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Note:
Today, generally speaking, the House of Israel claim to be a people of the Covenant. What they mean by this is that they are the children of the Mosaic Covenant - which, in turn, raises the question, "Are they [truly the children of the Mosaic Covenant]?"
As a matter of fact, the Jewish people hold to a Covenant with Death - which is a thoroughly corrupted version of the Mosaic Covenant and which disavows Jesus as their Messiah. Their spiritual blindness goes back a long way, as does their defiant refusal to face up to the truth and consequences of their situation.
David lived during the 10th century BCE. David honoured the Covenant as it had been given to Moses. And it was David who brought the Covenant Box into David's City and put up a tent for it:
For his own use, David built houses in David's City. He also prepared a place for God's Covenant Box and put up a tent for it. [2] Then he said, "Only Levites should carry the Covenant Box, because they are the ones the LORD chose to carry it and to serve him forever." [3] So David summoned all the people of Israel to Jerusalem in order to bring the Covenant Box to the place he had prepared for it. [4] Next he sent for the descendants of Aaron and for the Levites. (1 Chronicles 15:1-4 GNT)
[Essay: David's Tent presaged a place in which one could dwell with God and, by its very mobility, the pouring out of the Spirit who would accompany God's people wherever they went.]
Yet, two centuries later, the Lord God declared through Amos8C that the Covenant formerly known as David's Tent was in ruins:
In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be (Amos 9:11 NIV)
At the physical level, the destruction of David's Tent has proved to be the case, despite the warnings given by the Lord God, Moses, and later by Jesus Himself. The synagogues of the House of Desolation are synagogues of the lord Satan.
The Lord warned Moses13C that, after he died, Israel's treachery and waywardness would lead to them forsaking and breaking His Covenant (thereby distorting and defiling the Covenant):
16 The LORD said to Moses: You are soon to lie with your fathers. This people will thereupon go astray after the alien gods in their midst, in the land that they are about to enter; they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I made with them. 17 Then My anger will flare up against them, and I will abandon them and hide My countenance from them. They shall be ready prey; and many evils and troubles shall befall them. And they shall say on that day, Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us." (Deuteronomy 31:16-17 (Tanakh))
Although Moses13C passed the Lord's warning on to Israel:
24 After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord: 26 "Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! 28 Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them. 29 For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made." (Deuteronomy 31:24-29 NIV)
[Essay: As the attacks on Israel ramp up, the House of Desolation refuse to acknowledge that the Lord has abandoned them; consequently, they do not ask, "Where have we gone wrong?" See: Deuteronomy 31:16-17 (Tanakh). And so they continue in their own strength, depending on that splintered reed of a staff, the US (cf: Is. 36:6 T).]
Israel chose to ignore the warning Moses gave them. Following the death of Moses13C, the forefathers started to corrupt the Covenant. And this corruption had then continued up until the time of Jesus.
Over time, the corrupt teachings and practices became incorporated into Jewish tradition:
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition. (Mark 7:8 NRSV)
God's commandments were rejected and supplanted by tradition:
9 Then he [Jesus] said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.' 11 But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, 'Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban' (that is, an offering to God)- 12 then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this. (Mark 7:9-13 NRSV)
Then, in 70 CE, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, rendering the Covenant unenforceable at the Physical Level.
The House of Desolation had defiled the Covenant over the years, culminating with their rejection of Jesus, their Messiah. Jesus had this to say of their doctrine and teaching:
15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (Matthew 23:15 NIV)
Jesus describes the House of Israel as the House of Desolation:
Look, your house is left to you desolate. (Matthew 23:38 NIV)
The House of Desolation are not Jews, but are a synagogue of the lord Satan:
I know your afflictions and your poverty — yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. (Revelation 2:9 NIV)
I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars — I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. (Revelation 3:9 NIV)
Their covenant is a covenant with Death - a covenant which will be annulled:
15 For you have said,
“We have made a covenant with Death,
Concluded a pact with Sheol.
When the sweeping flood passes through,
It shall not reach us;
For we have made falsehood our refuge,
Taken shelter in treachery.”
16 Assuredly,
Thus said the Lord GOD:
“Behold, I will found in Zion,
Stone by stone,
A tower of precious cornerstones,
Exceedingly firm;
He who trusts need not fear.
17 But I will apply judgment as a measuring line
And retribution as weights;
Hail shall sweep away the refuge of falsehood,
And flood-waters engulf your shelter.
18 Your covenant with Death shall be annulled,
Your pact with Sheol shall not endure;
When the sweeping flood passes through,
You shall be its victims. (Isaiah 28:15-18 (Tanakh))
Worship 2025
Looking at Worship 2025, above, there is a dashed green line around 'Obedience'; whereas there is a solid red line around 'Defiance'. What does this mean?
Currently, a potential convert can choose between worshipping with the House of Desolation, the Messianic Jews, or the new-covenant church. All three churches are instantiated at the Physical Level, and are open to the public.
'Covenant Obedience', on the other hand, entails obedience to the Messianically Amended Covenant. Currently, the Messianically Amended Covenant exists purely at the Spiritual Level - hence the dashed border. It is as Jesus said:
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [24] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24 NIV84)
This is all very well, but where can the Samaritan woman go in order to learn how to worship in the way Jesus described? Indeed, where can we go today? Today, the only options are with the House of Desolation, the Messianic Jews, or the new-covenant church. Because David's Tent lies in ruins, these are the only available options!
David's Tent had existed at the Spiritual Level and was instantiated at the Piysical Level. Since then, the Levitical Priesthood and teachers of the law defiled and corrupted the Covenant, making access to the Covenant extremely difficult, if not impossible. The Covenant - updated by Jesus - became the Messianically Amended Covenant. But although this exists at the Spiritual Level, it doesn't exist at the Physical Level. Since there is no infrastructure associated with the Messianically Amended Covenant, because the Levitical Priesthood have been reduced to the rank of Levitical Servitors, there are no shepherds able to care for the flock. David's Tent has effectively been destroyed. People have nowhere to go, either to learn or to worship together. Neither is there any outreach.
The Lord gives assurance of the eventual restoration of David's Fallen Tent:
In that day [when the Lord gives the command to shake the House of Israel (Amos 9:11)] I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, (Amos 9:11 NIV84)
The House of Israel will be shaken to the core by the arrival of the Slayer, in whose hand will be the Sword of the Spirit, entrusted to him by the Lord:
The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer. [12] Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast. (Ezekiel 21:11-12 NIV)
The instantiation of the Messianically Amended Covenant will endure to the End of the Age:
In the last days
the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.
[2] Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths."
The Law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2 NIV84)
The instantiated Messianically-Amended-Covenant will function at the Spiritual Level. This may be seen in the operation of the Law. The 613, or so, commandments of the Mosaic Law have been replaced by the evaluation of the Two Abstract Rules.
The structure of the Messianically Amended Covenant:
Messianically Amended Covenant
Residential houses at the Mount Zion and Kidron Valley.
Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.
(The black-domed building left of Dome of the Rock is Al-Aqsa Mosque)
With the Lord's return at the time of Zechariah6C, Zion became holy - ie, set apart for the Lord:
Thus said the LORD of Hosts: I am very jealous for Zion, I am fiercely jealous for her. 3 Thus said the LORD: I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the City of Faithfulness, and the mount of the LORD of Hosts the Holy Mount. (Zechariah6C 8:2-3 (Tanakh))
However, since then, Jesus abandoned the House of Desolation to their fate. He will not return until they acknowledge Him as their Messiah [and commit to the Messianically Amended Covenant]:
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 23:39 NIV)
The eventual rebuilding of David's Fallen Tent will lead to effective outreach:
And the many peoples shall go and say:
“Come,
Let us go up to the Mount of the LORD,
To the House of the God of Jacob;
That He may instruct us in His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For instruction shall come forth from Zion,
The word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3 (Tanakh))
The Mountain of the Lord is 'Mount Zion'; the House of God is the 'abstract Temple'; and there is 'Jerusalem'. Mount Zion, as it were, 'contains' Jerusalem; and Jerusalem contains' the Temple Mount which, in turn, 'contains' the abstract Temple.
With regard to containers and containment, Jesus explains that a 'container' cannot be separated from its components:
Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. (Matthew 23:20 (see verses 16-22 for the complete picture) NIV)
Therefore, on the strength of Matthew 23:20, not only is Mount Zion set aside for the Lord, but Jerusalem is set aside for the Lord, as is Jerusalem's abstract Temple.
Jesus shifted worship to the Spiritual Level:
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [24] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24 NIV84)
In 70 CE the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed, making the Covenant unenforceable at the Physical Level. Nevertheless, the Covenant remains enforceable at the Spiritual Level:
Then I looked up---and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand! [2] I asked, "Where are you going?"
He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is."
[3] Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him [4] and said to him: "Run, tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. [5] And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the Lord, 'and I will be its glory within.'" (Zechariah 2:1-5 NIV84)
Jerusalem is an existential city. However, it has been replaced by its abstraction. That abstraction is at the Spiritual Level. Because the geographical location is known, the abstract Jerusalem would exist even if Jerusalem were razed to the ground.
The shifting of Jerusalem to the Spiritual Level ensured that it was not necessary to live in Jerusalem in order to dwell there. One is now able to dwell in Jerusalem wherever one might find oneself. And the abstract Temple is there within.
The Covenant - now the Messianically Amended Covenant - exists at the Spiritual Level. What this means is that it continues to function in the Heavenly Realm. So, in order to access it, one must first know and understand the Covenant: who God is, what wrongdoing is, how redemption works, and so on. As for accessing the Law, this is done through the evaluation of the Two Abstract Rules. There is a safeguard in place, and that is through the procedure which must be followed when faced with a Baffling Question.
There are some who wish their lives away as they look forward to being with the Lord in the New Jerusalem. Paul is one such person:
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8 NIV)
Yet what is missing? What does the Lord have to say:
21 Blessed is the LORD from Zion,
He who dwells in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah. (Psalms 135:21 (Tanakh))
God's dwelling place on Earth
For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling:
14 "This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it---“ (Psalm 132:13-14 NIV)
2 the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him, “I have heard the prayer and the supplication which you have offered to Me. I consecrate this House which you have built and I set My name there forever. My eyes and My heart shall ever be there." (1 Kings 9:2-3 (Tanakh))
For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: 14 "This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it---“ (Psalm 132:13-14 NIV)
Zion is God's everlasting residence. With the ending of the age, Zion - which includes Jerusalem - will continue as the New Jerusalem.
We don't have to wish our lives away waiting for the New Jerusalem. As a party to the Messianically Amended Covenant, we can dwell with the Lord in Zion and abstract Jerusalem [and subsequently with Him in the New Jerusalem]! Dwelling with the Lord in this life fits in well with making the jump from academic knowledge of God to meeting with Him face to face as a friend. Recall that it is face-to-face discussion with the Lord that allows Him to explain how we may best serve Him.
[Essay: At home with the Lord.]
Solomon lived in the 10th century BCE. He had completed the building of the Temple in Jerusale, when:
The LORD said to him [Solomon]: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there." (1 Kings 9:3 NIV)
Yet in 70 CE the [second] temple was destroyed. Nevertheless, the Lord continues to dwell there because of the shift of Jerusalem to the Spiritual Level:
Then I looked up---and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand! [2] I asked, "Where are you going?"
He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is."
[3] Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him [4] and said to him: "Run, tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. [5] And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the Lord, 'and I will be its glory within.'" (Zechariah 2:1-5 NIV84)
Today, the Jerusalem Temple exists as an abstraction pointing to the Heavenly Realm. Yet it had been but a copy of the Temple in Heaven; so now it is necessary to access God's Heavenly Temple directly. There has been a shift from 'copy' to 'original'.
Is the building of another existential temple in Jerusalem, something to be desired? Definitely not, as it could then be used to reinstate the old House of Desolation's covenant with Death. However, places of worship - synagogues - will be necessary wherever there are Jewish communities.
Places of worship will prosper during the time of David's Rebuilt Tent. But they will become places of entrapment in the end times (see: Matthew, chapter 24).
It is imperative that all Muslim-constructed places of worship be destroyed and removed. For example, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Rock, Islamic museum, minarets, offices, and so on. Every construction which defiles the Messianically Amended Covenant must be destroyed and removed. King Josiah7C sets the example not only for Jerusalem but for the whole country (2 Kings, chapters 22-23)!
See: Interactive map of Temple Mount
Mount Zion exists at the Existential Level. Jerusalem exists at the Existential Level. But there is no temple standing on the Temple Mount. Instead, standing upon the Temple Mount are Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock.
The destruction of the Temple in 70 CE resulted in the Covenant being unenforceable at the Physical Level. In other words, with the shift in worship to the Spiritual Level, the existential Temple was replaced by an abstract Temple which redirected people to God's Temple in Heaven and the continuing operation of the Covenant at the Spiritual Level. The continued presence of the abstract temple renders the ground of the Temple Mount holy, set apart for God.
The abstraction signifies a continuation of God's words to Solomon:
The LORD said to him [Solomon]: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there." (1 Kings 9:3 NIV)
And on the consecrated ground of the Temple Mount, the House of Islam have built their High Places dedicated to the lord Satan.
On a personal note, I have often wondered about the Awful Horror placed on the highest point of the Temple:
"You will see 'The Awful Horror' standing in the place where he should not be." (Note to the reader: understand what this means!) "Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills." (Mark 13:14 GNT)
That ruler will have a firm agreement with many people for seven years, and when half this time is past, he will put an end to sacrifices and offerings. The Awful Horror will be placed on the highest point of the Temple and will remain there until the one who put it there meets the end which God has prepared for him." (Daniel 9:27 GNT)
The Jerusalem Temple doesn't have to be rebuilt for it to be overshadowed by the Awful Horror. One needs to understand the meaning of 'highest point'. 'Highest' could refer to height above ground - a meaning which perhaps comes first to mind. However, at the Spiritual and Physical Levels, the Spiritual takes precedence over the Physical.
Jerusalem and its Temple are abstract structures at the Spiritual Level. Therefore, these abstractions will be defiled by the placement of any pagan constructs upon them.
Today, with the Islamic edifices already defiling Jerusalem, it can be seen that there is no need to rebuild the temple in order for it to be defiled. The abstract temple can be defiled just as easily as an actual building. What existential copy [of a temple] can be higher than an abstract Temple which redirects people to God's Temple in Heaven? No temple is higher than God's Temple in Heaven. And so the abstract Temple standing on the Temple Mount - and which directs people to the Heavenly Temple - is even now overshadowed by and made subordinate to the Islamic abominations constructed upon the Temple Mount.
Personally, I think that things will be much worse come the Ending of the Age, with its exponential descent into evil. The current defilement of the Jerusalem Temple is evil; but I think that the defilement at the End of the Age will be beyond our wildest imaginings (Matthew, chapter 24).
Version: 2025-02-25