Messianic Expectation Part 2

[one_half]Biblical Worldview Course Introduction[/one_half][one_half_last]Development Of Western Worldview[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Introduction To Biblical Worldview Part 1[/one_half][one_half_last]Introduction To Biblical Worldview Part 2[/one_half_last]

[one_half]A Theology of Restoration Vs. Annihilation Part 1[/one_half][one_half_last]A Theology Of Restoration Vs. Annihilation Part 2[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Messianic Expectation Part 1[/one_half][one_half_last]Messianic Expectation Part 2[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Defining The Kingdom Of God Part 1[/one_half][one_half_last]Defining The Kingdom Of God Part 2[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Defining The Gospel Part 1[/one_half][one_half_last]Defining The Gospel Part 2[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The Sojourning Identity Of The Ekklesia Part 1[/one_half][one_half_last]The Sojourning Identity Of The Ekklesia Part 2[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The Sojourning Mission Of The Ekklesia Part 1[/one_half][one_half_last]The Sojourning Mission Of The Ekklesia Part 2[/one_half_last]

¹The record of the genealogy ofJesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: (Mat 1:1 NASB)

A. The New Testament begins with the acknowledgment of Messianic expectation by stating that the One promised to David (cf. II Sam. 7) and to Abraham (cf. Gen. 12) as their descendant came to the earth born of a woman.Thus, reaffirming the hope of the Jewish audience not altering it.

B. For the most part, modern Christian theology —assuming a Platonic cosmology —is based largely upon a non-existent verse in the Bible. Most modern teachings regarding salvation, eschatology, the kingdom, and the Christ all assume a passage in the Scripture where Jesus (and presumably reaffirmed by Paul) corrects the foolish Jews for their naïve expectation of Him. The problem, of course, is that this passage does not exist.

C. Becausethe New Testament, as a whole, is built upon the assumption of Old Testament Messianic expectation, the alteration (and thus perversion) of this expectation has been the primary source of confusion within the 38,000+ Christian denominations which exist on the earth today.

D. The fact that most members of Christian churches assume the word ‘Christ’ to be little more than Jesus’ surname is primary evidence that something tragic has happened. Few acknowledge the amount of damage done by the Gnostic Christianity of the modern church.[1]Christoplatonism[2]has not only perverted Biblical theology (namely Christology), but Biblical hope as a whole.

E. While the coming and ministry of Jesus and the apostles introducednew understanding regarding the manner of inclusion into the promises made to Abraham (i.e. ALL who repent and believe), it is essential to note that there was never an alteration in the fundamental hope of the Patriarchs. The hope in the Messianic seed who would resurrect and deliver the righteous, restore creation, and crush the wicked has always been the same.

¹⁴“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers,believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets;¹⁵having a hope in God,which these men cherish themselves,that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. (Acts 24:14-15 NASB)

³But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (i.e. the Messiah).⁴For if one comes andpreaches another Jesus (other than the Jewish Messiah)whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or adifferent gospelwhich you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. (2Cr 11:3-4 NASB)

²²Who is the liar but the one who denies thatJesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. …²⁴As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning (the promises from the OT)… (1Jo 2:22, 24 NASB)

F. Thus, the coming of Jesus was understood to be the reassurance of the promises given to the patriarchs and the prophets and not their redefinition.

¹⁹So we have the prophetic word (i.e. given to the patriarchs and prophets) made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention (i.e. the eyewitness accounts) as to a lamp shining in a dark place,until the day dawnsand the morning star arises in your hearts.²⁰But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,²¹for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (not the will of man, but the will of God). (2Pe 1:19-21 NASB)

⁹“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying,’My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'(i.e. as it was in the beginning); (Isa 46:9-10 NASB)

A. The New Testament assumes the same Messianic expectation as the Old Testament.Because it assumes the same cosmogenical (i.e. the original perfection of creation) framework and the same eschatological conclusion (i.e. the restoration of all things) it also assumes the same means of accomplishing God the Father’s “good pleasure”(cf. Is. 46:10, Is. 42:1).

¹⁹“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order thattimes of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;²⁰and that He may send Jesus,the Christ appointed for you,²¹whom heaven must receive untilthe period of restoration of all thingsabout which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. (Act 3:19-21 NASB)

²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope²¹that thecreation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruptioninto the freedom of the glory of the children of God.²²For we know that the wholecreation groansand suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.²³And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons,the redemption of our body. (Rom 8:20-23 NASB)

B. The Messiah is the agent by which the Father is going to restore all things and to bring an end to wickedness and tyranny on the earth forever. The ‘Gospel’ spread in the 1^stcentury is thus thegospel of Christ.The gospel is essentially that Jesus of Nazareth was the One whom God appointed to be the agent of restoration for creation and to establish everlasting righteousness on the planet under God’s leadership —thus, judging the earth, purging it from wickedness.

⁴in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light ofthe gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2Cr 4:4 NASB)

⁴²“And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that thisis the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. (Act 10:42 NASB)

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he hadthe eternal gospelto proclaim to those who live on the earth–to every nation, tribe, language and people.⁷He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Rev 14:6-7 NIV)

A. Messianic expectation in the 1^stcentury (as it should be now) was based on the covenants which God made to the Patriarchs of Israel.Any reference to ‘promises’ in the New Testament presupposes that the Biblical backbone of the whole narrative —i.e. the covenants —are known and understood by the audience. There is no reference to any arbitrary ‘promises’ in the New Testament, but only to those promises made within the context of the covenants given to the patriarchs.

B. The beginning of the covenants was God’s covenant to creation. This covenant is not a symbolic covenant, but an actual binding agreement which God made with His creation.Thus, God’s faithfulness to creation as a whole is the context from which all of the covenants are interpreted.

²⁰“Thus says the LORD: If you canbreak my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at theirappointed time,²¹then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son (i.e. the Messiah) to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. (Jer 33:20-21 ESV)

³⁴“My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.³⁵” Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.³⁶“His descendants (lit. ‘seed’ singular) shall endure foreverAnd his throne as the sun before Me.³⁷“It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah. (Psa 89:34-37 NASB)

C. The lack of context given for the covenants has resulted in a liberal reinterpretation of the covenants as well as the context within which they were given.All of the Biblical covenants look to the Messianic Kingdom for their fulfillment which is simply the restoration of the original Adamic Kingdom.

²⁰“and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,²¹“whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began (i.e. fall of Adamic Kingdom). (Act 3:20-21 NKJV)

⁶But one has testified somewhere, saying, (cf. Ps. 8) “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN (lit. from Heb. ‘son of Adam’) , THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?⁷“YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;⁸YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him (i.e. to Jesus as the son of Adam). But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. (Hbr 2:6-8 NASB)

D. The rest of the covenants are simply reaffirmations of this original covenant with Adam, and simply serve to reinforce the certainty of God’s covenant to restore the Adamic covenant within the context of a restored creation as a whole.Thus, none of the covenants have been fulfilled, but await their fulfillment in the coming of the Messiah in the clouds.

⁹“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying,’My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; (Isa 46:9-10 NASB)

¹⁵And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head (heb. ‘rosh’), and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:15 NIV)

A. Ireneaus de Lyons (early mid 2^ndcentury —c. 202AD) called this verse the ‘proto-evangelium’ or the ‘first gospel’. The beginning of the Messianic expectation (i.e. ‘the Gospel’) is given within the context of the curse upon creation. Just as a man lead a rebellion against God, and brought a curse to the entire kingdom of man, so an offspring would be given who would crush the serpent and restore the effect of his influence.[1]

B. Immediately after the curse is pronounced by God, men named themselves and their offspring in hope that they might be the appointed seed, and thus see an end to the curse upon the ground. Adam begins by naming his wife in accordance with the promise that the seed would come from her.

²⁰Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (lit. ‘life’) (Gen 3:20 NIV)

C. Next a son is given to them. In hopes that he will deliver them from the curse Eve names him Cain —acknowledging that she was given a seed by God who had promised the seed who would crush the serpent and restore the ground.

¹Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain (heb. ‘qa-yin’ lit. ‘possession’), and she said, “I have gotten a manchild (i.e. as a gift) with the help of the LORD.” (Gen 4:1 NASB)

D. After Cain murdered Able, it was clear that he was not going to restore the earth and cleanse it from sin. Another son was given to them. Seth was named within the same context that the Lord would give them the promised seed from Eve who would crush the serpent. After it became evident that Seth nor his offspring could be the promised see, men began to call upon the Lord. This was not simply a cry for help, but a plea in the context of His covenant with creation and with Adam.

²⁵Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth (lit. ‘appointed’), for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring (i.e. seed) in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”²⁶To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh (lit. ‘mortal’).Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD. (Gen 4:25-26 NASB)

E. Enoch saw the day of the seed’s coming, and named his son in response to the prophecy. Most likely, the Lord told him that a day of judgment was coming when his son died, but Enoch named his son with the hope that the seed would restore everything at his death. The year that Methuselah died, the fountains of the deep were opened.

²¹Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah (lit. ‘when he dies, it will come’). …²⁷So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, andhe died. (Gen 5:21, 27 NASB)

¹⁴It was also about these men thatEnoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,¹⁵to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jud 1:14-15 NASB)

F. Thus, Lamech —Methuselah’s son —named his son with the expectation that he would be the promised seed.

²⁸Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son.²⁹Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.” (Gen 5:28-29 NASB)

G. After the flood, the promise of the seed was narrowed to a particular race. Of Noah’s three sons, the seed would come through Shem (through whom we have Semitic tribes). Though the curse was upon the earth and God had withdrawn His immediate presence, Noah prophesied of the day when He would dwell on the earth again. It would be in the ‘tents of Shem’ where the immediate physical dwelling of God would be restored to the earth —thus bringing blessing to the whole earth.

²⁵he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”²⁶He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.²⁷May God enlarge Japheth, and let him (i.e. God)dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.” (Gen 9:25-27 ESV)

H. Abraham —who was born before Noah died —was visited with the promise that the seed would come through his specific family. Again, the covenant with Abraham is not a new one which is meant to anchor him to a new hope. Rather, it is a reiteration of the promise to Abraham serving to motivate him to continue on in righteousness because of the assurance of what has been promised.

⁴“As for Me, behold,My covenant is with you, And you will be thefather of a multitude of nations.⁵“No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham;For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.⁶“I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.⁷“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants (lit. ‘seed’ singular) after you throughout their generations for aneverlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants (lit. ‘seed’ singular) after you.(Gen 17:4-7 NASB)

• ¹⁶Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,”that is, Christ(i.e. the Messiah). (Gal 3:16 NASB)
• ¹³For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would beheir of the world(i.e. in the age to come) was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. …¹⁶For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace,so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,¹⁷(as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed,even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.(Rom 4:13-17 NASB)
• ²¹whom heaven must receive untilthe period of restoration of all thingsabout which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. …²⁵“It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenantwhich God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham,’AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED. (cf. Gen. 22:18)’²⁶“For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” (Act 3:21, 25-26 NASB)
• ²³On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, …²⁹But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. …³¹“But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God:³²‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’?He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Mat 22:23, 29, 31-32 NASB)

⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed bygoing out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.⁹By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land,dwelling in tentswith Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;¹⁰for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hbr 11:8-10 NASB)

• ¹²Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.¹³So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.¹⁴For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. (Hbr 13:12-14 NASB)

I. Abraham’s grandson, Israel (or Jacob), prophesied over his 12 sons prior to his death within this same framework. Just as Enoch prophesied the logical conclusion that if there were to be a complete reversal of the curse, then wickedness could not dwell on the earth again. Thus, the seed had to come to cleanse the earth from wickedness.Now, Israel prophesies another requirement for perpetual righteousness —and thus perpetual life without a curse —the seed has to stay and govern over the nations.

J. Speaking to Judah, Israel said that his family line would hold the scepter of leadership in Israel until the Messiah comes.

¹⁰“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. (Gen 49:10 NASB)

“Many sources, including the Targum (Aram. paraphrase of the OT), see “Shiloh” as a title of the Messiah. However, the Hebrew word šîlōh should be rendered “whose it is,” that is, the scepter will not depart from Judah … until He comes whose it (i.e., the scepter) is (or as the niv puts it, to whom it belongs). Similar words in Ezekiel 21:27, “until He comes to whom it (the crown, Ezek. 21:26) rightfully belongs” were addressed to the last king of Judah.”^[2]

K. Balaam, a foreign prophet, prophesied about the coming seed who would also be the ruler of Israel. From Israel, Judah specifically, the Seed was going to rise by crushing many surrounding nations.

¹⁷“I see him, but not now;I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob,A scepter (cf. Gen. 49:10) shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.¹⁸“Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession, While Israel performs valiantly. (Num 24:17-18 NASB)

A. The life of David introduces the family through which God has chosen to bring the blessing upon the whole earth and to restore creation.

¹¹“When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants (lit. ‘seed’ singular) after you, who will beof your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.¹²“He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.¹³“I will be his father andhe shall be My son;and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you.¹⁴“But I willsettle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”‘” (1Ch 17:11-14 NASB)

²The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed (heb. ma-shiyach), saying, …⁵Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,⁶“But as for Me,I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”⁷“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me,’You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.⁸‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, Andthe very ends of the earth as Your possession.⁹‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” (Psa 2:2, 5-9 NASB)

• ³²“And we preach to youthe good news(Gr. euangelizo) of the promise made to the fathers,³³that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in thatHe raised up Jesus (i.e. from the dead), as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’ (Act 13:32-33 NASB)

¹A Psalm of David. The LORD (Heb. YHWH) says to my Lord (Heb. adonay): “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”²The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion (mountain in territory of Judah), saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”³Your people will volunteer freely inthe day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,Your youth are to You as the dew. …⁵The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.⁶He will judge among the nations,He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. (Psa 110:1-3, 5-6 NASB)

• ¹⁹Yourdead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awakeand shout for joy,For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.²⁰Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little whileUntil indignation runs its course.²¹For behold,the LORD is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain. (Isa 26:19-21 NASB)

³“I have made a covenant withMy chosen;I have sworn to David My servant,⁴I willestablish your seed foreverAnd build up your throne to all generations.” Selah. …²⁴“My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted. …²⁷“I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. …²⁹“So I will establish his descendants (lit. ‘seed’ singular) forever And his throne as the days of heaven. …³⁴“My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.³⁵” Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.³⁶“His descendants (lit. ‘seed’ singular)shall endure foreverAnd his throne as the sun before Me.³⁷“It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah. (Psa 89:3-4, 24, 27, 29, 34-37 NASB)

⁶For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.⁷There will be no end to the increase (‘immeasurable prosperity’ NET, i.e. abundance) of His government or of peace,On the throne of Davidand over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then onand forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. (Isa 9:6-7 NASB)

¹Then a shoot will spring from thestem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. …⁴But with righteousnessHe will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; AndHe will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lipsHe will slay the wicked.⁵Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. …¹⁰Then in that day The nations will resort to theroot of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. (Isa 11:1, 4-5, 10 NASB)

A. The prophet Isaiah also introduced the Messiah as the Arm of the Lord —or the agent who will bring the day of God’s vengeance upon earth.

³⁰The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice andwill make them see his arm coming down with raging angerand consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. …³²Every stroke the LORD lays on them with his punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps, as he fights them in battlewith the blows of his arm.³³Topheth (i.e. Valley of Ben Hinnom, cf. 2 Ki. 23:10; Jer. 7:31f; 19:6) has long been prepared; it hasbeen made ready for the king.Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze. (Isa 30:30, 32-33 NIV)

⁹You who bring good tidings (LXX ‘euongelizo’) to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings (LXX ‘euongelizo’) to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”¹⁰See, the Sovereign LORDcomes with power, and his arm rules for him. See,his reward is with him,and his recompense accompanies him. (Isa 40:9-10 NIV)[1]

• ¹²“Behold, I am coming quickly, andMy reward is with Me(cf. Is. 40:10), to render to every man according to what he has done. (Rev 22:12 NASB)

⁹Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.¹⁰The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God. (Isa 52:9-10 NASB)

B. The revelation of the Arm of the Lord, or the Messiah who will cleanse the earth from wickedness is not novel to Isaiah. It was the logical conclusion of the restoration of creation, lest the earth be filled with wickedness and violence again. Enoch also saw the Messiah coming in this way to cleanse the earth of the wicked.

¹⁴It was also about these men thatEnoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,¹⁵to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jud 1:14-15 NASB)

C. Adam lived for 930 years. When Adam was roughly 620 years old his great, great, great, great grandson was born. His name was Enoch. Enoch is well known for having ‘walked with God’ and then being ‘no more for God took him’. While this event —and thus the man —are well known, they are seldom put in the context of the actual historical setting within which Enoch lived.

D. Enoch really lived with his great4 grandfather for over 300 years. Living prior to the tower of Babel in Genesis 11 —and thus the scattering of the people —he probably lived in the same general vicinity as his ancestors. The Book of Enoch was not only known by the early church, but it was quoted in the New Testament by Jude. While the book was not included in the canon, the book was considered of sound Christian theology for centuries after the resurrection.

¹The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect and righteous, who will be²living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked and godless are to be removed…The Holy Great One will come forth from His dwelling,⁴And the eternal God will tread upon the earth, (even) on Mount Sinai,[And appear from His camp]And appear in the strength of His might from the heaven of heavens.⁸But with the righteous He will make peace. And will protect the elect, And mercy shall be upon them. And they shall all belong to God, And they shall be prospered, And they shall all be blessed. And He will help them all, And light shall appear unto them, And He will make peace with them’.⁹And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.(I Enoch 1:1-9)

¹⁴It was also about these men thatEnoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,¹⁵to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jud 1:14-15 NASB)

• ²¹“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even sothe Son also gives life to whom He wishes.²²“For not even the Father judges anyone, butHe has given all judgment to the Son,²³so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.²⁴“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me,has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (Jhn 5:21-24 NASB)

E. It was well acknowledged in the early church that Enoch was a prophet of the second coming of the Messiah, but the context of Enoch’s life was always assumed when he was referenced. Enoch, undoubtedly, shared in the hope of his contemporary and patriarch Adam.

A. While the primary expectation of the Messiah was clearly established from the Scriptures, the fact that the Arm of the Lord was going to suffer before entering His glory (i.e. kingdom and the resurrection) was largely unknown.

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believeall that the prophets have spoken!²⁶Did not the Christ have tosuffer these things and then enter his glory?”²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said inall the Scripturesconcerning himself. (Luk 24:25-27 NIV)

• ⁸“She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.⁹“Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” (Mar 14:8-9 NASB)

⁴⁴He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you (cf. Luke 9:22):Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (Luk 24:44-45 NIV)

• ³⁸Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.³⁹She had a sister called Mary,who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. (Luk 10:38-39 NASB)

B. It is important to note that this new piece of information did not invalidate the primary expectation of the Messiah. Rather it strengthened the early disciples to preach with even more boldness because if the suffering was prophesied beforehand, then the promises of the resurrection, the Kingdom, and the day of the Lord were even more certain.

¹⁸“But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth ofall the prophets,thatHis Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.¹⁹“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order thattimes of refreshingmay come from the presence of the Lord;²⁰and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,²¹whom heaven must receiveuntil the period of restoration of all things(i.e. the resurrection) about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.²²“Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you.²³‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophetshall be utterly destroyed(i.e. on the Day of the Lord) from among the people.’ …²⁶“For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” (Act 3:18-23, 26 NASB)

²And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,³explaining andgiving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” (Act 17:2-3 NASB)

²⁶… But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by thesacrifice of himself.²⁷Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,²⁸soChrist was sacrificedonce to take away the sins of many people; andhe will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hbr 9:26-28 NIV)

¹⁰As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied ofthe grace that would come to youmade careful searches and inquiries,¹¹seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as Hepredicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. …¹³Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on thegrace to be brought to youat the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1Pe 1:10-11, 13 NASB)

A. Another expectation for the Messiah was the result of the culmination of the two great story lines running through the Scripture. First, that creation would be restored to it’s original glory. The second, that God would dwell on the earth with man again like it was in the beginning.

³And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, andHe will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them ,⁴and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and therewill no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Rev 21:3-4 NASB)

³There will no longer be any curse; andthe throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;⁴they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. (Rev 22:3-4 NASB)

B. The Scripture portrays the various temples, tabernacles, and tents as being symbols and ultimately shadows of something that is coming. God’s dwelling on the earth will be, as it always has been, in a Temple. The Messiah is the One who will build it for Him.

¹²“Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for Hewill branch out from where He is; andHe will build the temple of the LORD.¹³“Yes, it isHe who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”‘ (Zec 6:12-13 NASB)

C. Ezekiel was the prophet who was shown most clearly what this temple will be like. Ezekiel saw the dimensions and witnessed the activities which are going to take place after the Messiah establishes this Temple after His coming. The primary function is to be the dwelling place of God with man forever from mount Zion.

⁷He said to me, “Son of man, this (i.e. the Temple) is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet,where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die, (Eze 43:7 NASB)

D. Being another clear expectation of the Messianic mission, Jesus referenced the enormous temple to His disciples in John 14 as a place with enough room for them to live there. His Father’s ‘house’ is not an allegory for heaven. Rather it is a reiteration of the expectation that the Messiah is going to build the temple where God will ultimately dwell.

⁴⁹And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to bein My Father’s house?” (Luk 2:49 NASB)

¹⁶and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop makingMy Father’s housea place of business.” (Jhn 2:16 NASB)

²“In My Father’s houseare many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (Jhn 14:2 NASB)

E. The description of the temple to Ezekiel references many rooms in the Temple complex. Jesus is simply reaffirming them that He is going to make a place for them there. The passage in Ezekiel says that there are going to be three levels of rooms within the Temple complex.

¹Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me tothe rooms…⁴In front ofthe roomswas an inner passageway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long. Their doors were on the north.⁵Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building.⁶The rooms on thethird floorhad no pillars, as the courts had; so they were smaller in floor space than those on the lower and middle floors. (Eze 42:1-6 NIV)