Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER X.

THE JEWS, DESIRING A LITERAL KINGDOM, REJECT THE KING OF A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM.

The servant of the Lord informs us that the Jews were led to reject Christ because of their misinterpretation of the prophecies concerning Israel. In "The Desire of Ages," p. 30, she says:

"While the Jews desired the advent of the Messiah, they had no true conception of His mission. They did not seek the redemption from sin, but deliverance from the Romans. They looked for the Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break the oppressor's power, and exalt Israel to universal dominion. Thus the way was prepared for them to reject the Saviour. . Hatred of the Romans, and national and spiritual pride, led the Jews still to adhere rigorously to their forms of worship. . . . The people in their darkness and oppression, and the rulers, thirsting for power, longed for the coming of One Who would vanquish their enemies and restore the kingdom to Israel. They had studied the prophecies, but without spiritual insight. Thus they overlooked those Scriptures that point to the humiliation of Christ's advent, and misapplied those that speak of His second coming. Pride obscured their vision. They interpreted prophecy in accordance with their selfish desires."

By applying literally the prophecies concerning Israel, the Jews misinterpreted them. Again we read:

"The Jews had misinterpreted God's promise of eternal favour to Israel [Jer. 31: 33, 34 is then quoted]. 'Thus saith the Lord. . . . If those ordinances [sun, moon, and stars] depart from Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever.' Jer. 31: 35-37. The Jews regarded their natural descent from Abraham as giving them a claim to this promise. But they overlooked the conditions which God had specified." D.A. 106.

In the promise the word "nation" is employed. The Jews interpreted the prophecy to mean a literal nation, but the New Testament shows that the promise refers to the spiritual nation, the church. Similarly, all the Old Testament prophecies which seem to refer to literal Israel in the literal land of Israel must now be interpreted according to the light shining from the New Testament, where the things of Israel are applied spiritually in connection with the church.

So deceived were the Jewish leaders regarding the literal fulfilment of the prophecies concerning Israel that, even when Rome, in A.D. 70, was battering down the city of Jerusalem, the priests continued to offer literal sacrifices in the literal temple, believing that somehow national Israel would continue to be under the favour of God. How strong are the delusions based upon a belief in the literal fulfilment of prophecies concerning Israel! Not only was national Israel deceived, but the most popular prophetic teachings in professed Christendom to-day are those which apply literally the things of Israel. The powerful hold of that false system of interpretation is illustrated in the experience of the disciples. Jesus, the world's Master Teacher, constantly endeavoured to turn His disciples from the interpretations of the Scriptures taught by the religious leaders of His day. It was their failure to accept the Lord's interpretations which found them unprepared for the crucifixion of Christ. As stated by the Lord's servant:

"Before His crucifixion, the Saviour explained to His disciples that He was about to be put to death, and to rise again from the tomb; and angels were present to impress His words on minds and hearts. But the disciples were looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke. . . The words which they needed to remember were banished from their minds, and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them. So in the prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by the words of Christ.. . But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had never been revealed." GC. 594.

Even on the day of the resurrection the disciples did not know the true interpretation of the prophecies concerning Israel. Before Jesus revealed Himself to the two disciples of Emmaus, He explained the prophecies, for "it was necessary for them to understand the witness borne to Him by the types and prophecies of the Old Testament. Upon these their faith must be established. Christ performed no miracle to convince them, but it was His first work to explain the Scriptures. They " had looked upon His death as the destruction of all their hopes. Now He showed from the prophets that this was the very strongest evidence for their faith.... The miracles of Christ are a strong proof of His divinity; but a stronger proof that He is the world's Redeemer is found in comparing the prophecies of the Old Testament with the history of the New." D.A. 796-799.

As the spiritual condition of a church declines, more attention is paid to the literal—including a literal application of prophecies which should be interpreted spiritually in connection with the church. Literal things which have been instituted because of their spiritual significance lose their spiritual meaning, and the service of the church degenerates into formalism: the letter is emphasised as the spirit wanes. Thus it was in the experiences of literal Israel, and it has been repeated in the experience of the Christian church. "The Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms." D.A. 29.

As an example of the Jews' loss of spiritual vision notice the following extract:

"To Moses God had said concerning His commandments, 'Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.' Deut. 6:8. These words have a deep meaning. As the word of God is meditated upon and practised, the whole man will be ennobled. In righteous and merciful dealing, the hands will reveal, as a signet, the principles of God's law. . . The eyes, directed toward a noble purpose, will be clear and true.... But by the Jews of Christ's day all this was undiscerned. The command given to Moses was construed into a direction that the precepts of Scripture should be worn upon the person. They were accordingly written upon strips of parchment, and bound in a conspicuous manner about the head or the wrists." D.A. 612.

The literal application of that which God designed should be spiritually applied is Satan's plan of substituting a counterfeit for the genuine.

Isaiah had prophesied: "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. 40:5. But before the visible glory of God would be manifested at the second advent, the spiritual glory of God would be revealed in the character and life of the Lord Jesus. See P.K. 689, etc. Through seeking after literal things the Jews failed to see the spiritual: they failed to discern that the prophet spoke of the revelation of spiritual glory before the literal glory of God should be revealed. The Jews' need of spiritual vision was also illustrated by their blindness to the meaning of the prophecy in Hag. 2:7-9. Commenting upon this prophecy, God's servant says:

"This temple [Solomon's] was the most magnificent building which the world ever saw. Yet the Lord had declared The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former. . . . I will fill this house with glory.' . . But the second temple had not equalled the first in magnificence; nor was it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained to the first temple There was no manifestation of supernatural power to mark its dedication. . For centuries the Jews had vainly endeavoured to show wherein the promise of God given by Haggai had been fulfilled; yet pride and unbelief blinded their minds to the true meaning of the prophet's words. The second temple was not honoured with the cloud of Jehovah's glory, but with the living presence of One in Whom dwelt the fulness of the Godhead bodily. . . . In the presence of Christ. and in this only, did the second temple exceed the first in glory." G.C. 23, 24; P.K. 597.

"Spiritual things are spiritually discerned," That which God designed should be spiritually applied, Satan will cause to be literally applied: in this way he blinds the eyes of millions to the truth of God. Some day, in the eternal kingdom, "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." P.K. 733, But, until then, in this "dispensation of the Holy Spirit," the things of Israel are to be spiritually applied,

THE MESSIAH'S SPIRITUAL KINGDOM.

The Old Testament contains many predictions concerning the Messiah's kingdom.

"At the time ... when our Lord appeared, there was a general expectation among the Jews of the coming of the Messiah, and His reign was called 'the world to come,' 'the heavenly Jerusalem,' 'the kingdom of heaven,' or 'of God.' To enter the kingdom was to become His disciple. The Jews had very erroneous conceptions of its nature; and it was necessary that our Lord should correct them. This He does in the teachings of Himself, and of His disciples. The nature of the kingdom of God must be learned, therefore, from the New Testament." "Angus's Bible Handbook," p. 203.

When the Messiah came "unto His own," "His own received Him not." John 1:11. The Jews rejected Christ because His kingdom was not what they expected or wanted:

"Some of the Pharisees had come to Jesus demanding 'when the kingdom of God should come.' More than three years had passed since John the Baptist gave the message, that like a trumpet call had sounded through the land, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' And as yet these Pharisees saw no indication of the establishment of the kingdom. Many of those who rejected John. and at every step had opposed Jesus, were insinuating that His mission had failed. Jesus answered, `The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show; neither shall they say, Lo here! Lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.' The kingdom of God begins in the heart. Look not here or there for manifestations of earthly power to mark its coming.... Because it is not attended by worldly pomp, you are in danger of failing to discern the glory of My mission." D.A. 506.

The Jews looked forward to the time when, with the advent of the Messiah, all the predictions regarding the exaltation of Israel in His literal kingdom would have their grand fulfilment. The two-fold nature of the Messiah's kingdom their unspiritual natures could not grasp. Not wishing to see this two-fold nature prophesied by the seers of Israel, they failed to heed the truth that the first phase of the kingdom had to do with humiliation and the battle against evil within. Christ had to suffer before He entered into glory.

Luke 24:25-26, 46; 1 Pet. 1:11. Similarly, the Israel associated with Him would likewise first suffer before they reigned in glory with Him. 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pet. 4:13.

The proud human heart would like to share in the glory, but not in the humiliation and the suffering, which are essential for entrance into the kingdom. Acts 14:22. The first phase of the Messiah's kingdom is the kingdom of grace, during which, time and opportunity are afforded for a heart preparation for the glory to follow,

"The kingdom of God" and its cognate phrases are found 47 times in Matthew; 13 times in Mark; 31 times in Luke; and 5 times in John. "Life" is a synonym for "the kingdom of God" (Mark 9:45, 47; Matt. 18:9), and "everlasting life" occurs about 40 times in John's gospel. In the kingdom of grace Jesus gives spiritual life. In the kingdom of glory He gives eternal life.

Christ not only reigns upon "the throne of grace" in heaven, but also, by His Spirit, reigns in every heart on earth subject to Him. Col. 1:13; 1 John 3:14; 5:11-13; Col. 1:26, 27; 3:4; John 3:3, 7; Phil. 3:20; Heb. 12:23, margin; Ephes. 2:6, etc. This was the kingdom which was "at hand." See Matt. 3:2; 4:17, etc. This was the burden of Paul's sermons. See Acts 20:25; 28:23. 31.

"And 'the kingdom of God which they had declared to be at hand, was established by the death of Christ. This kingdom was not, as they had been taught to believe, an earthly empire. Nor was it that future, immortal dominion, which shall be set up when 'the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;' that everlasting kingdom, in which 'all dominions shall serve and obey Him. . . .

"The throne of Grace represents the kingdom of grace; for the existence of a throne implies the existence of a kingdom. In many of His parables, Christ uses the expression 'the kingdom of heaven,' to designate the work of divine grace upon the hearts of men... .

"The kingdom of grace was instituted immediately after the fall of man. It then existed in the purpose, and by the promise of God; and through faith, men could become its subjects. Yet it was not actually established until the death of Christ." GC., p. 347, 348.

The work of the Messiah was not only to establish an eternal kingdom of glory, but also to prepare characters for it. But the Messiah's kingdom is just as truly established in the spiritual kingdom as it will be in the eternal world. Christ reigns from "the throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16)–a real throne in heaven. Heb. 8:1; Zech. 6:13. He is the "King eternal, immortal, invisible" (1 Tim. 1:17)–invisible to earth now, but visible in heaven. After His ascension, Christ was enthroned as the King-priest (Zech. 6:13), typified by Melchisedec. Gen. 14:18; Ps. 110:1, 4; Heb. 6:10; 7:1, 2, etc.

"Christ's ascension to heaven was the signal that His followers were to receive the promised blessing. . When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified. . . The Pentecostal outpouring was heaven's communication that the Redeemer's inauguration was accomplished.

According to His promise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers, as a token that He had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people." A.A., pp. 38-39.

When believers associate with Jesus, the King-priest, in the work of soul-saving and destroying sin, and thus help spread His spiritual kingdom they, too, become kings and priests. See Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9. Since Christ's enthronement as King-priest, the Holy Spirit represents the "invisible" King of Israel. Predictions concerning the Messiah's kingdom are being fulfilled spiritually during this "dispensation of the Holy Spirit."

AT PENTECOST THE DISCIPLES WERE GIVEN DISCERNMENT CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM.

"Just before leaving His disciples, Christ once more plainly stated the nature of His kingdom. He recalled to their remembrance things He had previously told them regarding it. He declared that it was not His purpose to establish in this world a temporal kingdom." AA., p. 30.

"Because of their selfishness and earthliness, even the disciples of Jesus could not comprehend the spiritual glory, which He sought to reveal unto them. It was not until after Christ's ascension to His Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers, that the disciples fully appreciated the Saviour's character and mission." D.A., p. 506.

Not until the spiritual kingdom of grace was established, not until the outpouring of the Holy Spirit did the disciples understand the spiritual interpretation of Old Testament predictions regarding the kingdom.

After Pentecost, while teaching a literal, physical salvation of the future, they also taught that spiritual salvation was a present blessing. See 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 Thes. 5:8; Rom. 13:11; Heb. 9:28; Isa. 25:9; 35:4; 62:11; Rom. 8:23; Acts 3:21 and 2 Cor. 6:2; Heb. 3:13; Acts 13:26; 28:28; Titus 2:11; 2 Tim. 2:10. The spiritual salvation of the kingdom of grace will be followed by a literal, physical salvation in the kingdom of glory.

"Undoubtedly our natural bias is in favour of the so-called 'literal' interpretation of the prophecies in question; for to the natural man the things that are seen are the real things; and to that view we are disposed to cling tenaciously, notwithstanding the plain teaching of the New Testament, that the seen things are fleeting shadows of things unseen, the latter being the spiritual and eternal realities with which the promises of future blessing have mainly to do. . . Evidently then our difficulty in understanding prophecies of the class referred to above is due to our lack of faith and our spiritual dullness." "The Hope of Israel," p. 15, 17, by P. Mauro.

"The Desire of Ages," p. 506, states that the disciples could not, at first, see "the spiritual glory" of Christ's work fulfilling the Old Testament predictions "because of their selfishness and earthliness." The Jews "knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him." Acts 13:27. Their wrong interpretation of the Messianic prophecies led them to fulfil the very predictions they so frequently read. They failed to grasp the spiritual nature of the Messiah's kingdom because they looked for a literal fulfilment of the kingdom prophecies, and this led them to crucify Him. The Scriptures make it plain that the prophecies concerning the reign of David's promised Son were to be fulfilled by His death and resurrection. See Acts 2:29, 32; 13:22-24, 32-34; Rom. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:8. By crucifying the Son of God the Jews brought about the fulfilment of the predictions which they relegated to the future.

Paul preached the kingdom of God and of Christ as a then reality, into which every believer of the gospel was, and is, instantly translated. Col. 1:12, 13; 1 Cor. 15:11; Acts 20:24, 25; 1 Cor. 4:20; Acts 17:6, 7; 19:8; 28:31. By the new birth we enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:3, 5; Rom. 14:17; God has "raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus," Acts 13:22, 23; Luke 2:10, 11, 30-32, 68-70; Matt. 1:21; Acts 5:30- 31. By the work of the Holy Spirit in Messiah's spiritual kingdom of grace, Christ is now saving, redeeming Israel, out of "all people." Luke 2:30-32, etc. That salvation is "in Zion" (Joel 2:32; Rom. 11:26; 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:4-7), the church, where Jesus reigns.

The spiritual kingdom of Israel is world-wide, Rom. 4:13. The expressions "the land of Israel," "His land," "their land," mentioned in the prophecies, now refer to wherever spiritual Israel – His church – is found. The Shepherd and the flock of Israel, and "the mountains of Israel" are mentioned in Ezek. 34:13, 14. Commenting on Ezek. 34:23, 16, 25, 28, "The Desire of Ages," p. 477, states: "Christ applied these prophecies to Himself." On p. 479 we read: "As an earthly shepherd knows his sheep, so does the divine Shepherd know His flock, that are scattered throughout the world." Ezek. 34:31 is then quoted. Quoting Ezek, 34:26, 29, 31 in "Acts of the Apostles," pp. 9, 10, we read: "Many and wonderful are the promises recorded in Scripture regarding the church."

The Holy Spirit clearly teaches that the sheep of "the house of Israel," on "the mountains of Israel," in "their own land," are the church "scattered throughout the world." Thus we have Divine guidance in the interpretation of such prophecies as Ezek. 38, 39; 40-48; Joel 3; Zech. 14; Rev. 16:12-16, etc. They can be understood only when spiritually applied in connection with the church: spiritual Israel is pictured as being attacked by her enemies, who are destroyed by the intervention of God. As the kingdom of Israel is spiritual and world-wide, prophecies relating to this kingdom must have a spiritual, world-wide application.

A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM AND ITS SPIRITUAL SYMBOLS.

Baptism was instituted as an outward sign of inward grace. It symbolizes a death of the old life—a crucifixion with Jesus—a burial "with Him," and a resurrection "with Him." It also points forward to the blessed expectation of passing from this world of death at the second advent to the new life with Him in the new world. Without its spiritual significance the rite of baptism is worthless.

The emblems of our Lord's broken body and His shed blood, the bread and the wine used in the Lord's Supper are spiritual symbols. By taking literally Christ's statement: "This is My body . . . this is My blood," Roman Catholics have been led into the error of transubstantiation. Protestants repudiate the idolatry of the Mass by interpreting Christ's statement symbolically, and not literally. Error is often the literal interpretation of that which God intended to be applied spiritually.

Writing of the spiritual significance of the service of feet-washing, which Christ instituted in connection with the Lord's Supper, God's servant says:

"These words mean more than bodily cleanliness. Christ is still speaking of the higher cleansing as illustrated by the lower.... So Peter and his brethren had been washed in the great fountain opened for sin and uncleanness . they still needed His cleansing grace.... Their hearts must be cleansed. Pride and self-seeking create dissension and hatred, but all this Jesus washed away in washing their feet. A change of feeling was brought about. Looking upon them, Jesus could say, 'Ye are clean.' Now there was union of heart, love for one another.... Like Peter and his brethren, we too have been washed in the blood of Christ, yet often through contact with evil the heart's purity is soiled. We must come to Christ for His cleansing grace." D.A., p. 646.

The Lord teaches His people the spiritual nature of His kingdom of grace. The symbols and prophecies relating to spiritual Israel must be "spiritually discerned."