How good is your memory? I’ll be testing that today and over the next several articles. We’re not doing a Bible Drill; instead, I’m returning to a series I paused eight weeks ago. (Right here would be a good place to enter that “yikes” emoji!) Before that pause, I had written part eight of this series, The Epic Story of Truth, in which I’m telling the narrative that runs the duration of the Bible and is the very flow of history and the life ahead here on earth.
It is good to get that big-picture view of the Bible, but I also want to show how topics that seem to be fringe, such as prophecy and God’s continued plan for Israel, fit into the story of the Bible. Unfortunately, when we describe the gospel or the narrative of the Bible and Christianity, we sell it short, giving just a sliver of the story, which, in return, makes much of the Bible and historic events seem irrelevant. Nothing in the Bible is irrelevant. It is all building to the perfect climax and resolution designed by the Master Author of this world and its flow of events.
In that series, we began in Genesis with the creation of all things — especially us and how mankind rebelled and was removed from the Garden of Eden and placed into a cursed earth. Yet, in the sentencing of Adam and Eve and the world, God hinted at the epic story that would unfold. He said a “promised seed from Eve” would come and destroy Satan and his seed, but in that declaration, it was also told that this promised seed would be hurt.
Then we jumped to Revelation and read about how this promised seed is the returning Jesus. He will return, defeat the seed of Satan and lock Satan up. Jesus will then establish His kingdom. Next, we flipped back to Genesis and looked at how, after Adam and Eve, the world continued to spiral into sin so much so that God sent a flood, but in that flood saved Noah and his family. In announcing the restart of the earth, God dropped another hint — that He would not destroy the world again with water, but that it would be destroyed again. This led us to flip to the end of the New Testament again to see how God foretold the earth as we know it will be destroyed with fire, but there will be a New Heaven and Earth.
In keeping with the pattern, we looked back at Genesis at how that people rebelled again, this time building a tower to make a name for themselves and reach the heavens. God intervened, dispersing the people and giving the formation of nations and languages. At that time, God disinherited the nations and took a nation of His own — Israel.
We looked at how, once Jesus came the first time, the invitation to belong to God’s family was extended back to the nations through Christ. Then we looked at how God’s people were given a specific land for eternity but had stipulations on how they’d be able to live there. They didn’t keep the laws that allowed them to stay there, but God promised one day, through a New Covenant, they could. Through this New Covenant, God’s people, Jew and Gentile, would be able to live out the law with their new heart.
We begin the discussion back in the Old Testament. Israel is living in that Promised Land, and they’ve asked God for a king like their neighbors. The king they chose, Saul, failed. God’s man, David, became king, and he had a desire to build a temple for God. God responded by sending the prophet Nathan to speak to David about it and relay a promise from God to King David:
“…The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever… Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (II Sam. 7:11-16 NIV).
Through Nathan, God declared that a descendant of David would be on the throne in Israel forever. On one level, Nathan was talking about David’s son, Solomon, but he also was saying that the “promised seed of Eve” would not just be a special person but “a promised King” or “an anointed one.” This anointed, promised King would be a descendant of David and rule on an eternal throne. The Word for “anointed one” in Hebrew is “Messiah,” and in Greek, it is “Christ”. (Other prophets, like Isaiah, Micah and Daniel, shared more details about this promised king and kingdom.)
Yet, after Solomon, David’s kingdom of Israel was split in two, and soon the northern half was taken into captivity in Assyria, then the southern half was taken to Babylon. Though Jews returned, there hasn’t been a kingdom since. This could seem like the story stalled out, but the “Anointed One” has come and taken His bruise from Satan, and the Anointed One or Messiah or Christ is coming back to bring His Kingdom.
Dive into the Epic Story yourself by reading II Samuel 7, Isaiah 9, Micah 5, Daniel 2, II Chronicles 36 and Luke 19.
— Jake is a state missionary and would love to share about the work in Northwest Arkansas and encourage your church to stand firm. (standfirmministries.com)
