SCRIPTURES: 
Old Testament 
Genesis 3:23, Genesis 6:5-6, Leviticus 18:24-27, Deuteronomy 4:27, Deuteronomy 28:15-24, Isaiah 1:10, Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 24:21, Isaiah 26:19, Isaiah 27:2-6, Isaiah 25:7-8, Isaiah 42:18-20, Isaiah 45:22-24, Isaiah 49:5-6, Isaiah 59:20, Isaiah 66:24, Jeremiah 30:3-11, Ezekiel 37:11-13, Daniel 2:44, Daniel 12:2, Hosea 3:5, Amos 9:11-12, Psalms 52:5, Ecclesiastes 7:29 
New Testament 
Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:7, Acts 15:16-18, Romans 1:21, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23

Tim Miller

Covenant

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<li>Concept of “Kingdom” assumed from Hebrew Scriptures</li>
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1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt. 3:2, ESV)
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt. 4:17, ESV)
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<li>The wages of sin</li>
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12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Rm. 5:12, HCSB)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rm. 6:23, HCSB)
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<li>Today we will set the stage for moving back into the New Testament by examining </li>
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OT BACKGROUND

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<li>Humanity: disobedience/sin unto banishment and exile
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<li>Banishment from Eden/God’s presence/God’s mountain/God’s garden</li>
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23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen. 3:23, NIV)
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<li>Banishment from the land of the living</li>
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16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Gen. 2:16-17)
5 Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died (cf. Ps. 90:3-6). (Gen. 5:5, NIV)
5 This is why God will bring you (i.e., the “mighty man” [ESV] of v. 1, who is boastful, speaks deceitfully, loves what is evil and false, etc.) down forever. He will take you, ripping you out of your tent (cf. Ps. 39:12, David the “sojourner”); He will uproot you from the land of the living. (Ps. 52:5, HCSB)
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<li>Corruption of the image of God; God no longer rightly represented by human beings</li>
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7:29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright (“to be virtuous” [NLT]; “good” [NCV]; “completely honest” [CEV]), but they have sought many evil schemes. (Ecc. 7:29, NET)
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<li>29I did learn one thing: We were completely honest when God created us, but now we have twisted minds. (Ecc. 7:29, CEV)</li>
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5 The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become (contrary to the Lord’s own goodness and character; see Ex. 34:5-7), and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (contrary to the Lord’s own character [!]; see Ex. 34:5-7). 6 The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain (or “was highly offended,” or “was embarrassed,” or “was insulted” [see NET Bible Notes, Gen. 6:6). (Gen. 6:5-6, NIV)
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<li>Humanity plunged into darkness (Kingdom of Darkness)</li>
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21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Rom. 1:21, ESV)
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<li>Israel: disobedience/sin unto banishment and exile
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<li>Banishment from the land/God’s presence</li>
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24 “Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things. 25 The land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.  26 But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable things—not the native or the foreigner who lives among you. 27 For the men who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable things, and the land has become defiled. 28 If you defile the land, it will vomit  you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. (Lev. 18:24-27, HCSB)
27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. (Dt. 4:27, HCSB)
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<li>Banishment from the land of the living</li>
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15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: … 20 The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. 24 The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. (Dt. 28:15, 20-24, NIV)
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<li>Corruption of the image of God; God no longer rightly represented by Israel</li>
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10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! (Is. 1:10, HCSB)
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<li>Israel, having been given light, falls back into darkness</li>
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42:18 “Listen, you deaf ones! Take notice, you blind ones! 42:19 My servant is truly blind, my messenger is truly deaf. My covenant partner, the servant of the Lord, is truly blind. 42:20 You see many things, but don’t comprehend; their ears are open, but do not hear.” (Is. 42:18-20, NET)

KINGDOM LOST

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<li>Israel’s return from exile</li>
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3 The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,’ says the Lord.”…7 How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. 8 “ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. 9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10 “ ‘So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. 11 I am with you and will save you,’ declares the Lord. (Jer. 30:3, 7-11, NIV)
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<li>Humanity’s return from exile; no longer banished from the mountain of God</li>
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2  It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Is. 2:2-4, ESV)
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<li>Davidic kingdom restored</li>
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9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David (“the kingdom of David, which is like a house fallen into ruins” [TEV]. I will seal its gaps, repair its ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. 9:12 As a result they will conquer those left in Edom and all the nations subject to my rule.” The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking! (Am. 9:11-12, NET)
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<li>16 “ ‘After these things I will return and restore the mighty kingdom of David, which is in shambles; I will rebuild its ruins and will restore it, 17 so that the people who survive may seek the Lord, as well as all the Gentiles who belong to me and bear my name, says the Lord, who is going to do these things,’ 18 known ‘from long ago.’ (Ac. 15:16-18 [BHT], quoting Am. 9:11-12 [LXX] and Is. 45:21)</li>
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5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king (“their Davidic king” [NET]; “the king from David’s family” [NCV]), and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. (Hos. 3:5, ESV)
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<li>Exile/banishment from the land of the living ends (through bodily resurrection)</li>
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19 But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. (Is. 26:19, NIV)
7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. (Is. 25:7-8, NIV)
1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.…11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’ ” (Ezek. 37:1, 11-13, NIV)
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<li>Image of God restored in both Jew and Gentile</li>
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5 And now the Lord says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength— 6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Is. 49:5-6, NIV)
2 In that day— “Sing about a fruitful vineyard (in contrast to Is. 5:1-7)… 6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit. (Is. 27:2, 6 NIV)
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<li>Day of wrath: God’s enemies punished and banished to Gehenna (hell/Lake of fire)</li>
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21 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. (Is. 24:21, NIV)
2 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. (Dan. 12:2, NLT)
24 “As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never go out, and they will be a horror to all mankind.” (Is. 66:24, HCSB)
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Dan. 2:44, NIV)
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<li>The Day of the Lord/Messianic Kingdom/Age to Come
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<li>The Messiah’s Kingdom = Bible’s promise of a divinely established “utopia”: no suffering, no rebellion, no sickness, no death, no injustice; right relationships on every level (between angels and humanity, between humans and animals, etc.); fully righteous leadership; etc.</li>
<li>Messianic Kingdom = Restored Kingdom of Eden and Restored Kingdom of Israel</li>
<li>Messianic Kingdom = The governmental context in which the righteous are vindicated and God’s enemies are punished/exiled/banished climatically and finally</li>
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14 “The great day of the Lord is near— near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. 15 That day will be a day of wrath…(Zeph. 1:14-15a, NIV)

PROMISED RESTORATION

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<li>Basis of inclusion: Repentance and faith 
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<li>Israel</li>
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20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord. (Is. 59:20, NIV)
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<li>The nations</li>
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22 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness (Heb. ṣeḏāqōt—“victory” [TEV]) and strength.’ ” (Is. 45:22-24, NIV)
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<li>John the Baptizer</li>
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1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt. 3:2, ESV)

THE REQUIRED RESPONSE

A People Prepared

Church

In this introduction to the series A People Prepared, we look at Jesus’ zeal for a pure Bride, as...

Jesus’ Zeal for a Pure Bride

In this session we examine some of the formative elements in John the Baptizer’s life, asking the...

Becoming Strong in Spirit

Christ/Cross

When prophesying about John the Baptizer, Zechariah, John’s father, declared that John in...

God’s Day, God’s Summons

Full Gospel

In this session, we examine and discuss the various features and components that make up any...

What Makes Up a Kingdom

Jake Paurus

Instagram

Forerunners in the Wilderness Teaching

Creation

In this session, we will examine the various elements that make up the “Kingdom of Creation.”...

Kingdom of Creation

In this session, we will examine the various elements that make up the “Kingdom of Eden.” What...

Kingdom of Eden Part 1

Curse

In this first of two sessions on the Kingdom of Darkness, we will examine some of the various...

Kingdom of Darkness Part 1

In this session we will continue examining the Kingdom of Darkness, focusing especially on Genesis...

Kingdom of Darkness Part 2

Kingdom of Darkness Part 3

In this week’s Emmaus Road Gathering, we will resume our discussion of the OT background and...

Kingdom of Israel

When John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed that the “Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt. 3:2, 4:14),...

Kingdom Promised

In this teaching, we step back into the New Testament and examine John the Baptist’s declaration...

The Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand

In Matthew 11, John the Baptizer sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus,
“Are you the one who was...

Kingdom Coming

When the angel Gabriel met with Zechariah and foretold John the Baptizer’s birth, he said that...

Delighting in the Tenth Commandment

How is “love for God” defined according to the Scriptures? In this week’s Emmaus Road...

Love As Loyalty

In this week’s Emmaus Road Gathering, we will wrap up our series on the life, message, and...

Wisdom Vindicated

God’s Day, God’s Summons Q&A/Discussion

What Makes Up a Kingdom Q&A/Discussion

Kingdom of Eden Part 2 / Q&A

When John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed that the “Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt. 3:2, 4:14), what would their audience have understood? What were they anticipating and hoping for, and why? In this week’s Emmaus Road Gathering, we will conclude our discussion of the Old Testament background to the concept of the Kingdom of God by examining God’s promise to restore the Kingdom of Eden and the Kingdom of Israel through the Messiah. We will explore this topic using the concepts and “exile” and “restoration” as our framework of analysis. We invite you to join us as we ask Jesus to come and cause our hearts to “burn within us”(Lk. 24:32) as we search the Scriptures together.