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Prophe-Zine Issue 106
PropheZine Newsletter #106
November 1, 2000
Bob Lally Publisher/Senior. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor
Zenith Merrill Asst. Editor
To Subscribe, Unsubscribe or Change email addresses see notice at the
bottom of this newsletter.
======================================================
IN THIS ISSUE
----GREETING FROM BOB LALLY
----MINISTRY NEWS
----ARTICLES
Pastor Ron Graff/Lambert Dolphin......About the Authors
Pastor Ron Graff/Lambert Dolphin......Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be
Done
Chapters 1 and 2
----SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
----SUBSCRIBE and UNSUBSCRIBE
----PRIVACY NOTICE
===================================================
GREETINGS FROM BOB LALLY
===================================================
Hi:
We are going to be doing something a bit different over the next few months
with the Newsletter. PropheZine has been given permission to publish the
entire book Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done by Pastor Ron Graff and
Lambert Dolphin. We are providing information about each author further in
this newsletter. I spend quite a bit of time on Lambert's web site as I
find his technical research quite fascinating.
Enjoy!
Bob Lally
PropheZine
bob@prophezine.com
======================================================
MINISTRY NEWS
by Bob Lally
======================================================
Hi:
The Shopping Mall is nearly complete. In 1 week we will invite 25 website
owners to help us Beta test the new Shopping Mall. We have registered a new
domain name to keep the Shopping Mall separate from PropheZine for liability
reasons.
Bob Lally
PropheZine
=====================================================
The Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done
By Ron Graff and Lambert Dolphin
Ron Graff
http://www.Bible-prophecy.com
Lambert Dolphin:
http://ldolphin.org/
======================================================
The Authors
Ron Graff is Senior Pastor of the Alta Loma Brethren In Christ Church in
Southern California. He is a graduate of Talbot Theological Seminary, and
has been a pastor and an avid student of prophecy and world affairs for over
30 years. He was a pioneer in the field of educational computer software,
producing the first commercially available educational products for
microcomputers, starting in 1997, and including portions of Apple Computer's
Educational Classics. He is the author of The Prophecy Puzzle, a Windows
based "electronic book" complete with hypertext references. His primary
interests are in the areas of family (married to Barbara - three grown
children), evangelism, discipleship, eschatology, technology, and Israel.
Lambert Dolphin is a graduate of San Diego State University and Stanford
University where he pursued studies in physical, electrical engineering and
mathematics. He retired early after 30 years in research physics at a large
west coast think tank and went on to pursue Bible teaching, research and
writing. After a long search through world religions and many years of
restless about unanswered questions in life, Mr. Dolphin became a Christian
in 1962. He studied under, and was greatly influenced, by the late pastor
and Bible expositor Ray C. Stedman of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto,
California. For more than 25 years he has maintained an active interest in
the Middle East and Israel and he travels in that region often.
Lambert and Ron met over the Internet in 1997 and soon discovered they had a
strong common interest in Biblical eschatology. Their evangelical beliefs
seemed also to be in close harmony in all the important areas of sound
Biblical interpretation so they joined forces to write this book.
Both authors maintain active and popular Internet web sites dealing with
Bible prophecy and other subjects. You are encouraged to visit these web
sites and other recommended sites which are favorites of the authors for
further information.
The book has been written a straightforward style which presupposes that the
reader will have some basic knowledge of the Bible and of Biblical terms.
But the subject of Bible prophecy is actually very complex and detailed. We
have therefore added a number of appendices for the serious student, for the
pastor, or Bible teacher or individual student who may be seeking guidelines
for further study. We deplore the constant flood of sensational "end of the
world" prophecy books which only rehash the already familiar, hype up the
uncertain news of recent world news, and warm-over old Bible predictions
that seem to have never taken place as promised. The test of a prophet in
the Old Testament was that all of his predictions must come true 100%, or
else he was a false prophet and could be stoned to death. Were this rule
applied today, we suspect there would be fewer, but better books dealing the
future than now populate our book stores. We do not expect that all our
readers will agree with us on all areas, but we hope to stimulate interest
in the subject matter which is surely more important now than it has ever
been. If the Apostles of the First Century considered the return of Jesus
imminent in their time, then how much closer we must now be to that event.
=====================================================
The Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done
By Ron Graff and Lambert Dolphin
Ron Graff
http://www.Bible-prophecy.com
Lambert Dolphin:
http://ldolphin.org/
======================================================
Part I
Israel: Still God's Chosen People
Chapter 1
The Chosen People
The Bible is the revelation of God's will to man. It is a self-disclosure by
God giving us information we could not gain from any other source. It begins
with the book of Genesis, explaining in just a few chapters, how the human
race was brought into existence by the personal activity of the God who
created the universe. It shows that the first man and woman were the objects
of His love and special attention. They were created "in His image" (Genesis
1:26-27), and were given the privilege of regular communication with Him
(Genesis 2:15-17; 3:8) One man and one woman were appointed, not only as the
progenitors of our race, but also as God's stewards, His custodians and
caretakers over the creation. They were created with the characteristics of
mind, emotions, personality, and will. They were made creative, imaginative,
inventive, artistic, capable of loving and being loved--and above all, able
to worship.
As the account of Genesis continues its simple but profound revelation of
God's dealing with our human parents, the problem of evil surfaces. Even
though Adam and Eve had been created perfect, they had also been created
with the ability to choose, or reject, God's will for them. In theory, they
could have chosen to obey God completely, but instead, being tempted by
Satan, they partook of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3). Evil did not begin
with man but with a rebellion among the angels. The angelic rebellion
damaged the created universe and its invisible angelic government. (Isaiah
14:12ff.; Ezekiel 28:12ff.) It also brought about the possibility that man,
too, could choose a course of action contrary to the perfect ways of God.
This first human sin alienated our original parents from their creator.
Instead of looking forward to walking with Him in the garden, they hid
themselves from Him (Genesis 3:8-10).
The separation from God that is the result of sin is the greatest of all
problems for the human race. God had warned Adam that if he disobeyed, "you
will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). Adam did not die immediately in a physical
sense, although the process of aging and eventual death was triggered by
this event of rebellion. But Adam died spiritually (Romans 5:12)--the word
"death" in the Bible actually means "separation." Thus, when a person dies
physically, there is a separation between the physical and the non-physical
aspects of his being: his Soul and Spirit. The body is laid to rest where it
will return to dust (Genesis 3:19), while the immaterial part of man goes on
to wait the judgment, and the eventual destination of heaven or hell (Luke
16:19-31). There is also a spiritual death separation of man's spirit from
the spirit of his Creator. This is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he
declared,
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used
to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the
kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
Sin, therefore, poses the greatest of all threats to the well-being of our
race. Man's fall resulted in his spiritual death. His body was genetically
damaged so that all men are mortal because of the sin of Adam. Men cut off
from the source of life have no hope--and God IS Life! All life, all forms
of life, come from God. Being disconnected from the source of life (for any
reason) means an organism will begin to die, and continue to die. Men begin
to die as soon as they are born, but God in His love for us did not abandon
us in our plight. A god who was simply good might have declared the human
experiment a failure, and would have left us to suffer the consequences of
our rebellion, or, perhaps, would have put us out of our misery, snuffing
out the planet with a momentary explosion, in order to preserve the rest of
His creation from possible contamination. A god who was simply just could
have easily allowed anarchists and rebels to perish. After all it is His
universe not ours.
But God is not simply good, nor simply just. Above all He is holy, and He is
a God of love. His very nature is love. (1 John 4:8). In His love, He sought
to reestablish a relationship with Adam and Eve by seeking them out. When
they hid from Him, the Lord found them and offered a way back, a way of
restoration. That restoration involved wearing the skins of an animal
sacrifice. An animal sacrificed by God Himself was the first creature to
die. The death of the animal was symbolic of the physical death they
deserved to die. It demonstrated a great principle of Scripture that
"without the shedding of blood there is no remission (removal) of sin." The
concept of a substitutionary atoning sacrifice was introduced. Before they
received this gift from God, they were in a state of being spiritually
dead-cut off from Him. But when they received it and wore it, they were in
effect confessing their sin and their inability to solve the problem for
themselves. The death of that first animal on their behalf became a
"covering" for their sin (Genesis 3:21). Fig leaves and other forms of
clothing would come to be symbols of man's self-righteousness. Sin causes
man to lose his own righteousness as the prophets tell us, "All of us have
become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy
rags." (Isaiah 64:6) This would later be the basis for the institution of
the system of animal sacrifices. sacrifices and would teach us about
"imputed righteousness"--that inherent goodness of Christ with which we are
clothed when we place our faith in Him. And the animal sacrifices, in turn,
point to a future final sacrifice by the Messiah. That is why Paul continued
the explanation in Ephesians this way:
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace
you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5)
The next few chapters of Genesis trace the spread of the human race and its
eventual corruption--within less than 2000 years--to the point that God
needed to send a flood to destroy the evil. Again, He did not destroy the
entire planet, but, in love and grace, God preserved the eight persons who
still trusted in Him. Therefore, Noah and his family were saved (Genesis
6-10).
After the Flood, God told men to "be fruitful and increase in number and
fill the earth." (Genesis 9:1) This would require them to gradually migrate
in all directions. Those who were migrating East built a city and a tower at
Babylon, and established there false religious system in an effort to
disobey God and stay together. God confused their languages so they could no
longer work together. (Genesis 11)
Chosen to Share the Truth
Several hundred years later people had established cultures in many places.
There were some who still retained the truth passed down to them by their
fathers from the time of Noah, but there were many who had abandoned that
truth. God picked out one man, from the city of Ur of the Chaldees, a place
where most people no longer believed in Him. He called Abram (later called
Abraham) with these words:
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your
father's household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into
a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you
will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you
I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
(Genesis 12:1-2)
The Covenants
God does not act whimsically or arbitrarily, but deals with individuals and
nations on the basis of great contracts or covenants which He Himself
initiates. The very name Yahweh is known as the "covenant name" of God.
Yahweh is related to the Hebrew verb "to be" and indicates that God is a
living Person who enters into personal relationships with individuals and
with groups of individuals. Everything God has done in regards to our
salvation is based on one or more of the covenants God has made in the past.
None of these has been abrogated or annulled.
Even before Abraham's time God had made a covenant with Noah on behalf of
the whole human race. That covenant was a promise never again to destroy the
earth with a flood. (Genesis 9:8-17)
There are groups of churches today which stress what they call "convenantal
theology." We do not disagree with this emphasis on the ways God has chosen
to enter into contracts with His peoples. However many of the "covenant
churches" would not necessarily agree with our eschatology. The subject of
covenants in the Bible is important and complex. The Appendix introduces
this subject for the serious student.
Five principle covenants--all still in effect--apply to the nation of
Israel. These include the Abrahamic Covenant (later confirmed to Isaac and
Jacob), The Mosaic Covenant, the Covenant of The Land, the Davidic Covenant,
and the New Covenant.
The Purpose of a "Chosen People": Blessing of All Nations
The Abrahamic Covenant was the promise of a special blessing for Abraham's
descendants: a "chosen" people. But it is obviously not for their benefit
alone, but that, through them, all people would be blessed!
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your
father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into
a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you
will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you
I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
(Genesis 12:3)
The promised benefit to the whole human race was later revealed as the
Messiah - - the Deliverer from the penalty of sin. That is, the promise to
Abraham was really the promise of one unique seed, Messiah, in whom all the
covenants would find their fulfillment (Galatians 3:16). The theological
term "eternal covenant" refers to an agreement within the Godhead, made
before the foundation of the world, out of which all the covenants with
mankind would later flow.
The Promised Land
An important part of the promise to Abraham was that he would be led to a
land which God would show him.
Canaan
At the time of Abraham's journey, the land was occupied by various Canaanite
tribes, and was therefore known as the land of Canaan. Canaan was the son of
Ham, and the grandson of Noah. Following the flood, the descendants of
Canaan traveled to the area and settled there. Canaan's sons became the
heads of what would become the tribes of Canaan. Canaan himself had
evidently participated in his father's sin of mocking and gross disrespect
when Noah accidentally became drunk, dishonoring his grandfather (Genesis
9:21-26). Canaan manifested the same moral weakness his father had, but to a
greater degree. His descendants, resisting God's grace, became more and more
decadent and ungodly as their history unfolded. Eventually these idolatrous
peoples were to be deprived of their land. (Deuteronomy 7:1-10)
Israel
Following a long series of conquests of the Canaanite tribes (See the Book
of Joshua), the twelve tribes of Israel finally occupied a large portion of
the land originally promised to Abraham. In the days of David the land was
renamed "Israel" after the new name God had given the patriarch Jacob, whose
twelve sons were the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribes were
united in one great kingdom until after the reign of David's son Solomon.
After Solomon died a power struggle ensued, resulting in a division of the
people. The northern ten tribes were still called Israel, but the southern
two tribes, and the land which they occupied, was called Judea, after the
name of the larger of the two tribes, Judah. This is the name from which the
words "Jew" and "Jewish" were derived.
Palestine
The name "Palestine" is not found in the Bible. It has had a variety of
meanings. Nelson's Bible Dictionary tells us how the word was first used:
"The word itself originally identified the region as "the land of the
Philistines," a war-like tribe that inhabited much of the region alongside
the Hebrew people. But the older name for Palestine was CANAAN, the term
most frequently used in the Old Testament.
"The term Palestine as a name for the entire land of Canaan, beyond the
coastal plains of the Phoenicians, was first used by the fifth century B. C.
historian Herodotus. After the Jewish revolt of A. D. 135, the Romans
replaced the Latin name Judea with the Latin Palaestina as their name for
this province."
As you can see, the name is actually an insult to the Jewish people, denying
the name Israel, which it once had, and going back to the Philistines, their
earlier opponents.
Before the rebirth of the Nation of Israel in 1948, the name Palestine was
virtually synonymous with "The Holy Land." Most writers from the time
printed books were first introduced until this generation used the term in a
non-political sense for the entire region of the Bible lands. Palestine was
a well defined area at the end of World War II. The modern nation of Jordan
was carved out of the larger portion of Palestine, and the remainder was the
area now known once again as the nation of Israel.
Today the name "Palestine" has a different meaning with highly political
connotations. This will be described later in the section on "Modern
Israel."
Conditional Nature of The Promise for the Land
Covenants can be conditional or unconditional. As it turns out only one of
the covenants applicable to Israel is conditional---the right of the Jews to
live in the promised land.
This partly conditional covenant has several elements: (1) dispersion of the
Jews was to be a consequence of disobedience. (2) Future repentance will be
accomplished by God. (3) God will regather his scattered people and restore
them to the land. (4) The people of Israel will be brought to the Lord as a
nation. (5) The enemies and oppressors of Israel will be punished. (6)
Future national prosperity and preeminence is guaranteed. (See also
Deuteronomy. 28, 29.) Because of this covenant, the right of the Jews to
live in the land is conditional upon their behavior.
"See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you
obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by
loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his
commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and
multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are
entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you
will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I
declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in
the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call
heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you
life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your
descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and
cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may
dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)
The Disobedience and Restoration of Israel
Disobedience and Discipline
2 Kings, Chapter 17, documents God's reasons for His temporarily removing
the ten Northern tribes from the Land. The Lord indicates that the
approaching 70 year Babylonian captivity would allow the Land to enjoy its
seventh-year Sabbath rests which had been ignored by the Jews since their
entry into the land under the leadership of Joshua.
Moses had given Israel this warning about what would happen if they forsook
the Lord:
I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue
you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. Then
the land will enjoy its Sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and
you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy
its Sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the
rest it did not have during the Sabbaths you lived in it. (Leviticus
26:33-35)
Second Chronicles records the result of their disobedience:
He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword,
and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia
came to power. The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests; all the time of its
desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment
of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah. (2 Chronicles 36:20-21)
Repentance
Daniel, who had been among the young men taken captive to Babylon, expressed
the repentance that the exiles felt after years of captivity. He had lived
out a long and useful life in Babylon serving a succession of governments
and administrations, but as an old man he realized the time of the captivity
there was about to end when he happened to be reading the scroll of his
immediate predecessor Jeremiah:
In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made
ruler over the Babylonian kingdom--in the first year of his reign, I,
Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD
given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last
seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer
and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD
my God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his
covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned
and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away
from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the
prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers,
and to all the people of the land. "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we
are covered with shame--the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all
Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us
because of our unfaithfulness to you. O LORD, we and our kings, our princes
and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you."
(Daniel 9:1-8) (See also Daniel 9:15-19)
Rebuilding - Ezra, Nehemiah
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah describe the leadership of Zerrubabel and
Nehemiah, who led small numbers of Jews back to the Land at the end of the
appointed 70 years in Babylon. A modest Second Temple was constructed and
the city walls were rebuilt in answer to Daniel's prayer of intercession
(Daniel 9:1-19). The land from that time until now was under Gentile
dominion, however. Yeshua would later affirm that Israel's subservience to
Gentile powers would continue until He returned, (Luke 21:44). This did not
change in 1948 when Israel achieved national independence--Jerusalem is to
be overrun and destroyed by foreign armies at least one more time.
(Zechariah 14:1-3)
Coming of The Messiah
The Gospel of Matthew was written primarily for Jewish readers. It
constantly refers to the Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Yeshua (Jesus) as
the rightful King of the Jews. Among these striking fulfillments, Matthew
cited Yeshua's virgin birth (1:22-23), the place of His birth in Bethlehem
(2:5-6), the flight of His parents to Egypt to spare him from Herod's
slaughter of children (2:14-15), His boyhood years in Nazareth (2:23), the
beginnings of His public ministry in the area of Galilee (4:13-16), His
miraculous healing ministry (8:14-17; 12:17-21), His rejection by
non-believers (13:13-15), His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey (21:1-5),
His surrender to His enemies (26:54-56), and His betrayal for thirty pieces
of silver (27:3-10).
His agony in the garden, illegal trial in the middle of the night,
crucifixion, burial and resurrection are vividly described (26-28). The
other three gospels give complementary details.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
A comparison of all the Gospels with the Old Testament record results in
over sixty different prophecies fulfilled in Yeshua's birth, life and death.
The odds against any person coincidentally fulfilling these prophecies is
astronomical! It was this fact that convinced His followers that He truly
was the long-awaited Messiah. Here are some examples of this fact:
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We
have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ)
Philip found Nathaniel and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote
about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph." (John 1:41, 45)
When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, He revealed to her
that He was Messiah.
The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he
comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak
to you am he."
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the
people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be
the Christ?" (John 4:25-26, 28-29)
The Believing Minority - Apostles and Early Christians
It should always be remembered that the entire first church was Jewish. All
of the Twelve Apostles were Jewish. Their first assignment was to preach to
"the lost sheep of Israel." (Matthew 10:6) Yeshua was reluctant at first to
even share the Gospel with the Canaanite woman who asked for His help
because His focus was also the Jewish people. (Matthew 25:22-28).
As the nation began to reject their promised King and Messiah (Matthew
12:14-21), Jesus began to conceal truth from the nation, by speaking in
parables (Matthew 13). He focused on training. His disciples for the age
which would follow, and on His primary mission of arriving in Jerusalem at
the time appointed for His crucifixion. God's plan for ultimate blessings
promised to the Gentiles came more into view.
On the night of His betrayal at the "Last Supper"--after Judas had left to
finalize his plot to betray the Lord--Jesus brought the 11 disciples, as
representatives of true, believing Israel into the "New Covenant" which had
been promised to Israel hundreds of years earlier by the prophets Jeremiah,
Ezekiel and Isaiah. This New Covenant was to be the basis of the spread of
the gospel message of Jesus by these same men, after they were made Apostles
of the church. The nation Israel was to be brought back to God under the
terms of this New Covenant, though for a period of time they were to be set
aside because of their rejection of Yeshua as Messiah.
Yeshua's official rejection of Israel and His plan for the calling out of a
church was announced at Caesarea Phillippi (Matthew 16:17-19). A few months
later, during His final week in Jerusalem, He announced to the nation and
its leaders,
"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done
this, and it is marvelous in our eyes' Therefore I tell you that the kingdom
of God will be taken away from you [Israel] and given to a people [the
church] who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone [Messiah]
will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." (Matthew
21:42-44)
Yeshua wept over Jerusalem as He realized the terrible fate that would come
upon the nation because of their rejection of Him. For the second time the
conditional provisions of the Covenant of the Land were to be enforced. This
time their exile ("Diaspora") was to last not 70 years but 2000!
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to
you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your
house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again
until you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." (Matthew
23:37-39)
The resurrection of Jesus and His appearances to friends and disciples over
the next 40 days, reassured them considerably--for they had all forsaken Him
when He died (Matthew 26:31). Promising to send them "Another Strengthener"
(John 14:1516), He told His followers to wait ten more days.
Gathering in Jerusalem on the appointed day--the Feast of Pentecost
following Passover--the Jewish followers of Yeshua were empowered by the
Spirit of God and baptized into a new community of believers known as the
church--the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 3:1-21)
All of those who first heard the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2)
were Jewish (including converts and those dispersed to other countries).
It was only after the persecution of the early church by the Jewish enemies
of Yeshua in Jerusalem that they were scattered from there, and began to
take the message to the rest of Judea and Samaria, and eventually, to
Gentiles living in Israel, and even to other Nations (Acts 8:1; 10:1-48;
13:1-4).
Even when Paul, the "Apostle to The Gentiles" would go to any new place, he
would first seek out the Jewish people and proclaim the Gospel to them.
(Acts 13:5; 14; 14:1-5; 17:1-5; 18:1-6) Typically, some of the Jews would
believe and the rest would not. Only then would he began to preach to the
Gentiles. Here is an example from the visit to Antioch in Pisidia:
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to
speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation
was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul
and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace
of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word
of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas
answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since
you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now
turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have
made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends
of the earth.'" When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the
word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
(Acts 13:42-48)
Paul summarized his God-given method in Romans 1:16 where he stated, "I am
not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."
Israel's Unbelief
Rejection of Messiah
The second violation of the conditional provisions of the Covenant Of The
Land occurred when Israel as a nation rejected her rightful Messiah, Yeshua,
when He came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey as legitimate King of Israel
(exactly fulfilling Zechariah 9:9)
As he [Jesus] was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives,
the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a
loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is
the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the
highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, "Teacher,
rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the
very stones would cry out." And when he drew near and saw the city he wept
over it, saying, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for
peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon
you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and
hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children
within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because
you did not know the time of your visitation." (Luke 19:37-44)
One might have thought that during the 400 years following the close of the
Old Testament (after the book of Malachi was written) the nation would have
learned its lessons from history and been ready for the coming of the
Promised One. But the priesthood had become thoroughly corrupt and the bulk
of the populace wanted relief from Roman Oppression--not release from inner
evil, sin and spiritual death. Messiah's rejection as rightful King in the
line of David was followed within a few days by His betrayal and execution.
When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate the assembled crowd of Jews was given
an opportunity to free Jesus who was by all counts completely innocent, or
to release a known criminal. In the ensuing clamor the people asked instead
for the release of Barabbas,
Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any
one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner,
called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do
you want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?" For
he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides,
while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have
nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much over him
today in a dream." Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people
to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them,
"Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said,
"Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is
called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified." And he said, "Why,
what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be
crucified." So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that
a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd,
saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." And all
the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" (Matthew
27:15-25)
It is wrong for us to label Jews as "Christ-killers" because quite clearly
all mankind is involved in the conspiracy which put Jesus to death.
Representatives of each of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth had a
responsible role in putting Messiah to death. Had the Son of God been born
in any other country, in any other time, the results would have been the
same. Yet the leaders of the Jews standing before Pilate in that generation
were willing to assume responsibility for the blood of Jesus, "Let his blood
be upon us." God will evidently require this of the nation in the final days
of the coming tribulation.
The resurrection of Jesus three days after his death, and the sudden and
dramatic formation of the church of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem on the Day of
Pentecost (50 days after the resurrection) did not turn the heart of the
nation to their Messiah. It was only a matter of time until the Jewish
followers of Jesus, some thousands in number, were forced to flee Jerusalem.
Soon the unbelieving Jews, in their continuing revolt against Rome, provoked
the Romans to remove them from the land. As a consequence, the provisional
terms of the Covenant Of The Land were invoked for the second time by the
Owner of the Land.
After this second dispersion, lasting nearly 2000 years, God allowed His
chosen people to return to their land again. The exciting history of the
regathering of the Jews from all lands began a hundred years
ago---culminating in the rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 and the tiny
nation's rise to power and a restored place of great power and influence as
a modern progressive democracy. Thankfully, God is faithful to His promises
in spite our unbelief!
The drama of the Jewish people during their Diaspora is little known to most
Christians. It is fascinating reading because it soon becomes clear that God
has in fact protected the Jewish people, their religion, values and culture
against the great pressures to assimilate, against almost constant terrible
anti-Semitism, against horrendous persecution down through the ages. The
very existence of the Jews today, the recovery of their language, their
regathering to the land of their fathers, and the clear signs of their
Messianic expectations, are surely among the greatest miracles one can find
on the pages of human history.
Hardening and blindness - Romans 11
In the early years when God had moved to call out a church to His name, and
because the majority of Jewish people did not accept Yeshua as Messiah, the
Apostle Paul explained that they had become spiritually blind. The same
thing happens to any people anywhere in any age who hear truth from God and
ignore it. The Jews are representative--not unique--in their demonstration
of all of mankind's rebellion against God down through the ages.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may
not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full
number of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25)
One might ask if the past hundred years of great economic development,
prosperity, and overwhelming military victories against enormous odds, has
brought the Jews to a place of contrition and repentance and humility as far
as their God is concerned---especially since the restoration of the State of
Israel was born out of terrible persecution and hardship?
It is quite true that many thousands of Jews from all over the world have
become believers in Yeshua over the past 2000 years, and these have been
added to the church (see Ephesians 2:11-3:12 for God's purposes in this
present age). It is also true that there is a small remnant of some
thousands of believing Jews now resident in the Land of Israel (Romans
11:5). Yet for the most part Israel is a secular state. Most of her citizens
are not only indifferent to the God of their Fathers, but openly hostile to
any notions that the God of the Land is anything more than an interesting
mythological character now outgrown and to be discarded.
People who live in Israel can not help but be reminded of their past because
the Sabbath is observed, and the major Biblical feasts are kept by many.
Furthermore, archaeology is the national pastime, so there are reminders of
early history in the news every day. At the present time about half of the
Jews living in the land are "Sabras"--that is, they were born in the land
and not immigrants. This younger generation is especially involved in a
quest for their roots and identity, and from among the young men of this
generation, well over 100,000 are already diligently studying the Torah in
the many yeshivas of the land.
Although God is known for his great patience and long-suffering, it is
appropriate to ask how much longer the Holy God of the Covenants will
tolerate the present indifference, rebellion and disregard for His Person
which typifies the Israel of the past hundred years? Of course we can not
speak much more favorably about the disregard for God in our own country
these days, especially since most Americans have already heard the truth
about God, but never taken it seriously.
Sadly, we have further indications from the New Testament that tell us that
not only will Israel continue in its denial of Yeshua as Messiah--they will
in fact readily embrace a counterfeit Messiah. Jesus warned His people when
he was with them,
You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal
life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me
that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men. But I know that you
have not the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and
you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will
receive. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not
seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:39-44)
Israel is God's model nation, yet in spite of the fact that Israel's history
of repeated failure is on public display in the Bible for all to read, God
has neither abandoned nor rejected His chosen people. When all the final
scores are in concerning all the nations and their animosity and hatred of
the one true God, no one will have any cause for boasting. In fact God will
judge all the other nations of the world by how they have treated the Jews
(Joel 3).
One hundred years of God's grace, kindness, mercy and favor have not turned
the nation of Israel towards faith in their God. Nor are they any closer to
accepting their true Messiah. Will then God banish the Jews from the land
again, perhaps this time permanently?
The answer from Scripture is clear. Israel's final testing will occur in
their land and involve the destruction of a majority of the populace, a time
of trial compared to which the Nazi holocaust will pale in insignificance.
Modern Israel
Ezekiel, chapters 36 and 37 plainly predicted that the Chosen People would
one day be regathered from the various nations of the world, back to their
own land, Israel. The Prophet saw a vision of a valley full of dry bones,
shaking and coming back together. Once the skeleton was formed, muscles
appeared, then skin covered the reconstructed body which is symbolic of the
rebirth of Israel.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the
LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me
back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the
valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones
live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Then he said to me,
"Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the
LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make
breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you
and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in
you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" So
I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a
noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I
looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but
there was no breath in them. (Ezekiel 37:1-8)
The modern nation of Israel came into existence on May 14, 1948 when the
British, who had occupied the area of Palestine since the end of World War
II withdrew their forces and ended their occupation of the land.
This was not a surprise, since Jewish people had flocked to the land for
decades as part of the Zionist movement, begun in the late 1800's. At the
end of World War I the British issued the "Balfour Declaration" which
endorsed the establishment of "a national home" for the Jewish people in
Palestine During World War II the Nazis killed 6 million Jewish people,
(approximately one-third of all Jews living at the time). Because of this,
world opinion was in favor of the establishment of a homeland for Jews.
However, all of the nations immediately surrounding the little sliver of
land were opposed to the formation of a Jewish state, so, on the very first
day of Israel's independence, all of Israel's neighbors declared war against
them. Israel miraculously won that war--and four more which have been waged
against them during their first fifty years of existence.
The Arab population of the land, who were mostly Moslems, were invited to
stay when Israel became a nation. They were offered citizenship if they
would stay. Many of them accepted the offer, but the majority fled into
buffer areas just inside the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, where
they formed Palestinian refugee camps. The neighboring countries would not
assimilate them, preferring to use their plight as homeless refugees for
political advantage.
Today "Palestinians" are the residents of certain areas of Israel designated
by the Oslo Accords of 1963 as areas for self-rule of Palestinian people
under the leadership of Yasser Arafat and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation
Organization). There is a great deal of unrest, and occasional terrorist
activity, between the residents of these areas and the rest of Israel, all
of which threatens to destroy the progress of the "peace process" in the
area.
The Nation of Israel has been brought back together as promised in Ezekiel:
the skeleton, the muscles, and the skin are in place, but there is still one
part of the prophecy which awaits fulfillment. That is the spiritual rebirth
of the people. This is symbolized by God breathing life into Israel, even as
He did into Adam when he was created.
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say
to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'"
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to
life and stood up on their feet--a vast army. Then he said to me: "Son of
man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are
dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say
to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to
open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the
land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I
open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and
you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know
that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"
(Ezekiel 37:9-14)
Israel has moved back into their ancient lands without any special regard
for the God of their Fathers, who was doing this for them. The treatment of
the immigrating Jews towards the Arabs living in the land was often harsh
and unfair. This is surely because they had returned in a general state of
unbelief. They had forgotten for the moment the Law of Moses, and God's
standards for treatment of strangers and aliens living in God's land. Much
of the rebellion by the Palestinian people against the Jews is based on
legitimate complaints, and God, of course, can not overlook this in the long
run. He has no favorites and is even-handed in His judgments of all people.
Israel's Glorious Future
As mentioned earlier, God's ultimate intention for the nation Israel is that
they should one day live under the more powerful, more effectual conditions
of the New Covenant which is the covenant which is now in effect in the
world-wide church of Jesus Christ,
This is pictured in Ezekiel 36 this way:
"'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the
countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water
on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities
and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in
you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of
flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and
be careful to keep my laws." (Ezekiel 36:24-27)
It is after the church is completed that God will turn again to Israel as a
nation and focus His activities once again from His unseen headquarters in
Jerusalem.
Peter has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a
people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is
written, `After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of
David, which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up,
that the rest of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called
by my name, says the Lord, who has made these things known from of old.'
(Acts 15:14-18)--The quote is from Amos 9:11-12).
In his great discourse on Israel's future the Apostle Paul assures us,
Lest you [believing Gentiles] be wise in your own conceits, I want you to
understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel,
until the full number of the Gentiles come in [to the church], and so [or,
"then"] all Israel will be saved; as it is written, "The Deliverer will come
from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; "and this will be my
covenant with them when I take away their sins." As regards the gospel they
are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved
for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are
irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received
mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in
order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. (Romans
11:25-32)
The Old Testament books of prophecy are full of promises of the future
blessing of Israel. This will be developed later in the last section on the
Millennial Reign of Christ and beyond.
Part II The Church: A Mystery Revealed
Chapter 2
The Mystery Of The Church
Announcement by Jesus
Toward the end of His public ministry Jesus made an announcement to His
disciples about the formation of His "church."
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Phillippi, he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still
others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not
revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades
will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:13-18)
The word "church," was the normal Greek word for "assembly." Literally, it
meant to "call out," as when the people of the city would be called together
for a town meeting. Later the concept of being "called out" would take on
special meaning. It would come to mean that the followers of Jesus should
consider themselves no longer members of the old fallen world system
(cosmos), but they are now citizens of a heavenly country, ambassadors from
a far country serving in the world as sojourners and aliens. Down through
history every generation of Christians has had to rediscover this
pilgrim-nature of our calling.
Like many important teachings of Christ, the Disciples did not understand
what Jesus meant at the time when He said that He would build a church which
would assault and ultimately conquer the very strongholds of evil (Matthew
16:18). In fact, in the same chapter Jesus also revealed that He would soon
die and be raised again on the third day. Peter actually argued with Him
about that! (Matthew 16:21-23) It was only after Jesus' resurrection that
they remembered His teaching (Luke 24:7-8).
The fact that the church was not described by Christ at this time is
significant in the light of His teachings, sometime later, about future
things. In His great discourse on the future, known as "The Olivet
Discourse" (because it was delivered on The Mount of Olives), He spoke of
Israel's future trials, but made no reference to the church. That is why the
events of the future seem to be imminent. The entire church period,
including the Rapture of the church, were still a mystery, not yet revealed.
This vast new body of revealed information, later made known the Apostles
(including Paul), would have only confused His disciples had it been given
to them in the tumultuous transitional period when God was turning His
attention away from the nation of Israel to the out-calling of a
world-church.
Beginnings at Pentecost
It is interesting that even during the last week before His crucifixion,
while Jesus was giving many important instructions, the subject of the
church was not specifically addressed. Everything He taught would later be
applicable to the church, but it was not about the church per se. This,
again, was because the nature of the church had not yet been revealed.
During the forty days Jesus spent with the Disciples, between the time of
His resurrection and the time of His ascension into Heaven, He still did not
give details about the church. But He did tell them to wait for a special
gift from the Father.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command:
"Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you
have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days
you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going
to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father
has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid
him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly
two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said,
"why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been
taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him
go into heaven." (Acts 1:1-11)
This, incidentally corresponds exactly to the Old Testament prophecy of the
coming of Messiah at the end of the age. Jesus will return to the same Mount
of Olives from which He departed almost 2000 years ago
I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city
will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the
city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from
the city.
Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in
the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to
west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and
half moving south. (Zechariah 14:2-4)
In obedience to the parting words of their Lord, the fearful, powerless
little band of about 120 Jewish followers of Yeshua gathered in the Upper
Room. They waited there for about one week until the Day of Pentecost, a
Sunday morning, part of a time period on the calendar known as the Feast of
Weeks and the Feast of Harvest. This was one of the major events of the year
for which Jewish men were expected to travel to Jerusalem. Because of this,
the city was full of Jewish believers from all over the known world on this
great day.
The Book of Acts describes the amazing "gift" from the Father for which the
Disciples had been waiting.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and
filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under
heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment,
because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed,
they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is
it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes
and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;
visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and
Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" (Acts
2:1-12)
This filling with the Holy Spirit was followed by a powerful message by
Peter to the crowds that had gathered. He made many references to the Hebrew
Scriptures, and showed how Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah (Acts
2:14-40). Three thousand out of the gathered crowd became believers that day
and were all baptized immediately (Acts 2:41).
This was the beginning of the church. As mentioned before, all the first
believers were Jewish, and all of them understood that what they were doing
was totally compatible with their Jewish history and Scriptures.
The word "church" is very similar to the word "synagogue." The Greek word
for church was ekklesia, which means "called out," "an assembly." The Greek
for synagogue is sunagoge, meaning "gathering together." Neither of these
words are used in the Book of Acts until a little later. ("church" in Acts
5:11 and "synagogue"--implied in Acts 6:9, and actually used in Acts 13:14).
When the words were used, it was always clear that the church referred to
the new sect of Christians, while the synagogue referred to traditional
Jewish groups.
Therefore, there are both similarities and differences between the new
"church" and the old "synagogue." The differences were not contradictory.
The new group saw itself as a continuation of the old, believing that Yesuha
(Jesus) was the fulfillment of the promise of a Messiah.
The Feasts and Fulfilled Prophecy
Since the Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, and this is
considered the birthday of the church, it is helpful to study the connection
between other major Feasts of Israel and God's prophetic timetable.
Leviticus 23 -is the key passage which describes the original seven feasts.
The Passover Supper (Pesach)- Leviticus 23:4-5
The Feast of Unleavened Bread - Leviticus 23:6-8
The Feast of Firstfruits - Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:9-14
The Feast of Weeks - Leviticus 23:16-21
(Also called Pentecost- meaning 50 days after Feast of Firstfruits)
(Also called The Feast of Harvest)
Rosh Hashanah - New Year's Day - Leviticus 23:23-24
(Also called The Feast of Trumpets)
Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement - Leviticus 23:26-32
The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) - Leviticus 23:33-34, 42-43
(Also called The Feast of Ingathering)
Since that time several others have been added, such as
Purim and
The Feast of Lights (Hanukkah).
These holy days were symbolic of things to come.
"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with
regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is
found in Christ." (Colossians 2:16-17)
It is surprising how many of the most important events in Jewish and
Christian history have occurred on one of these dates, especially when one
notices the correlation between the events and what the corresponding feast
originally signified. Grant Jeffrey points out that all of the feasts and
fasts of Israel have had significant historical events occur on their
anniversaries.
Of the seven prescribed feasts of Moses, the first three all have something
to do with the First Coming of Christ, the last three have to do with the
Second Coming, and the one in the middle, Pentecost, is the birth date of
the church. Let us look at them more closely:
The Passover Supper (Pesach) -- Fourteenth of Nisan
The event known as the "Last Supper" was actually the observance of
Passover. Jesus told His disciples,
"I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer."
(Luke 22:15)
All of the Gospels agree that this was the Passover meal. John 13 begins
with these words:
"It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come
for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who
were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love." (John
13:1)
Here are the instructions for the first Passover, observed by Moses and the
Israelites just before they left the land of Egypt:
The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may
take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the
fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel
must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and
put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat
the lambs.
That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with
bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or
cooked in water, but roast it over the fire--head, legs and inner parts. Do
not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must
burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your
belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in
haste; it is the LORD's Passover.
On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every
firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods
of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses
where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No
destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. "This is a day you
are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a
festival to the LORD--a lasting ordinance." (Exodus 12:5-14)
This feast was a reminder of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. It was
mentioned often in their literature, and was to be commemorated yearly
forever. It became the perfect occasion for education of the young about the
story of their sojourn in Egypt, the Ten Plagues, the Exodus, and their
Wilderness experience.
The central issue of the feast is the death of the lamb in the place of the
firstborn. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus, he cried out, "Look, the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) (NIV)
Jesus said this about Himself: "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay
down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay
it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to
take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:17-18)
During the Passover meal, Jesus used well-known ceremonies of breaking bread
and drinking the cup to institute a "New Covenant" with His followers:
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
"This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the
new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:19-20)
The Apostle Paul actually called Christ "our Passover lamb" (1 Corinthians
5:7). So we see that it was not a coincidence that Jesus was crucified for
our sins during the Passover season. The exact date of His final arrival in
Jerusalem and His death on the cross had been foretold by Daniel the prophet
approximately 500 years earlier.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread -- Fifteenth of Nisan
This feast was to be celebrated the day after Passover.
Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out
of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it
with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. (Exodus 13:3)
This feast marked the beginning of seven days of eating unleavened bread. In
Jesus' time, it appears that the Jews had combined the Passover and this
first day of unleavened bread.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to
sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want
us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" (Mark 14:12)
Separation from yeast is symbolic of purification from sin. It symbolizes
the purification of Christ's disciples. This, of course is the result of His
death: believers are delivered from the penalty and power of sin.
The Feast of Firstfruits -- Seventeenth of Nisan
Leviticus 23:9-14
This feast was prescribed in Leviticus 23:9-14, while Israel was still
wandering in the wilderness, but it was not to be celebrated until they
entered the land. When they did finally enter the Promised Land, Joshua 5
records the sequence of events.
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on
the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.
The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of
the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.
The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was
no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the
produce of Canaan. (Joshua 5:10-12)
On the fourteenth day of the month they celebrated the Passover. On the next
day, the fifteenth, they ate "some of the produce of the land." The word for
"produce" is properly translated "old corn" in the King James version
because the Hebrew word used was `abuwr, which literally means "passed" or
"kept over." The word was used only of stored grain.
On the next day, the sixteenth day of the month, Manna was given for the
last time. The next day, the 17th, would have been their first day of food
from the new land. The word "produce" in this verse is different from the
word used earlier. It is the Hebrew tebuw'ah, meaning "income," or "fruit."
All of this speaks of their new life in the Promised Land.
The resurrection of Jesus was on the third day. It was, therefore,
symbolized by this feast. The concept of the "first fruits" is most
appropriate since, as Paul explains,
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection
of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ
all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits;
then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
As Matthew Henry writes, "It is very observable that our Lord Jesus rose
from the dead on the very day that the first-fruits were offered, to show
that he was the substance of this shadow."
Pentecost -- Sixth of Sivan
(50 Days after Feast of Firstfruits)
Also called the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Weeks
Leviticus 23:16,21 Deuteronomy 16:9-10
It is surely no coincidence that this feast, being next in the order, was
the occasion of the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church, as explained
above. (Acts 2:1-4)
This leaves three of the primary seven feasts for possible symbolic meaning
in regard to future prophetic events.
A Warning about Date Setting! It is important that the reader does not
think, from the remarks on the following three feasts that we can set exact
dates for future events. Please see the Appendix- Warnings and Cautions,
<append.html > for a brief discussion of this topic. We do not believe in
setting dates, and Jesus warned His disciples against the temptation to do
that. However, it does seem likely that, in some way, future events will be
tied in to the meaning of these feasts. Using the Passover, and Christ's
crucifixion, as an example, it seems that He and His disciples celebrated
Passover early in order that His death could take place, and His body could
be removed from the cross before the beginning of the sacred day itself.
Thus, even if one could have known He was going to die on Passover of that
year, they still would not have been able to set the exact date. In the same
way, even if we could know that the Rapture would take place on Rosh
Hashanah (and we can not know this), we would still not be able to predict
with certainty whether it would be the exact day, or near the day, for His
own purposes. Furthermore, we can not know whether it will be this year,
next year, or twenty years from now. For the past several years, people have
presented elaborate schemes "proving" that the Rapture would be in a certain
year. All such attempts have only succeeded in causing some people to doubt
the whole subject of Biblical prophecy.
The Feasts and Possible Future Fulfillments
Rosh Hashanah -- First of Tishri - Ancient New Year's Day (Civil)
Also called The Feast of Trumpets
Leviticus 23:23-25,27-32
This day marks the ancient New Year's Day, and the beginning of the holy
season of the Seventh Month (which includes the next two feasts). It began
with the blowing of the shofar, or trumpet. It was to be a day of rest and
sacrifice.
Chuck Missler thinks this was possibly the date of the Birth of Christ.
Another strong possibility for Christ's birth is the Feast of Tabernacles,
just two weeks later the same year.
This day might point to the future rapture of the church, since it is the
next major feast in the Jewish calendar, and because of the prominence of
the blowing of the shofar. Again, we do not believe that this theory gives
grounds for any actual setting of dates for the Lord's return.
Yom Kippur -- Tenth of Tishri -- The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 16; Leviticus 23:26-32
This is considered the most holy day of the Jewish year. It is a day of
public fasting and humiliation as the people of Israel seek atonement for
their sins.
When animal sacrifices were still being offered the high priest first
sanctified himself by taking a ceremonial bath and putting on white
garments. He then sacrificed a bullock to atone for himself and his fellow
priests. Then two goats were chosen, one for sacrifice in behalf of the sins
of the people, and one to be released into the wilderness. This "scapegoat"
was symbolic of the pardon for sin brought through the sacrifice.
Since this is a day of mourning for sin, it is possibly symbolic of that
future date when Christ returns to Earth in glory. At that time Israel will
mourn when they see their Messiah whom they have pierced
On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a
spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have
pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and
grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (Zechariah
12:9-10)
This future day of mourning is developed more fully in the third section of
the book.
The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) --Fifteenth of Tishri
Leviticus 23:33-42
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary describes this feast for us.
This festival was observed on the 15th day of the seventh month to
commemorate the wandering of Israel in the wilderness. Features of the
celebration included a holy convocation on the first and eighth days, and
the offering of many animal sacrifices. The Israelites were also commanded
to live in booths made of palm and willow trees during the festival to
commemorate their period of wilderness wandering when they lived in
temporary shelters. This feast is also known as the Feast of Booths.
This could very well have been the time of year when Jesus was born.
The theme of the feast is appropriate since John 1:14 tells us that, "The
Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."(Greek skenoo - "to tent
or encamp", as God did in the Tabernacle of old). Incidentally, if Jesus was
born on this date, His conception would have taken place nine months
earlier, about the time of Hanukah, the Feast of Lights, in December of the
previous year. This would lend some credibility to our modern observance of
Christmas in December.
As far as future symbolism is concerned, this feast is ideal for the concept
of Christ ushering in the Kingdom Age again, dwelling, or encamping with
mankind once again, this time as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Revelation of the Mystery of the Church through Paul
The "mystery" of the church was revealed to the Apostle Paul, and described
by Him in numerous passages of Scripture. In Romans 11:25 he used the word
to describe the temporary "hardening" of Israel: "I do not want you to be
ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel
has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles
has come in."
The word "mystery" (Greek musterion) meant a "secret," or something formerly
hidden, but now revealed.
In Romans 16:25, Paul calls the Gospel, the proclamation of Jesus Christ, a
mystery.
In Corinthians 15:51-58, he uses "mystery" to describe the resurrection and
the glorified body that believers will receive.
Paul taught that it was a mystery (formerly hidden, but now revealed) that
all things will eventually be brought together under the headship of Christ
(Ephesians 1:9-10).
In Ephesians 3 the Apostle explained in greater detail that the mystery of
the church was part of God's purpose all along to make Gentiles heirs
together with Israel.
Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given
to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I
have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to
understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known
to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to
God's holy apostles and prophets.
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with
Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in
Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace
given me through the working of his power.
Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given
me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make
plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past
was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God
should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our
Lord. (Ephesians 3:2-11)
Again in Ephesians, Paul calls the revelation that the church is the Bride
of Christ a mystery (Ephesians 5:32). And he refers to his commission to
preach to Gospel to the Gentiles as a mystery (Ephesians 6:19). This theme
is also addressed in Colossians:
I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you
the word of God in its fullness--the mystery that has been kept hidden for
ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has
chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:25-27)
The Gospel to all nations - "To the Jew first"
The essence, then, of the mystery of the church is that, through this new
assembly, God would include all people who would believe, both Jews and
Gentiles. They would, in a sense, become one:
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who
were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one
in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28 See also Ephesians 2:14)
This spiritual oneness does not blur the distinctions between them. Peter
and John (and all the Disciples) became one in Christ, yet no one was
confused about which of them was which. Likewise, oneness exists between
Christian men and women, but God does not change their gender. Neither did
he obliterate the difference between slaves and free men, as seen in the
touching story of Philemon. The spiritual oneness superseded the physical
differences, but did not eliminate them.
It should also be obvious that the church did not replace Israel, because,
as mentioned before, Paul was careful to always take the Gospel to Jewish
believers in every new city before sharing it with the Gentiles. He said, "I
am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the
salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile." (Romans 1:16)
The Church: The Body and Bride of Christ
The church is distinguished from Israel in many ways (See Appendix). One
example would be that it is called the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians
12:14-27; Ephesians 12:4).
The church is also called the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33), whereas
unfaithful Israel was sometimes called an adulterous wife (Jeremiah 16:32;
Hosea 1:2). The church has not yet been married, but is a virgin bride
preparing for her first wedding. However Israel was in times past the wife
of Yahweh whom He finally divorced because of her spiritual adultery. Yet
Hosea makes clear God will one day take His wife, Israel, back to Himself,
restored and remarried. The common belief that Israel has been permanently
set aside by God can easily be refuted from many Scriptures in both the Old
and New Testaments.
It is vitally important for the followers of Jesus in our age to understand
the difference between Israel and the church. Israel as a nation enjoys
covenant relationships with God--other nations do not have such covenants
with God. God's covenants with the church do not include a plot of land, a
temple, an earthly inheritance, etc. They are an entirely different set of
promises.
Grafted in temporarily - in Israel's place
In Romans 11, Paul, "the Apostle to the Gentiles" explains to Gentiles that
Israel has not been rejected by God, but, because of their hardness, they
have suffered temporary spiritual blindness, and that Gentile believers have
been grafted in, in the place of some of them. Eventually, believing Israel
will be grafted back in (Romans 11:17-25).
The description of Gentile believers as wild olive branches grafted into the
true olive tree suggests that Gentiles need to become more Jewish in their
thinking and life styles as they grow spiritually. When we meet our Messiah
and Savior face to face we shall discover that He is Jewish and was raised
in Jewish culture and taught the Hebrew Scriptures. He was a devout and
observant Jewish believer. Visits to Israel and cultivated friendships with
Jewish people are well worth the effort in freeing us from our own ghetto
mentalities and the pagan, idolatrous roots from which we have been freed as
Gentiles.
Spiritual Heirs of the covenants
In Ephesians, chapter 2, the Apostle Paul reminds his Gentile readers that
before Christ, they were excluded from the covenants given to Israel, but
now have been brought near through Christ's blood. The barrier between Jews
and Gentiles has been abolished. Both have been reconciled by the Cross, and
both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, Gentile
believers in Christ have become fellow citizens with Israel (Ephesians
2:11-22).
In the church, Gentiles have also become fellow-heirs with Israel:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you
Gentiles--Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that
was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by
revelation, as I have already written briefly.
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the
mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as
it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with
Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in
Christ Jesus.
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me
through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all
God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the
administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God,
who created all things.
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God
should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our
Lord. (Ephesians 3:1-12)
Not to replace Israel
In Romans 11, Paul shows that the church has not replaced Israel:
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite
myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. (Romans 11:1)
The institution of the church was not meant by God to replace the earlier
institution of Israel as His "chosen people." In the next verse (v.2), he
stated plainly, "God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew." And he
used the well-known example of Elijah, when he thought he was the only
believer, and the Lord told him that he had seven thousand other true
believers. Thus, Paul argues that there were many true believers in Israel.
"So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." (Romans
11:5)
After explaining that the others, who did not believe that Yeshua was
Messiah, had been hardened and blinded temporarily, he asks again, "Did they
stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?" And then he answers emphatically,
"Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to
the Gentiles to make Israel envious." (Romans 11:11)
One New Man...
Ray C. Stedman notes that all of human history is the story of two men named
Adam. We are all descended from Adam Number One, the head of our race, and
we are by nature body, soul and spirit. The fall of man brought doom to the
race of Adam, but the Second, or Last Adam heads a new race:
For as [all who are] in Adam all die, so [all who are] in Christ all will be
made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)
The church plus Israel is the "one new man" God is building. Paul brings
this out in Ephesians:
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called
"uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done
in the body by the hands of men)--remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to
the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near
through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the
two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His
purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making
peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the
cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace
to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him
we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no
longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and
members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the
whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in
which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Stedman notes that the church may be compared to the soul of the new man,
and Israel the body, with God Himself--the Spirit--indwelling this "one new
man." This figure helps us to keep the distinctives clear between Israel's
calling (they are an earthly, redeemed people), and the church's destiny
(given heavenly promises primarily).
Not to antagonize Israel
Members of the church must not feel superior to the Jewish people, since the
time will come that Israel will return to the Lord. This too is part of the
mystery once hidden, but now revealed:
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may
not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full
number of the Gentiles has come in.
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come
from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant
with them when I take away their sins."
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as
far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,
for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy
as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient
in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to
you. (Romans 11:25-31)
End of Chapter 2
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