It was not uncommon for the appointed judge over Israel to also minister to the people on behalf of God. Such was the judge/prophet Samuel. When Samuel was getting on in years, 1 Samuel 8 says that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. There was one small problem with this: “his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (vs. 3). In verse 5 we learn that the elders of Israel come to Samuel and bluntly suggest, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
            Their request for a king was not the problem. Gen. 17:6 and Deut. 17:14-20 both foretold that having a king would be in Israel’s future. The problem was the last part of the request--a king to judge us like all the nations. The irony in this is that the sons do not judge in a godly way, yet neither do the surrounding nations! The crux of the matter is that the people didn’t want to be living object lessons of life under God. They didn’t want to be different; they wanted to be like everyone else around them.
            When Samuel informs God of this latest rebellious choice, God tells it like it is. “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.” In short, nothing new here—it’s the two trees in the Garden all over again. God’s people keep settling for what they think is good enough, rather than life under God’s kingdom. And as is so often the case, it brings about evil.
            God tells Samuel to go ahead and give the people what they want, but to be sure that he gives them a clear warning. “Let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” Furthermore, “when that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
            Sure enough, that is what happens. They had a handful of good kings, but remember, good is settling for less than God’s best. Not surprisingly, they had more bad kings. It started with Saul, which didn’t go so well. Just ask his successor, David, who was good, but certainly not stellar. The next was Solomon, who excelled with God’s wisdom. That is, until he got bored with that and went after worldly wisdom as well (probably through the encouragement of his foreign wives).
            From there on, things pretty much went sour. The kingdom split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. All but one of the kings of the north was bad, and the one was a mixture of both good and bad. The southern kingdom faired a bit better: they had four good kings and four kings who were both good and bad, but the remaining 12 were bad. Not surprisingly, God raised up prophets to speak on His behalf to the leaders and the people. The Israelites record for listening to the prophets was likewise spotty. Eventually, the northern kingdom was conquered and taken into captivity. The southern kingdom was also conquered a bit later.
            The prophet Hosea spoke of what would come in response to their disobedience. Yet there was a glimmer of hope in his call to repentance (Hosea 6:1-3). “Come, and let us return to the Lord;
for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.”
            The Chronos Lesson: At first glance, it would seem that Israel would be torn and stricken for two regular 24-hour days and then healed. But that doesn’t make sense, especially given the rest of the story recorded in Hosea. This is a clue that what Hosea is really talking about is God’s timetable of 1,000-year great Days. The two Days of being torn and stricken are the 2,000 years of the Jewish  “timeout,” when Jerusalem was overtaken, the Temple was destroyed, and the people scattered. For two Days the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles—what we call the Church Age. The 3rd Day of healing is yet to come; it is the 3rd Day when counting from Christ. It is when Christ returns for His Bride at the last Day.
            The prophet Jeremiah records a timely promise made to the House of David and to Israel (Jer. 23:5-6). “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
            The Branch, of course, is Jesus Christ, our righteousness. When He comes a second time, the remnant of Israel will not miss this visitation. When they see Him coming in the clouds at the rapture, our resurrection triggers their 3rd Day revival. They will be grafted into the Vine. The bottom line is this: why settle for a mere king when you can have the King of kings! As for the Davidic Kingdom, stay tuned.

            It was not uncommon for the appointed judge over Israel to also minister to the people on behalf of God. Such was the judge/prophet Samuel. When Samuel was getting on in years, 1 Samuel 8 says that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. There was one small problem with this: “his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (vs. 3). In verse 5 we learn that the elders of Israel come to Samuel and bluntly suggest, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
            Their request for a king was not the problem. Gen. 17:6 and Deut. 17:14-20 both foretold that having a king would be in Israel’s future. The problem was the last part of the request--a king to judge us like all the nations. The irony in this is that the sons do not judge in a godly way, yet neither do the surrounding nations! The crux of the matter is that the people didn’t want to be living object lessons of life under God. They didn’t want to be different; they wanted to be like everyone else around them.
            When Samuel informs God of this latest rebellious choice, God tells it like it is. “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.” In short, nothing new here—it’s the two trees in the Garden all over again. God’s people keep settling for what they think is good enough, rather than life under God’s kingdom. And as is so often the case, it brings about evil.
            God tells Samuel to go ahead and give the people what they want, but to be sure that he gives them a clear warning. “Let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” Furthermore, “when that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
            Sure enough, that is what happens. They had a handful of good kings, but remember, good is settling for less than God’s best. Not surprisingly, they had more bad kings. It started with Saul, which didn’t go so well. Just ask his successor, David, who was good, but certainly not stellar. The next was Solomon, who excelled with God’s wisdom. That is, until he got bored with that and went after worldly wisdom as well (probably through the encouragement of his foreign wives).
            From there on, things pretty much went sour. The kingdom split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. All but one of the kings of the north was bad, and the one was a mixture of both good and bad. The southern kingdom faired a bit better: they had four good kings and four kings who were both good and bad, but the remaining 12 were bad. Not surprisingly, God raised up prophets to speak on His behalf to the leaders and the people. The Israelites record for listening to the prophets was likewise spotty. Eventually, the northern kingdom was conquered and taken into captivity. The southern kingdom was also conquered a bit later.
            The prophet Hosea spoke of what would come in response to their disobedience. Yet there was a glimmer of hope in his call to repentance (Hosea 6:1-3). “Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.”
            The Chronos Lesson: At first glance, it would seem that Israel would be torn and stricken for two regular 24-hour days and then healed. But that doesn’t make sense, especially given the rest of the story recorded in Hosea. This is a clue that what Hosea is really talking about is God’s timetable of 1,000-year great Days. The two Days of being torn and stricken are the 2,000 years of the Jewish  “timeout,” when Jerusalem was overtaken, the Temple was destroyed, and the people scattered. For two Days the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles—what we call the Church Age. The 3rd Day of healing is yet to come; it is the 3rd Day when counting from Christ. It is when Christ returns for His Bride at the last Day.
            The prophet Jeremiah records a timely promise made to the House of David and to Israel (Jer. 13:14-16). “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
            The Branch, of course, is Jesus Christ, our righteousness. When He comes a second time, the remnant of Israel will not miss this visitation. When they see Him coming in the clouds at the rapture, our resurrection triggers their 3rd Day revival. They will be grafted into the Vine. The bottom line is this: why settle for a mere king when you can have the King of kings! As for the Davidic Kingdom, stay tuned.   

          During Paul’s missionary journeys, he ended up waiting for his companions to join him in Athens. Not one to sit around idly, we are told that “his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry” (Acts 17:16).
            He meanders into the Areopagus, the seat of the governing council of the city and the local hot spot for the philosophers of Athens. Noticing an altar to The Unknown God, Paul strides in to reveal the God’s identity. “Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.”  Paul then summarizes God’s great prophetic Week of redemption.
            “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
          Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a Day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:26-31).
            In short, Jesus’ first coming announces the end of the “times of ignorance being overlooked.” The good news of the Gospel informs the people that the way to be reconciled to God is now on the earth. It’s time to recognize God’s Anointed One—in Hebrew, the Messiah; in Greek, the Christ. Those who choose to follow Jesus Christ are commissioned to carry on His earthly ministry of making disciples and confirming the Word preached with signs and wonders following for two great Days. At our time now, the 2,000 years we call the Church Age is nearly over.
            The Chronos Lesson: As New Covenant believers, born into such a time as this, we shall be eyewitnesses to the rise of the Antichrist, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the initial invasion of Israel, and the final sign of celestial darkness that marks the end of the extended nature of the tribulation. Yes, the Church has been living in the great tribulation for all its existence.
            There is something in Paul’s bold sermon in the midst of the pagan darkness that is easily overlooked in our own time. God has determined preappointed times and boundaries for the nations, including the United States. No matter what the intentions of the founding fathers were, and no matter the intentions of the man-made political parties are, the Most High God has preappointed this nation’s boundaries, along with all the other nations of the world. To understand the significance of this, the primary indictment against the Antichrist is that he seeks to change the times and seasons, and the law (Daniel 7:25).
            Imperfect people cannot make America great again. Even though believers are washed in the blood of Jesus and thereby forgiven and made righteous, we are not yet perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. That comes at the appointed time of the rapture, as the 7th Day dawns. In the meantime, we are instructed to pray for all men first and foremost, and then for the leaders of our respective nations that we may live peaceably. But ultimately, God’s preappointed times—the chronos time—cannot be annulled.
            It can only be fulfilled at the appointed time. And that is the purpose of the rapture. It is when we finally experience the hope of our calling and the full redemption of our bodies and soul. We are raptured so that we can step into our next assignment as the immortal government of Heaven before the throne of God to rule over the earth justly and perfectly during the appointed Day, the Day of the Lord.
            To attempt to judge the nations and the Deceiver, and pull down his evil angelic entourage before that pre-determined time is foolishness. We must submit to God and His divine timetable, for only then will the counterfeit rebellion be squelched once and for all time.

        As God’s living object lesson to the people groups around them, the Israelites lived under a theocracy—a government with God as its highest authority, with delegated authority to His human representatives. Taking the land that God had given to the Israelites was likewise an object lesson. Each battleground required a unique battle strategy.
            Unfortunately, after Joshua’s death, instead of exhibiting God’s ways to the people groups around them, the Israelites compromised with them. They ignored God’s laws, allowing their sons to take foreign daughters as wives and giving their daughters to foreign husbands. The problem was that these people groups primarily worshiped the false god Baal. Baal was considered the most powerful of all gods—the sun god and the storm god who defeated enemies and produced crops. He was also the god of fertility. As such, Baal worship was sensual, involving ritualistic prostitution and child sacrifice.
            Of course, choices have consequences. So God removes His hand of protection, allowing the Mesopotamian king to oppress the Israelites for eight years. Ironically, the number eight in Scripture speaks of new beginnings. The Israelites were not off to a good start. Still, in His mercy, God raises up the first Judge to rule over His people. His name is Othniel, and he is Caleb’s nephew. You may remember Caleb as one of the two men of faith who had encouraged the Israelites to enter the Promised Land despite the giants.
            Othniel, whose name means lion, is of the tribe of Judah. Can you guess who he foreshadows? Othniel’s first task is to go to war against the oppressors and defeat the Mesopotamian king. Then he restores the people back to God. They live in peace for the rest of his reign.
            The Chronos Lesson: Acts 17:31 tells us that God “has appointed a Day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” The Man here is the Bridegroom (Jesus the Head) and His Bride (His Body) united together as One at the rapture. Notice that the Man is appointed to judge by virtue of having been raised from the dead: Christ on the 3rd day after the crucifixion and His Body on the 3rd Day, the dawn of the Day of the Lord.  
            The Greek word for judge here is krino (kree’-no). It means to distinguish, determine, decree and resolve. To resolve implies there is an issue at hand—in Israel’s case, it was their enemy’s oppression. When we are seated with Christ as the immortal heavenly court, our first task shall be to defeat the oppressor. That is, the Antichrist and his coalition of armies who have invaded Israel. This counterfeit leader seeks to establish his own kingdom and one-world order. Spoiler alert: he and his armies are crushed.
            We like to call the campaign Operation Consume & Destroy, based on Daniel 7:26. You may recognize it as the seven trumpet and bowl judgments. Scripture calls it the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14). It lasts for 3½ years, which fulfills the last half of Daniel’s 70th week prophecy.
            The fact that our first act is to go to battle may surprise many believers. It is because they don’t understand the nature of the last 1,000-year Day of Christ, often referred to as His millennial reign. It dawns with the rapture and the seating of the immortal court in Heaven. It begins with the Antichrist and his coalition of armies being crushed and Satan incarcerated in the Pit.
            We reign for the rest of the 1,000 years from above, with the earthly kingdom restored to Israel. They rule the nations as God’s earthly representatives. At the end of the Day, Satan is released one final time to give the people still on the earth one last chance to choose whom they will serve. Satan’s final rebellion is instantly crushed with a heavenly fireball, and he is banished to the Lake of Fire. Then comes the final white throne judgment, when Jesus delivers the kingdom of God to the Father, “when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, and all His enemies are under His feet”—even Death (1 Cor. 15:25-26).   

           Deuteronomy ends with Moses’ “swan song,” which we shall hear again in the Bible’s last book. After Moses’ death, God assigns the task of leading the Israelites into the Promise Land to Joshua. The book that bears his name is primarily a historical account of the various campaigns by which the Israelites defeated the ungodly tribes and took the land. It was divided among the twelve tribes. The book ends with Joshua’s death.        
            One particular campaign, the Battle of Jericho, is another Day Code example of God influencing the affairs of men to reveal the set time of the end. It is God who predetermined the time element that is so significant to the story. The number of days the siege would last was set in advance of the battle. They were not determined by the ebb and flow of the battle itself. The day of victory was identified as day number seven before the battle even began.
            This seven-day pattern is obviously very significant to God, as we saw in the prophetic shadow of Jesus’ transfiguration. According to the Law, every seventh day is a day of rest. Every seventh year is a year of rest for the land. There are seven Sabbath years of such rest (totaling forty-nine years) until the highest Sabbath of all, the 50th year—the year of Jubilee. [In case you’re wondering, the number 50 in the Bible symbolizes the empowering of the Holy Spirit.]
            Is this seventh day so important simply because God worked for six days and rested on the seventh? Did the Eternal One need to rest because He was exhausted? Of course not! The seven-day pattern is prophetically significant because it speaks of completion and perfection.
            Likewise, the strategy for taking the city did not come from men but from Heaven. The battle plan was devised to ensure that the walls would not fall until the 7th day of the siege. In a way, the battle isn’t even a battle. The people march once around the city for six days, along with the Ark of the Covenant, while the priests blow seven trumpets. On the 7th day they march 7 times around the city as the priests blow the trumpets. When the 7th trumpet sounds with a long blast, the people shout, and the walls of the city crumble. And they take the city.
            The Chronos Lesson: Why didn’t the Almighty God just knock down the walls of Jericho? That’s what our human minds would prefer. Amazingly, every battle for the Promised Land had a God-given, unique strategy for taking it. Why? It’s because our relationship with God is unique and personal. It’s all about relationship. It’s all about being in intimate communion with Him in order to get fresh marching orders for what lies ahead.
            The Hebrew name for Jesus is Yahshua, from which we get the English name of Joshua. In other words, the whole Jericho campaign has Jesus written all over it. It’s as if He is standing in the eternal light of God’s Word with His shadow looming over the battle.
            If you’re tired of all the injustice in this world; if you’ve had enough of all the greed, wickedness, and violence plaguing this planet; and if you long to see God’s original plan reinstated, then just keep marching—and get ready to shout in victory—for the seventh Day is nearly here! Soon the “kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ” (Rev. 11:15, NIV).
            Oh, by the way, the number of Jubilees also foreshadow Christ’s return. He will come again at the 70th Jubilee. That is why, when Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61 in announcing His earthly ministry, He stopped short of proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord (the Jubilee). That is what we shall hear as the 7th Day dawns, when He comes again with the sound of the trumpet and the shout from Heaven (1 Thess. 4:16).  

            The book of Leviticus provides the rest of the details of the ceremonial law, including the various sacrifices. The sacrifices symbolize the giving of one’s life to God and serve to highlight fallen mankind’s inability to walk in purity and holiness. The offerings provide a temporary fix or covering until the Seed comes forth.
            The ceremonial law also includes the commemorative feast days. Each feast corresponds to the seasonal harvests across the year. The spring feasts include Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost. The fall feasts include Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. Each prophetically points to Jesus’ work in the life of a believer.  The spring feasts were realized at Jesus’ first coming, through the crucifixion and resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit fifty days later. The fall feasts shall be realized at Jesus’ second coming. 
            The book of Numbers chronicles the rest of the journey to the border of the Promised Land. It is pretty much business as usual, including several rebellions accompanied by their inevitable consequences. The book takes its name from the census that was taken to determine the number of men of fighting age available for taking the land.
            As the Israelites near the Promise Land, God instructs Moses to send spies into the land to scope it out. One person is sent from each of the twelve tribes. Moses gives them the assignment: “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land” (Num. 13).
            To make a long story short, the land is indeed prosperous. The spies return with wonderful fruit.
Yet ten of the spies return convinced that they cannot take the land because it is also filled with giants, mighty men, and fortified cities. The hybrid contamination of the human race still lingers generations later.
            The ten men have not learned the lesson of the wilderness—God is with them and always provides when we walk in union with Him. The two remaining spies, Joshua and Caleb, rebuke their companions for their lack of faith. “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’ ”
            We next hear the familiar lament. “So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!’ ” Test failed.
            Joshua tries to turn the tide, but when the people decide to stone the leaders, “the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.” God calls out the people for their rebellious unbelief. Moses intercedes on their behalf. He doesn’t point to the people’s sins; he points to God’s faithfulness and His name among the nations. The surrounding nations have watched the Exodus and have seen the miracles. For His name’s sake, God does not rescind His call upon the people. However, the generation of doubters, including the ten unbelieving spies, is not allowed to enter the Promise Land. They all die off first. Except for Joshua and Caleb.
            The next book of the saga, Deuteronomy, is Moses’ final sermon to the people. He offers the Reader’s Digest Condensed version of the Exodus, reviewing their history and the Law. In fact, the book’s name means the second law, for it is the second reading of the laws to the people. It concludes with a simple choice.
            “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them” (Deut. 30:19-20).
            The Chronos Lesson: The consequence of choosing to follow God the Father is that we experience the blessings of life according to Heaven’s ways. The consequence of choosing to reject God is that we experience the curses of life apart from the Giver of life. It’s the two trees in the Garden all over again—to know life or to know evil.
            The choice couldn’t get any clearer. It’s not that God goes around cursing people. It’s that people choose to reject the way of life that God established in order to experience the best life. John 10:10 states this choice in terms of the New Covenant. “The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus Christ] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. That is, to know life in Christ or to know evil.
            It’s worth noting that the 10 spies who came back with a bad report said they saw the giants and “we were grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Num. 13:33). How on earth did they know the giants saw them like grasshoppers? Did these scouts go up to the giants and task hem what the big guys thought of these spies? No! They didn’t get that report from the giants. They got it from themselves. It’s how they thought about themselves and then presented it as fact.
            How do you see yourselves in relation to the “giants” of our own time? How you think determines what you experience (Prov. 23:7). And for the record, Joshua 2:9-11 tells us the whole truth: the giants actually were terrified of the Israelites because they had heart about the power of their God!
            When Christ comes again at the last Day to gather His Body at the rapture, we will experience the fullness of that life literally in our bodies. At the Feast of Trumpets, we shall be changed in an instant with glorified, immortal bodies. We shall be seated as the heavenly court to execute God’s vengeance against evil.
            Sadly, even in the face of the earth-shacking trumpet and bowl judgments, those who choose to follow evil still do not relent. They refuse to repent. They continue their evil ways. It’s the epitome of lawlessness. It cannot be allowed to continue. Those who would destroy the earth must be destroyed first (Rev. 11:18).

            The rest of the book of Exodus describes in detail the portable Tent of Meeting in which God’s presence would come down to His representatives. We know this Tent as the Tabernacle. As for his representatives, God established the priesthood. The Ark of the Testimony (the Ark of the Covenant), upon which was the mercy seat, would contain a new set of tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod—all foreshadows of God’s faithful Word. A pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night would lead the Israelites throughout the remainder of their journey.
            The Chronos Lesson: It’s important to understand that the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the “hard copy” of the Temple in Jerusalem, both represent the Person and work of Christ. Hebrews 9:23-24 tells us that such earthly things are merely representative copies of the things in Heaven. So when Jesus ascended to Heaven in order to secure our eternal redemption, He did not enter an actual temple in Heaven, but the presence of God. “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 9:24).
            That means that the Holy of Holies in the earthly Temple, wherein we find the Ark of the Covenant and the Cherubim covering the Mercy Seat, merely represents the throne of God in Heaven. That is where He dwells. It is the secret place of His presence. The heavenly Jerusalem does not require a physical temple, for He is the Temple!
            With this in mind, we can understand how the earthly things connected to Israel relate to the kingdom of Heaven. The Promised Land, together with it hills and mountains, foreshadow the heavenly paradise of Heaven. The earthly Mt. Zion, upon which the present-day city of Jerusalem sits, symbolizes the Mountain of God, the heavenly Mt. Zion, upon which the heavenly Jerusalem sits. This is the “City set on a hill that cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14). In terms of the symbolism portrayed by the Great Pyramid of Giza, this heavenly City is the Capstone that will descend from Heaven at the end of the Days.
            Since the focal point of the earthly Jerusalem was the Temple (or house of God), located on the Temple Mount, perhaps now you can see why, when John saw the holy City coming down from Heaven, that he heard a loud voice saying, “Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev. 21:2-3).
           Perhaps now you can also understand why Zechariah prophesied, “And He shall bring forth the Capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it.’” (Zech. 4:7). The descending capstone represents the heavenly Jerusalem. The City is also called the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. The heavenly “City” is being brought forth with shouts of grace, for every time a new “stone” is added to its “living Temple,” that stone is being fitted (saved) by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8).
            We can now understand the greater mystery contained in Isaiah’s prophecy: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter Days that the Mountain [kingdom] of the Lord’s House [the ruling household of the firstborn] shall be exalted above the hills [the kingdoms of this world]. And all nations shall flow to it” (Is. 2:2).  
            This explains why the sacred symbolism of a capstone hovering above the unfinished pyramid on our dollar bill is only half of the picture. The symbol is not complete without the corresponding image of an eagle, representing those who will overcome death through resurrection in order to rule with Christ. Like the mythical Phoenix, we will rise from the ashes with new life to reign with Him. “For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:3-4). More on this symbolism to come.

          The Bible refers to the chronos plan of redemption that we are highlighting as the “mystery of His will” (Eph. 1:9). The Greek word for mystery is musterion. In the New Testament it means that which is known to the initiated; that which is outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension; that which can be made known only by Divine revelation, and which is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God.
            Let’s put that in plain English: (1) It takes the Spirit of God to reveal it; (2) it takes a seeking heart to receive it; and (3) it must be the right time to see it. In other words, we cannot figure out this mystery on our own. It requires spiritual revelation from above. The mystery does not refer to God Himself, but to the plan placed throughout God’s Word. Specifically, it relates to God’s plans and purposes as they pertain to the human race. 
            As we’ve seen, mountains play a prominent role in the plan, particularly as God relates to His people. We previously saw what happened to the counterfeit “mountain” or temple tower in Babel. Isaiah 19:19-20 describes a pillar and altar to the Lord built by the people of Shem (Noah’s godly son). We know it today as the Great Pyramid.  “In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.”
            We see it again in a prominent prophecy recorded in Isaiah 2:2 (emphasis added). “Now it shall come to pass in the latter Days that the Mountain of the Lord’s House shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.” In the Day of the Lord (the 7th Day), the Mountain of the Lord’s House will be established on the top of other mountains.
            One such mountain abode shall be established by the revived Jewish remnant during Christ’s millennial reign. All the nations shall flow to it. More on that later. The prophet Daniel tells us about a Stone Mountain that shall crush the Gentile empires that seek to destroy the Jews. More on that later.
            A prophecy from Zechariah 4:7 declares. “Who are you, O Great Mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And He shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it.’ ” The fact that the formation of this mysterious capstone would require shouts of grace in order to complete it speaks to us in these last Days, during the New Covenant of grace.
            Yet another mountain shall appear at the end of the Days. The heavenly Mt. Zion and heavenly New Jerusalem shall descend to the new earth when God merges His Heaven with the new earth. More on that later, too.
            The Chronos Lesson: We will not understand our place at such a time as this, let alone mankind’s place in the cosmos, unless we comprehend this mystery of God’s will or divine agenda. This is the purpose of this series. It’s time to make it known.
            “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” (Rom. 16:25-27)