Paradise Restored
Ezekiel 34:25-30

During last year's drought, the California park services informed the public of the worst bear problem ever. Black bears in the local mountains are big and fast but they usually run away from campers. Last year hunger drove them to be bolder than ever as they approached some hikers looking for food. Grizzly bears are even more hazardous. They are bigger and faster than black bears. Whereas you can often fight off a black bear, a grizzly requires a different strategy. It is recommended that if attacked by a grizzly, you curl up, play dead, protect vital organs, and pray.

Grizzly bears abound in Alaska and Canada, but they have disappeared from California for nearly a century. One of the last California grizzlies came to an end just north of Camp Pendleton. In 1899 two hunters from San Juan Capistrano, accompanied by a trained greyhound, set off to destroy a rogue grizzly known locally as "the big bear." Like most of the few remaining California grizzlies, this one had a habit of drifting out of the mountains and raiding the local ranches and chicken farms. After picking up his scent, the bloodhound sent up a howl and the hunt was on. The dog led the pursuers up into the hills east of San Juan Capistrano. The chase continued through lower San Mateo Canyon, Devil Canyon, and Cold Spring Canyon. The bear then turned southwest past Margarita Peak to the headwaters of San Onofre Creek in what is today Camp Pendleton. There, after 36 hours of hot pursuit, the bear succumbed to a hail of bullets. The hunters measured the slain animal, cut off its head and carried it back. The severed trophy was sent to the Smithsonian Institution. The scientists there estimated the bear's standing height at over 9 feet, and its weight at over 1400 pounds. The skull, on deposit in the Smithsonian today, is the largest of any California grizzly on record. [From Afoot & Afield in Orange County by Jerry Schad; p. 137.]

Our Old Testament text for today promises a day when wild beasts will no longer attack. Ezekiel foretells it: "I will make a covenant of peace [for Israel] and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods wild animals will no longer devour them." This is a recurring theme in the Old Testament. The messianic age promised by the prophets brings about a peace so deep and pervasive that even the animal kingdom is affected. Isaiah 11:6-9 states "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea." Hosea sings the same song: "On that day, I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping creatures of the ground" (Hosea 2:20). Job too takes up the refrain: "You will laugh at violence and starvation, And have no fear of the wild animals. For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you" (Job 5:23).

A picture of profound peace emerges from these passages. It is an idyllic picture of beauty and abundance, the forests teeming with friendly animals. For the Old Testament mind, famine and dangerous critters represented the full range of calamities that alarmed the people. Freedom from starvation was another motif that usually joined up with the gentle creatures. Ezekiel promises: "I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land" (Ez. 34:29). Famine reflects sickness and death; dangerous animals symbolize a couple things in Scripture: sometimes they are agents of God's judgment; at other times they represent the devil and his demonic hordes. The covenant of peace promised by God through Ezekiel is an age free of such threats.

Rogation Sunday that we celebrate every Fifth Sunday after Easter concentrates on creation. Specifically, the original goodness of creation, its subsequent Fall, and coming restoration. A grasp of these truths can bolster our faith in God's sovereignty, fill us with historical hope, show us what the Church should aim for, and enhance our appreciation of God's workmanship. Reading now Ezekiel 34:22-26. [Read them.]

These are words of hope at a time when there was little reason for it. Ezekiel 33:21 tells of a messenger who had arrived to report the destruction of Jerusalem. The news couldn't be worse. It was the year 566 B.C. King Zedekiah had been captured. The dynasty of the house of David had collapsed. The Babylonians had wiped out the holy city. They destroyed the temple and enslaved the people. At the moment of greatest disillusionment, God promises future restoration and mercy for His people. Through Ezekiel He announces that He will send His servant David to save His people from exile. This David would be a prince. He would also be a shepherd. Verse 26 states, "I will make them, and the places all around My hill, a blessing." This alludes to the exiles' return to the Promised Land. They would again inhabit it, and David's righteous rule would turn it into a paradise. As a shepherd-prince, David would rule the people righteously and usher in peace. Who is Ezekiel referring to? David had been dead for over four hundred years. Who would this coming prince be? Does it refer to King Zerubbabel? He, Ezra and Nehemiah began returning to Judea around 535 B.C. Many people did return and the Temple was rebuilt. However, this first return of Israel from captivity hardly fits the portrait painted by Ezekiel. When the people came back to the land after 535 B.C., they were under the control of every world-dominating power including Medo-Persia, Greece, and finally Rome until A.D. 70 when the nation was destroyed by Rome.

No, the return under Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah falls far short of the restoration Ezekiel envisioned. Therefore the prophecy must concern another age. What could it be? The clouds clear away if we read this passage through New Testament lenses. The promise of peace under a Good Shepherd can be none other than Jesus, the Prince of Peace. The promise of great blessings seems to point to the Kingdom Christ established. Ezekiel's vision is a prediction of the coming of the Messiah and the founding of His kingdom. Christ fulfills what Ezekiel describes. How is that possible? The New Testament calls Jesus the Good Shepherd. The Lord Jesus is the New David, and He is King! His royal throne is set in the heavenly Jerusalem, and the boundaries of His kingdom are not limited to Judea. Jesus' words, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" means His authority blankets the globe (Mt. 28:18). Upon His ascension and exaltation to Heaven He was crowned King of kings, and Lord of lords. (Psalm 110) The covenant of peace is the New Covenant established by Christ on the Cross; it continues on earth through the Holy Spirit with Christ in Heaven. Here then in our passage from Ezekiel 34 is a prophecy of the incarnation of the Son of God and the commencement of God's universal kingdom.

Some people see the fulfillment of Ezekiel's words in a future millennium after the Second Coming of the Lord. This may be correct but the current era seems to be a better starting point, for it is more faithful to Scripture. In Christ, the Church is the New Israel, and the New Jerusalem; and her members are true Jews (Romans 2:28-29). Christ threatened the Jews in Matthew 21:43, "the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it." That threat was carried through. Jesus transferred the kingdom from Israel to the Church. Saint Peter tells the Church "you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, who once were not a people but are now the people of God" (1 Peter 2:9-10). Consequently, the promises given to Israel in the Old Testament transfer to the Church. This approach maintains continuity between Israel and the Church, between the Old Testament and New. On this basis, Ezekiel is saying that the reign of the New David will restore the earth; wild animals will be tamed or eliminated, that is, Satan and his demonic forces will be subdued, while the resplendent flora and fauna of a garden will replace the parched devastation of the curse.

When can we expect the restoration of creation to take place? Since God the Holy Spirit now empowers the Church Militant, the present inter-advental period may be the time for much of it ­ the interval between the first and second advents of the Lord. How much of it will be restored? Only God knows. Certainly not all of it! Perfection awaits the Second Coming and Final Consummation. Jesus Christ founded His kingdom at His First Advent. His Church is the center and focus of that Kingdom. He is the Second Adam, who through His obedient life, death, and resurrection fulfills the covenant of creation (1 Cor. 15:45-49). He is the One who ushers in for His people the blessings of the covenant by being the covenant-keeper in our place. In Him, we have peace with God; in Him, we have peace with one another; in Him, all creation finds peace.

All of these blessings have both a "now" and a "not yet" aspect to them. We see them in part now, but we do not yet see them in all their fullness. Creation still groans with anticipation as it awaits the revelation of the New Heavens and the New Earth (Romans 8:19-23). In the meantime our experience frequently continues to be "trouble and hardship, persecution and tyranny" (Romans 8:35). But these are momentary light afflictions in comparison to the glory that awaits us (8:18). One day Christ will return, and all will be gloriously fulfilled as God gathers His worldwide flock from all the nations into His presence. Then there will be no more suffering, no more pain. As Revelation puts it: "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev. 7:17). It is in this sense that we still need to sustain a healthy dose of heavenly-mindedness. The world, the flesh, and the devil still plague us here. Wild animals still torment us. We hope for the glory of Heaven. Nonetheless, a balance is needed. There is some hope for history too. The prophets paint for us numerous portraits of paradise, and if we apply those promises to Christ's current reign over the Church, we have grounds for great optimism. God loves the world; He sent his Son to save it, and He will one day restore it to all of its original glory.

What are the ramifications of cosmic restoration? Christians are drawn to beauty and they become creators of beauty. Saint Francis of Assisi set a good example. He established a monastery nestled in a valley. His monks worked to convert that valley into a gorgeous garden. When people traveled there they felt as if they were drawing close to Heaven itself. The Garden of Eden motif that runs throughout the Bible suggests that beauty should accompany holiness. Not only do we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness at Church, but our kitchens and bedrooms, front yards and neighborhoods are to reflect loveliness. Every garden and piece of art holds the potential of giving us a taste of Paradise.

Ezekiel's vision means that wherever Christians settle they try to recreated Paradise. Since our sin is what spoiled the goodness of creation, we should take responsibility for it and do all we can to rectify the harm done to creation through sin. This growth in the kingdom of God, the global success of the Gospel, and the restoration of earth to Edenic conditions, this process we have been discussing is a long-term, multi-generational goal. More than likely, it will not be attained in our own lives. But in God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit we do all we can to bring about the Kingdom of God and then allow our children to take up where we left off. Lydia's baptism today should remind us of the Church's aim. By God's grace and good will Lydia and others like her will advance Christ's Kingdom several steps further than our generation was able to carry it.

Monarch butterflies may help illustrate the point. It is now known that monarch butterflies migrate from coastal California and Mexico to the northern United States. They travel 1,500 miles north in the spring, then migrate 1,500 miles south in the fall. In one year they come back to the same place they started. But here is the amazing part of it: it takes five generations of monarch butterflies to complete the trip. In other words, when a monarch butterfly departs from Mexico flying north she knows she will not make it to Iowa or West Virginia, which is only halfway. She will stop in Texas or somewhere, lay her eggs and die. Then her young will hatch into caterpillars, rest a while in cocoons, pop out as new butterflies and resume the journey north. The new batch of butterflies will go as far as they can until they die. Finally, the great, great grandchildren will flutter back to Mexico and coastal California.

That is what we are doing when we bear children and baptize them. The monarchs reach their goal in five generations. Our destination may take a thousand generations. Just as we presently build on the labors of our spiritual mothers and fathers in Christ's kingdom, our hope and prayer for our baptized children is that they will work through the Church to continue that grand enterprise. May every generation in the family of God strive to restore Paradise, the beautiful vision of Ezekiel.

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