Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals how He is bringing glory to Himself through building His intended Kingdom, which consists of the humans whom God created, in the place that God created for them, under God's rule, and with God's blessing. This occurs in eight successive stages (five in the Old Testament and three in the New Testament):

In the Old Testament we see: 

1. The pattern of the kingdom: The Garden of Eden. This is the world created as God wanted it to be. God’s people -- Adam and Eve -- live in God’s place -- Eden -- under His rule and blessing as they submit to His word.

2. The perished kingdom: After the Fall (when Adam and Eve disobey God and sin), we see this kingdom die as humans are no longer His people, living in His place, under His rule and blessing. Instead, they are now spiritually dead and live in a cursed world. As a result of Adam’s one sin, death and condemnation are brought to all humans, so that they are born under God’s wrath and are in need of salvation. Genesis 3-11 unfolds this in graphic detail with Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, and the tower of Babel.

3. The promised kingdom: In His sovereign grace, God chooses Abraham in Genesis 12 and makes an unconditional promise to Him to re-establish the kingdom through his descendants, who will be God’s people, living in God’s place (the Promised Land), under God’s rule and blessing and also being a source of blessing to the entire world. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all die without having entered the Promised Land. At the beginning of Exodus, God’s people are not in God’s place, but in Egypt under slavery, and they are not under God’s rule, but under Pharaoh’s rule.

4. The partial kingdom: In the Passover and Exodus, God frees His people, calls them His own, and gives them His law so that they might live under His rule and blessing. God’s blessing is marked by His manifest presence with them in the tabernacle. Then, under Joshua, they enter the Promised Land, and later,. under David and Solomon, reach their peak with Jerusalem as the capital with the glorious temple. It is God’s people, living in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing, but not the total promise given to Abraham. David was still a sinner and his household suffered. It was the height of an earthly kingdom, but yet still only an imperfect, partial kingdom.

5. The prophesied kingdom: After Solomon died, his son caused the fracturing of the nation to divide into civil war and form two kingdoms -- Israel and Judah. Both kingdoms are taken over by Gentile enemies, and Judah is forced into 70 years of exile in Babylon. During this time, God raises up prophets to announce the coming Kingdom where God will finally place His chosen King (Christ as God incarnate) on the throne. The Old Testament ends with the nation back in the land, not restored to its glory under David, but looking forward to a day when God would institute a new covenant that would replace their hearts of stone with hearts of flesh.

In the New Testament, we see the next three stages: 

6. The present kingdom: God's Son Jesus comes in the fullness of time, born of a virgin, as the true King and successor of David, and preaches that the gospel of the Kingdom has now arrived. He inaugurates the Kingdom by His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection. The Kingdom of God is now where He rules His people through the gospel as the resurrected Christ. But it is still not the fullness of the kingdom. Jesus has ascended to heaven and given us the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower us to announce the Kingdom of God.

7. The proclaimed kingdom: Since Jesus' ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we as Christ's people are now to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom to all creation until Jesus returns.

8. The perfected kingdom: Jesus returns in glory, the dead are raised and judged, those saved by faith in Christ live eternally in His presence, and the unsaved are eternally condemned.

April 03 2023 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jared Bannister

God sends prophets to speak His word into the people’s lives. 

Eventually, God reveals Himself in a more tangible way when He sends Jesus Christ—His only begotten son—to earth (John 3:16). Through Jesus’ life and ministry, we see how much He loves us despite our sinfulness. We witness his miracles and teachings as well as his ultimate sacrifice on the cross for our salvation (Matthew 27-28). After conquering death through resurrection, Jesus ascends back to heaven where he intercedes for us before the Father (Acts 1:9-11). The Bible then concludes with Revelation, a book of prophetic visions that describe what will happen at the end of time when God brings all things together in perfect harmony. 

This narrative arc is not only seen throughout individual books but also within each Testament itself; both Old & New Testaments are divided into two parts—the Law & Prophets in the former; Gospels & Epistles in the latter—which gives readers an even deeper understanding of this grand story being told by Scripture. By studying these texts closely we can gain insight into why certain events occurred or how they fit within the overall plan of redemption set forth by God himself! Ultimately, it's clear that while there may be many different interpretations and applications to draw from these writings, their core message remains consistent throughout - love conquers all.

Regards,
Jared,
https://timelessmaze.com/

April 07 2023 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report