Kirk Obama race

 Obama's focus on race in disagreeing with Charlie Kirk.

I recently watched a video of President Obama talking about Charlie Kirk.

He said he obviously didn't know him but was generally aware some of his ideas.

Obama names 4 things that he disagreed about with Kirk. They seemed to be all racial-type things. Why does he only pick out racial-type things?

One of those things that he disagreed with Kirk about was that Martin Luther King was "awful."

I don't know what Kirk said about King, and I hadn't really looked into his personal life or his theological beliefs. Of course, I've heard claims of infidelity, and maybe a year or two ago, I heard that he didn't believe in the resurrection. I was rather surprised to hear that he did not believe in the resurrection, since that is an essential proposition of orthodox Christianity, and King was a Baptist pastor. The Apostle Paul said, “if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:16-18

So, I looked up King's beliefs and found that he also did not believe in the Virgin birth or the Deity of Christ. These are also essential propositions of orthodox Christianity. To deny these things is really to deny the Christian faith. I also saw that he did not believe in substitutionary atonement.

I don't know if denying these essential truths of Christianity is why Kirk called him an awful person, or if it was the claims that he was an adulterous man. The FBI spied on King, and they claim that they have evidence, which, I read could be made public in 2027. I also read that a close friend of King's, Dr. Ralph Abernathy, wrote a book (And The Walls Come Tumbling Down) claiming that King committed adultery with more than one woman the night before his assassination. I could see this as a reason to claim he was an awful man.

Obama didn't explain why Kirk called him such, and why he disagreed with that assessment.
So why did Obama say he disagreed with Kirk about King?

moral law today

 Christians could do a better job at addressing the accusation that they are being selective and inconsistent in saying homosexual sex is sin when the same condemnation is made towards eating certain seafood (without fins and scales) or wearing clothes made from mixed fibers according to the book of Leviticus (though the consequence was death for homosexuality, while the other prohibitions required being cut off from the people).

I heard this accusation a few days ago while listening to an interview with Cenk Uygur, a founder of “The Young Turks,” who claims to be a “stone-cold Atheist” and cultural Muslim.

I also heard it recently by Bill Maher, an atheist, during his “Club Random” program on which he had Charlie Kirk as a guest.

I also remember hearing President Obama making a similar accusation of selectivity when condemning homosexuality when the Old Testament condemned eating certain foods or wearing certain clothing—he referenced one of these. I think this came up with reference to homosexual marriage.

I can expect non-Christians not to understand the difference between things like homosexuality and eating certain foods or wearing certain clothing. But Christians should have a better understanding about these things.

The Mosaic Covenant (or the Law of Mose), made with Israel, contained moral, social, and ceremonial (or ritual) requirements. The Mosaic Covenant was only for Israel as a nation, but that covenant included universal and timeless moral law. The moral law of God is required of all people, but for Israel, there were other requirements beyond God's moral law, being the social and ceremonial type laws, and this only makes sense, because Israel was a theocracy. The social and ritual requirements of the Mosaic Covenant are unique and specific for Israel, but the moral laws are for all people: the Mosaic Covenant to Israel included the universal moral law of God along with the social and ceremonial. This is why you will not see the social and ceremonial laws required of Israel required in the New Testament writings. The book of Acts makes it clear that the dietary requirements are no longer in force—they were for Israel. But things like murder, lying, stealing, coveting, sexual immorality (including homosexuality) are still contrary to the moral will of God.

Didache and abortion

 

The “Didache,”  a brief anonymous early Christian treatise,

possibly from the first century (some say the Second Century),

also known as 

“The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations,”

deals with Christian ethics.

The Didache has several

“you shall not” type of commandments

with respect to how to love your neighbor.

Interestingly, one of them states,

“You shall not kill a child in the womb nor expose infants.”

So even in the First Century,

this was a moral issue that was addressed

by the young Christian Church.

So, it appears the early Christian community

understood not killing the unborn

as loving their neighbor.

people as reward

 

Those you have impacted for eternity 

may be your greatest reward in eternity.

^“2 And many of those who sleep

in the dust of the earth shall awake,

some to everlasting life,

some to shame and everlasting contempt.

³ Those who are wise shall shine

like the brightness of the firmament,

and **those who turn many to righteousness

like the stars forever and ever.**”

Daniel 12:2-3

^“17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you

for a short time in presence, not in heart,

endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.

¹⁸ Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul,

time and again—but Satan hindered us.

¹⁹ **For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?

Is it not even you in the presence

of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?

²⁰ For you are our glory and joy.**”

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

Dispies and Israel

 

Dispensationalists are typically more supportive of the present Jewish State in the land of Israel because of their futurist views and because of the Abrahamic covenant. Preterists, it seems, are less supportive of the Jewish State in the land of Israel and more accusatory of the government of evil.

Dispensationalism is a system of theology that sees differing stewardships throughout human history. I understand the stewardships as the people of God for God's purposes, and the most significant ones being the nation of Israel and the “Church.” The distinctions between these two groups are clear in that Israel is primarily descendants of Jacob, existing as a theocracy in a particular land promised to them, while the Church is made up of both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus as the Christ, and it is not a geographically fixed people and government like Israel was.

Dispensationalists or “Dispies” are “futurists” in that they believe there are many prophecies that are yet unfulfilled, besides the “Second Coming” of Christ, concerning things like the “70th week of Daniel,” the “Great Tribulation” period, the salvation and restoration of Israel as a people and nation, and the “Millennial Kingdom” (1000 year reign of Christ).

Opposed to Dispies and their futurist views are “Preterists” (“praeter” is Latin for “past”), who believe all prophecy was fulfilled in the past, mostly involving the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in the events of AD70. Most Preterists still believe in a future resurrection of the dead and a Second Coming of Christ (though some believe even those things have already happened in the past).

Dispies, unlike Preterists, believe one of the “dispensations” yet unfulfilled involves a future salvation and restoration of Israel as a people and nation. Of course, that will be through their acceptance and belief in Jesus as the Christ in connection with end time events, especially in connection with His Second Coming. That salvation of Israel as a people and nation will involve the Millennial reign of Christ on earth.

Dispies understand the “all Israel will be saved” in Romans chapter 11 verse 26 to be about Israel as a people and nation. Jews who believe in Jesus as the Christ and Savior from sin at this present time are part of the “Church,” and the Church belongs to the present dispensation. A new dispensation will begin with the future salvation of Israel as a people and nation for the Millennial Kingdom.

There's a futurist view that is non-dispensational, that believes in a future Millennial kingdom, but the salvation and restoration of Israel is not essential—this is call “Historic Premillennialism.” But some may call themselves Historic Premill, as opposed to being a Dispie, and still believe in a restoration of Israel.

Preterists do not believe in this future salvation of Israel as a people and nation for the Millennial Kingdom. They believe that either the promises to Israel have been forfeited, due to their unbelief and rejection of Jesus as the Christ, or those promises to Israel are fulfilled in the Church: believing Jews are joined with believing Gentiles, and the prophecies concerning the salvation of Israel are fulfilled in that arrangement. Preterists believe God is done with Israel as a distinct people for His purposes. There is not a future salvation of the nation—no restoration to the Land of Israel and no literal 1000 year reign of Christ. The Millennial Kingdom is a spiritual reality fulfilled now in the Church—though some believe in a 1000 year kingdom before Christ's return, in which Christianity advances throughout the earth. They might understand the “all Israel will be saved,” in Romans 11:26 as simply a reference to Jews who believe as opposed to those who don't, and they may reference the statement, “they are not all Israel who are of Israel” Romans 9:6. (I had a man get pretty irate at me and remove all my posts, block me and unfriend me on Facebook because I understood “Israel” as referring to the nation of Israel, and he did not—and the funny thing was that his last name was “Savoie.” Why do people get so angry?)

Dispies are typically more supportive of the present Jewish State in the land of Israel because of their futurist views and because of the Abrahamic covenant, which states: “3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:3 Preterists, it seems, are less supportive of the Jewish State in the land of Israel and more accusatory of the Jewish government of evil, being occupiers in the land that is not theirs, and presently, accusing them of things like genocide towards the Gazan people. The accusations and conspiracies seem to be getting worse.

Dispies see that God still has a purpose for Israel as a people in the Land promised to them, while Preterists believe that God is finished with them as a people, and they have no Divine right or purpose. Yet even some Jews would be opposed to the Jewish State, because they see it as premature and illegitimate because their restoration will be with the coming of Messiah, and ultimately, they are correct, because any kind of peace agreement now (such as a 2 state solution) is only temporary and lacking, for according to the prophecies, such as in Ezekiel (see Ezekiel chapters 36-39), the restoration will a regathering of all Israel into all of the land of promise.

Understanding the different views of Dispensationalism and Preterism can help understand why some Christians are pro-Israel and others are not. And like everything in life, people will differ, and the division seems to get worse as time passes.

Seventy Weeks

 

The “70 Weeks of Daniel” (Daniel 9:24-27) is a prophetic timetable concerning the restoration of Israel as a people and nation in relation to the first and second comings of Christ.

The “Weeks” are sevens of years and adds up to 490 years. It begins with a command (or decree) by a Persian King after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, “to restore and build Jerusalem,” Daniel 9:25. The 70 Weeks end with the second coming of Christ at the end of “great tribulation” to save and gather the elect and Israel as a people under the terms of the “New Covenant.”

From the time of that command “until Messiah the Prince,” Daniel 9:25, is 69 Weeks, that is, 483 years. The reference to “Messiah the Prince” is to the time and year in which Jesus either started his ministry, or made his "triumphal entry," or was crucified. Some have actually calculated the end of the 483 years to the very day Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It's after the 483 years that “Messiah shall be cut off,” Daniel 9:26. The text actually breaks the 69 weeks or 483 years into two time periods, being 7 Weeks and 62 Weeks, and it is believed that the first 7 Weeks or 49 years (7 times 7 years) is the time period it took to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

The Messiah being “cut off” is understood as His execution. Included in the time at the end of the 483 years is the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 by the Romans: “the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” Daniel 9:26 This was by the Romans under the command of Titus, whose Triumphal Arch commemorates this event. It stands in Rome today just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. 

The final Week, being the 70th Week," is understood by many as not yet fulfilled.  Between the 69th and 70th Weeks is an unspecified period of time: there is a gap of time of unknown length.  That gap is mostly the time during which the people of God for His purposes is the Gentile-Jew Assembly, commonly identified as the "Church."  Prior to this unique people of God, Israel was the people of God for His purposes.  

The final Week, being the 70th seven of years, begins with a covenant be confirmed or strengthened for 7 years.  Then in the middle of that 7 years, there comes an end of the daily sacrifices, and an event takes place that is considered an “abomination” in the holy place of the temple. This abomination causes "desolation," and it continues to the end of the period: 

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;

But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate. Daniel 9:27

The event in the middle of the Week is understood as the "abomination of desolation" that takes place in the Jewish Temple.  Jesus makes reference to this in the context of His Second Coming, and he says that following that event will be "Great Tribulation."  Daniel also speaks of this Great Tribulation with reference to "the time of the end."  

Jesus said: ¹⁵ ... when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place ... ²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. Matthew 24:15-22    

Daniel wrote:  ​¹ At that time [the time of the end]

 Michael shall stand up,

The great prince who stands watch 

over the sons of your people [Israel];
And there shall be a time of trouble [tribulation],
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people [Israel] shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book. Daniel 12:1

The end of the Great tribulation is the end of the 70 Weeks: it is the time of Jesus's second coming, to deliver the saints of God from great tribulation and save Israel as a people and nation:  

²⁹ "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:29-31

The 70 Weeks prophecy was a timetable for the fulfillment of certain things with reference to Daniel's people Israel and Jerusalem in connection with the first and second comings of Christ and what he would accomplish.  Those accomplishments are through both comings of Christ, as some have to do with what Jesus accomplished on the cross for sin and salvation, and some are the realization of the benefits of the cross in Israel and their land.  

Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy. Daniel 9:24

Jesus at His second coming will bring an end to the 70 Weeks and the great tribulation.  He will raise the dead, gather the elect, and restore and save Israel as a people and nation.  Israel will be saved and come under the terms of the New Covenant.  Israel as a people of God is in a state of blindness, while presently the gentiles along with Jews who believe in Jesus are in a place of privilege and blessing, like Israel once was, but that will change with the close of great tribulation at the coming of Christ.

²⁵ For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 

²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
²⁷ For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins."

²⁸ Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. ²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:25-29

The future fulfillment of the salvation of Israel in their land is according to those things determined in the 70 Weeks prophecy.  Those things include what Jesus accomplished on the cross, dying for sins that will make reconciliation and restoration possible.  What Jesus accomplished on the cross is the basis for a new covenant to be fulfilled in Israel.  At the coming of Christ, there will be a resurrection of the dead in Christ, a gathering together of living believers, and a turning to Christ in faith a remnant of Jews who will enter the 1000 year reign of Christ.

When Jesus comes again ... it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. Zechariah 12:3  And then ... ⁸ In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ... ⁹ It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:8-9   ¹⁰ "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. ¹¹ In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. Zechariah 12:10-11  

And then...

It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; 

and they [Gentiles] shall come and see My glory. 

¹⁹ I will set a sign among them [Gentiles]; 

and those [Jews] among them [Gentiles] who escape I will send to the nations: 

to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, 

and Tubal and Javan, 

to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. 

And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 

²⁰ Then they [Gentiles] shall bring all your brethren [Jews] for an offering 

to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, 

on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, 

"as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel 

into the house of the LORD. 

²¹ And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says the LORD. 

Isaiah 66:18-21

...to be continued and revised

scoffers

 

Don't be a scoffer...

“... scoffers will come in the last days

... saying,

Where is the promise of His coming?

For ... all things continue

as they were from the beginning of creation.

... The Lord is not slack concerning His promise,

as some count slackness,

but is longsuffering toward us,

not willing that any should perish

but that all should come to repentance."

(2 Peter 3:3-9)

Curse Reversed

 Jesus did not stay in the grave. 

Physical death was part of the curse. God cursed man because of sin with a limited lifespan: he would return to the ground of the earth from which he came. The immediate death that resulted from sin was an alienation from God, but physical death was a subsequent consequence of sin, being a part of the curse.

Since the death of Jesus was for sin, to bear what sin required, the curse could then be removed. The curse included physical death. Jesus could rise from the dead, physically, because the original cause of the curse was dealt with. And Jesus was given the authority to reverse the curse: just as Jesus has authority to give eternal life (being “born again”), he also has authority to raise the dead. Jesus rose from the dead, being proof that satisfaction for sin had been made, and that he had authority to give life both eternally and physically—the latter to be a time determined by God, involving all who have ever lived.

¹⁷ Then to Adam He said, "Because you ... have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake... [and] you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:17-19

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. Hebrews 9:27-28

The Law of Moses revealed the sinfulness of Israel, or anyone who sought to live by it, because of their inability to do the Law; therefore, all under the Law are under the curse of the Law. 

Christ suffered the curse of the Law, so that the Lawbreaker could be released from the curse of the Law and be justified, receive eternal life ("born again"), and be released from the curse of physical death.

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." ¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." ¹² Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."

¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),

¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:10-14

Jesus was cursed for us—alienated from God and put to death on the cross—so that we, through faith in Him as our Savior from sin, could be justified, born again, and be released from the curse of physical death.

"Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Romans 4:3 …

²³ Now it was not written for his [Abraham's] sake alone that it [righteousness, that is “justification”] was imputed to him, ²⁴ but also for us. It [justification] shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:23-25

[Jesus said:] "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. John 17:1-2

²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. 1 Corinthians 15:21-23

²⁴ "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

²⁵ Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is,

when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷ and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

²⁸ Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming

in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice ²⁹ and come forth

—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:24-29

The Woman and her offspring

 

...A great, fiery red dragon

having seven heads and ten horns,

and seven diadems on his heads.

... the dragon [Satan working through King Herod]

stood before the woman [Israel]

who was ready to give birth,

to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

She bore a male Child[The Christ]

who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.

And her Child was caught up [Christ's ascension]

to God and His throne.

Then the woman [a remnant of Israel]

fled into the wilderness [during “great tribulation”],

where she has a place prepared by God,

that they should feed her there

one thousand two hundred and sixty days [3 ½ years].

Revelation 12:3-6

… The woman [a remnant of Israel] was given

two wings of a great eagle,

that she might fly into the wilderness [during great tribulation]

to her place, where she is nourished

for a time and times and half a time [ 3 ½ years],

from the presence of the serpent [the dragon and Satan].

^... And the dragon was enraged with the woman,

and he went to make war

with the rest of her offspring [the church/ Christians],

who keep the commandments of God

and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:14-17

The dragon [Satan] gave

him [the “beast” or “Antichrist”]

his power, his throne, and great authority.

... all the world marveled

and followed the beast.

So they worshiped the dragon

who gave authority to the beast;

and they worshiped the beast,

saying, "Who is like the beast?

Who is able to make war with him?"

And he [the beast, Antichrist]

was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies,

and he was given authority

to continue for forty-two months [3 ½ years].

Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,

to blaspheme His name,

His tabernacle [the “abomination of desolation”],

and those who dwell in heaven.

It was granted to him

to make war with the saints [“great tribulation”]

and to overcome them.

And authority was given him

over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

All who dwell on the earth will worship him,

whose names have not been written

in the Book of Life of the Lamb

slain [Christ's crucifixion]

from the foundation of the world.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear.

He who leads into captivity [during the “great tribulation”]

shall go into captivity;

he who kills with the sword

must be killed with the sword.

Here is the patience and the faith

of the saints [christians/the Church].

Revelation 13:2-10

​At that time Michael [the archangel] shall stand up,

the great prince who stands watch

over the sons of your [Daniel's] people [Israel];

and there shall be a time of trouble [the “great tribulation”],

such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.

And at that time your [Daniel’s] people [Israel]

shall be delivered,

every one who is found written in the book [“the Book of Life”].

Daniel 12:1

[Jesus said:] Therefore when you see

the 'abomination of desolation,'

spoken of by Daniel the prophet,

standing in the holy place [the Jewish temple]

(whoever reads, let him understand),

then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

… For then there will be great tribulation,

such as has not been

since the beginning of the world until this time,

no, nor ever shall be.

And unless those days were shortened,

no flesh would be saved;

but for the elect's [the people of God] sake

those days will be shortened.

Matthew 24:15-22

[Jesus said:] Immediately after the [great] tribulation

of those days

the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from heaven,

and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man

will appear in heaven...

they will see the Son of Man coming

on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet

and they will gather together His elect [the people of God]

from the four winds,

from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24:29-31

[the Apostle Paul said:] For I do not desire, brethren,

that you should be ignorant of this mystery,

lest you should be wise in your own opinion,

that blindness in part has happened to Israel

until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

And so all Israel [the nation] will be saved,

as it is written:

"The Deliverer will come out of Zion,

and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

For this is My [New] covenant with them,

when I take away their sins."

Romans 11:25-27

faith essential

 

The writer of Hebrews in explaining why it is “impossible to please” God “without faith” says that the one “who comes to God must believe that He is,” and the same must believe that God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Obviously, one has to believe that God exists. It is not just believing in His existence, but that He is a “rewarder” of those who diligently seek him. These two things are essential in coming to God, and the second requirement goes far beyond just believing that there is a God.

Believing that God is a “rewarder” of those who diligently seek Him implies several things. It recognizes that God is not far removed from his creation. God is searchable and knowable. He wants to be known. There is revelation from God that tells us about Him. To believe He is a rewarder says something about his character. God not only wants to be known, but He rewards those who diligently seek him with knowledge about Himself. Who is this God and what does He want me to know? If God wants to be known and has made revelation available, then it's not a stretch to conclude there is an accountability to God concerning that revelation.

Not only is there creation to reveal God and which gives reason to believe that He is—faith has an object (such as the evidence of God in creation), and to believe is to have faith—there is special revelation from God of who He is, and what He expects from us, that came through His involvement with mankind through prophets (especially from the nation of Israel) and ultimately through Jesus Christ.

We read in Hebrews 1:1-4: ​¹ God, Who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³ who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

The Apostle Paul makes reference to all these things when he was in Athens Greece on a place called the Areopagus, where certain philosophers and Athenians met:

²² Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; ²³ for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.   Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: ²⁴ God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. ²⁶ And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, ²⁷ so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' ²⁹ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. ³⁰ Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

Acts 17:22-31

Paul's message here addresses these different issues of belief, and it speaks of an accountability to what God has revealed. The ultimate revelation was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead—that God has chosen Him as the revelation to mankind about Himself, and what He wants mankind to know and believe.

70th Week past or future

 

Jason Savoie posts in the group

“Discovering Dispensationalism”:

I have noticed that posttribbers seem to distance themselves from dispensationalism. If a postribber is a futurist, believing the 70Th Week is yet future, and believes in a premill return of Christ with a restoration of national Israel as the people of God for the MK after the GT, wouldn’t that make them dispensational? (They may equate the DOL with the second coming of Christ.)

Ross J Purdy says to Jason Savoie:

What if they agree with everything except that the 70th is future?

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy 

that would be more of a preterist view.

Ross J Purdy says to

Jason Savoie 

On that point. Yet with a future millennial kingdom and a future restored Israel.

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy 

So a view that puts the 70th Week in the past but still believes in a restored Israel and future Millennium? I don't think I've come across that view. Unless it some kind of preterist-futurist view, maybe involving dual fulfillment, or a historicist-futurist view of some kind?

Ross J Purdy says to

Jason Savoie 

Just a futurist view that takes Dan 9 literally. Dan states 70 weeks are DETERMINED. Thus it is an impossibility to interpret it else-wise. Dan does not not say 69 weeks are determined, followed by an indeterminate gap. An indeterminate insertion makes nonsense out of Dan's statement.

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy 

so a gap in the middle of the 70th week? About 40 years?

Ross J Purdy  says to

Jason Savoie 

No. The desolation occurs after the 69th week by about 40 years. That also puts it after the 70th week. Daniel doesn't say the desolation is in the 70th, he only says it is after the 69th without stating how long after.

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy

doesn’t Dan 9:27 put the desolation in the middle of the Week? Jesus quotes 9:27.

Ross J Purdy says to

Jason Savoie 

No. Only the end to sacrifice and offering is put in the middle and is parallel to the Messiah cut off in 26.

The people of the prince is parallel to the one who makes desolate and the destruction, flood, war, desolations is parallel to the consummation poured out on the desolate. This is after the 70 weeks as well as the 69 in AD70 and not part of the 70th. These are negative results and not part of the listed 6 items to be achieved within the 70.

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy 

but Dan 9:27 speaks of the abomination of desolation on the temple in the midst of the week, and the end of the desolation is at the end of the time. And Jesus references Dan 9:27 concerning the AOD, using the LXX. The end of the daily sacrifices in Daniel are referenced several times, along with the AOD. Daniel 12, speaking of “the time of the end,” speaks of the great tribulation, the end of the daily, and the AOD, and a time, times, half a time, the same length of 42 months or 1260 days, the second half of the Week. After the AOD, there will be Great Tribulation, for the second half of the Week, being a time, times, half a time, also referenced as 42 months or 1260 days, according to Revelation chapters 11-13.

Ross J Purdy says to

Jason Savoie

No, not in the midst of the week. Yes Jesus referenced the desolation. The daily sacrifices stopped with every desolation. Dan 12 references the future desolation which is another one. The desolation will be the 3.5 year tribulation. There is no first or second half, there is only the 3.5 year tribulation.

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy

I believe every reference to 3.5 years is the second half of the Week, which ends with the Second Coming, that ends GT. Every reference to putting an end to the daily and AOD in Daniel is the act of either Antiochus 4 (near future from Daniel) or Antichrist (far future from Daniel) , depending on the reference. At the end of the Week, Israel will be restored under the terms of the New Covenant and the MK set up, probably during the extended days to the 3.5 years of Daniel 12: “ And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

“But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

Ross J Purdy says to

Jason Savoie

 I agree with you on what happens at the end of the tribulation. But there is nothing connecting the 3.5 with any week. We have three passages which mention a 3.5 year period in Revelation. Never a seven year period! If it were a second half of a week, why is a seven year period never mentioned anywhere in Revelation. Why is there nothing remotely indication it is half a week or the second half of something? Given no evidence and no exegetical basis, a seven year period or the notion it is a second half of anything is pure, the most bald assumption.

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy

 the midweek event is what is significant. The event in the holy place is what “reveals” the lawless one, foreshadowed by what Antiochus 4 did. The second half of the Week is how we get the 3 1/2 years of duration, reference in several ways in both Daniel and Revelation. After the 70 Weeks, Israel, Daniel’s “people” (and the “holy city”) will be restored, by Christ, under the terms of the New Covenant. The beginning of the 70th marks a confirming or strengthening of a covenant by the one who will break it, an act that involves what reveals him—that one becomes the beast, the 2 stages from the 7th to the 8th head, and he persecutes Israel and the saints to the end of the Week, defeated at Armageddon, at the coming of Christ, then Israel, Daniel’s people (and the “holy city”), are delivered and saved, at the end of the Week. That’s how I see it.

Ross J Purdy says to

Jason Savoie 

There is no second half nor is there a week to begin with! You are assuming it with no basis.

Nothing in Dan speaks of anyone breaking a covenant. You can't break what is only being confirmed. one might opt out or be excluded, but you can't break what is not in place. There is no indication of an antichrist/beast in Dan 9 nor an anticovenant. Such an answer to Dan's prayer becomes no answer at all and thus an anticlimax to the petition. It is an imposition upon the chapter that not only does not work is, well, simply absurd.

Jason Savoie says to

Ross J Purdy

You are right, Dan 9.27 doesn't say a covenant is broken. That is an assumption.

Some translations say the covenant is “strengthened”--why couldn't an existing covenant or treaty be strengthened for another 7 years, but is broken at the halfway point? I am only looking at possibilities on this. We don't always have every detail laid out. Time will tell how it will all transpire. I take a wait and see approach to a lot of prophecy. Time will tell.

I am using the word “week” because that is what the translations use. Is it an assumption then to use that word? I understand it to be a period of 7 of years, because the first 69 weeks must be 7s of years (483 years) span the time from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the prince, and depending on what dating system one uses, it could be from either Cyrus the Great or Artaxerxes until the year of Christ's “triumphal entry.” So, how's that an assumption with no basis?

You claim there is no second half, but I have 3 translations of 3 different Greek texts of the Old Testament, two Septuagint versions and the Theodotion, and 2 of them speak of “in/ by half of the week'” the other has “midst.” Am I assuming when the text says in half of the week the sacrifices cease and the AOD is in the temple?

I also don't understand why you say there is no AOD in the temple in Dan 9.27. All these Greek texts say there is an AOD in or on the temple in connection with the ceasing of the sacrifices and offerings. Since they happen in the half point, and it's a 7-year period, it just follows that 3 ½ years are left.

The event in the half point and the second half all fit with the length of GT being 3 ½ years, after which, Israel and Jerusalem are delivered by the coming of Christ. Isn't that the conclusion of the 70 weeks, which are determined for Daniel's people and city?

There is a difference between the desolation of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the AOD in the temple by the lawless one/ beast/ antichrist. The former happened after the 69th week (after 483 years plus about 40 years), but the latter is yet future, which I believe is in the 70th 7 of years, which has been postponed.

You may not like the gap view, between the 69th and 70th, but it's not as absurd as putting a 40-year gap in the middle of the 70th Week, which many preterists have to do. And they have to, because Dan 9:27 speaks of the AOD in the temple--which you for some reason deny--and they have to see it as an abomination in the temple in Jerusalem near AD70, but I am convinced that it is the AOD Jesus referenced that immediately precedes the GT yet future.

I just want to add that to claim the end of sacrifice and offering in the midst of the 70th week is the death of Christ is an assumption as well. Everywhere else in Daniel refers to either what Antiochus 4 did (and compare with 1 Maccabees 1.41-49) or what antichrist does, in connection with the AOD in the temple. Dan 9.27 clearly speaks of the AOD in the temple in the Greek texts. So, I have a clear basis for this conclusion.

We may just have to agree to disagree about the 70th weeks relationship to the time of the end.

We may still at least agree about a future 3 ½ year GT and what happens at the end--though I am a posttrib dispy, which I don't know your thoughts on that, but that was what my OP was dealing with, before all this other came up.

What about Israel

What about Israel [the nation]? (Romans 11:11-33)

¹¹ I say then, have they [Israel] stumbled that they should fall [fail]?

Certainly not!

But through their [Israel's] fall, to provoke them to jealousy,

salvation [a special relationship with God] has come to the Gentiles [the nations].

¹² Now if their [Israel's] fall is riches for the world [the Gentiles],

and their failure riches for the Gentiles,

how much more their [Israel's] fullness!

¹³ For I [The Apostle Paul] speak to you Gentiles;

inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles,

I magnify my ministry [to the Gentiles],

¹⁴ if by any means I [Paul] may provoke to jealousy

those who are my flesh [Israel] and save [ that salvation] some of them.

¹⁵ For if their [Israel] being cast away [from special status]

is the reconciling of the world [the Gentiles in relationship with God],

what will their [Israel's] acceptance be but life from the dead [restoration in their special relationship with God]?

¹⁶ For [an analogy] if the firstfruit is holy [devoted to God], the lump [source] is also holy; and if the root [source] is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ And if some of the branches [Israel] were broken off [the unbelieving Jews in Jesus as the Christ], and you [Gentiles who believe Jesus is the Christ], being a wild olive tree [the same Gentiles], were grafted in among them [the Jews who did believe Jesus is the Christ], and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness [the privileges and blessings as God's special people for His purposes] of the olive tree,

¹⁸ [believing Gentiles] do not boast against the branches [the Jews who do not believe who were “cut off” from the place of privilege and blessing].

But if you [the same Gentiles] do boast,

remember that you [Gentiles] do not support the root [source of privilege and blessing], but the root supports you.

¹⁹ You [Gentiles] will say then, "Branches [unbelieving Jews] were broken off that I [believing Gentile] might be grafted in [the place of privilege and blessing]."

²⁰ Well said. Because of unbelief they [Jews] were broken off, and you [Gentiles] stand by faith.

Do not be haughty, but fear.

²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches [Israel], He may not spare you [Gentiles] either.

²² Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell [unbelieving Jews], severity; but toward you [believing Gentiles], goodness, if you [Gentiles] continue in His goodness. Otherwise you [Gentiles] also will be cut off.

²³ And they [Israel] also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in [the place of privilege and blessing], for God is able to graft them in again.

²⁴ For if you [Gentiles] were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature [outside the place of privilege and blessing], and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree [the place of privilege and blessing, as Israel was in], how much more will these [Jews], who are natural branches, be grafted into their own [Israel's] olive tree?

²⁵ For I do not desire, brethren [believers in Jesus as the Christ], that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel [the nation of Israel] until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in [the completion of the time with the Gentiles in the place of privilege and blessing through belief in Jesus as the Christ].

²⁶ And so all Israel [“all Israel” as in the nation as a nation of people] will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer [Jesus] will come out of Zion [the Second Coming of Jesus ascending to the Mount of Olives] , And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob [the salvation of Israel, Individually and nationally, their “life from the dead”];

²⁷ For this is My covenant [the “New Covenant” fulfilled as prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34] with them, When I take away their sins [the remission of sins]."

²⁸ Concerning the gospel they [Israel, unbelieving Jews] are enemies for your [believers in Jesus as the Christ] sake, but concerning the election [God's choosing of Abraham's seed] they [Israel] are beloved for the sake of the fathers [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the promises made to them].

²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [what God as determined and promised can not be undone].

³⁰ For as you [Gentiles] were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their [Israel's] disobedience,

³¹ even so these [Jews] also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you [Gentiles] they [Jews] also may obtain mercy.

³² For God has committed them all [Jews and gentiles] to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all [Jews and Gentiles].

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

Romans 11:11-33

Philip Melanchthon

 

Philip Melanchthon, 16^th century theologian and

Luther's close colleague in Wittenberg,

produced the Reformation's first general treatment

of Christian doctrine in his 1521 Loci Communes [his theological work].

As he expounded on justification, Melanchthon urged,

"Why is it that justification is attributed to faith alone?

I answer that since we are justified by the mercy of God alone,

and faith is clearly the recognition of that mercy

by whatever promise you apprehend it,

justification is attributed to faith alone."

He goes on to explain,

"Therefore, when justification is attributed to faith,

it is attributed to the mercy of God;

it is taken out of the realm of human efforts, works, and merits.”

Jesus said: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Peter said, “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." Acts 10:43

Paul said, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” Romans 3:21-22

John said, “But as many as received Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13

holographic universe

 

click image to enlarge

Only begotten

 Jesus is said to be God's “only begotten.” Some seek to translate this as only “unique” son of God. Though this may be true, there are reasons to see this as a reference to Jesus being the heir. Jesus will be the heir of the nations and the new creation.

Psalm 2 makes a connection between the Son as God's “anointed” (he shall be “king” in “Zion”) being “begotten,” and the nations being his “inheritance.”

​¹ Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? ² The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ³ "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." ⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. ⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: ⁶ "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion." ⁷ "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. ⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'" Psalms 2:1-9

Jesus being the “begotten” one is referenced in Acts and twice in Hebrews, quoting Psalm 2. ³² And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers. ³³ God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.' Acts 13:32-33 ⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? Hebrews 1:5 ⁵ So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." Hebrews 5:5

There is a question as to when the “today” should apply. When did God beget his son? It could be 2 stages. In the resurrection, Jesus has all authority, and that authority at this time is in *giving eternal life. But the full manifestation of that authority will be when the **kingdom comes, and all nations will be under his authority as the second Psalm says.

If the begetting is about Jesus being the heir, then the “today” would speak of when his inheritance and attendant authority is received. It begins in the resurrection, but its full manifestation is the coming kingdom of God.

*​¹ Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. John 17:1-2

**¹³ "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. ¹⁴ Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14

Sola Fide

 “Free Grace” is the designation given to those who believe that justification is by faith alone apart from works. I want to say that it is an attempt to maintain a consistent “sola fide” view about what one must do to be saved. “Sola fide” is Latin for “faith alone,” and it is understood as one of the main tenets of the Protestant Reformation.

“Free Grace” seeks to maintain Sola Fide, but with the understanding that “works” cannot be frontloaded or backloaded to that faith from which salvation results. That is, faith alone does not require good works before or after such faith that results in one being saved.

Some will seek to add turning from sins as “repentance” to such faith, or they will require some degree of moral reformation before and after such faith for salvation to be acquired. Some require a certain degree of good works, or one's faith is not legitimate or has failed and such a one has “dead” faith (James 2), and such faith cannot “save them.”

I was recently reading a book titled: “Getting the Reformation Wrong,” by James Payton, and he sets forth that the Reformers, like Luther, did not believe the faith by which we are saved is alone. The author writes that the Reformers believed that “justification is by faith alone, but faith is never alone.” The author is saying that those who hold to the view that faith alone does not require attendant works or turning from sins is not teaching the “sola fide” that the Reformers believed. And that may be very well true. The author will make reference to “easy believism,” “cheap grace,” say “the sinner's prayer,” and “walk the aisle”/ “coming to the altar” as inaccurate views of sola fide. Yet Free Grace folks often do not hold to those decisional methods of salvation. Those who do practice these methods are probably not even Free Grace folks.

Free Grace seeks to hold to a consistent view of sola fide. They believe salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. Turning from sin (whether that is repentance or not) is not required for salvation, though it may precede it and follow it. If a believer fails to do good works after salvation, their salvation does not require it or guarantee it, but probably most believers will have some good works. The book of James is addressing believers in chapter 2 where it talks about faith being dead, and it is in reference to works, but the example is about seeing a need and not fulfilling it. All believers fail at times to act consistently in their faith. One can know to do good and fail to do it. In that case, their faith is lacking vitality; it is unfulfilled. The issue in James is not whether one is really saved or not, or whether one was once alive but is now spiritually dead. What if a believer fails? Is he not saved then? Does “true” salvation automatically produce good works, or does he lose his salvation?

The Reformers may not have been consistent with their claim to “sola fide” for justification. Most Christians are probably not.

body soul spirit

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