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
[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
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