relationship with God

Competing priorities

God set in motion the rebuilding of his temple in Jerusalem by stirring up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation that the Jews were free to go home and rebuild the house of the LORD after having lived in captivity in Babylon for 70 years (Ezra 1:1-3). Over the course of almost 100 years, thousands of Jews returned to their homeland and rebuilt the city of Jerusalem and God’s temple. The Jews progress was slow and was sometimes interrupted by interference from their enemies, as well as, competing priorities in their day to day lives. It says in Ezra 4:1-5:

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Ezra said that the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build. The Hebrew word that is translated discouraged, râphâh (raw-fawʿ) means “to slacken” (H7503). The Jews rebuilding effort slowed down because they were afraid that their adversaries would harm them. Even though the Jews were doing what God wanted them to, they thought their lives might be in danger and chose to reduce their effort in order to avoid being attacked. Eventually, the Jews stopped working all together and for sixteen years they did nothing to fulfill their purpose of returning to the land, to rebuild the house of God (Ezra 4:5, 24).

God sent the prophet Haggai to Jerusalem in 520 BC to remind the Jews that rebuilding his temple was supposed to be their number one priority. Haggai’s first message was a stirring challenge that was delivered directly to the political leader, Zerubbabel and spiritual leader, Joshua. Haggai said, “’Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.’ Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?’” (Haggai 1:2-4). Haggai confronted the Jews about their competing priorities. “The people emphasized the decoration of their own houses while doing nothing for God’s house.” Haggai went on to inform the Jews that their neglect of the temple had resulted in God’s judgment on them (Haggai 1:6-11) and explained that, “their self-centered lives could not satisfy because God was not blessing. Their first priority should have been that God would be honored (v.8, cf. John 15:8; Ephesians 1:6)” (note on Haggai 1:1-11). Haggai said:

 “Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” (Haggai 1:5-11)

Haggai twice exhorted the Jews to “Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5, 7). The Hebrew words that are translated consider, suwm (soom), which refers to “God’s sovereignty over all creation, especially that of humankind” (H7760) and lebab (lay-bawbˊ), which is “used to describe the place where the rational, thinking process occurs that allows a person to know God’s blessing” (H3824) suggest that Haggai was appealing to the Jews on the basis of their professed allegiance to God.

The Jews struggled to put God first in their lives and seemed to easily forget that they had a responsibility to honor God in all that they did. In addition to this, God’s chosen people faced continual opposition from the people around them that often undermined their commitment to God. Ezra indicated that one of the reasons no work was completed for sixteen years was because during the reign of Ahasuerus, a letter was written with an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. The people of the land said if the city was rebuilt, the Jews would not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue would be impaired (Ezra 4:6-13). As a result, a decree was issued that the rebuilding of the temple had to stop (Ezra 4:21). “Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshei the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease” (Ezra 4:23).

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were able to reinvigorate the Jews efforts to rebuild the house of God, but the local opposition continued. It says in Ezra 5:1-5:

Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

Zerrubbabel and Jeshua were not intimidated by Tattenai and Shetharbozenai’s threats because “the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews” (Ezra 5:5). This meant that God was involved in the situation and was not allowing Tattanai and Shetharbozenai to get the upper hand. God wanted work on the temple to continue and was bolstering the leaders’ efforts to keep the rebuilding project in Jerusalem going.

Haggai’s four messages, which were delivered between the months of August and December in 520 BC, focused primarily on the importance of the Jews obedience and spoke of the people needing to have a firm resolve in order to do what they had intended to when they returned from captivity in Babylon. “Haggai pled with the people to keep in mind the motives for their labor. The Israelites were guilty of being slothful in their service (Haggai 2:14-16), and the result was God’s punishment (Haggai 2:17). The prophet called them to renew their vigor in accomplishing the task that God had called them to do: the rebuilding of the temple” (note on Haggai 2:18). In his final message, Haggai used the word consider three times to draw attention to the negative consequences that had resulted from the Jews letting competing priorities get in the way of them doing what God expected them to. Haggai asked:

“If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:13-19)

Haggai’s message concluded on a positive note with a promise from God that he would bless the Jews because they had finally gotten their priorities straight. Even though the birth of Israel’s Messiah was still a long way off, God added a footnote to Haggai’s message stating that the covenant he made with David had not been negated by the Jews captivity in Babylon (note on Jeremiah 22:24-30). God preserved the birth line from King David to Jesus through Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:23). Zerubbabel is listed in both of Jesus’ genealogies (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27), indicating that Jesus’ physical birth, as well as his spiritual heritage, were linked to Zerubbabel.

God’s steadfast love

God’s steadfast love for the people of Israel was based on a relationship that was formed and developed over hundreds of years. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28), was aware of God’s steadfast love toward him. When he was greatly afraid and distressed because he thought his brother Esau was on his way to kill him, Jacob prayed:

“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

Jacob realized that he was not worthy of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that God had shown him. The Hebrew word that is translated steadfast love, cheçed (khehˊ-sed) is translated mercies in the King James Version of the Bible. Jacob acknowledged that he had been the recipient of God’s acts of mercy throughout his life. The word cheçed “refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But cheçed is not only a matter of obligation, it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. Cheçed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law” (H2617).

God promised Abraham that he would give him a son with whom he would establish an everlasting covenant (Genesis 17:19). After Isaac was born, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:2), but when Abraham was about to kill Isaac, God’s angel intervened, and a substitute was provided (Genesis 22:12-13). The substitution that was made was understood by Abraham to represent Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross for the sin of the world, God’s plan of salvation. When Abraham and Isaac were on their way to Mount Moriah, “Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son’” (Genesis 22:7-8). When John the Baptist saw Jesus walking toward him, he announced to the people around him, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

In order to keep his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as his covenant with King David (2 Samuel 7:4-16), God had to establish a kingdom that would last forever. Although it initially provided the tangible, material presence of God’s kingdom in the world, the nation of Israel didn’t fulfill God’s intent of bringing salvation to the world. The kings of Israel and Judah forsook God, worshipping the gods of the nations around them, leading to Israel being taken into captivity and Judah’s eventual decline (2 Kings 17:6-23; 2 Chronicles 36).

The turning point for Judah was when King Manasseh “led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:2-9). When King Josiah was killed in battle, it was noted that he had not listened to the words of Neco king of Egypt, which had come to him from the mouth of God (2 Chronicles 35:22). “Babylon was fighting against and defeating Assyria. As a result, in 609 BC, Assyria requested help from its ally, Pharaoh Neco of Egypt. Josiah interfered, probably thinking that any friend of Assyria was his enemy. God chose to speak through a pagan king as he had done previously with Abimelech and Abraham (Genesis 20:3-7).

The prophet Habakkuk questioned God’s steadfast love and complained about his lack of involvement in the affairs of his chosen people. “Habakkuk was deeply troubled with the injustice that prevailed in his land (Hab. 1:3, 4) and was desirous that the Lord would act against it. However, when God informed him that the Chaldeans (i.e. Babylonians, cf. Daniel 3:8) would rise up to destroy Judah (Hab. 1:5-11), Habakkuk was not pleased. He questioned why God’s people should perish at the hands of the heathen Chaldeans (Hab. 1:12-17). God’s reply was ‘wait’ consider who I am, and keep silent (Hab. 2:1-20). Habakkuk accepts this verdict and offers up a prayer that expresses his trust in God (Hab. 3:1-19)” (Introduction to Habakkuk).

God told Habakkuk, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told” (Habakkuk 1:5). The Hebrew word that is translated believe, ʾaman (aw-manˊ) is used in Genesis 15:6 to refer to Abraham’s faith in God. “Considering something to be trustworthy is an act of full trusting or believing. This is the emphasis in the first biblical occurrence of aman: ‘And [Abram] believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness’ (Gen 15:6). The meaning here is that Abram was full of trust and confidence in God, and that he did not fear Him (v. 1). It was not primarily in God’s words that he believed, but in God Himself. Nor does the text tell us that Abram believed God so as to accept what he said as ‘true’ and ‘trustworthy’ (cf. Gen 45-26), but simply that he believed in God. In other words, Abram came to experience a personal relationship to God rather than an impersonal relationship with his promises” (H539).

The work that God was doing in Habakkuk’s days involved him getting the people of Judah to put their trust in him instead of the worthless idols they had been worshipping. God told Habakkuk:

“Write the vision;
    make it plain on tablets,
    so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
    it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
    it will surely come; it will not delay.

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
    but the righteous shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:2-4)

God said that the soul of the unrighteous man is puffed up, meaning that he thinks he knows what is right and does not need any assistance from God. On the contrary, living by faith involves complete conformity to the truth, i.e. God’s Word.

Psalm 118 points to Israel’s Messiah and describes for us what it looks like to have a personal relationship to God. This psalm begins with a tribute to God’s steadfast love. Psalm 118:1-4 states:

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

God’s steadfast love does not fluctuate or diminish over time because it has the quality of endurance. God’s steadfast love is not affected by what we do or don’t do. Anyone who has a personal relationship to God can expect that God will never stop loving them. Psalm 118 goes on to say, “Out of my distress I called to the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me” (Psalm 118:5-7).

At the conclusion of 2 Chronicles 36, it didn’t appear that God’s steadfast love toward Judah still existed, but it says in 2 Chronicles 36:15-16, “The LORD, the God of their fathers sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. The phrase, no remedy meant that the people of Judah’s sin had reached a point where it was like an incurable disease. God’s steadfast love no longer had any effect on them.

Psalm 118:22 was used by Jesus to explain why the Jewish leaders rejected him (Matthew 21:42). This verse states, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” The Apostle Paul “described the Jews as tripping over the ‘stumbling stone’ in not understanding the truth that righteousness is by faith, not works (Romans 9:31-33)” (note on Psalm 118:22). Paul went on to explain that the message of salvation was meant for everyone, not just the Jews. Paul said, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Paul continued his discourse, stating, “I ask then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew” (Romans 11:1-2). Paul confirmed that God’s steadfast love would not allow his people to remain distant from him forever. Paul said, “At the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5).

Paul concluded that God’s plan of salvation had two parts. God’s initial work in establishing the nation of Israel set the stage for his Messiah to be born, and then, God made it possible for everyone to be saved, so that both Jews and Gentiles could be members of his family. Paul asked about the Jews, “Did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to Gentiles” (Romans 11:11). Paul went on to explain, “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in…For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all” (Romans 11:25, 29-32). God’s steadfast love was at first only given to Israel, but Paul made it clear that God intended for everyone to receive his mercy. God’s plan of salvation caused Paul to revel in this amazing accomplishment. Paul exclaimed, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33).

The LORD’s Anointed

Old Testament references to Israel’s Messiah, Jesus Christ, are not always easily identifiable because the terminology that is used to distinguish him is sometimes applied to others. For instance, the Messiah is referred to as the king in Psalm 21, which was written by King David and could be applied to the writer also. Psalm 21 is one of the psalms referred to as Messianic (other examples of Messianic portions would include Psalm 34:20; 40:6-8; 41:9; 45:6, 7; 69:21; 72:8; and 118:22). Psalms are classified as Messianic based on one or more of the three following criteria. First, consider the testimony of the writers of the Old Testament. When other books, in the context of discussing the Messiah, contain quotes or wording very similar to lines from the psalms (e.g. Psalm 72:8, cf. Zechariah 9:10), it is a clear indication that a psalm is Messianic. Secondly, there are the citations from psalms that Christ applied to himself (e.g. Psalm 41:9, cf. John 13:18) or that New Testament writers identified as depicting Christ (e.g., Psalm 118:22, cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7). Finally, there are statements in the psalms that, while never specifically identified as such in the Scriptures, clearly point to Jesus Christ, (e.g. Psalm 22:1, cf. Matthew 27:46). It should be noted that within the ‘Messianic’ portions of individual psalms, some passages refer exclusively to Christ while others seem to also address a situation faced by the human writer” (note on Psalm 22:1-31).

Psalm 2 is one of the psalms that is identified as Messianic. In this psalm, Christ is referred to as the LORD’s Anointed, as well as, my Son. One of the well-known lines in this Psalm is found in verse 7, “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’” The Apostle Paul quoted this verse in a message he delivered at Antioch. After reciting a brief history of the people of Israel (Acts 13:16-25), Paul stated:

“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

“‘You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you.’” (Acts 13:26-33)

Paul’s comment about the good news that was promised to the Israelites had to do with their Messiah not being recognized as the Son of God. Paul said the Jews living in Jerusalem and their rulers did not understand the utterances of the prophets, in particular that the verse he quoted from Psalm 2 was Messianic.  

The title of Psalm 2, The Reign of the LORD’s Anointed, points to an event that was expected by the Jews at the time of Christ’s birth, but was largely misunderstood because it didn’t apply to the nation of Israel. The book of Revelation tells us that Christ’s reign will take place after a worldwide system of government is established that requires allegiance to one man, Antichrist who will rule over all the earth (Revelation 13:1-8). At the end of Antichrist’s 42 month reign, Christ will return to earth and will, “strike down the nations, and will rule them with a rod of iron” (Revelation 19:15). Psalm 2 begins with the question, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” (Psalm 2:1), referring to the rebellion against God that elicits Christ’s return. The psalmist states, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us’” (Psalm 2:2-3).

People’s attitude toward God when Christ returns will be one of complete disdain, which is why it will be necessary for him to rule with a rod of iron. In response to the world’s antagonism toward him, Christ will appoint judges to rule with him over the people on earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-5), but when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be given one last opportunity to oppose Christ’s authority (Revelation 20:7-9). It says in Revelation 20:9 that fire will come down from heaven and consume Satan’s army. God’s rationale for a swift and decisive defeat of Satan is conveyed in Psalm 2:4-7. It states:

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.

A decree is an official order issued by a legal authority. God’s decrees must be observed and by virtue of his divine authority, are like the laws of nature which cannot be broken. God’s statement, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6) implies that a decision was made at a particular point in time that determined Christ’s sacrifice for our sins would result in him becoming the individual who was given the power and authority to rule over God’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:4-16). Before Jesus was born, God said of the coming Messiah, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:14).

The reign of the LORD’s Anointed is depicted as a period of harsh judgment. It says of the LORD’s Anointed in Psalm 2:9, “You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” “The ‘rod’ mentioned here is not an emblem of a royal office but a rod of correction in the hand of the King. The fact that it is made of iron indicates the severity and harshness of the judgment that will be meted out by Christ at his return (Revelation 19:15). This harsh judgment is not inconsistent with the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Meekness does not exclude anger but simply means that one is angry for the right reasons and at the right time (John 2:13-17). Jesus could truthfully claim to be gentle without contradicting his claim to be the Judge (Matthew 11:28-30; John 5:26-30)” (note on Psalm 2:9). The Hebrew word that is translated break in Psalm 2:9, raʿaʿ (raw-ahˊ) means “to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces)…The root of the word indicates breaking, in contrast to the word tamam (8552), which means to be whole” (H7489). Tamam has to do with something being complete or finished, “to conclude. At its root, this word carries the connotation of finishing or bringing closure” (H8552).

Jesus told his disciples before he was crucified that he was going to prepare a place for them (John 14:2). Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). In his Parable of the Ten Minas, Jesus explained that it was necessary for the LORD’s Anointed to go away in order for him to receive his kingdom. Luke tells us, “As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately: (Luke 19:11). Luke 19:12-27 states:

He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

Jesus indicated the citizens of the kingdom hated the LORD’s Anointed and did not want him to reign over them. At the end of the parable, Jesus spoke as though he was the one who was hated and said to those who were listening, “I tell you that everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me” (Luke 19:26-27). A couple of days later, in his Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Luke 20:9-18), Jesus revealed the people’s motive for being hostile toward the LORD’s Anointed. Jesus stated:

Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” (Luke 20:13-18)

When Jesus returns, he intends to judge those who have rejected him as the LORD’s Anointed. Jesus told his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). The Greek word that is translated new world, paliggenesia (pal-ing-ghen-es-eeˊ-ah) refers specifically to Messianic restoration. “In the sense of renovation, restoration, restitution to a former state; spoken of complete eternal manifestation of the Messiah’s kingdom when all things are to be delivered from the present corruption and restored to spiritual purity and splendor (Matthew 19:28)” (G3824).

God’s restoration of the world will be similar to the spiritual rebirth that believers experience when they are born again. Paul explained in his letter to Titus, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration (paliggenesia) and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7). Paul used the phrase washing of regeneration to describe the cleansing that takes place at salvation (G3067). This cleansing is done through Jesus Christ, the Word of God. Revelation 19:12-16 tells us that when Jesus, the LORD’s Anointed returns, “His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which his is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” The nineteenth chapter of Revelation concludes with the beast and the false prophet being captured and “thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur” and the rest who made war against the LORD’s Anointed, “were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged on their flesh” (Revelation 19:20-21).

Psalm 2 concludes with a warning to the rulers of the earth to not contest the supremacy of the LORD’s Anointed. Psalm 2:10-12 states:

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The Hebrew word that is translated blessed, ʾesher (ehˊ-sher) is “used to describe a person or nation who enjoys a relationship with God (Deuteronomy 33:29; Job 5:17; Psalm 33:12; 146:5)” (H835). Having a relationship with God means that you have access to him on a continuous basis. After he told his disciples he was going to prepare a place for them (John 14:3), Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus referred to himself as the way, “the way of access, e.g., into the direct presence of God (Hebrews 9:8)” (G3598). Christ’s sacrifice opened the way for everyone to enter into God’s presence. Because of this, all who take refuge in him will be blessed and Jesus will rule over God’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:4-16)

Remember to say thank you

The Israelites deliverance from slavery in Egypt was one of the extraordinary things God did to preserve the lives of his chosen people and to ensure Abraham’s legacy would continue forever. In spite of the LORD’s steadfast love and divine goodwill toward them, the people of Israel did not remember to say thank you for all God was doing on their behalf. Psalm 106:7-8 says, “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.” God’s willingness to save the Israelite’s wasn’t based on their response or their attitude toward him; it was based on God’s desire for his people to know him in an intimate, personal way.

The Israelites believed God’s words, “but they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel” (Psalm 106:12-13). The Hebrew word that is translated counsel, ʿetsah (ay-tsawˊ) “is a feminine noun meaning advice, a plan” (H6098). God’s plan of salvation required the people of Israel to remain in the Promised Land and to be a witness to the people around them of God’s mercy and love for mankind. Instead of doing what God wanted them to, the Israelites abandoned God and worshipped the idols of the surrounding nations. It says in Psalm 106:19-22:

They made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
They exchanged the glory of God
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

God’s wondrous works and awesome deeds were not something that could easily be forgotten. When the Israelites went to spy out the land of Jericho after wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the prostitute Rahab told them, “We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:10-11).

Psalm 106:24 tells us that the people of Israel despised the Promised Land and had no faith in God’s promise to them. “They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD” (Psalm 106:25). In addition to that, “They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them” (Psalm 106:34-36). The word mowqesh (mo-kasheˊ) means “a snare, a trap, bait. The proper understanding of this Hebrew word is the lure or bait placed in a hunter’s trap. From this sense comes the primary use of the term to mean the snare itself. It is used to signify a trap by which birds or beasts are captured (Amos 3:5); a moral pitfall (Proverbs 18:7; 20:25), and anything that lures one to ruin and disaster (Judges 2:3; Proverbs 29:6). A word in the New Testament that has a similar meaning to mowqesh is skandalon (skanˊ-dal-on). Jesus used the word skandalon when he talked to his disciples about temptations to sin. Jesus said, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (Matthew 18:7). The Apostle Paul referred to temptation or the skandalon as a stumbling block and asked the question:

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess to God.”

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. (Romans 14:10-12)

Paul made the point that we will all stand before the judgment seat of God and will have to give an account of ourselves, therefore we should not condemn others who do not seem to be showing God the proper respect or gratitude for what he has done for them. Paul explained that God’s wrath is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Paul said:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:18-23)

Paul told the Romans that those who do not honor God or give thanks to him are without excuse because his invisible attributes “have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world” (Romans 1:20). Paul attributed people’s lack of respect and gratitude toward God to a suppression of the truth. Jesus said of himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). What Jesus meant by this was that within him was divine truth, “what is true in itself, and is pure “from all error or falsehood.” Therefore, the gospel that Jesus preached was considered to be true religion, “declaring the existence and will of the one true God, in opposition to the worship of false idols” (G225).

The prophet Amos was given the difficult task of calling the people of Israel to repentance. “His pleas to the people and predictions of the destruction of Israel made him very unpopular because he ministered at the peak of Israel’s material and political success. They were enjoying a prosperous reign under Jeroboam II, who had expanded Israel’s territory and secured it from external threats. However, as Hosea observed and Moses predicted (Deuteronomy 6:4-10; Hosea 2:5-13), this prosperity caused the people to forget God” (Introduction to the book of Amos). After Amos declared God’s judgment on Israel, he revealed the reasoning behind Israel’s guilt and punishment. Amos 3:1-6 states:

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

“You only have I known
    of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
    for all your iniquities.

“Do two walk together,
    unless they have agreed to meet?
Does a lion roar in the forest,
    when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
    if he has taken nothing?
Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
    when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
    when it has taken nothing?
Is a trumpet blown in a city,
    and the people are not afraid?
Does disaster come to a city,
    unless the Lord has done it?

Israel’s relationship with God made them subject to his discipline. The LORD asked, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to meet?” (Amos 3:3). The Israelites had committed themselves to doing things God’s way (Exodus 19:8), and yet, they didn’t follow through on their commitment. Moses warned the people of Israel before they entered the Promised Land, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 8:17-19).

The writer of Hebrews concluded his letter by instructing believers to offer sacrifices that are pleasing to God. Speaking of the sacrifice that Christ made in order to cleanse us from our sin, he said, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:12-16, KJV). The writer of Hebrews indicated that we should offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, and said the way that we do that is by giving thanks to his name. The Greek word that is translated giving thanks to his name, homologeo (hom-ol-og-ehˊ-o) means “to speak or say the same with another, e.g., to say the same things, i.e. to assent, accord, to agree with” (G3670). Homologeo is derived from the words homou which means “together with” (G3674) and logos which means “word” (G3056). John used the word logos when he said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). What it means to give thanks to his name then, is that we continually say the same things that Jesus did. What we say is consistent with God’s Word, what is recorded in the Bible.

Psalm 106 ends with a plea for God to save the people of Israel after they had been taken into captivity. Psalm 106:47-48 states:

Save us, O Lord our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the Lord!

The people of Israel promised to say thank you to God if he would gather them from among the nations and return them to the Promised Land. The Hebrew word ʾamen (aw-maneˊ) is a declaration meaning “may it be so” and “is used as a declaration to acknowledge affirmation of a statement” (H543). ʾAmen is derived from the word ʾaman which is used metaphorically to convey the notion of “faithfulness and trustworthiness, such that one could fully depend on…Therefore, the word can also signify certitude or assurance…and belief, in the sense of receiving something as true and sure” (H539). It says in Genesis 15:6 that Abraham, “believed (ʾaman) the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Many of Paul’s letters include references to him thanking God for the things that he had already and would continue to do for him. Paul began his letter to the Romans by stating, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world” (Romans 1:8), and Paul said to the Corinthians, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:4). Paul told the believers in Philippi, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:3-5), and Paul said to Timothy, “I thank God whom I serve as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day” (2 Timothy 1:3). Paul remembered to say thank you when he thought about what God had done in and through the young man he referred to as his “son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2).

Like Paul, we should remember to say thank you when we think about the many blessings that God has given us, but also, when we think about the tragedies that we have endured. Psalm 107, titled, “Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So,” begins with the declaration, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 107:1). The psalmist went on to list some of the troubles that God had redeemed people from, “Some wandered in the desert wastes…Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death…Some were fools through their sinful ways…Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters” (Psalm 107:4, 10, 17, 23), and then, he concluded, “When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD” (Psalm 107:39-43). God uses the tragedies that we experience in life to display his goodness so that we will remember to say thank you not only when things are going well, but whenever we think about his continuous involvement in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Paul told the Corinthians, “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea” (2 Corinthians 11:24-25). In spite of his suffering, Paul was thankful for the victory that Jesus had given him over sin and death. Paul came to this conclusion about the end result of his life on earth, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

The rebellion

Rebellion against God is a common theme throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:2-7) and concluding with the Antichrist’s battle at Armageddon (Revelation (16:14-16), mankind has continually chosen to rebel against God’s authority. The Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians was dedicated to explaining certain events that must take place before Christ’s return. After discussing the judgment at Christ’s coming, Paul talked about a man of lawlessness that would lead the world in rebellion against God. Paul said:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)

The rebellion that Paul was referring to was described in detail in Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul told Timothy, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3). The root cause of rebellion against God is identified as an evil, unbelieving heart in Hebrews 3:12. Hebrews 3:12-14 was a warning to believers about falling away from God. It states, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

The writer of Hebrews pointed to the rebellion of the Israelites after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt as an example of what not to do if you have a relationship with the Lord. Quoting from Psalm 95:7-11, the writer of Hebrews states:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
    on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
    and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
    they have not known my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:7-11)

The writer of Hebrews indicated that the remedy for a hardened heart was listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. When we ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we go astray in our hearts. The Greek word that is translated go astray, planao (plan-ahˊ-o) is a derivative of the word planos (planˊ-os) which refers to “roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an imposter or misleader” (G4108). Planos is used in 1 Timothy 4:1 to describe the type of spirits that cause people to depart from their faith. The King James Version translates planos as “seducing spirits.” It states, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). The implication of this passage is that there is a competition between God and Satan to influence the minds of individuals who have accepted Christ as their Savior. Believers who go astray in their hearts are those who chose to believe Satan’s lies rather than the truth of God’s word. The first instance of this happening was in the Garden of Eden when Eve believed what the serpent told her and ate some of the fruit that God had told Adam would result in death (Genesis 2:17, 3:1-6).

Paul told the believers in Thessalonica that the man of lawlessness who is also known as Antichrist, was being restrained by the Holy Spirit. Paul said, “And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8). “The Holy Spirit is the restraining force in this world, holding back the power of lawlessness and the many ‘antichrists’ existing today (1 John 2:18). Verse 7 does not refer to a departure of the Holy Spirit but to the removal of his restraining power. This will allow Satan and the Antichrist to exercise dominion on the earth, but God will use whatever happens to further his plan in accordance with his own timetable” (note on 2 Thessalonians 2:6, 7). Paul went on to say, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). Believing the truth of the gospel is what makes it possible for a person to be saved. Not believing the truth, opens the door for Satan to deceive you with a lie.

Jesus said in his parable of the sower that believers fall away because they “have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away” (Luke 8:13). A time of testing is “a state of trial in which God brings His people through adversity and affliction in order to encourage and prove their faith and confidence in Him (1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:2, 12; 1 Peter 1:6; 2 Peter 2:9)…In the opposite way, man ‘tempts’ God by distrusting Him and complaining to Him (Hebrews 3:8)” (G3986). It is this latter way of falling away, when man tempts God, that the writer of Hebrews was referring to when he said that we should not harden our hearts “as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test, and saw my works for forty years” (Hebrews 3:8-9). The rebellion is about mankind’s unified effort to dethrone God and Satan’s attempt to take his place. John depicted the rebellion as a final showdown in which all hell would break loose (Revelation 16:13-14) and every believer would be tempted to abandon God in order to survive (Revelation 13:16-17). Jesus encouraged his followers to stay awake so that they wouldn’t be tempted to give up. Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” (Revelation 16:15).

Jesus often used the phrases stay awake or wake up when he was teaching his disciples to emphasize their need for spiritual help. The Greek term gregoreuo (gray-gor-yooˊ-o) has to do with consciousness or awareness of things going on in a particular realm. Jesus used gregoreuo in his message to the church in Sardis to emphasize their ongoing need for sanctification. Jesus said, “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you” (Revelation 3:1-3). The Greek word that is translated complete in Revelation 3:2, pleroo (play-roˊ-o) means “to make replete” (G4137) and was used by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians in reference to the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19) and of being filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Being complete or your works being complete as a Christian means that you are fully aware of the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in and through you and you are completely conformed to God’s will for your life. This will be especially important in the time of the rebellion because Satan will be doing everything he can to confuse believers and to negate the influence of the Holy Spirit on their minds and hearts.

God’s judgment

John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue discuss the topic of future judgments in their book A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth. These two theologians tell us, “The Bible clearly teaches that all people will face a judgment day before God when his judgment will be all that matters. A day of reckoning is coming when all will stand before the Creator to account for every thought and deed” (Biblical Doctrine, 2017). Jesus primarily taught his followers about God’s judgment through parables that were designed to enlighten their minds and open their hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit whose job it is to convict and convince us of our sin (John 16:8-11, Acts 7:51). According to MacArthur and Mayhue, “All Christians are headed for a day of judgment before Jesus Christ. Scripture explicitly mentions the judgment seat of Christ in two places; in each, Paul is addressing Christians: ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Cor. 5:10) Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. (Rom. 14:10)…This judgment results in rewards for what a Christian has done with his or her life—for deeds good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). This is a whole-life evaluation. The ‘good’ refers to those works done in the power of the Holy Spirit that bring glory to God. The ‘bad’ refers to worthless deeds that do not bring God honor, works done in the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21)…The judgment seat of Christ does not stop with an evaluation of deeds; rather, it goes deeper to motives. First Corinthians 4:5 says that the Lord ‘will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.’ Thus, the judgment before Jesus is so penetrating that motives behind deeds are evaluated as well. Not only does what we do matter, but so does why we do what we do” (pgs. 864-865).

Paul talked about God’s judgment in the context of Christ’s second coming and indicated in his second letter to the Thessalonians that the judgment would take place at Christ’s second coming. Paul wrote:

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul said that God considered it just to repay with affliction those who had afflicted Christians. The Greek word that is translated just, dikaios (dikˊ-ah-yos) means “equitable” or equal. “Also, just as it should be, i.e. fit, proper, good.” Dikaios is used “of one who acts alike to all, who practices even handed justice: just, equitable, impartial” (G1342). A word that is derived from dikaios is dikaiosune (dik-ah-yos-ooˊ-nay) which refers specifically to Christian justification. Dikaiosune is “being just as one should be” and is “Spoken of that righteousness which has regard to God and the divine law…Merely external, consisting of the observance of external precepts…Internal, where the heart is right with God, piety toward God, and hence righteousness, godliness…So  used in the expression ‘to count or impute as righteousness,’ i.e. to regard as evidence of piety (Romans 4:3, 5, 6, 9, 22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23)” (G1343).

Paul said when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven, he will inflict “vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). The Greek word that is translated vengeance, ekdikesis (ek-dikˊ-ay-sis) is derived from the word ekdikeo (ek-dik-ehˊ-o) which means “to execute justice” (G1556). Vengeance is mentioned throughout the Bible, but particularly in the prophetic books of the Old Testament with regard to the nation of Israel. The prophet Hosea talked about Israel reaping the whirlwind and said of God’s judgment:

The days of punishment have come;
    the days of recompense have come;
    Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool;
    the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
    and great hatred.
The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
    and hatred in the house of his God.
They have deeply corrupted themselves
    as in the days of Gibeah:
he will remember their iniquity;
    he will punish their sins. (Hosea 9:7-9)

The prophet Micah echoed Hosea’s sentiments, but directed his comments to the ungodly that God would purge from among Israel. Micah said of God’s judgment, “And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey” (Micah 5:15).

Micah concluded his message with a tribute to God’s steadfast love and compassion. Micah asked, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18-19). “Micah ends his prophecy by indicating that his total confidence was in God. Despite Israel’s great iniquity, God indeed pardons sin and delights in showing ‘steadfast love’ (hesed [2617]). God not only forgives sins but casts them far away (‘into the depths of the sea,’ v. 19)” (note on Micah 7:18-20). The Hebrew word cheçed (khehˊ-sed) or hesed “is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics. In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: ‘strength,’ ‘steadfastness,’ and ‘love.’ Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. ‘Love’ by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet ‘strength’ or ‘steadfastness’ suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But checed is not a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. Chesed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law. Marital love is often related to chesed. Marriage certainly is a legal matter, and there are legal sanctions for infractions. Yet the relationship, if sound, far transcends mere legalities” (H2617).

Paul indicated that God’s motive for inflicting vengeance on those who do not know him and those who do not obey the gospel is so that justice can be carried out. Many think that God is not just, that he allows things to happen that should not happen, and that he does nothing about the pain and suffering of his people, but Paul made it clear that God’s judgement will involve an equivalent amount of suffering for those who have afflicted his people over the years (2 Thessalonians 1:6). Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow was intended to convey the justice of God’s judgment. The widow complained to the unjust judge because he wouldn’t give her justice against her adversary. Jesus said, “For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’” (Luke 18:4-8). Jesus’ question, “Will he find faith on the earth?” implied that the reason God’s judgment has not yet been carried out is because God’s people are not, like the persistent widow, demanding justice from him.

Jesus Christ’s return could be a good news and bad news situation for many Christians. Although Christ’s return will mean that our suffering is over and God will carry out vengeance on our enemies, believers will have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) and may be reluctant to find out how their deeds will be evaluated. In his parable of the talents, Jesus indicated there will be some who are very disappointed. Jesus said, “He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Matthew 25:24-30).

No one is righteous

The Apostle Paul argued in his letter to the Romans that no one is righteous except God. Citing from Psalms 14:1-3 and 53:1-3, Paul said, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). The Greek word that is translated turned aside, ekklino (ek-kleeˊ-no) means “to deviate” or “to decline (from piety)” (G1578). The Hebrew word that was used in Psalms 14 and 53, suwr (soor) “is used metaphorically to describe turning away from the Lord because of a rebellious heart (Jeremiah 5:23)…Its meaning extends further to indicate falling away, as when one is enticed to fall away from following the Lord to pursue other gods (Deuteronomy 11:16; 1 Samuel 12:20; Psalm 14:3)” (H5493). The author of Psalms 14 and 53, King David, understood the concept of turning aside because he had committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 12:9) after God made an unconditional promise to him that he would make David the father of an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:16). After he had utterly scorned the LORD, the prophet Nathan confronted David and told him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ’”I anointed you king over Israel, and delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” Thus says the LORD, “Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.”’ David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die’” (2 Samuel 12:7-13). In spite of his willful rebellion, the LORD put away David’s sin, meaning that David’s sin was forgiven, it did not have a negative impact on his relationship with the LORD.

David’s personal realization that he could not live up to God’s standard caused a great deal of pain and anguish in his soul and resulted in him writing several psalms that are referred to as laments. According to Mark Vroegop, author of the book, Dark Clouds Deep Mercy, a lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust. Mark states, “You might think lament is the opposite of praise. It isn’t. Instead, lament is a path to praise as we are led through our brokenness and disappointment. The space between brokenness and God’s mercy is where the song is sung. Think of lament as the transition between pain and promise. It is a path from heartbreak to hope.” Psalm 53 is a perfect example of David’s journey from a painful realization of his failure to the hope that God’s unconditional promise to him was still in effect. David began this psalm by stating:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
    there is none who does good. (Psalm 53:1)

David used the term fool to describe people who don’t believe in God. The Hebrew word that is translated fool, nabal (naw-bawlˊ) means “stupid; wicked (especially impious)” (H5036). David met someone named Nabal early in his life, when King Saul was trying to kill him. It says in 1 Samuel 25:2 that Nabal was very rich, “he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats.” Nabal was a harsh man who behaved badly (1 Samuel 25:3) by refusing to reward David and his men for protecting his sheep (1 Samuel 25:10-11). David intended to kill Nabal (1 Samuel 25:13, 22), but Nabal’s wife Abigail intervened (1 Samuel 25:18, 23-31) and prevented David from responding inappropriately. Afterward, we are told in 1 Samuel 25:36-38, “And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And about ten days later the LORD struck Nabal and he died.”

David’s memory of what had happened with Nabal likely prompted him to associate the behavior of those who do not acknowledge God with this man. David said, “They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity” (Psalm 53:1). But, David didn’t stop there. David went on to say that all have fallen away, and “together they have become corrupt” (Psalm 53:3). David stated:

God looks down from heaven
    on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
    who seek after God.

They have all fallen away;
    together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
    not even one. (Psalm 53:2-3)

David’s conclusion that “there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 53:3) was based on his awareness of his own depravity. David loved God and was identified as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), and yet, David broke two of God’s Ten Commandments without even giving any thought to the consequences for himself, his family, or the nation of Israel of which he was the appointed king.

David’s hopeful response to his realization that no one is righteous apart from God is reflected in the final verse of Psalm 53. David exclaimed:

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. (Psalm 53:6)

The Hebrew word that is translated salvation in this verse, yᵉshuʿwah (yesh-ooˊ-aw) means “something saved” (H3444). Many personal names contain a form of the root including Jesus, a Greek form of jeshuʿah. Salvation or “’deliverance’ is generally used with God as the subject. He is known as the salvation of His people.” David was likely thinking of Israel’s Messiah when he said, “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion” (Psalm 53:6). David’s second statement, “When God restores the fortunes of his people…” is a reference to Israel returning from exile, a period of time when the people of Israel were anticipating the arrival of their Messiah and eventually, the birth of Christ (Luke 2:26-32).

Paul explained the significance of Christ’s righteousness being transferred to us in his letter to the Romans. Paul said:

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

Paul indicated that the reason why Christ’s righteousness was imputed to all believers through his death on the cross was to show God’s righteousness, “because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins” (Romans 3:25). In other words, God leveled the playing field so that both Old and New Testament believers could receive forgiveness of their sins. Paul said, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

If

Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the house of God revealed his “great familiarity with and reverence for the warnings of God, which were given to all Israel through Moses (see Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28)” (note on 2 Chronicles 6:14-42). Solomon’s primary petition in this prayer was that God would listen and forgive them when his people cried out to him for help. Solomon mentioned specific circumstances that would require God’s forgiveness: if a man sins against his neighbor (2 Chronicles 6:22); if the people were defeated by their enemy (2 Chronicles 6:24); if there was famine in the land (2 Chronicles 6:26); if they sinned against God (2 Chronicles 6:36). Each time, Solomon asked that God would hear from heaven and forgive his people who had sinned against him (2 Chronicles 6:39). Afterward, “the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven so that there is no rain, or command locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:12-14). “This is a key Old Testament passage that presents the conditions of true repentance: humbling oneself, praying, seeking God’s face, and turning from evil” (note on 2 Chronicles 7:12-14). God said if his people truly repented, then he would hear from heaven and forgive their sin.

Humbling ourselves means that we are bringing ourselves into subjection to God. This has to do with being submitted to God’s will, allowing God to have control of our situation and circumstances. An example of humbling oneself is shown in 1 Kings 21:27 where the wicked king Ahab repented of his sin after being confronted by Elijah the prophet. It says in 1 Kings 21:17-29:

 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)

And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

It says that “there was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab” (1 Kings 21:25), and yet, because he had humbled himself, God said he would not bring disaster in Ahab’s days (1 Kings 21:29). The Hebrew words that are translated dejectedly in 1 Kings 21:27 are translated went softly in the King James Version of the Bible. Another way of describing Ahab’s response to God’s condemnation of his behavior might be that Ahab treaded lightly or exhibited a gentle spirit toward God as a result of God holding him accountable for his sin.

Even though Ahab humbled himself before God, he did not truly repent of his sin. Ahab stopped short of asking God for forgiveness. The second condition of true repentance is praying, or more specifically, asking God to intervene in your situation so that your sin can be forgiven. Psalm 51 is a prayer that King David prayed when Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba. David began by asking God to have mercy on him. David prayed, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1-2). David asked that God would blot out his transgressions and wash him thoroughly from his iniquity. The Hebrew word that is translated wash, kabas (kaw-basˊ) “refers to God’s internal cleansing of the heart, making it white as snow. Jeremiah 4:14, however, showed that God’s people must work to cleanse their hearts and avoid temporal destruction” (H3526). David’s genuine sorrow wasn’t all that was needed for true repentance, David needed his relationship with the LORD to be restored.

Another condition of true repentance is seeking God’s face. This aspect of true repentance has to do with restoring intimacy with God. Moses’ relationship with God is one of the best examples of what it means to have intimacy with God in the Bible. It says in Exodus 33:11, “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” The place where Moses went to speak to the LORD was called the tent of meeting. “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door” (Exodus 33:7-10). It says in Exodus 33:7 that everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Seeking the LORD requires us to get away from other people and to focus our attention only on God. All the people watched Moses go into the tent of meeting and worshipped God from afar, but only Moses experienced intimacy with God.

The final condition for true repentance may be why so few people actually do it. God told Solomon that he would hear from heaven and forgive the people’s sin if they humbled themselves and prayed, and sought his face, and turned from their wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14). The Hebrew word that is translated turned, shuwb (shoob) “is used to describe divine and human reactions, attitudes, and feelings” (H7725). Jeremiah described this kind of turning as washing your heart from evil. Jeremiah stated, “O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?” (Jeremiah 4:14). Jeremiah indicated that wicked thoughts can lodge within us, but we are able to dislodge them through an intentional effort of washing our hearts from evil. The Apostle Paul described this process as putting off your old self and putting on the new self. Paul told the Ephesians:

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17-24)

Paul said our old self belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22). In order to get rid of the old self, we must put on the new self, which Paul indicated was “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The key to being able to do this is what Paul referred to as being “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23). This means that we are under the controlling power of the indwelling Holy Spirit who is directing our energies toward the enjoyment of fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. Spiritual regeneration involves more than the free act of God’s mercy and power by which he removes the sinner from the kingdom of darkness and places him in the kingdom of light, it is “the gradual conforming of the person to the new spiritual world in which he now lives, the restoration of the divine image. In this process the person is not passive but is a fellow worker with God” (G3824).

God told Solomon that he would hear from heaven and would forgive their sin, if his people would humble themselves, and pray and seek his face and turn from their wicked ways. God contrasted this promise with an alternative that actually did take place. God said, “’But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, “Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?” Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshipped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.”’” The prophet Jeremiah foretold that Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Jerusalem would result in God fighting against his own people (Jeremiah 21:5) and in his message to the house of David, Jeremiah gave the people a final opportunity to repent of their sin against God. Jeremiah concluded his message to the house of David by stating, “’”And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the LORD dealt thus with this great city?” And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and worshipped other gods and served them.”’” Weep not for him who is dead, nor grieve for him, but weep bitterly for him who goes away, for he shall return no more to see his native land’” (Jeremiah 22:8-10).

The house of God

Abraham’s grandson Jacob was the first person in the Bible to identify a place on earth where God was believed to be located. It says in Genesis 28:10-11 that “Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set.” Jacob had a dream that night in which he saw a ladder that reached to heaven. “And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” In his dream, the LORD told Jacob that he would keep him wherever he went and would bring him back to the land that he had promised to give Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 15:1-16). It says in Genesis 28:16-22:

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

The Hebrew word Bethel means “house of God” (H1008). Jacob later returned to Bethel and built an altar, “and called the place El-bethel because there God had revealed himself to him (Genesis 35:7). It says in Genesis 35:9 that God appeared to Jacob and, “Then God went up from him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel” (Genesis 35:13-15).

David took it upon himself to build a house for the LORD after he was established as the king of Israel, but his decision was overridden by God. It says in 2 Samuel 7:4-7, “But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan ‘Go and tell my servant David, “Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all the places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commended to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”’” The LORD went on to tell David that he would make a house for him and that after David was gone, God would “raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). This promise referred “initially to Solomon but was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the ‘Son of David’ (Luke 1:31-33; Acts 2:25-35) who reigns at God’s right hand (Psalm 2:7; Acts 13:33).

Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem on “Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (2 Chronicles 3:1). After all the work that Solomon did for the house of the LORD was finished, “the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God” (2 Chronicles 5:13-14). It says in 2 Samuel 6:1, “Then Solomon said, ‘The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. But I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” Solomon believed that God’s promise to David had been fulfilled because he had completed construction of the temple that his father had designed, but in his prayer of dedication, Solomon acknowledged the conditional aspect of God’s promise to establish his kingdom on earth. Solomon asked:

“But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. (2 Chronicles 6:18-21)

Solomon’s understanding of God’s metaphysical nature was that he couldn’t be contained within space or matter, but God could be present in a particular geographic location in the same way that humans are. Solomon asked that God listen from heaven, his dwelling place (2 Chronicles 6:21), suggesting that God had dual residency and could dwell both in heaven and on earth at the same time. It’s unclear whether or not Solomon actually believed God could occupy the temple he had built for him. Throughout his prayer, Solomon asked God to hear from heaven (2 Chronicles 6:23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39). It’s possible that Solomon knew God would only occupy the temple he had built for him temporarily, and then, would be dealing with Israel from afar. Solomon concluded his prayer with the benediction, “And now arise, O LORD God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness. O LORD God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one! Remember your steadfast love for David your servant” (2 Chronicles 6:41-42).

Jesus tried to reassure his disciples before he left them that his Father’s house was an actual place where they would all be living one day. Jesus told them:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. (John 14:1-10, NLT)

Jesus said his Father lived in him and did his work through him. The Greek word that is translated lives in, meno (menˊ-o) is spoken “of the relation in which one person or thing stands with another, chiefly in John’s writings; thus to remain in or with someone, i.e. to be and remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind, and will (John 6:56; 14:10; 15:4-7; 1 John 2:6; 3:24; 4:15, 16)” (G3306).

Jesus considered relational oneness with his Father to be essentially the same thing as them living under the same roof. Jesus prayed that his disciples would “all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). Jesus considered relational oneness among his followers to be the ultimate testimony to him being the Savior of the World. Just as a Solomon built a house for God to dwell in forever, the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians that believers are being joined together to form a temple for God to live in. Paul said, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22). Paul referred to believers as members of the household of God and said that we are being built together into a dwelling place for God. The Greek word that is translated dwelling place in this instance is katoiketerion (kat-oy-kay-tayˊ-ree-on), a derivative of the word katoikeo (kat-oy-kehˊ-o), which means “to house permanently” (G2730).

The book of Revelation gives us a sneak preview of the permanent house that is being built for God through the process of believers being joined together in Christ. John tells us, “Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed…And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:9-14). John lets us know that the future new Jerusalem is a part of the new heavens and a new earth that Isaiah predicted hundreds of years before Jesus was born (Isaiah 65:17-19). Echoing Isaiah words, John tells us, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).

It seems that when Jesus told Thomas that he was the way, and the truth, and the life in response to his question, “How can we know the way?” [to my Father’s house] (John 14:5-6), that Jesus realized having a relationship with a spiritual being that we can’t even comprehend, much less be able to relate to as a Father, is not possible without his help. Jesus wanted Thomas, as well as the rest of his disciples and us, to understand that having a relationship with God is possible because we can see and get to know God through the lens of Jesus’ human life. Jesus asked Philip, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus wanted to change Philip’s perspective about who he was talking to. Philip was standing face-to-face and conversing with the creator of the universe, and didn’t even realize it. In order to see God in him, Philip needed to know Jesus in a different way. Jesus used the word ginosko (ghin-oceˊ-ko) to describe the kind of knowing that enables us to understand and/or fully comprehend who God the Father is in order to have a relationship with him. Paul talked about knowing in part in his discussion of the body of Christ and the way of love as a means of knowing God more intimately. Paul said, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:9-13).

God’s Vineyard

Jesus used metaphors to help his disciples understand his spiritual qualities and also to grasp the meaning of parables that would otherwise be confusing to them. One of the central themes of Jesus’ teaching was bearing fruit. So that his disciples could understand how the process of bearing spiritual fruit worked, Jesus used the metaphor of a vine and branches to explain it. Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). Jesus went on to say, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:6-8). Jesus’ use of the word abide was intended to convey the idea of remaining in or with someone, “i.e. to be and remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind, and will” (G3306).

Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants focused on the broken relationship between God and the people of Israel. In this parable, the owner of a vineyard leased his land to tenants who were expected to give him the fruit that the vineyard produced in exchange for being allowed to live on his property. Jesus told the people listening to him:

“A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” 

The servants that Jesus referred to who came to get some of the fruit of the vineyard were the prophets of the Old Testament. In his final rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus blamed these religious leaders for the deaths of God’s servants. Jesus said:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:29-39)

Jesus’ remark about Jerusalem being the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it seems to suggest that the wicked tenants in Jesus’ parable were residents of Jerusalem. Rather than pointing an accusatory finger at all of Israel, Jesus singled out Jerusalem in his prophetic messages about the end times. Jesus warned his disciples, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near” (Luke 21:20).

Jesus concluded his parable of the wicked tenants with a citation from Psalm 118. Luke tells us that after Jesus told the people that the owner of the vineyard would come and destroy the tenants, “They said, ‘Surely not!’ But he looked directly at them and said, ‘What then is this that is written:

            “‘The stone that the builders rejected
                has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him”’” (Luke 20:16-18). The book of Daniel, which was written during the southern kingdom of Judah’s exile in Babylon, contains a dream that was interpreted by Daniel for King Nebuchadnezzar. In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a vision that dealt with four world empires. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then, the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:31-35).

Jesus’ conquest of the four world empires and restoration of God’s vineyard is outlined in the book of Revelation. We’re told in Revelation 21:1 that a new heaven and a new earth will replace the first heaven and the first earth. John went on to say, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people’” (Revelation 21:2-3). The reference to Jerusalem being prepared as a bride adorned for her husband is related to the marriage supper of the Lamb that is described in Revelation 19:6-8. It says about the bride in Revelation 19:8, “’it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.” The term saints is spoken of those who are purified and sanctified by the influences of the Spirit. “This is assumed of all who profess the Christian name” (G40). In his parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus said the owner of the vineyard would “come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:15-16). According to John’s Revelation, Christians are the others that will be given God’s vineyard and will dwell with him throughout eternity in the New Jerusalem.