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In the Latter Days by Melvin Johnson

 

IN THE LATTER DAYS

Melvin Johnson

“Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” Genesis 49:1.

The patriarch Jacob was speaking from his death bed to his twelve sons, and these last words of his have been preserved as a prophecy for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. There is no intention here to dwell in particular on that prophecy; rather to consider the peculiar significance of the Hebrew ACHARITH which Jacob used in this instance, rendered here as "in the last days.”

This term is found in some sixty passages of the Hebrew Scriptures where ACHARITH is rendered in various ways though seldom "in the last days" as we find it here in Genesis, More often and more accurately it is rendered as "the latter days", … latter instead of “last.” The same ACHARITH appears as "the latter days" in Numbers 24:14 which we shall consider here later, then again in Deuteronomy 4:30 and in eight further passages; it also appears as "latter end" in seven others.

 

“The latter days" or "latter end" is found to be a substantial era of Israel’s future history after God renews His covenant relations with that nation. It is an era distinguished from Israel ^t s ancient national history and is appropriately called "the latter days,” not as if it were to be her last days but because it presupposes a previous era of former days characterized by the law and the prophets. That previous era extends back to the time of Moses and forward from thence to include the time of John the Baptist, last of the ancient Hebrew prophets, though our Lord called him also "more than a prophet." Matthew11:9-13; Luke 16:16.

Israel 's future era of "the latter days" is widely misunderstood as if it were only some relatively brief period between the completion of "this current era" (Romans 11:5) and the beginning of a new millennium at our Lord’s personal revelation to Israel. While it is true that there is where the latter days of Hebrew prophecy apply, they are not just a brief period at the end of this eon. They constitute rather an independent era, an extended season, to follow this current era after that terminates with the fulfilment of Pauline prophecy at I Thessalonians 4:15-17 and I Corinthians15:51-53. At some further time thereafter, a time not now revealed, Israel ^t s prophetic era of "the latter days" will begin, and we are about to observe why it must embrace a long span of premillennial history which draws near to a close when our Lord returns to Mount Olivet and reveals Himself to Israel (Acts 1:11; Zechariah 14:4), though it may also extend briefly beyond; long enough to include what Isaiah terms “a conclusive and decisive accounting" (Isaiah 10:23; Romans 9:28, Concordant Literal New Testament) That appears to coincide with the completion of those 2300 literal days of Daniel 8:13-14 which necessarily extend 1010 days beyond those 1290 days that intervene between the removal of the Levitical "daily sacrifice" and the setting up of a certain “abomination of desolation.” Daniel 12:11-13.

 

The fact that the era of ^t' the latter days" does constitute an extensive period of future history is supported by much Hebrew prophecy; more than we could adequately consider in present available time and space. There is, however, one aspect of prophecy we can more briefly observe which by itself should establish that “the latter days” is an era of its own when Israel, as a covenant nation, will be living and serving under a Levitical priesthood of a future and long-enduring law economy, to be superseded by the Melchisedec priesthood at our Lord ^t s personal return to Israel. (Hebrews 7:11-12)

 

All this becomes further apparent when we note that Israel’s resettlement in the promised land at “the latter days”, after they are first restored to covenant during an intervening period in some prophetic "wilderness" (Ezekiel 20:33-42), is also coincident with a contemporary revival of other ancient nations in “the latter days"; nations not now existing as such but who were contemporary to Israel during her former era of the law and the prophets. Present descendants of those former nations cannot be ethnically identified now until they are divinely restored as future nations, because now their ancestral lines are obviously even more obscure than those of the present descendants of Israel; yet prophecy shows they will be reestablished as nations to experience a future span of history under their former national names.

 

This is something we ought to recognize as being even more phenomenal than the future identity of Israel’s individual tribes which prophecy clearly affirms although we are not told how even that can be and will be accomplished, After a previous era of her former days when Israel first had been a nation of twelve distinct tribes, we know she went into captivity and we are told from her own Scriptures that she will be restored as a future nation of the same twelve tribes. "The Lord bringeth back the captivity of His people" (Psalm 14:7). "Behold, 1 will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents" (Jeremiah 30:18), Future descendants of Israel will be restored to the promised land according to their designated tribal allotments (Ezekiel 48) and those among them who then will serve in the Levitical priesthood must be no others than the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 48:11) who was the tenth generation from Aaron, the great grandson of Levi (I Chronicles 6:1-8), Therefore when the future identity of the tribe of Levi is somehow reestablished by a divine foreknowledge not now revealed to us, only those males of thirty years and upward who are also from the lineage of Zadok will be acceptable as priests from all of Levi’s descendants.

Yet prophecy is equally clear that other nations, such as Moab and Ammon who were nations at the time of Moses, are also to be restored as future nations under their former national names “in the latter days.” Thus, we read, for example, "I will bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days" (Jeremiah 48:47) ; I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon (Jeremiah 49:6) ; and “I will bring again the captivity of Elam." (Jeremiah 49:39) Moab and Ammon were descendants of Lot, and the nation of Elam from the lineage of Shem (Genesis 10:22) was apparently the predominant power in lower Mesopotamia as far back as the time of Abraham. (Genesis) These former nations will be restored as nations in a future era of "the latter days," just as Israel will be restored to become once again God's exclusive covenant nation,

 

In that prophetic era of “the latter days” all other nations will both rise and fall. They will experience first a time of peace and prosperity together with Israel; then a further period of wars, famines and pestilence contemporary to the time of Israel’s future apostasy. Unlike all other nations, Israel will survive as a nation which both the law and the prophets affirm with emphasis: "I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 26:45) "Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee (*see below) ; yet will I not make a full end of thee but I will correct thee in measure and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." (Jeremiah 30:11) Israel will survive her apostasy “in the latter days" after she receives her necessary deserved correction.

(*) Any Gentiles reconstituted as nations in the millennial era or later will share the blessings of God 's covenant with Israel only if they honor and obey Israel's God-given law. Gog and Magog will be destroyed as nations, due to their post-millennial revolt (Revelation 21:24; 20:8-9)

She will be born anew out of Zion's last travail; a nation then born in a day, 

Isaiah 66:8-9, Zechariah 3:9.

 

Balak, king of Moab in the time of Moses, was deeply grieved to hear of Moab’s ultimate fate at the hands of Israel in some prophetic time then dimly distant. “I will advertise thee,” said Balaam the prophet, "what this people (Israel) shall do to thy people (Moab) in the latter days. , I shall see Him but not now… there shall come a Star out of Jacob, a Scepter shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab. Prophecy also indicates, as we shall find here later, why Moab and Ammon together with Edom (of Esau) will first escape the future fate of other nations but afterward Moab together with Ammon and Edom will become victims of Balaam’s prophecy “in the latter days.”

Yet much earlier in that era of those "latter days" Gentile nations and Israel will be living at peace with each other and Gentiles will be blessed for their blessing of Israel, even as God made promise to their father Abraham on behalf of his seed (Genesis 12:3). It appears that some Gentile nations then will be actively assisting Israel with her future reconstruction work, much as Persian kings did in post-exile days after the Babylonian servitude, though conceivably on a much larger scale.

This is dramatically portrayed by the vision which appeared to Zechariah who prophesied in post-exile days, as did also the prophet Haggai, when Jeshua and Zerubbabel were about to begin the building of a new temple after their return from Babylon, The prophecies of those days by Zechariah and Haggai are obviously focused on a then future reconstruction and a temple of far greater glory, This is clearly implied where Haggai refers to a new "house" that will excel the glory of the former, to which he adds, 't And in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:9. The temple which the people of Judah built in those former days was definitely not greater than the previous temple and it was followed by wars rather than peace. Yet meanwhile the prophet Zechariah relates a remarkable vision to indicate a most cooperative attitude on the part of certain Gentile nations at some prophetic future time. "Then I lifted up mine eyes," he said, ^t' and behold four horns, ⁿ And I said unto the angel that talked with me, ^t What be these?' And he answered me, 'These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.’ And the Lord showed me four carpenters. Then said I 'What come these to do?’ And he spoke saying, ‘These are the horns which have scattered Judah… but these are come to fray (or help) them, to cast out the horns (the powers) of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it." Zechariah 1: 18-21.

Thus the prophet had foreseen a distantly future time when the (symbolical) "horns" of Gentile power first will have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem as though to the four corners of the earth; yet after Israel’s future exodus from all nations and their reoccupation of the promised land, the Gentiles then as carpenters will come to a previously scattered Israel and help her rebuild!

The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are focused especially on that part of "the latter days" after Israel (then long restored) begins once again to apostatize; yet those two prophecies were seen and heard by Daniel and John from two widely separated perspectives of time, long past and far future, What Daniel reveals from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, his own visions and a messenger’s interpretation is all parallel to the revelations received by John on Patmos when he had been transported in spirit to the Lord's day (Revelation 1:10) which other prophecy locates at or near the last extremity of "the latter days" (the Hebrew ACHARITH) Thus what Daniel had perceived only from the distant past John was privileged to see and hear from a time so far future that he must “turn about to look for the voice which spoke” (Revelation 1:12). What still remains to us as prophecy is what John saw and heard as if it were already history.

While Daniel revealed that the great image the king had seen vas relevant to four successive world kingdoms, beginning with Babylon as the head of gold, he still prefaced the entire revelation by saying first that God had thus made known "what shall be in the latter days.” Daniel 2:28. While the kingdoms symbolized by gold, silver, brass and iron would successively rise and fall, Daniel's interpretation requires also that they shall co-exist at a future time, for he reminded the king that in his dream he had seen the image standing until all of its parts were "broken to pieces together" (Daniel 2:35; our emphasis).

Then when Daniel himself had seen a vision of four beasts which were explained to him as representing four kingdoms symbolized by a lion, bear, leopard and a mysterious ten-horned monstrosity, it becomes enlightening to note that in some late 42 months of the latter days, all these characteristics reappear in one future symbolic beast with mouth like a lion, feet like a bear, body like a leopard and ten horns (Revelation 13:1-2). In Daniel’s vision the fourth beast had certain features in common with the great image; brass for the nails and iron for the teeth, two metals identified with the great image whose midsection was of brass but it had legs and feet of iron (7:19), The fourth beast also shared one unique feature with something Daniel was to see in a further vision. On the fourth beast it was a strange little horn which came up among the ten and displaced three of them. In his further vision Daniel saw two domestic animals, a ram and a goat, which were explained to him as meaning Persia and Grecia respectively; the two kingdoms which succeeded Babylon in that order, as hi story also confirms. The goat in Daniel’s vision had first a notable horn which later was broken (commonly associated with Alexander, “the first king”) and in place of that horn carne up four others. Then from one of those came forth a little horn very remindful of the one which appeared on the fourth beast of Daniel ^t s previous vision.

Thus since the brass and the iron of the great image reappears in the fourth beast of Daniel’s first vision; and since the strange "little horn" appears in both of Daniel's two visions, it appears that all three revelations are interrelated in some particulars, Quite obviously they all have a factual basis in the ancient history of Babylon, Persia and Grecia, seeing that all these former kingdoms are mentioned in the prophecy; yet when the messenger spoke to Daniel about all this, he placed his first and foremost emphasis not on that historical background; rather he stressed the purpose of the vision; exactly when it applies, ^t' Understand O Son of man," said he , ^t' at the time of the end shall be the vision. “in the last end of the indignation IN THE LATTER DAYS" (Daniel 8:17). Here again we have the Hebrew ACHARITH for "the latter days," though rendered slightly different as "the last end of the indignation" or “in the latter time.”

Consequently, for at least some part of  “the latter days,” this apparently requires a temporary restoration of former kingdoms like Babylon, Persia and Grecia; and from among those restored nations an evil man of destiny will emerge who will supersede certain other rulers, like the little horn in Daniel’s visions which displaced certain others: and that one will for a time succeed in consolidating a world dominion which appears to John in vision as one composite beast having all the characteristics which Daniel had seen separately as a lion, bear, leopard and a ten-horned monstrosity, the latter itself having the characteristics of more than one kingdom, for it had brass as well as iron.

John in vision sees that composite beast near the zenith of its glory to be followed shortly by its ultimate dissolution, It represents a great political world complex which in that day is ruled by the sixth of seven kings, five having fallen while another then must yet appear for “a short space” (Revelation 17:10). Then in a late 42 months one of those seven kings will return to power far greater than before after he is previously said to have been mortally wounded as though by a sword; yet now, behold, he lives as though immortal and he revels in the whole world’s acclaim (Revelation 13). His new reign becomes he eighth though he, as a person, is one of the former seven (

Revelation 17:11).

Until then it appears that the beast consists first of seven confederate powers, as denoted by seven heads, but also ten subordinate powers represented by ten horns which at first are not honored with crowns as they will be later in a final 42 months (compare Revelation 13:1 with 12:3) These subordinate powers seemingly will be pressing for their separate autonomies and for a very short time they too "receive power as kings one hour with the beast:” apparently no more than 42 months.

 

Meanwhile according to the revelations given to John, it appears that all political power together with all world wealth and commerce will be under the powerful influence and control of an evil supranational institution, religious or philosophical in character. This was envisioned to John as a woman of fabulous luxury called “BABYLON THE GREAT,” and John saw the woman as being carried and supported by the beast; apparently therefore not a political power in itself but one which all political power must reckon with and recognize. John was told that the woman symbolically represents "that great city which reigneth over (our emphasis) the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18).

 

The prophetical and typical counterpart for all this is doubtless found in Zechariah chapter five which refers to a “house” – like Israel’s temple was commonly called a house – but this one is identified with “wickedness” (verse 8). It will be built and designedly well established in the land of Shinar, the area where the ancient tower of Babel was built (Genesis11:2).

 

In Revelation 18 John witnessed the sudden destruction of that future world-renowned city, Babylon the Great , and in 19:20 he beheld an equally sudden destruction of the beast which until then will be allied with and supporting that fabulous city.

 

A long-range approach to all this was also revealed to Daniel in the third year of Cyrus when a messenger spoke to him saying, “I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people ‘IN THE LATTER DAYS’” (Daniel10:14; our emphasis) From there the prophecy appears to proceed with events now fulfilled in the ancient history of Persia and Grecia to and including verse 20 which reads in part : "Then shall stand up… a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed." That has been generally applied to Seleucus, one of the four provincial rulers who succeeded Alexander the Great. That one is said to have sent an emissary to Jerusalem to plunder Israel's temple (see II Maccabees 3:4 onward).

 

Then verse 21 begins, “In his estate"… referring not necessarily to some immediate successor but one to arise eventually in that former estate, "In his estate shall stand up a vile person.” At that point the prophecy seems to shift abruptly to the era of the latter days when "the little horn" is due to appear by some political renascence from one of the four sub-dominions of ancient Grecia. We recall that the little horn must appear from one of those four (8:8) but not until "at the time of the end”, the latter time of their kingdom when the king of fierce countenance. “shall stand up" (8:23). The remainder of chapter 11 relates the many exploits of that evil character who for a brief time "in the latter days" is to personalize the symbolic beast of Revelation until at length the beast is "cast into the lake of fire burning with sulfur” (19:20) and the flesh of its supporting army is devoured by  the birds of heaven (19:17,18), all of which accords with Daniel’s vision: "1 beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame" (Daniel 7:11)  

 

Meanwhile in the last five verses of Daniel 11 we read of the many conquests by that "vile person" until at last "he shall come to his end and none shall help him. Yet first we are told that "many countries shall be overthrown… the land of Egypt shall not escape… the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps;” but to all these there are three notable exceptions. "These ," we read, “shall escape out of his hand; Edom, Moab… and the children of Ammon.” We are about to find, however, that they will suffer a different fate, no less severe, and that will fulfil Balaam’s prophecy.

 

Edom from the descendants of Esau, Jacob ^t s brother, as well as Moab and Ammon, the descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot, are more closely related to Israel than other Gentiles. More was to be expected of them as near relatives, so any past offence of theirs against Israel remains especially grievous to Jehovah, for ^t' He that touch— eth you," said the prophet, "toucheth the apple of His eye.” Zechariah 2: 8.

Edom 's offence appears in Judges 11:17 when Israel had sent messengers asking permission only to pass peacefully through their land, yet we read "the king of Edom would not hearken.” The offence of Ammon and Moab appears in Deuteronomy 2 where Moses relates, "They met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor … to curse thee Nevertheless the LORD thy God, • turned the curse into a blessing.”

 

A type of the future destruction to befall Ammon, Moab and Edom (the latter identified with Seir and Bozrah where those of Edom dwelt) is found in

II Chronicles 20:20-24. Note there that while the children of Judah did nothing but sing and praise the Lord, their adversaries from Ammon, Moab and mount Seir were set one against the other and "everyone helped to destroy another" until we read they were all "dead bodies fallen to the earth and none escaped.” So shall it be "in that day; a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. " Zechariah14:13.

 

Thus prophecy shows that the LORD will execute a private and personal vengeance on Bozrah and the land of Idumea where those of Edom dwelt, "The sword of the LORD is filled with blood … for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea (Isaiah  34:6) "Who is This That cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, … garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?” In reply that One answers, "I will tread them in Mine anger and trample them in my fury For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart and the year of My redeemed is come" (see Isaiah 63: 1-4 and Revelation 14:19-20). Judgement will  be no less severe on Ammon and Moab, for we recall how Balaam prophesied so long ago, "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite the corners of Moab." Numbers 24:17. "As I live, saith the LORD of hosts… Surely Moab shall be as Sodom and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah… My people shall spoil them and the remnant of My People shall possess them." Zephaniah 2: 9.

 

In this long paper, which already may seem much too long, we have touched only synoptically on vast areas of Hebrew prophecy to serve as a preview of Israel’s future rise to national glory, her further apostasy and ultimate deliverance. Until very recently, less than seven years ago, much truth had remained obscure to us because the “seventy weeks of years" in Daniel had been long and of course unintentionally misapplied mainly to the past.

 

Except for our late Brother Steedman's discovery, we all might still remain unaware that the Hebrew MASHIACH does not mean "Messiah" as it is mistakenly rendered in the King James Version. Until we were reminded of this, it was quite reasonable to assume that Andrew as well as the Samaritan woman (John 1:41; 4:25) might have read about their expected Messiah in Daniel of Israel’s Torah, but they had not.

 

Israel’s fond hope for the appearing of their Messiah had been – as it still remains – a long cherished national tradition … a true hope we all know Israel is yet to realize … but the name "Messiah" had appeared nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. From "The Messianic Idea in Israel" by Joseph Klausner… a writer himself sharing Israel's hope…  we find this confirmed in two different ways. There we are reminded correctly that MASHIACH always signifies anointed everywhere in Scripture; and, secondly, that "Messiah" was published “for the first time" (our emphasis) "in the Book of Enoch; and specifically in that part (quote) "which was composed, in the opinion of all the best scholars, in the time of Herod the Great,

 

Thus when MASHIACH in Daniel 9:25-26 is properly rendered, as it now also appears in late and revised versions, it relates not to our Lord Jesus Christ but to a future anointed king in Israel who will be deceived by that one indicated by the “little horn" so prominent in Daniel’s prophecy. The vast areas of prophecy which belong to "the latter days" require and include the future “seventy weeks of years" which lie within this present eon but beyond "this current era."

 

The approaching renascence of Israel as a covenant nation must be, even now, a thought most precious to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; a timely thought we too may explore and consider unto His delight. (The End)

Thoughts on KatabolE

 

2 Maccabees 2: 29 καθάπερ γὰρ τῆς καινῆς οἰκίας ἀρχιτέκτονι τῆς ὅλης καταβολῆς  φροντιστέον τῷ δὲ ἐγκαίειν καὶ ζωγραφεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντι τὰ ἐπιτήδεια πρὸς διακόσμησιν ἐξεταστέον οὕτως δοκῶ καὶ ἐπὶ ἡμῶν

 

For as the master builder of a new house must be concerned with the whole construction, while the one who undertakes its painting and decoration has to consider only what is suitable for its adornment, such in my judgment is the case with us. Katabole  .

 

2 Maccabees 2:13 ἐξηγοῦντο δὲ καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀναγραφαῖς καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὑπομνηματισμοῖς τοῖς κατὰ τὸν νεεμιαν τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡς καταβαλλόμενος βιβλιοθήκην ἐπισυνήγαγεν τὰ περὶ τῶν βασιλέων βιβλία καὶ προφητῶν καὶ τὰ τοῦ δαυιδ καὶ ἐπιστολὰς βασιλέων περὶ ἀναθεμάτων

 

The same things are reported in the records and in the memoirs of Nehemiah, and also that he founded a library and collected the books about the kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about votive offerings. kataballomai.

 

Josephus Antiquities 

 

12, 9.[64] Ὑποστησάμενοι τοίνυν ποιήσασθαι τὴν τράπεζαν δύο μὲν καὶ ἡμίσους πηχῶν τὸ μῆκος, ἑνὸς δὲ τὸ εὖρος, τὸ δ' ὕψος ἑνὸς καὶ ἡμίσους, κατεσκεύαζον ἐκ χρυσοῦ τὴν ὅλην τοῦ ἔργου καταβολὴν ποιούμενοι. τὴν μὲν οὖν στεφάνην παλαιστιαίαν εἰργάσαντο, τὰ δὲ κυμάτια στρεπτὰ τὴν ἀναγλυφὴν ἔχοντα σχοινοειδῆ τῇ τορείᾳ θαυμαστῶς ἐκ τῶν τριῶν μερῶν μεμιμημένην. 

 

64 When planning out the table, they made it two and a half cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high, and they made the entire structure out of gold. They fashioned a crown a hand-width thick around it, wreathed with with wavelike shapes and engraved in braided forms so that it looked quite striking from all three directions. katabole .

 

15, 3, [391] Ἀνελὼν δὲ τοὺς ἀρχαίους θεμελίους καὶ καταβαλόμενος ἑτέρους ἐπ' αὐτῶν ναὸν ἤγειρεν μήκει μὲν ἑκατὸν ὄντα πηχῶν, τὸ δ' ὕψος εἴκοσι περιττοῖς, οὓς τῷ χρόνῳ συνιζησάντων τῶν θεμελίων ὑπέβη. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν κατὰ τοὺς Νέρωνος καιροὺς ἐπεγείρειν ἐγνώκειμεν.

 

391 He removed the old foundations and laid others and on them built the temple, a hundred feet long and twenty additional feet high, which subsided as the foundations settled, and this was the part we resolved to build again in the days of Nero. Middle voice form of verb. .

 

Clement to  the Corinthians (about 95 A.D.)

 

57.

Therefore, you who laid the foundation of this sedition, submit yourselves to the presbyters, and receive correction so as to repent, bending the knees of your hearts.

 

Ὑμεῖς οὖν  τὴν καταβολὴν τῆς στάσεως ποιήσαντες ὑποτάγητε τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις καὶ παιδεύθητε εἰς μετάνοιαν, κάμψαντες τὰ γόνατα τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν . .katabole .

 

Epistle of Barnabas (2nd century A.D.)

 

And further, my brethren: if the Lord endured to suffer for our soul, he being Lord of all the world, to whom God said at the foundation of the world, "Let us make man after our image, and after our likeness," understand how it was that he endured to suffer at the hand of men. The prophets, having obtained grace from him, prophesied concerning him. And he (since it behooved him to appear in flesh), that he might abolish death, and reveal the resurrection from the dead, endured (what and as he did), in order that he might fulfill the promise made to the fathers, and by *preparing a new people for himself, might show, while he dwelt on earth, that He, when he has raised mankind, will also judge them. (apo kataboles kosmou)

 

ὅ. ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, ἀδελφοί μου' εἰ ὁ κύριος ὑπέμεινεν παθεῖν περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν, ὧν παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου κύριος ᾧ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου'

 

In these examples, both the noun and the middle voice form of the verb convey the thoughts of "establishing", "construction", "structure", "beginning" or words to that effect. These examples are from writings from the 1st century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D. The NT usage of the word agrees with this meaning.

 

In Matthew 13:35 Psalm 78:2 is quoted; in the LXX it is ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς  "from beginning" is the phrase that is rendered ἀπὸ καταβολῆς. in the NT the Hebrew text reads מִנִּי־קֶדֶם׃. "of old".  In none of these is the sense of ruin, disintegration, disruption, or overthrow indicated, but something more along the lines of "beginning", "founding" or something long established.

 

Katabole can be concordantly translated with words that are synonyms for construct, establish, construction, or founding in these passages as well as the NT without any contradiction or confusion. That cannot be true if one constantly were to render katabole in all passages by ruin, disruption, or disintegration.

 

Rick Farwell

Alexander Thomson Obituary

 Reprinted from Concordant.org (Re: Concordant Publishing Concern)

Alexander Thomson (1889-1966)

We have received a letter from Sister Helen Thomson, dated April 15, 1966, which reads in part as follows:

“I have to thank you for your most kind letter and the magazine enclosure. I am sorry to convey to you the news that Alexander died yesterday at 10:30 a.m. He had a long weary illness, and it is a comfort that he is now at rest. He was kept under sedation the last week, and he passed away in his sleep, quietly and peacefully. When he awakes, he will be where he longed to be, with his Lord, and with the saints among whom and for whom he laboured so ungrudgingly. All differences with your dear father will be forgotten when he meets him in the beloved presence of Him Whom they both served so well.”

The following biography of Bro. Thomson's career has been supplied by his long-time friend and co-editor of The Differentiator:

Alexander Thomson was born on the 19th of December 1889, at the village of Corstorphine, now a part of Greater Edinburgh, the Capital of Scotland. In his twenty-first year his life and outlook were transformed completely by God's grace through the mission of a visiting evangelist.

He began to pursue the systematic study of the Scriptures; and he was unusually able in painstaking research into the amassing of accurate detail, with the endless checking, comparison and cross-references involved. This special talent was in due course applied to the 1930 edition of the Concordant Version, in harmony with its expressed aim “to go to the very limits of fidelity in translating the word of God into English.” He found an urgent need for the revision forecast on page 54 of the Introduction; but some others could not bring themselves to receive such a notion.

About this there is nothing novel. When the truth came through Jesus Christ, there were few who would not believe some of it; but most refused to believe all. The Apostle Peter ran into trouble similarly, and so did the Apostle Paul. The Reformation failed to come to full fruition because the majority refused to go the whole way. And now those who lacked the equipment to see in the 1930 CV more than half-a-dozen faults which have any degree of seriousness (which faults they never troubled to specify publicly) turned on A. T. and rent him, because he perceived the faults and had the honesty and courage to say what they were. The objectors had some of the truth; and there is no doubt that they honestly thought they were defending the truth against an enemy. All schisms start that way!

Yet A. T. was completely vindicated by the inclusion of many of his corrections in the 1944 revision of the CV; but his enemies were never able to admit that they had been blind, and the schism which developed in Britain seems to be unbridgeable. (I have no first-hand knowledge of what happened elsewhere). A.T.'s offense was his perpetual willingness to investigate fresh ideas. For him truth came first; and considerations such as popularity, prestige and following the easy way were never in the running at all.

To him belongs the credit of realizing that even a perfect translation is in practice worthless unless properly used. Perhaps some of his critics realized this. Indeed, a very large proportion of the errors which have been refuted in The Differentiator from time to time could have been perceived to be errors even if the CV had never existed. This startling fact shows how wise A.T. was in maintaining a balanced attitude instead of concentrating on the problems of translation and allowing exposition to be neglected. To this we owe his masterpiece: the splendid series of articles “Who is our God?” He made other very important contributions to our understanding of Scripture. On that account alone, the men who ostracized him have only themselves to thank for what they have missed. -- R. B. WITHERS

Bro. Thompson's untiring and unselfish labors were invaluable in the compilation of the Concordant Version, and they have left an undying impression on the accuracy and value of that work.

A strange fact, of which I had not previously been aware, is the fact that his birthday fell on the same day as that of my father, A. E. Knoch--December 19th. And the two men were singularly alike in their unflinching stand for the truth as they saw it, and in their untiring effort to ferret it out from the Word of God. Both were unselfishly devoted to their task. And yet, they did not always agree. But the Lord used them both in the compilation of the Concordant Version, and both will undoubtedly receive reward in no small measure for their unstinting labors, in that day.

Good night, dear brother, until we meet in the morning!

E. O. Knoch

Goethe

 “The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.”

The Lord Jesus Christ and The Divine Trinity

 

by Philip N. Odhner

The One Infinite God.

Swedenborg teaches that there is one Infinite Supreme Being who created the universe and all things in it out of His Divine Love and Wisdom.

The human mind can see that God is infinite. For if God were finite, or limited, there would have to be something that made Him finite and limited. And in that case that thing which made Him finite and limited would be the real source and origin of all things, and thus would be the real God. So also the human mind can see that God is eternal. For if God were not eternal, then He had a beginning in time. And if He had a beginning in time, then there was something previous to Him from which He had origin, and that previously existing thing would be God.

Because God is infinite and eternal, He is one. There cannot be two infinite Beings. If there were two or more supposedly infinite Beings, one would limit and finite the other, and thus neither would be infinite. To think or speak of two or more infinite Beings is a contradiction in itself. Such an idea cannot enter the understanding of man.

That the one infinite God is Wisdom can be seen by man from a view of the starry heavens, in which the suns and planets can be seen held in a wonderful order. It can be seen also from a view of anything in nature in its smallest parts. For the microscope reveals the most wonderful order in the least things of creation, even as the telescope reveals such an order in the greatest things.

God is Love. This can be acknowledged by man from the fact that the order existing in the created universe bespeaks a Divine Purpose therein. And especially can it be seen that God is Love in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who showed forth the most perfect love for the eternal salvation of the whole human race.

The Divine Purpose in Creation.

God is Love and Wisdom. In all that He does His Love and His Wisdom are present. Everything that exists is therefore part of His Purpose in creation. But what is the Divine Purpose in creation? Can this be expressed in a way that the human mind can grasp? Swedenborg teaches as follows: "There are two things that make the Essence of God. Love and Wisdom; but there are three things that make the essence of His Love: to others outside of Himself, to will to be one with them, and to bless them from Himself. . . . These things of the Divine Love were the cause of the creation of the universe and are the cause of its conservation." (The True Christian Religion, 43, 46.)

It is the nature of love to love others outside of self, to will to be conjoined with them in love, and to make them happy. This is evident in all true human relationships. It is preeminently true of God. In Him is all life, all love and all wisdom. His will therefore is to create others outside of Himself whom He can bless with the gift of His Life, His Love, His Wisdom. His will is to give to others that which is in Him. This is the cause of all creation.

But God, being infinite, cannot create another infinite Being, or another God or gods, to receive His Love and Wisdom. It is impossible for there to be two or more infinite Beings. If there were a God from God, that God from God would either have to be not infinite and not eternal, and thus not a real God, or He would have to be infinite and eternal and thus absolutely one with the first God. For God to create and love another God would thus be God loving Himself in Himself. And this is contrary to the essence of God, which is to love others outside Himself.

God could not create others who have life and love and wisdom in themselves, but He could create finite beings who could be formed into vessels of His Life and Love and Wisdom. For this reason God first created the physical universe. Out of His own Love and Wisdom, which are the origins of all life and motion, He made the physical universe and the dead and inert matters therein. Some idea of how God so created the physical universe out of His Love and Wisdom can be gathered from the discoveries of modern science, in which it is seen that the dead and inert matters of the earth are in fact composed of things in the highest motion.

Out of the dead and fixed things of nature God formed vessels which can receive His Life. These vessels are men, the human race. These vessels God gifts with liberty and rationality, so that they can if they will receive understanding from God in ever increasing measure, and by the perfection of their lives receive the Love of God in ever increasing measure. These vessels can become images and likenesses of God. In such images and likenesses of God the Divine Purpose of creation can find its fulfillment, for such beings can receive God's love and wisdom freely, can feel them to be their own, and can freely return the love of God. Between the infinite God and such beings there can be eternal conjunction. In this way a true and everlasting relationship can be established between God and those created by Him outside of Himself. But because God's Love is infinite, therefore He looks to an eternal increase of those who can receive His life, and out of them He forms for Himself an eternal Heaven in an eternal world, which is the Spiritual World. In this Heaven those who have become images and likenesses of God advance forever in the understanding and love of God and their neighbors.

Consider carefully the Divine Purpose of creation here set forth. It means that God's Purpose in creating you is to make you an image and likeness of Himself, to make you an angel of heaven, to give you into eternity an increasing understanding of Him and an increasing love of what is good and true from Him. That is His interest and concern with you and with everyone in the human race.

Consider whether there can be any other cause of creation, or any other reason for your existence? Have you heard of any other explanation that is in agreement with the Scriptures and with the dictates of your own reason concerning God?

The Advent of the Lord into the World.

Swedenborg teaches that mankind in their first state of creation were as children, innocent and obedient. From the influx of the Love of God into their minds they were able to perceive the truths concerning God in all things of creation. They loved God and they loved their neighbor. This is the state of mankind that is described in the Bible as the Paradise of Eden.

But as the knowledge and the natural understanding of mankind increased, they began to feel and believe that they could lead themselves in all matters of faith and wisdom. They began to believe that they were good and wise, and denied the truth that they were only vessels of good and of wisdom from God. This is represented in the Scriptures by the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of this disorder men fell from their state of love and wisdom. More and more they removed themselves from the influx of God into their souls and minds. Finally, the human race came into a state in which the Divine Purpose of creation was threatened and the human race itself was threatened with spiritual destruction.

Because of the removal of man from his first state of reception of the Love of God, it was necessary that a new kind of conjunction between God and man should be established. This was accomplished by the coming of God the Creator into the world.

In the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which were Divinely inspired and given to men by God during man's gradual decline from his first state, it is foretold and promised many times that He who created the world would come into the world to redeem and save mankind.

We here quote a few such places from the Old Testament:

"For thus saith the Lord (Jehovah) that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain. . .. He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord (Jehovah) and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18.)

"Behold the Lord God (Lord Jehovah) will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him." (Isaiah 40:10.)

"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord (Jehovah). (Zechar. 2:10.)

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord (Jehovah), that I will raise up unto David a just Branch . . . and this is His Name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD (Jehovah) OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Jeremiah 23:5,6.)

"And all flesh shall know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." (Isaiah 49:26.)

"For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth." (Job 19:25.)

"Let Israel hope in Jehovah ... He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." (Ps. 130:7,8.)

"Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt . . . and thou shalt know no other God but me; for there is no Saviour beside me." (Hosea 13:4.)

From these passages it is clear that the Old Testament teaches that there is one God, who is called Jehovah God, and that this God calls Himself the Saviour and the Redeemer, as well as the Creator. But now consider the following passages from the Old Testament, which foretell the Coming of the Creator into the world, and which clearly refer to the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ:

"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord (the way of Jehovah), make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isaiah 40:3.) It is said in the New Testament that this is a prophecy of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, in the Old Testament, the one for whom John prepared the way is called Jehovah and "our God."

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14.) This prophecy is quoted in Matthew with reference to the birth of the Lord, and it is there added about the name Immanuel, "which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matt. 1:23.) Here therefore the Lord is called God with us, in both the Old and the New Testaments.

"Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord (this is Jehovah); we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." (Isaiah 25:9.)

"Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6.)

From the above passages from the Old Testament, it is clear that the one infinite and eternal God, Jehovah God, the Creator of the universe, promised that He would come into the world, and that this promise refers to the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Swedenborg in his works shows not only that the Old Testament prophesies the coming of the Creator into the world, but also that the New Testament teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ is that Creator come into the world. This is taught in John, as follows:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (or, God was the Word.) The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:1-3, 14.)

How the Incarnation of God Took Place.

But how did God come into the world, and what did He do here that brings about the Redemption and salvation of the human race and makes possible again the conjunction of mankind with Him in the reception of His Love and Wisdom?

Swedenborg teaches that God came into the world by taking on a human body by means of birth from the virgin Mary. Consider what is said in the New Testament concerning the conception of the Lord Jesus Christ:

"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the Power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, also that Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35.)

This teaching can mean nothing else than that the one Infinite God was Himself the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord had no human father, as do all other human beings, but the infinite and eternal God was His Father. This means that the Lord had that in Him which was infinite and eternal, that which was life in itself. But because the Infinite cannot be divided as can the finite, this also means that God Himself was in Jesus Christ.

In the Lord Jesus Christ when He was first born into the world there were two distinct natures: that which He derived from His Father, which was infinite and Divine, and that which He derived from Mary, which was merely human and which had within it the heredity of the human race.

Because the Lord had with Him that heredity from Mary, He had with Him that which was mortal and vulnerable. In the heredity from Mary was the hereditary evil of the human race. He thus took on Himself the sins and iniquities of us all, and in His life in the world He overcame those evils in Himself. In that maternal heredity, which Swedenborg calls the maternal human of the Lord, the Lord met and conquered the evils which had taken possession of human minds and bodies. Through that maternal human the hells could attack His Divine Love for the salvation of the human race, and in it the Lord from His Divine soul met and conquered that attack.

Swedenborg teaches that two things took place by the incarnation of the Divine in the Lord Jesus Christ. First, the evil of the human race, hell itself, was subjugated by the Lord. The second thing was that the Lord during His life in the world reordered that human mind and body which He assumed through Mary and conjoined and at length united it to His own Divine soul which He had from conception. This is what is called the Lord's glorification. Through His glorification the Lord put off what He had derived from Mary and put on a new Human, the Divine Human, from His own Divine soul. Thus, He made His Human Divine, and the Divine Human in Himself. Even as to the Human He became Life itself, Love itself and Wisdom itself.

As to His very soul, and also as to those things of His mind and body which the Lord had made one with the Divine, Jesus Christ was altogether one with the Father. As to those things of His human which had not yet been made Divine, He was as another person. This is why the Lord sometimes spoke of Himself as one with His Father, and at other times spoke as if the Father were another than Himself. But at His Resurrection the process of the glorification of His Human was complete, and then He was altogether one with the Father as to person and essence.

This may be illustrated in the following diagrams:

The Lord in His Human made Divine (D) is not another person than the Father, or another infinite and eternal God, but is the Father Himself clothed with the Human made Divine.

The Lord's soul was Divine from conception. It was the Father in Him. And this is why the Lord taught that the Father was in Him. As the Lord glorified His Human, so that Human also was made Divine, and this is why the Lord says that He is one with the Father.

The one infinite and eternal God, now clothed in His Divine Human, is the Lord Jesus Christ glorified. He is God made Man, and Man made God. And in His Divine Human He has power over all things in heaven and on earth, as the Lord Himself says in Matthew:

"All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matt. 28:18.)

In the Divine Human the one infinite and eternal God has so embodied and accommodated His Divine Love and Wisdom that He may be seen and approached by man in man's fallen state. In His Divine Human He can inflow into our minds and influence us in the love of what is good and true in spite of the hereditary corruption of our nature. And in the Divine Human we can if we are willing come to the idea of God in a truly rational human form. Thus through His incarnation we can see Him and understand Him and love Him in a way that is far superior to anything that ever existed previous to His Advent into the world. For in His Divine Human the Lord is seeable, approachable, able to be understood and loved.

These things God has done out of His infinite Mercy and Love for the human race, to make possible again His Divine Purpose with men, that He might bless them with eternal life and be conjoined with them in Love.

These things are meant by this in John:

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." (John 1:18.)

The Fruit or result of the Advent and Glorification of the Lord may be illustrated in the following diagrams:

1. A represents the Love and Wisdom of the one Infinite God flowing into men.

    B is the interior mind of man, into which the Lord could inflow before the fall.

    C. is the conscious or external mind of man into which the Lord also inflowed through the interior mind with those before the fall.

2. After the fall of man the interior mind was blocked up with evils, and the influx of God into man was obstructed.

3. A here represents the infinite Love and Wisdom clothed in the Divine Human. By means of this accommodation God can inflow directly into the conscious mind of man and enlighten it with truth and affect it with good. Through this man receives from the Lord the ability to fight against and remove the evils obstructing the interiors of his mind.

The Divine Trinity.

The New Testament speaks of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Many have understood this to mean that God is in three Divine Persons, each of whom is infinite and eternal, and each of whom is God and Lord. But the New Testament does not speak of Persons in God at all, much less of three Divine Persons existing from eternity.

It is admitted by many that the question of how three persons make one God is past all human understanding. And because of this mystery many people do not think deeply about God, believing that their minds are not capable of entering into such thought.

What does Swedenborg teach concerning the Divine Trinity?

From what has gone before in this lecture it can be seen that the Father, the one infinite and eternal God, is not one Divine Person and the Son another Divine Person. but that they are one. as soul and body are one. The Son. the Divine Human, is the Divine Body, and the Father is the Divine Soul in that Divine Bodv. Even as the soul and body of a man are not two people, but one person, so the Father and the Son, the Divine and the Divine Human of the Lord are one Divine Person.

But what then of the Holy Spirit?

Swedenborg teaches that the Holy Spirit is the Lord's own Divine Spirit going forth from Him to men and angels. It is the Divine Love and Wisdom proceeding out of the Divine Human of the Lord to work the regeneration and salvation of mankind. This can be seen perfectly represented in the Gospel of John:

"And when He had said this. He breathed on them and said. Receive ye the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22)

This was said after the Lord's Resurrection. The Holy Spirit is there represented as the Breath of the Lord. His Breath is His Divine Truth going forth from Himself to men. Swedenborg calls this the Divine Proceeding, or, the Divine Operation.

That the Holy Spirit is the Divine proceeding from the glorified Human of the Lord is also taught in these passages from the New Testament: "But this He spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7:39.) The original Greek reads "The Holy Spirit was not yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."

"It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you." (John 16:7.)

After the Lord was glorified, that is, after His Human was made Divine, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, which leads men into all truth, could come to men, because through the Divine Human the Divine Good and Truth can inflow into our minds.

The conclusion therefore is that the Divine Trinity is not a Trinity of Persons, but that it is a Trinity of essentials in the one Divine Person, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is the Divine itself, present in Him as the Soul. The Son is the Divine Human, which is the Body of that Divine Soul, and the Holy Spirit is the Divine Operation, the Divine Good and Truth proceeding from God to men.

This is taught also by Paul, in these words concerning the Lord:

"For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Col. 2:9.)

If you see God as one Divine Person, one Divine Man, and the Trinity in Him as Soul, Body and Proceeding, you will have an understandable idea of God and of the Divine Trinity in Him. This teaching is that which is given in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It is the Supreme Truth concerning the Lord.

This truth may be summarized thus: That the Lord Jesus Christ is the one God of heaven and earth, that He is Jehovah, the Lord from eternity, that He is the Creator from eternity, that He is the Redeemer in time, that He is the regenerator into eternity, and thus that He is at the same time the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our God. There is no other. To Him we owe all that is good and all that is true. All power in heaven and on earth is His. To Him alone should