When I Survey the Wondrous Nace, part 1: A Prophetic Think Tank

What is the sword that reaches into the soul? The flag is a signal that the prophecy of the Babylonian invasion is underway, and that God’s word is in the process of fulfillment. They don’t want to see the signal because their lives or way of life are set for destruction as God said would happen. In fact, the people of Jerusalem even go so far as to say that God has deceived them for promising peace and giving, or allowing, destruction. They forgot that God promised them that their foot would slide (Deu 32:35, Due 18:18-19) and that all this would come upon them because of their unbelief in his word. Their concern is only for their flesh and the world, and if God does not for any reason give it to them and maintain it, then he has deceived them. In short, the flag and the sound of the trumpet that the people do not want to hear is prophecy itself, and therefore God. This is the reason for their destruction.

• In Numbers 26:10, the kind of people under destruction is typified by Korah and his gang. Here, nace is used exclusively for a prophetic sign of those unbelievers whom God said he would destroy.
• In Psalms 60:4, what does the banner stand for? “Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. Thou hast given a banner (on) to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.  Selah” (Psalms 60:2-4 KJV). I think this is obvious.

• In Isaiah 5:26, are we talking only about a flag, or a person?
• Isaiah 11 contains one of the greatest messianic prophecies. It’s clear here that the ensign is Jesus Messiah
• In Isaiah 31:9, the ensign that the people will fear is a person.
• Isaiah 49:22 has a Standard lifted up to the people. Who or what is it?
• Jeremiah 50:2. We have “standard” the parallel of “publish.” The standard that will be displayed is a declaration that God’s prophecy of the destruction of Babylon is headed toward fulfillment.
• In Isaiah 62:10-12, the standard is indisputably messianic prophecy: “lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.” But it does not stop there. Who is this Messiah? What is his name? The word for salvation here is none other than a variation on the name Yeshua, or Jesus. Reading this part again, we have: Behold, thy Yeshua cometh; behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.

Survey of Christ

All three meanings come through clearly in Numbers 21:8-9, where Moses lifts up the brass serpent on the Nace. The brass serpent is, of course, a symbol for Satan, sin, and judgment. But this is also a prophecy of the Messiah hung on the cross. It’s a very difficult problem. Most say something like “the Messiah, in the guise of sin, would be lifted up on the pole, and whoever looked upon Him in faith would be not be struck by the serpent and the penalty of sin.” One thing we know for sure, Moses is lifting up a prophetic sign for the people. But I saved this for last because these verses if properly and honestly read, would cause an earthquake to the popular forms and fashions of bible exposition over the previous 1800 years. We are not reading deep enough:

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, [even] the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:1-21 KJV, emphasis mine)

There is a huge amount of information here, but take the italics are words begging for a particular definition as a consequence of the real subject under discussion.

First, let’s remember what Jesus did and said that prompted Nicodemus to approach him.

Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast [day], many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men], And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (John 2:18-25 KJV)

Notice the oracular emphasis here. Jesus speaks of a prophecy uttered by the prophets about the crucifixion of the Messiah and gives prophecy himself, saying that his disciples will believe the “scriptures,” the Old Testament testimony about him, after he rises from the dead.  It goes on to say that many believed in his name because of the miracles he performed, but Jesus knew that they are motivated by the show and not the scriptures and did not commit himself to them. This is also the story of Nicodemus and Jesus’ problem with his faith.

I also contend that the appellation Son of Man, from the astounding vision of Daniel 7:13-14, is a symbolic reference to the messianic oracles themselves. Jesus was running the money changers out of the temple. The Jews wanted to know by what authority he was doing these things. If he were Messiah, he would have the right to do what he wanted with his own house. They asked him for a sign, and Jesus gave them one. But Jesus did not give them some flashy miracle. Jesus steadfastly refused to put on a supernatural show for the Pharisees, because expressly because a miracle can be believed for itself without any incorrigible prophetic associations, but messianic prophecy cant, which promises the miracles and is a miracle when its fulfilled. The miracle is the fulfillment of the prophecy, a dependency, and if you don’t know the scriptures, then you will not feel responsible for fundamental spiritual motivation.  It is a belief from and then through the fulfilled prophetic signs that save. He gave them the sign of the temple, which stood for His body. He gave them the sign of the resurrection: They would destroy his body, but in two days, he will rise from the dead. All of this is well established in prophetic scriptures. If they cared about the prophetic signs, they should have known that the Messiah would die by murder, killed by piercing and that his soul would be through this an offering for sin (Isaiah 53, Psalms 22). They should have known that God would not leave His Holy One to see corruption (Psalms 16:10).

The Jews, of course, thought He was talking about the literal temple. They are spiritually blind to the prophetic word of God, both in its letter and importance. So was Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was impressed and motivated by Jesus’s healing power. However, Nicodemus did not even think water into wine at Cana and the other miracles certified Jesus as Messiah, evidenced in the phrase “we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.“ The wonders also were not regarded by Nicodemus as prophetic signs of the Messiah. Otherwise, he would not have merely called him a teacher sent by God. And this is from religious leadership! Jesus’ response was that Nicodemus had to be born again to enter the promised Kingdom of God. Nicodemus, just as the unbelieving Jews in the temple, still thought He was speaking only in naturalistic terms and wondered how he could re-enter his mother’s womb.

Now, indeed, being born again refers to a miraculous spiritual rebirth through faith, transforming one in spirit as a little child. But, perhaps, more importantly, are we not also talking here about people going back and starting over in the way they were looking at scripture through the phenomenon of its present fulfillments by Jesus? Going back to a faith built exclusively on a trust that God is faithful in promising and keeping His promises, of which Jesus was the ultimate example? Faith through the signs of scripture?

Jesus rebukes Nicodemus’s unbelief by effectively telling him that he should be ashamed to call himself a religious leader in Israel and did not know or believe in messianic prophecy: Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things? The “earthly things’ refer to Jesus speaking of the literal temple and physical birth. The “heavenly things” refer to something about spiritual things gleaned through knowledge (We speak that we do know) and direct experience (and testify that we have seen). Therefore, “heavenly things” are the proofs of Jesus Messiah through the Word confirmed and fulfilled through His miraculous signs, just as the Temple is a sign of the prophesied Messiah.  Jesus is not complaining that Nicodemus or the Jews did not believe that he would build the temple in three days or that one could physically be born again. That would be foolish. He was complaining that these people would not take his miracles and words as pointers to the wonders of fulfilled prophecy in scripture and that his death and resurrection were among them.

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