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Revelation 3:12
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. While the children of Judah were exiled in Babylon, they witnessed the capture of their king, the devastation of their beloved Jerusalem, and the destruction of God’s Temple. Ezekiel the prophet was among the captives who, after all hopes were gone for the deported nation, was given the ministry of encouragement. Hashem used Ezekiel to encourage exiled in the Babylonian dispersion by telling them of the wonderful future of a rebuilt Jerusalem hosting a magnificent glorious temple where the Messiah Himself will serve (Ezekiel 40: and forward). Oddly enough, as particular as Hashem can be on these things, the architectural plans and service details of the Messianic era Temple are different than those of the first Temple. When the captives returned and started rebuilding, it would have seemed natural that they would follow the blue print of Ezekiel’s prophetic temple but they did not. The prophets of the day believed that the temple they were to build right after their return from Babylon would not last forever. So whereas they decided to incorporate some of Ezekiel’s plan, they stuck close to the layout of the first temple. They understood that the Temple of Ezekiel’s vision belonged to another time, to the time pertaining Messiah’s actual reign on earth. Since Ezekiel’s Temple prophecies have therefore not been fulfilled, they now serve as an encouragement for us who are still in dispersion, for all believers are strangers and exiles on this earth (Hebrews 11:13) waiting to return to where we belong in the Kingdom of God. So whatever upheaval we see in the Middle-East, we must fix our eyes on these prophecies which tell us of the glorious future of the Messianic age when Messiah Himself who has the true roadmap for peace in the area will reign from His Temple in Jerusalem. The Torah will be the Law of the Land flowing out of Zion to fill the nations of the world who will bring their glory to Jerusalem. It will be a time of great restoration when Messiah Himself will wipe our tears away while bringing true justice to the world. May it come soon Abba, even in our days!
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Romans 11:12, 18
Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!? Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. “You find that as long as Sarah lived, a cloud hung over her tent … her doors were wide open … there was a blessing on her dough, and the lamp used to burn from the evening of the Sabbath until the evening of the following Sabbath …" In this scrap of tradition, Sarah’s tent is homiletically compared to Jerusalem typified by the Temple. The cloud is symbolic of the Shekinah of God’s presence, the doors of the temple being wide opened is an invitation to the world to the house of prayer (as Yeshua called it); the blessed dough is the showbread which miraculously never spoiled, and the lamp is the seven-branches candelabrum which burned continuously in the Holy Place. In the Book of Galatians Paul builds on this illustration. Using the concept that Judaism views Sarah as the great matriarch he says, But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. Then, using Isaiah’s allegory and adding the fact that that Sarah was barren (not Hagar) He quotes, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! Though Paul doesn’t quote it, the rest of the oracle says, Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes (Isaiah 54:1-2; Galatians 4:26).This is an illustration that Jerusalem, (the center of Jewish religion) is one day to open its doors to all nations. The next chapter of Isaiah goes on to call all nations to drink and be fed from the fountain of Jerusalem (Isaiah 55; Zechariah 14:16). Referring to modern history, I now will build on this concept. In their impatience while waiting on God to fulfill the messianic promise of the birth of Isaac, Abraham and Sarah brought Hagar into the picture. As Hagar bore fruit she despised and boasted against Sarah who was still barren and dry. In His own time, Hashem miraculously caused Sarah to bear the fruit of the messianic promise. In the end, though blessed by God because of beloved Abraham, Hagar paid for her attitude having to leave Sarah’s presence. For 2,000 years while waiting for the 19th century when Jerusalem would miraculously birth the present-day world-wide Messianic movement, the nations of the world, who did bear fruit unto Yeshua have done so while ‘boasting’ against the ‘natural branches’ in a doctrine called ‘Replacement Theology’, and even subjecting these ‘natural branches’ to horrible persecutions (or were silent in the face of it). Will the nations suffer the same fate as Hagar? The Text tells us that not, but that in the end Jerusalem will return to its rightful original owners, and that the nations will come and serve and worship God in Jerusalem, bringing in their glory (Isaiah 66; Haggai 2:7). For what it’s worth, there is an ancient Jewish teaching which suggests that Keturah, Abraham’s second wife after Sarah died, is actually Hagar returned (Genesis 25:1-6). Matthew 23:39
For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' Israel’s sages teach this analogy about ancient Jerusalem: A king bought his first-born son, the heir of the kingdom, an expensive suit of clothing. The son, unconscious of the worth of the suit was unfaithful with it and very quickly the expensive garment became so soiled and torn that it was not fit to wear. The king decided then to have another beautiful suit made for his son, but again the son showed himself careless and unfaithful. The king then decided, ‘I will buy my son another suit, the most beautiful anyone has ever worn, but I will give it to him only after he has matured and learned faithfulness. Leviticus twenty-six tells us the woes God puts on His children for disobedience. The first one tells of sickness, military and agricultural failure, the second speaks of the Temple. God says, “And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, and I will break the pride of your power, … (Leviticus 26:18-19). The prophet Ezekiel used that theme just before the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, the first Temple and said, “Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and … (Ezekiel 24:21). Because of sin in the land, the first temple was destroyed by the Babylonian King: Nebuchadnezzar. Israel’s history tells us that another Temple was built after the Babylonian exile. It was not as beautiful and glorious as the first one but in an effort to win the favor of the Jewish people King Herod, the one who tried to have the Master killed when He was a baby, transformed that second temple into one of the marvels of the ancient world. As beautiful as it was, that Temple was also destroyed, this time by Titus, a Roman General. On Titus’ victory arch, you can see engravings of enslaved Jews bringing their riches to Rome. You can even see someone carrying the Temple menorah. What an ironic monument now that Israel had resurrected from the ashes of the Roman extermination. As the old story about the King and his firstborn son: the Father has a beautiful third ‘garment’ in store for Israel (Exodus 4:22). It will be the most glorious of all and it will be given to him when he has matured and learned to say again, ‘Baruch habah b’shem Adonai: Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of Adonai’ (Matthew 23:29). May it come soon, Abba, even in our days! |
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