Article series: INTRODUCTION – WHO IS JEHOVAH? – WHO IS THE REAL ISRAEL – THE SCATTERING – THE GATHERING: ONE-FOLD – ONE ISRAEL : THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL NOT CHOSEN – DANIEL 9 AND THE PRE-TRIBULATION DECEPTION – JUDAISM ACE IS NOT A GODLY REPRESENTATION OF OT – THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL – THE DIFFERENCE (between Biblical Israel taking of Canaan and modern Israel taking of Palestine) – What side should we take in the Palestinian and Israeli conflict?
A Jew can provide many insights into their history, their language, and their prophets.
However, the meaning of a word can change over time, how it is used and understood. Ever so often, the closer you are to something or someone, the less you can discern and see things objectively.
David’s older brother said to him: “I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle” (1. Sam.17:28) This is the same time when God said that David was a man after His heart. What was a brave heart, the older brother found to be a wicked heart. What David uttered in concern, his older brother thought was thrill-seeking. The brothers’ understanding of David was clouded by jealousy and contempt, and he was not the best witness of the brother whom he grew up with. Because our hearts are subjected to sin, we sometimes do not see the obvious, or we see what we wish to see rather than how it really is. This is how Lucifer, who was closer to God than all the angels, saw God in a negative light. The beholder’s heart determines what they see, not how close they physically are to someone or how long they have been in their acquaintance. This is also how Christ could come to His own, and they received Him not (Joh.1:11).
The Jewish people have for many centuries listened to rabbis and interpretations of scriptures that are a false representation of God’s law. The same teachings that Christ criticized for misunderstanding His purpose. A lot of their understanding was and is very faulty.
The New Testament is clear that the scriptures “is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness“, yet the Jewish people as a nation no longer speak on God’s behalf. (2Ti 3:16)
This is documented in scripture as well as in the actual history of the Jews after they rejected Christ.
God took from them the sanctuary, the priesthood, and the sacrifices, and without them, they could not atone for their sins as a nation. Without them, they are not kings, priests, or mediators. They have no atonement to mediate or offer to others. Whenever in the biblical history of Israel, they had not their sin atoned, God did not fight with them. This is why atonement or sacrifices often were made before wars.
Some might be tempted to think that this following prophecy is about the Jewish nation and the fulfillment is now that they are again gathered in the land:
“For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days” (Hos 3:4-5)
Prophecy is clear that Christ is David, their king. And according to the books of Hebrews, He has the ephod, He is the prince. So many think this is a prophecy of Israel coming back to the land and then accepting Christ as the Messiah.
Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom, the same people that would turn into a multitude of GOY (Nations). The same tribes that were scattered by the Assyrians but never returned to the land. “The lost tribes” as some call them. The Jewish nation, along with a remnant of Israel, returned to the land and rebuilt a temple, and even had princes and kings. They also had a high priest, as we see with Joshua in the book of Zachariah. Being a prophet to the tribes in the northern kingdom who went scattered not to return, this message is not about the Judean kingdom or the Jewish people. It is about the others. They did not get a temple or have one, they did not have a king or a prince. When Judea sacrificed in their temple, the lost tribes had no temple to sacrifice in.
The quote clearly states that this condition going on for a long time would end with them getting Christ as priest and King. Meaning they would become followers of Christ, and through this, although scattered, they would again have a sacrifice, a king, and a high priest. This is, in other words, not about the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel in 1948.
For they did not get “David, their king”, nor did they get the high-priestly service back or the sacrifices who were only accepted when brought to the sanctuary. Modern Israel never even got to build a temple or take that piece of land. They are still without all those things in this prophecy; thus it is not fulfilled upon them as it is now.
But did the northern displaced Israel receive Christ? We know the gospel was specially sent to them: “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat 10:5-7)
Some might think he meant only the remnant in Judea, but Jacob, the brother of Jesus, understood the assignment and worked for the salvation of those scattered: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” (Jas 1:1)
The letter shows that the gospel has already reached many of them, hence is why he writes them to encourage them to be faithful to the faith given to them.
This is the only fitting fulfillment of the message given to Hosea about the tribes of the Northern Kingdom who remained scattered. No matter where they ended up, they became under Christ’s leadership, saved by His priestly work, and will be gathered on the day Christ returns, and He will gather them from one end of the earth to the other.
The book written for the Hebrews, meaning the Jews, contains the revelation that the priesthood would continue with Christ as High Priest in a temple in heaven:
- Jesus replaced the angels in giving God’s law and testimony. Heb 1
- Jesus, Who is a Son, replaced Moses, who was a servant. Heb 3
- Jesus’ House replaced the House of Moses. Heb 3
- Jesus’ rest replaced the rest Joshua gave the people. Heb 4
- Jesus replaced the Levitical Priesthood with the order of Melchizedek. Heb 5-7
- The Heavenly Temple replaced the Earthly Temple. Heb 8
- The New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant. Heb 8
- Jesus replaced the letter of the law with the Spirit of the law, and the law written in stone with the law written in the heart. Heb 8
- The Sacrifice of Christ replaced the sacrifices of animals. Heb 9
- The Heavenly country has replaced the Earthly country. Heb 11
- The Heavenly City of Zion has replaced the Earthly City of Zion. Jerusalem above replaced the Jerusalem below. Heb 12
(The list is from an article by B.Brown)
There is nothing to mistake here. Paul also says that the promise given to Israel that God would place the law in their hearts, was fulfilled upon Christ’s followers, making them the Israel spoken of in Ezekiel (Ezek.11:19-20). In fact, many of the prophecies in the Old Testament regarding future Israel were fulfilled upon Christ’s followers identifying them again, as God’s true Israel of whom He speaks.
What is called Israel today does not have a tabernacle or a functional high priest, nor do they have the place of the temple to set it up. In the Old days, the uncircumcised and gentiles were not allowed into the temple, rendered unclean and unholy, and were forced to worship God from the outer courts.
Today, God has placed the Jewish people who have rejected him right where they once placed the Gentiles, on the outer courts. Their worship at the Western Wall is witness to how they have been cast away from being Kings and priests for God and expelled to the position once held by the Gentiles.
The Judaism that Jews practice today is Rabbinical Judaism, which came from what the Pharisees practiced, which is full of corruptions of doctrine and practice. When they lost the temple. Rabbinical Judaism took the place of tabernacle-Judaism. The Talmud was a rabbinical work, written after they had rejected Christ and then became the new Jewish mindset and direction. Leaders had replaced God. The Spirit of God was replaced with the spirit of confusion and rebellion. Their resistance against Christ made their religion “the sin of witchcraft” and “iniquity and idolatry” (1. Sam.15:23)
Before the temple was destroyed, God let them keep it for a long enough time to show them and demonstrate to them, how their temple now was without their God. Their writings, the Talmud, expose the bad omens they experienced before Rome destroyed their temple. These omens, to them, showed God was not accepting their sacrifices anymore.
– The scapegoat released on Yom Kippur would return to them, with the color placed upon it representing their sins, showing. This was according to them, not how it happened before.
– The priests, on Yom Kippur, used to get the lot for Azazel, always in the right hand, a sign from them of God’s forgiveness. In the last forty years before the temple was destroyed, it never systematically came to his right hand again.
– For the last 40 years, the seven-branched candlestick in the Holy Place would spontaneously put itself out. This lamp, according to the law, was always supposed to be burning “before the Lord”. Not being able to control it was considered a bad omen.
– In the last 40 years, the door of the temple would randomly open on its own. Laying open what was supposed to remain hidden.
(Talmud: Yoma 39a:15)
All these signs show that they were left to chance, there was no divine being watching over the temple. Meanwhile, the New Testament shows us how God pours out the Spirit on the Jewish feast of Pentecost upon Christ’s followers. The blessing of the Jewish feast did not bless the Jews who rejected Christ. The High Priest and the temple service in heaven now concentrated upon Christ’s followers.
The Jews practicing the feasts and laws outside of Christ did it without God’s blessing. God had warned them about this in Isaiah 1 where He said that their prayers, their feasts, would be without Him and were in vain if their hands were covered in blood.
“When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.” And “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children” (Isaiah 1:12-15, Matt.27:24-25).
Religious Jews refuse to celebrate the Lord’s feasts and Sabbath with Christians. They claim they are not “clean” to partake because of their faith in Christ, yet the Bible teaches us that it is them who are not clean and fit to partake. God does not accept it when His holy times are paired with rebellion.
The Bible also shows how the temple service ended with the most Holy Place being laid bare by the curtain being “rent in twain” when Christ died: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent” (Mat 27:51)
God let them know and understand they no longer could seek atonement and redemption through their priestly service and their animal sacrifices, before taking it away from them for good. Yom Kippur was a special witness of all the bad omens for them because this was the day God had designed to forgive them for their transgressions as a people and as a nation. When the signs showed this was not happening, it meant their sin, as a nation, remained. And still do until this day, unless they turn to “David, their King”, Shiloh, and Messiah.
The Jewish nation did not just scatter the faithful Israel and reject Christ. Their persecution and ridicule of Christians continued until the fourth century when Christians got power in Rome and started turning the tables. From then on, unfaithful Christians started persecuting Jews and rejecting any biblical Jewish culture. These Christians had themselves elected a “father”, a leader who led them away from Christ as their king. The two powers, one claiming to still serve the God of the Old Testament and the other still claiming to serve Christ of the New Testament, fought each other. The two groups who had gone astray fought about which one of them was God’s people. The apostate Christians won influence and Jews had little in comparison. However, winning the influence game made the Roman church no closer to being in the right, than losing it proved the Jews right.
Being a victim did not make Jews “good” or “right” in their views. Victims often feel that others’ evil somehow makes them good. But those who do wrong become victims as well as those who do right. Their victimhood was not evidence that they were God’s people. Nor was the apostate Christians’ victory a sign that God was with them. If we are to use this logic, then every dictator coming to power is good. Or any group, who lost, are martyrs for the truth because they got killed. This is a childish way to measure truth. There are persecuted people from all religions right now, and there are different religions and irreligious persecuting them. Jews being bullied by the Roman church did not prove that they were still God’s people. It just proved that the Roman church was not practicing the principles of Christ.
Nor is victory in conflicts a sign today of “modern Israel” being God’s people. Winning battles is not evidence of God being with them as many claim, as little as losing them is. Conflict will always exist. Wars and rumors of wars are part of this sinful world.
The Jewish people have been treated badly by apostate Christianity in the past. They do not atone for their sins towards the first church, the Father, and Christ unless they repent of it and give their sins to Christ to atone for them. Being treated badly by a Roman pontiff does not acquit them of murdering Stephen or anyone else. That is not how atonement works.
Many believe there will be a third temple. The Bible never speaks of a third temple, only the temple of Ezekiel. This temple plan was given to Ezekiel while in Babylonian captivity, and before they returned to the land to rebuild the temple. This temple description includes animal sacrifices and proves it had to speak of a time before Christ would die as the “lamb of God” as sacrifices after this time would not be necessary. As we saw in Isaiah chapter 1, neither does God want sacrifices if they defy Him. So if they reject Christ, He does not want their sacrifices, and likewise, if they receive Christ they don’t need to sacrifice. Thus, the blessed temple mentioned in Ezekiel is not about a Jewish third temple, and cannot be.
This temple would have been the glory of Israel if they had been faithful when they returned to the land.
The temple described is also a description of Christ’s death on the cross. The measurements, if used, would make the buildings appear as a cross. The blood and water from the altar running down to the valley in front of it would go from what would have been its side. Just like Christ’s blood poured down from his side when he hung upon the cross. The river the blood went into, which continued to give life to the wilderness, illustrates how Christ’s blood gave life to the receiver. As Paul explained: “Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life because Christ made you right with God. God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God’s Spirit is living in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die.” (Romans 8:10-11)
They had a blueprint for a temple through Ezekiel, if they built it after the directions or not, we will not know for sure as “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matt.24:2) There are little remains from the second temple.
According to Daniel 9, they had one chance, one time period, to make this happen. After the 70 prophetic weeks, sacrifices and oblations would cease, and the sacrifices ordered for the temple in Ezekiel could not take place. “Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the outer court, to sanctify the people” (Eze 46:20)
In Daniel: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Dan 9:27)
Thus, it has been ordained by God, messaged through the angel Gabriel, that after Christ died, there would be no more God-instituted sacrifices. This is also confirmed by Paul in Hebrews chapter 10.
Ezekiel’s temple will not be built in Jerusalem in the future. There is a temple in heaven where Christ ministers. Any temple on earth, any sacrifice, any High Priest, would be a full and complete rejection of the true tabernacle and the true High Priest, and the only sacrifice. Such a temple cannot bring “bring life”.