The Kingdom of God The Mediatorial Kingdom in

The Kingdom of God The Mediatorial Kingdom in Old Testament History Part I

Introducing… n George N. H. Peters (1825 -1909) • A Lutheran pastor who served churches in Xenia and Springfield, Ohio. • Best known for his massive work Theocratic Kingdom of our Lord Jesus, The Christ, as Covenanted in the Old Testament and Presented in the New Testament, which consisted of over 2100 pages in 3 volumes, with thousands of citations from theology, history, science, and literature. • Received great criticism for his work initially, but it later came to be recognized as a classic. Mc. Clain cites from it several times.

Definition of the Mediatorial Kingdom n n Last week we made a distinction between God’s universal kingdom and His mediatorial kingdom. Mc. Clain defines the mediatorial kingdom as: • the rule of God through a divinely chosen representative who not only speaks and acts for God but also represents the people before God. • a rule which has special reference to the earth. • having as its mediatorial ruler one who is always a member of the human race. n The Bible presents the mediatorial idea in connection with 3 different offices: prophet, priest, and ruler.

Large Divisions of Our Study n n n n The rise and development of the mediatorial rule of God as it appears in OT History Its future form as predicted in OT prophecy Its character as announced by Christ and His apostles during the period of the Gospel records Its place during the apostolic age as recorded in the Book of Acts The form in which it appears in the present age as described by the epistles Its visible and established form in the millennial age Its final mergence in and complete identification with the universal and everlasting kingdom of God

The Historical Background of the Mediatorial Idea n Man’s Original Dominion by Creation • And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living that moves on the earth" (Gen 1: 27 -28; cf. Psalm 8: 3 -8). • Man’s dominion over the material creation was to be exercised under the direction of God – a point which was forgotten all too quickly! n From Eden to the Flood • “The rather brief record of this era seems to indicate a condition of individual and irresponsible lawlessness so far as any external restraints were concerned. . The period ends, as we might expect, with almost total moral corruption and the earth ‘filled with violence’ (Gen 6: 11)” (Mc. Clain, pp. 44 -45). • Conscience, part of man’s being made in the image of God, was the only restraint. n From the Flood to Babel • After the great flood, God promised never again to destroy the world by water. • He also instituted the law that "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Gen 9: 6). • “What we have here, then, is something wholly new upon the earth; an institution by which God will now mediate His government over the nations through human rulers who, whether they acknowledge Him or not, are nevertheless ‘ordained of God’ as ‘ministers’ of His” (Mc. Clain, p. 47).

The Historical Background of the Mediatorial Idea n The Confusion of Tongues • “Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Gen 11: 9). • God evidently scattered the nations to keep them from building a single, unified world system – something that man continues to strive after and will ultimately accomplish under the false christ. n From Abraham to the Exodus • After the scattering of the nations through the confusion of tongues of Babel, God initiates his covenant with Abraham (Gen 12: 1 -4). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob served as mediators of the Divine will. • Melchizedek also appears during this period, identified as “king of Salem” and “priest of the most high God” (Gen 14: 18), both mediatorial functions. n The Sojourn in Egypt – served as a time for God’s chosen people to be disciplined and welded into a nation, while also being brought in contact with a well-organized civilization. The first mediatorial leader of the nation of Israel would emerge from this period, trained in all the wisdom of Egypt.

The Establishment of the Mediatorial Kingdom in History n The Supernatural Preparation for the Kingdom • “The establishment of a kingdom of God in human history was something so new and important that it was necessary to signalize its appearance on earth by means of a series of great supernatural acts which were designed to compel belief and which could not be misinterpreted by any of the parties involved. These parties were: first, Moses as the mediatorial ruler [burning bush]; second, the children of Israel as the chosen nation [serpent rod, leprous hand, water into blood]; third, Egypt and the other Gentile nations [serpent rod, 10 plagues, Red Sea]” (Mc. Clain, p. 53). The latter is followed by the victory song of Moses: “The Lord shall reign forever and ever (Exod 15: 18). • Note the parallels that Mc. Clain draws to the supernatural judgments preceding the millennial kingdom n n n Preliminary miracle – rapture of the Church Judgments – from the 7 sealed scroll, similar in character to the plagues on Egypt Climax – Battle of Armageddon, destruction of false christ and his army and another song of victory, “the song of Moses. . . And the song of the Lamb” (Rev 15: 1 -3).

The Establishment of the Mediatorial Kingdom in History n Moses: The First Mediatorial Ruler for Israel • Represented Yahweh to the people • Represented the people toward God n The Kingdom Covenant at Sinai • “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ” These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel (Exod 19: 4 -6). n n n First use of “kingdom” in the Bible; clearly this is God’s kingdom. This kingdom is to be administered through one nation, Israel. The other nations will be included under this rule. The nation is a “kingdom of priests, ” representing the true God to the other nations. Israel must be a holy nation, set apart unto God. The exercise of the kingdom was conditioned upon obedience.

The Constitution and Laws of the Kingdom in History n The Historical Kingdom Basically a Spiritual Kingdom • This statement is made to controvert the idea that Christ established a “spiritual” kingdom at His first advent. The OT kingdom was already spiritual in nature, by virtue of the fact that it was established between God and men. (See appendix on the spirituality of the kingdom). • The fact that it is spiritual does not mean that it does not also have physical manifestations. n The Political Aspect of the Historical Kingdom • The kingdom of Israel had just right the balance between national strength and personal liberty. • Israel was promised an exalted place among the nations, based on her favor from Yahweh. • As the instrument of God’s judgment, Israel was to utterly destroy the Canaanite nations that dwelt within the borders of the promised land. • The nations outside the promised land were to be left alone unless they became hostile, in which case Israel was to offer peace before attacking (Deut 20). n The Ecclesiastical Aspect of the Historical Kingdom • There was ample instruction in Israel’s laws and constitution for the place of religion, i. e. the worship of the one true God. • State and religion were bound together in a theocracy. • Priests received no land, but were supported by the tithes and offerings of the people.

The Constitution and Laws of the Kingdom in History n The Economic Aspect of the Historical Kingdom • Three Sources of Israel’s wealth Flocks and herds multiplied in Goshen n Booty from the Egyptians n Land n • Granted by God, forbidden from being permanently transferred to another family. • Those who temporarily sold their land out of poverty were to be helped via free gleaning, and their land was to be restored in the year of jubilee.

The Constitution and Laws of the Kingdom in History n The Physical Aspect of the Historical Kingdom • The physical well-being of Israel occupied a prominent place in the historical kingdom (“that it may go well with you” is oft repeated in Deuteronomy). • Such physical benefits came in two ways: n n Supernaturally – manna; water; non-decaying clothing; freedom from disease; exceedingly abundant productivity in descendants, animals and crops Naturally (through divinely ordained human means) – conservation of natural resources; rest and relaxation; sanitation

The Constitution and Laws of the Kingdom in History n The Moral Aspect of the Historical Kingdom • A written record of moral law directly from the finger of God • A tight connection between true religion and moral behavior • A vital connection between human welfare and morality, with judgment rendered by God for infractions (Lev 26, Deut 28) • Even when curses come for disobedience, there is still hope for the future (Lev 26, Deut 30, expounded upon by the prophets).

Such Hope of Restoration is Not Fulfilled in the Church Today n “In conclusion, it may be observed that, especially within the Amillennial school of eschatological opinion, there is high reverence for the Mosaic law and insistence upon its application to the Church of the present age. Yet with curious inconsistency the same school is unalterably opposed to the idea of a coming kingdom of God on the earth within human history, when the great principles of the Mosaic code will be made the law of all nations, and enforced by immediate divine sanctions under the beneficent rule of God Himself in the Person of His incarnate Son, our Lord Jesus Christ” (Mc. Clain, p. 90).

Next Week: The Mediatorial Kingdom in Old Testament History Part II From Moses to Saul to the rise and fall of Israel’s monarchy