THE MOST HIGH RULETH
A Study About Government - Past,
Present, and Future
Arlen L. Chitwood
-------
[Book cover writing]
There is an existing universe
which God not only brought into existence but one over which He also exercises
absolute, sovereign control. And the Bible is Gods revelation to man
concerning His actions in the preceding respect, especially as these actions
relate to the earth and to man.
Man is a
latecomer in the universe. He was created after Gods creation
of the physical universe, after Gods creation of angels,
and after Gods government of the universe had been established and was
in full operation. Mans existence dates back only six millenniums, and he was brought into
existence for the specific purpose of replacing a disqualified provincial ruler
in Gods kingdom, one who had been ruling for a prior unrevealed period of
time.
Man was created to replace the
ruler whom God had, in the beginning, placed over the earth (Ezek. 28: 14). This ruler, Satan, who, because of his
rebellion against Gods supreme power and authority, disqualified himself (Isa. 14: 12-15). And man was subsequently brought on the scene
to take the sceptre and, along with the woman, rule this one
province in Gods kingdom in the stead of Satan and his angels (Gen. 1: 26-28).
Thus, matters surrounding mans
subsequent fall and redemption both revolve around the reason for his creation
-
let them [the man and the woman together]
have dominion
Satan knew why man had been
created, and he immediately set about to effect man disqualification (through disobedience), as he himself
had been disqualified -an act which, if successfully accomplished (as it was),
would allow Satan (though disqualified) to continue holding the sceptre (Gen. 3: 1ff & Luke 4: 5, 6).
And redemption, remaining within
the same framework of thought, simply has to do with God providing a means
whereby He could not only bring man back into a right relationship with Himself
but also a means whereby He could ultimately bring man into a realization of
the purpose for which he had been created (Gen. 3: 15; & Heb. 2: 5).
This is the manner in which
Scripture not only begins in the Book of Genesis but
also concludes in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 22: 1-5). And all
intervening Scripture must be viewed and understood within this same framework.
[Page ii]
And it shall come
to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lords house
shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above
the hills; and all nations shall flow into it (Isaiah 2: 2).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Page iii]
The Most
High Ruleth
by
Arlen L. Chitwood
The
Lamp Broadcast, Inc.
www.lampbroadcast.org
-------
2004
Second Printing
(Revised)
First Printing, 1994
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Page iv]
By the
Same Author -
THE
STUDY OF SCRIPTURE
HAD YE
BELIEVED MOSES
RUN TO
WIN
SO GREAT
SALVATION
SALVATION
OF THE SOUL
FROM
ACTS TO THE EPISTLES
IN THE
LORD'S DAY
FOCUS ON
THE MIDDLE EAST
FROM
LET US
GO ON
REDEEMED
FOR A PURPOSE
JUDGMENT
SEAT OF CHRIST
MYSTERIES
OF THE KINGDOM
THE
BRIDE IN GENESIS
SEARCH FOR
THE BRIDE
THE TIME
OF JACOBS TROUBLE
SEVEN,
TEN GENERATIONS
GODS
FIRSTBORN SONS
JUDE
RUTH
ESTHER
[Page v]
CONTENTS
FOREWORD - [Page vii]
1. OVER THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH - [Page 1]
2. IN THE
3. FROM THE HEAVENS OVER THE EARTH - [Page 31]
APPENDIX (CROWNED RULERS - CHRIST, CHRISTIANS) - [Page 47]
SCRIPTURE INDEX - [Page 55]
[Page vii]
FOREWORD
Scripture begins with a very
brief, succinct statement concerning Gods creation of the material universe:
In the
beginning God created the heaven [lit., the heavens] and the earth (Gen. 1: 1).
God, at a point in time, brought
the material universe into existence. Then God established a perfect form of
universal government, allowing Him to exercise absolute, sovereign control over
the whole of His creation.
God placed angels, whom He had
also previously created (cf. Job 38: 6, 7; Ezek. 28: 14, 15), in
appointed positions to exercise delegated power and authority within His
government. That would not only be true of the province upon which man
presently resides (the earth) but of innumerable other provinces (undoubtedly
multiplied billions) which God created, forming the innumerable galaxies
(again, undoubtedly multiplied billions), which comprise a material universe of
a size which could only stagger ones imagination.
But the creation of man, though
created for regal purposes, follows Gods creation of angels, the material
universe, and the establishment of His universal government. Man, a latecomer
within Gods creative activity, was brought into existence to replace one of
Gods provincial rulers, one who had rebelled against Divine power and
authority. And man was created on the province (the earth) over which this
ruler (Satan) had not only originally been placed but a province which he
continued to govern following his fall.
[Page viii]
(A principle of Biblical
government necessitates that an incumbent ruler, though disqualified, must
continue holding the sceptre until his replacement is not only on the scene but
ready to assume the sceptre [ref. the account of Saul and David in the Books of
1, 2 Samuel].
In this respect, though disqualified
to hold the sceptre, Satan [with his angels] could only continue holding the
sceptre until God had not only brought forth his replacement [man] but had
deemed his replacement qualified and ready to ascend the throne.)
Thus, man was created for a
revealed purpose, which had to do with regality. Man
was formed from a part of the earth, to
rule the earth:
And God
said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion [Heb. radah, let them rule]... (Gen. 1: 26; cf. 1: 28; 2: 7, 8).
Then mans subsequent fall,
recorded in Genesis chapter three, was
directly related to the purpose surrounding his creation. And, beyond that, God
providing a means of salvation for fallen man was (and remains today) also
directly related to the purpose surrounding his creation. The
reason for and goal of salvation have to do with man one day occupying the
position for which he was created.
That is to say, the
purpose surrounding mans fall (effected by Satan) had to do
with his being brought into a position in which he could not assume the sceptre,
allowing the incumbent ruler to continue on the throne; and the purpose
surrounding mans redemption (effected by God) had to do with his one day being
brought into a position where he could assume the sceptre.
Thus, regality pervades the
whole of the matter. God rules over all, angels rule under God, man was created
to replace a disqualified angelic ruler, and mans fall and redemption result
from and have to do with the reason for his creation.
And, since the ultimate victory
will be the Lords, man will one day replace the disqualified,
incumbent ruler. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance [without a change of mind] (Rom. 11: 29). God is not going to change His mind
concerning the reason He called man into existence. Man will one day rule the earth
in the stead of angels, realizing the reason for his creation in the beginning (Heb. 2: 5).
* * *
[Page 1]
1
Over the Heavens and the Earth
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom
ruleth over all.
Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his
commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of
his, that
do his pleasure.
Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul (Psa.
103:
19-22).
God exercises absolute,
sovereign control over a universe which He Himself brought into existence, and the
earth is a province within that universe. There is no power but of God, and the powers that be are ordained of God (
God is the One Who places rulers
in positions of power (the power which emanates from Him); and, should it
become necessary (both should and when in mans case, for he is presently limited by
time), God is also the One Who removes rulers from these same positions of
power (1 Sam. 15:
17, 23; 31: 3-5; 2 Sam. 1: 3-10; Dan. 4: 17, 25, 32-36; 5: 18-21; Matt. 20: 23; Luke 1: 52).
Consequently, there is no such
thing as a ruler on this province (the earth) or any other province (any other
world) in the universe exercising power within a governmental position apart
from God. A ruler holds his position because of a Divine act (appointment,
placement by God), and he exercises power which emanates from a Divine [Page 2] source (from the One Who
appointed, placed him in the position which he occupies, from God Himself).
In relation to this earth, the
ruler himself may or may not acknowledge this (in fact, he may not even
acknowledge the existence of God); or he may be a rebellious ruler, seeking to
rule apart from God. But the simple fact remains: Any ruler on this earth, or
any ruler anywhere in the universe, holds a governmental position and exercises
power and authority within that position solely because of Divine appointment
(to his position) and Divine delegation (of power and authority). Rulers
exercising power and authority after this fashion actually govern, in numerous
gradations of positions, within a chain of command which God has established
under Himself.
There are no exceptions.
God rules from a throne which is
located in the sides [lit., in the
uttermost parts] of the north (Isa. 14: 13). The
direction of the compass locating Gods throne would be in relation to the
earth. That is, Scripture states that God sits on a throne north of the earth
in what would be either the northernmost point in the universe or a point
beyond which no additional physical universe exists (i.e., no more galaxies exist beyond this point).
Thus, all rule, power, and
authority emanate from one Person (God) seated on a throne at a particular
revealed point in the universe. And God rules the universe from this place through
subordinates who occupy various appointed positions and exercise various
degrees of delegated power and authority (Psa. 103: 19; Isa. 14: 13, 14; cf. Dan. 4: 17; 5: 18-21; 7: 9-14; Rom. 13: 1, 2).
THE UNIVERSE AS A WHOLE
Man has no idea of the size of
the physical universe, outside our galaxy. His telescopes can only see so far,
and beyond that he can only surmise, estimate, and guess. And that would even
be true, to an extent, of numerous things within our own galaxy.
Our sun is a medium-size star,
and there are an estimated two to
four hundred billion other stars (some larger, some smaller) within our galaxy.
Then beyond our galaxy it is estimated that billions of other galaxies exist,
comprising the physical universe.
[Page 3]
It is one hundred thousand light
years across our own galaxy (a movement at the speed of 186,000 miles per
second for one hundred thousand years), and it is an estimated two to two and one-half
million light years to the next nearest galaxy. And beyond that are other
galaxies separated by comparable distances. Thus the universe is of a size and
design which could only stagger mans imagination.
Returning to our own solar
system as a beginning point, this system is comprised of nine planets revolving
around a medium-size star (possibly ten planets according to late astronomical
discoveries); and the earth is apparently unique as the only planet within our
solar system upon which God saw fit to place individuals within His ordered
system of government.
But, when viewing the remainder
of the galaxy or the universe as a whole, is our own solar system unique in
this respect? That is, considering the matter after one fashion, is our sun the
only star anywhere in the universe around which planets revolve? Or,
considering the matter after another fashion, if other similar solar systems do
exist, is the earth within our solar system the only inhabited planet among
existing planets within solar systems throughout the universe?
In line with previous
statements, the answer to the questions would have to be, No. There is an
inhabited universe over
which God exercises absolute, sovereign control. Man though, as a creature
within that universe, is a different matter. The creation of an individual in the
image and likeness of God (Gen. 1: 26, 27), to
have a part in Gods governmental rule of the universe, is an act peculiar to
the earth. In this respect, the earth would be unique insofar as man himself
residing on a province and having a part in the government is concerned, but it
would not be unique insofar as there being other similar solar systems with
worlds upon which individuals (angels) reside within Gods ordered system of
government.
Astronomers within the
scientific community can today state, with certainty, that there are numerous
solar systems similar to our own (other stars [suns] with revolving planets).
Prior to the time of the Hubble telescope, though astronomers could not see
these planets, through infrared techniques developed in recent times they could
see systematic blockages of light in connection with different stars which
seemingly could only be attributed to planets revolving around these [Page 4] stars.
Then, once the Hubble telescope
was placed in orbit above the earths atmosphere, allowing astronomers to look
into the heavens and not only see things which they had never been able to see
before but also to bring everything into a much clearer focus, any question
concerning the existence of other solar systems, similar to our own, was
removed. Though revolving planets around other stars still could not be seen,
the compilation of additional evidence made available through the use of this
telescope removed any possible doubt concerning the existence of numerous other
solar systems - possibly billions - in our galaxy alone.
But all of that is really
neither here nor there, for Scripture has already told us that such worlds
exist. And mans scientific discoveries never verify Scripture, for Scripture
cant be verified. Scripture is the standard
by which all else is judged, and there can be no such thing as
the standard being verified by that which is being judged by the standard.
Where Scripture and Science
touch on the same matters, Scripture will always reveal the accuracy or
inaccuracy of mans scientific discoveries. In the case of the astronomers
deductions concerning planets revolving around numerous other stars in the
galaxy, Scripture reveals that they are correct.
The whole matter of viewing
Scripture and Science together is really that simple.
Scripture lies
within the realm of the Creator, but Science
lies within the realm of the created. And the creature never asks the Creator, Why hast thou made me thus? (Rom.
9: 20).
Accordingly, as in creation itself, the beginning point must always be the Scriptures - the
God-breathed Word (originating from and inseparably connected with the Creator)
- never Science (the created).
A main basis for the teaching
concerning inhabited planets within other solar systems in the universe is
taken from that which is revealed in the first two chapters of the Book of Job. Satan
is the messianic angel whom God placed over this earth in the beginning, along
with a great host of subordinate ruling angels (Ezek. 28: 14ff; Dan. 10: 13; Matt. 25: 41); and
Satan is seen in the Book of Job, on two
separate occasions, as he appeared in the Lords presence with other sons of God, which could only be his equals, for Satan appeared among them as one of them (1: 6;
2: 1).
[Page 5]
The appearances of the sons of
God in the Lords presence on these two recorded occasions apparently
constituted two of what could only have been scheduled congresses of messianic
angels (angels placed over various worlds within the universe). Such is
evident, for Satan, whom God had placed over the earth, appeared in Gods
presence at these meetings as one of the sons of God. And
since Satan was the messianic angel whom God had placed over the province upon
which man was later created, it can only be concluded that the other sons of God among whom Satan appeared - his equals - were messianic
angels whom God had placed over provinces in other parts of the universe. They
apparently appeared together in Gods presence at scheduled times to render
reports concerning activities on the particular provinces over which they had
been placed (congresses of the sons of God).
In both instances in the
accounts in Job, attention is directed to Satan
and the earth rather than to any of the other messianic angels and other worlds
(1: 7ff; 2: 2ff). In
fact, other than the simple mention of their presence at these meetings, nothing is revealed concerning the other
messianic angels or the worlds over which they ruled.
And this would be in perfect
keeping with the way Scripture is structured, for, in the preceding respect,
Gods revelation to man has to do with His government of the earth, not with
His government of other parts of the universe. The latter is seemingly
introduced in Scripture (in a very limited sense) so man can place things
concerning the former in their proper perspective.
That is, man understanding the
overall scope of Gods government of the universe (beginning in the past and
extending into the present) could better understand Gods government of a small
part of the universe, i.e., His
government of the earth - past, present, and future. Thus, for this apparent
reason - along with the fact that man, beyond the millennium, will apparently
have a part in Gods government of the universe - God has seen fit to reveal
certain things concerning the overall structure of the government within His
universal kingdom.
(God actually opens His
revelation to man after this fashion, calling attention to the beginning of His
universal kingdom and then centering [Page 6] His revelation on one province in that kingdom. Scripture
opens with the statement,, in the beginning God
created the heaven [lit., the heavens] and the earth [Gen.
1: 1].
First, God makes mention of the
entire universe out in the heavens, separate from the earth; but then the earth is immediately singled out for special
consideration. And continuing from this point, Scripture, completely apart from
any additional revelation concerning Gods activity in the previously mentioned
heavens, begins to deal specifically with the
earth - And the earth was without form and void... [lit., But the earth became
without form, and void...] [Gen. 1: 2a].
For further information
regarding the preceding understanding of Gen.
1: 2a,
refer to the authors books, THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE, Ch. 11, or SEVEN, TEN GENERATIONS,
the Foreword.
The rest of the universe had
been mentioned [1: 1a],
but God, in His revelation to man, concerns Himself centrally with the earth
[and the heavens in the proximity of and associated with the earth], not with
the rest of the universe [1: 1b ff ]. And
the apparent reason that Gods activity in relation to other parts of the
universe is even mentioned in Scripture is as previously stated: Man, viewing
Gods activity in relation to the entire universe, could better understand and
place within its proper perspective Gods activity relative to a small part of
that universe, i.e., His activity relative to the earth, Satan and his angels,
man, etc.)
THE EARTH ITSELF
Note that Satans fall resulted from his seeking a position of power above
the other messianic angels,
apart from Divine appointment.
Actually, such an appointment would
have been out of the question, for
Satan sought the very position which God Himself occupied.
In so doing, Satan said:
I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God [the other messianic angels]: I will sit also
upon the mount of the congregation [the meeting place where the
kings of the kingdom (the messianic angels) met in Gods presence], in the sides of the north [lit., in the uttermost parts
of the north]:
I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds [lit., the Cloud,[Page 7] apparently a reference to
Deity]; I will be like the most High (Isa. 14: 13, 14).
Thus, Satan became dissatisfied
with the governmental position which he occupied (a ruler over only one
province in the kingdom, having equals who ruled other provinces in the
kingdom). He sought to elevate his throne above all the other messianic angels
and occupy the very place which God Himself occupied. He, in this respect,
sought to become the supreme ruler of the entire universe.
As a consequence, God not only rejected him as the appointed ruler over
the earth but God reduced the province over which he ruled to a ruin. This is the point in Scripture
where the earth was [became [See N.I.V. translation footnote]] without form, and void; and darkness was [became] upon the face of the
deep (Gen. 1: 2a).
However, Satan continued to rule
- though over a ruined province in Gods overall kingdom - for a principle of Biblical government necessitates that an incumbent ruler
hold his appointed position until he is actually replaced by another appointed
ruler. This is the reason Satan is seen in
Scripture among the other messianic angels in the Book
of Job, millenniums following
his fall. He still occupied the
throne as the earths appointed ruler,
for the time when his successor would appear on the scene and take the sceptre
awaited a future day.
And today, millenniums removed
from Jobs day, Satan still occupies the same position, for the time when he is
to be put down and Another ascend the throne still awaits a future day.
Consequently, should there be congresses of the sons of God held during the
present time (which there undoubtedly are), Satan would have to attend in the
same capacity which he has held since time immemorial - as the earths
appointed ruler, one of the sons of God, one
of the messianic angels. Should he be asked questions at any of the present
congresses, as at the two meetings revealed in Job, the
questions would, of necessity, have to involve one or more of the Lords
servants on earth today.
A knowledge of this fact will
provide a probable reason for some Christians (past and present) having
undergone (or presently be undergoing) untold sufferings in their lives. Such
Christians, as Job, may have come under Satans accusation and have
been counted worthy [Page 8] to undergo
various trials, testings, or sufferings for Christs name (cf. Acts 5: 40-42; Rom. 8: 18; Rev. 12: 10, 11).
And the inverse of the preceding
is equally true. Some [regenerate]
Christians seemingly never undergo trials, testings, or sufferings; and the
reason is evident. Because of unfaithfulness in their lives they simply find
themselves in a category wherein they are not counted
worthy to suffer for Christs name (2 Tim. 3: 11-15).
That would be to say, within the
congresses of the messianic angels, God would have no reason to call such
individuals to Satans attention (as He did Job); nor would Satan have any
cause to bring accusations before God concerning them (as in Jobs case).
Consequently, they live their lives apart from the trials, testings, and
sufferings of this nature, experienced by certain other - [obedient and faithful regenerate] - Christians.
Man though has turned this whole
thing around and associates suffering with Gods disfavour and blessing with Gods favour. But God views the matter in a completely
opposite framework (Isa. 55: 8, 9). The normal Christian life involves
trials, testings, and sufferings. Anything else during the present day and time
would, in reality, be abnormal and out of place.
(The preceding is not to suggest
that all trials, testings, and sufferings
experienced by Christians during the present time emanate from issues at
congresses of the sons of God. It does though suggest that some, possibly more than we may
realize, may very well have
an origin of this nature.)
But the sufferings, though they must come first, dont
last forever. At some later point in time blessings must
always follow (cf. Job 2: 7ff; 42: 10-17). This is a Scriptural principle
which cannot be broken.
The same thing is seen in the future - [promised, and manifested Messianic (see Ps. 2: 8; Isa. 6: 3; 35: 2. Cf.
Matt. 25:
31; 1 Pet.
1: 7,
R.V.)] - glory of Christ following His past
sufferings. It was necessary that Christ first suffer. Only
then could He
enter into his glory (Luke 24: 25-27). And the same principle applies
to Christians undergoing present sufferings and one day having a part in
Christs [coming] glory (Rom. 8: 17, 18; 1 Peter 4: 12, 13).
The latter (the glory) can,
under no circumstances, be realized apart from the former (the sufferings).
This is the reason Scripture states,
If we suffer [patiently
endure, which involves trials, testings, [Page 9] sufferings (James 1: 2-4)], we shall also reign with him: if we
deny him, he also will deny us (2 Tim. 2: 12).
Denying in the latter part of 2 Tim. 2: 12 is not
denying a person per se (i.e., our
denying Christ or Christ denying us). The word deny
must be understood contextually, and understanding the word in the sense of disallow or not allow
would really better convey the thought which the context demands.
Contextually, the first use of
the word deny has to do with Christians not patiently
enduring with Christ during the present time (note the first part of the
verse). They do not allow the Lord (they deny the Lord in this respect),
through the ministry of the [Holy] Spirit, to perform a work in their lives.
That is, such Christians deny Christ the central place which He desires to
occupy in their lives; and, resultingly, they do not allow the Holy Spirit to
progressively work the metamorphosis in their lives, they live apart from
patiently enduring with Christ, do not suffer with Him, etc.
Then the second use of the word
deny has to do with Christians who pattern their lives after the
preceding fashion not being allowed to reign with Christ (again note the first
part of the verse). Such Christians will not have allowed the Lord (they will
have denied the Lord in this respect), through the ministry of the [Holy] Spirit,
to perform a work in their lives during the present time. There will have been
no patient endurance involving trials, testings, sufferings; consequently, there can be no future reign.
Suffering
must
always precede glory. The latter cannot be realized
apart from the former, and the former guarantees the latter (1 Peter 4: 12-19; cf. Matt. 5: 11, 12).
1. THE
FIRST MAN, THE FIRST ADAM
Though Satans fall and disqualification
to rule resulted in a portion of Gods kingdom being reduced to a ruin, God had
plans for the earth as a province within His kingdom which would far exceed
anything seen during Satans rule. This province would be the place where an
individual created in the image and likeness of God would one
day rule. Further,
and foremost as the rulership relates to Man, this province would be the place
where Gods Son (as the second Man, the [Page 10] last Adam, the Head of a new order of Sons) would
likewise one day rule. And then, ultimately, this province (actually, the new
earth) would be the place where God Himself, along with His Son and man
(redeemed through His Sons finished work at
To realize all of this though,
the earth must first be restored and a new ruler brought forth. And thats what
the opening two chapters of Genesis are
about - the restoration of the earth (1: 2b-25), the
creation of man as the earths new ruler (1: 26-28; 2: 7), along
with the removal of the woman from the man to reign as consort queen with him (2: 21-25).
Thus, the person eventually
brought on the scene to take the sceptre was not of the angelic creation.
Rather, this individual constituted an entirely new creation in the universe. He was created uniquely
different - in the image and likeness of God; and not only was he created uniquely different but he was also
created for a revealed purpose, a purpose which had to do with the
government of the earth. Man was
created to replace the incumbent ruler, to take the sceptre which Satan held -
let them have dominion [i.e., let them rule, which, of
necessity, would have had to include the man and the woman together, for the woman was part of the man and completed
the man] (Gen. 1:
26-28).
(In line with the previous,
there was both a near and afar purpose for mans creation. The near purpose had
to do with rulership over the earth [which will be realized during the
Messianic Era], and the far purpose had to do with rulership within other parts
of the universe [which will be realized following the Messianic Era].)
The ruined earth over which
Satan ruled following his fall was restored with a view to man taking the
sceptre (Gen. 1:
2bff). However, Satan, knowing what God was
in the process of doing through the restoration of the earth and mans
subsequent creation, immediately sought to bring about mans disqualification.
And this is exactly what he did through deceiving Eve, which resulted in Adam
having no choice but to also eat of the same forbidden fruit Eve had been
deceived into eating.
Adam fell as the federal head of
Gods new creation, man; and this not only resulted in mans disqualification
(placing him in a position [Page 11] wherein
he could not assume the sceptre) but it also resulted once again, as before, in
a ruined kingdom (the earth brought under a curse but not ruined to the extent
that it was uninhabitable for man).
However, unlike events following
Satans fall, redemption entered the picture when man fell. God not only
provided immediate redemption for Adam and Eve following their fall but He also
foretold the ultimate victory (over the incumbent ruler) of mankinds coming
Redeemer (Gen. 3:
15, 21).
Thus, redemption was to be
provided for man, with a view to his ultimately realizing the purpose for his
creation. Man was to be redeemed so he could, as God intended, one day take the
sceptre and rule within Gods governmental structure of the universe (first
over the earth, then throughout the universe itself).
2. THE
SECOND MAN, THE LAST ADAM
Galatians 4: 4-7 perhaps
outlines the entirety of the matter about as well as any similar passage in
Scripture. First, there is Christs first coming in order to
redeem man (vv. 4, 5); and the stated purpose for redemption is
then said to be adoption and heirship, which have to do with events
surrounding Christs second coming (vv. 5-7). This,
of course, is the heirship previously mentioned in Gal. 3: 29:
And if
ye be Christs, then are ye Abrahams seed,
and heirs according to the promise (cf. Gen. 22: 17, 18).
Christ came as the
second Man, the last Adam, for He must not only redeem that which the
first man, the first Adam lost in
the fall but He must also occupy the headship which Adam possessed. Only
through so doing could God one day give His Son dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,
something which the Son is presently inviting redeemed man to share with Him in
the position of co-heir in that coming day when He receives the kingdom from the
Father (Dan. 7:
13, 14; Rev. 11: 15; cf. Rom. 8: 16-18; Rev. 2: 26, 27; 3: 21).
The first man, the
first Adam had a
bride taken from his body who was to reign as consort queen with him. And so
must it be with the second Man, the
last Adam. The matter has
been set within Gods activities surrounding the man whom He brought forth in Genesis, and it cannot change within His activities surrounding the
Man [Page 12] Whom He is about to again bring into the inhabited world (Heb. 1: 6, 9; 3: 14; cf. Eph. 5: 30-32).
A husband-wife relationship of
this nature is seen in Scripture at
three different points within Gods overall revelation to man - past, present, and future. It is seen in the past in the relationship which existed
between Adam and Eve, and it is seen in the future in the relationship which will
exist between Christ and His bride. Then it is seen between these times, during
the present, in the
relationship which exists between a man and woman within the bonds of marriage.
A man leaves his father and
mother, is joined to his wife, and they become
one flesh, as in the beginning. The man and woman,
in this position, as one flesh, then become heirs together of the grace of life. And the whole matter is said
to be a great mystery surrounding
Christ and the Church, pointing to a relationship which will exist yet future (Gen. 2: 21-24; Eph. 5: 25-32; 1 Peter 3: 7).
(Note: The preceding is why
husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies
[Eph. 5: 28, 29]. The
woman originated from the body of the man.)
The man and woman in Genesis were to hold the sceptre together; they were to rule and reign
as one flesh. The Man and woman yet future
(Christ and His bride) are also to
hold the sceptre together; they are to rule and reign as one flesh. And during the present time there is a sense, on a
spiritual plane, in which the man and woman are to reign in life (holding a sceptre) as one flesh
through being heirs together of the grace of life (cf. Rom. 5: 17-21; 1 Peter 3: 7).
The latter would, of necessity,
have to be the case, for that is the way in which God dealt with matters in the
past, establishing an unchangeable pattern which continues into the future (at
which time the relationship will be realized in its fullness). And a
husband-wife relationship of this nature during the present time could only be
looked upon as the highest possible form of the spiritual life within that
relationship.
It is a God-designed apex upon which the marriage relationship
should exist and function. This is something which Adam and Eve lost in the
fall, this is something which a man and woman can possess on a spiritual plane
today, and this is something which will be restored (in its fullness) within
the relationship Christ and His bride
will [Page 13] possess
yet future.
God has set aside an entire
dispensation, lasting two millenniums, during which He is calling out a bride for His Son. This is the time in which we
presently live (typified by events in Gen. 24); and God has set aside this rather long
period of time, for this one centrally revealed purpose. In order to bring
matters to pass within the person of the second Man, the
last Adam which
were begun in the person of the first man, the
first Adam, a bride must be acquired for the Son.
Salvation made available to man
through Christs finished work at
(For a full discussion of the
work of the Spirit during the present dispensation, in the preceding respect,
refer to the authors book, SEARCH FOR THE BRIDE.)
Today we are living very near
the end of the dispensation, very near that time when the Church (Christs
body) will be removed from the earth, the
bride will be seen removed from the body (following issues and determinations surrounding the judgment seat),
and the bride will be presented back to Christ (with a view to the Messianic
Era). The two will be one flesh, as in the Genesis account; and the two, as one flesh, will
take the sceptre and exercise the dominion
which the first man, the first Adam lost in the fall. Seated on the Sons throne, holding the sceptre,
Christ and His bride will, together, rule the earth for 1,000 years (cf. Rev. 2: 26, 27; 3: 21).
TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS
And he
shall send Jesus Christ, which before was
preached unto you:
[Page 14]
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth
of all his holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3: 20, 21).
The Messianic Era is referred to
as the times of restitution [restoration] of all things. And
this restoration has to do not only with conditions which will exist during the Messianic
Era but also with the purpose for this era.
A restoration of all things will exist during the Messianic
Era in the sense that the curse will be lifted and a righteous Provincial
Governor will once again administer affairs on the earth, but a restoration
itself will also be effected through events occurring during the Messianic Era.
This has to do with the purpose for this era.
Christ is to put down all rule and all authority and power, and He (with His bride) is to reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. And once this has been
done - which will take 1,000 years - the kingdom is to be delivered up to the Father, that God maybe
all in all (1 Cor. 15: 24-28).
Preparation is presently being
made for that coming era - i.e., the bride is presently being acquired - and
preparation will be made during that coming era, by Christ and His bride, for
the eternal ages which follow.
The rule by Christ and His bride
will be confined to the earth alone during the Messianic Era (Psa. 2: 6-9; Rev. 2: 26, 27); but
during the eternal ages which follow, mans rule, first announced in Genesis, will extend out into the universe itself (Rev. 22: 1-5).
(In relation to Satans
aspirations to exalt his throne, resulting in his fall and disqualification to
continue holding the sceptre, note that there is a degree of irony in man one
day exercising regal power and authority beyond this earth, out in the
universe. This is the realm into which Satan sought to move; and man, brought
on the scene to replace Satan, will one day be allowed to move out into this
realm.)
* *
*
[Page 15]
2
In the
This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by
the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High
ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up
over it the basest of men (Dan. 4: 17).
The Book of Daniel,
in its overall scope, concerns itself with one major subject - the complete
history of the kingdom of this world, with its centre located in
Within this framework, Gentile
world power is looked upon after a dual fashion in Scripture. It is spoken of
as emanating from many kingdoms (...all the kingdoms of the world [Matt. 4: 8]), and it is also spoken of as emanating
from one kingdom (The kingdom of the world [Rev. 11: 15, ASV]).
The former is the manner in which Scripture views Gentile world power apart
from
At the time of the events in Matt. 4: 8 (Satan showing Christ all the kingdoms of the world), Gentile government was not
centered in
Gentile world power, in that
future day, will be under one man - Antichrist. He will rule the world through
a ten-kingdom confederacy (viewed as one world kingdom,
under one man), with its
governmental centre once again located in
The
times of the Gentiles began in
And the time when the prophecies
relating to the end-time form of this Gentile world kingdom will be fulfilled
is near at hand. We are living very near the end of mans allotted 6,000 years,
Mans Day; and it is certainly no mere coincidence that, in the Middle East,
during particularly about the past fifteen years, certain events have occurred
(and continue to occur) which bring (and continue to bring) things in perfect
alignment with the way the prophets said that they would exist in the end time.
Recent events in the Middle East
have caused the attention of the world to become focused on the Persian Gulf
area in general and upon
[Page 17]
(Note that the
And this is apparently the
manner in which conditions will exist in the final form of the Babylonian
kingdom. A literal city will exist, but there will apparently also be a
city-state comprising the whole of the kingdom, existing within the confines of
the original city-state.)
With these things in mind, the
present unfolding of the entire
Though Biblical prophecy is not
presently being fulfilled through different events transpiring in the
This is where attention is
focused in the Book of Daniel; and since this book has to do
with the beginning and the end of Gentile world power during Mans Day, God has
seen fit to reveal certain behind-the-scenes things relative to this power. God
has seen fit to reveal certain things concerning how He sovereignly governs the
earth as a province in His kingdom, though a rebel provincial ruler (Satan)
holds the sceptre, and fallen man exercises power under this ruler.
PRESENT GOVERNMENT OF THE EARTH
The manner in which the present government
of the earth has been established is really quite simple in its overall scope,
but within that scope specific matters become quite complex. In its simplicity,
God rules over all, Satan (with his angels) rules under God, and man rules
under Satan (and his angels). The matter then becomes quite [Page 18] complex within the framework of
Gods sovereign control of matters through both a rebel provincial ruler and
fallen man.
With one exception, the manner
in which the government of the earth is presently carried out has not changed
since the beginning. In the beginning, following the creation of the heavens
and the earth, God placed Satan (in his unfallen state) in the position of
provincial ruler over the earth, along with a great host of angels occupying
various positions of power and authority under him (Gen. 1: 1; Ezek. 28: 14, 15; cf. Matt. 25: 41; Eph. 6: 12; Rev. 12: 4). But,
at a point in time following Satans fall and disqualification (which would be
following the accompanying ruin and subsequent restoration of the earth, recorded in Gen. 1: 2-25),
another provincial ruler was brought on the scene to replace the incumbent
ruler. But the earths second provincial ruler was not of the angelic creation. Rather,
an individual created in the image and likeness of God was brought on the scene to take
the reins of government (Gen. 1: 26-28).
This is the one exception to the
past and present form of the government of the earth. In the beginning (Gen. 1: 1; Ezek. 28: 14, 15), man did not fit into the
equation. But for the past 6,000 years, matters have been different (Gen. 1: 26ff). Though Satan and his angels continue to
rule, man now has a part in the government, but not in the manner for which he
was created. Man was created to take the reins of government held by Satan;
but, because of his fall, man presently rules on the earth, among his own kind,
under the
incumbent ruler, i.e., under Satan, with his angels.
That is the manner in which
Scripture presents the present structure of the earths government - a
government in disarray, both within the ranks of the first and second
provincial rulers.
The first provincial ruler,
Satan, is not only presently holding the sceptre in a rebel fashion, but his
kingdom can only be in disarray. Two thirds of the original contingent of
angels, which God appointed in the beginning to rule with Satan (Rev. 11: 4), refused to go along with him in his vain
efforts to exalt his throne. Thus, the remaining one-third can only fall far
short of the number of angels which God had originally decreed necessary to
properly rule the earth.
Man was created to rule in the
stead of Satan
and his angels. But man, because of his fall, finds himself occupying a
position alien to [Page 19] that for
which he was created. He can now only rule under the one he was created to
replace.
Thus, certain things within the
present structure of the earths government are completely out of place, and
they will remain out of place until the end of the present [evil] age. At
that time, Satan and his angels will be put down, Christ and His co-heirs will
take the kingdom, and a God-ordained number of rulers will once again occupy
positions of power and authority.
1.
HEAVENLY PRINGES, EARTHLY PRINCES
The manner
in which the earth is presently governed is clearly set forth in Daniel chapters four and ten.
But for purposes of this part of the study, first note that which is revealed
in Daniel chapter ten.
In this chapter, Daniel had been
mourning (to walk with the head down, to lament) for three full
weeks. At the end of this time, Daniel saw a vision (vv. 5-7); and this was followed by the appearance of a heavenly
messenger to make known the things in the vision (vv. 10ff), which
corresponded to the things within Daniels thoughts. The vision had to do with
the things which would befall Daniels people
in the latter days (v. 14), which concerned mainly the
future day of Antichrist and the ultimate deliverance of the Jewish people (chs. 11,
12).
(By way of passing, note that Dan. 10: 14 makes it very clear that events in ch. 11 [also ch. 12]
have to do with the latter days, not with
events surrounding Antiochus Epiphanes, over 2,200 years ago as many attempt to
teach. Rather, events in this chapter [beyond v.
41 have to do with the future day of
Antichrist and the deliverance of the Jewish people at the time Antichrist is
put down [11: 45-12: 3]. In this
respect, Dan. 11:
24 corresponds to events prophesied in Dan. 8: 3-8, and events in Dan.
11: 5ff
correspond to events in Dan. 8: 9ff.)
However, for purposes of the
subject at hand - the government of the earth - another matter other than this
fourth and final vision shown to Daniel needs to be considered. The heavenly messenger
sent to Daniel, who made known things occurring during his three weeks of
mourning (corresponding to things in the vision), had been dispatched at the
very beginning of his time of mourning, but detained [Page 20] at a point enroute. He had been
detained in the heavens for
twenty-one days by the prince of the
This prince was so powerful that
Michael, one of the chief princes, had
to be dispatched from that part of the heavens where God dwells in order to effect
the deliverance of this messenger. And during this time the heavenly messenger
who had originally been sent to Daniel remained in the heavens with the kings of
Comparing this verse with verse twenty, where the prince of
(But, as will be shown, this
rule from the heavens [a rule from Satans domain in the heavens through men upon
the earth] has to do with the Gentile nations alone, not with
Satan is the provincial ruler,
the ruler over all the Gentile nations. Then under Satan, within
his heavenly kingdom, there
are lesser (but powerful) rulers governing various individual nations. Then
under these angelic rulers, still within the heavenly kingdom, there is a further breakdown of powers
and authorities (note the kings of
As seen in
Daniel chapter ten, among the Gentile nations on earth, [Page 21] all existing government is
structured after a parallel fashion to an existing government in the heavens.
There is a breakdown of powers under the earthly rulers which corresponds to a
breakdown of powers under the heavenly rulers. And, accordingly, there is no
such thing as Gentile rulers occupying positions of power and authority during
the present time apart from occupying these positions directly under a
breakdown of powers within the
Thus, 1) God sovereignly rules over all, 2) Satan rules under God,
3) angels within the kingdom of
Satan rule under him (occupying various positions of power and authority), and 4)
man then rules under these angels (holding various counterpart/parallel
positions on earth to those held by angels ruling under Satan in the heavens).
And since both fallen angels and fallen men are involved in the government of
the earth, numerous things would be
done outside the will of God; but nothing would be done outside Gods sovereign control of matters.
Exactly to what extent earthly
rulers are influenced and moved to act on the basis of decrees and
determinations rendered by their counterparts in the heavens could only be open
to speculation. There are fallen creatures ruling in the ranks of both, and
Satans kingdom itself is presently in disarray (note again that two-thirds of
the angels formerly ruling under Satan refused to have a part in his rebellion
[Rev. 12:
4]). Suffice
it to say though that possibly far more acts by world leaders than we may
realize conceivably have their origin in prior decrees and determinations
rendered by powerful fallen angels in Satans kingdom in the heavens.
But, there is one exception to the preceding type rulership
among men on earth and angels in Satans kingdom. The nation of
Thus, there is the major
governmental distinction between
(Refer to the authors book, GODS FIRSTBORN
SONS, Chapter 2, for more information along the preceding lines.)
2. WATCHERS AND HOLY ONES
Daniel chapter
four, along with showing Gods sovereign control over the entire
matter, reveals another behind-the-scenes facet of the earths government. This
chapter deals with watchers and holy ones who are operative within Gods government of the earth (vv. 17, 23-26, 32).
Nebuchadnezzar was the first
king of Babylon within the framework of that period covered by the Book of Daniel - the times of the
Gentiles, beginning with that period depicted by the head of gold on
the image in chapter two and ending with
that period depicted by the feet part of iron and part of clay on the same
image (vv. 37-45). God had given Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom
and had established him as the ruler. And, along with the kingdom and position
of power, God had given him, strength,
glory, majesty, and honour (cf. 2: 37, 38; 4: 17, 25, 32; 5: 18).
Nebuchadnezzar though looked
upon the matter after a different fashion. Nebuchadnezzar looked at his
kingdom, his position, and all that he possessed, and said,
Is not
this great
And because Nebuchadnezzar had
failed to recognize that the most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will
(vv. 17, 25, 32), all that
he possessed was
taken from him. He was suddenly stripped of his power,
strength, glory, majesty, and honour; and he was driven into the field to eat
grass as the oxen for seven years. And he was forced to remain in this position
until he recognized the truth about the origin of all which he possessed as
king of
The matter of Nebuchadnezzars
attitude and his removal from [Page 23] power
is where the watchers and holy ones enter into the picture. They are revealed as the ones who
acted on the Lords behalf through watching affairs within the kingdom, issuing
decrees, demanding that certain action be taken, and then themselves carrying
out that action. And, acting after this fashion under what could only have been
fixed laws, previously established by God, that which they did was looked upon
as having been done by the Lord Himself (cf. 4: 17, 23-32; 5: 18-20).
Within this same light, since
the watchers and holy ones were the individuals who actually removed
Nebuchadnezzar from power and stripped him of all that he possessed, it would
logically appear correct to view the watchers and holy ones as having also
previously acted on the Lords behalf after this same fashion in establishing Nebuchadnezzar
in his position of power, at the beginning. And, in this same respect, they were apparently also the ones who
re-established Nebuchadnezzar in the kingdom after he had spent seven years in
the fields, removed from the kingdom.
The Lord uses angels after this
and related fashions in numerous facets of everything which He does. Note for
example that the law was given through the disposition of
angels [the direction of angels -
God sovereignly acting through angels], though the Lord Himself was present (Ex. 19: 3; 24: 16-18; Acts 7: 38, 53; Gal. 3: 19; Heb. 2: 2). Then note how angels
will be very instrumental in bringing matters to pass during the coming
seven-year Tribulation, as revealed in the Book of Revelation (cf. 7: 1; 8: 2; 10: 1; 14: 6; 15: 1; 16: 1; 17: 1; 18: 1; 19: 14). And, during the present time, angels are very instrumental in
the Holy Spirits mission to acquire a bride
for Gods Son, though the Holy Spirit Himself is present (cf. Heb. 1: 13, 14; Rev. 2: 1, 8, 12, 18; 3: 1, 7, 14).
Events surrounding the
destruction of the cities of the plain during Abrahams day provide an example
of activity within the angelic world similar to that seen in Daniel chapter four. In this case a report had been presented to the Lord
concerning activity in the cities of the plain; and the Lord, in the company of
two angels, went down to see for Himself whether or not they had done altogether according to the cry of it. But even going down to see
for Himself (though, in His omniscience, God already knew everything about that
which He had come down to see), the two accompanying angels were [Page 24] the ones who actually went on
down into Sodom to see and act on the Lords behalf. The Lord remained with
Abraham in the high country, removed from the cities in the plain (Gen. 18: 20-22; 19: 1ff).
The two angels, acting on the
Lords behalf after this fashion (acting under fixed laws, previously
established by God), conducted matters after such a manner that the Lord
Himself was looked upon as the One doing these things. For example, the two
angels brought about the destruction of the cities of the plain, but the Lord
Himself was said to be the One Who destroyed these cities (Gen. 19: 13, 24).
And thats the fashion after
which the present government of the earth has been established and is being
carried out. God is sovereign, and He so rules. Nothing escapes His attention;
nor is anything done apart from His sovereign control of matters. He is the One Who establishes and removes rulers, along with
bestowing upon these rulers all which they possess; and He carries out all
things within His kingdom through angels who hold various assigned positions
and act on His behalf.
(Also note man acting in a
similar capacity [1 Sam. 15: 1, 17], though
angels undoubtedly had a prior part in the matter.)
Satan and his angels are still
in power (acting on the Lords behalf, though in a rebel capacity) and will
remain in this position until the end of the Tribulation. And man throughout
the Gentile nations, occupying positions of power and authority today, must, of
necessity, occupy these positions directly under Satan and his angels.
There is no alternate form under
which any present government among the Gentiles nations canfind
itself established today.
3.
EARTHLY RULERS
All rulers on earth today are
like Nebuchadnezzar in the sense that they have received everything which they
possess from the Lord (their positions of power, glory, honour, etc.). The Lord
is the One Who, through the direction of angels, placed them in their
respective positions of power and bestowed upon them all which they possess.
And, in this capacity, they are as Cyrus, King of Persia during Daniels day,
or Saul, King of Israel during Davids day - the Lords
anointed [Page 25] (cf. 1 Sam. 15: 17; Isa.
45: 1).
And within a Scriptural
framework, it is very wrong to do
that which is being done on a massive scale today - bring accusations against the Lords
anointed. Such
accusations can only reflect, after a negative fashion, upon the Lord Himself,
the One previously placing these individuals in their respective positions.
Note that those under Moses who
rebelled against his Divinely appointed leadership were, in reality, rebelling against
the One Who appointed him. They were rebelling against God Himself (cf. Num. 14: 2, 9).
This is why David had such
respect for the Lords anointed, Saul, even though Saul was a rebel king
(typifying Satan within the overall framework of the type). Saul had been
placed in his position by God, and this had to be recognized and dealt with
accordingly (1 Sam. 15:
1, 17). David refused to stretch forth his hand
against Saul during the time he was in exile (1 Sam. 24: 6). Then he later had one of his men slay
the Amalekite who had previously slain Saul; and this was for a reason which
went far beyond Gods command to slay Amalek and all that he had (cf. Deut. 25: 17-19; 1 Sam. 15: 3). This
particular Amalekite had slain the Lords anointed (cf. 1 Sam. 26: 9-11; 31: 3-6; 2 Sam. 1: 14-16).
Even Michael, when contending
with Satan about the body of Moses, wouldnt bring a railing accusation against him for the simple reason that Satan was (and
remains today) the Lords anointed. Michael simply said, The Lord rebuke thee (cf. Ezek. 28: 14; Jude 9).
There was a case during Davids
day where a man cursed the Lords anointed and cast stones at him. And the
question was later asked, Shall not Shimei [the
guilty party] be put to death for this ... ?
(2 Sam. 16:
5-7; 19: 21). Though Shimei received mercy at the
hands of David (19: 22, 23), his previous actions had been such that the death penalty was
brought into consideration.
4.
CHRISTIANS AND POLITICS
All of the preceding, for
Christians, insofar as earthly rulers are concerned, should really be neither
here nor there. Christians really should not find themselves involved in the
politics of this present world system after any fashion, for Scripture clearly
reveals that their [Page 26]
political involvement with the government of the earth lies in an entirely
different realm.
Scripture states,
For our
conversation is in heaven [lit., presently exists in (the) heavens];
from whence we also look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil.
3: 20).
The word, conversation, is a translation of the Greek word, politeuma, and could be better translated in the
English text as citizenship or commonwealth. The word, politeuma, is a form of the Greek word from
which we derive our English word politics
(from politikos). Accordingly, the thought within
citizenship or commonwealth as a translation of politeuma would have to do with politics. That stated in the Greek text of this
verse, in this respect, could perhaps best be conveyed in English by
translating, For our political sphere of activity presently
exists in the heavens...
This heavenly political sphere
of activity during the present time would centre itself around the heavenly
warfare (Eph. 6: 10ff), with a view to
Christs return and the establishment of His [messianic and millennial]
kingdom. Satan and his angels still occupy their appointed positions in
the heavens. Thus, Christians cannot rule from a heavenly sphere today.
The objective though is to
overcome in the present warfare in view of one day being accorded a position in the kingdom of
the heavens after Christ
takes the kingdom and Satan and his angels have been put down. In this respect,
Christ is to replace Satan, and Christians are to replace the incumbent rulers
presently holding positions of power under Satan (cf. 2 Sam. 1: 10; 2: 4; 5: 3; Dan. 7: 13, 14; Matt. 20: 23; Rev. 2: 26, 27; 3: 21; 11: 15; 19: 11ff).
(Refer to the Appendix for additional information
concerning Christ replacing Satan and Christians replacing angels ruling under
Satan in the coming kingdom.)
With these things in mind, its
a simple matter to understand how a Christian would be completely out of place
involving himself in the political activities of this present world system. His
present political sphere of activity is in an entirely different realm - both
as to time and [Page 27] place.
His outlook, politically, is to be heavenly and future, not
earthly and present. It is to encompass the same time and place that the goal
of the race in which he is presently involved lies. And while running this race
he is not to look around; rather he is to keep his eyes fixed on the goal and
not be distracted by the things of this present world system (Heb. 12: 1, 2).
Should a [regenerate]
Christian though choose to involve himself within the present system, he would only
be involving himself in a system lying under the governing control of the god
of this age. And should he aspire to hold a political office in the present
system, he would only be seeking to hold a position of power under a fallen
angel in the
It would be impossible for a [regenerate]
Christian to involve himself in the present world system and, at the same time, keep his
eyes fixed on the goal - [i.e., fixed upon Christs promised inheritance (see Ps.
2: 8. Cf. Josh.
17: 4; Ps. 33: 12; Col. 1: 12; 3: 24, R. V.)] - out ahead. These two realms of involvement
are completely incongruous; they are totally at odds with one another.
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please
him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not
crowned, except he strive lawfully (2 Tim. 2: 4, 5).
In short, this is not the
day in which Christians are to have a part in the governmental affairs of the
earth. That day for them, as it does for Christ, lies
in the future (cf. 1 Cor. 4: 1-8).
FUTURE GOVERNMENT OF THE EARTH
The future government of the
earth is destined to be administered by man. Man was brought into existence for
this purpose, and, according to Rom. 11: 29, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance [without a change of mind]. God will
not change His mind concerning the reason He called man into existence.
The world to come will not be
ruled by angels, but by man (Heb. 2: 5). This
is really the message of the whole of Scripture. This is the manner in which
Scripture both opens and closes; and the central reason for the fall and
purpose surrounding redemption must be understood within this same framework.
[Page 28]
But, prior to the purpose for
redemption being realized, Satan is going to engineer his final thrust to
thwart Gods plans and purposes. He is going to bring his man upon the scene, the seed
of the serpent - Antichrist (Gen. 3: 15). Were told though, in this same section of Scripture, at
the very beginning, 6,000 years before it actually occurs, that the Seed of
the woman will
have the final word in the matter. He will be the Victor in that day (cf. Gen. 3: 15; Dan. 7: 11; 11: 36-45; Rev. 19: 11ff), and
then Gods purpose for bringing man into existence will begin to be realized.
1. DAY
OF ANTICHRIST
Satan is to one day give his power, and his seat [throne], and great authority to the
final ruler of the
Satan will give unto Antichrist
the same thing which he offered to Christ in the temptation account (Luke 4: 5, 6). Antichrist, unlike Christ, will accept
the offer, and this man will then rule the earth in this capacity for three and
one-half years, resulting in troublous times of such a nature that no parallel
will have existed throughout mans past 6,000-year history. Scripture states,
For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,
no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days
should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects
sake, those days shall be shortened (Matt.
24: 21, 22a).
The elect is a reference to
[* NOTE: There
are multitudes of regenerate believers who are amongst the elect
of God - (relative to being adopted into His redeemed family) - but they
may not be allowed to inherit
His coming Kingdom! See 1 Cor.
6: 9; Eph. 5: 5. Cf. Heb. 12: 14-17, R.V..
Others, who rightly believe and
teach a Pre-Tribulation rapture - (which must occur sometime before
the Antichrist breaks his covenant of peace with the nation of
If this popular theory is
correct, it most certainly does nothing to encourage the Lords redeemed people
in holy and righteous
living!: and, furthermore, it assumes God will turn a blind eye to any disobedience,
unfaithfulness, and ultimate apostasy by His redeemed people! Scripture is
filled with Divine threats against the Christians disobedience and wilful sin (Heb. 10: 26-30); but multitudes of Gods redeemed people today
appear to ignore His accountability truths and conditional
promises! but the Righteous Judge will not
change (Malachi 3: 6); or act
contrary to His Word; or allow any
of His disobedient and unrepentant people to escape the dreaded
forty-two-month period of persecutions under the coming Antichrist!]
2. DAY
OF CHRIST
In that coming day when Christ
and His co-heirs ascend the throne together and jointly exercise power over the
earth,
The Church [of the firstborn] will be
established as the ruling nation in the heavens, exercising power with Christ
from His Own throne (cf. Matt. 21: 43; 1 Peter 2: 9, 10; Rev. 3: 21); and Israel will be
established as the ruling nation on earth, with Christ reigning from Davids
throne in the nations midst (cf. Joel 2: 27-32; Luke 1: 31-33). Rulership will emanate from
That will be the day in which man
will come into a full realization of his very existence. And when that future
day is ushered in, there will be a 1,000-year period, to be followed by an
eternity of endless ages, in which man will occupy positions in Gods
government over not only this earth but ultimately out in the universe as well.
* *
*
[Page 31]
3
From the Heavens Over the Earth
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise
out of the earth.
But the saints of the most High [lit., the saints of the
high places] shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and
ever (Dan. 7: 17, 18).
The final form of the
The Stone striking the image at
its feet forms the Biblical description of
And
Thus, since the kingdom depicted
by a part of the image has yet to appear (that part which is to be smitten),
the composite form which the kingdom must take at the time of its destruction
can only await the re-emergence of Babylon in that future day. The image must be
complete at the
time of its destruction. This is something which could not have occurred at any
point in history; nor can it occur today. It can occur only during the future days of
Antichrist, during the days of the last king of
And, remaining within this same line
of thought, one can easily understand what is meant in Dan. 7: 4-6, 11, 12 by the first three great beasts
(likened to a lion, a bear, and a leopard) having their dominion taken away but
their lives prolonged for a season and time. These beasts depict the
kingdom as it existed from the days of Nebuchadnezzar to the days of Alexander
the Great; and these three segments of the kingdom, though they have long since
faded into obscurity, didnt die. Rather, they are presented in
the Book of Daniel as living down through time, and they are
further presented in the book as being alive as an integral part of the final
form during the days of Antichrist.
All of the great beasts in Dan. 7: 4-7 (a beast in this section of Scripture represents a form of
the
Note the first three great
beasts in verse twelve in this respect. Their dominion
was taken away (in history, not at the time of events in the previous verse, v. 11), but
they continued to live, awaiting the days of Antichrist and the destruction of
[Page 33]
Thus, the death (destruction) of
the first three great beasts (v. 12) occurs at the same time as the death
(destruction) of the fourth great beast - when the Stone strikes the image at
its feet and breaks in pieces together the
iron, the clay [fourth
beast], the brass [third beast], the silver [second beast], and the gold [first
beast] (v. 11;
cf. Dan. 2:
34, 35, 44, 45). Verse twelve simply provides additional information to help explain verse eleven and the preceding vision of the four great beasts, and these
verses must be understood in the light of that which had previously been
revealed about the image in chapter two.
Then, the kingdom of the world [one world kingdom, with its governmental
centre in
The Stone cut out of the mountain without hands will smite the image at a time
when the kingdom will have reached its zenith of world power (note that for the
first time in Babylons history all four parts of the image will be living
together); and in this manner, Gentile world power will suddenly and swiftly be
brought to an end (Dan. 2: 34, 35, 44, 45; 7: 11, 23-26; cf. Rev. 19: 11-21).
(For additional information
concerning that depicted by the image in Daniel
chapter two and the four great beasts in Daniel
chapter seven, refer to the authors book, THE TIME OF JACOBS TROUBLE,
Chapter 3.
Also, note Theonomy
- the Kingdom Now theology - with
particularly respect to the prophecies in Daniel.
Theonomy [very prevalent thought in certain segments
of Christendom today, especially among those in Charismatic circles] teaches
that the Church is to gradually take over the kingdoms of this world, through
present spiritual-political means, etc. This is looked upon in the same sense
as the leaven permeating the meal, till the whole was
leavened, in Matt. 13: 33 - a
parable often misunderstood and used to depict the spread of that which is good rather than that which is evil, seeking, through this means, to give credence
to false ideologies of this nature. And, viewing matters along these lines,
would, correspondingly, form a [Page 34] major
reason for Christians to involve themselves in the political structure of the
present world system under Satan.
Theonomy is
simply a re-emergence of the old postmillennial ideology [restructured for the
times, etc.], prevalent in Christendom during pre-WWII days. And it is no more
true in its restructured form today than it was in its original form. According
to Scripture, the Church can have no part - nor should the Church even seek to
have a part - in bringing to pass the kingdoms of the present world system
being controlled and governed by the Lord at the time of His return.
Rather, nothing can be done along the lines of a change
in administration until that day when there is once again one world kingdom
with its governmental centre located in
Also, in this same respect, as
previously seen, the times of the Gentiles
will end with the Stone striking the image at its feet, not before. Thus, this period, which began with
Some have sought to teach that the times of the Gentiles came to an end when the
Jews retook the old city of
SAINTS OF THE HIGH PLACES
The kingdom of the heavens in Matthews gospel, or heavenly [Page 35] places in Ephesians, or a heavenly calling in Hebrews, do not form companion references
peculiar to the New Testament. Rather, the overall thought of man occupying
heavenly positions in the kingdom, as opposed to earthly positions, was
previously set forth different places in the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis (cf. Gen. 14:
18, 19; 15: 5; 22: 17, 18).
Abraham, five centuries prior to
the time of any written revelation understood this matter and looked toward a
calling beyond the earthly, to a heavenly (Heb. 11: 8-16). And numerous other Old Testament saints
living at different times following Abraham did exactly the same thing. They
looked beyond the earthly to the heavenly as well (Heb. 11: 32-40).
Thus, it is nothing new in
either Old or New Testament revelation when one finds a reference to saints being
placed in positions of power and authority in the heavens following the
overthrow of this present world system, as in the Book of Daniel, Matthews gospel, Ephesians, or Hebrews. This is a teaching which has its origin in Genesis.
Satan and his angels presently
rule from the heavens over the earth, and Christ with His co-heirs will one day replace the incumbent governmental powers
and rule from the same location, from the heavens. Christ will replace Satan,
and Christians will replace the angels ruling under Satan. The whole matter is
really set forth in Scripture after that simple of a fashion.
1.
Two millenniums following Adams
fall, God called one man out of the human race to be the instrument through whom
His plans and purposes for having brought man into existence would ultimately
be realized. God called Abraham out from
The first two of these three
purposes have been realized, but the latter awaits fulfilment. It awaits that
day in the immediate future when
In the Old Testament,
There was no [Gentile] Church
at this time. Aside from that fact, all spiritual promises and blessings must
be realized through, and only through, the seed of Abraham. Thus, only
(And this will explain a central
reason why Christ, when commissioning His twelve disciples to carry the message
concerning the kingdom of the heavens to
The Gentiles were aliens from the
Since Israel alone was in view
after this fashion, how can the Church later fit into certain Old Testament promises
(or passages such as Matt. 8: 11, 12), which
it does? And, since the Church does later fit into certain promises and
blessings given to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob (or
certain passages in the gospel accounts) - which had to do with
Has the Church supplanted
[Page 37]
Some understand matters after
the preceding fashion, but Scripture teaches something entirely different. God
is no more through with
(This is what was in view when
God announced
Paul, in
I say
then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an
Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew...
The words, God forbid, are a translation of a Greek negative appearing with a verb
in the optative mood, which is a very rare mood in the Greek New Testament. Paul
used this expression fourteen of the fifteen times in which it appears in the
New Testament, and he used it mainly to express his abhorrence to an inference
which he had raised (cf. Rom. 3: 4, 6, 31; Gal. 2: 17; 3: 21; 6: 14).
The inference in Rom. 11: 1 had to
do with God casting
Then, later in the same chapter,
in keeping with what he had declared concerning
2.
CHRISTIANS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
But, if God already had a nation
through which His plans and purposes could be realized, why call into existence
a new entity - the [Gentile] Church
- through which at least a part of His plans and purposes would, as well, be
realized? Why did God not just simply accomplish the entire matter through the
lineal descendants of Abraham, leaving matters, in this respect, as they had
stood for the preceding two millenniums?
The answer is derived from that
which
The nations rejection of the kingdom of the heavens resulted in this
facet of the kingdom (the heavenly promises and blessings) being taken from
Israel, with a new entity - the [Gentile] Church - then being called into existence
to be the recipient of that which Israel had rejected.
Following the offer and
subsequent rejection of the kingdom of the heavens, with the events of Calvary
only several days away, Christ responded to that which Israel had done (and was
about to climax at Calvary) through removing
the nation from the position
it held relative to heavenly promises and blessings. At that time,
concluding a parable dealing with the Householder and His vineyard (Matt. 21: 33-39) -
which had to do with matters surrounding Christ and
Christ asked,
When the Lord
therefore of the vineyard cometh, what
will he do unto those husbandmen [the Jews, those to whom He was
speaking, the ones who had rejected the Householders Son and were about to
cast [Page 39] Him out
of the vineyard and slay Him]?
And these Jewish religious
leaders, not yet realizing that He was speaking about them and the nation at
large, responded,
He will
miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let
out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which
shall render him the fruits in their seasons (vv.
40, 41; cf. v. 45).
It was then that Christ drew
from the Old Testament Scriptures, identifying Himself as the Chief Corner
Stone, the One Whom the nation had rejected and was about to cast out of the
vineyard and slay (v. 42; cf. Psa. 118: 22, 23). And He then made the announcement concerning
the proffered kingdom being taken from
Therefore
say I unto you, The kingdom of God [referring
to that facet of the kingdom of God which had been offered, the heavenly
portion of the kingdom] shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof
(v. 43).
Then the Church, an entirely new
entity, whose future existence had been previously announced (Matt. 16: 18), was
shortly thereafter called into existence for the express purpose of being that nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (1 Peter 2: 9, 10). And since all spiritual blessings and promises must flow through
Abraham and his progeny (Gen. 12: 1-3; 22: 17, 18), the Church [of the firstborn], in
order to be the nation spoken of in Matt. 21: 43 and 1 Peter 2: 9, must be
identified with Abraham.
This is accomplished through the
Christians positional standing in Christ.
Christ is Abrahams Seed, and Christians, through their positional standing in Christ, are likewise Abrahams seed, and heirs according
to the promise (Gal. 3: 16, 29).
Thus, during the coming age, in
relation to the government of the earth and in line with Gen. 22: 17, 18, the Seed of Abraham will occupy
positions in both heavenly and earthly places, though the vast majority of the numerous individuals
occupying heavenly places in the kingdom will not be lineal
descendants of
Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. [Page 40] Rather,
they will have become Abrahams seed through their positional
standing in Christ.
Governmental rule will emanate
from both
(In the preceding respect,
Christ will have a dual reign at this time - both from His Own throne in the
heavens and from Davids throne on the earth. But neither
Since the Church has become the
repository for the heavenly promises and blessings originally held by Israel,
sections of Old Testament Scripture such as Abrahams seed likened to the stars of the heaven (Gen.
22: 17, 18) or the saints of the most High [saints of the high places (heavenly
places)] (Dan. 7:
18, 22, 25, 27) would today relate to the Church - [of the firstborn]. This would
also be true concerning sections in the gospel accounts having to do with the
kingdom of the heavens, such as entrance into the kingdom in Matt. 7: 13, 14, 21-23; 8: 11, 12.
But all of this has nothing to
do with [the nation of]
(But what about those Old
Testament saints who looked toward heavenly promises and blessings and died in
the faith prior to Christs announcement in Matt.
21: 43? Scripture clearly reveals that the
removal of this facet of the kingdom from Israels possession at Christs first
coming cannot make null and
void any previous acceptance by individual Jews of that which God had promised
[cf. Matt. 8:
11, 12; Heb. 11: 13-16, 39, 40]. Christs announcement in Matt. 21: 43 though
does forever do away [Page 41] with
Following Christs announcement
to
THE MILLENNIUM AND BEYOND
According to Dan. 7: 18, 22, 27, the day is coming when the saints of the most High [saints of the
high places (heavenly places)] are
going to take and possess the - [promised (Ps. 2: 8) Millennial and Messianic] -
kingdom. It will be exactly the same kingdom which presently exists under
Satan - a governed province within Gods universal kingdom. Thats why
Scripture states,
The kingdom of
the world [the present existing kingdom, under Satan] is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ [the same kingdom, but under a new administration]
(Rev. 11: 15, ASV).
In the type, in the Books of 1, 2 Samuel, when
Saul was finally put down and David with his faithful men moved in and took
over the government, they took and possessed the same kingdom which had previously existed
under Saul. It was the
(Refer to the Appendix for additional information
concerning the typology seen in the Books of 1,
2 Samuel.)
And, as
seen in the typology of the Books of 1, 2 Samuel, so will it be in the antitype.
When Christ and His co-heirs move in and take over the government, they will
rule the same kingdom which
Satan and his angels previously ruled. They will rule the one province in the [Page 42]
This is the matter dealt with in
1 Cor.
15: 24-28:
Then
cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up
the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and
power.
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death.
For he hath put all
things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put
under him, it is manifest that he is excepted,
which did put all things under him.
And when all things
shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be
subject unto him that put all things under him, that
God may be all in all.
At the beginning of the
Millennium, the curse will be lifted (with the creation restored to its
condition preceding the fall), and there will be literally millions of
individuals (Jews and Gentiles alike [both saved and unsaved among the
Gentiles]) entering the earthly sphere of the kingdom ruled by Christ and His
co-heirs, with Israel placed at the head of the nations on earth [cf. Isa. 11: 6-9; 35: 1ff, Acts 3: 19-21]). Israel will provide the evangels to
carry Gods message to the ends of the earth during this period; and it will
require 1,000 years of a righteous rule, with a rod of iron, to
bring about complete order out of chaos.
That is,
when Christ returns, Gentile world power will be destroyed, suddenly,
swiftly, and completely, with
Satan and his angels being correspondingly put down after the same fashion.
Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss. Then the physical creation will be
restored, Israel will be saved and restored to the land at the head of the
nations on earth, Christians (previously shown qualified at the judgment seat)
will be positioned in heavenly places in view of their
impending rule as co-heirs with Christ, and the Gentiles surviving the
Tribulation will then form the nations entering the kingdom on earth (cf. Matt. 24: 13, 14, 31; 25: 20-23; Rev. 20: 1-3).
[Page 43]
These things will apparently
occur within the scope of a seventy-five-day period which will exist between
the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of the Millennium (Dan. 12: 11, 12); but
even with conditions as such, God is still going to take 1,000 years beyond
that point to bring complete order out of chaos.
(Matthew
25: 31-46
comprises a section of the Olivet Discourse often used attempting to show that
only saved individuals will populate the earth at the beginning of the millennium.
Those following this line of thought teach that this section has to do with a
judgment of all living Gentiles surviving the Tribulation, both saved and
unsaved, with the saved being allowed to enter into the kingdom and the unsaved
being cast into the lake of fire.
A teaching of this nature has
its sole basis in a misunderstanding of this section of Scripture. By its own
internal evidence, eternal salvation or damnation is not the subject matter in Matt. 25: 31-46. The subject at hand has to do with realizing or not realizing an inheritance in
the kingdom, not with eternal
verifies [v. 34]).
And, in keeping with the
preceding, the Creek word aionios, translated everlasting
and eternal in vv.
41, 46
would, in the light of v, 34, have to be understood as age-lasting, not eternal
as it has been translated in most versions of Scripture.
Neither the Hebrew of the O.T.
nor the Greek of the N.T. contains a word for eternal.
Olam is the word translated eternal, everlasting,
or perpetual in English translations of the
O.T., and aion [a noun] or aionios [the adjective form of aion]
are the words translated eternal or everlasting in the N.T. [aidios,
an older form of aionios, used only two times and meaning exactly the same as aionios,
is the only exception (Rom. 1: 20 and Jude 6)].
Olam, aion,
and aionios
all have to do with a long period of time,
which, if the context permits, can refer to eternity
[e.g., the Aionios God in Rom. 16: 26]. But the words standing alone, apart from a
context, cannot be understood
as eternal. Context is the all-important factor to ascertain
the length of time in view when these words are used.
Aion and aionios
are usually thought of and used numerous times in the N.T. in the sense of an age. And a
usage of this nature is even brought over into English. For example, the
English word aeon [or eon] is derived from the Greek word aion.
[Page 44]
The only way in which the Greek
text can express eternal apart from textual
considerations is through a use of aion in the plural [e.g., Luke 1: 33; Heb. 13: 8,
referring to the ages, i.e., ages without end, which would comprise eternity] or a double
use of aion, in the plural
and articular both times [e.g., Rev. 1: 6; 4: 9, 10,
referring to the ages of the ages, again, ages
without end].
And the use of aionios in Matt.
25: 41, 46, referring to an inverse of that seen in verse thirty-four
[failing to realize an inheritance in the kingdom] can only be understood as age-lasting. It can
only be understood as referring to the outcome of a judgment of unfaithful
saved Gentiles coming out of the Tribulation.
A judgment of the unsaved, with
eternal verifies in view, could not possibly be the subject at hand in Matt. 25: 41, 46. First,
the context will not permit such an understanding of these verses; and second,
inheritance in the kingdom, contextually in view, would limit this judgment to
the saved alone. Note Rom. 8: 17: And if children, then heirs...
Sheep
and goats (vv.
32, 33),
can only be understood contextually as a metaphorical way of describing two classes of saved individuals,
similar to the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matt.
13: 24-30. The unsaved and eternal verities simply cannot
be in view in either passage. Rather, in both passages, only the saved, with a view to an inheritance or non-inheritance
in the kingdom, can be in
view.
The extensive use of metaphors in sections of Scripture such as Matt. 13, 24, 25 must
be recognized. Note, for
example, meat or food
in Matt. 24:
45; 25: 35, 42, all
part of the same discourse. The use is metaphorical in chapter
twenty four [referring to that which is spiritual, the Word of God],
when dealing with the judgment of a servant; and the servant rendering an
account at the time of his Lords return is with a view to regality [realizing or not realizing a position
with Christ in the kingdom (cf. Luke 12: 42-48)]. Why
should the matter be viewed after any different fashion in chapter twenty-five when also dealing with a
judgment of individuals at the time of the Lords return, with a view to inheritance in the kingdom
[exactly the same as regality previously seen in chapter
twenty-four, though stated in a different manner]?
Understanding the preceding
after this fashion [which, in reality, is the only contextually correct way to
view this section of Scripture] will, again, show that only saved individuals can possibly be in view throughout Matt. 25: 31-46. Both
those depicted by [Page 45] the sheep and the goats
are seen as being in a position to dispense meat,
food. Unsaved man cannot occupy a position of
this nature.
There is no such thing in
Scripture as a judgment of unsaved Gentiles at the end of Mans Day, prior to
the millennium. Rather, the millennium itself will form their judgment in this
respect, for the millennium will simply be 1,000 years of a righteous judgment,
when Christ and His co-heirs will rule the nations with a rod of iron.)
Man, on the earth during the
Messianic Era, will possess a body of flesh, blood, and bone, with the old sin
nature still present [i.e., he will
possess a natural body (a soulical body; Gk. psuchikos, Rom. 2: 24; 1 Cor. 15: 44, 46), identical to that which man
possesses today]. This will be true both within the camp of
(Note that Christ can presently
exercise a ministry in the heavenly sanctuary after the order of Aaron, though
not of the Aaronic line, for the simple reason that His ministry today is on
behalf of Christians [who do not come under covenants made with
Man, on the earth during that future day, still
possessing the old sin nature, will beget children who must be redeemed; and
sin and death will correspondingly occur within activities surrounding man at
that time. And, as a consequence of mans condition, Scripture presents the
possibility of man rebelling against the authority which will emanate from
Jerusalem above and from Jerusalem below (Isa. 65: 20; Zech. 14: 16-19) - something clearly seen in its climactic form in
that which is revealed concerning Satan being loosed at the end of the
millennium and leading a number described as the sand of the sea in rebellion
against the King in Jerusalem (Rev. 20: 7-9).
[Page 46]
And within this whole scenario
lies the reason God has set aside 1,000 years to bring complete order out of
chaos. As previously stated, Christ and His co-heirs will reign - with a rod of iron, breaking the nations and dashing them into pieces, likened unto a potters vessel being struck and shattered (cf, Psa. 2: 6-9; Rev. 2: 26, 27) -
until all things have been brought under subjection.
At the end of the 1,000 years -
after all things have been subdued unto
Christ and He has delivered up the kingdom to the Father (1 Cor. 15: 24, 28) - all things will then be made new. Then, not before, there will be
no more death ... sorrow ... crying ... pain... In that day there will be no need for a priest to
represent man to God and God to man, for God Himself will dwell with man, and they shall be his people, and
God Himself shall be with them, and be their God
(Rev. 21: 3-5).
This will be the scene beyond
the millennium, after complete order once again exists in all parts of Gods
universal kingdom. There will be a new heaven [the
heaven associated with this earth and solar system, not the universe] and a new earth (Rev. 21: 1). The New
Jerusalem will be the capital of the new earth (Rev. 21: 2), which
probably will be a much larger earth than presently exists, large enough to
accommodate a city of this size. And universal rule will emanate from the throne of God and of the Lamb on the
new earth (Rev. 21: 1-3). That
is, God Himself will dwell on the new earth and, with His Son, rule the
universe from this location.
And man, in that day, will come
into a complete realization of the purpose which God had in mind for His creation in the beginning. Up to
this time, mans rule will have been limited to the earth alone. But, during the eternal
ages following the millennium, man will exercise positions of power and
authority of a universal nature in Gods
kingdom. And even the saved Gentile nations and those Christians not holding
positions of power and authority during the millennium will be brought into and
have a part in this rule (Rev. 21: 4; 22: 2, 5).
* * *
[Page 47]
APPENDIX
Crowned Rulers - Christ, Christians
When Christ returns to the
earth at the conclusion of the Tribulation, He will have many crowns upon His
head (Rev. 19:
12). But these crowns, through
comparing this section in Revelation with
other Scriptures on the subject, are not crowns which Christ will wear during
the Messianic Era. Christ is destined to wear the crown which Satan presently
wears; and at the time Christ returns to the earth, Satan will still be in
possession of his crown. Satans crown will have to be taken from him (by
force) and given to Christ before Christ
can actually sit upon the throne and occupy, in its fullest sense, the position
depicted in Rev. 19:
16: King of kings,
and Lord of lords.
SAUL AND DAVID, SATAN AND CHRIST
Certain things concerning
crowns, especially relative to the crown which Christ is to wear, can possibly
best be illustrated by referring to the typology of Saul and David in the Books
of 1, 2
Samuel.
Saul had been anointed king over
Affairs continued after this
fashion in the camp of
The day eventually came when
this occurred. Saul, following a battle and an attempted suicide, was slain by
an Amalekite. His crown was taken and delivered to David (1 Sam. 31: 1-13; 2 Sam. 1: 1-10). Then, David and his faithful men moved in and
took over the government (2 Sam. 2: l ff).
The entire sequence of events
depicting Saul and David typifies great spiritual truths concerning Satan and
Christ.
Just as Saul was anointed king
over Israel, Satan was anointed king over the earth; just as Saul rebelled
against the Lord and was rejected, Satan rebelled against the Lord and was
rejected; just as David was anointed king while Saul continued to reign, Christ
was anointed King while Satan continued to reign; just as David did not
immediately ascend the throne, Christ did not immediately ascend the throne;
just as David eventually found himself in a place removed from the kingdom (out
in the hills), Christ eventually found Himself in a place removed from the
kingdom (heaven); just as David gathered certain faithful men unto himself
during this time (anticipating his future reign), Christ is presently gathering
certain faithful men unto Himself (anticipating His future reign); just as the
day came when Saul was put down, the day will come when Satan will be put down;
just as Sauls crown was taken and given to David, Satans crown will be taken
and given to Christ; and just as David and his faithful followers then moved in and took over the
government, Christ and His faithful - [repentant, and obedient] - followers will then move in and take over the [present world] government.
PURPOSE FOR THE PRESENT DISPENSATION
A principle of Divine government
set forth in the type of Saul and David shows the necessity of an incumbent
ruler, although rejected, continuing to reign until replaced by his successor.
The government [Page 49] of the
earth is a rule under God through delegated powers and authorities. In this
respect, Satan rules directly under God (though a rebel ruler), and a great
host of subordinate angels rule with him.
Even though Satan and his
followers have been rejected, they must continue in power (as
Saul and those ruling with him) until replaced by Christ and His followers (as
when David and his faithful followers took the kingdom). God will not, at any time, allow conditions to exist upon the
earth in which there is no Divinely administered government through delegated
powers and authorities. Even though the government of the earth is in disarray
today, because of Satans rebellion, it is still under Gods sovereign power
and control (Dan. 4: 17-34).
The present dispensation - [and evil age of apostasy (see Acts 20: 29-31; cf. 1
Tim. 4: 1, 2; 2 Tim. 4: 1-4; Jude 4,
R.V.)] - is the time during which the
antitype of Davids faithful followers being gathered unto him occurs. As
during Davids time, so during the present time - there must be
a period, preceding the King - [and His promised Kingdom] - coming into power,
during which the rulers are called out. Davids men - [and faithful obedient-followers] - were the ones who occupied positions of
power and authority with him after he took Sauls crown. Thus will it be when
Christ takes Satans crown. Those who are being called out during the present
time are the ones who will occupy positions of power and authority with Him
during that coming [millennial] day.
Satan will be allowed to
continue his reign until Gods purpose for this present dispensation [and evil age] has been accomplished. Then, he and those ruling with him will be
put down, and an entirely new order of rulers will take the kingdom. Christ
will enter into the position previously occupied by Satan, and - [accounted worthy (see Luke 20: 35; cf. Phil.
3: 11; Rev. 2: 25, R.V.)] - Christians will enter into positions
previously occupied by angels ruling under Satan.
And since Christ (replacing Satan)
will wear the crown presently worn by Satan, it only naturally follows that
Christians (replacing subordinate powers and authorities) will wear crowns
presently worn by angels ruling under Satan. All of these are crowns which
neither Christ nor Christians can come into possession of until Satan
and his angels have been put down at the end of the [Great]
Tribulation.
ANGELIC RULE ABOUT TO END
The
originally established angelic rule over the earth has continued [Page 50] uninterrupted since the beginning,
preceding mans existence on the earth. However, with the creation of Adam, God
announced that a change was in the offing. Man, an entirely new creation, made after the
image and likeness
of God, was brought into existence to take the governmental reins
of the earth (Gen. 1: 26-28). But
the first man (the first Adam), through sin, was disqualified, necessitating
the appearance of the second Man (the last Adam) to effect redemption and the
ultimate realization for mans creation.
The [full] price has been paid, but redemption - [by Christ Jesus] - includes far more than that which presently exists.
Redemption includes the complete man (body, soul, and spirit), it
includes the earth (presently
under a curse), and the goal of redemption will be realized only - [after the the First Resurrection (see
Acts 2: 34ff.
cf.
Ezek. 34:
23ff., R.V.)] - when man has been brought into the position for which he was
created (ruling over a restored earth).
Scripture clearly attests to the
fact that the world [inhabited
world] to come will not
be placed in subjection to angels (Heb. 2:
5). Man is the one to whom power and authority
will be delegated.
This is clearly seen through the
action of the twenty-four elders in Rev. 4: 10, removing
themselves from their thrones (v. 4) and casting their crowns before Gods throne. Their activity can only be with
a view to the fact that the government of the earth, at this point in the
sequence of events depicted in the book, is about to change hands.
These twenty-four elders can only
be a representative group of heavenly beings (angels) who, up
to this time, had held positions within a sphere of governmental power and
authority relative to the earth. And at this point in the book, through the
action of these elders, the way will be opened for God to transfer the
government of the earth from the hands of angels to the hands of man.
(These crowns are cast before
Gods throne [cf. 4: 1-4;
5: 1-7]
because the Father alone is the One Who places and / or removes
rulers in His kingdom [Dan. 4: 17-37; 5: 18-21]. He
alone is the One Who placed those represented by the twenty-four elders in
the positions which they occupied, - and He alone is the One Who will place
individuals in particular positions in the kingdom of Christ [Matt. 20: 20-23].
These crowns cast before Gods
throne can only have to do with the government of the earth. And, at this point in the book, they
can be worn [Page 51] by
angels alone, for the Son will
not yet have taken the kingdom [cf. Dan. 7: 13, 14; Rev. 11: 15]. These crowns are relinquished to God
at this time [with a view to man, rather than angels, ruling in the kingdom] so
that He can appoint those who had previously been shown qualified at events
surrounding the judgment seat [chs.
1-3] to
positions of power and authority; and those whom God appoints will wear these
crowns in Christ's kingdom.)
The transfer of the government
of the earth from the hands of angels into the hands of man, in reality, is
what the first nineteen chapters of the Book of Revelation are
about; and, as well, this is what the whole of Scripture preceding these
nineteen chapters is also about. In this respect, these twenty-four elders casting
their crowns before Gods throne forms a key event which one must grasp if he would
properly understand the Book of Revelation and
Scripture as a whole.
Christ and His bride, in that coming day, will rule the earth in the stead of Satan and his angels. And, in the
process of ruling in this manner, they will wear all the crowns worn by
Satan and his angels prior to Satans fall.
Thus, that which is depicted
through the action of the twenty-four elders in Rev. 4: 10, 11 is contextually
self-explanatory. This has to do with the government of the earth, it occurs at
a time following events surrounding the judgment seat (chs. 1-3) but preceding Christ being shown worthy to
break the seals of the seven-sealed scroll (ch. 5), and
it occurs at a time when Satans reign is about to be brought to a close.
After events in Revelation chapters one through three have
come to pass, for the first time in mans history, the person (the bride) who
is to rule with the One to replace Satan (Christ) will have been made known and
shown forth. And events in the fourth chapter reflect that fact.
Only one thing could possibly be
in view at this point in the book, for the bride will not only have been made
known but will be ready for events surrounding the transfer of power to begin.
The twenty-four elders casting their crowns before Gods throne can only depict
the angels who did not go along with Satan in his rebellion; and they will
willingly relinquish their crowns, with a view to those comprising the bride
wearing these crowns during the Messianic Era.
[Page 52]
But the crowns worn by Satan and
those angels presently ruling with him are another matter. These crowns will
have to be taken from Satan and his angels by force when Christ returns to overthrow
Gentile world power at the end of the Tribulation (a power exercised during
Mans Day under Satan and his angels [Dan. 10: 13-20]).
The identity of the
twenty-four elders is shown not only by their actions and the
place in which this occurs in the book but also by their number. Comparing Revelation chapters four and twelve (4: 4, 10, 11; 12: 3, 4), it appears evident that the government of
the earth - originally established by God prior to Satans fall - was representatively
shown by three sets of twelve, thirty-six crowned rulers. Three is the
number of Divine perfection, and twelve is the number of governmental perfection.
Those angels who did not follow Satan
in his attempt to exalt his throne would be represented by the twenty-four
elders - two sets of twelve, showing two-thirds of the original
contingent of angels ruling with Satan. And the angels who did go along with Satan, presently ruling
with him, would be represented by a third set of twelve,
showing the other one-third of the original contingent of angels ruling with
Satan (Rev. 12: 3, 4).
In this respect, these three
representative sets of twelve would show Divine perfection in the earths
government. And,
also in this respect, this same perfection in the structure of the earths
government has not existed since Satans attempt to exalt his throne.
But, this structured perfection
will one day again exist in the earths government. When Christ and His bride
ascend the throne together, crowns worn by those represented by all three sets
of twelve will be brought together again. Then, Divine perfection will once again exist in the
government of the one province in Gods universe where imperfection has existed
for millenniums.
STEPHANOS, DIADEMA
There are two words in the Greek
text of the New Testament which are translated crown in
English versions. The first and most widely used word is stephanos (or the
verb form, stephanoo), referring to a victors crown or a crown denoting certain types of
worth or [Page 53] valour. The other word is diadema, referring to a crown denoting regal authority, kingly
power.
Stephanos (or the verb form, stephanoo) is the
only word used for crown in the New Testament outside
the Book of Revelation. This, for example, is the word
used referring to the crown of thorns placed upon Christs head
immediately preceding His crucifixion (Matt. 27: 29; Mark 15: 17; John 19: 2, 5). This is also the word used throughout the
Pauline epistles, referring to crowns
awaiting faithful Christians (1 Cor. 9: 25; Phil. 4: 1; 1 Thess. 2: 19; 2 Tim. 2: 5; 4: 8). James, Peter, and John also used in this
same sense (James 1: 12; 1 Peter 5: 4; Rev. 2: 10; 3: 11). The
writer of Hebrews used this word (the verb form, stephanoo) referring to positions which will
ultimately be occupied by Christ and His co-heirs in the world [inhabited world] to come (2: 5, 7, 9). Then
John used the word six additional times in the Book of Revelation in several different senses (4: 4, 10, 6: 2; 9: 7; 12: 1; 14: 14).
Diadema, the other word used for crown in the New Testament, appears only three times; and all three
occurrences are in the latter part of the Book of Revelation (12: 3; 13: 1; 19: 12). The first two references have to do
with power and authority possessed by incumbent earthly rulers immediately
preceding and within the
The way in which these two words
are used in the New Testament relative to the government of the earth must be borne
in mind if one is to properly understand the Scriptural distinction between the
use of stephanos and diadema. Diadema (referring to the monarchs
crown) is used only where one has actually entered into and is presently exercising regal
power. Stephanos is never
used in this respect. The word appears in all other occurrences, covering any
instance where the word crown is used apart
from the present possession of regal power (though the possession of such power at a past or future date can
be in view through the use of stephanos). Then, diadema is used when one actually comes into possession of this power.
An understanding of the
distinction between stephanos and diadema will reveal certain things about the twenty-four elders which
could not otherwise be known. They each cast a stephanos before the throne, [Page 54] not a diadema. This shows that they were not then occupying regal positions,
though crowned and seated on thrones.
At one time they would have
occupied such positions (wearing diadems); but with the disarray in the
governmental structure of the earth, resulting from Satans rebellion, they
ceased exercising regal power (for, not participating in his rebellion, they no
longer retained active positions in his rule). Their crowns could then be
referred to only through the use of the word stephanos; and these crowns would, of necessity,
have to be retained until the time of Rev. 4: 10.
In this respect, overcoming
Christians have been promised a stephanos (victors crown), never a diadema (monarchs
crown); but the
promised stephanos will become a diadema at the time overcoming Christians assume positions on the
throne with Christ. There can be no such thing as either Christ or His co-heirs
wearing a stephanos in that day. They can only wear the type crown referred to by
the word diadema.
Then, note that the One Who, in
time past, wore a crown of thorns (a stephanos), will one day come forth with many
diadems upon His
head, for the Father will not only have delivered the kingdom into His Sons
hands but the Son will, at that time, have a consort queen and be ready to
ascend the throne (cf. Dan. 7: 13, 14; Rev. 19: 7-9). And because of
this, when He comes forth, the announcement can be sounded for all to hear: King of kings, and Lord of lords (Rev. 19: 16).
(Crowns
to be worn by Christ and His bride, in that coming day, will include the crowns
relinquished willingly in Rev. 4: 10
[undoubtedly the crowns on Christs head in Rev.
19: 12,
which can, at this point in the book, be referred to as diadems] and the crowns subsequently taken by
force from Satan and his angels.)
Christ, at that time, will have entered
into His long-awaited regal position. And the first order of business will be the putting down of
the Beast, the kings of the earth (Gentile world power, as it will exist in
that day), and Satan and his angels (Rev. 19: 17-20: 3). Satan and his angels cannot be allowed
to reign beyond the point Christ assumes regal power. Their crowns (diadems) must, at
this time, be taken
and given to others - those to whom they will then rightfully
belong.
* * *
* * *
*
[PART TWO]
YSHUA
THE JEWISH WAY TO SAY JESUS
Moishe Rosen
[Book cover writing]
Long ago, the Jewish Scriptures predicted the coming of one
who would redeem the world from evil and usher in a new order of living. This book
examines those prophecies to see whether Jesus fulfilled them. If he did not,
we Jews should reject him.
But, on the other hand, if Jesus really is the messiah, we
owe it to ourselves, to the world, and especially to the God of Israel to
believe the Messiah whom He sent.
At the very least, we should be willing to examine the
evidence to see if its so.
MOISHE
ROSEN is chairman of Jews for Jesus,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
YSHUA
by
Moishe Rosen
MOODY PRESS
Dedication
To the
many Jewish people who have wondered, and to the few Jewish people who have
asked the question: Can Jesus be the promised Messiah of Israel? Gods answer
to that question and longing is to be found in one word, a name. That name will
be honoured above every other name, and eventually every knee shall bow and
every tongue shall confess the name of Yshua.
And thou shalt call his name Yshua,
for he shall save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1: 21
(literal translation)
Contents
Preface
Page ix
Acknowledgments Page xiii
Introduction: All About the Messiah
(and Everyone Else) [Page 1]
1. O Little Town of
2. Of Snakes and Seed Page 15
3. Fathers and Sons Page 19
4. A Prophet Like Moses Page 23
5. Forerunner
Page 27
6. The King-on-a-Donkey Page 32
7. A Clockwork Angel Page 37
8. Benedict Arnold Goes to a Seder Page 41
9. The Crucifixion Psalm Page 44
10. An Unrefreshing Drink Page 47
11. Bones, Bones, Bones Page 49
12. Resurrection! Page 53
13. The Suffering Servant Page 57
Postscript
Page 66
[NOTE:
Appendix 1 - 9 and Indexes are not included]
-------
[Page ix]
Preface
Traditions! Life is full
of them! Families have traditional recipes; national groups have traditional
holidays. Even in our private lives, most of us have traditional ways of
dressing, traditional routes we take to work, and perhaps most important of all
- traditional ways of thinking.
When it comes to the topic of
religion, most people either shy away from the subject or express a traditional
viewpoint that has not necessarily been thought out. Many Americans, for
instance, hold to a vague traditional belief in God, with the hazy idea that
what God really wants from all of us is that we behave nicely and enjoy life.
Perhaps no group has been as
immersed in tradition as the Jewish people. Through centuries of persecution,
through times of being tossed from one country to the next, tradition has been
the glue that has held us Jews together. Among Jewish traditions there is
probably none so firmly ingrained and as little thought about as the one that
says Jews are not supposed to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
You may ask, as did Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Where did
this tradition come from? And typically, you will get the response that
Christians have persecuted the Jews. Indeed, memories of the Crusades, the
Inquisition, the Pogroms, and the Holocaust are imbedded deep within the Jewish
psyche. Yet, every Passover serves as a reminder that anti-Semitism did not
begin with Hitler, or the Czar, [Page x] or the Popes. Anti-Semitism
goes back beyond the time of Pharaoh and is as old as the Jewish people
themselves.
No, the issue is not that of
persecution. Rather, it is quite simply whether Jesus is the Messiah of Israel.
If He is, all Jewish people should believe in Him, as should the rest of those
who would serve God.
But traditional beliefs and
prejudices do not die easily. Several years ago while I was in
I stopped for a while to listen
to one man perched on a ladder because he was talking about Christianity. He
was an atheist who insisted that no shred of evidence existed to verify that
Jesus had ever lived. Have you ever stopped to
consider, he asked rhetorically, that the
Jews, who were eagerly looking for a Messiah, never took Jesus seriously? Why
not, I ask you? They didnt then, and neither do any today. I know of not one
single Jew who ever believed Jesus lived, died, and rose again!
I never like to heckle public
speakers; Im too often in that position myself. Still, I couldnt let this
pass without comment. So I called out from the crowd, Hey,
mister, may I climb your ladder?
Whats
that? he asked.
I want
to climb up on your ladder.
What
on earth for? He looked genuinely puzzled.
I took a deep breath. I wanted
to be sure everyone could hear me. I want this crowd
to see what you claim youve never seen. Im a Jew who believes that Jesus
lived, died for my sins, rose again, and sits at the right hand of God in
reigning glory!
[Page xi]
At first his face reddened. But
then he got control of himself. Why, my good man,
he said, I don't mind at all. I can tell by your
accent that youre an American. Im sure all the people here would be delighted
to behold you. He smiled sarcastically as he descended the ladder.
Meanwhile I moved my large frame
- Im six feet two inches tall and I weigh about three hundred pounds - up to
the front and climbed to the top of the ladder, where I tottered precariously.
My host assumed the role of a sideshow barker. He bowed grandly to the crowd
and introduced me - hed asked me my name before I went up the ladder - as Mr. Moishe Rosen, an oddity from
Before I had to endure much of
his acidic commentary, however, another voice from the crowd broke in. Hey, up there, do you have another ladder?
My
good chap, the atheist called back, what do
you want another ladder for?
The voice called back with a
strong British accent, I want it because my wife and
I are Jews, and we also believe that Jesus is the Messiah, that He lived, died,
and rose again - and He is our Lord. We think the crowd ought to see us, too.
But theres not nearly enough room for the two of us to join that big man atop
that little ladder!
The crowd burst into laughter,
and the atheists balloon burst with it, for the mans preconceptions clearly
did not square with actuality.
Long ago, the Jewish Scriptures
predicted the coming of One who would redeem the world from evil and usher in a
new order of living. This book examines those prophecies to see whether Jesus
fulfilled them. If He did not, we Jews should reject Him. And since those same
Scriptures also tell us that it is the duty of every Jew to bring the [Page xii] knowledge of the true God to
the world, if Jesus is a fraud, we owe it to our Christian friends to expose
Him and to, help free them from
their deception, just as the
If Jesus is not the Messiah,
Christianity is merely the concoction of liars or fools, another of the worlds
plethora of religions that should be immediately dismissed for being far too
otherworldly, for making us weak in the face of our enemies, and for depriving
us of the free and uninhibited enjoyment of the sensual pleasures of life. If
its all naarishkeit (foolishness), Christians are on a path
to nowhere; they have deposited the treasures of their lives in a bag full of
holes.
But as Tevye
also said, on the other hand - Suppose the
Christians are right? What if Jesus really is the Messiah? A debate over
whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable may not be of much consequence;
but whether Jesus is the Messiah, a deceiver, a lunatic, or the figment of
someones imagination - that is a question that will
affect us both here and now and for all eternity. For if what Christians have
been saying for two thousand years turns out to be right, we owe it to
ourselves, to the world, and especially to the God of Israel to believe in the
Messiah whom He has sent. At the very least, we should be willing to examine
the evidence to see If its so.
If you're willing - turn the
page.
-------
[Page xiii]
Acknowledgments
This book is as much the work of
Rich Robinson and Dennis Baker as it is mine. The research and the writing were
shared by several. Zhava
Glaser deserves special credit for her work on the indexes.
Yet together we agree that no
one deserves any particular credit for telling the truth. For us, it is a duty,
although not one which is unpleasant. Sometimes the truth has made us uncomfortable,
but we remember the words of one who said, Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
-------
[Page 1]
Introduction:
All About the Messiah
(and Everyone Else)
THE TERM
Before we talk about who the
Messiah is, its important to understand what the term meant to Jewish people
from the earliest days up through the time of Jesus. So lets begin with a look
at the kaleidoscope that is the history of the Jewish people before the year 70
C.E.
The word Messiah is the English transliteration
of the Hebrew term mashiach, which means anointed. Originally it referred to the way a person (usually a
prophet, king, or priest) was designated for an important position by smearing
or anointing him with oil in what was the ancient equivalent of a swearing-in
ceremony. In time anointed came to be used as a synonym
for the prophets, the kings, and the high priests themselves. It emphasized the
fact that God had designated them for their office. That is why David, for
example, although he became an adversary of King Saul, took great pains to see
that neither he nor any of [Page 2] his
followers inflicted physical harm on the king because he was the Lords messiah, translated anointed (see 1 Samuel 24: 7).
THE HISTORY
HERE COME
THE BABYLONIANS AND PERSIANS
When Nebuchadnezzar* and his
Babylonian armies captured
THREES
A CROWD
About 170 years later, Alexander
the Great* overthrew the Persian Empire (as you can see, this was a rather busy
part of the world) and
About a century later, however,
the Seleucid king, Antiochus III,* captured
THE
During the three centuries
between the return of the exiles from
[Page 4]
ITS ALL
GREEK TO ME
As a result of the Hellenizing
influence of the high priest there developed a serious conflict between Jewish
religion and Greek ideals. One of the chief ways to gain the coveted royal
favour of Antiochus IV was to promote the spread of Greek culture and
civilization. The idea was to turn
Why that was so was
understandable. Ever since the dawn of their history, Jews had suffered
considerable displacement. After the consolidation of their holdings in
Consequently, there was intense
interest in the whole record of Gods dealings with
Judaism was taking further
shape, too, in the emergence [Page 5] of the
synagogues as local places of worship in addition to the
Jews experienced an unusual
unity among themselves. It transcended national feelings and went back to that
sense of God and His calling of them to be His chosen people. They were not
just compatriots; they were brothers. This ideal called for intense mutual
loyalty, empathy, and dedication.
Taking all this into account, we
can see that the typical loyal Jew - and there were many of them - with his
God-given law, his God-ordained destiny, his pure worship, and his happy
relationship with his fellow Jews, felt that he had nothing to learn from the
Greeks in the realms of religion and morality. The way that the upper-class
Jewish people in
THE
HANUKKAH STORY
The conflict culminated in 167 B.C.E.
when Antiochus Epiphanes instituted a program to fully Hellenize Jewish
religion. He decreed that the God of the Jews would henceforth be regarded as a
local manifestation of Zeus, the supreme Greek deity, later known to the Romans
as Jupiter. The rites of the
Public outrage was soon fanned
into open revolt by an aged priest named Mattathias. Three of his sons, the
famed Maccabees*
Unfortunately, disillusionment
came quickly. The descendants of Simon Maccabee became so absorbed with [Page 7] the pursuit of power that they
betrayed the original aspirations of the Maccabean revolt. Their dynastic quarrels,
incompetence, and misgovernment opened the way for Roman hegemony, which had
been spreading steadily eastward for some time. Finally the weakened Hasmoneans called on the Roman general Pompey for aid. He
entered and occupied
PHARISEES
AND SADDUCEES
The period of the Maccabean
dynasty is notable for the emergence of two parties in the Jewish community
that were destined to play an important part in the formation of Rabbinic
Judaism and in the early history of Christianity. Those were the Pharisees and
the Sadducees.
The Sadducees, a small group of
wealthy and influential men, occupied the highest religious and civil offices
in
Proportionately the Pharisees
were a small group, but [Page 8] their
cohesion and identity did not depend on wealth, numbers, or position. Instead
it was due to their rigorous standards of faith and conduct. Though they were
few, their influence on the general population was enormous. The Pharisees saw
a divine purpose at work in history and believed God had revealed that purpose
in Scripture and in the traditions of
HEROD
THE HATED
But what signs they saw did not
offer much promise. Once the disorders that accompanied the death throes of the
Hasmonean line subsided, Herod the Great* came to the throne under Roman patronage.
No one could possibly mistake this half-Idumaean,
half-Israelite - the embodiment of cunning, violence, and ruthless ambition -
for the Lords Messiah. The Herodian reign bore
no resemblance to the Pharisaic ideal of the
Herods domain, like Alexanders
had been, was divided by his three surviving sons. Archelaus* inherited Judea
and Samaria, which today is middle and southern Israel; Antipas,* known as
Herod in the New Testament, received [Page 9] Galilee and Peraea, or the equivalent of modern northern
Israel and the westernmost regions of modern Jordan; and to Philip* were
allotted territories lying northeast of the Sea of Galilee, part of modern-day
Syria. The rule of Archelaus was so oppressive that the Roman Emperor deposed
him in 6 C.E. and put his territory under a Roman governor who worked in
cooperation with the high priest and the Sanhedrin.* Philip died in 34 C.E.,
and Antipas was deposed in 39. From the years shortly after Archelaus was
deposed, there came a Jewish writing entitled, The Assumption of
Moses. Its
verses reflect how disillusioned the Jews had been by the later Maccabean rulers;
how they detested the rule of Herod and his sons; how they resented Roman
domination; and how ardently they hoped for the day when God would overthrow
their oppressors and establish His chosen people in a position of unassailable
supremacy.
THE MEANING
POPULAR MESSIANICS
This last description gives a
fair idea of how the man in the street might have defined the word Messiah in Israel along about 30 C.E. Originally from the Hebrew mashiach, the
word for Messiah made its way into Greek in two forms. Messias was the
Greek transliteration of the Hebrew sounds, from which we get messiah. On the other hand, the Greek
word christos translates the meaning of the
Hebrew anointed, and comes into English as Christ. The word Christian, then, is equivalent to Messianist, a follower of the Messiah. It becomes apparent that
Gentiles who believe in Christ are really following a Jewish religion!
[Page 10]
The Messiah, then, was an ideal
figure who embodied the hopes of the godly, patriotic Jew of the time. He would
be a descendant of David and Solomon. He would be uniquely wise and
knowledgeable, upright, courageous, and patriotic, loyally devoted to God.
Gods power would back Him, and Gods wisdom would guide Him so that He could overthrow
That, basically, is what the Messiah
was in the minds of those who were looking for Him when Jesus appeared on the
scene. We can now turn to examine His messianic claims, and consider how the
biblical vision of what the Messiah would be like differed from the popular
conception. We will do this by looking closely at those passages in the Holy
Scriptures that Jews throughout history have recognized as messianic
prophecies.
-------
[Page 11]
Chapter 1
O Little Town of
Few small towns are as well
known around the world as one that sits on a hillside about five miles south of
Its associations with David are
numerous. It was his home,1 and the place where Samuel anointed him to be king.2 A
Philistine garrison was stationed there.3 It was
the home of Elkhanan 4 and the
burial place of Asahel.5 King Rehoboam fortified
Bethlehem in the late tenth century;6 Jeremiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah
all mention it in their [Page 12]
records.7 But the most unusual mention of it is found in the book of
the prophet Micah, who hails it as the birthplace of the Messiah:
But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah,* which
art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out
of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days [Micah 5:
11].
1. 1 Samuel 17: 12, 15; 20: 6, 28.
2. 1 Samuel 16: 1-13.
3. 2 Samuel 23: 14-16.
4. 2 Samuel 23: 24.
5. 2 Samuel 2: 32.
6. 2 Chronicles 11: 6.
7. Jeremiah 41: 17;
Ezra 2: 21;
Nehemiah 7: 26.
Like all the prophets, Micah
knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. It is not surprising that
the Messiah would be born in
8. Raphael Patai, The Messiah Texts (New York: Avon, 1979), pp. 16-17.
So a primary qualification for
the Messiah was that He had to be born in
Matthew explains that wise men (really a class of religious officials from Babylonia or
another Eastern country) came to
There is more. Have you ever
noticed that Jesus is called Jesus of Nazareth and
not Jesus of Bethlehem?
If anyone might have suspected
that the family of Jesus had somehow arranged to have Jesus born in Bethlehem
and so fulfil the prophecy about the Messiahs birthplace, this account should
make it clear that far from being prearranged, the circumstances were totally
out of their hands. However, there is still another part of Micahs prophecy [Page 14] that the New Testament touches
on elsewhere as well: the statement that the Messiah was to be pre-existent.
Matthews gospel reports this conversation with the Pharisees:
Jesus asked them a
question, saying, What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He? They said to
Him, The son of David. He said to them, Then how
does David, in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, THE LORD SAID TO MY
LORD, SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT THINE ENEMIES BENEATH THY FEET?
If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his son? [Matthew 22: 41-45, quoting Psalm 110].
In other words, the Messiah is a
descendant of David, and yet somehow Davids Lord, or ruler! Jesus made a
declaration similar to this when he told the Pharisees that before Abraham was born, I am (John
8: 58). Considering that Abraham
lived almost two thousand years before Jesus, thats claiming quite a bit!
Normally, anyone who talked like that would be considered a lunatic and simply
written off as mad. But when they heard Jesus say those things, nobody called
him crazy, laughed, or ignored him as we today might treat a babbling derelict
in
* * *
[Page 15]
Chapter 2
Of Snakes and Seed
The story of Adam and Eve
is so well known that countless poems, stories, paintings, and films have drawn
on its theme over the centuries. What is not so well known about that story,
though, is that it contains a passage that the rabbis have long considered to
be the first gleam of a promise that God would send a Messiah. The curtain has
barely risen on humanity when the familiar scene occurs: God commands that a
certain fruit should not be eaten; the serpent tempts Eve; she eats the fruit
and gives some to her husband as well. At that point the Lord pronounces
judgment on them all, beginning with the serpent, to whom He says,
Because thou hast done
this, thou art cursed above all cattle,
above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go,
and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel [Genesis 3: 14-15].
At first sight this seems to be
an Aesop-like fable explaining why snakes have no legs. But there are certain
curious phrases that compel us to probe more deeply, phrases such as between thy seed and her seed. In biblical terminology, seed has nothing to do with what you plant in a vegetable garden.
Rather, it refers to a progeny [Page 16] or a
group of descendants, as when God later promised Abraham that his seed would be
as plentiful as the dust of the earth (Genesis 13: 16). But
if the reference is to countless generations of progeny locked in battle, why
do we read he instead of they? Could
this be a veiled hint of a special individual to come? Is it a promise that the
forces of evil unleashed by the serpent would someday be fatally destroyed by
this unnamed he? In other words, could this be more than
just a quaint description of how men dash the heads of snakes underfoot and how
snakes most often inflict damage near the feet?
There is something else here
that strikes the reader as odd - at least it would if the reader were an
ancient Mesopotamian perusing his cuneiform translation of Genesis! It is the phrase her seed.
Biblical society was strictly patriarchal. The generations were traced through
sons and fathers, and even today Jews speak of themselves as the seed of
Abraham, not of Sarah. So to our hypothetical Mesopotamian, it must have seemed
very strange to refer to the seed of a woman.
Both Matthew and Luke in the New Testament provide an
explanation. They both claim that Jesus was born while Mary was still a virgin.
Biologically that is an impossibility from the outset; but it is amazing that those
who will accept the fact that God created the universe out of nothing, wont
allow that He could bring about a virgin birth. Nevertheless, the New Testament
records this miraculous occurrence as history, and uses an Old Testament
prophecy to authenticate it.
Matthew ties the virgin birth of
Jesus to Isaiah 7: 14, a
passage that says, Therefore the LORD Himself shall give you a sign: behold,
the young woman shall conceive and [Page 17] bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God is
with us]. The discussion focuses around whether the Hebrew term almah, employed here,
should be properly translated young woman or
virgin. Notice that the sign was to be not only the virgin birth,
but the fact that God would be with us. You
wont have to be a linguistics expert to understand the following points.
Usually, it is said that if
Isaiah meant a virgin, he could have chosen another word, bethulah. But bethulah could be used of a married woman
who was not a virgin, as in Joel 1: 8. Almah, however, can be shown to mean a virgin
in its six other uses in the Hebrew Bible;1 and
when Jewish scholars rendered the Scriptures into Greek during the third and
second centuries B.C.E., they translated almah in Isaiah 7: 14 by the
Greek term parthenos, which could be understood only as meaning virgin. That translation represented the best understanding of that
day.
1. Genesis 24: 43; Exodus 2: 8; Psalm 68: 26; Proverbs 30: 19; Song of Songs 1: 3; 6: 8.
Furthermore, we must remember that
ancient societies placed a much higher premium on virginity than is customary
in our Western culture in the twentieth century. A young woman was assumed to
be a virgin unless it was explicitly said otherwise. Besides this, remember
that Isaiah 7: 14 promised
a sign. An ordinary birth does not seem
especially significant as a sign. The evidence points to the fact that what
Isaiah is actually talking about, as incredible as it may seem, is a virgin
birth. Matthew 1: 18-25 tells us that when Joseph discovered that
Mary was pregnant, he contemplated a quiet divorce. Although they had not yet
come together as husband and wife, in that culture a [Page 18]
betrothal marked a solemn bonding to each other, so much so that in Jewish law,
if Joseph had died before the wedding, Mary would have been considered a widow.
God, Matthew continues, had to speak to Joseph directly in a dream to convince
him that all was really on the up-and-up. Still, things no doubt looked pretty
bad to the neighbours, and we get a hint from Johns gospel of the persistence
of some unfounded rumours. There we find Jesus rebuking his compatriots,
telling them that they were not behaving like children of Abraham and were
therefore not his true children. They replied, We
were not born of fornication; we have one Father,
even God (John 8:
41). The sarcasm implied that he
wasnt one to talk!
But a study of Isaiah would have shown that a virgin birth was not only possible, but
was in Gods plan 700 years before Jesus was born. Not only was Jesus born in
* * *
[Page 19]
Chapter 3
Fathers and Sons
When Adam and Eve left the
Garden of Eden, they didnt exactly get on the next train to the
It was thus by a miracle that
Isaac came into the world, and God confirmed that the promise of blessing would
pass Isaac and not through any other sons of Abraham.1 Later
still, the promise was reconfirmed as going [Page 20] through Jacob, one of the sons of Isaac.2 In his old age, Jacob assembled
his sons to hear his last will and testament. He announced: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staff from between his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be (Genesis 49: 10). It is
interesting to note that a sceptre is the symbolic instrument of a king, not a
tribal chieftain. Shiloh has been recognized by the
rabbis as a title for the Messiah, and Jacobs words as an indication that the
Messiah would come from the tribe of
1. Genesis 17: 19.
2. Genesis 27: 29
Can you see how God
progressively narrows down the family line of the Messiah? First of all, in Genesis 3: 15 Messiah
was called the seed of the woman. At the
very least he was going to be a real human being, not an angel or a vague
spirit entity. We could have also talked about Genesis 9: 27, where the promise goes through
the line of Shem, or the Semites. The Messiah could not be Danish, or Ugandan,
or Korean. And now, he must be a descendant of Abraham, but not just any
descendant. The Messianic promise goes through Isaac, not Ishmael. Then, it
goes through Jacob; the Messiah must be Jewish. Next, he must come from the
tribe of
God promised David that his throne
would be established forever. 3 And in fact, Davids
descendants kept succeeding to his throne for four centuries, making them
record holders. But even four centuries is not the same as [Page 21] forever. We know that no one of
Davids lineage ever sat on the throne of
3. 2 Samuel 7: 1-17; 1 Chronicles 17: 11-12.
The first alternative is to
decide that the prophecies were mistakes, not given by God, and useless to tell
us anything about the future. The second possibility is that the Israeli
Knesset will discover an authentic descendant of David. They will then vote to
reinstitute the monarchy, crown the fellow, turn the reins of government over
to him, and step down - after all the members of the Knesset have been
convinced of the wisdom of such a course. To be honest, it seems more likely
that our first alternative was the correct one!
That is, unless the third alternative is true.
We can examine the claims that Jesus was a descendant of David and that He will
actually reign, as 2 Samuel says, forever. How He could reign for all time is something well take a
look at later on. For now, though, lets see if He was, indeed, descended from
David. After all, if He wasnt, we might as well forfeit all claims that He is
the Messiah of 1srael.
In Johns gospel we find an
interesting passage:
Some of the multitude
therefore, when they heard these words, were saying This certainly
is the Prophet. Others were saying, This is the Christ. Still
others were saying, Surely the Christ is not
going to come from
[Page 22]
Matthew (1: 1-16) and Luke
(3: 23-38) each record the genealogies of Jesus.
Though they both trace back to David, there is a dissimilarity between them
because Matthew follows the line through Solomon while Luke traces it through
Nathan, another son of David. It may be that one line traces through Mary (Luke) and the other through Joseph (Matthew).4 Either
way, Jesus descent from David seems assured.
From Abraham through Isaac, from
Jacob through
4 Julius
Africanus, a theologian of the third century C.E, attributed the
differences to the law of levirate marriage by which a widow with no son would
marry her deceased husbands brother, that is, her brother-in-law. If she then
bore a son by her brother-in-law, the child would be named after the deceased
to keep the family name alive. Thus Africanus speculated that Joseph was really
the son of Heli, the brother-in-law (as in Luke),
but that he took the name of Jacob, Helis deceased
brother (as in Matthew). But as Heli and Jacob
were only half-brothers, with the same mother but different fathers, Helis father traced his lineage to David back through
Nathan (Luke), but Jacob traced his through
Solomon (Matthew).
* * *
[Page 23]
Chapter 4
A Prophet Like Moses
In the history of
God promised Moses that in time
to come He would raise up a prophet like him, and
I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall
speak unto them all that I shall command him. And
it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not
hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him (Deuteronomy
18: 18-19). Many
have claimed to be prophets. And false prophets abound who have claimed this
passage referred to themselves. Some interpreters regard this promise as having
been fulfilled collectively in the line of such prophets as Elijah, Elisha,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Yet, the people of
1 John 1: 19-21; 7: 40, 41.
In the fourteenth century Rabbi
Levi ben Gershon wrote: The
Messiah is such a prophet, as it is stated in the [Page 24] Midrash
on the verse, Behold, my servant shall prosper. ... Moses, by the miracles which he wrought, drew but a single
nation to the worship of God, but the Messiah will draw all nations to the
worship of God. 2 Indeed, a bonafide
prophet had two functions: first, he was to speak the words of God to the
people - and that wasnt always the most pleasant task! Isaiah, for instance,
launched his writing with a scathing attack on the moral standards of ancient
The second function, and the one
usually associated with the word prophet, was
that of accurately foretelling the future. God had, in fact, explicitly warned
the Israelites that anyone who predicted falsely was not to be counted as a
prophet of God .3 There were to be no Jeanne Dixons in ancient Israel, right some of the time and wrong
the rest of the time; it was 100 percent or nothing, and the prophets very
life was at stake if he was wrong.
2. Rachmiel Frydlnd,
Messianic Prophecy (manuscript, 1980), p. 16.
3. Deuteronomy 18: 21-22.
Like the other true prophets of
4. Matthew 23.
5. Luke 21: 20-24.
6. See for
instance Exodus 7: 10-13; 1 Kings 18:
16-39.
More specifically, this prophet
was to be like Moses. We recall the Exodus account
where Pharaoh, in fear of the Hebrews, ordered all male babies to be killed.
But Moses was hidden and escaped. It is striking to compare that story with Matthew 2, where King Herod, fearful lest the Messiah should be born,
ordered the destruction of all male babies in
Then, like His counterpart Moses
many hundreds of years before, Jesus emerged from
To that Jesus gives an
astonishing reply: I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the
wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so
that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of
heaven.7 In other words, [Page 26] Though Moses gave you the manna, I will give you a better manna - Myself, the source of life.
7. John 6: 30-31, 48-51.
* *
*
[Page 27]
Chapter
5
Forerunner
Every Orthodox Jewish
schoolboy trained in the Scriptures knows that before the Messiah appears, a forerunner
will precede him like a herald before a king. Thus it is not surprising that
Jesus spoke of that prophecy. On one occasion, He brought up the matter of the
identity of John the Baptist, that figure whose public activity precedes that
of Jesus in the pages of the New Testament. Jesus said that John was he of whom
it was written, Behold, I send My messenger, and he
shall clear the way before Me. (Malachi 3:
1).
Elsewhere Malachi wrote of the
coming of Elijah before the Messianic age.1
Regarding this, Jesus said, For all the
prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And
if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah,
who was to come. He who
has ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11: 13-15).
1. Malachi 4: 5.
Josephus, the ancient historian
of
Therefore the penitents were
baptized to show their conversion* from sin. 2 This
rite was administered to Jews as well as to Gentiles. 3 The
ethical implications of baptism gained prominence as John reminded the
Pharisees and Sadducees to bring forth fruit
in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:
8). And most important was his
announcement accompanying the rite: Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3: 2). To
receive Johns baptism was to turn away from sin in preparation for the
approaching kingdom, in expectancy of a mightier one than John who was to come,
I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire
(Luke 3: 16).
2. Luke 3: 3.
3. Mark 1: 5.
John was a fearless orator, the
kind of spellbinder you stop to listen to on a Sunday afternoon in the park. Yet
his preaching, with its prominent messianic overtones, represented a serious
threat to the security of the local tetrarch or ruler, Herod Antipas, son of
Herod the Great.* But John was not content to leave it at that. Herod, you see,
had divorced his first wife and had taken for himself his half brother Philips
wife, Herodias, contrary to Jewish law. John, firebrand that he was, proceeded
to denounce Herod for his arrogant lawlessness. Herodias was furious. She had [Page 29] her daughter Salome dance before
Herod as a kind of birthday present. He was so pleased that he offered to grant
Salome whatever she would ask. With a bit of prompting from her mother, the
girl decided that she wanted the head of John the Baptist. 4 This
bit of grisly history has long intrigued artists and musicians. It has even
been retold in modern symphonic form in Richard Strausss Dance of
Salome.
4. Matthew 14: 6-10.
Returning to the Tanach* for a moment, note that Isaiah had prophesied, Hark! one calleth: Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make plain in the desert a highway for our God [Isaiah 40: 3].
That passage came readily to
mind for Johns contemporaries. John had been preaching in the countryside,
literally in the wilderness. Thus the gospel writers called him the voice crying in the wilderness (Matthew 3: 3),
quoting the Septuagint* translation in Greek so common among Jews of that era.
After more than four hundred
years of prophetic silence, we can only guess at the impact John made among the
people. The gospels report that multitudes came to him, including tax
collectors (who were considered to be extortioners), prostitutes, and soldiers.
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to watch, and some of them also submitted to
baptism. The sense of expectancy, that God was about to do something powerful
and dramatic, must have been intense. Luke records that the crowds who heard
him questioned in their hearts whether John was perhaps the Messiah. But John
spoke of one to come even greater than himself.
[Page 30]
Jesus came down to the
At that very time [Jesus] cured many people of
diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and
He granted sight to many who were blind. And he
answered and said to them, Go and report to
John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and
the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO
THEM. And blessed is he who keeps from
stumbling over Me [Luke 7: 21-23].
What sort of answer was that?
Why beat around the bush? But Jesus
apparently knew the cardinal rule of all communication: show, dont merely tell. Every speaker knows that he will surely
fail to make his point unless he illustrates it memorably. In these terms
Jesus answer could not have been clearer nor more unmistakable. John and [Page 31] Jesus were serious Jews. They
had undoubtedly memorized large sections of the Torah, the prophets, psalms,
and other parts of the Scriptures. Thus John would realize that Jesus was
performing the sure signs of the Messiah as prophesied by Isaiah. Three brief
passages will illustrate:
And in that day shall the deaf hear the
words of a book, and the eyes of the blind shall see
out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the neediest
among men shall exult in the Holy One of
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the
lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the
dumb shall sing [Isaiah 35: 5-6].
The spirit of the LORD
God is upon me; because the LORD
hath anointed me to bring good tidings unto the humble; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the eyes to them that are bound [Isaiah 61:1].
Could Jesus have been more
explicit?
* * *
[Page 32]
Chapter 6
The King-on-a-Donkey
If someone were to ask you
to describe the life-style of a king, you would probably think of dazzling
palaces, priceless jewels, and for travelling accommodations, either a Mercedes
or perhaps an elephant - depending on the country and century you had in mind!
The book of the prophet Zechariah also talks about a king, only in rather
peculiar terms:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
The Targums* apply this verse to
the immediate situation, assigning it no messianic significance because a
humble, suffering, and dying Messiah was not acceptable to the Jews of the era
in which the Targumim were composed. Yet Zechariahs
words bring us to the very heart of the messianic paradox. It is portrayed in
the juxtaposition of the words triumphant and
victorious with the words lowly, and riding upon an ass. Triumph and victory are
traditionally associated with stridency, pride, arrogance, and [page 33]
strutting. Humility, lowliness, and meekness seem utterly out of place in this
setting. Yet what shall we make of it in this passage? We may, like the Targumists, seek to modify it in some manner so that it
portrays a triumphant figure without the complementary images of suffering and
lowliness. But the only honest alternative is to confront all the data as
objectively as possible, seeking, when we are confronted by paradoxes such as
occur here, to arrive at a portrait that is as unretouched as possible.
Those two aspects highlighted
the ministry of Jesus. On the one hand, His ministry was characterized by power
and triumph. The miracles and wonders He worked attracted enormous crowds. We
read of incident upon incident; and many of them were selected for the record,
not merely to show that Jesus was a mighty miracle worker, but because they
served to illustrate a spiritual point. Some of Jesus miracles, for instance,
were designed to demonstrate the real meaning of the Sabbath; by healing on the
Sabbath, He was able to point out how far the religious leaders had strayed
from the true intent of the commandment.
John concludes his narrative of
Jesus ministry by saying, There are also many
other things which Jesus did, which if they were
written in detail, I suppose that even the world
itself would not contain the books which were written (John 21: 25). We may
protest that writers in the ancient Near East were customarily given to
hyperbole; yet even in the twentieth-century West, the two largest categories
in the Library of Congress are the Civil War and Jesus of Nazareth.
On the other hand, throughout
the gospels, and especially at times of greatest public acclaim in response to
His teaching and miracles, Jesus often struck a discordant note [Page 34] that emphasized the cost of
discipleship in terms of suffering and sacrifice. Most often this note
reflected His understanding that, though He envisioned an ultimate and
spectacular triumph, He must first go to Jerusalem and there subject Himself to
scorn, derision, shame, and death. For
example, we read in Luke:
And He took the twelve
aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to
You probably noticed the title Son of man in that passage and wondered what that was all about. We need
to examine this title, which occurs in the verses just cited above and very
often in the gospels, especially the gospel of Mark.
Son of
man was a term first employed in Ezekiel. There
it seems to be little more than a stylized equivalent of man. However, by the
time of the writing of Daniel and of later, non-biblical
apocalyptic* literature, the term has taken on exalted proportions. For
instance, this portion of the book of Daniel is
charged with intensity:
I saw in the night
visions, and, behold,
there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a
son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of
days, and he was brought near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the
peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which [Page 35] shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not
be destroyed [Daniel 7: 13-14].
By the time, then, that Jesus
arrived on the scene, it is likely that the title Son of man had accumulated a good deal of mystery around it. Jesus
applied it to Himself more readily than any other term. He offered no
explanation for it, assuming that His hearers would understand. But, as we
observed, it often occurs in settings that speak of both Messianic humiliation
and exaltation. The term became a kind of verbal tip-off
that here was somebody who would suffer and die, and yet reign in triumph.
With that as background, we
should turn to examine the way in which Jesus chose to enter
And as they approached
And they brought the
colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He
sat upon it. And many spread their garments in
the road, and others spread leafy branches which
they had cut from the fields. And those who went
before, and those who followed after, were crying out, Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO
COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; hosanna in the highest!"
[Mark 11: 1-2, 7-10].
We are struck by Jesus
deliberate manner. He is consciously arranging to fulfil Zechariahs oracle. Aha! you might say. Anyone
can arrange to fulfil prophecies about the Messiah. I might as well go into the
streets and say that Im the Messiah himself! But dont forget- not
only was the Messiah to come riding on a donkey, but He had to [Page 36] have a specific birthplace and
a specific family-tree, as weve already seen. And well look at some
prophecies that no one could consciously fulfil. But that Jesus did arrange to
fulfil this prophecy says one thing about Him - He believed Himself to be the
Messiah. After all, if He denied it, why should we defend
Him? But this is a good indication that we should pursue our investigation.
By the way, hosanna is a Hebrew term that means Save us,
we beseech Thee. It comes from Psalm 118: 25
which was sung on the holiday of Sukkot,* with the
congregation waving lulavim, the leafy branches of the above passage. In time the term hosanna became connected with messianic hopes, and palm branches
came to be used at times other than Sukkot (see the
apocryphal* books 1 Maccabees 13: 51 and 2 Maccabees 10:
7, the latter showing their use at
Hanukkah). Nobody watching Jesus enter
* * *
[Page 37]
Chapter 7
A Clockwork Angel
Another prophecy about the
coming of the Messiah is even more startling than Zechariahs statement about
the King-on-a-donkey. Daniel pinpoints the exact year of the Messiahs coming
in the ninth chapter of his book. The angel Gabriel arrives to
give Daniel the following particulars:
Seventy weeks
are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression,
and to make an end of sin, and to forgive
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the most holy place. Know therefore and discern,
that from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto
one anointed, a prince, shall be seven weeks; and for
threescore and two weeks, it shall be built
again, with broad places and moat, but in troublous times. And
after the threescore and two weeks shall an anointed one be cut off, and be no more; and the
people of a prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary [Daniel 9: 24-26].
That passage is difficult to
untangle, so lets get to work. The Hebrew word for week used in this passage is shavuah, which means a
period of seven. It could mean a seven of anything, but here we can
understand from the context and the external evidence regarding the entire book
of Daniel that the term means a unit of
seven years, and that the prophecy deals with seventy times seven years, or [Page 38] 490 years. The word authorizing
the rebuilding of
The Messiah, according to Daniel, will come 173,880 days after Artaxerxes decree because the
69 weeks of verse 25 amount to 483 years, which we
then multiply by 360 days (483 x 360 = 173,880). In this connection, it is
better to take the passage as reading seven weeks and
threescore and two weeks rather than breaking it up as in the above translation.
The date of Artaxerxes decree
was March 14, 445 B.C.E. because the first day of Nisan (Nehemiah 2: 1-6) fell on March 14 in 445, according to the Royal
Observatory in
Anderson sets the day for Jesus
entry to Jerusalem as April 6, 32 C.E. Luke said Jesus began His ministry in
the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, whose reign began in 14 C.E. Most
scholars agree that Jesus ministry continued for three years, which brings us
to 32 C.E. John (12:
1) says Jesus went to Bethany six days before the Passover and that He entered Jerusalem
the next day (12: 12).
Passover is always 14 Nisan, which according to the Royal [Page 39] Observatory, fell on Thursday,
April 10, 32 C.E. Thus Jesus had arrived at
So, we ask, was Sunday April 6,
32 C.E. exactly 173,880 days from Artaxerxes decree on March 14, 445 B.C.E.?
By counting we can discover that, in terms of the Julian calendar by which we
operate, it is 477 years and 24 days. However, we must deduct one year because
there was no year 0 between 1 B.C.E. and 1 C.E. That leaves us with 476 years
and 24 days which amounts to 173,764 days (476 x 365 + 24 = 173,764).
Leap
years add 119 days to that (476 divided by 4=119), which brings us to 173,883
days. That is remarkably close to the 173,880 days we figured in Daniel, but not exactly the same. Undaunted,
So it is possible to figure Daniels seventy
weeks less one to the exact day that Jesus entered
Immediately after that, we read
of the people of the prince who is to come who
will destroy the city and the sanctuary. This corresponds remarkably with the
unprecedented destruction wrought upon
Even if one were to totally
avoid the startling evidence of those computations, one fact stands
crystal-clear in this passage - the Messiah had to come before the destruction of the
Does Daniels prophecy point to
Jesus? Decide for yourself.
* * *
[Page 41]
Chapter 8
Benedict Arnold Goes
to a Seder
During His three years of
public activity, Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that He would be betrayed
into the hands of men and be executed.1 In a
portion of the New Testament that reads almost like a modern mystery, the agent
of this betrayal turns out to be one of His twelve closest disciples, a man
named Judas Iscariot. Heres how it happened.
1 Mark 9: 31.
After He arrived in
Later, when they were still
gathered around the table together, in an ironic counterpoint to the Passover
themes of freedom and redemption, Jesus announced more clearly, One of you will betray Me (John
13: 21). That
this was said at a Seder stirred the disciples curiosity all the more. They
urged John, who reclined closest to Jesus, to ask whom He meant. When he did,
Jesus replied, That is the [Page 42] one for whom I
shall dip the morsel and give it to him (John
13: 26).
It was, and still is in the
Matthew details the transaction
for us. He reports that Judas had gone to the authorities before this final
Seder to ask what they would pay him to betray Jesus. The price they offered:
thirty pieces of silver, the price of a common slave. Without blinking an eye,
Judas accepted. But later, when he saw that his betrayal would cost Jesus his
life, he was seized with horror and fear and tried to return the money to the
priests, for I have betrayed innocent blood. But
the priests, aware of the seriousness of the situation, were in no mood for
refunds. So Judas threw the money down in the
The actual betrayal probably
took place after midnight on the night of the Last Supper.* Judas led soldiers
of the Temple guard and a party of others to Jesus nocturnal retreat and identified
Him to them by greeting Him with a kiss. As if to emphasize the enormity of
this betrayal of trust, Jesus gives almost cosmic significance to the moment:
And Jesus said to the
chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber? While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me;
but this hour and the power of darkness are yours [Luke 22: 52-53].
Thus began a sequence of trials
and mistreatment that continued through the rest of the early predawn hours and
into the morning, till Pilate* at last consented to the cries of the mob and
ordered the execution of Jesus. That was not the end of the story, however. An
uncanny series of details followed. Events occurred that had been prescribed
for this day hundreds of years before in the Scriptures - not the sort of
things that would have stood out to readers before the events of Jesus
crucifixion, nor the sort of things that any but the most sensitive of
observers would have noticed. As those fulfilled prophetic details come to a
readers attention, one feels a profound sense of awe and mystery - a feeling
that things unseen may well be more powerful and real than things seen. Let us
next examine some of those extraordinary details.
* * *
[Page 44]
Chapter 9
The Crucifixion Psalm
My God,
my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? was one of the few things Jesus uttered as He endured the
agony of crucifixion. They were not words He dreamed up, but the words of His
forefather David, the opening line of the twenty-second psalm. Other verses of that same
psalm hold a special interest for us:
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men,
and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they
shake the head: Let him commit himself unto the
Lord! let Him rescue him; let Him deliver him, seeing He
delighteth in him [Psalm 22: 7-9].
A comparison with the gospel
accounts of the crucifixion would reveal some striking similarities:
And even the rulers
were sneering at Him, saying, He saved others; let Him save
Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen
One [Luke 23: 35].
And those passing by
were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in
three days, save Yourself and come down from the
cross! In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were
mocking Him among themselves ... And those who
were crucified with Him were casting the same insult at Him [Mark 15: 29-32].
[Page 45]
Later in the psalm of David we
read:
I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is become like wax; it
is melted in mine inmost parts. My strength is
dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth
to my throat; and Thou layest
me in the dust of death [Psalm 22: 15-16].
As poetry, those lines are
highly effective in their emotional impact. But beyond being mere poetic
description, they are, as physicians have commented, surprisingly clinical
descriptions of the sufferings of those undergoing crucifixion!
The next
stanza continues:
For dogs have
compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed
me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they
look and stare upon me. They part my garments
and cast lots upon my vesture [Psalm 22: 17-19, Harkavy translation].
The reference to pierced hands and
feet is quite peculiar since that practice did not characterize any form of
punishment prescribed in the Torah or practiced in ancient
However, the fact that people
cast lots for his clothing is clear and undisputed in the text of Psalm 22. Nor does anyone dispute that the detachment of Roman
soldiers who carried out Jesus execution did precisely that:
The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus,
took His outer garments and made four parts, a
part to every soldier and also the tunic; now
the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. They said therefore to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to
decide whose it shall be [John 19: 23-24].
There is nothing contrived and
nothing deliberate in this. The un-canniness of it all is disconcerting to
those who dont know that behind the scenes there is a God who declares unto us the things that shall happen ... and announces to us things to come (Isaiah 41: 22).
* * *
[Page 47]
Chapter 10
An Unrefreshing Drink
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things
had already been accomplished, in order that the
Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I am thirsty. A jar full of
sour wine was standing there; so they put a
sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it up to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head, and
gave up His spirit [John 19: 28-30].
What did John mean by
saying that Jesus was doing is to fulfil the Scripture? Was Jesus so in control
even in His final agony that He was busily trying to make sure He fulfilled all
the prophecies pertaining to this event before He died, something like checking
off a shopping list? Perhaps, but it seems more likely that He really was
thirsty and cried out these words for that reason! By the words that the Scripture might be fulfilled, John is showing us that the
fulfilment of prophecy is evidence of Gods hand at work in history.
But to what Scripture was John
referring? Only one candidate presents itself:
Thou knowest my
reproach, and my shame and my confusion; mine adversaries are all before Thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am sore sick; and I looked for some
to show compassion, but there was none; and for [Page 48] comforters, but I
found none. Yea, they put poison into my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink [Psalm 69: 20-22].
Again, the parallel is too exact
to simply be a coincidence - especially when you consider that the psalm was
written some one thousand years before Jesus was even born.
* * *
[Page 49]
Chapter 11
Bones, Bones, Bones
The crucifixion of Jesus
most likely took place on the eve of Passover, along with that of two thieves. The
religious authorities asked Pilate to have the legs of all three broken in
order to hasten their deaths and prevent their bodies from remaining displayed
during the holiday. What they requested was for purely religious reasons; we
might call it a mercy killing. In order to
appreciate what it was they were requesting, we need to have a little
physiology lesson. Victims of crucifixion normally died slowly and painfully
from asphyxiation, as they grew too weak to push up with their legs, thus
allowing their lungs to function normally. Gradually, their lungs filled with
carbon dioxide and they died. So you can see that breaking their legs would
hasten their demise considerably.
The soldiers therefore
came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when
they saw that He was already dead, they did not
break His legs [John 19: 32-33].
Jesus had once said that no one would
take His life from Him, but that He would lay it down by His own choice.1 Some
men were actually known to have endured for days [Page 50] before dying on the cross. But Jesus did as He had said. He
gave up His [animating] spirit
- [to His Father (Luke
23: 46)], -
thereby avoiding broken bones and fulfilling His prophecy.
1. John 10: 18.
One of the major ideas in the
New Testament is that Jesus is portrayed as a Passover lamb, and His life is
seen as a counterpart to the story in Exodus where a
perfect lamb is killed to provide redemption for the Israelites. That is why
John especially notes the fulfilment of the regulation regarding the Passover
lamb, that not a bone of it shall be broken. 2
2. Exodus 12: 46; John 19: 36.
John
continues,
But one of the
soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and
immediately there came out blood and water. And
he who has seen has borne witness, and his
witness is true; and he knows that he is telling
the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled ... THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED [John 19: 34-37].
Remember the discussion of the
pierced hands and feet in the last chapter? That was regarding Psalm 22, but there is another passage from Zechariah that also mentions piercing. This is the passage that John
quoted above:
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him
through, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born [Zechariah 12: 10].
Jesus endured two sorts of
piercing at his execution, and Psalm 22 and Zechariah 12: 10 refer
to them. Psalm 22 [Page 51] pictured the piercing from the nails driven into the hands
and feet. But when John quoted the Zechariah passage, he mentioned the spear
that was driven into Jesus side.
It is hard to be certain of the
intent of Johns comments about the blood and water. Modern physiology teaches
us that blood in a cadaver readily separates into clear serum and red blood
cells, thus certifying that the person is clinically dead. John could not
possibly have known this; it is for him simply an eyewitness detail, but it
serves as a fulfilment of the prophecy.
Getting back to Zechariah, the entire twelfth chapter is an
oracle about a day when
Then according to verse 10, the inhabitants of
* * *
[Page 53]
Chapter 12
Resurrection!
Few people could live in
the Western world today and be unaware of the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead - [i.e., from Hades (Luke 16: 23, 28-31; Acts 2: 31, 34); in the heart of the earth (Matt.
12: 40;
cf. Matt 16: 18; 2 Tim. 2: 18, R.V.)]. What
is amazing, though, is that people will often reject that belief out of hand without
ever examining the evidence to see whether it is true. In this chapter, well
present some of that evidence.
The story is told of a young man
who was pondering his dissatisfaction with the great religions of the world. He
inquired of an old man as to what would prevent him from founding a new
religion of his own, one more to his liking. The ancient reflected, Not much, but it would be helpful if You could arrange to be executed and to rise from the dead on the
third day.
There is unique importance to
the death and resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus was the great
proclamation of the early church. So often did Paul link Jesus with the
resurrection in his teaching, that when he went to Athens to preach the
Christian message, the inhabitants, polytheistic Greeks that they were,
misunderstood and thought that he was introducing them to two new gods, Jesus
and Anastasis being Greek for resurrection) -
gods that they could now merrily add to their pantheon!
The gospels devote large portions
to the resurrection, describing how the disciples discovered Jesus tomb to be [Page 54] empty three days after His
burial; how they claimed to have seen Him alive, to have spoken with Him, to
have dined with Him, to have touched His body and to have seen the marks of the
wounds He had received in crucifixion; how they watched Him depart into heaven,
and how, after the Holy Spirit came to dwell in them on Shavuot,* they began
spreading the news with irrepressible enthusiasm.
Professor Ellis Rivkin of the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of
Religion points out that the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the
life of the world to come came to have new emphasis through the teaching of the
Pharisees. Although the concept is found as far back as the books of Job (19: 26-27) and Daniel (12: 1-2), the
problem posed by Roman persecution and domination led the Pharisees to expound
and develop the idea further. Thus the Pharisees paved the way for the pivotal announcement
of the early church that Jesus had risen from the
dead, so confirming His claim to be the Messiah.
The Sadducees, the rationalists
of their day and ideological opponents of the Pharisees, sought to entrap Jesus
on the matter of the resurrection and consequently to embarrass the Pharisees.
They proposed a situation in which one woman had been the wife of seven
brothers in turn, as each brother died one after the other. So in the resurrection, they asked, whose wife will she be?
Jesus said to them, Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do
not understand the Scriptures, or the power of God? For when they rise from the
dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in
heaven. But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in
the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, [Page 55] how God spoke
to him, saying, I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE
GOD OF JACOB? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are
greatly mistaken [Mark 12: 24-27].
In this episode Jesus was fully
on the side of the Pharisees. And, when Jesus followers later declared that He
had risen from the dead, the Pharisees could not dismiss the idea out of hand.
Peter first announced Jesus
resurrection publicly in
[*
For David ascended NOT into heaven! (verse
34). Cf. Psalm 16: 10; Rev. 20: 4-6.]
Neither Jesus nor His disciples
ever went further than this to substantiate the resurrection from Scripture.
They didnt resort to Job or Daniel; they didnt need to. The idea was
ridiculous only to a few Sadducees. The bulk of the people, influenced as they
were by Pharisaical teaching, found the claim reasonable and credible,
something they at least ought to investigate further.
And indeed, on further
investigation the resurrection is seen to be true. Run down the possibilities
for yourself and see which makes the best sense. Did the Roman authorities
steal the body of Jesus from the tomb? Then why didnt they produce it when the
word started being spread that [Page 56] Jesus was risen? Or maybe the
disciples stole it. But could such a fabrication on their part account for the
change in their attitude? Three days earlier they were disillusioned idealists
who had hoped that Jesus would change things around; could a lie now account
for their hope, their boldness in the face of official persecution, and the
high ethical standards they set? Perhaps Jesus never died; He just fainted on
the cross and revived in the tomb. This idea was popularized in the book The Passover Plot some years back. Unfortunately the author overlooked the fact that
the Romans pierced Jesus side, making sure He was dead; also, there was a
contingent of Roman guards watching the tomb as well as a huge stone that
blocked its entrance. There was no way that a resuscitated Jesus could have
escaped. Or was it all a hallucination? He must have been quite a hallucination
to be seen by vastly different kinds of people at different times of day in
many different places. You might be able to fool one person, but can you fool
500 who saw Him at one time? All things considered, maybe someone will excuse
us if we believe that Jesus rose [out] from the dead after
all, just as He said! It certainly makes the most sense of the evidence. And it
also explains the prophecy weve already talked about (chapter 3) in 2 Samuel 7, where one of Davids
descendants will reign forever. Presumably only one who has already died and
now lives forever can possibly reign forever. Jesus seems once again to be the
most likely candidate for that role.
* *
*
[Page 57]
Chapter
13
The
Suffering Servant
Can you imagine
some giant, international mega corporation deciding that it was going to do
something about the problems in the world and advertising for applicants for
the position of Messiah? Probably in their resumes most of the applicants would
emphasize their diplomatic skills, their prowess in waging war and bargaining
for peace, and certainly the high reputation they had earned in other circles.
Yet if the corporation knew its business, it would accept none of those
applicants. Its executives would know that about 2,600 years ago, Isaiah
already gave us a resume for the Messiah, and that only one person in history
ever matched those credentials.
This Messianic resume occurs in four passages in Isaiah that scholars call the Servant
Songs. These songs are really four little vignettes. We encounter the
first one in Isaiah 42: 1-7. There we meet an unassuming character
called the Servant of the Lord, whom God has endowed with His [Holy] Spirit to bring justice to the nations. This Servant work
quietly and unobtrusively, yet without failure or discouragement, until He
accomplishes His appointed task of bringing justice to the earth. No flashy
shuttle diplomacy here!
Then, in Isaiah 49: 1-6, we find the Servant addressing an audience of foreign
nations and reporting a conversation [Page 58] between Himself and God. He tells them how the Lord called
Him from birth, hand-crafted him, and kept Him in readiness for His mission,
which is to restore
The servant speaks again in Isaiah 50: 4-9. He relates how God wakens Him daily so that He can listen to
God. He has not turned back from His task, which He heard of when the Lord
wakened Him. Instead, He hammered away at His work, even though it involved
physical abuse. Nevertheless, His vindicator is near. He is confident that no
one will be able to have Him arraigned and found guilty of anything.
Finally, though, we come to the
centrepiece of messianic prophecy: Isaiah 52: 13 - 53: 12. Whereas the other three Servant Songs can refer to the responsibilities of
the nation of
OF WHOM DOES THE
PROPHET SPEAK?
Many throughout history have
asked whom Isaiah is referring to, including an Ethiopian official who asked an
early Jewish Christian named Philip.1 Philip did not hesitate to identify the Servant of the Lord
as Jesus. In fact, Jesus applied Isaiah 53 to
Himself, quoting from it in [Page 59] Luke 22: 37 and
alluding to one of its verses in Mark 10: 45. But not everyone has been happy with the
idea of a Messiah who suffers and dies.
1 Acts 8: 30-35.
The Servant Songs were regarded
as messianic in Jewish writings from the beginning of the Common Era. However,
since suffering and death were not exactly what people wanted in their Messiah,
they regularly qualified their interpretation. For example, in a Targum of Isaiah
- an Aramaic paraphrase of this same period - the phrases describing triumph
are interpreted of the Messiah, but the Servants sufferings are said to be
descriptive of Israel and in some measure of the Gentiles too (see Appendix 1
for interpretations of this fourth Servant Song). Unfortunately, there is no
warrant in the text for referring different parts of the prophecy to two
different people or groups.
Later, as the Christians
continued to press the messianic interpretation, most Jews, beginning in the
Middle Ages with the famous rabbi Rashi, adopted a collective hypothesis that
the Servant was
More recently, in the eighteenth
century, scholars have argued that Isaiah had a particular king in mind, such
as Hezekiah, Uzziah, Jehoiachin, Zerubbabel, or Cyrus. Others have suggested
Isaiah himself, or Jeremiah, or Moses, or some unknown contemporary of the
prophet.
But none of those theories has a
wide following today. Isaiah did not paint a portrait of one of his
contemporaries in the Servant Songs. If the Servant begins as
ECHOES OF THE KING-ON-A-DONKEY
Behold, My servant shall prosper, he
shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be
very high. According as many were appalled at
thee - so marred was his visage unlike that of a
man, and his form unlike that of the sons of men
- so shall he startle many nations, kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they perceive [Isaiah 52: 13-15].
The opening verses of the
passage set the tone for the rest of the prophecy, and remind us of the same
paradox we saw in Zechariah. There, youll remember, we met
the King-on-a-donkey who came in both great
triumph and extreme humility. Here the same idea is repeated, and the following
verses develop it in more detail.
THE UNPOPULAR KING
Who
would have believed our report? And to whom hath
the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him,
nor beauty that we should delight in him. He was
despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and
acquainted with disease, and as one from whom
men hide their face: he was despised, and we esteemed him not [Isaiah
53: 1-3].
[Page 61]
You do not need to be aware of
the meticulous details of Jesus life to see how those words might apply to
Him. Have you ever seen those
And His visage, or face, was indeed marred so that He was left without any
form or comeliness. The lashes of the Roman whip had disastrous consequences on
a human body, and Jesus was subjected to hard, bruising blows about the face
and head, and crowned with thorns. A look at John 19: 1-3 will
show how graphically this prophecy was fulfilled:
Then Pilate therefore
took Jesus, and scourged Him. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His
head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe; and they began to come up to Him, and say, Hail, King of the Jews! and to give
Him blows in the face.
AN UNUSUAL REMEDY
The next words of the prophet
describe how He took on Himself our griefs and sorrows (it could also mean
sicknesses and pains in Hebrew), and how through His suffering, people could
experience forgiveness for their sins:
Surely our diseases he
did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were [Page 62] healed. All we like
sheep did go astray, we turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath
made to light on him the iniquity of us all [Isaiah 53: 4-6].
Matthew explains in his gospel
that when the townspeople of
The second idea in this passage might
seem strange to our twentieth-century minds: the idea that someone can suffer
and die so that others might be spared. But it is not strange to the Bible. The
entire system of animal sacrifices was based on this idea. It shows up again in
the story in Genesis, where God provides a ram to
die in Isaacs place just as Abraham is about to drive a knife into his heart.
It surfaces yet again in the New
Testament, when John the Baptist, seeing Jesus coming toward him, announces, Behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:
29). Jesus, foreseeing His own
death, spoke of giving His life as a ransom, or substitute, for many (Mark 10: 45). From
the very outset, the apostles offered their listeners forgiveness of sins in
Jesus name; 2 and their audience knew that
such forgiveness was inextricably bound up with the idea of the sacrificial
death of a substitute. Indeed, the references to the atoning nature of Jesus [Page 63] suffering and death in the New
Testament are too numerous to mention.
2. Acts 2: 38.
AN OPPRESSED SHEEP
Isaiah twice goes on to say that
the Lords servant was silent in the face of those who afflicted him. We read
in Matthew that And while He was being accused by the chief priests
and elders, He made no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, Do
you not hear how many things they testify against You? And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so that the governor was quite amazed (Matthew 27: 12-14). It is not that Jesus remained utterly
mute throughout the time of His trial and execution; He did make a few remarks.
There was however, no plea for mercy, no answer to the charges. His behaviour
could not have been more aptly characterized than by Isaiahs words:
He was oppressed,
though he humbled himself and he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to
the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened
not his mouth [Isaiah 53: 7].
The next verse reemphasizes most
of what has already been said:
By oppression and
judgment he was taken away, and with his
generation who did reason? For he was cut off
out of the land of the living, for the
transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due [Isaiah 53: 8].
[Page 64]
THE END - OR A NEW BEGINNING?
We then come to the strange
mention of the Servants grave:
And they made his
grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth [Isaiah 53: 9].
It is not difficult to imagine a
wealthy wicked man; history is full of them. But that is not how this prophecy
was fulfilled for Jesus. He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a
wealthy but not unrighteous man. 3 Joseph was a member of the
Sanhedrin and a respected Jewish leader. But Jesus had died a felons death -
crucifixion, the common way to punish criminals. Consequently, his grave would
be considered a wicked mans grave. The words of Paul, a Jewish believer who
had belonged to the party of the Pharisees, come to mind: He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5: 21).
3. Luke 23: 50-53.
[A select] RESURRECTION [of one
Man] REVISITED!
The next verse not only mentions
that the Servants death will be a sacrifice for sin, using the technical
Hebrew term for this, asham; but it goes on to
describe the life of the Servant after His death - in other words, [after] His resurrection:
Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease; to see if his [Page 65] soul would offer itself in restitution [asham], that he might see his
seed, prolong his days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand [Isaiah
53: 10].
FINALE
The conclusion of Isaiah 53 mentions no new themes. Instead it reviews and underscores
the dominant themes of the preceding verses. The Servants death is really an
act of God; when the Servant submits to it, much good comes of it, and He ends up sharing a place with the great.*
[* See Rev. 3: 21. Cf.
Luke 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11; Heb. 11: 35b; Rev. 20: 6,
R.V.]
Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, * who by his knowledge did justify the Righteous
One to the many, and their iniquities he did bear. Therefore will I divide him
a portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the
mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the
sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors [Isaiah 51: 11-12].
Of whom does the prophet speak? The
conclusion seems inescapable.
[* It is the First Person
in the Godhead speaking of the Second - our Lord Jesus Christ / Messiah
- His anointed
King-Priest: and our promised, and only,
World-Saviour and Divine Ruler.]
[Page 66]
Postscript
I was extraordinarily
naive when, as a relatively young man in the midst of my Jewish community in
I finally emerged from that
season licking my wounds, older and, hopefully, wiser. One thing in particular
began to dawn on me. My Jewish brethren were not the least bit interested in
hearing my account of how I came to believe. Those circumstances that had had a
profound bearing on my own life of faith were irrelevant to others. There had to
be some other way. This is the way of which the apostle Peter spoke after he
recounted the elements of his own eye-witness account. Though he even speaks of
his presence [Page 67] with
Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration as evidence of the truth of what he says,
he adds, We have also a more sure word of prophecy (2 Peter 1: 19, KJV).* Better than an account of an eyewitness is the testimony
of the Bible. When I recognized that, it changed the course of my career.
Thereafter, when I went to my people with the message that Jesus was the
Messiah, I did not offer only the evidence of my own changed life. Instead I
offered the evidence of what my people revere as holy, the Law and the
Prophets.
* King
James Version.
This was brought home to me in
1971 when I was speaking in a church. Afterward a man came up to me. You probably don't remember me, he began after he
introduced himself, but eleven years ago you visited
my home and talked to me about Christianity. I ridiculed you and your message.
I blasphemed and I ordered you out of the house.
I was so pleased with the way in which I felt I had utterly
defeated you, that I decided to go to work on my neighbour, Irving Schwartz, 1 a man you had already won to your
faith. So, I went to my rabbi to get him to show me how to refute your
arguments from Isaiah 53. I had studied it
pretty closely and decided I probably needed a little professional help.
1. Irving Schwartz is a pseudonym.
The
rabbi said the suffering Servant was
The next expert told me that Isaiah 53 had never been [Page 68] regarded
by any Jews as a messianic text. Then, however, I came across the Targum of
Jonathan, and I saw that there, at least, the passage was regarded as
messianic.
Well,
when I saw that, I really began to wonder - and to pray. Finally, in 1966, I
received Christ as my own Saviour and Lord. Today Im a deacon in this church.
Stories like that have sealed my
understanding. We do have a more sure word of prophecy, vouched for both by Tanach* and the New Testament:
I am the LORD, that
is My name; and My glory will I not give to
another, neither My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are
come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them [Isaiah 42: 8-9].
You do well to pay
attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all,
that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of ones own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God [2 Peter 1: 19-21].
May you, the reader of this
book, be challenged and moved to consider these scriptural prophecies. They
point to the fulfilment of the hopes and aspirations of our people in the
person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of Israel.
* *
* * *
* *
[PART TWO]
FRONT OF MIND AWARENESS
Paul Smith, PFI
Director*
[* From Prayer for
-------
For
who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will indtruct him?
But
we hve the mind of Christ - 1 Corinthians 2: 16.
During my career in
professional marketing, I was intrigued by a piece of branding jargon known as
Front of Mind Awareness. This is an important
promotional tool for any category of
business. For example, if we were to think of a product, be it a car (Jaguar?),
vacuum cleaner (Dyson?), or watch (Rolex?), the brands in brackets are likely
to be at the front of my mind. This will differ for each customer. However, I never anticipated ever using it
in the context of an editorial for PFI!
Interestingly, when I became a
commissioned evangelist over 10 years ago, the Lord provoked me with His
concern for
The journey from there I will
leave for another day. Its quite a story!
It is a litmus test for all
Christians and starts with the question: does what matters to God matter to me?
Do We Love What He Loves?
Faithful believers recognise
that in the context of the Jewish people, the gifts and
the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans
11: 29). They recognise they are still the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy
32: 10) and that one day they will
awaken from their partial hardening (Romans 11: 25). They will be restored to a covenant relationship with their God
until His law is written on their heart (Jeremiah 31: 32).
By Gods grace these truths
become cemented at the front of our minds. They go beyond church denominations
and structures. Gods Spirit, Word and promises do not stand on shifting sands
of culture, tradition and spirits of the age.
Replacing Replacement Theology!
Much of the church in the West
arrogantly claim to be
This is a people, a nation that
He has never forgotten and is being restored to Him today, a Fathers love for
His children. The growing messianic congregations in the land testify to it.
Additionally, as I write,
Significant portions of the
church in the
There is a crucial mandate for
PFI, for you and I, to pray for the U K church to be attuned
to Gods [prophetic]
promises and purposes for
If that suffers then, so does
the discipleship of new believers, who miss the full story of a redemptive God
who is faithful in His promises to His Jewish and gentile children.
The other side of the coin is
this ... all
Finally, Paul reminds us to not be conformed to this world, but to renew the way we think (Romans 12: 2). This follows on the back of the
previous three chapters about Gods purposes for the Jewish people. Therefore,
never mind Front of Mind Awareness, renew
your mind!
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good
and acceptable and perfect. Romans12: 2.
Bible quotations from the New
American Standard Bible.
* *
* * *
* *
[PART THREE]
The Days of Noah
And
As It Was In The
Days of Noah*
[* From Chapter 8 & 9
(pp. 127-148)
in Earths Earliest Ages by G. H. Pember,
with G. H. Langs Foreword and edited
notes.]
[Page 127]
Chapter 8
THE DAYS OF NOAH
THE sixth chapter of Genesis contains an account of the days of Noah, a description of
momentous interest to us: for our Lord has declared that a
similar epoch of worldliness will at length exhaust the forbearance of God
towards the present dwellers upon earth, and cause Him to come with
fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with and His
rebuke with flames of fire; to plead with all by fire and by His sword (Isa. 66: 15, 16).
It becomes, therefore, an
obvious duty to consider the progress of wickedness and corruption among the
antediluvians, so far as it has pleased God to inform us of it: to acquaint
ourselves not merely with the sowing but also with the watering, the growth,
and the ripening, of that hideous crop against which the gleaming sickle of the
Almighty at length flashed forth from heaven; to note the various incentives to
evil as they successively appeared, and to observe the particular influence of
each upon the rapidly decomposing masses of society. For by so doing we shall
arm ourselves against the errors and temptations which are daily multiplying
around us, and be enabled to discern the threatening signs of our own times.
Now the first-mentioned
characteristic of those former days of wickedness and peril is the rapid increase of population (Gen.
6: 1); a
circumstance which in itself has ever tended not merely to diffuse but at the
same time to intensify sin. For every form of evil which exists in thinly
populated countries will also be found where men have multiplied; where there
are countless vices peculiar to crowded districts. And, if they are numerous,
men support each other in rebellion, and are prone to become far more daring
and defiant of God. Among are ourselves, the strongholds of rationalism and
atheism are always to be found in large cities.
Butt while the families of the
earth were thus increasing in number, they were at the same time
making vast progress in civilization and knowledge. Cain had taught
them to settle in communities and build cities (Gen. 4: 17); and the sons of Lamech - speedily
followed, no doubt, by many others - [Page 128
CIVILIZATION BEFORE THE FLOOD] had introduced
the mechanical and fine arts, and had devised unlawful means of evading the
labour imposed by the curse (Gen. 4: 20-22). And in that age, when, instead of being
cut off at three score and ten or four score, men lived on for nearly a
thousand years, their immense accumulation of knowledge experience, and skill
must have advanced science, art, and the invention and manufacture of all the
appliances of a luxurious civilization, with a rapidity to us almost
inconceivable. 1
1 [This suggestion
as to life before the Flood has been confirmed by knowledge since gained from
the lower strata of
The one recorded specimen of
antediluvian industry, the ark, was built by a Sethite;
and yet it equalled in size the Great Eastern, the ship which but a few years
ago afforded such marvel to ourselves.
And doubtless many of the mighty
labours accomplished by the earlier descendants of Noah may be considered to have
sprung from reminiscences of pristine grandeur, and fragments of lore, handed
down by forefathers who had passed a portion of their existence in the previous
age of human glory and depravity. Such may have been the daring conception of a
literally cloud-capped tower; the stupendous and splendidly decorated edifices
of
Nor must we forget recent
discoveries in regard to the primeval civilization of the Accadians,
the stunted and oblique-eyed people of ancient
According to Berosus
there was an antediluvian Town of
If, then, we give but fair
weight to these considerations, we seem compelled to admit that the
antediluvians may have attained to a perfection in civilization and high
culture which has scarcely yet been recovered, much as we pride ourselves upon
our own times.
Since we have no further mention
of the Cainites as a separate tribe, and since of the Sethites
- who must also have increased in numbers - but one person was translated to
God from the evil to come, and only eight were saved through that evil, it is
clear that the two families had at length mingled and intermarried. Seduced,
probably, by the intellectual pursuits, the gay society, and the easy life, of
the wicked, the Sethites first found a pleasure in
their company, their luxuries and their many skilful and ingenious inventions;
were then enticed to yoke themselves unequally with unbelievers; and as a being
drawn into the vortex of sin, disappeared as a separate people.
Sad and instructive was the
result of this amalgamation: for when the time of dividing came,
no true worshippers of Jehovah were to be found save in the single family of
Noah. Men seem to have so prized their own wisdom, to have thought little of God, that their religion had dwindled to a mere
hero-worship of their own famous leaders (Gen. 6: 4), those who, Prometheus-like, brought to
them by their inventions the necessaries and comforts of life, and so enabled
for the time to foil the purposes of the Supreme Power.
Then a new and startling event
burst upon the world, and fearfully accelerated the already rapid progress of
evil. The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;
and they took
them wives of all which they chose (Gen. 6: 2). These
words are often explained to signify nothing more than the intermarriage of the
descendants of Cain and [Page 130 THE SONS Of ELOHIM] Seth;
but a careful examination of the passage will elicit a far
deeper meaning.
When men, we are told, began to multiply on the
face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, the sons of God saw the
daughters of men (Gen. 6: 1, 2). Now
by men in each case the whole human race is
evidently signified, the descendants of Cain and Seth alike. Hence the sons of God are plainly distinguished from the generation of Adam.
Again, the expression sons of God (Elohim)
occurs but four times in other parts of the Old Testament, and is in each of these cases indisputably used for angelic beings.
Twice in the beginning of the
Book of Job we read of the sons of God
presenting themselves before Him at stated times, and Satan also comes with
them as being himself a son of God, though a fallen and rebellious one (Job. 1: 6; 2: 1).
For the term sons of Elohim, the
mighty Creator, seems to be confined to those who were directly created by the
Divine hand, and not born of other beings of their own order. Hence, in Lukes
genealogy of our Lord, Adam is called a son of God (Luke 3: 38). And
so also Christ is said to give to them that receive Him power to become the
sons of God (John 1: 12): For
these are born again of the Spirit of God as to their inner man even in the
present life. And at the
resurrection they will be clothed with a spiritual [and immortal] body, a
building of God (2 Cor. 5: 1); so
that they will then be in every respect
equal to the angels, being altogether a new creation (Luke 20: 36).
The third repetition of the
phrase occurs in a later chapter of Job, where
the morning stars are represented as singing together, and the sons of God as
shouting for joy, over the creation of our earth (Job. 38: 7).
And, lastly, the same expression
is found in the Book of Daniel (Dan. 3: 25); but in the singular number, and with the necessary
difference that bar is the word used for son
instead of ben, the singular of the latter being
unknown in Chaldee. Nebuchadnezzar exclaims that he sees four men walking in
the midst of the fire, and that the form of the fourth is like a son of God, 1 by
which he evidently means a supernatural or angelic being, distinct as such from
the others.
1 There is
no definite article in the original.
2 This is
the view taken by Josephus, Philo Judaeus, and the
authors of The Book of Enoch and The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs; indeed, it
was generally accepted by learned Jews in the early centuries of the Christian
era. In regard to the Septuagint, all MSS. render the Hebrew sons of God by angels of God
in Job 1: 6,
and 2: 10,
and by My angels in Job
38: 7 -passages in which there was no
dogmatic reason for tampering with the text. In Gen.
6: 2, 4, the Codex Alexandrinus and three later MSS. exhibit the same rendering, while others have
sons of God. Augustine, however, admits that
in his time the greater number of copies read angels
of God in the latter passage also (De Civit. Dei, xv. 23).
It seems, therefore, extremely probable that this was the original reading; and
certainly the interpretation which it involves was adopted by the majority of
the earlier Christian writers. Those who would pursue this subject further can
do so in a recent and exhaustive treatise by the Rev. John Fleming, entitled, The Fallen Angles and the Heroes of Mythology. [See also our Appendix.]
It
appears, therefore, that in the Old Testament the title sons of God is restricted to angels. 2
Several. passages are [Page 131 SONS OF ELOHIM ARE ANGELS] indeed adduced to prove its application to men: but upon
examination they will all be found wide of the mark, the words of the original
being in every case different, and sometimes signifying sons of Jehovah. This
last, as we have already seen [pp. 122, 123],
is a very different expression, and would probably have been used by the
inspired historian in the verse under our consideration if he had wished to
distinguish the godly descendants of Seth from the Cainites. For, while it
forms a true description of all saints upon earth, it would have been in this
place peculiarly appropriate to the Sethites just
after the mention of the fact that they had been wont from the birth of Enos to
call upon the name of Jehovah.
It thus
appears that the sons of God are angelic beings: and the mysterious statement
respecting them in the sixth chapter of Genesis seems
to refer to a second and deeper apostasy on the part of some of the High Ones
on high. But these more daring rebels are not found among the spirits of
darkness which now haunt the air. They no longer retain their position as
principalities and powers of the world, or even their liberty; but may be
identified with the imprisoned criminals of whom Peter tells us that, after
they had sinned, God spared them not, but
cast them down to Hell, and delivered them into
chains of darkness, to be reserved unto Judgment. 1 Jude also
mentions their present condition in similar terms (Jude 6), and the context of either passage indicates with sufficient
clearness the nature of their sin. They chose to leave their own world and,
having broken [Page 132 THE NEPHILIM] through
Gods limits into another, to go after strange flesh therefore He dashed them
down at once to His lowest dungeon as an instant punishment of their impious
outrage, and to deprive them for ever of the power of producing further
confusion.
1. 2 Peter 2: 4. We have given the
words of the Authorized Version, but the following would be a more literal
rendering of the original. For if God spared not
angels when they had sinned, but cast them down
to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of
darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
Tartarus appears to be a place of imprisonment more terrible than Hades, but it
cannot be the
The verse following the
announcement of the angels sin is a parenthesis of solemn import (Gen. 6: 3): the scene is for a moment shifted from the
fearfully increasing wickedness of earth and transferred to the Heaven of
heavens. There the invisible God sits enthroned and, looking down upon the
rebellion and sin beneath Him, pronounces sentence of doom upon the unconscious
world. The end must come: His spirit shall not always strive with men, seeing
that they are irrecoverably overpowered by the desires of the flesh: yet they
shall have a further respite of one hundred and twenty years.
Then the history is resumed with
a brief hint at the cause which led to intermarriages between the sons of God
and the daughters of men, both before and after the flood (Gen. 6: 4). Our translators have again omitted a definite article in
the beginning of this verse, which should be rendered, The Nephilim - or fallen ones
- were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the
sons of God came in unto the daughters of men.
Through a misapprehension of the
Septuagint, which we will presently
explain, the English version renders Nephilim by giants. But the form of the Hebrew word indicates a verbal
adjective or noun, of passive or neuter signification from Naphal, to fall:
hence it must mean the fallen ones, that is, probably, the fallen
angels. Afterwards, however, the term seems to have been transferred to their
offspring, as we may gather from the only other passage in which it occurs. In
the evil report which the ten spies give of the
It was
doubtless the mention of the great stature of these men, together with the
Septuagint rendering
[Gigantes] that suggested our translation giants. The roots of the Greek [gigas]
have, however, no reference to great
stature, but point to something very different. The word is merely another form
of
[geegenees]: it signifies
earth-born, and
was used of the Titans, or sons of Heaven and Earth - Coelus
and Terra - because, though [Page 133 THE NEPHILIM] superior
to the human race, they were, nevertheless, of partly terrestrial origin. The
meaning of giants in our sense of the term, is altogether
secondary, and arose from the fact that
these beings of mixed birth were said to have displayed a monstrous growth and
strength of body. It will, therefore, be apparent that the rendering of the Septuagint correctly expresses the idea
which was in the mind of the translator, since he appears to have taken Nephilim
in each case to signify the offspring of the sons of God and
the daughters of men. We, however, as we have explained above, prefer
understanding the word primarily of the fallen angels themselves.
Now, in speaking of the sin of
some of these, Jude (Jude 6) tells us that, despising the
position of dignity and responsibility in which God had placed them, they
voluntarily left their own home 1 in the Kingdom of the Air, prompted
it would seem by earthward desires, and began to exercise an unlawful influence
over the human race. And, perhaps, as a punishment, their return was
prohibited; they were banished altogether from heaven and confined to the
limits of earth; just as Satan and the remainder of his angels will be
hereafter, a short time before the appearing of Christ to cast them into the
still lower abyss.
1 [Or,
disrobed themselves of the spiritual body proper to them as beings of heaven,
and materialized for themselves an earth-body; for the word used,
oikeeteerion, in the only other place in N.T. (2 Cor. 5: 2) means
heavenly body with which the believer longs to be clothed.]
But, however this may be, they
were from some cause dwelling upon earth at the time, and the fact is
apparently mentioned to account for their inter-marriages with the daughters of
men. If, then, their continued residence below was voluntary, they soon passed
on to a far more frightful sin: if, on the contrary, it was penal, instead of
humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God, and patiently enduring until
He remitted His just punishment, they did not hesitate to defy Him still more
daringly, and to violate the law of their being. 2
2 This
they did, not merely by consorting with beings of a different order, also by
the very act of marriage itself; since our Lord tells us that, in their normal
condition, angels neither marry, nor are given in
marriage (Matt. 22: 30).
The assertion of a similar
occurrence after the Deluge agrees with the passage in Numbers where the sons of Anak are said to have been Nephilim, or of
the Nephilim (Numb. 13:
33); and seems also to account for
Gods command that the whole race of the Canaanites should be extirpated. For
immediately after the commission of the antediluvian sin, the [Page 134 AGUSTINES STATEMENT] doom of the world was pronounced: and
prophecy intimates that the future confinement of the angels of darkness to
earth will be the proximate cause of the great rebellion which will call forth
the Lord Jesus in flaming fire to take vengeance (Rev. 12; 13).
The children of these unlawful
connections before the flood were the renowned heroes of old: the subsequent
repetition of the crime doubtless gave rise to the countless legends of the
loves of the gods, and explains the numerous passages in the Classics, as well
as in the ancient literature of other languages, in which human families are
traced to a half Divine origin.
Before passing on, we should,
perhaps, notice the most common objection to our interpretation, which is, that
angels, as spiritual beings, could not take wives of the
daughters of men. We are, however, unable to recognize the cogency of such
an argument, because those who advance it lay claim to a more intimate
acquaintance with angelic nature than we can concede as possible. On this
point, therefore, we will merely quote a passage from Augustine - an opponent
of the angel-theory - containing an admission which has been made by many other
writers of various ages and climes, and which, absurd as it may have seemed to
ourselves some years ago, is now rendered more probable by the disclosures of
modern Spiritualism.
After citing the hundred and fourteenth
Psalm to prove that angels are spirits, the great theologian proceeds as
follows (De Civit.
Dei, xv. 23):-
However,
that angels have appeared to men in bodies of such a nature that they could not
only be seen but even touched, the same most true Scripture declares. Moreover,
there is a very general rumour that Silvans and
Fauns, who are commonly termed incubi, improbos saepe exstitisse mulieribus, et earurn appetisse ac peregisse concubitum. Many trustworthy persons assert that they have
had personal experience of this, or that they have been informed by those who
have experienced it. And that certain demons, whom the Gauls
call Dusii, are continually attempting and effecting
the crime is so generally affirmed that it would seem impudent to deny it.
1
1. To the
prevalence of this idea we have no slight testimony in the fact that the name
of the demons is one of the Celtic words which have survived in our language.
It is the origin of the English Deuse, or Deuce,
which is still used in exclamatory or interjectional phrases.
So Augustine. And that Paul had
some such thought in [Page 135 THE EARTH CORRUPT] his mind
when he bade the woman to worship with covered head on account of the angels (1
Cor. 11: 10) is, to say the least, within
the limits of possibility.
The foundations of established
order being thus destroyed by the irruption of the fallen angels, the whole
world became corrupt, and its morals were inverted. Men no longer recognized a
God to Whom personally all obedience and worship is first due, and Whose equal
relation to all men as their Creator imperatively demands from each a love for
his neighbour as great as that which he bears to himself. But they judged that
whatsoever was pleasant to any man was also right for him; and after thus
bursting the bands of God asunder and casting His cords from them, it was not
long before they went on to believe that the attainment of a desired end
justified every means, that the coveted possession must be secured even if it
were necessary to use deceit or violence. Blinded by the selfishness of the
flesh, which can see nothing beyond itself, they pursued their several objects
without consideration or even thought of their fellows, except when any either
stood in the way or might be made subservient. And hence there sprang up a
thick crop of frauds and assassinations, of open quarrels and violence, till
the whole earth was filled with corruption and bloodshed.
And yet all this seems to have
existed side by side with luxury, a refined culture, and a love of art and
music. Such minglings of things apparently incongruous have not been infrequent
in postdiluvial times. The profligacy, immorality, and sensuous intellectuality
of
A parallel might also be sought
in the descriptions given by Tacitus, Juvenal, and others, of the times of the
Caesars. For then the whole body of society was corrupted, and even the streets
of
[Page 136 THE FLOOD FORETOLD]
Nor were the times of Leo the Tenth
[Pope 1513-1521] without resemblance to the days of Noah; when that famous
Pontiff, seated amid every possible sensuous and intellectual refinement, and
surrounded by the most brilliant cluster of stars that has ever adorned the
firmament of art, exclaimed: This Christianity! how
profitable a farce it has proved to us! When, in a time which produced
paintings, sculpture. and architecture, still marvels to the world, the sun as
it rose day by day would expose the floating corpses of the assassinated in the
Tiber; and infidelity and lawlessness kept such rapid pace with the culture of
the beautiful that even Machiavelli [d. 1527], who will not be accused of too
tender a conscience, declared that Italy had lost all principles of piety and
all religious feeling; that the Italians had become a nation of impious
cut-throats.
Such, though on a far greater
scale, was the wickedness of the antediluvian world. But the end was
approaching. God looked down a second time upon the spreading demoralization
beneath Him (Gen. 6: 5-7), and
saw that it would be necessary, at the close of the years of respite, to sweep
man and beast creeping thing and fowl, from the face of the earth.
Yet a third time the Creator
beheld, and lo! evil had made such fearful progress that all flesh had
corrupted its way upon earth (Gen. 6: 12-21). Then He foretold the impending ruin to
Noah, who alone found grace in His sight, and instructed him how he might avoid
the universal doom. The commands laid upon the
patriarch were a strong trial of his faith. He was to proclaim the
speedy coming of a catastrophe which to unbelievers would appear simply
irrational, of an overwhelming flood which should sweep away all life from the
face of the whole earth.
It may be that men felt a
momentary uneasiness at the first utterance of this prophecy of woe. Discussion
may have taken place similar to those among ourselves, when the conjectured
possibility of a collision between the earth and Donatis
comet caused a brief anxiety to those who believed in it. But, this qualm over,
we can readily picture to ourselves the contempt and
derision which must have been poured upon the prophet. Our own times will teach us how the men of science soon proved that such a thing as a universal flood was an absolute impossibility,
contrary to all the known laws of nature. And since Noah persisted, the world doubtless settled down into a
belief that he was a weak-minded fanatic, void of intellect, and altogether
unworthy of notice.
But Noah was not only directed
to foretell the approaching [Page 138 JUDGMENT AND MERCY] doom: he was also bidden to make open preparations for avoiding it,
preparations, too, of vast magnitude, and such as must have attracted general
attention. And a grievous burden it undoubtedly was to endure the scoffs and
deridings with which he must have been continually assailed while building his
immense ship on the dry land, far, it may be, from any water; but by faith he persevered, and at last
the days of his trial drew on to their close.
None had listened to his warnings:
not one beyond the inner circle of his own family was accounted worthy to be
saved. But the ark was now completed, and he was instructed to enter
it with his wife, his sons and their wives, and all the creatures which were
impelled by God to go with him. He was at no loss to understand the
significance of the command; he knew well that the wrath of God
was being restrained only till those who should be saved had been taken out of
the way; and we can imagine his feelings as he watched the long
procession slowly filing into the ark, and at length followed in its rear,
leaving the unconscious world, friends and foes like, in the inexorable grasp
of destruction. ...
And yet, as our Lord Himself
tells us, the doomed multitudes knew it not. They had often heard, but had
refused to listen: the voice of the prophet had seemed to them as the voice of
one that mocked. Even on the morning of the fatal day, earth resounded with the
noise of revelry and merriment: men were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage: they were absorbed in the pleasures of the moment: and
discerned not the slowly rising spectre of Death amid the gathering clouds, the
destroyer, with uplifted scythe, about to mow down all flesh at one fell
stroke.
But their dream of security was
at length rudely dispelled.
On the day in which Noah entered into the ark the
windows of heaven were opened, and the waters that were above the firmament
began to descend. The world wondered; and then, remembering the words of Noah,
trembled at the fast falling raindrops, the first they had ever beheld. 1
1 In Gen. 2: 5, 6, we are
told that the LORD God had not
caused it to rain, but that a mist went up from the earth, and watered the
whole face of the ground. Probably this state of things continued until the
flood, when the windows of heaven were for the first time opened. The rainbow
must have been a new phenomenon when it was given as a token to Noah: the words
of God imply as much. Besides which, had the bow been seen before the flood,
its subsequent reappearance could never have suggested security. But if there
was no rainbow, there could scarcely have been rain.
Nor was this all. A fearful
roaring from the sea announced that some mighty convulsion, equally beyond the
calculation [Page 138 JUDGMENT AND MERCY] of the
scientific men of the day, had commenced in the great deep. All its sealed
fountains were bursting up: God had removed the bounds of ocean: its proud
waves were no longer stayed, but were rising with prodigious tumult, and
beginning to advance again upon the dry land.
What scenes of horror must have
been presented beneath the dismal rainfall at this awful time! What affrighted groups!
What countenances of dismay! What shrieks of terror! What faintings for fear!
What headlong flights to any place which appeared to offer safety for the
moment!
Yet the mercy of God seems even
then to have been mingled with His judgment. ... His mercy devised a doom
which, though inexorable and complete, was, nevertheless, not instantaneous,
but gave time for repentance before death, that by the destruction of the flesh
the spirits of many might be saved.
The waters continued to
increase: the ark was upborne upon them ... and earth was again almost as it
had been before the six days of restoration, covered above its highest mountain
tops with a shoreless ocean. ...
Woeful was the proof that man,
if unrestrained, if left to his own devices, is not merely incapable of
recovering his innocence, but will rush madly down the steep of sensuousness
and impious self-will until he finds himself engulfed in the abyss of
perdition. The trial of freedom had failed: the second of the ages was ended.
* *
*
[Page 139]
CHAPTER 9
AS IT WAS IN THE
DAYS OF NOAH
WE have just endeavoured
to trace the flow of history from its source to the great catastrophe which
swept corruption and violence from the earth. We have seen its clear spring proceeding
from the throne of the Everlasting God, and have then lost sight of it as it
wound its way through vast regions that may not be trodden by mortal foot. Once
or twice we have climbed an accessible height, and from the distance gazed with
strained eyes upon something which sparkled in the rays of Gods Word, and
which we supposed to be the waters of the river we were seeking: but we could
obtain no certain knowledge of the mysterious stream, until we saw its turbid
and foaming torrent emerging in fearful cataract from between the dark
mountains which concealed its previous course.
We have followed it into a land
of delight, in which it gradually calmed and brightened again, while its banks
teemed with all that is beautiful and lovely: we have traced it as it passed
the limits of that joyous realm, and hurried through dry and barren tracts,
with ever increasing volume and rapidity, till at length its agitated waters
were violently engulfed in the great ocean of the flood.
We must not, however, dismiss
the story of doom which we have just been considering without some reflections
on the solemn warning drawn from it by the Saviour.
But as the
days of Noah were, is His awful declaration, so shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that
Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all
away;
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt.
24:
37-39). Thus the closing scenes of this present [evil and apostate] age
will be a reproduction of the days of Noah: the same intense
worldliness, and at last positive
inability to care for the [Prophetic and Judgmental] things of God,
which was displayed by the antediluvians, will also be characteristic of our world when Christ begins the
judgments that will quickly culminate in the glory of His appearing. It seems
fair, then, to infer that this second manifestation of [Page 140 FEATURES OF NOAHS DAY] the spirit that worked in them who were
disobedient before the flood will be effected by a conjunction of causes
similar to that which formerly produced it. And hence, as we have already
remarked, it becomes a matter of the greatest practical importance to
comprehend those causes: for whenever they are again found to
be simultaneously affecting the masses of the worlds population, the fact will afford a strong presumption that we are drifting rapidly
to the great consummation of wickedness; that the avenging glory of the Lord is about to be revealed, so that all flesh shall see it together.
For us, therefore, the great
question is, Are these fatal influences now in operation? Are they more
universally characteristic of this epoch than of any other? Mature
consideration has impelled many to return an affirmative answer: let us ses whether facts warrant us in holding the same view. It
is impossible to exaggerate our interest in the investigation. If the present times - [of
compulsive lying, deceit, and a wilful decision to refuse to disclose the many known accountability truths
of Holy Scripture*] -
are only beginning to take the complexion of those of Noah, they
send forth a piercing cry of warning admonishing us to stand with our loins
girded about and our lamps burning,
waiting for the summons of the Lord. For
He will remove His - [faithful, holy, and obedient] - Church,
as He removed Enoch, before the
wickedness of man has come to its worst. He will take away that which He
Himself has called the salt of the earth, and then the corruption of all flesh
will go on unchecked, and the world speedily ripen for its doom.
The seven great causes of the
antediluvian apostasy have been already noticed, and may be summed up as
follows.
I. A tendency to worship God as
Elohim, that is, merely as the Creator and Benefactor, and not as Jehovah the
covenant God of mercy, dealing with transgressors who are appointed to
destruction, and finding a ransom for them.
II. An undue prominence of the
female sex, and a disregard of the primal law of marriage.
III. A rapid progress in the
mechanical arts, and the consequent invention of many devices whereby the hardships
of the curse were mitigated, and life was rendered more easy and indulgent.
Also a proficiency in the fine arts, which captivated the minds of men, and
helped to induce an entire oblivion of God.
IV. An alliance between the
nominal Church and the World, which speedily
resulted in a complete amalgamation.
V. A vast increase of population.
[Page 141 THE WAY OF CAIN]
VI. The rejection of the preaching
of Enoch [and Noah], whose warnings thus became a savour of death unto the world,
and hardened men beyond recovery.
VII. The appearance upon earth of
beings from the Principality of the Air, and their unlawful intercourse with
the human race.
These causes concurred to
envelop the world in a sensuous mist which no ray of truth could penetrate.
They brought about a total forgetfulness of God and disregard of His will; and
thus, by removing the great Centre Who alone is able to attract men from
themselves, rendered the dwellers upon earth so selfish and unscrupulous that
the world was presently filled with lewdness, injustice, oppression, and
bloodshed. It remains, therefore, for us to consider whether similar
influences are now acting upon society.
And certainly we cannot but
confess that the first-mentioned cause is eminently characteristic of our
times. For in all the professing Churches of Christendom, as well as among
Jews, Mahometans, and Pagans, there are countless and ever-increasing
multitudes who go in the way of Cain (Jude 2),
acknowledging the Supreme Being, but not recognizing His holiness and their own
depravity, and so denying all necessity of a Mediator between God and man. Many
of these are willing to look upon Christ as some great one, and will talk of
His wise philosophy and exemplary life: but they neither confess Him to be the
Only Begotten Son of the Father, nor feel the need of His atonement.
Consequently, they reject His revelation, as an absolute authority at least,
trusting rather to the darkness them which they call light; and thus, closing
their eyes to the true relations of man with his Creator, form their own
conceptions both of the Deity and of themselves. This involves nothing less
than a claim on their part to supreme wisdom and authority: it is moulding an
idol out of their own imagination before which to fall down and worship. Nor
need we wonder that it leads to a virtual deification of men of transcendent
intellect or great renown. Who has not detected the working of this leaven in
his own circle? Who has not observed this pure Theism,
as it is called, rising to the surface in all the sects of Christendom?
If the second cause be rightly
inferred from the scanty hints given to us, it is also in operation at the
present time: for the female sex has certainly commenced a migration into a new
sphere and more prominent position. And the looseness in regard to the marriage
tie, which has long obtained on the [Page 142 DIVORCE AND LUXURY] Continent,
is now spreading in
At the close of the previous
dispensation the same sin was frequent among the Pharisees, who held that
divorce is permissible for any reason; even, as Rabbi Akibah
shamelessly says, if a man sees a woman handsomer
than his own wife. Hence the Lords continual mention of adultery in
His denunciations of the Pharisees: for the marriage after divorce which they
legalized, He declared to be criminal. In the wonderful sermon contained in the
fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeen` chapters of Luke, He
brings it forward with a startling abruptness, as a most open and undeniable
sin, which would at once convict His hearers of having proved as disobedient to
the Law and the Prophets as they were to the Gospel (Luke 16: 18). We
know the punishment which quickly overtook them for this and their many other
transgressions. In a few short years their lusts were extinguished in their
blood: the fair walls and streets of their city were levelled with the ground:
their beautiful temple in which they trusted perished in the flames, and the
idolatrous shrine of Jupiter rose insultingly upon its ruins.
Of the third cause, the spread
of science, art, and luxury, it is unnecessary to speak: for none will deny
that this is a great characteristic of our days: nay, the fact is a common
subject of boasting. And alas! how many instances have we of the self-deifying
arrogance which frequently arises from a little knowledge of the laws of
nature, or a marked success in those arts, sciences, and philosophies which are
the delight of cultivated and refined intellects! 1 With
what confidence, too, and carelessness do men settle themselves amid the
comforts and indulgences of this luxurious age! Seeing good only in the present
life, how little thought do they give to God, how deaf are they
to any mention of the World to Come! How incredulous, even if their
mouths be not filled with mocking, when they hear but a whisper of that tempest
of Gods fury which will shortly
burst upon the apathetic world, and hurry multitudes away from all that they love
into the dungeons of His wrath! (Isa. 2: 12-17; Isa. 32: 11; Ezek. 39: 6). ...
1 For let
it not be supposed that these remarks are directed absolutely against the
pursuit of science and art. They are only intended to refer to the
insubordinate and atheistical spirit
which seems too commonly to arise from it.
[Page 143 WORLDLY RELIGION]
To reproduce the fourth cause
the Prince of this World has long
been striving, and certainly now seems near to his victory. It is the natural result
of the first error, the denial of our position as sinners before God, as doomed
to destruction unless a ransom be found. Let the Church surrender that truth,
and what hinders her from living in perfect accord with the World? If the
practical teaching of religion be that God is fairly satisfied with our
conduct, troubles but little about our sins, highly appreciates our works of
virtue, even though pride be their mainspring, and looks with pleasure upon
bold deeds and intellectual displays, why should such a theology clash with the
cravings of fallen men? How could they hate a deity so like to themselves?
And have
we not been describing the creed of vast numbers in the professing Church? Are
not the walls of the city of
Oh that those who are thus
blinded by Satan would consider while there is yet time; would earnestly and
prayerfully meditate upon the words of the Lord Jesus, and interpret them by
His most holy life! Then would they see the inconsistency of their position,
and keenly feel that they have been fulfilling to the letter the prophecy of
the last times, that men should have a form of godliness, but deny the power
thereof (2 Tim. 3: 5). For the world will allow the mere
statement of any doctrine, provided no attempt be made to put it into practice.
It is only when faith begins to produce works that the Christian is confronted
with bitter antagonism; when he feels that he must redeem the time because the
days are evil; when, being conscious of a dispensation committed to him, he is
impelled to preach the Word in season and out of season, to speak as a dying
man to dying men; when he can no longer take part in frivolous gaieties or
time-killing pleasures, knowing that such things are but as a painted curtain
used by the foul fiend to hide from men the brink of death on which they are
walking, until the time comes to tear it away and thrust them over the
precipice.
If any be thus earnestly minded,
they will have no difficulty in regard to the line of separation: they will
quickly find the cross they have to bear: they will feel that, like their
Master, they are not of this world, and will indeed have tribulation in it. But
let them be of good cheer: for He is at hand, and great will be their joy at
His coming.
Nor are the concessions of the
nominal Church in point of doctrine less deplorable than those which concern
conduct. We have before seen that men were ever prone to soften and corrupt
those parts of Gods Word which oppose their own thoughts and aspirations. But
a strange and impious idea now prevalent is destroying the last vestiges of
Biblical authority, and sweeping away
every remaining barrier to peace between the professing Church and the World.
This is a rapidly growing objection to [Page 145 DOGMA DISCARDED] what is called dogma. Now did the objection
apply only to the too positive assertion by men of their own opinions, the
sentiment would be wholesome: but upon inquiry we discover that dogma is practically a conventional term for the
revelations and commandments of the Most High God. And many who profess a
belief in the Bible, instead of strengthening the
things which remain, that are ready to die
(Rev. 3: 2), are never weary of admonishing us to be charitable
in regard to those who reject every vital doctrine of Scripture, and even deny
the Lord Who bought them. We are told that, provided men be honest, all will be well with them at last: that we
must not be narrow-minded: that there are other entrances into the fold besides
the door (John 10: 7): that
those are not necessarily thieves and robbers who climb over the wall; but, it
may be, bolder and more manly spirits than their fellows.
It is easy to see that by such a
line of reasoning all power is extracted from the Scriptures. Instead of being
recognized as the living Word of Him Who shall hereafter judge the living and
the dead by the things which are written in them, they are regarded merely as
an ordinary volume of advice to man, who, in assuming the right to accept or
reject them at will, arrogantly places the crown of Deity upon his own head.
And thus the great means which God has appointed for the separation of His
Church from the World is destroyed: the light which reveals the continual peril
and the fearful termination of the broad road is put out, and men go heedlessly
on, amused with the trifles of the moment, until they fall headlong into the
jaws of the pit.
Upon the fifth cause there is no
need to enlarge. For, without troubling the census papers, almost every
Englishman could speak of the rapid growth of his own neighbourhood. Nor has
the world ever previously beheld so vast an aggregation of human life as that
which our metropolis now exhibits. Yet at the same time crowds of emigrants are
leaving the country, and filling the solitary places of the earth. And
statistics show that the population of almost every part of the world is also
increasing.
But, in addition to this, there is
a phenomenon of gloomy portent. For, while they multiply, men are also
beginning to exhibit impatience of restraint: and, since they are learning to
act together, and seem to be growing inflated with reliance on their fancied
power, they will probably soon go on to deeds of unpious
daring. Large organizations, which are no longer confined to the frontiers of
one people, forebode a second rebellion of
Whenever the Word of God is faithfully
preached it cannot return unto Him void: it will accomplish that which He
pleases and prosper in the thing whereto He sent it (Isa. 55: 11): some effect it must produce upon all who
hear. It separates the wheat from the chaff: it either draws men nearer to God,
or renders them more callous than before, and prepares them for speedy
judgment. For we are unto God, says
Paul, a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are being saved, and
in them that are perishing. To the one we are
the savour of death unto death; and to the other
the savour of life unto life (2 Cor. 2: 15, 16).
And so the powerful appeals of
Enoch, his loud calls to repentance and threatenings of judgment
to come, since they were slighted by the
world, must have mightily hardened the hearts of men, and caused the Spirit of God to cease striving with them. Very probably many were at first impressed
and alarmed: but after a while, when
they saw day following day without any sign of the predicted vengeance, they lost their fear: they went back to
their favourite sins, as the dog to his vomit: they could no longer be roused
as before: they began to be scoffers, and mocked at the most solemn warnings:
the demon, who had been for a brief space expelled, returned with seven others
more wicked than himself: so that their last state was worse than the first
(Luke 11: 24-26).
In this case also history
appears to be repeating itself. For some fifty years God has supplied an unbroken
stream of evangelical testimony which has been gradually increasing in power;
and there is now sounding forth such a proclamation of the Gospel as the world
has never, perhaps, heard since the days of the apostles. The Spirit has fallen
upon the Church with Pentecostal vigour: revivals, missions at home and abroad,
and the efforts of many individuals, have caused the conversion of thousands.
Those who are really Christs seem to be strenuously urged by a sense of their
responsibilities: they are going out into the streets and lanes, into the
highways and hedges, constraining men to come in: the wedding-hall is rapidly
filling with guests.
And amid
the calls to repentance and offers of grace, amid the mutual exhortations to
walk as children of the light, there peals forth, waxing ever louder and
louder, the solemn cry, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him 1 [Page 147 THE GOSPEL REJECTED] (Matt. 25: 6); while
the testimony of the faithful to the world
is assuming its last form: Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the
hour of His judgment is come (Rev. 14: 7).
Indications of this new epoch have been growing more and more apparent for some
years, and many papers and periodicals have been devoted to the resucitation of the long-neglected truth so prominently set
forth by our Lord and His apostles. Hundreds of books and pamphlets have been
written on the same subject; while the majority of the later-revival preachers,
and a daily increasing number of other witnesses, have promulgated it to such
an extent that it would now be difficult to find a moderately intelligent
Christian who is ignorant of the great hope, even if he does not accept it as
his own.
1. [Probably the strict application of this passage
is to an hour still fixture, quite immediately before the Lord shall come.]
There is also a significant
change passing over this testimony, and rendering it far more. consistent and
powerful. For although but a short time has elapsed since the disagreement of
prophetic writers was almost proverbial, the great body of them are now
beginning to exhibit a wonderful harmony on all main points, and to proclaim
that the solemn event which all should be awaiting is the command that will
summon the Church into the presence of her Lord. We may, therefore, in several
particulars find a remarkable analogy between the preaching of Gods people in
the present time and the prophesying of Enoch before the days of Noah.
But the masses of the world are
again rejecting Gods more urgent appeals, and, as a natural consequence, His
Spirit is ceasing to strive with them: infidelity and superstition are
beginning to overshadow even the most favoured countries of Christendom. In our
own land, how great an excitement was caused some twenty years ago by the
publication of Essays and Reviews: but that
book, though hailed with such delight by those who were unwilling to submit to
the Divine revelation, has now been swept out of memory by the flood of more
daring infidel literature which has since been continually issuing from the
press. How few of our newspapers, reviews, and periodicals, escaped the
contagion! How great a multitude of propagating secularists does our country
contain, from the bold blasphemer coarsely inveighing against the Word of God,
and either denying His existence or charging Him with injustice, to the refined
and subtle reasoner who would fain make the ineffable light of his Creator pale
before the flickering lamp of human intellect! It is, however, needless to
enlarge on so obvious a matter, or to waste time in proving the simultaneous
spread of Ritualism and Popery, which is now sufficiently evident even to the
most careless observer ; while in regard to [Page 148 SPIRITISM REVIVED] the prevalence of sorcery we
shall have more to say anon.
Have we not, then, reason to
infer both from these apostasies, and from the general resemblance of our days
to the perilous times of the end as described by Paul (2 Tim. 3: 1-9), that
Christendom, as the inevitable punishment of a general rejection of the Gospel [of the Kingdom], is
being judicially blinded and irremediably hardened?
The seventh and most fearful
characteristic of the days of Noah was the unlawful appearance among men of
beings from another sphere. This, many would quickly reply, is certainly an
event which has not yet startled our age, strange as our experiences may be: we
have still something at least to await before the completion of that fatal
circle of influences which ruined the old world. But a diligent
comparison of Scripture with the things that are now taking place among us
will give a very different impression, and induce a strong conviction that the
advanced posts of this last terrible foe have already crossed our borders. For
it is no longer possible to deny the supernatural character of the apostasy
called Spiritualism, which is spreading through the world with unexampled
rapidity, and which attracts its votaries, and retains them within its grasp,
solely by continual exhibitions of the miraculous. It is vain to speak of that
power as mere jugglery which has convinced some of the elite of the
literary world, which has caught in its meshes many scientific men, who at
first only troubled to investigate for the purpose of refutation. Nor indeed
can anything be more dangerous than utter incredulity: for the wholly
incredulous, if suddenly brought face to face with the supernatural, is of all
men the most likely to yield entire submission to the priests of the new
wonder. Better far is it to inquire prayerfully whether these things are
possible, and if so, in what light the Bible teaches us to regard them. We
shall thus be armed against all the wiles of the Devil.
But an exposition of the nature
and history of Spiritualism of sufficient length to exhibit its apparent
identity with the antediluvian sin is a serious matter, and must not be
commenced at the end of a chapter.
* *
* * *
* *
[PART FOUR]
FALLEN ANGELS TAKING HUMAN FORM*
A Study of Genesis
6: 1-7
By G. H. LANG
-------
APPENDIX
[Page 310]
Dr.
Patrick Fairbairn, in the Imperial Bible
Dictionary (article Son or Sons of God), while taking an opposite view to
that of this article, says that the opinion here advocated is given in the Book
of Enoch, and was taken by many of the fathers, and by not a few of the
Catholic and Lutheran theologians. Of the last mentioned he names, Stier,
Hofmann, Kurtz, and Delitzsch. Darby says it was the almost universal opinion
of early Christians (Letters, Vol. III, p. 165).
IN a diary describing a
visit by the writer to the ruins of ancient
Egyptian temples, the following passage occurred:
Who that has stood amidst the
shadows of the towering pillars of the great Hypostyle Hall of the vast temple
of Luxor will easily forget the beauty of the scene
as one looked across the large forecourt of Amenhotep
III, and caught the glow of the sun, now setting behind the Theban Hills,
irradiating with a golden brilliance the mighty columns of the colonnades?
Yet the grandeur of the open
court is of less interest than is the story depicted upon the walls of that
apartment near the Sanctuary which is called the Birth Room. The reliefs tell how the god Amen-Ra took to himself the form
of Thothmes IV and visited his queen Muternua. She, supposing the visitor to be her royal
husband, received him to her chamber. Before leaving her the god revealed
himself and told her the child of their union should be named Amenhotep.
In the mortuary
And in the
Whether the very king and the
very queen named in these inscriptions were of semi-superhuman origin we do not
say. It may be that this was alleged of them merely to give them greater hold
upon the superstitious peoples over whom they ruled and whose worship they
guided.
But was there anything or
nothing of fact ever behind this alleged matter of gods taking human form,
visiting such of the [Page 311 SCRIPTURE TESTIMONY] daughters
of men as they would, and becoming the fathers of their children? Is it a mere
invention, or does it point to the most terrible of all evils that have
afflicted this world?
Before summarily dismissing the
idea as impossible, as merely a cunning invention of priestcraft for the
purpose of deceiving mankind in its own interests, the thoughtful will consider
some facts.
(1) Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the
Egyptians (Acts 7: 22), and could not have been
ignorant of these stories. Indeed, he may have seen these very reliefs upon which the visitor still looks.
(2) The Israelites also, by reason of their long sojourn in
(3) Yet when Moses rejected the gods of Egypt to serve the only true
God, Jehovah, and when he led Israel out of Egypt, and denounced all idolatry
in unmeasured terms, he not only did not instruct his followers that these
stories were fond things vainly invented,
mere abominable deceits of men, but, on the contrary, he, in narrating for
Israels benefit the history of former times, declares that both before the
Flood, and after that [divine] judgment
also, certain of the sons of Elohim saw the daughters
of adam (man) that they were fair; and they
took them wives of all that they chose (Gen.
6).
That these sons of God were angelic beings is clear from the following particulars:
(a) The contrast in the terms the sons of Elohim and the daughters of adam (the adam the
descendants of the one so named, Adam).
(b) That the offspring of
such unions were, as might be expected, markedly mighty, and did such deeds as made them men of renown. These features in the children are not accounted for on the
supposition that the fathers were only men, even if godly men.
(c) That the consequence
on earth was the so great abounding of wickedness, and specially the corrupting
of the imaginations of mens hearts, that God could no more tolerate the scene,
and judgment swept over the world of the ungodly. This special inward corrupting
of man suggests, some special inward spiritual agency and influence.
(d) That the term sons of Elohim in the literature of the time meant angelic beings. Job was a contemporary writing with Genesis, and was given for the instruction of the same people,
And yet more conclusive is chapter 38: 7, for
there God indicates that the sons of God were
in existence before the earth was made, for at the creation of it they shouted
for JOY.
[Page 312 THE SONS
OR ELOHIM]
In Psalm 82: 1, 6, the elohim are
again spoken of, and as sons of the Most High. Here they are
threatened that, if they go on in the evil of which God complains in verse 2, they shall die like Adam (man).
Now if children of Adam were the persons addressed, it were superfluous so to
warn them, for their death would be a matter of course; hence these sons of the Most High must be the sons of Elohim, not
of Adam. It may be remarked that when our Lord quoted this verse (John 10: 34), He
made no mention of what order of beings God addressed in this Psalm. His use of
the passage to prove the inviolability of the Word of God is as pertinent
whoever were the beings in question, whether angels or men.
ANGELS MATERIALIZING
(4) Seeing that angels can so materialize to themselves bodies as to
eat the food of men (Gen. 18: 8), to draw Lot by their hands (Gen. 19: 10, 16), etc.,
there need be no difficulty in believing them able to perform other bodily
functions, if they so wish.
If Matthew 22: 30 be
urged to the contrary, it may be pointed out that our Lord states what is the
condition of things in heaven: He does not allege that
angels cannot violate that order, and act otherwise on earth. Whilst in Jude, verses 6, 7, we are plainly told that there have been angels who kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation; and it
is explained that
The thoughtful, we say, will
consider these facts and scriptures and will not fail to note that this
abhorrent and terrible subject is of practical moment, inasmuch as the Son of God has forewarned us that the days before His appearing again
on earth will present a true likeness to the days of Noah and to the state of
Sodom in the days of Lot.
Let the modem westerner marvel
and cavil if he please; but these stones plainly tell us that the men of old
knew the possibility of these dark things. And Genesis 6 tells
us who were the real gods of paganism, who thus, for the purpose of debasing
mankind, left their proper habitation,
namely, rebellious angels. Whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our instruction.
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED
When
writing as above I was not unaware that another view of Genesis 6: 2 has
been advanced.
Defending that other
interpretation one reader of the diary was good enough to quote from a well-known
work as follows: But the race of Seth also became
infected with the vices of the Cainites. This seems to be the only reasonable
sense of the intercourse between the sons of
God (sons of Elohim) and [Page 313] the daughters of
men (daughters of Adam). We may put aside
all fancies borrowed from heathen mythology respecting the union of superhuman
beings with mortal women, and assume that both parties were of the human race.
The family of Seth, who preserved their faith in God, and the family of Cain
who lived only for this world, had hitherto kept distinct; but now a mingling
of the two races took place, which resulted in the thorough corruption of the
former, who falling away plunged into the deepest abyss of wickedness. We are
also told that this union produced a stock conspicuous for physical strength
and courage; and this is a well known result of the intermixture of different
races. (Smiths Students Old
Testament History.)
As we suppose that this will be
accepted as a good statement of that interpretation we will examine it a little
closely.
I. It is scarcely fair to those who hold the view under
discussion that it should be summarily dismissed as a
fancy borrowed from heathen mythology. For that view is deduced from
numerous Scriptures, and considerations arising therefrom, of which many are
before suggested, and were mythology silent upon the subject it would still, as
we think, be deducible and maintainable from the Word of God.
Nor is it true, wise, or
scientific to dismiss all ancient mythology, as necessarily false to fact, and
as being therefore unworthy of consideration.
Having seen in the Word of God
itself reason for entertaining the view before advocated, those who advance it
point, by way of corroboration, to the unquestionable and remarkable fact that
the ancient mythologies, which, be it specially noted, carry us back to the
same period of history which the book of Genesis covers,
reveal this as the almost universal belief of the whole ancient world at and
after that period, and as being indeed a foundation of their religions.
How did this extraordinary
conception come into existence and command such universal and permanent assent?
We think that those who reject the explanation which is offered by Genesis 6. (upon our reading of its meaning) can give no explanation of
this pregnant fact.
THE REAL GODS OF PAGANISM
Our own view of paganism is that
it was instituted by Satan, and his angelic co-rebels, for sinister purposes in
opposition to the will of God.
This is the explanation given in
the Scriptures, which definitely and repeatedly instruct us that it is to
demons that [Page 314 THE NATURE OF MYTHOLOGY] idolatrous
worship is really and finally directed (Deuteronomy 32: 17; Psalm 106: 37; 1 Corinthians 10: 20).
This being so, certainly much concerning
Satan and his workings may be learned from paganism, if only it is studied in
the light of Gods revelation in Scripture.
Now mythology enshrines the
remembrance by man of the earliest actings and teachings of these fallen
angels. And this is the only explanation which meets the facts of the case as
they always have existed and do still exist.
The general correspondence of
pagan worship in various lands and times, and particularly the secret and
esoteric teaching which makes all paganisms and mythologies one body of
demonology, finds here its sole and sufficient explanation.
The persistency of these ideas,
and of rituals embodying these ideas, through thousands of years, in spite of
the decay and passing of nations, is also thus readily explained.
The solemn fact that the
essential doctrines of these old pagan philosophies are even now subtly and
widely permeating the western world, in spite of its education and scientific
progress, and are captivating multitudes who would boast of intellectual superiority
to the poor heathen, finds a prompt and
adequate explanation in the thought that the mighty god of this age is powerfully working to reinfect
the latest descendants of Japheth with the very same conceptions as blinded
their forefathers and still blind the sons of Shem; conceptions which hide from
men the true God and so make them the more ready prey to Gods enemy and would-be
usurper.
Nor is this a difficult work,
seeing that peoples who have had the Word of God are largely refusing to walk
in the light which that Word sheds forth, and are thus easily deluded by Theosophy,
Spiritism, Christian Science, and the like philosophies, the essential
teachings of which are identical with the pantheistic views of Hinduism and
Buddhism, as well as the Grecian and Egyptian systems of thought which once
flourished with, but have been outlived by, their more eastern relations.
Wisdom calls upon the discerning
to be prepared to hear some solemn warnings from paganism, and so to detect
some of Satans wiles and depths, and to be kept therefrom.
And where, as in the point under
review, the Scriptures of truth and the general belief of the ancient world
strictly accord (as they do upon our view of those Scriptures), it is not wise,
and may be dangerous, peremptorily to refuse even to listen to the united
testimony.
Paganism pressed hard upon both
Jews and Christian disciples, and was a constant spiritual menace to both ; and
[Page 315 FALSE
ASSUMPTIONS] much of the deeper,
finer meaning of the utterances of prophets and apostles can only be appreciated
when this fact is understood and kept in mind.
THE WEAKNESS OF THE OBJECTION
II. The fundamental weakness of the case upheld by the writer
quoted was never more clearly revealed than when he wrote as above, we may ... assume that both parties
were of the human race.
That is precisely the basis upon
which the exposition rests: it is assumption. It is a fact that in each other
place where the exact term sons of Elohim is
employed it designates angelic beings; and therefore it must be assumed that in Genesis 6, it means men, for that cannot be proved. Let us notice how
many and great are the assumptions involved in that one.
(1) It is assumed that the descendants of Seth as a whole kept true to Jehovah.
This is nowhere stated, nor even implied. Of even the patriarchs it cannot be
proved, except in the cases of Enoch and Noah.
Indeed, the very fact that in a
genealogy the former is singled out for mention as being one who walked with God almost suggests that he differed in that particular from the
others named, for had they all walked with God why should his doing so be
remarked upon and the rest be left without this praise?
(2) But if Seths descendants did for a time fear God it is at any
rate an assumption that
they continued to do so through the many
long centuries down to about the year of the world 1536; and,
(3) It is a further assumption, for it is not so stated, that the
collapse of their godliness took place just 120 years before the flood.
Nor is any explanation
forthcoming as to why they had not sooner noticed the daughters of men as being
attractive, or why, if they had noticed them, they were not sooner overcome by
their charms.
Were the daughters of Seths
family without beauty that the fairness of the Cainite women suddenly and so
disastrously conquered them? or had the two families, though rapidly
multiplying, and living in the same region, never touched each other?
In order
to explain the might and prowess of the off-spring it is assumed that Sethites
and Cainites were separate races.
In point of fact no national or
racial distinctions were known at that time, for the differences are plainly
stated to have [Page 316 FALSE ASSUMPTIONS] commenced
after the flood with the confounding of the one language hitherto spoken by
all.
Hence our earlier remarks under 3 (b) (c) are not invalidated.
(5) It is an assumption, having
no warrant in other places where the term is used, that when God says sons of Elohim he means sons of Seth
An argument that requires that
its every premise be assumed cannot be maintained.
I was further referred to the
footnote to Genesis 6 in Dr. C. I. Scofields edition
of the English Bible.
It is there denied that the term
sons of Elohim always elsewhere denotes angelic beings.
But in support he refers to but one passage (Isa. 43: 6); and lo! on referring to this solitary
citation it is to find that the term under consideration is not
there used! Jehovah does not in that place
describe
It is by no means denied that
men are in a true sense sons of God. Adam, as created by God, is so called in Luke 3: 38, by
implication from verse 23; and in the same creaturely
sense, of relationship to the Creator, all Adams race are termed Gods offspring (Acts 17: 28).
Moreover, by regeneration of the
inward man all believers of every age become spiritual sons of God. But these
usages of the term son in no degree establish that a distinct and
very seldom used term so peculiar as is sons of Elohim also
means men, when in the rest of the places where it is found it plainly denotes
angelic beings.
That it means human beings is
one more assumption, and a very large
one, since it must be made in antagonism to the uniform biblical usage of the
term.
SUMMING UP
III. We would restate the matter as follows:
(1) Reading Genesis 6, it is observed that certain
beings termed sons of God are said to have consorted
with the daughters of Adam. Who are these sons of Elohim? The contrast between the two terms suggests other than
human beings, for the natural description of these latter would be sons of Adam. Also if Sethites and Cainites
were meant, why were not those terms used, for so no ambiguity would have been
left?
(2) The presumption that angelic beings are meant is strongly
confirmed when it is found that in the other places in Scripture where this
exact term is employed it plainly means angels.
[Page 317 ANAKIM, NEPHILIM, REPHAIM]
(3) That this is the meaning is further established by the statement
of the Holy Spirit through Jude that
there were, at an earlier period, angels who kept not their own principality,
their assigned region of the universe, but left their proper
habitation (oiketerion: only elsewhere used in 2 Corinthians 5: 2, to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven).
Hence these angels left that
form, that spiritual body, in which they were created, and took a house, a bodily dwelling, which did not belong to them by Gods
will; that is, as Jude describes it, comparing it with the unnatural intermixtures
of the Sodomites, they went after strange (heteros) flesh, that is, they mingled with heterogeneous
beings, creatures of a different nature by constitution.
Such violations of His divisions
and limitations amongst His creatures God suffers not in any sphere of life
(see Lev. 19:
19), and condign punishment was
commanded (Ex. 22:
19). Similarly, these particular
angels were cast down to pits of darkness 1 and
there enchained, pending the final assize of the universe (Jude 6, 7 and 2 Pet. 2: 4).
(4) This sense of the passage is strongly confirmed by the fact
of the monstrous offspring which resulted in those days before the flood and also
after that great judgment - offspring gigantic in size, power, and wickedness.
The Anakim who terrified the
Israelitish spies, the Nephilim, and the Rephaim, all will be suitably
accounted for by this parentage, with its infusion of superhuman vitality and
force.
The very term Nephilim (fallen
ones) reminds of Judes utterance, angels ... he cast down. The term is found only in Genesis 6: 4, The Nephilim were in the earth in those days (i.e.,
before the flood) and also after that (judgment), etc.; and
in Numbers 13: 33, where
the Israelitish spies report of
Here the name is given both to
the giant descendants and also to their progenitors, but the two are
distinguished, We saw the Nephilim ... which come of the Nephilim.
Why this peculiar usage? It were
strange and needless to say, We saw the English
... which come of the English.
1 Pits of darkness. Greek Tartarus. 2 Peter 2: 4,
only. The Holy Spirit here employs a term well known in the then current Greek
mythology, with which the readers of the Epistle were surrounded in
[Page 318 THESE ELOHIM ARE JUDGES]
But allow for the supernatural
character of those who first bore the name, and a suitable explanation is found
for distinguishing between the race and their originators.
INFLUENCING EARTHLY AFFAIRS
In Psalm 82: 7 the
cognate verb to the noun Nephilim (fallen ones) is used and is translated fall, and appears to refer back to the same dire event of the
remote past in the heavenly world.
There God is described as standing
in the congregation of the Elohim, which
cannot mean earthly judges since there is no hint in Scripture of God standing
in the midst of a gathering of such and revising their doings; whereas there
are plain instances given of His doing so with heavenly beings (Job 1: 6-12; 2: 1-6; 1 Kings 22: 19-23).
These Elohim are reproached for perverting justice on the earth; and their subtle influence upon godless earthly
judges is the only adequate explanation of the virtually universal corruptness
of the law courts and officials, a
state of affairs so manifestly disastrous to the people, and yet almost everywhere acquiesced in by
its victims, and seemingly beyond
remedy, save only where Gods holy
Word has created a strong public opinion demanding equity in public affairs.
These Elohim are then warned that unless they mend their ways, by rightly
using their powers on behalf of the needy and afflicted, they shall die like a man (or Adam), and fall like one of the princes
If men were here in view,
plainly the threat that they should die like a man were needless, since that
end would be theirs for certain, and whether they were just or unjust in public
duties. Nor, supposing they were men, can any definite meaning be assigned to
the warning that they should fall like one of the princes,
But when we take the preceding
verse, I said, Ye are
elohim (beings akin to myself, the mighty El), and all of you sons of the Most High, to apply to heavenly rulers (the world-rulers of this darkness, Eph. 6: 12), then all is plain and harmonious.
The present rebel rulers, not
yet dispossessed from office, are warned that, by going on in the course of
prostituting their powers to evil ends they will deserve and share the same
fate as man, they will die - that is, will pass from their original sphere and
state into a lower and miserable condition of banishment from God and from
their glorious region of the universe, the heavens.
[Page 319 MYTHOLOGY AND SCRIPTURE AGREE]
Thus, like those former princes
of their order, they too shall fall. And the prophetic picture of this downfall
is given in Revelation 12: 7-12, and their imprisonment, like those earlier
fallen princes, is pointed to in Revelation 20: 1-3, and
their final dreadful doom, subsequent to the millennial Kingdom, in verse 10 and in Matthew 25: 41.
Thus our view of Genesis 6. is confirmed by its agreement with other passages, all these
Scriptures illuminating, amplifying, and corroborating one another.
MYTHOLOGY AGREES
(5) It is further confirmatory that the mythologies of all
ancient peoples, preserving as they do the traditions of their earliest
beliefs, definitely and constantly embody this conception; and do this so
persistently, and so without attempt to persuade to the acceptance thereof, as
to create the presumption that some reality, which none in those times
questioned, lay at the root of the belief.
This explanation of mythology
agrees with the statement of the Scriptures that the offspring of the illicit
unions became the men of renown (literally the men of the name); their mighty and abominable doings, with those of their
angelic begetters, forming, upon this view, the historical background upon
which much of the stories of the gods of mythology was based.
(6) The reading of the term sons of Elohim as
meaning men does violence to all the facts included in the foregoing
observations, refutes none of the arguments drawn from these facts, and
requires numerous pure assumptions to give it any seeming basis.
Upon analysis of the thinking of
those who object to the view here advocated, it will probably be found that the
only radical objection may be stated in the question, How can these things be?
This objection is anticipated in
paragraph 4 of section 4, of our opening remarks. The control by angels of the
material universe, animate and inanimate, is largely exemplified, though not
formally discussed, throughout Gods Word. But even could we not find an answer
to the question How? that would not warrant our not accepting
the foregoing statements of Scripture in their simple and solemn meaning.
A CONCLUDING ARGUMENT
(7) Lastly, we will advance one other consideration which seems
conclusive even by itself.
[Page 320]
It is alleged that the term daughters of Adam means the women of the Cainite
family.
This implies that the previous
term, when men began to multiply, means
Cainite men only, since it is their daughters who are in question.
But this is a plainly
impossible, because plainly inaccurate use of the term, since the Sethites were equally men.
And it is equally impossible
that the former term should mean Cainite women as distinct from and in contrast
to Sethite women. It is vital to the view we reject
that the term should apply to the Cainite women only. Without this being
allowed the argument is gone.
But it is positive and plain
that the Sethite women were, equally daughters of Adam and that therefore the term could
not with any correctness apply exclusively to the women of either family, but
necessarily covered them all.
So that the term sons of Elohim does most certainly stand in sharp contrast to both of the
terms daughters of men and men, and implies that those so described were not
men.
If any ask whether this question
is worth labouring, we can but reply that all Scripture being given to us by
the love and wisdom of God, it must be of value accurately to understand it; and we must again reflect that the days of Noah present a picture of
the times to precede our Lords return.
To be forewarned from a right
understanding of those former days is to be forearmed to meet the terrible
dangers of the last days, toward which season, as so many devout students
believe, we are fast approaching, if we have not already felt and seen their
first chill shadows.
He who foresees cries, I say unto all, Watch! Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
FINIS