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The Role of the Church

The big question: Have many Christians been misled as to the role of the Church in the Kingdom of God ?
By Dennis Murphy

12 May 2010 Revised 30 March 2012

Copyright 2010 Dennis Murphy

Table of Contents
The Big Picture ............................................................................................................... 4 The Big Picture summarized ........................................................................................ 4 The role of Israel and the Church in Gods plan of salvation for the world ................ 5 Pictorial overview of the role of Israel and the Church in Gods plan for the salvation of the world .................................................................................................................. 6 Choosing to be a Christian ............................................................................................ 7 Free will ....................................................................................................................... 8 Biblical view of free will............................................................................................ 10 The sovereign will of God .......................................................................................... 11 Who chooses God or man ....................................................................................... 12 The Tabernacle and Gods Kingdom ......................................................................... 16 The Tabernacle ........................................................................................................... 16 Moses ......................................................................................................................... 17 Aaron .......................................................................................................................... 19 Office and duties of the Priesthood ............................................................................ 20 The relationship between Moses and Aaron .............................................................. 25 The critical issue of who has the right to be a Priest ................................................ 26 The privileged position of the first-born in Middle Eastern societies ........................ 26 The Levites replace the first-born .............................................................................. 28 The Levites as the Civil Servants of the governing structure of the Tabernacle ....... 28 The Priesthood ........................................................................................................... 29 The Priesthood ruling under God as the Kingdom of God in order to bring salvation to the world ................................................................................................................ 30 God will draw those He chooses and calls ................................................................. 31 Why have I spent so much effort on this subject of who can be a priest ................... 34 Unifying the Old and New Testaments ...................................................................... 37 The New Testament View of Gods Kingdom ........................................................... 40 The Millennial reign of Jesus ..................................................................................... 41 The New Jerusalem .................................................................................................... 42 The Great White Throne and the final judgment ....................................................... 44 The fate of the unsaved .............................................................................................. 46 Is Predestination unjust? ............................................................................................ 49 Will some Christians get a shock at the final judgment? ........................................... 50 The Biblical view of the New Testament Church ...................................................... 52 Feeding and maintaining the Body of Christ .......................................................... 53 The Body of Christ and its functions in the wider world ....................................... 54 The question of whether the church today fulfils its role ......................................... 58 The Seven Churches of Revelation ............................................................................ 58 The church of Sardis versus the role of the Church in the big debates in society ..... 60 The churches preoccupation with evangelism ........................................................... 62 Why is evangelism not as successful as many would like? ....................................... 64 Are we in the time of the Second Coming? ................................................................ 68 The first Marker Event that starts the end times ........................................................ 68 2

3 The second of the three markers ................................................................................ 69 The Third and final one of the three markers ............................................................. 70 Time Line of Gods Plan for Redeeming Mankind and the World ......................... 71 The Road Map from The Liberation Of Jerusalem Until The Return of Jesus ..... 74 Bringing it all together ................................................................................................. 76

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The Big Picture

Or An overview of the Biblical view of Gods plan of salvation of the world Many Christian people today appear to believe that the primary role of the church is to evangelise people. This common belief has led to the rise of the Church Growth Movement in the last twenty to thirty years or so whose only preoccupation appears to be evangelism to the exclusion of all else. It is certainly true that God has set up evangelists in the church in order to call His people into an understanding of what He has said in His word, the Bible. But the call to evangelism is only a very small part of the full account of Gods salvation for the world. In the rest of this book we will look at this complete plan that God put in motion to redeem mankind after the fall in the Garden of Eden. But before we do that we need to very briefly summarize the Big Picture that the Bible presents. The Big Picture summarized The Bible is a reasonably large book that contains a lot of historical detail, along with numerous accounts of things that occurred in the lives of many of the characters that are mentioned in it. These stories reveal much about the way that God wants people to live. In addition, it also tells of events yet to take place. Yet this book has a unifying theme that runs through it just like any other book. We will now prune away all the extraneous detail and lay out the main plot of the Bible. So what is it? The Biblical story is Gods account of His own nature, and how he established the universe and created man to rule over it under the sovereignty of God. It tells how mankind fell into sin and the consequences of this, along with Gods plan to redeem man and the universe to himself. This plan is centred on the creation of the nation of Israel, which was designed to accomplish three things. First, Israel was to bring forth the Messiah, who would then give his life to atone for the sin of all those who would accept Him as saviour. Israel was also to be a role model for the surrounding nations. Finally, Israel is to be the national instrument through which God will ultimately rule all the nations of the world, and later the universe, in peace, justice and prosperity. The end of this redemptive plan will see Jesus return as Lord of lords and King of kings of the earth, ruling from the nation of Israel, with those people who have accepted Jesus as their saviour co-ruling with him as priests. Jesus will reign for a thousand years at which time all creation will have been brought under his control. This period of Jesus reigning over the earth is necessary in order to absolutely prove that by administering the world according to Gods laws, peace and justice for all are assured. He (God) will then be seen to have the undisputed and proven right to judge mankind. After this period, Jesus will hand the kingdom over to God the Father and the final judgement will take place.

5 Once this is complete God declares that He will create new heavens and a new earth. He will then make His home with mankind in the New Jerusalem, with the NT priesthood ruling from the New Jerusalem over the entire creation under His sovereignty. This then completes His redemptive plan and man is back where he started in the Garden of Eden. Simple isnt it! Believe it or not, this is the main thread of what the Bible is actually about. The story starts with a brief description of beginnings in Genesis and ends in the book of Revelation with the break in the relationship between mankind and God that is described in Genesis having been healed and restored. This is a powerful argument against those who would try and argue that there are still prophets in the world today who have new revelations from God to the people of today. The breach in mans relationship with God has been healed there is no need for any further revelation! The role of Israel and the Church in Gods plan of salvation for the world If the Bible is read as being one complete book that has been put together from the total of 66 individual books in the Old and New Testaments, then we see that the Church and Israel occupy two different roles in Gods plan for mankind. The Old Testament (OT) has 39 books. This means that it takes up 59 percent of the total number of books in the Bible. The fact that it occupies so much of the Bible is an indication of just how important the nation of Israel is to Gods plan for the world. Most of the OT is occupied with the account of how God formed the nation of Israel along with the structure of governance that He ordained for the nation. The nation was to be setup as a theocracy with God as its head with the Aaronic priesthood ruling over the nation under God. The priesthood was given as a gift from God to Aaron and his sons and their male descendents. As such, the priesthood was a heredity institution. The office of priesthood was not something that you could buy your way into. Neither could you be elected or appointed to it. You either had the birthright to act as a priest or you did not. In those days the right to be a priest was not dependent on a conscious decision of the person involved nor was it strictly dependent on the personality or indeed habits and behaviour of the individual. The whole point of the OT is a description of national Israel and its place in Gods overall plan of redemption of the world after the fall in the Garden of Eden. It certainly stressed righteousness and good character as being essential characteristics of Gods people. This was particularly so for the priesthood. However, the fact that the priesthood was hereditary and was not dependent on how good a person was is simply a reflection that the OT was primarily talking about the model of governance of the Kingdom of God. It was not directly concerned with the question of personal salvation or indeed the purpose of personal salvation. That was left to the New Testament. In OT Israel the people of the nation did not have a personal salvation in the sense of the New Testament (NT). Rather there were individual sacrifices as well as national sacrifices required under the law in order to justify the individuals, their families as well as the nation The NT has 27 books. This is 41 percent of the total Bible. It is concerned with the establishment and building of the Church as the Bride of Christ. In other words, the co5

6 regent who will co-reign with Jesus who is Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 19:16) The Church is made up of the NT priesthood of the believers who in turn are all those Christians who have repented and accepted that Christ paid their sin debt on Calvary so wiping away their sins and making them fit in Gods eyes (and who else really matters?) to act as his ruling priesthood over the redeemed world. Here we see that the NT Church is the priesthood that in the future rules over national Israel under Jesus and where Israel is the national instrument that Jesus uses to rule over the redeemed and ever expanding eternal Kingdom of God. This is shown in graphical form below The rest of the book looks at the Biblical account in detail and shows the whole picture as it unfolds. Hopefully it will dispel some of the fog that often surrounds this question of the role of Christians and the Church.

Gods Plan for saving all the World

Formation of the nation of Israel to do two things 1..) To bring forth the Messiah 2..) To be the national instrument through which Jesus would rule over the redeemed world and the greater creation (all of the universe)

In the O.T. Israel was ruled over by the Tabernacle that Moses built with the Aaronic Priesthood as the ruling class

Jesus crucified and resurrected as The Great High Priest of the New Covenant

The Second Coming Jesus is to rule as Lord of lords and King of kings over the creation with Israel as his national instrument of sovereignty with the Heavenly Tabernacle as the ruling governmental structure over Israel

The N.T. church replaces the Aaronic Priesthood as the ruling class in waiting to govern under Jesus as the High Priest and King

The Eternal Kingdom

Israel ruling over the nations of the entire creation Pictorial overview of the role of Israel and the Church in Gods plan for the salvation of the world +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 6

Choosing to be a Christian
Or Can anybody choose to be a part of Gods government in His Kingdom or is it based on birthright? Most people are aware of the idea of predestination where you are either born to be saved or you are born to be lost Many people who are aware of this concept reject it out of hand for one or maybe both of two reasons. The first of these reasons is that the idea of predestination is most commonly associated with what has become known as Calvinism. This doctrine was originally developed by a number of theologians. However it is commonly known by the name of the 16th century French theologian John Calvin because of his influence on the development of its main ideas. Since then it has had many other influences and streams of thought added to it. It is best summarized by its historical acronym TULIP T U L Total inherited depravity Unconditional election Limited atonement All people inherit the sin of Adam hence are totally depraved and do not naturally respond to God. Predestination God has foreordained those limited number of people who will be saved. Christ died only for those who were predestined to be saved

God reveals Himself only to those whom He predestined to save. These people alone from all mankind will respond to Irresistible grace the Holy Spirit and accept Christ as their Savour and their response is essentially beyond their control. Because people are predestined, then once saved, they cannot be lost. It says that those who apparently turn away Perseverance of either never really believed to start with or will return later the saints e.g. the lost sheep in the parable. (Matt 18:12-14, Luke 15:3-7)

A lot of interpretations have been applied along the path of Calvinism many of them quite un-Christian. Some of the early Calvinists had no hesitation in castigating anyone who dissented from their ideas, particularly if you were perceived to be in the lost category. Calvin himself had Michael Servetus who was a Spanish physician and philosopher who questioned the idea of the Trinity in the Nicene Creed arrested. He was tried for heresy and burnt at the stake. Unfortunately this sort of intolerance is still evident in many people who classify themselves as Christian even today and not only among modern day Calvinists. This sort of un-Christian behaviour has turned many people away from the idea of predestination as expressed by the ideas of Calvinism. The second reason that many people reject predestination is that in their world-view the idea is based on a paradox. God has predestined some to be saved but He still blames every human being for their sins. On that basis, those who are not predestined to be saved are unjustly thrown out of heaven. How can a just God do that? People instinctively reject this idea and stress that everyone has a free will and can individually decide to accept or reject Christs atoning death on the cross.

8 To get a clearer idea on these matters we need to see what the Bible says about a number of things as well as events in the real world around us. Free will Do we have an absolute unfettered free will so that we can choose whatever we like? Well, clearly we dont! A few examples will hopefully show the truth of this statement. At its basic level the argument on free will comes down to whether the universe is deterministic or not. The idea of determinism is simply that the universe runs on rails. In a case like this the reasoning goes event A causes event B, which in turn causes event C, which in turn causes event D. You can extend this out to as many events as you like. But the essential idea is that the last event in the chain is a direct result of all the preceding events in that chain. The idea can be extended further to include multiple intersecting chains of events that share a common event (say event C in our example above) so that the outcome of the common event is determined by the preceding events in each of the two chains that it forms a part of. The idea can be extended out to infinity with more chains intersecting each other and themselves. The end result is that any resulting event anywhere along any of the chains is strictly determined by all the events that preceded them. Once the initial events (and conditions) are set the outcome is already determined for as far down the line as you care to travel. However complex the train of events that we are considering, the system truly does run on rails In the example of a deterministic system talked about in the previous paragraph the critical parameter that determines the outcome of the chain of events is the exact initial conditions that existed at the start of the chain of events. Given that it is normally not possible to be able to determine the exact values (e.g. to an infinite level of precision) of all the factors and parameters then it becomes impossible to determine exactly how any given system will evolve over time because of the phenomenon of what is known as deterministic chaos. The way in which chaotic systems evolve over time is critically dependent on the initial value of its parameters. Under the right circumstances, minute changes, such as a difference of say 0.00000000001 in the initial value of one of its parameters, can lead the system to evolve into a very different state to that compared to where the initial conditions had not varied by that minute amount. These changes can appear very rapidly. The reasons and details for this chaotic behaviour can be looked up on the internet for those who are interested (e.g. chaos theory). But for now all that is needed is to realize that this sort of phenomenon exists and that it has a very large bearing on whether something is truly random and hence an act of free will or whether it has been determined by things that you are not aware of. An everyday example of deterministic chaos that is presented as a random number generator is the barrel of marbles with numbers on them that are used to generate the winning number in lotteries. The barrel is filled with thousands of marbles with numbers on them the barrel is rotated for a period of time it stops and some method is used to select a given marble. It seems random enough after all, nobody can predict what number will be drawn next can they? Well in practice it is what is known as pseudo-random. By this is meant that it appears to be random but in fact it runs on rails The easiest way of looking at this is to run the tape backwards from the point that the final marble is selected from the barrel back to the start of rotation of the 8

9 barrel. We have all seen this sort of thing done in pictures and it illustrates the principle involved in deterministic chaos. If you could physically rewind the barrel and marbles and could set up the exact same initial conditions in the barrel to an infinite level of precision for all the parameters involved (coefficients of friction of balls and barrel, exact shapes of the balls and barrel and exact positions of the balls relative to each other, rotational speeds, time etc.) then running the process again would produce the exact same ball being picked out. In principle given a powerful enough computer you could calculate exactly which ball would be drawn out. In practice it cant be done but only because our technology (at this time) is not capable of the required precision in the measurement of the exact initial conditions While the above short explanation of deterministic chaos does not prove that humans as opposed to physical objects do not have unfettered free will, it does show that much (if not all) of the world around us is not quite as random as many people suppose. The question of whether we have an unfettered personal free will is not straight forward. There are two aspects to this the evidence of the world around us as well as the Biblical statements on the matter. When we look at our own lives we see that we dont have a totally free will. What we often have is only the free will to select from a menu of choices that is presented to each one of us. Ours choices demonstrate who and what we really are. Some examples are: Somebody walking ahead of you drops a fifty dollar note. Only you see it. Your free will choices are, pick it up and give it to the person who dropped it keep it for yourself ignore it and walk on A need of someone else is brought to your attention. You have the time, resources and ability to do something to help. Your free will choices are either to assist or to ignore that need in someone else You are offered a job with a company that sells dreams to people such as the lure of investing for very high returns in fraudulent or illegal schemes. You need money. Your free will choices are either to accept that employment and knowingly defraud or otherwise exploit the victims of that company or to say no and look for honest work. In the three examples above you can only select from the limited choices on the menu presented to you at that time. This menu of choices is set by the circumstances present at that time and which are usually beyond your control. You usually dont have the free will choice to prevent yourself having to confront any of the unpleasant decisions that meet you face-on along the pathway of life. The critical point in the choices that you make is that you are demonstrating what and who you are by the choices that you make. You can also consider the fact that none of us can make a free will choice to do many things, such as ring up the Prime Minister and suggest that we have dinner together sometime (well I certainly cant) operate someone elses bank account have great physical beauty or brains or have good health when we have just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Many things like these are determined by our social standing, education and inherited characteristics. Often these things are beyond our direct 9

10 control. Although we would often like to change some of these things, the simple fact is that we usually cant. This demonstrates limits on our free will. Biblical view of free will On the Biblical side of this question of free will we should just briefly mention the story of Jonah when God sent him to Nineveh but he boarded a boat and ran in the opposite direction. God sent a strong wind that threatened to sink the boat. Jonah asked to be thrown overboard as he knew he was the cause of the storm. God sent a large fish to swallow him. After being cast up out of the whale, God told Jonah again to go to Nineveh. This time he obeyed God albeit rather unwillingly. But just how free was Jonah to decide if he would go to Nineveh or not? The Biblical evidence is pretty clear that when God decides that something should be done it looks pretty much as if you are going to do Gods will whether you like it or not. Personal salvation is dependent entirely on recognizing our sin, repenting and putting our faith in the atoning (e.g. covering or cancelling of sin) death of Jesus on the cross. However this requires faith in the promises of God revealed in the Bible. A look at a few of the scriptures on saving faith is necessary in order to decide whether we have free will to choose God. Galatians 2:16(NIV) 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. John 3:16-18 (NIV) 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV) 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. John 3:16 (above) is almost certainly the best known verse in the Bible. It is often quoted in conjunction with Timothy 2:3-4 as proof that everybody has the free will to choose God if they so desire. As in any interpretation we need to look at all the references and find the one (and usually only one) interpretation that fits all the references. In this case we need to look at the three scriptures below, plus the next section on the sovereign will of God as well as the section on Who chooses God or man and the chapter on The critical issue of who has the right to be a Priest in order to see the full context of this. As Mathew 11:27 & 16:15-17 and Ephesians 2:8-10 (below) makes crystal clear, Jesus decides who He will reveal the Father to and that the saving faith that the individual experiences is a direct gift from God. This saving faith does not originate in the person. It comes only from God himself as an act of grace (unmerited favour). And it has a purpose to equip Gods priests (all believers) for their role in His Kingdom that saves all mankind from the consequences of the fall in Eden (see next chapter).

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11 The interpretation of John 3:16 and 1 Timothy 2:3-4 taking all the relevant scriptures into account is that God is in the process of saving mankind from the consequences of sin that entered into the world with Adam and Eve. However this salvation is the coming Kingdom of God where all mankind will truly come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4) of the words, concepts and ways that God has laid out in the Bible. As will be seen in later chapters, Gods Kingdom will be administered by Jesus Himself with the saints of all the ages co-ruling with Him. It is these Christians who are being called to personal salvation. Matthew 11:27 (NIV) and also Luke 10:22 All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Matthew 16:15-17 (NIV) But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Many people will then point to Romans 10:16-17 (below) and say that faith comes from hearing the word of God so if we preach the word of God everybody has the choice of accepting it or not. Yes it does say that faith comes from hearing but only to those who God is calling. Because we dont know who God is calling, then the message of salvation must be preached from the churches. However we must also understand that God is not calling everyone to personal salvation. This can be plainly seen in Mark 4:10-12 (below) where Jesus directly says that He often spoke in parables specifically to hide the message of salvation from those outside Gods Kingdom. Romans 10:16-17 (NIV) But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Mark 4:10-12 (NIV) also Matthew 13:10-13 & Luke 8:9-10 0 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, "`they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" The sovereign will of God The Bible clearly states that nothing is impossible for God (Mathew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, Luke 18:27). If God was truly out to save all people in the world then there is nothing nothing at all that could prevent this from happening. 11

12 The facts around us today, plus the facts of history clearly and conclusively demonstrate that God never intended to save everybody in the sense of personal salvation. This is specifically stated in Romans and Acts (below) Romans 9:10-24 (NIV) Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad - in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who callsshe was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. 19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, `Why did you make me like this?'" 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath-prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory- 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? Acts 13:47-48 (NIV) 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. Just looking around us today in the countries of the world, many millions of people have never even heard of the God of the Bible let alone read the Bible. Throughout history probably billions of people have lived and died and never heard the message of the Bible. Now it is quite possible, and even probable, that God has revealed himself to individuals across history without these people having access to the Bible. However this is not a wholesale revealing of Himself to the people in those areas and at those times. In my own personal experience in Africa and the Middle East I know that millions of people today live in societies where the Bible is not permitted literally on pain of death. Babies are born and raised in a society that never hears the words of the Bible. Even if they were exposed to the Bible, their religious and cultural background would lead them to automatically reject the message of the Bible. Virtually all these people die without ever hearing the message of the Bible. This is consistent with the words of Romans 9:10-24 (above). Who chooses God or man If we do a computer search through the Bible searching for the words elect, chose, choose and chosen we find some interesting things. 12

13 All the selected word definitions below are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) using Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc. Elect OT:972 Thirteen (13)matches for this word in the O.T. All of God referring to those He selected or chose bachiyr (baw-kheer'); from OT:977; select: KJV-choose, chosen one, elect. NT:1588 Twenty three (23) matches for this word in the N.T. Twenty one references are to the chosen Christians, one is to elect angels and one refers to Jesus klektos (ek-lek-tos'); from NT:1586; select; by implication, favorite: KJV-chosen, elect Chose (also translated as chosen & choose) OT:977 One hundred and fifty one (151) matches for this word in the O.T.. In Some cases the word is used in the ordinary sense of people choosing various things. However well over half of the cases involve God choosing people, or less frequently, places e.g. Jerusalem bachar (baw-khar'); a primitive root; properly, to try, i.e. (by implication) select: KJV-acceptable, appoint, choose (choice), excellent, join, be rather, require. NT:1586 Twenty one (21) matches for this word in the N.T. In some cases people are choosing things. However in quite a number of cases Jesus specifically states that people dont choose him He chooses them. These cases are shown and discussed below. eklegomai (ek-leg'-om-ahee); middle voice from NT:1537 and NT:3004 (in its primary sense); to select: KJV-make choice, choose (out), chosen. In the verse below Joshua is telling the people what God had done (Joshua 24:1-15) and he ended by affirming that he and his house would serve the Lord. However this is just an affirmation after God had already chosen him to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land after Moses died. (Deuteronomy 34:9 - Joshua 1:1-2) Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Although King Davids name does not appear in Psalm 119, most scholars agree that he wrote it. When David says that he has chosen God and his precepts it is only as an affirmation after the fact that David had already been chosen by God. ( 1 Samuel 16:1213)

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14 Psalm 119:173-174 (NKJV) 173 Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts. 174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD, And Your law is my delight. Jesus goes much further and specifically states that people do not choose Him rather He chooses those who follow Him (5 scriptures below) He goes even further in the last of the scriptures below (John 15:18-19) and He says that because you are not of the world we are hated in the same way that He is hated by the world (ref John 8:22-24 below and also John 18:36). The full implications of this statement by Jesus are not clear. However it does seem to imply that the ones that God calls, and Jesus chooses, appear to somehow have their citizenship in the Kingdom that Jesus refers to in John 18:36 where Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. The implication appears to be that Christians are only travellers in this world and are not citizens of this world as are most people as spoken by Jesus in John 15:19 below If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Mark 13:20 (NKJV) And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days. Luke 6:13 (NKJV) And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: John 15:16-17 (NKJV) You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. John 15:18-19 (NIV) 18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 8:22-24 (NIV) This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, `Where I go, you cannot come'?" 23 But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. The world around us and our own experiences show that none of us have an unfettered free will. What we have is the free will to make a choice from the individual menu of options that are presented to us at each decision point along the path of our lives. The choices that we make then show who and what each person is. The Biblical basis for this statement is in the book of Job. In the scripture passage below we have God saying to Satan that Job is an example of a person who does the right thing because that is his nature and we have Satan saying that he only does the right thing because God protects him. In the following forty two chapters we see that through all the trials and tribulations that Job suffered as a result of this discussion between God and Satan, Job never really lost sight of his faith in God. He showed what he was by nature in the choices that he made in his replies to his counsellors. 14

15 It must be noted that Job had the free will to only select his answers from the menu choices of saying God is bad or God is trustworthy and he chose God is trustworthy However it must be emphasised that he did not have the free will to avoid the situations that God allowed Satan to bring on him for the purpose of demonstrating that Gods description of Job was correct. Job 1:6-12 (NIV) One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." 9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." 12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." This is the Biblical image of the concept of free will. We demonstrate who and what we are by the choices that we make. These choices are a natural part of our nature either good or bad. They are not the result of someone elses words or actions that convert us to a new way of thinking. Nowhere is this more decisively shown than in what the Bible says about who can be a priest which is what all Christians are described as. This question will be explored in a later chapter. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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The Tabernacle and Gods Kingdom

Or A brief look at how Gods government in His Kingdom is organized according to the Bible In the New Testament all Christians are described as priests. This is a fundamental point in the portrayal of Christians and it is worth looking at the scriptures that say this. 1 Peter 2:4-6 (NIV As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) 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. Revelation 1:5-6 (NKJV) 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 5:10 (NKJV) 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." Revelation 20:6 (NKJV) Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. This question of the New Testament doctrine of the priesthood of the believers is central to our identity as Christians. In order to understand just what this means in Biblical terms we need to look at the Biblical description of what a priest is. The story of the Biblical priesthood starts with and is described by the Old Testament Tabernacle. The Tabernacle The tabernacle (Exodus chapters 25-28) was the predecessor and archetype of the later temples in Solomon and Herods time. The only common element in the succession of temples was the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:33). However it is the tabernacle rather than the later temples which provided the basis for the New Testament teaching on this subject. Although there are 121 references to the temple in the New Testament (NIV and NKJV) they nearly all refer to Herods temple that existed at that time. The New Testament description of the reasons for the existence of a temple of any sort are all referred to in Hebrews in chapters 8, 9 and 10. These all refer to the tabernacle not to any of the later temples. 16

17 In addition to Hebrews the other important reference is in Revelation 15:5. This refers to the original and true Tabernacle in Heaven of which the one in the OT is but a pale reflection of. Revelation 15:5 (NIV) After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. There are numbers of books that have been written about the Tabernacle for anyone who is interested. It is a huge subject in its own right and this book will not be going into it. However the central idea of it is described in the words, "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. (NIV, Exodus 25:8). This idea of the Tabernacle is a direct counterpart of the New Jerusalem where God will dwell among men after the final judgment. It is a significant concept in understanding the future role of Christians in Gods Kingdom and their role in Gods plan to save the world. Revelation 21:2-3 (NIV) 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 In this discussion we are only interested in the priesthood that was initiated with the Tabernacle as this is the model for the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers since the New Covenant instituted by Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. This was shown by the curtain in the temple being torn in two as He became our Great High Priest and opened up access to God through Jesus as the High Priest to all the priests of his kingdom (e.g. the Christians) since that time onward. Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV) And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. Moses We are interested in the part that Moses played in the setup and organization of the Tabernacle and its priesthood. We are not primarily interested in how he came to be in that position other than to say that he was chosen by God to fill the role of leading Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land (Exodus chapter 3). It should be noted that God chose Moses not the other way around. There are many parallels between Moses and Jesus, starting with the fact that Moses was chosen by God to lead Israel to the Promised Land, and Jesus was born to lead the Christians to the Promised Land of His Kingdom of God. The parallels go on from there and make very clear that Moses was the archetype of Jesus. An archetype is a person or model that foreshadows something greater to come later. The archetype is always a lesser version of the later appearance of the true type.

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18 In this regard Melchizedek the priest and king is an archetype of both Moses and particularly Jesus where it is said about Jesus that "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 7:17). It is worth briefly looking at Melchizedek. He appears out of nowhere in Genesis Genesis 14:17-20 (NIV) After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. He just as mysteriously disappears again with no further references to him apart from comparing Jesus to him. The important point about Melchizedeks priesthood is that the Bible gives no genealogy of him and more to the point, it gives no successors to his priesthood. This lack of a genealogy or successor to his priesthood is the main point that the Bible refers to when is says about Jesus, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. There is no successor to the High Priesthood of Jesus and never will be, thank goodness! Hebrews 7:1-3 (NIV) (also Hebrews 7:14-17) This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

Comparisons between Moses and Jesus Moses Jesus A king (Pharaoh) tried to kill him as a King Herod tried to kill the baby Jesus baby (Exodus 1:22) (Matthew 2:16) Moses protected in Egypt (Exodus Jesus was taken into Egypt to preserve His chapter 2) life (Matthew 2:13-15) He was saved by women (his mother Saved and helped by His mother, Mary Exodus 2:3 & Pharaoh's daughter 2:5) (Matthew 2:14 ) Moses became a prince of Egypt (Exodus Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:5; 2:10 ) Matthew 28:18; Luke 2:14) Saved women at a well (Exodus 2:15) Saved a woman at a well (John chapter 4} Was a shepherd (Exodus 3:1) He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) Moses called to redeem Israel from Jesus came to redeem mankind from slavery slavery to Egypt (exodus chapter 3) to sin Jesus expands on the law during the Sermon Moses lays out God's law on Mount Sinai on the Mount (unknown which mountain) (Exodus chapters 20,21,22 & 23) (Matthew chapter 5 ) Moses face shines after coming down Jesus face shines in the transfiguration on a from the mountain (Exodus 34:29-30) mountain (Mathew 17:2) 18

19 Moses spent 40 days fasting on the mountain (Exodus 24:18 & 34:28) Moses performs miracles (Exodus 14:16) Moses offered his life to save his people after the sin of the Golden Calf episode (Exodus 32:30-33 ) Moses is the great prophet and leader of the nation of Israel under the old Testament covenants Moses implements the earthly Tabernacle and anoints the Aaronic priesthood (Leviticus chapter 8) Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert wilderness (Matthew 4:2 ) Jesus performs miracles Jesus gives His life for the salvation of the world (Isaiah 53:12; Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.) Jesus is the great prophet and High Priest of the new and everlasting Covenant of the New Testament Jesus is the author of the Tabernacle in Heaven and is the High Priest of the New Covenant with Christians as His Priests (Revelation 15:5, - Hebrews 8:1-2, 1 Peter 2:5 & 2:9 Revelation 1:6 & 5:10 & 20:6)

The table above shows many of the comparisons between Moses and Jesus. Moses clearly represents an archetype of Jesus in many facets of his life. This is an important consideration when we come to think about the role of priests in the Kingdom of God. The relationship that the Bible lays out between Jesus as King and his ruling royal priesthood is the same as the model given and defined in the Bible between Moses (the ruler of Israel) and the Aaronic priesthood. This idea of Moses being an archetype of God is directly shown in the scripture below where God tells Moses that he has been made as God in relation to Pharaoh. He is also told in Exodus 4:14-17 that he will be as God in relation to Aaron his brother Exodus 7:1 (NIV) Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. In addition to Moses role as the leader (e.g. the defacto king) of Israel he also in many ways acts as high priest as well. As such he is one of the types given by Melchizedek who was both a priest and king. Moses in turn foreshadows the true type Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings who is our great High Priest In Moses role as the archetypal Jesus he gives the law and sets up the priesthood under Aaron as the High Priest. In his role as the archetypal High Priest who setup the subordinate priesthood we see that only Moses talked face to face with God on the mountain.( Exodus33:9-11) Only he had access to God all the rest had to stay behind barriers (Exodus 19:10-13 & 24:1-2) Moses was instructed by God to build the Tabernacle strictly according to the instructions that he received while he was on the mountain with God (Exodus chapters 25, 26 & 27). He was then instructed by God to anoint Aaron and his sons as priests to serve in the Tabernacle (Exodus chapter 28) Aaron Aaron was a member of the tribe of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:1-3 & Exodus 4:14 & 6:1920)

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20 When God chose Moses to be the person who would lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land Moses raised all sorts of objections to God as to why he should not be the one to carry out Gods commands. One of his objections was that he was not a confident speaker and that no-one would listen to him. God then said:Exodus 4:14-17 (NIV) Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. From this time on Aaron became the spokesman for Moses. Aarons next main appearance is at Sinai where he is one of the elders of Israel and was permitted to approach nearer to the Mount than the rest of the people were. He was also allowed to see the glory of God from a distance (Exodus 24:1-2 & 9-10). The next major moment in Aarons life is when he and his sons are chosen by God as priests (Exodus chapter 28 & 29). After the construction and dedication of the Tabernacle, Aaron is anointed by Moses as the High Priest (Leviticus chapters 8 & 9) From this point of time onward the priesthood in Israel was confined to the family of Aaron and his descendents. Numbers 18:6-7 (NIV) 6 I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. 7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death. Exodus 40:13-15 (NIV) 13 Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. 14 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come." Although the priesthood was confined to Aaron and his descendents, in an emergency those who were not in that priestly line did offer sacrifices to God and were accepted by Him.(Judges 6:24-26 1 Sam 6:14-15 1 Sam 7:9) 2 Sam 6:17 1 Kings 18:22-24 & verses 32-38) Office and duties of the Priesthood Priesthood is an office setup by God. It has definite and specific purposes and encompasses very specific duties and functions. The essential concepts that underlie the O.T. Priesthood is given by Moses in Numbers 16:5

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21 Numbers 16:4-5 (NIV) When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. It consists of three elements being chosen by God being made holy (set apart) by God as His own and being allowed to come or bring near to God. Chosen The first point lays out the basic condition of a priest. That is they are chosen by God. Priests, in the Biblical sense, hold their position by birthright. They cannot earn it, buy it or just decide that they wish to be a priest. This doctrine of The critical issue of who has the right to be a Priest will be examined in the next chapter. Holy The second point specifies the qualification to be a priest. Just as Israel in the O.T under the old Covenant of the Law was the chosen people, so the Christian church in the N.T, under the new Covenant of Grace becomes a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9), and the individual Christian becomes a holy person (Colossians 3:12). The word holy is a general term that is used to signify sanctity or separation from that which is tainted by sin or moral imperfection. It is used throughout the Bible and refers to God as well as people, places and things that are set apart from the world by God for service to Him. Coming near to God This third point describes the functions of the Priesthood. These functions are taken from the Bible and described briefly below A clear distinction must be made between the duties of the Levites as a tribe and the priests who were the descendents of Aaron from the tribe of the Levites. The Levites acted as administrators of the Tabernacle and carried out the tasks of maintaining the structure and as assistants to Aaron and the priests (Numbers 1:50-53). But they were not permitted to carry out any of the priestly duties on pain of death (Numbers 18:38). The Levites as a whole were not priests and their detailed duties are not relevant to this discussion. The functions of the priesthood as described in Exodus and Leviticus are the same as those specified in Chronicles and Ezekiel. A listing of their ceremonial duties in relation to coming "near to the sanctuary and the altar" is given below Duties in the Holy of Holies place of the Tabernacle Only the High Priest is allowed into this area and then only once a year. The duty of the High Priest (who is Jesus in the New Covenant) is to intercede with God and represent mankind who cannot approach God directly. The High Priest acts for mankind in all matters that pertain to the relationship between God and mankind. Duties in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle The ordinary priests serve under the High Priest and carry out the function of interceding between mankind and the High Priest. The main activities of the priests in this regard are given below. The essential idea that is pictured is that this is a privileged place that only the priesthood can enter as confidants of God as well as being members of His inner court. It corresponds roughly today to the place where a powerful rulers

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22 personal envoys meet with the ruler to receive instructions to be carried to other subordinate rulers, and to report back on the results. The priests burn incense on the golden altar in the morning and the evening. This is symbolic of presenting the prayers of mankind that are offered to God on behalf of the people (Luke 1:10, Revelation 5:8 & 8:3) The priests clean and trim the seven lamps on the seven branched golden candlestick stand and light them every evening. The lamps are symbolic of understanding (2 Samuel 2:29), guidance (Proverbs 6:23) life (Job 21:17) Jesus and the church as the light of the world (Mathew 5:14; John 8:12 & 9:5). This is directly related to the teaching functions of the priests referred to in the section below, so ensuring that Gods will is clearly made known to mankind. In this picture they are symbolically ensuring that their own internal lamps are trimmed and filled with light giving oil (Mathew 25:1-9) in order to be able to fulfil their role as a light unto the world as Gods representatives in His Kingdom The priests make and put the showbread (also known as Bread of the Presence) on the table every Sabbath (Exodus 25:30 & 35:13, Leviticus 24:5-8). The bread symbolizes Jesus as the Bread of life (John 6:32-33). The Old Testament background to this is the manna God provided to the Israelites during their time in the desert to sustain them during the Exodus (Exodus 16). The priests are symbolically renewing their dependence on God and acknowledging that He is still sustaining his people (the priesthood). This idea of sustenance is shown by the fact that the bread belonged to the priests who were to eat it and sustain themselves (Leviticus 24:5-9). The final meaning is that God is giving life to His priests. Duties in the outer courtyard of the Tabernacle The High Priest as well as the ordinary priests meet the people at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (e.g. the tent that houses the Holy Place as well as the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies) to accept their animals and produce that have been brought for sacrifice. As such, this is a public place that is dedicated to making atonement for the sins of both national Israel as well as individuals. The sacrifices were part of the ceremonial laws given to Moses However there was a close connection between both the ceremonial law and the civil law in-so-far as both of these were given by God to Moses and were both designed as part of Gods plan for mankind. The ceremonial law regulated Gods relationship to mankind and the civil law regulates mankinds relationship to each other. As is seen below, the priests activity in the courtyard is essentially a place where the ceremonial law is administered as well as the place where the priests receive and then pass Gods blessings onto the people. Essentially it is the place where people meet God through the mediation of the priesthood. The closest idea to this today would be the Parliament of the country where the people are represented in the government by their members of parliament and where the decisions and actions of the government are supposed to be for the good of the people.

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23 On a world wide scale such as will exist on Christs return, this would correspond to the temple described in Ezekiel chapters 40-48 that describe in symbolic terms the new governing structure that will be at the center of Christs rule on the earth. The priests keep the fire constantly burning on the altar of burnt offering and clear away the ashes from the altar. (Leviticus 6:9-13); and offer the morning and evening sacrifices (Exodus 29:38-43). The fire on the altar was used to consume the burnt offerings that the people made in accordance with the ceremonial law. These sacrifices were used for cleansing both the nation and individuals. The fire consumed the sacrifice and symbolically removed the sin that the sacrifice represented. This can be seen as when God uses fire to destroy evil (Numbers 11:1-3, 2 Thessalonians 1:7) and purify (Isaiah 4:4, Malachi 3:2-3). Fire was also a symbol of Gods presence as when God appeared in the burning bush and on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 3:2 & 19:18). The actions of the priests symbolizes the priests role in destroying sin by applying and administering Gods laws to the society and then removing the residual affects of the sin (e.g. in peoples minds) by removing the ashes after the fire had destroyed the substitutionary sacrifice for sin. It has a strong connection to the function of the priests as the law-givers referred to below. The priests also performed the wave, or heave offering of different portions of the sacrifice (Exodus 29:24-26). Waving or heaving means to lift up the sacrifice before God. This action of waving symbolized the lifting up of Jesus as the Sacrificial Lamb (John 3:14 & 8:28 & 12:32). Here the priests are symbolically showing that the sin of the world including that of the priests (then and now) were responsible for Jesus being lifted up on the cross as the spotless sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world. The priests sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial animals on the altar (Exodus29:16-20; Leviticus 1:11 & 3:2-8) The antecedent for this sprinkling of the blood of a sacrificial animal is when God instructed Moses to sprinkle the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of the Israelites houses in Egypt. This was to prevent the angel of death from killing the firstborn as he passed over Egypt in order to force Pharaoh to let the Israelites go (Exodus 11:45 & 12:6-7). The shedding of blood was also necessary for the remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). The priests are here shown as Gods agents applying His protection for those whom He has chosen to save. At that time it was national Israel. In the larger sense it is all of mankind. The picture presented is very much that of Gods priests acting as the intermediaries between God and man and applying Gods instructions to protect mankind and ensure the reconciliation that God is applying to the affairs of man after the fall in Genesis. The priests blessed the people after the daily sacrifice (Leviticus 9:22; Numbers 6:23-27; Deuteronomy 21:5). In the Biblical sense, blessing is the act of declaring favour and good things on others. In the Bible, important people blessed those with less power or influence. 23

24 God often blessed people (as one example only, Deuteronomy 15:4-18). In this case we see the priests acting as Gods spokespeople conveying Gods acts of favour and good will towards the people in Gods Kingdom. Duties outside of the Tabernacle in the civil society Not only did the priests perform the duties required by the ceremonial law, they were also an active group within the ruling elite in the national life of Israel. This included all the principal activities of the civil laws that governed the society as well as education. As Spokesman for Moses The priests were to blow the silver trumpets to summon the people to the Tabernacle where important announcements were to be made by Moses (Numbers 10:1-8) They were also to blow the Jubilee horn at the start of the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:9) The action of blowing the trumpets is portraying the priests acting as the heralds of important announcements and events. Here again the office of spokesperson for the ruler is emphasised. Command of both the lower courts and the High Court The priests were to act as a high court of appeals in any difficult case as well as acting as judges in normal civil law cases (Deuteronomy 17:8-13 & 19:16-19 & 21:5). Command and administration of the court of family affairs The priests are to administer judgment in matters affecting family life. Their word is final (Numbers 5:5-31) Command of the armed forces The priests were to address the army in times of war and to address the troops before going into battle (Deuteronomy 20:1-4). In modern times the armed services also act as the bodies that take over in emergencies and take control of the situation and bring relief and safety to the people who are affected. In those days the army also acted as the police force to maintain law and order. In other words, the priests were in command of the civil authorities and responsible for all law and order and security matters. Command and administration of the office of Public Health The priests were required to act as public health officials by inspecting persons and places for possible disease. They were also responsible for enforcing public health regulations. (Leviticus chapters 13- 16). This is equivalent to the functions of the World Health Organization which is a branch of the UN on a world wide scale and the local state or country public health department on the national scale. Command and administration of Education The priests were to instruct the people in the law. (Deuteronomy 33:10, 2 Chronicles 15:3 & 17:7-9, Ezra 7:25, Jeremiah 18:18, Haggai 2:11) It is apparent that they were also teachers in the general sense in that they also taught about public health.(Leviticus 10:10-11, Deuteronomy 24:8, Ezekiel 44:23-24, Malachi 2:7). It can be inferred that because the priests taught both law and public health, that they also taught other subjects as well such as reading and writing to those who needed these skills. 24

25 Control of taxation and valuations - The priests were in charge of all matters dedicated to the Tabernacle. This included setting the values of the tithes that were required to be given to the Tabernacle as well as judging the suitability of the offerings that were made. Effectively this is the function of taxation in order to support the governing structure (Leviticus chapter 27). The relationship between Moses and Aaron The office of the priesthood in Israel was of supreme importance and of very high rank. The high priest stood next to the ruler in both influence and dignity. Aaron, the High Priest, shared with Moses in the government and guidance of the nation. The priesthood which operated under the High Priests were responsible for all the main activities that regulated the national life of Israel. This included all the functions in the actual tabernacle (the parliament) as well as being the spokesman for Moses. They also controlled the law, taxation, education, the armed services (law enforcement, disaster relief and safety and external security) and public health. These seven functions are the backbone of any society. Those who are in control of those seven functions, run the country! It is important to understand the significance of this state of affairs. In the model presented by the Bible of the organization of national Israel we had Moses ruling with the priesthood co-ruling with him in control of all the important government functions. Stated more explicitly, we have Moses as an archetype of God ruling as the supreme leader in Israel with the priesthood co-ruling with him Exodus 4:14-17(NIV) Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it." This is the exact same picture presented in the N.T. where we have Jesus ruling as King of kings and Lord of lords co-ruling with the Christians of all the ages as his royal priesthood This concept of priesthood is a critical issue in understanding our position as Christians in the coming Kingdom of God. All believers are referred to in the N.T. as a royal priesthood in other words a reigning (ruling) priesthood under Jesus. The archetype for the priesthood is given in the national organization of early Israel. That is the only Biblical source for understanding just who and what a priest is as far as the Bible and God are concerned. This question of who can be a priest is an important question that will be considered in the next chapter as it is an important issue in the debate over the roles of the Christians in the church and Israel in the coming Kingdom of God. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 25

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The critical issue of who has the right to be a Priest

Or Can anybody decide that they wish to join the Biblical Priesthood which is described as a hereditary office according to the Bible. This question of who can be a priest is an important consideration in the motivations of many people who believe in a literal six day creation and who also believe that it is possible for the church to convert any and everybody. Most people in this group appear to believe that anybody can become a Christian if they want to. They believe that if only atheistic science would stop influencing people then they would have at least a sporting chance of winning the battle of the hearts and minds of many people. They believe that at least some people who currently now choose not to believe in the Christian God of the Bible would then choose Jesus as their Saviour. Given that all believers are part of the N.T. priesthood of the believers just how Biblical is this belief that we can persuade a given person to believe in Jesus as Saviour? This is what will be looked at below. The privileged position of the first-born in Middle Eastern societies The term first-born in the Bible refers to the first-born child or animal (Exodus 11:5). There is also a similar word from the same base that applies to the first-fruits of the harvest. (Exodus 23:16) Figuratively the term first-born or first-fruit stood for excellence and a privileged position. The first-fruits of the harvest represented the very best of the crops. The first-born possessed definite privileges which were denied to other members of the family. The law did not allow the first-born to be disinherited. The oldest son's share of any inheritance was twice as large as that of any of the other sons and he inherited the leadership of the family. (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). He was also the family's spiritual head and served as its priest. (Exodus 3:1) It is significant in this respect that the firstborn held this esteemed position of privilege purely on the basis of the birthright. It had nothing to do with their choice to be that position holder. They could not just decide one day that they would become the first-born. Israel, as Gods first-born, was entitled to special privileges over the surrounding nations. (Exodus 4:22) As a result of this privileged position in Gods plan for the salvation of the world, Moses was told by God to tell Pharaoh that if he would not let Israel (Gods first-born) go from their captivity in Egypt then God would kill Pharaohs first-born son. In three passages in the N.T Jesus is described as the first-born-among all Christians (Romans 8:29) and of all creation (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:6)). This application of the term to Jesus may be traced back to Psalm 89:27 where King David is referred to as the first-born of God. God placed a special claim on the first-born of both people and animals (Exodus 13:1113) so the nation of Israel also attached a special value to the first-born son and assigned special privileges and responsibilities to him. This idea of the pre-eminence of the first-born is nowhere brought out more clearly than in the account of Jesus as the 26

27 first-born of all creation and the special responsibility of redemption that he played out in the N.T. The concept of redemption is that of paying a price to buy back, or redeem an article or person that has fallen into the ownership of another. The concept is illustrated in the Old Testament where God told Aaron that He had given Aaron charge of all the offerings to the Tabernacle as their ongoing inheritance to support them (e.g. they were supported by the tithing or taxation system, Numbers 18:8). However he was told that when the people presented their first-born sons as an offering when they were one month old, that the father of the child was required to redeem, or buy back the first-born child for the redemption price, set by the priest on duty. This could not exceed five shekels (Numbers 18:8-16). This idea of the first-born being offered to God is also clearly in operation in the N.T. (Luke 2:22-24 & Hebrews 12:23-24). We also see the concept of the redemption of the first-born in operation here as well. However in the New Testament the idea of redemption more closely resembles the idea of paying a ransom. This is seen when Jesus released mankind from the burden of trying to justify ourselves under the O.T. Law (Ten Commandments) (Galatians 3:13-14) and from sin itself (Romans 7:23). Jesus purchases our deliverance from the Law and sin by offering Himself as payment for our redemption (Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:18-19). 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) 19 Do 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; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. This purchase price is made on the basis of who God chooses. He didnt simply ransom all people in the sense that all people would be saved as His first-born. To do so, goes against the idea of the first-born by definition, not everyone in the family can be the first-born. The concept of God redeeming those who He chooses is shown in the two scriptures below. In them you see the concept of the first-born being the head of the family and ruling it according to Gods will as the basis of Gods plan for salvation for the whole world. This Biblical concept is looked at in more detail in a later chapter (The New Testament View of Gods Kingdom) Romans 8:28-30 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 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. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (e.g. as rulers in His Kingdom) Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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28 The Levites replace the first-born In order to see the progression that the Bible lays out for the priesthood we next need to briefly look at the Levites. The first point to be made is that God designated them as His choice as the replacement for the first-born as shown in the scripture below. Numbers 3:11-13 (NIV) (also Numbers 8:15-19) The LORD also said to Moses, 12 "I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD." The Levites as the Civil Servants of the governing structure of the Tabernacle The Levites were members of the tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Levi was the priestly tribe of Israel. They were set aside by God for service to the Tabernacle and were assistants to and were subordinate to the priests (Numbers 1:5053). They are sometimes referred to as "the Levitical priests" (Joshua 3:3, Ezekiel 44:15). Although the Levites were the priestly tribe, only Aaron (a Levite) and his sons and their descendents were allowed to act as the sacerdotal priesthood e.g. the priests who were allowed to serve and sacrifice at the altar and draw near to God (Numbers 18:6-7). The Levitical priesthood was divided into a number of divisions (1 Chronicles. Chapters 24 to 27). This covered both the ordinary Levites as well as the sacerdotal priests. Each division was organised as a hierarchical structure which had its leader (1 Chronicles. 24:6 and verse 31, 2 Chronicles 23:1-10, Numbers 3:32) The functions of the whole tribe of Levi including the priests were to preserve and administer the laws according to the instructions that Moses received directly from God. They were also required to ensure that the requirements of the law were complied with and to administer the justice system in accordance with the law, and to teach and transmit it to future generations (Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 17:18-19 & 31:9-13 & 33:8-10, 2 Chronicles 17:8-9; Nehemiah 8:9; Ezekiel 44:23; Malachi 2:7-8). They were also the nation's regulators. This can be seen where they were responsible for maintaining honest and accurate weights and measures that were used in Israel (I Chronicles 23:29; Leviticus 19:35-36). It was the duty of the Levites to act as police to guard the Tabernacle and later the temple, to open and close it, to look after the cleaning of it and the furniture in its rooms and as keepers of the treasury (Numbers 18:23, 1 Chronicles 9:26-27 & 26:20). They also assisted the priests by preparing the Show-bread sacrifices and assisted the priests in slaughtering and skinning the animals for sacrifice The Levites also collected all the tithes from the people of Israel. (Numbers 18:20-32). The tithes were a tax of one tenth of all that was produced in the land and were used not only as individual income for the priests, but for administration of the Tabernacle and its functions. The individual Levites were also required to pay one tenth of the tithes that they personally received to the Tabernacle (or later the Temple) as their share towards the support of the governing structure. (Numbers 18:25-26)

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29 When you look at the duties of the Levites you see that they are divided into two groups. There were the sacerdotal priests who were in charge of the Tabernacle and the ordinary Levites who assisted the priests and who were responsible for all the administrative functions of the Tabernacle. Examining the organization and functions of the Levites, you find a hierarchical structure of civil servants operating under the overall control of the priests. They are administering justice and enforcing the law, collecting taxes, controlling the treasury and administering the finances of the state. You also see that although the Levites were paid from the taxes (tithes) that they collected, they in turn were also required to pay their own taxes to the Tabernacle. This organization exactly mirrors the modern day system of government in most countries of the world. You have Ministers (the priests) setting policy and having overall control of the organization and a hierarchically organised civil service (the Levites) under their control who run the day-to-day functions of the government. The Priesthood The Aaronic priesthood is at the end of a line of succession that is based purely and simply on birthright. You either have the birthright or you dont. If you dont have the birthright to be a member of the priesthood, then you cannot join it by buying your way in, being elected or being appointed. The N.T. priesthood of the believers is based on the O.T. Aaronic priesthood. All of the Biblical evidence is that only those who God calls can become Christians. Individuals cannot just decide that they can believe that Jesus died for their sins, repent and be saved. You see this in the statements of many people who say, I would like to believe but I just cannot Summarizing the development of the idea of the priesthood we have the following. The archetype of the priests in the Old Testament The concepts of the priesthood in the N.T. are based on these key ideas that were laid out in the O.T. Inheritance and privilege goes to the first-born It was not based on anything other than the fact of literally being born first (Exodus 3:1 & 4:22 & 11:5 & Exodus 23:16, Deuteronomy 21:15-17) God placed a special claim on the first-born of both people and animals The father of the first-born was required to pay a redemption fee to buy back the firstborn child and animal from the offerings to the Tabernacle (Exodus 13:11-13 & 34:20, Numbers 18:14-16). The tribe of Levi was substituted for the first-born This had nothing to do with anything the tribe of Levi had done or not done. It was purely on the basis of God choosing to give them this privileged position. (Numbers 3:12 & 3:41-45, Numbers 8:18)

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30 Only Aaron from the tribe of Levi and his sons and their descendents were given the birthright to be priests This had nothing to do with choice on the part of those who were to be the priests. It was God alone who decreed who had the right to be a priest (Exodus 28:1-3 & 28:43 & 29:1-46 & 30:30-31 & 31:10 & 40:12-15, Leviticus 6:16-18 & 8:1-9, Numbers 3:10 The priests were that group that God had chosen to be in charge of the Tabernacle and to rule over Israel The governance of Israel was not a matter of choice. You either were born to rule in Gods chosen national instrument, or you fell into the class of people who were ruled over. Our Priesthood in the New Testament Jesus is described as the first-born-among among all Christians (Romans 8:29) and of all creation (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:6) and was offered to God as the law required (Luke 2:22-24) The Priesthood of Jesus is of the order of Melchizedek Like Melchizedek, Jesus as our High Priest has no successor (Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 7:1-3 & 7:17). The Christian church is described as being made up of the first-born Our status as members of the church (in general) is described in Hebrews 12:23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. The picture is the church as representing a group of first-borns all gathering together The Christians in the N.T. are described as the elect or chosen ones Both elect and chosen imply a definite act on the part of someone other than the one who is elected or chosen. It precludes the idea that the person themselves have a direct say in the matter (elect Mathew 24:22 & 24:31, Mark 13:20 & 13:27, Romans 11:7, 2 Timothy 2:10, Titus 1:1, I Peter 1:1 chosen Mathew 22:14, Mark 13:20, John 6:70 & 13:18 & 15:19, Acts 1:24 & 22:14, Romans 8:33 & 11:5 & 16:13, Ephesians 1:11, Colossians 1:27 & 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, James 2:5, 1 Peter 1:2 & 2:9 & 5:13, 2 John 1:1 & 1:13) Saving faith is given by God It is not a choice that an individual can make (Matthew 11:27 & 16:15-17, Luke 10:22, Ephesians 2:8-10) Our Priesthood is of the order of the Aaronic priesthood Christians are described in the N.T as a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:4-6) a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) and as kings and priests (Revelation 1:5-6 & 5:10) and a reigning priesthood with Jesus (Revelation 20:6) The Priesthood ruling under God as the Kingdom of God in order to bring salvation to the world The whole basis of Gods original plan for the world in Genesis was for mankind to run the world under Gods guidance and direction. After the fall in Genesis God set about redeeming (buying back) the world from the state of rebellion and sin that entered at the fall.

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31 The nation of Israel was created by God as His national instrument through which he would rule over the world. The governing structure of Israel was setup by God through the mechanism of the Tabernacle in the O.T. The Tabernacle was setup as a theocracy (God rules) and the priesthood was established as the governing body for the Tabernacle under God as ruler. The priests were chosen by God. This is not an office that can be left to people to corruptly buy their way into power or to pander to the democratic choice of a political candidate who is pushing some unwise but popular political idea or that worst candidate of all, the celebrity, who is famous for being famous, but who otherwise has no common sense, idea of justice and for the most part, not much talent. Everyone who lives in 2010 all know just how essential it is that God and God alone chooses those who will govern His redeemed Kingdom of God. We have all seen and experienced the result of mankind freely running governments. This includes both democracy and dictatorships. I doubt that many people would like the idea of living in an eternal kingdom that was characterized by the sort of global poverty, hunger, slavery, war, crime, environmental disasters, climate change, corruption, incompetence and not to mention the global financial meltdown that we recently experienced caused by greed, stupidity, ignorance and incompetence. You have probably guessed that I am not too impressed by the present day rulers of the world. God himself declare that He alone chooses who will rule His people, and later the whole creation. 1 Kings 8:16 (NIV) Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.' God will draw those He chooses and calls The priesthood was given to Aaron and his descendants when he was told by God that I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift (Numbers 18:7). He was also told that Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come" (Exodus 40:15). Because the office of priesthood was hereditary the descendants of Aaron were required to accept the responsibility for this. Because the priestly succession depended on the accuracy of the genealogy of each person, these genealogies were required to be maintained and preserved. These genealogical records were referred to in disputed cases to establish whether a particular person qualified as a priest. (Ezra 2:62, Nehemiah 7:64) The important point about this is that if you were in the priestly line you had little to no choice about whether you would fulfil your responsibilities as a priest. The same idea of Gods called and chosen ones having little choice in the matter is also shown throughout the Bible. Not that anyone in their right mind would reject that privilege. It starts with Israel. God chose to form Israel as the national vehicle through which all peoples on earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3 & 22:18). Try as hard as they could to disobey God and conform to the nations around them instead of following Gods 31

32 commandment to act as a light unto the world (Isaiah 42:6 & 60:3, Zechariah 8:23), Israel had no choice. Whether they liked it or not, God had chosen and called them. Gods sovereign will was not going to be thwarted by the people of Israel exercising their free will to disobey His commands. When they obeyed Him, Israel prospered. When they disobeyed Him, which was most of the time, they suffered judgements on the land (droughts, crop failures etc.) and on the nation (war and invasions). The important point here is that the modern state of Israel today (national Judah in the Bible) has been resurrected just as God said it would be in the last times before Jesus returns. This happened quite apart from anybodys wishes. In fact many people today are trying to destroy Israel. They have zero chance of succeeding as God has determined that Israel is to play its role in the establishment of His Kingdom (Joel 3:13) Perhaps the best known example in the O.T. of someone who had no choice but to do what God had told him to do was Jonah. Try as hard as he might, he still ended up in Nineveh doing exactly what God had told him to do in the first place. Jonah was the original example of You can do it the easy way or you can do it the hard way but you are going to do it whether you like it or not. Saul who became Paul after his meeting with God on the road to Damascus was smart enough to realise when he was struck down on the way and heard God saying "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4), that it was wise to pay heed to God. He chose the easy way over the hard way that Jonah took. But the essential point is clear, if he had ignored Gods question (warning), then rough times lay ahead. There was no way that he was going to escape Gods call on him Also consider the case of Jeremiah where God reveals that He set him apart for His service before he was even born. Did Jeremiah have a choice here? Well undoubtedly he could have rebelled like Jonah but Gods will is sovereign, in the end, like Jonah, he was going to do what God called him to do. Jeremiah 1:4-5 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." We then consider the words of Jesus who referred to himself as the good shepherd (John 10:11) who looks after His sheep. (Mathew 2:6 & 26:31, Mark 14:27, John 10:16 & 10:11, Hebrews 13:20, 1 Peter 5:4, Revelations 7:17) Many people picture a shepherd as simply tending the sheep out in the paddocks and on the hills. However in the Middle East, even today, you get a number of shepherds who all tend their individual flocks together in one common area. All you see is a great flock of sheep and goats all standing around eating. When you look at them all you have no idea which sheep belong to which shepherd. However as soon as one of the shepherds decides to move on he calls out to his sheep and says right you lot were moving on. Then all of his sheep stop eating and start to follow him. They know his voice and when he calls them they follow him. There may be a few stragglers, but they eventually follow the rest of the flock behind the shepherd This is exactly what Jesus said. His sheep know His voice and follow him but they turn away from a strange shepherd (the ways of the world) 32

33 John 10:3-6 (NIV) 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. This last statement of Jesus (in red above) is still true for many people today. They dont see the picture that He was painting that His sheep (e.g. people) will in the end follow him and not the world because they have always belonged to Him from before they were born. He reinforces that point when he tells the Jews standing around Him why they dont believe Him. John 10:25-27 (NIV) Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. It is simply that they are not His sheep that have been predestined by God and chosen by God to co-reign with Jesus as King over the Kingdom of God as shown below. He reinforces that message by telling people that this call of God is not an act of free will on the part of the individual it comes direct from God alone. Romans 8:28-30 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 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. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (e.g. as rulers in His Kingdom) John 6:65 (NIV) He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." The picture of the flocks of sheep that belong to the Good Shepherd (Jesus) and the worldly shepherd (Satan John 8:44, 1 Timothy 5:15, Revelation 12:9) responding to the voice of their shepherd is what is being referred to in the scripture below. Romans 10:16-18 (NIV) 6 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Although we cannot tell from looking at all the sheep (people), the only ones who will respond to the gospel message are those people who have been chosen by God. Only those people who are His flock of sheep from the beginning of the world. The rest will only respond to the worldly shepherd because they belong to his flock. We dont 33

34 know nor can we know who belongs to God, therefore the preaching of the gospel is an important and essential part of the Churches calling in the world today. However it is totally unscriptural to believe that God is calling everybody to respond to the message. This is clearly seen in the fact that the vast majority of people who have ever lived and who know the message of the Bible, have never responded to it. More importantly, hundreds of millions, and probably billions, have never even heard the message of the Bible. Even today there are millions of people in many countries who are born, live and die without ever seeing a Bible, let alone reading what is in it. God is sovereign. If he intended to save all those people in the sense of personal salvation, then there is nothing that would or could prevent that. It is simply inconceivable, and totally unscriptural to believe that mankind could thwart Gods will. It is just not possible! Why have I spent so much effort on this subject of who can be a priest Many Christians have been led to believe that the main role of the church is to get people saved so that they can go to heaven. They appear not to understand that God is in the process of saving the whole world and that salvation of the world is to be the coming Kingdom of God that Jesus and others in the NT spoke of so many times (66 times in the NIV version and 70 times in the NKJV) Also from my personal observations of many Christians today, there is a belief that science is the enemy of God. This is despite the fact that there are many Christian scientists. There are some in the science community as well as in the church that see this as an us versus them battle between the atheistic science community and what some Christians believe that the Bible says about the creation of the universe. However, in my experience with those who hold creationist beliefs, there does not appear to be any understanding that the salvation of the world from the present day kingdom of Satan is to be the coming Kingdom of God. Creationists appear to believe that the church has only one function and that is to get everyone saved by rescuing them from the clutches of atheistic science Most Evangelical and Pentecostal churches share creationist beliefs. For that reason it appears that the idea that evangelism is the main function of the church stems from these creationist beliefs. The underlying ideas are worth briefly looking at. Their beliefs appear to rest on three points. 1. Because Genesis is the beginning of the Bible, creationists believe it lays out the foundational base for the ideas expressed in the rest of the Bible. It is believed that anyone who rejects the fundamental ideas that creationists believe God laid out regarding the beginning of the universe and the earth, are then prone to accept what they consider to be the atheistic views of science. As a result of adopting the ideas of science, it is then believed that people reject the message of personal salvation as laid out in the New Testament. 2. That the churchs primary role is that of evangelism where it is tasked with winning as many souls for Christ as is possible. It is believed that one of the major roadblocks that Satan erects to hinder this work is the general acceptance of the atheistic views of science. It is believed that once people accept the science view 34

35 of creation that they are inoculated against the Gospel of the N.T. and hence science thwarts the Will of God. This subject is beyond the scope of this book, but is explored in another of my books entitled Creationism versus Genesis. (Available on SCRIBD at) http://www.scribd.com/doc/30830593/Creationism-Versus-Genesis 3. It is believed that because God desires to save all mankind from the effects of sin; that this salvation comes in the form of God saving every person in the sense of each person accepting Christ as their saviour. Anything that prevents them from getting the message of personal salvation to people is then preventing them from fulfilling the command of the great commission as shown below Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) 18 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." The idea of the coming Kingdom of God as the salvation of the world does not appear to be a part of their conception of what the Bible is about. From my experiences and observations over many years on this subject, both sides of the argument hold less than complimentary views of each other. The commonly held view from the non-Christian scientific side is that at least some in the church choose to distort the facts in order to be able to justify a blind faith in an ancient text. The reason for the atheistic views of the science world is looked at briefly in the book Creationism versus Genesis (see above) in the chapter entitled The Scientific view of the Universe and Life. But it is not what most Christians seem to believe The implicit belief from people in the church who believe in a literal six day creation is that science is atheistic and that scientists who are either agnostic (not sure) or plain atheists are somehow evil in their beliefs and intentions. Both sides think the worst of each other and both sides are wrong. It is true that there are some zealots in science who do go out of their way to demonize Christians. But it is also true that some in the Christian community believe that to be an agnostic or atheist is showing that the person is evil to a greater or lesser extent. Most of us know that is not true. We can probably all think of some Christians who are less than perfect and we probably all know some agnostics / atheists who are good moral people Any person who God has not revealed Himself to still has to be able to make sense of the world that they live in. Naturally if the truth of the Bible has not been revealed to them, then they have no option but to form some other explanation for the world around them. This is the source of our different ideas of just what the truth is. However the idea that we are in a life and death battle for the souls of all individuals is simply not scriptural. 35

36 All we are doing is speaking the message of salvation to the sheep of the flock of Jesus spread out in the world. They will know His voice and follow Him and will not be dissuaded by rival messages from the science community or other competing philosophies and religions (John 10:3-6). ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Unifying the Old and New Testaments

Or The Kingdom of God as the underlying theme that runs through the Old and New Testaments as the Gospel of Salvation for all mankind Many people are unsure of how to reconcile the Old and New Testaments as they appear to be very different in character. In some cases people simply ignore the O.T. altogether and just focus on the ideas of personal salvation that they see in the N.T. Given that we next turn our attention to the N.T, it is necessary to look at what the two Testaments have in common as it is this thread that we are tracing in this quest to see the different roles in the Kingdom of God of the nation of Israel and the church. God created mankind in the Garden of Eden to rule over the creation under the sovereignty of God. Mankind chose to rebel against God and rely on his own intellect and abilities. As history has shown, this has been a disaster for all mankind. From the beginning God put in place His plan to redeem mankind and reestablish the conditions of Eden but this time without Satan to bring it undone. This plan is centred on the creation of the nation of Israel, which was designed to accomplish three things. First, Israel was to bring forth the Messiah, who would then give his life to atone for the sin of all those who would accept Him as saviour. Israel was also to be a role model for the surrounding nations (e.g. a light unto the nations). Finally, Israel is to be the national instrument through which God will ultimately rule all the nations of the world, and later the universe, in peace, justice and prosperity. The end of this redemptive plan will see Jesus return as Lord of lords and King of kings of the earth, ruling from the nation of Israel, with those people who have accepted Jesus as their saviour co-ruling with him as priests. Jesus will reign for a thousand years at which time all creation will have been brought under his control. This period of Jesus reigning over the earth is necessary in order to absolutely prove that by administering the world according to Gods laws, peace and justice for all are assured. He (God) will then be seen to have the undisputed and proven right to judge mankind. After this period, Jesus will hand the kingdom over to God the Father and the final judgement will take place. Once this is complete God declares that He will create new heavens and a new earth. He will then make His home with mankind in the New Jerusalem, with mankind ruling over the creation under His sovereignty. This then completes His redemptive plan and man is back where he started in the Garden of Eden. At this time He will have brought to pass the N.T. scripture 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV) 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all men to be saved (NT:4982 sozo delivered or protected) and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Gods vehicle for saving all of mankind is the Kingdom of God. This is the subject that connects (e.g. unifies) both the Old and New Testaments. 37

38 In the Old Testament we see a detailed description of how Israel (the chosen nation) was originally setup as a theocracy (God ruling) with the Aaronic Priesthood as the ruling body of the Tabernacle over the nation of Israel. The Aaronic Priesthood was likewise a chosen group inasmuch as it was a hereditary office. The whole nation of Israel was chosen by God as His nation through which Jesus would eventually rule over creation for all eternity. Israel of course was split into two kingdoms after the death of King Solomon. They comprised the ten northern tribes of Israel as the House of Israel and the southern tribes (Judah and part of Benjamin and later Simeon as well) as the House of Judah with both of the two houses known as the Whole House of Israel As is made clear in various scriptures in the O.T. this division of Israel was to accomplish two separate goals in the final Kingdom of God. Psalm 60:7 (NIV) Ephraim (Northern kingdom) is my helmet (the arm of power), Judah (Southern kingdom) my scepter. (symbol of the King) Psalm 114:2 (NIV) 2 Judah became God's sanctuary (part of the Tabernacle e.g. the ruling structure), Israel his dominion (the area that is ruled over). The title of Jesus in Revelation 17:14 & 19:16 is King of kings and Lord of lords. Given that description, it is clear that in this role, the national instrument through which He exercises these functions is national Israel as it rules over all other kingdoms (e.g. all other kings and lords). In the N.T. we find Jesus frequently saying Matthew 12:28 (NIV) But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (e.g. the Kingdom of God is saving people from oppression) Luke 4:44 (NIV) But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." Luke 8:10 (NIV) He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "`though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.' Luke 9:1-2 (NIV) When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. John 3:5(NIV) 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

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39 There are also many other scriptures in the N.T. that refer to both the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. There are clearly two aspects to both of these references. However first and foremost is the concept that God is setting up His Kingdom that was disrupted by the fall of mankind in Eden. The second aspect of it is that Jesus is choosing those people who are called to take part in the priesthood of the New Covenant of salvation that Jesus secured for mankind on the cross. The picture that unifies both the Old and New Testaments is the ongoing salvation of the world that started in the book of Genesis and ends in the book of Revelation. In the O.T. the national aspects of Gods Kingdom were emphasized along with its ruling structure of the Tabernacle and the hereditary Aaronic Priesthood. In the N.T. we still see the Kingdom of God as the overarching theme as the salvation of the world. However in the N.T. the emphasis is on the call to those who God has chosen as the new priesthood to replace the old Aaronic Priesthood. Jesus replaced the Aaronic Priesthood with Himself as the High Priest and the N.T. believers as the new priesthood. Hebrews 7:11-13 (NIV) If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come-one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. The idea of the Kingdom of God continues across the boundaries of the Old and New Testaments. The whole house of Israel still maintains its place as the preeminent national structure through which Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings will in future rule over the creation. However now that Jesus is the High Priest, a new priesthood of the N.T. believers is required and has been instituted. This new priesthood does not supplant Israel the nation. It is the new governing body, under Jesus, of the eternal State of Israel and hence over all creation as shown by the scripture below. Matthew 19:28 (NIV) Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging (ruling over) the twelve tribes of Israel. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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The New Testament View of Gods Kingdom

Or Luke 22:29-30 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This question of just who has the freedom to choose God lies at the heart of what the Bible is about when we speak of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. The big picture presented by the Bible is that God created the universe and all that is in it, including man. Man was to rule over the creation under God as the sovereign. Man rebelled and fell under the rule of Satan. God laid out a path to save all of His creation from Satan and to restore it to what he intended it to be. The final restoration is shown in Revelation chapters 21 and 22 where God has established the New Jerusalem that serves as His home among mankind and from where He with the believers of all the ages rules over the eternal Kingdom. Revelation 21:22-27 (NIV) 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21:22-27 makes it very clear that the kings of the earth and those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life are the only ones who will enter the New Jerusalem. However we also have the kings of the earth bringing their splendor into it which they do through the gates of the city which are always open. Immediately two questions arise! Who are the kings of the earth and why does the city have gates that the kings use to bring their splendor into it These are not trivial questions and are directly related to who chooses God or man. Clearly, the kings of the earth can only be from those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life as they are the only ones who will ever be allowed to enter the New Jerusalem. This is shown in the scriptures below 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) 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. Revelation 5:10 (NIV) 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." The history of mankind since the fall in Eden shows what happens when mankind chooses those who govern them. King Saul in the O.T was a perfect study. He was the popular choice of the people, He was good looking and could get on well with people 40

41 He was the natural choice (1 Samuel 9:2). However he like just about all politicians had strayed from the commands of God (1 Samuel 13:7-14) and was a total disaster for Israel. He was told that God had instead sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command" (1 Samuel 13:4). This leader, chosen by God, was David. Under David Israel prospered. Throughout the entire Bible we have this picture of God choosing who He will allow to govern His Kingdom. This choosing extends to the N.T. priesthood that replaced the old Aaronic priesthood. And just as the O.T. priesthood were the rulers of Israel, so the N.T. priesthood are the rulers (under Jesus as High Priest) of the eternal Kingdom The second question is then why are the kings of the earth bringing their splendor into it through the gates? There is only one answer to this; gates only exist to allow passage through them. This clearly says that there is something outside the city walls that requires the presence of the kings of the earth to attend to. Kings (and queens) rule and reign over a kingdom. Clearly these kingdoms exist outside of the city of the New Jerusalem. Who then lives in these kingdoms that the kings of the earth reign over? The Millennial reign of Jesus There are two different aspects to this question. The first part of the answer is found in the description of the millennial reign of Jesus. Revelation 20:1-6 (NIV) 1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. This then raises two questions who are Jesus and the saints of all the ages ruling over during this thousand year period and what purpose does this period serve? The answers are shown in the two scripture references below. Revelation 20:7-9 (NIV) When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth - Gog and Magog - to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves.

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42 The scripture above shows clearly that there are nations of un-saved people who inhabit the earth after Jesus returns. These nations will be made up from those people and their descendents who are living in the world but who are not caught up to meet Jesus at the Second Coming. They will be all the non-Christians. These people form the nations that are reigned over by Jesus and the saints for the next thousand years. (Mathew 13:37-43, Mathew 24:31, Mark 8:38, & 13:27, 1 Thessalonians 1:7 & 4:1317) Revelation 15:1-4 (NIV) 1 I saw in heaven another great and marvellous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues - last, because with them God's wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. 4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." In order to set the context for the scripture above we need to recognise that it is talking about the seven final Bowl Judgements that lead to the return of Jesus and a summary of the things that will happen after Jesus Returns. The Seventh Bowl finishes with the return of Jesus and the setting up of His millennial Kingdom (Revelation 16:17). Revelation 15:1-4 (above) states that during the millennium, Jesus will clearly establish the fact that under His rule the world truly does run in love, peace, truth, beauty, justice, freedom and prosperity. At the end of this period at the final Judgment (Revelation 20:7-15) Jesus (as God) will be seen to have unquestioned authority because he has demonstrated for one thousand years that His rule is just and wise Now it is clear that in the millennial reign of Jesus we see Jesus ruling as Lord Of lords and King of kings with the saints under Him ruling over the un-saved rest of the inhabitants of the world. Although the un-saved do not form part of the ruling class, they non-the-less are saved from the ravages of the kingdom of Satan who has ruled this world for the last 6000 years or so. This then brings to pass the scripture below where all men are saved from Satans kingdom but only the saints of all the ages form the ruling class under Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:4 (NIV) 4 who wants all men to be saved (NT 4982 delivered or protected) and to come to a knowledge of the truth. The New Jerusalem We now return to the second part of the question of who the kings of the earth are that are going out of the gates of the New Jerusalem to reign over the kingdoms that lie outside the city (Revelation 21:22-27). It has to be clearly understood that we are now talking about the period after the end of the millennial reign of Jesus and on into the eternal Kingdom of God. On closely reading the Bible, it is crystal clear that the kings of the earth are the Christians and saints of all the ages and they are reigning over a people that do not have access to the New Jerusalem. The picture is that of the New Jerusalem as the Capital City of all the Creation and where the central government of all creation is located. The kings (and queens) coming and going are 42

43 reporting back to the Lord of lords and King of kings on the state of their various kingdoms. Remember Christians are the royal priesthood (e.g. the ruling priesthood who mediate between man and God) (1 Peter 2:9) who will rule over the nations (Revelation 2:26). Now we need to look at the identity of the people outside the New Jerusalem who are ruled over. The first thing to consider here is that the people in the Eternal Kingdom of God who live outside the wall of the New Jerusalem cannot be the Christians of all ages. First, the Christians have access to the city whereas the people outside dont. The second point is that all Christians will receive their eternal resurrection bodies at the time of the Second Coming. These are very different to our current natural bodies as shown in the scripture below. More to the point, they are not biological bodies that reproduce. This was simply a process by which we could populate the earth originally. Because there are a fixed number in the royal priesthood then the people who continue to reproduce and fill the unimaginably vast universe in eternity to come, must be people who live in biological bodies. Luke 20:34-36 (NIV) 34 Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. Similar statements are made in Mathew 22:23-30 and Mark 12:18-25. But both of these other accounts leave out the underlined red text in the scripture above. It appears very likely that all three of these accounts are talking about the first resurrection which only includes those Christians who had died by that time and those Christians who are alive on the earth on that day. The description of how our bodies are changed at that time is given in 1 Corinthians 15:42-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. It is conspicuous that the description of the second resurrection at the end of the millennial reign of Jesus of all those who were not saved and who had died right up to that time does not talk about what their bodies are like. All the Bible says about this is found in Revelation 20:5 where it says, The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended You can however form some opinions on the type of bodies that these people have by analyzing what the Bible says. In just the same way that there are huge numbers of unsaved people living on the earth on the day that Jesus returns, so it will almost certainly be the same at the time of the second resurrection. At the time of the second resurrection the people outside the earthly Jerusalem (the capital of Jesus millennial reign) are made up of the un-saved people from the beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus and their descendents. Many from this time period will probably live forever as a result of advances in science that allows the body to continually regenerate. As the scripture below says, death is the last enemy to be conquered and the context of that scripture appears to place this event sometime during Christs millennial reign. These immortal but apparently still biological bodied people would then forever expand out into this unbelievably large universe during the eternal Kingdom of God. However, in order for them to do this their bodies must be able to reproduce and fill the universe much the same as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. In that sense their bodies would be different to those of the Christians whose bodies are like the angels. 43

44 1 Corinthians 15:25 (NIV) 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. The Great White Throne and the final judgment At the final judgment (Revelation chapter 20) we have everybody standing before the Judgment Seat of God. The Christians of all ages do not come under condemnation but are instead under the grace of God (Romans chapter 6). They are rewarded according to the way that they lived their lives. But not all Christians on that day will receive everything that they may think (1 Corinthians 3:1-15). All the non-Christians will be judged according to the law. Revelation 20:11-21:1 (NIV) Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. (almost certainly the books of the Law) Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Many, if not most Christians have interpreted the above scripture to mean that all nonChristians will be forever consigned to some sort of fiery Hell where they are tormented forever. Now I dont know exactly what is going to happen to these people. However, a close study of the Biblical descriptions gives a somewhat different view. The first aspect of this is the idea of proportionality which is a central concept of justice according to God. This is shown in the scripture below Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV) Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. God is just. On this basis it would appear to be most unjust to treat many people who do not believe in Jesus but are otherwise good moral people (in some cases better than some Christians that I know of) the same as people such as Hitler (Germany), Idi Amin (Uganda), the Khmer Rouge leaders (Cambodia) and countless others from all countries and periods of history who truly are the scum of the universe. The Bible says that God will use the same measure that we use against others to judge each person. There is a crystal clear message here that Gods judgments are proportional to the sin involved. This is reinforced by the statement in Revelation 201:13 and each person was judged according to what he had done. It is also said that God will weed out all who are evil. The idea of weeding is that you leave the main crop but remove the unwanted plants.

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45 Matthew 13:40-42 (NIV) As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth We then consider the two scriptures that say that God wants all people to be saved and that the creation waits eagerly for Gods children to be revealed. When you take these references (shown below) and all the other facts that we have covered about the role of the N.T. royal priesthood and the ruling Tabernacle structure, it does not make sense that many otherwise good moral people who God had not revealed Himself to are to be eternally tormented in the same way as the real scum of the ages that have lived on the earth. The picture is that those who are reasonable people but are not Christians because God had not revealed Himself to them will be saved and come to understand His truth when they live in the kingdom ruled over by God and His royal priesthood that are revealed at the Second Coming 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV) 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Romans 8:19 (NIV) 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. The real scum of the ages will be weeded out by the angels (Matthew 13:40-42) and will find themselves locked up with Satan and his world. But here again, proportionality is preserved because these people will have demonstrated by their consistent choices and actions during their life that the kingdom of Satan is where they belong. We then have to consider a couple of other things as well. First, at the Second Coming, the living Christians have their bodies changed into immortal ones and they join the resurrected dead in Christ. Jesus and His royal priesthood then rule over the rest of unsaved mankind living on the earth for a thousand years and demonstrate the justness of His rule. Now consider the scripture taken from Revelation chapter 22 and which talks of the eternal Kingdom of God as shown below. Revelation 22:12-15 (NIV) "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. 14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Here we see that the Christians have the right to enter the gates of the New Jerusalem, and that the people outside are described in terms of sinners. However we also remember that, the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it through the gates in the walls. (Revelation 21:22-27. Clearly these kings rule over people who live

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46 outside the walls. Revelation 22:14-15 above tells us that these people are none other than the unsaved of all the ages. Here we have the final state of Gods plan to save all mankind. The nation of Israel is formed for the purposes of bringing forth the Messiah who would by his substitutionary death and resurrection pay the sin-debt of all mankind. The Whole House of Israel is also to be the national instrument through which Christ rules over all the creation with His royal priesthood ruling under Him. In the O.T. we see how God implemented the Tabernacle and put it under the Aaronic Priesthood and that this hereditary priesthood ruled over Israel. In the N.T. we see the Aaronic Priesthood superseded by the High Priesthood of Jesus and the N.T. royal priesthood of the believers take its place. The scene moves on to the Second Coming when Jesus and His royal priesthood rule over the unsaved world for the purposes of showing that Gods rule is just. We have a partial saving of all mankind during this period. At the end of the millennial reign of Jesus everybody reaps what they have sown at the final Judgment. This judgment ensures that everyones final position in the eternal Kingdom of God accurately reflects what every individual demonstrated that they were in life. In the end we see God and His royal priesthood ruling over all creation and the unsaved in absolute truth, justice, peace, prosperity, freedom and beauty. Revelation 2:26 (NIV) 26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations 27 `He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' - just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The fate of the unsaved In this final state we see come to pass the prophecy shown below. Truly justice has not only been done but it has been seen to be done as well. Daniel 12:2 (NKJV) 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. It should be noted that to be subjected to shame and everlasting contempt means that you must be in the presence of those whose status is everlasting glory and honour This could only occur in the situation where the unsaved of the ages are in contact with those who by the grace of God have had their sins washed away by the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. Clearly the verdict of the people being ruled over will be that some of those amongst them demonstrated in their lives, that by comparison to the saints of Jesus, their former conduct truly was shameful and for which they should be held in everlasting utter contempt. This view that the people who form part of the NT royal priesthood (e.g. the Christians) can communicate with those who are in hell is clearly shown in the scripture and the corresponding concordance entry for hell below.

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47 Luke 16:19-26 (NIV) 19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, (NT:86 Haides see below) where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, `Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, `Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'" (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.) NT:86 haides (hah'-dace); from NT:1 (as negative particle) and NT:1492; properly, unseen, i.e. "Hades" or the place (state) of departed souls: KJV-grave, hell. Notice in the scriptures above that although there was some type of barrier that prevented Abraham and the rich man from joining each other they could talk to each other. It doesnt actually say that they couldnt physically mix together. Rather the picture is that of being unable to change their status from one group to the other. Although it is hard to believe that any of the Christians would want to go and join the rich man in the situation that he found himself in. However, if you look at it from the rich mans point of view, he really was (and is) in some sort of fiery hell His whole earthy life was apparently one of power, influence and money. He had everything that his heart desired. And he had no time or interest in considering those who were much less fortunate than he was.

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48 However the really interesting part starts in verse 27 where the rich man asked for Lazarus to be sent back to warn his five brothers about what was waiting for them. The question has to be asked if the rich mans position was really so bad, why then did he not beg to be allowed to return to life and get another chance. The Bible doesnt answer this question. However it does raise the possibility that although he was in hell (e.g. torment), he was still better off than he was in life. Its just that had he known the real situation in life, he could have lived a better life and ended up in a better eternal situation. This interpretation is then consistent with the scripture below 1 Timothy 2:4 (NIV) 4 who wants all men to be saved (NT 4982 delivered or protected) and to come to a knowledge of the truth. But the one thing that he lacked was the ability to understand that he like everybody else who has ever lived was demonstrating just who and what he was, by the decisions that he took at every decision point throughout his life. All this comes back to haunt people at the final judgment at the Great White Throne of God where it is said: Revelation 20:11-21:1 (NIV) Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. (almost certainly the books of the Law) Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. At this final judgment, people convict themselves by the thoughts, motives and the deeds they did in life as they are compared to the books that were opened. These are almost certainly the books of the law in the OT notably the Ten Commandments. At this judgment, peoples own free will decisions that they made from the menu of choices that were presented to them at each point in the lives will show their true nature. Nobody will be able to say, But God, we only have your word and judgment about whether I am a good person or not Jesus as God will then say, Angel 47 play the tape again and lets see what this persons motives and decisions were at each decision point in their life It will truly be a case of give a person a long enough piece of rope and they will hang themselves There are many fine, moral people who are agnostic, atheist, Hindu, Moslem, Jew, nominal Christian and every other religion and philosophy. There are also many others in all those categories whose personal motives and deeds are not quite so good. But each one of these people will be judged according to what they freely chose from the menu of choices at each decision point in the life (e.g. they consistently and wilfully

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49 chose either the good the neutral or the bad option on the menu at each decision point) The Bible makes it pretty clear that everybodys choices in life including the Christians have eternal consequences. Their eternal position is fixed at either, death, the Second Coming or the Final Judgment (whichever comes first for each person) All people including the unsaved along with the real scum of history will all be saved from the kingdom of Satan as he will be locked away from mankind. However, imagine the burning shame and the burning regret as the unsaved mix with the rest of the unsaved people and see how much better their eternal lives could have been if they had demonstrated better and more moral judgment at each decision point along the way of their earthly life. Truly, these people will be in a figurative lake of fire More particularly, imaging the burning regret the unsaved will feel when they see that the NT Priesthood (the Christians) really have inherited the earth; and the glory and honour that is accorded to the Christians as they rule over the entire ever expanding Kingdom of God. These everlasting feelings of shame and contempt in the unsaved will be amplified by the very simple fact that they are forever in the company of the Christians and the better unsaved people around them. They will be forever reminded of what they threw away. Is Predestination unjust? Its a subject that you could write a small book on and I am sure that people have. The principal reason that many people reject the idea that personal salvation is only for those who God chooses (despite it being an integral part of the Bible) is that they believe it is unjust as any person who is not PREDESTINED will wind up in hell through no fault of their own. However a forensic like examination of the Biblical references to the subject reveals a totally different picture. Yes, hell is real but the Biblical description is quite different to the fire and brimstone version that we so often hear about from the churches today. We explored this topic at some length earlier in this chapter when we looked at the Biblical account of Lazarus and the rich man. The Biblical position is quite clear. God is in the process of saving the whole world from the kingdom of Satan after the fall. And that redemption is the coming Kingdom of God which is to be reigned over by Jesus and those saints of the ages that God CHOSE to rule over the world under Jesus. The fate of ALL people in the eternal Kingdom is set by what EACH person has shown they are deep down by the choices they made at each turn along the way of life. The position (e.g. rank) of Christians in the final NT priesthood is also set by those choices. The non-Christians final position is also set by their decisions and actions during life good, moral non-Christians will be much better off than really bad non-Christians. The fact that non-Christians cannot ever enter the New Jerusalem and form part of the governing body under Jesus is not really a hardship for them. Look at it in the following light:49

50 You live in country that has a ruling royal family. You are not part of that ruling royal family. However, that does not mean that you dont live a good, happy and prosperous life. What does influence your life is how you choose to live and how you have lived. There are gradations in rank and privileges in all societies. The Bible clearly shows that this extends to the Eternal Kingdom. All those in high places today that have behaved dishonourably in this life will be relegated to the bottom layers of the Eternal Kingdom. Imagine the burning shame these people will feel as they have to live amongst other non-saved people who were beneath them in status and wealth in this life but which were shown in the final judgement to have been so much better than them and who now rank above them in the Eternal Kingdom (Matthew 20:16). Imagine also their absolute horror when they find that Matthew 5:5 really has come true (NIV) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth and the despised and contemptible Christians are now ruling over them. To top off their burning shame they now find that reigning over all creation is none other than the truly despised one Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 19;16). Truly Daniel 12:12 (below) will have come to pass quite literally Daniel 12:2 (NIV) Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to SHAME and EVERLASTING CONTEMPT Will some Christians get a shock at the final judgment? Mind you, many Christians are going to get a shock as well. The Bible makes it crystal clear that the NT Priesthood is based on the OT Tabernacle archetype which showed a hierarchical structure to the priesthood. This meant that position and status ranged from the High Priest down through various levels to the very low status levels of priesthood. It is clear that the NT Tabernacle structure is going to be the same. More to the point, it very clearly demonstrates in the scripture below that each Christian is going to show what level they are suited to by the way in which they have lived their earthly lives. The Bible clearly shows that nobody in the eternal NT priesthood will be able to dispute about whether they should have had a higher position or not. Everybody the saved and the unsaved will all demonstrate at the Final Judgement just who and what they are and that their final position in the eternal Kingdom of God is absolutely correct. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV) 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 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.

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51 The whole Bible from the Old Testament right through the New Testament is consistent in the big picture that it presents. God is saving all mankind from the results of sin and that this salvation is the restoration of the Kingdom of God and that this Kingdom is ruled over by Jesus and His chosen royal priesthood. Romans 8:18-25 (NIV) 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For 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. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits 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. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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The Biblical view of the New Testament Church

Or The functions and responsibilities of the church and why it is important That the church has a clear view of what the Bible says As part of my journey to understanding what God has really said to mankind, I looked at just what the Bible had to say about the church its reason for existence and its functions. The churchs reason for existence Volumes have been written about the church. Here I am only interested in what the Bibles says about its reason for existence. First, the church did not replace national Israel as so many people today claim. Israel was formed by God as the chosen nation that Jesus would head as Lord of lords and King of kings and would be the national instrument that Jesus would use as He ruled the creation (Zechariah 1:16 & 8:22 & 14:17-19, Revelation 19:16). Israel was governed by the priesthood during the times of the O.T. Tabernacle and the Tabernacle is what God refers to again in the N.T as the ruling structure after Jesus returns (Hebrews 8:2 & 9:8-11, Revelation 5:6). The Christians who make up the church are described as a holy priesthood (e.g. set apart) (I Peter 2:5) and also as a royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9) (e.g. a ruling priesthood). Even as the High Priesthood of Aaron in the O.T was replaced by the High Priesthood of Jesus (Hebrews 5:6 & 6:20 & 7:1 & 7:11-22) so the new priesthood (the believers in the N.T. church) have replaced the O.T. priesthood as the rulers (under Jesus) of the restored whole nation of Israel after Jesus returns. In fact the apostles were specifically told by Jesus that they would sit on thrones at the head of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Kingdom of God. (Mathew 19:28-29, Luke 22:30, James 1:1, Revelations 21:12) As verse 29 shows (below), the same general promise appears to be extended to everyone who follows Jesus .e.g. they will be part of that ruling elite. Matthew 19:28-29 (NIV) 28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. It is probably not really correct to say that the church is described as the bride of Christ (John 3:29, Revelations 22:17) as this really refers to the New Jerusalem (Revelations 21:2 & 21:9-10). However, it does say in Revelations 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Given that only those who accept Christ now and those who obeyed Gods will in the OT will ever enter the New Jerusalem, it may be more correct to look at the bride of Christ as being the governing body of the Kingdom of God. This includes both the Old and New Testament saints. The believers (OT & NT) are clearly referred to as the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 4:12 & 5:23). It is also the case that the church is made up of the 52

53 believers. From this it is reasonable to consider that the activities of the church should be considered in the context of a body. Specifically, two things should be taken into consideration. These are the activities that are needed to maintain a living body and the activities that a living body would be normally expected to undertake. It is clear that the body that we are talking about here is the figurative Body of Christ From this it is crystal clear that this figurative Body of Christ was clearly intended to carry on the work that He started while He was on earth. The first thing that has to happen is to ensure that the body survives in a healthy state. It is to that task that we first turn. Feeding and maintaining the Body of Christ This is an essential task. But the purpose of sustaining and maintaining the body is to ensure that the body can carry out the functions expected of it. In order to carry out the functions that Jesus required of the church he has provided His figurative body (the church) with various organs that enable it to do His will. The organs set in the church are shown in the two sets of scriptures below 1 Corinthians 12:7-14 NIV) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 (NIV) 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. In order to maintain any body it has to be fed a balanced diet that contains all the elements needed to equip the body for its intended functions. As will be shown in the next section on the functions of the Body of Christ in the wider world, all of these gifts (organs) that are set in the church are vital if the church is to carry out the great commission that Jesus set for it and it is important that all of these functions are properly nourished. We see lots of attention given to the gifts (organs) shown above in red highlight in some churches. This is good as it assists the body by helping those people in the church who need help in their personal lives. However, in many cases we dont see a corresponding focus on the items shown in blue highlight in the scriptures above. These are the critical items (organs) of the church that need to be properly nourished if the church is to fulfil all of its roles in the outside world. The reason that these items are neglected and outright ignored in many 53

54 cases is summed up in what a number of people in the church have told me over a number of years. The reasoning goes something along the following lines. Dennis, most people in the church only want to have a simple understanding of the Bible. All they want to hear is that Jesus loves them They have absolutely no interest in looking at the deeper messages and teachings that may be in the Bible and they are certainly not interested in things such as Bible prophecy relating to this time period and even less interested in anything to do with science and the Bible The sad fact of the matter is that the people who tell me this are correct. It is this lack of a balanced diet in the teachings of the church and the lack of interest of many church goers that prevent it from being as effective as it should be in the world. The Body of Christ and its functions in the wider world The church is called upon to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. (Mathew 25:34-36). It also made very clear in the Great Commission as shown in the scriptures below Mathew 28:18-20 (NIV) 18 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 (students) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Luke 9:1-2 (NIV) When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 10:9 (NIV) 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, `The kingdom of God is near you.' A disciple is a student. Its use in the Bible is confined to the Gospels and the book of Acts. It is always used to mean the pupil of someone else. In all the Biblical cases it implies that the student not only accepts the views of the teacher, but that the student also practices what they have been taught. The word disciple is a general word for a student of anybody. This is clearly seen when we look at the disciples of John the Baptist (Matthew 9:14, Luke 7:18, John 3:25) the disciples of the Pharisees (Matthew 22:16, Mark 2:18, Luke 5:33) the disciples of Moses (John 9:28) However it is most commonly used to refer to those who follow Jesus. (Matthew 8:21 & 10:42, Luke 14:26, John 13:23 & 19:38 and many more). Even the Twelve Apostles (literally = one sent forth e.g. an envoy) are called disciples (Matthew 10:1 & 11:1 & 12:1-2). In the book of Acts we find that the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. (Acts 11:26)

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55 The commandant to make disciples of all nations was clearly a call to make all nations students of the Kingdom of God. However this does not necessarily imply that everybody in those nations would be saved in the sense of personal salvation. Certainly some people in all nations would be sheep who belonged to Christs flock and would hear His voice through the words that the disciples spoke as the envoy of Jesus, and would turn and follow Jesus. However the wider sense of making disciples of all nations is that the teachings of God would be made known to these nations and the people of all nations would be set free from the oppressive conditions that commonly characterize the governments of non-Christian nations as well as people in some so-called Christian nations. In other words, the Bible is commanding believers to bring the Kingdom of God to all people in the widest possible sense. Although it is very unpopular and politically incorrect to say so, the only nations that have a reasonably enlightened lifestyle are those where the Word of God has had a major influence in the development of the government. These are the Anglo-Saxon nations and Europe. Virtually all of these countries are Christian in name only in-asmuch as very few people in any of these countries are Christian in the Biblical sense. However, all these countries have had a strong Biblical influence on the political development of their governments. When you contrast these nations with the nonChristian world where the Word of God has not influenced their political development, there is a marked contrast in the political freedoms, public health and economic prosperity of these non-Christian nations. Making disciples of the nations involves the church doing two things. Evangelism is certainly one of these tasks (Ephesians 4:11) where the evangelists are calling Christs sheep into His fold. However the greater part of the ministry of Jesus was based around working for the betterment of the people in the country. This role is explicitly laid out in the scripture below. Matthew 25:34-40 (NIV) Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' This is consistent with the Kingdom of God that Jesus constantly told people about. The Kingdom was to give life, justice, freedom, health and prosperity to all but not everybody was part of the governance of the Kingdom. It is interesting to look at the words of Jesus in the Gospels when He spoke to the various people and groups and see what He actually said to them. There were only eight people that the Bible records where Jesus specifically said follow me. These were, Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and John (Mathew 4:19-

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56 21, Mark 1:17, Luke 5:10-11, John 21:19) Mathew (Mathew 9:9) Levi (Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27) another man (Luke 9:59) Philip (John 1:43) There were clearly others as well, such as those who made up the rest of the 12 apostles (Mark 3:13-15, Luke 6:12-13). But the Bible does not specifically record Jesus calling them. However it is very instructive to look at just one of these instances were a specific person was called. In the case of Levi, Jesus was teaching a large crowd (about the Kingdom of God) but He only selected one of them (Levi) that He called to follow Him Mark 2:13-14 (NIV) Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. In the scripture above, Jesus is teaching a large crowd of people. We will shortly look at what Jesus was probably talking about. However the main point to note is that Jesus singled out just Levi and told him to follow me Note that Jesus did not ask him to follow He told him. Notice also that it is not recorded that Levi had any specific desire to follow Jesus. He only followed Jesus after he had been specifically chosen by Jesus and called by Him. This was not a choice on the part of Levi the same as it wasnt a choice on the part of any of the eight that the Bible records as having been instructed by Jesus to follow Him. We find the call for people to repent of sin in their personal lives spoken of fourteen times in the N.T. By repentance is meant a turning away from sin towards God. According to the Bible a person can only repent if God gives the gift of repentance to that person (Acts 5:31 & 11:18, Romans 2:4). In the Bible both repentance and saving faith are seen as the two sides of the coin that God gives as the gifts to those who He has chosen and called. Repentance in the Bible is part of the big picture where we see Jesus calling the sheep of His flock out of the larger flock of the world. We are being called to follow the Good Shepherd In the rest of the instances of the words repent and repentance in the Bible we see the people being called to repent of the many and various things that brought misery and disaster on them. In this usage of the word we see God working towards saving the whole world from the effects of sin by calling them to obey His laws. This is brought out very clearly in most of the public ministry of Jesus. There are nineteen instances in the O.T. that talk of healing people and nations. When we come to the N.T. we find that much of the public work of Jesus consisted of healing people. There are fifty two instances recorded of healing in the N.T. It is conspicuous that in none of the recorded cases were the people asked to follow Jesus. This doesnt mean that none of them did. But what it does mean is that the primary purpose of the healing was to save that person from the effects of the sin that entered into the world at the fall in Eden. It is also conspicuous that it was the apostles and disciples who were involved in the many and various healings in the N.T. This clearly demonstrates that one of the roles of the church is to assist in simply relieving the pain of the world e.g. to save the world from the effects of sin

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57 The rest of the ministry of Jesus was spent talking about the Kingdom of God and the need to obey its laws both in the legal and the moral sense in order to deliver mankind from the effects of sin that entered at the fall in Eden. The best examples of the teachings of Jesus are given in The Sermon on the Mount which is recorded in Matthew chapters 5 through 7 and in Luke 6:20-49. This latter address is sometimes called the Sermon on the Plain from the fact it was given on a level space somewhere on the foot of the mountain. But The Sermon on the Mount is the main teaching. It covers many things such as keeping the law, personal morality and way of life, how to pray and the importance of seeking God ahead of the affairs and admiration of mankind. However the one thing that it does not do is specifically call people to follow Jesus. Here again, The Sermon of the Mount is consistent with the picture in the Bible that God calls individuals to follow Jesus but one of the roles of the church under Jesus is to deliver the world from the effects of sin by calling for the world to keep the laws of God. This is clearly seen in the last verses of the sermon where it says Matthew 7:28-29 (NIV) When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. In other words, Jesus was teaching the laws of God not necessarily a call to personal salvation. That is reserved for those and those alone whom God calls. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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The question of whether the church today fulfils its role

Or Does any of the letters to the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation apply to the churches of today? The Seven Churches of Revelation Jesus through John wrote letters to the Seven Churches that were located in the province of Asia (not the continent of Asia) (Revelation chapters one to 3). These represented the seven major Christian churches in the time that John wrote the book of Revelation around 95-100 AD. They were all located in what is now modern-day Turkey. None of them today have significant Christian populations. Many commentators have tried to connect these seven churches with seven distinct periods of time since John wrote the letters down to the time when Jesus will appear again at His Second Coming. (E.g. in our current times) There maybe some element of truth in this belief. The other, probably more common view is that the seven churches were simply good examples of all that can go wrong with a church. In this view these seven churches were used to represent all the things that Jesus would find wrong with the churches across the ages. Throughout history and including today, you could (and can) find churches all over the place that fitted any and all of the descriptions. In light of this, the most likely interpretation is that these churches simply represented various church failings across history. This view is reinforced by what Jesus told John. In the context of the letters to the seven churches, Jesus said: Revelation 1:19 (NIV) 19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. Below is a quick summary of the letters and the situation in the seven churches at the time of writing. 1. Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) This church had forsaken its first love (2:4) This church generally held to the ideas of Paul and they disapproved of the teachings of the Nicolaitans who abused Pauls doctrine of grace and allowed the eating of meat sacrificed to idols as well as licentiousness in the name of freedom. The city was the center of the cult of Diana worship and sorcery. These beliefs of Diana worship and other Greek philosophies infiltrated the church and led to controversies in the church instead of faith in the word of God (1 Timothy 1:3-7) 2. Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) The persecuted Church (2:10).This was not a physically rich church. A combination of the Romans and the Jews of the city greatly persecuted the early Christians. But they kept Gods word. 3. Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17) The church that needed to repent (2:16).The city was a religious center. The reference to Satans throne is likely a reference to the cult of the Roman emperor worship in the general population but which the church did not participate in. However, the church had those in it who held the ideas of Balaam (the O.T. figure). He was characterized by an attempt to promote the Kingdom of God by promoting an alliance with the world at large. The idea being that showing a tolerance of the worlds values gained you and the church the 58

59 respect of society. In reality all it did was to bring the church to conform to the spirit of the world around them. (2 Peter 2:10-22) They also tolerated the false licentious freedoms promoted by the Nicolaitans 4. Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) The church that tolerated the false prophetess Jezebel (2:20). By allowing her to have influence in the church they were enticed to engage in various pagan practices 5. Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) The church that was dead (3:2) It was a rich city at the center of trade. It had a laid-back lifestyle. This attitude of wealth and privilege permeated the church there. As a result they did not challenge the society around them rather they went along with it. It bears a strong resemblance to the churches of today that preach a wealth theology It is also by definition a church that does not want to look too deeply into the Bible as the old saying goes Keep it simple The people dont want to be bothered in really examining the various doctrines in the Bible. In many ways some of the modern day Evangelical churches fit the description of the church in Sardis 6. Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) The church that had kept Gods word and endured patiently (3:10) It was not a rich church in terms of either money or numbers. Only this church and the one at Smyrna got praised without any censure by Jesus. They obeyed and practiced all that they had been taught, God set an open door before them. In other words God gave them great opportunities to make a difference in their city. 7. Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) The lukewarm church (3:16). The city was very wealthy and apparently the church was as well. The main characteristic of this church was they had everything in the way of material wealth. As a result they were very comfortable and saw no need to rock the boat by challenging any of the problems around them in society. After all they were part of the society and they were not about to challenge their own privilege. Today we see churches whose main emphasis is on ritual and the wealth of the church. They sooth peoples conscience by offering rituals to make people believe that they are participating in something worthwhile. However all that does is make the participants feel good but never challenges them to get out and change the world around them. This church is characterized as being part of the establishment of their society. Another point that characterizes this church is that like the church in Sardis, the people want to keep their beliefs simple e.g. Jesus loves me thats enough! It is not my intention to try and identify which churches today display various characteristics from the seven churches in the ancient province of Asia that Jesus railed against. But I think that we could all look around us and see similarities in some churches today. In the end it is up to each church to examine itself and decide if they are fulfilling their role in Gods Kingdom. Its probably best summed up in the words of Jesus where He said: Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV) 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let 59

60 your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. The church of Sardis versus the role of the Church in the big debates in society The churches that are most opposed to the ideas of science today are undoubtedly the Evangelical style of church. It is significant that these churches are generally speaking also the ones whose members are most likely to want to keep the gospel message simple. It is often confined to just three main points Jesus loves me and I am saved thats all the matters and all I want to know is how to live a better life within myself The idea that they should examine the Bible in a deep and meaningful way appears to be an alien concept in these particular peoples and churchs mindset. In some of the Evangelical churches we also see the idea of wealth theology being taught. This is the idea that if only we will get right with God then material prosperity and success in our relationships with others and our health will automatically follow. I dont know which version of the Bible these churches preach from, but I cannot find these ideas anywhere in any of the Bibles that I use. What I find is the idea of sacrifice in this age and a better world to come. I certainly dont find the idea of paradise on earth under the rule of man anywhere in the Bible just the opposite in fact. The Biblical idea is summed up in the words of Jesus: Mark 8:34-36 (NIV) 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. Paul was plagued by this sort of child-like attitude in the church at Corinth as well as with his Jewish converts. In the case of the Corinthian Church, it was also corrupted by the immorality that had infiltrated it and the influence of Greek philosophy that tainted the teaching of Christ crucified. But in the context of this chapter we are concerned mainly with the child-like approach to God that the Corinthian Church and the Jewish Christians displayed. Paul addresses this problem below. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV) 1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. Hebrews 5:11-14 (NIV) (Paul is believed to be the author of Hebrews and is believed to be addressing Jewish Christians) 1 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. This problem of some people in the church who only want a simple gospel is a significant factor that holds the church back from fulfilling its role as a light unto the world. 60

61 The N.T. church is called to be a light unto the world (Mathew 5:14-16, John 12:36, Acts 13:47, 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, Ephesians 5:8) just as O.T. Israel was called to be a light unto the nations (Isaiah 49:6 & 51:4 & 60:3). In the same way that the O.T. Tabernacle priesthood was the respected leadership and the authority that the people of Israel turned to for guidance so the N.T. priesthood of the believers are called to be the respected leaders that society should turn to for guidance in todays world. Sadly the world regards the church and Christians as the last place that they will seek guidance from. There are of course many reasons for this lack of respect for the opinions of the church. Not least of these reasons is that people would have to turn away from many of their selfish and self-centered ways if they listened to and heeded the churchs teaching on the Ten Commandments which forms the basis of our legal system. However this is not the only problem that the church has in being heard. There are many important social and moral issues that confront the world today and which are debated in the public arena. Some of these issues are listed below. 1. The erosion of our liberties that we have traditionally enjoyed as a result of the Biblical influence in the framing of the Constitution. Items include the right of free speech and the freedom to pursue religious activities and public discussion without fear of law suits against us 2. The dangers to society of the libertarian agenda that is promoted by many groups that are intent on undermining the family as the root of an ordered society. Some results are increasing levels of abortion, marriage breakdown, and increase in both mental illness and drug addiction along with increases in crime and violence 3. Euthanasia. When is it permissible to end life in the case of terminal illness? 4. The stem cell debate currently under way. The possibility of major advances in the treatment of disease has to be weighed against various moral issues 5. The question of whether cloning should be allowed. This is a really deep and complex issue. There are a number of areas that are debated. These cover ethical and moral questions legal issues social issues medical issues theological questions. The five points above cover just some of the issues in society that have to be faced and debated. By refusing to be seriously involved in these debates, the church does two things. It abdicates its God-given role of being the salt and light of the earth By so doing, the church ensures that the solutions that society adopts are, by definition, devoid of any input from God or the church. But in order to be listened to in these public debates the church must be considered as a credible party that is worth hearing. Unfortunately the church is not considered by the general population as a credible partner. As I said earlier, this is partly because the church is telling people things that they dont want to hear about with respect to their personal lives and behaviour.

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62 However in the case of the big public debates we are talking about issues that do not generally affect a lot of people directly in the manner that moral issues do, such as drinking, gambling, abortion etc. These are issues that are more on the impersonal level more intellectual if you like. But they are very important issues for the near and far future and they are issues that are of critical importance if we want to live in a prosperous, fair, just and free society next year, next decade etc. Although these types of issues are subject to a lot of emotion, the outcomes are nonethe-less usually decided on the basis of rational, fact based decision making plus a good dose of political expediency. But generally not with too much Christian input. Satan has a vested interest in destroying the world and creating misery. He has the ability to masquerade as truth and light and deceive even good Christians with falsehoods. If he can keep Christians from being taken seriously in the big debates in society then he has at least partially succeeded in wrecking the world around us and as Christians we have helped him. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NIV) And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Matthew 24:24-25 (NIV) For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. The churches preoccupation with evangelism Most evangelical Christians seem to have the idea that their calling outside of actual church activities is to evangelize the world around them. Now it is certainly true that evangelism along with other callings has a place in the church. Ephesians 4:9-12 (NIV) 9 (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up However the purpose of evangelism is to reach those who God is calling in order to build up the church for the works of service that God has called the church to. As we have covered at great length earlier in the book, not all people are called into the NT priesthood of the believers. But it is through this NT priesthood that God is working to save the whole world. This salvation of the whole world is from the ravages of the kingdom of Satan (sickness, oppression, poverty, disease, death, lack of education etc.) But how many times have I (and probably everyone else) heard that all we in the church have to do is go out and evangelize people by telling them that Jesus loves

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63 them and if you will just accept Jesus as your saviour, then when you get to heaven everything will be just great. Well, as the scripture below states, the Bible is calling the NT priesthood of Christians to do more than just evangelise. Its no good saying Jesus love you and when you get to heaven everything will be fine to the boy from Accra, Ghana in the picture below with the severe case of smallpox lesions on his face, or to the person who is starving, or blind from easily correctible cataracts, or who has had their leg blown off by a landmine. These people will say to you. Well if he loves me then what is he doing to relieve my misery NOW? These people want Christians to do what Jesus did and what he called Christians to be (e.g. the light of the world and salt of the earth) that is, to help relieve their misery and make the world a better place NOW, not at some indeterminate time in the future. Matthew 25:37-40 (NIV) 37 Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' The big problem I see with many (not all) in the evangelical churches is that nobody wants to be anything other than an evangelist. According to the Bible, God calls people to many different areas in order to fulfil all the functions of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:10-12 above.) So then how do we account for the idea that everyone in the church is called to primarily be an evangelist but not one of the other roles? Is it because God made a mistake and forgot about all the other roles that are needed to fulfil the functions of the Body of Christ? Well that doesnt seem very likely to me. I think that a better answer is that many Christians have other calls from God but appear to have very selective hearing. More to the point, I believe that this selective hearing is strongly influenced by two separate movements in the churches. The first major factor in this lack of balance in the church is the Church Growth Movement that has risen to prominence in the last twenty to thirty years or so and whose only preoccupation appears to be evangelism. This has happened because the church has abdicated its full calling to the NT Priesthood of the Believers. The second major factor is the creationist movement in the Evangelical churches. It is a well known and documented fact in psychology that at least seventy five percent of all people form their opinions based on what the group around them says is the correct thing to do, say or believe. They are unable to resist the group pressure to conform. I believe that creationism and their call to evangelism only is at least partly responsible for this lack of balance that has directly led to the marginalization of the church in society. Particularly noticeable in creationist literature are the claims that the atheistic scientists are competing for the hearts and minds of all the unsaved. And if we can just discredit these atheists then we can win these souls for Jesus. But I have never 63

64 come across a statement in their literature that says We can use the findings of real science to save these people who are oppressed by poverty and disease and lack of education and hence help bring in the Kingdom of God on earth In the light of the complete Big Picture of the Bible, isnt this preoccupation with evangelism by creationists and the Church Growth Movement in general, unbalanced and unscriptural? How will they answer Jesus on Judgement Day when they are asked about Mathew 25:34-40? The hard cold facts are that nobody can prove the existence of God. We are saved by faith in the risen but invisible at this time Christ. The Bible makes crystal clear that saving faith is a direct gift from God. No amount of human persuasion will ever convince anybody of the death and resurrection of Jesus or the fact that they have sinned and need to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Pauls conversion as he travelled along the road to Damascus from being an active persecutor of Christians to that of one of the main characters of the NT is direct testimony that a persons current beliefs are irrelevant when God steps in and confronts that person. So it is with science. There are many hundreds, maybe thousands of Christian scientists who absolutely agree with evolutionary theory and who absolutely believe in the Bible. Very few people have a stronger faith than I do. Yet I strongly believe that science is working along the correct path as it pursues the facts of evolution as we know them up to now. If Darwinian beliefs lead to atheism, then how do creationists account for the existence of Christian evolutionary scientists and other Bible believing Christians who understand and believe in science? The simple fact is that there is no connection between Darwinian ideas and atheism. To try and say that there is a connection is simply untrue and is not supported by the evidence of the many Christians who believe both in God and science. This subject is explored in detain in the free book called Creationism versus Genesis and is available free on SCRIBD at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/30830593/Creationism-Versus-Genesis Why is evangelism not as successful as many would like? Many people believe that the two scriptures below embody the central message of the New Testament. They think they are commanding the Church to engage in full time evangelism where the goal of that evangelism is to get people saved. They see atheistic science and the pull of the world as their main competitors for the hearts and minds of the people that they are preaching to. They believe that if only they can get rid of the atheists that they can win a lot more people for Christ. The fundamental idea is that everyone can be saved if only we can get through to them Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." 64

65 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV) This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. There are three major problems with this sort of thinking. First and foremost, it is saying that God is not omnipotent. It says that God is completely reliant on the will of man. Even worse, it is clearly saying that a puny, insignificant atheist has the power to tell God that, Sorry God I have this persons soul and you are powerless to stop me. It is implicitly saying that You may be able to create the universe and all therein but little old insignificant atheist me will tell you who you can save, and who you cant save People who believe that humans can interfere with and thwart the Will of God are forgetting the many examples in the Bible where God chooses people, even before they were born to do the tasks that He had in store for them. As just one example, consider Jonah and how he rebelled against Gods command to go to Nineveh and preach. How successful was Jonah in defying God? Well of course Jonah learnt the hard way that when God wants something from you then you are going to do it whether you want to or not. In Jonahs case he was obviously not the fastest learner around and so he found out the hard way that God chooses not man! The lesson is simple no atheist or atheist message will stop God effectively calling those whom He chooses We later see that Saul in the New Testament had absorbed and learnt the lesson of Jonah when God struck him down as he travelled on the road to Damascus where he was going to persecute the Christians. He heard the voice that said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4) The Bible shows that Saul was smart enough to understand that God was calling him and he changed his ways and became the great evangelist of the N.T. known as Paul. It is worth noting here that Saul didnt decide to follow Christ of his own choice. He was a real zealot in persecuting the Christians. He only changed his ways after God confronted him. Yet again we see that people dont choose God God chooses the people that He wants to serve Him. This is entirely consistent with everything in the Bible. Not everyone can accept Christ only those who God chooses are able to do so. Second, it is completely ignoring the realities around us. Many Christians seem to believe that people decide themselves whether to accept Christ. Because a particular person does not do so, the saying is often heard, That person has willfully rejected God. At this point we have to understand that when assessing any situation you have to take into account all the evidence and then find the single interpretation that fits all the cases. Only then can you decide if a particular statement is true. A good example of the various cases that many Christians ignore are people who have been brought up in Christian families, sometimes even with fathers who are ministers in the Church. It is not uncommon for children brought up in this environment to reject the Bible and God. Two well known examples of public figures in Australia whose fathers were ministers are Bob Hawke (former Prime Minister) and Philip Adams (public broadcaster). Both of these men are on the public record as saying, I really would like to believe but I just cannot Although they are self professed atheists, it was according to their public statements not a choice of their own. It was not a case of I choose not to believe but rather, I just could not believe. This is entirely 65

66 consistent with the Bible where God reveals Himself to those whom He chooses. There is not one single case in the Bible where any person ever chose God in every case God chose those whom He has predestined to serve Him in the coming Kingdom of God. The third issue in the question of Why evangelism is not as successful as many would like now needs to be looked at. There are three basic roles of the Church: First, the Bible does say to evangelize people in order to bring into the Church those whom God is calling to serve Him in the coming Kingdom of God. However, this is not the greatest part of mankind. These believers are the royal Priesthood that will reign with Christ over the eternal Kingdom of God in the future. It is this kingdom that will save all mankind from the ravages of the kingdom of Satan that came into possession of the earth in the Garden of Eden, and which will be overthrown and supplanted when Jesus returns as Lord of lords and King of kings in the near future. This is what Christians are saved for. This has been covered in some detail in the chapter entitled, The New Testament View of Gods Kingdom We are not saved just to float around holding harps and having a halo around our heads. Christians are the royal Priesthood who will rule over this ever expanding Kingdom of God. This is why the universe is so huge this Kingdom will expand forever, with no death in it. We need a huge universe to expand into. The second function of the Church is to nurture the Body of Christ which is made up of all the Christians. For that purpose there are various gifts set in the Church. This is covered in the chapter entitled, The Biblical view of the New Testament Church The third function of the Church is to act as a light unto the nations and as the salt of the earth. Most of the ministry of Jesus consisted of telling people of the coming Kingdom of God and healing people. Calling individuals to follow Him was only a minor part of His work. This was looked at in detail in the chapter entitled, The Biblical view of the New Testament Church So it is or should be with the Church today, the Christians in it should be looking outward to fill their role as being a light unto the nations. In many cases this is just not happening. The simple fact is that it is little good going to the Developing World and telling them, Jesus loves you when they are starving, diseased and oppressed by their governments. They want to know what He is going to do to help them today just like the majority of the people in Jesus day where He healed and fed them, but didnt necessarily call them to accept him as Messiah and follow him. We now look at the question of Why is evangelism not as successful as many would like. Some readers will have already realised the answer to this. The Church is made up of the people that God has predestined before they were born to be part of His royal Priesthood. The role of evangelism is to call these people into the Kingdom of God through an individual act of repentance and acceptance of Christ as saviour on the part of each individual person whom God calls. There are only a limited number of people who are being called. This is clearly seen in the lack of results of the modern Church Growth Movement over the last forty years or so. Try as hard as the believers in the Church Growth Movement may, as fast as people come in the front door from their various campaigns, they continue to exit out the back door in about the same numbers. The evidence of this is the simple fact that all the statistics 66

67 shows that church growth rate in the western world is either zero or declining. Even when the growth rates in the Developing World are taken into account, the percentage of Christians world-wide is dropping. It is certain that the world is coming very close to the point in time at which we will see Jesus reappear. The full exposition on this is given in the book, The Second Coming in Slow Motion available on SCRIBD (See the end of the next chapter Are we in the time of the Second Coming for details). Because God has set the total number of people in His royal Priesthood and because all that He calls will heed that call and come (see chapter The critical issue of who has the right to be a Priest) then by definition, all who are going to come to Christ will have made that decision by the instant that He appears. It then follows that the closer the time comes to His appearing, the fewer people worldwide there will be left to heed His call to them and make that decision. By the instant that Jesus appears there will be nobody left that still has to make that decision for Christ. The important point in this is simple. The growth rate of real Christians as opposed to those who just make an outward show will slow down as the actual instant of the Second Coming approaches. The growth rate will drop to zero by the instant that Jesus appears. This is the real reason why evangelism is not as successful as many would like. The Church Growth Movement simply doesnt recognise the Biblical statements that state that not everyone can be saved into the royal Priesthood. And for the most part, few in the churches appear to have any real understanding of just how close the world is to seeing the actual Second Coming hence the fact that we should, according to the Bible, be seeing a drop in actual church growth rates. All reliable statistics show that the total growth rate of Christianity is currently close to zero if not actually negative in western countries. Most growth is taking place in the Developing World. However, reliable statistics show that world-wide growth rates of Christianity and percentages of the total population for Christianity are falling over time even as the total world population increases. This is consistent with the view, and strong evidence, that we are approaching the Second Coming. Maybe the churches should start preaching this?

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Are we in the time of the Second Coming?

Or A quick overview and a link to a detailed look at the subject One group, known as the Preterists, will tell you that Jesus is not literally coming again because the Church instead fulfilled the prophecies of His return. According to this interpretation, the persons and events prophesied in Revelation were all fulfilled prior to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 or shortly thereafter. The group that believes that he will literally come again is split into two camps. The first and largest group is the Futurists. They think that we are about to witness the events they believe will take place during Daniels 70th Week Of prophecy. They imagine that this week will occur just prior to the return of Jesus. Their reasons for believing this vary considerably and have no consistent interpretation. The main reason used to be that they believed a ten headed confederacy will make a pact with the Antichrist. (Revelation chapter 12) This idea was given legs back when the EU was composed of 10 nations. Now that it has gone onto 15 then 25 nations on 1st May, 2004, this idea has taken a back seat. The other main justification seems to be the mark of the beast (666) in Rev 13:18. They believe that micro-chips would be used for this and that because it is now possible then now must be the end-times. Most of this group also point to increasing lawlessness, wars and earthquakes as pointers to the end-times despite the fact that these things have periodically been a significant factor in history. They believe that most of the prophecy in Revelation will all be fulfilled in either a 3 or a 7 year period just prior to Christs return, depending on which version you follow. The second, and by far and away the smallest group, is the Historicists. This group believes that prophecy progressively unfolds over history. They point to Daniel chapter two where Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of his dream of the large statue as the basis for believing that prophecy spans the entire period of history and is not just collected together in short periods of time such as is required for the theories on prophecy that the Futurists disseminate. They also point to many events across history that are a direct fulfilment of the prophecies as further proof that Biblical prophecy has progressively unfolded across the centuries and is not confined to a 3 or a 7 year period just prior to Christs return I belong to the Historicist school and strongly believe that we are very close to the time of the Second Coming. This belief is based on the three critical marker events that the Bible describes in relation to the final events before Jesus returns. These are: The first Marker Event that starts the end times The liberation of Jerusalem in 1917 AD (1335-1336 AH on the Islamic calendar) is the action that starts the final series of events in mans sovereign rein on the earth. This occurred during the First World War. This war was the first of the seven Bowl Judgments that the Bible records as being the seven last judgments on the earth before the Second Coming

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69 The second of the three markers This is described in Ezekiel chapter 38. It is the signal event that starts the final sequence. This was the Islamic attack on America on 11 September 2001. This event changed the political landscape of the world and started the slow motion process that will culminate in the Second Coming. The Bible portrays the final events leading up to the Second Coming as labour pains at birth (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). They start softy, and progress in intensity until the actual birth. In this case, the birth of the new era that starts at the Second Coming 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (NIV) 1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. The events shown in red and blue bold in the Biblical quote above were in fact describing the Israeli invasion of Gaza that started on 27 December 2008 and lasted for 22 days when Israel implemented a unilateral ceasefire on 18 January 2009 without reaching any agreement with Hamas. The operation was code named Operation Cast Lead. It also corresponds to the event described in verse 15 shown in blue highlight below Revelation 16:12-16 (NIV) 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. 15 "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." 16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The Sixth Bowl itself started on 12 July 2006 when the aura of Israeli invincibility came to an end as a result of the 34 day war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. This war was the result of Hezbollah militants who fired rockets at two Israeli armoured vehicles patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence with Lebanon. Of the seven Israeli soldiers in the two vehicles, two were wounded, three were killed, and two were taken as prisoners to Lebanon. Israel attacked Lebanon in an attempt to retrieve the two Israeli soldiers. Israel extensively bombed Lebanon and the Hezbollah fired about 4000 Katyusha rockets at the towns of Northern Israel. Despite the fact that these rockets are fairly primitive and very inaccurate, they had a powerful psychological effect on the Israeli residents of the affected towns. Israel had no means of defending against these primitive weapons and had to evacuate many people as a result.

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70 This war was the beginning of the sixth Bowl and it effectively dried up the myth of Israels invincibility as they were shown to have no defence against cheap and primitive rockets. The Third and final one of the three markers God Says in Zechariah chapter fourteen that the event that will cause Him to stand up and defend Israel is when half of the city of Jerusalem is to taken into exile in the final battle just before Christ returns. Zechariah 14:1-5 (NIV) A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. 2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. This event heralds the pouring out of the Seventh Bowl Judgment that will literally shake the affairs of mankind and the earth and culminates in the actual Second Coming. The situation between Israel and the Palestinians is the critical issue as far as the Biblical description of the Second Coming is concerned. The so-called peace process between them is rapidly coming to a head and appears to be headed for war throughout the Middle East. The issue of Jerusalem is at the heart of this crisis exactly as the Bible spells out in great detail. It is the issue that according to the Bible as well as actual secular commentary from both Arab and western journalists will take the major powers to war in the Middle East. The Bible records that this is the war that will directly precede the Second Coming. It is however a very large subject and it cannot be adequately covered in this book. For those who are interested, the full Biblical account and the corresponding events in the world are covered in the free book of SCRIBD called, The Second coming in slow Motion and can be accessed at http://www.scribd.com/doc/14971456/The-Second-Coming-in-Slow-Motion This book gives the Biblical background to the Second Coming as well as the current world events that support the Biblical descriptions of the things that directly precede the actual Second Coming. For those who are interested, it will put into perspective much of the political and Biblical background to the rapidly unfolding drama between Israel and the Arab world ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Time Line of Gods Plan for Redeeming Mankind and the World

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The Road Map from The Liberation Of Jerusalem Until The Return of Jesus
THE END TIMES BEGIN | Time of the Gentiles fulfilled Palestine and Jerusalem (The House of Judah) liberated from the Turkish (Islamic) Empire in 1917 (1335 & 1336 A.H.) Ezek 36:24-29, Joel 3:1-2; Luke 21:24 | A general period when travel and knowledge will greatly increase Daniel 12:4 | THE FINAL PHASE BEGINS | The surprise Islamic terrorist attack against America Sep. 11, 2001 (see separate commentary for line by line analysis) Ezek 38:10-13 | God says I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army to illustrate how He will drag an unwilling world to the Middle East, like a fish on a line, where He will sit in judgement on them (There is a close resemblance here to the huge resistance to the war with Iraq) Ezek 38:1-6 | Nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. (This describes what is now clear was a tidal wave on December 26, 2004 in Asia) Luke 21:25 | Jerusalem a burden on the nations those who try to move it to be seriously injured. (All personal & international efforts to solve the current dispute in Israel have left all the players reputations shattered) Zech 12:3 | People will be speaking of peace and safety for Israel just prior to the attack (Ref. the Road Map to settle the violence between Israel & the Palestinians sponsored by the EU, Russia, UN & US and the peace conference in Annapolis Maryland USA held on 27 November 2007) and particularly the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Syria and the Arab world in general (mid 2008) 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 | Arab Nations attack the Nation of Israel Zech. 12:1-2 Simultaneously the Arabs overrun half the city of Jerusalem (Arab East Jerusalem) Zech. 14:1-2 This event triggers Gods intervention as He destroys the armies of the nations attacking Israel Zech 14:3 | 74

75 | Chemical & Biological weapons are used This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. (Typical of gas gangrene which UN reports say has been made into a biological weapon) Zech 14:12-15 | The sign of the Son of Man appears in the sky. 30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory Matt 24:30 (This describes what is almost certainly Joels might army (Joel chapter 2) with asteroid strikes on maybe the moon and planets and the earth) Luke 21:26 Zechariah 14:6 also describes this event 6 On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. 7 It will be a unique day, without daytime or night time-a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. Zech 14:6-7 | Christ Actually appears 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. Zech 14:4-5 | Christ to return to the place that He ascended from 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. Acts 1:9-12 | |++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Bringing it all together

Or A summary of the Biblical view of who mankind is and the role of Christians in the world today as well as Israels role in the Kingdom of God Unfortunately many Christians read books about the Bible but they dont actually read and study the Bible itself. The result of this is that their opinions are shaped by the viewpoints put forward by the writers of the various books they read. This can lead to the holding of ideas that are simply not found in the Bible itself. Any viewpoint in any book including this one should always be subjected to the Biblical test of Does this viewpoint accurately reflect what is written in the Bible. When checking the truth or accuracy of any statement, you have to take all of the circumstances and references into account in order to determine the true meaning of any particular text. A lot of Christians dont see that the Bible and science agree. Their attitude is probably best summed up in the answer to the question that many in the Church today ask. It is, Why is evangelism not as successful as many would like The basic idea here is that the main purpose of the Church is to get people saved and that atheistic science as well as the pull of the world is defeating the church in the battle for the hearts and minds of the people. It is a really strange situation. People believe that Gods Will is sovereign and that He created the universe and all therein. But then they turn around and say, But people can interfere with and thwart the Will of God. They appear to justify this by saying that people have free will. However they ignore the fact that the free will that we all have is in fact only the freedom to choose from the various menus of choices that are laid out before us at each particular point in our lives. They seem to forget, or maybe ignore, the fact that while we can freely choose from the selection of choices presented to us at each decision point we have no free will in deciding what choices will be on the decision menu that is presented to us at each decision point in our lives. Nor do we have the free will to decide whether or not we wish to be confronted with any particular situation that forces us to pick from the menu of choices at that time. This menu of choices is set by God and people demonstrate who and what they are by the choices they make. We looked at the question of free will in some detail in the chapter called, Choosing to be a Christian The Church is made up of the people that God has predestined before they were born to be part of His royal Priesthood. The role of evangelism is to call these people into the Kingdom of God through an individual act of repentance and acceptance of Christ as saviour on the part of each individual person whom God calls. The growth rate of real Christians as opposed to those who just make an outward show will slow down as the actual instant of the Second Coming approaches. The growth rate will drop to zero by the instant that Jesus appears. This is the real reason Why evangelism is not as successful as many would like. Many in the church simply dont recognise the Biblical statements that state that not everyone can be saved into the royal Priesthood. And for the most part, few in the churches appear to have any real understanding of just how close the world is to seeing the actual Second Coming hence the fact that we should, according to the Bible, be 76

77 seeing a drop in actual church growth rates. And this is exactly what we do see in the real world around us. Because of this unscriptural preoccupation by many people in the Evangelical churches, they fail to understand that the members of the church make up the Body of Christ. Hence they appear to not understand that God set a number of gifts in the church that would enable it to carry out the two things it was intended to do. First, to nourish and develop the individual members in the church so as to make them fit to carry out the work of Jesus in the world at large. And second, to give the members of the Body of Christ the necessary understanding of what Jesus actually called the church to do. The NT clearly shows that Jesus spent most of his time telling people of the coming Kingdom of God and that the Kingdom was how God was liberating mankind from the kingdom of Satan. He spent time explaining and laying out its laws and showing people that by obeying its laws they would in fact live in Gods kingdom even now. This is graphically brought out in the words of Jesus in Luke 9:26-27 (scriptures below) where he told people that some of them will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Jesus also went around healing people to relieve them of their misery. But very rarely is it ever recorded in the Bible that he said to those people follow me. What He did say to most people was to repent and turn from sin. Because that is the essence of the Kingdom of God a world without sin! That is what is summed up by the various verses from the Bible shown below. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV) 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Acts 3:19-21 (NIV) 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus. 21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, (e.g. as in the Garden of Eden) as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. Matthew 4:17 NIV) 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matthew 21:32 (NIV) 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Mark 6:12-13(NIV) 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Matthew 12:28 (NIV) 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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78 Mark 12:32-34 (NIV) 32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. Luke 9:1-2 (NIV) 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:26-27(NIV) 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Luke 17:20-21(NIV) 20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, `Here it is,' or `There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." (e.g. in peoples attitudes) Romans 14:17-18 (NIV) 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Revelation 11:15 (NIV) 15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." The Bible is crystal clear that Gods plan of salvation for mankind is the coming Kingdom of God replacing the kingdom of Satan that gained control over mankind in the Garden of Eden. And it is clear that Gods kingdom is going to take over mans kingdom as clearly stated in Revelation 11:15 (above). But a kingdom needs a government and the Bible makes crystal clear that Gods NT governmental structure is based on the Tabernacle of the OT and the hereditary priesthood that ruled over Israel by way of the Tabernacle. Many people in the church understand that the New Testament refers to all Christians as priests. They also understand that Jesus became our great High Priest under the New Covenant when he did away with the O.T. sacrifices and became the prefect sacrificial Lamb of God on our behalf. They also believe He is coming again and that His new title is Lord of lords and King of kings and that He will reign over the earth (and all creation) from Jerusalem in Israel as the capital city of the entire world. Some Christians also understand that the N.T. priesthood of the believers (e.g. all true Christians) replaced the O.T. Aaronic Priesthood and that they will co-rein under Jesus. But apparently many do not believe or maybe dont understand that. They seem unaware of the N.T. reference to the Tabernacle in the New Kingdom and the fact that 78

79 the Tabernacle is the governing structure that the Lord of lords and King of kings will rule the creation from. Apparently neither do they understand the significance of the N.T. priesthood in the New Tabernacle as being the group that rules, under Jesus as King, over national Israel and hence over the entire creation. This failure on the part of some Christians to understand that God is redeeming the world to Himself and saving all of mankind from the ravages of the kingdom of Satan seems to lie at the root of the mistaken idea that the Church has replaced the nation of Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the new world order after the Second coming, the N.T priesthood of the believers (e.g., the Church Universal) rules over national Israel under Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings and the nations that make up the entirety of national Israel (e.g. the Whole House of Israel & not just the House of Judah Refer to Ezekiel chapter 37) rules over the entire creation. Jesus rules for a thousand years during which He establishes beyond all doubt that He is indeed God. He shows that under His rule all mankind can live in freedom, justice truth, beauty and prosperity. There is freedom for all from war, oppression, disease, poverty and misery. Finally, death itself for all those who live in biological bodies will be conquered After the millennial reign of Jesus come the final judgment when all people will be shown for who and what they really are. Everybodys eternal destiny will be set at this time. The Christians of the ages will be justified by God through their faith in Jesus and will take their final place in the New Jerusalem as the royal Priesthood that rules over all the creation. All the non-Christians will then be judged according to the Law of the O.T the Ten Commandments. Their final position in the part of the Kingdom of God that lies outside of the New Jerusalem will be set by how their decisions and actions during this life are judged. They will have shown who and what they are by the free will choices that they made during life. They will not be able to argue that, they really were quite good They will have demonstrated their true nature for all the assembled creation to openly see. It is easy to see that there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth as these people realize that the meek truly did inherit the earth. They will also understand that there really is justice for all actions and that they have demonstrated by their own actions that they are fit for whatever (proportional) judgment God passes on each individual. God then declares that He will create new heavens and a new earth. He will then make His home with the NT priesthood in the New Jerusalem, ruling over all the nations that make up the creation that lies outside the New Jerusalem. This then completes His redemptive plan and man is back where he started in the Garden of Eden. At this time He will have brought to pass the N.T. scripture 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV) 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

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80 Gods vehicle for saving all of mankind is the Kingdom of God with Jesus as the King. However, this Kingdom will be based on Gods rule not mans. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ END +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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