The Day of the LORD

Addendum: The Promised Land Fulfilled.

A prominent and integral part of the restoration of national Israel is the complete fulfillment of the covenant the LORD made with Abram regarding land now comprising most of the current Middle East. That promise is found in this pivotal passage:

Gen 15.17-21
It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

“To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

After the Exodus, the LORD repeated His covenant when the Covenant of Law was given during the time of Moses:

Exo 23.31
I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

Note here that the LORD merely repeated the unconditional covenant He made with Abram; He did not then nor will ever amend it in any way. The unconditional covenant of Gen 15.17-21 stood, even though the LORD made a new conditional covenant (the Covenant of Law) with Israel (which covenant they would consistently disobey to their own misery, which led to their ultimate loss to Assyria and enslavement by the Chaldeans).

The history of Abram begins with Genesis chapter 12 with the LORD’s command:

Gen 12.1-3
Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Once Abram arrived in that land, Canaan, the LORD made this unconditional covenant with him:

Gen 12.4-7
So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

This unconditional promise of land was repeated just prior to the giving of the covenant of circumcision:

Gen 17.6-8
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

It is vital to note that the facts of Abram’s name change to Abraham and the (then new) covenant of circumcision did not—and could not and will never!—change the LORD’s prior covenant of the land of Canaan!

[EDIT Oct 2023:
One of the major errors of Covenant Theology (at least that flavor held by Richard Belcher in his book on Covenant Theology) is the deliberate failure to recognize that the covenant of Gen 17 is not the same as the covenant of Gen 15. He appears to assume that since both contain the word "covenant", and that each covenant was made with Abram, they must be the same covenant(!). Or, failing at that approach, the LORD obviously must have amended His covenant of Gen 15 when He made the covenant of Gen 17, essentially replacing(?) the covenant of Gen 15. The machinations of the Covenant Theologians are truly amazing.

See my rebuttal of Richard Belcher, A Biblical Rebuttal of Dr. Richard Belcher's “The Fulfillment of the Promises of God”]

The LORD never breaks His Word!

[Some of my readers may object that the term “covenant” was not used in Gen 12.4-7, that it was “merely” a promise.

When describing the LORD’s statements, there is no difference in authority, dependability or weight between the LORD’s promise and His covenant. Note how the Apostle Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses both terms interchangeably in this well-known passage:

Gal 3.15-18
Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
…
v19b
until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.
…
v21
Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God?
…
v22
But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

The lesson here is simple: whether the Scripture describes the LORD’s statements as a “promise”, a “covenant” or simply “thus says the LORD”, it makes no difference. His word is always binding in all ways:

Isa 55.11
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

So, the LORD’s promise to Abram in Gen 12.4-7 is just as certain as the content of the solemn ceremony which took place in Gen 15.17-21.]

For the discussion which follows, it is vital to understand that these are two very distinct promises.

1. The earlier promise (Gen 12.4-7) is for Canaan only.
2. The latter promise is for the extended region of land—of which only a very small part was Canaan.

The land promised in the latter (#2) would comprise most of what now is considered the Middle East. While the second encompasses the first, it is nonetheless true that these are very different portions of land. (Refer to the maps below.)

So, much to the coming, serious dismay of the Arab nations, when the Lord Christ returns, as part of the process not only will Israel be restored nationally and have the Lord Christ as her Sovereign King, they will also be the beneficiary of the promise the LORD made with Abram for the full extent of the “promised land”. Nearly all of what now comprises the Middle East will be given to national Israel—and not as “occupiers” (the egregious claim of the Arabs) but as the full and sole owners! No one and nothing of Arab culture or descent will be in that “promised land” during the period of the Millennium; national Israel will be its sole owner. And, in fact, as a previous chapter shows, at least the peoples of Esau will cease to exist because of the judgment against them by the returning Lord Christ. (cf., Isa 63.1-6)

The scope of the extended region of land will be detailed from the Scriptures in the second section below.

The Covenant of the Land of Canaan was Fulfilled

Above, I maintained that the promise of Gen 12.4-7/Gen 17.6-8 has been fulfilled while the promise of the land of Gen 15.17.21 is yet to be fulfilled.

I now prove the first of these assertions; we’ll use Gen 17.6-8 as our reference, since it is more detailed than Gen 12.4-7:

Gen 17.6-8
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Specifically, this promise concerns the land which was “the land of [Abram’s] sojournings”; the LORD identifies it simply as Canaan. Moreover, it was to be “an everlasting possession”.

[This is very important, as we’ll see below.]

Let’s review the testimony of Israel’s conquest of Canaan from the books of Joshua and Judges:

Above, I maintained that both covenants were unconditional; that is, neither in any way depended on Israel’s obedience or ability. From the LORD’s perspective, both will be fulfilled because that is what He promised. But when we come to the following passages, we seem to encounter a contradiction:

Jos 15.63
Now as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah at Jerusalem until this day.

Jos 16.10
But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

Jdg 1.19
Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots.

Jdg 1.21
But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

Jdg 1.27-35
But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.
Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob. So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.
Then the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; yet the Amorites persisted in living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the power of the house of Joseph grew strong, they became forced labor.

It is obvious that national Israel’s “practical ownership” (my term) has been anything but successful from the initial invasion into Canaan until the present-day. The generation that accompanied Joshua was, possibly, Israel’s most faithful to the laws given through Moses. But even that generation failed in several instances, as I showed above. So, we might be surprised when the Holy Spirit tells us:

Jos 21.43-45
So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

Jos 23.1a
Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side …

How are we to understand these texts? The answer is simple: just as they are written: the LORD had fulfilled His promise to Abram.

But, there are two facts intertwined with each other which are at work here:

1. The unconditional promise that Israel would possess Canaan; this was fulfilled as stated in the clear and direct text of Jos 21.43-45.
2. By the time of the initial entrance into Canaan, the conditional Covenant of Law was in full force—which meant that Israel as a nation must maintain its faithfulness to the LORD to remain in the Promised Land. Should they become disobedient—and they did—they would lose their place in the Promised Land and become an oppressed people. 

In the first place, national Israel did take possession of Canaan. While it is true that they failed to completely drive out the Canaanites (because of their own remarkable carelessness and systemic disobedience), it does not change the fact that the LORD “gave them rest from their enemies on every side”.

The peoples who remained, during the time of Joshua (but not longer—this is important to note!), had fully subjugated the peoples of Canaan even though they failed to drive them out (as they were commanded to do!). Militarily, the Canaanites who remained posed no "real" threat at that time to national Israel (that is, to at least to launch a strong and well-organized counterattack against the new nation of Israel).

[As the history of the book of Judges confirms, the remnant of the Canaanites—who should have been destroyed or driven out—would prove to be a serious stumbling block to the Jews, who characteristically and constantly reverted to idolatry and intermarriage with cultures and peoples who were forbidden to them (which inexorably led to the constant merging and/or clashing of the cultures). National Israel was always on the losing end of that entanglement.

This has been the pattern of national Israel for the last ~3500 years.]

We now need to look at the second of the two points above, namely, that the Covenant of Law was in full force.

The Covenant of Law (during the time of Moses) was the first—only—conditional covenant the LORD made with national Israel. The conditional nature (if / then) of that covenant is clearly seen here:

Exo 19.5-6
“’Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

[If some of my readers assume that I made a mistake by classifying the Covenant of Law the only conditional covenant (which means that the Covenant of Circumcision is unconditional), please review both the actual text of Gen 17.9-14 and this chapter in my formal rebuttal of Covenant Theology. The Covenant of Circumcision was imposed upon the males of Israel; they did not have a choice in the matter. If they were circumcised, they remained in the nation; if they refused, they were to be cut off from the nation. There was no "obedience component" to maintain to remain in the covenant: once circumcised, always circumcised and always in the covenant.]

As even a casual reading of the OT reveals, national Israel was the "poster child" of idolatry, unfaithfulness, obstinance and disobedience to their LORD and His Law. This national stubbornness would cost Israel dearly in days to come:

Deu 4.23-38
So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

“When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

The LORD promised Abram the land of Canaan and Jos 21.43-45 records that that promise was fulfilled. But, the Covenant of Law imposed the condition of obedience in order to receive the LORD’s continued blessing and protection. Relative to the land of Canaan, obedience would guarantee that they would be able to continue to live there blessed and unmolested; disobedience would guarantee that national Israel would lose Canaan.

This is exactly what happened; they did not “live long on it”. After the death of Joshua, beginning with the record of the Judges the pattern of national Israel would be one of constant disobedience, the loss of land, a short-lived national repentance, a regaining of land (either greater or lesser than at earlier points in their history), then repeating the entire pattern again and again with sickening regularity.

Today, national Israel owns a pathetically small portion of the whole of Canaan that was promised to them, a situation due entirely to their national and characteristic unfaithfulness to the LORD.

[Some may object that because national Israel clearly does not now own the land of Canaan, how could it possibly be considered “an everlasting possession”? The answer to that question is very simple: it is part of the extended region of land that it yet to be fulfilled and which will be "everlasting". That is, it will it be owned by national Israel until time itself comes to an end—which is, coincidentally, the end of the Millennium and the beginning of the eternal kingdom. (See The Final Sequence for details.)]

[EDIT Oct 2023:
The events subsequent to the massacre of innocent Jews by Hamas bring to the forefront the massive failure by the Jews of Joshua's (and later) day: they failed to drive out the nations from the land the LORD gave them. The children of those nations who were under the LORD's judgment (Gen 15.16) now live to exact vengeance upon the Jews: this is the reason the Middle East is spectacularly unstable.]

The Promise of the Extended Region of Land Awaits Fulfillment

There are some who foolishly maintain that the promise of Gen 15.17-21 has been fulfilled. Let’s review the extent of land found in that promise:

Gen 15.17-21
It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

“To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

Exo 23.31
I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

Zec 9.9-10
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Psa 72.1-11
Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
May he judge Your people with righteousness And Your afflicted with justice.
…
May he also rule from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.
Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him.

[EDIT Oct 2023:
One of the catch-phrases I constantly hear on the news streams is:
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
This is nothing less than a demonic copy of the expressions of the texts above. Israel will own that land, not the Arabs/Muslims!]

This is a very large region of land! It is to be from the sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean Sea) to the Red Sea and from the wilderness (at least the northern half of Saudi Arabia) to the Euphrates River.

[As you can see in the second map below, the Euphrates River reaches to the Persian Gulf on its south end well into southeast Turkey on its northern end.]

Here is a screen capture from google maps:

Here is a detail map of the Euphrates. Note how it reaches well into southeast Turkey:

So, just how large is this region of land? It will encompass at least the current nations/portions of:

• Northeast Egypt
• The northern half of Saudi Arabia
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• About two-thirds of Syria
• The western half of Iraq

At no time in history has national Israel ever owned all this land (and certainly doesn’t own it now!).

[In a lengthy prophecy which occupies Isa 8 through Isa 12, we find the following:

Isa 11.11-14
Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
Will again recover the second time with His hand
The remnant of His people, who will remain,
From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
And from the islands of the sea.
And He will lift up a standard for the nations
And assemble the banished ones of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim.
They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west;
Together they will plunder the sons of the east;
They will possess Edom and Moab,
And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.

Did you notice that small phrase "the second time"? The first time was the return of the Jews from Babylon after 70 years captivity; the "second time" will be their rescue from the various nations to which they have been driven in the future, prior to the return of the Lord Christ at the beginning of the Millennium.

The text above can't be reconciled with the failed eschatologies of the postmillennialist or amillennialist. Both virtually eliminate the fulfillment of any prophecy regarding Israel, substituting the "church" instead (without any biblical justification). Prophecies regarding Israel are "spiritualized" beyond recognition—as it must be, since to take them as written does fatal damage to their ideology.]

But, let’s first handle a common objection to my claim that the promise of Gen 15.17-21 is yet to be fulfilled.

The claim by those who object is that the Scripture claims that this land has been owned by national Israel by appealing to these texts:

2 Sam 8.3-6a
Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his rule at the River. David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers; and David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots. When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 Arameans. Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute.

1 Kin 4.21,24
Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. … For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides around about him.

At first (and very careless!) glance, it appears that during the time of King David that the promise of Gen 15.17-21 had been fulfilled. There is, however, a serious problem with the assertion that Gen 15.17-21 has been fulfilled because it fails to take literally the promise of Exo 23.31 (above).

Note especially that last part of the promise:

Exo 23.31
I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

Note that in 2 Sam 8 David is said specifically to have defeated the Arameans and left garrisons there as a result of his goal of restoring his rule. Why the garrisons? David established a military presence there because the original inhabitants of Aramea still lived there.

The following should be obvious, but I will state it here anyway: if the region’s original inhabitants still lived there, then Exo 23.31b can’t have been fulfilled.

Likewise, in 1 Kin 4 it is said that “Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River …”. If he ruled over existing kingdoms, it must therefore have been true that that land was not essentially and natively considered part of national Israel. It was annexed and occupied but it in no way could be considered national Israel. And, as the OT clearly shows, Solomon’s power began to decline well before he was succeeded by his son Rehoboam:

1 Kin 11.9-40
Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. …

v14: Then the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal line in Edom.

v23: God also raised up another adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.

v26: Then Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king. …

Military occupation and rule has been seen many times in history. When Alexander built a vast hegemony, it is nonetheless true that his vast empire at no time was considered a single Greek state. The people conquered by Alexander never considered themselves “Greek”: each continued to consider itself according to its own original, national consciousness and culture. Throughout history, as nations rise and fall, it is common that the original national identities tend to reemerge after external rule has been removed.

Similarly, while both David and Solomon ruled an area that is (as a subset) consistent with the description of the extended region of land that the Lord promised to Abram, we see that in neither case was the land considered fundamentally and natively as national Israel, without its original peoples!

It is nearly irrelevant that the extended territories were taxed and controlled by national Israel: the conquered peoples remained primarily and culturally as their original nationalistic entities despite Israel’s political and military dominance during of the “Golden Age” of Israel.

Some may ask: “Is the statement ‘You shall drive them out…’ also unconditional?”

I'm anticipating that someone may object at this point to my assertion that the statement “You shall drive them out…” should not be considered a part of the LORD’s unconditional promise to national Israel. That is, (according to this objection) it is to be taken as a command instead.

But, can this understanding be supported from the Bible?

The answer is no: the statement can’t be understood as a command (capable of either fulfillment or failure) rather than part of the promise.

This is easy to demonstrate from the nature of the Lord’s promise to Abram. Note that twice in Exo 23 the Lord unequivocally states “I will” (“fix your boundary”; “deliver its inhabitants”).

These statements are nowhere tied to a condition of Israel’s obedience or ability.

The Lord placed these as bedrock statements of His prerogative, something on which Israel could depend. So, I dare anyone who objects to this reasoning to attempt to make the biblical case that these unconditional promises now suddenly depend on Israel’s faithfulness and/or obedience and/or military power. Such an attempt is illogical, irresponsible and biblically indefensible.

In summary: What the Lord promises unconditionally He will fulfill unconditionally.

When the Lord promised Abram (Gen 15.17-19) that extended region of land He was not merely promising to subjugate those nations to Israel while those peoples continued to maintain their national culture and identity. Rather, He promised to deliver their inhabitants to Israel which would result in their complete elimination from that land, a land that was now theirs exclusively.

Only in this way would that land be considered national Israel rather than merely a demonstration of Israel’s military power. That land would “become” Israel because there would be nothing left of its original peoples and cultures to challenge and/or corrupt it. At whatever future time this covenant of Gen 15 is to be fulfilled, Israel’s position will be full ownership, not merely a suzerain over multiple nations.

The Fulfillment of the LORD’s Promise to King David

In chapter 6 I detailed from 2 Sam 7.8-29 and 1 Chr 17.7-15 that the fulfillment of the LORD’s promise to King David can be fulfilled only in the person of the Lord Christ when He returns to rule Israel and the earth. He is the promised Lord of David of Psa 110, David's royal Son.

Long ago, during the time of Ezekiel the prophet, the LORD said:

Eze 5.5
Thus says the Lord God, ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her.’

The text goes on to relate the continued disobedience of national Israel—something for which they would be severely punished. But it doesn’t change the fact that the LORD has a master plan for Jerusalem (as I presented in chapter 5). Jerusalem will be the city from which the Lord Christ will rule all.

I close this chapter with citations from what I like to term the Millennial Psalms: these are psalms written in anticipation of the coming rule of the King of the Earth, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Psa 96.1-3,10-13
Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
…
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.”
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.

Psa 97.1,4-6,9
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.
…
His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.
…
For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

Psa 98.1-3,7-9
O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
…
Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy
Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with equity.

Psa 99.1-3
The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
Let them praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is He.

Psa 100.1-2
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.

Note that Psalm 2 also belongs in this list (and as I've pointed out earlier in this article, documents the fact that the Lord Christ returns to a hostile planet):

Psa 2
Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
“But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”
Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

The Lord Christ will rule Israel and the earth! It is an unconditional promise the LORD made centuries ago that cannot and will not be thwarted, in spite of the nonsense babblings of the Amillennialist.