled as High Priest.
2. The people of Judah (
southern house) reject Him. He is killed. Though it was part of the plan, Judah still had to pay for murdering the innocent and rejecting The Almighty's Son. The new covenant was entered into
by the few (Jews first) who heard and accepted it.
3. The Messiah ascends to heaven with His blood to cleanse the Tabernacle.
4. The Holy Spirit descends on the disciples.
Next phase: Spread the Gospel of the New Covenant to the
northern house and to Gentiles. Recall that the northern house has never returned but was sown into the nations. So by all accounts, they are equally considered "Gentiles".
His Word can not return to Him void but must accomplish what He set out to do. "The 12 tribes of Israel" are the royal priesthood that will spread the knowledge of Yah to the nations. The Almighty can't be considered a liar. So he is (re)building that Holy nation brick by brick: Believing Jew, Believing Gentile. Messiah is currently resting at the right hand.
1. Paul to the Communities, synagogues, and churches...particularly in Gentile communities.
2. Meanwhile, Judah is scattered and punished for their crimes.
3. The nations are blessed with riches and with opportunity for salvation (the gospel; the new covenant)
4. Satan is cast to earth having no longer a place in heaven because Triumphant Messiah is there.
Problem: satan is extremely wrought and will do whatever he can to the inhabitants of the earth, and especially to the people from whom Messiah came.
Solution: satan's lies and violence serve as the Almighty's punishment upon the Jews for their crime against the Messiah. "
Woah unto the inhabitants of the earth".
1. The Almighty leaves the world to reap what it sows while He continues to build.
2. The Almighty preserves, protects, prunes, and waters as more Gentiles and Jews are grafted in through belief in the Messiah across the centuries.
3. meanwhile satan builds and perfects his kingdom of lies and death.
We are here by my estimates. But soon...
1. The Almighty will give Messiah the word and He will stand up. He will assume the work of conquering King.
2. He will descend, awaken those who sleep in Him, and gather all of The Almighty's Holy Bricks as a great army.
3. As King of Israel, He will lead those He gathers into the Holy Land, ushering in the Kingdom. He will enter into the new covenant
with the many (both houses; Believing Jews and Believing Gentiles).
4. He will obliterate the standing army of satan as well as those institutions that perpetuated his lies.
5. He will outlaw all teaching of the scriptures except by those who are authorized (i.e., those appointed as royal priests with Him), bounding satan so that no deception can spread during this time.
6. He and the royal priests will teach the nations for 1000 years spreading the knowledge of Yah. This work finally gives everyone a real chance to know the truth and to make an informed choice about the Father and the Son.
His Word can not return to Him void but must accomplish what He set out to do. " The 12 tribes of Israel" are the royal priesthood, made up of believers ("natural" branches and "wild" branches) that spread the knowledge of Yah to the nations.
7. After 1000 years, the rest of the nations will resurrect (and satan will be loosed as a consequence). Those who refuse to accept the truth will gather together with a plan to decimate the kingdom (Gog/Magog). And as soon as they are all gathered, The Almighty will annihilate them with fire from heaven.
It may even be the case that The Almighty IS the fire from heaven (He is a consuming fire; burning bush). And as He descends all remaining evil is eradicated as an effect.
8. With all evil wiped from existence, death & the grave are then destroyed. The Messiah hands over the keys back to The Father and we dwell with Him forever.
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The ritual of The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) prophesies the two works of the Messiah. The first work/goat is killed and its blood is used to cleanse the tabernacle (Hebrews 10). The second work/goat is taken, the High Priest confesses all sins to it and then it is led away into the wilderness.