Micah 4 and Eschatology

koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)
Visiting Professor
Kyungpook National University
Sangju Campus
South Korea
Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College
Australia
18 March 2012

 

         One of the unfortunate errors in prophetic interpretation can be found in the commentaries of the Rabbis of the early, middle and later Middle Ages and in the commentaries of many Reformation Protestants who changed their interpretation model ca. the date of the disappointment in 1844 of the Advent Awakening, as one can see in the appendix of Thomas Myers commentary of Calvin on Daniel (1857). Not Historicism but Preterism garbed in Idealism became the favorite interpretation model of Protestantism globally since that time.
         The Rabbis all came to the text of Micah 4, read `atah = now and interpreted it as referring to the own-time of the prophet. Thus, they were looking at events surrounding the time of Sennacherib and Hezekiah with the Assyrians or the time of Nebuchadnezzar during the Babylonian exile. Some rabbis, not all, made remarkable comments in which, although they made an error in application to the day of Micah, nevertheless hopped further to the times of the Messiah to come. These examples did not escape our attention and will be incorporated in the explanations to follow.
         There are in Micah 4, five times `atah = now is used (Micah 4:7; 9; 10; 11; and 14). We note the errorful interpretations of the rabbis to the prophets own times: 4:7 - Redak and Ibn Ezra had the exile in mind. 4:9 - Rashi interpreted it as the kings of Assyria. Ibn Ezra and Redak thought both of the exilic times. Redak thought about the exilic times altough "a time will yet come when He will redeem all Israel who is scattered to the ends of the earth". Rabbis Kara and Rashi interpreted it as a reference to the exile. 4:10 - Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Redak thought of the captured cities before the exile. Redak and Ibn Ezra mentioned Nebuchadnezzar. Isaiah da Trani thought of Sennacherib. 4:11 - Redak feels that they should be consoled "altough it is actually a long way off". Ibn Ezra thought it is to the time of Zerubbabel. Mezudath David thought it is in the time of the Gog and Magog wars. 4:14 - Kara and Rashi thought of Assyria. Redak interpreted the verse as a reference to the war of the Gog and Magog. Mezudath David has the exile in mind and Isaiah da Trani had Sennacherib in mind.
          What is the great error in their hermeneutics of Micah 4 here? It is the grammatical element `atah used five times by the prophet Micah. Here is the bottom line: when the prophet uses `atah = now, it can mean two different aspects: a) time `atah which is a point in time in historical time bringing something into the present of the speaker or writer. b) processional `atah which has nothing to do with past and present or time but indicates the point in the order of occurences in a process. It is the processional `atah that Micah is using here. He is busy outlining some future series of events indicating some things to occur before and after in a series of descriptions. When he interrupts the "then shall ...." series with a "and now" it is not his purpose to swing the times back from future to his own day. It is rather within this string or chain of events during the same future process, something will happen at a specific point in time indicated as "and now" and that signal recognition in future, will have an event happening concurrently or afterwards.
          Micah is describing future events as one can see in the verbs he is using: Qal imperfectum (4:1; 4:2; 4:3; 4:5; 4:6; 4:8; 4:10; 4:11; 4:13); Niphal imperfectum (4:10); Hiphil imperfectum (4:2; 4:6; 4:9; 4:14); Hithpo`el imperfectum (4:14); conversive perfectums (4:3; 4:4; 4:6; 4:7; 4:8; 4:9; 4:11; 4:12; 4:13). Prophetic genre is not narrative genre. One cannot use the same grammatical logistics of narrative process descriptions to explain everything in prophetic process descriptions. You cannot superimpose over prophetic texts findings in narrative blocks of the Hebrew language and then claim that the same rules and principles should apply. Mostly they do but the difference between narrative descriptions and prophetic descriptions is that the narrative descriptions are dealing with past events whereas the prophetic descriptions are dealing with future events.
         We know that Micah is not dealing with events in his own time for the very reason that absolute events or terms are used: forever. `awd = anymore (4:3); no one shall make them move (4:4); forever and ever le`owlam w`ad (4:5; 7). These terms means that the eschaton has arrived. The eschaton is the period where history transit to eschaton or eternity. History meets eternity and that is the border of eschaton. Micah is describing that transition period here. Things will be never more the same. Things will be changed forever.
           With these important principles laid down, we are ready to see the message of Micah for our own day since the description is what is going to happen shortly before the coming of the Lord or the Messiah. We are living at the end of time and shortly before the coming of the Lord and thus is the message of Micah relevant for us.
            At the end of days, near the eschaton, near the coming of the Lord, the mountain of the Lord shall be firmly establish at the top of the mountains (4:1).  Where is the mountain of the Lord? Not on earth. Not in Israel or geographical Jerusalem. It is in heaven because that is where Satan or Lucifer directed his attention against the throne of God according to Isaiah 14:12-14, the locus classicus for rebellion in heaven motif. The rabbis all got entangled in ethnic and geographical literal earthly Israel and Jerusalem. What Micah is describing here is the event of the Latter Rain and its aftermaths. The result of the Latter Rain is that "the nations will worship the Lord in one accord" (Redak). Even Redak did not think only of ethnic Israel here. The heavenly sanctuary where Christ functions as highpriest in the Most Holy since 1844 on the behalf of the saints, is the mountain that will be established. We know it is the Most Holy since the tamid (daily offerings = evenings and mornings offerings = `ereb boqer) took place in the daily or Holies and that is the period between 31 CE to 1844 where Christ ministered for people as priest at His Father's throne. If the tamid is until 1844 or 2300 years (Daniel 8:14) then it follows that the next event will be in the Most Holy and that is logical from 1844. Only Christ is involved in this action and it forms part of the great process of salvation. In the Bible all actions are directed by God from the Sanctuary and to the Sanctuary in heaven. Our destiny is tied up to this great event or events at this location and this is the mountain of the Lord that Micah is refering to. Redak's thinking of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem can be cancelled for sure. Redak and Ibn Ezra is correct in saying that the "consolation will come at the end of the days, in the Messianic Era".
            The biblical expression "mountain of God" or "mountain of the Lord" is connected to the seat of the throne of God, His reign, His operations, His heavenly sanctuary and the place from where He rules and directs His judgments. The only denomination on earth that has a Sanctuary Message is the Seventh-day Adventist church since 1844. They discovered that the Lord was not to come in 1844, as true interpretation of the year-day principle in the 2300 days prophecy of Daniel, but that Jesus went as High Priest from the tamid or daily section of this mountain of the Lord sanctuary to the Most Holy function, as typified by the tabernacle of Moses, as the Lord showed the model to Moses way back in 1448 BCE at Sinai. This message in 1844 was also Torah teaching since it brought the people since those days back to the Ten Commandments of the Lord where especially Sunday was a tampering with the Ten Commandments and a rectification of Creation and Creator Theology in the Seventh-day Sabbath correction was bound up with Sanctuary Theology. Instant Atonement Theology of the Reformers was replaced by Continious Phases of Atonement Theology by Seventh-day Adventism. The process of Atonement is not yet finished. Only when Hell eradicates Satan and all evil, will atonement be fully accomplished. That is biblical theology. Of course overlooked by Reformers in the past and denied by all who stick fundamentalistically to the words of the Reformers. And yet the Reformers were God's instruments in their generation and in their times. But, the Holy Spirit will lead people into the full truth which will mean that what people A taught them is less truth than what people B teaches them later and a shift in gears are necessary. In Micah 4:9 Micah has the Lord asking the people why they are so sad and whether they do not have a King of Kings (Himself, or Christ) and a Counselor (Holy Spirit sent by Christ as our counselor and His vicarius filii dei or representative of the Son of God). That is why papacy is in trouble with Seventh-day Adventists and biblically in Revelation 13 with the 666 counting, since the papacy assumes the position allocated by Christ to the Holy Spirit. Asking them if they do not have a King, means the King did not come yet. Shortly before the King of Kings or Christ will come in the Advent or Second Coming, there will be a Time of Trouble. It will last about 9 months (Micah 5:2). If He comes, as King of Kings, the people will not be sad. Thus, when He asks this question and is King of Kings, it must be at the time of the closing of probation or when the door of Mercy closes. At that time Christ the Mediator or High Priest will complete His Investigative Judgment phase with the people of God or faithful through the ages and assume the kingly robe that the Father will give Him. This is the time for nine months that the people of God will be without a mediator in heaven and it is called in the Bible the Time of Jacob's trouble, since in faith people will "wrestle with the God concept in themselves". Meaning that they will feel that they are not saved. The salvation security feeling will be absent and this will cause trauma for them. Thus, the words of Micah 4:9 why they are sad since they do have a King of Kings and Desire of Ages for themselves. The message of Micah 4 is very clear. There is no need to find pockets in Assyrian and Babylonian historical times for the allocation of this word and that word or this verse and that verse like the rabbis struggled to do and many commentators through the centuries followed in pursuit. The Door of Mercy closes some months before the Second Coming and the time in between is the Time of Trouble that Daniel 12:1 si talking about. Before this persecution time or sad feeling time of the people of God, there will be a happy time or Latter Rain time (see Joel and his promise of a second outpouring, 'early and latter rain') when the gospel will be very successful all over the world due to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit activities in abundance just like at Pentecost days in Acts 2. This is where Micah 4 kicks off his description. The Sanctuary Message Theology or Mountain of God theology shall be high above the hills and nations shall stream to it and accept its truths (Micah 4:1).
              When Micah 4 speaks about mountain, we said that he has in mind the throne of God, the seat of His activities in heaven, the Heavenly Sanctuary. Heavenly Zion and heavenly Jerusalem are two spaces intended for the remnant in future. This is not only Michah's idea, it is biblical theology. The background of the origin of evil should not be left out here and Micah did not. He used the word nakon in Micah 4:1 which is a reference to the same word as mekon in Daniel 8:11 where the Little Horn feminine verbs are suddenly switched to typify the rebellion in heaven protagonist, Lucifer and as such masculine verbs are used, but also the mekon of His sanctuary were thrown down by Lucifer. The sanctuary restoration since 1844 involves this nakon to be restored again and when the door of Mercy closes is when Jesus the High Priest will conclude this action of restoration of the nakon. The nakon will be established on the mountain says Micah 4:1 which was the mekon of His sanctuary that was cast down (Daniel 8:11). The process of establishment of His mountain starts, according to Micah 4:1, in the Time of the End and that according to biblical theology is 1798 after. 1844 falls in this category as the end of the 2300 years and thus the start of the establishment (nakon Micah 4:1). The role of the Torah (Micah 4:2) from this period is important and Seventh-day Adventists role of preaching the Torah or ten commandments, although the word is wider meaning all instruction or revelation of God. Especially the Sabbath needed strong emphasis since 1844 and is cardinal to a proper understanding of Torah. Break the Sabbath by substitution of that day and you are not keeping the Torah. It is that simple.  From 1844 stretch the investigative judgment all the way to the close of probation. "And He shall judge between many peoples" (Micah 4:3). This whole process of Judgment has three phases with the thousand years in heaven establishing judgment of the saints where they ascertain God's just reason for some of their love ones not to be there. The final executive judgment will blot out all existence of evil, after the thousand years in heaven of the saints. It is at this time of the final eradication of all evil that swords and weapons are no longer useful and the expression of peace is that in eternity people shall change weapons into agricultural tools (Micah 4:3). We know it is when eternity starts for Micah 4:3 says "neither shall they learn war anymore". The eschaton has arrived. A new beginning, a new creation of which Revelation's last chapters tells us more about and also the last chapters of Isaiah.
             During the Time of the judgment or investigative judgment since 1844, ecumenism will be popular as Micah 4:5 says that they will go "each one in the name of his god". However, the remnant or people of God will go "in the name of the Lord" (Micah 4:5). They will always go in the name of the Lord their God "forever and ever" (leolam ad Micah 4:5).
             Some time during this Investigative Judgment since 1844 and before the close of probation or ending of this Investigative Judgment in Heaven, the Latter Rain will fall. That experience is what Micah 4:6 describes: He will heal the limping one, gather the lost and the harmed and make them into one mighty nation. The unity of this remnant shall continue past the time of the closing of probation, past the Time of Trouble and past the Second Coming since He will rule over them "from now unto eternity" (Micah 4:7). Christ will become King at the close of probation (Revelation 11:15). That is when the last angel (seventh angel) is blowing the trumpet. Ultimately at the Second Coming the remnant who are resurrected and alive goes up in heaven to assemble in the heavenly Zion or "tower of the daughter of Zion". The "daughter of Jerusalem [New Jerusalem]" shall get the "former kingdom" as it was when theocracy was in control of the universe (Micah 4:8). This has nothing to do with earthly ecclesiastical agendas political or otherwise to set up a "godlike" theocracy on earth. This is created and exists without any human hands or assistance.
            When it is the Close of Probation or the Door of Mercy closes at the time Christ completes His Heavenly Sanctuary activity, He will receive full Kingship from His Father, the Ancient of Days of Daniel 7 (Revelation 11:15).
            From this time, Micah 4:9 says, pangs like a woman in confinement will grip the remnant. It will be a period of 9 months it seems. It appears that the Time of Trouble will only be for 9 months. It is then that the question is asked to the remnant "Is the King not among you or the Counselor (Holy Spirit)?" This is a time of pain and kneeling (Micah 4:10). The hand of the enemies will be strong on the remnant (Micah 4:10). The rescue in sight in this verse is when they shall be redeemed and rescued (Micah 4:10). This is at the Second Coming at the end of the Time of Trouble. During this Time of Trouble the judges of Israel shall be striken on the cheek (Micah 4:14). The evil nations shall cry "Let her [remnant] be guilty" (Micah 4:11). It is during this time that the remnant will leave the cities (Micah 4:10) "now you shall go forth from the city and you shall dwell in the field". They will be saved near Babylon. Spiritual Babylon is the seat of the Vatican and political Babylon in modern times will be the World Empire at that time. Currently the World Empire is the United States and it has been that way since the fall of the Holy Roman Empire or Catholic rule in 1798. Who the Global Persecuting World Empire is going to be, is not clear. China has aspirations to be World Empire like the USA but that hope is not peacefully possible since the USA is a rainbow nation but China is only one race, Asian. Are the people in the Time of Trouble going to ran to the USA [current political Babylon = current World `Empire'] and be saved there?
           What the nations during the Time of Trouble do not understand is that they thought by pronouncing the remnant guilty they are doing the work of God and that their eyes will see on Zion (Micah 4:11). They are mistaken and deceived and do not know the ways of God.
           God intends the remnant who were squashed during the Time of  to be victorious. He wants them to take part in His threshing action (4:12). Sheaves of evil will be gathered for threshing. The Lord takes back (Micah 4:13) probably means that major confiscations and landgrabbing are going to take place during the Time of Trouble in which God will by His appearance at the Second Coming causes all evil nations to tremble in that action "takes back" the confiscated lands.

The prophets are relevant for our day since we live near the end of history