At the Pentecost following our Lord's resurrection, Israel was on the ascendency; the kingdom promised by Jesus was on track to becoming a spiritual and political reality, with Peter
leading the way. But then the religious establishment killed James by the sword, stoned Stephen, and exiled Peter to Babylon. What happened to the kingdom? God was making way for a new evangel to be heralded among the nations through Paul.
If, at the beginning of "the era of the nations" in the first century, Israel diminished while the body of Christ increased, should we expect to find the opposite trend as the time for the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant draws near? Here is the answer. (Bonus political comments included.)
