Monthly Archives: November 2023

Enemies of Israel, Faith

The Enemies of Israel-Part 5-God or a King

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Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our history.” EGW

We Want A King!

The children of Israel had settled in the promised land.  All seemed good. But they soon began to complain to Samuel for a king.  They wanted to be like other nations and be ruled by someone they could see but still keep God—two masters, as it were.   No longer satisfied with a theocracy governed by God through judges and priests, they desired an earthly monarchy.  They felt a king would make them acceptable and powerful like other nations.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Samuel 8:4-5

Samuel was not pleased with their request despite the sound reasoning that Samuel’s sons would soon be their judges, but they were not like Samuel.  They were corrupt:

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8: 3

Samuel understood that establishing a king was a giant step in the wrong direction for the people of Promise. As the old proverb goes, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  Like their forefathers who wandered in the desert for 40 years, the people had not come to trust God and put Him first.

Thought question:  Do we make God our sole source of direction, or do we put our trust in a person or persons?  The children of Israel would start down a path that would lead them further away from God by substituting God with a king.

We must balance this thought with the fact that God works through people whom He educates and gives power to do his will through truth and goodness.  But the enemy also works through people to harm and divide.

Rejection of God’s Rule

Samuel did not know what to do nor how to respond to their logical reasoning about his sons and the eventual rule by corrupt judges.  He did what every believer must do when faced with a challenging situation.  He prayed to seek God’s wisdom.

So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 1 Samuel 6-7

Samuel must have been surprised by the response from God.  Let them have what they want!  Don’t feel bad, Samuel.  They have not rejected you.  They have rejected me and don’t want Me to rule over them.

Thought question:  Do we do the same thing when we trust in priests, pastors, and strong personalities rather than God our Father?  How can we know which are good and which have a different agenda than God?

After all that God had done for them by delivering them from the rule of Egypt and a powerful pharaoh, they sought to be placed under the sovereign whims of an earthly king.  God told Samuel to remind them what God had done for them.  Then, He warned them about what to expect.  Samuel obeyed God and laid it all out in 1 Samuel 8: 10-18.

Consequences:

A king would take advantage of them. He would build up an army.  They didn’t need an army under the protection of God.  God had protected them from the pursuing army of Egypt. 

A king would take their daughters and put them to work for him.  He would bring the best of their agriculture and a tenth of produce and livestock.  The people of God would become servants to the king. At some point, they would cry out to God, but He would not listen to them.

And you will cry out that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you that day.” 1 Samuel 8:18

Consequences-The Theme Going Forward

They would have to bear the consequences of not trusting God.  That is the central theme of the people of God’s mistakes, which Paul warns us in our opening passage.  It is what Paul wants us to hear, see, and understand so that we don’t do the same. 

Thought question: How well is your trust in God?  Can you trust Him, no matter the circumstance?  Have you had to bear the consequences of making someone or something else king in your life?

Despite the gloomy prophecy, the people went ahead with their desire to have a man rule over them.

Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”  1 Samuel 8: 19-20

When the people of God desire to compromise and become like “all the nations,” they lose the power of God.  They would become ineffective for Him and the truth that would save the lost.  They would become poor witnesses to the only true God.

Our failure to trust in Him leaves us vulnerable.  Instead of letting God fight our battles, we seek the government or some other entity to fight them for us.  This is an unholy alliance and not in the will of God.  In the book of Revelation, a corrupt church (Babylon) and the State will unite to enforce the church’s ungodly dogma through the government.  The people of God should never seek to have the government force people to believe as they do.  Our God does not work by force or through any government edicts. 

Moral laws, as described in the last six commandments, are acceptable legislation to produce for a safe society, but the first four commandments of God relate to Him alone.  These, in particular, are never to be legislated.  They are about the worship of the only Creator.  The beast of Revelation 13 creates laws about worship because the enemy seeks to replace God and how people worship Him.

As we will see as we move along in understanding the enemies of Israel, their captors want to eliminate the true God of the Israelites.  The hate is not just about a people, but the only true God.  Herein is the primary goal of the enemy.

The First King-Saul

And Samuel heard all the people’s words and repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel told the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

1 Samuel 8: 21-22

Samuel broke up the crowd of unsatisfied grumblers and sent them home.   Then Samuel went about the task of finding a good king. He desired a candidate who would be obedient and submissive to the guidance of God. His journey would lead to a Benjamite man named Kish, who was powerful and wealthy.  Kish’s son Saul, a very tall and handsome man, was his choice.  On the outside, he looked like a king who could influence the nations around Israel.

Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.1 Samuel 9: 2 NIV

The meeting between Samuel and Saul is very interesting.  Saul’s journey to look for his father’s lost donkeys is recorded in 1 Samuel 9.  I won’t take much time here, but I want to point out a couple of passages.

Saul is Born-Again

When Saul and Samuel’s paths cross, as directed by the Lord (See 1 Samuel 9: 16), the exchange of their first words is important:

Samuel said, As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?” 1 Samuel 9: 20b

Saul came looking for a prophet (Samuel) to help him find the lost donkeys.  Instead, he is greeted by the prophet in a very respectful and unusual way.  Then Saul reveals his character with these words:

Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”

1 Samuel 9: 21

God does not use the biggest, strongest, and most famous to initiate His will and leadership.  It is the small and humble He seeks. 

Something else demonstrates that God has prepared Saul for his journey as a king.  He gave him a new heart.

So it was, when he had turned his back to go on Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all those signs came to pass that day. When they arrived there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 1 Samuel 9: 9-10

God directed the meeting of Saul and Samuel.  At least at this point, Saul was a humble young man born again (another heart), and the Spirit of God was upon him.  Saul started well with a new heart and the direction of God’s Spirit.

However, as the story goes, this same Saul, after many years as king of the united kingdom of Israel, would change and lose his way.  The people would also become different people. 

Among the people were rebels who did not accept Saul as their king. This is important because, ultimately, there would be a clear division of the people of God’s kingdoms of the North and the South.

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.

1 Samuel 10: 26-27

Saul’s mentor, Samuel, had died. There came a point when Saul lost his way and did not rely on God.  He grew impatient with God because of the clear and present danger of the Philistines.      

In desperation, instead of waiting on the Lord, he sought wisdom from a medium.  God forbade this for His people (Lev. 19:31), but Saul went to the medium of En Dor disguised in other clothes and at night.  He hoped to have Samuel brought up from the grave to give him advice.  Saul should have humbled himself and trusted God, but Saul had rejected God, and God rejected him.

When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, by Urim, or by the prophets…. So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.” 1 Samuel 28: 5-6, 8

In the beginning, God had selected Saul and gave him what was needed to rule over His people, but now Saul was under this medium’s bewitching power and deception.  She brought up a spirit that Saul “assumed” was Samuel (1 Samuel 28: 14) .  This spirit made a prediction that would come true.

The spirit of God had departed from Saul and became his enemy. God had torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David.  Why? Because Saul did not obey the voice of the Lord nor attack the enemy with the wrath of God as God had instructed (1 Samuel 28:18).

As a result, Israel would be given over to the Philistines on the very next day.  Further, Saul and his sons would die in battle. For the full story, see 1 Samuel 28 and 1 Samuel 31

After Saul came David, a good ruler. Then Solomon, who would take Israel to great heights.  These three were the only three kings that would rule a united kingdom.  Then, God’s promised land would be divided into the northern kingdom of Judah and Israel in the south.

As predicted by Samuel, the kings that the people cried for would become their enemies, oppressing and dividing them.  Most of the future kings would lead them into sin and evil.

In the chart below, you can see that only a few were faithful to God.  The 20 kings of the northern tribes of Israel were ALL disobedient to God.  The southern kingdom had only 6 out of 20 (30%) who were obedient to their Maker!  What a terrible record of these kings!

Without a doubt, the choice to have kings rule them was a very bad one.  But God allowed them to have what they wanted.

Thought question: Is getting what we want better than what God has in mind for us?

The story of Saul and the following kings was recorded to show how turning our backs on God in favor of a king only leads to misery and failure.  In the final events of Earth’s history, individuals will decide like the Israelites.  Will God be our ruler, or will someone else steal our worship and devotion?  Those who we think will be our savior will become our enemy…just as the kings of Judah and Israel became the enemies of God’s people.  May we learn to lean on and trust the only faithful Savior of the world…. Jesus is the Messiah and the soon-coming King of Kings.

May their story of poor choices and lack of trust in God give us wisdom so we do not make the same mistakes.

Final thought question. Does the church have a religious king in modern society? Who is it?

Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

Kings of Israel
NameReign (BC)Ref. in 1& 2 KingsDeeds
Jeroboam I931-9101 Kings 12: 25-14:20Evil
Nadab910-9091 Kings 15: 25-32Evil
Baasha909-8861 Kings 15: 33-16:7Evil
Elah886-8851 Kings 16: 8-14Evil
Zimri8851 Kings 16: 15-20Evil
Tibni885-8801 Kings 16: 21-22Evil
Omri885-8741 Kings 16: 21-28Evil
Ahab874-8531 Kings 16: 29 – 22:40Evil
Ahaziah853-8521Kings 22:51 – 2 Kings 1:18Evil
Jehoram (Joram)852-8412 Kings 3:1 – 9:26Evil
Jehu841-8142 Kings 9:1 – 10:36Right and Evil
Jehoahaz814-7982 Kings 13: 1-9Evil
Jehoash (Joash)798-7822 Kings 13:10 – 14:16Evil
Jeroboam II793-7532 Kings 14: 23-29Evil
Zechariah753-7522 Kings 15: 8-12Evil
Shallum7522 Kings 15: 13-16Evil
Menahem752-7422 Kings 15: 17-22Evil
Pekahiah742-7402 Kings 15: 23-26Evil
Pekah752-7322 Kings 15: 27-31Evil
Hoshea732-7222 Kings 17: 1-6Evil
Kings of Judah
NameReign (BC)Ref. in 1&2 KingsRef. in 2 ChroniclesDeeds
Rehoboam931-9131 Kin. 12: 1-24, 14: 21-312 Chr. 10:1 – 12:16Evil
Abijam (Abijah)913-9111 Kin. 15: 1-82 Chr. 13: 1-22Evil
Asa911-8701 Kin. 15: 9-242 Chr. 14:1 – 16:14Right
Jehoshaphat872-8481 Kin. 22: 41-502 Chr. 17-1 – 20:37Right
Jehoram853-8412 Kin. 8: 16-242 Chr. 21: 1-20Evil
Ahaziah8412 Kin. 8:25-29 – 9: 21-292 Chr. 22: 1-9Evil
Athaliah (queen)841-8352 Kin. 11: 1-202 Chr. 22:10 – 23:21Evil
Joash (Jehoash)835-7962 Kin. 12: 1-212 Chr. 24: 1-27Right & Evil
Amaziah796-7672 Kin. 14: 1-222 Chr. 25: 1-28Right & Evil
Azariah (Uzziah)792-7402 Kin. 15: 1-72 Chr. 26: 1-23Right & Evil
Jotham750-7322 Kin. 15: 32-382 Chr. 27: 1-9Right & Evil
Ahaz735-7162 Kin. 16: 1-202 Chr. 28: 1-27Evil
Hezekiah716-6872 Kin. 18:1 – 20:212 Chr. 29:1 – 32:33Right
Manasseh697-6432 Kin. 21: 1-182 Chr. 31: 1-20Evil
Amon643-6412 Kin. 21: 19-262 Chr. 33: 21-25Evil
Josiah641-6092 Kin. 22:1 – 23:302 Chr. 34: 1 – 35:27Right
Jehoahaz6092 Kin. 23: 31-342 Chr. 36: 1-4Evil
Jehoiakim609-5982 Kin. 22:34 – 24:72 Chr. 36: 5-8Evil
Jehoiachin598-5972 Kin. 24:8-16, 25: 27-302 Chr. 36: 9-10Evil
Zedekiah597-5862 Kin. 24:17 – 25:212 Chr. 36: 11-21Evil
Death and Resurrection, Truth About the Deceased, What is God Like?

WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM!

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There she was, lying in a hospital bed with crisp white sheets and monitors beeping all around.   Just a few weeks ago, she was up and doing her normal routine.  Today, she was lying on her back with an oxygen mask forcing her to breathe.  Icema Pappas, my Greek Mom, never liked anything over her face.  Like me, she was claustrophobic.

Mom was an attractive woman.  Some said she looked like Elizabeth Taylor when she was younger.  But what made her special was her kind, quiet spirit.  Everyone who ever met her liked her immediately because she liked people.  She was a praying woman like her mother before her. Even though I was in my Godless decade, having shaken my fist at God, telling Him to go away, I could feel His Spirit coming through her. I had not prayed in 10 years, but I felt moved to comfort her in some way through the God she loved.

My beautiful mom had been fervently praying for me for the last ten years, but I could not find a prayer within me.

They had done everything they could.  She was dying before my eyes.  My heart was breaking for her.  The air seemed to be leaving the room. I asked the doctors and nurses to make her comfortable.  She settled down as the morphine took over.

One by one, the family was called in to say their goodbyes.  She was only 73 years old. 

My parents divorced when I was six and my brother was two.  She had to return to work as the switchboard operator at a trucking company. My Mom, Ronnie, and I lived with my grandmother in a small one-bedroom apartment in a section of the house.  Two very loving women of God raised me.  Both were good Baptists but followers of Christ first. 

When I became a follower of Jesus some twenty-eight years earlier, after studying the Bible to prove my newly baptized Christian wife wrong about the whole religious thing, I shared some of the things I had learned from the Bible with my sweet mom and grandmother.  The passages on the state of the dead, the second coming, and the resurrection were fresh and new to them. 

They listened closely and asked questions.  They found comfort in the return of Jesus, the comparison of sleep with death, and the resurrection, just as Paul instructed in 1 Thess 4: 18 (Comfort one another with these words). They, indeed, found comfort in God’s word.      With a hopeful voice, I described going to sleep in death, but, in a flash, our next view would be of Jesus coming in the clouds; then we would rise above the earth with all the others who loved Him to meet Him there before going to where He promised to take us.

It was my turn to say goodbye to my beautiful, sweet mom, whose brown eyes glowed when she talked to me.  That is what I remember about her.  Her eyes.  Sometimes, it was like Jesus conversed with me…even joking around and laughing with me through those eyes! They were closed now.

I was not sure she could hear me because of the morphine.  She was quiet and not moving as I listened to the heart monitor, beginning to slow.

I took her hand like the young people shake hands by wrapping my fingers around her thumb.  I felt the soft flesh of her hands, which had brushed the hair back from my eyes and wiped the tears away from my face when I was young.    I leaned in to make sure she heard the last words she would hear from me.  “Mom, I love you.  I will see you resurrection morning.”  Suddenly, I felt those sweet fingers squeeze three times.  She had heard me!  Her spirit was saying playfully…”  “You better be there!”

As the heart monitor went silent, so did those in the room.  I looked out to watch the beautiful sun setting in the west.

I had made a promise to her to be there on resurrection morning.  The only way I could keep it is for God to have mercy on His prodigal son.  I was dead in sin.  But, praise God, I was resurrected a few weeks later. 

It is a spiritual truth that we can’t feel our sinfulness until we ask God to take over.  We are like a dead person that feels nothing.  When the Spirit of God convicts us at the request of sweet moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, friends, or strangers. We come alive to our situation, our fate of eternal death; then we die to ourselves, pleading for God’s forgiveness.  Then Jesus comes into our hearts and mind, and the Spirit gives us a new birth, a new way of thinking and feeling.  We are changed miraculously.   

As Mary said in the series The Chosen, “I was one way…now I am completely different, and the thing that happened in between was Him.”

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Even though my mother and grandmother were Baptist, They believed what I am about to bring you from God’s word.

The resurrection from the dead is the most important promised event in our spiritual lives! Without the resurrection of Jesus, you and I have no resurrection, and our faith is worthless.  I didn’t say it, Paul did.

1 Corinthians 15:14, 18-19

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty… And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Let’s consider the event that turns us from mortal to immortal, from death to life.

I’ve heard many accounts of heaven, but what will we look like? What will our bodies be like?  Will we be just a wispy spirit floating on a cloud and plucking a harp? Will we be an angel?    

We Will Be Like Him

“…we know that when He is revealed, WE WILL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2

What was He like physically?

The disciples, who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ post-resurrected body.  They tell us their account of a real Jesus, not a spirit.  When the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost, He said,

“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a SPIRIT DOES NOT HAVE FLESH AND BONES as you see I have.”  Luke 24:39

Will we have flesh and bones? Yes! A real person! Then he asked for something to eat!

“But while they still did not believe for joy and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. Luke 24: 41-43

Will we eat in our glorified bodies?  We will have an appetite!

Jesus had flesh and bones (unlike a spirit), and He ate fish and honey in His glorified body (post-resurrection).  We, too, will have a glorified body with flesh, bones, and an appetite.  We will get a signal from our body that it is time to eat.

The third time Jesus appeared to the disciples (after His resurrection), he returned the favor and cooked them fish and bread!

“Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught…This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.”  John 21: 9-10, 14

Movement by Thought

Our bodies will be like His… Our mode of travel will be walking because we will have legs, but we will be able to think our bodies somewhere, as did Jesus in a room behind locked doors. This is the spiritual side of us.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” Luke 24:36

Even though we will have real bodies, it will be fashioned after Jesus, not Adam.

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.  1 Corinthians 15: 47-49

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When Do We Get Real Bodies?

We will get real bodies, but when does this happen?

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

We are changed at the last trumpet, which is the second coming of Christ. Continuing with Paul’s description of the second coming, he says,

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O Death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15: 51-55

Where I am!

 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so,  I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14: 1-3

So when He comes, he takes us to where He is now!  The City of Heaven, the mansions,-The New Jerusalem.  Streets of God, the river that flows from God., and the Tree of Life on both sides of the River.

But we don’t stay there forever after 1,000 years.  The redeemed of all ages return to this earth.  We will get to watch God recreate this earth. (See 1,000 years for more detail.)

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:2

New Heavens and a New Earth

Isaiah, Peter, and John describe the abode of the redeemed. 

…we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13

After Jesus makes a new earth, the meek will finally inherit the earth.  We will have active lives and live forever!  We will continue to have worship services!

They shall build houses and inhabit them;

They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit …And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labor in vain, Isaiah 66: 21-23

After working for six days, we will attend worship, not as different denominations, but as those who belong to Christ.

“For as the new heavens and the new earth

Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,…And it shall come to pass, that from one New Moon to another,

And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.”  Isaiah 66: 22: 23

Can you see it?  Time will still be measured in 7 days.  On the 7th (Sabbath), people will come to the throne of God in the city, and our hearts will be filled with joy to sing and worship the one who made all this possible!

Brothers and sisters, we will be like Him but retain our different personalities and features.  We will have real bodies with flesh and bones; We will enjoy eating and drinking the wine Jesus said he would not drink again until we see Him in the Kingdom (Matthew 26:29).  We will have a city home (Mansions) and a country home (Earth), where we will work and enjoy the work of our hands.  Once a month and weekly, we will travel worldwide by thought and attend worship services as one body of believers.

Yes! Eternity is real! But even all that is disclosed in scripture it is just the beginning of what God has prepared!

“The eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

I want to be there!  Don’t you?

Do you love Him? 

HE Loves you!  He doesn’t want any to perish but all to come to repentance. This is the whole gospel in three words.  God is love!

To say “God is love” is to say the whole truth all at once. Everything after that is exposition. Everything contrary to that is heresy. Ty Gibson

It is because of His love that he comes back for us.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

1 Thess 4: 16-18

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Yes, one day, I will keep my promise to my Mom at resurrection morning, but I can’t do it myself.  I must trust Him alone!  Not my work, not anything I have done or will do.  I will meet my Mom and Dad in the air as the power of Christ draws us to Him.  The redeemed of all ages will gather together and go to where Jesus is simultaneously.  What a day that will be! What a family reunion!

Will you be there too?  How can you know for sure?

First, you must acknowledge that only He can get you there!

if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9

 While you were yet a sinner, he came running after you.  You can’t get there by your parents’ experience with Christ; You must have your own experience.  You can’t get there by church membership, not your education, or anything but Christ.  It is only through Jesus.  Jesus does not save groups or denominations; He saves people as individuals.

There is no other name among men whereby we are saved.

Jesus tells us we must be born again.  Reborn of the Spirit.  Have you been reborn?  You will know by your love for others and the peace of knowing Jesus personally.

Salvation in Christ is about letting go to the pull (drawing) and convicting power of the Spirit to acknowledge your sins and shortcomings and let Him be your all and all.  It is about asking Him to take over your life.  It is about trusting Him every day.

The enemy will try to make you selfish and unbelieving, but stay close to Him, and no man can pluck you out of His Hand.

Won’t you talk to God today and receive eternal life?  Will you be like Him?

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me! Job 19: 26-27

Israel in Bible Prophecy

THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL-PART 4-Egypt

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Saul was a Jew by birth and by training, Righteous by the law, a Pharisee, and a blameless member of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3: 4-6).  But he gave all that up after his conversion to Christ.  He surrendered his religiosity to the Savior.  His mind and heart had been changed by an encounter with Jesus on a lonely road to Damascus.  His intent before Jesus appeared was to take prisoner the followers of Christ. Instead, he became a preacher of Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 9:20). 

Concerned about the Jewish people and new believers in Christ, he warned the Corinth church of the failures of Israel in the desert.  He tells of those “things” that were written down so they could be forewarned of God’s promised people’s mistakes.  He directed their attention to the evil things they did after they were freed from their enemy and captors:  Egypt.  That warning message applies to modern-day followers of Jesus, too…if not more.

Now, these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters, as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 

Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10: 9-11)

After spending 430 years in Egypt, the promised people of Abraham had been changed.  As the old saying goes, You can take the boy out of the country, but you can take the country out of the boy.  Their Egyptian habits went with them.  They looked, talked, and walked like Egyptians.  But God remembered his promise to Abraham.  He loved His people.   

Are we not the same as modern society?  Has there ever been a time when these sins have not been part of all world nations? Even more concerning is that the people of God may be indulging in the same sins as ancient Israel:

  • Lust for evil things
  • Idolaters
  • Sexual immoral
  • Tempting (disrespecting) their maker and God
  • Complaining and never happy

Enemy #1-Egypt

Since the stories of Israel’s journeys and missteps were written down for us, it would be wise to take heed lest (we) fall as they did, e.g., 23,000 fell, destroyed by serpents, destroyed by the destroyer. 

Yes. It is possible to be a promised child of God and fall.  This is the mystery of iniquity.  We are privileged to watch from our comfortable homes the 40 years of the Jews’ wanderings in the desert.  The big question for us is how can we learn to trust God by observing their failures?. Complete faith and trust in God,, regardless of the circumstances, was what they lacked.

How did the promised people land in Egypt?  It all started with the favoritism of Joseph, one of the sons of Israel (Genesis 37:3).  The entire story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the transition of the family from Cannan to Egypt starts in Genesis 11:27.. It continues through the end of the book of Genesis Chapter 50 and on into Numbers.  This written account is almost 80% of the Bible’s first book!  It is an example for us, something we should consider that will help us to avoid the same mistakes and thereby avoid failure and destruction. More importantly, their journeys should show us the patience, sacrifice, and love of God for His people.

Joseph’s brothers despised Joseph due to his dream of their eventual servitude to Joseph.  They became very angry and decided to kill him, but the oldest brother (Reuben) intervened. Judah recommended that Joseph be sold and spared his life by selling him to a caravan of travelers as a slave.  Joseph is resold to Potiphar in Egypt (Genesis 37: 21, 28, 36). 

The story continues with the success of Joseph in Egypt, drought and famine, and the eventual move of Israel and his 70-member family to Egypt.  A series of events started with hatred within the family and ended with dependence on a nation that would eventually turn the promised people into slaves.

In the family of God, favoritism can lead to jealousy, which can lead to hatred and the selling of an innocent soul to the slavery of Egypt.  A practice of disrespect for others in the family will destroy independence from the world’s influence and disrupt the purpose of God unless God leads the offender to repentance.  Jesus asks us to love, not hate.  This is the identifying—trait of the followers of Jesus.  Anything else disqualifies us from the family of God.

By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

Escape from Egypt?

The children of Israel lived in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40).  Generation after generation, molded by the conveniences of city life, had turned God’s people into Egyptians even though they were in bondage.  Their uniqueness as God’s people was being wiped clean by their enemy.

But God heard their cries for independence.  He “remembered” His promise to give them Cannan.  God sent a reluctant Moses to free the Israelites. God had instructed Moses to go directly to Pharaoh; instead, he went to the children of Israel, a seemingly easier task.  They rejected the prophet and deliverer. This gave Moses an excuse, a way out as he argued with God (Exodus 6: 1-13). Moses doubted God’s power and his own abilities.  God, again, told Moses to go to Pharoah (Exodus 6:- 28-30).

Moses and Aaron went before the Pharaoh to tell him to let God’s people go free, but he was equally non-compliant, as were God’s people.  God sent ten plagues on Egypt to help change the Pharoah’s heart, but He protected His people through the last seven plagues (Exodus 8: 22-23).(Exodus 9:4) (Exodus 9:26) (Exodus 11:7). 

The final plague was the death of the firstborn among the Egyptians, even their animals (Exodus 11: 4-5).  For the children of Israel, it would require them to do something.  They were to put the blood of the unblemished sacrificial lamb over the doorposts so the destroying angel would “pass over” their home. God directed other requirements of the “Passover.” This night would begin the cycle of months beginning on the 10th day (Exodus 12: 1-11) and continuing to the 14th day.  This time would be a celebration and instruction on the plan of salvation throughout their generations.  Jesus would be pronounced hundreds of years later as the “Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29)

Disaster in the Desert

Finally, after a multitude of generations bound by their captors, the children of Israel left their captors with their livestock,  wealth from the Egyptians, and the bones of Joseph (Exodus 12: 31-36) (Exodus 13: 17-22)

Israel would take 40 years of travel to realize the promised land of Cannan.  It could have been shorter, perhaps only 30 days, had they trusted God at His word and believed the good report of the spies.  God desired their love and trust in Him alone.  Something they would fail to do for many generations to come. 

The generation that left Egypt would never see the promised land.  Only two men who trusted God at his word and those under 20 years old would receive the promise (Numbers 14: 26-32).  The others would wander in the desert for four decades lusting for evil things; they were sexually immoral, they tempted Christ, complained, and were unhappy.

Do we love and trust God?  Are we complainers sexually immoral and test Christ?  Will we fail to enter the promised land through Christ because of these things? 

 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  Romans 11: 21-23

May God have mercy on us.

Eventually, the people of God would settle in the promised land and build a temple to the Lord despite their backsliding from God.  But it would not last forever; that magnificent tribute to the only true God built by the very wealthy King Solomon would be destroyed, and the people would be taken captive again (for 70 years) by their next enemy, Babylon.

Israel in Bible Prophecy

The Enemies of Israel-Part 3-Two Ancestors

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The Seed of Covetousness and Hate

As we progress through the story of Israel and its enemies, the Bible has revealed the origin of covetousness and hate—the key elements for the creation of enemies and war.   The seed was planted in the heart of an angel (in heaven) who desired to be like God and to take His throne (Isaiah 14: 12-14).  He fought in such a way that he and his entourage (One-third of his angels) were cast to the Earth (Revelation 12: 4, 9).  Then the seed began to sprout in the Garden of Eden with the first couple; it began to take off as it moved to their offspring, Cain and Abel (Genesis 3: 4-6). 

In Lucifer’s encounter in the garden with an apparent victory over Adam and Eve, God gave the prince of darkness a dire and deadly prophecy-the deadly crushing of his head.  But the Creator also foretold a Deliverer who would receive a strike from the snake on His heel.  The final victory would be given to the woman’s offspring through the power of Christ.  In a few words, we see the battle between good and evil—a war between the Deliverer (Christ) and Satan. This war would travel through the seed of Abraham.

And I will put enmity (strife/hatred).

Between you (Satan) and the woman (God’s followers),

And between your seed (the offspring of Satan) and her Seed (the offspring of God’s People);

He (Jesus) shall bruise your (Satan’s) head,

And you (Satan) all bruise His (Jesus) heel.” Genesis 3:15

This first recorded prophecy is a picture of the ongoing battle between Satan and His followers with Christ and His followers. The end of Satan is guaranteed along with the cross (a temporary victory, a sacrificial death, followed by the resurrection of the woman’s seed, Jesus). The following article is about how the heritage from the garden progressed to the nations of Islam and the nation of Israel in the modern world.  Part 4 will wrap up with the connection between Israel and the followers of Christ.

The Eden Covenant

This Edenic Covenant was the first unconditional promise to a world soon to be emersed in sin. 

Adam and Eve witnessed the beginnings of the war between good and evil with the first death.  An innocent animal was slain and its skin taken so that they might not be naked and shameful any longer.  It provided warmth as they moved from their Eden to the cold world of sin—a descriptive metaphor for the life and death of Jesus.

Indeed, as Satan had said, their eyes were open, and they began to know good and evil.  But, the first lie to humanity was a direct contradiction of God’s word, “You will not surely die.”  This lie would later open the door to spiritualism and the false possibility of communication with the dead.  Today, these spiritualistic stories raise their heads with popular books about dying and coming back to life, complete with the stories of what they saw—contradicting the truths of the Bible about death.  Those most vulnerable are members of Christ’s church.    God knew such a lie could lead to even further deception.  God would caution His people about spirit mediums, etc. Instead of listening to demonic spirits using this type of deception, they could find truth in seeking God in His word.

And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?  Isaiah 1:18

A Second Death

But another death would follow, closer to the heart of the first parents.  The horrific murder of Abel by his brother Cain-the first death (murder) of a human.  The motivation?  Jealousy turned to hate.   It started when God respected Abel and his offering but did not do the same for Cain.  Cain became angry and ignored the council of the Lord to rule over his anger.  God both encouraged and warned Cain to do well and that he, too, would be accepted.  If not, sin would grow, which it did Genesis 4: 1-7).

As the population grew, so did sin and violence.   Both reign to this day.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12

Two Ancestors

Cain had gone out from the presence of the Lord.  We might say he left God.  He then had a son named Enoch.  From there, the ancestral tree took root from the seed of murder and violence (Genesis 4: 16-17), a direct result of Cain’s decision to leave God and maintain his stubbornness regarding repentance.

But Adam and Eve had another son, Seith, when Adam was 120 years old (Genesis 5:3).  From Seth’s seed (beginning with Enos), the descendants would begin to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26).  Seth’s offspring would lead up to Noah (Genesis 5: 6, 32).

The two ancestors (Cain and Seth) went their separate ways.  They created nations that carried different experiences with God. Cain left God and stayed away.  His descendants would fall into more sin, resulting in violence that would cover the Earth.  Seth’s seed would take the opposite route and stay with God.

Before the destruction of the Earth by the flood, the seed of Godlessness made planet Earth a violent place to live.

The Earth also was corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence. Genesis 6:11

This is the first time in the Bible where the word “violence” appears.  The Hebrew word for violence is Hamas: two different ancestors, two different experiences with God.  The Edenic covenant would soon transition into the Abrahamic Covenant.

From Cain’s ancestors, sin and violence would cover the Earth.  From Enos and Seth would come Shem (the son of Noah).  Shem would become the father of Abraham, the father of Israel, to carry on the promised seed.

“Blessed be the Lord,

The God of Shem,

And may Canaan be his servant.

May God enlarge Japheth,

And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;

And may Canaan be his servant.”  Genesis 9: 26-27

The Abrahamic Covenant

God would again make an unconditional covenant.  This time, with Abraham. His heirship and the creation of a nation of God’s people would come through the son Issac.  The son of Promise, even while Abraham and Sarah were in their old age.  Conversely, the son of their own works are marked by attempting to help God out in the birth of a son through Abraham’s bondswoman at the encouragement of Sarah to produce Esau through Hagar (Genesis 16: 1-4).  The women began to despise each other.

Soon, Sarah would encourage Abraham again, but this time it was to cast away Hagar and Esau. Abraham didn’t like the idea, but it was God’s will. This was the beginning of two nations that would fight to this day:

Therefore, she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice, for in Isaac, your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman because he is your seed.”  Genesis 19: 10-13

Two different seeds with two different destinies and nations.  Through one, Issac, the promised seed as spoken by God in the Edenic covenant, would bring the Deliverer, Jesus Christ.

Today, both Islamic and Jewish religions claim roots in Abraham.  Therefore, they are called Abrahamic religions. Islam has approximately 1. 7 billion followers based on the teachings of one man, Mohammed.  The Jewish religion worships Jehovah or Yahweh and is much smaller at approximately 15.2 million people.  The Jews have been the most hated and persecuted ethnicity in the world.  The Christians joined them in this persecution via events in the 1st century and the Middle Ages.  Such persecution to the end of time is prophesized in God’s word.

The Jewish religion is based on the writings of some 35 authors in the book called the Tanakh.  This is the same as the Old Testament used by the Christians.  Christianity is the largest of these three religions (2.3 billion), but they have an affinity for the Jewish nation due to the same books of the Bible and the same God (Jehovah or Yahweh).  “God” in the Old Testament has many names that describe His many facets of character, but He is the only true God. There is no other.   (See Appendix, Names of God)

The major difference between Jews and Christians is Jesus. He is the promised Edenic seed that would crush the head of Satan.  Jesus fits all the hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah of the Jewish Tanakh. (See Will the Real God Please Stand Up-Part 4-Who Do You Think He is?)

The Two Seeds of Abraham-Conflict

Moses records in the 17th chapter of Genesis that God told 99-year-old Abraham that his equally-aged wife (90 years old), Sarah, would bear a child.  They didn’t believe it!  They laughed.  But God continued to tell the elderly couple that God’s covenant of a coming Deliverer and His people would be through the line of Isaac (Genesis 17: 15-22)

Consequently, two nations would arise, one through Issac and one through Ishmael.  The conflict between Islam and their nations and Israel can be traced back specifically to Abraham’s two sons and Grandsons.

Issac lineage:

The son of the promise, Issac, begat Jacob, whose name would later become (Israel, meaning God prevails).  The name given to Israel is prophetic in the battle of good and evil.  God will prevail, and a deadly wound by the Seed of the woman delivered to the head of Satan would come through Israel’s seed.

And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”  Genesis 32:28

Ishmael’s lineage:

Ishmael’s firstborn son would be Nebajoth (Hebrews for “heights”). The capital of Nebajoth’s descendants’ country would become Petra.

The descendants of Ishmael became known as Arabs (“nomads”). The descendants of Ishmael were a warlike people, as “they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them” (Genesis 25: 18). This fulfilled God’s earlier word that Ishmael would be “a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Genesis 16:12).

The Seeds of Abraham’s Son Issac (Jacob and Essau)

Issac’s wife (Rebekka) would produce “battling twins.”  Conflict and hatred would continue their journey through time to today.

 And the Lord said to her:

“Two nations are in your womb,

Two peoples shall be separated from your body;

One people shall be stronger than the other,

And the older shall serve the younger.” Genesis 25: 23

So today, from the seed of Abraham, we have ongoing conflict between the two sons who produced two different religions and states. 

  1. Ishmael produced Islam; the major nations for the Muslim faith are Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Mauritania, and Yemen.
  2. Issac produced the religion of the only true God, Jehovah, through Jacob and his lineage.  The only state of Issac through Jacob is Israel.  However, approximately 50% of Jews live in the United States of America.

Although small, Israel has indeed blessed the Earth and has the God of the universe to protect them.  But they still struggle with the Messiahship of Jesus.

What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles (scripture) of God. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.”  Romans 3: 1-4

The bond of Christians with the Jewish people is due to the common ground of worshipping the only true God (Jehovah or Yahweh) and the same Bible (Tanakh, aka the Old Testament by Christians).  Although Christians believe Jesus to be the promised seed that crushed the head of the snake at the cross and follow the teachings of His disciples as recorded in the New Testament, there is sympathy for their struggles.

Next time, we will trace the struggles and failures of Israel and, hopefully, learn from their stories.

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our [admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

Then, we will conclude this series with the promise of the Lord to “break down the walls that separate” Jews and Gentiles and how we become one in Christ Jesus.  What does it mean that all Israel will be saved? Romans 11: 25-29.

For a deeper dive in the comparison of the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob with Allah and Muhammed, go to this 6-part series on “Will the True God Please Stand Up?”

APPENDIX-The Names of God