Teacher Leon Emmanuel

The Four Elements of a Kingdom • The Kingdom of God properly begins with Genesis 1:1, "In the

beginning God created the heavens and the earth.“ • The Kingdom of God includes anything and everything that God

created, because He owns what He creates. • The Kingdom includes not only heaven, but earth as well. • Sin and death invaded the earthly portion of God's Kingdom, and

perhaps also the heavens themselves. But this is a temporary problem that God has been resolving since the beginning.

• It was incorporated into the divine plan from the beginning. • Every kingdom must have four basic elements in order to be called

a kingdom. It has to have a king, citizens, laws, and territory. • History is the story of the formation and development of the

Kingdom of God from a seed to a mighty tree that covers the whole earth.

The king • The first king of the earth was Adam. We read in Gen. 1:26 • The Hebrew article and particle, making it read "man" in general,

instead of Adam specifically. • Gen. 2:7 uses the Hebrew term, eth ha-awdawm, which means

"this same man Adam." • The first Adam was given the Dominion Mandate, which made

him the legitimate king of the earth. • His kingship was conditional upon remaining subject to the

Creator and Owner of all things. • Adam was given authority, but God retained sovereignty over His

creation. • When Adam sinned, he became mortal.

Paul says in Rom. 5:12, "so death [mortality] passed into all men, on which all sin“

(literal translation).

The king.... • Death and sin created a problem with King Adam. • The Dominion Mandate was one of two mandates which formed

the Birthright itself. 1. crown would have to next generations in history. 2. The other was the Fruitfulness Mandate, given in Gen. 1:26,

which said, "Be fruitful and multiply.“ • Birthright has more to do with the citizens of the Kingdom than

with the King. • In later years, the Birthright was partitioned to Jacob's sons. • Judah was given the Dominion Mandate (Gen. 29:10), while

Joseph was given the Fruitfulness Mandate (Gen. 49:22). • God instructed Moses to give Levi the priesthood (Deut. 33:8;

Num. 1:50).

The king... • Chron. 5:1, 2, Scepter was given to Judah, but that "the birthright

belonged to Joseph.“ • Birthright were destined to be re-united in Christ. 1. He came the first time of the tribe of Judah and specifically of the

seed of David in order to qualify lawfully to receive the Dominion Mandate.

2. His work on the Cross, along with His resurrection and ascension to the throne, qualified Him to be the High Priest--not of Levi, but of a greater order of priesthood, that of Melchizedek.

3. In His second coming, He comes as Joseph to qualify as the recipient of the Birthright as well. Rev. 19:13 that "He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood."

• This second coming is important, because it completes the work begun in His first appearance. Without a second coming, He would not be able to receive the Birthright of Joseph.

The king Challege 1. The first major challenger was Nimrod, who was the first to

conquer men and form a rival kingdom, which was called Babylon. • Nimrod wanted to be that Messiah. • Shem, then, left Nimrod's Babylonian Kingdom, traveling West to

the land of Canaan. • There he built a city which he called Salem, "Peace," or Jeru-

Salem, "City of Peace," and set up his throne there under the title of Melchizedek, "King of Righteousness.“

• These two rival kingdoms, then, became the archetypes of the historical conflict between Mystery Babylon and the New Jerusalem.

2. David's throne was challenged by Absalom, who thought that he could qualify for the throne as a son of David. But Absalom was a usurper, and his character proved him to be unworthy of the Dominion Mandate.

The king challenge • The story of David and Absalom was replayed in the story of the

New Testament when the chief priests usurped the throne of Christ.

• David had a "second coming" in which Absalom was deposed and killed, so also will Jesus Christ have a "second coming," in which the usurpers will be deposed and their counterfeit kingdom destroyed.

• Christ will come as Joseph to re-unite the Birthright with the Scepter.

• At that time, the Kingdom of God will have not only a King, but also the manifested Sons of God, the first fruits of creation (James 1:18), who will rule under Christ. These will be given immortality and incorruption in the "first resurrection.“

• THE KINGDOM, Its King is Jesus; its citizens are those who believe in Him and the work He did on the cross; its laws are written in Scripture; and its territory is everything that God created in the heavens and in the earth.

The Citizens • The Kingdom of God has citizens who are those who serve God and

the King that He has appointed to rule the earth. • In the time of David, the majority of the tribe of Judah joined with

Absalom and either supported or acquiesced in the overthrow of David. The same occurred in Jesus' day.