Does Micah 5:2 refer to the Messiah ruling a physical Kingdom of Israel or a spiritual kingdom of Israel and of believers? Or Both?
I believe this to be the Spiritual Kingdom, New Jerusalem, if you will. Jesus is the Head of the Church, and we, as believers, make up the body(the church). Here are some scriptures to think about.
John 18:36 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.
Luke 17:20 And 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:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold,
the kingdom of God is within you.The "Kingdom" is set up in the heart of the believer the very instant they are saved.
22 And 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.
Revelation 21:1 And 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.
2 And I John saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.We are the Bride of Christ, so this is those who have been born again/born from above.
3 And 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. 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither,
I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev. 21:22
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.
There was a transition that took place after Jesus died and was risen and seated on the Righthand of God. It went from a natural covenant to a Spiritual covenant. What I mean is that in the Law, you had a lot of "ceremonies" such as taking blood and sprinkling the altar, Aaron having to put blood on his right ear, right thumb, right big toe, had to have bells on his robe while he was in the innermost part of the temple, etc. This was all done away with by the blood of Christ. We have no need of a High Priest "here", because our High Priest now is Jesus. The Israel we have now is not what the bible is talking about as being "Israel", and not even within a million miles of it. The Israel in the bible concerns the twelve tribes of Israel(Jacob) and the decendants from them. Israel now is not God's chosen people. They are a bunch of devout Jews who are waiting for the Messiah to come the first time. We(the believers) are "adopted Jews" through the blood of Christ! Those who have been born again/born from above, make up the "Israel" of the bible.
Rom. 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect.
For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Here is where we come in:
Rom. 11:16For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou,
being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
20 Well;
because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Because of the Jews not believing in Jesus, they were cut off, and we were grafted into Him.
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
This part about "all of Israel being saved" is talking about the Church, the bride of the Lamb, the body of Christ.
27
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.This "my covenant" here I believe to be the Grace covenant that was given by Christ's death on the cross.
In closing, you can see(or at least I can see it
) that we were grafted into Jesus because of the Jews unbelief. I see this as a "Spiritual Kingdom" in the sense that I am now a "Spiritual Jew" but the blood of Christ and a gentile by creation of God.
i am I am's!!
Willis
PS Sorry about the lengthy post....but I do get on a roll sometimes and have a hard time stopping......
