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Kingdom Administrators The Ancient
Worthies in Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.—Hebrews 12:1 David Stein The Millennial kingdom, under the wonderful rule of Jesus and the church, will offer tremendous blessings to mankind. While the high administration and oversight will be done by these kings and priests from the spiritual realm, the ancient worthies will be the visible representatives of that spiritual kingdom. Mankind will see in them the perfection of godly character and a reflection of the character of the divine rulers. The role they will play is a vital one in the restoration of mankind to perfection. They will be a main channel of Millennial blessing. And they will be involved from the start of the Mediatorial rule. Let us trace first how the ancient worthies are introduced into Millennial affairs. At the end of the Gospel age, the last members of the church are glorified, leaving some remaining members of the great company still alive. Then the great tribulation will intensify, signaling the finality of the Gospel age. The great company will then accomplish their last tasks, completing their earthly experience. At that point in time conditions on earth will be in great turmoil and in Israel there will be the desperate crisis of “Jacob’s Trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7).{FOOTNOTE: Editor’s Note: Allocating “Jacob’s Trouble” to the future is a common view among many. However, the only text of Scripture containing this phrase is Jeremiah 30:7. Some of the editors consider this Scripture, in context, to refer more broadly than only the closing trials of Israel, when invaded by Gog and his allies.} While details of that final experience are a fascinating study, we want to focus on Israel’s deliverance, for that is where the ancient worthies make their first appearance. “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” (Zechariah 14:2, 3). This is a clear statement that Israel will be attacked and suffer much from that attack. But in the middle of this, Jehovah comes forth to fight for and deliver the besieged nation. How does he fight? We are told “as he fought in the day of battle.” But how was that? Isaiah gives us a clue: “And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” (Isaiah 1:25-27). This text explains why Israel’s experience at the hands of her enemies is allowed by God to go so far. They are tainted and need to be purged! How this actually happens is open to interpretation, but the end result is a group of the fleshly seed of Abraham who are motivated and driven by faith, and with whom God can work. But notice that the means of deliverance is the restoration of the “judges” and “counselors as at the beginning.” Who are the judges and counselors and at what beginning? Evidently this refers to the ancient worthies (Hebrews 11:4-38), many of whom were the judges and counselors of Israel prior to Christ. These faithful ones will be resurrected to be deliverers of Israel, just as the judges and counselors of earlier times delivered Israel. The hope of the church is to have a resurrection like Jesus had, to the divine nature. This hope is in contrast to the hope of mankind, which is a resurrection to human perfection. For mankind this resurrection is a process of gradual attainment, a restoration during the Millennial age to the perfection which Adam originally possessed. But for the ancient worthies, their raising from the dead will be a resurrection to the perfect human nature immediately, with the full physical perfection as Adam before his sin. “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35). Better than what? Better than that of the rest of the human race who will gradually attain perfection. “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:40). Paul confirms that the resurrection of the church is better than the ancient worthies. But the second part of the sentence needs clarification. The Greek word rendered “without” means “separately” or “apart,” and several translations so render it. The ancient worthies will not receive their resurrection apart from or before the church. When the church receives her reward—and she will receive it first —then the ancient worthies will receive their reward, perfection as human beings. Deliver Israel The prophecies concerning the ancient worthies indicate that they will be raised from the dead specifically to deliver Israel. As in ancient times, they will be equipped with the power of God to accomplish this: “And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders” (Micah 5:5,6). The word “man” in this text does not appear in the original Hebrew and was added by the translators. It should be omitted. The prophet foresees this deliverance noting that it will bring peace. The source of that deliverance is “seven shepherds, and eight principal men.” This refers to the kingdom protagonists. The seven shepherds are the church in glory; the eight principle men, or princes (leaders) of men, are the ancient worthies. This designation “princes” is often used for them in other texts. The seven shepherds and eight princes decimate the enemies at the time of their invasion and bring peace to the land. This completes the opening stage of the mediatorial phase of Christ’s kingdom. Ezekiel’s Temple The ancient worthies will be the visible representatives of the heavenly kingdom of Christ. This role is suggested in the picture of Ezekiel’s temple: “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.” (Ezekiel 44:1-3). The east gate is shut with a clear emphasis from Jehovah about it. This would seem to represent the closing of the door to the high calling. This is consistent with the context since the last portion of Ezekiel 43 describes the sacrifices of the church during the Gospel age using symbolic language similar to Leviticus 16. The completion of the Gospel-age better sacrifices would naturally lead to the closing of the door of opportunity to the high calling. But someone is left by the door. It is the “prince.” This prince represents the ancient worthies just as the princes in Micah 5. We have another reference to the prince in Psalm 45. This beautiful and prophetic psalm identifies the entire family of those to be blessed by God. First, Jesus is described in the poetic language of verses 2 through 9. Next the church is introduced in verses 9 through 14, and the great company in verses 14 and 15. Finally the ancient worthies are described in verse 16: “Instead of thy fathers are thy sons, Thou dost appoint them for princes in all the earth” (Young’s Literal Translation). This is wonderfully specific language. The ancient worthies were the “fathers,” the faithful progenitors of Israel. But in the kingdom, these “fathers” will receive life from Christ and the church, thus becoming their “sons.” And the reward for their faith in ancient times will be their appointment as “princes” of the heavenly kingdom. As we look more into the use of the term “prince” in the picture of Ezekiel’s temple, we find that he is (they are) completely involved in handling the sacrifices of the people. The physical position of the prince in Ezekiel 44:3 was on the porch in front of the shut gate. This was a position of controlling access to, and communication with, the spiritual rulers. It suggests the total involvement of the ancient worthies in the kingdom work of bringing the people up to perfection. The ancient worthies will instruct the people to love their rulers and the great God who arranged the entire blessing: “And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 45:17). Furthermore, the people will have before them in the ancient worthies role models of perfect humanity as examples for them to emulate. The ancient worthies will endure some difficulties during the Millennium when they, as perfect men, find themselves surrounded with imperfect humanity, especially early in the Mediatorial reign. Their experience may be similar in certain ways to that of Jesus when he was on earth. But their love, patience, and endurance will sustain them through the difficult times. From a practical standpoint, we can imagine the ancient worthies as the ambassadors of the kingdom of King Jesus and the church. They undoubtedly will travel about the earth, instructing the people and setting in place the social and religious arrangements that will bless mankind. As judges, they may adjudicate differences that exist between peoples respecting the privileges of living on lands that had been historically possessed by many different peoples. The ancient worthies, with the knowledge dispensed to them by the heavenly rulers, will guide and teach everyone how to live in harmony with nature and with each other. They will be able to read the heart just as Jesus did while on earth, and see through any attempts at deception on the part of those resisting the iron rule of the kingdom. Their kindness, compassion, understanding and patience will win over all who truly want to live in accord with the righteous commandments of the kingdom.{FOOTNOTE: We expect that most police actions necessary in the kingdom will be handled by angels under the wise direction of Christ and the church. These actions would take place before the full commission of a crime, because nothing will be permitted to hurt or destroy in the kingdom (Revelation 21:4).} Close of the Millennium As the Millennium draws to a close, mankind will have attained a condition of outward human perfection. Then a period of testing will determine if inward perfection has been attained. This is the “little season” (Revelation 20:3), when Satan is released from his restraint and attempts to deceive the world yet again (Revelation 20:7,8). We are told in Revelation that Satan will have some success. Then comes the final battle: “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them” (Revelation 20:9). The “camp of the saints” is a final reference to the ancient worthies. It appears that even when mankind has reached human perfection enjoyed by the ancient worthies at their resurrection, the ancient worthies will still in some sense be separate and apart from the remainder of everyone else. At this time the ancient worthies may have the privilege of receiving a final reward, a heavenly one. While this is somewhat speculative, there are several lines of thought and Scriptures that seem to imply this.{FOOTNOTE: Editor’s note: This is the view of the author. Among the editors there is not a consensus, one noting the lack of direct evidence, another citing Matthew 11:11 about John the Baptist, another that the spirit of the parable of the eleventh hour worker is that God is free to grant rewards according to his wisdom and choice.} Notice in the text just considered that it is the “camp” of the saints which is surrounded. A camp is a temporary dwelling. This suggests the ancient worthies’ sojourn on earth is temporary. Note also these two Scriptures: God said unto Abraham, “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8). “And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child” (Acts 7:5). Both texts include the receipt of the land by the seed after Abraham. The implication is that Abraham would receive the promised land in the kingdom and afterward leave it to his posterity. This would seem to say that the ancient worthies move on to another reward, the spirit nature. This does seem to be the teaching in Hebrews: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:13-16). Note that the ancient worthies are characterized as “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” and that they were seeking something else, “a better country, that is an heavenly.{FOOTNOTE: One of the editors contributes the following comment, in which others concur: “I have always thought that the ancient worthies desired a spiritual city, or government, that is, one from God. That is what Paul says about Abraham in Hebrews 11:10. There is no Greek word to be translated ‘country’ in this passage—that word has been supplied by the translators. Paul’s reference is back to the better city, the New Jerusalem. This is consistent with Hebrews 11:16. Paul is contrasting the arrangement that the ancient worthies lived under in this life, and what God promised them under the New Covenant. If we interpret the verses to mean a heavenly existence, this suggests that the ancient worthies had a heavenly hope during their lifetime—which probably most would agree is not correct.”} The last consideration comes from contrasting the faith of the ancient worthies with the great company. The ancient worthies passed through no less severe experiences than that of the great company. It may even be argued that they passed through it with greater faith than the great company considering their greater willingness to suffer for righteousness. So would a class that is at least as faithful as the great company not receive the same spiritual reward? Summary The ancient worthies play a significant role in the affairs of the earthly phase of the kingdom. They are raised at the beginning of the kingdom and act as the visible deliverers of Israel. They oversee the training and restoration of mankind to perfection. They are present during the little season after the end of the Millennial age and are part of the reason for the gathering of the enemies in the last act of evil. And when it is over, they may depart the earthly scene to be ushered into untold blessings in heaven. |