Part 5 the prophecies of the Kingdom – the
resurrection
VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
Video killed the radio
star. As I understand it this was the
first video shown on MTV in 1981. Video
killed the radio star. Now what exactly
does that mean? Does that literally mean
that video literally killed a radio star?
No. It means that before video
came along, the radio singer enjoyed a prominent place of glory; there was a
time when someone could have an amazing voice and rise to stardom based on
their ability to sing. Before video, the
radio star was glorious. But since video
came along, the radio star was no longer in his prominent position of
glory. The days of glory for the radio
star were over. The arrival of video
stripped the radio star of his former glory.
Radio star was dead.
EXILE IS DEATH; GOD KILLED ISRAEL
Over the past few weeks we
have discussed the fact that Israel, at one point, was a glorious kingdom but
eventually, enemies came and destroyed them and their land and carried them
away into captivity. In 722 BC Assyria
came and destroyed the northern Kingdom and in 586 BC Babylon came and
destroyed the southern Kingdom. Israel
saw this state of exile as death.
As video killed the radio
star, God killed Israel. They were
stripped of the glory that they once had; they were dead and wanted to be
restored to life. Over the past few
weeks we have looked at the fact that Israel, in this hopeless state of exile
was looking to God for a day of restoration when they would be gathered back
into the land and have their glory restored.
God promised that a time was coming when they would.
He did this through His
prophets. We have likened the prophecies
in the OT to a syllabus. Just as a good
teacher gives a class a syllabus so that the
class will know what to expect, God gave His people Israel the prophets to know
what to expect in the coming Kingdom.
We have seen from the past
few weeks that the Kingdom is essentially a
restored, renewed, regenerated Israel.
Today we will see additionally that the kingdom is a resurrected Israel.
LIFE WAS IN THE LAND (GOD’S PRESENCE)
Symbolic of her life and
glory was Israel’s dwelling in the Land.
In the Land was the Temple where God dwelt. That’s where LIFE was. To be in the Land was the ultimate sign of
God’s approval and their ability to stand in his presence. To be exiled out of the Land and apart from
the temple was to be apart from God and thus dead. To be brought back into the land would be
viewed as restoration to life – a resurrection.
Turn with me in your Bibles to Ezekiel 37.
Last week we looked at Ezekiel 36. We are going to move forward in his prophecy
into chapter 37. I believe it is a
continuation and expansion of the same prophecy – the restoration of Israel.
We will continue to look at the prophets
as a syllabus, what Israel expected to come.
Last week, in Ezekiel 36, we saw that the
kingdom would be a renewed, restored, regenerated Israel. God would cleanse them from sin,
sprinkle them with clean water, give them a new heart, a new spirit and put His
spirit in them moving them to obedience.
Israel would be born again, regenerated.
Not all Israel would participate in the Kingdom – only those who were
born again.
So Ezekiel, prophesying as a captive in Babylon says:
Ezekiel 37 1The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by
the Spirit of the Lord and set me
in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back
and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley,
bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these
bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord,
you alone know. ”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy
to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the
Sovereign Lord says to these
bones: I will make breath (wind/spirit) enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will
attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I
will put breath (spirit) in you, and you will
come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
’”
7 So I prophesied as I was
commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and
the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and
flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy
to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: Come, breath, from the
four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So
I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and
stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Remember
that the prophets were given visions that were metaphoric in nature. They weren’t always told what their visions
represented. In this case, God tells
Ezekiel exactly what the bones represent.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of
man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up
and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say
to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord
says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I
will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my
people, will know that I am the Lord,
when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put
my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.
Then you will know that I the Lord
have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.
’”
So
God’s syllabus contains here Israel, namely
Judah, who have been destroyed at the hands of a foreign army and removed from
their land, removed from the presence of God.
They see themselves as dead, with no hope. God through Ezekiel foretells that he will
open their graves take them out of the graves, breathe life into them, put his
spirit in them and bring them back to the land.
They saw removal from the land as death and being in the land in the
presence of God as life. This is the resurrection of Israel.
We
have the same elements of Ezekiel 36 on regeneration: brought back to
the land (v12) and I will put my spirit in you (v14), indicating that this
vision of the resurrection is simply an expansion of the promise of
regeneration. Not only was this getting
a new heart and spirit, being reborn, this was life from the dead, and I
believe it is eternal life.
So
the resurrection, which was the hope of Israel, is essentially the same as the
regeneration, when an Israel who saw herself as dead, would receive the breath
of life (the Holy Spirit) and receive new life, a new birth, a going from death
to life. This would be manifest in the
return to the Land. They anticipated a
literal return to a literal land.
This occurred after 70 years of captivity in
Babylon, but this return to the physical land was only a type; God had better
things in store – a gathering into Christ, where one receives eternal life –
access to the presence of God.
We can gain more insight by looking at Hosea. Turn with me to Hosea 5. Hosea, like Ezekiel was a prophet who acted
out his prophecies. God had him marry an
adultress who would have children that didn’t belong to him. This would show Israel what they had done to
God - idols.
While Hosea spoke to both northern and southern kingdoms,
the bulk of his prophetic message was to the northern kingdom telling them that
God would bring Assyria against them to destroy them and remove them from the
land because of their sin.
Like Ezekiel, Hosea depicts exile as death.
Hosea 5:13ff 13 “When Ephraim (northern kingdom) saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim
turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear
them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. 15 Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me. ”
Beginning in chapter
6 we see a depiction of this admission:
Hosea 6:1ff “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let
us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. ”
Their
hope was cut off. They were dead. They expected a time when God would rescue
them from death, a time when he would revive them so that they could live in
his presence. That for them was life
being in His presence – in the LAND.
Notice when this revival to life would occur. In Hosea
6:2
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us that we
may live in his presence.
When? After two days. On the third day.
According
to the syllabus, God would resurrect Israel, bringing her back into the Land. Question: Did
God bring Israel back to the land after 2 days? Is that
when Israel’s restoration occurred? Is
that when Israel’s resurrection occurred?
No. They were in exile for
years. What is this third day business
all about?
As we
have in the past few weeks, let’s look at the NT as our transcript to see how
God followed
the syllabus in fulfillment of His promises.
Turn with
me to 1 Cor 15.
The
question is how does God fulfill His promise to Israel that He will raise her
from the dead? The answer is the same as
that classic Sunday School answer.
Jesus! Jesus is the resurrection!
As you’re
turning to 1 Cor 15, I’d like to share with you a story that adds
force to Paul’s argument in 1 Cor.
In John 11 Jesus gets word that the disciple he loved was
sick (Lazarus). Instead of rushing to
heal him before he died, Jesus took his time and when he finally got to
Lazarus, he was dead. And everyone is
like, “Jesus.
If you would have gotten here sooner, we could have prevented this.
Thanks.” Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.” Now Martha
answers in John 11:24 “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at
the last day.”
Why do
you think Martha expected a resurrection?
Israel
had a syllabus.
Do you
know how Jesus responded to her? John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life.”
(Jesus is
the true Israel – I AM…Jesus)
You
remember when the prophet Ezekiel had the vision of the dry bones and God said to
prophesy to them and make them come to life.
That resurrection occurs in ME, I AM the
resurrection.
You
remember when Hosea said “He has
torn us to pieces. Let us seek him that
he may restore us. After two days he
will revive us; on the third day he will restore us that we may live in his
presence.” That
resurrection occurs in ME, I AM the
resurrection.
Now that you’re in 1 Cor 15, Check this out:
1 Cor 15:1-4 Now, brothers, I want to
remind you of the gospel (kingdom
– that’s the context) I
preached to you, which you
received and on which you have taken your stand.
2 By this
gospel you are saved, if you
hold firmly to the
word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For
what I received I passed
on to you as of
first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (the death of Jesus
wasn’t a pop quiz. It wasn’t a random
lecture. The death of Jesus was a part
of the syllabus) 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the
third day according
to the Scriptures Jesus
rising on the third day wasn’t a random happenstance. It was according to the scriptures. God, in Christ, is doing what he said he would do long ago in the syllabus. He was raised on the third day according to
the Scriptures. Which Scriptures? Which passage? I have a sneaking suspicion that Paul is
referring to Hosea 6:2.
Hosea 5 and 6 are about Israel having been put to death by God being
exiled and feeling like hope was cut off and hoping for a time of resurrection,
restoration, and through Hosea, there was a message of Hope. After 3 days Israel would be raised. How were they raised? In Jesus Christ: Jesus is the true Israel (I
develop that more thoroughly in the I AM series). Those who are IN CHRIST make up the true
Israel that participate in the resurrection to life and dwell in the kingdom.
IT WAS A SIGN
Keep your
place in 1 Cor 15 and turn with me to Matt 12:38
The
tendency is to think that since Jesus was raised bodily that one day all
believers will experience the same exact kind of resurrection – one day God
will literally take individuals out of their graves and put their bones back
together literally and put flesh on them.
However, I believe that the Scriptures actually teach something
different about Jesus’ bodily resurrection.
The
Scriptures teach that the bodily resurrection of Jesus was a sign; it was the
physical act that depicted a spiritual reality.
It was the outward sign of an otherwise unseen reality. I’m married but you can’t see that. You can see this ring – it’s a sign of my
marriage covenant. God covenant with
Noah, can’t see that, but see rainbow.
God was raising Israel from the dead restoring Israel to glory, but this
was a spiritual reality that you couldn’t see.
So God gave physical signs to demonstrate these spiritual
realities. God was following the syllabus and raising Israel, his son. To demonstrate that He raised his son from
the dead on the third day.
Matt 12:38ff 38 Then some
of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see
a miraculous sign from
you.”
39 He
answered, “A wicked
and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it
except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The resurrection of Jesus’ physical body from the
grave was a sign, a physical demonstration of the spiritual reality that God
was in the process of raising his son Israel from the dead.
CORPORATE FROM BODY
OF ISRAEL à CHRIST
This
is a corporate body resurrection of Israel.
Yes, it involves individuals, but individuals who make up a corporate
body. The body of Israel was put to
death, sown, in dishonor, in weakness, in shame, in the natural,
perishable. The body of true Israel is
regenerated, becomes the Body of Christ, and is raised in glory, in power, in
the Spirit, imperishable.
The
body of Israel was put to death in dishonor, regenerated, and was raised as the
Body of Christ in glory.
The
body of Israel was put to death in weakness, regenerated, and was raised as the
Body of Christ in power.
The
body of Israel was put to death in the natural, regenerated, and was raised as
the Body of Christ in the spirit.
The
body of Israel was sown perishable, regenerated, and was raised as the Body of
Christ imperishable.
This
body of Christ is the renewed, restored,
regenerated, resurrected body of Israel.
The body of Christ is the Israel to whom the kingdom belongs. The kingdom is a
resurrected Israel.
The Body of Christ is the vast army that Ezekiel
saw, the dry bones that have come to life.
The Body of Christ is the kingdom made up of
individuals who say with one voice, “We have no king but Jesus! You can have Caesar. You can have the world. Just give us Jesus!”
CONNECTION TO THE KINGDOM
I want to
show you the connection between the resurrection and the Kingdom.
You
should still have your place in 1
Cor 15. This text begins with Paul
reminding them of the gospel. What is
the gospel? The kingdom. Look what he goes on to say in verse 50ff
1 Cor 15:50ff 50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will be changed — 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed.
When does
resurrection happen according to Paul?
At the last trumpet. How many
trumpets were there to be?
In the
book of revelation, God does things in sevens.
There are seven seals, seven bowls, seven trumpets. So the seventh trumpet is the last
trumpet. Look what happens at the
seventh trumpet.
Rev 11:15 The
seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
The
kingdom is fully realized at the last trumpet, which is also when the
resurrection occurs. The kingdom is a resurrected Israel.
THIS
IS THE GOOD NEWS
Good news. Jesus
died and rose on the 3rd day just as the
syllabus foretold. Jesus IS the
resurrection. Through
participation in Him, one participates in the life of the resurrected
Israel. The
kingdom is a resurrected Israel that operates not under the
administration of death - the OC, but under the administration of LIFE, the
ministry of the Spirit, the New Covenant.
God’s message of good news to Israel was a time is
coming when you will be restored, renewed,
regenerated, resurrected, brought back from the exile of death and brought into
the life of his presence. “O Israel, the
day is coming when you will be able to stand before God in His presence. Good news; you will rise from the death that
you are now experiencing in exile.”
The time is coming when the ministration of death (OC)
would pass away and God would establish a Kingdom, citizens under a NC whose
righteousness is His righteousness. Good
news! God will one day raise you, O
Israel from the dead. This occurred in
Christ in the first century.
GOOD
NEWS FOR US
But
remember that not all Israel participated in the regeneration; not all Israel
would receive the new life. The only
people who participated in the resurrection to life are those in Christ. And that was not limited to Israel according
to the flesh. The new birth, the going
from death to life was not limited to national Israel. That’s where the good news for us comes in.
Paul,
writing to a church made up of Gentiles writes:
Ephesians 2:1ff 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions
and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the
ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and
thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
So all
who place their faith in Jesus Christ would have life. The resurrection was occurring in Jesus
Christ and those who were in Christ would go from death to life. They would go from a state of being apart
from God to being able to stand in God’s presence.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ALL. Jews and Gentiles, alike!
The wages of sin is death, being separated from God. BUT the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Want
life? Faith in Jesus is the way. He is the
resurrection and THE LIFE! Life is
in Him.
The good news for us is that we participate in the
renewed Kingdom. We get to come into the
Kingdom of Israel, we get to belong to the elect people of God. The kingdom we
come into is not a nation that laments a state of death outside of the presence
of God but a
kingdom in which we dwell with Him, able to stand in His presence.
God is life.
Life is in Him. We can have the
greatest job, make the most money, be the healthiest, have the coolest toys, be
the most attractive, have the highest titles but if we don’t have the life of
Christ we aren’t really living.
We tend to think that if we are breathing air and if
our hearts are beating then we are alive, but what is breath if the air we
breathe is not the breath of Life from God?
What is a beating heart if that heart is not beating for the Lord?
It is a marvelous thing to be able to stand in his
presence. That is LIFE!
The other day Anika got in trouble with mom. I told her to come to me. She wouldn’t.
She hid her face in her hands, and trembling she began to sob, and shook
her head no. I was baffled. I simply wanted to take her into my arms,
embrace her, tell her that I loved her and comfort her.
Later when she calmed down enough to talk, I asked her
why she didn’t come to me. She said
because she thought I was going to be mad at her; she thought I was going to
condemn her. But she wants her father’s approval and the
thought of not having that was more than she could take.
Likewise, we seek the approval of our heavenly
father. We shudder at the idea of God
being displeased with us. After all, it is a dreadful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Our God is a consuming fire.
He pours out his wrath upon those with whom he is displeased.
Our desire is to be able to stand in his presence; we
want His approval.
Again, with Anika:
Yesterday, upon returning from the service project, Bre
picked me up from the Millers. As soon
as I got in the van Anika was so excited to see me. The first words out of her mouth, “Daddy, you’ll
never guess what I got! I have a
surprise for you.” She had a $10
giftcard for Target and she spent her money on something to please me. As soon as we got home she ran upstairs. She came downstairs in only underwear – underwear
with Agent P on them. Agent P is Perry
the Platypus from a cartoon we watch together called Phineas and Ferb. This is currently my favorite show. No qualifiers. My favorite.
She wanted to please her father.
Bre was like, “She doesn’t make decisions based on what will please me!”
She wants to please her father. She wants to be able to stand in her father’s
presence knowing that I am pleased with her, that my face is smiling upon her.
In the same way, we want God’s approval. We want to stand in His presence knowing that
He is pleased with us and that His face is smiling upon us. Good news.
Through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, we have it. We stand before God in His presence. We are not condemned for sin. There is no
condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. He
is pleased with us. That is LIFE. We are truly alive!
For Israel to be out of the land was the ultimate sign
that God is not pleased. That was death
– that was Israel lamenting with her face in her hands, shuddering, unable to
stand in God’s presence. But in Jesus
Christ, God renewed Israel, cleansed Israel of sin,
gave her a new heart, a new spirit, put his spirit in her, brought her to life,
brought her to Himself to stand in His presence. This is the kingdom to which we belong!
As one last word of encouragement, I want to share a
clip with you from the movie the 6th sense. “I see dead people…”
Everyday, we see dead people. All around us. They don’t even know they’re dead. They only see what they want to see. Like that boy, we have a secret. OUR secret is the gospel. Let’s share our secret. They don’t have to stay dead. They can experience LIFE. We have the secret to being able to stand in
his presence. Let’s invite people into
the kingdom to experience the Life that is in Him. Let’s share the good news that one doesn’t
need to stand with hands covering his face, shuddering at the idea that God is
not pleased and that they can’t stand in His presence. Because through faith in Jesus they can. They can stand in His presence without
condemnation, before a Heavenly father who loves us and simply wants to embrace
and comfort us.
We don’t belong to a kingdom that is in exile apart
from God’s presence, but to a kingdom that is a
resurrected Israel that can stand in His presence, an Israel that is
truly ALIVE! We are alive in Christ. Let’s live!
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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