Alastair's Adversaria - The End of Exile

Episode Date: April 7, 2026

The following was first published on the Anchored Argosy: https://argosy.substack.com/i/161562860/the-end-of-exile Follow my Substack, the Anchored Argosy at https://argosy.substack.com/. See my latest podcasts at https://adversariapodcast.com/. If you have enjoyed my videos and podcasts, please tell your friends. If you are interested in supporting my videos and podcasts and my research more generally, please consider supporting my work on Patreon (www.patreon.com/zugzwanged), using my PayPal account (https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=4WX77P4F8S7WL), or by buying books for my research on Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3…3O?ref_=wl_share). You can also listen to the audio of these episodes on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/alastairs-adversaria/id1416351035.

Throughout the Old Testament, there are numerous themes and narrative threads anticipating the death and resurrection of Christ. By the time these arrive at their full and climactic expression in the Gospels, we should experience a sense of recognition. Although most are not direct prophecies, they are elements of the biblical story that render its Christological denouement in eminently fitting one. Seeing the fulfillment of these themes in Christ,

it's hard to imagine it being otherwise. In considering the meaning of the Atomical, of Christ, theologians have sometimes compared Christ's death to his taking our exile upon himself. This tends to function as a theological metaphor for our alienation from God. However, in Holy Scripture, there is a deeper development of this as a theme. In Matthew chapter 12 verses 39 to 41, Jesus responds to requests for a sign. But he answered them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it, except. the sign of the prophet Jonah, for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the

great fish, so will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Jesus' comparison of his death and resurrection with Jonah's being in the belly of the great fish is apt in many respects. Our Lord draws attention to the length of time, which anticipates his resurrection on the third day. Beyond this, we might think of the symbolism of being thrown into the deep and swallowed by a sea monster. The deep or the abyss can represent the realm of death, and the great fish might represent Satan as the sea monster. However, the sea or the deep

is also a symbol of the nations. When a nation, especially Israel, is threatened by foreign invasion, it can be compared to a deluge from a swelling river, in Isaiah chapter 8, verses 6 to 8, or to being engulfed by the sea, in Jeremiah chapter 51, verse 42. Developing this imagery further, the great fish or the sea monster, can be an image of a pagan nation. In Isaiah chapter 51, verse 9 and 10, Egypt is spoken of as Rehab, a dragon that was cut in pieces as the Lord dried up the waters of the great deep, bringing his people through the Red Sea. Similar imagery is employed with reference to the crossing of the Red Sea in Psalm 74 verses 13 and 14, where the heads of the sea monster Leviathan are crushed

in the deep. Israel being brought up out of Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea was like the land being brought up out of the deep. In Jeremiah chapter 51 verse 34, Babylon is likened to a sea monster that has gulped down Judah. Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me. He has crushed me. He has made me an empty vessel. He has swallowed me like a monster. He has filled his stomach with my delicacies.

He has rinsed me out. Later in the chapter in verse 44, we are told that Babylon would be forced to disgorge its prey. And I will punish Bell in Babylon and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer flow to him. the wall of Babylon has fallen.

When reading the book of Jonah, it is important to bear such symbolism in mind as the opening narrative of the book functions on two levels. On the immediate level, it is a story of an unfaithful and resistant prophet who tried to escape from his divinely appointed mission and was miraculously prevented by the Lord. However, on another level, Jonah stands for the nation. Israel was supposed to be a prophetic voice to the nations,

yet was unfaithful, abandoning its calling. On account of Israel's unfaithfulness, devastation was going to come to its land. The storm that struck Jonah and the pagan sailors on their vessel is akin to the great conflicts that came to the region, devastating Israel and the smaller nations that surrounded it on account of Israel's sin. Peace would only come as Israel was cast into the deep of exile. In exile, God's people would be swallowed up by a great nation.

However, if like the penitent Jonah they sought the Lord in the belly of the deep of exile, the sea monster would be an ark for them. They would be delivered and restored. In the second half of the book of Jonah, we might notice parallels between Nineveh and the Great Fish. Nineveh is the great city, paralleled with the great wind, the great tempest, and the great fish of chapter 1. It is a three days city, chapter 3 verse 3, much as Jonah spent three days and three nights. nights in the belly of the great fish. In the final chapter of the book, the city is likened to the plant appointed by God to grow up over Jonah, shielding him from the sun. The great fish, although it might seem to be a threatening monster, is also appointed by God, chapter 1 verse 17, for Jonah's good.

Read in such a manner, the book of Jonah functions as a parable for the people. As an unfaithful, prophetic people seeking to escape the calling of God, they face the same fate as Jonah. They will be cast into the abyss of exile, where they will be swallowed up by a great nation. However, if they submit themselves to the Lord's providence, repent and seek his face, they might be returned. In using Jonah as a sign of his own death and resurrection, Jesus presented a story that was already charged with import as a symbol of exile. Jesus would enter into a sort of exile seemingly swallowed up by the terrible monster of the abyss, Satan. However, in God's providence, this would be a means of salvation. The monster would be forced to disgorge his prey.

In Jesus' use of the example of Jonah, he also contrasted the city of Nineveh and the city of Jerusalem. Like Nineveh, Jerusalem was given a warning of destruction. While I would not put much weight on this possible connection, as Jonah warned Ninevehra about destruction in 40 days, if they did not repent. Jesus preached concerning the kingdom of God for 40 days after his return from the grave. In the story of Daniel, we encounter another analogy where a prophet in peril stands for the wider people. At the beginning of Darius's reign, Daniel is cast into the lion's den on account of his refusal of the king's decree. Conspired against by envious rivals, Daniel was sentenced to death, placed in a den with a stone laid over its mouth and sealed.

However, coming at the break of the next day to the den, the king found Daniel still alive. God had vindicated his servant, who had done nothing wrong and had trusted in him, shutting the mouths of the lions. Reading the book of Daniel more carefully, various connections might come to mind. Immediately before the story of Daniel and the lion's den,

we read of Darius coming to the throne at the age of 62 years of age, Chapter 5 verse 31. Nowhere else in Scripture are we given the age of a pagan king that Darius is 62 seems noteworthy, as this is a number that appears later in the book, where it has a prophetic significance. In the first year of Darius's reign, Daniel inquires about the 70 years foretold by Jeremiah

for the desolations of Jerusalem, chapter 9 verses 1 and 2. The angel Gabriel comes to him and tells him that 70 weeks of years are decreed for the people, in the Holy City, there would be an initial seven weeks of years, a Jubilee, followed by 62 further weeks of years, which would then be followed by a decisive 70th week. In Chapter 7 verse 4, the first beast in Daniel's vision is likened to a lion with eagle's wings. The first beast, which corresponds to the nation of Babylon, note the parallels with the image of Nebuchadnezz's first

dream in chapter 2, being lion-like, gives us a hint to the deeper significance of of Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den. The lion's den can function as a symbol of Babylon itself. Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den, vindicated for his trust in the Lord, corresponds to the hoped-for deliverance of the nation from exile. That this seemingly happened at the beginning of Darius's reign corresponds with the deliverance of Judah around the same time. However, when we consider the parallel that Chapter 9 draws between the 70 years of Judah's exile

and the 70 weeks of years to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and profit, and to anoint a most holy place in chapter 9 verse 24, Daniel's deliverance from the lions can resonate on another level. Not only does it symbolise the deliverance of Judah from Babylon, but it symbolizes the awaited redemption of the 70th week, a redemption achieved in Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus prayed three times in Gassimene, when Judas and the crowd from the chief priest came to arrest him.

Daniel prayed three times a day and was taken by the conspirators while he was in prayer and brought to the king, as Jesus was brought before Pilate for judgment. On the cross Jesus was, as it were, surrounded by wild beasts seeking to destroy him. Psalm 22, whose opening line Jesus quoted on the cross, contains phrases like, they open wide their mouths at me like a, ravening and roaring lion. Verse 13. Placed in the tomb, Jesus entered the domain,

where the great lion Satan himself prowled. A stone and seal were placed upon Jesus' tomb, much as a stone and seal were placed upon the lion's den into which Daniel was cast. And as in the case of Daniel, Jesus' deliverance from the lion and vindication by God was known at the break of a new day. Within the Gospels, Jesus' death is also associated with themes of

exile. In John chapter 2 verse 19, Jesus refers to his death, destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up. This would have recalled the great destruction of the first temple by Babylon, which led to the exile. Peter Lightheart has remarked upon the way that the Gospel of Matthew employs Old Testament scriptures in a way that maps the story of Jesus onto the Old Testament narrative. Jesus is Israel, recapitulating its story within himself. importantly there are allusions to Lamentations chapter 3 verse 19 remember my affliction and my wanderings the wormwood and the gall and chapter 2 verse 15 all who pass along the way clap their hands at you they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of jerusalem is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty the joy of all the earth as jesus hangs upon the cross they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall but when he tasted it he would not drink it, Matthew chapter 27, verse 34. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads,

Matthew chapter 27, verse 39. Hanging on the cross, Jesus is the destroyed city and its destroyed temple. He will then descend to the exile of the grave. The day of resurrection is depicted like the day of the Lord, foretold by the prophets. The raising of Jesus could be compared to Ezekiel chapter 37, a text that compares the bringing up of the people from exile to resurrection from the grave. Of course, the Book of Matthew ends where the Hebrew scriptures end, with a great commission, chapter 28 versus 18 to 20, and we should note 2 Chronicles chapter 36 verse 23. In the Gospels, there are also parallels to observe between the events surrounding Jesus' death

and those he foretold in the Olivet discourse. The coming apocalypse is enacted in miniature upon Jesus. In Gessimony, the disciples are charged to watch and pray and not to fall asleep, staying alert with Christ. The charge to keep watch is like those of the Olivet discourse. The faithful disciple keeps watch waiting for his master's return, chapter 25 verse 13 and 26, verse 38 to 41 of Matthew. The flight of the disciples as Jesus is arrested,

parallels with the flight of those in Judea in Matthew chapter 24 versus 15 to 20. Reading of the young man who is stripped of his garment in the tumult in Mark chapter 14 verse 51 and 52 and does not return to get it. And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body and they seized him but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. Might recall Matthew chapter 24 verse 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. The darkness at the cross is like the darkness foretold in the Olivet discourse in Matthew chapter 24 verse 29, and the earthquake likewise, chapter 27, verse 51, compared to chapter 24 versus

7 and 29. The body of Jesus hung on the cross surrounded by Roman soldiers might also recall Matthew chapter 24 verse 28, wherever the corpses, there the vultures or eagles will gather. similar remarks might be made about the tearing of the temple curtain chapter 27 verse 51 which anticipates the destruction of the second temple in the ad 70 foretold by jesus in the olibet discourse The events of Easter morning, the earthquake, the descent of the angel with the appearance like lightning from heaven, the trembling of the soldiers, the declaration of Christ's heavenly authority, and the sending out of his messengers throughout the world, all anticipate the final great day of the Lord, and also the events described in Matthew chapter 24, verse 30 and 31. In Jesus' death and resurrection, the climactic events of Israel's history are recapitulated. Jesus takes the history of Israel's history. Jesus takes the history of Israel's. of the people of God into himself as he goes into the greater exile of the grave, bearing the destiny of a sinful people and gloriously restoring them as the temple of his body is rebuilt in three days.

In his death and resurrection he also anticipates the coming judgment. The day of the Lord that will come upon Jerusalem is played out in advance so that all who are united with him might pass through that judgment unscathed. The events of AD 70 cast a long shadow back over the pages of the New Testament, which foretell and anticipate them. However, the terrible destruction that was to befall Jerusalem in its temple had already happened to Christ. He had been numbered with the insurrectionaries and rebels.

As the temple, he had been destroyed by the Romans. Yet as the faithful servant of the Lord, he had been raised up again, and all in him would enjoy the same deliverance. Jesus has experienced the greatest exile of all. He descended into the more of the monster of death and it could not hold him. The great roaring lion who prowls in the den of Hades was powerless to harm him. In Christ, God's history is summed up and his future comes to us this day. Let us celebrate Jesus' stripping of the grave of its terrors,

the death of death, the defanging of Satan and the release of the prisoners of Hades. Easter to you all. If you'd like to read this and other reflections like it, you can do so on the anchored Argosy. The link for that will be below in the show notes. You'll also find links there for my Patreon and PayPal accounts. My work is supported by generous donations. These donations enable me to produce material that is freely available to all who might be benefited by it. Thank you very much for listening and God bless you.