For most of my life I viewed the Bible as largely a collection of inspired but somewhat loosely related books. I had come to see it as 66 separate books written, by many different authors, over a period of a couple thousand years. It seemed to me therefore, that those different books and authors were addressing different, specific topics that were largely related to the current events of the day (as well as having a sometimes difficult to comprehend relevance and application to the people and events of today). I really didn’t have much appreciation or understanding for what I’ll call, “the overall backstory” or how all the various writings fit into this one complete story.
However, in the last few years my view of the Bible has changed somewhat. As a result a much bigger and more complete picture has begun to emerge - one that can be seen and appreciated far more clearly. On this ongoing journey of prayerful searching and study, I’ve been fortunate to come across the work of many Biblical scholars (such as Dr Michael Heiser) who have unselfishly shared their life's work with everyday folks such as myself. I believe this journey of learning and discovery has only just started and for me it is far from complete.
The Bible is, I believe, the story of the Kingdom of God with a beginning, a longer and more detailed middle portion and an ending. It opens in Genesis with the statement, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The story might have ended there with that simple statement of fact - were it not for the conflict that becomes evident soon after creation. This brewing conflict results in something going terribly wrong that has a disastrous effect on all creation. The early chapters of the story serve to “bring us up to speed.” They move us quickly through some very ancient history that describes some early events and factors which help to understand the balance of the story as it unfolds.
The middle portion of the story shows that all those things that went wrong had been anticipated and planned for from the very beginning. The story then proceeds to tell the story of God’s plan to redeem and reclaim all that had seemed lost. This, the middle part of the story, has been unfolding and playing out over the past several thousands of years and continues right through our present time.
The ending of the story (which is still in our future) has been determined from the very beginning and is described in the final chapters of the Bible. In the end, God will have what He wanted and set out to create right from the start of our creation story. Both Heaven and Earth will be perfect, complete and united as God comes to dwell here on Earth with both His heavenly and earthly families.
Therefore, as I read the opening chapters of Genesis, it occurs to me that there is a lot more going on than what might be apparent at first. As we read through these chapters, I believe we find the indication of several important story threads and themes that weave their way throughout the rest of the Bible.
An earlier paradigm, I had accepted, held the view that with the possible exception of “angels” and “evil spirits,” all creation consists of that which is material - and that God did all His creative work in one creation week consisting of six consecutive days. Indeed, it is my belief that reading the creation accounts within that particular context, limits our ability to understand some of the important parts of the story that follows. Building a worldview around such a paradigm simply does not include much thought at all for the realm which is unseen, immaterial and supernatural.
Furthermore, such a view fails to see that the opening verse, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” is a statement which is meant to establish the starting point for the rest of the Kingdom story and humanity’s part in the story, which then follows. The verses which follow that opening statement are simply not the full account of all of God’s creative work. We simply do not know when or all that God created. Except for God, everything has a beginning and this opening statement serves to confirm that point. The Bible is not a complete historical account of all God’s creative activity nor is it a science or history text book - and I think we miss the point if we try to read it as if it is. There are some topics about which the Bible makes passing reference and some items about which it is simply silent. What we are told is what we need to know of our own story here on earth. Some of our questions might have to remain mysteries for now.
Because I now read the opening chapters of Genesis a bit differently, I would like to pause here to ponder a few thoughts and questions which I believe worthy of further consideration.
Genesis 1:1 reads that God created heavens (plural) and earth (singular). What are some of the reasons why heavens might be written as plural?
How long did the Spirit of God hover over the face of the waters – and just what does this mean? This is written before the account for the first creation day. There is a curious passage in Job 38:30 that speaks of the, “face of the deep is frozen.”
Are the days of creation literal, chronological and consecutive? Why or why not? Also, there is a beginning and an end mentioned for each of the six “days” of creation – but not so for the seventh, therefore, when did the seventh day (spoken of in chapter 2) begin and end?
Genesis 1:26 reads, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness.” God is speaking here and is using the plural tense. To whom is He speaking? Could this be one of the earliest references in our Bible to the Supernatural Realm and those created beings which are part of that realm? Might God be speaking to His “Divine counsel?”
Personally, I believe God had created His Heavenly council sometime before He ever began His creative work on this earth.
It is my belief that God created this material world (along with everything else that He has created) by design and not by accident; He did so because this is what He willed. Nothing that has happened since then has been unknown or come as a surprise to Him nor has it caused Him to have to come up with a “plan B” or need to change His plans.
After assigning a purpose to everything in each step, He declared the created outcome as “good.” Then, with the creation of mankind as His image bearers, God assigned us with our purpose and the necessary authority to carry that out. At this point He declared His creation as, “very good” and He rested from His work.
There is nothing in the creation accounts story to suggest that by the end of the story God will have anything less than what He willed and set out to create. His will shall be done on earth as in Heaven.
Finally, it is because I now view these opening chapters differently than I once did, that the beginning of the story and the ending of this story now fit together more clearly and completely. It was at Eden that Heaven and Earth were connected to become fully joined once humanity completed their work of filling the earth and subduing it according to God’s will. Ever since “the fall” and man’s subsequent expulsion from the garden of Eden, the devil has been working to subvert and destroy God’s plan and all that He has created. Yet despite those efforts, God has continued to move His plan forward to ultimately redeem, renew and restore His creation while thwarting every scheme Satan has attempted. This fact must be kept in mind as it plays out throughout the whole story and continues on until the final victorious conclusion with the union of Heaven and Earth as God had intended right from the start.
Sabotage and Subterfuge
And so, after having gotten off to a perfect start with the completed creation of our world, what could possibly go wrong? Genesis 3 hints of a rebellion that was brewing and which now erupts with disastrous results. In this chapter we see “the serpent” in the garden of Eden tempt Adam and Eve into disobeying God’s command – and this they do despite God’s clear, unambiguous warning that this would result in their certain death. As bad as that was, that single act of rebellion does not (by itself) explain the full level of degradation, death and decay to which our present world now finds itself. Instead, we need to look to at least two additional rebellious acts of global importance and impact. After the fall of man in Eden, we have the events in Genesis 6:1-4 which led to the flood of Noah’s day and resulted in the near extinction of life here on earth. Some time later, after a period of recovery and repopulation, we read of the events leading to the division of humanity into languages and nations at Babel as recorded in the eleventh chapter of Genesis.
I believe it is because we often fail to recognize or acknowledge the supernatural elements present in each one of these events, that we do not really understand what all is at stake and what damages needed repair. Ultimately God’s plan of salvation addresses and will ultimately fully restore creation. Throughout all these early reports there has been an intertwining of rebellious beings from the spiritual realm with rebellious humanity which accounts for a cosmic rebellion. To merely ascribe the mess this world is in to “the fall of man” in the garden of Eden, overlooks far too many factors and can lead to a number of misunderstandings and interpretive problems throughout the rest of the Bible.
So what happened in each of these events?
First Rebellion: God’s plan for creation was to bring Heaven and Earth together - completing His Kingdom - where He will dwell with both His Heavenly and Earthly family. There are numerous references to this and His plan has not changed – nor will it. According to Genesis 1, man was placed in the garden, “so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” It further says, “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” From this and other passages, I take this to mean man was to both look after the created earth as well as civilize and help prepare it for the realization of God’s plan to fully bring together Heaven and Earth.
In the garden, the “nachash” (translated as serpent in our english Bible) tempted/convinced the woman to eat fruit of the forbidden tree and she then gave some to her husband and He ate from it as well. To be clear… this was not some kind of talking snake! This was, in-fact, a supernatural rebel who we have since called the devil. Through this act of disobedience, man surrendered His allegiance and authority and in so doing, he got himself expelled from Eden (God’s dwelling place on earth) and away from the presence of God.
Consequence: With each successive rebellion the consequences seemed to compound and get progressively worse. As a result of humanity's fall in Eden, sin entered the world and through sin, death became the lot for everyone. Romans 5:12 states, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
Second Rebellion: At the time of Noah, Genesis 6 speaks about “sons of God” (created supernatural beings – members of the heavenly host) that transgressed their boundaries in order to take human wives and produce offspring known as the Nephilim. These fallen “sons of God” often referred to as “Watchers,” had the desire to create nations of their own. These fallen Watchers/“sons of God” set about totally corrupting humanity by teaching them all manner of forbidden knowledge including such things as weapons creation, warfare, the occult arts, sexual seduction and depravity, sorcery etc. It is noteworthy that in later historical accounts, non-Hebrew nations regarded these Watchers as hero’s bringing wisdom and technology to humans – in contrast, Israel rightly saw this for the terrible thing it was and to regard all that resulted from that event as evil.
Consequence: In the second rebellion, the “watchers” transgressed the boundary between the spiritual and material realms to mate with and produce offspring with human women so as to produce nations/kingdoms of their own. In addition, they also taught humanity forbidden knowledge that led to near total corruption, including sexual seduction and immorality, occult arts and every kind of violence – in essence they taught man how to more efficiently destroy himself. This rebellion resulted in the great flood and led to the near extinction of humanity.
Two
references in the New testament speak of this particular rebellion as
well as the consequences imposed on the Watchers/angels that were
involved. In the Expanded Bible, 2 Peter 2:4 & 5 reads:
“[L For
if]
When angels sinned, God did not ·let them go free without punishment
[spare
them].
[L But]
He sent them to ·hell [L Tartarus;
C a Greek term for the underworld]
and put them in caves[a]
of darkness where they are being held for judgment [Gen.
6:1–4; Jude 6].
And God ·punished the world long ago [L did
not spare the ancient world]
when He brought a flood to the world that was full of ·people who
were against Him [the
ungodly].
But God ·saved [protected;
kept]
Noah, ·who preached about being right with God [a
preacher of righteousness; C Jewish tradition described Noah
preaching repentance],
and seven other people with Him [C His
wife plus His three sons and their wives; Gen. 6—9].
Jude verse 6 reads (also from the Expanded Bible): “And remember the angels who did not keep their ·place of power [position of authority; L own domain/rule] but left their proper ·home [dwelling place]. The Lord has kept these angels in ·darkness [gloom; C the nether world or underworld; the place of the dead], bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day [C the final day of judgment; 2 Pet. 2:4].
Third Rebellion: And then we have “The Tower of Babel”… and of all the Bible stories I learned in church, this one made the least amount of sense. This story remained a confusing puzzle and only really made sense (to me) after I learned more about the supernatural realm and what this story was really about. In the past, the main problem for me (with regard to this event) was what was the point? What was humanity doing that would make God decide to confuse the language into various languages and then disperse everyone (according to language) into distant nations? However, after seeing this story with the inclusion of the unseen or spiritual realm, I now regard this event as extremely significant and central to the remainder of the whole story.
After the flood, the role and command given to humanity at creation, with respect to the earth, remained; God’s plan for His creation had not changed. It appears humanity was still unwilling to follow God’s direction to them and had ideas and plans of their own. The rebellion, it seems, continued on two fronts i.e. material and spiritual. The following points are from Genesis 11:
the whole world had one language.
people moved eastward and found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
Comment: Shinar is also known as Babylonia or Babylon. I believe it is noteworthy that “Babylon” is found throughout Scripture when referring to opposition to God and/or His Kingdom.
They baked brick and used tar for mortar as they set out to build a city with a tower that reaches “to the heavens”
Comment: We have the start of a city (Babylon - that is usually not mentioned when the story is told) and we have a tower. Most Bible scholars agree the tower is what we call a ziggurat. With a supernatural view in mind, this information raises a couple questions for me. What is a ziggurat and what were they reaching for as they attempted reaching, “to the heavens?”
According
to Britannica https://www.britannica.com/technology/ziggurat
we find that a Ziggurat is a tower that is part of a temple to a god
or gods.
“Ziggurat,
pyramidal stepped temple tower that is an architectural and religious
structure characteristic of the major cities of Mesopotamia (now
mainly in Iraq) from approximately 2200 until 500 BCE….
...Approximately 25 ziggurats are known, being equally divided
among Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria….
...The legendary Tower
of Babel has been popularly associated with the ziggurat of the great
temple of Marduk in Babylon.”
So, unlike what we might think of when we hear a reference to Heaven, the “heavens” the people were reaching for was the place where the gods dwell.
They didn’t want to be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
Comment: This is contrary to God’s command to populate, take care of and develop the earth (subdue it) to the Edenic state He has planned for it since the beginning.
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”
Comment: This statement goes to the motive being demonstrated through the actions the people were taking. Because of the context and the consequences that follow, it should be clear that their motive and plan was contrary to the command and will of God. So, what exactly was it that they had begun to do and what might they plan to do? It seems they desired to be free of YHWH and were seeking relationship or the leadership from other gods.
The Lord also said, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
Comment: The people seemed capable of cooperation and working together but were unwilling to direct their efforts as commanded by God. Aided by a common language, they worked efficiently and effectively with their own plans and disregarded God’s plans for them.
the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
The city was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world
Comment: The footnote for [c] in the NIV reads “That is, Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused.”
From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
In reference to this Babel rebellion, Deuteronomy 32: 8 and 9 records an additional and very important element to the story when it says:
“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He divided mankind, He fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
But the Lord's portion is His people, Jacob His allotted heritage.”
This is clearly a reference to the rebellion at Babel and describes what else was done by confusing their language and scattering the nations. It is here that Yahweh disinherits the nations and assigns them to the care and rule of other gods who are expected to care for and govern the nations justly until those nations are once again brought back into “the fold.” At the time of dividing the nations, God said He would raise up Jacob (Israel) as His portion. It was to be through God’s portion that all the nations of the earth would be blessed and God’s Kingdom restored
Consequence: The third rebellion sees humans resisting the command of our creator while at the same time attempting to capture the attention and favour of other (lesser) gods. I think this is best illustrated by their desire to build their own city of Babylon complete with a ziggurat. It should be noted as well that the scripture says that the people were making, selling and worshiping idols. This rebellion led to God disinheriting humanity before separating them with different languages and scattering them into different nation states under the governance of different gods. However, God had decided to rise up a nation for Himself through whom all the other nations would someday be blessed and reunited.
While
the nations seemingly got what they sought, this relationship under
the Bene-Elohim (sons of God) quickly became corrupted. Psalm 82
tells a bit more of this story; in just eight short verses we read
about an assembly of the Divine Counsel where God addresses these
Bene-Elohim:
“1
God presides in the great assembly; He renders judgment among the
“gods”:
2 “How long will you[a] defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.”
In the case of each of the rebellions noted so far, there has been a fall in both the Heavenly as well as the Earthly realms. The falls have created much damage and the consequences have been dire.
At this point it may have looked like God’s plan for His creation had been successfully derailed and would ultimately result in failure and death… or perhaps going back to the drawing board and start all over again… certainly, there are some modern views out there that one might consider as suggesting such a thing. Sadly, ever since the initial fall of humanity in Eden, we have been subject to sin and death – but it’s not only people who have felt the curse of sin and death, all of creation has been subject to and groaning from our fall. Sin and evil have been present on this earth and persistently plagued us while seemingly driving us toward our own extinction.
The Kingdom Plan revealed
Despite the devil’s best efforts, all is not hopeless; God anticipated all the issues even before He began His creative work. Therefore, He already had a plan in place to correct and save not only humanity but all His creation. God will have His Kingdom just as He set out to create it – there is no “Plan B.”
After the first rebellion and prior to being expelled from the garden, God cursed the “nachash” and put enmity between it’s offspring and the woman’s. Furthermore, in speaking directly to the serpent, God said this about the seed of the woman, “He will crush[b] your head, and you will strike His heel.”
On first reading, it is not readily apparent how this plan would address the problems that must now be overcome in order for God’s plan, for the creation of His Kingdom, to proceed. At first the only thing that seems clear from this passage, is that the serpent would be dealt with. His plan for man to fill the earth and subdue it had not been revoked but with man’s failure the plan, at this point, seemed doomed. Man was now subject to death and sin, He had been expelled from Eden and the presence of God. There now existed a rift between God and man that was impossible for man to repair. How did the promise of one born from a woman (who would crush the serpent’s head) restore all that was lost in this fall of man?
Clearly, God was quite capable of dealing with and destroying the nachash directly – but not without Him changing His plan. Whatever damage had been done and whatever had been lost was through the agency and action of man. God’s plan all along was for humans to rule the earth and to fill and subdue it until it becomes the global Eden. Therefore, it seems God would continue to work His plan through human agency and make it happen. This offspring of the woman, the promised human one, would not only crush the serpent’s head but would also have to undo all the damage and restore all that had been lost in the rebellion.
In subsequent Bible passages, more and more of this plan is revealed through various promises and prophecies. As we now know, this promised human one was Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah King. How God’s plan would come together, was never clearly revealed until after Jesus was born, completed His entire earthly mission, rose from the dead and returned to the Father. By then those dark spiritual forces had been completely trapped by their own activity. First John 3:8 is just one of a number of passages that confirms this mission when it says, “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
After
the third rebellion (Babel) we see the world given over to pagan
worship of other gods and refusing to obey the will of YHWH. Still,
God does not give up on His plan for humanity and the world He
created. God responds by scattering the people over the earth and
into nations speaking different languages. At this point, God keeps
His plan moving forward when He selects and calls a seventy-five year
old, idol worshiping man from Harran by the name of Abram. When God
calls Him as recorded in Genesis 12:1-3, He tells Abram:
“Go
from your country, your people and your father’s household to the
land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will
bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I
will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God’s Kingdom plan moves forward through Israel
After
the first eleven chapters of Genesis, I believe much of the great
long story of the Old Testament is the political saga of God’s
Kingdom and how He shepherds it forward through Israel - His chosen
people. Jacob, as noted in Deuteronomy 32:9 is God’s allotted
heritage. The Israelites are the direct physical descendants of
Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob and it was through this
line then, that all peoples on earth were to be blessed. This is the
promise to Jacob found in Genesis 28:14:
“Your
offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread
abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south,
and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be
blessed.”
Jacob
had 12 sons and lived a full life. As He was dying, Jacob gathered
His 12 sons and pronounced prophetic blessings on them. Part of the
prophecy He gave to Judah in Genesis 49:10 reads:
“The
scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from
between His feet,[c] until He to whom it belongs shall come and the
obedience of the nations
shall be His.”
* (Note: [c] can be read as, “Or from His descendants” also notice the reference to both ruler-ship and “the nations.”)
However,
much was to happen before the prophecies would be fulfilled. God’s
ongoing plan for Israel is further revealed in passages such as in
Exodus 19:5&6 in which the Lord says to Israel:
“Now
therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you
shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth
is mine; and you shall be to me a Kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.’”
Similarly
Isaiah 42:5&6 reads:
“Thus
says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to
the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
“I am the Lord; I have called you[b] in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,”
* (Note that in both the Exodus and Isaiah passages quoted above, the references to “all peoples,” “all the earth,” “Kingdom of priests” and to “the nations.”)
Eventually
as Israel’s history unfolds, and despite many ups and downs where
Israel had to be disciplined and brought back in line, we come to
David. David is the second king of Israel but the first from the line
of Judah. As part of the prophecy Nathan gave David in 1 Chronicles
17:11-14 it says:
“When
your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise
up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will
establish His kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me,
and I will establish His throne forever. I will be His father, and He
will be my son. I will never take my love away from Him, as I took it
away from your predecessor. I will set Him over my house and my
kingdom forever; His throne will be established forever.’”
Israel, however, continued with their pattern of remaining faithful to YHWH for periods of time and then falling away into disobedience and the worship of other gods. Finally around 590 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah before the kingdom was conquered and the people exiled. This destruction of Jerusalem was to last (as noted in Daniel 9:2): “...according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.” Even then, God did not abandon His people nor did He give up on His Kingdom plans.
King
Nebuchadnezzar was given a prophetic dream and Daniel was called on
to interpret the dream as to it’s meaning. Daniel 2:31-35 records
the dream from which the following points have been taken:
-
There
before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,
awesome in appearance.
- The head of the statue was made of
pure gold,
- its chest and arms of silver,
- its belly
and thighs of bronze,
- its legs of iron, its feet partly of
iron and partly of baked clay.
- While you were watching, a
rock was cut out, but not
by human hands.
It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them…
the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold… became
like chaff on a threshing floor
- The wind swept them away
without leaving a trace.
- The
rock
that struck the statue became
a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.”
Daniel
2:37-45 contains the interpretation and the following points have
been taken from that passage:
- The
God of heaven has given you [King Nebuchadnezzar] dominion and power
and might and glory; in your hands He has placed all mankind and the
beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, He
has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
-
After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours.
-
Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
- Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron… as
iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the
others… the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of
iron, so this will be a divided kingdom… As the toes were partly
iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and
partly brittle… so the people will be a mixture and will not remain
united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
- In
the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that
will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It
will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will
itself endure forever.
This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain,
but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the
clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
- “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
I believe the prophecy (in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream) represented His kingdom as well as all remaining human empires/kingdoms that would follow - to then finally be followed by the Kingdom of God. So the first kingdom was Babylon (as noted by Daniel in His interpretation) next was the Medo-Persian empire, followed by the Greek empire and finally the Roman empire. The Kingdom of Heaven (represented as a stone cutout without human hands) would then come and - while starting out small - would eventually fill the whole earth and will last forever.
Not only do we learn about the earthly kingdoms that were yet to come but we’re also shown the eventual arrival of God’s eternal Kingdom which puts to end all other earthly reigns. Daniel also was given a timeline of when to expect Israel’s Messiah who would be the promised King and who would ultimately usher in this eternal Kingdom (the stone cut without hands spoken of in Daniel 2). Daniel 9 gives us the prophecy of 490 years (spoken of as the seventy “sevens” or weeks).
Daniel 9:24 – 27: “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish[d) Or restrain] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[e) Or the most holy One]
“Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.[g) Or death and will have no one; or death, but not for himself] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ He will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[j) Septuagint and Theodotion; Hebrew wing] He will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on Him.
All of Israel was looking for their Messiah. Prophecies are plentiful throughout the Old Testament of the coming King who would establish an eternal Kingdom, establish peace, rule justly and for whom Israel would then assume their role as a “kingdom of priests.” Throughout Old Testament history, the Israelites sought for a monarch to lead them, but God warned them that any king who ruled over them would be despised. Despite the warning, they continued to seek God for a king and so God granted their request. Their record with earthly kings (on the whole) had not gone well. While they got what they wished for, and while some monarchs remained loyal to the Lord, many governed with an iron hand and persecuted the Israelites. This pattern we see with Israel and their kings is not unique to Israel; history shows us that even with the best intentions, man is incapable of sustaining any system of fair, just and corruption-free government or self rule. No political system will succeed or last independently of God’s Lordship.
Out of Israel Comes the Promised One
Just as promised, when the time was right the Messiah was born. Jesus was the one to whom all promises and prophecies pointed, He was and is the Messiah. As described by Daniel, “this rock cut out but not by human hands,” had arrived. While the Kingdom, which was to come, has yet to be fully realized, this rock has indeed struck (metaphorically) the kingdoms of this world and is growing into the mountain that will one day fill the earth.
How do the Old Testament Messianic prophecies such as the above, mesh with the New Testament and the Messiah we find there? So much was riding on the promised Messiah. Not only Israel’s hope, but the hope of all creation arrived as a baby born in Bethlehem under the humblest of circumstances. In order to appreciate the way the Old Testament prophecies mesh with the Messiah that we find in the New Testament, we need to answer the question, “Why did He come and what was His mission(s)?”
If you pose that question to a broad section of Christians you will likely hear a variety of different responses. According to the “Billy Graham Evangelistic Association” website, we see this response, “Jesus Christ came into the world for one reason: to make it possible for us to be forgiven of our sins….” Other responses you are likely to get might have something to do with revealing the truth, keeping the law (which we could not keep) or dealing with the problem of sin and undoing the damage done by the “first Adam” in the garden. By far though, the answer most frequently given would be as follows: “Jesus came to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins so that my soul can go to heaven when I die.”
There is no question that Jesus did in fact come to bear the burden of our sin on the cross so that we could be saved. Indeed, many people will state this is the primary message of the Gospel (as they have been taught to understand it). I believe however, that this a very narrow view of a much broader mission and if this is all we see, there is much we miss.
Many folks have come to think of the terms, “Messiah” and “Gospel” in a strictly religious sense with little or no idea that such terms might have carried significantly different meanings in their original usage. This fact alone can be the source of misunderstanding for certain scriptural principles and concepts. Both terms originally had or carried more of a political connotation as opposed to a strictly religious meaning.
The term messiah comes from the Hebrew mashiaḥ and means “anointed.” All Israelite kings were anointed as were priests and prophets – the term was also applied to a non-Jewish king Cyrus the Great (whom God chose [anointed] to free Israel. See Isaiah 44:28 – 45:1). In Judaism, the Messiah is not considered to be God or a pre-existent divine Son of God. He is considered to be a great political leader that has descended from King David, hence why He is referred to as Messiah ben David, 'Messiah, son of David'.
The word “gospel” is an interpretation of the Greek word, “Euangelion” and means, quite literally, “good news.” In the Greco-Roman world this term was used to describe or announce an event of significance, like the rise of a new ruler to the throne or a major military victory.
“...In the emperor cult particularly, in which the Roman emperor was venerated as the spirit and protector of the empire, the term took on a religious meaning: the announcement of the appearance or accession to the throne of the ruler. In contemporary Greek it denoted a weighty, authoritative, royal, and official message.” (see https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature/New-Testament-literature#ref598075)
The whole geopolitical nature of the promised and much anticipated Messiah’s coming and His reign seems to be poorly understood or missed by many Christians in the church of today. However the Old Testament prophets spoke frequently of these (political) facts and the writers in the New Testament confirmed those earlier writings. For example the prophet Isaiah writes (9:6&7):
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
Or take Micah 5:2&4 which reads:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will live securely, for then His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.”
A few other examples one might want to consult are passages such as: Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah 42:1,4; Isaiah 11:1–10 and there are others. Everything we see points to the fact that the people were expecting the promised and anointed King.
Once Jesus was born, Magi “from the east saw His star and came to Jerusalem looking for “the King of the Jews,” in order to worship Him. According to Matthew 2, King Herod and various elites in Jerusalem were “disturbed” and we read Herod sought to kill the child Jesus by ordering the deaths of all males aged two and under. Herod obviously took this announcement so seriously because He saw Jesus as a political threat – a challenge to His position as king. He viewed the Messiah as coming to replace Him - not a spiritual pacifist but as a promised anointed king.
Matthew in writing of John the Baptist noted this in chapter 3:1-3:
“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
This is He who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
Matthew notes something similar in chapter 4, with regard to the preaching of Jesus. He notes that after Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He withdrew to Galilee and then in verses 13-17 Matthew writes:
“Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
As one reads through the Gospels, it is clear that the message being preached was of the nearness of the Kingdom of heaven and that Jesus is King.
When Jesus was presented for the purification rites in the temple, Luke 2:28-35 records an interesting prophecy regarding the mission of the Messiah by Simeon as He held the baby in His arms. It reads:
“Simeon took Him in His arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about Him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
In His book, “Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ,” Dr Michael Heiser writes about how the messiah came to put right all the issues suffered by creation as the result of sin. “Reversing Hermon” has been described as a groundbreaking work and shows how Jesus did much more than revoke the claim of Satan on human souls and humanities estrangement from God thus solving the predicament of the Fall.
A
summary of this book reads:
“it
unveils what most in the modern Church have never heard regarding how
the story of the sin of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 6-16 helped frame the
mission of Jesus, the messiah. Jews of the first century expected the
messiah to reverse the impact of the Watchers transgression. For Jews
of Jesus day, the Watchers were part of the explanation for why the
world was so profoundly depraved. He would also not only bring the
nations back into relationship with the true God by defeating the
principalities and powers that governed them. Jews also believed that
the messiah would rescue humanity from self-destruction, the catalyst
for which was the sin of the Watchers and the influence of what they
had taught humankind. The role of Enochs retelling of Genesis 6:1-4
in how New Testament writers wrote of Jesus and the cross has been
largely lost to a modern audience. Reversing Hermon rectifies that
situation.”
“Topics include: understanding Genesis 6:1-4 and the Sin of the Watchers in Their Original Context; how the ancient Mesopotamian story of the apkallu aligns with Gen 6:1-4, was preserved in 1 Enoch, and sets the stage for the theme of reversing the evil of the Watchers; how the theme of reversing the transgression of the Watchers colors the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, His genealogy, and His ministry; how the writings of Peter and Paul allude to the sin of the Watchers and present Jesus as overturning the disastrous effects of their sins against humanity; and how the descriptions of the antichrist, the end-times Day of the Lord, and the final judgment connect to Genesis 6 and the nephilim.”
A King was desperately needed to take back this world and defeat the devil and the principalities of darkness to which the world had become subject. Therefore, when the time was right, I believe Jesus (the promised King) came to earth to reclaim the nations (that God had left to the governance of other lesser gods at Babel) and begin the process of restoring His Kingdom. I believe this was and remains the core message of the gospel – that is that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near and that Jesus is the King. This is the message found in numerous passages throughout the New Testament. As the promised Kingdom arrives and begins to grow, we see it is announced further in Revelation 11:15 which reads in part: “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign for ever and ever.”
And Then Shall the End Come
During His time here on earth, Jesus fully completed His mission - each and every aspect of it. Not only did He complete it, He also taught His followers about His mission. Indeed, I believe that in the three or so years of His earthly ministry, of all the time spent preaching and teaching, Jesus spent more time focused on the Kingdom of God than any other topic. As Jesus was teaching His disciples, one of the items they asked Him was to teach them to pray. This prayer, known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” is found in Matthew 6:9-13. In this prayer, the first item He taught them to ask for is found in verse 10 “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
The concept of the Messiah as King and the Kingdom that He would inaugurate was poorly understood during His time on earth. This was true of the people of His day, and I believe (in many ways) this may still be the case. So many do not understand the full mission that Christ was on and how it fits in with the original vision and plan that God has for His creation. In view of that original plan, Christ came on a mission that was going to make right all that had gone wrong in the three falls or rebellions mentioned at the beginning of this essay.
So now the question becomes, if Christ finished all He set out to do and His mission was completed, what (if anything) is left to be accomplished? Daniel 2 addresses this topic when speaking of the rock cut out not by human hands, which struck the statue and thus destroyed the kingdoms of man. The rock is described in verse 35 as becoming or growing to eventually fill the whole earth; it reads, “… the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.”
When He was here on earth, Jesus announced His Kingdom and I believe it is the rock spoken of in that prophecy of Daniel. This rock is now in the process of becoming the mountain which will fill the whole earth, as the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached and disciples are being made of all nations. Incidentally, I think Isaiah 2 speaks to this point as well.
The following are just a few scripture passages referencing what the Messiah said:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:18-19
The following quote was taken from Jesus prayer just before His arrest.
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world….
“… My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17: 15-18 & 20-21
In the Bible report of Jesus leaving and ascending to Heaven we read:
“Then they gathered around Him and asked Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:6-11
The King was leaving but He is coming back again and in the meantime He has given His followers work to do i.e. spread the Gospel of the Kingdom throughout the world and make disciples of all nations. Certainly His Kingdom is growing and has grown considerably since He first inaugurated it. We are currently in an “already but not yet” situation where His Kingdom has come but has not yet been fully realized – but that day is coming.
In seeking to summarize the points I was trying to make, with respect to the Kingdom, I found a good article written by Philip Bethancourt titled, “10 Connections Between Jesus and the Kingdom of God,” which can be found at the following link: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/10-connections-between-jesus-and-the-kingdom-of-god/. I’ve taken and adapted the following points from that article:
1. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). What Israel had long awaited, Christ had now inaugurated.
2. Where the king is, there is the Kingdom. This helps explain, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21) which Jesus stated to the Pharisees. Jesus is both the faithful ruler and the righteous citizen of the Kingdom.
3. Jesus said His purpose is to proclaim the Kingdom. Jesus described His mission saying that He “must preach the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43).
4. Luke summarized Jesus’ ministry as “proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). Jesus often declared the Kingdom through the parables that illustrated what it was and how it worked.
5. Through His works, Jesus showed the power of the Kingdom and His authority over the prince of darkness. As Jesus explained, “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).
6. Jesus deployed the Kingdom when he sent His followers out as ambassadors of the Kingdom to herald its arrival. This deployment happened in Luke 10 where Jesus sent out the 72, instructing them to say, “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luke 10:9).
In the great commission, King Jesus issued His discipleship battle plan to the church because He possesses “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt 28:18). Jesus sends His soldiers to the front lines to engage the kingdom of darkness.
Please note: I’d like to add this note to point #6 above: This point is not in the article but the 70 or 72 (depending on the manuscript) sent out by Jesus in Luke 10, match the number of nations in the Table of Nations found in Genesis 10. The time was now right to start bringing back into the Kingdom, those nations separated at Babel.
7. Jesus transformed the Kingdom expectations. Jesus reoriented Israel’s messianic hopes (from that of rescuing them from their geo-political enemies) toward showing the true nature of His Kingdom. By declaring, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) He was teaching his followers just how different His Kingdom is from all worldly kingdoms (note: see the sermon on the mount Matthew 5 for an example of such teaching). The Kingdom of God by comparison is holistic in its nature, redemptive in its mission, and cosmic in its scope.
8. Jesus purchased the Kingdom. Through His victorious death and resurrection, Jesus redeemed the Kingdom. “having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Col 2:14-15). Jesus overcame the world, the flesh, and the Devil; He destroyed the power of the kingdom of darkness.
9. In His final words to His people, Jesus concluded His earthly ministry by clarifying the Kingdom (See Acts chapter 1). Even at the time of His ascension as His earthly ministry was concluding, Jesus resolved confusion about His Kingdom. The Kingdom was key to the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry and also its culmination.
10. Jesus returns the Kingdom to earth. In His second coming, Jesus will return as a triumphant warrior king. At His return He achieves the final victory, the name scribed on His body is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:16). All His enemies are placed under His feet as He launches His new creation Kingdom that fully reflects His righteous reign. He completes the creation plan first noted in Genesis and consummates the conquest that began with His birth.
If the Kingdom of God was central to Jesus’ life and ministry, then it remains crucial to our mission, theology and ethics today. And this (the Kingdom of God) theme is consistent, as I’ve stated earlier, through the whole of scripture.
As the Creation/Kingdom story moves toward the conclusion, we become a part of the Kingdom story. We don’t know when the full Kingdom will arrive here on earth and be fully consummated. Jesus told us that no man knows but He did tell us that it would be once the gospel of the Kingdom has been preached in all the world to all nations. Once this happens the KING is returning as He promised.
I wanted to take a brief look at the book of Revelation. Regardless of one’s eschatological viewpoint, I believe it is fair to say that there is general agreement that by the end of this book the arrival and fullness of the Kingdom of God is portrayed. Also, I think most would acknowledge that when he wrote Revelation, John used a great many Old Testament references, symbols, numbers and concepts that the people (to whom he was writing) would recognize and be able to grasp and understand. Throughout the book, John also makes a great many references to nations and kingdoms, their final disposition with the ultimate result being all nations (separated at Babel) will once again be part of God’s Kingdom and all under the Lordship of KING Jesus.
So right from the beginning of the book, John writes:
“To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[a] before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.” - Revelation 1:4-7
In the middle of the book we find the passage that has since become the most famous piece in Handel’s Messiah, The Hallelujah Chorus: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15. Handel, it seems, combined this passage with the chorus of Hallelujahs found in chapter 19 and Messiah’s Name, “King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.” Revelation 19:16
Finally in Revelation 22:20 & 21, the book ends with the most encouraging words I’ve ever read: “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”
