FANTASTIC FANTASIES

There is a host of scripture proving that Jesus cast out devils, and that He commanded His disciples do likewise, Mark 16:17. All of the apostles including Paul cast out devils. This was one of the signs given as proof of their ministry. With all of this in mind I cannot see how anyone can deny the necessity of casting out devils. Some have even said that they neither believe in devils nor the casting out of devils. Then there are those who attribute all the problems of the world to the Devil and his army of devils. Both of these positions are extreme and scripturally untenable. It is commonly believed that I do not believe in either the Devil or devils. They are wrong. 

I confess that I do not believe in the devil as being a fallen third heaven angel nor do I believe that God ever lost control of His Kingdom or any part of it. The thought that there was an insurrection led by an arch angel with a full third of the heavenly beings participating in it is an ancient pagan myth pseudo Christianized by the scrapping together of pagan ideas with scriptural statements and a whole lot of conjecture by the prejudicial misreading, and misunderstanding of those who know no better. However to say there is no devil or devils is also an error as great, or perhaps even greater than the belief in the ancient Zoroastrian myth of a galactic pre-adamic war between supernatural gods and demi-gods. It is the true identifying of the devil and devils in general that is needed before we can ever hope to fulfill the commandments concerning the casting out of devils and the final defeating of "the devil".

With numerous past posts I adequately explained the correct understanding of the scriptural references that are most commonly used to prove the myth of Lucifer and the idea of myriads of fallen angels supposedly enlisted by this imagined supernatural would be usurper. I will now attempt to show some of the characteristics of the devils, (demons) dealt with by Christ and His apostles. A careful and objective study will show that the preponderance of what are popularly assumed to be disembodied entities are in fact nothing more than physical and mental maladies. The ambiguity of the writers and the inconsistencies in recall make it sometimes difficult to sort through the available information and get a clear picture of what was happening. For instance the story of the demonic man at the tombs of the Gadarenes, or men, depending on the account you prefer were obviously insane. Chained to tombs outside of the city,without clothes, crying and lacerating themselves.

In ancient Persia the Zoroastrian religion everything from deafness, muteness, epilepsy, and insanity was explained as being caused by evil spirits. While in captivity in Persia the Jews were favored and because of the benevolent considerations of their captors inter-married and adopted many of their customs and concepts. The books of Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra clearly illustrate the magnitude of favor the Jews enjoyed from the marriage of Hadassah, (Esther) to Ahasuerus, to the king Cyrus liberating them and assisting in the rebuilding of Jerusalem. It was during this time of mostly benevolent captivity that the Jews succumbed to many of the teachings and traditions of the Persians. One in particular was the many washings which they, (the Persians) believed would keep them from ingesting evil spirits through their mouths. Beelzebub, the god the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of casting out evil spirits by was and is yet a Hindu/Zoroastrian god, the lord of the flies. The very word superstition is by definition the belief in the supernatural. Paul standing on Mars hill, Acts 17:22-23, declared the believers in more than one God superstitious. If Beelzebub in fact does exist Paul was remiss in his judgement of the Greeks. 

Jesus, in His patience did not try to rectify all the error taught by the apostate religious leaders of that time, however He did rebuke them for teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, Matthew 15:9. He knew that Beelzebub, nor for that matter any other of the imaginary pagan gods, didn't exist. and He also knew that to enter into an argument with those steeped in pagan tradition would be futile. So He used the occasion to bring forth a greater truth, Matthew 12:27-32, concerning the blaspheme of the Holy Ghost. 

Back to the two men chained to the tombs, Matthew 8:28. Mark says that he night and day cried and cut himself, Luke said he wore no clothes, Now I ask you in all honesty; If you today met someone in the cemetery naked, crying, attacking passers by, and without clothes, what would you think their problem was? Come on be honest, you would know that they were insane. Those poor men had so many problems that they when asked of Jesus asked for their name they cried legion for we are many. With that Jesus illustrating His authority and ability to heal any and all conditions drove the spirits of insanity from the men into a herd of nearby pigs who immediately drowned themselves in the sea. I know that those who are predisposed to believe in disembodied spirit beings will find this explanation as incredible, as I do the traditional explanation they offer, never the less I respectfully offer it for their consideration. 

ARE WE WHO DO NOT ACCEPT CATHOLIC DOGMA SOME KIND OF BIZARRE WICKED CULT ?

Does being an unorthodox Christian constitute being an evil cult member? 

*From the council of Nicaea called by emperor Constantine  in 325A.D. not  believing the ancient Catholic  concept of God co-existing as three co-equal separately embodied entities has caused someone  to be designated as heretical and, or a cult member. if you, like myself are so convinced, get used to it.  

*Not accepting the comprised much embellished ancient myth that there is another supernatural being who is a wicked fourth god existing as a omnipresent, omniscient entity will also mark someone as a heretical cult member. If you, like me, are so persuaded get used to reproach.

*Believing in living a chaste,  modest, lifestyle separated from the attitudes, behaviors, and amoral values of this hedonistic, sin corrupted world, will too bring reproach and disdain, and mark someone as heretical and cultish. If you, like me, are so persuaded, get used to being scorned and rejected. 
*Believing that the Church of Jesus Christ is from its conception and forever more the true, and only Israel of God is another earmark of what is called a cult. Again accept disagreement.
* Not accepting and adhering to the Catholic interpretation of Moses oversimplified allegorical rendering of creation being accomplished in only six literal twenty four hour days and happening just six thousand years ago will certainly mark you as an unorthodox free-thinker, and heretic from the faith. If you, as I,  find the six day, six thousand year concept incredible, get accustomed to unacceptance and rejection. 
**If you doubt or question my perspectives on these teachings research them here on this blog and elsewhere both secular and religious. If you want the truth consider following the advice found in James 1:5. 
All of  these subjects are explained on this blog page.       

 

THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH

PROCESS AND PROCEDURE UNTO PERFECTION

 To borrow a phrase,  "There are known knowns, and that there are unknown knowns. I thought it timely to express a few known knowns". There are some some  few things that I do know as known knowns. One of them is that to be Lord's you must have His Spirit, Romans 8:9. Another is that to resurrect you must have His Spirit, Romans 8:11-14. Yet another is that the purpose of the ministry is to bring forth a Church with a ministry that will bring forth the Bride of Christ, Ephesians 4:8-13. Now with these things in mind I want to talk about the vision of The Body Of Christ. Ours is a vision with a mission. Ours is a vision like none other. Ours is not to only persuade men and women of Christ, ours is to lead them into Christ likeness. To bring them unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. I present that for us to do this we must first produce a Church that has all the necessary elements to accomplish the said purpose. Without a restored Church we will not attain to the desired purpose.

Jesus said that the truth will make us free. To get to the point. The  truth will make us free whereas some of the truth will make us somewhat free. A Church that isn't blessed with all of the truth isn't blessed with the capacity to be made completly free. Ninety nine percent of the truth isn't all of the truth and can only make you ninety nine percent free. As previously taught, in this blog, there are three powers (God sent authorities) of God unto salvation, they are His Spirit, His Ministry, and His Word. Without the fullness of the operation of these three powers no one can be made completely free. The reason the early Church, the one the Lord built, produced perfect overcomer's was because they had the fullness of the operation of these three powers. For there ever to be another time when perfect overcomer's are produced there must again be a perfect operation of these three powers. The present responsibility of the ministry is to labor to restore these three powers back to the Church with the same fullness that existed two thousand years ago.

In Acts 20:28-29, Paul warned that at his departure grievous wolves would enter into the Church with perverse teachings and lead away disciples unto themselves. This was the same event he spoke of in Second Thessalonians Two where he warned of an eminent falling away of the Church saying the the mystery of iniquity was already at work. We who know and understand the mystery know that these events came to pass as prophesied and are past and not future.

Before the Lord returns again there must be a restoration of the Church to bring forth The Bride that has made herself ready. For this to happen there must be a ministry that is fulfilling the admonition of Jude; a ministry that is earnestly contending for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints. An imperfect gospel, preached by an imperfect ministry, with an imperfect operation of the Spirit cannot produce perfection. To be in the Bride and see the Lord at His appearing you will have to be like Him, First John 3:1-3. When you are like Him you will know the truth, not some of it, all of it. All of the counsel of God. You will believe no lies, you will know even as you are known, First Corinthians 13:12.

Our passion is to be used of God to help produce a Ministry and a Church that will produce men and women who have achieved sinless perfection. It is no time to faint for fear or grow weary in well doing, it is the time to work. Let us not be deceived into thinking there is an easy way, or that our labor is in vain. We are called to this destiny and I know that those of us who have this vision, who's eyes haven't dimmed, and strength hasn't abated will see the glory of the Lord.

We must produce a ministry that will bring forh a Church which will produce overcomers. God said, "PREACH MY GOSPEL," let's do it. Some are saying; "Where is the promise of His coming? Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation," Second Peter 3:4. They seek to change our order, our standards, and our teachings to be more conformable to that of religion to increase the numbers and worldly acceptability of individuals and Assemblies. 

God help us to not forget where You have brought us from and where You have brought us to.

THE SOURCE OF ALL SIN IS ?

Throughout the years I have received a few questions in my comment section regarding my post on the book of Job. There was one, comment/question, in particular with the petition to allow the questioner to remain anonymous that I felt worthy of response. For this reason, which was the spirit of uncontentious sincerity, and integrity of purpose by the questioner I have decided to respond. So here's the anonymous question:

Dear Brother Dyal, In regards to your blog about the book of Job I have a question about your statement that - "That there is no Biblical reason to believe that God ever called any of His heavenly Angels sons,". Are you dismissing, altogether, the fact that Jesus was the angel called Michael? Then, in reply to your statement - "It is fair to conclude that neither can Angels sin, because death is the consequence of sin,". How do you square that with Jude 1:6, and, Second Peter 2:4? Also do you not believe that the angels that kept not their first estate were the ones that sinned and were cast out of heaven? Isaiah 14:12, Luke 10:18, Revelation 12:4, and Ezekiel 28:1-19?

I think it reasonable to point out to my questioner that I indeed do not feel that the common usage of Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28 as being a pictorial transcript of some pre-adamic rebellion against God is in any way justified or correct. I have on many occasions posted teaching on my insight into these scripture.I will,  at the finish of this post, reference you to these posts.

It must be understood that the name, Michael, by definition is, He who is like God, Strong's ref. # 3588. In, Daniel 12:1 we learn that the Michael, the great prince, who was prophetically and illustratively pictured in Daniels prophecy was none other than Jesus Christ. This was a prophecy concerning his work of judgement at the end of that world. An angel is a messenger of God. Jesus Christ was, is, and always shall be, the foremost messenger of God. Thus I accept that Michael the Archangel is in fact none other than Jesus Christ. He is also the only pre-existent heavenly being who ever was called a Son of God. He, Jesus Christ, is the archangel of His Father, our God, who is the almighty God. Then we find Michael and His angels, in Revelation 12, fighting against the dragon and his angels. This is a figurative telling and foretelling of the spiritual warfare of the Early Church where the true ministry of God resisted, and fought against the false ministers who were ordained to the condemnation of bringing about the great apostasy that Paul spoke of in Acts 20:29-30, and in, Second Thessalonians 2:1-12, Also referenced in Jude 1:4. The twelfth chapter of Revelation is the telling of the great falling away that happened during the First Century after the last apostle of Christ was removed, Second Thessalonians 2:7, noting that the words, let and letteth, as interpreted here in fact mean to hinder. To attempt to ascribe Revelation twelve as being some historical relating of an attempted supernatural coup wherein God could not maintain order in His own eternal realm is to disavow God as being omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, thus demeaning God into a creature like unto ourselves.

As regarding my understanding of Jude 1:6, and Second Peter 2:4, I easily see and understand these angels who kept not their first estate as being the apostate Jewish ministry of that time. Note that Jesus called them blind guides, Matthew 23:16-24. Also remember that in Matthew 13:10-15 He made it clear that their minds eyes were blinded so that seeing they would not see. God blinded their eyes and held them in chains of darkness reserved unto the everlasting destruction of that Jewish world.

I NOW OFFER MORE ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE WITH THIS RE-POSTING OF SOME OF MY EARLIER WRITINGS ON THIS SUBJECT. I HOPE YOU READ AND ENJOY THEM AND I PRAY THAT THE EYES OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING BE ENLIGHTENED, EPHESIANS 1:18,

PRINCIPALITIES, POWERS, SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS

 I have on many occasions warned that we are under increasing attack from the Powers and Principalities without. Paul, in Ephesians 6:12-18 noted that these four powers were what we are fighting against, and are not something we can defeat with our natural defenses. The forces of the governments of this world, (and those who with their wealth control them) combined with entrenched organized religion have always dominated this world and do until this very day. The monetary, military, political, and ecclesiastical powers of the world, (the four winds of Revelation 7:1) are what crucified Christ, persecuted the early Church, and have continued to harass and persecute us throughout the ages, even until now. Ancient Rome had an entire pantheon of gods to worship; to name just a few there was Apollo, Jupiter, Ceres, Diana, Juno, Mars, Mercury, Minerva, Neptune, Vena

WE WRESTLE

Ours is not a physical battle, and our weapons are not carnal, Second Corinthians 10:3-5, we cannot expect success by our own strength or cunning. Paul in Ephesians 6:10-19, clearly lays out that we are in a spiritual war and we must arm ourselves spiritually with the whole armor of God. We, as did they did not, do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places. We are at war, both within and without, with rulers of darkness, principalities, and spiritual wickedness in high places. If we are to win this warfare we must be appropriately prepared.What were, and are the principalities Paul spoke of? Who were, and are the rulers of darkness? What was, and is spiritual wickedness in high places? I hope with this article to dispel some of the myths and superstitious fears that hold so many people captive. A principality is a civil or political power. A ruler of darkness is someone who is authority and teaches lies, myths, and false doctrines thereby keeping his hearers in the darkness of ignorance. Spiritual wickedness in high places is when wicked men who are not representing God function in spiritual places where they with authority can use and abuse the people of God.Caiaphas, Ananias, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, Nero, all these and more were fitting of the description given by Paul in Ephesians as being principalities, Powers, spiritual wickedness in high places. Today there are also political and religious leaders who easily qualify for this ignominious designation. Men who pass laws that are designed to limit if not thwart the influence of God and His word in this earth are men who are powers of darkness. Men who Legislate evil as being good. Men who officiate in religious office but deny the truth of the word of God, these men are the spiritually wicked that sit in high places. These are they who persecuted the early church and these are they who will persecute us. They are not supernatural beings but it will take God to defeat them. We, with natural weapons, cannot fight the Federal Government, nor can we fight the religious powers of this world . We must be armed with the weapons of God.

THE SNARE OF THE DEVIL

In Second Timothy 2:26 we find something called "The Snare Of The Devil" referenced where those who oppose themselves and are taken at his will. Exactly what is the snare of the devil? Perhaps Ephesians 2:1-3 would shed a little light on this subject. The prince of the power of the air is the spirit that works in the children of disobedience which is defined in First John 2:16 which is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. As James explained in James 1:13-15, all sin is a product of lust, pride, or greed. As regarding the using of gender (him at his will) of the spirit it is is common in almost all languages, except English, to make all things both animate and inanimate either masculine or feminine. Even in the English language storms, ships, trains, and many other things are often times spoken of as in gender. In answer to Mary Anne Sumner I would have no problem with the explanation you gave. I however do think that his complimenting them for their accomplishments rather than rebuking them for them being less than perfect in the accomplishing of the being lambs among wolves and rejoicing about the devils being subject to them is more plausible. Thank you for your comments. I value the thoughts and opinions of all who seek the truth.

THE DEVIL WALKETH ABOUT AS A ROARING LION

The writer of Proverbs 28:15 says that a wicked ruler is like a roaring lion and a ranging bear. In First Peter 5:8 we learn that the devil walks about as a roaring lion. Could it not have been that Peter was speaking of the evil rulers of Jerusalem and Rome who were at that time persecuting the church? To have used scriptural symbolism in writing a letter would have been prudent seeing that should the letter have fallen into the wrong hands it would have brought increased persecution. Surely we can agree (no matter how we disagree on who the devil is) that the terminology, walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, is figurative in any case. Another thing that you may wish to take into consideration is the angel of light in Second Corinthians 11:14. It is a known truth that the High Priesthood and Sanhedrin were the chief opponents of Christianity. There were those who, thinking they were doing God a service, took oaths to kill Paul, Acts 23:12-14, saying that they would not eat or drink until they had killed him. Jesus said of them that they sit in Moses seat, Matthew 23:2, and to do whatsoever they bid. When Paul was taken prisoner and commanded to be smitten by the evil High Priest Ananias, Paul called him a whited wall that God would smite him only to repent of it once he realized it was the High Priest he was speaking to. False religion today represents itself as being the church with its principal leaders as being the messengers of light, and ministerial followers as righteous men.

WALKING ABOUT AS A ROARING LION

At a recent meeting it soon became evident that there were those who had an agenda of pushing the concept of the devil being a personal entity. They without embarrassment pulled no stops in forwarding the idea. One scripture used to give credibility to this teaching was First Peter 5:8 where we read, " be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Of course they, and those who agree with them, see this devil who is here portrayed as a roaring lion as a supernatural, fallen angel, spiritual entity who is invisibly lurking about tempting people and causing general havoc among the people of God. The promoting of the agenda of there being a personal devil was so prevalently obvious that at one point, when the sound system became troublesome, the moderator suggested, with a chuckle, that perhaps it was the work of this devil being.I with this article would like to suggest that those who hold the scripture as the final and absolute evidence of all truth consider all of the other passages where the figurative analogy of a roaring lion are used, and with this determine who it that is being likened unto such a ravenous beast. In Psalms 22:12 we find the Psalmist David using this terminology in prophecy concerning the Lord in His Sacrificial death. The roaring lion here is obviously not some supernatural being but rather the leaders of apostate Israel who tormented and crucified our Lord. Then in proverbs 28:10 we read,"As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over my poor people. Again notice that we are not speaking of something supernatural but rather something, or rather someone, very natural, a wicked ruler such as the Roman Emperor Nero, Herod Antipas, and the High Priest Caiaphas, all of whom sought to devour the Early Church. Now we come to Ezekiel 22:25 where the Prophet Ezekiel specifically identifies the apostate religious rulers of Israel as being,"like a roaring lion ravening the prey." Now I ask; with these three witnesses just how many more evidences do we need to know who Peter was alluding to with the scriptural symbolics he choose to identify those who were at the time of the writing seeking to destroy the Church? Absent of preconceived religious notions there is little to conclude.

 

THE RELIGION OF THE JEWS

A STUDY FOR ADVANCED

BIBLE STUDENTS ONLY

OTHERS NEED NOT BOTHER

Does what the apostle Paul called “the Jews religion” Galatians 1:14 truly constitute the Israel of God today?

No it is not, and has not been since the first century A.D. when Christ anointed His church fulfilling thee promise of Jeremiah 31:1-40 and Hebrews 8:13

The Israel of God is the church.

It is commonly believed among what is called the evangelical, Pentecostal, and even those  among us  that  God is still indebted to the people of the Jewish religion, They believe He will again reinstate them as His most favored of People. This teaching, springing from the dispensationalism teachings of nearly two centuries ago has evolved into so broad, complex, and many faceted a subject that to try and detail it in such a format as this daily blog would would only frustrate both the writer and the readers. Suffice it to say that I do not intend to try to answer every question that could be asked, or address every aspect of this theological theory. I do however think, that from time to time, it would be good that I bring out certain aspects of truth which may help those who are open to the consideration another idea. In a recent posting I established with scriptural evidence that, Judaism is a religion and nothing else. I also proved the Church is the continuation of the Israel of God, and that God has fulfilled all of His unconditional promises which He made to Abraham on Mt. Sinai and Moses at Horeb. 

For many hundreds of years, from Moses to Malachi, God continued to talk to, and make promises to the Hebrew Nation; however all the promises after Sinai were conditional promises. Both Israel and Judah forfeited their entitlement to the continued promises of God through rebellion and disobedience. Their final and complete rebellion against God was their rejection of Jesus the  Christ, the Son of God. This was when they made a full covenant with hell and total agreement with death. Hell is the grave and death is eternal destruction. The Jewish people as a nation, (not as individuals) chose eternal death in the grave of a dead religious system where there is no salvation. This they choose over life with the Messiah, the Son of God. 

 I think it prudent to begin by properly, which is to say, scripturally, identifying exactly what the definition of a gentile is. A gentile is not someone who is not a Jew. A gentile is someone who is not a part of the true Israel of God.
 In during the time of the writing of the bible there were only two recognized types of people. You were either someone chosen of God therefore a part of Israel, or you were an ungodly gentile. A gentile was therefore the designate title of anyone who was without God. A gentile was, and is an ungodly person. An ungodly person since the advent of Christ is anyone without God, and His Son Jesus Christ. When someone identifies themselves as being a gentile they are in fact identifying themselves as being ungodly, a heathen, a person who doesn't have God. I emphatically state that I am not a gentile, neither am I or any other person a spiritual Jew. We are chosen of God to be the Israel of God which is continued through Christ. Are you a gentile? Before knowing we knew Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we were gentiles. Now we are the Israel of God. Not spiritual Israel, ISRAEL! Through Christ can call God Abba, Father, Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6.  Jesus Christ enables us to know God calling Him Father. I once was a Gentile, First Corinthians 12:2, Now I am a blood bought citizen of The Israel of God. 

The word Israel by correct and original definition is they who strive with and are chosen of God. So we know that Israel is constituted of those persons who are chosen of God. Since the coming of Christ you cannot be chosen of God except through Christ. For someone of the Jewish religion to be a part of Israel they must be chosen of God. In simple terms they must become followers of Christ, they can no longer continue being a part of the Jewish religion, they must become disciples of Christ, Christians. Realizing this we know that the Jewish nation that calls itself Israel is not in fact the Israel of God. I know that asserting this will dismay some but I ask that you search it out and consider it before you reject it. God has not cast away His people which He foreknew, God forbid. They have, and have always had equal access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant is past, it will not be revisited, the New covenant is for every nation, kindred and tongue. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, we are all one in Christ. Christ is not divided. 

THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

Now concerning the matter of what is called the times of the gentiles, or as some like as a misnomer call it "the gentile age", lets see what the scriptures have to say and understand what they mean . First lets look at Romans 11:25-32
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Now lets go to Luke 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Now to Dan 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolation's are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Whenever considering the meaning of scripture it should always be done considering both the text and context and never be allowed to be subject to prejudice or sympathies. There are these questions to be asked; Who is talking? to whom are they speaking? What are they saying? Why are they saying it? When is it they are speaking of? How are they saying it? It should be obvious that do otherwise than this is to open the door for all manner of interpretations and opinions. The question of how are they saying it means, are they speaking literally, figuratively, symbolically, or is it a in parable. If not one of these, how else? I hope that everyone reading this posting understands the necessity of using this formula to assist them in understanding. With this said I will now briefly explain what the fullness of the Gentiles is.

Daniel in the ninth chapter of his book of prophecies was prophesying of the final destruction of the world of the first covenant. He uses the word Consummation which means fullness, or if you will completeness. There can little reasonable question that the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel found its fulfillment in seventy A. D. and is not in any way applicable to anything since then.

Luke twenty one is the synoptic companion of Matthew twenty four and is a reporting of Christ' dissertation of the destruction of that first covenant world. In Matthews report of that dissertation it is written that the generation He was speaking to would not pass away until all the things He spoke of had come to pass, Mt.23:36, and Mt.24:34. What Jesus was telling them of was the same thing that Daniel had prophesied of, that is the end of that world. In verse Twenty Four of Luke's Twenty first chapter he chooses the word fulfilled rather than Daniel's consummated, but the words mean the exact same thing. Then in Paul's letter to the Romans in the eleventh chapter we find Paul Paul explaining that God blinded Israel in part until the judgment of God on that wicked and perverse generation found its fulfillment in seventy A.D. with Rome being God' appointed executioner. 

Joel spoke of the four plagues that God would use as His instruments of judgment. The palmerworm which was Babylon, the locust which was Medo-Persia, the canker worm which was Greece, and the caterpillar which was Rome. These are the four kingdoms mentioned in Daniel 2:44 to judge the Israel of the first covenant. It was the caterpillar, Rome, that the Lord was speaking of in Mark 9:44-48 that wouldn't die. All the others were for the temporal judgment of the Israel of the first covenant. Rome executed the eternal judgment of that world. Paul in First Thessalonians 3:16 said that the wrath of God is come upon them to the uttermost. 

So it was that that the times, or fullness of the Gentiles were fulfilled by Titus and his armies in seventy A.D. with the destruction of that world. As a quick bonus thought let me present that the everlasting chains of darkness Peter was speaking of was the same spirit of blindness that happened to the apostate leaders of that world and that the judgment they were reserved to was the everlasting fire of seventy A.D., That was the times of the Gentile fulfilled.

Who is the Israel of God? Are the genetic physical descendants of Abraham the Israel of God? What is Judaism and what is a Jew? Is there such a thing as a Jewish race? If there is such a thing as a Jewish race how is it identified knowing that there are people who profess to be Jews from all races of people? According to scripture the promises of God were made to Abraham and his seed. Who are the seed of Abraham that are the rightful inheritors of the promises of God? These are all questions that demand answers. There are those who honestly believe that anyone professing the Jewish religion are direct descendants of Abraham and are the chosen people of God. Judaism is a much divided and diverse religious entity. There are Caucasian Jews, Oriental Jews, Negro Jews, and Asian Jews. There are Jews who claim to be American, Mexican, British, Russian, French, Somalian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Iranian, as well as untold other nationalities. I point these things out to emphasize the fact that Judaism is neither a race nor a nationality. Judaism is a religion just as Islamism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Christianity are religions. Jews are adherents to the religion of Judaism just as Christians and all the others are adherents to their religions. Because of the fact of the diversity of race and nationality and the ability for anyone to become a Jew just as anyone can become a member of any other of the above mentioned religions, it is foolish to think of it as anything other than a religion. European Jews are distinctly genetically and culturally different from Middle Eastern Jews. The European or Ashkenazim Jew is in fact a proselyte Jew of mixed linage with no real claim to being direct descendants of Abraham. During the Middle Ages Judaism flourished in Muslim Spain where the rabbis of that day decided, without any justification, that the place, Sephardi, mentioned in Obadiah 1:20 was a reference to Spain. Because of this decision the Jews of that region and their descendants are called Sephardi as opposed to Ashkenazim. After Rome destroyed Jerusalem in what the Jews call the great diaspora it became necessary for the Jewish people to prove their claim to ancestral purity through their mothers rather than their fathers. This was brought about because the women who survived the Holocaust of seventy A.D. didn't know who fathered their children. The Roman mercenaries utterly destroyed the identity of the Jewish people. To this day the Jewish people trace their heritage maternally, not paternally as it was done throughout the Bible. With their identity lost and what was left of the people scattered throughout the known world, survival demanded this adjustment. Malachi prophesying of the impending destruction of the Jewish world said that there would be left neither root nor branch, Malachi 4:1. John the Baptist in Matthew 3:10 declared that the axe was laid to the root. The Apostle Paul in, First Thessalonians 2:16 pronounced that the wrath of God is come unto them to the uttermost. These are just a few of the proof texts available as evidence of the judgment of God on Israel after the flesh,  First Corinthians 10:18.So who is the Israel of God, Galatians 6:16? To whom do the eternal promises of God belong? Who are the true descendants of Abraham? Can we consider these questions without prejudice and just look to and trust the scripture for the answer? I truly pray so.

FULFILLED

So who are truly the Jews of today, and what is the Israel of God? There is only one place that is legitimate to go to for the answer to this question and that place is the Bible. It is in the Bible that we find all the information there is concerning the beginning of Israel and it is there that we will find all the information there is concerning the continuation and conclusion of Israel. All other sources are dismissed as being opinion and conjecture based with presupposed conclusions.

In finding the answer to these questions first let’s consider the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 2:28-29, For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. This was written by a man with the pedigree of being an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, Romans 11:1. I'm sure he wasn't anti-Semitic or biased against his own people. Paul, also the author of the book of Galatians made his position clear in the third chapter where he writes, beginning with verse sixteen, "Now to Abraham and his seed was the promises made. He said not to seeds as of many, but as of one. And to thy seed which is Christ. And this I say that the covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot dis-annul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Now let’s move on forward in the same chapter to verses 26-29, For you are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. One promise, one covenant, one plan, one people without national, racial, gender, or otherwise differentiating one from another. They that are Christ’s are the seed of Abraham.

All the promises of God are the seed of Abraham. The seed of Abraham is constituted in Christ. Isaiah in prophesying of the Lord said Isa.53:8 asks, "Who shall declare His generation?" This same prophet in chapter nine, verse six declared him the Everlasting Father. The answer is the Father of those who can look back to father Abraham as inheritors of the promises of God. John the Baptist in Matthew 3:9 rebuked the religious Jews saying, "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you that God is able to of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. This is precisely what He did, He made something that had no life alive. The blood of Jesus has given us life in God wherein we had no life. We who are Christ’s are the children of Abraham by faith and as such are the one seed who inherit the one promise. We, The Church, The Body of Christ, are not spiritual Israel, we are the Israel of God, Galatians 6:16. There is no such thing as two Israel’s, one being spiritual and the other being natural. There was once an Israel that was known according to the flesh but that ended with Christ and was judged in seventy A.D. to the uttermost. All anyone needs to do to understand this is to without prejudice read Romans chapters nine through eleven and the whole of the book of Galatians. If the words of the apostle Paul won't convince them I doubt that I could do any better. The thing that hinders someone from seeing this obvious scriptural truth are erroneous interpretations of certain scripture and applying meanings and time considerations that are interdependent on one another. One primary error of understanding is that God has somehow shortchanged the Jewish people and not fulfilled His promises to them. I think it first necessary to show with reasonable finality that God did in fact fulfill every promise He made to Abraham. To do this all anyone needs to do is to go to the book of Joshua, starting in chapter twenty one verse forty five, There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. Then in chapter twenty three verse fourteen, Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Then I ask this; of all the things beyond that time what of them couldn't have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ? As it is written Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, Matthew 5:17. If He is the fulfillment what part of Him didn't fulfill? He, Jesus Christ was and is the promised Messiah, there is nothing beyond Him. Jew's can be and are being converted, they are not forbidden salvation now, nor have they ever been. Salvation is to all that will call upon His name. The Times of the Gentiles was fulfilled in seventy A.D.

THE FULLNESS OF THE GENTILES FULFILLED

There is a very popular teaching among what is called the evangelical churches which is based on the idea that God is indebted to the people of the Jewish religion and that He will again reinstate them as His most favored of People. This teaching is so broad, complex, and many faceted that to try and detail it in such a format as this daily blog would only frustrate both the writer and the readers. Suffice it to say that I do not intend to try to answer every question that can be posed or address every aspect of this religious theory. I do however think, that from time to time, it would be good that I bring out certain truths that may help those who are open to the consideration another idea. In the previous heading I established with scriptural evidence that, Judaism is a religion and nothing else. That the Church is the Israel of God, and that God has fulfilled all of His unconditional promises that He made to Abraham on Mt. Sinai.

For many hundreds of years God continued to talk to, and make promises to the Hebrew Nation; however all the promises after Sinai were conditional promises. Both Israel and Judah forfeited their entitlement to the continued promises of God through rebellion and disobedience. Their final rebellion against God was their rejection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This was when they made a covenant with hell and agreement with death. Hell is the grave and death is eternal destruction. They, as a nation not as individuals, chose eternal death in the grave over life with the Messiah, the Son of God.

In this posting I want to focus on what is called THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. I think it prudent to begin by properly, that is scriptural, identifying exactly what a gentile is. During the time of the writing of the most of the Bible there were only two recognized types of people. You were either a part of Israel or you were a gentile. A gentile was therefore the designate title of anyone who was without God. A gentile was and is a ungodly person. When someone identifies themselves as being a gentile they are identifying themselves as being ungodly, a heathen, a person who doesn't have God.

The word Israel by correct and original definition is chosen of God. So we know that Israel is constituted of those persons who are chosen of God. Since the coming of Christ you cannot be chosen of God except through Christ. For someone of the Jewish religion to be a part of Israel they must be chosen of God. In simple terms they must become followers of Christ, they can no longer continue being a part of the Jewish religion, they must become Christians. Realizing this we know that the Jewish nation that calls itself Israel is not in fact the Israel of God. I know that asserting this will dismay some but I ask that you search it out and consider it before you reject it. God has not cast away His people which He foreknew, God forbid. They have, and have always had equal access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant is past, it will not be revisited, the new covenant is for every nation, kindred and tongue. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, we are all one in Christ. Christ is not divided.

THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

Now concerning the matter of what is called the times of the Gentiles, or as some like to call it The Gentile Age, let’s see what the scriptures have to say and understand what they mean. First let’s look at Romans 11:25-32

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

 Luke 21:24

24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.

 Daniel 9:26-27

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolation's are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Whenever considering the meaning of scripture it should always be done considering both the text and context and never be allowed to be subject to prejudice or sympathies. there are these questions to be asked; Who is talking? to whom are they speaking? What are they saying? Why are they saying it? When is it they are speaking of? How are they saying it? It should be obvious that do otherwise than this is to open the door for all manner of interpretations and opinions. The question of how are they saying it means, are they speaking literally, figuratively, symbolically, or is it a in parable. If not one of these, how else? I hope that everyone reading this posting understands the necessity of using this formula to assist them in understanding. With this said I will now briefly explain what the fullness of the Gentiles is. Daniel in the ninth chapter of his book of prophecies was prophesying of the final destruction of the world of the first covenant. He uses the word Consummation which means fullness, or if you will completeness. There can little reasonable question that the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel found its fulfillment in seventy A. D. and is not in any way applicable to anything since then. Luke twenty one is the synoptic companion of Matthew twenty four and is a reporting of Christ' dissertation of the destruction of that first covenant world. In Matthews report of that dissertation it is written that the generation He was speaking to would not pass away until all the things He spoke of had come to pass, Matthew 23:36, and Matthew 24:34. What Jesus was telling them of was the same thing that Daniel had prophesied of, that is the end of that world. In Luke 21:24,  he chooses the word fulfilled rather than Daniel's consummated, but the words mean the exact same thing. Then in Paul's letter to the Romans in the eleventh chapter we find Paul explaining that God blinded most of Israel until the judgment of God on that wicked and perverse generation found its fulfillment in seventy A.D. with Rome being God' appointed executioner. Joel 1:4, spoke of the four plagues that God would use as His instruments of judgment. The palmerworm which was Babylon, the locust which was Medo-Persia, the canker worm which was Greece, and the caterpillar which was Rome. These are the four kingdoms mentioned in Daniel 2:44 to judge the Israel of the first covenant. It was the caterpillar, Rome, that the Lord was speaking of in Mark 9:44-48 that wouldn't die. All the others were for the temporal judgment of the Israel of the first covenant. Rome executed the eternal judgment of that world. Paul in First Thessalonians 3:16 said that the wrath of God is come upon them to the uttermost. So it was that that the times, or fullness of the Gentiles were fulfilled by Titus and his armies in seventy A.D. with the destruction of that world. As a quick bonus thought let me present that the everlasting chains of darkness Peter was speaking of was the same spirit of blindness that happened to the apostate leaders of that world and that the judgment they were reserved to was the everlasting fire of seventy A.D., That was the times of the Gentile fulfilled. 

WHAT DOES GOD OWE THE JEW?

There is a large segment of what is called fundamentalist Christianity that think God is still indebted to the people who practice the Jewish religion saying that He has never fulfilled His promises to Abraham. I do not agree, and with this brief paper hope to prove in a concise but exact way the fallacy of this notion. The essential premise of the concept that God must restore the Jewish people to His favor and give them a place of prominence in the world to come is almost entirely based on two basic misconceptions. The first misconception is that the Jews of today are the direct genetic descendants of Abraham. The second misconception is the before stated idea that God did not fulfill His promise to Abraham. There is a third misconception which is that the New Testament makes this promise. Because of the lengthiness of the subject I will deal with this misconception in another post soon.

I will first deal with the second mentioned misconception and that is that God did not fulfill His promises to Abraham. All anyone needs to do to reasonably dispel this idea is believe what is written, Joshua 21:43-45 says that God gave them all the land he swore to them, all of it. It continues to explain that God did not fail to do any good thing He promised to them. Then in Joshua 23:14 it is reiterated again that God fulfilled His promises to Israel. However in verse fifteen we learn that they are also promised that because of their idolatrous ways they will be dispossessed of the land that God gave them. Then in, First Kings 8:56, we are again allowed to know that God fulfilled all His promises of land and natural inheritance to the descendants of Abraham and followers of Moses. To doubt or question this is, in my opinion, to quibble about words and create doubt about the promises of God thus disparaging the word of God.

Now let’s move on to the second issue, which is the matter of the adherents of the Jewish religion of today being the direct descendants of Abraham. The answering of the first issue should have negated any need for the consideration of addressing the second issue, but because of religious tradition and bias it doesn't. The fact that God doesn't owe the "Natural Jew" anything should dissipate any further argument.

For the purpose of being conversant with those who insist on their being two Israel’s I have condescend to the terminology "Natural Jew" although it is a misnomer. The terms "Spiritual Jew' and "Natural Jew", are contrived by those purporting and perpetuating the thought that there is yet an 'Israel after the flesh," (a bible term) First Corinthians 10:18, that God holds in special indebtedness and favor. I usually will not recognize these terms because they are not scriptural and only serve to give acquiescence to the idea of there being two Israel’s, one natural and the other spiritual.

The definition of the word Israel is chosen of God. Before Christ the only people who could rightfully claim to be chosen of God were those who could trace their heritage back to Abraham. That is why there are so many begets in the bible. It mattered and mattered immensely who you were a descendant of and that you could prove it. Every true Jew knew what tribe he was of and could trace his parentage from father to father all the way back to Abraham. There were proselyte Jews but they were the exception and not considered a Jew in the truest sense.

In seventy A.D. Rome laid waste of Israel fulfilling all the prophets and Jesus Christ. Malachi prophesied that they the Jews would be left neither root nor branch, Malachi 4;1, Jeremiah said they would be as a potters vessel that could not be put back together, Jeremiah. 19:1-15, John the Baptist warned that the Jews that did not repent and receive Christ they would be destroyed as chaff, telling them to flee the wrath that was to come to that generation, Matthew3:1-12, Jesus Christ foretold the total and final judgment of that world which would happen before that generation passed away, Matthew 23-24. The Jews stiffened their necks and refused to hear saying that they would have no king but Caesar and thus making a covenant with Hell and an agreement with death, Isaiah 28:15-18. Israel chose death over life and suffered the wrath of God to the uttermost First Thessalonians 2:15-16. When something reaches its uttermost there is no more.

As was the way of nations of that brutal and barbaric age whenever a nation was conquered the penalty for resistance to conquest was utter destruction. When Rome took Israel they not only devastated the land they devastated the population. The men and boys were killed and enslaved while the women and girls were raped and enslaved. The women soon found themselves giving birth to children who were sired in rape and were without fathers. They had no certain identity and were not the seed of Abraham. Because of this it became necessary to identify themselves as Jewish by reason of maternal parentage. To this day it is still so that the Jewish people reckon themselves Jews by maternal authority and not paternal authority. They became a people who were without identity.

There are essentially two kinds of Caucasian people who practice the Jewish religion and populate the world today. They identify themselves as either Ashkenazim and Sephardi. It is an easy research to find the origins of these two people. I suggest that anyone who is honest and wants to know what a true Jew is do the research and prove for themselves what is true. Neither of these two can trace their linage back to the time of the Diaspora much less Abraham. They are not of direct linage and they know it. One of their own, Isaac Asimov, a well known writer and scientist of the last century wrote extensively concerning this very subject. So who is a true Jew? Consider what a man born a Jew said, a man who knew his linage and even what tribe he belonged to, the apostle Paul, Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 3:29. We, The Church are the Israel of God, the true Israel, we are the continuation of the plan of God and there is no other. We are the direct descendants of Abraham and there are no other. I challenge anyone and everyone to find someone of the Jewish religion that can trace their linage back to Abraham. Further I challenge them to prove what tribe they were descended from by genealogy. They are Jews by religion which is a religion without Christ. I pray that they will be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Lord, the Son of God, the head of the Church that now cries Abba, father. We declare His generations, Isaiah 53:8. He is the mighty God, the everlasting Father of Israel, Isaiah 9:6.

THE FALLING AWAY

Most of what is called Fundamentalist and Pentecostal Christianity when reading, Second  Thessalonians 2:3, think of this as a prophecy not yet fulfilled. Because of modern dispensationalist teachings they fail to recognize the obvious statement of verse seven where the writer notes that the mystery of iniquity was already at work. They use this scripture to enhance their doctrinal agenda promoting teachings that didn't exist until the early nineteenth century. I with this post want to use the scripture in the attempting of clearing up this misconception. Paul in Acts 20:28-30 warned that there was an imminent danger to the church that would take place at his demise. That imminent danger he warned of would be caused by men whom he called grievous wolves that would bring in damnable doctrines causing the gospel of Christ to be perverted and the true church to be replaced by a false religious system, a counterfeit church representing itself as the Church of Jesus Christ. This counterfeit church has refined itself and adapted its doctrines and traditions according to need throughout the ages into what is thought to be the Church Jesus spoke of when He said I'll build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Things degenerated so badly and so fast that by the time of the writing of the book of Jude it was necessary that the writer adjure the readers that they were to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints. He, proving what Paul had warned them of, said that certain men had crept in sneakily, men who were ordained as vessels of dishonor, and then they turned the grace of God into lewd uncleanness and which denied God and Jesus Christ. Damnable (destructive) doctrines which overthrow the faith of the people of God and cause them to serve their lusts and not God in the beauty of holiness. The church of the first century, the Church Jesus Christ built, lasted forty victorious years from Pentecost of thirty A.D. until the destruction of Jerusalem in seventy A.D. and was then taken away. During its forty year reign it functioned as no other move of God had before or has since. The twelve apostles sat on twelve thrones of authority and judged that world, they raised the dead, cast out devils, opened blinded eyes, made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, and performed miracles proving their ministry and the power of God. All that and they also did the greatest miracle of all by taking corruptible men and women producing perfect sinless over-comers for the Bride of Christ. They accomplished all this in a forty year period and were then taken away. Paul prophesied in Second Thessalonians 2:7, that the forces of iniquity would be withheld until they who withheld those forces would be taken out of the way. The statement of Paul in Acts 20:29, allows us to know that what it was that was withholding the forces of iniquity; it was the apostolic ministry. When they were gone the floodgates of hell were opened and iniquity has from then until now abounded.

Since a Jew is not a Jew who is only a Jew outwardly, (Romans 2:28-29). Who is a Jew which is to ask, WHO IS ISRAEL?
  If someone becomes Abrahams seed by becoming of Christ, (Galatians 3:26-29) WHO ARE ABRAHAM'S SEED, and the heirs of the promises of God to Abraham? What is a gentile? the answer is realized by knowing what the word gentile is correctly defined as. What is Judaism and what is a Jew? Is there really any such a thing as a Jewish race? If there is such a thing as a Jewish race how is it identified knowing that there are people who profess to be Jews from all races of people? According to scripture the promises of God were made to Abraham and his seed. Who are the seed of Abraham that are the rightful inheritors of the promises of God? These are all questions that demand answers. There are those who honestly believe that anyone professing the Jewish religion are direct descendants of Abraham and are the chosen people of God. Judaism is a much divided and diverse religious entity. There are Caucasian Jews, Oriental Jews, black Jews, and Asian Jews. There are Jews who claim to be American, Mexican, German, British, Russian, Romanian, French, Somalian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Iranian, as well as untold other man made nationalities belonging to all of the God created races. I point these things out to emphasize the fact that Judaism is neither a race nor a nationality. Judaism is a religion just as Muhammadanism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and  yes Christianity  are all religions. Jews are adherents to the religion of Judaism just as Christians and all the others are adherents to their religions. Because of the fact of the diversity of race and nationality and the ability for anyone to become a Jew just as anyone can become a member of any other of the above mentioned religions, it is foolish to think of it as anything other than a religion. European Jews are distinctly genetically and culturally different from Middle Eastern Jews. The European or Ashkenazim Jew is in fact a proselyte Jew of mixed linage with no real claim to being direct descendants of Abraham. During the Middle Ages Judaism flourished in Muslim Spain where the rabbis of that day decided, without any justification, that the place, Sepharad, mentioned in Obadiah 1:20 was a reference to Spain. Because of this decision the Jews of that region and their descendants are called Sepharadim as opposed to Ashkenazim. After Rome destroyed Jerusalem in what the Jews call the great diaspora it became necessary for the Jewish people to prove their claim to ancestral purity through their mothers rather than their fathers. This was brought about because the women who survived the Holocaust of seventy A.D. didn't know who fathered their children. The Roman army and it's mercenaries utterly destroyed the identity of the Jewish people. To this day the Jewish people trace their heritage maternally, not paternally as it was done throughout the Bible. With their identity lost and what was left of the people scattered throughout the known world, survival demanded this adjustment. Malachi prophesying of the impending destruction of the Jewish world said that there would be left neither root nor branch, Malachi 4:1. John the Baptist in Matt.3:10 declared that the axe was laid to the root. The Apostle Paul in, First Thessalonians 2:16 pronounced that the wrath of God is come unto them to the uttermost. These are just a few of the proof texts available as evidence of the judgment of God on Israel after the flesh, First Corinthians 10:18.So who is the Israel of God, Galatians 6:16? To whom do the eternal promises of God belong? Who are the true descendants of Abraham? Can we consider these questions without prejudice and just look to and trust the scripture for the answer? I truly pray so.

FULFILLED

So who are truly the Jews of today, and what is the Israel of God? There is only one place that is legitimate to go to for the answer to this question and that place is the Bible. It is in the Bible that we find all the information there is concerning the beginning of Israel and it is there that we will find all the information there is concerning the continuation and conclusion of Israel. All other sources are dismissed as being opinion and conjecture based with presupposed conclusions.

In finding the answer to these questions first let’s consider the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 2:28-29, For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. This was written by a man with the pedigree of being an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, Romans 11:1. I'm sure he wasn't anti-Semitic or biased against his own people. Paul, also the author of the book of Galatians made his position clear in the third chapter where he writes, beginning with verse sixteen, "Now to Abraham and his seed was the promises made. He said not to seeds as of many, but as of one. And to thy seed which is Christ. And this I say that the covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Now let’s move on forward in the same chapter to verses 26-29, For you are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. One promise, one covenant, one plan, one people without national, racial, gender, or otherwise differentiating one from another. They that are Christ’s are the seed of Abraham.

All the promises of God are the seed of Abraham. The seed of Abraham is constituted in Christ. Isaiah in prophesying of the Lord said Isaiah 53:8 asks, "Who shall declare His generation?" This same prophet in chapter nine, verse six declared him the Everlasting Father. The answer is the Father of those who can look back to father Abraham as inheritors of the promises of God. John the Baptist in Matthew 3:9 rebuked the religious Jews saying, "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you that God is able to of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. This is precisely what He did, He made something that had no life alive. The blood of Jesus has given us life in God wherein we had no life. We who are Christ’s are the children of Abraham by faith and as such are the one seed who inherit the one promise. We, The Church, The Body of Christ, are not spiritual Israel, we are the Israel of God, Galatians 6:16. There is no such thing as two Israel’s, one being spiritual and the other being natural. There was once an Israel that was known according to the flesh but that ended with Christ and was judged in seventy A.D. to the uttermost. All anyone needs to do to understand this is to without prejudice read Romans chapters nine through eleven and the whole of the book of Galatians. If the words of the apostle Paul won't convince them I doubt that I could do any better. The thing that hinders someone from seeing this obvious scriptural truth are erroneous interpretations of certain scripture and applying meanings and time considerations that are interdependent on one another. One primary error of understanding is that God has somehow shortchanged the Jewish people and not fulfilled His promises to them. I think it first necessary to show with reasonable finality that God did in fact fulfill every promise He made to Abraham. To do this all anyone needs to do is to go to the book of Joshua, starting in chapter twenty one verse forty five, There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. Then in chapter twenty three verse fourteen, Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Then I ask this; of all the things beyond that time what of them couldn't have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ? As it is written Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, Matthew 5:17. If He is the fulfillment what part of Him didn't fulfill? He, Jesus Christ was and is the promised Messiah, there is nothing beyond Him. Jew's can be and are being converted, they are not forbidden salvation now, nor have they ever been. Salvation is to all that will call upon His name. The Times of the Gentiles was fulfilled in seventy A.D. 

THE FULNESS OF THE GENTILES FULFILLED

There is a very popular teaching among what is called the evangelical churches which is based on the idea that God is indebted to the people of the Jewish religion and that He will again reinstate them as His most favored of People. This teaching is so broad, complex, and many faceted that to try and detail it in such a format as this daily blog would only frustrate both the writer and the readers. Suffice it to say that I do not intend to try to answer every question that can be posed or address every aspect of this religious theory. I do however think, that from time to time, it would be good that I bring out certain truths that may help those who are open to the consideration another idea. In the previous heading I established with scriptural evidence that, Judaism is a religion and nothing else. That the Church is the Israel of God, and that God has fulfilled all of His unconditional promises that He made to Abraham on Mt. Sinai.

For many hundreds of years God continued to talk to, and make promises to the Hebrew Nation; however all the promises after Sinai were conditional promises. Both Israel and Judah forfeited their entitlement to the continued promises of God through rebellion and disobedience. Their final rebellion against God was their rejection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This was when they made a covenant with hell and agreement with death. Hell is the grave and death is eternal destruction. They, as a nation not as individuals, chose eternal death in the grave over life with the Messiah, the Son of God.

In this posting I want to focus on what is called THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. I think it prudent to begin by properly, that is scriptural, identifying exactly what a gentile is. During the time of the writing of the most of the Bible there were only two recognized types of people. You were either a part of Israel or you were a gentile. A gentile was therefore the designate title of anyone who was without God. A gentile was and is a ungodly person. When someone identifies themselves as being a gentile they are identifying themselves as being ungodly, a heathen, a person who doesn't have God.

The word Israel by correct and original definition is chosen of God. So we know that Israel is constituted of those persons who are chosen of God. Since the coming of Christ you cannot be chosen of God except through Christ. For someone of the Jewish religion to be a part of Israel they must be chosen of God. In simple terms they must become followers of Christ, they can no longer continue being a part of the Jewish religion, they must become Christians. Realizing this we know that the Jewish nation that calls itself Israel is not in fact the Israel of God. I know that asserting this will dismay some but I ask that you search it out and consider it before you reject it. God has not cast away His people which He foreknew, God forbid. They have, and have always had equal access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant is past, it will not be revisited, the new covenant is for every nation, kindred and tongue. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, we are all one in Christ. Christ is not divided.

THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

Now concerning the matter of what is called the times of the Gentiles, or as some like to call it The Gentile Age, let’s see what the scriptures have to say and understand what they mean. First let’s look at Romans 11:25-32

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Now lets go to Luke 21:24

24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Now to Dan 9:26-27

26. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolation's are determined.

27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Whenever considering the meaning of scripture it should always be done considering both the text and context and never be allowed to be subject to prejudice or sympathies. there are these questions to be asked; Who is talking? to whom are they speaking? What are they saying? Why are they saying it? When is it they are speaking of? How are they saying it? It should be obvious that do otherwise than this is to open the door for all manner of interpretations and opinions. The question of how are they saying it means, are they speaking literally, figuratively, symbolically, or is it a in parable. If not one of these, how else? I hope that everyone reading this posting understands the necessity of using this formula to assist them in understanding. With this said I will now briefly explain what the fullness of the Gentiles is. Daniel in the ninth chapter of his book of prophecies was prophesying of the final destruction of the world of the first covenant. He uses the word Consummation which means fullness, or if you will completeness. There can little reasonable question that the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel found its fulfillment in seventy A. D. and is not in any way applicable to anything since then. Luke twenty one is the synoptic companion of Matthew twenty four and is a reporting of Christ' dissertation of the destruction of that first covenant world. In Matthews report of that dissertation it is written that the generation He was speaking to would not pass away until all the things He spoke of had come to pass, Matthew 23:36, and Matthew 24:34. What Jesus was telling them of was the same thing that Daniel had prophesied of, that is the end of that world. In verse Twenty Four of Luke's Twenty first chapter he chooses the word fulfilled rather than Daniel's consummated, but the words mean the exact same thing. Then in Paul's letter to the Romans in the eleventh chapter we find Paul explaining that God blinded most of Israel until the judgment of God on that wicked and perverse generation found its fulfillment in seventy A.D. with Rome being God' appointed executioner. Joel spoke of the four plagues that God would use as His instruments of judgment. The palmerworm which was Babylon, the locust which was Medo-Persia, the canker worm which was Greece, and the caterpillar which was Rome. These are the four kingdoms mentioned in Daniel 2:44 to judge the Israel of the first covenant. It was the caterpillar, Rome, that the Lord was speaking of in Mark 9:44-48 that wouldn't die. All the others were for the temporal judgment of the Israel of the first covenant. Rome executed the eternal judgment of that world. Paul in First Thessalonians 3:16 said that the wrath of God is come upon them to the uttermost. So it was that that the times, or fullness of the Gentiles were fulfilled by Titus and his armies in seventy A.D. with the destruction of that world. As a quick bonus thought let me present that the everlasting chains of darkness Peter was speaking of was the same spirit of blindness that happened to the apostate leaders of that world and that the judgment they were reserved to was the everlasting fire of seventy A.D., That was the times of the Gentile fulfilled. 

WHAT DOES GOD OWE THE JEW?

There is a large segment of what is called fundamentalist Christianity that think God is still indebted to the people who practice the Jewish religion saying that He has never fulfilled His promises to Abraham. I do not agree, and with this brief paper hope to prove in a concise but exact way the fallacy of this notion. The essential premise of the concept that God must restore the Jewish people to His favor and give them a place of prominence in the world to come is almost entirely based on two basic misconceptions. The first misconception is that the Jews of today are the direct genetic descendants of Abraham. The second misconception is the afore stated idea that God did not fulfill His promise to Abraham. There is a third misconception which is that the New Testament makes this promise. Because of the lengthiness of the subject I will deal with this misconception in another post soon.

I will first deal with the second mentioned misconception and that is that God did not fulfill His promises to Abraham. All anyone needs to do to reasonably dispel this idea is believe what is written, Joshua 21:43-45 says that God gave them all the land he swore to them, all of it. It continues to explain that God did not fail to do any good thing He promised to them. Then in Joshua 23:14 it is reiterated again that God fulfilled His promises to Israel. However in verse fifteen we learn that they are also promised that because of their idolatrous ways they will be dispossessed of the land that God gave them. Then in First Kings 8:56 we are again allowed to know that God fulfilled all His promises of land and natural inheritance to the descendants of Abraham and followers of Moses. To doubt or question this is, in my opinion, to quibble about words and create doubt about the promises of God thus disparaging the word of God.

Now let’s move on to the second issue, which is the matter of the adherents of the Jewish religion of today being the direct descendants of Abraham. The answering of the first issue should have negated any need for the consideration of addressing the second issue, but because of religious tradition and bias it doesn't. The fact that God doesn't owe the "Natural Jew" anything should dissipate any further argument.

For the purpose of being conversant with those who insist on their being two Israel’s I have condescend to the terminology "Natural Jew" although it is a misnomer. The terms "Spiritual Jew' and "Natural Jew", are contrived by those purporting and perpetuating the thought that there is yet an 'Israel after the flesh," (a bible term) First Corinthians 10:18, that God holds in special indebtedness and favor. I usually will not recognize these terms because they are not scriptural and only serve to give acquiescence to the idea of there being two Israel’s, one natural and the other spiritual.

The definition of the word Israel is chosen of God. Before Christ the only people who could rightfully claim to be chosen of God were those who could trace their heritage back to Abraham. That is why there are so many begets in the bible. It mattered and mattered immensely who you were a descendant of and that you could prove it. Every true Jew knew what tribe he was of and could trace his parentage from father to father all the way back to Abraham. There were proselyte Jews but they were the exception and not considered a Jew in the truest sense.

In seventy A.D. Rome laid waste of Israel fulfilling all the prophets and Jesus Christ. Malachi prophesied that they the Jews would be left neither root nor branch, Malachi 4:1, Jeremiah said they would be as a potters vessel that could not be put back together, Jeremiah 19:1-15, John the Baptist warned that the Jews that did not repent and receive Christ they would be destroyed as chaff, telling them to flee the wrath that was to come to that generation, Matthew 3:1-12, Jesus Christ foretold the total and final judgment of that world which would happen before that generation passed away, Matthew chapters 23 and  24. The Jews stiffened their necks and refused to hear saying that they would have no king but Caesar and thus making a covenant with Hell and an agreement with death, Isaiah 28:15-18. Israel chose death over life and suffered the wrath of God to the uttermost First Thessalonians 2:15-16. When something reaches its uttermost there is no more.

As was the way of nations of that brutal and barbaric age whenever a nation was conquered the penalty for resistance to conquest was utter destruction. When Rome took Israel they not only devastated the land they devastated the population. The men and boys were killed and enslaved while the women and girls were raped and enslaved. The women soon found themselves giving birth to children who were sired in rape and were without fathers. They had no certain identity and were not the seed of Abraham. Because of this it became necessary to identify themselves as Jewish by reason of maternal parentage. To this day it is still so that the Jewish people reckon themselves Jews by maternal authority and not paternal authority. They became a people who were without identity.

There are essentially two kinds of Caucasian people who practice the Jewish religion and populate the world today. They identify themselves as either Ashkenazim and Sephardi. It is an easy research to find the origins of these two people. I suggest that anyone who is honest and wants to know what a true Jew is do the research and prove for themselves what is true. Neither of these two can trace their linage back to the time of the Diaspora much less Abraham. They are not of direct linage and they know it. One of their own, Isaac Asimov, a well known writer and scientist of the last century wrote extensively concerning this very subject. So who is a true Jew? Consider what a man born a Jew said, a man who knew his linage and even what tribe he belonged to, the apostle Paul, Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 3:29. We, The Church are the Israel of God, the true Israel, we are the continuation of the plan of God and there is no other. We are the direct descendants of Abraham and there are no other. I challenge anyone and everyone to find someone of the Jewish religion that can trace their linage back to Abraham. Further I challenge them to prove what tribe they were descended from by genealogy. They are Jews by religion which is a religion without Christ. I pray that they will be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Lord, the Son of God, the head of the Church that now cries Abba, father. We declare His generations, Isaiah 53:8. He is the mighty God, the everlasting Father of Israel, Isaiah 9:6. 

THE FALLING AWAY

Most of what is called Fundamentalist and Pentecostal Christianity when reading Second Thessalonians 2:3 think of this as a prophecy not yet fulfilled. Because of modern dispensationalist teachings they fail to recognize the obvious statement of verse seven where the writer notes that the mystery of iniquity was already at work. They use this scripture to enhance their doctrinal agenda promoting teachings that didn't exist until the early nineteenth century. I with this post want to use the scripture in the attempting of clearing up this misconception. Paul in Acts 20:28-30 warned that there was an imminent danger to the church that would take place at his demise. That imminent danger he warned of would be caused by men whom he called grievous wolves that would bring in damnable doctrines causing the gospel of Christ to be perverted and the true church to be replaced by a false religious system, a counterfeit church representing itself as the Church of Jesus Christ. This counterfeit church has refined itself and adapted its doctrines and traditions according to need throughout the ages into what is thought to be the Church Jesus spoke of when He said, "I'll build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Things degenerated so badly and so fast that by the time of the writing of the book of Jude it was necessary that the writer adjure the readers that they were to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints. He, proving what Paul had warned them of, said that certain men had crept in sneakily, men who were ordained as vessels of dishonor, and then they turned the grace of God into lewd uncleanness and which denied God and Jesus Christ. Damnable (destructive) doctrines which overthrow the faith of the people of God and cause them to serve their lusts and not God in the beauty of holiness. The church of the first century, the Church Jesus Christ built, lasted forty victorious years from Pentecost of thirty A.D. until the destruction of Jerusalem in seventy A.D. and was then taken away. During its forty year reign it functioned as no other move of God had before or has since. The twelve apostles sat on twelve thrones of authority and judged that world, they raised the dead, cast out devils, opened blinded eyes, made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, and performed miracles proving their ministry and the power of God. All that and they also did the greatest miracle of all by taking corruptible men and women producing perfect sinless over-comers for the Bride of Christ. They accomplished all this in a forty year period and were then taken away. Paul prophesied in Second Thessalonians 2:7 that the forces of iniquity would be withheld until they who withheld those forces would be taken out of the way. The statement of Paul in Acts Twenty, verse Twenty nine allows us to know that what it was that was withholding the forces of iniquity; it was the apostolic ministry. When they were gone the floodgates of hell were opened and iniquity has from then until now abounded.