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

In John 11:35 we read the shortest verse in the Bible in the English translation: “Jesus wept”. It is only in the book of John that we read about the death and raising from the dead of Lazarus by Jesus.

Wikipedia states that: “In some places in the English-speaking world, including the UK, Ireland (particularly Dublin) and Australia, the phrase ‘Jesus wept’ is a common expletive, curse or minced oath spoken when something goes wrong or to express mild incredulity.”

Unfortunately, it appears that a number of authors also use this two-word-verse as en expletive in their writings.  

Why did Jesus weep at this particular time? Many authors and commentaries have offered numerous ideas and explanations.

For example, Matthew Henry’s Commentary states the following: “Different constructions were put upon Christ’s weeping. Some made a kind and candid interpretation of it, and what was very natural (John 11:36): ‘Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!’ They seem to wonder that he should have so strong an affection for one to whom he was not related, and with whom he had not had any long acquaintance. Others made a peevish unfair reflection upon it, as if these tears bespoke his inability to help his friend.”

In Wesley’s Notes we read:   “Jesus wept – Out of sympathy with those who were in tears all around him, as well as from a deep sense of the misery sin had brought upon human nature.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible states:   “Jesus wept.  As he was going along to the grave, see John 11:28; as he was meditating upon the state of his friend Lazarus, the distress his two sisters were in, and the greater damnation that would befall the Jews then present, who, notwithstanding the miracle, would not believe in him. This shows him to be truly and really man, subject to like passions, only without sin.”

Wikipedia adds that “the death and raising of Lazarus portends the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Another stated theory is that Jesus felt the trauma that Lazarus would experience when transitioning from a short stay in Paradise back to a very troubled Earth. Pope Leo I summed it up this way: ‘In his humanity Jesus wept for Lazarus; in his divinity he raised him from the dead.’”  This explanation is clearly wrong, as Lazarus was dead and in his grave—not in a Paradise in heaven.

Some feel that Jesus wept because He felt sorrow, sympathy, and compassion for all mankind.  Others think that it was the rage He felt against the tyranny of death over mankind.

Let us look more closely at the passage in question. In John 11 we read that Lazarus was sick. In verse 4 it states: “When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” Jesus stayed where He was for two more days, and verse 11 states: “These things He said, and after that He said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.’”

In the space of two days, Jesus had said that the sickness was not for death (that is, Lazarus would not remain dead, but would shortly be brought back to life), and that He would go and wake him up. His disciples were thinking of normal daily sleep, not the sleep of death, and “Then Jesus said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead…’ (verse 14). 

Why then did Jesus weep at the grave, knowing that He would raise up Lazarus within the next moment?

The disciples had seen Jesus perform many miracles. In Matthew 17:14-21 we read the following:  “And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ Then Jesus answered and said, ‘O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.’ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.’”

It is obvious from this passage that the disciples lacked sufficient faith to heal the boy, and Jesus was obviously frustrated at this (see verse 17). This problem of lack of faith is also highlighted in Matthew 8:8-10: “The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, “Go,” and he goes; and to another, “Come,” and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’ When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’”

Faith always seemed to be in short supply. There was further unbelief shown in John 11:37: “And some of them (the Jews) said, ‘Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?’” Here was doubt again!

In spite of all of the miracles that Jesus performed, there always seemed to be doubt. In John 11:25-26 we read that: “Jesus said to her (Martha), ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”

Jesus was trying to tell Martha what He was about to do (see verse 23 where Jesus told her that her brother would rise again). But even though Martha had said that she knew that whatever He asked of God, God would give to Him (verse 22), she could not really see or believe that Lazarus would be raised up right there and then. Even though she said that she believed that He was the prophesied Christ and the Son of God (verse 27), she could not comprehend what Jesus would do, thinking He was talking about the resurrection at the last day (verse 24).

It seemed that even His close disciples and friends, and those who had seen such awesome miracles performed, failed to recognise what He was really capable of doing. They lived in grief and sorrow, confused and scattered, incapable of finding a way out of misery, discomfort, frustration and pain. They needed help.

Christ was a man full of compassion (Matthew 9:36). When He saw the grief of the people, including the ones whom He loved (see verse 5), it had undoubtedly an impact on Him and His emotions. We read that when Jesus saw Mary’s and the Jews’ weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled (verse 33). Jesus wept with those who wept (compare Romans 12:15).

In addition, in light of what we discussed above, there seems to be an even more compelling explanation as to why Jesus wept. He was grieved about their doubt about Him and His ability to heal, and their lack of faith and vision.

It is a good lesson for us today, not to doubt what God and Jesus Christ can do in our lives and to make sure that we believe what the Word of God clearly reveals to us.

Lead Writers: Brian Gale (UK) and Norbert Link