Regaining the Prophetic

No single historical event past,present and distressingly  future, illuminates the guilt and complicity  of  western nations more succinctly than  the  7 decade tragedy in Israel / Palestine. It was conceived by Zionists, abetted by Christian  apologists, facilitated by the British in 1922, and then  enshrined by the United Nations in 1948. Since then it's fair to say that the decisions that were made there, have polarized every thinking person's view of the subsequent events, producing personal convictions  both for and against the two parties in Palestine. Unfortunately, the protestant church temporal, a diverse denominational creature, has played a significant and unfortunate role. John Nelson  Darby the father of Dispensationalism could not have foreseen the popularity of his eschatological views nor the departure from Biblical principles that has resulted from undiscerning loyalties to the state of Israel.

There are three support members for Israel. Zionism, the political ideology of Israel, has historically  been supported by Zionists, who are both Jews and Gentiles and who  promote "exceptionalism" among themselves, the rights of the state of Israel, and the return of the Jews to the land of Palestine.  Zionism draws emotional support and empathy from the historic persecution of the Jews and specifically the Holocaust events of WWII.  
The second  support member for Israel is the military industrial complex, a group of arms  companies, the American military, and the American Government who benefit by proxy from the state of Israel's militant survival posture in the region.
The third support member and the subject of this paper, is the worldwide evangelical Christian  church, specifically  those that have embraced Dispensationalism also known as Christian Zionists.(hereafter CZ's)  They believe that the state of Israel must exist in the land as a prerequisite to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Worldwide, they outnumber the  Zionists 6 to 1.

So we ask why it is necessary to raise this introspection of Christendom ? The short answer is that  the loyalties of the CZ's facilitate the geopolitical goals of Zionism which are decidedly Non-Christian and destructive to the Palestinian people. Put another way, CZ's, with end times  expectations unwittingly and through willful  ignorance, support the Zionist apartheid policies which ultimately lead to genocide among the Palestinians.

How did  it come about ?

John  Nelson Darby, a 19th century theologian, gets the credit for Dispensationalism or Futurism  which is the primary plank in the CZ  platform . His ideas  concerning  the end  times  were  novel  when they were introduced, but as the  20th century dawned, they became legitimized in the issuance of what has to be considered the first partisan version of the Scriptures  -- the Schofield Reference Bible.  Schofield  did not amend or change the text of the authorized King James Version, but he did  publish it with extensive notes in the margins which offered his interpretation as truth.  Juxtaposing one's opinions on the meaning next to  orthodox and inerrant Holy Writ is but a short distance from changing Holy Writ . A separate commentary would be a more humble and reverent  approach.
It's fair to say that his example has become justification for many to  issue their own reference bibles  juxtaposing their ideas with the same truth presumptions.

To what extent  Schofield was influenced by the rise of Zionism under Theodor Herzl is not known, but the 1895 Zionist conference in Basel Switzerland is close enough in time to have been a factor.
The very idea of the Jews returning to Palestine must have fired the imagination of Christians who  were looking forward to the 20th century believing  the Lord would return for the church at the 6000  year mark of recorded history. The ambitions of the Zionists to re-establish the nation of Israel, therefore gave substance to the Darby theories, garnering support from Christians, despite the fact that the essential tenets of Zionism, even at the  beginning, were political in nature and carried disturbing racial implications for populated Palestine .

Further, in 1913, the US Congress passed legislation that resulted in the establishment of the Federal Reserve, a cabal of private bankers who took over the issuance of the money supply of the United States.  In 1917, the circumstances surrounding the financing of WWI, brought  about what  turned  out to be a perpetual, graduated  income tax in  both Canada and the United States. At the same  time and with the proceeds of  taxation to finance it, governments began to play a much larger  role in  shaping the social fabric of the nation.

 The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century saw a huge shift in population from the farms to the  cities where  industry was located.  In the19th century, without direct taxation, governments  ignored many pressing needs in western societies which resulted from increased population density and overcrowding. The  Christian churches were therefore the first responders founding orphanages, hospitals and myriads of other services to needy people. Much of the social infrastructure then was historically the  prophetic work of the churches.  With the establishment of income tax, the political  establishment had the financial means to take over the infrastructure that the church had created by  removing the surpluses from the pockets of the church members as  tax, and then refunding a  portion though a  charitable  tax number offered to the churches under Societies Act legislation. The rate of tax could easily be manipulated by the  political process to  control the churches and their members and also to begin universal social programs  that would  bring votes and create a  culture of  dependency.

Unfortunately, the press -- the means of promoting the rationale for creating a  graduated income tax, was all in the hands of the establishment. Individual pastors who saw the danger of government  control where either part of religious organizations who dictated policy, or they were outnumbered by church members who were unable to grasp the significance of the state's actions to control their  religious freedom. And control they did.  Gradually, through societies act legislation, Christian  churches were reduced to religious clubs serving their membership. Taxation and political  initiative in the name of universal access gradually removed  almost all of the prophetic ministries that  had been established in the 19th century. In fact today, prophetic activity that is deemed political in nature is forbidden by the terms of the societies  act and churches that even  speak to the issues may lose their tax exemption status, suffer property tax, or even lose their churches to  government agencies  who rightfully claim that untaxed capital built the church .

Essentially then, the  separation of church and state, once deemed an essential to protect the conscience of the nation, is now Non-existent. The process has been so gradual that few have  recognized that the teeth of the church have been pulled. The Lord Jesus Christ said that he did  not come to bring peace on the earth but a sword. Before universal  taxation, the church used the sword of conscience to prophetically establish institutions and movements that shamed the heartless and the  careless. Today, having lost the initiative in areas of  service, and political discernment, the church is  faced with far greater problems . The first is  simply recognizing the loss, and the second  is  re-establishing it's calling and mission in a pagan society that has  had years of license to pursue its evil plans.

Theological seminaries also are in no  way immune from control.   Harvard, Princeton and Yale started out  as Bible  schools. They advocated separation of church and the state so that the church would always remain a wholly separate and impartial body of persons that  would hold and employ a Christian worldview. Yet, over time, they succumbed to the persuasion that their role should be  exclusively theological in nature that they should refrain from any interference in the politics of the nation. This is fundamentally contrary to the Biblical admonition to be salt and light in a dark world. After preaching the Gospel of spiritual liberty through repentance and  faith, the  church ( the members) are bound to apply the result in ethics to a darkened world.

But the church voluntarily allowed the state to restructure society both socially and  financially so the prophetic role would be effectively eliminated. How many ministers of protestant churches will  publicly make known their private convictions, on monetary policy, abortion,  political corruption, sexual preference,  the doctrine of American exceptionalism,  racial profiling, 9/11 truth, police  brutality, and in the area of foreign policy, the crimes of  politicians  through the use of raw military  power?  Do they make their business to know and have convictions on these matters ? I contend they  do not, for they have been indoctrinated to believe that  first, the state has the authority over how far the boundaries of the spiritual realm can influence members, and  second, that their  role is  internal to what they  believe is the spiritual  health of their church organization .
But is their any spiritual health to be found in a congregation, when the world desperately needs  the wisdom of the "mind of Christ" and the leadership of the church  absolves itself of any responsibility  because of  ill-conceived political  restrictions ?

 I contend therefore that the prophetic role of the church has been purged from their thinking  academically and then practically.  In today's world the leadership of the church has replaced the  prophetic with social religious functions marketed to the community in a climate of increasing competition for attendance.  That is not to say that the gospel of repentance and faith is not preached.  Thankfully in every age, the Lord calls the Elect no matter what the spiritual health of the temporal  church.  However the factors that I have mentioned creates an  immediate climate of  confusion for a convert, who, being  denied a Cross to carry because of societies act restrictions, is  forced to be immediately complicit in the crimes that  society commits around him.

 Many  Christians get use to it  and sear their conscience to be free of any opinion which would necessarily imply that they  should act in opposition to the trend. "We're not  going to go there or  we won't discuss that" is proffered when someone raises potentially contentious issues that require  spiritual discernment to determine relevant action.  The prohibition is then justified in order that  there be no division.  The church body unites generally around the doctrine taught from Scripture, but prohibit any discussion on how it might be applied to the world. In view of this, it is a mystery to me how they understand the work of the prophets of the Old Testament who clearly condemned the evil works of the  leaders and the people who claimed to love God's law, yet acted in a manner that was clearly contrary. In God's name, the prophets caused division even preferring death rather than disobedience and complicity. In my view, Christians who fence off areas of doctrine and practice  to  avoid controversy clearly display fear for their own insecure positions. There is no area of faith and practice, that cannot be discussed openly.

It is my view that the leadership of contemporary churches are only vaguely aware of these root causes nor are they cognizant of the downstream problems that result. In their defense, they  did not  personally assent to the Societies Act; they inherited it. So can this paper do some good ? Can it be a catalyst for change? Once aware of the problem, the clock cannot be rolled back and and the intellect cannot be purged of new information. It is not enough to just fit in with societal  restrictions and preach the Gospel without the prospect of unsheathing the sword or shouldering a  Cross.  In a day that cries out for persons who will confront evil, there must be  encouragement to face evil doers as an adversary.
It's reported that  there  are some 200,000 persons  annually who are martyred for their unswerving  allegiance to the Gospel. How many of these martyrs suffer because the  western  church  has  abrogated its responsibility to  apply the ethics of the Gospel to their own societies ? Where are the Christians who will courageously oppose evil policies at their root ?

Christian Doctrine: On Palestine ?

Introduction :

 This paper is my summary challenge to Christians who argue that there is a supportable interpretation of the Bible regarding Israel’s activities in the land of Palestine. I contend there is No such support. Christians in our generation need to know that there is historical scholarship for a valid Biblical point of view which dissolves the arguments that support Christian Zionism. Christian Zionism is defined loosely as unreserved support for the actions of the present nation of Israel justified by a misguided belief that Jews must be re-gathered to their ancient lands prior to the Lord’s return.

Of itself, this paper does not claim to be a work of theological scholarship, but it does lean heavily on the work of three well qualified theologians for its Biblical accuracy and continuity. The study of theology depends on both the sincerity and the humility of a scholar in order to permit the Scriptures themselves to interpret Scripture. To this exercise we truly bring …….no new thing. Faithfully using this method avoids the human pitfalls of presuming the meaning with only partial information or bringing preconceived human notions to the Bible in order to justify them.

After some years of casual study, I conclude that the sources I have used are faithful to the whole counsel of God and that this paper is worthy of your consideration.. I contend that a great many Christians are supporting a Zionist regime because they assume that Dispensationalism, the popular eschatology of our time, is the only option.

If this is your position, you will for certain have come under pressure to support Zionism which lays aside all the Christian principles you have learned in the Sermon on the Mount for policies that are nothing short of “Apartheid” toward the Palestinians. I urge you therefore to carefully re-consider the matter so that your support is properly placed in the cause of justice and mercy.

Sincerely,     Philip Jarman   voyageur@voyageur.co.cr    8 February 2014

References

1-     Abraham’s Four Seeds - John G. Reisinger http://www.amazon.com/Abrahams-Four-Seeds-John-Reisinger/dp/0966084543/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390963079&sr=1-1&keywords=abraham%27s+four+seeds

2. The Momentous Event - W.J. Grier

 http://www.amazon.com/Momentous-Event-W-J-Grier/dp/0851510205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390963244&sr=1-1&keywords=W.J+grier+The+momentous+event

 3. Sermons on Romans 11 – Martyn Lloyd Jones

http://www.mljtrust.org/search/?q=romans+11

Without  doubt,  the present nation of Israel, reconstituted in Palestine, by a unilateral United Nations decree dated at sundown 14 May 1948,  has been responsible for disturbing years of peaceful coexistence between Jew and Muslim in the land . Wherever there is controversy, books and articles follow passionately written from differing points of view each seeking to explain or justify one side or the other. This is doubly so in this case because the arbitrary decision to insert a nation called Israel into an already settled Palestine was pre-loaded with religious implications for three of the world’s major religions - Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The purpose then of this paper is to republish the historical Biblical interpretation of God’s promises to Abraham, which if graciously received, will bring a correct perspective to Christians who want to do the right thing by the Jewish people and to also promote peace in a troubled area of the world.

Contrary to the world’s historical record, the Christian worldview itself is not antagonistic toward the Jews. However, confused persons through the centuries, who have claimed association with Christianity have been intensely anti-semitic to the extremes of tragic persecution and death.

 But Christian doctrine, rightly held, rejects the evil they have perpetrated on the Jewish people. Christianity recognizes that Abraham’s Natural Seed (the Jews ) were the family first, and then the nation that was chosen to bring the Lord Jesus Christ into the world. He arrived in time, to live perfectly under the Mosaic Law, and then to become the Acceptable Sacrifice for all who would believe that his death would pay for their sin. Ironically, the Jews were also the people that brought about his death on a Roman cross. But Christianity also believes that God the Father sovereignly planned that Sacrifice in eternity past, and that God the Son was obedient unto death in order to save Abraham’s Spiritual Seed. These are people, from all ages, both Jew and Gentile, who would believe experimentally that His death covers their sin and that they are delivered from the curse of the Law. *(…the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiiel 18:4 )

The Bible tells the story of Abraham and the promises made to the natural and the spiritual seed. If we understand and embrace this interpretation as the Divine plan, we will not become pawns in support of the present day Israel’s irrational drive for racial mastery in the land of Palestine.

To begin, if God in three persons, planned before the foundation of the world to rescue a people for His Name, (the Church), then that plan must emerge in Genesis and conclude in Revelation and the whole counsel of God on the matter be complete in Holy Writ.

God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees (1) to be the human instrument for this plan. But , Abraham and Sarah had problems conceiving, so Abraham fathered (1) Genesis 12:1-3

Ishmael by an Egyptian servant girl named Hagar. Ishmael under God’s promise of Abraham’s natural seed, became the father of 10 nations known as the Arabs. (2) But then God permitted Abraham through a deliberate preplanned miracle, to father Isaac when he and his wife Rachel were humanly speaking - too old to have children. Isaac, unlike Ishmael, was identified by God as Abraham’s Spiritual Seed. (3) Isaac in turn, married Rebekah and fathered twin sons Esau and Jacob. Again, it was God himself who chose Jacob as the spiritual seed and left Esau as he was - a natural seed.(4)

As difficult as it may seem to our sense of fairness, God chose some from Abraham’s family to be the Spiritual Seed who would believe the Gospel of a coming deliverance through a Messiah, and he left the rest in their unbelief.

So two peoples were at one and the same time--inside Abraham’s family – The Spiritual Seed, those who believed in the promise of the Messiah (5) and those who,

­­­­although natural sons of Abraham, did not believe. Further, Abraham , Isaac and Jacob were all in their turn, the spiritual Fathers of the Spiritual Seed for the Gentiles of all the ages. (6)

The Old Testament then, is the Jews earthly story and the beginnings of a heavenly story for all peoples. Through the Hebrews, and the nation of Israel, God produced a type or an illustration of the Church. The nation of Israel itself, was brought into existence from Jacob’s enslaved descendants in Egypt on the night the death angel passed over the Hebrew homes that had the blood of a lamb daubed on the lintel and door posts . In the Egyptian homes all the first born died. In the Hebrew homes marked by blood, everyone lived. (7)

This is a type of the Lord’s crucifixion. As the Hebrews were protected by the blood daubed about the door, all who are covered by Christ’s blood sacrifice will look to Him and be justified (made righteous) and live forever. (8) Those that do not, though they live for a time on earth, are under an eternal sentence of death.

The Exodus from Egypt is the saga of God’s patient work with an earthly people to whom he gave the Law and the Oracles . Yet despite the Red Sea crossing , the firey pillar, the manna and quail, the rock in the desert that spewed a river of water, the people built an idol at the foot of the mountain while God was writing the 10 commandments on Moses’ tablets of stone (9). The majority in the nation were rebellious unbelievers and because of their failure to believe Joshua and Caleb concerning the promised land, God made them wander in the desert for 40 years until all the adults who had left Egypt had died.

You can read the rest of the story for yourself as the pattern remains the same . In every generation through to the birth of the Messiah, God called only a remnant from the nation of Israel to believe the Gospel of the Messiah’s future saving work on a the Roman cross . These were the Spiritual Seed of Abraham and the remainder of the nation were left in their superstition, idolatry and unbelief.

(2) Genesis 21:13 (3) Genesis 21:12 (4) Romans 9: 11-13 (5) Galations 3:26 (6) Galations 3 24-29

(7) Exodus 12:13 (8)Isaiah 45:2 (9) Exodus 32:1

As to the land, when God promised Abraham the land of Palestine,(10) it was also a type of things to come . It’s true that following the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua more or less conquered the land. But Israel, because of disobedience, had only partial success through the time of the Judges and the Kings. Rebellion and unbelief eventually caused them to be judged for their idolatry and they  became a conquered people.

But back to the beginning, when Abraham received the land promise he knew that he was not looking for the ultimate fulfillment on earth (11) . Abraham knew that if Israel as a nation was to bring forth the Messiah, an earthly territory would indeed be necessary, but he also knew that the land was a type of a heavenly kingdom which he would one day see in glory.

God’s promises for  Jewish rights to the land of Palestine were also made Conditional. (12) If then the condition of obedience was broken what of the promise ? We know from the Biblical record in the prophets , that the majority of the people of Israel were disobedient, rebelled against God, burned their children in the fire to Moloch, worshipped many false Gods and forsook the Gospel. In fact, the prophets were ruthlessly killed because their message was damning to the majority conscience.(13) So God stopped sending prophets 400 years before the Messiah although  the Gospel remained by which a remnant in every generation were saved.

When Jesus did come, the scribes and Pharisees had so modified the Law of Moses and the Gospel, that a whole set of human traditions had been overlaid on top of the Sinai Law perverting its meaning. When you read the Sermon on the Mount, (14) look for all the corrections Jesus made to their errors. They hated him for it, for they had what they wanted ,- respect from men. As far as they were concerned, any and all excuses to reject Jesus’ authority, were valid.

The crucifixion without doubt is the pivotal point in history. The Old Testament and New Testament are on different sides of the crucifixion, yet they both proclaim that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.... is the same. Both  Jews and Gentiles from Abraham to the last trumpet have been  and will be, called to be  members of the Bride of Christ - the Church.

When Jesus died the veil of the temple,through which the high priest priest passed once per year to offer sacrificial blood for atonement, was ripped supernaturally from the top to the bottom because it was no longer needed. With  Jesus sacrificial death, the Priesthood of the Believer had been established .

At the resurrection, the Hebrew nation and all the ceremonial law depicting Jesus’ sacrifice were also finished . The nation through sovereign Providence had fulfilled its role all the way from Abraham to the cross. In 70 AD the Roman General Titus

(10) Psalm 105: 6-11 (11) Hebrews 11: 8-10 (12) Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 (13) Hebrews 11: 36-40

destroyed the last vestiges of the nation and its religion by slaughtering the inhabitants of Jerusalem and destroying the temple completely .

The Lord predicted this would happen for with His ascension to his Heavenly throne and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the “Israel of God” was now proclaimed a spiritual kingdom. There was no further need of earthly types. The earthly nation of Israel had fulfilled the purpose for which God had brought it into existence and it is now gone forever. The Bible needs no other support, but it is significant, that some important sects who are current followers of Judaism agree that God has not recalled Jews to the land to  re establish the nation of Israel.

At Pentecost, as Jesus promised, the followers of Christ were visited by the Holy Spirit and empowered . In one day 3000 souls from many nations and tongues were converted to begin spreading the Christian message out across the world .

The apostles, those that had been chosen by the Lord, and Paul who had been under the Lord’s instruction in the third heaven, are our best authority on just how to view these events. They interpret the Old Testament in many passages of the New Testament. The literal depictions of the Old Testament then, should never be imposed on the New Testament . The prophets knew and accepted the Gospel of the coming Messiah, but when they did prophesy the future, they saw only shadows and types. The New Testament apostles therefore interpret with authority the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and their interpretation declares that the Lord now reigns in His Kingdom in heaven (15) and that the time that has elapsed since his ascension are the last days prophesied by the prophet Joel. (16) The final event we can anticipate is the Last Trumpet - His Second Coming, where ALL the dead of ALL ages will be raised to stand before him.(17)

So what of the Jews themselves ? Is God finished with them?

Following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Jews were dispersed throughout the nations . They clung to the memory of their Old Testament privilege and based on portions of Old Testament scripture called the Talmud, they founded the religion of Judaism . Over the centuries there have been many conversions to Judaism among non-Semite peoples . So who among the Jews today, are Abraham’s natural seed? I am sure there are many, but not one of them is able to trace his lineage with any certainty to the Jews of Jesus time. Therefore any self-proclaimed racial identity is a voluntary willingness to be associated with either the religion of Judaism, the present Jewish culture or the political movement Zionism.

Nevertheless, Paul the apostle in Romans 11 says that God still has plans for the descendants from Abraham’s natural seed. But do not make the mistake of equating the Jews with the former nation of Israel or any present counterfeit. Paul prophesies in the book of Romans that one day the Jews will recognize their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and will turn "en masse" to Him in repentance and faith .(18)

(14) Matthew 5 (15) Acts 2: 29-35 (16) Acts 2:14-21 (17) 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 (18) Romans 11:26

He also says that this event will strengthen and encourage the true Church world wide,  and that this will all come to pass during this present Kingdom Age . (19)

This event does not define the day or the hour of the second Coming but the Holy Spirit through Paul does promise that God will save his people the Jews before Jesus returns.  The Jews as individual persons will be converted wherever they are on the earth,  and their conversion will graft them into the Church  -  the Bride of Christ .

The land of Palestine or the current nation of Israel is irrelevant to the fulfillment of this prophecy. None of the New Testament writers make any reference to a re-gathered Jewry in the land of Palestine. The apostles agree with Abraham that they look for a heavenly Kingdom which is far better than an earthly one.(20) Admittedly this is an argument from silence, but the New Testament writers were all Jews and they were under pressure from the Jews who were certain that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was bent on destroying their religion. Surely, under the circumstances, if national Israel was to be a factor in the future, the apostles would have mentioned it.

So how should this impact your view of the present tragedy in Palestine ?

Using the Nazi Holocaust for all its worth and more, the Zionist movement has persuaded much of the western world to hold their peace while they carry out “ethnic cleansing” on the Palestinians, wholesale expulsions from their historic lands, and acts of aggression against neigboring Arab nations -- all in the name of a resurgent nation of Israel.

If the historical perspective in this paper is correct, many Christians are in real danger of being complicit in quietly accepting the Zionist Program for reasons that are not Biblical. The Zionists are not Joshua cleansing the land under God’s specific instructions, nor are they regathered to the land  as a precondition of the Lord's  return.  …And finally, the Lord Jesus Christ has given us the Sermon on the Mount to guide us in our behavior and all Christians should therefore be compelled by conscience to advocate a peaceful compromise that foundationally, establishes true democracy and human rights for all ?

(19) Romans 11: 32-33 (20) Hebrews 11: 8-10