First the Question: Did the NATION of Israel Commit the Unpardonable Sin? Yes or No?
Take a moment to respond at the LLM Question of the Day
And now the answer to the LLM Question of 6-29-2012
Question: The Body of Christ is NOT Israel. True or False?
Answer: TRUE! The Body of Christ is NOT Israel. The Apostle Paul, who was an Israelite, after he turned to Christ did not suddenly abandon Jewish rites, signs and ceremonies; HOWEVER with the full revelation of the Mystery they all passed out of his life and he pressed toward the mark for the prize of the calling on high; and for him to live was Christ, in whom he was full and with whom he was seated. He no longer knew Christ after the flesh. But the Apostle Paul knew and wrote that the fulness of the Gentiles would come in and God would then deal again with His nation Israel. Romans 11:25-26. Now, out of the 726 responses we received to this question, 96% of you got it right! Therefore, NOW, let us take a look at...
Why the Lion and Lamb Ministry Supports the Nation of Israel?
Here at the Lion and Lamb Ministry we continually receive questions and comments about our support of the Nation of Israel.
Now, the arguments AGAINST what we believe concerning the Nation of Israel fall into the following categories:
1. It is a secular nation and NOT a fulfillment of prophecy. The Jews there are not real Jews.
2. Only the church, the Body of Christ, is the true Israel, the real people of God.
3. Israel is the aggressor and occupier of territory that belongs to the Palestinian Arabs.
4. Jews have been forsaken by God because they crucified Jesus!
5. Israel forfeited its rights as a nation and to its land because of their sin and disobedience.
6. God judged Israel and destroyed her in 70 A.D.. The modern State of Israel has NO connection with the Bible!
7. Israel is the main reason why there is no peace in the world!
The criticisms and comments go on and on, and there are many more than the ones we listed. So, in the face of so much Christian and non-Christian antagonism, why do we, at the Lion and Lamb Ministry continue to support the modern Nation of Israel?
All true students of the Word of God believe and teach that Israel alone will be under the New Covenant of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the future Messianic Kingdom. Now there are those who pander to Israel's New Covenant (Romans 11:26-27), and seek to participate in its "spiritual" blessings, calling themselves "Spiritual Israel". Those that follow this extreme teaching are simply playing into the hands of Amillennial Covenant Theology, and Theonomy, as well as Judaistic Messianic Christianity. These belief systems are evidently in need of Israel's New Covenant to help them legalize their legality.
The Apostle Paul, in his time, stated that Israel's New Covenant was YET FUTURE, "And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27).
It is only when you understand how much God loves the Jewish people and how determined He is to bring a great remnant to salvation, that you can begin to understand what is going on in the Middle East today. The Bible clearly reveals that the 20th Century regathering of the Jewish people from the four corners of the earth back to their homeland is a supernatural act of God that is the first step in bringing about the salvation of a remnant (Isaiah 11:10-12).
Specifically, the Scriptures teach that once the Jews are regathered in UNBELIEF and their nation is re-established, God will bring all the nations of the earth against them over the issue of who is going to control Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-3). The hatred of the Jews and the opposition to their state will climax during the last half of the Tribulation when the Antichrist will turn against them and attempt to annihilate them from the face of the earth. During this terrible period of three and a half years, the Antichrist will succeed in killing two-thirds of the Jewish people (Zechariah 13:8). That's the bad news.
But the incredibly good news is that those remaining will be brought to the end of themselves, and in their total desperation, they will turn their hearts toward God. At that moment, Jesus will appear in the heavens, and the Jewish remnant "will look upon Him whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only Son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first born" (Zechariah 12:10). They will call upon the name of the LORD (Joel 2:31-32), and they will cry out, "Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai!" meaning, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" (Matthew 23:38-39).
Let’s continue…
The fact of the matter is that ISRAEL is mentioned 2566 times in the Bible. This is not a small subject!
1. ISRAEL is God’s CREATION!
Isaiah 43:1 says: “the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel.” Isaiah 43:7 says: “I have created him for My glory.!” Isaiah 43:15 adds: “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”
Interestingly, the word “created” is the Hebrew word “bara” which is used in Genesis 1:1 for the creation of the material and physical universe out of nothing that previously existed. Hebrews 11:3.
2. ISRAEL is God’s CHOICE!
Deuteronomy 7:6-9 tells us “the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, ABOVE all people that are upon the face of the earth.” Isaiah 41:8 says “But thou, ISRAEL, art My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen.” Isaiah 43:10 and Isaiah 44:1-2 say the same thing.
We might not like it or agree that it should have been done that way, but ISRAEL is the choice of God Himself! It is the most important NATION in the history of the world!
3. ISRAEL is God’s CALLING!
Isaiah 43:1 says “I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” Isaiah 43:7 says “called by My name,” and Isaiah 45:3 adds, “I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of ISRAEL.” Isaiah 48 says this truth three times (verses Isaiah 48:1, Isaiah 48:12, and Isaiah 48:15).
4. ISRAEL is God’s CONFIRMATION!
Confirmation of what? Isaiah 44:26 answers: “That confirmeth the word of His servant, and performeth the counsel of His messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof.” Isaiah 46:10 reminds us “My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure.” Isaiah 46:11 adds: “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” Psalm 105:10 makes it very clear: “and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to ISRAEL for an everlasting covenant.”
5. ISRAEL is God’s COVENANT!
In Genesis 15:18 it states that God made a “covenant” with Abraham. In Genesis 17:7-8 we learn that this covenant is “everlasting” and includes “ALL the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.” Psalm 89:34 states that God will not break His covenant. Psalm 105:8 speaks of God giving the land to ISRAEL and says “He hath remembered His covenant forever.”
6. ISRAEL is God’s COMFORT!
God has NEVER forsaken His people, and in spite of their sin and disobedience, He will continue to comfort them, for His promises to them are NOT based on their performance but rather on His love and faithfulness! Isaiah 40:1 begins “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.” Isaiah 44:21 states: “O ISRAEL, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me.” Isaiah 49:11 says, “for the LORD hath comforted His people.” Isaiah 51:3 adds: “For the LORD shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” Isaiah 51:12 says, “I, even I, am He that comforteth you.” Isaiah 52:9 adds, “for the LORD hath comforted His people” and Isaiah 66:13 puts it this way: “As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you.”
7. ISRAEL is God’s COMMITMENT!
This commitment is based on the PLAN of God to save them! That is the clear argument of Romans 11:25-36. Isaiah 43:25 speaks of this in a wonderful and powerful way: “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Isaiah 44:22 adds, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy sins; return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee.” Isaiah 45:17 makes it clear - “But ISRAEL shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation.” Isaiah 45:25 states, “In the LORD shall all the seed of ISRAEL be justified.” Isaiah 46:13 says, “I will place salvation in Zion for ISRAEL my glory.” Isaiah 52:11 states: “Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.”
This commitment is not only based on God’s PLAN to save them, but on His PROTECTION for them. Isaiah 41:13-14: “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob and ye men of ISRAEL; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of ISRAEL.” What comfort God gives to His people when He says through the prophet” Isaiah 43:2: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; whey thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Isaiah 49:16 says “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.”
This commitment is based not only on God’s PLAN to save them, and His PROTECTION of them, but also upon the PURPOSE He has to be glorified through them. Isaiah 40:5 says, “and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 43:7, “for I have created him for My glory.” Isaiah 43:21: “This people have I formed for Myself; they shall shew forth My praise.” Isaiah 49:3: “Thou art My servant, O ISRAEL, in whom I will be glorified.” Isaiah 60:21 and Isaiah 61:3 continue to emphasize this great truth: “that I may be glorified.”
This commitment of God to ISRAEL is not only based on God’s PLAN to save them, His PROTECTION of them that guarantees their survival and continued existence forever (Jeremiah 31:35-37), His PURPOSE to be glorified through them, but also it is based on God’s PROMISES to them found in His written Word! Isaiah 46:11, “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” Isaiah 55:11 adds: “So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Make no mistake about it, God has NEVER cancelled His everlasting covenant to ISRAEL and has NEVER forsaken them! We believe that the Nation of Israel has a special place in God's plan, and that all of the promises of God to Israel will be fulfilled.
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In Ephesians 1:13 the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul declares that men are saved and sealed by hearing and BELIEVING the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation. Therefore, here, now, is declared unto you the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation: "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. BELIEVE today. The time is short.
So There You Have it!
Spread this message to everyone you know, far and wide.
Grace be to you and peace, from God: our Father, and The LORD Jesus Christ.
In The LORD Jesus Christ,
The Lion and Lamb Ministry
Pastor David Picos, D.D.
Minister and Ambassador for Christ in the Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20)
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