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The Kingdom and the Old Testament


                       This passage adds these five facts about the Messiah: (1) He will be a
                   “righteous Branch,” (2) He will be a king, (3) He will reign wisely and do
                    what is just and right, (4) He will bring salvation and safety to Judah, and
                    (5) His name will be called “the LORD our Righteousness.”


                       Daniel spoke vividly of the Messiah’s future reign. We have already
                    talked about how he interpreted one of King
                    Nebuchadnezzar’s  dreams.  On  another
                    occasion,  the  king  had  a  second  dream.  In
                    this  dream,  he  saw  a  great  statue  with  a    The final
                    head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly       kingdom will
                    and thighs of bronze, and feet of iron mixed
                    with clay. Then the king saw a rock that was        be eternal
                   “cut out, but not by human hands.” The rock          and universal.
                    struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay.
                    As a result, the great statue was broken into
                    thousands of pieces and carried away by the
                    wind. The rock then grew into a great mountain that filled the whole
                    earth (Daniel 2:31–35).


                       God revealed to Daniel the meaning of the king’s dream. The different
                    parts of the statue represented different kingdoms that were to appear
                    in  human  history.  They  will  all  come  to  nothing.  The  final  kingdom,
                    however, will be eternal and universal. The stone that destroyed the other
                    kingdoms, and grew into a kingdom that filled the earth, is a kingdom
                    that God will establish. It is the kingdom of the Messiah, and it will endure
                    forever (v. 44).

                       Today, we know that Jesus is the Messiah who will sit on the throne
                    of David and will rule the nations as King of kings and Lord of lords
                    (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16).



                                     Intertestamental Views of the Kingdom

                       The period between the Old and New Testaments is known as the
                    intertestamental  period.  During  that  time,  the  Jews  clung  to  the  Old
                    Testament  promises  concerning  the  coming  Messiah.  They  believed
                    that Messiah would come and deliver them from Gentile domination.
                    They looked for Him to come in great power, overthrow the Gentiles,

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