- Israel refers to the Jewish people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are God's chosen people, https://incrediboxsprunki.com/mods/ and the Old Testament focuses on their covenant with God, their laws, and their promised land.
- This is an interesting perspective on the Church's role. Thinking of the Church as "a Israel" helps us understand our connection to God's plan. It reminds me of trying to beat my high score in the Dinosaur Game – always moving forward, striving for more, just like the Church should be! Understanding our identity as "a Israel" empowers us to live out our faith with purpose. It’s like finally mastering the jumping technique in that Dinosaur Game - everything clicks! So, let's embrace our role and contribute to God's grand design. https://dinosaurgamefree.com/
- The certificate from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is the golden key to operating a business. Regardless of whether you are a manufacturer, importer, distributor, or retailer, acquiring the CDSCO license is essential. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) serves as the primary regulatory authority in India, tasked with ensuring the safety and quality standards of cosmetics, drugs, and medical devices. https://www.legalraasta.com/nation/cdsco.html
The Church As "A Israel"
Here at New Community, we have begun a new series on the book of Revelation called, “When Heaven Breaks Through.”It has long been my desire that my brothers and sisters come to understand what God has accomplished, is accomplishing, and will accomplish through His uniquely begotten Son, Jesus, and what that means for the nations. Rightly understood, I believe we would be filled with awe and wonder towards God, and both hope, and excitement would be found ringing throughout our churches in unending and ceaseless praise! I think what many Christians miss today is that the Church is ‘a Israel’ (not that we have replaced Israel but been grafted in and are thereby an extension of what Israel was supposed to be and therefore are ‘a Israel’ among the nations).
A World In Rebellion
Our Lord is the Savior of the world (John 3:16-17). I sometimes do not think we take this in and really meditate on it. Jesus is not the “would-be-savior of the world” if only all the nations would repent and turn to Him. Nor is Jesus just a personal savior that will save you if you ask Him to do so. He IS the Savior of the world! Humanity has been in the midst of a spiritual rebellion for thousands of years ever since Eve was deceived into the rebellion of the serpent (Genesis 3:1-13). Later, the sons of God (spiritual beings) rebelled with the daughters of men which led humanity into violence, bloodshed, and total depravity (Genesis 6:1-5; see also 1 Enoch 6-11). God would send the flood to wipe out the Nephilim and all the humans that revered them as heroes. God would later make a covenant with Noah and all of humanity, promising to not ever flood the earth to destroy humanity for their sin (Genesis 9:8-17).
The land had become polluted with all the bloodshed, idolatry, and the sin of humanity. The land was meant for holy people, so the flood was sent to both cleanse the land and destroy sin (humanity’s sin is captured in the violence and bloodshed, in essence, they longed for destruction and death and God gave them over to their desires by sending the flood to destroy and bring death). Israel would later be exiled from the Promised Land because she too would defile the land (Numbers 35:33; Ezekiel 36:17-18; Psalm 106:38; Jeremiah 16:18). The very reason for Israel to be given the Promise Land was because the previous inhabitants defiled the land (Leviticus 18:27). God is Holy and he created this world for humans who would be imagers of Him, and the land is thereby only suited to a holy people.
After the flood, God kickstarted “Eden” again with Noah and his family but he and his descendants would sin. Ultimately, humanity built the Tower of Babel that would reach to the heavens (Genesis 11:4). The flood was fresh in the minds of humanity and rather than trust the Lord and fill it, they sought to build higher ground (clearly not trusting in the covenant he made with them to never send another flood). They sought to control God and make a name for themselves. In our rebellion, we went from being one to division (Genesis 10). At this point, God distances Himself from humanity and appoints shepherds/governors over the nations who were to direct humanity back to Yahweh (Deuteronomy 32:8-9 ESV). However, many of these sons of God who were appointed over the nations fell into sin by accepting the worship of humanity or enticing humanity to worship them. Where the sons of God who did not fall to such sin, the nations turned to worship demons as their gods (Deuteronomy 32:17-18; Galatians 4:8).
Humanity is now dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). The nations now have all become corrupt and turned away from God (Romans 3:12). As they worship their gods, many turn to demonic rituals that produced the Nephilim once again (Genesis 6:1-4; Numbers 13:32-33; Deuteronomy 3:11). Once again all of humanity is led into depravity, violence, bloodshed, and all forms of injustice because of their idolatry and worship of these fallen sons of God (Psalm 82:1-8). God then pulls Abram from out of the midst of that rebellion to form a new nation, one that would be His portion (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 7:2-3; Deuteronomy 32:9; Ecclesiasticus 17:17). This would be the beginning of God reclaiming the whole earth!
God’s Plan
It is easy to miss, but if we think on Deuteronomy 32:8-9 and Genesis 10 what we find is the whole world has been apportioned its boundaries and there is no Israel. The whole world, every kingdom, and nation upon the earth belong to the satan, the lord of death (Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:6). When God calls Abram there is no place on the earth for him and his descendants to be a nation. Let that sink in for a moment…when Israel comes into existence as a nation it must have a geographical boundary to exist as a separate and distinct nation. Yahweh then gives Israel the land belonging to the Canaanites AND their gods. Yahweh is taking back what He once gave to the fallen sons of God (Psalm 82:8). Even before Israel took possession of the Promised Land, God was giving the land around it to Esau and his descendants (Genesis 36:8; Deuteronomy 2:5). The Lord also gave some of the lands to the Moabites and the Ammonites as well (Deuteronomy 2:8-9, 19). The Scriptures do not say what land was given to Ismael or even the other sons of Abraham through Keturah, but they too were included in part of the land promise (Genesis 17:20; Genesis 25:6). All these lands belonged to the Nephilim (giant clans – human demonic imagers of the fallen sons of God) and the Nephilim and the gods they served were being dispossessed. God promised Abram that his descendants would be like the stars (Genesis 22:17, see also Genesis 15:5; 26:4). This not only meant that Abraham’s descendants would be too numerous to count, but also that they would be made like the stars and replace the stars that govern the nations. The stars were symbolic for the sons of God and in this case the fallen sons of God that Yahweh pronounced judgment on in Psalm 82:1-8. God began driving out and taking back the land that these fallen sons of God were originally given authority over with the physical descendants of Abraham.
Where many Christians struggle is being able to give account for the Holy War that was waged through the Israelite nation. Yet, it is because many do not realize that these giants that were in the land were the Nephilim (humans given over to imaging the fallen sons of God) and the heroes of old that led humanity into idolatry (when the Nephilim/giants die their spirits are the unclean spirits, otherwise known as the demons…to image the satan and his angels is what makes someone a demon). These unclean spirits, the demons were allowed to roam the earth. Yet, it is Jesus who comes and casts out demons (Psalm 91:11-12; Matthew 8:28-34; 12:22; Mark 5:1-17; 9:17-29; Luke 4:33-36). Then He gives power to His followers to do so as well (Luke 10:17-19; Acts 16:16-18). Israel drove out the physically embodied demons and Jesus comes along to finish driving out their unclean spirits from His good creation! He even declares to His disciples that the very rock that satan and his fallen angels took a stand against God, in the very spot that the satan established his very kingdom, that Jesus was going to build His Church there and it would not be stopped (Matthew 16:18)! Right before Jesus ascends to be seated in power and glory, He commissions His disciples to continue this work (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus ascends into heaven to receive authority and a kingdom (Acts 1:9; Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 1:4-8). This kingdom is said to never end (Isaiah 9:7; Daniel 2:35; Luke 1:32-33). Jesus is installed as God’s King on Zion and is given the nations and the ends of the earth as His inheritance (Psalm 2:6-8). Which is exactly what He commissioned His disciples to go and do! Which is exactly what Jesus taught His disciples to pray for (Matthew 6:9-13). And in Revelation 11:15, it declares all the kingdoms of the earth now belong to our Lord and Messiah! And before Jesus leaves, he prays that God would not take His Church out of this world, but protect them from the evil one (John 17:15). He is reigning and ruling now, and God is putting Christ’s enemies under His feet (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:34; 5:31; 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Col. 3:1; 1 Corinthians 15:25; 1 Peter 3:22; Hebrews 1:3; 2:8; 10:12; 12:2).
The Church As “A Israel”
The story of Israel, I believe serves as a “map” if you will, or a microcosm for what God is doing in the nations through His Church! Once the fullness of the Gentiles has been reached it will provoke Israel to jealousy and they too shall be saved (Romans 11:11, 14, 25). Then the earth will be free from its bondage (Romans 8:19). Our salvation is not just a means to save our spirits from this earth, granting us a golden ticket to get into heaven, but rather is a salvation from our sins (doing what is right in our own eyes), from the gods/demons that have enslaved us, and from death.
In 2 Peter 3:8-18, Peter writes that the promise of the new heavens and earth were happening in his day. That the Lord was not slow in keeping His promise as some think, but that He is patiently enduring with us that all might be saved. The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that must be worked throughout the entire batch (Matthew 13:33).
Recently, I gave a sermon on Revelation here and here that lays out how Revelation is the New Exodus for all the nations. God is leading all humanity all from under the bondage and oppression of the gods that we all once served. Just like how Yahweh defeated the gods of Egypt and the human king they animated to be a tyrannical dictator, so God is doing this with all the gods of the nations! At the cross, he defeated and disarmed the powers and principalities (Colossians 2:15). Now the time has come that Jesus is driving out the devil (John 12:31; 16:11).
What this means is that the Church, like what Israel did in the Promise Land, is claiming cosmic geography that once belonged to the fallen sons of God and the demons (Deuteronomy 32:8-9). The Promise Land was Eden 2.0 so to speak. Yet, it was inhabited by giants (the Nephilim) and the gods of the nations. It had to engage in Holy War. The Church now engages in Spiritual War and must drive out the demons (spirits of the Nephilim/giants) and the gods that the nations serve (Ephesians 6). When the Church gets established in the “land” then it must prepare for battle as the nations that surround it will come to try to ensnare them, enslave them, and destroy them. The gods and the demons of these lands are not going to let go of their turf and the people they enslaved so easily. We must fight to save the nations.
But on another front, like Israel when they entered the Promised Land, we must learn to live in the land too. You see God sent a flood to cleanse the land originally, but if He were to do so every time man sinned there would be no humanity. He set down His bow, His weapon of war in the skies (the rainbow) to make peace with humanity. He then set out to make people holy that they might be worthy to live in God’s good creation! How we live then truly matters! We are not to look to have God send in the helicopters like the earth is God’s Vietnam (or dare I say His Afghanistan). No, we must learn to live in the land, and we do so by looking to His Law!
God’s Law & The New Heavens and Earth
I know this is where many Christians will become enraged. “We’re not saved by the law, but by grace” or “The Law was meant for Israel not the Church.” The irony that many Christians want to elect “Christian/godly candidates” to office, put prayer and bible reading back in schools, hang the 10 Commandments in the courthouses, and look forward to living in God’s future kingdom where Christ will reign on the earth, but choose now, this day to resist such rule is astonishing (Joshua 24:15). For many it is difficult to imagine that Jesus could not possibly rule from heaven through his Church as He did in Ancient Israel (here when I say Church I am not speaking of what we may think of as the religious instituition you attend on Sunday, but rather God's people).
Many of these Christians would say, "He must first be physically present, sitting on a physical throne, on the physical earth in Jerusalem to reign and rule." If we ask these same Christians who do they believe is currently reigning and ruling now they would say it is the satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). Yet, if we turn this around and ask them, "Where is the satan's physical throne upon the earth?" Or "Where is the satan physically reigning and ruling from?" They typically answer, "Well one day he will rule through the Antichrist, but right now it is in the hearts of minds of unbelievers." To which I might ask, "If Christians have been given the Holy Spirit and we are to make disciples of the nations, then why is it that Christ cannot rule in and through each of us by the power of the Holy Spirit?" Who do you think is greater? The satan or Jesus? Why do the nations rage against His rule (Psalm 2:1)? Why are those that call themselves Christian living and governing like the nations (1 Samuel 8:20)?
If we could grasp this understanding that the Church is "A Israel" and that the law was given to Israel before she entered into the Promise Land then we might understand that God is leading the nations into the New heavens and earth, which will require us to understand and apply the law in our communities as we prepare to live in the New heavens and earth (2 Peter 3:8-13).
The Promise Land & The New Heavens and Earth
“When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations (Deuteronomy 18:19)."
As Israel moved into the Promised Land, she had to obey the commands of the Lord long before they had an Israelite sit on the throne to rule over them as king. It is this phase that I believe the American Church has the opportunity like no other Church on the earth has. Our King is reigning and ruling from heaven now (1 Corinthians 15:25). He is not physically present on the earth yet, but we know He will be one day! Therefore, part of our discipleship in the American Church ought to be learning to live in anticipation of His coming and centering entire communities around living a life of holiness unto the Lord.
This may look like having a strong gospel teaching and preaching local church and then the members of said church living and working in and around that community involved in various aspects of the community. The local church would not run the automechanic store, but the pastor and church leaders would help to disciple the Christian man or woman who might run such as business in the community as to how to do so faithfully and honestly unto the Lord. The same would be said of the operating of any business, whether it be a bakery, art studio, theater, orchestra, or grocery store. The same would said to develop a faithful Christian Preschool, Grade school, High school, College, and Trade school in the area. All of which are not government run and operated, as education is given to both the parents and the church (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:7; 11:19; Psalm 78:4; Isaiah 38:19; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 4:11-16; 6:4; 1 Corinthians 12:28). Then as God sees fit, there may come a time in which some men and women feel the call to serve in leadership in the local government if they have been properly discipled and understand the Law of God and how it might be applied (we will look at a later post how this might look).
It is in this way, that we as Christians who have been fortunate to live freely in the United States should look at discipleship for those in our local churches and as a means to serve and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Perhaps, it would even serve as the hope for many of our brothers and sisters in countries where they are not so free and they may look to us as a beacon of hope that Christ too will bless and transform their nations in a similar manner. It may even help us to prosper in the right way (not a Joel Osteen or T.D. Jakes or a Joyce Meyer and many others). With such blessing we may be able to then bless our brothers and sisters abroad (not just hope for bigger houses, better paying jobs, early retirement, more vacations, and golf). Then someday, more and more churches will affect the nations they are part of all the earth will see the Kingdom of God manifest.
End Times or Defiling the Land?
Right now, we when we look at our culture and the state of our country it looks rather bleak. We see the media outright lying on behalf of a wayward Federal government that has broken many of the Constituitional authority it has been given because both the American Church and the State have allowed it to do so. We now grow ever more suspect that our elections could be fraudulent. We see the growing divisions in our country. We see increased immorality everywhere. Racism and hate has multiplied along with violence and the destruction of both private and public property. This is almost enough for many Christians to immediately jump to the idea, "This is what the Book of Revelation has warned us about. That the world is going to get worse and worse before the End!"
I am no prophet, nor has the Lord given me any special authority to speak on His behalf, but I suspect that the current troubles in my beloved country is not because we are living in the End Times, but rather like Israel when everyone did what was right in their own eyes, times of great suffering and persecution came upon them (Judges 17:6; 21:25). Since so many Christians only see their faith and religion as a spiritual one (get saved so that you can go to heaven and avoid the wrath of God and also the Antichrist's wrath), everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Some Christians do well meaning things such as watching "wholesome entertainment" or not swearing or dressing modestly or avoiding drinking and drugs, but this is not what Christianity is! It is so much more!!!
Yet, you have other Christians that are also well meaning that have tied Conservate or Liberal political ideaologies to their faith and religion so much so that it is hard to distinguish what a Conservative Christian looks like in comparison to a Conservative or what a Liberal Christian looks like in comparison to a Liberal. It is here that the American Church and many local churches have failed to properly disciple their people and as a result there is little to no difference between their members and the culture itself. In some way, some of these Christians are what some may refer to as being carnal Christians as they do and live as they please while claiming to serve Christ.
All of this is doing what is right in our own eyes. All of this is sin. All of sin brings with it suffering, oppression, and bondage. Sadly, the Spiritual world and those that inhabit it have been divorced from the Christian life for quite some time. What we do not realize is that when we sin, we put ourselves back into the bondage of evil spiritual beings that use our desires and passions to first enslave us, but ultimately to destroy us (Genesis 3 & 4). In Hosea's day, the people of God suffered and were being destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). They forsook God and His Law and disaster came upon them. Joshau warned, "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good (Joshua 24:20).
Every political season we love to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.” The way we often spin this is that if Americans would repent of their sins...but America is not Israel…the Church is “a Israel” and it is the American Church that needs to repent! God is not withholding blessing this country because unbelievers continue in their sin (or vote Democrat instead of Republican or vice versa).
When we interpret this verse out this way, what we are doing is saying that other people are sinners, other people need to repent, but not us Christians, not me (Luke 18:11). I think we can clearly see this in sense of self-righteousness in those that have differing poltical beliefs as us, but what we fail to see is it is us that has the log in our own eye (Matthew 7:5). 2 Chronicles 7:14 clearly calls for those that are called by God’s name to repent. The American Church, in which I am including myself here, has, by and large, rejected God’s rule in our land. We have watered down the Gospel. We have surrendered the culture. We have become a people who profess Christ with our lips, but God is far from our hearts (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:7-9).
God is not going to Make American Great Again through Donald Trump, nor is going to Build Back Better with Joe Biden. Our hope is not in winning the next political election whatever our political affliation leans. It is through repentance and returning to the basics of our faith. We must disciple those in our churches to learn to love God and love their neighbor. That is what the Law of God does. It is not a top down governing approach to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, but rather looking to heaven for our identity and praying that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-13). It is repenting and returning to Christ's teaching and declaring His gospel before all people to do likewise (Acts 17:30-31).
But if we understand the Church to be ‘a Israel’, might we see all unbelievers in light of God’s law as the foreigner? Might we take the cosmic geography we inhabit and structure our lives, our community, and our governing bodies via the Law of God that we might live out holy lives before our God and the nations ? God gave Israel laws on how to interact with the foreigner and if one were to look at all those laws there were great restrictions on what the foreigner could do in the land of Israel and how Israel must relate to them while they sojourned in the land. Israel was to be a light to the nations and so the Church is also called to be likewise (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 52:10; 60:3; John 8:12; Acts 13:47; 26:23). God gave Israel the Law as a means to live with wisdom and be a witness to the nations (Deuteronomy 4:6). We are called to teach all that Christ has taught and make disciples of the nations (Matthew 28:18-20). As unbelievers (foreigners) live in the land (new heavens and earth) alongside us, it is they that must acquiesce to God's way of living (there's no neutral ground in Israel/Eden in which God's Law didn't have jurisdiction). As the leaven of the kingdom of God continues to spread so that the increase of His government goes out unto all the nations the "foreigner" is the one who must eventually submit to Christ's rule on the earth or be forced out (Matthew 13:33; Isaiah 9:7; Daniel 2:35; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Without Spot or Wrinkle
The Doctrine of Sanctification is something all true Christians hold to. There are variations of it and its understanding, but by and large it is understood that it is both positional and practical. The first is that God's people have been set apart from the world. The second is the acknowledgment that we need to be increasingly made holy and sanctified. As Nazarenes we have what we call Entire Sanctification, holding that we can through the power of Holy Spirit live a life unto holiness before the Lord where we will no longer willingly choose to sin. We are called to purse a life of holiness (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8; Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:7).
It is my conviction, that Christ is purifying His Church throughout the centuries since He was seated at the right hand of God (Acts 1:9; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27). The leaven of sin has been in God's good world for so long we just do not realize how many layers of sin nor the complexities that sin has permeated the world. Thus, these 2,000+ years Christ has been reigning and ruling over the world, pushing evil further and further out of it, all the while also cleanings and purifying His Bride.
Israel went through the Exodus but she grumbled throuhgout the Wilderness. She went up to the Promise Land and didn't trust God to deliver her from the giant clans (Nephilim) that inhabited the Land. She wandered in the desert for 40 years due to her unbelief. She then entered into the Promised Land but had to do Holy War against these giant clans. She compromised herself with other gods and defiled herself in the Land. The Church, has much growth in a similar way. Over the past 2,000 years we have grumbled against Christ despite His delivering us from the gods that we once served (like the Exodus). He has been leading us to the New heavens and earth, but we saw the enemies that occupied it and did not trust that Christ would deliever us from the powers and principalities and demons that remain in the nations. We have had set backs and we have defiled ourselves as well.
We have His Law written on our hearts and had our stony hearts removed (Romans 2:12-16; Ezekiel 36:26; Hebrews 8:10). We have been given His Spirit and His Word (2 Timothy 1:7; 3:16-17). We now need to partner with Christ in making ourselves ready (Ephesians 2:10; Revelation 19:7). Isaiah's vision of the New heavens and earth had death still present in it, but death was retreating (Isaiah 65:20; Psalm 55:23). We are now living in the new heavens and earth and must trust that God is putting the enemies of Christ under His feet as he reigns (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:34; 5:31; 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Col. 3:1; 1 Corinthians 15:25; 1 Peter 3:22; Hebrews 1:3; 2:8; 10:12; 12:2). This is only accomplished by learning to live in the Land through learning God's Law that we might love him rightly and love our neighbor well. As we make ourselves ready should we not learn to study and apply God’s law in anticipation of God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven?
The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). We as the Church are the Bride of Christ and must make ourselves ready (Isaiah 61:10-11; Revelation 21:2). Christ is reigning and ruling now, and He is making all things new (Isaiah 43:18-19; 65:17; Revelation 21:5)! As we learn to live in the New heavens and earth that Christ is reigning and ruling over, we will find that all the injustices in the world will be dealt with as Christ will arbitrate for many people and the whole world will beat their weapons of war into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3)!
Our Lord's return is not predicated by how evil the world gets, but rather how quickly His Church makes herself ready and makes disciples of all the nations (Psalm 2:6-8; Matthew 28:18-20)!
* I plan to begin to look at the Law of God for future posts where I will examine them in their cultural context and then look at how they might possibly be applied to today.