Promise of an Everlasting Kingdom

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:12-14 (ESV).

Many prophecies abound in the Old Testament of the coming of Messiah.  I counted in one listing of the prophecies a total of 134 different references, ranging from Genesis to Malachi.  I’m sure if you consulted other scholarly lists, you might find a different number.  Suffice it to say that the Old Testament is replete with references predicting the coming of the Redeemer Savior.  In this account in Daniel, the Messiah is referred to as Son of Man.  Jesus, in reference to Himself, used ‘Son of Man’ more than any other term (in the gospels it is used 82 times!).  This name revealed the true identity of Who He is and the nature of His ministry.  He is the Son of God who became flesh (the Son of Man) and dwelt among us so that “we might behold His gory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  This designation denotes both the humanity and the divinity  of the Christ, and to Him is given “dominion and glory and a kingdom.”  Moreover, the kingdom is everlasting, will not pass away, cannot be destroyed.

When Jesus had been arrested and brought before the Council in Jerusalem and was asked if He was the Christ, He responded:  “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62, ESV).  In answering the high priest, Christ was telling what nature His kingdom would have.  However, the high priest cried out that Jesus was a blasphemer and demanded the death sentence for Him.  The time of that kingdom has not yet been fulfilled, but the laying of its foundation has been surely put into place by the Son of Man in His coming to earth and completing the mission God assigned Him to do.

In prophesying of the coming of the Son of Man, Daniel saw a great sweep of history that will be fulfilled finally in Christ’s reign upon earth  Believers in Christ know that He came first to earth to offer Himself a sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  The victorious Savior will return.  We are told in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 that we who believe and remain alive will be caught up to meet Him in the air.  Revelation 21 and 22 give the further fulfillment of the prophecy:  We will return to earth with Him to reign with Him and serve Him.  We do well to live in expectation of the implementation of that promise, for no person knows the day nor the hour of His return.  But His word to us is, “Surely I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20).  And our proper response is, “Come, Lord Jesus!” 

Prayer.  Father, Your Word is full of the promise of the Son of Man coming to us.  That first promise of His coming has been completed, His mission on earth fulfilled.  His second coming is yet to be. Let us live in eager expectation of that glorious day and let us await it with joyful anticipation.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

“Yahweh Shammah”—The Lord Is There

“The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits.  And the name of the city from that time on shall be, ‘The Lord Is There’”-Ezekiel 48:35.  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’”(God with us)-Matthew 1:23. “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” –Matthew 18:20b.  “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” –Hebrews 13:5b.  “They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” –Revelation 22:4 (ESV).

How many of us have said to a family member or friend, “I’m here for you”?  These words of reassurance indicate that we want to share in sorrow, the down times, the good times and be an encouragement to others.  One of the great “I Am” statements of Almighty God is “Yahweh Shammah,” Hebrew for “The Lord Is There.”  And God is always there, ready to hear our prayers, ready to lift and succor us, ready to be “”a very present help in trouble” and our light and guide along life’s way.  The verse from Ezekiel may need some clarification.  Ezekiel prophesied at a time of great confusion for the nation.  In 597 B. C., Judah’s king, Jehoiachin had been exiled to Babylon along with several thousand, among whom was the prophet Ezekiel. His message is one of judgment and condemnation but also of hope.  In chapters 40 through 48 he sees a vision of the restoration of the nation, a division of the land among the twelve tribes, the rebuilding of the temple, and the city of Jerusalem, the wall of which will stretch 18,000 cubits around the restored city.  But when it is rebuilt, it will have a new name:  “Yahweh (Jehovah) Shammah”—“God is there,” or God is with us.” When Mary was told she would bear the Messiah, the angel gave a name for him:  “Immanuel”(also spelled Emmanuel)—God with us.  As “God with us,” Jesus came to save the people from their sins.  When Jesus had finished His work for which He came to earth and was ready to ascend to the Father, He gave the disciples their working orders:  “Go and make disciples…teach, preach, baptize, teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  But then He gave a great promise:  “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (or the end of the age).  In our work for the Lord, He is there.  The writer of Hebrews reconfirmed the promise of Immanuel, God with us”  “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  And in telling about the New Jerusalem with the Bridegroom (Jesus) coming down from Heaven to receive His bride (the redeemed) unto Himself, John declared that we will see the face of the Lord and our names will be on His forehead.  He will be there; He will know us individually.

Almost, this characteristic of the Great I Am is beyond our finite comprehension.  Now we can see it as through a glass, darkly.  But in our hearts we know God made the provision for; He will never leave us desolate and alone.  “God is there!”  Bless His holy name!  Let’s review the nine “I Am” principles that help us to know and better understand how to relate to God our Creator and Redeemer:  (1)  “Yahweh Jireh”—the Lord will provide (Gen. 22:14); (2)  “Yahweh Rophe”—the Lord heals (Exodus 15:26); (3)  “Yahweh Nissi” –the Lord is our banner (Exodus 17:15); (4) “Yahweh M’Kaddesh” –the Lord sanctifies (Lev. 20:8); (5)  “Yahweh Shalom” –the Lord is our peace (Judges 6:24); (6)  “Yahweh Rohi” –the Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23:1); (7)  “Yahweh Sabaoth—the Lord of hosts (Psalm 46:7); (8)  “Yahweh Tsidkenu”—the Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6); and (9) “Yahweh Shammah” –the Lord is there (Ezekiel 48:35).  We probably won’t remember the Hebrew terms for the Great I Am. But their English interpretations can be a constant reminder to us of how great our God is and how in His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience He surrounds, loves, saves, leads, protects and sustains us! To God be the glory!

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” –Matthew 5:8 (KJV, NKJV, ESV).

The statement of this beatitude is so clear that three versions I consulted use the same words for expressing its truth.  A note in my English Standard Version Study Bible notes:  “The pure in heart are those whose pursuit of purity and uprightness affects every area life” (p. 1828, note)..  “They shall see God” notes the ultimate fulfillment of Revelation 22:4:  “They shall see His face, and their names shall be on His forehead.”  John 1:18 reads, “No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father’s side; He has made Him known.”  In Jewish thinking, no one had ever seen God in His full and complete glory. But John wanted the people to see that “the Word made flesh”—Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us—is the way we see the heart and nature of God.  Jesus is the Word of God; He is God revealed to humankind.  The Jews also laid much store in external ritual purity.  They performed ritual washings before worshiping in order to symbolically rid themselves of the contamination of the world before they went into the temple or synagogue to worship God.  The rituals were their outward manifestations of inward cleansing.  But Jesus, as always, gets to the heart of purity and righteousness by stating, “blessed are the pure in heart,” those whose purity is so much a part of them that it is deeply ingrained in the heart.  And the expression “in the heart” means—then and now—in the inward being, at the center of control of one’s emotions and thinking.

Jesus certainly did not mean the ceremonial cleansing of the Jewish law that required ritual washing.  Neither did He mean the blamelessness of outwardly manifested conduct, as in “he or she is a righteous person” or has the reputation of being and doing what is right.  An ore, for example, is pure when it contains no admixture of other substances.  “Pure gold” would have gone through the refining process, an action that rendered the metal without alloys.  Thinking of the actions and motives of the Christian, we can give examples of what being pure means.  When we perform benevolent acts, we do them not for any selfish motive but for the benefit of helping others, not expecting a return from the action.  In practicing justice for others, there is no partiality.  Love is pure when it has no inferior motives that are selfish and self-promoting.  The heart is pure when it loves only the good, when motives are right, and when it seeks the welfare of others above selfish desires.  The kind of purity Jesus means in this beatitude is not synonymous with chastity.  Those who cleanse their hearts understand God in proportion to their own hearts.  With these thoughts in mind, do we begin to see that Jesus was aiming at the very center of our relationship with God and with others?  If we cleanse our hearts, we begin the see holy God and how much He is above our meager righteousness.  We are as “filthy rags” in comparison to His holiness.  But thanks be to God, as we come to Him for cleansing, He can set us right.  He can impute His righteousness to us.  And with that spiritual and inward cleansing, we can stand before God; we can “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” One day, not within the parameters of this present world, we will “see God” fully and wholly.  Paul expressed that day of complete holiness for the Christian in this way:  “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”  With the change of heart possible for us when we trust the Lord for salvation, we are beginning the journey of purity and holiness.  One day it will be fulfilled!  Amen.