The New Order of Things

The New Order of Things 

The Message of Prophet Haggai 

Since the Fall, God has been progressively revealing Himself to humanity. The magnitude of each revelation causes a fundamental shaking of the world's understanding of the spiritual order of things. The shaking is two-dimensional: Spiritual and physical. Each revelation is introduced on the foundation of a previous revelation. The New Testament cannot be understood without the Laws and the principles revealed in the Old Testament. The future of God's continuous revelations and interactions with humanity must be discerned and anticipated through the old writings. 

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children, that we may follow all the words of this Law. (Deuteronomy 29:29) 

The death of Jesus on the Cross in the New Testament cannot be understood without the sacrificial system elaborated in the Old Testament. The doctrines of forgiveness, redemption, peace, holiness, and salvation are not new doctrines; they are rather the old fundamentals, more clearly revealed at God's appointed time of the Messiah. God instructed us: 

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43:18-19a) 

Each revelation shakes the core of humanity's understanding of the spiritual realm, and the world is never the same. The Word of the Lord through the Prophet Haggai records two of these fundamental shaking of “the heavens and the earth" (Haggai 2:6; 2:22). The author of the book of the Hebrews builds on Haggai's prophecy and asserts that the phrase "I will once more shake the heavens and the earth" (Haggai 2:6) is predicated on a previous "shaking of heavens and the earth" which he asserts to have happened upon the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai (Hebrews 12:6). 

The spiritual dimension of this first shaking of the heavens and the earth consists of the introduction of the monotheistic system of beliefs. Its stipulations, principles, and practices were in stark contrast to that era's polytheistic beliefs and practices; it rattled the spiritual worldviews and commonality of multiple god-worship within ancient nations. It established the sanctity of life and the holiness of living against the existing god-appeasing child sacrifices and detestable temple prostitution practices. It stipulated the laws of the halachic (kosher) lifestyle (from food to personal hygiene, from communal relationships to distinctive sacrificial and worship guidelines) as opposed to the existing defiling practices that are abominable in God's sight (Isaiah 66:3; Daniel 9:27;11:31; Revelation 17:5). 

Upon giving of the Law, the ground shook, On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightening, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. (Deuteronomy 19:17-19) 

The writer of the Hebrews attributed this event of physical manifestation to "his voice that shook the earth" (Hebrews 12:26a). Once the author of the Hebrews established the fact of the first "shaking of the heavens and the earth, he then introduced the timeline of the second shaking. 

Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain (Hebrews 12:26b, 27). 

In his discourse, the author of Hebrews refers to the incarnation of Jesus the Messiah as the second shaking of the earth and heavens. The world is once again completely changed. He unfolds his argumentation on the prophecy of Haggai 2:6-9, 

This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while, I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the Lord Almighty. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' declares the Lord Almighty. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the Lord Almighty. 'And in this place, I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty. ( Haggai 2:6-9)

The spiritual dimension of the second shaking introduced the New Covenant of Blood and Love to all humanity through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus. It is a New Covenant of Blood because God's progressive revelation negated the existing sacrificial system, and instead, He offered Himself once and for all, "reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). God Himself stepped into human history because 

He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. (Isaiah 59:16) 

It is a New Covenant of Love because, 

God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) 

The victory on the Cross has universal spiritual "shaking"—it brought salvation to the Jews and the Gentiles alike. God Himself proclaims, 

I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel. (Isaiah 46:13b) 

and also, 

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6) 

The victory on the Cross was also manifested by a physical shaking that occurred at the time of Jesus's death. Similarly to the physical shaking at Mount Sinai, the Bible recorded a shaking in the form of a powerful earthquake (Matthew 27:51) and darkness (Luke 23:44). 

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and, went into the holy city and appeared to many people. (Matthew 27:51-53) 

The author of Hebrews only discussed the "shaking of heaven and earth" in Haggai 2:6-9. However, there is another mention of the "shaking of heaven and earth" found in Haggai 2:21-23. Chapter 2 records two occasions when "the word of the Lord came through the Prophet Haggai" with the message of "shaking of heavens and earth." The first time was “on the twenty-first day of the seventh month” (Haggai 2:1). The second time was “on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius” (Haggai 2:10). The two messages of “shaking of heavens and the earth” are about two months apart but they appear to be prophecies of events that span two millennia apart. The first message is the prophecy of Jesus's incarnation when "the Word became flesh and made its dwelling among us" (John 1:1). The author of Hebrews discusses this event. This prophecy is now fulfilled. The second message is about Jesus's second coming, a prophecy yet to be fulfilled. 

The words in the second shaking of Haggai 2:21-22 are addressed to Zerubbabel and are infused with messianic meaning. 

Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones, and I will shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother."  "'On that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the Lord, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:21-23) 

Examination of the second "shaking of the heaven and earth" message indicates a complete overthrow of the existing world's political system (royal thrones and foreign kingdoms) and military system (chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders). There will be such strife within families that brothers will slay each other by their own swords (v.22b). The words overturn or overthrow (ְהָפַכ), destroy (שְׁמְַד) and again overturn or overthrow (ְהָפַכ) is a configuration of triple warning, a literary feature in Scripture, referring to utter destruction and annihilation. The same Hebrew word "overturn or overthrow" (ְהָפַכ) describes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The devastation recorded in both texts illustrates a total annihilation of an existing place, as described in Genesis 18:16-19:29 and Haggai 2:22,23. Jesus Himself spoke of such a time of destruction as a sign of His second coming. 

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7) 

Jesus equated these political and military turmoils with birth pains (Matthew 24:8). The physical shaking will be so intense that Jesus warned us of those days in advance. 

For then, there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. (Matthew 24:21) 

The words of Jesus and the writing of the Prophet Haggai appear to be referring to a third "shaking of heaven and earth" that will happen upon the second coming of Jesus. The physical shaking is the cosmic cataclysm that will occur upon the creation of the New Heavens and the New Earth. Jesus spoke of earthly and heavenly cataclysmic events, declaring, 

Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (Matthew 24:29)

When speaking about these cataclysms, Jesus pointed to Isaiah's prophecies of the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 13:10) and God's wrath against nations (Isaiah 34:4). The spiritual dimension of those days is referred to as Judgement Day when everyone will be judged for what they have done (Romans 2:6). Those who rejected Jesus will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life (Matthew 25:46).

Haggai spoke to Zerubbabel (2:2, 21), the governor of Judah at that historic time. The main message of his prophecy urged the people who returned from the Babylonian exile to no longer delay the rebuilding of the temple of God in Jerusalem. This is the second temple that will last 420 years. It is a temple in which only Jews had access to the inner courts of worship. Gentiles were relegated to the outer court. Yet, through Haggai, God spoke of a temple for all nations. God declared that in His temple, 

The desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:7) 

Even more, God declared that "the glory of this present house (the redeemed in Jesus) will be greater than the glory of the former house (physical temple)," and "in this place I will grant peace" (in the heart of the believers in Jesus) (Haggai 2:9). It is the community of believers in Jesus that constitutes God's temple where His glory dwells now. Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians, 

Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit  lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Haggai's message speaks of the current and former glory of God's temple (Haggai 2:9); Isaiah's message speaks of new and former things (Isaiah 43:18b- 19a). This weaving through now and then, between the current and the Prophetic, is an example of what Jesus often referred to, "Let the reader understand" (Matthew 24:15), or "Whoever has ears let them hear" (Matt 13:9; 13:43;23.35; Luke 8:8;14:35; Mark 4:9). He very often spoke about the spiritual order of thing openly and truthfully. Our minds, however, tend to superimpose our three-dimensional, time-based physical reality on His out-of-this-world spiritual truths. When Jesus said, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53), He angered His audience because the halachic (kosher) laws forbid Jews to eat blood and, God forbid, human flesh. Jesus, however, referred to the meaning of His sacrifice on the Cross for forgiveness of sins and the meaning of the Eucharist. When Jesus spoke of "destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19), He referred to His crucifixion and resurrection on the third day. Jesus spoke to the people with parables because, 

The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven has been given to you (with ears to hear and eyes to see and understand the spiritual realm), but not to them (those who not yet have spiritual discernment)." (Matthew 13:11, emphasis added)

Similarly, Haggai's text speaks simultaneously to the people during the former temple period and to the believers in Jesus as the temple of the living God now. Haggai simultaneously spoke to the governor of Judea, Zerubbabel, and to us, whose bodies are now the living temple of God. These examples are known in English as a literary device of metaphorical symbolism—using double levels of meaning for the exact words or expressions. In the Bible, the meanings are determined by the chronological order of the biblical events they depict. The last verse of Haggai’s message is a crescendo—a powerful display of this literary feature, depicting a prophecy for the times yet to come. Haggai is instructed to tell Zerubbabel that, 

'On that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the Lord, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:23) 

The expression "on that day" in the Scripture always refers to future messianic events. Second, the Lord refers to Zerubbabel as His servant. In the Bible, the office of a servant always refers to a messianic figure. Zerubbabel was commissioned to build the second temple; Jesus's mission was to build the eternal temple of God, indwelled within His holy people. The new order of things through Jesus the Messiah negated the old sacrificial practices of the physical temple and made it obsolete. Instead, the redeemed in Jesus become the embodiment of the eternal temple of God. The first temple built by hands has now passed away, overridden by the eternal temple of God's holy people. In the context of the previous verse (Haggai 2:22), the cataclysmic events are followed by the return of Jesus the Messiah when, 

All the nations of the earth will mourn. They see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And then he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:30)

The meaning of the name Zerubbabel (זְרֻבָּבֶל) means "the one sown in Babylon," "begotten in Babylon," or "conceived in captivity." The seed of Zerubbabel had the yeast of Babylon, a scriptural symbol of captivity and evil. It was subjected to decay and destruction. Through Jesus, however, that same seed, begotten under the captivity of Babylon, is now being redeemed and made indestructible for all Eternity, forever and ever. The final words to Zerubbabel are also words to the redeemed in Jesus, 

"'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the Lord, (Haggai 2:23) 

They are reiterations of Jesus's own words with which He comforted His disciples upon the news of His departure, 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:3) 

The signet ring is a royal symbol. It is the stamp of the authority of the King. God gives His authority and mark of approval to Zerubbabel. In the messianic context of the text, God also gives His authority to all His redeemed because,

"He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1:22) 

And the Lord our God will do this because we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession (1 Peter 2:9).                                                                          

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1)

The messianic significance of Haggai 2:22,23 has an urgent implication for us today. It comes through the third reference of the "shaking of heaven and earth." Jesus warned us to be on guard and gave us specific signs to recognize the times when these prophesied events would occur. The prophecy of His second coming, is yet to be fulfilled. 

Testimony of Pastor Tom

Recently, upon studying the books of Hebrews and Haggai, the expression "shaking of the heaven and the earth" drew my attention. I pursued the Lord's lead and came to a deeper understanding of the three "shakings of heaven and earth." The Lord "opened" my mind to "see" the spiritual meaning of Haggai 2:6 and 2:21 as the Prophetic unfolding of His first and second coming. He simultaneously brought to my mind, along with His own words, "the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Matthew 24:29), a personal experience with Him. Jesus' Prophetic words were superimposed on a dream He gave me ten years earlier. The dream is consistent with the message of the Scripture; it doesn't add or take away from the scriptural text but magnifies its meaning, making it significant for today's times. Here is my eyewitness account of the supernatural experience of being taught by the finger of God. 

That night, I had a dream. In my dream, I woke up and sat in my bed, my wife soundly asleep beside me. I looked toward our second-story balcony and saw a strange sight: The sun was going with incredible speed into sunrise–sunset mode; it was moving from rising to setting positions in seconds. For a long moment, I sat in bed, mesmerized by the incredibly fast-paced cycle of the sun. Then, I woke up, and I knew it was a dream from the Lord. At the time of this experience, the level of my spiritual maturity enabled me to distinguish between the dreams of the flesh and the dreams from God. This was a dream from God. I immediately asked the Lord about the meaning of the dream, and brushing it away as "too bazaar," I soon went back to sleep. That morning, during my quiet time with the Lord, I inquired of the meaning of the dream. "I don't understand, Lord,” I groaned as I tried to make sense of the experience. 

The very next night, the dream repeated. Again, in my dream, I woke up, sitting on the bed, watching the sun rise and set with the same incredible speed, but this time, I was taken into outer space. From far beyond our galaxy, I saw celestial bodies moving chaotically. Compared to them, the Earth was very, very tiny, and it was spinning out of control. Many stellar structures came dangerously close to causing a collision. One particularly massive formation with no spherical shape was on a collision trajectory with the Earth. The compact scraped the surface of Earth, and I heard a terrifying cosmic sound that resembled the scraping of metal-on-metal surfaces but on a much larger, cosmic scale. I put my hands to my ears to lessen the pain from the sound, and I cried out, "Lord, there are people down there who are hurt." Immediately, I was taken down to Earth into an apartment building. A woman, alone in her flat, was packing a suitcase, pilling items randomly. She was not in a hurry, neither scared nor distressed. The building began to sway—an earthquake was occurring, but again, I saw no urgency in the woman's demeanor. She got down on street level. No shops were open. Everything appeared deserted. Bands of vehicles, full of troubled people, swooshed by, hurrying north (an impression I got). The woman’s intentions were the same as she picked up the panic. Suddenly, I was taken up in the cosmic realm again, looking intensely at the heavenly bodies as they were shaken. I was taken back to Earth and up in the celestial sphere several times. The same picture—everything in our universe was spinning out of control, and there was panic on Earth. Then I woke up. 

I immediately understood—the Lord answered my inquiry from the day before. Jesus' words, "the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Matthew 24:29b), were engraved in my mind. I understood that the second-long sunrises and sunsets were caused by the out-of-control spinning of the Earth, which the Lord clearly showed me. The physical Law of gravity no longer held sway in this apocalyptic dream. I went to Scripture for further guidance. And I understood: Jesus was referring to His second coming. 

“The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken (Matthew 24:29-31). 

Jesus showed me these cataclysmic events. They are the signs of His second coming; the sign of the Son of Man appearing in heaven (Matthew 24:31). The Prophet Isaiah reiterated the same apocalyptic message.

The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted. The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled. People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. (Isaiah 2:12-22)

Throughout the years, I continued reflecting on this dream, and an understanding formed—it depicted the world after the rapture, just as Jesus had described it to His disciples (Matthew 24:29). There were very few people. I didn't see any children. It appeared that natural disasters like earthquakes have become a "daily" experience, judging by the woman's demeanor—for her, the shaking of the building seemed "normal." The most horrifying sight was the celestial chaos and the fact that there were still people on earth who had been left behind. I saw their demise, and my heart grew heavy. 

When the consistency of the Scripture spans over the writings of the Old and the New Testaments, it grabs the believer's attention with an augmented message. When a personal experience of dream or vision is consistent with the message of the Scripture, the voice of the Lord God becomes louder and clearer. His message rises above the noise of life and stands strong against any doubts: "Tell everyone I am coming and will not delay." I didn't shout His message from the rooftops but have been telling everyone on my path—first to my family, then to friends, and even strangers. Recipients of His message are the community of believers because His Word is "God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction, and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). I cannot but speak of His revelation with boldness because, His Word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it down; indeed, I cannot (Jeremiah 20:9). 

This message is more urgent today than it was ten years ago. We are closer to the fulfillment of Haggai 2:22-23—Jesus' second coming. At the rapture, He is taking to Himself all those conceived in Babylon but redeemed through His blood. He is coming back second time to judge the world. You don’t want to be on Earth then, finding yourself on the wrong side of Eternity. 

As of the time I wrote about my dream, rapture has not happened yet. Let us all pray that our lamps are full with oil as we diligently wait for our bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-13). He is coming and will not delay. Keep watch because you don't know the day or the hour.