Alive Evermore

 Revelation 1:8: “I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

             Jesus Christ is the Ever-Living One.  He was in the beginning with God and He has everlasting life.  Christ, therefore, qualifies for the inheritance of everlasting promises.  He can reign for ever and ever, Luke 1:33; 54-55; Revelation 11:15; 22:5.  No man, nor nation, in the flesh can qualify for the everlasting promises.

            A study of the words “for ever” and “evermore,” etc., will reveal that they do not always indicate endless, or eternal time.  For example, Mark 13:31; Revelation 20:11, 2 Peter 3:7, 10-12 indicate that the earth will pass away and be burned up.  Yet, Psalm 104:5 says: “[Who] laid the foundations of the earth, [that] it should not be removed for ever.”

            This apparent contradiction can be resolved when we understand that in regard to the flesh and to the material creation, “for ever” means “throughout life” or “as long as this situation exists.”  For example, when Judah promised his father to bear the blame “for ever” if anything happened to Benjamin, (Gen. 43:9), he meant “as long as I live.”  The servant who remained in his master’s house for the sake of his wife promised to serve “for ever” which meant “for the remainder of my life,” (Exod. 21:5-6).[1]

            There is some misunderstanding amongst those who think that there are eternal, everlasting promises made to transient conditions of this material world and to perishable flesh.  That is not so and cannot be, since all material things change and the fleshly life perishes, (Isaiah 40:6; 1 Pet. 1:24; 1 Cor. 7:31; Romans 8:1, 6, 10).

            The most misunderstood of these promises are those which God made with Abraham.  In Genesis 13:15-17 God promised Abraham:

15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. (Gen. 13 See also Genesis 12:7; 17:8.)”

            The promise to Abraham‘s fleshly seed of the material land was fulfilled.  Joshua declared that all of God’s promises were fulfilled: Joshua 21:45; 23:14.  Solomon also declared that they were fulfilled: 1 Kings 8:56.  These were referring to the promises of a material nature upon the fleshly descendants of Abraham.

            The promises of temporal and material blessings upon the fleshly heirs of Abraham were conditional.  They depended upon the heirs keeping the faith of Abraham.  For those who departed from the faith, broke the covenant and walked in disobedience, there were concomitant promises of cursings and of being cut off from the lineage of promise.  These conditional promises are clearly delineated in Deuteronomy 27:9-28:68. 

            The same is true of the promises to David concerning his kingship over Israel.  In 2 Samuel 7:8-16 God promises that David’s house and his throne will be established “for ever.”  This was literally fulfilled in the dynasty of Solomon.  In 1 Kings 5:4 Solomon states that he has rest on every side, without an adversary.  The fleshly lineage of David is authenticated in the genealogy of Christ.  In Christ, the fleshly lineage ended in the beginning of the Spiritual lineage in which it was possible for the promise to become truly eternal.

            The promises of an eternal nature could only be fulfilled in the eternal Spirit.  Although Joshua and Solomon both declared the material promises fulfilled, they were not eternally and ultimately fulfilled until Christ came and conquered the Flesh and arose to the eternal throne:

And these all, (the heroes of faith mentioned in the foregoing verses), having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. (Hebrews 11:39)

            The ultimate and eternal fulfillment was of a spiritual nature, that is, by faith: Romans 4:13-16; 9:8.  It is those who keep the faith that are truly the heirs.  The entire remnant of the fleshly lineage who kept the faith of Abraham accepted Christ: Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 3:16-29.  This remnant was elected by grace: Romans 11:5, 7.  All who did not accept Christ were blinded and cut off: Romans 11:17-19.  Those broken-off branches still had hope, but only in Christ, that they might be grafted back into the vine of God’s people: Romans 11:23.  Only if they were grafted back in were they eligible for the inheritance of the promises, and that only in the Spirit.  They had no right to call themselves “Israel” unless they were in Christ: Romans 9:6-8, 27.

            Even though God promised David that his seed would succeed him on the throne “for ever,” the Lord told Solomon that his reign depended upon his obedience, 1 Chronicles 28:9, and that if he forsook the Lord, he would be cast off “for ever.”  Indeed, Psalm 37:28-9 promises that the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.  It is the righteous only who will inherit the land.  Indeed, the nation was taken captive to Babylon for their sins and disobedience, Nehemiah 1:5-11.  Only a small remnant of faithful ones returned.  The unrepentant were cast off forever.

            Isaiah prophesies of a time when God’s people will be all righteous, chapter 60:21.  Daniel prophesied that “the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever,” (7:18).  These are only fulfilled in the ultimate, eternal kingdom of Christ: Luke 1:33, 54-55:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end…. 54. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of [his] mercy… 55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.”

Revelation sums it up thus:

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)

 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)

            The same things that are true of the promises of the land and the kingdom are also true of the promises concerning the Temple, or “House”, and the city, Jerusalem.  Joel prophesied: “Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation,” (3:20).  Jeremiah also said that the Temple and the city would “remain for ever,” (7:1-7).  But this was conditional, see also 17:21-27.  In this context, it is clear that the temporal city would be destroyed if it fell into sin, idolatry and disobedience.  The subsequent history confirms that God did indeed fulfill His promise both of good and of bad.

            In the time of Christ‘s ministry in His fleshly body, the Pharisees were teaching that the material city, and land were an irrevocable promise to the fleshly descendants of Abraham.  Christ refuted this teaching: John 8:33-59.  Paul refuted the teaching that the earthly, material city was eternal: Galatians 4:22-31.  The writer to the Hebrews says also:

But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. (Hebrews 12)

We are admonished to leave the earthly city of destruction:

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. (Hebrews 13:13)

 The eternal City that can never be destroyed was revealed to John the Revelator:

And 1 John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)

     Those who refused to accept Christ but rather trusted in fleshly lineage, legal practices, the material land and city, were destroyed in the wars and captivity of the AD 70 era.  Let us be warned by their example that the geographical land called “Israel” and those pretending a fleshly lineage are doomed to a similar destruction.  Only Christ and those in Him are “alive forevermore”.