Trumpet Ministries,The Pattern
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The three thousand-or-so years from the birth of Christ to the judgment of the White Throne, that is, to the final phase of the Judgment Seat of Christ, may be considered as one period of redemption. The first two thousand years we are referring to as the Church Age and the final thousand years as the Kingdom Age.
The pattern of two thousand and then one thousand may be observed in the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The volume of the Holy Place was two thousand cubic cubits. The volume of the Most Holy Place was one thousand cubic cubits.
The purpose of the Church Age is to call out the members of the royal priesthood from the ranks of mankind. The purpose of the Kingdom Age is to perfect the royal priesthood and to reconcile the saved nations of the earth to the Lord.
The thousand-year Kingdom Age (often referred to as the Millennium) is the spiritual fulfillment of the Day of Atonement observed by the Jews. We may term this period the Age of Reconciliation, because during this time the members of the Bride of the Lamb will be wholly reconciled to the Lamb, and the members of the saved nations will be reconciled to the rulership of God in Christ in His saints. The world will come to know that God has sent Christ and that He loves the saints as He loves the Lord Jesus.
I in them, and thou in me, they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:23)
The purpose of the coming of the Lord is to drive evil from the world. The Lord Jesus will return, call up His saints to Himself, and then descend upon the earth. All that is of Satan shall be removed. The sons of God will go throughout the earth, destroying sin and lifting the Divine curse from nature. The saints, the members of the royal priesthood, shall govern with the rod of iron. All who resist will be broken to pieces just as clay pots are smashed when struck with an iron rod.
We see a picture of the iron hand of the priesthood in the incident concerning Phinehas, the priest of God.
And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it [an act of rebellion against the Lord], he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. (Numbers 25:7,8)
Notice the response of the Lord to the action of Phinehas.
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. (Numbers 25:11-13)
"An everlasting priesthood."
When the sons of God return with the Lord Jesus they will not approach the nations of the earth with gentleness and patience. The time for gentleness and patience is now. In that Day the rebellious nations will bow the knee to the Lord Jesus or be removed from the earth.
And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:11)
The purpose of the coming of the Lord is not to carry His saints to Heaven but to bring justice to the nations. Considering the state of mankind today, can you think of anything more wonderful than the removing of sin from the earth? No more aborting of babies. No more mutilating of children. No more perversion, drunkenness, crime, treachery, evil men seeking to dominate other men. A world in which nature comes alive in the Spirit of righteousness.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment [justice]to the Gentiles [nations]. (Isaiah 42:1)
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment [justice] in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:4)
Before justice can prevail on the earth the sin and rebellion must be removed from it. The sin and rebellion will be removed at the hands of Christ and His mature saints. Christ—Head and Body—is the Servant of the Lord announced in the Book of Isaiah. Another name for Christ—Head and Body—is Israel.
Before Israel can return and establish justice on the earth, each member of Israel must be built up in the Head to full maturity—full maturity as measured by the fullness of Christ. Then and only then can Israel, the royal priesthood, return with the Lord.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
The Scriptures, Old and New Testament, are written primarily to God’s Israel. When the Lord Jesus came to earth He did not come to the world but to Israel. He came to the children of Abraham that they might become oaks of righteousness.
But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)
The Old Testament Prophets addressed Israel:
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. (Isaiah 1:1)
Not that which he saw concerning any of the Gentile nations, but concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Several of the Prophets did address the Gentile nations. God has had and still has a multitude of His chosen who are Gentiles by race. But the Word of God is directed primarily toward those who are of true Israel, both Jews and Gentiles, not toward those who are not of Zion.
The coming of Christ was to the Jews:
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Luke 2:34)
The Apostle Paul wrote to the saints:
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)
The warnings in the Gospel accounts are to the Lord’s servants:
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12)
The term Christ means "the One anointed with oil." The Lord Jesus was anointed with the Spirit of God to build up Israel until each member is strong in the Lord, living in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees [oaks] of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1-3)
"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion"! Not in the world but in Zion! We are emphasizing this because the churches often view their responsibility as that of saving and delivering the world. The Lord has His sheep and they know His voice. We show our love for the Lord when we feed His sheep, that is, the members of the royal priesthood.
The gifts and ministries given by the ascended Christ are for the purpose of building the members of the Body of Christ until they attain unity and maturity—maturity as measured by the full stature of Christ Himself.
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Ephesians 4:13)
This is the purpose of the two thousand years of the Church Age.
What will take place when the Body attains maturity? The Lord will call the saints up to Himself (where the Carcass, the slain Lamb is, there the eagles will be gathered). Then the whole Servant of the Lord will descend from the sky and bring justice to the meek of the earth.
Notice what follows the creating of the oaks of righteousness, the building up of the members of the Body of Christ.
And they [the members of the priesthood] shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. (Isaiah 61:4)
First the building of Zion. Then the return of Zion to the earth and the restoring of Paradise to the earth at the hands of the sons of God (actually God in the Son in the sons).
This, then, is the pattern: two thousand years to form the royal priesthood, and then one thousand years spent in reconciling man to God.
After the thousand-year Age of Reconciliation the earth and the heaven will flee from the Presence of Christ and the dead will be judged.
Those who are saved at that time will enter the eternal reign of Christ. Those who are lost at that time will be cast into the Lake of Fire with the devil and his angels.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)
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