A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

Ses s i on 3: The Gospe l s : The Man i fes tat i on of Chr i s t , Par t I I 97

10. Dan. 7.27 – And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.

11. Much of the Jewish literature of the time of Jesus had numerous references to the idea of God’s kingdom authority (e.g., Tob. 13.1; Wisd. of Sol. 6.4; 1 Enoch 41.1, etc.).

C. The Jewish worldview of the Kingdom at the time of Jesus

This overview is a summary of a few of the basic assumptions held by Jewish believers who were contemporaries of Jesus at his first coming. These ideas are assumed to serve as the backdrop of the events and teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e., our Old Testament).

1. God is the King of all heaven and earth (as Creator of the universe, he alone possesses the absolute right to rule over all the good things he has made).

2. God’s sovereign right to rule has been contested in the universe.

a. It has been contested by “ Satan ” (= “adversary”), a spiritual being which rebelled against God’s right to rule.

b. Through the deception of Satan, humankind fell into rebellion, losing their freedom under God, and passed under the control of Satan’s rule and domination.

c. Because of their rebellion against God, human beings have passed from the Kingdom of God (God’s rule and influence) to the kingdom of Satan (the devil’s rule and influence).