The Great Commission of Cyrus

The last verse of the Hebrew Bible is remarkably similar to the end of the Gospel of Matthew:

"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up'" (2 Chronicles 36:23)

"Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" (Matthew 28-18-20)

Both explain that they have been given kingly authority (by God) over the whole earth. Both commission a group of people to leave their homes to build a temple; in one case the Second Jerusalem Temple, in the other the temple of the church. Both promise that God will go with them; the Jews by "the LORD", the Apostles by Jesus.

(Once again, credit to Greg Beale.)

Jesus as the Second Adam in Colossians 1

In Colossians 1 Jesus is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation...the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead" (vv.15-18).

He images God, just as Adam did. He is the firstborn of creation, like Adam was. He is the head of a family, just as Adam was. His family will multiply and increase to cover the whole earth too, and according to verses 4-5 this happens as the gospel spreads over the whole earth and the church grows in numbers, good works and knowledge ( "the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing", cf. v.10).

Lines could be drawn to Acts 6:7; 12:23; 19:20 where the word of God increases, Romans 6, the Great Commission, and all the 'new Adam' figures in the OT who also receive their own mandate/promise of increase (i.e. Noah, Abraham, etc - Gen 9:1, 6-7; 12:2; 17:2,6,8; 22:17-18; 26:34,24; 28:3-4; 35:11-12; 47:27; Ex 1:7; Lev 26:9; Ps 107:38; Is 51:2; Jer 3:16; 23:3; Ezek 36:10-11, 29-30)... anything else?

All credit to Greg Beale.

Extending the sanctuary

God created the cosmos to be his great temple in which he rested after his creative work. Nevertheless, his special revelatory presence does not fill the entire earth yet, since it was his intention that this goal be achieved by his human vice-regent[/priest], whom he installed in the temple sanctuary to extend the garden boundaries of God's presence worldwide [Gen 1:28]. Adam, of course disobeyed this mandate, so that humanity no longer enjoyed God's presence in the Garden, and the entire earth became infected with sin and idolatry in a way it had not been previously, even while yet in its still imperfected state.

Therefore, the statements about God's inability to dwell in any structure on earth not only refers to the Creator's transcendence but plausibly includes reference to the necessity for purification and re-creation before God's Shekinah presence, formerly restricted to heaven and the earthly holy of holies, can dwell universally throughout creation together with his multitudes of worshippers.

(p.138, Greg Beale, The Temple and the Church's Mission)

This is a summary of a large part of the argument of Beale's book. Unfortunately the book is a classic example of a great thesis buried in poor writing and then insufficiently and unimaginatively explored. A very frustrating mixture. I would recommend it, but wish someone could write another book with the same thesis.