Leviticus Podcasts

I have spent the last week recording audio messages going through the book of Leviticus available for download here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/setdtm4l4rk3u5h/AAA4toqOaVvpOJpDVnfeV1SKa?dl=0

OR

Watch on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3zdMKwnvH8GGQa0qiX62pwF5xgZC0L3r

Feel free to download and listen. Be edified, dear brethren. =)

The Holy of Holies

When we look at Revelation 4:1-2, we read of the two phrases “voice I had first heard” and “in the Spirit” – both connecting back to Revelation 1:10. This is the same vision, and not a separate vision. The fact that Revelation 1-3 comes first in the book should be noted as preliminary remarks concerning the churches. This also would explain why the word μετα is used. It means both after and with, and not either/or. It is after seeing the first vision, and after writing the seven letters to the churches that John turns his focus to this, which is not a separate vision, but with the first two statements.

In this heavenly vision, we find it paralleling both Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1-2. The difficulty with this chapter for many is preconceived notions of what these symbolsmust mean, and often they can’t be tied to anything exactly. We see, just like in Isaiah 6, a throne, and angels singing holy, holy, holy. Just like in Ezekiel 1-2, we find the four living creatures, the throne “with the figure like a man”, the throne like sapphire, light surrounding the throne “like a rainbow”, and when adding Revelation 5:1, the scroll with “writing on both sides”. The two visions in the Old Testament by these prophets are the same thing that John is seeing, but the details given in each of these visions are distinct from one another.

From verse 1, we see an entrance into a new scene. There is a door in heaven, and it seems most logical to conclude that John is outside of this door until being beckoned inside.

The throne is the Ark of the Covenant. Others who saw the throne are found in 1 Kings 22:19, Isaiah 6:1, Ezekiel 1:26, Psalm 47:8, and Daniel 7:9. See Psalm 18:6, 10, 80:1, 99:1, Micah 1:2, Habakkuk 2:20, Exodus 25:22, Numbers 7:89, 1 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 6:2, and Isaiah 37:16 as evidence that the Ark of the Covenant is the throne of God. Therefore, the throne room here in Revelation 4 is the Holy of Holies. See Hebrews 8:5. This also brings new meaning to Hebrews 4:16 and 10:19-22. When we come before God in prayer, entering into His presence, we are entering into this scene.

In Revelation 4:3 we read of the one sitting having the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and the throne being encircled by a rainbow. Ezekiel 1:26-28 reads, “Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.” We see later (21:11) that the City of God is described as shining like jasper and crystal (carnelian) also.

In verse 4, we read of these twenty-four other thrones and seated upon them are twenty-four elders. These are representative of the twenty-four priestly families (see 1 Chronicles 24). It is strange that this is here ‘interrupting’ the view of the throne (which is taken up again in verse 5). Also, you would assume the four creatures are explained first, for they are closer to the throne and their worship is what promulgates the worship of the twenty-four elders. The fact that these most likely represent priesthood – the white robes and crowns already explained in notes on 3:5 and 2:10 – would imply that the supposed interruption is in view of 3:21. “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Somehow these ‘thrones’ are distinct, and yet they must be mentioned together with God’s throne – compare Daniel 7:9 and Revelation 20:4.

For the “peals of lightning, voices of thunder, and thunderings” in verse 5, compare Ezekiel 1:13, Psalm 77:18, and John 37:4. The seven lamps and the seven spirits of God are explained in Revelation 1:20, 3:1, and 1:12. In Solomon’s temple there are ten freestanding lamps (1 Kings 7:49). However, there is also high likelihood that these are representing the menorah.

The “sea of glass” in verse 6 is possibly the washing basin outside of the Tabernacle, but there was also “The Sea” in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 7:23-26). Also see Psalm 104:3, that God sits upon many waters. The “living creatures” are cherubim, and we find the four of them in Ezekiel 1:22, 26, and Ezekiel 10 recognizes them as cherubs. Note that in Ezekiel credits these cherubs as being “under the throne”, but we cannot interpret the Greek in Revelation 4 to meaning under the throne. It means “in the midst” of the throne. Why are the creatures in the midst of the throne here when elsewhere they are described as “around” the throne? John is pulling from 1 Kings 6:27 and 8:6-7. There were two cherubim on the top of the mercy seat and two more “overshadowing” the Ark. The covering of eyes in front and back can be traced to Ezekiel 1:18 and 10:12.

Verse 7 is a four-lined stanza, each line beginning with και (and). In Ezekiel 1:10, the man comes first, not third, but other than that, the order is the same.

In verse 8, John modifies the cherubim into what Isaiah calls “seraphim”. In this, I assume that John is gathering imagery to explain the scene and press the point: he is in the Heavenly Temple, before the Throne, in the Holy of Holies.

Verse 9 is interesting to note the praise of the elders in 10-11 is whenever the living creatures praise. Yet, in verse 8, the living creatures are praising God “continually” (NIV translates as ‘day and night’). This is difficult to reconcile, but the possibility is that the elders are always at the disposition of worship before God, even when they are performing some other work. Compare their praise to Daniel 4:34. The phrase “who lives forever and ever” is repeated in verse 10, 10:6, and 15:7. See Deuteronomy 32:40 and Daniel 12:7.

In verse 10, the twenty-four elders have already been noted to correlate with 1 Chronicles 24. Examine Isaiah 24:23, “The Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before its elders, gloriously.” Here is what we know about these elders:

• 1) They sit on 24 thrones around God’s throne (4:4, 11:16)

• 2) They wear crowns of gold and white garments (4:4)

• 3) They are called πρεσβθτεροι – twenty four in number

• 4) They occupy these thrones presently, not at the end of the age.

• 5) The seer addresses one of them as κθριε (lord) (7:13)

• 6) They act as interpreting angels (7:13-14)

• 7) They have a priestly function in presenting the prayers of the faithful to God in golden bowls (8:5)

• 8) They encourage John when he beholds the inhabitants of heaven (5:5)

• 9) They hold the office of praising God by singing and playing the harp (5:8, 14, 11:16, 19:4)

From these characteristics, we glean that they cannot be men, must be angels. They act as interpreting angels, and unless we say that all messengers of God are human – prophets or glorified saints – we cannot then conclude that these are people. Sorry to the dispensationalist; the rapture didn’t happen. Also, their sitting on thrones prior to the eschaton speaks against them being saints, for the saints receive their reward at the coming of Messiah (22:12). The chief priests were designated “princes of God” in 1 Chronicles 24:5. It is possible that these are angelic counterparts to the twenty-four priestly elders – see note on 1:4 and 1:20. In 1 Chronicles 25:9-39, we find twenty-four orders of Levitical singers as well.

For the phrase “glory and honor and power”, see 1 Chronicles 16:27-28. “For you willed they existed, and were created”; compare this to Psalm 148:5, “For he commanded and they were created.” This seems backward. God had conceived, and therefore created. He thought through what would exist, and then made it physical reality. This could be a verse used to support the eternal existence of the soul, but it wouldn’t be a wise choice to do so. The verse itself doesn’t imply eternality of the soul, but merely conceptions in the mind of God before the creation of the world.

Thus, when we view this scene in chapter 4, we see John taken up from the world and given a seat in heaven to behold the rest of the vision. We see the beginning of God’s ultimate purposes for humanity and history is His glory. In Revelation 1, we saw the glory of God revealed in the Son, and now we see the glory of God in the Father (the Son to be revealed as the Lamb slain in chapter 5), and at the end of Revelations, we find them both sitting upon the throne together in the City of God. The beginning and end is the glory of God, and not the journey to get there. If God is glorified and glorious before we see the end time prophecies, and He is glorified and glorious after the end time prophecies, then He is glorified and glorious in the midst of the prophecies. While it seems as though all hell is breaking out upon the earth, God is still upon the throne, and there is not one detail that falls through the cracks. He is in control of all, not surprised at all, and in all things reveals His absolute sovereignty – even in the midst of displaying the freewill of men to reject Him and curse Him.

This is the God we serve, and it is sobering to consider that when I come before Him, I don’t merely stand before a big party table. I stand before a throne of glory, with angels and elders all around giving praise and homage unto the King of glory. This is sobering, but at the same time exciting. Please, if there is anything that you can take from this, take away that when we pray, we are to show the proper respect that God deserves. Yes, he is our Father – Abba – but no, He is not our “daddy”. He is still God, and if you or I were to behold even partially this glorious sight, we would never again have the thought to simply come before Him with our vain requests of blessings and giving us our desires.

On Interpreting the Prophetic Scriptures

*Disclaimer: This is a rant about they who have studied the prophetic texts and actively try to teach them*

I am extremely zealous over this. I spend a lot of time in the prophetic texts of the Bible, and a lot of time reading various opinions on these texts. Something I’ve noticed is rampant is that the prophetic texts – especially the ones full of symbolism – are used to say whatever the person wants it to say. I’ve seen far too often verses pulled completely out of context just so that certain false doctrines could continue to be presented.

I’ll give a couple examples.

The woman in the book of Revelations is Israel – not the Church. In chapter twelve, it is Israel that flees from the dragon. How do I know this? Look at the symbolism. She is standing on the moon, her face is like the sun, and the crown on her head has twelve stars. Go back to Genesis 37 and read of Joseph’s dream where the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow down to him. This is Israel. Jump forward in Revelations 12 to where the serpent chases her. Check the Greek in verse 6. She flees to the wilderness where they will take care of her for 1,260 days. Who are the they? It is the Church. How do I know this? Go later in chapter 12 to verses 13-17. These are further details of that flight into the wilderness. What happens? The earth swallows the flood – something that is looking back to Numbers 16 where Korah is swallowed by the earth. Korah is a type of Antichrist. Who swallows the water? It is the Church. How do I know? Look at verse 17. The result is that those who obey the commands of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus are persecuted. Who are they? That is the Church – something separate and distinct from the woman.

Lets look at the two witnesses. Who are they? People want to say that they are symbolic of the whole Church. What language is used to describe them? They are two olive trees and two lampstands. This is a direct translation from the Hebrew of Zechariah 4:11. These two in Zechariah 4:11 are Joshua and Zerubbabel. Joshua and Zerubbabel are types. What do I mean by type? A type is a pattern. God is foreshadowing through the prophetic words over these two men something larger that is to happen way in the future. These men will perform miraculous plagues. In Revelations 11:6, we see these plagues are likened to Elijah and Moses. Does that mean these two are Elijah and Moses? No. Elijah and Moses are being used as patterns. Just like Elijah and Moses brought about plagues against the kingdom of darkness (see Exodus 12:12), so these two men will also plague the kingdom of darkness.

Everything in the prophetic Scriptures form together. They aren’t independent symbols that we need to “figure out” so that we can become famous because we found hidden symbolism in the Bible. The Branch is spoken of by many of the prophets. Every time, it is a reference to the messiah. There is the ominous king of the north – sometimes defined by the Assyrian, sometimes by Babylon, sometimes by another enemy of Israel, and sometimes just a shadowy figure “from the north”. Every time, it seems like the prophecy extends beyond the person being spoken of to the Antichrist that will arise at the end of the age.

This is the way that you read prophetic Scripture. You compare Scripture with Scripture, prophet with prophet, vision with vision, prophecy with prophecy, and even story with story. Many times there are patterns in the stories of the Scripture. Amalekites tried to destroy Israel when they were walking around the desert in Exodus. Later, Saul is told to destroy the Amalekites and doesn’t kill Agag. This causes Samuel to weep through the night. We find in the book of Esther that Haman was an “Agagite” – a descendant of that king of Amalek. The Amalekites have the pattern of always seeking the destruction of Israel. That is a pattern set up in the Scripture.

It is incredibly important that we learn this. King Saul was anointed by God, and yet we find at the end of his life he is possessed by demons and seeking the counsel of a witch. We find that John calls Judas who betrayed Jesus the “son of perdition” – one who was entered by Satan to betray his friend. In Psalm 55:13-14, we find David use that same language about Saul – the companion and friend is the one who betrays him. In 2 Thessalonians, we find Paul call the Antichrist the “son of perdition” – the only other time in the New Testament that this phrase is being used. This is a pattern. These men are types and foreshadowing.

What is the point of all this? If we do not want to do the digging necessary to understand the prophetic texts, we should just keep our mouths shut. That isn’t to say that I have all of the correct interpretations, but to say that when we just make up interpretations that “sound good”, we really do more damage than help. It is more beneficial when I read or listen to someone who has done their homework and they challenge my view biblically than when I’m talking to an internet infidel who doesn’t know that the prophetic words intertwine.

Is it a Goat or a Demon?

Browsing through Leviticus, I came across chapter 17 where God tells the Israelites not to eat blood. Now, it is interesting that in the letter to the Gentiles, the Jerusalem church tells them that this is one of the laws that they cannot break. Circumcision – whatever – but do not eat/drink blood. Before we reach this command in verse 10, we find verses 1-9 speaking of how the people must offer their sacrifices to the Lord at the Tent of Meeting, and not outside of the camp.

But there is something fascinating that happens in verse 7. “They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat demons to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for generations to come.”

Wait… What?

What is a goat demon? The Hebrew word is se’irim, which simply means “hairy one”. It is used in 2 Chronicles 11:15 and Isaiah 13:21 as well. Sometimes it is translated as goat. Sometimes it is translated as Satyr. Sometimes it is simply translated as “baboon”.Some have thought that maybe these se’irim are false gods in Egypt that were “blood thirsty”, and God is saying “Don’t you indulge in that.” What in the world is going on here?

There is this weird connection between offering to the goat demon, and eating the blood. God says don’t eat blood, because the life is in the blood. When we examine Acts 15:29, we find that the things mentioned to the Gentile believers to abstain from are the very things that were used at times to worship false gods. Do not eat sacrifices offered to idols. Do not eat the meat of strangled animals. Abstain from sexual immorality. Sandwiched in the middle is this command to not eat blood. So, it seems likely that this is indeed one of those things that would have been performed as a ritual when sacrificing to a certain false deity.

Jump ahead to 1 Corinthians. Paul is talking to these believers, and he says to them “about eating food sacrificed to idols…” that “food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” Then, to top it off, Paul says, “If anyone… sees you… eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.” This dialogue is found in 1 Corinthians 8.

Jump ahead in 1 Corinthians to chapter 10. Paul makes the statement to “flee from idolatry”, and then wraps that intimately with communion. Then, if that weren’t confusing enough, he flips the subject around and says, “Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean that sacrifices offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.”

What just happened? One minute Paul seems to say that it isn’t a big deal to eat of the sacrifices offered to demons – which is deliberately against what the Jerusalem counsel said – and then in chapter 10 it seems like he starts back-peddling. Might I suggest that what is being expressed is bigger than just meat offered to idols? The whole point isn’t about the meat, nor about the idols. The point goes beyond this to a deeper truth. It is about what the communion itself means.

Communion with the Lord is about marriage to God. When the Jewish people would become “engaged” (truthfully, the courtship of the ancient Israelites was much more than what we would call engagement), the father would go with his son to the woman’s home. They would speak to the father of the woman, and they would try to work out a marriage pact. Then, at the end of it all, the son would take a cup and fill it with wine. He would say over the cup, “This is my blood of the covenant. Take and drink of it.” The daughter will then have an option: take the cup and accept marriage with God, or politely decline. When we take of the cup of the Lord, we are committing ourselves to marriage with Him. Jump back to Leviticus 17. Notice the language is about harlotry when the Israelites would offer to this “goat demon”.

We have before us two tables. There is the table of the Lord, which is a covenant between God and His people of marriage with them. Then, there is the table of demons, which is a covenant with death and hell solemnly sworn against the Lord.

To the table of the Lord, we find verses like Genesis 14:18, where Melchizedek brings wine and bread to break with Abraham. We find Psalm 78:19, where God spreads a table in the wilderness for Israel. We find in Mark 8:4, where the disciples ask Jesus, “Where will we get enough bread to feed all these people in this remote place?” In Ezekiel 20:35, the prophet speaks of a time still yet in the future when Israel would be scattered into the wilderness of the nations and sup with God face-to-face. Revelation 12:6 speaks of a time where the woman (Israel) flees into the wilderness to a place that God has prepared to take care of her for 1,260 – another prophecy that is most likely future. It is spoken of this communion that unless you eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood, you cannot be His disciple.

Then there is another table. There is a contrast. Psalm 14:4 speaks of evil doers who “devour my people as men eat bread”. Jeremiah 10:25 prophecies of a wrath to be poured out on all the nations and people who “have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland.” But the most blatant of all these Scriptures is in Micah 3. “Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh in the pot?”

What is the point? There is somehow a direct connection between taking the meat sacrificed to idols – joining in the table of demons – and devouring the people of the Lord. There are few things that God says He will cut the people off for. This is one. Another is the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. Thirdly there is taking the mark of the beast. I believe that all three of these are connected deeply and intimately. Notice Matthew 12:28 that Jesus compares the Spirit of God with the kingdom of God – “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Then, Jesus goes on to express that the strong man – Satan – must be bound in order for the Kingdom of God to come. Then, Jesus goes back to the subject of the Spirit of God by saying those who blaspheme the Spirit of God will not be forgiven. Why? Because the Spirit of God is the one that is casting out the kingdom of darkness. The Spirit is being likened to the kingdom of God. To say that the work of the Spirit is actually the work of Satan is the ultimate affront.

The book of Revelations contrasts the seal of the 144,000 with the mark of the beast. To one, the mark of God is put upon their forehead. To the other, it is the mark of the beast upon the forehead. What is the difference? They who see the antichrist and will actually claim this man is God is to equate the kingdom of God with the kingdom of darkness. It is the same as they who blaspheme the Spirit – which is the same as they who will feast at the table of demons. Look at Luke 11:20. The same verse in Matthew 12 that compares the Spirit of God with the kingdom of God is said in Luke 11:10 “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

This phrase is found in Exodus 8:19. The Egyptians see the plagues as the “finger of God”. What is happening? The contrast is being made: Egypt or Israel? Goat demons or Jehovah? The Spirit of God or the false miracles performed by the false prophet? Jesus or the Antichrist? The kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness? Which do you choose?

A Word on the Two Witnesses

In Revelation 11, we find these “two witnesses” that have both puzzled and fascinated many scholars and Bible students through the centuries. Some want to know who they are, and others want to symbolize them away. What is most fascinating about them is that they “have the power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.”

Before we get to this, lets do a small amount of background. We read in Revelation 11:4 that these “two witnesses” are the “two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth”. Now, this is important for two reasons. First, it is important to know that the lampstands in the book of Revelation are symbolic of the churches (Rev 1:20). Second it is a direct link to call us back to Zechariah 4. In Zechariah 4, we find these “two olive trees” next to a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. No doubt the book of Revelation is looking back to this in Revelation 1:20 with the lamps and the “stars”.

Who are these two olive trees? The context of the vision here begins in Zechariah 2, however, we find that the answer is given when combining chapters 3 and 4 of Zechariah. One of the olive trees is Joshua the High Priest. The other is Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel. These two men are key in the restoration of the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem when Israel came back after the exile. Yet, they are also symbolic of something beyond them. Zerubbabel is the descendant of Jehoiachin – the same king of Israel that Jeremiah claimed was cursed and wouldn’t ever have someone to sit upon his throne (Jer 22:24-30). Now, this Zerubbabel is symbolic of the Messiah, because according to the word of Haggai, he is the one who is the signet ring of God, the chosen one (Hag 2:23). Christ Jesus comes from the lineage of Zerubbabel (Mat 1:12). Joshuah is the High Priest, and is symbolic “symbolic of men to come” (Zech 3:8). It is Joshua who is called “the branch”, which is once again a messianic title in the prophetic Scriptures. Thus, we have both Joshua and Zerubbabel as symbols of the Messiah – one as High Priest, and the other as King of Israel.

Now, for John to be referencing these two men, the “olive trees”, and for him to put them in the future as two literal men that are to be coming into Jerusalem to prophesy for 1,260 days is significant. What exactly is John getting at that these two messianic figures are supposed to be two literal people that are not the Messiah? The answer is found in Zechariah 4, where we see that though Joshua and Zerubbabel are considered messianic figures, the two olive trees are specifically considered “the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth” (Zech 4:14). Though they are symbolically messianic, they are still two real people.

Now, when we see in Revelation 11 that these two men have the power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want, we instantly should think of Moses. Likewise, when we read that they have the power to shut off the heavens so that it doesn’t rain during the time of their prophesying, we should think of Elijah. John is being purposeful here, because these men are symbolic as much as they are literal people. There is something about Moses and Elijah that we find in no one else through all of Scripture: they were given authority over even the elements of nature. But the question isn’t what, the question is why?

Every plague that Moses sent upon Egypt was against a god of Egypt. Khnum was the god of the Nile River, the guardian if you will, and thus the first plague was to turn the Nile to blood. Osiris was the god of the underworld, and the Nile was the “bloodstream” to the underworld. The Egyptians would have wondered where the goddess Tauret was, the goddess of the river, or where Nu, the god of life in the Nile, was trapped to allow such a thing to occur. The frogs were considered the theophany of the goddess Heqt, the wife of the creator of the world. Heqt was depicted as with the head and body of a frog. The “lice”, or “fleas” that came from the dust of the earth would have been an insult against the god “Geb”, the great god of the earth. The “swarms of flies” is actually missing the word “of flies” in the Hebrew, and thus we see the plague of “swarms”. It is most likely that it was swarms of scarab beetles, the god Amon-Ra being depicted with the head of a scarab beetle.

All of the plagues were directed against the gods of Egypt. But still, the question can be asked, “Why?” The gods are representatives of the principalities and powers. The principalities are demonic forces that influence government, society, culture, and every kind of system – whether educational, religious, governmental or otherwise. They rule and influence through the worship of these “powers” that they manipulate and claim to represent. The powers are these forces of nature that are beyond the control of humanity, but the principalities are somehow manipulating humanity into worshiping them as if they have the absolute control and authority over the rain, harvest, sun, and other aspects of worship through the millennia.

So what about Elijah? Elijah claimed there would not be rain nor dew except by his word. Elijah was speaking this to the king, but speaking past the king into the heavenly realms. The god Baal was the god of prosperity, but he was considered the god over the rain and harvest. So for Elijah to stop up the heavens, he is challenging the authority of Baal, and also showing that it is not by worshiping Baal that we will receive prosperity. Through the drought, Elijah would have bankrupted the whole country, not only of money, but also of faith in a false Baal system.

These plagues, though being manifest upon the earth in physical form, are actually somehow going past the physical and plaguing the kingdom of darkness. So, when we get to Revelation 11, we find that these two witnesses are men that somehow are able to see past the physical and into the spiritual. They see the worship of these false gods – even if we claim that we aren’t worshiping any gods. To follow the Antichrist is to worship him as god. We might call science our god (or emphatically say that it isn’t, yet still give it our every waking moment and devotion). We might claim sports as our god. We might claim education as god. Or maybe our society would worship sex and fertility. Yet, even though our society would say that these aren’t gods, we are serving the same old false gods of the Old Testament. In that, we find that the principalities and powers are still very much in control.

Elijah and Moses are referenced in Revelation 11:6 because these two prophets alone have stories of plaguing the earth, and yet somehow they weren’t merely “plaguing the earth”. The point being made with the two witnesses is that these men will have the authority to challenge the whole Antichrist system to its core – which is to say, to blow the whistle on the lie and unmask the principalities and powers. These men are still a curiosity to me, but I find that in this understanding, a lot more makes sense as to what is happening around this passage. The whole point of the two witnesses, their primary purposes and call in God, is to be a Moses and Elijah in their generation to unveiling the kingdom of darkness, and to make full exposure of their bankruptcy.

The reason this applies to all of us today is that we are supposed to be a prophetic people of that caliber. As the Body of Christ, we are to have the discernment and authority to plague the kingdom of darkness, and therefore expose the lie that many – even Christians – continue to live in support of day after day. The answer to many of the cultural agendas that are anti-religion and anti-god is not some sort of political movement, but instead to recognize the principalities that are at play behind those agendas, and to then uproot them through the use of the authority of God given to the saints. This is not a delegation to “call down fire”, but rather to take up the task of seeing the heavenly realities over our localities and nations, and to therefore war against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Israel's Purpose and Destiny

I have previously posted the question, "Is Current Israel under Blessing or Curse?" In it, I explored what the Scripture has to say about Israel's final redemption. No, I do not believe that Israel has come to that final redemption, as mentioned in Amos 9, but that in no way would give us reason to oppose Israel or the Jewish people. In this post, I want to further the thought by asking what is Israel's ultimate purpose? I think that this might be a key component to better understanding both Scripture as well as our place as the Gentiles that have been grafted into (but not replaced) Israel.

There are four main roots that I think many of the modern day heresies and fads come from. When we readjust our perception of these four roots, everything else in Scripture seems to come alive. The four roots are an inadequate understanding of the Kingdom of God, the heart of God, the principalities and powers, and Israel’s purpose. God has given us a plumb line unto which everything else must measure up. If our understanding does not measure up to embrace all of Scripture, then the issue is not with our understanding. The issue lies at the foundation. That foundation is ultimately Christ. Yet, we come to more fully perceive Christ when we better understand the backdrop of the Old Testament, and we can better understand the progression of God's Scripture.

It is said in Zechariah 2:8 that “whoever touches you (Israel) touches the apple of my eye.” That Hebrew word translated ‘apple’ is more properly translated as the pupil of the eye. When we mess with Israel, even in our doctrine, we are poking fingers into the very pupil of the eye of God. He takes His covenant with Israel extremely seriously. I would even venture to say that if we don’t know Christ Jesus as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then we don’t have a solid understanding of Christ.

God’s purposes with Israel might be one of the most controversial subjects in Christendom. On the one side of the spectrum are they that teach the church has replaced Israel. On the other side are those that are so Zionist that you could not tell them that Israel is in error. In between these two opinions are many varieties of beliefs, almost none of them being biblical. Our approach to Israel as Christians seems to be based on one of two things: arrogance or sentimentality. We either have great arrogance in claiming they are cast aside and we have replaced them, or we have only the most questionable sentimentality. 

Those who have only sentimentality to Israel will not even consider the possibility of another exile. These are the same people that when you try to explain that they will be uprooted from the Land and we will take them in as refugees, they want to play the rapture card. “Well, you can stay if you want to, but I’m getting out of here!” This kind of statement really shows precisely how loveless and non-biblical so many ‘saints’ truly are. Though they have the Bible and every possibility to reason and understand and love, they instead choose convenience.

We don’t get to choose whether we stay or we go. Either we will all stay, or we will all go. The question that truly needs to be asked is our willingness to stay through the Tribulation. Are we willing to endure suffering at the hands of men – possibly even Jewish men – for the glory and purposes of God? Are we willing to, for love’s sake, put ourselves in a place of danger? If the answer to those questions is no, then there is absolutely no amount of reasoning that I can perform to convince you of God’s eternal plans and our place in those plans. But for those that are willing to lay down their lives and live in a manner that would display love and truth to an entire nation, there is still hope that we might be able to come to reasonable conclusions together.

Nothing more shows the core of who God is than His plans concerning Israel. Some have called this ‘the mystery of Israel.’ I’m not sure that Israel’s role in eschatology is a part of that mystery, as some claim, but instead the mystery is simply found in the scandal of a God that would choose one nation over all others. When we can understand that mystery, it makes a lot more sense as to why God would use words like, “election.” Election doesn’t necessarily have only to do with ‘national Israel.’ It has to do with the people of God, foreknown from before the beginning of time. During the Millennial reign of Christ, and during the New Heaven and New Earth, there appear to be a people that are outside of that choosing, yet are not destroyed in the Judgment of Christ.

This issue is the issue of nations. God doesn’t destroy all nations. Nor does He cast all people into the lake of fire. There are those nations and people that do indeed get cast into the lake of fire, but how can we reconcile the notion of a people outside of election that are still able to come up and worship God? This is part of the mystery. It comes down to a few subjects that we’ll look at: covenant, centrality of Israel, and God’s nation. These three factors help us to better understand what it is that we’re looking at.

Covenant

God has revealed His covenant progressively. The first statement of it is in Genesis 3:15 – that a man will rise from the seed of the woman to crush the serpent’s head. From that initial statement, we don’t really gather a whole lot of information. We certainly don’t gather a bunch of messianic prophecy about a “greater than David” and how the messiah must be a priest and a king, and how Jesus will come twice, etc. Actually, the covenant made with Israel unfolds. It starts with a promise of a man to come that will crush a serpent’s head, and then eventually evolves into an eternal covenant that will be the redemption of all of creation.

I have absolutely no problem with saying that God had foreordained such a plan of salvation. We just don’t find the full statement and revelation of such a cosmic plan at the inception of Genesis. It progresses from that first statement to a promise that Canaan will be a slave to Japheth and Shem, and that Japheth will enter the tents of Shem (Genesis 9:25-27). It is after the incident at Babel, in the plains of Shinar, that God calls a man out of all nations in order to bless all nations (Genesis 12:3). That covenant is reiterated to Abram in Genesis 15:1-21, but the details are added that Abram’s offspring will inherit the land from the Nile to the Euphrates. That promise has yet to be fulfilled.

Now, before we go forward in the progression, lets deal with an issue. Paul quotes the promise given to Abraham. He mention that the word used for seed is singular, and not plural. This is a hint of one single man, Christ, that would be the seed of Abraham. We cannot take this knowledge and trade it for the whole progression of Scripture, though. The Jewish people today can equally claim that the wording represents Isaac, and not Ishmael. Yes, there is something to this, but no, the promise of Abraham was not solely for Christ. That is not to say that those with Jacob’s blood in them are saved according to the flesh. What it is saying is that we need to be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Once again, the statement of “through your seed” is given in Genesis 22:18. The context of the statement is in God’s provision of the lamb instead of Isaac as sacrifice. When we take this to mean that Israel has been replaced, we err in being terrible exegetes of Scripture. The statement is still resonating the fact that “God will provide a Lamb.” This is actually the heart of the covenant. From before Israel, and before Abraham, God established this covenant. It is an eternal covenant about a God that provides a Lamb.

The covenant is an eternal covenant. The eternal covenant is not solely with Israel, but with all nations. God has chosen a specific people for Him to put His name upon, and all other nations must come unto them in order to worship the Lord. The covenant unfolds throughout the Scripture gaining more and more detail, until finally it culminates in the man Christ Jesus – the true Israel and firstfruit from the dead. When Israel was given the promises of being called the firstborn of God (Exodus 4:22), we find the New Testament writers referring to Jesus as God’s only begotten Son.

How is it that God can make a statement about Israel being His son, but then that title is given exclusively to Jesus in the New Testament? It comes down to the mystery of Israel, which is the mystery of Christ. In the book of Isaiah from chapter 40 onward for about 15 chapters we read about a servant of the Lord. This servant is the Messiah in some places, but is clearly spoken of as Israel in other places. What is being communicated is: As with Israel, so with Messiah; as with Messiah, so with Israel. The Gospel of Matthew also communicates this.

We find in Matthew the “prophecy” that, “Out of Egypt I call my son…” Read Hosea. That isn’t a prophecy; it is a statement. The statement isn’t even a messianic statement. It is referring to Israel being delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. How can Matthew make such a big blunder? As with Israel, so with Messiah. The Gospel of Matthew continues that theme all the way through. Jesus comes out of Egypt, gets baptized in the Jordan (symbolic of Israel crossing the Red Sea), and is led into the wilderness for 40 days (Israel wandering for 40 years). At the beginning of Matthew 5, Jesus goes up onto a “mountain” to speak to His followers. This is reminiscent of Moses upon Mount Sinai.

The corporate Israel is made manifest in the man Jesus Christ. He is the true Israel that fulfilled all of the purposes of Israel. However, there is a flip side to that coin: as with Messiah, so with Israel. As Jesus fulfilled perfectly all of the commands of the Lord concerning Israel, so too must Israel do. God awaits a time reserved when He will establish His King upon the earth for 1000 years that Israel will finally come into her purpose: to be a corporate demonstration of Jesus. As the Body of Christ, we have this mandate. We have this mandate to be Jesus unto the Jewish people. They will have the mandate to be Jesus unto the nations, for “You will be a Kingdom of priests, and a holy nation,” Exodus 19:6.

Though the covenant was progressively revealed through the Old Testament, it was ever and always the eternal covenant (Jesus slain before the foundation of the world). Israel rejected that covenant at Sinai, and placed Moses as their mediator in exchange for personal relationship of God. Because of that exchange, the nation forfeited for a season their call to be the priestly nation as God had intended. This is why the prophets call the eternal covenant “a new thing” and “a new covenant.” It isn’t so much that it is a “new covenant” as it is the eternal covenant rejected at Sinai. Instead, they embraced a covenant that could be performed. This is why it is said by the religious leaders of that new wine, “The old is good enough,” Luke 5:39.

It is according to the covenant made with God at Sinai that Israel’s destiny hinges upon. God still holds them accountable to that covenant, though the Gentiles have not been placed under such a covenant. It is said in Deuteronomy 4:1, “Follow them (the decrees and laws) so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land…” Israel has been given the land promised to Abraham, but not that full amount promised in Genesis 15:18. That Land is to be inherited only. Israel cannot come into possession of that Land by coercion or military power. Because the Land must be inherited, for Israel to remain in that Land they must remain faithful to the Lord their God. If they don’t remain faithful, they don’t remain in the Land.

It was said in Deuteronomy 6:25 that the obedience to the Law is considered their righteousness. Where Paul has said that we cannot be saved through works, God seems to be indicating that they can be saved by works. However, Paul is actually expressing the fullness of this text. It is not the works of the Law that make them righteous, but the faith behind those works. In remaining faithful to God, which is to continue to put their faith and confidence in Him throughout all generations, their works are considered righteous. This is why God continues by saying, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God,” Deuteronomy 11:26-28.

The blessing does not come when Israel upholds the Law, but when they live by faith. The curse does not come with disobedience to the Law, but when they reject the Lord their God. The two are connected in a way that cannot be separated. Ultimately, Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. He is our offering and sacrifice. He was the anointed unleavened bread of Truth to be offered as our meal offering. He is our peace offering – that through Him we have peace with God. He is our sin offering, that if we sin, we have propitiation (1 John 2:1). He is our Passover Lamb. He is the drink offering, of which we can take and say, “This is His blood…” He is the fulfillment of the 613 laws outside of the Ten Commandments, including the dietary laws. It is in Christ and through Christ - specifically faith in Him that leads to good works (James 2:14-24) - that we, and Israel, are to keep the Law.

The Law is not something that is a burden to fulfill as believers because Christ is our fulfillment. It is apart from faith in Christ that the Law becomes impossible. This is the eternal covenant. We have stepped into this reality as Christians – something that Israel has yet to do nationally. That is why the command is given through Paul that we are to “drive the Jew to jealousy,” Romans 11:11. This is almost a parallel of the statement made by Moses, “I will make you envious by a people that are not a people; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding,” Deuteronomy 32:21.

How is it that Gentiles, they that were despised by the Jews, are the ones to live in the promises and blessings given to them? It is a Divine revelation of the character of God. He will go that far, to cut off the natural branches and engraft wild branches, in order to call the nation of Israel to repentance. While we’ve been content to live beneath the glory of God, Israel continues to be unmoved and not jealous. God has established the covenant with Israel so that He might use them as a nation to all the other nations. Our call is to be a people that are no people – a pariah.

By being slapdash saints we rob God. Our purpose and calling is to be nobodies. But we have the same complex that Israel had: we want to be like all the other nations. We want to be somebodies. Are you willing to take up the purposes of God for the sake of a greater reward in the next life? This cuts to the heart of every grumbling. We don’t expect to be somebody. Instead, we are content in all things. It is for the lack of understanding this mystery that even the church has been quite flabby. We are unchallenged and bored.

What might actually be the solution is the very thing we have refused to consider: we are to be a priesthood to Israel so that they might be a priesthood to the nations. Instead of embracing this calling, we have coveted their calling. We want to be the big dogs. Maybe the parable of Jesus speaking of the prodigal son is more literally true than we know. The elder brother that has always been with the father says, “I have slaved in your household for all these years…” He refuses to celebrate with the father because he thinks he is lacking in reward for his “enslavement.” Who among us are exact replicas of that elder brother? Who among us don’t want to even consider playing second fiddle, even though we’re of Japheth, the elder? Is not all righteousness performed in submitting as the elder under the younger? Has God not said that the least shall be the greatest?

Center of nations

Ezekiel 5:5 says, “This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.” I believe that the King James translates it as “set in the midst…” The Hebrew word speaks of “the middle.” Why is it that preachers insist on the ‘fact’ that “God’s not interested in real estate?” That isn’t what God says. He is very interested in this particular Land. He has even established that it should be the center of all nations. This is the pupil of God’s eye, at the center of all nations, to be a priestly nation to the nations.

God has chosen a specific place (Zion) for His rule. The classic chapter for blessings and curses, Deuteronomy 28, begins with the verse, “The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” From there, it is reaffirmed that “the Lord will make you the head, and not the tail,” Deuteronomy 28:13. These are promises of God, and the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Deuteronomy 32:8-9 doesn’t just imply, but blatantly states, “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.”

I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard this expounded. The very statement itself seems to drive something deep within me to repulsion. Would God be that specific? Would He truly set up the boundaries of the nations according to the sons of Israel? What does that even mean? It has been decreed that God would make Israel a priesthood. They are to show the nations the ways of the Lord. They are to separate the precious from the vile. It has been said in the prophets, and it is true unto this day, “Like priest, like people.” When Israel is disobedient to their God, the nations are disobedient and do not consider.

For God to redeem Israel is for Him to redeem the nations. There is something interwoven between Israel and the nations that shouldn’t be lightly disregarded. The way that Israel acts and interacts with the nations actually affects those nations. When she is a whore, the nations blaspheme the name of God. This is why it says in Ezekiel over and over that Israel has “blasphemed my name.” Even if there is not a technical blaspheming of God’s name by Israel, the very fact that they are causing the nations to blaspheme Him is likened unto the same thing in God’s sight.

We looked earlier at how Israel is called God's firstborn in Exodus 4, and then the New Testament exclusively gives that title to Jesus. I want to give a thought for consideration. This is not a "thus saith the Lord," but only an inclination. I am coming more to being convinced that Israel is God's firstborn son as a nation. Christ is the God-Man. He is also the Israel-Man. We find in Christ Jesus the fullness of God, but also the fullness of who Israel is called to be. But in regard to the nations, and not simply individuals, God still calls Israel His firstborn son. When that nation has come unto salvation in Christ Jesus, and they are walking out their calling of being the priestly nation, all other nations, as nations, must look to Israel as their mediator. We have Christ as our mediator, and I don't want to speak something against that. But as nations, and not mere individuals, the nations cannot come to God without Israel being their mediator to God. Israel will fulfill the position of mediator through the redemption of Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is part of the marriage of the Lamb. "The two become one flesh." When there is that kind of unity of deity and humanity found in Israel, and the Church alongside her, the Bride of Christ is promoted (exalted) to ruling and reigning alongside of Christ - not under Him, but beside Him.

I don’t know that I have fully come to understand and appreciate what God has communicated in these quoted verses. There are too many possibilities for me to grasp what God has in store. Whatever is being communicated in God establishing Israel as the center of all nations, it is at the heart of Israel’s primary purpose. When we can come to understand that mystery, we have come to understand the whole of eschatology. So much is stored away hidden in God that we cannot begin to even fathom what this seed will blossom into. The mystery of Israel is the mystery of Christ. As Christ, so also Israel. The impact of that statement alone can give us depth and insight beyond what I’m personally able to communicate.

God’s nation among nations

To conclude, Israel’s purpose is to be God’s nation among all nations. Just as Satan has taken his pick and placed his name upon Babylon, God has called out one man from all nations to make him a nation. This is not simply a political state. When God gathers Israel the final time, He will gather all Israel. Any and all of the Jews that are scattered abroad will be brought back to that Land. It is more than a political state – it is God’s nation and statement.

This has a few implications: priesthood, theocracy, display of God’s character, and His witness unto the four corners of the earth. In this is the summary of Israel’s call. Books and volumes can be written on those subjects alone to further understand the depth and magnanimity of God’s calling. “For you are a people holy unto the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession,” Deuteronomy 7:6. “Listen to me my people; hear me, my nation,” Isaiah 51:4.

“Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?” Deuteronomy 4:34. God has chosen this particular people above every other people. In order for us to even come into the faith we must be grafted into that root (Romans 11:11-25). God is jealous over Israel, and if we are to bear His name, we also must be jealous over Israel.

Revelations - New Heaven and New Earth

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

³ And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

⁴ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

⁵ And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

⁶ And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

⁷ He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

⁹ And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

¹⁰ And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

¹¹ Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

¹² And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

¹³ On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

¹⁶ And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

¹⁷ And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

¹⁸ And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

¹⁹ And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

²⁰ The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

²² And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

²³ And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

²⁴ And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

²⁵ And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

²⁶ And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

²⁷ And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Revelation 21

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

² In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

³ And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

⁴ And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

⁵ And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

⁶ And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

⁷ Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Revelation 22:1-7

I went ahead and posted the whole scene. I cannot find a good place to end to pick back up again. The whole scene needs to be viewed before we can start to digest it. And it seems like there really isn’t even anything to be able to comment on, for the whole thing is epochal and graphic. This might actually be one of the most symbolic scenes in all of Scripture where the scholars debate how symbolic and how literal to take any of it. What the Spirit reveals is so glorious that the only way to communicate it to we that are mortal and on this side of eternity is through such symbolic and terse statements.

What shall we say about the city coming down as a bride? I can’t help but think back to Genesis 2, where the beginning of this age is commenced with a marriage between male and female. The beginning of the age to come is commenced with a marriage between what is earthly and what is heavenly. Heaven and earth have become one. I can almost view this as a coming down, as an act of sexual intimacy, to complete and consecrate the marriage and unification of those two opposites.

Just as Adam and Eve became one flesh – one new thing – so too does heaven and earth become one new thing. They abide together for eternity as one and not separate anymore. This is a metaphor given for the image of God. He created them in the beginning male and female. It is in the unity and coming together of those two opposites and distinct beings that we find the character of God revealed. It is in the unity and community of the saints that we are to display God to the world (John 13:35, 17:21).

God somehow brings down this bride from heaven. But we know that her formation was here in the earth. How else could it be adorned? The description of this bride is that her streets are clear as crystal and transparent gold. This is what makes it adorned: it is as holy as the bridegroom. This Jerusalem is called the holy city. The purity matches that of Jesus our Messiah. There is no shadow. There is nothing that would counter the character and purity of the God that will abide there forever – eternally for His dwelling.

If you can imagine that, then you will be willing to be transformed from image to image. You will be willing to undergo the scrutiny of the Spirit to search out the quality of our life. You will be willing to question the motives and the attitudes that we have – even when performing religious things like invoking the name of Jesus. Not a scintilla of that will remain. She is adorned for the bridegroom.

Can you imagine a gold that is refined so pure that you can see through it? There is such labor that we have to extenuate to even get 10 karat, 14 karat, or 24 karat. But we have never purified gold until it is translucent. This takes a Master refiner that knows how to work those elements beyond any conventional wisdom of mankind. Anything contrary to its essential character is rooted out and cast away. The word impeccable is not even appropriate for the context of what God is describing.

Why is it that we are given this description at all? If we cannot comprehend, then why even make a statement like this? And what is the purpose for saying that we will receive a blessing for simply reading and keeping this (Revelation 22:7)?

We must see it. We must know it from the beginning unto the end. At the beginning, we see a Garden with a river and a tree of life and purpose for humanity (that Adam would tend to the Garden). We come unto the end, and we see the same great symbols: a river of life, a tree of life, and we rule and reign with Christ forever. There is something about these symbols that need to be appropriately understood and handled. We cannot make these things cheap and/or cliché.

Notice that at the end, we find these same symbols, but will more detail. We find the river given the details that it issues from the Throne of God – pure, water of life, clear as crystal. The Tree of Life is said to give 12 different kinds of fruit, one for every month, and the leaves were used for the healing of the nations. To what extent are these the same things that were at the first? I think that these are indeed the exact same things. The only difference is that in these last expressions – when darkness has passed away, and heaven and earth are married – they are able to come to full representation and fruition.

Even the tree of life is given healing to the nations. What nations? I thought that no one made it to heaven without being “saved.” I thought we had to come into God’s Kingdom and be God’s people and confess Jesus Christ is Lord. I thought that we were all going to be under His rule. Why, then, are we seeing here that there will be nations? This is important to realize and understand. We will all be under the same rule and under the same Kingdom, but we will all be within our own nations.

God has established the nations. He has set up and ordained their borders. This is not something that God despises. God doesn’t despise the nations. He doesn’t have plans of being the God of one nation. He is the God of all nations. Remember all of those passages I brought up earlier. He is jealous to make Himself known to and through all nations. And here in eternity, the nations find healing. This is something that apparently could not even be accomplished during the Millennial Kingdom. It takes something that even transcends and exceeds the Millennium.

Verse 4 of Revelation 21, “He will wipe away all tears,” seems to invoke that there will be tribulation, suffering, and tears of the saints right up to the end. All the way to the consummation of the age, there are sorrows. And isn’t this how it seems to be in every deliverance since the Fall? Any time that God has delivered or revealed Himself has been precluded by suffering, tears, anguish, and/or darkness.

Think about the exodus from Egypt. The Israelites were oppressed severely, and their oppression worsened before they were cast out. But the Egyptians were judged. In the midst of the plagues that God sent upon Egypt, the Israelites continued to be blessed. So it will be at the end. This is the pattern of God. Darkness was even upon the face of the deep when the earth was first formed. It was out of that darkness, and from the midst of the darkness, that God brought order and light.

Our obtaining to the purity that this city has is intrinsic to our suffering. In on sense, we hope that we don’t have to suffer. We pray that God would allow us to endure fewer hardships. But from what wisdom comes that prayer? Is it out of the wisdom of God that would desire for us this kind of purity being described in Revelation 21? I think this might be why we read it and that reading brings a blessing. It reveals to us the glory that we are to obtain. In knowing the future glory, we can take and endure any tribulation and hardship and persecution as momentary and light.

We are not naïve. We know that the end will have pain. We know that we will suffer bitterness and tribulation. We know that we are to undergo severe suffering. Thus, the Christian faith does not avoid suffering, but embraces it. Because we know the outcome of such suffering brings refinement and purity and glory, we are given the ability and endurance to stand firm to the end.

And from where does out persecution come? Jesus says, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved,” Matthew 10:22. Why is it that the world hates us? It is because they are under the rule and power and deception of Satan. The governing spirit over them is demonic. What other option do they have? To love you is to love the God that sends you. But they don’t love the God who sends you. They have been blinded and lied to by the devil, and therefore they continue to despise the works of God instead of be drawn to them.

We read in verse 6, “It is done…” Maybe another way that we can translate this and understand is, “It is finished,” the same wording of our Lord on the cross. Nothing of the old remains. We teach that we are new creations. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation – the old man has passed away. On that day, we will experience something else that has been made new and the old has passed away. We are to be people of the resurrection. Our lives are to be constituted by resurrection. We really are supposed to be free from sin. Nothing of the old lifestyle remains. Our old mindsets and attitudes are being conformed to the mind of Christ. This is the testimony of every believer.

When I woke up the next morning after being saved, I found a new wisdom that I had never known. No one had to tell me that I was in the midst of a war between good and evil. No one had to tell me my enemy was not with flesh and blood but with Satan. No one had to tell me that purity is the only option. I knew it. God had revealed it through His Holy Spirit. The logic of this love was to live in community and have all things common with those around me. The logic of this life He had given me was to vehemently oppose anything and everything that I found within self that went against His command.

In that day we will find another newness. We have obtained unto resurrection life now. But in that day we will obtain unto eternal and heavenly life. It is one thing to be resurrected. It is another to be married to Christ. This marriage embodies heaven and earth becoming one. We can say that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. It is a completely different statement to say that we are one with heaven. An experience with heaven does not aggregate oneness with heaven. In the same way, an experience with my wife does not constitute oneness with her. There is something supernatural that must take place for that to happen.

It is under the wisdom of God that we are granted this. It is in verse 7 that we read, “He that overcomes will inherit all these things…” Our inheritance of these things is not based upon our merit. If we read 1 Corinthians 2:8, we find that Paul makes a fascinating statement: “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Satan could not comprehend the wisdom of God. He still can’t. It was in God’s wisdom that through suffering, His Son might be glorified. It is true for us as well. The very means of our sanctification to be adorned in this manner for the bridegroom comes from the demonic attacks that we will suffer and endure all around us.

Maybe this is why verse 8 follows with the reminder of those who have no place in it. Those who were only too quick to be instruments of these demonic attacks have no place here. Those who were too quick to gratify the flesh and the lusts of it have no place here. Those who reject suffering and do whatever means necessary to avoid suffering have no place here. Those who create torment and hell for others are cast into torment and hell for eternity. They rebelled against the redeeming calls of God – like Cain – that sin is at the door and it has a desire for you.

Why would we discredit this verse? It has to be just as grabbing to us as the glory that we see the Bride to be. We ought to view these things as abominable. It needs to probe our minds and deeply penetrate into our inner beings the severity of this claim. For them is the second death. For them is the lake of fire.

What do you make of this in verse 9 that the angel that bids John to come up and see the heavenly Jerusalem is one of the 7 that brought upon mankind the bowls of plague? Why are we told that? Is God short of angels? He needs this one that has already performed something to perform something else? Or could it be that because this angel has poured out judgment upon humanity, it is given the grace to reveal the city to John?

I think it is the latter instead of the former. Because this angel has done the painful thing and not withheld himself from pouring out God’s wrath upon mankind, he is now given the privilege of taking John up onto the mountain to reveal the city of God. You know what this speaks to me? It would appear as though if we are called to speak hard words, then we are to be faithful to the uttermost. If we are called to speak the judgments of God, then we should not blush and candy coat. If we are willing to give the hard words and the words of judgment when called upon, then we will receive a reward given only to those that speak such a word. But as soon as I say this, I feel the need to also say that we cannot be overly harsh or strike with our words more than called upon to do so, for God has judged the nations because of that very thing.

It is at this point that we can discuss the question of what it means to “come down out of heaven.” Is that a geographical location? Is it north? Is it above the earth? Is it literal or is it metaphoric? I think it comes back to the idea of translucence. This purity that is obtained is obtained in heaven. Heaven is not to be taken as some place that we are called up to being in, but rather a lifestyle that we are called to living in. We are called to obedience unto God, within fellowship of the saints, suffering trials and tribulation, not cursing God, finding freedom and joy in this life, and being consecrated unto God in the various thing in which we find ourselves doing. That is heaven.

I don’t mean to reject a literal interpretation. It might very well be a literal coming down from heaven above. What I mean to stand upon and promote is that this purity that we obtain is not somewhere outside of the earth, but instead within the earth. As Leonard Ravenhill used to say, “This life is a dressing room for eternity; that is all it is.” Though we might obtain such things in heaven, it is not outside of the earth, but within the earth. It is in the here and now that we obtain our purity. It is through our present trials and tribulations, not some sort of later purification between the judgment and heaven.

It is as Paul reports. When we are judged, we are tried by fire. Anything built with hay, wood, or stubble is burnt up. Anything built from gold, silver, or precious stones remains. Jesus told us that if our right hand causes us to sin t cut it off, “For it is better to go into heaven maimed than to go into hell whole.” I think that any kind of purification between judgment and eternity will only be a cutting off and casting away. It will not be a refinement. There is no longer opportunity to be refined; there is only severing.

This all goes back to God’s rule and reign. Adam needed a helper. He couldn’t tend to the Garden alone. It was too great a task for him. And so it is with God that He will not rule and reign alone, but with a bride as a helper. Unlike Adam, He is fully capable to rule on His own. But He has decided in His mercy to allow us to join Him in His ruling.

We find the symbol of unity even in the dimensions of the city. It is 144,000 furlongs squared. Each side is 12,000 furlongs. In height, it is 12,000 furlongs. There are 12 gates, each representing a tribe of Israel. The wall of the city has 12 foundations, representing the 12 apostles. The measure of the wall is 144 cubits (12 times 12). Everything is in dimensions of 12. Nothing is rectangular. Nothing is bulged. It all is equal to the number of God’s choosing, which is 12. God seems to choose 12. He chose a people that were made up of 12 tribes. He chose 12 disciples, which became apostles. There are 12 “minor” prophets. There were 12 great priests in Chronicles. The altar was made of 12 stones. There were 12 loaves of permanent offering on the golden table (Leviticus 24:5). There were 12 branches to confirm the choice of Aaron (Numbers 17:21). 12 explorers were sent into Canaan (Deuteronomy 1:23). There were 12 administrators for Solomon (1 Kings 4:7). There was a sacrifice of 12 animals (Numbers 7:87, 29:17). The high priest wore a garment with 12 precious stones upon it.

12 is the number of God’s choosing. I think there is deep insight into why everything in this city is measured as a factor of 12. It is not only the place of His choosing, but it is also the full representation of Him. He chooses that which display Him. In God’s choosing we find a representation of His character. The why question is sometimes critical. It is in discovering why God chose this and not that where we discover something about the nature of God.

Isn’t it interesting that we find God right at the heart of the city? Dead in the center are the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb to be the Temple. They are within the city. We ought not to consider them to be outside any longer. They are within. In our New Testaments, we read that we are the Temple. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. I can’t comprehend that. But that doesn’t make it less true. In that day, God will dwell within His Bride in a way that will lighten the world. All the nations that are saved will walk by that light – which is to say the freedom and character of God. If clouds and darkness represent anguish and sin, then their opposites would mean freedom and life.

We see from Revelation 22 that we are to rule and reign with God. But who is it that is ruling and reigning? It is those that no more are bound by the curse, which see His face, and His name is upon their foreheads. Who is it that is being spoken of? It has to be the same 144,000 that were spoken of in Revelation 7 and 14. Within the context of Revelation, these are the only ones that received His mark upon their foreheads. This is why I concluded back in chapter 7 that they can’t be only 144,000 people. They are a type and symbol of something.

We find within verse 5 that this Bride does not sit on her thumbs all day. She reigns with Christ forever. She has a task. She is to rule with Her Husband over creation. But what does ruling mean? Are we talking about subduing nations or enforcing laws? Are we speaking of some sort of bureaucratic reign that is more oppression than freedom? It is making known the wisdom of God to the nations on how to live rightly. What is righteousness itself? This teaching does not come from those who have obtained academic understanding. It comes from a people that have been wrought in the deepest fabrics of their being what it means to be righteous.

Because we have come into a place of relationship with God that is able to rightly discern and promote such a heavenly view, we are able to rule over those nations that are not within that city, yet are still living according to its light. This is why we are called to speaking the truth in love. We need to be both able to discern and correct, but also to be corrected. It takes humility to acknowledge when we are in the wrong – no matter how embarrassing. It is that kind of a people that can rule over cities or nations. Too many of us believers could not even rule our way out of a paper bag.

This is the necessity of church discipline. And if you think that church discipline is simply to correct someone in blatant sin, then you are mistaken. Sometimes it isn’t blatant, and you’re the only one who sees it. What do you do in that circumstance? To ignore it could be to miss the eternal moment in which God is preparing you to rule with Him forever. You could be wrong in your judgment. It is still necessary to speak out your thoughts. If you are right, it will be your eternal joy. If you are wrong and get corrected, it will be your eternal joy. Either way, the perspective brought from this view of ruling with Christ shows us the importance of being purified.

I think our qualification that we will be in that city that brings light to the world is characterized by the first epistle of John. This light that the nations walk according to is the same light that we are told to walk according to now. How are we doing? Is our walking something that reflects that light? Or is it more correct in saying that we show the same sort of lifestyle that the world has, not withholding video games, television, Internet, and all other forms of entertainment? To what degree have you surrendered your life to walk according to that light?

This might be the very question to ponder when discussing those that see God face-to-face. In all other times of history it has been said that you cannot see God’s face and live. But here the special privilege is given to those that have walked according to the light now, so that after death they can see God’s face. I don’t think that this will be for everyone. There will be some that don’t receive that reward. Though they are not technically cast into hell, they are not given the same distinction and reward as those who labor to walk in the Light as He is in the Light.

It is a mercy of God to cast out those who have rejected the Light into outer darkness so that they might not suffer the anguish and agony of that luminosity. How unbearable must it be to stand before that Light when you have lived your life according to a lie and not given yourself over to that Light? It would be like when you come out from a dark room and into the sunlight. Your eyes start watering and you wince. For a moment you are blinded. But God will not allow for those that have not appropriately loved and walked in the Light to be tormented by it in the next age.

To walk according to the Light is painful before it is glorious. It reveals the wickedness in our lives. It shows our faulty intentions. It finds us out and roots up any falsity or sin.

Now lets cross-reference these texts.

¹⁷ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

¹⁸ But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

¹⁹ And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

²⁰ There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

²¹ And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

²² They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

²³ They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

²⁴ And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 65:17-25

²² For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.

²³ And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

²⁴ And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Isaiah 66:22-24

God is going to remake this world back to how He original made it. There won’t be curse or death. There won’t be disease or plague. All things will be made new. The former things will not be remembered. I think there are a lot of people that live their lives in fear because of something that was forcibly done to them that rejoice to hear that. Whether they are a rape victim or victims of government that sells children as slaves, there are many evils that people of this world wish they could forget.

⁸ And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

⁹ Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

¹⁰ And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

¹¹ He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

¹² And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

¹³ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

¹⁴ Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

¹⁵ For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Revelation 22:8-15

Here I wanted to just pause and let this sink in. Those that are not allowed to be a part of that city or to enter into it (for these are two separate things) are dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters, and whosoever loves and lies. Truth is the ultimate plumb line. Deception, manipulation, false motives and the like are kept outside and away from the city. There they cannot receive the light but are given over to the darkness.

¹⁶ I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

¹⁸ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

²⁰ He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

²¹ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Revelation 22:16-21