The transition from old covenant Judaism to Christ’s new covenant arrangement was not an abrupt, overnight replacement but involved the gradual unfolding of God’s plan and revelation of his will, ultimately completed in the NT canon. Christianity began in a thoroughly Jewish context (Acts 1–7) before spreading to the ethnically mixed Samaritans (Acts 8) and eventually the Gentile world (Acts 10–28).
During this transitional period, as the gospel was impacting lives from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), a major obstacle across the Mediterranean world was the stubborn resistance of nationalistic Judaism. Just over a quarter of a century after the Lord’s church had begun, Paul wrote concerning obstinant Jews, “But their minds were hardened. For until the present day, the same veil remains upon the reading of the old covenant, not being lifted, which in Christ is being removed. But until the present day, when Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart, but if, when one has turned to the Lord, the veil is removed” (2 Cor. 3:14-16).1
From the heavenly perspective, Jesus’s death on the cross was the historical juncture when the old covenant system officially stood in the position of “having been made obsolete ...” (Heb. 8:13a; 9:15-17; cf. Col. 2:14). At the same time, however, when the book of Hebrews was written, this pre-Christian and now anti-Christian state of affairs was “becoming obsolete and growing old, near [ἐγγύς] abrogation” (Heb. 8:13b) because the Jerusalem temple, Levitical priesthood and rituals, Mosaic law and traditions were still operating decisively and impactfully, though not for much longer.2
By the end of the AD 66-70 Jewish–Roman war, four decades after Jesus’s Olivet Discourse, the propaganda and aggression against the new covenant citizens of God’s kingdom, the judaizing pressure to embrace or return to old covenant ways, and the violent persecutions instigated and fueled by corrupt religious leaders and fanatic Zealots,3 were dealt a crushing blow.
Nearness of Cognitive Realization
When the disciples saw the signs Jesus warned about, including “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (Luke 21:20), by witnessing the providential progression of the divine plan, they would recognize the nearness of God’s ascendant dominion despite the serious challenges faced from Jewish hostilities and Roman forces. The kingdom of God, biblically understood, includes perceptive awareness of God’s purpose, work, and sovereign rule in the hearts, lives, and circumstances of his people. “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, so that ‘Seeing, they may not see, and hearing, they may not understand’” (Luke 8:10). For the defiant Jews within Jerusalem’s walls, these spiritual realities were hidden from their averted eyes until the city was besieged and razed (Luke 19:41-44).
Countering the blind hypocrisy of the Pharisees, Jesus had earlier informed his followers, having sent them “to proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:2, 60; 10:9), “now nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known; instead, whatever you have spoken in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken to the ear in the inner chambers will be announced on the housetops” (Luke 12:1-3). He also observed that those seeking God’s kingdom eagerly receive it with heavenly treasure, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (vv. 31-34). He continued with the exhortation to always be ready, along with warnings of fiery trials and divided households (vv. 35-53; cp. 21:12, 16).
Jesus then turned from addressing his disciples to the larger crowds (Luke 12:54a), rebuking them for their Pharisaic hypocrisy (note v. 1). Their ability to discern weather conditions by observing the wind and rainclouds was inconsistent with their stubborn refusal to discern this time (vv. 54b-56). Accountability is tied to attitude and intentionality.
As one of the precursors to Jerusalem’s fall, Jesus said: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end” (Matt. 24:14). The universal proclamation of the gospel was foreseen in the OT, conducted by followers of Jesus facing resistance from “a disobeying and opposing people” (Rom. 10:15-21). At a time when political tensions were escalating, eventually leading to the Jewish–Roman war resulting in the obliteration of the Jewish state, Paul wrote, “you previously heard in the word of the truth, the gospel, coming to you as also in all the world, producing fruit and increasing as also among you ...” (Col. 1:5-6, emp. added). Whether these words were meant literally, hyperbolically, or proleptically, it is hard to miss the parallel to Jesus’s prophetic words.
Spiritual in nature and redemptive in force (Luke 2:30; 3:6; 21:28),4 the kingdom of God is the sovereign reign of God to be sought (Luke 12:31), entered (Luke 18:24-25), internalized (Luke 13:18-21), possessed (Luke 12:32), and inhabited (Luke 7:28; 13:24-29; 14:15-25; 18:16-25). Depending on degree of understanding and commitment, the Lord repeatedly noted, “the kingdom of God has drawn near to you ... the kingdom of God has drawn near” (Luke 10:9, 11), “the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20), and “the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:20-21).
The irony here is that the unbelieving Jews, idolizing, trusting, and barricaded within the fortified walls of their cherished city, were headed for destruction outside the spiritual kingdom of God (cf. Luke 9:62; 13:23-30; 19:41-46). Those entering God’s kingdom (Luke 12:31-32) would escape the doomed city and be saved from destruction (Luke 21:18, 21; cf. Matt. 24:13), both physically and spiritually. The temporal city of Jerusalem would have to give way to the new Jerusalem—God’s universal and everlasting kingdom rule.5
Conclusion
What did Jesus mean when he said to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, “when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:31)? Rather than applying to something already present, or in the far-distant future, or close in spatial proximity, the nearness of God’s βασιλεία in the not-so-distant future is contextually linked to the downfall of the theocratic infrastructure of an anti-Christian regime (Matt. 24:33-34; Mark 13:29-30). The kingdom of God is not a physical entity but a conceptual reality, illuminating and liberating receptive hearts that would otherwise be devoted to and constrained by what was once a serviceable “house of prayer” but having devolved into a corrupt “den of robbers” (Luke 19:46).
The humble prayer to the heavenly Father, “your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2), that Jesus taught to his first-century disciples, is still applicable in its biblical sense. Father, may your sovereign reign infiltrate, impact, and direct the lives of your human creation, now and forevermore.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.
2 Prior to his atoning death and subsequent resurrection, Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit to the apostles to teach them all they needed to know, remind them of all Jesus had taught, guide them into all truth, and reveal things to come (John 14:25-26; 15:26-27; 16:12-15). After his death and resurrection and before his ascension, he continued speaking to them about “the kingdom of God,” which they still did not fully comprehend, and prior to ascending into heaven he reiterated the promise (Acts 1:2-8). A few days later, when the Spirit was poured out on the twelve, they preached the gospel and the first scripture quoted was Joel 2:28-32. When Peter said “this” (currently happening) is what Joel prophesied about, that moment marked the beginning of the prophecy’s fulfilment regarding the outpouring of God’s Spirit (Acts 2:17a). However, the rest of the quoted prophecy with respect to “all flesh” (Jews and Gentiles), incl. men and women (Acts 2:17b-18), unfolded over the next several years (Acts 10:44-48; 11:15-18; 15:6-18). The last section cited (Acts 2:19-21) parallels the apocalyptic imagery of Jesus’s predictive words in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25-26), fulfilled in the devastating collapse of Jerusalem.
3 Note, e.g., Acts 4:3, 29; 5:18, 40; 6:11-14; 8:1; 9:23-25, 29-30; 13:45, 50; 14:2, 5-6; 17:5-10, 13-14; 18:12-13; 21:27-32; 22:22-23, 30; 23:1-15; 24:1-9; 25:2-3, 7; 26:2, 9-11; 28:19; 2 Cor. 11:24; Gal. 1:13; 5:11; 1 Thess. 2:14-16.
4 See also Luke 17:20-21; John 3:3-5; 18:36-37. When Jesus said to his disciples, “your redemption [ἀπολύτρωσις] is nearing [ἐγγίζω] (Luke 21:28), note the pronominal shift making a distinction between what “you” disciples see in the near future and what “they” see when the Son of Man comes in the distant future (cf. “Another Look at Matt 24”).
5 See K. L. Moore, “The New Jerusalem,” Moore Perspective (30 Jan. 2019), <Link>. The rejection of God’s Son unleashed divine judgment against the former “vinedressers,” cast out of God’s kingdom and destroyed, giving the “vineyard” to others who are blessed in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:24-35; 20:13-19; cf. Matt. 21:37-45; 27:25).
Related Posts: Luke's Perspective Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Jesus: Superior High Priest (Part 5), Preterism: What's the Big Deal? (Part 1)
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Image credit: Arch of Titus: relief depicting spoils from the Jerusalem temple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Jewish%E2%80%93Roman_War#/media/File:Arch_of_Titus_Menorah.png
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