Aim to understand that all of history is a preparation to receive the Messiah
Aim
a) to understand that all of history is a preparation to receive the Messiah
b) to know that the parallels in history show us when Christ will return
Materials
* Outline of the Principle Level 4. chapter 16 – The Second Coming
* Bible passages – Matthew 24:36, Amos 3:7
* Picture cards of time periods
* children’s worksheet
Lesson Outline
1. What the Bible Says
2. God’s Plan
3. History is repeated
4. Worksheet
5. Conclusion
6. Prayer
1) What the Bible Says
How do we know that today is the time when Christ will return, and a new Messiah appear? First, We can learn about this from what it says in the Bible.
Matthew 24:36 – Jesus said “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Amos 3:7 – Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
From this we can understand that God will reveal His plan to prepared people, when the time is right.. What is God’s plan?
2) God’s Plan
* To fulfill God’s original purpose to build the ideal world, the failure of the first Adam must be restored by a new Adam, the Messiah. Therefore,the whole of history is guided by God’s plan to send the Messiah. Man’s responsibility is to make a foundation to receive the him Israel
* Israel was the chosen nation to receive the Messiah, starting in the family of Jacob. It took 2,000 years for God to prepare the people of Israel, but when Jesus appeared they did not believe him and the whole foundation was lost.
* Then God chose Christianity to be the second Israel. The history of Christianity for the last 2,000 years has been to restore the lost foundation to receive the Messiah. The history of Israel and Christianity together have many similarities because they are guided by the same purpose, to make a foundation to receive the Messiah. By studying these histories we can see that today is the time of Christ’s return.
3) History is Repeated
The history of Israel from Jacob to Jesus (the Old Testament Age), was divided into six major periods:
1) The Period of Slavery in Egypt
2) The Period of Judges
3) The Period of the United Kingdom
4) The Period of the Divided Kingdoms of North and South
5) The Period of Jewish Captivity and Return
6) The Period of Preparation for the Messiah.
These six periods totaled 1930 years.
Likewise, the history of Christianity from Jesus until today (the New Testament Age), is divided into six major periods:
1) Persecution in the Roman Empire
2) Christian Churches under the Patriarchal system
3) Christian Kingdom
4) Divided Kingdoms of East and West
5) Papal Captivity and Return
6) Preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah.
These six periods also totaled 1930 years.
Then, is 1930 the precise year the Messiah was born? The year cannot be pinpointed so exactly because a difference of up to ten years often happened. For example, Persecution in the Roman Empire was not exactly 400 years, but actually lasted only until 392 A.D. Likewise, Preparation for the Second Coming began with the Reformation in 1517 and ended four hundred years later. Based on this, the Second Coming should have occurred in 1917. Thus the birth of Christ should have taken place somewhere between 1917 and 1930.
4) Activities
* Complete the worksheet
* Put cards in correct order to reinforce time periods
* Plat the memory game to reinforce time periods
6) Conclusion
To conclude ask each person what they could learn from today’s lesson. Refer to the lesson aims:
a) to understand that all of history is a preparation to receive the Messiah
b) to know that the parallels in history show us when Christ will return
7) End with a Prayer
