Day of the Lord

The subject of “the day of the Lord” has intrigued me for many years. My belief that, whatever Adam messed up Jesus fixed up, governs pretty much everything I believe. Analogous to that is my conviction that the scriptures reveal God’s “story” of reconciliation, from beginning to end. I strongly believe that the Bible, although a human compilation, is God’s word and that it is actually a library of writings from various times and points of view. Even when two or more of the writings touch on the same subject, that subject has to be viewed through the eyes of the writer and the context in which he wrote. I would add that the entire Bible is to be read as ancient documents relating to God’s plan and execution of reconciliation. It is not a book of rules to be applied today or at any time since the establishment of the heavenly kingdom on earth. The final act of establishing the kingdom was the day of the Lord circa 70 CE.

"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."^[1]

The parables of Jesus clearly indicate a gathering and judgment to take place at the end of the age. The end of the age took place with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, keeping in mind that the Romans had systematically destroyed cities and towns on their way to laying siege to Jerusalem. The judgment Jesus spoke of in his parables was that which took place at the end of the age. The sins of Israel that had been rolled forward every year with sacrifices were taken away with the final sacrifice –that of Jesus. The “elect” in the conversation of Jesus were the Jews.

Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.^[2]

For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.^[3]

And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.^[4]

The judgment at the end of the age does not apply to believers in the kingdom of God for scripture speaks of their assurance and confidence as children of God, citizens of the kingdom.

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the lord: I will put my laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them," He then says, "and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful…^[5]

 

The great and awesome day of the Lord:

It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, as the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.^[6]

But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.^[7]

   

As far as I am concerned there is no old or new testament, there are writings by different authors inspired by God collated into a single volume or library. It is misleading to think of history as linear; it is more accurate to recognize parallel lines of history. The “Mosaic Age” is a separate line from world history. It represented one nation; God’s kingdom, Israel. The primary purpose of the kingdom of Israel was for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession. It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you--for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh King of Egypt.^[8]

Paradise the garden of God:

The Greek word paradeisos is how the Septuagint translates the Hebrew word for “garden” (gan) in the garden of Eden account in Genesis 2-3. According to the end of Genesis 3 humanity was expelled from the garden and denied access to the tree of life, with the way guarded by cherubim with flaming sword (Genesis 3:23-24).^[9]

parádeisos; gen. paradeísou, masc. noun. Paradise. This is an oriental word which the Greeks borrowed from the Persians, among whom it meant a garden, park, or enclosure full of all the vegetable products of the earth. In Xenophon's economics, Socrates said that the king of Persia took particular care, wherever he was, to have gardens or enclosures full of every beautiful and good thing the earth could produce. These were called paradises. The original Eastern word pardes occurs in Neh_2:8; Ecc_2:5; Son_4:13. In Sanskrit, paradésha and paradisha meant a land elevated and cultivated. In Armenian, pardes means a garden around the house planted with grass, herbs, and trees for food and ornament. The Sept. uses it to refer to the Garden of Eden (Gen_2:8). In later Jewish usage and in the NT, parádeisos is used for the abode of the blessed after death. Paradise, before Christ's resurrection, has been thought to be the region of the blessed in Hades although it was not specifically called by that name (Luk_16:23). Jesus said He would take the repentant thief with Him to paradise (Luk_23:43).^[10]

This is most interesting, not that I would agree with all Richard Middleton writes, but looking at the scriptures there is supportive evidence for the premise that they provide the complete account of God’s reconciliation.

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^[11]

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise (garden) of God.^[12]

The garden in Eden was in all accounts a paradise, not only in the earthly sense of flowers and trees, but in a spiritual sense as well. Within the confines of the garden, Adam and Eve had access to every fruit except one, and, they has access to the tree of life. Jesus told the Ephesians that those who endured and did not grown weary would have access to the tree of life in the garden of God^[13]. Adam and Eve’s sin resulted in banishment from the garden of God and all that was in it. Through Jesus there is entrance into the garden of God and access to all that is in it.

If the Bible is the “story” of God’s reconciliation. The inevitable question becomes, “where do we fit into God’s plan?” The most concise answer is, we don’t fit into God’s plan of reconciliation we are beneficiaries of it. Reconciliation is through the sacrifice of Jesus; through Christ we enter paradise, God’s garden. Life in God’s kingdom is based on faith, our citizenship bought and paid for by Christ.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.^[14]

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."^[15]

Now that no one is justified by law before God is evident; for, "the righteous man shall live by faith."^[16]

Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.^[17]

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith… ^[18]

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.^[19]

In the beginning there was a garden in which Adam and Eve lived in harmony with God. God would present himself in the garden and communicate with Adam and Eve. They had access to the tree of life and could live forever. All of that was lost due to their disobedience; they were banished from the garden and from God.

Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Thus began the “story” of reconciliation.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.^[20]

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.^[21]

For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.^[22]

Paradise in Luke 23:43 “And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in Paradise.’”

Identification of the Paradise of the first age with that of the second necessarily carried with it the further idea that Paradise exists now in hidden form. This hidden Paradise is first mentioned in Eth. En. Throughout apocalyptic it is the present abode of the souls of the departed patriarchs, the elect and the righteous, and Enoch and Elijah, who were translated thither during their lifetime. Whereas according to the older view Sheol received the souls of all the dead, only the ungodly were now sought in Sheol and the righteous in Paradise, - I, 147, 11-16, Hell. ideas about the future life played a normative part in this reconstruction of the concept of the intermediate state (-n. 13). It should be noted, however, that both old and new ideas were still current in the NT period. Either Hades or Paradise (- I, 147, 22-30) is here the abode of the souls of the righteous after death. This duality is important for an under-standing of the statements about what happened to Jesus between Good Friday and Easter Day, -3 771, 37 ff.

   Pre-Christian apocalyptic has no consistent answer to the question where this hidden Paradise is to be found, a. The older view seeks it on earth, usually in the extreme East (cf. Ga. 2:8), 27 also the North (Eth. En. 61:1-4; 77:3; cf. Is. 14:13) or Northwest (Eth. En, 70:3 1.), or the extreme West, or on a high mountain reaching up to heaven, cf. Ez. 28:13 f.  b. Closely related to the notion of a high mountain whose peak reaches into heaven is the idea, found from the 1st cent, A.D., that after Adam's fall Paradise was translated to God (S. Bar. 4:3, 6), and that since then it has been in heaven, or more precisely in the third heaven. Conceptually statements about the delights of the intervening and the eschatological Paradise merge into one another, though the former are not so strong, esp. in apocalyptic literature.^[23]

The LXX translated the Hebrew or Aramaic word using παράδεισος meaning paradise. Luke used the same Greek word, meaning garden, in recording his research on Jesus. I am not sure that Jesus would have spoken Greek to the thief, we don’t know. To me it is probable that Luke translated the Aramaic words that Jesus spoke into written Greek. If Jesus had used the Hebrew or Aramaic word gan Luke most likely would have employed the same Greek word in the LXX to translate gan. Did Jesus mean a garden, or place of the righteous dead, maybe Abraham’s bosom as in Luke 16? There is no way for us to know exactly what Jesus meant. Jesus was in the grave for three days, during which time he contended with the devil. We would be remiss to develop any theory of paradise based on Luke 23. It seems to me that the most we can take from Jesus’ response is that the repentant thief would be better off than the other thief. Jesus didn’t tell the thief he’d be in heaven.

I believe that the “story” of God’s reconciliation has been set to the side in order to accommodate doctrines and traditions held by religious groups. Having accepted the historical model of Church that prescription is followed with variations and adjustments, meanwhile God’s “story” has been lost in the morass of creeds and tenets. Theologians scratch around in the pooled scripture seeking words of confirmation for their theories or doctrines. (I can only hope I’m not doing the same.) One such subject that worries me is the meaning or intent of “covenant”.

"I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly." Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, "As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." God said further to Abraham, "Now as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between me and you.^[24]

Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."^[25]

 

So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice.^[26]

I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned.^[27]

Now then, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.^[28]

The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today.^[29]

 

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."^[30]

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says, "behold, days are coming, says the LORD, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that i will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their god, and they shall be my people. and they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, 'know the LORD,' for all will know me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." When He said, "A new covenant," he has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.^[31]

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.^[32]

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.^[33]

A covenant includes the promise made by God along with the terms to be met by man confirming the covenant relationship. The covenant with Abraham was that God would give him many descendants and a land in which they would live. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant relationship. The covenant was handed down to Israel along with religious and material regulations; circumcision was a sign of the covenant that God made with Israel. Not included in the initial covenant with Abraham was the promise of the Saviour God made based on Abraham’s obedience. Israel occupied the land of Canaan, Abraham was the father of many nations, and through Israel God sent the Messiah. God made a promise to David that he would have an heir on the throne of Israel forever; that was Jesus. Jesus taught about the kingdom of God, he told Pilate that he was the king of a spiritual kingdom. His was the final act in God’s finalizing reconciliation. The covenants of old were all fulfilled and completed by God, despite the sinfulness of Israel.

Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.^[34]

But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.^[35]

In the book of Genesis is recorded the creation and paradise in which man lived a harmonious relationship with God. Banishment followed disobedience, and mortality became man’s reality. There were turbulent times leading up to the second creation resulting from the flood. Man by and large followed his own pursuits causing further disintegration of the human tribe. Mankind was divided into numerous nations; some individuals or families maintained a connection with God, most followed their appetites. God had connections with people and even the priest Melchizedek. Scripture reveals very little about God’s relationship with man in general, only from the book of Job do we learn about some aspects of man’s piety. Abraham stands out as a major connection between God and man. The exodus was the initiation of God’s nation, receiving the Law and entrance into Canaan satisfied the material aspects of God’s covenant with Abraham. Israel was God’s chosen race through which he would bring the Messiah into the world. When Jesus was sacrificed the way was opened into the new kingdom of God, there remained the task of bringing the physical kingdom of Israel to a close. Jesus did that returning in judgment with the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. The religious side of Israel was ended with the destruction of the temple, the material side of Israel was discarded with the destruction of Jerusalem. Christianity had been under the shadow of Judaism up to the end of the Jewish age. God completed and fulfilled all prophecy, the old was removed and the new remained. That I believe is a brief synopsis of the “story” of God. Everything that Adam messed up, Christ fixed up.

Here are some foundational assumptions supporting my belief.

ü  All inspired scripture was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem

ü  The Bible is a library of different books

ü  There should be no division such as Old and New testaments

ü  The Bible is God’s “story” of reconciliation – from start to finish

ü  Each scriptural writing was to aid and instruct the people for whom it was written

ü  Reading any scripture today should be recognising its antiquity and audience

ü  The Bible is not a textbook of rule for any time after the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth

ü  The end of the age in the “New Testament” signified the end of the Jewish era

ü  The end of the age was the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem circa 70 CE

ü  The book of Revelation contains things that were going on at that time, and some soon to come

---

[1] Mat 16:27, 28

[2] Mat 24:22

[3] Mat 24:24

[4] Mat 24:31

[5] Heb 10:16-23

[6] Joe 2:28-32 

[7] Mat 24:29-31

[8] Deut 7:6-8

[9] J. Richard Middleton (PhD, Free University of Amsterdam)

[10] The Complete WordStudy Dictionary

[11] Gen 2:8, 9

[12] Rev 2:7

[13] Rev 2:1-7

[14] Heb 11:1-6

[15] Rom 1:16, 17

[16] Gal 3:11

[17] Gal 3:7

[18] Php 3:8, 9

[19] 1Co 13:13 

[20] Rom 5:8-11

[21] 2Co 5:17-19

[22] Rom 5:19

[23] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

[24] Gen 17:2-11

[25] Gen 22:15-18

[26] Exo 2:24, 25

[27] Exo 6:4

[28] Exo 19:5

[29] Deut 5:2, 3

[30] Jer 31:31-34

[31] Heb 8:6-13

[32] Heb 9:13-16

[33] 1Pet 2:9, 10

[34] Jos 21:45

[35] Act 3:18

God's way

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.[1]

Set in its context of not worrying about temporal needs this injunction has been used to encourage better attendance at meetings, more money for missionaries, and generally to guilt people into great compliance with Church programs. But, taken in the greater context of Jesus’ teaching the statement suggests a form of discipleship foreign to Judaism and foreign to modern Christianity.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'[2]

The good fruit in Jesus’ teaching is generally interpreted to be the accomplishment of those functions that support the Church and are in line with its teaching. That would be good if it were not for the denunciation of religious activities at the conclusion of this section. It is not recognizing Jesus as Lord, not prophesying in Jesus’ name, not exorcizing demons in his name, and not performing miracles. Jesus appears to contrast those functions with doing the will of God. This poses a huge problem for me, since I, like everyone else, grew up being taught that righteousness was in the Church, and if the very religious activities done in Jesus’ name are not acceptable as God’s will, what is? There is another of Jesus’ teachings we should consider before trying to form an answer.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.[3]

The righteous acted out of love, the help they rendered was based on the need before them. They were not following a program, but compassion. The wicked in this parable didn’t live spontaneously out of love for fellow humans, but would have offered help to Jesus if they had seen him. There is one other aspect of Jesus’ teaching to include before going on:

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."[4]  

The essence of Jesus’ teaching would have been overlooked by most religious leaders in his day, they might have given lip service to the concept of loving their neighbour, but little more.

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live." But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"[5]

We have all heard the parable of “The Good Samaritan” and silently castigate the religious people for their lack of sensitivity. The two going about their religious duties with fervour are likely more the norm than the helpful Samaritan. When considerably younger I was on my way to a rural town to give the morning lesson when ahead of me I saw a car with its hood up. The first thing that came to mind was, “drat, I’ll have to stop and help, which meant I’d be late for my appointment. Fortunately the driver closed the hood and took off. My reaction has stuck with me as an annoying lesson. I was on my way to teach about life in Christ, and more concerned about being late than acting as Christ. I know that I’m not the only “Christian” to be more concerned with rite than right. Now back to where I started.

…seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…

I get the message that we should be more concerned about spiritual things than material needs. I believe as I have indicated that there is more to this statement than just the contrast of spiritual and material. What did Jesus mean by, “God’s kingdom” and “God’s righteousness”?

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.[6]

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.[7]

For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.[8]

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."[9]

If we follow the teaching of Jesus we will hear what he said concerning the kingdom. One thing is clear to me, “the Church is not the kingdom, nor does it represent the kingdom!” The Church is the result of human pride and interference, it is fragmented, distorted, and human. God’s kingdom Jesus taught was from out of this world, it is spiritual and Godly. Matthew more than any other writer focused on the kingdom, as a Jew writing to Jews he catalogued Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom elevating its spirituality and simplicity in contrast to the kingdom of Israel. God’s kingdom does not come from the imagination of man, nor the misguided interpretation of scripture.

By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.[10]

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.[11]

The righteousness of God is not achieved through activity, it is given through grace. This concept is difficult to comprehend because as humans it seems it is more important to feel good than do good. By that I mean we are so entrenched in the ritual of religion we cannot see that we are blindly following traditions handed down through the ages. We are content to tweak the knobs of religion to fool ourselves into thinking we are closer to the truth than those who went before. Paul yearned for and sought the righteousness of Noah; righteousness based on faith. We need to recognize that ritual righteousness is the same as self-righteousness, and not the righteousness of God.

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for "The one who is righteous will live by faith." But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, "Whoever does the works of the law will live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"-- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.[12]

I wonder about how we are to understand Paul’s writing. Some commentators point out that “the Law” is actually “law”, more inclusive than just the Law (of Moses). Paul vigorously fought for righteousness based on faith, not the ritualistic working for a righteousness under a system of law. Some Jews went back to the system they had known which had been around for centuries and was the foundation of Judaism. It is easy to be critical of Jews who gave up on Jesus, going back to what was a more comfortable religion. Before we censure those early defectors, we might want to review our own religious position. The Church is a replica of Jewish institutionalism – of course not so easily recognized because of its façade. The temple was the centerpiece of Judaism; the basilica, cathedral, or Church building is the centerpiece of Christianity. The Law of Moses was the foundation of religion for Jews, doctrines and dogma are the foundation of Christianity. Righteousness via ritual was paramount under the Law, compliance with doctrine and programs is fundamental to the Church. There is very little difference between Jews defecting from Christianity to Judaism, than Christians surrounding themselves with the trappings and traditions of the Church.

…seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…

There were four major sects of Judaism at the time of Jesus, Herodian, Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. Jesus did not attach himself to any of those. There were two great institutions, the temple and the synagogue. Jesus attended both. A most obvious feature of Jesus’ life was his personal relationship with God his Father. Prayer was his link to God, and his work on earth was to glorify God. He chose ordinary men to be his disciples, associated with common people, reaching out to the disenfranchised and marginalized people of society. Jesus the man, was God on earth. Jesus complied with the regulations of the Law, but lived godliness. The first Christians were admonish to look to Jesus at all times.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.[13]

Another version writes, “…fixing our eyes on Jesus”, like a missile locking onto its target. The scripture doesn’t use the word religion very much – five times in the New Testament. Obviously then looking to Jesus is not practicing religion, it is a life focus.

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.[14]

True religion according to James is caring for others, the marginalized and vulnerable. A dictionary definition of religion is:

People’s beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life.[15]

It seems to me that our relationship with people is as important as what we believe; true worship is when we exercise love toward people, especially to the vulnerable. Throughout time in the biblical records God has required his people to provide support and assistance to widows, orphans, and foreigners in their midst. Our service to God through Christ cannot be institutionalized, it is personal and individual. Each person represents Christ in the way he or she lives and interacts with others. Jesus was God on earth, he showed people what the Father was like, how he loved and how strongly he loved. God has instructed people to live in Christ and reflect his love toward all.

Concerning ritualistic religion Paul has much to say:

Jesus …having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.[16]

Conditions today are obviously quite different to when Paul penned these words. As long as we consider the cultural and period differences we are still able to glean from the passage principles which should be applied to religious activities in our own time. The practice of asceticism, mysticism, or spiritualism as means of “worship” comes from the human mind; egocentric people puffed up with their own importance have no fellowship with Jesus. That form of religion is usually associated with cults and avoided by mainstream Christians. Paul however, included the aspect of Judaizing teachers; the imposition of laws from the Torah. Those regulations Paul insisted were nothing more than shadows of true worship. In Christ there is freedom, and Paul put forward menial ritualism and legalism as an affront to Christ. Regulations in whatever form summarized by Paul as, do not handle, do not taste, and do not touch, are the mechanism of self-righteousness. Manmade religion is of no value against human excess.

As seen by the defection of Jewish Christians, people find legalism and rituals comforting. Whether or not we are so crass as to admit it, we find security in keeping score. Church is ideal for that, it sets out goals and requirements, keeps attendance record, and honours those invested in its programs. Good members attend all meetings, they listen attentively to whatever is told them from the pulpit, generously contribute cash, and shake hands with the right people; on a score of 1 – 10 they claim 11. I believe that Paul would say that was a waste of time. And maybe Jesus was warning people that just being religious doesn’t cut it. There is nothing in scripture that supports or remotely resembles the modern day Church. Except maybe that which Paul denounced as manmade.

…seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…

Somehow I don’t think Jesus said, find a kingdom, and try be righteous. Rather it might be said that Jesus pointed to the singular kingdom of God, and, as opposed to the myriad of ways we as humans find to make ourselves feel good, Jesus told us to seek God’s righteousness. God’s kingdom is in Christ; Jesus the man, Christ the king. Righteousness is in Christ; the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. God didn’t set up a new system of regulations and ceremonies through Jesus, the law was to fade away and grace would abound. There is no actual value attributed to Church other than maybe as a club for members, there is no intrinsic spirituality in Church, it’s what you make of it. In my thinking Church has syphoned off loyalty and commitment to Jesus. It has placed itself between people and heaven insisting on its own necessity. It has obscured the simple spiritual life of believers, entangling them in its web of traditions and rituals. The Church claims to be the only expression of Christianity, but Jesus call us to follow him.

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.[17]

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[1] Mat 6:33

[2] Mat 7:15-23

[3] Mat 25:31-46

[4] Mat 22:36-40

[5] Luke 10:25-29

[6] Heb 11:8-10

[7] Heb 11:13-16

[8] Rom 14:17

[9] John 18:36

[10] Heb 11:7

[11] Php 3:7-9

[12] Gal 3:11-14

[13] Heb 12:1, 2

[14] Jas 1:25-27

[15] Bing dictionary

[16] Col 2:14-23

[17] Mat 11:28-30