APOKALUPSIS: The manifestation of the sons and daughters of God

Rom 8:19 NLT “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are.”

Is it possible that we live in a time when the children of God could and should be revealed, manifested? I believe that we do indeed. The New Living Translation of the bible shows this quite clearly. I have written several times on this blog that during the first century, before the destruction of the temple, it appeared that God had two people. First, he had the Jews who were under the Old Covenant and then, he had the Christ followers, Christians who were made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Interestingly, both groups were telling all who would listen that they were the true children of God.

How would God vindicate Jesus? How would he vindicate the Christ followers or Christians? The answer is obvious and simple. He would make Jesus enemies his foot stool. Further, who really were Jesus enemies? The answer to this question is the unbelieving Jews and especially the scribes and Pharisees who used the Torah to prove that Jesus was not their Messiah (John 7:47-49.)

John 7:47-49NLT  "Have you been led astray, too?" the Pharisees mocked.  (48)  "Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in Him?  (49)  This foolish crowd follows Him, but they are ignorant of the law. God's curse is on them!"

Let me repeat the question; how would God vindicate Jesus? He would do that by placing his stamp of approval on Jesus and the Christ followers… Christians. Well friend, God did just that very thing in 70 AD/CE when he allowed the Romans to destroy the temple and Jerusalem just as Jesus prophesied. Yes, way back in the latter part of the first century God revealed who his children really are. Unfortunately, we have been waiting for something else. We have not believed what God said and did and therefore, by not believing we have made it just the same as if it did not happen. If no one believes that they are the manifest sons and daughters of God then guess what? You guessed it correctly. If they do not believe it they will not operate or walk in the reality of it.

We are entering yet another two thousand year period of biblical history. There have been three two thousand year ages so far and we are twelve years and two months into the next age. The first one was from Adam to Abraham. The second one was from Abraham to Christ. The third was from Christ to the year 2000, and now this new age began in 2001. In the first age, mankind in general sought religion and tried to find their way to God in their own efforts. In the second age, the Old Covenant age mankind created religion and tried to find their way to God with the Old Covenant. The third age, the church age, God actually came and dwelt among humanity. Some rejected and killed him and others developed a religion based upon him. The religion based on Jesus still developed a way that humanity could alledgedly find their way to God.

Will we be the manifest sons and daughters of God at last? Will we believe that God made a way to come to us? Will we believe that God dwells in us all the time every day? Remember, the creation is still groaning… what will we do? What will we do?

Seven reasons Christians must read the bible in a solely redemptive way; eliminating the legal constitutional reading of scripture

Several times I have suggested that Christians stop the legal constitutional reading of scripture. In this blog post I will present seven sound biblical reasons. In fact, in this post I beseech evangelicals to cease and desist from using a legal constitutional reading of scripture and replace it with a solely redemptive view. This would in no way diminish the value of the scripture, and it would completely eliminate the schizophrenic Christianity that presents an illogical and impossible mixture of law and grace

First, Jesus and his immediate followers changed the focus to a solely redemptive hermeneutic. Jesus stated in John 5:39-40 that the Jews were improperly using the scripture. They erroneously thought that they could find eternal life in the scriptures and the fact was that eternal life was only found in Jesus. So then, to use the scriptures for another purpose then finding Jesus and life is an incorrect use.

Second, Jesus and his immediate followers redefined the phrases word of God and word of truth from Torah to the gospel, and Jesus the living gospel. First of all, Jesus always referred to the scriptures as the scripture (writings) or the Law and Prophets and never referred to them as the word of God. He did use the word scripture often, you will find it forty-six times in the gospels and Acts. Finally, I challenge you to go to an exhaustive concordance and look up the phrase “the word of God.” Then insert the words scripture/s in place of it, and it will not make sense in context, however, if you insert the word gospel or Jesus depending on the immediate passage-context it will make perfect sense each and every time.

Third, Christ Jesus was the end or goal or purpose of the Law. Paul is especially clear on this point with statements like “if righteousness comes from the Law then Christ died for nothing,” or “by the works of the law no person will be justified.” It is clearly summed up in passages like Romans 10:1-4:  “Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.  (2)  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  (3)  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.  (4)  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” It could not possibly be made more clear than that.

Fourth, God made Jesus enemies his footstool when he destroyed the temple and Jerusalem. Who were Jesus enemies? Of course the answer is the unbelieving Jews. They were the ones who enticed the Romans to crucify him. They were the ones that persecuted the church. So then, the first step in making Jesus’ enemies his footstool was the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem. It did not stop there because ultimately Rome was made his footstool also. Ultimately however, death was put under his feet with the destruction of the temple because the Old Covenant, Paul called it the ministry of death, was rendered completely irrelevant with the destruction of the temple.

Fifth, Jesus was the lamb that opened the scroll and brought proper understanding of the scripture. Revelation 5:5 says it all: “ And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." Prior to Jesus and his resurrection the scripture was hidden and the mystery of the gospel was not revealed. Jesus did that Luke 24:27, 43-45.

Sixth, The new covenant demands it. Jer 31:31-34  "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,  (32)  not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.  (33)  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  (34)  And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." The underline portion of the above passage completely eliminates the legal constitutional reading of scripture.

Seventh, A legal constitutional way of reading the scripture renders the redemptive decrees as not true. Last but certainly not least the new testament is full of what I call redemptive decrees. Here is an example of what I am writing about: Rom 10:9-11  “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  (10)  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  (11)  For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." If one can be unsaved by not doing something then this statement by Paul is simply a lie. Therefore, the Christian walk admonitions, (I like to call them reasonable service requests), cannot negate the declared promise for then, the scripture is absolutely of no value at all. There are many others throughout the pages of the scripture. The most famous one that Jesus stated is John 3:16, almost everyone is familiar with that declaration.

The evidence I have presented is overwhelming… what are you going to do with it?

The All in All

1Corinthians 15:28  “And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.”

I personally think that the fifteenth chapter of 1Corintians is mis-understood with too much read into it. We are now living in the days of the All in All. If God is our father and Jesus taught that metaphor to be truth, then our Father is the All in All. If you look at New Testament Prophecy in the way it was written, you will see that it was meant for the first century believers. It was pointing to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews. You can find all of the many posts that show this at this link; it is the link that shows all of the posts that discuss and include eschatology.

The Psalmist said the following: (Psa 110:1)  “Here is the LORD's proclamation to my lord: "Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool!" Who were Jesus enemies? It was the Sanhedrin. It was the rulers and authorities, principalities and powers of second temple Judaism. How did God make Jesus enemies his footstool? He used Titus of Rome to destroy the temple and Jerusalem, and disperse the Jews away from Judea. Jesus enemies were in fact made his footstool in 70CE. He was exonerated. His prophecies were proven to be true. All things were put under his feet including death. The sting of death was sin. The power or strength of sin was the law. The last enemy was the death brought about by the law. Christ provided the victory over death with the assurance of eternal life. Once Jesus had proclaimed eternal life, had risen from the dead to prove it --- death lost its sting. But, when the temple was destroyed, the ministry of death was destroyed along with it, and all things, including his enemies and death were put under his feet.

That being the case, the kingdom has been turned over to the Father so that the Father is the All in All. Jesus prayer is answered; (John 17:23)  I in them and you in me — that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me. It is not necessary to see a distant eschatological future fulfillment. It is current reality. The kingdom is now and we are to be manifestly the children of God now. The fact is that we have become partakers of the divine nature and have been given all we need for life and godliness. The problem is that we must realize and believe it. This will only come as more and more people embrace the provision of God’s grace and rest in our eternal connection.

Isn’t it  a shame to be waiting for what is already here? If believers would corporately re-enforce one another in resting in God’s grace, it would be possible to experience the All in All continually. It is so simple… all that we need to do is shift our paradigm.

Who do people say that I am?

This is a part of the series of posts “Moving toward a holistic theology.” ; Christology

Mat 16:13-16  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  (14)  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  (15)  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  (16)  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Who is Jesus of Nazareth? This becomes a very important aspect of any Christian systematic theology. It is a question that must be answered in detail. As I have stated in the past and as the blog posts show, I have a very high Christology. What has informed my opinion and belief when it comes to Christ Jesus? I will say first and foremost that it is a solely redemptive, Jesus of Nazareth centric, lens in scripture interpretation. One of the key passages of the Old Testament Prophets that is descriptive of Jesus and his role is Isaiah 9:6-7.  “(6)For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  (7)  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

In the above description one can see the fullness of the God Head. The Wonderful Counselor is the Holy Spirit, Everlasting Father is God the Father, and the Prince of Peace is the Incarnation. Mighty God describes the fullness of the God Head in one. While Jesus had an earthly ministry, one can clearly see the Trinitarian aspect of God in operation. At his baptism  Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on him, and the Father announced from heaven this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Paul then goes on to say in Colossians the following; Chapter 2, verse 9.  “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” Paul states that in the risen Jesus, the fullness of the deity dwells bodily. That is counselor, father, and prince of peace. That makes up the mighty God. There you have it, in my Christology, Jesus is God.

Now while I do not think that one has to be baptized in Jesus name only (I will explain this in future posts), I do think that the Oneness Pentecostals are on to something when viewing the trinity. The entire 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians is interesting to me. At the time of the writing Jesus was seated at the right hand of the Father awaiting his enemies to be made his foot stool. Think for a minute. Who were really Jesus enemies? Yes, that it is correct. His enemies were the unbelieving Jews. They are the ones that were set on killing him and were the ones that got him killed. In other words, He was awaiting the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. That would be the time when his enemies were put under his feet. The last enemy death, the Old Covenant, was put under his feet and now He is the all in all.

Yes, there is a lot more to cover but enough for today :)!

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel

Mark 1:15 represents the first words Jesus spoke after returning from the wilderness after his baptism. The message is very simple. First the kingdom of God is at hand. That means that it is very near the time. The Greek word translated as at hand, eggichen means near at the time of the hearers and readers. It is not near 2000 years later, and cannot be construed to mean that. The kingdom of God came essentially by two things. First, one must change their minds from their current belief system, and second, one must believe the gospel. Faith in the gospel is more than mental assent. As I have stated in the past it is apprehending it. Believing it so much that one holds on to it no matter what.

Notice also that Jesus says that the time is fulfilled. The Greek here is important. Time is kairos, the ripe time, and fulfilled is pleroo, complete. So, the statement is this…. The ripe time is complete, the kingdom of God is near, change your mind and believe the good news. How is anyone going to push that into the distant future and have it be a true statement? It simply cannot be done. The kingdom was near, the time was complete and ripe. This is very easy to understand. So, if that was two thousand years ago and if the kingdom was near back then, where is it today? Is the kingdom the church? No, I don’t think so. The church is the called out ones the ecclesia. The kingdom is the reign of God. That means that God is in charge. Since God is in charge what should be done? Jesus answer was to change one’s mind and believe the good news.

So then let’s look a little farther into this matter. The called out ones, the assembly, is to believe the gospel that God reigns. That is, the called out ones individually, and corporately. The reign of God becomes evident when individuals in community believe in the reign of God, and agree what that means practically. This is precisely why the church is not the kingdom of God. There is no essential agreement on what the reign of God means practically. Rather, there are thirty thousand various denominations all believing differently. That is merely the kingdom of confusion.

Has prophecy failed? Did the kingdom fail to materialize? Or… did the prophecy of the strong delusion come about just as prophesied? Did the church miss out on the kingdom of God and instead build the kingdom of church? I think this is precisely what happened. While it is true that the kingdom of God was available from the first century forward, the fact is that Christians did not really believe it. They missed the signs and are awaiting the fulfillment of the kingdom promise; still waiting today. They are looking forward to the establishment of the kingdom and it is available by merely changing the mind and believing the gospel. So then, in a way Jesus is still saying to anyone who will listen, “the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel. What does repent mean? It means to change the mind and embrace the reality that the kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and it is here for the apprehending today.

Turned over to a strong delusion thereby believing what is false

“and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

(2Th 2:10-12 ESV)

It is my contention that much of evangelical Christianity’s doctrine and dogma is this strong delusion. I have shown in previous posts (here) that 2Thessalonians was written to the first century saints and not some later, still future generation. When Paul wrote "that they did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" he is speaking of those who did not believe in and who crucified Jesus; In other words, the first century unbelieving Jews.

Who was the man of sin you may ask? I would say in all likelihood, it was John of Gischala. He was the leader of the rebels that took over the temple just prior to the Roman siege. According to Josephus, he killed the high priest and put his own puppet in place of him. He, not God would decide who and who not should be the high priest. He set his regime up in the temple.  He killed all of the dissidents.

So then, what is the strong delusion you may ask? I believe it is the leaven of the Pharisees which is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12.) The strong delusion is the inclusion of the doctrine of the Pharisees in church dogma and doctrine. Paul warned that grievous wolves would come in not sparing the flock (Acts 20:29.) He also said that false brethren came in among them to spy out their liberty (Gal 2:4.)

Today we have many evangelicals that act like modern day Pharisees. Our seminaries have adopted the hermeneutical position of the Pharisees which is grammatical historical hermeneutic; Jesus and his first century followers used redemptive historical hermeneutic.  We insist on calling the entire scripture the word of God like the Pharisees when Jesus and his apostles defined the word of God as the gospel, and Jesus, the living gospel. The leaven of the Pharisees suggests that we are acceptable to God based upon our ability to develop law based righteousness. While the evangelicals pay lip service to faith righteousness, they in reality, demand law righteousness. I find it fascinating that much of Jesus’ rebuke in Matthew chapter 23 could just as easily be leveled against the bulk of evangelical Christianity. Evangelical Christianity says that faith allows one to enter the covenant but obedience to the law is what proves one was really converted.

After a two years of this blog it should become very apparent that we have lost the way. We are off the mark in so many ways. We have in fact been given over to a strong delusion and we believe what is false. I find it encouraging that so many are waking up from this stupor today. Many are rising up and beginning to become critical of the status quo. Many are questioning the principals that  here-to-fore they were obliged to accept. For this I praise God and I hope that more and more Christians of conscience will rise up and stand up for the gospel of GRACE!

Heaven and Earth Passed Away; By Pastor David Curtis

In view of Melanie's question, I think it would be good to reprint this article by Pastor David Curtis of Berean Bible Church. Here is a link to the original article but I am providing it here for ease of reading. I must warn you that this is a long post in comparison to most of the others but it is necessary to see how heaven and earth could have passed. Please read it carefully.

Heaven and Earth Passed Away 

By Pastor David Curtis

We looked last week at the time statements in the Bible as to the coming of the Lord. We saw that he said he would come -- while some that were standing there were still living; in that generation; soon; quickly; at hand; he said his coming was near. Everywhere that the Bible talks about the Lord's coming it gives us a time statement. The NT saints fully expected the Lord to return in their lifetime. How could we possibly miss this? Yet the majority of believers today, some two thousand years later are still saying that the Lord will return soon. Can the same event be imminent at two different periods of time separated by two thousand years? Someone said to me that they felt that the Lord said he was coming soon because he wanted every generation to be watching for Him. Think about that. What that means is that when he told the first century believers that he was coming back soon, he really didn't mean it, he was giving them false information to keep them looking for Him. Can you live with that? If that was the case what else did he tell them that wasn't true? Do we have a God who intentionally deceives men? Isn't it much easier to simply believe what Jesus said and believe that he came back in the first century?

What is at stake here is the inspiration of Scripture. If Jesus was mistaken or if he lied to us then what good is the rest of the Bible? There are those opponents who say that if you believe that Jesus came back in the first century then you don't need to read your Bible any more. I don't understand that argument, but if Jesus didn't come back in the first century, when he said that he would then you might as well throw your Bible out because if it isn't inspired, it isn't any good. I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and therefore without errors. 

Christianity is intellectual, faith is understanding and assent to what God has told us. God says in Isaiah chapter 1, "come now let us reason together." This is important because you are a product of your thinking. Proverbs 23:7 says (NKJV) " For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."

 

What is really frightening about this is that in our culture thinking is not really that important. Do you realize this? We are not so concerned about thinking as we are about two other things, emotion and pragmatism. We're concerned about feelings, and we're concerned about success. We're not so concerned about thinking. People don't ask the question, is it true, is it right? They ask the question, does it work and how will it make me feel. Emotion and pragmatism. This is tragic, especially because it has taken over the Christian Church. Even in theology, it's sad to say, the issue is not always is it right or true, but will it offend or upset someone. We worry about how the truth will make people feel. In Acts 17:11 the Bereans were noble because they searched the scriptures, not to see if these things felt good, or to see if these things worked, or even to see if these things would offend, but to see if these things were "so," to see if they were right and true. Some folks have said to me,"If I believe that Jesus came back in 70 AD it might effect some areas of my life. Such as; will a mission board take me, will I be accepted at certain colleges, could I work in an AWANA program?" Listen, please listen to me carefully. Those are the wrong questions! The first, the foremost, the only important question that we need to ask is: IS IT TRUE? If it's true we'll have to live with the consequences that the Lord gives us, but the issue here is truth, is it true?

Proverbs 23:23 (NKJV) Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

When I first came to see as truth the fact that the Lord had come in 70 AD and all prophecy had been fulfilled my first objection was, "This means we are living in the new heaven and the new earth!" My response to that was "Yea right! If this is the New heaven and earth we got ripped off." Why did I feel that way? It was because I was looking for a physical fulfillment of 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21-22. I thought that those passages were speaking of physical truths, I now know differently, I didn't understand apocalyptic language. The thing that changed my mind was seeing how the OT Scripture used the concept of heaven and earth. Lets look at how the Bible uses the concept of heaven and earth, I think you'll see that it is not always used physically. 

Lets start by reading 2 Peter 3. Most Christians would say that this is the end of the world as we know it, the destruction of planet earth. It sure sounds that way doesn't it? That is how I had always seen it.

One of the major areas of difficulty in understanding correctly "heaven and earth" in the New Testament is the misunderstanding of how God referred to nations by this phrase in the Old Testament. Seeing the biblical concept of "heaven and earth" in the Old Testament will help us greatly in correctly understanding its use in New Testament passages. Rather than to assume that each time we encounter the phrase, we are to immediately think of this physical universe and its elements. 

Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now is this literal or figurative? I think that this is clearly literal. I believe in a literal six day creation. Do you? Or do you believe that because with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day that creation took six thousand years?

Leviticus 26:14-20 (NKJV) 'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. 18 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

God warns Israel that she must listen and obey Him in the commandments that He has given them. God uses various terms and expressions in describing what it will be like if they despise His statutes, but notice particularly verse 19: "and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass." Compare Genesis 1:1 with Leviticus 26:19, are the terms "heaven and earth" to be understood in the same way? They clearly do not mean the same thing in each verse. Notice how the character of Israel's disposition in God's view is personalized, "YOUR heaven" and "YOUR earth." So the terms "heaven" and "earth" belong or relate to Israel, they evidently constitute a "heaven" and "earth."

Isaiah 1:1-2 (NKJV) The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;

Who is God speaking to here the physical creation? No, he is speaking to Israel. I think we can see this idea clearly if we look at Isaiah 51 

Isaiah 51:15-16 (NKJV) But I am the LORD your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared; The LORD of hosts is His name. 16 And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, 'You are My people.'"

The time of planting the heavens and laying the foundation of the earth that is referred to here, was performed by God when He divided the sea (ver. 15) and gave the law (ver. 16), and said to Zion, Thou art my people; that is, when He took the children of Israel out of Egypt, and formed them in the wilderness into a covenant nation. He planted the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth: that is, brought forth order, and government. 

This idea is seen more clearly as we look at other passages where mention is made of the destruction of a state and government using language which seems to set forth the end of the world, as the collapse of heaven and earth. 

Isaiah 13:1 (NKJV) The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

In this chapter God is talking about the judgement that is to fall upon Babylon. The word burden is the Hebrew word massa', (mas-saw') an utterance, chiefly a doom. This introduction sets the stage for the subject matter in this chapter and if we forget this, our interpretations of Isaiah 13 can go just about anywhere our imagination wants to go. This is not an oracle against the universe or world but against the nation of Babylon. 

Isaiah 13:6 (NKJV) Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Isaiah 13:9-13 (NKJV) Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. 11 "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.

Now remember he is speaking about the destruction of Babylon but is sounds like world wide destruction. The terminology of a context cannot be expanded beyond the scope of the subject under discussion. The spectrum of language surely cannot go outside the land of Babylon. If you were a Babylonian and Babylon was destroyed would it seem like the world was destroyed? Yes! Your world would be destroyed.

Isaiah 13:17 (NKJV) "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it.

This is an historical event that took place in 539 BC. When the Medes destroyed Babylon the Babylonian world came to an end. This destruction is said in verse 6 to be from the Almighty, and the Medes constitute the means that God uses to accomplish this task. The physical heaven and earth were still in tact, but for Babylon they had collapsed. This is apocalyptic language. This is the way the Bible discusses the fall of a nation. This is obviously figurative language. 

In Isaiah 24-27 we see the invasion of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar. He carries them away to captivity. Notice the language that he uses. 

Isaiah 24:3-6 (NKJV) The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. 5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.

Isaiah 24:19-20 (NKJV) The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. 20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again.

What I want you to see in these verses is how God refers to Israel as the earth. He says the earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly...the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again" (Verses 1,3,4,19,20) Notice how many times God referred to Israel as the "earth." This is apocalyptic language speaking of the destruction of the people of Israel. 

In Isaiah 34 we have a description of the fall of Edom, notice the language that is used.

Isaiah 34:3-5 (NKJV) Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood. 4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree. 5 "For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

This is Biblical language to describe the fall of a nation. It should be clear that it is not to be taken literally. Lets look at one other OT use of this language. 

Nahum 1 (NKJV) The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. 2 God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies; 3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of Lebanon wilts. 5 The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.

The subject of this judgement is Nineveh, not the physical world. This is the way God describes the fall of a nation. If this language describes the judgement of God on nations, why, when we come to the New Testament, do we make it be the destruction of the universe? It is only because we do not understand how the Bible uses this apocalyptic language. With this understanding of how "heaven and earth" is used in the OT lets look at 2 Peter 3. 

This was by far the text that I struggled with the most. I could not understand how we were in the New heavens and the New earth. As you read different commentaries you will read things like, "this is by far the strongest passage to prove the consummation of time, the termination of the earth as we know it."

2 Peter 3:1-2 (NKJV) Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you 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 Savior,

Peter is reminding us of what has already been said. The NT does not contain brand new prophecies that just dropped out of the sky containing new information. 2 Peter 3 is just a reiteration of what has already been written by the prophets that spoke before. Peter gives us a key to interpretation. That key is that what he is saying has been written by the OT prophets. Keep that in mind. 

2 Peter 3:3-4 (NKJV) knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to 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 creation."

Peter said that these scoffers would come in the last days, when are the last days?

Micah 4:1 (KJV) But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Micah prophecies that God's kingdom wi ll be established in the last days.

Acts 2:14-20 (NKJV) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 "For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.

So according to Peter the last days began at Pentecost and these last days included and ended with the great and awesome day of the Lord. 

Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV) God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

The "last days" refers to the last days of the house of Israel, the last days of the Old Covenant. The last days are the period from 30 AD to 70 AD. Isn't it interesting that during that time the scoffers were already asking, "were is the promise of His coming?" If they were questioning His coming then, about 35 years after his death, what would they be saying today, two thousand years later? They knew that his coming was to be soon. 

Now some use the argument from verses 5-7 that the world was destroyed in Noah's day and the world will be destroyed again. Lets consider that argument. 

2 Peter 3:5-7 (NKJV) For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Peter says that the world consisted of heaven and earth, and that they were destroyed by water and perished. We know that substance of neither heaven or earth was destroyed, but it was the evil men that were destroyed. Peter makes a distinction between the heaven and earth of Noah's day, which were destroyed and the heaven and earth that existed then which were to be destroyed by fire. The literal visible fabric of heaven and earth were the same after the flood as they were before the flood. Lets remember what we saw in the OT as to the apocalyptic use of heaven and earth. The destruction of heaven and earth refers to the civil and religious state, and the men of them. What was it that really perished in the flood? Look at verse 6 -- by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. It was the world that perished, right? Now what does the word world mean? It is the orderly arrangement of society, it wasn't the dirt. Now how do you go from an ungodly society that was destroyed to the destruction of the entire universe? The literal earth was not destroyed. What is to be destroyed is the ungodly nation of Israel. Nowhere do the Scriptures teach that the physical creation will be destroyed. Notice what God said after the flood of Noah's day.

Genesis 8:21 (NKJV) And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

Now, folks will say that the Lord destroyed the earth by water one time and He'll destroy it by fire the next time. Is God's promise here to just change his method of destroying everything. Is there comfort in being destroyed by fire instead of water? Or is he promising not to destroy the earth again?

Psalms 148:4-6 (NKJV) Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. 6 He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away.

What decree did God make concerning the establishment of the heaven and the earth that will never pass away.? Genesis 8:21! God said that he would never again destroy every living thing. God can be trusted, He keeps his word.

2 Peter 3:8-9 (NKJV) But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

We looked at these verses last week, they are simply saying that God keeps his promises.

2 Peter 3:10 (NKJV) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

What is "the day of the Lord?" It is a time of judgement on Israel, it is the end of the Old Covenant age. We have a parallel passage in:

Matthew 24:42-44 (NKJV) "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Peter is talking about Jesus second coming at the end of the Jewish age. When the Lord comes, the heaven and earth of the Old Covenant age will pass away. Let me give you a question here to think about -- where is the millennium in Peters discussion? Peter is talking about the Lord coming and when He does we go right into the New heaven and earth.

When we read the word, elements here we think of the scientific idea of the elements of matter, all the atoms of the universe burning up. But is this what the word elements means? The Greek word for elements is stoicheia (stoy-khi'-on) it is only used seven times in the NT.

Galatians 4:3 (NKJV) Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.

Galatians 4:9 (NKJV) But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?

Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 2:20-22 (NKJV) Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations; 21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," 22 which all concern things which perish with the using; according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

Hebrews 5:12 (NKJV) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

In Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the literal meaning of the word is "element, rudiment, principle." In other words, this is the elements of religious training, or the ceremonial precepts that are common to the worship of Jews and of Gentiles. Obviously, this "stoicheia" (stoy-khi'-on) is not about atoms or destruction of the universe.

2 Peter 3:11-13 (NKJV) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

What is being dissolved? The OC system is being dissolved not the universe. Where do we have a promise about a new heaven and earth? Peter was surly thinking of the book of Isaiah, chapters 65 and 66.

Isaiah 65:17 (KJV) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

If you read Isaiah 65 and 66 you will notice that before God creates the new heavens and a new earth, He will pour out His wrath against Jerusalem, His rebellious people (Isa. 65:1-7, 11-17; 66:3-6, 15-18, 24). When God created the new heavens and earth, notice that the physical death will remain (Isa. 65:20, 66:24), home construction and agriculture will continue (Isa. 65:21-22), we will have descendants (Isa. 65:23, 66:22), the Lord will hear their prayers (Isa. 65:24),there will be evangelism (Isa. 66:19). The new heavens and earth therefore, cannot be referring to the eternal state; it must be referring to a period in human history. This is the period of the Kingdom of God which Christ rules in the hearts of the believers. The Kingdom of God is made without hands (spiritual - Dan. 2:34, 44-45; c.f. Col. 2:10-11). If we take the statements from the scriptures at face value, then we should conclude that the first heavens and the first earth passed away and was replaced by the glorious reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, the kingdom without end. Notice that in this New Heaven and earth righteousness dwells, as it does in the New Covenant.

2 Corinthians 3:9 (NKJV) For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

Lets wrap this up by looking at a few more passages, turn with me to Luke 21.

Luke 21:20-22 (NKJV) "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 "For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Jesus is speaking here of the destruction of Jerusalem, an event that was to occur forty years from the time that he spoke. He said that in that event "all things written would be fulfilled." What does "all things" mean? Does it really mean all things? Look what Jesus said in Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:17-18 (NKJV) "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Jesus does not have in mind here some specific statement of prophecy. He is not talking about a judgement of Israel, he is not speaking about a specific aspect of his atonement. The Jewish idiom "the law and the prophets" means the totality of the OT revelation. Jesus said he did not come to destroy it but fulfill it. Jesus is saying here in Matthew 5 that the old law has to be fulfilled, every jot, every tittle has to be fulfilled before it can pass away. If 2 Peter 3 is based upon the OT prophets, and it is, and if 2 Peter 3 has not been fulfilled then we are still under the OC law. That is quite simple. Do you believe that we are in the NC? If we are then the OC must have passed away. And if the OC has passed then 2 Peter 3 has been fulfilled.

Matthew 5 is not limited to any particular prophecy, it is a comprehensive statement encompassing the entirety of the OC revelation. Christ is not here simply speaking of the Word of God, it's talking about the OC revelation. It is not speaking of the NC, it had not yet been ratified.

Conclusion

"There are three heaven and earth time periods in 2 Peter 3, and the change from one epoch of time to another was referred to as a passing of heaven and earth. The object of that expression was to show a change in God's dealings with man rather than a change in the literal, material constitution of the world itself"

Futurists teach that the New heaven and earth of Revelation 21 and the New Jerusalem of Revelation 22 is the saved of all ages, the bride of Christ at the end of the millennium, when all things have ended and we have embarked into eternity: They have entered eternity; sin, death, hades and Satan have all been cast into the lake of fire. Remember that all evil has been disposed of, God has healed the Church of her ills, sin has been finally purged from her so that only a grandiose description of her can truly tell of her beauty. The futurists teach that the earth will be a physical paradise at this time, but is that what the Scriptures say?

Revelation 22:1-2 (NKJV) And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

When we look at this verse, a question immediately comes to mind: why would the nations need healing? If one adopts the futurist view, then one is at pains to explain this tree. If however, one adopts the preterist view, the explanation is quite easy. Does the New Covenant gospel age end, or is it truly an everlasting covenant as Hebrews 13:20 (KJV) says, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant."

Although Christ's return vindicated the witness of the first-century church, God didn't mean for the rest of history to be anticlimactic. His plan for us is an ever-deepening experience of Christ's presence, and an unfolding realization of his sovereignty over all things.

God called Israel to be a light to the nations, to lead all people into a covenant relationship with the Father. His purpose for his church, the "Israel of God," is the same. We are to be calling the world to drink of the living water of the gospel. Let's be faithful to our calling.

Revelation 22:17 (NKJV) And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.