In the first epistle of Peter there are multiple statements that indicate that Peter’s thought process was quite different than that of modern day Zionism.

To begin with, Peter addresses his brethren as “aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia…” (1:1)

For the first century Jew, the diaspora wasn’t over, and yet the gospel proclaimed it was. For Christ had brought an end to the real exile, and now God was calling his people to an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for them ( v. 4).

The land under the law had served as a type of the true spiritual inheritance they would find in Christ.

In chapter one, he says the following in verses 14-19

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot ~ ESV

Now they were members of a new kind of Israel: a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, and chosen generation, called to offer up spiritual sacrifices by Jesus Christ (2:9).

Peter continues by addressing them as “strangers and pilgrims” (2:11), and encourages them to live in a way that honors God among the Gentiles in this world, as they follow Jesus Christ in anticipation of his glorious return.

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ~ Revelation 22:14 NSAB

The KJV says, “blessed are they who do his commandments.”

Ezekiel was a priest by blood linage, who was also called to be a prophet to the Jewish exiles. Ezekiel’s message was specifically for the exiles of his day. ~ Ezekiel 1:1,2; 3:11,15; 11:24,25; 12:3,4,7,11; 25:3; 33:21; 39:28; 40:1

Consider the following texts for example:

Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.” ~ Ezekiel 3:10-11

And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. ~Ezekiel 3:15

And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.~ Ezekiel 11:24-24

Now consider Ezekiel 33:21 – In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down.”

Notice that Ezekiel gives specific reference to the time of the exile.

The point here is that Ezekiel’s message was for a specific group of people at a specific time in Israel’s history: the exiles of ancient Israel. If we take the words of God which were spoken to them, and project them onto modern day Israel claiming that they are “prophetic” of modern day Israel, we are proof-texting, especially when our projection of the text contradicts the Biblical narrative of the exiles and their return to the land. Furthermore, we contradict the revelation of Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel given in the New Testament.

Some Christians defend the modern state of Israel’s ungodliness and sins by citing the following verses from Ezekiel 36:

But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. ~ Ezekiel 36:20-24 

Notice that the thrust of these verses declare that God would gather the exiles back into the land of Israel, not because of them, but to glorify his own name.

These words in context refer to the regathering of the ancient Israelites into their land after the captivity, because they (the ancient Israelites) are the ones in the text who had been expelled from the land because of their abominations.

Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity.  So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. ~ Ezekiel 36″17-18 

Ezekiel 36 does not refer to modern day Israel more than some 2500 years later, nor can it apply to modern day Israel, because modern day Jews were never expelled from the land for their wickedness in the land. It is speaking specifically to the exiles of Ezekiel’s time regarding their captivity.

Furthermore, according to the New Testament, God has glorified his name through his Son Jesus Christ. Just prior to his crucifixion, Jesus said the following:

Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. ~ John 12:27-28 

Throughout the New Testament, God’s name is glorified in and through Jesus Christ. Never once is it glorified through Jews living in the land of Israel. 

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus… And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. ~ Acts 3:13,16

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:9-11 

Isaiah the prophet proclaimed that there would be a second regathering of the exiles, but it would not be a regathering into the land. Rather, it would be a regathering unto the Messiah. Consider the following from Isaiah 11:

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet A SECOND TIME to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal (a banner) for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ~ Isaiah 11:10-12

This is a prophecy concerning Jesus. Notice that it is said the he will not only raise a signal for the nations, but will also assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Now, with this in mind, notice the following from Acts 2:

…there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. ~ Acts 2:5

In verses 6-11, we read of the nations from which these Jews were residents.

Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. ~ Acts 2:6-11

The locations mentioned in Isaiah 11 and the locations in Acts 2 coincide with one another. Acts 2 was the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah 11:10-12 as God began gathering his people, the remnant of Israel, together under one banner: the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Acts 2:22, the apostle Peter addressed these thousands of Jews as, “Ye men of Israel.”

Peter goes on to lay the culpability for the death of Jesus to the charge of the house of Israel.

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, Ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain… ~ v. 23 

Peter then tells his Jewish audience, “God hath raised Jesus up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be held by it ” ~ v.24 

Though they were responsible for the death of the Messiah, God had raised him up, and in His mercy, God was gathering the remnant of those who would repent and trust in Jesus.

Peter goes on to declare how that through the resurrection of Jesus, God exalted and enthroned Jesus as the King of Israel at the right hand of God.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. ~ Acts 2:36

The message of the resurrection of Jesus was for all the house of Israel. Jesus is the Banner which the Lord God of Israel has raised up to gather the remnant of his people to Himself. In response to Peter’s bold proclamation about Jesus, three thousand souls were added as followers of Jesus.

In Acts 2:47, these Jews who believed in Jesus were called the church. They were the beginning of the New Covenant Israel of God, gathered together as one people in the Messiah. However, those Jews who chose to reject Jesus, were consequently cut off from the people of God as Moses had said they would be. ~  Acts 3:22-23

Later, Gentiles would begin to be grafted into the covenant with the remnant of the believing Jews, but first the Gospel would continue to spread to the whole house of Israel. ~  Acts 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 5:30-32; 8:4; 13:16-46

Through the gospel which was sent to the Jew first, God raised a banner and began gathering the remnant of his people just as he had said he would.

In the book of Acts there are approximately 7 recorded gospel sermons. Everyone is a narrative of the history of Israel coming to its climax in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, many Christians have been taught a narrative regarding Israel which is contrary to the Biblical narrative of the story of Israel which culminates in the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ: the King Israel!

THE EKKLESIA 

On the Day of Pentecost the New Testament church was born, yet the concept of the church did not begin on Pentecost. It began with Israel in the Old Testament.  In Acts 7, Stephen refers to Israel in the wilderness as “the church in the wilderness.” ~ Acts 7:38

The Septuagint (LXX) which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament (completed some 200 years before Christ) was a primary source employed by the New Testament writers when quoting from the Old Testament scriptures.

The Greek word Ekklesia which is translated in the New Testament as church, is used in the Old Testament by the Septuagint to describe the gatherings,  assemblies, and coming together of the people of Israel.

For instance, ekklesia is used to describe the gathering of the people of Israel at the giving of the Law.

“… the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.” ~ Deuteronomy 4:10

The word gather, here in Deuteronomy 4:10 is the verb form of ekklesia. In Deuteronomy 9:10 it is “the day of the assembly.”

And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. ~ Deuteronomy 9:10

This “day of the assembly” is “the day of the ekklesia” or the day the church in the wilderness gathered to receive the Law.

This is very interesting in view of the events which occurred on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Pentecost was a commemoration of the giving of the Law.

The giving of the Spirit at Pentecost was the fulfillment of that which was foreshadowed when the Law was given in the Old Testament. It is by the giving of his Holy Spirit that God has inscribed his law on the hearts of his people in fulfillment of his promise to give the house of Israel and the house of Judah a new covenant with the law inscribed on their hearts.

The ekklesia, or church, is not a New Testament concept. It began with Israel in the Old Testament and continued with born again Israelites in the New Testament. That is why the Jews who continued on in covenant with God through Jesus Christ were called the church, or the ekklesia.

If we know from the scriptures that the New Testament church was born on the Day of Pentecost (a Jewish feast day) and was an entirely Jewish assembly of believers in Jesus Christ, then the church cannot and must not be thought of as a Gentile entity. The church is the true assembly of the people of God, as the writer of Hebrews exhorted his Jewish brethren:

For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church (ekkliesa) of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect… ~ Hebrews 12:18-23

Again, Hebrews was written to Israeli’s.

According to the apostle Paul, God is glorified in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages. ~ Ephesians 3:20.

In contrast, modern day Israel is hostile to Christian evangelism and in some cases you could be arrested for attempting to convert Jews in Israel.

Modern day Israel has annual gay pride events for the LGBT, legalized abortions, and a problem with prostitution. Not only this, but Israel continues to disregard international laws by killing innocent Palestinians. Also, there were recent reports of some medics being shot by the Israeli military who are clearly marked as medics to help Palestinians.

Modern day Israel continues to oppress the lives of its neighbors by building illegal settlements on land designated for the Palestinians, causing many Palestinians to become impoverished

Yet, Ezekiel 36 is used as a proof text by some Bible prophecy teachers, even though God, in reference to the return of the exiles declared, “(I) will vindicate the holiness of my great name.”

Later we will see that this proved true by testimony of scripture when the exiles returned from captivity, because the return to the land by the exiles in scripture, looks nothing like the establishment of the modern state of Israel.

Furthermore, many of these same prophecy teachers, claim that Ezekiel’s temple vision (Ezekiel 40-48) is a future temple that will be built in Jerusalem. Yet, in Ezekiel’s temple vision the Levite priests bear the shame of their sins for leading the people of Israel into iniquity, and only the descendants of Zadok (of the tribe of Levi) are be able to come near to the Lord.

In ancient Israel, only the sons of Zadok obeyed the Lord when the children of Israel were led astray by their corrupt priesthood. Ezekiel’s temple vision is a contextual reference to ancient Israel and could not possibly apply to modern day Israel, because the priesthood under the law has been annulled by the finished work and High priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is one of the reasons why there are so many problems with third temple theology, especially when attempting to use Ezekiel’s temple vision as a grounds of support. It is not!

The temple in Ezekiel’s vision is a temple that would have been, but never was, because of the sins of Israel and their priests. It was given to Ezekiel, who was a priest by blood linage and a prophet by calling, to make the exiles ashamed of their sins: Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities… ~ Ezekiel 43:10

In this temple, the holy presence of God would have continued to be separated from the people, and particularly from the Levites because of their past sins.

According to the New Testament, Jesus has removed the separation between God and his people and we now have unhindered access to God through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-22; Ephesians 2:13, 18). Jesus alone is our High Priest, and in him, all who believe have been made a royal priesthood and are called to draw close to the Lord.

The church, or ekklesia is the true house of God, which God has alwasy desired so that he could live among his people.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. ~ Ephesians 2:19-22

A temple that would separate God from his people would be one that is be contrary the the work of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to cleanse us from our sins and bring us near to God.

THE BIBLICAL ALIYAH TO ISRAEL

Aliyah is a word used to describe the immigration of Jews to Israel.

According to the Law of Moses, God promised he would gather the children of Israel back to into their land after He had scattered them, only if they turned their hearts back to him to obey all his commands (Deuteronomy 30:1-5; Leviticus 26:40-42).

The modern state of Israel, however, was established with armed force and not with repentance towards God and a commitment to obey him. As a result of the 1948 establishment of modern Israel, there were more than an estimated 700,000 Palestinian refugees, some of which were Christians.

Since 1948, Israel has yet to become a nation representing the one true God. After 70 years (the same length of time as the Babylonian captivity) Israel continues to oppress it’s neighbors.

Modern day Israel is a state whose religious traditions are aligned with the Jewish Talmud (a collection of rabbinical teachings which blasphemes against the Lord Jesus Christ).

In contrast to the establishment of the modern state of Israel, consider the following from the book of Nehemiah chapter 1:

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

5 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.

7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cup bearer.

Notice that Nehemiah was humble and repentant, and he cited to God the conditions which God Himself had established that the people were to turn to God, to keep His commandments and to do them.

Later in Nehemiah we read the following:

Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law, which was given through Moses, God’s servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of God our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes… Nehemiah 10;28-29 

These Israelites, who were returning from the Babylonian captivity, bond themselves with a curse because they were dedicating themselves to God and to the covenant God made with their fathers through Moses.

The prophet Jeremiah had foretold of this very thing when he said the following:

For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. ~ Jeremiah 29:10-14 

This (Jeremiah’s prophecy) is exactly what happened according to the book of Nehemiah, and it happened just as it was required according to the Law of Moses, for the prerequisite for aliyah (according to the Law) is repentance towards God. ~ Deuteronomy 30, Leviticus 26:40-42; Daniel 9:1-21; Nehemiah 1:1-11; 10:28-29 Jeremiah 29:10-14; Ezra 9:7,15).

This is yet another reason why the text in Ezekiel 36 can’t been taken out of its narrative setting and projected onto modern day Israel. The words of God in Ezekiel 36 regarding his name being glorified by the return of the Jews from captivity must be understood in view of God’s words to Jeremiah, and the testimony in Nehemiah

Why doesn’t the aliyah of modern Israel look anything like those who returned after the Babylonian captivity? There simply is no doctrine or precedence in scripture which supports a Jewish national aliyah to Israel without there being a turning of the heart towards God!
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JESUS AND THE THIRD TEMPLE 
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2017/12/15/jesus-and-the-third-temple/

REASONS WHY ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN THE MILLENNIUM IS PROBLEMATIC FOR CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/reasons-why-animal-sacrifices-in-the-millennium-is-problematic-for-christian-doctrine/

 

Many who advocate the rebuilding of a third temple, reference the book of Ezekiel.

If there is ever a temple built in Jerusalem (and there very well may be one built,) it will not be the one Ezekiel saw.

Most people who throw out Ezekiel as a reference for a third temple, will not even look at the details in Ezekiel’s vision, and certainly will not examine the one the Temple Institute plans to build to see if it matches the one in Ezekiel’s vision.

If Ezekiel saw an end time temple, and the one built doesn’t match it, then guess what – that ain’t it!

Has the Temple Institute found the descendants of Zadok?

In Ezekiel’s temple, the Levite priests bear the shame of their sins for leading the people of Israel into iniquity. Is this the priesthood the Temple Institute is promoting? Are they planning to appoint priests who lead the children of Israel astray? I don’t think so!

In Ezekiel’s temple, only the descendants of Zadok (of the tribe of Levi) would be able to come near to the Lord. And would you like to know why? It is because only the sons of Zadok obeyed the Lord when the children of Israel went astray, which is a contextual reference to ancient Israel and could not possibly apply to modern day Israel.

This is one of the reasons why there are so many problems with “third temple” theology, especially when attempting use Ezekiel’s temple vision as a grounds of support. It is not!

The temple in Ezekiel’s vision is a temple that would have been but never was, because of the sins of Israel and their priests.

Ezekiel was a priest by blood linage and also a prophet. This temple vision was given to Ezekiel to make the people of Israel ashamed of their sins (Ezekiel 43:10, 11). In this temple, the Holy presence of God would have continued to be separated from the people, and particularly from the Levites because of their past sins.

According to the New Testament, Jesus has removed the separation between God and his people and we now have unhindered access to God through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-22; Ephesians 2:13, 18). Jesus alone is our High Priest, and in him, all who believe have been made a royal priesthood and are called to draw close to the Lord.

A temple that would separate God from his people would be one that would be contrary the the work of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to cleanse us from our sins and bring us near to God.

Now this is only one reason why the Temple Institute will not build the temple Ezekiel saw. There are others, one which required Israel to share their land with foreigners and to treat them as native born Israelites – yes that is in the instructions regarding the temple that Ezekiel saw.

Again, there are more reasons than the ones mentioned above as to why the temple Ezekiel saw is not the one that would be built by the Temple Institute.
However, the thing you need to know is that there is not a single scripture that prophesies that there will be a rebuilt temple with animal sacrifices which will lead Israel back to God.

The gospel was sent to the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles. The only path to salvation of the Jew is to believe the gospel that has already been given to them.

According to the apostle Paul, the gospel is their sound and their words because the gospel was testified of by Moses and their prophets.

There is an article on Christian media site titled: 10 Signs You Married the Wrong Person.

As a christian, this title angered me because it is the sort of thing that festers doubt in the minds of people.

Here is the truth – the moment you said “I do” your spouse just became the right person. It is the will of God for you to love and cherish your wife or husband. Christians have to stop playing guessing games with the will of God.

Christians also have to stop attempting to spiritualize everything – as if God needs to tell them their every move. God will guide us when we need his wisdom, but sometimes we just need to make good decisions based on the Word of God.

Allow me to elaborate.

Many Christians have the unscriptural idea that God has a specific person for them and they must find that specific person in order to marry according to the will of God. This kind of thinking can lead people to think “I married the wrong person” when difficulties arise in their marriage. And when a person has such doubt they sometimes confide in people who will work against their marriage rather than for it. And that is not a good thing.

Unless it is the rare occasion that you are specifically called to be the earthly parents of the Son of God, God does not have only one specific person he wants you to marry.

In 1 Corinthians 7, the apostle Paul, addressing the topic of marriage, says the following concerning widows:

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. ~ verse 39

Notice that Paul does not say she needs to wait for the specific man God wants her to marry. He says she is free to marry whoever she wants to, but only in the Lord.

Only in the Lord means marrying a believer.

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. ~2 Timothy 3:1-5

Denying the power of godliness is not a reference to miracles, healing, visions, and other supernatural experiences. It is a reference to godliness in contrast to ungodliness, just as the context, referenced above, clearly reveals.

Unfortunately many professing Christians are falling into this category, embracing a particular theory of “imputed righteousness” while rejecting the power of the living Christ to produce the fruit of godly and holy character in their lives.

They have embraced a “fantasy righteousness” rather than true righteousness which guides the life of the believer with conviction under the power of the Holy Spirit.

This fantasy righteousness makes no demands on them – no demands to forsake their sin. In this fantasy righteousness, they believe God has projected onto them a righteousness from Christ with no expectation of a changed life for the glory of God. No such righteousness exists in the scriptures.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. ~ 1 John 3:7

This fantasy righteousness is deception because it is void of the power of the gospel which changes a man into the likeness of Christ.

Christ did not save us to leave us in our sins. Christ saved us to deliver us from our sins. Sin is not a fantasy. Sin is the power of darkness at work in the heart, and minds of men, expressing itself in wickedness, ungodliness, and unrighteousness. Sin affects the whole person: our heart, our minds, and our conduct.

Jesus came to deliver us from sin’s power, not in some mystical, fanciful sort of way, but in a real life changing way.

He that committeth sin (habitually practices sin) is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the works of the devil. ~ 1 John 3:8 

The works of the devil which are destroyed by the power of Christ is the habitual practice of sin in our lives. Contextually, this is what John is referring to.

In his first epistle, the apostle Peter says the following:

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy. ~ 1 Peter 1:13 -16

One who claims to have “imputed righteousness” while denying the fruit of holiness and godly character through the power of Christ, has either not experience the saving grace of God, or has turned away from it.

Jesus gave his life so that we could be cleansed by his blood from our old sinful lives, and live according to the will of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Christian is called to glorify God with the fruit of holy and righteous character by the power of Christ. This is why Jesus saved us.

Many people, who attempt to spiritualize everything, have no idea what “spiritual” actually means.

If the truth were known, their understanding of what is “spiritual” is actually an ideology in their carnal mind.

God, who is a Spirit, created all things including man, and it was all very good.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. ~ Genesis 1:31

For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. ~ Isaiah 45:18

God gave man dominion over the good works of his hands.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ~ Genesis 1:28

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! ~ Psalm 8:4-9

The works of God’s hands over which he has given man dominion is his creation in this physical world. It is not some “spiritual aura” floating around. It is God’s very good creation that he delights in.

According to the author of the book of Hebrews, the world to come is after the very same order of creation. The author of Hebrews appeals to the text above from Psalm 8 to establish this truth.

For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. ~ Hebrews 2:5-9

In contrast to angels not having dominion in the world to come, the writer of Hebrews appeals to the Old Testament scriptures which declares that God has given man dominion over the works of his hands.

The works of God’s hands have not changed. It is still God’s good creation which shall be brought back to it’s original state under the leadership of Christ, when he comes again.

Because of sin, death and darkness have ravished God’s good creation. In Christ it will be completely restored.

JESUS DID NOT TAKE ON THE NATURE OF ANGELS

Jesus came in the flesh and redeemed us with his precious blood through the offering of his body for our sins.

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and said the following: Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. ~ Luke 24:39

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus took on flesh and blood to redeem us.

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. ~ Hebrews 2:14-16

Notice in contrast to the nature of angels, the author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus took on the seed of Abraham.

What is the nature of angels in contrast to the seed of Abraham?

The answer is found in chapter 1, where the writer of Hebrews is citing for the Old Testament, and showing the greatness of God’s Son in comparison to the angels.

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. ~ Hebrews 1:7

Angels are spirits. However, Jesus, the Son of God, came in the flesh as the seed of Abraham.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ~ John 1:14

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. ~ 1 Timothy 3:16

The words, justified in the spirit, in 1 Timothy 3:16 (above) actually mean: “vindicated in the spirit,” or “declared righteous.”

Jesus is the the last Adam. He is the one who gave his life to save us from our sins and restore creation.

In the book of Romans, Paul tells us that all creation is eagerly awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God,

For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature (creation) itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ~ Romans 8:19 -21

What is the manifestation of the Sons of God?

It is the the people of God inhabiting this created world when Christ comes again. Jesus, who is our Lord, conquered death through his resurrection, and his people shall experience the same, and when he comes again, and all of creation will be delivered for the grip of death.

Jesus who died and rose again, is not only the last Adam, but he is also the creator who of that which the first man, Adam, gave over to death.

Jesus is the creator, and the redeemer of it.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. ~ Colossians 1:14-20

The real danger of the Hebrew Roots theology is that is undermines the person of Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew Roots teachers along with their followers claim to be “Torah observant” and in doing so, they claim to keep the feasts given to Israel under Moses. Yet, the Hebrew Roots followers fail to understand the role of the Law in the Biblical narrative.

While the Law is a very in depth topic, there are some easy to follow guidelines that can help any person, willing to learn, have a better understanding of the Law, and avoid the errors taught by the Hebrew Roots advocates.

The Law was comprised of the following:

1. The moral laws contained in the Ten Commandments.
2. The Ceremonial laws for worship.
3. The civil laws governing the everyday lives of the people as citizens of Israel.

The feast of Passover fell under the category of the ceremonial laws which governed Israel’s worship of God.

Since the Law was Israel’s covenant, Gentiles were not permitted to participate in the ceremonial observances of the Israelites. When God gave Moses the instructions regarding the keeping of the Passover, he made it very clear that only those who were circumcised were allowed partake of the Passover.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the instructions for the festival of Passover. No outsiders are allowed to eat the Passover meal. But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised…“If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, let all their males be circumcised. Only then may they celebrate the Passover with you like any native-born Israelite. But no uncircumcised male may ever eat the Passover meal. This instruction applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner living among you.” ~ Exodus 12:43-44; 48-49 TNLT

According to Paul, physical circumcision no longer has any value with regards to being in covenant with God, and the system of law with its commandments and regulations under which Israel was to serve God, has been abolished by the death of Christ on the cross.

To insist that Gentiles are to keep the Passover which Israel was given under the law is to insist that physical circumcision is still relevant with regards to being in covenant with God. It is not.

Secondly, you cannot keep the Passover which Israel kept without animal sacrifices (Exodus 34:25. Leviticus 23:5-8, Numbers 9, Deuteronomy 16). Now that Jesus has died and been raised again, animal sacrifices are no longer accepted by God because they only served as a foreshadowing until Christ. Offering animal sacrifices now that Christ has died and risen again, would be apostate.

Thirdly, after Israel entered the Promised land, the Passover was to be observed at the place which God chose within the boarders of the land of Israel.

Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. ~ Deuteronomy 16:5-6

The place chosen by God eventually became Jerusalem. The Biblical narrative reveals this.

One cannot keep the Passover according the instruction contained in the Law if he isn’t in Jerusalem. Earthly Jerusalem is no longer the city of the people of God. The heavenly Jerusalem is.

The problem with the hermeneutics of the Hebrew Roots Movement is that they make up their own rules regarding the Law. Their interpretation of the Law is not Biblical.

You cannot make up your own rules and think you are keeping the Passover given to Israel, If you are not observing Passover according to the instructions given to Israel under the Law, you are not being Torah Observant.

If you do not follow the instructions given to Israel, you are not keeping the Passover given to Israel. Instead, you are reinventing the Law, and in doing so, you are violating the law.

Those who are truly “Torah Observant” follow New Testament doctrine, for the Law served as the school Master to lead us to Christ.

The Law is fulfilled in Jesus, and he is our Passover. We keep the Passover under the New Covenant by faith in his blood and by living a godly life. This is what God desires from his people: pure hearts and godly lives.

Under the Law the appointed feasts given to Israel, served as a foreshadowing of Christ. For example: Passover, Unleavened bread, and first-fruits foreshadowed the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Passover was on the 14th day (at evening) of first month which was Nisan 14 (or Abib 14). The next day was the 15th day and the beginning of seven days of unleavened bread. This day was also a Sabbath, and the next Sabbath was not until seven days later. On the 16th day of Nisan or Abib was the feast of first-fruits. There was only one day between Passover and first-fruits and that was the Sabbath of unleavened bread.

Jesus was crucified on Passover, the 14th day. His body rested in the tomb on the Sabbath of unleavened bread (the 15th day), He was raised from the dead on the 16th day of the first month, fulfilling the first-fruits.

In the same way that Paul describes Jesus as our Passover in 1 Corinthians 5:7, he describes Jesus as the first-fruits of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. In Colossians 2, Paul tells us that the feast days were only shadows of Christ.

Jesus is the one to whom the Passover under the Law, pointed, and with circumcised hearts we serve him in sincerity and in truth, rejoicing in him, for it was his blood that redeemed us and not the blood of an animal.

Jesus is our Passover!
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HOW THE LAW TRANSLATES TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2018/03/25/how-the-law-translates-to-the-new-testament/

WHY DID PAUL TELL THE CORINTHIANS TO KEEP THE PASSOVER?

https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/why-did-paul-tell-the-corinthians-to-keep-the-passover/

 

When the Bible speaks of the law, it is referring to either: (1) the ceremonial laws within the law, or (2) the civil laws within the law, or (3) the Ten Commandments, or (4) all these  collectively.

Also, the New Testament sometimes refers to the Law as the whole of the Old Testament, and sometimes the words of the prophets. We must determined which is under discussion based on the context. 

Nowhere in scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, were Gentiles ever required to keep the civil or ceremonial laws given to Israel. In fact, Gentiles were forbidden from many things contained in the law because they were outside the covenant.

For example, the law forbade uncircumcised Gentiles from observing the Passover. Gentiles were outside the covenant and were forbidden from eating the Passover. If a Gentiles desired to eat the Passover, he had to be circumcised and come under the law of Moses.

This is why Paul tells the Ephesians the following:

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world… ~ Ephesians 2:11-12

Paul then tells the Gentiles that they had been brought near to God through the blood of Christ, for God had made Jews and Gentiles one in Christ. Consequently the dividing wall which stood between the Jews and Gentiles, which was the law, had been removed.

The ceremonial and civil commands within the law were for citizens of the nation of Israel only, and served the purpose of governing their civil life and the order of their worship.

This has been abolished by the death of Christ.

The ceremonial and civil laws have been taken away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The laws regarding pots, pans, different kinds of washings, animal sacrifices, stoning offenders, etc,. has been abolished.

The civil and ceremonial laws were given to facilitate the the moral laws given in the Ten Commandments, and governed Israel’s daily life and worship.

Even though Jesus died and gave us a new covenant, the things which the Ten Commandments reveal as sin, such as idolatry, adultery, and covetousness are still sins, and the New Testament reveals that God is going to judge the ungodly by this standard.

The New Testament also teaches us that the godly fulfill the law from their hearts because of the love of God in them. The only command not carried over into the New Covenant is the third commandment, which is the Sabbath.

The Sabbath played a large role in Israel’s ceremonial laws and civil laws.  The New Testament teaches that the Sabbath was a foreshadowing of the rest we have in God, through Jesus Christ.

Many people who make the Sabbath an issue have never actually studied the Sabbath in scripture, and would likely miserably fail a pop quiz regarding the Sabbath.

John tells us that Jesus broke the Sabbath – that will mess with your theology if you dared to believe it. Even though Jesus broke the Sabbath, he fulfilled it – that will really mess with your theology.

For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. ~ John 5:18

Jesus wasn’t a servant of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was his servant. When the Sabbath becomes about legalistic rules, we become it’s servant, and this was never God’s intent. God gave the Sabbath to Israel for multiple reasons.

1. The Sabbath was a sign of God’s covenant with Israel.
2. The Sabbath was a gift of rest because Israel had been slaves in Egypt, under hard labor.
3. The Sabbath was a reminder that Israel’s God is the creator, the only true God.

God rested from all his works of creation on the 7th day, and he therefore commanded Israel to keep the Sabbath, because he alone is the one true God the creator of Heaven and Earth.

Israel’s Sabbath was a memorial to God’s finished work of creation.

Though Israel observed the Sabbath, as a day, they never entered the true rest that God had prepared for them: a rest that had been predestined before the foundation of the world. 

The true rest for God’s people is not found in a day of the week.  It’s found in a person, Jesus Christ, who is the one to whom the Sabbath command pointed. An individual can keep the Sabbath day, but if he isn’t free from sin, and if his heart is cut off from God, he has not truly entered into the Sabbath rest of God.

The rest that God desires for his people is not found in a day, but in a person, and that is why Paul tells the Colossians to let no man judge them regarding the Sabbath. It was only a shadow, and the fulfillment of it is found in Christ!

That is how the law translates to the New Testament.

You cannot extract a Biblical verse, link it with another verse in another part of scripture, and use those texts to project your belief, and be right.

Every text belongs to a context.

For example, I could say, “I’ve done nothing wrong. I wasn’t even there when the the money was stolen. I was on vacation.”

Imagine is this statement was broken down into verses, and verse one said, I’ve done nothing wrong.

If you were to extract those words to make the claim that I am referring to my whole life, you would be quoting my words out of context. I wasn’t talking about my entire life. I would have been referring to a single incident where money would have been stolen.

Yet this is exactly how so many have been conditioned to approach scripture. It is for this reason that people don’t know scripture, and many get entrapped by foolish and harmful teachings of men.

If you want to get the most out of scripture, study the context. Here are 3 helpful tips for you:

1. Seek to understand what the verse means within the flow of thought the writer is communicating. This is the immediate context.

2. Seek to understand what the rest of scripture has to say about the same topic.

3. Seek to understand how the truth communicated in the text fits with the whole counsel of scripture.

Now here is an example: If I am studying the wrath of God, I want to know why the wrath of God is mentioned in the text (why God is wrathful in the text) and to whom God’s wrath is directed in the text, etc.

Secondly, my understanding of the wrath of God in this text must harmonize with what other texts have to say about the wrath of God. If it doesn’t I am misunderstanding the text.

Thirdly, how does my understanding of God’s wrath harmonize with the other attributes of God reveled in scripture.

If I follow this practice, I will have good theology about the wrath of God.

I will know the following:

(1) The whole counsel of scripture doesn’t teach me that God is an angry wrathful being. God is loving, merciful, and kind, and he expects me to be loving, merciful, and kind. Vengeance belongs to him. God alone can be wrathful and righteous at the same time. The wrath of man does not demonstrate the righteousness of God. Therefore. I cannot use any text regarding God’s wrath as a crutch to display my personal hate. This is what the Westboro Baptist Church has done, and why their actions are ungodly, and do not represent the gospel of Christ.

If you don’t know who they are, google their name.

(2) Though God is loving, some things do make him angry.

(3) The things that incur God’s wrath are things that are wicked and evil in his sight, such as idolatry, rape, etc. Yet, all these things are forgivable by God if a person repents. Though people provoke God’s wrath with evil things such as violating other people, God is very merciful and often gives them space to repent before judging them.

God is the righteous judge and knows exactly what he is doing in his dealing with all people.

Remember these three principles of interpretation, mentioned below, and you will be on your way to go healthy, Bible study habits.

(1) Context – What is the author talking about?
(2) Topic – What does the balance of scripture teach about the same topic?
(3) The whole counsel of scripture – How does it harmonize with all other truths revealed in scripture?