Post by Benjamin on Jul 27, 2014 4:07:24 GMT
Over the past few years, I've spent some time reading through the Psalms. What strikes me, in these Last Days, is the sheer volume of content contained within the Psalms that is distinctly Messianic. Some, we know already. Psalm 22 is an intricate, painstaking dissection of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; a prophecy spoken hundreds of years before His birth here among us, but undeniably dealing with the specific circumstances of His death in a manner that no man could have known (after all, crucifixion hadn't even been invented by the Persians when David penned that Psalm). Others, like one of my favourites in Psalm 45, are distinctly referential to the Coming King, and the establishment of His Kingdom here on earth.
Today, however, I was struck by one that may not immediately leap out at you as being Messianic. This is Psalm 100:
There are a number of distinctive points in this Psalm that I'd like to draw your attention to. I'll do so one at a time, and hopefully demonstrate some key points that are incredibly relevant to us in this day and age, particularly as we see the Day of the Lord's return approaching. Those points are:
1) The nature of the call
2) The nature of the visitation
3) The nature of the eternal covenant.
The Nature of the Call
The first thing that struck me about this Psalm is the nature of the call. Verse 1 says "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!".
This may seem like a cursory and self-evident truth; after all, as Psalm 24 stresses, "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it"; and yet we need to understand that this Psalm is distinctly Jewish. It speaks in a Jewish worship context. "Come before His presence with singing", verse 2 says; "we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture", verse 3. The Psalmist calls us to "enter into His courts with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise."
This begs the question, however: why, in a distinctly Jewish Psalm, in a distinctly Jewish book, written by a distinctly Jewish King, does God call "all you lands"? This is the nature of the call. Luke 2 illuminates this call for us. You may remember Simeon, an elderly man who had been told "by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah" (Luke 2:26). When Simeon saw Jesus, he "took him in his arms, blessed God, and said:
In this passage (Luke 2:29-32), Simeon outlines for us the nature of the call of Jesus Christ. The Messiah was born to be "a light to bring revelation" to who? To the Gentiles. To "all you lands". To many of us, this might seem like a self-evident truth; after all, Scripture speaks of this repeatedly, and we ourselves have benefited of the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus. However, Simeon doesn't leave the story there. Jesus Christ, God's Messiah, came to be "a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel". This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the nature of the call: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. This is why Paul says that "blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (Romans 11:25), because the call of Jesus Christ is universal.
The nature of the visitation
The second point that leaps out of this Psalm is the nature of the visitation of Jesus Christ.
Verse 4 says "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."
It is worth noting that the Psalmist is calling "all you lands" to "serve the Lord with gladness" in a literal, physical location, within His gates, and inside His courts. Where, then, are these gates and courts? The temple!
Now, many will seek to apply these verses in an allegorical, non-literal sense. However, Scripture doesn't allow for this interpretation to be made with any validity. We have seen in the first point that the nature of the call is such that it applies to Gentiles also; however, we know from history that the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD. Likewise, we know that the gospel was not given to the Gentiles until Acts 10, with Peter's ministry to the Roman Centurion Cornelius. Where, then, does this Psalm call the Nations to? To an allegorical temple? Not at all; Scripture shows in perfect clarity that all nations will come to a literal, physical temple to worship Christ the King during His Millennial Reign.
Zechariah speaks of this literal temple in chapter 14:16-19:
This passage clearly shows that the Temple that the Psalmist is referring to is not the Temple of Solomon (which pre-dated the gospel to the Gentiles), nor some ethereal, heavenly allegory, but a literal, physical temple yet to be built here on earth. This temple is outlined and painstakingly detailed in the book of Ezekiel, and will be built according to these specifications for the reign of Jesus Christ. Revelation states that those who have "been beheaded for their witness to Jesus" during the Tribulation will "live and reign with Christ for a thousand years" (20:5). This thousand years is a time period spoken of at some length in Scripture. I won't go into great detail about it here; further detail can be found in Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65-70, Revelation 20, Zechariah 14, Ezekiel 40-44, and many, many more. The sheer volume and intricate detail in which the reign of Christ upon the earth is outlined in scripture defies allegorical interpretation.
The Nature of the Eternal Covenant
We are all familiar with Isaiah 9:
In this passage, the eternal nature of God's covenant with man is revealed.
The throne of Christ will be "Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom... from that time forward, even forever."
This is the beauty and the majesty of Psalm 100: that "they shall call His name 'Immanuel', which is translated God with us". Given a cursory glance, this may seem like a Christian cliche, but Scripture never uses words without intent. A deeper truth is revealed here: the nature of God's eternal covenant with man is God with us, and not us with God.
This is why, in Revelation 21, we see "the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God... she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel." (21:10-13).
The prophet Malachi stresses this point also, stating that "the Lord, whom you seek, will come suddenly to His Temple" (Malachi 3:1). Obviously there is already a fulfilment of this verse (for Jesus Christ did indeed come to His temple); however, Isaiah completes the picture - demonstrating that The Messiah will come to reign from a literal temple, with literal courts and literal gates, and will bring the Gentiles (even the Gentiles!) to worship Him.
For centuries, the Church has rejected this truth. I believe that the Church was blinded, in part, by the rejection of the Jews, and the dissolution of Israel at the hands of the Roman Empire. This series of events led to some of the church fathers preferring instead to view Scripture as allegory, and to 'spiritualize' the gospel truth (after all, how can Jesus Christ come to reign from Israel for 1000 years, when there is no Israel?). I believe that for some time, the Lord overlooked such unbelief; in grace, blessing and prospering His people despite their rejection, either through ignorance or confusion, of His chosen people, Israel. Since 1948, however, such ignorance cannot be justified. Jeremiah 29-31 clearly shows the pattern that Israel so often followed: rejection / dispersion / regathering. Over and over, this pattern is revealed in Scripture, to the point that it dominates the ideology of almost every single book of prophecy. It is here that we lose something, as Gentiles. For the Gentile, prophecy is prediction; for the Jew, prophecy is pattern.
This pattern has been borne out in these Last Days. Israel, having been rejected by God (70AD), dispersed (throughout history) and regathered (1948), now maintains the land in unbelief. Yet Christ, "who scattered Israel, will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock" (Jeremiah 31:10). We must remember that when Jesus' disciples asked Him, "What will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3), Jesus replied:
"...when you see the 'abomination of desolation' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place..."
This demands two key factors:
1) Israel in the land once more; and
2) a Temple.
The first of these two points has been fulfilled... the second may occur at any time. We know, however, that the rise of one we commonly call 'The Antichrist' must occur first, and that a 'covenant with many' will be enacted that will enable these things to take place.
Jesus, making reference to the book of Daniel, refers to the this time period ('the Tribulation'), as a time of "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21)
The point, then, is this:
There is a glorious day approaching - but before that day arrives, judgement must come.
Time is short. There will be a day when Jesus Christ, Messiah the King, returns to His people, Israel, but that day is not yet. Before Psalm 100 finds its final fulfilment, the world must endure 7 years of Tribulation.
Let me take you back to the nature of the call.
Scripture says "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). There is an implicit, darker side to this verse: there will come a day in which God will come not in grace, but in judgement. This verse from Isaiah precedes the passages about the glorious reign of Jesus Christ, and speaks with utter urgency. Time is running out; the clock is ticking, and prophecy will not wait. Habbakkuk 2:3 says "the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end, and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come, and will not delay."
The day is rapidly appoaching in which God's judgement will be felt upon the entire earth.
Zephaniah 1 tells us that:
This seven-year period will be unlike any other that the earth has ever experienced. The judgement of God will be poured out upon the earth powerfully and effectively. Before that day, however, there will be an evacuation. The Bible calls this event the "harpazo" (or, in latin, the 'rapture'); a "snatching away" of believers to escape the judgement of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says:
Time is running out. The prophetic clock is ticking, and the appointed time will not wait.
If you have not yet met the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, now is the time to seek Him, while He may be found.
His was the blood that was shed for you, and for many, for the forgiveness of sin, to bring you spotless and without blemish to God. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and our separation from God was taken away by His suffering for us. Life, abundant life, is found in Christ alone. He calls to you today, longing to be "God with us", and to make His covenant with you. He will be the Coming King, either in judgement, or in mercy.
For "at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father".
Amen!
Come, Lord Jesus.
Today, however, I was struck by one that may not immediately leap out at you as being Messianic. This is Psalm 100:
A Song of Praise for the Lord’s Faithfulness to His People
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
There are a number of distinctive points in this Psalm that I'd like to draw your attention to. I'll do so one at a time, and hopefully demonstrate some key points that are incredibly relevant to us in this day and age, particularly as we see the Day of the Lord's return approaching. Those points are:
1) The nature of the call
2) The nature of the visitation
3) The nature of the eternal covenant.
The Nature of the Call
The first thing that struck me about this Psalm is the nature of the call. Verse 1 says "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!".
This may seem like a cursory and self-evident truth; after all, as Psalm 24 stresses, "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it"; and yet we need to understand that this Psalm is distinctly Jewish. It speaks in a Jewish worship context. "Come before His presence with singing", verse 2 says; "we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture", verse 3. The Psalmist calls us to "enter into His courts with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise."
This begs the question, however: why, in a distinctly Jewish Psalm, in a distinctly Jewish book, written by a distinctly Jewish King, does God call "all you lands"? This is the nature of the call. Luke 2 illuminates this call for us. You may remember Simeon, an elderly man who had been told "by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah" (Luke 2:26). When Simeon saw Jesus, he "took him in his arms, blessed God, and said:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
In this passage (Luke 2:29-32), Simeon outlines for us the nature of the call of Jesus Christ. The Messiah was born to be "a light to bring revelation" to who? To the Gentiles. To "all you lands". To many of us, this might seem like a self-evident truth; after all, Scripture speaks of this repeatedly, and we ourselves have benefited of the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus. However, Simeon doesn't leave the story there. Jesus Christ, God's Messiah, came to be "a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel". This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the nature of the call: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. This is why Paul says that "blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (Romans 11:25), because the call of Jesus Christ is universal.
The nature of the visitation
The second point that leaps out of this Psalm is the nature of the visitation of Jesus Christ.
Verse 4 says "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."
It is worth noting that the Psalmist is calling "all you lands" to "serve the Lord with gladness" in a literal, physical location, within His gates, and inside His courts. Where, then, are these gates and courts? The temple!
Now, many will seek to apply these verses in an allegorical, non-literal sense. However, Scripture doesn't allow for this interpretation to be made with any validity. We have seen in the first point that the nature of the call is such that it applies to Gentiles also; however, we know from history that the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD. Likewise, we know that the gospel was not given to the Gentiles until Acts 10, with Peter's ministry to the Roman Centurion Cornelius. Where, then, does this Psalm call the Nations to? To an allegorical temple? Not at all; Scripture shows in perfect clarity that all nations will come to a literal, physical temple to worship Christ the King during His Millennial Reign.
Zechariah speaks of this literal temple in chapter 14:16-19:
And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
This passage clearly shows that the Temple that the Psalmist is referring to is not the Temple of Solomon (which pre-dated the gospel to the Gentiles), nor some ethereal, heavenly allegory, but a literal, physical temple yet to be built here on earth. This temple is outlined and painstakingly detailed in the book of Ezekiel, and will be built according to these specifications for the reign of Jesus Christ. Revelation states that those who have "been beheaded for their witness to Jesus" during the Tribulation will "live and reign with Christ for a thousand years" (20:5). This thousand years is a time period spoken of at some length in Scripture. I won't go into great detail about it here; further detail can be found in Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65-70, Revelation 20, Zechariah 14, Ezekiel 40-44, and many, many more. The sheer volume and intricate detail in which the reign of Christ upon the earth is outlined in scripture defies allegorical interpretation.
The Nature of the Eternal Covenant
We are all familiar with Isaiah 9:
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
In this passage, the eternal nature of God's covenant with man is revealed.
The throne of Christ will be "Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom... from that time forward, even forever."
This is the beauty and the majesty of Psalm 100: that "they shall call His name 'Immanuel', which is translated God with us". Given a cursory glance, this may seem like a Christian cliche, but Scripture never uses words without intent. A deeper truth is revealed here: the nature of God's eternal covenant with man is God with us, and not us with God.
This is why, in Revelation 21, we see "the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God... she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel." (21:10-13).
The prophet Malachi stresses this point also, stating that "the Lord, whom you seek, will come suddenly to His Temple" (Malachi 3:1). Obviously there is already a fulfilment of this verse (for Jesus Christ did indeed come to His temple); however, Isaiah completes the picture - demonstrating that The Messiah will come to reign from a literal temple, with literal courts and literal gates, and will bring the Gentiles (even the Gentiles!) to worship Him.
"Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isaiah 56:7)
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isaiah 56:7)
For centuries, the Church has rejected this truth. I believe that the Church was blinded, in part, by the rejection of the Jews, and the dissolution of Israel at the hands of the Roman Empire. This series of events led to some of the church fathers preferring instead to view Scripture as allegory, and to 'spiritualize' the gospel truth (after all, how can Jesus Christ come to reign from Israel for 1000 years, when there is no Israel?). I believe that for some time, the Lord overlooked such unbelief; in grace, blessing and prospering His people despite their rejection, either through ignorance or confusion, of His chosen people, Israel. Since 1948, however, such ignorance cannot be justified. Jeremiah 29-31 clearly shows the pattern that Israel so often followed: rejection / dispersion / regathering. Over and over, this pattern is revealed in Scripture, to the point that it dominates the ideology of almost every single book of prophecy. It is here that we lose something, as Gentiles. For the Gentile, prophecy is prediction; for the Jew, prophecy is pattern.
This pattern has been borne out in these Last Days. Israel, having been rejected by God (70AD), dispersed (throughout history) and regathered (1948), now maintains the land in unbelief. Yet Christ, "who scattered Israel, will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock" (Jeremiah 31:10). We must remember that when Jesus' disciples asked Him, "What will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3), Jesus replied:
"...when you see the 'abomination of desolation' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place..."
This demands two key factors:
1) Israel in the land once more; and
2) a Temple.
The first of these two points has been fulfilled... the second may occur at any time. We know, however, that the rise of one we commonly call 'The Antichrist' must occur first, and that a 'covenant with many' will be enacted that will enable these things to take place.
Jesus, making reference to the book of Daniel, refers to the this time period ('the Tribulation'), as a time of "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21)
The point, then, is this:
There is a glorious day approaching - but before that day arrives, judgement must come.
Time is short. There will be a day when Jesus Christ, Messiah the King, returns to His people, Israel, but that day is not yet. Before Psalm 100 finds its final fulfilment, the world must endure 7 years of Tribulation.
Let me take you back to the nature of the call.
Scripture says "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). There is an implicit, darker side to this verse: there will come a day in which God will come not in grace, but in judgement. This verse from Isaiah precedes the passages about the glorious reign of Jesus Christ, and speaks with utter urgency. Time is running out; the clock is ticking, and prophecy will not wait. Habbakkuk 2:3 says "the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end, and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come, and will not delay."
The day is rapidly appoaching in which God's judgement will be felt upon the entire earth.
Zephaniah 1 tells us that:
The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
15 That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of trumpet and alarm...
17 “I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
15 That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of trumpet and alarm...
17 “I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”
This seven-year period will be unlike any other that the earth has ever experienced. The judgement of God will be poured out upon the earth powerfully and effectively. Before that day, however, there will be an evacuation. The Bible calls this event the "harpazo" (or, in latin, the 'rapture'); a "snatching away" of believers to escape the judgement of God.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says:
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Time is running out. The prophetic clock is ticking, and the appointed time will not wait.
If you have not yet met the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, now is the time to seek Him, while He may be found.
His was the blood that was shed for you, and for many, for the forgiveness of sin, to bring you spotless and without blemish to God. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and our separation from God was taken away by His suffering for us. Life, abundant life, is found in Christ alone. He calls to you today, longing to be "God with us", and to make His covenant with you. He will be the Coming King, either in judgement, or in mercy.
For "at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father".
Amen!
Come, Lord Jesus.
