In this second installment on the questions raised, we are proceeding with answering whether those Old Testament institutions are still of any validity today. In last week’s first installment, we quoted the relevant biblical passages (mainly Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:1-7, 18-22), and we cited numerous commentaries to show their understanding as to what these passages meant for the ancient Israelites. Now, we are beginning to answer the question as to what they mean for us today.

At the end of the previous installment, we alluded to the fact that we had addressed the issue of the ongoing validity of the Land Sabbath or the Sabbatical Year in previous Q&As, which also quote numerous commentaries to the effect that they do not feel that the Land Sabbath only applied to the nation of Israel for the time while in the Promised Land.

In our Q&A, addressing Leviticus 25:1-7, we wrote the following:

“Many commentaries acknowledge the wisdom contained in these verses to let the land lie fallow every seventh year. The Broadman Bible Commentary states, ‘…there were also agricultural advantages in leaving a field fallow once in seven years, to alleviate the exhaustion of the soil…’ Likewise, the Nelson Study Bible points out, ‘A sabbath to the LORD is the same phrase used for the weekly Sabbath (23:3). The people rested weekly from their work; the land was to rest every seventh year from its work. The principle of the land needing rest has been rediscovered in recent years and is practiced in various ways by farmers of many nations.’

“Jamieson, Fausset and Brown agree, ‘This year of rest was to invigorate the productive powers of the land, as the weekly Sabbath was a refreshment to men and cattle…’

“But, how are we to understand Leviticus 25: 5-7? Some claim that these verses teach that the owner of the land was in no way permitted to take for himself what grew in the seventh year (compare Broadman). This view has been correctly rejected by most commentaries, as it does not agree with the Biblical text. For instance, the Nelson Study Bible points out:

“‘Reaping and gathering for storage and selling were not permitted in the Sabbath year. However, harvesting for daily needs was permitted. Since the purpose of these laws was to promote social equality in Israel, anyone, regardless of social standing, was permitted to use anything that grew, wherever it grew. Even the wild beasts of the field are mentioned here, to emphasize that God would provide for every creature. Of course, Israel’s main provision during this time was the bumper crop produced the year before the Sabbath year (vv. 21, 22).’

“The Soncino Cumash concurs, pointing out, ‘In this year you must not think of yourself as the sole owner, but others have an equal right to its produce with you. That which grows on its own accord, without any effort on your part, is permitted.’

“The Ryrie Study Bible also concurs, ‘Every seventh year the land was to have a sabbath, a rest. Whatever grew during the year was freely available to all alike (vv. 6-7). It was also a time of special instruction in the Law of God (cf. Deut. 31:10-13).’

“So does The New Bible Commentary: Revised: ‘In the law of the sabbath rest, the principle is applied to all human beings, whether free or bond, and also to the cattle (Ex. 20:10), to the ox, the ass, or any cattle, as beasts of burden (Dt. 5:14), as well as to the sojourner. Here it is extended to the land. Every seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of solemn rest… from sowing and reaping. The land is to be left untilled and that which grows of itself, called in v. 6 the sabbath of the land (i.e. what the sabbath of the land produces of itself), is to be food for all alike, for the owner and the servant, for the sojourner and the cattle…’

“Leviticus 25:1-7 teaches us important lessons, including reliance on God and sharing our goods with others. Food growing by itself during the seventh year could be eaten by everyone. Applying these principles today, this would be like walking through the forest and finding wild berries that grow on their own accord. In some areas of the world, these could be freely plucked and eaten by the one who is hungry.

“God warned His people not to neglect to obey His law regarding the land Sabbath. Ancient Israel and Judah refused to carry out God’s command to let the land rest every seventh year. God prophesied that Israel and Judah would go into captivity, if they were not to obey His laws. ‘Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest – for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it’ (Leviticus 26:34-35).

“Because of their disobedience of God’s laws, ancient Israel and Judah actually went into captivity. 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 states, ‘And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon…, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath…’

“Today, the modern tribes of Israel and Judah do not obey their God, either, including God’s command to grant their land rest every seventh year. The prophecy in Leviticus 26 is dual. As it was fulfilled in the past, so it will be fulfilled again in the future…”

In our Q&A, addressing fruit trees during the Sabbath Year, we wrote the following:

“Leviticus 19:23-25 prescribes what we are to do with newly planted fruit trees. This law…is still valid today…

“These verses prohibit the consumption of fruit from a NEWLY PLANTED fruit tree for the first three years… In the fourth year, the fruit is to be used to praise God… In the fifth year, and all following years, the fruit belongs to the individual — but the individual is of course still obligated to tithe on the increase.

“This law… does not refer to shrubs, bushes, grapefruits, or olive trees. Those ‘trees’ are described in the Bible as field crops, as they have a different production cycle. The distinction is shown in the law of gleaning (Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-22). It is also shown in the law of the Sabbath rest (Leviticus 25:3-5; Exodus 23:10-11). Notice carefully that the law of gleaning and the Sabbath rest does NOT refer to fruit trees… Leviticus 25:3-4 instructs us not to sow our field, nor to prune our vineyard during the Sabbath year. (Again, this passage does not refer to fruit trees.) We are also told, in verses 7 and 8, that the Sabbath produce of the land shall be food for us and our livestock and other beasts during the Sabbath year.”

Leviticus 25 shows that the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee or Fiftieth Year are closely connected.

We read in Leviticus 25:8-14:

“And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field. In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible remarks:

“A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you,…. Which, clearly shows, that not the forty ninth year was the year of jubilee, as many learned men have asserted, chiefly induced by this reason, because two years would come together in which were no sowing [and] reaping; but that God [who] could cause the earth to [bring] forth fruit for three years, Leviticus 25:21, could make it bring forth enough for four years; and in order to make their sentiment agree with this passage, they are obliged to make the foregoing jubilee one of the fifty, and begin their account from thence; but this could not be done in the first account of the jubilee… ye shall not sow; in the year of jubilee, which shows also that this could not be the forty ninth year, which of course being a sabbatical year, there would be no sowing, reaping [etc.], and so this law or instruction would be quite needless.”

In the Jubilee Year, according to Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary, “… besides the common rest of the land, which was observed every sabbatical year (v. 11, 12), and the release of personal debts (Deu. 15:2, 3 [Year of Release]), there was to be the legal restoration of every Israelite to all the property, and all the liberty, which had been alienated from him since the last jubilee… The property which every man had in his dividend of the land of Canaan could not be alienated any longer than till the year of jubilee, and then he or his [offspring] should return to it, and have a title to it as undisputed, and the possession of it as undisturbed, as ever…”

We wrote the following in our Q&A regarding the Jubilee Year:

“In Old Testament times, God established a system whereby the poor would not be in perpetual poverty… Notice that the Jubilee Year began on the Day of Atonement. This annual Holy Day points at a future time when mankind will be released from the captivity of Satan and from the oppression of this present evil world. At the time of ancient Israel, the Jubilee Year designated a release from all debts and a repossession of the land which had been initially allocated to the debtor.”

In our Q&A on bankruptcy, we wrote this:

“There are numerous Biblical passages which, judging by their spiritual implications, allow for [declaring bankruptcy]. These passages deal with God’s institution for ancient Israel of the ‘Sabbath’ and the ‘Jubilee’ Year.

“(1) On the ‘Sabbath Year,’ that is, at the end of every seventh year, ‘debts of fellow Jews [correctly: Israelites] were to be canceled’ (Halley’s Bible Handbook, 24th ed., p. 139). One needs to note that this was an automatic release of debt, by God-given law. It was not required that an agreement was reached between creditor and debtor, or that the creditor agreed to release the debt of the debtor. Quite to the contrary, the debts had to be released every seventh year, whether the creditor liked it or not. This was not just a postponement of debts, either; it was, rather, a cancellation of debts.

“Notice Deuteronomy 15:1-3, 9: ‘At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor SHALL RELEASE IT; HE SHALL NOT REQUIRE IT OF HIS NEIGHBOR OR HIS BROTHER, because it is called the Lord’s release. Of a foreigner you may require it; but you SHALL GIVE UP YOUR CLAIM TO WHAT IS OWED TO YOUR BROTHER… Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,” and your eye will be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing [knowing that by the time of the seventh year, the lender or creditor would never receive back what he gave] and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin to you.’

“References to the Sabbath Year can also be found in Exodus 21:2, Nehemiah 10:31, and in Jeremiah 34:14. The release of debt was to occur automatically, without the necessity of an agreement between creditor and debtor. An interesting application of these principles can be found in Nehemiah 5:1-13.

“(2) In addition, every fiftieth year, God’s civil law for ancient Israel demanded that ANOTHER release be granted. This was, again, not a matter of choice or agreement between creditor and debtor, but automatic. Halley points out on p. 139: ‘Jubilee Year was every 50th year. It followed the 7th Sabbatic Year, making two rest years come together. It began on the Day of Atonement. ALL DEBTS WERE CANCELED, slaves set free, and lands that had been sold returned.’

“The Year of Jubilee is mentioned in several places, for instance in Leviticus 25 and Numbers 36:4. It is associated with the proclamation of ‘liberty’ (Leviticus 25:10) and referred to as the ‘Year of Liberty’ in Ezekiel 46:17. In Leviticus 25:24, 28, 39-41, it is stated: “‘And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land… But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee, and in the Jubilee it shall be RELEASED, and he shall return to his possession… And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you…, [he] shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you — he and his children with him — and shall return to his family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers.’

“The New Testament does not abolish the principles set forth in these Scriptures. In fact, Jesus came to preach liberty, as expressed in the Year of Jubilee, at His first coming (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:17-21), applying it to total freedom of God’s people, including freedom from all sickness, disease, sin, death, and every curse (compare, for example, Edward Chumney, ‘The Seven Festivals of the Messiah,’ p. 147). It is true that there are New Testament Scriptures describing how creditors freely forgave their debtors (compare, Luke 7:41-42; 16:5-8). These additional Scriptures do not negate the principle, however, that debts can be forgiven by law and in God’s sight, regardless of whether the creditor is agreeable to such cancellation or not. In conclusion, the concept of declaring bankruptcy is Biblical under certain circumstances.”

In addition, as alluded to above, land was not to be sold forever. It had to be returned to the previous owner in the Year of Jubilee. Leviticus 25:15-16 explains that the price of the property or crops had to be determined based on the number of years left until the Jubilee Year.

Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary writes:

“What was to be done in that year extraordinary; besides the common rest of the land, which was observed every sabbatical year (v. 11, 12), and the release of personal debts (Deu. 15:2, 3), there was to be the legal restoration of every Israelite to all the property, and all the liberty, which had been alienated from him since the last jubilee… The property which every man had in his dividend of the land of Canaan could not be alienated any longer than till the year of jubilee, and then he or his [offspring] should return to it, and have a title to it as undisputed, and the possession of it as undisturbed, as ever (v. 10, 13): ‘You shall return every man to his possession’; so that if a man had sold or mortgaged his estate, or any part of it, it should then return to him or his heirs, free of all charge and encumbrance. Now this was no wrong to the purchaser, because the year of jubilee was fixed, and every man knew when it would come, and made his bargain accordingly.”

From all the foregoing, we can clearly see that the Sabbatical Year or the Land Sabbath or the Year of Release, as well as the Jubilee Year, were laws for the nation of Israel, which were indeed related to the Land of Canaan. They are of course not enforceable today, on a grand scale, as every nation today has its own laws which may quite differ in regard to cancellation of debts, long-term “employment” relationships, transactions of real property, or even the cultivation of farm land. Still, as will be explained in the next installment, the Church of God has consistently taught that certain PRINCIPLES can and should be applied as much as possible by Christians today.

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

As this is a very broad subject, we will provide answers in several Q&As. This Q&A constitutes the first installment, to be continued next week.

The purpose of this first installment is NOT to answer most of the questions about the Land Sabbath and the Jubilee Year. Answers will be provided in future installments. In this installment, we will mainly be quoting from commentaries to show the different positions applied to the issues—which are somewhat reminiscent of SOME opinions and concepts which are occasionally raised by some Church members as well.  In subsequent installments, we will discuss the substantive accuracy or inaccuracy of many of those statements.

Let us first look at the biblical provisions in detail, and analyze what exactly they provide. In that context, we must realize that there are ritual temporary laws (which are not in force for us today), spiritual eternal laws (which are immutable and always effective for man), physical and spiritual laws binding today for individuals, and laws which were given to the nation of Israel in the Promised Land, which were in force while God was their Supreme Ruler, and which may not presently be in force (although underlying spiritual principles might be). We need to ascertain to which category the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee Year injunctions belong.

The first mention of the Sabbatical Year or the Land Sabbath can be found in Exodus 23:10-11, long before Israel entered the Promised Land. We read:

“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.”

Please note that this provision is immediately followed, in verses 12-19, by the injunction regarding the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days.

Let us now review several statements, opinions and interpretations, as set forth in commentaries regarding the nature and purpose of the provisions of the Land Sabbath, as referred to in Exodus 23.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says: “This is the first mention of the Sabbatical year; the law for it is given at length in Leviticus 25:2…”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds: “And six years thou shall sow thy land, The land of Canaan, given to their ancestors and to them, and which they were now going to inherit…”

Wesley’s Notes write: “The institution of the sabbatical year was designed, To shew [sic] what a plentiful land that was, into which God was bringing them, that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the products of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year. To teach them a confidence in the Divine Providence, while they did their duty, That as the sixth day’s manna served for two days meat, so the sixth year’s increase should serve for two years subsistence.”

The Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary writes:  “Even in the year of rest they must not think that the sabbath day was laid in common with the other days, but, even that year, it must be religiously observed; yet thus some have endeavoured to take away the observance of the sabbath, by pretending that every day must be a sabbath day…”

We will address the substance of some of these comments in subsequent installments.

The next reference to the Land Sabbath can be found in Leviticus 25:1-7, 18-22:

“And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you; for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food…”’”

“’So you shall observe My statutes and keep my judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years, And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.’”

Again, let us review some statements from several commentaries in this regard.

Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible says: “It may be asked here: if it required all the annual produce of the field to support the inhabitants, how could the people be nourished the seventh year, when no produce was received from the fields? To this it may be answered, that God sent his blessing in an especial manner on the sixth year (see Leviticus 25:21, Leviticus 25:22), and it brought forth fruit for three years.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds: “And now this law did not take place as soon as they came into the land, for it was to be sown six years, and then was the year of rest; and indeed not till after Joshua had subdued the whole land, which was seven years a doing; nor till they were quite settled, and it was divided among them, and every man had his field and vineyard apart, which this law supposes…”

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary agrees, writing: “When ye come into the land which I give you—It has been questioned on what year, after the occupation of Canaan, the sabbatic year began to be observed. Some think it was the seventh year after their entrance. But others, considering that as the first six years were spent in the conquest and division of the land (Jos 5:12), and that the sabbatical year was to be observed after six years of agriculture, maintain that the observance did not commence till the fourteenth year.”

The Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament writes: “The omission of sowing and reaping presupposed that the sabbatical year commenced with the civil year, in the autumn of the sixth year of labour, and not with the ecclesiastical year, on the first of Abib (Nisan), and that it lasted till the autumn of the seventh year, when the cultivation of the land would commence again with the preparation of the ground and the sowing of the seed for the eighth year; and with this the command to proclaim the jubilee year on ‘the tenth day of the seventh month’ throughout all the land (Leviticus 25:9), and the calculation in Leviticus 25:21, Leviticus 25:22, fully agree.”

Wesley’s Notes say:  “When ye come into the land – So as to be settled in it; for the time of the wars was not to be accounted, nor the time before Joshua’s distribution of the land among them. Keep a sabbath – That is, enjoy rest and freedom from plowing, and tilling. Unto the Lord – In obedience and unto the honour of God. This was instituted, For the assertion of God’s sovereign right to the land, in which the Israelites were but tenants at God’s will…”

Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary points out: “The law of this chapter concerns the lands and estates of the Israelites in Canaan, the occupying and transferring of which were to be under the divine direction, as well as the management of religious worship; for, as the tabernacle was a holy house, so Canaan was a holy land; and upon that account, as much as anything, it was the glory of all lands. In token of a peculiar title which God had to this land, and a right to dispose of it, he appointed… [that] every seventh year should be a year of rest from occupying the land, a sabbatical year (v. 1-7). In this God expected from them extraordinary instances of faith and obedience, and they might expect from God extraordinary instances of power and goodness in providing for them (v. 18-22)… All these appointments have something moral and of perpetual obligation in them, though in the letter of them they were not only peculiar to the Jews [Israelites], but to them only while they were in Canaan…

“In the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land… This sabbatical year began in September, at the end of harvest… The Jews say they ‘began not to reckon for the sabbatical year till they had completed the conquest of Canaan, which was in the eighth year of Joshua; the seventh year after that was the first sabbatical year…’”

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible states: “The express prohibition of sowing and reaping, and of pruning and gathering, affords a presumption in favor of the sabbatical year beginning, like the year of Jubilee Leviticus 25:9, in the first month of the civil year Leviticus 23:24, the seventh of the sacred year, when the land was cleared of the crops of the preceding year.. Its great spiritual lesson was that there was no such thing as absolute ownership in the land vested in any man, that the soil was the property of Yahweh, that it was to be held in trust for Him, and not to be abused by overworking, but to be made the most of for the good of every creature which dwelt upon it.”

Again, we will discuss the substance of these statements in subsequent installments. However, to conclude this first installment, we would like to briefly point out the following:

While many of the above-quoted comments are very good, some statements are misleading and will be addressed and clarified, as we proceed. For instance, the argument, which seems to be associated with some of the comments above, that this was a law which only applied to Israel while in the Promised Land, will have to be rejected. We read, for instance, that Israel was ordered in Exodus 23:10-11, long before entering the Promised Land, to keep the Land Sabbaths (without any reference there to the Promised Land), and in the same context, they were ordered, in Exodus 23:12, to keep the weekly Sabbath (again without any reference to entering the Promised Land).

We addressed the issue of the ongoing validity of the Land Sabbath or the Sabbatical Year in previous Q&As, which we will cite and discuss in the next installment. These Q&A’s quoted numerous commentaries to the effect that they do not feel that the Land Sabbath only applied to the nation of Israel for the time while in the Promised Land, even though it is quite obvious that the provisions only began to be applied sometime AFTER Israel had left Egypt and entered the Promised Land, because, while in the desert, they had no land to cultivate. It should also be noted that there is no indication that any of the provisions regarding the Land Sabbath are mentioned prior to Exodus 23, while there were undoubtedly righteous people who cultivated land. Still, the omission of such provisions is no conclusive evidence that they were not in effect prior to Exodus 23, nor, that they have no validity today.

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

In previous Q&A’s, we showed how the survivors of the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah will be brought out of captivity and led to the Promised Land, where they will settle down. We discussed a subsequent invasion of Far Eastern nations into the Promised Land at the beginning of the Millennium, and how God will deal swiftly with these hostile armies.  We also discussed the fact that Christ will come to bring spiritual and physical restoration for all peoples, but He will rule in Jerusalem over—at first–the Israelite nations. How, then, will “Gentile” nations come to and accept the truth?

The Bible makes very clear that after Christ’s return, He will sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem (Luke 1:32) to rule the entire world. But it will be a process—all the nations will not automatically and immediately know and embrace the truth; they will have to be taught and their minds will have to be opened.

How is this going to happen?

As mentioned, Jesus Christ will deal at first with the survivors of the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah. He will convert them and bring them back to the Promised Land, under the resurrected David, their king (Jeremiah 31:8-9). They will submit to Christ’s rule. We also read that the original apostles will sit on thrones and rule the tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).

The effect will be that there will be no more hurt or destruction in all His holy mountain, and ultimately, the earth will become full of the knowledge of the LORD, and the Gentiles will seek Him, as we read in Isaiah 11:6-10.

Why will the Gentiles seek Him?

Isaiah 2:2-4 gives us a clue. We are told that the Gentiles will hear or somehow learn about the righteous rule in Jerusalem, and they will want to learn more about it. They may at first send ambassadors or messengers to Jerusalem to inquire more about what they have heard, and to report back to them (compare Isaiah 14:32. For historic examples, see Jeremiah 27:2-3 and 2 Chronicles 32:31). As a consequence, since God will be opening their minds, the Gentile nations will be led to forsake war and choose peace  (compare Zechariah 9:10).

But this is a process. Recall that at the beginning of the Millennium, Asiatic hordes will try to conquer the land of Israel (compare chapters 38 and 39 of the book of Ezekiel). But notice WHY God will be dealing with the hordes supernaturally, mightily and swiftly. For one reason, He wants to have the survivors of Israel and Judah understand, once and for all, HOW powerful God is, and that He will always defend them, and that there is never a need for them to fight in war. In fact, God wants them to realize that it would always be wrong for them to fight in war.

Notice Ezekiel 39:22: “So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.”

Compare also verse 7, first part: “So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel. And I will not let them profane My holy name anymore.”

Israel profaned God’s holy name by violating His commandments and by refusing to make a difference between the holy or clean things and the unholy or unclean things (Ezekiel 22:26). They violated His holy Sabbath and His annual Holy Days, and substituted them with human holidays and religious practices which had been invented for the purpose of worshipping pagan gods and demons (Ezekiel 20:11-13,16, 18-21, 23-24; compare Psalm 106:35-38). Even though God had commanded them to keep His Law for their own good (Deuteronomy 6:24) and not to worship or offer sacrifices to demons (Leviticus 17:7), they continued to do so (Deuteronomy 32:17; Amos 5:25-26).

And so, as God had “given them up” to the worship of idols in the wilderness (Acts 7:42-43)—that is, He did not force them to keep His Law, as He gave them free will to decide—so He later “gave them up” to statutes that were not good (Ezekiel 20:25). And such is the case with the modern descendants of ancient Israel—as is the case with all of mankind—even though Paul warns us that we are not to engage in the worship services of unbelievers, as they are serving demons and not God (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).

But once Christ rules on earth, all of this will change.

Let’s return to the description of events in Ezekiel 38 and 39, and continue reading the second part of Ezekiel 39:7:

“Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”

Notice also Ezekiel 38:23:

“Then I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

God’s mighty intervention for Israel at that time, after He allowed them to go into slavery and become captives of war, will help to cause an interesting change in the minds of the nations, and it will reinforce in Israel’s mind the need to glorify God and obey Him.

Note Ezekiel 39:23:

“The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.”

But when God intervenes for Israel and when He brings the Far Eastern nations into judgment with a great earthquake, pestilence and bloodshed, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone (Ezekiel 38:19, 22), so that even the troops of the hostile armies will begin to fight each other (verse 21), then it will become clear to the nations that God is now hallowed in Israel, and that Israel’s former sins have been forgiven. But equally importantly, Israel will know and understand this too (compare Ezekiel 39:27-29).

These events will also make clear to all peoples that God will not allow compromise with His holy Law (compare Isaiah 11:4).

Undoubtedly, that message and the word of the events will spread. People will want to know what is happening in Jerusalem and the Promised Land, and why God is acting so powerfully on behalf of Israel. And so, their ambassadors and messengers will appear in Jerusalem and return and report back to them, telling them about Jesus Christ’s rule with mercy, justice and righteousness, and what the requirements are to please God (compare Psalm 98:1-9). One of these requirements will be the abolishment of war and the destruction of all the weapons of war, and the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.

But not every nation will be immediately prepared and willing to obey God and keep His Sabbath and His Holy Days. We read in Zechariah 14:16-19, that not every nation will immediately worship God in the right way—some will refuse for a while to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. When this happens, God will deal with them. He will withhold certain blessings—rain in due season which is necessary for a good harvest—and so they will learn swiftly that it does not pay to disobey God.

People will have to be taught—Israelites and Gentiles alike. Christ’s government and peace will increase. His rule will start in Jerusalem with the nations of Israel and Judah, but it will spread from there to the entire world (compare Isaiah 9:5-7). Isaiah 60:1-3 explains that the Gentiles will come to Christ—quite literally, by sending ambassadors first and then appearing in Jerusalem themselves, for instance during the Feast of Tabernacles—and most certainly also spiritually, in that they are accepting the Way of God and are “coming to Him” in spirit and truth. They will come to the right understanding, as Jeremiah 16:19-21 explains. Even Gentile kings will want to please God (Psalm 68:28-29). They will be drawn to Christ the King (Isaiah 49:5-7).

Gentiles will recognize that God is ruling in Jerusalem, and that Israel and Judah have been responding to God’s call. And so, Gentiles will want to show their respect, not just for God, but also for modern Israel and Judah (Isaiah 60:14; 61:9; Jeremiah 33:9).

Gentiles will want to seek Jesus Christ, the LORD, in Jerusalem. They will realize that God is with the Jews, and so they will ask them for help (Zechariah 8:20-23).

In addition, we are told that Israelites and Jews will be sent to foreign lands to teach the Gentiles (Isaiah 66:19). They will declare God’s glory to them, and the Gentiles will come to see His glory (verse 18). Note that some of those peoples include survivors from the country of Tubal, who had sent their armies previously against the Promised Land, as we read in Ezekiel 38.

But as Jesus Christ will deal and work directly with the Gentile nations, so will His born-again disciples who have become immortal members of the Family of God. As they will help Israelites and Jews (Isaiah 30:20-22), so they will help other nations as well.

We read in Obadiah 21 that they will become “saviors” to judge the “mountains of Esau,” when the Kingdom of God has been established on earth. They will be saviors in the sense that they will help the nations to come to salvation. As Christ will rule with uncompromising righteousness and mercy (Psalm 2:8-9), so will they (Revelation 2:25-27; Psalm 149:5-9).

During the entire Millennium or one thousand years, they will rule under Christ on this earth (Matthew 5:5; Romans 4:13; Revelation 5:10; 20:4, 6; compare also Daniel 7:27, clarifying that their rule will be on earth, as the Kingdom of God will be established “under the whole heaven”). Their rule will spread from Jerusalem, until God’s peaceful and righteous Way of Life engulfs the entire earth, as water covers the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Let us look very closely at both passages.

In Psalm 8:4-5, David wonders about the purpose of the creation of man. We read, in the New King James Bible: “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor.”

David proceeds in the next verses to show that man has received dominion over the animal world (verses 7-8).

In the margin of the New King James Bible, it is stated that in the Hebrew, the word for “angels” is “Elohim,” which means “God.” (Compare the footnote in the Elberfelder Bible and the Schlachter Bible.) While translations such as the New International Version and the Living Bible render it, “angels,” the Revised Standard Version, the English Revised Version and the American Standard Version say, “little lower than God.” So also the revised Luther Bible (“Gott”) and the Menge Bible (“Gottheit”).

The Schlachter Bible also comments that the phrase, “a little lower” can be rendered as, “for a little while lower…”

Commentaries offer different explanations.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says:

“Than the angels – So this is rendered by the Aramaic Paraphrase: by the Septuagint; by the Latin Vulgate; by the Syriac and Arabic; and by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews Heb 2:7, who has literally quoted the fourth, fifth, and sixth verses from the Septuagint. The Hebrew, however, is… ‘than God.’ So Gesenius renders it, ‘Thou hast caused him to want but little of God; that is, thou hast made him but little lower than God.’ So DeWette, ‘nur wenig unter Gott.’ So Tholuck renders it, ‘nur um wenig unter Gott.’ This is the more natural construction, and this would convey an idea conformable to the course of thought in the psalm, though it has been usually supposed that the word used here… ‘Elohiym’ – may be applied to angels, or even men, as in Psalm 82:1; Psalm 97:7; Psalm 138:1; Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:8-9.

“Gesenius… maintains that the word never has this signification. The authority, however, of the Aramaic, the Septuagint, the Syriac, and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, would seem sufficient to show that that meaning may be attached to the word here with propriety, and that somehow that idea was naturally suggested in the passage itself. Still, if it were not for these versions, the most natural interpretation would be that which takes the word in its usual sense, as referring to God, and as meaning that, in respect to his dominion over the earth, man had been placed in a condition comparatively but little inferior to God himself; he had made him almost equal to himself.”

We note from the foregoing that the word “Elohim” can refer, on rare occasions, to human judges (whose potential it is to become God), or to pagan gods; but a plural verb is then associated with “Elohim,” whereas, when “Elohim” is used to describe the true God, it is usually associated with a singular verb. However, there are exceptions, and as we explain in our booklet, “God Is A Family,” the word “Elohim” can refer to the God Family, consisting of the Father and the Son, or to either one of the two God beings. What is important to note here, however, is the fact that the word “Elohim” is never used to describe angels.

Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible agrees, stating:

“The original is certainly very emphatic… Thou hast lessened him for a little time from God. Or, Thou hast made him less than God for a little time.”

This comment is also remarkable in that it seems to say that it is the potential of man to become, after a little while, equal with God. And this is exactly correct, as we will explain.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible says:

“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels…. Than Elohim, ‘than God’, as this word usually signifies: and could it be interpreted of man, as made by God, it might be thought to refer to the creation of him in the image and likeness of God… Sometimes the word ‘Elohim’ is used for civil magistrates, as in Psalm 82:6; because they are in God’s stead, and represent him; and, on account of their majesty, authority, and power, bear some resemblance to him…”

Wesley’s Notes state:

“But the words more literally rendered are, Thou madest him a little less than God.”

The Ryrie Study Bible states:

“Hebr. Elohim, usually translated, as it should be here, ‘God.’ The psalmist views man, created in God’s image, as little lower than God.”

The Nelson Study Bible states:

“The Hebrew text is, ‘You have made him to lack little of God.’”

It is true that God made man, in his present state, a little lower and for a little while lower than the angels, but God shows us too that it is man’s destiny to enter the Kingdom of God as immortal God beings, far above angels, and with the destiny to rule over angels (compare Hebrews 1:14; 1 Corinthians 6:3). God does not give aid to angels, but to the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2:16). We are specifically told, in Hebrews 2:5, that the world to come is not going to be in subjection to angels, but to man, made immortal.

On the other hand, it is also very true, and seems to be the primary meaning in Psalm 8:5, that man was made for a little while lower than God. God created man in His own image, according to His likeness. He did not create him as a spirit being, but from the dust of the ground. Man has to qualify to be changed into a spirit being and to enter the Kingdom or Family of God. So, for a while—during this life time—man is made lower than God, but in the resurrection, he will be like God (1 John 3:2). In fact, he will BE God and in that sense EQUAL with God—a member of the God Family, a child of God the Father and a brother or sister of Jesus Christ, who is in the image of the Father (Hebrews 1:1-3) and who is God Himself (John 1:1). Man will share the divine nature of God—He will be equal with God, fully God, even though he will always be UNDER the authority of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

In light of this understanding, let us now focus on Hebrew 2:7. Paul is quoting, or better paraphrasing the passage in Psalm 8:5 (a careful comparison between Hebrews 2:6-8 and Psalm 8:4-6 shows that  the wording is not identical). Paul is trying to convey an important  truth which is included in the book of Psalms, even though the emphasis there was slightly different.

In the New King James Bible, Hebrews 2:7 reads:

“You have made him a little lower than the angels…”

Here, the Greek word “aggelos” means literally, “messenger” or “agent,” and it is commonly referring to angels.

Paul proceeds to explain that the dominion that God had intended for man is not limited to rule over animals (as David had limited it in Psalm 8), but that man is destined to rule over everything, emphasizing: “For in that He put ALL in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him” (Hebrews 2:8). But Paul continues to explain that even though God has put all things in subjection under his feet, we do not yet see all things put under him (verse 8). However, Paul says, we see Jesus, “who was made a little lower than the angels… crowned with glory and honor” (verse 9).

While Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and while He was changed into an immortal Spirit being—the same God being that He was before He became a Man—this transformation has not yet occurred for man. Man is still awaiting his future resurrection or change to immortality.

In the context, it is clear that Paul could not have said that Jesus, who was God and the Immanuel (“God with us”), was made for a little while lower than God. Even though Christ gave up His divinity and became a human being (Philippians 2:5-7; John 1:14), He was still the very Being that He had always been—He was still God, but in the flesh, so that He could be tempted by Satan to sin, and so that He could die. It only made sense to say that Jesus became a little lower—or for a little while lower— than the angels—in authority and even in respect to His appearance. Angels are higher than mortal men—they are spirit beings and cannot die. Christ became a little lower, or for a little while lower than the angels, because He became a mortal being and could and did die.

The context of the entire passage shows that Paul wanted to make the point that Christ did not assume or take on the nature of angels, but of men (Hebrews 2:16, compare the Authorized Version and the margin of the New King James Bible), and that, in the resurrection, He did not assume the nature of angels, but of God, “having become so much better than the angels” (Hebrews 1:4), and all the angels have become subject to Him (1 Peter 3:22).

The Ryrie Study Bible explains:

“‘a little lower’. This may mean (1) for a short time, or (2) more likely, a little lower in rank. In the order of creation, man is lower than angels, and in the incarnation Christ took this lower place.”

There is no contradiction or even discrepancy between Psalm 8:5 and Hebrews 2:7, because when referring to man, both statements are correct (compare the Nelson Study Bible, comments to Psalm 8:5-8). Man was made (for a little while) a little lower than both angels and God, with the potential of becoming God and ruling over angels. However, in regard to Christ, the Son of God the Father and God Himself, it only made sense to say that Christ, when He came in the flesh and became flesh, was made a little lower or for a little while lower “than the ANGELS,” to be crowned in His resurrection with honor and glory in the Kingdom of God.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link