SUMMARY SO FAR.
(Background ideas to this found in Chapter 7.)
Earth, and mankind, have been sold into slavery by man's corporate head, Adam. As they have been sold they are under God's law of Redemption. The price of the sale was the death of man.
For earth to be returned to man, and for man to regain his freedom, the sale has to be reversed. There are three ways that this can happen:
1. Man could pay the price himself.
However the price is death - it is impossible for man to pay the price of death and yet live to inherit his inheritance. Man is not an eternal being by nature so he cannot die and yet live.
Anyway man is already in the process of death. Through the Fall of Adam man is in fact the "Walking Dead", "dying you shall die Genesis 2:16 (literal)". He is already spiritually dead, and so cannot pay the price in full, as the price includes spiritual death.
This does not seem to be a practical option.
2. Man could wait until the Jubilee.
When the Jubilee comes, the kingdom of Christ, all things will be restored.
However, as we shall see, the Jubilee is the Second Coming of Christ. If men wait for this many will have already died, thus missing out on their inheritance.
Clearly this is not a practical option either.
3. Man could find a REDEEMER.
Someone to pay the price for him, so that he could live and receive his inheritance.
This is the only option left so it has to work.
Let us consider this option:
The Key is to find a Redeemer, one who can pay the price.
THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE REDEEMER.
Leviticus 25:25.
"`If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold.”
This implies the Redeemer has certain qualifications:
(a) Must be a Near Kinsman.
I.e. he must be a man, therefore a descendent of Adam, as that is the only race of men that exist.
(b) He must be able to pay the price.
I.e. to die and yet live.
To do this he must not be under the curse of sin and death himself.
THE PROBLEM: - Is that all of Adam's seed were covenantly united with him in his sin, so all are under the curse of death. Therefore the Redeemer could not be of Adam's seed.
PARADOX:
The Redeemer had to be a near kinsman of Adam, therefore of Adam's line,
yet be sinless, therefore not of Adam's line.
No such man could exist.
(c) The Redeemer had to be a King and a Priest.
Adam was created to be a king and priest. It is from this he fell. The price of Redemption is the death of a king and priest, having Adam's pre-Fall rights and position.
These are difficult qualifications to fulfil.
GOD'S PROVISION OF A REDEEMER.
Man could not provide a Redeemer himself so God did for him. The Bible's claim is that Jesus was such a Redeemer.
1 Corinthians 1:30.
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”
Luke 21:28.
(Jesus said) “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
But we don’t actually “see” redemption as a disembodied entity coming from heaven. Rather Jesus is referring to his own Second coming when he comes as the Redeemer who has already paid the price but is now coming to finalise the transaction and claim the inheritance.
Romans 3:24.
“… and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Let us examine the Claim: Is Jesus a Redeemer able to pay the price of Redemption?
(a) A Kinsman - a Man.
Jesus was a man, born of Mary, therefore a kinsman of the Adamic Race.
Luke 2:1-7.
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
(b) Able to Pay the Price.
(i) Jesus, through the miracle of the virgin birth, did not inherit the curse of the sin of Adam.
Here is where we need to understand some Jewish background. Two things are important.
* Under Jewish understanding the spiritual inheritance of the child is derived from the mother, but the legal inheritance, of property, comes from the father. Thus a person is considered a Jew, i.e. a child of the covenant, if the child’s mother is a Jew, even if the Father is a Gentile, but if the mother is a Gentile the child is a Gentile, even if the Father is a Jew. This is still true today and is the criteria used for automatic citizenship in the nation of Israel of international Jews.
* Covenants are legal contracts to do with inheritance. Biblically speaking legal inheritances are ALWAYS passed down from the FATHER the SON. The legal responsibilities, privileges and costs come from the FATHER'S family, not from the mother's. Daughters received a dowry, sons received the inheritance.
Jesus, through the virgin birth, had no human father. God was his Father. He was conceived by a creative act of the Holy Spirit. Thus he was not of Adam’s seed, he was indeed “the seed of the Woman”.
Thus there are two effects of the virgin birth, these seem contradictory to us but are not so in God’s economy:
* Jesus inherited his Father's legal rights and position, not his mother's; thus he inherited God’s standing as far as the Law was concerned. The legal inheritance of the broken covenant of Adam was bypassed and Christ was not liable to death under the Law of God. He was guiltless, holy, righteous.
* However Jesus inherited the spiritual inheritance of his mother, a fallen, corrupt human nature in need of redemption.
Thus Jesus, in himself, embodied two distinct natures – the Holy nature of God and the fallen nature of the line of Adam.
We shall see the necessity for this distinction when we consider the work of Christ.
(ii) Jesus Father was God.
John 3:18.
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”
Romans 8:31,32.
“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
Galatians 4:4.
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,”
(iii) Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:20.
“But after he (Joseph) had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 1:24,25. - Joseph and Mary did not have sexual intercourse before Jesus Birth.
“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
Luke 1:26,27, 34,35. - Mary was a virgin.
“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary… "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Hence Jesus was able to be a near kinsman of mankind and yet not come under the covenant curses of Adam.
THIS IS A MYSTERY.
But we can say:
No virgin birth implies no Redeemer.
No Redeemer implies no Redemption.
No Redemption means we are still in our sins.
(c) Jesus Was a King and Priest.
(i) King.
The title "Christ" literally means, "anointed one" and is the standard title for Hebrew Kings, who were anointed with oil at their ascension to the throne.
The Genealogies of Christ show that, from both Mary’s and Joseph’s lines, he was the “Son of David”.
Matthew records the genealogy of Joseph because, in Hebrew law, Jesus was considered to be the son of Joseph and hence heir of that family line.
Luke is thought to record the genealogy of Mary (though this is not clear) and it traces Jesus line back to Adam, “the son of God” to show his spiritual inheritance.
Both genealogies include David as the key ancestor, hence the right to the title of king.
The genealogy in Matthew comes through Solomon to show Jesus is in the line that inherited the throne.
The Genealogy in Luke comes through Solomon’s younger brother, Nathan. It is thought by many scholars that at the time of the exile there was only one surviving member of the house of David, Yo’ash, who is thought to have descended from Nathan. This puts Jesus in the family of David anyway. For a discussion on this have a look at the Wikipedia article on "Nathan, son of David."
(ii) Priest.
Hebrews 5:5-6.
“So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews 7:1-3.
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.”
Christ is a priest "After the order of Melchizedek".
Who is Melchizedek?
Genesis 14:17-20.
“After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Melchizedek was King of Salem (Jerusalem), Priest of God Most High.
THE LAW OF FIRST MENTION.
Any doctrine in Scripture, the first time it appears, has outlined in that reference the basic eternal principles associated with it.
This passage is the first mention of Priesthood as such.
Melchizedek was both a king and a priest.
Melchizedek literally = King of Righteousness (zedek).
C/f Joshua 10:1 Adonizedek = Lord of Righteousness.
Jerusalem = City of Peace.
I.e. Melchizedek was King of Righteousness and King of Peace.
Apparently the cult God of Jerusalem was a god called Zedek (Righteousness), God Most High, Maker of Heaven and Earth. It was common practice to name the king after the city god.
The gods of the nations were known to be impotent, not the creator God, really only minions. They were known in the myths for their unrighteousness.
It is not surprising that Abraham, on meeting Melchizedek, recognised that this God was the same as Yahweh, a Righteous God, God Most High, creator of all things.
Melchizedek was not only king, he was high priest of the cult.
Melchizedek is the original priesthood of the Bible and as such sets the pattern for what God intended to be. The division of kingship and priesthood under the law was a result of Israel's rebellion and lowered the status of each office.
Melchizedek is a type of Christ. When Christ came he reinstituted the Melchizedek priesthood, replacing the inferior Levitical line with the original and superior priesthood, uniting both kingship and priesthood.
A SIDE NOTE: - In the Melchizedek Priesthood there are only two ongoing rites:
Hebrews 7:12.
“For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law (i.e. of the cult practices).”
Thus the change back from the cult of the law of Moses (Priesthood of Aaron and the Levites) to the cult of the priesthood of Melchizedek necessitates a change in cult practices (rites) as well.
These rites are found in Genesis 14 (above):
“Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine… Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
The substance of their encounter -worshipper with priest was summed up in two actions:
(i) Bread and Wine - Which the High Priest gives.
(ii) Tithing - which is the response of the priests in the priesthood to the gift of bread and wine from the High Priest.
So Abraham tithed to Melchizedek. This was the first time in Abraham's life that he had found the opportunity to tithe to his God.
Hebrews 7:12 properly understood establishes tithing as a clear NT doctrine and requirement. To deny this is to deny that Christ took up the priesthood of Melchizedek and that Chrisitans are priests in the Order of Melchizedek.
Back to our main theme:
As a descendent of David, Jesus inherited the right to the throne of David, under which, as we saw in Chapter 14, kingship and priesthood were reunited.
Thus he fulfilled the requirements for the position of Redeemer. He was:
(i) Son of Mary, hence a near kinsman to mankind.
(ii) A king and priest after the order of Melchizedek.
But could he pay the redemption price?
THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION HE PAID.
The Redeemer had to be able to pay the price to effect Redemption.
In this case it means that Jesus had to be able to die, and yet still live. Death could not have any claim over him, or else he could not FREELY die (i.e. of his own free will).
This means two things:
(i) Jesus had to be free of the curse of Adam's sin. This we saw previously. Because of the virgin birth he was not under the covenant curse of Adam. Rather he was fully alive like his Father in heaven.
(ii) Jesus had to be free of any PERSONAL sin.
The testimony of Scripture is that he was personally sinless:
1 Peter 2:22.
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
Hebrews 4:15.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin.”
Because he committed no sin he was completely guiltless so sin had no claim on him, and because he was also free from the curse of Adam death had no claim on him.
Jesus died: He tasted death in all its fullness:
(i) Physical - he died on the cross, a medical fact.
John 19:34.
“Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”
It is a medical fact that, in the process of death, the blood separates into two parts, the red cells tend to gather in the heart, and the bulk of the clear liquid gathers in the lungs. This verse records the fact that Jesus was already in an advanced stage of death when the soldier put a spear through his heart and at least one lung. He had no medical treatment after this event so there is no way he could have survived.
(ii) Spiritual Death - cut off from God.
Matthew 27:46.
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus at this point was clearly experiencing abandonment by God – a loss of that close relationship he had known for all eternity past. There was a death of relationship because at this time Jesus was taking on himself the penalty for man’s sin and God could not dwell with that sin.
(iii) He tasted what it was like to be separated from God in eternity, i.e. eternal death, though from this he was delivered.
1 Peter 3:18-20.
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,…”
Ephesians 4:9.
“… (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?”
These two passages refer to the fact that Jesus between his death and resurrection in the body, descended into Sheol - the waiting place of the dead. There he "tasted" eternal spiritual separation from God but he was delivered from this by the resurrection.
Note:
Many people confuse Sheol, or Hades, with Gehenna, or Hell. The two are not the same thing.
Sheol/Hades is the waiting place of the spirits of the dead while they await the resurrection and final judgement.
Gehenna/Hell is the place the souls (and bodies) of the unrighteous are consigned to after the resurrection and final judgement.
That the two are different is clear from Revelation 20:14.
"Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire (Hell)."
One thing (Hades) cannot be thrown into another thing (the Lake of Fire) if they are the same thing. The only way this verse makes any sense is if Hades and Hell are different things.
This confusion has led to many teachers saying Christ descended to Hell after he died. The problem is compounded bythe fact that the old English KJV of the Bible wrongly translated many references to Sheol with the word "Hell". This error is thus reflected in many hymns and traditional creeds. Nowhere does the Bible say Jesus descended into Hell.
In fact Hell may not be created yet. For a discussion of this see my blog:
christianfoundation.blogspot.com
Chapter 37.
Psalms 88 - talks of Christ's sufferings after death.
O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.
Because of his sinlessness God raised him from the dead.
Romans 1:3,4 - the Spirit of Holiness checked him out.
“…regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Jesus died; yet lives. The price has been paid. This means that mankind, the descendents of Adam, and their inheritance, earth, have been redeemed from the sale Adam made to Satan.
This is graphically pictured for us in Revelation 5.
Rev 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll
with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.
“him who sat on the throne”
This is God the Father. He has been described in the previous chapter (Revelation 4) with symbols that tell us that he is the eternal covenant God, creator and hence Lord and judge of all things. The context we are meant to be thinking in is one of covenant ideas.
“a scroll”
This scroll is the title deed of the earth and of mankind. What we are about to see is the enactment of the legal claim of the redeemer to open the scroll. Only the kinsman redeemer had the legal right to open the scroll.
The mention of the scroll tells us that we should add to our thinking the ideas of redemption as necessary background to understand this chapter. Hence there are two main sets of ideas we need to keep in mind in interpreting Revelaiotn 5 - covenant and sacrifice.
Rev 5:2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?"
“Who is worthy…”
The question is a legal question, not a moral question. It is a technical phrase meaning, “Who has the legal right to open the scroll because they, as the legal kinsman redeemer, have paid the price of redemption.”
To “open the scroll” is to make a legal claim of ownership to the property defined within the scroll.
Rev 5:3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.
A thorough search of the entire created universe was made to see if there was a suitably qualified “kinsman redeemer” who could pay the price but none was found.
Rev 5:4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
Rev 5:5 Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Because there was no one in all of creation who could act as redeemer and pay the price God himself intervened and provided a Redeemer in the person of his Son.
Rev 5:6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
“looking as if it had been slain” – The Greek has the idea of “freshly slain” – this was a recent act. There are two ideas here:
(i) What we are witnessing here is the re-entry of Christ into heaven after the crucifixion and resurrection when he took his blood, proof of his death, proof that the price of redemption had been paid, and went to the judge of the universe to have his claim ratified.
(ii) It also implies that the death he underwent will never lose its effectiveness. It will stay “fresh”.
The Lion (Leo) is a Lamb (a sacrificial animal, Capricornus) who is no other than the seed of the woman, the virgin born Redeemer, the man-child, Coma (Revelation 12).
Rev 5:7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
Rev 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
“You are worthy” – “you have the legal right…”
“because you were slain” – implies "because you paid the price."
Rev 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."
Through the act of the Redeemer men are able to become priests who are also kings. King-priests who will reign on earth just as Adam and Eve did.
This, however, is not the end of the story of redemption – it is just the first step. Revelation 4&5 set the scene for the rest of the unfolding drama of Redemption. As we read on we see Jesus open the seals (Revelation 6-8). As he does so we can read the contents of the scroll and we see the covenant price of sale – death – falling on earth in blow after blow. Men die everywhere.
But why? If the price of redemption has been paid and the Redeemer has claimed the inheritance legally, why does death still reign? Why does opening the seals result in death in the experience of men? Why, if Christ has redeemed, is the world still full of sin, violence, evil and pain? Where is this redemption he has wrought? Why do we not see it as a reality?
I shall answer these questions in a subsequent chapter. But first I want to look in more detail at what Christ accomplished for us in his life, death and resurrection. We saw how much damage was done as a result of the Fall of Adam. How Does Christ’s work fix this up?
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