The Shulamite(debugged)

The Search For The Shulamite
The most perfect, beautiful and desirable woman

Who can find a virtuous women? Proverbs 31:10
A beautiful women who rejects good sense is like a gold ring in a pig's snout
Proverbs 11:21



The Question: A book about love, written in beautiful poetry, 'the Song of Songs', also known as 'The Song of Solomon' talks of a Shulamite women who is beautiful and desirable to her beloved more than all others. The question that begs to be asked is, "What makes the her so desirable?"

Search for an answer: Was it just her natural attributes or was there something else? Her physical features don't seem to have been as exceptional yet she was loved more than all the others (Song of songs 8:8). Why was she Solomon's favorite? Could there be a double entendre woven into this unusual poetry? Could it be as some writers and commentators have suggested a metaphor for a soul who is loved by God and one who is desirable to Him for friendship and fellowship? We will leave that for another dscussion.

The following essay ponders what the heart of such a beautiful women loved by God (and her man) might be like. We have upped the ante of beauty to include righteousness. Remember the teenage movie 'weird science' in which two wiz kids are somehow able to create the ultimate woman who turns out to be the once beautiful model Kelly Lebrock? If we apply spiritual(and not just physical) parameters to create a picture of this most beloved of women, would we possibly come up with the shulamite of Solomon or a heretical monstrosity? Read bellow and You be the judge. No one woman might have all these attributes but 'her' ideals can be studied and emulated beacuse in of themselves they are etrnally relavant and trancedent virtues that come right out of God's Word The Bible!

We hope you do the deeper searches with the linked scriptures and are able to form at least a rough caricature her. You can then supply the flesh to her skeletal form. In the least, We hope to show that a two dimentional physical appearance is not all there is to beauty even after you consider a bright intellect as they do in beauty pagents. It would be interesting to see what woman can come up with as an answer to the question of what real beauty is. We have opened up the discussion so you can participate and add to it. Therfore, this essay is not a final a verdict as to what real beauty may be.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Who is the shulamite or what was(is) she like?

Conjecture or Assumption: The essence of a shulamite can be expressed as a collage of other virtuous women in the bible who are spoken of well by the spirit.

She has an inner spiritual beauty (translate-the fruits of the spirit) along with (and not just) the know-how to make herself look attractive on the outside like Sarah. ( Not everyone inherits genes that make for exceptional physical beauty like Sarah, so you have to work with what God gave you but everyone can have the more precious inner beauty, the beauty of salvation). She is aware of modern fashion but dresses modestly when it comes to her choice of hairstyle, apparel, jewelry or makeup. She does not seek attention by wearing skimpy or flashy clothes but lets her inward good character be the point of conversation among her peers. She is not driven or motivated by lust or greed but lets higher principles (of The Word & The Spirit) be her light and guide!. She honors her body (she does not cheapen it!) as the seat of birth and as a temple. She keeps herself in good physical shape and health.

She considers Christian submission (to a righteous rule or directive) as a good thing so she exercises it. She is chaste with eyes only for her betrothed and the bridegroom (I mean Jesus, of course). She is a lover of Jesus like Mary Magdalene. She is a devout, focused and attentive disciple (as a student of righteousness) like Martha's sister, Mary. She has a servant's heart and is not bossy. She is a kind, gentle and humble soul like Mary mother of Jesus who would be both a good mother and a good wife. She has a giving heart and keeps giving even though she has next to nothing herself or is going through a hard time like the generous widow who gave her last two coins. She is a faithful minister unto the Lord like Elisabeth, always serving the Lord in His house and having His priorities at heart! Aware of her own faults and shortcomings, she is not overly judgmental but practices being merciful!

She is a resourceful person (a proverbs 31 women) able to cook and keep a clean and organized household as well as having wisdom along with a reverential fear and respect for God. She is a spiritual/prayer warrior like Esther, whose courage and decisiveness saves her people from certain destruction. She is loyal and faithful to her kin (brothers and sisters in Christ) and to God himself like Ruth was to Naomi. We are making the conjecture that this is what constitutes the perfect women, the proverbial Shulamite from the 'Song of Songs' who is also a type of the church. Since the 'Song of Songs' is a book about intimacy the shulamite is a worshipper and all her good qualities come and flow from the intimacy she has with Jesus. As a worshipper, She dances for joy, singing and rejoicing over the victories of her beloved like Miriam. She is full of laughter and the joy of her maker.

These qualities don't come overnight but are lofty qualities that take a lifetime to develop through God's grace and help. If you feel you don't have them all, don't worry, not many women are like that. Just be one that trusts in Jesus and He will work those qualities in you! Only be willing to be changed and molded by him. A good place to get started to having her qualities is to get introduced to her beloved Yeshau! Here is how!

Timeliness

3:1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Eccles. 3:1-8 (KJV)

1.To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Introduction

This introductory statement in verse one in the above passage provides for a succinct statement for all the specific applications listed bellow it, so we will delve into its implications more deeply before looking at the other verses. Verse one in the above passage posits for us a gem of an idea. It’s a beautiful idea that is not always apparent to us who live down here on earth. The seeming randomness of life, its cumbersomeness, its repetitiveness make us sometimes to believe that there is no plan or propose to life and the events that are happening in our world. But according to this statement by Solomon events are not haphazardly taking place and they are not random but they happen according to the predetermined plan and purpose that God has for them. This is not to say that all things are robotically pre planned before in eternity with no leeway for human will or impetus having a role in shaping a destiny. Both the sovereignty of God and the will of man are taught in the Bible even if we can’t always reconcile them intellectually. The latter mentioned is obviously smaller by comparison but does play some role.

God’s sovereignty and time

Time comes from the one who spun our globe(earth) on her axis and causes her to complete a single rotation amounting to a day. The idea of timeliness fits snugly into one of the great themes of the scriptures, that of the sovereignty of God in all of human life and activity. Stated precisely, The Lord by His infinite wisdom has established the times and purposes for all things that take place under heaven. He controls them and wields them according to His will. Time, like all things created by God, falls under the category of things upon which The Lord sovereignly reigns over. One recalls for example the great general Joshua, who prayed for and was granted more daylight-time to conclude his battles (Joshua 10:120).

The wise Solomon was aware of and sensitive to this aspect of wisdom, which we call today as timeliness. Solomon had said concerning love, presumably in his younger days, “do not awaken love before its time”(Song. 2:7; 8:4). In chapter three of ecclesiastics, which he must have written in the latter days of his life, he again echoes timeliness as being important to all aspects of life. In its simplest rendering the gist of this section in Ecclesiastes is to show the importance of good timing. Stated another way, it exhorts us that there is a right time to do certain things. It seems also to imply that we need to have enough wisdom to know the proper time to do certain things.

Today we say things like “Time is of the essence” or “Comedy is all about timing.” In a profound sense this idea of timeliness can transcends a mundane understanding and can be applied towards spiritual things the way Jesus and Paul had done. We can say then that synchronicity with heaven is of ‘the outmost essence’. Today, we need to discern the Lord’s will for our lives along with the right timing to execute them. Paul for example had spent a season of preparation after his conversion before he set out to go on his world changing missions. He said that before setting out to go to Jerusalem that he had spent some time in Arabia. One can imagine that he was in deep prayer and study in preparation for the work God had ordained for him. We also are doing the same thing when we come to seminary to study.

Spiritual Timing

The Lord thought us to pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Since messiah broke into our world and put on humanity in order to save us, the purposes of God and heaven also have come down to us and we are to work with them in synchronicity.

35Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. John 4:35 (KJV)

2He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matthew 16:2-3 (KJV)

We are to have the spiritual insight to know that the harvest is indeed ready for reaping.We need to be able to see spiritual realities and not be blind to a lost and dying world the way the Pharisees must have been. Jesus told his disciples (and spoke to us by proxy) to work while it is still light because the darkness can come anytime when no one can work. Paul, for example says to us, “Be ready in season and out of season (i.e. preach)" These are all scriptural examples that speak of time and timeliness and of being synchronized with heaven’s plan and purposes.

The Lord’s Timing and prayer

The word time is mentioned 72 times in the gospels (76 if you include ‘times’) counting from the KJV version of the bible. In His time of ministry the Lord used to say, ‘I do what my father shows me". Every word, miracle was synchronized with The Father and that synchronicity happened during His prayer time. It can safely be said that, we ought to spend sufficient time in prayer so that we will know what the Lord would have us to do, as well as, where and when He wants us to do it. So the key to understanding and applying the timeliness that Solomon so eloquently talks about is to spend time with The Lord who fashioned time and still controls it.

Application: There are two ways we can practically look at and apply the above scriptures that Solomon presented to us. Negatively, We should be careful not to forgo the opportunities that present themselves to us especially those that are spiritual in nature. For example, when one senses a tug by the Holy Spirit to pray, it is essential to do so. On the other side of the coin, we should be careful not to do something too soon and we should wait for God’s perfect timing when making an important move, action or decision.

Prayer: What would you have me (us) to do this day, Lord? How about this week? This year? Dear Lord, Help us to be synchronized with your purposes and to be in tune with your timing for our life.

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to be born refers to our birthday and can also be seen parallel with the day for us to be born spiritually from above that Jesus talked about in John CH 3. That time is always now because “Today is the day of salvation” We can always ask God to save us and allow us to start a new life in him, if we have not done so already.

‘A time to die’ can refer to the time we are finished in this world and are ready to depart to the next one. David had gotten so old they had given him a young woman to keep him warm. Paul was acutely aware of his own passing and anticipated his reward while he also got the satisfaction of a work that was accomplished well and was pleasing to his master. He had also said, “I die daily” referring to the dying that should happen everyday to our own self and our selfish desires.

‘A time to plant’ Jesus was referring to himself when he related the parable of the sower and we are ever to be the farmers and plant God’s word into people’s hearts, “whether they hear or they forbear.”

“A time to pluck up that which is planted” this would seem like a negative activity but its like firing an employee that steals and is sometimes needed. Perhaps the greatest illustration for this is Jeremiah, who was told he would, root out, and to pull down, and to destroy. John the Baptist also spoke about, “The ax being led at the root” the Lord will only tolerate evil for a time before he uproots it completely.

5Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)

9Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. Jeremiah 1:9-10 (KJV)

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up

A time to kill This can refer to capital punishment where the bible talks about executing someone who has committed a heinous crime of murdering the innocent. It can also referrer to the killing that happens in war.

a time to heal can refer to the times of healing that come from the Lord. Jesus heals a demoniac and another man crippled for over thirty years so Jesus coming can be seen as the time for healing and thankfully is still going on. We can be healed spirit, soul and body by crying out and asking the Lord to save us and heal us.

a time to break down, and a time to build up Abraham was told to leave his fathers land and Go to the land where God would show him. We also need to know we are sojourners in this world. We need to know when to set up camp and we need to know when to remove our stakes from the ground for the next thing that God would have us to do. We should never have our stakes dug in too deep into the ground that we cannot move when the Lord calls us to go somewhere.

This can have other applications like for example in marriage. No man should separate what God has put together for God hates divorce and we should always seek to build up families. However, in the midst of unrepentant marital infidelity or abuse one might perhaps need to look into divorce as a sad but necessary action as a final resort.

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn

The shortest verse in the bible says, Jesus wept. This he did because his friend Lazarus had passed and he had identified with his sisters in their great sorrow. That showed his humanity and so we also weep in times of loss and bereavement. The Lord feels our sorrow and He cares and does not leave us alone but is with us. We are to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. A merry heart does us good like medicine as proverbs tell us so we should rejoice in The Lord always as Paul also reminds us. Are you saying rejoice in the midst of trouble? The answer is “yes”. The joy of The Lord is our strength and so we need it the most at our ‘low’ times. We need to remind ourselves of the wonderful promises that He has given us especially at these low times in our lives. Paul said the above statement while he was in prison. He, like the apostles had found it a great joy to be able to suffer for the lord’s sake. He knew that to such was promised the kingdom of God.

A time to dance, The cripple at the gate who was healed by John and Peter leapt for joy and so he can be said to have danced for joy that he had been set free. Its very possible that Jesus had also danced as he had attended a wedding in Canna since that was the tradition not only in Israel but in nearly all cultures including our times. In Psalms 149, we are exhorted to praise the Lord in the dance. This psalm paints a picture of praise and worship that a lot of people in certain churches won’t feel comfortable with; nevertheless, The Word gives us the freedom and blessing to do so. David also danced before the Lord.

5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together this seems to speak of judgment and acquittal, as that was how Israel meted out judgment to transgressors. Jesus had said, “He who is without sin to cast the first stone” as a reminder of this grim period in the dispensation of The Law. Stoning is still practiced in some places in the Moslem world by groups like the infamous Taliban.

a time to embrace This is speaking of the embrace of matrimony whose bed is undefiled. This physical love between a husband and a wife is the only Bible sanctioned act of sexual nature. Perhaps it can also speak of the embrace or hug that happens between brethren of like mind, heart and faith.

a time to refrain from embracing; this is speaking of responsibility to things other than our spouses. For example a newly married soldier need not go to war but is to keep his wife company but others had to fight in ancient Israel.

This might also perhaps speak of offense that happens between people causing a rift. We are to always try to reconcile with our brother and exhaust all possible avenues before we break fellowship with them as a last resort due to their un-repentance.

6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away

A time to get, and a time to lose This is akin to the thought in the book of Job. Job said after suffering immense loss, “ The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord” Both gain and loss are part of the reality of life but why they happen might not be an easy mystery to unravel.” The Lord makes the sun to shine and the rain to come down on both the just and the unjust alike” So we should accept both gain and loss as the realty of life in order to be mature balanced people because both are inevitable.

A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

This phrase can have many secular as well as spiritual applications. One good example of this phrase might be when the Lord comes at the end of the age and separates the wheat from the tares. The parable of the sheep and the goats also speaks of a time when the just will be separated from the wicked to inherit eternal life. Another example is the hardening of Israel that took place because of their rejection of messiah and the ushering in of the gentiles into the kingdom. They were cast away for a time and we grafted in.

7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak

A time to rend, rend your hearts and not you garments says the prophet beaconing a wayward society to repent. We should always have an attitude of repentance.

and a time to sew; means a time for reconciliationa and put things together that were apart. Its not always good to reconcile individuals or groups of people without dealing with the hraet of the issue that separated them. But there comes a time that we also need to reconcile the broken and separated parts of what ought to be a unit.

a time to keep silence and a time to speak we are to be quick to listen and slow to speak. A lot of time the temptation is to say what’s on our mind. In retrospect however we realize that lots of times we do more harm by saying something rather than being silent. On the opposite end there are times we absolutely need to speak up so evil cam be thwarted and not take root in our lives or other’s lives as well as in our churches.

8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace

A time to love, and a time to hate

We are to always love God and also our neighbor and hate sin always. But we are to forgive those who trespass against us and love them and pray for them.

a time of war, and a time of peace Solomon had obviously enjoyed a tremendous time of peace and prosperity during His reign, David however was a man of war. The business of war is always dirty even when its commanded by the Lord. The church today should always be on war footing in fighting and exposing the works of darkness in spiritual warfare. We are also to leave peaceably with everyone when possible. Today’s God people are no more to engage in meting out God’s Justice. He rather says to us, ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay”

Eccles. 3:1-8 (KJV)

W. Graham Scroggie, P. 143 The unfolding drama of redemption, Kregel 1994,

Genesis 1:1-14

Matthew 24:36

Joshua 10:12

Song of Songs 2:7, 8:4

John 4:35

Matthew 16:2-3

John 9:4

II Timothy 4:2

John 8:28,38

Luke 6:12, John ch. 17

John 11 35

Roman’s 12:15

Phil 4:4

Nehemiah 8:10

Matt 5:10

Calvin's Apology

Calvin’s Apology, his institutes concerning our most precious faith
Reflection on the first volume of Calvin’s institutes

Motivation and nature:

Even though Calvin’s work ‘the institutes’ is understood to be systematic theology, it can also be very well seen as an apology to the Christian faith and especially of the reformed faith. It’s obvious that it was written as a defense against the Romanism of the times. This is evident from its content and from the main motivation stated in the opening of Henry Beveridge’s translation. In 1536 Calvin was in exile and thousands of his protestant brothers also known as the Huguenots were facing dire persecutions from an apostate Catholic Church and those under its sway. The principles for which they were fighting for had to be explained before the governing authorities and judges while still in the face of attacks by a formidable and well-entrenched enemy. In the opening letter to the king of France, Calvin discounts his motivation not to be for his own selfish desire, that of overturning his exile and preparing a return for himself to his native France. Calvin relates how he undertakes this task through God’s grace attributing his success in the work to His maker. The work was intended to become a match, an answer and shield against an overshadowing and formidable Roman Catholic Church, which had run a full course of heresy, corruption, tyranny and unorthodoxy. Once written, Calvin’s work becomes influential even beyond the times of the conflicts in France even up until today, especially among reformed circles.

The evidences of God in creation that is made clear to the conscience of every individual, along with the wholesomeness and truth of the scriptures are stated and defended with skill no par. This Calvin does in the first book of his humongous four-volume work, which he refers to as the knowledge of God and man, which he explains to be the sum of all wisdom.[1] Calvin here is defending the faith once delivered to all of us. Therefore, his apologetics goes beyond classical apologetics about the existence of God to further establish this only and true God to be the Christian God. Therefore, his statements and arguments along with the numerous inferences from scripture are compatible with pre-suppositional apologetics[2] (see Baird p.1) even though there are smatterings of classical apologies in his work. There is no doubt that he most vigorously states and defends the Christian faith with exacting deduction and thoroughness.

The Nature of Calvin’s Institutes: Defense

These initial chapters of the institutes are deep, well-rounded reflections of someone who has meditated all their lives on such issues, alongside of the scriptures, to come up with a sweeping and epic work about the knowledge of God and man. For example, Calvin starts out his treatise by saying the profound idea that man can only know himself through God. He states,

For, in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves; nay, that our very being is nothing else than subsistence in God alone.[3]

These meditations or if we can call them vignettes or theological pieces, reveal a mind that is well versed in the scriptures as well as disciplines like theology, philosophy, psychology and logic, just to mention a few. Calvin succeeds in combining all the disciplines at his disposal to create masterful explanations for all of reality, which done well can be the ultimate apology and defense. He comes very close to succeeding in this formidable task of putting Christianity’s truth beyond the reach of any opposition. Calvin makes such arguments like the one quoted above throughout his treatise, as one grappling with any and all doubts, real or imagined, to answer and settle them once and for all in order to bring them captive to Christ.[4]

Its almost as if he means to leave no rock to be left unturned or no argument is to be left unanswered; all issues are dealt with and all doubts are repelled, resulting in a sizable work that surpasses the regalia and fodder of Roman hypocrisy. Of course he could not have foreseen the opposition and attacks that would arise in the centuries that followed his time. Others would have to have risen to answer those challenges when they materialized. What he deems as “perfectly obvious” in the above quote would get challenged in modern times as a presupposition, when Christianity becomes vilified by modern philosophies and so called sciences. Evolution, Marxism and secular psychology begin to have a grip on the thinking of modern man and a type of Biblical scholarship gets formulated in Europe that discounts the claims of the Bible. It then must follow that, new and even stronger apologetics needed to be developed and apologetics has to evolve to answer the objections and heresies of its times.

Its influence on Church Doctrine

In one place, Calvin explains how Augustine’s statement was misunderstood when he said, “he would not have been saved apart from the authority of the church” Calvin does this by putting Augustine’s statements in the proper context of the Manichean controversy which Augustine had been involved with.[5] This idea misconstrued had found itself into Catholic theology and lead to much abuse by the church whose practices were a far cry from what Paul had meant when he said,

Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand. 2 Cor. 1:24 (KJV) [6]

. Its obvious Augustine was dear to Calvin and he explains what the Bishop from Hippo had meant without compromising the reformation idea of salvation by grace alone through faith. By doing so he also defended the scriptures and the budding growing reformation movement against the prevailing, oppressive, Roman thinking and dogma.

Criticisms of Calvin’s Work:

It is often stated that the over arching theme of Calvin’s institutes is the sovereignty of God. While this as a whole is a true, great and wonderful principle under which to systematize theology, some of its parts like predestination and election can be employed to an extreme to create theologically sticky positions. The main opposing view to these ideas is that, human drama in history is not precisely and robotically pre-planned by God but its dynamic requires the input of human actors and players, who have a part in molding destinies, theirs as well as others. The strength of this opposing view is that it puts human responsibility on par with what scripture says about it.

Two things however are true, whether or not we can harmonize them, namely the sovereignty of God, and the free will of man. Neither of this can cancel out the other. They are both thought in scripture, and exemplified in experience (Scroggie P. 143)[7]

The Little Foxes that Divide:

Calvin often employs scripture in expounding these truths and so we can say he is biblically based. However, smatterings of the philosophy of former greats like Augustine have obviously influenced him and are found quoted in the body of his work. Human opinion and reflection or even bias can creep into a theological body of work. Therefore, it becomes necessary to state that no human theological work, not even an influential one like Calvin’s can be put on the same level as God’s word but should only at best be subservient to it. It also becomes necessary to measure all of its parts, even the minute ones, alongside of the scriptures to determine whether they are totally free from error. While works like Calvin’s can be valuable due to their clarity of exposition and certain degree of doctrinal correctness found within them, their inerrancy cannot and should not be exaggerated.

We should therefore rely on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God for guidance while we employ all such works. As Daniel says, “Knowledge shall increase”. It follows that when we have a better vantage point and better linguistic and theological tools at our disposal, it should not be beyond the realm of possibilities for us to revise or critique a great reformer and theological mind like Calvin, in some of the ideas he has posited that have been less than illumining. For example, when Calvin famously states double predestination in Ch. 21 of the institutes, he is saying something not explicitly stated in scripture but one he had synthesized from scripture albeit correctly or not. The implications of this view have polarized evangelicals into two camps even unto this day.

Calvin had said,

By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.[8]

Not all of the other 1st generation of reformers had agreed to it and even if Paul seems to have mentioned both predestination pair they are not thought to unfold in the same manner or to be equally weighed (Berkhof, 110)[9] As someone who is of reformed faith and who has himself written a great sweeping work, Phillip Shaff says the following, in his discussion of the Calvinistic system, In Book VIII of his eight-volume church history work,
Calvinism has the advantage of logical compactness, consistency, and completeness. Admitting its premises, it is difficult to escape its conclusions. A system can only be overthrown by a system. It requires a theological genius of the order of Augustine and Calvin, who shall rise above the antagonism of divine sovereignty and human freedom, and shall lead us to a system built upon the rock of the historic Christ, and inspired from beginning to end with the love of God to all mankind [10]


Conclusion

Calvin’s work in the institutes provides us with a working philosophy of how God can be known and how we are to know ourselves. The institutes can be viewed as a defense of the reformed faith against the errors of the then prominent Catholic church but goes far beyond in its sweep to be an enduring work of theology and philosophy. Its one of the greatest stabs ever made at the question of what reality is from a Christian’s point of view. Therefore, it is also a defense against philosophical atheism and therefore can also be classified as a work of apologetics or at least as one that includes apologetics. Notwithstanding its greatness, the work has certain limitations in stating and holding a strict view of election and predestination that leaves little room for human impetus, responsibility or will in the process of salvation. While it reinforces the idea that salvation is (wholly) of the Lord[1] it also baffles the issue of why the punishment of the lost becomes deserved. It therefore creates a conundrum that may not be solved and these ideas may never reconcile in a Calvinistic model to one’s satisfaction. One will have to wait until eternity ensues and Jesus comes with the answer. A simpler model that can serve us well might be one that leaves room for human responsibility while it leaves the answer to the question of how God elects before the foundation of the world, as one that we can only wonder about and one which we can only peer through darkly as one looking through a glass.

[1] KJV Jonah 2:9






























Bibliography

Bibles

The King James Version of The Holy Bible

Books

Berkhof, Louis: Systematic Theology, Banner of Truth 2005

Calvin, John The Institutes of The Christian Religion Arnold Hatfield, London 1599
(Online versions)
http://www.reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/books/institutes/
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.txt

Schaff, Phillip History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII: Modern Christianity. The Swiss Reformation, Charles Scribner & Sons 1910

Scroggie, W. Graham, The Unfolding Drama of Redemption, Kregel 1994

Online resources

Baird, Bryan Neal, An Apology for my Theology, The inseparable link between Reformed Theology and Presuppositional Apologetics
http://www.reformed.org/apologetics/index.html
Calvin, John The Institutes of The Christian Religion http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.txt
Schaff, Phillip History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII: Modern Christianity. The Swiss Reformation.
http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/About.htm
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xiv.ii.html
[1] Calvin Calvin's Institutes, CH. 1, P.1
[2] Baird, The inseparable link between Reformed Theology and Presuppositional Apologetics p.1

[3] John Calvin, The Institutes of The Christian Religion Ch. 1 sec. 1
[4] KJV, 2Cor 10:5
[5] John Calvin, The Institutes of The Christian Religion, Ch 2 sec 4?
[6] KJV 2 Cor. 1:24
[7] W. Graham Scroggie, The unfolding drama of redemption, Kregel 1994
[8] John Calvin, Calvin's Institutes, CH. 21, John Calvin P.568
[9] Berkhof, P. 110
[10]Schaff, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xiv.ii.html

[11] KJV Jonah 2:9

Dispensationalism and problems with its extreme hybrids

Prologue: The paper bellow is a response to the shock I had experienced when I got exposed to ultra-dispensational ideas in my school. Firstly, I will say, dispensational theology can be one of the best ways of mining and exploring the vast treasures of the scriptures, especeally those of endtime prophecy. Just check out the wonderful chart at the link bellow and you will see what I mean. http://standeyo.com/News_Files/Trib_Time/Trib_Time_Images/Trib_Timeline_entire.web.jpg

My main problem with it has been the following. Jesus being God, transcends time and space and his message and work cannot just be tied to a single dispensation (i.e. that of His coming, ministry, His death, life and resurrection). He did at times speak of His ministry as being limited to the house of Israel, but He also spoke of others from afar off (i.e. gentiles) entering the kingdom. Therefore I believe, most if not all of his preaching was meant for the whole world and to all subsequent future generations and times not just to the house of Israel in first century Palestine. When the Lion-lamb was roaring in Judea his voice and words were to be eternally relevant and they were to be heard ringing by everyone till He came back to reclaim His inheritance.

Since Paul said follow me as I follow Jesus, he was a continuation of Jesus ministry and I am not sure he should be seen as a stand-alone economy or dispensation. I could accept a softer demarcation line between the two and the dispensation of the mystery has its foundation in Christ’s work. However there is not a clear strong break as from the Law that can be differentiated between say John and Jesus’ ministry. As it is said, “The Law and The prophets were until John” I believe, this period between Jesus and Paul is also where most of the arguments against dispensationalists arise. As dipensationalists say and describe well, events included in this period are, Israel’s rejection, the cross, more rejection and a church made up of gentiles and Christians supplanting the former. The essay bellow is my wonderments against hyper-dispemsationalist ideas.

The writing bellow is not always easy reading and some of my viewes have matured since I wrote this essay. Dr. Fowler who is refered in the paper has also sadly passed to be with the Lord. I had grown to love the man for what he has thought me. Except for matters set here and the doctrine of unconditional election, I have had no problem gorging his brialliant, multi-layred and often mind blowing lectures. The references to dispensationalists in the paper bellow is mostly refereing to ultra-dispensationalists not to dispensationalists who rightly divide the word of truth.

Introduction

The disciples had asked Jesus in Acts chapter one, “Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” They had asked it out of ignorance, seeking Jesus, their master and teacher to answer their burning question. Jesus had discouraged them from that line of questioning but instead diverted their attention to the task at hand. That task was witnessing the life death and resurrection of their master to the whole world! Interestingly, He had not denied such a kingdom would someday manifest, it was just not to be then.

Isn’t The Kingdom Within us?

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. Luke 17:20-22 (KJV)

The question this paper will ask and try to answer is, whether the phrase ‘The Kingdom of God’ found in scripture is referring to an earthly messianic political kingdom. This idea is something dispensationalists staunchly declare to be true. The above passage seems to be a proof text that they are wrong. However, dispensationalists will say that, ‘within you’ is a faulty translation of the Greek word ‘en-mesu’, whose accurate translation is ‘in your midst’. However, the verse just above that seems to emphasize the invisible, spiritual qualities of this kingdom. Jesus says of the kingdom, “It comes not with observation” even as He stood in the flesh before them. He seems to be saying that, it is not a tangible, visible, earthly kingdom. Also if He were offering an earthly kingdom, it would seem like He had just missed a great opportunity to say so. So why do dispensationalists claim that Jesus was offering an earthly political kingdom? Why do they say that the beatitudes are a Jesus’ political platform, telling Jewish people of first century Palestine, how he would rule if they accept him and crown him? Does that sound somewhat strange?

A Gut Feeling Versus Scripture

I had just come back from class after having a small debate with Dr. fowler as to why the church was not the kingdom of God here on earth. He had said that the kingdom that Jesus and John had preached was an earthly kingdom that had been postponed because the Jewish people had rejected their Messiah. This came against my own background and training, where I was thought that as a member of God’s universal church, which currently is his only representation here on earth, I was also a citizen of the kingdom of God. Hearing this idea that had seemed obvious to me being challenged had made me feel like the rug had been pulled out from under my feet. Perplexed and astonished, I started to ask other Christians if they also believed they were in the kingdom of God and without thinking about it, some immediately said yes. This made me realize that I was not alone in my belief that I was currently part and parcel of the whole of God’s kingdom, which admittedly would have other types of representations.


Catholic Church

The fact that the Catholic Church believes itself to be the kingdom of God on earth is really a peripheral issue. The question is whether the practices and the creedal statements of this religious institution are correct. Its system of faith and practice proves to be fundamentally wrong when seen from an orthodox, biblical point of view. This disqualifies them from being the kingdom of God here on earth, if such a concept is at all conceivable. However, the problems within those creeds and practices are a topic for another discussion. It is duly noted that Augustine, an early catholic theologian one of the great church fathers conceptualized the church as the kingdom of God in his work, ‘The City of God’.

The Question

The question is whether the body of Christ, made up born again spirit filled believers, can be understood to be a part of the kingdom and the only representation of God here and now on this earth. I will try to state and argue this position in this paper. However, I will try not to be doggedly dogmatic, if the facts as stated in the bible lead to a different conclusion. I, in fact acknowledge that this is possible. If my arguments are wrong and I am able to wholly see their error I will then revise my position on the matter!


Experiencing God’s power, The Kingdom

Of course the kingdom I believe I am a part of would not be a kingdom that is an earthly and political kingdom but a heavenly and spiritual one. In short, it is heaven on earth. It is possible I am not using the right words and employing the proper semantics, but God’s presence has been real for me more than a few times and that has made me know that I am part of his kingdom. This type of outlook comes from my charismatic and Pentecostal background where I had experienced and felt the presence and power of Christ many times in worship services and in my own devotional time. Jesus also seemed to have described the kingdom this way,

25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Matthew 12:25-28 (KJV)

In the above quote from the master we find that He uses the presence of God’s spirit interchangeably with God’s kingdom. Jesus had also described the kingdom not necessarily as an earthly political system of government but as something that was revealed and to be entered through faith.

17And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
21In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. 22All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
23And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Luke 10:17-24 (KJV)

In other words, as far as the disciples were concerned the kingdom has been given, was received and it was to be propagated. Believing that I was part of this kingdom had made me feel special. I had felt like an elite unit where I belonged and had a definite and specific purpose of evangelizing and reaching the world for Jesus. Dr. Fowler, who seemed like a fiery evangelical himself had said that we now have a legal paper or a promise of being a member of that future kingdom but did not yet belong to it. I could accept this statement and still think of myself as being in the kingdom of God. However, this outlook had left me a bit dissatisfied prompting me to write this paper.

Dispensational Postponement

After poring over this I began to do some research to find out what the doctrine of postponement had meant. I was able to ‘google’ an article on the doctrine of postponement written by someone who is a proponent of dispensational theology from the website of a Connecticut church. (http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/dispen/ponepone.htm). In this article the dispensational theology of postponement was posited against replacement theology, which the article had called erroneous. Replacement theology posited that the church had replaced the Jewish nation of Israel as the new kingdom of God on earth after their rejection of messiah king. The article started out saying,
Dispensationalists teach that the kingdom, which was described and promised by the Old Testament prophets, was announced and offered to Israel at our Lord's first coming, but due to Israel's rejection of Christ, the kingdom was postponed and awaits future fulfillment. John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus and the disciples all proclaimed this message: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7). The expression "at hand" means near. The King Himself had come to earth and the kingdom was so near it was almost here! But one fact must not be forgotten. The kingdom offer was conditional. It was offered on the condition of repentance.
I had not subscribed to either doctrine before now. This left me in the middle, wondering if a synthesis of both position or even whether some other explanation might be possible. Up to this point my Christian walk had not necessitated that I take a position. Ignorance had been bliss for me. It had not even occurred to me that it would be something I would have to take a position on. It also occurred to me that it would be a great tactic for Satan to pit believers against each other on controversial issues that had no present solutions. I was happy to let the question resolve itself in eternity future when all questions and debates would be resolved and melt away due to the brilliance of the master as He would tabernacle among his people in the new Jerusalem.

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. [23] And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. [24] And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. [25] And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. [26] And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. [27] And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev. 21:22-27 KJV)

Asking for the Guidance of the Holy Spirit

I began to pore over the different kinds of synthesis of ideas and explanations that were possible and began to prayerfully explore them asking The Holy Spirit for guidance. However it also occurred to me that my present knowledge of the bible might not be enough to either accept or reject these ideas, especially because the scriptures that had to do with a restoration of the Davidic kingdom were scattered throughout the Old Testament. They were not adequately familiar to me as a new testament believer in order to reach a conclusive plateau. Also I had loosely taken those scriptures to mean that Jesus would be the one who would establish the millennial kingdom as a direct descendant of David while all the believers before and after Christ would be present. Upon further study I was able to hone a better picture of how the millennial reign was to be played out but I was still left with a lot of questions.


The Cross was Never a Conditional Event

It was said, “The kingdom that Jesus had preached was solely for the Jews and Jews only”. Losing my sense of belonging to God’s eternal kingdom was not the only reason I had found it hard to accept the statement. There was also something gnawing at my heart though yet beyond the grasp of my intellect that had made me to be at odds with the above statement. I was able to uncover what it was after mulling over the thoughts in my mind. Eureka! The above reasoning had seemed to me to suggest that the cross was also a conditional event as it had come right after the offer of the kingdom. If the kingdom had been accepted (and it was accepted by many in Israel and not just a few (John 3:32, 12:42) would the cross then have been necessary? Was the rejection of Messiah by the Jewish people necessary for the cross to have happened? It would appear to have been so. Jewish elements facilitated the betrayal, rejection and ultimately the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. As we well know, the cross was a prophesied event right from the beginning and if anything was unconditional, it was the cross that Jesus had to bear to save all of us from our sins. The Lamb of God was to be slain even before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). The cross along with the resurrection is the central message of the New Testament church (Machen P. 60).

Postponement and the Problem with Conditionals

Its true God’s word is full of conditions and conditionals. The supposed postponement was dependant upon the rejection or the acceptance of the messiah by the Jewish people. Yahweh had often said things like, “If you obey me you shall eat the good and the fat of the land.” If the kingdom was offered and rejected resulting in its postponement then everything else that came afterwards would have been a condition of that rejection. Or would it? This could include the Lord’s death on the cross, his resurrection and ascension and ultimately the birth of the church itself. Was it at all possible that the cross could not have happened? God forbid!


A Riddle About Acceptance and Rejection

This faulty argument would suggest itself unless of course the two events were completely independent of each other. Stated differently, the cross would have happened whether the Jews had rejected Jesus or not. We can say this without negating the postponement and the prophesied fate for the Jewish nation that’s yet to happen in the future. If the condition of acceptance were to occur the cross would still happen. The only required players would be the Romans to crucify him and a small group such as the priestly class to betray and give him over to them. The whole nation need not reject messiah and in fact not all had. It is said in the bible, “many believed in him.” But many had also rejected him prompting him to say,

37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matthew 23:37 (KJV)

Another explanation mentioned in class by Dr. Fowler was that the rejection itself was a sure thing. God knew the Jews would reject Christ. The condition of acceptance was never a possibility thus necessitating the cross. But why offer something if you know its to be rejected? Perhaps this is to assure its acceptance the next time around it is offered. These are difficult questions to answer but there is no doubt that the cross itself was a sure event that was to happen regardless of any other outcome of events in Palestine. This is because prophecies concerning messiah’s death on the cross abound in scripture. Are prophecies concerning him being rejected by the nation of Israel just as abundant? I am not sure and I will continue to research this query. Concerning their future acceptance, it is said in Revelations Chapter one, “They will see him whom they have pierced and they will weep for him.” It is true this scripture can also apply to all of humanity.

Did Jesus Come to Establish an Earthly Kingdom?

God never starts something that is sure to fail. God’s word says, “My word does not return unto me void without accomplishing the purpose for which I have sent it” (Isaiah 55:11) Perhaps, Jesus had never meant to establish an earthly kingdom like a dispensationalist might argue. It is quite possible He had only meant to establish a kingdom that was a spiritual one (Matthew 11:11). If He hadn’t meant to establish an earthly and political kingdom, then the claim that He was offering one might be untrue. If we are to think dispensational (I.E. periods of time representing dealings of God with unique and exclusive characteristics that do not overlap) then it could be argued the plan was to establish a spiritual kingdom on earth where God desired men and women, both Jews and gentiles to worship him in spirit and in truth I.E the church age (John Ch. 4).

“I came to light fire(s), how I wish it has kindled”

Jesus had completely succeeded in establishing a kingdom in the hearts of men, both Jews and gentiles until a time as when they had a readiness to receive his kingdom of power that would be enthroned in the heavens and on earth attended by all of its full strength, glory, and its armies. Before that would be possible however, messiah had to humbly come on a donkey and bid all gently to believe and come into his kingdom. He had said, “Come all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest. My Yoke is easy and my burden is light.”(Matthew 11:29-30)

That He was offering a spiritual kingdom to be established in the hearts of men cannot be denied. A simple reading of the gospels reveals that fact. He had said in John chapter three that, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again of the spirit and water.” We can easily infer that by this He had meant a spiritual kingdom (born of the spirit) that had an earthly component (born of water). And people were literally coming in throngs to enter this spiritual kingdom, even if they were drawn by temporal blessings.


16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. Luke 16:16 (KJV)



Thy Will be done!

When you are born again by believing and receiving Christ, you are immediately born again into the kingdom (as well as being part of His body and His bride, the church). To say you are not yet in the kingdom is to deny the sense of belonging to the greater whole that is God’s abode that is governed by him. You become part of god’s kingdom not in way demons and frogs and camels are as part of the collective created realm but as an adherent to the revealed will of God in His word. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” This is the exclusive principle for belonging to God’s kingdom here on earth. Where His will is being done there its His kingdom. Therefore, “Thy Kingdom come” Is not just a prayer cry for a future Messianic kingdom but a cry for a present refreshing, revelation (Of Christ anew) and manifestations of God’s presence and power among his people and the contemporary generations.

Therefore, we don’t just have a deed that says we will be in the future kingdom of God but the realities of that kingdom will start to manifest in our lives today. These realities include the peace of Christ for He is the prince of peace. It includes joy, because at his right hand are many joy and pleasusres. To say as dispensationalists might say to a born again person, “You are not in the kingdom but you only have a paper or a deed to the real estate which you will inherit later” may not be correct. It might be more accurate to say you are in the weaning process of the kingdom and will continue to be in it until its full manifestation when Christ returns. Until then don’t fall of the wagon. In the scripture above, Jesus’ words in the King James speaks of entrance into the kingdom using a present-continuous tense implying people have entered, are entering and will enter the kingdom until messiah returns.

Notice that in the above-mentioned verse from Luke, The Lord does not qualify the entrance period by saying, “If all of Israel rejects me then another program will kick in and the kingdom program will be postponed.” The entrance period is a continual period extending even up to the tribulation period. Later in Acts chapter one, even when he had opportunity to state to the disciples this supposed fact of postponement of the kingdom, He brushes off the question and deploys them to go about executing his great commission.
Is this promise for me?
An article from a Westminster website critical on dispensationalist ideas says the following.
Some dispensationalists hold that the sermon on the Mount and most of the Gospels belong to the Kingdom Dispensation which is yet future. The Book of Revelation after the third chapter also is said to belong to the future. Thus only part of the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles are said to be intended for the Christians of today.
(http://www.the-highway.com/Scofield.html)

Nowhere are dispensationalists more polarizing than when they deny the simple believer from possessing the blessings of scripture intended for him. A dispensationalist will say, “The beatitudes were a political platform that Jesus had stated to show how He would rule if he had not been rejected” That seems like a profound statement. Is it not true the beatitudes are the very software for the heart attitude of the church? Here is one of the most defined problems with dispensational thinking in that it makes the very words that Jesus had said we should build our lives on, into a political platform for a messianic government.

It’s true that the Sanhedrin is mentioned in the beatitudes as a panel for mediating disputes failing which would lead to the worse judgment of hellfire. This could be a type and shadow of the heavenly panel of elders that make council on affairs here on earth. The New Testament church also has such a panel of elders who are called to solve disputes. If the beatitudes were only a political platform for an Israelite kingdom then it has no applications for the church. Or does it? Its principles had been and still are the very color and character of the church. The church immediately after the Lord’s departure had those very characteristics that were supposedly meant only for an earthly political kingdom. Being reviled they blessed, they loved their enemies and taught and practiced inward purity charity and righteousness as taught by the Lord.

“Will You Now Restore the Kingdom to Israel?”

The reason the disciples had asked the question, “Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” was because Israel, at that time was under the iron handed rule of Rome. If they were asking when there would emerge a sovereign, independent Israel then that prophecy was fulfilled in 1948 when the nation of Israel came into being. Israel was not a free nation during Jesus’ time, boasting of having God’s laws and His Temple within her borders but a mere subject of a foreign power. Where as before she had possessed within her God’s Temple so that all the nations might come to be mediated through her to know The Lord, she had now become a failed endeavor. The new wine had come, and the old plan was supplanted by a new plan, at least for a season (or if you will for a dispensation of time). This new plan was that The Lord would live in the hearts of willing disciples, write his laws on their hearts and send them out to reconcile others by being living, walking temples and by bidding people to come into His kingdom of grace. Paul says in his letters, “You are living epistles.” and “You are the temple of The Holy Spirit.” However God is not yet finished with Israel and she has a role to play in the final end time events just before the return of Messiah. The temple worship will be restored and a king will rule out of Jerusalem.

The Gentle Kingdom

9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zech. 9:9 (KJV)

42:1Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. Isaiah 42:1-2 (KJV)

The kingdom, that is now, must be a gentle kingdom because the estranged will of men requires time, patience and many graces to line up with the eternal purposes for which God has intended for it. So God has to unfold his plan slowly over what will seem to us like considerable periods (chunks) of time in order to bring it to full fruition.

19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Romans 8:19-22 (KJV)


The Sermon on the Mount was not messiah’s platform for an earthly Jewish kingdom, as a dispensationalist might claim, but rather the new wine for the brand new church. It’s the high standard for living established for those invited to come into the kingdom and those who would believe and receive grace towards salvation. Its principles continue to captivate the minds of men and women even up to today. The ideas in the sermon are found abundantly scattered throughout the rest of the New Testament. This makes the claim that its principles only belong to a ‘Davidic kingdom’ and are not mentioned or implied anywhere else in the New Testament besides in the gospels, a false one. These infectious principles were the very heart of the New Testament church that had displayed the love and forgiveness that their master had taught, even during harsh persecutions. Stephen is one example of such love. Also compare the following verses.

44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44 (KJV)

12And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 1 Cor. 4:12 (KJV)

The kingdom’s good news came first to the Jews because its initial bearers that were to carry it all over the world had to come from the Jewish nation. The kingdom here now is selectively manifested to those who would believe. It is a softer, gentler kingdom because it mediates salvation and reconciliation in a fallen world by bidding them to come in through faith in the gentle savior. No harsh methods are employed to enforce its principles only a gentle appeal is made to the conscience of men coupled with a strong warning to those who would reject or ignore them. In contrast, the millennial reign of Christ is going to start out with a full display of the power of messiah king who had been slain as He comes down with millions of his armies and does away with the antichrist in full display for the world to see (Revelations 19:11-19). Bones will be broken (of the wicked) and skulls will be crushed. He will then rule on earth with His full power and with an Iron scepter. (cf. Psalms 1) A show of strength without a former declaration of peace through repentance and faith would have made Messiah’s rule a tyranny. He has shown His heart to be all love to his beloved creation man. Only after matters here on earth have deteriorated to a beastly tyranny will He come again to the rescue and start to rule with a show of strength to the enemies of goodness. Today, He yet rules in the hearts of those who would willingly welcome him in their abode. “Behold I stand at the door and knock, If anyone opens I will come in and sup with him and he with me!” (Revelation 3:20) What a beautiful gentle invitation that is! Dear ones, I bid you take advantage of it today!

10:1Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: 2 Cor. 10:1 (KJV)

When Jesus walked among men the first time He wielded no physical power but the gentle savior kindly visited all with love, mercy, healing and deliverance. Such was his kingdom come. Would someone who had intentions to rule on earth by force come humbly on a donkey when they had legions of angels at their disposal? The answer is, “Probably not”. Jesus could have asked the Father to send legions of angels to help him during his capture and imprisonment.

53Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? Matthew 26:53-54 (KJV)

The scriptures He was talking about were scriptures like Isaiah 53 that had to do with the suffering and death of Messiah to save us from our sins. However, He had displayed full authority in casting out all evil sprits that had beguiled men while He was on earth.

15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Col. 2:15 (KJV)

This same gentle appeal continued on with the apostle’s ministry and the kingdom of God came upon those who are possessed of evil spirits and was able to free them. As it stands today the assault on Satan’s hold on men also continues through the church as the kingdom of light clashes against kingdom of darkness in the arena of planet earth. In this war the Christians were to be the gentlest meekest warriors here on earth. Paul said, “let your meekness be known among men” Even as the Lord had said, “Be as harmless as doves..”

12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephes. 6:12 (KJV)

4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 2 Cor. 10:4 (KJV)



Would Christ’s Millennial Reign be Centered on a Jewish State?

Would this kingdom then be only a Jewish kingdom? They will definitely be part of it as the covenant, the promises, the law and the temple service, pertain to them and are given to them (Romans 9:4). The description of the millennial reign of Christ found in chapter nineteen and twenty of the book Revelations had not made that clear. The reign starts out as Christ comes from above with his armies and totally decimates the antichrist and all of his armies. We are only sure that the martyrs from the tribulation period would be present after being blessed with the ‘first resurrection’. Where would the church then be? Will she remain in heaven until the thousand years are over? I sure hope so. Or will she be numbered among his armies that come with Him? She could be in heaven to that place prepared for her readying herself further for the bridegroom and the wedding that is to take place in chapter twenty.


21:1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Rev. 21:1-3 (KJV)


In order to argue a postponement and future establishment of a completely Jewish messianic kingdom doesn’t one have to leave the church made up of both Jews and gentiles out of the millennial reign altogether? The solution that Dr. Fowler gave me was not disagreeable to me. We (the church) will reign alongside Christ as his queen during the millennial reign of Christ. Dispensationalists believe the marriage mentioned in chapter twenty-one calling the heavenly city of Jerusalem a bride is not referring to the marriage ceremony of the Lamb to his bride but to another cosmic event. So why can’t we be called the kingdom of God on earth today? I don’t know ask the dispensationalist croud.

Millennial Reign: Jews only or a Heterogeneous Mixture

The question still remains, are the Christian martyrs during the tribulation made up only of Jews? Are the 144 thousand Israelite bondservants that are to be sealed and sent out to preach the gospel going to constitute a large part of this group that will be in the first resurrection (Revelations 4:7-8)? What of those who will survive the seven year tribulation period out of all of the nations of the world? Just like Solomon’s old kingdom, messiah’s reign on earth would be centered in Jerusalem where the affairs of state would be run by Jews and proselytes along with the resurrected martyrs from the tribulation. The rest of the nations although depleted due to the final horrendous war would also enjoy sovereignty and be asked to pay homage to Messiah and his kingship. Although at first this had not seemed plausible to me, I was now open to explore its implications.

The idea of establishing a millennial kingdom centered around a Jewish peoples like in the days of old, might not be contradictory to the whole of the teachings of the bible. I had imagined that since God is making one church body out of Jews and gentiles today (Ephesians 2:16; 1st Corinthians 12:12-13) by doing away with the separation and enmity between the two, that his millennial reign would also consist of a heterogeneous group like those described worshiping God in Revelations (Revelations 7:9-16).

21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. John 4:21-26 (KJV)

True Worship had been freed from one point and place on the map of the earth to thousands of points and places where men can congregate and even individually worship the Lord. But when Christ returns to reign on earth he would have use of the temple services and ordinances that only Jerusalem can afford. That could be the main reason for the creation of at reconstituted Jewish nation with all the old trimmings of Law and Temple worship readying itself for the coming of Messiah who would rule here on earth.

Of course, the word of God is true and makes every man a liar who goes contrary to it. Therefore, I had to concede that my initial understanding could be wrong and a millennial messianic rule attended by Jews and complete with a newly instituted temple worship was quite possible and might fit the overall teaching of scripture concerning the very last days before eternity. Messiah Jesus is recognized and crowned by the natural branches, the Israelites and begins to rule out of the chosen holy city of Jerusalem. However, at the end of his earthly reign lasting a thousand years a rebellion will ensue. The following quote from the King James Version of The Bible illustrates this fact.

20:5 5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. Rev. 20:1-9 (KJV)

Why Not Call the Church a Kingdom?

However, it was still not clear to me why the church would not and could not be called the spiritual kingdom of God here on earth. When Christ had said to Pilot,


Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. [37] Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. (John 18:36-37 KJV)

“My kingdom is not of this world, if it were my followers would fight to free me.” It had seemed to me that He had made it clear that his kingdom was an invisible kingdom, which had brought the spiritual realities of heaven into our fallen world that had much needed it. He did not say “I came to rule over the Jews who have rejected me.” Of course saying that He was a king would have made him deserve the punishment as the enemy of Rome for which very reason He had been accused. However, his next statement to Pilot is a veiled one and seems to deny at least his earthly kingship. Yet he had publicly said, “You will see the son of man seated at the right hand of glory.”

It was noted in class that the word ‘kingdom’ seems strangely absent in the Pauline letters that had to do with the revelations concerning the church. We never say, “Did you notice there is air in this room” because it is assumed and it’s so obvious that we don’t mention it. The church, as the only entity claiming to be under the lordship of Christ and being loved and sustained by him, need not say she belongs to his kingdom. That is because it is obvious and that it is assumed to be so. It was noted that rather, words like ‘body’ and ‘bride’ are used to describe the church. These were very intimate words indeed that signify intimacy, oneness, wholeness and complete unity with God. Paul does say we have been translated into (past tense) the kingdom of the light of his dear son (Colossians 1:13). Perhaps the word kingdom was not used more often for the reason that it would fail to describe such closeness and intimacy. The Bride is to be bonded in love with the bridegroom until the consummation of their love in marriage. So much so that she is not merely someone who is to be ruled (As described in Psalm 2 , for example) but an intimate love and desire of the king the way the Shulamite was to Solomon. Interestingly enough this marriage is said to happen after the millennial reign has ended and the bride, it seems is already in heaven.

2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev. 21:2 (KJV)

The Argument For Calling the Church Today to be God’s Kingdom

It is true the church while on earth is a spiritual entity and it consists of regenerated men, women and children who actually inhabit the earth as its members. They take the Holy Spirit with them wherever they go and they practice and fight with the Word of God, which is the sword of the spirit. This is one aspect of the warring church and the Christian Paul talked about in chapter six of the book of Ephesians. The Church also has other aspects, which most entities that are called kingdoms should possess. It has a rightful ruler (God and Christ), a governing constitutional document (The Bible), a governing body (Ecclesiastical Offices and Authorities) and finally it also has the empowering and preserving presence of the Holy Spirit. All this things are suggestive of a real kingdom made of all those believers who have been translated into the ‘kingdom of the light of his dear son’. Either way I was satisfied that whether one were to call the present church to which I belong a kingdom or ‘The Bride’ they are ascribing to her exalted positions of a closeness and nearness with the God of the universe and his Christ.

Conclusion

In the course of writing this paper, I have come to see how the millennial reign of Christ could be centered on a reconstituted Jewish nation, apart from the presence of the church. However, I have not been swayed from my belief that the church is just as well the spiritually powerful kingdom of God here on earth today. I still believe that today’s believers are in the kingdom of God as the Holy Spirit has come to live in them and has become part of the daily lives. Can God be outside of his own kingdom? Where He is present there it must also be the kingdom of God. He is present with us and abides with us. Because the very real presence of the third person of the trinity is among us we must be subsets of his glorious kingdom today. I have therefore concluded that both the church and the future millennial reign of Christ are aspects of the same kingdom of God.