text: The expectation, or at least one expectation, in Messianic times was that God would establish a kingdom on Earth. The imperial oppressors of Israel would be vanquished, the twelve tribes would be reunited, and all would be well. It's clear from Paul's letters and the synoptics that the earliest Christ followers believed the Day of the Lord would occur in their lifetimes. As the Parousia was ever delayed, the kingdom relocated from of this world to not of this world.