Principles of living a set apart, godly life [28] – Divine Law, Priesthood and the Millennium Reign [4]

 There is only one formal order of priests on earth and they are selected from the tribe of Levi within God’s chosen ethnic group – the house of Israel. This is quite consistent with what Ezekiel describes in the last chapters of his book. His description of the use of daily sacrifices demonstrates that Jews will not, as a nation, suddenly convert to Christianity in the sense of dismissing ceremonies and sacrifices. Rather, they will remain under a form of a neo-Levitical priestly order under the New Covenant that God will make with the house of Israel. Within the heavenly realm, the priesthood is being transferred from out of necessity, from out of compelling need, and a transfer of law is coming into being, (Hebrews 7 v 12). As a result, under the New Covenant, the house of Israel will be softened and made responsive to God’s Law, which He will write on their deep inner core. They will become a set-apart godly nation. They will begin to turn back to God and His Messiah, as King of kings, will overthrow of the tyranny of the ‘man of lawlessness’ and his regime with the furious outpouring of passionate anger. This will occur in the last generation of this present gospel age.   

By this time, all those brought forth by God will be roused up again to enter into the heavenly realm. What will be established will be the ‘New Jerusalem’ – the new infrastructure of delegated governance, of delegated rulers, judges and authorities, made up in part of a Kingdom of priests resembling the order of Melchizedek, serving in the heavenly temple. In addition, heaven and earth will draw closer together, with human delegated rulers and judges in Israel, its priests of a neo-Levitical order. This whole new order, including God as the Ultimate Authority and Jesus as King of kings seems to be what is referred to as ‘Zion’, with completed Christians constituting part of the ‘New Jerusalem’. Thus we read, ‘I clearly discerned the city set apart, the fresh, new, unused Jerusalem, coming down from out of heaven away from God, made ready in the manner of a bride very appealingly ordered and adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from out of the throne saying, “Look! The dwelling place of God in company with men - He will be encamping in company with them and they will be His peoples. God Himself, their God, will be in company with them’, (Revelation 21 v 2, 3).

The important thing for us to note in all of this, before we get too distracted by other themes and details, is that all of this is established in company with, in parallel with divine Law. As Jesus said in the gospels, he had not come to abolish divine Law but to complete it. Divine law is not going to be abolished or dissolved, but it is going to be transferred. It constitutes the foundation of God’s justice and righteousness and at no point will God introduce an arrangement of lawlessness, anarchy or permissiveness. 

I have taken a little time to establish this context so that we can better understand what the Apostle Paul has to say about the day-by-day life of Christians and the written codes of Sinai Covenant Law. It also helps us to avoid falling into the trap of excessive freedom or permissiveness. I am certainly not taking an ‘antinomian’ stance – a perspective that stands opposed to, or against, divine law. But neither am I supporting Christian legalism.

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [27] – Divine Law, Priesthood and the Millennium Reign [3]

 There are a number of different perspectives that propose what Israel will be like in the Millennium Reign. This is not surprising because Scripture only presents glimpses here and there as to what this age will be like, and different scholars have drawn out and speculated on different facets of this coming age. 

One of the most comprehensive descriptions is to be found in chapters 40 – 48 of Ezekiel. There we find an account of how Israel will be governed in this new season of the reconciliation and restoration of the household of Israel. We see the division of the Promised Land between Israel’s tribes, and the building of a new Temple. We also see the establishment of a neo-Levitical priesthood, the consecration of the altar and the establishment of daily sacrifices on earth as part of the New Jerusalem. 

Now this creates a problem for many Protestant Christians. Because the Protestant Reformers and their successors divide Sinai Covenant Law into ‘Moral Law’ and ‘Ceremonial Law’. I consider this to be a mistake, a false division. Instead, I consider that Sinai Covenant Law is an integrated whole. But many Protestant Christians then go further. They then propose that the ‘Ceremonial Law’, such as sacrifices, has already been done away with because its purpose is to constitute an outline shadow of the person and work of the Messiah. So they then propose that because the Messiah has come and been made clear, these ‘outline shadows’ have now been done away with. But this means that they have difficulties with these chapters in Ezekiel and often feel obliged to interpret them in metaphorical or allegorical ways.

I also propose that perspectives that Jesus will return in such a way as to enter into and sit within this new Millennium Age Temple are mistaken. So also are perspectives that suggest that all Jews will come recognise or perceive Jesus and in effect become Christians. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [26] – Divine Law, Priesthood, Citizenship and the Millennium Reign [2]

God has declared that in the future He will fully complete His promises and purposes for the household of Israel. But this will not be based on the old Sinai Covenant and its written Laws because the household of Israel and its delegated leaders and priests of the Levitical priesthood proved to be persistently wayward and rebellious with regard to this Covenant. So God is going to accomplish this ‘with a fresh new Covenant on the basis of household of Judah’, (Hebrews 8 v 9). 

The effective and successful work of Jesus - God’s anointed deliverer - means that Jesus, from the house of Judah, is now high priest, of the order of Melchizedek, in the heavenly realm. When Jesus comes to take up the mantle of King of kings at the advent of the Millennium Reign, this will be a royal priesthood and the time when God introduces this new Covenant with the household of Israel. 

The author of the letter to the Hebrews gives us a brief description of this new Covenant. ‘Because this is the Covenant that I will appoint with the household of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. Putting My laws within their mind and understanding on the basis that I will write them on their hearts, towards the purpose that I will be their God and they will be a people towards me. 11 They will absolutely not each continue teaching their fellow citizens and brothers saying, “Know the Lord”, because all will see and know Me, away from the least of them to the greatest. 12 Because I will be propitious and merciful, I will not recall their unrighteousness, injustice and no-share any more’. 13 In saying ‘new’ He makes the first old, and that becoming old and becoming aged, near disappearance’, (Hebrews 8 v 10 – 13). There it is – the promise of future restoration and reconciliation and God’s faithfulness in bringing to completion His purposes with regard to His chosen ethnic group. 

What is relevant to our present theme concerning divine law are verses 10 and 13. In verse 13 we are told that with the establishment of this new Covenant, the old Sinai Covenant with its written codes is made old, such that it almost completely disappears. But divine Law is not dissolved or abolished. The household of Israel will not enter into lawlessness or anarchy in the Millennium Reign. Rather, the principles of God’s laws will be transferred into the hearts and minds of those of the household of Israel and they will perceive, understand and comprehend them. God will write these laws ‘on their hearts’ – in their deepest inner core at the foundation and emergence of their thoughts, emotions and desires. Once again, this new Covenant exists alongside God’s Law. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [25] – Divine Law, Priesthood, Citizenship and the Millennium Reign [1]

 In the previous posts we have seen that when God brings Christians forth they are placed as adopted sons within God’s household and within the royal priesthood that corresponds to that of Melchizedek, with Jesus as their high priest. Gentiles are brought in from existing in relative ignorance under a Covenant of Behaviour, and Jews are transferred from being under the Levitical order and the Sinai Covenant. This royal priesthood exists alongside Sinai Covenant Law but it does not abolish or dissolve Covenant Law. So where do Christians stand in relation to Covenant Law?

The coming Millennium Reign offers further insights on this theme. The questions are these - What will happen to God’s chosen ethnic group, Jews, in the Millennium Reign? What about the promises made to the descendants of Abraham with regard to possessing an area of Promised Land and so on? What about the ‘silver linings’ found throughout the Hebrew prophets concerning the restoration and reconciliation of Jews? What priesthood will Jews be placed under then?

Returning to the letter to the Hebrews, the author looks forward to the restoration of Israel and says, ‘Look! The days are coming, says the Lord. I will fully accomplish and complete on the basis of the household of Israel, on the basis of the household of Judah. 9 A fresh, new Covenant, not down from the Covenant that I made with their ancestors within the day I took hold of them by the hand to lead them from out of the land of Egypt, because they did not persevere and remain within my Covenant and I am disregarding them, declares the Lord’, (Hebrews 8 v 8, 9).

At the end of verse 9 the current position of Jews – the household of Israel – is stated clearly. God says, ‘because they did not persevere and remain within my Covenant I am disregarding them’. God still continues to withdraw Himself away from Jews at this present time. Does this mean that God has abandoned His promises to, and agreement with, the household of Israel via the patriarchs such as Abraham and Moses? Have these promises failed? Not at all. In the future God ‘will fully accomplish and complete a fresh new Covenant on the basis of the household of Israel, on the basis of the household of Judah’. God has made an agreement and promises with His chosen ethnic group, the household of Israel. On the basis that they are His chosen ethnic group out of all the nations, God will bring matters to a full and complete conclusion. But this will not happen on the basis of the Sinai Covenant and its written codes that was established after God led them out of slavery in Egypt. Why? ‘Because they did not persevere and remain within my Covenant’. Because the leadership was corrupt and rebellious, and they and the people were wayward, playing the harlot with other, Gentile gods and idols. 

Principles of living a set apart, godly life [24] – Divine Law, Priesthood and Citizenship

 When God brings Christians forth through the Messiah and the work of the set-apart Breath, they are placed as adopted sons within God’s household. They are also placed as members the priesthood that corresponds to that of Melchizedek, with Jesus as their high priest. Hebrew Christians are transferred from being under the Levitical priesthood, and divine Law is also transferred, whilst Gentiles are brought in from existing in relative ignorance to also be transferred to the heavenly priesthood.

Thus we read, ‘Because our citizenship is existing within the heavens, from out of which we also eagerly expect a Saviour, Lord Jesus, Messiah’, (Philippians 3 v 20). The word translated into English as ‘citizenship’ is ‘politeuma’, meaning ‘life as a citizen’. This word only occurs here in Philippians. In the Greco-Roman world citizenship was valued as being high-status, conferring rights, privileges and responsibilities within a city-state. Citizens were expected to participate in civic duties and uphold the laws and values of their community. It provided a powerful metaphor for Christian identity and allegiance within God’s household.

The concept is not unique to the Letter to the Philippians however. In his letter to the Ephesians, who were Gentile Christians, Paul says, ‘Therefore then you are no longer lodgers, namely dwelling beside, but exist fellow citizens, the set apart and of the household of God’, (Ephesians 2 v 19). The Greek word here is ‘sumpolités’, meaning ‘fellow citizen’ and again it has just one occurrence in the New Testament. It refers to someone who shares citizenship with others, indicating a sense of belonging and community within a political or social entity. 

The idea of citizenship within the household of God is implied when Jesus said, ‘Within the household of my Father many residences exist, but if not, would I have told you that I am going to make you ready a place? 3 And if I go and prepare you a place, I am coming again and will receive you alongside toward myself, in order that where I am, you are also’, (John 14 v 2, 3). 

The idea is also referred to when the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews talks about notable people who lived by faith during Old Testament times. He says, ‘All these died down from faith, not receiving the promises but seeing them from afar and embracing, acknowledging and agreeing that they are lodgers and temporary residents on the land. 14 Because those saying such as this are making clear that they are seeking after that fatherland. 15 Indeed, if they called to mind that one there, from where they came out, they had occasion to turn back. 16 But at this present time they are stretching forth to better and superior, this existing [within] heaven. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called God by them, because He has prepared them a city’, (Hebrews 11 v 13 – 16). The Greek word is ‘polis’, meaning ‘city’ and is used 165 times in the New Testament. It refers to a city or town, often highlighting its significance as a hub of population, culture, and governance. In the Greco-Roman world, a ‘polis’ was more than just a physical location; it was a centre of political, economic, and social life. Cities were often fortified, served as administrative centres and were places where people gathered for trade, worship, and community activities. The concept of the ‘polis’ was integral to Greek identity and civic life, influencing the development of democracy and public discourse. 

Concerning those of faith in the Old Testament period, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews concludes, ‘and all these, testifying by means of faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God providing something better around us, in order that they are not brought to completion separately from us’, (Hebrews 11 v 39, 40). Those in the Old Testament period who exercised obedient entrustment in God are also included as fellow citizens – which they saw from afar off – and they will be brought to completion alongside Christians.   

The concept is that Christians are fellow citizens of a heavenly city and therefore only temporary lodgers here on earth. We see it again here – ‘Because we do not possess an enduring city here, but we are seeking after what is about to be’, (Hebrews 13 v 14). But once again we need to ask how Christians being placed into this priestly order and heavenly citizenship affects the relationship of Christians to Sinai Covenant divine Law. On becoming Christians are Gentiles placed under the Sinai Covenant and its laws? Do Jews continue under the Sinai Covenant and its laws? I suggest definitely not. That is what Judaizers thought and this was one reason why they wanted male Gentile Christians to be circumcised according to the written codes of divine Covenant Law. But we have seen that Christians are transferred into this royal priesthood like the order of Melchizedek that exists alongside the Sinai Covenant. We have seen that divine Law is also being transferred, but not abolished or dissolved. So we need some more information.