Authored By :
Bill Kochman
Published On :
April 13, 2010
Last Updated :
April 13, 2010
NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.
Biblical Practice Of Casting Lots, Matthias Is Chosen As The
New "Twelfth Apostle", Two Groups Of Twenty-Four Priests,
Physical Events And Things On The Earth Are A Reflection Of
Things In Heaven - Tree of Life, Ark Of The Covenant, Temple,
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Temple Mount Faithful, Preparations For
A Final Temple, Holy Covenant And Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Agreement, Endtime Strong Delusion And Jewish False Messiah
Please notice in particular the very last verse where we are
told that these additional Levites cast lots. The purpose of
casting lots -- pebbles were commonly used-- in both the Old
and the New Testaments, was to make decisions and to assign
responsibilities. In other words, it was an ancient form of
voting. For example, in the Book of Acts, we find that the
remaining Eleven Apostles cast lots in order to determine
who would replace Judas as the Twelfth Apostle, as we see
here:
"And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the
disciples, and said, (the number of names together were
about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this
scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy
Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas,
which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered
with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this
man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and
falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his
bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at
Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper
tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it
is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be
desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick
let another take. Wherefore of these men which have
companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in
and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto
that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be
ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And
they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed
Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord,
which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these
two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry
and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell,
that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their
lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered
with the eleven apostles."
Acts 1:15-26, KJV
Returning to the previous verses from 1 Chronicles 25, if we
consider that Beno appears to be mentioned twice, then the
second group of names would also consist of twenty-four men.
In other words, we have the first group of twenty-four names,
which is followed by a second group of twenty-four names. It
seems reasonable to assume then, that while only twenty-four
priestly courses were established by kings David and Solomon,
each course was filled twice a year by two different priests.
We can speculate then, that the Twenty-Four Elders who are
mentioned in various chapters of the Book of Revelation, are
probably fulfilling a similar priestly service before the
Throne of God the Father, just like their human counterparts
did on the Earth during the Old Testament and New Testament
eras. In fact, going by some of the descriptive verses that
are found in the Book of Revelation, it seems highly likely
that this is precisely their function. As I have noted on
previous occasions, what happens on the Earth is sometimes a
reflection of what is likewise occurring in the Realm of the
Spirit, and in Heaven. For example, just as the Old Testament
mentions different physical objects such as the Tree of Life,
the Ark of the Covenant, the temple, etc., these very same
things are also described for us in the pages of the Book of
Revelation, but they exist in Heaven. Consider these verses:
"Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him
day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the
throne shall dwell among them."
Revelation 7:15, KJV
"And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud
voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and
reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest
of the earth is ripe . . . And another angel came out of the
temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Revelation 14:15, 17, KJV
"And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the
seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven
plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their
breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four
beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of
the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the
temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from
his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till
the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled."
Revelation 15:5-8, KJV
"And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the
seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the
wrath of God upon the earth . . . And the seventh angel
poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great
voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying,
It is done.
Revelation 16:1, 17, KJV
"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was
seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were
lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake,
and great hail."
Revelation 11:19, KJV
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of
God."
Revelation 2:7, KJV
"In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the
river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner
of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves
of the tree were for the healing of the nations . . . Blessed
are they that do his commandments, that they may have right
to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into
the city."
Revelation 22:2, 14, KJV
What likewise makes this comparison between the twenty-four
priestly courses of both the Old and New Testaments and the
Twenty-Four Elders of Heaven so interesting, is the fact that
-- as some of you will already realize -- for quite some time
now, there has been a concerted effort by the Ultra-Orthodox
Jews of Israel -- such as the Temple Mount and Eretz Yisrael
Faithful Movement, commonly referred to as the Temple Mount
Faithful -- to rebuild the temple of Solomon on top of Mount
Moriah in East Jerusalem. As you may also know, the Second
Temple -- as it is also called -- was destroyed in 70 AD by
Roman occupational forces under the leadership of General
Titus, who was the son of Emperor Vespasian, and a future
emperor himself.
While the Orthodox Jews have not been very successful thus
far -- being as such a development would have monumental
political and religious implications for Israel, for the
Middle East and for the world itself, as I point out in the
article "Who Hindered the Antichrist?", as well as in
other articles which are related to Endtime Prophecy, it is
my belief that this development may be facilitated sometime
in the not-too-distant by a long-hoped-for peace agreement
between the Israelis and the Palestinians. In other words,
the forthcoming peace agreement -- which may be the "Holy
Covenant" that is mentioned in the Book of Daniel -- may
have certain stipulations which make the reconstruction of
the temple of Solomon possible.
Let me emphasize here that the Ultra-Orthodox Jews are very
serious about this; so much so, that for a number of years
now, in addition to possessing the actual blueprints for the
new temple, they have been designing and constructing the
new utensils which will be used for temple services; they
have designed and are currently constructing the sacrificial
altar; they have designed and fabricated new garments which
will be born by the temple priests; and lastly, they are now
training a new priesthood which will fulfill the very same
priestly obligations as the Old Testament priesthood.
Of course, I should note here that -- as I point out in the
aforementioned article, as well as in the series "The Great
Tribulation And The Rapture -- it is currently my personal
belief that all of these things, when they finally come to
fruition, will be a massive form of strong delusion, because
the vast majority of Jews have rejected their one and only
true Messiah -- Jesus Christ -- just like generations of Jews
before them. Their messiah may indeed come, but he will not
be Jesus Christ; he will be a liar, a usurper and a deceiver
who will lead the incorrigible Jews to their own destruction.
Again, please refer to some of my other articles for more
information regarding these topics. Just remember; the Devil
loves to imitate on Earth, what God has created in Heaven.
So, if one day soon you witness twenty-four priestly courses
in Jerusalem, a newly-built temple, a new daily sacrifice,
etc., please don't be deceived. It is not what you think. It
is the strong delusion that was prophesied so long ago by the
Apostle Paul when he wrote:
"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with
the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after
the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in
them that perish; because they received not the love of the
truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"
2 Thessalonians 2:8-11, KJV
With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!
For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.