The Covenant Promise Series 2001
Part 3 |
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The Plan that Fails By Ed Corley PSALM 2 GIVES US A BRIEF OUTLINE FOR THE BOOK OF REVELATION. In both the Psalm and the Revelation we see rage, or anger, among the nations when Christ takes His Throne. We also see the triumph that goes to Him as Gods only begotten Son. While some seem to suppose His inheritanceand ourslies entirely in the heavens, it becomes clear He is to inherit the nations and settle them under the rule of Gods Kingdom on earth. Indeed, this has been the petition of saints for two millennia! Christ Jesus Himself taught us to pray: Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. In Part II of the Covenant
Promise, we saw seven of twelve statements in Revelation concerning the
nationsapparently all the nations of the earth. Before proceeding
with Psalm 2, we will go on with the Revelation statements. We
see them in relation to the Covenant Promise of the Psalm. The
Promise is this: I shall give Thee the heathen ("the nations")
for Thine inheritance... Ps 2:8a. In Revelation we find
the unfolding of the events surrounding Christ and His saintsas He takes His power and reigns over His inheritance.
· Rev. 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made ALL NATIONS drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. · Rev 18:3 For ALL NATIONS have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. · Rev 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were ALL NATIONS deceived.
BUT LETS MOVE BACK TOWARD OUR PSALM 2, that powerful and compelling unveiling of the Covenant Promise God made His begotten Son. So muchoh, so muchof the closing out of the age evolves out of its revelation! Let us not forget that the prophetic Word of this Psalm holds more sway over the consummation of this age than all the resolutions of manthe good and the evil combined. As we study the Psalm, we make our move toward knowing the Covenant God made with David. In it we will find the divine seed of the Promise that guides and settles the Government that will prevail in the ages to come. There are some words in Ps 2:1 that still need our attention. Look againWhy do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The word translated rage is interesting. It means "to assemble as a noisy, excited throng." It could describe a meeting that will convene in the United Nations General Assembly. In the Psalm there comes together a disturbed people making demands with violent sounds of protest. Not so much yet in the U.N., but on many world fronts this has already been a sight familiar in this present generation. The rage of Ps 2 is in line with the anger we see in Rev 11:15-18. After the Lord has taken His great power and has reigned, the nations are angry. This word angry (Rev 11:18) is from the Greek orgízo. It describes an indignation rising from an irritation deep in the soul. Usually the emotion of it is violent. It comes as the eruption of deep-seated resentment and fear, like that of a caged animal having a chance at the hand of the one who captured it. This is the kind of resentment behind the rage of Ps 2:1. Never yet has any world crisis reached the proportion described in Ps 2 and Rev 11. It comes when world leaders discover Gods Kingdom is coming in the earth. The restraint on evil issuing from this Kingdom binds the work of secular governments harboring corruption. Therefore, the leaders confront the Government of Christ. They try to withstand God Himself. A hopeless endeavor! Rage among the nations, although already underway in many places, has yet to reach the measure of which Jesus spoke when He said, . . .and ye shall be hated of ALL nations for My Names sake (Mt 24:9). It is becoming apparent this will come about in response to the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The foreshadowing of this hatred is upon us already. It will increase to an incredible degree before Christ makes His Parousía In preparation for this time of hatred, the Holy Spirit is moving upon people who will hear and respond. This is a guiding purpose in the publication of these monthly Maschils. AS WE CONSIDER SCRIPTURE AFTER SCRIPTURE, we find that this angry eruption among the nations comes primarily against the saints. In large measure, this is because they are the ones proclaiming the Kingdom. And, they are the ones who know the secrets of the Kingdom. Even people confined to their beds, or in their cells, can function in the Kingdom if they know these secrets. (Hey! Were just talking about Ephesians Truth!) With skilled prophetic insight related to the same Promise of Ps 2, David has given us detailed information in Ps 9 and Ps 10 regarding the aggression and demise of an oppressor he called the wicked (one). David saw his tyranny coming against a people that in Ps 37:11 he called the meek. Amazingly, they are the ones who will inherit the earth. Daniel, the "Dean" of Old Testament Prophets for the end-time, gave four prophetic visions that add to our understanding of the turbulent and angry time that will unfold near the end. In each vision, sometimes by the use of prophetic symbolism, he described the activities of a certain angry contender for Gods earthly Kingdom who releases his rage on the saints. This is the anti-Christ. He draws many people with him who take on his nature and embrace his cause to oppose Gods rule. Note the terms by which Daniel calls him in these passages. · In Dan 7:21-27 he is a little horn. · In Dan 8:23-25 he is a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences. · In Dan 9:26,26 he is the prince that shall come. · In Dan 11:21-45 he is a vile person. This one Daniel described in his four visions is the instigator in the rebellion described in Ps 2, and of the hatred about which Jesus wamed. But, when we read on in each of the prophetic passages, we find this opposer of Christ comes to an abrupt end. Take careful note of these defining statements.
Paul gave a graphic and precise account of anti-Christs overthrow in II Thes 2, one of the most vital chapters for our understanding of this impending day. See this: And then shall that Wicked (one) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His Coming (His Parousía)verse 8. IN DAN 7:21-27 WE SEE TWO STEPS in Anti-Christ's final plan to
pull off his angry coup against Christ.
The Decree the evil one plans to alter is that Statement from Gods eternal Throne assigning the Government of the Nations to the Son He has begotten and anointed. Only to One did God ever say, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possessionPs 2:7b, 8. LETS COME BACK and see the opening of Psalm 2 again. Take note of the question that arose in the mind of David, the Prophet with whom God had made His greatest Covenant. He asked, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? "What is the reasoning behind this hopeless wrangling and struggle I see out among the nations?" He saw how the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break Their bands asunder, and cast away Their cords from us. "The earths rulers have taken their stations in an assembly. The leaders among them have come together in their own private conclave to set themselves against the Lord and the One He has anointed to rule. I can even hear their words. They are saying, Let us break off the restraints they have placed on us. Let us have done with the restrictions that come from them." How vain the plan of the earthly rulers! They withstand God Himself. There is no government that can prevail but the Kingdom of Christ and of God. IN THE NEXT ARTICLE we will see the response from the heavens. For
the present, let us make certainin this time of grace whose
is the government that rules in our lives personally. © Berean Ministries Continue Now to Chapter Four of: The Covenant Promise IV
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