Shameful Saga of the Great City (Revelation 17)

26 Saturday May 2018

An Unusual Introduction to This Week’s Article

Once before it was necessary to repost a prior Eye of Prophecy article, due to the sudden demise of my laptop hard drive. The time it took to start all over again that week with a brand new engine prevented writing of a new article. Still, the repost included pictures and captions not part of the original article.

Well, it has happened again. Not because my computer hard drive dropped dead, but because my left eye began flashing little bolts of light, surrounded by mysterious shadows. This is not metaphorical!

These were the opening lines of Eye of Prophecy article, To Be or Not to Be in Heaven (A Revisit), posted 5-6-17.

*(My eyesight has stabilized, and the articles have continued … thank you, Lord!)

The first repost referenced above was, Why the Rapture? (A Revisit), posted 11-5-16.

Of the 253 Eye of Prophecy articles to date (one each Saturday), those are the only two published a second time, albeit with some modifications.

Although there is no emergency reason, this week’s article plus the next two are reproductions of sorts. But with substantially revised form and content of the original six-series Eye of Prophecy entitled, The Woman and the Beast, posted 10-12-13 through 11-16-13.

Reasons for reopening this six-article set: Visitors during the first year or so of Eye of Prophecy were significantly fewer than those of subsequent articles (to be expected for any new website). However, readership was disproportionately low, for that very reason—six parts … too many! Nevertheless, there is some good stuff in those articles. But, then, I would say that as the author!

Sometimes in my articles, excerpts from previous Eye of Prophecy posts are included… in italics or quotations marks. However, because of the extensive makeover, there will be no excerpt quotes from the original six articles, as it would disrupt the continuity of this week’s post, as well as the next two. Rather, previous contents will be blended in with the new material. Technically, I think this is permissible (no plagiarism or failure to acknowledge), as I am the author of all Eye of Prophecy articles. Trust that meets with your approval!

So, let’s begin by restarting the engine of a six-cylinder vehicle originally produced as, The Woman and the Beast.

Enjoy the ride! But be sure to get out of the car before it plunges over a precipice that will spell the end of the woman part way through the Tribulation and final fate of the beast (who had returned from the Abyss) at the end of the Great Tribulation. You will escape this fatal destiny-altering crash if you have believed and received Messiah Jesus as personal Savior (John 3:16). He is the one who will, “…defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him” (Revelation 17:14).

Revelation Chapter 17 … Where It All Began

A year or so after my first book—O Israel … the end is the beginning for those left behind—a novel published in 2007, I began a sequel. After writing just a few chapters, the Lord dramatically interrupted this project one night in November 2008. He did so with a dazzling disclosure (discernment) that the Antichrist beast of Revelation had already lived and died before John’s visions of the beast as recorded in Revelation 13 & 17.

The pivotal passage is: “…I will tell you (reveal to you) the mystery of this woman and of the beast… The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people … will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died” (Revelation 17:7-8, parenthesis mine).

Immediately, I stopped writing the sequel and embarked on a stirring literary voyage, “…to the ancient Roman world, to the very origin and lair of the beast, to the first-century church, to the abyss and back again, to the pre-emptive death and eternal destruction of the Antichrist, to the mesmerizing visions of John, Daniel, and Zechariah.” To, “expose and declassify that which has been concealed and classified; the secret of the beast presumed to be confidential until the body of Christ is taken from the earth.”

The above quote is taken from the back cover of my second (non-fictional) book: Out of the Abyss … can the number of the beast be solved, 666? Published in February 2011. Followed by the inception of Eye of Prophecy website in July 2013.

To say that the Book of Revelation contains some of the most apocalyptic events known to man would be the proverbial understatement. One of the most captivating is John’s amazing vision of a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. Moreover, it is one of only two revelations in which an angel explicitly explains the mystery of what John had just witnessed. As said in a previous article or two: a mystery revealed is no longer a mystery.

In this current trilogy, we’re going to identify and examine the woman and the beast upon which she sits. Considerably more attention will be given to the woman, as several Eye of Prophecy articles have dealt extensively, even exclusively, with the Antichrist Beast.

“So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. A mysterious name was written on her forehead: ‘Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.’ I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement” (Revelation 17:3-6).

Who is the Beast?

My book, Out of the Abyss provides ample evidence to answer that question. As do parts or the whole of 50 Eye of Prophecy articles posted to date in the category of Antichrist. The beast is Nero!

If you find that conclusion to be incredible or inconceivable, then I encourage you to read the book and/or some of the articles. You will find Biblical documentation, historical evidence, and sound reasoning to support this astonishing identification: The early Christians knew and so, too, can we know. The number and name of Antichrist has been solved!

(Regarding both Christian and secular Roman views about Nero particularly prevalent in the first four centuries (A.D.), see Eye of Prophecy article, The Legendary Return of Nero, posted 4-4-15. Also, Reappearance of the Beast, posted 9-21-13).

Who, Then, is the Woman?

Let’s get right to the answer. In the angel’s explanation of the woman and the beast to John—with a qualification that understanding and wisdom were needed to fully grasp this clarification (Revelation 13:18 & 17:9)—he discloses the identity of the woman: “And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world” (Revelation 17:18, italics for emphasis).

Which begs another question: Which city is the great city. It’s not as hard as you might think, because there are only two viable choices: Babylon and Rome. Although it’s conceivable that Antichrist Nero upon his return will maintain an office in Brussels, Belgium (headquarters of the European Union), his command center will be in and his loyalty to “the great city.”

Babylon

A common if not prevailing view—held, for example, by the authors of the Left Behind anthology, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins—is that the ancient (supposedly restored in the last days) city of Babylon is the proper choice. With the following rationale:

The wording in Revelation 17:5: “A mysterious name was written on her forehead: ‘Babylon the Great…’”
The entire 18th Chapter of Revelation that describes in graphic detail the utter destruction of Babylon, beginning with verse 2: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!”
Some Old Testament prophecies announcing the destruction of Babylon, particularly Isaiah 21:9 which also reads, “…Babylon is fallen, fallen!”
The attempt of Saddam Hussein to rebuild Babylon during his dictatorship in Iraq. Which came to a screeching halt with the capture, trial, conviction, and execution of this evil tyrant.

(Hussein fancied himself as the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar)

Let’s test the validity of Babylon as the choice.

First, the mysterious name of Babylon the Great does not tell us that the woman (the great city) is, in fact, Babylon. Rather, it states that Babylon the Great was written (symbolically of course) on the woman’s forehead. So, what or who is Babylon the Great? Revelation 17 also answers that question: “Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” In other words, Babylon the Great is not actually a city at all in the context of the woman being the “great city that rules over the kings of the world” (Revelation 17:18).

Rather, Babylon the Great is the mother that would bear children who would seek to “prostitute” the eternal existence and imperishable Word of the true and living God and of his Messiah. This corruption and distortion of God’s everlasting truth is the core foundation of all non-Christian world religions, religious organizations that are Christian in name only including cults, and anti-religious systems such as the occult New Age movement or communism or even globalism.

Through graphic description and by contextual implication, the great city of Revelation 17 would be the dwelling place of the worst of her children, as also vividly depicted in Revelation Chapter 18. Thus, when the great city is crushed (during the tribulation), Mother Babylon which birthed the woman sitting on the beast is also destroyed.

Another passage in Isaiah refutes the idea that a renovated modern-day Babylon is the great city symbolized by the woman:

“Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation…” (Isaiah 13:19-20). Then the last verse of that chapter tells us, “Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.”

About 170 years later Babylon was annihilated by the Medes-Persians … beyond recognition.

Today’s Babylon is a virtual wasteland compared to the glory of ancient Babylon. In fact, just two verses earlier in Isaiah 13, we read: “Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon…” (Verse 17). This emphatically places Isaiah’s prophecy of Babylon’s destruction (once for all time) in the context of what is now historical fact that the Mede-Persian empire destroyed Babylon.

Both Isaiah and the angel of Revelation foretold the obliteration of Babylon; with, as indicated, Isaiah’s prophecy coming to pass (in 539 B.C. to be exact). However, neither Isaiah nor the angel of Revelation are saying that Babylon will twice be destroyed. They repeat the stunning prediction for dramatic emphasis, but the angel of Revelation repeats it for another reason.

Consequently, when the angel announces that, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!” (Revelation 18:2), the fall (that takes place during the Tribulation) includes both the great city itself—symbolized by the woman, not by the ancient city of Babylon—AND Satanic systems that seek to replace the everlasting truth of the true and living God. Systems such as occult astrology, pantheism, or polytheism that were promoted by and flourished in the ancient Babylonian kingdom. Then continued by Rome during the glory days of the Roman Empire. And continuing to this very day, but in vastly different way and form … as we shall see in this trilogy of articles.

Thus, the angel’s repetition of Babylon’s fall applies: (1) Tangibly to “the great city” destroyed during the Tribulation. (2) Intangibly to “Babylon the Great, Mother of all Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World” (Revelation 17:5).

ROME (Roma)

Why is Rome the only feasible choice as the great city of Revelation Chapter 17? Let’s begin the answer with a few more questions.

What realm had conquered most of the known world when the book of Revelation was written? Easy answer: The Roman Empire. What city was the political, cultural, economic, and military center of this great empire? An even easier answer: Rome. And what would happen to Christians if a newly written scroll that contained some of the most astounding revelations ever witnessed and recorded had mentioned Rome as the “Mother of All Prostitutes, holding a goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality, drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus…” (Revelation 17:4-6)?

Or conversely, a city “hated by the scarlet beast and the ten horns (kings) who would strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire” (Revelation 17:16)? For Roman citizens, Roman Generals and Roman Legions, but especially to Caesar: had Rome been identified by name, these would have been defamatory words of disrespect and even treason. In short order, many more Christians would have been rounded up and executed. Thus, it was necessary to disguise the great city of Rome as the woman and Babylon. The Christians were also protected in Revelation Chapter 13 when the angel and John encoded the identity of the Beast (Nero, the Antichrist) within the number six hundred sixty-six; then encouraged believers to solve the mystery of this number (Revelation 13:18).

Returning to Revelation 17:18: “And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world” (italics for emphasis).

The word (rules) is obviously a present tense verb. With the clear connotation that this great city was ruling over other kings and their nations, as Rome did, when Revelation was written. As discussed in several prior articles, the beast (Nero Caesar) had already died, but the woman who sits on the beast was still thriving—Rome. At the beginning of the tribulation period, the beast will reappear from the Abyss and, with the allegiance given to him by ten kings who will have risen to power (Revelation 17:12), the beast would eventually turn on the woman and annihilate her.

Babylon (the ancient city, itself) could not possibly be the woman of Revelation 17, for at least two reasons: (1) it had already been destroyed and, according to Isaiah, would never return to any form of greatness, whatsoever. (2) When Revelation was written, Rome was the only city “that rules over the kings of the world.” This present tense verb “rules” would extend to the end times, as the woman (great city) would be alive and well during the onset of the Great Tribulation and will be, at first, in collaboration with the beast.

However, the Roman Empire was destroyed in the 5th century AD.

How, then, could Rome (the heart of the Roman Empire) qualify as the great city, with an ongoing relevance through the Dark Ages, through the political and military prominence of European kings/queens, during the Protestant movement and ensuing Renaissance, right up to the present time? How can the present tense “rules” be extended to the Great Tribulation? The answer to that question resides in the answer to another question: Since the fall of the Roman Empire, What did and also what will the woman (the great city) look like, signify, represent, or characterize during the end-times?

I’m not suggesting a Revived Roman Empire, because I firmly believe there is no such thing in Scripture. In my book Out of the Abyss (Chapters 15 & 16) and several Eye of Prophecy articles such as, Exposing Antichrist’s Identity … More Compelling Evidence Part I & II (Posted 3-18 & 3-25, 2017), significant evidence is presented to demonstrate that the seven heads of the beast are kings, not kingdoms (Revelation 17:9-11). Instead, there will be a Revived Roman Emperor. A man (Nero) who had already lived and died even before John first saw visions of him as the Antichrist beast; who would suddenly reappear from the Abyss at the outset of the Great Tribulation (Revelation 17:7-8).

Concerning the woman, you will see that it’s the same woman, but she has taken on a new appearance after the fall of the Roman Empire. At the beginning of the Tribulation, the woman will be in alliance with and gain support from the beast-king but will also attempt to influence him. Just like this same woman’s adultery (spiritual and political) with the kings of the earth to manipulate them and control the people of their kingdoms since the fall of Rome (Revelation 17:2).

Can you find another verse in Revelation Chapter 17 that also conveys the rule of the woman in the (ongoing) present tense? If you can locate this verse, you will find more evidence that the woman (both the ancient version and the modern version—because “rules” is present tense throughout) is Rome. A strong hint: What city was built on how many hills?

The Rise & Fall of the Mighty Roman Empire

Invincible! Such was the mindset of the Caesars, the Roman Legions, the Roman Senate, and most Roman citizens during the zenith of the Roman Empire. Moreover, nearly all the peoples and nations conquered by Rome felt the same way. Who could stand against such a powerful empire? Who could consistently defeat the Romans in battle? Who would dare oppose such a massive domain that, by the end of the 1st century dominated much of the civilized world and civilized, by ruthless force if necessary, parts of the uncivilized world? How could Rome ever fall from glory?

But fall she did, exactly like the Prophet Daniel predicted one thousand years earlier: “I continued to watch because I could hear the little horn’s boastful speech. I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire” (Daniel 7:11).

The little horn was Daniel’s description of the ruler who would later be called the man of lawlessness by Paul, the beast of Revelation, and the Antichrist in I John 4. The Roman Empire would become the “beast” of Daniel’s prophecy, the fourth and final Gentile kingdom (directly pertaining to God’s plan for Israel and the Messiah). Though it was the mightiest and most terrible of the four kingdoms, it would one day cease to exist.

For nearly six hundred years, the woman (the great city) that John saw in his vision would “…rule over the kings of the world” (Revelation 17:18). For most of those six centuries Rome was the largest city in the world. Historians place the demise of the centralized Roman Empire at 476 A.D. However, the eastern portion of the empire continued for hundreds of years with its capital of Constantinople (now called Istanbul). No other nation on the face of the earth, including the United States of America, has ever attained the pinnacle of supremacy like the Roman Empire. But one by one the Roman emperors fell; piece by piece the colossus crumbled from within, until European barbarians dismantled her beyond recognition.

The woman continues to rule but in a far different way. Before we explore the transformation of the woman from a ruler “over the kings of the world” (Revelation 17:18) to “the great prostitute, who rules over many waters” and with whom, “the kings of the world have committed adultery” and by whom, “the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality (Revelation 17:1-2), let’s examine the strategy of the one who is behind the formation of Godless empires and ungodly world systems. Whose degenerate plan is to depose and displace the true God and His Messiah.

Satan’s Tactics

Because Satan cannot see into the future, he is forced to react to human events the same way we do … in the linear unfolding of time, from day-to-day. But throughout Biblical and secular history we see two distinct patterns of Satan’s designs and operations. (1) An immediate attempt to destroy by external power whoever or whatever stands in his way and interferes with his evil schemes for mankind. (2) When sheer force doesn’t work, he resorts to attacking from within. He does so through a sinister agenda of perverting God’s truth—by deceit, distortion, lies, counterfeit imitation, compromise, immorality, apathy—with the predictable result of rebellion against God and substitution of God’s eternal Word with false man-made beliefs and ideas.

The historical and contemporary evidence is incontrovertible: The evil that men do—including unjust wars or atrocities initiated by one nation against another, one ethnic group against another, or one race against another—begins with a belief system. Thus, the Third Reich sought to annihilate the entire Jewish race, because Hitler harbored the depraved idea of Aryan supremacy which led to a shocking view that Jews were sub-human. This ungodly, immoral, racial hatred comes straight from hell.

Conquest by Force

The following is an excerpt from my second book, Out of the Abyss. It provides an overview of Satan’s plots to eliminate all those who would dare oppose him and his ultimate plan for world domination by vainly trying to usurp God’s universal authority; his warped and unattainable goal of being like the Most High God. In italics:

Satan wanted to crush Christianity as soon as he could…. If you examine Scripture, you will find this preemptive strategy and pattern of Satan in every situation that involves the promised Messiah or Israel as the racial ancestry of the Messiah. You only need to look at the historical proximity between the prophesied event or person and the timing of Satan’s preemptive attack.

It began with Cain’s murder of Abel, who Satan thought was the direct progenitor (seed) of the Messiah … He acts on what he thinks is going to happen next, meaning soon. He tried to preempt Moses from his role as deliver of Israel; thereby, holding Israel under Egyptian bondage and keeping them from the Promised Land. He tried to exterminate Israel through the powerful, but wicked Persian official Haman. In the same pattern as Moses, Satan stirred Herod to kill all the newborn children in Bethlehem. He tried to get Jesus to sin in the wilderness, thereby, discrediting Christ from being a perfect sacrifice. He was instrumental in killing Jesus by crucifixion, hoping that Jesus could not arise from the dead. And now, he was diabolically obsessed with the destruction of the early Christian Church by means of killing all the Christians.

This blueprint continued throughout history, culminating with the Holocaust—a depraved attempt to exterminate all Jews, which would prevent them from returning to Israel, which in turn would prevent Yeshua from returning to Jerusalem to establish Messiah’s kingdom. Satan knows the signs of the end times. He knew that Palestine had been declared a two-state region by Lord Balfour; it would be just a matter of time before the Jews would, in great numbers, fulfill hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that the Jewish exiles would return home. On and on we could go in demonstrating that Satan launches his attack as soon as he realizes that there is yet another event that could destroy his plan for the human race.

And don’t forget what happened right after Israel miraculously became a state in 1948. Not in a year, or a month, or even a week—the very next day Arab nations attacked the Jews with the express intent of destroying Israel. That is as now as it gets!

Do you see this? Satan never waited before. Why would he wait for an unknown, unspecified, interminable length of time for the Christian church to flourish and usher in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? Revelation hadn’t been written yet, so Satan didn’t know the rest of the story. His arrogant ambition and pernicious pattern is always now. That’s why he selected Nero to be the king prophesied by Daniel.

Alas, the rebellion abruptly ended; rudely interrupted when Satan’s superman (Nero) left the scene before all the terrible things Satan wanted to do could be completed! Satan must have been furious a Nero, at the Roman Empire, at the Church, and at Christ. Satan never learns or doesn’t care that evil feeds on itself and ultimately self-destructs. In fact, except for the intervention of Messiah, the world would self-destruct during the Great Tribulation. (Pages 225-226).

Not until the Lord revived Nero and imprisoned him in the Abyss, then the book of Revelation was written, did Satan realize that he would be given one last chance during the end times to establish his kingdom of pure evil on the earth. Though he knows that God always wins, he’s wickedly vain enough to still try; to take as many people with him to their fate in the Lake of Fire as he can. This last desperate attempt will itself bring about his end. As God will for the second time in human history respond by judging the entire world because of the global defiance of God and Messiah Jesus—instigated by Satan, Antichrist Nero, and the False Prophet.

Internal Conquest by Infiltration and Subversion

When force doesn’t work, when Satan’s best laid plans are foiled by God, then Satan reverts to his Plan B to defeat God and God’s people, whether the people are Jews of the Old Covenant of Law or the new man (Jew and Gentile … one in Messiah Jesus) under the New Covenant of Grace.

An early Biblical and well-known example of this strategy is the idolatrous golden calf made by the Israelites who grew impatient for Moses to return from Mt. Sinai. Many of these same people who had witnessed God’s powerful and persuasive miracles of the Egyptian plagues, yielded to the voice of a rebellious few within the Israelite camp … wanting a god they could see and worship visibly.

This happened just a few weeks after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt and the stunning rescue of the Jews from annihilation when their backs were to the Red Sea. You remember: God parted the waters and his people walked across the sea on dry land! And what happened to the Egyptians? They had the audacity and arrogance to ignore this stupendous miracle and pursued the Jews. As a result, the Egyptians drowned when God caused the walls of water to collapse on them. Did Pharaoh and his army seriously think that God would deliver the Israelites by supernaturally parting the waters, only to allow them to be massacred on the other side? If he had carefully contemplated the whole thing, Pharaoh would have stayed on his side of the sea!

Satan couldn’t destroy God’s people by force, so he reverted to discord and disgrace from within the ranks. Hence, the golden calf and subsequent apathy, complaints, and rebellions from a discontented few.

So, stop trusting in God to get you to the Promised Land. Devise and implement a plan, an idea … someone, something (money, power, prestige, flattery) to get you where you want to go or be. But whatever it takes or whatever you do, be sure to leave God and His message to humanity (the Bible) out of it. In the proverbial nutshell that’s Satan’s lie to the world and even to the people of God.

“Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God” (II Corinthians 4:4).

“For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:24).

Satan’s switch to Plan B doesn’t mean that he abandons his diabolical determination to literally destroy Jews and Christians whenever possible. He does this oblivious to the historical reality that the harsher the persecution of Jews or Christians, the greater the good that came out of even the most horrendous hate and vicious brutality. Hence, the exponential growth of believers during their persecution by the Roman Empire. Or the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust precipitating the prophetic rebirth of the state of Israel and the massive return of Jews from the four corners of the earth.

In today’s world, there is increasing oppression of true believers in Christ Jesus, including atrocities committed by Muslims in several African nations, as well as some Arab countries. As well as a reprehensible return (rise) of Anti-Semitism.

As developed in next week’s article, we’ll see that it was internal subversion of the true Gospel of Messiah Jesus through an ecclesiastical hierarchy that caused far more damage than external persecution by those who hated the (true) Christians.

Things to Ponder

As seen, the woman (great city … Rome) was ruling over the kings of the world when Revelation was written. This same woman would also be in existence during the Tribulation as clearly shown in Revelation 17:12-17, which says, for example:

This transformation from ancient Rome with its Caesars that ruled over kings and kingdoms to the subsequent form and substance of the woman beginning in the 4^th to 5^th centuries and continuing to this very day will be developed in more detail in the next two articles.

The only other thing to ponder is to not miss those articles!

That and the infinitely more important near-future reality: “Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His (Messiah Jesus) kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him” (Daniel 7:27, parenthesis mine).

Jerusalem / City Above All Cities

19 Saturday May 2018

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Great Cities of the World

The creativity God gave to humanity is truly remarkable. But, then, the Lord is The Creator … of all things. And he created us in his image. Although we tend to focus on innovation that produces music, paintings, sculptures, and literature (fiction, non-fiction), everyone is gifted in some way or another. Each person has a special intelligence; an aptitude to be or do something better or different than most.

I am particularly impressed with those who design and build (architects, draftsmen, engineers, contractors, and craftsmen) such things as automobiles, ships, trains, airplanes, giant cranes, and intricate equipment and machinery of all kinds. But especially buildings— spectacular skyscrapers, colossal castles, beautiful museums, exquisite galleries, grand theatres, splendid stadiums, luxurious hotels, and just ordinary houses, that one after another grow into great cities all over the earth.

One of my favorite television programs is called Aerial America, which began as a flyover (with a historical narrative) of every state in the United States; and, recently, has morphed into Aerial Cities. There’s nothing like the stunning vista of mountains, valleys, canyons, rivers, lakes, prairies, landmarks, buildings, and entire cities from the air.

Preferring an aisle seat when flying, I, nevertheless, peer left or right through an airplane window to view the city as we approach it. The experience gives visual validation to the maxim: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The geographic size and demographic population of dozens of large cities world-wide is staggering. Because there’s more than one criterion to measure the size of a city, on-line statistical sites vary in their rankings of cities by population. But there seems to be near-unanimous consensus of the largest city in the world. Do you know which one it is?

In answer to that question, the web-site I chose was www.worldatlas.com

Answer: Tokyo, Japan. By far. Population: 38,001,000.

The next largest: Delhi, India, 25,703,168.

Third place: Shanghai, China, 23.740,778.

Sixth place: Mexico City, 20,998,543.

New York City sits in 10^th place: 18,593,220. Paris, 25^th place at 10,843,285. And London comes in at number 28: 10,313,307.

(Seoul, South Korea … population nearly 10 million)

These and others are considered great cities, at least in terms of the first definition of great as found in Webster’s Dictionary: “Notably large in size.”

Now, some shocking news: with a sudden shift to the final (21^st)and most devastating of God’s judgments portrayed in the apocalyptic book of Revelation. I’ve quoted this passage in a few Eye of Prophecy articles, including an article that dealt extensively with the man-made carnage plus God’s wrath poured out on a wicked world—during a seven-year period that will be more devastating than all previous man-made and natural calamities combined: Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation (Posted 6-6-15).

“Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worse since people were placed on the earth. The great city Babylon (Rome) split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble … And every island disappeared, and the mountains were all leveled. There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky on the people below” (Revelation 16:18-21, italics for emphasis, parenthesis mine).

Can you wrap your mind around what you just read? I hope you can do a better job that I have, as indicated in the following excerpt from the article referenced above (in italics):

Every time I read it, I shake my head in disbelief. I repeat the words, but they still do not compute. My imagination lags far behind the stunning reality of it all.

I went on to say:

Once again, absolutely incredible! Not just cities all over the earth crumbling into rubble, or every single island—think of the Hawaiian Islands—completely disappearing (giant tsunamis that not only inundate but sink the islands), and all the earth’s mountains flattened into level plains. No, that isn’t what causes the unrepentant who are left on the earth to curse God once again. It was the giant hailstones that obviously were even more devastating than the other colossal calamities.

An Intriguing Correlation

Jesus gave a lengthy answer to his disciples’ question, “…What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3).

Early in his response, Jesus used the following analogy: “But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come” (Verse 8).

In the 20^th century, we experienced the first of the birth pains. Some, like the rebirth of Israel, are exceptionally good. Others, like two World Wars and countless other wars, rumors of war, and international terrorism are not good (to say the least).

In this 21^st century, I firmly believe we are in the more to come phase of labor pains. One of the more to come is the completion of the coalition that has recently begun to take shape with what many considered to be an unlikely, if not impossible, alliance between Russia, Iran, and Turkey—the three prominent nations of the Gog/Magog confederation.

(Let’s admit it men, we’ve never worked–labored this hard in our life)

Messiah’s analogy to a woman’s birth pangs is precisely what’s happening in our world. The contractions (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis) are increasing in record numbers and severity. The painful spasms of wars and rumors of war and ethnic rivalries continue with kaleidoscope intensity. But birth pains also signal that something so very good is about to happen. Concerning God’s providential purpose and plan for humanity, it is the birth of the Kingdom of God on earth, headquartered in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, The City That God Loves Above All Cities on Earth

The rebirth of Israel (May 14, 1948) as a sovereign nation was both miraculous and peculiar.

This is how the Lord foretold it through the prophet Isaiah:

“Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son. Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, her children will be born. Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it? Asks the Lord. No! I would never keep this nation from being born, says your God” (Isaiah 66:7-9, notice that Israel and Jerusalem are inseparable in this birth process).

That’s exactly what has transpired with Israel; she was reborn in record time—one day. Then after her birth, the labor pains began in the form of intense persecution from surrounding Muslim nations resulting in four major wars and subsequent suicide bombings, terrorist attacks, and BDS actions that continue to this day.

This paradoxical birth was extraordinarily evident this past Monday. Some 800 Israeli and United States officials celebrated Israel’s 70^th anniversary as a nation. At the same time tens of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza (now in its seventh week of rioting) stormed the fenced border, and certainly not as peaceful protestors. In an acceleration of this rampage, Palestinians hurled firebombs, grenades, and stones at IDF troops. They fired guns toward the IDF and attempted to plant land mines near the fence. Many brought with them cutting tools to breach the fence. And they continue to attach fire bags to kites and fly them into Israel. Thus far, hundreds of acres of Israeli cropland have been destroyed.

Such a peaceful “Right of Return” march!

Sixty Palestinians were killed (most of them Hamas terrorists embedded in the huge crowd of Palestinians estimated at 40,000, with some “civilians” paid by Hamas to breach the fence) by the IDF who has every right to defend their people against the real intention of Hamas. To attack and overrun Israelis—many of whom live only a short distance from the border.

(For the past six weeks, every day that Palestinians march on the border, they burn tires–a literal smokescreen to try to breach the border fence)

The next day (May 15^th), even more Palestinians were to march on Israel, as it was Nakba Day (Arabic for day of disaster). In remembrance of the Arab’s painful defeat when five Muslim countries attacked newborn Israel on May 15^th, the day after Israel declared statehood.

Instead of the projected 100,000, only about 4,000 Palestinians showed up. Two more Palestinians died while attempting to breach the fence.

What happened? Why the drastic (fortunate) reduction in the number of Palestinians streaming to Israel’s border?

What happened is something the mainstream media has not fully reported; however, a handful of media outlets have. The following excerpts are from a May 16^th, 2018 article by Daniel Siryoti posted in on-line news source Israel Hayom (in italics):

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was summoned urgently to Cairo Monday, where Egyptian officials severely admonished him over the terrorist’s group’s insistence on instigating violent demonstrations on the Israel-Gaza Strip border.

General Intelligence Service head Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel leveled scathing criticism at him over Hamas “riot policy.”

…Egyptian officials were stunned by the high number of casualties and angered by information provided by Israel that proved Hamas was paying civilians, including children, to place themselves in harm’s way by approaching the fence and clashing with IDF soldiers so as to allow Hamas operatives to blend into the crowd and try to carry out terrorist attacks….

Quoting the Egyptian official being interviewed, the article’s author writes:

“Kamel kept Haniyeh waiting outside his office. It was humiliating. When Haniyeh was finally called in, you could hear him (Kamel) yelling. Haniyeh didn’t answer back.

“Haniyeh was told, in no uncertain terms, that the blood of the dead was on his and (Hamas military leader) Yahya Sinwar’s head…”

The official said that “Haniyeh was stunned” by the Egyptian rebuke… Egyptian intelligence officers, “made it clear to him (Haniyeh) that the Hamas leadership will be held responsible for any more deaths in border riots. They told him history won’t forgive the Hamas leadership for such senseless deaths.

“Kamel demanded that Haniyeh order his people to cease the border riot campaign immediately. It was a very stern message,” the official said.

…As a result, the Nakba Day demonstrations on the border on Tuesday … were far less violent than expected.

Egypt still has a great deal of influence over Gaza Strip Palestinians and their terrorist organization Hamas, from the days when Egypt controlled Gaza almost exclusively. Despite Egyptian President Abdel el-Sissi and his government’s animosity toward the Muslim Brotherhood—the parent organization of Hamas—Egypt has allowed the Palestinians (under Hamas) to do pretty much want they wanted, in terms of hostility toward Israel. However, Egypt wants the West Bank (Judea/Samaria) Palestinian Authority to resume control of the Gaza Strip, something that could happen were it not for Hamas refusal to give up their weapons. A condition imposed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

(Photo of Mahmoud Abbas to the right and of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to the left. Among other tirades against Israel Haniyeh has said: “Israel is a cancerous tumor that must be removed and uprooted.” Some 4-5 years ago when his one-year old daughter was seriously ill to the point of death, he asked and was given permission by Israeli officials for his daughter to be treated in an Israeli hospital. They saved her life!)

Egypt is currently one of only two Muslim nations (Jordan is the other) that officially recognizes Israel has a sovereign nation. However, most Egyptians continue to loathe the idea of a Jewish State and many still deplore Jews as a people. Which makes Egypt’s ultra-harsh reprimand of Hamas’ leaders dumbfounding. Here we have a Muslim nation (Egypt) supporting the truth espoused by the United States and Israel and a couple of other nations like Australia: it is Hamas who is responsible for the death of their own people. As opposed to Muslim heads of state and several leaders of other nations (particularly in Europe) that are holding Israel exclusively responsible for the Palestinian deaths, because they refuse to accept or they lie about the obvious—this so-called right of return march is anything but peaceful. At the very least, they assert that Israel’s response is disproportionate.

Please see Eye of Prophecy article, The Right of Return … For Palestinian or Jew? Posted (4-7-18) during the first week of this march on Israel, which not only explained the ulterior motive and not so subtle methods of Hamas, but also dealt extensively with the real right of return belonging to the Jews.

Another unexpected event took place this past Wednesday: Hamas official Salah Bardawil admitted that 50 of the 60 Palestinians killed on Monday and Tuesday were members of Hamas. Weeks prior to that, Hamas refused to acknowledge that more than just a handful of those killed or injured up to that time were Hamas operatives. The connection of Egypt’s scathing criticism of Hamas’ top official (Haniyeh) to another Hamas official making this concession is unmistakable; as is the huge reduction of rioters on Tuesday. It’s deductively clear that Hamas made this admission to placate Egypt … by revealing that most of the Palestinians killed were Hamas agents, not Palestinian “civilians.”

At best this concession is a technicality, considering that non-Hamas Palestinians killed had either been paid by Hamas or ideologically and materially support terrorism. On the other hand, it exonerates Israel (not that Israel’s needs acquittal) from biased world-opinion that “innocent, non-violent” Palestinians are being indiscriminately wounded or killed.

The Heart of Israel Has Been Transplanted Back to Jerusalem

Let’s get back to the prophetically fulfilled good news that Israel is 70 years old, a significant generational benchmark of end-times prophecy. And in that context, a liberated, reunified Jerusalem is 50 years old, which is a representation of the 50-year Jubilee of Scripture (See Eye of Prophecy article, Jubilee and Messiah … They Go Together! Posted 1-23-16).

For nearly two thousand years, exiled Jews all over the world frequently and passionately exclaimed, “Next year in Jerusalem.” Beginning in 1948 and continuing in greater numbers to this day, many Jews are instead saying, “This year in Jerusalem!” (Here we are!) Nearly 6.5 million Jews are now living in the land promised to them by God, himself.

Said U.S. President Donald Trump in a video message played in Jerusalem during Israel’s 70^th Birthday celebration on May 14^th, this past Monday:

“Today, Jerusalem is the seat of Israel’s government; it is the home of the Israeli legislature and the Israeli Supreme Court, and Israel’s prime minister and president. Israel is a sovereign nation, with the right like every other sovereign nation, to determine its own capital. Yet for many years, we failed to acknowledge the obvious. The plain reality that Israel’s capital is Jerusalem. Today we follow through on this recognition and open our embassy to the historic and sacred land of Jerusalem.”

President Trump went on to say that the embassy opening was, “many, many years ahead of schedule.”

Said Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the ceremony: “What a glorious day for Israel. Remember this moment. This is history. President Trump, by recognizing history you have made history. All of us are deeply moved, all of us are deeply grateful. The truth and peace are interconnected. A peace that is built on lies will crash on the rocks of Middle Eastern realities. You can only build peace on truth. And the truth is that Jerusalem has been and will always be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish State.”

Although those in attendance were obviously focused on this remarkable historical achievement, they were not oblivious to what was happening at Israel’s border with Gaza. Said U.S. Middle-East Envoy Jared Kushner: “As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution.”

That’s another way of saying that Palestinians in particular and others (Muslims and some national leaders even from Western nations) in general are not facing the reality that Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years, long before Muhammad invented Islam as a religion. Let alone the absurd claim that Arabs were in Israel before the Jews. Or ignoring the equally embarrassing evidence that Jerusalem is not mentioned even one time in the Koran, as opposed to over six hundred references to Jerusalem in the Bible.

(See Eye of Prophecy article, The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque, posted 4-16-16. It is primarily this myth on which Muslims base their false narrative that Jerusalem belongs to Arabs and Muslims).

(Depiction of Muhammad’s fictitious night journey to heaven from Jerusalem)

Said Israeli Minister of Education Naftali Bennett, “America made the first courageous and bold move, and now we expect other states to follow. Do they want to take part in history or miss out? It’s theirs to decide, but Jerusalem is here to stay.”

I do not know whether Naftali Bennett has read Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel’s restoration and Jerusalem’s reunification as Israel’s capital. However, whether observant or secular, nearly all Israelis understand the monumental magnitude of Jerusalem as the physical and spiritual heart of Israel—indeed, of the entire world.

“Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns … Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them” (Jeremiah 33:6-9).

The fulfillment of this prophecy and others like it is underway in our generation. Paving the way for an even more spectacular fulfillment of prophecy when Messiah Jesus returns as the King of all kings to rule and reign from Jerusalem.

“For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever” (Jeremiah 33:17).

God’s Providential Plan for Jerusalem’s Destiny

The striking significance of Jerusalem as the City of God, as the eternal capital of the Promised Land of Israel, cannot be emphasized enough. Jerusalem was the dwelling place of God for about four hundred years—in the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple on Temple Mount. It is to Jerusalem that Messiah Jesus will return to set up his Kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace for 1,000 years, immediately after the Great Tribulation ends. It is in the New Jerusalem where the magnificent Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—will dwell throughout eternity with all those (Jew and Gentile) who have been redeemed by believing and receiving the salvation offered by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the substitutional sacrificial death of God’s Son, Yeshua.

Let’s examine Jerusalem’s prominence as promoted in Scripture in the framework of the following terms: Her Personification, Purpose, Protection, Prosperity, and Peace.

Although there are hundreds of passages in Scripture, by obvious restriction of time/space in this article, each of the listed categories will come with only two or three references.

The Personification of Jerusalem

“Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name by the Lord’s own mouth….

Never again will you be called, ‘The Forsaken City’ or ‘The Desolate Land.’ Your new name will be ‘The City of God’s Delight’ and ‘The Bride of God,’ for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride…” (Isaiah 62:1-4).

Then later in that chapter:

“They will be called, ‘The Holy People’ and ‘The People Redeemed by the Lord.’ And Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Desirable Place’ and ‘The City No Longer Forsaken’” (Verse 12).

The personification (image, name characterization) of Jerusalem described in the above passage will be even more prominent in the not-so-distant future, exemplified by the presence of God with and love for his people. It is love that a husband has for his bride (but infinitely greater).

“But Judah will be filled with people forever, and Jerusalem will endure through all generations. I will pardon my people’s crimes, which I have not yet pardon; and I, the Lord, will make my home in Jerusalem, with my people” (Joel 3:20-21).

*Note: Pardon for crimes (sins, transgressions against God) for Jews (and Gentiles) individually took place when Israel’s Messiah died for the sins of the whole world, then rose from the dead to seal the New Covenant. God’s discipline of Israel as a nation ended in 1967, when Gentile domination of Israel ceased through the liberation and reunification of the Holy City of Jerusalem in the Holy Land of Israel.

In one of the many Old Testament Messianic passages, we read what the Lord (God the Father) says about His Messiah (God’s Son as established in other passages):

“…He has sent me (Messiah) against the nations which plunder you (Zion … Jerusalem), for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8, NASB, parenthesis mine).

That’s personification at its best … Jerusalem as the apple (pupil) of God’s eye.

The Purpose for Jerusalem

“Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored” (Deuteronomy 12:5).

As we know, Jerusalem became God’s central choice (eternal capital of Israel) where his name would be honored. Moses’ prophetic admonition (just quoted) was confirmed in the following passage:

“May the God who has chosen the city of Jerusalem as the place to honor his name destroy any king or nation that violates this command and destroys the Temple. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed with all diligence” (Ezra 6:12).

After King Solomon’s death, Israel’s ten northern tribes rejected Judah’s rightful heir (king) in Jerusalem. However, Jews—both before the Babylonian captivity and afterward—knew full well that Jerusalem was the heart and soul of Israel, where the Lord was to be honored in all the ways the Lord had specified to his people. Such as the requirement that all Jewish men travel to Jerusalem to attend three of the seven Jewish festivals—Passover, Festival of Weeks, and Festival of Shelters (Sukkot).

Astonishingly, here (through the Lord’s providential appointment and divine orchestration) we see a Gentile king issuing a decree for the “Right of Return” of the Jews to Israel … to rebuild the Temple. Sure enough, God’s prophecy through this king came to pass. Both the Babylonian and Roman Empires that destroyed the first and second Temples, were themselves destroyed by other nations.

The Lord’s ultimate purpose (in our near future) for Jerusalem is stunningly foretold by the prophet Micah.

“People from many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore” (Micah 4:2-3, italics for emphasis).

Do you see the (unmistakable) correlation between the word of the Lord—proclaimed primarily by Messiah Jesus during his Millennial Reign on earth—and no more war? Under his divine leadership, there will be many astounding changes on the earth. But can you think of anything better than NO MORE WAR. Not even any training or preparation for war!

The Protection of Jerusalem

As in the glory days of King David, King Solomon, and a few kings thereafter—like Hezekiah—God will (has once again begun to) protect Israel and Jerusalem to the point of invincibility.

“But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Isaiah 54:17).

Then in the above captioned chapter we read: “Even the strongest will quake with terror, and princes will flee when they see your battle flags, says the Lord, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flames blaze from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 31:9)

Even before the dynasty of Israel’s kings, God providentially protected his people from their enemies if they trusted and obeyed him. That Mosaic Covenant condition is no longer applicable.

Why is God’s protection and preservation of Israel unconditional in these last days? Because the Lord has unilaterally begun to accomplish His destiny for Israel, by fulfilling the promise set forth in his Covenant with Abraham. The hundreds of years when God withdrew his protection of Israel was for a prophetically set period (See Eye of Prophecy trilogy, Seven Times Seven (to the 4^th power) and The Omega Generation, posted January-February 2014). That time of Israel’s discipline is over.

Plus, when Israel and Jerusalem experience one last perilous time as Antichrist and his ten-nation coalition commence the last days battle for Jerusalem (toward the end of the Great Tribulation), all Israel will turn their undivided attention and loyalty to and unwavering trust in their Messiah—Jesus of Nazareth who will return to deliver them one final time.

“The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel” (Joel 3:16).

The Prosperity of Jerusalem (all Israel)

Since her rebirth in 1948 as God’s special possession, the tree of Israel has grown straight and tall and has produced bountiful fruit, just as the Lord said would happen in the last days and beyond.

“I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety…. And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations … And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 34:26-30).

Israel’s agricultural accomplishments since 1948 (in a mostly arid land) is stunning … the envy of even the most productive nations on earth. Her irrigation and water/land conservation systems are state of the art. Israel is also exceptionally avant-garde regarding computer, cell-phone, medical, and other sophisticated technology.

The Palestinians falsely claim that Israel belongs to them, the Arabs. Okay, then. Do they really think that they could continue the remarkable success of the Jews in agriculture (and other areas of technology and commerce), let alone improve on it—in direct reversal to the desolation of the land when the Arabs outnumbered the Jews in Israel and oppressed them? The few prosperous Arab/Muslim nations in the world are so for one reason only … Oil. Even then, only a small portion of Arabs in these Gulf-states share in this wealth.

Since Israel was reborn in 1948, the Jews have flourished collectively as a people and nation. Israel now has the sovereign state freedom and authority to determine her own destiny, to include entrepreneurial endeavors that are (in proportion to their population) amazing.

“The time will come, says the Lord, when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine! I will bring my exiled people of Israel back from distant lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again. They will plant vineyards and gardens; they will eat their crops and drink their wine. I will firmly plant them there in their own land. They will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:13-15).

(A Terraced Vineyard in Israel)

The Peace of Jerusalem (means peace for the whole world)

From time immemorial, events in and conditions of the world have demonstrated that mankind is not capable of establishing ongoing regional peace and certainly not global peace. Peace has proven as elusive in our generation as it ever has been. Not only in the Middle East, but in every continent on earth. In fact, even harmony within nations is evaporating as fast as a morning fog.

Here in the United States, we need go no further than our country’s boundaries to realize that not since the Civil War has America been so socially, culturally, economically, and politically divided as we are now.

To be sure, we are to strive for peace. Our President’s bold decision to fully and finally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful capital, attested by his action of moving the U.S. Embassy, is a step in the right direction. (See Eye of Prophecy article, U.S. President Agrees with God … Jerusalem Is Israel’s Capital, posted 12-9-17).

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May they prosper who love you” (Psalm 122:6, NASB). In Hebrew, the first part of that verse reads: Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim.

When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we are praying for the (soon) return of Messiah Jesus. Because, ultimately, lasting peace will come only through him as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). And this peace will come only from Jerusalem, the City of God.

In a sweeping announcement of Messiah’s first and second coming, we read these powerful promises:

“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt. I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Things to Ponder

“On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel” (Psalm 87:1).

If the Lord loves Jerusalem more than any city in Israel, we can know for certain that this love is more than any city on earth.

“When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy…” (Psalm 126:1).

Joy and laughter filled the land of Israel when she was reborn as a nation in 1948. Then again in 1967 with the liberation of Jerusalem. And other times of festivities in the 70 years of Israel’s resurrected existence. Then this past Monday’s 70^thcelebration of Israel’s birthday, combined with the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, when this Psalm was quoted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. That dream has become reality in Israel!

Soon to come is the reality of Jerusalem’s everlasting elevated position, literally and figuratively, over the entire earth. Earlier we read about cities flattened and mountains leveled by the final judgment of God during the Great Tribulation, in a world intent on defying God and destroying Israel.

“And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name along will be worshipped. All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place….” (Zechariah 14:9-10).

Listen to more amazing words of another prophet: “In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all—the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship” (Micah 4:1).

This is not virtual streaming on a computer or smart phone screen. This is actual streaming (travel) to Jerusalem which will, by that time, have been literally elevated above all other places.

Jerusalem is forever the heart and soul of Israel, and one day will be for the entire world.

Jerusalem is the center of the universe! It is the City of God!

Daniel’s 70 Prophetic Weeks & The Number Seventy!

12 Saturday May 2018

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Did you really believe it would happen?

If just one current event had dominated world headlines, you would probably know to what this question refers. However, considering the recent flurry of global incidents, the normal response would be: What happening … which one?

To the ominous increase of missile strikes between Iran and Israel? To President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the infamous Iran Nuclear Deal? To the scheduled summit between the United States and North Korea? To U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s skillfully orchestrating the release of three Americans unjustly imprisoned by North Korea? To the extraordinary espionage pulled off by Israel’s foreign intelligence agency Mossad—removal of a huge volume of incriminating Iranian (nuclear) documents from Tehran, right under Iran’s nose?

Notable as these events are, I’m referring to a milestone achievement that will take place this coming Monday. One that was set in motion when U.S. President Trump announced this past December 6, 2017: the U.S. Embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Thereby, affirming Jerusalem as Israel’s (eternal) capital. Even with Trump’s disclaimer that Jerusalem’s geographical borders are still a matter of negotiation, it was still a courageous decision, considering global resistance to such a move.

Not only did our President make good on his campaign promise, he accelerated the Embassy transfer by several months, if not years. Instead of waiting for the cumbersome process of selecting a suitable site in Jerusalem, then the zoning and building process, our Executive staff decided to utilize the existing U.S. Counsel facility in Jerusalem as the temporary headquarters for the Embassy.

There was only one reason for this lightning-quick (as these things go) opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The reason is the date itself: May 14^th.

Do you recognize the monumental significance of that date? May 14^th is the 70^th anniversary of Israel’s remarkable rebirth as a sovereign nation in 1948.

Technically, Israel has already celebrated her 70^th birthday that falls on the Jewish calendar 5^th of Iyar, which occurred a few weeks ago on the Gregorian calendar of April 19^th, a Friday. If, however, the 5^th of Iyar falls on a Friday—beginning of Jewish Sabbath at sundown—then Israel’s anniversary as a nation is celebrated on Thursday (this year beginning at sundown on the 4^th of Iyar).

Most of the Gentile world uses the Gregorian calendar, thus we identify May 14^th as the historical event when Israel was reborn from the floods of dispersion and the fires of Nazi death camps.

Neither U.S. President Trump nor Vice President Pence will be able to attend; however, there will be dozens of dignitaries representing the United States such as Senator Ted Cruz and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. As well as the usual U.S. Executive Staff delegation to Israel—Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Jason Greenblatt and, of course, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. Plus, several journalists, educators, business leaders, congressional representatives, and religious leaders.

The 70^th anniversary of Israel’s prophetic rebirth as a sovereign nation is nearly as stunning as the rebirth itself. One of, if not the main reason: the striking significance of the number seventy. Whenever we encounter that number in Scripture it applies directly to Israel. And concerning Biblical prophecy, it refers specifically to Israel in the context of the end times, the final (Omega) generation of which we are living. With a generation defined in Scripture as 100 years; also, the more common time-frame of 70 years (Psalm 90:10).

(One of the celebrations when Israel declared Statehood in 1948; Centered is Israel’s First Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion)

Here is an except from Eye of Prophecy Article, The Omega Generation (Posted 2-15-14):

Some Christians are confused about or don’t entirely understand the role of the Church and Israel during the last days beginning with the Rapture. Please fathom one critical premise/truth: Although the Mount of Olives discourse indirectly applies to the Church (composed of all Jews and Gentiles who have been redeemed by Messiah Jesus), the whole purpose of Christ’s majestic return is to set up the Kingdom of Heaven (Kingdom of God) on the earth IN the Holy Land and THROUGH / FOR his chosen people, the Jews. And what triggers the need for Christ to return to Israel is none other than the ultimate and final rescue of the Jews (Israel) from conquest and destruction at the hands of Antichrist.

Concerning the Church, the sole purpose of the Rapture is to snatch away believers from the earth so that we do not have to experience the final wrath of God poured out on an ungodly generation of unbelievers. Otherwise, ALL Old Testament prophecies concerning the Last Days or End Times focus on Israel, not the Church; in fact, the Church (consisted of all Jews/Gentiles who place their trust in Christ’s sacrificial death) doesn’t even come into existence for over 400 years after the last book of the Old Testament was written. Moreover, from the 4th Chapter through the 18th Chapter of the book of Revelation, the Church is not even mentioned, as such.

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel

Virtually all Biblical prophecy focuses on Israel and the Messiah who would come from the tribe of Judah, through the lineage of King David. Let’s begin with a passage that I described as, The Most Panoramic Prophecy in the Bible. (See Eye of Prophecy articles of that same title, Part I & II posted in January 2018).

The following is one of the most recognized prophecies in all the Bible … obviously important for all believers, both Jew and Gentile. However, seldom do commentators indicate that the prophecy is directed specifically to and primarily concerns the Jews and Israel. For now, we’ll examine just the first verse of that passage, the composite of which is found in Daniel 9:24-27.

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place” (Daniel 9:24, italics for emphasis).

Some Bible translations describe the seventy sets of seven as “seventy weeks.” A prophetic week in the Hebrew Scriptures is seven years. Thus, a total of seventy weeks would be 490 years. However, the passage divides these seventy weeks into two basic periods of time. Fine tuning it even more, there are three periods; two of the three (seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven—Verse 25) combining to make sixty-nine weeks (483 years).

Then later in the passage (Verse 27), Daniel refers to the final week of the seventy by equating it to the seven-year treaty that the same ruler—whose armies destroyed Jerusalem and the (2^nd) Temple—would make with Israel. As documented in my book Out of the Abyss and many of the 50 Eye of Prophecy articles in the category of Antichrist, that ruler is the Roman Emperor Nero … who as the beast of Revelation will return from the Abyss (Revelation 17:7-8).

For purpose of this week’s article, we want to concentrate on the fact that Daniel’s prophecy in Chapter 9 is specifically addressed to (like so many other Old Testament prophecies) “your people and your holy city (Jerusalem).” It encompasses the prophetic timetable of Israel’s future in the panoramic context of Messiah’s First and Second Advent, as well as the appearance and reappearance of the Antichrist.

All but one of the six specific events detailed in Daniel 9:24 will be finally fulfilled during and shortly after the 70^th week—the seven years of the Great Tribulation followed immediately by the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus. During that time: (1) any rebellion (of remaining unbelieving Jews in Messiah) will be finished; (2) their (national) sin of rejecting Messiah will come to an end; (3) everlasting righteousness will commence with the Millennial Reign of Messiah who will establish justice, righteousness, and peace on earth; (4) the prophetic vision (all prophecies concerning the end times) will be confirmed—realized; (5) the rebuilt Temple (Most Holy Place) will be anointed … by the very presence of Messiah.

The one prophecy in this list of six that would come to pass before the 70^th week (the final seven years) is: “to atone for their guilt.” This took place when Messiah Jesus died on the cross as the final, once-for-all substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of God’s people, the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. How do we know this atonement would take place before the 70^th week began to unfold? We know because of verse 25:

“Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes…”

This was exactly 173,880 days or 483 Jewish years … 30-day months of the Jewish calendar.

Astounding!

Several Eye of Prophecy articles have discussed this phenomenal date-dedicated prophecy, beginning with the article, An Incredible Time-Lapse Prophecy (Posted 1-18-14).

Later, we’ll return to the Daniel 9 passage specifically in the context of Israel’s 70^th anniversary, as part of the final generation just before the Rapture will take place. Which then ushers in the 70^th and final week (seven years) of Daniel’s prophecy, having been interrupted (postponed) for 2,000 years by what believers call the Church Age—the New Covenant of Grace for personal salvation to both Jew and Gentile. For now, let’s look at more examples of the number seventy in Scripture to see its significance as pertaining directly to Israel.

*Note: Including the phenomenal 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy, there are a total of seven (7) substantial Biblical episodes involving the number seventy. Imagine that! Truth be known, I didn’t realize that until I counted them.

Jacob & His Family Move to Egypt

When Joseph invited his brothers, his father (Jacob), and their families to move to Egypt, do you know or recall the size of Jacob’s extended family?

Though Israel (the Lord had already changed Jacob’s name to Israel) was not yet a nation, Jacob and his family consisted of and represented God’s chosen people, the Israelites—who would later be called Jews after Jacob’s fourth son, Judah.

“These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there” (Exodus 1:1-5, parenthesis in the text, italics for emphasis).

(Depiction of the Wrestling Scene when the Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel … Genesis 32:22-30).

Obviously, this number of seventy applied exclusively to God’s chosen people through the Patriarch Jacob, whose twelve sons would be the ancestral catalyst of Israel’s exponential growth during their 400 years of bondage in Egypt, leading to the nation of Israel.

“In time, Joseph and all his brothers died, ending that entire generation. But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land” (Exodus 1:6-7).

By the time Israel became a nation (when they agreed to God’s Covenant with Moses in the wilderness or when they entered the Promised Land 40 years later under Joshua—either time could be considered Israel’s inception as a nation), her population was around two million people. From seventy to two million!

God’s Special Invitation to Select Elders of Israel

Beginning with a question. Where and to whom did God give the Ten Commandments? Most would answer that question with a roll of their eyes: Practically everyone knows God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.

True enough: “By the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18) the Ten Commandments were emblazoned on two tablets of stone; given along with other commandments to Moses while he was on Mount Sinai. But that was not the only occasion, nor was it even the first time.

The initial disclosure of the Ten Commandments was given by God in an audible voice (thunderous, Exodus 19:19 … you can bet that all two million Israelites heard God!) at the foot of Mount Sinai. The people were so terrified of God’s majestic voice, they pleaded with Moses: “…You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” (Exodus 20:19).

Later, Moses ascended the mountain where the Lord engraved the Ten Commandments on solid stone, as a written testimony of those Commandments.

Do you recall what happened while Moses was on Mount Sinai?

Correct: The people became impulsively impatient and decadently rebellious by crafting a golden calf idol (with Aaron’s help no less); thereby, breaking at least two of the Ten Commandments they had already promised to keep. As a result, three thousand Israelites died that day. Because Moses broke the stone tablets in anger, the Lord told him to ascend Mount Sinai a second time, where God again etched the Ten Commandments in stone. This, then, would have been a third bequeathing of the Ten Commandments.

Shortly after God’s audible presentation of the Ten Commandments directly to the entire camp of Israel and before Moses ascended alone to the summit of Mount Sinai, the Lord said that a select group of Israelites could accompany Moses part way up the mountain. Prior to and after that special exemption, no one was to set foot on the mountain (except for Moses and Joshua) on pain of death. Just before this unique invitation, God (through Moses) had reaffirmed to the people his covenant with their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Said the Lord:

“And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River. I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and will drive them out ahead of you. Make no treaties with them or their gods. They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry” (Exodus 23:31-33).

In the very next verse we read the Lord’s special summons; however, it came with conditions:

“Then the Lord instructed Moses: ‘Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him (meaning to the summit)” (Exodus 24:1-2, italics for emphasis, parenthesis mine).

Before these “VIPs” began to climb part way up Mount Sinai, Moses read aloud to the people those laws which God had already given to him, prior to Moses (40-day/night) stay on the mountain to receive much of the Law, including the engraved Ten Commandments.

The people responded, “…We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey” (Exodus 24:7).

After Moses confirmed the Covenant between God and the Israelites with blood from animal sacrifices made earlier that day, we read one of the most amazing scenes in all of Scripture. An event that this select group was extremely lucky (using that word in its optimum connotation, i.e. favorable, fortunate, or privileged in a providential way) to witness.

“Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!” (Exodus 24:9-11).

Incredible!

This was one of the Pre-Incarnate appearances of God the Son (Messiah Jesus), of which there are several recorded in the Old Testament. Please refer to Eye of Prophecy articles, Does God Really Have a Son? Part I & Part II (Posted 10-31 & 11-7-15).

Thus, whether it was Jacob wrestling with the Lord, or Joshua meeting Him just before the battle of Jericho, or Abraham visited by the Lord to reaffirm that Abraham and Sarah would miraculously conceive a child (Isaac) in their old age—all were appearances of God’s Son in human form.

Scripture is unequivocally clear that God the Father is Spirit and that no one can look on Him and live. That even applied to Moses. Said the Lord to Moses: “But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live…. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen” (Exodus 33:20 & 23).

(Exodus 33:9: “God spoke with Moses face to face” (a figure of speech) on a regular basis. However, Moses was shielded from God’s glory by a dense, dark cloud. Even then, God’s brilliant light caused Moses’ face to glow)

A Second Selection of Seventy Jews … To Assist Moses

Fairly soon after the Israelite’s Exodus from Egypt, Moses heeded his father-in-law Jethro’s advice to appoint administrators to help Moses with the judging of disputes among the people. Then about 14 months after the Exodus, the Lord lifted the cloud (by day, pillar of fire by night) over the Tabernacle. “So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on from place to place until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran” (Numbers 10:12).

Shortly thereafter, the Israelites again began to grumble and mumble against the Lord and against Moses because they were fed up (pun intended) with their diet. “…Oh, for some meat! They exclaimed … Our appetites are gone. All we ever see in this manna!” (Numbers 11:4 & 6).

Reading on: “Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. And Moses said to the Lord, ‘Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? … Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? … The load is far too heavy. If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!’” (Numbers 11:10-15).

I thought to myself: Could even Moses talk to God like that? I’m not sure I would or could, no matter how miserable. Then realizing: I’m certainly no Moses. Not only Moses, but David, other Psalmists, and several prophets sometimes bluntly expressed their feelings to the Lord and did so in a way that seemed to give up on or even challenge God. Such as Elijah: “…He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life…’” (I Kings 19:4).

I/We also realize that the Lord can certainly “handle” those challenges and does so with compassion and sovereign wisdom. If, that is, they are from a sincere (hurting) heart and they are not intended to, as such, defy God.

Seldom did the Lord respond directly to the precise words of the prophet’s or the king’s complaint. Nor did he engage them in a detailed (therapeutic-like) discussion of their problems, nor reprimand them for being so abrupt. He let them get it off their chest (so to speak) and then proceeded to give them practical solutions to alleviate their predicament. In fact, with Elijah, it was a gentle whisper from the Lord.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone” (Numbers 11:16-17, italics for emphasis).

Although Scripture doesn’t tell us, quite likely some of the 70 elders who accompanied Moses on Mount Sinai were part of this group of 70 administrators who would assist Moses in bearing the burden of the people.

Have you heard the term, Sanhedrin? If so, do you know what it is? One of the most well-known scenes in the New Testament is that of Nicodemus coming secretly to Jesus at night to determine just who Jesus might really be. Was he the Messiah? From that encounter, we get the most quoted verse of Scripture, at least in the New Testament (John 3:16).

Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, an organized Jewish council (the Greek word means assembly) of 70 men, with its reintroduction traditionally believed to be by Ezra after the return of some Jews from the Babylonian captivity. But historically (records) traced only to the 3^rd century B.C.

During the 400 silent years the (Great) Sanhedrin consisted mostly of Sadducee nobles and priests, with a few Pharisees, scribes, or elders of Israel. It was patterned after the 70 leaders of Israel of whom we just read. Subsequently, the Sanhedrin expanded to 71 members, primarily to break any tie in voting. But the original design was that of a 70-member body. Subsequently, due to Roman Empire suppression and oppression, the Sanhedrin dissolved in 425 A.D.

However, the Sanhedrin has been revived in today’s Israel. Though it doesn’t possess the political or even religious power it once held, it is nevertheless recognized symbolically as a viable organization in Israeli society. Observant Jews ardently anticipate that when the 3^rd Temple is built, the Sanhedrin will be the governing authority over religious life in Israel, perhaps even replacing the (secular) Supreme Court of Israel.

Also, it was members of the Sanhedrin who had Jesus arrested and who violated their own laws by an illegal mock trial in the middle of the night. Then they handed him over to the Romans to be crucified.

(Scene from the Acclaimed Movie, Passion of the Christ, showing the High Priest and members of the Sanhedrin. Film released in 2004, which happened to be the year that the Sanhedrin was reinstituted in Israel)

The Seventy Jewish Disciples

Many, even unbelievers, know that Jesus chose twelve men to be his inner circle of disciples. But that wasn’t the only group of followers whom our Lord selected for a special purpose.

“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come” (Luke 10:1, NASB).

Messiah Jesus sent the seventy specifically to towns in Israel to, “…heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (Luke 10:9, NASB).

Then Jesus issued a severe warning of (final day) judgment to those towns that rejected the message of the Kingdom of God, which would have been established then and there in Israel had Messiah’s own people not spurned him.

Said Jesus to the seventy: “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me” (Luke 10:16, NASB).

I don’t believe it’s mere happenstance that Jesus selected seventy of his Jewish followers to proclaim that Israel’s Messiah had arrived. Seventy, the same number of Jewish elders who assisted Moses in the administration of the Old Covenant. The new set of seventy would announce that Jesus was God’s Son who had come to mediate the New Covenant announced by Jeremiah hundreds of years earlier.

Seventy Times Seven

The following is another widely known passage of Scripture.

(I’ve even heard unbelievers quote “seventy times seven!” Including some Hollywood movies)

Obviously, Jesus’s reply was figurative in principle. We need to forgive others as many times as it takes—something that is sometimes hard to do even once. However, Jesus did literally say, “until (up to) seventy times seven.”

Thus, it was no coincidence that our Lord selected seventy (times seven) in this formula for forgiveness. In fact, I’m convinced the correlation to the passage with which we began today’s article, concerning the seventy weeks of Daniel’s prophecy, is crystal clear.

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to…” (Daniel 9:24).

To what?

In the context of what Jesus told Peter concerning Peter’s brothers (the Jews): “to atone for their guilt…” (Same Verse 24). This took place 69 weeks or 483 years after Daniel’s prophecy (up to that point) culminating in Messiah Jesus’s sacrificial atonement for sin once and for all. Next would come the (final) 70^th week—the seven-year Tribulation preceded immediately by the Rapture which is precipitated by the final (Omega) generation that includes the rebirth of Israel and the restoration return of Jews to Israel foretold in many Old Testament passages.

Seventy times seven said Jesus. A period of seventy sets of seven as prophesied by Daniel.

Returning to the Old Testament for our last example, which is:

Seventy Years of Babylonian Exile

A frequently quoted verse in Scripture, treasured by Jewish and Gentile believers and by non-Messianic Jews alike, is one of the most (and there are many) encouraging promises the Lord makes to Israel.

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me … I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land” (Jeremiah 29:11-14, emphasis added).

The italicized words (Verse 11) is the part of this passage most often quoted. But in reading the following verses, we see that the plans, future, and hope are specifically linked to the return of exiled Jews to their Promised Land … the final restoration of the Jews, of Israel, and of Jerusalem. The beginning of which took place when Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948, seventy years ago!

Many also overlook the verse immediately preceding verse eleven. Examining the context of this passage more closely, we read:

“This is what the Lord says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again” (Jeremiah 29:10, italics for emphasis). Then verse eleven begins with: For I know the plans I have for you…

Because God’s people never really returned to him, nor did most of them even return to Israel from Babylon or from Persia; and because hundreds of years later they rejected their very Messiah (Jesus), the ultimate fulfillment of this prophetic promise (the plans I have for you) would not begin to unfold for another 2,500 years.

In advance, the Lord (through Jeremiah) not only told the Jews that the southern kingdom of Judah would fall to and the Temple demolished by Babylon, he also specified the precise time of their exile—70 years.

The fact that what God says will happen, always happens; what he says he will do he always does, doesn’t diminish the drama of the Jews returning to Israel after seventy years captivity in Babylon. Then the even more dramatic return of Jews from the four corners of the earth when Israel was reborn in 1948. Since then Israel’s population has increased tenfold—from approximately 600,000 in 1948 to 6.5 million today. Well over a million Jews have made Aliyah to Israel from many nations, especially from Russia. Over six million Israelis in modern Israel to poignantly represent the six million Jews ruthlessly killed in the Holocaust.

(Aliyah–Immigrants Coming to Israel)

Is there a (prophetic) correlation between the 70 years of Israel’s exile in Babylon and the (ultimate) fulfillment of God’s promise to return his people to Israel, which began to take place 70 years ago? I would answer that question with a question: How could there not be?

The full passage (Jeremiah 29:10-14) establishes that link.

In that regard, was it mere chance that the 2^nd Temple was destroyed in the year 70. A.D.?

The Bible is replete with the significance of some numbers and their pattern connection with events and/or examples of God’s interaction with humanity. Such as the number three, seven, twelve, forty, seventy, and four hundred. Several Eye of Prophecy articles have focused on this Biblical emphasis regarding certain numbers.

For example, the article: Countdown to Armageddon … End of the Fourth 400-Year Era (Posted 7-29-17). Here is an excerpt from that article:

Jesus of Nazareth is the prophesied Messiah who came to this earth to accomplish the two providential plans that God conceived for the human race, to the Jew first and then to the Gentile:

(1) To bring salvation, through the Jews, to every Jew and Gentile who believes and receives Messiah Jesus as Lord and Savior.

(2) To fulfill God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants would possess the Promised Land of Israel forever.

In the last 70 years both of these magnificent plans have been in high gear and are now in the final stages. Tens of thousands of Jews have come to Christ especially since the Six-Day War of 1967, as have millions of Gentiles the world over. Israel has been reborn as a sovereign nation, with Jews immigrating to or being born in their homeland in great numbers.

Things to Ponder

What an amazing time of history we’re living in!

Israel born in a single day, May 14^th, 1948 … a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 66:7-9.

Jews returning from virtually every nation on earth. A miraculous accomplishment, one foretold by dozens of Bible passages.

The Gog/Magog terrible trio of Russia, Iran, and Turkey forming an unheard-of alliance, considering the animosity of these countries one toward another just a few years ago. Precisely as predicted by Ezekiel (Chapters 38 & 39).

Alongside their Gentile brothers and sisters in Christ, tens of thousands of Jews believing and receiving Jesus as Messiah and Savior, especially in the last 70 years. Waiting for Messiah’s return to, “…lead his flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world. And he will be the source of peace…” (Micah 5:4-5a).

Israel’s economy is booming and agriculture flourishing unlike any time in her history since the glory days of King David and King Solomon. Not only bountiful crops, lush vineyards, and beautiful gardens planted and blooming, but the Jews themselves planted and prospering in their ancient home.

There’s still trouble ahead. The seven-year Tribulation will be more terrifying than anything ever experienced on Planet Earth. But after it’s over, all Israel will be saved (Romans 11).

For those, Jew and Gentile alike, who have believed and received Jesus as Messiah and Savior, God will spare us from this time of great misery and calamity.

If you don’t know Messiah Jesus as your personal Savior, I implore you to call upon the name of the Lord. You will be saved immediately (from your sins and the penalty thereof) and from the Great Tribulation soon to come.

Are you in awe of the spectacular 20^th and 21^st century end-times fulfillment of Biblical prophecy? I certainly am.

“Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!…” (Psalm 96:4).

Let’s rejoice with Israel over her 70^th birthday!

Jewish Christian / Christian Jew … An Oxymoron?

05 Saturday May 2018

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Oxymoron: What a weird word.

The term consists of two conflicting Greek words: oxys, meaning sharp or keen (including mentally sharp) and moros, which means foolish.

Webster’s Dictionary defines oxymoron as a: “combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel kindness).”

Many, particularly observant Jews, consider the terms Jewish Christian or Christian Jew to be oxymoronic. They simply don’t go together. Like east and west … never the two shall meet. In Orthodox or Conservative Judaism, it is beyond just a foolhardy contradiction for a Jew to become a Christian. A Christian Jew is a traitor to Judaism; renouncing all that is Jewish, both physically and spiritually. It is siding with those who have persecuted the Jews for hundreds of years … be it the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the pogroms, or worst of all—the Holocaust.

However, the greater majority, by far, of those involved in these horrific events were Christian in name only. They were those who distorted the true Christian faith with extra Biblical man-made dogmas such as found in Roman Catholicism and pseudo-Christian cults. Even a few Protestants (such as Martin Luther) who rightfully exposed the false teachings of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, wrongly believed the true church has replaced Israel by inheriting (usurping) all the promises God made to the Jews concerning their destiny as a nation, especially Israel’s future restoration.

See Eye of Prophecy articles, Replacement Theology Part I & II (Posted July 2014).

Or those like Hitler and his Third Reich—an ungodly, Anti-Semitic, Anti-Christian, perverse, occult regime that used the insidious lies of Replacement Theology to justify murdering Jews, but also turned on both Catholics and Protestants. Hitler and Germany’s Third Reich were no more Christian than the Ayatollah and his Republican Guard of Iran.

Jewish Christian … Christian Jew. Both designations mean the same thing with a slightly different emphasis. However, both are represented by the term that has, in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, reversed the rationale that a Jew can’t be a Christian and remain Jewish. That term is: Messianic Jew. They are Jewish Christians and they are Christian Jews.

Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article, Messianic Jews … Who Are They? (Published 4-25-15).

Jewish Christian: One who has experienced a spiritual rebirth by placing their trust for salvation and eternal life in Christ (Messiah) Jesus; yet one who remains Jewish by keeping the Jewish dietary standards, the Jewish Sabbath, and the Jewish Festivals.

Christian Jew: A Jew who has become a born-again believer (true Christian) without in any way, shape, or form ceasing to be a Jew … birthright descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Or a Gentile believer who had previously converted to Judaism.

Neither descriptive term nullifies the heritage of one who is born a Jew. Nor is a Jewish Christian (Christian Jew) obligated to continue Jewish customs or required to stop them. In Christ, we all have the liberty to observe certain days or not, to eat certain foods or not…. (Romans Chapter 14).

Whichever designation is preferred or whatever a better definition of these two terms might be, they no longer rely on Judaism as a religion to save them or to make them righteous before God. Messianic Jews (and Gentile Christians) recognize that the criteria for being made right with God is exclusively through faith in God’s Promise to Abraham. Specifically, that Isaac would be the first child of promise who would bring the ultimate Child of Promise (Messiah Yeshua) as the world’s Savior, to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.

“For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…” (Romans 3:25).

The Jewish Apostle Paul continues:

“Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin. Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!

“…So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith” (Romans 4:8-13, emphasis added).

The Most Jewish Thing a Jew Can Do

It has been said that the most Jewish thing any Jew can do is to believe and receive their Jewish Messiah, Jesus. I fully agree. Why?

Because a Jewish Christian’s heart has been circumcised which is what God really wanted from his people in the first place.

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem…” (Jeremiah 4:4, NASB).

Thus, it’s a matter of the heart … complete trust in the Lord’s Promise for redemption. As opposed to a circumcision (cutting away from pagan nations by keeping the ceremonial and civil law) of the flesh to be right with the Lord.

And because a Christian Jew has become a spiritual descendant of Abraham; thus, fulfilling the very reason why God chose Abraham and Israel in the first place—to bring Messiah to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. When a Jew becomes a spiritual child of God (through Abraham’s ultimate Child of Promise) that doesn’t annul their national identity or inheritance as a Jew/Israeli. Nor when a Gentile becomes a spiritual descendant of Abraham (by the same faith in Messiah Jesus) does it mean he/she qualifies as a physical descendant of Abraham, with entitlement to the national promises God made to Abraham … the eternal possession of Israel and Jerusalem by God’s chosen people.

Just ask any of the tens of thousands of Messianic Jews all over the world, and they will tell you why this is true. They will tell you that the veil that prevented them from seeing the source of their salvation has been lifted from their eyes. That once they were blind but now they see what spiritual redemption is all about. Shortly, we’ll look more closely at that veil.

With an added footnote: Neither Jew nor Gentile should dismiss out-of-hand the phenomenon that many Jews the world over have acknowledged Jesus as their Jewish Messiah. This is far more than just a token number of Jews. It’s no coincidence that this world-wide wonder of many Jews embracing Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah as their Savior is a direct result of Israel’s miraculous (God-directed) rebirth as a nation in 1948, and especially since the reclamation of Jerusalem as the Holy City of the Holy Land in 1967—which gave rise to dozens of Messianic ministries and hundreds of global Messianic congregations. No different than thousands upon thousands of Jews in the first century (A.D.) who believed in Jesus as Messiah while Israel was still a nation.

In contrast to their unbelieving Jewish brothers and sisters in the flesh, Messianic Jews fully realize that one can be made right with God even though the Old Covenant Levitical sacrificial system of atonement was terminated with the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. It was no mere coincidence that the loss of the Temple occurred in less than a generation after Jesus arose from the dead to prove that he was the Son of God. Who came as the New Covenant sacrificial Passover lamb to forever replace the need for ongoing sacrifices mandated by the Law of Moses (see the entire book of Hebrews). And certainly, no accident that the curtain which separated and kept sanctified the Holy of Holies was torn apart when Jesus died on the cross.

See Eye of Prophecy articles, The Cross and the Torn Curtain, Part I & II (Posted February 2016).

The Law of Moses and Its Purpose Compared to the Promise

What about the Law of Moses? Must a Jew discount or even disregard the ceremonial, civil, and cultural parts of that Law when he or she accepts the Jewish Messiah Jesus as personal Savior? The answer is found in and prefaced by the all important need to identify exactly what the Law was intended to do in the first place. That and balancing the realization that: (1) the Law itself was very good. With the fact that: (2) no one can keep (all points of) the Law. Therefore, keeping of the Law is NOT the means of salvation … to be made right with God.

That’s precisely why God announced through Jeremiah that—after giving his people hundreds of years to (unsuccessfully) demonstrate they could earn right standing with God by keeping the Mosaic Law, especially the moral component found primarily in the Ten Commandments—a New Covenant was necessary.

Listen to the Apostle Paul, whose entire belief system and life as a devout Jewish Pharisee was forever changed by his direct encounter with Messiah Jesus whom Saul (before his name was changed to Paul) had violently opposed, by persecuting Jewish Christians/Christian Jews:

“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law… For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law” (Galatians 2:16).

Paul is not saying the problem is with the Law itself. Rather, Paul contends that it’s the notion (based on what the Jews had erroneously began to assume not long after the Law was given) that the keeping of the Law was the foundational basis for them to be accepted as righteous before God.

Paul wrote the book of Galatians primarily to Jewish Christians in the province of Galatia (modern-day Turkey) to remind them that they had been redeemed exclusively because of their trust in Messiah Jesus, with nothing to be added to the Gospel, i.e. religious requirements of the law, like circumcision. And certainly not for Gentiles to first convert to Judaism before they could be saved by believing in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ.

Paul continues: “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:19-20, NASB).

Then Paul gets even more serious by asking a probing question with this blunt introduction: “Oh, foolish Galatians! … Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ…. In the same way, Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith” (Galatians 3:1-9).

*Note: Please see Eye of Prophecy article, Times of & Fullness of the Gentiles … What Do They Mean? Recently published on 4-21-18. Which addresses at length the difference between God’s two magnificent plans for humanity, a vital distinction to grasp for both Jew and Gentile.

One for the individual identity of God’s chosen people the Jews and national identity as his special possession, Israel, including Israel’s final restoration. The nation of Israel and Jerusalem will be the centerpiece of the soon to come Kingdom of God on earth.

The other plan is that of personal salvation to all people, beginning with the Jews and then extending to the Gentiles.

Thus, when Paul declares that the true children of Abraham are those who place their faith in God, he’s referring to the spiritual plan of God to save both Jew and Gentile through the person of God’s Son, Messiah Jesus.

Continuing in Galatians:

“But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.’ So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law … This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, ‘It is through obeying the law that a person has life.’” (Galatians 3:10-12).

Which is the reason that the Lord told his people that a New Covenant and the Messiah of that covenant was the only remedy to rectify their failure to keep the Old Covenant of Law.

Paul continues:

“This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be cancelled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

“Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised…. Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

“Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed…. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus … There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (Galatians 3:17-29).

Observant (and even some non-observant) Jews in Paul’s time right up to the present day have not forgotten the reason why God chose them in the first place; to be separated from pagan nations, as the conduit of God’s Word and blessings for themselves and for all peoples. What some have misunderstood, and others marginalized is that these blessings would ultimately come through the Messiah, not by keeping the law of Moses, which they could not and would not do. They’ve dismissed to the point of rejection the historical evidence that Messiah and the New Covenant came to them with the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth in the first century. And that Messiah’s soon appearance will be his RETURN.

Messiah was announced at the very beginning in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15); then to Abraham through the first child of promise, Isaac, not Ishmael (Genesis 17:15-19); to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19); through King David (Psalm 2, 22, & 110); the prophets beginning primarily with Isaiah (Chapter 53); and Jeremiah’s announcement of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31). And other passages.

Then the final prophet, Malachi, after which God did not speak to his people through prophets or angels, until the angel Gabriel made this glorious announcement: “…I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the City of David!” (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus brought and bought (with the enormous price of his very blood and life) the New Covenant to replace the Old Covenant.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (II Corinthians 5:17).

Removal of the Veil

The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies (where the Ark of the Covenant rested and where God’s very presence dwelt until a few years before Solomon’s Temple was destroyed) from the rest of the Temple was torn asunder the moment that Jesus died on the cross. Then, just as Jesus had prophesied: less than 40 years later the Temple was demolished, and the Levitical sacrificial system was no more.

Paul contrasts the glory of the Old Covenant with the greater glory of the New Covenant:

“…This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!” (II Corinthians 3:5-11).

Unlike the Gentiles, whose laws (such as they were or didn’t exist at all) were both capricious and corrupt, God’s Law—beginning with the Ten Commandments—showed the Jews right from wrong, good from evil, life over death.

In principle, the Law would give them life, but ONLY if they kept every aspect of the law. Alas, no one ever did, is doing now, or will ever do. Except one Man—Messiah Jesus! It’s not the Law that failed. The failure belongs to Jew and Gentile alike because we could not AND would not keep it. Thus, in practical reality, the Law can’t give life (eternal). Instead, the Law—as morally perfect as it is—became a curse. Trying to keep the law as a means of getting right with God is not only impossible, it’s a breach of God’s spiritual promise to Abraham. Which is the gift of God’s grace (unilaterally and unconditionally) to ALL who accept the gift by faith in the Child of Promise—Messiah Yeshua.

That’s why Jesus, himself, said: “…I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose” (Matthew 5:17). What was that purpose? To make people right with God IF they completely obeyed (kept) the entire law and writings of the prophets. They/we couldn’t, but Jesus could and did!

Which is why Jesus also said that when all is said and done, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29, referring to himself).

Next, Paul alludes to the Temple’s curtain by comparing it to Moses’ veil even before the Tabernacle (a portable forerunner of the fixed Temple), was built.

Paul writes: “Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’s writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (II Corinthians 3:12-17).

It all began when the curtain veil of the 2^nd Temple was (supernaturally) ripped in half, signifying that all who believe and receive the mediator of the New Covenant, Messiah Jesus, have the awesome privilege of entering the Holy of Holies … God’s very presence.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters (referring directly to Jewish Christians the main audience of the book of Hebrews, but also Gentile Christians), we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him…” (Hebrews 10:19-22, parenthesis mine).

Paul wrote that “to this day … the same veil covers their minds … and hearts.” Sadly, to this day has continued into the 21^st century to most of the house of Israel. But that will all change and soon, for we are living in the Omega Generation. The final generation that will see the return of Messiah Jesus in “power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

Listen to Paul’s impassioned plea and hope (as is mine and other believers who love the Jewish people and Israel):

“…the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.

“But faith’s way of getting right with God, says … If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:1-6a, 9-10).

That’s exactly what the New Covenant is and does, as first written about in the very Hebrew Scriptures (Torah … Tanakh) that so many Jews claim are the only Scriptures given by God.

Ever so sadly, in so doing, they deny the clear evidence that Jesus of Nazareth historically fulfilled (matched) all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Including the Virgin Birth of Christ, his life in which he performed mighty miracles, his sacrificial death on the cross, and most of all his miraculous resurrection of the dead to ratify the New Covenant as recorded in the New Testament. Via the same Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who inspired writers of the Old Testament as well as writers of the New Testament (II Timothy 3:16).

(Or Brit Hadashah, Which is Hebrew for New Testament)

“The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife, says the Lord.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people… And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Said the Jewish Apostle Peter to the rulers and elders of Israel, “For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ For there is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12, quoting Psalm 118:22).

All the Jewish Apostles and thousands of Jewish Christians in the first century, thousands more Messianic Jews of today’s world, and millions of Gentile believers the world over passionately echo the Apostle Paul who said:

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life’” (Romans 1:16-17, quoting Habakkuk 2:4).

Summary

A Jew doesn’t stop being a Jew when he or she accepts the Jewish Messiah Jesus as personal Savior. It is not a conversion from one religion to another, because the Christian faith is not a religion. Instead, it is a reconciled restored relationship with God, which is the very reason that God created us in the first place.

A Christian Jew has recognized that the New Covenant foretold by Jeremiah is the new and far better way to God. In fact, it’s the only way to God.

Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

As a born-again Christian, a Jew is still a physical descendant of Abraham with all the rights of national inheritance and destiny afforded to God’s chosen people. And MORE: He/she is also a spiritual heir of God’s promise to Abraham, inheriting eternal life through the Child of Promise.

A Jewish Christian doesn’t need to give up their Jewish traditions. Jesus, himself, observed the Sabbath, attended the Jewish Festivals, and taught in the Temple and in Synagogues as a Rabbi. However, not like the other rabbis. “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law” (Matthew 7:28-29).

See Eye of Prophecy article: The Incomparable Power & Authority of Jesus Christ (Posted 5-28-16).

(Depiction of Jesus in the Synagogue, When He Effectively Announced That He Was the Messiah, as Found in Luke Chapter 4)

The Jewish Apostles and other Jewish Christians of the first few centuries continued to observe the Sabbath and the Jewish Festivals, as do most Messianic Jews today. With, however, the understanding that each of the Festivals represented and pointed to Messiah. They keep the Sabbath (most on Saturday) but recognize that Messiah Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He is our Sabbath rest. They understand that the tabernacle and the temple were earthly patterns of the true heavenly temple. That each believer in Messiah becomes a temple of God, each believer a priest of God, each believer a living stone in the house of God, and a member of the body of Christ (I Peter 2 & I Corinthians 12).

Regarding terms or labels, we gentile believers should be called Gentile Christians. With the term Christian applying first and foremost to (1^st century) Jewish believers in Jesus. They were not called Messianic Jews to begin with. Jewish Christians (Christian Jews) were simply called Christians, and only then to identify themselves as belonging to the New Way (Covenant); in contrast to the Old Covenant that constituted what had become the ritualistic religion of Judaism.

There is only one thing that a Jew must give up. Not the law itself. Rather, it is dependence on (keeping of) the law to make them right with God … meaning for salvation.

Yet this is no different than any religion or belief system—be it Roman Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Cult (isms), Humanism, or whatever. Good works, religious observances, or achieving some irreligious ethereal plateau of paranormal existence, will never ever save anyone. It’s not God’s way. Just ask Abraham!

The following passage sums this up as well as any: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so one of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Nor is this or should it be anything new, particularly to Judaism. It’s a New Covenant, because it permanently replaces the (temporary) old Covenant that God’s people couldn’t keep. But God’s Grace isn’t new. And it was a matter of faith in God’s forgiveness and pardon of sin through the shed blood of innocent animals to begin with. First with Adam and Eve, then Abraham (Genesis 15), then the Exodus Passover, then the Levitical sacrifices. All of which served as a prototype pattern to prepare both Jew and Gentile for the final, once-for-all substitutionary sacrifice of the precious blood and life of God’s Son, Messiah Jesus.

Things to Ponder

Although the significance of the Sabbath and Festivals for Jewish Christians has changed to a Messianic emphasis and remembrance, you can still observe them with unbelieving Jewish family members or friends, if they will let you. I’m sure it’s not easy, and especially painful if they refuse to even allow your presence during (for example) Passover. Yet all believers, Jew and Gentile, will experience some measure of resistance, resentment, or rejection, just as our Lord did.

Perhaps everyone in your immediate family is a Jewish Christian! If so, praise the Lord!

Whether a Gentile Christian or a Jewish Christian (Christian Jew), we want to keep the Lord’s commandments. Any celebration of the Festivals, the Lord’s table (communion), and/or observance of the Sabbath (Saturday or Sunday) is in gratitude for what Christ has done for us that we could never do for ourselves—pay the ultimate price for forgiveness of sin and pardon of sins penalty.

We DON’T observe these things to get right with God. We DO them because we have been made right with God through faith in Messiah Jesus. We love him because he first loved us.

Can a Jew be a Christian and remain Jewish? Absolutely. (For example, Romans 11:1. If the Jewish Apostle Paul could, anyone can!)

Conversely, must you stop observing the Festivals or Sabbath or Kosher foods or any other Jewish custom? Absolutely not. The choice is yours.

If you’re a non-Messianic Jew or unbelieving Gentile, please read at least one of the Gospels of the New Testament—perhaps the Gospel of John. You’ll see what Jesus is really like, who he really is, and what he has done for you. He is the Messiah!

Now ask Him to be your Savior.

And thank you Lord for grafting us believing Gentile branches into the spiritual tree of Israel (Romans 11)!

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