The last question asked of Yahushua after He was risen, just before His ascension was - Acts 1:6-8, "They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, "Master, do you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has set within His own authority. But you shall receive power, when the Set Apart Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
It is clear that the promises given in the prophets would be fulfilled in their time according to the plan of YHWH. Yahushua made the restitution of YHWH's Rulership of the Earth top priority as is seen in the prayer found in Matt 6:9 -13, 9 "After this manner you shall pray . Our Father who is in heaven, Set Apart is your name. 10 Your Realm come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
The whole of the book of Matthew is about the setting up of the Rule of YHWH on the Earth. Matt. 24:14 "And this message of the Realm shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the Place Set Apart( let him that readeth understand),"
We should here look at what the Prophets said about the restoring of the Realm to Israel.
The covenant with Abraham for an Eternal possession YHWH made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17:17:1 "And when Abram was ninety nine years old , YHWH appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am El Shaddai. Walk before me, and be perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face. And Elohim talked with him, saying; 4 As for me, see, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham. For the father of a multitude of nations I have made you. 6 And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and sovereigns shall come out of you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you, throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be an Elohim unto you and to your seed after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. And I will be their Elohim." YHWH also told Abram that his seed would be in servitude and then possess the land of promise as we read here. -
Gen 15:13 "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them. And they shall afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge. And afterward shall they come out with great substance." This covenant was renewed to Isaac, Jacob, and then again to Israel as they were on their way to the land of promise
When Israel were about to enter the land of promise being led through Moses, they were told to perform the expectations of YHWH for them, and if they were not faithful the consequences would be a scattering into all the world. We read of this in the Deut:27-29. and in the 30th Chapter we read of the future of Israel after they would be scattered about the Earth. Duet 30:1-5" And , when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, wherever YHWH your Elohim has driven you, 2 and shall return to YHWH your Elohim, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 3 that then YHWH your Elohim will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples, where ever YHWH your Elohim has scattered you. 4 If any of your outcasts be in the uttermost parts of the four winds of heaven, from there will YHWH your Elohim gather you, and from there will he fetch you: 5 and YHWH your Elohim will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers."
We find that Israel did not live up to the standard set for them , the covenant they agreed to at Sinai they broke, and set up other mighty ones to worship, and in the end YHWH allowed them to be taken captives in Assyria. At a later time the two tribe nation of Yahudah also were taken to Babylon for a period of seventy years. Yahudah continued in the land up until the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 when the Roman Army destroyed the City of Jerusalem.
The Voice Of the Prophets
During the time of their life in the land of covenant they were continually instructed by the various prophets and warned of their coming destruction as a result of their unfaithfulness to YHWH, also they were told of the promises of final restoration when they returned to follow the plan for their lives, with YHWH. The Nation Divided Israel as a whole was established under the hand of David and Solomon his son , but on the death of Solomon, Israel was divided into two nations, the north , Israel and the South, Yahudah. Israel went into idolatry and after a time YHWH allowed them to be taken off the land , and as He said "Put them out of His sight". 1 Kings 11:26-43, 12. Tells of the division of Yahudah and Israel. Amos 5:26 "Yes, you have borne the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your Elohim, which you made to yourselves. 27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says YHWH, whose name is the Elohim of hosts."
The Assyrians came down from the north and took Israel the ten tribe nation captive and from there they have been scattered to the four winds. Amos 9:9 "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us. 11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;"
The Prophet Hosea tells of the day when Israel would be gathered in chapters 1-4, and in 4:4,5 , "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim: 5 afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek YHWH their Elohim, and David their sovereign, and shall come with fear unto YHWH and to his goodness in the latter days."
Isaiah 49:5 "And now said YHWH that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered unto him (for I am honourable in the eyes of YHWH, and my Elohim is become my strength); 6 yes, he says, It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to rise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel."
Jeremiah 3:17 "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of YHWH; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of YHWH, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Yahudah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers." Jeremiah 23:1-8 ,Read Verses, 5 "Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as sovereign and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Yahudah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby He shall be called: YHWH our righteousness. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, says YHWH, that they shall no more say, As YHWH lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 but, As YHWH lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land."
Ezekiel 20:30 "Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Sovereign YHWH:..... 33 As I live, says the Sovereign YHWH, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be sovereign over you: 34 and I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I enter into judgement with you face to face. 36 Like as I entered into judgement with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgement with you, says the Sovereign YHWH. 37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I am YHWH." 42 "And you shall know that I am YHWH, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I swear to give unto your fathers." Read the 36,37 th chapters of Ezekiel 36:21 "But I had regard for my set apart name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, wherever they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, This says the Sovereign YHWH: I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my set apart name, which you have profaned among the nations, wherever you went. 23 And I will set apart my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am YHWH, says the Sovereign YHWH, when I shall be set apart in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my ordinances, and do them. 28 And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your Elohim.' .Ezekiel 37:16 "And you, son of man, take one stick, and write upon it, For Yahudah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 and join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand." Read verses 21 - 28.
Joel, One needs to read the whole book for it speaks of the Day of YHWH, a day that will restore to the faithful their inheritance. Joel 3:18 "Then was YHWH jealous for his land, and had pity on his people." Obadiah 1:17 "But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be set apart; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions."
Micah 2:12 "I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men." 4:1 "But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of YHWH's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow unto it. 2 And many nations shall go and say, Come , and let us go up to the mountain of YHWH, and to the house of the Elohim 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 YHWH from Jerusalem" Michah 7:20 "You will perform the truth to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Abraham, which you have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. 15 As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt will I show to them marvellous things. 16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf."
Zephaniah 3:9 "For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure lip[ language], that they may all call upon the name of YHWH, to serve him with one consent.” 20 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before your eyes, says YHWH."
Haggai 2:21 "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Yahudah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; 22 and I will overthrow the throne of realms; and I will destroy the strength of the realms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. 23 In that day, says YHWH of hosts, will I take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, says YHWH, and will make you as a signet; for I have chosen you, says YHWH of hosts." Zechariah and Haggai both came back from the Babylonian captivity and shared in the building up of Yahudah, and both spoke of the time when there would be complete restitution of the Houses of Israel and Yahudah when the Realm will be under the hands of the chosen of YHWH.
We will notice some passages in Zechariah, the whole book should be made a study. Zech 8:13 "And it shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong." 23 "This says YHWH of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Yahudim, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that Elohim is with you." 9:13 "For I have bent Yahudah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and will make you as the sword of a mighty man." 10:6 "And I will strengthen the house of Yahudah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back; for I have mercy upon them; and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am YHWH their Elohim, and I will hear them."
In order that the restitution takes place there must be a turning back to follow the Elohim of the fathers, and a unity of mind and purpose to serve YHWH with a full heart, and this is borne out by the prophet , Malachi 4:4 "Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances. 5 Behold, I will send you Eliyah the prophet before the great and terrible day of YHWH come. 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a utter destruction.".
All the prophets gave their voice over the years telling of the return of the nation of Israel to their place and to their position with YHWH their Elohim. Daniel’s prophecies give more detail of the final movements than any other, beginning with, Dan. 2 Showing that the restitution will be after the four world kingdoms have been divided into the ten toes of the Image, that YHWH prepares a people from His kingdom on Earth 44 "And in the days of those kings shall the Elohim of heaven set up His realm which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these realms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 As you saw a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great Elohim has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." Here we see the Image that represents the Nations 32 "As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, 33 its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay. 34 You saw till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." When we come to the seventh chapter of Daniel we see another line up of the nations and find that at the end of their rule, the Set Apart people of YHWH are given the whole Earth, and then shall all other realms also serve YHWH. Dan 7:26-28. Daniel 8 tells of the conflict in the transfer of the rule, from ruler to ruler, then with more detail and emphasis the remainder of the book gives the outline of events leading up to the deliverance of the people of Daniel, - Israel. Dan 12:1 "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." See Dan 7:9,10. "...the judgement was set, and the books were opened." Here we see the time given for the restoration of the people of Israel, as rulers of the Earth, of which all the prophets told of the event, and it is in Daniel that we see the details of the ending of rulership under the hand of Man, and YHWH giving it into the hands of the people of his choice, those who are in covenant relationship with him.
The Voice of the Apostles
Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 tells of the Lawless one who is seen in Dan 7,8, 11, 12. who removes that which YHWH has "set apart" and puts in its place the "abomination that makes desolate", this power is working and will work until there is a people ready to take over the Rulership under YHWH. Rev.7:1 "After his I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living Elohim and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 saying, "Do not hurt the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our Elohim on their foreheads". 4 And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:" Rev 14:1 "And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads." It is here that conflict is settled, and the Rulership is again given into the hands of Israel.
Rom. 11:26 "and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away impiety from Jacob: 27 And this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins." As is seen in Daniel 7 in the Judgement.
The covenant with Israel was, Exd 19:5 "Now , if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a set apart nation."
The last three chapters of Revelation shows us the Restored sate of Israel as rulers with the Lamb, in the Restored Realm upon the Earth.
The main aim of those who love and respect YHWH should be to work
and pray for the setting up of His Realm upon the Earth and the peace of
Jerusalem.