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.

Humanity's Ultimate Purpose - Genesis 2:4-15

4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LordGod made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Genesis 2:4-15

What is humanity's ultimate purpose? We find the solution in the very beginning of the Bible I'd like to take the time to digest some of what is happening here in the Garden of Eden.

In Genesis 1, elohim is the name given to God. But in chapter two, it is jehova elohim (LORD God). Elohim is a suggestive pronoun. It denotes power, specifically the one that holds all power (or at least more power than anyone or anything else). Jehova is our English way of saying Yahweh, which is another English way of saying the YHWH. We aren't entirely sure how to say this name, so we gave it a label: the tetragrammaton. It is usually suggested that this name is from the verb hayah, which would give the interpretation "I am/exist." When we have two Hebrew nouns together, we place the word "of" in between them. So the Lord God is being titled, "I AM of Mighty Power." 

It is supposed from Genesis 2:6 that mankind was given the purpose to till the ground. We'll talk about problems with this later. Instead, I want to skip to verse 7. I this verse, we find Adam consisted of both heaven and earth, thus becoming a living creature. The Hebrew word used for the breath of God is not the same word used in Genesis 1:2, ruach, but instead nephesh (to blow).

Jesus, in John 20:22 blew on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit..." There is a hermeneutic principle that says when you see the first time a word or phrase is used, mark it down. We can learn what that word or phrase means from that first instance it is used. For example, I mentioned the word ruach. Ruach is translated spirit, breath, or wind. But there is a thing to note about ruach: it is God's Spirit. Ruach, to me, is much more properly defined as the energy (Spirit) of God that causes the creation to stir. This is why it is also sometimes denoted as wind or breath: the Spirit itself causes for the creation to stir when it is present. 

So, when we see in Genesis 2:7 that the Lord God breathed into Adam, we need to identify this. This is the God that breathes life. When John points out that Jesus blew on His disciples, John is making the statement that Jesus is not a mere man. He is the tetragrammaton in the flesh. This would also fit with the Holy Spirit being the ruach haqodesh (Spirit of holiness). The ruach is the presence of God that stirs up the creation. Why does it denote breath? Because it is a part of the God that gives life, or breath, to mankind. In order for God to transmute life and breath into Adam, He must be both living and breathing. This is a fascinating idea to think of a God that is both living and breathing, unlike the gods of stone, wood, money, and television.

In Genesis 2:8, we read of this living God as one who plants... Some have said that this is actually a contradiction in the Bible because God plants the Garden after He made man. But in Genesis 1, God made the trees, fish, birds, and animals before He made man. The solution is really quite simple that it's pathetic. Genesis 1:1-2:3 is a story of the seven days of creation. The author wasn't trying to give the intimate details of each day, but instead giving the overall summary of each day. Then, the author goes in and gives the details of day six when Adam and Eve were created. That is what we're reading about. There were trees, animals, birds, etc outside of the Garden of Eden, but God made this Garden specifically for Adam and Eve. 

Eden is the Hebrew word for delight. Because the Lord God had planted this Garden, and it was to be enjoyed and delighted in, we cannot then say that Adam was given the charge to "till the land." The only thing that Adam would have needed to till would have possibly been outside of the Garden. There is even a Jewish tradition that suggests maybe some of the trees in the Garden were bread trees. Adam wouldn't have even needed to made dough and bake the bread, because it would have already grown on the trees pre-baked and ready to eat. 

We know the story, so we know that Adam did get kicked out of the Garden. Obviously, then, this Garden does not cover the whole Earth. The Hebrew word used in Genesis 2:8 to say that Adam was placed in the Garden is sum (soom). It has absolutely no connotation to any effort on Adam's part, and complete connotation that God is the one doing the work. 

Out of the entire Garden, there are two trees named in verse 9: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life. What was the first command given to Adam? The first command is in verse 16, which I didn't put here. It is that Adam is to eat of every tree of the Garden. The command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is actually the second command given to Adam. The first is to eat and enjoy all of the trees of the Garden. So, when we think back on the story and point out that God put a limit on Adam and told Him, "Don't do this," we actually misunderstand the story. The whole thing is pointing to the fact that God made Adam and put him in the Garden so that Adam could enjoy the creation. 

Now, we read in verses 10-14 about these four rivers. Pishon means to increase. Gihon means to burst forth. Hiddekel means rapid. Euphrates means fruitfulness. 

In verse 15, we have the Hebrew word yanach used to mean "put." So, in verse 8 we read that man was put (sum) in the Garden, and in verse 15 we read that he was put (yanach) in the Garden. What is the difference between these two words? Yanach is a synonym of nuach, which means rest. The definition of yanach is "to deposit," or "to allow to stay." 

Note the translation of working in the Garden. "Tend and keep it." It was already tilled and cultivated and worked by God. The Hebrew is le'abdah welesamrah. Abad means to serve, and is sometimes used in relation to being a bond-servant. Samar means to protect, or to hedge about. Samar is the word used in the Ten Commandments, "keep my commands" (Exodus 20:6). To keep is to protect, or to guard. 

Something else to note is that the Hebrew does not agree in gender to suggest this is Adam's purpose in respect to the Garden. This must be an abstract view unrelated to the Garden. Adam was made to serve and protect God/God's words. That is the ultimate purpose of humanity. We aren't called to somehow toil and work and struggle, but instead to be in rest and leisure. Out of that rest we are to fulfill our primary role and calling in life: to protect the words of God. We are to be in service to God, worshiping and adoring He who has given us such a place as the Garden of Eden.

But what about us today? We are far from the Garden of Eden. In the book of Genesis we find a Garden, but in the book of Revelation (chapters 21-22) we find a City. In the Garden there was a river that split into four different directions. In the City there is a river that comes out from the throne of God. In the Garden there are two trees mentioned. In the City there is one tree mentioned (tree of life) twice (one on either side of the river). The Garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven are both related. These are the ultimate intentions of God for humanity. 

We have this strange thought that the New Jerusalem will be some future time that we can't understand anything about it now, but Paul speaks of it in Galatians 4:25-26. "Now, Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother." Do you understand? We are currently seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). We are currently called to be a part of that Holy City. But if we are thinking that we have to wait until that city is a literal reality in the New Heaven and New Earth, then we aren't ever going to strive to live according to that New Jerusalem. That New Jerusalem is free. It is free from fear, free from works of the Law, free from sin, and free from death. 

Upon our salvation, we are "placed" in that City. We are then bidden to stay in that City, to serve and protect the Lamb. Our protecting is to keep His commands, which is done by loving one another. Anyone who loves as Christ loved is protecting Him. To know His words and to know His commands, we only must love one another as Christ as loved us. This is the Law and the Prophets summed up: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. That is our high calling. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. We are all simply bid to come and enjoy, rest and serve. 

What is Election?

I wanted to write a blog on the book of Ephesians. Specifically, does the book of Ephesians teach Calvinism? This should let the cat out of the bag: I'm not a Calvinist. With that out in the open right away, what do we do with the verses about predestination and election? If we toss them to the side, then we are guilty of not taking the whole counsel of God. If we embrace them and elevate them to saying that God has predestined every even in history and future, then we also run the risk of not taking the whole counsel of God.

These two words - election and predestination - are extremely important to define. This isn't a bit of "doctrine" in which we can ignore or be tolerant with. This actually affects the Gospel, which is to say, it affects our perception of God. If we have a wrong perception of God, then we have a wrong perception of everything.

This thought came when my cousin asked my comment on a recent event. The video he shared and asked my opinion on is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fSvyv0urTE

Why do people seem to despise Israel? This was my comment:

Unconsciously we all have this. Israel is not a state, but a statement. It is a statement about a God that is specific enough to predestine and elect a certain people, thus condemning all other people. Lest we be grafted into Israel, we shall not rule and reign with Him. If we aren't ruling and reigning with Him, then we are in submission to Him. Submission is not desired of any nation. Abraham's calling out of the nations and into the Land that God would show him is more than a calling for "blessing." God took a man out of the nations to establish His own nation called Israel.

To hate Israel is to hate God. We need to be ruthless with this in our own hearts before condemning others because any sentiment and self-effacing love for Israel will one day be found out to be fraudulent. Sentiment turns to hate really quickly when they are in place and power to find us out. They will find us out.

It is easier for us to stand on the bench and hear such conflict. We can be appalled by it. But to what degree will we stand with Israel? To what degree will we truly love them? The truth of our love for them is to actually tell them of the coming calamity and devastation that awaits them if they go back to Israel. There is a final judgment, and many Jews know it. Something is coming. A civil unrest is rising into something much less than "civil," and much more gruesome than "unrest." When that havoc breaks upon them, are we willing to stand with them and also suffer the same fate as they? That is identification, and that alone constitutes love and intercession.

I want to focus on that first statement. What do I mean when I say that God has predestined and elected a certain people, thus condemning all other people? Let us back up and view this from a much bigger perception. In Genesis 11, the nations' first act is in rebellion to God. They come together as a one-world government to build a tower that will reach to heaven. God did not ordain this; the evidence is both that God had previously said to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1) and that they made bricks for stone. What altar have you ever read of in the Bible that was made out of brick? They not only went against God by making this out of brick, but also baked them. They could not even allow the sun to dry them, but had such urgency and imminence that they baked these bricks.

What is God's response? We know that He came down and confused the language, but ultimately His response was to take one man out of nations, and to establish Him as God's nation. It is through that nation that God has said, "I will bless all the families of the earth." Or, "I will bless all other nations." God says over and over again to Israel in the books of Moses that He does this and establishes this so that the nations will see and know that He is God. The prophets speak much about how God's ultimate redemption plan is that He will redeem Israel, and all nations will then know that He is God.

Ultimately, when I say that God has elected a specific people, I do not mean that only those whom God has elected will make it into Heaven. I see that in the Millennial reign of Christ that the nations continue. We know this from Scriptures like Zechariah 14, Daniel 7:12, and Isaiah 2. God's election pertains to the people that He has put His name upon: Israel. When we come to Christ, we are grafted in to being the people of God. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we who were afar off have been brought nigh by the blood of Jesus. But brought nigh into what? Ephesians 2:12 says it plainly: the commonwealth of Israel.

Romans 11:16-24 indicates that God has cut off the natural branches - those who are genealogically Israel - to graft in "wild branches," namely, the Gentiles. We are not a new phenomenon called the Church, but instead are the remnant of Israel. God has brought together the two - Jew and Gentile - to make of them one new man. We find in Romans 11:7 that only the elect have obtained the fulfillment of the promises (that is, Jesus the Messiah), but we find later in Romans 11:26 that "all Israel shall be saved..." So what Paul starts with in Romans 11 is that not all of Israel is part of the election, but then explains that God has elected both Jews and Gentiles to be grafted into the root that is holy, and then ends Romans 11 with saying that "all Israel shall be saved."

Who is this elect? It is the remnant of Israel. God has ordained in His sovereignty that there should be both Jews and Gentiles elected into the remnant of Israel. We are not some new phenomenon called the Church, but instead we are now grafted into that holy root - the same root that stems back to the beginning of time when God called Adam His son. It is all about being sons and daughters. We are not "people of God" in some abstract sense of the wording. We are the people of God because we are His children. He has adopted us all, whether we were Jewish, Greek, Italian, English, German, or Palestinian. Whatever our heritage, and from whatever people we came, God has ordained a specific people to be His remnant. It is that remnant, that election that will bless all of the families of the earth.

How?

We drive the Jew to jealousy (Romans 11:11, Deuteronomy 32:21). It is by our witness that drives them to jealousy that causes "all Israel" to be saved. At a future time, I might explore more deeply the fullness of the Gentiles, what it is, and how all things tie together so that when they come in, all Israel shall be saved (Romans 11:25-26). For now, I just want to make the point that those who are outside of the election are not necessarily those who are cast into hellfire.

At this present moment, here and now, the only way that you will not die and go to Hell is to be converted. In a sense, it is true to say that those who are outside of the election are going to Hell, but in a much larger sense, that is wrong. During the Millennial Kingdom, there are a people that are outside of Israel, but somehow are coming up to Jerusalem to worship God. They are not part of the election, but they are not cast into the lake of fire with the Antichrist. They don't suffer the same judgment as the army that marches against Jerusalem.

You might say, "Yeah, but that isn't heaven."

Okay, lets look at Revelation 22. After the Great White Throne, there is the New Heaven and the New Earth. It has been thought that the only way to get into that, and to escape the lake of fire, is to be saved. I don't have an absolute statement here, but I do have a question. In Revelation 21:24-22:5 we find that there are these people outside of the New Jerusalem that must come up to the Holy City. They are somehow not a part of this City that is called "The Bride of Christ" (Revelation 21:9), but are considered saved. They are somehow not mentioned as being in the City, but must come up to the City to take of the fruit of the tree of life and find healing. Those that are a part of this City (the Bride) rule and reign with Christ forever.

Rule and reign over what?

I would like to suggest that maybe being saved isn't everything. Maybe there is a bigger step than salvation. Maybe election and salvation are different and distinct. Maybe God has predestined that this people will be His people, and that this people will rule and reign with Him, and that all other people are welcome to be saved and glorify God in where He has called them, but not all other peoples are elected or predestined to be a part of that Bride. God desires that all shall be saved. This isn't a hope in universalism, because I still believe that there are those that are cast into the lake of fire for eternity. I haven't come to any good or solid conclusions as to where the distinction is, or how to even make a distinction. It is quite clear that those who are currently saved are grafted in, and therefore are a part of this election. What is not so clear is that everyone who has been saved and grafted in will be a part of the City of God, nor that everyone who has been saved and grafted in will be a part of the first resurrection during the Millennial reign of Christ.

When we're talking about election and predestination, I'm not entirely sure I grasp the concepts thoroughly, but it sure seems like neither does anyone else... One thing I do know for sure: Paul understood. He had a view that was larger than anyone else that I know. His perception was cosmic and eternal. It spanned from eternity to eternity - everlasting to everlasting. He knew the beginning from the end, and the end from the beginning. Of course, this revelation from God came with a price. Paul himself remarks that because of his incredible revelation and understanding God gave him a thorn in the flesh. I don't have these revelations that Paul had.

It seems to me that we all are quite far from the ultimate meaning and interpretation of such verses. I hope that maybe this helps some who are trying to understand better how all these things fit together. Maybe someone else can take this and run with it. As for me, I am not capable of comprehending such majestic thoughts, and I fall desperately short of having a conclusion.

Pre-Eschatology Theology

I want to give a very basic overview of the necessary mindsets to have while reading the prophetic text. In discussing the theological framework of understanding the End Times, we can better be one more step forward in understanding before we even start. The topics I’ll look at are covenant, Israel’s destiny, theocracy, principalities and powers, our in-grafting (Romans 11), and hopefully be able to touch on the character of God.

The best place to start would be with the Kingdom of God. First and foremost, we must understand that this concept is a Jewish concept. There is nothing about it that is Gentile. The entire faith itself came out from Judaism. All of the disciples were Jewish. Though they were scattered and though some held positions that were contrary to respectable Judaism (like a tax collector), that does not relinquish them from being Jewish. Most scholars would agree that their names were Hebrew names like Mattityahu (Matthew in English), Jochanan (John in English), Jakov (James in our English versions), or Bar-Talmai (Bartholomew).

It is from this understanding that the faith is Jewish that we can move on. Have you ever noticed that some Jewish authors, scholars, or rabbis will not say or write “God?” They will write G-d. It is from a practice that stems back millennia. If you cannot see the face of God and live, then we ought to have the utmost respect for all aspects of God – including His name. Many people won’t say His name, and when it comes to saying or writing God, they find another way of addressing Him. In the 1^st century, one of the ways they would address God is by addressing His habitation: heaven. Thus, when we read in the Gospel of Matthew (which was written to the Jews), we find that Jesus refers to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is not different than the Kingdom of God. They are the same thing – the one respecting God’s name, and the other unafraid to pronounce God’s name.

So what was the Hebrew thought when speaking of the Kingdom of God? They didn’t have the New Testament to tell them it was “within you.” Jesus’ statement here is typically taken out of context to make a point that the Kingdom is invisible. But is it really? We find the Kingdom of God stems back to the first book of the Bible:

² And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

³ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 12:2-3

This is the first time that God promises a blessing of all the nations – or “families of the Earth.” It is going to be through a people/nation that come from Abram. When we trace this story, we find that these people were known as the people Israel. In this passage everything hangs.

Certain aspects of doctrine that we claim in Christianity come from this passage. It even bears weight on the question of circumcision asked in the New Testament. Paul makes the argument that the promise was given to Abram before the covenant of circumcision. Therefore, if you have not been circumcised of body, but have been circumcised of heart, then you are under this Abrahamic Covenant.

The importance of this passage that God will have a people for Himself stretches through to the very end of the Bible. But lets for now take it bit-by-bit and piece-by-piece. When you reach Exodus, God brings His people Israel out of Egypt. They are called to be His people. Lets examine a couple of Scriptures and glean from them the importance.

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Exodus 19:6

⁸When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

⁹ For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
Deuteronomy 32:8-9

²⁹ For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Romans 11:29

I suggest looking into that last passage a bit more. Read Romans 11 for the whole context. You’ll see that I’m not pulling it out of context, but actually bringing it into a more precise context. The point is more upon the first 2 Scriptures. Israel was called to be a nation of priests. In Deuteronomy 32 it claims that the boundaries of the other nations were actually set up according to the number of Israel.

Why would God select this people? What is it that they have to offer that is so different than the rest of the world? The answer, strangely, is exactly the same reason why God chooses anything. Why does God choose to take John Wesley from the rich and send him out to preach to the poor? Why does God choose the Land of Israel over any other land in the world? What is it that God sees in David that he didn’t see in his brothers? What did God see in the cross that we have missed? Why would God choose the cross as the execution of His Son instead of some other form of suffering? Why would God choose suffering anyway? Isn’t this unbecoming?

And here lies the intrinsic characteristic of God. God suffers. He doesn’t suffer because He has to suffer. He suffers because He chooses to suffer. Notice I did not say He wants to suffer. No one wants to suffer. Suffering isn’t what God desires; it is, however, what He has chosen. Why? In the foolishness of suffering, we see clearly the wisdom of God. God is not afraid of suffering. He is willing to suffer in order to attain the greater good. What is the greater good? The best and highest good is the glory of God. There is nothing loftier than for God to be glorified, for in it is the creations greatest good.

Here we have a problem of semantics. The question could be posed, “Why?” Why is it that God’s glory is the greatest earthly good? Have you ever heard the statement, “Don’t be too heavenly minded, or else you will be no earthly good?” It is quite the contrary. Unless you are heavenly minded, you are no earthly good. How else do you explain Jesus? Was he too heavenly minded? Nothing was spoken out of the mouth of Christ that did not have its inception within heaven.

So why would God choose Israel? Here is where the Biblical scholar must understand. You sacrosanct saints that want a cheapie and a nice lackadaisical understanding and grasp of the faith cannot comprehend the beauty of the eternal purposes of God. Who else have you ever heard speak this way? What is Israel? What are the Jews? Is it the people? Is it the Land? Is the nation? Is it a religion? What is it for heaven’s sake?

When we desire to define terms, know that I will only refer to Israel as the people in this writing. However, there is a much larger usage of this word. Israel, from the perception of God, is the people, within that Land, as a kingdom of priests to all nations. This requires something. It requires that they be in the Land. It requires that they are God’s people, and God is their God. It requires that they know their God as He in fact is. It requires that they do not break the Laws given; otherwise they will be exiled from that Land, and therefore no longer the people (Deuteronomy 28). It requires that they are priests. The Israel that is God’s inheritance is the people, Land, Torah (teachings), God within the people, and the covenants between God and that people.

Unless all of these things are fulfilled, God has gone against Himself in revoking (or repenting) His gifts and callings. This is crucial to understanding. There must be a time when Israel is saved and they know their Messiah Jesus. There must be a time when they are the priesthood to all nations. There must be a time when they possess the Land and will never be uprooted again (Amos 9). If these things do not happen, then God is not God. He chose these things because they are despised. They are foolish.

We see the character of God revealed within His choosing of this people and that land and their calling and their purposes. The Kingdom of God is not complete without them. We, as the Church, are in need of them and they are in need of us. We are for now a different people, but will be one under the same Head in the end. I would even argue that we are not a different entity from Israel, but that they are the separate entity from Israel. Israel can only be Israel when all of these things are met. Anyone who rejects the Messiah cannot be Israel. But we know from Romans 11:26 that “All Israel shall be saved, as it is written.” Is this mere homiletic mysticism and rhetoric?

What is the ultimate form of the Kingdom of God? What is it that we should be striving toward and looking toward? The Kingdom of God is and always will be a theocracy. Theo- means God and -cratic is rule or government. It is the government of God. He will forever be the supreme ruler. We find later in the Old Testament how God intends to be this:

¹² And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³ He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

¹⁴ I will be his father, and he shall be my son.
2 Samuel 7:12-14

God is speaking to the Israeli King David. The Messiah must be a descendant from David. But He can’t just be a descendant of David. He has to surpass David. He has to be greater than David. It says in Jonah 2:9, “Salvation is of the Lord.”

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Psalm 110:1

Here we see a Psalm of David where David actually calls the Messiah “Lord.” How can the Messiah be both the Lord and also a descendant of David? We find answer in that Jesus was born of a virgin. He was without human father. He only had God as His father. This is important. The rule of God depends upon one who will be able to rule the nations with an iron scepter (Psalm 2), but at the same time be a human descendant of David, and at the same time be God. But it isn’t enough that He is King. He must be a priest, for Psalm 110 continues:

⁴ The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Psalm 110:4

In the Book of Hebrews, there is an excellent exposition on this very thing. The Kingdom of God is best summed up as follows: The government of God ruled by the Davidic King and Melchizedek Priest out of Israel and upon Zion. How about them apples?

Now, when we’re talking about the theocratic kingdom, we’re discussing something that we have a piece of today. The full expression is yet future. But we do experience a taste (or foretaste if you read King James) of what is ahead. Our very salvation and sealing of the Holy Spirit attest to the future glory that is to come. Words cannot express the depths. I would be willing to bet that words are unlawful to speak about what glories are to come (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

What is it that we need to apprehend in order to get there? This is going to be a bit of eschatology, but it won’t necessarily be commentary on Revelation. Ultimately, this view that I have is a view of covenant – covenant failure, covenant obligation, covenant blessing, and covenant curse. This idea comes from Deuteronomy. It plainly states (especially within Deuteronomy 28) that if the people Israel follow and obey the covenant, then they will keep the Land, and all these blessings will come upon them. However, if they disobey this covenant, then they will be uprooted from the Land, and they will suffer curse and judgment from God as chastisement.

It is to this that I speak. There will be a final judgment or chastisement that the Israel of God must undergo. It is for the lack of understanding of both the future calamity and the ultimate glory of Israel – and thus the glory of God – that people misinterpret Scripture after Scripture and hope that the Jewish state will change its tune and come to God and find Jesus and everything will be groovy.

If we think that priesthood comes from some sort of calling or some sort of ordination without appropriation of character, then we have lost the biblical mindset. Priesthood requires something ultimate. The priest must identify with those to whom he is ministering, taking upon self their guilt and sin. It takes a very certain kind of person – one that states, “I am the chief of all sinners” – that can minister in a priestly way. It requires the deepest breaking over sin and understanding that we in our humanity are only too easily deceived and ready to snatch up any sin. Nothing is too off limits. There is nothing too risqué. There is nothing too provocative. We are all capable of the same grotesque sins, and we are all guilty before God.

In order for the people Israel to be priestly, that kind of mindset and character must come upon them. I believe that Paul’s apostolate to the Gentiles was a foretaste of Israel’s ultimate call to be an apostolic entity to the nations. The Gentiles hung upon the neck of Paul and wept when they heard the news that he would be bound in chains at Jerusalem. Imagine a nation of Pauls going out into the world and the Gentile nations having the same kind of love and adoration of them.

When we browse Isaiah 35 we find an End Time stratagem for that people:

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Isaiah 35:1

⁴ Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isaiah 35:4-5

⁷ And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

⁸ And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isaiah 35:7-8

¹⁰ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 35:10

Their return shall be with “everlasting joy.” Why everlasting? Because, they will never sorrow again. God will wipe away every tear. But how do they come to such a place? It is in the judgment of God upon their sin. They will be cast out into the wilderness places, and God will meet with them face-to-face. How does God meet with them face-to-face? He does it through a servant Body that is already upon this Earth, though it is not a part of the Israel that is being judged…

Do you see how the pieces fit together yet? Our role and function as the Church is to be that priestly nation to them. Paul even says, “…to the Jew first, and then to the Greek,” Romans 1:16. Our call and chief role is not to be the priesthood to the nations like we have thought. That does not come until the Millennium with them. Until that time, our calling and role is to drive them to jealousy (Romans 11). We are to be priestly in identifying with them in their sin and possibly going to our death in that identification.

When this end time calamity is upon us, I don’t doubt that there will be persecution of Christians. It says this blatantly in both Old and New Testament. Daniel says the Antichrist will overcome the saints, and again will wear out the saints. Revelation 13 says that the Antichrist will war against the saints and overpower them. It says in Revelation 12, though, that the dragon makes war with the woman first, and goes after the believers in Jesus after (Revelation 12:17). The woman is undoubtedly Israel. A woman almost always (I can’t think of any exceptions off the top of my head) means Israel in the prophetic writings.

If the persecution comes upon Israel first, then why do we not expect them to receive any kind of persecution? Why do leading speakers seems to indicate quite the opposite? So many believe that Israel won’t be uprooted again and that they are indestructible. From what biblical bases does this come? Their history has only shown the opposite. They rejected God and were carried away to Babylon. They rejected the Messiah and were scattered through the nations. Why would this be different?

¹⁰Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

¹¹For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

¹²Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

¹³Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:10-13

Virtually every time that this Millennial blessedness of Israel’s is mentioned, it makes mention that they will sorrow no more, they will be comforted, they will have peace, they will suffer no more terror and violence, etc. It eventually starts to make sense that this time of blessedness happens immediately after a time of persecution.

²Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

³For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Isaiah 54:2-3

Here is another statement of millennial promise: “Your descendants will possess the nations,” and before the sentence is concluded, God adds, “And will resettle the desolate cities.” In the whole redemptive program of God, His intention is to bless the nations. He is the God of the nations. They shall come to know God through a redeemed Israel, and they will come to the brightness of that nations rising:

¹Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

²For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

³And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

⁴Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

⁵Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Isaiah 60:1-5

¹⁰And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

¹¹Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

¹²For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

Isaiah 60:10-12

²³Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

Zechariah 8:23

¹⁸Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

Isaiah 60:18

²¹Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Isaiah 60:21

Notice here what I have been saying all along. There will come a time when Israel will inherit the Land forever. But that cannot happen if the covenant will continue to get broken. If they continue to reject God, then they will never be His people in that Land. This qualifies for a definition of terms. There is an immense difference between appropriation and inheritance. An inheritance is only given to those in right relation with God. Appropriation can be given to whomever. The redeemed nation is given an everlasting covenant that cannot be broken, and in that condition, the Land can be inherited as “the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified.” There is something about the Lord planting that gives the mind an image of peace. It is not exacerbating to the neighbors of Israel (unlike what we see today), but instead brings them peace and blessedness.

In that day, there shall be one King, one kingdom, and one Lord over all. But that cannot come unless Israel suffers her own road to Calvary experience. There must be a putting to death all that would trust in the arm of the flesh. She must go down out of the Land and into the wilderness places. It is in that wilderness that she will meet her God. But if we’re raptured out of this world, then I suppose that means that Israel will need some other way of coming to know her God.

This is where I’ve heard ridiculous theories. Some say that the rabbi’s will have a revelation and start teaching about Jesus (because that worked the first time?). Others say that Israel has no part. Still others say that they will come to Christ by our witnessing to them before the Tribulation, and then they will preach the Gospel during the Tribulation. For reasons that I think we’ve already been through, I have immense problems with these. I think the one thing I hate more than any other is the idea that we’re beyond chastisement or undergoing suffering. If God did not even spare His own Son, then why would He spare you? By what means of reasoning do you honestly believe that God will rapture His Church out at all?

It is in this end time scenario that we are met face-to-face with our own inadequacy. It haunts us. We aren’t mature enough to struggle this. We aren’t ready. We’re complacent and lazy. We’re too lukewarm and pampered to endure to the end. It will take a certain kind of person to be able to handle the grit and trauma of this extreme. It is one thing for me to give Scripture evidence and speak of this calamity, but how will I react when it actually happens? Will I be able to handle it? Will I collapse under the weight of hearing stories and meeting people and watching gruesome tales play out before my eyes?

It is to this that I wish to speak in the next segment.