It was always God’s will to establish a kingdom on earth that would reflect the one that is in heaven. He purposed to establish a people who would be His own, His special possession. They would be His people, and He would be their God. It would be on earth, as it is in heaven. The plants and ground and animals and weather itself would submit and cooperate, and the paradise that would be formed would be heaven on earth. That was Plan A, back in the Garden. It was Plan B, starting with Abraham. It was Plan C with the coming of Jesus. And it is still His plan today.
In the Garden, the man and the woman fell, and paradise was lost. For Israel, the kingdom was never quite achieved, for obedience was never quite achieved. John the Baptist came proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven often. And with the establishment of the church, Jesus left the Holy Spirit to guide us into perfect love, and prayed that we would be one, as He and the Father are one.
Of course, God knew that none of it would fully take place. But it is a familiar plot. In fact, the book of Acts strikes me as being amazingly similar to the slow of the book of Exodus, for the Exodus Event and the Christ Event had the same goal, and we humans had similar responses, for better or for worse.
Ready for The Twelve Acts of Exodus/Christ?
1. PASSOVER.
Both events were described in advance by the God who is beyond time. Bot begin with a meal and a sacrificial death. Israel was told to slaughter a lamb; Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain. The Last Supper was, in fact, the Passover meal.
and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:24-26
2. DELIVERANCE.
Just a few days after Passover, all must pass through death. Moses passes through the sea, and the people of Israel follow him (the baptism of Moses) and are saved from dying at the hand of their greatest enemy. Jesus rises from the dead, and, those who follow Him (the baptism of Jesus) are saved from death and their enemy is destroyed.
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4
3. UP THE MOUNTAIN.
Forty days into their adventure, the Israelites arrive at Sinai. Moses goes up the mountain to return with instructions from God. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascends into heaven from the Mount of Olives, saying that He is sending one who will teach them all things.
But 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." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. Acts 1:8-9
4. PENTECOST.
Fifty days after Passover came the feast of the firstfruits, Pentecost. At the first Pentecost, Israel celebrated the giving of the law. At the final Pentecost, the firstfruits of the Spirit were given and the church began.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
5. GOD DWELLS WITH HIS PEOPLE.
He directs Moses to build the Tabernacle, and His Presence lives there as sacrifices are continually before Him. The church, however, has rebuilt the tabernacle of David, and God is more than “with” us, but actually dwells “in” us.
And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, "'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things Acts 15:15-17
6. GOD TAKES TWO LIVES.
Nadab and Abihu bring strange fire before the LORD, giving Him something, but doing it in a sinful manner. God kills them both instantly. Likewise, Ananias and Sapphira lied about the amount of their gift to the church, and they were immediately struck down dead.
But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? . . . You have not lied to man but to God." When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. Acts 5:1-10
7. GRUMBLING AND A SOLUTION.
Moses was serving as the only judge among the entire nation, and a solution was suggested: Delegate the judging, and you just take the new cases without precedent. It helped a great deal. The Grecian widows were. being neglected, and the solution was to delegate the oversight of food among them. It helped a great deal.
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Acts 6:1-7
8. CURSES AND BLESSINGS.
Moses has the Israelites stand on two mountain slopes, facing one another, and call back and forth curses and blessings. Curses for breaking the law, and blessings for keeping it. Stephen reviews the story of Moses up through the tabernacle, and he calls Israel to repent of their hard hearts. He is martyred for his witness.
"Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. . . . Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?'
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. Acts 7:44-53
9. TWO EARLY VICTORIES.
Israel bravely and thoroughly defeated Og of Bashan and Sihon of the Ammorites. Word spread quickly that God was with them. A great wave of persecution in Jerusalem scatters the church, which leads to conversions of Simon the Sorcerer, the Ethiopian eunuch, and even the persecutor, Saul.
But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; Acts 9:15-18
10. SETBACKS FROM FEAR.
The Israelites fear going into the promised land, and they vote to turn back. God causes them to spend forty years there in the desert until a new generation will obey. The circumcision party arises to oppose going to the Gentiles without making them become Jewish first.
Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." Acts 11:1-3
11. ENTERING THE LAND.
Finally, after forty years, it is Joshua who leads the people of Israel into the promised land. They conquer Jericho and continue to take the land, one city at a time. Among the church, Peter takes Christ to God-fearing Gentiles, Philip spreads the good news in Samaria, and Paul begins to go on missionary journeys, as the church spreads one city at a time.
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:1-3
12. SABBATH KINGDOM.
God’s goal was to give the kingdom of Israel a sabbath rest, as His people lived with Him. They had glimpses of the promise, but it was never fully achieved. Spiritually, God has now established His kingdom in the hearts of people. We have glimpses of the promise, but it has not been fully achieved. We live in the now and the not yet.