A Study of Pre-Millennialism #2
"Savoring The Things of God"
INTRODUCTION:
In the first lesson, we emphasized the dangerous nature of this speculation, defined the general positions taken by Millennialists, and pointed out some of the things in such a mindset which allows for such an obvious error. As one studies this position in the light of the Scriptures, it becomes clear that it demands an entirely different overview of the purpose of God and Scripture than that which is held by others. Such a mistake was made by even good disciples of Christ, as late as the END of His personal ministry.
After Peter's grand confession, in Matt 16:16, and Christ's assignment to him of "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (which, incidentally, is to the Pre-Millennialism an entirely different thing from the prophesied "kingdom of David"), Christ began to explain the spiritual nature of His mission by warning them of His coming sacrificial death. When Peter, in v. 22, rebuked Him for such an "unthinkable" statement Christ's reply was:
Matt 16:23 "...Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offense unto me: FOR THOU SAVOUREST NOT
THE THINGS THAT BE OF GOD, but those that be of men."
Such a charge from Christ came because Peter supposed that Christ could fulfill His mission by remaining alive, no doubt to assume the earthly throne of His father David, and restore earthly Israel to its former glory-the collective faith of the disciples in such a "plan" is indicated by their general fall into despair upon the crucifixion. Luke tells us (24:13-28) that even AFTER the resurrection, as two disciples walked along the road to Emmaus, in sadness, Christ appeared to them, asking the reason for their sorrow. Describing the events of the previous few hours, they said,
"but we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel."
There is little doubt that, in their minds, the redemption of Israel required Christ's earthly life, and that It was thought of as a literal earthly triumphant reign. To them, the death of Christ was the end of their hope. To which Christ replied,
Luke 24:25,26—"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he
expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”
There is no question, then that the "kingdom" of the Pre-millennialists was the kingdom expected by the disciples of Jesus. When THOSE disciples held to such a view. Christ called it "savoring NOT the things of God, but those that be of men.." To Him, they were “fools, and slow of heart to believe the prophets..." Such descriptions apply today, to those who make the same mistake!
I. THE MESSAGE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT:
As stated in the introduction, this error requires an entirely different mindset regarding God's purpose than that which is actually set forth in Scripture. To the millennialists, the Old Testament serves mainly to point toward the final purpose of God as stated there as an intention to establish Christ upon the earthly throne of David in Jerusalem-to be preceded by the "rapture" (in which the faithful will be removed from the earth so they can avoid the "great tribulation") when Christ calls his saints from among men; and a period (generally thought to be 7 years) of "great tribulation", which will end in a climactic battle (the "battle of Armageddon"), in which -by carnal means - the enemies of God and the true Israel will be decisively defeated, and Christ will be raised to an earthly throne in Jerusalem. This will be followed by a thousand-year period of universal earthly peace and prosperity under His benevolent and Almighty dominion. We will reserve for later attention some of the implications and consequences of such a theory.
The point here to be made is that this is "savoring the things that be of men" in it’s worst sense, and it totally misses the true aim of the Old Testament. Instead of focusing upon a fantastic "earthly" reign, established and maintained by carnal measures, as the ultimate aim for the people of God, from the very first chapter of Genesis God begins to state and explain an ultimate goal of a "people" after His own image, conforming to a spiritual life like His own, and dwelling in Spiritual fellowship with Himself. This is, at least in part, the thought expressed in Gen 1:26, 27, where God said "Let us make man IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS..” Seeking to relate this thought to one's manner of being, we often overlook the moral and spiritual aspects of such a purpose. As early as the third chapter of Genesis, He includes His expectation of a certain MORAL fitness to be gained by His people, when he warns Satan that the "seed of the woman" will "bruise his head" (Gen 3:15), The war of God, and His "people" against Satan has been, is, and will be, a SPIRITUAL war, waged within and for the HEARTS of men.
As Paul said in Eph 6:11-12—"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. For we WRESTLE NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, but against principalities, against powers, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS of this world, AGAINST SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS in high places…”
The story of the Old Testament is that, though man was CREATED "after God's image", his inevitable and universal failure to maintain the divine nature called for the multi-stage development of a program which would supply the ingredients, and provide the opportunity for ANY of God's "offspring" to pursue and acquire the desired state of God's likeness-and thus enjoy His fellowship and benevolence. Throughout, a careful distinction is made between "good" and "bad" seed of men, and the results such character (or lack thereof) brought about
True, there are various lesser issues and events — God DID single out Abraham (as the father of the nation God chose as His O.T. "people", and the TYPE of the character who would receive the "aim" of the promise made to the patriarch himself (Gal 3:26-29); He did do special things for him; He did insure to him both a numerous posterity and a land in which his seed would dwell (and both commitments were fully realized-Neh 9:7,8; Josh 21:43-45); and He did choose him as the fountain from which would flow the blessings for the world through Jesus Christ.
But, the main theme is always in view. The promise made to the patriarch in Gen 12:3 -"IN THEE SHALL ALL NATIONS BE BLESSED", is developed with increasing clearness. God furthers His grand purpose as He calls Israel from Egypt, covenants with them at Sinai, and in time installs them in the "promised land"-there to serve Him and obey Him, and thus continue as His "chosen people". Yet, even as this occurs, there is the indication of MORALITY AND SPIRITUALITY as the defining element rather than anything depending upon physical relationships and blood. On Sinai, God told the people:
Ex 19:3-6—"-.Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, THEN ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation—"
Significantly, this is the SAME language, and implies the SAME expectation, which God expresses for His people under Christ in the NEW TESTAMENT:
1 Pet 2:6-10—"Wherefore it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word....but ye are A CHOSEN GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, AN HOLY NATION, A PECULIAR PEOPLE which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."
Pay special attention to the TERMS used to describe God's people. As a matter of fact, EVERY such term used in the Old Testament to describe God's covenant people, the Jews, is used in the New Testament to describe the children of the NEW covenant! Even the term "Israel" itself, uniquely used to described God's old testament people, is applied to the church of the new Testament -Gal 6:15-16... Just so, "children of God”-Gal 3:26; "children of Abraham"-Gal 3:7; and "the circumcision" - Phil 3:3 have their ultimate end in their application to the spiritual Israel of the New Testament, the church of Jesus Christ, and His KINGDOM, which is the true kingdom of O.T. prophecy.
Almost immediately upon accepting God's terms from Mt Sinai, the people show how flawed their perception of God and His purpose is—they enjoin upon Aaron the task of building an idol, a "golden calf, to worship and rejoice in. In response, God calls for the faithful to purge the congregation, and calls Moses back up into the Mount to receive another writing of the law upon two stones. To reclaim the people, God re-states Himself to them through Moses:
Exodus 34:5-7 "And the Lord descended In the cloud, and stood with him there, and PROCLAIMED THE NAME OF THE LORD. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty ..visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.*
The basic problem with Israel was that they neither comprehended nor developed the "image" in which God desired them to live. God's "name" (all that He is, and all that He stands for) MUST be acknowledged, and imitated, for the divine purpose to be served in Israel. In Moses1 final days, he gave these significant words in an effort to establish the nation <n the ways of God:
Deut 10:12-21-"And now, Israel, what doth Jehovah thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I command thee this day FOR THY GOOD....Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers, to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute judgment of the fatherless and the widow; and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear BY HIS NAME. He is thy praise, and He is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen-."
Israel's sin THROUGH the years was that they failed to honor God for what He is, and instead sought a relationship with a creation of their own. This refusal to seek and maintain God's "likeness" is still the great sin of humanity! Centuries later, as the sad story of Israel's persistent rebellion and transgression is told, and the days of her punishment and exile draw near, God sends His prophets to sound the warning. Clearly, the people remain with the very same attitude which showed itself at the foot of Mt Sinai, and it is clearly a rejection of God's appeal for a people "after His image":
Hos. 6:1-7—"Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and he will heal us; be hath smitten, and he will bind us up…then shall we know, IF WE FOLLOW ON THE KNOW THE LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall do unto thee? For your (goodness) (mercy) is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desired (mercy) (goodness) and not sacrifice; and THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant..."
Hosea defines the controversy God had with Israel:
Hos. 4:1-6—"Here ye the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH, NOR MERCY, NOR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood....My people are destroyed FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE: because thou hast REJECTED KNOWLEDGE, I will also reject thee: seeing thou hast FORGOTTEN THE LAW OF THY GOD, I will also forget thy children."
Such rebellion sounded the end of Israel (the northern kingdom), and shortly they were ruined and scattered among the nations, NEVER to be identifiable as the people of God again. Over a century later, to the equally rebellious nation of Judah, Jeremiah speaks to the same point
Jer 9:23-26—'Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory hi his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that HE UNDERSTANDETH AND KNOWETH ME, THAT I AM THE LORD WHICH EXERCISE LOVINGKINDNESS, JUDGMENT, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE EARTH; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncimimcised, and ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL ARE UNCIRCUMCISED IN THE HEART.,"
In a word to Jehoiakin, speaking of the contrast with his father Josiah, Jeremiah tells WHY Josiah was blessed: Jer 22:15,16—"Shah thou reign* because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: WAS NOT THIS TO KNOW ME? saith the Lord..."
Because first Israel, then Judah, rejected this appeal from God to become "like Him", they sealed their national doom!
a. The Potter's clay -
Jer 18:6-10-"O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that ft obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them*."
b. The application to Israel -
Jer. 19:1-11— 'Thus saith the Lord, go and get a potter's earthen bottle—and say. Hear ye the word of the Lord, O longs of Judith, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel…then shalt thou break the bottle hi the sight of the men that shall go with thee, and shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord of hosts, even so will I break this people and this city, as ONE BREAKETH A POTTER'S VESSEL, THAT CANNOT BE MADE WHOLE AGAIN-"
As clay in the potter's hand, Israel would be finally broken by God, irretrievably ruined. Looking back into their history,
others had given the same warning:
MOSES - Deut 8:19-20 - "And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other Gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surety perish. AS THE NATIONS WHICH THE LORD DESTROYETH BEFORE YOUR FACE, SO SHALL YE PERISH; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God…"
Deut 4:26-"l call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over to possess ft; ye shall not prolong your days upon ft, but shall UTTERLY BE DESTROYED…"
JOSHUA - Josh 23:13-"Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you. and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you..."
This brings up a significant question: WHEN WILL THIS HAPPEN? They say it has not happened yet-that Israel has not been UTTERLY destroyed, nor BROKEN AND NEVER BE MADE WHOLE AGAIN-According to the theory, it cannot happen BEFORE the millennium, for the millennium is itself a fulfillment of the promise to return the land of Palestine to the descendants of these very people! It cannot happen DURING the millennium, for they will be enjoying that very land during that time, it cannot happen AFTER the millennium, for then the WHOLE earth will be destroyed, and the nation that had inherited the land during the millennium will be taken to heaven, not UTTERLY DESTROYED!
Our next study will consider the Israel of the New Testament, and its relation to the kingdom of God as prophesied in the Old.
QUESTIONS:
1. When Peter refused to acknowledge the prospect of Christ's death to achieve God's purpose, what did Jesus accuse him of doing?
2. What attitude of the two men on the road to Emmaus caused Jesus to call them "fools, and slow of heart"?
3. In whose image and likeness did God make man?
4. What do Gen 3:15 and Eph 6:11,12, imply about the ongoing arena of conflict between God and Satan?
5. Under what conditions would God consider Israel a "peculiar treasure"?
6. What NT. passage applies this same principle to the church?
7. When God proclaimed to Moses the “name of the Lord", how did he do it?
8. On what basis did God expect Israel to "love the stranger”?
9. What was God’s "controversy with Israel", according to Hosea 4 and 6?
10. How does the principle of the "potter and the clay" apply to Israel?
11. How do the "utter destruction" of Israel passages impact upon Premillennialism?
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