Monday, April 29, 2013

36. CHRIST'S COMING AS THE HOLY SPIRIT

36. CHRIST'S COMING AS THE HOLY SPIRIT

In what sense was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost a "Coming" of Jesus?


     The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, fifty day after the crucifixion, can be construed as a coming. For example, the Jews believed that Elijah was to come preceding the advent of the Messiah, based upon Malachi 4:5. (See Matthew 11:14; 16:14; 17:10-13; Mark 6:15; 9:12-13; Luke 1:17; John 1:21, 25.) In these Scriptures, Jesus clearly stated that John the Baptist was Elijah, so Elijah did come, although embodied as John the Baptist. Did He mean that John the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elijah? No. He meant that the same Spirit that came upon and filled Elijah was that which filled John the Baptist, (Luke 1:17).
     In this same sense, the coming of the Holy Spirit to fill all of the believers, was the same Spirit that had filled Christ when He dwelt upon the earth in His fleshly body. So, in the same sense that Elijah had returned in John the Baptist, so Christ returned in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Our essential identity is Spirit; we are a Spirit; we live in a body, and we have a soul. Jesus was with God before He was made flesh, and after His fleshly life, He still lives on as the Holy Spirit.

Opposing Views
     This view is opposed by most Evangelical teachers. I will use the article by Ian Macpherson as an example of the standard, traditional teaching of these groups.[i]
     Macpherson first argues against the idea of realized eschatology which says that Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God had come in His ministry during His lifetime. Macpherson fails to deal with the fact that Jesus did indeed teach this doctrine, (Matt. 12:28; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43; 6:20; 9:27; 10:9; 11:20; 17:21; 22:16-18; and many other passages too numerous to mention).
     His second argument has that Jesus’ promise of another Comforter could not have meant His own Spirit. Biblically, however, it must be so, for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One God. Indeed, He claimed this identity when He said: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you,” (John 14:18). This is in the context of His promise of the Holy Spirit in verses fifteen to seventeen of the same chapter. The Holy Spirit was to be the Comforter and Jesus said "I will not leave you comfortless."
     Thirdly, Macpherson argues that after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the New Testament points forward to the Second Coming. Indeed, Jesus never did refer to a single Second Coming. It is therefore more accurate to refer to His coming as something that will happen often and repeatedly.  There is nothing to prevent the interpretation that the descent of the Holy Spirit was a coming which occurred after His bodily ascension. (Macpherson admits that Biblical prophecy may have multiple fulfillments, p. 7).
     Macpherson’s fourth argument is that the Second Coming was not fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem, (p. 7). Jesus had said that His coming would be during the destruction of Jerusalem, Matthew 24:30, so that should settle it. Macpherson takes no account of Josephus’ record of the appearance in the clouds. He ridicules Thomas Waugh who says: “Actually… the Rapture occurred on that occasion, and … amid the cataclysmic struggles of the time the fact was not noted!” Macpherson concedes however, that the Christians did indeed escape the overthrow, but ignores the fact that their escape, under the circumstances, had to be miraculous if not an actual bodily translation from one place to another. Jesus appeared "in the clouds" in judgment over the wicked city, Jerusalem during its destruction.
     His fifth argument that Christ’s indwelling the believer does not qualify as the Second Coming is no argument at all. He does not deal with the clear evidence of Scripture (John 14:18, 23). This coming was not something that the world would see; nevertheless, He would be manifest, that is, “be revealed,”[ii] to everyone who truly loved Him and the Father:
     20 At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest [reveal] myself to him.22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him, (John 14). 
     As Immanuel, Christ is "with us," He isn't gone; He is here, abiding with us, indwelling the believers.
     Macpherson’s sixth argument that Christ’s spiritual presence in the Church is not a Second Coming in that His physical body was not present on the earth after His ascension, (Acts 3:20, 21; 7:55; 9:3). He does not allow for the fact that Christ’s glorified body was not subject to the laws of physics, that is, it was not physical; however, His resurrected, glorified body was the same body that He had lived in and been crucified in. His physical body had become His mystical Body. His mystical Body does not require a physical presence. He could appear in a closed room while the doors were shut; a physical body cannot do that. His mortal body had taken on immortality, and death was swallowed up in victory. He can; He will; and He does "Come" when two or three are gathered together in His name.
     Macpherson makes no notice of the fact that Jesus said it was expedient for Him to go away. Christ therefore taught that His presence in the unlimited and unconfined Spirit was more expedient than would be a physical presence at one particular point in time and space. Macpherson argues that “it seems much easier to believe such a visible, local reappearance of our Lord than His simultaneous manifestation of Himself to His people in all parts of the world!” It may be easier for Macpherson to believe, but that proves nothing about what Jesus said about it. Jesus indeed makes clear that His salvation is available to “whosoever will” when they seek Him with a whole heart. This must be a “simultaneous manifestation of Himself to His people in all parts of the world.”
     In his seventh argument that Christ’s coming at the death of the Christian does not qualify as a Second Coming, Macpherson admits that Christian biography is full of examples of this experience. However, he uses the passage in John 21:20-23 to prove his point. Indeed, this Scripture could be used to prove the opposite, for Christ said: “If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee? Follow thou me.” The disciples clearly misunderstood His saying, (v. 23), as has Macpherson, for Christ indeed comes for His Saints at their death.  For example, an appearance or coming of “the Son of Man” was seen by the martyr Stephen, Acts 7:55-56:
     But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
     Macpherson cites Revelation 1:7 as proof that Christ’s Second Coming will be “a personal, physical, local, visible reentry into human history,” (p. 8). The rest of verse seven shows that it could not be too localized, for “every eye shall see Him.” It could not have been too far distant in the future, for among those who see Him are “those which pierced Him.” This must also be regarded as one fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy, (Daniel 7:13), and of Christ’s prophecy, (Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26; 14:62).
     There was a tradition among the Jews that:“If they are worthy, (i.e. the Israelites), then he shall come with the clouds of heaven; but if they are not worthy, then he will come poor, and riding upon an ass” (CNT, vol. 4, p. 90). Jesus came to the fleshly Jerusalem poor and riding upon an ass,” but He came to the spiritual Jerusalem, i.e. to saints such as Stephen, “with the clouds of heaven.”


[i] Ian Macpherson, "How Will Jesus Come Back?" in Pentecostal Evangel, February 9, 1975, 6-8.
[ii] Strong's #1718, meaning “to exhibit, disclose.”

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context.
My Book is available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is also available online at www.amazon.com  or www.xulonpress.com
 Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net .

Monday, April 22, 2013

35. CHRIST'S COMING

35. CHRIST'S COMING



1:7. "Coming": “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth, shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
This verse has two direct referents; (a) the phrase “coming with clouds” is found in Daniel 7:13 and (b) the phrase “look on him whom they have pierced” is from Zechariah 12:10. Other passages in the Scriptures also give us more context for interpreting Christ’s coming.[i]
Coming With Clouds
Daniel 7:13 speaks of the “Son of Man… coming with the clouds of heaven.” Jesus spoke of Himself as the “Son of Man,” a title used of the Messiah, (Luke 19:10).[ii] In the context of His predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem, He clearly foretells that the Son of Man will be seen “coming in a cloud with power and great glory,” (Luke 21:27; Matthew 24:30).  The use of the terms Son of Man and coming with clouds brings to mind Daniel chapter 7, which so often serves as a referent to passages throughout the Book of Revelation.[iii] The Revelation, meaning “coming, appearance,” of Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:7, is a record of the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision, and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom, as foretold in Daniel 7:13-27.[iv]
When Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, the old, fallen kingdom of Israel ceased to exist and the kingdom was given to “the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them,” fulfilling Daniel 7:27. This completed the translation of the kingdom from an earthly kingdom to a heavenly one as foretold by Daniel.
Revelation 1:7 refers directly to the words of Christ in Matthew 26:64, during the trial of Jesus:
Jesus saith unto him, Thou [the High Priest, singular] hast said: nevertheless I say unto you [plural, the chief priests and scribes], Hereafter shall ye [plural] see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
“Shall Look On Me Whom They Have Pierced”
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn, (Zech. 12:10).
Here, when Jesus says “ye shall see,” He is referring to Zechariah 12:10, “They shall look on Me.This latter prophecy has been literally fulfilled according to John 19:37; it does not await a future fulfillment:
36 For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. 37 And again another Scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced, (John 19).
The phrase “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced” refers directly to the men who crucified Him, especially the chief priests and scribes to whom Jesus was speaking in Matthew 26:64. This verse requires that Christ’s coming in the clouds be fulfilled in the generation which crucified Him. It requires that some of these men should be alive when He “comes with clouds” in order to witness, in the flesh, His appearance or revelation. As Jesus had said: “This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled,” Matthew 24:34.
The referent scripture in Zechariah 12:10 foretells that “they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born,” RSV. These are the ones who grieved for the demise of their fleshly kingship and priesthood. The slaughter of the babes of Bethlehem: “Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted, for they were not,” (Matthew 2:18), marked the end of the fleshly lineage of David’s heirs to the throne. Jesus’ miraculous escape marked Him as the last and only survivor for David’s dynasty, an only child, a “first-born.  When He was pierced, “crucified,” those who hoped for the fleshly fulfillment of the promises mourned “for Him as one mourns for an only Son, and were in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness for his Firstborn, [or Heir].”
The people mourned not only their kingship but also their priesthood. The legitimate priesthood, descended from Aaron, had ceased to exist because the office had become merely a political appointment by foreign powers instead of the God ordained line of succession. The change of person in the pronouns in Zechariah 12:10, “look upon me” and “mourn for him,” may indicate that they looked upon Christ, the One Who was pierced, and mourned for David whose dynasty and promises seemed to be ending in defeat. 
In one sense of the word, the entire nation participated in and was judged for the crime of their leaders, for the nation ceased to exist as a fleshly nation. In this sense, they were all guilty of having pierced Him, for they had demanded His crucifixion. Yet, those who would accept His grace were forgiven, even as He prayed for them while on the cross. His shed blood became the genetic blood of the New Israel.


[i] See WS at 1:7: “Coming.”
[ii] Also at Matt. 10:23; 24:27, 30, 37, 44; 25:31; Luke 12:40; 17:26; 21:27.
[iii] See G.K. Beale, The Use of Daniel in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature and in the Revelation of Saint John, (Lanham, New York, London, University Press of America, 1984).
[iv] Josephus records such an appearance during the destruction of Jerusalem, (Wars 6.5.3).

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context.
My Book is available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is also available online at www.amazon.com  or www.xulonpress.com
 Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net .

Monday, April 15, 2013

34. WHO WE ARE: KINGS AND PRIESTS

34. WHO WE ARE: KINGS AND PRIESTS


1:5-6. Kings and Priests:  “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” RSV: “And made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.”
1 Pet. 2:9-10: “But you [Christians] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.  Once you were no people, but now you are God’s people,” (RSV).
In context of verse 5, then, Jesus is not only the “Prince of the Kings of the Earth,” the natural Israel, but also of the New Israel, the Christians, who have been made into a kingdom, “Kings and priests unto his God and Father,” the Israel of God. 
The kings of the earth/land” refers to the Jews, for all those descended from Isaac were sometimes mentioned as kings because of God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah that she would be the mother of “kings,” (Gen. 17:6, 16; 35:11). The “kings of the earth” are those claiming fleshly descent from Abraham; the “kings and priests unto God” are those who through Christ have become the children of God through the faith of Abraham and the blood of Christ.  It is important to understand the phrase“Kings of the earth” as they are also mentioned in Revelation 6:15; 17:2, 18; 18:3, 9; 21:24.  
In most ancient cultures only the kings and priests were educated and all literature was written by and for this group. But it is notable that every Christian is a King and Priest restoring God’s original plan to give Mankind dominion. This is not the distorted view of kingship and priesthood as Man dominating Man, however. God’s original plan was for Man to rule over “The Flesh,” “everything that creeps upon the earth,” and subdue, not only the animal kingdom in general, but the passions and lusts of his own fleshly nature as well.
Even in his fallen estate, there is this need in Man for power.  In its proper order, this need is fulfilled in self-discipline. When a society is made up of self-disciplined men, then there can be freedom, but when self-discipline fails, laws must be enacted and restrictions must be imposed by outside force in an effort to maintain order. The less self-discipline, the less freedom and the more chaotic the society. As the failure of law and order progresses, the power of brute force becomes the dominant force. Ultimately, the failure of self-discipline leads to the law of the jungle, “survival of the fittest,” the rule of tooth and claw and the disintegration of civilization.
Man’s God-given need for power, misused, becomes power-lust. Like other lusts, it is insatiable; the more it is fed, the greater its appetite. A taste of power often makes the man ravenous as a wild beast that gets a taste of blood. The history of the world is replete with accounts of men who became maniacal tyrants through their lust for power. Power-lust is also manifest in other forms than military and political; popularity, fame, and wealth are some of the variations in its form. It may even be found in religious systems. Indeed, there is no power so strong as the power of superstition.
The Flesh must be ruled; the Spirit must be free. Only the man who can rule his own flesh can be free from the coercion of laws necessary to living in a society. Government, therefore, must not be seen as merely the objective, rational science of politics and law. This is only one of the more conspicuous manifestations of it. The body of laws enacted by legislative bodies is a manifestation of the governing force but not the essence. Toynbee has wisely noted that codification of laws reaches its peak when the ungovernable forces are about to bring down the structure of civilization.

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context.
My Book is available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is also available online at www.amazon.com  or www.xulonpress.com
 Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net .