The Final Treaty of Rome … Part II

21 Saturday May 2016

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The Final Treaty of Rome

“Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast—terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns” (Daniel 7:7).

The magnificent prophecies of Scripture never cease to amaze me no matter how many times I read them or write about them. Most have been fulfilled, such as the 300-plus predictions of the Messiah coming to pass precisely in and exclusively through Jesus of Nazareth. Many things separate the Bible from all other religious writings, none more so than fulfilled prophecy. Other so-called sacred texts are virtually void of eschatology.

Right near the top of these stunning prophecies is Daniel Chapter 7. It was the second time in the book of Daniel that God disclosed the four mighty kingdoms which would usher in the “Times of the Gentiles” by ending the Davidic dynasty of kings in Israel. Beginning with the split of Israel into two nations, then Babylon’s (the first of the four Gentile kingdoms) conquest of Judah, culminating in the Roman Empire’s devastation of Israel, Jerusalem, and the second Jewish temple. From 70 AD Israel ceased functionally to exist as a nation. Miraculously, in fulfillment of God’s prophetic plan revealed numerous times in Scripture, Israel was reborn as a sovereign nation in 1948.

Both Biblical and secular history confirm irrefutably that the four kingdoms were Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. With the Roman Empire, the fourth beast of Daniel, far greater than the three that preceded it. The Roman Empire exceeded the previous three kingdoms in geographical size, number of people, and accomplishments—economic, architectural, political, and military—as well as ultimate authority and power. John’s two visions of the beast of Revelation (Antichrist) further corroborate that the fourth beast of Daniel is the Roman Empire, because of the ten horns identified in all three of these visions (two from John, one from Daniel). With the clear contextual correlation that the horns are future Tribulation kings who will yield allegiance to the little horn, king, ruler (other names for Antichrist).

The composite beast itself (himself) of Revelation 13 and 17 is a man (the same man as the little horn of Daniel 7 and the ruler of Daniel 9), by virtue of being referred to by personal pronouns, he and him; and by the fact that the beast of Revelation 13 and 17 also has seven heads, which are referred to as seven kings in Revelation 17 … meaning seven Roman Emperors, one of whom was Nero.

(Depiction of the Revelation Chapter 13 Beast)

The distinctions that need to be made are: (1) the ten horns are future tribulation kings who give their kingdoms (nations) to the Antichrist. (2) The composite beast of Revelation 13 and 17 is the Antichrist … Nero. (3) The seven heads are seven Roman Emperors of the first century.

Daniel’s fourth beast has only ten horns, not the seven heads (plus ten horns) that the beast of Revelation 13 & 17 displays. That’s because Daniel’s vision initially focused on the four Gentile kingdoms, especially the rise of the Roman Empire (Daniel 7: 1-7), not the kings (emperors) of that kingdom during its existence. But beginning in verse eight, Daniel’s vision switches to another horn (king) who would rule over the ten horns (kings) during the Tribulation period.

Whereas, John’s visions in Revelation included the biographical and geographical origin of the Antichrist himself as one of the seven heads of the beast and as the entire Antichrist beast itself.

The most shocking feature of John’s vision—the “mystery” of which was unveiled by the angel—was that the Antichrist beast (Nero) had once been alive, but had died before John saw the beast, yet would reappear from the Abyss at the outset of the Great Tribulation (Revelation 17:8).

“The beast that was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven…” (Revelation 17:11, NASB, italics for emphasis).

The Greek word for (one) “of” is: ek.

It also means from, out of, or like the seven. So, the Antichrist beast is an eighth king only because he will reappear separately and subsequently during the Tribulation. But the text indisputably states that he was also one of (from, out of) the seven kings (Roman Emperors); five of whom had already died, including the beast himself (Nero) because the angel specifically told John that the beast had already lived and died before the vision. Nero was the fifth Roman Caesar.

(Busts of the First Five Roman Caesars … Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero)

All of this is explained in great detail in my book, Out of the Abyss, can the number of the beast be solved? 666.

Concerning the Antichrist beast arising from the sea (Abyss) with the metaphorical features of a leopard, bear, and lion, the following excerpt is from Out of the Abyss, page 160 (in italics):

In Revelation 13:2, the angel is giving John and all readers a brief history lesson of Daniel’s prophecy. This beast looked like a leopard … feet of a bear … mouth of lion!”

The prophet Daniel, however, doesn’t representatively equate his fourth beast with the likeness of an animal. Consequently, Revelation 13 incorporates the Grecian leopard, the Persian bear, and the Babylonian lion into the features of this new beast, which the remainder of Revelation 13 (and later in Revelation 17) clearly shows us to be a man. Remember, only in Daniel are we expressly told that the four beasts are four kingdoms.

Unlike Babylon, Mede-Persia, and Greece, the Roman Empire, as characterized, epitomized, and personified by the Roman emperors, was truly eclectic. By the end of the first century, Rome had incorporated vestiges of these three empires. That’s the main reason that the leopard, bear, and lion are in reverse order as they are presented in Daniel; a chronological reversal to show the historical fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.

The Roman Caesars typified the authoritative monarchy of Babylonians kings, whose law was decisively final. Like the Babylonian monarchs, the Roman Caesars spoke with power … mouth of a lion. Yet, they emulated the idea and practice from Persia that even the king was subject to the law. If a Persian king issued an edict, he, too, was subject to that decree. Persian supreme law was transported throughout its empire … feet of a bear. Rome also integrated the noble ideas of Greece, that the people could and should have a voice. Thus, the Senate of the Roman Republic became an integral part of the checks and balance system within the empire. Despite the greatness of Rome, Greek culture, language, and philosophy permeated society … looked like a leopard.”

The Treaty of Rome

It is no random coincidence that seven European nations selected Rome as the site of the symposium that would lead to The Treaty of Rome. Or that the 1957 Treaty of Rome would produce the ten-nation Common Market. Or that the ten nations of the Common Market would eventually lead to one of the most amazing historical achievements of all time … a twenty-eight united states of Europe … The European Union. This is part of God’s divine plan in which Rome will once again for a brief time (especially during the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation) be in the international spotlight where Nero will engineer the Final Treaty of Rome. The world will view this as an impossible achievement—a peace treaty between Jews and Arabs.

Last week’s Part I Eye of Prophecy article provided Biblical evidence why Nero will be able to accomplish this feat … exclusively because of his remarkable reappearance from the distant past.

Although Rome will be recognized even more as “the great city that rules over the kings of the world” (Revelation 17:18), it will not be the center of a (so-called) Revived Roman Empire. Rather, it will be the headquarters of a Revived Roman Emperor who will strike up a liaison with “the great prostitute” (the modern representation of the once great Roman Empire) which is none other than the Vatican. This is persuasively presented in Revelation Chapter 17, including the fact that Antichrist Nero will rule over an alliance of only ten kingdoms (nations).

Nero will eventually crush the Roman Catholic Church which he hates and considers a rival to his kingdom (Revelation 17:16-17). He will also break the seven year treaty with Israel at the half-way point of the Tribulation (Daniel 7:27).

The once great Roman Empire that lasted for some 600 years is no more, nor will ever be again. Listen to the words of the prophet Daniel: “…I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire” (Daniel 7:11). Daniel not only saw the rise of the Roman Empire but its utter demise, which occurred in the 5^th century AD, some one thousand years after Daniel’s visions.

Thus, Scripture makes a significant prophetic distinction between Rome and the Roman Empire—meaning the political and military might of the Roman Caesars—before the collapse of the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Rome remained the great city that rules over kings, but with a new identity and sphere of influence … The Roman Catholic Church. It would be through ecclesiastical authority that Roman Catholicism would mimic the might and sustain the splendor of the ancient Roman Empire.

(Vatican City in Rome)

Rome, Not Babylon, Is the Woman (City) on the Beast—Revelation Chapter 17

Time and space in this article permits only a summary overview to support what I believe is the clear Biblical evidence that the Woman on the Scarlet Beast (Antichrist, Nero) is both ancient Rome and the ensuing Holy Roman Empire represented by the Roman Catholic Church. But the city remains the same … Rome. However, in the book of Revelation, Rome is symbolically referred to as Babylon.

For an in-depth analysis of identifying both ancient Rome and Roman Catholicism as the Woman of Revelation Chapter 17, please refer to Eye of Prophecy articles, The Woman and the Beast (I through VI, especially the first article), published 10-12-13 through 11-16-13. You might also want to look at, A Beast by Any Other Name… (Is Still a Beast), Part I, II, & III, posted 3-14, 3-21, and 3-28-15. Followed by, The Legendary Return of Nero, published 4-4-15.

In a recent Eye of Prophecy article, entitled One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part II, I wrote:

One hindrance to correct understanding of Scripture, especially prophecy, is a tendency of even well-meaning Christians to do way too much symbolizing. Of course there are metaphors and similes in, for example, the book of Revelation. But there is also a ton of literal people, places, things, and events.

My purpose in that article was to demonstrate decisively that the 144,000 Messianic Jews (12,000 from each tribe) were literal, not figurative. Notice, however, that I also indicated there is (obviously) symbolism in Revelation; including, but not limited to, the symbolic substitution of Babylon for Rome. In today’s article, we’re doing the reverse … examining evidence to show that Babylon is a figurative representation of Rome.

Said the angel to John just before John’s amazing vision of the woman on the scarlet beast: “…I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality” (Revelation 17:1-2).

Later, the angel gives the meaning of the metaphorical, many waters: “…The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language” (Revelation 17:15). People from every nation and language absolutely applied to ancient Rome with its political and military domination of many countries; and would also relate to the subsequent global influence of the Roman Catholic religion. As of 2013, there were an estimated 1.2 billion Catholics in the world.

Then in the last verse of Chapter 17, John is told: “And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world” (Verse 18).

Not only is the woman the great city, but according to the angel’s disclosure of the mystery, so also the seven heads of the beast, “…represent the seven hills where the woman rules” (Verse 9). Bible scholars for centuries have (and I agree) accurately applied the seven hills to Rome. In fact, Rome is known world-wide as the city built on seven hills. You can hardly find a hill in Babylon, as it sits on a plain in modern day Iraq.

(Picture of Modern-Day Babylon, To Show the Flat Topography)

First of Five More Reasons Why the Great City is Rome, Not Literal Babylon:

The judgment of the woman (prostitute) prophesied by John obviously had not yet taken place. Whereas, Babylon and the Babylonian Empire had already been crushed by Persia and had virtually disappeared from the historical scene, just as Scripture predicted. Jeremiah Chapter 51 is only one passage of several that foretold the utter destruction of Babylon … now a historical fact. Moreover, there is absolutely no indication in the Bible that Babylon as a “great city” (especially one that rules over kings and nations) would ever rise again.

This one-time divine judgment by God on Babylon was emphasized emphatically when Iraq’s evil dictator Saddam Hussein—who believed himself to be a reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar—was “dethroned” and his meager (futile) effort to rebuild Babylon came to a screeching halt, just a little over a decade ago. One thing is crystal clear: Iraq, which is the contemporary land mass constituting a portion of ancient Babylon, will never be anything approaching an influential nation or city on this earth again. In fact, geopolitical experts are predicting that Iraq will eventually be split into two, three, or four smaller countries; at the very least divided between Muslim sects, as a result of the Syrian-Iraqi civil wars currently underway.

Second Reason:

In addition to the “judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute,” (Rome is still very much intact and is still considered one of the great cities of the earth), let’s scrutinize the tense of some verbs in Revelation 17.

Such as, “The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules” (Revelation 17:9, italics for emphasis).

(*Note: One of the important lessons I’ve learned in my study of Scripture, especially prophecy: To pay exceptional attention to the tense of verbs and the use of pronouns, especially personal pronouns. So when verse 11 states, “his reign will be brief” (the seventh head or king), it means exactly what it says: his is referring to the seventh of seven kings—not kingdoms as many teachers contend. There is absolutely no way to get around that personal pronoun.)

Getting back to the verse just quoted: it says, where the woman rules. The woman was ruling then and there. Or if you were reading Revelation in the first century, you would say the woman rules here and now. Whether in the first century or 21^st century, we immediately realize that the woman (the great city that sits on seven hills) was ruling at the very time when the visions of Revelation were given to John. For that reason alone, believers of the first century knew beyond any doubt, whatsoever, that the angel and John were referring to Rome. What else was ruling over most of world’s nations at that time? It certainly wasn’t Babylon. Almost everyone knew of or was part of The Glory of Rome.

Later, we see the same present tense (at that specific time in history) in verse 15: “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language. This is even stronger language, by virtue of using the helping (present tense) verb, “is.”

Once again in Verse 18: “And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world”. “That rules,” is unquestionably a present tense rendering, with that referring to the woman (the great city) and rules conveying a present tense condition and action.

Not past tense, as in long-gone Babylon. Nor even future tense in these verses, although future tense is definitely included in Chapter 17. For example, the ten kings (not the seven kings, five who had died, one who was ruling and one to come shortly) who will yield their authority to the beast, who John previously told us had died but would reappear from the Abyss. The angel says about these ten kings “They will be appointed to their kingdoms … they will all agree to give him (the beast) their power and authority” (Verse 12-13). Will yield and will agree to give are distinctly future tense … during the Great Tribulation.

Third Reason:

Most of the prophet Daniel’s prophecies have already been fulfilled, including the rise and fall of four colossal Gentile kingdoms—Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome; the first arrival of Messiah; the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the armies of the ruler (Nero, whose legions completed the conquest of Israel that Nero had set in motion) who would arise after Messiah had been killed.

The yet unfulfilled prophecies of Daniel will take place in the Tribulation period. Likewise, with the book of Revelation. Yet, in Revelation, we are also given the biographical and geopolitical origin of the Antichrist (beast), including the shocking fact that he had already lived and died before the revelations were given to John. And that the beast would “reappear” from the Abyss, which will take place very soon after the Rapture.

However, Revelation was written first and foremost to the first century Christians. As clearly indicated by the Apostles Peter, John, and Paul in their epistles, those very believers were eagerly expecting that Jesus would return any day. And Jesus could have returned any moment of any day. For this reason of what we call the “imminent return of Messiah,” the great city depicted by the woman had to be Rome. I repeat for emphasis: It could not have been Babylon, it only could have been Rome, which was the great city of the enormous Roman Empire at the time. Even though Messiah Jesus has delayed his return, the fact remains that Rome has maintained prominence in the world including the powerful ascent of the Roman Catholic Church.

The first century Christians, most of whom were Jewish, knew their Old Testament. They knew that Babylon had long since vanished. For Christ to rapture his church at any time, which would set in motion the great Tribulation, Babylon would have to not only exist, but at that time be (or somehow arise from the ashes, despite Scriptural evidence to the contrary) the ruling power over “people of every nation and language.” It was obvious to those believers that the figurative representation of the woman could refer only to Rome. And, it should be equally evident to us in the 21^st century: only Rome has survived for 2000 years, not Babylon—which for all practical purposes ceased to exist over 2,500 years ago.

(This Picture of Rome Selected to Show Hills In and Around the City)

That same reasoning (imminent return of Jesus Christ) is used in my book, Out of the Abyss, as yet another proof that the seven heads of the beast are kings, whereas many prophecy students claim they are kingdoms, i.e. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and (what they say will be) The Revived Roman Empire.

From pages 165 & 166 of Out of the Abyss:

Revelation was written to and for the believers alive at that time, not just for the generation alive when Christ would return. In fact, the first century believers could certainly have been that generation … every subsequent generation that was replaced by another generation eagerly awaited the imminent return of Jesus. Otherwise, the Biblically based concept of the imminent return of Messiah would only be for the last age. In other words, any age group including the first century Christians could be the last or “that” generation.

Beyond all doubt, the early Christians knew that the sixth or seventh head (indeed all of the seven heads) could not be an empire, because if the 7^th head was a future revived Roman Empire to replace the 6^th head, then the current Roman Empire would have to be destroyed and rebuilt in some fashion. If that were the case, then there’s no way that the return of Christ would be or could be considered “imminent” to them, as it would have taken decades or even longer for the Roman Empire to fall then to be restored. In fact, history bears this out, as the Roman Empire dominated the world for another four hundred years or so.

Fourth Reason (Two Parts)

The entire 18^th Chapter of Revelation graphically depicts the consummate destruction of Rome (Babylon by symbolical representation); with virtually all the verses pointing to both ancient Rome and the subsequent Holy Roman Empire, via the Roman Catholic Church. Not literally to ancient Babylon, otherwise the descriptive language would be contradictory. For example:

“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!” (Revelation 18:2). Then, in great detail, the angel tells John what will actually happen. In one of these descriptions we read: “… And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance. They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, ‘Where is there another city as great as this?’” (Revelation 18:17-18).

This is literally detailing the horrified reaction of both sailors and passengers on ships. I can assure you that there is no large body of water near enough to Babylon in Iraq for sailors to watch the smoke ascend from the city. The Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Persian Gulf, and Mediterranean Sea are pretty much equidistant from Babylon, and they’re all at least 500 miles away. However, if Rome were to go up in flames, the smoke could easily be seen from vessels on the Mediterranean Sea.

(Shows Babylon’s Proximity to Bodies of Water)

Then we read: “Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes” (Revelation 18:20, italics for emphasis).

And, “…Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. His judgments are true and just. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the murder of his servants” (Revelation 19:1-2, italics for emphasis).

Ancient Babylon did, in fact, destroy Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple, and exiled many Jews from the southern two tribes to Babylonia. This was allowed by God to discipline Israel, but lasted for only 70 years. Other than the incident in which the young Jewish men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow before a statue of Nebuchadnezzar, there was no real persecution of the Jews while in captivity. And we all know about the divine deliverance of these three men from the fiery furnace!

Babylon did not kill any Jewish prophets before or during its conquest of Judah. And there were certainly no apostles at that time. In fact, Jeremiah—the most prominent prophet who prophesied Babylon’s triumph over Judah and Jerusalem—was treated with kindness by his captors.

“The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, ‘The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land, just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened. But I am going to take off your chains and let you go. If you want to come with me to Babylon, you are welcome. I will see that you are well cared for. But if you don’t want to come, you may stay here. The whole land is before you—go wherever you like” (Jeremiah 40:2-4).

(Note: Jeremiah’s own people had put him in chains)

To the contrary, Romans (none more so than Nero Caesar) tortured and killed thousands of Christians, including the apostles Peter and Paul. As did the Roman Catholic Church in subsequent generations during the Inquisitions, and in wars against true believers, many of whom were Protestants (protesters against the false creed of Catholicism).

God would, therefore, have no reason to punish (the city of) Babylon beyond the first and only complete judgment that took place ages ago. But all the reason in the world to finally judge Rome (primarily religious Rome) during the Great Tribulation.

Fifth Reason:

Other than Revelation’s allegorical depiction of Babylon (for the reasons already given), those who contend that Babylon is where Antichrist literally will set up his headquarters, use only one other passage … Zechariah 5:5-11. If you like, please read that text. In this article space only permits the following observations:

The Woman (called “Wickedness”) and the basket in which she sits is a figurative representation of the sins of Israel that will be symbolically transferred to the land of Shinar (Babylonia). A temple (also translated shrine, more in the meaning of monument) will be built as a memorial signifying that Israel’s transgressions will be forever removed from them when all Israel is saved at the glorious return of Messiah and allegorically deposited in the very area that produced “Mother Babylon” (Revelation 17:5).

(A Fairly Accurate Artist Rendition of the Woman in the Basket, Zachariah 5)

In fact, Zechariah Chapter Five doesn’t actually mention the city of Babylon. Nor is it, at all, saying that the land of Shinar is the Wicked Woman herself (that’s where she—representing the sins of national Israel—will be taken). In short, Zechariah is not referring, whatsoever, to the Antichrist; including, but not limited to, the speculation that he will establish his headquarters from the literal city of Babylon. Which is why Zechariah doesn’t specify Babylon; instead he refers to all of Babylonia (Shinar) as the central epitome of occult paganism that spread to other nations, which sadly included Israel.

Why Then Does John Substitute Rome with Babylon; or Use the Imagery of a Woman; or Encode the Beast’s Identity by Referring to the Number of His Name, Six Hundred, Sixty-Six?

For John to have named Rome itself in the Book of Revelation, or to have identified Nero as the beast (even though Nero was dead, it would be an affront to the office of the Roman Caesars), or for Paul to have written Nero’s name as the Man of Lawlessness in II Thessalonians, would have meant instant death for Paul, John, and thousands more Christians. Already, Nero had murdered many believers; there was no reason to risk the slaughter of thousands more. Instead, represent the seven Roman Emperors by the seven heads (kings) of the beast which include Nero as one of the seven heads but also the composite beast itself; encode his name by Hebrew gematria (Nero’s name matches the number six hundred and sixty-six); and use Babylon in the place of Rome to lessen suspicion of Roman officials, especially Caesar.

Babylon in Revelation Chapter 17 does not represent the woman herself. Rather, “A mysterious name was written on her forehead: ‘Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World’” (Verse 5). In this context, Babylon is identified as the “Mother” who would bear children who would prostitute the very existence and truth of God and of the Messiah. Or, as done in ancient Rome, create the idea that Caesar, himself, was a god; exemplified by Nero’s ambition to actually be worshipped as God—with this ambition elevated to a whole new perverted level during the Tribulation.

This corruption and distortion of God’s everlasting truth is also the core foundation of all non-Christian world religions, cults, and anti-religious systems such as the New Age movement or communism. Including, unfortunately, the Roman Catholic Church which would continue the legacy of the Roman Empire through religion.

Thus, when Babylon (Rome) is crushed during the tribulation, Mother Babylon which birthed the “Woman” is also destroyed.

Things to Ponder

In the next to last page of Out of the Abyss, I summarize:

In closing, we need not look to modern Rome, or to Brussels, or to Mecca, or Berlin, or Moscow, or London, or Paris, or New York City, or to Washington D.C. to find the Antichrist. Look to ancient Rome, and then look to the sea. Peer into the Abyss, and you will find the man of lawlessness; the unholy beast who would dare to be “anti” Christ.

And then, look to Jerusalem for the true Messiah. Focus on the Mount of Olives for his triumphant return. Antichrist will gather his armies to fight against Yeshua. The beast will be granted authority for but a brief time. During that reign, he will strike many times. Jesus will strike but once and crush the man of lawlessness…

In the first above quoted paragraph, I was referring to the here and now, to the current pre-Rapture population of the earth. When the glorious Rapture takes place, the world’s attention will be redirected for a time from Jerusalem to Rome. Nero will suddenly appear from the Abyss. This “miracle” will amaze those left behind.

I totally believe that the Lord meant for all pre-Rapture believers to know the identity of the Antichrist. Otherwise, why would he have given us so many clues to the proper fit of the prophetic puzzle? Moreover, I trust that some left behind after the Rapture will not be so amazed at Nero, because they will understand that Scripture had disclosed long ago who this man is and what he would do upon his reappearance. It would be Satan’s attempt to counterfeit copy the magnificent return of the true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man.

“…I saw someone like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven… He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

Please, take a few more minutes and listed to this great song, with some wonderful visual effects.

The Final Treaty of Rome … Part I

14 Saturday May 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Antichrist

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Common Market, European Union, Nero, The Abyss

The Final Treaty of Rome

“Like never before, the eyes of the world are on Israel. It is absolutely amazing that so much attention is directed to this tiny nation.”

This is a quote from the closing portion of last week’s Eye of Prophecy article entitled, An Islamic United Nations. Incessant focus on Israel and the Jewish people is a remarkable fulfillment of Scripture, which began with the miraculous rebirth of Israel in 1948. Such concentration on Israel, especially Jerusalem, will continue with chain-reaction intensity right up to the point when global attention will (temporarily) shift from Jerusalem to Rome.

Who or what will cause this world-wide transferal of interest from Jerusalem to Rome and why?

In answer to the question of who: It is the Antichrist, the Roman Emperor Nero. In answer to what: It is Nero’s (what will be perceived as miraculous) return from the grave, which is actually the Abyss (Revelation 17:8). International scrutiny will be shifted to Rome; that is where Nero will reestablish his reign of power and then terror, and will orchestrate the most highly improbable treaty of all time.

It will be the Final Treaty of Rome. Israel will be one party to the agreement and the Muslim nations on the other side of this stunning covenant. With the entire world approving to one degree or another, it could also be labeled the Treaty from Rome.

We read about it in the book of Daniel: “The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings…” (Daniel 9:27).

Why do I call it the Final Treaty of Rome? Because there was another Treaty of Rome which took place in 1957. Let’s take a look at the amazing results of that momentous event.

The Treaty of Rome

Have you heard of this treaty? Do you know what it’s about?

For some reason or another, I hadn’t paid much attention to the Treaty of Rome. Truth be known, I don’t even recall reading about it until recently. (Shame on me!) Why, I don’t know, as I’ve studied a good deal of history, both Biblical and secular, both ancient and modern down through the years—particularly in the past twenty years in preparation and during the writing of two books and what is now 147 Eye of Prophecy articles. I’ll give myself the benefit of the doubt, in that I took more notice of the subsequent developments instead of the treaty itself … as, I’m sure many others have done.

(Photo of the Treaty of Rome Conference, 1957)

Technically, there were two treaties signed on March 25, 1957 in Rome. Yet, both were related and are most commonly referred to in the singular … The Treaty of Rome. The treaties gave rise to the European Economic Community with, as stated in its preamble, the signatory nations, “determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe.”

Is that a pretty strong hint? Dare to venture a guess what the EEC led to? No, it wasn’t the United Nations, which came into existence in 1945.

Let’s continue.

Countries that sponsored this “treaty” and their representatives who signed the agreement were: France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Austria, West Germany, and Italy. It’s evident that the reason it was called a treaty related to the general goal of reducing, even eliminating, disputes between the nations of Europe; and to facilitate free circulation of goods, freedom of movement from one nation to another, and freedom from monopolies.

The EEC subsequently became known as The Common Market.

There you are! If you didn’t already, now you know the significance of the Treaty of Rome.

At least in my generation, nearly everyone has heard of The Common Market … originally consisted of ten European countries that many students of the Bible (at the time and for years later) pointed to as the ten nations or kingdoms of Daniel Chapter 7 and Revelation Chapter 17. Only to be embarrassed when the ten nations eventually expanded to the current 28 countries belonging to the European Union. Yes, the EU is also a direct outcome of the Treaty of Rome!

Although the initial design of the Common Market was to facilitate agricultural and trade agreements and cooperation between its European partners, the main objective was to ultimately establish a political union … which has been done. Which is, however, the reason that England refused to join the EEC (Common Market) until 1973. With the British objection based primarily on their apprehension that such a Union would force member states to relinquish national sovereignty to a centralized government with European (intra national) control. Which is also the main reason that England is now considering withdrawal from the European Union, a movement known as Brexit (Britain’s exit).

The most recent poll in advance of the pending vote shows the British are split 50/50 for or against what will be a monumental milestone in Europe’s history. Some experts are predicting serious global economic repercussions if England does, in fact, exit the European Union.

After England joined the Common Market in 1973, Denmark and Ireland followed suit; thus, the Common Market became a ten-nation union that has since morphed into 28 countries.

The latest country seeking membership in the EU is none other than Turkey; whose leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, just recently uttered this audacious statement that reveals his true intentions:

“What is the conquest? The conquest is Hijrah (expansion of Islam through emigration, following the example of Muhammad, the founder of Islam and his followers from Mecca to Medina). The conquest is Al-Andalu (Muslim Spain) … The conquest is Salah al-Din al-Ayubbi (Saladin). It is to hoist the flag of Islam in Jerusalem again … The conquest is to have the courage, tenacity and sagacity to defy the entire world even at the hardest times.” (Taken from a Gatestone Institute Article by Uzay Bulut, posted on May 11, 2016).

*Note: In case you missed it, Muslim leaders no longer veil their “hidden agenda” which can pretty much be reduced to two main objectives: Destruction of Israel and world domination. The primary reason they can make such belligerent boasts with virtual impunity is because any adverse reaction to practically anything said by Muslims is considered to be Islamophobia. Which, of course, causes all liberals and even a few conservatives to cower in fear that their religious-like support of diversity and political correctness might be compromised.

I stray from today’s topic, but only a little. As Nero will, in pretense, “…worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew…” (Daniel 11:38). This god of fortresses will most certainly be Islam’s god, Allah.

The first elections to the European Parliament were held in 1979. Since then, a common currency, The Euro, has been adopted; however, England still uses the pound as its currency.

The fact that the formation of the Common Market which became the European Union took place in Rome is of no small importance when it comes to Biblical prophecy, especially relating to the significance of Rome, Roman Emperors, the Holy Roman Empire (Roman Catholic Church), and the Antichrist himself.

(Current Members of The European Union)

*Note: For potential identification of the Antichrist’s ten-nation coalition, the Gog-Magog alliance, the league of Eastern kings, and an Arab confederacy, I would encourage you to read Eye of Prophecy article, One Ring to Rule Them All. Posted 11-21-15.

As much as I loathe writing about or even mentioning his name, it’s essential to examine and expose the enemy. Thus, it’s time to do a little refresher on the Antichrist—his identity and, especially for this article, his biggest claim to fame.

Why the Antichrist Beast of Revelation is the Roman Emperor Nero

Substantial evidence has been presented in several Eye of Prophecy articles (Category of Antichrist), but mostly in my book, Out of the Abyss … can the number of the beast be solved? 666, to demonstrate that Nero is the Antichrist. The term Antichrist is only mentioned by the Apostle John in his epistle, I John. Other titles given to this man: little horn, ruler, king, man of lawlessness, and beast (of Revelation). In this article, we’ll only do a brief review to establish that the historical Nero fits with all of the names and passages of the Bible referencing the Antichrist. For example:

Daniel Chapter 9 (The Ruler): In the verse preceding the earlier quoted passage (Daniel 9:27), we read, “…a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple…” (Verse 26, italics for emphasis). No other ruler in history qualifies other than Nero, as he is the Caesar who personally ordered his Generals Vespasian and Titus and their legions to crush Israel’s rebellion against the Roman Empire beginning in 66 A.D. Nero died two years later, thus it was his “armies” as precisely predicted by Scripture (beginning with Vespasian and completed by his son, Titus) that conquered Jerusalem (“the city”) and destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D.

II Thessalonians Chapter 2 (Man of Lawlessness): Likewise, much documentation is provided to show that Nero was the man of lawlessness referred to by the Apostle Paul. Not the least of which was the unlawful usurping of the Roman Emperor Claudius’s throne by being complicit with his mother Agrippina in murdering her husband Claudius. What held back the man of lawlessness (II Thessalonians 2:6) was NOT the Holy Spirit—who allegedly will be removed from the earth at the Rapture as speculated by many scholars—because the Holy Spirit is always referred to by the personal pronouns he or him in Scripture, not the impersonal pronoun, what or it, as used in II Thessalonians. What held back Nero was Claudius himself (and to some degree the Roman Senate and rule of law), until Agrippina and Nero took the law in their own hands; thereby, accelerating Nero’s ascension to the throne of Caesar. (See Chapter 21, Man of Lawlessness in Out of the Abyss). Nero ascended to the throne just 2-3 years after Paul wrote II Thessalonians. That is far beyond mere coincidence.

Revelation Chapter 17 (Scarlet Beast & King): Documented is the fact that the seven heads of the beast in this biographical chapter on Antichrist were seven Roman Emperors beginning with the first Caesar, Augustus (not Julius). That Nero was one of the five who had “fallen” (died); thereby, matching the amazing unveiling of the mystery of the scarlet beast (and woman sitting on the beast) by the angel to John with the stunning words, “The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now … yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit … And the people who belong to this world … will be amazed at the reappearance of the beast who had died” (Verse 8).

The astonishing implication of this often overlooked passage is that the Antichrist will NOT be a modern-day born man. In regard to all the other evidence presented in my book and in several Eye of Prophecy articles, believe it’s worth quoting an excerpt from Out of the Abyss, page 271) written near the end of the book to emphasize the startling disclosure of the “mystery … of the beast” (Revelation 17:7-11).

There is no question; the meaning of the verse is as irrefutable as anything can be. The beast had already died before John received this revelation. How else can this passage be understood? Is there any other way to see or read this verse? If some can’t let go of a contemporary Antichrist, then what will they do with this verse … and all the other passages that help refit the prophetic puzzle?

John didn’t see the vision in the future; he saw it in the present—that hour of that day. The beast is past tense … no longer alive when John saw the vision. The beast isn’t born and doesn’t die in the future; he’s already dead. When will the beast become future tense? Correct: When he reappears from the Abyss. At the beginning of the Tribulation, the world will be amazed at the reappearance of the beast that had died. Will the beast die during the Tribulation? No, he died even before John saw him from Patmos.

Nero’s Greatest Claim to Fame (Other than his infamous brutal torture and murder of Christians, colleagues, step-brother, wives, and even his mother).

(Statues of Nero and His Mother, Agrippina)

Let’s take a brief look at one of Nero’s (very few) positive accomplishments during his fourteen year reign as the fifth Emperor in Rome’s history. Again, believe the best way to do this is by referring to Out of the Abyss (pages 178-180). As follows in italics:

He was not considered to be a great orator, though he fancied himself as an actor, a composer, and a musician. In Nero’s early years, Seneca did much of Nero’s talking to the public and Senate. In short, he was not a prototype of the Antichrist portrayed in many eschatological books, sermons, and television programs. But is the contemporary image of Antichrist accurate?

Contrary to modern imagery of the Antichrist, Scripture does not tell us that the man of lawlessness will necessarily be a great orator, a consummate politician, a charismatic leader, or exhibit other appealing characteristics commonly assigned to a world leader. Nor does the Bible tell us that the tribulation world will follow him because he exercises these persuasive traits and people buy into him for that reason.

What Scripture elucidates above all else, as the reason why people the world over will immediately give him complete allegiance to the point of worship, is that he reappears from the dead. The contemporary notion that yields a portrait of the Antichrist as a cunning political orator is a deduction derived almost exclusively from an achievement at the outset of the tribulation—the successful negotiation of a seven-year treaty with Israel. Many suggest that only a dynamic, magnetic leader could capture the loyalty of so many people during the tribulation. Yet history shows that megalomaniac rulers have come in all shapes, sizes, types, and levels of persuasive influence, not the least of which were the Roman Emperors.

Throughout history, there have been all kinds of treaties, orchestrated by all types of people, ratified through many different situations and settings.

I then use the example that it wasn’t Adolph Hitler’s oratory skills; rather it was the fear of Hitler and the growing German military monster that prompted Neville Chamberlain to negotiate a treaty with Hitler. It was the infamous “peace in our time” that almost immediately led to a global conflict … World War II.

Continuing with Out of the Abyss:

…For most of his reign he achieved that popularity, especially with the common Roman citizen, but not because Nero was a brilliant speaker or a charismatic leader.

Of all things, it was a treaty that Nero engineered between Rome and Parthia that helped endear him to the Roman Senate, the Roman Legions, and the Roman citizens … Suffice to say that this peace deal was a substantial victory for Nero, both politically and socially. His popularity increased dramatically … Moreover, this accomplishment was not a result of any extraordinary talents or gifts that Nero possessed.

In fact, when examining history, the single most influential factor in negotiating a treaty relates to the state-of-affairs conditions and circumstances that gave rise to an agreement between peoples or nations.

At this point in Out of the Abyss, I jump forward to Nero’s reappearance.

After the Rapture, Nero won’t have much of a problem in negotiating a treaty with Israel. Remember, there will be no Christians left immediately after the Rapture. But there will be chaos, confusion, and disorder … Nero will capitalize on this pandemonium by orchestrating a treaty, one that will allow the Jewish Temple to be built alongside the Muslim Dome of the Rock, or even in place of the Dome of the Rock. I use the word orchestrating, because one of Nero’s talents was that of arranging and synchronizing things, such as a group of people with dissident views or like a musical play, of which he wrote and performed several—in Greek.

And who in the world is going to argue with a man who returns to the earth after a two thousand year absence? With regard to the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD, all Nero need say is that the Roman Generals went way too far. He will probably remind tribulation Jews that he died in 68 AD, two years before the Roman Legions destroyed the Temple. That he had not intended for the Jews to be exiled from Judea or for the Temple to be destroyed. After a fashion, he might even apologize to the Jews. His way of making up for the ancient Roman mistreatment of the Jews will be to offer than a new Temple.

He will remind the Jews and the Arabs that his hostility as a Roman Emperor was rightfully and justifiably directed against the Christians—those narrow minded, bigoted, self-righteous hypocrites who disappearance has done mankind a favor by cleansing the earth of religious intolerance.

If you like, you could come up with any number of lies that a resurrected Nero will fabricate and foist on Israel and the nations. But the bottom line is that untold millions will follow him for the same reason that many have followed Jesus Christ. RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.

Then on page 182, this Biblically based clarification of the actual reason why many in the Tribulation period will listen to and follow Nero, I write:

The Antichrist is not afforded blind worship because he is a superman in terms of being an accomplished statesman, orator, or leader. The False Prophet does that for him. The superhuman qualities accorded him will literally lie in his mystical return from death.

From Where Does Nero Return To the Earth?

In other sections of Out of the Abyss and in some Eye of Prophecy articles, additional explanation is provided that Nero doesn’t actually rise from the grave in exact duplication of the miraculous resurrection of Messiah Jesus. Rather, he has been confined, then at the outset of the Tribulation will be released from the Abyss … a completely different place than hell (the grave). Supported by the sensible logic that in order for the beast to “reappear from the Abyss” (Revelation 17:8), he first must be placed there.

Let’s look at a few more paragraphs from Out of the Abyss that best explain why the entire world at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, “…marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshipped the dragon (Satan) for giving the beast such power, and they also worshipped the beast. ‘Who is as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’” (Revelation 13:3-4).

This unashamed, unabashed, unequivocal loyalty to and worship of Nero is due entirely to his sudden reappearance from the dead (mortal wounds inflicted 2000 years ago).

First, however, a reminder that the Abyss or Bottomless Pit in Scripture is a special place of confinement for exceptionally wicked angels, as opposed to most fallen angels (demons) who still, along with Satan, have God-granted permission to roam the heavens and the earth.

Genesis Chapter 6 tells us about these fallen angels, as does II Peter 2. Also, here is what Jude says about them: “And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment” (Jude 6).

This gruesome group of depraved demons attempted to accomplish Satan’s plan to dilute and pervert the human race, which is one of the main reasons for the Great Flood … God’s first global judgment of the earth.

Which is also why the demons that Jesus cast out of the man in the region of Gerasenes, “…kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.” (Luke 8:31). Jesus granted that request by granting another request of the demons, to let them enter into a herd of nearby pigs!

From this passage and others we learn two things: (1) Many demons are allowed to roam the earth and parts of the heavenly places, but some have been imprisoned in the Abyss. (2) Fallen angels dread the thought of banishment to the Abyss. That’s why the demons of Gerasenes wanted no part of the Abyss; going to the extreme of begging Jesus not to send them to this inescapable prison of darkness which completely takes away the (temporary) freedom they have been allowed by God to serve Satan.

(Artist Rendition of the Nephilim … See Genesis Chapter 6)

Getting back to the fact that the reappearance of Antichrist Nero to the earth will be directly from the Abyss (Revelation 17:8), here are some additional excerpts from Out of the Abyss (pages 232, 233):

In all of Scripture, there is only one reference to a human being coming from, therefore, having been placed into the Abyss. That man is the man of lawlessness, who is the Antichrist, who is the beast of Revelation. Such an honor!

Soon after Nero died, his body was literally removed from the grave and transported directly to the Abyss. I believe there is a twofold reason that God expelled this man of lawlessness to the Abyss:

To make it clear to believers that Nero would not replicate the actual resurrection of Jesus Christ. I firmly believe that God would not extend this resurrection power to Satan, anymore that he would allow Satan to be God or be like God. There are some things that God will simply not grant. For one thing God would not permit anyone, let alone Satan, to share his glory, in which God’s very essence and attributes are expressed…

On the flip side, to allow Satan to mimic the resurrection without actually performing this miracle. To be sure, Nero will flaunt this counterfeit “resurrection” by seizing the opportunity to demonstrate that he has arisen from the dead. The unsaved world won’t know the difference between a return from the grave and reappearance from the Abyss. Only the tribulation saints will know the difference, just as we know the difference now. The world will be amazed that a man who had been dead for some two thousand years could return with the same body and the same scars caused by the fatal wound. In fact, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Nero said something to the effect, “Now tell me who the true God is. I died two thousand years ago and I’ve come back … That presumptuous Nazarene was dead for only three days, so he says. Even if he was dead for three days, who is the greater of the two? Whose miracle is the greatest? Where is this imposter now?”

Summary

Several “Roadmaps of Peace” in the Middle East have failed over the years, including the Oslo Accord of 1993 mediated by United States President Bill Clinton between Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Since then the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip have rejected generous land for peace offers from two Israeli Prime Ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert. The PA consistently refuses to come to the table with current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unless pre-negotiated demands are met, i.e. right of return of so-called Arab refugees, Israel’s withdrawal to pre-1967 territorial lines, and most audacious of all—east Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian State.

These three issues are, by far, the most difficult to resolve; however the Palestinians won’t agree to negotiate unless these demands are met. In other words, they won’t even agree to disagree, which must first be a condition before negotiations are remotely possible.

Powerful nations of the EU, especially France, and now the United States are growing tired of these (their own) failures. Moreover, they are, with a great deal of inaccuracy and inequity, putting much more of the blame on Israel than the Palestinians and other Muslim nations whose real agenda is elimination of the State of Israel altogether. Which is why the Palestinians have rejected more than generous offers from the Israelis, and why they have no incentive to resume negotiations for either peace or a Palestinian State. Why should the Arabs cooperate when the prominent nations of the world are now willing to unilaterally declare the existence of a Palestinian State, undoubtedly with the borders to be those of pre-1967 Armistice Lines … boundaries that would jeopardize Israel’s national security in the north, east, and south regions of Israel. Worse than that: to arbitrarily divide Jerusalem and declare this 3000 year-old capital of Israel as an “East Jerusalem” Palestinian capital.

According to Scripture, it will not be the leaders of any of these nations, i.e. US, France, Britain, Germany, Russia, Italy, or the Arab Confederation that will bring peace to the Middle East. For one thing there is too much disagreement between these governments as to just what this Roadmap of Peace will encompass. Or, if and how the borders of a Palestinian state will be enforced or its capital recognized if either Israel or the Palestinians themselves reject such a “treaty.” The likelihood of any such pre-Rapture agreement actually taking place is remote. Even if some sort of treaty (defined by Webster as an agreement or arrangement made by negotiation) is reached, it will be virtually impossible to implement and/or administrate.

But the time is coming soon when one (depraved) man will successfully set aside all differences, remove all obstacles, and unify all dissenters. He will do this because Europeans, North Americans, South Americans, Australians, Muslims, and Jews alike will agree that he alone is qualified. He alone possesses the god-like capability to orchestrate, implement, and enforce such a treaty. Will this megalomaniac succeed because of statesmanship skills, or oratorical persuasion, or charismatic attributes?

No, it’s because of one astounding accomplishment: Nero’s return from the grave!

This miracle—in the eyes of those who “belong to the world” left behind after the Rapture—will be the catalyst instilling a mixture of adoration and fear, that will lead to the Final Treaty of Rome.

An ancient Roman Emperor will achieve what contemporary national leaders and global governments for decades have attempted but failed: A “Treaty of Peace” between Jews and Muslims, with many nations of the world lending their full support.

And so the world will believe the Lie (Nero himself is the Lie), just as Scripture tells us. The lying spirit of Antichrist claims that Jesus is not the Christ, and that God is not the Father. Nero will boast that he alone is God or Messiah, for no one could possibly return from the dead in the manner in which he did.

“This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:9-12).

Stay tuned for next week’s Part II article on the Final Treaty of Rome.

Things to Ponder

For a brief time, Satan will get his diabolical wish … to be worshipped as the Most High God. Likewise, Nero will achieve his warped goal … to be revered as divine, to reestablish his glory—this time on a global scale. To convince millions upon millions that he alone bears the credentials to be the world’s savior. Right out of the gates he will demonstrate his negotiation skills through a position of strength conferred to him by virtue of his miraculous return from the dead.

Thus, he will begin the Great Tribulation with a treaty to end all treaties: The Final Treaty of Rome.

Few will resist his right to receive and exercise authority that will not only rescue the world from disaster, but lead it to Utopia … the great Pax Romana peace that Nero failed to achieve the first time. But this time he will boast of success. Why can he make that boast? Why will so many believe him?

“…but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshipped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshipped the beast. ‘Who is as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?” (Revelation 13:3-4).

Not to worry: There is One who can and will fight against the beast. One who is far greater than Satan or his man of sin. One who can and will bring real, everlasting peace to the earth. For he is the Prince of Peace.

Listen to the powerful prophetic promise of what will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation:

“During the reign of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever” (Daniel 2:44).

And who will reign over this kingdom? None other than the Son of God, Messiah Jesus.

“…The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

An Islamic United Nations?

07 Saturday May 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Security Council, Temple Mount, UN, UNESCO

Here We Go Again

In light of yet another anti-Israel resolution by the United Nations, this week’s Eye of Prophecy article could have been entitled, Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be? Or: More Palestinian Lies. Or: The Legacy of Temple Mount. Or: The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque. But it can’t because those are titles of articles already written.

Maybe each Saturday’s article should be posted late in the day instead of first thing in the morning. But that wouldn’t work either. Although Eye of Prophecy articles are published weekly and many of them are in the category of Current Events, they cannot keep up with the almost daily barrage of media reports on the Middle East in general and Israel in particular.

Just hours after I posted The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque article on April 16^th, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a resolution “officially” (for the UN, not for Israel or anyone who knows the true history of Temple Mount) classifying Temple Mount by its Arabic name, Al-Haram Al Sharif; which in English is translated to Noble Sanctuary. But disregard the English translation. Even though English is recognized as the main international language, only the Arabic name is to be used.

Among non-Muslim nations voting in favor of this contemptible resolution, France was the most conspicuous with (dis)honorable recognition for Sweden and Spain.

What will these Western nations will do when Muslims change the identity of revered religious, national, cultural, or political sites in European countries, exclusively to Islamic names, with demands that only the Muslim designations be recognized? And if city or national governments do not comply, then they, too, are guilty of Islamophobia or religious and cultural intolerance or being PI (politically incorrect).

Stop shaking your head! It could come to that, just like Sharia Law could be implemented in some jurisdictions.

I wonder what the Muslim name for the Statue of Liberty will be. Perhaps, Mohammed’s Torch of Freedom?

(Might Muslims Also Claim She Is Holding the Koran?)

Not only Temple Mount, but UNESCO’s rancorous resolution also included several other Jewish sacred sites, declaring them elite Muslim holy places and referring to them only by Muslim labels.

Here are a couple of excerpts (in italics) from Eye of Prophecy article, The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque:

Thus, it’s imperative that we examine the historical basis for Islamic motives to defend their holy sites. In doing so, we will once again confirm that Muslim attempts to rewrite the history of this ancient conflict have no basis in fact. We will see the rest of the story, the empirical evidence that will undermine Palestinian claims that they alone have rights to Temple Mount. Hopefully, this will help dispel the flawed opinions or imprecise impressions that many in the Western world (as well as Muslims themselves) have concerning Jewish and Islamic heritage of Temple Mount … indeed, of all Jerusalem and Israel.

Then later in the article:

From our examination of the true history of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, we now see more clearly that neither the mosque, nor Dome of the Rock, nor Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount) have any real historical relevance to or connection with Islam’s purported interest in Jerusalem. Rather, they are merely a convenient excuse for Muslims to continue their concerted effort to expel or even eliminate (if they could) all Jews in Israel. It is not question of even one square foot of land on Temple Mount or anywhere else in Israel. It is a question of whether Palestinian Arabs and Muslim nations will ever recognize the sovereign state of Israel and the right of Jews to live in their ancient land, given to them by God himself. A land they occupied (in the positive connotation of the word) long before the Arabs, hundreds of years before Mohammed started the religion of Islam.

More on UNESCO’s Resolution

This latest resolution to denigrate and discredit Israel by renaming Temple Mount and insisting that all nations use the Arabic term for Temple Mount is yet another pitiful attempt to deny any association whatsoever of the Jewish people to their most holy site in their most holy city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, the resolution was on the very day of Passover, which has been an integral part of the Jewish tradition in Israel for nearly 3,500 years. With Jerusalem and the Temple (Temple Mount) established 3,000 years ago by King David and King Solomon.

Yet UNESCO is doing nothing more than the United Nations, as a whole, has done for nearly 70 years: Castigate Israel fanatically and frequently. Whereas most of the anti-Israel sanctions are initiated by Islamic countries, other nations often vote in favor of these reprehensible resolutions which number far more than those against truly rogue and dangerous nations such as Iran and North Korea.

Will this resolution have any real impact on the world at large? Absolutely it will. The idea is really quite simple: If national leaders and government officials begin to use the label of Al-Haram Al Sharif in reference to Temple Mount, they will soon (if they haven’t already) consider Temple Mount as belonging—historically, religiously, and culturally—to Islam and to Arabs.

Here is another excerpt from The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque to reinforce the clear historical evidence that the only real interest Mohammed had for Jerusalem was to take it from the Jews.

There’s even more. Jerusalem, itself, is NEVER mentioned in the Koran … not once. Whereas, Jerusalem is referenced 669 times in the Bible and Zion (Jerusalem) 154 times. This is nothing short of an insurmountable obstacle to Muslim statements that not only Temple Mount, but all of Jerusalem belongs to them.

It’s simply inconceivable that the Koran, which was compiled in stages over many years, would not make one reference to Jerusalem, especially after the Arabs conquered Israel’s Holy City in 638 AD. Moreover, the Dome of the Rock was built by the Arabs because it was the site of the destroyed Jewish Temples, having nothing to do with Islam or the tale of Mohammed’s journey to the Holy City. The main purpose for building the Dome of the Rock was to prevent the construction of another Jewish Temple, and to erase the historical authenticity of Jewish rights to Temple Mount.

During and alongside media coverage of UNESCO’s resolution, was the reminder of France’s proposal to convene an international summit for the express purpose of reaching a framework of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But if neither party could come to terms on yet another Roadmap of Peace, then France would unilaterally declare and recognize a Palestinian State within Israel’s borders.

Here are the first few paragraphs copied from the Eye of Prophecy article, Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be? Posted 2-27-16.

In one of the most curious proposals for Middle East peace ever made, France recently presented Israel and the Palestinians with an invitation to participate in an international conference in Paris this coming summer. The idea of a peace symposium is not unique and certainly not strange, as many powerful nations including the United States have repeatedly tried to establish an all too elusive reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians, between the Jews and Arabs. The last such attempt, mediated by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, disintegrated in April 2014.

Yet, this one-sided plan from France borders on the bizarre. Some might even consider it preposterously pathetic. I would agree with that assessment, were it not for the potentially ominous consequences of France’s comply-or-else summons. Although the fine print details of the proposal have not yet been publicized, the basic agenda imposed by France has been clearly explained by the French ambassador to Israel. Which is: If Israel refuses to participate in the conference; OR, even if Israel does attend and diplomatic efforts fail to presumably reach some sort of agreement for some kind of peace, then France will by default recognize the existence of a Palestinian State within the borders of Israel.

Strangest of all, the French seem to be saying that it’s either peace in Israel or a Palestinian State … one or the other. The validity of this deduction is underscored by the fact that France knows all too well that Israel would never agree to a Palestinian State under the current pre-negotiated conditions imposed by the Palestinian Authority Fatah in the West Bank and certainly not by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Likewise, the Palestinians have shown absolutely no inclination whatsoever to relax their hard-core demands.

Demands such as: East Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian State, Israel’s return to pre-1967 territorial borders, and full right of return of all post-1948 Arab refugees. But most significant of all: persistent Palestinian refusal to even recognize Israel as a sovereign Jewish State—the only such state in the world and one that is officially recognized by the United Nations collectively and virtually all non-Muslim countries individually.

Furor over the Golan Heights

It’s not just Temple Mount that has captivated media headlines. On April 17^th, the very next day after UNESCO’s shameful resolution, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s first-ever cabinet meeting held in the Golan Heights (on April 11^th), with these words:

“I convened this celebratory meeting in the Golan Heights to send a clear message: The Golan Heights will always remain in Israel’s hands. Israel will never withdraw from the Golan Heights. It is time that the international community recognized reality. Whatever happens on the other side of the border, the border itself will not move. Secondly, after 50 years it is time that the international community realized that the Golan will remain under Israeli sovereignty.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that the Golan Heights was and is, “…an integral part of the Land of Israel in ancient times. This is documented by dozens of ancient synagogues around us. And the Golan is (also) an integral part of the State of Israel in the present time.”

That Golan in the territory of Bashan was part of the Promised Land deeded directly by God to Israel is also documented in Scripture. Beginning when Moses and the Israelites conquered Og, the king of Bashan, who opposed the Jews just a short time before Joshua led them into the Promised Land (see Numbers 21:31-35).

Subsequently, Joshua, according to specific instructions from the Lord, apportioned the Promised Land (all of Israel) to the Jews, with Bashan located in the territory given to half of the tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan River—along with two other tribes, Reuben and Gad, on that side of the Jordan. The other 9 ½ tribes were allotted their portion of the Land west of the Jordan River (see Joshua 13:7-12, but also the rest of Chapter 13 through Chapter 20).

(Map of Biblical Allotment of the Promised Land, Including Bashan … Golan Heights)

The Israeli Cabinet meeting on the Golan Heights and Benjamin’s defense of such a meeting were in direct response to current efforts by world powers (including the United States) to negotiate an agreement to end the war in Syria; one that could potentially return the Golan Heights to Syria. Since then Prime Minister Netanyahu has discussed the matter by phone with US Secretary of State John Kerry, and by meeting personally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

With the gist of those meetings summarized by Benjamin Netanyahu when he said, “…we would not oppose a political resolution in Syria so long as it does not come at our expense. That is to say, at the end of the day Iranian forces, ISIS, and Hezbollah need to be removed from Syrian territory.”

In a short while, we’ll look at some startling responses to Netanyahu’s stirring statement that Israel would never give up the Golan Heights. But first let’s examine the:

Strategic Importance of the Golan Heights

First, a short history, with emphasis on brief … an in-depth history would require far too much time/space for today’s article. So we’ll pick it up following the Israeli-Arab War of 1948-49, which is known by the Jews as their War of Independence.

The Golan Heights is located at the northeast end of Israel, overlooking the Jordan Valley which includes the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River itself. It is an area that is absolutely vital to Israel’s security because it borders Lebanon to the north, Syria to the east, and Jordan to the south.

The Heights part of the Golan Heights is a relatively new designation of this critical portion of land. The former and still sometimes used name is simply Golan. Or Biblically, “Golan in Bashan.” It’s easy to figure out why the suffix, Heights, was added. It relates to the elevation factor … a high plateau with protruding ridges here and there. As you might surmise, altitude is of critical value during war and also during peacetime to maintain a superior advantage should military conflict erupt.

Military strategists emphasize the significance of higher ground. If higher ground is available, then occupy it. If already occupied by the enemy, then take it … depending on the casualty risk and logistical importance of that particular high ground. When it’s taken, defend it at all cost. It’s much easier to sit and shoot down at the enemy than to shoot up at the enemy while climbing, even if you’re in a tank.

Thus, Golan became the Golan Heights. That change in the designation tells it all; Israel’s very survival depends on a military advantage afforded by this strategic high ground in northern Israel. Even with air superiority, Israel knows that armored ground forces are essential in defending Israel. Including, if necessary, to send troops into Syria or Lebanon or even Jordan if Israel is attacked.

After Israel’s victory in their War of Independence, a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established on the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel’s borders. Think of a DMZ as a “buffer zone.” Immediately there was conflict between Israel and Syria over water and agricultural rights, as well as legal disputes over who should control what part of the area. However, from the very beginning of this “Armistice” Agreement, Syrian troops began to harass Jewish communities along the border mostly by lobbing mortars into the towns. Israelis spent many sleepless nights in bomb shelters. Several Jews were killed and wounded in this shelling.

Prior to the Six-Day War, five nations in the United Nations sponsored a resolution to condemn Syria for these constant unprovoked bombardments of Jewish towns.

Amazing, isn’t it. The United Nations actually drafted a resolution against one of Israel’s adversaries, instead of targeting Israel! Alas, the motion was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Recall: The five permanent nations in the UN Security Council have veto power … the United States, Russia, China, France, and England.

During Israel’s stunning June, 1967 victory over Syria and Egypt in just six days, she captured a majority of Golan Heights. By 1970 there were twelve Jewish settlements on the Golan. Then in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel fought a series of bloody battles to prevent Syria regaining full control of the Golan Heights. Subsequently the United Nations established and monitored a cease-fire line that gave Syria one-third of the area and Israel two-thirds control (in the western part).

Then in 1981, Israel annexed most of the Golan Heights. Although the annexation didn’t change the dynamics of the area all that much, it did legally assure that the area of the Golan designated by Israel belongs to them; if, for no other reason, than victory in war. However, Israel didn’t capture, control, and then annex the Golan Heights in order to aggressively, deliberately, and without provocation wrest land away from Syria. It was the Israelis who were provoked by outright attacks or imminent threat of attack by their enemies, including Syria.

(Modern-day Map of the Golan Heights Region)

The Israelis had no choice. I repeat for emphasis: No choice, whatsoever. Capturing the Golan was a matter of national survival for Israel. Keeping it, is no less a matter of national existence. Without it, a Syrian army (whatever government it might eventually belong to), or Hezbollah, or ISIS, or Al Qaeda, or Jordan, or Russia, or Iran, or whoever can launch deadly attacks against Israel from the Golan Heights.

However, with the primary and ultimate claim to the Golan given to them by God himself. As well as much more of the Promised Land that will one day be added to modern Israel—Jewish land that is currently part of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

Remarkable Reactions by Islamic Countries

On April 26^th just a few days after Benjamin Netanyahu raised the voice of Israel by saying that the, “Golan will remain under Israeli sovereignty,” the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held an “emergency, extraordinary” meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This emergency session was in direct retaliation to Netanyahu’s statements.

The OIC includes war-torn and/or botched Islamic states such as Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Nigeria … also economically and politically dysfunctional countries like Somalia and Bangladesh. Unlike Israel, none of the 57 member nations are democratic in any way, shape, or form. For the most part, people of these countries are far worse off than Palestinians occupying the region of Judea/Samaria (commonly referred to as the West Bank) of Israel. Yes, you read that right. As said in some past Eye of Prophecy articles and as affirmed by political, military, and historical experts who understand the true history of Israel, it is the Palestinians who are the occupiers, not the Israelis—as all of the land legally, historically, and Biblically belongs to Israel.

Among many other things said, the OIC’s final summary, “Condemns strongly Israel, the occupying power, and its macabre acts to change the legal status, demographic composition, and institutional structure of the occupied Syrian Golan … expresses unconditional support for the legitimate right of the Syrian people to restore their full sovereignty on the occupied Syrian Golan.”

Prior to this meeting, the Arab League, many of whose 22 members are also members of the OIC, had called for Israel to be charged and tried criminally for Israel’s conduct. This despite the fact that Israel has successfully controlled the Golan Heights since 1967, preventing more death and destruction by Syrian bombs raining down on innocent Israelis. And by establishing a strong military deterrent for invasion of Israel.

Of course, in today’s Syria, any invasion of Israel is a moot point; what with a bloody civil war that has resulted in the death of over a quarter million people. With displacement of millions more, many of whom are (and many more still waiting for asylum) refugees in Europe, constituting the greatest refugee crisis since World War II.

Exactly who or what will constitute or represent “Syrian Golan,” if the demands of Islamic nations that Israel return all of the Golan to Syria is met? Not to mention that the Golan encompasses less than one percent of Syrian territory. Or that Syria’s loss of a portion of the Golan Heights fifty years ago is anything resembling a huge problem with Syria today … whatever Syria is at this time in history. The Golan is absolutely the least of Syria’s concerns, what with its very survival at stake. For that matter, who in Syria has claim to the Golan? Is it the government of Bashar Assad, supported by Russia and Iran and Hezbollah of Lebanon? Or is it the rebels trying to gain their freedom from the oppressive Syrian regime, with these freedom fighters supported by the United States led coalition? Or might it even be ISIS, whose avowed objective is to set up an Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria? ISIS is an acronym for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

To whom should Israel surrender the Golan? Of course that’s a rhetorical question. But that’s exactly what these Islamic organizations (states) are demanding. Not only that, but many of these nations are (silently) applauding Israel’s firm resolve to thwart any semblance of an attack against Israel (via the Golan Heights) by ISIS or Hezbollah or factions in Syria. Especially those nations next or close to Israel, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the gulf coast states—who could be next on the bucket list of ISIS (or even Russia or Iran).

So which is it? Condemn the Jews and demand that Israel withdraw from the Golan (and Temple Mount while Israel is in the withdrawal mode)? Or, at least pragmatically acknowledge that it is Israel alone who keeps Israel strong and surrounding nations secure from any and all of the warring factions in Syria.

Jordan is probably the best example, as this nation has more to gain by an Israeli controlled Golan than any other nation. The last thing Jordan wants or needs is another entity to occupy the Golan Heights other than Israel. Jordanians know that Israel will keep them safe by Israel’s very presence there, as well as the Jordan Valley, East Jerusalem, etc. Of course, even Jordan does their part for the Arab world and for Islam by periodically condemning Israel for this and that. Lately, because of Temple Mount.

Take Iran for instance … a bitter hater and enemy of Israel. To the extent that numerous times in recent years, even months, this rogue Islamic nation has vowed to “wipe Israel from the face of the earth.” If Iranian forces get a strong foothold in Syria, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump to the Golan Heights. But Saudi Arabia and Iran are not exactly bosom buddies; in fact, they are diametrically opposed, i.e. Shi’ite (Iran) against Sunni and Wahhabi (Saudi Arabia). Saudi Arabia and Egypt and a few other Islamic nations are (mostly under the table) tempering their animosity toward Israel under the paradigm of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

But then Arab, Islamic, and even non-Muslim anti-Semitism always manages to rear its ugly head. No matter their realization (reality) that a strong and vibrant Israel is one of their best sources of stability and security against what they also consider the forces of evil (ISIS, Iran, Hezbollah, and even Russia), they just can’t control themselves when it comes to an Israeli Prime Minister saying such things as, “Israel will never withdraw from the Golan Heights.”

Them’s fightin words to Muslims! And so they revert back to their irrational hatred of the Jews, by condemning Israel for keeping a tiny sliver of land that Israel was forced to capture because of Arab aggression in three wars against Israel in twenty-five years’ time. Plus, the “peacetime” bombing of Jews in the vicinity of the Golan Heights.

United Nations Security Council Response

Not only UNESCO, but the UN Security Council couldn’t contain themselves … couldn’t miss an opportunity to condemn Israel. Most of the time the UN doesn’t need a reason to sanction Israel. Many of the UN resolutions against Israel are not in response to anything Israel does or says; rather, they are part of an ongoing deliberate plan (plot) to censure Israel just because it exists. As previously indicated, most of the resolutions are instigated by Muslim nations, with non-Muslim countries joining in.

Following UNESCO’s lead, this past Sunday (May 1^st) the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to challenge Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration that the Golan Heights must (for all the reasons already listed) remain under Israel’s sovereign jurisdiction. China’s U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyl, the current president of the 15-member Security Council, issued a statement the following day (May 2^nd) saying, “Council members expressed their deep concern over recent Israeli statements about the Golan, and stressed that the status of the Golan remains unchanged.”

Official Security Council statements are adopted by consensus of all members, which include the United States. Unlike UNESCO, the Security Council did not actually propose and pass a resolution; however, this official public statement following a (closed-door) session serves the same purpose. Actually the Security Council didn’t need to pass a resolution, as they already had one in place.

Council President Liu Jieyl merely cited Resolution 497 passed in 1981 soon after Israel annexed the Golan Heights. He repeated a summary portion of that resolution to the press: Israel’s annexation action in 1981 was, “null and void and without international legal effect.”

Never mind that less than 1% of Syrian territory is involved. Disregard the evidence that Syria used the Golan Heights (their portion of it) to rain down mortars on Israeli civilians for some twenty years. Then used that same high ground to try to defeat Israel in two more wars. Simply ignore the fact that Israel won that territory with the blood of their soldiers and civilians—not offensively or unprovoked, but in national defense and preservation of their very survival.

Moreover, our own Executive Staff (US President) fully endorsed the regurgitation of the 1981 Resolution. That is simply unthinkable, unfathomable, and borders on hypocrisy.

What would the United States do if the United Nations issued a resolution that the Louisiana Purchase from France was not legally binding. Or the purchase of Alaska from Russia was, “null and void.”

Or worse, that we should give Texas back to Mexico because we had no right to fight for the territory of Texas in the first place. We should have let the “Napoleon of the West,” Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna keep right on marching and murdering his way to Washington D.C. I say worse, because we won that land at the expense of American blood, not just dollars.

Remember the Alamo!

Why does the United States along with 27 other countries belong to NATO, and station troops in key areas of Europe? Easy answer: Because Russia can’t be trusted.

Why are there still nearly 30,000 US soldiers in South Korea near the DMZ that separates South Korea from North Korea? Easier answer: Because North Korea is a rogue communist nation that deplores the democracy of its South Korean neighbors and hates the United States even more.

Giving this critically strategic plateau back to the Syrians would be a recipe for disaster. Although there would obviously be Israeli casualties, the biggest disaster would fall on the Syrians, in the event they launched another offensive from the Golan or resumed shelling of nearby Israeli towns.

Any way you slice the politically correct United Nations international pie, Israel seldom gets a piece. And the miniscule piece of a very small pie that Israel won through defensive wars and the blood of her people, must be given back to the enemy. Doesn’t matter whether that enemy can’t even function as a State, an enemy that consists of several enemies … all fighting each other and who all hate Israel. Even when it was a “state,” Syria was controlled by a dictator who wanted nothing more than complete eradication of the Jews from Israel.

As is said, “What’s a person to do?”

That’s Not All

Getting back to France’s call for an international conference to establish peace in the Middle East even if it means a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State that doesn’t exist, the next thing that would take place is a U.N. Resolution declaring a Palestinian State, whether the Israelis or even the Palestinians want such a state. Which, in turn, would demand Israeli withdrawal to “pre-1967 borders” that were nothing more than cease-fire lines to begin with. And also would declare East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, which, in turn, would give the Palestinians complete, unopposed jurisdiction over Temple Mount. Excuse me, I meant to say: Al-Haram Al Sharif!

Recently, there has also been a lot of scuttlebutt going around in the White House that the United States would support such a resolution, which past US Presidents have said would never happen. Members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, were so concerned President Obama would approve such a resolution, that 388 members of the House (including Nancy Pelosi of all people!) sent him a letter stating that such a Security Council decision would, “dangerously hinder” the resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Things to Ponder

Like never before, the eyes of the world are on Israel. It is absolutely amazing that so much attention is directed to this tiny nation. So much so that all of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates (seems that we are now down to just one candidate for each party) have either been asked or have volunteered their stance on Israel, i.e. if, and to what extent, they support Israel. I have never seen that happen before, not to this degree. And that’s only a drop in a large reservoir of water being poured on Israel … water to satisfy their thirst for peace or water to drown them unmercifully.

Long ago God predicted this would happen. Just as he said that the Jews would return to the land promised to them.

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord. ‘This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves’” (Zechariah 12:1-3, italics for emphasis).

Take heed nations of the earth.

Do not attempt to remove the Jews from the rocks and hills of the Golan Heights. Do not so audaciously usurp authority over the rock called Temple Mount, which does not belong to you … to anyone except God’s chosen people. Do not divide Jerusalem … ever. For to Abraham and his descendants came a solemn promise given by our unchangeable and omnipotent God:

“I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1-3).

Take heed all who despise Israel for no reason, other than Jews live there. Do not treat the Jews with contempt, for to do so is to raise your fist against the true and living God.

Indeed, the world has been blessed. In many ways, but most importantly through the awesome redemption purchased by such a high price for all who will believe and receive the Son of God, the Jewish Messiah Jesus. (John 3:16)

Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Establish your kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace throughout the world. We long for your glorious return!

One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part II

30 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Four Horsemen, Lost Tribes of Israel, Seven seals

It’s All about Jesus

The book of Revelation begins and ends with Jesus Christ.

Indeed, all of Scripture contains God’s revelation to the human race of the coming Messiah; the arrival of Messiah on earth as fully God and fully man; a detailed account of Messiah’s birth, life, death, and resurrection; and his glorious return to the earth he created. Seven years before he sets foot on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Jesus will raise born-again believers from the dead. Those still alive will be caught up (raptured) to heaven. Then the Great Tribulation will begin and, “…there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again” (Words of Jesus, Matthew 24:21).

The combination of man-made catastrophes and divine judgment directly from God will be so unprecedented that only Jesus Christ is allowed to break the seven seals which allow the Satanic forces of evil symbolized by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to unleash death and destruction like never before. Breaking the seven seals also leads to seven trumpets and seven bowls (vials) containing the final wrath of God on a warped and wicked world.

John tells us why only Messiah Jesus is qualified to open the scroll:

“…You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are obviously symbolic by virtue of the scene (vision) itself and the descriptive imagery of the passage. Also, with the plain understanding that each of the four riders on four horses couldn’t inflict the massive massacre that will follow. Yet, the devastation and death are all too real. For example: “Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword, and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere” (Revelation 6:4).

Just one generation ago, the nations of the earth experienced firsthand an unparalleled world war with unheard of casualties and unrivaled brutality and evil on a scale never before seen in the annals of mankind, particularly the Holocaust. But the military and civilian casualties of World War II will pale in comparison to the “war and slaughter everywhere” during the Great Tribulation. (See Eye of Prophecy article, Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation, posted 6-6-15).

Very soon after the Rapture, many will recognize what the Rapture was all about and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. They are also those who, “…had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony” (Revelation 6:9). This is the fifth seal that was opened by Christ Jesus. However, they will be far outnumbered by the people who belong to the world (Revelation 13:8).

The sixth seal is the first of God’s direct judgments on the earth. Listen to the astonishing description:

“I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood … The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places” (Revelation 6:12, 14).

Notice the language here: “The sky was rolled up like a scroll.” Whatever happens in/to the earth’s atmosphere during this massive earthquake (most likely accompanied or triggered by a colossal volcanic eruption to darken the sun and make the moon blood-red), is better understood by John’s imagery of a scroll being rolled up. The scroll is metaphorically used to depict the traumatic results of this enormous “natural” disaster. Natural signifying nature itself, but supernatural in origin and scope because only God has ultimate control over nature.

Then, however, there is an abrupt interruption between the sixth and seventh seal. What causes this unexpected and dramatic pause?

None other than the divine selection and sealing of the 144,000 … 12,000 from each tribe of Israel. With, as alluded in last week’s article, the clear contextual absence of anything symbolic going on in Chapter 7, and equally strong evidence that both the number and the identity of the 144,000 are literal.

Spiritualizing or Symbolizing Scripture That Is Clearly Literal

Before we take a closer look at the 144,000, permit me to quote a couple of excerpts from my second book, Out of the Abyss … can the number of the beast be solved? 666

On the subject of the Abyss, specifically the sea (that contains the Abyss) referenced in Revelation 13 from where the beasts arises, I propose that the sea is literal—not symbolical as several scholars maintain. Following a detailed explanation on pages 234-236, I ask (I’ll place the excerpt in italics):

Why can’t the Revelation 13 Sea be literal? The Antichrist beast of Revelation 13 is not a kingdom or kingdoms; it is a personal pronoun (he) person. A symbolic application in one part of the Bible does not have to be the same symbolic representation in another passage, or even symbolic at all. (Here I’m referring to the “stormy sea” of Daniel Chapter 7). Or the place or thing in question can be both literal and figurative at the same time. It all depends on the context of the passage to include, if necessary, comparison or contrast to other passages… Thus, the staff of Moses was a literal piece of wood that turned into a literal snake in Pharaoh’s court; but the staff also symbolized the power of God, when Moses struck the rock and water gushed out.

Unless the Scriptural text is clearly and exclusively symbolic, or specifically interprets an image of something, or explains the imagery by such words as like, many scholars contend that the word or phrase should be taken literally. For one thing, it’s far less confusing to understand the verse or verses literally. For another thing, a figurative interpretation could often have two or more meanings. Which one is correct?

I then use another example (the fifth trumpet judgment) in which John utilizes image comparisons to describe the locusts that torment unbelievers for five months. Followed by another observation:

Conversely, there’s no reason to create a metaphor or simile comparison for something that is what it is. In Revelation 13, there’s every reason to consider the sea as the sea. The same reasoning can be applied to the False Prophet who “came up out of the earth.” The angel is making a distinction as to the origination point for the first and second beast.

I’m not referring to clear metaphors used in the Bible; such as used by Jesus himself when he said, “I am the bread of life.” Literature is full of metaphors and we even talk in those terms today. For example we might say, “He’s a rock.” There is rarely a misunderstanding over a metaphor. We don’t need to wrestle over another comparison phrase used by Christ, “I am the door.” Does anyone think that Jesus is a literal loaf of bread or a wooden door? Of course not.

…we find the dragon (Satan) taking his stance beside the sea. In the very next verse John tells us that he saw a beast rising up out of the sea. But the angel doesn’t indicate that the sea represents something else. If the sea is the mass of humanity (as many scholars contend) why would the dragon take “his stand on the shore beside the sea?” Why wouldn’t he take his stand right in the middle of humanity? If the sea is humanity, then what does the shore represent?

…the sea of humanity doesn’t have or need a shoreline. Or, if it does need a shore, then the entire imagery is extremely awkward and ineffective.

I could have added in my book something to the effect that all figurative imagery in Scripture is directly from the Lord (inspired), thus none of them are awkward or ineffective. Rather, they are meant to be understood; albeit sometimes with a good deal of study, focus, and correlation with other passages and connection to history and current events.

In applying this fundamentally sound principle (literal application of the text unless clearly indicated otherwise), a student of the Bible should rarely have difficulty in determining what is figurative and what is literal.

Who Are the 144,000?

As alluded, the answer is amply accessible … literally!

“Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, ‘Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.’

“And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: from Judah 12,000, from Reuben 12,000 … from Benjamin 12,000” (Revelation 7:1-8).

(12 Tribes–Shown In Last Week’s Article, But Worth Showing Again)

The 12,000 Jews from each tribe listed in Revelation Chapter 7 are as literal as the number from each tribe in Jewish history—determined by a census ordered by God through Moses (see Numbers Chapter 1 and following). If the 144,000 Jews are symbolic, then what is the purpose of specifically stating 12,000 from each tribe? Or using any numbers at all? Or going to the trouble of listing all twelve tribes?

Certainly, some numbers in the Bible have consistent meaning and significance, but the numbers themselves are quite literal. Twelve in Scripture—twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve tribes, and twelve disciples—represent God’s cohesive administrative authority on earth for the nation of Israel and later the Church, composed of Jew and Gentile alike. Twelve is also the multiplied number of three (perfection of divinity) and four (number of the earth, i.e. four seasons, four directions and others).

There were 12,000 sealed (chosen) from the 12 tribes of Israel … 12,000 x 12 equals 144,000. It doesn’t get any more real (literal) than that. I’m referring to both the number and those sealed by God … Jews and Jews alone. There is absolutely no symbolizing taking place with the identity of each tribe and the number from each of those tribes.

“What about the seal,” you might ask? “Is it literal, too?”

You bet it is. Just as literal as the mark that Nero will require on the forehead or right hand of everyone who wants to buy and sell anything and everything to stay alive during the Tribulation. How providentially ironic, however, that God first seals this select group of 144,000 Jews. Antichrist Nero’s mark is a copy-cat imitation to further advance his counterfeit copy-cat kingdom, but one that is pure evil in marked contrast to the perfectly good Kingdom of God that will be established on the earth.

There is, however, a slight difference between the 12 tribes listed in Revelation and those listed in Old Testament passages. In Revelation we see that the tribe of Joseph has replaced Ephraim and Levi has replaced Dan. An entire article could be written just to explain the Biblical history of why the tribe of Joseph became two tribes (his sons Ephraim and Manasseh) and why the tribe of Levi is not listed in the Old Testament census (there is a reason … perhaps you know or might want to read up on it). Actually, there was more than one census; the second one for a different purpose (Numbers Chapter 26).

A brief commentary for purpose of today’s article will simply summarize by saying that Ephraim and Dan are excluded in the list of the twelve tribes of Revelation primarily because of some bad things that Jews from these tribes did in terms of their rebellion and idolatry; apparently even worse than what the other ten tribes did that led to God’s discipline of all twelve tribes.

As a memory refresher, soon after King Solomon’s death the twelve tribes of Israel split apart with only Judah and Benjamin comprising the southern kingdom called Judah. The other ten tribes retained the name of Israel, referred to as the northern kingdom. In 722 B.C. God allowed Assyria to completely conquer Israel and exile them to other nations. In 586 B.C. the same thing happened to Judah, but with Judah’s conqueror as the mighty empire of Babylon, which had vanquished Assyria.

A Stunning Feature of the 144,000

Now that we’ve answered the question of exactly who the 144,000 are and from where they originate, we need to appreciate the astounding implication of what’s going on here. Many Eye of Prophecy articles have been devoted (some partially, others more fully) to the subject of spectacular Old Testament prophecies of the Jews providentially returning to Israel after being banished to the four corners of the earth. It took nearly 2000 years, but it’s happening before our 20^th and 21^st century eyes. It is nothing short of miraculous.

Yet, there are really only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, through which a few Jews can trace their lineage … emphasis on few. Some Jews have been identified (mostly through DNA) from the tribe of Levi; thereby, qualifying to be priests in the new Temple that many Jews say is just around the corner. Yes, a third temple will be rebuilt (see Eye of Prophecy articles, A Third Jewish Temple and A Third Jewish Temple Part II, posted 4-26 & 5-3-14).

So what about the ten tribes, the so-called Lost Tribes of Israel? What happened to them? We know that Assyria exiled them to other nations and they eventually intermarried enough to lose much of their heritage or identity as Jews. Are there any of those Jews left? Where are their descendants?

(No, they are NOT Mormons living in America, as the misnamed Church of Latter Day Saints would have us believe. There is absolutely no archeological or genealogical or historical evidence at all to substantiate such a ludicrous entitlement. Mormons claim that many of their membership descends from the tribe of Ephraim. Do you suppose that’s another reason why Ephraim is not listed in Revelation?)!

Are the Jews alive today throughout the world and/or the Jews living in Israel only from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin or perhaps, Levi? No, Scripture is replete with prophecies that God will return his people to Israel from all over the world, from both Israel (ten northern tribes) and Judah. Such as:

“I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel and of Judah to possess my land. Those I choose will inherit it, and my servants will live there” (Isaiah 65:9). There is no repetition or duplication here. Both Israel and Judah are identified for a reason. At the time the prophecies were made and until they are fulfilled, these two kingdoms remain divided. Thus, the Lord referred to them as Israel and Judah, the northern kingdom and southern kingdom, respectively.

Sometimes the two kingdoms are referred to just as Israel in order to emphasize that all twelve tribes will one day be united, especially when the prophecy focuses on the Promised Land of Israel belonging to God’s special possession, the Jews. Such as:

“I will bring my exiled people of Israel back from distant lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again … 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 9:14-15).

In another passage (one of literally hundreds in Scripture applicable to Israel’s restoration) we read:

“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. I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion. 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, italics for emphasis).

My generation is nearly 70 years into this remarkable reestablishment of Israel and the Jews. The only thing remaining concerning national restoration is true peace, immediately preceded by spiritual revival of God’s chosen people through and to their Messiah.

One day (soon), “…all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11:26).

When will all Israel be saved, both physically and spiritually? Answer: At the very end of the Great Tribulation as it gives way to the magnificent millennial reign of Messiah Jesus on the earth.

Who or what is (at that time) all Israel? None other than Messianic Jews, beginning with the 144,000 Witnesses and ending with the full remnant of Jewish tribulation saints. To be saved is to be redeemed and to be redeemed is to be saved—by personal trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ).

The personal will then become the national restoration of Israel.

Let’s look at another extraordinary prophecy of Israel’s and Judah’s reunion as found immediately after the passage known to many as the Valley of Dry Bones (depicting Israel’s miraculous rebirth), that brings the ten northern tribes together with the two southern tribes:

“…This is what the Sovereign Lord says, ‘I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them to Judah … I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms” (Ezekiel 37:19-22).

*Note: In the Old Testament, Ephraim is sometimes used in place of Israel for the ten northern tribes. However, Ephraim’s absence as one of the 12 tribes in Revelation doesn’t alter the fact that some Jewish descendants from that tribe will undoubtedly be part of the 12,000. Reason: Ephraim’s father was Joseph, and the tribe of Joseph is listed as one of the twelve tribes in Revelation. However, it doesn’t appear that any of Dan’s descendants will be among the 144,000 sealed. If not, that can simply be deferred to the sovereignty of God.

Thus, the Lost Tribes of Israel have never been lost to God. He knows each one and to which tribe they belong. And one day they, too, will know.

An equal number will be sealed from each tribe as post-Rapture Tribulation Messianic Jews. Why do we know they are Messianic? Easy answer, as found in the next (and final) passage about the 144,000, that clearly tells us:

They are Messianic Jews

In the Revelation Chapter 7 passage, it’s logically and logistically evident that the 144,000 Jews sealed by the Lord are not in the same place (together) at that time. One very viable reason is that John didn’t actually see them; rather, he “…heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel” (Verse 4). Also because this is fairly early in the Tribulation, and their mission for God had just begun by God anointing them from all over the world … mostly, I believe, in Israel. Nearly half of all Jews alive today live in Israel.

In Revelation Chapter 14 we do find them all together with Messiah Jesus, having completed their task, as we read about their service to the Lord in the past tense. Beginning with:

“Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

The Lamb is obviously Messiah Jesus, as shown in numerous passages throughout the book of Revelation. The 144,000 couldn’t be a different (numbered) group than those identified in Chapter 7; if for no other reason than they have the seal—specifically identified as the name of God and Messiah “written” on their foreheads.

Thus, they are what we already see and call Jews in today’s world who have acknowledged and accepted Jesus as their Messiah, a term that has just taken hold in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. They are literally Jews for Jesus (also the name of a world-wide Messianic ministry). They are, in fact, Messianic Jews.

Let’s look at a passage that would lend substantial credibility to the fact that the 144,000 Messianic Jews specifically selected and supernaturally sealed are, indeed, tremendous testifiers to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here’s what John did and what the angel said after John received another magnificent prophetic vision from the angel:

“Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, ‘No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters, who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus’” (Revelation 19:10).

Back to Revelation Chapter 7: “…until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants” (Verse 3, italics for emphasis).

The angel equated God’s servants with those who testify of their faith in Jesus as we just read in Chapter 19. There’s every reason to make this same connection to the 144,000, as witnesses (testifying) for the Lamb. Even more so, with the emphatic reminder that they were sealed (chosen) from among billions left behind after the Rapture. Hence, they are a unique group with a distinct mission, one that will produce a tremendous impact on the entire world, especially in Israel. Coupled with the spectacular achievements of the two witnesses portrayed in Revelation Chapter 11, the global testimony of the 144,000 will generate the greatest evangelical explosion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ever seen.

(Concerning the identity and accomplishment of the two witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11, please refer to Eye of Prophecy articles, The Two Witnesses, Part I, II, III, posted 6-7, 6-14, & 6-21-14).

I will clarify that observation by pointing out that a few Messianic Jews today are spreading the gospel despite anti-missionary resistance from orthodox Jews. In that sense, the God-given responsibility to his chosen people, the Jews, is being fulfilled … to be a light to the Gentiles, through first sharing the Gospel to their brethren (to the Jew First). I’m convinced that between God’s massive judgments on mankind to demonstrate that he means business and the amazing appeal that these 144,000 born-again Jews will have through their testimony for Jesus, millions upon millions of those left behind will be saved, Jew and Gentile alike.

(In English It Says: Blessed Is The Name of The Lord Yeshua (Jesus)

On Pentecost, the Lord, through the Messianic Jewish Apostle Peter, saved 3,000 in just one day. What if that many or more embrace Jesus as Messiah as a result of each of the 144,000 proclaiming the truth of God’s magnificent salvation to a world teetering on the brink of annihilation?

Just do the math. Literally! (144,000 x 3,000 equals 432 million) Who knows!

What Else Do We Know About the 144,000?

“This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God … No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. They have told no lies; they are without blame” (Revelation 14:3-5).

It’s clear from this final passage that the 144,000 Messianic Jews’ commitment and devotion to God and Messiah is unequaled. Their lives—who they are, all they have, and what they will do—belong completely to God. Without hesitation, without any worldly encumbrance, without looking back, they follow Messiah Jesus wherever he leads them. They are disciples extraordinaire of our Lord.

The vast majority of the book of Revelation including the meaning of mysteries explained to John (indeed, nearly all of Scripture) is knowable … correct understanding and application of the text and context. But this is one of just a small handful of prophetic passages that we cannot be sure about.

Meaning that it’s uncertain if the 144,000 are “redeemed from the earth … as a special offering to God and to the Lamb,” because they killed by “those who belong to the world.” Or if they were spared through God’s supernatural protection, then taken to heaven without dying. Whether by death or by conveyance to heaven in the fashion of Elijah and then born-again believers at the Rapture, I do believe that it will be all or nothing. Either all 144,000 will be killed or none of them will die before their transport to the presence of the Lord, because they are always referred to as the (group of) 144,000. Either way, all of them will finish their amazing assignment to accomplish exactly what Jesus said would happen at the very end of days.

Said Jesus to his twelve disciples: “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Personally, I believe the 144,000 will be martyred for their wonderful witness of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven on earth; but will be protected in the same fashion as the two witnesses (Moses and Elijah) before the appointed time of their deaths.

Indeed, they are “redeemed from the earth,” and redeeming means to literally purchase (pay a price) someone in order to free them or release them from a situation of bondage or peril or persecution. If Revelation only told us that they would be redeemed, then I would lean toward the option that they were taken from the earth without dying.

But, Revelation 14 also tells us that they were “purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering (first fruits or the best of the harvest) to God and to the Lamb.”

This would be an offering of praise or thanksgiving as opposed to a sin or guilt offering; however, all offerings require a sacrifice. Thus, the stronger application of the passage is that the 144,000 will be killed (sacrificed) for their incomparable testimony for Messiah Jesus and God the Father. Like the two witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11, so will the 144,000 be killed at the hands of the Antichrist beast (Nero). These 144,000 witnesses plus 2 will die near the end of the Tribulation.

We then see them standing on Mount Zion with Messiah Jesus. They will join him there much in the same manner that all raptured believers will join the Lord during the final battle of Armageddon.

“The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses” (Revelation 19:14).

Also, the fact that the 144,000 are actually numbered fits well with what the angel told the tribulation saints murdered earlier in the Tribulation as we previously saw in the 5^th seal: “…And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them” (Revelation 6:11, italics for emphasis).

Things to Ponder

Jesus said he is the “light of the world” (John 8:12 & 9:5). And God’s original purpose was for the Jews to be a light to the Gentiles. The two go together. Messianic Jews, especially the 144,000, will fulfill Israel’s divinely orchestrated destiny by proclaiming the light of salvation (Messiah Jesus) to the whole world.

By modern technology and transportation, the Good News is being disseminated over the globe in the 20^th and 21^st century like never before. Nevertheless, it will also take the two witnesses (Moses and Elijah), the 144,000, and angels themselves (Revelation 14:6) to proclaim the magnificent Gospel of salvation through Messiah Jesus to the world, one last time. It will also take God’s wrath poured out on the earth to get the full attention of those left behind, then turn that attention to those who will tell and show them how they can be saved from the terrible penalty of their sins and rebellion.

And then the end (of this age) will come … when Jesus returns to complete the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel and the Jews.

When that day comes:

“…People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.

… In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you’” (Zechariah 8:20-23).

One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part I

23 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Revelation, Tribulation saints

Tribulation Saints

Although this week’s article is not about Biblical numbers as such, certain numbers bear a great deal of significance in Scripture. Numbers like: Three, Four, Twelve, Forty, and above all—Seven. In one of the more fascinating, but also enigmatic passages of Scripture, we find the number One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand. Many students of the Bible may immediately recognize this as the number of Tribulation Saints—among what will undoubtedly be millions— chosen separately by God to receive his special seal (of approval and service) during the Great Tribulation.

What/who is a Tribulation Saint? Do we even find that term in Scripture? Quick answer: No, we do not. Rather it is a logical juxtaposition and combination of the two terms, Saint and (Post-Rapture) Tribulation which we do find in the Bible.

The “Great Tribulation” (Revelation 7:14) is derived from the seven-year period of time based on a treaty orchestrated by the Antichrist with Israel, found in Daniel Chapter 9. Saint is a frequently used description in the New Testament for all believers who have been redeemed by Messiah Jesus as a result of personally believing and receiving him as Lord and Savior. They are true Christians (Christ ones), not in name only. A Biblical saint is NOT someone who has been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. For more details on this subject please refer to Eye of Prophecy article entitled, What is a Saint? Posted 10-11-14.

Those of us who truly care about the eternal destiny of our family, friends, and people the world over, including salvation of non-Messianic Jews, have prayed for and/or cautioned others that, after we die, there is no second chance to receive God’s eternal pardon for our sins if we have not accepted God’s Only Son, Messiah Jesus as the substitutionary sacrifice for the penalty of those sins. And sometimes we have said or implied imprecisely that it is also too late for unbelievers after the glorious Rapture of saints from this earth. Whereas it will be incredibly difficult to choose Jesus during the Tribulation—on pain of deprivation and almost certain death—there will still be an opportunity for those left behind to embrace the true Messiah over the anti-Messiah.

The first reference to what we call Tribulation Saints can be found in the sixth chapter of Revelation. In fact, it is actually the fifth of the seven seal judgments (in the first set of three sets of seven … seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments during the Tribulation).

“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them” (Revelation 6:9-11).

For the most part, the sequence of events depicted in the Book of Revelation are chronological, with a couple of exceptions in what can be called an interlude or parenthetical interruption to show us a broader picture of all that will transpire during the Tribulation … how those interludes interface with the chronological chain of spectacular events. Such things as found in Revelation Chapters 12, 13, and 17. However, all of the twenty-one seal, trumpet, and bowl events are in sequence, including the one we just examined.

With a great deal of study and correlation, I firmly believe that we can also identify the approximate time frame of all twenty-one judgments (catastrophes) within and relative to the seven year span of the Tribulation.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

It’s interesting, perhaps a little puzzling, that depiction of martyred post-Rapture believers (tribulation saints) would be one of the seven seals; technically it’s not a judgment per se.

Or is it?

I believe it is in the sense (context) of the first four seals; what many people, including unbelievers, readily recognize as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. By means of an initial false global peace (First Horse), then world-wide wars (Second Horse), economic collapse including wide-spread famine (Third Horse), all resulting in death of one-fourth of the world’s population (Fourth Horse), the first four seals are man-made devastations, not actual judgments from God. The tribulation saints identified in the fifth seal are victims of the Four Horsemen.

The man-made carnage metaphorically shown through the Four Horsemen coupled with world-wide murder of Christians (mostly, I believe, at the hands of Muslims) is a tragic result of the first four seals broken by Jesus to permit mankind’s consummate terror and horror of evil to be unleashed. Subsequently, the Antichrist’s (Nero) government will kill many more tribulation saints … the full number of their brothers and sisters. Not until the sixth seal do we see the first of God’s direct judgments on the earth. Followed by the seventh seal and first four trumpet judgments on the earth that will result in both Christian and non-Christian casualties.

We understand this because the martyred saints ask the Lord, “…how long before you judge the people who belong to the world…” The clear conclusion is that God had not yet begun to pour out his wrath on the world.

With a great deal of certainty, we can also know that all seven seal plagues and the first four trumpet judgments will take place in the first half of the tribulation (3 ½ years). How do we know this?

For the following reasons: As stated in Revelation Chapter 13, full authority given by God to Satan and Satan to the Antichrist beast is for 3 ½ years … with the obvious inference based on all other end-times prophecies of the Antichrist especially Daniel 11 and Revelation 19 (when Antichrist and his armies are vanquished by Messiah Jesus upon his return to the earth) that this will be during the last half of the seven-year Tribulation. It begins when Nero will break his treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27).

When Nero initiates his reign of terror, God will also begin his own (holy) campaign of terror against Nero’s ten-kingdom confederation and against all nations and peoples who defy the Lord and who have persecuted the Tribulation Saints (including Messianic Jews), but also Israel and non-Messianic Jews.

(Please refer to the three Eye of Prophecy articles examining terrorism in today’s world and also terror inflicted by God during the end days of the Great Tribulation. Terror, Terror, Terror … Part I & Part II, posted 12-12 & 12-19-15. Then, Trilogy of Terror, published 12-26-15.)

Furthermore, not until the fifth trumpet judgment do we see that God’s wrath is directed exclusively against the beast and his followers, e.g. the locusts (demons) tormenting, “…only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4). This conclusion is confirmed because of the reaction of unbelievers:

“But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God … And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

(Depiction of the Fifth Trumpet Judgment)

The evidence is exceptionally strong in Revelation: no tribulation saints will die directly from God’s judgements on unbelievers in the fifth trumpet judgment nor (directly) from the first six bowl judgments. However, there undoubtedly will be “friendly fire” tribulation saint casualties in the sixth and seventh seal and the first four trumpet judgments, then again in the final 7^th bowl catastrophe. Although the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments may also result in some “friendly fire” casualties, these last two “terror” judgements will be directed against unbelievers.

In fact, the sixth trumpet entails another massive conflagration when an army of 200 million (demons) will kill one-third of the people left on the earth. Then the seventh trumpet (the third divine terror against those who belong to the world) initiates the seven bowl judgments, but also includes another earthquake and a “terrible hailstorm.” The last time that God sent such a hailstorm, only Pharaoh and the Egyptians were targeted … the Israelites weren’t touched by this plague.

The most important thing to grasp is that the vast majority of Tribulation Saints (including Messianic Jews who are themselves Tribulation Saints) who perish will be murdered by unbelievers, those … “who belong to this world…” (Revelation 17:8). Whereas, “…the people who belong to this world (who) worshipped the beast…” (Revelation 13:8) will die during wars against each other and from the wrath of Almighty God when he judges the earth for the second and last time (the Great Flood being the first).

The 144,000

Although the 143 Eye of Prophecy articles to date (posted every Saturday since this project began in July, 2013) have covered a broad array of subjects—as contained in the four main categories, Current Events, Prophecy in General, Rapture, Antichrist—for whatever reason I have not written about the one hundred forty-four thousand as found in Revelation Chapters 7 and 14. But then I realized there is a reason, which I didn’t think about until just before I began to write this week’s article.

As with all Eye of Prophecy articles, one way or another each week’s title and topic and discernment and creativity come from the Lord, and are written to exalt him. As stated in the sub-title of this Web site, “…For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus” (Revelation 19:10b). With regard to the audience, the articles are intended to introduce, reinforce, and clarify (also correct) prophetic Biblical, historical, and contemporary correlations or connections that many readers have known or have not known, have misunderstood, or were misinformed.

You may have already figured out where I’m going with this. Today’s Eye of Prophecy article is the 144^th (consecutive) post, the topic of which is 144,000 saints specifically chosen and sealed by God during the Great Tribulation. Of all end times prophecies of the Old Testament or from the book of Revelation, the 144,000 is one of the more difficult to process—in terms of why they are selected by the Lord, what they will do, and whether they are martyred or escape death during the Tribulation.

But there is one thing that is crystal clear: Who they are.

The more I study the passages about the 144,000, the more I’m convinced that the most important feature of or reason for the Lord telling us about them is because of who they are, not so much what they do or what is done to them. In fact, if we recognize exactly who they are, then there will be much less speculation why they are chosen, what they (might) do, and what might be done to them.

In next week’s article we’ll examine in more detail the two passages in Revelation that tell us about the 144,000. For now, let’s read John’s introduction of them:

“Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea. ‘Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.’ And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: from Judah 12,000 … from Benjamin 12,000” (Revelation 7:1-8).

Between Judah and Benjamin, the other ten tribes are identified … each tribe with 12,000 Jews sealed (set apart for God).

*Note: As an example of how we can make contextual correlations (comparing Scripture with Scripture and with history and current events when applicable), let’s pause here to make a connection.

Notice that the four angels were about to do great damage (harm) to the land and sea, with a strong implication that whatever they would do to the earth and the oceans would also mean that many people will perish. They were commanded by another angel coming from the east, who carried the seal of the living God, to wait until the 144,000 were sealed. As most know, the term angel means messenger. Whenever we see angels in Scripture, they are usually (who we understand as) the majestic beings created by God. But not always. In some instances the “angel of the Lord” is none other than the pre-Incarnate Messiah. We can determine the difference by how the context describes the “angel” and what he says and does.

(For more detail on the Pre-Incarnate appearances of Messiah Jesus in the Old Testament, please refer to Eye of Prophecy articles, Does God Really Have a Son? Part I & II. Posted 10-31-15 & 11-7-15).

In this scene, I believe the angel from the east is, in fact, Christ Jesus. For two reasons: (1) he comes from the east, which the Bible tells us is the direction from which Messiah will come upon his glorious return to Jerusalem at the end of the Tribulation. There’s really no other reason for John to tell us that this messenger comes from the east. (2) He is the one who actually carries God’s seal. Meaning the one who has authority to convey and apply the seal of the living God; in the same vein that only Jesus is qualified to break the seven seals beginning in Chapter 6.

We can make another correlation by matching the four angels in this scene (Chapter 7) to the first four (trumpet) angels of the very next chapter (Revelation 8:6-13). Why can we make this connection? Because the first four trumpet judgments describe devastation to one-third of the trees, grass, sea, springs of water, and the heavenly bodies (sun and moon) that directly affect the physical dynamics of the earth and sea.

Then the last three angels (of the seven trumpets) begin the trilogy of Terror, terror, terror (Revelation 8:13…) which target unbelievers. Thus, we have two sets of angels that make up the seven trumpet judgments … one set of four and another set of three.

Make sense? Personally, seeing these kind of parallels within Scripture and with history and current events makes me love God’s Word that much more.

Returning to the 144,000. Because so many cults have deliberately distorted, and because (even) some believers have unclearly understood the 144,000, let’s first discuss:

Who They Are Not

Because time/space in this article does not permit an in-depth analysis and because other astute Bible students have reliably refuted the inaccurate interpretations of who the 144,000 are and are not, I will limit any response to more of a statement; one, however, based solidly on Biblical evidence. Statement: Although there are others, the primary (incorrect) suppositions about 144,000 come from two main sources:

Religious Cults:

(Mormonism): This religion claims that the 144,000 will be Mormon men who have become gods. Actually all Mormons who make it through whatever level of Mormonism is required are purported to become gods, each with their own planet. Apparently, however, the 144,000 are exceptionally special gods!

(Jehovah’s Witnesses): The 144,000 actually represents the very core of this cult. According to the JWs, the Kingdom of God is already on the earth and only 144,000 JWs have or will be qualified as “spiritual” members of the 144,000.

(Seventh Day Adventists and Other Lesser Known Cults): Also claim in some fashion to (now) be qualified or will qualify to belong to this group.

All except Mormonism (the 144,000 man-gods!) make a symbolic “spiritual” application; including the notion that members of these cults will have the elite privilege of belonging to the 144,000 as “spiritual Jews.”

*Note: In next week’s article, we’ll read that the 144,000 were “standing on Mount Zion” with the Lamb (Messiah Jesus). As preposterous as it is for any of these cults to claim exclusive status in this God chosen group of people, for sake of argument what if they are all correct? If so, Mount Zion is going to be very crowded! Of course that is a facetious remark, but for good reason. They all can’t be the 144,000. If even two of these cults are accurate, then the count would be 288,000, right! Fact is, all of them are absurdly and pathetically wrong.

True Believers:

Unfortunately, but at least not in any way blasphemous as are the cults, some born-again Christians, including ardent Bible students, have misunderstood and misapplied the 144,000, with the mistaken assumption that all those who become believers during the Tribulation, both Jew and Gentile, are among the 144,000. In other words, they do not subscribe to the 144,000 as being a literal number chosen by God. Nor do they necessarily recognize the indisputable evidence that the 144,000 are actual Jews.

Although both Jews and Gentiles can be “spiritual” (in the sense of those who are interested in and who pursue more than just material things), there is no such thing as a spiritual or symbolic Jew. The Apostle Paul tells us that Gentile believers have been grafted into the promises given to Israel and we are, therefore, spiritual (born spiritually from above) offspring of Abraham. But that doesn’t make me as a Gentile believer, a Jew. Nor does a Jew who accepts Jesus as Messiah become a Gentile Christian. Both Gentile and Jew who believe in Jesus are (spiritually) Messianic. But they are still a Jew or still a Gentile. Neither is a symbolic Jew or a symbolic Gentile (Christian).

The Branches of the Tree of Israel

Although I have written on the matter of Jew and Gentile in several Eye of Prophecy articles, in today’s post I will defer to a Messianic Jew by the name of David Stern, who completed an excellent translation of the entire Bible, called The Complete Jewish Bible.

In his book, Messianic Judaism … A Modern Day Movement with an Ancient Past, David Stern precedes the excerpts that I will quote with an astute analysis of Romans 11:13-24, under the heading of Olive Tree Theology (pages 47-59). I would enthusiastically encourage you to read that passage in Romans 11; indeed all of Romans 9, 10, & 11.

(Jew and Gentile, Natural & Grafted-in Branches–One in Messiah)

Early on page 56, David Stern writes:

“The wild branches (Gentiles) have been grafted in through faith in the Messiah, ‘brought near in the blood of Christ’ (Ephesians 2:13), so that they are now included in the commonwealth of Israel. But they are not, as Replacement Theology would have it, a New Israel. Nor do Jewish and Gentile believers together constitute a New Israel, since the cut-off branches (meaning Jews) too are still identifiable as Israel…”

I’ll pause here to say, “Amen,” to Mr. Stern’s commentary on the insidious teaching of Replacement Theology. To also, if you haven’t, encourage you to read Eye of Prophecy articles entitled, Replacement Theology (Part I & II), posted 7-19 & 7-26-14.

David Stern continues: “Thus unsaved Jews (cut-off branches), saved Jews (natural branches attached to the tree), and Gentile believers (grafted-in wild branches) each have their own kind of ongoing participation in the one Israel; and this fact needs to be taken into account in any correct theology of Israel and the Church. Not a word is said in the “olive tree” passage or anywhere else in Scripture about splitting the promises into earthly ones for the Jews and heavenly ones for the Church.

“However, God has made two kinds of promises. In regard to the promise which relates to individual salvation, there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:28), no distinction between them (Romans 10:12), no dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14-19). On the other hand, there remain promises to national Israel, the Jewish people, in which Gentile nations corporately and Gentile believers individually have no direct share …” (all previous quotes from page 56).

Another pause is in order … to quote more of the passage in Ephesians Chapter 2 referenced by David Stern.

“Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called ‘uncircumcised heathens’ by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us … He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people” (Ephesians 2:11-15).

Once again: In terms of God’s specific promises to his chosen people the Jews (as found in the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants), there is no such thing as a Gentile becoming a symbolic or spiritual Jew. Although Judaism allows Gentiles to convert and, therefore, become a Jew for purpose of practicing the tenets of Judaism (what could be called a Gentile Jew), both Old and New Testaments are clear: Gentile converts to Judaism are still Gentiles. God refers to them as “foreigners.”

“Native-born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the Lord and are subject to the same decrees … The same instructions and regulations will apply to you and to the foreigners living among you” (Numbers 15:16).

Let’s return to Ephesians 2. “He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:17-22).

Do you see what’s going on here? Christ Jesus has so completely torn down the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile that the Gentiles are no longer foreigners. Not, however, as applied to the actual nation of Israel … the Jewish race. Jew and Gentile are one in Messiah, and together we are citizens (of heaven … Philippians 3:20). Both Jew and Gentile are members (adopted children) of God’s new family. Individually and together we “become” a holy temple for the Lord, where the Holy Spirit indwells both Jew and Gentile who have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, the cornerstone foundation of this spiritual house.

But a Jew is still a Jew and a Gentile is still a Gentile as applied to God’s promises to the nation of Israel and to the Jewish race. Putting it another way: God’s (plan of) salvation results in one new man (and woman) in Messiah—individual Jews and Gentiles alike. God’s plan for the physical descendants of Abraham and their corporate identity as the nation of Israel is not for the Gentiles. However, Gentile nations will be richly blessed through these national promises to Israel.

Once again: Concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (currently in the hearts of redeemed Jews and Gentiles), there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Regarding the physical Kingdom of God to be ushered in when Messiah Yeshua returns at the end of the Tribulation, the Jews will inherit the promises given by God to Abraham and King David through covenants with each. The Abrahamic Covenant is the right of the Jews to live and prosper in the God-given land of Israel. The Davidic Covenant is the promise that a (Jewish) King will govern them and the Gentile nations from Jerusalem.

And who is that King? None other than Messiah Jesus … King of all kings, Lord of all lords!

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29). He is the Lion from the Tribe of Judah! (Revelation 5:5).

(Note: Regarding Gentiles who “convert” to Judaism, they, indeed qualify to be Jews, but only under the traditional system of rabbinical teachings or precedents. There is nothing in Scripture that indicates a Gentile actually becomes a Jew (spiritually or physically) simply by adhering to the Mosaic Law. Under the Covenant of the Law, God granted permission for Gentiles to observe and participate in his decrees, regulations, and ordinances given to the Jews—which obedience to and observance of would ensure that they remained in the Promised Land, but not as a means to salvation).

Summary

When it comes to God’s numerous promises to Israel, not the least of which is physical restoration to the physical land of Israel accomplished by the returning physical descendants of Abraham and Isaac, these promises are exclusively for the Jewish people. Biblically this is true despite, for example, Israel’s immigration policy allowing Gentile converts to Judaism to become citizens of Israel. Though these promises are to the Jewish race, Gentile nations (the foreigners) can and will be blessed, with many of them citizens of Jerusalem and Israel during the Millennium and beyond. All born-again Jews and Gentiles are and will be citizens of heaven and the New Jerusalem, with freedom to come and go on the earth in our worship of and service to our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ and his Father who is our Father in heaven!

God’s instructions concerning the foreign Gentiles allows them to practice and follow the Mosaic decrees including Passover (see Exodus 12:48-49 … even then a Gentile male had to be circumcised to participate in the Passover). But keeping the civil and ceremonial laws handed down by the Lord does not make the Gentile a direct descendant of Abraham.

Conversely, a Jew (whether by physical birth or by spiritual rebirth in Messiah) is still a Jew, and can keep—voluntarily because it’s now an option—all of the Jewish festivals or dietary laws, but not for salvation or a right standing before God. Redemption is exclusively through faith in the sacrificial system that was completely fulfilled once and for all by the substitutionary sacrificial death atonement of Messiah Jesus. Rather, the festivals are kept for the express purpose of rejoicing in the New Covenant salvation, as every single festival was a prototype or shadow of the coming Messiah and what he would do for Israel (and the whole world).

Beginning with Pesach (Passover) sacrifice of the Lamb of God, whereby God will spare (pass over) born-again Pre-Rapture believers from the Great Tribulation and ultimately from the eternal penalty of our sins, which gives us the awesome privilege of everlasting life in heaven. Ending with Sukkot, the Festival of Tabernacles, which is Messiah Jesus dwelling (tabernacle) with his people forever.

(Jesus Spoke These Words During His Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles)

Apparently I did get sidetracked, but not all that much! The main purpose for this in-depth examination of Jew and Gentile is to dispel beyond any doubt whatsoever that the 144,000 consist of anyone other than Jews.

Click on to next week’s Part II article; we’ll look more closely at the 144,000 Jewish Tribulation Saints.

Things to Ponder

Most Bible scholars and many Christians refer to the 144,000 as The One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Witnesses. But the term witness is not used at all in Revelation concerning this group. Will they, then, be witnesses for Jesus?

To answer that question and also as a prelude to next week’s article requires some conjecture, but in a very small dose. It’s what could be considered “sanctified” speculation based on the remarkable phenomenon that they will be chosen from millions of Jews and even more millions of tribulation saints who are Gentiles. The fact that they are even mentioned at all in Revelation, let alone in such dramatic fashion, makes a strong case that they will follow the Lord in the mold of God’s mighty prophets and apostles.

They will serve in the same powerful pattern of Noah, Moses, Joshua, Debra, Gideon, Samuel, King David, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John the Baptist, Peter, John, James, and Paul … and post Biblical evangelists like Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Billy Graham, and Greg Laurie. As well as contemporary Messianic Jews like the recently departed Zola Levitt and the still alive Jonathan Bernis, David Stern, and Michael Brown.

Along with the two Tribulation witnesses (Moses and Elijah), they will be the final servants of God appointed to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the last days, a time that will immediately precede the glorious return of Messiah Jesus and usher in the Kingdom of God on earth.

That time is soon, so very soon!

“And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:

‘Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.’

“And the four living beings said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped the Lamb” (Revelation 5:13-14).

The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque

16 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Dome of the Rock, Hajj, Kaaba

The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount

Myth: “a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence. An ill-founded belief held uncritically esp. by an interested group” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

First to clarify: The Al Aqsa Mosque itself is not a myth. It is located in Jerusalem on what the Jews call Temple Mount and what Arabs refer to as the Noble Sanctuary, which also includes the more well-known structure, the Dome of the Rock. Many, including a large number of Muslims themselves, confuse Al Aqsa Mosque with the Dome of the Rock; they are different buildings. I’ve personally walked on Temple Mount, right up to the steps of the Dome of the Rock, but I did not approach the mosque.

The myth is in the historical and contemporary significance this mosque bears regarding Muslim claims to Temple Mount and to Jerusalem … indeed, to all of Israel. Was the legend that the Prophet Mohammed travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem in one night, then ascended to heaven from the Noble Sanctuary, fact or fiction? Whether Mohammed’s mysterious trip can be considered credible depends heavily on identifying Al Aqsa Mosque as the site (mosque) of his supposed visit. Should the Noble Sanctuary be classified a sacred Muslim shrine at all, let alone the third holiest site of Islam?

Distinguishing between fact and fiction is of vital importance because it is Temple Mount in Jerusalem that is the very heart and soul of Israel and the Jewish people. The status of Temple Mount is the core of the current conflict (dispute) between Jew and Arab in Israel; although there are certainly other reasons, not the least of which is the ancient animosity between the two peoples.

Quoting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Our generation had a great privilege—we saw the words of the prophet come true. We saw the rise of Zion, the return of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, the ingathering of exiles and our return to Jerusalem. We will make sure Jerusalem’s golden light will shine on our people, and spread the light of Jerusalem to the whole world. We will protect Jerusalem, because Israel without Jerusalem is like a body without a heart … Our heart will never be divided again.”

Benjamin echoed the prophetic promise of God through Isaiah:

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home” (Isaiah 60:1-4).

So, too, do Palestinian Arabs claim Jerusalem as theirs. In fact, they think all of Israel belongs to them. It is predominately the Al-Aqsa Mosque that rivets Muslim attention, and generates overt Arab hostility against the Jews, such as intifada.

(Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock right center / Al-Aqsa Mosque in left center, directly left of the trees)

Muslim intifada is simply a terroristic uprising, a strategy employed when it became all too evident that Arab nations could not defeat Israel in war. That was proven in the miraculous Israeli victory over Egypt and Syria in the Six-Day War. Then again through Israel’s stunning victory in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Thereafter, terrorist cells such as Hamas and Hezbollah resorted to propaganda, BDS, and missile/mortar launchings into Israel. With the Palestinians staging the first large intifada in 2000, when former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stepped foot on Temple Mount on September 28^th, 2000. It was the “desecration” of the Noble Sanctuary by Ariel Sharon that sparked this five year period of violence—mostly suicide bombings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that killed scores of innocent Israelis—given the name, “Al-Aqsa Intifada.”

Muslims contend that Temple Mount does not belong to the Jews, partially because it is the third holiest location in Islam. Never mind that Temple Mount is the HOLIEST place, the most sacred of all sites to Judaism and the Jews! That’s irrelevant to the Arabs and seemingly to much of the world. As a result of blatant lies from none other than Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who incited his people by falsely accusing the Jews of desecrating or intending to desecrate holy sites in Jerusalem (especially Temple Mount), young Palestinians instigated their “knife intifada” last October. These lone wolf attacks which also included car rammings, Molotov cocktails, and shootings soon became a concerted effort by individual Palestinians to kill as many Jews as possible. Thankfully, the number of attacks have subsided.

Using (the Myth of) Al-Aqsa to Accomplish the Palestinian Agenda

It’s crystal clear that the two intifadas, the BDS movement, the insidious propaganda—that fosters a heart of hatred and a mentality of murder in their children through indoctrination beginning in elementary school—are all part and parcel of Palestinian intent to protect the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque from “the filthy feet of the Jews” (as Abbas stated in an attempt to incite Palestinian uprisings).

Some, and I agree with them, have gone so far as to say that without misguided Palestinian passion for and unwarranted defense of their Temple Mount claims, there would be less violence in Israel. Indeed, there would be minimal cause (excuse) for the Palestinians to launch their intifadas or a basis to justify (rationalize) their actions to the world other than dishonest assertions of Jewish takeover or desecration of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For example: Just a few weeks ago the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Muhammed Hussein, declared that Muslims should make a pilgrimage to Al Aqsa Mosque to, “defend the mosque from Israel’s attempts to Judaize it.” (Whatever that means?)

Oh, there’s always the allegation of Jewish “settler occupation” of the West Bank, but those inaccurate accusations have been going on for decades. The latest Palestinian choice of confrontation centers on the more ancient and ostensibly more religious rationale that protection of the Noble Sanctuary supposedly supports their agenda to harass, terrorize, and attack the Jews.

Thus, it’s imperative that we examine the historical basis for Islamic motives to defend their holy sites. In doing so, we will once again confirm that Muslim attempts to rewrite the history of this ancient conflict have no basis in fact. We will see the rest of the story, the empirical evidence that will undermine Palestinian claims that they alone have rights to Temple Mount. Hopefully, this will help dispel the flawed opinions or imprecise impressions that many in the Western world (as well as Muslims themselves) have concerning Jewish and Islamic heritage of Temple Mount … indeed, of all Jerusalem and Israel.

First, however, I would like to present some excerpts from one of several Eye of Prophecy articles that touch on the subject of Jewish versus Arab history, regarding Israel.

In italics the following excerpts are from the Eye of Prophecy article, A Palestinian State? (No, Say Many Arabs), published 1-11-14.

Then, in June, 1967 one of the most amazing conflicts in military history began and ended in less than a week! To this day it is still referred to as the Six-Day War, in which Israel soundly defeated a coalition of Arab nations, and once again against staggering odds. Although Israel took the offensive in this war, they had no other choice; it was crystal clear that surrounding Arab nations, particularly Syria and Egypt, planned to attack Israel. In order to assure victory and protection against further invasion, Israel seized the following territories that had previously been under Jordanian, Syrian, or Egyptian control.

Golan Heights: A high mountainous area near Israel’s northern border with Syria … a crucial strategic location to prevent Syrian incursions in and attacks on Israel.

Gaza Strip: A fairly narrow strip of land along the southeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in which Jews lived alongside a majority of Arabs.

West Bank: So-called because of its location along the west bank of the Jordan River, in the east central portion of Israel. Historically and rightfully called Judea and Samaria as regions in Israel’s ancient homeland. Now occupied predominately by Palestinian Arabs.

Sinai Peninsula: The large, mostly desert southern land mass that currently separates Israel from Egypt proper.

East Jerusalem: Technically, a segment of the West Bank; but, nevertheless, still an integral and indispensable part of the entire city of Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, Israel partially bowed to international pressure exerted primarily by the United Nations and, over varying intervals of time, returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, the Gaza Strip to Egypt, and most of the West Bank to Jordan. Egypt and Jordan subsequently allowed the Gaza Strip and West Bank Arabs to govern themselves. The only sector that Israel didn’t relinquish to any degree was the Golan Heights; it was simply too dangerous to return this tactical high ground to the Syrians…

However, the most significant of all was the Israeli decision, soon after the Six-Day War, to return East Jerusalem to Jordanian control, including the Temple Mount itself. This was a colossal concession; in fact, to many Jews then and now, a monumental mistake.

To comprehend just how painful this world-opinion induced surrender (of the Temple Mount) was to the vast majority of Jews, listen to the message delivered by Israeli Chief Army Chaplain Rabbi Shlomo Goren to the IDF paratroopers who liberated all of Jerusalem, including the beloved Western Wall in June, 1967: “Soldiers of Israel, God be with you valiant warriors! I am speaking to you from the Western Wall, remnant of our Holy Temple. The dream of all the generations has been fulfilled before our eyes. The City of God, the Temple site, the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall—symbol of the Jewish people’s messianic redemption—have been delivered this day by you, heroes of the Israel Defense Forces.”

I vividly remember watching on television battle hardened IDF soldiers weeping at the Western Wall, which is also called the Wailing Wall. They shed tears of grief over hundreds of years of oppression and defeat; but mostly tears of joy over the astounding capture of Jerusalem and rightful return of Temple Mount to the Jews. It was, as heralded by Rabbi Goren, truly an event of messianic proportion (a prophetic precursor to the imminent return of Messiah). I shed tears of joy with them at this stunning historical event, only to be filled with sorrow when the Temple Mount was relinquished back to the Arabs…

Concerning today’s Temple Mount, Jews are not allowed to express any gesture of worship or prayer or planned assemblies on the Temple Mount. All such activity must be confined to the Western Wall just below Temple Mount. Can you imagine that? If not, then imagine that you as an American citizen would not be permitted to set foot on the hallowed ground of the Statue of Liberty. It’s pretty much the equivalent of restrictions placed on Jews with regard to the Temple Mount, their most holy place, in the most holy city of Jerusalem, in the holy land itself.

Rest assured: One day God will change all that and return all of Jerusalem including the Temple Mount back to the Jews through their (our) Messiah! Listen to what the Lord says concerning the end times restoration of Israel … which is taking shape in Israel daily, i.e. the massive return of Jews to the reborn sovereign State of Israel.

“And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy” (Ezekiel 37: 26-28). *Note: the word holy means separate, distinct, set aside for a special purpose.

What else does God say about Jerusalem and the Temple Mount? “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. 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: 1-3, italics for emphasis).

The Three Holiest Sites of Islam

Let’s continue today’s article by looking more closely at the history of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the context of two other (holier) places in Islam.

Holiest Place in Islam

Mecca: Site of the Kaaba (including the Black Stone) and the AL Haram Mosque. According to Muslim tradition, Abraham and his son, Ishmael, built the Kaaba as a symbol of the house of God, at which time God (Allah) established the Hajj rituals. Obviously, such an event can be found nowhere in the Bible, which is the case for nearly all Muslim writings or traditions. Whenever Muslims refer to Abraham, he is always (only) the father of Ishmael. Rather, than Isaac, who Scripture unequivocally declares is the Promised Child chosen over Ishmael … the child who would continue the Jewish Race and be the ancestor of the Messiah. Nor is there any evidence of Abraham ever being in Mecca. In short, it is a tradition that is not affirmed by historical records, including any such reference to the Hajj. That came later after Mohammed started the Islamic religion.

(The Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia)

Second Most Holy Place

Medina: Next in line of the most sacred sites is the Masjid Al Nabawi Mosque, built by Mohammed next to the house where he lived, with his tomb located in the mosque. Muslims normally include this mosque in their Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, required of every able-bodied Muslim at least once in their lifetime. According to Mohammed, Allah commanded him to reinstate all of the rituals of Hajj just as (also according to Mohammed) they were established by Allah through Abraham. Again, there is no historical record of such rites until the time of Mohammed. But that is the case with most of Islam, i.e. invention or reinvention of Biblical history to suit this new religion, which (in a Johnny-come-late fashion) surfaced over 2,500 years after God called Abraham to be the father of the Jewish nation and over 1,500 years after King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

Third Holiest Place

Jerusalem: The first two holiest places in Islam are understandable given the history that Mohammed and the Arabs lived in Saudi Arabia, particularly Mecca and Medina. However, Jerusalem as the third holiest Islamic site is utterly baffling (more like implausible), beginning with the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself. In Arabic, Al-Aqsa simply means, “the farthest.” Both the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were built AFTER Mohammed allegedly had been whisked away from Mecca to Jerusalem in one night’s travel, then ascended to heaven from the Noble Sanctuary.

Despite Muslim attempts to rewrite history by maintaining that neither Solomon’s nor Herod’s Temple ever existed or if they did exist not on Temple Mount, Biblical and secular history overwhelmingly proves otherwise. Let’s look at some dates and sequence of events to see how they match up with the Islamic narrative … whether Mohammed even set foot in Jerusalem, thereby, making it holy only to Muslims for that reason alone.

Mohammed was born in 570 AD and died on June 8, 632. In the year 620, he was said to have travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem on a winged steed, from where (Temple Mount) he visited both heaven and hell. Whereas, there’s no real problem with these dates, there are enormous inaccuracies with the rest of the story.

(Depiction of Mohammed’s Winged Steed)

The dilemma begins with the historical evidence that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built in 696 AD by Khalif Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwar who had earlier built the Dome of the Rock; or in 705 AD by Mohammed’s son, in memory of Mohammed’s magical journey. Whichever date is accurate, neither can accommodate the timeline of Mohammed’s fanciful journey. The reason: the after-the-fact story told by Mohammed’s followers is that the “farthest” mosque was purportedly located in Jerusalem.

Question: How could Mohammed have travelled to a (any) mosque in Jerusalem in 620 AD when, in fact, there wasn’t a single mosque in Jerusalem until the Al-Aqsa was built decades later?!

Here is a quote from the Qur’an: “Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs, surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”

Although this Quranic verse mentions a night trip made by Mohammed (servant) from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to “the remote mosque,” it does not actually specify that this farthest mosque was in Jerusalem, or even that Mohammed then ascended to heaven. Moreover, when the Al-Aqsa was built to commemorate this enigmatic expedition (to another far away mosque that didn’t exist in Jerusalem), Muslims eventually designated Al-Aqsa as the actual remote mosque referenced in the Koran! Talk about arguing in a circle (circular reasoning)!

There’s more. Initially Islamic scholars firmly believed that the farthest mosque was a metaphor, signifying some unknown place between heaven and earth, not a specific physical location. In his earliest biography, Muslim historians depict Mohammed’s passage to heaven as a spiritual one only; additionally, this journey (in spirit) was directly from Mecca to heaven, not from Mecca to Jerusalem, then to heaven. Apparently, in the effort to make Mohammed’s mystical travels more plausible, Muslim historians changed the story to that of a physical pilgrimage to the farthest mosque or the “remote mosque” which they later decided should be in Jerusalem, that didn’t have a mosque until some 70-80 years afterward—what is now called the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

(Arabic Map Showing Mosque in Mecca and Temple Mount, Alleged Beginning and Ending of Mohammed’s Travel to Jerusalem)

Even more contradictory is the fact that the Koran refers to Israel as the adna al-ard, translated in English as the “closest land.” If Muslim tradition holds that Mohammed was taken to the farthest mosque (Al-Aqsa) or land (wherever that might have been), then how could that have been Jerusalem (Israel), which they claim is the nearest land?

The historians should have stuck with their initial interpretation, that Mohammed’s imaginative journey was spiritual only. To change it to a physical occurrence is to further reduce it to nothing more than a myth, what with the conflicting timelines and contradictory legend (language) of nearest (Israel) and farthest (mosque in Jerusalem) places where this event supposedly occurred.

A Stunning Statement by an Egyptian Scholar

The following is taken from the April, 2016 edition of the Levitt Letter, an online and printed newsletter published by Zola Levitt Ministries:

“In an interview with Egypt’s CBC TV, Youssef Ziedan, director of the Manuscript Center and Museum at the Library of Alexandria, noted that the Koran never mentions Mohammed ascending to heaven, from Jerusalem or any other location. Citing ancient Islamic scholars, Ziedan continued: ‘The Prophet Mohammed, after being harassed by the Quraysh (tribe in Mecca), went to the city of Ta’if. On the road to Ta’if, there were two mosques: Al-Adna (‘the nearest’) Mosque and Al-Aqsa (‘the farthest’) Mosque.’

“Ziedan explained that the ‘Al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) did not exist back then, and the city was not called Al-Quds. It was called Aelia, and it had no mosques.’ The stunned interviewer wondered if that meant that ‘there is no justification for the war (over Jerusalem), and we should just leave Al-Aqsa, which has nothing to do with us?’ Ziedan maintained, ‘Neither we nor the (Jews) have anything to do with it. That’s what I’m saying. People should think about this.’

‘Where would that lead us?’ asked the host.

Ziedan’s response: ‘To peace.’”

*Note: Only Messiah Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can and will bring lasting peace to Israel and to the world. Nevertheless, Zeidan’s response was on track. At the very least the Palestinians could/should no longer use religious heritage—based on the myth that the Al-Aqsa (or any mosque) had been visited by Mohammed in Jerusalem—to claim superiority over Jewish rights to Temple Mount, with Judaic jurisdiction meticulously documented by both Biblical and secular history and by archeological evidence.

During subsequent control of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, then again by the Arabs (Saladin) then the Ottoman Turks followed by the British in 1917, the Dome of the Rock gradually fell into disrepair. This and other historical evidence (factors) demonstrate that neither Muslim Arabs in surrounding countries nor even Palestinian Arabs in Israel placed much significance at all on their Noble Sanctuary. That is, not until Jews recaptured all of Jerusalem including Temple Mount during Israel’s spectacular Six-Day War victory. That changed everything. Since then, Palestinians have hotly disputed the rights to Temple Mount; including, but not limited to, their non-negotiable contention that Jerusalem (at least East Jerusalem) belongs to them and will be the capital of a Palestinian State.

Likewise, most Israelis contend that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, and must never be divided into two capitals, or divided at all.

To further confirm Arab noticeable lack of pre-1967 interest in Jerusalem or the Muslim structures on Temple Mount, Daniel Pipes, President of the Middle East Forum stated in 2001 that, “the British government recognized the minimal Muslim interest in Jerusalem during World War I.”

The British understood how little significance Arabs placed on Jerusalem when they did not include the city as part of assigned Arab territories preceding the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Whatever (minimal) importance the Arabs placed on Jerusalem didn’t matter, as they turned down the partitions of the Balfour Declaration as well as the portion of Israel allocated to them in the United Nations resolution of 1947. The historical record is unmistakable: It’s not that the Arabs desperately wanted Jerusalem or control of Temple Mount (not until 1967). In fact, they had marginal interest in Jerusalem, and did little to maintain or improve the city’s infrastructure for hundreds of years.

Here is a quote from British negotiator, Henry McMahon, when Great Britain chose not to include Jerusalem as part of Arab controlled regions in the 1917 partition of Israel between Jews and Arabs: “…there was no place … of sufficient importance … further south of Damascus to which the Arabs attached vital importance.”

Another quote taken from Breaking News Israel article posted by contributing writer Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz on 3-16-16, citing Daniel Pipes who said: “A fourteen-century long pattern suggests that so long as Israel controls Jerusalem, Muslims will respond by focusing on the city and wanting to seize it. The knife-intifada is this moment’s tactic toward that end; after it duly fails, one should expect another—and another after that.”

Then Adam Berkowitz quotes Moshe Feiglin, chairman of the Zehut party in Israel and former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset: “This is part of the Islamic culture and their concept of a national entity, which is unlike the Western concept or that of the Jews. The Muslims believe that if they can conquer it (Jerusalem), culturally and then physically, the city belongs to Islam, even if it as no historical or religious connection to Islam.”

From our examination of the true history of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, we now see more clearly that neither the mosque, nor Dome of the Rock, nor Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount) have any real historical relevance to or connection with Islam’s purported interest in Jerusalem. Rather, they are merely a convenient excuse for Muslims to continue their concerted effort to expel or even eliminate (if they could) all Jews in Israel. It is not question of even one square foot of land on Temple Mount or anywhere else in Israel. It is a question of whether Palestinian Arabs and Muslim nations will ever recognize the sovereign state of Israel and the right of Jews to live in their ancient land, given to them by God himself. A land they occupied (in the positive connotation of the word) long before the Arabs, hundreds of years before Mohammed started the religion of Islam.

Ever so sadly, the conflict continues. Anti-Semitic animosity toward Jews has intensified not only in Muslim nations, especially Iran, but also in Europe and even the United States. Palestinian Arab hostility incessantly manifests itself in deceitful and sometimes absurd ways.

For example: PA Authority President Mahmoud Abbas intends to submit yet another resolution to the United Nations, demanding condemnation of Israel’s actions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Because there are no such Israeli “actions” to condemn, undoubtedly Abbas will fall back on the “Jewish occupation” of the West Bank including the worn-out lies about the illegal Jewish “settlers.”

Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article entitled Israeli Occupation … Fact or Myth? Posted on 5-16-15. Also, Jerusalem … A Capital without a Country, published 6-13-15.

Cameras on Temple Mount

Recently flyers were posted on Temple Mount encouraging Palestinians to destroy the surveillance cameras that will be installed, via an agreement between Israel and Jordan, which has custodial authority over Temple Mount as given to them by the Israelis. Ironically, the security cameras were originally suggested by Jordan’s King Abdullah II to US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who enthusiastically endorsed the idea. The cameras would show proof positive pictures of exactly who was doing what to whom or to what on Temple Mount. The idea was rejected by the Palestinian Authority with the ridiculous rationalization that the cameras would be used to, “arrest Palestinians under the pretext of incitement.”

What pretext? There is no pretext. The cameras will be monitored by Jordan as guardian over Temple Mount, which directly undermines the PA claim that Temple Mount authority belongs to them by virtue of the Al-Aqsa Mosque being there. Moreover, the surveillance would clearly show that no Israelis are “desecrating” anything on Temple Mount nor is the Al-Aqsa Mosque in any “danger” as preposterously alleged by the PA. Nor is there any “plot” by the Jews to change the “status quo” on Temple Mount. Conversely, the cameras would expose the constant harassment of Jews on Temple Mount by Palestinian rioting, particularly during Jewish holidays.

(Why Palestinians Do Not Want Cameras on Temple Mount … They Show Everything)

As said by Dr. Reuven Berko in an article posted by Israel Hayom on April 13^th, 2016:

“The surveillance grid set up in the area is meant to finally point to the real provocateurs who endanger the holy site, but the Palestinian Authority, which is ‘profoundly concerned’ with the integrity of Al-Aqsa mosque, is the one trying to sabotage this project, as it stands to undermine the influence of the site.”

Dr. Berko continues: “The project (camera installations) also undercuts the Palestinian Authority’s absurd attempts to use Al-Aqsa mosque as the anchor to its demand to have east Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state, especially given the fact that all of Islam’s other holy cities—Mecca, Medina, Qom, Karbala, and Najaf—are not capital cities.”

Things to Ponder

Yes, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a myth. Not its current existence; rather the supposed ancient connection of Islam to Jerusalem based on Muhammad’s alleged travel to a “remote” mosque that didn’t exist at the time in Jerusalem. Muslim scholars also said that Israel was the “nearest land” to Mecca. Which is it … nearest or farthest? It can’t be both. Actually it’s neither. And, of all things, why wouldn’t Mohammed, himself, have included this miraculous journey to heaven in the Koran?

A strong clue to the answer: Just like the Koran contains no real miracles or fulfilled prophecies (of which the Bible is replete with both), Mohammed and his followers couldn’t risk the possibility that such a tale contained in the Koran might be disproven in succeeding generations.

Yet, Islam in general and Palestinian Muslim Arabs in particular base their rights to Temple Mount exclusively on this illusion. If their claim is even remotely possible, you would think that their holy book, the Koran, would mention Jerusalem just one time. But it doesn’t, and the reason is obvious: Not until 1967 did Muslims or Arabs give a hoot about Jerusalem, let alone contend that Jerusalem belongs to them and must be the capital of the Palestinian State.

Even Mecca, the most sacred site of Islam, is not the capital of Saudi Arabia! Nor is Medina! Where, then, does Jerusalem really rank in Islam?

(Riyadh, Capital of Saudi Arabia)

But the Bible is not a myth. Hundreds of prophecies concerning Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the return of the Jews to Israel. More remain unfulfilled until the glorious Day of the Lord, which is nearly upon us.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of all who have believed and received his Son, Messiah Jesus … He is the true and living God. He made man (and woman). All other gods are man-made.

His promises are forever true … worthy of our trust! His glory is great … worthy of our praise!

What the Lord says will happen, happens. What he says he will do, he does.

Listen to him:

“The Lord says, ‘Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you. Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me (Messiah Yeshua) to you. The land of Judah will be the Lord’s special possession in the holy land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city. Be silent before the Lord, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling’” (Zechariah 2:10-13).

Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part II)

09 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Kingdom of Heaven, Nation of Priests

Separation of Church and State

Last week’s article began by quoting the famous First Amendment of the Bill of Rights:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Since that was such a great introduction, let’s do it again. (The greatness of the introduction is the incomparable First Amendment itself, not me quoting it!)

But this time we’ll fast forward 87 years from the birth of our nation in 1776 to another famous proclamation; the source of which is more easily recognized than whether the freedoms listed above came from the US Constitution or the Declaration of Independence or the Bill of Rights.

What you’re about to read was a remarkable reminder that our nation’s inalienable birthrights and legal birth certificates (documents) would expectantly ensure the existence of the greatest representative democracy on the face of the earth—the Republic of the United States of America. That, even during our country’s greatest crisis, the noble aspirations of our founding fathers would not be forgotten.

It begins with:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Got it yet? No … then the final words will surely turn on the light:

“…that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Of course you knew. President Abraham Lincoln uttered these historical words on November 19, 1863, in what has become known as the Gettysburg Address, delivered a few months after the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War in and near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Concerning, then, our two-part Eye of Prophecy inquiry and investigation: Can the lofty ambitions of a government that guarantees individual freedoms, a government that is of, by, and for the people be better accomplished if Church and State functions are shared or are separated?

Before we look at some Biblical historical precedents, we need to remember that Church, State, and Religion must first be defined, as they were in last week’s Part I article. Thus, if we’re describing religion properly (man-made set of rules, regulations, and rituals) and Church accurately (a hierarchal clergy-run institution or organization claiming supremacy over the laity and over true Christian salvation of individuals based solely on God’s plan and purpose as found in the Bible), we can conceivably get a more balanced perspective on the interaction between God and man, and between peoples … nationally and internationally.

An Intriguing Premise

I’d like to present a premise that might startle those who passionately defend the government envisioned by our forefathers and confirmed convincingly by Abraham Lincoln—a government that I, too, ardently admire and strenuously support. Indeed, it is a constitutional system of checks and balances that is the envy of people the world over. As much as individual pride, power, and pleasure will allow, the United States of America is, in principle and practice, a nation for the people.

“But that’s not all”, you might reply. “It’s also, of and by the people.”

Yes, that is what President Lincoln said. That also is what the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights intended, because these freedom documents were both of and by sincere representatives of the people who wanted independence from Church States and State Churches.

Moreover, as alluded to in last week’s article, Scripture is crystal clear that God and Messiah Jesus never meant for individual believers to be part of or subservient to a central, organized ecclesiastical system such as found in Roman Catholicism, or in Mormonism, or in the Church of England or any other systematized “ism.”

In that regard and by that definition, there should be a separation of Church and State, because the Lord never envisioned such a Church in the first place. Which is why God worked in, through and for those who revolted against the oppressive autocracy of the Church States of Europe. Notice, however: Our founding fathers didn’t leave God out of their hopes and plans; because they fully understood that freedom of religion should not be equated with freedom from religion. The majority of them acknowledged God as the ultimate source and sustainer of individual liberties that can better flourish within a republic. That both the people and their elected officials could express their beliefs without the existence of or need for a centralized structured religious system to force those beliefs on anyone, at any time, for any reason.

In today’s world, however, many have misused, abused, and distorted the balance between Church and State for two basic reasons: (1) wrong thinking and defective definition of religion and Church (especially the Christian faith), as detailed in last week’s article.

(2) Because they have dismissed anything to do with God and his plan for the human race, there are those who contend that we must eliminate all vestiges of “religion” in government, which ultimately results in expelling all references to and symbols of God in public places. Under the pretense of maintaining Church separation from State (in which the concept itself is misunderstood and misapplied), they have misled many in this country to unwittingly think and act on the (false) premise that there must be freedom from religion. Which is fundamentally true for both unbelievers and believers alike, if religion and Church are properly defined. But is simply not true if individual Christian rights are denied; thereby, resulting in a classic case of reverse discrimination.

In reality, many leaders and their followers and groups like the ACLU are trying to accomplish their “hidden” agenda so pointedly pronounced by King David (yes, he was a king … we’ll get to that shortly):

“Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ’Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from slavery to God’” (Psalms 2:1-3).

The Premise: Until Messiah Jesus returns to establish the Kingdom of God, the very best form of government on this earth is one that is for the people, but not exclusively of or by the people!

Stated another way: For government to be supremely successful for the people, it must be of and by God … from and through God. Ultimately, it must also be for God and his Son (for his glory) who, as Scripture says, is the “Beginning and the End.”

The Bible clearly shows us that our Creator is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. He is truth, light, and life. He is perfect in every way. He wants the best for us and he knows what’s best for us; including, but not limited to, the ideal form of leadership and administration of daily life in the human race. Yet, he gives us free will to choose. Who and what we choose can literally be a matter of life and death … individually and nationally.

Said God to the people through Moses: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

The Lord never intended for a city, state, or nation to be governed by a “church” because he never meant for there to be a “religion.” God’s original plan was for every man and woman to have a personal relationship and fellowship with him, based on uncompromising love for him, total obedience to him, and unwavering trust in him. If Israel (all peoples) would have listened to the Lord and held tightly to his instructions, they would have been governed by God, himself.

Indeed, that was the plan from the time that God chose Abraham and told him, “…All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).

A Kingdom of Priests

Soon after the Lord delivered the Israelites from slavery and shortly before he gave the Ten Commandments to the entire assembly of Israel (Exodus Chapter 20), God told Moses:

“…Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. This is the message you must give to the people of Israel” (Exodus 19:3-6, italics for emphasis).

The Ten Commandments were the beginning of the source of light and blessing to Israel, but also Gentiles who acknowledged and accepted the existence and authority and goodness of God Almighty. Subsequently, God gave detailed instructions to Moses concerning their personal relationship with God and interpersonal relationships with each other and with the Gentile nations. This included the Levitical Sacrificial System that required individuals to present innocent animals for sacrifice (sin, guilt, peace, praise offerings) and annual observance of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) for the entire nation. Although the High Priest and other priests supervised and regulated the administration of this all-important sacrificial structure (forgiveness of sin and restoration to God), every Israelite was part of (what was for a while and what could have been indefinitely) a holy nation—set apart for a special purpose.

Israel was meant to be a nation of priests, with the optimum form of government—a Theocracy, defined by Webster’s Dictionary as, “having God as the central interest and ultimate concern.”

A government which was of God, by God, and for God. Therefore, for the people because God promised he would bless them if they made him the center of their lives; unlike the Gentile nations that worshipped man-made gods and sacrificed their children to these detestable gods (demons). The Jews were to be an example for and share God’s truth with the Gentiles; unfortunately, they did not do this.

If we as a nation acknowledge God as our Creator, then trust him completely to bless us with needed protection and provisions, there would be no cause or concern for any such thing as separation of Church and State. Because there would be no centralized Church or church system. Rather the Kingdom of Heaven would be (is) in the hearts and minds of individuals who believe and receive Christ Jesus as personal Savior. Both believers and unbelievers can then serve in various levels of government without forcing their beliefs on each other. God alone will determine the success and welfare of a nation, depending on the nature and extent of the people’s recognition of his sovereignty.

Whether this is a Parliamentary or Democratic Representative Republic, an Absolute or Constitutional Monarchy, or any other form of government other than Fascism or Communism, wouldn’t matter as much as we think it does. None of the leaders of those governments need compel any one to believe in God or accept Jesus as Lord and Savior or behave in a certain manner as long as it is legal and peaceable. Conversely, secular unbelievers should not insist (falsely) that the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness is only possible if the State purges itself of anything and everything that is Christian.

In just a generation or two after Joshua led them into the Promised Land and God gave them victory over their enemies, the Israelites began to abandon the Lord in favor of pagan gods and practices. They soon lost sight of the fact that it was faith (trust) in God, himself, to lead, protect, and to forgive them when they sinned. The keeping of the Mosaic Law, including the sacrifices and festivals, became a matter of rote, ritual observance that wasn’t from their heart. Eventually, even the priests and scribes became corrupt.

They failed to make the all-important distinction between a right standing before and relationship with their God through faith alone, contrasted to obedient observance of the ceremonial and civil laws as a condition for remaining in the Promised Land … but not for individual redemption.

Individual disobedience (sin … which all men commit) could be and was pardoned by God through the sacrificial system. But national (the greater majority of the people) rejection of the Lord by deliberately removing him from their daily affairs and replacing the Lord with false man-made gods of fertility (sex), crops (abundance and prosperity), and protection (victory in battle and security), led to discipline—mainly in the form of famines and persecution by their enemies. Inevitably it led to being conquered and exiled to Gentile nations … Assyria and Babylon; then later defeat at the hands of the Romans, with dispersion to the four corners of the earth that would last for nearly 2,000 years.

From a Nation of Priests to a Nation of Kings

After they conquered and inhabited the Promised Land of Israel, the Jews decided they would be much better off with a king to lead and govern them … like that of the Gentile nations. Instead of being an example and model to the Gentiles of what a near-perfect (as much as human error will allow) government could be and actually was for a while, they preferred a king over what was already working well in Israel—priests and judges who administered the ceremonial and civil laws (and justice), respectively. See Deuteronomy 17:1-13, as an example.

In this same chapter (setting), the Lord knew that his people would want a king to rule them, so years in advance he told the people through Moses:

“You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’ If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner” (Deuteronomy 17:14-15).

(Note: Remind you that a President of the United States must be a natural born citizen)?

The Lord then imposed conditions for the king (chosen by God), such as severing all ties with or influences from their former rulers in Egypt; not taking multiple wives because they would turn the king’s heart away from the Lord; not accumulating a lot of wealth, which can and often does corrupt a leader. Or, if not the wealth itself, then the power that goes with it.

Next came some profound but practical (Church-like and State-like) instructions that the Lord gave to them when (not if … the Lord knew it would happen) Israel switched from the harmonious and successful administrative blend of priests and judges to a nation ruled by a king.

“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear (respect, hold in awe) the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

Wow!

Do we see what’s going on here? Do we recognize that the success of a king (Prime Minister, President) and the welfare of his or her kingdom is predicated on these profound precepts given by God to Moses? Indeed, in all of Scripture. Shall we appreciate these principles and see how they could apply to all governmental levels of the Republic of the United States; for that matter, to any government whose leader(s) would at least acknowledge and respect the true and living God? Can we fit them into whatever view we hold on the issue of church and state separation? Better yet, shouldn’t we fit our opinions into God’s Word?

Do we grasp that genuine motivation to read, study, and apply Biblical truths and guidelines will shape the mind and heart of the king (or any leader), so as to humble him. To help him (or her) understand that they are not above the law or superior to their fellow citizens. That regular exposure to Judaic-Christian values as contained in Scripture will enable a government’s successors to continue with recognition of God and service to the people in the way God intended. That leaders will set an example for all the people to do what Scripture declares so that the Lord will direct, protect, and provide for them.

“…O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Fear the Lord if you are wise! (Micah 6:8-9).

Can we also see what is not going on in God’s instructions to Moses for kings (leaders)?

Nowhere is it stated or even implied that the king shall force God’s Word or Ways on his subjects (constituents), either by executive decree or by legislation. For example, a National Day of Prayer is a wonderful idea, one to which a nation would do well to practice. But it’s completely voluntary, subject to each individual’s preference to observe or not to observe.

When God permitted Israel to change from a Kingdom of Priests to a Kingdom of Kings, he also made allowances for the faults, frailties, and failures of the people. Thus, the Lord’s instructions to the king did not, by compulsion, mandate that the people do the same thing. It would be much better for them individually and as a nation if they did seek and acknowledge God in both private affairs and affairs of state; but above all, God still gives the human race free will to choose. No better exemplified than America’s freedom to vote someone into office, but then accept the consequences (good, bad, or indifferent) of that choice.

A Priest or a King, but Not Both

With divine foreknowledge the Lord knew all too well that unrestrained, unconditional power corrupts and that the vast majority of national and international leaders throughout history would be or become malevolent monarchs instead of benevolent, he also told Israel that the same man could not be both king and priest.

In that respect, there was a (balanced) separation of kingly duties and priestly duties. What we would probably identify in today’s society as some semblance of Separation of Church and State.

For one thing, no one person had the time or energy to occupy both offices. Also, if a king was wicked—which the vast majority of Israel’s king were, as were nearly all Gentile kings—the priests and the people that faithfully followed the Lord could still live and prosper in the land because of God’s faithfulness to keep his promises (of blessing).

As the leader(s) of a nation goes, so do its people often go? Right? Of course, right. Unless, that is, the greater populace seeks God’s mercy as so powerfully proclaimed by God to King David’s son, Solomon. In that context, David set the benchmark for a godly king who, despite a couple of grievous wrongs, consistently followed and obeyed the Lord. Something that virtually none of the kings of the ten northern tribes and only 3-4 of the kings from Judah accomplished.

Listen again to the well-known words that vividly explain God’s grace and mercy if people as a nation turn to him:

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (II Chronicles 7:14).

Then, the Lord declares to Solomon: “As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’ But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them…” (Verses 17-20).

Make no mistake … this beautiful land of opportunity that we call the United States of America was, in fact, given to us by the true and living God. The surest way to lose our freedoms, if not the land itself, is to as a nation (all three branches of government) abandon, reject, and mock our Creator and Savior. Ironically, this is being done by many who claim they are protecting those liberties by eliminating all things shown, said, or done that smack of religion, with practically everything they do directed against Christians (true believers). Their real agenda is to eliminate the name of Jesus and take away the rights of those who name the name of Christ, including freedom of worship, speech, press, and assembly, in say a meeting room on a high school or college campus.

I firmly believe if we and especially our presidents, senators, representatives, governors, mayors, and judges adhered to (the basic) truths and principles found in Scripture, at least acknowledging God’s ultimate authority and thanking him for all of his blessings, there would be no need to debate the issue of Church and State separation. Our leaders would fully comprehend what it means to serve both God and the people. This service would not need to in any way, shape, or form result in a man-made religion or hierarchical religious denomination or institution to impose a distorted view of government ON the people.

(Based on the Senate’s Resolution, President Lincoln called for a National Day of Prayer … Optional of course)

So, what about a kingdom of priests for Israel? Did God’s plan fail?

I think not. God always (ultimately) accomplishes his purpose, whether the people fail or not.

And what about the absolute best model for the human race to be governed? Is that an impossible dream? Is it the stuff that myths are made of? Comparatively speaking, the United States would appear to be the most successful governmental enterprise of human history; with emphasis, however, on comparative. Meaning in contrast to dictatorships where separation of Church and State was a foregone conclusion … any State presumption or perception of interference by someone’s “religious” beliefs could mean instant death. Or compared to Islamic countries whose government is of, by, and for only those who are Muslims … the ultimate example of an oppressive State Religion.

Likewise, the misguided, unbiblical, anti-Christ(ian) monarchies of pre-Renaissance Europe that were bedfellows with the Roman Catholic Church or Church of England; or whose kings and queens fought for supremacy against those dubious paragons of religion.

There’s no doubt: The ACLU and other organizations and individuals like them have grossly mislead the American public. When placed in the context of the aforementioned Church-State paradigms, there simply doesn’t exist in this country the slightest form, whatsoever, of anything resembling or threatening to duplicate a State Church. Nor is the cry of “wolf” logical or appropriate in duping us to think there may be the slightest risk of a Church State in this country.

On the contrary, there is an ever-growing secularism and socialism that is trending to the opposite extreme … a godless intolerant government that will eventually yield its authority to one man. An evil ruler whom the Bible calls the man of lawlessness, the beast, and the Antichrist.

There is increasing discrimination and persecution (mostly through legal actions in Western countries, but also terrorism; plus physical persecution in Islamic nations, including murder) of Christians by those who claim tolerance and plurality as the only way to live. Which, translated, means no Christian rights or, worse, no Christians at all; because they believe that Messiah Jesus is the only Way, Truth, and Life. Anti-Christians are motivated by a convoluted logic and twisted mindset that doesn’t concede the obvious: It requires a heavy dose of intolerance to criticize, marginalize, and ostracize those they claim are intolerant!

Essentially and ultimately they are attacking our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For it was he who said that unless a person is born again, he/she cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). That he is the only way to God, the Father. That only he can give us eternal life … and so on.

Current Kingdom of Priests

Getting back to our question regarding a nation of priests. The answer is a resounding, yes!

Though the awesome sacrifice of Messiah Jesus, a new race has been born. Both Jew and Gentile who believe and receive Christ as Lord and Savior have become one new person.

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us … He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death” (Ephesians 2:14-16).

If we agree with God’s Word that Jew and Gentile and Gentile and Gentile can be one in Christ, no walls of separation would be needed … period. Except one wall: between truth and lies.

Says God through the Jewish Apostle Peter to all believers: “…for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (I Peter 2:9).

But that’s not all. God will complete his marvelous plan to establish the ultimate kingdom with the greatest King of all time to rule and reign. It will be the perfect form of government, a Theocracy of and by God for his glory and for the everlasting Shalom (peace and well-being) of all who choose life in that Kingdom over everything this worn-out, wicked world of ours can offer.

In that regard, permit me to again quote from a previous Eye of Prophecy article, Kingdom of God (published 1-17-15). In italics as follows:

Paul proceeds to tell us more about God’s splendid plan for the human race. In fact he calls it a mystery, because at the time that God gave it to him even the new Christians didn’t completely understand the eternal implications of what Christ would achieve at his first coming and would continue at his second coming. Listen to these extraordinary words:

“God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

That plan is none other than: THE KINGDOM OF GOD (on earth). Revealed by Messiah Jesus himself as recorded in the Gospels; and consolidated into the everlasting tenets of the Christian faith by the authors of the epistles and Revelation.

Jesus spoke often of the Kingdom of God; for example, comparing it to a mustard seed … the smallest of seeds that when planted grows into an enormous tree. Which is exactly what has happened to the body of Christ; an exponential growth down through the ages, to now consist of believers from virtually every nation and language on earth. It is the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts and minds of those who have been redeemed by the shed blood of Christ. Next, will come the final physical Kingdom of God on this earth; at which time all people, all governments, all nations will be brought under the authority of God’s magnificent Son. He will rule the nations with firmness, but fairness.

Isn’t that what most people want? They want: law, order, equality, safety, peace. And they want someone who has the kind of authority to realize those dreams, but also someone who is kind and considerate with that authority. One who truly cares about people and what’s best for them; who can rule and judge with impartiality and kindness. A truly wise and benevolent King whose attributes perfectly reflect who and what he is: Love, Truth, Justice, Mercy.

Kings and queens rise and they fall. Kingdoms come, kingdoms go. Nations wax and wane. Soon, very soon we will witness the rise of a Royal Kingdom and a Righteous King who will rule and reign supreme on the earth: The Kingdom of God.

Things to Ponder

“Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm” (Proverbs 19:23).

“When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan” (Proverbs 29:2).

Of Messiah (Jesus), God through his prophet Isaiah promises:

“His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:7).

Yes, Lord … make it happen!

Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part I)

02 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

First Amendment, Wall of Separation

Separation of Church and State

Such a noble idea and magnificent declaration! One that protects freedom of speech, press, peaceful assembly, petition, and religion in the United States of America.

Most patriotic or even marginally patriotic Americans know where this profound proclamation can be found. Or do we?

Let’s say that you are a guest on the TV game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The next to last question is: American citizens are guaranteed freedom of religion and speech in what famous document?

You stare at the four multiple choice answers on the screen, each one challenging you to choose it… but only one is correct.

You mull them over: It’s in the Declaration of Independence, right? No, it has to be part of the Constitution of the United States. Wait, could it be in Preamble to the Constitution? Of course, it must be the Bill of Rights? These rights and others are in the First Amendment, which is in the Bill of Rights.

Your uncertainty turns to supreme confidence. “Bill of Rights,” you yell. “My final answer.”

“Absolutely right,” exclaims the game show host. The audience is going crazy.

Our founding forefathers didn’t include such liberties in the Constitution itself because they assumed that these rights were innate to a democracy, especially a Republic. They should be a natural extension of “the inalienable rights” of Americans, and shouldn’t need to be listed. Right?

No, wrong, said many of the early Americans even after victory in the Revolutionary War won these rights from the British. The newly crowned “citizens of the United States of America” wanted written guarantees that the United States Government, present and future, would not in any way infringe on the God-given freedoms that make up the very heart and soul of this great country, of man himself. Thus, Amendments were necessary, rather than repealing the Constitution itself.

One more question to go, tied in to the previous question … get it right and you’re an instant millionaire!

The final question: Is the separation of Church and State guaranteed in either the US Constitution or the First Amendment?

For a million dollars, this couldn’t be easier. Only two choices … Yes or No.

No need to guess, because practically everyone knows the answer. It’s in the US Constitution. If not, it’s got to be in the Bill of Rights First Amendment. Either way, you win.

With a growing smile on your face and without needing to exercise your option of calling a friend for their advice, you hold your answer with a dramatic, tension-building pause.

You take a deep breath. After a long suspenseful exhale, you shout:

“Yes! At least one of them guarantees a wall of separation between Church and State.”

The game show host feigns his own anticipation-filled pause to intensify the drama. He smiles and begins to nod, then slowly shakes his head and frowns. You hear the impossible words that crush your dreams of instant wealth.

“No, I’m so sorry,” he groans. “There is no mention of Church and State separation in the US Constitution or the First Amendment.”

Nonsense! It must be a stupid technicality. The game show is fixed. Everyone knows that either the Constitution or First Amendment or both dictate that Church and State must be separated. Dismayed, you head straight for your hotel where you will look up the First Amendment on your iPad.

On your way you call your friend, whom you should have called on the show. She sadly reminds you that the earliest reference to actual separation of church and state comes from a revered, well-known American … Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States at the time. But not from the Constitution or the Bill of Rights or any other subsequent Amendment or from any federal or state law.

Back to Reality

In a moment, we’ll look again at the precise words of the First Amendment; plus some commentary on what I and millions of others believe to be the true and sincere intention of our founding fathers regarding, freedom of religion. With, however, an acknowledgment that many others see this differently. In fact, with the exception of abortion, same-sex marriage, and illegal immigration (and lately, Donald Trump!), there’s hardly another subject that divides American opinion more than the issue of Church and State compatibility.

Neither today’s or next week’s article is meant to debate the issue, including court decisions pertaining to the First Amendment freedom of religion, influenced by Thomas Jefferson’s famous line, “…thus, building a wall of separation between Church and State.” That well-meaning but controversial opinion was penned in a letter … the original source of Church and State separation.

What I will do is to emphasize the indisputable evidence that—even as President and years earlier as primary author of the Declaration of Independence—Jefferson’s “wall of separation” was supposition, not law. That point has been accurately and adequately defended by a number of reliable historians and judicial experts.

Thus, it’s not a question of whether separation of Church and State is the law of the land. It is not. Rather, it’s a question of whether it should be adopted, either by law or in principle. If so, to what extent?

Mostly in next week’s article, we’ll examine what Scripture has to say. All the while remembering that the framers of the United States Constitution were heavily influenced by their reliance on Judeo-Christian principles and precedents given by God through his Word.

I will, as much as possible, refrain from presenting my own opinions (in so many words) as to whether a wall should be erected, or already exists between Church and State. Instead, I prefer to present the Biblical evidence; to perhaps assist in forming your opinion if you have none, reinforce it, or possibly change your views on the subject. Obviously, that’s up to you. Whatever your opinion, I believe what you’ll see in Scripture just might surprise you.

Based on what I see as a firm Biblical premise, I’ll give you a healthy hint: The Lord is for and against separation of Church and State!

“What kind of a deductive cop-out is that,” you ask? Isn’t the Lord either for or against virtually everything? No, there are exceptions. For example: Even though the sinner and the sin of the sinner are practically inseparable (especially the consequences thereof), God loves the sinner but hates the sin.

The answer is both yes and no because the answer is contingent upon two basic conditions: (1) the definition of church and the definition of state; (2) Once the definitions are understood, it also depends on the type of government and the people running the government—their moral fiber, innate integrity, spiritual status, and their degree of acknowledgement, if any, of the Lord

The Actual Words & Clear Intent

Let’s return to the First Amendment.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”

We’ll stop there, for a moment.

The primary purpose of the Pilgrims and Puritans leaving Europe was to gain freedom mainly from the tyranny of the Church of England but also the Roman Catholic Church. These two ecclesiastic institutions had exerted an inordinate amount of influence on the governments of several countries. Much of the time, the King or Queen of a nation vied for sovereignty against Popes or Cardinals; thus, their citizens became pawns in the deadly game of King versus Bishop. Whoever prevailed for however long resulted in either a State Church or a Church State.

HOWEVER, this struggle for supremacy had nothing to do with born-again believers who reported directly and only to God and Jesus Christ. The only involvement of true believers was that of being seriously persecuted by State, Church, or both.

(Please, pause with me for this message: Will the ACLU ever realize that no one is really being persecuted, discriminated, deprived, harmed, injured or otherwise mistreated, except the Christians who the ACLU alleges are guilty of the aforementioned offenses?)!

The First Amendment does not state or even imply that Church and State must be separated as such; certainly not to the degree demanded by many in today’s society, i.e. no Ten Commandments posted in government offices or public places. Or, no “Christian” prayers, objects, or references anywhere except in one’s home or church. Not even mention of Jesus’s name by military chaplains! Yet, Muslim prayers are not only allowed in some schools and public places, they are encouraged by our United States President! That is the height of duplicity, but also a subject for another day.

The First Amendment stipulates that Congress (used generically to include all three branches of our government), shall not make (pass) any law that would directly or even indirectly result in the creation or adoption of a “religion” from or through which the government would govern the people.

Does that mean complete “separation” of church and state? Let’s continue.

Equally clear is that Congress cannot be party to, “…prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Meaning prevention of or interference with individual or group freedom to exercise their beliefs (practice, which includes preaching), as further addressed and amplified through freedom of speech and/or right of peaceful assembly, and right to publish.

Does this additional condition mean that there is Church and there is State; and, like east and west, never the two shall meet? Or is it at face value simply saying what it appears to be saying? If so, then is a pastor of a local church permitted to speak Biblically on the subject of abortion to a high school class whose teacher invited the Pastor? Can a member of Congress, who supports marriage between one man and one woman, announce that belief as an invited speaker for a graduation ceremony of lawyers without someone playing the Church and State card? Can a business who owns their store and property put up a nativity scene?

Why not? Give me one good reason, why not?

Separation of Church and State?

No, I asked for a good reason.

Did I say earlier I would refrain from conveying my opinion? These are not opinions, they are simply observations! Besides, most of the Biblical evidence comes next week.

Thomas Jefferson

There is no language in the Constitution regarding the concept of Church and State separation. Nor does the First Amendment make such a statement. That Amendment doesn’t tell a Church (any religion) what it can or cannot do, or place any restrictions on individuals or groups as long as whatever they do (exercising their rights) is done peaceably.

Instead, the First Amendment places all the responsibility and restrictions on the Government. Specifically, that our Government stay out of the business of establishing its governing body and functions on or through (one or more) religion. To also cease and desist from any interference with individuals or groups practicing their faith.

Yet, the totally secular in our society want nothing more than to eliminate (through the guise of tolerance and political correctness) ALL vestiges of Christianity in ALL government, educational, and public places. If they accomplish that, they’ll head for our homes and churches. They accuse anything or anyone who displays in any manner, whatsoever (including speech), something that smacks of Christianity to be in violation of the law of Church and State separation, which doesn’t exist in the first place.

Those who support their concept or definition of Church and State separation (whether they know their history or not), do so primarily because of the (now famous) letter written by President Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, a Christian congregation in Connecticut. This small congregation had become extremely concerned that the more populated and dominant Congregationalist Church, whose membership included politicians, could or would exercise (usurp) enough power to become like the Roman Catholic or Anglican Church in Europe. With the unimaginable and unacceptable potential for possible control of the United States Government.

Here is a portion of President Jefferson’s written response to the Baptists:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions. I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State” (Italics for emphasis).

(Benjamin Franklin’s Comments)

Jefferson’s opinion formed the basis for the Supreme Court’s declaration in the Reynolds v United States (1878) case that: “it may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the amendment thus secured. Congress was deprived of all legislative power over mere (religious) opinion, but was left free to reach (only those religious) actions which were in violation of social duties or subversive of good order.”

In other words, both Thomas Jefferson and the Supreme Court interpreted the First Amendment wording on religious freedom predominantly, if not exclusively, in favor of the people’s right to believe and practice those beliefs as long as the “exercise thereof” didn’t result in violation of the law or become subversive.

As alluded earlier, the 19^th, 20^th & 21^st century position of those who detest religion of any sort use Jefferson’s “separation” opinion as law and do so virtually in reverse. That is, to remove any verbal or visual references to God, Jesus, or the Christian faith in general. Which makes the contemporary application totally out of balance … one sided. The “separation” pendulum has swung much too far to the left; far enough to deprive individuals of other First Amendment rights pertaining to “religion.”

That is not my opinion; it is a known fact in the United States and other Western nations. Plus, it’s a foregone conclusion in Muslim nations—no tolerance for Christians at all.

Having said that, there is Biblical evidence to support the (balanced) view of some separation between Church functions and government functions within a nation, state, or city.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…” (Psalms 33:12).

Before we examine the Biblical historical evidence, we need to define Church and State. The definition of Religion will be indirectly included. This is necessary to adequately understand and appreciate to what extent, if any, there exists a practical distinction between what Governments should be (and do) and how the “Church” should interact with and respond to the administration of government.

What Would Jesus Do (What Did He Say)

We will, however, begin with one of the most profound statements in all of Scripture, indeed, in the entire history of mankind. A concept presented by none other than Messiah Jesus … actually, just one of many remarkable truths given to us by the Lord.

Here is the setting: “Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested … ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’” (Matthew 22:15-17).

Sometimes Jesus’s response would be patient, even gentle to the religious leaders who wanted to discredit him, then later plotted to kill him.

But sometimes not! This was one of those times.

“But Jesus knew their evil motives. ‘You hypocrites!’ he said. ‘Why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax.’ When they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, ‘Whose picture and title are stamped on it?’

‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.

‘Well then,’ he said, ‘give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God’” (Verses 18-21).

“His reply amazed them, and they went away” (Verse 22).

You think!

Personally, I run to Jesus, not away from him. Nevertheless, his response amazes me every time I read it. I would never have thought of such a reply. Once again, the religious leaders fell into their own trap.

This astonishing response of Jesus fits perfectly with the concern of “Church and State;” but does so in the context of the Roman Empire led by its dictatorial Caesars (with some authority wielded by the Roman Senate), having conquered many nations including Israel.

Should there be a “wall” between Church and State. If so, how high should it be?

One thing is clear in Jesus’s teaching and throughout Scripture: Anyone who truly believes in God and seeks him, particularly those redeemed by the atoning sacrifice of Messiah’s death on the Cross, must acknowledge the authority of their government—unless that government passes laws or imposes conditions on believers that are in direct conflict with God’s truth.

After all, it is the Lord who sovereignly sets up and brings down rulers and governments.

“It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall” (Psalms 75:7).

Personally, I want my position (view) and practice (conduct) regarding separation of Church and State to be based on God’s view of the subject.

Such as the Holy Spirit inspired words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy: “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior; who wants everyone to be saved and understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:1-5).

Definition of Church

This is the most important thing to grasp of all. I have commented on this subject in a few previous articles, particularly one of the earliest Eye of Prophecy articles, The Woman and the Beast, Part IV (published 11-2-13). Here are some excerpts in italics from that post, which also demonstrates that the Christian faith is not a “religion” as such; rather it is a personal relationship with the Lord based on what God has done for us through his Son (purchased our redemption) that we could not do for ourselves:

Nowhere in the New Testament do we find any evidence whatsoever that Jesus needed a seat of government, or permission from a king, or endorsement by ruling officials or religious leaders to fulfill his mission on earth. In fact just the opposite occurred: He was ultimately rejected first by the religious leaders and then by the greater populace because they assumed that The Messiah would rule and reign from Jerusalem and deliver Israel from Gentile oppression. That will, in fact, happen one day when Christ returns to this earth. But the Old Testament was crystal clear that the Messiah must first suffer and die to liberate mankind from its worst tyranny … enslavement to sin; which is, after all, what produces the unjust and criminal conquest of rulers and nations against each other. Not to mention the devastation of individual lives resulting from greed, envy, lust, pride, theft, jealousy, immorality, sorcery, lying, and murder.

Nor do we find any evidence in Scripture or church history that 1st, or 2nd, or 3rd century believers were commanded to establish a centralized system of church rule that would unite all individual “churches” into an authoritarian hierarchy that would, in turn, govern (through church officials such as priests, bishops, vicars) and rule over individual believers.

The early Christian churches were more often found to be in the homes of believers, and were so identified in Paul’s epistles as (for example), “God’s holy people in the city of Colossae,” or the “church of God which is at Corinth.” But never (for example) to the “church of Rome,” meaning the one and only Church of (belonging to or controlling from) Rome. And when Jesus refers to all seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3, he addresses his comments to (for example) the “church in Sardis.”

This is much more than just semantics … This distinction constitutes the very essence, the very character, the very identity, and definition of the church. It is the living church of God and of Christ, not a structure or system or seat of centralized, ecumenical power that claims ultimate authority over all who belong to that system including ex-communication; and that compels admission to and membership in the “Church” (beginning with baptism, including infants) as a fundamental requirement for salvation and, thus, qualifies its’ members to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Or, at least, places the members in good standing and gives them a head-start toward heaven; as long as they, in some fashion, remain in a “state of grace” though the conditions of this state are quite ambiguous.

The very words of Jesus contradicts and refutes this premise of salvation by admission to, affiliation with, and inclusion in any religious order by declaring, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The man to whom Jesus spoke was, of course, Nicodemus; who was a member of the elite Jewish Sanhedrin, whose every colleague was thought to be securely and eternally connected to God and the Kingdom of God. Instead, Jesus said that a spiritual rebirth—made possible only by personally believing and receiving Christ as God’s Savior to mankind—was the ONLY way anyone would ever see the Kingdom of God.

Although the book of Galatians is written to the “churches of Galatia”, the word “of” is needed because there were several churches (plural) in the region of Galatia. When writing to a particular group of Christians in a specific city, Paul always uses the functional preposition in or at. Thus, the church was so identified by the presence of believers in or at a particular location; not by a structure or centralized organization that exercised a governmental type of regulation over believers or the churches in which they fellowship and served, whether someone’s home or a building to accommodate the growing number of Christians in that city. The highest degree of administration over any individual church should be no more than the church board, normally composed of pastors and elders.

Application to Church and State Separation

It was precisely structured religion in the form of the mighty Anglican and Roman Catholic Church and the intrusion of these institutional “religions” from which born-again believers fled; exposing these Church-State organizations that did not represent true Christianity nor comprise the true Church consisting of individual believers, without need for a hierarchical structure to govern them.

In today’s world this would include any religious entity that seeks to control national or state or city governments, the most obvious of which are Muslim efforts to establish an Islamic Caliphate; but also individual nations whose governments are controlled by one of four Muslim sects—Sunni, Shi’ite, Alawite, or Wahhabi.

As indicated earlier, in colonial times the primary obstacle to and enemy of those who longed for all the freedoms granted by the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was the Church of England and the Church of Rome. Both of these professed to be God’s institutional authority on earth. Both demanded complete loyalty, often times clashing over whose authority was supreme … the King or the Pope (including cardinals, bishops and even priests).

Nothing could be farther from the truth! Excessive authority, yes. From, by, and through God … no.

By Biblical definition and application, this would also include the Mormon Church and organized Protestant denominations, such Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian; if, in fact, their organizational hierarchy claims ultimate authority over Scripture or any born-again believers in their congregations.

The core principle of God’s offer of salvation for the human race through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is individual freedom—to choose or reject that offer. If accepted … total forgiveness of sin and complete pardon from sin’s penalty. If rejected … slavery to sin often resulting in human bondage to tyrannical rulers and governments. Then, eternal separation from God after death.

God’s marvelous truth of salvation is not, repeat NOT, to be forced on any individual or group of people in the same vein as Muslim attempts to convert non-Muslims and even fellow Muslims (from another sect) by forced submission. If the “infidels” do not submit, off with their heads!

What’s worse is that “professed” Christians (in name only) have attempted to coerce “conversion” through the military might of a nation or ecclesiastical intimidation or both. To that end horrific anti-Christian means have been used, such as war, inquisitions and excommunication that their misguided adherents believe is the kiss of (eternal) death.

Little wonder, then, that the First Amendment became the cornerstone and defender of the American dream of freedom to worship, assemble, publish, petition, and protest peaceably. To that end, the First Amendment specifically and exclusively addresses the restrictions placed on the United States Government not to prohibit or otherwise interfere with the beliefs of individuals and the peaceable expression of those beliefs.

Definition of State

Actually, it’s not so much a matter of how State is defined, as it is the type of government in force at any given time. In that regard, what are the different kinds of past, present, or future governments that can, in large part, determine whether a wall of separation between Church and State should exist, and to what extent implemented (enforced), if at all? I think that some excerpts from an Eye of Prophecy article, God Is in Control (2-21-15) sufficiently summarizes national governments down through the ages. As follows, in italics:

From the dawn of human existence virtually every kind of government has been in place at one time or another. A country’s government is often a reflection of its people … their race, beliefs (religious or secular), moral values, ethnic upbringing and tribal territory. But sometimes government can be an ill-conceived and unwanted bureaucracy with leaders vying for power and supremacy. All too often, innocent people are victimized by such power struggles, both citizens of the country and residents of neighboring nations that take exception to such Machiavelli type systems.

The common people, representatives of those people, wealthy entrepreneurs, ambitious leaders (good and bad), or all of the above can determine whether a country will become a parliamentary or a democratic representative republic; an absolute (king/queen) or constitutional monarch; an autocratic ruler or state controlled (communism or fascism) dictatorship; an aristocratic or military oligarchy; a cleric-run theocracy or even a true Theocracy. The idea of a theocentric government is, “having God as the central interest and ultimate concern.” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

Moreover, the destiny of nations (both good and bad) has often been determined by the benevolence or malevolence of rulers … the laws they make and enforce, the decrees they issue, decisions they make, benefits they provide, and goals they aspire to. As the leaders go, so go the people. A ruler with integrity, compassion, and wisdom can be, and often is, a moral compass to the entire nation. Conversely, a selfish, deceitful, evil ruler can bring an entire nation down. Even the United States of America, which many contemplate to be the greatest nation of all time (at least the greatest Republic), relies heavily on its President—considered by some as the most powerful position in the world—to lead … economically, socially, militarily, legally, and morally.

The rise and fall of great leaders, noble and ignoble; of great nations, moral and immoral, is the stuff that legends are made of. And many of these individual and national epitaphs can be found in the Bible as well as secular history. For example, the glorious rise and inglorious fall of Babylon.

Satan’s supreme goal is to create a universal system of belief that will: (1) internally and covertly destabilize and replace the Kingdom of Heaven currently in the hearts of men, woman, and children who have been redeemed by Christ through his great sacrifice for our sins. (2) To establish an international religious and political system that will overtly crush nations whose fundamental existence and intrinsic value is centered on freedom of worship and enterprise … a government of, by, and for the people, such as Israel and the United States.

These two satanic strategies are underway primarily through the cults of Christianity (internal subversion) such as Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s Witness; and externally through non-Christian religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Communism, and Fascism … All of these systems are predicated on a works based program of appeasing God to somehow (maybe) merit salvation. Likewise, Fascism and Communism—with the only difference that of the State rewarding meritorious conduct and service with … whatever rewards they deem necessary.

Things to Ponder

Ironically and unfortunately, a prime example of a wall of separation between Church and State is a godless, agnostic government (whether Communist or Fascist such as Stalin’s Russia and Germany’s Third Reich) that brutally suppresses all things Christian (and Jewish).

But no more than a national government headed by a monarchy or oligarchy based on a religion that is equally intolerant to anyone not a part of that religion … like most Islamic nations. Also, like the Church of England in which the King was head over both State and Church. Or like the Roman Catholic Church in which the Pope (for many years) reigned supreme over national heads of state.

Either one of these suppressive forms of Church or Anti-Church governments is exactly what the First Amendment seeks to prevent.

Can Christians contribute to, without control of, government?

Without valuable Christian contributions to (not control of) government, is it then possible for a democracy or a republic to flourish and survive if its citizens carry the idea of Church and State separation to its extreme?

Some tough questions, but there are Biblical principles and precedents.

Next week’s article will explore God’s interaction with people through different administrative (government) systems. To see divine instruction given and precedents set to determine whether there should be, “a wall of separation between Church and State.”

Salvation … “To The Jew First!”

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Gospel, Messianic, Rabbis

Salvation Comes through the Jews

It never ceases to amaze me why so many Jews believe that Christianity is non-Jewish and/or exclusively a Gentile “religion.” But not only the Jews. Although far greater in number than Jews, proportionally even more Gentiles believe the same thing. At the very minimum, both Jew and Gentile forget or marginalize the fact that Jesus Christ was a Jew.

The historical evidence is clear: He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and given birth by a young Jewish woman. Although Mary was engaged to Joseph (both were descendants of King David from the tribe of Judah), they had not yet consummated their marriage; thus, the miraculous Virgin Birth of Jesus—the Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Man.

To be sure there are a good number of Jews who privately concede that the Christian faith came “through” the Jews; however, precious few have acknowledged publicly the Jewish heritage of Jesus. Or if they do, they consider him a traitor to Judaism as did many Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’s time. This despite awesome miracles Jesus performed, the greatest of which was his resurrection from the dead. In spite of Jesus’s 100% fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah and the indisputable evidence that Messiah would arrive before the (2^nd) Temple would be destroyed (Daniel 9:25-26), they accused him of impersonating the Messiah.

When defending Judaism against Biblical Christianity, the majority of Jews equate Christians mostly with Roman Catholicism (which is not true Biblical Christianity) that persecuted Jews down through the centuries, spurred in large part by the erroneous and insidious doctrine of Replacement Theology. Thus, it is a painful reminder that Jesus was a Jew.

Unless it is with the negative connection of Jesus to “Christianity,” including the adversarial association with “Christian” persecution of Jews (which, indeed, is a grievous offense perpetrated by those who were and are Christian in name only), a striking example of how many Jews know so little of Jesus or his Jewish legacy is that of a former Jewish Rabbi whom I have met personally.

His name is Jonathan Bernis, born into an Orthodox Jewish family in the United States. His upbringing was such that he thought Christ was Jesus’s last name. He had no clue that Jesus was a Jew or that his name is a transliteration of the Hebrew name, Yeshua; or that Christ is from the Greek (Christos) which is a translation from the Hebrew word, Messiah. Later Jonathan became a Rabbi serving a Jewish congregation.

That is, until he experienced salvation (born again) through the risen Messiah, at which time he became a Messianic Rabbi and subsequently the leader of Jewish Voice Ministries International. This Messianic ministry has provided enormous medical aid to Jews in Russia, Ethiopia, India, and other places. More importantly, Jonathan and his staff have led thousands of Jews to personal faith in Messiah Jesus.

(Jews for Jesus … Another Worldwide Messianic Ministry)

For the most part, those Rabbis and observant Jews who do acknowledge Jesus as Jewish often do so in the same context and with the same mindset of the Jews in Jesus’s time—not as the Messiah; but as a misguided man who attempted to usurp their authority and replace their traditions and the Mosaic Law with a cultic sect.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Ultimately, they accused him of blasphemy because he declared (truthfully and rightfully) to be the Messiah, the Son of God.

It was not Jesus’s intent to abolish the law (the universal moral truths as summarized in the Ten Commandments); rather he came to fulfil the law—meaning complete obedience that no other man or woman has ever achieved. He fulfilled the law not as an example for the Jews (or Gentiles) to also perfectly keep the Law of Moses. He did so because no one—past, present, or future—could keep the law in every point. Because he was sinless, Messiah Jesus was the only person qualified to complete the perfect, once for all sacrificial offering so vitally important and fundamentally necessary for God’s redemption of mankind. The Mosaic Law couldn’t do that because the sacrifices had to be repeated over and over. Thus, Jesus accomplished that part of the Law also, which meant that animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.

When speaking to the Samaritan (part Jew, part Gentile) women at the well, Jesus told her: “…salvation comes through the Jews” (John 4:22).

Just a few hours before his death and amazing resurrection, Christ Jesus confirmed his previous statement that he was, “the Way, Truth, and Life,” with these words:

“…This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:20).

Except from Messianic Jews, rarely do we see, hear, or read Jews saying much about the New Covenant and certainly not that Yeshua initiated that Covenant. In varying degrees and with different interpretations, they do believe that the New Covenant will commence when Messiah arrives. But they cannot or will not endorse the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah; that their (spiritual) salvation was available when Jesus arose from the dead … effected by personal belief in and invitation for Jesus to be their Savior. They are correct in their belief that their physical redemption (rescue) will be accomplished when Messiah arrives. For true believers including Messianic Jews, we believe that it will be Jesus’s return … The Second Coming.

Instead, they still, as the Jewish Apostle Paul said in the first century, “…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” (Romans 10:3-4).

A Provocative Article

On March 22, 2016, the online site of Breaking Israel News posted an article entitled, Pity the Anti-Semites, written by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cordoza; which, in turn, had been reprinted from the original, published in The Jerusalem Post.

It is an intriguing article, directed satirically toward those who harbor dislike, even hatred, toward the Jews. But with the utmost sincerity regarding the astounding achievements of Jews in the fields of medicine, agriculture, science, computer technology, and innovation in general.

The theme of the article is unmistakable, captured by his opening sentence; then repeated about half-way through his post:

“Every anti-Semite knows that the United States and Europe would not be what they are today without their Jews.”

Let’s look at some other excerpts from the article that satirically (as directed to anti-Semites), but also sincerely demonstrate that the world has benefited in so many ways from many things that have come from and through the Jews.

Part of what he says can be found in some form or another in several Eye of Prophecy articles, with the same (without the sarcasm, which works for his article) recognition of the amazing State of Israel and the astonishing contributions made by Jews. For me, personally, it stems from my love of Israel and the Jewish people; which also results in many of my articles and both of my books expressing a “tough love” compassion that the Jews will have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know that Yeshua is Messiah … how much he loves them.

Writes Rabbi Cordoza:

“The anti-Semitic world has a hard time with Jews, and we should feel some pity for all those who work relentlessly to give us a bad name. They boycott us in academia, journalism, European governments, the marketplace, and just in the streets of daily life. But let’s be honest.

“Aren’t they right? Are we not truly a nuisance? It’s not easy to live with Jews. We’re troublemakers and can be painfully irritating. There’s no escaping it.

“The trouble with us is that we are constantly breaking the rules. For thousands of years, we have survived powerful empires that did everything to try to destroy us—the Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, the Germans and others. In the 20^th century, it looked as if they had finally succeeded. Six million of us were murdered in the Holocaust.

“Who would deny that this is highly irritating? And now they insist on boycotting us. But how can they? It would be suicide. Truly boycotting Jews, after all, would mean a lot more than banning a few Israeli products or universities. Anti-Semites would have to boycott many products on which their lives depend.”

Rabbi Cordoza then provides a partial list of Israeli/Jewish inventions, products, and services that, for example, “…have made major contributions toward healing people around the world and improving their quality of life. If not for these remarkable Jewish discoveries, most anti-Semites would be confined to bed with serious illnesses, and some would have died long ago.”

Things like: Multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries, paralysis, breathing problems, depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and DNA breakdown.

In the advanced arena of computer processing, Israelis have invented computer processor chips (Intel), USB stick, instant messaging, anti-virus software, cell phone, and voicemail. There is also the (now) world-famous cherry tomato. There are steel security doors and mobile air defense systems, such as the Iron Dome. The real-time road traffic data for drivers called Waze, is now universal. As is Rewalk, a bionic system to allow paraplegics to stand upright, walk, and climb stairs.

As phrased by Rabbi Cordoza, “All developed by Jews in this terrible, obnoxious country called Israel.” (Another cynical jab at anti-Semites).

He concludes that part of his article by stating:

“And let’s not forget that Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation and, in proportion to its population, has the largest number of start-up companies in the world. It has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies worldwide, apart from Silicon Valley. It ranks No. 2 in the world for venture capital funds, second only to the United States.

“Would you not feel even a little jealous! Is some pity for the anti-Semite not in place? …”

An Amazing Exception

Immediately after the above quoted excerpt, Rabbi Cordoza makes this startling unexpected observation:

“And then there’s a Jew called Jesus.”

Before I quote what he said after that provocative lead in about a Jew named Jesus, I need to reiterate: Seldom does a non-Messianic Jew, particularly the observant among them (in this case a Rabbi), mention Jesus at all. If his name is dropped, it’s usually in a negative way with an antagonistic agenda.

Not so, with Rabbi Cordoza, although it’s quite evident that his reference to Jesus is within the context and purpose of his article, i.e. anti-Semites should remember that Jesus was a Jew. (Still is a Jew… my commentary!) With the intended inference and conclusion that Jews shouldn’t be treated so harshly for that reason alone, whether or not Jews believe Jesus is the Messiah.

After this provocative lead in, “And then there’s a Jew called Jesus,” Rabbi Cordoza comments:

“He is the most revered man in the entire West, worshipped by hundreds of millions as nothing less than the son of God. What non-Jewish kid could have ever pulled that off? It was this man who introduced some very important Jewish moral stuff to the Western world and it is these very same ethics and standards that are so irritating. Anti-Semites don’t spit on the Jews because they are Jesus killers, but because they are Jesus givers! And if that’s not enough, everyone knows that if Jesus were alive today, he would eat at kosher restaurants run by Jews with beards.”

At this point in the article, he repeats his opening sentence: “Every anti-Semite knows that the United States and Europe would not be what they are today without their Jews.”

I could spend most, if not all, of another entire article explaining why most of what the Rabbi said about Jesus and his impact is not entirely accurate; however, that is not the intent of today’s Eye of Prophecy post. Nevertheless, I will offer a couple of observations. Such as the fact that Jesus introduced a whole lot more than just, “Jewish moral stuff” and did so in Israel which is in the Middle East, not the West.

Moreover, as I’ve said several times in prior Eye of Prophecy articles including last week’s post: the majority of early Christians were Jews, not Gentiles. That Israel was the birthplace of Jesus and Biblical salvation.

In fact, most of what Jesus “introduced” was rejected by the Jewish religious leaders, such as healing a blind man on the Sabbath. With their hypocritical (Jesus’s words) hold to their traditions and impractical and inaccurate application of even the Mosaic Law, they deemed healing to be “work.” And that was forbidden, even if it meant miraculously restoring the sight of a man who had been blind from birth.

Here is a short excerpt from the marvelous account of Jesus supernaturally healing the blind man on the Sabbath, for which most of the Pharisees called him, “a sinner.”

In response to the blind man’s testimony of what happened, the religious leaders, “…cursed him and said, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.’

‘Why, that’s very strange!’ the man replied. ‘He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it’” (John 9:28-33).

Earlier in his interrogation by the Pharisees, in response to their first accusation that Jesus was a sinner (not from God) because he violated the Sabbath, the man exclaimed: “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (Verse 25).

(Depiction of Jesus Healing a Man Born Blind)

A couple of comments: Echoing the man whom Jesus miraculously healed, how strange for the Pharisees to say they didn’t know from where Jesus came. Or their vehement denial that Jesus was the Messiah. When, in fact, the Pharisees and Sadducees believed that the Messiah would just appear out of nowhere. For the most part, that is the same prevalent belief among most Jews to this day.

Unless, that is, they (which unfortunately they don’t) accept their own prophet’s announcement that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and born of a Virgin. (Micah and Isaiah, respectively). They wouldn’t even give Jesus the benefit of the doubt by confirming his place of birth as Bethlehem, not Nazareth. But then anyone who would consider healing on the Sabbath as work, and place infinitely more weight on that (erroneous, as it can’t be found in Scripture) technicality than in the supernaturally spectacular healing of a man born blind, wouldn’t want to be bothered with petty details of where Messiah would be born, even if it came directly from their Scriptures.

I say this only because of my love for the Jews. Like the Apostle Paul, I long for their individual and national redemption. Yet, in order to get their attention, it’s necessary to both comfort them (for all the horrible things that have been done to the Jews) and confront them for their unbelief. In that regard I and other Gentiles and Jews who have been saved by the powerful sacrificial death and resurrection of Messiah Jesus are doing nothing more than what Jesus did, and saying nothing more than what he said to Nicodemus, a Jewish member of the Sanhedrin:

“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

As fully explained throughout the Gospels and the New Testament Epistles, being born again (from above) is possible only because of what God and His Son did for us; then simply believing that truth. Which is summed up by the most famous of all Bible verses:

“For God loved the world (Jew and Gentile alike) so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Back now to Rabbi Cordoza’s article and his highly unusual reference to Jesus (as a Jew), with this summary observation:

How much of the New Testament (especially the four Gospels account of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus) that the Rabbi has read is unknown … to me. Probably not much, if any, as non-Messianic Jews don’t believe IN Jesus (as Messiah). Consequently, they refuse to even read the New Testament. If they do read some or all of it, they dismiss and deny the historical record out-of-hand.

I hope and pray that someday soon Rabbi Cordoza and other Jewish Rabbis and Jews everywhere will realize that Jesus is who is said he is: Son of God, Son of David, Son of Man.

Nevertheless, I am impressed and delighted that Rabbi Cordoza would even mention Jesus, with his primary point that of the Jews giving us Jesus. Or putting it in the same way as today’s article began: Salvation (Jesus) came through the Jews.

Which is a historically accurate fact. Just read the genealogies found in Matthew and Luke for the ancestral lineage of Jesus of Nazareth.

But coming through the Jews is only the beginning. There’s more.

Not Just through the Jews, but TO the Jews.

Listen to Jesus’s instruction to his disciples early in his ministry: “…Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 10:6-7).

This command was given after Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount which spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven. Throughout his time on the earth, Christ spoke frequently about the Kingdom of God (on earth).

Why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans, when, he himself went out of his way to meet with the Samaritan woman at the well … for the express purpose of disclosing to her that he was the Messiah?

In another scene, a Gentile woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon begged Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter. Jesus replied: “…I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).

The woman pleaded all the more: “…Lord, help me!” (Verse 25).

“Jesus responded, ‘It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs’” (Verse 26).

“She replied, ‘That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master’s table’” (Verse 27).

Then Jesus did what we would fully expect him to say and do: “Dear woman … your faith is great. Your request is granted. And her daughter was instantly healed” (Verse 28).

Do you see what’s happening here? Jesus’s reference to Gentiles as “dogs” was not his opinion or belief. Rather it was the attitude and mindset of many Jews, particularly the religions leaders. Gentiles were outsiders … less likely to receive God’s blessings than dogs.

Yet, the Gentile woman’s humble pleading, persistence, and profound statement that even the dogs get some crumbs (from the table of the Jews) was an expression of great hope and trust in Jesus, whom she called, “Lord.” Jesus granted her request because his great love and impending sacrificial death was for all people, which is why he generously presented this same truth and promise to the Samaritan woman at the well.

However, God sent his Son to first proclaim TO the Jews that the Kingdom of Heaven would be established on earth in Israel, if they would only acknowledge and receive Yeshua as Messiah. God’s ultimate purpose was to establish his Kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace on the earth through the people he chose to accomplish the marvelous reconciliation and restoration of the human race back to himself. Which is why Jesus instructed his disciples early on to preach the Kingdom of Heaven only to the Jews. Which is also why even his disciples were amazed that Jesus associated with Gentiles, let alone healed them.

God’s selection of Abraham, then the promised child of Isaac to be the progenitors of light and salvation to the Gentiles was the beginning of this magnificent plan. But before the Gentiles could be saved, the Jews must first do what they were chosen to do: obey, serve, and share God’s Word and glory to the whole world.

Sadly, ever so tragically, they did not. Which is why God took over and initiated the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah, one that Messiah Jesus would put into place. Had the Jews of Jesus’s time (as a nation) recognized and accepted him as the Messiah, right then and there the glorious Kingdom of God would have been established on the earth, which would have included deliverance from Roman oppression. The mighty Roman Empire would have been conquered by Christ himself, and the divine dynasty of King David would have been restored with Jesus (the Messiah) as its eternal King; promised by God when he established this covenant with King David some one thousand years earlier.

Alas, God’s people rejected their Messiah.

Listen to the heart-rending words of Jesus as he approached Jerusalem, not long before the religious leaders handed him over to the Romans to be crucified:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me … For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Matthew 23:37-39, italics for emphasis).

Or in Hebrew: Baruch haba beshem Adonai.

Later, the Apostle John would proclaim that Jesus was the Living Word of God, the Son of God, and Messiah.

Said John about Jesus and the Jews: “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:10-13, italics for emphasis).

Although God and Jesus, as God the Son, knew far ahead of time that the Jews would reject Jesus as their Messiah, they nevertheless gave the Jews every opportunity to recognize (by means of powerful miracles and the most awesome truth taught by any man who has ever lived) who he was and why he was among them.

Tragically, they rejected Jesus; not only scorned, but killed for claiming that he was, “I AM,” the Son of God and God the Son.

The Lord, in his splendid plan for mankind, turned this horrible injustice into the greatest good and gift ever given to the human race … redemption and everlasting life.

To the Jew First, Then to the Gentile!

The devoutly fanatical Jewish Pharisee, Saul, who persecuted the followers of Jesus, was one of many 1^st century Jews who experienced this wonderful salvation purchased at the highest price ever paid … the death of the Son of God in payment for sin and its penalty. But Saul (later named Paul) fully understood that God had not forgotten about his special possession, Israel.

God’s precious gift of redemption would still come through the Jews, specifically through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. But not just through, it would be first and foremost for and to the Jews.

Listen to Paul’s passionate and powerful proclamation of the Gospel:

“For I am not ashamed of the 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).

Why to the Jew first?

Jesus announced it first: He came explicitly to save the lost sheep of Israel. They had lost their way because they couldn’t and wouldn’t give up their self-righteousness by thinking they had merited God’s favor in trying to keep the Mosaic Law; which they obviously hadn’t kept in the past, nor in Jesus’s time … nor even today. When they rejected him and handed him over to the Romans to be crucified, he rose from the dead to seal the New Covenant and extend God’s salvation to all people, Jew and Gentile alike.

Then Paul (and Peter) and all of the apostles picked up where Jesus left off.

Not only was the Kingdom of Heaven unilaterally extended to the Jews; even after their rejection of the Kingdom’s Messiah King (Jesus) the New Covenant Gospel of Grace was presented to the Jews first. That offer stands to this very day.

Paul explains why:

“They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshipping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen” (Romans 9:4-5).

That’s why the Jews are called, “The Chosen People.”

Actually, there was only one chosen to begin with … Abraham. God didn’t start with a complete race or ethnic group or nation of people. They weren’t actually chosen as a nation or even became a nation until God, through Moses, delivered them from Egypt. Yet it didn’t take long for the chosen people to rebel against the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Thus, the Lord told them more than once that he didn’t choose them because they were better or larger in numbers or more deserving than other peoples. He chose Abraham, who would then become the father of the Jewish race.

The Apostle Paul confirms several Old Testament verses regarding the reason God selected Abraham (therefore, his descendants through Isaac—not Esau), as repeated and confirmed by Paul:

“…This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purpose; he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works…” (Romans 9:11-12)

Not according to their good or bad works, applies to Abraham and his descendants, concerning God’s providential plan to bring redemption to the human race through his Son, Messiah Jesus. All Abraham could do was to believe God (which he did) and that faith was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). In other words, God called Abraham; yet Abraham didn’t become chosen until he placed his faith in God’s promise.

Not according to their good … works, applies to both Jews and Gentiles (the human race) in order to be saved from their sins and the penalty of sin … everlasting separation from God in the lake of fire. That’s because God’s way of salvation is available individually only when we put our complete trust in God’s promise. The sacrifice of Christ Jesus is all sufficient, the only way of redemption and eternal life.

Not by or through good works.

Things to Ponder

Returning to what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “…for salvation comes through the Jews” (John 4:22).

Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “From the Jews.” Rather, he said through the Jews. This is much more than a matter of semantics.

From and through can sometimes be used interchangeably, but it depends on the subject … on what is being referred to.

Among other definitions in Webster’s Dictionary, from means “a starting point.” However, that can’t be applied to the Jews (as the originator or beginning point of salvation) for two reasons: (1) Abraham was a “gentile” when he was selected by God to be the father of what would become the Jewish race. (2) Going back even farther, salvation originated with God; thus, comes from God.

One of (probably the main one) Webster’s definitions of through is: “used as a function word to indicate means, agency, or intermediary.”

Does salvation come from the Jews?

It does not!

It comes through the Jews.

So, what is the significance of this distinction? What difference does it make in our thinking or understanding?

Answer: All the difference in the world, especially to/for the Jews!

Salvation comes through the Jews, but it comes from God and God’s Son, Messiah Jesus.

The enormous implication of knowing this difference is that the means of getting right with God (righteousness) does not come from the Mosaic Law, nor from any other traditions or rules or regulations or rituals found in any of the world’s religions or any non-religious belief system.

Nor through or from good works or self-worth or good behavior.

Instead, salvation comes through our response of faith in Messiah Jesus (the Jewish descendant of King David from the tribe of Judah) that comes from Almighty God.

“For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment, but God’s gift. You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore, no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, italics for emphasis, Complete Jewish Bible).

Can anything be clearer? Salvation comes by trusting in God’s gift of grace which is none other than the once for all redemptive sacrifice of God’s precious Son, Messiah Jesus.

This gift comes directly from God and God alone.

To the Jew first and also to the Gentile!

There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!

19 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Empty tomb, Lazarus

There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!

“Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’” (John 11:23).

“Yes, Martha said, ‘he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day’” (Verse 24).

“Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?’” (Verse 25-26, italics for emphasis).

“Yes, Lord, she told him. ‘I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God’” (Verse 27).

For me and for many, the verses just quoted are from one of the most captivating scenes in all of Scripture. It took place in Bethany, a short distance from Jerusalem. After Jesus spoke these phenomenal words to Martha, he proceeded to back them up by his spectacular feat of raising Lazarus from the dead.

As a result, “Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen” (John 11:45).

Not so the Pharisees, priests, and high council. “So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death” (Verse 53).

Denial and Unbelief Continue to This Day

For those of us who dearly love Israel and the Jewish people—through whom Messiah Jesus was born, lived, taught, performed great miracles, died, was buried, and rose again from the grave—we are grieved that so many Jews, especially the Orthodox among them, refuse to accept the documented historical evidence that Jesus arose from the dead. Thereby, proving that he was who he said he was … Messiah, the Son of God.

They still dismiss this fact out-of-hand, for to believe it means (to them) that they must give up Judaism, or more precisely the adherence to the Mosaic Law as the only means of redemption or a right relationship with God.

This does not include tens of thousands of Messianic Jews the world over who have eagerly embraced Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah and personal Savior.

There are, however, some Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reformed, Liberal) and truth-seeking Gentiles who do accept at face value the historical validity of Jesus’s (factual) resurrection from the dead.

These Jews and Gentiles have realized the difficulty (actually the impossibility) of denying both Biblical and secular records that Jesus arose from the dead. For one thing the Biblical account as recorded in all four Gospels and as found in the Jewish Apostle Paul’s epistles are based on eye-witness accounts, subsequently written in the first and second generations of Jesus’s time on this earth. To reject the authenticity of these reliable reports would be no different than rebuffing the historical legitimacy of historians such as Josephus and Tacitus. Or, for that matter, of any 20^th or 21^st century historian.

Paul, himself, experienced a visual, up-close and personal encounter with the risen Christ, although Jesus had already ascended back to heaven. For those not familiar with Paul, I will repeat what several Eye of Prophecy articles have touched on. Formerly called Saul, he was a (radically) devout Jewish Pharisee who would do (and did for a while) anything to protect and defend the Mosaic Covenant of the Law against what was originally called, The Way. First Century followers of Jesus Christ would later be called Christians, the vast majority of whom were Jews, not Gentiles.

Listen to Paul’s compelling chronicle describing his determined devotion to and staunch support of the Old Covenant … old by that time because the New Covenant foretold by Isaiah and Jeremiah had dramatically begun when Jesus arose from the dead:

“I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault” (Philippians 3:5-6).

Subsequently, Paul was radically changed by the risen Christ. There’s no other way to explain such a profound transformation other than being “born again” from above. As Jesus himself told another devout Jewish leader, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin of seventy, “…I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Then later, “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, You must be born again.” (Verse 6-7).

(Paul, On The Road To Damascus)

The Apostle Paul goes on to say to the believers in Philippi, “…I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9).

Resurrection That Eclipsed Two Old Testament Resurrections

Jesus’s amazing resurrection of Martha and Mary’s brother, Lazarus, took place four days after Lazarus died! Long before that, Jews understood (as validated by modern science) that a person’s body in one way or another begins to decay in the fourth day after death. Dead is dead, but after three days decomposition will normally set in.

Those Jews (and Gentiles) who don’t believe IN Jesus and his redemptive sacrifice for them personally, but who nevertheless accept the historical legitimacy of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and even the (supernatural) resurrection of Jesus, himself, do so with a disclaimer to minimize the astounding truth and impact of such an achievement. They do so by referring to the two Old Testament accounts of bodily resurrection performed by the mighty prophets Elijah and Elisha. More specifically, they consider Jesus’s resurrection of others and himself (to include by default the Apostle Paul and Peter’s subsequent raising someone from the dead) to no more of an achievement than that of Elijah’s or Elisha’s.

People everywhere give varying degrees of credence to the idea of bodily resurrection from the dead. All the way from complete disbelief despite the historical evidence to the contrary, to, “that’s nice,” to “Wow,” but what’s that got to do with me in the 21^st century (or any preceding generation).

How much evidence is enough for someone to believe that the God of the Bible and two of his prophets, and His Messiah, and The Holy Spirit empowered Apostles had the God-given authority to perform such miracles? Which placed along side of the other mighty miracles found in Scripture, and parallel to the unrivaled fulfillment of hundreds of Biblical prophecies prove beyond any doubt, reasonable or otherwise, that the God of the Bible is (the only) God.

As we shall soon see: To a lesser extent with Lazarus, and to a much greater extent with Messiah Jesus, their return from the grave exceeded the resurrections God performed through Elijah and Elisha. My purpose is not to diminish what God accomplished through these two great prophets; rather, to demonstrate that Jesus is greater than all prophets, priests, and kings before him.

All religious leaders from all world religions remain in their graves.

Not so, with Messiah Jesus. He alone arose from the dead, without dying again!

All four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—record the same astounding account. Disciples Matthew and John (and many others, including 500 people at one time) saw and were with Jesus some of the 40 days after his resurrection. Mark and Luke received first hand testimony from other disciples, mostly Peter.

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.’ Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened” (Luke 24:1-9, emphasis added).

Is there a difference between Jesus raising Lazarus and Jesus, himself arising from the dead and the other recorded resurrections in Scripture? Which leads to another, even more probing question: Is there only one (kind of) resurrection? Or putting in another way: Is the body in which Jesus was raised exactly the same body in which he died?

To answer the second question and, therefore, the first, we must remember that each person raised from the dead (Old and New Testaments) died again! With one fantastic exception:

Jesus did not die again! OUR REDEEMER LIVES!

After forty days, he ascended to heaven where he lives to this very day. Thus, his resurrection was vastly different than the return from the dead of the others in Scripture. Time and space in this article doesn’t permit more explanation, but prior Eye of Prophecy articles have elaborated on the incredible reaction of both the Roman soldiers and the Jewish leaders, none of whom actually denied that Jesus had arisen. Instead, they sought to cover it up with a pitiful story that Jesus’s disciples had (somehow) “stolen” the body right in front of and in spite of several well-armed Roman soldiers standing guard at the tomb. When, in fact, Roman soldiers simply didn’t guard the tomb of the dead. Why would they? Unless, that is, the Jewish religious leaders actually contemplated that Jesus could do and just might do what he said he would do—arise from the grave!

If anyone is going to deny or ignore the amazing reality or reduce the universal impact of Jesus rising from the dead in an indestructible everlasting body, then they will need to offer some other explanation (historically) of what happened to Jesus after the stone was rolled away.

Paraphrasing what many have said: The stone was rolled away not for Jesus to see and walk out, but for others to see and walk in.

There is no doubt … the evidence is indisputable: Jesus’s resurrection was a PERMANENT return from the grave, never to die again. Which, in stark contrast, is (infinitely) better than someone dying a second time after being raised from the dead. Which poses a huge problem for those who contend that Jesus’s resurrection was no greater or different than the handful of other returns from the dead.

Because our Messiah arose from the grave with an everlasting new body, he gives all who believe in him the same awesome privilege—everlasting life in a real (spiritual) body, to all who believe and receive him.

Note: Several Eye of Prophecy articles have discussed resurrection and heaven, but a few have been devoted primarily or almost exclusively to this topic. Please consider, for example, reading three of them: To Be or Not To Be … In Heaven (published 11-1-14); Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? Part I & II (posted 10-3 & 10-10-15).

Old Testament Resurrections (Through Elijah and Elisha)

Resurrection is resurrection … a truly divine miracle. But there’s more proof that Jesus of Nazareth’s resurrection was substantially different and significantly superior to those who were raised from the dead only to die again in their same bodies.

Let’s examine the first resurrection miracle described in Scripture:

The setting is the prophet Elijah, on instructions from the Lord, boldly proclaiming to Israel’s King Ahab, “…As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!” (I Kings 17:1).

As it turned out it was 3 ½ years of drought … absolutely no rain at all.

The purpose of which was to get Ahab and Israel’s attention to abandon their detestable idol worship of Baal, the god of rain, crops, and fertility. To turn back to the only true and living God, whom Elijah served.

Yet, even Elijah was affected by the lack of rain. During the drought, the Lord told Elijah to take refuge by the Kerith Brook, near the Jordan River. There, God told him, “Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food” (I Kings 17:4).

Amazing, yet perhaps a “small miracle” compared to some of the mighty wonders performed by God throughout Scripture. Could anyone but the Lord “command” birds to bring Elijah, “…bread and meat each morning and evening…” (Verse 6).

But then the brook dried up so the Lord instructed Elijah to go to the village of Zarephath near Sidon, where a widow would feed him. However, the poor widow and her only son had barely enough to feed themselves; still she obeyed Elijah and served him bread and water before she fed herself and her son. Because of her faith, God provided supernaturally for the widow, her son, and Elijah by replenishing the flour and cooking oil. She believed what Elijah told her and Elijah believed God’s promise that:

“…There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” (Verse 14).

Reminds me of the Lord Jesus twice feeding crowds of thousands with just a few fish and loaves of bread, with more left over than before the banquet began!

However, God wasn’t done with his miracles for the widow and Elijah. Do you remember what happened next?

“Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. Then she said to Elijah, ‘O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?’ But Elijah replied, ‘give me your son.’ And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?’” (I Kings 17:17-20).

Both the widow and Elijah poignantly and even pointedly questioned God’s purpose. The widow blamed Elijah and Elijah pleaded passionately with the Lord to explain why “God brought” this calamity on the widow. Certainly Elijah understood that the passing of the child was part of the painful cycle of life that befalls human beings even when things seem to be going well. But he also perceived that there had to be a reason for this untimely death of the child and seemingly (thinking) unfitting misfortune for the boy’s mother.

*Note: In that regard, God’s purpose for allowing the widow’s son to die is remarkably similar to Jesus allowing Lazarus to die, even though Messiah could have healed Lazarus before death. Practically everyone in that region (indeed, throughout all Israel) knew that Jesus had healed people on many occasions. Some actually said so, citing one of those miracles: “But some said, ‘This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?’” (John 11:37).

Then Elijah, “…stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.’ The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. ‘Look!’ he said, ‘Your son is alive!’” (I Kings 17:21-23).

How awesome is that?!

Notice that the Lord didn’t rebuke the widow or Elijah for confronting him over this premature, but nevertheless all too common occurrence in ancient Israel; also the tragic death of children down through the ages, the world over. But then we live in a fallen world full of murder, war, disease, accidents, famine, and hardship in general. All because of sin’s dread curse on the human race. Many people blame God for their misfortune, even though they seldom or never seek him. Conversely, few thank the Lord for blessings and well-being.

Instead, God simply answered Elijah’s prayer; thereby, demonstrating his power over life and death. It was a precursor to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ over the grave, once and for all conquering the ultimate death. Which is eternal separation from God for those who decline God’s offer of eternal life in a new and permanent spiritual body, available only through trusting in Christ Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.

Please notice another important feature of this miracle God performed through Elijah: The widow’s son had been dead for only a short time, as inferred clearly by the text. Dead is dead, but if there’s such a thing as a limited miracle, the Lord measured this miracle to restoration of the boy soon after he died. This “restriction” applies only when contrasted to the time-lapse for both Lazarus and Jesus in their respective tombs.

Time/space doesn’t permit extensive passage quoting or elaboration of another resurrection miracle that took place a few years later by Elijah’s protégé, Elisha; the account can be found in II Kings Chapter 4. Although the circumstances were different than that of Elijah and the widow’s son, the result was the same: Elisha raised a young boy from the dead!

Though the time-lapse is not specifically stated, the text strongly suggests that Elisha (who had left the family’s home), returned that day or no later than the following day when told about the boy’s death. Like with Elijah’s situation, Elisha found the boy had been placed on a bed that had been provided for Elisha during his visit with the family.

“Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. ‘Call the child’s mother!’ he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, ‘Here, take your son!’ She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs” (II Kings 4:36-37).

I say again: How awesome is that?!

Once again, we see the second miracle of resurrection in the Old Testament involving a boy who had been dead for a short time, perhaps a day at the most. Neither boy had been buried, which is what Jews normally would do within 24-48 hours of death.

The resurrection that the Apostles Peter and Paul performed on behalf of a young girl and a young boy (by the power of the risen Messiah) also took place within a short time of death … with the boy Paul raised occurring immediately after the boy died by falling from a second story window.

Not so with Lazarus, or with Jesus.

Resurrection of Lazarus

Lazarus had already been dead four days and, by implication, in his tomb for two or three days before Jesus brought him back from the dead. As previously alluded, this was no mere coincidence and certainly not beyond Jesus control. Rather, Messiah purposely stayed where he was after hearing of Lazarus sickness; with clear indication that Jesus (because he is also God) knew that Lazarus was actually dead. Yet, our Lord, when “hearing” the message that Lazarus was, “very sick,” made this astounding statement:

“…Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this” (John 11:4).

“So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days” (Verse 5).

What did Jesus mean by saying that Lazarus’s illness would not end in death? He knew at the time, and we know from the record that Lazarus had actually died.

Two-part answer: (1) although Jesus knew that Lazarus had already died, he was giving his disciples the strongest of clues … that Jesus had the same authority over life and death that God (his Father) had. Therefore, the death of Lazarus would be temporary; because when understood in the context of Messiah Yeshua’s power as the Son of God, it would be as though Lazarus hadn’t really died at all (in God’s view). Why? Because Lazarus, at Jesus’s command, would return from the grave in his earthly body. We know this because Jesus used a metaphor by saying, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up” (John 11:11).

(2) In a much broader scope, Jesus was also referring to his ultimate power and triumph over, not only physical death, but also eternal death … what Scripture calls the second death. Which will be the lake of fire inhabited by all who will be raised from the dead at the end of the Millennium—those who have died without accepting Christ as Savior (Revelation 20:11-15).

Indeed, Martha knew of the resurrection of the dead, a reality accepted by many Jews to this day. It’s just that Martha and those in her day (and in past days) didn’t fully grasp that there would be a resurrection unto (eternal) life with God in heaven, and also a (different) resurrection unto (eternal) death which isn’t really life at all. It’s the worst kind of death imaginable—eternal separation from God, from Messiah, and from the host of heaven. It will give a whole new meaning to the “Walking Dead.”

Although Martha knew that Jesus was the Messiah, she hadn’t yet comprehended the awesome truth that Jesus was/is, “The Resurrection and the Life.” He not only could raise Lazarus who had been dead for four days with his body beginning to decay (stink, as Martha put it), but Messiah Jesus would in just a few more days arise from the dead himself. Without, however anyone standing outside his tomb shouting, “Come out,” as Jesus commanded Lazarus to do, by name!

Resurrection of Messiah Jesus

Once again, we all understand that dead is dead. As well known by billions, Jesus’s body was in the tomb for three days, just as he had predicted. This period of time was not arbitrary; there are several implications or reasons for this three-day period of time. But for purpose of today’s article, we can state assertively: there is no coincidence that King David in one of several Messianic prophecies wrote (with Messiah speaking in the first person):

“For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave” (Psalms 16:10).

Later, in the first and perhaps greatest sermon ever preached (Day of Pentecost), the Apostle Peter quoted the above verse from King David. In this astounding message, Peter presented Old Testament and New Testament evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, the Messiah.

Peter exclaimed: “But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip” (Acts 2:24). Then Peter quoted what King David wrote about the Messiah; that David wasn’t referring to himself because, “… he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us” (Verse 29). Meaning David’s body was still in his grave.

I believe this prophecy goes beyond the obvious implication of Messiah remaining dead for an indefinite period of time. Rather, it alludes to the length of time before his body began to decay.

Not only that, but this stunning prophecy clearly shows that Messiah must die (be killed as predicted in other Messianic passages). How could he be in the grave unless he was dead? However, he wouldn’t be in the grave long enough for decomposition to begin!

Jesus was the first man to arise from the dead with a glorified spiritual body that was still a body (not a spirit). He ate and drank with his disciples, he talked and walked with them and with two men on the road to Emmaus, he performed more miracles including sudden appearances in closed and locked rooms, and he could be touched.

With this same magnificent body, he lives today and will live forever. Accordingly, God the Father has given Jesus authority to raise believers from the dead in like manner at the resplendent Rapture of believers—which is the first resurrection of the dead, along with tribulation saints who will die later in the Great Tribulation.

As in the first century many observant Jews today (and Gentiles) sadly, even tragically, insist that the resurrection of Messiah Jesus was for all intents and purpose irrelevant. That is, if they even acknowledge this historical fact in the first place. They fail to realize or refuse to accept the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was seen by hundreds of witnesses after he arose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:5-8).

Jewish law, much of which was adopted into Roman law—both of which form the foundation of modern-day system of justice—allowed the testimony of two or more witnesses to find someone guilty or innocent of a crime. Yet many Jewish and Gentile religious leaders today ignore the first-hand account of completely reliable testimony that further affirms Jesus ascended alive into heaven. Furthermore, all logic and additional Scriptural writings plainly conclude that Messiah Jesus is still in heaven awaiting the appointed time for his glorious return to Jerusalem to make all things right in the wrong world of ours.

Read with me the astonishing account of what happened on the Mount of Olives: “After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!’” (Acts 1:9-11, italics for emphasis).

Listen to the words of the prophet concerning Messiah: “Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem…” (Zechariah 14:3-4).

Here (and other places in Scripture) Messiah is called Lord. This is clearly a reference to the Son of God who came to us in human flesh, fully man and fully God. God the Father is Spirit and will always be Spirit. Thus, the Father will not step foot on the Mount of Olives. But his Son, Jesus has and will do so again.

Jesus proved that he was Messiah, Son of God, by rising from the dead. Not in the same fashion as Lazarus or those raised by Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul, or Jesus himself; rather, with a brand new body fashioned for eternity. Those who believe in Him, and make a personal decision to receive him as Messiah and Savior will also live forever in a glorious resurrected body.

It simply doesn’t get any better than that!

How much historic evidence does anyone need or want? It’s all there, meticulously and accurately recorded in perpetuity for all generations before and after the time of Christ.

Thus, it is not an issue of the mind … of whether Messiah Jesus actually lived, died, and rose again.

It becomes a matter of the heart. Can you, will you simply agree with God and say, “yes,’ to his Son. It truly is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

Things to Ponder

Please understand: I am not comparing one miracle of resurrection to another just for the sake of comparison … on say, a scale of one to ten. Instead, differences are pointed out highlighting Jesus’s accomplishment as the FINAL resurrection for all time. Indeed, he is the resurrection and the life … eternal life.

Here are the Jewish Apostle Paul’s words to believers in Christ Jesus:

“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20-21).

Daniel was given a vision of both the ascension of Jesus into heaven after he arose from the dead and also his glorious return that will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation; with the Tribulation commencing soon after the Rapture, which will take place at any moment of any day.

“As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

Paul was well trained in the Old Testament Torah and prophecies. Because of his personal encounter with the risen Messiah; because he fully realized that all of the ancient prophecies of Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth; and because he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can confidently conclude that the Son of Man seen by Daniel was none other than Jesus Christ.

“…When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:7-11).

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!

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eyeofprophecy … watch and wait

~ "For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus" (Rev.19:10)

Author Archives: garybowers

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