The
Chosen People – Who are They?
By Dr. Ken
Matto
For thou art an
holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a
special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the
earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
Every
nationality on earth would like to refer to themselves as God’s chosen people.
Those in religious orders like to think of their group as the chosen
people of God. Ask a Roman Catholic
and they will insist that they are the true chosen people of God because Christ
himself started their church. The
chosen people of God is not limited to one nationality or one specific country
but the chosen people of God are found all over this world.
According to the Scriptures, this world is divided into only two camps
and they are the saved and the unsaved.
When we read the Bible we see there are many saved in many countries.
In Acts 2:9-11 we read of sixteen nations represented on the Day of
Pentecost when the apostles were bringing the gospel of grace in Christ.
And how hear we every man in our
own tongue, wherein we were born?
(Acts 2:8) Each group was
hearing the message in their own language and thus the evangelization of the
world began.
In the Old
Testament probably one of the most famous believers was Abraham who was not a
Jew even though Zionist teachers try to force that false belief on biblically
illiterate Christians. Abraham was
a citizen of Ur of the Chaldees.
And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the
son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife;
and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of
Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
(Genesis 11:31) Abraham
was a chosen child of God who came from Ur of the Chaldees and was probably a
worshipper of the Moon god Inanna or Suen before God called him out of there and
saved him.
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood
in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and
they served other gods. (Joshua
24:2) Then, of course, Ruth the
Moabite, who became a saved woman and wanted the God of Naomi to be her God as
only a saved person would want that.
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to
leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I
will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God: (Ruth 1:16)
So then the
question is probably being raised that it doesn’t say anything about these
people being chosen and yet they became believers in the true God.
For they themselves shew of us
what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God;
(1 Thessalonians 1:9) In
ancient times a true believer was called out from a false religion where they
permeated certain parts of the world.
Many had local gods which were peculiar to them.
Such as Chemosh who was the god of the Moabites which Ruth would have
been familiar with and Inanna whom Abraham would have been familiar with.
Because that they have forsaken
me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god
of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not
walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my
statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
(1 Kings 11:33)
So then how are
they considered chosen since it looks like they made the decision to follow the
true God. When reading the Scriptures we
must understand two basic biblical teachings.
The first is that every human being before salvation is spiritually dead.
And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
having forgiven you all trespasses;
(Colossians 2:13) The second
teaching is that before a person can actually believe the true God, they must
undergo a spiritual resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall
be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
(Revelation 20:6) Once
spiritual resurrection takes place, then a person sees how false their fake
religion is and begins to serve the true and living God as the Thessalonians
did. They are now spiritually alive
and realize they have been duped.
The Thessalonians had many false gods in their pantheon also such as Ares,
Athena, Zeus, Hestia, Aphrodite, Cupid, etc.
So in ancient times a person would profit by holding on to their false
gods, so then why would they change unless they are compelled to change through
Election which means they have no choice because they were chosen for salvation.
Once God makes us spiritually alive, we will never want to go back no
matter how much persecution we face because this life is only transitory and the
next life is eternal. The Apostle
Paul faced much opposition especially from the Jews and those few years he spent
being persecuted by both the Jews and Rome has passed because the clock kept
ticking. What do you think the
Apostle Paul is doing and saying right now, 2,000 years later?
Do you think he is sorry God saved him, I think not!
The Chosen in Christ
For a person to
become saved, they cannot remain in an unsaved, fleshy state.
They must become a new creature.
Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We read in the last section about a spiritual resurrection which must
take place to bring a person out of spiritual death and into spiritual life.
If a person is dead, they can do nothing except be dead and therefore
spiritual life must come from the outside.
Lazarus could not have raised himself because he was dead.
Christ stood at his tomb and cried out “Lazarus come forth” and he did
because Christ made him alive. It
is the same with the spiritually dead person, if God ordained them to eternal
life then at whatever time in their life God determines, they will become saved.
Let’s go back to Pentecost for a moment.
When Peter and the other Apostles were preaching the gospel people were
getting saved.
Praising God, and having favour with all
the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
(Acts 2:47) Notice what
the verse states that “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be
saved.” It was the Lord who was
building his church and adding to the church daily not the decision of anyone.
Paul and Barnabas were preaching in Antioch and many Gentiles heard the
word of God and were glad about it.
And when the Gentiles heard this, they
were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed. Acts 13:48
Notice that people were ordained, which means “appointed” to eternal
life. So here God is showing us
that he already knew who he was going to save.
For many are called, but few are
chosen. (Matthew 22:14)
The gospel call goes out many people but only those who are chosen will
become saved.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you. (John 15:16)
Here Jesus was speaking to his disciples reminding them that he chose
them, they did not choose him and they were ordained or appointed to bring forth
fruit.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
(1 Peter 2:9) Here Peter
describes the true believer as a chosen generation.
The word “chosen” is the Greek word “eklektos” which means “Elect.”
When were the Chosen of God Chosen?
But we are bound to give thanks alway
to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth: (2
Thessalonians 2:13)
Here we have a verse which teaches that the believer was chosen from the
beginning of time.
According as he hath chosen us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)
Now we are into eternity where this verse teaches us the true believer
was chosen before the foundation of the world, that is, in eternity by God
himself.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world.
(Revelation 13:8)
Here we read that the true believer was written in the Lamb’s book of
life from the foundation of the world.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is
not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they
that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book
of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was,
and is not, and yet is. (Revelation
17:8)
Revelation 17:8 confirms the truth of the fact that the true believer was
chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
For we which have believed do enter
into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my
rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
(Hebrews 4:3) The
work of salvation was already completed in the life of the believer before the
foundation of the world. This verse
confirms the teaching of Revelation 13:8 where in principle Christ was already
slain opening the door for salvation of the Old Testament Saints because there
is only one salvation plan throughout the entire Bible and throughout the
history of the world. The biblical
evidence is clear that the true chosen people of God, and he only has one, just
like he only has one salvation plan, are those who are in Christ.
This is what the Bible is all about.
It is not about Israel. The
focus of the Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ and the redemption of the Elect
through him.
Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is
written of me, (Psalm 40:7)
Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is
written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
(Hebrews 10:7)
Ancient
Israel
So then where does ancient Israel come in?
For years we have heard that the Jews are God’s chosen people and I will
show at the end of this article how the Jews are God’s chosen people but it
won’t be what you have been taught because it comes from the Bible.
God chose Abraham to come out of Ur of the Chaldees and he was to go to a
land that God would show him. He
travelled to the land of Canaan where he had a son called Isaac who sired a man
named Jacob whose name was eventually changed to Israel which means “Prince with
God” and Jacob sired twelve sons and one daughter.
From the twelve sons came twelve tribes which began to multiply and it
was through the tribe of Judah that the Lord Jesus Christ was to come.
Eventually the house of Jacob went to live in Egypt
under the supervision of Joseph who was already in Egypt, so they lived in the
land of Goshen. Jacob was born
about 1877 B.C., so he would have went down to Egypt to escape the famine about
1747 B.C. because he was 130 years old when he appeared before Pharaoh.
Jacob and his family were given the land of Goshen to dwell in and they
eventually multiplied so much that a new Pharaoh put them to hard bondage.
Eventually God brought them out of bondage and brought them into the land
of Canaan 40 years later. If they
were obedient to God they would have been in the land in only 11 days by the
hand of Moses but their rebellion against God started immediately after they
left Egypt.
Now therefore let
me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them:
and I will make of thee a great nation.
(Exodus 32:10) Their
rebellion was so great that God wanted to destroy all of them and make a great
nation out of Moses and his descendants.
Then they finally came into the land and under Joshua the tribes were
placed in the areas God had decreed for them.
Then under the Judges for the next 400 years, they played the harlot with
the false religions and false gods of the neighboring countries.
They got to the point where they rejected the Judges and wanted a king
like the surrounding nations.
And said unto him, Behold, thou art old,
and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the
nations. (1 Samuel 8:5)
So God told Samuel that they did not reject him, but they rejected God.
And the LORD said unto Samuel,
Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they
have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over
them. (1 Samuel 8:7)
And he gave them
their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
(Psalm 106:15) So God
gave them their request and they had King Saul who was an unbeliever.
Saul was removed from being king because he intruded into the office of
priest by offering an offering on an altar.
Samuel had then anointed David as the king of Israel while Saul was still
living. Saul had tried to kill
David many times because he knew that David would take his throne.
Saul eventually died in a battle with the Philistines on Mount Gilboa.
Then David was officially crowned king of Israel.
Then David had ordered the murder of Uriah the Hittite who was a loyal
subject of the king, after David had committed adultery with his wife.
Then eventually David died and Solomon took over the throne.
He had a good beginning but his love of strange women caused him to turn
away from the true God and he became a rank idolater.
This shows you that even the three main kings of Israel were given over
to sinful activity. The worst was
yet to come.
After God pronounced judgment upon Israel because of the
idolatry of Solomon the kingdom was split into two factions.
There was the northern kingdom consisting of ten tribes under the
kingship of Jeroboam and the other was the southern kingdom of Judah and
Benjamin under the kingship of Rehoboam.
The northern kingdom which was also referred to as Ephraim had absolutely
no saved or obedient kings as they slunk into idolatry.
From 930 -721 B.C. the northern kingdom partook of idolatry even building
temples and golden calves for worship.
It was in 721 B.C. that God raised up the Assyrians and finally took them
into captivity and never were officially repatriated into the northern kingdom.
Judah or the southern kingdom held on a little longer because they had
some saved kings who instituted reforms but eventually they walked so deeply in
idolatry that God raised up the Chaldeans to take them into captivity for
seventy years. There were three
sieges in 606 B.C., 597 B.C. and the final siege where they were taken to
Babylon in 586 B.C. The 12 Minor
Prophets as well as the three major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are
written as serious condemnations of both Ephraim and Judah departing from the
LORD and playing the harlot with the false gods.
The southern kingdom went into captivity for seventy
years but were allowed to come back to Judah by the decree of Cyrus after the
Medes and Persians conquered Babylon.
In 518 B.C. some of the people were already returning and had started
upon the temple of Zerubbabel and then in 516 B.C. the majority of the people
returned from captivity and began to repopulate the cities of Judah once again.
They began to build the temple but they had stopped and that is when God
dispatched Haggai to get them to continue on the building of the temple.
They had complained that this temple was too small and did not compare
with the temple of Solomon which was destroyed by the Babylonians.
The temple was finally completed and a return to the Mosaic law was once
again instituted. About 445 B.C.
Nehemiah was dispatched to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city which was
accomplished in 52 days. Then the
last of the Old Testament writing prophets was Malachi whose book is dated
between 435-400 B.C. and then the four hundred years of silence.
Then we zip ahead to the time of Christ.
It was because Christ came through the tribe of Judah that God returned
Judah to their land because it was Micah who prophesied that the Messiah would
be born in Bethlehem. Jesus was
born in Bethlehem and as a baby he was persecuted by Herod the Great who wanted
to take his life to protect his throne.
As a result of this real threat Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt and
stayed there until Herod was dead.
Then Archelaus who was the son of Herod the Great had begun to rule in his
father’s place by confirmation from Caesar Augustus.
Then Joseph, Mary and Jesus went to Galilee after they returned from
Egypt. Then the next time we hear
of the Lord Jesus Christ was when he was 12 years old in the temple having
dialogue with the leaders of Israel.
Then we see John the Baptist who came as the forerunner of the Messiah
and once he fulfilled his duty of presenting the Messiah to the world, he was
arrested and killed by Herod Antipater because of an oath he took in front of
all the nobles. Then after the Lord
Jesus Christ went into the desert for 40 days, he returned and then chose out
twelve disciples and began his three year ministry.
During that three year ministry Jesus and his disciples
were consistently pursued by the Jews who hated him.
The Jews would be the Sanhedrin who would eventually join hands with Rome
to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ believing that would be the end.
Finally, the hatred of the Sanhedrin reached a crescendo and they finally
were able to crucify Jesus in hopes that would be the end and his disciples
would scatter. Then three days
later Jesus was resurrected from the dead and 40 days after ascended back to
Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
Then 10 days after Ascension day came
Pentecost when the last days began and the evangelization of the world with the
Gospel began. Just like Jesus, the
Disciples were persecuted and threatened by the Sanhedrin to stop the spread of
the gospel teaching but they could not stop it as it began to spread outside of
Jerusalem and within Jerusalem.
This was in 33 A.D. and since they had become just as apostate as their
forefathers, even killing their own prophesied Messiah, God’s patience had
finally run out with their idolatry and treachery and in fulfillment of the
prophecy stated by Christ and Daniel, the Roman Army under Titus came in like a
flood in 70 A.D. and completely destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple.
The end of the Mosaic law actually happened in 33 A.D. when Christ died
when the veil of the temple was rent in two.
70 A.D. was the final destruction of the Mosaic system because grace was
how a person would be saved. Those
who are chosen in Christ are those who would be saved and there were many in
ancient Israel who became saved such as David, Solomon, Zechariah, John the
Baptizer, Abigail, Moses, Aaron, et al.
At the time of Christ while he still travelled he had many who came to be
saved such as Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathaea, etc.
I went through a capsulized history of ancient Israel to
show that ancient Israel was formed by God for the sole purpose of bringing
forth the Messiah. All the wars
which were fought by ancient Israel were done for the purpose of protecting the
Messianic line from which Jesus came.
God eventually divorced Israel because of their rampant idolatry but
protected the Messianic line, sometimes called Jacob in the Minor Prophets.
Once Jesus came and went back to Heaven that spelled the end of the
Mosaic law and therefore the temple was not needed anymore and the rebellion of
the Jews bought them death and slavery in all parts of the Roman Empire.
The bottom line is that ancient Israel was an enemy of God almost from
the time they left Egypt to 70 A.D. and God had decreed their final end because
of their hatred and apostasy. The
Bible teaches very clearly:
That all men
should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the
Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
(John 5:23)
Whosoever
denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son
hath the Father also. (1 John 2:23)
He that hateth
me hateth my Father also. (John
15:23)
Israel had
violated all three of these verses.
They did not honor the Son but they denied him and hated him.
According to these verses, if they hated the Son, then they hated the
Father. If they denied the Son then
they did not have the Father. If
they did not honor the Son, then they did not honor the Father who sent him.
These three verses alone show how much an enemy ancient Israel was to God
but keep in mind not all of the Israelites were the enemies of God but the
majority were and that is why they were destroyed in 70 A.D.
Enter Modern Israel
One of the
greatest misconceptions and outright lies being taught today by dispensational
pastors, theologians and authors is that the modern nation of Israel is a
rebirth of ancient Israel. Nothing
could be further from the truth because there is not a shred of Scripture in the
Old Testament about a future nation of Israel.
The way that concept is arrived at is that those who teach it lack total
understanding of the Bible and take the scriptures which are pointing to the
first coming or the return to the land of Judah from Babylon and project those
Scriptures into the future thus violating the proper way of interpreting the
Bible. When God destroyed Israel in
70 A.D. it was a permanent destruction and you will see the difference between
the two nations are like night and day.
The reason that so many Christians literally worship Israel is because of
an evil theological system called “Christian Zionism” which literally takes the
modern nation of Israel and exalts it to godhood.
It has become an idol in many churches and just as ancient Israel was
destroyed because of idolatry, the modern church is starting to decay rapidly
because of its idolatry of modern Israel.
Unlike ancient
Israel, modern Israel is not made up of Semitic people.
There are four groups of Semitic people in the world: Arabs, Hebrews,
Phoenicians, Akkadians. Just
because someone speaks Hebrew does not alter their history.
If I learn to speak German, does that automatically make me a German and
the answer is no, I would be an American whose ancestry is Hungarian who speaks
German. True history cannot be
changed. History can be rewritten
in lies like it is today but a lie just covers the truth but cannot change
it. This is why prophecy books are
nothing but one big lie from cover to cover.
Lie not one to another, seeing
that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
(Colossians 3:9) “Lie
not” is in the Imperative Mood making it a command.
So when these dispensationalists write these prophecy books they are
violating the command of God not to lie to one another.
The problem is that Christians believe that if it glorifies Israel then
it glorifies God. I got news for
you, what is going on in modern Israel glorifies Satan not God and Christians
are right in line joining the parade.
Tel Aviv is the abortion capital of the world.
Ancient Israel decried sodomy but modern Israel embraces it.
Ancient Israel was warned by God not to oppress a stranger (those of a
different nationality or religion) Thou
shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land
of Egypt. (Exodus 22:21)
Modern Israel has murdered over 5 million Palestinians since they formed
in 1948. How could anyone consider
a country like this a “holy land?”
This is why so many churches have failed and why so many Christians are weak and
confused because they support this wicked country.
In modern day Christianity, you will not be able to find a group of
Christians like the Reformers who had the spiritual guts to take on Satan’s
biggest institution in 1517. In
2020, we should have 20-20 spiritual vision with all the history we have but the
problem is most Christians have 20-200 vision and refuse to wear corrective
glasses. He who has ears to hear!
Many
self-proclaimed prophetic pundits claim that God owes Israel a land and that the
modern nation of Israel is the fulfillment of the promise that God made to
Israel of giving them the land.
Here once again the prophecy book authors have propagated a lie into the
Christian community which has been well-received.
One of the major teachings of the prophecy preachers is that God did not fulfill
His promise to the Jews of giving them the land which He promised Abraham. So
they tell us for God to fulfill His promise it must be done during the
mythical millennium. In other words, they preach God owes Israel. To say God owes any
mere human is outright blasphemy. I do not understand how they can arrive at
this because the Scriptures I am going to share refutes this to the utmost, oh
that’s right, Christians don’t study the Bible. The following six verses teach
that God has indeed fulfilled His promise to national Israel concerning the
promised land. To arrive at the theory that God still owes a homeland to
national Israel requires a flagrant denial of Scripture which refutes this
heinous lie.
{43} And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto
their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. {44} And the LORD gave
them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and
there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all
their enemies into their hand. {45} There failed not ought of any good thing
which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. (Joshua
21:43-45)
There is no way that these verses can be interpreted any other way than the
fulfilling of the promise to Abraham. Twice in these passages God tells us that
the land which Israel was dwelling in was the fulfillment of His promise to
Abraham. In verse 45, God is plainly telling us that He didn’t fail to keep His
promise because He brought all to pass. How can any commentator look at these
verses and say God still owes Israel a land? The only reason I can think of is
that when verses do not make a case for a certain view, biblical or not, they
are intentionally avoided or explained away in generalizations.
To say God did not fulfill His promises, when He did, is total heresy and
blasphemy. It is a shame that so many Christians place prophecy books above
Scripture, and accept their heresy as if it was gospel. Scofield, the high
priest of prophecy, offers no comment on these verses, plus many claim it was
part of a promise and not the fulfillment. I have no idea how they arrived at
that erroneous conclusion but it was definite evasion of truth on part of the
commentator. Remember the Bible said, "all came to pass" not part! In other
words, you the reader, will accept unbiblical Pre-tribulationalism whether it is
of God or not.
{7} Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth
out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; {8} And foundest
his heart before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites,
and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy
words; for thou art righteous: {23} Their children also multipliedst thou as the
stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst
promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. (Nehemiah
9:7-8, 23)
In these verses we have a reaffirmation that God fulfilled His promise to
Abraham and gave Israel the land. Here also, God is telling us plainly that His
promise to Abraham was fulfilled concerning the physical land of Canaan. Again,
to neglect these verses is evasion of truth. As the reader, stop and ask
yourself the question, should I believe what the Bible says or should I believe
the prophecy books? Should I build my theology on the hard truth of Scripture or
do I build it on the unbiblical theories of prophecy books?
Here are four other verses which state that God fulfilled his promise to Abraham
and Moses for a homeland for the Israelites.
And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto
Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee
to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
(Deuteronomy 34:4)
So Joshua took
the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and
Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by
their tribes. And the land rested from war.
(Joshua 11:23)
Blessed be the
LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he
promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he
promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
(1 Kings 8:56)
And hast
given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them,
a land flowing with milk and honey;
(Jeremiah 32:22)
There is no way
to read these verses than to read them that God had promised Abraham and Moses a
homeland for the Israelites and that he fulfilled that promise completely in the
time of Joshua. So then what is the
big situation concerning the land?
The big
situation with the land is that the rebellion of Israel against God caused them
to lose the land.
And it shall
come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply
you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you
to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest
to possess it. (Deuteronomy 28:63)
And the LORD
rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation,
and cast them into another land, as it is this day.
(Deuteronomy 29:28)
{14} And,
behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your
hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath 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.
{15} Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come
upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you
all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which
the LORD your God hath given you.
{16} When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which
he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to
them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall
perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.
(Joshua 23:14-16)
If ye
forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and
consume you, after that he
hath done you good. (Joshua 24:20)
These six verse
all have one theme in common and that is if Israel broke the covenant which God
made with them concerning the land, then they would be consumed off the land.
This promise was fulfilled in three dramatic removals.
The first was when Ephraim or the ten northern tribes went deep into
idolatry, God removed them from the land using the nation of Assyria in 721 B.C.
where they removed from the land permanently.
The second major removal was when Judah was removed from the land for a
period of seventy years in 586 B.C. and then returned to the land because the
Lord Jesus Christ had to be born in Bethlehem.
The third major removal was in 70 A.D. when came the final destruction of
Jerusalem when the Romans completely destroyed the Temple and the city.
It spelled the final removal of the Semitic Jews from Jerusalem and the
complete end of the Mosaic system of law.
So Israel lost the land completely never to return again.
With the loss of the temple was also the loss of all the important
documents which held the genealogies of the people showing who was true
Israelite. So now, no modern Jew
can trace their lineage back to before the 1600’s and that is because of the
diaspora which happened from these three removals.
Israel was now assimilated into the pagan nations and no longer allowed
or able to partake in any of the ceremonies or sacrifices.
They were either killed or made slaves.
Enter 1948
The Balfour
Declaration of November 2, 1917 declared the support of a national homeland for
the Jewish people. On May 14, 1948
the modern nation of Israel was born on the land stolen from the Palestinians.
Then immediately the prophecy books began to be written and automatically
the Arab became the enemy of Christians because they were the enemy of Israel.
Everyone was so happy because they thought that the forming of modern
Israel meant the return of the Lord Jesus Christ was very near, after all “they
were back in the land.” Here we are
72 years later and there still has not been one true sign of the Lord Jesus
Christ returning because Israel was in the land.
The only signs that are seen are those picked out by prophecy book
writers who find the most minute things and then sensationalize them and then
they become gospel in the churches.
The Bible is very clear that the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is on the last
day of history and the only sign we see preceding his return is found in Matthew
24:29 concerning the darkening of the sun.
Immediately after the tribulation
of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken: (Matthew 24:29)
The tribulation period for the true believer is the entire New Testament
period and once that ends with the last one being saved, then the sun will be
darkened and the stars will fall which means the universe is starting to
collapse and then the Lord returns to earth and simultaneously we see the
rapture of the Saints.
{30} And then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes
of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory.
{31} And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)
Since
dispensational Christian hold on to the belief that the Jews who live in Israel
are descendants of ancient Israel, let me dispel that myth with truth.
We already saw that in 70 A.D. God destroyed Jerusalem because of its
rebellion and hatred of the Lord Jesus Christ plus it spelled the end of the
Mosaic system. The reality is the
city of Jerusalem which is there at present was not rebuilt by the ancient
Israelites on some return to the land after 70 A.D.
The present city was built by Hadrian around 130 A.D.
Hadrian was Emperor of Rome from 117 to 138 A.D.
Rebuilding Jerusalem and founding
it as a Roman colony in place of the ruins, Hadrian renamed the city Aelia
Capitolina in honor of his family name and the god Jupiter.
The city was reconstructed according to
typical Roman plan, with a north-south cardo and
an east-west decumanus,
although many scholars suggest that there were two of each of these main
north-south and east-west streets due to the odd topography of the city. The
Roman forum was at the center, and this is where the temple of Jupiter ended up
being built, alongside a sanctuary to Venus and over the tomb of Jesus
(Eusebius, Life
of Constantine;
Jerome, Letter
to Paulinus).
Other sites in the area
which had an association with Jesus which Hadrian had pagan temples and shrines
built over include the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, the Pool of Bethesda,
and the Pool of Siloam. The originally planned site for the temple of Jupiter,
on the Temple Mount and former site of the temple of God, remained desolate
except for a statue of Emperor Hadrian riding a horse. The next Emperor,
Antonius Pius, also placed a statue of himself riding a horse on the Temple
Mount, and the inscription from the pedestal of this statue can be seen today in
a rebuilt section of the southern wall of the Temple Mount. In the 4th century,
the Bordeaux Pilgrim noted two Emperor statues, although he mistakenly thought
that both statues were of Hadrian, as they probably looked extremely similar.
The walls of Jerusalem were not rebuilt at this time, which was typical for the
Roman Empire as they were both unnecessary for defense against foreign enemies
because of the legions, and prevented local rebels from forcing the Romans to
besiege cities. The 10th Legion
continued to inhabit the city, as evidenced by discoveries such as a circa 130
AD Latin inscription found in Jerusalem, dedicated by Legion X Fretensis to
Emperor Hadrian. In Aelia Capitolina around this time, the Emperor also had
coins issued to commemorate the founding of the colony and the building of the
main temple. One coin showed an image of Jerusalem being ritually plowed for the
new founding, while another coin showed the temple of Jupiter.
Today when we see Jews at the Wailing Wall, they are praying to the
support of the Ancient Antonia Fortress which housed the Roman Legions.
It was not part of the Temple edifice.
They are, in essence, praying to Roman Bricks.
So then if the modern
day Jews are not the direct descendants of ancient Israel, then who are they?
They are members of four groups of people who turned to Judaism as their
religion. In other words, they were
converts to Judaism just as one converts to Catholicism or Mormonism.
Once again a person’s religion does not designate their nationality or
their ancestry. I am Hungarian who
is Reformed in beliefs. If I joined
the Baptist church, that would not change my ancestry one bit and that principle
is true throughout history.
These are the four
groups of Jewish converts which inhabit Israel plus all the other Jews who live
in different places all around the world.
Mizrachi
The Mizrachi is the name of the religious Zionist
organization founded in 1902 in Vilnius at a world conference of religious
Zionists called by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines. Bnei Akiva, which was founded
in 1929, is the youth movement associated with Mizrachi. Both Mizrachi and the
Bnei Akiva youth movement are still international movements. Mizrachi believes
that the Torah should be at the center of Zionism and also sees Jewish
nationalism as a means of achieving religious objectives. The Mizrachi Party was
the first official religious Zionist party and founded the Ministry of Religious
Affairs in Israel and pushed for laws enforcing kashrut and the observance of
the Sabbath in the workplace. It also played a role prior to the creation of the
state of Israel, building a network of religious schools that exist to this day,
and took part in the 1951 elections.
Ashkenazi
These were Jews of
German and Eastern European origin along with their traditions, customs, and
rituals.
Sephardic
A Jew who is of
Spanish or Portuguese or North African descent.
Khazar
The Khazars were a
semi-nomadic Turkic people with a confederation of Turkic-speaking tribes that
in the late 6th century A.D. established a major commercial empire covering the
southeastern section of modern European Russia.
They had many different religions among them such as Tengrism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Paganism, Religious syncretism.
The modern Jews are not the
Jews of the Old Testament and the undeniable evidence of this has become clear
with the advent of DNA research. In 2001, Dr. Ariella Oppenheim and her team at
Tel Aviv University released their study which found that the “Jews” were mainly
Khazars, from Khazaria, a Caucasus country which is now called Kazakhstan,
Georgia, and other names. The Khazarians converted from pagan religions to
Talmudic Judaism after the 8th century, but of course, racially they remain
Khazars. Once again
religious affiliation does not affect nationality, they remained Khazars.
In late 2012,
yet another Israeli-born scientist, Dr. Eran Elhaik, of the McKusick-Nathans
Institute of Genetic Science, Johns Hopkins Medical University, published his
research in The
Journal of Biology and Evolution. Considered by geneticists
worldwide as the “definitive study” and peer-approved, this authoritative
research confirmed Dr. Oppenheim’s earlier findings and went even further.
“There are no blood or family connections among the Jews,” reported Dr.
Elhaik. “The various groups of Jews in the world today do not share a common
genetic origin. Their genome is largely Khazar.”
So there is
even DNA evidence which rejects the idea that the modern Jews are descendants of
the Israelites of the Old Testament.
This evidence also negates the idea that modern Israel was reborn
according to some promise God made to them because these are not even the
descendants of the ones whom God would have made the promise to.
If God was truly going to regather the true Israelites and bring them to
modern Israel, then why would he bring back people who were not even associated
with ancient Israel? But you see,
the Israelites of old lost the land because they violated the covenant that God
made with them at Sinai and went whoring after other gods.
Modern Israel is not a fulfillment of any biblical prophecy but is a
mission field along with all the other nations of the world.
The True Jews
Previously I
stated I would show you that the Jews are God’s chosen people and at this time I
wish to do that. After the cross,
everything changed including designations and one of the greatest changes which
took place was the description of who is a true Jew.
{28} For he is
not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is
outward in the flesh: {29} 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.
(Romans 2:28-29)
A true Jew is
one who is saved in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The term “Jew” is actually a shortened form of Judah.
The Lord Jesus Christ came through the tribe of Judah and that is why the
true believer is the true Jew. Here
we have Deuteronomy 30:6 which teaches that Lord himself is going to circumcise
the heart which is another synonym for salvation.
It is a verse dripping with salvation truth especially as we read that
God himself is going to perform the salvation in all his true children.
And the LORD
thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD
thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
(Deuteronomy 30:6)
For we are the
circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh.
(Philippians 3:3)
The Jews held
confidence in the flesh that circumcision was some kind of guarantee of
salvation and an escape from the judging hand of God and of course it was not.
Romans 2:28 states that physical circumcision did not make a man a true
Jew because flesh and blood does not inherit the kingdom of God and that means
anything to do with the flesh because that is where sin lies.
Now this I say,
brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. (1
Corinthians 15:50)
For I know that
in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present
with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
(Romans 7:18)
The apostle
Paul teaches us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God because
he states in Romans 7:18 that in the flesh lies no good thing, that is, the sin
is found in the flesh even after a person becomes saved.
Their soul is made totally clean but the flesh part was not redeemed and
therefore the flesh remains a sinful entity.
That is why upon physical death the body goes into the ground to decay
and the soul of man goes directly to be with the Lord.
{6} Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all
Israel, which are of Israel: {7} Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham,
are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. {8} That is, They
which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the
children of the promise are counted for the seed. (Romans 9:6-8)
In this set of verses, God is making a clear distinction between physical and
spiritual Israel. He is giving us clear indication that the blessed Israel is
the spiritual Israel as we will read.
Vs 6 - Here God is stating that not all Israel are of Israel. He is simply
stating that not every physical Jew is a saved spiritual Jew. God has in mind
that just because one is a physical Jew, this does not give him a special
standing with God. The ones who have the special standing are the spiritual Jews
or the born again Christians. Are we on the right path? God makes an identical
comparison in the next verse.
Vs 7 - God tells us that just because the nation of Israel descended from
Abraham, does not make them the children of promise. What is the promise? The
seed of Abraham came through the lineage of Isaac. The seed in view here is the
Lord Jesus Christ. God is making a definite distinction between the physical and
spiritual aspects of Israel. God continues in verse 8 and clarifies the matter.
Vs 8 - Those of the nation of Israel who are not born again are not the children
of promise but the children of promise are those who are born again. The promise
being the coming of the Messiah and those who are in Him are the recipients of
the promise of eternal life which was so beautifully displayed in the covenants.
Now we bring
this up to today. Since we have
already seen that the modern Jews are a religion and not a nationality, Romans
9:6-8 even becomes stronger in its teaching because adherents of Judaism which
are normally called Jews, really have no right to claim that name since Judaism
rejects the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible in Romans 2:28-29 teaches that a
true Jew is born again in Christ.
This makes every unsaved Jew a counterfeit because they do not have the Father
or the Son and they cannot truly say they are descended from the tribe of Judah
because all the temple records were destroyed in 70 A.D.
So then what is
the bottom line? The bottom line is
this, the true Jew is one who is saved in the Lord Jesus Christ because
spiritually they have descended from the tribe of Judah which was the tribe
Christ came from.
For it is evident that our Lord sprang
out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
(Hebrews 7:14) The counterfeit Jew is one who is Talmudic in nature
and attempts to follow outward rituals and ceremonies thinking they are pleasing
God when the Mosaic system was destroyed by God in 70 A.D. which means they are
holding on to a dead, meaningless system which was largely corrupted over the
years.
Summary
We came a long way but the summary is simple. The modern Jews are not descendants of ancient Israel, the Israelites. The modern Jew is a descendant of someone who converted to Judaism in the past and just passed on the tradition to future generations. The true Jew, according to the Scriptures, is one who is born again in Christ. Either we believe the Bible or we follow falsified history. The modern nation of Israel is not a re-birth of ancient Israel because there are no Scriptures which teach this. Prophecy book authors must sell books so they fabricate these stories and apply false meanings to Scripture simply because they know that Christians will never check anything out and will just accept anything. The next time someone calls you anti-Semitic, ask them to prove their Semite ancestry and you will never hear back from that person.
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