Restoration of Sacred Space ,Pt.2

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The first thread discussing this was interrupted, so we now endeavor to Persevere.
Taken from sermon notes from Christopher Culver:
The Fall devastated this intimacy and erected an insurmountable barrier between God and man, and therefore between God and the rest of the created order. The peace that had defined the “very good” creation had been replaced by estrangement and enmity;

thus the promise to crush the serpent was the promise to restore the creation to its shalomic state; the recovery of sacred space would bring the recovery of peace.

- With this background it becomes evident why the biblical storyline introduces the terminology of peace within the context of the Israelite kingdom. That kingdom represented the typological fulfillment of the recovery first promised in Eden. The seed of Abraham –the national extension at that time of the “seed of the woman” – were being restored to the Creator-Lord by His gathering them to Himself in His sanctuary-land. Adam’s estranged descendents, expelled from God’s dwelling place in Eden, had now been, as it were, restored to a new Eden.

God intended the Israelite theocracy to be a typological expression of the kingdom structure first portrayed in Eden and then made a matter of promissory oath after the Fall.

As such, this kingdom was itself to be characterized by the peace of divine Father and covenant son dwelling together in perfect intimacy and harmonious delight. But being merely a type of the true kingdom pledged in Eden, the theocracy only held out the notion of peace as an ideal – an ideal that it never saw realized.

The kingdom of Israel was never intended to fulfill the promise in Eden; its role was purely prophetic and preparatory. Being a typological representation of the true kingdom, it was necessarily preoccupied with the matter of peace, but for the very same reason it could not realize that peace.

The fundamental alienation between God and man continued throughout its duration, and soon Israel’s prophets began to speak of a coming day of destruction and desolation. The Israelite kingdom would not long endure, but its decreed passing provided the platform for the parallel prophetic promise of a future kingdom in which the oath of reconciliation and peace would at last be realized.
The promise of Yahweh’s kingdom was the promise of His recovery of sacred space, and, within the Israelite context, sacred space was symbolized in Israel’s temple in Jerusalem.

This is the reason the prophetic witness to the kingdom has a primary focal point in the temple concept. In that day the mountain of the Lord – symbolic of His dwelling place (Exodus 15:17) – would be the greatest of all the mountains (Isaiah 2:1-3; Zechariah 8:1-3), rising and expanding to fill the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35, 44-45; cf. also Isaiah 11:9).

So Jerusalem (Zion) – the Lord’s symbolic throne – would be the center of the earth with all the nations and peoples coming into it (ref. again Isaiah 2:1-3, also 51:1-11, 62:1-12, 66:19-20 with Jeremiah 3:14-17, 31:1-6; Micah 4:1-7; Zechariah 8:19-23). And more narrowly, that great day would see the erecting of the Lord’s true temple with His glory filling His sanctuary forever (ref. Ezekiel 40-47, esp. 43:1-5 and 44:1-4; also Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 6:9-15).

 

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With this background it becomes evident why the biblical storyline introduces the terminology of peace within the context of the Israelite
kingdom. That kingdom represented the typological fulfillment of the recovery first promised in Eden. The seed of Abraham –the national extension at that time of the “seed of the woman” – were being restored to the Creator-Lord by His gathering them to Himself in His sanctuary-land. Adam’s estranged descendents, expelled from God’s dwelling place in Eden, had now been, as it were, restored to a new Eden

Gen3
22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Dispensationalist SL. Johnson offers this;
The Edenic Covenant - SLJ Institute
That was his mind, that man should have dominion over the creation, but the Fall took place and as a result of the Fall, man’s promised dominion was lost. Jesus Christ however has come and through his saving work has regained for man, for he acts representatively, the dominion which Adam lost in the Fall so we read in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 5, “For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, of which we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.” That is in the original constitution. For in that, he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him.

But now the writer says now we see not yet all things put under him, because the Fall has come into existence and man is not in rule over his creation. The creation is not in subjection to him. But the author says we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. And through our representative we shall have the dominion which God intended that man should have as a result of his original creation. That of course is something that is to come to him in the ultimate working out of the purpose of God.

And then finally the eternal rule. In the eternal rule which is the ultimate purpose of God God shall be supreme in his creation for eternity with a host of worshippers in grace, but they throughout that eternal age shall rule and reign in their and with their representative, the Lord Jesus Christ. And have you noticed that in the Book of Revelation when we come to the last chapter of that book, which is the last book of the Bible, we have again reference made to features of the Garden of Eden. We read in Genesis in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 2, “In the midst of the street of the new Jerusalem, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bore twelve kinds of fruit, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations.” In other words, the whole program of God is working toward the ultimate eternal state by which we shall have a restoration of Edenic conditions, but with this important addition: that through redemption we shall not simply be restored to the condition that Adam had before the Fall, but restored to the condition apparently that Adam would have had had he been obedient in the test of the Edenic Covenant. And so God’s Edenic Covenant while broken shall find its completion in the Messianic reign and ultimately and finally in the eternal state.

So it has a tremendous Eschatological significance. It is also stated by the way, in Revelation chapter 2 verse 7 that that tree of life is in the paradise of God. And you noticed in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 5 at the completion of the description of the new Jerusalem in the eternal state the last clause is, “and they shall reign forever and ever.”

 

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So Jerusalem (Zion) – the Lord’s symbolic throne – would be the center of the earth with all the nations and peoples coming into it (ref. again

Isaiah 2:
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

also 51:1-11,
51 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?

11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

see pt2.

 

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62:1-12,
Isaiah 62 King James Version (KJV)
62 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.

3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

11 Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

12 And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

66:19-20
9 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord.

22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.

23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

The question is have these events began to be fulfilled in a way that renders most end time speculation as useless?

 

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For the most part, Jesus’ public self-interpretation was focused on the matter of fulfillment. That is, He explained Himself in terms of the Scriptures and their promise of a final, everlasting kingdom.

Jesus’ constant refrain was that Israel’s failure to know Him reflected its failure to understand the Scriptures; at every turn He answered His detractors and those who marveled at Him by directing them to what the Scriptures said and promised about the coming Messiah and the kingdom He would inaugurate

Matthew 4:12-17,
12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

5:17-20,
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

13:10-15,
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

21:1-46,
43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

22:23-46; 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:16-30; John 5:16-47, 7:14-42, 10:22-38, etc.).

Perhaps the most powerful and succinct instance of this line of argumentation was Jesus’ encounter with two men on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection. As they walked along discussing the report of the empty tomb and what it might mean, Jesus came up alongside them and began engaging them. He answered their perplexity by referring them back to the Old Testament, taking them from the beginning through all the things in all the Scriptures concerning Himself (Luke 24:13-27). If these men were to “discern the times” and the One who stood beside them they would have to have their minds opened to understand the Scriptures (cf. 24:33-45

 

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The Isaianic Forerunner

As noted, all four of the gospel writers record John’s ministry and, most importantly, do so conscious of the fact that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise of a forerunner (cf. Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:1-4; Luke 3:1-6; John 1:19-23). The significance of this is not so much what it says about John himself as what it reveals about the One he prepared for and announced. A closer look at the forerunner context in Isaiah makes the point.

This context introduces the latter section of Isaiah in which the prophet progressively reveals Yahweh’s Servant in whom He would fulfill His promise of restoration. This promise had a near-term referent in the recovery of the Judean remnant from Babylonian captivity, but extended beyond it to the renewal of the entire cosmos.

The Persian king Cyrus was to fulfill the role of Yahweh’s “servant” with respect to the former restoration; he would release the exiles and authorize them to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple (44:24-28). In this way he would serve as a prototypical messiah (“anointed one” – ref. 45:1). But in chapter 48, Cyrus as Yahweh’s anointed servant-deliverer (ref. 48:12-15) is supplanted in the prophecy by another such individual who is notably characterized by the attendance of Yahweh’s Spirit (48:16).

This servant figure is then introduced in chapter 49 as Yahweh’s true Israel in whom He would save a remnant of Israel and Judah along with the nations of the earth (49:1-6).

 

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Israel had failed as the Covenant Son.

The first is the progressive isolation and disunity of the twelve tribes.
The nation was collectively Yahweh’s “son,” so that fidelity to the covenant implied solidarity and harmony among Israel’s tribes. Israel’s calling was to be a priestly kingdom (ref. Exodus 19:3-6),

and a kingdom divided against itself can neither thrive nor endure. The nation’s increasing fragmentation finally culminated in intertribal warfare (19:1-20:48) – a phenomenon that would later be repeated in national conflicts between the two Israelite sub-kingdoms of Judah and Israel.

The second evidence of estrangement was Israel’s increasing interaction with the nations around them (ref. 3:5-7). Despite Yahweh’s stern warnings through Moses and Joshua, His people compromised their devotion to Him by joining themselves to Canaan’s residents and gods. In this way Israel effectively converted its communion with its Father in His holy habitation into life within an idol temple.

In turn, this independent, idolatrous spirit found expression in Israel’s worship of God and practical morality (3:7, 6:25-30, 8:27, 33). Before long Yahweh’s son became indistinguishable from the world around it, its estrangement from Him bearing all the fruit characteristic of fallen humanity.
They embraced self-serving idolatrous practices (17:1-18:31)
\ and gave themselves over to their basest desires (19:1-30).
Dwelling in Yahweh’s sanctuary-land, the covenant son had become Sodom (cf. Isaiah 1:9-15, 3:8-9; Jeremiah 23:9-14; etc.),
openly despising its Abrahamic mandate to mediate the knowledge of God to the world of men.

Thus the period of the Judges saw the fulfillment of the very things Moses and Joshua had warned Israel about; though taken by Yahweh to be His son by covenant, Israel yet bore the likeness of fallen Adam. And bearing Adam’s likeness, Israel could not fulfill its calling as the “son of God.” As such, the Israelite theocracy could not fulfill the promise of the recovery of sacred space

 

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The New Testament everywhere presents Jesus of Nazareth as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures – the promised Seed of the woman and Abraham and royal Son of David in connection with whom Yahweh would usher in His everlasting kingdom. From the vantage point of the Old Testament, the inseparability of biblical messianism and kingdom revelation is due to the fact that the kingdom promised in the Scriptures is a redemptive kingdom.

At the time of the Fall, God promised a day in which the serpent (and, by implication, his works and the curse brought about through his deception) would be overthrown and destroyed by a “seed” to come from Eve. The doctrine of the kingdom flows out of this primal promise and its historical development and speaks to the promise’s fulfillment. In the Scriptures the “kingdom of God” doesn’t refer to God’s supreme lordship as such, but to His work of restoration in fulfillment of His oath in Genesis 3:15. It is for this reason that it is a redemptive kingdom; it is the outcome of God’s sovereign activity in recovering the estranged creation to Himself through judgment, deliverance, and renewal.

- These core features of the kingdom were manifest in the Israelite theocracy. The kingdom of Israel was born out of a great work of redemption in which Yahweh judged the serpent’s seed (expressed in Pharaoh and Egypt) and thereby delivered the seed of Abraham (the woman’s seed). From that time forward, every point in Israel’s development and historical life reinforced the fact that it was a redemptive kingdom.

 

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e. It is in relation to the concept of a redemptive kingdom that the doctrine of the Day of the Lord emerged in the prophets.
Yahweh would indeed come and establish His kingdom through a great redemptive act, but, consistent with the meaning of redemption, that act would involve judgment and deliverance.
The Lord was going to usher in His kingdom by defeating the enemies who had taken His sons captive, thereby liberating them and taking them to Himself to be with Him in His dwelling place. The first Exodus was to find its own fulfillment in a second Exodus (Isaiah 51:1-11; cf. 11:1-16).

The doctrine of the Servant of Yahweh is evident elsewhere in the Old Testament – particularly in relation to the promised Davidic seed (ref. Ezekiel 34:23-24, 37:24-25; Zechariah 3:8; cf. also Haggai 2:20-23), but Isaiah’s treatment stands alone in its magnitude and scope. His prophecy provides essential content for bringing together the various aspects of Old Testament messianism.

- The prophets revealed a Messiah who would be the Son of David and Melchizedekian high priest. This One would also be the tangible manifestation of Yahweh in His coming to establish His kingdom in the earth. Moreover, both the prophets and history itself indicated that this kingdom was to be the product of Yahweh’s work of redemption in the great and awesome Day of the Lord (cf. Isaiah 3:1-4:6; Joel 3:9-21; Zephaniah 1:1-18, 3:1-20; Malachi 4:5-6; etc.).

 

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a. The fact that the Servant represents both parties to Israel’s covenant is foundational to properly interacting with Isaiah’s presentation of Him.

First of all, the Servant is Yahweh’s true Israel, and the significance of this becomes evident when the biblical idea of “Israel” is unfolded.

- The immediate inclination is to think of Israel as a national, ethnic people, but it is first and foremost a biblical concept. Israel found its first expression in a single individual, and only later in the corporate body descended from him. As a concept, “Israel” principally embodies the ideas of seed of Abraham, son of God, servant of Yahweh, disciple and witness. The latter three, especially, come to the forefront in Isaiah’s prophecy.

The nation of Israel was God’s son in that it had been “begotten” by redemptive “birth” in keeping with the Lord’s covenant with Abraham. Yahweh had promised to be the God of Abraham and his descendents, and He upheld that promise by delivering Israel from exile and bondage and bringing them to be with Him in His sanctuary-land.

But, being the recipients of the Abrahamic Covenant and its promises, Israel was to fulfill the core feature of the covenant that, in Abraham and his seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed. That blessing consisted in the nations coming to know and worship Abraham’s God.

From the vantage point of the Fall, it meant the undoing of the curse; it meant the reconciliation of Creator-Father and estranged image-son. In its calling as Abraham’s seed, the nation of Israel was to fulfill this promise of reconciliation.

Israel was Yahweh’s servant (Isaiah 41:8-9, 44:1-2, 21), set apart as His disciple to learn of Him through devoted faithfulness to the covenant by which He revealed Himself (42:18-24). By that life of faithfulness, in turn, the servant-son would bear witness to the divine
Father to the surrounding nations (Isaiah 43:10-15, 44:6-8).

Israel was son, servant, disciple and witness, but the nation failed to fulfill its identity in every way. Israel could not be Israel, and its failure brought the Abrahamic promise (and the Edenic oath behind it) into jeopardy. If God were to fulfill His oath of restoration and reconciliation, a new Israel was needed, as this is precisely what Isaiah promised (49:1ff).

Satisfying the obligations of both parties, the Servant effectively embodied the covenant in Himself (42:1-7, 49:8-9). He would be Israel on behalf of Israel, but as the Lord Redeemer He would accomplish Yahweh’s purpose to redeem and recover to Himself all things (cf. Isaiah 49:5-6, 54:1-17; also Ephesians 1:7-10, 2:11-3:12; Colossians 1:19-20).

 

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C. The Nature of the Kingdom – The Recovery of Sacred Space

Even before the tragedy of the Fall, God revealed that He intended intimate connection between Himself and His creation. Specifically, His presence and rule were to be administered through His image-bearer; man was to serve as the interface between the divine Creator and the rest of His creation. But this work of administration would not be the result of a detached delegation of authority. Adam and his descendents were to rule the earth as God’s image-son; divine dominion was to be expressed in the context of divine-human communion.

God’s active presence in His creation – manifested and operative in and through man – is the very essence of the idea of sacred space.

Because of the nature of the Fall, sacred space was shattered and the balance of salvation history is devoted to its recovery. God’s intention wasn’t merely the punishment and purging of evil; it was the restoration of His creation to Himself. While the gospel proclaims the Lord’s retribution against human sinfulness at Calvary, it equally insists that that just recompense had its goal in creational recovery and renewal; wrath served the purpose of reconciliation (cf. John 3:14-17, 12:30-33; Colossians 1:15-20).

If the doctrine of God’s kingdom may be regarded as the Bible’s central conjoining motif, the kingdom itself is defined by the principle of sacred space.

As a result, when one speaks of the Lord’s establishing His kingdom in Christ, he is speaking of the recovery of sacred space. This understanding isn’t the product of a logical process, but is the uniform witness of the Scripture. From the day that God banished man from His garden-sanctuary, His work (and so also the inspired biblical record of that work) has been conspicuously focused on ending the estrangement between Him and His image-son. Through the reconciliation of that relationship the whole creation would enjoy its own reconciliation (cf. Isaiah 65:1-25 with Romans 8:18-23).

The biblical storyline is preoccupied with God’s purpose and work in recovering sacred space, and one of the primary sub-motifs associated with this endeavor is sanctuary or temple.
Divine human estrangement is about distance – not geographical distance, but spiritual and relational distance. Man had lost his connection with his Creator-Father, so that his interaction with God subsequent to the Fall was accomplished in connection with tangible symbols and sacraments. Worship was no longer inherent, authentic intimacy; it was now a matter of mediated distance accomplished through appointed religious means.

 

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The promise of Yahweh’s kingdom was the promise of His recovery of sacred space, and, within the Israelite context, sacred space was symbolized in Israel’s temple in Jerusalem. This is the reason the prophetic witness to the kingdom has a primary focal point in the temple concept.

In that day the mountain of the Lord – symbolic of His dwelling place (Exodus 15:17)

– would be the greatest of all the mountains (Isaiah 2:1-3; Zechariah 8:1-3),
rising and expanding to fill the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35, 44-45;
cf. also Isaiah 11:9).

So Jerusalem (Zion) – the Lord’s symbolic throne – would be the center of the earth with all the nations and peoples coming into it (ref. again Isaiah 2:1-3, also 51:1-11, 62:1-12, 66:19-20 with Jeremiah 3:14-17, 31:1-6; Micah 4:1-7; Zechariah 8:19-23).

And more narrowly, that great day would see the erecting of the Lord’s true temple with His glory filling His sanctuary forever (ref. Ezekiel 40-47, esp. 43:1-5 and 44:1-4; also Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 6:9-15).