Israel will be restored as a people

 I believe Israel will be restored as a people to the status of privilege and blessing, but there will be changes from how it was under the Old Covenant. 

Isaiah says that Egypt will be God's people and Assyria is the work of God's hands. After the coming of Christ, God will take some of the gentiles and make them priests and Levites. There will be no Ark of the Covenant. The arrangement will be different during the MK than it was during Israel under the Old Covenant and this present dispensation of the Gentile-Jew Assembly, but there will be an established people of God, being Israel, in a particular place on earth. I believe the distinctions between the dispensations--particularly the last 3--are only temporal. However, I believe the present dispensation is more of how it will be in the final state in which all believers are one people of God. 

 "In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance." Isaiah 19:24-25 

 "I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 19 I will set a sign among them; and those [the Jews] among them 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 [the Jews] shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 Then they [the gentiles] shall bring all your brethren [the 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 [the gentiles] for priests and Levites," says the LORD." Isaiah 66:18-21 

16 "Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days," says the LORD, "that they will say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

17 "At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

18 "In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers." Jeremiah 3:16-18

Knowing God

There is a "knowing" concerning God that is by keeping his commandments. This is not the kind of knowing that speaks of salvation and is relational, but it is the kind of knowing that is getting to know what God requires.  It's like where Peter instructed husbands to dwell with their wives according to understanding (knowledge).  It's not relational in that you know she is your wife, but it's getting to know her:  "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding [Greek: "gnosis," meaning "knowledge"], giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel..." 1 Peter 3:7

"Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
Then it was well.
Was not this knowing Me?" says the LORD. Jeremiah 22:15-16

He judged the cause of the poor and needy... Was this not knowing me? 

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1John 2.3-4

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For violence against your brother Jacob [Israel]

The Edomites (Esau's descendants) took advantage of the nation of Israel during the time of their distress, such as in their captivity by the Babylonians in the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC. God was angry with the Edomites for their mistreatment of Israel and Judah as we read in the prophet Obadiah:

8 Will I not in that day, says the LORD,

Even destroy the wise men from Edom,

And understanding from the mountains of Esau?

…

10 For violence against your brother Jacob [Israel]

...

11 In the day that you stood on the other side—

In the day that strangers carried captive

his [Israel] forces,

When foreigners entered his gates

And cast lots for Jerusalem—

Even you [Esau/ Edom] were as one of them.

12 "But you should not have gazed

on the day of your brother

In the day of his captivity;

Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah

In the day of their destruction;

Nor should you have spoken proudly

In the day of distress.

13 You should not have entered the gate of My people [Israel/ Judah]

In the day of their calamity.

Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction

In the day of their calamity,

Nor laid hands on their substance

In the day of their calamity.

14 You should not have stood at the crossroads

To cut off those among them who escaped;

Nor should you have delivered up

those among them who remained

In the day of distress.

15 For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near;

As you have done, it shall be done to you;

Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

16 For as you drank on My holy mountain,

So shall all the nations drink continually;

Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,

And they shall be as though they had never been.

17 But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance,

And there shall be holiness;

The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,

And the house of Joseph a flame;

But the house of Esau shall be stubble;

They shall kindle them and devour them,

And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,

For the LORD has spoken.

19 The South shall possess the mountains of Esau,

And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.

They shall possess the fields of Ephraim

And the fields of Samaria.

Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel

Shall possess the land of the Canaanites

As far as Zarephath.

The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

Shall possess the cities of the South.

21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion

To judge the mountains of Esau,

And the kingdom shall be the LORD's. Obadiah 1:8-21

Luke 21 and the near and far prophesies

 In Luke 21:5-6, Jesus spoke of the destruction of the temple. 

I believe the desolation of Jerusalem in verses 20-24, a near prophecy, speaks of that event that fulfills the destruction of the temple in verses 5-6, and it was fulfilled in AD 70. 

From that time forward, Jerusalem is trampled underfoot by gentiles until the day of the Lord (the time of the gentiles’ distress), a far prophecy, as revealed in verses 25-28, is fulfilled. 

Verses 8-11 is after the desolation of Jerusalem, in the far future. 

Verses 12-19 are the very near future.

⁵ Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, ⁶ "These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."

⁷ So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"

⁸ And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them. ⁹ But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."
¹⁰ Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 

¹² But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. ¹³ But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. ¹⁴ Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; ¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head shall be lost. ¹⁹ By your patience possess your souls.

²⁰ "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. ²² For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. ²³ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. ²⁴ And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.


²⁵ "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶ men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." 

Luke 21:5-28

survivors

I believe that when Christ comes, there will be many Jews who believe in him, and these will go to the nations and proclaim him, and from their witness many will believe. 

I don’t think every unsaved person will take the mark during the great tribulation. It may not be a great number of people who enter the MK, but there will be some who survive. 

Isaiah 66:18- “For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them 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. Then they shall bring all your brethren 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. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says the LORD.” 

At the rapture…I’m not sure we immediately return with Christ, but whether we do or don’t, I believe the holy ones with him are the holy angels—they are the ones with whom Christ fights the nations at his appearing: “to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thes 1:7- 

Our rest comes at the second coming.

New Covenant for the Church

 It has seemed to me that the new covenant has a corporate application, and what it promises Israel as a people, it has application to the church as a people. I think it will be fulfilled in Israel to a greater extent than it has been fulfilled in the church because of the advantages Israel will have over the church. It depends how one understands the statements "I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts" and "they shall all shall know me" (Jeremiah 31:33-34). Is the knowing relational or fellowship, for all believers today know God in a relational way (unlike Israel as a people of God in the past), but if in a fellowship way, it is potential but not constant for the church, but for Israel in the Millennial Kingdom [MK], it seems to be a constant state? What 1 John 1:10 says is always potential for the church, but for Israel it would be constant: "3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:3 The Church has the forgiveness of sin and the new birth, but Israel in the MK must experience knowing the Lord in a constant state because of their advantages as a people who came out of great tribulation (the effects of persecution and deliverance) and a true community of God with Christ dwelling in their midst.

Conspiracy theories

 Ephesians 6.12 and Daniel 10 reveal that there are angelic forces and influences, but I am cautious about the idea of these secret groups pulling strings.   I like the statement of John Haller who does a prophecy update every week on various platforms: "I believe in the conspiracy theories that are true."  I don't spend much energy worrying about chemtrails or figuring out who brought down the twin towers. It's hard to figure out how certain things will come about prophetically.  Evil people and governments are even in conflict.  I think of Jesus' words: "if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end." Mark 3:26.  The antichrist/ beast will have authority for a limited time, during the "time of the end" (Dan 12), but he will face conflict by other nations in the end--if Daniel 11.40-45 is at the end of the "Week."  If Islam is a major part of end-time events--and I tend to think it is--it is divided between Sunni and Shia--and this division may very well figure into the end time events.  I don't know if everything fits into some well thought out plan or if Satan is just causing havoc in any way he can.  But things do have to happen a certain way and at the right time for the antichrist/ beast to be "revealed" and his subduing 3 nations of 10 that will give their authority to him, and then begins "great tribulation" and all that involves.  

Was Christ's sufferings a necessary component of saving faith?

 The sufferings of messiah were revealed in the OT, and therefore, they were not a mystery in the OT, but the disciples didn't understand it.   If Peter was saved because he believed Jesus was the Christ, then it seems he was saved without understanding the death, burial, and resurrection-even though those things are essential for God being just in justifying the one who believes in Jesus for salvation.  Some may try to argue that the disciples at one time understood and believed in the death of Christ for salvation, but later didn't--or something like that.  But I question that they ever grasped it until sometime later after the ascension.

Faith is objective not quantitative

 Faith is not really about quantity but the object.  When there seems to be  reference to quantity of faith in Scripture, such as "little" faith or "great" faith, it really has to do with the object of faith. In the account of the Centurion seeking Jesus to heal his servant, Jesus said he had great faith unlike any in Israel.  What made it great?  It was the object of faith, for as you read the account in Matthew 8.5-10, the centurion told Jesus he did not have to come to his house to heal his servant, but only speak the word and it will be done.  Those of little faith limited what they thought Jesus could do.   

Hebrew 11.19 reveals what Genesis doesn't that Abe was willing to kill his son as God requested believing God would raise him up.  For the promise was to be fulfilled in Isaac, and if God was to keep his promise, Isaac would have to be raised up from the dead.

It's a bizarre account for us to consider, but I suspect human sacrifice was something people were doing back then.  If God gave him a son in their old age, just as was promised them, then God would keep his word, which would require life from the dead.