The New Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Student Workbook, SW13

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T H E N E W T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

7. Isa. 9.6-7

8. Dan. 4.34

9. Dan. 7.14

10. Dan. 7.27

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

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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.