When the Patriarch Jacob was nearing the end of his life, he gathered all his sons together and prophesied unto them about the future which would affect them as individuals, and the generations after them. This was to be the future that shaped their lives and the nation Israel as we know it, he said; “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days” (Genesis 49:1). One by one he prophesied unto them from Reuben the first born to Benjamin the last born. When he came to Judah, he said something striking, he said; “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). By this he meant that, kingship over the nation would remain in the line of Judah until Shiloh comes. Shiloh means the one whom the kingship belongs to, and this man, brothers and sister is Jesus the Messiah.
About 1800 years later, the Angel Gabriel appears to a virgin girl named Mary, and says to her; “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33). The birth of Jesus meant that the Shiloh which Jacob prophesied about 1800 BC had now come, the one whom all the gathering of the people shall be.
When Jesus came to this world, he came in humility, he identified himself with man, and became one like us. But when he comes again the second time, his kingdom is coming in great power. In his first advent, he came to establish a spiritual kingdom which is currently reigning in our hearts, but in the second advent, he is coming to establish a global rule over the nations of the world. Just like Jacob prophesied, “unto him shall the gathering of the people be”. This world will not continue like this forever, Jesus is coming back to overthrow the governments of this world. He is coming to setup a new government which will rule this world for 1000 years. He will physically be in Jerusalem, and he will rule over the nations with iron sceptre. Daniel saw this in a vision and wrote; In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)
