Does God say what He means, and does He mean what He says? Do the words: ‘out of the mouth of babes and infants you have ordained strength’ mean more than just dealing with spiritual babes? God commanded ancient Israelites to circumcise their males on the eighth day for a very important reason. God has planned for the nation of Israel after the the church is "changed" during the millennium to preach Jesus to the world. Israel is an inheritance for our gentile children far greater than what we have been taught so far! Not another nation was commaned to be circumcised. God made a covenant with Abraham, "not us gentiles". untill he called Paul and then Peter heard us speak with tongues and magnify God.
Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, (Water) both men and women.14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, Question? have you received the word of god? "Notice" they sent unto them Peter and John: Question? What for, They had received the word of god. OK
Acts 8:9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, (Water) he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Water did not help this believer! Or any other believer, only the Holy Spirit helps a believer. Was Philips labor of teaching all in vain? Sad it is for some.
Acts 8:15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 "Notice after believing" (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. In Hebrews 6:1-2Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, NOTICE THEY HAD THE HOLY GHOST AND THE WORD)as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? ("Notice same way but no water and "uncircumcised") Did This change all their hearts? NO!!
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 "If they shall fall away", to renew them again unto repentance; ( Hebrews 6:1) seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. "Was this the case of Simon?" Or someone who received the gift of the Holy Spirit? Was it the case of God cutting the Jew off in Romans? NO Us gentiles need to understand Romans Chapter 9,10,11. You cannot fall away from something you never had???. Sorry!
After Christ comes in his glory we want have to wonder about these scripts. Paul warned us that there would be a great falling away of the faith after he departed, "this surley happened."But can you imagine a kingdom where everyone, both young and old, is circumcised of heart? The millennium setting in the Bible portrays a far different youth than we see today: a generation of healthy, intelligent and farsighted youth. They play around the elderly and learn from them. Children are able to walk alongside the lion and the lamb and play with snakes. A setting of peace and harmony between men and beasts. The children teach the kings and queens of the earth.There is a reason for this to take place. It comes from within the heart of man a changed heart a heart motivated and taught by the Spirit of God. The Gift of truth .This is prophetic of the messianic age, a time when the knowledge of the Lord is spread throughout the whole earth a time when the Spirit of God is poured out upon all flesh. There is more to the story than this. The nation of Israel is going to be given a ‘new heart’ and will be used by God to teach other nations the way to peace. But, most interesting is the role to be played by the children. Read on and you will have your mind opened to one of the most hopeful messages that you can teach your children a message of hope for today’s parents a spiritual inheritance for the nation of Israel a message tied to circumcision and that of the heart. When a church is denying the restoration of Isreal they have backed away from bible prophecies.
His First coming to the Israelites and their promise, rejection and return to him JESUS in five verses.
Micah 5:2-5 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.(NOTICE>3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. NIV. (IN ISRAEL AS ONE NATION see Ezek Ch: 36,37,38,39,) 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, (1948-for ever ) for then his (Christ) greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. 5 And he will be their (The jews) peace. NIV (Notice After Israel accepts their messiah they will reach to the ends of the earth with the Gospel after the end of the Gentiles times. see Luke.21:24 A change is coming on this old earth.
Luke 21:24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 1967 Israel took Jersulam back again fulfilling Jer. 3:16-17 In those days, (1967 ?) when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. (No kidding?? No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.)
Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. ( He Jesus has returned to them in Isreal.) 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Read James 5th chapter James is adressed to the twelve tribes of Isreal.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (I can't wait!!)
Zechariah 22-23 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. 23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
Luke 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? Believe in him and you will be saved.
Malachi 4:5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah (John) before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. "Father" God bless the little children."Dillard Munsell Bible study / Wed. 6:30 dillmunsell@yahoo.com http://keepinminddavedill.blogspot.com
Also http://indianstufffamily.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Bnei Menashe-Tribe of (Manasses)
Bnei Menashe-Tribe of (Manasses)Ezekiel 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Rev 7:6 Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
http://www.bneimenashe.com/
"Some Israelis are more willing to give land to Palestinians than to give a warm bed to brothers who left a long time ago," says Esther Thangsom, 24, who came to Israel 18 months ago. "Others go out of their way to welcome us back."
But it doesn't matter whether people make the way home easy or hard, because God helps us," she says in her calm and gentle manner. "We're a patient people. We've waited almost 3,000 years; we can wait a few years longer."
Thangsom is part of a new immigrant community in Israel that now numbers 340. They are known as Bnei Menashe, or Shinlung, names acquired at different stages of their long journey. The first signifies their belief that they're descended from the Israelite tribe. According to their tradition they lived as part of the Hebrew nation till the days of the First Temple, when they fled east from the Assyrian conquerors of 744 B.C.E. and, 400 years later, farther east still from the armies of Alexander the Great, through Tibet and into China. Believing they were the only Jews left, they lived quietly under the Chinese until the Middle Ages. Late in the thirteenth century they were threatened once again-by conversion to Christianity. They fled south to Indochina, where they acquired their second name. For two generations they found refuge in a remote valley of caves; Shinlung means cave dwellers. The Chinese eventually found them, seized their holy parchment (which they believe was the Torah) and drove them into today's Thailand and Burma. From here many migrated into the north Indian provinces of Mizoram and Manipur, where it is estimated 1.25 million to 4 million live today. There are 10,000 actively Jewish Bnei Menashe in 13 towns. Of this number 3,500 have formally converted to Orthodox Judaism.
"We never felt we belonged in India," asserts Ruth Thangsom, 25, Esther's sister. The family comes from Manipur and their features, like those of other Bnei Menashe, are Mongolian. "We felt lost. We don't look like Indians, we don't think like them or identify with them. We were sojourners. We always knew we belonged to the land and people of Israel. In college, when I was studying for my B.A. in English literature, I used to think: What I want more than anything is to be in Israel, where I can live according to the Torah and the mitzvot." "I grew up with a longing to be Jewish and to come to Israel," says Esther, a psychologist who is studying social work. "I used to tell my friends at boarding school in New Delhi: "I'm not Indian. It's a geographical and political mistake that I'm here. One day, I'll live in Israel."
"I've wanted to come to Israel ever since my midteens when I [found out about] Israel," says Shmuel Joram, 38, a draftsman who grew up in Mizoram. Like so many Bnei Menashe he speaks quietly and repectfully, but with determination and conviction. Today Joram, the Thangsom sisters and their brother Yitzhak, 30, an economist, all live in Jerusalem. They have formally converted to Judaism and are citizens. If they don't yet feel Israeli, they have a strong sense of having found their place. "In my heart, I resented undergoing conversion when I feel so utterly Jewish," says Yitzhak with controlled dignity. "But as our path back to our roots was through Christianity, I accept it was necessary."
After the loss of their precious parchment, they nursed a tradition that one day a white man would come to return their holy books. When a Reverend Pettigrew arrived in India from Britain in 1813, ablaze with Baptist fervor and copies of the Christian Bible, the Bnei Menashe believed the prophecy had been fulfilled. Large parts of the book, from Adam and Eve to the Exodus from Egypt, echoed their oral tradition. Within a decade, the whole community was Christian.
"Our grandfather was orphaned young and raised by missionaries," says Yitzhak. "That's how our family became Christian. Our father reversed it. He was a deeply religious man who sought the truth. I remember him giving me a siddur and telling me: Judaism is the true faith."
The way back was shown by a community member who came to be regarded as a modern-day prophet. "His name was Challa Mala," explains Joram. "In the 1950's, he had a vision that the Bnei Menashe were Israelites. His vision ignited the community. They stopped working and began preparing to return to Israel, expecting daily the appearance of the Messiah. A delegation was sent to the Israeli consulate in Calcutta."
This first attempt to return collapsed quickly in the face of opposition from local Indian authorities and Jewish leaders. But a connection had been forged and the Bnei Menashe stayed in touch with Jewish communities in Calcutta and Bombay 600 miles away. Members like the elder Thangsom embraced their Judaism.
"When you find the truth it hits your heart," Joram says. "I remember my father weeping because he had found the true faith."
In the 1970's a group of educated middle-class Bnei Menashe made a formal decision to return to Judaism. They built synagogues, took on Sabbath observance and brit mila. It was shortly after this that Rabbi Eliyahu Avihail first heard of them; one of the many letters they wrote asking for help in coming to Israel was passed along to him. "I was interested, of course," Avihail says. After several attempts he obtained permission to go into Manipur and Mizoram, an area closed because of a border conflict. He also met community representatives in Calcutta and managed to bring two of them to study in Israeli yeshivot, so they could return to India as Jewish teachers.
"The more I got to know the community, the more certain I became that their tradition was true and they were indeed descended from the tribe of Menashe," says Avihail. "Their customs are very close to prerabbinical Judaism. They have songs thousands of years old, with words from the Bible. One is: 'Let us go to Zion!' even though they didn't even know what Zion was. They give their children names unknown in the surrounding Indian community, such as Apram, Yakov, Sinai and Shilo. Among their customs are white garments for the kohen, an altar and animal sacrifices. The kohen will not speak God's name. They have a garment that resembles blue and white tzitziot. The eating of blood is prohibited. They have laws of family purity and follow a lunar calendar. Corpses are seen as impure.
"All this is too close to be coincidence-and too far to have been recently brought to them. These are ancient customs, corrupted over time."
In their scrolls there were strange stories about Adam and Eve, the Flood, Avihail points out. "The Tower of Babel, for example, was built to wage war on God, Who turned the stones to poison, whereupon the builders forgot their language and were dispersed."
Avihail began his long struggle on their behalf. "In 1988 we made a symbolic beginning, converting 24 in Calcutta," he says. "But then as now Israel's interior ministry reaction was: Do you want to submerge Israel with these people? But I persisted, and ended up pleading the case before the Supreme Court. It found in our favor and in 1989 I brought over the first group and settled them in Kfar Etzion."
Avihail's aim is to bring the 10,000 or so Bnei Menashe who are today practicing, if not yet converted, Jews. With every incoming group, however, he faces a major struggle. "In 1993 I brought [some] with the help of the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, which paid for the plane," he says. "Days before they were due, a scare story was leaked to the Hebrew press that 'untouchables' were about to flood the country. This delayed their aliya by seven months-and they'd already sold their homes and businesses. I turned to the Lubavitcher rebbe, who was then very sick. 'Should I be doing this?' I asked him. 'Yes!' he said. 'Bring them to Israel!'"
"Israel's Chief Rabbinate has been good to us," says Yitzhak. "They insist on a full Orthodox conversion [bet din and mikve] but I think they go easier on us than on other converts by not making us wait months before being called to the bet din. They recognize our genuine faith. The absorption ministry has also been helpful and is giving [us] temporary resident status so we can live in absorption centers while we study Hebrew and Judaism.
"But the interior ministry is very different. They delayed granting us citizenship for almost a year after the bet din converted us. Their tactics included streams of questions about our conversion, like: How did you step into the mikve? They insisted each of us produce a full genealogical tree. It was only when we threatened to go to the Supreme Court that they gave us our citizenship papers."
Today the Bnei Menashe are scattered throughout the country; they have settled in and are doing well. Some are in higher education, others run small businesses, many live on settlements-Kiryat Arba, Ofra, Beit El, Eilon Moreh and Gush Katif. Most are politically right wing ("We all want peace," says Esther), all are ready to serve in the army, and all, without exception, are religiously observant.
Some are married to English-speakers from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States (Yehoshua Wertheime of Boston, for example, has married into the community); others have married Jews from other Indian communities (like Elisheva Ganteh who married Yehuda Ben Eliayahu, originally from Cochin); but most, like the Thangsoms and Joram, hope to marry within their own community.
"We didn't know all these people in India, but we feel very close," says Ruth. "There's always somewhere to go on Shabbat and festivals and we share one another's weddings and bar mitzvas. There are already sabra Bnei Menashe in the community."
The Thangsoms and Joram are still living and studying in the Nahalat Zvi yeshiva, where they prepared for conversion. "It's home to us," Joram says. "The rosh yeshiva [yeshiva head] totally accepts us 'raw' from India. He carries the spark of holiness within him. I'm planning to stay on for another year. Then I'll think about my career and how to earn money and settle down."
Ruth, too, wants to continue her Jewish studies. "Without learning you miss out on what it takes to be a Jew," she says. "Every Jew needs to find his own path, but you can't find it without knowledge." After full-time study, she'd like to teach.
"You have to be educated in your faith," says Esther. "We'd be missing the point of being in Israel if we didn't know how to connect with God. Being in Israel is not enough. The soul is important, too."
For the remaining Bnei Menashe in India who are interested in living a Jewish life, moving to Israel would be more than enough for the moment. Many enjoy comfortable middle class lives, but their hearts are in their ancestral land. They also faced danger 18 months ago, when their communities in Manipur were attacked by neighbors from the Naya tribe. Two synagogues were burned and several people were killed.
But this isn't why the Bnei Menashe want to come. "They want to live in Israel for the same reasons that we do," says Joram, "the same reasons that any Jew wants to live in his own land. Because it's ours. Because it's home. ("Isaiah 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.)
Bnei Menashe Return to ZionPress Release February 10, 2000 http://www.bneimenashe.com/ Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail
37 Descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel Due to Arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday After Centuries of Exile, Bnei Menashe Return to Zion. (Manasses) Rev.7:6 Jerusalem An emotional scene is expected at Ben-Gurion airport early Friday as 37 descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel are set to arrive at 6:50 a.m. on EL AL flight #0076 out of Bombay. The new arrivals, members of the Bnei Menashe, are coming to Israel under the auspices of the Jerusalem-based Amishav organization, which is dedicated to locating descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel and returning them to the Jewish people. They join an additional 450 Bnei Menashe (children of the Tribe of Manasseh) already residing in the country.
This is an historic moment for the Jewish people, said Amishav founder and chairman Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, who has devoted his life to finding and assisting the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. After a lengthy and difficult separation, the Bnei Menashe are being reunited with the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. Their return to Zion marks the closing of an historical circle, noted Rabbi Avichail, adding, This is a triumph of faith.
The Bnei Menashe arriving in Israel originate from two states in eastern India: Manipur and Mizoram. Members of the Shinlung tribe, they have a rich oral tradition tracing themselves back to the Israelite tribe of Manasseh and continue to practice many uniquely Jewish customs. Approximately 30 years ago, some 3,500 Bnei Menashe decided to formally return to the Jewish people and they began living a fully Jewish life to the best of their ability in accordance with Jewish law.
Two decades ago, Rabbi Avichail learned of the Bnei Menashe through an Indian Jewish acquaintance, and he traveled to India several times to investigate their claims to Jewish ancestry. After careful study of the historical record and consultations with leading rabbinical authorities, Rabbi Avichail concluded there is convincing evidence linking the Bnei Menashe with the Jewish people.
Rabbi Avichail notes, The Bnei Menashe have an ancient tradition handed down orally from generation to generation which speaks of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They circumcise male children on the 8th day after birth in accordance with Jewish tradition. The Bnei Menashe conduct a sacrificial ceremony on an altar reminiscent of the ancient Jewish Temple in which their priest uses the Hebrew name of G-d as it appears in the Torah. In this ceremony, their priest invokes Mount Sinai, Mount Moriah and Mount Zion.
The Bnei Menashe are descended from the Israelite tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Tribes of Israel exiled by the Assyrians in the 8th century BCE. The exiles of Manasseh reached Assyria and from there, according to Bnei Menashe tradition, went to Afghanistan. From Afghanistan they went to the Himalayi (believed to be a reference to the Himalayan mountains), on to Mongolia and from there to southern China. In China, the group was persecuted because of its faith and forced to hide in caves (as a result of which they have come to be known as Shinlung, which means cave covering). Some 500 to 600 years ago, the Shinlung, or Bnei Menashe, began to wander toward their current home located on the border between India and Burma.
Upon arrival in Israel, the Bnei Menashe will engage in full-time study of Judaism and the Hebrew language to reacquaint themselves with the faith of their forefathers. To remove any doubts about their status, the Bnei Menashe undergo formal conversion ceremonies performed by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, upon completion of which they are granted new immigrant status by the Interior Ministry. Next year in Jerusalem Dillard Munsell A Gentile
A site to see, proof of Israel coming home.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ejhist.html They are going up to mount Zion.
The History of Ethiopian Jews
Introduction
"Once they were kings. A half million strong, they matched their faith with fervor and out-matched the Moslem and Christian tribesmen around them to rule the mountain highlands around Lake Tana. They called themselves Beta Israel—the house of Israel—and used the Torah to guide their prayers and memories of the heights of Jerusalem as they lived in their thatched huts in Ethiopia.
But their neighbors called them Falashas—the alien ones, the invaders. And even three hundred years of rule, even the black features that matched those of all the people around them did not make the Jews of Ethiopia secure governors of their destiny in Africa" ("Falashas: The Forgotten Jews," Baltimore Jewish Times, 9 November 1979).
For centuries, the world Jewish community was not even aware of the existence of the Jewish Community of Ethiopia in the northern province of Gondar. The miracle of Operation Solomon is only now being fully understood; an ancient Jewish community has been brought back from the edge of government-imposed exile and starvation.
But once they were kings. .
History
Christianity spread through the Axum dynasty of Ethiopia in the 4th century CE. By the 7th century, however, Islam had surpassed Christianity and had separated Ethiopia from its Christian African neighbors.
Prior to this, the Beta Israel had enjoyed relative independence through the Middle Ages. Their reign was threatened in the 13th century CE under the Solomonic Empire, and intermittent fighting continuing for the next three centuries with other tribes.
In 1624, the Beta Israel fought what would be their last battle for independent autonomy against Portuguese-backed Ethiopians. A graphic eyewitness account described the battle:
"Falasha men and women fought to the death from the steep heights of their fortress... they threw themselves over the precipice or cut each other's throats rather than be taken prisoner—it was a Falasha Masada. [The rebel leaders] burned all of the Falasha's written history and all of their religious books, it was an attempt to eradicate forever the Judaic memory of Ethiopia" (Righteous Jews Honored by Falasha Supporters, AAEJ Press Release, 1981).
Those Jews captured alive were sold into slavery, forced to be baptized, and denied the right to own land. The independence of the Beta Israel was torn from them just as it was from their Israeli brethren at Masada centuries before.
Modern Contact
The first modern contact with the now oppressed community came in 1769, when Scottish explorer James Bruce stumbled upon them while searching for the source of the Nile River. His estimates at the time placed the Beta Israel population at 100,000, already greatly decreased from an estimate from centuries before of a half-million.
Little additional contact was made with the community, but in 1935 their stability was greatly threatened as the Italian army marched into Ethiopia. Ethiopia's ruler, Emperor Haile Selassie fled his country and actually took refuge in Jerusalem for a short time. Selassie returned to power in 1941, but the situation for the Beta Israel improved little.
In 1947, Ethiopia abstained on the (United Nations partiton Plan) Partition http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/parttoc.html for the British Mandate of Palestine, which reestablished the State of Israel. By 1955, the non-governmental Jewish Agency of Israel had already begun construction of schools and a teacher's seminary for the Beta Israel in Ethiopia.
In 1956, Ethiopia and Israel established consular relations, which were improved in 1961 when the two countries established full diplomatic ties. Positive relations between Israel and Ethiopia existed until 1973, when, in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, Ethiopia (and 28 African nations) broke diplomatic relations with Israel under the threat of an Arab oil embargo.
The Mengistu Threat
Months later, Emperor Selassie's regime ended in a coup d'etat. Selassie was replaced by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, whose Marxist-Leninist dictatorship increased the threat to the Beta Israel. During the weeks surrounding Mariam's coup, an estimated 2,500 Jews were killed and 7,000 became homeless.
Soon Mariam instituted a policy of "villagization," relocating millions of peasant farmers onto state-run cooperatives which greatly harmed the Beta Israel by forcing them to "share" their villages—though they were denied the right to own the land—with non-Jewish farmers, resulting in increased levels of anti-Semitism throughout the Gondar Province. According to the Ethiopian government, over 30% of the population had been moved from privately owned farms to cooperatives as of 1989.
After taking office in 1977, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was eager to facilitate the rescue of Ethiopia's Jews, and so Israel entered into a period of selling arms to the Mariam government in hopes that Ethiopia would allow Jews to leave for Israel. In 1977, Begin asked President Mengistu to allow 200 Ethiopian Jews to leave for Israel aboard an Israeli military jet that had emptied its military cargo and was returning to Israel. Mariam agreed, and that may have been the precursor to the mass exodus of Operation Moses began.
In the early 1980's, Ethiopia forbade the practice of Judaism and the teaching of Hebrew. Numerous members of the Beta Israel were imprisoned on fabricated charges of being "Zionist spies," and Jewish religious leaders, Kesim,(sing. Kes) were harassed and monitored by the government.
The situation remained exceedingly bleak through the early 1980's. Forced conscription at age 12 took many Jewish boys away from their parents, some never to be heard from again. Additionally, with the constant threat of war, famine, and horrendous health conditions (Ethiopia has one of the world's worst infant mortality rates and doctor to patient ratios), the Beta Israel's position became more precarious as time progressed.
The government began to slightly soften its treatment of the Jews, however, during the mid- 1980's when terrible famines wreaked havoc on the economy. Ethiopia was forced to ask Western nations for famine relief, including the United States of America and Israel, allowing them both to exert a modicum of pressure for the release of the Beta Israel.
Over 8,000 Beta Israel came to Israel between 1977 and 1984. But these efforts pale in comparison with the modern exodus that took place during 1984's Operation Moses.
Operations Moses and Joshua
Under a news blackout for security reasons, Operation Moses began on November 18, 1984, and ended six weeks later on January 5, 1985. In that time, almost 8,000 Jews were rescued and brought to Israel.
But the mission was not without problems. Because of news leaks (blamed primarily on a December 6 article in the Washington Jewish Week and full page advertisements placed by the United Jewish Appeal), the mission ended prematurely as Arab nations pressured the Sudanese government to prevent any more Jews from using Sudan to go to Israel. Almost 15,0000 Jews were left behind in Ethiopia.
Thus, by the end of Operation Moses in January 1985, almost two-thirds of the Beta Israel remained in Ethiopia. They were comprised almost entirely of women, young children, and the sick, since only the strongest members of the community were encouraged to make the harrowing trek to Sudan where the airlift actually occurr. In addition, many young boys were encouraged to make the dangerous trek to freedom due to the low age of conscription, often as young as age twelve.
As Babu Yakov, a Beta Israel leader, summed up, "Those who could not flee are elderly, sick, and infants. Those least capable of defending themselves are now facing their enemies alone."
In 1985, then Vice President George Bush arranged a CIA-sponsored follow-up mission to Operation Moses. Operation Joshua brought an additional 800 Beta Israel from Sudan to Israel. But in the following five years, a virtual stalemate occurred in the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry. All efforts on behalf of the Beta Israel fell on the closed ears of the Mariam dictatorship.
Meanwhile, those Jews who did escape during Operation Moses were separated from their loved ones while attempting to adjust to Israeli society. The new arrivals spent between six months and two years in absorption centers learning Hebrew, being retrained for Israel's industrial society, and learning how to live in a modern society (most Ethiopian villages had no running water or electricity). Suicide, all but unheard of in their tukuls in Ethiopia, even claimed a few of the new arrivals due to the anxiety of separation and departure.
Over 1,600 "orphans of circumstance" lived day to day separated from their families, not knowing the fate of their parents, brothers, sisters, and loved ones.
Operation Solomon—The Fulfillment of a Dream
The grim prospect of thousands of Jewish children growing up separated from their parents in Israel almost became a reality. Little could be done to persuade the Mariam government to increase the trickle of Jews leaving Ethiopia in the years between Operations Joshua and Solomon. But in November 1990, Ethiopia and Israel reached an agreement that would allow Ethiopian Jews to move to Israel under the context of family reunification. It soon became clear, however, that Mengistu was willing to allow Ethiopian Jews to leave outside of the guise of reunification. November and December, 1990, showed increased numbers of Ethiopians leaving for Israel. The Ethiopian Jews were finally ready to come home.
In early 1991, Eritrean and Tigrean rebels began a concerted attack on Mengistu forces, meeting with surprising success for the first time since the civil war began in 1975. With the rebel armies advancing each day, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam fled his country in early May. Rebels claimed control of the capital Addis Ababa shortly thereafter, and the situation of the Beta Israel took top priority in Israel. The Likud government of Yitzhak Shamir authorized a special permit for the Israeli airline, El Al, to fly on the Jewish Sabbath. On Friday, May 24, and continuing non-stop for 36 hours, a total of 34 El Al jumbo jets and Hercules C-130s—seats removed to accommodate the maximum number of Ethiopians—began a new chapter in the struggle for the freedom of Ethiopian Jewry.
Operation Solomon, named for the king from whom one of the theories suggest that the Beta Israel draw their lineage, ended almost as quickly as it began. Timing was crucial, since any delay by Israel could have allowed the rebels to hold the Jews as bargaining chips with Israel or the United States. A total of 14,324 Ethiopian Jews were rescued and resettled in Israel, a modern exodus of the grandest design. Operation Solomon rescued twice the number of Jews in Operation Moses and Joshua, in a mere fraction of the time. Though it is too early to predict their impact on Israeli society, the 36,000 Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel (rescue efforts are under way to transport the remaining 2,100 Ethiopians who wish to emigrate to Israel) will play an important role in Israel for generations to come.
Authentic Jews
Because much of the Beta Israel's history is passed orally from generation to generation, we may never truly know their origins. Four main theories exist concerning the beginnings of the Beta Israel community:
1) The Beta Israel may be the lost Israelite tribe of Dan.
2) They may be descendants of Menelik I, son of King Solomon and Queen Sheba.
3) They may be descendants of Ethiopian Christians and pagans who converted to Judaism centuries ago.
4) They may be descendants of Jews who fled Israel for Egypt after the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and eventually settled in Ethiopia.
(Excerpted from "Reunify Ethiopian Jewry," World Union of Jewish Students)
Without regard as to which theory may actually be correct (and each theory has its support), the authenticity of the "Jewishness" of the community became an issue.
As early as the 16th century, Egypt's Chief Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Avi Zimra (Radbaz) declared that in Halachic (Jewish legal) issues, the Beta Israel were indeed Jews. In 1855, Daniel ben Hamdya, a member of the Beta Israel, was the first Ethiopian Jew to visit Israel, meeting with a council of rabbis in Jerusalem concerning the authenticity of the Beta Israel. By 1864, almost all leading Jewish authorities, most notably Rabbi Azriel Hildsheimer of Eisenstadt, Germany, accepted the Beta Israel as true Jews. In 1908 the chief rabbis of forty-five countries had heeded Rabbi Hildsheimer's call and officially recognized the Beta Israel as fellow Jews.
In reaffirming the Radbaz's position centuries before, Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi, stated in 1972, "I have come to the conclusion that Falashas are Jews who must be saved from absorption and assimilation. We are obliged to speed up their immigration to Israel and educate them in the spirit of the holy Torah, making them partners in the building of the Holy Land."
In 1975, Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren wrote to the Beta Israel telling them, "You are our brothers, you are our blood and our flesh. You are true Jews." Later that same year the Israeli Interministerial Commission officially recognized the Beta Israel as Jews under Israel's Law of Return, a law designed to aid in Jewish immigration to Israel. The Beta Israel were ready to come home.
Indeed, the Beta Israel were strictly observant in pre-Talmudic Jewish traditions. The women went to the mikvah, or ritual bath, just as observant Jewish women do to this day, and they continue to carry out ancient festivals, such as Seged, that have been passed down through the generations of Beta Israel. The Kesim, or religious leaders, are as widely revered and respected as the great rabbis in each community, passing the Jewish customs through storytelling and maintaining the few Jewish books and Torahs some communities were fortunate enough to have written in the liturgical language of Ge'ez.
Jewish Apathy . . .and its Defeat
The struggle to free the Beta Israel was not fought solely against the Ethiopian government. Much like some timid Jewish leaders during the Holocaust, some recent Jews sought to prevent a shanda fur de goyim (an embarrassment in front of the non-Jews) by not stirring up waves over Ethiopian Jewry.
The history of the Beta Israel's rescue is at times open to debate regarding the heroes of the Ethiopian Jewry movement. As with many struggles to free oppressed Jewry around the world, many advocated and vocalized opposition to those responsible for the lack of action on their behalf. Others, however, argued for a more quiet diplomacy, void of the public demonstrations and arrests that marked the struggle for Soviet Jewry.
Though over 8,000 Beta Israel managed to flee to Israel during his tenure, it was an Israeli official in charge of the Ethiopian Jews' absorption who may best symbolize the insensitivity that an extreme minority of people once held. Yehuda Dominitz who served as Director General of the Jewish Agency's Department of Immigration and Absorption, declared in 1980 that, "[taking] a Falasha (sic) out of his village, it's like taking a fish out of water...I'm not in favor of bringing them [to Israel]." Dominitz also refused to allow his agency to rent buses so Ethiopian Jews in Israel could travel to Jerusalem to observe their ancient holiday of Seged (Dominitz eventually relented, but had the buses take the Beta Israel to Haifa instead of Jerusalem).
Malkah Raymist, a writer for the World Zionist Organization, wrote in 1956 in The Jewish Horizon (of the Hapoel Hamizrachi of America Movement) that, "the reasons [for not bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel] are simple and weighty. On one hand, they are well off where they are, while their development and mental outlook is that of children; they could fall an easy prey of exploitation, if brought here without any preparation. On the other hand, being a backward element, they would be and it would take several years before they could be educated towards a minimum of progressive thinking."
In an American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) press release, the AAEJ quoted its founder, Dr. Graenum Berger, as criticizing those who sought any delay in the rescue of the Beta Israel. Berger declared, "Not when Jews are dying...these revelations show once again that the policy of influencing factions of the government of Israel always have been against the immigration of the Ethiopian Jews. And, the same people who controlled their immigration then are controlling it now. These are the same people who gave instructions to the Israeli Embassy in Ethiopia (1956-1973) not to issue immigration visas to any Jew from Ethiopia."
Berger himself came under criticism for his outspoken remarks concerning the Israeli efforts to rescue the Beta Israel, showing that nobody was immune from the rhetoric surrounding the issue.
(See also) http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/falashmura.html
(See also (Law of return) http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/Text_of_Law_of_Return.html
From the (Jewish Virtual Library) http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/index.html Next Year IN Jerusalem
These people from abraham brought us to Jesus
Why are we there? To take back our land.
Arabs only came to the Land of Israel in large numbers after the Jews returned in the 20th century and started to rebuild the nation, thereby creating economic and employment opportunities for Arab immigrants.
Prior to 1870, when Jews started to return to the Holy Land in large numbers, there were fewer than 100,000 Arabs living in what is today the State of Israel - including Yesha (The Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District). This small number of nomadic, tribal Arabs who lived in the Holy Land before the modern Jewish return never considered themselves to be a separate people or nation.
The Arabs who lived in the Land of Israel were not "Palestinians" but Arabs - part of a huge Arab people with 22 very large independent nations that control one-ninth of the land mass on the planet Earth.
Israel is anything but a mistake, and history shows the justice of Israel's cause. With the exception of the period between the two Jewish Temples between roughly 586 and 516 BCE, Jews ruled this land continuously from approximately 1300 BCE until 68 CE. Since that time, no other government has been based in Israel, no other country has called Jerusalem its capital, and no other people has called this land its home. It is not history that is Israel's enemy but the false narrative of history presented to the World by the Arab Muslims. It is not history that is Israel's enemy, but Arab attempts to wipe out the vestiges of that history, as if destroying all of the Temple artifacts on the Temple Mount will confirm that it was 'always' Haram al-Sharif, that two Jewish Temples never stood there and that Jesus never argued with money changers there.
This country was deserted swampland for much of the period between 68 CE and the beginning of the return of larger numbers of Jews started in 1870. Israel's interior areas were mainly a desert-like wasteland while her coast was a malaria-ridden swamp. But Jews always prayed three times a day that God should gather them in from their diaspora and bring them back to this country. Many Jews attempted to come here on their own. Jews were a majority of the population of Jerusalem in the 19th century, and settled many of the cities of the Galilee as well. In 1844 - when the Land of Israel was controlled by the Turkish Muslims - the Turkish census counted 7,120 Jews and 5,000 Muslims living in Jerusalem. Thus, Jerusalem was already a Jewish city 160 years ago. Until an Arab massacre wiped them out in 1929, there was even a large Jewish community in Hebron, which included a major Talmudical academy, which was transplanted from the village of Slobodka in Lithuania.
Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the history of the Middle East knows that the Jewish claim to Jerusalem is much stronger than the Palestinian claim. Jerusalem is to the Jews what Rome is to the Catholics, but to the Muslims Jerusalem is merely an imperialistic trophy and an excuse for fighting.
Israeli rules for aliyah creates Israelis but not Jews.
One area where the traditional definition of Jew is not followed by the Israeli government is in deciding who qualifies to make aliyah ("immigrate [to Israel]") and acquire citizenship under the Law of Return.
The requirements here differ significantly from the definition of a Jew under halakha, in permitting anyone with only one Jewish grandparent, or as non-Jewish spouses of Jews, to move to Israel. A person with only one Jewish grandparent is presently allowed to make aliyah but that does not confer the status of Jew upon that person according to Jewish law neither in Israel nor anywhere else.
Thus, because the secular Israeli Law of Return functions in far broader terms than would be allowed according to Judaisms's definition of "Who is a Jew?" it is consequently estimated that as a result of the easing of standards, in the past twenty years, about 300,000 avowed non-Jews and even practicing Christians have entered Israel from the former Soviet Union on the basis of claiming to have one Jewish grandparent or by being married to a Jew. The net result has been that Israel has not resolved the question of how such a large group of immigrants who are now Israelis but who are still not Jews should be formally converted to Judaism.
Current Israeli definitions however, specifically excludes Jews who have openly and knowingly converted to a faith other than Judaism. This definition is not the same as that in traditional Jewish law; in some respects it is a deliberately wider, so as to include those non-Jewish relatives of Jews who may have been perceived to be Jewish, and thus faced anti-Semitism, but in other respects it is narrower, as the traditional definition includes apostate Jews
Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, "ascent" or "going up") is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). The opposite action, Jewish emigration away from Israel, is called Yerida ("descent"). Next year in Jerusalem!!!
Arabs only came to the Land of Israel in large numbers after the Jews returned in the 20th century and started to rebuild the nation, thereby creating economic and employment opportunities for Arab immigrants.
Prior to 1870, when Jews started to return to the Holy Land in large numbers, there were fewer than 100,000 Arabs living in what is today the State of Israel - including Yesha (The Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District). This small number of nomadic, tribal Arabs who lived in the Holy Land before the modern Jewish return never considered themselves to be a separate people or nation.
The Arabs who lived in the Land of Israel were not "Palestinians" but Arabs - part of a huge Arab people with 22 very large independent nations that control one-ninth of the land mass on the planet Earth.
Israel is anything but a mistake, and history shows the justice of Israel's cause. With the exception of the period between the two Jewish Temples between roughly 586 and 516 BCE, Jews ruled this land continuously from approximately 1300 BCE until 68 CE. Since that time, no other government has been based in Israel, no other country has called Jerusalem its capital, and no other people has called this land its home. It is not history that is Israel's enemy but the false narrative of history presented to the World by the Arab Muslims. It is not history that is Israel's enemy, but Arab attempts to wipe out the vestiges of that history, as if destroying all of the Temple artifacts on the Temple Mount will confirm that it was 'always' Haram al-Sharif, that two Jewish Temples never stood there and that Jesus never argued with money changers there.
This country was deserted swampland for much of the period between 68 CE and the beginning of the return of larger numbers of Jews started in 1870. Israel's interior areas were mainly a desert-like wasteland while her coast was a malaria-ridden swamp. But Jews always prayed three times a day that God should gather them in from their diaspora and bring them back to this country. Many Jews attempted to come here on their own. Jews were a majority of the population of Jerusalem in the 19th century, and settled many of the cities of the Galilee as well. In 1844 - when the Land of Israel was controlled by the Turkish Muslims - the Turkish census counted 7,120 Jews and 5,000 Muslims living in Jerusalem. Thus, Jerusalem was already a Jewish city 160 years ago. Until an Arab massacre wiped them out in 1929, there was even a large Jewish community in Hebron, which included a major Talmudical academy, which was transplanted from the village of Slobodka in Lithuania.
Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the history of the Middle East knows that the Jewish claim to Jerusalem is much stronger than the Palestinian claim. Jerusalem is to the Jews what Rome is to the Catholics, but to the Muslims Jerusalem is merely an imperialistic trophy and an excuse for fighting.
Israeli rules for aliyah creates Israelis but not Jews.
One area where the traditional definition of Jew is not followed by the Israeli government is in deciding who qualifies to make aliyah ("immigrate [to Israel]") and acquire citizenship under the Law of Return.
The requirements here differ significantly from the definition of a Jew under halakha, in permitting anyone with only one Jewish grandparent, or as non-Jewish spouses of Jews, to move to Israel. A person with only one Jewish grandparent is presently allowed to make aliyah but that does not confer the status of Jew upon that person according to Jewish law neither in Israel nor anywhere else.
Thus, because the secular Israeli Law of Return functions in far broader terms than would be allowed according to Judaisms's definition of "Who is a Jew?" it is consequently estimated that as a result of the easing of standards, in the past twenty years, about 300,000 avowed non-Jews and even practicing Christians have entered Israel from the former Soviet Union on the basis of claiming to have one Jewish grandparent or by being married to a Jew. The net result has been that Israel has not resolved the question of how such a large group of immigrants who are now Israelis but who are still not Jews should be formally converted to Judaism.
Current Israeli definitions however, specifically excludes Jews who have openly and knowingly converted to a faith other than Judaism. This definition is not the same as that in traditional Jewish law; in some respects it is a deliberately wider, so as to include those non-Jewish relatives of Jews who may have been perceived to be Jewish, and thus faced anti-Semitism, but in other respects it is narrower, as the traditional definition includes apostate Jews
Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, "ascent" or "going up") is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). The opposite action, Jewish emigration away from Israel, is called Yerida ("descent"). Next year in Jerusalem!!!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
A change for the nations.
I am glad this is in Gods hands and not mine. Written in the book so we gentiles may know that we have life because of their unbelif and soon the land of Israel will be filled with JEWS from all the world and they will have their Kingdom with their King. Can you guess who?
Romans 8:1-11 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 9:1-5 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
Romans 11:11-21 11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! 13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Ezekiel 37: "Dry bones.") 16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
Romans 11:25 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: There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Romans11:28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, (After they were cut off.) but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. New King James Version
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. KJV (Proof >They the Jews have come back to their land in unbelief. But soon The spirit from on high will be poured upon them.)
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Jesus will come to them with us.!!!)
Isaiah 32:14-16 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Romans 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Romans11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. KJV (Proof >They the Jews have come back to their land in unbelief. (But soon The spirit from on high will be poured upon them.)
Ezekiel 36:6-10 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, (JESUS) and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Isaiah 32:20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox (Jew) and the ass.(Gentile) ( A Jewish and Gentile ministry to the world for a thousand years.
"RUTH"> We believe a Moabite Gentile an outcast woman added her blood to the lineage of Jesus Christ. If God received her into the Messianic heritage, He will also adopt us into His Royal Priesthood if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dillard Munsell Bible Study 6:30 Wed.
Romans 8:1-11 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 9:1-5 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
Romans 11:11-21 11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! 13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Ezekiel 37: "Dry bones.") 16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
Romans 11:25 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: There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Romans11:28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, (After they were cut off.) but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. New King James Version
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. KJV (Proof >They the Jews have come back to their land in unbelief. But soon The spirit from on high will be poured upon them.)
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Jesus will come to them with us.!!!)
Isaiah 32:14-16 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Romans 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Romans11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. KJV (Proof >They the Jews have come back to their land in unbelief. (But soon The spirit from on high will be poured upon them.)
Ezekiel 36:6-10 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, (JESUS) and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Isaiah 32:20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox (Jew) and the ass.(Gentile) ( A Jewish and Gentile ministry to the world for a thousand years.
"RUTH"> We believe a Moabite Gentile an outcast woman added her blood to the lineage of Jesus Christ. If God received her into the Messianic heritage, He will also adopt us into His Royal Priesthood if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dillard Munsell Bible Study 6:30 Wed.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
God is confirming the words of his prophets.
Many Christians have said the church has replaced Israel? The Old prophets say "NO"
Since 1948 Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.NIV
Revelation 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Revelation 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. 5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.(The future of Israel.)
Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (Winds of war.) 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (Not literal foreheads.) Their Hearts!!
Amos 9:14-15,14 I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God.
The prophet said that there would come a time when the exiles of Israel would again have Israel as their own land and that they would never be uprooted again. Amos lived about 2700 years ago, during a time when the people of Israel were being forced out of their homeland by a succession of foreign invasions. Despite many centuries of exile, many Jews returned to Israel and reclaimed sovereignty over a portion of their ancient homeland.
Joel 3:1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
Isaiah 27:12-13 In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 43:5-6 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Isaiah lived 2700 years ago. Beginning at that time, a succession of empires conquered the land of Israel and many went into exile. This led to a worldwide scattering of Jews. But, during the past century, millions have returned to Israel. Many Jews living in Middle East countries moved to Israel during the 1900s. After Israel reclaimed independence in 1948, more Jews moved to their ancient homeland after being forced out of various Arab countries in which they had been living for centuries.During the mid-1900s, hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the West (Europe and the United States) began moving to Israel to escape persecutions, most notably, the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.Hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the former Soviet Union have moved to Israel since the 1980s.During the 1980s and 1990s, Israel struck a deal with Ethiopia's communist government to allow Jews of Ethiopia to move to Israel. On the weekend of May 25, 1991, for example, 14,500 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel. Their DNA proved it. Just a few weeks ago some came.Jeremiah 23:3-6 3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. 5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. KJV
During the past few centuries, millions of exiled Jews around the world have returned to their ancient homeland. And this is one of the reasons why Christians say that the world is being prepared for the return of Jesus Christ. Because, as Jeremiah had prophesied long ago, the Messiah is to appear after the people of Israel return to their land. Jeremiah 23:5, "I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King," refers to the Messiah, and that he will be a king and a descendant of King David, who reigned over Israel about 3000 years ago. Christians believe that when Jesus returns, he will establish a kingdom of peace and righteousness.
Jeremiah 3:14-18 "Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance. NIV (The ark of the covenant, no temple for it?)
Ezekiel 36:1 "Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
Ezekiel 36:24 24 " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel! NIV
The Valley of Dry Bones
Ezekiel 37:11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.(>All Israel) They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "
Then to us Gentiles
Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." NIV (Notice how a full number of gentiles must come in. (No doubt to Grace and faith in Jesus our Lord.)
Ezekiel 37:21 and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into TWO KINGDOMS.
I create new heavens and a new earth:
Israel 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; ( On earth ) and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. (Is this the new Jerusalem in Rev.21?
Rev. 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (And they shall build houses) Heaven on earth?
Isaiah 51:3 The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
Joel 3:9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
2 Timothy 2:10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, (Israel) that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.NIV (Notice they are not saved here in this verse.)
Joel 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. Dillard Munsell
Friday, July 14, 2006
WHO IS YOUR TEACHER ( THE COMFORTER?)
WHO IS YOUR TEACHER ( THE COMFORTER?)
Or this great number of teachers?
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. How?> Through the Holy Spirit. THE COMFORTER
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. NIV
"Paul" Acts 20:30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. NIV
2 Peter 2:1-3 1 "But" there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be "false teachers among you". They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. NIV
All the other shepherds will let you down. Only Jesus died and rose for you. Only he deserves your full allegiance. Do you hear his voice?
Jesus told a parable and, the people did not understand him. So he explained it: "I am the gate for the sheep"
(John 10:7) In this parable, the sheep are God’s people, and they are entering a safe place, a sheep pen, representing salvation. We enter salvation through Jesus.
They may mean well. Maybe they don’t understand who Jesus is and what he is offering. Maybe Jesus’ grace insults their ability to work hard and direct their lives on their own. Maybe they think grace sounds too easy, too cheap. Whatever the reason, if they try to achieve life’s purpose in any other way, through any other gate, they will fail.
God’s people hear the voice of Jesus and recognize it.
John 10:1-19 1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, "I am the door of the sheep." 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.16 And other sheep(?) I have, which are not of this fold:(?) them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.
Dillard Munsell Bible study Wed. 6:30 PM dillmunsell@yahoo.com
Thursday, July 13, 2006
God will come with vengeance!
ISRAEL COMES HOME GETS TOUGH
Isaiah 35
1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Monday, June 12, 2006
The Greatest LAND GRAB in History
The Greatest LAND GRAB in History
The Greatest LAND GRAB in History, How come the church was all Jews till about three hundred AD, Most living in Isreal, then they were hunted like wolfs and killed by the so called CHURCH they built? Paul said grievous wolfs would creep in after his departure, not sparing the flock. (Jews and gentiles at his time) See early church fathers below. Notice how they turned on the Jews in their words.
Long before the Holocaust history, Christians made a revision of God’s promises to Israel. Afflicted with anti-Semitism for over seventeen hundred years, the traditional churches quickly developed "Replacement Theology,". Early church theologians wrongly concluded that Israel as a people was eternally rejected by God for having rejected Jesus. The claim is that the church is now spiritual Israel and, as such, has replaced natural Israel. I had an Uncle that used this sometimes just to make me get going good. This "Replacement Theology" is still held by most mainline Christian denominations and is now making inroads in Evangelical churches especially in the charismatic movement has fell under the theology of "Reconstructionism." This theology also falsely concludes that Israel has lost all claim to its Land. This attempt to deprive the overwhelming majority of the Jewish people since the time of Jesus of its glorious eternal destiny is the greatest theft the devil every pulled off useing people to steal the Holy land from the Jews. "Well" take a look and see who is living on the moutains of Israel today.
Ezekiel 36:9-11
9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: 11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
The King James version of the Bible is replete with examples of this theology."
Chapter after chapter of Old Testament prophecies contain promises of God’s blessing to Israel and Jacob. The publishers, attempt to negate the Jewish people in these chapters by arbitrarily adding chapter headings which apply the verses to the Christian church. While at times "Israel" can be symbolic of the Church, "spiritual Israel," promises to "Jacob" always refer to "natural Israel." Whole chapters of Divine blessings and promises have been literally stolen from the Jewish people. By simply By puting in the minds of the readers a wrong concept of the real meaning. Isaiah 43, for example, God addresses His promises to "O Jacob" and "O Israel." The chapter heading arbitrarily reads in most not all King James Bibles, however, "God comforteth the Church with His promises." All of Isaiah 60 is to Isreal today, also chapter 35, 65, and many more.
The anti-Semitic spirit of "Replacement Theology" becomes evident when dealing with the chapters in the Old Testament that refer to God’s curses against Israel. In these verses, spiritualizing the meaning of "Israel" is not attempted. But whenever God’s curses to Israel appear, they are readily applied to the Jews. Above Isaiah 59 is added a heading, "The sins of the Jews." Yet in the very next chapter, Isaiah 60, these very same Jewish people are robbed by the "Replacement Theology" revisionists of their God-given promise of future glory. Note the false chapter heading in most King James Bibles, "Glory of the Church." The historian James Parkes observed: 6 But Christian theologians divided it [the Old Testament] into the story of two people...the virtuous Hebrews...had all the praise and the promises and the wicked Jews had all the crimes and denunciations. This was the interpretation [of Replacement Theology] repeated over and over again, in every possible variation, and in every century from the third century onward. (No Jews.?) "Think"> A small crack in a stone filled with frozen water will destory it."
"Replacement Theology" And the Early Church Fathers
What are the unfortunate origins of "Replacement Theology"? "Replacement Theology" had its roots in the anti-Semitism of the so called Early Church Fathers. Just take a look.
[a.d. 100.] Epistle of Barnabas The writer of this Epistle is supposed to have been an Alexandrian Jew of the times of Trajan and Hadrian.
An early Church writing, the Epistle of Barnabas, said that Jews had no future with any God-given covenant. "Do not add to your sins and say that the covenant is both theirs and ours," he insisted. "Yes! It is ours; but they thus lost it forever."7 Justin Martyr, writing to the Jewish leader Trypho (A.D. 138), quoted from the Jewish Scriptures, which he referred to as "your Scriptures, (or rather not yours, but ours.") He also stated that the "prophetical gifts, formerly among your nation have been transferred to us."8 In A.D. 387 John Chrysostom ranted, "Since the deicide, the Jews have been delivered into the hands of the demons, they are only fit to be butchered, their behavior is no better than that of swine and oxen in the gross lewdness.The synagogue is a brothel, a cave of brigands, a den of ferocious animals,"9 He also argued that when Christians beat and murder Jews, the Jews are to blame, not the Christians who had acted through "God’s will."10 Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, ordered the burning of a synagogue in A.D. 388, "so that there would be no place where Christ is rejected." In his eyes, the synagogue "was destroyed by the judgment of God. Sources"11 CHRYSOSTOM AND THE JEWS OF ANTIOCH, pp. 163-166 John Chrysostom: Eight Homilies Against the Jews. (Edward H. Flanney, THE ANGUISH OF THE JEWS: 23 CENTURIES OF ANTI-SEMITISM (New York: Macmillan, 1965), p. 31.) Ibid., p. 95.
"Replacement Theology" and Anti-Semitism
As "Replacement Theology" was begotten by the anti-Semitism of the Early Church Fathers, so Martin Luther is an example of how the acceptance of "Replacement Theology" can, in turn, beget anti-Semitism. In an article entitled, "That Jesus Was Born a Jew," dated 1523, Luther initially said:12 For they [the Catholics] have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs and not human beings. They have done nothing for them but curse them and seize their wealth. I would advise and beg everybody to deal kindly with the Jews and to instruct them in the Scriptures; in such a case we could expect them to come over to us. We must receive them kindly and allow them to compete with us in earning a livelihood. . .and if some remain obstinate, what of it? Not everyone is a good Christian.
Martin Luther (1483-1546): On the Jews and Their Lies, 1543
Therefore a Christian should be content and not argue with the Jews. But if you have to or want to talk with them, do not say any more than this: "Listen, Jew, are you aware that Jerusalem and your sovereignty, together with your temple and priesthood, have been destroyed for over 1,460 years?" For this year, which we Christians write as the year 1542 since the birth of Christ, is exactly 1,468 years, going on fifteen hundred years, since Vespasian and Titus destroyed Jerusalem and expelled the Jews from the city. Let the Jews bite on this nut and dispute this question as long as they wish.
When the Jews did not convert as Luther expected, he wrote a pamphlet in his later years, "Concerning the Jews and Their Lies," in which he listed eight actions to be taken against the Jews:13 1 Burn all synagogues 2 Forbid Jews to travel Destroy Jewish dwellings 3 Forbid Jews to charge interest on loans to non-Jews and confiscate Jewish property 4 Confiscate the Jews’ holy books 5 Force Jews to do physical labor 6 Forbid rabbis to teach 7 Expel the Jews from provinces where Christians live. Today "Replacement" theologians also, wrongly conclude that the Jewish people have lost all rights to their Land. Accordingly, they claim all prophecies especially in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning Israel’s restoration to its historic Land were fulfilled with the return of Israel after the Babylonian captivity (536 B.C.). Then, they say, any further promises of blessing after 536 B.C. would be conditional to their faithfulness and since they proved totally unfaithful in rejecting Jesus, any further blessing as a nation or people was forfeited.
What Do the Scriptures Say?
Jeremiah 31:35-37 (NKJV)
35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): 36 " If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever." 37 Thus says the LORD: " If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the LORD.
Jeremiah 33:25-26 25 Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
This revisionist concept of Israel’s forfeiture of their Land is refuted by the prophet Jeremiah. "Thus saith the LORD...if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then will I cast away the seed of Jacob...for I will cause their captivity to return and have mercy on them" (Jer 31:35-37; 33:25-26).
These two prophecies in Jeremiah together devastate "Replacement Theology." Only when God’s laws of the universe cease to control day and night and the operation of heaven and earth, only then will God cast off the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then Jeremiah shows, "That the city Jerusalem shall be built to the Lord" by the returned Jews and "It shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down anymore forever" (Jer 31:38-40). The descendants of Israel (Jacob) (Not Ishmael or Esau?) will receive the city of Jerusalem (including East Jerusalem) forever.
Jeremiah 3:17 16And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. (The "Jews" will no longer remember it. Us Gentiles "never knew about it.") (No more Temple made with hands!!)
Jeremiah 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (At the time when the gentiles are fulfilled. Luke:21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
The judgement of (Ishmael or Esau?)
Obadiah 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's. When will these things be>?
Dan. 7:22 "Then shall the prophecy of Daniel be fulfilled that 'judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom'.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
A picture of the last day kingdoms of the gentile world below.
Daniel 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. ( They cannot make an agreement and keep it.)
Isaiah 11:11-12 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea [the nations far beyond Babylon]. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."
Zephaniah 3:19-20 "Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD."
Amos 9:14-15 "And I will bring again the captivity [return from exile] of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God."
Micah 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Micah 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, (Jews) until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: (Church in perfection) then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 25 For I would not, brethren, (Us gentiles) that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Romans11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Not just a few but many more. dillmunsell@yahoo.com
Bible Study Wed. 6:30
Friday, May 05, 2006
Is the next phase of Gods Kingdom coming?
Is the next phase of Gods Kingdom coming? Is it really coming. Let us consider two questions: first, when does this kingdom come; second, to whom does it belong?
When: The kingdom is both present and future. On the one hand Jesus said it was here now: "The kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15). "Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:21). It is also future, the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We and His disciples were told to pray, "Thy kingdom come"; and Jesus looked forward to the day when He would again drink the cup with His disciples in the kingdom of His Father (Matthew 26:29). What accounts for these seemingly different phases or chronologies of the kingdom? Namely, Jesus viewed the kingdom as present and growing within the world, but its full completion was not yet perfect. To illustrate this point, Jesus spoke of the kingdom as "like a grain of mustard seed" which, though tiny at the beginning, grows to "the greatest of shrubs," or "like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened" (Matthew 13:31-33). Three measures of meal is the secret. It will fill all the earth. Its that stone in Daniel. The feet is where we are now. Romans 11:25-26 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.(Us who are saved) 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: (The King belongs to them also.) A new work in the kingdom?
Jesus knew about the times of the gentles, he knew about Israels double punishment, seven times, He knew he would be betrayed by Judas. He knew us gentiles would foul it up. God may seem slow to us but he is always right on time.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. NIV
Daniel 7:13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. (Read Acts chapter1) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language (Wow) worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. NIV
Daniel 7:18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Daniel 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Jesus) Fear not little children it is the fathers good will to give you the Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 2 Corinthians 12:2 (Think this might have been a vision out in the future? "Thy kingdom come"; As time goes by the Kingdom gets filled with both good and bad. They must be removed. Then the saints of the most high God will Processed it. God will do this not man.
Luke 16:16 KJV> The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. NIV>16 "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. (Both good and bad.) But Judgement day is coming!! Are you in the body of Christ? Could you be in the Kingdom of the Beast? Or Mother of Harlots.
The kingdom of God was not truly known until Christ came proclaiming it. The law and the prophets were until John, since then the good news of the kingdom is preached (Luke 16:16). It will not achieve its consummation, however much its growth in the world, until at the end and the evil is sorted out from the good. Then to those Sheep at His right hand "the king will say…‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’" (Matthew 25:34) Read the seven parables of Jesus about the Kingdom.
To whom? The kingdom belongs only to those of childlike attitude, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" (Mark 10:15). A small child accepts a parent’s forgiveness completely, and whatever his playmate’s faults against him he readily forgives and forgets. The child lives in a happy world of being forgiven and forgiving. So must we all become as little children if we are to share in God’s kingdom. Mark 10:15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Matthew 5:3> The kingdom only belongs to those who are "poor in spirit" "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Those who are not proud in spirit, who are willing to bend so low as to admit their need of God’s grace and to gladly show forth that grace and love to others: to such belongs the kingdom.
The kingdom is also a possession of those "who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake." "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). Strangely enough, one of the signs of the kingdom’s reality is persecution from without and within. The world becomes antagonistic toward anyone who breaks out of its mold, a mold that includes neither facing up to evil nor knowing the wonder of forgiveness. Even as Christ was reviled and persecuted, so will there be for all members of His kingdom times of real sorrow and pain. Yet through it all there is blessedness.
John 3:5 Finally, the kingdom belongs only to those who are "born of water and the Spirit." "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God". In other words, there must be the forgiveness that cleanses and the renewing power of God’s Spirit which makes one live a life of mercy and compassion toward others. God has promised the gift of His Spirit to all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and those who believe and receive live henceforth in God’s eternal kingdom.
We see it nowhere, (NOW) it comes not with observation and yet it is everywhere near, as people gives themselves to God’s marvelous plan and grace and show forth that grace to others. It is a kingdom of childlike existence, a kingdom in which pride of spirit is replaced by humility of spirit, a kingdom in which one’s self-independts-protective, self-conscious, self-defensive spirit is more and more purified by the Spirit of the living God. It is a new world, regardless of persecutions that must come, so exciting, so joyous, so rich and full that one lives to share it, to proclaim it, to help others also find its glory. You can start your life anew. There is a Kingdom where Christ is the head. Yes we have been in the kingdom where they kill us and try to shut us up but that time will soon end and he will come in his glory.
A great span of time and Jacobs trouble will pass.
Jer. 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Watch our news and you can till it in near coming in its next phase. Isaiah 65:17-19 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. (Sounds like the New Jerusalem of Rev. 22. So let us gentiles rejoice with his people that has come to their land even in unbeliveth for he soon shall come to them with us.
Zechariah 14:3 Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. NIV
(Thats us saved out of all the familys of the earth) DAMV Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Isaiah 40:2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double (2520 years,) for all her sins. NIV 1967
So do we rejoice to cry with the disciples and children of old, Jesrusalem, Jerusalem the city of our God where saints of old have trod with hearts of love we are turning back to you. Where Jesus paid our debt at calvary. Next year in Jerusalem.
"You need not cry very loud; God is nearer to us than we think." I believe Jesus is the King of this KINGDOM
Dillard Munsell dillmunsell@yahoo.com Home study wed. 6:30 PM
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When: The kingdom is both present and future. On the one hand Jesus said it was here now: "The kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15). "Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:21). It is also future, the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We and His disciples were told to pray, "Thy kingdom come"; and Jesus looked forward to the day when He would again drink the cup with His disciples in the kingdom of His Father (Matthew 26:29). What accounts for these seemingly different phases or chronologies of the kingdom? Namely, Jesus viewed the kingdom as present and growing within the world, but its full completion was not yet perfect. To illustrate this point, Jesus spoke of the kingdom as "like a grain of mustard seed" which, though tiny at the beginning, grows to "the greatest of shrubs," or "like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened" (Matthew 13:31-33). Three measures of meal is the secret. It will fill all the earth. Its that stone in Daniel. The feet is where we are now. Romans 11:25-26 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.(Us who are saved) 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: (The King belongs to them also.) A new work in the kingdom?
Jesus knew about the times of the gentles, he knew about Israels double punishment, seven times, He knew he would be betrayed by Judas. He knew us gentiles would foul it up. God may seem slow to us but he is always right on time.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. NIV
Daniel 7:13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. (Read Acts chapter1) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language (Wow) worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. NIV
Daniel 7:18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Daniel 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Jesus) Fear not little children it is the fathers good will to give you the Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 2 Corinthians 12:2 (Think this might have been a vision out in the future? "Thy kingdom come"; As time goes by the Kingdom gets filled with both good and bad. They must be removed. Then the saints of the most high God will Processed it. God will do this not man.
Luke 16:16 KJV> The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. NIV>16 "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. (Both good and bad.) But Judgement day is coming!! Are you in the body of Christ? Could you be in the Kingdom of the Beast? Or Mother of Harlots.
The kingdom of God was not truly known until Christ came proclaiming it. The law and the prophets were until John, since then the good news of the kingdom is preached (Luke 16:16). It will not achieve its consummation, however much its growth in the world, until at the end and the evil is sorted out from the good. Then to those Sheep at His right hand "the king will say…‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’" (Matthew 25:34) Read the seven parables of Jesus about the Kingdom.
To whom? The kingdom belongs only to those of childlike attitude, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" (Mark 10:15). A small child accepts a parent’s forgiveness completely, and whatever his playmate’s faults against him he readily forgives and forgets. The child lives in a happy world of being forgiven and forgiving. So must we all become as little children if we are to share in God’s kingdom. Mark 10:15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Matthew 5:3> The kingdom only belongs to those who are "poor in spirit" "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Those who are not proud in spirit, who are willing to bend so low as to admit their need of God’s grace and to gladly show forth that grace and love to others: to such belongs the kingdom.
The kingdom is also a possession of those "who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake." "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). Strangely enough, one of the signs of the kingdom’s reality is persecution from without and within. The world becomes antagonistic toward anyone who breaks out of its mold, a mold that includes neither facing up to evil nor knowing the wonder of forgiveness. Even as Christ was reviled and persecuted, so will there be for all members of His kingdom times of real sorrow and pain. Yet through it all there is blessedness.
John 3:5 Finally, the kingdom belongs only to those who are "born of water and the Spirit." "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God". In other words, there must be the forgiveness that cleanses and the renewing power of God’s Spirit which makes one live a life of mercy and compassion toward others. God has promised the gift of His Spirit to all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and those who believe and receive live henceforth in God’s eternal kingdom.
We see it nowhere, (NOW) it comes not with observation and yet it is everywhere near, as people gives themselves to God’s marvelous plan and grace and show forth that grace to others. It is a kingdom of childlike existence, a kingdom in which pride of spirit is replaced by humility of spirit, a kingdom in which one’s self-independts-protective, self-conscious, self-defensive spirit is more and more purified by the Spirit of the living God. It is a new world, regardless of persecutions that must come, so exciting, so joyous, so rich and full that one lives to share it, to proclaim it, to help others also find its glory. You can start your life anew. There is a Kingdom where Christ is the head. Yes we have been in the kingdom where they kill us and try to shut us up but that time will soon end and he will come in his glory.
A great span of time and Jacobs trouble will pass.
Jer. 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Watch our news and you can till it in near coming in its next phase. Isaiah 65:17-19 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. (Sounds like the New Jerusalem of Rev. 22. So let us gentiles rejoice with his people that has come to their land even in unbeliveth for he soon shall come to them with us.
Zechariah 14:3 Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. NIV
(Thats us saved out of all the familys of the earth) DAMV Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Isaiah 40:2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double (2520 years,) for all her sins. NIV 1967
So do we rejoice to cry with the disciples and children of old, Jesrusalem, Jerusalem the city of our God where saints of old have trod with hearts of love we are turning back to you. Where Jesus paid our debt at calvary. Next year in Jerusalem.
"You need not cry very loud; God is nearer to us than we think." I believe Jesus is the King of this KINGDOM
Dillard Munsell dillmunsell@yahoo.com Home study wed. 6:30 PM
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