Preface: The Restoration of Genuine Discipleship
Session 002
Part 2: The Building of God’s House Is Through Discipleship
In the first session, we discussed the prophecies of Haggai and others and how, through them, God declared that He would continue to restore His people back to His Heavenly dwelling place as a Spiritual House, or the Latter House, under His divine order and grace. We also touched on the idea that God, through Jesus Christ, has introduced to us a Heavenly Order, under which a Heavenly Tabernacle and ministry is to be installed and put into effect.
We will continue this prophetic theme here in order to gain insight into the reality that our time is the very time that such a work will be revealed and manifested through His chosen people. After that, we will talk about the way or pattern of how God will build this House, which is the ministry of the New Covenant. Please bear in mind that this is a huge topic and we will only mention a few insights that are distinctly relevant to our discussions about discipleship.
In the year 538 BCE, the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, brought about the fall of the Babylonian Empire as recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. He then gave permission to the Israelites to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple. The first of those to return were led by Zerubbabel and Joshua. However, because of the opposition of the Samaritans, the work of rebuilding the temple was almost abandoned. So God began to speak to Haggai and Zechariah and told them to encourage the people to come back and work on rebuilding the temple.
A very illuminating observation can be made here, one that will give us insight into the pattern of God’s work of restoration. We know the Lord always uses natural or historical events to reveal His spiritual work, which is invisible and requires faith and wisdom to discern. This pattern is that God always intended to have His Temple or tabernacle installed in the midst of His people before He brings prosperity to the land He gave to them even though He had already settled them in the land of His promise.
He revealed His desire to the Israelites when, after generations of bewilderment and scatteredness, He raised up the Kingdom of David and had Solomon build Him the first Temple. He affirmed it by becoming the consuming fire on the altar of sacrifice and filled the whole Temple with His glory. Tragically, the priests and kings did not remain wise and faithful before God. In later days, as shown in Ezekiel’s vision, they were so corrupted that idols and thieves were found in the practices of the priesthood. According the books of Kings and Chronicles, some Kings had shown great contempt and despised the ordinances of God concerning His law and His House. We all know the stories of King Uzziah and King Ahab. It was because of these that God had to cancel His covenant with their forefathers and put them into exile. Now, having returned, they still remained ignorant of His desires and His ways. Even so, God did not intend to bring them into a continuation of poverty and disarray, or to have them remain in a state of ignorance, despair and hopelessness. His intent was to restore them and bless them.
That is the main message of Haggai and Zechariah. He called them back to work on rebuilding His temple and He encouraged them with wonderful promises. They are, as we discussed, spiritual in nature and very relevant to our time.
In order to see this more clearly, let’s take a look at the scriptures:
Haggai 1: 2-12
2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house. ‘ ” 3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, ” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.
In this scripture, we can see that the Lord was not happy with the vision and the life the people had at that time. He had to encourage them to come back to His plan. Similarly, the Lord revealed His desires and ways to Zechariah, so that they would not miss out on His intention.
Zechariah 8: 9-23
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the Lord Almighty.
12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
…
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”
23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’ “
Is there a similar calling being sounded out to us as a remnant of God’s people today? Yes, loud and clear. Let us heed the pattern given by the Lord, forget what is behind us and rise up to take His divine and most gracious calling to us as a people and as a generation. Let us build His House first, then attend to our own business. We cannot do this the other way around and expect Him to bless us. No, He will not. But, if we follow His way and pattern, He will always bless us. It is His desire and His purpose to bless His people, a people who know Him and love Him according to His ways, a people who possess His wisdom and His love. What is the glory of God for us as a spiritual people that He has raised up and is willing to prosper? A people of Godly wisdom and Godly love. Such a people are His glory, those who have received their King and become His covenant people. This is the prophetic promise He has given to us through Zechariah:
Zech. 9:9-10:2
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. 11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. 13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword. 14 Then the Lord will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, 15 and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. 17 How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.
Some may ask, haven’t these prophecies already been fulfilled by the people who returned from exile or by the Lord Jesus Himself when He came to the Jews? In a sense, yes. But there is also clear evidence that historically, the Israelites never found their fulfillment to the extent that God had promised. This is because their fulfillment is meant to be ours as the spiritual people of God. How so? In the Spirit and by the Spirit. As we explained in the first session, God is building us into His Heavenly Temple as living stones by the work of His Holy Spirit. This is the main theme of the Gospel the Lord Jesus preached and passed onto His believers. They followed Him because they believed that these teachings of the Lord were granting them eternal life and paving the way for them to be included in the House of God the Father in Heaven. It was for this reason Peter, John, Paul and many others gave up everything on earth and became His disciples. And they laid the foundation of a work that we are invited to take up and be part of.
In order to affirm that this is also the calling of God unto us as His remnant people of today, let’s continue to study more of the revelation given to Zechariah:
Zech. 6:9-15
9 The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.”
In essence, the Lord renamed Joshua as the Branch, which is the prophetic name for the Lord Jesus. He is the branch from Jesse (Isa 11:1-2). In Hebrew, the name Jesus actually is Yeshua, or Joshua. Now Joshua, during this time, had only been installed as the High Priest and not also as king. Then, we may ask, how will harmony come between these two offices? What are they? Well, evidently there are two offices. One is that of Priest and the other one is that of King. That’s why, as the prophet mentioned, He is the priest sitting on the throne.
This is also clearly seen in
Zech. 3: 3-10
3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” 5 Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. 6 The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. 8 ” ‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. 10 ” ‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree, ‘ declares the Lord Almighty.”
You see, this prophetic act was speaking of things to come and is pointing out part of the office that Christ Jesus was to be installed into, that is, His Heavenly Priesthood. The other part, or office, is His Kingship. In the same vision, the Kingly office is represented by Zerubbabel, let’s continue reading:
Zech 4:1-14:
1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I replied. 6 So he 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 Almighty. 7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ” 8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 10 “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?” 13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I said. 14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
What are the two offices and the two related services (that will serve the Lord of all the earth)? The Priesthood and Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will rule in this capacity to impart His Kingly and Priestly wisdom to His people. We may ask, are these done only by Him or did Jesus pass them on to His disciples when He consecrated them into His service for God the Father? The answer is He has passed on to them and also unto us as His chosen people. This is the mystery that the author of Hebrews tried to expound. Obviously, the people he was addressing, were facing trials and persecutions, and seemed to have forgotten why they were called and what the faith that had been given to them would attain. So he boldly and sternly warned them of the consequences when they attempted to turn away from such a high and glorious calling.
We may further ask, when Apostle John spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom that true believers are to be invited to fellowship with, was not he speaking of the same things, that is the Priestly Wisdom and Kingly Wisdom the Father always wanted to give to His sons as their inheritance? Yes, he was speaking of those very things.
Let’s take a look.
1 John 1:1-3:
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
You see, he did not present an earthly fellowship to those he was to disciple and love. It was the Heavenly Family of God on whose table the Life of Christ is to be the bread and wine.
Continuing in John:
1 John 2:18-28
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
We know how often these scriptures are used to paint a wrong picture how the spirit of Truth will work amongst believers. Too quickly, and to the grievance of the Holy Spirit, some would use them to justify the presumption that they don’t need anyone to teach them anything, saying that God alone will do that for them. How absurd! Then why would John, with heart of genuine concern, even try to warn people to stay in his fellowship. (We will address this at another time if we have that chance to expound what the anointing means in this context. For now, let’s continue with this topic.)
With this fellowship and service in mind, the Lord gave us His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth and Power, and gifted us with His Anointing of various kinds. These teachings are not doctrinal reasoning or intellectual arguments. If we could learn spiritual truths that way, the Lord would not need to come and refute the teachings of the teachers of the Law in His day. No, this is a heaven wisdom and it confirms us into a Heavenly Reality that is presently existing and functioning. Such is the calling to the people of God regardless of their age or the life they have been burdened with. For this reason we are called out of the world to become, as Peter put it, “…God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout all corners of the earth (I replace the different regions), who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood.” (1 Pet. 1: 1-2)
God installed Joshua and Zerubbabel to lead the people to restore the Latter House or the temple of their time. The Latter House in the Father’s mind is His own House in Heaven. For this reason, He installed His Son, Jesus Christ, to build us up to be His dwelling place by the work of His Spirit. In Haggai the Lord said, “The Silver is mine, the Gold is mine.” Now, we are God’s silver, God’s Gold and God’s precious stones. We have been scattered in some spiritual Egypt or Babylon, those wicked and vile places of the world which are the falsity of man-made things. But now His holy voice is calling to us and His Holy hand is working in us, and we are being forged by Him to become honorable vessels in His Household, even becoming the Crown of His Glory. What a wonderful calling we have received!
Even so, it starts with small things. The restoration of His House starts with the Foundation. In the hand of Zerubbabel are but earthly stones that lend them hope to an earthly restoration, but the Lord has intended the work in the hand of Christ Jesus to be for a greater glory, with which He is restoring His Chosen People to His original plan and intention. This is the glory He had intended for us before the creation of the world, and that He dearly wanted to impart to man when He created him and all things. This glory will fill more than just His temple, it will flow far beyond that and the wisdom and love of the Father will go out into all lands, and so will be on earth as it is in Heaven, both natural and spiritual. Our Lord Jesus Christ will restore unto us all things, even our lost glory. Having put everything under His feet, the Son will give His Kingdom back to the Father and the Father will fill all in all. We are more than His Temple, we are the living sacrifice on His Holy Altar as well. How wonderful is the mystery and plan of God!
This is the Pattern. This is the work of God Almighty. This is the mission and service passed on by the Lord Jesus to His early Apostles. This is the discipleship or teaching that will build up the House of God.
[notification type=”standard”] My special thanks to our dear brother Tim Pinson Jr. He has taken great pain to edit my broken English and to round up my thoughts. We will have him help us with the audio recordings as well. My spoken English is even worse than my writings…:) May the Lord bless you as you take your precious time to read or listen to these teachings. Love Sun [/notification]