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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Eternal Purpose of God, #11
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. (Song of Solomon 6:8,9)
The Song of Solomon singles out "one" who is closest to the Lord's heart. The end of the new covenant is that "all shall know me, from the least to the greatest" (Hebrews 8:11). We understand from this that there indeed are least and greatest in the Kingdom of God, but every member of Israel will come to know Christ intimately.
Some believers, by election and by corresponding diligence in grasping that for which they have been grasped, become "pillars" in the eternal Temple of God. It seems likely that the "pillars" will be pillars throughout eternity (Revelation 3:12).
The Lord's firstfruits, just as was true of Gideon's army, come from Israel and remain part of Israel. Any believer can choose to live in Zion. But experience teaches us that the majority of Christians do not rise to the level of victory where they truly are overcoming the world, Satan, and their own sin and self-will. The "iron" and "fire" necessary to surmount the pressures of life appear to be lacking. The desperate earnestness, the willingness to be crucified personally in order that Christ may have His unhindered way in one's life, are not always found in the believers. But apart from such earnestness and willingness it is impossible to "stand on the heights of Zion" (Revelation 14:1).
For those who are called to Zion, nothing short of perfect obedience and rest in the center of God's will can suffice. (What scorching fires burn in the souls of "the only one of her mother"!) The remainder dwell in Jerusalem, and God loves them dearly. They are His family.
To abide in the sea is to be part of the mass of mankind. It often is true that the peoples of the nations hear Jesus gladly. While they may not be called to be part of Israel, there are many of them, nevertheless, who are God-fearing, upright people. Many members of the sea of mankind have not knowingly and willfully rejected God's Christ. Neither have they destroyed their spiritual nature through excessive involvement in the world (although they do not have eternal life). They may inherit eternal life one day, depending on how they treat the Lord's "brothers" (Matthew 25:40).
Part of the sea of mankind is wicked and will be judged and destroyed by the Lord. Antichrist will "rise up out of the sea" (Revelation 13:1). Although Antichrist will be among the fervent Christians at first, he will come out from among them because he never was of them. The "sea" always had been in his heart.
There will be "no more sea" in the eternal age (Revelation 21:1). Every inhabitant of the new earth will have a portion of Christ in him. God loves the peoples whom He has created. God loves the world but not the spirit of the present age.
In the Day of Judgment the sea is not thrown into the Lake of Fire; neither is it carried forward into the new heaven and earth. The members of the sea who are saved will become part of the Kingdom of God. While they are not pillars in the eternal Temple of God or members of the Wife of the Lamb, they nevertheless will have a portion in Christ.
To be continued.