                   |
- M - Man of Lawlessness. A future world ruler who will be characterized as being adamantly against God's laws. "Lawlessness" translates anomia (458), which incorporates the letter a (1), a negative prefix, meaning "anti" or "against," and nomos (3551),
meaning "law." Jesus, for example, accused the scribes and Pharisees of
appearing to be outwardly righteous, but inwardly, they were full of
hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matt. 23:28). But Jesus also predicted a
time of pervasive lawlessness at the end of the age (Matt. 24:12). This
speaks of the time of the great apostasy to which Paul referred in 2
Thessalonians 2:3. In that same passage Paul spoke of a blasphemous
world ruler who will be revealed at the end of the age. He will be a
man devoted to lawlessness, doing everything he can to thwart God's
laws and to establish a global regime energized by Satan. He is also to
be identified as "the prince who is to come" (Dan. 9:26), "the beast" (Rev. 11:7; 13:1-4, 12, 14-15, 17-18; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2, 10, 13; 17:3, 7-8, 11-13, 16-17; 19:19-20; 20:4, 10)
"the lawless one" (2 Thess. 2:7), the "son of destruction" (2 Thess.
2:3) (meaning he is doomed to destruction), and "antichrist" (1 John 2:18)." He
will gain a stranglehold over the entire world economically and
politically, and will force people to worship him. Christ will destroy
Him when He returns to render retribution (2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19:11-21). Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The two stages of the return (parousia) of Christ fit in beautifully with the motif of a Jewish wedding. According to Charles C. Ryrie, in his note on Matt. 25:1 in his Ryrie Study Bible, There were two phases to Jewish
weddings. First the bridegroom went to the bride’s home to obtain
his bride and observe certain religious ceremonies. Then he took
his bride to his own home for a resumption of the festivities.
Christ will take His bride, the church, to heaven before the
tribulation period begins; then He will return with His bride at His second
coming to the marriage supper on earth. The virgins [in Matt. 25:1-13]
represent the professing Jewish remnant on earth at His return. Obviously, the five virgins who were sufficiently prepared and able to attend the wedding feast (Matt. 25:1-13) do not represent the bride of Christ, the Church (Rev. 19:7-8). Rather, they represent those who will be blessed because they will be among those who will be "invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:9). Along with Matthew 25:1-13 and Rev. 19:9-11, other references to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb include Isaiah 25:6; Matthew 8:10-12; 22:1-14; 25:1-13; and Luke 13:22-30. John 14:1-6 does not discuss the Marriage Feast, but it does use wedding language in which the Bridegroom comes to the home of the Bride to escort her back to the place He has prepared for her in His Father's House. Evidently, the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:6-10) takes place next up in heaven, by means of which the Bride is examined and purified. Evidently, following her purification, the wedding ceremony takes place in heaven. Commmenting on Rev. 19:7, Constable writes, "The bride is the Lamb's newly married wife having been joined to Him in heaven immediately after the Rapture." Revelation 19:7 pictures the bride of Christ as having been joined to Him in marriage: "the marriage of the Lamb came (erchomai, 2064, aorist (past) tense). The marriage supper of the Lamb takes place on earth, most likely after the judgments following Christ's return, and at some time towards the beginning of the Millennium. I believe Isaiah describes this wedding feast as follows: "The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine" (Isa. 25:6). The mountain refers to Mount Zion, the focal point of Jerusalem. Only redeemed peoples will be able to participate in this wedding feast. There will be several categories of peoples who will take part in this Marriage Supper. Jesus Christ will be the Bridegroom. The Church, composed of redeemed Israelis, but mostly of Gentiles, will attend this Feast in glorified and/or resurrected bodies as the Bride. Deceased believing, and resurrected Israelis will attend as guests at the wedding feast. Jewish believers who survived the Tribulation in their natural bodies will attend the wedding feast as guests. So also will redeemed Gentiles who survived the Tribulation, along with such redeemed and resurrected Old Testament believers as Melchizedek and John the Baptist.
Messiah. The English translation of the Hebrew word (Mashiyach) for “Anointed One.”
The term "anointed one" has a very specific meaning on two levels. A
prophet was authorized by God to take a container of olive oil
and "anoint", or pour out the oil on the head of a person God had
selected to perform a specific office. Priests were anointed. In the first instance, God instructed the prophet Moses to set apart Aaron and his sons as priests by means of anointing oil (Ex. 28:41; 29:7, 21, 29; 30:30; 40:13-15; Lev. 8:12, 30, 10:7). Kings were anointed. In the second instance, God authorized the prophet Samuel to anoint first Saul, then David to be king of Israel. Yahweh had revealed to Samuel that he must anoint Saul to be Israel's King. He did so (1 Sam. 9:15-10:1). It is of particular interest that Samuel told Saul "the Spirit of the LORD" would come upon him mightily, that he would prophesy, and "be changed into another man" (1 Sam. 10:6). Yahweh fulfilled this prophecy just as Samuel had predicted (1 Sam. 10:9-13). We have then, the classic understanding of what it means to be God's anointed King. 1) A prophet anoints with olive oil the person God has selected to be King of Israel. 2) Then God in turn anoints that person with His Holy Spirit. God's Spirit rests upon that person, enabling him to be King with supernaturally heightened abilities. The same held true of David. When Saul had disobeyed God, God instructed Samuel to anoint David to be King. Samuel anointed David with oil, and the Holy Spirit "came mightily upon David from that day forward." At the same time, the Holy Spirit left Saul (1 Sam. 16:1-14). Elsewhere, Elijah was to anoint Hazael king of Aram and Jehu king of Israel (1 Kings 19:15-16). A prophet was anointed. In the third instance, God authorized the prophet Elijah to anoint Elisha to be prophet in his place (1 Kings 9:16). Though there are examples of priests, kings, and at least one prophet being anointed, we typically attribute the term "Anointed One" to the office of king. In the New Testament, it is made clear that Jesus of Nazareth is God’s
Anointed One.
The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear a son whom she
was to name Jesus. He would be great and be called "the Son of
the Most High." God would "give him the throne of His father David." He
would "reign over the house of Jacob forever," and His kingdom would
have "no end" (Luke 1:26-33). Before His incarnation, Jesus existed as God’s eternal Word (Logos), or Message (John 1:1, 14; Rev. 19:13). As such, He appeared infrequently as the Messenger of Yahweh (Angel of the LORD) in Old Testament times. Always Deity, He was also incarnated as Man at His birth in Bethlehem (John 1:14, 18). But it was not until Jesus’ baptism that God the Father anointed God the Son with His Holy Spirit, making Jesus the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-12; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:32-34). At His baptism, God anointed Jesus to all three offices, Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet, Jesus verbally proclaimed God’s messages to the Jewish people. Many of His words are contained in the four Gospels, and in the Book of Revelation. By these He continues to speak through the written Word to both Jews and Gentiles. He also authorized His apostles to be His spokesmen (John 14:25-26; 16:13). Thus, the New Testament is in a sense a record of Christ’s pronouncements as Prophet. As Priest, Jesus offered Himself up as the perfect Lamb of God (Isa. 53:7; John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:6, 8, 12; 6:1; 13:8) . As our great high priest (Psa. 110:4; Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14; 5:5, 10; 6:20; 7:26-28; 8:1-3; 9:11-12; 10:21) Jesus is the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), and He intercedes on behalf of believers at the throne of grace (Rom. 8:33-34; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2). As King, Jesus is presently seated at the right hand of the Father. But in a certain sense He lacks portfolio (a British term) in the sense that He awaits the Kingdom over which He is destined to rule as the only legitimate descendant of David. Jesus will one day, as King in Jerusalem, have law creation (legislative), law administration (executive), and law enforcement (judicial) responsibilities. Jesus will one day as King sit in judgment over all mankind (John 5:22-30; Rev. 20:11-15). Clearly Jesus of Nazareth has been anointed by God. But He has not yet been anointed by man. It is my personal belief that, upon Jesus' return to earth to set up His Davidic rule from Mount Zion in Jerusalem over Israel and over all the earth, God will instruct some Jewish official to anoint Jesus with olive oil. (See also the Glossary discussion of Christ. See also the index for more extensive discussions of Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah.) Millennium. The one-thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. The term is accurately derived from Rev. 20:1-7, where the phrase “thousand years” is used six times. Amillennialists, those who deny a one-thousand year reign of Christ upon earth, assert that this number is figurative, but there is no valid lexical or syntactical reason to do so. What else could John have written to convey the idea that when he said “thousand years,” he meant “thousand years?” In just a few verses, John captures quantitatively that which the Old Testament prophets had predicted qualitatively for centuries – the glorious reign of the Messiah. Jesus’ Kingdom will be long-lived. It will last a thousand years, and then will morph into the Eternal Kingdom. It will be a spiritual kingdom, international in scope, with a unified worship of God. It will be a kingdom characterized by holiness, absent the deluding influence of Satan. It will be a kingdom of justice and righteousness. It will be a kingdom of great blessing, one in which there will be harmony between man and animals, nature will be beneficent, and the curse will be removed. It will be a kingdom of great economic prosperity. It will be a kingdom of peace and security, and one in which its citizens experience exceptional longevity. It will be a kingdom of great glory, and one in which Israel will enjoy global supremacy and honor. It will be a kingdom ruled by a descendant of David, namely Jesus, thus it will be a kingdom marked by joy. Last, it will be a kingdom accessed by faith in God and Jesus. All who refuse to believe will be tragically excluded. See a more extensive treatment of the Millennium. Mosaic Covenant. The conditional contract Yahweh formed with the people of Israel in which He agreed to be their invisible King and they His visible people in the earth. This covenant was offered by Yahweh to Israel much as a king in those days offered to protect a group of nomads if they in turn would pledge to obey him and be his loyal subjects. Yahweh offered this covenant to Israel in Exodus 19:1-6. The people verbally agreed to the covenant (Exod. 19:7-9). The terms of the covenant were spelled out in Exodus 19:10 - 23:33. The Blood Covenant was ratified in Exodus 24. Moses took the blood of sacrificed animals and sprinkled half of it on an altar, representing Yahweh. The other half he sprinkled on the people (Exod. 24:1-8). Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel completed the ratification by eating with the God of Israel on Mount Sinai (Exod. 24:9-11). The Mosaic Covenant is typically termed "The Law," or "Torah." In many respects the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, are known as "The Law." Through the prophet Jeremiah Yahweh introduced the New Covenant (Jer. 31:27-37), implying that the original (Mosaic) Covenant had been rendered obsolete (Heb. 8:13). The people of Israel were unable to keep the Law, because it was powerless to change their stony hearts into hearts of flesh. Only the actions of the Spirit of God under the gracious terms of the New Covenant would be able to accomplish that (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). The Law was never meant to be a means of final sanctification because of its impotence. It was meant to serve as a means of condemnation by revealing sin (Rom. 3:19-20). It was meant to be a tutor to lead mankind to Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:24), so that by trusting in Him, men may be declared righteous. So Jesus Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes in Him (Rom. 10:4). If you have difficulty locating a file, please contact the Web Master. Updated February 24, 2012 Background and Button Image Credit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
