A Foundation for Scripture

The first half of Genesis, consisting of the primeval history of chapters 1 to 11 and the early patriarchal history of chapters 12 to 25, forms the foundation of the rest of the Bible.  It sets the stage upon which the drama of redemptive history is set.  A number of factors combine to present to the student of Scripture the parameters that form the basis of their existence and their relationship with God.

First, the setting is established.  In chapters 1 and 2 we read of God’s supernatural formation of the heavens and the earth.  These are the twin backdrops against which everything else in the Scriptures occur, both supernatural events in the spiritual realms and natural circumstances in the physical sphere of existence.  We are also introduced to the major characters of this true story; namely God, man at the end of chapter 1 and on into chapter 2 and beyond, and Satan beginning in chapter 3.  Next, we begin to see the scope and the shape of the conflict that emerges between these players, as God creates man in innocence, Satan distorts and twists God’s statutes, and man willfully descends into sin and rebellion.

With these primal building blocks in place, God then proceeds to lay out His meta-narrative, or His over-arching plan of redemption for the fallen pinnacle of His creation; man.  In Genesis 3:15 the Lord drops the first hint of what is to come by prophesying that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the enemy while simultaneously being bruised on the heel.  In both 2:16-17 and 9:9-17 we are introduced to the concept of covenantal relationships, both conditional and unconditional, between God and man.  This concept of covenants, or ratified agreements between two parties, is absolutely critical in order to understand how God will ultimately accomplish His plan of redemption.  And once we come to 12:1-3, 15:5-6, and 17:9-14 and we read of God’s relationship with Abraham, the covenantal paradigm bursts onto the scene in vivid clarity as God reveals the beginning of His truly redemptive covenant with which He would ultimately restore the broken relationship between Himself and man.

Now then, what would happen if what God has just described to us in these 25 chapters are not understood literally?  In short, the Bible immediately and decisively loses all of its authority, all of its relevancy, and all of its importance.  If the disobedience of Adam and Eve was not real and did not truly result in a fall from grace, then is the concept of sin even factual or is it imaginary?  If God did not actually destroy all life on earth, save for 8 humans and a selection of animals, in a universal flood, then is there genuinely anything to fear from the wrath of God?  If there is no fear of the wrath of God, then why should we care whether we have offended Him and face a hypothetical judgment that may or may not exist?  For that matter, if we have no fear of judgment because God’s wrath is not real and sin is imaginary, then is God even relevant to our lives in any way at all?  Is God even real?

Furthermore, let us suppose that we do take those aforementioned details as literal and historical fact but we discount the historicity of the Hebrew people.  Many details that form the basis of the rest of Scripture would also have to be discarded.  These include the historical record, or “toledot” in Hebrew, of Abraham’s descent from Adam, God’s establishment of a covenant of redemption with Abraham, the manner in which God built Abraham’s family from a few people into a nation to function as His mediators between Himself and man, and ultimately Abraham’s family tree providing the means by which the ultimate mediator in the person of Jesus Christ would come.  If all of these elements lose their veracity, then the very foundational elements of salvation suddenly begin to crumble.

We must understand the primeval history in Genesis as literal fact in order to have a comprehension of our own place in history, our relationship with our Creator, and therefore the necessity of repentance and restoration into a right relationship with Him for the salvation of our souls.  We must understand the beginning of the patriarchal history in Genesis and God’s covenants as literal fact in order to have a hope of properly appreciating what God has done for us in Christ and thereby giving Him the maximum amount of worship and honor that He deserves.

The End of the Story?: A Personal Doctrine of Eschatology

Introduction

Eschatology is a word, as most doctrinal words are, which is rooted in the original language of New Testament Scripture; Greek.  In this case, it is a compound word stemming from two root words; eschatos, meaning last, and logos, meaning word.  So, eschatology is literally “a word about last things”.

Many Bible doctrines have produced contention over the centuries among theologians and scholars.  But arguably, perhaps none has stirred up as much controversy as eschatology.  The reason for this is quite simple.  What the Bible has to say about last things is steeped in future prophecy.  Although many of the prophetic elements of the study of last things are now historical in nature to us, at the time they were written down they were future to the writers of Scripture.  And more to the point, much of what the Bible tells us of the shape of the end times is still yet future to us.  It hasn’t happened yet.

Furthermore, in God’s wisdom and according to His grand design, He did not choose to reveal these things to mankind in a clearly discernable, bulleted and annotated, outline format.  He chose rather to reveal bits and pieces, here and there, from one writer at one epoch of history to another.  Sometimes these authors were separated by several hundred years.  Their writings are at times opaque, making them difficult to understand. 

It may help you to think of it as a giant theological jigsaw puzzle.  All the pieces fit together perfectly.  The challenge for the Bible student is to find the correct placement.  To make matters worse, from the perspective of the student of eschatology, Bible prophecies are mostly literal; but occasionally they are symbolic.  Continuing the puzzle analogy, we could say that the box top with the picture of the completed puzzle is missing, and some of the puzzle pieces are smudged, making the image printed on them obscure.  This can be difficult to reconcile.  However, the Bible itself often provides assistance by clarifying the meaning of various symbols that have been used. 

These factors make interpretation challenging, but not impossible.  To accurately gain a comprehensive understanding of eschatology one must collate, work to organize, and attempt to prioritize all available material that speaks to the issues at hand.  This is not a task for the faint-hearted and should not be undertaken lightly or with little thought.  We must labor to take into account all Scripture that speaks to a particular facet of truth.  It is fitting and proper to make strong arguments for a particular understanding of an aspect of eschatology.  But it must not be done by failing to take into account other passages on other aspects, both correlating and competing.

I realize that is vague, but I do not want to get into any specifics with this introduction.  My point is simply this.  The best doctrines of eschatology are those which factor in, as much as humanly possible, every single possible element in Scripture that speaks in any way, shape, or form to the issue being researched.  And then, if any apparent contradictions are found, they must be resolved in as normative and straightforward a manner as possible.  This is really no different from any other systematic doctrine of the Bible.  But it is perhaps especially significant in eschatology because of the aforementioned challenges of time, space, and symbolism which stretch quite literally across the whole of Scripture.

Because of this complexity of prophetic interpretation, I believe there is only one sensible and rational method of approaching Bible prophecies.  It is really the same method with which the serious Bible student should approach all matters of interpretation.  That is, we should interpret the words of Scripture in as normal, literal, contextual, and historically accurate a manner as possible.  Stated another way, we should seek after the plain meaning of the text.  If a prophecy says that a baby will be born, a government will rest on His shoulders, and there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, then that is exactly what will happen at the time predetermined by God. 

In matters of eschatology, with so much symbolism and so many future events that are shrouded in the mists of our time bound consciousness, I think it is tempting for Bible scholars, even solid Bible scholars who hold to the literal grammatical hermeneutic of Bible interpretation, to depart from their typical interpretive approach when it comes to matters of the end times and move to a symbolic or allegorical interpretation.  I believe this is a mistake.  I think the correct way to understand Scripture is to start from the assumption that it means exactly what it says.  And only with great reason and support should we depart from that.  I believe that if one follows this pattern of interpretation, there is only one over-arching consistent, coherent, and cohesive eschatological position that makes sense and is supported by all the relevant texts.  This is the position that I will attempt to outline in the following pages.

After having said all of that, I need to say this.  I am further convinced that no one can know with absolute certainty that every detail of their eschatological interpretation is one hundred percent correct.   There are too many variables and unknowns.  Therefore, I counsel warning to the Bible student who feels the temptation to be dogmatic about their personal doctrine of eschatology.  It is profitable to be confident and well versed in one’s study of the Scriptures.  And as already stated, I believe there is enough evidence to be quite convinced of the veracity of one’s eschatological position.  At the same time, it is terribly dangerous to be arrogant and persuaded that you have arrived at a complete and thorough understanding of truth on any aspect of theology.  This especially holds true in the realm of eschatology.

The work that I present on the following pages is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all the various eschatological positions that are in existence.  Much better works done by vastly more qualified authors are widely available.  Rather, my purpose in writing this document is to clearly lay out what I personally believe about eschatology.  This is for two purposes.  The first is my own edification.  I believe it honors the Lord when His children seek to sharpen their skills and their understanding as much as they are able.  To that end, this is my attempt to sharpen my own eschatological knowledge.  My second purpose is to aid in future teaching opportunities.  My hope is that putting in the effort now to understand these things to the best of my ability, I will be better prepared and able to explain them to others in the future.

One final note.  I have no interest in obfuscating or attempting to hide my position in pages and pages of text.  So, I will clarify right off the bat.  I consider myself a Dispensational Pre-Millennialist, for those who are familiar with the popular eschatological labels used by folks who care about such things.  If you have no idea what a Dispensational Pre-Millennialist is, then please read on.  If you think you know what it entails, please read on anyhow.  Either way, I am absolutely convinced that the Scriptures themselves bear my position out.

The Crux of Eschatology: Israel

Before getting into specific aspects of eschatology, I need to lay some groundwork.  The first piece is in regard to Israel.  Israel is the crux upon which the whole of eschatology hangs.  They were, are, and will continue to be the chosen people of God.  His Old Testament covenants (specifically the Abrahamic and Davidic, more on those in a moment) with them are irrevocable, are not dependent on any human volition or act of obedience or disobedience, and serve as the framework for the New Covenant in Christ.

An illustration has been given of two lines on a board, both starting from fixed points that are very close together.  If both lines are perfectly level as they begin, and assuming the same trajectory is maintained, then when they reach their end they will still be perfectly in parallel, just as at the beginning.  If one of the lines is angled downward even a fraction of a degree, they will still start off very close to each other.  But by the time they reach their end, again assuming their trajectory is maintained, the lines will be very far apart.

In the same way, understanding what God says in the Bible about the end times must be approached through the proper lens of God’s covenants with Israel.  And they must be understood through a clear, non-allegorized, non-symbolized interpretation of the text.  The Scriptures cannot be approached from a position of allegory or symbolism for which we are never given mandate by God.  If the student of eschatology does not start from this firm biblical foundation, then the location where they end up will miss the mark of truth by a very wide margin.

But talk is cheap.  Only proof is valuable.  Here is what the Scriptures have to say about Israel, God’s covenants with them, and their assured future place in the plans of the Lord.

God’s Covenants with Israel

There are three unconditional and inviolable covenants that God made with the nation of Israel.  The first is the Abrahamic Covenant.  This covenant was and is completely one-sided.  Only God is the responsible party, demonstrated by the fact that He was the only one to pass between the cut pieces of the blood sacrifices with which this covenant was ratified.  In this covenant the Lord specifically promises Abram a defined tract of land that extends from Egypt to the Euphrates river (Ge.15).

The second unconditional covenant established with Israel was the Davidic.  God came to King David through Nathan the prophet.  He guaranteed him that he would raise up Solomon, David’s son, after him.  Solomon would build a house for God, meaning the first Temple.  And God would establish the throne of Solomon’s (and thus David’s) kingdom forever.  The Lord promised to do this in spite of the future iniquity of Solomon.  Furthermore, God promised that His divine loving kindness would never depart from the line of David and that his house and kingdom and throne would be established forever (2Sam.7:8-17).  This is an expansion of the Abrahamic Covenant.  God had already promised the land, implying a kingdom.  Now He had added the promise of a king to rule over the kingdom.

David responds by confirming that God has done and will do all of this purely for the sake of His own word and according to His own heart.  In other words, it was and is completely independent of anything that Israel has done or ever will do.  It is solely according to the precise intention of God’s will that all of these things will be accomplished (2Sam.7:18-29).

The third covenant established with Israel is the New Covenant in Christ.  Many Christians may perhaps be under the impression that this covenant is exclusively the jurisdiction of the New Testament church.  But this is simply not true, according to the Scriptures.  Jeremiah states that God will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jer.31:31-34).  The particulars of this covenant will be that God will change their hearts.  He will write His law within them.  They will have no need to teach each other the statutes of the Lord because everyone will know them.  This is nothing less than New Testament Christological salvation. 

There is no other way to understand this text than as being applicable to ethnic Israel, unless one is content to mangle and garble the text.  To be sure there is no misunderstanding, the prophet contrasts this New Covenant with the Mosaic Covenant, which was conditional upon Israel’s obedience and was very much exclusively the domain of the Jews.

In Ezekiel, we can see the exact same principles of regeneration and saving grace being applied to ethnic Israel in their own land purely for the sake of God’s own good pleasure.  In fact, He states twice that it is not about or for the sake of Israel herself that He will accomplish this (Eze.36:22-38).  And again, in Deuteronomy God clarifies that it was not because of anything special within Israel that He chose her (Deut.7:7-8).  The implication is clear that the New Covenant will be unconditional, just as the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants were.

God’s Election of Israel

Four separate times in the Old Testament, God refers to Israel as elect (Sometimes rendered as chosen, depending on translation.  Either way it means the same thing grammatically).  Before the foundation of the world, God picked Israel as the object of His affection and love, completely independent of any volitional acts done by her, for no other reason than that He wanted to.

1. God has made a covenant with His chosen, David His servant (Psa.89:3).
2. God elevated Cyrus I of Persia for the sake of Israel, his elect (Isa.45:4).
3. God will bring forth His chosen Jews to inherit and inhabit the land of Israel (Isa.65:9)
4. God’s chosen ones will not have their land inhabited by anyone but themselves (Isa.65:22)

Anyone who has a proper New Testament understanding of sovereign divine election knows that this choice of God is completely one hundred percent His own.  It is inviolable, unconditional, and independent of any created being.  It cannot be nullified by any power in the universe, save God’s own, and He has guaranteed emphatically that this will never happen.  The only ratification possible of God’s covenant of election with His chosen is His own good pleasure and will.  These facts are known and I do not have the space to go into them in detail here.  My point is simply this.  Ethnic Israel, the specific descendants of Abraham and David, are beneficiaries of this unconditional election that God has decreed.

God’s Punishment of Israel

This does not mean that Israel can disobey and rebel with no consequences.  In fact, it has only ever been and will only ever be a remnant of the ethnic nation that will actually be the recipients of God’s divine sovereign electing grace (Isa.10:20-22; Jer.23:3).  Because of this, we see tremendous application of discipline and destruction being levied against Israel because of her national apostasy.

God raised up Israel from nothing and built her into a strong and mighty nation that was capable of adequately displaying His glory.  Yet they spurned Him, committed abominations of idolatry with every nation they came into contact with, and roused Him to fury and jealousy.  There are many texts I could reference to show this.  But for the sake of space I will look at just one.

In Ezekiel chapter 16 this concept of nurturing, rebellion, and restoration is depicted in a graphic illustration of a dying infant, abandoned in a field, rescued by God, cleaned and made beautiful.  This child grows into a young woman whom the Lord clothes with righteousness and splendor.  Yet she forgets him and engages in debauched sexual immorality with every man who passes her by.  So God executes swift and terrible judgments against her. 

However, and here is the point, God says in verses 60 to 63 that He will remember His covenant with Israel.  In fact, He says “when I have forgiven you”.  The forgiveness of God toward the nation of Israel is not a matter of chance or the good performance of those being forgiven.  It is a foregone and emphatic conclusion straight from the mouth of God.

God’s Restoration of Israel

In spite of His great anger, once it is spent through the application of harsh discipline, God will draw Israel to His bosom once again.  The whole of Psalm 89 is a joyous calling to remembrance of God’s intention toward Israel.  In verses 3 and 4 God says that He intends to establish the line of David forever and build up for him an everlasting throne and kingdom.  In verses 20 through 29 God says that He has anointed and strengthened and protected His servant David.  He will keep him forever and confirm His covenant with him, establishing David’s descendants forever and his throne as the days of heaven.  There is no other normative and clear way to interpret these passages as anything other than exactly what they say, that David’s literal descendants will be exalted forever.

In verses 30 to 37 God removes any possible doubt about Israel being cut off from the covenants through disobedience.  The Lord says that even if David’s sons forsake His laws, do not walk in His judgments, violate His statutes, and do not keep His commandments He will still maintain the covenant with them.  There will be discipline, to be sure, but God specifically says that He will not violate the covenant that He made with David.

Psalm 132 continues the chorus of God’s faithfulness to ethnic Israel.  Verse 11 says that God will not turn back from the vow He made to David.  Verses 13 and 14 say that God has chosen Zion (Jerusalem) for His habitation and it will be His resting place forever.

Now then, if all of these points regarding Israel are true, and they are, then in one’s doctrine of eschatology there must be a place for ethnic Israel.  As various passages are approached, and understanding is sought, the interpretation, both verse by verse as well as overall, must incorporate the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to Israel.  If a position on eschatology is arrived at which does not accomplish this goal, then it is invalid.

The Kingdom of God

The second piece of groundwork I need to explore builds off of the first; it is the biblical concept of the Kingdom of God.  I believe an understanding of this principle is also foundational to a correct understanding of eschatology.

Broadly, and briefly, the Kingdom of God has four components, or iterations.  I will outline them below.  But first, a few notes will be helpful.  There is a substantial amount of overlap between the various Scripture references provided, because these kingdom concepts are very closely linked to each other.  And in fact, I have placed some of the references in more than one category.  This means that some of the decisions I have made as to how to label the Scripture verses is somewhat arbitrary and could be open to debate.  Nevertheless, they all point in one way or another to the kingdom concepts I am trying to describe.  Also, I have not listed nearly all of the Kingdom references given by Jesus in the gospels.  I believe those references fall into two camps; the future Mediatorial Kingdom and the future combined Universal Kingdom.  I have listed a few of each type, but felt that it was unnecessary to list them all, because Jesus references the Kingdom of God a LOT.  Finally, the names of these kingdoms are not inspired.  They are my attempt to be as descriptive as possible with the form and function of each kingdom, drawn from the details provided in Scripture that are inspired.

• The Universal Kingdom – This is the always existent, over-arching spiritual kingdom that God rules and reigns over at all times, regardless of the state of affairs on earth.  This is where God’s absolute sovereignty is clearly seen at all times, no matter how evil or messed up the created order becomes. (2Ki.19:15; 2Ch.20:6; 2Ch.36:23; Ps.22:28, 45:6, 145:11-13; Is.37:16; Da.4:3, 4:34, 6:26; Mt.5:3, 5:10, 5:19, 6:10, 6:13, 16:28; Lk.23:42; 2Ti.4:18; Heb.1:8)
• The Historic Mediatorial Kingdom – This is the physical nation of Israel, from Moses (the birth of the nation at Sinai) to Zedekiah (the final deportation of Judah to Babylon and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple).  God intended the Hebrews to be His surrogate representatives on earth, to display His glory to all the nations of the world.  They failed at this because of their idolatry, and as punishment were removed from their land and scattered throughout the world. (Ex.19:5-6; 1Sa.10:25,11:14; 2Sa.7:12-16; 1Ch.17:21; Jer.1:15-16; Mt.8:12)
• The Future Mediatorial Kingdom (a.k.a. Millennial Kingdom) – This is the re-constituted physical nation of Israel, with hearts of flesh rather than stone, fully repentant finally, and ruled by Christ, the “Son of David”, on David’s throne.  As before, the purpose of this kingdom is to display the glory of God to all the world.  Only this time, under Christ’s perfect leadership with His “rod of iron”, and with a national repentance that only God can orchestrate, they will succeed at their task in showcasing God accurately. In spite of the unquestioned rule and reign of Christ, this is still not the eternal state, composed of the new heavens and new earth with the New Jerusalem as the seat of the Kingdom. (2Sa.7:12-16; 1Ki.11:11-13; Ps.110:1-7; Ez.37:1-28; Da.2:34-35, 2:44-45, 7:14, 7:22, 7:27; Zec. 14:3-21; Mt.3:2, 6:10; Mk.11:10; Lk.1:32, 22:29-30; 1Co.6:2-3; Heb. 10:13; Rev.1:6-7, 5:9-10, 11:15, 12:5, 12:10, 20:4, 20:6)
• The Eternal Universal Kingdom – This is the future kingdom, combining both the spiritual and heavenly aspects of the Universal Kingdom, and the physical and earthly aspects of the Mediatorial Kingdom, into one entity.  This Kingdom will be established on the new earth in the New Jerusalem, with Christ once again taking the throne and ruling unchallenged for all of eternity.  A distinction between the Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal Kingdom is that sin and death will be non-existent.  Both will have been previously cast into the lake of fire, along with Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet.  Thus the Scripture describes it as a place of “no more tears” where “the wolf will lie down with the lamb”.  There will be virtually no chronological separation between the end of the Millennial Kingdom and the establishment of the New Jerusalem on the new earth.  Therefore, one way of looking at the relationship between the two is that the Millennial Kingdom is the first season of the eternal Combined Universal Kingdom. (2Sam.7:12-16; 1Ch.17:11-14; Is.9:6-7; Da.2:44, 7:14, 7:27; Lk.1:33; Heb.10:12)

The point of all this kingdom talk is the following.  It has always been God’s over-arching purpose to display Himself to the world.  He desires that mankind acknowledge His power, His glory, His authority, His righteousness, etc.  That was the purpose of the establishment of Israel.  They were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6). 

The function of a priest is to act as a mediator between a deity and mortals.  If a deity has an entire nation of priests, then they should be seen in relation to the rest of the world.  Just as the Levites were a subset of the Hebrews, serving as priests for the rest of Israel; so was Israel to be a subset of mankind, serving as priests for the rest of the world.  This is the biblical framework behind the concept of a “Mediatorial Kingdom”.

Furthermore, as God states clearly in Ezekiel 36:21, everything that He did concerning judgment of Israel was done out of concern for His holy name which Israel had profaned.  Because they had failed in their duties as a Mediatorial Kingdom of God, they were punished and removed out of their place.  But this setback in no way altered God’s purpose of revealing Himself to mankind through the agency of a mediator.

Also, God had already made an unconditional covenant with both Abraham and David, guaranteeing them certain things in the future.  We have examined this already.  But I will briefly reiterate.  To Abraham God promised the establishment of his seed and through that a blessing that would come to all the world.  To David God promised the eternal security of his family line upon the throne of Israel.  If God violates either of these everlasting covenants, then He has broken His vow and been demonstrated to be untrustworthy.  This cannot be.

Finally, God’s purpose of displaying His glory remains intact.  His intention to establish kingdoms and nations that will accomplish that purpose is undeterred.  Everything that we understand about the entire scope of human history must be seen in light of this over-riding grand stratagem of God. 

Eschatological Timeline

With the background of the covenants and the Kingdom of God in mind, here is how I believe the flow of God’s timeline runs, from ancient history to future eschatological prophecy.

• God establishes the historic Mediatorial Kingdom.  He advises them of their role (Ex.19:5-6), provides promises of reward for obedience (Deut.11:13-15), and warns of judgment for disobedience (Deut.11:16-17, 28:37).  The Jews do not listen, and as the centuries of rebellion march onward, God begins to provide prophetic revelation of things to come.  These include punishment and exile (Zec.14:2), a future national revival and salvation (Ez.11:16-20, 36:22-32), the continuance of the line of David as a reward for David’s obedience (2Sa.7:12-13), and a future Messiah that would come and provide restoration (Da.9:25), leadership, and ultimately victory for Israel as a nation (Zec.14:3-21).
• God scatters the northern 10 tribes and temporarily cuts them out of the inheritance, limiting the fulfillment of His covenants (the Abrahamic (Ge.12:1-3, 15:1-21; 22:15-18) and Davidic (1Ch.17:4-27), both unconditional and inviolable in nature) to the line of David exclusively.  Eventually all the tribes of Israel will be re-united under Christ (Ez.37:19-24), however, the line of David will always carry the kingship.
• God exiles Judah for continued idolatry, but promises eventual restoration and exaltation in the form of a prophetic re-imagining of the Mediatorial Kingdom. (Jer.1:15-16)
• God sends Christ to offer the establishment of that prophesied Mediatorial Kingdom to the Jews, in exchange for repentance.  When Jesus taught the disciples to pray in Matthew chapter 6, the first part of His model prayer is “Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  This is a direct reference to God’s future physical kingdom and further illustrates that it was not yet in existence on earth.  The Jews reject this offer, kill their Messiah, and the Atonement for the sins of mankind is accomplished through the cross.
• Christ ascends from the grave, takes the throne of the Universal Kingdom at the right hand of God, and is currently ruling and reigning over all of creation.  Note however, that his reign is not presently physically incarnate upon the earth (Heb1:3).  His rule is absolute but His presence in a physical form on a physical throne is not yet accomplished.
• At an unspecified future date, Christ will come on the clouds of heaven with great power and will call His bride (both dead and living saints, or Christians) to His side (Mt.24:29-31; 1Th.4:13-18), in the process glorifying her and clothing her with pure and spotless white.  This is the first resurrection and the marriage supper of the Lamb in Heaven (Rev.19:7-8). 
• At the same time God will begin the process of re-constituting the Mediatorial Kingdom of Israel.  The first step will be the sealing of 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes, with a mark of protection (Rev.7:4-8).  These Jews will be given new spiritual birth, will be primed and ready to receive their Messiah properly for the first time (Rev.14:1-5), and will witness to the world, which in the coming years will result in both salvation and martyrdom for many people (Rev.7:14).
• Concurrent with this sealing, God will permit the ascension of the Beast of Revelation (Da.7:8, 7:23-26; Rev.13:1-6), aka the Antichrist, who will make a covenant with “the many” for one week (7 years) (Da.9:27).  This will be the beginning of the Great Tribulation (Mt.24:4-31; Rev.6-19), which is cut short by God for the sake of the elect (Mt.24:22), in order that mankind is not permitted to tear himself to pieces.  In the middle of this week (at the 3.5-year mark) the Antichrist will set himself up as god, cause an unspecified abomination in a third temple (presumably in Jerusalem and also presumably constructed either prior to or just after his covenant with “the many”, and will begin the systematic extermination of the Jewish race, resulting in the murder of 2/3 of the Jews (approximately 10 million people judging by current population standards) (Zec.13:8). 
• The Jews will realize they have been duped and they will flee from the presence of the Beast and the Dragon, into the wilderness, to be sheltered by God (Mt.24:15-21; Rev.12:6, 12:13-17) until the end of the tribulation.
• Christ will return physically to earth to confront and destroy the Antichrist (Da.7:21-22; Mt.25:31-46; Rev.16:13-16; 19:11-16).  The Beast and the False Prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire, the first to take up residence there (Da.7:11; Rev.19:20).  Satan will be bound and unable to influence human events (Rev.20:2-3), for 1,000 years (note that this is one of the evidences for a future millennium, because only with extreme difficulty can anyone argue that Satan’s power is being held in check to any significant degree now or at any time in the past 2,000 years).  While Satan is bound, Christ will assume the physical throne of David in Jerusalem and usher in the future prophetic Mediatorial Kingdom (1Co.15:23-26; Rev.20:4,6).
• At the end of 1,000 years Satan will be released and permitted to raise an army from the four corners of the earth to attack Christ’s Kingdom (Rev.20:7-8).  He will be utterly defeated and once and for all thrown into the Lake of Fire alongside the Beast and the False Prophet (Rev.20:9-10).
• God will gather the unbelieving dead, they will stand before Him at the Great White Throne of judgment, they will be condemned for their unbelief, and cast into the Lake of Fire for all time (this is the second death) (Rev.20:11-15).
• God will melt the existing elements with fire (2Pe.3:10), re-make everything anew (Rev.21:1), bring down the New Jerusalem to rest on the new earth (Rev.21:2), and Christ will take His place on the throne of God, ruling and reigning with His bride alongside Him, for all of eternity (Rev.21:3-4).

The Rapture

The Rapture is an event prophesied in Scripture wherein the church will be supernaturally gathered to Christ and will join Him in heaven.  Jesus spoke of this even before His crucifixion (Jn.14:2-3).  At the appointed time, Christ will appear in the sky with great fanfare, including the trumpet of God and the voice of the archangel.  Then those Christians and Old Testament saints who have previously died will be resurrected and precede those still living into the joyous reunion in heaven (1Th.4:13-17).  Daniel’s description of the same event fits perfectly (Da.12:2-3).

After being gathered to Christ, the church will enjoy a period of time in heaven, including a great feast with their savior (Rev.19:7-10).  Here they will prepare to come back to earth with Him to rule and reign over the nations (1Co.6:2-3; Rev.2:26).

It seems best to understand the timing of the Rapture as just prior to the tribulation.  In His letter to the church in Philadelphia, Christ promised that He would keep them from the persecution that was coming to the whole world (Rev.3:10).  Placed as it is in the context of the book of Revelation, it is likely that what is being referenced is that which is about to be revealed in the rest of the book.  In other words, Christ is probably not talking about a general sense of persecution, such as that which was suffered by Christians under the Roman Empire.

The Tribulation

The Bible teaches that, due to the corruption of sin (Ge.3:17) and the penal judgment of God upon all of creation (Ro.8:20), everything is proceeding from order to chaos in the world.  Because of this principle, and because of the inherent sickness and evil of mankind, the world will grow increasingly harsher, more wicked, and further under the dominion of Satan.  God has chosen to allow his enemy to be the “god of this age” (2Cor.4:4) and the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph.2:2).  He is, at this time, being allowed to deceive and destroy the nations of the world.  Satan is active, ravenous, and must be guarded against now (1Pe.5:8).  He is not yet under the restraint that he will be subjected to in the future.

The effect of Satan’s power on earth, when combined with the inherent wickedness of man (Jer.17:9), will be visible in the increasing debauchery of the human race (Da.12:10; 2Ti.3:1-13).  Indeed, we can observe this principle at work from an extra biblical perspective, even now.  The 20^th century was the bloodiest period of human history, bar none.  The advent of weapons of greater destructive power than anything previously imaginable, combined with the aforementioned black heart of man, has resulted in more loss of life than all the combined centuries of human history before it.

Even the church will fall prey to the assaults of Satan.  The Scriptures tell us that in the last days people, within the church, will no longer be interested in sound teaching and the truth of God.  Instead, they will follow people who tell them what they want to hear, who do not confront them over their sin, and who gratify the ungodly desires of the flesh (2Ti.4:3-4).

Right in line with these principles come the biblical prophecies of the end times.  Daniel describes a time of distress beyond anything seen before (Da.12:1).  Jesus talks about a great tribulation that is so severe that unless God cuts it short, no human life will be saved (Mat.24:21-22).  Why is this time so deadly?  Because God Himself will finally take action against His depraved creation.  He will unleash judgments out of heaven unlike anything the world has ever known.

There will be an escalating series of disasters poured out on the earth.  Men will be judged through their own natures as war (Rev.6:1-2) and slaughter (Rev.6:3-4) will become the order of the day.  This will cause massive famine across the world (Rev.6:5-6).  All of this death and malnutrition will result in widespread pandemics which will devastate the earth’s population.  Social order will break down, leading to anarchy and murder.  Men will even become susceptible to wild beasts that will ravage them.  Places of safety will become a bittersweet memory for the inhabitants of the earth (Rev.6:7-8).

The power of prayer will also be brought to bear upon mankind.  The souls of Christian martyrs, killed during this time, who are residing in heaven and waiting for their resurrection, will be given leave to plead with God to judge the world with righteous anger (Rev.6:9-11).

To this point, the divine judgments going on have been in the form of natural phenomena.  Those who refuse to believe in God will be able to place blinders on their eyes and chalk up what is going on in the world to the evils of man.  But then God will begin to take off the gloves, so to speak.  An earthquake of insurmountable power will occur.  It will be like nothing ever before experienced in the history of the world.  It will cause damage to the sun, moon, and stars.  People will flee and attempt to hide from the wrath of God.  And they will finally acknowledge that it is Him who is pouring out this destruction upon their heads (Rev.6:12-17).

As if the previous disasters were not bad enough, now God will begin to punish sin in earnest.  Trumpets will sound, one after another, unleashing wave after wave of terror, consternation, and death.  First will be a storm of hail, fire, and blood which will burn up a third of the flora on the planet (Rev.8:7).  Then a huge mountain, perhaps a meteor, will smash into the oceans, killing a third of the sea creatures and destroying a third of the ships (Rev.8:8-9).  Next a star will fall to earth, poisoning a third of the fresh water sources (Rev.8:10-11).  Following this, a third of the light of the sun, moon, and stars will be extinguished (Rev.8:12).

Now, with the final three trumpet blasts, things really begin to become frightening from a supernatural perspective.  An army of demonic creatures will be unleashed on the earth.  Their appearance will be the stuff of nightmares, bodies of horse sized locusts, the tails of scorpions, the faces of men, the teeth of lions, and breastplates of iron.  They will torture mankind for five months (Rev.9:1-10).

After being persecuted by demonic monsters, men will face yet another foe from God’s arsenal of wrath.  An army of demon cavalry, two hundred million strong, will be released.  This force will sweep across the earth, sending fire, smoke, and brimstone out of their mouths.  And they will kill a third of what is left of mankind at this point (Rev.8:13-19).

Finally, just prior to the unleashing of the army of heaven and the triumph of Christ over the Antichrist, six bowls of the wrath of God will be poured out on the earth.  The first bowl will cause malignant sores on people (Rev.16:2).  The second will cause all remaining salt water to turn to blood, killing everything that is left in the oceans (Rev.16:3).  The third bowl will turn all remaining fresh water to blood as well (Rev.16:4).  The fourth bowl will cause the sun to flare and scorch men with extreme heat (Rev.16:8-9).  The fifth bowl will darken the kingdom of the Antichrist (Rev.16:10-11).  This may indicate, in accordance with Jesus’s Olivet Discourse, that the whole earth will be darkened (Mat.24:29).  Certainly, the Antichrist will have supreme human power on earth at this point (Rev.13:7).  So, it could be said that his kingdom is the whole earth.  At any rate, following this darkening the sixth bowl will be poured.  It will dry up the Euphrates river, to prepare a path for the armies who will take part in the battle of Armageddon (Rev.16:12).

This is the shape of the wrath of God being satisfied and His justice being performed.  At long last the Lord will recompense man for their unrelenting evil.  Yet in spite of all that has been done to them, the world as a whole will still refuse to repent of their wickedness.

The Antichrist (the Beast)

Scripture foretells of a man who will appear on the world scene during this tribulation and assume great power and authority.  He is called the “man of lawlessness” and his arrival will be one of the great signs of the imminent return of Christ (2Th.2:1-3).  Also, he will be closely linked with Israel, in that he will set himself up as god and sit in authority in the temple of God (2Th.2:4).  Much of the revelation of this Antichrist comes from the book of Daniel, where the prophet is often given visions of a dual prophetic nature.  In other words, they are prophecies that pertain to two different people at the same time.  This is not uncommon in Old Testament prophetic literature.  In the case of Daniel, his visions point to both a historical past element (future to Daniel at the time) in Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and a prophetic future element in the Beast of Revelation.

Antiochus was one of the kings of the Seleucid Empire.  After Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. he turned it into a province of his empire.  About two hundred years later Alexander the Great of Greece overran all the Persian territory in his quest for world domination.  After carrying his conquests as far east as India he had to stop due to the fatigue of his army.   Three years later Alexander died at the age of 32.  Having no legitimate heir, his empire was divided amongst his four most powerful generals.  One of these was Seleucus I Nicator, who founded the Seleucid Empire from which Antiochus would emerge 150 years later.

All this history is recorded for us in the form of prophetic visions given to Daniel, particularly in 2:31-39, 7:3-6, 8:1-8, 8:20-22, and 11:2-4.  The significance of these events is that they paved the way for Antiochus Epiphanes to rise out of the ashes of Alexander’s empire.  He would then go on to serve as a foreshadowing of the future Antichrist.  There is an extraordinarily detailed series of prophetic revelations given to Daniel in chapter 11.  I will not do it here, but if one takes the time to cross reference what Daniel is told with historical facts of this period there can be zero doubt that it is Antiochus IV who is described as the one committing the abomination of desolation.  Every single prophetic details matches the historical record. 

Antiochus’s proper title was simply Antiochus IV.  However, he added the title Epiphanes, meaning “illustrious one” or “god manifest”, to his name.  He rose to power through deceit and treachery, brutally slaughtered anyone who got in his way, and held a particular disdain for the Jews.  All of this matches the character and nature of the Beast of Revelation.

His Origin

It seems most likely that the Antichrist will have some sort of affiliation with the remnants of the Roman Empire.  Repeatedly in Daniel we find future prophecies of a succession of kingdoms of man.  In sequence, they are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome (Da.2:36-40).  Rome is consistently described as being affiliated with iron that breaks into pieces and destroys all others (Da.7:7, 7:23).  Yet despite its great power Rome will prove to be just as ephemeral as all the other kingdoms, and it will fall in the due course of time.

Out of the remains of the Roman Empire will arise 10 kings after it (Da.7:7, 7:24).  And from this conglomeration will come another king.  He will destroy three kings and will be exalted on the earth (Da.7:8, 24).  This is the prophetic Antichrist, or Beast.

From these clues, we can state with accuracy that at an uncertain point in the future some form of world power will rise out of the ancient remnants of Rome’s power.  Some have speculated that this could be the modern European Union.  Whether that is true or not, whatever form the “10 kings” or the “10 horns” take, the Antichrist himself will come from this kingdom, which itself has roots in the ancient power of Imperial Rome. 

His Rise

He will rise through deceit and false covenants (Da.8:23-25, 9:27).  He will begin very small yet quickly rise to extreme heights of power (Da.11:21-23).  The power behind his ascension will be Satan.  Although Satan is the “god of this age” and in one sense is behind all the evil perpetrated by world rulers, this will be different.  This ruler will have power and signs and false wonders directly from Satan (2Th.2:9; Rev.13:2).  At no point, will this be more evident than when he suffers a fatal wound from which he supernaturally recovers (Rev.13:3).  He will be every inch the ultimate human surrogate of Satan’s power and intent.  To this end, the Antichrist will fulfill Satan’s original rebellious purpose (Is.14:12-15) by eventually proclaiming himself to be god (2Th.2:4).

The rise of the Antichrist will either be immediately preceded by or concurrent with the unleashing of God’s judgment upon mankind in the form of the tribulation we have examined previously.  Revelation records the extent to which His burning anger over sin will be poured out.  To recap, it will take the form of wave after wave of judgments, seen as first seals (Rev.6, 8:1), then trumpets (Rev.8:6-9:21, 11:15-19), and finally bowls (Rev.16:1-12, 16:17-21) throughout the middle portion of Revelation.  These judgments will be utterly devastating, resulting in unimaginable loss of life.  Due to the proximity of these events with the Antichrist’s rise, it seems likely that he will offer salvation from the wrath of God that is being unleashed.  Revelation records that men will not repent even after being subjected to such intense and unrelenting punishment.  So, it would fit perfectly that they would leap at the chance to turn to someone other than the Lord (Rev.13:4).

His Rule

The reign of the Antichrist will last for a mere seven years.  It will be concurrent with the time of the Great Tribulation.  During this period of time, the Antichrist will do whatever he pleases.  He will exalt and magnify himself above not just the true and living God, but above all gods on earth.  He will seek to set himself up as the only god and the only being worthy of worship (Da.11:36-37; Rev.13:4).

During this time, another evil leader will rise to support the Antichrist (Rev.13:11-12).  This man is known to Scripture as the False Prophet.  He will have the authority and power of Satan, like the Antichrist.  He will call down fire and cause the image of the Antichrist to speak and to kill those who defy him (Rev.13:13-15).  The False Prophet will be the one who plans and executes the issuing of the mark of the beast, a symbol that will identify people as being in submission to the authority of the Antichrist (Rev.13:16-18).

The power of the Antichrist will grow until he has acquired authority over all the nations of the world (Rev.13:7).  During the height of his power, the Scripture says that all people on earth will worship him, aside from the elect (Rev.13:8).  Eventually, the Antichrist will align himself with Israel.  He will offer them salvation from their enemies and make a covenant with them for the seven years of the tribulation (Da.9:27a).  This will bring him into conflict with those nations who are opposed to the Jewish state.  War will follow that results in the Antichrist gaining even more power through plundered wealth (Da.11:40-44).

At the halfway point of the tribulation, the Antichrist will finally reveal his true colors to the Jews.  He will abolish the worship of God, desecrate the Temple (Da.9:27b), and begin to systematically slaughter the Jews (Ma.24:15-22; Rev.12:17).  Two thirds of the population of Israel will die (Zec.13:8), approximately 10 million people by today’s population standards.  However, those God has sealed and set apart for life will flee and survive until the appointed time of Christ’s return (Da.12:1; Rev.12:6,13-16).

His Fall

As suddenly as he has risen to power the Antichrist will fall from grace.  During the midst of his war with the nations and his destruction of the Jews, he will meet his end, probably on the plain of Megiddo (Da.11:45).  What will cause his downfall?  The physical return of Christ Himself.  The Lord will conquer the Antichrist and both he and the False Prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev.19:20).

The Abomination of Desolation

This prophetic event is an important marker that is used in Scripture to signify the sequence of events surrounding the last days spoken of primarily by Daniel, Jesus, and John.  Therefore, it is vital to understand as much as we can of this mysterious prophecy so as to properly interpret the other related eschatological events of note.  But in order to understand the abomination of desolation we must understand Daniel’s 70 weeks.

The first reference to the abomination of desolation is given in Daniel 9:27. It is part of a larger passage which extends from verse 24 to 27 and wherein Daniel is given a prophecy of “70 weeks”.  It is important to understand that when Bible prophecy refers to a week it is not talking about seven days but rather seven years.  We might say “a week of years” in an effort to understand the concept better.  This means that the duration of Daniel’s vision is 490 years in total (70 weeks times 7 years per week).

It is also critical to notice the criteria that must be fulfilled in order for the 70 weeks to be accomplished.  Daniel 9:24 gives us the list, as follows:

• finish transgression
• make an end of sin
• make atonement for iniquity
• bring in everlasting righteousness
• seal up vision and prophecy
• to anoint the most holy place. 

This list is given to Daniel, a Jew, in the context of his concern for his people, the Jews.  Therefore, the fulfillment of them must be specifically related to the nation of Israel.  And all of these events must be accomplished by the end of the 70^th week.  The reason this is important is that no credible argument can possibly be made that all of these requirements have been fulfilled historically.  Points 2 and 4 in particular, cannot possibly have been fulfilled yet.  Therefore, it follows that because the requirements have not yet been satisfied the 70 weeks have not yet been completed.

Now then, what is the substance and the historical markers of these 70 weeks?  The first marker is provided in verse 25.  A decree was to be issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  This decree would result in the city being rebuilt with plaza and moat.  From the issuance of that decree until Messiah the Prince a total of 69 weeks will pass, or 483 years.  So then, if we can figure out which decree is being referenced and what date it was issued on, then we can begin to mark a timeline sequence for the fulfillment of this prophecy.

The Old Testament records four separate decrees that were issued by three different pagan kings, for the Jews to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, as follows:

• Cyrus – 538 B.C. (Ez.1:1-4)
• Darius – 519 B.C. (Ez.4:24, 6:1-12)
• Artaxerxes – 458 B.C. (Ez.7:11-26)
• Artaxerxes – 445 B.C. (Neh.2:1-8)

Using the ancient custom of a 360-day calendar year, and considering the requirement of plaza and moat (indicating walls as well since you cannot conduct commerce without safety and a moat is pointless without a wall behind it), only one of the recorded decrees works; the last one by Artaxerxes in 445 B.C.  Charting a course from that year, 483 years into the future, we arrive at 32 A.D.  It was in the Spring of that year that Christ presented Himself as the Messiah (Zec. 9:9; Mt. 21:1-11; Lk.19:37-38).

Continuing the prophecy, we find in Daniel 9:26 that after the 483 years the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.  This fits perfectly with Jesus’s violent death by crucifixion at the hands of the Romans and Jews.  Also, the text tells us that the “people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”  What does this refer to?

History records that in 70 A.D. the Roman General Titus laid waste to Jerusalem and slaughtered a vast number of Jews in an effort to put down a Jewish rebellion.  As described in the section on the Antichrist, he will arise out of the remains of Rome itself.  Therefore, this description by Daniel of the people of the prince who is to come matches perfectly with Titus and his legions coming in and laying waste to the Jewish state.  The Antichrist is the “prince who is to come” and Titus with his legions are “the people of the prince”.  As a side note, we have no evidence that water was used by the Romans to destroy Jerusalem.  However, the flood mentioned by Daniel in 9:26 is easily explained as symbolizing the overwhelming advance of a superior military force.  This is not an obscure figure of speech.  The same imagery and word usage can be seen in Daniel 11:22, 26, and 40. 

I need to clarify that this Roman conquest is not itself the abomination of desolation.  The historical facts do not fit.  I think there are three reasons for this.

We have already seen how comparing the prophecies of Daniel chapter 7 and 11 with world history precisely identifies Antiochus IV as the man who modeled the abomination of desolation for the future Antichrist.  We know from history that his actions were an intentional and deliberate desecration of the Jewish temple expressly for the purpose of destroying the worship of God.  It is true that the Romans destroyed Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem.  But they did it in the context of suppressing a rebellion and restoring their version of peace to the region.  Their intent was not specifically to desecrate the worship of Yahweh.  In fact, some historians argue that Titus did not want the Temple destroyed at all.  They would claim that the fire which did the job was an almost accidental byproduct of war that raged out of control.  There is some doubt about the historical veracity of these claims on Titus’s behalf.  Regardless, the point stands that the Romans were interested in the restoration of order rather than the annihilation of a people and the desecration of God.

Furthermore, in order for the Roman conquest of Jerusalem to be the abomination of desolation, there must be a “man of lawlessness” who will set himself up as a god in the Jewish Temple.  It is incontrovertible historical fact that Titus never did this.  Years later he would ascend to the throne of Imperial Rome, following the death of his father.  But he never deified himself.  Only after his death, at the instigation of his younger brother and successor, Domitian, was Titus deified by the Roman Senate.  We do not know for sure why Domitian did this.  It was probably to increase the cult of personality and emperor worship around the Flavian Dynasty so as to cement his own rule.  But the point is that Titus himself had no part in this.  And the biblical prophecy requires the one responsible for the abomination of desolation to set himself up as god.

Additionally, going back to Matthew chapter 24, Jesus describes what will follow on the heels of the abomination of desolation; this can be cross referenced with Daniel chapter 12.  The Lord said there would be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.  Furthermore, He said that unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved.  It is frankly impossible that a legitimate conclusion can be drawn that Titus’s conquest fulfills these requirements.

Regardless of how much life was lost and how much was destroyed, the Roman victory does not match the criteria.  What the Romans did does not hold a candle to the brutality of the Babylonian conquest of 586 B.C. in terms of total devastation, slaughter, and enslavement of the Jews.  The Babylonians literally razed the entire city of Jerusalem to the ground, mostly out of pure vindictiveness and spite (2Ki.25:8-10).  They carried essentially the entire Jewish population that was left alive into captivity, save for the elderly and the infirm (2Ki.24:14, 25:11-12).  Although the historian Josephus records that 1.1 million people were slaughtered by the Romans, his figures are not credible, as there were only around 1 million people in the whole of Israel at the time, only about half of which were Jews.

Now then, what is the significance of all this in relation to eschatology and the abomination of desolation?  The importance is that last week, the 70^th week of seven years.  That week alone of all the other 69, has not yet occurred, and it is described for us in Daniel 9:27.  He, meaning the Antichrist, will make a covenant with many nations for seven years (one “week”).  But after three and a half years (the middle of the “week”), he will put a stop to temple sacrifice (the inference of the vision given to Daniel is obviously Jewish in nature, indicating that the Antichrist will have a relationship with the Jewish nation, ear-marking this stopping of sacrifices as relating to the Jewish sacrificial system, and necessitating the construction of a third temple in Jerusalem), and “on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate”. 

Here we find perhaps the most conclusive evidence to prove that Daniel’s 70^th week has not yet occurred.  There can be absolutely no doubt of this once we cross reference what Daniel wrote with what Jesus said in Matthew 24:15. The Lord is speaking to His disciples about things that were to come in their future.  In that context, he references this exact event that Daniel prophesied about 500 years previously.  Jesus instructs His disciples that when the abomination of desolation is seen in the holy place, in the future, that anyone living in Judea must flee because the end has come.  He is referencing an event that is future to them by calling to mind a prophecy from the past.  And because, as we have previously considered, the Roman destruction of Jerusalem did not fulfill all the criteria of this abomination of desolation, and because no other event in history has fulfilled the prophecy either, we know that this event is still future to us.

So, we have finally arrived at the abomination of desolation.  But what exactly is it?  The short answer is that we don’t know for sure.  However, we have been given a very good historical, albeit extra-biblical, hint.  Earlier I described one Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a king of the Seleucid Empire who ruled about 150 years before the birth of Christ.  As I mentioned in the section on the Antichrist, he stands historically as a fore-shadowing of the Beast of Revelation.

In 168 B.C. Antiochus attempted to invade Egypt to continue a long standing war of aggression between the Seleucid (Syrian) and Ptolemaic (Egyptian) Empires, both of which were remnants of Alexander’s original territories.  However, along the way he was met by a representative from Rome who ordered him to turn back and go home or face the wrath of the Roman Republic.

Antiochus decided that discretion was the better part of valor.  He went back to the north with his proverbial tail between his legs.  Undoubtedly this put him in a bad temper, and he was already a cruel tyrant at the best of times.  So when he came through Israel on his return trip and found the Jews celebrating a rumor they had heard that he was dead, Antiochus became enraged.  He attacked Jerusalem, killed 40,000 Jews, sold another 40,000 into slavery, and raided the temple.  He also outlawed Jewish religious rites, ordering them to worship Zeus rather than Yahweh.  While in the temple he stole its treasures, erected an altar to Zeus, and sacrificed pigs on it.  There can be no doubt that this historical event displayed the nature of the abomination of desolation, because Daniel specifically identifies it as such (Da.11:31).

All of this was utter blasphemy to the Jews.  In particular, the sacrificing of swine, a traditionally unclean animal according to the Mosaic Law, was a particularly galling abomination to the Jewish culture as well as God’s commandments.  It is this act that seems to paint the picture for us of what the future abomination of desolation will consist of.  The Antichrist will enter the temple, sit enthroned inside it, and declare himself to be god (2Th.2:4).  He will outlaw the temple worship proscribed by God (Da.8:11) and will utter blasphemous declarations about God Himself (Rev.13:6).  Finally, he will in some way desecrate the altar itself.  This will be the abomination that makes desolate.  It will usher in the final half of the Great Tribulation and the most horrific massacre of Jewish people the world has ever seen or will ever see (Zec.13:8).

The Return of Christ

After His resurrection from the grave, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father.  He is at this time ruling and reigning on the throne of the Universal Kingdom in heaven.  This is the import of His words to the thief on the cross.  The man asked to be remembered when the Lord came into His kingdom.  Jesus’s reply was that that very day, the sinner would be with Him in paradise (Lk.23:42-43). 

Now, this does not mean that Jesus would be in His kingdom that same day.  Paradise in the Jewish mindset was not heaven, but rather the righteous side of Sheol, or the realms of the dead.  We can see this mindset in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus where Jesus describes Abraham’s Bosom (Lk.16:19-31).  What Christ’s response to the thief does tell us is that the thief was not wrong in his assumption that after death Jesus would be in His kingdom.

Prior to this Jesus had said much the same to Pilate.  When asked if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus responded that His kingdom was not of this world, pointing to His imminent accession to the throne of heaven (Jn.18:36).  And again, we see in Hebrews that Christ is currently seated on the throne of God (Heb.12:2).

So, there is a very real sense in which Christ is already established in His kingdom.  However, extensive prophecies throughout Scripture foretell of a time when He will return to the earth.  His first advent, or coming, was in humility and submission (Is.53:2-12; Lk.9:58).  But His second advent will be in majesty and glory (Hab.3:3-15; Zec.14:3-4).

Jesus Himself told us when He would return.  At the end of the tribulation, at long last, He will appear on the scene in the full glory and majesty of His power.  He will be unmasked and His true magnificence will shine forth like the sun.  There will be no mistaking His coming.  The whole earth will see His sign and His appearance (Mat.24:30; Ac.1:11).  And there will be no doubt of His victory over the Antichrist, as discussed previously.

When Christ returns physically to earth, Satan will be taken captive, bound, and imprisoned for 1,000 years (Rev.20:1-3).  This will be to prevent him from deceiving the nations during that time so that Israel may be exalted as the head of all nations with their messiah ruling and reigning over them at long last.

The Millennium

Previously we have looked at the time sequence of the tribulation, the Antichrist’s covenant with Israel, and the abomination of desolation.  We know that seven years of tribulation are called for and that the Antichrist will reveal his true colors as the man of lawlessness after 3.5 years.  Furthermore, we know that the Jews who are sealed by God will escape the clutches of Satan, flee, and be protected for 1,260 days or 42 months.  This corresponds exactly to the 3.5 years, or “half a week”, spoken of elsewhere.

But in Daniel chapter 12 we find an interesting anomaly.  The prophet describes two periods of time that do not correspond to this repeated 3.5-year figure.  First, he says that from the abolishment of the regular temple sacrifice and the abomination of desolation until the end there will be 1,290 days (Da.12:11).  Then we find that those who persevere to the end of the 1,335 days will be blessed (Da.12:12).  This is in the very same chapter where Daniel describes the same period of time as exactly three and a half years, or time, times, and half a time (Da.12:7).

How are we to understand these apparent contradictions?  I believe they are not contradictions at all.  Rather, these extra 75 days are given for the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth.  This is the Mediatorial, or Millennial Kingdom.  Keeping in mind that this comes right on the heels of the devastation of the tribulation, the earth at this point will be in very sorry shape indeed.  Human corpses will be everywhere, social order will be non-existent, and the earth itself will be scarred and ravaged by the wrath of God.  The extra 75 days given by Daniel will be necessary for the clean-up of the earth, the restoral of control, and the ushering in of the Millennial Kingdom.  We know that this Kingdom will be one of peace, security, and safety (Isa.11).  So time will undoubtedly be spent in cleaning up and healing the wounds that have been suffered in the tribulation.

What is the purpose of this physical Kingdom on earth?  Why would Christ come down from heaven to reign if He was already seated on the throne of God, as described previously?  Put simply, the reason is that God keeps His promises.  As outlined at the beginning of this document, the Lord has made certain unconditional and unalterable covenants, or promises, to ethnic Israel.  In particular, His covenant with Abraham guarantees that Abraham’s descendants will be blessed and prosperous.  God’s covenant with David assured the king that he would never lack an heir to rule over ethnic Israel.

To accomplish the first of these twin purposes, God will save His people Israel and establish them once again in their land.  But this time it will be in the context of a national revival and repentance.  We have seen how He will deliver a remnant of the Jews out of the hands of the Antichrist (Da.12:1; Rev.12:6,13-16).  But more than mere physical salvation, God will at this time actually regenerate the dead hearts of His people, causing them to turn to Him and cling to Him as their God, truly and completely and unreservedly, for the first time ever (Eze.11:16-20, 36:22-28; Heb.8:8-12).  These prophecies are exceedingly precise, specifying that the Jews will live in the same land that God gave to their forefathers (Eze.36:24).

Christ Himself is the fulfillment of the second part of God’s unbreakable covenant.  He is referred to and refers to Himself as the root of Jesse (David’s father) and the descendant of David (Is.11:1; Rev.22:16).  In the opening lines of Matthew’s gospel, he calls Jesus the “son of David” (Mat.1:1).  This pictures Christ’s status as the heir of David’s legacy and kingdom.  Luke pictures Jesus as being given the throne of His father David (Lk.1:32-33).  Isaiah describes Jesus as a child of promise who will inherit the throne and kingdom of David (Isa.9:6-7). 

As stated many times already, there is no other way to clearly understand these passages than as applying to ethnic Israel unless one departs from a normal literal grammatical interpretation of Scripture.  If the text says that Jesus gets David’s throne and his kingdom, then it means just that.  And as we have seen many times, the throne and kingdom of David is not some sort of symbolic promise that can be fulfilled in any way other than a specific restoration of the exact tract of land deeded by God to Abraham and the exact descendants of David that God promised to restore and prosper.

Continuing on, just prior to His ascension, Jesus’s disciples asked Him when He was going to “restore the kingdom to Israel”.  The text tells us that Jesus, in His resurrected and glorified state, had just spent 40 days with them, speaking of the “things concerning the Kingdom of God” (Ac.1:3).  These men knew that the restoration of the kingdom was a promise of God made to their ancestors.  And they had confidence, based on the explicit teaching of Christ, in its fulfillment.  Rather than correcting what could have been an invalid assumption about His future plans, He merely tells them that they do not need to know when Israel will receive the kingdom back (Ac.1:6-7). 

In light of all this, and to maintain faithfulness with His chosen people, Israel, God has devised a physical thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth, just prior to entering into the eternal state with the new heavens and the new earth.  This kingdom will be marked by a number of characteristics that distinguish it from both the present state of affairs on earth as well as the coming eternal state of perfection.

First, Christ is described as ruling with a rod of iron in this kingdom (Ps.2:9; Rev.2:27).  The necessity of maintaining order is indicated by the rod of iron in His hand.  If this were the eternal state no rod would be necessary, because sin and death would be no more.  Furthermore, the possibility of resistance to His rule, with corresponding punishment, is seen (Zec.14:17-19).  This also does not track with a purified new heaven and new earth in which there will be no more tears, no more punishment (Rev.21:4).

Second, Christ is seen reigning on Zion, God’s holy mountain.  This is more than figurative language designed to depict Christ in heaven.  Zion is God’s special name for Jerusalem, which is also called His holy city (Ps.48:1-2).  Both Ezekiel and Zechariah presents a clear picture of the Lord Jesus establishing His kingdom in literal and physical Jerusalem, after rescuing her from her enemies (Eze.39:25-29; Zec.13:9-14:21).

Third, the New Jerusalem in the eternal state has no temple (Rev. 21:22).  Yet Ezekiel speaks with exhausting detail of a temple in chapters 42 through 48 that is situated in Jerusalem.  This vision is future to him, as Solomon’s Temple had already been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  Yet the image is not of Herod’s Temple, built by Ezra and Nehemiah and renovated and expanded by Herod.  It cannot be that temple, for one very simple reason.  In Ezekiel’s vision, he sees the glory of God filling the temple, just as in the first temple (Eze.43:1-9).  Not only does the glory of the Lord fill this new house, but the sons of Israel will no longer defile their God. 

This fact alone completely disqualifies Herod’s Temple from being what is pictured here.  Built up by a wicked king for reasons of both politics and power, worshiped in by a nation of Jews that was just as far from the true worship of their God as they had ever been, and traded in like a secular marketplace by an apostatizing people who were more interested in padding their pockets with wealth (Mat.21:13; Luk.19:46) and paying lip service to the Law of God (Is.29:13; Mat.15:8).

In addition, the layout of this future Temple that Ezekiel saw is substantially different from Herod’s Temple and/or Solomon’s Temple.  The following features are uniquely absent from Ezekiel’s Temple:

• The wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles
• The court of women
• The Laver
• The Table of Shewbread
• The Lampstand (Menorah)
• The Golden Altar of Incense
• The Veil

Aside from those missing elements, the sacrificial altar itself will be different.  In the original Temple design, which was copied for the second Temple, the altar was reached via a ramp from the South.  But in this prophetic Temple it will be accessed by stairs from the East.

With so many unique characteristics, clearly identifying Ezekiel’s Temple as something we have never seen before, how are we to understand it?  I believe the answer is as follows.  The Temple described to Ezekiel is a future Temple, not yet built, that will be constructed at some future date by the Jews, will be desecrated by the Antichrist in fulfillment of prophecy, and will continue into the future Mediatorial Kingdom of Christ.  This is the Millennial Temple and it must exist at a time prior to the existence of the New Jerusalem on the new earth, but with Christ present physically.  In fact, it is described quite clearly as the place where the Lord will “place the soles of His feet” (Eze.43:7).

The fourth reason that I believe in a literal Kingdom of Christ on earth is the national restoration of Israel that is clearly and unmistakably prophesied throughout the Old Testament.  I have alluded to this a number of times already.  But I think it is worth looking at it again here, from a different angle.

In Ezekiel chapter 37 the prophet is once again given a vision of the future.  In this vision, he sees a valley full of dry bones.  Suddenly, they come to life, are clothed with flesh, the breath of life is breathed into their lungs, and they come alive (Eze.37:1-10).  The Lord graciously explains this vision to Ezekiel.  He clarifies that the bones represent the whole house of Israel.  In the future, they will be raised up and brought back to their own land.  But this time God will put His Spirit within them, they will know Him for who He is, and they will acknowledge His hand at work in their lives (Eze.37:11-14).  Such a national restoration of Israel has never before happened.  Although they have been returned to their land in some capacity at various historical points, these occupations of the land have never been characterized by a national restoration and repentance such as what Ezekiel is informed of.

Not only that, but Ezekiel is shown that all the tribes of Israel will be brought back together.  This includes the northern tribes that were taken into exile by Assyria as well as the southern tribes that were sent to Babylon (Eze.37:15-23).  Adding to the picture of restored Israel that is emerging from the text, we next find that God says literally that His servant David will be the one to rule over the people.  This king will rule over a nation living on the exact same land that was deeded by God to Jacob.  Furthermore, the king will reign over them forever, the covenant of peace between them and God will be everlasting, and the sanctuary of the Lord will dwell in their midst forever (Eze.37:24-27).

To cap off the point, and draw us back to the original stated goal of God in establishing the nation of Israel in the first place, namely to serve as His mediator between Himself and mankind and to showcase His glory to the world, He says that the whole world will know that He is the Lord (Eze.37:28).  The point is that Israel’s function was always and will always be to make God known to the nations.  This future Kingdom of Christ will be the ultimate expression of that purpose.

The fifth evidence for a Millennial Kingdom of Christ is that the Scriptures clearly and unmistakably say that He will rule and reign on the throne of His father David (Isa.9:6-7).  This is of course not the exact same throne that David literally sat upon.  It is a symbolic representation of the continuance of the line of David, just as God promised him.  But it is not wholly symbolic, because it will be a literal throne to be literally sat upon by a literal person; namely Jesus Christ in the flesh. 

The Scriptures clearly and unmistakably portray a difference between Christ’s current position at the right hand of God and a future time when He will fulfill God’s covenant with the nation of Israel on planet earth.  Specifically, we are told that the saints who persevere will be allowed to sit with Christ on His throne just as He sat with His Father on His throne (Rev.3:21).  There is a distinction made in this passage between two different thrones.  They are not one and the same.  We are also advised that the kingdom of the world will transition into the kingdom of “our Lord and His Christ” during the events of Revelation (Rev. 11:15).  This is not the eternal universal kingdom, because that kingdom will be on a new heaven and a new earth.  It will not reside on the same planet we currently occupy. 

The sixth and final evidence for a future Mediatorial, or Millennial, Kingdom is this.  The Scriptures clearly and unmistakably identify a period of one thousand years in which the saints of God will rule and reign with Christ (Rev.20:1-6).  If this thousand years were simply a part of the eternal state, there would be no reason to specify a period of time other than ‘forever’.  The Bible only needs to state a truth once for it to be truth.  There is no reason to think that one thousand years does not mean one thousand years, any more than 400 years in Egypt did not mean 400 years in Egypt (Ge.15:13).  And aside from the specific time frame of one thousand years, I have demonstrated a wealth of biblical evidence for a future earthly reign of Christ.  With all of that in mind, when we come to Revelation chapter 20, there is absolutely no reason to think that it is not talking about a literal thousand-year kingdom.

The Millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth is the fulfillment of God’s promises to both Abraham and David.  This fulfillment of God’s covenants with ethnic Israel confirms His faithfulness.  It affirms strongly the trustworthiness of His nature.  It should not be seen as a negative aberration from the majesty of Christ’s ascension to the right hand of the Father.  Rather, the fact that He will rule and reign physically on a literal throne in a literal Jerusalem alongside a literal temple populated by a literal population of biological Jews is a testament to God’s commitment to His own word.

The Final Judgment

At the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, Satan will be loosed from his prison.  He will go throughout the world, once again deceiving the ungodly nations who have been held in check by the iron rod of Christ.  They will gather together into a mighty army which will come up against Jerusalem.  But they will be defeated by fire from heaven and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire to join the Beast and the False Prophet (Eze.38-39; Rev.20:7-10).

Then all of the unbelieving dead from throughout history will be resurrected to be judged at the great white throne of God.  They will be condemned by their own deeds.  And they will be thrown into the lake of fire as well.  Finally, even sin and death will be abolished from creation, being also symbolically thrown into the lake of fire (Rev.20:11-15).

The Eternal State

After all this, God will melt the existing elements, meaning the creation, with heat (2Pet.3:10).  He will create a new heaven and a new earth.  He will erect a new version of Jerusalem to be the capital city of this freshly created world.  This new order will have no death, no sin, no rebellion, no misery, no heartache, and no pain (Rev.21:1-4). 

All of those whose names have been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world (Rev.13:8, 17:8) will live in harmony with each other and with the Lord for all of eternity.  And so, the end of the story will really be just the beginning.

Difficult Passages

Any doctrine of eschatology carries with it certain difficulties in interpretation.  No theological position on the end times is free from this.  Certain verses will not quite seem to fit at first glance, tending to throw the Bible student into some consternation until an accurate explanation is found through careful study and consideration of relevant competing or correlating passages. 

With this final section I will seek to offer my interpretation of a few portions of Scripture that have caused me some personal difficulty in arriving at my doctrine of eschatology.  For each passage or set of passages, I will first explain what the difficulty is.  Then I will offer my interpretive solution.

Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:27

These parallel gospel accounts detail some instruction that Christ gave His disciples regarding the end times.  The challenge comes from Jesus’s words.  He said, in Matthew’s account, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”  This can only mean one of two things.  Either one or more of the disciples listening to Christ would not die a physical death.  Or the fulfillment of His words would occur in their lifetime.

The former possibility has no historical basis.  There is no credible evidence that any of the apostles were taken into heaven as Enoch and Elijah were.  We have good historical data points on the death of every apostle except for John.  Could God have taken John straight into heaven from his exile on Patmos at the end of his life if He so chose, and simply not recorded it in Scripture?  Certainly.  But there is nothing in the text itself to suggest such a possibility.

That leaves us with the other possibility, that Christ’s words were fulfilled in the lifetimes of the Apostles.  However, this presents difficulty for an eschatological interpretation that holds to a future Mediatorial Kingdom of God on earth as I have described, because such a kingdom was clearly not established in the lifetime of the disciples.  That is, unless when Jesus made this statement He was not referring to the future Mediatorial Kingdom, but rather His personal ascension to the right hand of the Father and the throne of the Universal Kingdom.

I believe this is exactly what He meant.  I think Christ was talking about His ascension, which most (but not all, Judas Iscariot had already hanged himself) of His disciples would observe.  This event is recorded for us in Luke and Acts.  Luke’s version, found in 24:51, states that “while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.”  The parallel account from Acts 1:9-11 describes the Lord as having been received out of the men’s sight on a cloud.  Immediately afterward, two angels appeared and clarified exactly where He had gone: this Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”  Traveling into heaven was a clear indicator of going to the Kingdom of God in the minds of the Jews.

Even more convincingly, back in Luke 23:42-43, we find a conversation between Christ and one of the two thieves who were crucified alongside Him.  The thief says “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”  The thief believed that when Jesus departed this earth He would be in His kingdom.  The Lord did not correct him.  Instead, He responded “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” 

Jesus does not use the same word the thief did, and I think this was intentional.  He uses paradise, which was a reference to Sheol, or the realms of the dead.  Those who died were understood to enter into Sheol, the wicked into hell but the righteous into “Abraham’s Bosom”.  So the thief could be with Jesus immediately, yet Jesus could be with His disciples later, because there was a three-day delay between Christ’s death and His resurrection.  During those three days Jesus must have stayed in Abraham’s Bosom, awaiting His resurrection.  This is where He and the thief were together.

Jesus did not correct the thief because what he asked for was not doctrinally incorrect.  Yet at the same time, in His response Jesus demonstrated the precision with which He had foreknowledge of exactly what the nature of His death, resurrection, and ascension would be. 

This exchange between Christ and the thief further serves to confirm that when Jesus was speaking to His disciples before His death, He certainly would have been referring to this same understanding of the Kingdom of God.  Again, as stated elsewhere, the future prophetic Mediatorial Kingdom should not be seen as some sort of aberration from God’s Kingdom.  It is simply the promised expression and reality, to the nation of Israel, of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Heaven can and should be seen as Christ’s kingdom, which I have already affirmed in this document as entirely biblical.  I have no problem with the concept of Christ ruling and reigning right now at the right hand of God in heaven on the throne of the Universal Kingdom.  I just do not think there needs to be a distinction made such that because Christ is reigning in heaven now, He cannot also reign in the future on earth in a restored Israel in an earthly expression of the heavenly reality of the Kingdom of God.  And the reason I believe this is because the Bible explicitly and voluminously confirms the future existence of such an earthly kingdom.  I am convinced that of this there can be no doubt unless one is willing to twist the plain meaning of Scripture into something it is not.

Acts 2:25-36

In this passage the Apostle Peter is delivering his famous sermon on the Day of Pentecost.  He extensively quotes the Old Testament throughout.  Toward the end of his message he references one of David’s Psalms, 16.  In this messianic psalm David speaks of the future Messiah.  Peter quotes him and then provides his own Holy Spirit inspired commentary on what David wrote.  In verse 30, about David, Peter says “and so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.  This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”

Now, the issue is this.  In this sermon is Peter making the claim that David looked forward to the resurrection of the Christ and categorized that as the fulfillment of God’s covenant to him?  I say categorically, of course not.  First, when one considers the vast body of Old Testament writings that we have already looked at concerning the covenantal promises of God to David and Israel, it is clear that Peter cannot possibly be making the claim that because Christ is resurrected and now reigning in heaven, that Israel is back in their land with the Son of David reigning over them.

Secondly, consider the context of the passage.  Peter’s whole point here has nothing whatsoever to do with the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant.  He is discussing the resurrection of Jesus.  That is precisely why he quotes a psalm where David prophecies that the Christ would not suffer decay.  The implication for David was that, because God would not allow His Holy One to suffer decay, He would certainly fulfill His inviolable promise to David through this same Holy One.  This is why, in verse 31, Peter says that David, in looking ahead to Christ’s resurrection, saw that “He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay”.

To pull this passage out of the context of the point that Peter was making is a serious error.  And all one has to do is turn to chapter 3, containing Peter’s next sermon, to have Peter’s own personal eschatology clearly revealed.  He again describes how God had sent Jesus as the Holy and Righteous One, but the Jews disowned Him and had Him murdered by the Romans (Ac.3:13-15).  Peter proceeds in verses 19 to 21 to spell out the process whereby Christ was received into heaven, but only until the period of restoration that was spoken of by the prophets in ancient times (Ac.3:19-21).  The Apostle literally says, in regard to Christ, “whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke”.

What is this period of restoration?  Could it be the eternal state?  Only if you believe God will break His covenant with Israel by not restoring them to their land and exalting them.  And Peter confirms just a few verses later exactly what sort of restoration he is talking about; “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, “and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Ac.3:25).

I think it is unequivocal what Peter’s view of eschatology was.  It was centered around the fulfillment of every single one of God’s covenantal promises to the Jews, given by the mouth of the prophets in the Old Testament.  The only way these promises can be achieved is if Israel is restored to their land and their Messiah reigns from Zion, just as He was prophesied to do.  To walk away with any other impression is to render all of those Old Testament covenants either allegorical or symbolic or both.

Psalm 110:4, Zechariah 6:12-13, and Hebrews 8:4

These are not parallel passages.  Rather, they are somewhat disconnected verses that paint a picture of Christ on His throne.  First, Psalm 110:4 describes Him as a priest, according to the order of Melchizedek.  Then Zechariah 6:12-13 specifies the parameters of this priesthood; namely, that Christ will be a priest on His throne.  In other words, He will be a priest and a king simultaneously.  Finally, Hebrews 8:4 offers the statement that if Christ were on earth He would not be a priest at all.

The difficulty with this is the nature of Christ’s priesthood.  Jesus of Nazareth was of the tribe of Judah, not of Levi.  This means that, according to the Mosaic Law, He could not be a priest.  That role was specifically reserved for Aaron’s descendants.  This is the point of the Hebrews verse.  If Christ were on earth, according to the standards of the Mosaic Law, He could not be a priest.

The obvious solution is in the nature of Christ’s priesthood.  He is not a priest from the tribe of Levi, descended from Aaron and Zadok, and functioning according to the Law of Moses.  Rather, if we consider the very first verse I mentioned, Psalm 110:4, we see that Christ will be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek.  Melchizedek predates the Levitical priesthood by over 500 years.  This means that Christ will not be bound by the restrictions and parameters of the Law.

Backing up to the previous chapter of Hebrews, this is confirmed conclusively.  Christ will be the high priest in the Millennial Kingdom.  He will be holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  He will not need to offer up sacrifices daily like the Levitical priesthood did, because He offered up the ultimate once for all sacrifice when he offered Himself up on the cross (Heb.7:26-27).  Furthermore, the Law of Moses appoints weak and faulty men as high priests.  But the word of the oath of God appoints a divine Son who is perfect (Heb.7:28).  This oath from God is the very same promise made back in Psalm 110 and written down by David.

If there is still doubt, all we need to do is go back to the original Hebrews verse and read on a bit further.  The author spells out the fact that the original Mosaic Covenant was faulty, depending as it did upon a sinful human priesthood (Heb.8:7).  Note that neither the Abrahamic or Davidic Covenants are in view here.  It is the Law of Moses that instituted the Levitical priesthood.  That is what Hebrews has been discussing throughout its chapters up to this point. 

Then he goes on to quote from Jeremiah 31, where the prophet describes the New Covenant in detail (Heb.8:8-12).  We have looked at this previously, so I will not dwell on it again.  But I think it must be said that the Bible just pounds over and over the truth that God is not finished with Israel.  His relationship never depended on them in the first place.  And it never will.  Just as the salvation of the church is not dependent upon works but rather faith granted freely by God; in the same way, the restoration of Israel does not depend upon the conduct or circumstances of the Jews.

And again, I realize I am driving this point into the ground, but I think it must be so driven because it is absolutely critical that we see this; the whole of an accurate doctrine of eschatology depends on understanding the relationship between God and Israel in the context of the unconditional, unilateral, and inviolable covenants that He ratified with them.

Jeremiah 22:28-30

In this prophetic book, we come across an initially troubling puzzle.  Jeremiah is speaking of Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah.  Both of these men were in the lineage of David.  And remember that David’s lineage was guaranteed by God to endure forever.  The problem comes when we read what God says about Jeconiah.  A prophecy is given that no man of his descendants will prosper or sit on the throne of David or rule again in Judah (Jer.22:30).

It would seem, at first glance, that this should disqualify Jesus from sitting on David’s throne.  Yet, God cannot break an unconditional covenant that He essentially made with Himself, such as the Davidic Covenant.  So then, how can this covenant be fulfilled by Christ on earth yet the curse against Jeconiah remain in force at the same time?

Some have suggested that the solution is to understand David’s throne covenant as being fulfilled by Christ in heaven.  In other words, when He ascended to the right hand of the father the Lord Jesus sat down on “the throne of David”.  This means that the Davidic Covenant will not be fulfilled literally but rather symbolically.  As we have looked at extensively, if one starts down the road of interpreting Bible prophecies this way the result is guaranteed to be a horribly distorted eschatology.

I think there is another solution that is much better.  The key is to remember that Jesus only had one human parent, Mary.  Both of His parents were in the line of David.  But He was only the son of Joseph legally, by Joseph’s marriage to Mary.  And Joseph is the one who was descended from David through Solomon and eventually Jeconiah.  On the other hand, Mary was descended physically from David through Nathan, a brother of Solomon’s.  These facts can be confirmed by examining the genealogies of Jesus, given in Matthew and Luke.

Matthew’s account records the genealogy of Jesus from the perspective of Joseph, His legal father.  And indeed, Jeconiah is included in this genealogy (Mat.1:11).  But again, Jesus had no blood relation to any of these men other than David and his ancestors.  Matthew even makes a point to call attention to the fact that Jesus was born of Mary not Joseph (Mat.1:16).

In Luke’s version, covering Mary’s lineage, notice that Jeconiah is conspicuously absent.  And rather than listing Solomon directly before David we find the name Nathan (Lk.3:31).  As if to echo Matthew, Luke drives home the point of Jesus’s unique parentage by writing, of Jesus, that he was “as was supposed, the son of Joseph” (Lk.3:23).

When these things are taken into account I think it becomes obvious that God Himself provided the perfect solution to our interpretive dilemma by precisely orchestrating the family lineage of Jesus over hundreds of years of human history.  There is no problem with Jesus reigning on a literal throne of David in Jerusalem because He was never a blood descendant of Jeconiah in the first place.