Biblical history is unique in that significant parts come to us in two ways. First, there is the promise. Then, there is the fulfillment. Another way to think about this is echoes that grow stronger, not weaker. Normally, when we shout or clap loudly in certain places, echoes repeat the sound, always becoming weaker. The Bible has the opposite kind of echo. At first, we hear a distant promise, then we hear it again and again in various ways, each adding some clarity. Then, finally, the reality arrives, making sense of all that went before.
The kingdom of God is a case in point. Moses’ writings promised kings from the family line of Jacob and Judah (Genesis 35:11; 49:10). Later, God promised to build King David’s “house” or royal dynasty (2 Samuel 7:13, 16; Psalm 89:36). Later yet, the prophets foresaw a specific branch (descendant) of King David—“He shall reign as king and deal wisely…. In His days Judah will be saved” (Jeremiah 23:5-6 cf. Isaiah 9:7; 11:1).
When would the kingdom come? Daniel pointed to four successive kingdoms from his time, and of the fourth he predicted, “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). Daniel identified the first three as Babylon, Persia and Greece. After those came Rome.