Post by Lee on Oct 22, 2014 0:16:42 GMT
Ezekiel concludes his visions of the restoration of the city which had been smitten, by the declaration. “The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there” (Ezek. 48:35).
This is the rendering of the Authorised Version; but it is not quite satisfactory. It is quite true that the Lord will be there in the person of Jesus; but the New Name means more than that. Ginsburg (quoted by Rotherham) is doubtless correct when he suggests that shem and not sham is the true pointing, name and not there. This would make the statement run thus: “Yahweh (is) the name thereof,” or “Yahweh” (is) her name.” The Septuagint gives “the name thereof” as the translation, but omits “the Lord,” perhaps because the translators could not rise to the idea of the divine name being named upon a city. From Isaiah’s prophecy, however, it is manifest that the city is to be married to God as a virgin is married to a young man. When this occurs the man’s name is named upon the woman, who becomes one with the man and partakes of his affection and care and all his substance.
But Christ has settled the matter for ever by his promise to the church in Philadelphia: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, (even) my new name” (Rev. 3:12). Here the name of God, the name of the city, and the new name of Jesus Christ are diverse figures of the great salvation to be brought to his people by the Lord Jesus at his return. Hence the following beautiful remarks by Dr. Thomas in exposition of this passage—Eureka, vol. i., p. 399:
“To write the name of the city of the Deity upon one already inscribed with the name of the Deity, is indicative of all such constituting a Body Politic—a Divine Municipality. It is called New Jerusalem’ in contradistinction to the Old Jerusalem under the Mosaic constitution, ‘in bondage with her children.’ The latter was the mother of those whose name was good for nothing, but the former is the mother of all who believe the promises concerning the glorious things spoken of her approaching future. At present she is barren and desolate, having no children; nevertheless, this same shall break forth and cry, and become the higher Jerusalem, ‘the free city,’ which is the mother city, or metropolis, of the kingdom and dominion of the Millennial Aion. Jerusalem under Solomon the Second will be ‘higher,’ or more exalted than Jerusalem under Solomon the First, because the Municipality—THE INCORPORATE DEITY—will be her glory. In the times of Solomon, her state and municipal corporations were mortal men, and the glory of the Deity was confined to the temple, between the cherubim; but in the coming reign, the administration from the King to the least in the kingdom, will be immortal and greater than all that are born of women, and of such excellency in the estimation of Deity as to be compared to ‘gold and precious stones’ (1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 21).”
Walker, C. C. with Robert Roberts. (1907). The Ministry of the Prophets: Isaiah (pp. 719–720). The Publishing Commitee, Christadelphian Old Paths Ecclesia.
This is the rendering of the Authorised Version; but it is not quite satisfactory. It is quite true that the Lord will be there in the person of Jesus; but the New Name means more than that. Ginsburg (quoted by Rotherham) is doubtless correct when he suggests that shem and not sham is the true pointing, name and not there. This would make the statement run thus: “Yahweh (is) the name thereof,” or “Yahweh” (is) her name.” The Septuagint gives “the name thereof” as the translation, but omits “the Lord,” perhaps because the translators could not rise to the idea of the divine name being named upon a city. From Isaiah’s prophecy, however, it is manifest that the city is to be married to God as a virgin is married to a young man. When this occurs the man’s name is named upon the woman, who becomes one with the man and partakes of his affection and care and all his substance.
But Christ has settled the matter for ever by his promise to the church in Philadelphia: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, (even) my new name” (Rev. 3:12). Here the name of God, the name of the city, and the new name of Jesus Christ are diverse figures of the great salvation to be brought to his people by the Lord Jesus at his return. Hence the following beautiful remarks by Dr. Thomas in exposition of this passage—Eureka, vol. i., p. 399:
“To write the name of the city of the Deity upon one already inscribed with the name of the Deity, is indicative of all such constituting a Body Politic—a Divine Municipality. It is called New Jerusalem’ in contradistinction to the Old Jerusalem under the Mosaic constitution, ‘in bondage with her children.’ The latter was the mother of those whose name was good for nothing, but the former is the mother of all who believe the promises concerning the glorious things spoken of her approaching future. At present she is barren and desolate, having no children; nevertheless, this same shall break forth and cry, and become the higher Jerusalem, ‘the free city,’ which is the mother city, or metropolis, of the kingdom and dominion of the Millennial Aion. Jerusalem under Solomon the Second will be ‘higher,’ or more exalted than Jerusalem under Solomon the First, because the Municipality—THE INCORPORATE DEITY—will be her glory. In the times of Solomon, her state and municipal corporations were mortal men, and the glory of the Deity was confined to the temple, between the cherubim; but in the coming reign, the administration from the King to the least in the kingdom, will be immortal and greater than all that are born of women, and of such excellency in the estimation of Deity as to be compared to ‘gold and precious stones’ (1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 21).”
Walker, C. C. with Robert Roberts. (1907). The Ministry of the Prophets: Isaiah (pp. 719–720). The Publishing Commitee, Christadelphian Old Paths Ecclesia.