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- Website: Ichthys.com
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Since the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden, this world has largely been under the devil’s control (see Part 4 of this series). And since the garden of Eden, there has been no paradise on earth, nor will there be until our Lord’s return and the commencement of His blessed thousand year reign (i.e., the Millennium). Until that time, this world, lying as it does in the lap of the evil one (1Jn.5:19), is a desert world, a place of hardship that must be gotten through with God’s help, rather than enjoyed to the full (1Cor.7:29-31). For this world is not yet a place where God dwells manifestly and in person, but rather a wilderness through which we who believe in Christ are making our pilgrimage to God (1Chron.29:15; Ps.39:12; 63:1; 119:19; Heb.11:37-38; 13:13-14; 1Pet.1:1; 2:11):
Happy is everyone whose strength is in You. Their hearts are set on the highways [of pilgrimage to Zion]. As they pass through the [dry] valley of Bachah (i.e., the wilderness of life), they make it a place of springs. Even the early rains enwrap it with [their] blessings. They go from strength to strength, until they appear before God in Zion.
These all died [while still walking] in faith, though they had not received the [fulfillment of their] promises. But [while they lived] they did catch sight of [these promises] from a distance and salute them, [so to speak], thus making it plain [to all the world] that they were [in effect] strangers and sojourners on the earth. For people who express [their faith] in this way make it quite evident that they are eagerly in search of a homeland [other than the world they now pass through]. Indeed, if these [believers’] hearts had yearned for the [land] from which they had departed, they would have had [ample] opportunity to turn back. But they were zealous for a better place, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has, in fact, prepared a city for them.
There are three wilderness-pilgrimage eras in human history. They are defined by and take their names from the pilgrims who sojourn through them:
- Gentile era
- Jewish era
- Church era
The first wilderness-pilgrimage era (Gentile) runs from the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden until the call of Abraham. Its pilgrim-believers are exclusively gentiles. In this era, there is an individual focus to the pilgrimage (i.e., following God as separate persons).
The second wilderness-pilgrimage era (Jewish) runs from the call of Abraham until the birth of Christ, when its completion is postponed till the commencement of the Tribulation. Its pilgrim-believers are primarily Jewish (along with gentiles in association with Israel). In this era, there is a national focus to the pilgrimage (i.e., following God as members or associates of a national community established by God and dedicated to Him, namely, Israel).
The third wilderness-pilgrimage era (Church) runs from the day of Pentecost until the onset of the Tribulation. Its pilgrim-believers are both Jews (the original branch) and gentiles (grafted into Israel) combined into the single body of Christ. In this era, there is a corporate focus to the pilgrimage (i.e., following God as intimate members of His family, the body of Christ which is the Church universal).
Though they differ in many respects, all three eras have several important aspects in common. They are all . . .
- post-paradise: they all follow the garden of Eden temporally.
- non-paradise: no establishment of direct, divine administration at any time during the eras.
- pre-Kingdom: they all precede the 2nd Advent.
- syn-cosmic: they all run concurrently with Satan’s administration of the world, his kosmos.
- syn-chronic: they all share a duration of two thousand years.
These three wilderness eras demonstrate God’s grace in providing for believers under three different pre-Kingdom pilgrimage circumstances: 1) as individual pilgrims; 2) as a discrete nation of pilgrims; 3) as a world-wide family of pilgrims. To each and for each of these pilgrimages, the Millennial rule of Christ forms the capstone. For it is in the Millennium at Christ’s return that the believers of all three eras come forth out of the wilderness and receive their rewards (Matt.16:27; 19:28; Lk.14:14; Rev.11:18; 22:12). Gentiles, Jews and both as members of Christ’s Church have been trekking toward the promised land through the desert of this world since the expulsion from Eden. At our Lord’s return, we shall enter the ultimate land of milk and honey in a literal as well as a spiritual sense, for we shall all be with Christ for His thousand year reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem (see Part 1 of this series, section II.6.f%20The%20Millennial%20Jerusalem)). Until that time, this world is a wilderness, like the desert of Sinai through which the children of Israel journeyed. The devil’s world is truly a dry and trackless place, a valley of Bachah (as in Psalm 84:6a above), a name that not only connotes arid conditions (as a place of Balsam trees), but also suffering and tears (as almost indistinguishable from the Hebrew word for weeping). But with hearts stayed upon the Lord, we pilgrims can experience the blessings of the water of life in the midst of this desolate wilderness (Ps.84:6b).
Summary points
This world, at present, is very much under the control of Satan, and we’d best not forget it. We are on a battlefield—sojourners in a hostile environment, walking through the wilderness on our way to Zion. This world is not our home, but only a temporary place we pass through on the way to our actual eternal home.
The city God has prepared for us already exists beyond the veil. God has already prepared rooms for us in His house. We just need to use eyes of faith to see these things, since they will not be right before us. Faith is essential for us to exercise as we sojourn through this present wilderness, in order to keep our spirits up, and our focus on the rewards that will make all of our present suffering worth it in the end.
The three wilderness-pilgrimage eras of human history all have slightly different focuses:
- In the first wilderness-pilgrimage era (the Gentile era)—which ran from Adam to the call of Abraham—there is an individual focus to the pilgrimage.
- In the second wilderness-pilgrimage era (the Jewish era)—which ran from the call of Abraham to the birth of Christ—there is a national focus to the pilgrimage.
- In the third wilderness-pilgrimage era (the Church era)—which will run from the day of Pentecost until the onset of the Tribulation—there is a corporate focus to the pilgrimage.
Despite being somewhat different, all three wilderness-pilgrimage eras are part of this Earth’s post-Eden state of corruption, without direct divine rule like will be present after the Second Advent in the Millennium. This means they all fall within the period of time that the world is under the control of Satan. Each period is also 2,000 years long.
It is in the Millennium at Christ’s return that the believers of all three eras come forth out of the wilderness and receive their rewards. Until that time, this world is a wilderness, like the desert of Sinai through which the children of Israel journeyed. But with hearts stayed upon the Lord, we pilgrims can experience the blessings of the water of life in the midst of this desolate wilderness (Ps.84:6b)
Follow-on topics
It is interesting to consider how humanity has essentially been exiles and sojourners in the world ever since the fall, with the only thing that has changed being the exact nature of our sojourning.
- From God’s relationships with specific people in the Gentile era, he called individuals to be set apart and holy in an evil world (just look at Noah, for example).
- Then he called an entire nation to be set apart and distinct. Under the Law, the nation of Israel was supposed to be sanctified unto the Lord—a light to the nations around them.
- And now with the resurrection of Christ and coming of the Holy Spirit, God calls those in His Church to together be witnesses to the world as “elect exiles (1 Peter 1:1).
It is of critical importance to not forget the fact that this world will stay an irredeemable wilderness until the return of Jesus Christ, when He will set the world to rights and rule with perfect truth and justice. Until then, it will stay enemy territory, never to be redeemed.
This is why past a certain point, trying to “fix” the world (through political means, for example), is fundamentally misguided. As humans, we can’t fix it… ever. So spending time and effort trying to do such is failing to appreciate what God has actually called us to as Christians.
This is not a complicated point to understand, but it runs very counter to a good deal of mainstream Christianity thought, which has gotten mired in political goals rather than keeping the focus on spiritual growth as is proper. I’m not even talking about Dominion Theology/Christian Nationalism here and the really crazy “vote in the kingdom” type stuff. Even the garden variety “religious right” sort of political campaigning is in principle still problematic, even when it is not taken to the extremes. Largely because it is just a misallocation of our time and focus.
Another observation to make here is that no amount of sugar-coating will ever be able to get rid of the fact that what God calls us to more closely resembles a difficult journey through inhospitable wilderness than a stress-free leisurely stroll through fields of flowers (or what have). We will suffer on the road to Zion. People need to count the true cost (Luke 14:28-33).
This is exactly why the so-called prosperity gospel is a load of rubbish.