Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Have you ever wondered what God was doing before he created the world? We'll talk about it today right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today we turn our attention to an interesting question: What was God doing before he created this world? According to our Bible teacher, Dr. Gary Hedrick, there are at least seven things God was doing before Genesis 1:1. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. And now, with today's installment, here is Gary Hedrick.

Gary Hedrick: Thank you, and welcome, listening friend, to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our series of studies on what God was doing before Genesis 1:1. Today we come to the fourth thing God did before the foundation of the world. It's found in the New Testament book of Ephesians chapter 3, beginning in verse 9. Here's what it says: "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

This is powerful, my friend. He talks about the fellowship of the mystery. What is a mystery? The Greek word is *musterion*, and in the New Testament, it refers to a specific truth that was unknown in the Old Testament dispensation, but has been revealed in the New Testament dispensation. The mystery he's talking about here is the fact that Jews and Gentiles have come together in one spiritual body that we call the *ecclesia* or the church.

The mystery was not the fact that God would bring the Gentiles to salvation, because even in ancient Judaism, they had the Seven Laws of Noah and an understanding that the Gentiles had a place in the plan of God. The salvation of the Gentiles wasn't the mystery. The mystery was that God would be taking Jews and Gentiles together and forming something new, namely the church or the Messianic community. That's the mystery that he says was conceived by God from the beginning of the world.

Then he says up until now, this truth has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ. That's why up in verse 4 of this same passage, Paul talks about another mystery, the mystery of Christ, or the mystery of the Messiah. There were aspects of the Messiah's mission that weren't revealed in the Old Testament dispensation. Unfortunately, the rabbis filled in the missing pieces of the puzzle with their own theories and speculations. They were very imaginative, so that by the time the Messiah finally arrived, they didn't even recognize him.

You might say, "Why did God make it a mystery? Why didn't he reveal it right from the start?" That is a good question. The answer is that if the whole plan had been outlined in detail in advance in the Old Testament, including the fact that Israel would reject the Messiah the first time he came, then it might have been said that the offer of the kingdom to Israel in the first century was not a bona fide offer. That is why God's plan had been shrouded in mystery until the time was right for it to be revealed.

Even though God knew from the foundations of the world what Israel would do, there still had to be at least the theoretical possibility that Israel could accept Jesus as the Messiah and inherit the kingdom. But now, with the benefit of hindsight, we can look back into the Old Testament and see many clues as to the identity of the Messiah and the nature of his mission. That's the mystery: that Jews and Gentiles have been joined together into one entity, one body.

Look at verse 10. He says, "to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." God is using the church to demonstrate his manifold wisdom unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places. Those are the angels. Principalities and powers has to do with the ranks in the heavenly hierarchy. There are cherubim and seraphim and archangels like Michael, and then other angels like Gabriel, who are simply called angels.

Paul says God is demonstrating his manifold wisdom to the spirit world. Remember, the Bible says these are things the angels desire to look into. They are curious to know more. You can see why. This whole plan of God from start to finish is incredibly ingenious. When Adam and Eve fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, the angels were there. It was an angel who guarded the entrance to the garden so Adam and Eve wouldn't have access to the tree of life.

Those angels probably thought that was the end of the human race. There was no one qualified to serve as a redeemer. A redeemer would have to be absolutely sinless, and Adam and Eve had both fallen into sin. All of their descendants would be sinners by virtue of the bloodline. It looked like a hopeless situation. Really the only being in the universe who could serve as a redeemer would be God himself. God himself would have to die in our place as our substitute.

But that would be impossible because God cannot die. The angels probably thought this is an impossible situation. But God always finds a way. He devised an ingenious plan whereby he would take upon himself human form. As a man with a mortal body of flesh and bone, he would be subject to human limitations, including death. You can see why the angels found this so fascinating. That's why the Bible says God has made us a display of his grace as a testimony not only to the visible world, but also to the spirit world.

The Bible teaches that the angels are vitally interested in what we're doing down here. They're rooting for us. The Bible says there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels each time a sinner comes to repentance. Verse 11 says, "according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." The plan of God was conceived in eternity past, long before the world began. That's when God devised the plan of redemption and the idea of the Messianic community or the church was conceived.

Nothing we're saying about the church should be misconstrued to mean that God is finished with Israel because she rejected Christ. In Romans 11 verses 1 and 2, the apostle Paul said, "I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew." Paul had not lost his Jewish identity when he followed Christ. He said, "For I also am"—present tense—"an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin."

You can't get any more Jewish than that. Paul was proud of his Jewish ancestry and his Jewish heritage, and he knew that God was not finished with Israel. He knew the setting aside of Israel was only a temporary measure. In fact, there's a wonderful prophecy in Isaiah chapter 11 verse 12: "And he"—that is the Lord—"shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

Do you know what an ensign is? It's a banner, a flag, a signal. Isaiah chapter 11 is talking about the prophetic events leading up to the Millennium, the Messianic Age. He says in the end times, God will give the nations a signal. What is the signal? The regathering of the children of Israel from the four corners of the earth. It says he will assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah.

You might say, "Wait a minute, Gary, that's talking about the regathering of Israel before the Millennium. That has nothing to do with the church age." You're right. The ultimate fulfillment of the regathering prophecies will be fulfilled at the end of the Great Tribulation. But there's no question that what happened in May of 1948 with the birth of the modern state of Israel was a preliminary fulfillment of those same prophecies.

I know it was part of God's plan for Israel to be restored prior to the beginning of the tribulation because the prophetic scriptures all make the assumption that Israel is already in existence when the tribulation begins. In fact, the specific event that marks the beginning of Daniel's 70th week is the signing of a Mid-East peace agreement. Daniel calls it a *berit*, a covenant. He says one of the parties to that agreement will be Israel, the people of God.

When that covenant is signed, the 2,520 days of the tribulation period begin. God is not finished with Israel, and he gave the Gentile nations a signal to watch for. That was the re-establishing of national Israel. It has just been in our generation that God has begun to set the stage for the resumption of his dealings with national Israel. In our lifetime! In the meantime, for these past 2,000 years, God has been doing a work among the Gentiles.

That's the mystery of the gospel: that Jews and Gentiles come together as one body in the church, in the Messianic community. In many ways we associate the term Messianic strictly with Judaism. We talk about Messianic Jews. But when was the last time you heard anyone referred to as a Messianic Gentile? No one talks about Messianic Gentiles. But if you're a Gentile Christian, that's exactly what you are: a Messianic Gentile.

Just like a Jewish person who believes in Jesus is a Messianic Jew. That's the whole point. The Messianic promises are extended to both Jew and Gentile. That was the mystery that wasn't revealed in the Old Testament dispensation. What do we have so far? What was God doing before Genesis 1:1? First, there was the association of the triune Godhead. Second, there was the creation of the angels. Third, the inscription of the Lamb's Book of Life. And fourth, the conception of the Messianic community or the church.

That's our program for today. Thanks for tuning in, listening friend. Next time, we'll talk about the fifth thing God was doing before Genesis 1:1. Until then, this is Gary Hedrick saying God bless you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us, whether you're listening from home, at work, or in your car. If you found today's program especially helpful and insightful, you'll be glad to know that we have placed the entire series of programs on one compact disc. The title is *Seven Things God Was Doing Before Genesis 1:1*.

It's available for your gift of just $6 or more to help us keep this program here on your station. Just visit our secure online store at MessianicSpecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on Seven Things God Was Doing Before Genesis 1:1 right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the free-will contributions of our listeners in this area.