Let us look at the scriptural contexts of ancient Israel and its prophetic message for the ekklesia in every nation today, especially for the ekklesia in America during this season.
Ezra 1:1-4
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’”
Ezra 7:21, 23
“I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently… Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons.”
This post should be read in conjunction with my earlier blog post entitled “The Two People Groups of a Nation” as part one.
Firstly, in context, ancient Israel was the set-apart or called-out people of God; that is, they were a people group called the ekklesia (c.f. Acts 7:38) and a foreshadow of the ekklesia of Christ. Even though they operated with kings like a “political” kingdom, Israel was not a nation as we define it today, like the State of Israel, USA, PNG, or Singapore, where two people groups co-exist as residents within the same political boundaries. Thus, transposing God’s expectations and dealings with ancient Israel onto a nation today is erroneous. After all, Daniel did not impose the Law of Moses onto the Babylonians or Medo-Persians, did he? He did not call for a “national” repentance by the kings, satraps, governors, and judges, etc., did he?
As such, the ekklesia must not measure or judge a nation by the same requirements and standards that govern the ekklesia, for what has the ekklesia to do with measuring and judging outsiders apart from those among its own? (1 Corinthians 5:12-13) In other words, while God will certainly chastise or judge the ekklesia today unless it repents of its wicked ways, whether God will chastise or judge a nation tomorrow for its wicked ways unless it repents (like Nineveh) or not (like most nations in the ancient Near East surrounding Israel), it is God’s prerogative rather than the ekklesia’s imposition or superimposition.
Yet, having said that, every citizen of a nation has the right to collectively determine, or seek transformation of, the culture within which they desire to live, especially if they believe that the moral values of the ekklesia will exalt the nation, or “so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom”.
Secondly, Israel was a people group within a nation, whether this nation was Babylon, Medo-Persia, or Greece. Throughout the rising and falling of these nations, the destiny of Israel as a people group within these nations were independent of the destinies of these nations. The converse is also true; that is, the destinies of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece as goat “ethnos” within which Israel co-existed were independent of the destiny of Israel as sheep “ethnos”, even though their destinies might be tied to their treatment of Israel.
This context is similar to post-Pentecost context where the ekklesia is a people group of Christ – the sheep “ethnos” – that is set apart from the other people group of the world – the goat “ethnos” – within the nation, whether the nation was the Roman Empire in the days of Acts or is the State of Israel today.
As such, the ekklesia must not presuppose or assume that their destiny is invariably tied to, or defined by, the destiny of the nation within which the ekklesia “sojourn”, unless God has specifically determined it as such.
Thirdly, King Cyrus was merely an appointed instrument to set the people of God free from their captivity at the appointed time, so that they could rebuild the house of God, the dwelling of the Spirit of His glory. Thus, like the appointment of King Nebuchadnezzar as “My servant” (Jeremiah 27:6-8) or King Artaxerxes, whether King Cyrus was a righteous man or not was immaterial to God, as he was not “the chosen one” to represent God or the people of God. Thus, to quibble over the moral character of the appointed instrument is to miss the larger picture of God’s sovereign plan, while to venerate a morally corrupt vessel as the representative of God is to bear erroneous witness of the holiness of God before men.
In short, the sovereign plan of God determines the appointed vessel, even if the appointed vessel is the antithesis of God and of the values of the ekklesia; and the appointed vessel changes according to God’s appointed time and course.
For all the momentous work of King Cyrus, the key to the rebuilding of the house of God and the determination of the destiny of the set-apart people of God laid in the works of Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Ezra, other leaders, and every one of the returnees. King Cyrus, even King Artaxerxes and others, might have facilitated the resources and the political framework necessary for Israel to rebuild the house of God and the city of God, yet the divine blueprint, operational dynamics, consecrated community, and surpassing glory of the house of God, and ultimately the destiny of the ekklesia, rested solely with the consecrated people of God. Thus, whether it was Cyrus or Artaxerxes, they were merely secondary actors in the cosmic script and anchoring cast of the ekklesia.
Now, for the nation of America, God appointed Trump in 2016 as “Cyrus” to the ekklesia within that nation, as it was God’s appointed time to set the people of God (the sheep “ethnos”) free from the captivity and unrelenting onslaught of the people of the world (the goat “ethnos”) in that nation over the preceding decade. The goal was to enable the church to rebuild the house of God – the temple of Christ’s body – that was laid in ruins on account of its deviation from heavenly blueprint, sandy foundation, poor building materials, and operational decay. It was the appointed time for the church to wake up to the true nature and calling of the ekklesia. It was the appointed time for the church to rebuild the body of Christ “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (c.f. Ephesians 4:11-13). It was the appointed time for the church to rethink their strategies and operational dynamics as illuminating light, preserving salt, and permeating leaven in every strata of the society. It was the appointed time for the church to learn how to build as Jesus builds; how to build with one hand while bearing sword on the other; and how to prevail as one corporate body over the gates of hell opened by the “Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and the son of Joiada” inside and outside the church, rather than trusting the “horses” of politicians and “chariots” of politicised judicial systems. Yet, the church in America had largely missed this grace period established through “Cyrus”.
While the challenges will be intensified in the days to come, I believe that God, according to His grace and sovereign plan, will establish an “Artaxerxes” who will continue to facilitate the appointed work of the ekklesia for the next four years. I believe that, if he is re-elected, Trump will continue as “Cyrus” to facilitate the rebuilding work of the ekklesia for the next four years; or else, God will raise up an “Artaxerxes” “from another place” (c.f. Esther 4:14) to facilitate what He has begun through “Cyrus”; for God’s plan for the ekklesia in America, or in any other nation for that matter, will not be thwarted.
So, whether it is in America or across all nations, let the church arise from its slumber and stupor; let the “Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, and Ezra” arise to lead; and let the people consecrate and arise to build; to the praise of the glory of His grace.
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