Israel – The Core of the Bible

Titles for God’s people: the Remnant and the Elect

What do the terms remnant and elect mean, and to whom do they apply?

Core of the Bible podcast #126: Titles for God’s people – The Remnant and the Elect

As I mentioned last time, we are currently doing a little miniseries on the titles for God’s people. Over these few episodes, we are looking at the following terms in some detail: believer and Christian, the Remnant and the Elect, the Church and the Body, and the Bride of Christ. These are all terms that by most accounts are considered synonymous and applicable to the people today who claim to believe in Messiah. However, I intend to look at scriptural reasons as to why I believe this is not the case, how most of those terms do not apply to God’s people today, and yet how God has worked within these various aspects of his people over the ages to accomplish specific things for the good of all.

The Remnant

Throughout Scripture, the remnant is pictured as a unique group of people who were to be a small portion of all of Israel with whom God would maintain his covenant promises. The term itself means “that which remains” or those who are “left over” or “left behind”. This demonstrates how it has never been the entire nation which was in view, but a specific portion of the nation who were to receive the inheritance.

In modern Christian theology, the idea of a remnant of God’s faithful people is usually thought to be a group of Christians who are currently remaining faithful during a period of hardship, ultimately to be culminated in the tribulation period at some future time. This comes from a passage in the book of Revelation, especially as it is rendered in the King James Version.

Revelation 12:16-17 KJV – And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Seventh Day Adventists have taken this remnant idea and even made it one of their primary points of confession.

“The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent.” – Seventh-day Adventist fundamental Belief # 13
“The remnant spoken of in the Bible is the last group of people living on the earth that God claims as His own. A remnant is exactly the same as the first piece; just so, God’s remnant, His last church, must have the same characteristics as His first church.” – Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Free Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wichita, Kansas

Whether or not you are a Seventh Day Adventist, maybe you agree with that or perhaps you haven’t really considered it in depth, but today I would like to explore the biblical concept of the remnant and the elect and demonstrate how these terms are biblically related, and who they apply to.

So, for a quick historical background, I found that the Wikipedia entry on this topic actually provides some reasonable information to build on.

“The remnant is a recurring theme throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bible. The Anchor Bible Dictionary describes it as “What is left of a community after it undergoes a catastrophe”. The concept has stronger representation in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament than in the Christian New Testament.

“According to the Book of Isaiah, the “remnant” is a small group of Israelites who will survive the invasion of the Assyrian army under Tiglath-Pileser III (Isaiah 10:20–22). The remnant is promised that they will one day be brought back to the Promised Land by Yahweh (Isaiah 11:11–16). Isaiah again uses the terminology during Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37).

“The concept of the remnant is taken up by several other prophets, including Micah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah. In Jeremiah 39–40, the “poor people, who had nothing”,[2] who remained in Judah when the rest of its population were deported to Babylon, are referred to as a “remnant”.[3] The post-exilic biblical literature (Ezra–Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah) consistently refers to the Jews who have returned from the Babylonian captivity as the remnant.

“New Testament verses that refer to a faithful “remnant” include Romans 11:5 (“Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace”) and Revelation 12:17 (“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ”). – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remnant_(Bible)

Now, to get an accurate depiction of who this remnant is, we would do best to refer back to the original scriptures that mention the remnant, and how they are pictured in the prophecies of old.

Isaiah 10:21 – The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.
Isaiah 37:31-32 – “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will accomplish this.’
Jeremiah 23:3 – “I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous.
Micah 2:12 – I will indeed gather all of you, Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the middle of its pasture. It will be noisy with people.
Zephaniah 3:13 – The remnant of Israel will no longer do wrong or tell lies; a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will pasture and lie down, with nothing to make them afraid.
Zechariah 8:12 – “For they will sow in peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the skies will yield their dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance.

In these prophetic passages, we can see how this Remnant was identified as a faithful group of believing Israelites or some other title related directly to Israel (Jacob, Judah, “my flock”, this people). These are described as the people who were to receive an inheritance. The apostle Paul captures this remnant terminology in his epistle to the Romans as he quotes Isaiah:

Romans 9:27 – But Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, Though the number of Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved…

Paul takes an extended prophecy from Isaiah 10 regarding a judgment upon Israel during the Assyrian captivity and applies it to the events of that first century generation. Isaiah had said only a remnant of Israel would remain faithful during a time of great destruction. Paul then takes that imagery and makes its ultimate application to his generation and the coming destruction upon Jerusalem in that day. He is explaining how much he longs for his Jewish brothers to come to understand the truth, but he knows only a portion will do so. In fact, all of Romans 9-11 is essentially a plea from Paul to God to reconsider his judgment regarding the house of Israel at large.

Romans 10:1-2 – Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation. I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Throughout these chapters, Paul concedes that the larger group of Israel is being rejected because they are clinging to their own righteousness instead of accepting God’s mercy and grace through Messiah. However, the remnant who have accepted Messiah were to be the light to the rest of the nation, and to the nations in which they had been scattered, thereby including those from among the nations. In this way, representatives from each of the tribes who had been dispersed would also be brought back to God, and in this way “all Israel”, that is, members from all of the twelve tribes, would be saved.

If you’ve reviewed the information covered in my last essay on Believers and Christians, you may recall how I mentioned the terms believer and non-believer were commonly used in the context of those within Israel: some would believe (i.e., the remnant) and others would not believe and remain faithless. This shows how a specific group within the larger population of Israel would be the group that God would “save”, that they would receive the benefits that the rest do not. Paul’s line of reasoning from here in Romans 9 then goes on through chapter 10 into chapter 11, outlining how the majority of Israel is rejected for their faithlessness, while only a portion, the remnant, will be saved by God’s grace.

Romans 11:5 – In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.

In the same way as what? Using the example of Elijah, the previous verses describe how God always retained a faithful remnant of Israel, even when it was not apparent at that time.

Romans 11:2-5 – God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah – how he pleads with God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life! But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal. In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.

Here Paul says there was a remnant “at the present time”. That remnant at that time was the number of faithful from among Israel and Judah, even scattered among the nations, who had placed their faith in Messiah during that generation. The rest of Israel and Judah who were apistos or not faithful were the majority from which the faithful remnant was distinguished. All of this took place in the days of the apostle Paul during the first century.

The Diaspora

In Paul’s day, Jews had remained scattered throughout the known world due to their previous captivities of both the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. This can be evidenced from the list of locations that are described for us in Acts 2, when Jews from all over the known world had returned to Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. As the disciples were filled with God’s Spirit and began to preach to all of them about the work of Messiah, a miraculous event of language translation took place:

Acts 2:8-11 – “How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”

All of these place names that may sound strange to our ears today were locations spread out throughout the known world at that time. Notice how Jews had been living in all of these areas, and how God was miraculously drawing a faithful remnant to himself from all of these distant areas. In fact, the text tells us that three thousand from among those various locations became believers in Messiah that day. Peter, speaking to thousands of Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks speaks to them directly, saying:

Acts 2:39-41 – “For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” With many other words [Peter] testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation! ” So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

God was gathering up the remnant of the faithful Jews and their children from where they had been scattered “afar off” and was calling them to himself. In this way, “all Israel”, that is, representative believers from every tribe, was saved in that generation. The later missionary journeys of the apostle Paul and other disciples only added to this growing group of restored Israelites.

Because this restoration of those estranged tribes was based on faith in Messiah and not just on lineage or ancestry, many converts and “God fearers” (that is, non-Jews who accepted the truth of Yahweh and the Bible but had not officially converted to Judaism) also were considered by Paul to have been included in that “remnant” which was restored in that day. This is why Paul could boldly state:

Colossians 3:11 – In Messiah there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Messiah is all and in all.

Once the judgment came to pass on Jerusalem in 68-70 AD, the story of national Israel was concluded. The nation ceased to exist. The prophecies of restoration of the faithful remnant were fulfilled in those closing days before the destruction of Jerusalem, and the scriptural remnant of prophecy no longer exists today.

If we continue to maintain today that anyone who is faithful is included in the remnant, it robs the actual scriptural remnant prophecies of their fulfillment within the nation of Israel during the end of that age. So, if we are to consider ourselves to be in the scriptural remnant today, then we are saying all of those prophecies concerning the remnant have remained unfulfilled for thousands of years and God never fully reconciled his people to himself within that generation as Yeshua, Peter, and Paul had preached.

We know the prophetic perspective was describing a remnant who was to be a faithful minority within the larger nation of Israel. We know they were to be the ones who were to return to the truth of Yahweh compared to the rest of the nation. We know they were to be gathered from all the nations where they had been scattered. Likewise, we know that Messiah taught about this occurring within that generation at that point of time, and we know that the disciples were indeed faithful in reaching the rest of the scattered remnant of Israel throughout the known world with the message of the gospel of the Kingdom in that generation.

When all of these points are taken into consideration, then all of the symmetry of God’s faithfulness with his people is maintained in the fulfillment of everything he had promised them through his prophets. The remnant of that generation is the one that was saved from the disaster that came upon the nation as a whole because of its unfaithfulness, and that’s the meaningful story for the ages. That story is one that can give us confidence that Yahweh God is a God who keeps his word and is faithful to do all that he promises. It is a story that we can praise God for in the demonstration of all that he had promised. Believers today can rejoice that we benefit from the mercy shown to them that was written down for our understanding and recognition of God’s faithfulness with them.

The Elect

Closely aligned with the remnant is the term the “elect”. In New Testament usage, the elect or election appears to be synonymous with the remnant, or those through whom God would be doing a specific work.

Romans 11:5 – In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.

The word used here for chosen comes from the same Greek root phrase that is used for the elect, and Paul, speaking of events taking place at that time, says that the elect group, the group of the chosen, was the remnant. Since we just reviewed how the remnant was prophesied to be the group of faithful ones from among Israel, “the elect” then, would be another way of describing those from among Israel who were considered the faithful ones with whom God maintained his covenant relationship in that generation, and through whom God would be glorified.

This term, the elect, is doctrinally charged today because there is a whole doctrine of election or predestination which is built upon this term. However, this is not how the Bible uses the term. Predestination is not an eternal principle for individuals in the sense of some individuals are chosen by God for eternal life and others are not. That is the horror of Calvinistic-type thinking; a philosophical phantom that still haunts the halls of Christendom today.

The elect were the ones who were, as Paul says, a predestined group to believe in Messiah because all of the prophecies had foretold that would occur. Their belief in Messiah during Paul’s generation was indeed the fulfillment of those prophecies! This is why Paul could write:

Romans 8:31-33 – What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies.

That’s the extent of the “predestination concept” in Scripture. Paul was confirming those remnant prophecies were coming to pass in his day. To be chosen in the sense of the elect was simply a description of active distinction of one group or individuals from others. If you were a believer in Messiah in Paul’s day, then you were a member of the elect group that had been prophesied; therefore who could come against them? It was a bold acknowledgement of prophecy coming to pass before their eyes, and a triumphant statement of hope that God would see them through the difficulties they faced during their extreme persecution in their day, because he had previously declared it to be so.

God’s plan for Israel was consummated within that first century generation, just as Yeshua had predicted that the elect would be gathered from “the four winds”, and the temple would fall before that generation all passed away.

Matthew 24:1-2, 24, 31, 34 – As Yeshua left and was going out of the temple, his disciples came up and called his attention to its buildings. He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down …For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. … He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other…Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.”

The apostles recognized the role of the elect during those days, and that they were the recipients and participants in all that had been prophesied before:

2 Timothy 2:10 – This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Messiah Yeshua, with eternal glory.

Titus 1:1 – Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Yeshua Messiah, for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

2 John 1:1, 13 – The elder: To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth – and not only I, but also all who know the truth – … The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

Notice how all of these references speak of the elect in the present tense, as the ongoing participation of the Messiah believers in those days. The term itself means those who are chosen, and since they were referred to as “his elect” or “God’s elect”, then we can understand this is a choice that God had made to distinguish this group from others.

The chosen

This concept of being chosen would not be unfamiliar to Hebrew believers, as God had previously and many times demonstrated that the entire nation of Israel had been chosen from among the nations of the world to be the ones to carry his Name.

Ezekiel 20:5-6 – …’This is what the Lord Yahweh says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob’s house and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying, “I am Yahweh your God.” On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.

A further example of the use of this chosen concept which demonstrates how it is not a term restricted to individual, eternal salvation is how God had made a progression of choices amidst the tribe and family of David. David had been chosen out of all Israel and from among his own family to be king over Israel and Solomon to be king after him.

1 Chronicles 28:4-5 – “Yet Yahweh God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah, my father’s family, and from my father’s sons, he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. “And out of all my sons – for Yahweh has given me many sons – he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel.

God is described here as having chosen Israel as a nation, then Judah as a leading tribe, then David’s family among that tribe, then David as king, then Solomon as king to follow him. All of these “choices” or “elections” are another way of saying those at a given time through whom God was working for his purpose and will to be accomplished. These distinctions of tribes, families, and individuals were isolated from the rest of the nations of the world and the rest of the nation of Israel as a whole because God was going to be working through these specific tribes and individuals during their lifetimes for specific purposes.

Interestingly, another way to demonstrate how this is not some kind of universal election or predestination for all eternity, one needs only to read how all of God’s “chosen” entities in this example, those who were considered “the elect”, had failed at some point. Israel as a whole did not maintain the covenant and was rejected; Judah had failed in his relationship with his father; David failed in the incident with Bathsheba; Solomon failed with corruption through his pagan wives. All these things occurred after they had been “chosen”. The concept of being elect doesn’t mean one is bullet-proof from judgment or failure for all eternity, only that one (or a group) is identified as being used for God’s specific purpose and will at a specific time.

The elect of the first century were simply those who believed Messiah and through whom God maintained his covenantal faithfulness, as contrasted with the rest or the majority of Israel which did not believe in Messiah. This was predestined to occur, being foretold, as we have seen, in all of the “remnant” prophecies.

If I was to try to create an analogy here, it’s as if God was writing a story as a novelist. His “elect” would be the main character (or characters), while all others would be supporting characters in the story he was telling. In this way, he could tell his story through his main characters, even though they were not perfect. They still had their flaws and made their mistakes, just like everyone else does, but they were the focus of the story he was telling, to the exclusion of all of the other details or people in other places that may not be pertinent to the specific story he was telling. This doesn’t mean that no one else was faithful, just that his main characters were living out the point that he was making.

Looked at in this light, the term election becomes less doctrinally charged regarding individual, eternal salvation and begins to take on its rightful meaning regarding the distinctions for specific purposes regarding the nation of Israel as a whole. It is used of those faithful believers amidst Israel through whom God’s will would be accomplished and those to whom his covenant and promises would be maintained. In New Testament application, it was because of the nation’s general disobedience and failing within the covenant (the faithless majority of Israel, the non-believers) that God then refined his chosen people to those who would believe his words through his chosen Messiah. This was a smaller group within the group, including those who had been scattered throughout the known world at that time. Once again, to my way of thinking, the symmetry of the concept is beautiful and poetic within the context of the entire Bible.

If we are to be good Bible students, we need to maintain the distinction that those who are called the elect mentioned in the New Testament writings refers specifically to those first-century believers who accepted the Messiah, both from Israel and from among the nations. Just as the remnant described those same believers, the elect is therefore its synonymous equivalent. Therefore, the remnant and the elect of biblical prophecy was consummated in the first century and no longer exists today.

Believers today

So what about believers today? If we are not to consider ourselves the remnant and we are not the elect, who are we within the biblical narrative? Have I just written us out of the story? By no means!

The apostle Paul speaks to the culmination of all of those prophecies with Israel being the very catalyst that would bring believers from all nations to Yahweh God.

Romans 15:8-9 – For I say that Messiah became a servant of the circumcised [i.e., the Jews] on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, [all of those former prophecies] and so that nations may glorify God for his mercy.

Here Paul then goes into a list of quotes from the Tanakh that demonstrate how God’s ultimate purpose in fulfilling his word to the Jews would ultimately bring people from all nations to himself:

Romans 15:9-12 – As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the nations, and I will sing praise to your name. [Psalm 18:49] Again it says, Rejoice, you nations, with his people! [Deuteronomy 32:43] And again, Praise Yahweh, all you nations; let all the peoples praise him! [Psalm 117:1] And again, Isaiah says, The root of Jesse [i.e., the Messiah] will appear, the one who rises to rule the nations; the nations will hope in him. [Isaiah 11:10]

Today, we are those from among all nations who have come to praise Yahweh through seeing the promises that were confirmed to Israel at the culmination of that age! We can join together glorifying God for his mercy to his people at that time which has allowed us the same access to him through faith in Messiah, just as they had, and still have to this day. Our hope today is in the same Messiah whom they trusted in faith.

This is our identity in Messiah today: no longer a small remnant within the nation of Israel, but a vast multitude of those who are the receivers of the eternal Kingdom that Messiah inaugurated! We are a rag-tag lot from among every nation and tribe, worshiping the one true God through faith in his Messiah! We are the ongoing fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham (that all nations would be blessed through him), and the promises made to ancient Israel that nations would come to worship their God, Yahweh, and that his Messiah would also rule the nations and become their hope. We are still a people fulfilling prophecy, although we are now fulfilling the prophecies that relate, not to the remnant or the elect, but to the eternal Kingdom of God!

Daniel 2:44 – “In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.

Though it may at first feel strange to not be a direct participant in the story of the prophetic remnant or the elect of Scripture, it does not diminish our responsibility to this generation, and every generation into the future. The consummation of the prophecies of the elect remnant of the first century should provide us the hope and inspiration we need to know that God never abandons his faithful, and that those who choose the path of life will be provided for and ultimately be participants in his purposes coming to pass for all eternity. If he fulfilled his prophecies to the elect remnant in the first century, then he will fulfill his prophecies to establish his Kingdom over all the earth. Therefore, we should be encouraged to press on; we must continue to stay on the path of life, to be the city on the hill, the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.

We should be able to pray with the Psalmist:

Psalm 57:11 – God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth.

Well, as we wrap up for today, I hope there are at least a couple of concepts and ideas to encourage you to meditate on and to study out further on your own. Next time, we will investigate another related term to this remnant and the elect, the “church”, or the assembly of “called-out-ones,” and how this term has been used in conjunction with another familiar phrase: the Body of Christ. I hope you will be able to come back and visit for more perspectives on these titles of God’s people. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Resurrection part 3: Daniel’s “end of days” resurrection prophecy

A collective resurrection in the last days of the nation of ancient Israel would culminate not just in restoration to the land, but in eternal life.

Core of the Bible podcast #123 – Resurrection part 3: Daniel’s “end of days” resurrection prophecy

We are continuing the third essay today in a four-part series on the topic of resurrection. So far in our exploration of this far-reaching topic, we have viewed instances of individual, bodily resurrections throughout the Bible. We also looked at what Yeshua taught about all the righteous throughout the history of Israel who were still considered as alive to God, since “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). And, if you have not yet reviewed part 2 of this study, you may want to take some time do so as I laid down some foundational ideas about motifs and patterns in the Tanakh there.

Last time, we discussed the judgment/restoration motif or theme of collective resurrection, and how judgment is always mentioned in connection with collective resurrection passages. In the prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel, judgment had come to pass because of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant of God, and God removed them from the land (the inheritance). We also saw how the language of resurrection was an indicator of restoration to the land and renewal of the inheritance. It wasn’t describing a literal rising of dead bodies from their graves; it was as if the nation were coming back to life from the dead condition of a wasteland after the preceding judgment. If those were the themes that were laid down as foundations prior to the writings of Daniel, then it makes sense to me those same principles should apply to what he wrote, as well.

So, let’s now look at the final description of a collective resurrection in the Tanakh which is written about in the book of Daniel. This passage is unique from the Isaiah and Ezekiel resurrection passages because the result of the collective resurrection that Daniel mentions has to do with not just restoration to the land, but eternal life.

Daniel 12:2 – Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt.

Interestingly, this description of a collective resurrection seems to parallel identically with the teaching of Messiah:

John 5:28-29 – “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.

I believe for us to understand Daniel better, we will need to view it together with the teachings of Yeshua. Both of these passages have a larger context which can help us gain some of these insights.

Since we are talking about the judgment/resurrection theme, let’s begin by expanding the scope of Yeshua’s statements in John 5:

John 5:24-30 – “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son to have life in himself. And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”

Notice, as we saw last time with the prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel, Yeshua’s mention of a great resurrection is in conjunction with a great judgment. This judgment is identified as death and condemnation, which are both contrasted with life. Whatever this judgment is, Yeshua explains how he is authorized by the Father to facilitate this judgment as simply a matter of carrying out the Father’s will.

Now, if we turn our attention back to Daniel’s prophecy and widen the context of that passage a little, we will see that the resurrection Daniel talks about is also connected to a great judgment:

Daniel 12:1-2 – At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since there was a nation until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will be delivered. Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt.

Notice, there would be an unparalleled time of distress in the time of Daniel’s resurrection. It would be a distress to come upon a nation, the nation of Israel, since the angel mentions it would come upon “your [Daniel’s] people”. This is where some modern translations show their bias by saying something like this time would be the worst time of destruction since “any of the nations have ever existed,” or something along those lines. But the Hebrew says “nation” singular, and the context points to Daniel’s people: Israel. So, Daniel appears to be discussing a specific destruction and judgment which would be coming specifically upon his people, Israel. This will be brought out in little bit as we widen the context of Daniel’s prophecy further.

CONTEXT FOR DANIEL’S PROPHECY

Just as we did with Isaiah’s prophecy last time, we have to remember that the original text of Scripture does not have chapter divisions, so if we are to understand the judgment and resurrection of Daniel 12, we need to find out where this particular vision of Daniel begins so we can determine if there is any mention of when this “time of distress” for Daniel’s people was to take place. In the beginning of chapter 10, we read the following:

Daniel 10:1 – In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had understanding of the vision.

This same vision of a great conflict spans all of chapters 10 and 11 and then culminates in chapter 12. Throughout the prophecy, we see that the angelic messenger hints at time markers of when in Israel’s history this vision takes place:

Daniel 10:14 – “Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.“

So here we see that this vision that Daniel has is going to be taking place to Daniel’s people “in the last days.” In chapter 11 and 12:1 and 4, we receive several more time markers:

Daniel 11:40 – “At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood.”

Daniel 12:1-4 – “At that time [the time of the end mentioned at 11:40] Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since there was a nation until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape. Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt. Those who have insight will shine like the bright expanse of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end…”

As captivating as the entirety of Daniel’s vision is, in this study we are focused on the final stage of a collective resurrection and when it was to take place. Throughout the vision this resurrection is described as being at “the time of the end”, “the last days”, “at that time”. But the last days of what? Is it talking about the last days of life on earth as we know it, or possibly something else?

If we continue reading, we see that we receive some additional information that helps to identify these last days.

Daniel 12:5-7 – Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others were standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the other. One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river, “How long until the end of these wondrous things? ” Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river. He raised both his hands toward heaven and swore by him who lives eternally that it would be for a time, times, and half a time.When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed.

When was the power of the holy people (Israel) shattered “for a time, times, and half a time”? Again, we must keep in mind that this vision is all about Daniel’s people, Israel, and their history and influence within the world. As the holy people of God, those whom he set apart for himself, it seems to me to make sense that it would have to be a time when their “power” was to be shattered, destroyed and spread around, which is what the word means.

I would submit for your consideration that this shattering into pieces and dispersion occurred at the destruction of the second temple in the three and a half years between 67-70 AD (the time, times, and half a time of Daniel’s prophecy) almost two thousand years ago. At that time Jerusalem was completely destroyed, the Jews that survived were permanently removed from the land, and the temple was brought to the ground with “not one stone left upon another”. The destruction of the temple would be the final indication of “when the power of the holy people is shattered”. If Daniel’s prophecy was completed at that time, then that was the conclusive “end of the days”, the last day and the end of the age of the holy people of Daniel’s time: ancient Israel.

Daniel also mentions the great resurrection was to happen “at that time”. In reading about what Yeshua taught, we see he also discussed a resurrection on something he called “the last day”. Daniel’s “last days” and “time of the end” appear to be equated with the “last day” terminology used by Yeshua and in general understanding among the people of his day. Could these two descriptions be describing the same thing?

RESURRECTION AND THE LAST DAY

John 6:39 – “This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day.

That by Yeshua’s day there was already a general conception of this collective resurrection of the dead is evidenced by Martha as she speaks to Yeshua outside the tomb of her recently deceased brother, Lazarus:

John 11:24 – Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection onthe last day.”

I believe Martha’s statement was based on her understanding of Daniel’s collective resurrection. As we saw last time, Yeshua doesn’t correct Martha’s understanding of a collective resurrection, but simply redirects her to an understanding that he himself is the agent of resurrection: “I am the resurrection and the life”. He plainly taught that those who believed in him as the Messiah would receive eternal life, which in Yeshua’s teaching was to be equated with this resurrection life.

In John 6, Yeshua had spoken at length about this resurrection and who would be qualified to participate in it. So, since this “last day rising” seems to be a very specific teaching of Yeshua which is tied to the prophecy of Daniel, let’s take a closer look at how we should be viewing this resurrection perspective which he taught.

John 6:39-40, 44, 54 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” … No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. … Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

These four verses in the gospel of John make references to “the last day” that involves a “raising” of some sort as opposed to a possible “losing” of it. Verse 39 states: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” In fact, the Greek word used here for lose, apoleso, is used only in this one place in our Greek New Testaments. But it is based on the root appolumi, which can imply a type of destruction, or more accurately, a “losing of something left for destruction”. Looked at in this light, v. 39 can read in a bit more insightful way more literally rendered along these lines:

“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing [to destruction] of all that he has given me, but [instead] raise it up on the last day.”

So this “all” that was given to Yeshua by God is the subject of the raising, as opposed to destruction. He then goes on to explain who it is who will make up the “all”:

John 6:40 – For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.“

In this passage, Yeshua is here proclaiming the centrality of faith in him as the Messiah as the qualifier for eternal life and this rising on the last day.Those who were to “look on the Son and believe in him” are the participants in the “all” who will be raised “on the last day”.

And this is where we come to what I consider to be a key teaching in the New Testament writings: Everyone who believed in Yeshua in that day were considered to be the true remnant of faithful Israel. That was the contingent with whom God maintained covenant: those who listened to and obeyed his word through his Messiah. That they would be “raised up” on the last day, using the language of national restoration that we learned from Isaiah and Ezekiel, sets the stage for a great restoration of some type for the believing remnant on the last day.

So, now we know from the passage in John who the “all” are who would be raised up in the last day (the faithful remnant of Israel), and we know how they are qualified for this resurrection (i.e., faith in Messiah). It now becomes natural to ask what is the possible destruction or judgment that they are saved from, and when is the “last day” when this rising was to occur. It then follows to understand what does this resurrection/restoration look like? If we return to the vision of Daniel and link his indicators to the teachings of Yeshua, I think we will find the answers to these very important questions.

THE DESTRUCTION/JUDGMENT

What was the destruction or judgment from which Yeshua was saving the faithful remnant?

Daniel 12:7 – When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed.

As I have already suggested earlier, the judgment that was imminent in the day of Yeshua and his disciples was the complete annihilation of the city of Jerusalem, and the removal of the temple system, both of which had become extremely corrupt. The power of the holy people was about to be shattered, once and for all time. This theme of the coming judgment was the theme of both John the baptizer and Yeshua:

Matthew 3:7, 10, 12 – But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he [John] said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? … Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. … His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.“

Matthew 4:17 – From then on Yeshua began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

This was to be a judgment on Jerusalem and Israel, not the whole world, as can be seen in the prophecies concerning the resurrection concept. Consider the following statement as Yeshua lashed out against the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes:

Luke 11:50 – …so that the blood of all the prophets [that is, the prophets of Israel], shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation…”

As we are about to explore further, the coming destruction was to be upon Israel collectively and Jerusalem specifically, in that generation. They had rejected God’s continued efforts through his prophets to bring them back to himself, yet they persisted in pursuing the idolatry of national independence over being the light to the nations as the representative Kingdom of God on the earth. Because of this, they would face the complete destruction, not only of their capital, but of the covenantal system of worship that he had provided them. They had broken the covenant by pursuing idolatry and their priesthood had become corrupt; therefore, it would no longer be a viable means of approaching God. Even so, the covenantal priestly system had served its purpose, and its culmination in producing the Messiah was its fulfillment. However, in rejecting the Anointed One of God, his very own son, they were essentially rejecting Yahweh as their ultimate King and Father, and instead they were choosing to set up their own false and idolatrous king and priesthood.

THE TIMING OF THE LAST DAY

Now that we have established what the coming destruction was, it remains for us to find out if these passages tell us when this judgment was to be poured out. The apostles, represented by Peter’s speech on Pentecost, had picked up on this judgment as a day that was to be occurring soon, within that generation:

Acts 2:40 – And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Why were the disciples so focused on that generation? Well, we can see that they were simply following the lead of their Master. A simple search of the phrase “this generation” provides many provocative verses illustrating the fact that Yeshua, along with his disciples, had an urgent sense of imminency, warning the people that this judgment would soon be carried out.

Mark 13:30 – Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

Luke 21:31-32, 34 – So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. … “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

Once again, this was to be a judgment on Israel, not the whole world, as can be seen in the teachings of the apostles:

Acts 2:14-18 – Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. “For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. “On the contrary, this [what you are seeing and hearing right now] is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “And it will be in the last days, says God, [that is, the last days of Israel, according to Daniel] that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy.”

Hebrews 1:1-2 – Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son…

1 John 2:18 – Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour.

Peter, under the inspiration of the holy Spirit, prophesied that Joel’s prophecy of the last days was taking place at that time through the pouring out of the Spirit on that day of Pentecost, and that that generation was the one on which judgment was also about to be poured out. The writer of Hebrews says “these last days”, the days in which they were living. John goes even further and says “it is the last hour”.

The destruction of that day, that last day, was to be hanging over that generation in their day, not all generations moving forward for thousands of years. The judgment that was coming upon Jerusalem and the religious system was pointed straight at that specific generation two thousand years ago, and came to pass just as Yeshua predicted when Jerusalem fell to the Roman armies in 68-70 AD; within that generation.

So, now that we have seen what was the judgment to come (the destruction of Jerusalem/temple) and when it was to take place (that generation in the first century, when the power of the holy people was shattered), what was this resurrection and restoration supposed to be?

WHAT THE FINAL RESTORATION WOULD LOOK LIKE

After relating the parable of the vineyard owner to the unfaithful chief priests and elders, Yeshua summarized its message by stating the following:

Matthew 21:43 – Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

To their shame, Israel as a whole no longer carried the Name of God, and Yahweh was beholden to renew his faithful people (the remnant who believed in Messiah) from not only Israel, but from those scattered among the nations at that time. While Yeshua said he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24), he also knew that he would be reaching out to the scattered remnant of Israel among the diaspora. The diaspora was the dispersion of Israelites that had taken place during the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities hundreds of years earlier during the times of Isaiah and Ezekiel which we reviewed last time. Not all of the Jews had returned to Israel after those captivities; in fact there were contingents of Jewish communities all throughout the Roman empire in Yeshua’s day. Some of them, such as Alexandria and Babylon, were quite large.

John 10:16 – And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Yeshua was teaching that he would reunite these “lost tribes” with Judah once again, as was prophesied by God through Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 34:22-23 – I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
Ezekiel 37:19, 21-24 – say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. … then say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.

This was the urgency with which the disciples preached the message of the Kingdom to that generation, and those spread out throughout the known world via the missionary journeys. The disciples had heard Yeshua issue the “Great Commission” and they ardently strove for the completion of that task.

Matthew 28:18-20 – Yeshua came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Although these passages have spurred many great missionary efforts in the centuries since that time, we read that the apostle Paul says this mission of reaching the known world was actually accomplished within his lifetime, through his ministry and the ministry of the disciples of Messiah within that generation.

Colossians 1:23 – …This gospel has been [past tense] proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

Additionally, in the process of rescuing the “lost sheep” of Israel, many non-Jewish God-fearers who attended the synagogues and had learned about the God of the Hebrews would also be brought in to the faithful remnant of that generation. This is how God’s Kingdom would grow beyond the nation and scattered communities of Israel into the whole world.

Yeshua had even spoken about how some non-Jews would be in a more righteous position than the wicked Jews of his day.

Matthew 12:41-42 – “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look – something greater than Jonah is here. “The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look – something greater than Solomon is here.

This teaching implies that Yeshua’s righteous declarations from Yahweh were to be corroborated by the righteous dead from the past, and they would, in a sense, stand in agreement with his decision when judgment was to come upon Israel. Interestingly, he lists Ninevites and the Queen of the South (Sheba) as being witnesses to the righteousness of his teaching, none of whom are Israelites. It follows, then, that even those of the Gentile nations who were obedient to Yahweh and who revered his majesty would be considered righteous in God’s eyes and stand in agreement with the judgment that was about to come upon the nation of Israel.

Acts 10:34-35 – Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, “but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

Paul hints at this as well:

Romans 9:30 – What should we say then? [those among] the nations who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness – namely the righteousness that comes from faith.

Romans 10:19-21 – But I ask, “Did Israel not understand? ” First, Moses said, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that lacks understanding. And Isaiah says boldly, I was found by those who were not looking for me; I revealed myself to those who were not asking for me. But to Israel he says, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and defiant people.

So those Ninevites who actually repented at Jonah’s preaching, and the Queen of Sheba who glorified Yahweh at the wisdom and majesty of Solomon would be in a position to condemn the Jewish leaders in Yeshua’s day because the Jewish leaders did not accept their own Messiah. These non-Hebrew God-fearers would, in a sense, “stand up” in condemnation upon all in that wicked generation who rejected Messiah. The resurrection of condemnation was upon those who rejected Messiah (those who did wicked things). However, the righteous who had obeyed and glorified Yahweh (those who have done good things) would receive eternal life because of their righteous actions.

This type of language seems to me to imply it was not a literal resurrection that is being talked about in any of these passages, but the language of resurrection is being used to illustrate an historical witness to the truth of Messiah and his teachings which would be demonstrated as judgment came to pass upon the nation of Israel in that generation.

As we have seen, the theme of resurrection is restoration to the inheritance. However, now that eternal life has entered the picture through Daniel and Yeshua’s prophecies, Israel (the righteous remnant inclusive of Messiah-believing God-fearers) is not just being restored to the land, but is being created into something new: the eternal spiritual city of Zion, their true inheritance.

ETERNAL LIFE IN DANIEL

Let’s return to Daniel again, as we need to be reminded of the main thrust of the resurrection Daniel discusses: eternal life. As mentioned earlier, this element of eternal life is what separates Daniel’s prophecy from those of Isaiah and Ezekiel that we reviewed last time. This fact, along with its specific timing and corroboration with Yeshua’s teaching places the representative resurrection/restoration of believers into the sphere of the eternal, and not just a worldly kingdom. The corrupted fleshly city of Jerusalem was about to be transformed into the spiritual city on a hill, the “true light of the world which could not be hidden,” (Matthew 5:14).

Indications given by Yeshua suggest that he is talking beyond just a national restoration to a spiritual one. He connects this resurrection on the last day with eternal life within the Kingdom of God.

John 6:40 – For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.“

That this was to be a spiritual kingdom and not a fleshly one is evidenced by the additional element of eternal life in both Daniel’s prophecy and the teaching of Yeshua on resurrection. Eternal life and principles can only be obtained in a spiritual reality, not a physical kingdom. Everything within this natural world is temporary and subject to decay.

2 Corinthians 4:18 – So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Ezekiel had said the people of Israel would be gathered as “one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel”.

Ezekiel 37:21-22 – “tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says: I am going to take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land. “I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. They will no longer be two nations and will no longer be divided into two kingdoms.

The truest mountain of Israel is Mount Zion, the prophetic new Jerusalem. The writer of Hebrews illustrated this contrast between Mount Sinai (fleshly Israel) with Mount Zion (spiritual Israel):

Hebrews 12:18, 22-24 – For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, … Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, and to Yeshua, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.”

Verse 23 says it is on this mountain, Mount Zion, where the “spirits of righteous people” are made perfect. I believe this is a description of the resurrection of the righteous, something which the writer to the Hebrews was saying was accomplished in that day. This could only have come to pass in a spiritual sense, and not a literal, earthly sense.

To carry this idea further, let’s look at the apostle Paul’s writings about resurrection. Yeshua had taught that his Kingdom was a spiritual Kingdom, not an earthly one. When conversing with Pilate before his crucifixion he said the following:

John 18:36 – “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Yeshua. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

In a similar sense, the apostle Paul taught that flesh and blood could not inherit the true Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 15:50 – What I am saying, brothers, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption.

This shows how fleshly Israel could never become the true Kingdom of God; a transformation had to take place. He then goes on to explain the “mystery” of that transformation which was about to take place within that generation.

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 – Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible [judgment will be complete], and we will be changed. For this which is perishable [national Israel] must be clothed with imperishability [the eternal Kingdom], and this which is subject to death must be clothed with immortality. When this perishable is clothed with imperishability, and this which is subject to death is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory.

We have been taught for so long that Paul is talking about individual resurrection bodies here that we have missed the “mystery” of what he is actually describing in this passage. I believe this famous passage of Paul is not describing individual resurrection, but the resurrection of the body of Israel into the body of Messiah; from old man (Adam, of the earth) to Messiah (the man of heaven); from a fleshly, corrupt nation into a spiritual, immortal entity; from old Jerusalem (earthly) to New Jerusalem (heavenly). This is what all of the prophetic pictures were pointing to and was to become the majestic culmination of the work of God in restoring his people to their true inheritance.

1 Corinthians 15:36-37 – …What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow – you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain.

Again, I believe he is not talking about individual bodies, but the seed of national Israel was planted (destroyed) only to become something much more than a seed can be. In order for the seed to sprout, it must die. However, it then nourishes and supports the growth of whatever type of plant will grow out of it.

1 Corinthians 15:22-23, 28 – For just as in Adam [the seed of Israel] all die, so also in Messiah [that which grows out of the seed] all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Messiah, the firstfruits [fruit that comes from a seed]; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Messiah [the faithful remnant]. … When everything is subject to Messiah, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

Messiah had said he would pass judgment on that generation, which was accomplished through the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Roman armies. In the process of destroying his enemies, the righteous dead were considered to have received their inheritance (the eternal Kingdom) jointly with the remaining living believers (i.e., the faithful remnant) who were delivered, just as he had said.

This entire process was the outworking of the the resurrection to life and the resurrection to condemnation that both Daniel and Yeshua prophesied. The resurrection of the wicked (that is, the wicked receiving their sentence) was evidenced by the destruction once and for all of the idolatrous nation, where the fruition of all past wickedness was judged in totality. This judgment is where God and his Messiah were vindicated against unfaithful Israel forever.

By contrast, the great resurrection of the righteous was the “mystery” transformation of earthly Israel into the eternal Israel, where all of the righteous from all ages would be united. The New Jerusalem, the great Zion of prophecy, would stand as an eternal habitation of those who would welcome believers in Messiah throughout all ages from that point forward.

In that generation, justice upon the enemies of God and his Messiah (the unfaithful Jews) had been completed and the eternal Kingdom was firmly established. The last days of ancient Israel was when this great judgment and resurrection took place.

SUMMARY

With the wide-ranging scope of all that we have covered in this series so far, let me see if I can somehow begin to pull some of the pieces together to summarize it.

Judgment: The prophecies of collective resurrection always occur with a theme of judgment. When Israel was unfaithful, they were destroyed and removed from the land. In the first century, this culminated in the non-believing Jews who were condemned and destroyed in the fires of Jerusalem’s destruction in 68-70 AD. The wicked dead were considered included in the judgment of that generation.

Restoration: Restoration to the inheritance is the theme of collective resurrection. There was always a faithful remnant who would become reestablished to their inheritance. In the first century, the faithful remnant of Israel (those who believed in Messiah) were collected from among the nations. The two sticks became one; the lost sheep were found. But their inheritance was no longer the physical land, but a spiritual inheritance. All of the righteous share in this inheritance.

Eternal life: The prophecy of Daniel and the teachings of Yeshua agree that a collective resurrection in the last days of the nation of ancient Israel would culminate not just in restoration to the land, but in eternal life. This life was granted to all who believed, and extended into the age to come beyond death, what Yeshua also calls the resurrection.

The resurrection written by Paul: the body (fleshly Israel) died and was resurrected into spiritual Israel as prophetic Zion. The resurrection body (of believers) grew from the seed of Israel into the eternal city on the hill, the new Jerusalem.

The spiritual and eternal nature of this Kingdom will be emphasized further in our next installment in this resurrection series as we look at the implications of the most famous resurrection in all of history: the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah.

Well, with everything we’ve covered today, I’m hoping there’s at least a couple of concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Resurrection part 2: Judgment and collective resurrection in the prophets

In the prophets, resurrection appears to be more of a concept or a motif to provide a picture of a larger work of God among his people.

Core of the Bible podcast #122 – Resurrection part 2: Judgment and collective resurrection in the prophets

We are continuing the second essay today in a four-part series on the topic of resurrection. Last time, in the first essay, we looked at how resurrection is the hope of every Christian believer. It is the grand doctrine of collective immortality that motivates sermons, service to others, and evangelistic efforts throughout the world.

It’s my opinion that since most believers today are holding to a future collective resurrection of some kind, I think we would do well to look at how the resurrection theme or motif has been established throughout the entire Bible. One of the challenges that we face when reviewing this topic is that, as mentioned last time, is that discussions revolving around resurrection do not appear to be as prevalent in the Old Testament writings. In my view, this speaks volumes as to how cautiously we need to approach the topic of resurrection to ensure that our understanding and expectations meets those of the original audience as much as possible.

While we saw last time how there are quite a few individual resurrections mentioned throughout the Bible, in the Tanakh there are also hints at a collective type of bodily resurrection. In the prophets, resurrection appears to be more of a concept or a motif to provide a picture of a larger work of God among his people. There are three primary references to a general resurrection of sorts described in the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Additionally, collective resurrection is not just a description of a great event to take place, but it is typically tied to, and supplemental to, warnings of impending judgment. Therefore, judgment and collective resurrection are not topics to be studied independently of one another but are tied together in a cohesive balance.

THE THEME OF JUDGMENT

The more one studies the Bible, the more one can see how the majority of the prophetic themes tended toward pronouncing judgment on a nation who had abandoned the covenant of their God. The Bible is, after all, a book written by the Hebrew people to the Hebrew people. Time and time again, Yahweh, through his prophets, warned the people of impending judgment because of their unfaithfulness. This was the primary role of the prophet, not so much to tell the future, but to confront the people with the reality of the present. And this they would do, many times with word pictures, allegory, and metaphor.

Because they were principally responsible for pronouncing judgment, this is why, although they performed great acts the changed the courses of kingdoms, they were also many times treated so badly.

Hebrews 11:32-33, 36-38 – And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, … Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

No one likes to hear that what they are doing is wrong, and certainly not that their actions have provoked the hand of God in judgment against the nation. But this was the role of the prophet, and why many of them expressed great reluctance at accepting the mantle of the prophetic.

Exodus 4:13 – Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

Jonah 1:1-3 – The word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.” Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from Yahweh’s presence…

1 Kings 19:9-10 – He entered a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah? ” He replied, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.”

Because their work was so heavy and impactful, I believe their words within their writings should be understood as much as possible in the manner in which they were intended.

THE THEME OF COLLECTIVE RESURRECTION

Having this mindset, we can now review the prophetic pronouncements that have led to ideas of a collective resurrection. Let’s look at our first collective resurrection passage in Isaiah:

Isaiah 26:19 – Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

To grasp what is being talked about here, we need to view the context in which Isaiah is speaking as a whole. We have to remember that chapter divisions in our English bibles are not original to the text. This declaration of resurrection comes amidst a long passage of judgment and restoration that begins in Isaiah 25 and runs through chapter 27. Whatever is going on here needs to be viewed in light of this whole passage. You may want to pause here and review those three chapters in totality to get a glimpse of the scope and flow of what Isaiah is talking about.

Isaiah, like most of the other prophets, appears to not only speak to the immediate situation at hand, but also sees into the workings of God among his people throughout the ages. It’s not as though he speaks directly about specific events in the future, but the future seems to unfold in what he prophesies about Israel’s then-present reality.

It’s also as if Isaiah is simply faithfully recording what he is inspired to tell, and yet it is not revealed to him in chronological, historical order. However, taken as a whole, the prophetic puzzle pieces can be put back together to reveal the larger work of God establishing his eternal Kingdom among his people.

While it is believed that Isaiah’s primary ministry was to the southern Kingdom of Judah, he prophesied at a time when the northern Kingdom of Israel was about to be taken captive by the Assyrians. The idolatry of the land had become so rampant that Isaiah warned of what the results would be of this impending judgment.

Isaiah 27:10-11 – For the fortified city will be desolate, pastures deserted and abandoned like a wilderness. Calves will graze there, and there they will spread out and strip its branches. When its branches dry out, they will be broken off. Women will come and make fires with them, for they are not a people with understanding. Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not be gracious to them.

Even though Isaiah sees this result coming to pass throughout the land, he recounts the larger purpose of God in disciplining his wayward people.

Isaiah 26:9 – I long for you [Yahweh] in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks you, for when your judgments are in the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Isaiah seems to have understood that Israel was the example for the rest of the world. God’s dealings with his people would set the standard for everyone everywhere else. And yet, even though Israel had this favored status among the nations, they had not fulfilled their destiny of being the light to the rest of the world that they should have been:

Isaiah 26:18 – We became pregnant, we writhed in pain; we gave birth to wind. We have not accomplished any deliverance on the earth, and the earth’s inhabitants have not fallen.

Isaiah appears to be decrying the fact that the judgments upon Israel have not produced the fruit that God desired: a salvation that extends to the world where his Kingdom reigns supreme. Instead, because of the depths of their idolatry, it would become necessary for God to remove them from the land. This is such a fixed conclusion that he proclaims this as an event that has already come to pass:

Isaiah 27:8-9 – You disputed with Israel by banishing and driving her away. He removed her with his severe storm on the day of the east wind. Therefore Jacob’s iniquity will be atoned for in this way, and the result of the removal of his sin will be this: when he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.

Yet amidst this language of destruction of the land through judgment comes the inspiration of hope for the future of his people:

Isaiah 26:19-21 – Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For behold, Yahweh is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the land for their iniquity, and the land will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.

Isaiah 27:6 – In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bloom and fill the whole world with fruit.

Even though the nation was firmly destined to be punished for their idolatry and wickedness and to become desolate, they would revive as if in a great, collective resurrection. They would ultimately return to the land from among the nations of their captivity and “blossom and bloom and fill the whole world with fruit.”

Here we see a collective resurrection brought to pass as the flowering of a new opportunity. Though the nation suffers judgment, that judgment shall result in a flourishing that is not currently evident as the nation is being brought into captivity. The judgment must come to pass for the collective resurrection of the nation to take place.

Isaiah even hints that beyond this restoration, God would also take issue with their captors to ensure that justice is accomplished.

Isaiah 27:1 – On that day Yahweh with his relentless, large, strong sword will bring judgment on Leviathan, the fleeing serpent – Leviathan, the twisting serpent. He will slay the monster that is in the sea.

Leviathan, the twisting serpent, the sea monster would be slain. Throughout the Bible, the sea is representative of the nations, while the land has to do with God’s own people. In this declaration, Isaiah appears to be revealing how judgment would also come upon the nations that conspired to take captive his own people, and God would see that justice was done. While this came to pass in the destruction of the Assyrian empire a scant hundred years into their future, the full text of this passage in Isaiah 25-27 seems to flow out into the timeline of the nation as a whole, as if what was currently happening to them among the Assyrians was simply a shadow of a larger pattern that would have ultimate fulfillment at a future time.

Notice the pattern: there is judgment pronounced upon Israel for their idolatry and unfaithfulness. Yet, through these circumstances, they will ultimately be brought back to their land and flourish. Though they had forsaken their destiny to be the light to the world, through their stubborn rebellion God would cause a great change to take place.

Isaiah 27:12-13 – On that day Yahweh will thresh grain from the Euphrates River as far as the Wadi of Egypt, and you Israelites will be gathered one by one. On that day a great ram’s horn will be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they will worship Yahweh at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.

Isaiah 25:7-8 – On this mountain he will swallow up the burial shroud, the shroud over all the peoples, the sheet covering all the nations. When he has swallowed up death once and for all, the Lord Yahweh will wipe away the tears from every face and remove his people’s disgrace from the whole earth, for Yahweh has spoken.

Isaiah’s description of this collective resurrection and renewal clearly culminates in a time beyond his own. Life would flow from the heights of Mount Zion to the rest of the nations by the removal of the shroud of death caused by sinful rebellion. Isaiah’s message of hope and restoration to the nation through their captivity becomes a beacon of light that God will ultimately use to draw all men to himself.

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THE THEME OF JUDGMENT

Roughly a hundred years after Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, Assyria falls out of power and succumbs to the might of Babylon. As the known world at that time comes under the influence of the newest superpower, the southern kingdom of Judah represented by Jerusalem is next in line to come under the judgment of God due to their idolatry, corruption, and unfaithfulness.

Micah and Zephaniah were raised up to warn Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of the impending judgment.

Micah 6:12-13 – “For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; the tongues in their mouths are deceitful. “As a result, I have begun to strike you severely, bringing desolation because of your sins.

Zephaniah 3:1-4 – Woe to the city that is rebellious and defiled, the oppressive city! She has not obeyed; she has not accepted discipline. She has not trusted in Yahweh; she has not drawn near to her God. The princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are wolves of the night, which leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are reckless — treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to instruction.

As the Babylonian dominance comes to pass, God also raises up Ezekiel to speak to his people. Ezekiel begins with recognizing the destruction of the land that was a result of the unfaithfulness of the people. Not only had the northern kingdom been taken captive and dispersed throughout the empire of the former Assyrian empire, now the southern kingdom had been removed to the far reaches of the Babylonian empire.

Ezekiel 36:17-19 – “Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before me was like menstrual impurity. “So I poured out my wrath on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols. “I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries. I judged them according to their conduct and actions.

THE THEME OF COLLECTIVE RESURRECTION

Immediately in the next chapter, Ezekiel then turns to a message of hope for God’s people during their period of exile by bringing a message of restoration.

Ezekiel 37:1-3, 11-14 – The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” … Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off [from the land].’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel [from your state of exile]. Andyou shall know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live [you shall be “resurrected”], and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am Yahweh; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares Yahweh.”

This description of dry bones by Ezekiel was a word picture that conveyed the then-current exiled status of the nation. While by all accounts the nation appeared as dead to the rest of the world, just a field of scattered, dry bones, Ezekiel prophesied the “whole house of Israel” would “come back to life” as God’s Spirit revived them in a great restoration to their land. Their return to the land was looked at as a type of national “resurrection” that was described in those prophetic terms of dry bones coming back to life. This theme of restoration and revival would have given much hope to the exiles throughout the nations, since they would only have been able to see their current condition, separated from the land that God had promised them due to their unfaithfulness.

While both of these resurrection passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel can provide us with study material on its own, taken together we can see how this collective resurrection theme or motif is consistent with the idea of a national revival or reawakening from a previously dead and disconnected or exiled state. In the historical context, each of these prophets was prophesying to the nation of Israel of a promise for them to be revived and renewed as a people of God’s favor among which he resides and in which he is honored and glorified. This renewal was looked at as being so dramatic as to represent becoming alive again from the dead.

These concepts of exile/judgment and restoration/resurrection had been established in God’s Word long before these prophets uttered their declarations to the wayward people of Israel, beginning with Moses.

Deuteronomy 29:24-28 – “All the nations will ask, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land? Why this intense outburst of anger? ‘ “Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, which he had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. “They began to serve other gods, bowing in worship to gods they had not known – gods that Yahweh had not permitted them to worship. “Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against this land, and he brought every curse written in this book on it. “Yahweh uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage, and intense wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.’

Deuteronomy 30:3 – then Yahweh your God will restoreyour fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where Yahweh your God has scattered you.

Here in the book of Deuteronomy, even before they entered the land that God promised them in the great campaigns of Joshua, God knew the people of Israel would within time become unfaithful in their covenant and they would have to be removed from their land in judgment. But he also knew and revealed to Moses that he would ultimately restore them.

Just as we have seen how the later prophets had been declaring judgment upon Israel during the reigns of Assyria and Babylon, they also prophesied this recurring theme of renewal or restoration as the judgment/restoration theme of Moses’ prophecy ran its course.

Jeremiah 29:14 – I will be found by you, declares Yahweh, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares Yahweh, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Ezekiel 39:25 – “Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.

Joel 3:1, 21 – Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, … I will pardon their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, for Yahweh dwells in Zion.

Amos 9:14 – I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

Zephaniah 3:20 – At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says Yahweh.

Because these prophecies were uttered at times when their nation had been destroyed, the people would have had no immediate assurance that reinhabiting and rebuilding the land was even a possibility. But these prophecies were providing them hope for the future, a future which, half a century later, had begun to come about in a physical sense which is recorded for us in the book of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was instrumental in the reestablishment of Israel in the land, and he points to their restoration as a fulfillment of the prophecy which had been uttered by Moses about nine hundred years earlier:

Nehemiah 1:7-10 – We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.‘ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.

The rest of the book of Nehemiah talks in detail about the reestablishing of the city of Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple, and the reinstitution of the sacrifices in the land. As they were beginning to be regathered from the nations of exile, all of the physical restoration was coming about, just as God had promised through Moses and the prophets. For all appearances, the nation was being revived from their rebellion and their exile, they were a nation being resurrected collectively from among the nations, just as Isaiah and Ezekiel had also prophesied.

However, their collective resurrection was only physical in nature; it was a shell of its former glories it possessed during the reign of David and Solomon. While they were indeed being resurrected to physical residence back in their land, they were still lacking their spiritual restoration leading from death to life that had been promised through both Isaiah and Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 37:14 – “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live…”

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Moving ahead almost five hundred years forward from Nehemiah’s day, the idea of full, national restoration was still a common hope of the Jews. In the New Testament times of Yeshua, Israel lacked independence from the political forces that had arisen in the region during their years of their captivity. Because of this, they had been subject to many different foreign powers since returning to their land, therefore they were willing to do just about anything to throw off the yoke of their oppressors. This had been exhibited in the struggles for independence during the events of the Maccabean wars, a century and a half before Messiah.

Even though the nation had been physically restored to their land and the second temple was reestablished, something was yet missing. The ark of the covenant had been lost and the holy of holies inside the temple sat empty. Both Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s prophecies of restoration to the land after judgment had come to pass. But while the nation had been restored in outward measure, they were still just the dry bones of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Something more was needed to spiritually revive them into the people that God desired for himself.

The New Testament writings reveal that despite the lack of spiritual revival, there remained a deep and abiding unspoken hope that another revolutionary figure would arise and establish Israel’s independence once and for all. The golden age of David and Solomon was hoped to be reestablished, where spiritual truth would once again flow from Mount Zion to the ends of the earth. However, the leaders in Yeshua’s day still tread carefully to retain political influence with the then current regime of Rome. An example of this is found in the gospel of John, when the religious leaders reveal one of the primary motivating factors for them having to deal with the “problem” of a prophet from Nazareth.

John 11:47-48 – So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

The Jewish leaders wanted to maintain their precarious position within the Empire while still holding out for a revolutionary independence. Even among the people of Israel, there was a popular anticipation that ultimate national restoration was near. This is why Yeshua was so widely received upon his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:8-10 – Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh! Hosanna in the highest!”

It was a fervor that saw interpretations of prophetic timelines reaching a climax with a new, dynamic leader to possibly chart an independent course for the subjugated nation. Even though many did not know who Yeshua was, they were amazed at the miraculous signs that came to pass in their midst. There was a tangible expectation that this could possibly be the promised Messiah who could rise to become a physical king and provide the spiritual revival that was still lacking.

For example, at the miraculous provision of the loaves and fishes, we read the following:

John 6:11, 14-15 – Then Yeshua took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated – so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. … When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This truly is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Therefore, when Yeshua realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Just as Judas Maccabeus, only a century and a half before, had gained the victory over the oppression of Greece, here now was a popular figure, a descendant of King David who it was hoped by many could take the nation to victory over the oppression of Rome, establish Israel’s independence, and usher in not only an independent nation, but a new spiritual era.

In fact, this idea of national restoration was so ingrained in the culture of the disciples, that even after Messiah’s resurrection they were still wondering about when the national restoration would take place.

Acts 1:6 – So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Yeshua’s elusive answer may have been unsatisfying to them at that time, but it speaks volumes as to what his true mission had been and how it was coming to pass.

Acts 1:7-8 – He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The people of Yeshua’s day, including his disciples, were not entirely wrong about him as the coming king, just misguided in scope. He was indeed their king fulfilling prophecy by “coming to them on a colt,” they just did not recognize what type of king he was and what type of kingdom he was heralding.

It still took another decade for the true understanding of Yeshua’s purpose to be proclaimed among the nascent Jewish believing community, voiced by the apostle James.

Acts 15:13-18 – After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek Yahweh, and all the nations who are called by my name, says Yahweh, who makes these things known from of old.’

James seems to have understood that the real renewal and restoration of Israel envisioned by Yahweh and pronounced through Messiah Yeshua was the advent of the spiritual Kingdom of God, and the fulfillment of Israel’s destiny in being a light to the nations. James’ speech to the assembled community in Jerusalem signifies to me that the early believers were understanding that the prophetic restoration and collective resurrection passages were to be viewed in their fullness as the establishment of a spiritual kingdom that would last forever.

James quoted how it was the “tent of David” that had fallen and was being rebuilt; it was no longer a physical city or nation that was being rebuilt, renewed, and restored. There seems to have been an understanding that the resurrection passages of the prophets from hundreds of years earlier had been pointing beyond the physical restoration of Israel to a spiritual revival of Israel, in a sense, from among the dead to the living, as it were. Israel itself would become something else in its renewed state that would be as dramatic as something that was dead coming back to life, just as Isaiah had prophesied:

Isaiah 27:6 – In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bloom and fill the whole world with fruit.

It was to be so dramatic as to even draw people of other nations who would become part and parcel of this renewed community of faith.

Isaiah 49:5-6 – And now, says Yahweh, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him; for I am honored in the sight of Yahweh, and my God is my strength — he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

The writer to the early Hebrew believers in Messiah related how this light would shine from the prophetic city of Zion:

Hebrews 12:22-24 – But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Yeshua, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The ages of men would come and go, but the age of the Kingdom would be eternal and would reach to the ends of the earth. As we have seen, both Isaiah and Ezekiel spoke not just of physical bodily resurrections, but they used the language of collective resurrection to illustrate the physical restoration of the nation to the land after their captivities, providing the appearance of a destroyed nation being resurrected to life once again. But their resurrection prophecies also hinted at a spiritual revival that would usher in a new age which would never end.

But as we have seen in these prophetic pronouncements, the resurrection motif is always coupled with judgment. If a spiritual resurrection to usher in eternal life was still something to come about in the days of Yeshua, what judgment yet remained for God’s people before this could take place?

Well, we still have one more resurrection passage from the Tanakh that speaks of a collective resurrection which we have yet to review: Daniel 12.

Daniel 12:1-2 – “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

A final judgment of unimaginable distress remained. However, the righteous (everyone found written in the book) would be rescued, but the unrighteous would experience disgrace. Here again is the judgment/restoration theme that we have seen played out in the other prophets. However, the Daniel prophecy, while mentioning a collective resurrection, does not say anything about restoration to the land. But it does include a significantly different promise: a promise of eternal life. Because of these differences from the collective resurrection statements of Isaiah and Ezekiel and the restoration themes of the other prophets we have looked at, we will need to take a more in-depth look at this specific prophecy of Daniel next time.

SUMMARY

So, to review what we have covered today, we can begin to see how the resurrection motif has been established in the Bible. This collective resurrection idea expressed in both Isaiah and Ezekiel is one of revival, restoration, and return to the land from Israel’s exile in captivity. These prophetic announcements were statements of hope to Israel even as they were scattered among the various nations. However, this theme of physical restoration to the land was a hint, a foreshadowing of future glory. Even during the time of judgment and destruction of Jerusalem, its demise would not be the cessation of God’s people, but they would ultimately be transformed into something grander and everlasting as the prophetic Zion, the new Jerusalem described in the prophets and apocalyptic literature.

I really hope that these discussions on the topic of resurrection are bringing you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

The Biblical Calendar and Sukkot, the Festival of Shelters

We are still invited to recognize and take to heart some of the great truths of these festival days.

Core of the Bible podcast #119 – The Biblical Calendar and Sukkot, the Festival of Shelters

Having looked at Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement in our last episode, we now come to the third of the fall holiday celebrations: the festival of Sukkot, or Shelters.

Leviticus 23:33-36, 39-43 – Yahweh spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites: The Festival of Shelters to Yahweh begins on the fifteenth day of this seventh month and continues for seven days. There is to be a sacred assembly on the first day; you are not to do any daily work. You are to present a food offering to Yahweh for seven days. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you are not to do any daily work. … You are to celebrate Yahweh’s festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day. On the first day you are to take the product of majestic trees – palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook – and rejoice before Yahweh your God for seven days. You are to celebrate it as a festival to Yahweh seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; celebrate it in the seventh month. You are to live in shelters for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in shelters, so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.”

The Story of the Wilderness

During the Exodus, after the Israelites were delivered from Egypt, they were brought out into the desert wilderness on their way to the land that God had promised Abraham. After receiving the covenant of the Ten Commandments, they were to trust God and take the land.

Deuteronomy 1:21 [Moses said,] ‘See, Yahweh your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’

However, due to their fear of those dwelling in the land, they chose instead to rebel and to try to revert course back to Egypt.

Numbers 14:2-4 All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! “Why is Yahweh bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

Moses recounts what he told them at that time.

Deuteronomy 1:26-27, 34-36, 38 “Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God; and you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because Yahweh hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. … Then Yahweh heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying, ‘Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed Yahweh fully.’ … ‘Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.'”

Because they did not trust God but were stubborn in their hearts, God forced them to wander in the desert wilderness for 40 years until that rebellious generation all died off. However, he had promised to remain with them to guide and provide for them.

Exodus 25:8 – “They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them…”

While they were in the wilderness, God still provided food (manna) and water and whatever else was needed for them to survive. During this time, they lived in tent-like dwellings or shelters (sukkot). This was a long-lasting event that Moses encouraged them to recall with each generation.

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 “You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh. Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Thus you are to know in your heart that Yahweh your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.”

The forty year wandering was a discipline process, readying the next generation to be faithful to inherit the land and everything that had been promised to Abraham and the patriarchs. Now, let’s take a look at some of the symbolism of these activities.

The Sukkot

To begin with, these events were to be remembered symbolically by living in sukkot for a week once a year to remind them of those desert wanderings and the provision of God. The sukkot or shelters served as a reminder, not only of the shelters they lived in during that time, but of the shelter and protection of God during the desert wanderings. For example, in Psalm 31, we are shown how God protects those who take refuge in him:

Psalm 31:19-20 – How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you. In the presence of everyone you have acted for those who take refuge in you. You hide them in the protection of your presence; you conceal them in a shelter [besukKah] from human schemes, from quarrelsome tongues.

The prophet Isaiah reveals a majestic vision of prophetic Zion or the Kingdom of God would have deep ties back to the provision and protection of Yahweh over his people during their desert journeys.

Isaiah 4:5-6 – Then Yahweh will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy [vesukKah] over all the glory, and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.

Just as God demonstrated he could protect them for those forty years, he was revealing how he would provide that same shield and protection over his eternal Kingdom.

The harvest

Additional symbols of this week include the command to rejoice in that which God has provided. This is a harvest festival after all, sometimes called the Feast of Ingathering, as it is in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 23:16 – “Also … observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.”
Exodus 34:22 – “Observe … the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the agricultural year.”

The bounty of the fall harvest is brought in and shared among friends and family, kind of like an ancient Thanksgiving. Actually it is believed by some that the American Thanksgiving holiday was based on the festival of Sukkot by the biblically literate Pilgrims who were looking for a way to honor God with their survival in the New World.

Rest

Along with celebration in the provision of God is the theme of rest, with the first and last days being Sabbaths, or days of rest. The rest after a great harvest provides a deep sense of satisfaction and joy, as it is the completion of all of the hard work that has occurred throughout the spring and summer months. A seven-day festival indicates a complete cycle, just like the seven days of Creation. The fact that it takes place in the seventh month illustrates the sabbath-rest of the eternal kingdom of God, with God ever dwelling, tabernacle-like, in its midst.

Offerings

Each day was also to have an offering made by fire, which as we have seen in other studies as being representative of complete consummation in service to God. Even through the rejoicing in the hard physical work which has been completed, there was always to be a remembrance of who was ultimately responsible for their bounty, and their undivided devotion to his purposes.

On the subject of offerings, we find that the narrative in Numbers 29 regarding this holiday defines a very detailed and specific number of offerings that were to take place each day, inclusive of bulls, rams, lambs and goats, along with grain and drink offerings. Now this very specific numeration of sacrificial animals could be a whole study within itself. But what I find interesting is the sheer magnitude of trying to sacrifice, for example, thirteen bulls in one day, besides the 2 rams and 14 lambs and the goat. Additionally, the number of bulls diminishes each day, beginning at 13 on the first day, then the next day at 12, 11, and so on, until by the seventh day, they reach seven bulls in number. Therefore, when all the bull sacrifices are added up, you reach seventy bulls sacrificed over seven days, ending with seven bulls on the seventh day.

There are many extra-biblical references to the number seventy relating to the totality of the world. Even among ancient Hebrew oral traditions, seventy is considered the number of nations outside of the nation of Israel. At the Jewish site Chabad.org we can find the following explanatory quotes:

Rabbi Avraham Dov Auerbach of Avritch: “It is the task of the People of Israel to bring the glory of G‑d’s kingdom to all of creation, even to the nations of the world, and the offering of the seventy bulls on the festival of Sukkot is in order that the influx of G‑d’s kingdom flows to all of the seventy nations.”

Elana Mizrahi: “In the times of the Holy Temple, not only did everyone come to the Temple to celebrate and wave the lulav and etrog [the fruit and branches], but they also came to bring offerings to G‑d. Each day a number of animals were brought, including bulls. On the first day 13 bulls were brought, and each day one less bull was brought, totaling 70 bulls. These 70 bulls represent the 70 nations of the world.”

This is why, according to rabbinic sources, that only one bull is sacrificed on the Eighth Day of the festival, as it represents the sacrifice for the one remaining nation, Israel. We’ll talk more about the Eighth Day significance in our next episode.

From my perspective, considering there were seventy bulls over seven days, I was also reminded of Peter’s inquiry of Yeshua as to how many times we should forgive those who sin against us:

Matthew 18:21-22 – Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times? ” “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Yeshua replied, “but seventy times seven.”

Such an odd way of phrasing this famous response: “seventy times seven.” Now, I wouldn’t be dogmatic about this, but could it be that Yeshua was hinting at the responsibility of believers to mimic the totality of forgiveness that Yahweh annually offers the nations of the world in the seventy bulls over seven days? In this sense, seventy times seven would be indicative of complete forgiveness of everyone, something which also very closely aligned with the mission of Messiah in this world.

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The branches and fruit

Leviticus 23:40 – On the first day you are to take the product of majestic trees – palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook – and rejoice before Yahweh your God for seven days.

Now this aspect of the holiday week has a certain meaning among modern Jews, as they believe that this verse relates to a specific group of “four species” of plants that they are commanded to worship with each day. These consist of the following:

Lulav: A ripe green, closed frond from a date palm tree.
Etrog: A citron fruit with a thick rind and a sweet fragrance.
Hadas: Three myrtle branches with leaves.
Arava: Two willow branches with long, narrow leaves

There is, in fact, ancient extra-biblical historical evidence that this rejoicing with the fruit and branches was a practice that, to outsiders, appeared to be a revelry similar to that of honoring Bacchus, the god of wine, or other pagan deities. The Greek philosopher Plutarch relates the following in his text Table Talk:

“First of all, he said, the time and character of the greatest, most sacred holiday of the Jews clearly befit Dionysus. For when they celebrate their so-called Fast, at the height of the vintage, they set out tables of all sorts of fruit under tents and huts plaited for the most part of vines and ivy. They call the first of the days Booth. A few days later they celebrate another festival, called openly, no longer through obscure hints, a festival of Bacchus. This festival of theirs is a sort of bearing of branches and of thyrsi [“rods”] in which they enter the temple carrying the thyrsi. What they do after entering we do not know, but it is probable that what they are doing is a Bacchic revelry, for in fact they use little trumpets to invoke their god as do the Argives at their Dionysia.”

Now while Plutarch may be interpreting the actions of the Jews in light of the pagan Greek gods, it is evident that there was a celebratory mood among the Jews during the time of Sukkot and the bearing of the branches into the Temple area. The waving of branches was an act of celebration, much like waving a team flag at a sporting event might be today. Today it is customary to wave these “four species” in a specific fashion each day of Sukkot, as this waving becomes be a representation of “rejoicing with the fruit and branches.” It is considered to be an exhibition of praise to Yahweh for his good provision in the land that he had promised them.

Waving branches as an act of celebration and acclaim should not be unfamiliar to believers in Messiah, as a similar practice was bestowed upon Yeshua as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey in fulfillment of prophetic texts:

John 12:12-13 – The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord – the King of Israel! “

Besides the celebratory aspect of the waving of the branches, this command in Leviticus comes on the heels of the previous verse which states to celebrate the holiday “for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land,” (Leviticus 23:39). This produce of the land would naturally include the fruit of the various fruit-producing trees of the land as well.

But the branches and fruit also have prophetic overtones for the future of Israel as God’s eternal kingdom, as well:

Hosea 14:1, 4-7 – Israel, return to Yahweh your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. … I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for my anger will have turned from him. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon. His new branches will spread, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon. The people will return and live beneath his shade. They will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

Messiah Yeshua captures some of this prophetic imagery in his parable of the mustard seed:

Mark 4:30-32 – And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it? “It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. “And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.“

Ultimately, he claims to be the very source of the true branches and fruit in which believers can rejoice for all time:

John 15:5 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

If this meaning is layered onto the celebration of Sukkot at this time of year, there is additional reason for rejoicing in the living and fruit-producing branches of the Kingdom of God, harvesting the nations of the world for Yahweh.

Living in the shelters

Leviticus 23:42 – “You are to live in shelters for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in shelters…”

It’s interesting how a distinction appears to be made between the native-born and those who are resident-aliens in the land. Only the native-born are required to live in shelters during the festival. By contrast, in the instructions for the Passover feast, it is stated that if the resident-alien desires to keep the Passover, they and their households have to be circumcised.

Exodus 12:48 – “If an alien resides among you and wants to observe Yahweh’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.

Here at Sukkot there is no such caveat. It’s almost as if this command is specifically for those descendants of the generation which wandered in the desert, as the resident alien would have no connection to that event, and no need for the discipline of heart that that generation struggled with. God was very clear when he told the Israelites the reason they should reenact this scenario of living in shelters for a week each year: “so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt…” (Leviticus 23:43).

It’s not that the resident-aliens could not learn from that event, just that they were not required to live in sukkot for that week, even though they were still invited to participate in the festivities. Moses had instructed them:

Deuteronomy 16:13-14 – “You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress. Rejoice during your festival – you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates.

So this command to live in shelters appears to be more directed toward the physical descendants of that generation that was forced to wander in the wilderness, as an echo of their ancestral propensity toward stubbornness of heart. To live in shelters for a week would remind them to never again engage in that level of disobedience to the commands of God in establishing his Kingdom.

Probably the best applications of this biblical festival can be drawn from the Deuteronomy 8 passage we read earlier, a passage where Moses is recounting to the Israelites everything he has ministered to them over the past forty years in the wilderness before they enter the land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 8:2-5

“You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years…”

They were to be reminded that even in their unfaithfulness and stubbornness of heart, God still chose to live among them, to lead them safely through the wilderness, and provide for all of their needs.

“…that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

Through this process, God was determining what was really in their hearts, demonstrated by how faithfully they were to keep his commands. It is one thing to believe what is right; it is another thing to show how strong the belief is by what is done. The apostle James famously stated this truth:

James 2:18 – But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.

This disciplinary process of the desert experience was more for the Israelites to learn about their own hearts, and for them to demonstrate what it is they really wanted in their relationship with God.

“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.”

The miraculous provision of food during their wilderness journeys was because God had promised he would take care of them. If he declared they would have food, they would have food, even if it was miraculous bread from heaven. But it was not the bread that they should focus on, but the faithfulness of God. The bread was a demonstration that they should honor his words because he is a faithful God. His words were the true source of their life.

“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.”

There were no clothing stores and no medical facilities in that desert wasteland. Forty years is a long time to go wandering about in the same clothes, and to not have major physical problems due to all of that travel on foot. And yet, once again, God miraculously provided for them.

“Thus you are to know in your heart that Yahweh your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.”

And here is where the rubber meets the road, where the real need for remembering those forty years would come into play. They were being disciplined because they had rejected God’s command early on to take the land. Because they feared the Amorites more than they trusted Yahweh, he caused them to wander in the desert until all of the stubborn generation died off. Only then could they enter the land of Canaan. Discipline is real, and hard to endure, but it bears fruit in the end.

Hebrews 12:9-11 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not reject the discipline of Yahweh or loathe His reproof, for whom Yahweh loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

If the week of Sukkot was to be a reminder of those forty years in the wilderness, then these are the things that they were to be reminded of. It was to show them how stubbornness of heart has consequences, even though Yahweh was still willing to be faithful. Even in the most trying of circumstances, God was able to provide for them when they recognized they truly lived by every word that God had spoken. These were the lessons that were to be handed down to each generation at the annual week of Sukkot.

Second Exodus fulfillment and application for today

Just as the Israelites wandered for forty years in the desert wilderness, there was also a forty-year duration between Messiah and the destruction of the Temple and nation in 70 AD. This has been suggested to be a Second Exodus, a calling out of a faithful remnant from among the unfaithful of the corrupted religiosity of carnal Judaism which held its man-made traditions and rituals above the Word of God.

So if we are to carry the themes of the First Exodus with Moses into this Second Exodus beginning with the ministry of Messiah Yeshua, we can conclude the nation of Israel in the first century was being disciplined during this time for rejecting God’s promised kingdom which Yeshua announced during his ministry. Yeshua had taken them to the brink of the land so they could see the Kingdom of God for themselves, but they wavered in faith and rejected his message, just as Caleb and Joshua’s report was denied. They were choosing instead to hold tight to the principles of Egypt (the political world and their traditions) rather than recognize the presence of God among his people to lead them into the spiritual land of promise: Zion.

Yet, just as the protege of Moses, Joshua (whose Hebrew name is Yeshua), caused Israel to inherit the physical land, another Yeshua caused them to inherit the spiritual land. Those who were faithful, the disciples and those who believed in Messiah, were provided for with supernatural gifts of the Spirit of God, and with hope for the soon-coming consummation of the national promises. The faithful were brought into the kingdom, while that rebellious generation perished.

Even for believers today, just like the resident-aliens who were not required to live in Sukkot for that week, we are still invited to be involved in the memorial of this festival time of our spiritual ancestors and recognize and take to heart some of these great truths:

We can be reminded that if we are disobedient to God’s commands, God still provides for our needs while he may be disciplining us for our own good.
As a harvest festival, it teaches us to be thankful for all that God has provided for us each year, and to rejoice in God’s ongoing harvest of faithful believers everywhere.
As a time of rejoicing, we are to celebrate the establishment and growth of the vine-branches and fruit of the kingdom of God until it grows to fill the earth.

So as we view this seasonal moed or appointed time of Sukkot, we can catch a glimpse of its renewed nature and purpose in the symbolism of the core of the Bible parameters. Having received the Ten Commandments and the covenant of God, the Israelites were to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth in the Promised Land. Just as Yeshua taught, this was to be a Kingdom based on the structure of those Ten Commandments, as both a near and present reality. There were many dangers in the desert that the Israelites had to be aware of and avoid, so this was a life where vigilance would be required of those who sought to participate. The believers in Messiah would be set apart and holy, trusting God for all of their needs, just as their forefathers had to do in the desert wilderness, and they were to operate with God’s characteristics of forgiveness and compassion, demonstrating that they are the children of God.

Well, I hope these studies on the fall festivals of the biblical calendar are bringing you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Atonement, part 2

The atonement word-pictures in the Bible are best understood as Israel-centric, then flowing out to the nations.

Core of the Bible podcast #116 – Atonement, part 2

Lately we have been reviewing some of the bigger key doctrines in the Bible, and today we are continuing a study on the topic of the atonement. This is a very complex and involved concept to present, not because it is so extremely difficult to understand, but because we have had a certain view over the centuries that may not reflect what the Bible actually teaches about this critical aspect of the biblical faith.

In order to view atonement from an authoritative biblical stance, it made sense to me to consider it by identifying the following categories:

How was atonement represented in Israel’s past (the Old Testament, or Tanakh)
How did Yeshua view his role in that worldview
How were atonement themes viewed by Yeshua’s disciples and the NT writers
What does all of this mean for believers today

To quickly review, last time we examined the first two premises: how atonement was represented in the past through the biblical calendar and the Day of Atonement and also the significance of blood sacrifices in general. We also reviewed how Yeshua conveyed his role as the Good Shepherd, the Ransom, and the founder of the new covenant sealed with his own life.

Today, we are now moving into the New Testament writings and how Yeshua’s disciples interpreted his life and death. I am hoping by the end of this to be able to pull all of this information together so that we can draw some practical understanding and application for our lives today.

What atonement themes were conveyed by Yeshua’s disciples in the New Testament writings?

While there are many references to prophetic fulfillment throughout the New Testament writings, I find that there are three main ideas related to atonement that were primary understandings of those early believers, and how they interpreted the life and death of the Messiah.

Lamb of God
Paschal lamb (lamb sacrificed at Passover)
Mediator/High Priest (Day of Atonement)

Yeshua as the Lamb of God

John 1:29 – The next day John saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

This verse comes to us as a standard understanding within Christianity. When we typically read this, we have been taught to view this as John the baptizer proclaiming that Yeshua was destined to die as a blood sacrifice for everyone who ever lived in the entire world, satisfying God’s righteous justice and wrath against the sin of all of mankind since the rebellion of Adam. That is a lot of theology packed into a single verse!

And yet, if we are to do our best to keep things in their contextual and cultural habitat where they belong, we find that John was more likely to have been referencing an aspect of Yeshua’s role that had been conveyed through a prophecy that at that time was already hundreds of years old. As the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”, John appears to be referring not to Adam, but to a prophecy from Isaiah; specifically, that very famous passage in Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:7, 11-12 – He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. … After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

This is the allegorical Lamb of God willingly carrying iniquity and bearing sin. By referencing this passage directly, John squarely assigns the role of the servant in this Isaiah passage to Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel who has rejected him.

We need to briefly discuss these “suffering servant” passages in Isaiah, because they comprise a larger section of Isaiah’s prophecies as a whole. Surprisingly, the Wikipedia entry on these Servant Songs has a decent summary of these passages for us to get our contextual bearings:

“The servant songs (also called the servant poems or the Songs of the Suffering Servant) are four songs in the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible, which include Isaiah 42:1–4; Isaiah 49:1–6; Isaiah 50:4–11; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12. The songs are four poems written about a certain “servant of YHWH” (Hebrew: עבד יהוה, ‘eḇeḏ Yahweh). Yahweh calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly abused by them. In the end, he is rewarded.“

Most Christians likely don’t recognize this, but these servant passages have had a different meaning among the Semitic community, even into modern Judaism. Although Christians readily attribute these passages to a prophetic foreshadowing of Messiah Yeshua, the Semitic view is that the servant of Yahweh is not an individual, but is the nation of Israel as whole, suffering throughout the nations on behalf of the rest of the world.

“Rabbinic Judaism sees this passage, especially “God’s Suffering Servant” as a reference to the Jewish nation, not to the king Mashiach. Jewish teaching also takes note of the historical context in which God’s Suffering Servant appears, particularly because it speaks in the past tense. The Jewish nation has borne unspeakable injustices, under Assyria, Babylonia, Ancient Greece, ancient Rome, which are all gone, and bears persecution to this day.

“Christians traditionally see the servant as Jesus Christ. The songs are quoted to and applied to Jesus multiple times in the New Testament…

“Another Christian interpretation combines aspects of the traditional Christian and the Jewish interpretation. This position sees the servant as an example of ‘corporate personality’, where an individual can represent a group, and vice versa. Thus, in this case, the servant corresponds to Israel, yet at the same time corresponds to an individual (that is, the Messiah) who represents Israel.”

Looked at in the context of the Bible as a whole, my personal belief is that these “servant” passages do refer to both corporate Israel and the Messiah as Israel’s representative. How can both be true at once? This is because this is the pattern that emerges from the depths of the Bible narrative. For example, the Levites were the “chosen tribe” out of the twelve tribes of Israel for service of the tabernacle, and yet the High Priest alone is the one who represented the whole nation in intercession before God. In this sense, the Levites were both corporately (as a tribe) and in a single representative individual (the High Priest) the “servant” of the rest of the twelve tribes. From this perspective, this dual identity of the servant in the Isaiah passages solidifies Israel’s role in the world as the chosen people of God who were selected and tried by God on behalf of the rest of the nations, and it also substantiates the Son of God as God’s chosen representative from among that group to intercede for the whole.

To illustrate this further, the famous passage in Isaiah 53 can be viewed from both of these perspectives depending on the emphasis on the pronouns in the passage. So I’d like to read an excerpt of the passage and then substitute the object and subject emphasis of the pronouns used to show you how the passages can be viewed either way.

First, I’ll read it the way it’s generally written.

Isaiah 53:4-6 – Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and Yahweh has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

Okay, now I’ll read it substituting the pronouns as the Jews might interpret this passage today:

Isaiah 53:4-6 – Yet Israel himself bore the world’s sicknesses, and Israel carried the world’s pains; but the world in turn regarded Israel stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But Israel was pierced because of the world’s rebellion, crushed because of the world’s iniquities; punishment for the world’s peace was on Israel, and we are healed by Israel’s wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and Yahweh has punished Israel for the iniquity of the world.

I know this type of interpretation may sound weird to Christian ears, but this is the way the servant concept is identified in Semitic thinking today. To be honest, there is a strong measure of truth to this, as Israel was indeed chosen by God to be the light to the rest of the nations, and in a very real sense, they did go through their trials and rebellion on behalf of providing that light of the Messiah to the rest of the nations.

But now let me read it in the context I believe it was originally intended for that ancient audience.

Isaiah 53:4-6 – Yet Messiah himself bore Israel’s sicknesses, and Messiah carried Israel’s pains; but Israel in turn regarded Messiah stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But Messiah was pierced because of Israel’s rebellion, crushed because of Israel’s iniquities; punishment for Israel’s peace was on Messiah, and Israel is healed by Messiah’s wounds. All Israel went astray like sheep; all Israel have turned to their way; and Yahweh has punished Messiah for the iniquity of all Israel.

You may be thinking, “Well, that’s closer to the right way to view it, but what are all of these references to Israel; where is the rest of the world in this passage?” That’s just it; the rest of the world isn’t in this passage, at least in the context in which it was originally intended. All of the “we” and “our” pronouns actually belong to them, the nation of Israel, not the rest of the world. Isaiah was Israel’s prophet speaking to Israel, not the rest of the world, at least, not at first. Israel was the one whose iniquities (under the first covenant) were needing to be atoned for. Israel was the people who had all gone astray like sheep from God’s torah, which had been given to them and to no other nation. This is why Messiah could say he came “only for the lost sheep of Israel.” And Messiah was the one who bore the iniquity of all Israel as their representative. Yeshua, rightly assuming his role as Israel’s king, accepted the burden of iniquity for his own people. This was the picture that John describes of the “lamb who takes away the sin of the world”: the Messiah who came to represent the collective “world” of all of the tribes of Israel.

We’ll talk more about the rest of the world in a little bit. But for now, consider how this Israel-centric view also makes sense if you simply keep reading the context into Isaiah 54:

Isaiah 54:6-7, 11-12 – “For Yahweh has called you, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” says your God. “I deserted you for a brief moment, but I will take you back with abundant compassion. … “Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted, I will set your stones in black mortar, and lay your foundations in lapis lazuli. I will make your fortifications out of rubies, your gates out of sparkling stones, and all your walls out of precious stones.”

This is the theme of restoration and renewal like in the book of Revelation, where Jerusalem is transformed into the heavenly Zion with allegorical pearly gates and streets of gold. This is Kingdom language that pervades the imagery of the servant’s representative sacrifice for others. The Lamb who takes away their sin would be a leader figure like King David, the one reigning in this restored Kingdom.

Isaiah 55:3-4 – “Pay attention and come to me; listen, so that you will live. I will make a permanent covenant with you on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David. Since I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples…”

And here is where the rest of the world comes into the picture in this telling of the good news of the Kingdom:

Isaiah 55:5-7 – “so you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For Yahweh your God, even the Holy One of Israel, has glorified you [Israel].” Seek Yahweh while he may be found; call to him while he is near. Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him [Israel] return to Yahweh, so he may have compassion on him, and [rest of the nations] to our God, for he will freely forgive.”

All of this tells us that the Lamb of God imagery is symbolic, representative, and allegorical, not literal. Yeshua accepted the role of fulfilling these prophetic passages by being the voluntarily obedient, symbolic or representative covenant-victim for Yahweh’s new covenant with Judah and Israel (Jer. 31:31; Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25), and all those from among the nations who would ultimately be joined to God’s people.

—

Paschal lamb

Tied up with all of this lamb imagery in our modern minds is now the concept of the Passover lamb. This is evident most notably because Yeshua was crucified at the exact same moment the Passover lambs would have been being sacrificed for the people in that year. The New Testament writings all convey that Yeshua’s crucifixion was at the start of the week of Unleavened Bread. Because our minds are primed to see sacrifices as being made for sin, we assume that Yeshua, as the symbolic Lamb, was sacrificed for the sin of the world, just as we think the Passover lamb was sacrificed for the sins of Israel.

However, the Bible teaches us that the real reason for the pesach or Passover lamb was not to be sacrificed for sin, but to redeem the firstborn son in each family and protect them from death.

Exodus 12:12-13 – “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am Yahweh; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

By killing the pesach, the lamb-offering, and applying its blood to the doorway, the families gathered in each home were essentially protecting the firstborn male of each family; no one else was in danger of dying. This is why we reviewed the biblical concept of ransom and redemption last time, and I mentioned we would revisit it as we studied the paschal lamb.

Remember what Yeshua said about himself:

Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Last time I defined a ransom as “a price to be paid, a value to be given, for the changing of a foregone outcome.” In the case of the Passover lamb, the lamb was a ransom for the life of the firstborn male in each family. If the lamb’s blood (the evidence of its sacrifice) was on the doorway, the household would be spared the tragedy of losing their firstborn son, the “foregone outcome” that the rest of Egypt suffered.

And here is the critical thing for us to understand: the Passover lamb has nothing to do with forgiveness of sin; it is all and only about ransoming the firstborn from death.

Exodus 4:22-23 – “And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what Yahweh says: Israel is my firstborn son. I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son! “

I believe it is clear in the New Testament writings that Yeshua was identified with the paschal lamb, not only in the perfect timing of his crucifixion, but even in his followers’ teaching as explained by Paul:

1 Corinthians 5:7 – …For Messiah our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

In this passage, Paul is using the Passover imagery here as he carries over the statement that Messiah was the ultimate Passover lamb. Since the pesach, the Passover lamb, was known to have redeemed the firstborn from death, and Israel is clearly referenced in the Bible as God’s firstborn, then the imagery has gone full circle back to the Israel-centric view we discussed earlier.

It’s been said that if God was to synchronize his Messiah’s death with the biblical holidays, it would have made way more sense to have him be crucified on the Day of Atonement rather than on Passover. This would have better corroborated his death for the sins of the people in a much more understandable way. But the reason this is not the way God actually worked it out was because he was more focused on teaching Israel that he was redeeming them, his firstborn son, as it were, and providing a way out from death and the coming wrath on their nation. Just like the Hebrew people of old in Egypt, by placing their faith in the true pesach, Yeshua Messiah, they (the firstborn) would be spared. That is the message of Passover and Yeshua as the paschal lamb.

So now we have seen Yeshua represented as the lamb who takes away Israel’s sin as the obedient servant in Isaiah’s prophecy, to his coming to redeem Israel as the paschal lamb. Now let’s see another picture that is presented by the early believers in the book of Hebrews: Yeshua as the High Priest of Israel.

Mediator/High Priest

Yeshua’s role of redemptive mediator is expressed in symbolic fashion in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 9:15 – Therefore, he [Yeshua] is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that the primary purpose of this mediation concerns sins that were committed under the first covenant. Who was the first covenant made with? Israel, of course; this reinforces Yeshua’s claim that he was sent to Israel.

Once again, this imagery of Yeshua as the High Priest is not literal, but figurative. In fact, the writer of Hebrews goes out of his way to explain how Yeshua could NOT be a literal priest in this world, because he was not from the priestly tribe of Levi, but he was from Judah.

Hebrews 7:14-17 – Now it is evident that our Lord [Yeshua] came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests. And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears, who did not become a priest based on a legal regulation about physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life. For it has been testified: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The idea being conveyed here is that Yeshua functions as a priest, not as a physical descendant of Levi, but as a spiritual descendant of Melchizedek because he lives forever.

Who is this Melchizedek? He is a character related to us in only three spare verses in the book of Genesis as having met Abraham after Abraham won a private war with five kings in the region of the Dead Sea.

Genesis 14:18-20 – Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

The mystery surrounding Melchizedek has spawned many theories, but what we do know from the text is that this individual was a king reigning in Salem (before it became Jerusalem) who was also a priest of the Most High God (before there were any Levites to be priests). This is why he becomes such an important figure for those early believers who were looking for a way to explain the relevance of Messiah in their day. Melchizedek was a Messiah-like figure, a foreshadowing of the roles that Messiah would be fulfilling: that of both king and priest. Messiah was to rule over God’s kingdom and be the one who mediates between God and men in the role of priest.

This is why the Levitical priesthood is no longer needed: it was fulfilled and ended when Messiah arrived, and the only priesthood that now exists is the spiritual High Priesthood of Melchizedek. It is a spiritual priesthood needing no successors on earth because the Messiah lives forever and does not need to be replaced. In a grand spiritual allegory, he alone is the eternal representative before Yahweh interceding, as it were, between Yahweh and believers. This is what the role of the priesthood was designed to do: provide atonement (mercy and reconciliation) between Yahweh God, the one whose instruction had been violated (that is, the offended party) and the offender (the person who had sinned). This is the atonement process which the priesthood of Levi taught us about, but was ended forever with the arrival of the Messiah and is no longer needed.

This is why a true understanding of biblical atonement is so needed today. When we see how Messiah fulfilled that spiritual priestly role of eternal mediator providing eternal reconciliation, we realize we no longer need any priests here on earth; there is no point. This is not to denigrate those who have committed their lives to God by serving as priests among the various denominations, whether Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox and such. I’m sure those commitments are by and large sincere and made with the best intentions of helping others. But a priest’s primary function, his one job as it were, is to serve as a mediator, a go-between between God and people, and according to the Bible, that role is currently and eternally filled by Messiah Yeshua because he lives forever.

Messiah is also to serve as a king, reigning over the heavenly Jerusalem as God’s faithful representative. This is why he is recognized as “Lord” throughout the New Testament writings, because that is what he is: the authoritative ruler, like David of old, whom God has chosen to reign within his Kingdom. And if we consider ourselves to be participators in that Kingdom, then he is our authoritative ruler, as well; he is our King.

Summary

The scope of Yeshua’s impact on the world of the ancient nation of Israel and on the rest of the world now begins to come into view. The early believers recognized this and explained all of this two thousand years ago; we have just been too distracted with our own theories over the centuries, many of which became traditions, to recognize this.

Last time, we looked at the Old Testament example of the Day of Atonement as the baseline for understanding the process of reconciliation through representative sacrifice, which is what atonement is. We then looked at how Yeshua viewed himself as the Good Shepherd for Israel’s lost sheep, the representative ransom for that nation, and the institutor of the new covenant for Israel and Judah with the extreme commitment of his life, his own blood. Today we viewed how his followers connected him with the allegorical lamb of Isaiah’s servant passages, how they saw the redemption of their own people in his role as the paschal or Passover lamb, and how he fulfilled and superseded the Levitical priesthood as an eternal mediator after the pattern of Melchizedek for all who place their trust in him as Messiah. Each one of these topics could be its own study to flesh out the full ramifications of each; however, I believe we can still draw some overall conclusions to help us maintain a biblical perspective of these ancient patterns and ideas.

First of all, it becomes apparent that not one of these word pictures conveying atonement is meant to be taken literally. Yeshua is not really a lamb, he is not really a shepherd of sheep, he is not literally a priest standing at an altar, which also means he was not literally a sacrifice for sin. Yeshua could not have been a literal sacrifice for sin, because that would mean Yahweh condones human sacrifice, along with punishing the innocent for the guilty and justifying the wicked, which is all against his own Torah, or instruction.

Jeremiah 32:35 – “They [Judah] have built the high places of Baal in Ben Hinnom Valley to sacrifice their sons and daughters in the fire to Molech – something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin!

Exodus 23:7 – “… Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the wicked.

No, in all of these examples, God was teaching his people through object lessons, patterns, and foreshadowing that they would have understood from their own writings of how the fulfillment of these preparatory examples were completed and fulfilled in his Anointed One, his Messiah. We see Yeshua as coming for his people, Israel, as their Messiah; their redeemer, their priest and mediator.

So, if that’s the case, how does all of this good news for Israel mean anything to the rest of us who are not descended by flesh from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? How does the atonement provided by their Messiah have any relevance for us?

The apostle John sadly relates to us how their Messiah was rejected by them.

John 1:11 – He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

But in the very next breath, John also shares the good news of the Kingdom with all who will listen:

John 1:12-13 – But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

To receive Yeshua, to accept that he truly is the Anointed One of God who came to reveal the Kingdom of God, is to become born from above as a true child of Yahweh God. This is a status that is not bound by blood heritage from Israel; it is based on the heartfelt faith that Abraham expressed when he simply believed what God said was true.

Paul writes:

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the good news of Messiah, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

All of this imagery that we have been looking at is for the Jew first, which is why it is all stated in word pictures and allegories that they would have understood and been familiar with. But Paul says it is also for the Greek, that is, the Hellenists. The Hellenists were those Jews who had been scattered throughout the empire and had succumbed to the Greek culture and lifestyle. But Hellenists were also descriptive of those non-Jews among them who became “God-fearers” through their interest in, and learning the ways of, this Jewish God. We who are non-Jews are always at a disadvantage until we can begin to understand how these Semitic word pictures and allegories are to be understood. This is why our Bibles contain both the Old Testament writings or Tanakh, and the New Testament writings of the apostles: We need to fully grasp the concepts presented in the Old Testament and not just continue to re-hash New Testament principles taken out of their cultural and historical context.

Once we rise above the limiting horizon of scholarly theories, tradition, and orthodoxy, we can then begin to see the biblical picture of atonement for what it truly is. The atonement that Messiah provided was not one of literal blood sacrifice to calm the wrath of an angry deity, but a representative and allegorical atonement providing mercy and reconciliation that reaches into the very depths of each soul who trusts in him, Jew and non-Jew alike. The mercy and reconciliation of this atonement provides true freedom from sin and causes us to walk in the righteous ways of Yahweh as he always intended: from the heart, not through the traditions and rituals of men. Anyone, therefore, who exhibits faith in Messiah is therefore accepted into the Kingdom, and this is how it was always designed by God to be from the very beginning: to start like a seed from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then at the fulfillment of all things in Messiah, to spread and grow like a blossoming tree until it fills the earth.

Well, I hope this two-part study on the atonement brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Atonement, part 1

In atonement, blood is substituted in a representative way for the life of the one presenting the sacrifice.

Core of the Bible podcast #115 – Atonement, part 1

Lately we have been reviewing some of the bigger key doctrines in the Bible, and today we are beginning a study on the topic of the atonement. This is a very complex and involved concept to present, not because it is so extremely difficult to understand, but because we have had a certain view over the centuries that may not reflect what the Bible actually teaches about this critical aspect of the biblical faith.

So let’s begin with a basic description of the common understanding of the atonement, taken from Wikipedia’s entry on the topic:

Atonement in Christianity, in western Christian theology, describes beliefs that human beings can be reconciled to God through Christ’s sacrificial suffering and death. Atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin in general and original sin in particular through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Throughout the centuries, Christians have used different metaphors and given differing explanations of atonement to express how atonement might work. Churches and denominations may vary in which metaphor or explanation they consider most accurately fits into their theological perspective; however all Christians emphasize that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and through his death the sins of humanity have been forgiven, enabling the reconciliation between God and his creation.

As the article says, many Christians may not be aware of this, but like every other great piece of doctrine, there are widely different scholarly views of the specifics of how the atonement should be interpreted, such as:

Ransom theory: Yeshua paid a ransom to the devil to free humanity from sin and death.
Christus Victor theory: Yeshua defeated the powers of evil and liberated humanity from their bondage.
Recapitulation theory: Yeshua recapitulated or summed up the stages of human life and reversed the effects of Adam’s disobedience.
Satisfaction theory: Yeshua satisfied the honor and justice of God by offering himself as a sacrifice for human sin.
Penal substitution theory: Yeshua bore the penalty and wrath of God for human sin in their place.
Moral Influence theory: Yeshua Messiah came and died in order to bring about a positive change to humanity. This moral change comes through the teachings of Yeshua alongside His example and actions.

Depending on which church or denomination you may belong to, one of these views is likely favored. Most of these theories are ways of dealing philosophically with the concept of how Yeshua overcame original sin. However, in the previous episode 111 of Humans and Sin, we have already explored how the philosophical concept of original sin is itself a theory and is not actually biblical. This obviously takes away the importance of establishing how these theories of atonement justify a different theory of original sin.

While I would personally love to geek out and explore each of those theories in detail (something I may do in a subsequent episode if there is interest in it), I would rather spend this initial run-through of atonement by looking at the actual biblical themes that discuss what is represented by the concept of atonement. If we can start the journey on a biblical basis, then I believe the theories will sort themselves out as to how useful they may or may not be.

In order to view atonement from an authoritative biblical stance, it made sense to me to consider it by identifying the following categories:

How was atonement represented in Israel’s past (the Old Testament, or Tanakh)
How did Yeshua view his role in that worldview
How were atonement themes viewed by Yeshua’s disciples and the NT writers
What does all of this mean for believers today

And, because this is such a convoluted topic that intertwines with so many other biblical themes, I think it’s important to spend some time developing some of these pictures more fully for a better overall view. This will require more than one episode, so today I would like to cover atonement as represented in the Tanakh, and also how Yeshua viewed himself and his role in relation to that. Next time, we will look at atonement themes in the New Testament and then see how all of this information comes together for believers today, so I hope you will make the time to listen to both episodes for the full review of this topic.

Atonement in the Tanakh

The term itself is a theological word based on the Hebrew concept of covering, mercy, and reconciliation. As defined by Strong’s, the word kaphar is: “A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel — appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile(-liation).”

The most prominent example of this type of transaction in the Old Testament is captured in the ceremony of the scapegoat ritual which was to take place once a year on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur.

Leviticus 16:9-10 – “[Aaron] is to present the goat chosen by lot for Yahweh and sacrifice it as a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot for an uninhabitable place is to be presented alive before Yahweh to make atonement with it by sending it into the wilderness for an uninhabitable place.”

Without going into extreme detail, once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest would present two goats to Yahweh. One was sacrificed as a national representative substitution for the sin of the community, and the other was symbolically imbued with the sins of the nation and sent off into the wilderness never to return. The entire process is fascinating symbology and can be reviewed in total in Leviticus 16. We will spend some more time reviewing this as we draw near to the actual Day of Atonement at the beginning of the fall season in a few months.

A key portion of the ritual was that the high priest would take the blood of the sacrificed goat and pour it out on the cover of the ark of the covenant, covering the lid. Since the Bible teaches that the life of the creature is in the blood, the life of the goat was substituted for the collective life of the congregation. This “life” was then poured out upon the ark of the covenant containing the ten commandments, covering the covenantal agreement. In so doing, the community was essentially committing their collective “life” before Yahweh to follow the law that he himself pronounced from Sinai to the entire assembled community that had been ransomed from Egypt. Because of the atonement offering, God extends his mercy to the community and forgives their offenses against his covenant, resulting in reconciliation. This whole ritual is a vivid illustration of themes that would have been commonly understood within that culture and that are continually built on in later biblical stories.

The life is in the blood

Leviticus 17:11 – “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.

This principle is one of practical understanding and symbolic representation. When an animal (or human for that matter) has the blood drained from their body, they die. All other medical considerations aside, this dying due to loss of blood demonstrates practically that blood carries the life of the creature. However, God has ordained that the the symbolic aspect of animal sacrifice in the process of atonement is that its blood is substituted in a representative way for the life of the one presenting the sacrifice. The one offering the sacrifice is essentially saying to God, “My life is now intertwined with the life of this creature which is provided completely to you.” While the offerer continues to live, they have had to provide something of great value to them as a substitute for their own life. This then would become the deterrent to future sin because of the high cost of sacrificing a perfectly good animal which would have had great value to an agrarian family, especially one that was perfectly healthy as it had to be provided without blemish.

The net result of the sacrifice would be that the offerer would have had their sinful behavior “covered” by the life of the animal so that they could be reconciled and continue to live in their relationship with God. And as mentioned, the value of the sacrificial animal would provide a deterrent against future sin.

What this whole sacrificial ritual demonstrates in a practical way is that when wrongs are committed, there are consequences, and also a God-provided mode of overcoming those consequences. Atonement as a biblical concept is a symbolic principle of substitution value, not a token of having to give God something he desires for himself. It is a principle which says, “God, I recognize I have done something you didn’t want me to do. I’m sorry and won’t do it again. Please accept this thing of value in place of my own life to demonstrate my sincerity.” God then views the value of this thing (sincerely offered) as a token of sincerity and he subsequently responds with mercy and forgiveness, resulting in reconciliation between him as the offended party, and the offerer, as the offender.

This is why atonement was able to be provided by money, as well, because money has value and requires sacrifice to offer it to God. We’ll take a look more closely at that concept as we explore how Yeshua viewed his role in atonement.

Yeshua’s view of his role

We have to always remember that Yeshua did not just arrive on the scene at the start of his ministry drawing on a blank piece of paper. To the contrary, everything he did was as a culmination of all the revelation that had come previously, to fulfill all of those things the ancients had been looking forward to. He did not come to start a new religion, but to bring the one faith in Yahweh into its fullest prophetic expression. As such, everything in his life and ministry has deep roots in his Hebraic culture and the life of the nation of Israel up to that point. The New Testament writers were constantly quoting from Old Testament passages to demonstrate how Yeshua validated the Messianic role by fulfilling all of these Old Testament types and symbols. As we spend some time on these concepts, we can gain the most wisdom as to what the meaning of his life, and his death, was all about.

As the primary indicator of atonement, I think it’s most important to see how Yeshua himself viewed his role and mission as it applies to this concept. These include the themes of the Good Shepherd, the Ransom, and as the institution of a new blood covenant.

Good Shepherd

John 10:11 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

This idea of a shepherd is not just a cool metaphor that Yeshua came up with for himself. The Shepherd was a reference to several prophecies in the Tanakh or Old Testament, most notably Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 50:6 – “My people [that is, Israel] were lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray, guiding them the wrong way in the mountains. They wandered from mountain to hill; they forgot their resting place.”

The redemptive work of Israel’s Messiah was to be their Good Shepherd; to provide a path of redemption for Israel from their sins that they and their ancestors had committed under the first covenant. Now as a good shepherd who lays down his life, it’s important to note that a shepherd can’t do anything for his sheep when he is dead, but he does have to demonstrate his commitment to his flock by being willing to die, if needed, in order to protect the sheep. This is what Yeshua was conveying; Yeshua knew that he would be killed for his teachings and taught it plainly to his disciples and also in parables to those who gathered to hear him. But he was adamant that he was going to shepherd them for as long as possible so that they could grasp how all things were being fulfilled. Now, besides this quote from Luke, there are at least four other parallel references in Matthew and Mark (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23; Mark 9:31, 10:33-34).

Luke 18:31-33 – Then he took the Twelve aside and told them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on; and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.”

Even though he mentions resurrection in each of these passages, a concept that the disciples didn’t yet fully grasp (and one that we will pursue more deeply in a future episode), Yeshua knew that he was going to be killed and tried to prepare them as best he could ahead of time. He even taught the Jewish leaders they would do this to him, and he conveyed this by using the parable of the tenant farmers. I am quoting here from Luke but the parable is also in Matthew and Mark:

Luke 20:14, 19 – “But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours.’ … Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

Yeshua even confronted the Jewish leaders openly on several occasions about their plans to murder him:

John 7:19 – “Didn’t Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me? “

John 8:37, 40 – “I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you. … “But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.”

Regardless of this known fact, Yeshua was adamant that he was the fulfillment of the role of that Good Shepherd, the one who would be willing to lay down his life for the sake of the flock.

Ransom/redemption

Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Yeshua also defined his own purpose as being a ransom for many. What does this mean? We know that a ransom in modern vernacular is typically an amount of money paid to a kidnapper to gain the release of a hostage. But is this what is meant in the Bible? If this is the case, and we are the kidnapped hostages, then what is the ransom and who is it being paid to? Some have suggested that this ransom, Yeshua’s life, was paid to the devil to secure our freedom from his clutches. If that is the case, then the devil won. Well, that can’t be right because the Bible teaches that Yeshua defeated the works of the devil, not cooperated with him.

Instead of going down these rabbit holes of conjecture with our wrong-headed modern cultural perspective, let’s just see what the Bible actually means by a ransom.

Exodus 21:28-30 – “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent. However, if the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death. If instead a ransom is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him.

Exodus 30:11-12, 16 – The Yahweh spoke to Moses: “When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, each of the men must pay a ransom for his life to Yahweh as they are registered. Then no plague will come on them as they are registered. … “Take the atonement price from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will serve as a reminder for the Israelites before Yahweh to atone for your lives.”

In these instances, we can see the concepts of ransom, redemption and atonement are becoming equivocated. In these passages, a price of money, a ransom, is paid to Yahweh (or his representative leaders) as a means of avoiding death. In the first instance, the ox owner was sentenced to death, but the leaders could provide him a price to be paid to avoid execution, sort of like bail is today when someone is to be released from custody. In the second instance, Yahweh institutes a ransom, or life-price, for the members of the life of the community to avoid any potential plague that might come upon them for taking a census. Why would this be the case? Censuses were usually taken as a measure of the pride of the nation, showing how numerous its fighting force could be. To avoid this connection with trusting in one’s army over trusting in Yahweh, the Israelites could demonstrate their honoring of God during a census by providing an atonement price to be used for his service. This money was to be used to maintain the tabernacle and its implements. Later on, this would be corrupted by the Jewish authorities to become the justification for the temple-tax in New Testament times.

As touched on earlier, we see how the principle of redemption is closely allied with the ransom, as the ransom is equated with the redemption money. Biblical redemption is essentially the process of intervening in an established process, statute, or condition to provide something of value which then allows for a different outcome. A redemption price could be paid for a person’s life (Exodus 30-11-12); it could be paid for land or a residence in a city prior to Jubilee (Leviticus 25:24, 29); or it could be paid to provide for a ministry representative for the firstborn males (Numbers 3:44-48). These examples are all using money or land value as an acceptable substitute for some other process, statute, or condition which God had ordained. Since Yeshua considered himself a ransom, instead of money as a value, he would provide his life.

Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Clearly, this is an allegorical ransom on behalf of the lives of others (those who would believe in him), not a literal ransom that was demanded to be paid to either God or the devil. While he did literally gave his life, the ransom/redemption he provided is a representative one based on the biblical pattern that the Israelites would have understood, not some cosmic balancing of the scales of justice. Once again, we have to keep things in their proper perspective as much as possible within the bounds of the cultural understanding of the time. Yeshua saying that he was giving his life as a ransom would be a word picture that the Israelites would have immediately picked up on as being represented physically in these other biblical motifs, or types and foreshadows. It is only in our modern era (the last 500 years or so) that these ideas have been solidified into philosophical and legal, cosmic absolutes which were never intended by God in the first place.

We will explore this concept of the ransom and redemption a little further next time when we look at Yeshua represented as the Paschal Lamb in New Testament writings. However, for now, it is important to note that the ransom was essentially a price to be paid, a value to be given, for the changing of a foregone outcome. In the sense that Yeshua is using it, the foregone outcome is that Israel was about to be judged in that generation for their sins under the first covenant and he was offering his own life as a representative ransom on the behalf of all who would believe in him. Those who placed their faith in him would have their sins forgiven, and they would not come under God’s judgment which was about to be poured out.

Covenant in blood

Now we come to one of the most prominent themes that Yeshua considered about his own life: that he was giving it up voluntarily to seal the new covenant.

Matthew 26:28 – “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Mark 14:24 – “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Luke 22:20 – “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Hopefully, after reviewing the Day of Atonement and how blood represented the life of the sacrificial victim, I’m hoping we can now come to these passages with a little more Hebraic perspective. Remember, we saw how on the Day of Atonement the blood of the sacrificial animal was poured out on the ark of the covenant. This was the vessel that contained the actual Ten Commandments, the original covenant between God and believers. This “life” blood being poured out symbolically represented the life of the community committing to follow the covenant in stone upon which it was based, and for them to be reconciled with God whom they had offended by disobeying that covenant agreement.

This is the way the blood of the new covenant is intended to be viewed, as well. Yeshua is capitalizing on that imagery, which would have been readily understood by his disciples, as a way of saying his blood (that represents his life) would be poured out on their behalf (that is, for any who believed in him as the Messiah) for the sake of the new covenant. The new covenant was not about a new set of instructions; it was about a new location for the existing instructions: on the heart instead of on pieces of stone in a box.

Jeremiah 31:31-33 – “Look, the days are coming” – this is Yahweh’s declaration – ”when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt – my covenant that they broke even though I am their master” – Yahweh’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” – Yahweh’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Interestingly, we see that in all of these views that Yeshua held about himself, they were all in relation to the nation of Israel. That new covenant was for Israel and Judah. The ransom was for Israel’s forgiveness of sin under the first covenant. The Good Shepherd was a shepherd to lead Israel faithfully.

Matthew 15:24 – He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Yes, all of these concepts are Israel-centric, but not exclusively so. It’s important for us to keep all of these things in their original perspective as much as possible. We have to remember, if these concepts seem difficult for us to grasp today, it is because all of this was originally intended for an ancient audience halfway around the world in other languages and another culture. Yet, because the new covenant is based on the simple faith of Abraham believing God, and on the heart application of God’s eternal instruction, we, too, in this day and age can participate in the fulfillment of these things, because that was also prophesied to that ancient audience:

Romans 15:8-13 – For I say that Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, and so that nations may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the nations, and I will sing praise to your name. Again it says, Rejoice, you nations, with his people! And again, Praise Yahweh, all you nations; let all the peoples praise him! And again, Isaiah says, The root of Jesse will appear, the one who rises to rule the nations; the nations will hope in him. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Okay, so far we have reviewed the atonement as represented in the Tanakh or Old Testament and we have looked at how Yeshua represented himself within that ideology and culture as fulfilling those types and foreshadows that were present in Old Testament prophecy. Next time, we will continue into the writings of the New Testament to see how this concept of atonement was viewed in relation to the work of Yeshua, and I will hopefully be able to provide some measure of summarizing all of this information in order to make it more applicable for us today.

Well, I hope this first part of our study on the atonement brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Salvation and the Kingdom of God

The ‘good news of the kingdom of God’ is not so much a universal message about personal salvation as the prophetic assurance that a renewed people of God would emerge through the fires of persecution and judgment.

Core of the Bible podcast #114 – Salvation and the Kingdom of God

Up to this point in our journey of doctrinal issues, we have established some understanding of promises and covenants that God has made with Abraham and ultimately with his people, Israel. Last time, I mentioned how these were “necessary and proper until the fulfillment of the promises and covenants in Messiah.” We explored how becoming a “child of Abraham” was to be defined by the believer’s simple faith in God’s Messiah, and how those believers, according to Yeshua, would “come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 8:11). What this teaching did was to then equate Abraham’s children (i.e., Messiah believers) with those who participate in the Kingdom of God. Further, we see how Yeshua connected the idea of salvation with being a child of Abraham. In the story of Zacchaeus’ repentance, Yeshua also sees this Abrahamic ideal as an indicator of salvation.

Luke 19:9 – “Today salvation has come to this house,” Yeshua told him, “because he too [Zacchaeus] is a son of Abraham.”

It appears that Yeshua understood and taught a concept of salvation that was tied both to the Abrahamic faith model and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. So for us to understand salvation, we will need to understand it in the context of both the Abrahamic sense and the Kingdom sense. Since we have explored the Abrahamic sense (that is, the simple faith of Abraham expressed by faith in Yeshua as the Messiah), we can now turn to gaining a better understanding of the core Bible principle of the Kingdom message that was presented to that first century generation.

To explore this further, I would like to quote several times today from an article titled “The Kingdom of God” that I found a few years ago at a now-defunct website called opensourcetheology.net. The author is not named so I don’t have the ability to credit anyone specific with these ideas. Additionally, I won’t be quoting the whole article because it is quite lengthy, but I was able to find a back-link to the entire article which I have linked here if you are interested in exploring it further.

The New Testament picture of the Kingdom of God has not been painted on to a blank canvas; rather, we watch it emerge from the historical and religious circumstances of first century Judaism. Israel had failed to realize the potential inherent in its religious institutions and traditions, in its national identity and in its calling, to be a righteous, God-centred people and an authentic and effective ‘light’ to the peoples of the earth. This failure was apparent in various ways: creeping Hellenization, Roman occupation, the fragmentation of religious leadership and community, the loss of any prophetic voice, and the awareness that the return from exile in Babylon remained tragically incomplete.

John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, first articulated the belief that this state of religious failure was bound to culminate in national disaster: ‘Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire’ (Matt.3:10; Lk.3:9). At the same time, however, he is interpreted by the Gospel tradition as the messenger who cries in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’ (Mk.1:2-3; Matt.3:3; Lk.3:4-6). The quotation from Isaiah 40:3 invokes a declaration of ‘good news’ to Jerusalem that the punishment of the exile is coming to an end, that her sins have been forgiven, and that the Lord God is about to return to Zion. The forgiveness of sins in the Gospels is not a matter of purely personal benefit: each instance is a sign of national restoration. Central to the prophecy is the description of a righteous ‘servant’, who is both an individual and Israel, who will suffer, but who will be ‘a covenant to the people, a light to the nations’ (Is.42:6). This is the context in which Jesus begins his ministry.

When Yeshua arrived on the scene in the years of his public ministry, he was proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God and how God was establishing it among those who would believe in that generation. Yeshua’s salvation was all about the Jews and forming a remnant of faithful believers (i.e., children of Abraham) from among the non-belief of the wider Jewish community to carry the message of the Kingdom of God to that generation and beyond. He came primarily for the lost sheep of Israel, to reconcile them to the God of their ancestors from the condition of apostasy that they had descended to. His focus was that they would be saved from the wrath of God about to be poured out on that generation by repenting of their sinful ways.

Jesus did not invent the idea of the ‘kingdom of God’. Behind the use of the phrase in the Gospels lie two distinct Old Testament motifs. Together they account for the eschatological narrative structure that gives shape to the New Testament concept of the kingdom of God.

The first entails the coming of the Lord to dwell once more amongst his people as king, which draws on prophetic themes of the restoration of Israel following exile in Babylon. It is acted out most powerfully in the carefully staged, and of course ironic, pageant of Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem in the guise of the prophesied king of peace: ‘Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass…’ (Matt.21:5; Jn.12:15; cf. Zech.9:9). It is invoked in the numerous parables of a master who returns to his house after a long journey (eg. Matt.25:14-30; 12:35-40; 19:11-27). It speaks of the renewed and decisive presence (parousia) of God within Israel, which is a presence inevitably both for judgment and salvation. Jesus’ warning to the disciples that they must be ready for the return of the master (eg. Lk.12:35) has a particular historical frame of reference: the great crisis of judgment and salvation at the end of Israel’s age. If the disciples do not remain faithful to their calling, they will be put ‘with the unfaithful’ (Lk.12:46), ‘with the hypocrites’ (Matt.24:51), cast ‘into outer darkness’ where ‘men will weep and gnash their teeth’ (Matt.25:30) – in other words, they too will suffer the judgment that was coming upon Israel.

Here we can begin to see some historical boundaries coming into view in regards to how the New Testament writers describe the unfolding events that were occurring in real time as they were being written. Notice how the impending judgment was coming upon Israel at the “end of Israel’s age,” not the end of all things. The nearness of this judgment for Israel’s failure to recognize God’s sovereignty and their Messiah in the person of Yeshua was to suffer the judgment reaching back to the very beginnings of their history. This was the very point that Yeshua hinged his prophetic warnings on in heated arguments with the religious elite:

Matthew 23:32, 34-36 – “Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins! … “This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.”

That was the generation upon whom all of these things had come! The Kingdom was being advanced but through their unfaithfulness they had counted themselves not only not worthy of participating in it, but in being wiped out in the process. This was the clear teaching of Yeshua’s parable of the vineyard owner, explaining how the tenants of the vineyard had rejected their responsibilities:

Matthew 21:40-43 – “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.” Yeshua said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is what the Lord has done and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.”

In this context, Yeshua is equating the Kingdom of God with salvation from the righteous wrath of the vineyard owner. This provides the foundation for many other famous “salvation” passages from the New Testament writings:

Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

Acts 2:40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath [of God] through Him.

Romans 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved…

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are a fragrance of Messiah to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…

2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; [that is,] the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

Even as I shared those passages above, you may have been taught to understand some of those as applying to personal salvation rather than a national type of salvation and deliverance. However, to accomplish this feat of collective repentance of the remnant, this would mean individuals would need to repent of their sinful actions. This is why salvation many times appears to be personal and spiritual. For national repentance to take place, individuals must repent of individual disobedience. The article also clearly states this:

The forgiveness of sins in the Gospels is not a matter of purely personal benefit: each instance is a sign of national restoration…The announcement that the kingdom of God is at hand in the Gospels has to do primarily with the fate of first century Israel. Jesus warned the people of impending national disaster but also offered a way of salvation for the nation if people would walk with him on the path that he was following. This salvation is depicted in the first place in terms of the Old Testament hope of a final end to exile and the return of YHWH to a Zion set free from oppression. It becomes possible because Jesus suffered judgment in the place of others: the community which identified itself in faith with him, therefore, would not be destroyed but would survive to be the renewed people of God.

If this is the case, then this puts forgiveness of sins and salvation in a new light for modern eyes and ears: that perhaps the thrust of these New Testament passages are speaking about a collective, national salvation and restoration much more than a personal and private one. However, a personal and private repentance and experience of salvation would result in growing the overall restoration of the nation. This is the logic behind the Kingdom of God language.

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To briefly review, the article I have been discussing mentioned how the Kingdom model was not a new concept but was built on two Old Testament prophetic motifs. We have just explored the first motif of the presence of God returning among his regathered people, a presence bringing both judgment and salvation. Now the second motif comes into view:

The second motif relates to the overthrow of Israel’s enemies and the vindication of the righteous – the saints of the Most High – in the aftermath of persecution. It emerges from the complex and dramatic prophecy in Daniel 7 concerning ‘one like a son of man’ who, as a representative, or better a representation, of the persecuted saints of the Most High, receives ‘dominion and glory and kingdom’ (Dan.7:14). This story may appear obscure and irrelevant (suffering is not one of the great post-modern aspirations), but it pervades much of the New Testament and must be made central to our attempt to understand the person of Jesus and the community that takes its identity from him.

The ‘good news of the kingdom of God’ as it is announced in the Gospels is not so much a universal message about personal salvation as the prophetic assurance that a renewed people of God would emerge through the fires of persecution and judgment. The basis of this hope is not found in the institutions of Jewish religion but in the willingness of the Son of man to take upon himself the suffering that would befall the nation as a consequence of its ‘sin’. Resurrection becomes important primarily as the means by which God will vindicate those who remain faithful in the face of extreme opposition. The Gentiles hardly enter into the picture here: it is the salvation of Israel that is at stake (eg. Matt.10:5-6).

Yeshua demonstrated he was authorized to provide this salvation through the acts that God performed through him: healing the sick, raising the dead, and confronting the corrupt Jewish authorities. Like Jonah and Nineveh of old he was earnest that their collective repentance would spare the city (representative of the nation as a whole). His death and resurrection, following the pattern of Jonah in the fish, was to be the confirmation to them that their repentance would be effective, like it was for Nineveh. Also, like Noah of old, their acceptance of his message would allow them to board the ark of salvation to be spared the flood of God’s wrath about to be poured out on that generation. Interestingly, Yeshua used both of these examples during his public ministry to the nation.

Luke 11:30 – “For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

Luke 17:26 – “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man…

The preaching of the good news of the kingdom throughout the world (Mk.14:9; 16:15; Acts 15:7) is the announcement that Jesus has been vindicated and that those who believe in him will be vindicated in the same manner; it is the announcement that not even the most virulent persecution will overcome the community of those who experience the power of the Spirit of God in the name of Jesus (cf. Rom.8:33-39). But that message is accompanied by a new possibility, emerging from a different set of prophetic texts – one that arises unexpectedly and almost despite the best intentions of the early Jewish believers. It is that non-Jews may also become part of the renewed, forgiven covenant people in the Spirit (cf. Acts 13:46-48; Rom.11:11-32; Eph.2:11-22).

Let’s look a little closer at a couple of these passages:

Acts 13:46-48 – Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the nations. “For this is what Yahweh has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the nations to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” When those of the nations heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of Yahweh, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Ephesians 2:11-22 – So, then, remember that at one time you were of the nations in regard to the flesh – called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. At that time you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Yeshua, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh, he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by which he put the hostility to death. He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Messiah Yeshua himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

While I believe this Ephesians passage was aimed at those former Israelites who had been scattered among the nations (i.e., the “lost sheep of Israel”), its words were just as meaningful and effective for those known as “God fearers” who were present among those congregations, non-Jews who joined with the God of the Bible and participated within synagogues in various places. Through this message of faith in Messiah, all people, Jews, Greeks, barbarians, slaves, and free, had been granted the same opportunity to be saved from that evil generation, the generation that was incurring the final wrath of God upon the nation of Israel as the prophets had predicted.

But to be saved from that evil generation was also to be joined to “God’s household” exhibited by the more expansive and universal term of the Kingdom of God. If these Old Testament motifs of restoration and persecution were validated as being played out in the closing years of national Israel in the first century, then it follows the prophetic foresight embedded within those motifs was also to be taking place at that time: this Kingdom would be eternal and would ultimately grow to fill the earth.

Daniel 2:44 – “In the days of those kings [i.e., the Romans], the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.

Daniel 7:27 – “The kingdom, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey him.’

In summary, when the Bible speaks of salvation, it is almost always in the context of Israel’s national unity and restoration. It is this context in which the Kingdom of God is preached by John the baptizer and Yeshua, a warning of impending judgment upon Israel’s unfaithfulness and yet a promise of a new and everlasting hope for all who would repent and accept their Messiah. As the national phase of Israel in that first century was disappearing, that is, the “[then] present Jerusalem” (Galatians 4:25), it was simultaneously ushering in the “Jerusalem [from] above” (Galatians 4:26), an eternal city whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10, 16), the prophetic city of Zion (Hebrews 12:22) whose gates would never be shut (Revelation 21:25) and where the presence of God would always remain with his people for all time (Revelation 22:3-5). This, then, is what I consider to be the good news of salvation and participation in the Kingdom of God!

Well, I hope this broad overview of salvation and the Kingdom of God brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Covenants and Promises

How Yeshua became the way to God for anyone who was not part of covenantal Israel and Judah.

Core of the Bible podcast #112 – Covenants and Promises

Today, I wanted to take a closer look at the concept of covenants, and how covenants are represented throughout Scripture. With an understanding of how covenants worked in the ancient world, we can gain a better perspective on the application of these covenantal principles today.

So, to begin with, in its simplest form, a covenant can be defined as an agreement between parties. In the Bible, covenants are noted as being instituted between individuals, heads of tribes, countries, and by and with God.

In these ancient covenant practices, various symbols and practices were involved to mark the agreements. Typically, an animal was cut in half, and both parties to the agreement would walk between the severed pieces. This was a way of saying, “May what has been done to this animal be done to me if I break my agreement with you.” This is why it was called “cutting” a covenant.

There were also specific benefits offered by keeping a covenant, and consequences to breaking a covenant. These would have been outlined at the time of the agreement. Today, a close equivalent to a covenant would be something like a contract which outlines an agreement with penalties or benefits between individuals or corporate entities. The phrase “to cut a contract” stems from the covenant roots.

The Bible records that there were tokens or symbols to memorialize these agreements. For example, in the covenant with Noah, God promised to never flood the entire land again. The symbol for remembrance of God’s covenant with Noah and all living flesh was a rainbow. Other covenantal tokens between men might include a pillar of stones, a symbolic feast, an exchange of animals, a well of water, or a symbolic altar.

Genesis 31:43-46 – Then Laban replied to Jacob, … “So now come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

Genesis 26:26-30 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” They said, “We see plainly that Yahweh has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.'” Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

God’s covenant with Abraham – Approximately 2000 BC

Abraham lived roughly four thousand years ago (from today) in the land of Ur, which is the region of Babylon. God’s covenant with Abraham was to be the start of a set-apart tribal community that would eventually become the physical nation of Israel.

Genesis 15:7-18 And He said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” He said, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates…”

His name was originally Abram. Since he was to become the father of many nations, God changed his name to Abraham.

Genesis 17:4-6 – “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.

Abraham’s son was Isaac; Isaac’s son was Jacob; Jacob’s twelve sons became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel (Israel was another name for Jacob). This is how the nation as a whole got its name. While Abraham’s son Ishmael also became the start of other tribes and tribal leaders (confirming that Abraham became the father of a multitude of nations), the Bible story primarily follows the descendants of Jacob, which became the nation of Israel, just as God had covenanted with Abraham.

Mosaic covenant – Approximately 1500 BC

Hundreds of years after Abraham, his physical descendants, the children of Israel, became enslaved in Egypt (as God had foretold). He raised up Moses to lead them out of their captivity and to become their own nation. This is described in the story of the Exodus and Passover.

Once out in the desert, the newly formed nation needed rules for governing the masses. God provided this direction through the covenant at Mt. Sinai, which was based on the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 4:12-13 “Then Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form–only a voice. So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.”

This covenant with the children of Israel through Moses was still based on the covenant made with Abraham but also added the Ten Commandments and further instruction which was to guide them in establishing a representative Kingdom of God. This Torah, or instruction, set the people of Israel apart from all the people of the world.

This was a national covenant agreement that contained both blessings and curses. Whenever the people of Israel collectively breached the covenant and the law, they would suffer the consequences according to the covenant agreement.

Deuteronomy 28:1, 15 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey Yahweh your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. … “But it shall come about, if you do not obey Yahweh your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…”

The worst of the curses was captivity and loss of the covenantal land which in later years led to dispersions among the nations of the world.

Deuteronomy 28:58, 64-65 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, Yahweh your God, … Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there Yahweh will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.

Covenant with David – Approximately 1000 BC

As the nation of Israel grew, God provided an ideal example of kingship in David. The surrounding nations became subject to David’s rule and at that time the nation rose to all that had been prophesied before. This physical, national ideal became the type and foreshadowing of the spiritual kingdom which was to be realized a millennium later through the direct descendant of King David, Yeshua.

Psalm 89:3-4 – “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t even take one full generation for Israel to begin to fall away from their faithfulness and to begin to break this covenant. Toward the end of the reign of David’s son, Solomon, he began to honor foreign gods. When Solomon died, his two sons began rival kingdoms, and the nation entered a period of time of civil war and unrest. The two kingdoms became referenced by separate names. The northern kingdom became “Israel” and the southern kingdom became “Judah.”

Over the next several hundred years, king after king in both kingdoms defied the covenant. A few kings were faithful and would attempt to do what’s right and re-institute the ways of God; however, their successors would lapse back into idolatry and disobedience. The overall will of the people was rebelliousness in their heart, which is why they struggled generation after generation.

Ultimately, the curses and penalties of the covenant agreement could no longer be forestalled, and the entire nation was removed from the covenantal land and scattered among the surrounding nations, just as God (through Moses) said he would do if they were to become unfaithful. The northern kingdom, Israel, was captured by Assyria in 722 BC. The southern kingdom, Judah, was captured by Babylon in 586 BC.

Jeremiah 3:21; 4:1-2 A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel; Because they have perverted their way, They have forgotten Yahweh their God…”If you will return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh, “then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver, And you will swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory.”

Even throughout their disobedient ways, God in his love and remembrance of his promises and covenant with Abraham declared that they could still be the blessing to the rest of the nations if they would only return to him. Since the people continually turned from God in their hearts, God promised that he would make a new covenant with the children of Israel and Judah where he would put his law in their hearts and not on stones like the Ten Commandments. When the law is in the heart the person does not forget the ways of God and then is effective in keeping them.

Jeremiah 31:31-33 – “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

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Yeshua fulfilled the previous covenants and promises – Approximately 30 AD

Yeshua of Nazareth was sent by God to fulfill the words of all of the previous covenants and the promises that God made with Abraham.

By Yeshua proclaiming that he was speaking the word of God, and by the accompanying signs done through him, the covenant God made with Israel when they were led by Moses was fulfilled.

Promise:

Deuteronomy 18:18-19 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Fulfillment:

John 8:42 Yeshua said to them [the Jews], “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

John 12:49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

By Yeshua coming from the line of David, the covenant that God made with David was fulfilled.

Promise:

Psalms 132:11 Yahweh has sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; “Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne.”

Fulfillment:

Matthew 1:1 The record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matthew 21:9 The crowds going ahead of Him [Yeshua], and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh; Hosanna in the highest!”

More importantly for us today, since God’s covenant with Abraham began the nation of Israel, Yeshua not only fulfilled God’s covenants with the nation through David and Moses, but also the promises made to Abraham before any covenants were made, even the covenant with Abraham. Since Yeshua was a true descendant of Abraham, these promises to Abraham were also fulfilled in Yeshua:

Promise:

Genesis 12:2-3 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Fulfillment:

Galatians 3:8-9 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Promise:

Genesis 15:2-5 Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

Fulfillment:

Matthew 1:1 The record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Messiah.

The New Covenant was made with Israel and Judah

Modern Christianity teaches that the new covenant through Messiah was made with the whole world. However, the prophecy of Jeremiah states exactly who the new covenant would be for:

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…

The new covenant was for the house of Israel (the northern ten tribes) so that they could return to him from the nations among which they had been scattered, after they were disobedient to the covenant God had enacted through Moses. The New Testament epistles demonstrate that they did return to him; the assemblies of Messiah were made up of those from among the nations where the disciples went and preached to the scattered Israelites, the “lost sheep” of Israel.

The new covenant was also for the house of Judah (or the southern tribes), so they could have the law placed within their hearts, and no longer be subject to the hypocritical traditions of men. On many occasions, Yeshua scolded them for their hypocrisy:

Mark 7:5-8 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” And He [Yeshua] said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

In the book of Hebrews, quoting from Jeremiah, it is clear that the new covenant was not about starting a new religion with a new group of people, but it was about fulfilling the promises made to Abraham on behalf of Israel and Judah, and it described where God’s eternal law or torah was to be placed.

Heb 8:8-10 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith Yahweh. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Yahweh; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people…

The issue was not that the Law or the instruction of God was bad, but it was the people’s failure to keep it because they weren’t keeping it in their heart. They were only treating it as an outward set of rules and regulations and were adding more and more rules on top of it. Therefore, through the new covenant, God was able to place his instruction directly into the hearts of believers through his Spirit. This was to help the believer to walk in the true spirit of God’s instruction, not just the letter of rules, and therefore to actually remain faithful to his Word.

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The spirit of God’s Word, the true intent of him providing it in the first place, could now begin to bear fruit by spreading life among the people through this new covenant of the Spirit.

Now, the really good news (for us) is, because Yeshua also fulfilled the pre-covenant promises that were made to Abraham, Yeshua then also became the way to God for anyone who was not part of covenantal Israel and Judah. In this way, anyone from anywhere who expressed faith in Yeshua as being sent by God, whether Jew or non-Jew, could now approach the God of Creation through simple faith, just like Abraham. This is why the early congregations were made up of both Jews and those from among the nations where the Israelites had been scattered.

Galatians 3:26-28 For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

Colossians 3:10-11 and you have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him– a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Messiah is all, and in all.

Because the promises to Abraham were made prior to any covenants, the fulfilled promises can be accepted and applied by non-covenantal believers, like all of us today who are not of Jewish or Hebraic descent. This is why the gospel of the Kingdom is considered good news! In this way, through Yeshua, God has been able to draw all men to himself, Jews and non-Jews, and to re-establish the New Creation of his Kingdom with all people for all eternity.

Well, I hope this overview of the covenants and promises of the Bible brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. Because the good news of this Kingdom has such far-reaching implications, I would like to take some time to further explore our relationship with the promise of Abraham in more detail. So, next time, we will review this concept of the faith of Abraham to demonstrate how believers even today can be considered “children of Abraham.”

Remember, if you have thoughts or comments that you would like to explore further with me, feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

The Biblical Calendar and Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost

I believe the annual biblical holidays are the true appointments with God that he has established for all eternity.

Core of the Bible podcast #109 – The Biblical Calendar and Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost

In today’s episode, we are continuing our doctrinal topics but taking a slight detour from our study of the nature of God to discuss the biblical holiday of Shavuot, also known as Weeks and sometimes Firstfruits. Why is this significant, and why should believers today understand the biblical calendar and the feast days?

Most Christians today do not recognize or celebrate the biblical feast days. This is due primarily to the fact that Christianity teaches that the sacrificial aspect of the rites conveyed in the Torah have been fulfilled in Messiah Yeshua. I agree one hundred percent. But “fulfilled” does not mean “done away with.” I believe the Bible teaches that in Messiah, that which was a physical requirement for ancient Israel has become a spiritual reality for all time; more on that later. But what I want to focus on first is how the biblical calendar is filled with symbolism of the Kingdom and God’s relationship with his people. I believe it is as we maintain recognition of these days that we can be reminded of God’s, and our, purpose. These days become practical object lessons that point to the totality of God’s work among his people, and his presence in this world.

The annual biblical calendar contains seven appointed times known in Hebrew as moedim, meaning seasons or appointed times. I believe the annual biblical holidays are the true appointments with God, the seasonal moedim that he has established for all eternity. They are centered around three central “feasts” or “festival gatherings:” Unleavened Bread, Weeks/Shavuot, and Tabernacles/Sukkot. These occur in the first, third, and seventh months of the annual biblical calendar.

Deuteronomy 16:16 – “All your males are to appear three times a year before Yahweh your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread (first month), the Festival of Weeks (third month), and the Festival of Tabernacles (seventh month).”

Interestingly, these festival-gatherings follow the agrarian timelines of the early barley harvest (first month), the early wheat harvest (third month) and the ingathering of all of the remaining crops (seventh month). All of these festivals surround God’s provision for his people. These three annual gathering seasons focus on seven appointed times which are described as memorials or re-enactments to be used to keep God’s people focused on his will and purpose.

I also find it fascinating that God has placed these appointments on the annual calendar in a way that can still be recognized today, even though worldly calendars and methods of timekeeping have come and gone. I believe this is why they are described the way they are, and why we are still able to keep those appointments with him.

How are we to keep these appointments? Certainly we are not to sacrifice animals; as mentioned earlier all sacrifice has been fulfilled in Messiah. However, on these special days we can still gather together as his people to review the symbolism of those sacrifices to bring greater awareness to our understanding of our relationship with God. Whether it is through deeper fellowship and community among his people, as well as renewing our total devotion to him and consummation in his service, we can become serious about our faith by living it out as object lessons that others can see and learn from, as well. After all, as you may know from previous episodes, I believe that God’s Torah or Word is eternal, and therefore has lasting influence on those who approach the God of the Bible as his people. These should be as much a part of our doctrinal understanding as any other major proposition such as the study of who God is or the Kingdom of God.

I would like to discuss all of these biblical holidays throughout the course of the coming year, but as I record today’s podcast, we are in the season of Shavuot or Weeks, which was recently completed. It is the festival which follows Passover and Unleavened Bread by seven weeks, hence its immediate namesake in Hebrew. The day itself falls on the day following the conclusion of 49 days from the barley firstfruits. This was technically the 50th day and became known by its Greek title of Pentecost, meaning “fiftieth.”

Many Christians may recognize Pentecost as the day the holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a powerful way, allowing them to speak in different languages to the assembled Jews in Jerusalem, telling the Good News about the Kingdom of God. It is defined by many as “the birthday of the church,” but I believe that definition is not only a misnomer about its purpose, but a misunderstanding of the nature of the day itself.

To gain a better grasp of this holiday, we need to go back to its ancient Hebrew understanding as it is related in Torah.

Leviticus 23:16-21 – “You are to count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath [that is, seven weeks after the barley firstfruits] and then present an offering of new grain to Yahweh. Bring two loaves of bread from your settlements as a presentation [wave] offering, each of them made from four quarts of fine flour, baked with yeast, as firstfruits to Yahweh. You are to present with the bread seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offerings and drink offerings, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to Yahweh. You are also to prepare one male goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a fellowship sacrifice. The priest will present the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before Yahweh; the bread and the two lambs will be holy to Yahweh for the priest. On that same day you are to make a proclamation and hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live throughout your generations.”

Okay, so in this detailed passage we can learn several things. Shavuot was to be a special appointed day where no customary work was done, in which the people of God would gather and sacrifices and offerings were brought to the Temple. The primary offering of this day involves two loaves of bread as a grain offering of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. Along with the loaves are included burnt offerings, drink offerings, sacrifices for sin and sacrifices for fellowship.

How do these ancient sacrifices and offerings apply to believers today? Even though we don’t bring actual sacrificial animals before Yahweh anymore, I believe these offerings were designed by Yahweh to represent real aspects of our spiritual lives, and I think it’s important that we continue to recognize these. So let’s take a look at what each of these different types of sacrifices means from a symbolic perspective:

A burnt offering represents total consummation in God’s service.
A sin offering represents that which is a substitute for us due to our disobedience to God’s torah.
The trespass offering was offered for unintentional or unknown sin.
A fellowship or peace offering represents thankfulness for God’s mercy and enjoyment of his relationship.
The grain and drink offerings represent our gratitude for God’s provision as firstfruits of all he has provided us.

I think it becomes readily apparent how these emblematic sacrifices apply in the life of the modern believer. If we are to honor these appointed times throughout the year, I believe they should be memorialized in the spirit of these attributes.

There are many facets to the symbolism of the biblical moedim or appointed times, but one of the most glaring attributes relates to their numerical significance. As rich and enlightening as this can be to review, unfortunately, many people over the centuries have taken to a kind of numerology or study of biblical numbers which has become quite complex and frankly, unhelpful. Even the contemporary expression of Judaism has devised a whole system of numerology and mysticism known as Kabbalah, which is not at all what I am proposing here. I simply look for patterns in the Bible to see how they relate to and bring meaning to one another.

For example, the Bible outlines seven days in a week. Shavuot pertains to seven “sevens” of weeks. On the day of Shavuot, all of the sacrificial symbolism falls on the fiftieth day that occurs after the week of Passover and Unleavened Bread, both of which represent the miraculous rescue from the worldliness and slavery of Egypt.

Now it’s important to understand something here from a Hebraic perspective. In this worldly existence, seven is a number that represents this Creation. Why? Well, the weekly Sabbath was given to God’s people as a reminder that God is the Creator of all.

Exodus 20:8, 11 – Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: … For Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

In Hebraic understanding, the weekly Sabbath is the Sabbath of Creation. Everything in this Creation is governed by the limit of a cycle of seven. For example, a week is a cycle of seven days; there are seven appointed times throughout the year occurring within a seven-month time period. Even in the broader calendrical cycle of the Bible, every seventh year was to be a sabbatical year, a year of rest for the land.

Leviticus 25:1-4 – Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you, the land will observe a Sabbath to Yahweh. “You may sow your field for six years, and you may prune your vineyard and gather its produce for six years. “But there will be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land in the seventh year, a Sabbath to Yahweh: you are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.

Additionally, after seven “sevens” of sabbath years, or forty-nine years, the Israelites were to set aside the fiftieth year as a “Jubilee,” a sort of re-set for all economic activity, freedom for all slaves, and a realignment of all of the tribes with their heritage.

Leviticus 25:8-10 – “You are to count seven sabbatical years, seven times seven years, so that the time period of the seven sabbatical years amounts to forty-nine. Then you are to sound a trumpet loudly in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month; you will sound it throughout your land on the Day of Atonement. You are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants. It will be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and each of you to his clan.”

Through these we can see how the Bible relates sevens of days, sevens of weeks, sevens of months and sevens of years, but the fiftieth is something special, something that points to realities beyond these sevens of this world.

I found this editorial comment in the Voice version of the Bible, relating the nature of the Jubilee in Leviticus 25:

“The year of jubilee is a far-reaching idea in the ancient world. In the 50th year, land that has been sold to pay debts during the preceding 49 years returns to its original owners. Israelites who had to sell themselves into slavery to pay debts are set free. All debts are declared “paid in full.” The jubilee is a regular reminder to God’s covenant people that every acre of ground, every soul belongs to God, not to those rich enough to buy them.”

So, the timing of the annual festival of Shavuot also has great significance mirroring that of the sabbatical years and the year of Jubilee which focuses on the centrality of Yahweh as Creator and Owner of all that exists. Shavuot, also being based on this principle of fifty, is a fulfillment of seven weeks (seven “sevens” of days) and then takes place on “the day after the seventh sabbath,” the fiftieth day. The remembrance, this regular reminder every year of the Exodus events on this fiftieth day represents a re-set, a new beginning, freedom from captivity and a restoration of all things to the God of the universe. In a spiritual sense, it points to realities beyond this Creation, to eternal principles that exist outside of the sevens of this world. To my way of thinking, this is a perfect illustration of what occurred on that very famous Restoration Shavuot two thousand years ago.

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Let’s take a closer look at that famous Restoration Shavuot or Day of Pentecost in which the holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a powerful way, allowing them to speak in different languages to the assembled Jews in Jerusalem, telling the Good News about the Kingdom of God. I said a few moments ago that this event is defined by many as “the birthday of the church,” and that I believe that this definition is not only a misnomer about its purpose, but a misunderstanding of the nature of the day itself.

You see, to say that is the birthday of the church is to imply that the “church” never existed prior to that time. What many call the “church” today (universally speaking) is called the ekklesia in Greek terminology, and it simply means “a called out assembly.” But the ekklesia was not “born” on that day, it had existed since the times of Moses. This is revealed in the speech of Stephen in his defense before the Sanhedrin.

Acts 7:38 – “He [Moses] is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us.”

If you check your King James or American Standard Versions of the Bible, you may notice that this verse here says that it was the “church in the wilderness” who received the living oracles. The translators were simply using the Greek word in a consistent fashion. But this highlights the point: if there was an assembly, something which could be called the church which was present in the wilderness with Moses, how could it have been “born” on Pentecost in the early part of the first century? I believe it can be shown that the ekklesia, the called out assembly, was always present in those through whom God was working at any given time in the biblical narrative.

For us to approximate a Hebraic understanding of this, it can be said that there has always been a faithful remnant among God’s people, even when the nation as a whole was steeped in idolatry and wickedness. For example, when Jerusalem was being attacked by Sennacherib’s Syrian army, Isaiah the prophet revealed how God would protect them:

2 Kings 19:30-31 – “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. “For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will accomplish this.”

When returning from captivity in Babylon with only the few thousand faithful who desired to reestablish the Temple, Ezra prayed the following prayer:

Ezra 9:8 – But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from Yahweh our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in his holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes.

Even the apostle Paul, in teaching about the faithful among God’s people in that day, illustrates this idea of the remnant with the story of Elijah:

This “remnant” of God’s people was the assembly at each point in Israel’s history, sometimes even down to one person and their family, such as a Noah or an Abraham, or a Jacob. God’s purpose has always been based on the assembly of those who are faithful to him, so the ekklesia throughout the ages has been comprised of those who feared and served Yahweh.

So to carry this mental understanding into the events of the first century day of Pentecost, we can see that same principle applying there: a faithful remnant, the disciples, faithful to the principles of the Kingdom which Messiah had taught them, were given miraculous abilities by the Spirit of God to testify to the truth of the gospel of the Kingdom to the rest of the Jews who had come from all over the world. This faithful remnant was not “born” on that day, but, in alignment with the Jubilee symbolism of the day of Shavuot, they were the ones proclaiming the eternal re-set, freedom from captivity to sin, and a restoration of all things through the Kingdom of God. In a sense, this was the ultimate Jubilee.

Just as the original ekklesia was comprised of those who were assembled at Sinai and heard Yahweh speak the Ten Commandments of his Kingdom which were written in stone, the renewed ekklesia on that famous Day of Pentecost proclaimed the principles of God’s Kingdom which were to be written on their hearts.

The connection between these events is further established when it can be shown that, at the receiving of the Ten Commandments, due to their rebelliousness and idolatry, three thousand people were killed.

Exodus 32:28 – The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people.

However, at the Restoration Pentecost, due to their obedience, three thousand people were added to the ekklesia.

Acts 2:41 – So those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

As another example, the big picture of the Bible story can be described in a similar type of parallelism. God established a physical Kingdom when he revealed his Ten Commandments to his assembled people at Mount Sinai. Those commandments were written in stone by his own finger. In the first century, God established an eternal, spiritual Kingdom when, through his Messiah, he revealed those principles to the to the assembled people listening to the Sermon on the Mount. These were spiritually based on the same commandments, but now they were to be written on the heart by God’s own finger, no longer in stone. These types of parallels and symbolisms are all through the Bible.

The apostle Paul, in the context of speaking about the comparison and contrast of Adam and Yeshua, states a principle that I believe carries over into a well-ordered understanding of the Bible.

1 Corinthians 15:46 – But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.

In the Bible, the natural things, people, and events were real things that happened to real people, just like those who heard the commandments at Mount Sinai, or those who heard Messiah preach his Sermon on the Mount. But I believe we are to look to those things as types, shadows, and examples of the spiritual realities that have become evident through the restoration of all things in Messiah Yeshua. The prophesied remnant was that first-century assembly, but with all things consummated by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, believers from that point on up until today are simply members of God’s eternal, universal Kingdom. Since the age of natural Israel ended at that time, there is no longer a “remnant” ekklesia or assembly; it had been fulfilled in that generation in that time.

When Paul illustrated his teaching with stories from Israel’s wilderness journeys, he also emphasizes the purpose of learning and re-telling these stories.

1 Corinthians 10:11 – Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

That first century ekklesia or assembly of Messiah believers in the natural world was to become the touchstone for all future generations of believers as spiritual descendants. The ancient biblical ages, the ages of Abraham, Moses, and of natural Israel, were coming to a consummation in the soon destruction of the city in 70 AD. Beyond that event, the spiritual principles of the Bible would be cast forward into the future, lighting the way for all future generations of believers as the eternal Kingdom of God would continue to spread throughout the world.

So I believe that Shavuot has not been done away, nor have any of the other biblical holidays, but I believe they have been renewed and elevated in this great spiritual restoration accomplished by Messiah. Paul writes how even believers were to view themselves as having been completely renewed within their faith in Messiah.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

In Messiah, all things are new now, not just in the future!

So as we view this seasonal moed or appointed time of Shavuot, we can catch a glimpse of its renewed nature and purpose in the symbolism of its biblical parameters. That first-century restoration Pentecost was the fulfillment of the Jubilee symbolism, the fifty beyond the sevens and forty-nines of this world, declaring the eternal nature of the Kingdom of God. Just as Yeshua taught, this was to be a Kingdom based on the structure of the Ten Commandments, as both a near and present reality, a realm where vigilance would be required of those who sought to participate. These believers would be set apart and holy, trusting God for all of their needs, just as he did, and they would operate with God’s characteristics of forgiveness and compassion, demonstrating that they are the children of God.

Well, I hope this brief introduction to the biblical holidays and the restoration Shavuot or Pentecost brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, there is also a Core of the Bible virtual Bible study group that is hosted through the Marco Polo video chat app. It is designed to discuss the topics that we cover each week and to help people with responses to questions that may come up. If you are interested in joining the discussion, simply download the free Marco Polo app and email me a request to join the group at coreofthebible@gmail.com. I will be happy to send you a link to join the virtual Bible study group. You can also feel free to email me any of your thoughts or comments at that email, as well.

The Bible: A Divine Revelation

What is the Bible and what does it say about itself?

Core of the Bible podcast #104 – The Bible: A Divine Revelation

Today, we will be looking at the Bible itself and what some of the historic creeds have stated about the nature of the Scriptures. I will also be sharing some of my own views on the Bible and aspects of these creedal positions. Before we end today, I would also like to discuss how these positions influence the core Bible principles we discuss here each week.

So I’d like to begin by describing my view of the Bible and its purpose.

The word Bible comes from the Greek “ta biblia” meaning “the books”. It is a collection of books that have been written over a period of one and a half millennia. They were written by a variety of Hebrew people primarily to and about the Hebrew people during various stages of their history as a nation, from approximately 1,500 BC to the 60’s AD.

The Hebrew Bible is generally what would be called by Christians the “Old Testament”. In Hebraic communities, it is known by the acronym TNK, or Tanakh. TNK stands for the Hebrew words Torah (Instruction), Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).

Here is a broad outline of the categories of books contained within the whole Bible:

Beginning with the Tanakh, the Torah (Law or Instruction) is considered to include primarily the first five books of the Bible, and they are attributed to Moses. They describe the beginnings and the establishment of the nation of Israel and its religious system of worship. These books provide a foundation for the rest of the Bible story to be contextually understood and built upon.

The Nevi’im or prophetic books were largely written as urgings to God’s people to return to the right ways of God when they had gone astray, and described the hope for future reconciliation.

The Ketuvim or Writings include the historical books explaining the origins and out-workings of the physical kingdom of Israel, and the rise and fall of various Hebrew leaders. Through these stories we learn of God’s faithfulness and justice with his people and with those of the nations surrounding them. The Ketuvim also include other poetic writings which describe God’s wisdom and care for his people through elaborate word pictures, hymns of praise and worship, and proverbs.

Now as we move from the Tanakh into the “New Testament” writings, we also move from Hebrew documents into Greek. The New Testament or Apostolic Writings is a collection of books written in Greek in the early first century by the followers of Yeshua. Some believe these also may have been originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic. These books relate stories and instruction regarding the life of Yeshua (the Gospels) and the lives and experiences of those who would form new communities based on his teachings (Acts and the letters to the various congregations). They include historical narratives, correspondence between communities, and a form of Hebrew literature known as apocalyptic prophecy (the book of Revelation). They are all filled with references to and quotes from the Tanakh and its stories.

Different groups today will categorize the books of the Bible in different ways, and some will include different books here and there. The important thing to remember, however, is that within these pages, I believe God has revealed his mind and purposes for the benefit of his creation.

Okay, so that’s my perspective on what the Bible is. As we consider the writings in the Bible, it is important to keep in mind that these books are a collection of ancient middle-eastern writings that cover a wide variety of literary styles and are not all literal “newspaper accounts” of God’s dealings with men. They were not written specifically to us in our present day. They were written to the Hebrew people in a context appropriate for their moment in the history and culture of that nation. However, even though they were not written to us, we can say they were written for us, that is, for our benefit. Through these writings we are privileged to see how God has chosen to express himself and work with and among those whom he has chosen to do so. Understanding this distinction is one of the most important aspects of coming to know what the Bible narrative is really all about.

With that background, if we take all of these books as collectively telling a cohesive story, let’s see what the Bible books have to say about themselves.

2 Peter 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

This statement, attributed to the apostle Peter, demonstrates how the books of the Bible, and here specifically speaking primarily about the Tanakh, claims to be divinely inspired. Believers in Messiah will typically include the New Testament writings within this category of divinely inspired writings, since they are completing the narrative of the Tanakh.

Besides considering the writings to be inspired, the Bible also teaches God has chosen to reveal himself through nature, the people of Israel, and most significantly through his Son, Yeshua.

In regard to the natural revelation of God in nature, the psalmist writes:

Psalm19:1-4 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world…

The apostle Paul also used the creation as a basis of his speech to the Greeks assembled in Athens:

Acts 17:22-27 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things; and He made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined [their] appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…

The Scriptures also portray God specifically revealing himself and His will for men to and through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel.

1 Kings 8:53 “For You have separated them [Israel] from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yawheh.”
2 Kings 17:13-14 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God.
Nehemiah 9:30 “However, You bore with them [Israel] for many years, And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, Yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

Finally, the Bible claims that the ultimate revelation of God has been through his Son, Yeshua:

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things…
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Yeshua, Messiah.
John 14:6 Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
1 John 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

The Bible therefore claims to reveal God in nature, Israel, and most significantly, through his Messiah, Yeshua. It is in this sense that I believe the Bible to be a divine revelation.

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Now let’s take a look at some of the creedal descriptions of various organizations and denominations. All denominations and faith traditions within the Christian tradition understand that if we desire to have a biblical worldview, then we need to recognize some basics about these documents that shape our faith.

Here are a few examples of some random organizations that I pulled up in a quick search for “Statements of Faith”:

National Association of Evangelicals: “We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.”
BasicChristian.org: “We believe the Holy Bible is God’s word Personally spoken by God for mankind for the purpose of revealing who He is and it is without error in all issues to which it speaks.”
Chicago Statement on Biblical Application: “We affirm that this God can be known through His revelation of Himself in His inerrant written Word.”
Church of God in Christ: “We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God.”
Torchbearers International: “The Bible is, in its entirety, the revelation of God for mankind, inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Simplyscripture.org: “We believe the Bible to be the only revealed, pure, complete and preserved Word of God throughout all the ages. Scripture is solely contained within the 66 books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible, unchangeable Word of God and is the final authority for all matters of faith and practice.”

Okay, so you get the idea. Among the list of qualities about the Bible, it is considered by churches and para-church organizations to be revelatory, inspired, inerrant, infallible. So let’s define some of these qualities for a better understanding of what they are saying, and then I will add some comments about my own perspective on each of these qualities.

First of all is the idea that the Bible is REVELATORY: God has revealed himself in the Bible and he can be known through his workings as related within its pages.

I don’t disagree with this, other than different groups may define what God has revealed about himself differently from one another. I would simply say that God, who is unknowable outside of his own revelation of himself, desires his people to honor and represent him, living according to the principles his kingdom. I would also include the fact that nature itself is a form of God’s revelation of his power and majesty. And while general principles about God can be deduced from nature, it is only in the written revelation of the Bible where the specifics of God’s desires for mankind are revealed.

Secondly, these creeds say that the Bible is INSPIRED: The writers of the Bible were inspired by God or the spirit of God to convey what he wanted to communicate.

Based on my previous statement about God being unknowable, then it follows that those who would write about the nature and workings of God would necessarily have to be inspired to do so. This type of inspiration is typically recognized as God working through the various authors of the Bible to communicate. Again, many different groups define this inspiration differently, whether being immersed in God‘s spirit, or receiving ideas and wisdom from God and writing it out in their own way. Even Jewish thinkers throughout the centuries have had varying opinions about levels of inspiration for the various writings. In my mind, I am simply content to recognize God‘s influence over those who wrote the actual texts to ensure his will would be made known.

Thirdly, these creeds assert that the Bible is INERRANT. Now the specifics of inerrancy are typically defined further by the organization, but in general, it means the Bible is 100% without error. However, this is usually qualified by saying inerrancy was only in the original written documents, not necessarily the many manuscripts we have today. This qualifier is necessary because, quite honestly, there are errors in the manuscripts that we use for Bible versions that we have today. There are spelling differentials, numerical differences in some generations or years of a king’s reign, and some insertions into the text from later hands.

However, for me, this makes for a more robust understanding of the reality of just how old these documents really are. If we had perfectly preserved autograph documents from the original authors there would be more questions as to how something could be so perfectly preserved when everything else in the natural world of antiquity has been diminished. Therefore, they would more likely be considered forgeries of some type. In reality, the Bible can’t win with this type of logic. Either it’s too perfect, or not perfect enough.

The reason these minor grammatical areas do not pose a problem for me is that through tireless research they have been identified, and we know where they are and how little they impact the overall message of the Bible as a whole. So stating that the Bible is inerrant is kind of not true unless it is defined further. For me, to say the Bible is inerrant is difficult to do. Even to say that the original written documents had no errors is a stretch, because they no longer exist anywhere. Therefore that is a statement that cannot be validated.

Lastly, we come to the topic of the Bible being INFALLIBLE. This theological term simply means the Bible is considered unable to be wrong on the topics it covers.

Again, I don’t necessarily have a problem with this concept in theory, because I do believe the Bible contains the word of God, but infallibility isn’t something practical and readily understandable to the general person. Infallibility is a theological term that for me connotes a high religious supremacy of some type. This is not untrue about the Bible. But with the concept of infallibility comes judgments of infallibility about practice based on fallible interpretations of these ancient texts, and this is why I try to avoid this type of terminology.

I believe it is simpler to say I believe the Bible is true primarily because Yeshua believed in what the Scriptures said. Since I am a follower of Yeshua, then it makes sense that I would also place the same level of regard on the Scriptures as being God’s word as he did. He repeatedly referred to the authority of Scripture by saying “it is written” and then quoting it, and by using the argument that “Scripture cannot be broken” when making an argument with the religious leaders. Since he trusted the writings as authoritative and reliable, then I also do. To me, this is the crux of the issue: not inerrancy and infallibility but reliability. I want to know the textual basis of my worldview and belief system is reliable.

Now as for the New Testament writings which were penned after Messiah, a primary reason I believe these books are also trustworthy as inspired records is due to the evidence of recurring patterns and consistent themes throughout all of the writings. Many of the patterns and themes begun in the Tanakh are carried over to fulfillment in the writings of the New Testament.

Tanakh	New Testament
Paradise lost	Paradise regained
Scattering of God’s people due to disobedience	Reconciliation and return provided for
Seeking of God’s Anointed leader (Messiah)	Messiah realized in Yeshua
Natural principles of instruction	Spiritual principles based on the natural
Hope for God’s future kingdom	God’s kingdom a present reality

These types of parallels is what makes the Bible such a cohesive whole, and is the joy of those who study it deeply.

I believe it was God‘s good design to entrust the bulk of his communication with the Jewish people who were extremely faithful in maintaining his revealed word. Even in the past one hundred years, this has been evidenced by documents discovered among the dead sea scrolls which were much earlier than previous manuscripts texts available to us. These earlier documents showed remarkable consistency with manuscripts generated centuries later.

So for my own creedal position on this issue, I want to make it clear that I do believe the Bible, as a repository of the witness of God about himself to mankind, is a reliable collection of books in which the truth of God is found. I have come to recognize that even though there are legitimate textual questions about specific biblical passages, the Bible is still trustworthy, and maybe even more authentic because of them.

So if I was to make a declaratory statement regarding the Bible, it would be something like this:

I believe that complete message of the Bible points to the faithfulness of God with his people Israel, culminating in the person and ministry of the Lord Yeshua.
Through God’s holy Spirit and his Word, the Bible, God desires to lead people to faith in Yeshua and to guide them in a life of faithful obedience to his will.
I accept the entire Bible as authoritatively testifying to the nature, work, and wisdom of God. These are the Scriptures or sacred writings concerning God’s revelation of himself to mankind.
God’s purpose in these revelations has been an exhibition of his own glory and the establishment of his Kingdom on the earth.

In summary, the broad statements of my own understanding and faith concerning the Bible are:

The Bible is the authoritative revelation of God for us, for the purpose of establishing his Kingdom on the earth.
It was not written to us in this 21st century, but it was written for us, for our benefit.
I believe it’s a stretch to say the Bible is inerrant, and it’s equally vague to claim infallibility where poor interpretive principles are usually apparent; however, I also believe the intent behind those claims of inerrancy and infallibility are made with the intent to honor God.
I do believe the Bible is absolutely reliable and contains the Word of God for people today. Indications of its reliability are found in its recurring themes and patterns.

It is because of the Bible’s reliability we can see the broad basis for the importance of understanding its core principles which I believe God has revealed through the Ten Commandments and the principles of the Sermon on the Mount:

Separate yourself to seek first the Kingdom with vigilance.
Love God with all of your heart, mind, and strength, trusting him for everything.
And love others as yourself with integrity, forgiveness, and compassion.

Next week, closely aligned with this topic of the Bible, we will take on the concept of the Eternal Torah.

Remember, if you are interested in joining the Core of the Bible virtual Bible study, simply download the free Marco Polo app and email me a request to join the group at coreofthebible@gmail.com. I will be happy to send you a link to join the virtual Bible study group.