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Hoyte Nelson's Poems/ Reflections & Biblical Essays
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Essay Pillows of Truth? “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). I grew up in an old house that was built upon
“virgin-pine” pillows (blocks) that lasted well over a century. It is with
this in mind that I have chosen the subject for this article: “Pillows of
Truth.” Just as a house must have a solid foundation, so it is with scriptural
interpretation of any given subject; otherwise, it will lead to all kinds of
suppositions. Systematic theology is the bases for biblical interpretations, but
every system developed is not good theology. Although I’m not a theologian, I
do want to share my understanding of some fundamentals that I believe will be
helpful in the study of that which we call, “eschatology” (Last Things). As
a background, let us first consider two basic promises concerning Israel: First, The temporal promise to Israel could only be
fulfilled in the Promised Land: “So
the Lord gave Israel all the land,
which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in
it. Not one of the good promises which the Lord
had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass” (Joshua 21: 43-45).
Although God gave to Israel, and to Judah, many conditional promises, I do not
know of a single one of those promises that they, as a nation, kept; therefore,
they were unfulfilled, otherwise God would not have rejected them (2 Kings 17:
18-23). Secondly,
the eternal promises to Israel can only be fulfilled in the New Heaven and the
New Earth because the only promise offered to Israel as to their future is,
eternal in duration; therefore, the New Heaven and a New Earth is the only place
where the “eternal” promises could be fulfilled. Peter said, “But according
to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:
13). This is the promise recorded in Isaiah 65: 17,
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind (2 Peter 3:
13). The
question now is this, “how could Israel, as
a nation, fulfill this “promise” since they, as a nation, ceased to exist long years ago? “So the Lord
was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight;
none was left except the tribe of Judah” (2 Kings 17: 18). The answer is,
they can not. In fact, Israel was never, as
a nation, the focus of eternal salvation. The focus was always in the
“Promise,” first given to Adam, renewed with Abraham, continued in David,
and fulfilled in Jesus Christ that included all the redeemed peoples of the
world. (Genesis 12: 3, and Galatians 3: 29)
Israel, as a nation, was chosen to bring to the world the message
contained in the “Promise” (Genesis 12: 1-3), but they, as a nation, were
not the promise, even as the church is not the mystery. (Colossians 1: 26-28)
The mystery is the makeup of the
church: consisting of Jew and Gentile. The church, Like Israel, is the messenger
of the Promise (Mystery), fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
The
statement, “and none is left except the tribe of Judah” (2 Kings 17: 18) is
very significant: that is: It was through Judah that the “Promised Messiah”
is fulfilled. This is what Jacob prophesied while still in the land of Egypt:
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from
between his feet, until Shiloh comes…” (Genesis 49: 10a). It
is important to remember that when Shiloh (Messiah) came, Judah sadly rejected
Him, and God rejected them: “The Lord
said, “I will remove Judah also from my sight, as I have removed Israel. And I
will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which
I said, ‘My name shall be there.’ ” (2 Kings 23: 27). The Mystery, Kept Secret: I
have come to believe that my greatest failure in studying eschatology was the
fact that I failed to see the importance of the mystery that was “hid” from
the prophets of old concerning the future of a people called, “Israel”
(Colossians 1: 26, 27; Ephesians 3: 4-6), etc.). The truth is this: That the Jew
and the Gentile are now and forever one
in Jesus Christ according to the “Promise,” and that this hope is centers in
the person of Jesus Christ, and not in a nation. Paul
explained this in Romans 9:6-8 “But it is not as though the word of God has
failed. For they are not all Israel
who are Israel (by physical birth); neither are they all children because they
are Abraham’s descendants, but through Isaac your descendants will be named.
That is, “it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but
the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.” Therefore, Paul
says, (in verse 24) “even us, whom He also called, not of the Jews only, but
from the Gentiles also.” Again, the Apostle writes, “And the Scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel
beforehand to Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations shall be blessed”
(Galatians 3: 8). In verse 29 he continues, “And if you belong to Christ, then
you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to Promise.”
The question now is this, “how can that be?” The answer is found in
the “mystery” that was hid in ages passed; that is the mystery kept secret
from the prophets of old as recorded in Paul’s letter to the Colossians
wherein is said, “…, the mystery
which has been hidden from the past ages
and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed
to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”(Colossians 1: 26,27).
That is, that the believing Sons of Jacob and the believing Gentiles, as one in
Christ, would be the “Israel of God” (Romans 11: 26; Galatians 6: 15,16).
Remember, God had withheld from the OT prophets the mystery about the makeup of
His kingdom; therefore, their prophesies were limited as to the kingdom of
Israel that was not revealed until the New Covenant was fulfilled in Christ.
(Hebrews 8: 13; 9: 28) This
is the message from the words of the Apostle Paul when he said this” “He
made known to us the mystery of His will,
according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Jesus); just as He
chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, (Before Israel) that we
would be holy and blameless before Him in love; having predestined us to
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind
intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely
bestowed on us in the beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He
lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His
will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an
administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that
is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and
things on the earth” (Ephesians 1:1-9). Continuing in Ephesians: (I
repeat) “That
by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in
brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into
the mystery of Christ, which in other
generations (OT) was not made known
to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and
prophets in the Spirit; to be
specific, that the Gentiles are heirs and fellow members (with the Jews) of
the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the
gospel (Ephesians 3:3-9). The
mystery hidden for “ages” is now to be proclaimed through the church, not
through Israel (Ephesians 3: 21). Isaiah said, “And though Israel was numbered
as the sand on the sea; only a remnant would be saved.” Paul helps us
understand this mystery when he wrote, “But it
is not as though the word of God has failed. (Because He rejected Israel as
a nation), For they are not all Israel who are descended
from Israel (Jacob); that is, it is
not the children flesh who are children of God, but the children of the
promise are regarded as descendants” (Romans 9: 6,8). (Therefore, the children
of the promise, by faith Jesus Christ, are Abraham’s children, no matter if
you are a Jew or a Gentile). “And if you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3: 2). It should be remembered that redemption was granted only to the sons
Abraham who believed in the “promise,” This is true of the Gentiles also.
The promise, fulfilled in Jesus Christ is mankind’s only hope, whether Jew or
Gentile. That is, “when the fullness of the Gentiles are brought into the
kingdom along with the Sons of Jacob, “all Israel would be saved.” (Roman
11; 25-26) What a truth! This was the
mystery kept from the prophets of old; therefore, salvation is not in a nation,
but in a person: Jesus Christ! (Romans 9: 8) [To me, any
system of theology that fails to fully take into consideration the above truths
concerning the Jew and the Gentile as being one in Christ is incomplete]. These
words given to the Apostle Peter are most revealing: “But the day of the Lord
will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the
elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will
be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort
of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and
hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But
according to His promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in
which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3: 10-13). Revelation 21:1-5 says,
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first
earth passed away, and there is no longer any
sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He
will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be
among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no
longer be any death; there will no
longer be any mourning, or crying, or
pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said,
“all Behold, I am making (all) things
new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true”
Revelation 21: 1-5). Remember
it was the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3: 9-13) who reminded us of “His promise”
(Isaiah 65: 17) “For behold, I
create new heavens and a new earth; and
the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.” The former things
are “destroyed, Burned up…” says the Apostle Peter. Therefore, I
believe that the truth of the gospel is in the realization that the promise,
promised to Israel and to Judah concerning the earthly reign of the Messiah can
only be fulfilled in the New Heaven (s), and
the New Earth at the Second Coming of our Lord. (Galatians 3: 29) One
of the things that baffle me in the study of eschatology is way the
“millennium” has become the focal point many of the systems so prevalent
today. For example: The
Post-Millennium view: I cannot understand way the millennium has any point of
reference in this system? I can understand the theology of a victorious church,
but what does the millennium have to do with it. The same is true with the other
systems. The thousand-year reign of Christ is (signified)* as the “souls” of
martyred saints who “come to life” (resurrected) which is called “the
first resurrection. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
*(“Signified” Revelation 1:1b) |