Section 2
In order to describe the events that took place in the day recorded in the New Testament that are relative to the topic, I’ll first have to show what was prophesied about that period. There are a few key points to focus on that you will need to remember as I proceed. I have already mentioned the “Nations” (which I continue to put in quotes), I also mentioned the promise to Abraham, and I tied this together with us being God’s family that will be with Him in the New Creation. These themes are important as they provide the reasons for God’s actions, though not the methods.
The first thing to note is that Abraham was promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed in him [Genesis 12:3], that he would be the father of a multitude of nations [Genesis 17:4], and that his descendants would be kings [Genesis 17:6]. David, a descendant of Abraham and a king himself, awaited a descendant who would be the Lord that would reclaim the “Nations” [Psalm 8, 102, 110; Matthew 22; Mark 12; Luke 20]. The prophets of the Babylonian exile were given a vision of this descendant.
The temple in Ezekiel contains many measurements, but the conclusion is that the presence of God fills it, and He reigns in it forever. If Psalm 110 refers to this descendant of Abraham and David, sitting at the right hand of the Most High, then this takes place in this new temple. Even more, Daniel is given a vision of one like a Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven (with His Heavenly Angels) to take the seat at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, and to Him was given all the “Nations” [Daniel 7].
This means that the promise God made to Abraham is that one of his descendants would reclaim the “Nations” and rule forever at the right hand of the Most High. Though Isaiah’s words are relative to Isaiah’s time, they are also apocalyptic in nature, as they are quoted as fulfilled prophesy in the Gospels relating to Jesus [Isaiah 7:13, 9:6, 25:9, 52]. Together, these verses form a picture of this one like a Son of Man being God incarnated as a child of a human virgin, and will ascend as a ruler alongside that same God. This not only shows a form of duality of this God being possible but also that the second will be in His human-like form when He takes that seat.
"There is a graphic here 2EscTimeline."
The second and most important thing to remember here is His “coming on the clouds” or “coming with the clouds” to reign forever in the New Temple. There is nothing in the scriptures that speaks about Him leaving this throne to come back to Earth for any reason. His ascension to this throne is from Earth in the likeness of a Son of Man, but only after He incarnates into humanity as the descendant of Abraham. God comes to Earth and comes to Heaven. His existence in Heaven continues while He is on Earth [John 14:11], and His existence on Earth continues while He is in Heaven by being in us [Matthew 28; John 14]. We are His body and have eternal life through Him. With that in mind, He departed from Heaven and departed from Earth in a visible way.
God told His people about these things before they happened. While there are many instances of God being asked to rise, a type of resurrection, in the Psalms, His full plan to die and be resurrected was hidden so that the powers that work against Him would not know it [1 Corinthians 2]. It is only from the perspective of those who have seen the plan come to fulfillment that the threads of the past can be woven together to form the tapestry of His greatness. John’s Apocalypse tells us everything we need to know to understand that Jesus won the victory over death.
I want you to keep all of this in mind when you read through the verses that I’ve provided and many more that I have not. I have followed the advice of others, looked in a few other places, read through the prophets and the Psalms, and listened to people enthusiastically express joy for the return of the Christ Jesus. I am not without the hard work needed to be comfortable with drawing a conclusion on this subject. I’m open to being wrong, but please don’t first assume that I’ve missed something.
No comments:
Post a Comment