The Temple: All That Is In Your Heart - Part I
March 2019 |
“Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remains under curtains. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in your heart; for God is with you” (I Chron. 17:1-2).
The Heart of David
David is here as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ residing in Jerusalem in the glories of the coming kingdom age. All enemies are defeated.
David desired to build a house for the Lord. This presents the beginning of the kingdom age when the Lord Jesus, as a “greater than Solomon,” will begin to build His house.
While the Lord definitely was with David, it was not the will of God that David build the house, even though it was definitely the will of God for the house to be built. So, what David felt was definitely from the Lord, but he assumed that the Lord wanted him to build the house. He was wrong in that.
The Lord definitely was with David, but, for any number of reasons, it was not the will of God that David build the house. In fact, it would be built by his son Solomon. This tells us that irrespective of whom the person might be, even a prophet such as Nathan, we must not assume that we know altogether what God wants. We must seek His face about everything, which Nathan at that moment did not do, at least when he gave his first answer to David.
The Coming Kingdom Age
Everything pertaining to the temple speaks of the coming kingdom age, which will portray God’s glory. The tabernacle portrayed God’s grace, and the temple portrayed God’s glory; therefore, at that particular time, the tabernacle would have been separated from the ark of the covenant, with the tabernacle residing at Gibeon and the ark residing in Jerusalem. Both David and Solomon were types of Christ. David subduing all of his enemies, casting the Jebusites out of Zion, and setting up there the throne of Jehovah are types of the Messiah when He will come back to this earth and overthrow the Antichrist. In fact, the Messiah is stated in Exodus, Chapter 15, to be Jehovah, the man of war. In Revelation, Chapter 19, it states that He makes war righteously. As the great captain of the host, He will overcome all His enemies, establish His throne in Zion, redeem Israel, and make the Gentiles subject to His scepter. Having accomplished all of this, as the divine Solomon, He will then display the glory of His millennial reign. The building of the temple was designed to symbolize that glory. The tabernacle given to Moses in the wilderness foretold the first advent of Christ in humility; the temple of Solomon foretold His second advent in power and great glory, hence, the grandeur of the temple.
David could not build that temple, for he typified Messiah as a man of war destroying His enemies and setting up His throne.
Solomon, typifying Christ as the Prince of Peace, which he did, built the glorious palace of Jehovah. In doing so, he gave a forepicture of the time when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, the Son of David, who shall reign forever and forever.
Types Of Christ
David’s heart was to build a structure for the ark. To be sure, the Lord most definitely did place it in the heart of David that this structure be built, but, as stated, it was not to be built by the “sweet singer of Israel.”
Why?
The temple that would house the ark was a type of the coming kingdom age when Christ will reign supremely in peace, with the world then knowing prosperity and freedom as it has never known before. To be sure, that day is just ahead, but the rapture of the church and the great tribulation must precede this coming event.
At any rate, the temple was to portray that coming grand time, a time of such glory and splendor as to defy all description. Though David was a type of Christ, and perhaps one of the greatest types who ever existed, still, he could not portray Christ in this posture. As we have stated, David was a type of Christ as it regarded redemption’s plan, which pertained to the defeat of Satan and all his cohorts (Col. 2:14-15).
As such, David was not a man of peace, even as he could not be a man of peace.
Solomon
Solomon, David’s son by Bath-sheba, would be a type of Christ as it regarded peace, thereby, the coming kingdom age. In fact, under Solomon, Israel knew peace and prosperity as the nation had not known before and would not know again, at least until the second advent of Christ, which is in the future.
So, we have in both David and Solomon types of Christ, with the former portraying the redemption plan that was purchased at great cost, and the latter as a victory that is totally won. David was a type of the conquering Christ, while Solomon was a type of the victorious Christ. In other words, all victory is now won. So, David could not build the temple, and for the obvious reasons, but he was given the plans in totality, which we shall see.
Prophets And Apostles
Concerning the construction of the temple, the Scripture says, “Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in your heart; for God is with you.”
Now, without fanfare and without introduction, we have Nathan the prophet who comes on the scene.
Under Old Testament guidelines, the prophet, in effect, was used by the Lord to guide Israel. Presently, the office of the prophet is used of the Lord very similarly to Old Testament times, with one great exception. Now, the apostle and not the prophet is the titular leader of the church. This office was inaugurated by the Saviour in the choosing of 12 apostles who would be witnesses of His life, ministry, death, and resurrection, as well as His ascension. While there could never be another 12 like those originally chosen by Christ, with Matthias taking the place of Judas, still, this office is set firmly in the church, meaning that the Lord is still appointing apostles. Counting the Twelve, there were approximately 24 named as such in the New Testament (Eph. 4:11-14).
What Are The Earmarks Of An Apostle
In the Greek, the word apostle is apostolos and means “a messenger, he that is sent.” It actually refers to one sent with a particular message. In fact, a particular message is the greatest earmark of the apostle.
What do we mean by that?
The Holy Spirit, knowing what the church needs, will lay it on the heart of a man (there is no record of a woman being called to be an apostle) to stress a particular message, whatever that message might be. Of course, it will always coincide perfectly with the Word of God, not deviating at all from that Word.
All of this means that apostles aren’t appointed by men, aren’t selected by men, and aren’t voted in on a popular ballot by men. The fact remains that men have absolutely nothing to do with those whom God calls for such an office. As stated, these are the titular leaders of the church, whether recognized as such or not.
To Emphasize The Message
As the Lord sees that the church needs healing, prophecy, faith, or the Message of the Cross emphasized, the Holy Spirit will then appoint certain ones to emphasize the message desired. As well, there could be two or more emphases at the same time. Yet, and I think history will prove me correct, there will always be a greater emphasis on one aspect of the ministry and the work of God.
We see this greater emphasis in the book of Acts and the Epistles as it regards the Cross of Christ. While the Holy Spirit also emphasized other things, this was the primary emphasis of that time, and the Apostle Paul was the titular leader as it regarded that particular message. As well, if it is to be noticed, other than the original Twelve, most of the apostles of that time fell into that category. In other words, their emphasis also was the Cross of Christ.
Down through history, the Lord has emphasized other things. For instance, during the time of Martin Luther, the Lord emphasized justification by faith. At the turn of the 20TH century, the Holy Spirit was emphasized, and rightly so. At approximately the midtime of the 20TH century, divine healing was emphasized. Now, I believe it is the Message of the Cross.
Counterfeits
To be sure, during the time of the early church, Satan endeavored to hinder the true Message of the Cross—in essence, the message of grace—by attempting to institute the message of law. In fact, this was Paul’s greatest nemesis. False apostles from Jerusalem and elsewhere were continually trying to overthrow the message of grace and, thereby, substitute law. Inasmuch as flesh appeals to flesh, they were successful at times.
Presently, false apostles are attempting to institute other types of emphases, such as the Purpose Driven life scheme, the confession message, or the seeker sensitive message. However, as Satan did not succeed in the early church, he will not succeed presently.
Yes, he will draw many aside after these false apostles, whom Paul referred to as “grievous wolves” (Acts 20:29). However, for those who truly love the Lord and who truly hunger and thirst after righteousness, the great Message of the Cross, which is the present emphasis by the Holy Spirit, will be paramount (Acts 20:29-30
This article is an excerpt from the book 'The Temple' by Jimmy Swaggart.
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