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HEBRAIC HERITAGEA MESSIANIC PERSPECTIVE
With some aaron comments-
GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TORAH In order to fully understand
the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you MUST understand the covenant that God
made with Abraham. Most Christians do not realize the significance of the
covenant that God made with Abraham. Furthermore, most Christians do not see the
covenant that God made with Abraham as being relevant for today. In fact, you
cannot understand how the Old Testament is so intertwined and connected to the
New Testament unless you understand the covenant that God made Abraham. You
cannot understand how end-time Bible prophecy is so strongly associated with
major world events like the Arab/Israeli peace process and the fight over
Jerusalem unless you understand the covenant that God made with Abraham. The
covenant that God made with Abraham is an EVERLASTING covenant (Genesis 17:7).
The covenant that God made with Abraham is the gospel of the Kingdom of God
(Galatians 3:8). In this chapter, we will study the importance of the covenant
that God made with Abraham. In doing so, we will discover that the Gospel of the
Kingdom of God is the Gospel according to Torah !!!
GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM WAS MADE WITH JESUS
The complete redemptive plan
of God is fulfilled according to the covenant that God made with Abraham. For
this reason, Abraham is called the father of our faith (Romans 4:16).
Furthermore, God tells us that we are to look unto (understand the covenant that
God made with) Abraham our father and Sarah which bore us. In Isaiah 51:1-4 it
is written:
"Hearken to me, ye that follow after
righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and
to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and
unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased
him. For the Lord shall comfort Zion ... Hearken unto me, my people: and give
ear unto me, O my nation: for a TORAH shall proceed from me, and I will make my
judgment to rest for a light of the people"
In Genesis 12:1-3, 7 God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees and promised
that if He would follow after God that God would make him a great nation and
give him a land. In Genesis 17:1-8, God reaffirmed His covenant with Abraham as
it is written:
"And when Abram was ninety years old and
nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am Almighty God; walk
before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee,
and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face; and God talked
to him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a
father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will
make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall
come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy
seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God
unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy
seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God"
The covenant that God made with Abraham was made with Jesus at the same time. In
Galations 3:16 it is written:
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy
seed, which is Christ"
All believers who have
accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior are heirs of the covenant that
God made with Abraham. In Galations 3:29 it is written: "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise"
SEVEN PROMISES OF THE COVENANT
Exceedingly fruitful (Genesis 17:6)
Nations shall come out of Abraham (Genesis 17:6)
Kings shall come out of Abraham (Genesis 17:6)
The covenant is with the seed of Abraham (Genesis 17:7)
God's covenant with Abraham is everlasting (Genesis 17:7)
The seed of Abraham will possess the land of Canaan
(Genesis 17:8) The possession of
the land of Canaan is an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:8)
(aaron-It is
very important that we understand the context of this promise. This promise to
possess the land of Canaan is set out here as an eternal possession. This would
mean that this promise could only be fulfilled in the eternal kingdom upon the
new earth.)
These seven
promises have never been fulfilled in their FULLNESS. Even so, the covenant that
God made with Abraham will be fulfilled BOTH physically and spiritually. Since
the covenant that God made with Abraham is everlasting and eternal, these
promises are still valid today and will be fulfilled through the events of the
second coming of Jesus and the 1,000 year Messianic Age.
(aaron-The
Messianic Age, according to Isa.61:1-2a and Lu.4:18-19, must be observed as
being fulfilled during this present dispensation of grace. To move the Messianic
Age beyond this Year of Jehovah’s Favor, into a speculated Seventh Dispensation
or Millennial period, is to move the Messianic Age into the realm of the Eternal
Kingdom Age. There is no sound Scriptural basis for even teaching this so called
7th dispensation /or the 1000 year Messianic Age upon this earth.)
FROM ABRAHAM TO ISAAC TO JACOB
From Abraham, the covenant was
passed to Isaac. In Genesis 26:1-4, it is written:
"And there was a famine in the land,
beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto
Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him,
and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto
thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the
oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply
as the stars of heaven and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed"
From Abraham, the covenant that God made with him was passed to Isaac and then
to Jacob. In Genesis 28:10, 13-14 it is written:
"And Jacob went out of Beersheba, and
went toward Haran. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord
God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon you lie, to
thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the
earth, and thou shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the
north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of
the earth be blessed"
Later, God reiterated His promise to Jacob and changed his name to Israel. In
Genesis 35:9-12 it is written: "And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Your name is Jacob: your name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be your name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of your loins"
FROM ABRAHAM TO ISAAC TO JACOB
Jacob had twelve sons who
became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. In Genesis 49:1-28, Jacob
blesses his twelve sons. In Genesis 49:28 it is written:
"All these are the twelve tribes of
Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them;
every one according to his blessing he blessed them"
THE FULL BLESSING
OF ABRAHAM WAS
One of the twelve sons of Jacob was Joseph. The blessing of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob is bestowed upon the grandsons (sons) of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Jacob adopts the grandsons (sons) of Joseph and gives them the blessing of the
covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and they are given the
rights of the first born son and the fruitful fulfillment of God's covenant with
Abraham. In Genesis 48:3-6, it is written:
"And Jacob said unto Joseph, God almighty
appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me,
Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a
multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an
everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were
born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are
mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou
begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of
their brethren in their inheritance"
Reuben and Simeon are the
first born sons of Jacob. The double portion blessing of the inheritance belongs
to the first born son. Not only is Jacob adopting Ephraim and Manasseh into his
family by giving them his blessing, but they are being given the double portion
blessing of the firstborn. Jacob's blessing upon Ephraim and Manasseh is
recorded in Genesis 48:13-16 as it is written:
"And Joseph brought them out from between
his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them
both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his
left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel
stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the
younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly;
for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before
whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life
long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads;
and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth"
EPHRAIM IS A
PROPHETIC PICTURE OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
Generally speaking, Ephraim is a spiritual picture of Christianity. More
specifically, Ephraim is a spiritual picture of the bride of Christ. How is this
so?
When blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob crossed his hands while imparting the
blessing. Normally, the blessing of the father is given with the right hand and
placed upon the oldest child. The left hand would be placed upon the younger
child. The right hand is symbolic of strength and authority. However, when Jacob
blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob gave the blessing of the right hand to
Ephraim, the younger, and the blessing of the left hand to Manasseh, the older.
In doing so, Jacob crossed his hands when he imparted the blessing. The cross is
symbolic of Christianity.
Ephraim is a spiritual picture of the bride of Christ. The word Ephraim is the
Strong's word 669. The Hebrew word, Ephraim, means "double
fruit". Being exceedingly fruitful was a promise that God made to Abraham
concerning his seed (Genesis 17:6). Being exceedingly fruitful can only be
accomplished through the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus prayed that His
followers would be exceedingly fruitful (John 15:8). All believers who accept
Jesus as Messiah and are exceedingly fruitful will be the bride of Christ. These
believers would consist of both physical Jews and non-Jews and would include
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.
(aaron-This
is an exact description of the invisible priests of God; the Israel of God. All
of these do represent the Body of Christ, and they also represent the Kingdom of
God. And then all those who become a part of the Kingdom of God, whether they
are physical Jews or non-Jews, must be identified as JEWS, THE CIRCUMCISION, AND
ISRAEL. Though all of these JEWS, THE CIRCUMCISION, AND ISRAEL are invisible,
these identifications were always intended to identify this elect priestly line;
this invisible Messianic Covenant line.)
Because there are many
misplaced teachings which exist concerning Ephraim, let me take this opportunity
to say who is Ephraim and what is not Ephraim. Ephraim is a SPIRITUAL PICTURE of
a characteristic of the bride of Christ. Ephraim is NOT the following:
Ephraim is NOT associated with British Israelism
Ephraim is NOT associated with white supremacy
Ephraim is NOT associated with
replacement theology
Ephraim does NOT represent the
WHOLE of Christianity
Ephraim is a spiritual picture of the Bride of Christ who is exceedingly
fruitful for the kingdom of heaven. This would consist of those believers who
are born Jewish and those believers who are not born Jewish.
Those Christians who are not exceedingly fruitful have the characteristic of
Manasseh. Manasseh is the Strong's word 4519. The Hebrew word, Manasseh means
"forgetful". Manasseh is prophetic of those believers who "forget" to love God
with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and do not grow to spiritual
maturity and are not exceedingly fruitful for the kingdom of God. Manasseh is a
spiritual picture of those believers who will be in heaven but will not be the
Bride of Christ. Ephraim is a spiritual picture of those believers who will be
in heaven and will be the Bride of Christ.
HOW ARE EPHRAIM AND
MANASSEH
The blessing of Ephraim was imparted upon him whenever Jacob crossed his hands
(Gen 48:16)
Ephraim was ADOPTED into Jacob's family. Believer's in Yeshua are adopted into
the family of God (Galations 4:4-6, Romans 8:14-17,22-23)
Ephraim is the Strong's word 669 and means, "double
fruit". God promised Abraham that his descendants would be EXCEEDINGLY FRUITFUL
(Gen 17:6)
a) This is a fulfillment of those believers who are exceedingly fruitful in the
Kingdom of God through the help of the Holy Spirit and will be the bride of
Christ (John 15:1,5,8)
b) Ephraim is the masculine word in Hebrew for the female equivalent Ephratah.
Ephratah is another name for Bethlehem and is the place where Jesus was born
(Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-6)
Ephraim is a term for the Northern Kingdom of Israel who forsook God's Torah. So
has Christianity. (Hosea 8:12)
Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, instituted a substitute place of worship (Dan and
Bethel) rather than Jerusalem (I Kings 12:29, Deuteronomy 16:16). Christianity
worships in a church rather than a synagogue where Jesus worshiped.
Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, instituted substitute holidays rather than
observing the dates and times of the Biblical holidays that God gave in
Leviticus 23 (I Kings 12:32-33). Christianity has adopted Christmas and Easter
from Roman Mythryism rather than keep the Biblical holidays that God gave in
Leviticus 23.
Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, instituted a substitute priesthood rather than
have priests from the tribe of Levi (I Kings 12:31). Christianity allows pastors
and priests to be ministers of the sheep of God who are not anointed and called
by God into their office of ministry.
Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, mixed paganism with the true worship of the God
of Israel and call it the true worship of the God of Israel. God called this the
golden calf system of worship (I Kings 12:29). Christianity has mixed Roman and
Babylonian practices and beliefs with the true worship of the God of Israel and
calls it the true worship of the God of Israel.
Just like Ephraim (a picture of Christianity) was born in Egypt (the world),
God's Bride (a remnant of believers in Jesus) are called to leave the Babylonian
system of religious worship of God. (Genesis 48:3-6, Zechariah 2:7, Revelation
18:4)
DELIVERANCE FROM
EGYPT ON BEHALF
At Mount Sinai, the covenant that God made with Abraham was made with the twelve
tribes of Jacob, the children of Israel. In Exodus 19:1,3 it is written:
"In the third month, when the children of
Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day, came they into
the wilderness of Sinai ... And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto
him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and
tell the children of Israel"
God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt because of the covenant that He
made with Abraham. In Genesis 15:13-14 it is written:
"And he (God) said unto Abram, Know of a
surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and
shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that
nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out
with great substance"
God called Moses on behalf of the covenant that God made with Abraham. In Exodus
2:23-25 it is written:
"And it came to pass in process of time,
that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the
bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the
bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with
Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel,
and God had respect unto them"
Moses delivered the children of Israel from Egypt by the mighty hand of God.
After God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt and the rulership of
Pharaoh, God instructed Moses to take the children of Israel to Mount Sinai. In
Exodus 3:1, 11-12 it is written:
"Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his
father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the
desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb ...And Moses said unto
God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the
children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with you: and
this shall be a token unto you, that I have sent you: When you have brought
forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain"
In Exodus 19:1-3, Moses brought the house of Jacob, the children of Israel, to
Mount Sinai to serve God.
GOD'S COVENANT WITH
ABRAHAM WAS MADE
Many people view the covenant that God made with Abraham and the Torah that God
(gave) to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai as two independent events and
two separate covenants. In reality, they are the same covenant. The distinction
is that God first made His covenant only with Abraham and Jesus.
Physically, the Torah that God gave at Mount Sinai was given to the descendants
of Abraham just as God had promised
(Genesis 17:7). Spiritually, the Torah that God gave at Mount Sinai was given to
the believers in Jesus as Messiah (Galations 3:29). Physically, the Torah that
was given at Mount Sinai was not only made with the children of Israel who were
present but also with all future generations. In Deuteronomy 29:14-15 it is
written:
"Neither with you only do I make this
covenant and this oath; But with him that standeth here with us this day before
the Lord our God, and also with him that I not here with us this day"
Spiritually, the Torah that was given at Mount Sinai was also given to all those
who accept Jesus as Messiah. In I Corinthians 10:1-4 it is written:
"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye
should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all
passed through the sea. And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the
sea: And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same
spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and
that Rock was Christ"
Physically, at Mount Sinai, God desired to make His people a Kingdom of Priests.
In Exodus 19:5-6 it is written:
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice
indeed, and keep my covenant (the covenant that God made with Abraham), then ye
shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is
mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are
the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel"
Spiritually, God desires to make all believers a nation of priests. In I Peter
2:5, 9 it is written:
"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up
a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ ... But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people ..."
(aaron-This passage from First Peter 2:5, 9 is true
in every respect. But for us to conclude that the whole of God’s peoples is to
be priests is inaccurate at best. God established Israel as a visible nation for
us to observe, and as the example relationship that He also desired with His
creation. Then within this example that is set forth in the visible nation of
Israel, only the tribe of Levi represented the priests for God’s institutional
peoples. Now if only one tribe out of twelve was designated to be priests in the
Old Testament dispensation, why would we ever attempt to identify all
believers in the New Testament dispensation as priests?) Physically, the Torah that was given at Mount Sinai was made with the descendants of Abraham just as God had promised Abraham (Genesis 17:7). In reality, God's Torah has existed from the beginning of time. God's Word is His Torah. Jesus is the living Torah (John 1:1-2). The tree of life in the Garden of Eden was the Torah (Proverbs 3:1, 18). The Torah, the Tree of Life, will be given in the future for the healing of the nations (Isaiah 2:2-3, Revelation 22:1-2) <****>
THE CHILDREN OF
ISRAEL BECOME A NATION AT MOUNT SINAI
As we just discussed, God called Moses on behalf of the covenant that God made
with Abraham (Genesis 15:1-5, 13-14, 18-21, Exodus 2:23-25, Exodus 3:15-17) to
deliver the children of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. Since the
Torah of God has existed from the beginning of time and because the tree of life
in the Garden of Eden was the Torah and because Abraham kept the Torah of God
(Genesis 26:5), the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai to the children of Israel
was NOT a separate covenant from the covenant that God made with Abraham. It was
a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would fulfill the
covenant that God made with Abraham.
If these things are true, then what was the significance of the giving of the
Torah to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai? The significance of the giving
of God's Torah to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai was that the covenant
that God made with Abraham would be extended to the descendants of Abraham and
they would become a HOLY NATION UNTO GOD. Never before in history did God make a
covenant with a specific NATION of people. In Exodus 19:5-6 it is written:
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice
indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above
all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of
priests and a HOLY NATION ..."
(aaron-The confusion that we see coming to the surface here, is the result of
the misidentification of God’s invisible priestly line. That is, of giving a
general definition to a very specific element of God’s reconciliation. The
majority of God’s Congregation is not able to understand or decipher God’s
visible dispositions from God’s invisible dispositions.)
GOD BETROTHED
HIMSELF TO ISRAEL AT MOUNT SINAI
At Mount Sinai, God betrothed Himself to the children of Israel and entered into
a marriage contract with them. In Jeremiah 2:1-3 it is written:
"Moreover the word of the Lord came to
me, saying, God and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord; I
remember thee, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you
went after me in the wilderness, in a land, that was not sown. Israel was
holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him
shall offend, evil shall come upon them, says the Lord"
There are two stages to the Biblical wedding. The first stage is betrothal and
the second stage is the consummation of the marriage. During betrothal, you are
legally married to your bride but you do not physically dwell with her.
At Mount Sinai, God betrothed Himself to Israel and entered into a marriage
contract with her. In order for the marriage to be legal, both the bride and the
groom must agree to the terms of the marriage. The terms of the marriage are
stated in a marriage document known in Hebrew as a
Ketubah. When God betrothed Himself to Israel at Mount Sinai, the Ketubah was
seen as being the Torah. The children of Israel accepted the terms of the
condition of the marriage by saying the words, "I do". In Exodus 19:8 it is
written:
"And all the people answered together,
and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do ..."
The terms and the conditions of the marriage including the blessing for
obedience and the curses for disobedience is stated in Leviticus 26 and
Deuteronomy 28. In order to understand the covenant that God made with Abraham,
we need to understand the blessings and the curses and the consequences of both
actions.
The Biblical wedding that God gave to the Jewish people will always have two
witnesses. They are called the friends of the bridegroom. One is assigned to the
groom and one is assigned to the bride. Spiritually, the two witnesses that
Jesus is the bridegroom and the Messiah are the Torah and the Prophets. Jesus
spoke to His disciples that the Torah, Prophets and Writings are a witness that
He is the Messiah (Luke 24:36, 44).
When God betrothed Himself to Israel at Mount Sinai, Moses was seen as one of
the two witnesses whose primary job is to escort the bride (Israel) to meet the
groom under the
chuppah (Mount Sinai). In
Exodus 19:17, Moses is seen escorting Israel to mount Sinai which is a type of
chuppah as it is written:
"And Moses brought forth (escorted) the
people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of
the mount"
WHAT IS THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF
BETROTHAL?
The marriage of the children
of Israel to God at Mount Sinai is prophetic of when God will marry His
spiritual bride in the spiritual chuppah which is heaven. Spiritually speaking,
everybody who accepts Jesus the Messiah into their heart and life by trusting in
His shed blood on the tree/cross for the forgiveness of their sins is betrothed
to Jesus, our bridegroom. Until the time of the resurrection of the dead and the
marriage supper of the Lamb, we are legally married to Jesus, our bridegroom,
but we do not physically dwell with Him.
(aaron-This is referring just
to the invisible Messianic Covenant line. Just to God’s invisible priestly
line.)
The ketubah for all believers
who accept Jesus into their heart and life is the Torah written upon our heart.
This is the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 10:15-16). During the time of
the second coming of Jesus, the Bride of Christ will enter into the second stage
of the Biblical wedding and will physically dwell with Jesus during the
Messianic age and for all eternity.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GIVING OF THE
The Torah that was given to
the NATION of Israel at Mount Sinai is foundational for understanding the rest
of the Bible and the covenant that God made with Abraham. We will now examine
the significance of this event.
At Mount Sinai, God betrothed Himself to Israel. This is the first of the two
steps in marriage (Jeremiah 2:2-3)
God gave the Ten Commandments
God established and instituted the Priesthood
God commanded the building of the Tabernacle
God gave instructions concerning the Sabbath, festivals
God gave a sacrificial system to atone for the sins of the people so that they
could come near to God
God gave a religious and civil court system
a) The HIGH PRIEST was to be the ruler over the religious court system. His duty
was to give rulings for the people based upon God's Torah (Deuteronomy 17:8-11,
Daniel 7:13-14)
Spiritually, Jesus is THE HIGH PRIEST of God (Hebrews 3:1, 4:14)
b) The KING was to be ruler over the civil court. The
king was to know God's Torah (Deuteronomy 17:14-20)
(aaron-We find, especially in the Book of Hebrews, that Jesus has fulfilled and
surpassed all of the shadows and types that were set down by God in the Old
Testament. This is precisely why the New Testament Church does not exactly
follow the traditions of the Jewish peoples. The New Testament Church, through
the fullness of times that was brought about by the coming of Messiah, was to be
a demonstration and representation of the full manifestation of God’s grace.)
JESUS AND HIS BRIDE
WILL BE
Jesus is the KING of all the earth (Zechariah 14:9, Philippians 2:9-11) and over
the Torah based government of God during the Messianic Age (Isaiah 9:6)
Jesus is BOTH HIGH Priest and KING before God
God's Bride is BOTH kings *?* and priests before God (Exodus 19:5-6, I Peter
2:5, 9, Revelation 5:10)
God's Bride will rule and reign with Jesus during the
Messianic Age and for eternity as kings having authority over the people on the
earth and making judgements as priests according to the Torah (Isaiah 2:2-4)
(aaron-*** It is very difficult to comment on this section, because this
understanding would appear to be so very important to the future of the
Messianic Jews. But I must say that that is not the case at all. This future
"Messianic Age" is derived from the Premillennial view of the end times. Which
is also the foundation for the eschatology of Dispensationalism. When one comes
to understand the fullness of the times through the complete work of Messiah,
then one can more clearly understand this dispensation of grace--this "Year of
Jehovah’s Favor" as containing all of the necessary elements of God’s
reconciliation. This defined future "Messianic Age" is unnecessary and somewhat
redundant, since Millennialism has amalgamated portions from this Dispensation
of Grace and portions from the Eternal Kingdom. It is Hebrews 12:22-24 that
tells us where our plain of thought must be to understand these difficult
things.)
As we discussed in Chapter 12, the Torah is a blueprint of heaven. Therefore,
everything that God gave the children of Israel at Mount Sinai is a blueprint of
heaven and a spiritual picture of eternity. The tabernacle is a blueprint of
heaven (Exodus 25:8-9, Hebrews 8:5, Revelation 21:1-3). The Sabbath, feast days,
and new moon are a blueprint of heaven and a spiritual picture of eternity
(Colossians 2:16-17, Zechariah 14:16, Isaiah 66:22-23, Revelation 21:1)
THE FULFILLMENT OF
GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM IS
God promised Abraham that he would be the father of kings and nations who would
(be) exceedingly fruitful and who would inherit a promised land (Genesis
17:1-8). In order to fulfill this promise that God made to Abraham, it was
conditional upon God having an obedient people who would keep His Torah. God
wanted His people to keep His commandments (Torah) and love God with all their
heart, soul, mind, and strength. In Deuteronomy 10:12-14 it is written:
"And now Israel,
what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to
walk in all his ways, and to love him, and serve the Lord thy God with all thy
heart and with all thy soul. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his
statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?"
In order for God to have a nation of people who would be kings and priests
before Him and who would inherit the land that God promised Abraham, it was
dependent upon God's people keeping His Torah with all their heart, mind, soul
and strength. In Deuteronomy 4:5-9 it is written:
"Behold, I have
taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye
should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do
them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the
nations, which shall hear of these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation
is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath
God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon
him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments SO
RIGHTEOUS AS ALL THIS TORAH, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to
thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine
eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life:
but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons"
The terms and the conditions of God's covenant with Abraham expressed through
the giving of the Torah to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai can be seen in
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. The conditional aspect of obedience to the
Torah in order to receive the blessings can be seen in Deuteronomy 28:1-2 as it
is written:
"And it shall come
to pass, if thou shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to
observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the
Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these
blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the
voice of the Lord thy God"
The connection with God fulfilling the covenant that He made with Abraham with
God's people being obedient to His Torah can also be seen in Leviticus 26:1-12.
In this scripture passage, we see the following:
IF you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and do them (Leviticus 26:3)
... then God will give:
a) Rain in due season (Leviticus 26:4)
God setting His tabernacle among us and being called "His
people" is the terminology to describe God dwelling with His Bride (Leviticus
26:11-12 = Revelation 21:1-3)
(aaron-There
is no doubt that these things are true with respect to God’s desire for His
people. But from the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 3:9-20, we learn that
this is far beyond the capability of the creature. These following passages from
the Psalms describe some of the natural propensities of the creatures.
Psalm 14:1The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are
corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that does good. 2Jehovah
looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that
did understand, That did seek after God. 3They are all gone aside;
They are together become filthy; There is none that does good, no, not one.
Ps.53:1-3
Psalm 5: 9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward
part is every wickedness; Their throat is an open sepulchre; They flatter with
their tongue.
Psalm 140: 3They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; Adders’
poison is under their lips.
Psalm 10: 7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression:
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
Psalm 59: 7Behold, they belch out with their mouth; Swords are in
their lips: For who, say they, does hear?
Psalm 36: 1The transgression of the wicked says within my heart,
There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2For he flatters himself in
his own eyes, That his iniquity will not be found out and be hated. 3The
words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: He has ceased to be wise and to do
good. 4He devises iniquity upon his bed; He sets himself in a way
that is not good; He abhors not evil.
The helpless
condition that we find ourselves in because of our state of total depravity, is
the exact reason why we need the finished work of Messiah Jesus. We know that
there is absolutely no way that we can ever keep the Torah perfectly. Because if
we break even one of God’s laws, we are guilty of breaking the whole Torah.
James 2:10)
GOD PROMISED ABRAHAM A LAND FOR HIS
PEOPLE
The fullness of the covenant
that God made with Abraham was God's people dwelling in the promised land,
keeping the Torah and God dwelling with His people. When God made a covenant
with Abraham, God promised Abraham the land from the Euphrates to the Nile as
His inheritance including the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18-21, Genesis 17:8)
THE PUNISHMENT FOR DISOBEDIENCE
If God's people were
disobedient to God and disobedient to keeping the Torah of God, they would be
punished by being scattered in all the nations of the earth. In Deuteronomy
28:15,36-37, 45 it is written:
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt
not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his
commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these
curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee ... The Lord shall bring thee,
and thy king which thou shall set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou
nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and
stone. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all
nations whither the Lord shall lead thee ... Moreover all these curses shall
come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be
destroyed; because thou hearkenest not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to
keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee"
GOD WARNS AGAINST
ADOPTING
God also instructed the children of Israel that when they entered into the land
of Canaan that they were to totally destroy the culture of the Canaanite people.
In Deuteronomy 7:1-5 it is written:
"When the Lord thy God shall bring thee
into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations
before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the
Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven
nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver
them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt
make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: Neither shall thou make
marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his
daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from
following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be
kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly, But thus shall ye deal with
them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their groves, and burn their
graven images with fire"
In the scripture passage, God warned the people to not mix paganism with the
worship of the God of Israel. In the previous section, we saw that God said that
the punishment for disobeying His Torah was dispersion into the nations of the
earth. When these things happened, the covenant that God made with Abraham could
not be fulfilled until God's people returned back to the Torah and keep it with
all their heart, mind, soul and strength. If God's people would repent unto God
when they are scattered in the nations of the earth, God promised to redeem His
people and bring them back to the promised land and fulfill the promise that He
made with Abraham. In Deuteronomy 30:1-5 it is written:
"And it shall come to pass, when all
these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set
before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations whither the
Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt
obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy
children with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the Lord thy God
will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and
gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will
the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the Lord
thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou
shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers"
(aaron-Now if God is gathering peoples from "the outmost parts of heaven" this
picture must then be seen as an eternal picture. That is, this promise is to be
fulfilled in the new earth Eternal Kingdom.)
THE CHILDREN OF
ISRAEL ARE COMMANDED
God commanded the children of Israel through the word of Moses to possess the
land that God had promised Abraham. In Deuteronomy 1:3,5,8 it is written: "And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them ... On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this Torah saying ... Behold I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them"
TWELVE SPIES SEARCH
OUT THE LAND OF PROMISE
In Numbers 13:1-17, God commanded Moses to search the land of Canaan which God
had promised the children of Israel through the covenant that He made with
Abraham. A summary of the events are as follows:
God sent twelve spies, one from each tribe to spy out the land that God promised
Abraham to possess (Numbers 13:1-17)
Only Joshua and Caleb came back with news that the children of Israel could
possess the land that God had promised
a) Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim (Northern Kingdom)
Ten spies came back with an evil report but Joshua and Caleb came back with a
good report (Numbers 13:17-20, 25-33)
a) Spiritually, the ten spies = Carnal believers with natural eyes (Numbers
14:20-23)
God's punishment for an evil report was traveling 40 years in the wilderness.
One year for each day of searching (Numbers 14:26-34)
(aaron-This is another example of the present existence of two separate groups
within God’s peoples. And these two groups can best be observed by looking at
them as being either a part of God’s visible dispositions [Carnal believers] or
as being a part of God’s invisible dispositions [Mature believers]).
GOD COMMANDS JOSHUA
TO CONQUER THE PROMISED LAND
When God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to enter the promised land,
God reiterated to Joshua the promise that He made with Abraham. In Joshua 1:1-4
it is written: "Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast"
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ONLY POSSESS
PART
Following the death of Joshua,
the children of Israel possessed (in part) the land that God promised (Joshua
21:43-45). The children of Israel did not possess the FULLNESS of the land that
God promised Abraham. God promised Abraham that His descendants would possess
the land from the Nile to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18-21) including the land of
Canaan (Genesis 17:8).
Since the promise that God
made with Abraham is an EVERLASTING covenant (Genesis 17:7-8), then the covenant
that God made with Abraham is yet to be fulfilled and therefore, is still valid
today. In order to understand the Biblical background and solution to the
unsettling events in the Middle East between the Arabs and the Israeli's and the
battle over the control of Jerusalem, you need to understand the FULLNESS of the
covenant that God made with Abraham. God's covenant with Abraham will not be
fulfilled until Jesus returns and rules and reigns during the 1,000 year
Messianic Kingdom with His Bride.
GOD APPOINTS JUDGES TO FINISH
Following the death of Joshua,
we enter into the period of the Judges. During this period, there was still
unconquered land which God had promised the children of Israel through the
covenant that God made with Abraham (Judges 1:27-33). During this time, God
allowed for some of the land that God promised Abraham to be left unconquered to
test the hearts of the children of Israel to determine if they would be obedient
to God's Torah and believe the covenant that God made with Abraham. In Judges
3:1-4 it is written:
"Now these are the nations which the Lord
left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the
wars of Canaan. Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know,
to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; Namely,
five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and
the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering
in of Hamath; And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would
hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by
the hand of Moses"
THE SINS OF THE
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN THE PROMISED LAND
When God gave the Torah to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai, He gave
specific instructions to the people regarding how they were to conduct
themselves in the presence of the other nations who dwelt in the land of Canaan
(Deuteronomy 7:1-5). In these verses we see God commanded the people regarding
the following things:
Do not make marriages with the daughters of the nations who dwell in the land of
Canaan
Do not serve the gods of the nations that dwell in the land of Canaan
Destroy the places of worship of those nations who dwell in the land of Canaan
including their altars, graven images and groves
Spiritually, God asks the same thing of His people today. This same culture that
existed during the days when the children of Israel were instructed to conquer
the promised land still exists today. This culture is a Babylonian based value
system of the world and its ways. God continues to still command His people to
depart from participating in the practices of this Babylonian based culture.
However, even today, God's people have committed the same sins as the children
of Israel. They participate in the value system of the world rather than being
separated from it. Just as God judged the children of Israel for their
disobedience, God will also judge His people today as well. For this reason, in
Revelation 18:4, it is written:
"And I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plaques"
While in the land of Canaan, the children of Israel forsook the Torah of God and
the covenant that God made with Israel. They served the gods of the Canaanite
nations (Judges 2:12) and intermarried with their people (Judges 3:5-6). Because
of these sins, the children of Israel did not conquer that land that God had
promised Abraham. Therefore, the FULLNESS of the promise that God made Abraham
remained unfulfilled. Nevertheless, when the children of Israel repented before
God of their sins, God raised up Judges who would deliver the children of Israel
from their enemies.
However, when the Judge died, the children of Israel returned to their ways of
sin and disobedience to God's Torah (Judges 2:11-21).
One of the gods that the children of Israel served in Canaan was Ashtaroth
(Judges 2:13). Ashtaroth was the goddess of sex and fertility. Her influence is
still among God's people today. Ashtaroth is known today as Easter. The custom
of Easter eggs and rabbits is associated with the worship of Ashtaroth and the
fertility of the earth and man. A overview of Israel's sin during this time and
God's judgement upon the people for violating the Torah and not fulfilling the
covenant that God made with Abraham is recorded in Judges 2:11-21 as it is
written:
"And the children of Israel did evil in
the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forsook the Lord God of their
fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods,
of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto
them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal
and Ashtaroth, And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he
delivered them into the hands of the spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold
them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any
longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the
Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn
unto them: and they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless the Lord raised up
judges, which delivered them out of the land of those that spoiled them. And yet
they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other
gods, and bowed themselves unto them; they turned quickly out of the way which
their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord: but they did not
so. And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge,
and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge:
for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that
oppressed them and vexed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead,
that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in
following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them: they ceased not
from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. And the anger of the Lord
was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed
my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my
voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations
which Joshua left when he died"
ISRAEL DESIRES A KING
Following the period of the
Judges, Israel began to cry out for a king. In I Samuel 8:1, 3-10 it is written:
"And it came to pass, when Samuel was
old, that he made his sons judges over Israel ... And his sons walked not in his
ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes and perverted judgment. Then
all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto
Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy
ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the other nations. But the thing
displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed
unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the
people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they
have rejected me, that I should reign over them. According to all the works
which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto
this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they
also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest
solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over
them. And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of
him a king"
God warned Israel that if they chose a king to rule over them that they would
treat the children of Israel with hardship. Furthermore, God warned the children
of Israel that when they would cry unto God because of the burden placed upon
them by their king that God will not listen and answer their prayer.
Nevertheless, the children of Israel desired and asked for a king so that they
could be like all the other nations. God was upset with the people because He
wanted to be their king. In I Samuel 8:18-20 it is written:
"And ye shall cry out in that day because
of your king which ye shall have chosen you: and the Lord will not hear you in
that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they
said, Nay, but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the
nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our
battles"
Saul becomes the first king of Israel (I Samuel 10). After the reign of Saul,
David becomes the next king of Israel (I Samuel 16:1-13).
GOD'S PROMISE OF
MERCY TO DAVID
As discussed earlier in this book, David was a man after God's own heart (Acts
13:22) because David LOVED God's TORAH (Psalm 119). Therefore, God extended to
David His mercy. God's covenant of mercy with David is found in II Samuel
7:11-17 it is written:
"And as since the time that I commanded
judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine
enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee a house. And when thy
days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed
after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his
kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the
children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from
Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be
established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.
According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan
speak unto David"
(aaron-These passages from Second Samuel chapter seven gives us a glimpse of
God’s matchless grace for His people.
"If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with
the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall
not depart away from him."
This is an early look at, what we have now come to understand from the New
Testament writings, as God’s eternal security. It is because of the complete
propitiatory work of Messiah, that His eternal grace fully rests upon His
people. Ps.89:30-33)
God's promise of mercy to David is found in Psalm 89:1-4 as it is written:
"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord
forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; thy faithfulness shalt thou
establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have
sworn unto David my servant. Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy
throne to all generations. Selah"
WHY DID GOD EXTEND
MERCY TO THE SEED OF DAVID?
God extended His mercy to David on behalf of the covenant that God made with
Abraham and the Torah that was given to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.
Even though the nation of Israel forsook the covenant that God made with Abraham
and was disobedient to God's Torah and broke it, God promised His mercy would be
extended to David so that the covenant that God made with Abraham would be
fulfilled through the coming of the Messiah. In Psalm 89:20, 24, 28-36 it is
written:
"I have found David my servant; with my
holy oil have I anointed him ... But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with
him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted ... My mercy will I keep for him
forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I
make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
If his children forsake my TORAH, and walk not in my judgments; If
they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit
their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless
my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out
of my lips. Once I have sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His
seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me"
David reminded the nation of Israel to ALWAYS remember the covenant that God
made with Abraham. In I Chronicles 16:13-18 it is written:
"O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye
children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the Lord over God; his judgments are
in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he
commanded to a thousand generations; Even of the covenant which he made with
Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a
law, and to Israel for an EVERLASTING covenant, Saying, Unto thee will I give
the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance" Therefore, God extended His mercy to David so that God could fulfill the covenant that He made with Abraham. That promise including giving the land of Canaan as an inheritance to those who would believe and obey the conditions of God's covenant with Abraham. Finally, God promise of mercy to David was not a separate covenant from the covenant that God made with Abraham but was an extension of the covenant that God made with Abraham showing how it will be fulfilled.
THE REIGN OF
SOLOMON
Following the reign of David, Solomon was made king over Israel. Solomon is
widely believed to be one of the wisest persons who ever lived. Solomon wrote
the wisdom of the Proverbs. But why was Solomon so wise? The wisdom and
understanding that God gave to rule the people of Israel was a knowledge of how
to keep the Torah and the commandments of God. God appeared to Solomon in a
dream and asked Solomon what the Lord should give him. Solomon responded by
asking God for wisdom to discern between good and bad (how to keep the Torah).
In I Kings 3:9-11, 14 it is written:
"Give therefore thy servant an
understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and
bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased
the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou
hast asked this thing, and hast not asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the
life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern
judgement; Behold, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given thee a
wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee,
neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee ... And if thou wilt walk in
my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk,
then I will lengthen thy days" It was during the reign of Solomon that Israel enjoyed the conquest of its greatest land area. The reign of Solomon is a prophetic picture of how things will be during the time of the 1,000 year Messianic Age.
aaron- See *?*
SOLOMON'S KINGDOM
IS DIVIDED
God told Solomon to keep God's Torah and His commandments and statutes. By
failing to do so and following after other gods would result in God dispersing
the nation of Israel into the other nations of the earth. In I Kings 9:1-9 it is
written:
"And it came to pass, when Solomon had
finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all
Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, That the Lord appeared to Solomon
the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the Lord said unto
him ... if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of
heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee,
and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of
thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David thy father, saying,
There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at
all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my
commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other
gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have
given them: and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out
of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: (being
scattered among the nations – Deuteronomy 28:37) And at this house, which is
high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they
shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? And
they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth
their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and
have worshiped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them
all this evil"
Solomon disobeyed God and disobeyed His Torah by marrying the woman of the
nations who dwelt in the land of Canaan. God warned His people in the Torah to
not marry the woman of the nations who dwelt in Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:1-4).
Because God appeared to Solomon twice and instructed him to keep God's Torah,
God was angry at Solomon for his disobedience and told him that his kingdom
would be divided. In I Kings 11:9-13 it is written:
"And the Lord was angry with Solomon,
because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared
unto him twice, And had commanded this thing, that he should not go after other
gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Wherefore the Lord said
unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my
covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend thy
kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days
I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand
of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one
tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I
have chosen"
Therefore, God's reason for judging Solomon was failure to obey the covenant
that God made with Abraham and failure to keep God's Torah. Because of this disobedience, Solomon's kingdom became divided into the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was called the house of Israel. The Southern Kingdom was called the house of Judah.
THE NORTHERN
KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
Following the death of Solomon, his kingdom was divided just as God told him.
Jeroboam, an Ephratite became the ruler of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Rehoboam became the ruler of the Southern Kingdom of Israel. Concerning the
selection of Jeroboam as king of the Northern Kingdom, in I Kings 11:30-38 it is
written: "And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee"
JEROBOAM WAS AN
EPHRATHITE OVER THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH
Jeroboam was an Ephrathite over the house of Joseph. In I Kings 11:26,28 it is
written:
"And Jeroboam
the son of Nebat an Ephrathite ... and the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of
valor ... ruler over all the house of Joseph"
Earlier in this chapter, we saw how Ephraim is a spiritual picture of
Christianity in general and the Bride of Christ in particular. Therefore, the
Northern Kingdom of Israel is a prophetic picture of future Christianity. The
Northern Kingdom was known by the following names:
The house of Israel (I Kings
12:21, Jeremiah 31:31)
The house of Joseph ( I Kings
11:28)
Samaria (Hosea 7:1, 8:5-6,
13:16
Ephraim (Hosea 4:17, 5:3, 7:1)
THE GOLDEN CALF
SYSTEM OF WORSHIP
Earlier in this book, we saw that after God gave the Torah to the children of
Israel on Mount Sinai, the children of Israel built a golden calf and worshiped
it. We also noted that the golden calf system of worship was mixing paganism
with the worship of the God of Israel and calling that system of worship, the
worship of the God of Israel. In Exodus 32:3-6 it is written:
"And all the people broke off the golden
earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received
them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a
molten calf: and they said, THESE BE THY GODS, O ISRAEL, which brought thee up
out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it;
and Aaron made proclamation, and said, TOMORROW IS A FEAST OF THE LORD. And they
rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace
offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play"
The Northern Kingdom, Ephraim,
the house of Joseph under the leadership of Jeroboam instituted the same system
of worship by mixing paganism with the worship of the God of Israel and calling
that system of worship, the worship of the God of Israel. In I Kings 12:28-30 it
is written:
"Whereupon the king took counsel, and
made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem: BEHOLD THY GODS, O ISRAEL, which brought thee up out of the land of
Egypt, And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing
became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan"
Bethel in Hebrew means, "House
of God". Dan comes from the Hebrew word, Din, which means, "Judgment". This is
prophetic that the people called the system of worship, "The House of God" but
God called the system of worship, "Judgment".
JEROBOAM'S FALSE SYSTEM OF WORSHIP
Jeroboam instituted a false
system of worship which mixed paganism with the worship of the God of Israel and
called that system of worship, the worship of the God of Israel. This is
prophetic of historical Christianity.
Jesus and his disciples were
Torah observant Jews. The original Christian church was considered a sect of
Judaism (Acts 28:22-23) and kept the Sabbath and Biblical Festivals found in
Leviticus 23 and worshiped in the synagogue. Later, when Christianity spread
into the Western world and more and more Gentiles and less and less Jews were
believers in the faith, Christianity through the influence of the Roman Catholic
church began to mix paganism (mostly the Mythraic religion of the Roman Empire)
with Christian beliefs and practices. Modern day Christianity is still
influenced and still practices this mixture of paganism and the true worship of
the God of Israel.
The predominant religion in
the Roman Empire prior to the adoption of Christianity was Mythryism. Mythryism
was centered around the worship of the sun god. The worship day of the sun god
was Sunday. The birthday of the sun god was December 25.
Easter was a pagan practice of
celebrating rebirth of the fertility of the earth in the spring of the year.
Historically, Easter was the worship of the sex goddess Ishtar. In the Bible,
Ishtar is called, Ashtoreth. God condemned the nation of Israel for worshiping
the sex goddess Ashtoreth (I Kings 11:5, 33, II Kings 23:13). While modern day
Christianity does not LITERALLY worship the sun god or the sex goddess, it still
practices the customs of this system of worship. However, all of these customs
have been Christianized in their meaning and understanding by the devil to
disguise the original practices and customs behind this system of worship.
(aaron-It is absolutely
essential we understand that visible Israel and the visible Church are not the
same, nor did God intend them to be the same. Though their institutional roles
are similar as God’s established visible institutions, through which, by the use
of God’s established visible initiatory rites [circumcision/baptism] God’s
creation has access to their Creator. But the missionary role that God has given
to each of them is completely different. Where visible Israel’s primary
missionary role was to manifest and explain God’s visible dispositions, the
primary missionary role for the Church is to manifest and explain God’s
invisible dispositions.
This distinction between
Israel and the Church is also proved by the Apostolic leadership role as it is
described in the epistle to the Galatians—especially noticing chapter two. We
must understand by the described actions of Peter, and the subsequent
interaction of Paul and Peter, that the Jewish Christians continued on in the
practice of many, if not most, of the Jewish traditions. The reason for this, is
because the Jewish people are different. Gal.2:14 tells us that those who are
Jews by natural descent are not sinners as are the Gentiles. We also see this
distinction by the two gospels that are being presented in Gal.2:7—That the
Gospel of the Circumcision was committed unto Peter and the Gospel of the
Uncircumcision was committed unto Paul.
This same distinction is
evident as well in Acts.15:1-35
Acts.15:1-35 exegesis: [KJII
Interlinear translation]
V.1 sets the tone for the next
34 verses that follow.
[Location - The Church of
Antioch.]
And certain people going down
from Judea were teaching the
brethren: Unless you are
circumcised according to the custom of
Moses, you cannot be saved.
Then discord and not a little
discussion was occurring among
them, which included Paul and
Barnabas. They chose Paul and
Barnabas with a number of them, to go up to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles
and elders to consider this question.
This problem over circumcision
is quite understandable. The Church, at this particular point in time, was made
up of only the Circumcision. This was apparently their first encounter with
saved Gentiles.
[The journey to Jerusalem.]
Then they, being sent by the
Church, passed through Phoenicia, and Samaria, telling all about the conversion
of the Gentiles, which caused great joy to all the brethren.
[Arrival at Jerusalem, and
subsequent Church meeting.]
And having arrived into
Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the apostles, the elders, and the Church. They
reported all that God had done with them.
And certain men of the sect of
the Pharisee, who believed, rose up, saying, it is necessary to circumcise them,
and command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders were
gathered together to examine this matter.
This portion of Scripture is
given to remind us of the reason for this journey. It also discloses the
identity of the brethren who had gone to Antioch, teaching--the Gentile brethren
had to be circumcised to be saved.
After considerable discussion,
(Simon) Peter rose up and said to them: Men, Brethren, you know that from the
first God chose among us, that by my mouth, the Gentiles were to hear the word
of the gospel, and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them
by giving them the Holy Spirit, as (He) also (gave) to us. He placed no
difference between both us and them, having ** (also) CLEANSED THEIR HEARTS
BY FAITH. Now, then, why do you tempt God, to put a yoke upon the neck of
the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But through
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we believed and were saved, just as they.
In this portion of Scripture,
Peter makes some very special points:
1) The Gentiles heard the
gospel and believed.
2) The Gentiles received the
Holy Spirit - The same witness as the Jews received.
3) That God placed no
difference (distinction) between the Jews and the Gentiles in demonstration of
His universal reconciliation. [All hearts are cleansed by God's saving faith.]
[That is, God has removed all distinction in peoples.]
4) All believe and all are
saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5) That the law is an
impossible burden.
And the multitude was silent,
and heard Barnabas and Paul rehearse What God did—the miracles and wonders among
the Gentiles through them.
And after they finished, James answered, saying: Men,
Brethren, hear me: Simeon [that is, SIMON PETER] RECOUNTED how even as
[at] first God oversaw to take a people out of the Gentiles for His name. And
with this agree the words of the prophets. As it is written: After these things
I will return and build again the tabernacle of David [which] is fallen, and
will rebuild it, and I
will set it up, so that the rest of men [acr-Israel's
remnant]
may seek the Lord, even all the nations on whom My
name has been called, says the Lord, who is doing these things.
For this reason, I judge, not
to trouble those [who] from the Gentiles [have] turned to God. But to write to
them, to hold back from the pollution of idols, and [from] fornication, and that
[which is] strangled, and [from] blood. For Moses, from the beginning, has
proclaimed these things, being read in the synagogues on every sabbath.
It is clear that the prophetic
agreement spoken of in this passage, is with the event that the apostle James
had just made reference--it was the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles by
the mouth of Simon Peter. [Acts.15:17b - Even all the Gentiles on whom My name
has been called.] Remember, that before this point in time, the Gentiles were
excluded from any relationship at all with God. Ref.Eph.2:11-12 But through the
fulfillment of the prophecy in Amos.9:11 and 12, the gates of salvation have now
been opened to all. In fact, God SOVEREIGNLY ELECTED to expand His
salvation program way back in the Garden of Eden. But then even more clearly for
our sakes, when He gave the Everlasting Covenant to father Abraham. "All His
works are known to God from eternity."
Then it seemed (good) to the
apostles and the elders with all the Church, to send chosen men from them to
Antioch, [along] with Paul And Barnabas.
Judas, being called Barsabas,
and Silas, leading men among the brethren, having written by their hand, the
following: The apostles and the elders and the brethren, to those throughout
Antioch, and Syria, and Cilica: Brothers from the Gentiles, greetings. Since we
heard that some of us, having gone out [from us] have troubled you with words,
unsettling your souls, saying, be circumcised and keep the law: To whom we gave
no commandment. It seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to send chosen
men to you with our beloved Paul and Barnabas; men having given up their souls
on behalf of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We have Judas and Silas to witness the
same: For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to put no greater burden
on you than these necessary things: To hold back from idol sacrifices, and
blood, and things strangled, and fornication: From which continually keep
yourselves, (and) you will do well. Be prospered.
[Return to Antioch, and
subsequent Church meeting.]
They (having) returned to
Antioch, gathered together the
multitude and delivered the
letter. The Church rejoiced in the exhortation. The brothers and the apostles
remained at Antioch a number of days, teaching and preaching the word of the
Lord.
[v.30 through 35 paraphrased]
As the Premill/Pretrib's so
succinctly put it: The Church age was not clearly foretold in the Old Testament.
We can see evidence of this same attitude in the Church at Jerusalem. The
brothers, who were of the sect of the Pharisee, were insisting that the Gentile
believers be circumcised and required to keep the law. The apostle James made
his statement in order to clarify this matter. Simon Peter's preaching to the
Gentiles, and their subsequent response to the gospel, represented the beginning
of God's action to take a people out of the Gentiles for His name. James was
saying: The prophets foretold this new action on the part of God: And that this
new action on the part of God would include the Gentiles. (That the words of the
prophets agree with the events Simon Peter rehearsed.) That God would raise up
this fallen tabernacle of David--On the third day, Jesus was raised up.
Then the reason for this
action is clearly stated: That the rest [remnant] of men may seek the Lord [the
remnant of Israel], [in addition] to all of the Gentiles on whom My name has
been called. This expanded salvation that we see initiated here by God, clearly
represents a new work of God: the manifestation of God’s universal
reconciliation.
Salvation is now available to
all nations, tribes, tongues and peoples. The fulfillment of Amos.9:11 and 12
represents another Old Testament conformation of this present dispensation of
grace--the Church age.)
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
The main characteristics of
the golden calf system of worship is the following.
Forsaking the Torah of God
A substitute day of worship
A substitute place of worship
A substitute priesthood
Let us examine these
characteristics in greater detailing seeing how these were the sins of the
Northern Kingdom and is prophetic of the sins of historical Christianity.
Ephraim, a term for the
Northern Kingdom of Israel, forsook God's Torah and called it a strange thing
(Hosea 8:12). Today, Christianity calls the Torah "a strange thing".
Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, instituted a substitute place of worship (Dan and
Bethel) rather than Jerusalem (I Kings 12:29, Deuteronomy 16:16). Christianity
worships in a church rather than a synagogue where Jesus worshiped (Luke
4:14-16).
(aaron-We must keep in mind that there was no Church or Church buildings in
existence at this time. The Church did not exist until after our Lord’s death,
burial, and resurrection, and the passing of Pentecost.)
Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, instituted substitute holidays rather than
observing the dates and times of the Biblical holidays that God gave in
Leviticus 23.
Jeroboam changed the
observance of the feast of tabernacles to the 8th month in the year (I Kings
12:32-33) rather than the 7th month which God had declared in Leviticus 23:34.
Christianity has adopted
Christmas and Easter from Roman Mythryism rather than keep the Biblical holidays
that God gave in Leviticus 23. Jesus kept the Biblical holidays (Luke 2:41- 42)
Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, instituted a substitute priesthood rather than
have priests from the tribe of Levi (I Kings 12:31).
Christianity allows pastors
and priests to be ministers of the sheep of God who are not anointed and called
by God into their office of ministry.
(aaron-This statement about pastors is somewhat
presumptive.) Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, mixed paganism with the worship of the true God of Israel and called it the worship of the true God of Israel. God called this the golden calf system of worship (I Kings 12:29). Christianity has mixed Roman and Babylonian practices and beliefs with the worship of the God of Israel and calls it the true worship of the God of Israel.
GOD'S JUDGMENT UPON HIS PEOPLE
When God betrothed Himself to
Israel at Mount Sinai (Jeremiah 2:1-3), he entered into a marriage contract with
them. The terms and conditions of the marriage contract is specified in a
written document called a Ketubah. Spiritually, God's Ketubah with the nation of
Israel is the Torah.
The terms and conditions for breaking the marriage contract is given in
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. One of the harshest judgments for breaking the
Torah is dispersion into the nations of the world. In Deuteronomy 28:15, 36-37
it is written:
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt
not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his
commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these
curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee ... The Lord shall bring thee,
and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou
nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and
stone. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all
the nations whither the Lord shall lead thee"
Because of their disobedience to Torah, God's judgment came upon both the
Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was
taken captive into Assyria. The Southern Kingdom of Israel was taken captive
into Babylon. In addition, both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom
have been taken into worldwide captivity. The Northern Kingdom of Israel has
assimilated into Gentile culture and has settled in all the nations of the
world. The Southern Kingdom of Israel has remained Jewish and kept their
identity with Torah but they also have been taken into worldwide captivity.
THE NORTHERN
KINGDOM WAS TAKEN CAPTIVE INTO ASSYRIA
Because of their disobedience to Torah, God's judgment came upon the Northern
Kingdom of Israel, Ephraim, the house of Joseph, because they did not obey God's
Torah but mixed the worship of the God of Israel with paganism and called it the
worship of the God of Israel.
God's judgment upon the Northern Kingdom for forsaking the Torah of God and
their captivity to Assyria is given in II Kings 17:7-23 as it is written:
"For so it was, that the children of
Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, which had brought them up out of
the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared
other gods. And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out
from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had
made. And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right
against the Lord their God, and they built them high places in all their cities,
from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
And they set them up images and groves in
every high hill, and under every green tree: And there they burnt incense in all
the high places, as did the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them; and
wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger: For they served idols,
whereof the Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. Yet the Lord
testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets and all the
seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my
statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I
sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they would not hear,
but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not
believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant
that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against
them; and they followed vanity, and became vain and went after the heathen that
were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they
should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the Lord their
God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and
worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons
and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and
enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to
provoke him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed
them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also
Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the
statutes of Israel which they made. And the Lord rejected all the seed of
Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until
he had cast them out of his sight. For he rent Israel from the house of David:
and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from
following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin, For the children of Israel
walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they
departed not from them; Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he
had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of
their own land to Assyria unto this day"
THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM IS TAKEN CAPTIVE
INTO BABYLON
Just like the Northern
Kingdom, Ephraim, the house of Joseph, the Southern Kingdom did not follow God's
Torah. Therefore, the Southern Kingdom, the house of Judah, was taken captive
into Babylon. The rejection of following the Torah of God by the house of Judah
is given in II Kings 17:19-20 as it is written:
"And Judah kept not the commandments of
the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And
the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them
into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight"
God's anger upon the house of Judah for forsaking God's Torah can be found in
Jeremiah 44:2-23 as it is written:
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all
the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah;
and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,
Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in
that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not,
neither they, ye, not your fathers. Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the
prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable
thing that I hate. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from
their wickedness, to burn incense unto other gods. Wherefore my fury and mine
anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel;
Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man
and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain; In
that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto
other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell that ye might cut
yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the
nations of the earth? Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the
wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your
own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in
the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? They are not humbled even
unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my TORAH, nor in my
statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers. Therefore, thus saith
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for
evil, and to cut off all Judah. And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have
set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall
all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by
the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the
greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and
an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. For I will punish them that dwell
in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine,
and by the pestilence. So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into
the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should
return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to
dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.
Then all the men which knew that their
wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a
great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in
Pathros, answered Jeremiah saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us
in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do
whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the
queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we,
and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the
streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals and were well, and saw
no evil. But since we left to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour
out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed
by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of
heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to
worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? Then
Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the
people which had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye burned in
the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your
kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember
them, came it not into his mind? So that the Lord could no longer bear, because
of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have
committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a
curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense,
and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of
the Lord, nor walked in his TORAH, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies;
therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day."
Because the Southern Kingdom, the house of Judah, did not follow God's Torah,
they were taken captive to Babylon. In Jeremiah 25:2, 4-10 it is written:
"The which Jeremiah the prophet spake
unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying
... the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising
early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. And the Lord hath sent unto you
all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not
hearkened, nor inclined your ears to hear. They said, Turn ye again now everyone
from his evil ways, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that
the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers forever and ever: And go after
other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with
the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened
unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of
your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye
have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the
north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and
will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and
against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make
them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will
take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the
light of the candle" Therefore, we can see that God judged both the Northern Kingdom and the Sothern Kingdom BECAUSE they had FORSAKEN following His TORAH and the COVENANT made with ABRAHAM.
GOD'S JUDGMENT UPON
THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
As stated earlier, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was also called, Ephraim and
the house of Joseph. Spiritually, the Northern Kingdom is a prophetic picture of
future historical Christianity. The book of Hosea was written to the Northern
Kingdom of Israel. In this book, God foretold the judgments of Ephraim, the
house of Joseph, because they forsook His Torah. These judgments are also
prophetic of the judgments of God upon historical Christianity. The following
judgments are listed below:
Hosea 1:2 --> The land had
departed from God
Hosea 2:5 --> Her lovers =
other gods
Hosea 2:7 --> She is called to
return to her first husband (God)
Hosea 2:8 --> The corn, wine,
oil (Holy Spirit) languishes
Hosea 2:11 --> Mirth to cease
(Wedding terminology) along with:
a) Feast days b) New Moon c) Sabbaths d) Destroy
vines/fig trees
Hosea 5:3 --> God is speaking
to Ephraim/Northern Kingdom (church)
The judgments of the Northern Kingdom of Israel for forsaking God's Torah are
the same judgments that were brought upon historically Christianity for
departing the Jewish roots of Christianity. The early church in the book of Acts
was a powerful church. God performed many signs and wonders and miracles in the
early years of the church. However, when the church began to depart from
following the Torah, the Sabbath and Biblical Festivals found in Leviticus 23,
God's manifestations of His Holy Spirit through mighty signs, wonders and
miracles began to diminish.
Then, after mixing Roman Mythryism with Christianity, Anti-Semitism along with
bias teachings against God's Torah began to become widespread in the church.
Eventually, this ushered in the dark ages. In forsaking the Torah, the church
began to practice the customs and ways of the golden calf system of worship and
departed from keeping the Sabbath and Biblical Festivals. Because God's people
have committed spiritual whoredom, Jesus could not return for His Bride to marry
her. His coming had to be delayed until she repented of her sins and started to
observe the Torah. God's wait for His people to repent of their sins and return
to Torah has been nearly 2,000 years.
(aaron-Great care must be taken to distinguish God’s institutional and
individual visible dispositions from God’s institutional and individual
invisible dispositions. It is critical that we determine these multiple facets
in the identification of God’s peoples. That is, the differences between Israel
and the Church on a whole, and then the differences in the visible
characteristics and the invisible characteristics that exists within both Israel
and the Church. There are times that the Scriptures speak about the invisible
Spiritual realm, and there are times that the Scriptures speak about the visible
earthly realm. And then again, there are times that the Scriptures may be
referring to both the visible and the invisible where great care is required.
This is a very complex and confusing matter that has not been properly discerned
within God’s peoples.)
This was prophesied in Hosea 5:15, 6:1-4 as it is written:
"I will go and return to my place, till
they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will
seek me early. Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he
will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days (2,000
years) will he revive us: in the third day (1,000 year Messianic Age) he will
raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on
to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come
unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. O Ephraim
(Christianity) what shall I do unto thee? O Judah (Judaism) what shall I do unto
thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth
away"
In Hosea 5:15 it is written: "I
will return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence"
In John 14:3, Jesus said, "And
if I go to prepare a place for you ..."
In Hosea 6:3, it speaks about
the return of the Messiah back to the earth as the rain. In Hosea 6:2, it says
that it will be after two days which is a prophetic picture of 2,000 years of
time.
The return of the Messiah at
His second coming is not prophesied to take place until "they acknowledge their
offence". What "offence" does the Northern Kingdom (Christianity) need to
acknowledge? What "offence" does the Southern Kingdom (Judaism) need to
acknowledge? Christianity must repent and acknowledge to God that they have
forsaken Torah. Judaism must repent and acknowledge that Jesus is Messiah.
Ironically, as more and more Christians are returning to Torah and the Hebraic
roots of Christianity, more and more Jewish people are professing faith in Jesus
as Messiah.
(aaron-The history of God’s visible institutions
[visible Israel/the visible Church] has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt the
hopeless and the helpless state of all creatures within the whole of God’s
creation. No matter how far we may come in our relationship to God, it is
because of our totally depraved human nature that our state is always one of
hopelessness and helplessness. If this were not so, we would have had no need
for a Saviour. But we now know that Jesus came to seek and to save that which
was lost. But now through God’s perfect plan, Jesus propitiatory work on the
cross satisfies all of God’s demands for the sin debit of the whole world. These
are the conditions of all of the demands and requirements that pertain to God’s
visible dispositions. That is, God demanded that a perfect Passover sacrifice
was to be offered for sin and Messiah-Yeshua was the sacrificial Lamb of God who
took away the sins of the world. Ref.Jn.1:29; 1Cor.5:7
What about God’s invisible dispositions?)
HOSEA MARRIES A WHORE
The book of Hosea is written
to foreshadow the judgment of the Northern Kingdom for forsaking the Torah and
mixing paganism with the worship of the God of Israel. Even after God made a
covenant with the children of Israel at Mount Sinai and instructed them to be a
holy people (separate from the nations around them), Israel was always tempted
to assimilate themselves with the nations around them and to follow their ways.
Therefore, one of the
judgments upon the Northern Kingdom for desiring to assimilate with the nations
around them rather than remaining a separate and holy people before God was
assimilation. In order to prophecy of this judgment of assimilation, God
instructed Hosea to marry a whore. The children born in the marriage between
Hosea and the whore named Gomer was prophetic of what would happen to the
Northern Kingdom because they committed spiritual whoredom with the nations
around them and followed after their gods. Whoredom in the Bible is symbolic of
spiritual idolatry and forsaking the Torah and the true worship of the God of
Israel. In Deuteronomy 31:16 it is written:
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold,
thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up, and go a
whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among
them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them"
In Judges 2:17 it is written:
"And yet they would not hearken unto
their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves
unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in,
obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so"
Therefore, in order to symbolize this spiritual whoredom committed by the
Northern Kingdom of Israel by forsaking the Torah and the covenant that God made
with Abraham, God told Hosea to marry a whore. From this marriage, three
children were conceived. In Hosea 1:2-9 it is written:
"The beginning of the word of the Lord by
Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and
children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing
from the Lord, So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which
conceived, and bare him a son. And the Lord said unto him, Call his name
Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the
house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And
it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the
valley of Jezreel. And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said
unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhammah: for I will no more have mercy upon the
house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon
the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save
them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. Now when
she had weaned Lo-ruhammah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call
his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God"
The three children that Hosea had by Gomer were the following:
Jezreel which means "God will
sow"
Lo-ruhammah which means "No
mercy"
Lo-ammi which means "Not my
people"
When God speaks to the Northern Kingdom saying that God will have "no mercy" and
they are "not my people ", this is the Biblical ways of saying that God will cut
off his covenant relationship with them.
GOD PROMISES TO
FULFILL HIS COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM
Even though God said that He would cut off His covenant relationship with the
Northern Kingdom by telling him that He will show them "no mercy" and they will
"not be my people", God makes an astonishing statement of love and mercy after
He pronounces His judgment upon His people. In Hosea 1:10 it is written:
"Yet the number of the children of Israel
shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it
shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my
people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God"
WOW! After making the statement to the Northern Kingdom that God would cut them
off from the covenant that He had with them because they forsook His Torah and
the covenant that He made with Abraham, God then prophecies that He will fulfill
His covenant that He made with Abraham through this judgment !!!
THE NORTHERN
KINGDOM IS PROPHETIC OF CHRISTIANITY
In the book of Hosea, God's judgment upon the Northern Kingdom for forsaking the
Torah and the covenant that He made with Abraham was cutting them off from His
covenant and showing them "no mercy" because they would be called "not my
people".
These EXACT words are used to describe those people who have accepted Jesus
Christ as Messiah.
In I Peter 2:5, 9-10 it is written:
"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up
a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ ... By ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the
praises of him who called you out of darkness into marvelous light: Which is
times past were NOT A PEOPLE (Hosea 1:9) but are now the people of God (Hosea
1:10); which had NOT OBTAINED MERCY, (Hosea 1:6), but now have obtained mercy
(Hosea 1:10)"
Therefore, the judgment upon the Northern Kingdom of Israel who is prophetic of
historical Christianity is summarized by the following characteristics:
Being taken captive by the kingdom of Assyria (II Kings 17:7-23). Prophetically,
because God's people have forsaken His Torah, God's people would live in a
Babylonian based political, economic and religious system that would be contrary
to God's Word.
God also declared that his judgement would be the removal of her feast days, new
moons, and Sabbaths because Ephraim had worshiped idols (Hosea 2:11, 4:17,
5:1-2). Historically, God removed the celebration of the Sabbath and feast days
from Christianity because she forsook the Torah of God after the days of the
first century church.
They would be dispersed, God would show no mercy toward them, and they would not
be called His people. However, later God would show mercy upon His people and
redeem them. (Hosea 1:2-4,6-10, I Peter 2:5, 9-10)
By rejecting God's Torah, God people would perish for a lack of knowledge of
God's Word and therefore not be kings and priests (God's Bride) before God.
(Hosea 4:6). Obedience to Torah was a condition for God making His people kings
and priest before Him (Exodus 19:5-6)
(aaron-This comparison of the Northern Kingdom with
the Christian Church seems to be an appropriate analogy. Though many continue to
use the term "kings and priests" when referring to Christ’s Bride, the Ex.19:5-6
specifically refers to this special group collectively as "a kingdom of
priests". This would also correspond with the collective picture of "a spiritual
house" or "a holy nation" that we receive from 1Pe.2:5, 9-10.
And then we must also see that this elect group of priests is surely the "Bride
of Christ". For the sake of God’s first peoples Israel, we must not make the
mistake of interpreting the "Bride of Christ" as the corporate peoples of God.
"The Bride of Christ", "A Kingdom of Priests", and "The Kingdom of God" are one
and the same--"The Body of Christ".)
GOD'S COVENANT OF
MERCY WITH DAVID
Even though both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom forsook God's
Torah and the covenant that God made with Abraham, God allowed the tribe of
Judah to remain because of God's promise of mercy given to David. In I Kings
11:31-32, 34-36 it is written:
"And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten
pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the
kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he
shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the
city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) ... Howbeit I will
not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the
days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my
commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand,
and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one
tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the
city which I have chosen me to put my name there"
God's covenant of mercy with David is found in Psalm 89:1-4 as it is written:
"I will sing of the mercies
of the Lord forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness
to all generations. For I have said,
Mercy
shall be built up
forever: thy faithfulness shall thou establish in the very heavens. I have made
a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant. Thy seed will I
establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah"
God covenant of mercy to David is an everlasting covenant. In Isaiah 55:1-3 it
is written:
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to
the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy, and eat: yea, come, buy
wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for
that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken
diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight
itself in fatness.
Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear,
and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even
the sure
mercies of David"
God made an everlasting covenant of mercy with David. Mercy in the New Testament
is called grace. God made an everlasting promise of mercy to David and his
descendants so that God could fulfill His covenant with Abraham. In Psalm
89:28-37 it is written:
"My mercy will I keep for him
forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I
make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children
forsake my TORAH, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and
keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod,
and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not
utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I
not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by
my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and
his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon,
and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah"
God promised David that even though God's people would break His Torah, God
would extend His mercy to them forever. God promised that one from the seed of
David would sit on the throne of David forever. This would be fulfilled through
Jesus the Messiah. God chose to show mercy upon the house of David and the tribe
of Judah because David kept the commandments (Torah) of God ( I Kings 11:32,
34).
God did this for the sake of the city of Jerusalem ( I Kings 11:32).
Spiritually, the city of Jerusalem is the city of God's Bride (Revelation 21).
Therefore, God promise of mercy to David was given as an extension of God's
covenant with Abraham so that God could fulfill His covenant that He made with
Abraham.
THE ROLE OF THE
KINSMAN REDEEMER TO SAVE GOD'S PEOPLE
Because God had cut off his covenant relationship with the Northern Kingdom of
Israel, God made a provision in the Torah that a near kinsman could redeem his
brothers if their covenant was cut off from God. In Leviticus 25:25 it is
written:
"If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath
sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then
shall he redeem that which his brother sold"
Since the Northern Kingdom has sold their covenant inheritance with God by
committing spiritual whoredom and forsaking the Torah and worshiping other gods,
God made provision in the Torah that one of his brothers (a member of the
Southern Kingdom, the house of Judah, the Jewish people) could redeem him.
Therefore, Jesus was born a Jew from the seed of David to redeem the Northern
Kingdom who was cut off from their covenant relationship with God. In doing so,
Jesus brought a new (or renewed) covenant which was also Torah based. In
Jeremiah 31:33 it is written:
"But this shall be the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put
my TORAH in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their
God, and they shall be my people"
Jesus came to the earth so that God could fulfill His covenant with Abraham.
This would be accomplished by the Messiah fulfilling the role of the kinsman
redeemer and saving His people who lost their covenant relationship with God.
Jesus came to fulfill the following things:
Jesus came to redeem the Northern Kingdom by
establishing a new (renewed) covenant because the first covenant had been broken
because the people assimilated themselves with the nations around them and
forsook God's Torah. In establishing a new (renewed) covenant with the Northern
Kingdom who had assimilated into Gentile culture, God's salvation would be
offered to ALL those who did not have a covenant relationship with God through
the
Torah by receiving the Messiah into their heart and life.
Jesus came so that God through the Holy Spirit could indwell His people so that
they could have the power of God to keep His commandments and be obedient to the
Torah of God. The indwelling Holy Spirit promised to write God's Torah upon the
hearts of His people so that they would be able to keep God's Torah in spirit
and in truth. (Jeremiah 31:33, John 4:24, John 16:13, Hebrews 10:15-16,
Revelation 21:1-3)
Jesus would regather those who were dispersed in all the nations of the earth
and bring them back to the land of Israel where they would obey His Torah when
they returned. (Isaiah 49:5-6, Ezekiel 36:24-28, 37:15-27, Acts 1:6-8)
These things would be accomplished by the kinsman redeemer, the Messiah, during
His two comings. During His first coming, Jesus played the role of Messiah ben
Joseph, the suffering Messiah who would die for the sins of the world and
establish a new (renewed) covenant. During His second coming, Jesus will play
the role of Messiah ben David, the kingly Messiah who will gather the exiles of
Israel (both Northern Kingdom (Christianity) and the Southern Kingdom (Judaism)
and bring them back to the land of Israel where they would be obedient to Torah
and usher in the 1,000 year Messianic Age.
JESUS CAME TO
FULFILL GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM
Jesus came from the tribe of Judah to play the role of the kinsman redeemer in
order to fulfill God's promise to Abraham through His mercy to David. (Romans
1:3, Hebrews 7:14, Revelation 5:5).
Jesus came to reign over the house of Jacob forever. The house of Jacob refers
to a united Northern Kingdom (the house of Israel, Ephraim, the house of Joseph)
and the Southern Kingdom (the house of Judah, the Jewish people). Therefore, if
Jesus is going to rule over the house of Jacob (a united Northern Kingdom and
Southern Kingdom) they must be united at some time in history so that Jesus can
reign over the house of Jacob during the 1,000 year Messianic Age and then for
all eternity. In Luke 1:31-33 it is written:
"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy
womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him
the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob
forever: and of his kingdom there shall be no end"
In Luke 1:67-73, Zacharias
prophesied by the Holy Ghost that God would redeem His people by bringing a
deliver from the house of David to fulfill God's covenant with Abraham as it is
written:
"And his father Zacharias, was filled
with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up a horn of
salvation for us in the house of his servant David: As he spake by the mouth of
his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be
saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham"
Through the words given to him
by the Holy Spirit, Zacharias is associating God's redemptive work to be
completed through Jesus to the promise that God made with Abraham through David.
When this redemption is complete, Jesus will rule over a united Israel, the
house of Jacob, forever (aaron-not 1000 years) (Luke 1:31-33).
Earlier in this book, we
learned that the Torah that was given to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai
was not an independent event from the covenant that God made with Abraham.
Instead, it was a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that God would fulfill
His oath to Abraham through Abraham's descendants. We also learned that what
made the event at Mount Sinai unique was that it was at mount Sinai that the
descendants of Abraham became a NATION. In addition, God entered into a marriage
with the descendants of Abraham and the marriage contract was the Torah. Because
the children of Israel were unfaithful in their marriage to God by being
disobedient to God's Torah, God judged the nation of Israel and scattered them
among the nations of the world. However, God made a promise to David that God
would extend His mercy to the nation of Israel and fulfil His covenant that He
made with Abraham through the redeemer of Israel, the Messiah. Therefore, God's
promise of mercy to David was done to fulfill God's covenant with Abraham.
JESUS, DAVID AND THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
David is the most predominant
person in the Old Testament associated with the role of the Messiah. David is
also characteristic of the Bride of Christ. Let us examine these truths.
First, let us see how the
Messiah is associated with David.
David was from Bethlehem, in the land of Judah ( I Samuel 17:12).
a) Bethlehem is called the city of David (Luke 2:4)
God called David, "His
Son" (Psalm 89:26)
Jesus is called the "Son
of David" (Luke 18:38-39)
God promised David that His throne would be forever (Psalm 89:2-3)
David desired to build a house
for the name of God (I Chronicles 28:2)
God's covenant with David was
a covenant of mercy (Psalm 89:2-4)
David went from being a
shepherd to a King (II Samuel 7:8)
a)
Jesus has the key of David (Rev 3:7)
DAVID IS
CHARACTERISTIC OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
David is characteristic of the bride of Christ. We can see this from the
following examples:
David in Hebrew means "Beloved".
It is the Strong's Word 1732.
David desired to build the
house of God (I Chronicles 28:2, 29:3)
David confessed that he was a
stranger and sojourner on the earth doing the Will of God
David was the chosen of God
(Psalm 89:3)
David loved Jerusalem and
Jerusalem is God's chosen city (I Kings 11:32)
David was an Ephrathite which
means "double fruit"(I Samuel 17:12)
God called David his firstborn
(Psalm 89:27)
David was anointed my God to
accomplish His Will (Psalm 89:20)
David was a man after God's
own heart (I Samuel 13:13-14, Acts 13:22) because David loved God's Torah and
kept His commandments (I Kings 11:32, 38)
a)
The Bride of Christ will love Jesus and keep His commandments (John 14:15) and
be
THE PURPOSE OF THE
FIRST AND
The fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham was dependent upon the obedience
by the descendants of Abraham to God's Torah. God's covenant with Abraham was
extended to the descendants of Abraham at Mount Sinai when they became a holy
nation unto God and made a covenant with God to keep His Torah. Because the
children of Israel broke the Torah, God dispersed both the Northern Kingdom and
Southern Kingdom into exile among the nations. God's judgment upon the Northern
Kingdom of Israel for forsaking His Torah was cutting them off from His covenant
with them. However, because David kept the Torah of God, God granted mercy upon
David so that God could fulfill the covenant that He made with Abraham.
The Messiah was promised to come from the lineage of David. There are two
primary roles that the Messiah will fulfill during His first and second coming.
During His first coming, Jesus played the role of Messiah ben Joseph, the
suffering Messiah, who would be a Jew from the tribe of Judah who would be a
kinsman redeemer to the Northern Kingdom of Israel who became assimilated into
the nations of the world. In doing so, the Messiah would bring a new (renewed)
covenant so that the Northern Kingdom who was cut off from their covenant with
God through disobedience to God's Torah could be grafted into a new covenant
relationship with God (Romans 11:16-24). This new (renewed) covenant is also
Torah based (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 10:15-16). The new (renewed) covenant is
the Torah written upon our hearts.
During His second coming, Jesus will play the role of Messiah ben David, the
kingly Messiah who would gather both the engrafted Northern Kingdom who have
assimilated into Gentile culture (Christianity) and the Southern Kingdom
(Judaism) and bring them back to the land of Israel from all the nations of the
world. Upon their return to the land of Israel from the nations of the world
where they have been scattered, they will keep the Torah of God. After this, the
Kingly Messiah will return back to the earth to dwell with His people.
*?*(aaron-The basic problem with the Premillennial doctrine is a positional
problem. That is, this supposed Millennial Kingdom that they are establishing on
earth is unnecessary within God’s perfect plan—His universal reconciliation.
Additionally, Millennialism is wholly incompatible with the Great Kingdom
parables and with the end-time Scriptures.
If you establish this "Millennial Kingdom" on earth, how do you Scripturally get
this group back up to heaven so they can descend down from heaven as "the Holy
City—New Jerusalem"—"a bride adorned for her Husband"? Ref.Rev.21:1-27
The Kingdom of God, which is also the invisible Messianic Kingdom, is incomplete
and non-existent until the pre-Armageddon resurrection of the Body of Christ.
Only then is the completed Kingdom, that consists only of "they that are
Christ’s", to be "delivered up to God, even the Father". Ref.1Co.15:23-24
Now if the resurrected Body of Christ, which is His invisible priestly line, is
to be delivered up to the God of Heaven for their marriage to the Lamb
[Ref.1Co:15:23-24; Rev.19:1-10], what Scripture, other than Rev.21:1-27, would
re-locate the Bride of Christ back down to earth for this speculated Millennial
Kingdom?)
This is the fulness of the completion of God's covenant with Abraham.
THE FULLNESS OF
GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM
The fullness of the covenant that God made with Abraham has not yet been
fulfilled. Let's reexamine several scriptures again so that we can understand
the fullness of the covenant that God made with Abraham. In Genesis 17:6-8 it is
written:
"And I will make thee exceedingly
fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And
I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in
their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy
seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and thy seed after thee, the land
wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession; and I will be their God"
In Leviticus 26:3, 11-12 it is
written:
"If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my
commandments, and do them ... And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my
soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and
ye shall be my people"
(aaron-This is much more than Messiah’s second coming—to a supposed 1000 year
reign as King upon the earth. This Leviticus picture is none other than Jehovah
God setting His tabernacle among His people. This happens only in the new
earth—when we will all say--Jehovah Shammah.)
In Genesis 17:6-8 and Leviticus 26:3, 11-12, we can see the fullness of God's
covenant with Abraham. It consists of the following things:
God's people bearing much fruit (The fruitful works of the Bride)
God's people keeping His Torah (Because it is written upon their heart)
God's people living in the land of Israel (from being scattered in the nations
of the earth)
God dwelling with His people (His Bride)
THE GATHERING OF
THE EXILES
In Acts 1:6-8, the Apostles asked Jesus if He was going to regather the exiles
back to the land of Israel at His first coming. Jesus answered by saying that
this event would happen through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon God's
people to be a witness of this restoration. In Acts 1:6-9 it is written:
"When they therefore were come together,
they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the
kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or
the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive
power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto
me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he
was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight"
These are the very last words of Jesus before He ascended unto heaven.
Therefore, they are VERY significant. The last words which we are reminded to
understand prior to the ascension of Jesus unto heaven is the regathering of the
exiles from BOTH the house of Israel, the Northern Kingdom and the Southern
Kingdom through the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit. This is the final great
event and witness to the nations of the world prior to the second coming of
Jesus.
The two primary duties of the Messiah is to bring salvation to the Gentiles and
to regather BOTH houses of Israel, the Northern Kingdom (Christianity) and the
Southern Kingdom (Judaism) back to the land of Israel. These two things can be
seen in Isaiah 49:5-6 as it is written:
"And now, saith the Lord that formed me
from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob (all twelve tribes) again to
him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the
Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that
thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that
thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth"
Therefore, in these two verses, we see the following two functions of the
Messiah.
Salvation to the Gentiles
Raise up the tribes of Jacob (all twelve tribes) and restore the preserved of
Israel (back to the land of Israel). God proclaimed this to be a light (easy)
thing.
During the first coming of Jesus, He brought salvation to the Gentiles. During
the second coming of Jesus, He will restore the preserved (remnant) of Israel
back to the land of Israel by the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit.
EPHRAIM
(CHRISTIANITY) AND JUDAH (JUDAISM)
In Ezekiel 37:15-27, God promised that He would unite the two house of Israel,
Ephraim and Judah, and they would become one stick at the time of the reign of
the kingly Messiah. When they became united, God would bring BOTH houses back to
the land of Israel. When they returned back to the land of Israel from being
scattered in all the nations of the world, they will keep the Torah of God in
the land of Israel. Then, God promised to dwell with His people (bride). In
Ezekiel 37:15-27 it is written:
"The word of
the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one
stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his
companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of
Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to
another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the
children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what
thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph
(Christianity), which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his
fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them
one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou
writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen,
whither they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into
their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains
of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all: and they shall be no more
two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their
detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them
out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse
them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant
shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also
walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell
in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have
dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their
children's children forever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting
covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my
sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with
them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people"
In Ezekiel 37:15-27, we see the fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham as
follows:
God's people living in the land of Israel (from being scattered in the nations
of the earth) (Ezekiel 37:21-22, 25)
God's people keeping His Torah (Because it is written upon their heart) (Ezekiel
37:23-24)
God dwelling with His people (His Bride) (Ezekiel 37:23, 26-27)
The kingly Messiah, Messiah ben David, ruling over His people (Ezekiel 37:22,
24)
GOD'S PEOPLE FLEEING FROM THE LAND OF BABYLON
In Revelation 18:4, God
commands His people to come out of Babylon as it is written:
"And I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plaques"
(aaron-This passage from Rev.18:4, is referring to the gathering of "The Bride
of Christ" in their pre-Armageddon resurrection. According to Isa.61:1-2a;
Lu.4:18-19, we are now participating in the "Year of Jehovah’s Favor". Then
following this "Year of Jehovah’s Favor", we are to then move on into "The Day
of Vengeance of our God"; "The Day of the Lord". Isa.61:2b; 1Thes.5:2 We must
also understand that the "Year of Jehovah’s Favor" is not to be understood as a
literal year, but a protracted time period that has lasted for nearly two
thousand years already. Accordingly, neither will "The Day of Vengeance of our
God" be a literal day, but a protracted time period in which God’s judgments and
wrath will be poured out--through "The Battle of Armageddon". The
"pre-Armageddon resurrection" of "The Bride of Christ" is necessary because of
their participation as "The Armies that are in Heaven" who also come to "The
Battle of Armageddon" with their Lord. Rev.19:14 We must also be very careful
that we not try to explain the invisible things of God by amalgamating the
things that are visible.)
There are many babylons that have the people of God
captive. There is religious Babylon, there is financial Babylon, there is
political Babylon and there is also the land of Babylon. The land of Babylon
cannot be modern day Iraq. Very few Christians and Jews live in Iraq. Therefore,
the land of Babylon has to have a spiritual application.
The most populous nation in the world today of Christians and Jews is the United
States of America. The United States of America is the land of Babylon today.
God's greatest judgment of any nation on the earth will fall upon the United
States of America because no other nation of the world has been given the
freedom to preach and hear the gospel of the Kingdom of God as the United States
of America. Yet, America is the land of abortion, homosexuality, drugs, gambling
and pornography. The United States of America is the modern day Sodom and
Gomorrah. In Jeremiah 50:4-6, 17-18, 51:50 it is written:
"In those days and at that time (a
reference to the second coming of the Messiah), saith the Lord, the children of
Israel shall come (the assimilated Northern Kingdom/Christianity), they and the
children of Judah together (the Southern Kingdom/Jews) going and weeping: they
shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion (the land
of Israel) with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves
to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people hath
been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray (pastors in the
church and rabbi's in the synagogues), they have turned them away on the
mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their
resting place ...Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away:
first the king of Assyria hath devoured him (the Northern Kingdom) and last this
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones (the Southern Kingdom).
Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish
the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria ...
Ye that have escaped the sword, go away,
stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your
mind"
In these verses in Jeremiah,
we see the following:
The
children of Israel (the Northern Kingdom/Christianity) fleeing Babylon and
seeking their way to the land of Zion (Israel) (Jeremiah 50:4)
The
children of Judah (the Southern Kingdom/Jews) fleeing Babylon and seeking their
way to the land of Zion (Israel) (Jeremiah 50:4)
Their
shepherds (religious leaders) in Christianity and Judaism have led the people of
God astray (Jeremiah 50:6)
Those
who have escaped the sword (judgment upon the land) are seeking the way to
Jerusalem (Jeremiah 51:50)
EPHRAIM RETURNS TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL
In Jeremiah 31:15-22, we see
the prophecy of Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, who has been assimilated into the
nations of the world (a picture of Christianity) returning back to the land of
Israel after God chastens Ephraim for His sin (by departing from the Torah) and
bestows mercy upon him (through God's promise to David and through the first
coming of Jesus) and returns him back to the land of Israel where God will marry
His people (His Bride). In Jeremiah 31:15-22 it is written:
"Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard
in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children
refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the
Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work
shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of
the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children
shall come again to their own border. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning
himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock
unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the
Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was
instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed yea, even confounded, because I
did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant
child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still:
therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him,
saith the Lord. Set thee up way marks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart
toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin
daughter, turn again to these thy cities. How long wilt thou go about, O thou
backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A
woman shall compass a man"
In these verses we see the following:
The children of Rachel, the house of Joseph (Northern Kingdom), a spiritual
picture of Christianity being comforted (a term for the Holy Spirit --- John
16:7) to be God's witnesses to the restoration of Israel (Acts 1:6-9) back to
the land of Israel (Jeremiah 31:15-17)
The restoration happens after Ephraim, the house of Joseph (Northern Kingdom), a
spiritual picture of Christianity repents from turning from God's Torah because
of God's mercy upon Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:18-20)
God dwelling and marrying His bride (Jeremiah 31:22). A woman shall encompass a
man is an event in the Biblical wedding ceremony given by God and practiced by
the Jewish people.
EPHRAIM
(CHRISTIANITY): THE PRODIGAL SON
In Luke 15:11-32 is a famous sermon topic within Christianity. It is the story
of the prodigal son. Almost 100% of the time when I have heard this parable
preached in church, the prodigal son is the hard core sinner who returns to God
and gives his heart and life to Jesus. While hard core sinners need to return to
God and give their heart and life to Jesus, the context of this parable in the
days of Jesus was based upon the prophecies of the prophets of Israel that the
house of Jacob (all twelve tribes) would be restored back to the land of Israel
while keeping the Torah.
When Jesus came to the earth, the Northern Kingdom has already been scattered
and assimilated into the nations of the world because they rebelled against
God's Torah. Therefore, the two sons in the story would refer to the two houses
of Israel, the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and the house of Judah
(the Southern Kingdom). It was the house of Israel, Ephraim, who had rebelled
against the Torah of God and was the prodigal son. Therefore, it was the
Northern Kingdom, Ephraim, who needed to return back home or back to God and His
Torah.
Since the Northern Kingdom, Ephraim, is a spiritual picture of Christianity,
this parable is also prophetic of future Christianity. Following the death and
resurrection of Jesus, the early church which was a sect of Judaism and
originally kept the Sabbath, feast days and the Torah later began to depart from
the Jewish roots of the faith. As the church became more Gentile and less
Jewish, the church became more anti-Torah and anti-Semitic. This anti-Torah and
anti-Semitic attitude is still present today within Christianity.
Since the Northern Kingdom, Ephraim, is a spiritual picture of historical
Christianity, the prodigal son in the story refers to Christianity and God's
plea with her to return back to His Torah and obey His commandments. For this
reason, Jesus has the key of David (Revelation 3:7) because David loved God's
Torah.
In Luke 15:11-32 is the parable of the prodigal son as it is written:
"And he said, A certain man had two sons:
And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after
the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country,
and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all,
there arose a mighty famine in that land: and he began to be in want. And he
went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his
fields to feed swine.
And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did
eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many
hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy
son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and
ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I
have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called
thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put
it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither
the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was
dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house,
he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what
these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come: and thy father
hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he
was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated
him, And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,
neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me
a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was
come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the
fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I
have is thine.
It was meet that we should make merry,
and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again: and was lost and
is found"
Let us examine the details of
this parable closer so that we can understand how the prodigal son is a
reference to Ephraim who is a spiritual picture of Christianity.
A
certain man (God the Father had two sons) (Luke 15:11)
The
elder son is (Judah/Judaism) and the younger son is (Ephraim/Christianity).
Judaism dates back to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and Christianity
dates back to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The
younger son (the Northern Kingdom, Ephraim/Christianity) spent his inheritance
on riotous living (by departing from God's Torah) and went to a far country (the
nations of the world) and was feeding on swine (a reference to not obeying the
Torah) (Luke 15:12-13)
Their
was a famine in the land (a famine of the hearing and teaching God's Torah/Word
--- Amos 8:11) and he (younger son/Ephraim/Christianity) decided to return to
the Father and repent before Him (for departing from Torah) (Luke 15:14-21)
The
Father was waiting for his younger son (Ephraim / Christianity) to return to
Torah. When he repented, God the Father extended mercy to Him (Jeremiah
31:18-20) (because of God's promise to David) and forgave him (Luke 15:14-21)
The
joy of the Father was so great when the younger son (Ephraim/Christianity)
returned (back to Torah) that God decided to fit him with the best robe (wedding
garment) and put a ring on his hand (wedding terminology) (Jeremiah 31:18-22,
Luke 15:21-24)
The
elder son (Judah/Judaism) was in the field and inquired about the celebration
that the father was giving the younger son (Luke 15:25-26)
It
was told to the elder son (Judah/Judaism) that the younger son
(Ephraim/Christianity) had repented (returned back to Torah) and God was waiting
for the younger son's (Ephraim / Christianity) return and now that he has
returned, there will be a wedding party ( a marriage between the bridegroom and
the bride) (Luke 15:27)
The
older son was upset giving reason to the Father that he had never departed from
the commandments (Torah) and the Father never had a wedding party for him. But
now after the younger son had departed from Torah and returned, the Father was
having a wedding party for the younger son. (Luke 15:28-30)
It
was told the older son (Judah/Judaism) the he was forever with the Father (Luke
15:31-32)
Therefore, God is waiting for
the prodigal son (Christianity) to repent of her sins of departing from God's
Torah. When she does, God will celebrate with the greatest wedding party ever,
the wedding between Jesus the bridegroom and the Bride of Christ !!!
THE CONCLUSION OF THIS CHAPTER
In order to fully understand
the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and understand the comprehensive redemption
plan of God including the marriage between Jesus and His Bride, you
MUST
understand the covenant the God made with Abraham. The fullness of the
fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham involves the following things:
Preparing a people to be kings and priests before God and to rule and reign with
Him on the earth
God's
people dwelling in the land of Israel
God's
people being obedient to His Torah
God
dwelling with His people for all eternity This is the Gospel that was preached to Abraham (Galations 3:8) and this is the fullness of the covenant that God made with Abraham.
(aaron-This
summary position is substantially taken from Rev.5:9-10. Which is primarily
describing an earthly picture of this present dispensation—"The Year of
Jehovah’s Favor". That is, this present earthly state as it manifests the
visible dispositions [Rev.5:9-10; 1Pe.2:9-10] and the invisible dispositions
[Rev.20:4-6; Heb.12:18-24] of God’s Everlasting Covenant/universal
reconciliation. These "PRIESTS" that are pictured here in Rev.5:9-10 must be
seen as also being representative of God’s invisible dispositions that are
being described in Rev.20:4-6; Phil.1:23; 2Cor.5:8.
Representative of God’s invisible Messianic
Covenant line, which was to come only through the successors of Isaac and
consisting of only THE JEWS, THE CIRCUMCISION, AND ISRAEL. Rom.2:28-29; 9:6-8
This is the same invisible "Israel of God" [Gal.6:16] that has been hidden in
God since the beginning of time, just as they will remain hidden in God until
their manifestation as the Bride of Christ at the end of this dispensation.
1Cor.15:23-24 Though this Messianic line contains only JEWS, THE CIRCUMCISION,
AND ISRAEL, these invisible elect priests must all come through the visible
corporate peoples of God [visible Israel/the visible Church]. The visible
corporate peoples of God that is inclusive of both the visible Jews and visible
non-Jews alike. All of these dispositions are the full manifestation of God’s
universal reconciliation, and the fulfillment of God’s promise that Abraham
would ultimately be the father of many nations.
Probably the most confusing part of this teaching is in the fact that THE JEWS,
THE CIRCUMCISION, AND ISRAEL coexist in both the visible realm and in the
invisible realm. That is, there are VISIBLE JEWS, THE VISIBLE CIRCUMCISION, AND
VISIBLE ISRAEL that come only from the lineage of Jacob, as well as Isaac’s
lineage--THE INVISIBLE JEWS, THE INVISIBLE CIRCUMCISION, AND INVISIBLE ISRAEL
that can come from every nation, tribe, tongue, and peoples. And we must
understand that both of these distinct groups, though they have the same
identifying names, are always coexistent within God’s whole reconciliation. We must also understand that, as Old Testament Israel was designed to manifest and explain God’s visible dispositions, the New Testament Church is designed specifically to manifest and explain God’s invisible dispositions.)
THIS IS THE
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TORAH !!!
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All text copyright © 2005 aaron. All rights reserved. Photos, unless otherwise credited, are the property of the auth, all rights reserved. Originally posted February 24, 2004. Revised: January 17, 2014. |