If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. . . . (2 Timothy 2:12)
“All regenerate men have God as their inheritance, or as Paul puts it, are “heirs of God” (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7). That inheritance is received on the basis of faith alone. But there is another inheritance in the New Testament, an inheritance which, like that of the Israelites, is merited. They are also heirs of the kingdom and joint-heirs with the Messiah (2 Timothy 2:12; Romans 8:17).”1Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings. Miami Springs, Fla.: Schoettle Publishing Co., 1992.
“It has been seen that the Old Testament notion of inheritance does not always include the idea of a guarantee. The Israelite became an heir by birth, but due to disobedience he could forfeit the firstborn privilege. The inheritance was something in addition to salvation and was not equated with it. It was obtained by victorious perseverance and obedient faith.”2Joseph C. Dillow
There are several phrases that seem to be equivalent to “inherit the kingdom”—such as “enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21). This appears to be more than simply an invitation to enter the kingdom; rather, it is entrance into the “Master’s happiness,” the messianic partnership. Similarly…the phrase used by the writer to the Hebrews, “enter into rest,” is not to be equated with entrance into the kingdom but with obtaining the inheritance, an honor won on the field of battle…“to inherit the kingdom” is a virtual synonym for rulership in the kingdom and not entrance into it, denoting the reception of kingly authority or rulership in it. All saints will enter the kingdom through faith alone (John 3:3), but only obedient saints who endure, who overcome, and who perform works of righteousness will inherit it, i.e., rule there.3Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings. Miami Springs, Fla.: Schoettle Publishing Co., 1992.
The quote below is a quote from Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings. Miami Springs, Fla.: Schoettle Publishing Co., 1992.
We must begin with the end in mind. Only then can we bring the daily details of life into proper perspective. This lesson is wonderfully taught through the example of a high school junior, Kay Bothwell. Kay was greatly admired by both Christians and non-Christians alike. Not only had she given her life to Christ, but she had also allowed Christ to be formed in her.
One day she was given the following assignment in her English literature class: “State how you would spend your time if you knew this would be the last week of your life.” Her essay read as follows:
“Today I live. One week from today I die. If a situation such as this came to me I should probably weep. As soon as I realized there are many things to be done, I would try to regain my composure. The first day of my suddenly shortened life I would use to see all of my loved ones and assure them I loved them all very much. On the evening of my first day I would ask God, in the solace of my room, to give me strength to bear the rest of my precious days and give me His hand, so that I could walk with him.
On the second day I would awaken early in order to see the rising sun, which I had so often cast aside to gain a few more moments of coveted sleep. I would continue throughout the day to visit family and friends, telling each one, “I love you. Thank you for the part you’ve played in my life.”
On the third day I’d travel alone into the woods, allowing God’s goodness and creation to surround me. I would see, undoubtedly for the first time, many things I had not taken the time to notice before.
On the fourth day I would prepare my will; all sentimental things I possess I would leave to my family and friends. I would spend the rest of the day with my mother. We have always been very close, and I would want to especially assure her of my deep gratitude for her tremendous impact on my life.
On Friday, the fifth day, my life almost ended, I would spend the time with my pastor, speaking with him of my relationship with Christ and seeking advice for my final hours. I would spend the rest of the day visiting those who are ill, silently being thankful that I know no pain and yet I know my destiny.
On Saturday morning I would spend my time with a special friend who is going through a difficult time with her broken family and seek to comfort her. The rest of Saturday I would spend with my treasured grandparents and elderly friends, seeking their wisdom and sharing my love. Saturday night I would spend awake in prayer, knowing that God was by my side. I would be at peace now, knowing that because of Christ I was soon going to spend an eternity in heaven.
Upon wakening Sunday morning, I would make all my last preparations, and then taking my Bible, I would go to church to spend my last hours in worship and praise, seeking to die gracefully and with the hope that my life had influence upon others for His glorious name. The last hour would not be spent in agony but the perfect harmony of my relationship with Jesus Christ.”
One week almost to the day after she handed in this essay, Kay Bothwell was ushered into eternity when she was killed in an automobile accident just outside her home in Marion, Indiana.
For the last week of her life, at least, Kay Bothwell lived life with the end in mind…the essay in the literature class helped her think through what was really important in life. For the readers of the Old Testament the “end” was often called the “inheritance.” As we move into the New Testament, the revelation becomes more specific, and it is referred to as “inheriting the kingdom” and “entering into rest.”
Old Testament usage and understanding necessarily informs the thinking of the New Testament writers. It would be surprising indeed if there was no continuity of thought between their understanding of an inheritance and that found in their Bible.
This chapter will try to demonstrate that just like the Old Testament there are two kinds of inheritance presented in the New. All believers have God as their inheritance but not all will inherit the kingdom. Furthermore, inheriting the kingdom is not to be equated with entering it but, rather, with possessing it and ruling there. All Christians will enter the kingdom, but not all will rule there, i.e., inherit it.
There are four words related to the inheritance idea in the New Testament: the verb “to inherit” (kleronomeo) and the nouns “inheritance” (kleronomia), “heir” (kleronomos), and “lot, portion” (kleros). Every usage of these words will be referred to in the discussion below. However, since the con
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Perseverance to the end, faithfulness, and doing the will of God are the conditions of obtaining the inheritance-salvation in this epistle [Hebrews], conditions which are absent from the Pauline teaching of obtaining salvation (in the sense of final deliverance from hell) on the basis of faith alone. As will be discussed below, a different salvation is in view: co-rulership with Christ in the coming kingdom.
To equate the inheritance with heaven results in a glaring inconsistency. It would mean that believers, by entering the church, are already heirs of the kingdom. Why then are they uniformly exhorted to become heirs by faithful labor when they are already heirs?
The noun kleronomia is found in two places in Hebrews (Heb. 11:8; 9:15). In Heb. 11:8 it refers to Abraham’s acquisition of the land of Canaan. While that land was guaranteed on oath, it was obtained by spiritual obedience. What is stressed in Hebrews 11 is that Abraham “obeyed and went.” Had he not obeyed, he would not have inherited.
The final use of the noun is in Heb. 9:15: “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance (kleronomia]–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
How they obtain this inheritance is not affirmed here, but it is affirmed elsewhere. It is by “faith and patience” (Heb. 6:12) and “holding firm to the end” (Heb. 3:14) that we “inherit what has been promised.” To what promises is he referring? Sometimes in Hebrews the promise seems to refer to justification by faith. But in this passage, the conclusion of the warning, we are justified in looking back to 4:1 where the promise of the remaining rest is in view. This refers to the completion of our task and subsequent entrance into our reward. It appears to have similar meaning Heb. 11:9, 13 when it is used of the land promises to the patriarchs. They too were to remain faithful to the end of life, and in so doing, they entered into rest and will one day possess the land. The inheritance should take the meaning it takes elsewhere in Hebrews–ownership of the millennial land of Canaan, the future reign of the servant kings, joint rulership with Messiah in the heavenly country, the millennial land of Palestine. Kaiser insists that the inheritance in Heb. 9:15 is “the firm possession of the land as Heb. 11:9 most assuredly asserts.”68 Christ’s mediatorial work has as its aim that His sons should enter into that partnership with Him. Their achievement of that destiny, however, as explained elsewhere in the book, is conditioned upon obedience
68Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward an Old Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978), p. 169. .
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from the heart. It is an eternal inheritance because we will inherit the land forever. 69
The Rights of the Firstborn
One of the sternest warnings of the New Testament is found in Heb. 12:12-29. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews challenges them to pursue sanctification and cautions that without it no one will “see the Lord.” Some have held that this refers to a “beatific vision” which some Christians will enjoy in heaven and some will not.70 However, in view of the other references in Scripture to seeing the Lord, it may be best to understand the phrase as referring to a deeper Christian experience.71 Then he warns them regarding the loss of their inheritance rights:
See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears (Heb. 12:1517 NASB).
Esau was the firstborn son and therefore by birth had the rights and privileges described as belonging to the firstborn. The law of the firstborn sheds great light on the biblical conditions for obtaining the inheritance. Among the sons the firstborn son enjoyed special privileges. When his father died, he received a double share of the inheritance (Dt. 21:17). During his life he was preeminent among his brothers (Gen. 43:33). God had originally intended to make the firstborn of the sons of Israel His priests. However, due to the disobedience in the wilderness He took that blessing from the firstborn and gave it to the Levites instead (Num. 8:14-18).
God often violated His own rule regarding the firstborn blessing. Sometimes this was based upon grace. Isaac was selected ahead of Ishmael, the firstborn; and Jacob was chosen instead of Esau for the blessing of the firstborn. Sometimes the reversal of the firstborn right to the inheritance was based upon merit. To the end of his life it was the father’s prerogative to determine the disposal of his property.72 If the eldest son was not qualified, then the father could
69Peters, 1:322.
70 For example, Lang, Firstbom Sons, pp. 98ff.
71In Mt. 5:8 the peacemakers will “see God,” i.e., they will really know Him and walk with Him. In Job 42:5 Job came to “see” God as a result of his trial. The meaning is that he came to know Him more deeply and intimately.
721 Chr. 26:10: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first).
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give it to the son who was. The Scripture only requires that, if the firstborn right is denied to the eldest, that it not be a matter of favoritism (Dt. 21:15-17). Even though Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn, the inheritance rights passed to Simeon (Gen. 49:3-4) and ultimately to Judah, the fourth in line, because he saved Joseph’s life (Gen. 37:26-27).
The rights and privileges of the firstborn were given, provisionally, at birth. The right to the inheritance was his, but he could lose it. It was necessary that the firstborn son maintain these rights . He must be worthy of the elevated status and honor. All the sons are heirs, but only those who met the conditions of the firstborn achieved the elevated status and authority and retain their inheritance. The many New Testament references to something conditional in the future life of the believer may reflect this Old Testament distinction between the firstborn son who retained his privilege and those like Esau who did not. Those Christians who suffer with Him (Rom. 8:17), who endure (2 Tim. 2:15), and who are the overcomers of the book of Revelation are the firstborn sons.
Esau, although heir to the rights of the firstborn, counted them of little value. In order to satisfy his passing appetite, he sold them for a meal. Later in life he changed his mind and regretted his rash decision. Yet he was unable to change his father’s mind.
Whether or not Esau was saved is not relevant to this discussion. The writer uses him as an illustration of the fact that the saved can lose their firstborn inheritance rights. His example is applied to those who have come to the church of the firstborn ones (Heb. 12:23).73
True Christians fully parallel the description of Esau. We are children of God and we are firstborn sons. Because of that we possess the rights of the firstborn. We do not have to earn these rights. They are given to us through the grace of God. However, we must value and keep these rights and are warned by Esau’s example regarding the possibility of not doing so. But even though we cannot forfeit eternal life, we can forfeit our firstborn rights.
Two kinds of Inheritance
Consistent with the Old Testament usage, believers in the New Testament are presented with two different inheritances. As discussed above, we are, if faithful, heirs of the millennial land of Canaan and will reign with Messiah there.
73The Greek word translated “firstborn” is plural, and therefore the firstborn ones are referred to and not Christ as the firstborn. To come to the “church of the firstborn” means to be called to the privilege of being a firstborn son. All Christians are called to be part of that assembly and by birth have a right to be there. However, they may forfeit that right and never achieve their calling. That is the thrust of all the warnings of the book of Hebrews. See chapters 19 and 20.
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another heirship, which is unconditional, is also presented. As Old Testabelievers were heirs of God, so are those under the New Covenant:
So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs [kleronomos] having the hope of eternal life (Ti. 3:7).
Similarly, Paul tells us in Galatians:
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs [kleronomos) according to the promise (Gal. 3:29).
The “promise” refers to Gal. 3:8, “All nations will be blessed through you.” It is a reference to that aspect of the Abrahamic promise which referred not to Canaan but to the coming gift of the free justifying righteousness of Christ. Again he declares:
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir [kleronomos) (Gal. 4:6-7).
Here is an heirship which comes to the Christian only because he is a son and for no other reason. There is no mention of work or obedience here. However, there is an inheritance which is conditional as well. It is “kept through faith” and obtained only “if we share in His sufferings.” All Christians are heirs of God, but not all will inherit the kingdom.
In 1 Pet. 1:3-5 the apostle exclaims:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance [kleronomia) that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
It is probable that Paul had a similar thought in mind in Rom. 8:16-17:
The Spirit Himself testified with our spirit, that we are God’s children. Now if we are children then we are heirs, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in His sufferings, in order that we may also share in His glory.
This passage, in agreement with Gal. 4:7, says we are all heirs of God by virtue of the fact that we are His children. But it says something else. It says we are also co-heirs with Christ “if indeed we share in His sufferings.” The second heirship mentioned in this verse is conditional upon our joining with Him in His
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sufferings. Being an heir of God is unconditional, but being a joint heir of the kingdom is conditioned upon our spiritual perseverance.74 Full discussion of this passage will be undertaken in chapter 16.
The fact that this heirship is conditional is commonly acknowledged by Sanday75 and Denny.76 However, since both these commentators equate these two heirships as one, they labor under the difficulty of explaining how all of a sudden Paul is teaching a salvation from hell which is now conditioned upon the believer persevering in suffering. In fact, Sanday specifically connects v. 17 with a “current Christian saying: 2 Tim. 2:11,” which makes rulership in the kingdom the issue and not salvation from hell. Their difficulty would be resolved and the obvious harmony with 2 Tim. 2:11 explained on the simple assumption taught elsewhere of two heirships.
The inheritance is usually conditioned upon obedience, but salvation from hell is always by faith alone. In order to become a joint heir with Christ, one of His metochoi, we must faithfully endure our sufferings to the end.
This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:11-13 NKJV).
As in Rom. 8:17 reigning with Christ seems to be conditioned upon endurance. The converse, to deny Him, will result in His denying us when He rewards His church according to the things done in the body, “good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). The possibility of being “denied” does not refer to loss of salvation, because the apostle clarifies that, even when we are “faithless,” He will remain faithful to us. But it does mean that we may be “disqualified for the prize” (1 Cor.
74 The translation above has been slightly changed from the rendering in the NIV. In the Greek text punctuation marks were added by later editors, and the writer has placed the comma after “heirs of God” rather than after “cocheirs of Christ,” thus implying that two heirships, not one, are taught. Justification for this will be found in chapter 16, “Life in the Spirit.” See under Rom. 8:17 in index. 75William Sanday and Arthur C. Headlam, A Critical and Exegetical Commentan on the
Epistle to the Romans (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1902), p. 204.
76 James Denney, “St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans,” in EGT, p. 648.
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9:27) and stand ashamed at His coming (1 Jn. 2:28) and be denied a place of coheirship in the final destiny of man.
The Inheritance and Canaan in Galatians
In the Epistle to the Galatians the apostle refers to the inheritance and to the heirs:
For if the inheritance [kleronomia) depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise (Gal. 3:18).
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs [kleronomos) according to the promise (Gal. 3:29).
The promise referred to in 3:18 is found in 3:8 and 16 and recalls the promise to Abraham that “all the nations will be blessed through you” (Gal. 3:8).?? It is significant that the inheritance here is connected not with the land promise but with that aspect of the Abrahamic promise which referred to the gift of justification to the Gentiles. The heirs of 3:29 become heirs by virtue of being sons, and for no other reason, and they are heirs of God, i.e., possessors of eternal life. Thus, the inheritance is not the land of Canaan in this instance but the gift of justification into which all Christians enter by believing. Amillennialists, of course, would point to such passages and claim that the apostle is interpreting the Old Testament covenants spiritually. Canaan, they say, was intended as a type, a spiritual anticipation of something higher, entrance into heaven itself. Rendall, for example, explains:
The original promise was limited to the possession of the promised land, but was coupled with a perpetual covenant between God and the seed of Abraham: “I will be their God, Thou shalt keep My covenant, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations.” Hence Hebrew prophecy imported into it the idea of a spiritual inheritance and the Epistle adopts this interpretation without hesitation.78
The argument is fallacious. As pointed out above, Paul does not even have the land promise aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant in view. He is referring to the universal promises to the Gentiles.
The word “heir” is used again in 4:7:
77 Gen. 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14. 78Frederick Rendall, “The Epistle to the Galatians,” in EGT, 3:171.
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So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir (kleronomos).
All Christians are heirs of God by faith alone. But like the Old Testament there are two kinds of inheritance: an inheritance which is merited and an inheritance which belongs to all Christians because they are sons, and for no other reason. The fulfillment of the land promise, while ultimately certain for the nation, was conditioned for each generation on the basis of obedience.
Paul’s use of kleronomia in 4:30 is similarly explained:
But what does the Scripture say? Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance [kleronomia] with the free woman’s son.
It should be noted that this usage is found in an illustration from the Old Testament (4:24-31). He is using the illustration of Hagar and Sarah to refute the notion that law and grace can be mixed. He says he speaks “figuratively.” He is using the term “heir” in the general sense of “possessor” to figuratively illustrate that heirship in general is never appropriated by a mixture of Sinai and the Jerusalem above, Ishmael and Isaac, law and grace; neither is the inheritance of heaven.
It might be objected that this interpretation seems to be in conflict with earlier conclusions regarding Gal. 5:21. There it was claimed that the inheritance was not equal to heaven but referred to our reward. What justification is there for changing the meaning in Gal. 5:21 from “heaven” to “reward in heaven”? Surely it is obvious the same word can have different meanings in the same book, the same chapter, or even the same verse.
In the book of 1 Timothy the word “save” has different meanings in different chapters. In 1 Tim. 1:15 we read that Christ came into the world to save (Gk. sozo) sinners. The word means “to deliver from hell.” But who would claim that the word means that in 1 Tim. 2:15 where we are told that the women will be saved (Gk. sozo) through childbearing?79 An example of different meanings of the same word in the same chapter is found in 1 Tim. 5. In 1 Tim. 5:1 the Greek word presbyteros is translated “older man.” However, in v. 17 it is translated “elder,” meaning an official in the church. Finally, sometimes words change their meaning even in the same verse! For example, in Dt. 2:31 we are told, “The LORD said to me, ‘See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer (dispossess, Heb. yarash] and possess [Heb. yarash, “to in
79See also 1 Tim. 4:16 where “save” does not mean “deliver from hell.”
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herit”]80 his land.'” The same word means “dispossess” in the first half of the verse and “possess” in the second half!
Now in regard to “the inheritance.” It is not even the same word used in the two differing contexts. The noun kleronomos (“heir”) is used in Gal. 4:7, and the verb kleronomeo is found in 5:21. As pointed out earlier in this chapter, in every use of the verb in the New Testament, and in Gal. 5:21 in particular, conditions of merit are contextually associated with the obtaining of the inheritance. In Gal. 4:7 there are no such conditions. One becomes an heir by faith alone. But one inherits the kingdom by works. Since differing conditions are present in the differing contexts, differing meanings of the word are meant.
In summary, the inheritance of Gal. 3:18 and 4:30 is parallel not with the land promises, Canaan, but with the gift of justification to the Gentiles. This is the major passage in the New Testament used to equate the inheritance of the land of Canaan with heaven, but the land of Canaan is not even the subject of the passage!
Another reference to the inheritance is found in Ephesians:
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance [kleronomia] until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:13-14).81
The inheritance here is unmistakably heaven. It is an inheritance which goes to those who have believed. As in the Old Testament there are two kinds of inheritance in the New. All Christians are heirs of God, but not all are heirs of the kingdom and joint-heirs with Christ. The content of the inheritance here is life in heaven with God. Should it be objected that there is therefore no justification for equating the inheritance in 5:5 with our reward in heaven, the author would reply as above.
Conclusion
The concept of the believers inheritance, as has been seen, is rich indeed. It has been argued that it means much more than “go to heaven when we die.” The inheritance in the Bible is either our relationship with God as a result of justification or something in addition to justification, namely, a greater degree of
80BDB, p. 439, yarash = take possession of, inherit, dispossess. It means to inherit or pos. sess especially by force. In this passages they are to disinherit the enemy in order to inherit the land by conquest. They are to dispossess in order to possess! 1:18; 1:14; 5:5.
81 Eph.
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glorification in heaven as a result of our rewards. As is always the case in interpretation, the context of each usage must determine meaning in that context. While Experimental Predestinarians are willing to grant that the inheritance is heaven, and even that the inheritance in many contexts seems to be a reward, they have failed to integrate these two meanings into a comprehensive system of biblical thought. Several factors seem to lead to the conclusion that it is proper in most contexts of the New Testament to understand the inheritance of the saints as their ownership of the coming kingdom rather than their mere residence there.
First, as argued from the Old Testament, Israel’s conquest of the land was achieved by spiritual obedience. After the victory they inherited. The inheritance of Canaan was a merited, earned reward for faithful obedience.
Second, in every usage of the verb “to inherit” except one (1 Cor. 15:50), the action implies some work of obedience necessary to obtain the inheritance.
Third, usage in the Old Testament, and the common meaning of the word “inherit” in English, Hebrew, or Greek, implies a distinction between merely being in the land of Canaan and owning it. In a similar way, by extension of thought, we are justified in drawing a distinction between being a resident of the future kingdom and being an owner, an heir, of that kingdom.
Fourth, we are explicitly told in Col. 3:24 that the future inheritance comes to us as a reward for obedience.
Fifth, in every instance the phrase “inherit the kingdom” is consistent with its Old Testament analog, “inherit the land.” The kingdom is always (except for 1 Cor. 15:50) inherited by means of works. It is always associated with character qualities which come from acts of obedience. In one context specific positive works of obedience (service to Christ’s brethren during the tribulation [Mt. 25:3435]) are the reason for their “inheriting the kingdom.”
Sixth, the phrase “inherit the kingdom” is directly borrowed from Daniel’s term “possess the kingdom” (Dan. 7:22). It refers to the rulership over the kingdom of the Son of Man given to the saints. In the Jewish rabbinical literature this future inheritance was obtained by works. That aspect of Jewish theology was not corrected by the New Testament writers but seemingly accepted as the above arguments show.
These conclusions now must be developed more fully. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews in particular does precisely this. He explains that, when we have obtained the inheritance by means of a life of perseverance in good works, we will have finished our task and hence will enter into rest.
References