Body: | Bible Prophecy Fulfilled: Psalm 68 = Eph 4"He who ascended also
descended"
Midrashic triple prophecy of Psalm 68:
Overview: Psalm 68 was written around 1001 BC by David from Jerusalem
shortly after he moved the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle tent of
David. The central theme is God enters His sanctuary in a formal
procession. The triple prophecy includes Solomon entering the temple in 970
BC as a warrior king, Christ ascending into the heavenly sanctuary as a
king and high priest in AD 33 and Christians entering the heavenly
sanctuary at the second coming. The Key details included ascension,
descension, clouds, victory over enemies, giving and receiving gifts,
incarnation, death in hades and resurrection. It ties together Moses,
David, Solomon, Christ, and Christians. The exodus imagery in Ps 68 begins
at Pentecost 1446 BC when God descended upon the Sinai (Heb 12:18-29). The
narrative then highlights the Ark of the Covenant leading Israel away from
Sinai in 1445 BC with a promise to defeat their enemies, then jumps to the
defeat of Og and Mt. Bashan in 1406 BC and finally ends when the oppressed
find comfort after crossing the Jordan. There are a few key differences in
the original story in 1446 BC, the prophecy of Ps 68 in 1001 BC and the
Apostle Paul's messianic application in Eph 4 in AD 59. In classic
Midrashic messianic prophecy style, in the original story, God
"descends" upon Sinai and "gives" supernatural gifts to men. In Ps
68 God "ascends" up the summit of Sinai and "receives" gifts from
men. In Eph 4 Jesus "ascends" to heaven and "gives" supernatural
gifts to men. Although called the "Mountain of God", the imagery of God
ascending Sinai as His sanctuary is a new idea introduced by David in Ps
68. Until that time God was only envisioned as "descending" from above
down to the summit. Paul's application of Ps 68 associates God at Mt.
Sinai with Jesus "descending to the lowest" through His incarnation,
death and burial, and "ascending to the highest" through resurrection
and ascension with clouds (Acts 1:9). Paul's antitypical use of God's
ascension on Mt. Sinai on Pentecost 1446 BC being applied to the
incarnation, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ is
as awesome as it is surprising. The corresponding ascension and descending
of Jesus in Ephesians leads us to look back to 1446 BC and realize that God
himself had "descended to the lowest" by being relegated to a rank
below the Egyptian pagan gods. After conquering these Egyptian pagan gods
in the 10 plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea, God then "ascends"
to His rightful place on the summit of the Mountain of God! We see just how
deep God plans recurring Midrashic themes from Genesis to Revelation that
are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit in the 66 books of the Bible.
A. Sinai to Canaan:
1. 1446 BC: AT SINAI: In the Exodus account, God
"descends" upon Mt. Sinai on Pentecost in 1446 BC which explodes in
fire at the summit and God "gives" supernatural gifts to craftsman
enabling them the skill and knowledge to build the tabernacle and
associated furniture (Ex28:3; 31:2-3). We immediately see the
correspondence on Pentecost AD 33 in Acts 2 when fire appears over the
heads of the 12 apostles. Further, there is a direct messianic fulfillment
of Isa 2:1-5 where both the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ were given
on Pentecost.
a. "You shall speak to all the skillful persons
whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's
garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me." (Exodus
28:3)
b. "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son
of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. "I have filled him with
the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all
kinds of craftsmanship," (Exodus 31:2-3)
2. 1445 BC: LEAVING SINAI: In 1445 BC Israel leaves Mt.
Sinai for Canaan with the Ark of the Covenant leading the way. Notice how
Ps 68:1 echoes Num 10:33. Moses leads the "captives" out of bondage and
defeats the enemies.
a. "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate Him flee before Him." (Psalm 68:1)
b. "Thus they set out from the mount of the Lord
three days' journey, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord journeying
in front of them for the three days, to seek out a resting place for them.
The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, "Rise up, O
Lord! And let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee
before You." When it came to rest, he said, "Return, O Lord, To the
myriad thousands of Israel."" (Numbers 10:33-36)
3. 1406 BC: MT. BASHAN/HERMON VS. MT. ZION/JERUSALEM:
David makes three references to "Mt. Bashan" (Mt. Hermon) in Ps 68:15,
29. Although King Og is not named it is this conquest story that David has
in view. Moses defeated Og who is ruler of Mt. Hermon and the land of
Bashan all of which was given as a "gift" to three tribes. This follows
the theme of God ascending, enemies defeated, and gifts are given. As David
planned the Jerusalem temple he looked back at the time Moses defeated Og
and Mt. Hermon. Mt. Zion was chosen by God as the mountain of His sanctuary
instead Mt. Hermon with all its height, beauty and splendour. David
personifies the multi-peaked Mt. Hermon as being envious of multi-peaked
Mt. Sinai and Jerusalem for the place of His Holy dwelling. As David writes
Ps 68 he is in the process of building the temple in Jerusalem which
Solomon will assemble. Through personification, Mt. Hermon bemoans that
lowly Jerusalem was chosen over the breathtaking snowy peaks of Mt. Hermon.
While Mt. Sinai was the tallest mountain in the region, Mt. Zion was rather
unspectacular in comparison to both Mt. Sinai and Mt. Hermon. David's
mediation about these three mountains as he prepares a temple for God to
dwell in Jerusalem undergirds why he referred to the defeat of Og and Mt
Bashan.
a. "Then they turned and went up by the way of
Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out with all his people, for battle
at Edrei. But the Lord said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have given
him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to
him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon." So
they killed him and his sons and all his people, until there was no remnant
left him; and they possessed his land." (Numbers 21:33-35)
b. "The territory of Og king of Bashan, one of the
remnant of Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, and ruled over
Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan, as far as the border of the
Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half of Gilead, as far as the border of
Sihon king of Heshbon. Moses the servant of the Lord and the sons of Israel
defeated them; and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to the Reubenites
and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh as a possession." (Joshua
12:4-6)
c. ""Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she
who remains at home will divide the spoil!" When you lie down among the
sheepfolds, You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And its
pinions with glistening gold. When the Almighty scattered the kings there,
It was snowing in Zalmon. A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A
mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you look with
envy, O mountains with many peaks, At the mountain which God has desired
for His abode? Surely the Lord will dwell there forever." (Psalm
68:12-16)
B. Mt. Zion and Jerusalem:
1. 1010 BC: DAVID ASCENDS THE THRONE: The puzzling reference
to David delivering the head of Goliath in 1025 BC to the Jebusites at
Jerusalem is clarified when it shows that at age 15, David had already
targeted Jerusalem as the capital of his kingdom (1 Sam 17:54). Although
anointed at age 15, David had "descended to the lowest" by being hunted
by Saul (1 Samuel 26:20; 24:14). The key moment that marks the very lowest
point in David's life was when he was about to be captured by Saul first
on the mountain of Maon in 1 Sam 23:26-28 and second in the cave at Engedi
in 1 Samuel 24:1-4. David wrote two Psalms about this very low time in his
life. First, Ps 142 focuses on David's feelings of near death when he first
realized he was trapped inside the cave, "Maskil of David, when he was
in the cave. A Prayer. I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD" (Psalm
142:title-1). Second, Ps 57 focuses on David's feelings of exhilaration
and praise when he realizes that God has delivered him from what he thought
was certain death: "For the choir director; set to Mikhtam of
David, when he fled from Saul in the cave." (Psalm 57:title). David
wrote the famous Psalm 2 recalling how he felt like a worm when he was
almost capture twice by Saul, in spite of the fact he was the anointed king
of Israel. It was at this time David uttered "My God, my God, why have
You forsaken me?" Saul once had the Spirit of God indwelling him but the
Holy Spirit was withdrawn from Saul because of sin and given to David. This
irked and angered Saul to such an extent that it drove him into a 4 year
long psychotic rage to kill David. This is when Saul taunted David when he
pursued and almost captured him on the mountain of Maon, "Commit yourself
to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights
in him." (Psalm 22:8) Here is a paraphrase Saul's mocking of David:
"David, you think you are so holy and that you have the Spirit of God in
you that was once in me. Well now I have surrounded you on this mountain
and am going to capture and kill you. All your trust in that indwelling
Spirit of God is not going to help you now." David was about to be
captured by Saul because God providentially used the Philistines to attack
Judea, causing Saul to immediately withdraw and allowing David to escape (1
Samuel 23:27-28). It is this event where David coins his famous "rock of
escape" phrase used throughout the Psalms. Now we understand why Jesus
Christ was meditating on this period of David's life in Psalm 2. Both
were kings that had been humiliated to the lowest part of the earth. Both
had the wicked pursuing and mocking them. The difference is that God
allowed David to escape, but Jesus was delivered over to death to become
Saviour, God, King and High Priest. In 1010 BC, at age 30, David ascends to
the throne after the death of Saul. The Amalekites burned David's home
city of Ziglag that Achish, king of Gath had given him. They also captured
all of the women and children and plundered the valuables. Incredibly
David's own men want to stone him (1 Samuel 30:6) while he is unaware
that Saul is dead and his is king. David "strengthened himself in the
Lord" and pursued the Amalekites and liberated the oppressed Hebrew
captives. Upon returning David learns that Saul had been killed. David has
now fully ascended to the highest throne in the land and he proceeds to
give gifts from the plunder of the Amalekites to the surrounding cities of
Judea. This directly echoes the application in Eph 4 where like Jesus,
David was once lowly, on the verge of being stoned by his own people, but
is now exalted and gives gifts. David gave material gifts, but Jesus gave
supernatural gifts. Even more spectacular is that it was three days from
the time David almost got stoned to the time he learned he was the exalted
king. This event therefore, is a messianic prophecy of the Death and
Resurrection of Christ on the third day.
a. "Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground
away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to
search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the
mountains." (1 Samuel 26:20)
b. "After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom
are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea?" (1 Samuel 24:14)
c. "Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David
and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to
get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men
to seize them. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for
the Philistines have made a raid on the land." So Saul returned from
pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that
place the Rock of Escape." (1 Samuel 23:26-28)
d. "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (David
said when Saul surrounded him 1 Sam 23:26)
e. "You have ascended on high, You have led captive
Your captives; You have received gifts among men, Even among the rebellious
also, that the Lord God may dwell there." (Psalm 68:18)
f. "Moreover David was greatly distressed because the
people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one
because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in
the Lord his God." (1 Samuel 30:6)
g. "Now it came about after the death of Saul, when
David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David
remained two days in Ziklag. On the third day, behold, a man came out of
the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came
about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated
himself." (2 Samuel 1:1-2)
2. 1001 BC: Ark of the Covenant ascends Jerusalem: 2 Sam 6-7.
David was king for 7 years at Hebron (1010-1003 BC) and 33 years in
Jerusalem (1003 to 970 BC). David captured Jerusalem in 1003 BC and
immediately set his hear to build a temple for Yahweh but first came the
war with the Philistines. After this, in 1001 BC David attempts to bring
the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem from Kiriath-Jearim where it has been
for 92 years from 1093-1001 BC. 2 Sam 6:2 directly ties into the central
imagery of Ps 68 with God enthroned on his sanctuary. After Uzzah gets
cooked for touching the Ark on the ox cart near the house of Obed-Edom,
David makes a second attempt using poles and priests. The Ark is placed
inside the "Tabernacle of David" in Jerusalem while the "Tabernacle
of Moses" has been at Gibeon for 58 years from 1018-960 BC. The two
tabernacles operated contemporaneously from 1001 BC until the temple of
Solomon was completed in 967 BC, at which time the bronze "sea of
Moses" was moved into the temple. In a messianic progression, the
tabernacle went extinct as David completely reorganizes the country in
military, civic and worship. Notably, in Amos 9:11, it is the Tabernacle of
David, not the Tabernacle of Moses that will be restored by the Messiah as
the church. Finally, after defeating his enemies and as the Ark of the
Covenant, central to Ps 68:1 + Numbers 10:3-36, ascends Jerusalem, David
offers gifts to God via sacrifice and David offers gifts of food to the
people (2 Samuel 6:17-19). David draws this event of the Ark ascending
Jerusalem, the defeat of enemies and gifts into the messianic imagery in Ps
68:18,29. Ps 68:24 describes how the event was formal procession into His
new Sanctuary, the Tabernacle tent of David. David had already begun
planning to build a Temple to house the Ark. Shortly after David brings Ark
to Jerusalem in 1001 BC while the Temple is being prepared is when David
writes Psalm 68.
a. "And David arose and went with all the people who
were with him to Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which
is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned
above the cherubim." (2 Samuel 6:2)
b. "So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it
in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. When David had
finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the
people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Further, he distributed to all the
people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of
bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people
departed each to his house." (2 Samuel 6:17-19)
c. "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of
David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild
it as in the days of old" (Amos 9:11)
3. 967 BC: God ascends the Jerusalem temple with Shekinah
Glory: Psalm 68 was written by David in 1001 BC after moving the Ark of the
Covenant to Jerusalem. Just as David had a formal processional of moving
the Ark into the Tabernacle of David, so too did Solomon have a formal
processional envisioned in advance by David in Ps 68:24 of moving the Ark
into the newly completed temple in 970 BC. 2 Chron 5:13-14 and 7:1-3 both
tie in all the elements at Mt. Sinai with God ascending his rightful place,
enthroned in his temple on the Holy Mountain of Jerusalem and gifts are
"received among men" in the way of massive numbers of animals
sacrificed. Gifts of sacrifices and prayers are offered to God who sends
fire down from heaven upon the altar. Then gifts were given to men as they
were provided the meat from the sacrifices for 7 feast days. The Holy of
Holies is filled with clouds echoing Ps 68:4,33 where God is envisioned
riding through the air with clouds just like at Mt. Sinai where God
"dawned from Mt. Seir" due south to descend upon the summit of Mt. Lawz
in Saudi Arabia. David concludes Ps 68:35 as a messianic prophecy of how
Christians as the church will replace the Temple of Solomon.
a. "in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were
to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord,
and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and
instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, "He indeed
is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house
of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand
to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the
house of God." (2 Chronicles 5:13-14)
b. ""Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He
spoke; for I have risen in the place of my father David and sit on the
throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the
name of the Lord, the God of Israel. "There I have set the ark in which
is the covenant of the Lord, which He made with the sons of Israel."" (2
Chronicles 6:10-11)
c. "Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came
down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and
the glory of the Lord filled the house. The priests could not enter into
the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's
house. All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of
the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the
ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, "Truly He
is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting." Then the king and all
the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. King Solomon offered a
sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Thus the king and all the
people dedicated the house of God." (2 Chronicles 7:1-5)
d. "So Solomon observed the feast at that time for
seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly who came from
the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt." (2 Chronicles 7:8)
e. "O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God
of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!"
(Psalm 68:35)
B. Temple transforms from physical to spiritual, stones to Christians:
1. AD 33: Death and Ascension of Jesus Christ: In AD 59
Apostle Paul quotes Ps 68 by associating Mt. Sinai and the temple in
Jerusalem as a messianic prophecy of the death, burial, resurrection, and
ascension of Jesus ascending to the true heavenly sanctuary as our High
Priest with his blood. Ps 68 ties together all the elements of God
ascending Mt. Sinai, the ark as the mercy seat of forgiveness ascending
Jerusalem by David, then by Solomon into the Temple. Enemies and the devil
are defeated: Heb 2:14. The devil is captured, and his goods are plundered
as he is led away captive by being bound for 1000 years. (Mt 12:29; Rev
20). Sinful men whom the Devil had held captive are released (Luke 4:18).
As Christ ascends, there are clouds (Acts 1:9). There is a royal ascension
ceremony in heaven as Jesus takes his place in the Temple (Rev 5) and
finally when Jesus is fully glorified in Heaven (Jn 7:39 + Acts 2:33) He
sends supernatural gifts to the church on the day of Pentecost AD 33 in
Acts 2. These gifts were initially given to only the 12 apostles, then
through the laying on of the apostle's hands (Acts 8:18; 19:6), they were
individually transmitted to Christian men and women. Once the New Testament
scriptures were completed, the supernatural gifts ceased (1 Cor 13:8-13;
Rom 12; Eph 4). The most striking part of Eph 4 is that Paul associates the
ascension of God up the summit of Mt. Sinai to Jesus' ascension up to
heaven. Daniel 7:13-14 is the primary messianic prophecy of the ascension
of Christ from earth to heaven with clouds to take his rightful place as
king of his kingdom. Most surprising is Paul's inspired commentary in
classic Midrashic style, by inferring Christ descended before he ascended.
While this includes His incarnation by descending from heaven, giving up
equality with God, and becoming a man (Phil 2:6-9) the language includes
the death of Christ where he descended down into the Hadean world below the
earth. Paul's Midrashic inference that Ps 68 foresaw the death, burial,
resurrection and ascension of Christ can then be applied to Yahweh who
somehow had descended in 1446 BC before he ascended to the summit of Mt.
Sinai. We are not told how YHWH descended from heaven to below the earth,
then ascend Mt. Sinai. Following the entire pattern of Ps 68 and how it is
connected with all the other stories, Jehovah had been downranked to being
equal to the Egyptian gods, echoing the incarnation, God had descended
below the rank of the Egyptian gods to the lowest parts of the earth.
Pharaoh replied to Moses, "I do not know YHWH, nor will I listen to
him". Through the destruction of Egypt, the 10 plagues and the Red Sea
crossing at the Straits of Tiran, God defeated His enemies, then he
ascended triumphally to the summit of Mt. Sinai (Mt. Lawz). Jesus period of
being downranked to the lowest parts of the earth is echoed through God
himself at Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC, although he was the one true God and
creator. Likewise, anointed king David being hunted by Saul and almost
stoned by his fellow Hebrews at the time Saul had died and David was now
king. Likewise, anointed Jesus Christ, creator and Saviour who was
crucified on the cross. The pattern and theme in YHWH, David and Jesus in
Ps 68/Eph 4 starts with a "descending" below their rightful rank and
ends with an "ascending" to their rightful rank. Yahweh, God of gods,
was downranked below usurper idol gods. David, king of kings, was
downranked below other usurper kings. In this way, the downranking of God
the Father and King David was a messianic prophecy of the crucifixion and
burial of Christ when Jesus was downranked to hades for three days until
his resurrection.
a. "But to each one of us grace was given according to the
measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men." (Now this
expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had
descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself
also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all
things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as
evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the
saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to
the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:7-13)
b. "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood,
He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might
render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,"
(Hebrews 2:14)
c. ""The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim
release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free
those who are oppressed," (Luke 4:18)
d. ""Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and
carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he
will plunder his house." (Matthew 12:29)
e. "I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a
book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw
a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the
book and to break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or
under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began
to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look
into it; and one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the
Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as
to open the book and its seven seals." And I saw between the throne (with
the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent
out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand
of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living
creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one
holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of
the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the
book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with
Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. "You
have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign
upon the earth." Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels
around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number
of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a
loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and
riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." And every
created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and
on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on
the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion
forever and ever." And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen."
And the elders fell down and worshiped." (Revelation 5)
f. ""I kept looking in the night visions, And behold,
with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up
to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. "And to Him was
given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men
of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be
destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)
2. Future Exaltation of Christians at Second Coming: As
we have seen, Ps 68 follows no less than 6 storylines which are all sewn
together to create a common pattern of descension, humiliation, defeat of
enemies, ascension, glory, clouds and fire, give and receiving gifts.
Christians die exactly like Christ by bearing the cross daily (Lk 9:23; Gal
2:20). Through water baptism, Christians have been crucified with Christ
and are buried and risen to new life but and are currently in a state of
"descension" awaiting our future ascension with Christ and
glorification that will be revealed at the second coming (Rom 6:3-10). Now
Christians are subjected to futility as we await our adoption as sons of
God (Rom 8:18-25). Through Midrashic inference, we see that the third
messianic prophecy of Ps 68 is the ascension of Christians at the second
coming, rising to meet Jesus in the air with clouds as the angels bring
down flaming fire to destroy the enemies of Christians. (2 Thess 1:5-9; Rom
16:20; Rev 3:9) The translation of Christians from fleshly futility to
spiritual glory entering the heavenly temple of God in great pomp and
ceremony that includes a marriage feast. Christians inherit great wealth as
a free gift and reward. What is most striking is that since Christians are
the temple of God, after the second coming God will indwell Christians with
the same shekinah glory as seen at Mt. Sinai and Solomon's temple.
Christians as the body of Christ are one with God in heaven with Christ as
the head. God infills Christ and the church with his glory for all eternity
in heaven.
a. "And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to
come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow
Me." (Luke 9:23)
b. ""I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer
I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up
for me." (Galatians 2:20)
c. "Or do you not know that all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we
have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk
in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness
of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His
resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in
order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no
longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we
have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing
that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death
no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin
once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God." (Romans
6:3-10)
d. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of
the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,
but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also
will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the
glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans
and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this,
but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons,
the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that
is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope
for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." (Romans
8:18-25)
e. "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." (Romans 16:20)
f. "'Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of
Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-I will make them
come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you."
(Revelation 3:9)
g. "Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who
are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' " And he said to me,
"These are true words of God."" (Revelation 19:9)
h. "This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment
so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which
indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay
with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are
afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to
those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our
Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from
the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power," (2 Thessalonians
1:5-9)
i. "As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy;
and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have
borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell
you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal
must put on immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:48-53)
j. "in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is
growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built
together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:21-22)
k. "'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write
on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new
Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name."
(Revelation 3:12)
l. "I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the
Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." (Revelation 21:22)
m. "which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the
dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in
subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the
church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
(Ephesians 1:20-23)
Conclusion:
1. David wrote Psalm 68 in 1001 BC after he began
planning the Temple and had moved the Ark of the Covenant into the
Tabernacle of David in Jerusalem.
2. In Psalm 68 David echoes four historic events to lay
the groundwork for the messianic prophecy:
a. God ascending Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC.
b. The Ark of the Covenant leaving Sinai in 1445 BC.
c. Moses' defeat of Og, king of Bashan who ruled Mt.
Hermon.
d. David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem in 1001
BC
3. David made three prophecies, two of which were
messianic:
a. Prophecy: The procession of God entering the temple of
Solomon in 967 BC.
b. Messianic #1: The death burial, resurrection and ascension
of Christ in AD 33.
c. Messianic #2: Christians ascending in glory to heaven at
the second coming.
4. You need to be a Christian if you want to be one with
God and share His glory in heaven:
a. You must believe Jesus died and was raised the third day
and taken up to Glory: Mk 16:16
b. You must repent of your sins: Acts 2:38; 22:16
c. You must become evangelistic and confess Jesus before
men: Matthew 10:32-33; Acts 8:36-38
d. You must be immersed in water for the remission of your
sins to be born again and rise in new life: Jn 3:3-5; 1 Pet 3:21
By Steve Rudd 2020: Contact the author for comments, input or
corrections.
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