Syllabus; Introduction & Lesson One; Lesson Two; Lesson Three; Lesson Four; Lesson Five; Lesson Seven; Lesson Eight
Lesson 6
Immediately after the first man sinned, the promise was made that Someone was coming. To the devil who tempted and caused the fall of man, God said:
1.“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your _____ , and you shall bruise His ______ ." (Genesis 3:15)
This verse is saying that the children of the devil would war against Christ, who would be a descendent of Adam and Eve. This is a prophecy that Christ would be bruised but not defeated at the crucifixion. He would be raised in triumph in three days.
This event would bruise the head of Satan. Christ’s resurrection was a triumphant beginning of something very wonderful, while at the same time it meant the beginning of the end for Satan. After Christ arose He began His church. He received His kingdom. He offered salvation from sin; salvation from the eternal Hell created for the devil and his angels.
God plucked Israel from all the other nations of His creation and gave her a Law and a promise. Through a very small and weak nation God would show His power. Through Israel would come our Savior, our Lord, our King.
2. I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, ___ _____ _____ ; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel…and destroy all the sons of tumult. (Numbers 24:17)
Someone was coming but He was not near.
Throughout the Old Testament we can read prophecies of the coming Someone who would have an everlasting kingdom, a dominion, a scepter. If we were to consider each one, it would make our lesson very long. (Here is a list of a few if you would like to study them on your own: Psalm 22:22-31, Isaiah 9:6-11,Isaiah 11, Isaiah 35)
Keep in mind that all prophecies in the Old Testament speaks in future tense of Someone and of His Kingdom.
For the sake of time and brevity we will only look at one prophecy concerning the coming of the kingdom of Christ and it is found in Psalm 72:
3. Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the _____ ______ . (verse 1)
4.
He will _____ Your people with righteousness and Your poor
with justice. (verse 2)
5. He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of
the needy, and will break in pieces the __________ . (verse
4)
6.
They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure (His
kingdom will exist before the end of time),
Throughout ____ _________ . (verse 5)
7. In His days the righteous shall flourish, and _______ _____ ______ , until the moon is no more (This indicates before the end of time). (verse 7)
8.
He shall have ____ also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the
earth (His
dominion will encompass all people, not just one nation as did the time of the
Old Law). (verse 8)
9.
Those who dwell in the wilderness will ____ ____ ____,
and His enemies will lick the dust (His
kingdom would draw in those outside the Israelite nation, those out in the
wilderness, so to speak). (verse 9)
10. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall _____ ___
. (verse 11)
11.
He will spare the poor and needy, and will ____ ____
____ of the needy. (verse 13)
12.
He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious
shall be ____ ________ in His sight. (verse 14)
13.
And He shall live; …Prayer also will be made for Him continually (in
His kingdom prayers are made for the advancement and prosperity of His kingdom,
also that He will come again. As John prayed in Revelations 22:20: “Even so,
come, Lord Jesus!”), and daily He _____ ___
______ . (verse 15)
14. His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun (“forever” and “as long as the sun” mean the same thing, which is until the end of time. His name will continue until the end of time means that His authority will last until then. This corresponds with and is in agreement with 1 Cor.15:28 which says He will surrender His authority to the Father at the end of time. The word “name” here means “authority”. Have you ever heard in an old movie, “Open up in the name (authority) of the law!”) And men shall be blessed in Him; ____ ______ shall call Him blessed. (verse 17)
Isaiah prophesied of the birth of the Savior:
15. Therefore the ____ _______ will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) (“Immanuel” means God With Us.)
This prophecy was fulfilled when Mary gave birth to Jesus:
16. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the _______ of His father David. 33And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His ______ there will be no end." (Luke 1:31-33)
Notice that the kingdom is still foretold in the future tense.
John the Baptist was born. He grew up and began to preach that the kingdom was at hand (or near). Remember, in Numbers we read that the kingdom was not near. Much time passed from the time Numbers was written and the ministry of John the Baptist. God raised up John to prepare the way of Jesus and to tell everyone that the kingdom was soon to come.
17. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is __ _____ !" (Matt. 3:1-2)
Jesus grew up and he too began to preach that His kingdom was at hand:
18. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “_______ , for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt.4:17)
His disciples, who followed Him while He lived on earth, thought that He was going to set up an earthly kingdom. This is what He taught them:
19.
. Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not ____
____ ______. If My kingdom were of this world,
My servants would fight, so that I should not be
delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."
(John
18:36)
Some people today believe that He is going to come back to this earth and establish a physical Kingdom in Jerusalem and that He will be sitting on an earthly throne. But His kingdom is not of this world.
When He was living on the earth, He taught that His kingdom was “at hand”.
20. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven ___ ____ _______." (Matthew 4:17)
“At hand” means “near”.
How soon would “at hand” take place? Christ narrows it down to within a specific time frame:
21.. And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some _____ ______ who will not taste death till they ____ the kingdom of God present with power." (Mark 9:1)
From this verse we understand that the kingdom would come within their lifetime. It would be in their presence and it would come with power.
Christ told Peter that He would give him the keys to the entrance of His Kingdom:
22. And I will ____ _____ the ______ of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)
From this we can conclude that Peter would open the door to the kingdom. He would be able to go into the kingdom and so would all those who followed him thru that Door.
When and where did Peter receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven?
Peter and the other Apostles were told by Jesus just before He ascended into Heaven to go to Jerusalem and wait until they received power from on High:
23. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to ____ ______ , beginning at Jerusalem. 48And you are witnesses of these things. 49Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are _____ _____ _______ from on high." (Luke 24:46-49)
Interesting to note: We see the words “with power” again. Christ said that some would see His kingdom present “with power” and now He is telling the apostles that they would be endued “with power”. The two thoughts are connected as we will see.
It is important for us to understand the whole setting after Jesus departs from the Apostles to ascend back to Heaven. The Apostles go to Jerusalem as they were instructed and something very significant happens to Jesus at very the same time. Let’s take a look at what takes place from Heaven’s viewpoint when Jesus ascends back to Heaven. The Apostles saw Him leave in the clouds. Those in Heaven saw Him coming in the clouds and then what happened next?
24. I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, ______ with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a _______, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)
We see here that Christ was given His kingdom when He ascended back to Heaven. Remember, Jesus told the disciples that His kingdom was at hand. He also, told Peter that He would give him the keys to His kingdom. Now, we understand that He then received His kingdom from the Father. The Apostles were waiting in Jerusalem. Then came the Day of Pentecost:
25. When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the ____ ______ and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
This is the “with power” that Jesus referred to in the two passages that we considered. Some did not die until they saw the Kingdom come “with power” and Christ told the Apostles that they would be endued “with power” in Jerusalem. This tells us that this is the moment the Kingdom arrived on earth. Remember Christ told Peter he would give him the keys (or means of entrance) to the Kingdom. Peter began to speak and from his mouth comes the keys to the Kingdom which he had just received:
26."Men and brethren, let me _____ freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,31he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the__________ ____ ________, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. (Acts 2:29-31)
What Peter had said so far was that David, who was dead and buried, prophesied that Christ would be one of his descendents. David also said that when Christ arose from the dead He would be raised to sit on the throne of His kingdom.
27."Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both_____ ____ ______ ." (Acts 2:36)
We see two words indicating Christ’s authority within the first few statements Peter made after receiving the keys to the kingdom: throne and Lord (one to be served).
28. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren,_____ ____ ____ ______ ?" (Acts 2:37)
29. Then Peter said to them, "________ , and let every one of you be ______in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)
Peter revealed the keys (or the way to get in) to the Kingdom of God. To get into the Kingdom, they had to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.
30. And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be ______ from this perverse generation." 41Then those who gladly received his word______ _________; and that day about three thousand souls were _______ to them. (Acts 2:40-41)….
31. And they continued steadfastly in the ________ ________ and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)….
32. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the ________ . (Acts 2:43)
33. ….And the Lord ______ to the church (or the called out) daily those who were being _______. (Acts 2:47)
Those who were saved were added to the church, or Christ’s Kingdom. The church and the kingdom are the same.
Let’s Review:
34. In what book do we read the first prophecy of the coming of Christ?
35. What did John the Baptist preach concerning the kingdom?
36. What did Christ preach concerning the kingdom?
37. What did Peter preach on the Day of Pentecost concerning the Kingdom?
Our
Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
Your will be done On earth as it is in
heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As
we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom
And the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matthew 6:9-15)
Syllabus; Introduction & Lesson One; Lesson Two; Lesson Three; Lesson Four; Lesson Five; Lesson Seven; Lesson Eight