Key Text: Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3).
Isaiah’s prophecy seems to transport the people into the Messianic Age when the Holy City shall be the center of the earth and all nations shall come to it to learn the ways of God. This universal emphasis will not be fulfilled in the days of Israel’s earthly kingdom, nor in the days of the church, but in the “last days.” This points to the Millennial Future when Israel’s kingdom shall become a reality only during the time when the Messiah shall rule after the Church Age. The implication is that in the millennial kingdom there will once again be a Temple in Jerusalem which will serve as the focal point of the worship of Jesus during His kingdom rule on earth, God’s kingdom “exalted above the hills” and the kingdoms of this world. Christ Himself “shall judge among the nations” with a “rod of iron” and compel all nations to practice justice toward one another. This will be a time of complete international peace and safety unlike any other time in the history of the world. Christ Himself, the “judge” shall discern and direct the affairs of all nations (including Gentiles nations) during His millennial kingdom. So, the weapons of war shall be burned into tools of peace and economic productivity.
When Paul visited Athens, he was troubled by the number of idols he saw. Some estimated that there were more idols in the city than there were people. At one point Paul noticed an altar that was inscribed “to an unknown God” Acts 17:23). Paul declared that he was able to make known to them the identity of the god they worshiped in ignorance. Commissioned to share the gospel, Paul engaged a group of philosophers in the marketplace. The response was mixed with some accepting the gospel and others rejecting it. We recall that Athens was home of Socrates (who believed in a divine presence, but not in the conventional Greek gods of his time. He was guided by a personal “divine sign” and believed in a supreme, moral deity that influenced his philosophical mission), Plato (who believed in a divine and intelligent principle), Aristotle (who believed in a divine entity, but it was a philosophical “god” rather than a personal deity, God was the “Unmoved Mover”), Epicurus (who viewed pleasure as the chief and end of life), and Zeno’s Stoics (who believed in individual self-sufficiency pantheists “all is God” seeking to live in harmony with nature and humans could find God through reason). So, the residents were well versed in philosophical discussions. But, Paul was determined to help them understand that the Creator stands above creation. First, he identified God as the Creator of everything. And, since God created everything, then it would stand to reason that He is Lord over all. Second, if God created everything, then He had no need for a man-made temple or shrine. Third, God does not depend upon humans; in fact, humans are dependent upon Him for life and everything else. Fourth, Paul claimed that all humanity came “from one man.” Paul was saying that all people everywhere could trace their ancestry to Adam, whom God created: God was more than a local Jewish deity; He was God of all people and nations. Finally, Paul stated the connection between the created and the Creator. For Paul, the act of finding God through reason was like groping in the darkness. Finding God would require a proper response to God’s revelation of Himself in Christ. So Paul used a Greek saying, “in him we live and move and have our being” to anchor all of human existence in the one God who created everything. Since we are God’s offspring and the work of His hands, then no idol crafted by human hands is a sufficient representation of the one true God. So therefore we must give Him the honor and worship that is due Him. AMEN!
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