Just before the second coming of Christ, God will send a full-orbed gospel message that will "lighten the earth with glory"

Solomon, the great king of Israel who built the world's most magnificent building, the Jerusalem temple, was reputed to be the wisest man in the world. Under his royal administration, the kingdom of Israel reached the apex of its glory; it came near to fulfilling the promise that God made to Israel's "father" Abraham, that "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).

Just before the second coming of Christ, God will send a full-orbed gospel message that will "lighten the earth with glory" and everyone on earth whose heart begins to respond to God's love will "come out of Babylon" and be a part of modern "Israel" (Rev. 18:1-4). Solomon's glorious reign prefigured that final victory for God's gospel. From that Solomonic dizzying height of national prestige, Israel would have a thousand years to traverse in history before they hit their nadir in shameful apostasy--so low that they murdered their Messiah. Israel's story is the tragic saga of all time.

Solomon himself encapsulated it in his own life; he fell to an abysmal low and nearly brought the kingdom to disaster before he died. His last royal successor, Zedekiah, died in painful, blinded humiliation as a captive in jail in Babylon--the last sight he ever saw with his eyes being the murder of his sons (Jer. 52:10). Never has the world known such a dynasty tragedy--from such grandeur to such ignominy. Read Jeremiah 52 and Matthew 27!

What went wrong?

The seeds of failure began anciently, just as Israel was coming out of Egypt: in a national vote they rejected God's new covenant and instituted the old covenant (Ex. 19:1-8). From then on, it was old covenant all the way to Calvary. Solomon's prayer of dedication at the temple (1 Kings 8) was a litany, begging God to "hear from heaven and forgive" the continual, repeated apostasy of Israel. Failure was expected because it was built-in!

Must the same pattern be repeated by the church in these last days? Yes, unless the new covenant can be permitted to replace the old (see Gal. 4:24). But God's Good News promise is that He will give to His church the repentance of the ages, which will restore the new covenant (Zech. 12:10-13:1; Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8). In this issue, God's honor is at stake!