Epic

Epic: Episode 13, Return of the King

Jul 4, 2010
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The Epic finale concludes with the fulfillment of the kingdom promises at the return of the King. The last chapters of the Bible take us back to the first. Back to paradise. Back to the Tree of Life. Back to heaven on earth. Back to the future.

Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 12…

The Jews in Jesus’ day expected the Messiah to come in great power and to set up His kingdom immediately – this is the way they expected Israel to be restored. This is why in Acts the disciples ask Jesus “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” But Jesus said plainly, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” Instead, he changes the subject to that of the will of the Father, saying, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The core purpose of the regenerate Christian, while still alive on this earth, is to spread the news of the Kingdom of Heaven until the day of its fulfillment, when Christ comes back. His disciples wanted the Kingdom established immediately, but Jesus said not yet. Jesus ends the conversation by ascending into heaven right before their eyes. As they marveled, two angels stood next to them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” This reveals to us in context that we are to be doing God’s missionary work until we see Jesus come back in just the way He left.

This principle – that the Kingdom of Heaven is already here, but not yet come – is also clearly identified in the gospel of Matthew. When Jesus began his ministry, he came preaching, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” But he made it clear that there was a plan for God’s people until the Kingdom is fulfilled by the return of Jesus (Mat. 16). In Revelation 12 and 19, we see Jesus descending upon the earth in great glory and power, judging the nations of the earth.

Epic: Episode 12, The Christ Fulfills the Writings

Jun 28, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 11…

Galatians 4:4
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Matthew 5:17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Luke 24:25
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

All of Scripture is about Jesus, all the way from Genesis to Revelation. When John writes that Jesus Himself “was the word” (John 1:1), he was being quite literal. All of Scripture is is about Jesus in one of four ways:

Predicting the work of Christ. (Prophecies that specifically refer to Jesus.)
Preparing for the work of Christ. (passover and the atonement rituals, which foreshadow his atonement.)
Revealing the work of Christ. (The Gospels, which reveal Jesus as the predicted one.)
Reflecting on the work of Christ. (The epistles, which apply the Gospel.)

A few of the prophecies concerning Jesus:

Micah 5:2

born in Bethlehem

Hos 11:1

infancy in Egypt

Isaiah 7:14

born of a virgin

Gen 12:3, 22:16-18

descendant of Abraham

Gen 17:19, 21:12, Num 24:17

descendant of Isaac and Jacob

Gen 49:10

of the tribe of Judah

2 Sam 7:14

son of David

Mal 3:1

preceded by John the Baptist

Is 42:6, Is 49:6

a light to the Gentiles

Is 53:4

heal the sick

Ps 78:2, Is 6:9-10

teach in parables

Ps 69:9

cleanse the temple of thieves

Ps 118:22-23

be the stone the builders reject

Ps 2:1-2

enemies will plot against him

Ps 8:2

praised by children

Zec 9:9, Is 62:11, Ps 118:26

triumphal entry on a colt

Ps 41:9

betrayed by a friend

Zec 11:12-13

betrayed for 30 pieces of silver

Zec 13:7

disciples scattered

Ps 27:12-14

accused by false witnesses

Ps 22

crucified

Is 53:9,12

with thieves

Ps 69:21

given wine and gall to drink

Ps 22:18

they would gamble for his garments

Ps 22:7-8

taunted and mocked

Ps 22:1

forsaken by God

Ps 34:20

not a bone broken

Ps 22:16

pierced

Is 53:9

buried in a rich man’s tomb

Ps 16:8-11, Hos 6:2

resurrected

To be continued in Epic 13…

Epic: Episode 11, The New Covenant

Jun 20, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 10…

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV)

We live in the day that this prophecy is fulfilled. Though God was gracious to make a covenant with his people, no one kept it. In the days of the Judges, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The kings did evil in the sight of the Lord. God sent prophets to speak to His people, but they were killed. Therefore, we see that in the New Covenant God will do something different: The Law will be written on our minds and hearts; We will all know Him, from the least to the greatest; There will be forgiveness and removal of sins.

Indeed, that time is now. Jesus signified the beginning of this at the last supper: “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19-20 ESV)

In Hebrews we read that this New Covenant is superior to the Old One: “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second…. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:6-13 ESV)

To be continued in Epic 12…

Epic: Episode 10, The King to Come

Jun 13, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 9…

From the time of Moses onward, we see three different kinds of leaders over the people of Israel: Judges, Kings, and Prophets. In the book of Judges, the events that proceeded after Moses are summarized:

Judges 2:10-19 (ESV)»

This describes the story of Israel verbatim for many generations. However, the story takes a turn with Samuel, the last judge over Israel:

1 Samuel 8:1-9 (ESV)»

Because Israel was impetuous, impulsive, and self-seeking they demanded to have a king put over them like all the other nations. However, God planned for Israel to have a king the whole time – but according to his own timing and his own wisdom. If they had waited, they would have been given an honorable king. In fact, God promises in 2 Samuel to establish the throne of David forever. The Jews of Jesus’ day properly interpreted the prophecies concerning the Lordship of the Messiah, but missed entirely those concerning his Sacrifice. The prophecies about Jesus can be broken down into three categories, describing a certain aspect of his character:

»Conquering King

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 11:10
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

»Son of Man

Daniel 7:13-14
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

»Suffering Servant

Isaiah 53:2
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

To be continued in Epic 11…

Epic: Episode 9, The Blood of the Covenant

Jun 6, 2010
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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 8…

Having received the full measure of the Law from God, Moses returned to the crowd and spoke it to them. To this, they responded, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses then took the blood of the covenant and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

The blood that is spilled in this covenant is reminiscent of the blood that was shed when God substituted the sacrifice of Isaac with a ram that He provided, and the blood that was shed when God made garments of animal hide for Adam and Eve.

However, though the covenant that the people of Israel committed to was solemn, they still turned away and broke the commandments. While Moses was with God on the mountain top for 40 days, the people became impatient and said, “Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Because of their transgression, God instituted an entire set of sacrificial laws to demonstrate the holiness of God and the severity of their sin. God also had them make a tabernacle that would hold the Ark of the Covenant, where the high priest would enter on the Day of Atonement to sacrifice a spotless goat for the forgiveness of sins for one more year.

The New Testament book of Hebrews tells us, though, that the blood of animals cannot atone for sin. This means that each time that the high priest entered the holy of holies and shed the blood of a spotless goat, he was demonstrating in faith the coming atonement of Jesus Christ, whom Hebrews describes as being a sacrifice “once for all.”

Related Passages:
Exodus 24» Exodus 32»
To be continued in Epic 9…

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