Theological Bites
Hope for a New World Order (40-48)
Hope in the book of Ezekiel does not end with the restoration of Israel and the defeat the Gog and Magog of the nations. There is a hope which is the last thing (eschaton) of the last things (eschatology) and that hope is one of the creation of all things anew. The creation of the new world, however, begins with the TEMPLE. According to the prophet Ezekiel, the hope of the new world order begins at the temple. To the prophet, the Temple is the source of all the peace, prosperity and stability of the entire creation.
The problems of the entire world begin with the defilement of the Temple (Ezekiel 8:5-6, 10-11, 14-16) and can only be solved by its restoration (Ezekiel 40-48). The hope of the universe, therefore, is in the Temple. Ezekiel in his endeavour to constitute the hope for new world order begins with the truth that the Temple is not to be rehabilitated but to be replaced by a New Temple (Ezekiel 40:1-47). While the Temple motif is rampant with Ezekiel, it runs through almost all the exilic and post-exilic prophets to the New Testament synoptic gospels.
In most of the prophets, the temple is conceived as the place of seven realities:
- Yahweh’s presence
- A centre of God’s self-manifestation, Home of his Glory
- A centre of divine worship, thus a religious centre of the world
- A place of human meeting with the divine and a social centre
- A channel of salvation
- An emblem of the community’s autonomy and distinctiveness
- The economic and administrative centre of the community
The idea of a new Temple means that we understand this new Temple to be something bigger and better than the Israelite Temple. Though the Prophet imagines a new, bigger and better Temple in relation to the Babylonian shrines he sees and the Jerusalem Temple he knew (1Kings 6-7), he is inspired to communicate to us that the Temple prophesied here is different and it can only be what Apostle Paul talks about (1Peter 2:5; 1Corinthians 3:15-20; 6:14-19; Ephesians 2: 19-22) and what Jesus Christ confirmed (Mathew 12:6).
This is what the imaginative theology of Ezekiel is about the new Temple. He goes ahead on the Temple restoration and discusses the restoration of the Temple AREA (40:1-47), the restoration of the great ALTAR (43:13-27), the reinstitution of a better PRIESTHOOD (chapter 44), the return of a pure THEOCRATIC ORDER of government (Chapters 45-46), and the return of GOD’S GLORY (43:1-12). With this hope of the Temple, restoration comes with a public hope of the RIVER OF LIFE from the Temple (), the GIFT OF LAND (47:13-23; 48:1-29) and an ETERNAL CITY (48:30-35).
A serious look at this portion of Hope for the New World Order communicates that the prophet envisions a new and better garden of Eden (Genesis chapters 1-2) and anticipates the eschatological new city of (Revelation 3:12; 21:1-27).
Right here in the prophets, we have Christian eschatology explained and our hope of the second coming and the coming of the new world order proclaimed. I anticipate this hope of the new world order and not the new world order of the modern super-power nations inspired and motivated by Gog and Magog whose hope is ultimate defeat, but a divine NEW WORLD ORDER is my hope.
The Beauty of Hope
As Christians, we live and thrive by three virtues, Love, Faith and Hope. Love is the reason we worship God, Faith is the channel through which we are saved and Hope is the reason for our living. Hope comes within faith; it is linked to thoughts about the future and a future even beyond the grave for believers like myself. The quality of your hopes will determine the quality of your life. What you expect tunes your lifestyle. Your actual net worth is what you hope for. Hope is the eye that sees the unseen in the seen and that is what makes it an imagination. Hope manages the magnitude of our pain and sorrow amidst loss (1Thessalonians 4:13).
Helene Downman in his article in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine discusses the difference between Realistic Hope and unrealistic hope. Allow me to share the view here:
“Realistic hope is much more of an active analytical process. It involves an assessment of the future, perseverance, expectancy and an appraisal of all the various possibilities and their consequences which can promote the realization of the hope and its expectancy. It is an important ingredient of living and of a fulfilled life.”
“Unrealistic hope, in contrast to the above, it is a passive wish which may cause despair. It may be fantasy and carries with it negative feelings. Even with perseverance and will, the failure to acknowledge realistic properties means frustration, disappointment and possible anger. It is different from pessimism, which is more of a natural disposition to believe that things will turn out badly. Hence, the expectancy of fulfilment is constantly thwarted. It involves a failure to clearly assess what can be changed and what cannot be changed.”
What we have in Ezekiel and throughout the Bible is realistic hope because, as you can see, we are in the business of assessing it. Hope is practical-steady patience beyond known limits because it is an expectation from a particular source. Your hope cannot be served by any source, we, therefore, hope exclusively in God and God alone (Romans 15:13).
Our hope is not something that can be manufactured by any creative power, but we have a particular hope whose solutions are not man-made. It is for this reason that we are called not to hope without real reasons for our hope (1Peter 3:15). Hope is one of the great graces of Christianity, given by God to His elect people (1Corinthians 13:13).
What we hope for as Christians
Lastly, I would like to share with you the 8 things we hope for, that my teacher shared with me:
- The hope of Israel to Paul was the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6; 24:15; 26:6-9; 28:20)
- The appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13)
- Eternal life is a glorious promise that we expectantly wait for (Titus 1:2; 3:7; 1Peter 1:3)
- Heaven, the dwelling place of the Most High, is the object of our hope (Colossians 1:15, 27)
- Though we may be troubled here, we will obtain everlasting consolation there (2Thessalonians 2:16)
- Our hope and expectation are to be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:5)
- We shall bask for eternity in the glory of God as His heirs (Romans 5:2; 8:17-25; Colossians 1:27)
- The glory of the future is entirely superior to any present pain (1Corinthians 15:19; 2Corinthians 4:17-18).
DON’T STOP IMAGINING, DON’T EVER BECOME HOPELESS
God bless you I invoke TRUTH, WISDOM, and FAITH (2Tim 2:7)
Priest Isaiah White (+256-775 822833 for further inquiries)
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