Revelation Foreword

 

Before beginning a study in Revelation, which is the end of God’s grand epic, we need to understand the context of the book. Since it is the end of God’s grand epic, this means having to have at least a grasp on the entire rest of the bible. Even so, the concepts in Revelation may be grasped by any sincere believer, and it is not a book to avoid as “all scripture is inspired of God.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Understanding the bible begins with a simple rule: read everything in its context. To understand a verse in the bible, we look first to the verses surrounding it, then to the broader context. For instance, answer these questions: Who is talking? Who is the audience? What is the timeframe? Miles Coverdale says it well:

 

“…it shall greatly help thee to understand scripture, if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom, and unto whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstance, considering what goeth before, and what followeth after.”   — Miles Coverdale, Preface to the Bible, 1535.

 

A simple example is Genesis 6:14, which reads:

 

Genesis 6

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”

 

Let’s begin answering the questions. What is spoken? A command to make an ark. Who is speaking? God is, according to Genesis 6:13, the verse immediately before. Who is being spoken to? Noah, also according to Genesis 6:13. What is the timeframe? This one takes a little more work, but it is about 1656 years since creation. We get this by adding up all the years in the genealogy of Genesis 5, ending with the fact that Noah was 500 years old. An easier way to say it is “pre-flood earth.” Noah was given this command because God was going to bring an unprecedented deluge of water to destroy the corrupted seed, which can be a long and thorough explanation. Without getting into that here, most people understand that this was a command to Noah, and not to us today. We can learn from it, but we need not carry out this commandment. I don’t know of anyone saying God told them to build this ark according to the specifications given, and that a huge flood is coming.

 

How about a harder one? What about Matthew 28:18-20?

 

Mathew 28

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

Answer the same questions. What is spoken? A commandment to baptize and teach all things Jesus commanded to all nations. Who is speaking? Jesus Christ. Who is being spoken to? For the answer, we look at Matthew 28:16-17:

 

Matthew 28

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

 

Hopefully with the emboldened words, it is clear the audience is the eleven disciples. This was a commandment directly to them, but most believers today take Matthew 28:18-20 as marching orders today. We still need to answer more questions to fully understand this passage. What is the timeframe? Forty days after Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The end of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as Acts 1:1-12 all correlate to the same event. Acts 1:3 says that this event occurred forty days after Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. We can also ascertain the time knowing Jesus was crucified on Passover, buried on the feast of unleavened bread, and resurrected three days later. Pentecost happens in Acts 2, so it is clearly before that, and Pentecost occurs fifty days after Passover. A very important question of this passage to answer is: What were “all things whatsoever I have commanded” that Jesus Christ speaks of? First, we recognize the broad audience of the book of Matthew, as well as Mark, Luke, and John, is the nation of Israel according to Matthew 15:24.

 

Matthew 15

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

 

Please let that verse say what it says. Jesus Christ was ministering to the house of Israel. He came with the purpose of ministering the nation of Israel. The apostle Paul confirms this in Romans 15:8. So then, considering Messiah came to the house of Israel to minister to them, what were the things Jesus Christ commanded? He commanded the keeping the Law, because that was the blood-ratified covenant made between God and Israel. For instance, look at the encounter of the young ruler that challenged Jesus on what to do for eternal life in Matthew 19:16-22.

 

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

 

Again, let the text say what it says. Jesus Christ said to this person to keep the commandments. Why? Because of the Old Testament ratified by blood with the nation of Israel, and what is written in Leviticus 18:1-5.

 

Leviticus 18

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.

3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.

5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

 

Without getting too deep into that at this time, hopefully it is clear the importance of context. Jesus Christ did not tell the rich young ruler to believe upon His death, burial, and resurrection to be saved, which is the gospel preached in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. We cannot assume everything in the word of God is about us today. It is certainly for our learning, but not all commandments are directed to us.

Context is key to understanding the book of Revelation. Let’s start with a question: Who was given the contents of the book of Revelation to pen into what we call the bible? This should be a relatively easy answer. We read in Revelation 1:1 that it is John.

 

Revelation 1

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

 

Now that we know John was given the words to pen in the book of Revelation, this leads us to a very important question: Who was John? The answer is he was an apostle of the Circumcision; that is, of Israel. Please read carefully what is written in Galatians 2:6-9 as it is of utmost importance to understand the audience of Revelation.

 

Galatians 2

6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:

7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;

8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

 

John is called an apostle of the Circumcision in Galatians 2:9, along with Peter and James, and as we study further before we get into Revelation, the audience will become even clearer than just that one verse. Revelation is directed to the circumcision, the nation of Israel, not the church, the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is something we read about exclusively in the books of Romans through Philemon.

Those statements likely lead to many questions, which I understand. This commentary on Revelation didn’t happen overnight, but rather after about 15 years of bible study. To give an idea of how much I studied, I read approximately 20-30 chapters every day for several years. I also read several commentaries and researched biblical concepts, such as the age of the earth and how did dinosaurs fit in the bible. As my family grew, I didn’t have as much time devoted to the scriptures, but I kept studying. My casual reading would be between 3-5 chapters daily, but then I would study a topic at length. Even so, despite how much I have studied, I want you, dear reader, to understand that I may not be right in all things. I am a fallible man, but God is truthful. Please heed God’s command in 2 Timothy 2:15.

 

2 Timothy

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

The term “Study” in that verse does not mean cram before a final exam in high school or college. It is derived from the Greek word spoudazó, which is defined as to make haste, or to give diligence. It is a consistent attitude every day that aligns with the concept in Titus 2:14, that faith in the gospel of the grace of God should make the believer “zealous of good works.”

Please search out the truth yourself. Do not simply take my words as truth, but look to the scriptures to see if these things are so (reference Acts 17:11).

I cannot yet begin to discuss Revelation. If we are to understand the full context of the book of Revelation, we need to know God’s timeline up unto Revelation 1:1. Yes, that means we are going to summarize the rest of the bible. Let us take a look at the history as recorded in God’s word.

God created all things perfect in Genesis 1. This includes the angelic host. Each day of creation mentioned was a 24-hour day period, clearly emphasized by the phrase “the evening and the morning” and providing a number with the day.

 

Genesis 1

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

 

Man was created on day 6 and given the job to dress and keep the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:15. He was also given a warning in Genesis 2:16-17.

 

Genesis 2

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

               We are introduced to whom we know as Satan in Genesis 3:1. This is no snake, but rather Satan himself. Other scriptures refer to this “serpent of old” to help us understand that Eve was not surprised to speak with an angel, as we would expect if she would be speaking to a snake. That doesn’t happen every day.

 

Genesis 3

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

 

2 Corinthians 11

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

 

Revelation 12

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

 

Revelation 20

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years

              

               As it is written in 2 Corinthians 11, Satan beguiles Eve and she eats of the fruit. We could speculate why she did not quote God properly on His rule for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I like to joke that as when Adam was explaining the rule to her, he added something like, “We better not even touch it” to keep her away from the forbidden fruit. We note that the things describing this fruit in Genesis 3:6, that it was “good for food,” and “pleasant to the eyes,” had not changed. The very next descriptor is what the deception was, that it was “desired to make one wise.” They wanted to be like Elohim, that is, gods. Eve eats willingly and Adam who was with her willingly ate the fruit as well. Yes, Adam was right there.

               Adam was given dominion over the creation of God, and the woman was his “help meet for him.” They were to join together as one flesh, united in this endeavor. Adam was directly given the command of God not to eat of the forbidden fruit, not Eve. When Adam willingly broke God’s commandment, he would now “surely die” according to God’s word.

 

Romans 5

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

 

Adam’s action had consequences. Because of his rebellion, we all have this sin disease with its 100% mortality rate. All return to dust. Child bearing and child rearing are difficult and we need to work hard for what we have. Is this all true? Of course, it is. It doesn’t take long to look around the world and realize that this is the state we are in.

We will now travel through the bible relatively quickly. Adam brings sin and death into the world, and then we read of the genealogy of Adam and those “in his own likeness, after his image” Genesis 5:3. Humanity now has this “adamic image,” which is the mortal state. Evil ramps up quickly and God determines to destroy the “world that then was” in a flood (2 Peter 3:6). God saves Noah and his 3 sons and their wives in the ark, and eventually raises up the nation of Israel through the man Abram, who has his name changed by God to Abraham. God’s promises to Abraham were progressive. God appeared to him 9-11 times. Nine times if you count the three times God speaks to Abraham in Genesis 22 as one appearance, otherwise it is eleven. These appearances are called theophanies.

1)     Gen 12:1-3 – Read this and note that this promise is unconditional

2)     Gen 12:7 records the appearance at Sichem

3)     Gen 13:3, 14-16 – The appearance at Bethel

4)     Gen 15:1-7 – This one is very important. Abraham’s faith is counted for righteousness. This is unconditional once again, and quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 4

a.      Take a moment and consider what God’s promises are to Abraham

                                                    i.     His own child will be heir, will have the land, multiplied nation

5)     Gen 15:8-21

a.      What are God’s promises to Abraham in this passage?

                                                    i.     His descendants will be oppressed 400 years (Egpyt)

                                                   ii.     His seed will inherit the land from river of Egypt to Euphrates

1.      Clearly this is not to us today as it was fulfilled in the nation of Israel

b.      Again, note his faith was what was counted to Abram for righteousness. This is a consistent theme in scripture

6)     Gen 17:1-22 – Read this carefully and answer the question, what is the covenant?

a.      God will give the land and multiply seed. Abraham MUST circumcise every male

                                                    i.     Please, please note that circumcision is REQUIRED or the seed will lose the blessings of the covenant

                                                   ii.     This is a conditional statement. Those that are faithful are to show it through circumcision

                                                  iii.     Circumcision is the sign of the covenant that Abraham’s seed will have the land

b.      With that in mind, please consider Romans 4:11. Abraham’s faith is counted for righteousness, and as a result, he does the work. The just shall live by faith according to Habakkuk 2:4

                                                    i.     Wha we read in Genesis 17 was the beginning of the separation of “Circumcision” and “Uncircumcision” like we read in Ephesians 2:11-12 where we Gentiles WERE called the Uncircumcision. Verb tense is very important in Ephesian 2.

                                                   ii.     Ishmael is NOT to inherit the promise. Clearly Isaac is the heir.

7)     Gen 18:1-2 – God appeared to Abraham in Mamre to reiterate the promised child and to speak of Sodom’s judgement

8)     Gen 21:12 – God spoke with Abraham regarding the casting out of Hagar and Ishmael

9)     Gen 22:1-2, Gen 22:11-12 – Note he says “from ME,” Gen 22:15-17 – promise repeated at Moriah

 

               In the above passages, we see the promises of Abraham passed onto his son Isaac. We also get it reiterated in Genesis 26.

 

Genesis 26

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

 

19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

 

These last couple of verses are almost comical, but also telling. Esau’s choice of wives made his parents crazy, but note that these ladies were Hittites, meaning they were of the daughters of Heth. We were told in Genesis 15 of God’s promise that Abraham’s seed would possess the land of this nation along with several others. The Hittites are one of the nations that Israel will be told to destroy utterly for their idolatry later on. See Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 23:23, and Deuteronomy 7:1-6.

Isaac had two sons. Jacob, the second born, receives the birthright rather than Esau, the first born. This means those promises of God to Abraham passed to Isaac and then to Jacob.

 

Genesis 28

1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.

3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham

 

Jacob has his name changed to Israel. This name is derived from the Hebrew words sarah and 'el, which means “he will rule as God” or “God strives” according to Strong’s Concordance. The word sarah (pronounced saw-raw) is defined as “to persist, exert oneself, persevere.” God defines the name in Genesis 32:28.

 

Genesis 32

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

 

Israel, the man and all in his house, sojourns into Egypt as God said would happen in Genesis 15. This happens after God sent Joseph ahead to prepare for the seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine. The end of the book of Genesis speaks of the fourth generation of the nation of Israel. It is that generation that God delivers out of Egypt through Moses to Mount Sinai.

God delivers Israel out of Egypt by the ten plagues and declares Israel His firstborn. I think this is an important statement, as Jesus Christ will talk of being “born again” when He is on earth. Israel, as a nation, will be born again after the Tribulation period, which is the timeframe recorded in the bulk of the book of Revelation. The apostle Paul does not speak of being “born again” in Romans through Philemon. These differences are important to note.

 

Exodus 4

21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

 

               God then gives Israel the Law, or what we call the Old Testament. The covenant made at Mount Sinai is certainly made with the nation of Israel, as it is spoke of throughout the first six verse in Exodus 19. It is this covenant that God would replace with the new, as spoken in the prophets and in the book of Hebrews. No covenant was made directly with the Gentiles. Any Gentile could sojourn with Israel (or become a proselyte) and be what we would call “saved” today, but they had to go through Israel because Israel had the covenants, the priesthood, the promises, and the words of God (Romans 3:1-2, 9:1-5).

 

Exodus 19

1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

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

 

Please pay careful attention to this passage and consider the following questions:

 

God added the Law to who? The nation Israel. What was Israel to be? A kingdom of priests and the holy (set apart) nation. Israel would be set apart because of the Law given to them and that God would live with them.

 

Deuteronomy 4

1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.

4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

 

What are the conditions God presented in Exodus 19? Look at verse 5 again:

 

Exodus

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

 

Israel must obey God and keep His covenant. In this verse, two words really should stand out: “if” and “then.” Cause and effect. I (and many others) call this the “if-then” principle, because it is a conditional statement. Blessings were given for obedience and curses for disobedience. There is a lot of weight riding on that two-letter word “if.”

 

Please follow me on a short side trail, as it is of utmost importance. Many people talk of being “saved” today. When they say that, whether they realize it or not, the general implication is soul salvation from sin and death. It’s God’s fix for man’s sin problem promised from the beginning of sin when Adam willfully rebelled against God. Today, we are saved from sin and death the very moment we sincerely believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again to pay for our sins in full. We read about this in many places. Here are some, but this is not an all-inclusive list: Romans 3:19-26, 5:1-11, 6:23, 8:1-39, 9:30-10:13, 1 Corinthians 1:18-24, 2:1-8, 6:9-20, 15:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:2, Ephesian 1:1-14, 2:8-3:11, Colossians 1:9-2:15. Note all of these are words written by the apostle Paul. Why? Because this is where we are at on God’s timeline today. Now, we need to consider this question: How was someone “saved” after the Law was given to Israel? Certainly not by believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, because Jesus had not been born at that time!

 

The answer of how one is “saved” when “under Law” is still by faith, for “the just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. We also read that Abraham had his faith counted for righteousness before any covenant given to him in Genesis 15:6. However, there was a condition presented to Israel in the Law, which is the “if-then” principle. If they wanted blessings, they would obey the commandments of God and keep the covenant, otherwise they would receive curses. These works of the Law were required because this covenant was ratified by blood.

 

Exodus 24

3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.

4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

 

So, to reiterate, to be saved from sin and death “under Law” was to sincerely believe God would bring blessings to the obedient and curses to the disobedient of the blood-ratified Law, and that God would one day bring Israel into the promised land and multiply the nation as promised to Abraham and passed to his descendants. There is also the promise that God would “raise them up a prophet from among their brethren” in Deuteronomy 18:18, referring to Messiah. Don’t forget that Israel was still looking for the promise of Genesis 3:15, the Messiah, so the just would have faith in the coming Messiah as well.

What about the Gentiles? Could they be saved under the Law? The answer is yes, as again, the just shall live by their faith. There are many scriptures that show any Gentile “that sojourns among Israel” would be treated like an Israelite. We would call this a proselyte, or one that joins themselves to Israel and acclimates to Israel’s customs (the Law). Ruth is an excellent example of this, but here are a couple of other such scriptures:

 

Exodus 12

19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

 

43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:

44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.

45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.

46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.

47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.

49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

 

Leviticus 19

33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.

34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

 

So much rides on this covenant, what we call today the Old Testament. We should know what it is, so let us ask ourselves just what is the covenant to keep? We commonly know it as The Law, or the Law of Moses, or even the Ten Commandments. It comes right after the admonition in Exodus 19 in Exodus 20:1-17. A very important thing to note is that circumcision is still required in Leviticus 12:1-8. The same promise applies here as Circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham and Abraham’s seed. For the one who is uncircumcised, “that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.” Genesis 17:14. The just, who lived by faith, would obediently circumcise every male according to the word of God.

Jumping ahead in time, Mary and Joseph followed this exactly in Luke 2:21-24.

 

Luke 2

21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

 

A question we may ask is, why did God do this? Why add such a Law to the nation Israel? Why birth the nation of Israel? We find an answer in Galatians 3 that the Law was added because of transgressions until Christ (or Messiah, the promise of Genesis 3:15) should come.

 

Galatians 3

19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

 

The concept in the passage above is important to know because many things that were given in the Law, the priesthood, and the tabernacle were a shadow of things to come, which we will explore during our study in Revelation. One of the major takeaways of what you see in that passage is that when Paul wrote those words, it was a new dispensation, and that the world was not “under law, but under grace,” as in Romans 6:14. It is by faith that one is a true seed of Abraham. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law as in Ephesians 2 and Colossians 2.

 

Ephesians 2

11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

 

Colossians 2

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

9F or in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

 

This concept must be heeded to understand the scriptures. We will revisit this concept often when we continue along the timeline God sets in the bible. It is the most important thing to know the gospel for today, because our eternal destination depends upon it.

 

Coming back to our history lesson, within a year after the Exodus, the Tabernacle was built. All the items in it are significant. This is another topic we will come back to these as we study Revelation. Note that the tabernacle had to be built exactly as God commanded.

 

Exodus 25

8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

 

40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

 

Israel now had a place of worship where God Himself would dwell. They were given a priesthood and sacrificial system. Keep in mind the promise was to make Israel a kingdom of priests in Exodus 19. Consider the following questions. What does that mean to be a kingdom of priests? What was the priest’s job?

The priest was to make intercession for the people. They were the ones doing the sacrifices for the people of Israel. This can be seen right away in Leviticus.

 

Leviticus 1

1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

8 And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

 

Keep that in mind for the Millennial kingdom that Israel will be going to the presence of Jesus Christ on behalf of the nations, and the nations will be bringing of their substance to nation of Israel. They are literally a nation of priests during that time frame.

I must emphasize that the language of priesthood is repeated by Peter and John, as they are apostles of the Circumcision (reference Galatians 2:7-9), but it is never mentioned by Paul to the Body of Christ. We do not find language of a priesthood in Romans through Philemon. Look at 1 Peter 2 as he richly quotes the Law and the Prophets.

 

1 Peter 2

1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

 

This makes sense when we understand Peter was an apostle to the Circumcision, the ones who had the covenant of circumcision, which is the nation of Israel. We, as Gentiles, do not need to circumcise today, as we read in Romans 10 and Galatians 5

 

Romans 10

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth

 

Galatians 5

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

 

Once more, this is the message through Paul, the dispensation of the Grace of God, revealing the completed work of Christ on the cross. Christ fulfilled the Law, and when we believe in that work on the cross, we inherit His righteousness.

Coming back now to the nation Israel, throughout the time of the tabernacle, the Law, and the Levitical priesthood, God chose to reveal Himself to Israel and then to the world through Israel. God’s presence was in the tabernacle and also later in the temple. Let that sink in. God was actually there!

 

Exodus 25

8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

 

17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

 

Exodus 40

32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.

33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:

37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.

38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

 

Isn’t that amazing? The presence of God was right there in the tabernacle! By day it was the pillar of cloud, and by night the pillar of fire. When Solomon built the temple, this same presence was then in the temple.

 

1 Kings 8

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

5 And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

8 And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

 

The Spirit of God would sadly depart due to iniquity in Israel.

 

Ezekiel 10

1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.

3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.

 

18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.

19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD'S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

 

Ezekiel 11

22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

24 Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.

25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.

 

Amazingly, God said this would happen in Leviticus 26. Leviticus 26 will be discussed a little later, so for now, we understand the above passage is a vision where Ezekiel saw the glory of God departing. In Ezekiel 43-48, the glory of God comes back to Ezekiel to show the dwelling place of God with Israel and the pattern of the temple with its laws in an effort to bring Israel to repentance. Perhaps God gave him a glimpse of the Millennial Kingdom, as that section of scripture we understand to be linked with the Millennial Kingdom timeframe.

We read in the scriptures that after the iniquity of all Israel and Judah which led to the captivity among the Gentiles, after the LORD’s departure as above, there was some prophesying for a period of time, but there would be a period of silence as recorded in Amos 8.

 

Amos 8

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

 

This period of time is known as the 400 silent years from Malachi to Matthew.

Before we leave the concept of what the Old Testament is, we should know that there is a sign of the covenant that was required to keep. Israel was instructed to keep this in Exodus 31, and we note that the stakes were high.

 

Exodus 31

12 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

 

Keeping the Sabbaths is the sign of the covenant made with Israel. Those that do not keep this covenant would be put to death. That is quite the consequence of the “if-then” principle, isn’t it? Note again that the audience here is Israel under the Law. The Sabbath is a sign for Israel of the covenant made with them. To forsake this sign is to forsake the covenant and the God that made it with them. They would be cut off from the blessings (see verses 14-15).

VERY interestingly, consider the gospel given to us today through the apostle Paul, that Christ has finished His work and ushered in the dispensation of grace, and we do NOT need to keep this commandment. We Gentiles are not the nation Israel under the Old Testament. However, Israel does have to keep the Sabbath during the Tribulation period. Observe what our Lord Jesus tells the apostles in His Olivet discourse in Matthew 24.

 

Matthew 24

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

 

In the age of grace, we are to teach and preach Jesus Christ crucified for the sins of the world and anyone that has faith may inherit eternal life. The Law gave way to adoption as sons through Christ according to Galatians 4.

 

Galatians 4

1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

 

All of this to show that we need not keep the Sabbath day today, because we are not under the Mosaic Law, and the Sabbath was a sign of that Law, the Old covenant. It’s a pretty good idea to rest every now again from our labors, but I do not wish anyone to be confused of the absolute requirement God set forth in keeping the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant made with Israel.

Back to more history, after Israel was granted the Law and built the tabernacle, they would refuse to go into the promised land initially. This occurs in Numbers 13-14. God issues His judgment in Numbers 14 for this disobedience.

 

Number 14

26 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.

32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.

33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

 

After this period of forty years in the wilderness, God began the conquest of the promised land through Joshua in the book with the same name. Israel would take possession of the promised land, however, they wouldn’t conquer it all at once because God would “prove them,” and warned of not making covenants with the pagan nations.

 

Exodus 23

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.

27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

 

Deuteronomy 7

20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.

24 And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.

25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.

26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

 

God actually proved Israel many times. Please consider these passages.

 

Exodus 16

4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

 

18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

 

Deuteronomy 8

1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.

2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.

5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.

6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;

8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;

13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

20 As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.

 

Deuteronomy 13

 

1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

 

So, God proved the heart of Israel on many occasions, and would continue to do so. After beginning the conquest of the promised land through Joshua, we reach the end of the book with his name and begin the period of the Judges. Israel is now mostly in their promised land, but would go through this period of judges for about 450 years until Samuel the prophet.

 

Joshua 24

29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.

 

Judges 2

6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

 

Sadly, it takes just one generation to go wayward from godliness. At the time of this writing, the United States appears to have headed that direction. Things are significantly different than when I was a child. The nation of Israel went through a roller coaster of godliness in the period of judges. When there was no king, or no judge, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Due to the covenant with God, Israel would then suffer the curses and eventually realize they needed God again. Their faith would flourish when God gave them a judge and brought them back into blessings. Then arose another generation which knew not the LORD and the cycle would repeat. We get the blanket statement of this in the rest of Judges 2. We read specifically that the time period of the judges was 450 years in Acts 13.

 

Acts 13

20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

 

Now that we have seen Israel enter into their promised land, and they took some of it by conquest through Joshua, but then began to rebel against the LORD, let us now return to the five chastisements presented in the book of Leviticus.

 

Leviticus 26

 

1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;

4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.

8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

10 And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.

11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.

12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

13 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

 

All these blessings if Israel would obey God’s voice indeed and keep the covenant. When they failed, there were severe consequences.

 

Leviticus 26

14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

 

This is the first chastisement presented if Israel, as a nation, would not listen to God. Terror, consumption, and the burning ague (fever). Those things will be consuming, everywhere in Israel. Their efforts of raising crops will be in vain because they will be stolen. On top of all of that, God will be against them, allowing their enemies to overtake them. Certainly, this took place during the period of judges and would rescind when Israel followed the judge, or rather, God. We see several strangers reigning over the nation of Israel for various periods of time before Israel was delivered by a judge, only to return to idolatry again.

 

Leviticus 26

18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

 

This is the second chastisement God says will happen. If they don’t pay attention to the fear and sickness and being overtaken by their enemies, God says He will punish Israel seven times more. There is some debate to the “pride of your power” that God mentions in verse 19, but within the context I would think it has to do with abundance. The heaven being as iron and the earth brass would indicate famine and drought. Verse 20 goes on to also say the land shall not yield her increase as well as the trees. The second chastisement goes beyond the first in that instead of the land yielding increase and enemies stealing it, there is simply no increase, period.

 

Leviticus 26

21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

 

The third chastisement increases in intensity by God sending the wild beasts throughout Israel to destroy children and livestock. No one will want to travel during those scary times, leaving the high ways (Hebrew derek - way, road, distance, journey, manner) desolate.

 

Leviticus 26

23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;

24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

 

The fourth chastisement continues to build on the first three. Now God brings war into the nation Israel. Not only war without the cities, but there will be pestilence within. Because of those things, food will be increasingly scarce. These are horrifying times to think about, but God mentions even one more chastisement, so we can understand that, as a nation, Israel would need more chastising to return to their proper standing before God.

 

Leviticus 26

27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;

28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

36 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.

37 And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.

38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

 

This fifth chastisement is the scariest. God says how He would walk contrary to the nation Israel in each of the first four chastisements, or bring seven times more upon them, but for this fifth one, He adds “in fury.” I can’t imagine a more terrifying thing than the God of all creation, the omnipotent God, pouring out fury upon any one or any nation. That is what will happen in the book of Revelation upon the “children of disobedience,” that is, those that reject God and His Christ, attributing deity to Satan instead. Ultimately, their end is the lake of fire, also something God didn’t wish upon any human being. Through both the apostle Paul and Peter, we read that God’s will is for all mankind to be saved from sin and death (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter3:9). There are also a few verses that God explicitly says He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11).

I do not think there is much commentary needed on the above passage in Leviticus 26. It is horrifying what will happen when Israel would walk contrary to God for that long. When Israel went into captivity with Babylon, we see this all played out. Each of these chastisements gives the history and timeline of Israel and why God did what He did among them. Before we leave this topic and this chapter in the bible, please observe the next three verses.

 

Leviticus 26

40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;

41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

 

We can learn much from this passage. What I wanted to focus on was the concept of confession as there is confusion taught on the topic today. Confession is linked with the nation Israel because of the Law contract made on Sinai. This is the reason for the language of “repentance” of John’s baptism, and confession in 1 John, Leviticus, and other places.

 

1 John 1

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Leviticus 5

1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.

2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.

3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.

4 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.

5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:

6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.

 

Confession of sins is required because of the Law contract. Additionally, there is a sacrifice associated with the sin that becomes known in order to cover that sin. This practice is not needed today. Why? Because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross of Calvary. Again, it is important to know this concept for our peace of mind and understanding today. The apostle Paul is the one inspired of the Holy Spirit to write this in Colossians 2.

 

Colossians 2

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

 

Today, we Gentiles glory in the cross of Christ for God’s completed work in reconciling the world unto Himself. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection paid for all our sins, so we need not confess them before any other human being. There is no more mediator between God and men except the man Christ Jesus.

 

1 Timothy 2

5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

 

Again, we find this truth in Romans through Philemon, because Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles (Romans 11:13). God shows us this transition in Romans 9-11, that He had concluded all Israel in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all. It is imperative we see this difference to understand the depth of the gospel of God. National Israel is a valid entity, and one that God will finish His work through in the Tribulation period, but there is no difference of Jew and Gentile today. We are all one in Christ Jesus (Colossian 3:11, Galatians 3:28).

 

Having said all of that, let us now go back into the topic of the chastisements of Israel and continue reading in Leviticus 26.

 

40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;

41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.

44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.

45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.

46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

 

Once more, confession is linked with national Israel because of the blood-ratified covenant. If we briefly fast-forward in time, we see that this fifth chastisement is where Daniel finds himself in Daniel 9. We will look at that in a moment, but let us fill in more details of the timeline of the history of God.

 

After the Law was presented to Israel, they were given the allotments by tribe of the land to conquer. They took over some of it, but again, God said He would prove them by not giving them all of it at once. After Joshua died, Israel forgot about God and followed after pagan gods of those around them in the period of judges for 450 years, ending with Samuel. Then Israel demanded a king to be like the other nations.

 

1 Samuel 8

1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.

3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,

5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.

7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

 

God grants Israel Saul, the son of Kish, as the first king of Israel.

 

1 Samuel 10

17 And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;

18 And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

 

20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

22 Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

 

King Saul is rejected of God only a short time later. God then tells of another that He has chosen as king, a man after His own heart.

 

1 Samuel 15

17And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent

 

Samuel anoints David to be king when Saul disobeys God.

 

1 Samuel 16

1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him.

7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

 

Note when Saul disobeys God, the Holy Spirit left him. Many debate about this. I’m of the opinion that Saul never sincerely trusted in God, though he was anointed of God as king of Israel. He may have believed God was real, as devils do and tremble (James 2:19), yet didn’t trust him in sincerity as the one who would bring Messiah and so forth. There is no other account I read of where a man loses the Holy Spirit. Also, we know that “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). David did sincerely believe God, and we see the contrast with him that “the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.” David was not perfect, breaking nearly every commandment of God in the incident with Bathsheba, yet we have the witness of God that David was a man “after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

The Holy Spirit does NOT depart from believers in the gospel of the grace of God through Jesus Christ when believers disobey or “quench the Spirit” today. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession as in Ephesian 1:13-14. This means that in the moment of faith that Jesus Christ’s blood paid for your sins on the cross of Calvary, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your earthly body as a down payment, guaranteeing you place in paradise with God for eternity.

 

Ephesians 1

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

 

The phrase “until the redemption of the purchased possession” would indicate the time God takes back what He purchased. He purchased the church, the body of Christ.

 

Ephesians 1

22 And hath put all things under his [Christ’s] feet, and gave him [Christ] to be the head over all things to the church,

23 Which is his [Christ’s] body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

 

Ephesians 2

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

Because we are saved by grace apart from works, we cannot lose this great salvation by our works. God’s work is far and above superior. There are several passages that attest to this, like Romans 8:31-39. Now, when we do things against the character of God after we have sincerely believed, we ought to be sorry with a godly sorrow. This godly sorrow will lead to repentance (a change of mind) and we ought to re-align ourselves with the character of God.

 

2 Corinthians 7

8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

 

I record the above passages for your comfort of God’s authority on the subject. Take a moment and examine yourself. Have you trusted that God’s work through Jesus Christ to pay for your sins is sufficient? Do you believe Jesus’ blood paid for your sins in full (Romans 21-26)? Then you are sealed by the Holy Spirit and cannot be separated from God by anything (Romans 8:31-39). Let that be comfort and assurance to you.

Let’s return to God’s timeline. David is anointed king in place of Saul and reigns forty years. He is given what is known as the Davidic covenant, in which God says He will establish David’s throne forever. This is another Messianic statement.

 

2 Samuel 7

4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,

5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?

6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?

8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:

9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,

11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.

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

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

14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

 

               Note that verses 12-14 is referring to Solomon, who would take the throne after David, yet the verbiage is clear that the throne will be established forever. Messiah would come from the lineage of David. We read this in the genealogy provided in Matthew 1 and also spoken of in Romans 1:3.

Sadly, the nation of Israel would split after Solomon’s reign. Although Israel experienced the golden age under Solomon, he chased after Gentile women and became corrupted through idolatry. Ten tribes would split to the north under a man name Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and two tribes remained under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. The northern kingdom was known collectively as Israel and the southern kingdom was known collectively as Judah.

 

1 Kings 11

1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;

2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

 

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.

27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father.

28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.

29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:

30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:

31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:

32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)

33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.

34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.

36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.

38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

 

1 Kings 12

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)

3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,

4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.

5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.

6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?

7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:

9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?

10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.

11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.

13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;

14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

 

20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

 

Jeroboam would become a proverb of idolatry. His logic was that he didn’t want his people to worship in Judah or Jerusalem, because then they would defect from him

 

 1 Kings 12

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:

27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense

 

1 Kings 13

1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.

3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out

 

33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.

34 And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

 

1 Kings 15

25 And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.

26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

27 And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.

28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.

29 And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:

30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.

31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.

34 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

 

Israel would continue the pattern in the book of judges. If a king did things according to the Law, they had some prosperity and generally did what was right. If the king did things his own way, the nation fell away both from God and prosperity. The northern kingdom suffered an earlier fate in that the pattern set by Jeroboam caused them to live in idolatry continuously and go into captivity about 721 BC into Assyria. The southern kingdom of Judah held out until about 606 BC, going into captivity to Babylon in phases. The last king of Judah going to Babylon was about 587 BC (All dates approximate).

 

2 Kings 25

1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.

2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.

5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.

6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:

9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.

10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

During the kingdom period of history were many of the prophets, several of which we will visit to understand the book of Revelation. At the time of captivity and the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon about 587 BC, now the world is in what scripture calls the “Times of the Gentiles”. Israel is no longer the head, but the tail, but there will be a time they will be the head again, when the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. That is noted by some as the Millennial Kingdom, because this period will last 1,000 years according to Revelation 20:4-6. There are several scriptures mention this time frame. First, let’s look at one that also mentions the new covenant to replace the old covenant with the nation of Israel.

 

Israel, as a nation, would not willingly obey the covenant God had made with them. God promised to make a new covenant with them, and gave them their hope and future.

 

Jeremiah 31

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

 

Note well how both the Old covenant and the New covenant are made with the nation Israel. God mentions several things here, but I wanted to emphasize that God has a plan to finish with Israel, and nothing is going to stop it. There is some language in this passage that indicates an eternal scope. Let’s look at another.

 

Amos 9

7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

 

               Again, the last verse in the passage above indicates an eternal scope. The point is that Israel will again be planted in their promised land, occupying a promised kingdom, acting as a kingdom of priests. This is still in the future as it has not happened yet, and that there are scriptures that declare some things must happen before Israel enters into this Millennial Kingdom period.

After the age of its kings, the nation of Israel spent 70 years in captivity according to Jeremiah 25:11.

 

Jeremiah 25

11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

 

The prophet Daniel understood this timeframe, being part of the captivity into Babylon. Look at what we read in Daniel 9.

 

Daniel 9

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

 

               Daniel recognized the time of captivity in the prophecy given to Jeremiah was coming to an end. His reaction is to pray for himself and the nation, and make confession, which is the proper response for a devout Jew under the Law. This will lead us to the 70 weeks prophecy later in this chapter. God’s response to Daniel’s prayer and confession is that there is a 490-year extension to deal with the nation of Israel. Israel did not fully become a nation like they were as they began to return to the land of Judah after the Babylonian captivity, but when Christ was on earth, the language changed to “the kingdom is at hand” because it most certainly was. Let’s look at the scriptures.

 

Daniel 9

20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

 

To fully understand that this prophecy is for the nation Israel, look at the bolded words in verse 24. Gabriel is speaking to Daniel, so who is “Daniel’s people” and what is “Daniel’s holy city?” It can only be Israel and Jerusalem. So, this period of 70 weeks is determined upon Israel and Jerusalem.

Let’s now take a moment to understand the captivity. God had some things to say against the nation of Israel and why He was just in doing what He did.

 

Amos 4

1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

2 The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the LORD.

4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

 

This is a pretty scary chapter in the bible, isn’t it? Reading this passage makes more sense when read in conjunction with Leviticus 26 and the five chastisements for national disobedience. God gives more detail in Amos 5. Here is a portion.

 

Amos 5

16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

 

At this point, Israel was primed and ready for the period of the 5^th chastisement. At the writing of the book of Amos, they still had several years to go before God brought them into captivity. Even so, we see the love of God and how He reached out to them through Amos and other prophets to save them from that fate.

Incidentally, that was the main function of the prophets. They brought the word of God to Israel to have them recognize their sin, confess of that sin, repent, and keep the covenant. They would declare words from God Himself. Sadly, as a nation, Israel chose not to obey and so the chastisements continued until they were carried away captive.

After the captivity, many would return to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, as in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. The temple would be completed about 445 BC, again, being an approximate date. Here is where many differ on the timing of Daniel’s prophecy. Just what is the timing of Dan 9:25? Is it referring to Ezra 1:1-4? I would say no, as this was not prosperous. No work was really done. How about Ezra 6:14-15? Or Ezra 7:12-26? Some say the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:7) was around 457 BC. Or how about Nehemiah 1:1-2:2? In Nehemiah 1-2, we are in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, or about 445 BC according to some.

Concerning this point, we get into much debate, because the terms Xerxes and Artaxerxes are titles and not names (like Christ is a title). It is debated who these kings really are. Still, what most call the prophetic calendar year, which is really the Jewish calendar used at the time of the prophets, was 360 days long with the occasional leap month, and this is the one to account for. The time frame then lines up with Nehemiah 2:1-2. According to some, the time between Passover in the month Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, and Passover in the year 30 AD is 483 years, but this also means the birth of Christ happened in 4 BC.

Again, all these dates are approximate since we’re dealing with different calendars and different measuring practices of genealogies and the length of a king’s reign and so forth. For instance, 483 prophetic years is approximately 476 years by today’s standard calendar. Doesn’t it seem strange that we would have 4 BC be the year Christ was born, right? The year Christ was born should be the transition of 1 BC to 1 AD. What do we take away from this? Romans 3:4 “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.” God’s word is absolute truth. Man can mess things up. Even though our measuring ability is fallible, God’s timetable is not. It will happen exactly has God says.

Note the precision of timing God gave to Israel. God tells them when Messiah would arrive in Daniel’s prophecy. They should have known of the day of their visitation (Christ), but nationally, they rejected God. Here is what Jesus Christ says as a witness.

 

Luke 19

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

 

Simeon and Anna knew the time of their visitation. Look at Luke 2.

 

Luke 2

25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

 

Arguably, the magi knew it too. They arrived later after the birth, so the typical nativity scene is inaccurate with the magi present. The boldened verse of Luke 2:39 would indicate that Mary and Joseph returned with Jesus to Nazereth after day 40 of Jesus’ life. This is because she would present an offering for her uncleanness pursuant to the birth in accordance with Leviticus 12. This is recorded for us in Luke 2:21-24. Here is the account of the Magi and how we know they must have visited later in Jesus’ life and not at the manger scene.

 

Matthew 2

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

 

Joseph was a devout man of the Law. I mention this because through Israel and the Law was how God was dealing with mankind in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, as well as Acts 1-8. We need to understand what was happening in these books to understand Revelation as the end times are asked about during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus Christ was made of a woman under the Law according to Galatians 4:4.

Let’s look at the book of Mark. Mark 1:1 tells us that the good news is that Jesus IS the Christ. This is amazing news since the world has been waiting for the revealing of the anointed one (which is the meaning of the Hebrew “Messiah” or Greek “Christ”) of God since Genesis 3. We read later in the chapter that Jesus Christ speaks of the kingdom of God.

 

Mark 1

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

 

14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

 

I had previously advised to ask several questions if we are to fully understand a passage. Let’s ask some questions regarding Mark 1. What kingdom is Jesus talking about? Given the context that there has been no change from the Law and the prophets through Malachi, God is still working with and through the nation Israel. Then the kingdom mentioned must be the one promised to Israel if they obeyed God’s voice indeed and kept the covenant. It’s the same land contract we have seen promised to Abraham and his descendants. There is no reason to spiritualize this kingdom since it was a physical land area mapped out for the tribes of Israel.

Now for the next question. What time was fulfilled? Remember the time determined upon Israel and Jerusalem? It is that time that is being fulfilled. Take another look at Daniel 9.

 

Dan 9:24-27

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

 

 

These 70 weeks, or 70 periods of 7 years, are determined on Daniel’s people and Daniel’s holy city. Note the obvious gap between the 69^th and 70^th week according to verse 25. Though there is argument on the exact placement of the 7 weeks and 62 weeks, we can know for sure that 69 weeks happen and then “shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.” This would be the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That event had been prophesied in several places, such as Isaiah 53:1-12 and Psalm 22:1-18. The crucifixion would not have happened while Jesus was still alive, so the time being fulfilled Jesus speaks of is that 69^th week.

A fun “what-if” game to play would be to think what if Israel accepted Jesus as the Messiah? I would imagine that they would have headed into the final 7-year period, called Daniel’s 70^th week or the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). We would do well to note that the fulfillment of these weeks would bring an end of sins. That clearly hasn’t happened yet as sin is rampant, so this time is certainly not yet completed. What we read in scripture is that God extended that gap through the apostle Paul according to Peter in 2 Peter 3. Peter attests that Israel has not inherited their promised kingdom because of what God is doing through Paul in 2 Peter 3:15-16.

So, the 70^th week of Daniel has not happened yet, where the prince that shall come will make a covenant for the 7 years and set up the abomination in the middle of that period. This is the time frame that we read about in Revelation, and why it is sometimes referred to as Daniel’s 70^th Week. That will be discussed more as we continue to examine God’s timeline. Let us continue with the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.

God’s first advent in Jesus Christ wasn’t the wrath and vengeance of God. Jesus Christ Himself interprets God’s word for us in Luke 4.

 

Luke 4

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

 

The passage Jesus Christ quotes is Isaiah 61:1-2. What we see in that passage is more than Jesus quotes. Jesus leaves off the wrath part. Observe.

 

Isaiah 61

1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

 

The second part of Isa 61:2 wasn’t happening yet, meaning it wasn’t the day of vengeance yet. The Messiah would first “proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, but then go away for a while and come back. Here is what we read in Luke 19.

 

Luke 19

11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.

17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.

19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:

21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)

26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

 

The day of vengeance was not done by Titus when he sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in AD 70. None of those things of Revelation happened or someone would have noticed and recorded it. It is still future even today.

Let’s go back to Daniels prophecy in Daniel 9. Note the phrase “the transgression” is in the singular in Daniel 9:24. What singular transgression could this be referring to? I can only make sense of it meaning that Israel did not keep covenant they promised they would do with God. Instead, they followed after Satan, who is behind all the idolatry.

The “prince that shall come” is a prince who is different than Messiah the Prince. It is, in fact, the Son of Perdition, or the beast of Revelation 13, the man who will be indwelt by Satan. The abomination that causes desolation is referred to by Jesus in His earthly ministry in Matthew 24:15-16.

 

Matthew 24

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

 

Note that at that time, Jesus instructs the Jewish believers to get out of Jerusalem and leave everything behind. I may refer to this group as the Little Flock, as that is the term Jesus Christ uses in Luke 12:32.

 

Luke 12

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

 

Several scriptures let us know that Daniel’s 70^th week has Israel in focus. It is referred to as the time of Jacob’s trouble in Jeremiah 30.

 

Jeremiah 30

4 And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.

5 For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.

6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. and is described throughout the prophetic books

 

God’s wrath is also called a time of darkness through Amos. It was a horrible time to consider, and still is. No one in their right mind would look forward to it.

 

Amos 5

18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

 

Jesus’ earthly ministry was to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” He was preparing the Little Flock to go through the Tribulation period, or Daniel’s 70^th week, the time of Jacob’s trouble, which should have happened shortly after Pentecost and the distribution of the Holy Spirit to the 12 apostles. Take a look at Malachi for both a reminder of God’s vengeance to come as well as His deliverance of the faithful. This passage also has Israel clearly in focus.

 

Malachi 4

1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

This was a reminder that true Israel would overcome. God would “burn them up” that do wickedly, but the faithful will be well nourished. That is Israel’s hope. They would be nourished, lacking nothing as calves in the stall in the promised kingdom with Christ as King.

Let’s move on in our timeline. Jesus Christ ministers to Israel while on earth, and He endures the cross. Jesus dies, is buried, and rises from the dead the third day. Then he appears to many for 40 days by many infallible proofs and ascends into Heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Look at this in Acts 1.

 

Acts 1

1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

 

See how the apostles were still expecting the kingdom for Israel in Acts 1:6? It should make sense since the physical land and theocratic government was promised to them. We also read in this passage that Jesus Christ ascends and “a cloud received him out of their sight.” The clouds typically describe a large host, or in this case the heavenly host, and Jesus Christ is the Lord of Hosts. Jehovah Sabaoth is a name meaning the Lord of hosts (See Romans 9:29, which quotes from Isaiah 1:9).

               We get the idea of Christ’s approximate three-year ministry and one additional year until the stoning of Stephen from scripture. This concisely comes from Luke 13.

 

Luke 13

6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

 

The twelve apostles were acting in obedience to Christ the whole time during that year after Jesus Christ’s ascension and up until the stoning of Stephen. Some say they were not. Some say they should have elected Paul, and not Matthias, as the one to replace Judas, but again, I encourage you to let the scriptures say what they say. The twelve were in obedience and chose Matthias as God led them to. Paul could not fit the criteria in Acts 1:21-22. Paul was still persecuting the church of true Israel, or the Little Flock, until Acts 9.

We have now made it chronologically to the book of Acts in the bible. Why haven’t we seen this 70^th week fulfilled? How come the event of Revelation have not taken place yet? We already saw there was a gap indicated in Daniel 9 between the 69^th and 70^th weeks determined upon Israel. The gap was extended by “the Mystery” as revealed to the apostle Paul. This is the age in which we live today. Some call it an interruption or a parenthetical to the Prophecy/Law program with Israel. However you think of it, this timeframe is clearly presented in scripture.

The transition of God dealing with Israel to God dealing with the Gentiles occurs in Acts 9-15 and noted in Romans 9-11 and Gal 1-2. The book of Acts shows the fall of Israel as they nationally rejected Jesus as their Christ, and the rise of the Gentiles in the dispensation of grace and the spreading of the message of reconciliation to all nations (See Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 2:11-3:11, Colossians 3:9-11)

I will point out again that Peter says the reason Israel doesn’t have its kingdom is because of what God is doing through Paul in. Please prayerfully read 2 Peter 3

 

2 Peter 3

1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

 

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

 

               Before moving on, I will say that 2 Peter 3:8 is typically taken out of context. The context indicates that time doesn’t have the same meaning with God as it does with man. Remember that God gave us time with the sun, moon, and stars. God existed before time existed. It does not say that a day equals a thousand years, but is as a thousand years, and vice versa.

               Look at verse 15-16 again. The reason of the longsuffering of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is salvation as Paul has written. Remember Peter is an apostle of the Circumcision according to Galatians 2:9 and his audience is Israel. This delay of their kingdom that was asked of in Acts 1:6 is because of both the existing designed gap between the 69^th and 70^th week of Daniel, and now the knowledge of the dispensation of grace as committed to Paul.

It is recorded three times that salvation turns to the Gentiles from unbelieving Israel (refrence Acts 13:46, 18:6, 28:28). We understand from the book of Romans that national Israel is set aside for a season, but will all be saved once until the fulness of the Gentiles come in. It is at that time that they will enjoy their promised kingdom, resurrected life, and salvation from sin and death. Please carefully follow this passage in Romans, where I have put the meaning of the pronouns in brackets for clarity.

 

Romans 11

13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh [Israel], and might save some of them.

 

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye [Gentiles] should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye [Gentiles] should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

28 As concerning the gospel, they [Israel, specifically unbelieving] are enemies for your [Gentiles] sakes: but as touching the election, they [Israel] are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

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

30 For as ye [Gentiles] in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their [Israel] unbelief:

31 Even so have these [Israel] also now not believed, that through your [Gentile] mercy they [Israel] also may obtain mercy.

32 For God hath concluded them [Israel] all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

 

We learn much from this passage. First, that Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles. You may ask yourself, “God commissioned twelve apostles, so why is Paul an apostle?” The answer was that it was a different message than had previously been preached. We Gentiles were not under the Old Testament, nor under the New Testament, since we Gentiles were never under any testament. Israel was. God worked with and through Israel in time past, and will finish the seven years yet determined upon Israel. The promised kingdom of Israel and the gospel of the kingdom led by Christ Himself has been delayed because of what God is doing through the message given to the apostle Paul. Paul calls what he was given “the mystery” and “my gospel” in Romans 16:25. He calls it the “dispensation of the grace of God” in Ephesians 3:2.

The next logical question is, when does this time frame given to the apostle Paul end? In order to find this answer, we need to study Romans through Philemon. What we see written on the matter is that the Body of Christ will be caught up to be with the Lord forever, which is what most call the Rapture event. The Greek term is harpazo, which has the meaning of snatching away, or to seize. Som verses that allude to this event are: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 2:18-22, 3:11-13, 4:13-18, 5:1-11, 23, and Titus 2:11-14. Let’s look at 1 Thessalonians 4.

 

1 Thessalonians 4

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [harpazo] together with them [the dead in Christ] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 

               I added some bold words and clarifying text to reiterate what it already says. Note how that believers will be caught up to heaven in the clouds. I personally believe this is a heavenly host escort into the realm that God lives in. We will always be with the Lord from that point onward. This passage says all sincere believers at that moment in time will be caught up to the Lord. The chapter break is unfortunate, as the thought continues into chapter 5.

 

1 Thessalonians 5

1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

 

Whenever I see the word salvation in scripture, I’ve learned to ask the question, “saved from what?” What is the context in this passage? Wrath. The Day of the Lord. The dead in Christ and the living in Christ will get caught up in a moment to obtain salvation from the wrath to come in the Day of the Lord. We have the joy of being taken out of this present world before God dispenses His wrath! It truly is a “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).

So, let us remember the Jerusalem counsel event in Acts 15 and Gal 2:1-10. This took place years after Jesus Christ sent Paul to the Gentiles, but solidified how God was interacting with the world. In Galatians 2:9 we read that James, Cephas, and John gave the right hands of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas. John is identified as an apostle to the Circumcision. John is the writer of the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation details Daniels 70^th week which was determined upon Israel.

Jesus’ earthly ministry was preparing the Little Flock to go through the Tribulation period, or Daniel’s 70^th week, which apparently should have happened shortly after Pentecost and the distribution of the Holy Spirit to the 12 apostles. As we have seen, God concluded all Israel in unbelief to usher in the dispensation of grace to all nations. This was not a plan B of God; He knew they would reject Him as Messiah and King and commissioned Paul to the Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy and bring all to salvation. After the rapture event, or the catching away of the faithful in the dispensation of Grace, God will begin the dreaded Day of the Lord. This is the final seven-year period determined upon disobedient Israel. This is the time of God’s vengeance, a time of darkness. The book of Revelation is giving the details of what will take place in that Tribulation period of seven years.

And now, with a proper introduction and foundation of understanding, we may look at Revelation 1:1-6.