God's Big Picture

God’s Big Picture: 1.The Pattern of God’s Kingdom Introduction Seeing the big picture is always important. If you are out walking in the hills and are lost in a forest you have real problems if all the trees look alike and you have no idea which way you need to go. For centuries human beings argued over whether the earth was flat or round. For us with satellite photography there is no difficulty in getting the right answer! As Christians we can get confused sometimes by the mass of information in the Bible. A new Christian can have trouble finding their way around the Bible, but even when we know the order of the books and a rough idea of the storyline we can still have times when we lack clarity about how things fit together in the bigger picture.

The word Bible means ‘a library’ of books. There are sixty-six in all of which thirty-nine are in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament. Approximately forty people authored the books under the guidance of the Holy Spirit over a period of more than fifteen hundred years. Although there is a diversity of types of literature from narrative to songs to wisdom literature and the dramatic symbolism of the apocalyptic visions, for example, in Daniel, Ezekiel or Revelation there is an overarching unity to the Bible. It claims to be the Word of God and is inspired by Him. II Timothy 3:16-17 states: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man [or woman ανθρωποσ] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Bible is divided

into two sections the Old Testament that begins with the Creation of the Universe in Genesis chapter one and finishes with the return of a small group of a few thousand Jewish people restored to their land from exile in Iraq (Babylon) in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. In very broad terms Genesis 1-11 looks at the big picture of humanity from the creation of a perfect world which humanity marred by our sinfulness; God’s judgement in a universal flood in the time of Noah and the dispersal of humankind around the world after the confusion of languages at Babel. The last part of Genesis 11 moves to look at one family in southern Iraq and focuses on one man Abraham from whom God plans to create a great nation and though him and that nation to bless every nation on the planet. The first book Genesis covers four generations of his family’s progress. In Exodus after a period of around 400 years Moses was asked by God to turn these descendants of Abraham, slaves of the Egyptians into a nation that will return to the Promised Land of Canaan. The books of Exodus to Deuteronomy cover that journey with details of the legal and religious guidance God gave them in their formation as the people of Israel. The next books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth describe their struggles to possess the land prior to the establishment of the nation with three prominent kings Saul, David and Solomon. After these kings the nation split into two small kingdoms –Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian army in 722BC and Judah in 587/6BC by the next superpower Babylon. After a seventy year exile in Iraq three groups of returnees culminating in that of Nehemiah in 445BC a small fragile nation is rebuilt principally in the territory of the former state of Judah around Jerusalem. The majority of the Old Testament books cover this period of time recording its history and the messages of the prophets God sent to the nation. There are then approximately 400 years of silence (in terms 1

of revelation from God), prior to the coming of John the Baptist as the herald of Jesus and the extraordinary conception, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. There are four accounts of the key events in Jesus’ life, prior to the book of Acts which narrates the major developments in the first thirty years of the history of the Christian Church from its beginnings in Jerusalem through the major areas of the Roman Empire to Rome itself. All the other New Testament books are letters to individual Christians or congregations concerning what we believe and its implications for our daily lives. The final book Revelation concerns a series of visions given to the apostle John concerning the future, beginning in his own day then through history to the return of Christ and finally a glimpse into the new heavens and earth that will eventually replace our present world.

The Bible is a unity and each part must be seen as part of the whole. Some parts are difficult to understand without a sight of the bigger picture. However, that principle is obvious from many areas of life from little things such as jigsaw puzzles where a sight of the picture may be necessary for us to make sense of the pieces in front of us to the bigger picture of determining God’s plan and purposes for our lives. This series of sermons is aimed at helping us to grasp a little of God’s big picture and purposes for humanity. It will use the imagery of the Kingdom of God, a term explicit in the teaching of Jesus but implicit throughout the Bible. It is not the only way we can view redemption-history; another obvious approach would be to use the different covenants of the Bible. God wants the best for His children. We will endeavour to cover from creation to recreation, Genesis to Revelation. In this first study we will briefly outline God’s original intention for creation in Genesis chapters one and two.

Genesis 1-2 The Pattern of God’s Kingdom 1. God is the Creator The Bible begins with a pronouncement in Genesis1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (a) The false views opposed by this statement (i) that this world has always been here In the beginning God Some people have claimed that the material world around us has always been here in some form or other. The Bible declares this viewpoint false. There was a time when the material universe that we know did not exist. Only God is eternal. He existed before anything else came into being. There is not an eternal chain of causation –the ‘who made God question’, because there has never been a time when God was not in existence. God created space, time and everything we can touch, taste, handle, see or hear or experience. (ii) Atheism God’s existence is taken for granted and assumed in the Bible. He is the first subject in Scripture. It is taken as self-evident that there is a God. In the great chapter on faith in the New Testament, Hebrews 11, verse six makes this point: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (iii) Polytheism In the beginning

God…not gods… most people in other countries at the time Genesis was written worshipped a huge number of usually nature gods. The Bible is very clear only one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 stated: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Yet Elohim (God) is singular in form yet with a plural ending. The oneness of God does not fully express His identity.

Genesis 1:26 with reference to the creation of humanity states: Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. How do we resolve this puzzle? Genesis 1:2 gives us another 2

clue: the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. In the light of the New Testament revelation we recognise that God the father took the initiative, but the Holy Spirit was also active in the work of creation. In the second verse of chapter one of John’s Gospel the author makes this statement regarding Jesus’ input into creation: Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. Jesus brought the universe into being following His Father’s instructions with the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul in Colossian1:16 wrote concerning Jesus: For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… all things were created by Him and for Him. (iv) Pantheism the belief that all is god or that God is found in the rocks and trees or other aspects of creation. In New Age thinking today it can be found in the views of those who deify ‘mother earth or Gaia’. A fellow student at the teacher training college where Kathryn and I studied in the mid-1980s recalled an extraordinary sight one summer. A group of people staying for a week got up before sunrise to go out onto the beautiful lawns to worship the sun by bowing down to it in some kind of religious ritual. The Bible is very clear God is separate from His creation.

However, we must also recognise that creation is good. Genesis 1:31 states: God saw all that He had made and it was very good. (v) Fatalism ‘it’s in the stars’ or ‘what will be will be’ –God is in charge –God created by an act of His will. His conscious choice brought the universe into being to bring praise to His name. Psalm 19:1: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. (b) the truth affirmed by this statement (i) God’s selfexistence He is dependent on no-one. In our world everyone and everything is dependent on someone or something else for aspects of our lives. Laws of cause and effect are not applicable to God as He is outside His creation. (ii) God’s self-sufficiency He has no needs and is entirely independent of anything or any person in the Universe. All that He does is (to use Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:5) in accordance with His pleasure and will. He takes delight when we honour Him in our lives, but is not diminished in any way by its absence. (iii) God is eternal In Psalm 90:2 Moses wrote: From everlasting to everlasting You are God. The heavenly beings are recorded by John in Revelation 4:8 as continually praising God with these words: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.

2. God is sovereign over all creation (a) And God said Psalm 33:6 states: By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. The title for Jesus in John chapter one is the Word. John 1:1:12: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. God will not any confusion over the connection between the Creator and His creation. He is the Lord who spoke and brought the world into being. To reflect on such a thought even for a moment should lead us to worship and adore Him. Worshipping or bowing down in adoration to anything in creation is forbidden. In the second of the Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:4-5a God declared: You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; (b) giving Him the honour to which He is entitled Psalm 8:1 states: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens. Verses 3-4 continue this theme: When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, 4 what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him? Psalm 95:1-7 is another song of adoration of our amazing creator: Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. 5 The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry 3

land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. The Psalms are full of praise for God’s work in creation. Similarly the heavenly beings also honour and glorify God for His creative work, as John heard in Revelation 4:11: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being.

3. Humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation (a) The Uniqueness of our creation (Genesis 1:26a, 27) Throughout the process of creation in Genesis One God has been issuing commands and the work of creation has taken place.

However, the language changes in 1:26 which indicates that God has come to the highest point of the week’s creative activity. This is the pinnacle of creation; the crowning achievement for which God has a sense of anticipation concerning what He is about to do.

The divine Godhead made a conscious choice together to bring into being a creature, humankind that would alone among creation be like God. Genesis 1:26a-27 states: 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness… 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. We were created to have

fellowship with God, because as Paul put it in I Corinthians 11:7 we are the image and glory of God… What does it mean that we are created ‘in the image / likeness of God? It concerns our minds, our wills, our affections and especially our ability to have relationships with other people. It also includes the capacity for the use of language and a wide variety of languages that no other creature can utilise as humans have the capacity to do. In the Godhead there are perfect relations between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. To be the best we can God desires us to have wholesome and mutually enriching relationships with our fellow human beings, to a degree that goes beyond that to which the rest of creation is capable; in particular the capacity within us for worship and adoration of our Creator and that potential placed within each human heart for fellowship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Even outside of faith in the Lord there is sufficient of the image of God within each human being to cause them to have some awareness of their Creator and therefore the responsibility to do something about it. However, sadly some people wilfully reject the evidence for God as seen in creation and they pretend that it all came about by blind chance –that out of nothing a big bang produced everything without the directing and guiding hand of God. Paul has a blunt message for such people in Romans 1:18-21:The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Have you put your faith in our great

God and Saviour? Or are you still outside of fellowship with Him? (b) The Uniqueness of our responsibilities (Genesis 1:26b, 28) A unique status is accompanied by equally special responsibilities that have been entrusted to no other creature God has made. and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." A fuller account of what that entailed is given in Genesis 2. Genesis 2:15 stated: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Genesis 2:18-20 records some of our other responsibilities: 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to 4

see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. (i)

With respect to the planet We do not own the planet. Each of us may own possessions; a house or even a bit of land –but collectively we share the planet in trust for future generations. This means as individuals and families; church families and other larger networks within society right up to government level we need to play our part in caring for the planet. Even if the dire predictions of some experts regarding climate change are wrong it is still right to utilise in a wise and sustainable fashion the earth’s natural resources and to share them fairly between the nations. The pollution caused by the industrial revolution of the past few centuries has caused serious damage to the environment and human greed for greater profits at the expense of others has to be addressed. Western nations cannot ask emerging ones in the Two-thirds world to make sacrifices if we too are not prepared to share the burden of providing adequate food and water supplies across the globe; an equitable sharing of energy supplies and the opportunities for appropriate economic growth and development.

Individually although our contributions may seem small a commitment to purchasing where possible Fair Trade products; locally sourced products again if that is possible and sensible purchasing of goods to avoid unnecessary waste and then recycling as much as we can of the by-products of a Western lifestyle. Together we can make a difference for the well-being of the planet and its eco-system, but also for the vast range of other life forms and creatures that also share our planet. Yet our Father wishes us to enjoy our lives here and the blessings of His creation and not be on a guilt trip over what we cannot reasonably be expected to do.

Here in Genesis there is no division between what Western Christianity has divided up into ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ categories of employment. Each of us has gifts that we can use for the glory of God and the benefit of other people. (ii) With respect to society Humanity has certainly done the most damage to the planet but also we have failed as a species to get on with one another. The amount of wars and conflict in our world for every conceivable reason or excuse is an absolute disgrace. In our next study we will consider the damage humanity did to God’s perfect world, but here in Genesis 1-2 it is clear God created us as social creatures. In Genesis there is no division between what Western Christianity has divided up into ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ categories of employment. Each of us has gifts that we can use for the glory of God and the benefit of other people. This was one of the unexpected blessings of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. Prior to that day members of Religious Orders and Parish Clergy, together with the smaller numbers in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy were seen as holding superior callings to everyone else. The Reformers were insistent on returning to a more biblical view of each person serving God in the sphere in which they have been placed. This understanding allows respect and dignity for people in the least desired occupations as well as others in highly esteemed professions. However, in our current social climate even in some Evangelical Christian circles younger people are actively discouraged from considering a calling for the pastoral ministry or long-term missionary service overseas, because of the lower social status and income levels they would receive compared with many secular occupations. As Bible-believing Christians the issue is one of vocation –has God led you in this direction? If so then persue it with all your might, for the glory of God! Under girding this fundamental position Genesis 1 explains that men and women were created equally as persons in the image of God. In chapter two the Lord takes that a step further and focuses on the relationship between men and women. Genesis 2:18, 20-24 are the key verses on this topic: 18 The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

Incidentally the Hebrew word ezer (helper) used in Genesis 2:18 is used primarily of God as the helper of His people Israel in the Old Testament –so there is no connotations of inferiority 5

in the use of the word –rather complementary ones instead.

21

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh. Men and women were created by God to be equal as persons, but in a family context, for example, to hold different roles as a mother and father to their respective children. The utter contempt of our current Westminster Government for marriage; the necessity for fathers in the family home; for mothers who choose to take time out from their careers to be at home with young children is based on spurious form of egalitarianism that fails to recognise that people can be equal in status as persons but holding differing roles, for example in family life. Marriage is the cornerstone of family life and although tragically 40% of marriages do not succeed, by definition 60% do. Virtually every study of educational achievements and social wellbeing amongst younger people confirms that those who have the blessing of the active involvement of committed parents at each stage of their lives on average score more highly than their equivalents without that blessing. God was not a kill-joy in proposing sexual continence, restricting its full expression to within the boundaries of marriage. We can see the damage caused by the forty years of sexual license and excess. The pressures on marriages and family life have never been greater in the last couple of centuries than they are today, but as Christians may God give us the strength to seek to model a lifestyle that is honouring to Him that will encourage others also to live in the way God intends.

4. God’s Pattern of work and rest is a model for humanity Genesis 2:2-3 states: By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. The pattern of creation over six days of a conventional twenty-four hour week was not an accident. God intended it that way to set us a pattern of an intentional day of rest per week from our regular duties. The word Sabbath means rest. In God’s list of foundational principles for living for His people – the Ten Commandments –number four states: 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:8-11). Why should we

keep one day per week as a sabbath? because God did as an example to us; His principles in the Ten Commandments are the basis for a happy and healthy society, not just for the people of God in their Jewish or Christian communities. Some Christians want to observe only nine of the ten and omit this one, despite Jesus declaring in Matthew 5:19: Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Hebrews 4:9-10 reaffirms this point: There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Why take a day off? Studies of the effectiveness of workers have shown consistently that those who work five or six days per week by a significant margin outperform those working seven or four or less days per week. This is not rocket science but common sense. God wants us to have a work /family / church life balance. Notice in Exodus 20:8-11 the sabbatarian principle was both for employers and employees and their animals, together with migrant workers from other countries. All of God’s creatures are entitled to that time of rest from work. In addition the land was entitled to rest from the production of crops 6

–its own Sabbath- to avoid over production in a fragile eco-system (Leviticus 25:1-7). For the Jewish people there were additional Sabbaths held on other days of the week as part of certain festivals (see Leviticus 23 for various examples). In the Passover festival (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:7-8), for example, the first and the seventh days of that week were to be observed as Sabbath days. These additional Sabbaths amongst other Jewish practices were not binding on Christians (see Colossians 2:16 16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

and Romans 14:5-6), though some Christians and Bible commentators confuse them with the observance of the fourth commandment and thus claim that we need only keep the remaining nine to please God! Isaiah gives us a challenge in Isaiah 58:13-14: "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the Lord… What does this mean

for our lives today? It speaks to us of having a balance of work and rest; time for our church family and for our physical one; time for personal interests and time to benefit other people.

However, it is no accident that Christians down the centuries have observed Sunday as their day of rest (early Jewish Christians in the 1st Century AD apparently observed both the Jewish Sabbath and Sunday as days of rest!). In practice, putting time for worship with God’s people as a given with priorities over our hobbies or other clubs or interests. This will come at a cost to some of us as certain sporting and social activities for ourselves or our children have in recent years been moved to God’s day. It is not easy as a Christian parent explaining this principle to our children. However, in later life they will thank you when they realise why you did it for their good. This is not only for us, but also with respect to other people.

We should seek to have a lifestyle that does not require other people to engage in their regular work to serve us on God’s special day. Let us keep Sunday special with our families and our church family –maybe a lack of honouring God’s day has minimised our joy –let us take up Isaiah’s challenge and value God’s plan for our week.

The Pattern of God’s kingdom begins with a recognition of God as the Creator and all that flows from that declaration in Genesis 1:1. It continues with an acknowledgement that God is sovereign over all creation and we ought to give Him the honour and worship that is due to Him. Humanity is the pinnacle of His creation and therefore hold a unique place in His affections, but also is given unique responsibilities to care for our planet and for other people.

God’s guidance in Genesis 1-2 also gives us a model of how we should spend our week with a combination of fruitful work and time for rest so that we might enjoy life as He does, for His glory, Amen.

7

God’s Big Picture 2. The Perishing of God’s Kingdom Introduction American journalist Britt Towery told the story of a well-respected critic who wrote reviews on the various shows performed on Broadway. His opinions were highly regarded and favourable reviews were prized by the participants. On one occasion this man was obliged to miss a performance, but nevertheless he wrote a review of what he had expected to have seen had he been in attendance at the show. No-one noticed what he had done. In fact it became a regular habit until in the end he simply researched the musicals and dramas in advance and wrote all the reviews without leaving his own home. His reputation ensured that no questions were asked of him for quite some time, but finally he came unstuck. The critic had always got his reviews in early. On some occasions they were even sent before the performance had been completed. However, on one sad night a theatre caught fire in the middle of the second act and pandemonium erupted out into the street. The next morning’s paper printed his review in full. It recalled how much the critic had enjoyed the third act the previous evening! A proofreader should have spotted the obvious problem, but no-one did until after the paper had been published. [Brit Towery, Brownwood Bulletin (a West Texas newspaper) Friday 11 September 2009] When we do wrong for a time we can get away with it. However, eventually, the consequences of sin have to be addressed. Genesis 3-6 reports the depressing decline into sin by humankind which resulted in God’s judgement in the great flood of Noah’s day. Sin that had begun with inappropriate thoughts on the part of Adam and Eve had spiralled downwards in later generations into murder and eventually a society that mistook depravity for normality.

Genesis 6:5 stated: The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. Can there be a more bleak and depressing verse in the whole of the Bible than this one? Sin is like those persistent weeds in the garden that seem impossible to remove- you get rid of it in one place and it soon appears in another place only a few days later. However, doing nothing is not an option. This section of Genesis warns us in the starkest terms of the seriousness of sin, but will also encourage us with the wonder of God’s grace.

1. The Fall of Humanity into sin Genesis 3-6:7 Did God really say…? (Genesis 3:1) We live in an age when all kinds of authorities have been questioned and challenged –sometimes rightly, but on other occasions probably not; in the 21st century as in the previous couple of generation agreed standards of morals and values have been contested as never before in the previous 150 years at least in the western world.

Did God really say…? The devil’s crafty question was skilfully raised to cause Adam and Eve to doubt the goodness of God. He did not say: ‘God hasn’t said….’ as that would have allowed a simple negative response. Instead this open question was framed in a way that cast doubt on God’s generosity to His creatures that had not been entertained in their minds before. Let us note first: (a) The Historicity of the Fall This account like the other events described in Genesis 1-11 is not a story, a myth or a fable, but a statement of facts. The rest of the Bible is built on the foundations of what happened here at the beginning of human 1

history. Paul will compare the fall of Adam into sin with the redemption of humanity in Christ in Romans 5:12-19: 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. In the same way Paul links death that came to

humanity with Adam to resurrection that came to humanity through Christ in I Corinthians 15:20-22: 20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. Three years ago I had a

conversation with a professing Christian who declared that he didn’t believe in the historicity of the Fall; I had to point out to him that the reality and effectiveness of the sacrifice of Jesus and benefits of His resurrection for Christ’s followers is bound up with our interpretation of Genesis 3. Satan, the evil one, presented himself to Adam and Eve disguised in the body of a snake (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). Satan, or Lucifer to give him his name, was a fallen angel who rebelled against God and who with other fallen angels was thrown out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15; II Peter 2:4; Jude 6). This was the start of the long, but ultimately futile war he has waged against God, the godly angels and those of humanity who have pledged their allegiance to follow God. (b) The Pleasure gained from the Fall (Genesis 3:1-7a) Eve’s first response was promising. She corrects Satan’s inference that God is being less than generous to them, but does point out the one restriction God had placed upon them. Now that he has engaged her in conversation, the devil then directly but subtly contradicts God by asserting that death would not follow disobedience to His command (v5). He tantalises her by suggesting that she could become godlike, knowing good and evil –if only she will disobey God. The possibility of gaining from an act of sin caused her to reflect on the pleasure of the act of sin (v6) and was followed by encouraging her husband to join her in this act of rebellion against their Creator. No-one sins because we think it will be painful or unpleasant or because we expect to be punished for it – the human mind rationalises even the most extreme behaviour to avoid facing up to reality and the truth of their situation. We need to be honest with children and young people that many forms of sinful behaviour are initially enjoyable, but the long-term consequences can be serious. No-where is this more apparent in our contemporary world than in the attitude to sexual activity, but every generation has its temptations and ‘favourite’ sins, so we must not excuse our own temptations as somehow less objectionable to God. For the last forty to fifty years our government has in ever increasing 2

measures opposed abstinence outside of marriage and promoted ever more ‘sex education’ by which they usually mean encouraging young people to engage in a range of activities ‘safely’ –that is without causing children to be conceived. However, should that happen an innocent child’s life can be snuffed out as an unfortunate mistake. Thankfully more and more people are starting to question that approach, especially in the USA, but we have a long way to go to win that debate in the public domain. (c) The Painful Consequences of the Fall (i) For Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:7b-24) The Times editorial of 6 December 2009 has the headline ‘Your sins will find you out’ – all can learn from Tiger’. In case anyone is unaware of the story it concerns the world’s greatest golfer Tiger Woods. He has made hundreds of millions of dollars from carefully chosen advertising on brands consistent with a clean-cut wholesome family image. It was Woods the faithful husband and devoted father that was portrayed every bit as much as Woods the successful golfer. All of us fail to live up to God’s perfect standards so our response to Tiger’s fall will be one of sadness for him and for his family; but also once again an awareness of our own vulnerability to making our own wrong choices. Sin separates us from God. It was Adam and Eve, not God, that caused them to hide from Him (Genesis 3:8-10). Their sense of their own sinfulness produced discomfort in the presence of a holy God. They had never before had a barrier to fellowship with God. It was followed by conflict between Adam and Eve. He blamed her and she in turn blamed Satan, in the guise of the snake. The ‘it wasn’e me’ / ‘pass the buck’ blame game had well and truly begun. Sin, in one respect is like old age, it never comes alone! The snake was cursed (3:14) and either it or the one it represented (Satan) would be in conflict with humanity in future generations.

Humanity was now alienated from fellowship with God. The blood of animals was shed to provide skins for their clothing (3:21); Sin brought division amongst people with a warning (3:16) that childbirth and relationships between men and women would now carry the potential for pain and abuse, disrespect and power struggles, in the place of the quality relationships God had envisaged for us. Their sin, as God had predicted (2:17) brought both spiritual and physical death; the former at once and the latter now guaranteed for each subsequent human on the planet. Humanity created for immortality was now born to die.

From the astonishing ages of these early people attaining the best part of a millennia each to the time of Moses when a hundred years was close to the upper limit, when he wrote Psalm 90:10, hinting that seventy years was now a remarkably good age to attain. The key phrase in Genesis 5 is then he died. Lifestyle choices now would change and diet. From God’s original intention of a vegetarian diet for humanity in a harmonious world (1:29-30), it became a carnivorous one in a world of almost everything becoming a potential dinner for some other creature, in a world of the survival of the fittest (9:1-4). Relations between creatures would be characterised by conflict and nature itself would suffer from the curse induced by human sin (3:17-19). The pleasures of sin produce a bitter harvest of often unforeseen consequences then and now. God is not a kill-joy. Obeying His standards is by far the best course of action to take. (ii) For Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) the apparently minor transgression of Adam and Eve was followed by the sin of murder in the next generation. Like a garment in need of mending or an illness untreated the consequences inevitably follow. When human sinfulness goes unchecked the threshold for greater depravity increases; Animal lives were taken following the first act of rebellion against God; now the act of defiance has increased to 3

destroying a creature created in the image of God. (iii) For the following generations prior to the Flood (Genesis 4:17-6:7) although there was significant economic and cultural advancement recorded in Genesis 4 the moral decline accelerated even further. An example is given of a man called Lamech openly boasting of murdering a man with no thought of God or the consequences of his actions (4:23-24). Genesis 6:5-7 summarised the event of human depravity prior to God’s decisive act of judgement: The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

6 The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain. 7 So the Lord said, I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them. If we can grasp something of the seriousness of sin and its consequences it will

reduce the extent of the temptation to indulge in it in the first place. How many broken lives and broken families must there be in an increasingly fractured society, before as a nation we come to our senses and heed God’s guidelines for living? It is, though, a personal question – what will it take for me and you to live for God as He intends us to?

2. The Punishment of Humanity for sin (Genesis 6:8-7:24; 9:18-11:9) Abraham many centuries later memorably declared with respect to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah: Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25). A God who is totally holy and righteous cannot overlook sin and must punish it when wrongdoers refuse to repent.

The devastating flood described in Genesis 7 serves as a marker of God’s seriousness at keeping His Word to stand by the principles He has laid down for us. However, all was not doom and gloom: (a) Light in the midst of darkness (Genesis 6:8-10, 22) 8 But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. In the surviving human population one family determined to retain biblical principles

and honour God. What pressure they must have been under to conform to the world, but praise God they stood firm. God is looking for men and women today. Will you put on His spiritual resources as Paul declares in Ephesians 6:10-20: Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. There are times when we can make advances for God’s kingdom. On

other occasions when the battle is fierce –our call is to maintain our witness, to stand firm.

Can He count on you and me to do that in our generation? This was not just for a few weeks, but for many years. In a beautiful sunny climate where they probably had a lot less rain than us Noah accepted God’s invitation to build the biggest boat on record up to that point in human history. It was as late as the nineteenth century before our country built as big a boat as this one. Genesis 6:22 states: Noah did everything just as God commanded him. What a testimony. (b) The outward devastation of the world (Genesis 6:11-21; 7:1-24) God takes sin seriously and the extent of this flood makes this point more eloquently than any words.

Genesis 7:22-23: Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. These events are referred to in a number of other biblical passages.

Examples include: To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again (Isaiah 54:9). Jesus warned that at His second coming there would be great similarities to the time of Noah in Matthew 24:38-39. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and 4

drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Peter mentions Noah and the flood in both of his books (I Peter

3:20; 2 Peter 2:5). In the second reference in 2 Peter it is in a context of warning people to trust the Lord rather than face condemnation at the Final Judgement and is included as one of several examples:…if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others…; (c) The inward devastation of the human heart (Genesis 9:18-11:9) Did such a judgement ensure that future generations of humanity were all godly upright people? Genesis 9:18-11:9 dispels any such notions: In Genesis 9:20-27 there is the profoundly sad picture of a drunken, naked, Noah so inebriated he is out for the count. This is the same Noah listed in the ‘hall of faith’ in Hebrews 11 –despite his alcohol problems. We all have our weaknesses that may not be known to other people, though He knows. However, God can use you and me despite our weaknesses – what an encouragement! In 9:22 Ham sees his father in this state and the careful choice of words in this verse indicate that he gazed with satisfaction or took delight in the situation and then he told with delight to his two brothers [H. Leupold, Genesis, p. 346] what Noah had done. The other sons who appear to have been believers were so upset they said nothing but deal appropriately with the situation. The situation got worse as Genesis 9:24 records that Noah found out what his younger son had done to him. Even within that small group of people the problem of sin had reared its ugly head. God had told them to spread out through the known world as their clans increased in size over the generations. This command was followed until the generation alive whose deeds were recorded in the first verses of chapter eleven. In Iraq they took a stand to defy God and build a tower to reach the heavens as it were to literally shake their fists in God’s face. Genesis 11:5 contains a beautiful word picture implying God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are having a look for this little tower – oh there it is down there! Implying its insignificance and confusing their speech so that the people spoke different languages and consequently began to spread out again into different parts of the known world. Had God’s plans for humanity been defeated? Would the creatures continually defy the Creator? Will you and I heed His call on our lives or will we resist His voice? This is very personal between each one of us and God? Praise God this was not the last word.

3. The Promise of Redemption for Humanity despite sin (Genesis3:15; Genesis 8:1-9:17) Praise God this was not the end. The first hint of redemption for humanity was given in Genesis 3:15. God being God will finish all that He has started. In the words of Paul recorded in Philippians 1:6: being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. What is God’s mission statement for His people?

Romans 8:29: For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. What does this means? When we become Christians God treats us like His Son because the righteousness of Jesus is credited to our account and our sins to His (II Corinthians 5:21) –although we still sin and fall short of His perfection. However, in heaven you and I will be perfect. God has determined this fact and will ensure that every child of God will be brought home and be as spiritually beautiful to our heavenly Father as His beloved Son is to Him, although we will always be creatures distinct from our wonderful triune Creator. (a)The Cost of redemption (Genesis 3:15) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." These words spoken to Satan, in the guise of a snake, were a

declaration of war against Satan and his followers declaring that although God’s people 5

would suffer persecution, oppression and martyrdom, they would triumph, especially through the One who would overcome Satan, triumphing over him on the cross and shouting finished (John 19:30) because Satan’s doom was sealed. In every generation some will choose to follow God and His purposes for humankind and others will by indifference or active opposition oppose them; from Abel who chose the correct sacrifice rather than Cain (Genesis 4) down to our own generation the responsibility and accountability rest upon each one of us.

Are you committed to living for Jesus? Have you consciously determined to follow Him? In one of his advertisements for Accenture, [a global management, consulting and technology services company], the image of Tiger Woods appears along with the words: "It's what you do next that counts." Much now depends on what Tiger Woods does next. If the American people are truly scandalized by his adultery, they must now hope and pray that this marriage and family can be rebuilt and sustained. Something of far greater consequence than an illustrious career in sports is at stake here. Tiger Woods the human being is of infinitely greater value than Tiger Woods the brand. [Al Mohler blog 14 Dec 09] "It's what you do next that counts – that

applies equally to each one of us –like relay runners on a team the baton of salvation and Christ-like living has been held out to each of us –can God count on you to determine to be an effective member of His team? (b) The Covenant of Promise (Genesis 8:1-9:17) After what must have seemed like an age in the ark carried about on the waters Genesis 8:1 begins: God remembered Noah… This is not implying that God had overlooked the people and animals in the ark. This word (used in Genesis 8:1; 9:15,16 (Noah); 30:22 (Rachel); Exodus 2:24; 6:5 (Israelites in Egypt); I Samuel 1:11 (Hannah);) implies nurture, protection and deliverance with a pre-planned strategy to carry out what needed to be done. [see Leupold, Genesis, p.308]. God is never taken by surprise. His judgement on sin is restrained by His love for and redemption of guilty sinners. He promised never to send another universal flood (Genesis 8:21-22) and confirmed that the seasons and order of nature would continue in the pattern He had planned for them. The rainbow in the sky would from that point onwards be a constant reminder to humanity of the grace of God and His everlasting covenant with them (Genesis 9:12-17). Our creation mandate was reaffirmed yet as a flawed humanity we receive His blessings for obedience and judgement for our rebellions against Him. How would the promised redemption prophesied in Genesis 3:15 become a reality? In the next study God reveals the next part of His kingdom vision in the call of a man Abraham.

6

Genesis 11:10-Deuteronomy The Promise of God’s Kingdom Introduction All of us have had our moments of confusion. You may have been on a journey to a meeting or a holiday destination and trying to follow the directions someone else has given you. They have exhorted you to relax as you cannot miss the place -by implication the directions they have given you will ensure that you cannot get lost! Most of us know from a fair number of past occasions that this is not necessarily the case. However, eventually we get our ‘eureka’ moments and find our way to our destination. This is all part of life’s rich tapestry, but it can be intensely frustrating at the time. Likewise in the Old Testament, particularly in the earlier books we can loose our way in the midst of the details of, for example, many journeys in the wilderness in Numbers or forms of various sacrifices for particular sins in Leviticus, as well as the general challenge of stepping back into the cultures of a particular part of the world of several thousand years ago. The Bible contains a series of covenants that God makes with His people to assure us that He is still on course to carry out all that He has promised to do, despite our falling into sin and facing its consequences as a race. The first covenant was with Noah (Genesis 9) –a promise that despite human sinfulness God would never again destroy the world by a flood. The sign of that covenant was the rainbow. The second covenant was with Abraham - that God would raise up a special nation from his descendants and give them a land of their own and that He would bless the world through Abraham and his descendants. The sign of that covenant was circumcision (Genesis 17). The third covenant was with Moses (Exodus 19-20) and was given in association with the Moral Law, the Ten Commandments. Its sign was the Sabbath. One of the reasons for the exile of the Israelites to Babylon was the failure to honour God’s day (II Chronicles 36:21). The Fourth Covenant was the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:331-34), prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in Jesus (Luke 22:17-20). God has judged Israel for breaking the old covenants, but this new one is personal between each individual and God. Its benefits are appropriated through the once-for-all time sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. There is a progression with each of these covenants. The first is an assurance of the grace of God to undeserving sinners. The second reminds us of the sovereignty of God in salvation in His choice of Abraham. The third covenant was with a nation, but not exclusively so, and their relationship with God. The fourth is universal to people of every race and people group who come to faith in God through His beloved Son Jesus.

1.The Era of the Patriarchs (Genesis 11:10-50) (a) Abraham: God’s Sovereign Call (Genesis 12:1-3)1The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

1

The call to Abraham appears to have come also to his father and the extended family that lived together in Ur, a fabulous city on the coast of the Persian Gulf. It is now located many miles inland but then was a fabulous place to live that was as advanced and comfortable an environment as anywhere in the world. It appears that the extended family moved north and west to the last major urban centre of Haran in Syria. This town was the last outpost of civilisation before entering the territory occupied by nomadic peoples in what we call Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. We will never know how many of them came to a faith in God and left the worship of the moon god Sin that was dominant in Ur. Yet the downgrading of lifestyle they had experienced on the way to Haran and the much simpler lifestyle enjoyed in that trading town ensured that the majority of the family were not prepared to downgrade any further. The prospect of living the rest of their days in a tent in the desert after the luxury of a two-story comfortable home by the sea at Ur was too much for them. Genesis 12:1-3 is probably a repeat revelation to Abraham of what God intended him to do. Gen.12:1 is the huge challenge to leave behind his beloved country; then to leave the nation he loved with no prospect of a return and then the hardest part of all to leave behind the extended family that meant so much to him because they were not willing to accept God’s call. It was a question of priorities for him then and us now. Where does the Lord come on the priority list?

Abraham agreed to let these precious ties go. Was he the loser? No! In giving up a land God had another for him. At Shechem, north of present day Jerusalem, Genesis 12:7 reports: The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. This promise was confirmed some time later in the vision recorded in Genesis 15:1-7: After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and 2

count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.7 He also said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

Promises of a land, a nation and a family with a bright future seemed a long way off to a couple who were unable to have children. In fact it was twenty five years after they had married before their son Isaac was born (Gen.12:4; 21:5); the hardest issue for Abraham was the timescale. What is more his descendants would need to leave the land and be absent for approximately 400 years before receiving the Promised Land as their inheritance (Genesis 15:13-15). How many of us live with disappointments concerning things we believe God has placed on our hearts? it may be even spheres of service in Christian ministry that have yet to open up? The message that comes from the life of Abraham and his family is one of patience.

In God’s time His purposes come to pass. God honoured the faith of Abraham twenty-five years after his call. Genesis 17:1-8: 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." What were the key blessings of this

covenant? The blessing of Isaac; a change of name Abram (honoured father) to Abraham (father of many (descendants / nations); the guarantee of the land as an everlasting possession (Gen 17:8); (b) Isaac: His Supernatural birth Abraham and Sarah had wanted to help God out of a predicament. God had promised them children and as both of them had reached their 80s they decided it was time to have a ‘Plan B’ –a child by Hagar the servant girl (Genesis 16). God said No! I meant what I said –your child will come, but they had to wait another fourteen years to hold Isaac in their arms. The supreme test was given to Abraham when he was asked if he was willing to give up his one and only son as a sacrifice (Genesis 22). God did not demand this sacrifice, but approximately two thousand years later God gave His one and only Son for us (John 3:16). This extraordinary nature of his birth was the key point of Isaac’s life, but he and Rebekah also had to wait twenty years for their promised heir – but they trusted God to provide –was that lesson learned on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22)? Twin sons Esau and Jacob were born, yet it was through the unpromising younger son that the promises of God to Abraham would be carried forward (Genesis 25:23). (c) Jacob: God’s Sacred Protection His appalling treatment of his brother (Genesis 27) led him to leave the land, but God promised to bring him back to ensure the covenant remained secure (Genesis 28:15); He committed his life to God that day at Bethel (Genesis 28:20-21), and confirmed it many years later on his return to Bethel (Genesis 35:3), and God also reaffirmed that the covenant promises made to Abraham and Isaac were equally for Jacob and his descendants. 11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."

3

Jacob, a most unpromising young man who deceived his father and stole from his family, yet who learned his lesson at the hands of his equally unpleasant uncle Laban. If God can work in the life of Jacob, He can certainly succeed in your life and mine. There are no hopeless cases in God’s eyes. If you open your heart and life to Him He can transform your life and make it useful in His service for his glory and the benefit of other people. (d) Joseph: His Special Work In this dysfunctional family that contained two murderers (Simeon and Levi Genesis 34); and Judah, the black sheep of the family who in his earlier years rebelled against everything they stood for and led a sexually promiscuous life (Genesis 38); there was Joseph the eldest child of Jacob’s favourite wife who got the best clothes and was spoiled rotten. His brothers sold him into slavery for a modest sum of money. He ended up out of sight in Egypt as the slave of Potiphar, chief executioner and head of security for the Pharaoh himself (Genesis 37). Amazingly after interpreting dreams for two fellow prisoners and Pharaoh himself (Genesis 40-41) Joseph went from rags to riches and became the Vizier (Prime Minister) of Egypt. Joseph organised the agricultural industry in Egypt to prepare for a seven year famine in that region which provided food for countless numbers of people in the region, including for his family who were invited to stay in Egypt by Pharaoh himself. God saved the lives of His covenant people, together with surrounding nations through this extraordinary work carried through by Joseph. In it all we see the providence of God in the most extraordinary of circumstances. The verse in the story is in Genesis 50:20 where Joseph tells his brothers that they had intended to harm him, but God used their evil plans to carry out His purposes. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

2. Redemption from Egypt (Exodus) (a)The Exodus from Egypt (Exodus chapters 1-18) Egyptian chronology BC is very complex, but approximately four centuries have passed during which Jacob’s descendants had been treated well by the African dynasty that had ruled the country over those years, due to its policy of equal treatment for citizens regardless of their racial background. However, a new dynasty came to power that wanted a racially pure Egyptian state and the subjugation of all the minority ethnic groups to a state of slavery. It is doubtful if the ‘Israelites’ would ever have chosen to become a nation and leave their comfortable lifestyle in Egypt had this crisis not arisen. The suffering of the slaves was intense. Pharaoh passed a law demanding the killing of all Israelite boys. Many must have perished, but some survived including Moses whose mother had hidden in a reed basket alongside the Nile and who was rescued by a royal princess. He grew up in the royal palaces, received a full education and served in the Egyptian Army, apparently leading an army in a campaign against the Ethiopian Army that had been successful in previous battles over the Egyptians. Moses as general of the Egyptian army concluded a peace on favourable teems to the Pharaoh and married the daughter of the King of Ethiopia (Josephus, Antiquities, Book 2, chapter 9, section 2 to chapter 11 section 1) . However, Moses was conscious of his Israelite ethnic origins and one day back in Egypt killed a highranking Egyptian official for ill-treating a slave. A warrant was put out for his arrest and he fled to the desert south of Egypt where he remained for the next forty years. While in the desert working as a shepherd God called him to bring this motley bunch of slaves out of 4

Egypt and lead them back to the Promised Land (Exodus 3-4). Moses (aged 80) was most reluctant and only agreed in the end if he could take his elder brother Aaron (aged 83) with him to speak to Pharaoh. The cruelty of the oppression intensified for the Israelites following Moses’ request for their freedom. God sent ten plagues, which attacked the supposed power of the main Egyptian gods to persuade Pharaoh to let them go. The final plague was the death of the first-born. However, God told the Israelites to hold a special meal called a Passover, putting some of the lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their homes so that the angel of death would spare their children. The death of Egyptian children, but not Israelite ones resulted in their extraordinary exodus from Egypt. This remarkable journey of possibly as many as 2.5 million people and their animals and other possessions was a defining symbol of the Israelite nation to this day. (b) The Giving of the Moral Law (Exodus chapters 19-24) The foundational principles for the new nation –the Ten Commandments- were given at Mount Horeb (Sinai), together with particular applications to that newly formed nation about how they should relate to one another and then how they should relate to God. (c) The Tabernacle (Exodus 25-40) The remaining chapters of Exodus cover the creation and erection of the Tabernacle (their place of worship), together with an account of their fall into idolatry worshipping a golden calf while Moses was meeting with God and receiving the Ten Commandments.

3. Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness (Leviticus) The book of Leviticus is primarily concerned with the spiritual lives of the Israelites and how they should worship God. [picture of the Tabernacle] (a) How we should worship God (Leviticus chapters 1-16 (i) The Offerings (1-7) The first three offerings –the burnt, grain and fellowship (or peace) offering were voluntary. By contrast the last two, the sin and guilt offerings covered the commission of sin and the incurring of guilt. The whole burnt offering was a symbol of personal consecration to God. It was viewed by later Jewish followers of Jesus as a picture of Jesus’ death on the cross. Paul in Ephesians told his readers in Eph. 5:2: live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. In our language a person offering this sacrifice was saying God you can have

all of me. Have you ever said that to God? The grain offering sometimes seen as a poor man’s burnt offering was more likely an offering that was a means of saying thank you to God for blessings received. It was a sweet smelling aroma. Do you and I have times when we simply come to say thank you to God with no other agenda than to express appreciation? The fellowship offering was used to in a variety of ways in the Old Testament, including elements of thankfulness and rededication of a person’s life to God. It was usually carried out in a social context and was followed by as meal. The shedding of blood denoted the seriousness of our relationship with God and fellow believers. It is not something we take for granted –but something precious and valuable. The sin offering is self evident with the sacrifice made so that the priest will make atonement for them (the worshipper) (Leviticus 4:20). This is an expensive offering for an ordinary person and symbolises the seriousness of sin and the cost of our redemption – how seriously do we take sin? The guilt offering is a warning to God’s people not to make grace too cheap. It was a blood sacrifice like the sin offering, but sought to address any other violations of God’s Law that might not have been 5

covered by the sin offering. Its intention was to cleanse the conscience of worshippers.

Praise God for the blood of Jesus. I John 1:9: 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (ii) The Priesthood (8-10) These chapters are a challenge to those leading acts of worship to ask for the cleansing of our sins and come with a right attitude to enter God’s presence. These words were spoken specifically to the priests then but under the New Covenant these words are applicable to us all. I Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. We no longer need a priest as under the Old Covenant to pray on our behalf now by the power of the Spirit all of us can come directly to the Father in prayer (Ephesians 2:18) –praise God! (iii) Purification rites for the People (11-15) holiness is not just for God’s day –we are called to honour Him 24/7 –not just when with fellow believers –so the language on our lips and the attitudes in our hearts should be the same in principle wherever we are. (iv) The Day of Atonement (16) This is the most solemn day in the year when the high priest goes into the Holy of Holies to makes atonement for the sins of the nation after first offering a sacrifice for his own sins. However, on this occasion an additional animal was taken not be to used as a sacrifice but as a living scapegoat over whom the sins of the people were confessed and then released into the desert away from the community as a visual symbol of the cost of human sinfulness. (b) How we live holy lives (Leviticus chapter 17-27) (i) Rules for the people (17-20) about a range of lifestyle issues in that cultural context (ii) Rules for the priests (2122) that have similar moral boundaries (iii) Rules for the observance of religious festivals (23-24:9) here with reference to the major festivals of the Jewish faith (iv) Rules for living and working in the Promised Land (24:10-27) these would be applicable in the next generation when the Israelites crossed the River Jordan and entered the Promised Land.

4. Walking by Doubts and not by Faith (Numbers) The book of Numbers at its heart is an account of the travels and a selective record of major incidents that occurred in the lives of the Israelite people who came out of Egypt and then of their children. The first section covers (a)The Generation that came out of Egypt (Numbers 1-14) the culmination of this section was the sending of the twelve spies to Canaan to gain the information required prior to a formal invasion. This work was done thoroughly and a full report was given to the nation. However, only two of the twelve, Caleb and Joshua, recommended proceeding as God had directed them. The rest of the spies, followed by the people, declined to honour God and obey His guidance. As a result every person who voted against entry would die in the wilderness. Of the national leaders only Caleb and Joshua would live to see that wonderful day thirty-eight years later. In effect the nation was hanging around waiting for the vast majority to die in the desert as a result of their unbelief. The next section (b) Learning the Lessons of Spiritual Failure (Numbers 15-20) contains some very sad information as the people struggled to admit they had sinned. A group of men defiantly challenged Moses and Aaron to stand down and let them take over the leadership of the nation. It was in effect a veiled attack on God. The fire of the Lord fell and consumed them and the nation got the message. The chapter of history of that first 6

generation was closing and a new one led by younger people was on the verge of beginning.

The third section of the book describes events in the period prior to the entry to the Promised Land. (c) The New Generation that went into the land (Numbers 21-36) It was not straightforward. An attempt to undermine God’s plan was devised by a Moabite king Balak who sought to hire a prophet Balaam, who believed in the one true God, to sabotage the entry of the Israelites into Canaan. It failed. The people were then challenged afresh to keep their eyes on God and His plans for their lives and not be sidetracked by the values of the majority culture around them. In every generation, although in different guises, the same challenge is presented. Will you and I be faithful to God or will we succumb to the secular and atheistic values so often promoted by the Government and in the media?

5. Preparing to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy) The last book in this section of the Old Testament, Deuteronomy (the word means ‘second law’) comprises Moses’ final sermon or sermons to the nation prior to his death and their entry into the Promised Land. It is a rehearsal and summary of information previously given , but serves as a reminder that God has not changed. His message must be presented clearly to each generation and a response be offered as we accept the gospel for ourselves. God has no grand-children! The first section is: (a) Looking Backwards (Deut. 1-11) (i) Review of the Way Since Sinai (1-3) The people hearing this message did not make that journey or did so as young children. Moses concluded it by warning that because of disobedience hardly any of the adults who had left Egypt would enter the Promised Land. By implication they were warned not to make the same mistake and to follow the guidance of their new leader Joshua. (ii) Review of the Law since Sinai (4-11) God’s work must be done God’s way. The Ten Commandments were repeated and strict adherence commanded.

In Deuteronomy 6:6—9 Moses spelt out clearly what this meant in practice: These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. God’s Word had to dominate their whole

worldview and those principles passed on to succeeding generations. As a parent or grandparent do you invest time in both honouring God in your own life and commending it to the younger members of your own family? (b) Looking Forward (Deut. 12-34)The second part of the book turns to the future. It begins with: (i) Final Instructions for life in Canaan (12-30) these guidelines covered a wide range of aspects of their daily lives. It was a reminder that our faith is not just about what we do in church, but should influence every aspect of our lives. (ii) The Closing events in Moses’ life (31-34) The greatest leader in the nation’s history was soon to pass on to his eternal reward. Deut.34:10-12 are astonishing words: Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. The promised earthly kingdom would soon be on

the verge of fulfilment. Remember God always keeps His promises. We serve a faithful God, Amen 7

God’s Big Picture 4 Joshua to II Chronicles The Partial Kingdom Introduction There is a difference between walking by faith and reckless folly, but the boundaries between the two may be smaller than we realise! Where, for example, would you place the actions of Robert Park, an American of Korean descent, who walked into North Korea from China over the frozen Tumen River on Christmas Day, 25 December, 2009 with a letter for its President Kim Jong Il asking him to stop persecuting Christians? Mr Park wished to highlight the suffering of Christians and was willing to risk his own life to accomplish that goal. [The Times 30 Dec. 2009] He was immediately imprisoned by the North Korean authorities, but released on 5 February 2010 following representations by the Swedish embassy that handles all matters in that country relating to America [BBC News website 5 Feb. 2010]. Or the actions of Moscow mayor Boris Yeltsin, standing in front of the tanks in Russia, when a Communist coup was unsuccessfully attempted between 19 and 21 August 1991? Yeltsin's decision, that day, to defy an attempt by old-line Communist Party officials to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev came at a moment as crucial as any in Russia's long and violent history. The leaders had failed to gain control of the White House, the Russian Federation's parliamentary building and the main rallying point for pro-democracy Muscovites. When army tanks rolled up to the building on the morning of Aug. 19, Yeltsin, then the recently elected President of Russia, seized the moment. He strode outside, leapt atop an armoured vehicle and delivered a speech in the fiery tradition of the old Bolsheviks whose communist heritage he was at that moment dismantling. "Soldiers, officers, generals," he boomed. "The clouds of terror and dictatorship are gathering over the whole country. They must not be allowed to bring eternal night." Some of the soldiers, already doubtful of the coup's legality and loath to open fire on unarmed fellow citizens, trained their guns away from the building and joined in its defence. The coup collapsed, and within a year the Soviet Union was no more. [Time Magazine 23 April 2007] Would this second

generation of Israelites accept the promises and obey the commands of the God who called them out of Egypt? God had guaranteed that the Israelites would take possession of the Land of Canaan, but that first generation did not have the faith to believe that it would happen and He allowed them to die without seeing the blessings that could have been theirs. This is a salutary lesson for us all. Will you /will I receive or lose the blessings God has prepared for us? A true believer is secure in their salvation because of Christ –though there will be some evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work within them, but we can miss the rewards of faith and the encouragements He has for us if we fail to live for Him as we should.

1.Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan (Joshua) (a)Entering the Land (1-5) Joshua who had been called a generation earlier as Moses’ servant and who had successfully led the Israelites in battle against an Amorite army (Exodus 17:8-16), shortly after their departure from Egypt, was now given the ultimate responsibility as the leader of the nation. Joshua 1 speaks of his call to office and the challenge to live in strict conformity to the Word of God and to exhibit the necessary courage to lead the people forward into the inheritance God had prepared for them. Joshua 1:7-9 gives the key words of his commission: Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." The Lord granted a big encouragement to him and

the nation in the report of the spies sent to gather information on the big city state of Jericho that stood in their pathway, across the River Jordan. This encouragement was needed because 1

the problems before them seemed insurmountable. The river was at its height –too deep for them to cross and the city of Jericho had huge thick walls and they had no siege weapons to enable them to conquer a fortified city. What they didn’t know, but archaeologists discovered in the last century, was that the King of Jericho had stockpiled enough food in the city to withstand a siege far longer than the Israelites could have mounted. However, Rahab, the owner of a House of ill repute told the spies that she hid on her property these words: Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below (Joshua 2:8-11). It appears that this woman had become a believer in the most

unlikely location. Her life was spared when Jericho fell and remarkably she became an ancestor of our Lord. Matthew 1:5 records that she married a Jew named Nashon, the granddad of Boaz, who is a central character in the book of Ruth. It is remarkable that of the significant people highlighted by Matthew in his genealogy (which in that social context usually only included men) listed four Gentile women believers: Tamar (Genesis 38 – a single parent); Rahab (Joshua 2); Ruth (Book of Ruth) and Bathsheba (II Samuel 11; I Kings 1). God can use the most unlikely people to do His work – don’t think what you can do is not potentially significant for God’s kingdom! The first miracle here was the stopping of the water when they wished to cross. They could not see that a blockage at a place upriver had allowed them the necessary time to cross before the water surged back. The miracle was in the timing for this vast multitude of people. They had to walk into the water (Joshua 3:1417), their part, then God did the rest. (b) Conquering the Land (6-12) the hardest challenge was the first one –taking Jericho. What did God tell them to do –march round the walls (Joshua 6)! He did the rest –a mighty earthquake at the very time the trumpets blew knocked the walls down outwards (confirmed by an archaeological team from Toronto University in the 1980s); the question was this: would they trust God enough to take the rest of the land?

Sadly at little Ai (Joshua 7-8) and with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9) they failed to seek the Lord and act as He had commanded them. The lesson was clear –will we put our lives totally in His hands in our generation? God has not changed. (c) Dividing up the Land (13-24) The rest of the book is mainly taken up with the division of the land amongst the different tribes.

The first map shows which parts of the territory were given to which tribe: Gad, Reuben and part of the tribe of Manasseh were given land outside of Canaan on the east side of the Jordan – fertile farming land but very vulnerable to attacks from raiders and invading armies. The land settled by the tribes of Asher, Naphtali and Dan is today southern Lebanon.

2

3

2. Judges and the Cycle of Sin Grace and Deliverance (Judges and Ruth) The period from Joshua to the exile in Babylon at the end of this study covers the best part of 900 years. In terms of Scotland’s history this would cover a period of time equivalent to 1110AD to the present day – i.e. 162 years before the birth of William Wallace (1272-1305) and slightly longer before that of Robert the Bruce (1274-1329), to 2010. The era of the Judges covered approximately 400 years. It was a cyclical round of apostasy against God resulting in occupation by a neighbouring power, followed by a cry to God for help and repentance from sin and the deliverance under the leadership of various courageous individuals. (a) Apostasy six main eras (i) Judges 3:5-8: for eight years occupied by an Iraqi King (ii) Judges 3:12-14: ruled by the king of Moab for eighteen years; (iii) Judges 4:1-3: under the control of the king of Canaan, Jabin, who ruled a city-state around Hazor (Northwest of the Sea of Galilee) for twenty years; (iv) Judges 6:1-10: for seven years terrorised by the Midianites, a nomadic tribal confederation; (v) & (vi) Judges 10:6-18 and 13:1: ruled by the Philistines, a people of Greek ancestry, who lived in five coastal city states in the south west of Canaan, for eighteen and forty years respectively. (b) Deliverance God used thirteen key leaders to rescue the Israelites from their enemies. (i) Othniel (Judges 3:9-11), younger brother of Caleb, the colleague of Joshua, rescued them from the Iraqi King CushanRishathaim. (ii) Ehud (Judges 3:15-20) delivered them from the King of Moab; another leader Shamgar (Judges 3:31) defeated a Philistine invasion, saving the nation from occupation after Othniel’s death. (iii) Deborah (Judges 4-5) was a lady prophetess and ruler who organised the opposition to Jabin King of Canaan. Barak, the army commander, declined to go into battle unless she stood next to him. She was clearly a lady of authority who was not impressed by weak men! (iv) Gideon (Judges 6-8) won a great victory against the odds, because God was with him against the Midianites. Tola (Judges 10:1-2) and Jair (Judges 10:3-5) were also able leaders in Israel. (v) Jephthah (Judges 11-12) had a traumatic childhood, but God enabled to overcome this disadvantage, become the leader in Israel and win a dramatic victory over the Ammonites (modern day Jordan). After him Ibzan (Judges 12:8-10); Elon (Judges 12:11-12) and Abdon (Judges 12:13-15) were appointed to serve as the national leader. The final named judge was Samson (Judges 13-16) whose lifestyle was more in keeping with Hollywood than as a man of God. Yet God used this extremely flawed character to win victories over the Philistines. He was closer to mythical American war hero ‘John Rambo’ than the kind of man or woman we might want to see serving in our churches today. However, God had a work for him to do, as He does for each and every one of us. (c) Key verse Judges 21:25 the later chapters of Judges are bleak and give us a glimpse of life without God’s moral law. Judges 21:25 stated: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. Yet not everyone was like that. The short book that follows Judges gives an unexpected example of a model believer. (d) The Model Believer (Ruth) She was a Moabite girl yet she came to faith in the God of Israel and her devotion to the Lord was a shining light in a dark place. In time she met an Israelite man Boaz, the grandson of Rahab, and their marriage produced a son Obed, who would become the grandfather of the greatest Israelite king David. Ruth, a Gentile, an ethnic minority woman, was the example of faith in that generation.

4

3. Samuel and Saul and the Creation of the Kingdom (I Samuel) (a) Samuel the last of the Judges (I Samuel 1-8) the figure of Samuel was the link between the old largely lawless era of the Judges to the new period of the rule of the Kings of Israel and Judah. It begins with the remarkable story of his birth and how as a young boy he was given a revelation by God of the forthcoming judgement on the nation and in particular on the family of Eli, the priestly leader of the Israelite people (I Samuel 3). It was a time of national crisis when one thing went wrong after another. The Ark of the Covenant was lost in battle to the Philistines, although it was eventually returned and the Philistines subdued (I Samuel 67). However, the clamour rose up for a king to lead them (I Samuel 8). Samuel warned them that setting up a system with kings and politicians would make matters worse rather than better –but the people were not convinced. I Samuel 8: 19-22 reported: 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town." The

era of the Jewish Kings and their kingdoms was now beginning. However, it would at best be 5

a partial kingdom, falling well short of the ideal Davidic kingdom where justice and righteousness would reign supreme. (b) Saul the first King of the United Kingdom (I Samuel 9-31) A shy and extremely tall young man from the tribe of Benjamin was chosen for this important position. In his early years things appeared to go well, especially in the great military victory over the Ammonites (I Samuel 11). However, in later years the spiritual mistakes increased –from taking Samuel’s place in offering a sacrifice at Gilgal (I Samuel 13); to ridiculous vows about fasting in a war zone (I Samuel 14) and especially his disobedience regarding the judgement on the evil Amalekites (I Samuel 15), led to his removal from his post. I Samuel 15:22-23 records Samuel’s sad declaration from God concerning the end of Saul’s reign: But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king." In the

language of school reports it could have been said of him. ‘Saul had great gifts but he never achieved his full potential’. What about you and me –God has gifted us and blessed us with opportunities for service in our generation –what judgement will God make on our ‘report card’?

4. David and the Consolidation of the Kingdom (I Samuel 16-31 / II Samuel / I Chronicles) (a) David’s Formative Years (I Samuel 16-31) The story is well-known of David’s call from serving as a shepherd boy to rule his country (I Samuel 16). It was not an unexpected appointment in many ways. He had shown extraordinary bravery in fighting the Philistine warrior Goliath (I Samuel 17), a giant of a man at over nine feet tall, with the strength to match, in one-to-one combat. Probably even more nerve-racking were Saul’s many attempts to kill him (I Samuel 18-31); this crisis only ended when Saul and his closest male relatives and army were slaughtered in battle on Mount Gilboa. David and his growing army appeared to be taking charge of running parts of the country, while Saul’s involvement in the occult (I Samuel 18:10; 19:9; 28) led to a complete loss of focus by the first King of Israel. However, God honed David’s leadership skills and extraordinary self-discipline to prepare him to take over as the second king of Israel. Although his reign began with much sorrow when Jonathan, Saul’s eldest son and David’s best friend, was killed in the same battle in which Saul had died (I Samuel 31-II Samuel 1), the nation recognised that he was God’s man for the new era ahead. David would never have desired to experience the huge difficulties he had passed through in those years, yet through them he gained the wisdom and insight that proved vital during his reign as King. Many of the songs he wrote, recorded in the book of Psalms, are a testimony to his growth in the faith at this time. God can bring good out of the difficult times we go through as well. The events themselves may be sad or bad, but like Joseph (Genesis 50: 20) in time we can come to see how God has worked in us and through us for our good and for His glory. (b) David’s Triumphant Years (II Samuel 1-10) After his appointment as ruler over Israel and Judah was confirmed the early years saw many great military victories and national pride and morale had never been so high. Yet at the time of his greatest triumphs the seeds of David’s downfall were sown. His famous self-discipline began to slip and a catastrophic decision to pressure a neighbour’s wife, Bathsheba, into an affair led to the murder of her husband Uriah and a loss of respect for David amongst the people closest to him. It led into (c) David’s Troubled Years (II Samuel 11-24) The kingdom was salvaged 6

by Nathan, David’s pastor, daring to challenge him about his misconduct, using a story that led David to own up to what he had done. II Samuel 12:7-10, the prophetic judgement upon David certainly came true. Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' One tragedy after another befell his household and is recorded

in the remaining chapters of II Samuel. How did it come about? Like the revelations about the England football captain John Terry (in February 2010) it appears he had completely lost a sense of perspective on life. Power and status had seduced him into thinking because he could do something right or wrong, it didn’t matter which he chose, because he was the king after all and the rules only applied to other people. It is a salutary warning to us all to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus not on the declining moral standards around us. Paul told the Colossian Church: Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:2-3).God is always watching us urging us on to be the best that we can be for Him. May we not disappoint Him. 5. Solomon and the Climax of the Kingdom (I Kings 1-11 / II Chronicles 1-9) (a) The Wisdom of King Solomon (I Kings 1-10; II Chronicles 1-9; Proverbs; Song of Solomon) The person chosen by David to succeed him as king was not one of his older sons which led to serious tensions in the family for some years. Bathsheba’s son Solomon was chosen to fulfil this calling. He was a well-educated man, but more importantly was a particularly wise ruler –most of the time. His judgment in a maternity case (I Kings 3) was celebrated throughout the land. He was credited with writing many of the sayings recorded in the book of Proverbs and the love song in the appropriately named Song of Solomon. His reign was peaceful. David’s army had defeated all their enemies and for a generation its fruits were enjoyed throughout the land. It was a period of material prosperity with many public buildings being erected, not least the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (I Kings 6-9. Material goods in abundance and guests, including the Queen of Sheba (called Yemen today -I Kings 10), came on visits to the land, something not experienced before in Israelite history. Yet all was not well. At the height of his fame and success –like his father – Solomon made choices that were disastrous not only for him and his family but also for the nation. (b) The Folly of King Solomon (I Kings 11; Ecclesiastes). The book of Ecclesiastes, essentially a series of sermons on what life would be like without God and why this is not a suitable lifestyle to lead, attributed to King Solomon, appears as a wise older man reflecting on the folly of indulging in a hedonistic lifestyle of the proverbial ‘wine women and song’. I Kings 11 records how he sought innumerable sexual relationships with women from a wide variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds who influenced him to turn away from the Lord.

[The yellow area on the map shows the extent of the territory conquered by David and ruled over by Solomon.]

7

God’s judgement was prophesied to him in I Kings 11:9-13: The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although He had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept My covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen." This judgement was fulfilled early in the reign of

Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Are there particular temptations that could tempt you to take your eyes off the Lord and His standards for your life? If there are - deal with them quickly and avoid the consequences of painful moral failures.

8

6. Kings of Israel and Judah and the Crumbling of the Kingdom (I Kings 12-II Kings / II Chronicles 10-36) (a) The First Eighty Years of the two kingdoms (I Kings 12-22) The remainder of I Kings covers the reigns of eight kings in the larger northern kingdom where Jereboam, Omri and Ahab were the most significant rulers. What they had in common was little regard for the God of Israel. In the same time period there were only five kings of Judah with two lengthy reigns for the devout monarchs Asa and Jehoshaphat. The future was becoming increasingly ominous for the Northern kingdom as the mighty Assyrian Empire that encompassed parts of four modern countries, Turkey Syria, Iraq and Iran had begun to consolidate its power.

(b) An Account of the Kings of Israel –till the Assyrian Captivity in 722BC (II Kings 1-17) Twelve kings of Israel followed Ahab, but none seriously followed the Lord as He desired. II Kings 17: 18-23 summed up the reason for Israel’s judgement and exile: So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; He afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until He thrust them from His presence.21 When He tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them 23 until the Lord removed them from His presence, as He had warned through all His servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there. These are very solemn words.

God takes sin seriously and it has its consequences. Are there lessons we need to learn for our lives in the twenty-first century from this appalling tragedy? (c) An Account of the Kings of Judah –till the Babylonian Captivity in 587/6BC (II Kings 11-25 / II Chronicles 10-36) 9

Although far from an ideal situation Judah had some good kings in Joash, Azariah (Uzziah), Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah, yet the others dishonoured God and turned the hearts of the nation away from God. Three waves of exiles in 605BC; 597BC and finally 587/6BC led to the destruction of the southern kingdom of Judah by the new superpower the Babylonians.

Was this the end? The people whose thoughts were reflected in Psalm 137 probably thought so. By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" The partial kingdom was coming to a close. One

greater than King Solomon would teach God’s people (Luke 11:29-32); Before His coming, though, a whole series of prophets would speak His Words to the nation, but not only to the Jews, but to all the people of God who were willing to heed what God had to say. Will we heed His message in the twenty-first century and live our lives in a manner honouring to Him? I hope and pray we will for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

10

11

God’s Big Picture 5: II Chronicles to Malachi The Prophesied Kingdom Introduction On 2 April 2009 history of the ‘wrong’ variety was made in the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, USA, when a priest was defrocked for ‘abandoning the Communion of The Episcopal Church’. At a time when the Episcopal Church in the USA has become known for tolerating all kinds of departures from historic orthodoxy this course of action was seen as something of a surprise. What had the Rev Ann Holmes Redding done to merit this ultimate sanction? As far back as 2006 this lady had been attending an inter-faith gathering where she had been ‘moved by Muslim prayers’. As a result of that experience she had become a practising Muslim. However, she claimed that this in no way contradicted her beliefs as a follower of Jesus Christ and that she could be ‘100 per cent’ Muslim and Christian. This was a step too far for the Bishop, Geralyn Wolf, who promptly suspended her from carrying out ‘all her priestly duties while giving her the opportunity to reflect on the Christian faith and her beliefs.’ Ann Redding had until April 09 to reconsider her ways, but as a result of her insistence that she could be both a Muslim and Christian the bishop had no choice but to depose her from her office. [www.christianpost.com/church/Denomination/2009/04/Episcopal-priestdefrocked-aft seen 3.4.09] Many people in Israel during the pre-exilic period would have sympathised with this Episcopal priest. They felt that it was okay both to worship Yahweh the God of Israel and the Canaanite god Baal. Time and again the prophets of the Lord would protest against this idolatry and unacceptable practise –the most famous example was Elijah’s famous message on Mount Carmel, during the time of the reign of Ahab, King of the northern kingdom of Israel, recorded in I Kings 18:16-45. His famous challenge: Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. 22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire— he is God."Then all the people said, "What you say is good." Time and again this prophetic call to

the people to return to their God was made by different prophets using their own distinctive personalities to express the same message in different social and political contexts.

1.The Precursors of the Prophets From Moses and Aaron to Elijah and Elisha Moses was undoubtedly the first prophets of Israel even if he was known more for his inspiring leadership of the nation for over forty years. In Deuteronomy 18:15-19 we read: 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."17 The Lord said to me: "What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. Peter, in Acts 3:18-23, refers back to this passage and declares that

Jesus is the One being spoken of by Moses. God had a unique relationship with Moses as Numbers 12:6-8a: "Listen to my words: "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. 7 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in 1

all My house. 8 With him I speak face to face [Hebrew ‘mouth to mouth’ ie by an audible voice], clearly and not in riddles; God revealed His purposes to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3) and used him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. It was through Moses that God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel at Mount Sinai which led to the formation of the nation of Israel with its laws and principles for the society which would be formed once they entered the Promised Land. All the prophets after Moses hold up the Law of God like a mirror against which to judge the conduct of the people of Israel. They plead with the people to be faithful to God’s covenant and equally call them to repentance and restoration when they have gone astray. The covenant promises are set on a conditional basis with blessings for obedience and cursing and judgement for disobedience. This is set out most plainly in Deuteronomy 28 which begins with the blessings, for example 28:1-6: If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: 3You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. If they

failed to honour God’s commands then the curses (punishments) would follow (Deuteronomy 28:15-20). Deuteronomy 30:1-10 covers a future possibility of serious sin by the nation resulting in exile from the land. Did that mean the covenant was null and void? 1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where He scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. 8 You will again obey the Lord and follow all His commands I am giving you today. 9 Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as He delighted in your fathers, 10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep His commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. The blessings are conditional,

but if the nation honours God the promises are assured.

In future generations there were prophets of the Lord; some like Samuel were very prominent in the nation and large sections of I Samuel covers incidents in his life and ministry. Others such as Nathan, King David’s personal pastor, appear less frequently, but on significant occasions. In his case to proclaim the prophecy that declared the kingdom to David’s descendants in perpetuity (II Samuel 7) and the rebuke when David sinned with Bathsheba (II Samuel 12). In the courts of the Kings of Israel and Judah specific prophets were invited to speak to the ruler and his government leaders at critical points in the nation’s history. Men like Ahijah (I Kings 11) and Micaiah (I Kings 22) of whom we know very little provided 2

incredibly accurate revelation of future events and wisdom about current situations. Elijah (I Kings17-2 Kings 2) and Elisha (I Kings 19-II Kings 13) are the most prominent of these itinerant speaking prophets whose messages were rarely written down, but who had a huge influence in the nation during some very difficult years. It is difficult to categorise all the individuals labelled as prophets in the Old Testament yet Peter in II Peter 1:21 gives a good description of what they were doing in God’s name: For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2. The Pre-Exilic Prophets Chronology of the Prophets before the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722/1BC Prophet

Approximate dates

Kings of Israel

Kings of Judah

Obadiah

845BC

Joram

Jehoram

Joel

835BC

Jehu

Joash

Jonah

782BC

Jeroboam II (Assyrian King Shalmaneser IV)

Amaziah and Uzziah

Hosea

760-720BC

Jeroboam II, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah

Amos

760BC

Jereboam II

Uzziah

Isaiah

739-685BC

Pekah, Hoshea

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh

Micah

737-690BC

Pekah, Hoshea

Jotham , Ahaz, Hezekiah

A new era of prophetic ministry developed with the prophets who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, to write down their messages, either by their own hand or using a scribe. What do we know about these writing prophets? Obadiah, the earliest of them, is possibly the most obscure. He lived in the southern kingdom of Judah. The one message that has survived was directed at the neighbouring Edomite people around 845BC. Joel also lived in or near Jerusalem and delivered his message around 835BC. It was a call to the nation to repent of their sins with the promise of blessings from God in the future for Jews that honoured God with a restoration of the kingdom centred on Jerusalem. Jonah came from Gath-hepher (today a town called El Meshed, several miles north of Nazareth. He was probably one of the leaders of the schools of the prophets in the later years of Elisha. His remarkable prophecy about the success of the military campaigns of Jereboam II, the greatest ruler of the northern 3

kingdom, in terms of the success of his reign and its length (but not from a spiritual point of view!), dates his ministry from that era. The book of Jonah (written around 782BC) was a passionate attack on a form of Israelite nationalism that despised people of other ethnic backgrounds and showed no interest in sharing the good news of the Gospel with them. It revealed the missionary heart of God for Gentiles as well as Jews. Hosea, based in the northern kingdom of Israel proclaimed God’s Word for around forty years from 760-720BC. His powerful and painful messages that described Israel’s unfaithfulness to God were illustrated by the example of his own marital struggles. Despite the serial unfaithfulness of his wife, he persevered in loving her and declared that God would restore successfully his wayward people to fellowship with Him. Amos was a farm worker (a shepherd) from Tekoa, six miles south of Bethlehem. His blunt messages in Bethel, the home of the spiritual leaders of the Northern kingdom Israel, in 760BC, shocked the religious establishment who arranged for him to be expelled from Israel and sent back to Judah (Amos 7:10-13). The ostentatious display of wealth by the privileged few alongside the suffering of the many desperately poor provoked his blunt denunciation of this injustice. God’s judgement would fall on Israel, but a people honouring to God in a future generation would come back to reclaim the land. Isaiah (739-685) and Micah (737-690) were based in Jerusalem, capital city of the southern kingdom of Judea. Isaiah was related to the royal family in Judah and lived his life in or around the royal court. His book, constantly attacked by liberal theologians and wrongly attributed to a number of unknown authors, contains a number of recurring themes such as his constant references to God as ‘the holy one of Israel’; in addition his emphasis on ‘Emmanuel’ –God with us –pointing to God’s closeness with His people of that day and pointing forward to the coming Messiah, was a wonderful encouragement to the nation that passed through some traumatic years, especially from the armies of the Assyrian empire (see Isaiah 38-39). Micah, Isaiah’s contemporary, came from the village of Moresheth, near the Philistine town of Gath. His message was one of judgement to both kingdoms, but the ultimate vindication of God’s faithful people.

Although each message was characterised by the social and cultural context in which they were proclaimed, there were a number of consistent themes running through many of their proclamations. The standard against which people were judged was of course the Ten Commandments and their various applications to the Jewish people. Some of these themes include: (a) Transgression of God’s Law Amos 1-2, for example uses this theme as the basis for his message supremely to Israel about her wickedness: This is what the Lord says: "For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back (My wrath). They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals (Amos 2:6). You hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth. 11 You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. 12 For I know how many are your offences and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Listen to these words of Hosea: Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of 4

the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying (Hosea 4:1-3). These words were

spoken to Israel whom God held accountable to keep His moral law. He sees what we do.

The law of the land may be impotent to punish the wicked at times, but God will ensure justice is served either in this life or the one to come. (b) Judgement for Violating God’s Law Despite the reforms of godly kings like Josiah (II Kings 23) the decline and judgement of both Israel and Judah becomes inevitable. This judgement can be an immediate and local punishment: Amos 4:6-9, for example: I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord. 7 "I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another.

One field had rain; another had none and dried up. 8 People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord. 9 "Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, I struck them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord. In Judah, the fate of exiled Israel was held up as a warning time and again with little impact: Isaiah 10:10-11: 10As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria- 11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?' "

Judgement prophesied can also be described in universal or cosmic form: Jeremiah 4:23-28, for example: I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. 24 I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. 25 I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. 26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger. 27 This is what the Lord says: "The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. 28 Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back." Isaiah 24:1-3 is another example: See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; He will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants- 2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. (c) Salvation for returning to God’s Law Amos 9:11-15: "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, 12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name, " declares the Lord, who will do these things. 13 "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. 14 I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God. Or Hosea 14:4-7, for example: "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; 6 his young shoots will grow. His splendour will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. 7 Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon. (d)

Messages to other Nations (Amos 1-2; Isaiah 13-23; Jeremiah 46-51; Ezekiel 25-32). It is more than likely that these messages were delivered to the Jewish people rather than directly to citizens of the country being spoken about. There are of course exceptions, especially the Book of Jonah, a message to the people of Ninevah and possibly the Book of Obadiah to the 5

Edomites. The nations were judged in part by their treatment of God’s people, but were also used by God to punish His people when they had gone astray. The point of these addresses was that God is concerned with the conduct of people in every country and expects certain standards of behaviour. Those people who have not had a clear opportunity to hear the message of the gospel will be called to account in the light of their conscience and the knowledge they have of right and wrong. This principle is explained more clearly by Paul in Romans chapters One and Two in the New Testament. We must never be mistaken in thinking that God is only interested in what we do on Sunday or in the ‘spiritual’ areas of our lives. The Bible has a holistic view of life and God wants the principles He has given us to inform every area of our lives at home, in the workplace and in our social lives every bit as much as in church-related activities.

Chronology of the Prophets in Judah prior to its fall in 587/6BC Prophet

Approximate dates

Nahum

650

Manasseh

Zephaniah

640

Josiah

Jeremiah

627-580

Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah [governor of occupied territory Gedaliah]

Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar

Jehoiakim

Babylon:

Habakkuk

Kings of Judah

609

Other Rulers Assyria: Ashurbanipal

Babylon:

Nabopolassar Nahum, of whom almost nothing is known, came from Elkosh in Galilee. The writing of his book appears to have taken place after the capture of the prominent northern Egyptian city of No-Amon by the Assyrian army in 665 or 664BC. The book is directed to the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh. Its people, a century earlier, had repented of their sins following the preaching of Jonah, but now it was even more wicked and godless and their doom was sealed.

In July 612 Ninevah fell to a combined Median and Babylonian army. God will not be mocked. Zephaniah, a member of the royal family, exercised his ministry during the reign of the godly king Josiah. Yet the nation’s heart was not in the reforms. They did not share the faith of their king. Judgement for their sins and those of neighbouring Gentiles was inevitable. Yet following their repentance days of future joy would be experienced in Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:14-20). Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet had a lengthy ministry from 627 to 580BC in Judah; his messages warning the people to flee from the wrath to come were laughed at or ignored –except by the Babylonian government! He saw his 6

beloved city, Jerusalem, in ruins with most of its population dead or exiled to Babylon.

Accompanied by his faithful scribe Baruch he kept faithful to his calling, yet at the same time pleading with God (for example, Jeremiah 20:7-18) to be allowed to resign and do some other form of work. The book of Lamentations, written as he sat heartbroken in the ruins of that city, includes some of the most wonderful verses in Scripture on the faithfulness of God (Lamentations 3:19-26). Habakkuk’s message, written around 609 or 608 BC, appears to have been a private reflection on the providence of God. The Middle East was in shock at the fall of the apparently invincible Assyrian Empire a few years earlier. Would the new superpower, Babylon, be the answer to everyone’s hopes and aspirations? No! says the prophet, our only hope is to place our faith in God, in the good times as well as the bad.

3.The Exilic and Post Exilic Prophets Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai Zechariah Malachi The last book in the Hebrew language Bible of Jesus’ day was II Chronicles (because the 39 books were arranged in a different order). The closing words of the book explain the significance of the exile and the reason for their return: 20 He [Nebuchadnezzar] carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfilment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. 22In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: 23 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:" 'The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.' "The exile was a traumatic event in the life of the Israelite

community –only the Shoah (Hebrew word for destruction -holocaust a Greek word) in the twentieth century bears comparison in its impact on the Jewish people around the known world. Ezekiel and Daniel were two of the inspirational Jewish leaders amongst the exiles.

Daniel who lived in Babylon from 605-530BC was trained with other Jewish school-boys, who had been abducted in early youth from their land, as civil servants for the Babylonian government. Along with his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah he covenanted to remain faithful to the Lord whatever the cost. All four of them, either in a fiery furnace or a lion’s den, were put to the ultimate test and they passed with flying colours. He became the equivalent of prime minister in several successive governments, including when there was a change of country ruling the empire – an extraordinary development! This book, written in the late sixth or early fifth century BC is an extraordinary testimony to the faithfulness of God to these teenagers and provides glimpses of not only of the sustaining grace of God in adversity in Babylon, but also glimpses of the end times in the later stages of the book.

Daniel 12:2-3 speaks about the end of the world: Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Ezekiel’s ministry as a pastor and prophet to the Jewish slaves in the chain

gangs building the canals and public works projects in Babylon lasted from approximately 593 to 570BC. The key message of his large book is the following one repeated around seventy times by Ezekiel: Then they will know that I am the Lord (for example, Ezekiel 6:14).

After a description of his unusual call, his message addresses God’s judgement on the nation of Israel; then the destinies of other nations; followed by his vision of the final temple, people and city in a restored Jerusalem. There were three prophets that proclaimed God’s message 7

after the exile. Haggai (520) and Zechariah (520-485?) provided a challenge to the discouraged exiles to restart building the Jerusalem Temple, putting God first rather than their own personal ambitions. (The books of Ezra and Nehemiah describe how the city walls were restored and rebuild in the following generation by a Jewish governor who had a real passion for honouring God. The book of Esther in Persia (Iran) during the reign of Ahasuerus (485465BC reveals the providential care of God that prevented an attempted holocaust by a wicked official Haman, whose Amalekite ancestors had attacked the Israelites when they came out of Egypt with Moses –see Exodus 17:8-16) Malachi wrote the final book of the Old Testament after Nehemiah’s second brief term as governor, no earlier than 433BC when spiritual zeal was flagging. His work is a strong appeal to put God first in the lives of his hearers and readers –a call applicable in each and every generation.

Chronology of the Prophets during and after the Exile to Babylon Prophet

Approximate dates

Daniel

605-530BC

Kings /Governors of Judah

Foreign Kings

Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah

Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar’ Neriglissar, Labashimarduk, EvilMerodach, Nabonidas Medo-Persian: Cyrus, possibly Cambyses

Ezekiel

593-570BC

Haggai

520BC

Governor: Zerubbabel

Medo-Persian: Darius I

Zechariah

520-485? BC

Governor: Zerubbabel

Medo-Persian:

Governor : Nehemiah?

Medo-Persian

Malachi

Zedekiah

433BC or slightly later

Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar

Darius I

Darius II

4. The Key Themes in Prophecy All that God has revealed about His kingdom through Israel’s history remains valid. It is modified by the prophets under God to reveal a new understanding of the final kingdom that 8

includes a new heaven and earth that will be perfect, permanent and honouring to God. The exile was a necessary interruption to God’s kingdom plans. The exodus events from Egypt and later from Babylon were a picture of God at work releasing His people from bondage into the heritage He had prepared for them. The Sinai covenant was the binding agreement between God and His people and in its principles as the Moral Law (Ten Commandments) it is of permanent validity. God was determined to bring His people back to the land which He had promised to them. God’s rule in this earthly kingdom was centred on the Temple, the Davidic king and the city of Jerusalem. What kind of covenant was this? Genesis 17:7: I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. You can sense the feeling in these words from God to Israel in Isaiah 54:7-8: "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the Lord your Redeemer. Or as Micah declares: Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. 20 You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as You pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago [Micah 7:18-20] Judgement and exile would not

be final, the covenant love of God would endure forever proclaimed Jeremiah in the ruins of Jerusalem: "This is what the Lord says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; His love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the Lord [Jeremiah 33:10-11]. The

history of the nation has been repeated. There was: 1. A New Captivity in Babylon, similar to the former one from Egypt; There will be 2. A New Exodus from Babylon like there was from Egypt under Moses. Notice these words from Isaiah 43:15-21: 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King." 16 This is what the Lord says— He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. 20 The wild animals honour me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. 3. A New Covenant which incorporates the renewal of

several covenants with Noah (Isaiah 54:8-10); with Abraham (Isaiah 49:5-9); with Moses and David (Jeremiah 33:19-26); but yet is a new personal relationship with God between the individual and their redeemer, albeit within the covenant community of the people of God (Jeremiah 31:31-34). 4. A New Nation whose hearts are changed and cleansed (Ezekiel 36:24-28); the nation will be re-established in the Promised Land (for example, Isaiah 60:314); the new temple will be glorious (Ezekiel 40-47); worshippers will be empowered by the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6); in accordance with the covenant with David (II Samuel 7) the new ‘David’ will reign as the shepherd of His people (Jeremiah 23:5-8; Ezekiel 34:11-17); 9

and the nations will come to share in the blessings promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-2: In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Zechariah 8:20-23: This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.' 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat Him." 23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' " 5. A New Creation the recreation of the

nation was seen as part of the continuing purposes of God begun in Eden. Isaiah describes the redemption of Israel in the framework of the new creation, new heaven and a new earth.

Isaiah 65:17-21:17"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. In this glorious future the harmony of nature will be restored (Isaiah 11:1-9). [See G. Goldsworthy, Gospel and Kingdom, pp.99-102 on the above five points] Yet life after the exile was far

from this glorious vision; a greater son of David than Zerubbabel would reign supreme. Yet there was to be four hundred years of prophetic silence in the land until as Isaiah 40:3 predicts regarding John the Baptist: A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Amen

10

God’s Big Picture 6 Matthew –John The Present Kingdom Introduction In our busy world with so much information being presented to us, we can at times face the experience of ‘information overload’. At such times we can focus our thoughts on things of lesser importance rather than on what is of the highest importance. This was true in the most extreme circumstances for a South Korean couple living in the city of Suweon, south of Seoul. They were arrested at the end of February on grounds of the neglect of care for their baby daughter who had died. This couple had both lost their jobs and according to a police officer involved in the case ‘had lost their will to live a normal life’. They had a premature baby who needed small but regular feeds throughout the day to progress, but instead of caring for their offspring this couple became addicted to an internet gaming site. They spent twelve hour sessions online together raising a virtual daughter called Anima in the popular roleplaying game Prius Online. In that game participants could interact with Anima and help her recover her lost memory and develop emotions. However, they had their own three-month old daughter who was left alone at home while they went out to a nearby internet café. We can understand their sadness at loosing their employment. However, we could have expected that this would have resulted in even more time and affection being lavished on their baby daughter, but tragically the very opposite was true. [BBC News website 5 March 2010] In the world today there are many interpretations of who Jesus is. There are people who claim He was simply a great teacher whose thought, for example, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) was one of the greatest pieces of literature ever produced. Other people emphasise His concern for the poor and marginalised and suggest that we too should have similar concerns.

A minority of writers have drawn attention to his preaching about the end times and stressed that this was the central focus of Jesus’ message. Liberation theologians, based primarily in South and Central America, in a context of extreme poverty juxtaposed with extreme wealth, alongside Old Testament teaching on the Exodus from Egypt and the Old Testament’s arguments for social justice, appreciate Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple where He was correcting an economic injustice perpetrated at the heart of the Jerusalem Temple. They argue that we too should be similarly involved in direct action to overthrow oppressive social and economic structures as He did. Some Jewish rabbis value Jesus as one of the greatest rabbis and Muslims view Jesus as one of the greatest men ever to have walked on this earth. Their faith proclaims the virgin birth signifying the importance of His entry into the world. They proclaim Jesus a great prophet who at His second coming will overthrow all wickedness and usher in the new era once this world has come to its close. However, although there is some truth in what these perspectives on Jesus affirm they fail to do justice to the New Testament picture of Jesus and His important and central place in the kingdom of God, as revealed in the Gospels. C.S. Lewis [in Mere Christianity, 1952, p.55] once made this assertion: I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic –on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.

Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a

1

fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. In our sixth study of God’s Big Picture our focus is on the four

Gospels and what they convey to us about God’s Present Kingdom and its central focus on Jesus 1.The Preparation for Jesus in the Kingdom (a) Its Timing In Galatians 4:4 Paul declared: But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. God’s plan was on course for the salvation of His people and the extension of

His kingdom in the world. (b) Its Centrality An era was coming to a close, but a new one was about to begin in the person of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament it is clear that Jesus is the central focus of its message. The Old Testament prepared for His coming; the New Testament centred on His life, death and resurrection and prepares us for His return in glory as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). Hebrews 1:1-3 declares: 1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Paul in II Corinthians 1:20 wrote: 20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. The promises in the Old Testament are fulfilled in Christ.

32 "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. Remember Jesus’ message to His followers on the Road to

Emmaus, after His resurrection. He gave them a whistle-stop tour of the Old Testament with a purpose as Luke 24:27 records: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. (c) Its Forerunner Mark in his gospel draws attention to this fact with his opening words concerning the ministry of John the Baptist (Mark 1:1-8). This courageous man of God came as a forerunner to prepare the way for Jesus. Mark quotes Isaiah 40:3: A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. It is possible that he is also referring to Malachi 3:1: "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty. The public ministry of Jesus began after John the

Baptist was put in prison. Jesus aware that the formal ministry of that great prophet was now over and His own about to begin made this declaration: 14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:14-15). Matthew (Matthew 4:17)

also draws attention to this fact. A new era had begun. In the person of Jesus a radically fresh understanding of God and His relationship with His people was about to be experienced.

2

2. The Presentation of Jesus in the Kingdom (a) Jesus is the Second Adam The New Testament begins with an extraordinary feature-a genealogy in Matthew chapter One. We know that the Gospels had a primary evangelistic purpose so why begin in this way? After all no-one would write a book today in this fashion for people outside our faith! Matthew is making a statement about how Jesus fits into the history of the Jewish people for whom he is writing this Gospel. He begins his account with these words: A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham…

Jesus is intimately bound up with your story, your history –so take a look at who He is and why He came, proclaiming God’s message in our midst. Luke also has a genealogy, but he gives us some exciting parts of the story before his long list of names, as he is writing not for Jews but a Gentile friend who is interested in finding out more about the Christian faith. Now we know that Matthew’s genealogy was selective in choosing particular ancestors to highlight to make a clear point. Luke also has a definite purpose to his list of names. He starts in Luke 3:23 with names of people alive in his lifetime: Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph… there is the probability here that this is Mary’s genealogical line. The Jewish Talmud (Haghigha 77.4, see W. Hendricksen, Luke, p. 225) refers to Mary as ‘the daughter of Heli’ and there is some manuscript evidence to support Luke 2:4 being read as: So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because they [Mary and Joseph] belonged to the house and line of David. Most significant of all in Luke’s genealogy is the last verse- he is working in reverse order of names – in Luke 3:38: the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. Jesus is descended from Adam. We all were –but Luke is

emphasising that Jesus is the second Adam representing humanity. The Gospels go on to tell us that whereas the first Adam fell after one temptation (Genesis 3); the second Adam resisted three temptations in the first instance and continued resisting the devil’s attacks (Luke 4:1-13). The baptism of Jesus was not required because He was sinless, yet Luke’s placement of it next to his genealogy emphasises Jesus’ link with Adam’s race. Paul will take the association further in Romans 5:18-19 when he declares that Adam’s sin of wilful disobedience against God in Eden brought condemnation to humanity, but equally Jesus’ act of perfect obedience in His life and death on the cross brought justification for humanity.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. In addition in I Corinthians 15:20-22 (and 15:45-49): 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (b) Jesus is the descendant of Abraham

Jews had an understanding of corporate solidarity with their race –something a lot closer to some Asian and African cultures today, in contrast to the Western individualism we are familiar with. Matthew has made this point very clearly at the start of his genealogy. Paul will make it explicit in Galatians 3:16: The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. The promises to the nation given to Abraham are brought to fulfilment

in the person and ministry of Jesus.

This leads onto (c) Jesus is the model Israelite Matthew will take this further in Matthew 2:13-15: 13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the 3

prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." This is a quotation from Hosea 11:1 used there of the Israelite nation. This in turn refers back to Exodus 4:22-23: Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me."

But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.' " The interchange between the one

and the many is so important in their thinking. The loss of Pharaoh’s firstborn was the principal punishment on Egypt for Pharaoh’s sinfulness. The ill-treatment of ‘God’s son’ would have consequences. Suffering eventually gave way to the joy of deliverance and freedom. Jesus the model ‘Son’ would also suffer even up to death on a cross, but he would have the glorious deliverance of resurrection. What happened to the One Jesus –resurrection –will one day happen to the many –His people the church of both Jews and Gentiles who share the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:16). (d) Jesus is the Son of David (the King) In II Samuel 7:14, in that remarkable prophecy to King David of his descendants occupying the throne in the future, contains these words: God says: I will be his father, and he will be My son. This was symbolically true of these human rulers, but fulfilled literally in Jesus. Jesus is the head of His people, but also the King from the house and line of David. (e) Jesus is the true tabernacle and the new temple John 1:14: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling [lit. pitched His tent] among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Whose glory was seen in a tent in another place? God the Father’s glory was experienced by Moses and especially Aaron and the priests in the tabernacle, the giant tent in which the Israelites worshipped in the desert. It is now supremely seen not in a temporary place of worship but in a person –Jesus Christ!

What about the temple in Jerusalem? John 2:19-21 states: 19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."20The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21But the temple He had spoken of was His body. The worship of God was being redirected from the place where it was specifically

through a priest in a holy building to through the person of Jesus, the holy person who grants us direct access to the Father in our prayers -hallelujah! There has been a primary building focus Jesus told the Samaritan woman yet the days are coming when the nature of worship would change profoundly: Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (f) Jesus inaugurated the new covenant at the Last Supper. Luke 22:19-20: And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you. The time for the fulfilment of the

Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesy about the new covenant came to pass at the Last Supper (g) Jesus is the Saviour of the lost Mark 10:45: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." This was not just for the ‘good’ people in the Jewish nation it was even for the ‘bad’ people, like the tax-collectors. After Jesus’ extraordinary encounter with Zacchaeus in Jericho and this man came to faith in Christ and restored the funds he had taken wrongly with interest and given half the remainder to the poor of the district. How did Jesus, in Luke 19:9-10, describe the outcome of this incident? 9Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." We can rightly sometimes think the

disciples were too slow in ‘getting’ what Jesus said to them. However, this total transformation of everything they had known or experienced, in faith terms, was an extraordinary development that took time to work through.

4

3. The Picture of Jesus in the Kingdom Each of the four Gospels was originally written for a particular audience to whom the Christian faith was being presented. They are all based on eyewitness accounts and records of Jesus’ words, life, death and resurrection, together with its significance and their distinctive features enhance aspects of who He is and the message He brings to us. (a) In Matthew’s Gospel This gospel was written by a Jew, initially for Jewish hearers and readers. Its overarching theme is that Jesus came in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy; that His virginal conception and birth in Bethlehem were predicted ahead of time; that His life was lived in accordance with that message and that His death and resurrection were also the fulfilment of God’s Word. A repeated refrain that occurs twelve times in this Gospel, for example in Matthew 1:22: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet… It has been calculated that there are sixty-one quotations from the Old Testament in this book compared to thirty-one in Mark, twenty-six in Luke and sixteen in John’s Gospel [Morris, Matthew, p. 3]. He alone (amongst the Gospel writers) reports Jesus’ emphasis on His specific calling to ministry amongst Jewish people in Matthew 15:24: I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. Jesus does speak to Gentiles, but it is clear that this work was primarily for His followers once the new era of the Kingdom was inaugurated on the Day of Pentecost and this gospel is concluded with the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations with His message (Matthew 28:18-20). (b) In Mark’s Gospel based on the sermons of Peter in the Roman world jumps straight into the ministry of Jesus. It is an action packed adventure.

Events happened at once Mark 1:18); without delay (Mark 1:20); without delay (Mark 1:21 Greek words omitted in NIV); very early in the morning (Mark 1:35); immediately (Mark 2:2 Greek word omitted NIV). The vocabulary of the NIV tones down the breathless pace of this Gospel. [Greek word ευθεϖσ translated as immediately or without delay occurs nineteen times in this Gospel; seven times in Matthew and three times in Luke and not at all in John.] The first half of the book focuses on who Jesus is and culminates in Mark 8:29: Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ. The second half of the book is dominated by the death and resurrection of Jesus as the suffering servant of God and His challenge that following Him would involve suffering and hardship for His followers (Mark 10:23-31). Mark 8:31 (also 9:31; 10:32-34) makes this very plain: 31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. (c) In Luke’s Gospel Luke writes his gospel for a

friend Theophilus who is a Gentile. He describes a God who is active in His world concerned about rulers and their subjects, the rich and the poor, for example, (Luke 1:50-53). God provided salvation for the descendants of King David, ie the Jews (Luke 1:68-70), but also for the Gentiles (Luke 8:26-39) and Samaritans (Luke 9:51-56; 10:25-37); for the people on the margins of society –prostitutes and tax collectors (see Luke 14:15-24; 18:9-14; 19:1-10).

No-one is beyond the grace of God. He also particularly emphasises the women who helped Jesus in His work (Luke 8:1-3). All people can be saved and all people equally have a responsibility to serve in God’s kingdom. (d) In John’s Gospel the most reflective one focussed on seeking to express the wonder of Jesus, the eternal Son of God whose glory we have had the opportunity to glimpse (John 1:14 see also I John 1:1-4). He illustrates this 5

gospel with an account of seven signs (miracles) with associated messages and their significance in the extension of the kingdom of God. The second half of the book is centred on the evening in the Upper Room the night before the crucifixion of Jesus. In John 13 Jesus reminded His disciples about the nature of Christian ministry of a calling to service, not a seeking to be served. He encouraged them with a explanation about the work of the Holy Spirit who would come to take His place in the lives of His followers, equipping and empowering them for service. After the resurrection He commissioned His followers with these words: Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

(John 20:21). His work on earth, in His first coming was nearly completed. He was handing on the baton to His followers to take the next stage of extending the kingdom through the enabling resources of the Holy Spirit. The new era of the Spirit would begin with a mere 120 people – who had the challenge of taking the Gospel of Jesus to the world. Were they up for the task? Would they be obedient to the call? In each generation of humanity these same questions arise and in the twenty-first century it is not Peter and James and John who must answer the call but you and me. May we honour the Lord in our generation as they did in their day, Amen.

6

God’s Big Picture 7 The Proclaimed Kingdom Acts to Revelation Introduction People can have expectations about all kinds of things. On the day I was writing this message sports journalists were writing in copious detail about Manchester United player Wayne Rooney’s ankle injury. For those interested in the feverish speculations concerning the likely England squad for the Football World Cup in South Africa in the summer, it was being billed as the equivalent to David Beckhams’s metatarsal injury prior to a previous World Cup. However, for those with newspapers to sell the story was not good news. The injury sustained in the Champions League game against Bayern Munich on Tuesday 30 March 10 was not as bad as it had been feared. Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager was reported to have said: ‘The nation can stop praying’, in response to fears that his star striker might miss the summer tournament in South Africa. [BBC Sport website 2 April 10] The likelihood of England winning that football competition – if Wayne Rooney is guaranteed to play! is as probable as the disciples of Jesus grasping His message about the nature of the kingdom of God prior to Pentecost. However, would you and I have got on any better 2,000 years ago?

Only an extremely brave or foolish person would declare that they would have spotted what Jesus meant when His own Jewish followers, familiar with the Old Testament, did not do so.

1.The Disciples’ Confusion The Gospel accounts have explained that Jesus fulfilled the promises of God in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. [this message largely follows the approach in Roberts, God’s Big Picture chapter 7] The disciples of Jesus had a hazy grasp of what it was about. They sought to view Jesus in the light of the Pharisees understanding of the coming Messiah, that he would judge and destroy the enemies of Israel and give the Jews the pre-eminent kingdom on earth centred in Jerusalem. Yet instead of being a military conqueror, Jesus spoke some extraordinary words which shocked them: You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.'44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43-44). From their perspective this approach appeared to end in failure on Good Friday, with Jesus dying on the cross. Luke 24 records Cleopas and Mary’s anguish as they expressed it to the stranger who accompanied them on the journey to Emmaus. Jesus of Nazareth… was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place (Luke 24:19-21). Where was God in all this? What made it worse was

that these solemn words from Deuteronomy 21:22-23 appeared to condemn Jesus before God also: If a man guilty of a capital offence is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. Paul will address this issue in Galatians 3:13-14: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Their hopes are 1

reawakened by the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, but their enquiry recorded in Acts 1:6: So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus had told His followers on a number of occasions that He was going away and that He would return at a date and time when this was least expected. For example: Matthew 24:36-44: No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left 42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

These words have implications for those Christians who are committed to particular detailed prophetic timetables for Jesus’ return. Be ready for when He does come, but be humble enough to acknowledge that His coming will take us all by surprise.

2. The Significance of the length of the Church Age (a) The Last Days It is important to be aware that the whole period between the first and second comings of Jesus are called ‘the last days’ in the Bible. Peter with reference to the prophecy of Joel concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit declared in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost: this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams (Acts 2:17). This reference clearly relates to the beginning of the Church Age 2,000 years ago. James in a passage that warns rich people who have gained their prosperity by less than ethical means, not to hoard their wealth, rather to grant justice to workers who have been exploited. The charge he brings against such people in James 3:4 is this: You have hoarded wealth in the last days. It appears that these words were written at least initially to people alive at the time when James wrote this letter in AD 48. Paul, in II Timothy 3:1-5, before going on to describe how bad things will get prior to Jesus’ return, prefaces his remarks with: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days (II Timothy 3:1). These words can be plausibly understood to refer to a future time beyond his own generation. We must recognise that the kingdom of God is both ‘now’ and ‘not yet’; ‘amongst us’ but also ‘still to come’. The kingdom began in Jesus’ ministry this age but it is also future in the age to come (Matthew 12:32). Speaking of children Jesus declared in Matthew 19:14 that: the kingdom belongs to such as these; yet in Matthew 25:34, a description of the final judgement at the end of the age, He can speak of His followers on that day in this way: Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. (b) The Length of the Last Days There is no doubt that the first followers of Jesus would have been shocked if they had known Jesus was not returning for more than 2,000 years. Already in the first century AD sceptics were mocking Christians over the apparent ‘delay’ in Christ’s return. II Peter 3:3-4 stated: First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." Peter encouraged his readers to remember the bigger picture of God’s purposes : But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these 2

waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat (II Peter 3:5-12).

The reason for the delay in His coming? It is so that more people can hear of the good news of the gospel and come to faith in Christ! Jesus had told His followers on Easter Sunday evening, recorded in Luke 24:46-49: He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." At the end of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus reminded them of their life’s calling: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20). At His ascension back to heaven, recorded in Acts 1:8, the same message is repeated: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." What is the incentive to fulfil this commission? Matthew 24:14 reminds us: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Jesus will not return until every people

group in the world has had the gospel proclaimed to them in a language they can understand.

There is still work to be done in our generation –every member of this congregation is called to be a missionary for Jesus, the only question is whether your calling is to the home or overseas sphere of service.

3. The Importance of the coming of the Holy Spirit You could not have failed to notice the central significance of the empowerment of the followers of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. The extraordinary events of Acts 2:1-13 of the coming of the Holy Spirit were both a fulfilment of prophecy as a judgement from God on the Jewish people for failing to heed the preaching of their own Jewish Messiah (Isaiah 28:11: Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people.) and a reversal of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9 the dispersal of humanity after the flood and the confusion of their languages); in that people heard the gospel proclaimed in various foreign languages (Acts 2:4-11 ( it is not helpful to persist in using the Old English word ‘tongues’) and native dialects (Acts 2:8 Greek text) which could never have been learned in a language school!

Peter using words from the prophecy of Joel declares in Acts 2:17: In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. It is through the enabling power of the Spirit that the Church spread from Jerusalem to the heart of the Empire, Rome, in thirty years. It is no accident that the most rapid growth of the Christian Church in its history, since the first century AD, that has taken place in the last hundred years, has coincided with a fresh appreciation of the significance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus warned His followers in John 15:56: I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. What does the Spirit do to extend God’s kingdom? (a) He brings new birth (John 3:3-5) Jesus declared, 3

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Natural birth and a spiritual birth are both essential

requirements for entering and ministering in God’s glorious kingdom. When we are in the process of coming to faith it is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin and opens our eyes to see our need of Jesus (John 16:7-11). The purpose of the Spirit’s coming, Jesus said: He will bring glory to Me, by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. Only through the Spirit’s enabling are we effective servants of Jesus Christ. Paul reminded the Church at Rome that: You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Our offensive weapon in the faith, the Bible, is described as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). Word and Spirit go together and must not be separated. (b) He equips us for ministry Frightened disciples who had locked themselves in a private house out of fear of their religious opponents (John 20:19) were now speaking openly for Jesus. Acts 4:8-13: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11He is" 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." 13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. What God did for Peter He

can do equally for you and me today, in the circumstances in which he has placed us. The Spirit equips and enables us to function as a team (I Corinthians 12:12-27), to work together for the building of God’s kingdom in local communities throughout the world. Paul stated that: Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (I Corinthians 12:7). (c) He is working in us to make us like Jesus The Bible uses three tenses to describe our salvation: We have been saved from the penalty of sin: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We are being saved from the power of sin. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (I Corinthians 1:18). One day we shall be saved even from the presence of sin. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified (Romans 8:29-30). Paul uses here the same tense in v30 (Greek aorist a past tense)

describing these present and future events as if they had all been completed in the past. In Philippians1:6 Paul states: being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Hallelujah what a wonderful assurance of what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life and mine if we are Christians. However, we must never think it is a ‘letting go and letting God’ do all the work within us. The balance is declared by Paul in Philippians 2:12-13: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out [present imperative –an urgent command] your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. One day He will succeed in making you and me like Jesus –perfect – take a look around at people who one day will be perfect!

4

4. The Citizens of the Kingdom (a) We are God’s People actually the Greek word used is ‘saints or holy ones’. A saint is not someone immortalised in a stained glass window –they are all alive, according to the New Testament! We are called to become what we are already in principle in Christ. Peter expresses it this way in I Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. The Church of Jesus Christ is comprised of Jews and Gentiles who

share the same faith, the same Saviour and the same future hope! Paul reminded the Roman Church that: A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code (Romans 2:28-29). All of us together in Christ are the spiritual children of Abraham. 13It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. Paul told the Ephesian Christians: For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit

(Ephesians 2:14-18). (b)We are God’s temple Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians: 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body (I Corinthians 6:19-

20). Jesus has gone back to heaven. But His Spirit lives within each of our lives. This has implications for how we treat our bodies; that is, not to abuse or misuse them, rather respecting them and taking reasonable care of them. It also has implications about our relationships with other people. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of His Church and we build our lives individually and collectively on His message and values. As a result of Jews and Gentiles being reconciled to God the Father through the sufficient sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. We are: no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22) We are always on duty for God. Hebrews 13:15-16 gives us this pressing invitation: Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess His name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (c) We will face tough tests for our faith Then and now there can be a heavy price to pay

for our faith. Peter wrote his first letter to Christians experiencing persecution for their faith.

In I Peter 1:5-9 it states: who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you 5

have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. I was shocked on Saturday 27 March 2010 to read the story of a Baptist

minister in Glasgow, Shawn Holes, locked up in a police cell over night and only released when a fine of £1,000 was paid for the crime of sharing his faith with members of the public in the open air in Glasgow. What he said and the apparent manner in which he said it was consistent with the approach any Evangelical Christian should have taken in that situation. A sheriff convicted him of ‘religious prejudice’ for saying that ‘unrepentant sinners face an eternity in hell’ if they die without putting their faith and trust in Jesus. He delivered his remarks in a general way and only gave illustrations of sinful conduct when repeatedly pressed in private conversations by people present on Sauchiehall Street on Thursday 18 March. CARE on behalf of Evangelical Christians; Peter Cairney on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslim Council of Scotland, together with other individual Christians supported Mr Holes and some were able to stand in the court to give him moral support. Shamefully Rev. Ian Galloway, Convener of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council declined to support a fellow Christian. The Daily Mail editorial of 27 March 2010 included this sobering line: ‘Are Christians now required to deny their faith as in Nero’s Rome under laws passed by Holyrood?’[Daily Mail, 27 March, pp. 1, 5, 16]. Peter’s letter was written to Christians suffering under Nero. If you ever thought about not voting in parliamentary elections this should serve as a wake up call as the days are coming fast when Christians will be imprisoned for our faith in this land once again. Will we be ready to support and care for one another in the face of increasingly hostile and prejudiced authorities?

However, let us be encouraged by these words of Paul to the Roman Church: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

24 For in this hope we were saved (Romans 8:18-24). We must always remember, as Philippians 3:20 reminds us: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. May our testimony as we complete our time on earth be like that of Paul who could say with confidence : I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (II Timothy 4:7-8, Amen.

6

Gods Big Picture 8 The Perfected Kingdom Revelation Introduction On Thursday evening 6 May 2010 at 10pm the polls officially closed in the United Kingdom general election. How would the results turn out? Who would be the winners and who the losers? It was far too close to call. Even with the most sophisticated analysis by the different polling organisations, allowing for their margins for error, the results were too close to call.

As the night unfolded there were some big surprises. The victor for Labour in Edinburgh South, Ian Murray, confessed that he had not bothered to write a victory speech because he fully expected to lose and was (nearly) lost for words at the podium when the result had been declared. One person who had probably written his speech would have been the member for Belfast East, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson, yet a swing to the Alliance Party of over 40% gave that party its first seat after 40 years of trying. Similarly the Green Party was equally triumphant after its Party leader Caroline Lucas took Brighton Pavilion from the Labour Party, its own first ever seat in the House of Commons. Overall, though, the country will experience a hung parliament for the first time in a generation with no one party in overall control of the government. The final outcome is far from certain on the morning after the day of the election. Christians can often feel that way too about how things are going in the world. Although those that are well informed about the overall picture worldwide know that Evangelical Christianity has never had so many million people claiming to hold to its tenets, it does not feel like that too often in our own country. In the public square Christianity is often marginalised and total numbers attending churches has been on a downward trend over the last century. We can begin to ask questions about what is going on and what does the future hold for Christian witness in the United Kingdom? Yet we are invited here in Revelation to take a step back and reflect on how God views world history from the coming of Christ to the consummation of history at his return. God’s Big Picture is on display and provides much encouragement to us to keep focussed on the calling He has entrusted to us of sharing the good news with all people in a meaningful and holistic way. What are the key themes we pick up in Revelation?

1. The Centrality of God in the Kingdom (Revelation 4-5) Triumph (a) God the Father with the Spirit on the throne (Rev.4) (i) The Summons from God (Rev.4:1) In a court of law there is one moment above all others that is the highpoint of the drama. The trial or case may have lasted a few days or a few months, but when the foreman informs the judge that the jury have reached their verdict the tension begins to mount and silence descends upon the courtroom. The jury members file back into their seats. The defendant, together with the assembled members of the public, anxiously views their faces for any sign of the verdict they have reached. The voice of the judge breaks that silence: ‘How do you find the defendant as charged –guilty or not guilty?’ The foreman will utter only one word, but its power will affect the destiny of many people in that room for the rest of their lives. Will justice be served or will a guilty person walk free? Might an innocent man on trial be convicted for a crime he didn’t commit? These and many other questions flood through the minds of the people present and many others outside. The book of Revelation is 1

building to a climax not in a court case, but at the end of time when God brings history as we know it to the conclusion of the final chapter. Revelation 4:1 contains these dramatic words: After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." In its context these words were spoken to John, but its equivalent summons will

one day be issued to you and to me –will you be ready? Have you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or are you taking the biggest risk possible to humankind by failing to honour the call to follow the Son of God? Our life here on earth is but a moment of time, compared to the eternity that awaits us on the other side of the grave. How are you living your life? What place does the Lord Jesus have in it? Paul, the great Christian leader wrote these powerful words: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body (Philippians 1:21-24). This confidence can be yours –if you Jesus has first

place in your life? The Christian confession of faith is not ‘Jesus is my Saviour’, although that is true. It is Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9-10: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.) Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer (John 17:24) prayed these inspirational words: Father, I want those You have given me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world. If you were to receive this

summons tonight where would you be spending eternity? (ii) The Sight of God (Rev.4:2-6a) At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God (NIV mg). 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. John is struggling to describe the brilliant multi-

coloured sight of the glory of God. His words are totally inadequate to express the fullness of the glory of God. He Himself is invisible. I Timothy 6:16 states concerning Him: who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honour and might forever. Amen. In heaven we will see something of His glory and in response

with all of His creatures that are present will bow down in worship and adoration (Rev.4: 6b11). Yet our focus will be on the Lamb, the glorified Lord Jesus Christ. (b) The Victorious Lamb who had been slain (i) The sight John saw (Rev.5:6) Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which is the sevenfold spirit of God sent out into all the earth. We are familiar with Jesus being described as the lamb. John the Baptist declared to his followers this extraordinary statement about Jesus: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John

1:29). However, the Greek word used there for lamb (αµνοσ ) is different to the one used in Revelation (αρνιον), for example in Rev.5:6). Outside of Revelation this word is used to describe lambs as we visualise them in the countryside; however, in Revelation it is a different word that is used for the dominant ram in the flock that leads the flock; one that 2

serves as their head and is in charge. John’s visual pictures do keep changing. Only a verse earlier Jesus is called: the Lion of the tribe of Judah yet in view of the word used for lamb in Revelation there is a consistent image here of a strong figure who has accomplished His goals. (ii) The Songs John heard (Rev.5:9-14) praises from both the angelic hosts and from humankind. At its heart was the same theme repeated over and over again: You are worthy… because You were slain and with Your blood You purchased men for God (Rev.5:9); Worthy is the Lamb who was slain… (Rev.5:12); Evangelical Christians have long been criticised for their emphasis on the cross and the sacrificial death of Jesus. Revelation reminds us that the glory of the crucified, risen and exalted Saviour of sinners will be equally central in the praises of the redeemed in heaven! If we needed it this is a reminder that without the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the cross there is no salvation. In our pluralist society with its many ways to God Revelation serves as a reminder that God has provided the way to heaven through the death and atoning sacrifice of His beloved Son. The outstanding issue here is simply this: what is my response to the Lamb who was slain? Polite words about a great moral figure or a wonderful teacher appear patronising in the light of the glimpses of heaven revealed in Revelation 5.

2. The Cost of Enduring in the Kingdom (Rev.6:10) Tribulation (a) Suffering as part of obtaining salvation As early as Revelation 1:9 John wrote: I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. In Western Christianity there have been two extraordinary phenomena –Christian Reconstructionists who work towards the ‘restoration’ of Old Testament civil laws which would make unbelief virtually illegal (mainly in the USA) and the Prosperity Gospel, teaching that God guarantees wealth and perfect health to the believers who have sufficient faith to claim it! In both cases these movements are based on misinterpretations of the Old Testament law and in any case we are living post Pentecost in the Church Age! The Gospel of Jesus stands in bold contradiction to these misleading emphases. Jesus said in John 16:33: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble (tribulation NKJV). But take heart! I have overcome the world. In Mark 8:34-35 Jesus explained the meaning of Christian discipleship: Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it. More Christians have been martyred for their faith in the last

one hundred years than in any previous century, both in absolute numbers and compared to the size if the total world population. There will be a cost to remaining faithful to Christ.

Some people will lose their careers; others be denied deserved promotions; Christian political candidates may be vilified in the press for their ‘extreme’ views; Philippa Stroud, for example, Conservative candidate in Sutton and Cheam was the victim of an attack by The Observer newspaper on 2 May 2010, because amongst other dreadful things she was the wife of a New Frontiers’ Church pastor. It is very possible that she failed to take the seat for her party as a result of such attacks. We were fortunate in our own constituency that all the candidates appeared to behave so honourably, but this was not the case in other parts of the country. Yet our difficulties are very minor inconveniences compared to the torture and imprisonment, even the murder of our brothers and sisters in Christ, in other countries. Like the Psalmist in Psalm 79:5, the suffering Church is pictured crying out to God in the face of such injustice. John reported in Revelation 6:9-11: I saw under the altar the souls of those who 3

had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow- servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. The growth of the Church and the spread of the Gospel throughout the world

will throughout the centuries be accompanied by these trials and tribulations until the end of the age (see, for example, Revelation 12:17; 13:10) Yet those responsible will face God’s judgement. Rev.16:5-6: Then I heard the angel in charge…say: You are just in these judgments, You who are and who were, the Holy One, because You have so judged; 6 for they have shed the blood of Your saints and prophets. To attack God’s people for their faith in God is an attack on the

Lord Himself. Remember Jesus’ words to Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:4-5: This young man who was obsessed with persecuting followers of Jesus heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? 5 Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Most Christians who suffer for their faith will not see justice or

vindication in this life, but God will make sure that the unrepentant are called to account for their actions in the world to come. (b) Rewards for faithful endurance the principle is referred to throughout the New Testament. Here in Revelation 2:10 Jesus said these words to the suffering congregation in Smyrna: Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Our focus individually

must primarily be not on how well other people are living for the Lord, but how committed am I to following Jesus? Am I living as I should? Do I encourage or discourage other Christians in the way I behave? I trust at the end of our lives each of us can say with the apostle Paul: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day— and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (II Timothy 4:7-

8).

3. The War that had to be waged (Rev.12:7-9) war in heaven Revelation 12:7-9 states: And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down— that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. This is in line with the words of the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-12: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your sta nd against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The drama of human righteousness and sinfulness played out on earth mirrors

a similar conflict taking place between God and His heavenly host with Satan and the angels that fell with him when he was expelled out of heaven [Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Rev. 12]. Jesus at various times drew attention to this spiritual conflict with the evil one (for example, Luke 11:14-28). In John 8:44 He uttered some very strong words to some people who opposed His ministry: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Even

Simon Peter, one of His disciples, was rebuked with these words in Matthew 16:23 when he criticised Jesus for speaking about His forthcoming death. Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. Jesus defeated the temptations of Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), but Luke 4:13 contains some ominous words: When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left 4

him until an opportune time. The battle was far from over. Satan was determined to pressure

Jesus into avoiding going to the cross. He knew that if Jesus gave His life for us and paid in full the cost of our redemption that he was defeated. Hence Jesus’ cry from the cross ‘finished (John 19:30). This was more than the end of His pain and agonies on Calvary, it brought to an end the hopes of Satan. Satan had lost the battle, he was a defeated foe. In Colossians 2:15 Paul wrote: And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Even before the cross Jesus prophetically declared the defeat of Satan as His followers, post Pentecost, would take the Gospel to the world. In Luke 10:16-20, in a context in which His followers were reporting back after a mission trip, Jesus said the following: He who listens to you listens to Me; he who rejects you rejects Me; but he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name. 18 He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority…to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. The book of Revelation is more explicit about this spiritual battle,

but its teaching is only following on from earlier books in this theme. Satanic opposition is hinted at by Jesus in His comments to the Churches in Revelation two to three (Rev.2:13; 2:24-25; 3:9), but the final triumph of God’s people, in Christ, is assured: Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Over time there will

be many battles and conflicts on earth, some will apparently be won and others lost by believers. A lot has been made in some circles about the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), a final battle between major powers near the end of the world taking place in Israel.

Undoubtedly this extraordinary conflict will be significant when the time comes. However, as Christians we should spend more time rejoicing over Satan’s Armageddon at Calvary when Jesus triumphed over him, ensuring that our salvation was eternally secure. We will never work out conclusively the details of the end times, but we can rest assured that we are on the wining side, because Jesus has triumphed! Hallelujah!

4. The Final Triumph of the Lamb (Rev.21:1) a new heaven and a new earth Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Rev.20:1-4 –mentioned earlier in Isaiah 65:17). Sin disrupted and then led to the

degeneration of the created order. In Christ not only humanity, but the created order itself will be regenerated and restored (Romans 8:18-23). God’s intentions for His world will be fulfilled. The ‘new heavens and the new earth’ will be a physical world, in which we will have the ability to touch taste hear, handle and see the wonders of God’s creation. Notions of floating on clouds with harps all day fall well short of the mark and have no basis in Scripture! When we die we leave our bodies behind in the grave. At that point believers will go directly to heaven (II Corinthians 5:6-8: Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.) to give 5

an account for the way we have lived our lives (II Corinthians 5:9-10: So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad). This judgement will be not about our place in heaven which is

not in doubt, but to determine if we are to be honoured for service for the Lord, and if so what honours. [I Corinthians 3:11-15 explains: For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Our works will be tested metaphorically

by fire not us –there is no reference to purgatory in the Bible. This notion was found in some Jewish writings outside the Bible and taken up by the Roman Catholic Church in the early Medieval period but it has no biblical basis]. When Jesus returns He will bring with Him all believers who have died at an earlier time in history and we who remain on earth on that day will meet them in the air and all simultaneously will gain our new resurrection bodies. Paul told the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 4:13-18: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words. Revelation 20:11-15

speaks about the separate judgement at the great white throne of those who have rejected Jesus who in turn are rejected by Him and face their eternal punishment. No-one will be forced to be in heaven who has not desired to be there. God does not want anyone to spoil His celebrations! The details given in Revelation 21-22 are impressions of the splendour of the glorious inheritance God has prepared for those who love Him. It will be more beautiful than we can ever imagine and more fulfilling than anything we have experienced so far on earth and in a context where sin and evil cannot be found. No wonder Paul told the Corinthians: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (I Corinthians 2:9).

5. Genesis to Revelation –Comparison and Contrast Genesis 1-3

Revelation 20-22

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1) I saw a new heaven and a new earth (Rev.21:1)

The darkness He called ‘night’ (Gen.1:5)

There shall be no night there (Rev.21:25)

God made two great lights (sun and moon) (Gen1:16) The city does not need the sun or the moon (Rev.21:23) when you eat of it you will surely die (Gen.2:17) There shall be no more death nor sorrow (Rev.21:4) Satan appears as the deceiver of humankind (Gen.3:1) Satan is banished forever (Rev.20:10) A world where impurity entered (Gen.3:6-7) A world where nothing impure will ever enter (Rev.21:27)

Fellowship with God impaired (Gen. 3:8-9) The initial triumph of the Evil One (Gen.3:13 )

Fellowship with God restored (Rev.21:3) The ultimate triumph of King Jesus (Rev.20:10; 22:3)

6

Pain and suffering increased (Gen.3:16)

There will be no more death…or crying or pain (Rev.21:4)

No longer will there be any curse (Rev.22:3) The rule of humanity impaired (Gen.3:19) And they will reign for ever and ever (Rev.22:5) The first paradise closed (Gen.3:23-24) The second paradise opened forever (Rev.21:25) Access denied to the tree of life (Gen.3:24) Access to the tree of life restored (Rev. 22:14) Humanity banished from God’s presence (Gen.3:23-24) They shall see His face (Rev.22:4) Cursed is the ground because of you (Genesis 3:17)

[based on ‘Applying the Alpha-Omega Principle’, Walk Thru the Old Testament, p.44]

6. Come Lord Jesus (Rev.22:20)

I am coming soon

In the light of such blessings and glory. Jesus declares in Revelation 22:12-13: Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. What is our response? John pictures the response to Jesus’ words from the Holy Spirit and from His bride, the Christian Church: The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life (Rev.22:17).

This verse ends with a challenge. Have you received this gift of salvation? Has there been a time when you prayed a prayer of commitment to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour? I trust that each one of us either has already done so or will do so today, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

7