CHAPTER 1 Old Testament Prophecies of a Coming King
The following Old Testament passages of scripture prophesied
of a coming king who would sit on the throne of David in an
everlasting kingdom:
1. 2 Sam. 7:12 "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou
shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after
thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will
establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my
name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for
ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he
commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and
with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy
shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom
I put away before thee. 16 And thine house and thy kingdom
shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall
be established for ever. 17 According to all these words,
and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto
David."
Acts 2:29-36 verifies the fulfillment of this prophecy as
being Christ: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto
you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried,
and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being
a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to
him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing
this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his
soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see
corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all
are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God
exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see
and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but
he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my
right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath
made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and
Christ."
2. Dan. 2:37 "Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the
God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and
strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men
dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven
hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over
them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee
shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another
third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch
as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as
iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and
bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part
of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the
iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry
clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and
part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and
partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with
miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of
men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron
is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the
kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone
was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake
in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the
gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall
come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.
The fourth kingdom is the Roman empire. The prophecy was in
the days of the Roman empire the God of heaven would set up
a kingdom that would never be destroyed or left to other
people.
3. Is. 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty
God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it,
and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will
perform this."
4. Zec 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he
is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an
ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."
The prophecy in 2 Samuel which was verified in Acts chapter
2 shows that Christ is the fulfillment of that prophecy and
that he was sitting as the king at the time of the writing
of the book of Acts. The prophecy in Daniel indicates that
Christ would reign in the kingdom of God beginning in the
days of the Roman Empire. The prophecy in Zechariah shows
us that Christ came as a king when he ascended to Jerusalem
riding on an ass. Thus, the above passages show us that
Christ is the king of the kingdom of heaven and that he
established that kingdom while he walked in a human body
here on earth.
CHAPTER 2 Old Testament Prophecies
of a Coming Kingdom
It is a truth that you cannot have a king without a
kingdom. Nor can you have a kingdom without a king.
Previously we had examined some Old Testament prophecies of
a coming King. Now in association with the coming king we
will examine some Old Testament prophecies of a coming
kingdom.
Jer_31:31,32
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their
fathers in the day that
I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of
Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an
husband unto them, saith the LORD: “ The covenant that God
made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah when he
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt
was a kingdom covenant. In that covenant he established
Israel as a kingdom with God as king. This prophecy is of
another kingdom and is quoted in Hebrews chapter 8 and
Hebrews chapter 10.
Dan_2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and
the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume
all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for
ever.”
This prophecy in the book of Daniels speaks of a coming
kingdom to be established in the days of the Roman Empire.
This coming kingdom was to stand for ever and never be
destroyed and to break in pieces and consume all the
previous four kingdoms.
The following passages speak of both a coming king that
would be of the seed of David and a coming kingdom that
would be established forever:
1. 2Sa_7:12, 13 “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou
shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after
thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will
establish) his
kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will
stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”
2. 2Sa_7:16 “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be
established for ever
before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”
3. 1Ch_17:11 “And it shall come to pass, when thy days be
expired that thou must go to be
with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee,
which shall be of thy sons;
and I will establishhis kingdom.”
4. 1Ch_17:14 “But I will settle him in mine house and in
my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for
evermore.”
Isa_9:7 “Of the increase of
his government and peace
there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of
the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Once again this
prophecy like others before it describes a king and a
kingdom that will last forever and will be established with
judgment and with justice.
CHAPTER 3 Overview of Kingdoms
While our main emphasis of this section of the bible study
will be about the Kingdom of God, yet it is good to have a
general understanding of kingdoms.
Kingdoms or nations are generally founded on a covenant.
The United States has a constitution which was a covenant
between the original 13 colonies or states. This has been
the guiding document for the nation ever since. God made a
covenant with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai when he gave
them the Ten Commandments and the children of Israel
ratified it. Likewise, the New Testament Kingdom of God has
a new covenant as set forth in Hebrews chapter 8.
Kingdoms or nations will have three major branches or
systems within their government. There will be the
legislative section, the executive section, and the judicial
section. Under kingdoms, much of this responsibility will
be held by the king himself. However, the king can delegate
some or most of the responsibilities to his subjects and
bodies that he has established for that purpose. Also,
these things can be spelled out in the covenant that
establishes the kingdom.
Almost always there will be a governing or capital city
where the king reigns and where the government is executed.
In the United States, of course, this is Washington, D.C.
Beginning with King David, Jerusalem became the capital city
for Israel. In the New Testament kingdom, the capital city
is known as New Jerusalem, which is a name representative of
the Lord’s Church.
Within the framework of legislation in a kingdom, laws are
given to govern the people and to govern the operation of
the government. God gave the laws to the children of
Israel. He did this through his servant Moses. These laws
and ordinances were to govern the people and to govern the
operation of the affairs of their government.
Within the framework of the executive duties in a kingdom,
certain offices and responsibilities are spelled out to
execute the laws and ordinances in the kingdom. God gave to
Israel 12 princes and 70 elders initially to serve as an
executive and judicial arm of that kingdom. Also, God later
gave judges unto Israel who served over the executive and
judicial functions of the government. The 12 and 70 later
became known as the Sanhedrin Court or Council.
All kingdoms have a ruling King. Initially God was the King
over Israel. Later the people asked for a king like unto
the other nations and God gave them Saul to be their king.
When Saul rebelled God gave them David and then his sons to
be the kingly line in Israel.
All kingdoms have a dominion or territory of which the
kingdom exists and over which the king rules.
All kingdoms will have an army or military for defense and
to fight the battles of the king and his people. God gave
to the children of Israel the parameters by which men of a
certain age were to be soldiers in the army and also God
gave certain individuals to be captain of the host.
There are citizens of kingdoms over which the king rules.
Moreover, there is generally a pathway to citizenship to
those strangers who come to dwell among the citizens of the
kingdom.
In the Old Testament days, the king or kingdom had its own
god that it worshipped and an organizational structure under
which the worship was directed. God gave Israel the office
of the High Priest, the priesthood, and sacrifices and
ordinances the children of Israel were to observe.
Moreover, there was originally a tabernacle in which the
service and worship of God was accomplished. Later the
tabernacle was replaced by the temple in Jerusalem.
In most kingdoms, the king will have a residence known as a
palace that will be befitting of the station of the king.
King Solomon built the king’s palace after building the
temple.
The succession of the king is usually based on blood
descendants and who is the closest blood descendant of the
king. |