Peace and True Economics will be the Condition of Life
Christ’s universal rule will dispense with war, so that peace shall at last prevail. He will introduce a new economic system, providing adequate opportunity for all, for various nation’s ”merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing” (Isaiah 23:18). His divine system, which will provide for man’s material needs as well as his spiritual requirements, shall eliminate want and rivalry It will dispense justice and mercy towards all without partiality (Micah 4:1-4; Isaiah 11:1- 3).

A new educational system, based on divine truth, shall replace the present inadequate system. Children will be taught the fear and admonition of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:7; Malachi 4:6), with the result that juvenile delinquency shall cease; every evil traffic, every degrading vice, will be eradicated: ”The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful (Isaiah 32:2-6).

An Unmistakable Sign of Christ’s Imminent Coming
Christ’s second coming should not be considered as something yet remote. The signs that it is near at hand are clear and obvious. Pre-eminently among these is the sign of Israel. The Bible presents the restoration of the Jews to their land, and the modern revival of the nation of Israel as a sign of Christ’s coming. Consider the threefold prophecy of Ezekiel 37:21-22: ”I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; and I will Make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all” (Ezekiel 37:21, 22).

The prophecy requires three progressive stages:
[a] Return of the people;
[b] Revival of the nation;
[c] Restoration of the monarchy.
Two parts of the prophecy have had token fulfilment, and the third is yet to occur.

Who is the promised king? Listen to the message of God given to Mary the mother of the Lord: ”Thou shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). Clear, unequivocal language. It requires the preservation of the Jews (called in this verse ”the house of Jacob”) as a people, and their revival as a nation in preparation for Christ’s return. Notice that the evidence of Christ’s is linked with the modern revival of Israel: ”When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory” (Psalm 102:16). Again: ”I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first” (Jeremiah 33:7). Obviously the revival of Israel is an integral part in the purpose of God.

The phrase ”at the first,” refers to the time when Israel was constituted a nation of twelve tribes with its capital in Jerusalem, where ”the throne of David” was established. If Christ is to be given ”the throne of his father David” as promised, it must be restored again - in Jerusalem. And that is exactly what is to follow the return of Christ to the earth, for the Bible claims of Christ: ”I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up; that the residue of men might seek after the Lord” (Acts 15:16-17).

Thus Christ will return to establish his power in Jerusalem, as the nucleus of his rule that shall extend to the ends of the earth. The Jews at present in the land will be humbled and disciplined, and compelled to accept the Lord Jesus as their Messiah: ”They (the Jews) shall look upon me (the Christ) whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son.” (Zechariah 12:10). They shall mourn their past blindness: the folly and ignorance that led them to reject their Messiah, almost 2,000 years ago. Their repentance leads to their conversion and the forgiveness of their national sins in a new covenant in Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-36).

Israel’s Full Restoration Yet to Come
Today, Israel occupies an increasingly important place in the counsels of the world’s governments. Although it is obvious that the Jews are in the land to stay, people little realise the full significance of what is taking place! Israel is more than a Jewish foothold in the Middle East: it is a modern miracle destined to have world-shaking effects, with drastic changes to the way of life of every person on the earth.

The remarkable revival of Israel in spite of all the obstacles it has had to surmount, and the bitter opposition it has experienced, is God’s greatest witness of modern times.

At present, however, Israel comprises only a tiny strip of territory along the Mediterranean seaboard with a population of about six million people. Through incredible hardship and unremitting toil, a measure of fertility has been brought to the one-time arid soil. And whilst this is in fulfilment of Bible prophecy, it is only a token of the full restoration which awaits Christ’s return. The apostle Paul taught: ”There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob,” so that ”all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26).

By ”all Israel” is meant the twelve tribes. By this restoration of its ancient political constitution the nation shall be completely rebuilt as ”in the days of old” (Amos 9:11). As it was then divided into twelve tribes, so it will be when restored by Christ. The regathered families will be separated into twelve tribes, and established in the land as outlined in the last chapter of Ezekiel’s prophecy, as illustrated on page 12. However, the nation has never been established in the land in this way, it must still be future. At that time, it shall be placed under the authority of the twelve resurrected and glorified apostles. The Lord Jesus promised them: ”Ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

THE PROMISED LAND
The borders of the various cantonments allocated to the twelve tribes of Israel for occupation during Christ’s reign on earth, according to Ezekiel 48. In Genesis 15:18 the northern and southern borders of the land promised Abraham are the Euphrates and the Nile. Each of the apostles was promised a place of authority over one of the tribes (Matthew 19:28). Such prophecies and promises illustrate how tangibly related to the earth are the facts concerning Christ’s coming reign.