Tag Archives | redemption

The Echoes of Concentric Woe

By on in Theology

The geographical relevance of Canaan compared to the surrounding territories of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Media, Persia, Anatolia, Crete, Cyprus, and others has often unrecognized spiritual significance throughout Scripture. To view the assembly of land and the chronologically ordered border formations as purely physical, natural, or socially constructed misses the deeper historical narrative about the emergence of the Kingdom of God and the messianic reign to come. People, places, and circumstances were supernaturally orchestrated together through geological, genealogical, and sovereign processes to bring about the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. Where sovereign circumstances over time gradually converged at Pentecost (Acts 2:1) from since the divergence of Babel (Gen 11:8) intentionally situated within the cradle of civilization.¹

As the Gentile nations surrounding Israel were first disinherited at Babel located in early Mesopotamia, they were scattered and placed under the spiritual rulership of the sons of God (Dt 32:8-9). Rulership, who were the fallen elohim,² who became cursed (1 Enoch 6:1-8) and separated from immortality as they were to eventually die like men (Ps 82:7) due to their corruption, neglect, and harm brought to humanity. At Babel, they were given charge over the nations (Gen 11:7, Ps 82:1) with Yahweh’s reserved people as is portion or inheritance among them (Dt 4:19-20, 1 Sam 26:17-19). Through the suzerain-vassal treaty formed as the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants of land, seed, and blessings, it becomes clear that Yahweh had chosen Canaan as Israel’s strategic location as sacred space to implement His redemptive work and replace the corrupted sons of God (Jn 1:12-13, Rm 8:14,19, Gal 4:5-6). A location set as a “land bridge” centered among surrounding nations between Asia, Europe, and African continents³ while governed by the corrupt and fallen rulers who were to eventually become adversaries judged (Gen 6:2, 1 Cor 2:6-8). With the arrival, ministry, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and coronation of Christ, the Kingdom of God was again placed upon this earth to intersect with the Kingdom of Heaven (Heb 10:12-13).

With the Lord’s calling of Abraham, it is no coincidence that overlapping divine covenants squarely placed at the center of the nations as an intersection between natural and supernatural interests. Through what would progressively develop as a spiritual war between good and evil (Eph 6:12), the kingdom of God was to assert its position among Gentile nations as prepared territory reclaimed. Starting in Jerusalem, extending to Asia Minor, and then out to the rest of the earth (Rome, Greece, India, and beyond) before the second coming of Christ toward the fullness of time (Eph 1:10). Just as the people of Israel were by eternal covenant chosen by the Most-High and set aside as a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (Ex 19:6), they organized around their wilderness tabernacle as tribes. A temporary situation that echoed further in time as Zion in Jerusalem served as a central point in which all other tribes of Israel intentionally distributed throughout Canaan. The temple mount of Moriah became ground zero where the Gentile nation’s rulers in a spiritual sense would surrender or cede their territory (the souls of humanity) through the redemptive work of Christ. Yes, a kingdom of historical and geological relevance, but more significantly, profoundly spiritual with redemptive or damning trajectories. As the tribes of Israel were concentrically distributed, so it was with surrounding nations and beyond until they reached the entire circumference of the earth (Mt 28:18-19). With nations reclaimed (Ps 82:2-4), a harvest was made ready through the prevailing conquest of Christ, a new Joshua, as He said of His royalty over Christendom, “My kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36).”

Israel occupied sacred physical space or holy ground as Yahweh had chosen the land of Canaan as the territory of His people (Deut 32:49). Just as the tabernacle and the temple became designed and built to set aside and reserve space as holy to Yahweh and His people, He would dwell among them (Deut 29:46). As the Lord’s people were to be representatives of the nations, other nations governed by the corrupted sons of god were to surround Israel. So as holy people upon the holy land placed into position, a messianic king would arise through Judah⁴ to plunge a dagger into the heart of the spiritual enemy among nations (1 Pet 3:18-22). The chosen among the nations would become redeemed in a nonlinear fashion across millennia both backward and forward in time.

To make a punctuated distinction between holy ground and enemy territory, consider the Scriptural inferences that traverse between Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army (1 Sam 26:17-19), and two demonic encounters upon Jesus as revealed within Scripture. First, it was Namaan who recognized before Elijah that the ground he worshiped on was holy (2 Kings 5:15-19). With Elijah’s consent, Naaman gathered up dirt from holy ground and loaded a mule to carry it off with him to worship Yahweh. A worship ritual to Yahweh, before the god Rimmon under false pretenses, while in enemy territory (2 Kings 5:18). Naaman knew there was no other God in all the earth except Yahweh (2 Kings 5:15), nor was there holy ground in Syria, the country in which he resides. An idol or false god Rimmon was possibly inhabited by a corrupted son of God who craved worship (Deut 32:16-17).

What does this ancient historical narrative have to do with Jesus?

As recorded by the author of Matthew, Jesus and His apostles encounter a man inhabited by many demons from Bashan (Mt 17:14, Mk 5:1). They were from Gentile territory (spiritual enemy), and they as Legion accordingly referred to Jesus as “Son of the Most High God” (Mk 5:7). In relativistic parlance, they address Jesus to acknowledge Him as above the sons of God. Both in rank and incomparability. They were in East Galilee in the territory of Bashan, known as the abode of the dead and territory of evil spirits.⁵ Specifically, the spirits of the dead Rephaim written about during the conquest led by Joshua.

Shortly after, by comparison, when Jesus and His Apostles arrived in Capernaum, they again encountered another man possessed by numerous demons. This time, they were located in Israel, on holy ground where the demon-possessed man called our Lord, “Jesus of Nazareth (Mk 1:24).” A subtle difference between “Son of the Most High God,” and “Jesus of Nazareth” as theological distinctions concerning the origination and status of spiritual beings within the separate territories they occupied and recognized.

Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The Kingdom of God is here, now. We have our marching orders, and they are to share the gospel and make disciples. To recover humanity wherever it is claimed within a world that is governed by corrupted rule until reconciliation, or final judgment.

Citations

^[1]Dr. Michael Grisanti, BTS512 History of the Covenant People Course Notes, 9.
^[2]Dr. Michael Heiser, Reversing Hermon: Enoch, The Watchers & the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ. (Crane: Defender Publishing), 38-43.
^[3]Dr. Paul Lee Tan, Hal Lindsay, Section 3394 Strategic Importance in Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. (Bible Communications, 1996), 796.
^[4]Dr. Michael Grisanti, BTS512 History of the Covenant People Course Notes, 37.
^[5] Karel van der Toorn, et.al., Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2^nd Ed. (Boston: Eerdmans Publishing, 1999), 161.

Of Curses & Covenants

By on in Theology

It is on this resurrection day in the year 2020 that this post is written to rediscover the meaning and relevance of Genesis 1 – 11. Specifically, about the promised seed in Genesis 3:15 that would come to redeem humanity as a result of its rebellion and fall in the Edenic garden of God. Where after the sin of Adam and Eve, God in His infinite wisdom and mercy curses the earth and the enemy to begin a series of the covenant promises to restore creation and proper order for His glory and redemptive purposes. The account in Scripture that begins our journey to recovery through Jesus and by the infinite, yet sufficient grace of God is traced all throughout the Bible. This post is a walkthrough of what occurred after Genesis 3:15 to bring about the lineage of Christ throughout the early covenants.

The Curses and Enmity of God

To set about an understanding of what occurred in the garden of Eden, it is necessary to recognize what YHWH spoke was prophetic to bring about the certainty of what was to occur in the future as a matter of judgment and enmity. As we see in Genesis 3:15, we are given anthropomorphic language to see what is to occur between Satan and the seed of the woman. The verse specifics read as follows (NASB):

After the metaphorical serpent deceived the woman (Eve) that led to the rebellion of both her and her mate (Adam), we are given a full explanation of what took place. The earliest progenitors of humanity consumed a forbidden fruit that would surely bring them death (Gen 2:17) as decreed by God. Upon the contradiction and outright lie of the enemy upon the woman, both she and Adam partook of the fruit of the forbidden tree. They ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to seal their fate.

God’s proclamation of death, curses, and enmity upon recognition of sinful rebellion is an expected consequence that would bring a certain separation between Him and His creation. As it became corrupted, there were necessary outcomes that prompted God to set in motion His condemnation and justice through an adversarial relationship between humanity and spiritual forces of darkness. Namely, the evil that set itself against God and the relationship He formed with humanity to fellowship and dwell with Him. The forthcoming prophetic conflict specifically affected humanity in that as they suffer the consequences of their sin, the seed or offspring of the woman would strike against evil.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” – Genesis 3:15

The Meta-Narrative and Formation of Covenants

Structurally, we see an overall dispensational period of covenant intervals throughout Scripture. Across epochs of time, we are gripped in Scripture by how God makes His covenant oaths to fulfill His promises. Both unconditional and conditional, we observe by the Lord’s revealed truth the Adamic covenant preceding the Noahic covenant. Whereas their distinction somewhat rests in the difference between the innocent and blameless nature of God’s people. With the post-diluvian call of Abraham and the Lord’s covenant with him, we encounter the Mosaic covenant and the dispensational period of the Law. To give context to sacrificial offerings and hold some semblance of God’s continued fellowship with the 12-tribes of Israel. The Davidic covenant, as given in 2 Samuel 7:4-17, provides insight into how the seed, as spoken about in Genesis 3:15, also extends through his royal descendants. Specifically, through Solomon as David’s “throne shall be established forever” (2 Sam 7:16).

In continuation of all covenants bestowed from God by His astonishing mercy and wisdom, we read of His new covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:31-37. A new covenant from the words of the prophet Jeremiah was spoken to reveal further yet another promise. Only this time, it is a covenant of salvation that He will bring to restore the right relationship with Him as He will forgive iniquity and remember the sin of His people no more (Jer 31:34). While this new covenant promise was written for the people of Israel, in principle, it applies to those who belong to Him as spoken about by Jesus in Luke 22:20.¹

Fulfillment of Covenant Promises

Over the course of history, the lineage of Adam and his wife Eve genealogically led to Noah, who God regarded as blameless in His view (Gen 6:9). As God would eventually destroy all of humanity in the flood of Genesis 7, Noah and his family became singled out to survive and reset the emergence of humanity throughout Mesopotamia and beyond. The formation of the Noahic covenant (Gen 8:20 – 9:17) thereafter involved the replenishment of the earth and the renewal of seasonal cycles.² As Noah’s sons Shem, Japheth, and Ham gave rise to the table of nations (Genesis 10), separate individual lineages would again run the course of history. As a kernel of hope extended through the descendants of Shem within the biblical narrative, there were continued setbacks that ran counter to God’s plans of redemptive history in an all-out effort to restore humanity. God’s covenant with Noah would further reach toward its fulfillment as a backdrop of what occurs throughout the remainder of Genesis and beyond. Namely, the Abrahamic covenant via Isaac and Jacob to the Davidic covenant that would propagate the seed of Eve in Genesis 3:15 NASB. This seed in Genesis 3:15 NASB narrows to Christ from a plural to a singular sense, who would fulfill God’s judgment on the enemy as our Messianic God in the person of Jesus.

As readers of Scripture, we recognize the progenitors of Noah through the descendants of Terah to include Shem. Namely, a foundation of individuals and families to originate nations and populations of people that grow in size and take up residence throughout the Middle East. As peoples are scattered by language and geological position from the Babel account in Genesis 11:1-9,³we come upon the life of Abram to set the stage for God’s work throughout early humanity. It was first beginning with His chosen servant Abraham and by the Hebrew people to ultimately all nations of the Earth as promised (Gen 22:18). There are numerous stories within the biblical record that continue to give us circumstances by which God operates among the nations while within the fallen state of humanity. First through the Jews of Israel and then through the Gentiles upon the blessings or fruits of the new covenant established as described by the Apostle Paul (Rom 11:26-27).

Prior to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant concerning the land of Canaan (Deut. 29:1-30:20), we can trace the seed of Adam & Eve, Abraham & Sarah, to David & Bathsheba along 14 generations thereafter and validate the royal lineage of Christ (Matt 1:6-17).⁴ To conclude with His arrival and intent to ultimately bruise the head of the serpent by His death, resurrection, ascension, coronation, and forthcoming permanent defeat of Satan. Meanwhile, to place a New Testament capstone on God’s redemptive work, we read in Luke 22:20 that Jesus offers His blood of the new covenant. This by which YHWH speaks through the prophet Jeremiah to give certainty our iniquity and sins will be forgiven and remembered no more.

Conclusion

From creation, the fall of man, and to the flood that destroyed all of humanity except Noah and his family, the pre-patriarchal period of Genesis 1 – 11 sets the stage for scattered nations propelled throughout the Earth for thousands of years. Pivotal to this early period of formative history, Genesis 3:15 explicitly identifies the seed of Adam & Eve as carrying a redemptive purpose as a corrective and restorative action that returns creation and humanity to God’s originally intended purpose. Across numerous covenants from Adam to Christ, we have full biblical recognition of God’s mercy and wisdom beyond understanding. He has given our patriarchal and spiritual forefathers the resources, blessings, and offspring to return to Him in fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-37.

Citations

1. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, 2^nd Edition, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2019), 990.
2. The Noahic Covenant. Ligonier Ministries Table Talk.https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/noahic-covenant-1670/ (accessed April 11^th, 2020).
3. Michael Heiser, The Unseen Realm, The Tower of Babel (Bellingham, Lexham Press, 2015), 112-113.
4. T. Desmond Alexander, From Paradise to the Promised Land, An Introduction to the Pentateuch, 3^rd Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Publishing Group, 2012), 144.

Bibliography

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible – 2^nd Edition. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2019.
Sproul, R.C. The Noahic Covenant – Ligonier Ministries Tabletalk Magazine. Ligonier Pennsylvania.
Heiser, Michael. The Unseen Realm – 1^st Edition. Bellingham, Lexham Press, 2015.
Alexander, Desmond T. From Paradise to the Promised Land. – 3^rd Edition, Grand Rapids, Baker Publishing Group, 2012.

Road of Redemption

By on in Theology

Along Israel’s coastal plain, adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, there is an ancient geological route formation from Egypt to Mesopotamia. A route through the Fertile Crescent and into Iraq between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers far to the North East of Israel. Placed along this route is a road recognized and entitled the “Via Maris.” The etymology of the Via Maris name comes from Latin as the “way of the sea.” This interpretation appears in both the Old and New Testament rendering of the prophecy concerning the LORD’s arrival and ministry (Isaiah 9:1, Matthew 4:15).

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
Isaiah 9:1-2

As the LORD has centered the nation of Israel upon the earth, one could surmise that He has shaped the land through natural processes over time. To position the arrival of His ministry from Galilee, where people become subject to His redemptive plan. From where “the light which will shine upon them” appears between the Mediterranean Sea and beyond the Jordan River. Through the entire length of the Israeli coast along the Via Maris, the King’s Highway, and the Ridge Route. Written in scripture, the LORD’s message and glory go forward as the light that shines in the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2 NKJV).

What Israel gains in terms of wealth and power through the Via Maris route and topography, the LORD’s purposes prevail. While we recognize the Via Maris as having economic and defense advantages, Israel can collect tariffs, conduct trade, and accept tribute from its citizens and visitors. Routes are controlled to direct traffic and regulate supply for military campaigns in its defense along the Via Maris.

So, it would appear under the new covenant, the strategic placement of the Via Maris is outward going and not only a source for wealth and power Israel’s prosperity and security. It is for the LORD’s purposes in support of His redemptive mission.

The Via Maris is a strategic route of geocentric convergence among nations. For His chosen people within Israel, along the Way of the Sea and outward. Beyond the Jordan by the Via Maris to the gentiles. The coming and going of people centered around the gospel and the LORD’s mission, beginning in His ministry with His Apostles.