| The Kingdom of GodPart 2 of this Bible study |
Review
Lets review what we read last time. We spoke about the parable of the weed. Mat.13:24-30, 36-43.
Reading this parable well, we’ve seen it isn’t so easy to understand as we thought.
Lot’s of questions rose. This parable speaks about the harvest,where the angels will come and collect the weed first to throw it in the fire . Then they will bring the sons of the Kingdom in Gods heavenly barn.
We read in 1 Thess.4:13-18 the believers who died will be first resurrected and in an eye wink the still living believers will be changed and we all will be caught up in the sky to meet our Lord. The other people, the unbelievers, will stay behind. This isn’t exactly the same as we read in the parable.
We read some parts of Revelations.
The folowing things are being shown:
- there will be a first resurrection,
- then there will be a the thousand years of peace when Jesus will reign from Jerusalem over this world.
- The devil will be captived in those thousand years,
- at the end of those thousand years the devil will be set free for a short time and will seduce people to stand up against Jerusalem,
- the result is a great war where Jesus will conquer,
- a great white throne will be visible
- all people who are not resurrected at the first resurrection (thousand years earlier) will be resurrected and and will stand before the white throne.
- several books will be opened, one of them is the book of life, all those people will be judged by what is written in the books,
- a new heaven and a new earth will be created, the old ones will be vanished,
- the new Jerusalem will come down from heaven and God will dwell among men.
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Revalation 21:7
| The Parable of the Tenants |
Matthew
21:33-45
33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.
34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them in the same way.
37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. `They will respect my son,' he said.
38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, `This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'
39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "`The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them..
It isn't so difficult to see who is who in this parable. The vineyard was rented by God to the tenants, but they didn’t give God what was His.
God, the owner of the land, sent his servants to collect his fruit. But they were killed.
Are these the angels, like in the other parable?
No, because angels can’t be killed. These servants were the prophets.
Jesus says:
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Matthew 23:37
They didn’t kill just the prophets, but they killed the greatest prophet ever lived, the Son of the Landowner
To whom is Jesus speaking in this parable?
He spoke to the Jews. Especially to the chief priests and the Pharisees, like they understood.
What was the punishment for not being faithful to the landowner?
Matthew 21:43
Romans 9:4
Romans 9:4
In the parallel parable in Luke 20, they answered: ‘May this never be!’ (-->).
They understood what Jesus was telling them. They also knew what Paul later wrote in Romans 9.
4 “the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.”
The Kingdom of God was promised to them.
But the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from them.
To whom will the Kingdom of God be given?
Do we easily say: To us? Or are we now a little bit more careful?
We have to dig a little bit more to give an answer to that question.
(Luke 20,16).
| The parable of the Wedding Banquet |
We’ve seen Jesus is speaking in parables to the Jews. They did not understand everything which He was telling, but when He told them the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from the tenants, they understood perfectly clear He was talking about them.
Like Paul said it so clear in Rom.9:4, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons.
So, Jesus spoke to the Israelites. They were predestined to be sons of God. But Jesus told them the Kingdom shall be given away to other people.
There is another parable which speaks about that.
Its the parable of the Wedding Banquet.
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Matthew
22:1-14
22:1-14
2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 "Then he sent some more servants and said, `Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
5 "But they paid no attention and went off, one to his field, another to his business.
6 The rest seized his servants, ill-treated them and killed them.
7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 "Then he said to his servants, `The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.
9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'
10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
12 `Friend,' he asked, `how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
13 "Then the king told the attendants, `Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen.".
As we’ve seen before, it is very important to read carefully. What is written?
Where in the bible can we find verses which speak about the same things?
Where can we find verses about this wedding?
Revelation 19 speaks about the wedding of the Lamb.
Revalation
19:6-10
19:6-10
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow-servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
7. ...the wedding of the Lamb has come...
9. ...Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb...
When will that wedding be?
After what will happen what is written in verse 6b.
“our Lord God Almighty reigns.”
Our Dutch translation is (in English): The Lord, our God, the Almighty, has accepted the kingship.
So, after the Lord, our God, has accepted the kingship the wedding of the Lamb has come.
For those who doubt Jesus isn’t yet reigning, I recommend to read Rev. 11:15-19.
15 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
(mat 9,14-15, NIV).
When the son, who is the bridegroom, is Jesus, then the King must be God the Father.
God sent his servants to those who had been invited.
Who are those servants?
Again we read Mat.23:37
Matthew 23:37
How (wonderfully) accurate is the Bible! We can find all the answers to our questions. Not always easy, but it is possible.
In the other parable we read:
Matthew 21:37
Johannes 1:11
Johannes 1:11
They didn’t!
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
They killed Him too.
We can recognise in the first group of invited people the Jews.
Who are the second group of people which are invited?
General it is assumed those are the pagans, who later will be called: New Testamentical believers.
But is this right?
A long time I thought: I belong to that second group of guests, but, the more I saw details which didn’t fit in the total picture of Gods acting, the more I had to use ‘oil’ to loosen those rusted presumptions.
I read this parable from 1 to 6 and further as follows:
6 The rest seized his servants, ill-treated them and killed them.
8 Then he said to his servants, `The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'
(Matthew 22 NIV).
Do you see how I read it?
Of course I read verse 7, but it didn’t mean anything to me. It was blocked out in my mind.
Still that verse was there and cannot be erased.
Matthew 22:7
After the Israelites had killed the prophets and finally The Prophet, Who was the Son, the King was enraged. (KJ ‘wroth’ which is in Greek close to ‘wrath’). --
The bible speaks several times about ‘a day of wrath’. We shall read some parts.
(Matthew 22:7, KJV).
Isaiah 13:9-13
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger..
And a part of the New Testament.
Revalations
6:12-17
6:12-17
13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig-tree when shaken by a strong wind.
14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
There will, just before Jesus returns, a day (or period) of Gods wrath. This day is also called: ‘day of the Lord’. It is the beginning of the last day of Gods acting with people on this earth. It is the beginning of the last thousand years of this earth.
About this event Luke said something too. The special thing is, these verses link really good to Mat.22:7. (the army that burned the city).
Luke 21:20-28
21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.
22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written.
23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.
24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
The logical conclusion is, verse 7 of Mat.22 must still be fulfilled.
Unfortunately Jerusalem will be under attack. But, there is hope too.
Of course I know, Jerusalem is destroyed at 70 after Christ, but what happened then isn’t the same what is written by Luke. The coming of the Lord on the clouds is coupled to surrounded Jerusalem.
But if verse 7 isn’t history and still must be fulfilled, then verses 8-10 have nothing to do with us, Christians. Isn’t it?
These verses explain what will happen in the thousand years of peace.
There are many things in this parable we didn’t discuss. The wedding clothes, the bride -the woman of the Lamb- and of course the second group of guests.
Who are they?
Summary
Studying the first parable, about the weed, we learned: the Christians are not mentioned in that parable.
Studying the parable of the tenants, we learned: Jesus was speaking to the Jews and told them, although the adoption of sons was originally for them, the kingdom of God shall be taken away from them.
Studying the parable of the wedding banquet, we learned: the Jews didn’t want to enter the wedding hall and again we learned we are not mentioned in that parable.
The question: Who are the sons of the Kingdom in the parables isn’t answered yet.
Although we are not the main subject till now, we have to seek the Kingdom of God. And that’s what Jesus told us to do. A lot of statements from God are universal, for instance the ten commands, but also this encouragement to seek His Kingdom.
Home work for those who want to find out: is there a difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God.
Read the next passages side to side.
| Mat. 4:17 Mat. 5:3 Mat.11:11 Mat. 10:7 Mat.13:11 Mat.13:31 Mat.13:33 Mat.19:14 Mat.19:23 |
Mark 1:15 Luke 6:20 Luke 7:28 Luke 9:2 Mark 4:11 en Luke 8:10 Mark 4:30 en Luke 13:18 Lucas 13:21 Mark 10:14 en Luke 18:16 Mark 10:23 en Luke 18:24 |
You will come to the conclusion the kingdom of heaven is exactly the same as the kingdom of God.
Why the difference? Matthew wrote his gospel mainly to the Jews and is using the Jewish custom not to use the name of God often. Some will never use the name of God.
| The parable of the Mustard seed |
Matthew
13:31-32
31 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.
32 Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
This parable isn’t explained by Jesus, but it comes after the explained parable of the weed.
Who do you think is that man?
And what is that field?
So, when the planter is Jesus, is then the mustard seed the good seed or the bad, the wicked?
The good seed will grow and becomes a tree where the birds of the air can perch in it’s branches.
To find out what the meaning is of that mustard seed, which becomes a big tree, we have to dig in the bible. We have to find verses which speak about a mustard seed and verses which speak about a big tree.
Do you know a verse which speaks about a mustard seed?
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Matthew 17:20
What does this verse talk about?
Faith!
Who is important in the bible when it comes to faith?
Abraham.
Lets read a few verses of Hebrews.
Hebrews
11:8-16
11:8-16
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age -and Sarah herself was barren- was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand at the seashore.
And this goes on and on, even today.
Isn’t that a big tree?
Abraham and his descendants were longing for a heavenly country. And God has prepared a city for them!
Talk about a Holy Kingdom!
There is more.
In the parable Jesus talks about a big tree. He’s not talking about a real tree like we can see outside. This tree is an image of something. A symbol.
To understand a little bit more about that image of the tree, we have to find verses which speak also symbolical of a tree.
I found two bible parts.
We start with Daniel 4. It is the story of Nebucadnessar who had a dream.
Daniel 4:10-12
11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, and the birds of the air lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
This dream has a great resemblance with the parable of the Mustard Seed. Although it seems that we see more or less the same story, it isn’t. We can see that, looking to the rest of the dream and the interpretation. But we can still learn something. It’s the principle. Let’s read a bit more of that chapter. We read the part where Daniel explains the meaning of the tree.
Daniël 4:20-22
21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air
22 you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
What does that tree depict?
The kingship and the kingdom of Nebucadnessar.
This is the Divine explanation, through the mouth of Daniel.
Now we can see that the tree, which grew out of the mustard seed, is probably an image of the Kingdom of God.
The other Old Testament book which talks about a tree in the same way, is Ezekiel.
It is a very interesting part of the bible. The Lord gives Israël an allegory. He’s doing that through a parable.
It has to do with the kingship over Juda. It’s about the throne of the house of David.
There were lot’s of kings after David. And finally there was a king, his name was Zedekiah, who was the last king reigning over Juda. Nebucadnessar appointed him there.
Zedekiah made a covenant with Nebucadnessar under oath.
Then we read in Ezekiel 17 he breaks his oath. And God isn’t pleased with that.
Ezekiel
17:18-20
17:18-20
19 "`Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will bring down on his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke.
20 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there because he was unfaithful to me.
But, before God is saying those words through Ezekiel He gives the house of Israël a parable. In this parable the Lord tells us about an eagle who broke of the top of a cedar, that is a big tree. When you read the whole story you will understand that this branch is king Jehoiachim who is kidnapped by Nebucadnessar. King Nebucadnessar told Zedekiah to be king over Juda.
This is all a realy interesting subject, but too much for now. It is not only History, but has also something to do with the future.
The throne didn’t stop with the kingship of Zedekiah, that’s the lesson of Ezekiel 17.
It’s a little bit much to read the whole chapter now, you can read it at home. For the moment it is enough to read the last verses of this chapter. Verse 22-24
Ezekiel
17:22-24
17:22-24
23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.
24 All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. "`I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.'"
In these verses we see the Lord Himself will take a shoot from the very top of the cedar and will plant it. This has to do with the throne of the house of David. We also see there is a great resemblance with the parable of the mustard seed.
This time it is not a resemblance like the resemblance with the dream of Nebucadnessar, but at the end, this is the same story as the parable of the mustard seed.
I think, it must be clear now that the tree which grew out of the mustard seed has to do with faith and with Israël and with the throne of the house of David.
Before I’m going to explain a few things, I think it’s good to read Luke 1
Luke 1:30-33
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end."
| The house of Israel and the house of Juda |
I know, that parable in Ezekiel and its meaning isn’t easy to understand, that’s why I want to explain a few things before we go on.
To start this small excursion I like to read a few verses of Matthew
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Matthew
19:27-29
19:27-29
28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
Jesus will sit on the throne of His father David, like we read in Luke 1, but the disciples will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Why is that so special? There are twelve tribes.
Oh.... where are these twelve tribes?
I can hear you thinking: are those twelve tribes not the Jews? Jews are Israelites, isn’t it?
That’s correct. Jews are Israelites, but ...
are all Israelites Jews?
To see this more clear:
Most countries have states or provinces. The USA has 51 states. One of the states is Hawaii. All Hawaiians are Americans,but are all Americans Hawaiiens?
I’m not sure how much you know about the Old testament, but probably you know that at a certain point the Israelites wanted a king.
Their first king was....?
Saul.
There second king was ....?
David.
There third king was.....?
Solomon.
What happened then?
The mighty kingdom of Israel was divided into two kingdoms.
Let’s read something about that. We can find them in 1 Kings 11
1 Kings
11:6, 9-14,
31-32,
35-36, en 38
11:6, 9-14,
31-32,
35-36, en 38
...9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD's command.
11 So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.
12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."
14 Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom.
....31 Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes.
32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe.
....35 I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes.
36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.
....38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.
So, the house of David will still be king over Juda, but the 10 tribes, which are torn of, will get their own king.
From that day on there are two kingdoms in the land of Israel. One is called Israel, the other Juda. You can read all about this in the books of the kings and the chronicles.
Israel is also called ‘the house of Israel’ or ‘the house of Jacob’ and ‘Ephraïm’, because Ephraïm was main tribe of the ten tribes. (There are more reasons but not relevant at this moment). And Samaria after their capital.
In the second book of the kings, chapter 17, we can read about the last king of Israël and Israëls exile to Assyria. They never returned.
That’s history you think.
Let’s see what the bible thinks about that.
Ezekiel was a prophet who lived about 130 years later and God told him to prophesy about two nations: Israel and Juda.
Ezekiel
37:16, 21-28
37:16, 21-28
......
21 and say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.
22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offences, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 "`My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.
25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there for ever, and David my servant will be their prince for ever.
26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them for ever.
27 My dwelling-place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them for ever.'"
At the time Ezekiel wrote this prophesy, the house of Israel was still in exile and till this day they never returned.
25 second part David my servant will be their prince forever!
Who is that servant David?
This is something special: David was the king who was beloved by God.
God promised David, as we just read in the book of Kings, his throne will endure forever.
David is a Hebrew name: Dawid, that means: my beloved. So, it is perfect legal to read the verse like this: and my beloved servant will be their prince forever.
Again Luke 1:32 about Jesus.
Luke 1:32
That’s one thing we have to remember.
The other is: These two nations which are never united will be united.
I don’t know where the ten tribes are, but I’m sure God kept His bookkeeping in good order. They will return to Israel. There are lots of bible verses which are talking about that.
Their sins shall be forgiven and taken away. And all twelve tribes shall be united.
This gives a whole new perspective to lots of bible verses.
When we talk about Israel, every time we have to remember there are twelve tribes.
Benjamin and half of the tribe of Levities went together with the tribe of Juda, later they were called Jews. The other 10 tribes are still lost. They are somewhere, God knows where. With some bible study we can find some hints where and who they are, but that’s not important for this bible study.
About entering the Kingdom of God, it is good to know: With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Summery
The parable of the mustard seed tells us about a very small seed which becomes a big tree.
Israel started with one man, and he is as good as dead, as the bible tells us: Abraham.
His grandson Jacob received the name Israel from God and also twelve sons. They became the twelve tribes of Israel.
Later they were split into two nations: Israel and Juda. One nation: Israel went in exile to Assyria.
The other nation, who has the throne of the house of David, went in exile to Babylon. The throne of David stopped as it seemed. But the parable, God told to Ezekiel, tells us God took one branch of the top of the cedar and planted it somewhere else. That means the throne of Israel is still somewhere and will come to Jerusalem when Jesus returns, because He will sit on the throne of his father David.
At that time the 10 tribes will not any longer be lost, they will know who they are and go to the land of Israel, to be united with the rest of the tribes, the Jews.
God will forgive them there sins and He will be their King.
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the Kingdom of God |
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the Kingdom of God |
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