Tag: Israel

Revisiting the Sign of Jonah

On By TimIn Israel, Matthew 122 Comments

But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For 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 stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now One greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now One greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:39–42

It is a common understanding that the sign of Jonah is resurrection after death. But… What if there is another aspect of that sign. Resurrection itself is a powerful thing to leave as a sign to Israel. Yet Jesus expands on the idea that the Ninevites readily responded to the preaching of Jonah.

Could the entire narrative of Jonah be an outline of the failure of Israel to share God with the entire world?

There were some in the nation who believed Jesus when He came to Earth. Before leaving, He left instructions to go to all nations and preach. He even had to give Peter a dream to prod him.

The voice spoke to him a second time: “What God has cleansed, do not call common.”

Acts 10:15

While Peter was wondering what that could mean, three men called for him. They said they served Cornelius, a Gentile centurion. He sent them to summon Peter to Him at the prodding of an angel.

Peter was astonished at what happened. While he was preaching to the house of Cornelius in Caesarea, all who heard were given the Holy Spirit. That is, Gentiles received the same salvation and gifting from God as Israelis.

The aftermath of the event reached far and wide. And Peter was challenged by religious authorities for what had happened.

The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised disputed with him, saying, “You went in and ate with uncircumcised men!”

Acts 11:1–3

Peter explained how God had worked in his meeting with Cornelius. He recounted how it was he who entered the house of a goyim. He also recounted what had happened when he spoke.

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as He fell on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”

Acts 11:15–17

It is not hard to discern the resistance of Jewish folk sharing with Gentiles. Especially when it comes to sharing their God to Whom they assumed exclusive rights. Keep in mind the reluctance of both Peter and the council in Jerusalem, and how it changed.

When they heard these things, they were silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then God has granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life.”

Acts 11:18

I have questions. Did not these apostles know the account of Jonah?

Did they not know that the Ninevites responded to Jonah’s preaching?

Jonah had the same cultural reluctance. Even though God orchestrated both things, it is Jonah’s response afterward that needs to be understood.

Now this greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is this not what I said while I was still in my own land? This is the reason that I fled before to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in faithfulness, and ready to relent from punishment. Therefore, Lord, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:1–3

I mean, can you imagine that bitterness?

God sought to teach Jonah a lesson. He caused refreshing shade to fall on Jonah, for which he was happy. Then God took the plant that brought the refreshment away. Jonah played martyr and declared it was better for him to die rather than live.

The Lord said, “You are troubled about the plant for which you did not labor and did not grow. It came up in a night and perished in a night. Should I not, therefore, be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people, who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Jonah 4:10–11

What if that anger and reluctance to share God with Gentiles is part of the sign of Jonah?

Could that provoke jealousy to the Jewish folks?

It has been almost 2,000 years since the Temple was destroyed and Jerusalem trampled over.

Today… The word of the Lord is heard worldwide. Jonah pouted that Gentiles got saved. He tells God that is why He sought repentance from His call to go to Nineveh. He did not want them to know God is merciful. His anger was so bad, he even waited around to see what would happen… Would God judge them finally?

The issue with Jonah was unresolved. Could that be part of the sign?

What did God do with Jonah… And what is God going to do with Israel?

It is like Jonah was jealous over how God treated Nineveh. It seems like jealousy of God, who is seeking the salvation of the world through Christians, would be part of the seemingly unresolved close to the account of Jonah.

For I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I may make my kinsmen jealous and may save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

Romans 11:13–15

Must the Sword Consume Forever?

On By TimIn 2 Samuel 2, SinLeave a comment

Abner called to Joab, “Must the sword consume forever? Do you not understand that a bitter taste will result in the end? How long will you refuse to command the people to withdraw from chasing their brothers?” 2 Samuel 2:26

Saul had perished, and Ish-Bosheth his son arose to the throne to rule Israel. Hod had already chosen the line of David to replace Saul. This would be forever.

The two factions went to war. Abner installed Ish-Bosheth as king and led the Benjamites, and Joab led David’s valiant men. The bloodshed was real. The fighting intense among Israelis… Brothers.

Joab pursued Abner. Abner stopped and his men assembled on a hilltop. This would be the last stand. Abner asks three seeming normal questions.

Must the sword consume forever?

No. The point was that this fighting would destroy all until it was gone. This question also has a practical application. Jesus came just to ensure that the aword, that is death, would not consume forever.

For since death came by man, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward, those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end when He will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:21–26

Death is the last enemy to be defeated.

Abner continued… Do you not understand that a bitter taste will result in the end?

Yes. There would be bitterness for the families who lost loved ones. Abner would end up with 18 times more casualties more than David. This has echoes back to the previous account where all of Israel pursued and almost wiped out the tribe of Benjamin. All of the tribe of Benjamin would understand the bitterness of the devastating casualties.

Yet as before, this question has a broader scope of application in the answer. Death would consume the entirety of Adam’s race. Death would bring judgment, and all condemned in it.

Jesus has defeated death by giving the gift of eternal life to anyone who wants it. For those who have not availed themselves of this free gift, that bitter taste will come when standing before the judgement of Jesus as an infidel. Knowing He is King and this is regrettably the consequences of your own choice.

As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this comes the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to save those who eagerly wait for Him. Hebrews 9:27–28

It does not have to be that way.

Abner finally asked… How long will you refuse to command the people to withdraw from chasing their brothers?

The questions caused Joab to call off the not-so-civil war.

Abner had just as much culpability in the fight as Joab and his brothers. But Joab was hotly pursuing Abner to avenge the brutal death of Asahel. Joab would not have stopped pursuit of judgment.

Again, the answer has a practicality that transcends the time and place. Joab could have rightly pursued judgment, but to what end?

It could not replace what was already lost. That is the same futility every human has when they understand the perfection required to gain eternal life with God. No amount of obedience can rectify past disobedience.

If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as sinners. For whoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point is guilty of breaking the whole law. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not kill.” Now if you do not commit adultery, yet you kill, you have become a lawbreaker. James 2: 8–11

Abner sought mercy from certain death. Joab relented. Just as is necessary for any human to seek mercy from the justice due for sins… Death. Sin pursues, bringing the bitterness of death. God offers mercy from that judgment.

Just as the brother of Jesus wrote… There is another way.

So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For he who has shown no mercy will have judgment without mercy, for mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12–13

Just as we have been granted mercy, we should freely give it to others.

Be like Abner, seek mercy.

Be like Joab, freely give mercy.

Does the Church Fulfill the Promises to Israel?

On By TimIn Church, Israel, Psalm 105Leave a comment

O offspring of Abraham, His servant,
O children of Jacob, His chosen ones.

Psalm 105:6

Supersessionism cannot be true. I know that is going to irk some. Yes… The New Testament does call believers as the seed of Abraham… And the seed of Isaac. But it never calls all believers the seed of Jacob it Israel.

It is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but “In Isaac shall your descendants be called.” So those who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. For this is the word of promise, “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.”  Romans 9:6–9

Psalm 105:6

Descendants of Jacob also descend from Isaac and Abraham. But not all who call Abraham and Isaac as fathers can call Jacob the same. Just as Jewish folk descend from Judah who came from Jacob.

Gentiles are not the children of Jacob, physically nor spiritually. This is important to grasp. Jacob is called Israel by God… Abraham is not Israel, nor is Isaac.

I am going to split hairs even further… The term Jewish derives from Judah and is not synonymous with Israel. Judah is a son of Israel, and Jewish people are a subset of Israelis. Not all Israelis are Jewish.

The Psalmist helps us to grasp this very important point.

He remembers His covenant forever,
the word that He commanded, to a thousand generations,
that covenant He made with Abraham,
and His oath to Isaac,
and confirmed to Jacob as a decree,
and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.” Psalm 105:8–11

Psalm 105:6

The promise was made to Abraham. But not all of his descendants inherited Canaan. The promise was extended to Isaac. But not all of the descendants of Isaac inherit the Land. The promise was confirmed to Jacob. Only those from Jacob inherit the Land.

Again, this means that not all of the descendants of Abraham are Israeli. Nor are all of the progeny of Isaac. Only Israelis are descended from Jacob.

What does that mean?

Well… There is yet a future for Israel. Because the promises to Jacob have not yet been fulfilled. And the universal church does not qualify to fulfill them. As the Psalm rightly declares, the inheritance of Israel is the land.

Understand, Christians are heirs of God, too. We are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. God’s inheritance is His people Israel. (See Deuteronomy 32:8–9.) A Christian’s inheritance is not earthly., either.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3–5

Psalm 105:6

There is a distinct purpose for the church, to prevail against the gates of Hell. Tuis is an offensive posture, meaning the enemy is defeated and we work to reclaim creation for God. If you are a Christian, rejoice that God wants you to work with Him in reaching the world.

The universal church does not supersede Israel. It does not replace Israel. The church is not “spiritual Israel.” It is not the fulfillment of Israel or their purpose. Even though no distinction exists between Jews and Greeks. Any can be saved and be a part of the Church, but that does not make one Jewish or Israeli.

The distinct purpose for the church is to go into the world and make disciples. There will be a time when that mission is complete. There will no longer be a need for the Gentile church. What happens then?

The time of grace through mercy is gone… And grace through judgment comes upon the whole world. Do not wait to get right with God, mercy is available now. Judgment comes swiftly… And there may be no respite from it as there is now.

Israel Exists Today That All Things Shall be Fulfilled

On By TimIn Ezekiel 38, Israel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

After many days you shall be called. In the latter years you shall come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered out of many peoples, against the mountains of Israel which had been always a waste. But its people were brought out of the nations, and they, all of them, are dwelling safely. You shall ascend and come like a storm; you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.

Ezekiel 38:8–9

You may have been tricked into believing that the modern nation of Israel has nothing to do with the Bible. You may think that it is not the same Israel that received the promises of God through the prophets. And those promises have transferred somehow to the church. (I hold very loosely onto the idea of a universal church, preferring the more precise body of Christ.) That text should upend that trickery. God has a purpose for the Israel that exists today.

After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the troops of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined.

Daniel 9:26

I will tell you that Israel is here to fulfill all things. Right now, there is a pause after the seven and sixty-two weeks. Messiah was cut off, and God set aside His dealings with Israel. That is the war of desolations, as Jewish people are spread throughout the nations and suffer persecution upon persecution. The desolation ends with the rebuilding of Israel as a nation.

They shall build the old ruins;
they shall raise up the former desolations,
and they shall repair the waste cities,
the desolations of many generations.

Isaiah 61:4

While the Bible details some instances of persecution before Jesus, the desolation for Israelis increased dramatically after the death of Jesus. It is just as the timeline in this wiki shows. The world now nears the end of this war of desolations. This is easily discerned by the establishment of the modern nation of Israel as Jewish folk migrate there amidst a cultural resurgence of anti-Zionism.

For any skeptic to speak credibly on Modern Israel, it is necessary to read, understand, and know Daniel 9:21–27.

As with Daniel, all prophets spoke the promises of God to the nation of Israel. It behooves one to know these were to, for, and about Israel. There would be judgment by diaspora or scattering among the Gentile nations. Many of them wrote of wrath and judgments coming on the nation of Israel. This alone ought to be one of those massive differences to show that the church did not supersede Israel.

Those prophecies of judgment also included God’s promises as the end of the age nears. That is to regather all of the tribes of Israel into the Promised Land. This will be by Jesus establishing one fold under Davidic rule. He will remove the infidels in the Land Himself, fulfilling the land covenant. Nevertheless, He will rule from David’s throne.

As people alive today, we witness the hand of God move. For over 80 years, Jewish people have been drawn to Israel. Whole families continue to relocate to live in Israel. This gathering signals that the end of the war of desolations is near. Yes, the Israel that exists today consists of those being gathered into the land. Just as the prophets told, this will be in unbelief.

Gather together, yes, gather together,
O shameless nation,
before the decree takes effect,
before the day passes like chaff,
before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who carry out His judgment.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s anger.

Zephaniah 2:1–3

In this passage, Israelis are encouraged to gather together and believe before judgment comes. What is inferred is that those who are gathered are being gathered in disbelief. And this is before the day of the Lord’s anger. That last phrase is a nod to Jacob’s Trouble, what most call The Tribulation. Israel is gathered together before that. Do note the veiled hint referenced, “perhaps you will be hidden on the day of the Lord’s anger.” This is a hint to the rapture, of which I have written before.

It is established that Israel is regathered in unbelief. This was foretold before it happened. Then other texts signal that the end of the war of desolations is near. Here is one:

The oracle of the word of the Lord against Israel.
Thus says the Lord, the One who stretches out the heavens and establishes the earth and forms the spirit of man within him: I am going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling before all the surrounding nations. And when there is a siege against Judah, it is also against Jerusalem. And it will be on that day that I will set Jerusalem as a weighty stone to all the peoples. All who carry it will surely gash themselves, and all the nations of the land will be gathered against it. On that day I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness, but for the house of Judah I will keep My eyes open although I will strike with blindness every horse of the peoples. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, “There is strength for us with those residing in Jerusalem by the Lord of Hosts, their God.”
On that day I will set Judah like a fiery pot among wood and as a flaming torch among cut grain. And they will devour to the right and left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem will still reside in her place, the place of Jerusalem. The Lord will deliver the tents of Judah as before, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of those dwelling in Jerusalem will not eclipse Judah. On that day the Lord will defend those residing in Jerusalem; and even the one who stumbles among them will be as David on that day. And the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going out before them. On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations who come out against Jerusalem.
And I will pour out on the house of David and over those dwelling in Jerusalem a spirit of favor and supplication so that they look to Me, whom they have pierced through. And they will mourn over him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as that of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn with each family by itself: the family of the house of David by themselves, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by themselves, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by themselves, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by themselves, and their wives also by themselves; and all the families that remain, each by itself and their wives by themselves.

Zechariah 12:1–14

As Israel is regathered, the existence of the nation clearly troubles the entire world. That reality exists today. All one has to do is watch a nightly news broadcast to see the inundating tidal wave of antisemitism that is sweeping the United States. Yes, that was prophesied to happen, and it is. God does indeed know the beginning from the end.

Sadly, some of you may be around to witness what else is going to happen; though anyone may change that reality anytime they want to do so before it occurs, just by believing in Jesus. Yes, there is going to be a siege of Jerusalem. Yes, Israel will do the impossible and turn back the invaders. It will also be clear that it was God who did the real work in that.

Something happens to the people as they witness God move to save them. Israel comes to their senses on that day. They will mourn the God they pierced. The questions to ask, “When did (or really, does) Israel pierce Jehovah?”

For the ones paying attention, the Tanakh plainly declares that Jesus is Jehovah.

It has not occurred yet, so it must be in the future. This is sometimes hard to hear; the future of the world is Israeli in nature.

God judges Israel. God helps Israel. God blesses Israel. Israel turns to God. Israel mourns their actions. Israel is restored to all of the land promised… From the river to the sea. It is not Palestine, it is Israel.

Yes, they do reject Jesus Christ. Which was also prophesied. There was a famine that began with the ministry of Jesus Christ some 2,000 years ago.

The time is coming, says the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land,
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They will wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they will run back and forth to seek the word of the Lord,
but they will not find it.

Amos 8:11–12

This famine in Israel of hearing the word of the Lord is nearing an end. The world is racing toward the inevitable war with invaders coming down from space. That is their narrative. The Bible student knows the reality.

I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God. The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, with which He may strike the nations. “He shall rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury and wrath of God the Almighty.

Revelation 19:11–15

We live in interesting times indeed.

Oft Misused Scripture: Abraham’s Seed

On By TimIn Galatians 03, Israel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

You are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, and there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  Galatians 3:26–29

The Gospel of John opens with, among other things, the declaration of the right God has extended to those who believe.

Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:12–13

Sons of God are direct creations of God. Adam is correctly called the son of God. Angels are the sons of God. Since the resurrection of Jesus, believers are sons of God. They are new creations, born of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Paul addresses believers correctly in Galatians as sons of God, as New Testament believers are indeed sons of the Most High.

The fact of divine parentage has been around since the beginning. Jesus cited it to those who did not believe in His claims, “My Father and I are One.” They wanted to stone Him because He claimed to be God. Yes, Jesus claimed to be God. Much more than just being One of divine parentage. Hete is how He put it.

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of Him, whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? John 10:34–36

Divine parentage is limited to Adam and angels in the Tanakh. But Jesus opened that right to anyone who would apprehend eternal life and believe.

Being baptized into Christ is not water baptism. It is the baptism of the Spirit where believers put on Christ.

But you did not learn about Christ in this manner, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:  that you put off the former way of life in the old nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new nature, which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness.  Ephesians 4:20–24

The new nature is a new creation of God, through His Spirit. This is the one baptism that saves.

Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Being new creations, there is no more division between Jew or goyim, slave or free, even male or female. It is unity in Jesus Christ, just as there is a Unity in the Godhead.

But here comes the twist… We are Abraham’s seed. This is the portion that is often misused. It has been part of many church bodies for centuries. Israel ceased to be a nation; one could see how that error could be easily embraced. May 14, 1948, changed that.

Being Abraham’s seed is not being the New or True Israel. That is error. The $10 word for it is supersessionism; it is commonly called replacement or fulfillment theology. And it hangs on the misinterpretation of this verse.

Here is why it is wrong theology.

Abraham had his own children. One of whom is Isaac. God reaffirmed the covenant He made with Abraham to Isaac in Genesis 26. Isaac had two sons, Esau, the firstborn, and Jacob, his twin brother. God chose Jacob to have the blessing and reaffirmed the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac to Jacob. In Genesis 28 Jacob learns of this by dream. God then changes Jacob’s name to Israel in Genesis 32. Finally, He reaffirms the covenant to Jacob (Israel) in Genesis 35. This is the promise to Israel.

The Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, to you will I give it and to your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”  Genesis 28:13–15

This should be full stop.

If believers are Abraham’s seed, they are not Jacob’s seed. The covenant promise went from Abraham to Isaac. It did not go to Ishmael. The covenant promise was extended by God from Abraham to Isaac and then to Jacob, not Esau.

It does not go to the New Testament church, either. Not many of the saints are Jacob’s seed; they are Gentiles. Ishmael and Esau are Abraham’s seed; they are not part of the covenant promise, either. The covenant promise still remains with Israel. God has not extended it to anyone else. It is not superseded nor broken.

God’s promise to Abraham’s seed…

Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”  Genesis 22:18

Gentile believers are blessed because Jesus Christ came through the seed of Abraham, then Isaac, and then Israel. Faith in Jesus gives us eternal life and the power to become sons of God by new birth!

Believers are blessed and are heirs of Abraham through that Seed who is Jesus Christ. Believers are not Israel; they do not inherit God’s promises to Israel or even Abraham. Israel retains the everlasting land and dynasty of both the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. Neither of these has been fulfilled. And they will not until Jesus returns at the end of the age.

This is why Israel is such a most-contested issue for the world. It must not be so for Christianity. Yet, there is a real satanic spirit working in the world. Ignorance and deception that have overcome unbelievers have seduced some Christians. It is not prudent that other Christians have been steeped in fulfillment theologies and embrace the deception that modern Israel is not the nation of God’s blessing. Even though He promised Israel to gather them back!

Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.” Genesis 28:15

Why would there be such demonic vitriol for modern Israel if it was not part of God’s plan?

There have been many historical mistreatments of Jewish people. Many of those had ultimate plans of annihilating the Jewish people completely. Most of my generation still remembers the horrors of the Holocaust. We know the evil of genocide through first-hand accounts. Though it is sadly becoming fashionable to deny or downplay what the National Socialists of Germany did. Yes, Naziism is socialism.

These antisemitic things are purely satanic. There is no other word for it. The endgame is to try to thwart these covenant promises by eliminating God’s people. If they were to succeed, it would ultimately result in stopping the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus does not come back until Israel… Yes, Israel and not a remnant of New Testament saints… Calls “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.” (That is in Luke 13:22–35.)

If Jesus does not come back, He does not fulfill either the Abrahamic or Davidic covenants. As if such a thing is even possible. Nevertheless, the enemy thinks he can and gathers as many as are willing to his side.

Being Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise means that believers share in Abraham’s faith and blessing. And the ultimate object of that is Jesus Christ. It does not mean that believers share in Israel’s national promises by inheritance. (Those God affirmed with and extended to Isaac and Jacob.)

New Testament saints receive the spiritual seed blessings according to the promise. These saints are not heirs to the promises themselves, but as the text precisely delineates… According to the promise.

Israel receives the earthly kingdom promises when Jesus returns. The nation itself is Jesus’ inheritance (see Deuteronomy 32:8-9.) New Testament saints inherit what Jesus inherits. Which means that there will then be One Shepherd and one sheepfold.

Are You Counted Worthy to Escape?

On By TimIn Rapture, Revelation 03Leave a comment

Because you have kept My word of patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the entire world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Revelation 3:10

This is the promise Jesus makes to the church at Philadelphia. He says He will keep these faithful from a time when all the Earth will be tested. What could that ever be?

Well, there are many today who try to deny reality. They say that there is no rapture, just the return of Jesus. Others mock it by calling it a secret thing. There are those that say it is a recent invention, and that our Hope is just escapism generated by Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind.” What they all have in common is starting with the necessary startling reality of the rapture. Then they attempt to debunk it.

To them I ask, “What did Jesus mean when He said He would keep the Philadelphians from the hour of temptation that is going to come to the entire world?

I say the escape is real! Jesus taught it, if you know how and where to look, it is plain. He told the Philadelphians they would be kept from it. So what is it?

“Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts become burdened by excessiveness and drunkenness and anxieties of life, and that Day comes on you unexpectedly. For as a snare it will come on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Luke 21:34–35

What day comes as a snare unexpectedly?

And the day comes to all those on the face of the whole Earth. Reading for context in Luke 21, clearly Jesus is speaking of the events of the end of the age. Specifically to Jewish people who asked about their end and when Jesus would return. That conversation began with a simple observation.

As some spoke of how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts, He said, “As for these things which you see, the days will come when not one stone shall be left on another that will not be thrown down.”
They asked Him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when this is about to happen?”

Luke 21:5–7

What follows as Jesus begins to answer, is clearly a time of testing before the end. One that is very Jewish in nature. False Messiahs come, wars, rumors of wars, famine, and pestilence. And those are just the start. The words of Jesus in Luke 21:8–11 clearly track with the very things John describes in Revelation 6:1–8.

Jesus then goes on to warn of coming persecution to the Jewish people in Luke 21:12–19. This tracks with later parts of the book of Revelation when the whoke world assails Israel.

Where in Revelation chapter 6, John provides a macro-level outline of events if that Day. Jesus also warns of the trampling of Jerusalem by Gentiles. While the latter may seem to have happened in AD 70, I consider that just the beginning of the time of Gentiles.

When considering the times we live in, Jerusalem is not a wholly Israeli city. It is still a contested with a significant Gentile population vying for rule. The nation of Israel controls east Jerusalem. That marks a significant shift from complete Gentile rule. The trend shows a waning Gentile control, and the foreshadows of that Day of complete Israeli control are perceived today.

Likewise, the recent rise of antisemitism becomes more pressing seemingly daily. People do not even understand their own participation in it. If Jewish folk are going to experience unprecedented persecution in that Day, it follows, that like waning Gentile control of Jerusalem, it would ramp up.

These are the precursors of what is going to happen in that Day that cast shadows on us today.

As the high-level view continues in John 6:9–16, events unfold to a seminal event. That climax is the return of Jesus Christ to Earth to rescue Israel. The fear leading up to that moment is palpable, as men hide themselves knowing the wrath of God is at hand.

“There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men fainting from fear and expectation of what is coming on the inhabited earth. For the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Luke 21:25–27

Remember the question the disciples poaed to Jesus, “(W)hat will be the sign when this is about to happen?”

The precision is important to note, it is not when this would happen, but about to happen. His answer follows all of the really testing things He described.

When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.”

Luke 21:28

The sign is when these things begin to happen. I contend that we are clearly experiencing the beginning of those things. As such, our first expectation should be directed up, toward Jesus, and not forward to what is happening on Earth.

So when Jesus says to Philadelphia, they will be kept from the hour of temptation, it is clear what that hour is. Jesus also said that time comes as a surprise to all on Earth. Doesn’t it follow that those who expect these signs would not be surprised?

Which means, by Jesus’ words, they are not on the Earth… Right?

I am one that knows Paul had the privilege of revealing the mystery of the Rapture. He did not invent it. Neither did Darby. It was always in parts of the Tanakh, and even present in the things Jesus spoke and taught.

This time of testing is NOT for believers… It is for unbelievers. Some of those unbelievers clearly begin to believe during it. But as is shown, today’s believers expect the unprecedented time. It won’t be a surprise at all. Because they have heard the promises of Jesus and are already not present.

Therefore watch always and pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Luke 21:36

The question that should press on your conscience… Are you counted worthy to escape?

God Has Obligated Himself to Save All

On By TimIn Genesis 03, LoveLeave a comment

I made this statement recently. My thoughts are that from Genesis 3:15 and onward through the Bible, that this truth is self-evident. Imagine when I was challenged to defend the claim that God obligated Himself to save humanity.

As odd as that demand is, the Bible clearly reveals His plan. It was to humiliate Himself under the bondage of death for people… All of them. He says of Himself that He is Just and Justifier. And He is doesn’t choose between people. All have the same invitation to come. That’s the reason Jesus was born, as promised in Genesis. He is the Promised Seed.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

Genesis 3:15

I can almost hear the doubts. But this was a promise given to the entire human race. (There were only two at the time.) The promise was that a Human would triumph. I said it.

It was not well veiled in the text of the Tanakh. From that beginning, the idea was taught that death was necessary to cover sin. The inference would be that the Seed would also die. And with that, defeat death.

With all of that in mind, let’s check it out.

There are precise passages in the Tanakh where God plainly shows He does things to protect His reputation.

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their way was before Me as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. Therefore I poured My fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for their idols with which they had polluted it. And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries. According to their ways and according to their deeds, I judged them. When they entered the nations, where they went, they profaned My holy name, because they said of them, “These are the people of the Lord and have gone forth out of His land.” But I had pity for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.

Ezekiel 36:16–21

Here, His rescue of Israel would be to protect the reputation of His Name.

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake which you have profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the sanctity of My great name which was profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified among you before their eyes.
For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. From all your filthiness and from all your idols, I will cleanse you. Also, I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. You will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you will be My people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleanness. And I will call for the grain and increase it and lay no famine upon you. I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field so that you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the nations.

 Ezekiel 36:22–30

This regathering of Israel has not happened as of yet. In my understanding of the text, we are watching Him restore Israel presently.

This portion of the Scripture fascinates me. Especially the last portion. All of those things of restoration promised to Israel are given to us believers today. If we are doing right, and the Israelis really knew their Tanakh, this should provoke jealousy.

I digress.

Back to the subject at hand, that God protects His own reputation. It follows that since man bears the image of God, He is going to protect that image. Here, it is again established.

For My name’s sake I will defer My anger,
and for My praise I will restrain it for you
so that you are not cut off.
See, I have refined you, but not with silver;
I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
For My own sake, even for My own sake, I will do it;
for how can My name be polluted?
And I will not give My glory to another.

Isaiah 48:9–11

He even says that we do not immediately die, and it is for His reputation. Adam did not die when he sinned. (And it wasn’t the contrived spiritual death, either.) The inference in the fall in the Garden, animals died to provide coverings for humans. By inference, this leads to the necessity of a substitute or stand-in. One that will take the rap, so to speak.

Of course, we know it was the death of Jesus at the cross that satisfied the wages of sin effectually and unconditionally for all humanity. Nobody dies immediately when they sin, not me, not even Adam. The death of Jesus provides a respite from the wages of sin. The debt is satisfied.

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:8

This proves the timelessness of the plan, from the Lamb Who was slain from the foundation of the world. He is protecting His reputation.

God had told the Israelites these things. This is a doctrine that spans the entire Bible. God elaborates elsewhere through the Apostle. Consider what he said here in this passage

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we must also love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us.
We know that we live in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God. And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way God’s love is perfected in us, so that we may have boldness on the Day of Judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. Whoever fears is not perfect in love.
We love Him because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? We have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:7–21

He gives a detailed explanation for His actions. He gives the motivation, it is not a selfish protecting His name, but a selfless love for others. He defines how He acts because of Who He is.

Love suffers long and is kind; love envies not; love flaunts not itself and is not puffed up, does not behave itself improperly, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7

God is indeed obligated to save humanity. Not for our sake, but for His, His great love for us.

God is Love.

He extends to all the same invitation, “Come.” The responsibility for your eternity falls only to you. You are free to do so or not.

But… Love never fails.

God doesn’t fail.

When This is That: The Last Trump

On By TimIn 1 Corinthians 15, Jubilee, Last Days, Rapture1 Comment

Much has been made of what the last trump Paul wrote of is.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:51–52

Some say it is the last of the seven trumpet judgments John writes of in Revelation. That’s not so compelling, for many reasons. The most glaring is that those trumpets bring judgment, not hope. Many say the seventh trumpet leads to the bowls of God’s wrath, and this is where they place the rapture. Right before the wrath of God comes. Revelation 6 shows that the wrath of God came well before these bowls. This points to another of those unworkables because there are already saints in heaven with crowns before the trumpet sounds. I link to the text so that you can read it for yourself.

A very compelling idea about the last trump is that it is associated with Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets. There is a quick read on this from Koinonia House here: The Feast of Trumpets. The final blast of the shofar is called the last trump. Much of what is associated with the Feast of Trumpets is compelling, especially since it is called the hidden day. As I write, we are coming toward September and the Feast of Trumpets. This makes for some exciting times.

I hold what I think the Bible says with an open mind. I want to know the Truth, and to think I have it already may prohibit that pursuit. But here is why, when this is that.

I think that the term last trump is not a clue to the last trumpet blast, but the opposite. It’s the law of first mention some Bible scholars embrace. That is, the first time a word is used in the Bible conveys certain important ideas as it is used. It is the first use of the word trumpet. I think it is not a shofar blast. It’s something different.

I made a previous post on that a while ago. I have linked to it for your convenience. I want to revisit it. Because that first trumpet is recorded here.

When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.

Exodus 19:13b

This is that first time that God came to meet His people. He came down in thick clouds to meet with them. He gave explicit instructions to be ready. They were to also be careful. Come when the trumpet sounds.

When reading through Exodus 19, it seems to be a frightful situation. Hebrews 12 tends to explain it that way. Yet, there were specific instructions given for the people to approach God. If they were prepared correctly, all would go well. Yet, when they heard the trumpet, they trembled.

That word for trumpet… In Hebrew, it is yobel. It is from where the word jubilee comes. This is not supposed to bring terror, but joy. The Most High God wants to meet with His people.

Of course, there’s a bit of a problem… Sin. Hence, all the rules and meticulous preparation are needed. Read the text. God was very careful to instruct Moses so that none of the people got hurt.

I see love… Really.

When reading this part of Exodus, the people couldn’t get over their fear of God, probably because they didn’t know Him well. At least not like Moses does. Even he had to learn about God by experiencing His care for him personally.

The Israelites who were there missed out. That is also clear from Hebrews 12. The whole Tanakh is replete with how Israel missed out. The missing out was the disbelief. They didn’t trust Him. They trusted Moses to trust Him, and let Moses mediate. Some millennia later, there are still many who don’t trust Him, including the modern Jewish people. I’d say they don’t know Him because they’ve not experienced Him by His Word.

What I think is clear is that when the next long trumpet blast occurs, it will be the same call to assembly for God’s people. But this time, it won’t be for Israel. It will be for a nation bearing the fruits of the Kingdom of God. I have also recently written about it at length on this here: Daniel 9 and Holy Week. These are the people called to assemble by the last trump to meet the same Lord in the clouds.

The question for you is, does the specter of that trumpet blast scare you or excite you?

If the latter, I am certain you have a healthy relationship with Jesus.

If not the latter and the prospect brings dread, it’s possible you don’t have a close relationship with Jesus, or maybe none at all.

That is easy to fix, and can be changed right now. But I have to say, you need to want it to change. Nobody else can want it for you. You have to do it. (That’s probably why you are reading this.)

Moses had instructions for the Israelites; it was a long list of things to do and not do. Like those Israelites, we must all be prepared to meet the Lord when He calls.

That happens simply by belief.

Belief in what?

Not particularly a what, but Who. That Who is Jesus. He told us He is Jehovah. He took on what it is to be human, and He willingly submitted Himself to the humility of death. Not just His own death, but the death as recompense due to satisfy all of our failures. Being perfect, as God and Man, death has no claim. He took up His life and He rose again!

Because He lives, He defeated death and gives eternal life to any who wants it.

If you want it, ask Him right now.

Pray: Father God, you gave your Son. I believe He died for me. He died to take away sin… My sin. I confess my own to You right now, asking You to remove it forever. I ask for and I want the gift of eternal life that You promised to give. Thank you, in Jesus’ name… Amen.

It’s the change in your mind.

The belief in Him.

The confession of your mouth.

This prepares you to draw near to God. It will be a lifelong journey, and your emotions will soon follow.

If you’ve done that, there’s an email link… There is a comment section available… Drop a note, as many will celebrate.

Grab an online Bible (Bible.com, Biblegateway.com) and start reading the Gospel of John. Read it with expectation and ask God to talk to you. Learn to sit and listen to Him.

When This is That: I Will Put My Spirit in You

On By TimIn Ezekiel 36, Holy Spirit, Israel1 Comment

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their way was before Me as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. Therefore I poured My fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for their idols with which they had polluted it. And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries. According to their ways and according to their deeds, I judged them. (Ezekiel 36:16–19, MEV)

Here is Ezekiel providing God’s word to Israel during the Babylonian captivity. The Kingdom has already been divided between the 10 northern tribes, usually called Israel who were overtaken by the Assyrians. There were also the southern tribes Judah and Levi, collectively called Judah. Ezekiel is a prophet speaking God’s truth to—Israel.

The northern kingdom had already been dispersed in judgment at the time. It consisted of ten tribes, which some call the lost tribes. These people became integrated among the Gentile nations. At the time of Jesus’ first advent, the name ascribed to those people was Samaritans.

Judah was also scattered into Babylon. After 70 years of captivity, those people returned to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. They resettled the land. This was the Israel present during the physical lifetime of Jesus Christ.

In his speaking for God, Ezekiel uses some very strong language to demonstrate the detestable nature of the practices of the Israelis. Ones that brought the judgment of the Most High. He did not eradicate His people. Instead, He scattered them into the nations of the world. Where they have remained until modern times.

When they entered the nations, where they went, they profaned My holy name, because they said of them, “These are the people of the Lord and have gone forth out of His land.” But I had pity for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.  (Ezekiel 36:20–21, MEV)

This is the trouble with sin. It always has a penchant for suppressing the knowledge of God. When God judged His people and dispersed them from the land, it caused more damage to be done to His name in the minds of the Gentiles.

This may lack some context, as it reflects a common conception in the Ancient Near East. It is basically the connection between a god, his nation, and the people of that nation. These all possessed the land. When the land’s inhabitants were removed from it, the prevailing wisdom was that the god of that land dispossessed his people. They were driven away because their god abandoned them.

God had a different plan. He never intended to abandon His people.

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake which you have profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the sanctity of My great name which was profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified among you before their eyes.  (Ezekiel 36:22–23, MEV)

God’s plan from the beginning included the salvation of all the people of all nations. I know this text doesn’t say that, per se. Yet, the entirety of the Bible proclaims that the death of Jesus is for the whole world, and that anyone who wants eternal life needs only believe to receive it. This is why Abram and his descendants were chosen as a blessing to the whole world. This is not just the promise of the Messiah; it is to be their testimony to share this message with all people in all nations.

I will make of you a great nation;
I will bless you
and make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless them who bless you
and curse him who curses you,
and in you all families of the earth
will be blessed.” Genesis 12:2–3

The Most High is protecting His Name among the other nations. If He abandoned His people, He could not keep His promises to them. When the Bible declares the hope that the nations shall know that I am Lord, it is not that they would acknowledge Him as that. It’s that they all might believe!

That was the primary mission of the whole nation of Israel. They were not chosen as His people to be saved, but to make Him, and salvation, known to the world. This is the hope that all the people of the world might be saved. They failed miserably at that mission and compounded that failure by rejecting their King. That’s for another time.

For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land. (Ezekiel 36:24, MEV)

God promises to bring back the lost tribes into the land He gave to Abram, as a possession. God made the covenant with Himself. It has no conditions or contingencies attached to it, and it certainly does not expire. When both the 10 Israeli tribes are regathered with Judah and Levi into the Land, this would be the ultimate fulfillment of the promise made to Abram. It would also be the catalyst for restoring His Name among the nations of the world.

Though Judah and part of Levi returned to Jerusalem and settled the Land, this particular promise of regathering the lost northern tribes has never happened in history. With the birth of the modern nation of Israel, it seems as if those of us alive today are eyewitnesses to God making this happen. Jewish people are being drawn to return to Israel.

The contemporary cultural zeitgeist blames the nation of Israel for the world’s problems. Anti-Zionism is increasing. That factor doesn’t surprise me. Jesus said it would happen as the end of the age approaches.

Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. From all your filthiness and from all your idols, I will cleanse you. Also, I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. You will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you will be My people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:25–28, MEV)

It cannot be overstated, and it must be understood. This promise is made to Israel. It was not made for the church or even Gentiles. Some in Christian circles have usurped this and other Scriptures to claim that the church is the new Israel. That is not true, but it is an understandable thing, what with the absence of Israel for almost 2,000 years. How would anything the Bible says about the future of Israel make sense?

May 14, 1948, became an impetus for changing minds and increasing Bible study, and that quickly. I mean, how can a nation be born in a day?

The promise God made to maintain His reputation was given to the nation of Israel. God was going to remove the sin. All of it. They would be given a new heart and spirit that wouldn’t be so indifferent. The Holy Spirit would live in them, causing them to walk in the right ways. They would finally dwell in the Land God gave them as an inheritance.

Now, I know this may seem controversial. But none of those things are promised to any Gentile in Ezekiel 36. Yet the modern-day New Testament believer is gifted all of that (except for living in the Land.) The church is not some continuation of Israel, nor did it supersede or replace Israel.

Then, how is it that Christians have these things?

In a single parable, Jesus explains the situation. It is found in Matthew 21. Before Jesus concluded His account, He confirmed the answer the crowd gave to His question to them. When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits.  (Matthew 21:43, MEV)

Those present that day understood Jesus, and they tried to arrest Him. They were actually acting out the very words of the parable they had just heard. They proved Jesus to be right.

So the Kingdom of God was given to another. Paul tells us what that means…

For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers, my kinsmen by race, who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises, to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom, according to the flesh, is Christ, who is over all, God forever blessed. Amen.  (Romans 9:3–5, MEV)

What it was to be an Israelite, that is, the adoption, glory, covenants, promises, and the service of God, is given to another nation. Collectively, that is the body of Christ, the body of believers today that began on Pentecost. What some refer to as the church, as in the universal church.

But before we get full of ourselves… The transfer would be temporary.

I say then, has God rejected His people? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah? How he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and destroyed Your altars. I alone am left, and they seek my life”? But what is the divine reply to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. (Romans 11:1–5, MEV)

I encourage you to continue reading Romans 11. But for the purposes here, there is always a believing remnant.

As an aside, there are words in Christianese that are loaded with baggage. One is election. Most think election is for and to salvation. It’s not. It’s about service to God. Which is clear in this case.

The church body is a hybrid consisting of both Israelites and Gentiles. It benefits from all those promises and privileges given to Israel by being grafted into the Root. It is an agrarian reference. One that speaks of the privilege of service to bear fruit. Paul explains it.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the root and richness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. If you boast, remember you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. You will say then, “The branches were broken off, so that I might be grafted in.” This is correct. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.  (Romans 11:17–21, MEV)

When a horticulturist grafts a branch into a solid root, the goal is better fruit. Therefore, this passage is about bearing fruit, and connected with the earlier parable cited when Jesus spoke of the vineyard workers; today’s believers can bear the fruit God wants.

Again, as an aside, this passage is sometimes used to support a false teaching. That is, that salvation can be lost. That simply is not true. This is about working for the kingdom of God and bearing fruit. Yes, doing even that requires faith!

Most of those things Ezekiel wrote of are true for New Testament believers—Christians. When we believe, we are washed clean.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, and that He might present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25–27, MEV)

We are also given a new heart and spirit. Basically, we become a new creation where old things pass away and we are made new.

Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17, MEV)

Not really last, and certainly never least is the Spirit of God that indwells us believers.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that lives in you.  (Romans 8:9–11, MEV)

You see, this is that!

What I mean is all of those things Ezekiel promised to the Israelites are still for them. But New Testament Christians have some of them now. If we were to manifest these gifts the right way, and the Jewish people of today were somewhat familiar with their Tanakh, wonderful things could happen.

Perhaps they would recognize that the gifts promised to them are at work today in the body of Christ. Maybe that would be the impetus to provoke them to jealousy.

That’s not a bad thing. That’s how it is to be done.

I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean?  (Romans 11:11–12, MEV)

As I think about that. I have some of the promises and privileges given to Israel. These are mine today.

If you are Jewish… Wouldn’t you want them today?

Everyone Who Calls on the Name of the Lord Shall be Saved

On By TimIn Jehovah, Romans 10, SalvationLeave a comment

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is based on the law: “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness which is based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down), or, ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” This is the word of faith that we preach: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed.”

Romans 10:5–11

In the passage from the epistle to the Romans, Paul cites Deuteronomy 30. He is contrasting two points. Two important things that are relevant to understand.

This commandment which I am commanding you today is not hidden from you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up for us to heaven and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?” It is not beyond the sea, so that you should say, “Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?” But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, so that you may do it.
See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, and death and disaster. What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, so that you may live and multiply. Then the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

Deuteronomy 30:11–16

Knowing context, this portion of the text from Moses follows the prophecy he gave of Israel being scattered among the nations for their disbelief. It comes in the promise of restoration. It is not a promise of entering the land from the Exodus.

We who are alive today are a privileged people. We witness the beginnings of this restoration. The return of the Jewish people to their homeland is happening now. It is not a return after the Exodus because they hadn’t yet arrived to the Promised Land from the Exodus. This is a prophecy of both diaspora and a return from it. As astute readers and by virtue of being alive today, we are extended both the privilege to witness it and participate in it during our lives.

Being drawn by God Himself, these disbelieving Israelis will be gathered into the land. They will become the all Israel that is saved when they believe.

As the text in Deuteronomy declares, the idea of believing is not just for a future time and place. In verse 11, Moses tells them that the commandment to believe is available to any whom would have it. They don’t have to go anywhere to get it. They don’t have to wait for some future date to be saved. The word is in their mouth. In other words, salvation doesn’t come by what one does, keeping law, the sprinkling of water on babies, or listening to some pastor. Salvation comes by personal acknowledgment of Jehovah God. A Kinsman Redeemer Who died and rose again, and a personal profession in Him.

Which is exactly what Paul cited in Romans 10. As he is speaking to his Jewish brothers in Rome. He is juxtaposing the inadequate righteousness that comes by law keeping with the Gospel. Keeping law doesn’t save. Believing the Gospel does. That is, salvation doesn’t come by law-keeping. It comes by personal belief and profession issuing forth the “treasures of the heart.”

 But if your heart turns away, so that you do not obey, but are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, then I declare to you today that you will surely perish and that you will not prolong your days in the land which you are crossing the Jordan to go in and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witnesses against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.

Deuteronomy 30:17–20

There are consequences to not believing. Some are temporal, but the worst is eternal. One dies in their sins. That is why Paul encourages everyone to call upon the name of the Lord.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is generous toward all who call upon Him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:12–13

The future of the world is Jewish. It will be ruled by a rightful Jewish King.