Were the “sons of God” men or angels? The Bible is clear about this. My desire is to study it out so you can properly understand Genesis 6.
I’ve come across a lot of people who do not think that the sons of God referenced in Genesis Six were actually fallen angels at all, so I thought it would be a good idea to show why I believe that the sons of God are in fact fallen divine angelic beings. The common accusation towards this view is that books like the book of Enoch and Jashar are used to prove the fallen angel view, and thus it’s unfounded in the Bible. To combat that view. I will only be using biblical references along with some relevant commentary to prove that the sons of God in Genesis six are fallen divine angelic entities.
The section in question is found in Genesis 6:1-4. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”
There are two main theories regarding the identity of the sons of God and the daughters of men.
The first is that the sons of God, we’re fallen divine, angelic beings and the daughters of men, human females. This is the view that I hope to demonstrate here. The second view is that the sons of God are the human godly line of Seth and the daughters of men, the human ungodly line of Cain. This is a popular view that is taught in most seminaries today. There is a third view that these sons of God were dynastic kings or rulers and the daughters of men, simply commoners. However, I will not specifically address this theory here because it falls closely in line with the Sethite view.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia references the Sethite view as quote, “some commentators hold that by sons of God is to be understood as the pious race descended from Seth and by daughters of men, the daughters of worldly men. These commentators connect the passage with Genesis 4:25 where the race of Seth is characterized as the worshipers of Yahweh and is designated as a holy seed. “
Genesis 4:25 “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”
This argument says that because Seth was the replacement child of Abel, as mentioned in Genesis 4:25, they were the worshipers of Yahweh. This is not accurate. The passage in question is Genesis 4:26 which states, “Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord,” is a very poor English rendering.
The Hebrew word châlal (Strong’s 2490) means to bore, that is, (by implication), to wound, to dissolve; figuratively to profane, to break one’s word, to defile, to pollute, to stain or wound.
So if we render this properly, we can translate this as “men defiled the name of God,” quite different from what we read in
An objection to this concept of men defiling or profaning the name of God is that the word châlal does not refer to profaning the name of God, but rather the state of mankind. Thus, the argument follows that it was profaned or fallen humanity that began to call upon the name of the Lord at this time, giving them the title, sons of God.
There are a couple of problems with this idea. First we see in places like Leviticus 19:12 where it states “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.” Here the word for “profane” is the same word used in Genesis 4:26, châlal, demonstrating that the use of the word can certainly be to describe a negative attribution to calling upon the name of the Lord.
Second, we read in Exodus 6:3, “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.”
The phrase God Almighty in the Hebrew is El Shaddai and Lord is translated Yahweh, (Jehovah), the proper name for God and the same name used in Genesis 4:26, (translated “the Lord”), thus the idea that Genesis 4:26 is referring to men beginning to worship the name God Yahweh is unfounded. In fact, the word for men in Genesis 4:26 does not appear in the original Hebrew text.
Thus, we can conclude that at the very least the name Yahweh was invoked at this point in time for some reason, but to suggest it was to worship his name is not found in the text.
Were “the daughters of men” descendants of Cain?
Next, the Sethite view declares that the daughters of men were simply the daughters of Cain. This is a problem. Again, when looking at the original Hebrew words, the daughters of men are translated as hā-’ā-ḏām, or more directly the daughters of Adam.
The distinction is that they are literally daughters of humanity or man. Why would there be a distinction made between the sons of Adam and the sons of God? Wouldn’t the line of Seth also be considered sons and daughters of Adam?
One must read into the text what’s not there to derive that the sons of God are the sons of Seth. It’s simply not found in the biblical account.
The Sethite view also fails to address one very important factor. The offspring that results from the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men were giants, Nephilim. It’s another strike against a Sethite view since clearly the union between the sons of God and daughters of men caused the corruption of flesh we read in Genesis 6:12. “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.“
The word for flesh in
It is quite clear that the literal flesh of humanity became corrupt, ruined, marred, and spoiled at this time. This makes sense, when we considered that just a few chapters back, God declared that the seed of Eve would triumph over the seed of the serpent or Satan because of the Messiah was promised through the seed of Eve.
It became the goal for Satan to destroy the human lineage in order to prevent the messiah from being born.
This idea also makes sense when we consider the fact that God flooded the entire earth
So for the Sethite theory to hold up to this scrutiny, they would have to show that the marriage between godly human men and ungodly human women produced a race of giants, but also caused a complete corruption of the flesh of humanity to the point where God had to flood the earth.
A common objection I often hear to the fallen angel view is that angels do not procreate. The passage often used to make this argument is Matthew 22:30 which states, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”
Let’s take a look at a parallel passage in Luke 20:34-36 – “And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”
Jesus clarifies that it is those who are worthy to attain the resurrection from the dead who won’t marry nor be given in marriage. This is because we will have eternal life. Procreation will not be necessary.
In other words, the passage from Matthew 22:30 and subsequently Luke 20:34-36 has nothing to do with the ability of angels to procreate or not, but rather it is Jesus stating that procreation will no longer be necessary in the future state of eternal life.
The confusion may be with the fact that Jesus refers to us who are saved as sons of God. I will address this a little bit later when we look at the phrase “sons of God” in the New Testament, but what these passages do show us is that angels and equally the sons of God are eternal beings.
It would logically follow that there are passages like 2 Peter 2:4 that states, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, (Tarturus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
And this subsequent verse, Jude 6 states, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
In other words, these angels who left their rightful domain of the spiritual dimension took on fleshly bodies. We read in Galatians 5:19 quote, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.”Once these angels took on human flesh, it logically follows that they did what the flesh desires as alluded to in Galatians 5:19.
We read in 1 Corinthians 11:10, “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”
It is very peculiar that in a chapter that speaks about the role of women in Church, Paul encourages women to have some form of covering over their heads because of the angels. This is logically a reference to Genesis 6.
1 Corinthians 11:10, “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.” https://amzn.to/2sapY8o
In conjunction with the argument the angels cannot procreate, is the argument that angels do not have physical bodies. We just saw how the Bible describes angels that left their own habitation and committed sins that landed them in the dark prison called Tartarus, but this idea is further verified when we consider the reality of angels appearing in physical form in the Bible.
First. It’s fascinating to consider the possibility that angels actually have food. In Psalm 78:25 it states, “Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.”
Here King David is referencing the manna that was provided while Moses and the Israelites were wandering in the desert during the exodus from Egypt. The Hebrew word for
It’s fascinating to consider that manna was in fact food for the angelic beings, but there’s more. We read in Hebrews 13:2, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
While this is startling and serves as enough evidence, there are even more verses that allude to the physicality of angels.
In Genesis 19:1 we read, “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.“
We go on to read about the people in the town lusting after these two angels. In Genesis 19:5 it states, “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came into thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
This event is also referenced in Jude 7, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Passages that allude to men going after strange flesh are often thought to have been a commentary about homosexuality, especially pertaining to Sodom and Gomorrah. While it is true that there was homosexual activity in Sodom and Gomorrah, the word for strange in the Greek is Heteros and means of uncertain affinity other or different.
If homosexuality were the only point, why would the word reflects something different? I believe it’s because the point here was that men lusted after these angels, so the argument the angels do not or cannot have physical bodies is once again unfounded in the Bible. So it logically follows that since they can manifest with physical bodies, they have the capacity to commit sinful acts right here on earth.
In my opinion, the historical origin of the Sethite view provides a nail in the coffin. The first person to popularize this idea with Augustine of Hippo in the fourth century AD. Augustine’s commentary on the Genesis 6 account has become the predominant view adopted by familiar names such as Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, and John Calvin in the 17th century.
In an article entitled “Sons of Seth and the Daughters of Cain,” reputed author and Hebrew scholar Douglas Hamp states, “Augustine says, ‘by the daughters of men, the scripture designates those who sprang from the race of Cain.'”
We must ask the important question, where in scripture does it say such a thing? Augustine makes the claim above that scripture designates those daughters as coming from the race of Cain, but just where do we see that? The answer is that we simply do not. It was first tentatively considered by Julius Africanus and then completely invented by Augustine and then repeated by all who would follow in his footsteps ever since.
If the term “sons of God” refers to the sons of Seth as so many suggest, why does the text not simply state it. Prior to Augustine inventing the Sethite claim, the common view held was that the sons of God who had unlawful relations with the daughters of men were in fact fallen divine angelic beings.
The phrase “sons of God” in the Hebrew text is bə·nê hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm and appears in the Bible five times in the Old Testament; six if you include the proper translation of Deuteronomy 32:8.
The first two times we see the phrase is in Genesis 6. The next three appear in the book of Job. Job 1:6 states, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.”
Job 2:1 “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.”
And finally in Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.“
In all of these instances, in the Book of Job, it is quite clear that the sons of God are angelic or divine beings. We know this because first they present themselves before the Lord and his throne. We know that in the Old Testament Times, no human can see God’s face without losing his or her life. We see an example of this in Exodus 33:18 when Moses asks God, “ I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” God replies in Verse 20, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”
Furthermore, Satan, a spiritual being is among them in this heavenly meeting also presenting himself before the Lord. This clearly shows that the entities described as sons of God, here in the Book of Job, are in the spiritual realm.
In a commentary by John Brown of Job 1:6, he writes, “the scene changes from Earth to heaven and we see God’s angels gathering for a meeting with Jehovah.”
Matthew Henry commenting on Job 2:1 says, “The angels attended God’s throne and Satan was among them.“
The account of Job 38:7 is especially intriguing because here God is describing the creation account of the earth. At the end of God’s decree of how he created the earth, ee proclaims that the morning stars and the sons of God shouted for Joy. If the sons of God here are humans, how would they be present in the time before humans were created? The point of reference is clear.
“The Sons of God” in Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7 all derive from the Hebrew bə·nê hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm. The same Hebrew phrase that is used in Genesis 6 translated as “sons of God.” While many who hold the Sethite view do agree that the sons of God in Job references divine angelic beings, they deny it when it comes to the same phrase in Genesis 6, thus exposing their inconsistent hermaneutic.
There is another element to help us understand what is going on in the Old Testament and the divine angelic beings or gods.
In Psalm 82: 1-2 it states, “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?”
Later in the same chapter we read, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes,” Psalm 82:6-7.
This passage in Psalm 82:6 is quoted by Jesus himself in John 10:34-36, after the Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy because he claimed to be equal with God. “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”
In other words, Jesus was declaring his divinity in this passage by claiming to be equal with God who in Psalm 82 is described as judging the “lowercase g” gods.
This is confirmed when we read a few verses before where Jesus declares in John 10:30, ” I and my Father are one.”
The objection often heard is that the gods in Psalm 82 are not in reference to divine beings, but rather human judges, but a passage to lay this idea to rest is found in Deuteronomy 32:8, “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of God.”
Many translations of Deuteronomy 32:8 may read, “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” Instead of “sons of God,” we see the sons of Israel.”
However, Dr. Michael Heiser in a document entitled “Deuteronomy 32:8 And The Sons of God” clearly demonstrates why the text should more accurately read “sons of God.” This passage is alluding to God assigning divine angelic beings who rejected him to take dominion over the various regions of the earth.
Doctor Heiser makes the connection between the passage here in Deuteronomy 32:8 with the table of nations that we see in Genesis 10. In short, there is no way this can be the sons of Israel when Israel had not yet become a nation.
Getting back to the issue of Psalm 82 in John 10, in another document by Doctor Heiser called “Jesus’s Quotation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:30,” for a different view of John’s theological strategy, Heiser states, “John Wants his readers to know that Jesus was making a divine claim consistent with sons of God being used of divine beings. The mortal view of Psalm 82
Part of the reason why there is so much skepticism for the sons of God in Genesis 6 being angelic beings is because the text doesn’t come out and directly say they were angels or divine beings. If the text had, there would be no debate to begin with.
To help clarify what the sons of God really meant and why the fallen angels theory best fits, let’s look at what the phrase actually entails from what we can gather from the New Testament.
To put it simply, the sons of God represents a direct creation of God. In other words, they were not born from another being or have human parents but are created deliberately and directly by God.
The best example while it shows in the singular son of God is in Luke 3:38 which states in the genealogy quote, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. Here, Adam is clearly stated as the son of God. This makes sense because Adam did not have a human parent but was rather created directly by God. This is why Jesus is called the second Adam.
According to 1 Corinthians 15:47 where it states, “The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.” The rest of humanity, including you and I, apart from Jesus are born as sons and daughters of a fallen Adam.
But this brings up an important question. Does this mean that Jesus who is also referred to as the son of God is equal with Adam and the angels?
No, this is because Jesus is the uniquely begotten son of God. Let me explain the key to understanding how the title “Son of God” is different when it refers to Jesus can be understood. In the most popular verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” the word begotten in the Greek is monogenē. It is a combination of two words, monos which means only solitary alone and genē, which means offspring or kind. So Jesus was the one and only begotten son.
The idea of “begat” was a
This also serves as an example of why the corruption of all flesh in Genesis 6 grieved God who sent the flood. While Jesus is the only begotten son of God, the rest of us who are saved are also called “sons of God” in the New Testament. This is to identify the new nature of those of us who are saved.
Jesus tells us in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
So in light of all these verses, it becomes clear that in Christ we have given up our nature of being sons of Adam and are now direct creations of God. And therefore the sons of God.
We see direct evidence of this when we read in John 1:12-13 where it says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
Again in Luke 20:36 it says, “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”
This plays right into the well understood Christian theology of adoption. While we are born as children or descendants of Adam, those of us who are saved in Jesus Christ are adopted into the family of God first, spiritually, and then eventually physically.
We see evidence of this in 1 Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
This is the hope we have in Jesus Christ. While we are saved spiritually, the ultimate fulfillment of his promise is to have new immortal bodies so that we may live in the presence of God. In fact, Paul even tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:3, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?”
So how does this entire concept deny the Sethite view and help us understand the identity of the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6. Whoever those sons of God were in Genesis 6, they had to be a direct creation of God. Since Adam, the first son of God, as mentioned in Luke 3:38 fell in the garden, all those who were born from Adam are sons and daughters of Adam, or in the case of Genesis 6, daughters of men.
If we go back to Genesis 6 and read the passage again, it might become clear why the sons of God can not be of human descent. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose,” Genesis 6:1,2.
“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown,” Genesis 6:4.
There are many avenues of inquiry that can come from this study, but I hope this demonstrates that the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 were in fact rebellious divine beings and not the sons of Seth or dynastic kings.
I do want to clarify one thing before we end. The phrase “fallen angels” that is often referenced to as “the sons of God” in Genesis 6 is more of a title rendered in the modern vernacular, rather than any clear translation from the Hebrew or Greek word for angels. The more precise description maybe phrased “divine beings” or gods with the lower case g, hence my use of fallen divine angelic beings as a description of who the sons of God in Genesis 6 were.
Nevertheless, the case for the sons of God being nonhuman is quite evident. I also hope that I was able to demonstrate our identity as adopted sons and daughters in Christ and why we are given the title “sons of God” in the New Testament.
Three Reasons To Disobey God / Standing On The Promises Of God
Three reasons to disobey God. A message on walking in obedience with joy. When was the last time you disobeyed God? When was the last time you knew that God wanted you to do something and ultimately you did something else?
Some people might say, “well, I’m born again. I’ve been sanctified. I disobeyed God,” and then somebody else might say, “well, you know, we’re all saved by the grace of God and yet we’re still in these vessels of clay. We sin every day.”
When we know that God wants us to do something and we put it off, we don’t respond with obedience. Why did you disobey him? What were the reasons for that?
I’m going to look at three reasons to disobey God from a story in the Old Testament. There is no happy ending in the story here, at least not for those men and women in the Old Testament. Three reasons to disobey God might not sound like a very inspiring title. But I believe if we look at this and we think, can we consider why did these people this obey God?
This might give us some insight and help us again to overcome and to walk in victory. Three reasons to disobey God. I’ll be in mostly in the book of 1 Kings.
First Kings starting in chapter 11, we are wanting to look at three people. There are three reasons why they heard the voice of God and they turned away. This is at the end, after David’s dynasty, and then Solomon’s Dynasty is starting to come to an end. And Solomon in all his grandeur and glory, we all know that he still had problems, but we’re going to pick it up when Solomon is being unfaithful to God and God has to do something about it.
God has to do something about Solomon’s wickedness and frankly some of David’s compromises.
“And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father,” 1 Kings 11:26,27
Why did Jeroboam rebel against Solomon? Because he did some construction projects? No, he rebelled because as we know from reading a few different places, Solomon was using slave labor. Solomon was oppressing his own people to do his big building projects and so Jeroboam stands up and says, I don’t want to take this. This isn’t right, and actually that was a good thing. His rebellion was good as we’ll see as we continue reading.
“And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph,” v. 28
And notice the young man because he was getting things done. This man Jeroboam, who was about to rebel against Solomon, he kinda liked him because he got things done. So he appointed him over the entire labor force at the house of Joseph.
“And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field,” v.29
Ahijah met this young go getter. Ahijah had wrapped himself with a new cloak and the two of them were alone in the open field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new clothes he had on and tore them into 12 pieces, “And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father,” 1 Kings 11:31-33
The prophet continued to share the word of God. “Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee,” 1 Kings 11:34-38
God chose Jeroboam. This is the first thing we need to recognize. Jeroboam’s rebellion was ordained of God and he had a call on his life. His call that God placed on his life was different from the call he gave David. “You’re going to be the anointed one. You, you’re going to be the chosen one.” God called him and he gave him this promise. “If you will listen to all that I command you. If you will walk in my ways and do what is right, I will be with you and that will build you a share house. I will give you a dynasty.”
So let’s think about this for a minute. Jeroboam has God’s promise. Obviously. He’s kind of in the inner circle with Solomon. He knows about David and God. The prophet is specifically saying, “you know how Solomon blew it? You’re going to become king. Jeroboam walk in my ways.”
Well with the example of Solomon, with the clear words from God with this promise, there is no way Jeroboam is going to blow this opportunity to start a brand new family dynasty, right?
“Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon,” 1 Kings 11:40.
Solomon is unhappy with this prophecy and decides to kill Jeroboam. Nobody learns do they? The only thing we learned from history is that we don’t. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, Jeroboam fled to Egypt where he remained until Solomon’s death. We see very clearly that saw that Jeroboam feared Solomon. He’s a brave man. He’s a go getter, initially Solomon liked what he found in this guy, but he also has fear. Brothers and sisters, each of you in a position of influence, in a position of leadership. People look at you and they see you as a leader, as a mom, as a dad. Your children look up to you when you’re invincible,
But we all know, however much of a go getter you are, many of us still struggle with fear. We have God’s promises. We have God’s commands. We’re go getters. We’ve been recognized, but we still have fear. This was Jeroboam and we’ll see that fear comes back to define his legacy. As a king, we see that fear infects everything. That’s terrible.
“And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now
This is so interesting. I like this Jeroboam. He’s taking leadership, but he’s actually doing it under the authority of the new king. He says, “we will serve you, but I’m going to advocate for these people.” Jeroboam defended the people. Jeroboam listened to the people. He hears what’s going on. He understands and he goes and he stands between the people and the new king.
“And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions,” 1 Kings 12:6-11
Rehoboam listens to advice from old people and then just rejects it, and then he goes and listens to the advice of his peers and he says, “yes, I’m going to be a cruel tyrant.”
This is where the split starts. These people rebel against Rehoboam. They say, no, we’re going to stand on our own two feet and they leave.
“So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only,” 1 Kings 12:19-20. Just like God had promised.
“And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord,” 2 Kings 12:21-24.
This is like one of the little tiny bright spots of light in this whole period of history. They listened to the word of God. They listened to the word of the Lord and went back according to the word of the Lord. That doesn’t happen much. That doesn’t happen much. After David died, they actually listened to God’s voice. And now we have two kingdoms.
So far Jeroboam is off to a good start, right? He’s heard the voice of God, he advocated for the people, and then they rise up against the wicked rule of Rehoboam. Jeroboam is king now. “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel,” 1 Kings 12:25.
Jeroboam said to himself, how much trouble do we get in brothers and sisters from saying to ourselves, from these little dialogues in our head? Has anybody else talked to themselves? You know, even if you don’t raise your hand, you probably do even if it’s not out loud and that’s where Jeroboam is. He’s thinking about a problem. The kingdom.
“And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah,” 1 Kings 12:26.
Now it’s not a problem to talk to yourself, but listen to what Jeroboam did. He allowed a lie to enter into his mind. How do we know this is a lie? Because God promised that he would have a kingdom forever. “If you walk in my ways, I will bless you. I will give you this and you will have all that you desire.”
But Jeroboam started talking to himself and Jeroboam says to himself, “all these people might rebel against me. I’m kinda new at this king business and I’m not really sure.”
He thinks about it, he talks to himself and then he does something. He seeks advise. That is not necessarily bad, in this case it is.
We don’t need to seek advicewhen we have a clear promise from God. We don’t ask for advice whether or not we should obey God, whether or not we should take him at his word. Sometimes we need to get encouragement and it’s fine to say, “hey brother, I am struggling. I know God says this. I know I should do this, but I need your prayers. Can you encourage me?”
But Jeroboam is seeking advice. What should I do to make sure something happens that God already promised to me? We know well that the advice you received wasn’t any better than the advice Rehoboam received that causes the split in the kingdom.
“Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense,” 2 Kings 12: 28-33
Now, whose job was it to make festivals? It was God’s job to set up festivals, but Jeroboam doesn’t want his people to go down to Israel. He takes the place of God and creates his own festival and creates idols to be worshipped.
He offered sacrifices on the altar. Whose job was it to offer sacrifices on the altar? The priest. He made the offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had made. He also stationed the priest in Bethel for the high places he had made. He offered sacrifices on the altar.
Jeroboam did ot trust God’s promises and set up his own religion.
What do you think about his plan? Did he obey God? No. Why didn’t Jeroboam obey the Lord? What was his reason for disobeying the Lord? He wanted the people. He didn’t want the people to leave him. He feared that the people would leave him.
The first reason that I see for disobeying God from Jeroboam is fear. People disobey God because of fear.
Now let’s look at the second reason.
Jeroboam was a leader. He had people following him. Was he a good leader? No, but he was successful. He was effective in his leadership. The people followed Jeroboam. They even went to Dan to worship a golden calve.
Now, if we read this quickly, if we think about this story, we might think the people of Israel weren’t really responsible. They weren’t really culpable like Jeroboam was because it was their leader that established the new religion. Certainly, leaders carry a greater responsibility.
We saw that Israel was willing to rebel against physical slavery, right? They had just rebelled against Rehoboam for putting them into physical slavery, but they weren’t willing to rebel against spiritual slavery.
We read in 2 Chronicles chapter 11, there were some from Israel that obeyed the one true God, even though it meant that they had to leave their home and go down to Jerusalem to worship the one true God. They said, yes, we will worship the god of our ancestors.
“For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord,“ 2 Chronicles 11:14
We see in 2 Chronicles they did rebel against the spiritual slavery, but here’s the truth that Israel found out, and here’s the truth, that those faithful Levi’s and priests found, out it is sometimes hard to obey God, and Jeroboam knew this.
He’s like these people. If they want to obey God to worship, they have to go down to enemy territory. They have to go down to Jerusalem. That’s a long hike. If you’re way up in Bethel, most of them, rather than doing that, which was difficult or inconvenient, they just blindly accepted Jeroboam leadership.
And this leads to our second reason. Why did Israel disobey God? What was their reason for disobeying God? It was inconvenience. It was easier to stay and worship Jeroboam’s idols. Do you know what a great big reason for people disobeying God is? Plain old, good old fashioned laziness.
It’s inconvenient. So much of what we do is based on convenience, and I’m not saying that’s wrong, but when it comes to obeying God, so many people don’t obey him. Their reason for disobedience is because it’s not easy. Because it’s inconvenient and because they’re lazy.
Let’s read our third story here so they continue to worship in Bethel. They continue to follow their leader because it’s easy to do that. God in His grace sends a prophet. He sends a prophet.
A man of God came from Judah to Bethel. Remember he had to come all the way down from Judah, all the way up to Bethel because the prophets, the Levites, the faithful men and women of God, for the most part had left town.
So he leaves Judah and goes up to enemy territory by the word of the Lord. Jeroboam is standing beside the alter to burn incense and this man of God from Judah walks up to the king, to the ruler, to the man with the authority to chop off his head. While he’s offering the sacrifice, this is what the man of God says, “against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee,” 1 Kings 13:2.
He is anthropomorphizing the alter to make a point. He’s talking to the altar. Maybe he’s too scared to even talk to Jeroboam. Jeroboam is there in the act of worship. He gave the sign that day. He said, “This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before,” 1 Kings 13:3-6.
Jeroboam begged the prophet to ask God to restore his hand. And the prophet did just that. This man of God, this prophet, he’s not going to disobey God out of fear. That’s not his reason for disobeying God because this man has no fear, at least not in the story.
The king responded to the man of God. Verse 6, “please plead for the favor of the Lord.” Now notice verse 7, “And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.”
So Jeroboam is apparently trying to bribe the prophet. Bribe him to save him from the coming judgement.
“And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.”
Now, a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. Now we’re getting to the twist.
“Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah,” 1 Kings 13:11,12
Remember, this is an old prophet. Why is he an old prophet? Well, he’s an old prophet because all the young prophets had enough strength to go across the border and serve the Lord in Israel or in Judah.
His sons had seen the way taken by the men of God who had come from Judah. Then he said to his son, “Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am,” 1 Kings 13:13,14
It’s interesting that already the news has spread already. I think the old prophet had a good motive. He wanted to meet this man of God. He wanted to fellowship. He offered an invitation.
“Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest,” 1 Kings 13:15-17
We know this man’s problem wasn’t fear. We know it wasn’t laziness because he had to go all the way across the border to give this message. He was also a go getter and we know that he heard God’s message. He understood God’s command to him. He repeats it at least twice.
But his stomach is grumbling. Don’t drink water. Don’t eat food. Don’t drink water, don’t eat food. The word of the Lord, the command of the Lord. He’s not forgetting it. It’s not a problem with hearing,
But this old prophet said to him, “I am also a prophet like you.” And again, isn’t it nice when somebody puts their arm around you and says, “Oh, I’m a prophet too. I’m a Christian too. There’s a connection in our hearts and I imagined that they had that connection and he puts his arm around him and he said, “He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water,” 1 Kings 13:18,19.
Now here’s where it gets really crazy. The young prophet with the message for Jeroboam, he delivered the message. The old prophet deceives the young prophet by giving him a false message.
While they were sitting at the table, another message comes, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had deceived him, who had brought him back and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah.
“And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy
Is there a more sad sentence than that in the Bible? “He is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord’s command.” What an obituary. The man of God who disobeyed the word of God, who disobeyed the Lord’s command. What kind of man or woman will you be known as? What will they say when they find your corpse? What do you think about the story? Is this fair? The deceiving old prophet who wasn’t willing to stand up to Jeroboam. He gets off with his life and the faithful prophet, who in a moment of weakness allowed himself to be deceived. He’s killed by a lion.
This is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord’s command. Is it fair? But maybe it doesn’t feel fair to us, but what would have happened if this young man of God, this prophet had been allowed to go on his way? What would have happened if God had said, “but he was mixed up and I’m going to let him go. I’m going to go back on my word.”
The deception of the old prophet would have trumped God’s word. The deception of one man over another would have been shown to be more powerful than the word of God that the young prophet knew by heart.
Note that the Prophet said, “an angel came and told me.” That’s not actually the voice of God. Think about what Paul told the Galatians. “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.,” Galatians 1:8. Yes, even if an angel tells you something. if it is contary to the word of God, do not believe it.
We don’t merely take whatever someone says. There are lots and lots of people who have God’s word, God’s word, or so they claim. They have a message for you. The Lord laid something on their heart. They’ve written a book, they’ve preached sermons, they’ve done DVD series, and they have a message for you,
But just because someone says it’s God’s word doesn’t mean we accept it. Why did this man disobey God? It’s easy for me to kind of guess his motives and try and say, “well, you know, he was just really hungry, so he just kinda gave in, even though he knew it was wrong.” Maybe that’s true, but scripture doesn’t tell us for sure. It doesn’t tell us what was going on in this man’s heart.
Let’s review again. Jeroboam disobeyed God’s word because of fear. The Israelites disobeyed God’s Word because of laziness, because it was inconvenient.
The prophet of Judah disobeyed God’s word. Why? He was deceived. Was it carelessness, peer pressure, compromise, another voice?
Hath God said? It was the age old question. The young prophet was confused. He obviously was. Even if he knew what was right and wrong, when that guy says, “well, the angel of the Lord told me this.” This old white haired prophet says, “the angel of the Lord told me that you should come and eat with me.”
Well, who should he believe? Have you been confused? Does confusion, hearing from another voice, hearing from somebody else, just confusion ever cause you to hesitate in obeying God’s word?
Whatever the reasons were for his confusion, we know that he was guilty. No matter how inconvenient it was to go all the way from the top of Israel down to Jerusalem, we know that laziness is an excuse and Israel was guilty. We know that Jeroboam lost out on his dynasty because of fear.
These reasons might seem legitimate at times. They definitely feel legitimate in the moment. How can I be held responsible? If I’m confused about something? You know, it really is hard. I don’t think I can quite do that much. I’m scared. These are reasons that feel legitimate, but the truth is whatever reason we have, each one of us have rebelled against God’s word.
There is no excuse. We don’t trust his promise. It’s inconvenient. We don’t understand. We all have reasons and excuses, but the truth is we’ve rejected his word and it’s clear enough. We’ve turned aside, we’ve gone to our own way. Well, here’s the good news, and the people of Israel had to wait a long time to hear it.
Jesus obeyed God’s word. Jesus set a perfect example for us. He provides the answer for our rebellion. He provides the answer for our excuses to disobey his father. He came down to earth and for the joy that was before him, he did something very inconvenient. He took that scary cup and he drank that scary cup down despite his fear for the joy that was before him. He overcame and he is seated at the right seated at the right hand of God. Jesus shows us how to live in obedience, tempted in all ways like we are tempted with the same reasons, to disobey.
There we have three reasons to disobey God. When I think about obedience, I think about the word of God in 1 John. Some verses that give answer to Jeroboam’s fear, they give a solution to the laziness of Israel, that bring clarity to the confusion of the prophet.
“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love,” 1 John 4:15-18
There is no fear, Jeroboam in love. Instead, perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. Jeroboam’s fear overwhelmed him. Rather than allowing his confidence in God’s goodness and God’s promises to overwhelm him.
Now the application I’m driving isn’t just love God. I need to love God more. If I just love God a little bit more then I’m going to obey him. But the application here is that we trust in the love God has for us. There is no fear in love. If I look at that and I say say, I need to love God more, I think we’re maybe missing it and we’re being a little bit man centered in our approach.
No, I need to trust God’s love for me more and if he calls me to do something, if he tells me to obey him, then I know that it’s good and I don’t have to be afraid because he’s going to be with me. There is no fear in love. When God gives a command, he gives it in love, and if I have fear, that means they need to understand his love of it more. If I have fear, I need to remember that his commands are good.
This leads to our second application. Laziness. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandment: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith,” 1 John 5:2-4.
Listen to this you Lazy Israelites. We know his commands are not a burden, are not grievous. His commands are not a burden because everyone has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world. Our faith. Did you catch it?
John tells us that his commands are not grievous. His commands are not a burden. It’s a good thing. It’s a happy thing if I have to make a trek all the way from Judah. John says, “you’re all the way down in Israel and need to go Jerusalem. I’m gonna love that trip because his commands are not grievous. My yoke is easy. My burden is light.”
The rich young ruler comes to Jesus and he says, “Jesus, how should I receive eternal life? What do I have to do? I’ve done a lot of good things. Have I made it?” Jesus loved him and said, “you lack one thing? Go sell all you have. Give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” Our rich young ruler, our friends, say the same thing the Israelites said, “Whoa, that’s hard. That’s a lot.” He was dismayed by this demand and he went away grieving because he had many possessions.
Once we get a hold, first of all of the love of God, that will overcome our fear. Then we get a hold of the goodness of his commands. It’ll overcome our laziness. His yoke is easy and his burden is light.
What if we’re confused? What is that? What’s holding us back from obeying God’s word? We have questions.
John says, “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you,” 1 John 2:26. Well, that qualifies for this Prophet in the Old Testament.
“These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him,” 1 John 2:26,27
Abide in him. “But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it,” Deuteronomy 30:14.
You don’t have to get in a boat and go across the ocean to find God’s word. It’s near you. It’s in your heart. Even in the Old Testament, God’s word had sufficient clarity. If they would only let the spirit guide them.
So to our friend, this prophet who ended up being eaten by a lion, we can say, “you don’t need anyone to teach you. The annointing you have teaches you all things. And it’s true and it’s not a lie. Just as it has taught you remain in him.”
So here’s my application from this text. The spirit illuminated word of God brings clarity to your confusion, so if you’re confused, you abide in him, you wait on him until there’s clarity. What does it mean to wait on God? A lot of answers to that, but I want to zero in on one application especially when we’re trying to discern God’s will.
Waiting on God means to do what you know now, to do what you know to do and to do it now. In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul is saying, “I haven’t achieved everything. There are still things I’m learning. I’m still growing in obedience to God. I haven’t reached perfection yet, but the one thing I do, I forget what is behind and I reach forward to what is ahead. I pursue as my goal the prized promise by God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.”
Here’s some real wisdom for us from brother Paul. “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing,” Philippians 3:15,16.
Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way, and if you think differently about anything, if you think differently about anything, you have questions, you’re confused. You think, “is this really the way it is? Maybe I should change.” If you’re confused. If you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, brothers and sisters, in any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.
Our prophet’s problem was he had been given a truth from God, a command from God. Don’t drink, don’t eat, go back a different way, and then he received another potential truth and rather than saying, “well, this is my foundation, what I already know for sure,” it led him to reexamine the foundation that had been previously laid.
Are you following me? In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. You know there’s lots of good teaching out there. There are good biblical teachings that you haven’t heard and you will come across them and say, “wow, this is good stuff and you’ll bring it into your life and God will bless you.”
But if you hear something new that causes you to question the foundation that has already been laid for you, you’ll reject it. That is confusion that leads to disobedience. There’s nothing wrong with building on what we have already attained, but we’ve got to stay faithful, stay solid on what we know.
I don’t want to pretend that being in a place of confusion, of fear or even discomfort, inconvenience, that it’s easily fixed, but we dare not abandon what God has shown us.
I have friends, and you probably have friends, who change their minds on a clear biblical teaching and it’s usually chalked up to either a new explanation of scripture. Well, the Greek says this, or this teacher said this, or maybe it’s a feeling that they get that they attribute to the Holy Spirit.
Have you heard this? Oh, well, you know, I just got a hold of the Gospel in a new way and the head covering, you know, that’s, that’s kind of salvation by works and I want the Gospel so I’m going to set aside the head covering so I can love Jesus more. Or somebody explained to me that the original Greek actually says this, therefore I’m going to set aside another practice, another foundation that’s been laid. Because I’m confused, because I’m lazy, because I have fear.
In conclusion, I started off by asking, when was the last time you disobeyed God? Let me ask now, when’s the next time you’re going to disobey God? When’s the next time it’s possible? It’s even likely that you are wrestling with something and you have fear. I’m supposed to do this. Maybe it’s confessing something. Maybe it’s adopting a practice. Maybe it’s going back to something you’ve compromised in.
Has God given you a command you’re struggling with? Is there a scripture that seems unclear? Are you living in fear about what will happen if you actually take him at his word? You’re reading something or you’re watching something that’s not his will and it doesn’t edify him. He is speaking to you through his word, through the spirit that you need to stop or you need to go.
When’s the next time you’re going to disobey God? What are your reasons for disobeying God? He has answers for those reasons. His love answers your fear. His commands aren’t a burden. The spirit guided word will provide clarity if we wait on him.
Jesus Christ provided the perfect example for our rebellion, the perfect counter example. He showed us that in his power, it is possible to obey him no matter what good reasons you may have.
One more time, we can overcome these three excuses: fear, laziness and confusion.
Number one, perfect love casts out fear, so believe in God’s love for you. Perfect love casts out fear, believing God’s love for you. That reason is gone. That lie has been questioned by perfect love.
Number two, his commands are not a burden. They’re not grievous, so love God by your obedience. That attack from Satan that says, “this is too hard.” It’s done away with when we understand that his commands are a good thing, that there are a blessing.
Number three, I’m confused. I’m not sure what to do. I’m hearing a teaching that’s coming in and I feel like maybe this is good. The spirit illuminated word brings clarity. So wait on him. Wait for that anointing to teach you all things abide in that anointing.
Who Is The Man of Lawlessness, The Son of Perdition?
Who is “the man of lawlessness” or “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2? He is not what the majority of Christians today believe.
What I have found is not what the majority of evangelical teachers teach today. It’s certainly different from the more popular approach of dispensationalism. Second Thessalonians 2 is the prophecy of the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
This is a very interesting and much debated passage in scripture. It is one of the more difficult passages regarding Paul’s writings. In fact, the early church father Augustine said, “I confess that I’m entirely ignorant of what he means to say.” Leon Morris, wrote in his commentary on the Thessalonian epistles, that “this is a notoriously difficult passage.” Consequently, I’m not going to pretend that I my understanding is flawless. Rather, my wish is that you will consider my view and compare scriptures to see if I am on target. Remeber though, we must consider what scripture says, and not read our pre-concieved ideas into the scripture.
Now, despite popular opinion, I do believe that even though some of the details might be difficult for us, that despite popular opinion, that I can demonstrate sufficiently well that this passage, this prophecy regarding the man of lawlessness is not a prophecy that’s in our future, but it refers to events that are well in our past and has already transpired. As is so often in the case when we’re studying biblical passages, it is important for us to look at the historical setting.
The New Testament letters are often called occasional epistles. That means that they were occasioned by some circumstance in the life of the church. Generally the occasional epistles are not just a generic platitudes, but they’re responding to particular issues that the churches are facing. Think of the Corinthian epistles where they talk about the man who had his own father’s wife for his own wife and all of these various things that don’t go on in the church universal, that’s something particular for that church at the current time. So it’s an occasional epistle written upon a certain occasion and an uncertain need. While the same thing is true for the Epistles to the Thessalonians. Consequently, it’s very important for us that we understand the historical setting of an occasional epistle. Otherwise we’ll just bypass the reality of the situation and develop our own thoughts about it without reference to what’s really going on in the region.
Now, to give you a little historical bearing about where the testimony and epistles arose and when they arose, you could look up Acts 17 through 18. This is a very important historical setting. Paul was in Thessalonica ministering to the people there and in Acts 17 and 18, he leaves Thessalonica. He goes to Berea and ministers there for awhile. Then he goes to Athens, just for a little while and then he goes onto Corinth, where he stayed for 18 months. It’s while he is at Corinth that he writes the first and second epistles to the Thessalonians, and this background is very important. When we look at the historical setting we’re going to see, as is so often in the New Testament, the historical background shows a Jewish opposition to the budding Christian faith and this Jewish opposition is going to affect how we understand the man of lawlessness.
Acts 17:1-7 “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.”
We read here, that when he went to Thessalonica, Paul preaches that Jesus is the messiah the Jews were expecting. Instead of accepting this, as you well know from your general understanding of New Testament history, the Jews turn to mob action. In fact, Paul escapes, but when the Jews did not find them, that is Paul and the others with him, they they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities shouting, “these men who have upset the world have come here also and Jason has welcomed them and they all teach, act contrary to the decrees of Caesar saying that there’s another King Jesus.” So the Jews are trying to use the Roman authorities to support their actions, saying, “these people are turning the world upside down there teaching that there’s another king other than Caesar.”
The Jews are stating the Christians are a political threat, but the authorities released Jason and his group. Then the Jews follow Paul to Berea.
“But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither
The Jews are vehemently opposed to the Christian declaration that Jesus is the Messiah and they’re following around the leading Christians causing them trouble wherever they go. Paul then goes from Berea to Athens, where he’s there just a brief time and then on to Corinth where he stays for 18 months. You can read about that in acts chapter 18. Now, remember, he wrote the first and second epistles to the Thessalonians while at Corinth.
What’s going on in Corinth while he writes these letters? Acts 18:1,2 “After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.”
Now, why have Claudius commanded that all the Jews leave Rome at this time? Well, it seems obvious to historical and Biblical scholars that the Jews were driven out of Rome because of the riots being caused by the Jews and the agitating against the Christians. The Roman biographer, Suetonius, who lived and wrote not too long after the New Testament era, says in his book ‘Divus Claudius 25,’ “as the Jews were indulging in constant riots at the instigation of Christus, Claudius banished them from Rome.” Roman authorities tell us that Christus is the Latin way of referring to Christ.
There are riots being caused because of the name of Christus, that is Christ. And because of that, the emperor Claudius drove the Jews out because they are causing so many riots and so much trouble. So again, Paul is being chased around by the Jews from city to city. He goes to Corinth. He meets up with Priscilla and Aquilla who have had to leave Rome because they’re Jewish converts to Christ. They’ve had to leave Rome because Claudius is sick of the Jews causing trouble regarding Christ.
And in Corinth, the Jews again, are angered. “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles,” Acts 18:5-6 Paul went to the Gentiles with the Gospel after all this continuing persecution.
We read in Acts 18:12, “And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat.” The Jews were constantly agitating, constantly seeking to get Paul and trouble with the legal authorities of Rome. Because of all this Jewish antagonism, because they’re chasing him from city to city, because of the danger there presenting Paul with imprisonment to Rome, Paul uses very hostile language against the Jews and he even equates them with Satan.
Remember what Jesus said in John 8:44 to the to the Jews, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” Remember, Jesus sees an apostate Judaism, a resistance to him that is so
Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16,18, “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.”
He has just said that Jews have hindered him from doing his ministry, and then he says, “I wanted to come to you again, but Satan thwarted us.” Thinking of the Jews, Paul associates them with the activity of Satan.
Now in 2 Thessalonians 3:2, right after
That’s the historical background backdrop to this occasional epistle and 2 Thessalonians 2. This epistle is written to a people for particular reason. That’s very important for us to understand who the man of lawlessness is and what it’s all about.
Despite the fact that this passage is often projected into our future or something that is coming in the last days at the very end, just before the rapture or whatever. The text itself clearly gives us information that demands that the prophecy be something current to the day in which Paul wrote. I’m going to give you four evidences that Paul is writing about something that is currently going on and it’s about to come to pass and therefore it’s almost 2000 years in our past.
Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and see that this man “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” What is the temple of God? That is the temple in Jerusalem and it’s the temple that was destroyed in age 70 AD. So this has to have reference to something going on prior to the destruction in 70 AD.
The temple of God has not been rebuilt since the year 70. That’s evidence that Paul is dealing with an issue that has some sort of reference to the temple of God, which was still standing at that time. Furthermore, notice verse 6 says, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.” Paul is writing about the man of lawlessness being presently restrained when he wrote the epistle. Is that restraint going on for 2000 more years?
Third, notice also in verse six, he says, “you know what restrains him.” The Thessalonians knew what was restraining this man of lawlessness. So the man of lawlessness was something they knew about. Now what in the world, how could they know the man of lawlessness is if he’s coming 2000 years in the future. So not only was he being restrained in their timeframe, they knew the man of lawlessness. And then finally notice verse 7, he says, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” This man of lawlessness, somehow in a mystery form, is already at work. Paul is dealing with contemporary issues relevant to that era.
Let’s now consider the judgment coming of Christ. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,” (2 Thessalonians 2:1). This is a crucial statement and this is a statement that can be easily misunderstood. I believe that this coming that he’s talking about is not his second coming at the end of history, which I believe will occur, but this is another kind of coming. His coming in judgment against the Jews in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The destruction of the temple is often spoken of as a coming.
In Revelation 1:7, it says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” I believe that that’s a reference to Jesus coming and judgment upon the Jewish temple. Now, the reason I say that is Revelation 1:11 says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Shortly take place. Then Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Why? For the time is near, he tells the people in the opening of Revelation these events are shortly to take place, because the time is near and then he gives the theme of the book which is he is coming in the clouds of judgment against those who pierced him, the Jews who caused his death. And the tribes of the land will mourn because of it. Their temple is going to be destroyed and their city, their holy city, will be laid waste.
Revelation 1:7 speaks of a judgment, coming of christ that was near at hand in John’s day. I’m saying that 2 Thessalonians 2:1 is speaking of that same judgment coming.
Matthew 24:30 says, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Four verses later, verse 34 says, “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” He is talking to the disciples who in verse one point to the stones in the temple. The disciples who heard him say in verse two, not one stone will be left on another. Who had been warned in verse 16 to flee Judea when you see these things happening. Then he says the Jews, they will see the coming of the son of man in the clouds of heaven.
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down,” (Matthew 24:1,2).
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” (Matthew 24:30)
That is the judgment coming of Christ. They will see that he is judging and then just four verses later he says, all these things will happen to this generation. Not some of these things, but all of these things. So again, this idea of coming can refer either to the physical coming of Christ at the end of history or it can refer to a spiritual judgment coming of Christ in providence, in history before the end. I think that’s what Paul is dealing with here.
I’m going to expand on this. The judgment coming of Jesus Christ against the Jews, for rejecting him is what it means, but what does it mean when he goes on to say, “by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,” (2 Thessalonians 2:1).
The Greek word for “gathered together” Here is ἐπισυναγωγῆς (episynagōgēs) and you will recognize the word synagogue in there. This word ἐπισυναγωγῆς (episynagōgēs) is only found one other time in scripture and that’s in Hebrews 10:25 which reads, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Those people were seeing the day of judgment against Israel approaching and they were not to dissimulate. They were not to avoid gathering themselves together as the body of Christ, to worship Jesus. Hebrews is warning Jews who have converted to Christ, who are beginning to go back into Judaism, don’t. Hebrews is warning them, don’t do it. Now’s the worst possible time. The temple is about to be destroyed. These Jewish converts were going back into Judaism and he’s warning them, don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Don’t forsake the episynagōgēs of yourselves together, especially as you see the day of judgment approaching.
The episynagōgēs is the gathering of Christians in one body. The synagogue is a place that you went as a crowd of Jews. They went to worship and study the word of God. That’s synagōgēs, synagogue. The Greek prefix epi intensifies it. Don’t forget that you are to gather as one body in Christ. One of the gathering together to him, I believe, refers to the fact that prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, as we see in Acts, the Christians frequented the temple. When Paul went anywhere, he always went to the synagogue first and began his evangelism. Their Christianity was really considered a sect of Judaism, which was one reason the Jews were so furious at them, because they didn’t like that sect.
Here Paul is warning, when Jesus comes in judgment against the Jews and their temple, we will be gathered into a separate and distinct body. Christianity will have its separate and distinct standing in the world and will no longer be considered a sect of Judaism. After the destruction of the temple, when the, when the Christian Jews did not help in defending the temple and they fled to Pella, then at that time it was very clear the Christians, were not going to be helping the Jews and keeping up the Judaic practices.
Remember in Acts 10, Peter received that vision just before he goes out and talks to a gentile. He would never have gone out and associated with gentiles previously, but he received that vision of the unclean animals and he is encouraged to go talk to the
We see how Christianity is so tied up in Judaism at that time that they’re even keeping the Judaic laws. And in Acts 15, some of the pharisees who had converted to Christ say, “except a man be circumcised and cannot be saved.” Christianity is considered a sect, a subset of Judaism, but after the destruction of the temple, no more. There’s no more either in the eyes of Rome, in the eyes of Israel or in the eyes of the Christians.
So this gathering together, this coming Judgment of Jesus and their gathering together means Jesus is going to destroy the temple. The Christians will be very clearly a separate and distinct gathering of people. They will have their own ecclesia, which means a called-out assembly.
Paul is warning them that the destruction of the temple is coming and it hasn’t happened yet. Now notice in 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul writes, “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” Now he’s talking about the day of the Lord and he says, don’t let anybody fool you and say, the day of the Lord has come. Because if it has come and they don’t see anything that looks like a day of the Lord type event, then it looks like Christ’s prophecy regarding the day of the Lord has failed or it means something altogether different than what they were taught. So Paul is warning them not to be fooled by these agitators who say the day of the Lord came and nothing happened.
What is the day of the Lord in Acts 2:19-21? When Peter standing up and preaching at pentecost warns that the episode of the pouring out of the spirit upon the church at that time shows that God is moving in history in a different way than he had in the past and with the giving of the spirit to his people. And he says, in conjunction with that coming of the spirit, “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The initial speaking in tongues were a sign that there was a judgment coming, the day of the Lord and that came in 70 AD.
And then he preached own a little further down in the passage. And he says, “before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come, and it shall be that everyone, not just the Jews, but everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The giving of the spirit at that point in time was an indicator that God was coming in judgment. There will be blood, fire, vapor, smoke, and the destruction of the temple so that the whole world can now be reached out to with the gospel, rather than just narrowly confined Israel. Then he says in verse 40, to the J
This generation is the one that’s going to see the day of the Lord. You need to be saved out of this or you’re going to be judged with it. That’s why the Christians sold their property in Jerusalem. They knew that zero value is what’s coming for their property because it was going to be destroyed by Titus. They didn’t know exactly when, but they knew it was in their generation, so they freely gave up their property. Only in Jerusalem. It’s the only place it ever happened. I’m not diminishing the fact that Christians were doing something noble, but it’s a matter of fact. They had a prophecy that said, get out of Jerusalem.
In Thessalonica, some unscrupulous people had begun saying that the day of the Lord had already come. “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand,” (2 Thessalonians 2:2).
The word troubled is the Greek word throeisthe and it’s only found one other place in scripture. It’s found in Jesus’ prophecy regarding the destruction of the temple. Mark 13:5-7 “And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled (throeisthe): for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.”
And here we can look back to Jesus. He said, “don’t let anyone mislead you. Many will come in my name saying I am. He and will mislead many. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened.” Those things must take place.
Paul is urging that the Thessalonians not be confused by false reports that the day of the Lord has come. Christ has not yet come in judgment against the Jews to separate christianity finally, from Judaism, for the rest of human history. If the day of the Lord has come and the Jews are still doing just fine, then the day of the Lord was nothing to worry about. That’s the thought behind all of this.
Paul says in verse 3, “let no one in any way to save you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness be revealed, the son of destruction.” In other words, these are signs that the day of the Lord is coming, and until you see those signs, that day of the Lord can’t come. You haven’t seen those signs. Therefore the day of the Lord hasn’t come. You see the logic of Paul there?
So let’s look now at the apostasy in the man of lawlessness. He says, “the day of the lord cannot come until the apostasy comes and the man of lawlessness be revealed,” be known and open to all. Both of these must occur before anyone can say the day of the Lord has come, but what are these things?
What is the apostasy? The Greek word for
The word revolt there is
That’s religious apostasy, their sin against God. But wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. Since they’ve sinned against God, they will politically be destroyed by the Romans in their apostasy from Rome. It’s ready to break out upon them so that religious apostasy and political apostasy are merged in this thought pattern. The priority I believe goes to the political apostasy itself. The Jews falling away from God led to their revolt against Rome so that God could judge their temple and remove it from history. Because “He came unto his own, and his own received him not,”(John 1:11). Because they cried, “his blood, be upon us and our children away with him, give us Barabbas and crucify him,” (Matthew 27:25-26).
Because they did that against God’s son, their Saviour, their
That parable is a clear prophecy regarding the fact that Jews are rejecting jesus and their city is going to be destroyed by some armies who are going to burn it. That’s exactly what happened in 70 AD. In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul is emphasizing the revolt against Rome because the revolt against Rome, will lead you into apostasy. It is cumulative, and there’s not one event that makes them apostatize, but it’s a series of defections from God. And so it’s not something you could date. But as soon as the Jews revolt against Rome and Nero Caesar commissions Vespasian to send his armies down there, that’s datable. In fact, it occurs in 66 AD when the Jews revolt, and then in early 67, Nero commissions Vespasian to go in and conquer them. That’s datable.
Everybody knows when the Jewish War erupts. Sitting in a narrow timeframe there that you can put these events together and say, this is it. It’s coming.
Nero is the man of lawlessness.
What is the man of lawlessness? The apostasy is the Jewish revolt against Rome, the day of the Lord will not occur until that happens. The Jewish revolt against Rome broke out in late 66. And it’s that datable. The man of lawlessness is not the pope. It is Nero. He is the one who is lawless and who desires to sit in the temple.
Now look at verse four. “He 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.” If you know anything at all about first century imperial history, you will have heard of emperor worship. Nero thought of himself as Apollo. He minted coins that had his head on it with the rays of the sun going out from it to emulate the god Apollo, who is the Sun God.
When the Parthian king Tiridates came before Nero, he bowed before him and laid crowns at his feet and said, “Master, I have come to thee, my god, to worship thee as I do Mithras. The destiny thou spinnest for me shall be mine, for thou art my Fortune and my Fate.” (Payaslian, 29). Nero thought of himself as god. And when it says so that he takes a seat in the temple of god that doesn’t require that he actually sat in god’s temple, but the Greek language there is such that he desired to do so.
For instance, in Luke 4:29, it says, the Jews “led him (Jesus) unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.” And if you read the story, they didn’t cast him down, he eluded them, but that was their intent. And that same grammatical structure is found in this passage in 2 Thessalonians. It is Nero’s desire to present himself as god and he would even desire to be in the temple and to be worshiped as god.
We need to go to point of the restrainer that is already working. “And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time,” (2 Thessalonians 2:6). Paul is writing in the year 52 AD. Nero is not yet the emperor. Claudius is the current emperor.
As long as Claudius is alive, Nero can’t do any evil trouble or show himself to be any danger to anybody. But once Claudius dies, then Nero seizes the throne and he can soon thereafter begin showing himself to be the evil man that we know him to be. Nero’s mother Agrippina is married to Claudius. Claudius is not his father, but she’s married to Claudius. She poisons her husband so her son can come to the throne. So the mystery of iniquity is Agrippina working in the background to kill Claudius so that Nero can come to the throne. It’s only when Nero ascends to the throne that the mystery of lawlessness is revealed. He can now act and show himself to be the danger that he is. He couldn’t do it in 52, but just a few years later, he comes to the throne.
We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” In scripture, the coming of God, like in Isaiah 19:1 and other passages is a judgment coming against the particular people. Nero died in the year 68, just before the temple was destroyed. Nero, died providentially under the governance of God. His imperial guard killed him or caused him to kill himself. Instead of looking at it secularly, Paul a interprets it in terms of religious reality, Jesus destroyed this evil man. And even though he used Nero’s own sword in a suicide to do it, it’s Jesus destroying him just before he comes in judgment upon the temple.
Second Thessalonians chapter two is a passive event, contemporary with Paul’s ministry. We saw in the first place that there are obvious parallels with Matthew 24, which we know was to occur in this generation. We saw a reference to the temple standing in verse four. We know it was destroyed in 70 AD. We saw a reference to the present restraint of the man of lawlessness. We saw that the Thessalonians knew the restrainer in verse six. How could they have known the identity of someone living 2000 years in the future? We saw the mystery operation of the man of lawlessness was working during Paul’s day. He says it is already at work.
The mystery is what’s going on in the court. Intrigue in the background of verse six or verse seven, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. In other words, Agrippina is in the background plotting the death of Claudius so that the lawless one, Nero can come forth.
This my understanding of that passage. I am open to correction in some of the details, but one thing we definitely know from scripture is that the “man of lawlessness,” “the son of perdition,” was contemporary to the time of Paul’s writing.
When Was Revelation Written and Why Is It Important?
The date of the Book of Revelation has a great impact on our understanding of the Bible. Not just on the Book of Revelation, but in many other Biblical books, too. There are basically two views of when the Revelation was written. The “
My conviction is that John wrote the book of Revelation prior to the destruction of the temple, probably somewhere around 65 or 66. The temple was destroyed 70 AD and that is what Jesus prophesied. Revelation also deals with the death of Nero Caesar and that was in 68.
The more popular view is that John wrote the Book of Revelation after the destruction of the temple. In fact, 25 years after during the close of the reign of the emperor Domitian. And so there’s about a 25 or 30 year gap between the two views of the early date and the late date.
The date of Revelation is an important issue. We’ve got to recognize that the letters in the New Testament are written to particular churches regarding particular situations. They’re called occasional epistles because they’re dealing with certain occasions for the life of the people of that day. The Book of Revelation is written in letter format, although it’s distinctly different from most of the Pauline epistles.
The issue of the date of Revelation is very important because a letter is being written or actually, seven letters are being written to churches. Then those letters are dealing with issues that those churches are dealing with. We n
Is John dealing with something that is off in the far distant future, even in the future from our time, or is he writing to about something in the near future for those particular seven churches that he was writing to?
To understand, we need to know Revelation’s date, even though it’s only 25 years separating the two possible options. Twenty five from 70 AD or a little earlier to 95 AD. Enormous events transpire during that period. For instance, in 70 AD, in about August, the temple of Israel, which was the second temple of Israel, was destroyed. The first was destroyed in the Old Testament.
About 500 BC, the second temple was rebuilt and it was the temple Jesus ministered in. The period from about 500 BC to 70 AD is called Second Temple Judaism. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD. and it’s never been rebuilt since. So from 70 AD onwards, Judaism was changed. In fact, Judaism changed from biblical Judaism based on scriptures including Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, those books that deal with the form of worship of Israel in the tabernacle, and then after that in the temple. Judaism changed from Biblical Judaism to Rabbinic Judaism and that that’s a radical change for Israel. No longer is Judaism rooted in the particular Mosaic revelation as it had been historically, but now it’s rooted in a rabbinic tradition. That’s a huge change for Judaism. Some historians even called Titus, the general who actually destroyed the temple, the greatest ever religious reformer because he so changed and impacted Judaism with the destruction of the temple.
So in 70 AD, this enormous event that changes Judaism occurs. Therefore, what we are witnessing is the end of the old covenant economy that had governed the people of God throughout the Old Testament period, even into the New Testament period. Jesus ministered in the temple and even Paul minister in the temple with preaching and so we have something of enormous significance for redemptive history occurring in 70 AD.
If the Book of Revelation was written before that, and I believe it is, it could be the case that the prophecies, those dramatic prophecies of judgment deal with that great catastrophic event. However, if the Book of Revelation was written afterwards at 95 AD, about 25 years after the temple vanished from the scene of earth history, then it would not be as practical to argue that the Book of Revelation was dealing with the destruction of the temple.
The Book of Revelation deals with events that are going to impact the lives of the seven churches of the first century. It deals with events that are changing the way God is worshiped and even the structure of God’s people. God, through Titus and through the Roman emperors, destroys the temple and formally and officially closes the old covenant economy. This event is referenced all over the New Testament.
“The early date of Revelation is now accepted by perhaps the majority of scholars.” Phillip Schaff’s editorial note to Warfield’s “Revelation” article in Schaff, Encyclopedia 3:2026 This was in the 1800’s before Darbyism.
Late date advocate William Milligan stated, “Recent scholarship has, with little exception, decided in favor of the earlier and not the later date.” Milligan, Lectures On The Apocalypse p. 75 (1892
What I’d like to do now is turn from the idea that it is important to determine the date to the proof of the date. What I want to focus on are three key pieces of the evidence that are found within the Book of Revelation itself. Those pieces of evidence deal with architectural issues, sociological issues, and political issues. I’ll explain what that means is I work through these one by one.
Let’s first deal with the architectural evidence for the early date of Revelation. When we look into the Book of Revelation, we find in Revelation 11:1,2 that John is commanded to act, to do something and notice what he’s commanded to do. “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months,” (Revelation 11:1,2)
So what we have here is that the Jewish temple is still standing when John is writing the Book of Revelation. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD, but if it’s still standing at this time,
He is not writing about a temple 2000 or 3000 years in the future. According to his own introduction, he is writing about a temple, but it must be a temple who’s destruction lies in the near future. And so this is a dogmatic statement. It’s clear, it’s an opening to the whole book. And when we look at this statement regarding that temple, we found that the temple there is in the holy city. It is in a holy city when John writes. Jerusalem is called the holy city, throughout the Bible, in Daniel 4, Matthew 4, Matthew 27 and in Revelation. So we have a good candidate for the location of this temple as Jerusalem, the holy city. And then, it’s interesting that in Revelation 11:8, just six verses after 11:2, we find that the city is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, but it’s a place where Lord was their Lord was crucified.
“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified,” (Revevelation 11:8).
And so when we asked the question, which city which was called the holy city, it was the place where the Lord was crucified. What city’s that? That is Jerusalem. And that’s first century Jerusalem. So we have John commanded to a measure temple in reference to his coming destruction. We have a reference to it being in a holy city, which throughout scripture points to Jerusalem. It is even designated as the place where Jesus was crucified. There’s only one temple that stood in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified, and that’s the temple of the first century.
Now, another piece of evidence in regards to this temple we’ve got to recognize is when you lay down Revelation 11:1-2 right next to Luke 21:24, you’ll notice strong parallels between those.
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” (Luke 21:24).
Luke 21 is dealing with the temple in which Jesus was standing at that very moment. In Luke 21:5-7, his disciples asked him a question about the temple and in Luke 21:6, he says, “there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down“. But then a few verses later Luke 21:24. He says, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” which is basically saying the same thing as Revelation 11:2 which says “it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
Notice the shared expressions concerning Jerusalem. Holy City, trampled underfoot, trampled underfoot, gentiles, gentiles, and then a timeframe mentioned in both both cases. Now everyone knows, even dispensationalist agree, that Luke 21:24 is dealing with the destruction of the temple in the year 70 AD.
It’s remarkable that John, writing the Book of Revelation, not only mentions a temple standing in the holy city, but he reflects the very language that Jesus used in Luke 21:24. The very same language is taken up by John in Revelation 11:2.
Since there’s that strong parallel with Revelation 11 and Luke 21. Since Luke 21 is dated with the destruction of the temple, it seems fairly obvious to me that John is referring to the destruction of that temple in the first century. It is further evidence that both Jesus’ prophecy in Luke 21:24 and John’s prophecy in Revelation 11:2 are referencing the Jewish Wars because John says they will trample underfoot the holiest city for 42 months.
That is when it’s a full scale Roman war against Jerusalem. It began in spring of 67 AD, when Vespacian entered Israel. And the temple was destroyed in August of 70 AD, which is a period of right at 42 months. Likewise in Luke 21, Jesus says, “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.
And what it means by that, I believe, is that in the past the gentiles could destroy the temple and attack God’s people. But now that the temple’s going to be removed by God, the gentiles will no longer be able to attack the people of God at a central location and destroy the people of God because Christianity is spread throughout the world. It’s not localized in one particular temple. And so to attack Christianity, it’s all over the place.
The second amount of evidence is the sociological evidence. That is when we look at the role of the Jews and the Book of Revelation. We’re going to see that the relationship between Christianity and Judaism fits the time in which the temple was still standing. That is it, just the time before 70 AD, because for instance, in Revelation 3:9, we read, Jesus is writing this letter to the church. “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”
Now, when he speaks of the synagogue, it’s very obvious that he’s speaking of that same Jewish institution. Now he calls it a synagogue of Satan. He’s picking up on what Jesus said in John 8:44, when Jesus says, “Ye are of your father the devil,” when he’s talking to the leaders of Israel. So here Jesus is denouncing the synagogue system for having rejected him, having persecuted his followers and having a slain him. He’s rejecting them and denouncing them as a synagogue of Satan who claimed that they are Jews.
But Paul said they’re not really Jews. One who is truly a Jew is one who is circumcised in the heart. He’s not outward in the flesh. The seed of Abraham are those who believe in Christ.
Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
John 8:39 “They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.”
In Revelation 3:9, Jesus says, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.“
Now, the concept here is seems to me to be clear that as John writes to that first century church, in that particular letter, he is telling them that soon these Jews who are persecuting you, who Jesus designates a synagogue of Satan because of the persecution, he is designating them as subject to a coming humiliation. I will make them come and worship before your feet. It is looking forward to a time in which the Jews will be subject to judgment, and so that time is in the future. I will make them come and worship at your feet. I will cause them to be subdued in your presence is what that means. So here we have some sociological evidence that it’s used in Revelation according to that letter, which is by Jesus Christ himself. According to that letter in Revelation 3:9, they will soon be locked into humiliation at the feet of the Christian.
We’ve looked at the architectural evidence. The temple was still standing, so it’s about to be destroyed. We’ve looked at the sociological evidence that the Jews are still in pestering the Christians with persecution and things of that sort, but according to Revelation 3:9, they were about to be humiliated. They will come and have to bow down and defeated the Christians, which means I believe what he’s saying is that they will be judged for their treatment of Christ and the treatment of Christ.
The final evidence is the political evidence in Revelation 17:9-10. “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.“
John sees a vision earlier in the first few verses of Revelation 17 and an angel comes to him. The angel tells John what the vision means. The Angel is explaining a vision not obscuring it. He says, “here’s the mind which has wisdom.” In other words, “John, if you want to be wise and mind, listen to what I’m telling you. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits and they are seven kings. Five have fallen, one is ruling now and the other has not yet come and when he comes he must remain a short while.”
Now everyone agrees, all commentators agree, that the seven heads representing seven mountains is pointing to the famous seven hills of Rome. This is a reference to Rome. Remember, John was writing letters to the churches there in Asia minor about issues they’re facing and when he talks about the seven headed beast and interprets the set of hills as representing seven mountains, the people would naturally recognize this, a clear geographical reference. It would be universally recognized as an allusion to the seven hills of Rome. Somehow this beast is associated with the seven hills of Rome.
The angel also adds one more explanatory detail. Not only is the seven headed beast representative of Rome and has seven hills, but the seven heads of the beast are according to Revelation 17:10, are seven kings. One is, the other is yet to come. When he comes, he must remain a little while. Now these seven kings obviously are the kings of the Roman Empire that existed whenever John wrote his, whether it’s 70 or 95. They are the emperor of the Roman Empire, which are represented by the seven hilled city of Rome.
As a matter of fact, if you count the Caesars from Julius Caesar up to the present day where John is writing, you will find that he is dealing with the reigning caesars from Julius Caesar, which is number one. Number two Augustus. Nero was the sixth, so we see five have fallen. Five have died, leaving Nero the sixth. The one reigning when John penned evelation. Nero died in the year 68, in June. So this means that the one that now is he still living and the one that now is, is the sixth in a line of seven that are of interest to John.
John says the one left in the seven kings has not yet come. And when he comes he must remain a little while. Well, interestingly, when Nero dies in June of 68 AD, Galba is the very next Caesar to arise on the scene. Galba comes to power in June of 68 with the death of Nero, but he only rules a few months before he himself is killed. He rules from June 8 of 68 to January 15th of 69, just a little over six months. So interestingly, John says that five kings have fallen, one is and one who’s coming
This is pretty substantial evidence that John wrote prior to the destruction of the temple and 70 AD, because he’s dealing with the soon coming death of Nero Caesar. The sixth emperor, who is Nero, is currently ruling and is not yet dead. Therefore, John must be writing from a time before June 68. I believe this is a strong political feature of the book of Revelation that points to a pre-70 AD date for the writing of the Book of Revelation.
To summarize, we’ve have architectural evidence, dealing with the hard fact of the first century that the temple was still standing and we know it disappeared in 70 AD. We’re dealing with a coming judgment of the Jews according to Revelation 3:9. It’s a coming judgment of the Jews and can we know that happened in 70 AD. We have a historical political entity that has seven heads, that represents seven mountains, that’s imperial Rome. And finally, John associates the seven headed beast with the reign of the Caesars, from Julius up to Nero and to Galbo.
And once again, we are placed prior to the destruction of the temple 70 AD. We have architectural, sociological, and political evidence that the Book of Revelation was written by John prior to the destruction of the temple.
The first century churches that received the Book of Revelation originally were the seven churches in Asia Minor. They knew when it was written because they got the letters not long after it was written. And he’s writing to them about their own historical experience, their own spiritual growth or lack of growth. And he’s dealing with issues that they know full well because it is a part of their own ecclesiological experience. And so when, when he writes this book to those churches, John is telling them that these events are shortly to take place because the time is at hand.
They begin to understand how the Jews that had been persecuting them and put Jesus to death. Those Jews are going to be judged by Jesus. Jesus. Jesus himself prophesied, “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation,” (Matthew 23:34-36).
They recognize the teaching of Christ in the teaching of John. This is strong evidence that John is writing the Book of Revelation and sending it to the first century churches regarding events that they were having to deal with. We have political evidence, the sociological evidence and the architectural evidence in it.
It’s a strong and compelling case that the book must have been written prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.
What is the Davidic Covenant? 2 Samuel 7
What is the Davidic Covenant?
“And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.” 2 Samuel 7:1-3
In 2 Sa
He’s having a conversation with Nathan the prophet pointing out, “I dwell in this nice house of Cedar, but the Ark of God is behind tent curtains.” This is the first time we’ve heard of Nathan. You know the story of David, you know that it won’t be the last time. Nathan is that prophet who in the most poignant moment of all, probably in David’s career, said to David, “thou art the man.” Nathan is going to have an ongoing significance, but we don’t really know where he came from.
We are given any genealogy of the fellow. He just shows up and obviously has some kind of access to the david, the king. This conversation is going on and David remarks to Nathan, “I’m living in a nice house. It’s a house of Cedar.” In the ancient world, it took a few years to build a house of Cedar.
This was a rather unusual structure. The wood had to be shipped in from Phoenicia up to the north. It was expensive. It probably took several years to build. David was anointed king when he was 30 years old and that means he’s probably now 35 or 36. Maybe as many as five or six years have passed since that time. David’s house would have been quite a spectacle in ancient Jerusalem at that moment.
Most people in Israel were still living in fairly rude structures, not tents, but not necessarily anything quite as fancy as a Cedar House. David uses that as a justification to draw this remarkable contrast between the nice house that he’s living in and the rather humble abode in which God is still residing. The ark is in a little tent in the middle of Jerusalem. It seems pretty obvious that there’s something out of order in this particular arrangement.
Nathan sees the obvious point, and without really questioning too much his judgment, he simply says, go and do all the design. Your heart for the Lord is with you.
It’s a little too rash. We can’t really fault Nathan too much at this point because why would he suspect that this wasn’t exactly the next thing that should happen? As we read the rest of chapter 7, we discover that it didn’t turn out to be that way. Nathan goes home and is interrupted his good night’s sleep by presumably a vision or a word from the Lord that corrects his initial impression and says that it’s a different plan that’s going to apply it with David.
A little word of warning for all of us. Sometimes the obviously right thing to do isn’t. We should always be bathing our decisions with prayerful review before the throne of God, before we just jump right in, assuming that we’ve got a good angle on what’s supposed to be done.
Nathan doesn’t try to cover up this little foible, this little miscalculation. He immediately goes back to David, corrects his earlier advice to him and thus give some evidence that even though he’d miss guided David once, he was nevertheless truly a prophet from God. So the message is given to Nathan who is going to deliver it to David. It’s a lengthy message. It begins right here. It’s sometimes called the “Davidic Covenant.” It’s the promise that God makes to David.
It comes to us in three paragraphs, the first one, highlighting the past. So the focus here is God’s dealings with Israel from the inception of the nation, the exodus, and highlighting that from that time God had been with his people on the move. He could have gone back to Abraham, because really the whole history of God’s dealings with his people has shown how God goes with them. But especially in the Exodus account, and especially as God’s people are in the wilderness and God is tabernacled among them, we have this sense that God is moving along with them in their presence there and they in his.
Then the second paragraph focuses on David and again, the emphasis is how God has been with David as it were on the move. So when David was running from Saul and the Judean wilderness, when David was in the land of the Philistines, all that time, God was with him.
David didn’t quite know that. At some points, David had questions about whether God could be accessed when he’s in the land of the Philistines, but eventually was able to get that clear. And so once again we’re going to see a little hint of the future in which God will again be on the move with his people.
This is the critical part of this whole prophecy. Even though Israel is going be stabilized and not moving around so much, all of that is conceived of as a preparation in which eventually the temple, will again be on the move. A greater temple, a living organic temple, of which Christ is the cornerstone. We are living stones in it and in a sense what’s happening now. In the meantime, his preparation is being made for that coming Messiah, that coming son of David.
And so the third part of this, which is really the guts of this whole prophecy to David, is again going to emphasize finally in a subtle sort of way, God on the move. And here God is with us and over the whole planet we find God is with his people going into all the world making disciples of the nations.
So this is really a critical moment in the Old Testament story of David. And it begins, as I say, with a highlight on the past. “I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent in a tabernacle.” So this idea that God has been in motion with his people, the most seat of frequently cited incident of Israel’s history is the Exodus.
“Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?” 1 Samuel 7:5-7
The Exodus is referred to more than any other single event in the history of Israel in the Old Testament because it’s the defining moment in which God creates a nation. Baptizes them as it were in the Red Sea, takes them out in the wilderness and from that point on lives with them as a nomad.
For 40 years in the wilderness, they’re moving from here to there, constantly shuffling around, putting up tents, setting up the camp. In the beginning, the ark is with them outside the camp in what is called the tent of meeting, but eventually we have the tabernacle of Yahweh in the camp, in the very middle of it. All of the tribes are arranged, more or less orbiting around this central tabernacle. It’s quite a remarkable idea.
It’s a rather stunning idea that God is moving around with his people. Even when they enter the promised land under Joshua, God is still transitioning around in a sort of semipermanent structure. In the book of Samuel at Shiloh, Eli presides over the Tabernacle and the worship that’s conducted there.
God is always on the move. And this is the agenda under this little story. It’s a subtle point to Christ, because in a sense, even though we have a stationary temple for a time, not long, a thousand years or so. David’s living about the year 1000 BC. Solomon’s temple is destroyed and rebuilt. Then that temple is torn down, in 70 AD, because Christ tells us, we are the temple.
And once again, the temple is rolling out of town on wheels going into the world. And once again in a consummate expression of a mobile deity, we are the very vehicle’s of God’s presence in this world. So the temple was kind of a little pause in this motif of God being on the move.
God dwelling in a tent certainly suggests that God was on the move, having a throne on wheels. If you’ve read the first few chapters of Ezekial, you remember that remarkable image of a great throne on wheels that was known as a battle throne. It was the throne by which a king would go into battle. And that’s the imagery Ezekiel wants to invoke as we think of God having a ministry to his exiled people in Babylon. God is there, his throne is on wheels. He isn’t locked in Jerusalem. He’s with them there. That’s the whole point Ezekiel is making.
It’s good to build centers of worship, but caution must always be exercised that we avoid settling down in such a place. It should be viewed more as an upper room from which we proceed to go forth doing God’s work in the world. And in many ways, the story of David and this encounter with him is intended to highlight that. So that’s the first little paragraph, God being on the move with his people going clear back to the Exodus and before verse eight.
The second paragraph. “Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.” 1 Samuel 7:8-9
A shepherd is on the move. He’s the one that leads the sheep around and that’s where David started out his career, being a shepherd over God’s people. A thousand years later, the shepherd King Christ calls himself the Good Shepherd. He’s a king who has that same kind of image associated with him. And again, God emphasizes to David, “I’ve been on the move with you, David, I’ve been you with you wherever you have gone and you and I’ve cut off your enemies from before you and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.” So just as Yahweh had been on the move with his people, God has been on the move with David.
That’s the second paragraph. God has been with his people, Israel. He’s been with David. And now we come to the heart of the matter. This third paragraph in which Nathan has told to Tell David, “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.” v. 10-11
So we have a little change here. The whole emphasis has been God on the move. And now all of a sudden, a momentary pause. Where is this place? At the crossroads of the ancient world, right in the middle of the Fertile Crescent, a heavily used transit point. A trade route at the east side of the Mediterranean. And there God says, “I’m going to plant them. I’m going to provide a temporary but necessary stability in preparation for what is coming.”
So something more is going to happen in the future and to prepare for that. Now, a little pause from all this moving around. This pause won’t last forever. The exile moved the people of Israel out of their land. That took place only 500 years after David, and they were on the move from that point on. Most Jewish people living outside of Israel and the diaspora population. But at least for a time here, we have God’s people in a kind of staging area, in preparation for the moment when Messiah would come and say, “the kingdom has now arrived.The kingdom is here”
This is now a different moment of all of human history. So rest from his enemies, rest to allow for a preparation for the coming Messiah. That’s Israel’s chief purpose in the rest of the Old Testament. Preparing for the coming of Messiah, preparing poetically in the psalms, preparing in literary ways, preparing prophetically with the great pronouncements of the prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, all of the prophets, even the minor prophets. Every one of them
All that preparatory information is provided. The punchline of this paragraph is of course, the last line David had said to Nathan, “I want to build a house for God,” and God comes back and says, “nope, sorry, I’m going to build a house for you.” And that’s exactly what God is going to do. It’s a little pun on the word house. David said, “I’m going to build a house, a temple,” but the word can mean a dynasty and that’s the way it comes back to David.
God promises, “I’m going to build you a dynasty, a house in the sense of something that is going to continue well beyond your life, well beyond your immediate ability to construct or do. David, when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom.”
Now, this reference to David’s seed is part of what’s called by some “the seed motif” of the Old Testament. What’s happening here is David does have a son, his seed as it were, and our first instinct would be to read this and assume it’s referring to Solomon. If we didn’t have more information at our disposal. That’s what we would assume. And in some ways that’s correct, but the seed idea goes way back. The Protoevangelium, way back in Genesis 3:15, when Adam and Eve sinned and the serpent is being judged by God. God pronounces against the serpent a judgment, a condemnation, referring to what you might call the seed of the human race of Adam and Eve. “I will put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, crush your head while you bruise his heel”
And now it narrows even further. The fourth occasion of this seed idea being invoked because now within the human race, within the land of Israel, within the tribe of Judah is a particular person and it’s that man’s seed who is in fact highlighted. So the verse before it says, I will set up your seed after you. And that becomes thematic.
We have that very cryptic and anticipated work of Christ. But that would become more clear when the seed of the human race now becomes the seed of a particular nation of the human race. Abraham’s nation, the seed of the nation of Israel. So Abraham is told, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)
The first thought you would have would be that this would refer to Solomon, as indeed it does. So Solomon was the one initially to build this temple. The message to David continues. He’ll build a house for my name, referring at least in the first instance to Solomon. I will establish the throne of his kingdom within something that probably took David’s breath away a little bit. I’ll establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
The seed of Abraham becomes the seed of a particular tribe in Abraham’s lineage, the nation of Israel With Jacob, we have God pronouncing blessings on the 12 patriarchs. He comes to Judah and of Judah, God promises, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” (Genesis 49:10)
So Solomon would indeed build a great temple within that temple would be the throne to the Jewish understanding. The true place of rule in this world was the ark and the one who ruled was on that so called mercy seat, which was also could have been a judgment seat, but it was certainly a throne between the Cherubim. And this is the place from which not just Israel, but the entire world was ruled. And many of the Psalms of David celebrate that this temple is a house of prayer for the nations. The idea that this would be the place, the central locus of authority of God in this world for the coming generations, but then we have this final comment that it will be the case that this rule will be there for ever.
“I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he
So Amos says in Amos 9:11 “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.” The house of David fell, but the promise of Amos was that some day it would be rebuilt. In Acts Chapter 15:1,17, James ties the work of Christ to that prediction of Amos. “After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.”
“But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” (2 Samuel 7:15,16)
This is why we like this chapter, because we as New Testament Christians look to that promise made to David a thousand years before the birth of Christ and say, “That was predicting the one in whom we’ve placed our confidence and our faith and everything that was promised to David has been realized in him and we in many ways are the beneficiaries of promises that were made here.”
Saul had been removed, but now David’s kingdom would be established from this point on. The Old Testament is replete with reiterations of this promise. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9) And we have this great promise that through Messiah, the rule of God would be carried to the world. The good news of
From this point on the seed of David, this branch of Jesse as it’s sometimes referred
Jesus first sermon when he shows up in the narrative of the new testament is a very short sermon, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
“Repent and get ready because the kingdom that you’ve been waiting for, the kingdom that has been anticipated and all the prophetic announcements down through hundreds of years has, it’s here! The train just rolled into the station. So wake up. This is it. Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven has arrived.”
It’s a kingdom that came to Israel because where else could it come? That is where that great sanctuary had been built, but he didn’t stay there. Jerusalem was dismantled in 70 AD. Not one stone was left upon another of that physical temple because it was always only scaffolding. Preparing for the true temple. And the New Testament repeatedly and emphatically tells us we are the temple. Don’t you know you are the temple? And that makes us now the realization in some ways of all that had been predicted by God to David.
Nathan jotted that down and ran right over to see David. Nathan spoke to David, who I imagine listened with stunned astonishment. The first half of Second Samuel, Chapter Seven is God’s Word to David. The last half you might say was David’s word to God and so now we see the flip side of it as David expresses his response to this remarkable prediction.
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and he said, “Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Samuel 7:18)
He begins by saying, “Who am I? Who in the world am I that you have done even what you’ve done for me so far. And yet what you’ve done is relatively small compared to what you’re proposing to do in this great future.” And David then acknowledges, (verse 20), that God knows this unworthy servant. God knows David doesn’t warrant by personal virtue or any kind great sterling character on his part. That kind of blessing that’s being described, you can only attribute all of this blessing to the fundamental integrity and goodness and grace of God himself.
So David has disclaimed personal virtue. He’s insisted rather that this is all God’s goodness.
“And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God.” (2 Samuel 7:23-24) As God called to himself Israel, so now he calls all men to him to create a people unique unto him.
We’re reminded in the Old Testament, the blessing on Israel had nothing to do with the virtue of Israel. It was again, the unmitigated determination of God to bless them, not the fact that their behavior often warranted that blessing. The question, who is like your peoples? What he’s responding to. It’s a fair question abundantly sustained by the facts of history. What other nation on earth is like your people Israel, he continues. The record can be explained only on the score that God went to redeem for himself, a people bereft of all outward material characteristics by which we commonly judge a nation to be great. Things like political unity, economic security, military power. They were possessed of no independence, sovereignty for thousands of years, let alone empire. Yet Israel was the repository and channel for the loftiest revelations of God’s nature and purpose.
This people that stands out in a unique status in the ancient world preparing the way as God had promised David that they would for the coming of Messiah. I need to remind you as well, that the New Testament emphatically declares that the true Israel are those who are of faith in Christ. He is not a Jew, Paul says, who is simply born a Jew, a true Jew, a true member of Israel is one who has faith in Christ, who has been baptized into Christ, clothed himself with Christ.
As Paul says explicitly in Galatians chapter three, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Galatians 3:6-7)
So this is something God has done. It’s his sovereign work.
The chapter ends with these words: “And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it
David had desired to advance the cause of the true religion by building a structure, a temple, but the text generally stands as a warning that structure, institutions, ceremony, external ritual can all become an end in themselves depriving the worshiper of the true aim of religious observance.
Certainly that temple became a magnificent locus venue for worship, but we know that by the time Christ arrived, it had become thoroughly corrupted. Jesus could address himself to the very leaders of the religious institutions associated with that temple and call them “a den of vipers” because they had drifted so far from the actual vision of what true worship was supposed to be.
And there is a little bit of a warning already implied in what we hear at this point. Here is the ideal prayer of a father for his children: “I pray that my kids go to church. I pray that they participate in the church, but more than all of that, I pray that they will be people that have genuine faith.” Now I think a person of genuine faith goes to church. Don’t get me wrong, but at the heart of the matter, just going to church, just singing hymns, just saying a prayer without faith is as Paul says, useless, worthless.
David had a remarkable destiny that was revealed to him, the outlines of it that was staggering to him. Each of us has a destiny, a future known only to God, of the influence a faithful life will have on generations to come, such that we live for the benefit of seed we’ve never met.
The Letters To The Seven Churches In Revelation
What was the meaning and purpose of the letters written to the seven churches? What is the historical background and are they relevant to us today?
The Apocalypse, the Revelation of Christ was written to seven churches. These are definite locations in what’s called Asia minor or western Turkey. John wrote the letter from the island of Patmos, which is about 90 miles off the coast. Patmos was a prison island, and so it’s not surprising that John would be there during this persecution that was only barely getting underway empire-wide. It started under Nero and 64 by 65. The probable date of this letter. It’s now spread in fits and starts to various parts of the empire. It is spreading and affecting Christian people there.
Among them, these seven churches, which are part of the population in Asia Minor, the seven churches actually are named in
If you’ve read the letters, you know there’s a basic structure to them that’s fairly predictable. You start out with a reference to the author. For the most part, the author is identified based on some of these descriptions of Jesus from chapter one. “These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.” That’s how we hear the letter to Ephesians start.
“This is the word of the son of God whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” You see that in the letter that’s addressed to Thyatira and so on. So these wonderfully colorful images of Christ are used to drive home particular messages to these particular churches based on what their particular need might be. Each letter, with the exception of two, has a commendation. Two of them don’t warrant any commendation at all. Two of them don’t warrant any criticism, and so they get only commendation. The other three have a mixed kind of message to them.
The two churches that are only praised and not criticized are the two that seemed to have been exposed to the most severe level of persecution thus far.
Those are the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia. The two churches that are criticized and not praised seemed to be the ones that have escaped persecution so far. Those are the churches of Sardis and Laodicea. The other three get a mixed review. They seem to be experiencing some degree of persecution there, commended mostly for how they’re responding, and yet at the same time there’s some slippage in their faithfulness. Those are Ephasis, Pergamum and Thyatira.
The first of the churches, just to briefly look at them, is the church in Ephesus.
Revelation 2 :1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are
Ephesus is well known to us. Paul was there for almost three years on his third missionary journey. He spent more time in Ephesus than any other single community during his missionary journeys. It was a huge city, about 250,000 people, which made it a huge, huge city by ancient standards. It was a center of commerce and worship and pagan religion. We also know of course it had a church that was founded by the Apostle Paul. The Church was commended for its orthodoxy and its hard work. “I know your hard work and your perseverance. I know you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles and are not and found them false. You have persevered and endured hardship for my name and have not grown weary.”
All of that is great praise for this community. The problem is that while they were very strong in orthodoxy, they had really lost the fervor of their faith. It had just become a kind of doggedly determined, gutting it out sort of experience, and so they’re chastised a bit for having lost their first love. Jesus says, “nevertheless, I have this against you. You’ve forgotten your first love. Remember the height from which you’ve fallen, repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place.” That in fact happened. The entire city of Ephesus had to be vacated about 40 years later because of a malaria outbreak.
The Church in Smyrna
Revelation 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
The next city that’s mentioned is Smyrna. Smyrna is the next one on the mail route. It’s a little north of Ephesus. They are one of the churches that get only praise, no criticism. They’re facing significant persecution. They have significant hardship and poverty. They feel like they’re painted into a corner. There’s nowhere to turn. Nothing they can do. Jesus says, “I know your affliction and your poverty, yet you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but our synagogue of Satan, I tell you, the devil is going to test you. He’s going to cast some of you in prison for 10 days, but be faithful even to the point of death. I will give you the crown of life.”
Strong encouragement for a church that feels pretty embattled at this point. They feel they are in poverty yet Jesus says, you are rich. How many churches do you suppose there are around the world right now, Third World settings or possibly first world settings that feel utterly impoverished. They can hardly balance the books and yet Jesus would look at them and say, “you are rich.”
It’s very interesting how many times having material wealth militates against spiritual wealth. Smyrna was given this wonderful, encouraging review by Jesus. This is the modern city of Izmir. It’s a major city today in Turkey. It’s the traditional birthplace of Homer, of the Greek epic, the Iliad and the Odyssey. There remains there evidence of the early Christian presence and there continues to be a Christian presence to this day.
The church at Pergamos
Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.“
Pergamos is the next of these. It’s the
It’s a rich commendation for this church that is kind of in the belly of the beast there in Pergamum. They stand against pagan authority, but there’s a little slippage when it comes to pagan philosophy. Jesus continues, “nevertheless, I have this against you. You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balam, who taught Ballack to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality. Likewise, you have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent, therefore, otherwise I will soon come to you and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
The Nicolaitans seemed to be proto Gnostics. They probably represented some form of that Jewish gnosticism that was circulating widely in the first century and gradually became the Greek gnosticism that we’d find in the second century. It would represent a point where the church may have been compromising a bit with that kind of pagan outlook even though they were being pretty firm in dealing with pagan authority.
Isidore of Seville, who finished the Etymologies, or the Origins, in the year 636 A.D. In Book VIII titled “The Church and sects (De ecclesia et sects)” he wrote, “The Nicolaites (Nicolaita) are so called from Nicolas, deacon of the church of Jerusalem, who, along with Stephen and the others, was ordained by Peter. He abandoned his wife because of her beauty, so that whoever wanted to might enjoy her; the practice turned into debauchery, with partners being exchanged in turn. Jesus condemns them in the Apocalypse, saying (2:6): “But this thou hast, that thou hates the deeds of the Nicolaites.” (SOURCE: The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville stephen a. barney, w. j . lewi s , j . a. beach, oliver berghof with the collaboration of muriel hall, Cambridge University Press, © Stephen A. Barney, W. J. Lewis, J. A. Beach and Oliver Berghof, 2006, page 175.)
The church at Thyatira
Revelation 2:18 “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.28 And I will give him the morning star.29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
The city of Thyatira is probably the opposite of Epphesus. You’ll see they had a lot of good works, a lot of love, a lot of that warmth that you find some times in the kind of Christianity that goes to the left a little bit, but they were not very strong in their orthodoxy. Jesus says to them, “I know your deeds, your hard work, your love, your perseverance that you’re now doing more than you did at first.”
He commends them for that. He likes their life of good works, but then he gives them a pretty severe warning. He says, “nevertheless, I have this against you. You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching, she’s misleading my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I’ve given her time to repent and she’s not willing, so I’m going to cast her on a bed of suffering. I’m going to make those who committed adultery with her suffer intensely unless they repent of their deeds. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds and I will repay everyone according to their deeds.”
Who is this woman, Jezebel? That is a question that seems to have remained unanswered throughout church history. “When a woman is used symbolically in Scripture, she represents a religious entity. This might be either positive or negative. On the positive side, there is Israel as the Wife of Jehovah and the Church as the bride of Messiah. On the negative side, there is the woman with the leaven (Mtt. Mat. 13:33), the Great Harlot of Rev. Rev. 17:1+, and here, the woman Jezebel.”—Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, rev ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), 58.
While Jesus commends their heart, he’s not so happy you see with where their head has been going. The Ephesians had a lot of head, not much heart. The Thyaterians have a lot of heart, not much head. We need to find somewhere in the middle you see where we balance those two interests in our Christian worship.
The church at Sardis
Revelation3:1 “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment
Sardis has an interesting story. This was a city that had a long history going way back. You’ve all heard the expression, “the wealth of Croesus.” Croesus was a famous king who ruled in an in a kingdom called Lydia way back in the seventh and sixth centuries BC. He was fabulously wealthy. The reason was that there is a river that runs by Sardis that brought down a lot of gold silt from the mountains. People just went out and panned for that gold and it was a very productive effort. And of course, Croesus needed a little tax on all the gold that was dredged out of the river. Thus he became famously wealthy in the ancient world and that was probably his most distinct claim to fame at that time and in subsequent history. This did lead the people in Sardis through history to become somewhat complacent. There is this deluded idea that if you have a lot of money, it solves all your problems and the people kind of lapsed into that.
To some degree, the church in Sardis seems to have lapsed into the same misguided idea. They seem to have been a wealthy church because there was a lot of wealth in the city and they confused wealth in the church with wealth in
The church at Philadelphia
Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and
Next on our route
And so the word to them is that they should seize on the opportunity that they have. They are also not given any criticism. They’re given a promise of protection that’s going in the attack that’s going to come across the whole inhabited world at that point. He’s nevertheless going to guard and protect them.
The church at Laodicea
Revelation 3:14 “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
The final church is Laodicea. One of the better know,n because it’s famous for
Laodicea, even though it’s given a severe warning, was also given a word of hope that the the Jesus, who they say they worship, is at the door, they just need to let him come in and join them.
The salve references both something historical and of their character. Laodicea was one of the most famous cities in the ancient world for a salve that they sold on the open market that was supposed to have healing qualities and apparently a did for certain ailments. And so that’s an appeal to local color. Also, the luke warm water was part of the condition of Laodicea. The only water they could get came from an aquaduct from a city about 30 miles away. By the time it got to Laodicea it was not very cold. They had gotten used to it, but the rest of the world could hardly stand it when they came by to visit. Jesus makes reference to that.
All of these letters were sent to real historical cities. Although churches through history, and even today, may find themselves with the same strengths and weaknesses of these early churches, there is absolutely no hermaneutical or exegetical reason to believe they refer to “church ages,” as many people teach and believe.
We each need to examine ourselves and ask ourselves, would Jesus give us commendations, commendations and criticisms or only criticisms? Are we falling into any of the patterns revealed in these early churches?