Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

156 / CORNERSTONE CURRICULUM STUDENT WORKBOOK

of miracles, Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom present, and demonstrated its reality in his healings and exorcisms. Our objective for this lesson, The Messiah Opposed: Opposition from Spiritual Forces , is to enable you to see that: • The Jewish concept of the Kingdom of God at the time of Jesus was rooted in the power and glory of the nation of Israel, and the hope of Israel to defeat their oppressing Gentile powers. • The Jewish concept further understood the Messiah as one who would come in mighty and awesome power, restoring the Kingdom of God in the material universe, and in a decisive moment of salvation would liberate humankind from the control of Satan. • Jesus’ view of the Kingdom conflicted with his contemporaries in that Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom to be present in his very person and works of power, demonstrated in his healings and exorcisms. • As the true – albeit unexpected – Messiah, Jesus opposed those underlying spiritual powers which have held the world and humanity captive since the fall. • Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the kingdom promise, and therefore as Messiah opposes the effects of the curse and the works of the kingdom of darkness.

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B i b l i ca l S tud i e s

I. Background of the Jewish Concept of the Kingdom of God

Video Outline

A. “Kingdom” in the ancient world

1. “ Kingdom ” at the time of Jesus in that milieu meant “lordship,” “rule,” “reign,” or “sovereignty.”

2. Sovereignty of God or Rule of God = Kingdom of God

3. In most Jewish sources, “ Kingdom of God ” and “ Kingdom of heaven ” both refer to God’s reassertion of his rule over his creation (Dan 7.27).

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