The Biblical Foundations for Business as Ministry (Kings and Priest)
by Holbert Marie
In Matt 5:13-16, a core SFI scripture, Jesus tells us that we are called to be salt and light. However it is clear that in this particular passage the Lord’s emphasis is on salt. The reason for this is because we, God’s people, are called to be the ‘salt of the earth’, his physical, tangible representation. Jesus never claims to be the salt of the earth but he does, in John 8:12, call himself the ‘light of the world’. Simply put, we are the salt and we are to let Jesus — the light shine’– through us via the Holy Spirit, without shame or fear.
Notice first that the salt is mentioned, then the light. Salt is a very natural, tangible and earthy substance. 1 Cor. 15:46 tells us ‘the natural comes first‘, the salt and ‘then the spiritual‘, the light. SFI equates salt with the natural or physical world “Kings”– earthly authority and the light with the spiritual or super natural world “Priest” — spiritual authority. In Rev 1:6 and 5:10 we, the saints, are called “Kings and Priest unto our God.” When John says this he is not speaking to a class of professional, vocational ‘priest’, nor is he speaking to human based royalty or the elite rich. Jesus did not call one professional or trained ‘priest’ to be part of his ‘apostolic priestly team’. In fact Jesus specifically gives thanks to His Father for revealing the truth of the Kingdom to “babes” — (uneducated, untrained, simple men Acts 4:13) — after the return of the seventy. Jesus spoke this to His Father: Luke 10:1-21 “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes….”. We, the entirety of the saints of Christ, not just an elite class of ‘titled’ priest or rich, are called “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9) which is a compilation of both Kings – (royality) and Priest – (the Lord’s ministers, those called to be Apostles, Pastors, etc who are ministers of the Word). Peter is speaking to the believers in general and Peter was one of those ‘babes’ Jesus was giving thanks to His Father for!
Even then, we clearly believe the Lord has called and gifted some to be vocational, ‘full time’ priest – to be apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers according to Ephesians 4:11-16 — . We see in Acts 6 that the 12 were specifically called to the ministry of the word and to prayer, that was their primary vocation. We see that David added those who are skilled in worship and intercession, “Asaph” to the ‘vocational priesthood”. Likewise we also believe that there are those who are called to be primarily ‘kings’ — professionals, public servants, vocational, skilled craftsmen, business people — who had secular ‘salty’ skills that makes them relevant and useful for the Kingdom.
If I am stranded on a desert road out in the middle of nowhere with a broken down vehicle, I would much rather have a skilled mechanic with the tools and parts come to me and help me when facing a potentially life threatening situation then I would have the most eloquent and anointed of preacher/teachers showing up and preaching the gospel to me while offering no practical assistance (salt)! In fact, if a skilled mechanic comes and fixes my car and does this in the name of the Lord and as an act of kindness without taking advantage of me monetarily, I am going to be grateful and much more open to hearing the gospel he preaches even if not as eloquent or knowledgeable as the ‘professional’ priest!
The reality is that all authority and ‘every good or perfect gift’ whether Spiritual or Natural comes from God the Father (James 1:17) and it is our job to train and prepare diligently for ‘the good works that the Lord has prepared for us’ (Eph 2:10) no matter whether you are called to be a teacher of the word, or other ‘priestly’ calling, or whether you are to be a mechanic, merchant, engineer or government leader. Jesus told Pontius Pilate, when Pilate claimed authority to release or crucify him, that he had no authority unless it had been given to him from above, John 19:11. So all ‘authority’ both secular and spiritual comes from above! From its inception, SFI was founded on the idea that the Lord does not favor the call of the vocational ‘Priest’, over those called to be ‘Kings’. Those called into secular jobs are NOT second class citizens in the eyes of the Lord. The key is hearing the Lord (Luke 6:47-48) and being called to do what He has designated you for. If God wants you to be a lawyer for His purposes and you instead opt to ‘forsake this’ to go to seminary to become a vocational pastor or minster, then you have missed your call!
The truth is the Scripture clearly indicates that the priestly call, — those who minister ‘full time’, vocational (only job and means of monetary support) to the Lord and offer up the sacrifices (Instruction of the word, shepherding the flock, worship, prayer and intercession in the Ephesian 4:11 ‘offices) — is for the few and today it may not be a life time call. We see Paul, set aside full time ministry to work with his hands for a season (Acts 18:1-3). All ‘priest’ should be humble servants, Jesus calls them slaves to all, not ruling over or using the flock for their own personal advantage or fame (Mark 10:42-44), (1 Pet 5:2-4). In the New Testament anyone from any tribe, even the gentiles were able to be any of the five fold Ephesians 4, priestly offices. Conversely, the ‘priest’ of the Old testament, came from one designated tribe out of twelve, the Levites, they were set apart to minister to the Lord from birth, and it was the only unnumbered tribe for males eligible for war, (age 20) (Num 1:47)– and only the males from a certain age, 25 to 50, served as priest (Numbers 8:24-26 —David later, lowered the age to 20 to match those eligible for military service — 1 Chr 23:27).
In any case, there is not a large number of ‘vocational priest’ when you consider the total population of an estimated 2 million plus. Furthermore, during that era priest did not go to war, however, the duties of the old testament priest was quite physically demanding, it was hard work and often long hours, thus the retirement at age 50. On top of this they had no inheritance and were not to engage in other enterprises to make money, they were to have a singular focus, being priest! They were to live entirely on a percentage of the tithe, offerings and sacrifices. AND THIS WAS CONSIDERED A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO MINISTER TO THE LORD! — That the Levites eventually abandoned, and the priesthood in general became corrupt to point that the Lord abandoned them, heavily rebuking them in Matt 23! — I have a feeling we would not have as many seeking to enter into this ‘vocation’ today if the job description and compensation package was the same now as it was then! The Priest of the old covenant also ministered before the Lord under great fear. If he erred or offended the “Most High God” and did not follow the strict protocols. with a proper attitude, he could die (Lev 10:1-3)! Yet, for those who loved and honored the Lord there is no greater joy and privilege then be called to be one of the Lord’s priest as a life time vocational calling.
Yet, the full time, vocational priest of today should minister under that same fear of the Lord, knowing that the Lord’s greatest rebukes and most fiery indignation are against the official titled and positioned priest who either elevates himself above everyone else (3 John 9, 10), and takes on an honorific title ‘Rabbi’, Pastor, Teacher, Father’ which is reserved only for the Lord (Matt 23:6-12) or abuses and uses the flock (Ez 34), who Jesus called hypocrites, white washed tombs, son’s of the devil, etc! These are ones who require from others what they themselves will not do (Matt 23:4)! There are also those who do not properly handle the tithes and offerings, making themselves rich, especially while neglecting the poor, widow, orphan and down trodden, (who the tithe was also for Deut 14:27-29), while selling the word of God for financial profit and fame (2 Cor 2:17, Luke 19:46, Phil 1:15,16). These are those who offer less then one’s best in service to the Lord or does so grudgingly without Godly reverence or fear, treating Him as a common thing. (Mal 1:6 – 2:9, Heb 10:29) forgetting that ,“It is a fearful thing to full into the hands of the Living God”.
In any case, James specifically tells us that there should not be many who are teachers of the word, as there is definitely a stricter judgement on those who have this call or claim to have this call! (James 3:1). Jesus and the apostles redundantly warn us that there will be false shepherds- ‘hirelings‘, (John 10:11-13) false prophets (Matt 7:15, 24:11), false apostles (2 Cor 11:13), false teachers (2 Pet 2:1) and ‘evangelist’ who preach the gospel for fame and gain (Phil 1:15,16) and that imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Tim 3:13), especially as we approach ‘the day of the Lord’, which is a day of reckoning and gloom for those who have forsaken the Son (Psalm 2), (2 Peter 3:18-20) and especially for the false ministers who have used, abuse, profited from and deceived the flock and not done the Lords commands to ‘feed my sheep’ (John 21:17) and …
… “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” (1 Peter 5:2-4, Acts 20:28)
So one should be sure and careful of the motivation behind the calling to pursue full time vocational ministry! In the New Testament one can be both a mechanic who also operates in some priestly fashion. In fact what we see redundantly in scripture is, Joseph, Job, Daniel, David, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, the majority of the apostles, were all spiritually significant men in scripture who had ‘salty’ backgrounds or held secular vocations or positions. In fact, David’s calling as King of Israel was related to his diligence and care as a shepherd, (a lowly job) over the sheep that were under his charge. If David was willing to put his life on the line for sheep then he would surely put his life on the line for his people.
Jesus says in Luke 16:10-12, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” Thus they were first found faithful with salt, then were entrusted with the light! Though it is clear that the ‘true riches’ are spiritual in nature, it is also clear that the way one manages the temporal or salty (talents, both money and abilities) side of things is highly important and we will incur judgment for our management of them (Matt 25:14-30) To whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48). We must also remember ‘the love of money or mammon is the root of all sorts of evil’ (1 Tim 6:6-10). And it is ‘the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world’, that strangles one out and keeps one from bearing any fruit that will be treasure in heaven (Matt 13:22).
The making of a true steward of God, ‘king’, is no joke. This love of money, ‘pride of life’ – (1 John 2:16) – and comforts – “lust” – of the flesh has to be entirely broken before one can be truly a ‘king’ under the King! (Read “A Tale of Two Kings” – https://www.surefoundint.org/2018/01/21/a-tale-of-two-kings/ ). We do see some continue in their ‘kingly’ ‘natural or secular, roles while also, from time to time, executing a ‘priestly’ or prophetic, pastoral or apostolic office of some sort, like Daniel. Paul particularly wanted to model the idea of doing vocational work, working with one’s own hands, and ministry at varying times, which we see him do so as to provide for himself and those with him; to set an example and to not be a burden (2 Thes 3:7-9) and as not to be one seen as ‘preaching the gospel’ for monetary or selfish gain as many did, both back then and now as well. (Phil 1:15, 16)
God used natural leadership or practical skills or vocations to put Godly men in positions of influence and authority. In fact Jesus called a gentile, a hated Roman soldier, not a priestly position, as one who had “greater faith then anyone in all of Israel” and it wasn’t just because he believed that Jesus could heal his servant. It was because he knew his position and he did his job. This soldier was the chief Centurion of Capernaum. He was a hated Roman yet he sent a messenger to the Jewish elders and asked for a miracle on behalf of his servant! How could he do that? Well, he had ‘built the Jews their synagogue and loved their nation.’ He did not oppress the people. Jesus did much of his ministry in Capernaum, the Lord’s base of operations for much of His time in ministry, without interference from either the Jews or Roman government simply because this man led the garrison there! (Luke 7:1-10) What we see in this story about this soldier “who had the greatest faith” – (even from those who were trained and brought up in the word of God)‘ – is a perfect example of the collaboration between “Kings and Priest” that we at SFI endeavor to facilitate. The soldier protects and provides natural things for God’s people and when he had a spiritual need, the healing of a servant, he went through the priest to get to Jesus who is the real “High Priest” and also the “King of kings”. The priest provided the supernatural things, the Word of God, and the gospel of salvation which is spiritual in nature. That is collaboration and it is a cross cultural collaboration between Jews and Gentiles as well as Kings and Priest! Of course our Lord Jesus Christ is truly the only one who is truly worthy of being our King of Kings and our true and only High Priest, it was well earned! (Phil 2:5-11)
Daniel was not known as a prophet before he was established as a gifted administrator, a secular role that he served in through out his life. Joseph’s prophetic gifts may have opened the door to Pharaoh, but it was his administrative and logistical abilities that put him at his right hand and gave him authority! In fact there are very few men of God in scripture mentioned that did not have some sort of secular or temporal skills, including Moses, Paul, who made tents, and more then likely the Lord Jesus himself who did not begin his Priestly ministry until He was in His thirties! The majority if not all the 12 apostles were called out of some sort of secular business background most being fishermen. What scripture shows us is the vast majority of the Ephesians 4:11 priestly gifts were called out of a secular, salty, vocational backgrounds. Yet we do have those that have been called to priestly ministry without any mention of secular training or back ground: Samuel, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, John the Baptist, are example of ones that have been called into the priestly ministry – all prophets- are few that fit into this category, with no mention of any secular skills or vocations. However, such men are the vast minority and so it should be today! In our opinion there are far too many ‘prophets’ running around who are actually either unskilled or too lazy to work. Scripture warns us repeatedly in the last days there would be many of these that would come with flattering tongue and seduce the gullible. (2 Tim 3:6) and, as mentioned before, seeking to profit from the word of God (2 Cor 2:17).
Unfortunately, many of us grew up under the teaching that if you really wanted to serve God you should forgo or even despise any secular education or vocation and devote oneself entirely to becoming a full time minister or a pastor on a church staff of some kind. This is a bit of misinterpretation of Luke 14:25-35. Though we are never supposed to love anyone or any temporal thing more then God, this does not mean that we were to detach ourselves from being physical human beings. This is where gnostism crept in. Many from the seventies revivals left jobs and vocations to get theological degrees, (or went out and camped in in spartan existence to await the Lord’s return, making fools out of anyone who claimed the name of Jesus), that left them not only without a way to support themselves but also created severe competition for the few real openings that existed on church staffs!
This has created a great division in the body and has left a large portion of the church impoverished, irrelevant or even worse, corrupt like the Pharisees and Sadducee’s; the vocational priest, of Jesus day! No where does Scripture separate the callings of kings and priest, salt and light, to be independent of each other! This idea of the absolute separation of church and state is demonic and also denies and flies in the face of the real US history! In fact the opposite is true and clearly so. We have a number of clear biblical examples were the kings and priest collaborate with each other. In fact the very first mention of an individual being specifically filled with the Holy Spirit is not a priest or a prophet, but a craftsmen, a ‘man of salt‘ named Bezalel. Who is Bezalel you may ask? He was the one who took the plans that God gave Moses for the making of the tabernacle and IMPLEMENTED THEM.
Ex 31:1-5
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.
(Interesting note: Moses and His brother Aaron (because Moses refused to be God’s mouth piece) was the first Levite priest. Moses of course was not a priest form birth, in fact he was raised in the house of Pharaoh, he was highly educated and was taught their ways. Basically Moses was initially a trained building construction engineer. God took him from that to being a lowly shepherd for 40 years– (the same as David, there is something about being a shepherd of obstinate sheep that prepares one to lead the flock of God).– The point being Moses had the training, acumen and back ground in design and building and was able to understand and also write the ‘blue prints’ for the tabernacle that the Lord revealed to him!)
This is actually a common theme, in scripture, three physical temples/tabernacles were built and all three times it was done with priest and kings collaborating together in their respective gifts and calls. This is clearly evident in the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel, where we see Zechariah prophecies over Joshua the high priest in chapter 3 and then over Zerubbabel in chapter 4, the governor or king. These two chapters are so critically clear concerning this collaboration between priest and king concerning the building and establishing of the ‘house of the Lord’ that we will quote them here entirely.
Zech 3 and 4
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head. ”So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by. 6 Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here. 8 ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, (the other priest) they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. 9 For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Chapter 4 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. 7 ‘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!”‘” 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” 11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees — at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” 13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
Let’s point out a few things from these two chapters. It is clear that the entirety of chapter 3 is about the High Priest, Joshua and chap 4, except verses 12-14 is specifically for the ‘King’, Zerubbabel — (Zerubbabel would have been King if Judea had not been taken captive, Zerubbabel is the ‘signet ring’ – Hag 2:23 –. meaning that the lines of both Mary and Joseph trace back and rejoin at Zerubabbel and then go back and rejoin at David. Matt 1:12 and Luke 3:27) — In 3:7 Joshua is told this, ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command you will judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts.’ What we have here is a laying out of priestly authority. They are judges in God’s house and have dominion over the courts of the Lord. This is spiritual authority. Priest by nature and calling dwell on Spiritual things the ministry of the word, the teaching of doctrine and prayer (Acts 6:2-4) and they lay the stone, the cornerstone the Word, Jesus Christ, this is not a literal stone in front of Joshua in 3:9. Just like Moses received the revelation of the house and courts of the Lord. Priest who are truly called by the Lord into ministry do not have much value for temporal things. Wise priest turnover temporal or secular based issues to ‘Kings’ who are anointed and called to such things. This is what we see the apostles do in Acts 6 when they turned over the administration and distribution of the churches funds to the widows and needy, the end result of that action was a collaboration between kings and priest, that culminated in this: “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” Acts 6:7.
This is what we see Moses told to do by the Lord, when he gives the constructing of the temple over to Bezalel and other naturally gifted, called, chosen and anointed men to DO the building. Zerubbabel and Kings are by nature and calling builders, doers and ‘implementers’ in the natural physical world. IT IS THEIR CALLING. We see Zerubbabel with a plumb line in his hand (4:10) and he lays the foundation for the stone that is “in front of Joshua” (4:9) which is symbolic of Christ. He also gets to finish the physical building of the temple by putting the capstone or last brick on it (4:7). It is not a secondary calling it is His specific calling, if he disobeyed it and sought to be a ‘priest’ he would be in rebellion to the Lord. The Lord has ordained and called for this collaboration between kings and priest. In fact ‘Kings and Priest‘ is one application/interpretation of the ‘two witnesses’ mentioned in Rev 11:1-5.–
Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
The apostle John in verse 4 is making a direct reference to Zechariah’s vision from Zech 4:14
10 For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” 11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees — at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.“
Zerubbabel has a plumb line, John sees a measuring rod, John’s reference to Zech 4 is undeniable. The only discernible difference is that John sees two olive trees and two lampstands, where Zechariah sees two olive trees besides one lampstand**. Basically, the two witnesses in John are the Kings (Zerubbabel) and Priest (Joshua) referred to by Zechariah and confirmed redundantly through out scripture where priest and kings collaborated in the restoration of the temple and also Ezra, a priest and Nehemiah, a king (governor) collaborated together in the restoration of the city and walls of Jerusalem. So what we have is both the temple and city is built on the rock of Kings and Priest each one performing their calling. It is also John in Rev 1:6 and also in 5:10 that calls us “Kings and Priests unto our God” and in 5:10 he prophesies that the Kings and Priest will reign on the earth. (Sounds like the authority of the two witnesses, or ‘anointed ones’ doesn’t it?)
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[** It is also believed by many that the second lampstand that John sees in Rev 11 is the New Covenant people (Gentile Church) that have entered the Kingdom and have also become the ‘people’ — temple– of God, after the cross and resurrection, John is clearly a prophet to the Gentiles in Revelation. This is the Ecclesiastical (Gentile/church) age, not the Jewish age which ended in 70 Ad with the destruction of the temple, which was a virtual “Non Event” to the Christians, who had to the most part vacated Jerusalem well before 70 Ad. —
(According to Eusebius the Christian community had left Jerusalem and to the most part left for Petra around 66 Ad. Jewish historian Josephus also notes a mass exodus from Jerusalem some 4 years before the fall, but does not differentiate between Jews and Christians. It is also well known that for several years before the fall (66 AD), that Jerusalem was under Jewish zealot control, who even fought among themselves for dominance and were blood thirsty rogues, these were no allies to the Christians and in fact would and did kill them with impunity, more than the Romans had up to that time! Add to fact that Peter (who we know is in Rome and is martyred there well before 70 AD) and virtually all of the apostles, (except James, the half brother of Christ) had left Jerusalem and left years before 70 Ad. We should also note James was martyred, according to Josephus, by the Jews in 62 AD, So, there is absolutely no legitimate reason for the fall of Jerusalem and the culmination of the final end of the Jewish age, to be of any real significance to the Christian community or in Revelation and yes even Matt 24!).
The reality is the destruction of Jerusalem was just the fulfillment of what Jesus had prophesied in Matt 23 and partially in 24:1-3, stating that “no stone of the temple would be left upon another” with Micah 3:12 clearly stating:
Therefore because of you
Zion (the temple mount) shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
NKJV
Josephus, who was there, said that the destruction of the temple was so thorough that it was not possible to even know a structure had even been there! — (So are the Jews of today worshipping at the western wall of the Roman garrison for the 10th Roman legend quartered at Fortress Antonio? Probably so, why is there no historical reference of Fort Antonio when it was not the Romans who were conquered and we know they housed an entire legion in Jerusalem from around 40AD, and that a 9 acre rectangular square — the size of parcel of land on the Dome or the Rock — fits the description of a Roman legion fort perfectly!) —
The Christians had been heavily persecuted by the Jews and had caused the Christians to be persecuted as Jews as well. There was no real affection for either the Jews or Jerusalem in the vast majority of the believers. Jerusalem has ceased to be the main hub for the church for at least a decade before its fall!
So, bottom line, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was not this cataclysmic, defining event for the believers of that time that some today try to make it be! It just fully ushered in the Age of the Gentiles, and Revelation is clearly a book written for the Gentiles as proven very early in the seven messages from the Lord to the seven Gentile churches and this is probably the second lamp stand that John sees in Rev 11. If so, this would mean Zechariah’s singular lampstand is the old covenant people, the Jews. While John’s two lampstands would symbolize both Jew and Gentile believers united in one body, (Ez. 39) and this temple is not represented by a physical building at all!***–
*** —We should take note that in the entire New Testament there is not one reference to a physical building representing the temple, it is always us, HIS people. LIVING STONES, that HE is the head of (Eph 4:11-16). Not only that, there is absolutely no indication that one penny of tithe and offering money went to the building or maintaining of a facility! And this can be said for the Old Testament as well! — All synagogues, temples (two buildings) and tabernacles (Moses) were built with money and resources OUTSIDE THE TITHES AND FIRST FRUIT OFFERINGS>
We see the tabernacle of Moses built with free will offerings, from the heart (Exodus 25:1,2) for the specific purpose of building the tabernacle. This offering came from the loot the Israelite’s had taken from Egypt when they left in compensation for all their uncompensated labors. We see David set aside much gold and treasure from his own estate (that he had gotten from plundering the Amalikites and tributes from other nations) and we see other prominent wealthy leaders and elders of Israel also offered a ‘free will from the heart’ offering to build the temple. (1 Chon 29:1-5) We see Solomon do the same and we see him assign the foreigners to do the work on the temple.
We see it was the Roman centurion who built the synagogue in Capernaum, the same one noted earlier, that Jesus said was the man with the greatest faith of anyone he had met, Jew or not! (Luke 7) Again, physical buildings were built with money from outside the tithes or offerings!
We see Zerubbabel’s temple financed by a decree from Cyrus where all who were willing gave to build the house of the Lord (Ezra 1:1-11) and later after the delay, Darius designated the treasury of the satrap (province) that Jerusalem was part of to give them funds to build the ‘house of the Lord‘ (Ezra 6:4.5). We then see Herod greatly expand that temple by executing a tax and a here is how we see Jesus handle that same “temple tax”:
Matt 17:24-27
When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”25 He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?“26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”
NKJV
Jesus clearly told Peter that they, the son’s of the Kingdom, were not supposed to pay the taxes to build or maintain the buildings, as they had never done this before! He then instructs Peter to go fishing. This was Peter’s professional vocation, how he had made his lively-hood, this was not a difficult task for Peter. The Lord then said that the first fish he will catch he will find a gold coin, which he did not earn and came from outside! (which was much more than the standard temple tax) and that he was to give that to the temple authorities for both of them. So, I think it is important to note here is what Jesus DID NOT TELL HIM TO DO! WE DON’T SEE JESUS TELL PETER TO GO TO JUDAS (who managed the money bag) AND GET MONEY FROM HIM TO PAY THE TEMPLE TAX. Even though Judas was stealing from it, those were tithe and offering money and that money was given by a bunch of women and others (Luke 8) to care for the physical needs of Jesus and his disciples and to help the poor, the widow and the orphan> WHICH IS WHAT THE TITHES AND OFFERINGS ARE FOR– THAT THERE MIGHT BE BREAD IN MY HOUSE! So we see all the physical facilities were financed with money OUTSIDE the tithes and offerings. The western church has brought a curse on itself as Mal 3:6-12 says:
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. 7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, “Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said,’In what way shall we return?’
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You? ‘In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,”Says the Lord of hosts,”If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, “Says the Lord of hosts; 12 And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land, “Says the Lord of hosts.
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Beginning with the Roman Catholic church and carrying on through out today, there has been a stealing of the tithe and offering money, which is for the Levite (who were to get a tenth of the tithes —Neh 10:38, 39), refugee — (not political refugee– these refugees were like Ruth, they had left their own lands and came to Israel to embrace the God of Israel, not bring their own idols and culture with them! These were true refugees, the foreigner who was not born into the inheritance of Israel, but who sought the God of Israel!) — widow and fatherless. (Deut 14:27-29), this is who the ‘storehouse’ is for! And this is where we see the funds of the early church went to; the widows and those in need and the ‘priest’ — apostles and those who served the body in a full time capacity. Acts 2:34, 4:35, Acts 6)
Bottom line, we do not ever see one penny of tithe (first fruits) ever being given to or designated towards the building of a physical facility until the Roman Catholic church begin to build massive and ornate edifices after they become the ‘official’ religion of the declining Roman empire. This tradition has remained and the requisite curse that it has brought is apparent, we are bankrupt. Few churches have a storehouse for those in need in accordance with Malachi 3:6-12. Yet the amount of money spent building ornate and outrageous physical buildings using the widow’s mite and the tithe of the flock, is in the billions and billions. Not to mention the over the top compensation that many of the shepherds have taken from those same tithes and offerings, well over the portion allocated to and designated for the entire priesthood! It will bring judgement, it already has begun!
The reality is this is what God raised Zerubabbel’s up for; to provide for and build the physical facilities necessary for the flock to gather together and worship, without the temple tax! They create the store house. Isn’t it interesting to see the father of the Gentile faith (Cornelius) was singled out as not only being a devout worshiper of a God he did not know, but also for his alms, (gifts to the poor and needy)– Acts 10:1-4. Isn’t it also interesting that the first person Jesus appeared to after rising from the dead is Mary Magdalene, who just happened to be the first person mentioned in Luke 8 as one who met the Lord and His disciples physical needs through her substance?!
So to tie this all up, the ‘two witnesses’ in John’s vision could be two fold, Kings and Priest and Jews and Gentiles all gathered together in one body with Jesus at it’s head (Eph 4:11), ministering in the power of Elijah and Moses (who met Jesus at the transfiguration, the law and the prophets), the two witnesses who are called to provide for the temple of God (His people) and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and to call down the fire of conviction to the lost and judgement on to the heads of the enemies of the Lord. While also being the last call to God’s people to repent and flee from the wrath that is to come, to turn the hearts of the people back to the Lord God, before His coming (this time as a lion) and the hearts of the Fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the fathers! (Mal 4:6-8)
Though it is possible that these ‘witnesses’ could be specific individuals in the very last of days, we have redundant biblical support for Kings and Priest and Jews and Gentiles gathered together as one, to finish the task that He gave us to do. This would be the final fulfilment of one of the prayers that Jesus prayed that has yet be fulfilled, which He prayed for us, appropriately enough, in John, the real ‘Lord’s Prayer!’
John 17:20-26
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
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