The Unfolding Drama of God's Reign - CHRIST- FROM BEGINNING TO END 2/7/2022 - Christ Bible Church
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2/7/2022
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The Unfolding Drama
of God’s Reign
CHRIST—FROM BEGINNING TO END
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2/7/2022
The Unfolding Drama of God’s Reign
• Act One: God Creates the Domain for His Kingdom.
• Act Two: Rebellion against God in His Kingdom.
• Act Three: The Promise of a King to Redeem God’s Kingdom from Curse.
• Act Four: The King Comes to Redeem God’s Kingdom from Curse.
• Act Five: Proclaiming News of the King’s Arrival & Ascension to His Throne.
• Act Six: The King Returns to Reign over His Kingdom.
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The Unfolding Drama
of God’s Reign
Act Three
Scene Five
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2/7/2022
ACT THREE
The Promise of a King to Redeem God’s
Kingdom from Curse
Scene Five: Prophets for Unfaithful Israel
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt, I called my son.
The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.”
Hosea 11:1‐2
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When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt, I called my son.
Hosea 11:1
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Out of Egypt, I Called My Son
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt, I called my son” (Hosea 11:1).
And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do
before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden
his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh,
‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son
go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your
firstborn son’” (Exodus 4:21‐23).
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt,
and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to
destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and
departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to
fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my
son” (Matthew 2:13‐15).
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God’s Faithfulness – Israel’s Unfaithfulness
Israel’s history is characterized by an inverse relationship between God’s
faithfulness and Israel’s faithfulness.
The Lord graciously gave Moses the Law even as Israel violated the first
commandment by worshiping the Golden Calf.
The Lord mercifully provided bread from heaven as Israel pined to
return to their pots of meat in Egypt.
The Lord faithfully kept his promise to bring Israel safely to Canaan,
but Israel broke covenant with the Lord just as her fathers had done in
the wilderness.
The Lord kept his word and gave Israel David, her long‐awaited king.
Yet even though God called him “a man after my own heart” (1 Samuel
13:14), David’s life came to a cold end (1 Kings 1).
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Is Solomon the Promised Redeemer Son?
Solomon begins well, exceeding his father David in wisdom,
wealth, and rule.
Soon, Solomon accumulated horses and wives, the very thing
against which the Lord commanded (Deuteronomy 17:14‐20).
The kingdom which rose and fell under David rose higher and
fell harder under Solomon.
The kingdom split and wicked kings ruled. Only a few good
kings ruled in the south.
As Adam was banished from Eden, so Israel was exiled from
her land.
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1 & 2 Kings
•Israel’s Demise.
•Exilic Despair.
•Covenant‐Keeping God.
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Israel’s Demise
• 950: Israel, a world kingdom under Solomon.
• 926‐922: Divided nation—ten tribes refused to
submit to Rehoboam.
• 722: Ten northern tribes were wiped out by
Assyria.
• 586: Jerusalem, the temple destroyed, two tribes
exiled to Babylon.
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Exiled & Despairing
• People: An everlasting covenant (Gen. 17:7).
• Land: An everlasting possession (Gen. 17:8).
• Temple: God dwells there forever (1 Kings 9:3).
• King: Rule forever (2 Sam. 7:13,16)
What happened?
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Covenant‐Keeping God
God
Death Life
Destruction Prosperity
Curse Blessing
(1 Kings 9:1‐9; 2 Kings 17:7ff.)
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1 Kings 9:1‐9
When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace and had achieved
all he had desired to do, the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at
Gibeon. The LORD said to him:
“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which
you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your
father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal
throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have
a successor on the throne of Israel.’
“But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and
decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off
Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for
my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This
temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why
has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they
have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced
other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on
them.’”
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2 Kings 17:7‐13
All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God,
who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of
Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the
nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings
of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their
God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves
high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every
high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place, they burned incense
as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did
wicked things that aroused the LORD’s anger. They worshiped idols, though
the LORD had said, “You shall not do this.” The LORD warned Israel and Judah
through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my
commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your
ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
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Where Is the Promised Redeemer Son?
• Israel, God’s “Firstborn Son,” has proved to be no
more faithful than Adam. Israel is not God’s
Promised Redeemer Son.
• David, “a man after God’s own heart” has also
failed. He is not God’s Promised Redeemer Son.
• Solomon, David’s son, is not God’s Promised
Redeemer Son.
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Where Is the Promised Redeemer Son?
As the drama of God’s reign plays out, the plotted conflict
intensifies.
God promises a Redeemer Son, but how will God keep his
promise?
Given Israel’s unfaithfulness—as the kings go, so go the
people—how will God save and restore this fallen world?
Is God trustworthy?
How long, O Lord? Will you keep your promises, and
when?
This is a cry we hear from the prophets?
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Israel’s Prophets
Major Prophets Minor Prophets
Isaiah Hosea
Jeremiah Joel
(Lamentations) Amos
Ezekiel Obadiah
Daniel Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
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The Prophets’ Common Role
They speak for the Lord God.
They call upon Israel to keep covenant with God.
They warn of God’s impending judgment.
They remind Israel of God’s covenant promises to the Patriarchs and to
David.
They not only prophesy by preaching but also by drama:
Hosea marries a prostitute & names his children—God Scatters,
Unloved, & Not‐My‐People (Hosea 1:5‐6).
Jeremiah places his underwear under a rock & returns much later to
retrieve it (Jeremiah 13:1‐7).
Ezekiel built a model of Jerusalem and besieged it (Ezekiel 4).
Isaiah walked about naked for three years (Isaiah 20).
They share the tension of God’s heart—holy justice with merciful love.
They proclaim God’s message of judgment and salvation.
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Psalm 72—Israel anticipates a king who will reign in Psalm 73—Israel is rebellious, callous, and defiant
righteousness “from sea to sea and from the River to the against the Lord God.
ends of the earth.”
Psalm 72 Psalm 73
Endow the king with your justice, O God, 12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out, Surely God is good to Israel, 16 When I tried to understand all this,
the royal son with your righteousness. the afflicted who have no one to help. to those who are pure in heart. it troubled me deeply
2 May he judge your people in righteousness, 13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
your afflicted ones with justice. and save the needy from death. I had nearly lost my foothold. then I understood their final destiny.
3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the 14 He will rescue them from oppression and 3 For I envied the arrogant 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
people, violence, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. you cast them down to ruin.
the hills the fruit of righteousness. for precious is their blood in his sight. 4 They have no struggles; 19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
4 May he defend the afflicted among the people 15 Long may he live! their bodies are healthy and strong. completely swept away by terrors!
and save the children of the needy; May gold from Sheba be given him. 5 They are free from common human burdens; 20 They are like a dream when one awakes;
may he crush the oppressor. May people ever pray for him they are not plagued by human ills. when you arise, Lord,
5 May he endure as long as the sun, and bless him all day long. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; you will despise them as fantasies.
as long as the moon, through all generations. 16 May grain abound throughout the land; they clothe themselves with violence. 21 When my heart was grieved
6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field, on the tops of the hills may it sway. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; and my spirit embittered,
like showers watering the earth. May the crops flourish like Lebanon their evil imaginations have no limits. 22 I was senseless and ignorant;
7 In his days may the righteous flourish and thrive like the grass of the field. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; I was a brute beast before you.
and prosperity abound till the moon is no 17 May his name endure forever; with arrogance they threaten oppression. 23 Yet I am always with you;
more. may it continue as long as the sun. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, you hold me by my right hand.
8 May he rule from sea to sea Then all nations will be blessed through him, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 24 You guide me with your counsel,
and from the River to the ends of the earth. and they will call him blessed. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and afterward you will take me into glory.
9 May the desert tribes bow before him 18 Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, and drink up waters in abundance. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
and his enemies lick the dust. who alone does marvelous deeds. 11 They say, “How would God know? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores 19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; Does the Most High know anything?” 26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
bring tribute to him. may the whole earth be filled with his glory. 12 This is what the wicked are like— but God is the strength of my heart
May the kings of Sheba and Seba Amen and Amen. always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. and my portion forever.
present him gifts. 20 This concludes the prayers of David, son of 13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure 27 Those who are far from you will perish;
11 May all kings bow down to him Jesse. and have washed my hands in innocence. you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
and all nations serve him. 14 All day long I have been afflicted, 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
and every morning brings new punishments. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
15 If I had spoken out like that, I will tell of all your deeds.
I would have betrayed your children.
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Where Is the Promised Redeemer Son?
You are always righteous, LORD, Yet you know me, LORD;
when I bring a case before you. you see me and test my thoughts about you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!
Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Set them apart for the day of slaughter!
Why do all the faithless live at ease? How long will the land lie parched
You have planted them, and they have taken and the grass in every field be withered?
root; Because those who live in it are wicked,
they grow and bear fruit. the animals and birds have perished.
You are always on their lips Moreover, the people are saying,
but far from their hearts. “He will not see what happens to us.”
Jeremiah 12:1‐4
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Israel Shall Return to Slavery
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt, I called my son.”
“Will they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
A sword will flash in their cities;
it will devour their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
Hosea 11:1, 5‐7
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Israel Shall Be Restored
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? They will follow the LORD;
How can I hand you over, Israel? he will roar like a lion.
How can I treat you like Admah? When he roars,
How can I make you like Zeboyim? his children will come trembling from the
My heart is changed within me; west.
all my compassion is aroused. They will come from Egypt,
I will not carry out my fierce anger, trembling like sparrows,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again. from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
For I am God, and not a man— I will settle them in their homes,”
the Holy One among you. declares the LORD.
I will not come against their cities.
Hosea 11:8‐11
Observe the tension between God’s holy justice and his merciful love.
This is Israel’s Covenant‐Keeping God.
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Jeremiah 17:14‐18
Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; What passes my lips is open before you.
save me and I will be saved, Do not be a terror to me;
for you are the one I praise. you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
They keep saying to me, Let my persecutors be put to shame,
“Where is the word of the LORD? but keep me from shame;
Let it now be fulfilled!” let them be terrified,
I have not run away from being your but keep me from terror.
shepherd; Bring on them the day of disaster;
you know I have not desired the day of destroy them with double destruction.
despair.
Scoffers in Israel
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Isaiah 5:18‐21
Woe to those who draw sin along with Woe to those who call evil good
cords of deceit, and good evil,
and wickedness as with cart ropes, who put darkness for light
to those who say, “Let God hurry; and light for darkness,
let him hasten his work who put bitter for sweet
so we may see it. and sweet for bitter.
The plan of the Holy One of Woe to those who are wise in their
Israel— own eyes
let it approach, let it come into and clever in their own sight.
view,
so we may know it.”
Scoffers in Israel
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Isaiah 28:14‐15
Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers
who rule these people in Jerusalem.
You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,
with the realm of the dead, we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood our hiding place.”
Scoffers in Israel
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Where Is the Promised “Coming”?
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will
come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say,
“Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our
ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the
beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago
by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was
formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of
that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word, the
present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the
day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
2 Peter 3:3‐7
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The Prophets’ Common Message
Message 1: Divine Judgment
Deportation.
Divorce.
Desertion.
Destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple.
Message 2: Divine Redemption
The Lord will save his people through the Anointed One.
The Lord will establish a new covenant through the
Anointed One.
The Lord will bring redemption through the suffering of the
Anointed One.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
The New Covenant, A Better Covenant.
An Obedient and Faithful Mediator.
A Real Solution to Sin.
A Universal Covenant—Jews & Gentiles
Redeemed.
A Regenerated Heart.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
The New Covenant, A Better Covenant.
An Obedient and Faithful Mediator.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good
promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The LORD Our Righteous Savior’” (Jeremiah 33:14‐16).
A Real Solution to Sin.
A Universal Covenant—Jews & Gentiles Redeemed.
A Regenerated Heart.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
The New Covenant, A Better Covenant.
An Obedient and Faithful Mediator.
A Real Solution to Sin.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. . . .
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:33, 34).
A Universal Covenant—Jews & Gentiles Redeemed.
A Regenerated Heart.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
The New Covenant, A Better Covenant.
An Obedient and Faithful Mediator.
A Real Solution to Sin.
A Universal Covenant—Jews & Gentiles Redeemed.
“I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will
prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those
days” (Joel 2:28‐29).
A Regenerated Heart.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
The New Covenant, A Better Covenant.
An Obedient and Faithful Mediator.
A Real Solution to Sin.
A Universal Covenant—Jews & Gentiles Redeemed.
A Regenerated Heart—New Creation.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you: I will remove from you
your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in
you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws”
(Ezekiel 36:26‐27).
“Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to
these bones: ‘I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will
attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin;
I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I
am the Lord’” (Ezekiel 37:4‐6).
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The Prophets’ Common Message
“I am making all things new.”
A New Exodus Will Bring Salvation.
A New Marriage Will Flourish.
A New Temple Where God Will Dwell.
A New Creation Will Emerge.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
“I am making all things new.”
A New Exodus Will Bring Salvation.
In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the
surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper
Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the
islands of the Mediterranean.
He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth (Isaiah 11:11‐12).
A New Marriage Will Flourish.
A New Temple Where God Will Dwell.
A New Creation Will Emerge.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
“I am making all things new.”
A New Exodus Will Bring Salvation.
A New Marriage Will Flourish.
“I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak
tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14).
Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear (Revelation 19:6b‐8).
A New Temple Where God Will Dwell.
A New Creation Will Emerge.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
“I am making all things new.”
A New Exodus Will Bring Salvation.
A New Marriage Will Flourish.
A New Temple Where God Will Dwell.
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then
suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of
the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty (Malachi
3:1).
“Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market! Destroy
this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:16, 19).
A New Creation Will Emerge.
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The Prophets’ Common Message
“I am making all things new.”
A New Exodus Will Bring Salvation.
A New Marriage Will Flourish.
A New Temple Where God Will Dwell.
A New Creation Will Emerge.
“See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17).
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A New Creation Will Emerge
See, I will create They will not labor in vain,
new heavens and a new earth. nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
The former things will not be remembered, for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,
nor will they come to mind. . . . they and their descendants with them.
They will build houses and dwell in them; Before they call I will answer;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. while they are still speaking I will hear.
No longer will they build houses and others live The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
in them, and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
or plant and others eat. and dust will be the serpent’s food.
For as the days of a tree, They will neither harm nor destroy
so will be the days of my people; on all my holy mountain,”
My chosen ones will long enjoy says the LORD.
the work of their hands.
Isaiah 65:17, 21‐25
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Then I saw
a New Heaven
and a New Earth,
for the first heaven
and the first earth
had passed away.
Revelation 21:1
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The Unfolding Drama
of God’s Reign
CHRIST—FROM BEGINNING TO END
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