Out of 25 occurrences of “nephele”, all but three plainly mean the Cloud of the Shekinah Glory. The student should work his way through the entire list. Acts 1:9 and 1Th 4:17 are specially instructive.

But there are three of the twenty-five which do not so readily conform to this general usage:

In 2Pe 2:17, false teachers are referred to as “clouds carried with a tempest”. Jud 1:12 (ref to the above) calls them “clouds without water”. In each of these instances the Shekinah Glory idea is not out of sight. Here were men claiming divine authority for their message (as Ezekiel with his Eze 1), but in fact they were not borne along by the Holy Spirit (2Pe 1:19) but by a tempest, sweeping them away to their own destruction. Differently, Jude’s “clouds without water” implies that these men brought no true Holy Spirit blessing.

But what is to be said about the words of Jesus?: “When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.” Besides the simple literal meaning, a commonplace experience in the Holy Land, Jesus may have meant allusion to the Holy of Holies at the western end of the sanctuary enclosure (cp Psa 103:12) — the Shekinah Glory of God appearing there would be the certain herald of heavenly blessing: “a shower”.

It is important to observe that the “so great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), referring to the multitude of the faithful in Heb 11, uses a different word: “nephos”. Thus, it is not permissible to use this passage to interpret 1Th 4:17.

Author: Paul

Time: AD 61

Summary: The letter to Colosse was written in response to heresy that had been brought to Paul’s attention. The major errors that had crept into the church seemed to have been: (1) the exaltation of angels or other “elemental spirits”; (2) the emphasis on ascetic or liturgical practices thought to produce spirituality; and (3) claims to a special knowledge beyond that found in the Gospel of Christ. Paul states that these are philosophies based on human tradition and are therefore worthless. He teaches love, humility, submission to authority, and finally prayer to establish a believer in the wisdom of God.

Key verse: “See, to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Col 2:8).

Outline

1. Introduction: Col 1:1-14
2. The supremacy of Christ: Col 1:15-23

3. Paul’s labor for the church: Col 1:24 — 2:7
4. Freedom from human regulations through life with Christ: Col 2:8-23

5. Rules for holy living: Col 3:1 – 4:6

6. Final greetings: Col 4:7-18

Rather than concluding that ‘the judgment’ cannot be taken literally (because of time constraints), perhaps the meaning of time will be collapsed around the Lord’s return. Thus, the descriptions of the judgment can still be taken on a literal level. For example, we are taught that we must each appear personally before the Lord Jesus at the judgment, and have some kind of two-way dialogue with him (Rom 14:10; 1Co 4:5; 2Co 5:10; 2Ti 4:1). If we must each appear personally before the Lord Jesus, we have two options: (1) Either time is collapsed so that we all appear before Christ individually — in what might seem to outsiders to be the merest moment of time, or (2) We appear before him in real time, in which case there must be some kind of queue, and a period of several months at least. (Some have suggested a number of years — up to 40! — for such an individual judgment.) This “judgment in real time” creates many Biblical and practical problems: ie, (1) where will thousands of waiting responsible be housed, and fed?; (2) will they be “mortal”, or in danger of dying again?; (3) will they be able to sin?; (4) will they be able to repent?… to pray?…; etc.

Thus “judgment in real time” ought to be rejected in favor of the idea that the meaning of time will be collapsed at the Lord’s coming.

Indeed, it seems that the whole process of resurrection, gathering, judgment and immortalization may take place in a split second, although it will seem far longer. If we could break this split second into real time, there would be: (a) emergence from the grave, (b) judgment involving a period of time, (c) then the righteous being grouped at Christ’s right hand, and (d) finally they would all be immortalized together.

“Come… inherit the Kingdom” is spoken to the whole group of sheep; we will be immortalized together, at the same time. If we are all judged individually in real time, this is impossible. Some would be immortalized months or years before others.

This collapsing of time at the Lord’s return would explain why “the resurrection” is sometimes used as a description of the whole process of resurrection, judgment and immortality. This was how Paul saw it (Rom 8:11; 1Co 15:42-44,52; Heb 11:35). Likewise he saw the trumpet blast as the signal of both the call to judgment (1Th 4:17) and also the moment of glorification (1Co 15:52).

A collapsing of time would also mean that the place of judgment is irrelevant. There are practical problems with the idea of judgment either in Jerusalem or Sinai. If it all happens in real time, Christ would come, raise the responsible dead, take us to (perhaps) Jerusalem, assemble us there for several months or years, and one by one grant us immortality. There seems no space for this in the Biblical description of events on the Last Days. Christ comes with the saints to save Israel from their enemies. Unless there is a secret coming of Christ to gather and judge the saints, after which he is revealed to the world, then this just isn’t possible. And the idea of a secret coming of the Lord of glory just cannot be reconciled with the clear descriptions of his coming in the New Testament. The coming of Christ in glory with the saints to establish the Kingdom is the coming of Christ.

Depending how one reads the Heb text of Zec 14:6,7, this idea of collapsed time at the Lord’s return is Biblical: “It shall come to pass in that day, that it shall not be clear in some places, and dark in other places of the world; but the day shall be one, in the knowledge of the LORD, not day, nor night… at evening time it shall be light” (AV mg).

This collapsing of time would also explain why it is impossible to construct a chronology of events in real time for the coming of Christ; the various prophecies of the Last Days just don’t seem to fit together in chronological sequence. If indeed time is collapsed, this would enable all these prophecies to come true, but not in real time. The events around Christ’s return were prefigured by those at the time of Joshua’s conquest of the land. Some of the records of his campaigns require a huge amount to have been achieved by his soldiers within a short time. “The sun stood still” may well mean that time was collapsed (Jos 10:12,13; cp Isa 28:21).

To appreciate God’s timeless perspective is one of the fundamental battles of faith; what God said has happened (our redemption is the supreme example). The ‘gap’ between His fiat and its fulfillment is only a perception of time-bound mortals. In the Kingdom, eternal life will be life without time, without these ‘gaps’, rather than life that ‘lasts’ for unending time. Understandably, given our nature, we tend to see the events of the Lord’s coming, and the Kingdom itself, from a far-too-real time-perspective. We find it hard to escape the paradigm of time, and therefore we often attempt to force God’s timeless revelation (e.g., concerning the events associated with the judgment) into our time-bound view.

An interesting possible corroboration is found in the KJV of Rev 10:6,7, where the mighty angel of God stands upon the sea and the earth and swears that “there should be time no longer (the NIV reads: ‘no more delay’)… but… the mystery of God should be finished.” And Peter, when speaking of the time leading up to the return of Christ, tells us, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2Pe 3:8). Even now, our standard references of time are meaningless to God, because He supersedes time! In the words of Isaiah, He “inhabiteth eternity” (Isa 57:15, KJV). How much more evident will it be to us in the future when Christ returns, that God and His family exist above and outside and beyond the reach of time!

So… as a side point: it might be noted that, for the glorified saints, the reward will not only be living forever, but also escaping time altogether!

[This article is a follow-up to one written by AH, which appeared in The Christadelphian Watchman (edited by GB and NF), Sept 1995 (see Article, Judgment seat, unresolved problem).It includes correspondence from DH, originally published under “Judgment seat: a response” in The Watchman, Nov 1995 — as well as additional thoughts by GB.]

So many of God’s faithful servants have been shepherds: Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David, to name but a few. In NT times, the vocation of fisherman was prominent among the Lord’s followers. Both these secular occupations well fitted such men for the spiritual work they would do — as “shepherds” of the flock of God, and “fishers of men”. The connections in Scripture between the literal and the typical in these cases are plentiful indeed, and rich in spiritual instruction.

Taking our lead from such obvious patterns, what then should we make of the livelihoods of God’s two most prominent servants: Jesus the carpenter (Mat 13:55; Mar 6:3) and Paul the tentmaker (Act 18:3)?

The thread starts in Exodus, where the LORD God commanded Moses to build Him a tabernacle, “according to the pattern showed you in the mount” (Exo 25:40; Heb 8:5). For this work, the LORD called and inspired Bezaleel (Exo 31:2) and his assistant Aholiab to be “cunning” workmen in metal and timber and fabric.

“Bezaleel” signifies “in the shadow (under the protection) of El”. He was of the tribe of Judah; the sun of Uri (“light”; the plural is “Urim”); the grandson of Hur (“whiteness”, “splendor”). He was definitely the “artisan-in-charge”: Aholiab was “given with him” (Exo 31:6; cp Ezo 38:23), “to help him” (NIV).

Apparently Bezaleel was especially skilled in metal and stone and wood, whereas his assistant Aholiab (the name itself signifies “the tent of his father”) was more adept in the working of fabrics and skins. The distinction is borne out by a careful reading of Exo 35:30-35; 38:23. Together, they carried forward the word of building the tabernacle.

A bit more about Bezaleel: Clearly, he stands in the narrative as a type of Christ:

• He was a “carpenter”. This is a Hebrew word, according to most authorities, which signifies an artisan in metal and stone as well as wood (as does its Greek equivalent, applied to Joseph and Jesus).

• His name (“in the shadow of El”) calls to mind Psa 57:1; 63:7; and especially Psa 91:1. Likewise, Jesus was and is “under the protection of El”, as Isa 49:1,2 and Joh 1:18 imply: “In the shadow of His hand hath He hid me…” “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father…”

• He was of Judah!
• He was the son of Uri (“light”) and Hur (“splendor”). Likewise, Jesus was the son of “Light” (1Jo 1:5), and himself “the Light of the world” (Joh 9:5), being the “brightness” of his Father’s glory (Heb 1:3)!

---

The Mosaic tabernacle, with all that pertained to it, was a “figure” (Greek “parable”) of the “greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” (Heb 9:9,11). This spiritual “tabernacle”, or temple, is of course the ecclesia, built upon Jesus Christ the “foundation” (Eph 2:20-22; 1Co 3:16; 1Pe 2:5-7) and chief corner-stone (Psa 118:22,23). As Bezaleel labored to build the literal tabernacle, so Jesus labored to build the spiritual. As Aholiab assisted the “master builder”, so Paul assisted Christ (cp 1Co 3:9-15; 2Co 6:1).

The secular occupations of Jesus and Paul beautifully fill out this picture: Jesus, like Bezaleel, the “artisan” in wood and stone and metal, built the framework and foundation of the spiritual tabernacle — the “center pole” of his work being the cross of wood erected at Golgotha. He also “worked” in metal — the spikes with which he was nailed to the cross.

Afterward, Paul — the New Testament “Aholiab” — was chiefly responsible for the “stitching together” of the skins and fabrics (the individual ecclesias?) into whole coverings, to overlay the wooden framework. Building up and binding together individuals into ecclesias, and ecclesias into the One Body of Christ.

The “carpenter” and the “tentmaker” working together, according to the pattern of the more perfect tabernacle!

On Writing: “There is a tendency to condemn an author as shallow or superficial if his writings are perfectly clear. And conversely, a writer will sometimes gain a reputation for profundity simply because no one can quite make out what he means.”

On Faith: “Unless a man is prepared to affirm that he knows nothing, believes nothing, and harbours no opinions, unless he is prepared is prepared to condense all his positive belief into one solitary affirmation of his own ignorance, he must of necessity be in some sense a man of faith.”

On Doctrine: “We frequently hear men say that they do not attach much importance to doctrine; they concentrate attention on the living of a good life. Such sentiment only emanates from a very shallow brain. It is as if a child should enter a garden, and seeing the gardener planting bulbs, should say, ‘I do not care for those ugly bulbs, I like the beautiful flowers.’ The living of a good life without a foundation of good doctrine is impossible, just as it is impossible to grow flowers without roots.”

On Societal Pressure: “It is always difficult to resist fashions, whether in clothes or theology, and when we think we are quite unmoved by the stream, it often only means we are lagging a little way behind.”

On Evolution and Morality: “When a modern thinker accepts the doctrine of evolution and repudiates revelation, how can he give us an authoritative moral code?”

On Sin: “The depth of a man’s guilt is determined, not by reference to the degree of harm he does to other men, but by the degree of deliberateness with which the law is violated. In other words, sins of presumption are always worse than ‘sins of infirmity.'”

On Disciplining Children: “Nothing could be more demoralizing than for children to be taught that disobedience did not signify [ie, count] so long as no evident harm was done. Yet how often we see parents taking a course which will inevitably give this impression. A child is perhaps meddling with some ornaments which should not be touched. The mother commands him to leave them alone, and comes away. The mandate has to be repeated several times, perhaps with threats, and it may be some kind of bribe. The child is not punished though richly deserving. But now, on the other hand, suppose that, without any deliberate disobedience of this nature, the child turning to come away at the first command, chances to break one of the most precious of the ornaments. The parent becomes a perfect fury, and the erring child is punished with the utmost severity.”

On Self Examination: “This work is necessarily an individual matter, and herein lies the difficulty. A man is his own accuser, his own defender, and his own judge. With the most complete facilities for knowing the full measure of his guilt, he unites a most unjudicial bias in favor of the accused. He perhaps possesses all the knowledge necessary to draw up an unanswerable indictment; but his talent is mainly employed to find extenuating circumstances. He has all the skills of a defending counsel to raise a false issue, but lacks the impartiality of a judge to expose the pretense.”

On Feigned Purity: “Close observers of mankind always feel rather suspicious of those who make a profession of superhuman purity. When frail human nature pretends to have grown more refined than God originally made it, we generally find that the profession is a mere cloak to cover exceptional depravity. Those who have been most successful in subduing the flesh have always been the most honest in describing it.”

On Intentions: “We shall not have the praise of God simply for good thoughts which we have instantly dismissed, neither shall we be condemned for evil thoughts, which we have instantly repudiated. But a solid intention to perform a good work is counted for well doing, even though circumstances should prevent the consummation; and, on the other hand, a deliberate harbouring of evil thoughts is counted for sin, even though lack of opportunity prevents the sinful act.”

On Motives: “It is possible for even the noblest work to be spoiled by an improper motive at the foundation. We have no right to judge the motives of others, but it is a duty to judge our own.”

On Joy: “The most genuine joy is to be found among the servants of God, and the most complete misery and discontent is to be found among the most thorough servants of sin.”

On Suffering: “The whole history of mankind does not constitute a fraction of eternity. The realisation of this fact helps us to see something of God’s point of view, and we can understand why that which seems like the most awful suffering to us can be described as a ‘light affliction which endureth but for a moment.'”

On Our Thoughts: “Every deliberate act is the outcome of deliberate thought, and it therefore follows that control of thought must be the mainspring of every virtue right up to that bridling of the tongue which is placed by an apostle as the supreme test of a man.”

On Doubt: “To summarize the difference between ancient and modern doubt, we may suggest that in olden time men saw superhuman beings in every shadow, and so in time of trial they supposed that their God was only one of many. But in modern times men seek a prosaic and ordinary explanation for everything, and so in time of trial even [the one true] God is explained away.”

(Islip Collyer)