The sixth mystery mentioned in the New Testament is The Mystery of Iniquity. This mystery is the counterwork to The Mystery of the Gospel (Eph 6:19), which was the first mystery in this series on The Seven Great Mysteries of the World. Paul also called the first mystery The Mystery of Godliness (1 Tim 3:16).

Believers understand that the Father designed and created His universe with a purpose and a plan; He is holy and righteous and His intention is to make His creation holy and righteous, so that He can be All in all (1 Cor 15:28).

However, for a season, He has allowed opposition to the consummation of His plan; He has allowed The Mystery of Iniquity to run its course and godlessness to grow and reveal its true nature.

When we looked at The Mystery of the Gospel – the Good News of the incarnation of Christ (Eph 6:19; 1 Tim.3:16), we also examined the spiritual powers working behind the scenes, which the Apostle Paul called the principalities and powers (Eph 6:12; Col 2:15).

These malign powers are mentioned throughout the Bible and it was noted that whilst promoting iniquity, which in biblical terms is lawlessness, they are also to be found working within the human community; coaxing, driving and influencing people to resist God their Creator.

The concept of lawlessness in the Bible is not an absence of the law, but rather, the violation of God’s divinely instituted law. This is not a subjective law that we ourselves created for our own convenience, we are speaking here of the law of God. Our holy and righteous Creator has made certain decrees, or laws, for us to live by, but the spiritual agents of lawlessness have been working from the beginning of time promoting lawlessness, godlessness and unrighteousness. As Paul explained to the Ephesians:

You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. (Eph 2:2) NLT

The Man of Sin

The New Testament teaches us that the constant, insidious work of these iniquitous powers will come to a climax on The Day of the Lord (2 Thes 2:2). At that time God will personally and dramatically intervene in human history to vanquish the satanic powers (Rev 20:9, 10) and bring His ultimate plan to fruition (Rev 21:1-4). But before that Day arrives two specific events must occur. Paul instructed the church of Thessalonica:

Let no one deceive you by any means, for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed – the son of destruction. (2 Thes 2:3)

After alerting his readers to the Great Falling Away of believers, Paul announced the coming manifestation of the man of sin – the son of destruction. He then went on to introduce our sixth mystery, The Mystery of Iniquity, which he linked to the revealing of this son of destruction. Paul writes:

And the Mystery of Iniquity (Lawlessness) is already at work, only He who is now holding it back will do so until He is taken out of the midst (of humanity). And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His presence. The coming of this lawless one is connected to the working of satan by power and signs and lying wonders, and with every delusion of iniquity against those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, in order that all might be distinguished who do not believe the truth, but approve of unrighteousness. (2 Thes 2:7-12)

Just as the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:11) was first a mystery and then revealed (1 Tim 3:16; 1 Cor 2:7, 8) at the right time (Romans 5:6); so also the lawless one – the son of destruction – is first a mystery, but at the right time he will also be revealed. Righteousness found its embodiment in Christ the righteous One (1 John 2:1) and sin will find its embodiment in the man of sin.

Until now the Holy Spirit has been actively restraining the manifestation of iniquity as He holds back the powers of the evil one, but at the right time He will be removed and the manifestation of the antichrist (the term used in 1 John 2:18 and 1 John 4:3), will take place.

As we have shown in The Mystery of the Rapture, which was our fourth mystery in this series, following the Rapture of the Church, the Holy Spirit’s restraining presence will be withdrawn and the Great Tribulation will begin. We can now add from Paul’s teaching that the coming of the antichrist will follow soon after these events.

At that time satan will indwell the man of sin as he attempts to counterfeit the imminent appearing (2 Tim 4:8) and presence (Mark 13:21) of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Thus, this lawless one will anticipate the Second Coming with a last ditch effort to maintain dominion of this present world.

Meanwhile, the Great Tribulation will be the Father’s last ditch attempt at capturing the attention of a great multitude of people (Rev 7:9). This will be God’s final effort at bringing stubborn people to a place where they will listen, understand and accept the true consequences of rejecting His Way (John 14:6). Many people will be saved from the second death during the Great Tribulation (Rev 2:11).

The Great Falling Away

At present, iniquity is working in a mystery, in a hidden manner, while evil is subtly taking root in the increasingly pagan modern world culture. Many commentators call this godless culture “progressive”. But while godlessness grows and gains ground, satan has been working to convince those people who see themselves as “progressives” that he does not exist. The father of lies (John 8:44) has been extremely successful in this endeavour; large numbers of people now believe satan is a myth, not a mystery.

Meanwhile worldly knowledge is increasing exponentially (Dan 12:4) and high-sounding academics are seducing thinking people away from Christianity with arguments so plausible they may well deceive even the elect (Mat 24:24).

In today’s world, respect for the church is rapidly declining while persecution of Christians is rampant. We also see false religions and seriously corrupted forms of Christianity growing in number and popularity, as humanist/naturalist philosophies take the place of Christian teaching. This is exactly what we would expect to see during the Great Falling Away. These are the forerunners of the antichrist; this is the outworking of the first of Paul’s precursors to The Day of the Lord (2 Thes 2:3).

Paul taught that the falling away would be a strong indicator that The Day of the Lord was at hand, and then the man of sin – the son of destruction – would be revealed. I have written about the falling away in an earlier post (The Still Point) and will simply mention here that anyone who was born in a nominally Christian country before 1960 would most definitely have seen the falling away Paul is talking about with their own eyes.

Church and Sunday School attendance were common practices in many people’s lives up until the 50s, but by the end of the 60s the decline had begun in earnest.

Today one would be hard pressed to find a school with scripture classes every week and many churches have been forced to close their doors. It is not uncommon to find many of these churches converted into family homes.

These surplus church buildings, which have been transformed into stylish modern homes, should stand as a constant reminder to the church. It was almost inevitable that when certain so-called Christian groups embarked upon the path of watering down the authority of the Bible, the Great Falling Away would begin.

If It’s Not Bible Based, It’s Not Christian

By accepting the popular notions of long ages and evolution, the very foundations upon which Christianity stands have been weakened and many parents no longer have logical explanations for the questions their scientifically literate children ask them about the Bible. Once certainty concerning the opening chapters of the Bible is removed, faith in the rest of God’s Word flounders.

There is, in fact, absolutely no need for a new approach to the teachings in Genesis. Anyone who has taken the time to investigate the science behind the modern creation movement will quickly discover that there is no need to make unnecessary claims concerning genre (trying to convince us that this historical narrative is poetry), or to impose evolutionary pseudo-science onto the traditional understanding of Genesis.

One does not have to look far to realise that creation science is robust and sound and there is a plethora of biological, geological, astronomical, and other scientific evidence to support biblical creation. Those who are prepared to look soon discover that there is no need to compromise or spiritualise the early chapters of God’s Word. Good evidence based science supports the biblical account of creation.

However, what we tend to find in the pro-evolution camp is an abundance of ad hominem arguments against creationists, coupled with philosophically biased interpretations of the data used to support the evolution theory, but no real understanding of the depth of the creation alternative.

A Powerful Delusion

Our Father created each one of us with free will and He has given us the opportunity to choose either to follow His Way or be amongst the people who elect to believe satan’s lies and come under one of the strongest delusion of our age; that is, that the creation made itself, there is no Creator.

Some people who call themselves Christians have chosen to compromise their faith by insisting God used evolution to create. These theistic evolutionists have a prior commitment to philosophical naturalism and long ages and must therefore contort the scriptures to fit their preconceived ideas.

According to the theistic evolution model, death, pain and suffering were a planned part of God’s creative process. This is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the God of miraculous events. Not only did He create the universe in six actual days and cause a worldwide flood to deal with toxic iniquity; He sent His Son who was born of a virgin, literally died, rose from death and physically ascended to heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father.

No matter how often the people at the Biologos Forum, and others of like mind, insist they can marry humanist/materialist inspired pseudo-science with biblical Christianity, God has never called death “very good” (Gen 1:31) – it is part of the curse that came upon His once perfect creation after Adam sinned (Gen 3:17-19; Romans 5:12; Gal 3:13). Anything else makes nonsense of the gospel message (Romans 6:23).

What a tragedy it will be for those people who claim to be followers of Jesus, but have been preoccupied in playing the “my brain is bigger than your brain” game. When they stand before the Throne of Grace and realise they have actually been participants in The Mystery of Iniquity, they will find themselves surrounded by cinders (1 Cor 3:13).

The Antichrist

The Mystery of Godliness was revealed in the incarnation of Christ and The Mystery of Iniquity will be fully developed in the revelation of the man of sin, the antichrist.

The spirit of the antichrist has been hard at work preparing this world for the coming of the son of destruction, and rejection of God’s Word is one of the main tools he is using. Satan not only opposes Christ, he also opposes Christ’s teachings and work, which are at the very core of God’s rescue plan for humanity. Casting doubt on the veracity of God’s Word is a very effective way of keeping people from the Truth and this is the driving force behind the antichrist.

Satan now understands God’s rescue programme, which the Father planned before the creation, but kept secret until all was accomplished (1 Peter 1:20). Satan now understands that individuals can only be saved from the second death (Rev 2:11; 20:6) if they put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning death, and as Paul told the Romans:

Truly, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom 10:17)

To keep people from coming to faith in Jesus, satan has been working to keep people from hearing the Word of God. Building a fifth column within the Christian community is just one of the many tactics he has used to turn people away from listening to their Creator.

But refusing to listen to God is not a new phenomenon; the Mystery of Iniquity was already at work in Paul’s time and centuries before that our Creator was warning people about the consequences of refusing to listen to His message, He said:

“Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the LORD of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them. “Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to Me, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. (Zec 7:11-13)

Ignoring the clear message concerning God’s plans for the future of humanity and refusing to take heed of the dire consequences of disregarding God’s warnings, is like lying down on a busy railway track expecting the driver to stop the train.

God’s plan is on track and He will not be diverted; our Father means to abolish pain, suffering and death. He created this universe and He has the right, the ability and the authority to direct it in the way He knows will best achieve His ends.

Godliness or Godlessness – You Choose

Those who refuse to listen to God’s guidelines make a very foolish choice. God has given us the individual responsibility to choose between godliness and godlessness (Deut 30:19; Josh 24:15; Is 7:15,16 (even Jesus had to choose); Prov 1:29) and the Father has painstakingly explained that the eternal destiny for each and every person is either eternal life or the second death. As we draw nearer to the Day of the Lord, it will become increasingly obvious that there are two distinct paths but sadly many people will no longer be able to distinguish the difference.

The spirit of the antichrist would have us believe that good and evil are relative. At the very beginning of human history satan lied to Eve when she was discussing the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil with him (Gen 3:1-6). He tried to convince her that the fruit of this tree would give her the ability to determine good and evil for herself, rather than trusting in God to guide her. This is exactly the same tactic he has used throughout time.

Solomon was a man generally recognised as having great wisdom, and he wrote:

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Pro 1:7)

We live in a world that is awash with knowledge, but true knowledge can only come from the God of the Bible, and His Word teaches us that we must learn to listen to Him. Our Father is a “God of pardons, gracious, and merciful, long-suffering, and abundant in kindness” (Neh 9:17), but He will eventually complete His original plan and those people who refuse to listen to Him and turn away from their godlessness will find they have no part in His Eternal Kingdom (Mat 7:23).

God is allowing this time of decision so that “all the people who do not believe the truth might be clearly distinguished” (2 Thes 2:12). There will be no place in His Eternal Kingdom for people who reject God’s Truth (John 14:6).

God has given us His Truth and He has declared it to be good. Even in Isaiah’s time God was speaking to His people concerning this issue. Isaiah wrote:

What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what You can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out His plan, for we want to know what it is.” What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. (Isa 5:18-21)NLT

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Today we often hear people proclaiming that if there was a God He would be interfering more in human activity. They want the God they deny exists to do something to stop the suffering they see all around them. At the same time they choose to ignore the fact that this God they refuse to believe in has given us free will and that the majority of the suffering is actually the result of human activity.

Perhaps they believe God should induce the miscarriage of someone who is destined to perform heinous acts or prevent the conception of any child He knows will be aborted. But where should we draw the line? Should God also prevent people from manufacturing or buying cigarettes?

If God constantly intervened in our lives we would be little more than robots. Instead, He has created us with the ability to choose between right and wrong and given us clear guidelines on how to live according to His Way. He wants us to practice self-discipline and take responsibility for our own actions. This is the mark of a mature person (1 Cor 3:2; Heb 5:12, 13; 1 Peter 2:2).

Hardly a day goes by without someone saying, “How could a God who claims to be a God of love allow all this suffering?” Sadly, these people are actually asking a rhetorical question – they do not really want to hear God’s answer. But this question has been answered many times by many people. Perhaps those who ask the question want a simple answer, a sound-bite answer, to one of the most complex questions anyone could ever ask.

Bible believing Christians have a very satisfactory answer to this question. Those who know God’s Word understand that when God told Adam he should not eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, He also warned him that if he did eat of it he would die (Gen 2:15-17). God created a universe with natural order and consequences, where certain actions compel specific reactions. The consequence of the first humans eating the forbidden fruit was that death and decay, and consequently pain and suffering, entered God’s perfect world.

Satan tried to convince Eve that she would not die by disobeying God, he told her that instead of dying she would become like God (Gen 3:4,5). This was his first recorded lie and in a sense the beginning of The Mystery of Iniquity. When Adam and Eve listened to satan and disobeyed God’s clear directive, they sinned by disobeying their Creator, even though God had already explained to them that this sin would lead to death (Gen 2:17; Rom 6:23; James 1:15).

The Father of Lies

Free will necessitates the option of rebellion and after listening to satan, Adam and Eve chose this option. From the moment they chose to rebel the first humans began to die; their once perfect bodies were now subject to corruption, as was the entire creation (Romans 8:22). If they had not died then God would have been proven a liar, just like satan. But God simply told them the truth. They sinned and death and suffering became part of the human condition. Jesus told some Jewish leaders who refused to listen to Him:

Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear Me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe Me! (John 8:43-45)NLT

Because Adam and Eve ignored God’s directive and believed satan’s lies they died. In effect satan murdered them, but Adam and Eve had a choice. Tragically the choice they made set our world on a particular path. But God’s rescue plan is powerful, and this season of death and suffering will come to an end when our Father ushers in the Day of the Lord.

This will be a Day of salvation as well as judgement. Those who choose God’s Way will be saved from God’s final intervention, which will end with the destruction everything that is not purified by His Son. However, God will not compel anyone to go into eternity to live with Him forever. But apart from Him there will be no life. Those who reject eternal life will perish when they are subjected to the second death (Rev 20:14,15).

The need for salvation is the most important message anyone could ever hear. This message will determine the eternal destiny of every person who was ever conceived. Jesus described God’s rescue plan in one sentence when He said:

For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

This ultimate truth no longer carries the urgency it once did. The father of lies has successfully blinded a large portion of the human population to the truth of his existence. He has also deluded people into believing that their Creator – the God of the Bible, and Adam and Eve – the first humans to walk the Earth, are all mythological characters. Over the past few centuries satan’s deception has grown in power and strength as He has convinced millions of people that they need not listen to The Lord of Life.

There Will Be No More Death

One of the greatest satanic delusions in today’s world is the belief that death was an indispensable component of the ascent of life. Many people have come to believe that death always was and always will be part of the human condition. Some false religions give people false hope; they tell us that we will be reincarnated after death, only to experience an endless cycle of deaths until we reach our ultimate state, the big blend or egolessness. But God’s Word is quite clear, as the writer to the Hebrews explains:

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that face the judgment, even so Christ was offered once as a sacrifice to bear the sins of many people. And to all those who are eagerly waiting for Him, He will come a second time, not to deal with sins, but to bring salvation. (Heb 9:27-28)

As he did when he made his very first appearance on the world stage (Gen 3:3,4), satan has continued to muddy the waters when it comes to an understanding of death and the afterlife. However, Christians know with absolute certainty that death will be abolished (1 Cor 15:26) and eternal life means just that, there will be no more death (Rev 21:4).

It’s All About Love

Throughout the last few centuries satan has been busy elevating pluralism, self-righteousness (a form of political correctness) and false piety while working diligently to have Christianity portrayed as intolerant bigotry. Sadly, a small section of the church may have contributed to this deception by overemphasising moral issues and underemphasising social responsibility. Our Lord gave His people clear guidelines on these issues when he told His listeners:

“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly the speck in your brother’s eye, to take it out.” (Luk 6:41-42)TLV
And also:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than anyone else? Even the pagans do that, don’t they? Therefore be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Mat 5:43-48) TLV

God’s law and moral code were given to us because our Father knew the best way for our species to live. We are not animals, we were made in God’s image (Gen 1:26); we are unique beings, not just amongst our fellow creatures on this beautiful planet, but within the entire creation. We have unimaginable eternal potential (Luke 18:16; John 1:12; Romans 8:17, 21; Eph 5:1), but our Father asks us to live according to His guidelines (1 John 3:10).

However, He does not demand perfection from us without giving us the means of reaching for that goal (Phil 3:13,14). In our second mystery we looked at The Mystery of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Col.1:27, 1 Cor. 6:17 & 19). God’s indwelling Spirit enables us to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). It is He who enables us to live and love according to His guidelines (Eph 1:5; Phil 2:13-15).

Suffering Will End

God is going to definitively deal with pain and suffering, but He is going to do it His way. This is the big picture God wants people to hear and satan has been working hard to bring it into disrepute.

Our Father has allowed suffering and death to endure for about 6000 years. In a sense we have been part of the great demonstration of the extent of human depravity apart from God’s rule and reign. God has permitted us to see and experience first hand what life outside adherence to His law is like.

But despite the suffering, millions of people have heard God’s message and taken advantage of His rescue plan. These people have chosen to be part of God’s Eternal Kingdom by becoming members of God’s Family. But one might ask, why has God allowed suffering and death to go on for so long?

The stark truth is, once the Creator begins to wind up this present, broken creation, there will be a terrible time of godlessness and lawlessness on the Earth as God lifts His restraining hand. But God wants as many people as possible to choose His Way before the Great Tribulation begins. Just as the Apostle Peter predicted, in these last days, scoffers have come saying, “Where is this Second Coming He promised?” (2 Peter 3:3, 4), but as Peter went on to explain:

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some might consider slowness. Rather, He is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

It is the refusal of the millions of unsaved people to listen to and accept God’s Truth and His Way that is prolonging the suffering of this world. Thankfully, our Father has seen to it that many cultures have retained some semblance of godliness, and law and order prevail in most countries. We were created with the ability to love and care for others and many of us have benefited from living in countries founded on Christian principals, but we have also inherited a broken nature; loving and caring is not always our natural tendency and some people consciously choose to revel in evil. Also Jesus warned:

Because iniquity will increase, the love of the many will become cold. (Mat 24:12)

As we come to terms with The Mystery of Iniquity we understand that although our Father has restrained evil to a great extent, He has nevertheless allowed satan to work behind the scenes to sift the chaff from the wheat (Mat 3:12; 13:30). There have always been people who choose to reject God’s Truth and disparage God’s offer of eternal life, but when the antichrist is eventually revealed, these God-haters will join satan’s forces and attempt to overthrow God’s ordinances (Rev 9:20; 16:9, 11).

Even though there is no hope for them in this offensive, they will be so far from believing God’s Truth it will be virtually impossible for them to comprehend that in Christ, victory has already been assured and their defiance is futile (John 16:33; Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 15:24, 57; 2 Cor 2:14; Rev 3:21; 6:2; 17:14; 19:1,2). Their true natures will be laid bare and their eternal destinies sealed.

But for now, during this period of grace, the time is right to turn to God and hear His voice. He is reaching out to the lost, calling them into His Eternal Family. However, as the Great Falling Away we are now witnessing is the precursor to the revelation of the antichrist, and the Rapture will occur before his appearing, the time may be short. Now is the time to repent and turn to God.

The fifth Great Mystery of the World is The Mystery of the Restoration of Israel. Today we think of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, but before it was used to name a country and its people, Israel was the name given to Abraham’s grandson, Jacob.

The word Israel means “he (who) struggles with God” and this name was given to Jacob after he successfully wrestled with the messenger of God (Gen 32:28). Later, the name was used for the 70 descendants of Jacob/Israel – the people known as the children of Israel – when they went down to live in Egypt because of the famine in their land (Gen 15:13; 41:56; 46; 47:27).

Around 1446BC, the name was applied to the nation that grew out of those descendants, when Israel escaped from slavery in Egypt (Ex 5:2; 12:3) and came back into the land God had earlier promised to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people (Gen 15:18).

Following the Exodus, the name was given to the land the descendents of Israel conquered and ruled for nearly a thousand years. But in 722 BC, after they forsook the God of their father Abraham, Israel was led away into captivity in Assyria, and the great city of Jerusalem finally fell in 586BC. During this long period of conquest and the exile of the Jewish people, many of the faithful Old Testament prophets foresaw the restoration of Israel. The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

“Behold, days are coming”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign as king wisely, and execute justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in safety; and this is His Name by which He will be called: Adonai our righteousness. “Therefore behold, days are coming,” says Adonai, “when they will no longer say: ‘As Adonai lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ Rather, ‘As Adonai lives, who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ So they will dwell in their own soil. (Jer 23:5-8)TLV

For over three thousand years remnants of the Jewish community have continuously inhabited the land God gave to Israel (Gen 35:12), but over the past century they have returned in numbers and in May 1948, they reclaimed Israel as their homeland. One need only listen to the world news to understand that they do not as yet “dwell in safety” …. “in their own soil”. It seems the full restoration is yet to come and our passage from Jeremiah tells us that this will happen “in His days”.

When Paul taught about The Mystery of the Restoration of Israel, he was not referring to the same restoration Peter spoke about after he healed the lame man in Solomon’s porch (Acts 3:8).

Peter was talking about the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21), which was a theme he returned to in one of his letters, when he wrote about the new heavens and the new Earth (2 Peter 3:13). That restoration will follow the final episode in the history of the world as we know it and it will happen when all of the end-times events are fully completed (Rev 21:1). However, the scriptures indicate that Israel’s restoration is an intrinsic part of the end-times story God has revealed through His Word (Hos 3:5). The restoration of Israel will be a time when the Branch/King reigns wisely in the land God gave to Abraham.

Throughout the Old Testament there are numerous passages about Israel’s restoration as a nation and many of them refer to a King who will bring justice and righteousness. In Jesus’ day, the Jews were looking for the restoration of the Jewish nation under the reign of a Jewish King, their Messiah, but God’s plan for humanity was far greater than this one nation He had created – God’s plan was for all of humankind.

Jesus the Jewish Messiah

When Jesus was born, many of the Jews were hoping for a Messiah-King, who would destroy the tyranny of Rome and restore their sovereign power.

They were looking forward to a time when Israel would again be the great nation she had been under David and Solomon. This nationalistic hope was based on the many messianic prophecies found throughout the Old Testament, with the chief prophet of the Messiah being Isaiah.

However, Isaiah’s Messiah was not only a true King in the line of David (Is 7–12), He was also “the Servant of the Lord”, who would bear away sin. Isaiah foresaw this promised Servant obediently enduring the direst of suffering (50:4–9; 52:13–53:12), which would ultimately prove to be the way of salvation (53:11).

Isaiah’s Servant-King was also depicted as the anointed Conqueror (Is 59:21; 61:1–3; 61:10–62:12; 63:1–6). He would bring both salvation and judgment (61:1–2), not only for the Lord’s chosen people, the Jews (48:22; 49:1–6), but also for the Gentiles (42:1–4; 49:6).

Jesus identified Himself with Isaiah’s Messiah – the One bringing Good News to the poor – in the synagogue at Nazareth, when He announced His arrival as the Servant (Luke 4:16-21). After He was handed the scroll of Isaiah to read, He stopped half-way through a verse (compare Is 61:2 & Luke 4:18). Although He has fulfilled the first part of this verse, the second half of the verse – the part Jesus did not read at that time – is yet to be fulfilled. When Jesus returns as the Conquering King (2 Thess 1:7-10), He will bring “the day of God’s anger against their enemies” (Is 61:2b).

The Suffering Servant and Conquering King

When Jesus was born of a virgin (Mat 1:18-25), many of those who knew the circumstances of His birth would also have known this birth fulfilled one of Isaiah’s messianic prophecies (Is 7:14). God gave the Jewish people many indicators of His plan to be born into their community (Gen 49:19; Ps 2:7, 72:10; Is 9:6; Mic 5:2); He had intentionally formed the Jewish nation so that He could be born into their midst (John 1:1-3). Our Father carefully prepared the nation into which His Son would be born to redeem humanity from the curse of death (Gal 3:13), but the people were looking for a Conquering King (Mat 21:9), not a Suffering Servant (Mark 8:31-32).

Even the apostles hoped that the restoration of Israel would be part of Jesus’ mission during His incarnation. Just before His ascension the apostles asked Jesus:

“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6b)

Jesus responded by telling them it wasn’t their business to know the timing of such events. Instead, He instructed them to wait until the Holy Spirit gave them the power to go and preach the gospel to the ends of the Earth (Acts 1:6-8); thus indicating that a time for the Gentiles to hear God’s message was about to open up.

Hope for the Gentiles

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote about God’s work amongst the Gentiles, when he told them that he did not want them to be ignorant of our fifth mystery – The Mystery of the Restoration of Israel. Paul told the Romans that even though it might appear that the new Body of Christ would supersede God’s chosen people, the Jews, God had revealed another Great Mystery – His plan to restore Israel. Paul declared that when “the full number of the Gentiles comes to Christ ….. all Israel will be saved.” Paul writes:

I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The One who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and He will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is My covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.” Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people He loves because He chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and His call can never be withdrawn. (Rom 11:25-29) NLT

Some people have tried to explain away the clear meaning of this passage, by saying the church is now “Spiritual Israel” and that as such she will inherit all the promises given to the Jews. But it is obvious that Paul is talking about the people whose physical ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

There is a great deal of discussion amongst believers on this topic, but our passage is unambiguous and the word “until” gives a definite sense of something yet to come for the Jewish people, after God has finished His work amongst the Gentiles. There are good scriptural reasons to believe there will be a time when we see the convergence of the redemption of Israel and the full restoration of the nation of Israel in their own land.

We have already examined Paul’s teachings on The Mystery of the Rapture. It seems reasonable to propose that when “the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ” our Father will take His Church out of the world at the time of the Rapture and once again turn His attention to His chosen people, the Jews. If this is the case it will be during the Great Tribulation that Israel will come to see that Jesus the Christ is indeed the Messiah they have long awaited. It is only then that “all Israel will be saved”. God’s Word tells us:

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on Me whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for Him as for a firstborn son who has died. (Zec 12:10) NLT

Has the Church Replaced Israel?

Perhaps we could be excused for believing that God’s purposes in creating Israel were completed when His Son ascended and His focus moved to the Body of Christ. But God made promises to His chosen people (1 Kings 3:8; Ps 105:15) and these promises can never be broken – they were from God and He never lies (Num 23:19; Tit 1:2).

Nevertheless many believers insist the Jews have been completely written out of the end-times story, declaring that since the Church are the ones who are “truly circumcised” (Phil 3:3), they have completely replaced the Jewish nation. Some people even go so far as to read “Christian” for the word “Jew” throughout the Bible. However, when Paul explained that God has set a time for dealing with the Gentiles, he also informed his readers that God has not abandoned His chosen people, the Jews.

The New Testament is unambiguous when discussing the Gentiles as opposed to the Jews; each term is used specifically for the particular group being mentioned. Consequently, when we read about people from the twelve tribes of Israel in the Revelation an angel imparted to John, there is no reason to believe John was given information about anyone other than descendents of Israel.

Supersessionism

The teaching that the church has completely and utterly replaced Israel for all time is called supersessionism. Taken to extremes, this notion would appear to be an unnecessary contortion of the scriptures, where a whole new layer of esoteric meaning is superimposed on much of the Bible.

Christians correctly regard many verses in the Old Testament as referring to Jesus the Messiah, because Jesus made it clear that this was the case (Luke 4:21; John 4:25-26). But this does not in any way mean that God’s chosen nation is now removed from God’s plans for the future. The Jews were the chosen people before the Church Age began and there is good reason to believe they will be the focus of God’s work after the Church Age draws to a close, as Paul’s passage seems to indicate.

All Christians understand that God created the nation of Israel as a national entity as well as a holy people (Deut 7:6). God called Israel to be an example of holiness to the world (Lev 11:44; 19:2) and He made them a great nation so that they would be effective in this work. But because they were often caught up in their traditions (Is 29:13) and law (Rom 2:23-29) and in their national, religious and political power, they constantly lost their way (Jer 2; Ezek 20) and stopped trusting in God for their righteousness (Rom 9:32). By the time of Christ the Jewish leaders had so distanced themselves from their God that when He was born into their midst, most of them did not even recognise Him.

God had carefully prepared the people who would surround and nurture His Son from His birth, and also those who would later realise just who He was and leave all to follow Him. The small band of Jews, who recognised their Messiah during and just after His life on Earth, would be the beginning of a new body of people through whom God would work to proclaim the Truth to the world throughout the Church Age. But does this mean He has completely abandoned the chosen nation (Deut 7:6) He had prepared for His incarnation?

God has fulfilled many prophecies in Christ, but the hope of Israel is still the Lord Jesus Christ, their promised Messiah (Acts 28:20). It will be through Christ alone that Gabriel’s prophecy concerning the Jewish people will finally be fulfilled. Daniel was informed:

Seventy weeks are decreed concerning your people and your holy city, to put an end to transgression, to bring sin to an end, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. (Dan 9:24)TLV

Daniel’s people were the Jews. No one could claim that this prophecy has yet been fulfilled. Only Jesus can bring an end to sin and usher in everlasting righteousness. When all Israel is saved, this prophecy will have been accomplished.

What Is Spiritual Israel?

The Romans passage above (Romans 11:25-29) can be harmonised effectively with scriptural passages that appear to support supersessionism, when we understand that God works in different ways in different eras. The old covenant is replaced by the new and the old commandments are summed up in the new (Mat 22:37-40). Peter explained:

And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” Yes, you who trust Him recognize the honor God has given Him. But for those who reject Him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (1Pe 2:5-10)

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Scriptural passages like this one from Peter’s epistle are not in conflict with Paul’s message to the Romans when we understand that there are phases in God’s plan for the redemption of humankind. Although the Bible tells us that there is now no distinction between Gentiles and Jews (Romans 10:12, 1 Cor 1:24, 12:13, Gal 3:28, Eph 2:14, 18, 3:6, Col 3:11) and that we will all be equal members in the Eternal Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection (Romans 3:29, 30), the Father most definitely worked almost exclusively through the Jewish people from the call of Abraham to the establishment of the Church at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4); but as Peter explained, following the incarnation, God’s chosen people are those who trust in Jesus for their righteousness before God (2 Cor 5:21).

Despite this new understanding of God’s chosen people, we know from Paul’s letter that when the Church Age is complete, God will complete what He began with the Jews, all Israel will be saved. It is difficult to reinterpret any of the promises God specifically made to Israel by insisting they are now meant for the Church alone. Although Christ is indeed the fulfilment of many of the promises God made to the Jewish patriarchs, and it is as we abide in Him that we share in these promises, this does not wipe out Israel’s future role in God’s revealed plan.

As with the prophecy in Daniel 9:24, many aspects of the Old Testament promises and prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, and many of these unfulfilled prophecies relate specifically to ethnic Israel. There can be no doubt these verses are referring to the Jewish people. Micah proclaimed:

Where is another God like You, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of His special people? You will not stay angry with Your people forever, because You delight in showing unfailing love. Once again You will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under Your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! You will show us Your faithfulness and unfailing love as You promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago. (Mic 7:18-20)

Even in the New Testament it seems clear that many promises have definite national aspects to them (Luke 1:46-55; 70-73). However, those who insist the New Testament depicts no future for Israel often quote Romans, which says:

Well then, has God failed to fulfill His promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. (Rom 9:7-8) NLT

This passage establishes the understanding that people will not be part of God’s eternal holy family because of their genealogy, but entirely through the death of Christ. However, this understanding does not in any way nullify God’s promises to the nation of Israel. Instead, it reveals that our Father has extended the promises to the Gentiles, whilst reminding the Jews that they must remain people of faith to become part of God’s eternal family – those who are the children of the promise – spiritual Israel.

The Lamb of God

During the time our Father was preparing the nation of Israel to bring forth His Son, He set up symbolic practises that were intended to point His people to their Messiah.
The law and sacrifices are domains that God prescribed for the Jewish people in great detail. Both of these areas of Jewish belief and worship were carefully designed to point to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29; Rev 6:16; 12:11; 17:14; 21:27; 22:3).

Throughout the centuries many Jewish people have come to see and understand the function of these practises when they recognised that they were shadows and copies of the true heavenly realities (Col 2:17; Heb 8:5; 9:23-24; 10:1-22), which centre on the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Revelation tells us that there will be a time when many more Jews see and understand that God was born into their community 2000 years ago, even though at that time they did not receive Him. As John tells us:

He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him. (John 1:10-11)NLT

Paul confirmed that no one could be made righteous through the law (Rom 3:20), but mercifully, Christ fulfilled the law (Mat 5:17; Rom 10:4); its role was to lead us to Christ (Gal 3:24). The writer to the Hebrews also gave us a new understanding of the sacrifices God instituted when He was working through His chosen people, the Jews.

We now understand that the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, was far superior to any the Levitical priests could ever make (Heb 8). John the Baptist correctly identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Even the Jewish teachers who questioned Jesus understood that the sacrifices they made were symbolic, and that there was a better way to serve God. As Mark records:

….. the scribe said unto Him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that He is one; and there is none other but He: and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. (Mark 12:32-33)

The whole point of the Old Testament sacrifices was to focus the attention of the people on the fatal consequences of sin. Paul told the Romans that it is because of sin that we die (Rom 5:12, 8:10). Jesus declared Himself to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins when He said:

….. “This is My blood, which confirms the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. (Mark 14:24)

A New Covenant

Jesus introduced the New Covenant between the Creator and His people, which replaced the Old Covenant He had made with the Jews. With the death and resurrection of Christ, God created a new covenant people. His people are now those who recognise His Son and accept His gift of eternal life through Him (John 3:16). God has removed the distinction between Jew and Gentile (Gal 3:28; Col 3:11) – anyone who comes to Jesus can be a child of God – but the writer to the Hebrews tells us that God will honour the promises He made to Abraham and his descendants. There we find:

But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for He is the One who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, He said: “The day is coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to My covenant, so I turned My back on them, says the LORD. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. (Heb 8:6-10)NLT

And Paul adds:

This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.(2 Cor 3:6)

God’s Eternal Family

God’s ultimate goal for humankind has always been the creation of an eternal, holy family with whom He can dwell (Ex 25:8; Eph 2:20-22; 1 John 4:16). Although He created us in His image (Gen 1:26), He created us with free will and tragically our first parents chose to trust Satan’s lies rather than God’s Word (Gen 3:4-6).
Sin entered our world and immediately distanced us from our Creator. God had already warned Adam and Eve that sin would lead to death (Gen 2:16-17), but when the fall removed our access to immortality (Gen 3:22-24) the Father had already devised a plan, which was for the Lord Jesus Christ to lay down His life that we might have eternal life (1 Pet 1:18-20; Rev 13:8). To this end He created the chosen nation into which He would be born into the world.

The idea that this one Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, would be the substitute, the sacrifice, who takes upon Himself the penalty for the sins of the whole world, is God’s idea, not ours. This concept is not a human construct, God has revealed that it is His Way and the Truth (John 14:6). Our Father designed His redemption plan before He created the world and He painstakingly implemented it so that we might have renewed access to eternal life.

God foreknew all the problems we would have with sin and He went ahead with His creation. His Son paid the ultimate price for our sin, so that we can each be transformed into immortal people, capable of having a loving relationship with our holy Creator throughout all eternity. People of faith understand, as did the apostle Paul, that the suffering and pain of this world will pale into insignificance in the light of the incomprehensible glory to come (Rom 8:18; 2 Cor 4:14-18). The Lord Jesus Christ died that we might live eternally with Him in a new creation that will never, ever be plagued by sin, suffering and death.

Jews for Jesus

There is now no need for sacrifices, because Jesus was the perfect once-for-all sacrifice (Rom 6:10; 1 Peter 3:18); and we need no longer live under the law, because our righteousness is through Him (1 Cor 1:30; Phil 3:9), but a plain reading of Revelation 7:4-8 nevertheless reveals God working through 144,000 Messianic Jews, taken from the 12 tribes of Israel and sealed for His service. Thus, their genealogical heritage is somehow important during the Great Tribulation.

How we understand God’s plan for the Jews in the future can be easily determined by a plain reading of the Bible, especially the Revelation. God’s first phase of operation through the nation He carefully crafted for His purposes was to bring His Son into the world as the Suffering Servant. His second phase will begin after He brings the Church Age to an end, then He will work through the Jews to prepare the tribulation world for His return as the Conquering King.

The marvelous truth is that following the Church Age and the Rapture, the 144,000 Messianic Jews introduced to us in chapter 7 of the Revelation, will be the most amazing missionaries the world has ever known. While the Great Tribulation is being played out – as civilisation crumbles and modern society loses all of its technological advantages – these 144,000 Jewish missionaries will be reaching out to the peoples of the world by sharing the gospel message.

It is significant that after the 144,000 servants of God are sealed and go forth preaching the gospel, Revelation 7:9 announces a great multitude of believers “out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb”. It seems clear that the ground upon which the seed of the gospel is sown by these born again Jews during the Great Tribulation reaps a rich harvest of souls for Christ’s Eternal Kingdom.
When people finally realise how fleeting are the rewards of materialism, they will let go of the transitory things of this world and turn back to their Creator in astounding numbers. Revelation 7:14 tells us that “These are they which come out of the Great Tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”. This great multitude of believers from all over the world will be saved during the world’s most horrific times, through the evangelistic work of the most blessed Jews the world has ever known (Rev 14:1-4).

I am desperately saddened to think that so many people will have to experience this time of Great Tribulation and so I continue to hope for a great revival of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ before the Rapture. Mercifully, at the end of the seven years of Great Tribulation, the King of kings and the Lord of lords will return to the Earth as the Conquering King (Mat 24:27; Mark 13:26; Rev 19:11-16) to usher in His millennial kingdom, where He will reign in righteousness (Is 5:16; 32:16-18; 33:5-6; 42:6; 56:1; 61:11; Rev 20:1-7). At that time all Israel will be saved and dwell safely in the land.
Even though Jesus told the people that His kingdom was not of this world (Luke 12:33; John 18:36; 2 Peter 1:4), His promises concerning the restoration of Israel will be fulfilled during the very last episode of this present creation’s history. Before the new heavens and the new Earth come into being (Rev 21:1) and God’s Holy Eternal Kingdom is ushered in, the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on this present Earth will see an Israel, which has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their long awaited Messiah and Saviour, dwelling safely in the very land God promised to Abraham 4000 years ago.