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Has the Church replaced Israel?

Q. Hasn't Israel been sidelined for the rest of time, with the Church now taking up the promises?
A. In no way has Israel been replaced, they are alive and well.

Q. Why has the church been teaching that the Jews are no longer relevant?
A. For many reasons, pride, money, importance, and the fact that Israel was gone for so long. They didn't have faith that the God of Israel could bring them back. Silly, silly man, God always comes though on His promises.

Q. Does God ever say that the Church will replace Israel?
A. In fact God tells the world in binding covenants (promises that God makes, and can't be broken by man, or God Himself) that Israel will be the "apple of His eye" forever.

   This isn’t a minor subject. How you view Israel, and the Jews, will completely alter your perception of God (Father, Son, and Spirit), the Bible, how to live your life (grace, law, or a mix), church history, world events as they have happened, what is happening now, and end times prophesy.

    A “no” answer, to if the church has replaced Israel, is a start to understanding the Bible as written and understanding the ways, means, purpose, and system of God.
    A “yes” answer, meaning the church has replaced Israel, forces one to twist, spiritualize, and rewrite much of the Bible. It all but kills Grace, has one take the Bible out of context, leaves for wild interpretations of scripture, and leaves the Christian confused.

    The Church is under Grace, the Jews are under Law, if you do replacement theology, it mixes the systems making God look double minded, flighty, and contradictory.

    To truly study the Bible one has to know the difference between the Church and the Jews. Once you understand, the Bible makes a whole lot more sense, pieces fall into place. Otherwise you’ll be jumping though hoops, or making up elaborate scenarios to get some semblance of order.

    God doesn’t hide the fact that the Church and Israel (the Jews) are on two different paths. It’s modeled, presented, and just plain written in black and white.
    It is to the Churches (Christians) advantage to understand this, but it’s not to the churches advantage (the established denominations). Pride, ego, money, politics, power, claims to land, and traditions keep this misunderstanding alive.

    God, from before the formation of the earth laid out a plan, everything and everyone had a preset role. There are no surprises to God, yes we have “free will” but that “free will” isn’t (or wasn’t) unknown to God, and it to was incorporated into this plan. God doesn’t sit up in Heaven and wonder “what’s old Joe doing today”? At the time of the formation of this plan, it was already done.

     Only God can tell the future from the past. Think about that statement, what does that mean? Man is just now starting to get a hold of this concept. This is the realm of quantum physics. God doesn’t “look into the future”, to see “ahead”. God is already there. The reason God is the same yesterday, as He is today, and will be tomorrow, is that He exists in all three at the same time. Time was established for the sake of man, God exists outside those constraints. Since God exists in all three realms at the same time, it would be expected that He would be consistent. Man is flighty, God is an anchor, and He doesn’t flip flop.

    A weak demonstration of this would be reading a book. God is the author, man is just the reader. God just hands us a page at a time. We can read along, we can review pages that were given in the past, and He hints to what is coming up, but only God has a full copy. The book has been completely written, we are the words and there are no “rewrites”. Our every action is already printed out; our “free will” has already been recorded. What is still the future to us, is just a rerun to God. When the Apostle John was taken in the Spirit (raptured) to the future, he didn’t see a Power Point presentation of the future, it wasn’t a graphic rendering, or a special effect enhanced video, he was in the future. He was witnessing events in real time, as they happened, and after he was bought back before they happened, to record (write) them for all mankind.

    All thru this plan a blood line was established and continues. It started with Adam and Eve, was refined with Norah, refined more with Abraham, and was cemented in with Jacob (renamed Israel). Israel’s son’s then became the tribes, with one carrying the banner, Judah. Ten tribes would be scattered for a time, two would front them all, with the larger getting the namesake, Judah, or Jews.

    The ten tribes are called the lost tribes, lost to man, not to God, He knows where every member is, even if they themselves don’t know who they are. Man is always playing catch up, DNA testing is just now starting to give us insight to which modern day peoples they are. Testing has showed they aren’t the Mormons, Jehovah Wittiness’s, or American Indians. They are still not far, relatively speaking, from the Middle East and their homeland, Israel. Now that the time is getting close for the family reunion, their identity is coming to light. The ten tribes exist now by other names, most still practicing many of the traditions they took with them out of Israel. Only God, and a well conceived plan, could keep this all together.

    Think about it, when was the last time you saw a Canaanite walking around, have you taken a vacation in Moab? I don’t think even the UN has a translator for Hittite. Yet today you can book a flight to Israel, work the streets of Jerusalem, and speak the reborn langrage of Hebrew.

    The Egyptians don’t use hieroglyphics, the Persians (Iranians) don’t use the same langrage (written or spoken). No one does but the Jews. The Jews have added a few marks to show where nouns should go, they have added periods and question marks, but it’s still basically the same langrage.

    Think about it, read the history. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself! Never has any nation ever been the target of such persecution. Nations have tried their best to wipe them off the face of the earth. Assyrians, Romans, Babylonians, plus many others have put them into their sites and pulled the trigger, only the Jews remain. England, Spain, Italy, etc. have tossed them out, Hitler tried to wipe them out, and still they remain. There is no earthly reason for them to exist. Never have so few, been hated by so many, for so long. War has been waged, nations have met to discuss what to do about them, they have been a thorn in the side of many. Yet they still stand.

    Today Israel has about the same land mass as Rode Island, a total population less then many cities around the world, and still they draw the ire and aggression of half the world. They don’t hide well either. As a whole the Jews stand out, they don’t blend in as a group.

     The world has done it’s best to relocate, kill, scatter, wall off, intermarry, and legislate them out of existence, still they remain. They remind me of the Looney Tunes characters that are at ground zero during an explosion. Everything is laid to waste around them and yet they remain just blinking their eyes.

    So how can the Church think for a minute that they have replaced them? They no longer exist because the churches say so? Even the Church has waged war on them and it didn’t work. What now, just close our eyes and pretend? If any group of people have had the divine hand of God on them, it’s the Jews.

    God made promises to them, they would number as the stars; Ge:26:4: And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

    The stars would go out before they would, they would inherite the land forever, that meant the descendents also (the Jews of today). Ex:32:13: Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

     They would number as the sand on the shore. Ge:32:12: And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

    They are Gods chosen people; the apple of His eye, anyone that would go against them will go against God. Zec:2:8: For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

    They brought knowledge of God to the world; they brought the law, for them to live by, and for the rest to learn by. Blessed by God, yet held by a higher standard. For the well being of the world the Jews have taken the burden of Gods wrath.

    It wasn’t an easy task, and God did put them on the bench for a bit (even then the world tried to toss them out of the stadium) but the final quarter has started, and they’ve been called back on the field.

    The Jews have been, and still are, a key player in Gods master plan, they have fallen out of favor with God from time to time, but never have they been replaced. Is it because the Jews are better then anyone else? No, it was just the people God had chosen to save the world with. Why did God chose them, I can give a number of reasons for it, but when it comes right down to it, God makes the rules and He could. There are traits and qualities that the Jewish people have as a race, that fit the work God needed them for, but it wasn’t because they were/are better people. All of us fall short, but God decided to bless Israel.

    It hasn’t been easy; Israel has had a very rough time, being Gods chosen people makes them the worlds chosen target. The closest is now the Christians. Jesus said that the world hated Him first, and would hate us also, but the Jews have been at it longer. With what the Christians went though over the years, one would think there wouldn’t be any persecution from us, to the Jews, sad to say it hasn’t many times worked that way.

    Just a side note. Everything is in Gods master plan, but that doesn’t mean God “planned” man to sin, nor did He “plan” the side effects from sin. This is were mans “free will” comes into play. Man decided to sin, the effects of that sin is what caused the hardships to man, and the world as a whole. God has incorporated those “free will” effects, and actions, into His plan, uses them for the best with His children, and let’s the unsaved deal with them as they can, all to his benefit. All hardships, troubles, and things in general work for the Christians good, not for everyone’s good. If you’re not saved any hardships you are going though may not have any redeeming aspect. For the Christian all will work for his good, either here or in heaven, if your not saved your life may just suck and then you die, sorry but that’s the way it is. And after you die (for the unsaved) it’s going to suck more.

    For the saved all will work for his good. This doesn’t mean life will be a cake walk, God doesn’t promise the Christian a life of ease here on earth, in fact after your saved life may get worst, harder, or more difficult. But God will have it benefit you in the long run.

    God’s master plan was written before the earth was formed, and has no end. God has given man an outline for what we call roughly seven thousand years, and it has always been tied to the Jews. The Jews have been the blood line all thru time, the principle players for a while, and as of late the foundation of the age of grace, with the Christians taking lead. Day six is about to end and the great day of the Lord is about to start, the fulfillment of God’s promises to the Jews. We Christians need to get our bags together for a sudden trip, the Jews need to start getting ready for the fight of their lives.

    Why has the Church been short sighted in it’s view of Israel? A number of reasons, lets take a look.

    Time. It has been sooo long. Only for us. For God it is already done. For mans sake God deals with us in the present, but for Him it’s a done deal. When John saw the 144,000 Jews, he saw the real men, not illusions. He saw real living humans that hadn’t been born yet. But here in our time it seems like it's taking forever. God waits so all can have a chance. The church lost faith in Gods word.

    The temple went down in 70 A.D., surly God wouldn’t have gone this long, and now bring the Jews back into the game, right? God’s eternal, what’s a couple thousand years, a mere blink of his eyes? It was done before it began, this has only been long for us.

    Ego. The Christians have been uno-numro for “so long”. We need to get over ourselves, it isn’t all about us, it’s all about God. We exist by God’s good humor, and He must have one great sense of humor with the garbage we dish out. If not for the Jews the rest of the world would have had no hope. It was though them that God brought the plan of salvation to the rest of the world. We Christians have been grafted in, God is the trunk, the Jews are the first branches, they were just "pruned" a little. The Christian is the “new” growth. Do we now turn to the trunk and say we don’t need them? We are warned that we can be cut off just as easy as we were grafted in.

   Pride. It’s the oldest sin there is, pride. We wish to be number one. We wish to be the apple in Gods eye. It’s not good enough that “God gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16 of course), we want it all.

    Much like the gifts of the Spirit, we can’t “have it all”. The Jews have some “gifts”, we have others. Both may desire aspects of the others, but each are separate. Both groups are loved, just dealt with on different terms for a number of reasons. I think we Christians were dealt the easier hand, we should be happy with what we have.

    Faith; the lack of. Much of the Church just hasn’t believed God, they had (and still don’t) believe God at His word. Don’t worry about how, just have faith it will. What God says will happen, will. No matter how unlikely from a human stand point.

    So much was written, and then the Jews were scattered. The Church just didn’t believe the Jews could ever come back as a nation. Just because we can’t figure it out doesn’t mean God can’t. Stop thinking of God in human terms, God can do anything even if we don’t see it happening.

    Common sense, we don't use it. Let the Bible read just as it does, don’t twist it to represent what isn’t plain. Most of it is self explanatory. The Bible interprets it’s self. We have it so much easier then the people of the past, we have the written Word. Before the Bible the people had to have faith in the unknown Word, which was Jesus. Now Christians can have faith in the known Word, which is still Jesus. Jesus is/was the Word and it is faith that saved whether it was known or not.

    The Bible; we don't read it. Read the Bible and take it at face valve, it means what it says, God doesn’t stutter. It’s not that hard. If a passage doesn’t work with Grace (Christians) it must pertain to the law (Jews) or to the gentiles (unsaved, past or present). If it is a law, or feels like a “tis for tat”, then it must be for the Jews, not for grace. Don’t mix systems!

    The Bible must never contradict itself, if you have counter dictions it’s either a misunderstanding of a verse, or your mixing what is meant for the Jews, or unsaved gentiles, with what is meant for the Christian.

    The prayer of Jabez, not for Christians, don’t try to claim it. Don’t try to claim any of the promises of the Jews just because it’s written in the Bible. You may pray for the same benefits as those promises offer, but don’t “claim” them. Christians have no right to claim them. What many Christians try to do is force God’s hand with the written Word. Dumb, dumb, dumb, don’t try to force God to do anything, He’s not bound to uphold the promises He made to the Jews, if you’re a Christian. If you wish to live by the law be ready to be judged by the law.

    Trying to claim these promises wouldn’t be half as appealing if Christians had to except the punishments also. We wish to claim the good stuff but desire to be judged under Grace, don’t work that way folks.

    Many of those promises are conditional, if the Jews did one thing, God would do another. How well did that work? Read the Bible, most of the time it didn’t. God can always uphold His end, man can’t. Many are for the future; some are just now going to be fulfilled.

    Now you may be there reading this and saying “that sucks, the church expects us to show up every Sunday and give money and we aren’t guarantied anything in return. Guess what, they can’t expect that either. Which brings us to another reason the church replaces the Jews….

    Money; Sorry folks some of the reputation the church has received from the unsaved world as being a money hungry institution is well deserved. Here something that your minister or priest may not tell you, tithing isn’t for the Church, it’s a law.

    Should we give to the church…yes. Should we support the work of the Church with money and/or time…yes. Can the church demand it….no!

    Paul wrote that the worker is due his feed. If your working for the church you should be fed. But Paul also was quick to mention that he wasn’t going to ask for it. Paul had a rather busy life yet held full time jobs.

    The law has God’s people giving a tenth of their earnings to God, more is given as a gift. For the Christian the law can teach us. What it teaches us is God would like us to support the work of the church. But under grace we don’t have to, we should, but it can’t be demanded, and if you can’t give money you shouldn’t feel guilty. There are other ways you can support the work of the church. I wonder for the people blessed by God with wealth (all wealth comes from God, you didn’t really earn it) if they were asked to give time, how many would. Ten percent of the money you make may be easy if your rich. It’s easier to give out of plenty (unless your just greedy or poor with a budget), but what about time? There’s a 168 hours in a week, would you give a tenth of your time, 17 hours, to the church? Are you just taking the easy out by writing a check? How about both? Money and time, think about it what are you sacrificing?

    I’m starting to get off track, sorry about that. Time to get off my pulpit and get back to the church and Israel.

    Remember the Bible should be fairly easy to understand, God wants us to know his plans, some of the fine details are His, but the big picture is for us to understand. If you can keep Grace (Christianity), Law (Judaism), and how God deals with the rest of the gentile world straight (past and present), the Bible falls into place, perceived contradictions clear themselves up.

    There is a “big picture”. The Jews are, have been, and will be the focal point of much of it. They (and us) have been told the Jews would be side lined for a while (the last week of Daniel), not forever. In Ezekiel their return was laid out. Ezekiel was given a vision of this. He saw the bones gather, and at first they didn’t have any flesh. This is were Israel is now. They have returned to the land. They again are a nation, they have returned to the world stage. What they haven’t done is return to God, as a nation, they have only returned in a secular sense. They are missing the flesh. Bones are the structure on which the living flesh is hung. That “living flesh” is the faith, love and belief in God (Father, Son, and Spirit) the Jews will have in the near future. Take a look at the short history of modern Israel. The return itself in May of 1948 was predicted by the Bible (The rebirth of Israel?). Look at the wars, the 6 day war, Yom Kipper war, etc. if you can’t see the hand of God in any of it you must be blinded. In just a bit we'll take a look at Ezekiel 37 in more detail.

    Does a day go by that Israel doesn’t make the news? The world press down plays it, people are more interested in drunk Celebes, missing wives, politicians sex lives, or anything tabloid in nature. But Israel is always there. Iranian nukes (who are working with Korea)- Israel is there, terrorism- Israel is there, oil shortage, Islamic unrest though out the world- Israel is there. The UN spends more time on issues centered around Israel then on any other county. Such a small county, such a big uproar. When was the last time you heard anything about Luxemburg?

God has made promises to the Jews that He said wouldn’t pass away. Let’s look at some;

    First let’s take a moment to look at what a promise is, in a biblical sense. Man’s word is iffy. One man can say to another “I’ll be over this weekend”. The other man can answer with “do you promise”? The other won’t get upset, he my even say “well I don’t know but I’ll try”. The days of a mans word being his bond is over. Try to buy a house with a handshake, even if you can be depended on to uphold your end, would you trust the other party? At one time a handshake would hold up in a court of law, I wouldn’t want to stake my life on it now.

    But with God a promise is much more solid. A promise made by God, or with God, was many times called a covenant. A covenant was a promise that was bound by a oath. Many times this was a promise to bless or serve either man, God, or both in a specific way.

    In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berit is translated covenant. It comes from the verb bara, which meant “to bind”. In the New Testament they looked to the Septuagint, and used the Greek word diatheke, which had the idea of a oath bound promise unlike the Greek word suntheke, which was a mutual contract. The writers made sure that the idea of a covenant was a rock solid promise.

    There are two types of covenants, one is a conditional covenant. This type of covenant is a “tis for tat” agreement. If man would do this, then God would do that. This type of covenant could sometimes (but not always) be broken by man, depending on how it was lain down.

    The first covenant made with man was broken by man. This was the Edenic covenant.  It is in Gen. 2:15-17. We know it was a covenant because Hosea (Hosea 6:6-7) writes about it and states it as one. God made a promise to Adam that if he didn’t eat from the tree of knowledge, man would have everlasting life. Adam had a snack it blew it right away.

    The other type of covenant comes into play right away. This type of covenant is unconditional. It depends on God's Word only. No matter what man does, God is going to follow though.

    In Gen. 3:15 we have the base of the covenant of grace. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel”. No matter what man does, God (Jesus (Gal. 3:19, Clo. 2:13-15, 1 John 3:8)) is going to crush satan.

    Because man broke the first covenant based on works, God was going to save him with a covenant based on Grace, not dependant on man (thank God, and I mean “Thank God”).

    This all came about because of a covenant made between the Father and Son. This was the covenant of redemption (2 Tim. 1:9-10, Titus 1:2). This covenant was made between God himself, it can’t be broken. Before the earth was even made a promise was given to save man. I have to say that we sure made out in the deal.

    So now that we know about what a covenant is let’s continue and look at promises made to the Jews that aren’t dependant on them (the Jews). Promises made by God that can’t be broken or changed.

    First we have the Abrahamic Covenant. This covenant was made by God and is dependant on God. God made sure that Abraham knew it was dependant on God’s word by doing a Karat Berit, or a “cut covenant”. Maybe this is were the phase “to cut a deal” came from. It curtailed taking a sacrifice, cutting it in two, then walking between the pieces, or the parties eating from the pieces. This would signify that upon the pain of death the party would keep it. Only God walked between the pieces. God would keep this promise dependant on Himself only.

    That promise was God would make a great nation out of the descendants of Abraham. This would then be a blessing to all nations. Out of his seed all man would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3, 15:1-19, 17:1-14 and in Gen. 22:18 God repeats this oath). Paul refers to this in Gal. 3:16.

    God didn’t promise to raise a nation from his descendants, and out of them bless the world with a plan of salvation in Jesus, then kick those descendants to the curb and turn their promises over to the people who have been trying to destroy them for thousands of years.

    Another unconditional covenant is the Davidic covenant (2 Sam. 7:1-17, 23:1-5). Here God makes a promise to David that there would be a perpetual kingdom. He would have descendants sitting on this Israeli throne forever. I believe David is do back himself in a short time to rule from Israel. Christ is King of Kings and will rule over all, but I do believe David will return to be one of those kings that Christ will rule over. God hasn’t forgot His promise to David, and in Amos it is confirmed to reassure the Jews “Amos:9:11: In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old”.

    God doesn’t forget His promises. Israel has been though this before. They have been scattered and exiled, then brought back. This is all a foreshadowing of what He is about (and has started) to do.

    2Ki:20:6: And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

    Ex:2:24: And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
    Ex:2:25: And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

    Ex:29:45: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

    Ge:17:7: And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And now we'll take a look at Ezekiel 37 (click here for full text of Ezekiel 37) 

       Ezekiel 37 is a very important passage when it comes to end times prophesy and the reforming of Israel. Some of Ezekiel has images take can be hard to understand. Some people have written wild tales using verses from the book. A while back one author wrote the wheels, written about in the book, were space ships (anyone remember "Chariots of the Gods"?). But much of Ezekiel is very easy to understand, even for people that have no knowledge of the Bible. The reason for it is God Himself explains it. Remember to let the Bible explain itself, God wants us to understand what is ours to know.

    First Ezekiel, earlier in the book, tells us when Israel would reform, which is a little harder to understand (Ezekiel 4:3-4 The rebirth of Israel). But if we stay in context and continue to read, more information is given. And this can't be easily twisted to represent the Church, this must be Israel, why(?), because God says so.

    What is special about 37 is it can’t be explained away without going to extreme means. First we have the dry bones. The passage makes it clear this is Israel. The timing has to be now. At no time before the destruction of the Temple did Israel become truly dead as a nation. Even when they were removed from the land they stayed a nation in there respected host nation. They stayed together as a group in lifestyle, faith, customs, and in mass. When the ten tribes were scattered Judah still remained. They were a nation in exile, not just a people in exile.

    In 70 AD when Rome decided they had enough of the Jews, they weren’t going to transplant the nation as had happened before. They weren’t going to just cart off the people in a group, and move them to another area to curb their loyalty to the Temple and land. Rome was going to wipe out the nation so as to never have to deal with them again.

    Emperor Titus came in and took them out. The only thing he wished to keep, was the Temple (just not the Jewish people). The temple was considered one of the most beautiful structures in the Roman Empire. When it caught fire he sent soldiers to try and put it out. But Jesus said not a stone would remain. No matter how mighty Rome was at that time, one thing they weren’t, was stronger then God. The temple burned, and the gold melted into the cracks of the stone work. Roman soldiers were paid by what they could loot, and they did an expert job of getting the gold out, no stone was left standing.

    While the Temple was under siege Titus did what he could to break the spirit of the Jews. The area around Jerusalem was covered with trees and vegetation. When you came upon the city you would see the gold temple top shining in the sun, and forests on all the hills. Crops, vineyards, fig, olive, it was a garden in many ways.

    Titus was going to change that and started to level the area. The trees were cut, not just for siege works but to crucify the people. The area around Jerusalem started to look like a forest of the dead. So many people were hung on the crosses it was all but impossible to count. They devastated the area all around the city, laid it to waste. By the time Titus was done, much of Israel had been hand “nuked”. Just to make sure what was left of the people would not return, he had the soldiers till the soil with salt to kill the crops and prevent replanting.

    Those he didn’t kill were chased out. Titus was a general at this time, a short time later he became emperor and his love for the Jews didn’t improve.

    Not only was Israel striped to the bone, the bones were dissembled and scattered throughout the known world, and left to bake in the sun. Israel, as far as the world was concerned, was dead.

    The church overlooked, or twisted these verses. Man was told that it needed to happen; it should have not been a surprise that the Jews would be on a “Sabbatical” for a while. God said that this was going to happen, and it did, the church should have seen it and believed the rest of Ezekiel, that they would be brought together before the very end. The church didn’t.

    Part was lack of faith, part may have been a veiling by God (much like the Jews are going through now as far as Jesus).

    How do we know that this reforming hasn’t been in the past? How do we know it is Jews we are talking about? How do we know that God hasn’t changed His mind, or that the Jews turned down this opportunity? God makes the answers to all those questions very clear in Ezekiel.

     Nothing like this had been done to Judah before. After Israel split in two Judah remained as a nation in some form. Israel (the lower Kingdom) was petty well scattered, but Judah hung in there. Even when the nation was taken into exile they still were taken as a whole. When Cyrus degreed that the Jews could return in 536 BC some did. Not all returned like they should have, just a remnant (God does His best work with a remnant), but it was enough to rebuild a Temple (second Temple) and temporarily replant the nation. They would pay for their lack of obedience (part of the reason they were re-scattered) but still it was a return of the nation.

     Titus thought in 70 A.D. he had left no corporate group that could be called Israel, to return. Titus was no Cyrus, no king was going to declare a return, if there was, who would that King declare it to, no group remained. This time Israel was like Humpty Dumpy, all the kings horses, and men, couldn’t put it together again.

    Still God said He would bring them back. No king but the "King of kings" could do this. Not just Judah but all the tribes (something that hadn’t been done before, and still hasn’t completely). God lays it out naming the tribes to leave no room for confusion.

    Look at the verses, Ezekiel 37:16-19.

    God doesn’t misspeak, it there for the world to see.

    Now how do we know the Jews didn’t renege on this offer, or that God changed His mind, or that the Jews blew it because they didn’t keep up their end of a covenant?

    One it wasn’t a conditional offer. Israel didn’t have to do a thing; this was going to be all God. Ezekiel 37:21-28. Notice God says that this will be forever, that He makes this covenant.

    Eze:37:28: And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. Tell me has a Temple stayed forever, 70 A.D. was the last year. But a third temple was promised. One to last forever.

Re:11:1: And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Re:11:2: But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

    Notice that the outer court is left to the Gentiles, the Church has been raptured at this time (What's the Rapture?). That leaves who? Our brothers the Jews.

   That temple does what? Among a number of things it's God's way to say "I the LORD do sanctify Israel". Not the church, it's Israel. We the church have our own promises and they are wonderful, we don't have (or need) all of Israel's.

    God doesn’t change His mind. God does deal with Israel, gentiles, saved, unsaved, and the Church differently, but He doesn't waffle. Again there is a master plan that has been followed from the beginning of time. When mans “freewill” gums up the works, and God dictates a response (we call a change), it had all been incorporated into the done deal. The freewill was ordained, mans use of it was planned, and Gods response was written before Adam set foot in Eden. All has been done as planned, right on time.

    What would keep God from breaking this promise? God can’t. God can’t lie, or He wouldn’t be God. The promises were unconditional, and for eternity.

    Look at the wording of the promises; “children's children for ever”, “David shall be their prince for ever”, “sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore”. The Old Testament is full of these promises, not just Ezekiel.

    None of these have ever been fulfilled (forever) so they still must be. Can’t fulfill them if Israel isn’t here, so guess what, Israel is back.

    Let the Bible read as it reads. Don’t take it out of context, don’t replace peoples or spiritualize. Once you start down that path nothing can be trusted, no verse can be used as an anchor to work from. It weakens the churches stance on everything. If the church has replaced Israel, if Gods Word can be twisted that way what else can be rewritten? Then if two people “truly love each other but are married to other people, is it still adultery? If babies aren’t born yet, but are aborted, is it still killing? Homosexuality, is it still abomination if one is “born that way” (no one “is born that way”)? White lies, are we really lying? How about all Gods are the same God?

    How can the church make a stand on what the Bible says if the Bible can be interpreted to say anything? You can’t truly say that God means the church when He speaks of Israel, and be non-bending on the rest.

    Why would God add a layer of confusion like that to His Word. Did He change His mind (He doesn’t), did He lie (He can’t), just wanted to play a 6000 year deception on a race of people (I don’t think so).

    This is how the devil works. Does the devil think he can get God to change His mind with man, and then be able to parlay that into a repel of his sentence? Either that or he just wants to take as many of us down with him as he can to hurt God. Either way God isn’t going to change, remember the plan is a done deal.

    The church (or Church) wasn’t a surprise, just a part of the plan to offer salvation to all the non-Jewish world. Our time is just about up, the second half of Daniels week (Re:11:2:...."for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months") will start, and the prediction of Israel’s planned full return is too.

    Unlike the god of the Koran, our God doesn’t flip-flop. The Jews, the Church, the non-saved gentile world. Different forms of travel all going the same direction, to the end. How God deals with these travelers once they finish this trip is going to be greatly different. Allah allows lies (satanic verses), he’s fickle, unknowing, and cold. Jehovah is loving, knowable, and very above board. Allah would turn his back on his promises, he would dump his people and replace them with another. Jesus stands behind the Church, his bride, and also the “apple of His eye”, His chosen people, Israel.

    Since God can’t lie, and is bonded to His promises by His own word, one has to align the rest of the Bible with what is written in Ezekiel. The church has not replaced Israel.

In the New Testament much is written also;

    Again the gentiles don’t replace the Jews, because of the Jews, we are included. We were a wild branch of the human race that was grafted in by the Master Gardener.

      Eph:2:10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
      Eph:2:11: Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
      Eph:2:12: That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.
      Eph:2:13: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
      Eph:2:14: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
      Eph:2:15: Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

    Much is wrote about us becoming one with the Jews as in a family. We are grafted in to the root, but we don’t replace that root or become more important. We just become branches that “wert graffed in among them”, them being the Jews. Some of those old branches have been broken off, every good gardener knows you need to “prune”. But you never cut off all the old braches to graft on new. You prune “some of the branches”.

    Rome:11:16: For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
    Ro:11:17: And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
    Ro:11:18: Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
    Ro:11:19: Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
    Ro:11:20: Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
    Ro:11:21: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

    The high-minded is the church today. We were the wild branch that were grafted in but now we have been boasting against the branches that were broken off. God has now reattached those branches and they have started to put forth leaves.

    Take a look at Revelations.

    Re:5:5: And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,

    Re:7:4: And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

    God goes into great detail and names the tribes by name… why? To make sure we know they’re from His Israel. We Christians are not the tribes. We come from different root stock, we have been grafted in, try to remember that.

    Most of the book is dealing with what is going on with the Jews.

    Why is the world attacking Israel if the church has replaced them? Why is Jesus coming back to Jerusalem, the place is just running amok with Jews. If the church has replaced the Jews we should at least be buying up time shares over there. Someone from the church should welcome Christ when He returns to the mount of olives. Maybe the church can just send a nice bouquet of flowers. I don't know, maybe it me but replacing Israel with the church just doesn't make common sense.

    To make those verses work for the church one has to take much out of context. You need to spiritualize the Bible to a point were all scripture can’t be taken at face value. Don’t ever force God’s Word to fit what you’ve been taught, let it read as it does. Unless it contradicts itself (with other verses of the Bible) the simplest reading is the best. This works if you keep what is intended for Israel, the Church, and the world separate. All scripture is to be learned from, not all has the same regulatory constraints on each group.

    Christians are truly blessed. Be happy for what you have. Drop this envied based desire, to be everything. The Jews are Gods chosen people and it’s not as glamorous as it may sound.

    If you head a church don’t beat your flock over the head with the Law. It’s not meant to be a money maker, or a tool to force your people in line. Remember we are under Grace. Teach from the Law, show how all people are in need of a Savior. Show how Jesus has fulfilled the Law. Study and teach from it, don’t live trying to reach Salvation by it, it can’t be done. If you need to impose the Law to keep a cash flow, or control your flock, you may wish to review your message. The proper teaching of Grace and the Gospel message should be enough. Don’t worry about numbers, far better to saved a few then to have a waiting line around your church, and lose them all.

    Watch the Jews, how goes Israel, so goes the world. The Jews may reap Gods wrath from time to time but that’s between God and His people, God doesn’t need the worlds help. Remember who ever goes against Israel, goes against God. Every parent that is good disciplines their children, but no parent wants a stranger to do it, stay out of family disputes. Yes the Christian is also a member of the family, God is the Father of both Jew and Christian but a good Father doesn’t have one child discipline another. That is the role of the Father, let God handle it. We are to help our brothers (the Jews) not punish them.

      Israel is Gods time piece the world is in the midnight hour. Watch what going on with them, it’s like watching the Bible in real time, everything is proceeding as planned. There hasn’t been any surprises for God yet, and none coming up.

Eze:37:1: The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze:37:2: And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
Eze:37:3: And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Eze:37:4: Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Eze:37:5: Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Eze:37:6: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze:37:7: So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
Eze:37:8: And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
Eze:37:9: Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
Eze:37:10: So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Eze:37:11: Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Eze:37:12: Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Eze:37:13: And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
Eze:37:14: And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
Eze:37:15: The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze:37:16: Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
Eze:37:17: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Eze:37:18: And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Eze:37:19: Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
Eze:37:20: And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Eze:37:21: And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Eze:37:22: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Eze:37:23: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
Eze:37:24: And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
Eze:37:25: And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
Eze:37:26: Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
Eze:37:27: My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze:37:28: And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. Back

 

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Last modified: 12/15/07

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Proverb:30:4: Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in His fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is His name, and what is His Son's name, if thou canst tell?

Proverb:30:5: Every Word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Proverb:30:6: Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Re:22:18: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Re:22:19: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Re:22:20: He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Re:22:21: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

 

 

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