The Coming Prophet

Moses spoke (in Deuteronomy 18:15-19) about a coming prophet that God would raise up for the people of Israel. Shortly after Pentecost, Peter referred to the words of Moses, saying:

Acts 3:22-23: For Moses truly said to the fathers, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever he says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people .”

The Amplified Version says it like this:

Thus Moses said to the forefathers, The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren as [He raised up] me; him you shall listen to and understand by hearing and heed in all things whatever He tells you. And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to and understand by hearing and heed that Prophet shall be utterly exterminated from among the people.

Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say (Luke 6:46)?” and, “Not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).”

We are told in Hebrews 1:1-2 and Hebrews 2:1-3:

Hebrews 1:1-2: In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

Hebrews 2:1-3: We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

Now, what does “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation” mean? Doesn’t salvation come by hearing the truth of the gospel and believing? Doesn’t in come by “accepting” Jesus? How can we drift away, or ignore a great salvation? We shall see.

THE OLD COVENANT GIVES WAY TO THE NEW

There was a problem with what we know of as the Old Covenant. The people had very little ability to heed and obey it. In fact, the New Covenant writings show that there were two main purposes of the Old Covenant law. Those purposes were, 1) to reveal to us the nature of sin and our sinfulness, and, 2) to lead us to a saving faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:19-20: Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Romans 7:7-8: What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.

Galatians 3:21-25: Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

OBEDIENCE IS CENTRAL TO THE NEW COVENANT

God knew all about the weakness of the Old Covenant, and reveals to us that it was a type and shadow of what was to come. The Old Covenant law is actually called weak and unprofitable in Hebrews 7:18.

The work of the Lord, Jesus, in bringing in the New Covenant is based very strongly to his obedience to the Father. It is important to see this emphasis on obedience. Hebrews 10:1-9 tells us :

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.’ ” First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.

A paraphrase of the above passage, for the sake of more clarity, might read something like this”

The law, especially the system of sacrifice for sin, is only a type or picture, pointing us toward the reality to come. It could only serve as a reminder of our sinfulness, because the blood of bulls and goats cannot remove our sins from us.

So, when Jesus came into the world, he said (to the Father), “I know that you do not want, and you are not pleased with sacrifice to atone for sin. You have prepared a human body for me with which I will obey you and do your will, which is what you have always desired from man.”

First, Jesus said, “You do not desire, nor are you pleased with sacrifice to atone for sin.” Then he said, “Here I am. I have come to do your will, eliminating the need for a system of sacrifice to cleanse sin.” In doing this, he sets aside the first covenant, based on the need for sacrifice to atone for sin, and establishes the new covenant, based on obedience to the Father, which is what God has desired from the beginning.

A final, interesting thought concerning this passage. God prepared a body for the Son with which he would fulfill and carry out the will of the Father.  Jesus is no longer physically on the earth, but that body is still here. We, as believers, are that body, and we are called to walk in the same obedience as Jesus did. This is what the New Covenant is all about.

Three other passages showing how important the obedience of Jesus to the Father was, and how that relates to us as believers, follow:

John 14:30-31: “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

John 14:21, 23: Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him….. If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

John 15:9-10: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

In these and other places in the word, it is clear that obedience to God is essential to a New Covenant walk. Wherever did the modern-day western church get the idea… spoken or unspoken… that daily, ongoing obedience to God is not necessary? How have we deceived ourselves into believing that a gospel of forgiveness and grace releases us from obedience? If anything, it obligates us to be obedient even more, because, with the New Covenant, God himself enables us to walk in obedience, as we shall see.

GOD PROMISES A NEW WAY OF WALKING

God’s promise of a New Covenant with his people, found in Jeremiah 31:31-34 says:

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, ” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Notice in that passage that the forgiveness of sins is more a means to an end, rather than the focus of the passage. After clearly stating his purpose, God says, “For (or because) I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” The focus is on a people whose lives line up with God’s will and who know him (are intimately acquainted with him… his ways… his nature).

A parallel passage in Ezekiel 36:26-27 (The Message) reads:

“I’ll give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.”

THE PURPOSE OF THE NEW COVENANT

The goal of the New Covenant is the creation of a people of God who truly walk in his ways (obedience from the heart) and who know him, meaning they are like him (share in his nature). These are the things God is looking to have in his people. He wants his people to obey him because their hearts are right, not by observing external rules or laws. He wants his people to share in his nature and reflect his glory. The scriptural proof of these statements, in addition to the ones already cited in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, follows:

John 17:1-3: After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

So, Jesus himself defined eternal life (the heart of the gospel message) as knowing God. This is the only place in scripture where eternal life is actually defined, and the definition the Lord gave surprisingly has nothing to do with length, time or eternity… or even heaven.

If Jesus defined eternal life as “knowing God”, and God says that “knowing him” is the central issue of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:34), then it is vitally important for us to understand what knowing God means, scripturally. We will look at some scripture passages that shed more light on this.

Jeremiah 9:23-24: This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 22:13-16: “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord.

In those two passages, God says that he delights in exercising kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, and that the man who recognizes and apprehends him as such knows him. He also says that the man who is content with having his basic needs met (did not your father have food and drink?) and who does what is right and just, like defending the cause of the poor and needy, is knowing him (God).

2 Peter 1:2-9: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them YOU MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE DIVINE NATURE and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

There are several things to note about this passage. First, the knowledge of God and of Jesus is the core issue throughout the passage, and we can be certain this does not mean an academic, head knowledge (bible knowledge). Second, it is explicitly stated that believers are to participate in the divine nature (the nature of God), by laying hold of God’s promises. Third, it says that those who do not add the listed virtues to their faith have forgotten that they have been cleansed from their past sins (hearkening back to Jeremiah 31:31-34, which shows the forgiveness of sins to be the means to the end of knowing God).

1 John 2:3-6: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 4:16-17: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

WHAT EXACTLY IS GOD AFTER?

The scriptures are very clear. God has sent the promised prophet (Jesus) spoken of by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. He demands attention to and obedience to that prophet. It is not optional, but essential.

The good news is that God himself has provided us with a new way (new covenant) by which we may truly obey him from the heart, and come to know him (be like him, express his nature). These are the major goals of the New Covenant. This is the “great salvation” spoken of in Hebrews 2:1-3 that we are warned to not ignore or drift away from, and that we are to walk in by faith.

Romans 7:4: So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

The Father prepared a body for the Son with which to obey him on earth. The church is that body. The obedience of Christ was essential, because his death for our sins would have accomplished nothing if there had been disobedience (sin) in his life. Our obedience is essential, too, because we are the body of Christ and the scriptures clearly call us to obedience to God.

God delights in exercising kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, as clearly demonstrated by the life and ministry of the Lord, Jesus, and believers are called to walk as Jesus did and be like him. In fact, Israel was called to express God’s righteousness, justice and mercy in a sinful world but was unable to do so, but the New Covenant Israel, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, has no excuse.

God is not interested in our outward religious observances, or our services and programs. That was the main problem with the Old Covenant, and it appears to be a major problem within the church. He is after our obedience and the outworking of a practical, godly righteousness in our lives, as the following scriptures clearly demonstrate.

Isaiah 58:1-11: “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, AS IF THEY WERE a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord ? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Isaiah 66:1-4 (Amplified Version):  Thus says the Lord: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house would you build for Me? And what kind can be My resting-place? For all these things My hand has made, and so all these things have come into being [by and for Me], says the Lord. But this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a broken or wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word and reveres my commands. [The acts of the hypocrite's worship are as abominable to God as if they were offered to idols.] He who kills an ox [then] will be as guilty as if he slew and sacrificed a man; he who sacrifices a lamb or a kid, as if he broke a dog’s neck and sacrificed him; he who offers a cereal offering, as if he offered swine’s blood; he who burns incense [to God], as if he blessed an idol. [Such people] have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations; So I also will choose their delusions and mockings, their calamities and afflictions, and I will bring their fears upon them–because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they did not listen or obey. But they did what was evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.

Isaiah 1:11-17: “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Titus 2:11-14: The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

What exactly does Jesus tell us to be and to do? First and foremost he tells us to love, but this is a love which goes far beyond doing nice things for others or even being sacrificial for others. The Shriners and Mormons can do that! It is possible to do kind and noble things for others and not have the kind of love which God commands.

1 Corinthians 13:3: If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

The love we are commanded to walk in is a love which seeks for the good and welfare of others in the same way that we seek for our own.. It is a love which lays down its life for others, even our enemies. This last clause, “even our enemies”, is critical.

Luke 6:27-36: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ lend to ’sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Romans 5:10: For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Go to: Coming Prophet 2