Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 1:33

"and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." — Luke 1:33 (ASV)

He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever.—Here, again, the apparent promise is that of a kingdom restored to Israel such as the disciples expected even after the Resurrection (Acts 1:6). It needed to be interpreted by events before people could see that it was fulfilled in the history of Christendom as the true Israel of God (Romans 9:6; Galatians 6:16).

Of his kingdom there shall be no end.—The words of St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:24–28, seem at first to point to a limit of time when the kingdom of the Christ will end, but a closer study of his meaning shows that he is speaking of that kingdom as involving contest with the hostile forces of evil. The exercise of sovereignty may, in this sense, cease when all conflict is over, but it ceases by being perfected, not by passing away like earthly kingdoms. The delegated or mediatorial headship of the Christ is merged in the absolute unity of the monarchy of God.