1:18. “I [am] he
that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and
of death.”
As we have seen,
Jesus Christ is the Ever-Living One. He is now in heaven, interceding for His saints, Hebrews 7:25. He was
in the beginning with God and has everlasting life. He therefore,
qualifies for the inheritance of everlasting promises for He can reign for ever and ever, Luke 1:33; 54-55; Revelation 11:15; 22:5. No other man nor nation
in the flesh can qualify for the everlasting promises.
A study of the
words for ever and evermore will reveal that they do
not always indicate endless or eternal time. For example, Mark 13:31; Revelation 20:11, 2 Peter 3:7, 10-12 indicate that the
earth will pass away and be burned up. Yet, Psalm 104:5 says: “[Who] laid the foundations of the
earth, [that] it should not be removed for ever.”
This apparent
contradiction can be resolved when we understand that in regard to the flesh
and to the material creation, for ever
means “throughout life” or “as long as this situation exists.” For example,
when Judah promised his father to bear the blame for ever if anything happened to Benjamin, (Gen. 43:9), he meant
“as long as I live.” The servant who remained in his master’s house for the
sake of his wife promised to serve for
ever which meant “for the remainder of my life,” (Exodus 21:5-6).[i]
There is some
misunderstanding amongst those who think that there are eternal, everlasting
promises made to transient conditions of this material world and to perishable
flesh. That is not so and cannot be, since all material things change and the
fleshly life perishes, (Isaiah 40:6; Romans 8:1, 6, 10; 1Cor. 7:31; 1Peter 1:24 ).
The most
misunderstood of these promises are those which God made with Abraham. In Genesis 13:15-17 God promised Abraham:
15 For all the land which thou
seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy
seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the
earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land
in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee." (See also Genesis 12:7; 17:8.)
The promise to
Abraham’s fleshly seed of the material land was fulfilled. Joshua declared that all of God’s
promises were fulfilled: Joshua 21:45; 23:14. Solomon also declared that they
were fulfilled: 1Kings 8:56. These were referring to the promises of a material
nature upon the fleshly descendants of Abraham.
The promises of
temporal and material blessings upon the fleshly heirs of Abraham were conditional. They depended
upon the heirs keeping the faith of Abraham. For those who departed from the
faith, broke the covenant and walked in disobedience, there were concomitant
promises of cursings and of being cut off from the lineage of promise. These
conditional promises are clearly delineated in Deuteronomy 27:9-28:68. Everytime you see the word if it indicates a condition, and the word then indicates a consequence.
The same is true
of the promises to David concerning his kingship over Israel. In 2Samuel
7:8-16 God promises that David’s house and his throne will be established “for
ever.” This was literally fulfilled in the dynasty of Solomon and his heirs for the generations that led up to Jesus' incarnation. The fleshly lineage of David is
authenticated in the genealogy of Christ. In the crucifixion of Christ, the fleshly lineage ended and in His resurrection the Spiritual lineage continued in which the promise became truly
eternal.
The promises of an
eternal nature could only be fulfilled in the eternal Spirit. Although Joshua and Solomon both declared the
material promises fulfilled, they were not eternally and ultimately fulfilled
until Christ came and conquered the Flesh and arose to the eternal throne:
And these all, [the heroes of faith mentioned in the foregoing verses], having obtained a good report through
faith, received not the [eternal] promise, (Hebrews 11:39).
The ultimate and
eternal fulfillment was of a spiritual nature, that is, by faith: Romans 4:13-16; 9:8. It is those who
keep the faith that are truly the heirs. The entire remnant of the fleshly
lineage who kept the faith of Abraham accepted Christ: Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 3:16-29. This remnant was
elected by grace: Romans 11:5, 7. All who did not accept Christ were blinded
and cut off: Romans 11:17-19. Those broken-off branches still had hope, but
only in Christ, that they might be grafted back into the vine of God’s people:
Romans 11:23. Only if they were grafted back in were they eligible for the
inheritance of the promises, and that only in the Spirit. They had no right to
call themselves “Israel” unless they were in Christ: Romans 9:6-8, 27. But in
Christ, the promise is “forever.”
Even though God
promised David that his seed would succeed him on the throne
“for ever,” the Lord told Solomon that his reign depended upon his obedience, 1Chronicles
28:9, and that if he forsook the Lord, he would be cast off “for ever.” Indeed,
Psalm 37:28-9 promises that the seed
of the wicked shall be cut off. It is the righteous only who will inherit the
land. Indeed, the nation was later taken captive to Babylon for their sins and disobedience,
Nehemiah 1:5-11. Only a small remnant of
faithful ones returned. The unrepentant
were cast off forever.
Isaiah prophesies of a time when God’s
people will be all righteous, chapter 60:21. Daniel prophesied that “the saints of the most High shall take the
kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever,” (7:18). These are only fulfilled
in the ultimate, eternal kingdom of Christ: Luke 1:33, 54-55:
33 And he shall reign over the
house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no
end…. 54. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of [his] mercy...
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.”
Christ fulfilled the eternal promises to Abraham and his Seed. Revelation sums it up thus:
And the seventh angel sounded;
and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are
become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever
and ever, (Revelation 11:15 KJV).
And there shall be no night
there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God
giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever, (Revelation 22:5).
The same things
that are true of the promises of the land and the kingdom are also true of the
promises concerning the Temple, or House, and the city, Jerusalem. Joel prophesied: “Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to
generation,” (3:20). Jeremiah also said that the Temple and the city would “remain for ever,” (7:1-7). But this was
conditional, as witnessed by the words if and then. See also chapter 7:21-27. In this context, it is clear that the temporal
city would be destroyed if it fell into sin, idolatry and disobedience, but it was the
spiritual City that would remain forever. The subsequent history confirms that God
did indeed fulfill His promise both of good and of evil.
In the time of
Christ’s ministry in His fleshly body, the Pharisees were teaching that the
material city and land were an irrevocable promise to the fleshly descendants
of Abraham. Christ refuted this teaching: John 8:33-59. Paul also refuted their teaching that the
earthly, material city was eternal: Galatians 4:22-31. The writer to the
Hebrews says also that the eternal city
is above:
22 But ye are come unto mount
Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company
of angels, 23 To the general assembly
and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect, (Hebrews 12).
We are admonished
to leave Jerusalem, the earthly city of destruction:
13 Let us go forth therefore unto
him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing
city, but we seek one to come, (Hebrews 13).
The eternal City
that can never be destroyed was revealed to John the Revelator:
And 1John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, (Revelation 21:2).
Those who
refused to accept Christ but rather trusted in fleshly lineage, legal practices,
the material land and city, were destroyed in the wars and captivity of the 70
AD era. Let us be warned by their example that the geographical land called
“Israel” and those pretending a fleshly lineage are doomed to a similar
destruction unless they accept Christ. Only Christ and those in Him are “alive forevermore” and able to receive the eternal promises.
[i] This truth was also clearly given in a reprint of an
article by Ostis B. Wilson, in Faith and
Victory, (Guthrie, Oklahoma, June, 1996, p. 12-13).
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 .
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