Tag: Zion

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.

The Name: Yours

On By TimIn Isaiah 62, RedemptionLeave a comment

For the sake of Zion I will not keep silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. And you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is In Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons shall marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God shall rejoice over you.

Isaiah 62:1–5

As Isaiah writes, it is easy to see the love that God has for Israel. Even though her disobedience produced many problems and the land became forsaken, God promises restoration. With that restoration also comes another surprising promise. One is this principle I want to explore.

Years ago, I wrote a small series of posts on the idea of The Name. It was to show the importance of names, and specifically related to the promises of God. With redemption and restoration, God gives new names. Just as the one we bear now passed on to us by our parents, the Father will give new names to His children.

Back to Isaiah, the prophet is relating how God perceives Zion. That is, the mountain of God… Jerusalem. Sometimes when names like Zion, Jerusalem, and others are used, it is as a rhetorical device. In this case, Jerusalem is a synecdoche for the people of Israel.

Many years ago, Mark Twain visited the Holy Land and wrote a travelogue entitled “Innocents Abroad.” There is some controversy in quoting him. Some say it is out-of-context to make it appear as some sort of proof of what the Bible says. But much of what he described in his experience of traveling through the Holy Land is that the land did appear forsaken and desolate. He said of the city of Jerusalem, that it could be circumnavigated on foot at a normal pace in about an hour.

That was long before Israel became a nation in the early 20th century. For almost 2,000 years, there was no nation. The Israeli people were scattered among the nations of the world. Even though they retained their national identity in diaspora, it would be apt to describe their plight as forsaken.

We have had and continue to have the privilege to witness firsthand this saga of redemption as God promised would happen. Isaiah wrote much of the future for Israel. There are controversial opinions that the prophecies have been fulfilled, while others think there is yet a future consummation of these. Yet since the birth of the nation in 1948, much seems to bloom as we watch.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.

Isaiah 35:1–2

It is a controversial statement to say that the modern state of Israel made the desert blossom. That’s because the world wants Israel to be thought of by her old names Forsaken and Desolate. Perhaps it is just a bit of jealousy. This seeming increasing favor to Israel becomes a silent portent of urgency. I think deep inside, we all know the time of the end is near. It is Israel that is God’s timepiece.

We mere mortals living now have witnessed an extraordinary move of God in our lifetimes. Some of you may be a bit older than I… Many perhaps younger. But there is no mistake. It is now almost 80 years into the existence of Israel, and the land has had remarkable and noteworthy changes. It is hard not to acknowledge those. It is almost as if Israel were a bride being gussied up for a wedding!

And what happens to a bride when she gets married?

Well, traditionally… She takes on a new name. After all, the name is what I am writing about.

Israel will have a new name. It will be given by the mouth of the Lord. It is a promise of the Lord’s delight in His people.

Recently, in our small group as we study the book of Exodus, we chatted about how most people perceive the God of the Tanakh as different than how Jesus is portrayed. Having read through the Old Testament many times, it is remarkable how quickly one can be disabused of that idea. He is the same God. Jesus attested to the fact.

Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

John 8:19

If one knows the Father, they would immediately know Jesus. It follows, if one knows Jesus, they would know the Father. It is an inescapable conclusion that they are the same God with the same purpose.

Some call it the romance of redemption. As Israel is redeemed, a new name will be given. Yet surprisingly, this is a principle that applies to each of us as individuals. God wants to redeem us in the same way He redeems His people collectively. This is one of those promises that is for you.

I know for me, the world programmed my inner voice to go along with the names it wanted me to go by… Ugly, Fat, Unimportant… Whatever. But now, since I have been redeemed… God calls me His son. Jesus calls me a brother. Yet I know there is something greater in store. Something that is intimately between God and I.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it.

Revelation 2:17

There is far more than just getting a new name… Being redeemed means to never perish and to never be forsaken. Things the promise to Israel. It is the same promise that Jesus extends to each of us. Jesus Himself will publicly proclaim the name He gives to me before others.

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. I will not blot his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Revelation 3:5

As extraordinary as all of that sounds, I will also be inscribed with Jesus’ own new name.

He who overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My own new name.

Revelation 3:12

What does this mean?

Well, I think if you’ve ruined your reputation, there is redemption in Jesus for each of us. I also know, as we watch Israel become more prosperous, it is a reminder of the urgency to be right with God. And that is easy.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing… You can stop and acknowledge God right now. Believe that He came to redeem you. He sent His Son Who satisfied your moral failures taking them upon Himself. He died taking them to the grave. And He rose again, giving the gift of eternal life to any who wishes to have it. Then confess that belief out loud. You may also confess your sins and He takes them away.

Salvation is easy…

Acknowledge He is. The Bible calls this repentance.

Believe He died and rose again for you.

Confess, tell others about it.

Jesus as Stones

On By TimIn 1 Peter 02, Israel, JesusLeave a comment

Coming to Him as to a living stone who is rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house as a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:4–5 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Peter presents Jesus in a metaphor using a series of stones. Beginning here, the worth of Jesus is going to be portrayed solidly (pun intended.) It will be in relation to some Old Testament passages he has in mind.

For also it is contained in the Scripture, “Look! I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes in Him shall never be put to shame.”
Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious. But to those who are disobedient, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, to which also they were appointed.

1 Peter 2:6–8 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This is cited from Isaiah.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I lay in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, firmly placed; he who believes shall not act hastily.

Isaiah 28:16 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)
Jesus is the living stone.

I lay in Zion a stone. Zion is the mountain where Jesus stands in Revelation 14 with the 144,000. But we must understand the importance of the usage of Zion. The contrast is not addressed directly by Peter. It is an underlying tension for sure.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven; to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of the righteous ones made perfect; and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant; and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than that of Abel.

Hebrews 12:22–24 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Coming to Mount Zion is in contrast of coming to another mountain, Sinai.

These things are an allegory, for these are the two covenants. The one is from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and represents the present Jerusalem, and is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother.

Galatians 4:24–26 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

A stone lain in Zion must be living. It is this Living Stone, Jesus. He is the unmoving and unchanging Mediator of a new covenant. This is in sharp contrast to the other mountain of the old covenant, Sinai. That is the mountain that gave birth to bondage. The Living Stone in Zion sets us free by sprinkled blood. (Remember How Peter used that term previously.)

Jesus is the tested Stone. He is the One Who did as God asked all the way to the cross, enduring its shame for the joy set before Him.

Jesus is the corner stone.

No builder erects a structure without a cornerstone. It’s the same thought as the Hebrews passage alludes to, the church of the firstborn. The firstborn is Jesus He is the Creator of all. Without Him, nothing exists. Every living creature owes fealty to Him just for drawing breath.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.

John 1:2–4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

He is worthy. He is precious.

Jesus is the rejected stone.

This idea comes from this passage.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Psalm 118:22 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

The psalmist is saying that a stone purposed for a particular purpose can become unwanted. In this case, the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus as their King. The Jewish people were chosen as God’s heritage. They were the ones purposed in the old covenant to make salvation known to the whole world. In that essence, these were the builders of the kingdom of God.

God chose Him for that purpose of being the foundation for salvation. Jesus was firmly placed as attested to us in the Scriptures. He is unmovable and He could not be conquered by rejection. In this case, death. This is a continuing theme from the first chapter.

Jesus is the stumbling stone.

Peter also cites this passage.

He shall become a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 8:4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Take the time to consider the truths of the Bible, that is to study its claims and test them. God says He will be found by those who seek Him. In that sense, the Stone lain becomes a sanctuary for those who take the time to seek Him.

But for the hasty, and the others who have ulterior motives, Jesus becomes a rock of offense. It is precisely because of Who He is that exposes such nefarious evil for what it is.

Though the people these Scriptures are taking to task were also appointed to the same word all are. They were to consider the revelation of the Jewish Scriptures carefully and expected to know Jesus when He came. In so doing, to believe in His mercies and be saved.

Mature by coming to Jesus.

He is the Living Stone of New Jerusalem, the firmly placed Cornerstone. For us who desire the pure milk of the word and to be like Him, He is a sanctuary. He is a place of rest from work.

To the builders, the ones working to make something for themselves, He is hastily rejected.