Promises and Warnings of God to the Jews

Torah's Covenants are eternal

"The Jews still remain most dear to God because of their fathers, for He
does not repent of the gifts He makes, nor of the calls He issues."

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).

«‫ل‬
َ ‫لَكّم‬
ُ ‫ل‬
ْ ‫لْنُقضَ َب‬
َ ‫ت‬
ُ ‫جْئ‬
ِ ‫ َما‬.‫لْنِبَياَء‬
َ ‫س َأِو ا‬
َ ‫ض الّناُمو‬
َ ‫لْنُق‬
َ ‫ت‬
ُ ‫جْئ‬
ِ ‫ظّنوا َأّني‬
ُ ‫ل َت‬
َ.

Later (Matthew 5:8), Jesus announces that the messiah rejected by Israel
will be accepted by the pagans.

Repeated in the parable of the "vineyard and the husbandmen" (Matthew

21:33-45): Those who did not know how to bring to fruition the advantages
received from God would lose their privileged position, which would pass
over to the pagans. The advent of Jesus signifies for the Jews the end of
"closeness." Jesus’ attack against the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders at the
time of the trial, condemnation and crucifixion (Matthew 23:25-39) was
extremely harsh: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye
make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full
of extortion and excess. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto
men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

Thus Jesus’ cry of anger and cursing (Matthew 23:37-39): "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a
hen gathereth her chicks under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your
house is left unto you desolate."

"Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of
the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and
consulted that they might take Jesus by surprise, and kill him (Matthew
26:3)."
The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, "washed his hands" of Christ's fate. "I
am innocent of the blood of this just person," he cried to the Jews, "see ye to
it." And the people replied in unison: "His blood be on us, and on our
children (Matthew 27:24-26)." The story concludes with the final insult
from the Jews: they refuse to believe the announcement of Jesus’
resurrection and spread the word that the body of Christ has been stolen and
hidden by his followers. Matthew comments: "This saying is commonly
reported among the Jews until this day."

The Gospel of Mark follows the same pattern, with special emphasis on
Christ's battle against the "legalism" of the Jewish leaders at the time. In
Luke, the theory of "replacement" becomes more clear-cut. In the Gospel
according to John - believed to have been written around 100 C.E., about
40 years after the first three Gospels - the distance between Judaism and the
words of Jesus is even greater. "I am the son of the Father - ye are from
beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world," he
said to the unbelieving Jews, adding: "I bear record of myself, yet my record
is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go - I am one that bear
witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." (John
8:13-24).

.‫خّبَر‬
َ ‫ب ُهَو‬
ِ ‫ن ال‬
ِ‫ض‬ْ ‫ح‬
ِ ‫حيُد اّلِذي ُهَو ِفي‬
ِ ‫ن اْلَو‬
ُ ‫ َالْب‬.‫ط‬
ّ ‫حٌد َق‬
َ ‫ل َلْم َيَرُه َأ‬
ُ ‫َا‬

The unbridgeable gap

The gap was by now unbridgeable. Jesus purports to be the messenger of

God, his father, and the Jews reply that they already have a god and have no
need of another. The clash is inevitable and is even more pronounced in
Acts, where the universalism of the new religion open to the pagans
contradicts Judaism's traditional particularism. The apostles appealed to the
"uncircumcised," inviting them not to respect the laws of kashrut, preaching
that the Holy Spirit can come to anyone who has "the will and spirit to
attend."

Paul found partial consolation in affirming that the "fall" of the Jews, who
were "incapable" of recognizing God in Christ, was to the benefit of the
pagans, who were now given the opportunity to inherit the salvation that
was once the Jews' exclusive province. The new Church was "inserted" in
place of that which had existed since the time of Moses.

"the God of the New and Old Testaments is one and the same," that Jesus
"was born of a Jewish mother," that the early Church consisted entirely of
Jews, that not all Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus, and that they
are not eternally "cursed."

"The Church cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old
Testament through the people with whom God, in his inexpressible mercy,
deigned to establish the ancient covenant. The Church recalls, too, that from
the Jewish people sprang the apostles, the Church's foundation stones and
pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ to the
world."

The text (Nostra Aetate, October 28, 1965) admits that the Jews did not
recognize Jesus, but confirms that "the Jews still remain most dear to God
because of their fathers, for he does not repent of the gifts he makes, nor of
the calls he issues." An end was thus put to the ancient accusation of deicide
- murdering God.

The "crime" of deicide was now limited to the few who were directly
involved in the trial and sentencing of Jesus 2,000 years ago, not the entire
generation alive at the time, and certainly not their descendants.

Christians must accept the fact that elements of "the Old Testament retain
their own perpetual value," highlighting again that one had not canceled the
other, "while both Old and New illumine and explain each other.

Christianity and Judaism are linked together at the very level of their
identity. Understanding the Jews, helps us to understand ourselves.

Old Testament is harmoniously integrated into the church, being "relevant

not only for the Jews, but also touching personally upon all of us." It is a
total embrace.
Jesus was and always remained a Jew; his ministry was deliberately limited
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Why they never followed him
remains a mystery hidden with God.

Torah's Covenants are eternal

Covenant with Abraham and his offspring is eternal:
Genesis 15:18: In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto
the great river, the river Euphrates.

‫صَر ِإَلى الّنْهِر‬

ْ ‫ن َنْهِر ِم‬
ْ ‫ ِم‬،‫ض‬
َ ‫لْر‬
َ ‫طي هِذِه ا‬
ِ‫ع‬
ْ ‫ك ُأ‬
َ ‫سِل‬
ْ ‫ »ِلَن‬:‫ل‬
ً ‫ب َمَع َأْبَراَم ِميَثاًقا َقاِئ‬
ّ ‫طَع الّر‬
َ ‫ك اْلَيْوِم َق‬
َ ‫ِفي ذِل‬
ِ ‫ َنْهِر اْلُفَرا‬،‫اْلكَِبيِر‬.
‫ت‬

Genesis 17:7-9: I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your
offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and
to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land
of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God." God said to
Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring
after you throughout their generations.

ْ‫سِلكَ ِمن‬
ْ ‫ك َوِلَن‬َ ‫ن ِإلًها َل‬
َ ‫لُكو‬ َ ،‫عْهًدا َأَبِدّيا‬َ ،‫جَياِلِهْم‬ْ ‫ك ِفي َأ‬ َ ‫ن َبْعِد‬
ْ ‫ك ِم‬
َ ‫سِل‬
ْ ‫ن َن‬َ ‫ َوَبْي‬،‫ك‬ َ ‫عْهِدي َبْيِني َوَبْيَن‬ َ ‫َوُأِقيُم‬
َ ‫ َوَقا‬.«‫ن ِإلَهُهْم‬
‫ل‬ ُ ‫ َوَأُكو‬.‫ن ُمْلًكا َأَبِدّيا‬َ ‫ض َكْنَعا‬
ِ ‫ل َأْر‬ ّ ‫ ُك‬،‫ك‬ َ ‫غْرَبِت‬
ُ ‫ض‬ َ ‫ك َأْر‬ َ ‫ن َبْعِد‬ْ ‫ك ِم‬ َ ‫سِل‬
ْ ‫ك َوِلَن‬َ ‫طي َل‬ ِ‫ع‬ْ ‫ َوُأ‬.‫ك‬
َ ِ‫َبْعد‬
‫جَياِلِهْم‬
ْ ‫ك ِفي َأ‬َ ‫ن َبْعِد‬
ْ ‫ك ِم‬َ ‫سُل‬
ْ ‫ت َوَن‬َ ‫ َأْن‬،‫عْهِدي‬ َ ‫ظ‬ ُ ‫حَف‬ْ ‫ت َفَت‬
َ ‫ »َوَأّما َأْن‬:‫لْبَراِهيم‬ ِ ُ‫ال‬.

Sinai Covenant with Israel (and its resident aliens) is eternal:

Numbers 15:15 : As for the assembly, there shall be for both you and the
resident alien a single statute, a perpetual statute throughout your
generations; you and the [resident] alien shall be alike before the LORD.

Deuteronomy 4; 35-40: To you it was shown so that you would

acknowledge that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. From
heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed
you his great fire, while you heard his words coming out of the fire. And
because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them. He
brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving
out before you nations greater and mightier than yourselves, to bring you in,
giving you their land for a possession, as it is still today. So acknowledge
today and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the
earth beneath; there is no other. Keep his statutes and his commandments,
which I am commanding you today for your own well-being and that of
your descendants after you, so that you may long remain in the land that the
LORD your God is giving you for all time.

ْ‫ ِلَكي‬38 ،‫صَر‬ ْ ‫ن ِم‬ ْ ‫ظيَمِة ِم‬ِ ‫ضَرِتِه ِبُقّوِتِه اْلَع‬ ْ ‫ح‬ َ ‫ك ِب‬َ‫ج‬ َ ‫خَر‬ْ ‫ َأ‬،‫ن َبْعِدِهْم‬ْ ‫سَلُهْم ِم‬
ْ ‫خَتاَر َن‬
ْ ‫ك َوا‬ َ َ‫ب آَباء‬ ّ ‫ح‬َ ‫ل َأّنُه َأ‬
ِ‫ج‬ْ‫ل‬ َ ‫َو‬
‫عَلِم‬
ْ ‫ َفا‬.‫صيًبا َكَما ِفي هَذا اْلَيْوِم‬ ِ ‫ضُهْم َن‬ َ ‫ك َأْر‬ َ ‫طَي‬ِ ‫ك َوُيْع‬َ ‫ي ِب‬َ ‫ َوَيْأِت‬،‫ك‬
َ ‫ظَم ِمْن‬
َ‫ع‬ ْ ‫شُعوًبا َأْكَبَر َوَأ‬
ُ ‫ك‬ َ ‫ن َأَماِم‬ْ ‫طُرَد ِم‬ ْ ‫َي‬
.‫سَواُه‬
ِ ‫س‬ َ ‫ َلْي‬.‫ل‬
ُ ‫سَف‬
ْ ‫ن َأ‬
ْ ‫ض ِم‬ِ ‫لْر‬ َ ‫عَلى ا‬ َ ‫ َو‬،‫ق‬ ُ ‫ن َفْو‬ْ ‫سَماِء ِم‬ ّ ‫للُه ِفي ال‬ ِ ‫ب ُهَو ا‬ ّ ‫ن الّر‬ ّ ‫ك َأ‬
َ ‫اْلَيوَْم َوَرّدْد ِفي َقْلِب‬
ْ ‫ َوِلَك‬،‫ك‬
‫ي‬ َ ‫ن َبْعِد‬ ْ ‫ك ِم‬َ ‫لِد‬
َ ‫ك َوِإَلى َأْو‬ َ ‫ن ِإَلْي‬َ‫س‬ َ‫ح‬ ْ ‫ي ُي‬
ْ ‫ك ِبَها اْلَيْوَم ِلَك‬
َ ‫صي‬ ِ ‫صاَياُه اّلِتي َأَنا ُأو‬ َ ‫ضُه َوَو‬ َ ‫ظ َفَراِئ‬ ْ ‫َواحَْف‬
‫لَبِد‬
َ ‫ك ِإَلى ا‬ َ ‫طي‬ ِ ‫ك ُيْع‬ َ ‫ب ِإلُه‬
ّ ‫ض اّلِتي الّر‬ ِ ‫لْر‬ َ ‫عَلى ا‬ َ ‫ك‬ َ ‫ل َأّياَم‬ َ ‫طي‬
ِ ‫»ُت‬.

Deuteronomy 29:29: The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the
revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the
words of this Law.

1 Chronicles 16:13-18: O offspring of his servant Israel, children of Jacob,

his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a
thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn
promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an
everlasting covenant, saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your
portion for an inheritance."

‫ اْذُكُروا ِإَلى‬15 .‫حَكاُمُه‬ ْ ‫ض َأ‬ِ ‫لْر‬ َ ‫لا‬ ّ ‫ ِفي ُك‬.‫ب ِإلُهَنا‬ّ ‫ ُهَو الّر‬.‫خَتاِريِه‬ ْ ‫ب ُم‬
َ ‫ َوَبِني َيْعُقو‬،‫عْبِدِه‬
َ ‫ل‬َ ‫سَراِئي‬ْ ‫َيا ذُّرّيَة ِإ‬
16
‫ َوَقْد‬.‫ق‬
َ ‫حا‬َ‫س‬ ْ‫ل‬ ِ ‫سَمُه‬َ ‫ َوَق‬.‫طَعُه َمَع ِإْبَراِهيَم‬
َ ‫ اّلِذي َق‬.‫جيل‬ ِ ‫ف‬ ِ ‫صى ِبَها ِإَلى َأْل‬ َ ‫ اْلَكِلَمَة اّلِتي َأْو‬،‫عْهَدُه‬
َ ‫لَبِد‬َ‫ا‬
‫ل ِميَراِثُكْم‬
َ ‫حْب‬
َ ‫ن‬ َ ‫ض َكْنَعا‬
َ ‫طي َأْر‬ ِ‫ع‬ ْ ‫ك ُأ‬
َ ‫ َل‬:‫ل‬
ً ‫ َقاِئ‬.‫عْهًدا َأَبِدّيا‬
َ ‫ل‬
َ ‫سَراِئي‬
ْ‫ل‬ِ ‫ َو‬،‫ضًة‬ َ ‫ب َفِري‬ َ ‫َأَقاَمُه ِلَيْعُقو‬.

Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I
will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for
David.

‫صاِدَقَة‬
ّ ‫حَم َداُوَد ال‬
ِ ‫ َمَرا‬،‫عْهًدا َأَبِدّيا‬
َ ‫طَع َلُكْم‬
َ ‫ َوَأْق‬.‫سُكْم‬
ُ ‫حَيا َأْنُف‬
ْ ‫سَمُعوا َفَت‬
ْ ‫ ا‬.‫ي‬
ّ ‫َأِميُلوا آَذاَنُكْم َوَهُلّموا ِإَل‬.
Isaiah 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because
they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the
everlasting covenant.
Psalm 103:17-18: But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to
everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's
children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his
commandments to do them.
17
‫عْهِدِه َوَذاِكِري‬
َ ‫ظي‬ َ ‫ ِل‬18 ،‫ن‬
ِ ‫حاِف‬ َ ‫عَلى َبِني اْلَبِني‬
َ ‫عْدُلُه‬
َ ‫ َو‬،‫خاِئِفيِه‬
َ ‫عَلى‬
َ ‫لَبِد‬
َ ‫ب َفِإَلى الّدْهِر َوا‬
ّ ‫حَمُة الّر‬ ْ ‫َأّما َر‬
‫صاَياُه ِلَيْعَمُلوَها‬
َ ‫َو‬.

Psalm 105:6-11: O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his

chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He
is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a
thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn
promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an
everlasting covenant, saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your
portion for an inheritance."

ِ‫ َذَكَر ِإَلى الّدْهر‬.‫حَكاُمُه‬ ْ ‫ض َأ‬

ِ ‫لْر‬
َ ‫لا‬ ّ ‫ب ِإلُهَنا ِفي ُك‬
ّ ‫ ُهَو الّر‬.‫خَتاِريِه‬ْ ‫ب ُم‬َ ‫ َيا َبِني َيْعُقو‬،‫عْبِدِه‬ َ ‫َيا ُذّرّيَة ِإْبراِهيَم‬
،‫ضًة‬
َ ‫ب َفِري‬َ ‫ َفَثّبَتُه ِلَيْعُقو‬،‫ق‬
َ ‫سحا‬
ْ‫ل‬ِ ‫سَمُه‬ َ ‫ وََق‬،‫عاَهَد ِبِه ِإْبراِهيَم‬
َ ‫ اّلِذي‬،‫ف َدْوٍر‬
ِ ‫صى ِبِه ِإَلى َأْل‬ َ ‫لًما َأْو‬َ ‫ َك‬،‫عْهَدُه‬َ
‫ل ِميَراِثُكْم‬َ ‫حْب‬
َ ‫ن‬َ ‫ض َكْنَعا‬َ ‫طي َأْر‬ِ‫ع‬ ْ ‫ك ُأ‬
َ ‫ »َل‬:‫ل‬ً ‫ َقاِئ‬،‫عْهًدا َأَبِدّيا‬
َ ‫ل‬َ ‫سَراِئي‬
ْ‫ل‬ ِ ‫»َو‬.

Exodus 31:16-17: Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual
covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever.

‫لَمٌة‬
َ‫ع‬
َ ‫ل‬
َ ‫سَراِئي‬ْ ‫ن َبِني ِإ‬
َ ‫ ُهَو َبْيِني َوَبْي‬.‫عْهًدا َأَبِدّيا‬
َ ‫جَياِلِهْم‬
ْ ‫ت ِفي َأ‬
َ ‫سْب‬
ّ ‫صَنُعوا ال‬
ْ ‫ت ِلَي‬
َ ‫سْب‬ّ ‫ل ال‬
َ ‫سَراِئي‬
ْ ‫ظ َبُنو ِإ‬
ُ ‫حَف‬
ْ ‫َفَي‬
َ ‫ح َوَتَنّف‬
‫س‬ َ ‫سَتَرا‬
ْ ‫سابِع ا‬ّ ‫ َوِفي اْلَيْوِم ال‬،‫ض‬ َ ‫لْر‬ َ ‫سَماَء َوا‬ ّ ‫ب ال‬
ّ ‫صَنَع الّر‬
َ ‫سّتِة َأّياٍم‬
ِ ‫لّنُه ِفي‬ َ .‫لَبِد‬
َ ‫»ِإَلى ا‬.

It has been said (by Saint Paul in Christianity) that upon Messiah's arrival
the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31 will render the Torah Commandments (i.e.
what Saint Paul calls "the Law" in Greek) obsolete.
31
«‫س َكاْلَعْهِد اّلِذي‬ َ ‫ َلْي‬.‫جِديًدا‬
َ ‫عْهًدا‬َ ‫ت َيُهوَذا‬
ِ ‫ل َوَمَع َبْي‬
َ ‫سَراِئي‬ْ ‫ت ِإ‬
ِ ‫طُع َمَع َبْي‬
َ ‫ َوَأْق‬،‫ب‬ ّ ‫ل الّر‬ ُ ‫ َيُقو‬،‫َها َأّياٌم َتْأِتي‬
ُ ‫ َيُقو‬،‫ضُتُهْم‬
‫ل‬ ْ ‫عْهِدي َفَرَف‬ َ ‫ضوا‬ ُ ‫ن َنَق‬
َ ‫حي‬
ِ ،‫صَر‬ ْ ‫ض ِم‬ ِ ‫ن َأْر‬ ْ ‫جُهْم ِم‬
َ ‫خِر‬ْ‫ل‬ ُ ‫سْكُتُهْم ِبَيِدِهْم‬
َ ‫طْعُتُه َمَع آَباِئِهْم َيْوَم َأْم‬
َ ‫َق‬
 ‫شِريعَِتي ِفي‬
َ ‫ل‬
ُ ‫جَع‬
ْ ‫ َأ‬:‫ب‬
ّ ‫ل الّر‬
ُ ‫ َيُقو‬،‫ك الَّياِم‬
َ ‫ل َبْعَد ِتْل‬
َ ‫سَراِئي‬
ْ ‫ت ِإ‬
ِ ‫طُعُه َمَع َبْي‬
َ ‫ل هَذا ُهَو اْلَعْهُد اّلِذي َأْق‬ ْ ‫ َب‬.‫ب‬
ّ ‫الّر‬
‫شْعًبا‬
َ ‫ن ِلي‬ َ ‫ن َلُهْم ِإلًها َوُهْم َيُكوُنو‬ُ ‫ َوَأُكو‬،‫عَلى ُقُلوِبِهْم‬َ ‫خِلِهْم َوَأْكُتُبَها‬
ِ ‫َدا‬.

The prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31 does say that there will be a new
Covenant, but it is very clear that the difference between the new and the
old is only that in the new Covenant the same Laws will apply except that
they will no longer have to be learned or taught because people will have
them implanted in their hearts.
Confirming that the Laws are still valid even into the Messianic Age,
witness the following verses from the Torah, in which it is clear that even
the ritual laws are still valid after the Kingdom of God is instated:
Isaiah 56:1, 56:3, 56:6-8: "Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do
what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance revealed.
... Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say "The Lord will surely
separate me from his people" ... And the foreigners who join themselves to
the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his
servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my
covenant - these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in
my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be
accepted on my altar for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all
peoples. Thus says the Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel: "I will
gather others to them besides those already gathered.""

God and the Jews

Why does God seem to be so obsessed with the Jews?

By Dr. David R. Reagan

God loves the Jews, just like He loves all His creation. But there is certainly
a sense in which Bible prophecy seems to focus upon the Jewish people.
That's because God called the Jews to be His "chosen people" through
whom He would accomplish His master plan for history (Deuteronomy 7:6).
It was through the Jewish people that God gave the world His Word. And it
was through the Jews that He sent the Messiah.
Deuteronomy 7:6 6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The
LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth
to be his people, his treasured possession.

The Hebrew Scriptures say that the Jews were also chosen to be witnesses
of God — of what it means to have a relationship with Him (Isaiah 43:10-
12). The history of Israel attests to the fact that when one is faithful to God,
He blesses; when one is unfaithful, He disciplines; and when one repents,
God forgives and forgets and begins to bless once again. Currently, the Jews
are under God's discipline, but Bible prophecy tells us a day is coming when
a great remnant of them will repent and receive Jesus as their Messiah
(Zechariah 12:10). When that happens, God will make them the most
exalted nation in the world (Isaiah 60-61:5). Jesus will live among them as
King of kings (Ezekiel 43:7), and all of God's blessings to the nations will
flow through them (Zechariah 8:22-23).

Isaiah 43:10-12). 10 You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,

“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD,
and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.

Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on
me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns
for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn
son.
Ezekiel 43:7 He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the
place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites
forever. The house of Israel will never again defile my holy name—neither
they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their
kings at their high places.

Zechariah 8:22-23 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to
Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him.” 23 This is what
the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten men from all languages and
nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let
us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’

The Jews are also God's prophetic time clock. By this, I mean He often
relates major future events to things that will happen to the Jews as a nation.
Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks of years is a good example. Daniel says
to watch for a decree that will allow the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He then
states that 483 years after that decree is issued, the Messiah will come and
die (Daniel 9:24-26).

Daniel 9:24-26 Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your
holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for
wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and
prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

25 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore
and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be
seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a
trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the
Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler
who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come
like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been
decreed.

In the New Testament, we have another good example. Jesus told His
disciples that a day would come when the Jews would be dispersed among
all the nations of the world and Jerusalem would be trampled down by the
Gentiles. But then He added that when Jerusalem is no longer under Gentile
control, He would return (Luke 21:24). Jesus was simply emphasizing a
point that is made repeatedly in the Hebrew Scriptures — namely, that when
the Jews are restored to their land to the city of Jerusalem, the Messiah will
come (Zechariah 12:3, 6, 8-10 and 13:1).

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.

Zechariah 12:3, 6, 8-10 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are
gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the
nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 6 “On that day I will
make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch
among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding
peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the
feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like
God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set
out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. 10 “And I will pour out
on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and
supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will
mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him
as one grieves for a firstborn son.

Zechariah 13:1 On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of

David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and
impurity.

Another reason for the prophetic focus upon the Jews is because God has
promised that He will bring a great remnant to salvation during the final
years of Daniel's 70 weeks of years. The Bible makes it clear that during the
last half of the Tribulation, God will focus the wrath of the Antichrist upon
the Jews, bringing them to the end of themselves and motivating them to
turn to God in repentance (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 9:27 and 11:25-26).

Hasn't the disobedience of the Jews invalidated God's promises to

them?

Absolutely not. Or, to put it in the words of the apostle Paul, "May it never
be!" (Romans 11:1).

Ever since the Fourth Century, when the Church began to divorce itself
from its Jewish heritage, the prevalent Christian view concerning the Jews
has been that "God washed His hands of them" in the First Century when
He poured out His wrath on Jerusalem and allowed the Jews to be dispersed
worldwide. An accompanying doctrine that developed over the years is
called "replacement theology." It is the idea that God replaced the Jews with
the Church, that the Church has become the "new Israel," and that the
Church has inherited all the blessings that were previously promised to the
Jews. Needless to say, these ideas have served as a source of much of the
anti-Semitism that has characterized the Church for the past 1600 years.

The idea that God has "washed His hands of the Jews" is thoroughly
unbiblical. In Jeremiah 31:36 God says the Jewish people will continue to
be "a nation before Me forever." He emphasizes the point by saying they
will continue as a special nation of people until the fixed order of the
universe ceases, or until all the heavens and ocean depths have been
measured (Jeremiah 31:36-37). In Isaiah 49:14-16 God uses a different
metaphor to emphasize His devotion to Israel. He says that He has the
nation inscribed on the palms of His hands!

Isaiah 49:14-16 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.

There are three chapters in the New Testament that strongly emphasize the
continuing love of God for the Jews. These three chapters have been
despised and ignored (or spiritualized into meaninglessness) throughout
much of Christian history. The chapters are Romans 9-11. In Romans 9:4
Paul writes that God still has covenants with the Jews which He promises to
fulfill. He then makes it clear that the Jews who will receive the blessings
are a great remnant that will be saved in the end times (Romans 9:27).

Paul even specifically addresses the question of whether or not God has
rejected the Jewish people. He asks, "God has not rejected His people has
He?" (Romans 11:1). For 1600 years the Church has answered this question
with an unqualified, "Yes!" But Paul answers it by saying, "May it never
be!... God has not rejected His people whom he foreknew" (Romans 11:1-
2).

But what about their disobedience? What about their rejection of God as
king of their nation and Jesus as king of their hearts? Hasn't their
disobedience nullified the promises of God? Again, Paul specifically deals
with this issue. He asks, "What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief
will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?" (Romans 3:3). And again,
for centuries the Church as responded, "Yes!" But not Paul. He responds by
saying, "May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man
be found a liar" (Romans 3:4).

God does not "wash His hands" of anyone. He pursues and pursues, trying
to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will turn to Him in repentance
and be saved. That is exactly what is going to happen to the Jewish remnant
at the end of the Tribulation. Here's how the prophet Malachi put it in
Malachi 3:2-4: "Who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand
when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. And
He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of
Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the
Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years."

End of paper by Dr. David R. Reagan

The Glorious and Incomparable Promises of the Bible

By Thomas Ice

Promise of Israel’s Permanence

Scripture makes it clear that God’s integrity in history revolves around His
chosen people Israel. It is through Israel that God has chosen to leave His
mark throughout history. It is through Israel that God gave His Law,
founded a nation, caused His presence to dwell, mediated His Word, and
sent the Savior of the world. It will be through Israel in the future that God
will work to preach the gospel throughout the whole world, invoke the
second coming, reign for a thousand years in Jerusalem, and place His
eternal glory. Thus, God’s promise to Israel is that they have an eternal
permanence in history and throughout eternity. The Lord says through
Jeremiah

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day, and the fixed order
of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its
waves roar; the Lord of hosts is His name: Lord If this fixed order departs
from before Me," declares the Lord, " then the offspring of Israel also shall
cease from being a nation before Me forever." (Jeremiah 31:35- 36)

« ‫جُر‬ِ ‫ الّزا‬،‫ل‬
ً ‫ضاَءِة َلْي‬َ ‫ل‬ِ ‫جوِم ِل‬
ُ ‫ض اْلَقَمِر َوالّن‬
َ ‫ َوَفَراِئ‬،‫ضاَءِة َنَهاًرا‬َ ‫ل‬ ِ ‫س ِل‬
َ ‫شْم‬ّ ‫ل ال‬
ُ‫ع‬ِ ‫جا‬َ ‫ب اْل‬
ّ ‫ل الّر‬َ ‫هكََذا َقا‬
،‫ب‬
ّ ‫ل الّر‬
ُ ‫ َيُقو‬،‫ن َأَماِمي‬ ْ ‫ل ِم‬
ُ ‫ض َتُزو‬
ُ ‫ت هِذِه اْلَفَراِئ‬ ْ ‫ ِإ‬36 :‫سُمُه‬
ْ ‫ن َكاَن‬ ْ ‫جُنوِد ا‬ُ ‫ب اْل‬
ّ ‫ َر‬،‫جُه‬
ُ ‫ج َأْمَوا‬
ّ ‫ن َتِع‬
َ ‫حي‬
ِ ‫اْلَبحَْر‬
‫لّياِم‬
َ ‫لا‬ ّ ‫ن ُأّمًة َأَماِمي ُك‬
َ ‫ن َيُكو‬
ْ ‫ن َأ‬
ْ ‫ف ِم‬ّ ‫ضا َيُك‬
ً ‫ل َأْي‬
َ ‫سَراِئي‬
ْ ‫ل ِإ‬
َ‫س‬ْ ‫ن َن‬
ّ ‫َفِإ‬.

Most American evangelical Christians today have a high view of Jews and
the modern state of Israel because of the positive influence of the
dispensational ‫ التدبير اللهي لشععؤون العععالم‬premillennial view ‫ قبععل آلف السععنين‬that
national Israel has a future in the plan of God. Yet, there are those within
Christians who deny that Israel has a permanent place in the plan of God.
This view is known as replacement theology.
What is replacement theology? Replacement theology is the view that the
Church has permanently replaced Israel as the instrument through which
God works and that national Israel does not have a future in the plan of God.
Some replacement theologians may believe that individual Jews will be
converted and enter into the church (something that we all believe), but they
do not believe that God will literally fulfill the dozens of Old Testament
promises to a converted national Israel in the future.
Replacement theology and its view that Israel is finished in history
nationally has been responsible for producing theological anti-Semitism in
the church.
Viewing the plight of the Jews in Christian lands from the fourth century to
the recent holocaust, one Jew observed, “First we were told ' You’re not
good enough to live among us as Jews.' Then we were told, ' You’re not
good enough to live among us.' Finally we were told, ' You’re not good
enough to live.' "

This devastatingly accurate historical analysis was the fruit of an error, a

building of prejudice and hate erected upon a false theological foundation.
The blindness of the church regarding the place of the Jew in redemptive
history is, I believe, directly responsible for the wicked sins and attitudes
described above.

The Reformed church of Europe, after the Reformation, widely adopted the
belief that God’s future plan for Israel includes a national restoration of
Israel.
The rediscovery of Scripture brought a rekindling of the Biblical conviction
that God had not, in fact, fully nor finally rejected His people.
The nature of Israel’s future became the watershed issue in biblical
interpretation which caused a polarization of positions that we find today.

The last fifty years has seen a world-wide regathering and reestablishment
of the nation of Israel, which is now poised in just the setting required for
the revealing of the Antichrist and the start of the tribulation. Israel, God’s
“super-sign" of the end times is a clear indicator that time is growing shorter
with each passing hour. God is preparing the world for the final events
leading up to Israel’s national regeneration.
What one believes about the future of Israel is of utmost importance to one's
understanding of the Bible. I believe, without a shadow of doubt, that Old
Testament promises made to national Israel will literally be fulfilled in the
future. This means the Bible teaches that God will return the Jews to their
land before the tribulation begins (Isaiah 11:11- 12:6; Ezekiel 20:33-44;
22:17-22; Zephaniah 2:1-3). This has been accomplished and the stage is set
as a result of the current existence of the modern state of Israel.
The Bible says Israel has a future and world events will revolve around that
tiny nation at the center of the earth. The world's focus already is upon
Israel. God has preserved His people for a reason.

Promise of Christ's Second Coming

The future is not all gloom and doom. It holds trials of an unprecedented
nature in human history, but it also contains the glorious return of Jesus
Christ to establish his righteous reign in preparation for the eternal state.
The history of the Old Testament era was one of expectation for the first
coming of the Messiah. The history of the New Testament and our own era
is one of expectation for the second coming of Messiah.

Promise of Eternal Life

Eternal life is the gift of God given to all who believe in Jesus Christ and
have accepted His offer of salvation based upon His death and resurrection
(John 10:10; Ephesians 2:8-9). Christians will enter into heaven and the
presence of God; unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation
20:11- 15).

For those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are given
the promise of eternal life the moment we believe. John says, “The witness
is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who
has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have
the life" (1 John 5:11- 13). If you have trusted in Christ, then you have
eternal life in the present which will continue throughout eternity in heaven
for the believer.

Forever Means Forever: By Jeffrey Meyers

Israel is no longer God’s “son,” but Jesus is God’s Son and we in him are all
“sons of God” and heirs of the promises (Romans 8:17, 22-23; Col. 1:15-
20). Paul says, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring,
heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29). Every promise and prophecy given
to Israel has a very literal, material fulfillment.
I mean that if one is worried about the recipients of these promises really
being Jews, genealogical sons of Abraham, then Jesus himself literally fits
the bill. Jesus is literally and physically a bloodline son of Abraham and
David (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38).

More words are added

By Raymond Konig

The Jews have a unique status according to the Bible. They were chosen as
the people who would hear and record the words of God, through His
prophets, who were also Jewish. And the Jews have influenced the world
with the scriptures. There are now about 2 billion Christians in the world. In
one form or another, these scriptures have influenced more than half of the
people in the world to abandon pagan worship. The Jews, in this regard, and
in many others, have influenced the world more than any other group of
people.

The Bible declared that the Jews would be scattered throughout the world
(Deuteronomy 28:64) and that they would be a blessing to the world
(Genesis 12:2-3). Indeed, the Jews have been scattered to every country in
the world, during the past 2500 years. And this scattering has enabled them
to help reveal to the world the truth revealed in the scriptures, that there is
one true God, and only one true God.

God has revealed to us in the Bible that people who persecute the Jews will
be punished. And indeed they have been. The great Assyrian Empire
persecuted the Jews. The great neo-Babylonian Empire persecuted the Jews.
The great Phoenician Empire persecuted the Jews. The great Roman Empire
persecuted the Jews. The powerful Nazi empire persecuted the Jews. And
the powerful Soviet Union persecuted the Jews. All of these empires have
been destroyed. And yet, the Jews are still a nation. Why? Because God had
made this promise to the Jews in Genesis 12:2-3 - "I will bless those who
bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will
be blessed through you."

ُ ‫ َوَتَتَباَر‬.‫ك َأْلَعُنُه‬
‫ك‬ َ ‫عَن‬
ِ‫ل‬َ ‫ َو‬،‫ك‬
َ ‫ك ُمَباِرِكي‬
ُ ‫ َوُأَباِر‬.‫ن َبَرَكًة‬
َ ‫ َوَتُكو‬،‫ك‬
َ ‫سَم‬
ْ ‫ظَم ا‬
ّ‫ع‬
َ ‫ك َوُأ‬
َ ‫ظيَمًة َوُأَباِرَك‬ِ‫ع‬ َ ‫ك ُأّمًة‬
َ ‫َفَأجَْعَل‬
ِ ‫لْر‬
‫ض‬ َ ‫لا‬ِ ‫جِميُع َقَباِئ‬
َ ‫ك‬َ ‫»ِفي‬.
God keeps His promises. And, the Jews are living proof that God keeps His
promises.

The Jews are living proof that we all can rely on the promises made by God
in the Bible. After all, the Bible told us, for example, that:

* Israel would be a nation (1400 BC, 1948).

* Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed (70-135 AD).
* The Jews would be exiled (70-135 AD).
* Israel would become a wasteland (135-1900s).
* The Jews would be scattered worldwide (135-1900s).
* The Jews would be persecuted worldwide (135-1900s).
* The Jews would have a worldwide impact (135-1900s).
* Their identity as a group would be preserved (135-1900s).
* The Jews would return to their homeland (1900s, etc).
* The Jews would have Israel again as their own country (since 1948).
After a worldwide movement called Zionism began in the 1800s, hundreds
of thousands of Jews worldwide began to return to their ancient homeland.
Then, in May 1948, the Jews declared independence. On that same day, the
United States and other countries acknowledged the sovereignty of Israel.
And, Israel's sovereignty was acknowledged in a very different way by the
countries surrounding Israel. Within hours of the declaration of
independence, Israel was attacked by the surrounding countries which had
hoped to put an end to the newly reborn country. Those countries,
combined, were at least 20 times larger than tiny Israel. And yet, tiny Israel
prevailed in that war. Why? Because the Bible keeps its promises (see Isaiah
66:7-8 and Leviticus 26:3-8). And the Jews are living proof of this. Israel is
living proof of this.

How can we hate Jews and call ourselves followers of Jesus? It is

impossible. Jesus talked about love, not hatred. Should we hate Jews
because they are not followers of Jesus? Of course not. Would we want
Hindus to hate us because we are not Hindus? Would we want Moslems to
hate us because we are not Moslems? Do we want Jews to hate us because
we are not Jews? Of course not. If we are followers of Jesus, we should not
hate anyone. Instead, we should treat others as we would have them treat us.
That's what Jesus told us to do. How can we be followers of Jesus if we
don't follow Jesus?

How can we allow ourselves, or our friends, or anyone else, to hate Jews?
They are the people who gave us the word of God. That was their job. God
had chosen them, out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, to be His
chosen people, to record His words, and to share His words with the world.
And yet, too many times in the past 1900 years, we Christians have
persecuted the Jews.
We must never allow ourselves to betray the teachings of the Bible. Instead
we must embrace the teachings of the Bible, we must embrace the Biblical
ideal of treating other people as we would have them treat us. And if we
embrace the Bible, then we have no choice but to embrace our Jewish
brothers and sisters.

Collected and Posted by Viviansteven, PhD

This publication contains lectures by:
Dr. David R. Reagan
Thomas Ice
Raymond Konig
Gary A. Anderson (Gary A. Anderson teaches Old Testament at the University of
Notre Dame).
Jeffrey Meyers