Israel and the Church

Introduction

Today, there is a great theological dispute in the Body of Messiah as to whom God’s people truly are. Some Believers maintain that God has replaced Israel with the church and that every biblical end of the age prophecy regarding Israel is by default a reference to the church. This doctrine is known as “replacement theology!” Other Believers maintain that God has two groups of elect: Israel and the church. This doctrine is known as “separation theology!” Still others maintain that the church is Israel! This doctrine is known as “remnant theology!” What is the truth? Who are God’s people today?

The Old Covenant

Despite the fact that Believers are divided over the question as to who God’s people are today, we all agree on one thing- that the roots of both the Body of Messiah1 and Judaism began with Abraham, the great patriarch of the ancient Israelites! Let’s start with him!

Prior to his encounter with God, Abraham’s name was Abram and it was to him God proposed, “… Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3). Notice that God’s promise to Abram was conditional, based upon his obedience! If Abram would leave his country, God would make him a great nation. The reason why God’s proposal to Abram was so incredible was because Abram’s wife, Sarah, was barren (Gen. 11:30-31) and it would take a miracle for his wife to bear him a son, through whom he would give birth to a great nation. Abram wasn’t discouraged, though; he was a man of faith! The account simply states, “So Abram departed as YHWH2 had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran” (Gen. 12:4). This covenant that God made with Abram is known as the Abrahamic Covenant.

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Let’s pick up the account in Genesis 15:14-18, which states, “And YHWH said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to YHWH.”

At this point, Sarah, who had a crisis of faith, provided Abram with an Egyptian maidservant who could bear him a son, through whom God would fulfill His promise to Abraham too make his descendants a great nation forever! Abraham, who followed Sarah’s lead, slept with his maidservant, Hagar, who bore him a son, Ishmael (Gen. 16:1-3, 15).

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Gen. 17:1-8). First, notice again that God’s promise to Abraham was conditional, based upon his obedience! If Abram would walk before God and be blameless, God would make His covenant with him and multiply him exceedingly. Second, notice that God also promised that He would establish His covenant with Abraham’s descendants “in their generations.” This means that God’s covenant with Abraham’s descendants was also conditional, based on their obedience!

Immediately after confirming His covenant with Abraham, God told him that Ishmael would not be the heir of his covenant blessings and that Sarah would bear him a son, who they were to name Isaac, who would (Gen.17:15-21). Abraham, now acting in faith, fathered Isaac, through Sarah, by a miracle of God (Gen. 21:1-

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3; Rom. 4:18-21). And so it was that it was Isaac, whose name God changed to Israel (Gen 32:26-28), who inherited the covenant blessings.

Sometime after Abraham fathered Isaac, God tested him. He commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. You could imagine that this made no sense to Abraham. Why would God finally provide him with an heir through whom He would fulfill His promise to make Abraham’s descendants a great nation forever and then kill him? Notice that the Bible doesn’t tell us that Abraham argued with God. Rather, he was willing to obey God and was about to sacrifice Isaac when God stopped him and provided a ram in his place (Gen. 22:11-13)! As a result of Abraham’s obedience God declared, “… By Myself I have sworn, says YHWH, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Gen. 22:16-18). At this point, God changed the status of His covenant with Abraham by making it unconditional. This begs the question; then, “Did God also changed the covenant status of Abraham’s descendants as well?” As we will see, the answer is a resounding, “No!”

Remember, Abraham had two sons. God rejected Ishmael, the eldest son, and established His covenant with Isaac (Gen. 26:1-5). Isaac also had two sons. God rejected Esau, again the eldest, and established His covenant with Jacob (Gen. 28:1-3, 13-15). It is of great significance that neither Ishmael nor Esau, who were both physical descendants of Abraham, was a partaker of the covenant blessings. Thus, God’s covenant with the first two generations of Abraham’s descendants was conditional!

Let’s continue the account in Genesis 35:9-13, “Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.”

Israel had twelve sons. One of his sons, Joseph, had dreams (Gen. 37). Because Joseph was favored by his father, his brothers were jealous of him. As a result,

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they sold him as a slave, and he was taken to Egypt. Joseph suffered greatly in Egypt. However, when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream regarding the seven years of plenty followed by the seven years of famine, Pharaoh appointed him governor of Egypt, second in power only to himself. Then, when famine struck Canaan, Israel sent the rest of his sons to Egypt to buy corn, with the one exception of his youngest son Benjamin. In the end, Joseph forgave his brothers and the entire family relocated to Egypt (Gen. 42–47:12). In time, the Israelites increased in number and became known as the twelve tribes of Israel! About 200 years after the Israelites arrived in Egypt (Ex. 12:40)3, a Pharaoh rose to power who didn’t know Joseph (Ex. 1:8). Because the Israelites had multiplied so greatly in Egypt, Pharaoh feared that they would rise up against him. So he forced them into slavery (Ex. 1:9-14).

It was at this pivotal moment in Israel’s history that God revealed Himself to Moses and commanded him: “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says YHWH: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn” (Ex. 4:22-23). It was at this time that God expanded Israel’s name to include all his descendants!

After Moses delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, he led them to Mt. Sinai. There, God instructed Moses, His mediator, to propose a covenant to the children of Israel. Exodus 19:3-6 states, “And Moses went up to God, and YHWH called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a set apart4 nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which YHWH commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that YHWH has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to YHWH. And YHWH said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to YHWH.” Notice the statement, “‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a set apart nation.’” It proves that, even though God’s covenant with Abraham

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was now unconditional, His covenant with Abraham’s descendants remained conditional, based on their obedience!

After Moses delivered God’s commandments, statutes, and judgments to the children of Israel recorded in Exodus chapters 20 through 23, he pressed them to confirm their decision two more times. Exodus 24:3-8 states, “So Moses came and told the people all the words of YHWH and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which YHWH has said we will do.” And Moses wrote all the words of YHWH. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to YHWH. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then his took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that YHWH has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which YHWH has made with you according to all these words.”

In his book titled, The Other End of the World, pp. 23-24, Roger Rusk wrote, “The ceremony at Mt. Sinai was a wonderful wedding ceremony. In it there is a courtship, a proposal, an acceptance, a period of getting ready, and a presiding minister. The Lord [YHWH] spoke His vows; the people of Israel spoke their vows. The people became very nervous with some bridal jitters during the ceremony. They even ran away for awhile. There was music, a wedding feast; the whole ceremony is complete. It was a wonderful ceremony when God married Israel at Mt. Sinai. This is a covenant, a contract; but a highly conditional one. God said, if, if, if, right on down the line. And the people accepted those conditions. First of all the Law is given and written for them as part of the marriage contract. With no other people did God ever enter into contract on the basis of the Law like He did with Israel on that day. And the Law is more than the Ten Commandments. After hearing the Ten Commandments, the people ran away. That is all they heard. But in Exodus 21, 22, 23 there are more laws and judgments. All are part of the contract” (Emphasis added). The covenant God made with Moses’ generation of the children of Israel is known as the Mosaic covenant and as Roger Rusk so aptly explained, it was “highly conditional” one!

In Deuteronomy 7:6-12, Moses reminded the children of Israel that God’s covenant with them was conditional, based upon their obedience. He stated, “For you are a set apart people to YHWH your God; YHWH your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of

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the earth. “YHWH did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; “but because YHWH loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, YHWH has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. “Therefore know that YHWH your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; “and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. “Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them. “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that YHWH your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.” In verse 8, Moses states that YHWH “would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers.” In verse 9, Moses describes YHWH as, “the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Of course, this statement implies that YHWH will terminate His covenant with those who break their covenant with Him! And in verse 12, Moses adds, “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that YHWH your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.” In all three verses quoted above, the covenant status of the children of Israel is conditional, based on their obedience!

Sometime later, when the Israelites got impatient waiting for Moses, who was delayed on Mt. Sinai, they fashioned an idol of a false god, a golden calf, and sinned (Ex. 32:1-6). Let’s pick up the account in Exodus 32:7-10 which states, “And YHWH said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. “They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ “And YHWH said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! “Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” Notice that the conditional status of Abraham’s descendants would have allowed God to divorce them all, with the one exception of Moses himself, through whom God would have fulfilled His promise to Abraham! As it turned out, though, Moses intervened on behalf of the Israelites, and God relented (Ex. 32:11-14).

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After Moses died, Joshua led the next generation of the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Then, he assembled the people, recounted the miracles that God had done on their behalf (Josh. 24:1-13) and added: “Now therefore, fear YHWH, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve YHWH! “And if it seems evil to you to serve YHWH, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.” So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake YHWH to serve other gods “for YHWH our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. “And YHWH drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve YHWH, for He is our God.” But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve YHWH, for He is a set apart God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. “If you forsake YHWH and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve YHWH!” So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen YHWH for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to YHWH God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “YHWH our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem” (Josh. 24:14-25). First, notice that the covenant that God had established with Moses’ generation of the children of Israel, which was based on their obedience, was not automatically transferred to Joshua’s generation of the children of Israel! Joshua’s generation of the children of Israel was required to seek their own covenant with God, based on their own obedience! Second, notice the statement, “If you forsake YHWH and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” It proves that the covenant blessings Joshua’s generation of the children of Israel received through Abraham were conditional, based on their obedience.

When the Israelites settled the Promised Land, they named their kingdom Israel, after their forefather Israel, who was formerly known as Jacob, and divided the land by lot between the twelve tribes (Num. 26:55; Josh. 7:14; 14:2; 1 Sam. 14:42). Later, during the reign of Rehoboam, the ten northern tribes seceded from the two southern tribes (1 Kings 11:11-13, 31-37; 12:1-24). The ten northern tribes retained

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the national name of Israel while the two southern tribes named their kingdom Judah, after the predominant tribe, Judah (the Jews).

Soon after Israel seceded from Judah they broke their covenant with God. They stopped going up to Jerusalem to worship God in the temple during the Feast Days (Ex. 23:14-17; 1 Kings 12:31-32; 13:32-33; 2 Kings 17:28-30), they practiced idolatry (1 Kings 12:28-33; 14:15-16) and broke the Sabbath (Ezek. 20:10-24). And so it was that when Israel broke their covenant with God, God terminated His covenant with them, sending them into captivity in Assyria (2 Kings 17:5-29; 18:9-12) around 720 BC. In other words, He divorced them (Jer. 3:6-11).

The Assyrians had a strategy of deporting large proportions of people from the nations they had conquered and resettling them in other conquered nations. The purpose of this policy was to promote intermarriage between conquered peoples in order that they would lose their national identities, thereby decreasing the threat of nationalistic revolts. To this end, the Assyrians deported a large proportion of the citizens of Israel to Babylon and a large proportion of the citizens of Babylon to Israel (2 Kings 17:24).

Those Israelites who remained in the land did indeed intermarry with the Babylonians and, as a result, they changed the name of their country to Samaria. And so it was that the religion that was present in the land during the early stages of the New Testament was the Babylonian Mystery Religion (Rev. 17:5). The people of Judea regarded the Samaritans as half-breeds, both physically (2 Kings 17:24-41) and spiritually (John 4:20). Sadly, those Israelites who were deported from the land never returned. They lost their national identity (Deut. 32:26), their Hebrew tongue (Isa. 28:11) and became known as the “Lost Sheep of the House of Israel” (Matt. 10:5-6) or the “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.”

About 130 years after God had terminated His covenant with Israel and exiled them from the Promised Land, Judah followed in Israel’s footsteps and also broke their covenant with God. As a result, God allowed Judah to be conquered by the Babylonians in three separate stages, between 597 BC and 586 BC, and taken into captivity (2 Kings 24:8-17; 25:1-7, 21). Unlike Israel, though, a remnant of Israelites from the house of Judah repented and returned to the land 70 years later (Jer. 29:1-14; Ezra 1:1-5).

Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary under the article “Jerusalem” and the subheading, “The Restoration” states, “For more than half a century the Jews remained captives in Babylonia, and their beloved Jerusalem lay in ruins. But this

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changed when Cyrus, king of Persia, defeated the Babylonians. He allowed the Jewish captives to return to Jerusalem to restore the city. Zerubbabel was the leader of a group that left Babylon in 538 BC to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. After a period of over 20 years, the temple was restored, (although it was not as lavish as Solomon’s original Temple had been). Under the leadership of Nehemiah, a second group of Jewish exiles returned to the set apart city to restore the wall around the city. Through a masterful strategy of organization and determination, “the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days” (Neh. 6:15, Emphasis added).

Nehemiah 1:1-11 states, “The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said: “I pray, YHWH God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, “please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. “We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. “Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; ‘but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ “Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. “O YHWH, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.” First, notice that Zerubbabel and Nehemiah’s generation of Israelites were required to seek their own covenant with God, based on their own obedience! Second, notice the statement, “O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your

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commandments.” It proves that the covenant blessings Zerubbabel and Nehemiah’s generation of Israelites received through Abraham were conditional, based on their obedience!

The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-33 states, “Behold, the days are coming, says YHWH, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says YHWH. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YHWH: I will put My Torah5 in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Here, the phrase, “house of Israel” refers to the united kingdom!

Why would it be necessary for God to establish a new covenant5 with the house of Israel? Since the new covenant is, in effect, a second marriage contract there can only be one reason: Because God knew He would eventually divorce both houses of the divided kingdom! He had already divorced the house of Israel during Old Testament times for breaking their covenant with Him. Now, during New Testament times, He was about to divorce the house of Judah for the same reason (Ex. 19:3-6; Deut. 7:6-12; Josh. 24:14-25; Neh. 1:5).

The fact that God was establishing a new covenant with the house of Israel means that He was starting over again! The New Testament tells us that He accomplished this through one man, Yeshua6, the Mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 9:15; 12:24). And it was in His position as the new covenant Mediator, that Yeshua made a startling declaration. In most translations of the Bible, it is rendered, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

A study of the word “church”7 will reveal that it is foreign to the Old Testament and Yeshua’s apparent use of the word seems to suggest that He intended to establish a new religion, Christianity, with a new people, Gentiles. Nothing could be further from the truth! The word “church” was translated from the Greek word “ekklesia” which, according to the KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon, is a compound word that is derived from the two root words: “ek” and “klesis.” The word “ek” means, “out of” and the word “klesis” means, “a calling.” In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, published in the

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3rd Century BC, the Greek word “ekklesia” was translated from Hebrew word “qahal,” which means, “congregation” or “assembly.” The Theological Workbook of the Old Testament states, “…usually qahal is translated ekklesia in the LXX.” Another Scripture where the word ekklesia was mistranslated “church” is Acts 7:38 in the King James Version, which is translated, “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us…” The context proves that phrase, “church in the wilderness,” applies to Israel and, as a result, should have been translated, “assembly in the wilderness” or “congregation in the wilderness.” The World English Bible, the Darby Translation, the Hebrew Names Version and Young’s Literal Translation, translate the word ekklesia in Matthew 16:18 as “assembly” while the New King James Version and the Power New Testament translate it “congregation.” Thus, Matthew 16:18 is properly translated, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My congregation, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

Let’s examine the true meaning of Yeshua’s declaration! First, His statement, “I will build My congregation,” is another proof that God was divorcing the house of Judah and starting over again through Yeshua. One cannot build that which has already been built! Second, Yeshua’s words, “my congregation,” is a reference to the Body of Messiah,” the new covenant congregation of Israel! They are a reference to remnant Israel (1 Kings 19:14-18; Joel 2:28-32; Rom. 9:27; 11:1-5; Rev. 12:17). Third, Yeshua’s statement, “and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” is, in fact, the equivalent of God’s unconditional promise to Abraham, that He would make his descendants a great nation forever. Both statements are promises that Israel will exist forever! Thus, in Matthew 16:18, Yeshua made it clear that, even though God was starting over again through Him, God would keep His unconditional promise to Abraham to make his descendants a great nation forever. Both statements are promises that Israel will exist forever!

A careful comparison of the old covenant and the new covenant will reveal that both covenants were made with the same people, Israel!

Under the old covenant, Moses, speaking on God’s behalf, told his generation of Israelites, “…if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure … a kingdom of priests and a set apart nation” (Ex. 19:5-6). Then, just before entering into the Promised Land, Moses added, “For you are a set apart people to YHWH your God; YHWH your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Deut.7:6; cf. Deut. 14:2). Likewise, under the new covenant, the Apostle

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Peter told a remnant of Israelites from Yeshua’s generation, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a set apart nation, His own special people…” (1 Pet. 2:9). Yeshua said, “… Have I not chosen you, the Twelve” (John 6:70)? He also said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you… (John 15:16-19). Again, He said, “For many are called, but few chosen” (Matt. 22:14).

Under the old covenant, Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, delivered God’s commandments, statutes and judgments on Mt. Sinai to his generation of Israelites (Ex. 19)! Likewise, under the new covenant, Yeshua, the Mediator of the new covenant, delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), in which He raised up God’s commandments, statutes and judgments to their fullest intent and significance to a remnant of Israelites from the house of Judah in His generation.

Under the old covenant, Israel was chosen by God to provide a practical example to the world of the benefits that come from obeying God’s commandments, statutes and judgments! Deuteronomy 4:1-8 states, “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which YHWH God of your fathers is giving you. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what YHWH did at Baal Peor; for YHWH your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to YHWH your God are alive today, every one of you. Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as YHWH my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as YHWH our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this Torah which I set before you this day?” Likewise, under the new covenant, a remnant of Israelites from Yeshua’s generation was chosen by God to provide a practical example to the world of the benefits that come from obeying God’s commandments, statutes and judgments! Yeshua told the new covenant Body of Messiah, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one

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tittle will by no means pass from the Torah till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:14-19).

Under the old covenant God referred to Israel as, “Israel My elect” (Isa. 45:4). Likewise, under the old covenant, Paul referred to the remnant of Israelites from Yeshua’s generation as, “the elect of God” (Col. 3:11-12) (cf. Matt. 24:24, 31; Mark 13:22, 27; Luke 18:7; Rom. 8:33; 11:7).

Thus, just as Israel was God’s covenant people in the Old Testament, Israel, albeit only a remnant, continues to be God’s covenant people in the New Testament! Again, this was because God was bound by His unconditional promise to Abraham to make his descendants a great nation forever and God fulfills that promise with only those Israelites who He establishes a covenant with “in their generations.”

Two Israels: One True/ One False

Sometime after John the Baptizer began his ministry, a group of Pharisees and Sadducees came to him, most likely under the pretense of wanting to be baptized. John rebuked them saying, “… Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt. 3:7-10). John knew that the Pharisees and Sadducees were Abraham’s physical descendants. More importantly, though, his declaration, “do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” proves that he didn’t count them as being descendants of Abraham!

At the beginning of Yeshua’s ministry, when He was in the process of choosing His disciples, He was introduced to Nathanael, a spiritually-minded Jew. Upon meeting him Yeshua joyfully declared, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit” (John 1:47)! Yeshua knew that Nathanael was a physical descendant of Abraham. More importantly, though, His declaration, “Behold, an Israelite indeed...,” proves that He also counted Nathanael as being a descendant of Abraham!

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Once, Yeshua said to a group of Jewish people, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Yeshua said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God.” Yeshua said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me. … You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:37-42, 44). Notice that Yeshua made two seemingly contradictory statements: “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants” and “You are of your father the devil.” The truth is that these two statements really don’t contradict one another at all. Physically, the Jewish people in question were indeed the children of Abraham; but, spiritually, they were the children of the devil!

Paul states, “Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the Torah, and make your boast in God, … For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the Torah; but if you are a breaker of the Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. … For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God” (Rom. 2:17, 25, 28-29).

Paul also states, “I tell the truth in Messiah, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Messiah for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Torah, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Messiah came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed” (Rom. 9:1-8, Emphasis added).

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Notice that Paul differentiates between two Israels: Israel “of the flesh” and Israel of the promise.” He states that his countrymen “according to the flesh” are “accursed from Messiah.” His statement, “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” means that his “countrymen according to the flesh” are actually not inheritors of: “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Torah, the service of God, and the promises.” He states, “nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” This statement serves as an example of the fact that not all of Abraham’s physical descendants are counted as his children, just as Ishmael wasn’t, but Isaac was (Gal. 4:21-31). So, despite the fact that Ishmael was a physical descendant of Abraham, he was not an inheritor of the covenant blessings and Paul’s point is, neither are the physical descendants of Abraham, who are “countrymen according to the flesh.” Paul’s statement, “those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed,” means that Abraham’s “countrymen according to the flesh” are not counted as the “children of God.” Could it be any clearer?

God Divorces Judah

Once God had established the new covenant with remnant Israel through Yeshua, He was free to divorce the house of Judah without breaking His promise to Abraham, that his descendants would be a great nation forever.

Three days before Yeshua was crucified, He “went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves’” (Matt. 21:12-13). Notice that at this point, Yeshua referenced the temple as, “My house.” Sadly, that was about to change!

After the encounter with the money changers, Yeshua went to Bethany. Matthew 21:18-19 states, “Now in the morning, as He returned to the city [Jerusalem], He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away” (Emphasis added).

Scripture reveals that a fig tree is symbolic of Israel (Deut. 8:8; Jer. 24:5; Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:7; Matt. 21; Mark 11; Luke 13). And just as the fig tree looked healthy, but had no fruit, the house of Judah appeared to be God’s people, but had

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no fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5:22; Acts 5:32). Too, just as Yeshua cursed the fig tree, which later died, He also cursed the house of Judah, which was about to die!

After returning to Jerusalem, Yeshua arrived at the temple and began to teach. While He was teaching, the chief priests and the elders confronted Him. It was their intent to discredit Him as a false messiah and have Him put to death. It was at this time that Yeshua spoke two parables about the fate of Israel (Matt. 13:10-17).

The first parable, the Parable of the Two Sons, is recorded in Matthew 21:28-32 where Yeshua states, “But what do you think? A man [God] had two sons [the house of Israel and the house of Judah], and he came to the first [the house of Israel] and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ “He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. “Then he came to the second [the house of Judah] and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Yeshua said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him” (Emphasis added).

The second parable, the Parable of the Vineyard, is recorded in verses 33-41, immediately after the first parable, where Yeshua states, “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner [God] who planted a vineyard [the house of Judah (Isa. 5:1-7)] and set a hedge around it [set it apart], dug a winepress in it [judgment (Isa. 63:2-3; Lam.1:5; Joel 3:13; Rev, 19:15)] and built a tower [the temple]. And he leased it to vinedressers [the chief priests and the Pharisees] and went into a far country [heaven]. “Now when vintage-time drew near [judgment day], he sent his servants [the prophets] to the vinedressers [the chief priests and Pharisees], that they might receive its fruit [repentance - Matt. 3:7-10]. “And the vinedressers took his servants [the prophets], beat one, killed one, and stoned another [Matt. 23:35-37; Luke 11:51]. “Again he sent other servants, more than the first [more prophets], and they did likewise to them. “Then last of all he sent his son Yeshua to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But when the vinedressers [the chief priests and the Pharisees] saw the son [when they realized that Yeshua was the Messiah], they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance [the Kingdom of God].’ “So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard [the house of Judah] and killed him [crucified Him]. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard [God] comes, what will he do to those vinedressers [the chief priests and the Pharisees]?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those

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wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons” (Emphasis added).

After telling both parables Yeshua stated, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was YHWH’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them” (Matt. 21:42-46). The prophecy, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it,” is clear! It means that the Kingdom of God will be taken from the house of Judah, including the chief priests and Pharisees, and given to the house of Israel, including the ministers of the new covenant.

Then, Yeshua told a third parable. The Parable of the Wedding and the Wedding Feast is recorded in Matthew 22:2-7, where Yeshua states, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king (God) who arranged a marriage for his son Yeshua, and sent out his servants [the prophets] to call those who were invited [the house of Judah] to the wedding; and they were not willing to come [they were not willing to repent]. Again, he sent out other servants [other prophets], saying, ‘Tell those who are invited [the house of Judah], “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready [the marriage supper (Rev. 19:9)]. Come to the wedding.” ‘But they [the house of Judah] made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business [John 6:44-66]. And the rest [the religious leaders of the house of Judah] seized his servants [the prophets], treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies [the Roman Armies], destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city [Jerusalem]. Then he said to his servants [the ministers of the new covenant - 2 Cor. 3:4-6], ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited [the house of Judah] were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding [through the gospel message].’ So those servants [the prophets] went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found [both Israelites and Gentiles], both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests [the Israel of God - Gal. 6:15-16]. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment [a white robe which represents righteousness (Isa. 61:3, 10; Rev. 6:11; 7:9, 13-14; 19:7-8)]. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king

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said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen” (Emphasis added).

After telling the third parable, Yeshua addressed the multitudes of Judea, including the scribes and the Pharisees. The account is recorded in Matthew 23. We’ll focus on verses 29 to 39 where Yeshua states, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, “and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, “that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. “Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! “See! Your house is left to you desolate; “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of YHWH!’”

Let’s continue the account in Matthew chapter 24, verses 1and 2. “Yeshua went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Yeshua said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD exactly as Yeshua had prophesied when the Roman Army under General Titus sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple so thoroughly that not one stone was left upon another. Also, the Levitical priesthood and the Sanhedrin were abolished and millions of Jews were scattered into the Gentile nations. God had divorced the house of Judah!

Many Believers quote Romans 11:1 in an attempt to prove that God has not divorced Israel “according to the flesh.” It states, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Let’s examine this Scripture in context! Romans 11:1-5 states, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an

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Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “YHWH, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

Notice that Paul gives two examples as to how God has not cast away His people. He used remnant Israel, personified by himself, as the first example and remnant Israel, personified by Elijah, as the second example. Thus, when Paul said that God had not cast away His people, he is not referring to Israel “according to the flesh,” he is referring to Israel “according to the promise,” remnant Israel. In fact, Paul concludes with this statement, “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

In Romans 11:13-24, Paul likens Israel to a cultivated olive tree, which is actually an Old Testament analogy (Jer. 11:16-17; cf. Ps.52:8; 128:3). He explains that a number of its branches were cut off due to unbelief and that they symbolize Israelite unbelievers, a people with whom God was in the process of terminating His covenant (Deut. 7:6-12; Gen. 17:1-8; Ex. 19:3-6). Thus, Paul’s analogy proves that God has divorced fleshly Israel!

Finally, Ezekiel 37: 1-17 states, “The hand of YHWH came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of YHWH, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O YHWH God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of YHWH! Thus says YHWH God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am YHWH.”’” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says YHWH God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an

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exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says YHWH God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am YHWH, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, YHWH, have spoken it and performed it,” says YHWH.’” Again the word of YHWH came to me, saying, “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.” Notice that these Scriptures picture the “whole house of Israel” as being dead (vs. 11)! This includes both the house of Israel and the house of Judah (vv. 15-17)!

The Israel of God

Remember, we began our study by examining God’s covenant with Abraham recorded in Genesis 12:1-3. Now, we must revisit that account in order to focus on a second component of that covenant! Again, Genesis 12:1-3 states, “Now YHWH had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The prophecy, “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed…,” is a little vague, but the New Testament reveals exactly what it means! Galatians 3:6-8 states, “just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” Verses 27-29 add, “For as many of you as were baptized into Messiah have put on Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you are Messiah’s then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Thus, when God made His promise to Abraham to make His descendants a great nation forever, He also included the Gentiles in that promise, through the gospel!

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God gave the Apostle Peter a vision (Acts 10:9-33) from which he concluded: “… In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34-35). Soon after that, Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13; Gal. 2:1-10). Acts 13:44-47 states, “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. “For so YHWH has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’” The last statement, “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth,” was actually quoted from Isaiah 49:6.

Paul states, “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation [the wall in the temple separating the court of the Gentiles from the court of the Israelites], having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off [Gentiles] and to those who were near [Israelites]. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yeshua, the Messiah Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a set apart temple in YHWH, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:11-22, Emphasis added). Paul added, “In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Messiah, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s set apart apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the

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gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Messiah Yeshua” (Eph. 3:4-6).

Paul also states, “For in Messiah Yeshua neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:15-16). First, notice that the “Israel of God,” the new covenant Body of Messiah, is comprised of both Israelites and Gentile converts to the faith. Second, Paul used the phrase, the “Israel of God,” in order to qualify which “Israel” is God’s people!

Again, Paul states, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).

Earlier, we addressed Paul’s analogy in Romans 11:13-24, where he likens Israel to a cultivated olive tree and explains that some of its branches were cut off due to unbelief. Of course, the branches that remained on the tree symbolize remnant Israel, the “children of the promise,” and the branches that were cut off symbolize the “children of the flesh” (Rom. 9:1-8). In the same analogy, Paul also likens Gentiles to a wild olive tree and explains that some of its branches were cut off and grafted into the cultivated olive tree, remnant Israel. Then, he explains that those branches that were grafted into remnant Israel symbolize Gentile converts to the faith- a people with whom God was now establishing His covenant.

Immediately after using the analogy of the two olive trees, Paul added, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob...” (Rom. 11:25-26).

Many Believers interpret this prophecy, “all Israel will be saved,” to mean that after “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,” Yeshua will return, reveal Himself as Messiah to the Jews and, as a result, the entire Jewish race will accept Him as their Messiah! Other Believers interpret this prophecy the same way, except that they believe that the prophecy refers to all 12 tribes of Israel, not just the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Not only are both of these interpretations unrealistically optimistic, they also fly in the face of common sense!

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The key to understanding this prophecy is to understand which “Israel” Paul is referring to: Israel “according to the flesh,” Israel “according to the promise” or the “Israel of God!” In order to answer this question properly; however, we must first examine his statement, “all Israel will be saved,” in context!

Notice that Paul does not state, “blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And then all Israel will be saved.” He states, “blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.” The word “so” was translated from the Greek word “houto” which, according to the KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon, means: “in this manner,” “thus,” or “so.”

Thus, the context proves that Paul’s statement, “And so all Israel will be saved,” is a concluding statement to the topic he was addressing- the cultivated olive tree. Again, this proves that the “Israel” he is referring to in his statement, “And so all Israel will be saved,” is the Israel symbolized by the cultivated olive tree, which includes both Israelite Believers and Gentile converts to the faith, the Israel of God.

God, because He is a loving God, will not wait until the fullness of the Gentiles has come to strip away Israel’s blindness. The truth is that He has been stripping away their blindness all along, even during the times of the Gentiles. Paul states, “blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”

Had Paul intended the statement to mean that after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, all fleshly Israel will accept Yeshua as Savior, he would have included that statement in his letter to the Hebrews!

The new covenant Body of Messiah, then, is comprised of both remnant Israel and Gentile converts to the faith. 1 Corinthians 12:13 states, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

During the early period of the New Testament, Jewish antagonists, Israel “according to the flesh,” resented the Israel of God and refused to recognize them as being God’s people. As a result, they referred to Believers negatively as Christians/Messianics (Acts 11:26), based on the fact that they believed Yeshua to be the Messiah, and also as Nazarenes (Acts 24:5), based on the fact that Yeshua was from Nazareth (Isa. 11:1; 53:3; Matt. 2:23). Of course, those who believed in

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Messiah Yeshua would not be offended by these titles and it is entirely possible that, in time, they adopted them! In the end, though, it doesn’t matter how Believers came to be called these titles; it doesn’t change our true identity: the Israel of God!

Two Israels of God: One True/ One False

Just before Yeshua ascended into heaven, He commissioned His disciples to preach the gospel to all mankind (Matt. 28:16-20). The book of Acts records the zealous efforts of the Apostles as they attempted to accomplish this task. Initially, the Body of Messiah was comprised solely of a remnant of Israelites from the house of Judah. All 12 disciples were Jewish. The 120 Believers who received the Holy Spirit on Shavuot were Jewish (Acts 2). The 3000 early Believers who were baptized were Jewish (Acts 2). The early congregation in Jerusalem was Jewish. Even the priests were Jewish (Acts 6:7).

Then, when the gospel was open to the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-36, 44-45; Rom. 11:13; Gal. 2:7-10), a great number of converts were added to the Body of Messiah. These converts and the congregations raised up by Paul were “…imitators of the congregations of God which are in Judea…” (1 Thess. 2:14, Emphasis added). As more and more Gentiles came to faith, though, a number of them rose to positions of power and influence within the Body of Messiah. Some of these “leaders” were actually unconverted false messiahs and false apostles and were able to incorporate elements of their pagan festivals, images, idols, rituals, customs and traditions into the faith. Of course, they attempted to justify their actions by claiming that it was all done for the sake of the gospel (bringing other pagans into the faith). These false messiahs were without excuse! The Scriptures expressively forbid adopting pagan elements into the true faith! Deuteronomy 12:29-32 states, “When YHWH your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship YHWH your God in that way; for every abomination to YHWH which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (cf. Jer. 10:1-5).

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In time, the “…faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3) split in two! The false messiahs who compromised the faith transformed part of the Body of Messiah into what became known as the Catholic Church, a hybrid religion of both true and false doctrines (Jude 1:3). The faithful Believers continued to recognize themselves as the Israel of God for some time until they too adopted the word “church” into their various titles. Then, in 1517, the Catholic Church gave birth to daughter, Protestant, churches. And so it was that the Israel of God had divided into two types of churches: the chaste church and the harlot church!

The chaste church is described in Revelation 12:1 which states, “Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.” Of course, this woman refers to the daughter of Zion, the Body of Messiah. Revelation 14:4 adds, “These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.” Revelation 19:7 adds, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 2 Corinthians 11:1-2 states, “Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Messiah.” Ephesians 5:22-27 states, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Messiah is head of the congregation; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the congregation is subject to Messiah, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah also loved the congregation and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious congregation, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be set apart and without blemish” (Emphasis added). Thus, Scripture identifies the chaste church as a glorious, chaste virgin preparing herself for her wedding to her bridegroom, Messiah Yeshua.

The harlot church9 is described in Revelation 17:1-6 which states, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, “with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The

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woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Yeshua. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.”

Just as Israel was symbolized by a harlot in the Old Testament (Isa. 1:21; Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 16; Hosea 2:2-5), the Israel of God, in the form of the Catholic and Protestant churches, is symbolized by a harlot in the New Testament!

The Beasts of Daniel and Revelation

As we have established earlier, the southern nation of Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon between 597 BC and 586 BC. During their captivity, God gave the prophet Daniel a vision of four beasts rising up one after the other out of the sea. In Scripture, the “sea” symbolizes heavy populated areas (Rev. 17:1, 15). The first beast was like a lion, the second was like a bear, the third was like a leopard with four wings and the fourth was so “dreadful and terrible” it couldn’t be symbolized by any earthly beast (Dan. 7:1-7). In Scripture, a beast symbolizes both a king (Dan. 7:17) and the kingdom he rules over (Dan. 7:23). Of course, the first beast, the lion, symbolizes the Babylonian Empire, the first kingdom to rule over Judah, the kingdom in which Daniel was held captive. The second beast, the bear, symbolizes the Medo-Persian Empire, the second kingdom to rule over Judah. The third beast, the leopard with four wings, symbolizes the Greco-Macedonian Empire, the third kingdom to rule over Judah. And the fourth beast, the “dreadful and terrible” beast, symbolizes the Roman Empire, the fourth beast to rule over Judah. As each nation seized power from its predecessor, it also, in effect, inherited dominion over Judah. With regard to the fourth beast Daniel states, “… It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns” (Dan. 7:7).

In about 90 AD, centuries after Daniel received his vision, God gave the Apostle John a similar vision. John saw a single beast rising up out of the sea. Revelation 13:2 states, “Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” Clearly, John’s beast is a composite of Daniel’s four beasts. John’s beast had absorbed and included the dominant characteristics of all its predecessors: the mouth of the lion symbolizes the royal

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splendor and kingly power of the Babylonian Empire. The feet of the bear symbolize the massiveness and numerically powerful army of the Medo-Persian Empire. The body of a leopard symbolizes the swiftness, cunningness and cruelty of the Greco-Macedonian Empire. And the dragon, the equivalent of Daniel’s fourth beast, the “dreadful and terrible” beast, gave him his power and authority” (Rev. 13:2). Like Daniel’s fourth beast, this beast also had ten horns (Rev. 13:1).

The reason why Daniel’s four beasts rise up out of the sea individually is because Daniel lived during the reign of the first beast, the Babylonian Empire, when the reigns of the three successive beasts were awaiting their future fulfillments. Conversely, the reason why John’s beast rises up as a composite of Daniel’s four beasts is because he lived during the reign of the fourth beast, the Roman Empire, after the successive reigns of the three preceding beasts.

Revelation 13:3 states, “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed.” The first part of this prophecy was fulfilled when the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD. After its fall, the empire was divided into 10 provinces. The second part of this prophecy was fulfilled when Justinian restored the Empire in 554 AD. This rebirth of the Roman Empire is known in history as the “Imperial Restoration.” After its rebirth, the empire continued to be divided into 10 provinces, seven of which are still on the maps of Europe to this day. They grew into the modern nations of England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. They are the foundation of what came to be known as western civilization, the revived beast.

Revelation 17:1-3 states, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

John sees the harlot, the Catholic Church, “sitting on” the beast, fornicating with the kings of the Earth. Remember, in Scripture, a beast symbolizes both a king (Dan. 7:17) and the kingdom he rules over (Dan. 7:23). What does the Torah teach about women having sexual relations with animals? Leviticus 20:15-16 states, “If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.” Thus, we can conclude that the Catholic Church and her Protestant daughter churches are

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spiritually dead! Of course, those who are in these churches should not be discouraged! There is hope! Revelation 18:4 states, “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” Yes, come out of her and find a Torah observant congregation, a congregation which keeps God’s commandments!

This beast is the equivalent of John’s revived beast, which symbolizes western civilization. With regard to this beast John states, “… The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2). Since the dragon symbolizes Satan (Rev. 12:9), he is the true power behind western civilization.

Revelation 13:11 states, “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.”

First, as a result of her fornication with the beast, the harlot gives birth to the second beast. The unnatural union between the harlot and the first beast produced a spiritually freakish, contradictory offspring that looked “like a lamb,” but really wasn’t a lamb! The statement that it, “spoke like a dragon,” reveals the true source of its authority, Satan. Matthew 12:34 states, “… For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (cf. Luke 6:45).

Second, notice that the first beast has ten horns and the second beast has two horns! In Scripture, a horn symbolizes a power (Ps.75:10), a king or a kingdom (Dan. 7:18, 22, 24, 27) and salvation (2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 18:2). Thus, the combination of the ten horns on the first beast and the two horns on the second beast symbolize twelve faith-based powers. For those who allow the Bible to interpret itself (Isa. 28:10), the identity of these twelve faith-based powers should be abundantly clear! They are none other than the twelve tribes of Israel!10 Of course, the ten horns on the first beast symbolized the house of Israel and the two horns of the second beast symbolize the house of Judah.

Third, the first beast rises up out of the “sea” (Rev. 13:1) and the second beast rises up out of the “earth” (Rev. 13:11). Since the term “water” is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Ezek. 47:1-12; Gen 1:2; Acts 2:38), the term “sea” is a symbol of Christianity and spiritual fertility (Rev. 17:15). In contrast, the term “earth” is a symbol the rest of mankind and spiritual barrenness (Rev. 12:16). Thus, the reason why the first beast, western civilization, rises up out of the “sea” is because Christianity, symbolic of spiritual fertility (Rev. 17:15), gave birth to western civilization. And the reason why the second beast, the modern nation of Israel, rises up out of the “earth” is because mankind, symbolic of spiritual barrenness

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(Rev. 12:16), gave birth to the modern nation of Israel. This prophecy was fulfilled when the house of Judah returned from the four corners of the Earth from where they had been scattered in 70 AD.

Revelation 13:12 states, “And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”

The first part of this prophecy, “And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence” indicates that the second beast, the modern nation of Israel, operates under the protection of the first beast, western civilization, just as a son is protected by his father.

The second part of this prophecy, “and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed,” is a bit more complicated! In order to interpret this prophecy properly, we must first establish a few facts. First, as established earlier, the term “earth” refers to all the peoples of the Earth, with the exception of the people symbolized by the term “sea,” Christianity. Second, the phrase, “those who dwell on the earth,” refers to “those who tabernacle on the earth,” meaning the Israel of God. (2 Cor. 5:1, 4; John 1:14; Matt. 17:3-4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33) And third, the Apostle Paul declared, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16) Thus, the prophecy, “[he] causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast,” indicates that the second beast, the modern nation of Israel, causes all the peoples of the Earth, including the Israel of God, to obey the first beast and sin.

Revelation 13:13 states, “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”

The phrase, “fire come down from heaven on the earth,” symbolizes divine judgment (2 Pet. 2:6; 3:7; Jude 7). Thus, the prophecy, “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,” means that western civilization attributes the “miracles” performed by the second beast, the modern nation of Israel, to God. Since declaring its independence, the modern nation of Israel has met with fierce opposition from its Muslim neighbors! It has fought in three major wars: the War of Independence in 1947-49, the Six Days War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. They won each campaign with miraculous results.

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Revelation 13:14 states, “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast…”

This prophecy reveals that the modern nation of Israel deceives even the Israel of God by its false miracles witnessed by western civilization. The truth is that the “miracles” related to the Israeli victories were not performed by God; they were performed by Satan, the true source of the second beast’s authority (Rev. 13:11).

Revelation 13:15 states, “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

The first part of this prophecy, “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast” is a parody of the creation of man. Genesis 2:7 states that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the “breath of life” and Genesis 1:26 states that He created man in His “image.” Thus, this prophecy, “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast” is clearly based on the biblical principle that kind begets kind (Gen. 1:20-29; Prov. 22:6; Jer. 16:19). It reveals that the harlot, the mother, and the first beast, the father, created the second beast in their image and breathed into it the breath of life.

Since the second beast is created in the image of both the first beast and the harlot, it follows that it must share both of their contradictory characteristics. In Scripture, it is the mother who is ordained by God to teach salvation to her children (Ex.13:2, 12, 15; Gal. 4:25). Thus, just as the harlot, the Catholic Church, symbolizes salvation, the second beast, through its likeness as a lamb (Ex. 12; Lev. 4 through 5; Isa. 53:7), and its horns (2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 18:2), also symbolizes salvation. John 4:22 states “…salvation is of the Jews.” Likewise, in Scripture, it is the father who is ordained by God to have the position of authority in the family (Gen. 3:16; 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22-23; 1 Tim. 2:12). Thus, just as the first beast, western civilization, exercises Satan’s “power, his throne, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2), the second beast “exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence…” (Rev. 13:12).

The second part of this prophecy, “that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed,” is also a bit complicated.

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First, as we have already established, the phrase, “image of the beast,” refers to the second beast, the modern nation of Israel. And second, the phrase, “be killed,” means, “to be killed spiritually” (Ps.51:11; Rom. 8:9); to be cut off from God (Isa. 59:1-2); to cause to be “dead in sin” (Col. 2:13 Eph. 2:1; 1 Tim. 5:6; Rev. 3:1; Matt. 8:22; John 3:18). Thus, the prophecy, “that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed,” means that the second beast, the modern nation of Israel, causes the Body of Messiah to cut off those Believers who refuse to obey him.

Thus, while the second beast, the modern nation of Israel, seems to symbolize salvation, it actually causes Believers to be “killed.” Yes, salvation is of the Jews, but not through Abraham’s children “according to the flesh.” Again, they are not the children of God (Rom. 9:1-8). Salvation is of the Jews, trough Yeshua, who is the “…Lion of the tribe of Judah…” (Rev. 5:5; cf. Gen. 49:10; Heb. 7:14).

Revelation 13:16 states, “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads…”

The symbolism of the mark of the beast (cf. Rev. 16:2; 19:20) is based on a principle found in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 6:1–2, 8 states, “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which YHWH your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, “that you may fear YHWH your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. … “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (cf. Ex. 13:9-10; 31:13; Deut. 11:1-18; Ezek. 9:1-8). Thus, just as Believers who keep God’s commandments receive a “sign” on their hand, which is symbolic of action, and on their forehead, which is symbolic of a person’s will, those who keep the beast’s commandments, in contrast, receive a “mark.” Acts 5:29 states, “… We ought to obey God rather than men.” The Apostle Paul declared, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16)

Revelation 14:9-12 states, “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, “he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the set apart angels and in the

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presence of the Lamb. “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.” Notice that verses 9 through 11 describe those, who receive the mark of the beast on their foreheads or on his hands, and verse 12 contrasts them with, “those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.” This symbolic “mark,” then, serves to identify those who worship the beast by breaking the Torah. Thus, the prophecy, “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,” means that the first beast, western civilization, causes Believers to obey its laws and, consequently, break God’s commandments.

Revelation 13:17 states, “and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

This prophecy is based on Proverbs 23:23 which states, “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” It means that there will come a time when the beast, western civilization, will attempt to control what is bought and sold as truth!

In Daniel’s vision, it was only the fourth beast, the Roman Empire, that had ten horns (Dan. 7:7; cf. Rev. 13:1). This reveals that the lost ten tribes of Israel were incorporated into the Roman Empire sometime during its reign. So the question is, “What country or countries were incorporated into the Roman Empire shortly before 70 AD, when God terminated His covenant with the house of Judah? The answer is, “Britain!” Wikipedia Encyclopedia under the article, “England,” states, “The Romans conquered Britain in AD 43 during the reign of Emperor Claudius, and the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire as Britannia province.” Of course, the reason why God intervened in bringing the house of Israel into the Roman Empire is because He intended to remarry her and, no doubt, He purposed to take advantage of the Roman Empire’s elaborate road system to carry the gospel to her.

The Regathering of Israel

As we have established earlier, in 70 AD, the Romans sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and scattered millions of Jews into the Gentile nations. The account doesn’t end there, though. There are many Scriptures that speak of the regathering

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of Israel. These are but a few of them: Isaiah 11:10-13; Isaiah 49:1-6; Isaiah 56:1-8; Ezekiel 37: 1-22; and Zechariah 2:6-13.

Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary under the article “Jerusalem” and the subheading “Modern Jerusalem” states, “In 1919, under a ruling by British officials in Palestine, Jerusalem regained its status as a capital city. During the following three decades, numerous Jews, whose ancestors had been barred from the city, settled in and around Jerusalem.” When World War II finally ended, it was estimated that approximately six million Jews had been murdered! As a result of their plight, many people began to call for the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland! At the time, the British controlled Palestine. However, in 1947, the United Nations adopted United Nations resolution 181 which petitioned Palestine, giving 18% to the Jews and 82% to the Arabs. Jerusalem was intended to be an international city never to be under Jewish control. Nevertheless, on May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence.

Again, since declaring its independence, Israel has met with fierce opposition from its Muslim neighbors! It has fought in three major wars: the War of Independence in 1947-49, the Six Days War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. They won each campaign with seemingly miraculous results.

In his book titled, End Time Delusions, pp. 175-176, Steve Wholberg states: “Many view the Israeli victories in 1949, 1967, and 1973 as strong evidence that God had regathered Israel and was now fighting for His chosen nation, even though the leadership of that nation still firmly rejects its own Messiah. Again, let’s examine the argument.”

“First of all, “Yeshua Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). God says, “I am YHWH, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). With this principle in mind, let’s ask, “Was God able to fight for Israel in the Old Testament when they were in unbelief?”

“After the Exodus, God promised to bring Israel into the land of Canaan (see Exodus 33:1-3). Twelve men were sent to spy out the territory. Yet after all the people heard the “bad report” about “the giants” in the land, they “complained against Moses,” saying, “Let us return to Egypt” (Numbers 13:32-33; 14:2, 4). Then God pronounced this judgment: “But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years….and you shall know My rejection [breach of promise, KJV]” (Numbers 14:32, 34, Emphasis added). Thus, because of Israel’s unbelief, God was unable to

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fulfill His promise to that generation. This proves that God can make a promise, but not to fulfill it to a certain group of people. See also 1 Samuel 2:20.”

“Those ancient Israelites were unwilling to accept that 40-year sentence. The people proposed to go up anyway “to the place which YHWH has promised” (Numbers 14:40). Moses said, “This will not succeed. Do not go up… for YHWH is not among you…. YHWH will not be with you…. But they presumed to go up….Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites…came down and attacked them” (Numbers 14:41-45). This passage is full of instruction. Because of Israel’s unbelief, God could not fight for her. Even though He promised, He wouldn’t fulfill it. Years later, when Israel again “forsook YHWH…they could no longer stand before their enemies” (Judges 2:13-14). This truth is repeated many times in Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Jeremiah, etc.”

“Again, God does not change (see Malachi 3:6). All throughout sacred history, He could not fight for Israel while they were in unbelief. Thus He could not have been fighting for the Jewish nation in 1949, 1967, and 1973. Because a nation wins battles is not evidence in itself that God is fighting for that nation. Was God fighting for Hitler when he won so many battles? Was YHWH with the Nazis when they successfully incinerated so many Jews in crematoriums? Obviously not! Dear friend, the “Israeli victories” argument is not based on a thorough study of the Word of God…”

In order to understand the regathering of Israel, we must first understand three things: first, the reason why God had scattered Israel in the first place; second, the conditions under which He would regather them; and third, the original gathering of Israel!

First, the reason why God scattered Israel in the first place was because they had broken their covenant with Him!

Deuteronomy 28:15, 41, 58, 64 states, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of YHWH your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: … You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. … “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this Torah that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, YHWH YOUR GOD, … “Then YHWH will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known--wood and stone.”

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Jeremiah 16:10-13 states, “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has YHWH pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against YHWH our God?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says YHWH; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My Torah. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’” (cf. Jer. 29:18-19)

Second, God has decreed that Israel must repent of their sins before He regathers them!

Since the reason why God had scattered Israel in the first place was because they had broken their covenant with Him, it follows that they must repent of their sins before He regathers them! Deuteronomy 30:1-3 states, “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where YHWH your God drives you, and you return to YHWH your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that YHWH your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where YHWH your God has scattered you.” Nehemiah 1:8-9 states, “Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name’” (cf. Deut. 4:27-31; 28:62-68).

The modern nation of Israel did not meet this condition! They never repented!

Third, let’s address the original gathering of Israel.

Paul revealed a very important principle in 1 Corinthians 15:46: “…the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.” A careful study of the Scriptures will reveal that this principle applies to Israel in both its physical phase during the Old Testament and its spiritual phase during the New Testament. In Old

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Testament times, Israel was a physically minded people; they had a physical king; they had a physical temple; the Torah was written on a physical material, stone; their enemies and weapons were physical and they were initially gathered at Mt. Sinai and then into a physical Promised Land, Israel. Conversely, in New Testament times, Israel born “according to the promise,” remnant Israel, is a spiritually minded people (Gal. 3:7); we have a spirit King (John 4:24), Yeshua; we have a spiritual temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16-18; Eph. 2:14-22; 2 Thess. 2:4), the Torah is written on our hearts (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-13), we have spiritual enemies and weapons (Eph. 6:10-20) and are initially regathered into the Body of Messiah and then into a spiritual Promised Land, the Kingdom of God (John 3:3-5; John 18:36; Heb. 11:9-15). Thus, the gathering of Israel during Old Testament times was a physical gathering while the regathering of remnant Israel during New Testament times is a spiritual regathering (Matt. 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17; Matt. 7:15-20; 13:24-30; 22:1-14; Luke 14:16-24).

In addition, in his book cited above, on page 177, Steve Wholberg adds: “Three times in Ezekiel 38, the regathered Israelites are described as a people who “dwell safely… dwelling without walls” (vv. 8, 11, 14). These words “safely” and “without walls [of protection]” do not apply to modern Israelis who now “dwell” amidst terrorists, experience regular attacks from Islamic Jihad, and witness friends being blown apart by suicide bombers.”

Furthermore, the prophecies that speak of the regathering of Israel include all twelve tribes of Israel, not just the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin- the tribes that are currently regathering themselves in the modern nation of Israel today.

The details of Israel’s spiritual regathering into the Body of Messiah are revealed in Jeremiah chapter 3. We will examine verses 1 through 18!

Verse 1 states, “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man’s, May he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says YHWH.” Later on in this chapter, in verse 8, God reveals that He had divorced the house of Israel. Thus, the fact that He is now addressing the issue of remarriage implies that He is considering remarrying the house of Israel. There is one obstacle, however. According to the Torah, He cannot remarry her unless she repents (Deut. 4:27-31; 28:62-68; 30:1-10; Neh. 1:8-9).

Verses 2 through 6 state, “Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: Where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them Like an Arabian in

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the wilderness; And you have polluted the land With your harlotries and your wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot’s forehead; You refuse to be ashamed. Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My father, You are the guide of my youth? Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, As you were able.” YHWH said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.” Here, God symbolically compares the house of Israel to a harlot due to her unfaithfulness to Him!

Verse 7 states, “And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.” Here, God recounts how He had unsuccessfully pled with the house of Israel to repent and return to Him.

Verse 8 (the first part) states, “Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce…” Here, God acknowledges that He terminated His covenant with the house of Israel. It is at this point that they become known as “the lost ten tribes of Israel.”

Verse 8 (the second part) through verse 10 states, “…yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. “So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. “And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says YHWH.” God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34; Deut. 10:17). Just as He terminated His covenant with the house of Israel for being unfaithful to Him, He would also terminate His covenant with the house of Judah.

Verse 11 states, “Then YHWH said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.” Here, God implies that he would be divorce the house of Judah and marry the house of Israel!

Verse 12 states, “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says YHWH; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says YHWH; ‘I will not remain angry forever.” Here, God commands His ministers to preach the gospel (Matt. 24:14) to the house of Israel which is, in effect, His proposal of remarriage to them! Matthew 10:5-6 states,

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“These twelve Yeshua sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Verse 13 states, “Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against YHWH your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says YHWH.” Again, God has decreed that Israel must repent of their sins before He regathers them.

Verse 14 states, “Return, O backsliding children,” says YHWH; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.” Here, God prophesies that a significant number of people from the house of Israel will repent and that He will remarry her.

Verse 15 states, “And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Here, God states that He will appoint new shepherds over the house of Israel. Of course, these new shepherds are the ministers of the new covenant. 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 states, “And we have such trust through Messiah toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Verse 16 states, “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says YHWH, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of YHWH.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.” Why is the physical ark of the covenant no longer of any significance? Because under the new covenant, the Torah is written on our minds and on our hearts (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-13).

Verse 17 states, “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of YHWH, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of YHWH, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.” Of course, like the rest of the context, which is symbolic, the term “Jerusalem” is a reference to New Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12; 21:2). Thus, the prophecy, “…all the nations shall be gathered to it…” is a reference to all nations being gathered to New Jerusalem.

Verse 18 states, “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I

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have given as an inheritance to your fathers.” The prophecy refers to the regathering of Israel in New Testament Promised Land, the Kingdom of God.

The details of Israel’s spiritual regathering into the Kingdom of God are revealed in Yeshua’s Olivet prophecies recorded in Matthew 24. Yeshua prophesied, “…they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect [properly translated “chosen ones”] from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt. 24:30-31, Emphasis added) (cf. Mark 13:26-27). Notice Yeshua’s use of the phrases, “gather together,” “chosen ones” and “the four winds.” Together, they refer to the regathering of Israel! The phrase, “gather together,” is used in reference to the regathering of Israel in Isaiah 11:12; 49:18; 60:4; Jeremiah 4:5; 31:8; Micah 2:12; etc. Isaiah 11:12 states, “He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.” The phrase, “chosen ones,” is used in reference to Israel in 1 Chronicles 16:13; Psalm105:6, 43 and Psalm 106:5. And the phrase, “the four winds,” is used in reference to the scattering of Israel in Jeremiah 49:36 and Zechariah 2:6, and the regathering of Israel in Ezekiel 37:9, where Israel is symbolized by a valley of dry bones that come back to life. It states, “Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says YHWH God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”‘“

God promised Abraham, “… Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; “for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever” (Gen. 13:14-15). This prophecy has a duel fulfillment! In its first fulfillment, Abraham and his descendants, the Israelites, inherited everything Abraham could see physically, the Promised Land! In its second fulfillment, Abraham and his descendants, the Israel of God, will inherit everything they could see spiritually. Yeshua told Nicodemus, “… Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Yeshua added, “… Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Paul states, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...” (1 Cor. 15:50).

Thus, the truth is that the regathering of Israel doesn’t take place in the modern nation of Israel; it takes place in greater Israel, so to speak, the Kingdom of God!

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Conclusion

Those who maintain that God has replaced Israel with the church and, likewise, those who maintain that God has two groups of elect, Israel and the church, are both wrong. The church did not replace Israel, nor is it completely different and distinct from Israel. The truth is that the body of Believers erroneously referred to as “the church” is comprised of remnant Israel and Gentile converts to the faith. This combination of Believers is also known as “the Body of Messiah” and “the Israel of God.” And just as Israel was divided into two groups: Israel “according to the spirit” and Israel “according to the flesh,” the Israel of God is also divided into two groups: the chaste church and the harlot church.

The problem is that when speaking of the distinction between Israel and the Church, most people have failed to make the necessary distinction between fleshly Israel and remnant Israel. Gentile converts to the faith are not grafted into fleshly Israel; we are grafted into remnant Israel.

Furthermore, with regard to the modern nation of Israel, the Scriptures tell us that it is an end-time deception that causes both western civilization and the Israel of God to sin- through idolatry!

The following list includes a few examples of how the Israel of God idolizes Israel “according to the flesh”:

1. An ever increasing number of Believers recognize the Jewish people as being God’s chosen people. This is not true! As we have established earlier, Israelites “according to the flesh” are not the “children of God” (Rom. 9:1-8). God terminated His covenant with them.2. An ever increasing number of Believers recognize the ancient land of Israel as being the “covenant land” of the Jewish people today, meaning the house of Judah. This is also not true! Since, God terminated His covenant with Israel “according to the flesh,” they no longer have a covenant land. In contrast, Israel “according to the promise” does have a covenant land, the Kingdom of God, with New Jerusalem as its capital.3. An ever increasing number of Believers hail the rebirth of the modern nation of Israel in 1948 as a miracle of God, claiming that God had regathered His chosen people, Israel. This is also not true! First, the Scriptures are clear. Israelites “according to the flesh” must repent of their sins before God would regather them! Second, the prophecies that speak of the regathering of Israel, speak of the regathering of both the house of Judah and the house of Israel, not just the house of

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Judah. And third, the regathering of Israel is a spiritual regathering that initially takes place in the Body of Messiah and then in the Kingdom of God.4. An ever increasing number of Believers view the Israeli victories in 1949, 1967, and 1973 as miracles of God, claiming that God was now fighting for His chosen people! This is also not true! God does not fight for a nation which remains unrepentant. The truth is that the “miracles” related to the Israeli victories were not performed by God; they were performed by Satan, the ultimate source of the second beast’s authority (Rev. 13:11).5. An ever increasing number of Believers, in agreement with Jewish doctrine, maintain that a third temple will be built in Jerusalem. This is also not true! Today, during New Testament times, the temple is a spiritual temple (1 Cor. 15:46) which is comprised of Believers (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16-18; Eph. 2:14-22; 2 Thess. 2:4). Acts 17:24 states, “God … does not dwell in temples made with hands.” Hebrews 9:11-12 adds, “But Messiah came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” If the Jewish people were to build a third temple in Jerusalem, they would reinstate the sacrificial system which would be tantamount to denying our Savior, Yeshua, who died for our sins “once for all.” Thus, if a third temple is built, Satan, not God, will be its true builder.6. An ever increasing number of Believers, in accordance with William Koenig’s book, Eye To Eye; Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel, believe that a major catastrophe occurs in the U.S. within 24 hours of a meeting in which the U.S. pressures Israel to trade her land for promises of “peace and security.” This teaching is utter nonsense! The record shows that there were indeed a significant number of major developments that didn’t meet with any catastrophic consequences! Here is a list of a few of these major events! On June 24, 2002, in his Rose Garden speech, President Bush announced his support for a Palestinian state, opening the way for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1397, supporting a two-state solution. On March 12, 2002, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1397. On November, 27 2007, the Annapolis Conference was held in which the Palestinians, the Israelis and the Americans agreed on a two-state solution. The conference marked the first time a two-state solution was articulated as the mutually agreed-upon outline for addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On February 6, 2009, President Obama endorsed a two-state solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict. On June 4, 2009, President Obama delivered a major address to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt. In the speech, he supported a two-state solution. On May 22, 2011, the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met with President Obama to discuss the President’s proposal that

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Israel withdraw to their pre-1967 borders for the purpose of establishing a Palestinian state and achieving peace. There are also other problems with the data supporting the author’s conclusion! The book includes one hurricane that was formed on the day of an event and another hurricane that struck the U.S. on the day of an event. This is deceptive! The only way hurricanes, or any other major catastrophe, would be relevant to the author’s claim, is if they were to form and strike the U.S. within 24 hours of an event! Neither hurricane did that! There are indeed other deceptions regarding the data in this book, but in the interest of time I have chosen not address them! Instead, I am providing you with a link to a website which summarizes the author’s claims so you will be able to judge for yourselves! http://nhbchristiantalk.webs.com/wrathofgodornature.htm7. An ever increasing number of Believers maintain that Hebrew is a holy (set apart) language based on Zephaniah 3:9 which states, “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of YHWH, To serve Him with one accord.” This teaching is also false! First, the Hebrew language is not mentioned in this Scripture. Second, the word “pure” was translated from the Hebrew word “barar,” which, according to the KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon, means: “to purify; select; polish; choose; purge; cleanse or make bright; test or prove.” Had God wanted to state that Hebrew is a “holy” (set apart) language, He would have used the Hebrew word “kodesh.” God didn’t choose Abraham because he spoke Hebrew; He chose him because he had faith (Gen. 12:1-4; Heb. 11:8). Abraham just happened to have spoken Hebrew. Some Believers claim that Hebrew was the mankind’s original language before the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9)! This is not so! Verse 9 states that God “…confused the language of all the earth...” That includes every person, including the descendants of the patriarch Eber (Gen. 10:23), who were called Hebrews! Others go as far as to claim that Hebrew is the heavenly language! This claim is also false! Paul states, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” Here, Paul distinguishes between “tongues of men,” which includes Hebrew, and tongues of angels, which is the heavenly language!8. An ever increasing number of Believers interpret Genesis 12:3, which states, “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you” to mean that Gentiles must first bless the Jews in order to receive a blessing themselves. This interpretation is false! The correct interpretation is that Gentiles must first bless the Israel of God in order to receive a blessing themselves. Yet, this false doctrine has caused many Believers to provide their financial support for a multitude of programs aimed at assisting Israel “according to the flesh.” These programs include: paying for their airfare to Israel; teaching them Hebrew; supplying them with medical care; feeding them, supporting Jewish settlements in

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Arab territories and planting trees in Israel, etc., etc., etc. While most of the programs listed above are honorable, the fact is that financially supporting them actually detracts from the Believer’s great commission to preach the gospel “as a witness to all the nations” (Matt. 24:14).

The belief that fleshly Israel is God’s people and that God has regathered His people in the modern nation of Israel will, no doubt, end in a major Middle East conflict involving Western Civilization! Do not be deceived! Let’s not get caught up in this idolatry of fleshly Israel! Rather, let us focus on who we are- God’s Israel, and our great commission- preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all mankind (Matt. 28:16-20)!

God Bless!

Stephen Otto

Footnotes:

1. In the Tanach, God’s name appears as “YHWH.” Notice that there are no vowels! The reason why is because the written form of ancient Hebrew was a language comprised of only consonants. Vowels were a matter of common knowledge and were added whenever a text was read. After the Jews returned from exile in Babylon; however, God’s name had come to be regarded as too sacred to be pronounced. So whenever the Rabbis read for the Hebrew Scriptures, they substituted God’s name with the words “ha shem,” which means, “the name.” The translators of the NKJV, and many other translations of the Bible, took this tradition to a whole new level! They substituted God’s name in the text itself with the title “Lord.” They did this in spite of the fact that it was in direct violation of the Scriptures! Deuteronomy 4:1-2 states, “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which YHWH God of your fathers is giving you. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your God which I command you” (cf. Deut. 12:32). Since the rabbinical ban on speaking God’s name is against the Torah, I have restored His name to its proper place wherever it appeared in the Scriptures I have quoted! Keep in mind, though, that there is a great

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controversy over what vowels belong in God’s name; therefore, there are many opinions on how to spell and pronounce it! A few of the options include the names: “Yahuweh,” “Yahoweh,” “Yaua,” “Yehowah,” “Yehovah” and “Yahweh.” Yahweh is the most commonly used version of the name. Because no one is in agreement on this issue, I have rendered His name as YHWH and, in effect, allow the reader to assign his or her own preference to the name!

2. Exodus 12:40 states that the children of Israel lived in Egypt for 430 years. However, this Scripture was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text, which dates from the 4th century A.D. while the earliest surviving copy is from the 10th century. The Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, was published under Ptolemy I in the 3rd Century B.C. and the earliest copy is centuries older than the oldest full masoretic text. This older text states, “Now the sojourning of the Israelites which they and their fathers had sojourned in the land of Egypt and in the land of Chanaan was 430 years.” A similar rendering of this Scripture is also found in the Samaritan Pentateuch, again, older than the Masoretic text. Josephus, in his work Antiquities of the Jews’ (XV: 2), writing in the 1st century, corroborates the fact that the 430 years of sojourning were done in both the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan. Thus, it is safe to say that the older manuscripts are more reliable. Since the date of the Exodus was 1447 B.C. (according to Edwin Thiele’s biblical chronology), by adding 430 years we arrive at 1877 B.C., the year Abraham arrived in Canaan. Josephus also records that from the time of Jacob’s entry into Egypt until the Exodus, there was a period of 215 years. Furthermore, 1 Chronicles 7:22-27 records ten generations from Joshua back to Joseph’s son, Ephraim, who was a boy of around five years when Jacob arrived in Egypt. Multiplying 20, the length of an average generation in those days, by 10, the number of generations, we arrive at 200 years, the approximate number of years the children of Israel sojourned in Egypt.

3. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, under the heading “Holy” states, “The Hebrew word for “holy” denotes that which is “sanctified” or “set apart” for divine service.” Since the English word “holy” does not accurately convey the proper meaning of the Hebrew word “kodesh” I have substituted it with the words set apart wherever it appeared in the Scriptures I have quoted!

4. The word “law” was translated from the Hebrew word “Torah.” Originally, the Torah referred to the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Moses told the people, “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your

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children to be careful to observe-all the words of this Torah” (Deut. 32:46). Later, the Torah came to include the entire Old Testament. Yeshua quoted Psalm 82:6, recognizing it as being part of the “law,” meaning the “Torah” (John 10:34). Based on this pattern, we can conclude that today the Torah includes the entire New Testament! Thus, since the English word law does not accurately convey the proper meaning of the Hebrew word Torah, I have also restored the word Torah to its proper place wherever it appeared in the Scriptures I have quoted!

5. Many Believers, especially Messianic Believers, maintain that the word “new” in the phrase, “new covenant,” is properly translated, “renewed!” This is not so! According to the KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon, the Hebrew word “chadash” can either be used as a verb or as an adjective! When it is used as a verb, it is translated as “renew.” When it is used as an adjective, it is translated as”new.” According to Webster’s II New College Dictionary, a verb is, “The part of speech that expresses action, existence, or occurrences in most languages.” Also, according to the same source, an adjective is, “Any of a class of words used to modify a noun or other substantive by limiting, qualifying or specifying.” Clearly, in Jeremiah 31:31-33, the word “chadash” is used as an adjective because it modifies the noun, “covenant,” in the phrase, “new covenant!” Thankfully, Jeremiah 31:31-33 is quoted in Hebrew 8:8-13 in the New Testament, where we can also examine the word “new” in the Greek! There, the word “new” was translated from the Greek word “kainos.” However, unlike the Hebrew word “chadash,” which can either be used as a verb or as an adjective, the Greek word “kainos” can only be used as an adjective. And, according to the KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon, it means, “new!” This confirms that the Hebrew word “chadash” in Jeremiah 31:31-33 was also properly translated as an adjective and means, “new.” In addition, Hebrews 8:7 states, “For if that first had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.” Notice, there are two separate covenants, not one covenant that was renewed!

6. The Hebrew name of the Savior is “Yeshua.” And since He is Hebrew, I have restored His Hebrew name to its proper place wherever it appeared in the Scriptures I have quoted!

7. A study of the word “church” will also reveal that it was derived from the Old English or Anglo-Saxon root word “Circe” which was the name of the goddess-daughter of Helios, the Sun-deity! Smith’s Bible Dictionary, under the article “Church” states, “The derivation of the word is generally said to be from the Greek kuriakon (kuriakon) “belonging to the Lord.” But the derivation has been too hastily assumed. It is probably connected with kirk,

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the Latin circus, circulus, the Greek kuklos (kuklos) because the congregations were gathered in circles.” The “Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,” under the article “Church” (original edition), states, “The etymology of this word is generally assumed to be from the Greek, kuriou oikos (house of God); but this is most improbable, as the word existed in all the Celtic dialects long before the introduction of Greek. No doubt the word means ‘a circle.’ The places of worship among the German and Celtic nations were always circular. Compare Anglo-Saxon ‘circe,’ a small church, with ‘circol,’ a circle.” A great example of a circular place of worship is Stonehenge in England. The reason why the pagan places of worship were circular is because they fashioned them in the shape of the sun- because they were sun worshipers! The Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, under the article “Church,” states, “The word Church: The origin of the word is uncertain. In the Germanic and Slavonic languages it is found as follows: Anglo-Saxon, cyrica, circ, cyric; English, church; Scottish, kirk; German, kirche; Low-German, karke; Frisan, tzierke; Danish, kyrke; Swedish, Kyrka; Bohemian, cyrkew; Polish, cerkiew; Russian, zerkow. There was probably some word which, in the language from which the Teutonic and Slavonic are descended, designated the old heathen places of religious assembly, and this word, having taken different forms in different dialects, was adopted by the Christian missionaries. It was probably connected with the Latin circus, circulus, and with the Greek kuklos. Lipsius, who was the first to reject the received tradition, was probably right in his suggestion” (Volume II, p.322). Lipsius was a German theologian during the Reformation. In his classical study, “The Myth of Kirke,” Robert Brown tells us that, based on its various usages in the ancient Greek world, the word “Kirke” or “Circe” means “Circle” or “Circular” (p.22). He goes on to prove that not only did the words “Kirke” and “Circe” refer to a place of worship, but that it also referred to the Goddess called “Kirke” or “Circe, the daughter of the Sun God. Wikipedia Encyclopedia, under the article “Circe” states, “Circe transformed her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals through the use of magical potions. She was known for her knowledge of drugs and herbs.” After “Kirke” or “Circe” transformed her enemies into beasts, she added them to her circus. In the classical accounts, she is an enchantress, pictured holding a golden cup in her hand mixed with wine and drugs through which she controlled the kings of the Earth. Incredibly, a careful comparison of the Circe with the Whore of Babylon will prove that they are one and the same! Revelation 17:1-5 states, Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who

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sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication." So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Notice the similarities between the two women. 1. The enchantress, Circe, is the equivalent of the Whore of Babylon! 2. Circe was famous for her circus, while the Whore of Babylon rode a scarlet beast! 3. Circe transforms her enemies into beasts for her circus while the Whore of Babylon transforms the “inhabitants of the earth” into a scarlet, sinful beast for her church! 3. Circe is pictured holding a golden cup in her hand mixed with wine and drugs though which she controlled the kings of the Earth! The Whore of Babylon is pictured with a golden cup in her hand which was “full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication” through which she committed fornication with the kings of the Earth! William Tyndale, in his English translation, consistently translated the Greek word “ekklesia” as “congregation” when it was used to describe the Body of Messiah and, in contrast, translated it as, “church,” in Acts 14:13 and, “churches,” in Acts 19:37 when it was used to describe pagan temples! Thus, the evidence proves that the word “church” is of pagan origin and, as a result, I have substituted it with the proper word, “congregation,” wherever it appeared in the Scriptures I have quoted!

8. The word “Christ” is a Greek word that was left intact in most English translations of the Bible, including the NKJV. It is so devoid of meaning that many people think it is Jesus’ last name rather than a title that refers to the Savior of mankind! Thus, since the Greek word “Christ” does not accurately convey the proper meaning of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” I have also restored the word “Messiah” to its proper place wherever it appeared in the Scriptures I have quoted!

9. Despite the fact that the harlot church has been unfaithful to God, He recognizes the people within the church as being His people and is calling them to repentance! Revelation 18:4 states, “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

10.For decades, many Bible scholars believed that the prophecy regarding the ten horns on the first beast would be fulfilled in the formation of what

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became the European Union. This interpretation proved to be false as the E.U. is now comprised of twenty-eight nations.

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Not part of Document!

Gal 4:21-31

1. Many Believers wear baseball caps and shirts adorned with the Israeli flag. Some attach bumper stickers to their cars that contain pro-Israeli catch phrases such as, “I Support Israel” or “I Stand with Israel.” Some wear Kippot (head coverings) even when they’re not in service (Ex. 29:9). Others spend countless hours supporting Israel politically.2. Some Believers expect Israel to be attacked by an alliance of Muslim nations at the end of the age. Incredibly, an uncertain number of these Believers plan to fight on Israel’s behalf. This would be a tragic mistake for the following reasons: First, the people of modern nation of Israel, for the most part, are no longer God’s people. Second, Yeshua lived at a time when Israel was occupied by Rome, yet He Himself never fought for their cause. Third, the disciples didn’t fight for Israel. Yeshua said, “… My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). Fourth, Believers are strangers and pilgrims on the Earth, passing through to the Kingdom of God. Fifth, Believers are involved in a spiritual war, not a physical war. The Apostle Paul said, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).3. According to Israeli law, it is illegal to proselytize in Israel. So why would Believers, whose commission it is to preach the gospel, help fund Jewish immigration to Israel? Is it truly a blessing to the Jews to fund their immigration to a country where it is illegal to preach the gospel to them? Most importantly, though, does sending the Jews to Israel where it is illegal to preach the gospel sound like God’s work or Satan’s work? Of course, the answer is Satan’s work since he is the one who would love to see the Jews lose out on their salvation.4. Messianic Judaism is guilty of making the same mistake as their spiritual ancestors, the early Gentile converts to the faith. Church history reveals that several prominent Gentile converts within the Body of Messiah had adopted many elements of their former pagan religions and customs into the faith for the sake of proselytizing other Gentiles. Likewise, Messianic Judaism has adopted many false Jewish traditions into the faith for the sake of proselytizing other Jews! Yeshua told the scribes and Pharisees, “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you,

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saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Acts 5:29 states, “… We ought to obey God rather than men.” The Apostle Paul adds, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16) Here are a few examples of how Messianic Judaism willfully keeps the traditions of Judaism rather than the commandments of God:5. The biblical calendar is a lunisolar, observational, calendar. According to this calendar, the New Year begins with the first new moon after the barley in Israel reaches the stage of ripeness called “Abib” (Ex. 12:2; Deut. 16:6). The start of each succeeding month is determined solely by the new moon. After 70 AD when the Roman Army sacked Jerusalem and scattered the Jews into the Gentile nations, the Jews were no longer able to make their calendar-related observations in Judea so they created a calculated calendar. Today; however, despite the fact that the biblical calendar has been restored; traditional Judaism, and, true to form, Messianic Judaism will not recognize it until the Sanhedrin is reestablished and they restore it themselves6. The Bible commands Believers to wear a blue cord or thread in their tzitzit of our garments (Num. 15:38; Deut. 22:12). Tradition has it that the ancient Israelites obtained their blue dye from a certain snail in the region and that the source of their dye was eventually lost! As a result, the Talmud instructs the Jews to wear only white tzitzit. The issue with this tradition is that the Bible says nothing about where to obtain the blue dye; therefore, it can be obtained from any available source! Furthermore, despite the fact that snails have returned to the region from which blue dye can be extracted, the Jews continue to follow the instruction of the Talmud, and, sadly, so do many Messianic Jews.7. In traditional Judaism, when a boy reaches 13 years old and a girl, generally speaking, reaches 12 years old, they become Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah, respectively. “Bar Mitzvah” means, “son of the commandments” and “Bat Mitzvah” means, “daughter of the commandments.” At this time, they are considered to have come of age, responsible for their actions. This is not true! Scripture reveals that the age of accountability is twenty. Here are a few examples in support of this fact: When the Israelites refused to enter into the Promised Land (Num. 14:1-3), God sentenced everyone twenty years old and above to die in the wilderness, with the two exceptions of Joshua and Caleb. The fact is that those Israelites who were less than twenty years old were not held accountable for their actions (Num. 14:29-34). In addition, at the age of twenty, Israelite men were counted in the census (Num. 1:1-3); paid a temple tax (Ex. 30:12-16; 38:26); served in the military (Num. 1:18) and dedicated themselves to temple service

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(Lev. 27:1-8). The Levites also began training for the priesthood at the age of twenty (1 Chron. 23:24-26; Ezra 3:8). The problem with this tradition is that making a twelve or thirteen year old child accountable for their actions seven or eight years before the age of accountability may possibly lead to discouragement and willful disobedience.8. In traditional Judaism, the term Rabbi is used to refer to a teacher. However, the term actually means, “my great one” or “my master”- a title that can only rightly apply to God Himself. Significantly, this title was not used in the Old Testament. Furthermore, Yeshua condemned the use of it in the New Testament! In speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, Yeshua said, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. “They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, “greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Messiah, and you are all brethren. “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. “And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Messiah. “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:4-12). Of course, like traditional Judaism, teachers in Messianic Judaism also allow themselves to be referred to as “Rabbi.”

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According to the KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon, the Hebrew word “chadash” can either be used as a verb or as an adjective! When it is used as a verb, it is translated as “renew.” When it is used as an adjective, it is translated as “new.” In Strong’s Concordance it has two reference numbers: renew #2318 and new #2319.

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The Aramaic English New Testament (AENT) states, Both Aramaic “khawdata” and Hebrew “chadasha” mean to renew, make anew or to repair. Notice how chadash has been translated in: 1Sam.11:14; 2 Chr.15:8; 2 Chr.24:4, 12; Job 10:17; Psalm 51:10; 103:5; 104:30; Isaiah 61:4; and

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Lamentations 5:21. It is impossible in the context of these verses for chadash to mean “new.”

The word “chadash” is so instrumental to “replacement theology” that the James Strong’s Concordance (a popular Christian resource), chose to give this term two reference numbers: renew #2318 and new #2319. Theologians have long used this term to steer “the church” away from Torah. As mentioned previously, Marcion, a post- apostolic church founder who was actually considered a heretic by the early Church, coined the terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament” suggesting, in effect, that the “old” replaced the “new.” Polycarp referred to him as the “firstborn of the Devil,” yet his false anti-Torah theology is still being honored by nearly every Christian on earth.

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1. One of the “miracles” attributed to the rebirth of Israel on May 14, 1948 is the fulfillment of Isaiah 66:8 which states, “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children.” This prophecy does not refer to the rebirth of the modern nation of Israel. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary under the article “Jerusalem” and the subheading “Modern Jerusalem” states, “In 1919, under a ruling by British officials in Palestine, Jerusalem regained its status as a capital city. During the following three decades, numerous Jews, whose ancestors had been barred from the city, settled in and around Jerusalem.” In 1947, the United Nations adopted United Nations resolution 181 which petitioned Palestine, giving 18% to the Jews and 82% to the Arabs. Jerusalem was intended to be an international city never to be under Jewish control. However, on May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence. Thus, the facts prove that the modern nation of Israel was not born in “one day!” The truth is that the prophecy quoted above refers to the Kingdom of God which will literally be populated in one day at the time of the resurrection of the saints when Yeshua returns. 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 states, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”2. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death

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is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”3. When God cut off unbelievers from the kingdom of Israel during Old Testament times, He did so physically, through executions, wars and plagues. Conversely, when He cuts off unbelievers from the Kingdom of God during New Testament times, He cuts them off spiritually (Isa. 59:1-2). The difference is that during Old Testament times unbelievers were killed while during New Testament times are cut off. 4. Many Believers are quick to condemn mainstream Christianity for believing what they call “replacement theology”- the doctrine that God has replaced Israel with the church. Yet, despite the fact that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin inherited only the southern lands in ancient Israel, they support the “regathering” of these two tribes to the entire land of ancient Israel that had been inherited by all twelve tribes! Thus, their position is hypocritical in that they have no problem with the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin “replacing” the other ten tribes.

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Eye To Eye; Facing The Consequences of Dividing IsraelWilliam Koenig

Excerpt the back cover blurb: “What do the ten costliest insurance events is U.S. history, the twelve costliest hurricanes in U.S. history, three of four largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history and the two largest terrorism events in U.S. history have in common? All of these major catastrophes began or occurred the very same day or within 24-hours of U.S. presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush applying pressure on Israel to trade her land for promises of “peace and security,” sponsoring major “land for peace” meetings, making major public statements pertaining to Israel’s covenant land and/or calling for a Palestinian state.”

Arab-Israeli peace diplomacy and treaties Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Faisal-Weizmann Agreement (1919) 1949 Armistice Agreements Camp David Accords (1978) Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (1979) Madrid Conference of 1991

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Oslo Accords (1993) Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace (1994) Camp David 2000 Summit Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs List of Middle East peace proposals International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict

See also http://nhbchristiantalk.webs.com/wrathofgodornature.htm

The Sacred Name groups teach that Believers should use the Hebrew names for God and His Son! Some of these groups even go so far as to make this doctrine a matter of salvation! However, ancient Hebrew was written in only consonants; the vowels and, consequently, the pronunciation of words were understood by the reader. Therefore, no one knows for sure how the names of God and His Son are spelled or pronounced.

Scripture reveals that John’s ministry of baptism was a type of Moses’ ministry when he led the Israelites across the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:1-2). It follows, then, that just as those Israelites who didn’t cross the Red Sea, didn’t enter into a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai, those Judeans who refused to repent and be baptized, didn’t enter into the new covenant with God in Judea. Thus, John the Baptist ministry was to separate those Judeans who were willing to cross the New Testament Red Sea, so to speak, and enter into the new covenant with God from those Judeans who weren’t.

Many Believers maintain that the Jews are still God’s people today and that Jerusalem is still His capital. This is not true! Paul revealed a very important principle in

1 Corinthians 15:46: “…the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.”

Likewise, during Old Testament times Israel was cut off physically (Lev. 13:45-46; Num. 12:14-16; 2 Kings 15:1-5) and during New Testament times we are cut off spiritually (Rom. 11).

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Many Believers accept John 4:22 which states “…salvation is of the Jews” as a stand-alone statement. However, this statement must be understood in the light of Romans 2:28-29 which adds, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”

Israel’s rebirth in 1948: Wikipedia, under the article “Israel” states, “Following the birth of political Zionism in 1897 and the Balfour Declaration, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom the British Mandate of Palestine after World War I, with responsibility for establishing “...such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home…”_____________________________________________________________

With regard to Israel, the “miracles” that are attributed to God include: the rebirth of Israel as a nation; the restoration of the Hebrew language4; the 1967 war5; and; the major catastrophes incurred by the United States for attempting to divide “God’s land.”

Revelation 13:15 states, “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” In symbolic terms, the word “death” means, “to be dead in sin” (Col. 2:13 Eph. 2:1; 1 Tim. 5:6; Rev. 3:1; Matt. 8:22; John 3:18) and to be cut off from God (Isa. 59:1-2)!

It may have come to your attention that I often use the word “shalom!” The word shalom is roughly the equialent of our word “peace.” However, while the word peace means the absence of war, the word shalom means both a physical peace and a spiritual peace!

God is a God of great love and mercy! It is not in His character to divorce a nation and cast it away forever! On the contrary, He divorces a nation because it is His desire for that nation to take pause, repent and return to Him (Acts 2:38). This is what He desires for both the house of Israel and the house of Judah (1Tim. 2:3-4) and, indeed, this is what was prophesied to occur with the new covenant!

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John 4:24 states, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” And the truth is that the Scriptures reveal that, “...salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22) and the reason why is because Yeshua, our Savior, was a Jew (Heb. 7:14; Rev. 5:5). Gentiles who come to faith are grafted into remnant Israel (Romans 11)! Like the early converts to the faith, they must become “imitators of the congregations of God,” which were comprised of Jews (1 Thess. 2:14). They must keep Torah! They must recognize that their spiritual fathers are Abraham. Isaac and Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel! They must wear tzitzit (fringes) on their clothing to remind them of keeping God’s commandments (Num 15:37-41; Deut.22:12). They must keep the Sabbath! They must keep God’s Feast Days which reveal His plan of redemption for mankind (Lev. 23). They must eat biblically kosher foods! This is the faith of the Bible!

Now that we have established the proper translation of Matthew 16:18, the task of interpreting it properly still remains! To this end, we must first understand that Yeshua is speaking in symbolic terms. Notice that He referred to Himself symbolically as the “Rock” (1 Cor. 10:1-4). He also said that He would “build” His congregation, the Body of Messiah, on the “Rock.” Since the Body of Messiah is not a physical building, but a spiritual body of Believers, the word “build” must also be interpreted in symbolic terms, the symbolic equivalent of the word “build” being “establish.” Indeed, the word “build” was translated from the Greek word “oikodomeo” which, according to the KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon, can also be translated metaphorically as “establish.”

This Scripture parallels Ephesians 2:19-22 which also refers to Yeshua and the New Testament Congregation of Israel, the Body of Messiah, symbolically! It states, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, [Yeshua, the Messiah] Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a set apart temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Here, the Apostle Paul referred to Yeshua as “the chief cornerstone” and the Body of Messiah, as a “temple.” Since, the term “temple” in the New Testament symbolizes both the individual Believer (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16-18) and the Body of Messiah (Eph. 2:14-22; 2 Thess. 2:4), the word “built” must also be the interpreted in symbolic terms, the symbolic equivalent of the word “built” being “established.”

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This means that the Body of Messiah wasn’t actually “built” on the apostles and prophets; it means that it was “established” on the apostles and prophets. Thus, Yeshua’s declaration in Matthew 16:18 must be interpreted as, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on Me I will establish My congregation, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

For the purpose of establishing the new covenant, God raised up John the Baptizer, a fiery prophet (Mark 1:6; 2 Kings 1:8), who called Judea to repentance. (Matt. 3:1-12) Sadly, the entire house of Judah, with the exception of a remnant of spiritually-minded Jews, refused to repent!

We are all part of “one body” (Eph. 2:11-22; 3:4-6; 1 Cor. 12:13). And the “Israel of God” is comprised of the combination of the two!

At one point during Yeshua’s ministry, He told the Gentile Canaanite woman who asked Him to heal her daughter, “… I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). Originally, the title, “house of Israel” referred to all twelve tribes (Ex. 16:31; 40:38; Lev. 17:3, 8, 10, etc.). Later, when the ten northern tribes seceded from the two southern tribes, the ten northern tribes retained the title the “house of Israel” while the two southern tribes became known as the “house of Judah.” After God divorced the ten northern tribes, they became known as, “the lost tribes of Israel.” However, the fact that Yeshua’s ministry was centered in Judea proves that His statement, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” was, at the time, directed toward the two southern tribes. Thus, the fact that Yeshua referred to the house of Judah as the lost sheep of the house of Israel proves that their sins were separating them for God (Isa. 59:1-2)!

A careful study of the Old Testament will reveal that God raised up Moses, the mediator of the old covenant (Ex. 19), entered into that covenant with the twelve tribes of Israel at Mt. Sinai and gathered the Israelites in the Promised Land. Likewise, a careful study of the New Testament will reveal that God raised up Yeshua, the Mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 9:15; 12:24), is currently entering into that covenant with the twelve tribes of Israel in the nations where they had been scattered (Isa. 54:7-8; 11:11-13; 43:5-7; Jer. 23:3-6) and will regather them in the Kingdom of God.

Tragically, the pagans coming into the faith by the efforts of these false christs weren’t transformed by the true faith. Instead, they transformed many of the

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congregations within the Body of Messiah the faith into a hybrid imitation (Jude 1:3)!

In the Scriptures, Believers in Yeshua were called Nazarenes (Acts 24:5) and Christians / Messianics (Acts 11:26) by our detractors! The Apostle Paul simply refers to us as the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:15-16), as opposed to Israel of the flesh. (Rom. 9:1-8)

Who is this harlot who rides the beast? Revelation 17:5 states, “And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” The Catholic Church must be Israel because throughout the Old Testament, Israel is likened to a HarlotThis prophecy reveals that the “miracles” performed by the modern nation of Israel, including the miracle of convincing Believers to make an image to the beast, are actually the works of Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44). Remember, Yeshua had warned His followers that even they could be deceived (Matt. 24:24).

Thus, the second beast symbolizes a sparsely populated, relatively new nation that appears to represent salvation. Since the Scriptures state, “…salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22; cf. Matt. 1:16; Rev. 5:5), there can be no doubt that the second beast symbolizes the modern nation of Israel, with its two horns symbolizing the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the house of Judah.

The prophecy, “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast” refers to the United States being granted power by Satan to pattern herself after Rome. The prophecy that the image of the beast should “speak” means that it passes legislation. This begs the question, “What anti-Torah legislation does the United States pass in which it patterns itself after Rome.” While the answer may include a number of laws that have been and will continue to be enacted by the United States that are in violation of God’s commandments, it may be a specific commandment- the Sabbath! The Council of Laodicea, about 363 A.D., passed this decree: “Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But, if any be found to be Judaizing, let them be declared anathema from Christ.” Likewise, many states within the United States have anti-Sabbath laws called “blue laws”The second part of this prophecy, “…that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” is also a bit complicated.

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First, as we have already established, the phrase, “image of the beast,” refers to the second beast, the modern nation of Israel. And second, the phrase, “be killed,” means, “to be killed spiritually” (Ps.51:11; Rom. 8:9); to be cut off from God (Isa. 59:1-2); to cause to be “dead in sin” (Col. 2:13 Eph. 2:1; 1 Tim. 5:6; Rev. 3:1; Matt. 8:22; John 3:18). Thus, the prophecy, “…that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed,” means that the second beast, the modern nation of Israel, speaks against Torah, causing Believers to sin and be killed spiritually.

arrived on the scene, He gave Judea one last chance to repent (Matt. 4:17). When they refused to repent by rejecting Him (John 1:11; Isa. 53:3; Matt. 21:37-39; Luke 19:14),

No! Yeshua didn’t start a new religion with a new people. Despite the fact that He was the Mediator of the new covenant, He was bound by God’s unconditional promise to Abraham to make his descendants a great nation forever. And today, God fulfills that promise through Yeshua and a remnant of Israelites (Deut. 4:27-31; 28:62-68; 30:1-10; 1 Kings 19:14-18; Rom. 9:27; 11:1-5; Rev. 12:17) from the house of Judah in Yeshua’s generation (Gen. 17:7).

Of course, in order to keep His unconditional promise to Abraham to make his descendants a great nation forever (Gen. 12:1-3), God first had to establish the new covenant with a remnant of Israelites from the house of Judah. God searches the heart and His timing is perfect; therefore, He is able to intervene in the lives of His people before any given entire generation of Israelites break their covenant with Him. In other words, He works it out so that there is always be a remnant of Israelites who remain faithful to Him

with the exception of a remnant who had repented and returned to Him (Deut. 4:27-31; 28:62-68; 30:1-10; Rom. 9:27; 11:5).

Initially, the Israel of God was comprised solely of a remnant of Israelites who had repented and established the new covenant with God (Acts 2). Then, when the gospel was open to the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-36, 44-45; Rom. 11:13; Gal. 2:7-10), a great number of converts were added to the commonwealth of Israel. Scripture identifies this combination of Israelite Believers and Gentile converts to the faith as the “Israel of God!” These Gentile converts and the congregations raised up by

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Paul were “imitators of the congregations of God which are in Judea” (1 Thess. 2:14).

In time, however, the number of Gentile converts to the faith began to outnumber the Jewish Believers and, as a result, the Gentles converts began to rise to positions of leadership within the Israel of God. Some of these “leaders” were actually unconverted false christs and false apostles and were able to incorporate elements of their pagan rituals, customs and traditions into the faith, including the adoption of the term “church” into their titles. They attempted to justify their changes claiming that they were made “for the sake of the gospel” (bringing other pagans into the faith). In the end, the “faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3) was transformed into what became known as the Roman Catholic Church. The problem with this approach, though, is that the pagans coming into the faith weren’t transformed by the faith; they transformed the faith into a hybrid imitation (Jude 1:3)! About 1500 years later, the Roman Catholic Church gave birth to daughter, Protestant, churches. Despite the fact that many faithful Believers resisted compromise through the years, eventually, they too adopted the term “church” in their titles. Thus, it came to be that just as there were two Old Testament Israels, there are now two New Testament Israels of God: the chaste church of Revelation 12 and the harlot church of Revelation 17. Still, though, despite the fact that the New Testament Israel of God adopted the pagan term “church” into her titles, God recognizes her as being His- the Israel of God. Remember the old adage, “A rose by any other name is still a rose!”

statements that the “vinedressers saw the son” and “said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’” proves that the house of Judah killed their Messiah knowingly! And for that God was about to divorce them!

In Yeshua’s second parable, the first group of vinedressers, the vinedressers that beat up and killed the landowner’s servants, represent the chief priests and the Pharisees and the second group of vinedressers, the vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons, represent the ministers of the new covenant.

The statements that the “vinedressers saw the son” and “said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’” proves that the house of Judah killed their Messiah knowingly! And for that God was about to divorce them!

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The “certain landowner” represents God. The “vineyard” represents Israel (Isa. 5:1-7). The “hedge” represents being set apart. The “winepress” represents joy (Jer. 48:33). The “tower” represents the temple. The “vinedressers” represent the chief priests and the Pharisees. The phrase, “far country,” represents heaven. The phrase, “vintage time,” represents judgment day. The phrase, “his servants,” represents the prophets. The phrase, “its fruit,” represents repentance (Matt. 3:7-10). The phrase, “saw the son,” means that they knew Yeshua was the promised Messiah. The phrase, “killed him,” means that they crucified Him. The phrase, “his inheritance,” refers to the Kingdom of God. And the “other vinedressers” represent the ministers of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:4-6).

The first parable, The Parable of the Two Sons, is recorded in Matthew 21:28-32 where Yeshua states, “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first [the house of Israel] and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ “He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. “Then he came to the second [the house of Judah] and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Yeshua said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”

The “man” represents God. The “two sons” represent the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The “first son,” the son who refused to work in his father’s vineyard, but afterward regretted it and went, represents the house of Israel and the “second son,” the son who said he would work in the vineyard but didn’t, represents the house of Judah.

The second parable, The Parable of the Vineyard, is recorded in verses 33-41, immediately after the first parable, where Yeshua states, “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. “Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. “And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another [Matt. 23:35-37; Luke 11:51]. “Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. “Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But

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when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ “So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers [the ministers of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:4-6)] who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”Nehemia

Hosea 1:1-11 “A people who are not a people” = Romans 9:23-27

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