Bethshaya
October 25th, 2005, 06:22 PM
This was one of those things I came across that made me slap my forhead and go "Doh! I never knew that, it makes sense now!"
Many of us are familiar with the term kinsman redeemer.
Provision was made in the Law of Moses for the poor person who was forced to sell part of his property or himself into slavery. His nearest of kin could step in and "buy back" what his relative was forced to sell (Leviticus 25:48f). The kinsman redeemer was a rich benefactor, or person who frees the debtor by paying the ransom price. "If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold" (Leviticus 25:25; cf. Ruth 4:4, 6).
Lets take Jeremiah's case as a study...
One of Jeremiah’s scroll deeds was sealed to prevent anyone from changing its contents (Jeremiah 32:10-11). That gave the scroll the nature of irrefutable legal evidence that Jeremiah was the kinsman-redeemer who had the right to take tenant possession of the land because he had redeemed it through the payment of the redemption price. Gottfried Fitzer wrote that "The seal served as a legal protection and guarantee in many ways, especially in relation to property" ("sphragis," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. VII, p. 940). Parallel to this, the scroll deed of Revelation 5 is sealed with seven seals. That gave that deed the nature of irrefutable evidence that Christ is the Kinsman-Redeemer who has the right to take tenant possession of the earth because He has redeemed it through the payment of the redemption price, the shedding of His blood on the cross.
Jeremiah’s scroll deeds were placed in a secure place where they could be preserved for a long period of time, since he did not take actual possession of the land immediately after paying the redemption price (Jeremiah 32:13-15). Circumstances removed him far from the land for many years. In like manner, Christ’s scroll deed was placed in a secure place (God’s right hand in Heaven—Revelation 5:1, 7) for a long period of time, because He did not take actual possession of the earth immediately after paying the redemption price at the cross. He removed to a location far from the earth (Heaven—Acts 1:9-11) for many years.
Lets look at Revelation in terms of a sealed scroll and the kinsman redeemer:
Christ will return to the earth to take tenant possession at His Second Coming after the end of the 70th week of Daniel (the seven year Tribulation Period). By the end of that period Satan and his forces will have drawn the rulers and armies of the world into the land of Israel to fight against Christ (Psalm 2:1-3; Zechariah 12-14; Revelation 16:12-16; 19:11-21). This will be Satan’s ultimate challenge to Christ’s right to take tenant possession of the earth and to rule it.
This challenge will require Christ to provide irrefutable legal evidence of His right of tenant possession before he evicts the squatters and takes actual possession. His sealed scroll deed will be that evidence. At the beginning of the seven year Tribulation Period Christ will take that deed from God’s hand and begin to break its seven seals one-by-one. He thereby will instigate three series of judgments that will devastate significant areas of Satan’s earthly domain (Revelation 6-18) and demonstrate that He has the power necessary to evict Satan and his forces. As a result of having broken all seven seals during the Tribulation Period, Christ will have the scroll deed open by the time of His Second Coming. At that time He will read the contents of the scroll publicly as the conclusive legal evidence that He is the true Kinsman-Redeemer of mankind’s forfeited inheritance and, therefore, has the right to evict Satan and his forces and to take tenant possession of the earth (Psalm 2:7-9). After presenting this evidence Christ will fully exercise that right by ridding the earth of Satan and his forces and taking the rule of the earth as the last Adam (Revelation 19:19-20:6).
The sealed scroll of Revelation 5 is the deed of purchase for mankind’s tenant possession inheritance of the earth that was forfeited when mankind fell away from God. Just as scroll deeds of purchase were made when Jeremiah, as a kinsman-redeemer, paid the redemption price to redeem his cousin’s tenant possession of land (Jeremiah 32:6-12), so a scroll deed of purchase was made when Christ, as the Kinsman-Redeemer, paid the redemption price to redeem mankind’s tenant possession of the earth by shedding His blood on the cross. The present article will focus attention on other significant things related to the sealed scroll.
What do you all think?
Zola Levitt always says that the Old Testament always raises questions, and the answers are always in the back of the book.
Everything symbolic that is found in the OT, has a counterpart in the NT. None of the stories are just stories, they all have a meaning behind them for the past, and an equal meaning for the future.
Like in the OT God gives the festivals to the Jews to celebrate, those festivals have absolute meaning in the life of Christ. From Passover, to FirstFruits to the Feast of Trumpets. (The cost of sin passed us over and Jesus took our place, he rose from the dead as the "first fruit" and will come again at the blast of a trumpet) etc.
Many of us are familiar with the term kinsman redeemer.
Provision was made in the Law of Moses for the poor person who was forced to sell part of his property or himself into slavery. His nearest of kin could step in and "buy back" what his relative was forced to sell (Leviticus 25:48f). The kinsman redeemer was a rich benefactor, or person who frees the debtor by paying the ransom price. "If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold" (Leviticus 25:25; cf. Ruth 4:4, 6).
Lets take Jeremiah's case as a study...
One of Jeremiah’s scroll deeds was sealed to prevent anyone from changing its contents (Jeremiah 32:10-11). That gave the scroll the nature of irrefutable legal evidence that Jeremiah was the kinsman-redeemer who had the right to take tenant possession of the land because he had redeemed it through the payment of the redemption price. Gottfried Fitzer wrote that "The seal served as a legal protection and guarantee in many ways, especially in relation to property" ("sphragis," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. VII, p. 940). Parallel to this, the scroll deed of Revelation 5 is sealed with seven seals. That gave that deed the nature of irrefutable evidence that Christ is the Kinsman-Redeemer who has the right to take tenant possession of the earth because He has redeemed it through the payment of the redemption price, the shedding of His blood on the cross.
Jeremiah’s scroll deeds were placed in a secure place where they could be preserved for a long period of time, since he did not take actual possession of the land immediately after paying the redemption price (Jeremiah 32:13-15). Circumstances removed him far from the land for many years. In like manner, Christ’s scroll deed was placed in a secure place (God’s right hand in Heaven—Revelation 5:1, 7) for a long period of time, because He did not take actual possession of the earth immediately after paying the redemption price at the cross. He removed to a location far from the earth (Heaven—Acts 1:9-11) for many years.
Lets look at Revelation in terms of a sealed scroll and the kinsman redeemer:
Christ will return to the earth to take tenant possession at His Second Coming after the end of the 70th week of Daniel (the seven year Tribulation Period). By the end of that period Satan and his forces will have drawn the rulers and armies of the world into the land of Israel to fight against Christ (Psalm 2:1-3; Zechariah 12-14; Revelation 16:12-16; 19:11-21). This will be Satan’s ultimate challenge to Christ’s right to take tenant possession of the earth and to rule it.
This challenge will require Christ to provide irrefutable legal evidence of His right of tenant possession before he evicts the squatters and takes actual possession. His sealed scroll deed will be that evidence. At the beginning of the seven year Tribulation Period Christ will take that deed from God’s hand and begin to break its seven seals one-by-one. He thereby will instigate three series of judgments that will devastate significant areas of Satan’s earthly domain (Revelation 6-18) and demonstrate that He has the power necessary to evict Satan and his forces. As a result of having broken all seven seals during the Tribulation Period, Christ will have the scroll deed open by the time of His Second Coming. At that time He will read the contents of the scroll publicly as the conclusive legal evidence that He is the true Kinsman-Redeemer of mankind’s forfeited inheritance and, therefore, has the right to evict Satan and his forces and to take tenant possession of the earth (Psalm 2:7-9). After presenting this evidence Christ will fully exercise that right by ridding the earth of Satan and his forces and taking the rule of the earth as the last Adam (Revelation 19:19-20:6).
The sealed scroll of Revelation 5 is the deed of purchase for mankind’s tenant possession inheritance of the earth that was forfeited when mankind fell away from God. Just as scroll deeds of purchase were made when Jeremiah, as a kinsman-redeemer, paid the redemption price to redeem his cousin’s tenant possession of land (Jeremiah 32:6-12), so a scroll deed of purchase was made when Christ, as the Kinsman-Redeemer, paid the redemption price to redeem mankind’s tenant possession of the earth by shedding His blood on the cross. The present article will focus attention on other significant things related to the sealed scroll.
What do you all think?
Zola Levitt always says that the Old Testament always raises questions, and the answers are always in the back of the book.
Everything symbolic that is found in the OT, has a counterpart in the NT. None of the stories are just stories, they all have a meaning behind them for the past, and an equal meaning for the future.
Like in the OT God gives the festivals to the Jews to celebrate, those festivals have absolute meaning in the life of Christ. From Passover, to FirstFruits to the Feast of Trumpets. (The cost of sin passed us over and Jesus took our place, he rose from the dead as the "first fruit" and will come again at the blast of a trumpet) etc.