The Doctrine of Christ

LESSON FOUR The Central Theme of the Scriptures

1. Man was created king. Genesis 1:26. TDOC 10.3

2. As king, man was given a crown of glory. Psalm 8:4-6. TDOC 10.4

3. Through sin man lost this crown. Romans 3:23. TDOC 10.5

4. Those who accept the righteousness of Christ will have this crown restored at the Second Advent of Christ. 1 Peter 5:4; 2 Timothy 4:8. TDOC 10.6

5. The restoration of the kingdom, which includes the restoration both of the territory and the character of its citizens, is the subject of prophecy. Daniel 2:44; 7:13, 14, 27; 2 Samuel 7:12, 13, 16; Isaiah 9:6, 71 Luke 1:32-33. TDOC 10.7

6. It has not yet been accomplished, but will be accomplished at the Second Advent of Christ. Matthew 6:10; Acts 1:3, 6; 19-21; Revelation 11:15-18. TDOC 10.8

7. Christ preached concerning the kingdom. Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47; 25:1. TDOC 10.9

8. The apostles preached concerning the kingdom. Acts 8:12; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 30, 31. TDOC 10.10

9. Just before the end there will be a world-wide proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom. Matthew 24:14; Revelation 14:6-14. TDOC 10.11

NOTES: A history of redemption

“We find in the Bible a history of redemption, or of the great work of the recovery of mankind from a condition of sin and ruin which God has been carrying on from age to age.” TDOC 11.1

The redemption plan

“Immeasurably superior in value to the productions ‘of any human author are the Bible writings, even when thus considered; but of infinitely wider scope, of infinitely greater value, are they when viewed in their relation to the grand central thought. Viewed in the light of this thought, every topic has a new significance. In the most simply stated truths are involved principles that are as high as heaven and that compass eternity. TDOC 11.2

“The central theme of the Bible, the theme about which every other in the whole book clusters, is the redemption plan, the restoration in the human soul of the image of God. Prom the first intimation of hope in the sentence pronounced in Eden to that last glorious promise of the Revelation, ‘They shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads’ (Revelation 22:4), the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous theme. Man’s uplifting, the power of God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57”-Education, 125, 126. TDOC 11.3

Jesus and the word

“Jesus is the life and the light of man. The same is true of the Scriptures. Jesus said: ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ The psalmist said, ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ In an inexplicable way Jesus is identified with, the word. ‘The Word was God, and the Word became flesh.’ And when the victories of the gospel shall have been finally accomplished, and Jesus shall assert his regal rights, his name is called, The Word of God.” TDOC 11.4

The two kingdoms

“As the message of Christ’s first advent announced the kingdom of his grace, so the message of his Second Advent announces the kingdom of his glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, ‘many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.’ ‘The wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.’ The Savior himself has given signs of his coming, and he says, ‘When you see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.’ ‘And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’ ‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’ Luke 21:31, 34, 39. TDOC 11.5

“We have reached the period foretold in these scriptures. The time of the end is come, the visions of the prophets are unsealed, and their solemn warnings point us to our Lord’s coming in glory as near at hand. TDOC 12.1

“The Jews misinterpreted and misapplied the word of God, and they knew not the time of their visitation. The years of the ministry of Christ and his apostles, the precious last years of grace to the chosen people, they spent in plotting the destruction of the Lord’s messengers. Earthly ambitions absorbed them, and the offer of the spiritual kingdom came to them in vain. So today the kingdom of this world absorbs, men’s thoughts, and they take no note of the rapidly fulfilling prophecies, and the tokens of the swift-coming kingdom of God.”-The Desire of Ages, 265, 266. TDOC 12.2