CHAPTER 1 Old Testament Prophecies of a Coming King

The following Old Testament passages of scripture prophesied of a coming king who would sit on the throne of David in an everlasting kingdom:

1.  2 Sam. 7:12 "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David."

Acts 2:29-36 verifies the fulfillment of this prophecy as being Christ: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.  Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.  For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.  Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."

2.  Dan. 2:37 "Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

The fourth kingdom is the Roman empire.  The prophecy was in the days of the Roman empire the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed or left to other people. 

3.  Is. 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

4.  Zec 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

The prophecy in 2 Samuel which was verified in Acts chapter 2 shows that Christ is the fulfillment of that prophecy and that he was sitting as the king at the time of the writing of the book of Acts.  The prophecy in Daniel indicates that Christ would reign in the kingdom of God beginning in the days of the Roman Empire.  The prophecy in Zechariah shows us that Christ came as a king when he ascended to Jerusalem riding on an ass.  Thus, the above passages show us that Christ is the king of the kingdom of heaven and that he established that kingdom while he walked in a human body here on earth. 

 

CHAPTER 2 Old Testament Prophecies of a Coming Kingdom

 It is a truth that you cannot have a king without a kingdom.  Nor can you have a kingdom without a king.  Previously we had examined some Old Testament prophecies of a coming King.  Now in association with the coming king we will examine some Old Testament prophecies of a coming kingdom.

 Jer_31:31,32  “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: “  The covenant that God made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah when he took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt was a kingdom covenant.  In that covenant he established Israel as a kingdom with God as king.  This prophecy is of another  kingdom and is quoted in Hebrews chapter 8 and Hebrews chapter 10. 

 

Dan_2:44  “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume  all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

This prophecy in the book of Daniels speaks of a coming kingdom to be established in the days of the Roman Empire.  This coming kingdom was to stand for ever and never be destroyed and to break in pieces and consume all the previous four kingdoms. 

 

The following passages speak of both a coming king that would be of the seed of David and a coming kingdom that would be established forever:

 

1.  2Sa_7:12, 13  “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish) his kingdom.  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”

2.  2Sa_7:16  “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

3.  1Ch_17:11  “And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons;  and I will establishhis kingdom.”

4.  1Ch_17:14  “But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.”         

Isa_9:7  “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,  upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,  to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”  Once again this prophecy like others before it describes a king and a kingdom that will last forever and will be established with judgment and with justice. 

 

CHAPTER 3 Overview of Kingdoms

While our main emphasis of this section of the bible study will be about the Kingdom of God, yet it is good to have a general understanding of kingdoms.

Kingdoms or nations are generally founded on a covenant.  The United States has a constitution which was a covenant between the original 13 colonies or states.  This has been the guiding document for the nation ever since.  God made a covenant with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai when he gave them the Ten Commandments and the children of Israel ratified it.  Likewise, the New Testament Kingdom of God has a new covenant as set forth in Hebrews chapter 8.

Kingdoms or nations will have three major branches or systems within their government.  There will be the legislative section, the executive section, and the judicial section.  Under kingdoms, much of this responsibility will be held by the king himself.  However, the king can delegate some or most of the responsibilities to his subjects and bodies that he has established for that purpose.  Also, these things can be spelled out in the covenant that establishes the kingdom. 

Almost always there will be a governing or capital city where the king reigns and where the government is executed.  In the United States, of course, this is Washington, D.C.  Beginning with King David, Jerusalem became the capital city for Israel.  In the New Testament kingdom, the capital city is known as New Jerusalem, which is a name representative of the Lord’s Church.

Within the framework of legislation in a kingdom, laws are given to govern the people and to govern the operation of the government.  God gave the laws to the children of Israel.  He did this through his servant Moses.  These laws and ordinances were to govern the people and to govern the operation of the affairs of their government.

Within the framework of the executive duties in a kingdom, certain offices and responsibilities are spelled out to execute the laws and ordinances in the kingdom.  God gave to Israel 12 princes and 70 elders initially to serve as an executive and judicial arm of that kingdom.  Also, God later gave judges unto Israel who served over the executive and judicial functions of the government.  The 12 and 70 later became known as the Sanhedrin Court or Council.

All kingdoms have a ruling King.  Initially God was the King over Israel.  Later the people asked for a king like unto the other nations and God gave them Saul to be their king.  When Saul rebelled God gave them David and then his sons to be the kingly line in Israel.

All kingdoms have a dominion or territory of which the kingdom exists and over which the king rules.

All kingdoms will have an army or military for defense and to fight the battles of the king and his people.  God gave to the children of Israel the parameters by which men of a certain age were to be soldiers in the army and also God gave certain individuals to be captain of the host. 

There are citizens of kingdoms over which the king rules.  Moreover, there is generally a pathway to citizenship to those strangers who come to dwell among the citizens of the kingdom.

In the Old Testament days, the king or kingdom had its own god that it worshipped and an organizational structure under which the worship was directed.  God gave Israel the office of the High Priest, the priesthood, and sacrifices and ordinances the children of Israel were to observe.  Moreover, there was originally a tabernacle in which the service and worship of God was accomplished.  Later the tabernacle was replaced by the temple in Jerusalem. 

In most kingdoms, the king will have a residence known as a palace that will be befitting of the station of the king.  King Solomon built the king’s palace after building the temple.

The succession of the king is usually based on blood descendants and who is the closest blood descendant of the king.