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Index
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Index
Figure 1. The Negev desert.
The poor and the needy
Seek water, and there is none;
Their tongue is parched with thirst.
I the LORD will respond to them.
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open up streams on the bare hills
And fountains amid the valleys;
I will turn the desert into ponds,
The arid land into springs of water.
I will plant cedars in the wilderness,
Acacias and myrtles and oleasters;
I will set cypresses in the desert,
Box trees and elms as well —
That men may see and know,
Consider and comprehend
That the LORD's hand has done this,
That the Holy One of Israel has wrought it.
Isaiah 41:17-20 (Tanakh)
Contemporary Judaism, with its rejection of Jesus and commitment to a covenant with Death, together with the catastrophic failure of the new-covenant, have turned the world into a desert:
11 A time is coming—declares my Lord GOD—when I will send a famine upon the land: not a hunger for bread or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the LORD.
12 Men shall wander fromsea to sea and from north to east to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12 (Tanakh))
Yet there is hope. David's fallen Tent will be rebuilt. With the result:
1 In the days to come,
The Mount of the LORD's House shall stand
Firm above the mountains;
And it shall tower above the hills.
The peoples shall gaze on it with joy,
2 And the many nations shall go and shall 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. (Micah 4:1-2 (Tanakh))
[5] "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, [6] you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:5-6 NIV)
The Lord made this offer to the Israelites because of the failure of the priesthood of believers (See the Book of Job).
8 But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
Seed of Abraham My friend —
9 You whom I drew from the ends of the earth
And called from its far corners,
To whom I said: You are My servant;
I chose you, I have not rejected you — (Isaiah 41:8-9 (Tanakh))
Israel were the descendants of Abraham, God's friend. Recall how the Lord told the then Abram that his descendants would be too many to number. Not only that, but the Lord gave them a place in which to dwell:
14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west, 15 for I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring too can be counted. 17 Up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you.” (Genesis 13:14-17 (Tanakh))
The land given to Israel, however, was occupied by people who had done evil and were opposed to Israel:
11 “Then you crossed the Jordan and you came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho and the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought you, but I delivered them into your hands. 12 I sent a plague ahead of you, and it drove them out before you—[just like] the two Amorite kings—not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I have given you a land for which you did not labor and towns which you did not build, and you have settled in them; you are enjoying vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.
14 “Now, therefore, revere the LORD and serve Him with undivided loyalty; put away the gods that your forefathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 Or, if you are loath to serve the LORD, choose this day which ones you are going to serve—the gods that your forefathers served beyond the Euphrates, or those of the Amorites in whose land you are settled; but I and my household will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:11-15 (Tanakh))
Ezra notes that the land given to Israel had been occupied by corrupt people:
[10] “But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands [11] you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: 'The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other." (Ezra 9:10-11 NIV)
The House of Israel forsook the commands of God, and polluted the land with their wrongdoing and evil practices. So God drove them out - just like the previous people - leaving only a remnant.
Today, Israel have recovered some of their land. Yet they are surrounded on every side by enemies who not only desire the extermination of Israel, but are also actively working towards that end.
Sadly, Israel remain wedded to their covenant with Death. And still they disavow their Redeemer. Abandoned by their God, they remain the House of Desolation. A nation of priests they are not.
They fight against the onslaught mounted against them. But although they are fighting on, they are relying on their own strength, not that of the Lord. Centuries ago, they turned to Egypt for help; now, they turn to the USA.
Israel could return to the Lord if they so chose; but, like long ago, they choose to rely on a foreign nation - in this case the USA. Anyone checking the news must surely be aware that America's support is fickle and seriously flaky, and could fail at any time.
[† Also known as the new-covenant church.]
The new-covenant church - in rejecting the Covenant - also reject the Covenant Model.
The new-covenant church proclaim that they belong to the 'priesthood of believers'.
[ Critique: Crossway - 10 things you should know about the priesthood of believers]
[Dissertation: Compare and contrast today's priesthood of believers with that as it was at the time of Job.]
[Analysis: Why is that?]
[Analysis: Why did the Lord appoint the Levitical Priesthood?]
[Analysis: Why did the Lord appoint Priests in the Order of Melchizedek?]
Christianity today is under threat and under attack. It is not holding up well.
As yet, no mention has been made of the inconsistencies and contradictions in new-covenant doctrine! These - I have been reliably informed! - are acceptable because God's knowledge and understanding are far far above our own.
Where, in all this, are the genuine shepherds? And why are they so desperately needed?‡
[‡ Assignment: Answer the questions.]
Jesus said that a divided house could not survive:
[25] If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. (Mark 3:25 NIV)
Necessarily, therefore, the new-covenant church is doomed. And because they attribute their false doctrine to the Lord Spirit's authority, power, and guidance, they are doomed in the worst possible way. For, once Blacklisted, then the sentence can never be revoked.
The new-covenant church are an easy prey:
[Dissertation: The vulnerability of a divided church.]
The new-covenant church make it an easy matter for the lord Satan to mount his attacks - they've done half the work themselves! With all the divisions in the new-covenant church, it is a simple matter to isolate people, whether as individuals, families, local churches, sects, or even countries. From there, he can then set about their corruption.
This is taking place in the UK even as I write. Government have neither interest in nor commitment to Christianity. Multiculturalism is the order of the day. Consequently Christianity suffers, whether from atheism or from other religions. Of the various religions, it is possible to see the emergence of a dominating religion. One can but wonder how long it will be before sharia law becomes an integral part of civil law! I believe approaches have already been made in the interests of multiculturalism.
Civil law is becoming increasingly at odds with standards set in the Bible. Those Christians who seek to uphold God's laws are likely to be taken to court - whether the court of law or the court of public opinion.
The new-covenant church are redefining their laws of right and wrong in order to accommodate changes in civil law. They are also changing Biblical ideas of right and wrong in order to accommodate their false doctrine. They justify their evil with expressions like, 'God loves everyone, he loves diversity, and he knows that there are many routes to Himself'. Or, 'Just believe in Jesus and you will be saved!' They are able to do this having annulled the Covenant and replaced it with their new-covenant doctrine.
Israel's main enemy is actively committed to the destruction of Israel. Their paymasters keep themselves out of sight, attempting to maintain a show of innocence to the world. Then there are those who say nothing when called upon to speak up or to testify: who, by their silence are complicit, and therefore as guilty as those carrying out their evil attacks.
With Israel surrounded on all sides by enemies zealous for Israel's total destruction, the Christian church are nowhere to be found. Support for Israel there is not!
Paul himself claimed that belief in Christ made one an offspring of Abraham, and an heir to the promise:
[29] And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29 NRSV)
Yet, despite Paul's doctrine, down through the years, Christianity has failed to come to the rescue of Israel. They have done the opposite, as history will attest.
The edict against Christianity must surely mirror that against Edom:
10 For the outrage to your brother Jacob,
Disgrace shall engulf you,
And you shall perish forever.
11 On that day when you stood aloof,
When aliens carried off his goods,
When foreigners entered his gates
And cast lots for Jerusalem,
You were as one of them.
12 How could you gaze with glee
On your brother that day,
On his day of calamity!
How could you gloat
Over the people of Judah
On that day of ruin!
How could you loudly jeer
On a day of anguish!
13 How could you enter the gate of My people
On its day of disaster,
Gaze in glee with the others
On its misfortune
On its day of disaster,
And lay hands on its wealth
On its day of disaster!
14 How could you stand at the passes
To cut down its fugitives!
How could you betray those who fled
On that day of anguish!
15 As you did, so shall it be done to you;
Your conduct shall be requited.
Yea, against all nations
The day of the LORD is at hand. (Obadiah 1:10-15 (Tanakh))
Israel are fighting for survival in their own strength.
Because of their wrongdoing they have been abandoned by the Lord. Nevertheless, the door remains ajar:
[37] "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. [38] Look, your house is left to you desolate.
[39] "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 NIV)
Israel will return! And the Lord will restore David's fallen tent:
[11] "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,
12] "so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name," declares the Lord, who will do these things. (Amos 9:11-12 NIV)
With the return of Israel to their God and Messiah, things will change dramatically.
David's fallen Tent will be rebuilt. Once again, Israel will go forward in the strength of the Lord.
Priests in the Order of Melchizedek will arise: shepherds whose hearts are after that of the Lord God.
And so the dynamic in the world will change. The new-covenant church were an easy prey to a predator whose plan was to divide and conquer. The church, with its evil doctrine, had done most of the work by their disunity and divisions! On the other hand Israel, restored to be a nation of priests, in unity with their God and Messiah and Messianically Amended Covenant, will be able to stand against the world in a way which was never achievable with the priesthood of believers. Which is the underlying reason for choosing Israel.
Like King Josiah did many years ago (2 Kings, chapter 23), the land of Israel will be swept clean of all false religions and their places of worship. Israel will be monocultural, as the Lord intended. Foreigners who stay in Israel must accept and respect Covenant Law. However, those foreigners must be treated as citizens:
33 When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. 34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the LORD am your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34 (Tanakh))
[Essay: Only a nation set aside for God's service is able to stand in a world hell-bent on sin and self-destruction.]
Version: 25-Jan-2024