Leviticus Podcasts

I have spent the last week recording audio messages going through the book of Leviticus available for download here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/setdtm4l4rk3u5h/AAA4toqOaVvpOJpDVnfeV1SKa?dl=0

OR

Watch on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3zdMKwnvH8GGQa0qiX62pwF5xgZC0L3r

Feel free to download and listen. Be edified, dear brethren. =)

Is it a Goat or a Demon?

Browsing through Leviticus, I came across chapter 17 where God tells the Israelites not to eat blood. Now, it is interesting that in the letter to the Gentiles, the Jerusalem church tells them that this is one of the laws that they cannot break. Circumcision – whatever – but do not eat/drink blood. Before we reach this command in verse 10, we find verses 1-9 speaking of how the people must offer their sacrifices to the Lord at the Tent of Meeting, and not outside of the camp.

But there is something fascinating that happens in verse 7. “They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat demons to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for generations to come.”

Wait… What?

What is a goat demon? The Hebrew word is se’irim, which simply means “hairy one”. It is used in 2 Chronicles 11:15 and Isaiah 13:21 as well. Sometimes it is translated as goat. Sometimes it is translated as Satyr. Sometimes it is simply translated as “baboon”.Some have thought that maybe these se’irim are false gods in Egypt that were “blood thirsty”, and God is saying “Don’t you indulge in that.” What in the world is going on here?

There is this weird connection between offering to the goat demon, and eating the blood. God says don’t eat blood, because the life is in the blood. When we examine Acts 15:29, we find that the things mentioned to the Gentile believers to abstain from are the very things that were used at times to worship false gods. Do not eat sacrifices offered to idols. Do not eat the meat of strangled animals. Abstain from sexual immorality. Sandwiched in the middle is this command to not eat blood. So, it seems likely that this is indeed one of those things that would have been performed as a ritual when sacrificing to a certain false deity.

Jump ahead to 1 Corinthians. Paul is talking to these believers, and he says to them “about eating food sacrificed to idols…” that “food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” Then, to top it off, Paul says, “If anyone… sees you… eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.” This dialogue is found in 1 Corinthians 8.

Jump ahead in 1 Corinthians to chapter 10. Paul makes the statement to “flee from idolatry”, and then wraps that intimately with communion. Then, if that weren’t confusing enough, he flips the subject around and says, “Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean that sacrifices offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.”

What just happened? One minute Paul seems to say that it isn’t a big deal to eat of the sacrifices offered to demons – which is deliberately against what the Jerusalem counsel said – and then in chapter 10 it seems like he starts back-peddling. Might I suggest that what is being expressed is bigger than just meat offered to idols? The whole point isn’t about the meat, nor about the idols. The point goes beyond this to a deeper truth. It is about what the communion itself means.

Communion with the Lord is about marriage to God. When the Jewish people would become “engaged” (truthfully, the courtship of the ancient Israelites was much more than what we would call engagement), the father would go with his son to the woman’s home. They would speak to the father of the woman, and they would try to work out a marriage pact. Then, at the end of it all, the son would take a cup and fill it with wine. He would say over the cup, “This is my blood of the covenant. Take and drink of it.” The daughter will then have an option: take the cup and accept marriage with God, or politely decline. When we take of the cup of the Lord, we are committing ourselves to marriage with Him. Jump back to Leviticus 17. Notice the language is about harlotry when the Israelites would offer to this “goat demon”.

We have before us two tables. There is the table of the Lord, which is a covenant between God and His people of marriage with them. Then, there is the table of demons, which is a covenant with death and hell solemnly sworn against the Lord.

To the table of the Lord, we find verses like Genesis 14:18, where Melchizedek brings wine and bread to break with Abraham. We find Psalm 78:19, where God spreads a table in the wilderness for Israel. We find in Mark 8:4, where the disciples ask Jesus, “Where will we get enough bread to feed all these people in this remote place?” In Ezekiel 20:35, the prophet speaks of a time still yet in the future when Israel would be scattered into the wilderness of the nations and sup with God face-to-face. Revelation 12:6 speaks of a time where the woman (Israel) flees into the wilderness to a place that God has prepared to take care of her for 1,260 – another prophecy that is most likely future. It is spoken of this communion that unless you eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood, you cannot be His disciple.

Then there is another table. There is a contrast. Psalm 14:4 speaks of evil doers who “devour my people as men eat bread”. Jeremiah 10:25 prophecies of a wrath to be poured out on all the nations and people who “have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland.” But the most blatant of all these Scriptures is in Micah 3. “Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh in the pot?”

What is the point? There is somehow a direct connection between taking the meat sacrificed to idols – joining in the table of demons – and devouring the people of the Lord. There are few things that God says He will cut the people off for. This is one. Another is the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. Thirdly there is taking the mark of the beast. I believe that all three of these are connected deeply and intimately. Notice Matthew 12:28 that Jesus compares the Spirit of God with the kingdom of God – “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Then, Jesus goes on to express that the strong man – Satan – must be bound in order for the Kingdom of God to come. Then, Jesus goes back to the subject of the Spirit of God by saying those who blaspheme the Spirit of God will not be forgiven. Why? Because the Spirit of God is the one that is casting out the kingdom of darkness. The Spirit is being likened to the kingdom of God. To say that the work of the Spirit is actually the work of Satan is the ultimate affront.

The book of Revelations contrasts the seal of the 144,000 with the mark of the beast. To one, the mark of God is put upon their forehead. To the other, it is the mark of the beast upon the forehead. What is the difference? They who see the antichrist and will actually claim this man is God is to equate the kingdom of God with the kingdom of darkness. It is the same as they who blaspheme the Spirit – which is the same as they who will feast at the table of demons. Look at Luke 11:20. The same verse in Matthew 12 that compares the Spirit of God with the kingdom of God is said in Luke 11:10 “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

This phrase is found in Exodus 8:19. The Egyptians see the plagues as the “finger of God”. What is happening? The contrast is being made: Egypt or Israel? Goat demons or Jehovah? The Spirit of God or the false miracles performed by the false prophet? Jesus or the Antichrist? The kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness? Which do you choose?

Israel's Purpose and Destiny

I have previously posted the question, "Is Current Israel under Blessing or Curse?" In it, I explored what the Scripture has to say about Israel's final redemption. No, I do not believe that Israel has come to that final redemption, as mentioned in Amos 9, but that in no way would give us reason to oppose Israel or the Jewish people. In this post, I want to further the thought by asking what is Israel's ultimate purpose? I think that this might be a key component to better understanding both Scripture as well as our place as the Gentiles that have been grafted into (but not replaced) Israel.

There are four main roots that I think many of the modern day heresies and fads come from. When we readjust our perception of these four roots, everything else in Scripture seems to come alive. The four roots are an inadequate understanding of the Kingdom of God, the heart of God, the principalities and powers, and Israel’s purpose. God has given us a plumb line unto which everything else must measure up. If our understanding does not measure up to embrace all of Scripture, then the issue is not with our understanding. The issue lies at the foundation. That foundation is ultimately Christ. Yet, we come to more fully perceive Christ when we better understand the backdrop of the Old Testament, and we can better understand the progression of God's Scripture.

It is said in Zechariah 2:8 that “whoever touches you (Israel) touches the apple of my eye.” That Hebrew word translated ‘apple’ is more properly translated as the pupil of the eye. When we mess with Israel, even in our doctrine, we are poking fingers into the very pupil of the eye of God. He takes His covenant with Israel extremely seriously. I would even venture to say that if we don’t know Christ Jesus as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then we don’t have a solid understanding of Christ.

God’s purposes with Israel might be one of the most controversial subjects in Christendom. On the one side of the spectrum are they that teach the church has replaced Israel. On the other side are those that are so Zionist that you could not tell them that Israel is in error. In between these two opinions are many varieties of beliefs, almost none of them being biblical. Our approach to Israel as Christians seems to be based on one of two things: arrogance or sentimentality. We either have great arrogance in claiming they are cast aside and we have replaced them, or we have only the most questionable sentimentality. 

Those who have only sentimentality to Israel will not even consider the possibility of another exile. These are the same people that when you try to explain that they will be uprooted from the Land and we will take them in as refugees, they want to play the rapture card. “Well, you can stay if you want to, but I’m getting out of here!” This kind of statement really shows precisely how loveless and non-biblical so many ‘saints’ truly are. Though they have the Bible and every possibility to reason and understand and love, they instead choose convenience.

We don’t get to choose whether we stay or we go. Either we will all stay, or we will all go. The question that truly needs to be asked is our willingness to stay through the Tribulation. Are we willing to endure suffering at the hands of men – possibly even Jewish men – for the glory and purposes of God? Are we willing to, for love’s sake, put ourselves in a place of danger? If the answer to those questions is no, then there is absolutely no amount of reasoning that I can perform to convince you of God’s eternal plans and our place in those plans. But for those that are willing to lay down their lives and live in a manner that would display love and truth to an entire nation, there is still hope that we might be able to come to reasonable conclusions together.

Nothing more shows the core of who God is than His plans concerning Israel. Some have called this ‘the mystery of Israel.’ I’m not sure that Israel’s role in eschatology is a part of that mystery, as some claim, but instead the mystery is simply found in the scandal of a God that would choose one nation over all others. When we can understand that mystery, it makes a lot more sense as to why God would use words like, “election.” Election doesn’t necessarily have only to do with ‘national Israel.’ It has to do with the people of God, foreknown from before the beginning of time. During the Millennial reign of Christ, and during the New Heaven and New Earth, there appear to be a people that are outside of that choosing, yet are not destroyed in the Judgment of Christ.

This issue is the issue of nations. God doesn’t destroy all nations. Nor does He cast all people into the lake of fire. There are those nations and people that do indeed get cast into the lake of fire, but how can we reconcile the notion of a people outside of election that are still able to come up and worship God? This is part of the mystery. It comes down to a few subjects that we’ll look at: covenant, centrality of Israel, and God’s nation. These three factors help us to better understand what it is that we’re looking at.

Covenant

God has revealed His covenant progressively. The first statement of it is in Genesis 3:15 – that a man will rise from the seed of the woman to crush the serpent’s head. From that initial statement, we don’t really gather a whole lot of information. We certainly don’t gather a bunch of messianic prophecy about a “greater than David” and how the messiah must be a priest and a king, and how Jesus will come twice, etc. Actually, the covenant made with Israel unfolds. It starts with a promise of a man to come that will crush a serpent’s head, and then eventually evolves into an eternal covenant that will be the redemption of all of creation.

I have absolutely no problem with saying that God had foreordained such a plan of salvation. We just don’t find the full statement and revelation of such a cosmic plan at the inception of Genesis. It progresses from that first statement to a promise that Canaan will be a slave to Japheth and Shem, and that Japheth will enter the tents of Shem (Genesis 9:25-27). It is after the incident at Babel, in the plains of Shinar, that God calls a man out of all nations in order to bless all nations (Genesis 12:3). That covenant is reiterated to Abram in Genesis 15:1-21, but the details are added that Abram’s offspring will inherit the land from the Nile to the Euphrates. That promise has yet to be fulfilled.

Now, before we go forward in the progression, lets deal with an issue. Paul quotes the promise given to Abraham. He mention that the word used for seed is singular, and not plural. This is a hint of one single man, Christ, that would be the seed of Abraham. We cannot take this knowledge and trade it for the whole progression of Scripture, though. The Jewish people today can equally claim that the wording represents Isaac, and not Ishmael. Yes, there is something to this, but no, the promise of Abraham was not solely for Christ. That is not to say that those with Jacob’s blood in them are saved according to the flesh. What it is saying is that we need to be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Once again, the statement of “through your seed” is given in Genesis 22:18. The context of the statement is in God’s provision of the lamb instead of Isaac as sacrifice. When we take this to mean that Israel has been replaced, we err in being terrible exegetes of Scripture. The statement is still resonating the fact that “God will provide a Lamb.” This is actually the heart of the covenant. From before Israel, and before Abraham, God established this covenant. It is an eternal covenant about a God that provides a Lamb.

The covenant is an eternal covenant. The eternal covenant is not solely with Israel, but with all nations. God has chosen a specific people for Him to put His name upon, and all other nations must come unto them in order to worship the Lord. The covenant unfolds throughout the Scripture gaining more and more detail, until finally it culminates in the man Christ Jesus – the true Israel and firstfruit from the dead. When Israel was given the promises of being called the firstborn of God (Exodus 4:22), we find the New Testament writers referring to Jesus as God’s only begotten Son.

How is it that God can make a statement about Israel being His son, but then that title is given exclusively to Jesus in the New Testament? It comes down to the mystery of Israel, which is the mystery of Christ. In the book of Isaiah from chapter 40 onward for about 15 chapters we read about a servant of the Lord. This servant is the Messiah in some places, but is clearly spoken of as Israel in other places. What is being communicated is: As with Israel, so with Messiah; as with Messiah, so with Israel. The Gospel of Matthew also communicates this.

We find in Matthew the “prophecy” that, “Out of Egypt I call my son…” Read Hosea. That isn’t a prophecy; it is a statement. The statement isn’t even a messianic statement. It is referring to Israel being delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. How can Matthew make such a big blunder? As with Israel, so with Messiah. The Gospel of Matthew continues that theme all the way through. Jesus comes out of Egypt, gets baptized in the Jordan (symbolic of Israel crossing the Red Sea), and is led into the wilderness for 40 days (Israel wandering for 40 years). At the beginning of Matthew 5, Jesus goes up onto a “mountain” to speak to His followers. This is reminiscent of Moses upon Mount Sinai.

The corporate Israel is made manifest in the man Jesus Christ. He is the true Israel that fulfilled all of the purposes of Israel. However, there is a flip side to that coin: as with Messiah, so with Israel. As Jesus fulfilled perfectly all of the commands of the Lord concerning Israel, so too must Israel do. God awaits a time reserved when He will establish His King upon the earth for 1000 years that Israel will finally come into her purpose: to be a corporate demonstration of Jesus. As the Body of Christ, we have this mandate. We have this mandate to be Jesus unto the Jewish people. They will have the mandate to be Jesus unto the nations, for “You will be a Kingdom of priests, and a holy nation,” Exodus 19:6.

Though the covenant was progressively revealed through the Old Testament, it was ever and always the eternal covenant (Jesus slain before the foundation of the world). Israel rejected that covenant at Sinai, and placed Moses as their mediator in exchange for personal relationship of God. Because of that exchange, the nation forfeited for a season their call to be the priestly nation as God had intended. This is why the prophets call the eternal covenant “a new thing” and “a new covenant.” It isn’t so much that it is a “new covenant” as it is the eternal covenant rejected at Sinai. Instead, they embraced a covenant that could be performed. This is why it is said by the religious leaders of that new wine, “The old is good enough,” Luke 5:39.

It is according to the covenant made with God at Sinai that Israel’s destiny hinges upon. God still holds them accountable to that covenant, though the Gentiles have not been placed under such a covenant. It is said in Deuteronomy 4:1, “Follow them (the decrees and laws) so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land…” Israel has been given the land promised to Abraham, but not that full amount promised in Genesis 15:18. That Land is to be inherited only. Israel cannot come into possession of that Land by coercion or military power. Because the Land must be inherited, for Israel to remain in that Land they must remain faithful to the Lord their God. If they don’t remain faithful, they don’t remain in the Land.

It was said in Deuteronomy 6:25 that the obedience to the Law is considered their righteousness. Where Paul has said that we cannot be saved through works, God seems to be indicating that they can be saved by works. However, Paul is actually expressing the fullness of this text. It is not the works of the Law that make them righteous, but the faith behind those works. In remaining faithful to God, which is to continue to put their faith and confidence in Him throughout all generations, their works are considered righteous. This is why God continues by saying, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God,” Deuteronomy 11:26-28.

The blessing does not come when Israel upholds the Law, but when they live by faith. The curse does not come with disobedience to the Law, but when they reject the Lord their God. The two are connected in a way that cannot be separated. Ultimately, Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. He is our offering and sacrifice. He was the anointed unleavened bread of Truth to be offered as our meal offering. He is our peace offering – that through Him we have peace with God. He is our sin offering, that if we sin, we have propitiation (1 John 2:1). He is our Passover Lamb. He is the drink offering, of which we can take and say, “This is His blood…” He is the fulfillment of the 613 laws outside of the Ten Commandments, including the dietary laws. It is in Christ and through Christ - specifically faith in Him that leads to good works (James 2:14-24) - that we, and Israel, are to keep the Law.

The Law is not something that is a burden to fulfill as believers because Christ is our fulfillment. It is apart from faith in Christ that the Law becomes impossible. This is the eternal covenant. We have stepped into this reality as Christians – something that Israel has yet to do nationally. That is why the command is given through Paul that we are to “drive the Jew to jealousy,” Romans 11:11. This is almost a parallel of the statement made by Moses, “I will make you envious by a people that are not a people; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding,” Deuteronomy 32:21.

How is it that Gentiles, they that were despised by the Jews, are the ones to live in the promises and blessings given to them? It is a Divine revelation of the character of God. He will go that far, to cut off the natural branches and engraft wild branches, in order to call the nation of Israel to repentance. While we’ve been content to live beneath the glory of God, Israel continues to be unmoved and not jealous. God has established the covenant with Israel so that He might use them as a nation to all the other nations. Our call is to be a people that are no people – a pariah.

By being slapdash saints we rob God. Our purpose and calling is to be nobodies. But we have the same complex that Israel had: we want to be like all the other nations. We want to be somebodies. Are you willing to take up the purposes of God for the sake of a greater reward in the next life? This cuts to the heart of every grumbling. We don’t expect to be somebody. Instead, we are content in all things. It is for the lack of understanding this mystery that even the church has been quite flabby. We are unchallenged and bored.

What might actually be the solution is the very thing we have refused to consider: we are to be a priesthood to Israel so that they might be a priesthood to the nations. Instead of embracing this calling, we have coveted their calling. We want to be the big dogs. Maybe the parable of Jesus speaking of the prodigal son is more literally true than we know. The elder brother that has always been with the father says, “I have slaved in your household for all these years…” He refuses to celebrate with the father because he thinks he is lacking in reward for his “enslavement.” Who among us are exact replicas of that elder brother? Who among us don’t want to even consider playing second fiddle, even though we’re of Japheth, the elder? Is not all righteousness performed in submitting as the elder under the younger? Has God not said that the least shall be the greatest?

Center of nations

Ezekiel 5:5 says, “This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.” I believe that the King James translates it as “set in the midst…” The Hebrew word speaks of “the middle.” Why is it that preachers insist on the ‘fact’ that “God’s not interested in real estate?” That isn’t what God says. He is very interested in this particular Land. He has even established that it should be the center of all nations. This is the pupil of God’s eye, at the center of all nations, to be a priestly nation to the nations.

God has chosen a specific place (Zion) for His rule. The classic chapter for blessings and curses, Deuteronomy 28, begins with the verse, “The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” From there, it is reaffirmed that “the Lord will make you the head, and not the tail,” Deuteronomy 28:13. These are promises of God, and the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Deuteronomy 32:8-9 doesn’t just imply, but blatantly states, “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.”

I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard this expounded. The very statement itself seems to drive something deep within me to repulsion. Would God be that specific? Would He truly set up the boundaries of the nations according to the sons of Israel? What does that even mean? It has been decreed that God would make Israel a priesthood. They are to show the nations the ways of the Lord. They are to separate the precious from the vile. It has been said in the prophets, and it is true unto this day, “Like priest, like people.” When Israel is disobedient to their God, the nations are disobedient and do not consider.

For God to redeem Israel is for Him to redeem the nations. There is something interwoven between Israel and the nations that shouldn’t be lightly disregarded. The way that Israel acts and interacts with the nations actually affects those nations. When she is a whore, the nations blaspheme the name of God. This is why it says in Ezekiel over and over that Israel has “blasphemed my name.” Even if there is not a technical blaspheming of God’s name by Israel, the very fact that they are causing the nations to blaspheme Him is likened unto the same thing in God’s sight.

We looked earlier at how Israel is called God's firstborn in Exodus 4, and then the New Testament exclusively gives that title to Jesus. I want to give a thought for consideration. This is not a "thus saith the Lord," but only an inclination. I am coming more to being convinced that Israel is God's firstborn son as a nation. Christ is the God-Man. He is also the Israel-Man. We find in Christ Jesus the fullness of God, but also the fullness of who Israel is called to be. But in regard to the nations, and not simply individuals, God still calls Israel His firstborn son. When that nation has come unto salvation in Christ Jesus, and they are walking out their calling of being the priestly nation, all other nations, as nations, must look to Israel as their mediator. We have Christ as our mediator, and I don't want to speak something against that. But as nations, and not mere individuals, the nations cannot come to God without Israel being their mediator to God. Israel will fulfill the position of mediator through the redemption of Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is part of the marriage of the Lamb. "The two become one flesh." When there is that kind of unity of deity and humanity found in Israel, and the Church alongside her, the Bride of Christ is promoted (exalted) to ruling and reigning alongside of Christ - not under Him, but beside Him.

I don’t know that I have fully come to understand and appreciate what God has communicated in these quoted verses. There are too many possibilities for me to grasp what God has in store. Whatever is being communicated in God establishing Israel as the center of all nations, it is at the heart of Israel’s primary purpose. When we can come to understand that mystery, we have come to understand the whole of eschatology. So much is stored away hidden in God that we cannot begin to even fathom what this seed will blossom into. The mystery of Israel is the mystery of Christ. As Christ, so also Israel. The impact of that statement alone can give us depth and insight beyond what I’m personally able to communicate.

God’s nation among nations

To conclude, Israel’s purpose is to be God’s nation among all nations. Just as Satan has taken his pick and placed his name upon Babylon, God has called out one man from all nations to make him a nation. This is not simply a political state. When God gathers Israel the final time, He will gather all Israel. Any and all of the Jews that are scattered abroad will be brought back to that Land. It is more than a political state – it is God’s nation and statement.

This has a few implications: priesthood, theocracy, display of God’s character, and His witness unto the four corners of the earth. In this is the summary of Israel’s call. Books and volumes can be written on those subjects alone to further understand the depth and magnanimity of God’s calling. “For you are a people holy unto the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession,” Deuteronomy 7:6. “Listen to me my people; hear me, my nation,” Isaiah 51:4.

“Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?” Deuteronomy 4:34. God has chosen this particular people above every other people. In order for us to even come into the faith we must be grafted into that root (Romans 11:11-25). God is jealous over Israel, and if we are to bear His name, we also must be jealous over Israel.

Is Current Israel Under Blessing or Curse?

I'm sure we've all heard various opinions on Israel. There are a lot of Christians who believe that the current state of Israel is the final return, and that we just need to await the day that Jesus will return and all Israel will be saved. On the opposite side of the spectrum are believers that say it doesn't matter what happens in the Middle East because we are the 'New Israel.' Where does the truth actually lie?

To truly dive into such a topic as this, we need to look at the Bible as a whole. We need to see the history of Israel, what their purpose is, and we need to let the Scripture speak for itself. Both they that say Israel is finally restored and they that say we are the New Israel have taken Scriptures out of context. For example, I would challenge you to look at any prophecy that speaks of Israel's final return. One of the most often quoted verses would be Amos 9, where it says, "They shall never again be uprooted." This is actually the very last verse of Amos. But lets just assume that Amos 9:15 has a context. What is that context that is being spoken of?

Well, contrary to the subdivider in my Bible, the context actually starts way back in verse 8 (if not sooner). We find that God declares to "the sinful kingdom," "I will destroy it from the face of the earth - yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob. For I will give the command, and I will sift the house of Israel among the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground. All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, 'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.' In that day I will restore the tabernacle of David. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, 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."

Question: has that happened? Has the tabernacle of David been restored? Has Edom been given into the hand of Israel as a possession? The tabernacle of David is the throne of David. Is there a king upon the throne of David ruling over Israel? No. When we couple this with Isaiah 2:2, "The mountain of the Lord's Temple will be established above all other mountains... and all nations will stream unto it," we find that this part about Edom and the nations might actually have more to do with world peace and all peoples coming up to see the Lord. Has that happened? No. Why? Because the first thing that must happen before there is the "never again will you be uprooted" is the establishment of Messiah upon the throne of David. That hasn't happened, so the latter can't have happened either.

But this leaves an interesting question: if the final restoration is not what we're currently seeing, then how exactly do we understand from Amos 9:8-10? And another question: What exactly are we seeing when we look at the Middle East?

There are two things necessary for good hermeneutic of the prophetic Scriptures: an understanding of the general history of Israel (which is actually part of a larger history and context of Scripture) and the relentless pursuit of contextual analysis. Both of these are rooted in one essential ingredient: hearing the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth. This is God’s eternal purpose. Such topics as Israel and the last days are not things to ‘meddle’ with. It says in Zechariah 2:8 that, “whoever touches you (Israel) touches the apple of my eye.” That Hebrew word used there is literally the pupil of God’s eye.

We need to have the utmost sobriety about this. Casual glimpses and meshing together of Scripture in a dubious sort of fashion is an abomination. You play games with the apple of God’s eye, and ultimately if Israel has not been restored to her Land that final time, you play games with the lives of countless Jews. The Messiah came before God’s final judgment upon Israel. We can say that Israel has been exiled for the past 2000 years, and in 1948 they were reestablished as a nation – born in a day. But there are a few things that must happen when God restores them the last time. We’ll look into each one of these subjects individually:

1)    Israel’s final redemption comes with world peace.

2)    Israel’s final redemption means they believe in the Lord their God.

3)    Israel’s final redemption happens at Christ’s return.

4)    There are prophecies about two returns at the end of the age.

What will become increasingly obvious is this: The current state of Israel is not the redeemed Israel spoken of in prophecy. Instead, it is an Israel that is out of sync with God’s covenant, and they will continue to be until that final restoration unto glory. All four of those things must take place before Israel is redeemed (or, more precisely, the first three at the time of their redemption). We actually mistake Bible prophecy when we say that Israel can be restored to the Land before they are redeemed. This cannot happen in a progression or spurts, as some suggest it is happening. It must all happen at once, or it won’t happen at all.

Israel’s final redemption comes with world peace

When we look through the Scriptures, we find that the covenant made to Israel was that they would be at peace in the Land. They won’t have any wars. If a nation decided to come up against Israel, they will flee in seven directions. Five will chase 100, and 100 will chase 10,000. The sword will never pass through Israel. This is found in Leviticus 26:6-8. If Israel will obey the commandments of the Lord, then they shall dwell in peace. But if she disobeys, then her enemies shall pursue her to the exact same degree. Actually, it even says that they will flee when no one chases (Leviticus 26:17).

The exile is a judgment. What is also a judgment is when there is no peace. This is a covenant that God has made with Israel. If God has established this covenant with them, and has brought them back according to that covenant, then don’t you think that they should have peace in the Land? Why are Israel’s enemies sending rockets day and night into the Land of Israel? Why is Israel a stench and burden to those surrounding her? This is a judgment from God. The redemption of that nation, and the restoration of her brings peace to the whole world.

Isaiah 35:10 specifically promises that when Israel returns, she will return with everlasting joy upon her head. Mourning and sighing will flee away. Why does it say this? It says this because everything that Israel has experienced up to this point would be persecution and tribulation (of which the Nazi Holocaust was only a foretaste). Israel will go through a time that is unparalleled. She will endure great suffering and trial. It is called by the prophet Jeremiah, “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” That time was mentioned by Jesus as being unequaled: “If that time were not cut short, no flesh would survive” (Matthew 24:22). The people will go through such anguish before their restoration that when they are delivered from it, they will enter Zion with singing.

But wait, wasn’t the Nazi Holocaust a time of unequaled tribulation? Indeed it was. So maybe Israel endured that, and then God delivered her. But we can’t reject the verse in Isaiah. She shall enter Zion with everlasting joy upon her head. Why is it everlasting? It is everlasting because there will never be another time like this. Sorrow and sighing will flee away. Why? God will make sure that they are never oppressed again. They will have peace on every side, and the Lord their God will rule over them to protect them. Does this fit the description of modern day Israel?

Though their oppressors do not overtake them, she still has oppressors. It is said in Joel 2:19, “Never again will I make you an object of scorn among the nations.” Guess what… Nations are scorning. It is not sufficient to say that there will come a time when the nations don’t scorn. I agree that there will come a time, but there will not come a time with the current state of Israel. She is still out of the covenant. The evidence for that is that she does not have the temple, she does not have the sacrifices, and she is not at peace in the Land. All of these things are covenants that God has established with her.

Israel’s final redemption means they believe in the Lord their God

Lets start in Isaiah. We’ll then work our way through to Zechariah. For the record, the amount of Scripture that I’m referencing is small. Compared to the overwhelming testimony of Scripture, I am being quite conservative. The fact is, if you continue through to study the prophets, you’ll see over and over and over again this same testimony. Isaiah 10:20 says, “In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.” What we find in this verse is a little bit of what I had previously spoken. Israel’s final redemption comes after a great calamity. “They will no longer rely on him who struck them down…” When Israel returns that final time, they will no longer trust on the arm of the flesh at all. The arm of the flesh has historically been Egypt that would be an ally to Israel, but this final allegiance will be with the Antichrist himself.

When they return the final time, they will trust in the Lord their God. “Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I,” Isaiah 52:6. When Israel shall return to the Land that final time, it shall be in such a manner that causes them to know it was God’s doing. They won’t take the prophecies about how God has said they would return, and therefore they have a right to the Land. This is taking the Lord’s name in vein. They act as though God has established them to bless them, so they can then then ignore Him in all other areas of their politics.

The Lord has indeed established the current nation of Israel. God has restored her, for no one else has the authority to do such a thing. That does not give Israel the right, however, to then take those promises and use them as a “magic genie” against all her oppressors. It is a shameful thing to use the name of the Lord as a safety blanket. When He shall redeem Israel and bring her back to the Land, that people will know Him. That kind of knowledge is not some sort of acknowledgment of God, but is a deep intimate knowledge. Because they have suffered His judgments, they shall know His mercy. For His judgments are His mercies.

That people will return knowing their God. That knowledge will consist of more than an intellectual ascribing. Israel shall deeply know and be united with God. She shall come to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That people will come to know Christ Jesus, and that kind of knowledge does not come cheaply for the Jew. There is a stripping that must take place. God must pluck up, destroy, and then plant. He must destroy any knowledge that they currently have, because even if it is truth, it is based in a false reality. Any false reality or perception of God cannot remain.

To have the proper knowledge of God as God is to have a proper knowledge of everything. It is that knowledge of Him that reveals to us our own self. It reveals to us the condition of the nations. It reveals to us the understanding of God’s purpose for the nations. For Israel to return knowing the Lord is more than a statement about them coming back and “believing” in Jesus. Our current understanding of repentance barely even scratches the surface. I think repentance is an understatement. “At that time, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people… The people who survive the sword shall find favor in the desert. I will come to give rest to Israel,” Jeremiah 31:1-2. Notice here again the context of coming out of tribulation and destruction. God brings them out of calamity, “The people who survive the sword…”

“Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people… You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord,” Ezekiel 34:30-31. God does not mince His words. He doesn’t speak into the air to fill it with noise. What He has said shall be done. That people will be His people. Though there is only a remnant of followers of Christ Jesus now, at that time they shall all be followers of Christ Jesus. As it is written, “And so, all Israel shall be saved,” Romans 11:26.

To move from their current beliefs (or disbeliefs) to the state of “all Israel shall be saved” is quite an epoch. Something drastic has to take place that Israel shall say, “I will go back to my Husband as at first, for then I was better off than now,” Hosea 2:7. That something is called the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. The Tribulation is the calculated drama to take place that will drive the Jewish people to repentance before the Lord. They will recognize that their punishment is in proportion to their sin (Ezekiel 7:8). To come to that acknowledgement is to come to the understanding that you are under judgment. When in history has that taken place? The only example that I can think of might be with the generation of Nehemiah.

To acknowledge that the Lord is judging His people is to acknowledge the error or our ways. But we are a stiff-necked people – all of us. It isn’t Israel that is stiff-necked and we can mock them for it. We have all been bullheaded and absolutely absurd. That kind of an acknowledgement from the people of God grants unto God His due worship and adoration. He has not slain us because He is against us, but because He is for us. He has not abandoned us and allowed mischief to take place. Instead, He is the author of the chastisement, and He is the finisher and “perfecter” of our faith.

“I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God,” Zechariah 8:8. To claim that the first can happen without the second is an abuse of Scripture. If we are content with saying that God has restored Israel in her sinful condition so that they might gradually come to know the Lord, then what exegetical error are we not capable of? This is quite possibly the one thing that needs to be understood in Christendom. If we are sending Jews back to Israel as a safe haven, we are sending them to their deaths. We are taking them out of the frying pan and throwing them into the fire.

Though it is true currently that the Jews worldwide are suffering persecution, it is not true that Israel is safe. If you send them to the Land, they will suffer the greater persecution. It is actually upon that land that the judgment is the most concentrated. There is better possibility of survival to endure the persecution in the nations than to go unto Israel where God has spoken, “though a tenth remains in the Land, it will again be laid waste,” Isaiah 6:13. Ninety percent of the population in Israel will either flee or die. God has declared that during the Tribulation there will only be a stump to remain (Isaiah 11:1). Zechariah 13:8 adds the detail that two-thirds will die in the land.

This is not a game. This is not something to wistfully send money in order to send the Jews back home. This is life and death. There is coming a time of judgment that is yet future that will eclipse even the Nazi Holocaust, and it will be worldwide. The devastation that will occur in the land of Israel will be such devastation that it will actually cause even some Christians to fall away from God. The question of “why” won’t cut it. To believe that God would allow such terror to break out upon the Jewish people is considered anti-Semitism. Yet, it might actually be the greatest form of love to warn them and prepare our hearts and homes to be a refuge for them.

Why is it that the Tribulation is the calculated drama to lead them to repentance? They won't just flee into the wilderness and "be sifted through all nations." They will find refuge in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6). That refuge will be a Church that has been prepared by God. They will flee Jerusalem to come unto a Body that is so unified in character and heart that Psalm 133 calls them "Zion." That reality being portrayed and lived out in daily interaction with the saints, and taking in the Jewish people as brethren instead of "sinners," is the very means necessary to drive them to envy. It is actually that very thing that will cause for the layers to be stripped away little by little. While they are suffering agony without the Holy Spirit, we are wrestling the principalities and powers over them in the Spirit. It is that wrestling that will actually lead to their blindness and hardness of heart being taken away - removing the veil and breaking their power (Isaiah 25:7, Daniel 12:7) - so that when Christ returns they shall each person break away to weep and repent (Zechariah 12:10-14).

The final redemption of Israel comes after great tragedy. It comes when they are brought back to the Land knowing their God. It comes when there is to be worldwide peace. There is only one thing that can cause such a predicament:

Israel’s final redemption happens at Christ’s return

Nothing short of the revelation of Jesus returning on the clouds will save them. The nations will behold Him coming, and all they that have persecuted Israel will be held accountable. The nations will gather to Jerusalem for a final battle against Christ Jesus, but He shall prevail over them. It is actually upon this return of Jesus that God has ordained the redemption of Israel. There is much to the story that needs to be played out and explained as to how we get here, but know that it takes nothing less than their rejected Messiah (beholding Him whom they have pierced – Zechariah 12:10) returning to cause repentance to spring up in the House of Israel.

It is prophesied in Genesis 49 what shall come to pass in the last days. Upon Judah (from where we get the Jews) the prophecy is given, “The scepter will not depart from Judah; nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” This is an obvious prophecy that Christ shall come from Judah. But notice that it is an end time prophecy, and that the gathering of the people is unto Him.

“The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it – one from the house of David – one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness,” Isaiah 16:4-5. Notice the oppressor is defeated when the throne is established. The oppressor is the Antichrist, which is a shadow of the ultimate oppressor: Satan. Later Isaiah says (33:17-18), “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and view a land that stretches afar. In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror.”

It is upon beholding His appearing that Israel is saved. On that day, when Christ returns, He shall gather Israel. It shall be in that day that kings and queens will bring them back upon their shoulders (Isaiah 49:22-23). At the return of Christ, Israel is redeemed. When Israel is redeemed, the nations are subjected under her. When the nations humble themselves and “enter the tent of Shem” (Genesis 9:27), then everlasting righteousness has been established, and world peace will last from generation to generation. All of this climaxes at the return of Christ.

Fulfillment of Prophecy, but not of Promise

There is a text in Ezekiel that explains what we’re seeing in the Middle East currently. “Then the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross unto me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron, and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace to melt it with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted insider her. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you,” Ezekiel 22:17-22.

The current state of Israel is a fulfillment of prophecy, but not of promise. God has gathered the people back together a second to final time in judgment. The plan is to convict of sin, and to display to Israel her wrongs. When Israel has acknowledged that she has sinned before the Lord, the end has come.

In Isaiah 11:11, God says, “In that day the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of His people…” Why does God reach out a second time? We’re seeing the first time play out before our eyes. Yes, God brought Israel back to the Land. However, that restoring to the Land is not based upon the redemption of Israel and the restoration of the covenant. Instead, it is based upon judgment. God will pour out His furor upon a disobedient people.

“For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled your sanctuary,” Isaiah 63:18. We learn from Daniel 8:10 and other places that the Temple will be rebuilt, and sacrifices begun to be offered again. The Antichrist will cut off the sacrifices and sit himself upon the throne in the Temple (2 Thessalonians 2:4). There has to be a temple and sacrifices for that to happen. I don’t believe that we’ll be seeing Israel having the Temple and sacrifices for a long time. It says in Isaiah 63:18 that they have possessed His holy place “for a little while.”

We are beholding prophecy play out before us, but we are not witnessing the restored and redeemed Israel that is gathered back to the Land by Jesus Christ Himself. There is a coming calamity before that will take place. Israel will pass through another time of being sifted through the nations. The Jewish people will be uprooted from that Land and scattered throughout all nations. When God has sifted them as one sifts grain in a sieve, then the end has come. So many things connect right at the very end.

We could spend a lifetime searching out the details of all of the sub-stories. All of the little details that are given to tell us what is happening to Israel during the Tribulation is one “story.” Another “story” is what is happening to the Church. Another story is what is happening in heaven. Another story is what is going on in the midst of the nations. Another story is what is going on in the midst of the Antichrist’s kingdom. All of these stories interweave, but ultimately intersect together into one story at the consummation of the age: the return of Christ. 

To understand what is playing out before our eyes is a life and death necessity. I'm not against building ministries or sending the Jews back to Israel per se. But to do so without the understanding of a coming calamity that Jesus gave the warning, "When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains" (Matthew 14:15-16 paraphrase), is the same as wickedness. This is ministerial malpractice at its absolute worst. We have not rightly divided the word, and the result will be the blood of countless masses upon our hands.