The Cosmic Scope of the Resurrection at Easter

Today is Good Friday, the day in accordance with the Jewish lunar calendar when Christ was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem some 2000 years ago. I know there will be devoted Christians everywhere who will get slightly offended when the world commercializes the idea of Easter for their capitalistic benefit. They respond with the patented answer, "Easter is about Christ's crucifixion and resurrection!" I agree wholeheartedly, but, in the same breath, Easter is a celebration with cosmic implications - not just concerning the resurrection in isolation, but what the resurrection means and represents throughout the ages. To be sure, we as Christians rejoice at the idea of the empty tomb, not because of the act in and of itself, but because it is the wonderfully anticipated climax of all the promises of God in the Old Testament. The resurrected Christ is the true son of Abraham through whom all the nations are blessed, the Passover Lamb offered up for the sins of many, the true Temple where God meets with man to forgive transgression, and the true son of David through whom the Lord establishes his kingdom forever. But in Scripture, there is yet another event tied in with the cosmic story of Easter Sunday - namely, that of the story of our origins, of Adam and Eve in the garden.

The resurrected Christ is the second Adam who crushes the serpent's skull. Something mysterious occurred in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned. It had cosmic implications for not just Adam and Eve but all of human posterity afterwards. All of humanity without exception born into this world would be born into sin, under the curse of the first Adam. As a result of this event, the Lord told the ancient serpent of old that there would be an Offspring from Eve that would rise up and crush his skull (Genesis 3:15), that he would deal Satan such a blow as to render him impotent. John expands on this in Revelation by saying that it was Christ who dealt this blow to Satan by the powerful workings of his own resurrection. John records that on the grounds of his own blood, Jesus cast down the ancient serpent from heaven, that he might not accuse the brothers in the courtroom of the Lord any longer. Prior to this, the great Deceiver accused the brothers day and night to the Lord (see Job 1) and deceived the nations from knowing the one true God, but now, by the power of his resurrection, Jesus has crushed the serpent's skull, rendered his efforts ultimately ineffective, and confined him to gloomy chains (Revelation 12:9-11, 20:1-3). But that is not all - Paul says further that the second Adam also succeeds where the first Adam failed. Where the first Adam disobeyed, Christ perfectly submitted to the will of his Father. And in this one act of righteousness - namely, that of offering himself up as a penal substitute for sinful man on the cross - he now gives grace that abounds to eternal life for those who by faith identify themselves with him (Romans 5:12-21).

With the resurrection, the second Adam reverses the curse of the first Adam. Adam's disobedience pervades into Israel's own story, as they move from exodus through the wilderness to attempt to claim the promised land. It was because of Israel's own disobedience, echoing the failure of their father Adam in the garden, that they could not maintain their kingdom habitation in Canaan. The second Adam and true Israel of God, Christ Jesus our Lord, succeeded where his historical types had failed. His bodily resurrection from the grave, conquering sin and death and thereby inaugurating his kingdom into this world, comes to us in the powerful message of the gospel today.

Happy Easter - soli Deo gloria!

The Covenant of Promise - Abraham, being saved by faith, and Genesis 15

Paul wrote a convicting indictment to the church at Galatia - they were adhering to a gospel that was false...a gospel that Paul did not teach them. If you have ever read the letter to the Galatians, Paul comes right out of the gates in chapter 1 to let the church know how upset he is about the circumstances in which they put themselves, and then, he spends the rest of the letter fleshing out his argument - namely, that there is a significant difference between looking to the Mosaic covenant for life and looking to the promise given to Abraham for life. Before looking at what Paul says in Galatians 3, a quick glance at Genesis 15 might help shed some light on things.

In Genesis 15, Abram (not yet called by the name "Abraham") is pondering the promise made to him by God that he would bear a child in his old age and that he would be a "blessing to all the nations" (Genesis 12). God assures him again that he will fulfill his promise to him, in due time. Abram wants a sign. In ancient Near Eastern treaties, those who establish a covenant together ratify the covenant by a ceremonial sign. This ceremony is performed here by God in Genesis 15. God tells Abram to take different animals (i.e. a heifer, female goat, ram, turtledove, and young pigeon), cut them in half, and lay the halves one against the other, creating a bloody alleyway. What typically happens next is the two parties who have covenanted with each other ratify this agreement by walking side-by-side through the cut halves, thereby invoking a curse upon themselves, as if to say, "if my party does not fulfill all the requirements established in this covenant, then let me become as these cut up animals." This same ceremony is mentioned in Jeremiah 34, as God charges the leaders of Israel for not obeying his covenant. He says, "the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts..." (Jeremiah 34:18). These Israelite leaders confirmed the agreement between them and Yahweh by walking through a split calf - so when they transgressed his covenant, the curse they invoked during the ceremony came upon them.

The same scenario is established here - only God does not allow Abram to walk with him through the cut up sacrifices. God causes a deep sleep to fall upon Abram (Gen. 15:12), so that only God walks through the sacrifices. Verse 17 explains it this way, "when the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces." The smoking fire pot and flaming torch are symbolic of God's glory - resembling the pillar of cloud and fire that would later lead Israel through the wilderness.

So what exactly is going on here? God burdens the entire weight of the covenant on himself. If either side fails to adhere to the requirements of the covenant, God will bruise himself. Consequently, he invokes the curse upon himself. The fact that Abram "believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6) has now been sealed with this covenant ceremony where God takes full responsibility for its complete fulfillment. This is what theologians traditionally call the covenant of promise. Now let us go back to what Paul says to the Galatians who are struggling with trying to be Christians by looking to the Mosaic law for their eternal inheritance.

Paul says in Galatians 3:15-18, "To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise." Paul says, in essence, "Galatians, why are you looking to the law for life, as if that is God's normative manner for saving his people? If God made a promise to Abraham - a promise made 430 years before the covenant made with Moses - then that promise is not annulled, seeing that it has already been ratified by God. The promise made to Abraham still stands today!"

What do we learn here? We learn that although the Old Testament people of Israel were given the law by Moses, "the law is not of faith, rather 'The one who does them shall live by them.'" (Galatians 3:12). The promise established with Abraham transcends the Mosaic standard, so that all people, Jew and Gentile, "might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24b) and "there is neither Jew nor Greek...for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" (Gal. 3:28-29).

SDG

The Wilderness and the Desert: a Story Rescripted

Israel has a story with weighty significance - a story grounded in Scripture that carries a supreme importance in the Hebrew mind concerning the history of redemption. The Lord refers to Israel as his "firstborn son" (Exodus 4:22). So significant was this sonship that the Lord again says, "when Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hosea 11:1). There was a covenant intimacy the Lord bestowed upon Israel, having its firm foundation in the one-sided contract the Lord had previously established with Abraham (Genesis 15). As the suzerain, God would protect and provide for his son, while Israel as the vassal would respond by faithfully keeping the commands and stipulations drawn up by the Lord at Sinai. Israel's faith was put to the test, however, as they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years. They desired evil by indulging in idolatry, sexual immorality, and grumbling against his provisions (1 Corinthians 10:6-10), rather than keeping covenant with the God who remains faithful. Paul says that all of this happened as an example (Greek, typos) for us, that we might be instructed to not desire evil as they did (1 Corinthians 10:11).

But it was obvious that we needed to see more than just the type -  but the fulfillment as well. We needed a greater example - one that succeeded where Israel had not. In order to do this, the Father would need to rescript the story of Israel in the life of his true Son - Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Jesus was born out of miraculous circumstances by the virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit. Unlike his kindred in the flesh, born into sin, Jesus proceeded forth from the womb blameless, that he might bear our infirmities in his body one day on the cross. Joseph then took his wife and the newborn Jesus to Egypt to escape from Herod, thereby fulfilling "what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt I called my son'" (Matthew 2:15, previously referring to Israel in Hosea 11:1 - see above). Years later, Jesus' sonship was confirmed immediately after his baptism in the Jordan as the Spirit descended upon him like a dove and the voice of the Lord declared from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).

Then, just as Israel's sonship was tested in the wilderness, so Jesus' sonship would now be tested in his temptation in the desert. These forty days are reminiscent of and meant to mirror Israel's forty years of wilderness wandering. Jesus replies with strategic Scripture from Deuteronomy when assailed by Satan, thus acting as a testimony of his superiority to what Israel failed to learn and perform in their wilderness trial. The diabolical plan of Satan to repeat in Jesus what he had previously done in Israel was thwarted. Jesus established himself as the true Israel of God - his one, unique Son. He defeated Satan where Israel has failed, thus securing in himself the title of Redeemer. While it seemed God's intention to bring about his "blessings to the nations" was through Israel by placing them in Canaan (Genesis 12, 15, & 18), it was actually through his beloved Son that he would thus sprinkle the world with his unmerited grace.

SDG

The 144,000 and the Great Multitude

A thought-provoking subject of conversation is always found in the topic of the "end times" - when will Christ return, what happens to the church with respect to the rapture, the tribulation, the millennium, and is there any distinction between Israel and the church? So many little subtopics in this one, controversial subject - I do not have time to address each and every one. But I would like to put a thought in your head concerning the supposed distinction between the 144,000 (the tribes of the sons of Israel) and the great multitude that no one could number from Revelation 7.

Many have probably heard this as a distinction between the tribes of Israel and the Gentile church. And then later, they would say that the tribes of Israel would reclaim the promised land, while the Gentile church is raptured up to heaven before the tribulation. Here is why I do not think that this is the case.

Christ explicitly tells the disciples in Mark 13:24 that believers would suffer, and only after that suffering had taken place would they see the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven to gather up his elect from the ends of the earth (Mark 13:26-27). The context of gathering up the elect from the ends of the earth should point us to the interpretation of all believers - not just Gentile or Jew specifically, but the universal church holistically.

But more importantly, back to Revelation 7 where this supposed distinction can now be reconciled. First, John says that an angel declared with a loud voice that no eternal judgment (not to be mistaken with suffering in the world) would occur until the servants of God had been sealed (Revelation 7:3). These next two parts are very important - then, John hears the "number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel" (Rev. 7:4). After the hearing with the ears now comes the seeing with the eyes - John looks and sees "a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb..." (Rev. 7:9). What I am saying is that the number of the elect that John hears is the very same as what he gazes upon a verse later. The Old Testament list of the sons of the tribes of Israel is the same as the great multitude - the New Testament fulfillment of the true Israel of God, the blessed Church.

There is another example in Revelation of this hearing and seeing phenomenon experienced by John. To reinforce my argument, I will discuss it as well. In Revelation 5:5, John first hears the title of "the Lion of the tribe of Judah", but when he looks to the throne, he sees "a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain..." (Rev. 5:6). So the title of the one whom John hears is the exact same person he looks upon - Jesus Christ, the Lion and the Lamb. The dichotomy again has to do with an Old Testament title and the New Testament fulfillment.

SDG