the Kingdom: what it is - part 4

part 4 - the prophecies of the Kingdom: the regeneration

The kingdom was Jesus’ central message.  It was also the central teaching of JTB.  But notice that their contemporaries never said, “The Kingdom?  We had no idea that there was going to be a kingdom.  What is this strange new teaching of a kingdom???”  They didn’t respond that way because it wasn’t a strange new teaching.  Israel expected the kingdom and they expected the kingdom to have certain aspects and characteristics.  Why?  As a good professor or teacher gives the class a syllabus so that they can know what to expect in the course, God gave His people Israel the prophets so that they would have an idea of what to expect in the course.  They expected a kingdom because they had a syllabus detailing the kingdom to come.

Last week we began looking at God’s syllabus for the kingdom and we camped out in 2 Sam 7 as part of the syllabus saw some predictions about the King (central component):

1.       Son of David

2.       Build the temple

3.      Son of God

4.      Loved by God

5.      Inflicted at the hands of men

6.      Throne and kingdom established forever

While all of this was fulfilled quite literally in Solomon, we saw that was only a type, which foreshadowed the ultimate fulfillment which would be in Christ and His Heavenly Kingdom.  God did not have in mind to establish an earthly kingdom with an earthly king on an earthly throne in an earthly land forever.  God had better things for His people.

We also looked at Jeremiah 33.  Through Jeremiah God added more to the syllabus; He reiterated, reemphasized, reinforced his Davidic covenant and said that David would never fail to have a descendant on the throne.

Problem: While Jeremiah was giving this message, Babylon was in the process of (taking over) besieging Jerusalem and removing the descendents of David from the throne in Jerusalem and carrying the Jews off to exile in Babylon.

Thus, we know that God did not mean that there would always be a human descendent of David on the literal throne in a literal earthly Jerusalem, since He was in the process of bringing that earthly kingdom to an end and removing those earthly descendents of David from the throne.

Jeremiah added that in their future God would gather them back into the land, restore them to glory, cleanse their sin, and raise up a righteous branch from the line of David that would be known as LORD our righteousness, and this was manifest in Christ, who was the son of David, who built the church, his temple, who was the son of God, loved by God, who was inflicted at the hands of men and who is the king on the throne and kingdom established forever.

Let’s refresh our memory on Jer 33, since this morning we will be looking at another portion of the syllabus that adds detail to this promise of restoration.

Jer 33:6ff  ⁶ “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.⁷ I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. ⁸ I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. ⁹ Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without men or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more ¹¹ the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, ’ says the Lord.

¹² “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without men or animals —in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. ¹³ In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

¹⁴ “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.  ¹⁵ “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. ¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’  ¹⁷ For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.

4 elements go hand in hand and are synchronous (explain what that means) events:

1.       Return to the land (gathering of the exiles, v 7)

2.       Restoration of Israel to glory (v 11)

3.      Cleansed from sin (v 8)

4.      In the time of the righteous branch from David (v 15)

We know that after 70 years of captivity God’s people returned to the land under the Cyrus, the king of Persia and he even rebuilt their temple.  But, this was not the glorious restoration to a world dominating super-power as the nation of nations.  The gentiles were still the rule of the day.  They were in a sense cleansed from sin; while in Babylon they certainly learned their lesson about idols and upon their return to the Land, one thing was  for sure, scholars will point out: Judah was no longer guilty of idol worship.

So while there was a return to the Land in the 6^th century BC during the days of the Persian Empire it wasn’t the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise of a restored Kingdom of Israel.  It was only a type.  Remember, the ultimate fulfillment of the gathering into the Land and restoration of the Kingdom of Israel occurs at the time when God raises up a righteous branch from the line of David and cleanses them from sin: this is in the time of Jesus Christ who is the King of the Kingdom, which is the restored Kingdom of Israel.

Now, let’s take another look at another portion of the syllabus to add some more detail to the prophecies of the Kingdom.  We will be in Ezekiel 36.  Turn there with me in your Bibles.  Ezekiel 36 is parallel to Jer 33.

In about 606-605 Babylon began taking the Jews into captivity.  Babylon came in and took all the doctors, lawyers, the Michael Dells, Steve Jobs, the Bill Gates, all of the PHD’s all of the upper class to go and serve in his kingdom to strengthen Babylon.

In about 597 BC a man named Ezekiel was taken captive and arrived in Babylon where he prophesied.  Ezekiel was a prophet of God who did some really crazy things to demonstrate or act out his prophetic messages.  Ezekiel is a fun book to read!  Chapter4 use poop to cook food!  Lie on your side for 390 days.

Much of Ezekiel’s message resembled Jeremiah’s message.  God has brought Babylon against you Jews because of your wickedness.  Babylon will completely destroy you and in 586 BC that was the end of the southern kingdom as Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. 

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel had a message of hope, a message of restoration: one that would be ultimately manifest in the kingdom of God: a renewed, restored, regenerated, Kingdom of Israel with a descendent of David ruling on the throne.   So Ezekiel, prophesying as a captive in Babylon says:

Ezekiel 36:16 ff  ¹⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. ¹⁸ So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. ¹⁹ I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. ²⁰ And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’  My people have been expelled from the land because their wickedness was to God like a woman’s period.  That’s gross.  Here we get an idea of how God feels about sin.  This should have an impact on the way we live.  If our mandate is to love God – and it is, this should motivate us to want to walk in ways that are pleasing to him and to avoid the things that displease him, namely sin.

This is a theme we see as early as the Garden of Eden.  Disobedience to God results in being expelled from his presence – death.

²¹ I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.   ²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. ²³ I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

God cares about His Name. His people are reflection of Him and when His people walk in ways contrary to Him and His ways it reflects poorly on God and on the people of God.  It was true of OC Israel – as Ezekiel points out – and I believe it can be just as true of us as new covenant saints. 

As God’s image bearers, our actions and attitudes reflect the God we serve.  Keeping this in mind is healthy not only for God’s glory as if that was not enough, but it’s also for our good.  I have heard it said (and I agree) that the most unhappy people are not those who don’t know God, but those who know God but are choosing to walk in disobedience to him.  It brings us great joy to walk in ways that are pleasing to God, it’s for our good and for His glory and renown amongst the people we interact with outside the kingdom.

God says through Ezekiel, “You were expelled for sin.  My name was blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.  For my Name’s sake I’m going to do the following”

²⁴ “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.  ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.  ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will save you from all your uncleanness.

This restored, renewed, regenerated Kingdom of Israel will result from being sprinkled with clean water, cleansed from sin, given a new heart and a new spirit – they would be reborn, regenerated.  God’s spirit will be in them and they will be moved to obedience.  They will be God’s people and he will be their God.  He will save them from their uncleanness. 

Israel will in a sense, be born again, regenerated, born of the Spirit.  They will go from death (exile) to life (dwelling in the Land in God’s presence).  Thus, we see here the regeneration of Israel, which is a work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart.

Participation in the kingdom would take a new birth, being born not of flesh, but of the Spirit.

I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. ³² I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!  ³³ “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.  ³⁴ The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. ³⁵ They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited. ” ³⁶ Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’

³⁷ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, ³⁸ as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ”

According to the syllabus:

·         (36:24) God’s elect would be gathered from the nations and brought back into the Land.

·         (36:25) God’s people would be sprinkled w/clean water

·         (36:26) God would regenerate Israel.  The kingdom would be accompanied by a time of regeneration in which God’s people are given a new heart, a new spirit.  God’s spirit would be in his people, moving them to obedience.

·         (36:27) Israel will be his people, Jehovah will be their God

·         (36:28) God’s people will be saved from uncleanness

·         (36:29) God’s people will be cleansed from sins

·         (36:33) Israel will be restored, gathered to land, towns rebuilt

·         (36:35) The Land will be like the Garden of Eden.

Using the NT as our transcript, let’s look at the course of History and see how God indeed followed the syllabus.

According to the syllabus (36:24) God’s elect would be gathered from the nations and brought back into the Land.

We saw in the syllabus last week in Jer 33:7 that Israel and Judah would be brought back from captivity, so we already know that there was an expected gathering back into the land.  We also saw that it would be a glorious restoration, a new Jerusalem even more glorious.  But here we will build on that idea; we see some other elements that will accompany this restored Jerusalem, this new Jerusalem.

Gathering into the Land has a spiritual fulfillment in Christ just like the King on the throne, the spiritual temple, and the spiritual priesthood.  The gathering into the land is at the time of the restoration of Israel.  The gathering back into the land is part of the restoration.  They are gathered back into the land and Israel is at that time restored. 

But the ultimate fulfillment of the restoration of Israel occurs at the time when God cleanses sin and raises up a righteous branch from David and Jesus is that righteous branch.  Therefore, the gathering of the elect also occurs in the time of the righteous branch, Jesus.  I believe this is a gathering into the kingdom, a gathering in Christ.

God sends his messengers out with the good news of the kingdom, His chosen believe and enter the kingdom.  They are gathered, not into a geopolitical kingdom with physical boundaries in Palestine, but gathered into a spiritual place in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

According to the syllabus (36:25) God’s people would be sprinkled w/clean water

I see verses 25 & 26 as being connected.  I see the sprinkling with clean water as being linked to the regeneration and renewal of heart and spirit, which is the work of the Holy Spirit.  So I’m going to develop the regeneration first, then I’ll come back to this sprinkling.

According to the syllabus (36:26) God would regenerate Israel.  The kingdom would be a time of regeneration in which God’s people are given a new heart, a new spirit.  God’s spirit would be in his people, moving them to obedience.

How do we know that the regeneration in Ezekiel 36 has to do with the kingdom?  We have already pointed out that Ezekiel 36 is parallel to Jer 33 in that it speaks of the restoration of Israel and that restoration was under the King who was the righteous branch from David.  Thus, if Ez 36 = Jer 33 and Jer 33 is about the kingdom of Christ, Ez 36 is about the kingdom of Christ. 

So that alone is evidence that Ez 36 pertains to the kingdom.  But I want to take a look at how Jesus draws from the syllabus and makes the connection between the regeneration of Ez 36 and the Kingdom.

Matt 19:16ff (NASB) ¹⁶ And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” What did the man ask about?  What did he want to get?  Eternal life.

¹⁷ And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “ You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete/perfect, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Recall what the man asked – how to get eternal life.  Jesus told him to sell his possessions and the man went away sad.  Jesus then said it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom.  But the man asked about attaining eternal life.  Why didn’t Jesus say it was hard for the rich to obtain eternal life?  I believe it is because obtaining eternal life is the same as entering the Kingdom of heaven/God.  I believe Jesus is equating these two things.

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁶ And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So the man asked how to get eternal life.  Jesus gave him the answer and equated it with entering the Kingdom.  Then, the disciples don’t say “who can enter the kingdom?”  They say, “Who can be saved?”  The disciples equate this with being saved.  So based on this text here, I would say that attaining eternal life = entering the kingdom = being saved.

²⁷ Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”   Hey that guy isn’t willing to give up his stuff but we gave up everything.  He may not enter the kingdom, but we certainly will, right?  We gave up everything, Jesus, what are we gonna get?

²⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus says here that it is at the regeneration that the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne.  The son of man seated on his throne is a reality of the Kingdom.  The kingdom and the regeneration go hand in hand.  The Kingdom is a regenerated Israel.  Jesus is drawing from the syllabus.

NIV: the renewal of all things.  I believe this is the renewal of all things or regeneration spoken of in the syllabus, namely the restoration of Israel to glory in the Kingdom.

²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

Remember the kingdom is the inheritance of the saints.  Here we see that the inheritance is eternal life – indicating again that attaining eternal life and entering the kingdom are synonymous.   When the kingdom comes that is the time of the regeneration of Israel, the restoration of Israel, the renewal of Israel.

Jesus explicitly connects the regeneration to the kingdom the regeneration is the time when the son of man sits on his glorious throne.

And remember that the regeneration is a work of God’s spirit by which he would give people new hearts, new spirits, and put his spirit in them to move them to obedience.  Look how Paul also draws from the syllabus and confirms this as being the case as he references regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in the first century.

Tit 3:3ff   ³ For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, ⁵ He saved us, Remember what being saved was equated to: inheriting eternal life and entering the kingdom.  not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy. 

He saved us (we enter the kingdom) by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Right here we have these dots connect again: being saved, inheriting eternal life and the renewal or regeneration.  This is the same Greek word here as used in Matt 19:28 palingenesseea: new birth, regeneration, or renewal. renewal in the NIV.

I told you that I’d come back to the sprinkling which was a work of the Holy Spirit.  I believe we see it here in Titus 3:5 (NIV) “through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”  I believe the sprinkling with clean water is found here and pertains to the cleansing of the Holy Spirit.

I believe Jesus points back to the syllabus of Ezekiel’s promise of regeneration and connects it to when He sits on his glorious throne in the Kingdom.

Then Paul draws from the syllabus, writing to Titus connects the regeneration and renewal of God’s people to the work of the Holy Spirit washing and cleansing God’s people in the first century, making a people ready to inherit the kingdom.

So the restoration of Israel would be accompanied by a renewal of heart in God’s people a regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.   Paul also connects this regeneration by the Spirit of God to the ministry of the New Covenant, showing that the New Covenant belongs to the age of the kingdom.

2 Cor 3: 1ff   ¹Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. ³ You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. ⁴ Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. ⁵ Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. ⁶ He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. ⁷ Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹ If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! ¹⁰ For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹ And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

Paul shows that the Holy Spirit does a work of regeneration upon the human heart, giving life, bringing righteousness.

The kingdom would be a time of regeneration in which God’s people are given a new heart, a new spirit.  God’s spirit would be in his people, moving them to obedience.

This is manifest in the New Covenant which is the ministry of the Spirit.

According to the syllabus (36:27) Israel will be his people, Jehovah will be their God.

According to the syllabus (36:28) God’s people will be saved from uncleanness

According to the syllabus (36:29) God’s people will be cleansed from sins

All 3 of these elements are found in the New Covenant.

Heb 8:3ff  ³ Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said:

“The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.⁹ It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
¹⁰ This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ¹¹ No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

The author of Hebrews draws from the syllabus and shows how the fulfillment is in the New Covenant.  The New Covenant is part and parcel of the kingdom.  You cannot separate the kingdom from the regeneration from the New Covenant.  They all go hand in hand.  And that New Covenant is in Christ.

Luke 22:19-20 ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 

Now I mentioned that where the syllabus spoke of a sprinkling of clean water it was connected to the work of the Spirit cleansing human hearts.  Now that we have shown the connection between the kingdom, the new covenant, and the regeneration, I’d like to offer another possibility for the sprinkling.  Perhaps this refers to the cleansing work of the blood of Jesus.

Heb 12:22-24  ²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. (the restored Jerusalem, not earthly but heavenly, regenerated Israel) You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

So we have here a connection between the sprinkling of Jesus’ blood, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect under the ministry of the new covenant.  So perhaps the sprinkling of clean water pertains to the blood of Jesus.

Peter opens his first letter in a similar way.

1 Peter 1:1-2  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

So here we have Peter identifying his audience as God’s elect who have been sanctified by the work of the spirit for obedience – the very promise in our syllabus, and they are sprinkled by the blood of Jesus.  So I don’t think that the sprinkling with clean water is necessarily either the Holy Spirit’s washing OR the blood of Jesus.  Peter connects them here and shows that they pertain to the new covenant saints who have been cleansed.

Either way, it is safe to say that the sprinkling with clean water is not literally Ozarka or Dasani being sprinkled on Israel.  It pertains to the ministry of the New Covenant in Christ and the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood and the regeneration of hearts by the work of His spirit.

According to the syllabus (36:33) Israel will be restored, gathered to land, towns rebuilt

I’ve already pointed out that this gathering is not to be taken literally.  However, I want to touch on it again since there is a popular view out there that insists on taking this literally.  Proponents of this view often point to the political events of 1948 and claim that it was a fulfillment of this prophecy.  But look again at the verse Ez 36:33  “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

Is 1948 when Israel was cleansed from all her sins?  No.  And it most certainly wasn’t the time when God raised up a righteous branch from the line of David (as required by Jer 33).  1948 has nothing to do with the prophecies of Jer 33 and Ez 36.  God followed the syllabus and cleansed Israel of her sins at the time when the righteous branch from the line of David.  God did this in Christ 2000 years ago. 

According to the syllabus (36:35) The Land will be like the Garden of Eden.

They will be restored to the Land and it will be seen as the Garden of Eden.  Again, a spiritual place – I believe that this simply means that it will be a place of restored fellowship between God and man where man has access to God’s presence and the life therein, which is exactly what we have in the kingdom in Christ, who is the very presence of God, Immanuel, God with us.

Now there’s good news and bad news with this message.  You should expect that there’s good news because remember part of our definition of the Kingdom.  The Kingdom is the gospel.  The arrival of the kingdom is good news.

But let me start with the bad news.  While Israel was expecting a regeneration, a renewal, a restoration to glory in this coming Kingdom under David, not all Israel was going to participate in this restoration.  While this regeneration was a corporate regeneration for the corporate body of Israel, as Paul tells us in Romans 9:6 Not all who descended from Israel are Israel.  There is Israel according to the flesh and Israel according to the Spirit.  Only individuals who participate in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit are true Israel, Spiritual Israel and belong to the Kingdom governed by Jesus, the King of Israel.

In other words, the bad news is that not everybody in Israel would enter the kingdom; but here is where the good news comes in:  many people from east and west, who didn’t descend from Israel by flesh and blood will enter the kingdom.  Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom.  To see the kingdom and enter it there must be a change from the natural to the spiritual.

Entrance into the kingdom is in a sense granted on an individual basis.

John 3:1ff  Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  ³ In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (unless he participates in the regeneration) ⁴ “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” ⁵ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Pointing back to the syllabus, Jesus indicates that the individuals who are born of the Spirit can see the kingdom of God.  The individuals who are born again and participate in the regenerating work of the Spirit enter the kingdom.  Not all Israel had eyes to see and many of them rejected their king.

But if you and I as individuals are born again, we can see the kingdom of God and we can enter into it.  How are we born again?  Peter tells us:

1 Pet 1:22-25  ²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.²⁴ For,“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, ²⁵ but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

You have received the living and enduring word of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If you have simply obeyed the truth and believed on Jesus and submitted to Him as King, declaring Jesus is Lord, you have been born again, born of the spirit and you have entered into the Glorious Kingdom of a restored, renewed, regenerated Israel, you dwell among the gathered people of Israel who have been sprinkled and cleansed, saved from sins, whose hearts have been made new, hearts that beat for God and desire to walk in obedience to Him. 

You are God’s people, Jehovah is your God, His Spirit is in you, His sanctuary is in your midst.  You dwell in a Kingdom that resembles the Garden of Eden as you dwell with God in His presence where you have access to the Tree of Life, as you serve the King of glory.  That, my friends, is the good news!

www.ncfgeorgetown.com  Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas Preterist church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Sermon audio mp3 sermon download Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled eschatology  Preterist church Austin Texas.  Bible church Austin Texas Second coming of Jesus Christ churches in Austin area. Non denominational Churches in Georgetown TX

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