THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE
BY
ARLEN L.
CHITWOOD
-------
[BOOK COVER WRITING]
Christians are presently engaged in a battle
against powerful angelic rulers in the spirit world. These angels, ruling in
the
Victory is achieved through
engaging the enemy within the framework of the Lord’s instructions in Ephesians
6: 10ff. A Christian though who engages the enemy after any other fashion is
entering the conflict apart from the Lord’s instructions, leaving himself in a
very vulnerable position, one in which the enemy can consistently achieve
victory. Thus, in this respect, victory on the one hand or defeat on the other
is determined by the Christian’s preparation for the conflict at hand. A
Christian can either heed the Lord’s instructions or he can ignore the Lord’s
instructions. There is no middle ground (Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23). The former
will produce readiness for the battle and result in victory, but the latter
will leave the Christian very vulnerable to attack and can only result in
defeat.
[PAGE ii]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [‘against the spirit
forces of wickedness in heavenly places’]” (Eph. 6:12).
[PAGE
iii]
The
Spiritual
Warfare
by
Arlen L. Chitwood
[PAGE
iv]
By the Same Author -
HAD YE BELIEVED MOSES
THE MOST HIGH RULETH
FROM ACTS TO THE EPISTLES
IN THE LORD’S DAY
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
SEVEN, TEN GENERATIONS
GOD’S FIRSTBORN SONS
THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE
SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
SALVATION OF THE SOUL
SO GREAT SALVATION
THE TIME OF THE END
BROLCHT FORTH FROM ABOVE
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE
SIGNS OF JOHN’S GOSPEL
RUN TO WIN\
JUDE
RUTH
ESTHER
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[PAGE
v]
CONTENTS
FOREWORD ...[PAGE vii]
I. LOCATION OF THE
CONFLICT...[PAGE 1]
II. PARTICIPANTS IN THE
CONFLICT ...[PAGE 19]
III. PREPARATION FOR THE CONFLICT...[PAGE 35]
APPENDIXES
AMALEK - FLESH,
SPIRIT...[PAGE 55]
CROWNS BEFORE THE THRONE ...[PAGE 63]
THE HOPE [PAGE 73]
THE RULE OF MAN (MILLENNIAL, ETERNAL) ... [PAGE 79]
WITHOUT FORM AND VOID [PAGE 91]
SCRIPTURE INDEX PAGE* ...[PAGE 97]
[* NOT INCLUDED]
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FOREWORD
[PAGE vii]
There is an existing, ongoing warfare between powerful spirit
beings in the heavens (Satan and his angels) and individuals on the earth
(Christians). This warfare centers around salvation - not the Christians’ presently possessed eternal
salvation but present and future aspects of salvation, the salvation of the soul. In this respect, the existing warfare is a battle for
the souls (the
lives) of the saved.
And the warfare has regal ramifications,
which takes one all the way back to:
1) The reason for
man’s creation in the beginning (“let them have dominion [‘let them rule’]” [Gen. 1: 26-28]).
2) And the reason Satan brought about
man’s fall (Satan was the one to whom God had previously given dominion
[rulership] over the earth, the one who held the sceptre at the time of man’s
creation [Ezek.
28:14;
Luke 4:61, with man created to replace the incumbent ruler).
Man has been, is being, and will be saved for a revealed purpose. There is a revealed goal in view, and,
relative to salvation, that goal is always the same in Scripture,
regardless of what aspect of man’s salvation is in view. That goal is the same for the whole of
man’s salvation - “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thess.
5:
23). That goal has to do with redeemed man ultimately occupying the
position for which he was created in the beginning.
Man, realizing the goal of salvation, must one day hold the sceptre. And this will
occur after Man’s Day has run its course, at the beginning of the Messianic
Era.
(This is the manner in which Scripture presents salvation
throughout, with the unchangeable foundational pattern set in the opening
verses of Genesis.
[PAGE
Viii]
The inhabited world to come will not be placed in subjection
to angels, as the present world [Heb. 2: 5]. This is the message seen throughout
Scripture. A new order of
Sons is about to be brought on the scene [Rom. 8: 18-23].
Satan and his angels are about to be replaced by Christ and His co-heirs. And, from
a Scriptural standpoint, man’s salvation centers around that coming day when
this new order of Sons will hold the sceptre and rule the earth.)
Man invariably deals with salvation in relation to eternity
and going to heaven, while seldom mentioning salvation in relation to the
Messianic Era and the kingdom of the heavens. Scripture, on the other hand,
presents the matter in the latter respect. Scripture invariably deals with
salvation in relation to the Messianic Era and the kingdom of the heavens. Heaven (the present
dwelling place of God) and the ages beyond are mentioned at times, but not relative to salvation
in the same sense that man relates them to salvation.
Man is not going to spend either the Messianic Era or the eternal
ages which follow in the place known today as heaven. And, in relation to the eternal ages which follow the Messianic Era, God is
not going to dwell in this place either. God is going to dwell on the new earth throughout the ages
comprising eternity.
And even when Scripture does deal with saved man in heaven (e.g., Christians following death, or
Christians following the rapture), matters are always completely consistent
with the way Scripture elsewhere deals with saved man. If future time comes into
view, reference is made to things surrounding the Messianic Era, not the ages
beyond (though in several instances the Messianic Era is connected with and
seen as the first of these ages, though separate from them [e.g.,
Luke 1:
33;
Eph.
2:
7]).
The Messianic Era, Ages Beyond
During the Messianic Era, man will dwell either on a restored
earth or in the heavens above this restored earth, with there being a Jerusalem
above and a Jerusalem below (capital cities both over and on the earth, with Christians
[along with certain O.T. saints] inhabiting [PAGE ix] the city above, and Israel inhabiting
the city below). During this era, there will be a rule from the heavens over
the earth. And this rule, as today, will originate with God in heaven and progress
through rulers placed in the heavens in relation to this earth.
Today, this rule progresses from God through Satan and his
angels (though rebel rulers), who reside in the heavens above the earth. But
during that coming day this rule will progress from God through His Son and His
Son’s co-heirs, who will reside in the new Jerusalem above the earth.
A rule of the preceding nature, from the heavens over the
earth, must continue during the Messianic Era, for this is the manner in which
God established the government of the earth in the beginning. Such a rule must
continue as long as the earth remains, which will be until the end of the
Messianic Era - to the full end of the seven days, the 7,000 years, set forth
in the beginning (Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 3).
A rule from the heavens over the earth (one province in God’s
kingdom) is not only the way in which God originally established the government
of the earth but the way in which He evidently established His government
throughout all other parts of the universe as well (all other provinces in His
kingdom). And this can never change in relation to any one province, for “the heavens do rule” (cf. Dan. 4: 25, 26).
Thus, God’s Son, with His co-heirs, must rule throughout the Messianic Era in exact accordance
with the way God established the government of the earth in the beginning. Such
a governmental rule will have to continue during this time, for the present
earth will not pass out of existence until the end of the Messianic Era (Rev. 21: 1-5).
God’s Son, with His co-heirs, will rule over the earth for
1,000 years - the earth’s coming Sabbath, foreshadowed by the seventh day in Gen. 2: 1-3 (cf.
Ex. 31: 13-17; Heb. 4: 1-9). They
will rule for 1,000 years to effect order where disorder has prevailed for
millenniums in one province in God’s universe. And
once order has been restored, the kingdom will be delivered up to God the
Father, that God might be “all in all” [i.e., permeate
all, be ‘everything in all things’].
Then, once order has been restored and the kingdom has been
delivered up to the Father, the present heavens and earth will pass [PAGE
x] out of existence.
A new heavens and a new earth will be brought into existence; and the new earth,
in that day, will become the place in the new heavens (as the earth today is
located at a place in the present heavens) from whence universal rule will
emanate. God will move His throne to the new earth, the Son will sit with His
Father on this throne (called “the throne of God and of the Lamb”), and saved man will exercise power
from this throne as well (2 Peter 3: 10ff; Rev. 21: 1ff; 22: 1-5).
Regality, the Earth, the Universe
Therein lies man’s destiny,
not going to heaven per se. Man’s destiny in relation to the heavens has to
do with regality, the earth, and the universe - first, ruling
over this present earth from the new Jerusalem above the earth, during the
Messianic Era; then, ruling out in the universe from the new Jerusalem on the
new earth, during the ages which follow (cf. Psa. 8: 3-6).
(Note that the size of the new Jerusalem - about 1,500 miles
in length, breadth, and height [Rev. 21: 16] - would give rise to the thought that the
new earth will likely be much larger than the present earth. A city of this
size would be completely out of place sitting on the present earth, but the new
earth will apparently be of a size which could easily accommodate this city.)
Salvation in Scripture is always dealt with in relation to the
scope of Scripture; and Scripture deals centrally with everything moving toward
a seventh day, a seventh 1,000-year period (cf. Matt. 16: 28 - 17: 5; 2 Peter 1: 15-18; 3: 3-8).
Events during this coming day, the Messianic Era, must be brought to pass first. And therein
lies the reason why Scripture deals with man centrally in relation to this
time, with the ages beyond seldom being in view (regardless of which aspect of
salvation is being dealt with - past, present, or future).
Only following the Messianic Era can the ages which lie beyond
this era be brought into view in all their fullness. During the present time,
the eternal ages are briefly dealt with in Scripture so that man can have some
understanding of God’s plan for the ages, where the [PAGE xi] whole of the matter - 6,000 years,
followed by a 1,000-year Messianic Era - will eventually lead. But only
following the Messianic Era will matters move beyond that which is dealt with extensively in Scripture. Only then
will God begin to open up and fully reveal that which will occur during the
period which man thinks of
today as eternity.
And the manner in which Scripture presents this whole matter -
particularly as it relates to eternal salvation - has become very difficult,
practically impossible, for most Christians to see and grasp. These Christians
have been taught wrong for years - not necessarily concerning how to be saved,
but concerning the purpose for salvation and that which lies ahead for redeemed man. And because
this erroneous teaching surrounding salvation (seeing eternal salvation as the
goal) has become so ingrained within their way of thinking, attempts to present
salvation from the correct Biblical perspective usually meet with askance
looks, opposition, or antagonism on almost every hand.
(Eternal salvation, rather than being the goal, places man in
a position where he can one day realize the goal which God has for man, which
is regal. Eternal salvation,
wherein unsaved man passes “from death unto life”
[John 5:
24;
Eph. 2: 1
], places an individual in the
position where he can one day realize the purpose for his very existence, the
purpose for his creation in the beginning - “...let them have
dominion” [Gen. 1: 26-28].)
When that depicted by the woman placing the leaven in the
three measures of meal in Matt. 13: 33 (which apparently occurred very early in
the dispensation and concerned an attempt on Satan’s part to corrupt all Biblical
doctrine having to do with the Word of the Kingdom), anything related to the
Word of the Kingdom began to be adversely affected. And this working of the
leaven, of necessity, extends even into the Biblical scope of salvation by
grace.
The latter would have to be the case because of the
inseparable connection salvation by grace has with the Word of the Kingdom. It
is man passing “from death unto life”
which places him in a position where he can realize the salvation of his soul.
And matters become even more negative surrounding the
relationship which salvation by grace has with the kingdom through the [PAGE
xii] message of those
advocating Lordship Salvation. Those proclaiming this message take things
having to do with the Word of the Kingdom and erroneously bring these things
over into and apply them to the message of salvation by grace (i.e., things having to do with present
and future aspects of salvation are removed from their respective contexts and
applied to things having to do with past aspect of salvation). And, through
this means, those proclaiming this message not only remove the kingdom from
view but they do two other things in the process. They both destroy teachings
surrounding the Word of the Kingdom and corrupt the message of salvation by
grace.
Interestingly enough, those who proclaim a correct salvation message per se but
ignore the kingdom and those who proclaim a Lordship Salvation message (who, through this means, destroy one
message and corrupt the other) form
two major groups in Christendom
today. Those from these two groups remain at almost complete odds with one
another on the message of salvation by grace; but when it comes to correctly
relating this message to the kingdom, which neither does, it can only be said
of both groups that they have been similarly, adversely affected by the same
leavening process which is rampant in the Laodicean Church of today.
* *
*
[PAGE
1]
CHAPTER 1
Location of the Conflict
And to make all men see what is the fellowship [‘dispensation’]
of the mystery, which
from the beginning of the world [‘from the ages’]
hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ:
To the intent that now unto the principalities and
powers in heavenly places might be known by [‘might be made known through’]
the church the manifold wisdom of God,
According to the eternal purpose [‘According
to a purpose of the ages’] which he purposed in
Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph. 3: 2, 3a, 9-11).
There is
an existing, ongoing warfare between powerful spirit beings in the heavens
(Satan and his angels) and individuals on the earth (Christians). This warfare
centers around salvation - not the Christians’ presently possessed eternal salvation
but present and future aspects of salvation, the salvation of the soul. In this
respect, the existing warfare is
a battle for the souls (the
lives) of the saved.
And the warfare has regal ramifications, which takes one
all the way back to:
1) The reason for man’s creation in the
beginning (“let them have dominion [‘let them rule’]” [Gen. 1: 26-28]).
[PAGE 2]
2) And the reason Satan brought about
man’s fall (Satan was the one to whom God had previously given dominion
[rulership] over the earth, the one who held the sceptre at the time of man’s
creation [Ezek. 28: 14; Luke 4: 6],
with man created to replace the incumbent ruler).
Man has been, is being, and will be saved for a revealed purpose. There is a revealed goal in view, and,
relative to salvation, that goal is always the same in Scripture,
regardless of what aspect of man’s salvation is in view. That goal is the same for the whole of
man’s salvation - “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thess.
5:
23). That goal has to do with redeemed man ultimately occupying the
position for which he was created in the beginning.
Man, realizing the goal of salvation, must one day hold the sceptre. And this will
occur after Man’s Day has run its course, at the beginning of the Messianic
Era.
The Church was called into existence to be the recipient of
that which
It is Christ and His co-heirs (Christians from the present
dispensation) who are destined to one day replace Satan and his angels, the
present rulers in the kingdom. This is what is being made known to the present
rulers (“the
principalities and powers in heavenly places”), through the Church, in Eph.
3: 10 - the fact that they are
about to be replaced, by man, 6,000 years after the fact, realizing the purpose
for man’s creation in the beginning.
God is about to bring forth a new order of Sons, and Satan
knows this. Six thousand years ago, at the time of man’s creation, it was made known
that man would replace the incumbent rulers (Gen. 1: 26-28).
And, during the present dispensation, a continuing declaration of this same
fact is being made known, through the Church, in a more specific manner (i.e., not man in general [PAGE
3] but Christ and His
co-heirs [Christians] in particular will replace the incumbent rulers).
This is why the warfare rages. Satan and his
angels know this, and they are doing everything within their power to prevent
God’s new order of Sons from being brought forth. Satan and his angels know
that once God brings forth this new order of Sons (Christ and His co-heirs),
these Sons will not only rule the earth in the stead of the incumbent rulers
but they will rule from the some heavenly places (cf. Eph. 6: 12).
(Note
that the battle seen between Michael and his angels on the one hand and Satan
and his angels on the other in Rev. 11: 7-9 [cf. Ezek. 28: 16b-19]-
a battle which will occur near the middle of the coming Tribulation, in which
Satan and his angels will be cast out of their heavenly places onto the earth -
anticipates and prepares the way for Christ and His co-heirs to then move into
this heavenly realm and exercise regal power therein.)
The coming
Christ, after this fashion, will have a dual reign, both from His Own throne in the heavens and from David’s throne on the earth (Luke 1: 31-33; Rev.
3: 21).
There will be a
Christ with His co-heirs will exercise power and authority
from the New Jerusalem above the earth; and Christ in the midst of and with His
people,
The
The earth is a province in the
Satan’s fall wrought no change in his appointed position, for
a principal of Biblical government necessitates that an incumbent ruler hold
his appointed position until his successor not only appears but is ready to
take the sceptre. There is no such thing as God removing a ruler from a
province in His kingdom and not, at the some time, appointing another ruler.
Though Satan’s fall wrought no change in his appointed
position, it did bring about a change in the kingdom over which he ruled. The
material kingdom itself was reduced to a ruin.
“And the earth was [‘But the earth became’] without
form, and void; and
darkness was [‘and darkness became’] upon the face of the deep” (Gen. 1: 2a; cf. Ezek. 28:
18b).
From that time until immediately prior to the creation of Adam,
though Satan continued to occupy his appointed position, he ruled over a ruined
kingdom shrouded in darkness.
[PAGE 5]
Then, approximately 6,000 years ago God restored the earth,
along with the light of the sun and moon, and brought man into existence with a
view to man taking the sceptre held by Satan. This is the way Scripture begins.
1) A creation.
2) A ruin of that creation, resulting from Satan’s sin.
3) A restoration of the ruined creation through Divine
intervention, over six days time.
4) Then, the creation of man to take the sceptre, in the stead
of Satan, to occur on the seventh day.
However, the incumbent ruler, Satan, brought about the first
man’s fall; and this necessitated the appearance of the second Man to provide
redemption before fallen man could one day hold the sceptre, as God had
originally intended. Satan, bringing about the first man’s fall, followed by
God’s redemption of fallen man, follows the pattern previously established in
the opening two chapters of Genesis:
1) A creation.
2) A ruin of the creation, resulting from Satan’s
intervention.
3) A restoration of the ruined creation through Divine
intervention, over six days (6,000 years) time.
4) Then, redeemed man ultimately holding the sceptre in the stead
of Satan, realizing the reason for man’s creation in the beginning, to occur on
the seventh day, in the seventh millennium.
The earth had been brought into existence for a purpose - “to be inhabited,” i.e., to be an inhabited province
in God’s kingdom (Isa. 45: 18); and, following its ruin,
the earth was restored in order that God’s purpose for the earth might be
realized.
Man, likewise, had been brought into existence for a purpose (Gen. 1: 26-28); and following man's ruin, God began a work
of restoration in order that His purpose for man's existence might be realized.
[PAGE 6]
As God (following Satan’s full) restored the ruined material
creation over a six-day period, He (following man’s fall) is presently
restoring another ruined creation - ruined man - over the same length of time,
with each day in the latter restoration being 1,000 years in length. Then, as
God rested for a day following the prior restoration (Gen. 2: 1-3),
He will rest for a day, for 1,000 years, following the present restoration (Heb. 4: 4-9).
The pattern concerning how God restores a ruined creation was
set at the very beginning, in the opening verses of Genesis. And man, a subsequent
ruined creation, must be restored in exact conformity with the God-established pattern.
As this restoration pertains to “time,” it will occur over six days, over
six thousand years (cf. Matt. 16: 28 - 17: 5; 2 Peter 1: 15-18; 3: 3-8). And
there will then be a day of rest which will last for one day, for one thousand
years. This is the earth’s coming Sabbath, toward which every earthly Sabbath
pointed and every earthly Sabbath anticipated (Ex. 20: 8-11; 31: 13-17; Heb. 4: 4-9).
The whole of Scripture, progressing through six days of
redemptive work, moves toward that coming Sabbath of rest. The skeletal
structure was set in perfect form in the beginning, and the whole of Scripture beyond
that point must rest on this structure. The whole of Scripture moves toward
that coming seventh day when Christ and His co-heirs will take the sceptre and
rule the earth in the stead of Satan and his angels.
(For additional details concerning a
correct interpretation and understanding of Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 3,
refer to Chapters
2 - 6
in the author’s book, THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. Also, refer to Appendix 5,
“Without Form and Void,” in this book.)
From what realm though do Satan and his angels presently rule?
It is clear from both Old and New Testament Scriptures that they rule from a heavenly realm over the earth. Satan and his
angels have access to the earth (Gen. 6: 2-4; Job 1: 7; 2: 2; 1 Peter 5: 8; Jude 6),
but they do not rule on the earth.
1) Location
of Satan’s Rule - Old Testament
Daniel chapter ten presents certain insights into how the [PAGE
7] present
The picture presented is that of powerful angels in the
Then beyond that “the prince of
Thus, there is not only a breakdown of powers in the heavenly
kingdom under Satan corresponding to a breakdown of powers in various earthly
kingdoms under fallen man but there is also a shifting of powers in the
heavenly kingdom corresponding to a shifting of powers in the earthly kingdoms.
In this respect, any person occupying a position of power in any
Gentile earthly kingdom during the present age (during Man’s Day) is merely
occupying a position of power under Satan and his angels, as they rule from the heavens through
counterparts on the earth.
[PAGE
8]
(Note that the nation of
2)
Location of Satan’s Rule - New Testament
The Book of Ephesians presents the same picture of Satan’s
present kingdom as the Book of Daniel, though from a different perspective. Ephesians
is a book dealing with the heavenlies, pointing to the place where the
Christians’ future inheritance lies (Eph. 1: 3 - 2: 3).
Christians have been saved with a view to realizing an inheritance as co-heirs
with Christ in a heavenly kingdom at a future date. That is one of two central
messages in this book.
The other central message has to do with the present
inhabitants of that heavenly sphere - Satan and his angels (1: 21; 3: 9-11; 6: 11ff. They are said to reside “in heavenly
places” (3:
10), and Ephesians chapter six presents
an existing, ongoing warfare between Christians and these angels.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places” (6: 12).
(The words “in heavenly places”
[3:
10]
and “in high places” [6: 12] are both translations of the
same Greek words, referring to a heavenly sphere. The reference, in both instances, is
to angels exercising positions of power and authority from places in the heavens within the kingdom under Satan - the
present existing kingdom of the heavens.
For additional information concerning the present existing
kingdom under Satan, along with the coming kingdom under Christ, refer to the
author’s book, THE
MOST HIGH RULETH.)
Thus, there is a present existing warfare between the heavenly
rulers and Christians; and that warfare rages because Satan and his angels know
the reason that the one new man “in Christ” has been called into existence (cf. Eph. 3: 9-11). The one new man [PAGE
9] will comprise the
co-heirs - [i.e., the
overcomers of Rev.
2.
& 3.] - ruling with Christ in that coming [millennial] day, following the time Satan and his
angels will have been put down. And Christ, with His co-heirs, ruling in the
stead of Satan and his angels, will exercise power and authority from the same
realm where Satan and his angels presently rule.
Thus, the warfare rages because Satan
and his angels will do everything within their power to prevent this transfer
of power and authority; and it will continue to rage until Christians have been
removed from the earth, anticipating Satan and his angels being removed from
their heavenly realm (“cast out into [‘unto,’ ‘upon’] the earth” [Rev. 12: 4, 7-10; cf.
Ezek. 16b-19]), with a view to Christ and His co-heirs
taking the kingdom (Rev. 19: 11 - 20: 6; cf. Rev.
11:
15).
These things will occur at the end of the present dispensation
(which has lasted almost 2,000 years) and near the end of the present age
(which has lasted almost 6,000 years). Then, and only then, will redeemed man
realize the purpose for his creation in the beginning - “...let them
have dominion” (Gen. 1: 26-28).
(The present dispensation covers time between the sixty-ninth
and seventieth weeks in Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy [Dan. 9: 24-27], though not time related to
the prophecy itself. The present dispensation comprises a 2,000-year period separate
from time in Daniel’s prophecy. God’s
chronometer, marking time in the prophecy, has, so to speak, stopped, allowing
the present dispensation to run its course. Then, once the present dispensation
has been completed, the -
[accounted worthy to escape (Luke 21: 36; Rev. 3: 10) members of the] - Church will be removed, and God will
complete His dispensational dealings with
God’s chronometer relating to the Jewish people will then mark
time in Daniel’s prophecy once again, fulfilling the final week, the final
seven years. This final unfulfilled week is the coming seven-year Tribulation.
And the fulfilment of this final week will not only complete seven unfulfilled
years of the previous dispensation but also the final seven years of the age
covering Man’s 6,000-year Day.
For more information on Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy, refer
to Chapter
12, “Daniel’s Seventy Weeks,” in the
author’s book, THE
TIME OF THE END. For information on distinctions between ages and
dispensations, refer to the author’s book, THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE, Chapter 5.)
[PAGE
10]
The Kingdom - Past, Present
In order for these blessings to ultimately be realized in
their fullness, man must occupy the position for which he was originally
created. Man must hold the
sceptre. There con be (there have been and presently are) blessings for
mankind, through Israel, as man moves toward that end; but the fullness of
blessings which God has in store for mankind, through Israel, cannot be realized until Israel has
been restored and man actually holds the sceptre.
To effect the whole of the matter,
Through
1)
There were two times in history when the nation of
a) The Earthly
The Jewish people holding the sceptre during Moses and
Joshua’s day had to do with the earthly segment of the kingdom. The Israelites had been called out of
The nation under Moses, at Kadesh-Barnea, rebelled against [PAGE
11] God and His
appointed leader Moses. Because of unbelief, they refused to enter the land
and, under God, take the land; and, within their actions, they even went so far
as to seek to appoint a new leader and return to
This resulted in the
entire accountable generation, save Caleb and Joshua (because they
possessed “another spirit” relative to entering the land), being overthrown in the wilderness during
the next thirty-eight and one-half years (Num. 14: 5-38). And then Joshua, after the
overthrow of the entire accountable generation and after the death of Moses,
led the second generation of Israelites into the land (Joshua 1: 1ff).
The Israelites entering the land under Joshua though, along
with succeeding generations of Israelites, never realized the fullness of the
purpose for their calling. This failure was the result of
unbelief and disobedience at different times on the part of the people. And the attitude and action of the people in this respect governed the
attitude and action of God in this same respect (Lev. 26; Deut. 28).
God’s blessings would follow
The kingdom reached its heights during the days of David and
his son, Solomon. But following the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s
death, things took a different turn entirely. The nation, through a continuing disobedience,
became entrenched in a downward course from which there would be no return,
leading to Gentile captivity and
the Times of the Gentiles. God’s call to His people to “humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face,
and turn from
their wicked ways” (2 Chron. 7: 14) - through the prophets - went unheeded.
And God remaining true to His Word (Lev. 26: 32ff, Deut. 28: 25, 37), eventually allowed Gentile
powers to enter the land and take His people captive, uprooting the Jewish
people from their own land and transporting them to Gentile lands. The
Assyrians came down and took the northern ten tribes into captivity beginning [PAGE
12] about 722 B.C.,
and the Babylonians come over and took the southern two tribes into captivity
beginning about 605 B.C.
The removal of the southern two tribes, completing a captivity
and removal of the Jewish people from their land by Gentile powers, began the
period known as “the times of the Gentiles,” which extends from that point until
the end of the coming Tribulation.
The kingdom was taken from
Though the Jewish people were allowed to return from captivity
seventy years following the Babylonian captivity, only a remnant returned; and
though the temple was rebuilt, it housed no Glory.
And the same holds true today. Though the nation has been allowed
to return, only a remnant has done so (but this time through a Zionistic,
man-made movement, in unbelief); and though
(Though God has allowed remnants of Jews to return to the land
at two different times, separated by over twenty-five centuries, there is a
major difference between the two which is little recognized today.
The first occurred in connection with belief and repentance, with
a prophesied 70-year terminal period in view [Jer. 25:11, 12;
29:
10-14; Dan. 9: 2-20]. The
second is occurring in connection with unbelief and no repentance before the time
Scripture states that it can or will occur (Lev. 23: 4ff; Matt. 24: 29-31).
In this respect, God would have had a part in restoring a
remnant of His people the first time, for that which He required had been met. But this could not possibly be true
relative to the present return, for that which God requires has not been met [Lev. 26: 40-42; Deut.
30: 1-3; 2 Chron. 7: 12-22].)
Another parallel relative to
And as the temple built by the remnant returning to the land
following the Babylonian captivity was later destroyed [PAGE
13] (in 70 A.D.), so
will it be with the temple which
b) The Heavenly
The preceding forms a brief historic and prophetic overview of
the earthly segment of the
kingdom, which could be understood following the days of David as the kingdom covenanted to David (2 Sam.
7:
4-17; cf Luke 1:
31-33).
However, there was another segment of the kingdom which also,
of necessity, had to be offered to
This segment of the kingdom was offered to
John the Baptist preceded Christ with the message,
“Repent ye [a plural
pronoun in the Greek text, referring to the entire nation]: for the kingdom of the
heavens is at hand” (Matt.
3:
1ff).
John was the forerunner of the Messiah (v. 3); and he appeared, calling the
nation to repentance (a change of
mind), announcing that the kingdom of the heavens (the rule of the heavens over the
earth) was at hand (i.e., had drawn near and could have been established, for the
Messianic King Himself was present [cf Matt.
2:
2;
27:
37]).
(The expression, “the kingdom of
heaven,” appearing thirty-two times in Matthew’s gospel [KJV, et al.]
should literally be translated, on every occasion, “the
kingdom of the heavens.” The word “heaven”
is always plural and preceded by the definite article in the Greek text.)
Then after John was imprisoned, Jesus took up the message (Matt. 4: 12,
17),
later He called out twelve disciples to carry this [PAGE 14] same message to the people throughout
the
Thus, the offer of the kingdom of the heavens was extended to
(An offer of the heavenly segment of the kingdom was a matter that the religious leaders in
“Therefore say I unto you, The
The heavenly segment of the kingdom was taken from
But note that this is relative to the kingdom of the heavens only. It has nothing
to do with the kingdom covenanted to David, the earthly segment of the kingdom.
This can never be taken from
2) The
Church and the Proffered Kingdom - Present
When Christ announced to the religious leaders in Israel that
the kingdom would be taken from Israel and be given to “a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof,” that nation - the Church (1 Peter 2:
9) - did not then exist.* But though the Church had not yet been called into
existence, it had previously been mentioned by Christ (Matt. 16: 18) and had been anticipated by events leading into Matthew 21: 43
(Matt.
12: 22-32; 13: 1ff; 21: 18-42).
[*NOTE: When the apostle Paul makes mention of “the church in the wilderness” - (that is the ekklesia,
- the ‘called out’ Jews from
The first mention of the Church though, in reality, actually
precedes these events in Matthew’s gospel by one and one-half millenniums in
one respect and by four millenniums in another respect.
Moses, 1,500 years before Christ’s first appearance and 1,500
years before the Church was brought into existence, provided the first recorded
information concerning the Church. And this information is provided by way of
typology in Genesis chapters two and three, drawn from events occurring 2,500
years before Moses recorded them (Eve removed from Adam’s body, foreshadowing
Christ’s bride removed from His body, etc.).
Then another interesting matter surrounds the fact that the
Church is presented in Biblical typology prior to any mention of
[PAGE 16]
Thus, matters surrounding
The Church is comprised of a heavenly people with heavenly promises and blessings, and these
promises and blessings will be realized during a future day (the Messianic
Era), in the heavens, not on the
earth. Contrariwise,
Accordingly, viewing the matter after the preceding fashion
leaves no room to question which facet of the kingdom (heavenly or earthly) was
offered to, rejected by, and taken from
(The confusion in this realm usually emanates from erroneously
understanding the expression, “the kingdom of the
heavens,” as referring only to a kingdom having its origin in the
heavens, where God dwells, not to a kingdom located in a heavenly sphere.
Then, beyond these clear statements concerning which facet of
the kingdom was in view at the time of Christ's first coming, exactly the same
thing can be seen and understood when viewing the matter from the standpoint of
the whole of Scripture.)
The earthly segment of the kingdom had been covenanted to
David via an unconditional covenant and could not have been, nor can it ever be, taken from the
nation of
[PAGE 17]
The heavenly segment of the kingdom alone was in view in
the offer to
And the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the entire present
dispensation revolves around this whole overall thought. Redeemed man, removed
from both Jew and Gentile, has been saved (has become a new creation,
a part of the one new man “in Christ”) for a
purpose; and that purpose has to do with bringing forth fruit
(present) with a view to occupying a position as co-heir with Christ in “the kingdom of the heavens” (future).
The
Satan and his angels are to be put down, and Christ and His co-heirs are to
take the kingdom. That is the clear
testimony of Scripture, beginning in
Genesis and concluding in Revelation. The matter will occur after exactly the same fashion set
forth in Dan. 4: 17.
“...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...”
The Most High will one day give the kingdom to His Son (Dan. 7: 13, 14;
cf.
Rev. 11:
15),
Satan and his angels will be put down (exactly as Nebuchadnezzar in history was
put down, for that will be “the decree of the most High” [Dan. 4: 23-31]), and the Son will then take
the kingdom and rule, holding the sceptre.
At that time God will place redeemed, qualified individuals in
positions of power and authority as co-heirs with His Son (Dan. 4: 17, 25, 32; Matt. 20: 23); and Christ, with His
co-heirs, will hold the sceptre (cf. Ps. 2: 6-9; Rev. 2: 26, 27).
Christ’s co-heirs will have previously been shown qualified -[before
the time of their Resurrection (Heb. 9: 27; cf. Luke 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11ff; 2 Tim. 2: 15-18,
R.V.)] - at the judgment seat; and
following the Father positioning these co-heirs on the throne with His Son,
Christ and His co-heirs (who will form His ‘wife’*
in that day) will then rule the earth from His throne in the heavenly Jerusalem
for 1,000 years.
[* Compare Rev. 19: 7ff; with Gen. ch.
24,
and books
Ruth.
&
Esther.]
Thus, Christ will have a dual reign during the Messianic Era.
And it will be after this fashion that Christ will exercise power and authority
over the earth for 1,000 years.
Christ's rule from the heavens will involve His co-heirs (His wife), who will exercise power and
authority with Him over the nations. And Christ’s rule on the earth will involve the Jewish people (the restored wife of Jehovah) who will also exercise power and
authority with Him over the nations.
Accordingly, the Gentile nations, in this manner, will be
governed from two realms during this time -
heavenly and earthly; and blessings will flow forth
through Abraham’s Seed from both realms (cf. Gen. 12: 3; 22:
17, 18; Rom. 9: 4, 5; Gal. 3: 16, 29).
And the object of Christ’s rule after this fashion will be to bring order out of disorder, to
effect a cosmos out of a chaos.
“All rule and all authority and power” must be put down; “all enemies” must be put “under his [under Christ’s] feet,” even “death.” And when “all things shall be subdued unto him”
[unto Christ], the kingdom will be “delivered up” to “God, even the Father” in order that “God may be all in all [‘God may be all things in all
of these things’]” (1 Cor. 15: 24-28).
This is what the whole of Scripture, beginning in the opening
verses of Genesis,
anticipates; and to bring the matter to pass, the Son, in conjunction with His
co-heirs in the heavens and the nation of Israel on the earth, will rule the
earth for the duration of that seventh day - for 1,000 years - foreshadowed by
the seventh day seen at the very beginning, in Gen. 2: 1-3.
* *
*
CHAPTER 2
Participants in the Conflict
[PAGE 19]
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the
whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [‘against the spirit
forces of wickedness in heavenly places’] (Eph. 6: 10-12).
(Along with information previously
dealt with in Chapter
1, refer to Appendixes IV and V in this book
for complimentary information on
material in this chapter, dealing with the
government of the
earth - past, present, and future.)
Christians
are presently engaged in a battle against powerful angelic rulers in the spirit
world. These angels, ruling in the
A properly prepared Christian can enter the conflict and
consistently win battle after battle, but an improperly prepared Christian
entering the conflict can only experience defeat time after time.
Victory is achieved through engaging the enemy
within the framework of the Lord’s instructions in Eph. 6: 10ff. A Christian though who
engages the enemy after any other fashion is entering the conflict apart from
the Lord’s instructions, leaving himself in a very vulnerable position, one in
which the enemy con consistently achieve victory.
[PAGE 20]
Thus, in this respect, victory on the one hand or defeat on the other is determined by the Christian’s
preparation for the conflict at hand. A Christian can either heed the Lord’s
instructions or he can ignore the Lord’s instructions. There is no middle
ground (Matt. 12: 30; Luke 11: 23).
The former will produce readiness for battle and result in victory, but the latter
will leave the Christian very vulnerable to attack and can only result in defeat.
Victory for the Christian will actually be determined by how
badly he wants to win. The overriding thought in Ephesians has to do with individuals being saved for a revealed
purpose. Christians have been saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2: 8)
in order to realize an inheritance in heavenly places 1: 3, 11, 18; 2: 6, 7; 3: 1-6). The task of a pastor-teacher
is to lead Christians into a mature knowledge of this inheritance, a mature
knowledge of the things surrounding the purpose for their salvation (4: 11ff),
resulting in their being filled with the Spirit (5: 18ff) and being able to engage
the enemy after the fashion given at the end of this epistle (6: 10ff).
How badly do Christians really want to achieve victory over
the enemy and one day realize the proffered inheritance with God’s Son? That is the question which will determine
what a Christian does about the Lord’s instructions concerning proper preparation for the battle at hand.
Confronting the Enemy
Knowing one’s enemy and his objective is all-important when one
enters into a battle. The enemy, in this case, is identified in very graphic
terms at the outset of the Lord’s instructions, and the enemy’s objective is a
major subject of Scripture. Christians are to be “strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might”; and they are to properly clothe
themselves with provided armour as they move about in this fashion (being
strong in the Lord, relying upon His power and might) in order that they might
be able “to
stand against the wiles of the devil” (vv. 10, 11). And the crafty ways which Satan uses as
he lies in wait to deceive are brought to pass through the actions of powerful
fallen angels, world-rulers in his kingdom (v. 12; cf. Eph. 4: 14).
[PAGE 21]
Satan is the great imitator. He ever seeks to counterfeit the
work of God as he and his angels move against Christians. God has innumerable
angels at His command who perform activities in His kingdom; and Satan, “the god of this world [‘age’]”
(2 Cor. 4: 4 [‘the god of this age’ in relation to the earth and his
rule]), has innumerable angels at his command who perform activities in his
kingdom.
(The
Satan, in time past, was among the angels given a kingdom and
dominion. However, dissatisfied with the extent of his delegated power and
authority, Satan sought to “exalt” his
throne and “be like the most High” [be like God Himself, the
supreme Ruler over all].
And today Satan is a rebel ruler within his kingdom, along
with one-third of his original contingent of ruling angels, who followed him in
his attempt to increase his hold on power and authority [cf. Isa. 14: 12-14; Rev. 12: 4].
Satan’s present kingdom is referred to as the kingdom of this world or his kingdom. Christ, at His first coming, called attention to both the present
kingdom under Satan and His coming kingdom when he said, “My kingdom is not of this world” [lit., ‘not out of this world,’
referring to the present world kingdom under Satan. [John 18: 36a]. And this will explain that
which is involved in 1 John 2: 15ff, “Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world...”
It is this present kingdom under Satan which will one day become “the kingdom of
our Lord, and of his Christ” [Rev. 11: 15, ASV; 16: 10; cf. Matt.
6:
10].
And it is this kingdom, which Christ and His co-heirs will rule with a rod of
iron for 1,000 years in order to bring the kingdom back into conformity with
the way God has established individual kingdoms within His overall kingdom [cf. Ps. 2: 6-9; 1 Cor. 15: 24-28; Rev.
2:
26-28])
In God’s kingdom, it is evident that angels perform various
activities within the scope of fixed laws in order to fulfil the perfect will of God concerning matters,
apart from any immediate command from God; and by so doing, their actions are
looked upon [PAGE 22] as those of the Lord Himself.
(For an example of the preceding, note that the
destruction of the cities of the plain during Abraham’s day was carried out by
angels, who could only have been acting under fixed laws. And, though
angels destroyed these cities, the Lord Himself is also said to have been the
One Who performed the act. That performed by these angels acting under fixed
laws became the
actions of the One Who established these laws [Gen.
19:
13,
14,
29].)
It appears evident that the same thing occurs in Satan’s
kingdom. Satan, “the god of this world [‘age’],” is the one who moves against
Christians in a deceptive manner, the one who ever stands ready to devour them
(cf.
Eph. 6: 11; 1 Peter 5: 8).
But our warfare is revealed to be, more specifically,
against the innumerable host of angels in Satan’s kingdom rather than against
Satan himself, as an individual (Eph. 6: 12).
This can only be carried out by Satan’s angels acting within
the scope of fixed laws in order to
fulfil the will of Satan, apart from any immediate command from Satan; and by
so doing, their actions are looked upon as those of
Satan himself.
(Note that these fixed laws, operable in Satan’s kingdom,
would have their origin and basis in laws established by God in the beginning. And the manner concerning how these laws operate, though
continuing to be operable in a system which had become corrupted under Satan,
could not change.)
Thus, through warring against angels in Satan’s kingdom,
Christians are actually engaged in a battle against Satan himself. Because of
the apparent manner in which command has been established in Satan’s kingdom, there would be no difference between
warring against his angels or warring against him
personally.
1)
Description of the Enemy
Different terms are used in Eph. 6: 12
to describe the angels in Satan’s kingdom against whom Christians are engaged
in battle. They are called “principalities,”
“powers,” “rulers of the
darkness of this world,” and “spiritual wickedness in high places.”
[PAGE 23]
These four different descriptions do not form references to various
gradations of angels ruling in different territorial domains under Satan,
though Satan’s kingdom is structured after this
fashion. These descriptions merely constitute four different ways
which the Lord uses to describe the enemy, providing various facets of
information.
a) “Principalities”: This is a translation of the Greek
word arche,
which refers primarily to “a beginning” (e.g., Gen. 1: 1
[Septuagint]; John
1:
1, 2).
When the word is used in the sense that it appears in
the text though, the reference is to “a ruler.” This is the same word used earlier in Ephesians (1: 21; 3: 10), referring to world-rulers. This is
also the word used in 1 Cor. 15: 24,
revealing the purpose for Christ’s coming reign over the earth - to “put down all
rule [arche]
and all
authority and power.” That is, Christ is going to reign
until all world-rulers, those holding positions of power and authority, have
been completely subdued.
(Though Satan and his angels will be bound
in the abyss during this future time [Rev. 20: 1-3], Gentile nations, with their rulers, will
still be present on the earth. And rebellion will, at
times, as it presently does during Man’s Day, still exist within their ranks [Ezek. 14:
16-21; Rev.
20:
7-9].)
The Greek word arche,
referring primarily to “a beginning” - used as the opening word to describe the incumbent world-rulers in
heavenly places - would undoubtedly be an allusion to the fact that those
described have held their positions since the beginning. They form part of the original contingent of rulers.
(Those referred to by the word arche form one-third of the original contingent of angels
which God deemed necessary to rule the earth with the one later known as
“Satan.” Two-thirds of this original group of angelic
rulers refused to follow Satan in his attempt to elevate his throne. This is
dealt with in “Objective of the Enemy” on pp. 24-31 in this chapter and also
in Appendix
II in this book.)
b) “Powers”: This is a translation of the Greek word exousia, meaning “power” or “authority,” and is simply another way to describe
those occupying positions of governmental power. They are not only “rulers,” but they are “powers,”
“authorities.” This [PAGE 24] is also the same word used with arche in the previous
references (1 Cor. 15: 24;
Eph. 1: 21; 3: 10).
Exousia not only calls
attention to the “power and authority”
held by an arche,
“a ruler,” but it is also
used as a synonym for the arche.
c) “Rulers of
the Darkness of this World”: The word “rulers” here is the translation of a
different word in the Greek text than the word “principalities” appearing earlier in the verse. The word used here is
kosmokrator, a combination
of two words - kosmos, meaning “world”, and kratos,
meaning “to rule.” Thus, kosmokrator means “world-ruler,”
shown as such in the KJV text, though the word “rulers” is separated from the word “world.” The expression, “rulers of the darkness of
this world,” could
perhaps be better translated, “world-rulers of the
present darkness,” or “rulers of this present
dark world.”
d)
“Spiritual Wickedness in High Places”:
The words “spiritual wickedness” could be better translated “spirit forces of wickedness,” referring to Satan and his angels. And these individuals are said to reside in “high places,” literally “in the heavenlies,” or “in heavenly places” (identical expression in the Greek
text as used in Eph. 1: 3).
Thus, Christians are at war against, not flesh and blood
(individuals on the earth), but against the powerful rulers of this present
dark world who occupy various positions of power and authority under Satan in
heavenly places. It is these individuals with whom we are
engaged in battle; and because they evidently act within the scope of
fixed laws as they seek to carry out Satan’s plans and purposes, our warfare is
equally against Satan himself.
2)
Objective of the Enemy
Battles between opposing armies are normally
fought for territorial rights, which would include governmental control over
that territory. The objective in battle is to either retain one’s presently
possessed territory or acquire new territory through victory over the opposing
side.
And the warfare in Ephesians chapter six is no
different. On one side there are powerful world-rulers seeking to hold onto
presently possessed territory, along with their positions as rulers over [PAGE
25] this realm. Then,
on the other side there are those called into
existence to one day move into and occupy this territory, ruling over this same
realm in the stead of the incumbent world-rulers.
Satan and his angels have ruled over the earth from the very
beginning of God’s established government in this one province in the universe.
Satan was created and positioned over this earth as the “anointed cherub [‘messianic
(ruling) angel’]” by God in the beginning (Ezek. 28: 14),
and a great host of other angels were also created and
placed in positions of power under him (cf. Dan. 10: 13, 14, 20; Matt. 25: 41; Rev. 12: 7-9). And
the sceptre has been held by Satan and his angels, without interruption, since
that time.
However, because of Satan’s aspirations to be “like the most High” (Isa. 14:
14),
major changes have occurred in his kingdom. Disruption, producing chaos in
God’s government, entered at one place in the universe through the unlawful
actions of one provincial ruler.
The first major change in Satan’s kingdom was in the sphere of active rulership - his
governing power structure. Two-thirds of the angels originally ruling under Satan
refused to follow him in his God-dishonouring, rebellious act, leaving only
one-third of the original number (Rev. 12: 4). Thus, at the very beginning, Satan’s
ranks were depleted by two-thirds from that number
which God had originally deemed necessary to properly rule this province in His
kingdom.
The second major change was in the domain itself. Because Satan had attempted such an act - which was
actually an attempted coup, an attempted takeover of the government of the
universe - his kingdom was reduced to a ruin. God had
no choice other than to act in accordance with His perfect justice and
righteousness, executing judgment of a nature which
reduced Satan’s kingdom to the ruin described in Gen. 1: 2a. And though Satan continued
to hold the sceptre, he and the angels who had allied themselves with him,
could only rule over a ruined kingdom.
These things occurred during an age or during ages preceding
man, and Scripture provides no revelation concerning “time” during this period. Scripture is
silent concerning how long Satan and his angels ruled over the earth in its
original state, and Scripture [PAGE 26] is equally silent concerning how long the earth lay in
its ruined state following Satan’s move to elevate his throne.
God has deemed “time” within events prior to the restoration of the earth to be of no moment
insofar as His plans and purposes for man are
concerned. Thus, “time” begins to be
reckoned in God’s revelation to man only when God begins His act of restoring
the ruined creation in Gen. 1: 2b, anticipating man being created to take
the sceptre.
Almost 6,000 years ago God restored the earth over a six-day
period; and on the sixth day, after God had completed His restorative work, man
was created for the express purpose of ruling the earth in the stead of Satan and his angels. An entirely new
creation, created in the image and likeness of God - a creature unlike any
other in the universe - was brought into existence to take the sceptre and rule over the
restored province,
the restored domain.
Satan knew exactly why the earth had been
restored and why God had created man. Following the restoration of the
earth, both before and after the creation of man, God made matters very clear
through His announced plans and purposes.
God, prior to the creation of man, said,
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion...” (Gen. 1: 26a).
Then following the creation of man, and the removal of the
woman from the man,
“...God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion...” (Gen. 1: 28a).
The word translated “dominion” from the Hebrew text, in both instances (vv. 26, 28),
is the word radah, meaning “to rule.” This is the some word used in Ps. 110: 2,
translated “rule,” referring to Christ’s coming rule
over the earth as the second Man, the last Adam. The earth had been restored
for man, and man had been created to take the dominion which
Satan possessed; and since the one to take the sceptre of the earth within
God’s planned [PAGE 27] economy was now present, Satan possessed only one
recourse to retain his position: Man must be disqualified.
Disruption within God’s plans concerning His new order of
rulers, rendering man unfit to hold the sceptre, is
the reason Satan approached and deceived Eve in the beginning. Such resulted in
Adam’s fall, disqualifying man and placing him in the same fallen position as
Satan - a position in which man could not assume control of the government.
In man’s case though, following his fall, God acted after an
entirely different fashion than He had acted when Satan fell. God, in His
condemnatory remarks to Satan, because of that which had occurred through his
deception of Eve, promised a Redeemer for man (Gen. 3: 15); and He then acted in a
redemptive capacity by slaying one or more animals and providing garments from
animal skin for Adam and Eve (Gen. 3: 21). These things were done immediately after
man sinned, before he was barred from Eden; and they were done with a view to
redeemed man one day holding the sceptre in the stead of Satan and his angels.
Satan knew exactly why God had promised a Redeemer and why a
redemptive act had been performed for fallen man, and
this is the reason he continued his move against man and has continued it to
this day. Satan’s move to retain his position, which began against Adam through
Eve, has continued against Adam’s descendants on an uninterrupted fashion for
the past 6,000 years. Man is the one
whom God brought into existence to replace the incumbent rulers, and the battle
has to do with regal rights over a territory - rulership over the earth.
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. God has provided
redemption for man, with a view to man one day taking the sceptre.
Regality was the purpose for man’s creation, this was the purpose underlying man’s
subsequent fall, and this is equally the purpose for his
redemption. Everything is regal in nature and has to do with the earth.
Man’s Redeemer has shown Himself fully qualified to replace
the incumbent ruler, Satan (Matt. 4: 1-11; Luke 4: 1-13); and God [PAGE 28] has provided redemption for man, with a view to allowing redeemed individuals the opportunity to qualify
for positions on the throne with the Redeemer when He takes the kingdom. Individuals qualifying for these positions will, in this respect, also replace
incumbent rulers, for the angels*
presently ruling under Satan must also be put down.
(Actually, Christians qualifying to rule in the kingdom with
the One Who has redeemed them for this purpose will replace all of the angels associated with a rule over the
earth within God’s economy, not just the angels presently ruling with Satan.
Two-thirds of the original contingent of rulers over the earth refused to
follow Satan, and they, even though not actively ruling today,
still retain their crowns, which they must relinquish.
The principle of Biblical government necessitating that an
incumbent ruler hold the sceptre until he is actually replaced would require this to be the case; and the crowns
worn by these angels, along with the crowns worn by angels presently ruling in
an active capacity under Satan, will be worn by Christians during the coming [millennial] age.
Matters surrounding Christians about to assume these positions
of power can only be why the twenty-four elders are presented
arising from their thrones and casting their crowns before God’s throne after
the manner and at the time seen in Rev. 4: 10. There has to be definite reasons why this
event not only occurs but also why it occupies a place in the Book of Revelation
at this particular point.
The entire matter can only have to do with regality
and the earth. It can only have to do with a transfer of power over a domain, for that is not only what is seen in
the overall outworking of the central subject matter of the book [chs. 19ff] but that is also what is seen through these
elders’ actions as well [relinquishing their crowns to the One Who had
originally placed them in crowned positions on thrones, showing a relinquishment
of regality over a territory].
The time when the twenty-four elders arise from their thrones
and cast their crowns before God’s throne, chronologically, is immediately
following the judgment of Christians [at the end of this dispensation, preceding
the Tribulation] and immediately before God begins to deal with the
earth-dwellers [during the Tribulation].
Contrary to popular interpretation, the twenty-four elders do
not represent Christians. Such would be impossible. Christians will not be seated on
thrones and possess crowns at this time; nor would they arise from their
thrones and cast their crowns before God’s throne even if [PAGE
29] they did. [‘Accounted
worthy’ (Luke 20: 35, R.V.] Christians will wear crowns during
the coming [millennial] age, not cast them before a throne
preceding the age.
These elders can only be identified
as representing those angels, still crowned up to that point in time, who did
not go along with Satan in his attempted coup. The earth and its government are
in view, and the fact that these elders are crowned shows that they [presently] occupy ruling positions associated
with the earth’s government [Biblical revelation concerns itself with regality
and the earth, not with regality and other provinces in the universe].
Also, the Greek word used for “crowns”
in Rev. 4:
10 is stephanos, not diadema, showing that although these elders are
associated with the earth’s government [which itself identifies them as angels], they are not actively involved in this
government at the time they cast their crowns before God’s throne [a crown worn
by one actively occupying a governmental office is called a diadema, not a stephanos]. They are
presented at this particular point in the book as willingly relinquishing their
crowns, with a view to others about to take the kingdom [Christians having previously been shown qualified
to rule at the judgment seat (Rev. 1-3)]; but
crowns worn by Satan and his angels will have to subsequently be taken by
force.
Refer to Appendix II in this book for a more
comprehensive discussion of Rev. 4: 10 and crowned rulers.)
God has set aside an entire dispensation to call out - [from amongst the dead in ‘Sheol’ / ‘Hades’ (see Ezek. 34: 23; Psalm 16: 10; cf. Acts 2: 34; Rev. 20: 4-6;
John 3:
13;
2 Tim. 2: 16-19, R.V.)] - the rulers who are to ascend and occupy the throne with His Son during
the coming age. Christians, those individuals comprising the one new man “in Christ,”
are the ones presently being extended the offer to
realize the very purpose for man’s existence. The Church, around which God’s
present dispensational dealings centre, was called into existence for this
purpose (Israel, at Christ’s first coming, rejected heavenly promises and
blessings; and the Church was called into existence to be the recipient of that
which had been rejected - i.e., the offer to move into and occupy positions in heavenly places
in the kingdom).
Accordingly, God’s primary work in the world today surrounds acquiring a group of qualified individuals from the human
race who, during the coming age, will be able to ascend the throne with His Son
and rule from heavenly places in the stead of
angels. The “world [‘inhabited world’]
to come” will not be placed under [PAGE 30] the rule of angels, as the present inhabited world. Rather, the inhabited
world to come will be ruled by [immortal and divinely qualified] - Man (Heb.
2:
5-10).
And the Holy Spirit has been sent into
the world by the Father to acquire a bride for His Son (the antitype of Eve, the one who will reign as consort queen with the second Man, the last Adam). That is the primary mission of the Holy
Spirit in the world during the present dispensation (cf. Gen. 24: 1ff), and all of God’s activity surrounding
Christians throughout the dispensation has this one objective in view (Matt.
25:
14-30; Luke 19:
12-27).
Thus, the primary purpose for the
present dispensation and the primary mission of the Holy Spirit during the
dispensation are one and the same - to acquire a bride for God’s Son, allowing the Son to take the sceptre
and rule the earth as the second Man, the last Adam, with His bride (comprised of His co-heirs).
(For a more detailed discussion of the present ministry of the
Holy Spirit in the preceding respect, refer to the author’s book, SEARCH FOR THE
BRIDE.)
Is it therefore any wonder that Christians today find
themselves in a battle against the present world-rulers? Christians are the destined heirs of a kingdom
presently occupied and controlled by these rulers. Christians are
the ones destined to exercise regal power from the same heavenly sphere
occupied by these angels, ruling in their stead from the heavens over the earth
(a restored earth in the latter case, one removed from the present curse).
And the enemy, the present world-rulers, know these things. And these
world-rulers, as never before,
in all their fury, presently move against those Christians who aspire to
occupy heavenly positions as co-heirs with the coming World-Ruler.
The dispensation is almost over. Man is about to move into
that period beyond the 6,000 years, into the seventh 1,000-year period, into
the Messianic Era; and God is performing an end-time work in the closing
moments, as it were, of not only the dispensation but the entire 6,000 years
comprising Man’s Day.
Satan and his angels know these things; and they also know
that unless they can thwart God’s plans and purposes [PAGE
31] concerning man,
decreed in the eternal council chambers of God before man was even created (Heb.
1:
2),
they are about to relinquish positions and territorial rights which they have
held since time immemorial. It thus can only naturally follow that their attack would
be centered against those about to move in and usurp these positions.
Christ cannot be attacked on a personal level today, for He is
at the right hand of the Father in heaven, awaiting that coming day (Ps. 110: 1, 2). However,
Christians are presently here on the earth, within Satan’s domain. They are in a position where the attack can come at any time, on any front. And for this
reason, Christians have been commanded to properly clothe themselves with the
provided armour.
The enemy is at hand, the warfare is very real, and
victory or defeat is dependent
upon Christians following the Lord’s instructions concerning the battle.
On the Battlefield
The battle lines have been drawn, but
something seemingly rather strange appears to exist in the world today. There doesn’t really seem to be an ongoing battle between
Christians and the forces of Satan such as Eph. 6: 10ff
describes. Christendom is seemingly in a state of non-combat, more at peace than at war in and with
a world ruled by Satan and his angels.
Is this really the case though? And
if so, Why?
1) The
The absence of any real spiritual warfare, seemingly out of
line with Eph.
6:
10ff, is generally very much the case throughout
Christendom; and the reason is quite evident. Where
there is no move on redeemed man’s part to realize the
purpose for his salvation - aspiring to one day occupy proffered positions in
the heavenlies - there would be no reason for an ongoing warfare of the nature
described in Eph.
6:
10ff.
Satan continues to bring the entire matter under his control
and sway, with a diminishing necessity for any type continuing battle. And the nearness of the complete leavening process, seen in Matt.
13:
33,
would determine the nearness of both sides simply [PAGE 32] laying down arms.
Satan has worked for almost two millenniums to bring
Christendom into its present decadent condition - the Laodicean state of the
Church prophesied to exist at the end of the dispensation. And,
as previously stated, such has resulted from the continuous working of the
leaven which the woman placed in the three measures of meal very early in the
dispensation in Matt.
13:
33,
working throughout centuries into millenniums of time.
Leaven works best in a place where the temperature is neither
too hot nor too cold, and the “lukewarm” condition of the
One sad, revealed
fact is that those comprising this Laodicean state of Christendom today, for
the most part, are not even aware of their own “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” condition. And they are equally
unaware of that which has occurred and is continuing to occur (Rev.
3:
17).
The whole of the matter has to do with two kingdoms - the present
Satan seemingly has Christendom exactly where he wants it; and
with the rapidly deteriorating work continuing to be produced by the leaven,
the matter is becoming even more so with each passing day. Thus, there is
really no battle per se going on between Christendom at large and the
world-rulers of this present darkness. All that these world-rulers have to do
is maintain the status quo - keep matters in check, and let the leaven continue its work, until such a time
as even that will no longer be necessary.
(For additional comments on the preceding, refer to Ch. VIII,
“Christians and the World,” in the author’s
book, WE ARE
ALMOST THERE.)
[PAGE 33]
2) But,
“if Any Man Hear My Voice...” (Rev.
3:
20)
There is, however, another side to the matter, one which is very much in keeping with that revealed in Eph.
6:
10ff. There are those Christians who refuse to go along with the
status quo, those who have enough spiritual insight to know what’s
happening, those who understand and aspire to realize the goal of their
calling, as Caleb and Joshua in the camp of
(For material on the Israelites under
Moses at Kadesh-Barnea, refer to Chapter III in this book, pp. 42-54, or to the author’s book, FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN.)
Aside from the account of Caleb and Joshua, the matter can be
seen very graphically in typology in the Books of 1, 2 Samuel; and types, established
by God in order to teach His people great spiritual truths, will always be
fulfilled in exact detail through that which they foreshadow, through the
antitype.
David, the anointed king of Israel, destined to one day ascend
the throne and take over the government, replacing Soul (who had been
disqualified to continue occupying the throne), found himself temporarily in a
place of exile, in a place of rejection, out in the wilderness. He, though
already anointed king, found himself separated from Israel and its government
under Soul.
Certain men during this time gathered themselves unto David.
These were individuals described as being “in distress ... in debt... and discontented”
[dissatisfied with the
existing state of affairs in Soul’s kingdom] (1 Sam.
22:
1,
2).
These men remained in the wilderness with David, separate from the kingdom under Soul, and were faithful to David.
In the antitype, Christ has been anointed
King over the earth. He is the One destined to one day
take over the government, replacing the incumbent ruler, Satan. But today, Christ, as David in the type, finds Himself in a
place removed from the kingdom, separated [PAGE 34] from the earth and its government
under Satan (who, as Saul in the type, has been disqualified to continue
occupying the throne).
And just as in David’s case, there are
those who find themselves dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs and
have gathered themselves unto Christ. These are the ones who remain in the
place of exile, the place of rejection with Christ, separate from the present
world system under Satan, and are faithful to Christ.
Saul and his men set themselves specifically against David and
his men because Saul knew the identity of those destined to one day take over the
government (cf. 1
Sam. 23:
13,
14,
17,
26;
24:
2,
20).
David and his men during this time continually
relied on the Lord; and the Lord,
accordingly, delivered them out of the hands of Saul and his men (1 Sam.
2:
17-14).
In the antitype, Satan and those allied with him have set
themselves specifically against Christ and those allied with Him, for Satan knows the identity of those
destined to one day take over the government. Christ though
is in the heavens, and Satan cannot touch Him; but those allied with Him are
here on the earth and very open to attack. However, as David and his men,
relying upon the Lord, were delivered from the enemy, so will the followers of
Christ, relying upon the Lord, be delivered from the enemy. Deliverance in both
instances occurs the same way, after the same fashion.
When the day arrived that Soul and his men were
finally put down, David and his faithful followers moved in and took over the government.
And it will be the same in the antitype.
When the day arrives that Satan and his
angels are finally put down, Christ and His faithful followers will move
in and take over the government.
That which Saul knew concerning David and his faithful band
of men in the type precipitated a battle, and that which Satan knows about Christ and His faithful band of
men in the antitype also precipitates a battle.
This is where the real battle lies - type or antitype, with the outcome predetermined.
And the type, fulfilled in history,
demands that the antitype be fulfilled in prophecy. Biblical completeness, in this respect, is
not seen apart from the latter being fulfilled as well.
* *
*
[PAGE 35]
CHAPTER 3
Preparation for the Conflict
Wherefore take
unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the
evil day, and having done
all,
to stand.
Stand
therefore, having your loins
girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness;
And your feet
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace,
Above all, taking the
shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked.
And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints (Eph. 6: 13-18).
The
central focus seen in the Epistle of Ephesians is heavenly, not earthly; and that revealed throughout the epistle has to do with
both present and future time. In this epistle, both men and
angels are seen - [destined
to be]
- occupying “heavenly
places” - Christ and - [regenerate, repentant, Holy Spirit filled and obedient] - Christians on the one hand, and Satan
- [with multitudes of deceived Christians] -
and his angels on the other (1: 3, 20; 2: 6; 3: 10; 6: 12) [See also Acts 6: 6; 7: 4, 5, 51-53 54; cf.
Matt. 10: 37-39; 12: 50
R.V.)].
In relation to present time, Christ is seated at His Father’s
right hand in the heavens (the dwelling place of God, from whence [PAGE
35] universal rule is
administered), awaiting the coming day of His reign;
and Christians are positionally seated with Christ, awaiting that coming day as
well (Eph.
1:
3ff).
Then,
in relation to future time, Christ will be seated on His Own throne in the heavens (the heavens
associated with and in proximity to the earth, from whence a rule over the
earth is presently administered and will continue to be administered in that
coming day). And Christians, in that coming day, will
be seated on the throne as co-heirs with Christ (Eph. 3: 1-11; Rev. 2: 26, 27; 3: 21).
Insofar as the present government of this earth is
concerned (the present rule from the heavens over the earth [from that part
of the heavens in proximity to the earth]), this heavenly realm is occupied by
Satan and his angels, as Satan rules under God in a rebel capacity.
But the future government of the earth (the future rule
from the heavens over the earth [from the same heavenly realm presently
occupied by Satan and his angels]) will not be administered by angels. This government will be administered
by Man; this
government will be administered by Christ and His co-heirs (Heb. 2: 5-10).
Present Government, Future Government
Satan is “the prince of the power of the air” [or, ‘the
ruler of the authority of the air’] (Eph. 2: 2). The word “ruler” in the latter rendering is a
translation of archon in the Greek text, a cognate form of the word arche used in Eph.
6:
12,
translated “principalities”; and the word “power” is a rendering of the Greek word exousia, used and
translated the same way in Eph. 6: 12. Satan is the “chief ruler” among a great host of other powerful
spirit beings; and this entire contingent of rulers, with Satan in command, presently exercises governmental power
over the earth from “heavenly places.”
Christ though has been raised from the dead and placed at His
Father’s right hand, also in the heavens but far above
the present “heavenly
places” occupied by Satan
and his angels (Eph.
1:
20;
4:
10).
God’s “right hand” points to the hand of power, and the matter in view through the Son
occupying this place at the Father’s right hand is the future government of the earth (Eph.
1:
21).
[PAGE 97]
The Father has told His Son,
“Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Ps. 110: 1b).
And, following the Son’s enemies having
been made His footstool (following complete subjection of all to the Son), the
Son will rule the earth (hold the sceptre) as the second Man, the last Adam, a
King-Priest “after
the order of Melchizedek.”
“The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of
Thy people [the Jewish people] shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the
morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent [will not change His mind], thou art a priest forever (for the ‘age’] after
the order of Melchizedek”
(Ps. 110: 24;
cf.
Gen. 14:
17-20; Heb. 5. - 7.).
Christians are presented in Ephesians as having
been raised up together and made to sit together “in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus” (cf.
Eph.
1:
3;
2: 6). Christians occupy these “heavenly
places,” positionally seated with
Christ (“in
Christ”) at His Father’s
right hand, awaiting a future day.
Christians await that day when Christ
will leave His present position at His Father’s right hand and come forth as
the great King-Priest “after the order of Melchizedek,” for only when this occurs can they realize the
purpose for their present positional standing by ascending the throne and
ruling as co-heirs, as “kings and priests,” with Christ in His kingdom (Rev. 5: 10). Christ and His co-heirs, forming His bride, will then reside in and
rule from the same “heavenly places”
presently occupied by Satan and his angels.
Awaiting That Day
The position at the Father’s right hand presently occupied by
Christ, and positionally by Christians - [after the time of their resurrection
(Luke 20:
35ff.;
Phil.
3:
11ff.;
Acts 2:
33,
34;
2 Tim.
2:
18ff.;
Rev.
20:
4-6,
R.V.)], portends future governmental power. The Father has
invited His Son to occupy this [PAGE 38] position as Christ awaits the future day of His
“power” (Mark
13:
26;
2 Peter 1: 16; Rev. 11: 17), and Christians occupy their position “in Christ” with a view to the outworking of
God’s plans and purposes in “the ages to come,” when God will “shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph.
2:
6,
7).
The ages have been planned around the preordained activity of God’s
son within these ages (Heb. 1: 2), and the Messianic Era is the first of an unending array of ages during which the
eternal plans and purposes of God will be fulfilled insofar as God’s Son
occupying kingly power is concerned.
During the Messianic Era, God’s Son will rule over the present
earth from His Own throne in the heavens. And during the
ages beyond, His rule can only be of a universal nature, for it will emanate
from the throne of God and of
the Lamb on the new earth (Rev. 3: 21; 22: 1-3).
(Universal
rule emanates from God’s throne today [located at a northernmost place in the
universe, north of the earth], and during the ages beyond the Messianic Era,
this throne will rest upon the new earth and exist as the Son’s throne as well.
In that day, universal rule will emanate from the throne of God and of the Lamb on the new earth.
The Messianic Era should not be thought of
as the first of the eternal ages, for it plainly is not. Rather, the Messianic Era
will complete the 7,000 years foreshadowed by the six and seven days in Gen.
1:
1 -
2:
3
[cf.
John 1:
1
- 2:
1].
It is foreshadowed by the seventh of these days and is connected with the
septenary arrangement of time and events shown by all seven days, not with time and events during the
eternal ages which follow.
The Messianic Era though will be the first of the ages in which the eternal plans and purposes of
God are
worked out. These plans and purposes have to do with this earth alone
during the Messianic Era; then, they have to do with the new heavens, the new
earth, and the universe at large during the ages beyond.
Thus, even though the eternal plans and purposes of God will
be worked out during both the Messianic Era and the ages beyond, these two periods of time, as noted, must be distinguished from one
another.)
[PAGE 39]
How though is God going to exhibit His “kindness” to Christians during the coming ages,
referred to in Ephesians
chapter two? It will simply be through man realizing the purpose for his existence.
Christians - those referred to in the passage - will realize
the highest of all possible callings, not only in the coming age but in the
ages beyond as well. They will occupy positions with Christ on His throne during the coming
age and continue to occupy positions with Christ on the throne of God and of the Lamb during the ages
beyond (cf. Rev. 2: 26, 27; 22: 5).
The eschatology of Scripture though concerns itself almost exclusively with the coming age, when God’s Son will
ascend His Own throne and, along with His co-heirs, rule this present earth
with a rod of iron for one thousand years. And
attention was called specifically to this age when the Apostle Paul, in Eph.
3:
1
ff, began discussing “the mystery” which had previously been revealed to him.
The mystery revealed to Paul had to do with saved Gentiles
being made “fellowheirs [‘joint-heirs’, ‘co-heirs’]” with saved Jews, forming one body, Christ’s body. And, forming Christ’s body together in
this manner, both saved Jews and saved Gentiles would be in a position to
ascend the throne with Christ as co-heirs with Him during the coming day of His
power, when He is revealed as “King of kings, and
Lord of lords” (cf.
Eph.
3:
1-11; Col.
1:
25-29).
But, though attention is called
specifically to activities during this one age in chapter three, the thought of “ages” from the preceding chapter would
carry over into the whole of the matter. And this
could only be particularly true of that made known to “the
principalities and powers in heavenly places” through the existence of this new
entity, the Church:
“To the intent that [‘In
order that’] now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by
[‘through’] the Church the manifold wisdom of
God.
According to the eternal
purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3: 10, 11).
(The Greek word translated “eternal” [aionios] in verse eleven - God’s “eternal purpose” - does
not itself mean “eternal.”
There is no one word which, in and of
itself, means “eternal” in [PAGE
40] the Greek text of
the New Testament. This is the word translated “eternal” throughout the New
Testament, but the word itself refers to a long period of time, usually thought of as an
age.
Aionios can be understood in the sense of “eternal” if the context permits. The immediate context in Eph.
3:
11 doesn’t [Eph. 3: 1ff]; but the far context, referring to “ages,” does [Eph. 2: 7]. Thus, that made known to Satan and his angels
through the existence of the Church would have to do specifically with the
coming age but could only extend out into the ages beyond as well.
To avoid confusion in this realm, in Ephesians chapters two and three,
“ages” in Eph. 3: 5, 21, KJV, is a translation
of genea in the Greek text and should be rendered
“generations,” not “ages.”)
The Church in existence today reveals the outworking of God’s plans
and purposes in the preceding respect, not only to men but to angels as well. The very existence
of the Church could only cause Satan to act in a contrary manner to that which
God has decreed, as did the existence of Adam
and Eve in
The Church is in existence to fulfil an eternal purpose which God “purposed in
Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3: 11; cf. Eph. 1: 11). The working out of this purpose will
occur in the coming age first, then throughout all of the ages beyond.
In this respect, the immediate or near
purpose for the existence of the Church is a rule with Christ from His Own throne in the
heavenlies over this present earth in the stead of the
incumbent “principalities
and powers”; and the far
purpose is a continued rule with Christ as He sits with His Father on the throne of God and of the Lamb on the new
earth, which, as previously noted, can only be universal in scope.
Satan and his angels know the position which
Christians will occupy during the Millennium, and, resultingly, a warfare
ensues. And the warfare could only be further intensified
by their knowledge of the position
which Christians will occupy beyond the Millennium.
Not only will Christ and His co-heirs move into positions
presently occupied by Satan and his angels and rule the earth for one thousand
years but they will, following the Millennium, rule out in that realm beyond
the earth where Satan and his angels [PAGE 41] sought to rule. And
their God-dishonouring aspirations in time past resulted in their
disqualification to even continue occupying regal power and authority in the
one realm where they had originally been placed.
Thus, an irony of the entire matter is seen
in that which will occur beyond the Millennium, which could only result in
Satan’s further hatred for and onslaught against Christians. Satan and his
angels will not only relinquish their God-appointed positions over the earth
but they will relinquish these positions to individuals who will eventually
move out into the far reaches of the universe itself and evidently occupy
comparable positions to those which they at a time, in the distant past, sought
to occupy.
Satan’s knowledge of these things is why the Apostle Paul
closed his epistle “to the saints ... at
Christians have been saved and
positioned in the heavenlies, “in Christ,” for a purpose. And whether
Christians understand this purpose or not, one can rest assured that Satan and his angels understand and
know what’s happening, resulting in the existing
onslaught against Christians by the world-rulers of this present darkness.
(In relation to man’s calling to one day occupy regal
positions in heavenly places, there is an interesting
paradox when this is viewed in the light of the aspirations of both saved and
unsaved man today.
Unsaved man on the earth has no calling to go out into the
heavens; but, nonetheless, he expresses a desire to go anyway [to the moon, to
Mars, and beyond within man’s present space program]. Saved man on the earth,
on the other hand, has a calling to one day go out into the heavens - the
heavens associated with this earth during the Messianic Era, and the heavens
associated with the universe at large in the ages beyond. But,
in the main, saved man is not interested.
In short, unsaved man is interested in that which God has no
interest in; and saved man, for the most part, shows little to no interest in
that which occupies, in reality, the central place in God’s interest
surrounding the saved.
[PAGE 42]
Saved man thinks in terms of dying [or being removed from the
earth alive at the time of the - [coming select (see Luke 21:
34-36; cf.
Rev.
3:
10,
R.V.)] - rapture]
and going to heaven, with that being somewhat the end or goal of the matter.
But Scripture deals with saved man after an entirely different fashion. Scripture deals with saved man in relation to a rule over this present earth
for 1,000 years, from heavenly places [heavenly places in relation to the earth, not
from the heavenly place where God presently dwells]; and
Scripture deals with saved man beyond the 1,000 years ruling out in the
universe from a new earth, a rule which will extend throughout the
subsequent eternal ages.
The entire matter is regal in nature. Regality marks man’s beginning in Genesis
chapter one,
and this
never changes throughout Scripture, throughout man’s existence,
which is eternal.)
Proper Preparation
God has placed pastor-teachers in the Church to lead
Christians from immaturity to maturity in the faith, and the revealed reason is given in Eph. 4: 14:
“That we henceforth be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to
deceive.”
In the Epistle of Ephesians, instruction provided by
pastor-teachers would, of necessity, have to centre
around
1) One’s positional standing “in Christ”
in
the heavenlies (1: 3, 20).
2) The “inheritance” awaiting Christians (1: 11, 17, 18).
3) The very purpose for one’s
salvation (2: 6, 7).
4) The “fellowship [‘dispensation’] of the mystery” (3: 1-11).
5) The necessity for maturity in the
faith (4: 11-16).
6) The necessity for being filled with
the [Holy] Spirit (5: 18-20).
7) The spiritual warfare at hand (3: 10; 6: 10ff).
Concluding his epistle with the exhortation, “Put on the
whole armour of God” (6: 11), the writer uses similar wording in the Greek text to that
which he had used in Eph. 4: 14. This earlier verse [PAGE
43] (4: 14)
concerns proper preparation through spiritual maturity in order to avoid being
led astray by the “cunning craftiness” of those who “lie in wait to deceive.” And the later verse (6: 11) concerns one being clothed in “the whole armour of God” in order that he might be able to “stand against the wiles
of the devil.”
The thought in both instances has to do with a settled plan, a systematic strategy used by those
who have set about to deceive and lead Christians astray relative to matters
surrounding their calling, as revealed in Ephesians; and Christians, in both instances,
are to be properly prepared for such deception.
Instruction is progressive throughout Ephesians (or elsewhere
in Scripture), and the concluding exhortation in Eph. 6: 10ff is really for Christians
who have attained an element of spiritual
maturity in their lives. This is very evident from what is stated in the
passage.
There can be no such thing as a spiritually immature Christian
being “strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might” (v. 10); nor can there be any such thing as a spiritually immature
Christian being able to properly clothe himself in “the whole
armour of God” and
“stand
against the wiles of the devil” (v. 11). Spiritually immature Christians have little to no
understanding of the warfare, much less how to properly clothe themselves.
This can be easily demonstrated from
an Old Testament type, which is the central type in the Old Testament dealing
with this subject - the Israelites under Moses at Kadesh-Barnea, in a position
to go in, take the land, and realize an inheritance therein.
The march from
These spies spent forty days and nights in the land,
traversing it from one end to the other, and returned not only with information
concerning the land and its inhabitants but with
actual samples of the fruits of the land itself.
The people of
And that which this overall type
foreshadows, seen in the antitype today (cf. 1 Cor.
10:
6,
11;
Heb.
3,
4),
is exactly the same. Growth from immaturity to maturity in the Christian life
is likewise for a purpose (Heb. 5), and that purpose has to do with being able
to achieve victory over the enemy and one day realize an inheritance in a
heavenly land within a theocracy (Heb. 6, 10, 12).
Christians are to be fully capable of clothing themselves in
the whole armour of God that they might be able to “withstand in
the evil day.” The
word “withstand” is a translation of the Greek word anthistemi,
which is a compound word comprised of anti (“against”) and histemi (“to stand”).
Thus, the thought, beginning in verse ten, is to be “strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might” [note where one’s strength lies - not in himself,
but in the Lord]; and in conjunction with an exhibition of this type strength,
one is told, “Put on the whole armour
of God,” for only by so doing will he be able to
firmly stand against the
settled plan of Satan, the systematic strategy of Satan, holding his ground and
giving no place to the enemy.
1) “Stand Therefore, Having Your Loins Girt About with Truth” (v. 14a)
Following the events of the Passover in
Exactly the same things apply in relation to Christians,
except a heavenly - [and millennial, and curse-free (Gen. 3: 17, 18ff.;
cf.
Rom.
8:
16-25, R.V.)] - land is in view. Christ has died, his
blood has been shed; and the firstborn has died vicariously, through the
provided Substitute. And, exactly as in the
type, an inheritance in another land is in view.
That is to say, an individual has been saved
for a revealed purpose,
and that purpose in the antitype is the same as seen in the type.
“And he brought us out from thence [out of
Christians, from a typical standpoint, have been saved in
(Spiritual blessings in that day can and will flow not only
from Christ and
[PAGE 46]
And this can be true because all those
associated with Christ in this manner [both on earth and in the heavens] will
be of the seed of Abraham [Gal. 3: 29], the seed through whom God has decreed
that all spiritual blessings are to flow.)
The Israelites in the type had been led
from
In the terminology of Scripture, the
Israelites had moved from a state of gnosis (“knowledge”) to a state
of epignosis” (mature knowledge [especially as it
related to the things surrounding the purpose for their calling]). They were now ready to enter the
land, combat the “giants” inhabiting
this land (Num.
13:
32,
33),
and possess the land in accordance with their calling and God’s promise.
Their seeming inability to conquer the “giants,” who were far
stronger, was to be of no moment. They were to recognize that the battle belonged to the Lord (1 Sam.
17:
47) and that circumstances were not to be
viewed from a naturalistic standpoint but from a Divine viewpoint. They were to
know that the enemy could not be overcome within their own strength (Num.
14:
42-45)
but, rather, through the strength of the One dwelling in their midst.
Such was the attitude exhibited by Caleb and Joshua (two of
the twelve spies) as they sought to present the [whole] truth of the matter to a people who
had been troubled by the preliminary report given by the spies concerning the
land and its inhabitants (Num. 13: 26-30).
And this is what is in view in Eph.
6:
14
when Christians are told to have their “loins girt about with truth.”
[PAGE 47]
“Truth” in this
passage is not a reference to the Word of God. A person clothing himself to enter
the conflict with the inhabitants of the land wherein his inheritance lies
occurs, as in the type, at Kadesh-Barnea when he enters the conflict, not back
in
Taking and using the Word already in one’s possession is seen later, in verse seventeen, not at this point in the
instructions, in verse fourteen.
“Truth” in this passage is a reference to - [obedience and
“the hope”
of] - entering the conflict after the same fashion Caleb and Joshua were exhorting
the people to enter the conflict during their day:
“Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are
well able - [if we obey our Lord’s instructions] - to overcome it” (Num. 13: 30).
“Truth” with which one
enters the conflict, in this respect, is sincerity, earnestness as the person
goes forth, relying upon the Lord (“...be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” [Eph. 6: 10]).
One has to, first of all, be sincere
and earnest about the conflict in which he finds himself engaged. This battle isn’t something which one can enter after any type frivolous
fashion. There is a systematic, well-planned effort on the part of Satan to
bring about a [redeemed and regenerate] Christian’s defeat; and a Christian,
to be victorious in battle, must exhibit the same type attitude as manifested
by Caleb and Joshua.
(The “giants [Heb., nephilim, [Gen. 6: 4; cf. Luke 17: 26, R.V.] ‘fallen ones’]” inhabiting the land during Moses’ day were the offspring of a cohabitation of the sons of God with the
daughters of men - the offspring of a cohabitation between fallen angels in
Satan’s kingdom and female members of the human race.
Thus, the battle set before the Israelites for possession of the land, as the battle set before Christians for
possession of a land today, involved
things beyond the natural, requiring
God’s supernatural intervention on behalf of His people.)
2) “...and Having on the Breastplate of Righteousness”
(v.
14b)
The girdle is the first piece of armour mentioned in Ephesians
chapter six; and a warrior arraying himself for battle was to put
the girdle on first, for other pieces of the armour were
attached to the girdle.
The breastplate, the next piece of armour mentioned, was normally attached to the girdle in both the front and
the rear, making the girdle necessary for the breastplate to be held firmly in
place.
The thought is that there must first be a Caleb - and
Joshua-type attitude on the part of the Christian before going beyond this
point in properly clothing himself. One must first have the girdle of - [obedience, (Acts 5:
32;
cf.
1 John 3: 24ff.)] - sincerity, earnestness, truthfulness
on before the breastplate con be properly affixed.
It is a simple thing to see that the breastplate can have
nothing to do with the righteousness
of God which has been imputed to every [regenerate] believer. The righteousness of
God is a righteousness with which God clothes us at the point of - [our initial and eternal] - salvation, as He clothed Adam and Eve
with animal skin following their fall (requiring death and shed blood). The
righteousness in view in Eph. 6: 14 is a
righteousness which the Christian himself is to put on.
It is a righteousness to be put on by the one already in possession of the
imputed righteousness of God.
This is the personal righteousness mentioned in Rev. 19: 8,
associated with the wedding garment.
This garment is made up of “the
righteousness of saints.” The word “righteousness” is plural in the Greek text and
should be translated “righteousnesses,” or “righteous acts.” These are the justifying acts referred to in James 2: 21-25. A man is first justified
by faith (Rom. 5: 15-18), being clothed in the righteousness of God
(spoken of in a singular sense - one
justifying act [performed
by Christ]); and the man is then to be justified by works (James 2: 24), clothing himself through righteous [PAGE 49] acts (spoken of in a plural sense - justifying acts [performed by the one already
justified by faith, justified through the act of Another]).
Righteous acts performed by Christians simply have to do with
exercising faithfulness within the scope of one’s particular calling,
fulfilling his particular responsibility as a servant in the Lord’s house. And, as one exercises faithfulness, waiting upon the Lord,
righteous acts will be the natural outworking of faithfulness as the person
follows the leadership of the indwelling [Holy] Spirit.
That is to say, in relation to that
seen in Eph.
6:
14,
after one exhibits the proper attitude toward the battle at hand, he is then to
exercise faithfulness as a servant in the house. Such will result in works, righteous
acts, allowing that person to have on (he will have put it on himself) the breastplate
of righteousness and allowing that person to one day be clothed (actually, he
will one day clothe himself) in the
wedding garment.
(For the proper relationship which faith and works occupy in
relation to one another, refer to the author’s book, SALVATION OF THE SOUL, Chapter 5, “Faith Made Mature,”
and the Appendix, “Faith and Works.”)
3) “And Your Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of
Peace” (v. 15)
Note the emphasis in verses eleven, thirteen, and fourteen relative
to standing as one goes
forth to battle: “to stand” (v. 11), “withstand
[lit., ‘stand
against’],” “to stand” (v. 13),
and “Stand” (v. 14). One must have solid footing to stand
upon. Both feet must be firmly planted, “shod with the preparation [‘readiness’]
of the gospel
of peace.”
There are two aspects to the gospel in Scripture. One appears
in connection with “peace with God,” and the other appears in connection with “the peace of God.”
“Peace with God”
comes about through justification by grace through faith, as seen in Eph.
1:
8,
9:
“Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
(
[PAGE 50]
However, distinctions between “peace with God” and “the peace of God”
are not what is in view in Eph. 6: 15, for availing oneself of the
proper footwear (for both feet) is something which, contextually, occurs
following salvation.
In a parallel passage to that which is in
view, the latter part of Rom. 10: 15 states,
“How beautiful are the feet of them
that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad
tidings of good things.”
The feet are seen as the vehicle of
transportation for the messenger, as he goes about proclaiming good news
concerning peace. Within the
overall scope of the good news, as previously stated, there is a facet of the
message having to do with “peace with God” (for
the unsaved [Rom. 5: 11)
and there is a facet of the message having to do with the “peace of God” (for the saved [Phil. 4: 5-7]). The contextual emphasis in Rom.
10:
15
though has to do with the saved, not with the unsaved.
Exactly the same thought is in view regarding the armour in Eph.
6:
15.
Having one’s feet properly shod has to do with proper preparation relative to
the good news concerning peace, as it pertains to the saved, exactly as
seen in Rom.
10:
15;
and this would be based on the person already having “peace with God,” as seen in Rom. 5: 1.
The messenger’s feet being properly shod
shows a proper preparation of the messenger as he goes about proclaiming this
message concerning peace. And this message of peace would have two
facets - the peace of God now (having to
do with the present aspect of salvation, the outworking of the saving of the
soul), culminating in a future peace when the Prince of Peace is Himself
present (having to do with the future aspect of salvation, when the salvation
of the soul will be realized).
4) “Above All, Taking
the Shield of Faith...” (v. 16)
The weakness of the average Christian is lack of faith,
wrought through the neglect of prayerful study in and meditation on the Word of
God.
[PAGE 51]
“Faith” is simply believing God,
and God speaks to us today through His Word. This is the
reason that “faith cometh by [‘out of’]
hearing, and hearing by
[‘through’] the word of
God” (Rom.
10:
17). We find what God has to say about a
matter in His Word; and we can then either exercise faith through believing
that which God has said, or we can fail to exercise faith through not believing
that which God has said.
Caleb and Joshua at Kadesh-Barnea exercised “faith.” They believed that which God had to say about entering into
and possessing the
Exactly the same thing confronts Christians today: Will you
exercise faith concerning that which God has to say about entrance into the
land (in line with that manifested by Caleb and Joshua)? Or,
will you fail to exercise faith concerning that which God has to say about
entrance into the land (in line with that manifested by the remainder of the
nation)?
Caleb and Joshua possessed “the shield of faith”; the remainder of the nation though didn’t possess this shield. “The shield of faith” is put on
through simply believing that which God has to say concerning entrance into the
land. It is put on through trusting the Lord to see
you safely through the conflict with the world-rulers of this present darkness,
resulting in your realizing an inheritance in the land during that coming day.
Possessing the shield of faith would be synonymous with earnestly striving with respect to the
faith in Jude 3 or striving in the good contest of the faith in 1 Tim.
6:
12.
5) “And Take the Helmet of Salvation” (v. 17a)
This is something which a person already
in possession of salvation is to, himself, put on; and it is to be put on in
view of a warfare. Thus, it can be easily seen that
putting on “the
helmet [PAGE
52] of salvation” has to do with things beyond that
foreshadowed by the death of the firstborn and application of the blood in
1 Thessalonians 5: 8 reveals that “the helmet of salvation” is the hope of salvation:
“But let us, who are of the day [Christians waiting and watching
for their Lord’s return (vv. 6, 7)], be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”
“The hope of salvation” is a reference to the salvation which will be revealed at the time of Christ’s
return - the salvation of the soul. “Hope” is something which may or may not be realized (cf. Luke 23: 8; Acts 16: 19; 27: 20). And
the salvation of one’s soul, inseparably connected with hope, has to do with
realizing an inheritance as God’s firstborn son in the land to which Christians
have been called - something which Christians, individually, may or may not
realize.
A Christian can forfeit his inheritance and lose his soul, which itself has nothing to do with
his presently possessed eternal salvation. Again, bear in mind, this is something (as seen in the type)
which occurs at Kadesh-Barnea and beyond, not something which occurs back
in
One clothes himself with the helmet of salvation - the hope of
salvation - in view of achieving victory over the inhabitants of the land to
which he has been called. His hope is that of being
victorious - being an overcomer - and one day being privileged to ascend the
throne and rule as co-heir with Christ in this land.
This is a hope which results in purification in a believer’s
life and is a hope which should be on the lips of every believer, as a ready
testimony surrounding the purpose for his salvation (1 Peter 3:15; 1 John 3:
3).
(See the author’s book, SALVATION OF THE SOUL, Chapter 6, “Hope, Inheritance, Salvation,” for a more comprehensive discussion of
this subject.)
[PAGE 53]
6) “...and the Sword of the Spirit, Which Is the Word of God” (v. 17b)
A Christian having his “loins girt about with truth,” having on “the
breastplate of righteousness,” having his “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace,” taking “the shield of
faith,” and having
on “the helmet of salvation” is then to take “the sword of
the Spirit” - the Word of God - as he goes forth to combat Satan. After
being properly arrayed in all the other revealed fashions, he is then to take
the one thing which God has provided as a weapon to be
used against the enemy.
2 Timothy 3: 16 in the KJV reads,
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God...”
The words “given by inspiration of God,” are a translation of one Greek word, Theopneustos, meaning “God-breathed.”
This is a compound word comprised of Theos (“God”) and pneuma (“breath” in this particular usage
[this is also the word used for “Spirit” in the
N.T. - the Holy Spirit, man’s spirit, and the use of spirit in general; also “wind” in John 3: 8]).
That which is meant by and the
implications of Scripture being God-breathed are given in a somewhat simple
manner in Scripture, but one has to look at and compare related parts of both
Testaments before he can really begin to see and understand that which is
involved. A person has to reference passages in one Testament, then passages in
the other. He has to compare Scripture with Scripture, i.e., he has to compare “spiritual things with spiritual.”
First note Heb. 4: 12:
“The word of God is quick
[lit., ‘alive’], and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...”
Why is the Word of God “alive,” “powerful,” and “sharper than any two-edged sword”? The answer: Because of its origin.
The Word is “Theopneustos” The Word is “God-breathed.”
But, what does that mean? And why is the Word “alive” because of its origin? This is where one has to go back to
beginning [PAGE 54] points in the Old Testament and find the first mention in
Scripture of God bringing a matter to pass through the use of His breath.
This is necessary not only because of the need to compare
Scripture with Scripture but also because of a principle of Biblical
interpretation called, The First-Mention Principle. This principle has to do with unchangeableness,
and it centers around an unchangeable structure of
the Word given by the unchangeable God. Because of the inherent nature of the
Word, the first time a subject is mentioned in
Scripture, a pattern, a mould is established at that point which remains
unchanged throughout all subsequent Scripture.
Remaining within this principle, the first time one finds the
breath of God mentioned in Scripture is in Gen. 2: 7, where life was imparted
to man through God’s breath. And, consequently, at
this beginning point, this verse connects life with the breath of God after an unchangeable fashion.
God formed and fashioned man from the dust of the ground, but
man was not created alive. Life was subsequently
imparted through God breathing into man’s “nostrils the
breath of life,” resulting in man becoming “a
living soul.”
Thus, in Gen. 2: 7, the unchangeable connection between God’s breath and life in relation to man is established
and set. Only God can produce life, and any time life is produced beyond this point it must always be through the one means set forth at the beginning,
revealed in Gen.
2:
7.
There is nothing more powerful at a Christian’s disposal than the Word of God. It was
this Word which Satan chose to use against Christ in
the wilderness, and Christ used this same Word as He countered Satan (Matt.
4:
1-11).
And going forth, properly arrayed for battle, using the Word
as a weapon against the world-rulers of this present darkness, a Christian, at
the same time, is to constantly be in “prayer and supplication in the Spirit ... watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (v. 18).
If the provided instructions are followed,
victory after victory in the present spiritual warfare will ensue. But, if the
provided instructions are not followed...
* *
* * *
* *
Appendix 1
Amalek
Flesh, Spirit
To see
the true place and significance of the Amalekites in Scripture and to properly understand the typology involved in different places
where these people are mentioned, one needs to go back and look at Esau as a
progenitor of the Amalekites. And it matters not that the Amalekites existed as
a nation prior to this time, for the Amalekite nation is seen existing apart from change throughout its
history, whether before or after the days of Esau’s grandson, Amalek (though
little is revealed about the Amalekites prior to Esau’s progeny).
Esau is really the only link which
Scripture provides to trace the origin of the Amalekites. They appeared during
the days of Abraham apart from a reference to their origin. And,
the fact that they were associated with Esau at a later point in time from
their original appearance, must be looked upon as by Divine design, for a
particular reason.
It is within the person of Esau that characteristics are seen
which depict the true nature of the
Amalekites (within a spiritual frame of reference), allowing that which God has
for man to see in passages such as Ex. 17: 8-16 to become self-evident.
Rights of the Firstborn
Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac, a man of the world, who looked upon matters -
particularly matters pertaining to his [PAGE 56] birthright (his rights as firstborn,
the main thing singled out in Scripture about Esau) - as the world viewed them
rather than as God viewed them. It is said of Esau
that he “despised his
birthright” (Gen. 25: 34).
The Septuagint (Greek version of the O.T.) uses a word for “despised” which means that Esau regarded his
birthright as a paltry possession, as something insignificant or of little value. He regarded his
birthright as practically worthless. And, Esau, looking upon his birthright
after this fashion, sold his rights as firstborn to his twin brother, Jacob,
for a single meal of “bread and pottage of lentils.” He sold his rights as firstborn to satisfy his
hunger, to satisfy a fleshly gratification.
The account of Esau selling his birthright and not realizing
its value until it was too late forms the fifth and final major warning in the
Book of Hebrews
(12:
16,
17). This account in Hebrews chapter twelve forms the
apex toward which all things in the book move. The preceding four warnings have
to do with different facets of the overall teaching pertaining to the
birthright; and chapter
eleven, the chapter on “faith” leading into chapter twelve, forms both a summation for the
preceding warnings and an introduction for the final warning, tying everything
together with the thought of faithfulness to one’s calling.
Esau looked upon matters from the vantage point of the world.
He saw things from a fleshly perspective rather than from a spiritual. And it was
only at a time when it was too late that he gave thought to the spiritual,
allowing him to see the birthright in its true light.
Thus, “Esau”
typifies the fleshly man; and his
brother, “Jacob [actually, ‘
(Referring to a more specific part of the type, the name,
“Jacob,” has to do with the fleshly [or natural] man; and the name, “
Also note in Luke 1: 32, 33 that Christ’s future reign is
to be over “the house of Jacob,” and it is to last “forever” [Gk., eis tous aionas (‘with respect to the ages’ - not only the Messianic Era
but also all the succeeding ages comprising eternity)]. This
verse, referring to the natural man, reveals
that the Israelites will not only reside in natural bodies on this present
earth throughout the Messianic Era but also on the new earth throughout the
eternal ages as well [in complete keeping with the type body Lazarus possessed
when he was raised from the dead, *
foreshadowing the future resurrection of Israel (John 11: 6, 7, 43, 44)].)
[*NOTE: on RESURRECTION
TO IMMORTALITY. All previous resurrections -
including Lazarus, by Christ, (see John 11: 11, 13, 14, 23-25, R.V.) - as well as all others resurrected from both Old and New Testament Scriptures,
died at a later time allocated with God’s one-hundred and twenty-year initial
life span. (Gen.
6:
3;
cf.
John 3:
13,
R.V.). This was God’s plan from the beginning; and all teaching contrary to it are in solemn, serious and weighty
Scriptural
error! There can be no Resurrection from the dead to
IMMORTALITY, until after our Lord Jesus returns: “For
as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall ALL
be made alive. But each in his own order; Christ the fruits; then they that are Christ’s at His coming
(Gk. ‘Presence’)”. 1 Cor. 15: 22, 23, R.V.)
“Flesh and blood” cannot inherit
the
Our Lord’s words: “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE” (John 11:
25,
R.V.) are emphatic! That is, ‘uttered with or
requiring emphasis: forcible: impressive:’ (The New
Comprehensive English Dictionary. p.
303): and all previous resurrections,
mentioned throughout the whole of the Bible, were not like His!
Furthermore, there is nothing recorded in Scripture, of those
who appeared bodily on earth (from ‘Sheol’ / ‘Hades’ - (where our Lord Jesus was for ‘three days and three nights’ after His death (Matt.
12:
40;
cf.
1 Pet.
3:
19),
are now
in heaven! (John 3: 13; cf. 14: 2-3, R.V.)
God, for a very good reason, - (the DISOBEDIENCE of His Word, and the
consequent PERSECUTION of HIS future and ANNOINTED KING), allowed a previously appearance from the dead to occur:-
“... Whom shall I” - (the woman at En-dor) - “bring up unto thee? And he” - (Saul) “said,
Bring me up
Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel; she cried with a loud voice.” “And she said,
An old man
cometh up; and he is covered with a robe:
and Saul perceived
that it was Samuel.” ... “Because thou obeyest
not the voice of the LORD” (said Samuel) “tomorrow
shalt thou and thy sons be with me...”
See 1 Sam. 28: 7b; 11b-12a, 14b, 18a, 19a, R.V.]
Seeing how Scripture presents Esau in connection with the
rights of the firstborn is the key to correctly understanding the various spiritual
lessons inherent in the different places where the Amalekites are mentioned, for this is exactly the fashion in which they
appear in Scripture. The main thing marking the Amalekites would be that of possessing the mind of Esau toward the
things of God, particularly those things concerning the rights of the firstborn. And, during Moses’
day, they are first seen in Scripture setting themselves in opposition to God’s firstborn son,
In the type,
But, then Amalek appeared and stood in the way,
seeking through any means possible to stop
In the antitype, every [regenerate] Christian is a “child” of God, or “son,” as seen in Heb.
12: 5-8,
awaiting the adoption,
to be followed by a realization of the inheritance
belonging to firstborn sons. And this inheritance has to do with
another land (heavenly, rather than earthly [cf. Eph. 1: 11- 14; Phil. 3: 20; Heb. 3: 11). This is the direction toward which all things in the lives of Christians are presently moving, whether
Christians know it or not (most don’t).
And Amalek, the man of flesh, is
presently making his appearance - attacking, exactly as in the type (though the light [PAGE 58] now exists, the darkness remains [cf. Gen. 1: 3-5; 2 Cor.
4:
6]). And Amalek will
seek, through every means possible, to stop Christians short of the goal.
In this respect, the man of flesh, typified by Amalek, is presented in Scripture as one whose main goal centers
around opposing those called to
inherit the rights of the firstborn. He is the one who stands in the way, seeking through
every means possible to prevent individuals from coming into a realization of
the [future] inheritance to which they have been called.
And how is Amalek to be defeated? That’s what the account of the Israelites’ encounter and
battle with Amalek in Ex. 17: 8-16 is about. This section of Scripture
reveals how the man of flesh is to be defeated, so that redeemed individuals
can be victorious in the present
warfare, allowing them to one day realize the rights of the firstborn, in another land,
within a theocracy.
Slay Amalek, Or...
Either slay Amalek, as the Lord commands, or Amalek will, in the end, rise up and slay you. This is a
teaching graphically set forth in the Books of 1
and 2 Samuel
(cf.
Num.
14:
42,
43;
20;
2-21).
Saul, the first king in
“Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have...” (1 Sam.
15:
3).
But Soul rendered incomplete obedience.
He spared Agag, the king of the
Amalekites; and he saved the best of Amalek’s possessions - the sheep and oxen “to sacrifice unto the Lord,” along with the fatlings, the lambs,
and everything that appeared good in his sight (1 Sam. 15: 7-15).
This resulted in the Lord, through Samuel, rejecting Soul as
king over
The account of Soul’s death in 1 Sam. 31: 1-6 and the account given to David by the Amalekite who killed Soul in
2 Sam.
1:
2-10 [PAGE 59] must be compared to see and
understand exactly what occurred. Saul had been mortally
wounded in battle, he fell on his sword in an attempt to kill himself,
but he failed in the attempt. An Amalekite then appeared; and, responding to
Saul’s question, “Who art thou?”, he said, “I am an Amalekite” (2 Sam. 1: 7, 8).
Then Saul said,
“Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is
come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me” (2 Sam.
1:
9).
And the Amalekite, relating the story to David, said,
“So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was
fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet
that was on his arm...” (2 Sam. 1: 10).
Saul, in the beginning, had been commanded
to slay Amalek. But he didn’t. And,
in the end, after Saul had “fallen,”
Amalek not only slew him but stripped him of his regality.
That is the central point in the Old Testament to which the
warning in Rev.
3:
11
relates:
“Behold I
come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast,
that no man take thy crown.”
Either slay Amalek now, as the Lord commands, or he will bring you down and, in the end, rise up, slay
you, and take your crown.
And the “crown” has to do with the regal part of the rights of the
firstborn. It has to do with occupying a position
with Christ in the coming [millennial] kingdom, for only crowned - [and resurrected ‘out from among the dead’]
- rulers will ascend the throne with Christ and realize the
other two aspects of the birth-right (being not only kings but priests [king-priests], and receiving a double portion of all the Father’s goods as co-heirs with the “King of kings,
and Lord of lords”).
Means and Length of the
In the account of the battle with Amalek in Ex. 17: 8-16,
Moses, accompanied by Aaron and Hur, ascended a nearby hill while the [PAGE
60] Israelites fought
with Amalek in the valley below. And during the
battle, as long as Moses held “the rod of God” high in his hand, the Israelites prevailed. But
when he lowered the rod (a sceptre [Ex. 4: 20-23]), Amalek prevailed (vv. 10, 11).
There would be a dual type in relation to Moses holding the
sceptre on the top of the hill. Though Christ, fulfilling one part of the type,
would need no help, Christians, fulfilling the other part of the type, would need help. And Aaron and Hur can be seen in the second part of the
type.
One part of the picture concerns Christ fighting the battle on
the Christians’ behalf, and the other part of the picture concerns [regenerate] Christians engaged in the battle as
well. And Christians grow weary in the battle and need
help from fellow-Christians also engaged in the battle. Christians are to help
one another in this respect.
That’s what Heb. 10: 23-25 is about. We are told to “hold fast the profession of
our faith [lit., ‘the confession of the hope’] without wavering”; and
we are told to associate ourselves with other Christians of like mind to encourage,
exhort, and pray for one another, “and so much the more,” as we “see the day approaching.”
It is, at times, a lonely and weary battle in the place of
exile; and Christians have been exhorted to help one
another in the race of the faith. They are exhorted to encourage one another and help one another hold the sceptre
high as each goes forth, properly arrayed, to combat the
enemy with the Sword of the Spirit (Eph.
6:
10-18).
And the battle, after this fashion, is to be fought “until the
going down of the sun” (v. 12), which can only depict a battle lasting the entire duration of the [regenerate] Christian[’]s life. Christians are in the race of the faith for the long
haul, and the battle exists throughout the entire course of the race.
When Moses began to grow weary in the battle, Aaron and Hur
not only helped hold his hands up but they also placed a stone under Moses so
that he could sit, though still holding the sceptre high. And,
through Aaron and Hur’s help, Moses was able to
continue after this fashion for the entire duration of the time. Scripture
reads, “...his hands were steady until the going down of the sun”
(v.
12).
The “stone”
upon which Moses sat itself pointed to the kingdom [PAGE 61] of Christ,
to which the “rod,” the sceptre, he held pointed (Dan.
2:
34,
35,
44,
45).
Then, beyond that, Moses, Aaron, and Hur had gone up to the top of a particular
hill - “the
hill”; and the word “hill,” as “mountain,” when used in a symbolic sense in
Scripture, signifies a kingdom (Isa. 2: 2-4). Typically, they fought the battle from the top of a
particular kingdom as they held up the sceptre.
Everything about realizing victory in the battle against Amalek centers
around one thought - taking one’s eyes off the things pertaining to the present kingdom under
Satan and fixing them on the things pertaining to the coming kingdom under
Christ.
In the words of Gen.
19:
17,
“...escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed."
* *
*
[PAGE 62 blank, PAGE 63]
Appendix 2
Crowns Before the Throne
Who Will Cast These Crowns?
Why Will These Crowns Be Cast?
When Will These Crowns Be Cast?
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and
the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me;
which said, Come up
hither, and I will shew thee things which must
be hereafter [‘after these things’].
And immediately I was [‘I became’] in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in
heaven, and one sat on the throne.
And round about the throne were four and twenty
seats [‘thrones’]: and upon the seats [‘thrones’] I saw four and
twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that
sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever
and ever, and cast their crowns before the
throne, saying,
Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev.
4:
1,
2,
4,
10,
11).
Immediately
following events pertaining to the judgment seat, attention is
again called to that previously seen in Rev. 1: 10 - John being removed from
Man’s Day and placed in the Lord’s Day, depicting the Church being removed from
Man’s Day and placed in the Lord’s Day. And, calling
attention to the same event again at this point in the book would show the
dispensational nature of the removal of the Church - a removal occurring at [PAGE
64] the end of the
dispensation (at the end of that seen in chs. 2. [&] 3.). But, with events pertaining to the
judgment seat already having been dealt with (in chs.
2,
3,
viewed from the perspective of ch. 1), John is now shown subsequent
events. In this chapter, John is shown events which will occur immediately following those pertaining to the judgment seat and the revelation of the bride;
and these subsequent events will occur preceding events pertaining to the
seven-sealed scroll (5: 1ff) and the beginning of the Tribulation, as
the first seal of the scroll is broken (6: 1ff).
(Note that Revelation chapters two and three
present a dual aspect of teachings surrounding the Church. These two chapters
present:
1) A history of the Church throughout
the dispensation.
2) The Church in Christ’s presence at the end of the
dispensation, being judged - [after Death in ‘Sheol’ / ‘Hades’ (Heb. 9: 27; cf. Matt. 16: 18, R.V.)].
The description of Christ seen in ch.
1
is that of a [Righteous] Judge, not that of a Priest [shown through the
girdle about the breasts rather than the waist, along with the description in
general (cf. Rev. 15: 16)]. And the
complete Church is seen in His presence at this time [all
seven Churches, showing completeness,
showing all Christians being present at this time].
One aspect of that seen in chs. 2,
3
depicts this future judgment of Christians. In each of the seven letters
[seven epistles] to the Churches, works, with a view to overcoming, are seen. And,
as revealed elsewhere in Scripture, works and overcoming cover the
complete scope of that which will be seen at the judgment seat. A Christian’s “works” will be dealt with, showing whether the
Christian has overcome or has been overcome [1 Cor.
3:
11-15])
The Heavenly Scene
Immediately after attention has been called to the same event
seen in Rev. 1: 10
(Rev.
4:
1,
2a),
John, rather than seeing a judicial scene (as in ch.
1),
now sees a rainbow encircled throne, with God seated
on the throne (vv.
2b,
3).
And surrounding this throne, John sees twenty-four
other thrones and twenty-four crowned “elders” seated on these thrones (v. 4).
Then John begins to describe various things about God’s
throne, which he both sees and hears - “lightnings,” “thunderings,” and [PAGE
65] “voices” coming out of the throne, and “lamps of fire burning before
the throne” (v. 5). And “in the
midst of the throne, and round about the throne”
John sees four living creatures who “rest
not day nor night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come”;
and these living creatures “give glory
and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever”
(vv.
6-9).
Then the scene returns to the twenty-four elders, who rise
from their thrones, fall down before God, worship Him, cast their crowns before
His throne, and express adoration to the One worthy “to receive glory and honour
and power” (vv. 10, 11).
If an apex is to be found in the Book
of Revelation,
aside from Christ’s return in chapter nineteen, the action of these
twenty-four elders would have to be considered. Their action - relinquishing their crowns to the One Who originally placed them in the positions which they
occupy - is significant
beyond degree in relation to the central message of this book.
Crowns, Regality, Government
“Crowns” have to do
with regality, and the government of the earth is in view throughout the Book of Revelation.
At this point in the book, the judgment of Christians, with a view to regality,
will have just occurred; and, with a view to this same regality,
Christ, following this, is seen as the One about to redeem the forfeited
inheritance through taking the seven-sealed scroll from His Father’s right hand
(ch. 5).
Angels have ruled over the earth since time immemorial - since
that time when God established the government of the earth in the beginning.
Angels will still be exercising this some rule over the earth at this point in
the book (chs. 4, 5), and angels will continue
ruling until Christ and His co-heirs (forming His bride) take the kingdom, following Christ’s return to the
earth (Heb.
2:
5).
Accordingly, neither Christ nor Christians will receive the crowns which they are to wear during the Messianic Era until after Christ returns to the earth at
the end of the Tribulation.
The crown which Christ will wear at this time is presently [PAGE
66] being worn by
Satan, as he continues to exercise power over the earth. And
the crowns which Christians will wear in that [future] day are presently being worn by two
segments of angels - the angels presently ruling with Satan, and the angels who
refused to follow Satan when he sought to exalt his throne.
When Satan sought to exalt his throne - following his being
placed over the earth, with a large contingent of angels ruling the earth with
him - only one-third of these ruling angels followed Satan, with the other
two-thirds refusing to follow him (cf. Isa.
14:
12-14; Matt.
25:
41;
Rev.
12:
3,
4).
And though the angels not following Satan didn’t
continue ruling with him, they could not immediately relinquish their appointed
positions. Rather, they had to retain their positions, remaining crowned, for a
time.
A principle of Biblical government necessitates that an
incumbent ruler retain his crown until the one replacing him is not only on the scene but ready to ascend the throne. Only then can an incumbent
ruler relinquish his crown.
(For example, note the account of Saul and David, forming a
type. Saul, though disqualified, retained his crown and continued to reign
until David was not only present but ready to ascend
the throne. Then, Saul’s crown was taken, given to David, and David [along with
certain faithful men] ascended the throne and reigned in the stead of Saul and
those who had ruled with him [1, 2 Samuel].
And it will be exactly the same in the
antitype. Satan, though disqualified, will retain his crown and continue to
reign until Christ is not only present but ready to
ascend the throne. Then, Satan’s crown will be taken,
given to Christ, and Christ [along with certain faithful individuals] will
ascend the throne and reign in the stead of Satan and those who had ruled with
him [Rev.
19:
11
- 20:
6].)
This same established principle must prevail relative to the
angels refusing to follow Satan in his attempt to elevate his throne. They must
retain their crowns until those who are to replace them, those who are to wear
these crowns, are not only on the scene but ready to
ascend the throne.
These relinquished crowns though will be
worn only after Christ returns
to the earth at the end of the Tribulation, overthrows Satan and his angels, [PAGE
67] and forcibly
takes their crowns. Only then will Christ
be in possession of all the crowns which He and His bride
are destined to wear as they ascend the throne and rule the earth.
Thus, with the introduction of crowns cast before God’s throne
in Rev.
4:
10,
11,
only one group of individuals could possibly be in view (if one remains within
context and keeps in mind the earth’s government in both history and prophecy).
These twenty-four elders can only represent angelic
rulers. Angels alone will possess
crowns in relation to the government of the earth at this time (as they do
during the present time).
(Some Bible students, on the basis of the pronouns used in Rev.
5:
9,
10
- “us” and “we”
[KJV] - have understood the twenty-four elders to represent redeemed men, not
angels. However, the majority of the better Greek manuscripts render the
pronouns in v.
10
as “them” and “they”
[ref. ASV, NASB, NIV, Wuest, Weymouth], giving rise to the thought that the
pronoun “us” in v. 9 is probably a scribal
insertion, being spurious [ref. Alford,
Lenski].
But the matter is really not left to
manuscript evidence alone. That the pronouns “them”
and “they” are correct is evident from the
context. Note that the song in vv. 9, 10 is apparently sung
not only by the “twenty-four elders” but also by
the “four beasts [‘four living creatures’]” as
well. Then, other angels join them in vv. 11ff, with all of the angels together voicing
additional, related statements.
Aside from the preceding, it would make absolutely no sense
whatsoever to understand these twenty-four elders as referring to a segment of
redeemed mankind. Man couldn’t possibly be crowned at
the time of events in Rev. 4, 5, else he would be crowned before Christ is
crowned [note that Christ is to wear the crown which Satan presently wears,
which Satan will still be wearing at this time]. Also,
man is to wear the crown he receives, not relinquish it before God’s throne as
seen being done by the twenty-four elders.
Also, the Greek word translated “elders” in Revelation chapter four is presbuteroi, the same
word used for “elders” in the Church in the New
Testament epistles. The word refers to older ones [relative to that being dealt with]. In
the Church, the reference is to older ones in the faith; in Revelation
chapter four, the reference is to older ones in the governmental structure of
the earth [evident since they
are crowned, seated on thrones, [PAGE 68] with the government of the earth being the only
government which could possibly be in view].
The preceding alone would prevent the twenty-four elders from being viewed as men, necessitating that they be viewed as angels. Man, at
this point in the book, has yet to even come
into such a position; angels, on the other hand, have
held positions of this nature since time immemorial.)
And at this point in the book, through
the action of the twenty-four elders casting their crowns before God’s throne,
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 cast before God’s throne, as previously seen, can
only have to do with the government of the earth. And,
at this point in the book, they can be worn by angels alone. The Son will not
yet have taken the kingdom, though the Father will have previously delivered it
into His hands (cf. Dan. 7: 13, 14; Luke 19: 15; Rev. 11: 15; 19: 11ff).
These crowns are relinquished to God - with a view to man
ruling in the kingdom - so that God 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 [millennial] kingdom.
These crowns are cast before God’s
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).
The transfer of the government of the earth, from the hands of
angels to 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 God’s 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 his fall.
Action of the Elders
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 but preceding Christ taking the seven-sealed
scroll from His Father’s right hand and subsequently breaking the seals, and it
occurs at a time when Satan’s 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 man’s 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 this 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
pertaining to the transfer of power to begin. The twenty-four elders casting
their crowns before God’s throne can only depict the angels who did not go
along with Satan in his rebellion relinquishing their crowns, with a view to
those comprising the bride
wearing these crowns during the Messianic Era.
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 [now] during Man’s Day under Satan and his
angels [Dan.
10:
13-20]).
(The fact that angels represented by the twenty-four elders
are not presently ruling with Satan can be shown not only by their present
position - in God’s presence, in heaven - but by the Greek word
which is used for the type crown which they are seen wearing.
There are two words in the Greek text for “crown” - stephanos, and diadema. Comparing
Scripture with Scripture, with regality in view, one major distinction stands out concerning how these two
words are [PAGE 70] used. Diadema refers to the type crown worn by a monarch, one presently
exercising regal power. Stephanos, on the other hand, is used in an
opposite sense. It is used to show someone crowned but
not presently exercising regal power.
For example, the crown seen on Christ’s head in Rev.
14:
14,
preceding His reign, is referred to by the word stephanos in the Greek text. A crown
on Christ’s head at this time could only anticipate His impending reign - the
same as the crown on the woman’s head in Rev. 12: 1 (also referred to by the word stephanos), with the woman representing Israel,
God’s firstborn son, about to exercise the rights of primogeniture, as Christ,
God’s firstborn Son, is about to exercise these same rights as well.
Then, when Christ returns to the earth to take the kingdom, He
will have many crowns upon His head; and the Greek text uses diadema rather than stephanos to refer to these crowns, for Christ
will be returning as “King of kings, and Lord of lords” [Rev. 19: 12, 16].
The twenty-four elders in chapter four cast crowns referred to as stephanos before the throne, indicating that,
though crowned, these elders were not exercising regal positions. And the many crowns which Christ will have on His head at
the time of His return are undoubtedly these same crowns (Rev. 19: 12). But,
anticipating that day when Christ reigns, the Book of Revelation
uses the word diadema to refer to
these crowns, for Christ will be exercising a regal position, with Satan about to be overthrown.
The crowns on Christ’s head at this
time though will not be worn by Christ when He rules the earth, for He is to wear the crown
presently worn by Satan [the incumbent ruler] in that day. Rather, these crowns
will be given to those forming the
bride [whom the Father will previously have appointed to various
positions of power and authority with His Son]; and this will occur following
that time when the remainder of the crowns having to do with the earth’s
government are forcibly taken from Satan and his angels.)
Twenty-Four, Thirty-Six
The identity of the twenty-four elders is
shown not only
by their actions and the place where 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 Satan’s fall - was representatively shown by three sets of twelve, thirty-six crowned [PAGE
71] 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 earth’s government. And
also in this respect, this same perfection in the structure of the
earth’s government has not existed since Satan’s attempt to exalt his throne.
But, this structured perfection will one
day again exist in the earth’s 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 God’s universe where
imperfection has existed for millenniums.
* *
*
[PAGE 71 blank, PAGE 72]
Appendix 3
The Hope
According
to 1 Peter 3: 15, Christians are to be “ready always
to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in
you with meekness and fear.” This is called, in introductory
verses to the book, “a lively [‘living’] hope”; and it is made possible through “the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead” (1: 3). Christ lives, and those “in Christ”
are being called to live, beyond resurrection, in glory with Him.
Hope in 1 Peter is associated with “an inheritance” (1:
4),
a future
“salvation" “1: 5 [“the
salvation of your souls”; v. 9]), and “honour and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1: 7; cf. 4: 12, 13).
When Christ appears, Christians will appear with Him in glory;
and it is different facets of this entire matter - ruling as co-heirs with
Christ, realizing the salvation of their souls - concerning which Christians
are exhorted to always be ready to provide a response to anyone who asks “for
a reason of the hope” which lies within.
In Heb. 6: 11, 12, the “hope” to be held by Christians is laid out in a very
simple fashion: that “through faith and patience [present]” they would
be able to “inherit
the promises [future].”
Exercising “faith” is simply believing that which God has to say about a
matter, resulting in the person who exercises faith acting
accordingly. Hebrews
chapter eleven is the great chapter on faith, toward which everything in the preceding
part of the book builds: “By faith Abel ... By faith Enoch ... By faith Noah ... By faith Abraham...”
Then Hebrews chapter twelve, immediately following,
forms the capstone to the whole matter. The fifth and last of
the five major warnings comes into view - a direct reference to the rights of
the firstborn (all the warnings have to do with these rights, though viewed
from [PAGE 74] different facets of the overall subject) - and
Christians are exhorted to run the race set before them after such a fashion
that they will one day be accorded the privilege of realizing these rights.
Exercising “patience [lit., ‘patient endurance’]” has to do with
the manner in which one runs the race (cf. 12: 1). This is a race of the faith (1 Tim.
6:
12; Jude 3), to be run continuously for the entire
duration of the Christian life. This is a race over the long haul - not one for
sprinters, but one for marathon runners (though the runners may be called
upon, at times, to sprint in the race). And
Christians are to properly pace themselves so that they will be able to victoriously
complete the race.
The “inheritance” lying out ahead is the object of a Christians’ hope;
and one day realizing that which God has promised is, within the text, to be wrought through patient endurance in the race of the faith. “Faith” and “patient endurance” are inseparably
linked after this fashion with the subject at hand - inheriting the [divine] promises.
Hebrews 10: 23-25 presents
a companion thought. In verse twenty-three, Christians are told, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith
without wavering [lit., ‘Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering’].” And the
whole idea, contextually, behind Christians assembling together today (v. 25) is to “consider one another” and “provoke [one another] unto love and to good works,” with this hope in view.
Christians are to assemble together to discuss that which lies
out ahead, pray for one another,
and exhort one another; and
they are to do this “so much the more,” as they “see the [millennial] day
approaching” [that
coming day when their hope will be
realized] (vv.
24,
25).
This is “that blessed hope” in Titus 2: 13, which
is to be a purifying hope. And Christians
are exhorted to “live soberly, righteously,
and godly, in this
present world,”
with a view to one day realizing this hope (v. 12).
(“That blessed hope” is not
Christ’s return per se [particularly not His return for Christians at the end of
this present dispensation, as is often taught]. Rather, “that blessed hope” has
to do with “the glorious appearing [lit., ‘the
appearing of the glory’] of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ” [v. 13], a glory which will not be revealed until
Christ returns at the end of the [Great] Tribulation.
[PAGE 75]
The construction of the Greek text would necessitate the
previous understanding of the verse. In the Greek text, “the appearing of the glory” is a further explanation
and description of “that blessed hope”; also in
the Greek text, in the latter part of the verse, the construction of two other
parts of the verse is the same: “our Saviour Jesus
Christ” is a further explanation and description of “the great God.”
With this in mind, the verse could be
better translated, -
“Awaiting that blessed hope, which is the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Saviour Who is Jesus Christ.”
And this “hope”
surrounds the thought of Christians having a part in Christ’s glory at this
time - a central teaching of the Book of Titus.)
With Confidence and Rejoicing
Christians are to hold fast the hope set before them after a revealed two-fold fashion -
with confidence and rejoicing (Heb.
3:
6).
The word “confidence” is a translation of the Greek word, parresia, meaning “to be bold, courageous, open, or plain” about a
matter; and the word “rejoicing” is the translation of the Greek word, kauchema, meaning “to take pride in something.” resulting in the person
having something to boast about.
Parresia is used a
number of times in the New Testament in the sense of being “open” or “plain” about
matters, with nothing being hidden. Jesus spoke openly and plainly to His disciples and the people of
Parresia is
also used in
the New Testament a number of times in the sense of being “bold” or “courageous” about matters. Peter and John, standing before Annas the
high priest, and others, exhibited “boldness” as Peter spoke; and those hearing Peter “marvelled,” recognizing that both men exhibited
these qualities because “they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4: 5-13; cf. v. 31).
Then Paul, at the end of his epistle to the Ephesians,
requested [PAGE 76] prayer on his behalf: “that utterance
may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly,
to make known the mystery of the gospel” (6: 19).
(Note that the thought of “openness”
or “plainness” would also have to be included
within the idea conveyed by “boldness” in the
preceding passages [cf. 2 Cor. 3: 12; 7: 4; see also Phil. 1: 20; 1 Tim. 3: 13; Heb. 4: 16].)
Then the word kauchema (translated “rejoicing”), or the verb form of this word (kauchaomai),
is also used a number of times in
the New Testament. The word is translated three different ways in Scripture
(KJV) - “boast,” “glory” [used in the sense of ‘boast’ or ‘pride’],
and “rejoice” (cf. Rom. 2: 23; 42; 52; 2 Cor.
1:
14;
5:
12;
9:
3).
The thought of “rejoicing” (as in Heb. 3: 6; cf. Phil. 1: 26; 2: 16), rather than being derived
from the meaning of kauchema, appears to be derived more from the result of what this
word means. That is, kauchema means “to take
pride in something,” resulting in the person having “something to boast about”; and “rejoicing” would emanate out of the person
being placed in this position.
Thus, when a Christian is told to be “ready always
to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you,” he is to be open about the matter, he
is to exhibit plainness of speech, he is to be bold and courageous as he
expresses himself, and he is to take pride in the matter, for he has something
to boast about.
He has been extended an invitation to ascend* the throne with “the King of
kings, and Lord of lords” to rule as co-heir with Him in His [millennial] kingdom. He possesses the hope of having a part
in what Scripture calls, “so great salvation” (Heb. 2: 3), which is the greatest thing God has ever designed for
redeemed man.
[* That
is, after
either Resurrection or Rapture (Luke 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11; Luke 21:
36ff.; Revelation 3: 10,
R.V. Cf.
1 Tim.
4:
6ff.;
2 Tim.
2:
4-7,
R.V.)]
And this is what Christians are to be
open and plain about. They are to tell it exactly as it is, regardless
of what others may say or think. And they are to be bold and courageous as
they tell it as it is, knowing that they have something of incalculable value, something they can boast about (cf.
Matt.
10:
32,
33;
2 Tim.
2:
10-13).
Firm unto the End
Drawing from the type, everything from the death of the
firstborn in
The death of the firstborn, the
They were to set their course straight and hold it there, not deviating; and they were to hold their
course, after this fashion, “firm unto the end,”
allowing them to one day realize the goal of their calling.
And this is exactly what is in view
within the Christian experience. Christians, as the Israelites, possess a hope,
which has to do with a realization of the goal of their calling
in another - [completely restored and curse-free (Rom. 8: 19-22, R.V.); cf. Gen. 3: 17b -18a,
R.V.), God-blessed] - land. Christians have been saved for this purpose; and every
experience in life, beginning at the point of salvation, has this one goal in view.
Christians are to set their course straight and hold it there,
not deviating, and they are to hold their course, after this fashion, “firm unto
the end” (Heb. 3: 6), allowing them to one day realize the goal
of their calling.
* *
*
[PAGE 78 blank, PAGE 79]
Appendix 4
The Rule of Man
Part 1
Man’s Rule During the
Millennium
Man’s
rule during the coming age will be confined to this
earth. It is this one province in the
A Rule Over the Earth
In this respect, Christ will have a dual reign; and governmental
power and authority will be exercised from both an earthly and a heavenly sphere. Christ
will sit on David’s throne in the city of Jerusalem upon the earth, and He will
also sit upon His Own throne in the new Jerusalem in the heavens above the
earth (Luke
1: 32,
33;
Rev.
3:
21).
[PAGE 80]
And those ruling from the heavens will be
the ones ascending the throne and exercising power as joint-heirs with Christ
at this time.
Those comprising the earthly seed of Abraham do not possess
the same promise as those comprising the heavenly seed in this respect. Though
both are to “possess
the gate” of the enemy
(rule over the Gentiles) and the Gentile nations are to be
blessed through both (Gen. 22: 17, 18), only those comprising the heavenly seed
will ascend the throne to rule as joint-heirs with Christ.
Satan and his angels presently rule from the heavens over the earth. Satan is the “anointed cherub” [messianic angel] placed over this earth, along with a great
host of subordinate angels who rule with him (Ezek. 28: 14; Eph. 6: 12; Rev. 12: 7). Angels ruling under Satan
exercise their power and authority through rulers upon the earth. They possess counterparts in the
earthly sphere, through whom they rule. In this respect, there is a gradation
of rulers upon the earth which corresponds to a
gradation of rulers in the heavens.
During Daniel’s day, following the conquest of
A messenger had been dispatched from heaven
and sent to earth in response to Daniel’s prayer. In order to reach
earth, this messenger had to travel through the realm in which Satan and his
angels ruled, and he was detained in this realm by the
angel in Satan’s kingdom who ruled over
Michael came to help, and during this time
the messenger remained in this heavenly realm with “the kings of
[PAGE 81]
One can only deduct from Dan. 10: 12-21 that the gradation of rulers in the earthly
One other interesting piece of information is
also given in this chapter of Daniel. “Michael
your prince” (v. 21) is a reference to the heavenly ruler over
It is this present angelic rule from the heavens, referred to
in Daniel
chapter ten, that Christ and His co-heirs will exercise in the stead
of angels during the coming age (Heb. 2: 5-10). As it is today, so will it be then:
Rulers in the heavenly realm will exercise power through rulers in the earthly realm. There will be earthly
rulers throughout the various Gentile nations as well as in
A Rule for the Overcomers
Man’s rule, realizing the purpose for his existence, will
begin when the millennial kingdom has been established;
and this rule will continue throughout the eternal ages. Israel
and the Gentile nations will continue to exist as separate, distinct entities
right [PAGE 82] on into the eternal ages on the new earth,
apparently figuring prominently in God’s government of the new earth; and those
ruling as co-heirs with Christ will exercise a type power and authority which
will not end after the Millennium has run its course but extend on into the
eternal ages as well.
A sharp distinction though must be
recognized between the exercise of power and authority during the
Millennium and the exercise of power and authority during the eternal ages.
Christians who reign with Christ during the Millennium will continue to reign
with Christ throughout the eternal ages, but it must be
recognized that the overcomer’s promises are strictly millennial in their scope of fulfilment.
Overcomers will be rewarded at the
judgment seat of Christ for faithfulness during the present time, with a view
to being recompensed during the one thousand years Christ reigns over the
earth. In this respect, it is incorrect to refer to rewards as being “eternal,” for they are not. Christians will exercise power after an
entirely different fashion from a different throne during the eternal ages.
That the overcomer’s promises are millennial alone in their scope of fulfilment can be demonstrated several ways. And this would be in
perfect keeping with the foundational framework of Scripture, set forth at the
very beginning - showing everything occurring throughout the six days
(foreshadowing the present 6,000 years,
Man’s Day) pointing to that which would be realized on the seventh day
(foreshadowing the future 1, 000-year Sabbath, the Lord’s Day).
Within a positive framework, it can be shown
that the overcomer’s promises in Rev. 2, 3
are millennial alone in their scope of fulfilment. And,
within a negative framework, it can be shown that the forfeiture of one’s
birthright can occur only under conditions which will exist during the
Millennium, not beyond.
The Overcomer’s Promises
In Rev. 2: 26, 27, overcoming
Christians have been promised “power over
the nations.” They
will rule the Gentile nations with “a rod of iron,” and this authoritarian rule is
compared to the power which a potter could command
over his vessels by [PAGE 83] shattering them into fragments at will - “... as the
vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers.” Such a scene can exist only during the
Millennium.
The entire purpose for the Millennium is to bring all things under subjection to Christ at the one place in the universe where
sin entered, producing disarray. And a rule such
as that described in Rev. 2: 26, 27 will
occur during this time in order to bring this to pass.
God is going to take one thousand years to allow His Son to
reinstitute complete order in that part of
the kingdom where disorder occurred. After the Son has accomplished this work, He
will deliver “up the kingdom to God, even
the Father” (1 Cor. 15: 24-28);
and an authoritarian rule with a rod of iron over the nations of the earth
will be a thing of the past.
In Rev. 3: 21, overcoming
Christians have been promised that they will be
allowed to sit with Christ on His throne:
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
Such a promise could not possibly extend into or be fulfilled
during the eternal ages, for Christ will not be seated on a throne fitting the
description set forth in Rev. 3: 21 during ages beyond the Millennium.
The Son today is seated at His Father’s
right hand, on His Father’s throne (though He is exercising the office of High
Priest rather than reigning with His Father). During the Millennium
the Son will be seated on His Own throne as the great King-Priest (He will have
terminated His present high priestly ministry, will have left His Father’s
throne, and will have assumed the long-awaited, promised position on His Own
throne).
At the end of the Millennium though, Christ will relinquish
this position (for all things will have been brought under
subjection) and once again assume a place on the throne with His Father. This
throne will be called, “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev.
22:
1,
3),
and Christ will then reign with His Father apart from exercising any type
priestly office (there will be no sin following the Millennium and thus no need
for a priestly ministry).
[PAGE 84]
Thus, promises such as those in Rev. 2: 26, 27; 3:
21 must be looked
upon as millennial in their scope of fulfilment.
Forfeiture of One’s Birthright
There are two classic examples in the Old Testament of
individuals forfeiting the rights belonging to the firstborn - Esau and Reuben. Esau forfeited his birthright for a single meal (Gen.
25:
27-34; 27:1-38), and Reuben forfeited his birthright because
of sexual impropriety (Gen. 35: 22; 49: 3, 4). Esau’s
birthright went to his younger brother, Jacob; and Reuben’s birthright was divided among three of his younger brothers - Judah,
Levi, and Joseph.
The fifth and last of the five major warnings in the Book of Hebrews
has to do with the possibility that [regenerate] Christians can, in like manner, forfeit their
birthrights, disqualifying them from exercising the rights of primogeniture
during the coming age (Heb. 12: 14-17). The account of Esau forfeiting his
birthright is set forth as a type, with Esau’s experience foreshadowing that which can also be experienced by [regenerate] Christians.
Esau considered his birthright to be a thing of little value
until after the rights belonging to him as firstborn had been
forfeited and he awoke to the stark reality of that which had occurred.
Then, and only then, did Esau realize the true value of the birthright. Esau,
seeking to reverse that which had occurred, tried to get his father to change
his mind and bless him also, but to no avail (cf.
Gen.
27:
38; Heb. 12: 17). The
birthright was no longer his and could not be retrieved.
As a result, Esau “lifted up his voice, and wept” (cf. Gen. 25: 34; 27: 38).
Esau’s condition and state of mind at this time point to the
same condition and state of mind which will exist
among [regenerate] Christians who forfeit their
birthrights. This forfeiture will be revealed at the judgment seat of Christ - [before the
time of resurrection (Heb. 9: 27; cf. Luke 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11; Rev. 20: 5ff., R.V.)], and the results of this forfeiture
will exist for the duration of the Millennium. The same cry
which Esau voiced will be echoed by many [disobedient and unrepentant] Christians, producing the same
results. The blessing belonging to the firstborn will have been bestowed upon
faithful Christians; and the Father will not, He cannot, change His mind and bless the unfaithful
also, else He [PAGE
85] would violate
His Own Word.
The results of such a forfeiture
though cannot exist beyond the Millennium. All tears will be
wiped away at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 21: 4 [the reference to all tears being wiped away
prior to the Millennium in Rev. 7: 17 is only for a select - [and
‘accounted worthy’] - group of individuals realizing
an inheritance in the kingdom]), and conditions relating to the forfeiture or
non-forfeiture of one’s birthright cannot really apply beyond this point in
time.
The wiping away of all tears at the end of the Millennium
would portend equality within a realm where equality had not previously
existed. It would clearly appear that during the eternal ages
distinctions among Christians such as those set forth in the overcomer’s
promises or conditions having to do with the forfeiture or non-forfeiture of
one’s birthright will no longer exist.
(Note something though in connection with the overcomer’s
promises being millennial in their scope of fulfilment, not eternal. Gradations of power and authority in the
human realm, of a different nature, may very well exist beyond the Millennium,
during the eternal ages. Gradations of power and authority presently exist in
the angelic realm, something which undoubtedly will
continue during not only the Millennium but the eternal ages beyond the
Millennium. And, during the eternal ages, similar
gradations of power and authority may very well exist within the human realm as
well.
Aside from the preceding type approach to the matter,
Scripture is silent on the subject.)
-------
The Rule of Man
Part 2
Man’s Rule During the Eternal Ages
At the
end of Mans Day, immediately preceding the beginning of the Millennium, a
change in the government of this
earth will occur; then,
at the end of the Millennium, immediately preceding the beginning of the
eternal ages, a change (though of a different nature) in the government of the universe will occur. And man
will [PAGE 86] be actively involved in changes which will occur at both times.
Scripture provides a great deal of information concerning
man’s part in the government of the earth during the Millennium. The whole of
Scripture, after some fashion, is focused upon this
time. When one moves beyond the Millennium though, Scripture provides very
little information concerning the exact place which man will then occupy within
God’s universal government. There are only several brief statements in
Scripture concerning government within the
Viewing that which is revealed in the
whole of Scripture concerning the government of the universe within God’s
kingdom, a person can be drawn to only one conclusion: When God created man,
there were actually both near and far purposes in view. The near-purpose had to
do with the government of this
earth, and the far-purpose had to do with the government of the universe. In this
respect, the Millennium is only the beginning of an unending number of ages
during which man will exercise power
and authority, realizing the purpose for his existence.
During the Millennium, Christ will sit on His Own throne and rule over
this earth, and others will ascend the throne and rule as co-heirs with Him. And Christ, with His co-heirs, will take one thousand years,
ruling with a rod of iron, to effect order out of disorder. Once complete order has been
restored, the kingdom will be turned back over to the Father; and numerous
changes, having to do with the government of the universe during all the
subsequent ages, will resultingly occur (1 Cor. 15: 24-28).
When that part of the kingdom previously placed under the
Son’s control has been turned back over to the Father,
“the
Day of the Lord”
will end and “the Day of God” will begin. At that time, the present heavens and earth will be destroyed, and a new heavens and a new earth will be
brought into existence.
(The “heavens”
would refer to that part of the heavens associated with this earth and kingdom,
not the galaxy or universe as a [PAGE 87] whole. Scripture outlining the destruction of both the
heavens and the earth [2 Peter 3: 10-12] could possibly be brought to pass through
God causing our sun to nova. [i.e., “a star that
suddenly becomes much brighter for a short time.” (Oxford Essential English Dictionary p.
396.)] Note that there will no longer be a
need for the sun [Rev. 21: 22-25].)
After the new heavens and new earth have been brought into
existence (2 Peter 3: 13; Rev. 21: 1), God will then change the location of His
throne from which He rules the universe. The throne of God today is located in a northernmost point in the universe (Isa.
14:
13),
north of this present earth. God’s throne will remain in this place during the
Millennium; but during the eternal ages, God’s throne will be located in the new
Jerusalem, which will be the capital of the new
earth. And not only will God’s throne be in this new
locality, but the Son will sit on this throne with His Father. God’s throne, at
this time, will specifically be called, “the throne of
God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 21: 3-5; 22: 1, 3).
God’s Rule Over the
Universe
God rules the universe today from His throne in the far reaches of the North,
but He will one day rule the universe from His throne in the new Jerusalem. This is a change which
will occur at the end of the Millennium and exist from that point throughout the
eternal ages.
Through viewing the overall scope of the
Scripture provides a glimpse into this facet of God’s
government of the universe in the Book of Job. In Job 1: 6; 2: 1, on two different occasions,
the “sons of
God” are seen presenting
themselves before the Lord, with Satan appearing “among them.” Satan, a son of God appearing “among them,” demonstrates equality with them (all angels are “sons of God” because of a special, individual [PAGE
88] creative activity
of God). Satan was the messianic angel ruling over one province in God’s
kingdom (the earth), and the only logical conclusion which could follow is that
the other sons of God were messianic angels ruling over other provinces in
God's kingdom (other worlds).
The appearances of these sons of God could only be congresses of these messianic angels,
who apparently appeared at regularly scheduled intervals in God’s presence
to provide a report relative to their provinces in the kingdom. Such meetings
would occur at the “mount of the congregation [‘meeting place in the mount’], in the sides of the north [‘in
the utmost parts of the north’]” (Isa.
14:
13).
A “mount” in Scripture signifies a kingdom (Isa. 2: 2-4; Dan. 2: 35, 44, 45). The thought from the expression “mount of the congregation” in Isa.
14:
13
would thus be, the meeting place [where
the messianic angels assembled] to render a report concerning activity in
their province, within God’s kingdom,
located in God's presence at a northernmost point of the universe.
The earth is one of nine planets revolving around a
medium-size star - our sun (or, between eight and ten planets, depending on
changing astronomical discoveries and thoughts), and it has been estimated that
our own galaxy contains between two to four hundred billion such stars (suns) -
some much larger, some much smaller. The distance from the earth to the nearest
star outside our solar system is four and one-third light years, and the
distance to the farthest star in our galaxy is thousands of light years.
It is one hundred thousand light years across our galaxy and between
two million and two and one-half million light years from our galaxy to the
nearest neighbouring galaxy. Beyond that, man has been able to reach out with
telescopes and view stars estimated to be billions of light years removed from
this galaxy (a light year is the distance light travels in one year -
approximately, six trillion miles).
In the light of God’s government of the universe, as revealed
in Scripture, it is interesting to note how a number of present-day astronomers
view our own galaxy as they study the heavens through their telescopes.
Astronomers within the scientific community today, for the first time in man’s
history, possess the necessary [PAGE 89] equipment to see and thus know that there are numerous
solar systems in our own galaxy similar to our own (other stars [suns] with
revolving planets).
Revolving planets around certain closer stars can now be seen, and from what astronomers can ascertain,
they can know that there may very well be billions of similar solar systems in
our own galaxy alone.
Any way one views the matter, the vastness of the universe
over which God rules is staggering.
David could look into the heavens
during his day, viewing only a small part of one galaxy (only a minute part is
visible to the naked eye [not more than about 2,000 stars can be seen by the
naked eye at any one time - approximately 1/500,000th of the total
visible in the most powerful telescopes, or between approximately 1/100,000,000th to
1/200,000,000th of the estimated total in this one galaxy alone]),
and proclaim, “When 1 consider thy heavens, the works of thy fingers
... What is man, that
thou art mindful of him?” (Ps. 8: 3, 4).
And man today can view the heavens
through telescopes, seeing things far beyond what David could see with the
naked eye, and do no more than respond with similar thoughts, asking the same
question.
David gave the answer to the question, and the answer is still
the same today and will remain the same throughout eternity. Man is the one whom God created to
have dominion over the works of His hands (v. 6).
Man’s Place in God’s Eternal Rule
The eighth Psalm could be
understood in its ultimate scope in the sense of dominion out in the heavens. Such dominion
during the coming age must, of necessity, be confined
to the earth;
but during the eternal ages, dominion exercised by man will extend into the heavens as well.
It seems apparent that apart from man the earth would be no more than just another
province in God’s kingdom, ruled over by a messianic angel. But
the creation of man has changed all of this. Man’s creation has offset the scales
completely, for, [PAGE 90] following lowing man’s creation, the earth was revealed to not only be the most significant place in the galaxy but in the entire
universe as well.
The reason for all of this is evident. The creation of man is peculiar to this earth,
and man was created in God’s image and likeness for the specific purpose of possessing dominion over the works of
God’s hands. Dominion throughout the universe is
exercised by angels, and angels were not created in God’s image and likeness.
Man was made “a little lower than the angels,” for he was created to possess
dominion held by angels, which man did not hold following his creation (nor has
man held it to this day). Even Christ appeared on this earth, apart from His
glory, in the same position as man - “a little lower than the angels”
(Heb.
2:
7,
9).
Such though will change at the beginning of the Millennium and
change again after a different fashion at the beginning of the eternal ages. At
the beginning of the Millennium, man will replace angels ruling over one
province and rule in their stead. During the eternal ages though, man will not
necessarily replace angels in other provinces, as on the province ruled by
Satan and his angels (that which awaits Satan and his angels was
occasioned by sin, and there is no record or intimation that sin entered
any other province in the universe). Man in that day may possibly occupy
positions under God over provincial governors. Such a thought would be in
perfect keeping with Paul’s question in 1 Cor. 6: 3, “Know ye not that we shall
judge [‘rule’ (cf. v. 2)] angels?” Then, again, man might rule new worlds or ungoverned worlds. We’re simply not told.
When God created man after His image and likeness, immediate
plans for man had to do with this earth. However, since man will exercise regality with Christ
from a throne having to do with the administration of universal government following the
Millennium, an entirely new light is cast upon God’s
creative activity in the first chapter of Genesis.
God, at the time He created man, had far-reaching plans for
His creature, as well as the earth. And these
far-reaching plans will be realized only when complete order has been restored in the one province where sin
entered, a
new earth has been brought into existence, and universal power emanates
from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the new Jerusalem, the
capital of the new earth.
* *
*
[PAGE 91]
Appendix 5
“Without Form and Void”
Tohu Wavohu
“In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form and void [‘But the earth
became tohu wavohu’]; and darkness was [‘became’]
upon the face of the deep...” (Gen.
1:
1,
2a).
Scripture
opens in Genesis with a complete and continuous section - Gen.
1:
1
- 2:
3,
thirty-four verses - Divinely designed to foreshadow in a skeletal, succinct
manner that contained in the whole of subsequent Scripture about to follow. Possessing a correct understanding and interpretation of this opening
section, with the numeric structure seen therein,
cannot be overemphasized. But, more often than not, the converse of that is true among
- [the vast majority of] - Christians.
God’s work during the six days in these opening verses is
usually, though erroneously, understood as creation alone (i.e., verses
describing God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, from v. 1,
over a six-day period of time), with little to no significance seen in the six
days themselves, along with the following seventh day of rest.
Then another school of thought views Gen. 1: 1 as other than an absolute
beginning. Those following this school of thought understand the opening
chapter of Genesis
to begin at the time of restoration, with the creation and a subsequent ruin of the creation having previously occurred but not
seen at this beginning point in Scripture.
However, if Scripture is compared with Scripture,
and the whole of subsequent Scripture is viewed in the light of the way
Scripture opens in Genesis, creation alone or restoration alone, followed by a
day of rest, cannot possibly be the correct
understanding of this opening section.
[PAGE 92]
The words “without form and void” in the KJV English text of Gen.
1:
2a
are a translation of the Hebrew words tohu wavohu (“formless and void” NASB; “formless and empty,” NIV; “waste and void,” ASV).
These two words are used together only two other places
throughout all of the Old Testament - in Isa. 34: 11 and Jer. 4: 23. And both of these passages present a ruin
of that previously seen existing in an orderly state.
In Isa. 34: 11, Edom, representing all nations in the future Lord’s Day (v. 6),
was destined to become tohu wavohu (translated “confusion” and “emptiness” [KJV], “desolation” and “emptiness” [NASB]).
And in Jer. 4: 23-28, there is a comparison of that which was about to occur relative to the land of Israel to that which
had previously occurred relative to the earth in Gen. 1: 2a.
The land of Israel was about to become tohu wavohu (translate the
Hebrew word eretz [vv. 20, 23, 27, 28], meaning “land” or “earth,”
as “land” throughout).
That is, as seen in Jer. 4: 23-28, God was about to do the same thing to the
And, in complete keeping with this type understanding of the
use of tohu wavohu in Isa. 34: 11 and Jer. 4: 23, Isa.
45:
18 (where the word tohu is used, translated “in vain”) clearly states that God did not
create the earth (in Gen. 1: 1) in the manner described in Gen. 1: 2a. Isaiah 45: 18 states that God “created it [the earth] not in vain
[not ‘tohu,’ not ‘without form,’].”
Thus, if Gen. 1: 2a is to be understood in the light of related Scripture bearing
on the subject (which it must be [cf. Ps. 12: 6; Isa. 8: 20; 28: 10; 1 Cor. 2: 13]), there can be only one possible interpretation - the ruin of a prior
existing creation (from v. 1),
because of sin. The earth from verse one “became” tohu wavohu.
(The word “was” in Gen.
1:
2a
is a translation of hayah in the Hebrew text, a verb of being. This word appears
twenty-seven times in the first chapter and is used in this chapter far more in
the sense of [PAGE 93] “became” than “was,” though English translations do not normally reflect this fact [ref. the author’s book, THE STUDY OF
SCRIPTURE, Chapter 11, pp.
22-24)
The ruin seen in both Gen. 1: 2a and Jer. 4: 23 occurred for a reason (sin had entered); and the ruin in both
verses occurred with a view to eventual restoration. And the overall teaching from Isa. 34: 11 is the same.
Then, the restoration seen in both the continuing text of Genesis chapter
one (vv.
2b-25) and in the overall passage of Isa. 34: 11 and Jer. 4: 23ff, as well as in related Scripture (e.g., Isa. 35:
1ff), is seen occurring for a purpose,
which is regal.
Then, the whole of subsequent Scripture is perfectly in line
with this type understanding of the opening section of Scripture. The whole of
subsequent Scripture is built on a septenary
structure, with the foundation established and set in an unchangeable fashion
at the beginning, in Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 3.
That is to say:
The heavens and the earth were created, there was a ruin of the material creation
(because of sin), God took six days to restore the ruined creation, and He
rested the seventh day.
Man was created on the sixth day, man fell into a state of
ruin (because of sin), God is presently taking six days (6,000 years) to
restore man, and God will rest the seventh day (the seventh 1,000-year period [cf.
2 Peter 1: 15-18; 3: 3-8]).
And the latter restoration, patterned
after the former restoration, is what the whole of Scripture is about. The whole of Scripture is about the
same thing initially introduced and established in an unchangeable fashion in
the opening thirty-four verses of Genesis (1: 1 - 2: 3).
The whole of Scripture is about the creation of man, his ruin,
his restoration over a six-day period (over a 6,000-year period), followed by a
seventh day of rest (a seventh 1,000-year period - the Sabbath rest awaiting
the people of God [Heb. 4: 9; cf. vv. 3, 4], the Messianic [and Millennial] Era).
Man would evidently have been expected
to understand this opening section of Scripture after the preceding fashion at
the time it was written. And subsequent Scripture
simply verifies the correctness of the way man would have been expected to
understand this opening [PAGE 94] section at that time, even apart from other
revelation.
(Note one thing about the restoration in Gen.
1:
2b
- 25 which should
be understood. This restoration could only have been a complete restoration. No
trace of “the world that then was” [the world
preceding the ruin seen in Gen. 1: 2a], or the subsequent ruined earth [in Gen.
1:
2a], can be seen in “the heavens
and the earth, which are now” [2 Peter 3:
6,
7].
A complete restoration would have removed all traces of anything
having to do with “the world that then was” or with that world during the time when it lay in a ruined state. That is
to say, geology today cannot show evidence of any type pre-existing creation or
a ruin of that pre-existing creation, for a complete restoration - the
only type restoration possible through the Divine work seen in Genesis chapter one - would have removed all traces of a pre-existing creation
and ruin.
Had the preceding not been the case, God would have created man,
untainted by sin, through using that tainted by sin [the earth] - an
impossibility.
In this respect, all that exists in
the present secular world of history and science - e.g., the complete fossil record, the dinosaurs, topographical
formations such as the
That which occurred during and resulted
from the Noachian Flood, 1,656 years following the restoration of the earth [Gen.
6
- 8], along with later topographical
changes on the earth during the days of Peleg [born 100 years after the Flood (Gen.
10:
25]) must be looked to for an explanation of numerous things
of the preceding nature, not to a world lying in ruins in Gen.
1:
2a, or to a world existing prior to that
time.)
Viewing the whole of Scripture, the correct interpretation of
the opening verses of Genesis can be clearly and
unquestionably presented and understood through:
1) The manner in which the Hebrew words
from Gen. 1: 2a, tohu wavohu,
are used elsewhere in Scripture (interpreting
Scripture in the light of Scripture [Isa. 34: 11; 45: 18; Jer.
4:
23]).
2) And the typical nature of Old
Testament history (1 Cor. 10: 6, 11),
which has been set forth in a very evident, Divinely
established septenary arrangement.
[PAGE 95]
And these opening verses, providing the
Divinely established basis for that which follows, must be understood accordingly.
The Bible is a book of redemption; and only a correct
view of the opening verses of Genesis can reflect positively, at the very outset, on God’s
redemptive message as a whole - the restoration of a ruined creation, performed in its entirety through Divine
intervention for a revealed purpose.
An incorrect view can, on the other hand,
only have negative ramifications. Creation alone, apart from a ruin
and restoration of the creation, fails to convey the complete message at the
outset of the Word; and Restoration alone likewise fails to convey the complete message at this
opening point in Scripture.
It is as F. W. Grant stated years ago relative to the existing
parallel between the creation and ruin of the earth and the subsequent creation
and ruin of man:
“The thought of a ruined condition of
the earth succeeding its original creation ... is ... required by the typical
view [that is, the earth’s creation, ruin, and subsequent restoration
forms a type of (foreshadows) man’s creation, ruin, and subsequent
restoration].”
(In line with the preceding, refer to, Chapter 1, “Genesis and John,”
in the author’s book, MOSES AND JOHN; or refer to Chapter 5, “Genesis, John,”
in the author's book, SIGNS IN JOHN'S GOSPEL.
The same septenary structure seen beginning Genesis is also seen beginning John;
and John’s gospel, for this and other reasons, should
begin the N.T., paralleling Genesis beginning
the O.T.
This septenary structure in Genesis deals with the restoration of a ruined material creation; and this same septenary structure in
John deals with the restoration of that foreshadowed in the Genesis account - the restoration of ruined man.
And, beyond the septenary structure
beginning both books, in the opening two chapters of each book, the subject
matter in both books is the same throughout. In Genesis, the subject matter is set forth in innumerable types; in John, it is set forth in eight signs.)
Accordingly, the opening verses of Genesis cannot deal with creation alone. Nor can these
opening verses deal with restoration alone.
[PAGE 96]
Along with the grammatical problem of dealing with tohu wavohu in this respect,
creation alone would be out of
line with the whole of Scripture, beginning with the central theme of
Scripture, the message of
redemption.
And restoration alone, though not out of
line with the grammatical problem seen in tohu wavohu, is, as creation
alone, out of line with the whole of Scripture, beginning with the central
theme of Scripture, the message of redemption.
The only interpretative view which will
fit - at all points - within the Divinely established septenary arrangement of Scripture (which
has it basis in these opening verses) is:
Creation (an absolute
beginning, and a perfect creation [v. 1]). A Ruin of the Creation (v. 2a). A Restoration of the Ruined Creation (vv. 2b-25). Rest (in the type - six twenty-four-hour days of restorative
work, followed by a twenty-four-hour day of rest; in the antitype - six
1,000-year days of restorative work, followed by a 1,000-year day of rest [1: 2b -
2:
3]).
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