There are no “Abrahamic” promises concerning offspring — or real estate — for New Covenant believers.

Like the dogma of evolution, the doctrine of paedobaptism is not supported by indisputable evidence. Rather, the data must be interpreted through the lens of a pre-existing framework. The paedobaptistic lens is, however, a biblical one, being Abrahamic, and it comes in extremely handy when used in the right way. It deals with the few texts which paedobaptists rely on for proof, showing that they are not establishing a revised Abrahamic tent, but bringing the old one to an end.

The text I deal with here is Peter’s mention of the Jews, their children, and those afar off, in Acts 2. The idea that the phrase “you and your children” has anything at all to do with Christians is ruled out by the context. The audience was the “men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem” (2:14), “Men of Israel” (2:22), “brothers” (2:29), and “all the house of Israel” (2:36). Peter, who famously quotes Joel, was speaking to Jews about their accountability to the Covenant made with Abraham. But that Covenant was drawing to an end.

However, this does not explain why Peter mentions three groups of people, “you, your children and those afar off” (2:39). A clue to part of the answer is found in the preceding verses. Peter concludes his speech and the Jewish men respond:

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

The men are afraid because they have realised their blood guilt, not only of a brother like Abel but of the very Seed promised in Genesis 3, a promise later ratified in Abraham. Worse, these were likely some of the same people who, after Pilate washed his hands of the execution of Jesus, declared their conviction of his guilt by taking any liability for the shedding of innocent blood upon themselves.

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:24-25).

Among Orthodox Jews today, offspring is still of prime importance. A proselyte cannot convert to Judaism without a commitment to marriage and fatherhood. Jesus was cut off without any offspring, and these men, knowing the Old Testament, realised that they, too, were liable to being cut off without any “Abrahamic” inheritance.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. (Isaiah 53:8)

They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the Lord your God has given you. And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left, so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. (Deuteronomy 28:52-55)

The curses in Deuteronomy 28 did indeed fall upon Israel one generation after Peter’s proclamation, upon these men and their children, the children whom Christ told the women weeping for Him to weep for instead. The final generation of the children of Abraham according to the flesh was either destroyed or sold into slavery, carried back to Egypt in ships as Moses predicted (Deuteronomy 28:68).

The interesting thing is that these men and their children, those who believed, could be delivered from this terrible judgment upon Israel by putting themselves under the blood of Christ in a different way. In circumcision, in the blood sprinkling at Sinai, and in the Levitical rites, His blood had always been upon them, for blessing or for cursing.

And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. (Exodus 24:6-8)

But now in Christ, Abraham had obtained a heavenly country, so an earthly Abrahamic inheritance, both the fruit of the Land and of the womb, became redundant. This is why the Jewish Christians, unlike Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:6-9), sold their lands (Acts 4:34-35).

So, there is really no doubt about who these children were. But the identity of “those far off” is more difficult to discern. Are they the Jews and Jewish proselytes scattered across the Roman empire, or is Peter referring to Gentiles? The Abrahamic Covenant promised an earthly inheritance of not only Land and womb (narrowing the curse of barrenness upon Adam and Eve to Abram and Sarai that it might be borne and resolved) but also promised that all the families of the “earth” (literally, ’adamah, the ground, and thus all mankind) would be blessed.

Not only was the promise of the Spirit for the Jews, but also the Gentiles, which later events in Acts make plain. Not only Jews but “those far off,” both Jews and Gentiles, received the Spirit of God. Paul uses similar language concerning Gentiles in Ephesians 2, where Jew and Gentile are united in a new household of faith. The Ephesian Christians were no longer “strangers” who could attend only certain festivals, but heirs along with believing Jews.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:17-18)

Paedobaptists assume that this language means Peter should really have said, in Acts 2:39:

For the promise is for you
and for your children
and for all who are far off,
and for their children,
everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

The problem is that this is not what Peter says, and to conveniently assume that this is what he meant is to ride roughshod over the entire Abrahamic Covenant, the one which is supposed to provide all that imaginary support for the practice of paedobaptism.

Not only is Peter’s audience different from that of Paul, Paul makes no mention whatsoever of children as part of the promises of the New Covenant. Certainly, he instructs the saints concerning parenting, and marriage, and even instructs the children, but there is no “promised seed.” This is because, after the flood, where all flesh was “cut off,” all the cutting off was done in the microcosm of Israel for the sake of the life of the world. The children in Acts 2 are mentioned because all of the Jewish rites, and indeed the Temple, were still in place. The children are mentioned because they were still under the curses of Moses if their parents disobeyed the Lord.

If the Jews would not be “brought near” in Christ (our “near bringing” or sacrifice), they would be brought near for destruction. If they would not celebrate “Ingathering” but instead rejoice as rebels in a Passover already made redundant by Christ and His cup, they would be gathered as food on the table for the Roman eagles.

All of the Jews who rejected Christ, and their children, and indeed all of the Jews and Jewish proselytes (whom Jesus called “twice children of hell”) from across the empire were trapped in Jerusalem by Titus, whose clever strategy had been to wait until Passover to besiege the city. If the identity of “those far off” in Acts 2 is indeed Jewish, these are the people whom Peter was referring to, those who were either still under the Law, or who had placed themselves under it voluntarily. I believe this is the most likely solution, given the context. But those curses were finished in AD70.

However, even if Peter is referring to Gentiles, the architecture of this favourite proof text of paedobaptists betrays them. It not only follows the Covenant-literary structure, hinting at the Ten Words, working from above, to beside, to below, it is actually a textual map of the progress of the Gospel, by the Spirit, from Jerusalem into all the empire before AD70. The shape of the verse itself defines both the temporal and geographical boundaries of its scope. So, whether “those far off” are Jews or Gentiles, either way, the reach of Acts 2:39 ended with the abolition of the oikoumene.¹The oikoumene was the “household” of the empires established by God in the book of Daniel. The destruction of the Herodian Land beast and the Neronic Sea beast in the Revelation ended not only the division between Jew and Gentile but the Covenantal authority of these institutions. See James B. Jordan, The Handwriting On The Wall, A Commentary on the Book of Daniel, or search this blog for the tag oikoumene.

TRANSCENDENCE

HIERARCHY

ETHICS

OATH/SANCTIONS

SUCCESSION

The architecture of the verse puts a three-level house at both altars, the microcosmic one (Jerusalem) and the Jews (or believing Gentiles) throughout the  oikoumene, neither of which exist any longer. The fulfilment of the Feast of Booths, also known as Ingathering, was predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24:31, and likely occurred just before the siege of Jerusalem.²See Sin City – 3.

In the Garden of Eden, the Covenant “Oath” was the failed confession of Adam, his unwillingness to submit to the authority of heaven, and the Covenant “Sanctions” was the limited curse of barrenness upon the fruit of the Land and womb. This is the difference between baptism (oath), and circumcision (sanctions). The testimony of Jesus is the oath upon the lips of the faithful, and in Him there are no Mosaic Sanctions upon our fruitfulness. This is why there are no “Abrahamic” promises concerning offspring — or real estate — for New Covenant believers. There are certainly correspondences, but they transcend the originals. We are called to give up our families and possessions for the sake of the Gospel, yet are told we will receive siblings, sons, houses and lands in this life the way Jesus did (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29-30; Luke 18:28-30), by adoption, since one day we shall possess them all. Land and offspring were closely related in Abraham’s earthly inheritance, but the New Covenant is about a heavenly country, and about “sons of God,” those who believe the Word as Abraham did, and become the friends, the confidants, of God (Isaiah 41:8; John 15:15; James 2:23).

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

In this final post on the structure of Ephesians, we will cover stage 6 (Conquest/Atonement) and stage 7 (Glorification/Booths). (Unfortunately, I can’t refer to them as cycles because there are 8 cycles, as previously discussed.)

A common interpretation of the “armor of God” relies on the assumption that Paul is using the kit of a Roman soldier as a metaphor. This shows how fragmented is our understanding of the Bible, an organic text which is not fragmented at all, and not reliant upon the various contemporary cultures anywhere near as much as we assume. The armor in Ephesians 6 is that of a priest, a priest with a sword, fulfilling his guard duty at the gate of God.

Stage 6 – A NEW PRIESTHOOD

Here’s an outline of this penultimate cycle, which concerns the Church as the Body of the totus Christus, standing in the open veil, mediating for the nations. [1] Corresponding also to Day 6, it is the glorified “new Adam,” able to stand and face God because He is sinless, and thus qualified to rule (which leads us to the final cycle, describing the character of this rule).

This cycle is thus the Day of Atonement transfigured in Christ and given to the Church as a ministry of cleansing, an outflow of blood and water, death and resurrection, from the Body of Christ.

Christ’s Power (Genesis – Creation)

The first line is a new beginning, a new history. The old leaven has been cut off, entirely cleansed from the house, and must not be allowed to multiply in the new. The stanza is fivefold, meaning that it is a Covenant scroll waiting to be opened (through sacrifice) into a sevenfold history (Ethics opens into three stages: priest, king and prophet, or head, fire and body.)

Priestly Armor (Exodus – Division)

As the “Exodus” step, the New Israel, empowered in stanza 1 is now sent into battle. The ESV does not use the words craftiness or slanderer, which, to the English-speaking mind, tie this stanza to the events in Eden. This stage is Day 6, after all. The final line is interesting because one of its referents is fatherhood, that is, the beginning of a new Succession, a “gospel outflow.” Here it is Satan’s lies about the goodness of the Father.

Power of the Cursed Heads (Leviticus – Ascension)

The New Covenant battle is different in character to the Old. Here it is reinterpreted in the light of the victory of Christ. Since we are now indwelt by His Spirit, we deal not with the flesh-and-blood bodies animated by evil, wrestling physically with angels (as Jacob did and Adam was called to do) or with demonic men (as David and Jesus did) but with the very evil itself, as Jesus did in the wilderness, in the Garden and on the cross.

At Ascension, the “chiefs and authorities” are those like Satan, like Haman, like the Herods, who had “ascended” not through obedience to the Covenant but through a usurping of God’s power. They have thrown Covenant truth to the ground and attempted to “take on bodies,” false gatherings (church or state) that enslave and tyrannize. It is not ascension but levitation. It is the rule of Cain, who put his kingly offering before the priestly advocacy of his brother.

The word often translated “wickedness” in step 6 has the connotation of painful toil, which is interesting because it ties Satan’s power to that of the curse upon Adam, the Covenant Head. Satan had been cast down in the Garden. His ministers, the Herods and their priesthood, would soon be cast down in the Land…

The Evil Day (Numbers – Testing)

This is the centre of this cycle/stage. The Ephesians were being asked to persevere against all the powers of the Old Creation, all the false gods Satan could muster, including the idols of the Jews who had rejected both Christ and His Spirit. [2] The position of the “evil day” is interesting. This is the Day 4 cycle, the power of the sun, moon and stars, but the “day” here is the Day of Atonement, the Day of the Lord, which was coming upon not only Jerusalem, but upon the entire oikoumene. [3] Through the faithful witness of the martyrs, the noonday darkness of the old “sun, moon and stars” would be thrown down as Satan had been thrown down.

Power of the Resurrection Body (Deuteronomy – Maturity)

This stanza concerns the sacrificial Body, a cloud of fragrant smoke. It is the Church in preparation (at Trumpets), ready to be presented for battle and to appear in the court of God. It is at this point that “fragrant” Esther put on her royal robes to appear before the King, “awesome as an army with banners.” In the Revelation, the saints are described as having “Tabernacle armor.” The High Priest’s clothing was a replica of the Tabernacle itself, and I recently noticed that Mordecai’s glorious robes at the end of Esther are a replica of the king’s Garden court at the beginning.

Notice that truth appears in this stanza where slander appears in the entire cycle: step 2. Loins here might be reference to a priestly New Covenant circumcision. The breastplate refers to the High Priest. The “binding” of the feet is a connotation of being “shod.” Binding is both Covenantal and sacrificial. It is not clear whether the priests, whose feet and hands were washed before service in the Tabernacle, wore footwear within the compound, but I think it is likely. None is described, but the terrain was rough, and the Lord promised that their footwear would not wear out. As “standing” is the role of the Priest, serving as a butler and watchman, and “sitting” is the role of the King, so “walking” is the role of the prophet (like Enoch and others), who bridges the gap between Israel and the nations, extending the domain of God. The Church is a prophet Body, serving among the nations. At Maturity/Deuteronomy, the idea is also readiness for Conquest., feet bound by Covenant vow, washed by Christ in the Laver and now ready to walk on the stormy “waters” of the nations. [4] The Church was the entire tent on the move, but with all the old veils removed, worship open to all, and even the mysteries of the Ark of the Covenant open for all to see, prepared to scatter God’s enemies and gather His people.

Priestly Cleansing (Joshua – Conquest)

Because the epistle is a fractal, we can correspond the previous stanza to the “Deuteronomy” cycle of the letter. The preparation of the New Israel is ethical. It concerns relationships, the fulfillment of the Law by the Spirit. Unlike the Ten Commandments and the Levitical Laws, it is not “inward looking,” concerning prohibitions and didactic laws for cleansing that we may approach God. Christ has fulfilled that on our behalf. It is generally positive and outward looking, concerning testimony to each other and to the nations.

In this stanza, the shield is a veil. Those who are face to face with God in Christ are those who keep Satan “thrown down” from his position as the accuser. The darts appear here as Covenant curses, and Satan’s little fires as false “Shekinahs.” Those who are filled with holy fire, like Phinehas, who fulfilled the Covenant by dealing with idolatry and adultery, are impervious to strange fire. Faith is indeed the victory. A shield is defensive, but a sword is defensive, so in the final stanza we move from corporate coverings to commission.

Christ’s Mission (Judges – Glorification)

Notice the move from salvation to supplication. Here is the true Shekinah glory of the Church as representatives of Christ.

Stage 7 – A NEW COMMISSION

The final cycle of the epistle is an expansion of this ministry of supplication.

Creation (Gentile Ark of the Covenant)

Line 2 concerns the saints as “watchers,” as Lampstands (the Lampstand is literally a “watcher” tree). Interestingly, the second major cycle of the Revelation displays the churches of Asia as priestly lamps tended by Christ.

Division (Gentile Veil)

“Mystery” often appears at this point. The veil is now open. Notice Paul’s bold witness in the usual place, and the mystery itself as the new “house” containing both Jew and Gentile at Booths/Succession.

Ascension (Gentile Altar)

Now, Paul is putting himself on the altar, bound as the sacrifice, blameless in Christ, the Lamb who was worthy to open the New Covenant scroll.

Testing (Gentile Lampstand)

Being the Pentecost step, this is the “opening” of the Law, God’s intentions revealed. Just as Christ sent the Spirit to the Church, so Paul here sends Tychicus as “good fortune” or providence to the Ephesians, which also ties this central stanza to the purpose of this final cycle: commission.

Maturity (Gentile Incense)

A short sentence, repeating “the Law,” and concerning revivification.

Conquest (Gentile Mediation)

At the Sanctions step of the cycle, we have no curses, only peace with God. It begins with the Sabbath (the first feast in Lev. 23) and ends with Christ as our shelter (the final feast).

Glorification (Gentile Rest)

The final stanza concerns “Ingathering,” our gathering to the Father in His Son. Peace and Grace are the results of the blood and the water (land and sea) of membership of Christ’s new Body. [5]

________________________________________
[1] See Under Your Feet.
[2] See When Judaism Jumped the Shark.
[3] See Peter Leithart, Jewish War.
[4] See Walking on Water.
[5] See The Water and the Blood.

We have reached the fifth stage of the matrix in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which is the sixth cycle (as discussed in part 5, stage 3 — Ascension — is often split into two parts, altar and sacrifice).

So this fifth section is the “Deuteronomy” of the epistle. It is a New Covenant version of Moses giving his final words to the children of Israel before the conquest of the Land. Likewise, Paul himself, and all the other apostles (except perhaps for John, the final word) would be gone before the rulers of the Land (Revelation’s “kings of the earth”) would be wiped off the face of it forever.

As in all previous cycles, there are some real literary wonders here, which is especially satisfying to see when the passages themselves (unparsed) are so familiar. It’s like seeing old friends in a new way: the letter resurrected and alive and walking around.

Creation

This is the “Initiation” stanza of this section, and so is a microcosm of the entire fifth stage. In the Tabernacle pattern, the first step is the Ark of the Covenant, so, contrary to many modern expositors who overemphasize the threat of Greek philosophy and the Roman cultus, this is a warning against Judaizers, who were the only dreal bane of the Firstfruits Church until Nero torched Rome. This stanza is thus a warning against listening to the counterfeit “Ark” of a Judaism which had rejected Pentecost and become demonic. The wrath of God was coming upon the disobedient sons, who would be disinherited, hence they are mentioned in the “Succession” line of the stanza.

Of course, the sin of these Jews is common in our society today. We have rejected God’s laws and replaced them with our own. These false laws are already being used to persecute Christians. As it was during the first century, and also during the Reformation, when these lawless begin slaughtering the true sons of God, God steps in and disempowers them, and his saints are vindicated.

Division

The structure of the Ten Commandments is apparent here. (Between AD30 and AD70, the Land and Womb of Israel became irrelevant. Abraham received a heavenly country and Israel became a nation of spiritual sons and daughters by the Spirit of Christ.) I have bolded and underlined where the “yoking” comes in. It is the people’s “bridal” response to God. [1]

Adam (Priest)  /   Eve (People)

(Transcendence)
Word from God   /   Word to God

(Hierarchy)
Land (Sabbath)   /   Womb (Parents)

(Ethics)
Knife (Murder)   /   Fire   (Adultery)

(Sanctions)
False Blessings (Theft)   /   False Curses (Witness)

(Succession)
Coveting House   /   Coveting Contents

Taking God’s name in vain meant “yoking” oneself to Him with an oath but not following through. At a “Division” step in Numbers, I noticed “yoking” used concerning Israel and false gods. The Ephesians are being warned against being yoked with darkness. In the book of Revelation, the Division step is the seven lamps of the Asian churches. I know some readers struggle a bit with this sort of analysis, but I hope you are able to appreciate the complexity and beauty of this “literature of the Spirit” to some degree at least.

Ascension

The Greek word order is important here. “Walk” is the “Delegation” line of the stanza. Ascension is the “Firstfruits” stanza, hence the reference to children. And the Firstfruits line in this stanza also refers to fruit, which is “opened” in its Triune beauty at Pentecost. The matrix strand that seems to shine here, aptly, is the sacrificial one. Notice the word “pleasing” at Sanctions, the step where God smells a sweet savor, and says “these are my beloved sons.” Interestingly, as God discerns our hearts, so we are also to discern by the Spirit what is pleasing to His.

The rest of this “Deuteronomy” stage took me hours to figure out because it is complex, but once “opened” it is a kaleidoscope of Covenant-shaped wonder.

The Ethics stanza is “opened” into its own Pentecostal speech of fivefold stanzas, and it is fitting that its “Oath/Blessing” resurrection stanza is the one that gets fully opened into the sevenfold “Creation.” It is this Testing cycle that is represented in the “fractal” graphic at top, to help you get a handle on what is going on.

Testing

Notice how the torn veil is a curse to those who were hiding behind the Law of Moses, and yet for the believer the torn veil is the blessing of an open veil.  For the unbeliever, the face of God means exposure and death, the fulfillment of Circumcision. For the believer, the face of God means revelation and life, the fulfillment of Baptism: “these are my beloved sons.” [2]

Maturity

The Maturity step fittingly contains wisdom and music. That’s how we know it’s the Maturity step. This is the Law for the resurrection Body.

The Veil is removed as we confess our sins. The wine is a worldly substitute for wise drinking of the blood of Christ on the Altar, an abuse of the Table of self-examination. Israel’s priests could not drink the wine of God, yet we can. We are kings but we are still Priest-Kings. The Lampstand/Ethics is expanded into a fivefold Covenant scroll; the Shekinah/Succession/Glorification is expanded into a sevenfold Creation resulting from the opening of that “little book” in our worship.

Other than that, words actually fail me here. This is so beautiful.

Conquest

Conquest corresponds to the Covenant vows, and to Adam and Eve on Day 6, so that’s why Paul puts these exhortations here.

Notice the symmetry: Husband | Wife | Church | Savior | Church | Wives | Husbands, yet is moves from a singular husband and wife to a plurality, the Church being a multiplied Body of Christ’s faithfulness in the Garden.

The matrix really shines here, don’t you think? Marriage is presented as a sacrifice to God. Notice Christ’s love at the “Passover” step, and the washing of water at the “Pass-through” or “baptism” step.

Although these two previous stanzas each follow the pattern, they actually follow the pattern when combined as a forming and a filling, a head and a body, with the word at the centre as the “Ethics” and the presentation of the Bride at Trumpets. If you don’t get that, don’t worry. There’s another example coming up which is easier to see. This mystery of which Paul speaks is an unlocking of the sacrificial rite, the head and the body being presented to God separately, both by fire, but only the body requiring washing (baptism). With both transformed into sweet smoke, the body is reunited with the head in the heavenly realms, the sons of God approaching the throne of Christ “in clouds” in Daniel 7.

We are now at the Sanctions step of the Sanctions stage in this section, so it is “vow upon vow.” Here, the husband’s body is on the Altar. As it is “cut open” as Adam, Eve comes out of the “scroll” as a wonderful “there-and-back-again,” with Adam as her Alpha and Omega. Just as the Father sends the Spirit to the Son, who replies in righteousness, so the Son sends the Spirit in love, who gathers the Bride and presents her to Him as a perfectly complementary body. The “hating” appears at Testing, which is where Adam failed, and supports the position that Adam was right there watching when Eve was being seduced.

You can see the Ten Commandments here once again, very subtly. The promise of Land comes in Genesis and is postponed in Numbers. Deuteronomy is the Bridal Body, a new Israel, at Joshua we have blessing and cursing, Adam and Eve on Day 6 before God in the High Priest, the captain of Salvation (and we will cover his clothing in the next post). One flesh refers to the union of Jew and Gentile at Booths, of heaven and earth in the Shekinah, where Adam and Eve are joint-heirs, representing the glory of God. As Doug Wilson wonderfully puts it, “marriage as manifest glory.”

This one is more subtle, but again we have a head and body, which also work as a single structure:

Glorification

This is the Succession step, so Paul moves to Israel and the nations, the womb and the Land of the New Covenant. Here is it children and slaves and masters, but it is intriguing in that it puts the slaves in centre, so it is a subtle retelling of the Abrahamic Covenant and its fulfillment under Moses and Joshua, a “there and back again” from Canaan to Egypt to Canaan:

Notice the blessing upon Joshua at Conquest/Sanctions, and “live long” at Succession in this stanza.

Child rearing is to be festal. Enough said.

Notice “eye-service” as the seven eyes of the Lampstand. It means attempting to fulfill the Law without the Spirit dwelling within us as internal government.

Slave or free is multi-faceted here. It refers to the fact that all Christians, regardless of station in society, have the same inheritance in Christ. But at the “Booths” step, it also points back to the types of Jew and Gentile which were now redundant, Jews being “bound” sacrifices like Isaac that the Gentiles might eventually be free from the curse. (See the chapter “Binding and Loosing” in God’s Kitchen.)

Again, the Greek “giving up” is a deliberate reference to Ascension in this stanza. Everything is sacrificial.

____________________________________
[1] For the reasons why I present the Ten Words in this fashion, see Bible Matrix II.
[2] See A King Among Sons.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

It’s been a while since I blogged due to some pesky Russian hackers.

Well, it looks possible at this point that Ephesians actually has eight cycles, just as many of its “sevenfold” stanzas have eight lines. This is because step three reflects the Altar and the Table, the Land and the fruits of Day 3 (the first half of the cycle has a preliminary “filling”).

This means that the previous cycle, which spoke of the gifts to the Church, concerned the initial outpouring of the Spirit by Christ at His ascension. If that was the “three-and-a-half,” this next cycle must then be the Day 4, the governing lights, which seems to be the case as it begins with a reference to enlightenment, and proceeds to comment on what this looks like in the saints. If this is indeed the structure here, what follows below is the “Ethics opened” section of the epistle. The new Israel will not be given to harlotry in the wilderness, as the old one was.

Creation – Light (Genesis – The Fall)

This sounds a lot like Romans 1:18-23, doesn’t it? which subtly refers to Adam and Eve. Besides that, the architecture here is fascinating. The Ark of Testimony here is Paul’s testimony. The “circumcision/exodus,” the man leaving so he might cleave to God, is not a physical Exodus into a physical wilderness (which Doug Wilson doesn’t really get) but a way of living. The futile mind comes at Ascension, which is where the Law is given, where the blameless one opens the mystery (Joseph, Daniel, and also Haman, but ironically). The darkness at the centre is the darkness of a sky without stars, a Temple without the Lampstand. Line 5 concerns resurrection, and this connection of old Israel to the life of God was why she kept coming back from the dead while all the other nations passed away. The last two lines are a veil that remains closed (un-Atonement) and a blindness that is a failure of righteous judgment.

Division – Veil (Exodus – City of Destruction)

As the first stanza begins with the source of morality, the second deals with its “hierarchical” outflow: cultus becomes culture (atheists take note). The callousness, or numbness, of line two, must have to do with the flesh. These people will not be cut, they will not repent, they will not mourn for either their sin before God or its consequences in society.

As the first stanza was architectural, so this one is sacrificial. At the Bronze Altar we have them “giving themselves up,” but not to God. Men were not permitted to “walk up” onto God’s Altar. The priests of Baal cut themselves and threw themselves onto their god’s altar on Carmel. Interestingly, those who could not feel in line two actually give themselves to a perverse kind of feeling, to sensuality, which appears where the “blameless” one is presented, the Table. The word means “violent spite which rejects restraint and indulges in lawless insolence.” So it is a parody of the receiving of the Law in Exodus, and the opening of the Covenant scroll in Revelation. Hearts of stone lead to life lived according to the flesh.

The ESV swaps lines 4 and 5. In the Greek, 4 is a reversal of the Covenant Ethics, and 5 literally means “lust for numerically more” which is the multiplication that comes once the law is obeyed (plunder) or disobeyed (plagues). The word “learned” in line 6/7 has to do with discipleship, which again refers to “delegation.”

I hope you appreciate the literary skill demonstrated here! Perhaps I am mad, but it is becoming clear to me that attempting to understand the Bible without reference to Covenant-literary structure is willful ignorance!

Ascension – Altar & Table (Leviticus – Priestly Sons)

This stanza is truly beautiful. It works through the Covenant structure, but the “Ethics opened” line at the centre is truly opened into its own sevenfold cycle, each line of which refers to the pattern in an ethical way. The central pattern is thus a microcosm of the entire stanza: “put off your old self” aligns with the “corrupt” life put on the Bronze Altar outside the tent, and the “renewed” body aligns with the “put on the new self” at the Golden Altar inside the tent.

Then we have “created in the likeness of God” in the Day 6 spot, and “true righteousness and holiness” as God’s rest on Day 7, the “tent” into which Adam and Eve failed to enter.

Testing – Lampstand (Numbers – Harlotry – False Kingdom)

We are into the “wilderness,” and since this is actually the Day 4 cycle, this is the stanza that must be at the centre of the epistle. This also explains the reference to the sun, and also the “throne” of Satan at God’s table, the seat of judgment usurped from Adam. Again, there is the reference to unity by the Spirit at the centre. The anger here seems to be a reference to legal witness (because this is where the law is repeated by the people, which aligns it to the structure of the Ten Words). It seems that lines 2 and 3 together are a fivefold pattern, and lines 6 and 7 are another fivefold pattern. If this is so, what is at the very centre of Ephesians is a reworking of the Law of Moses. At the centre of the Ten Words is murder and adultery, or “strange knife and strange fire,” which together are the sacrificial replication of the angelic sword of Eden. This would explain the mention of “members” here. The Church is the sacrificed (murdered) Body reunited by fire that is holy — Christ’s desire for His bride. (This is what “cross-eyed exegesis” reveals, comparing similar structures to each other.)

Maturity – Incense Altar (Deuteronomy – Legal Witness)

Here, in stanza 5, we have references to “do not steal” and “do not bear false witness,” the plunder and plagues of Israel as a holy cloud, the teeming, swarming, united body gathered at the Feast of Trumpets.

Conquest – Mediators (Joshua – Sin Removed)
Based upon what comes up down the track, Conquest seems to have three stanzas, which usually refers to the three levels of the Tabernacle, or the original world. This step concerns the Day of Atonement, so, architecturally speaking, Paul is cleansing the Sanctuary, the Holy Place, and the Gentile Courts.

G A R D E N

Once again, the focus is on the words of the mouth, and line 5 is expanded into a fivefold pattern, presumably a reference to the Covenant, which is unsealed at line 3 that the saints might be sealed (a structural reference to the Revelation once again). The saints are sealed as miniature scrolls that they might be unsealed once they reach their destinations, and the words that come out must be the words of Jesus. In Revelation, this secondary scroll is the “little book” given to John, who speaks, trumpets, seven thunders against Herodian whoreship, er, worship.

I love how “be put away from you” appears at line 6, referring to the goat expelled into the wilderness. As some readers would know, the Last Supper follows this pattern, and it is Judas who is expelled at this point.

If this first of three stanzas alludes to the Garden, it begins with grieving God and ends with hatred, which takes us to the Land.

Glorification – Shekinah (Judges – The Marriage Feast)

L A N D

This stanza is the Cain and Abel sin. In the Greek, the “circumcision” line 2 is “one another,” and line 6 is “each other,” which alludes to the difference between the Old Covenant sign and New Covenant baptism. Circumcision was about Israel as one flesh. Baptism requires a profession from every individual member, united not by flesh but by one Spirit.

W O R L D

Here, the Ethics is expanded into a “negative” witness. The sin condemned is the combination of harlotry and covetousness by the sons of Seth in Genesis 6, a compromise of the Covenant which was condemned by Jesus as the sin of the Herods (marrying and giving in marriage).

Notice the use of “named” at Sanctions, which ties the Covenant oath to the naming by Adam. Then we see this same Oath at the “Joshua” step, which is the Sanctions of the complete stanza. Jesus has only words of blessing for us now, so we must only have words of blessing for each other.

Glorification – Shekinah (Covenant Succession)

Following the Covenant pattern, the final stanza deals with inheritance. It amazes me how those bright scholars can insist that the Bible’s Covenant pattern was copied from other Ancient Near Eastern civilizations, when this structure is what holds the Bible together from Genesis to Revelation.

Finally, you might notice that “covetousness” is right bang smack in the ethical middle of both of these final cycles, which indicates to me that Paul indeed had the Ten Words in mind here: coveting the house itself (Adam) and coveting the contents (Eve and her children) which is always a satanic attempt to hijack the future.

We have arrived the central cycle, the “Pentecost” of the epistle. Here’s how it looks so far:

Overview of Ephesians

(Compare this with the structure of Numbers.)

The New Covenant Pentecost consists of only blessing, whereas the original Old Covenant Pentecost resulted in the slaying of over 3,000 Israelites by Levites. If this structural analysis is correct, we should find references to the Covenant Ethics, and the gifts of the Spirit. Each stanza will follow its own theme but also reflect the overall “Pentecostal” theme of this cycle.

SABBATH – TRANSCENDENCE (Creation – Initiation)

The first and last lines of this initial stanza both have a fivefold Covenant shape. You might think it’s pushing it to find a fivefold structure in a mere phrase, but the fact that phrases have subjects, verbs and objects means they have a “chain of authority” sourced in the Trinity, like everything else in Creation.

It does mean we have to look at the Greek. I was wondering to what degree scholars assume that Paul’s Greek is the norm when it seems clear to me he is replicating Hebraic structures. They probably just put it down to his ‘style.’

Laid out like this, you can see that the stanza itself is a fractal “blooming” in which the first and last lines are allowed to have a “bloom” of their own, each a single bud whose petals open into a microcosm of all history.

Notice that “prisoner” is at Sanctions in the first phrase, and “bond” is at Sanctions in the last phrase. Paul’s chain becomes the means of the unity of the Church. He is bound that they might be constrained by love. It is sacrificial. (See “Binding and Loosing” in God’s Kitchen.) But he is a prisoner “in the Lord.” The position of this phrase means the Lord is his shelter, his booth. He might be in a Roman prison cell, but he has a wall of fire.

Also, “Bearing with one another” takes the Sanctions role in the complete structure (Conquest/Atonement in the sevenfold pattern corresponds to Sanctions in the fivefold pattern).

PASSOVER – HIERARCHY (Division – Delegation)

The first line refers to the Spirit hovering at the Creation, but as mentioned, the theme here is Pentecostal. Notice also, that, despite the protests of some, baptism is placed at Sanctions, and it comes after Maturity. Not only this, but in the chiastic structure, it is the result of the call of the Gospel, which replaced circumcision. Paedobaptism doesn’t even get a look in, here. Baptism is the obedient response of an individual, but baptism puts individuals into a Spirit-filled body of faith. The tongues of fire did not hover above one single infant at Pentecost. The New Covenant is not about the root but about the flower and the fruit. The flesh, circumcised or uncircumcised, became irrelevant, which is the only way there could be a new Israel made of Jew and Gentile. To misuse baptism as some kind of new circumcision is to put every unbaptized man, woman and child outside the New Covenant, when Jesus died to put them under it, commanding all men everywhere to repent. Every baptism account in Acts also puts the rite at step 6 in the narrative.

In this stanza, it is the final line which is allowed to bloom, and it is a literary wonder (once we know what we are looking at).

FIRSTFRUITS – ETHICS GIVEN (Ascension – Presentation)

Well, the pattern is working out fine. We are up to ascension, and Paul puts it right at the centre of the stanza. His point is to demonstrate the source of the Pentecostal gifts: Jesus ascended to heaven as the Firstfruits Lamb (Rev. 4-5), opened the New Covenant scroll, and out came blessings and curses. The curses were for those who disobeyed the Gospel, and the blessings for those who obeyed it. The stanza itself replicates the shape of the book of Revelation. It’s cool that “captivity” is at step 5: swarms. The saints under the altar are the fifth seal: Covenant witnesses awaiting vengeance and redemption. (See What Lies Beneath)

PENTECOST – ETHICS OPENED (Testing – Purification)

A wise man said that throne rooms and prisons see a lot of the same faces. Humiliation and exaltation, or vice versa, go together. When Adam sinned, Satan was exalted to the role of legal accuser in the court of God. When Jesus ascended, as our Advocate, Satan was thrown down (we also see this in the Revelation). This stanza shows us Christ on earth, in fact, Christ in the earth, in the Land, imprisoned like Joseph. Then He is exalted like Joseph, to rule with all the emperor’s authority. Here, step 6 reveals what baptism symbolizes: passing through, walking on the water, the crystal sea, as an elder, dining with God. In doing so, we see revealed, in the exaltation of Christ, a new heaven and a new earth.

TRUMPETS – ETHICS RECEIVED (Maturity – Transformation)

Stanza five is the “swarm,” the cloud of fragrant incense, the legal witness and song of the Bride after the crushing of the serpent. Here it is the apostolic witness which resulted directly from the pouring out of the Spirit from heaven at Pentecost. And the order of the gifts is also significant. They are listed in a Covenantal order, as furniture in a New Tabernacle.

ATONEMENT – SANCTIONS (Conquest – Vindication)

As is common, Atonement here gives us both approaches of the High Priest, the first for the Head (the priesthood) and the second for the Body (the Bridal nation). Notice the reference to deceit when it comes to the Bride, with “teaching” at Testing, right at the centre, replicating the exact pattern of the events in Eden. Being step 6, the reference to infants is also interesting. Step 6 concerns being robed as a mediator (in baptism) and ruling, overcoming, once clothed with Christ (we will see this clothing described for us in cycle 6 of the epistle). This correlation means Paul wouldn’t baptize infants. There are no infants in the New Covenant body, because it is not merely a body of flesh, but a body of flesh filled with the Spirit, a union between heaven and earth.

I love the reference to “every wind” at step three – the four corners of the altar, the four winds, the four gospels, are all positioned here. False doctrine is not mere words, but words sourced in a an evil spirit (like the one Rob Bell has, making him unable, or unwilling, to discern). Doctrine is “breath.” True doctrine gathers. False doctrine scatters. In Revelation, four angels are ready to take vengeance upon Jerusalem for the murder of Christ, but they are told to wait — for one generation. They are horns thirsty for blood, and forty years later all Israel, the four-cornered Land, would become a bloody altar, up to the horses’ bridles. God sent the evil spirits back into her so she would fill up her sins and hasten her judgment.

So, overall, this double stanza is about the priesthood of Christ, through the Spirit, making him an Adam who steps in and prevents His Eve from being deceived, which Paul also mentions in 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, in reference to false Judaizing doctrine.

BOOTHS – SUCCESSION (Glorification – Representation)

The final stanza finishes the Pentecostal house. The Church will not only enter the glory cloud as Christ did. The Church would become His glory cloud, His “booth.” He was preparing a place for Her, but she was also a place for Him: all in all. Fittingly, the central line, the “Pentecost,” is allowed to flourish as the seven lamps on the Lampstand.

The first cycle of Ephesians expressed the call and adoption of God’s sons as a new Creation (Sabbath). At its very centre was the phrase, “the forgiveness of our trespasses.” At the centre of the second, which concerned the removal of the Veil of Moses, was “the sons of disobedience,” a Division between the sons of the promise and the sons of the flesh (Passover). This division was obviously no longer founded on genealogy but began with voluntary allegiance to Jesus. Circumcision or uncircumcision became irrelevant.

So, if we are on the right track, the theme of cycle three should be “Levitical,” the Ascension offering, the Firstfruits, the establishment of a new priesthood to replace that of the thieving and whoring sons of Aaron, and their Herodian government — a harlot and a tax collector. This replacement would be unthinkable for first century Jews (and modern dispensationalists!), yet the patterns Paul uses exactly replicate those of Moses, putting the letter of the bloody Law to death and resurrecting it as a living, internal, fragrant, governing ethic. This use of Covenantal literary structure communicates to us (at least those of us with eyes to see), that the entirety of Israel’s history was being inherited by a new Israel. Modern Jews have no claim on the Old Testament. Moreover, the structure enables us to identify “author intent” to a much greater degree. I doubt you will find all of the comments below in Bible commentaries because they are deductions from the literary structure.

The central phrase in this cycle does have do with the sacrificial head, the foundation of a new Tabernacle for God to dwell in: “in whom the whole structure, being joined together…”

Creation

The first stanza is incredible, once the structure is identified. Besides temporarily stripping Israel’s history away from these new believers, this stanza is the first of a “week.” Thus, he says that Israel was in the light, and they were in the darkness. Once again, this structure is so clear that it should stop the mouth of every scoffer. I know it’s a new idea (at least to this degree), but it works. Conclusions drawn from secular literary works based on scanty evidence often remain undisputed. It pays to be careful, but not to be obtuse.

Division – Exodus

This one is beautiful, and self-explanatory. Notice that Christ fulfills the place of the Covenant Ethics, the Levitical Law, at the centre. He fulfilled Passover for both those inside and those outside the house. Ironically, Judah had turned herself into a new Egypt and rejected this blood covering.

Ascension – Leviticus

This stanza is similar to the previous one, but as Leviticus expands on the priesthood established in Exodus, this focusses on the High Priesthood of Christ. Notice that the particular “matrix thread” which shines here is the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons were anointed only on their right sides: ear lobe, thumb, big toe, with blood and oil. They were an illustration of an Adam cut in half down the middle through circumcision. Jesus ends that division, bloodied and oiled on both ears, both hands, both feet. He becomes circumcision to end circumcision.

Ascension here ends the “Head” process, the raising of a new Land-Altar. This little cycle which follows is like the preliminary filling on Day 3, the grain and fruit plants, promises of bread and wine to come—a priestly betrothal. Aptly, the cord which stands out here is the festal one.

How cool is the “access by Trumpets.” The Herods never saw it coming. The Jewish apostles marched around the city; the Gentile scavengers tore it down. But it also applies to the heavenly court. The sacrificial head was received by God (as Abel’s offering), and this meant that God could now accept the “harvest” body, the offering of a faithful Cain who wound not usurp his brother’s priesthood. You may not see it, but there is so much of the Revelation hidden in Ephesians.

Testing – Numbers

Testing is the “wilderness” stanza. Notice that the second line (Delegation) is a fivefold Covenant. Line three makes the apostles and prophets an altar, but a bridal one of “dressed stones”, not one of unhewn rocks. And Christ is the chief corner of this Altar-House. The work of the Spirit, the Great Matchmaker, is at the centre, knitting things together, like linen and wool, flesh and blood, Jew and Gentile, into a new tent, no, a Temple. The final line refers to the completion of the house, and its filling with the glory cloud. But, we must take a step out and remember that this stanza is ethical. Their glory would be holiness and witness, a reverse of Israel’s deception and harlotry under the ministry of Balak and Balaam, the beast and the false prophet. Of course, in this case, those roles would be filled by Nero and the Herods. Structural allusions are important. They convey much information without saying a word. And I’m really sick of woossy interpretations of the Epistles, where they are stripped from the Covenantal context. When would a college lecturer point out that this establishment of a new Temple was an act of treason against the old one, as disturbing as the anointing of David was to the house of Saul?

Maturity – Deuteronomy

This stanza serves simply as bridal version of Ascension. It is the gathering of the troops ready for the Day of Coverings. Notice that, as in the Revelation, and, in fact, all through the structures in the book of Acts (the apostles travel somewhere, preach, and the snakes go wild), the New Covenant document is opened at Ascension.

Conquest – Joshua

In this stanza, the Veil is opened. The central point is a fivefold revealing, the Veil of Moses torn in two, leading to the Temple being torn down, uniting Jew and Gentile. The promises to Abraham were finally fulfilled.

The final cycle is itself expanded “fractally.” Glorification, as Day 7, as Shekinah, is the fullness of God dwelling with, or in this case in, men, giving them wisdom to judge between light and darkness (matching the first cycle) as God’s judicial representatives, those who are mature and able to discern between good and evil. Consequently, the centre of this pattern, bang smack in the middle of the Ethics/Spirit, is “the manifold wisdom of God.”

Glorification – Judges

This cycle ends with Paul as a living sacrifice on the Altar. But, as we see in many stanzas, the third step (Altar), leads to a preliminary filling (Table). This explains Paul’s intercessory prayer at this point in the epistle. He is an image of the ascended Christ in heaven, the standing Lamb, advocating for the people of God before the Father. (Notice that we see this same construct in the Lord’s Prayer). But Paul does exactly what Christ does, what He did when He prayed His high priestly prayer, and when He commissioned Peter to feed His sheep. This prayer puts the people of God on the same Altar. It seals the saints that the Bride might follow the Bridegroom through death to the place He had prepared for her. As Christ to the Church, Paul’s sufferings purchased a bridal glory for the Ephesians.

Day 1 – Light – Genesis

The central line here is left out in many translations, but the structure requires it. So there.

Day 2 – Waters Divided – Exodus

Day 3 – Land Raised, Preliminary Filling (proto-Communion)

Did you notice the “four corners of the cross” on the Altar? Amazing.

Now, if all of this is true, we should expect the next cycle to concern the New Covenant ethics, Testing, or what the work of the Spirit actually looks like in the Church.

Bible commentators will tell you that Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians contains great riches. Unfortunately, without any reference to its Mosaic literary structure, it comes across as a jumble of jewels in a treasure chest. However, analysis of the structure allows us to appreciate the fine networks and chains of thought in the literary architecture — and also the clever allusions contrasting old Israel with the New. It also demonstrates Jesus’ fulfillment of the Mosaic Law.

Creation – Call to Worship (Genesis – Abraham)

Division – The Veil Removed (Exodus – Moses)

The prefigurings of the Revelation continue. The first line itself is a five-fold (Covenant) description: God (T), Lord of us (H), Jesus (E), Father (O), glory (S). Being the second stanza, the theme is Passover and the veil. Here, the veil of Abrahamic darkness is removed. It may seem strange that “revelation” corresponds to the altar, but the word is “apocalypse.” It is a revealing, like circumcision. See Steven Opp’s very helpful observations in Circumcision and Apocalypse.) And then Christ Himself is the firstfruits lamb (Revelation 5). The Lampstand gets its own five-fold Covenant shape, just as the Lord did in line 1. How beautiful is that? Incense corresponds to the Bronze Altar, but as resurrection instead of revealing. The word “immeasurable” seems to conceal the typological correspondence at Conquest. Hyperballon literally means to over throw. Revelation speaks a great deal of “overcoming,” and from memory they seem to appear around step 6 in the pattern: Joshua/Atonement.

Ascension – First Holy Fruit from the Land (Leviticus – Aaron)

Again, the first line is the entire stanza in “Covenantal” microcosm. The “mighty men” are at the centre. The allusions to Genesis 1 are beautiful, and similar to those found in Psalm 1 concerning the Blessed Man, who is Jesus. As Firstfruits, He fulfilled the Levitical Law. Now, just as Day 3 gets two lines above (Land and Fruits) for its “preliminary filling,” so Paul adds an extra cycle to express this promise (like the grape haul from the Land).

Well, that one leaves me breathless. I challenge anybody who has pooh-poohed this approach to tell me he says this is simply an imposition upon the text. I throw down the gauntlet!

Testing – Kings in the Wilderness (Numbers – Balaam)

This cycle is the centre of the second cycle. It concerns a false Pentecost, the evil spirit from the Lord that filled the rulers of the Land after they rejected the son of David. It is Israel being deceived by the Balaamites, the mutilation. The prince of the power of the air is the accuser in heaven, who would soon be thrown down, crushed under foot and bound with a chain. So this stanza follows the festal pattern, but at every step, Israel according to the flesh is a feast for the birds and beasts, adulterers under the sword of Greater Phinehas. Their eyes of darkness are a different kind of Lampstand, the Oral Law, “an angel of light.” But it was actually a veil. Israel was blinded until the bridal “fullness” of the Gentiles came in. Then the Lampstand was taken away by Rome, and old Israel was no more.

Maturity – A New Israel from the Bones (Deuteronomy – The Bride)

This time it is the last line which gets its own cycle. It’s really nice that this, being line 7, gets the future as its first line, the eighth day, at Sabbath. Our being dead in trespasses is sacrificial, yet we are alive in the holy Firstfruits presented in heaven. Grace in this second cycle appears at step 4 rather than step 5. It is in place of the Mosaic Law, the Ethics of the Covenant. Another interesting point is that, if we align this stanza with the entire book of Revelation, the enthronement of the Firstfruits Church appears at the same point as the enthronement in this cycle.

Conquest – Israel Prepared for Ministry (Joshua – The Inheritance)

For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing;
it is the gift of God,
not a result of works,
so that no one may boast.

Glorification – Israel Commissioned for Ministry (Judges – The Champions)

For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus
for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.

These stanzas correspond to the Day of Atonement and Booths. They work separately, but also as a head (Israel purified) and a body (Israel ministering to the nations). Here, the “Israel” is Jesus, by His Spirit, in the multinational Church. So although each has a Covenant shape, there is a symmetry found in the bolded words. The works on the altar of man are rejected (boasting being a form of self-exaltation, in this stanza, appearing at Ascension). The purification at the centre, in the holy of holies, is God’s work. And the good works of Jesus complete the threefold expansion of the Covenant Ethics: Man’s works, God’s Work, Jesus’ works. Beautiful.

This brings us to the end of the second cycle, but not to the end of chapter two, so it would appear that Ephesians has seven major cycles — which should not be a surprise. The literary artistry is amazing. I do keep wondering whether Paul and his scribes were aware of this (as a literary convention) or it was simply the Spirit blowing through them as His instrument. I must remember to ask him.

The picture at top is, I think, intended to contrast Israel the warrior-priest with Paul the peacemaker. But we know that Paul’s sword was more terrifying than anything wielded by old Israel’s priesthood ever. AD70 is testimony to that.

or the Covenanto-Architecturo-Historico-Grammatico-Muso Method

“A seal is meant to be broken.”

During the first of his recent lectures in London, James Jordan tore a page out of his Bible. It was the page announcing the New Testament as a separate book with its own pagination. It is one thing to interpret the New Testament in the light of contemporary literature and history, but their importance pales in comparison to the texts being recognized as a continuation of the Scriptures.

The break between Malachi and Matthew (whom Jordan and others believe was indeed the first to pen a gospel) was not the first period of silence. The New Testament is, in fact, the “fourth testament.” But there is another equally important factor, and that is the continuation of the practice of woven, or fractalline, literary structure based on Covenant history.

The fact that the literary structure of all the Old Covenant Scriptures proceeds in an identical fashion in the New is not something commonly discussed, especially in the kind of detail which follows below. Such an application might be an imposition on the text, but the degree to which it does work indicates a strong possibility that it is actually the key to the structure of the text and thus the author’s “Covenantal” intent.

If the case is the latter, then the position of every phrase within the literary structure reveals it as a powerful allusion as the author recapitulates the  histories of the Covenant people over and over again. If this literary convention is indeed the lens through which we must view the text, all the commentaries so far are wanting. There is a hidden dimension waiting to be explored and discussed and enjoyed and admired.

As we will see, this practice not only enables the author to pull these allusions out of the grave but also to give them some surprising “resurrection” (New Covenant) meanings without saying a word. The structure itself speaks volumes. (I could write about this for decades, so if anyone rich feels like becoming a patron of the arts, drop me a line.)

Identification and “parsing” of such an interpretive grid demonstrates the unbreakable ties between the New Covenant texts to the Old. It also exposes the embarrassing flatness of the historico-grammatical method. When I spout arrogant fire like “there’s so much more going in the text but it goes right over our heads,” I’m not blowing smoke. Thousands of scholars have pored over the text looking for rhyme and reason and not noticed that it is written in a three dimensional architectural-literary code.

If you are coming to this without a reasonable familiarity with the interpretive process described here, you won’t understand what is going on. See the Bible Matrix videos in the link at the top of the page for some basics. But to those familiar with the tune, you can sing along and enjoy Paul’s New Covenant lyrics written to an Old Covenant tune, a tune begun in Genesis 1.

Perhaps we should call this hermeneutical science the “Genetic” method, seeing as it is a combination of history, liturgy and poetry (unimaginable!). The modernist New Testament experts had better learn to whistle along.

Needless to say, if this thesis is correct, the beauty of these precious texts far surpasses anything we could have possibly written — or even imagined. (See The Eye of Sound)

CREATION (TRANSCENDENCE)

The structure of the first stanza not only asserts Paul’s authority from God (his name is the inspired source), it makes his apostleship a new exodus (Hierarchy). The will of God makes him an altar, the symbolic four-cornered Land, and the Gentile saints are his firstfruits, which is surprising because that role under Moses was limited to Levites, the pure of the pure, the Jews’ Jews. This is mindblowing — until we remember Jesus’ words about giving the kingdom to those who would bring forth the fruit God desires. The stanza ends with both Jesus and the New Covenant believers as spiritual offspring of the Father (Succession). Can you see what I mean now, about this “two-coordinate” method? Paul’s letters are “woven” in the same way as the Torah.

DIVISION (HIERARCHY)

Notice the heavenly places at the centre. This stanza reminds me of the structure of the Revelation, which puts the seven churches, beginning with Ephesus, in the heavenly places as a “de-centralized” lampstand, a new hierarchy in the firmament.

Notice that the “choosing” before the foundation of the world in the structure is “bridal,” a summoning at Trumpets, and us being holy and blameless is set at Atonement.

It is interesting that the ESV puts “in love” at the beginning of the next sentence. Yet the structure requires a final line in the second stanza. Who needs punctuation when you have the Bible Matrix?

ASCENSION (ETHICS 1)

This one kind of speaks for itself, but we must remember that this stanza is Ascension. This blessed adoption puts us on the Altar with Christ. Notice the “bridal song” at step 5.

TESTING (ETHICS 2)

The centre of this stanza, and thus of the entire structure, is “the forgiveness of our trespasses.” Here, the bridal result of Jesus’ faithful offering is plunder rather than plagues, the “riches” of His grace. Notice also that “lavished” appears at the Day of Coverings. When the Sanctions are applied to the saints, the Lord only has blessing for His new Creation, and no cursing. Wisdom and insight refers to our position as wise judges, joint-heirs, co-regents, elohim who shall discern between the angels.

MATURITY (ETHICS 3)

The “Tabernacle” thread appears to shine the most brightly in this stanza. At Maturity, it refers to the New Covenant house, the bridal body, the Jew-Gentile Church, eyes opened, unveiled and mediating for the nations, face to face with God in Christ. The use of “fullness” at step 5 in stanza five is “fragrant,” the Springtime of the resurrection.

CONQUEST (SANCTIONS/OATH)

Stanza 6 corresponds to Joshua (inheritance) and coverings (investiture with glory). The Church, covered by Christ, is now His covering, His glory. Notice that the structure places Christ as the firstfruits head and the first century saints as the firstfruits body, the harvest. The structure of the book of Revelation does the same thing. The “counsel of His will” is the Spirit, appearing in this stanza at Pentecost, the “holy fire.” As always, the underlying process not only refers to harvest but also the process of the rite of sacrifice. Revelation is a giant sacrificial rite. Israel is put on the altar as a whole burnt offering (an “ascension”) and divided into harlot and bride, the ashes of mourning swallowed by the Land and fragrant, pleasing smoke rising to God as a witness to her judgment (1 Kings 13:5; Revelation 19:3).

GLORIFICATION (SUCCESSION)

I can see the exact structure of the book of Revelation in this final cycle, which is not surprising. Commentators will rattle on about how precious and wonderful it is that we as saints have been sealed. But what does it mean to be “sealed”?

These last two stanzas are talking about the events in Revelation 7, where the firstfruits saints are sealed (“Numbered” Jews and numberless Gentiles, all in white robes) for the purpose of being martyred. The seals on the saints are not a pretty mark from God but replicas of the seals on the New Covenant scroll, the one the Lamb has opened to claim His inheritance (the nations).

A seal is meant to be broken. These saints were not to simply sit in pietistic wonder at their precious Jesus. Their mission, as the sacrificial body, was to die as an army of firstfruits lambs, a bridal multiplication of Jesus. These blessed were sealed as living epistles, sent out as horsemen to have their seals broken (yet remain Covenant virgins, see Tokens of Virginity) through death and resurrection, filling up the sufferings of Jesus, bringing down the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy upon Israel for the last time. (See The Secret and Images of God.) They would fulfill the book of Leviticus not in animal blood but in their own blood. Now that Jesus had ascended, God could accept human sacrifices “in Him.” These were the sheep Peter was entrusted to feed for the slaughter.

This brings us to the end of the first cycle, so the matrix structure is working at three fractal levels: stanzas, cycles and epistle (and of course the epistle is part of even greater literary and historical structures). But it does not bring us to the end of the chapter, so the remainder must begin the second cycle.

It is passing strange that the modern mind is open to fractals in nature and technology, but modern theology so far seems resistant to the idea that the entire Bible is structured in such a way. Unraveled as it is above, it resembles DNA. Lined up in columns it resembles a woven cloth. The Word itself was knitted together in the womb of Israel, and the birth pangs of the Jewish war — the blood and the water — gave a new body to the people of God in the world. Totus Christus.

Just as the Restoration, through death in Babylon, miraculously reunited Ephraim and Judah in a new body, the attacks on the Firstfruits church miraculously reunited Jew and Gentile. The Restoration body (pictured in Ezekiel 37) was a type of the Firstfruits church. In the big picture, this new body appears in the Bible Matrix at Maturity. It was an army from the grave, a multitude of shiny individuals united and animated by the Spirit of God, moving as a single shining entity. The Creation week pictures this as flocks of birds and schools of fish. The Tabernacle images it as clouds of incense. This is the warrior bride, terrible as an army with banners.

Light – Ark-Word (Sabbath) -
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.

…..Veil (Passover) -
…..There is one body and one Spirit—

……….Altar & Table (Firstfruits) –
……….just as you were called to one hope
……….when you were called—

……………Lampstand (Pentecost [rulers]) -
……………one Lord,

……….Incense (Trumpets [resurrection body unity]) -
……….one faith,

…..Laver (Atonement) -
…..one baptism;

Shekinah (Booths) -
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

(Ephesians 4:4-6)

So, as an army, how is this a bond of peace? We are to be at peace with all men as far as possible. But not at peace with the world (compromise), or peace with the enemies of God (which they label “tolerance”.) It is peace with each other. The peacemakers in the Sermon on the Mount appear at exactly the same point in the structure: Maturity. The peacemakers are the builders of an army for God.

So, there can be such a thing as peacekeepers with guns. Peace comes through wise use of judicial power, the sword of the Spirit. After all, Solomon wiped out his father’s enemies to keep the peace. Peacekeepers deal with troublemakers. This is wise church government.

(From The Magnificence of Mercy by Geoffrey Bingham)

‘In wrath remember mercy…’

It would seem that Habakkuk had to remind God that in his wrath He should remember mercy towards errant Israel. The covenant revelation of God in Exodus 34:6 was that He was (is) ‘slow to anger’ (Num. 14:18; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 86:15), especially in regard to Israel. The prophet did not have to remind God, so much as he had to remind himself of the love of God, and to see God’s judgment as the wrath of love. If we ask what causes God’s actions of mercy, grace, slowness to anger (long-suffering), steadfast love, faithfulness, forgiveness and even refusal to clear the (impenitent, obdurate) guilty—as set out in Exodus 34:6-7—then we must answer that it is His love.

Here we are indebted to St Paul. His passage of Ephesians 2:1-10, and in particular verse 4, tells us that Man, being under wrath, receives mercy, and that God’s mercy springs from His love, ‘But God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us…’ Paul was not saying anything new when he insisted that mercy springs from love to those under wrath and misery. This thinking was clearly present in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 54:8 we saw God’s statement, ‘In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer’. Doubtless the ‘moment’ seemed of inordinate length to Israel under wrath, but God’s ‘everlasting love’ reduces it to a mere moment. Likewise the smiting and healing of Egypt is the principle by which His love has wrath, ‘And the Lord will smite Egypt, smiting and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will heed their supplications and heal them’.

Markus Barth, in his commentary on Ephesians, remarks:

In the Bible the ‘wrath’ of God, in turn, does not represent the intemperate outburst of an uncontrolled character. It is rather the temperature of God’s love, the manifestation of his will and power to resist, to overcome, to burn away all that contradicts his counsels of love.

‘The temperature of God’s love’ is a powerful phrase. In the Old Testament, this temperature is sometimes shown as white-hot when God’s holiness is violated, but when wrath has done its work the stage is set for Divine mercy.

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