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HAPPY FATHER’S DAY: SHOW US THE FATHER

The Lord Jesus taught in part by using parables. The greatest parable in His teachings is largely unrecognized. It regards His actual identity. Many Christians have yet to receive the full revelation.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. [Isaiah 9:6-7]

“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.” [John 16:25]

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

Real Christians believe that Jesus is God. Most Christians do not believe that Jesus is God the Father. Think about that.

We obviously have reams of New Covenant Scripture expressly proclaiming in no uncertain terms that Jesus is not only the Son of Man and the Son of God but God Himself. We also have reams of Old Testament prophetic Scripture expressly proclaiming the same thing. As a method to prove this, focusing only on one aspect of the Lord’s identity—that of Savior—are the following verses:

I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me, hear my speech. Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand from those who rise up against them. [Psalm 17:6-7]

“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior besides Me.” [Isaiah 43:10-11]

“Declare and set forth your case; indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.” [Isaiah 45:21]

“Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; and you were not to know any god except Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.” [Hosea 13:4]

Regarding who is referred to as Savior in the New Testament, we have additional Names and Titles:

And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” [Luke 1:46-47]

“From the descendants of this man (David), according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.” [Acts 13:23-24]

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; [Philippians 3:20]

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [1Timothy 2:3-4]

For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. [1Timothy 4:10]

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. [Titus 1:4]

…Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus… [Titus 2:13]

From these verses it is obvious that Scripture claims there is only one Savior, not two or several, and that this one Savior is God. Yet the preceding verses of Scripture also refer to this one Savior by several different Names and Titles:

God (El)
God (Elohim)
God (Theos)
LORD (Adonai—YHWH)
Lord (Kurios)
Jesus (Iesous)
Lord Jesus Christ (Kurios Iesous Christos)
Christ Jesus (Christos Iesous)

This obviously does not mean that these are different persons but the same Person with different Names and Titles.

KING OF KINGS

The OT prophets said an Israelite Messiah (Anointed One) was coming. Most Christians understand that. But the OT prophets also said the coming Messiah would not be as the culturally understood anointed ones of that time, primarily the Hebrew kings, but would be the greatest Anointed One: The final King, the everlasting King, and the King of kings. In ancient times, many centuries before the Messiah’s arrival, they proclaimed there would be a time far into the future when the Messiah would once again take His rightful place that He formerly possessed among His people prior to their rejection of Him.

This term King of kings was used three times in the Old Testament as a reference to the greatest earthly king on the planet. It referred twice to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonian Empire and once to Artaxerxes, the king of the Persian Empire. King of kings also occurs three times in the New Testament, each time, of course, referring to the Lord Jesus. So again, the Messiah is referred to in Scripture as the greatest King of all with all authority in both heaven and earth (far greater authority than any earthly king or emperor).

With reference to the nation of Israel, historians refer to King Saul as Israel’s first king. He became king of Israel in 1050BC. In reality, Saul was Israel’s first earthly king. From the beginning, however, it was always God who was Israel’s King. The Creator became known to Israel primarily as YHWH, the “Self-Existent or Eternal.” Though the actual pronunciation of this Name is largely unknown, we have come to accept its pronunciation as Yahweh (´Yah way). A later constructed form is Jehovah, but there is no letter J in the Hebrew alphabet. The Hebrew scribes, due to their great respect and honor for God, rather than writing His Name and possibly profaning it, substituted another word in Scripture. The word they used to replace His Name is the Hebrew word Adonai which is translated in the English Old Testament as LORD (all caps). So whenever you see the word LORD in the OT, it would have otherwise been directly translated as YHWH.

The nation of Israel, however, due to its great rebellion and sin, often had a big problem with YHWH. This came to a head during the time of Samuel the prophet, the last of the Hebrew Judges. Israel had reached a point of such great sin it rejected its distinct calling as a light to the Gentiles and select of God, and insisted upon being as other nations. They demanded an earthly king. This was a total rejection of their God who had always been their rightful King:

The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.” [1Samuel 8:7]

In reading the Old Testament regarding the identity of the future Messiah and coming King of kings, many Christians don’t really make the connection that this Man, the Messiah, would also be God. Or they do, but they don’t. They get it maybe in part but not completely. They fail to see that the Messiah would be YHWH reclaiming His sovereignty. It is often simply too difficult a concept to grasp that a mere Man could be God, that the God of the Old Testament is the Son of God of the New Testament. I mean, if Jesus was God, why was He always praying to God? And yet, Jesus revealed Himself as God on multiple occasions. Many people state that He never said any such thing, but I will remind everyone that God speaks in different languages, such as by spiritual revelation, in parables or figurative language, and also “plainly” through words and grammar.

Others have turned the identity of the Lord Jesus into an unexplainable mystery. They have created mental constructs and counterfeit personas with apparent surface meaning that inevitably fail the test of wholly agreeing with Scripture. Some cop out of the discussion completely by weakly asserting that we’ll figure out the Lord’s identity when we get to heaven in that there is no way to know it otherwise. For such people there is no use in trying to go deep into Scriptural truth since they limit themselves to their shallow understandings. There is nothing in Scripture, however, that gives forth the idea that we cannot know God or that God is hopelessly mysterious, but the very opposite. It is a major part of why God became a Man. He arrived on these shores to reveal who He is and show what He is like. How else was He to do this toward human beings severed from communication with Him, dulled by sin, and spiritually distant unless He became one of us?

FATHER AND SON

The following passage is rich in meaning, so rich that many pass right over it without understanding its full import. It is parabolic in nature and again, involves direct revelation:

“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” [Luke 10:22]

In this verse, the Lord Jesus states:

The Father has handed over all things to the Son
Only the Father knows who the Son is
Only the Son knows who the Father is
Others can know who the Father is but only if the Son wills to reveal Him to them

From this we know that no one will ever know who the Father is except by direct revelation. If the Lord Jesus wills to reveal the identity of the Father to a person, then that person will know. Otherwise a person will never know. This means the Lord chooses to whom He will reveal the identity of the Father. This also means that there must be some common denominator among those who receive the revelation of the identity of the Father. In other words, the Lord is not capricious or arbitrary in His choosing. He never plays favorites. It is therefore up to the individual on whether or not to be qualified to receive the revelation.

Take a look at these clues from Luke 10:22:

The Father possessed “all things” but gave “all things” to the Son. This must mean the Father no longer possesses “all things.” It means the Son then possessed “all things.” The Father had “all things” and then no longer had them. The Son did not have “all things” and then took possession of them.
Only the Father knows who the Son is? How can this be? Did not more than a few during the Lord’s time know who the Son of God was? Affirmative. But those who did only knew by divine revelation. That’s how Peter found out: “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17). The point here is that the Son had always been hidden by the Father. Only the Father would know who He was. The Son was incognito in this sense. He would never look the part. He was likely the very opposite of a guy like King Saul who was tall, handsome, popular and specifically chosen by all the people.
The Son is the only One who knows who the Father is and also the only One who can reveal Him. The Father revealed the Son to Peter. On the other hand, the Son revealed the Father to Philip. Both revelations pointed to the same Person.

One might recall (as I mentioned previously) that the Lord Jesus said, right before He ascended to heaven, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). This is a very bold statement. Only God has that kind of authority. If one insists that God is someone other than the Lord Jesus then how can the Lord Jesus have all of God’s authority in both heaven and earth?

THE LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL REVELATION

The Old Testament patriarchs were noted for being relative loners and wanderers. They were seen as somewhat eccentric by the world at large because they were seemingly forever drifting around in a nomadic spiritual sense marching to the beat of a very different Drummer. They traversed the great quiet of deserts and wilderness areas raising their head to the winds and hearing voices.

It reminds one of Ray Kinsella in the movie Field of Dreams hearing a voice out in his corn field. On a trip into town one day after hearing “the voice” Ray tries to gain some understanding of what has happened to him. Seeking clues, he has the following conversation with a veteran farmer at the farm supply store:

Ray:“In all those years, did you ever… I’ve heard that sometimes farmers out in the field… hear things. Voices.”

Old Timer: “You’re hearing voices?”

Ray: “No. It’s just that I heard some farmers do, and… I, of course, don’t, so I was wondering if I was doing something wrong, or something. Did you ever hear voices out there?”

Cashier: “Who’s hearing voices?”

Old Timer: “Ray is! Out in the fields.”

Ray: “No! No, I’m not. Really. Noises! That darn tractor, it’s… Well, I’ll just get some 3-in-1 oil, that should… Nice talking to you.” [1]

One wonders if Abraham had a similar conversation with Sarah. Or anyone. The point, of course, is that if one is hearing voices out in the wilderness (or in a corn field near you), and in the case of the Biblical patriarchs, one particular voice, then one might be careful with whom one might share the information. This should not be a problem for Christians, however, since the entire Bible has the same theme running through it. Christians should not be embarrassed by this. All those who were close to God were hearing His voice, both in the Old Testament and New, and some were even seeing Him. Aghast.

These people were in the decided minority (understatement alert). There were only a few. Which means the vast majority probably thought those guys were nuts because they themselves never heard or saw anything. And they never hung out in the wilderness alone either. Prior to the coming of the Kingdom of God (of which He is the King) the Lord Jesus said the greatest man born of women who ever lived was a prophet who hung out in the wilderness alone, just like those eccentric patriarchs of many centuries past. But this guy John the Immerser was greater than all of them, which was quite astounding when you think about it. And he looked like a caveman. And the Lord spent much time in the wilderness alone also. And so did Noah. And Abraham. And Moses. And the apostle Paul:

But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia… [Galatians 1:15-17]

Paul was out in the desert a long time. Some say three years. I have no doubt he went on a forty day fast at least once. It was where, hearing the Voice, that the Lord taught him one on one. It was where Paul received the revelation of the Father’s identity and where the Gospel was revealed to him:

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. [Galatians 1:11-12]

So here we have yet again that spiritual marvel known as direct revelation. The only One who ever revealed to Paul the Gospel was the Lord Jesus Himself, out in the wilderness, alone. Imagine that. This is not how 99% of Christian ministers receive the Gospel. Perhaps this is why their various versions of the Gospel are different than the one Paul preached.

The direct revelation thread runs all through the Bible. It is God reaching out to man. It is God actually attempting to communicate with man. Why then, if God is talking, do so few hear Him? Apparently, Noah, Abraham, Moses, John the Immerser, and Paul were all listening. They were paying attention. They sought God. They had a hunger for Truth. So those who revert back to the tired argument that these men were simply special and chosen in some unknown arbitrary manner, which explains their communication with God, and that their spiritual status had nothing to do with a greater personal faith in God and an unceasing desire to seek Him, are being their usual shallow selves as part of a status quo faithless Christian majority. We even have otherwise brilliant Christians who have latched onto Cessationism and believe that Book of Acts happenings ended in the first century. What? Are the hundreds of millions of Pentecostals and Charismatics in the world all deluded or faking it?

Again, the greatest parable in the Bible is the true identity of the Lord Jesus. Without the actual revelation one reverts to any unspiritual and unscriptural natural understanding and interpretation, either by indoctrination or personal opinion. The tried and true among Christians in this regard is that Jesus must be a lesser entity than God even though some are forced to admit that Jesus is God simply because there are far too many verses of Scripture stating such. But how can Jesus be both God and less than God?

“If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” [John 14:28]

“I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” [John 10:30-33]

Some Christians think they must seek out God the Father because their relationship with the Lord Jesus is somehow lacking or limited. Of course, whoever does this has no actual relationship with the Lord Jesus. Some Christians pray to the Holy Spirit the same way one would pray to the Lord Jesus. Some teach that we must pray only to the Father “in the name of Jesus” but never directly to Jesus. Whatever the case, any effort to do an end around or bypass the Lord Jesus to get to God is a violation of His teachings:

“No one comes to the Father but through Me.” [John 14:6]

THE MESSIAH

The word Messiah is from the Hebrew word Mashiach which means “Anointed” or “Anointed One.” It is Christos in the Greek and transliterated into English as the word Christ. In terms of relative spiritual anointing, the Messiah is seen as He with by far the greatest anointing of God. One may recall that the Lord Jesus possessed the Spirit of God without measure (John 3:34). Prior to Pentecost, He would thus be the One who gave the Holy Spirit.

Speaking of which, there is an interesting word construct in two separate verses exactly a chapter apart in the Gospel of John regarding both the identity of the Father and Son and just who it would be that would send the Holy Spirit. One might think it to be a contradiction. Another will understand it as a clue to a revelation:

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” [John 14:26]

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.” [John 15:26]

To be anointed is to be anointed with the Spirit of God. The Messiah was the Anointed One anointed with the Spirit. Yet the Messiah, the One who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, says He will also send the Holy Spirit. He says this after first being reported to say the Father would send the Spirit. Of course, before the Son could send the Spirit He would have to “go to the Father.” Therefore, the One who sends the Spirit is identified as both Father and Son.

On one occasion the Lord was off in a remote location away from the crowds. His close disciples were with Him. He chose this occasion as a teaching moment and to gauge their understanding of His identity:

And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone… [Luke 9:18-21]

The Lord’s time was one of Messianic expectation. It is said that the Israelites were the only nation that lived in the future, in that no matter what happened in the present there were prophecies telling of great times to come. Part of that was, of course, the arrival of the Messiah. He would be the One to lead them to victory at last, to assist them in overcoming their low stature and becoming who they were always meant to be. He would help them reach their destiny.

As times grew closer to His advent, starting about two centuries before in the early second century BC, several unprecedented events took place, one of which was the first successful Israelite uprising against the major powers. The Maccabees, a national Israelite political entity which began as a group of rebel fighters revolting against the Greek Seleucid kings, came forth throwing off the yoke for a time and created a new independent kingdom, the Hasmonean Dynasty. The spirit of the first century Zealots can be traced to the Maccabees. Presently, the Zealots have manifested as the Zionists of our time.

Also, the major religious parties got their start: The Essenes were created from a priesthood group breaking off from the temple priesthood and setting up shop in the desert out by the Dead Sea in a settlement known as Qumran. These were thus somewhat akin to the ancients but existed primarily as a fraternal communal brotherhood. They later expanded and segments were found in the populated areas.

The Pharisees, or separated ones, also began in this era, rooted in a group known as the Hasidim. Two central divisions of this major sect eventually arose about a century later based on its two greatest rabbis, Hillel and Shammai, who each began Pharisaic schools in the generation prior to that of the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul (Saul) was a student of Gamaliel of the Hillel school. In New Testament times this Gamaliel, a respected member of the Sanhedrin, was the voice of reason against the murderous crazies of the court and essentially saved the lives of Peter and the apostles (See Acts 5:34).

The Sadducees emerged as a distinct party at this time as well. This group was the latest organized form containing the wealthy and those with large landed estates who had essentially ruled Judea in place of a king since the return from the Babylonian Captivity in the sixth century BC. The Sadducees were thus tied in closely with Seleucid, Ptolemaic, and eventually Roman wealth and politics. Choosing to live for this world, they had no concern or belief in the resurrection or a spiritual realm.

We can see this same general breakdown in parties and beliefs in Unreal Christianity. Much was coming together in those two centuries BC for the final conflict of the Last Days of the nation and they each had their own version of who the Messiah was and what He would do for them.

When at last, the Messiah arrived, in perfect accordance with Daniel’s prophecy of weeks (right on time), He was largely unrecognized. Indeed, according to the major parties and pretty much everyone in power with a stake in what He could and would do for them, He was unrecognizable. Incognito, as it were. This was their King, the One the nation had rejected over a thousand years before when they selected King Saul. And to show just how stiffnecked the proponents of these major religious and political parties still were after all those centuries and even more so, they did a lot more than just reject Him this time around.

They had invested everything in a false interpretation. When their version of the Messiah never showed up in the life of the Lord Jesus, even though He perfectly met all the applicable prophetic requirements, they continued looking elsewhere. How dense must people be to either not see and/or reject all the clues? How could they be so wrong?

As it turns out Christians have been just as wrong. God Himself is looking right at them and they still don’t see Him. They fail to see Him for the very same reasons the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and bloodthirsty Zealots never saw Him. This is especially surprising regarding the Essenes. They saw the times better than any of their major counterparts. Indeed, because they were out in the desert and away from the corrupt religious, monetary, and political activity of Jerusalem, one would think they couldn’t miss. They came somewhat close. Their Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947 in caves next to their ruined compound, contained many references to their “Teacher of Righteousness.” They wrote of The War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness. They knew what was afoot regarding the coming Messiah but from what we know, as a group, they never recognized the Lord Jesus as such.

The problem each of these groups shared was that their focus remained on this world instead of the spiritual world. They each wanted a Messiah within that context. Again, erring facets of Christianity, including major mainline bodies, make the same mistake. They refuse to accept the reality of the Lord’s spiritual Kingdom and create one of their own with their own respective version of King Saul.

With the exception of the Pharisees, the other three major Jewish parties each came to an end after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70AD. The Sadducees faded out and dissolved shortly thereafter. The Zealots, the party eventually granted authority by the others who brought on the conflagration against Rome, ceased to exist at the tragedy of Masada in 74AD. The Essenes might have gotten an extinction head start on the others around 68AD when the Romans destroyed their settlement at Qumran. It is thought that this disaster is what precipitated the hiding of their cherished library in nearby caves before their final retreat and disappearance. They obviously never returned to reclaim them.

The nation of Israel also came to an end and was forever gone with the wind. The Pharisees reconstituted themselves from the smoking detritus and burned rubble in even greater stubbornness and rebellion to keep their party alive though barely breathing. Through many transformations and geographical movements over the centuries their party eventually became what we know today as Orthodox Judaism. And they still hate the Lord Jesus with a passion.

THE REMNANT

The only ones who did recognize the Lord were apparently part of an obscure unconnected group of nobodies known originally by the Scriptural term as the “Remnant.” We first hear of this idea of a surviving remnant in Genesis 45:7 when Joseph explains to his family that he was sent ahead as a slave to Egypt as a method to preserve them. Spiritually speaking, of course, he was assisting God in not only preserving his family and the future nation of Israel but also preserving the Messianic genealogical line. This line had suffered severe attack from the very beginning when Abel was killed by his own brother. Since the Lord Jesus was to descend from Abel his murder made that impossible. It was a victory for the devil. However, the line was reestablished over a century later with the birth of Seth, the third listed son of Adam and Eve:

Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD. [Genesis 4:25-26]

A few millennia later, this concept of the remnant is illustrated as follows in the times of Hezekiah, circa 700BC:

“The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the LORD will perform this.” [2 Kings 19:30-31]

Two and a half centuries later, long after the Babylonian Captivity during the time of Ezra’s arrival in the land of Judah, approximately 458BC, we hear again of this surviving remnant of God’s people. In the ninth chapter narrative, the book of Ezra uses much descriptive and dramatic imagery filled with pathos and hope describing those few who remain of the once great nation of Israel, including clear prophetic undertones. Ezra is quoted wailing against the current great sin of his remaining people:

“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity and to plunder and to open shame, as it is this day. But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. [Ezra 9:6-8]

“After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us an escaped remnant as this, shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape? O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this.” [Ezra 9:13-15]

In the interim since the first return of the Hebrews from Babylon to the time of Ezra, a period of roughly eighty years, factions of this returned remnant in the land, including priests, had intermarried with local non-Hebrew women of various heathen peoples including Canaanites, Moabites, and Egyptians and produced offspring. This was no way to reestablish the Yehudi as a distinct people. As a result their racial mix was even further diluted. This same lack of discretion had occurred many times in the past going all the way back to the time after Joshua a millennia before. Ezra appears to have made a successful effort to correct the problem as much as one could but this departure led to the dedicated remnant becoming ever smaller over the next five centuries until the Lord’s arrival.

In its long history, the devil was constantly scheming and attacking the Messianic generational line because he knew he must keep the Messiah from arriving. And unlike so many Israelites and Christians, the devil and his minions knew very well who the Messiah was long before He came and who He would be when He arrived, and had great respect for Him. The following historical account is a great study in microcosmic terms of the ongoing spiritual battle from ancient times on this planet and a revealing depiction of what goes on daily all around us in the unseen spiritual world:

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. [Luke 8:26-33]

Why didn’t the demons attack the Lord? If the name of this hoard of demons within a single man was a correct indication of their numbers, the demons amounted to over five thousand. Empowered by internal demonic forces the man was able to break chains and shackles. But instead of going after the Lord, the man and his many demons voluntarily fell before Him! They begged Him not to send them to the abyss. There was never any Man of such great and powerful magnitude in all of Israel. Even demons were terrified of Him:

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. [James 2:19] [2]

Down through the centuries, despite ongoing demonic attacks, and at last an attempt through King Herod to kill the baby Jesus, the Messiah arrived anyway. And the Lord always had a believing remnant who knew exactly who He was. They were there in the first century AD. Though initially very small in number, they served as a solid, tested, and unrelenting nucleus to build around. Their presence allowed for the eventual blossoming of the Lord’s Community into multiple millions of disciples worldwide.

SHOW US THE FATHER

It seems as though the Lord Jesus was often not openly admitting to His true identity. I think it is because He knew it was necessary for people to receive the spiritual revelation rather than hear mere words which could easily bring on refutation and anger. This happened anyway among the hard core religious unbelievers who often flew into a rage at the mere semblance of His actual identity. It can thus be difficult and otherwise impossible to overcome such flagrant religious indoctrination and programming and this includes, of course, the Christian kind which is often the absolute worst. Direct revelation is the only thing that works best. As Peter discovered, what works better than God revealing to one’s heart the Word of Truth?

Perhaps the best verses which address the revelation of the Lord’s true identity are found in the fourteenth chapter of John’s gospel. By this time the disciples had heard much of the Lord’s figurative language, especially regarding His discourses on the Father. He was attempting to lead them to the revelation portal that they may gain answers and understanding from a spiritual source. In the following passage, Thomas had sincere questions about the Lord’s statement, especially as it regarded the unseen and unknown Father. So did Philip. Both had matured enough to ask direct queries of the Lord. They were ready to graduate from the figurative to the clear revelation:

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.”

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:1-9]

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HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF? POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF THE ESCALATING ISRAELI-HAMAS WAR

Nov 6

Posted by RJ Dawson

*This little girl is considered by the IDF as a “co-combatant” and is therefore treated the same as an enemy soldier. 5,000 such innocent children have already been killed by Israel in this war.*

Those who have studied ancient Israel’s war with Imperial Rome in 66-70AD notice interesting parallels with the present…

THE ZEALOTS’ RISE TO POWER

As mentioned in previous articles on this site, the two prominent Israelite religious parties in first-century Judea—the Sadducees and Pharisees—not only made the fatal decision to work together in orchestrating the death of their long-awaited Messiah which set their nation on a terminal course, they also made another fatal choice by aligning themselves closely with the militarist Zealot Party. Having perceived that the Zealots could be quite useful regarding their aims, the three parties formed a close bond, as a three-fold cord if you will. This resulted in the former loosely-aligned terroristic bands containing known robbers and villains under a common name which invoked their nationalistic zeal into a growing and more cohesive paramilitary force.

In the intervening thirty-plus years between the Lord’s time and the Great Jewish Revolt against Rome in 66AD, the Zealots had become much more sophisticated and gained greater ability to contend effectively with their hated Roman occupiers and actually wage war. This paramilitary group coalesced into three large main bodies, each with a powerful leader perceived as a Messiah figure.

When the main war began they put up an excellent fight showcasing their highly emotive tone against the Roman’s more steady professionalism. Those first-century Israelite fighters acted in a highly commendable manner from their country’s perspective and invoked the exploits of the renowned King David over a thousand years before. They saw their fight as not unlike the great battles of their more ancient forebears against the enemies of the time, whether nation states or indigenous Canaanites and Philistines.

Though it appeared quite clearly at the onset that Israel had no chance against powerful Roman forces, the small nation quickly illustrated otherwise by causing significant losses at intervals. This caused Rome to step up its game in that it realized the clash would not be a mere mop-up operation but a real fight. Rome had initially landed on the Mediterranean coast in northern Galilee and began its offensive there. Its forces were soon engaged in terrific battles and were forced to use all the military tools and know-how at their disposal. They eventually moved east facing skirmishes and winning battles along the way. The Israelites continued to put up stiff resistance. In the region of the Sea of Galilee there was another major battle though the superior Roman numbers using better and more numerous arms and military hardware prevailed.

This caused the Zealot armies to move south. They decided their best play was to head to Jerusalem in which their many forces could come together and use the walled city as both a strong protective bulwark and a national headquarters. As fate would have it, it was the place they would make their last stand. The Roman legions soon arrived in Judea and after one last major battle suffering significant losses they rallied together outside the walls of Jerusalem, having cornered their prey, and set up a siege encircling the city. It happened exactly as the Lord prophesied it would thirty-five years before:

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” [Luke 19:41-44]

NATIONAL SUICIDE

Inside the city walls there was a constant grappling for power regarding which Zealot group would lead and which Messiah figure would take charge. The Pharisees and Sadducees, after having lost much power and influence in the city and environs among the people as well as with the ardent Zealot brigands, had perceived that they had indeed created a monster all those years before. For the Zealot Party, which had been reconstituted after three decades into a legitimate fighting force worthy of national honor, had by that time taken over the country in a winner-take-all last ditch effort to defeat Rome. Those of the wealthy religious parties then knew the ultra-committed Zealots would fight to the last man and sacrifice everything in the process if necessary.

No Israelites had ever done anything like this before. Throughout its long history, great national sin, losing power, and being subjected to the rule of one nation state and empire after another, even going through the Babylonian Captivity, their forebears had never gone so far as to risk everything. But this was the Zealot method. It had always been that way. They had always, since their inception roughly seventy years before, been men who would risk it all for their cause, even their lives. It was a credo that those of the powerful religious parties had not fully understood at the time of their initial alliance. Though the Sadducees and Pharisees had always been men of much intrigue and secret scheming to the point in which they could deceive and influence pretty much anyone, even the most powerful, they had never seen the need to make such great risks. It was because they knew they didn’t have to because they could gain and maintain their power, influence, and wealth regardless of who held political power.

But the Zealots were not men of such high level deceptive tactics, those who would slouch about in the night as it were, using underhanded methods for mere political gain. No, they were nationalists standing up for their country and would much rather fight than fool and murder than manipulate. Their methods were much more to the point even if it meant taking on the vaunted world-class, well-supplied, and unstoppable legendary legions of the Roman Empire which had to that time destroyed every other fighting force on the planet and anything else in their way. Whereas the Sadducees and Pharisees had the sense to know such otherwise plain facts and would never risk a head-to-head confrontation, the reckless Zealots saw it much differently.

In fighting the Romans directly in disregard of political guile, they intended on saving their country the way David would, in glorious battle. But alas, they were not David, the man after God’s own heart, but actually anti-Davids and anti-Saviors, men distant from God given over to sin among those evil ones who would go so far as to kill the one Man who could save them. The various false Messiahs of the Zealots would rise and fall but no one of them ever commandeered a majority for long. In the end, they stayed ever true to form. They gained full control of the nation because everyone wanted them in control though many changed their minds after it was too late.

The Zealots did risk it all. And they did cause the loss of everything. It was the end of national Israel.

SAVING ISRAEL FROM ITSELF

By indiscriminately killing over 10,000 Palestinian civilians including upwards of 5,000 innocent children (over 6,000 injured) to date since October 7 in its current air/ground offensive and destructive bombing campaign in Gaza, Israel has now managed to do the impossible by uniting the entire Muslim world (over one billion people) against it. Even the ever-squabbling Shiites and Sunnis are starting to come together. To give just one instance of how far things have already escalated on the international front, Pakistan, a nuclear power and 97% Muslim country of which 90% is Sunni Muslim, has apparently offered to deliver nuclear warheads to Turkey if such is requested. Turkey, almost 100% Muslim, is also a 90% Sunni Muslim country and a formidable regional player not to be taken lightly.

Of course, no other country in the immediate region has nuclear weapons except Israel, though it has never acknowledged this. France helped Israel get going on their nuclear program in the late 1950s and through secretive means Israel gained nuclear weapons by the mid-1960s. It managed to do this despite President John F. Kennedy’s strong objections and rightful attempts to stop them. Once he was taken out it cleared the way for Israel to become a nuclear power

There was also an unprecedented ice-melting alliance made earlier this year between Iran (Shiite) and Saudi Arabia (Sunni). Iran, another major player and at the top of the American and Israeli attack list for many years now, has close relations with Syria (Shiite) but also limited relations with Turkey which are reportedly increasing. Israel has always done well at doing its part to keep the Muslim world divided as a defense measure and is why Israel, in the late 1980s, was involved in the very creation of Hamas, its current hated enemy—it needed a hedge against Yasser Arafat’s PLO and Fatah. Though the Israeli intelligence involved acknowledged later that this was a serious blunder, Israel’s current leader’s policy of supporting Hamas politically in recent years has evoked strong protests on the home front.

Those who have closely followed the events in the Middle East of the last several decades know this current conflict in Gaza is the bloodiest with the most far-reaching effect. It will only get much worse if the stated plan remains ongoing and the present course continues. The events of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began almost exactly 50 years to the day before this one, were such that Israel had come close to activating its nuclear arsenal when the tide of battle had turned against it. It doesn’t take much extrapolating to see that this current conflict will likely turn into a regional war involving major Muslim nations who greatly outnumber Israel but are also much better equipped militarily than they were fifty years ago. The US is already dutifully involved and will be more so if other Muslim nations and fighting forces enter the fray.

Will a possibly overwhelmed Israel once again reach a point when it seriously considers the nuclear “Samson” option as the only remaining means of defeating its enemies? Accordingly, does the present leader of Israel, a man who equates long-vanished Old Testament adversaries of ancient Israel with indigenous Palestinians, regard himself as a Zealot-like Messiah figure? Referencing a possible ceasefire or pause for humanitarian purposes in Gaza, he said recently: “We’ll simply carry on until we win.”

THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH?

Those who may think this current conflict is the Armageddon of Revelation playing out before us and that it is therefore inevitable in that nothing can be done to stop it, they are making the same mistake so many Christians have made before. The entire construct of the 1970s prophecy teachers has been proven false. I have written about this in previous posts here. I lived through those days and followed that supposedly prophetic narrative closely, believing all of it early on and even using it in my witnessing. But I also began discovering flaws shortly thereafter. That was 1977. As the years went by the construct began dissolving even more and then never came to fruition in the clear timeline supplied and purported. It was therefore either a mistaken forecast at best which some of the prophecy teachers kept updating (changing) to overcome errors, or a deliberate act of propaganda which allowed for two things: (1) Millions of Christians blindly supporting Israel unconditionally and excusing it regardless of its often brutal behavior and doing nothing about the horrific events and ME wars leading to “the end” since they believed all of it to be inevitable and the result of Biblical prophecy, and (2) That which acted as cover for the powers involved and gave them free reign to act indiscriminately with a complete lack of accountability.

Christians who were deceived by the 1970s false prophetic timeline and still believe it to this day must take a much closer look and understand that the New Testament prophecies about the “Last Days” were not references to our time but their time. The “Last Days” prophecies were about the last days of the ancient nation of Israel in the first-century which came to an end in 70AD—the final generation—and not the generation of the 1970s or today. The prophecy teachers of the 1970s said we were living then in the last generation of the world and that reading the newspaper was like reading ancient Hebrew prophecies. Yet it has now been over 50 years and we are still here. There has been no rapture. None of those guys lived to see what they taught as immediate prophecy for their generation come to pass.

Therefore, instead of sitting around doing nothing while watching “inevitable” prophecy happening, what would happen if the vast majority of Christians in the world rose up and began speaking out against the constant ongoing Middle East blood-letting and war after war? What if a great intercessor army was raised up to pray against all the murder and mayhem and misery? What if Christians worldwide and especially in America actually stood up for PEACE as the Lord Jesus taught us to do instead of support and fund the warmongers and their endless wars which kill and maim multiple millions? And why do so many Christians never think of that which is actually inevitable—the reap-what-you-sow blowback and scads of karma chickens coming home to roost?

Again, the following is what the Lord Jesus said of His own nation in His time:

Sound familiar?

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Tags: Ancient Israel, Biblical Prophecy, Book of Revelation, False Messiahs, First Century Israel, Hidden Agenda, Iranian Christians, JFK, Last Days, Last Days Deception, Lord Jesus, Messiah, Nuclear Weapons, Olivet Prophecy, One Will Reap What One Sows, Peace, Pharisees, President John F. Kennedy, Prince of Peace, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Roman Empire, Sadducees, Spiritual Deception, The Destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD, The Great Awakening, The Romans, Unreal Christianity, Zealots

THE REAL CHOSEN PEOPLE (PART 2)

Oct 24

Posted by RJ Dawson

I wrote and posted this article in March of 2012 as the second of a series. It revealed the New Testament definition of “The Chosen People.” What follows is an updated version.

SAVING ISRAEL FROM ITSELF

The Pharisees and Sadducees were so intent on stopping the Lord Jesus and His followers they unwisely enlisted the help of the belligerent Zealots. This proved to be an inauspicious decision that resulted in national disaster a generation later when powerful warmongering Zealot armies and their false-Messiah leaders took control of the nation and the national city of Jerusalem in a winner-take-all fight against Imperial Rome.

We see the beginning echo of this unfortunate choice at the Lord’s trial in the choosing of the Zealot Barabbas over the Lord. This unrepentant criminal and likely murderer was released from prison by popular demand while the same vociferous crowd demanded the Messiah be crucified. As the man’s name clearly indicates, the choosing of the “son of the father” (which could further indicate “fathers”) illustrates the malicious nature of the choice.

In the Lord’s time this loose collection of brigands which came to be known as Zealots in the early first century AD remained relatively small and incohesive. The party existed primarily as a hyper aggressive small-scale terroristic militarist movement intent on striking back at Rome due to what they perceived as its tyrannical treatment of the otherwise independent Israelite people in their own land.

The Roman Republic’s entry began almost a full century before in 63BC during the ongoing civil war which ensued after the Israelite queen Alexandra-Salome died in 67BC and the two heirs, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, fought each other for political control. This was yet one more event which demanded outside control to properly govern the region. The Roman general and statesman Pompey had already been moving east since being authorized that same year putting out fires, fighting battles, taking territory, and establishing Roman control across the northern Mediterranean regions. After capturing Syria in 64BC he decided to take advantage of the internal conflict in Judaea and head south.

One might note that this Israelite civil fight also involved the two still somewhat nascent but established major religious parties: The Sadducees sided with Aristobulus and the Pharisees remained true to John Hyrcanus II. Therefore, the Israelite civil war was a religious civil war as well. General Pompey entered the fray in Judaea and then after a siege took Jerusalem and captured the temple. Once establishing Roman control he returned home a hero. Rome then annexed much of the former Israelite kingdom, primarily Galilee and Judaea. This marked the beginning of the end of the independent Hasmonean Dynasty which eventually ceased to exist in 37BC when Herod the Great became the Roman client king. This set the stage for several profound future events culminating with the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah.

CHOOSING THE CHOSEN

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;

My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased;

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

A battered reed He will not break off,

And a smoldering wick He will not put out,

Until He leads justice to victory.

And in His name the Gentiles will hope.” [Matthew 12:15-21]

In these days when everyone is a Christian and Christianity is watered-down to a consistency barely above water itself, why do we think God even cares about doing any choosing? This is how far fake Christianity has traveled. There is hardly any distinction at all between many so-called Christians and a world going to hell. And it is the touchy, thin-skinned, aggressively defensive and convicted Unchosen itself that is often first to speak out strongly against any perceived judgment, however slight, regarding its perceived standing in God. The motto of real Christians, on the other hand, is thus:

“Talk about me if you please, but I’ll talk about you on my knees.”

Where in this country is there a voice that represents the real presence of God? Where is the voice that distinguishes truth from error and fake, dry, dead, boring lifeless expressions of faux Christianity from the real thing? Those who have dissolved the life-giving Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ will have to account for it. All those who have been deceived by their “other gospel” will rise up against them at the Judgment, not that it will matter then.

Why does one think the people in hell will be gnashing at each other with their teeth like a pack of wild dogs? There is the clear indication that the unchosen do not agree with their ultimate status.

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.

“But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

“Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” [Matthew 22:2-14]

This is a perfect illustration of God’s selection process. It goes like this:

(1) The first thing the king does is send out invitations. He makes his choices based on his own criteria. But these criteria must be based on those whom he considers His friends, relatives, and select subjects of his kingdom.

(2) What do the invited guests do? They refuse. They ignore him. They ignore the invitation. They treat the king with supreme indifference and disrespect. They are all completely unwilling to attend the wedding feast.

(3) Curious as to why no one wants to come after having been chosen, the king sends out another group to ask the invitees yet again, explaining how much trouble he has gone to, how much He has prepared, and how much he really wants them all to come and share in his joy. The slaves tell everyone what a great time will be had. There will be barbecued oxen and fatted livestock and a great dinner! My son is getting married and I want you all to come!

(4) This time the invitees not only continued to reject the king but some of them actually mistreated the king’s slaves, and they even killed them! What would compel the invited guests to resort to killing the messenger boys sent out by a loving king? (“Hey Joe, check out this story in the paper. Some dude up north was throwing a wedding for his son and one idiot killed the mailman when he got his invitation.”)

(5) Then what? The king was enraged! So He sent his army, executed the murderers, and torched their sorry city. I mean, all they had to do was politely decline. Why all the rage and murder about a simple wedding invitation?

(6) Now the king decides He is just going to invite everyone he can find. He no longer makes any judgment whatsoever on who may be qualified to come to the wedding. Those who were qualified proved themselves to be completely unworthy. He therefore sends out his slaves to invite one and all, whether good or bad. This time, he ended up with a packed house. His estate was filled to the gills with the rabble of the countryside. They must have thought themselves to be impossibly blessed. No one had ever done anything like this for them before. “Huh? You want little old nobody nothing me to go to a wedding at the king’s estate? Thanks!” They all wasted no time in taking showers and getting their fancy wedding duds on, however humble, and high-tailed it to the big barbecue. The king was most happy!

(7) But all was not perfect. You see, there was this one guy who made no acknowledgement at all of the great thing that happened to him. He didn’t consider himself fortunate and honored to be invited. He didn’t try to get cleaned-up. In fact, he had so little respect for the proceedings that he didn’t even put on a wedding garment. He just kind of wondered in off the street with no expression on his face loosely holding an invitation. The king confronted the man. He even called him his friend. But the man had no answer regarding his lack of proper attire. As a result, he was effectively thrown into hell. To close out the story, the Lord Jesus said: “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

There are three kinds of people in this story:

(A) Those who are called and chosen but do not respect the king and reject his invitation, some of whom even kill the king’s servants. By their own decisions, they revoke their called and chosen status.

(B) Those who are called but are not chosen because they do not properly respect the king or his invitation and dress incorrectly.

(C) Those who are called and chosen because they respect the king, honor his invitation, and dress correctly.

The man without the wedding garment was masquerading as a real Christian. The “wedding clothes” represent the robe of righteousness. Righteousness is a gift. It cannot be earned but can be accepted after one shows the proper respect and honor for the King, and also who properly repents, trusts, and obeys:

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. [Isaiah 61:10]

The following verses give us an indication of what God requires with reference to the appropriate wedding clothes which Isaiah had described so wonderfully in the preceding verse. Please understand that no will enter joyfully into the presence of the King and remain without being properly and respectfully attired:

“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” [Revelation 3:4-6]

“Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” [Revelation 3:14-20] [1]

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THE REAL CHOSEN PEOPLE (PART 1)

Oct 21

Posted by RJ Dawson

I wrote and posted this article in March of 2012 as the first of a series. It revealed the New Testament definition of “The Chosen People.” What follows is an updated version.

THE REAL CHOSEN PEOPLE (PART 1)

Many Christians have been conditioned to believe that “The Chosen People” are the Jews regardless of whether they honor the Lord Jesus as Messiah or not. Many Christians have been taught that Jews are the only people on Earth who belong to God and will forever belong to God even if they deny that Jesus is their Messiah, if they deny He died to save them from their sins, if they disparage His Name and character, if they actively fight against and oppose real Christianity, especially in Israel, and if they as individuals refuse to repent of their sins and submit to His Lordship.

For some odd reason, many Christians have been taught that the New Testament teachings do not apply to the Jewish people. Why? Simply because they are Jews? News flash: The Lord Jesus loves Jews the same as He loves Gentiles. He died for both. Since this is obviously true, why do so many Christian churches and ministries, especially Christian Zionists, shun or downplay reaching out to Jews for their salvation? Though there certainly are Christian ministries which specialize in reaching out to the Jewish people there is still a strange disconnect in this area that clouds otherwise clear New Testament truth.

As a clear example of what is possible, we are living in a day when Messianic Judaism is very popular and growing. The followers of Messianic Judaism honor Jesus as Messiah. They are still Jews, of course, but believe in and follow the Lord Jesus as did the Ἰουδαῖος of the first century.

Speaking of which, what was the greater fallout of the tumultuous changes of the early-to-mid first century AD? Historically, after the complete destruction of what was left of the Hebrew/Israelite homeland in 70AD when Jerusalem was invaded and destroyed by the Romans and the Temple was completely razed to the ground and burned, there was only one segment of the traditional overall “Judaism” of that time that remained.

The Sadducees ceased to exist since there was no longer any Hebrew/Israelite nation. The Essenes, those likely responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls, also faded away. Some Hebrew/Israelite nationals held out after Jerusalem was destroyed, comprising segments of the Zealot Party, but committed mass murder against one another and suicide on the heights of Masada in 73/74AD. There were two other large uprisings against the Romans, the largest and last of which was the Bar Kochba Revolt from 132-135AD. After their defeat there was no longer any effective and organized Hebrew/Israelite resistance against the Romans. It was the end of the Zealots.

The Pharisees, however, were the one party that lived on. They did not die out as the other Hebrew/Israelite major religious and political parties had. The same party that gave the Lord Jesus so much trouble during His ministry and fought the apostles at every turn, especially the apostle Paul, never actually ceased to exist. The Pharisees continued as the sole religious representatives of the Hebrew/Israelite people who had rejected the Lord Jesus as Messiah and Savior. They then morphed into what was later known as Talmudic or Rabbinic Judaism.

Again, the Lord Jesus was 100% a Ἰουδαῖος from the Tribe of Judah and a direct descendant within the kingly line of David. The genealogies in the gospels of Matthew and Luke prove this. Also, every original apostle had Hebrew/Israelite ancestral roots and so had every single member of the Community of the Lord we read about in the earliest history of His Movement as recorded in the Book of Acts including the 120 at Pentecost. For seven to ten years after the Resurrection of the Lord, the entire Qahal of the Lord Jesus was composed entirely of Hebrew/Israelite descendants, members of the nation of Israel, and of the twelve tribes. It was not until the salvation of the Gentile Cornelius and his group, as recorded in Acts 10, that the apostles understood that the Lord Jesus wanted non-Hebrew/Israelite Gentiles also to be included among His people and become members of His spiritual Community. Prior to that time, the Hebrew/Israelite followers of Jesus had somehow assumed that only Hebrews/Israelites and full proselytes to the Judaism of that time would qualify for membership in the Lord’s Community.

So here we see the first great division created by the Lord’s ministry, especially after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, of the Hebrew/Israelite people. One camp saw that Jesus was indeed their long-awaited and hoped-for Messiah and accepted Him fully. The other camp rejected Jesus as Messiah. The camp of rejecters coalesced around the Party of the Pharisees, the lone remaining representatives of overall first-century Judaism. This party has essentially existed throughout history ever since and continued in part as the sole Hebrew organized religious force against Jesus the Messiah.

What happened to the first-century Hebrew/Israelite believers in Jesus? After Cornelius, more and more Gentiles entered the fold of real Christianity. Indeed, the apostle Paul was called by God to be the first and foremost apostle to the non-Hebrew/Israelite Gentiles. Later, at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), it was decided by the Jerusalem Hebrew/Israelite believers that Gentiles did not have to undergo all things Torah in order to attain official membership in the Body of Christ. As more Gentiles flooded in, ethnic differences between Hebrew/Israelite and non-Hebrew/Israelite believers were downplayed over time. This did not mean that Hebrew/Israelite followers of Jesus did not retain their unique identity. Such would have been tragic. These first-century Hebrew/Israelite believers in Jesus were descended from the great Patriarchs of the distant past and represented the then-current true Remnant of the nation.

Paul, a Hebrew/Israelite in very high standing, both ethnically (of the Tribe of Benjamin) and religiously (a Pharisee), as well as a solid Roman citizen, wrote this:

“For 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 (Ἰουδαῖος) nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” [Galatians 3:26-29]

This is a very powerful statement.

From this we know that strict Hebrew/Israelite distinctiveness no longer mattered with respect to membership in the kingdom of God. According to the New Testament, it was no longer an issue to trace one’s physical lineage to Abraham. One can be a descendant of Abraham whether he or she is connected by direct genealogy or not.

Therefore, according to the New Testament and the teachings of the Lord Jesus, which the apostle Paul relayed in the Galatians passage, it is not an ancestral link that makes one a seed of Abraham but a spiritual link by faith according to promise.

However, Hebrew/Israelite non-believers in the Lord Jesus, of course, discounted and rejected this entire notion. They believed it destroys their unique identity. As a result, they hated Paul with the same passion with which they hated the Lord Jesus (How dare these Christian heretics dispose of our status as God’s chosen people!).

Which brings us back to the original point: God’s chosen people, according to the New Testament, are only those who honor the Lord Jesus as Messiah. Yet, even as you read this you probably cringe and think such cannot possibly be true. But it’s right there in your Bible. As is this:

“For he is not a Jew (Ἰουδαῖος) who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew (Ἰουδαῖος) who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” [Romans 2:28-29]

Throughout the Gospels and New Testament writings we see, then, that the “Chosen People” are those who are in Christ, who embrace the Lord Jesus as the only Messiah and Savior, whose hearts have been circumcised, who are in spiritual relationship with Him, and who submit to His full Lordship.

Though the Hebrew/Israelite people were originally chosen by God as descendants of Abraham in ancient times, the majority of them later rejected God. All one must do is pick up the Old Testament and read a few pages to find that this is true.

However, there has always been a believing Hebrew/Israelite remnant and there were always enough who honored God to keep the ancient nation of Israel intact though diminishing. Israel split in two after Solomon’s death in circa 930BC, the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom went into captivity (circa 722BC) and never returned, effectively ceasing to exist, and only the Southern Kingdom of Judah remained until the first destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586BC. The land of Judah, which was originally also comprised of the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, was later reconstituted and existed until the time of our Lord as a national entity. After its destruction by the Romans in 70AD it was the end of the Hebrew/Israelite nation. The unbelieving and disobedient had so outnumbered the believing remnant who dutifully followed YHWH prior to the Incarnation and the Lord Jesus afterward that the geographic and religio-political nation ceased to exist.

The Community of the Lord, however, began at the same time once the Messiah was revealed. Therefore, there is no hope for those who reject the Lord Jesus and look for another. There is no other Messiah and never will be. And without Messiah Jesus there is no salvation because He is salvation—it is the very meaning of His Name (YHWH-Salvation):

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4:8-12][1]

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Tags: Abraham, Ancient Israel, Ancient Jerusalem, Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, Called Chosen and Faithful, Christian Pharisees, Essenes, For Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen, Hebrews, Israelites, Jesus is the Messiah, Lord Jesus, Messianic Judaism, New Testament, Pharisees, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, Sadducees, The Great Awakening, The Name Above Every name, The Real chosen People, Zealots

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY: SHOW US THE FATHER (2022)

Jun 19

Posted by RJ Dawson

The Lord Jesus taught in part by using parables. The greatest parable in His teachings is largely unrecognized. It regards His actual identity. Many Christians have yet to receive the full revelation.