Thunderian
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Just you and the people you listen to.
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phipps
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Daniel's prophecy does not say the last week anywhere. The one week of the seventy weeks is not separated by 2000 years from the other 69 weeks. That isn't biblical. Lets break down the weeks according to the prophecy."
"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."
"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" (Daniel 9:25-27).
The angel gives a breakdown of the 70 weeks as follows:
7 weeks of years for rebuilding of Jerusalem (verse 25)
62 weeks of years to the Messiah (verses 25-26)
1 week of years to the close of the period (verse 27)
The one week is to close the period of the 70 weeks (490 years) that God cut off for Israel. So how can that be at the time of the antichrist? The Bible mentions the antichrist in prophecy and where it will dealt with.
So one half of the 1 week (7 years), Jesus "shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease". Only He can do that because of His crucifixion that brings and end to the sacrifices that Jews performed in their temple because they represented Jesus' sacrifice. Then three and half years later Stephen is stonerd to death and the leaders of Israel through their actions for the last time reject Christ and that ends their time as a chosen people. Then the apostles take the message to the gentiles.
I disagree but I'll leave it at that. I respect your opinion but you are sincerely wrong. God bless.
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Like an elephant in a porcelain shop you make a complete mess of Daniel 9.
You don't mind making Scriptural mistakes ?
Daciple
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Thats right Thunder, since I no longer believe in Dispensationalism I am a heretic, guess you now believe one must accept Dispensationalism to be saved.
It is sad when people incorporate their Eschatology into Salvation. Here is the 100% Truth, you nor I nor any human that has every existed really knows what is going to happen when Christ comes back, what order will take place, if there will or will not be a literal millennium ect ect ect.
Name one human that knew how Christ was going to come the 1st time? No one knew or understood correctly, not even the Disciples that were living with Him understood correctly.
That is the reality, the reality is we dont know, we have ideas like the Pharisees and the Sadduceees but the likelyhood that any one Eschatology holds all of the exact answers is about 0%. Personally I have studied each of the different Eschatologies and rule out which ones seem least likely to be True. Full Preterism and Pre Trib Rapture Dispensationalism are to me the ones that are by far the most wrong. Everything else is on a sliding scale, some I can agree with parts and disagree with parts.
See Thunder I dont think you are a heretic because you believe in this man made Theology from John Nelson Darby, I believe that heretics are people who reject Salvation Essential Doctrine. I believe that you have professed on here at least the Doctrine that matters, the ones concerning Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit. I have professed the same things, at the end of the day thats all that really matters. It sad to think you would not call me or basically the mass majority of the Church throughout History brothers because we disagree with you on Non Salvation Doctrine.
I suppose it is a good thing that you are not God, because you would damn about 90% of believers throughout History.
If God actually deals with Israel as a Nation in some End Time Scenario then so be it, in reality it wont affect me or my standing with God. I dont believe He would say Daciple, I know you believed in me for Salvation but since you thought the Church replaced Israel you are going to Hell. I also dont believe He would say the same to you or anyone else. If God doesnt deal with Israel as a Nation, is that really going to affect your Salvation? If so then your Salvation isnt actually in Christ and that would be where I would worry...
You are a brother to me Thunder, but it is ok if you dont view me as one, I am sure if we both believe in Christ as our Personal Lord and Savior we will see each other in either Heaven or be with Christ on Earth and we can sit back and laugh at how silly we were concerning this nonsense...
Daciple
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I have read from them, showing one or two people vs the entire History of the Church equals out to about 99% wouldnt you say?
Written anonymously around 100 AD, the “Epistle of Barnabas” is the earliest extra-Canonical source we have. Although not included in the Canon of the New Testament, it is an incredibly early documentation of the early Church’s beliefs about the last days. The Apostle John was probably alive when it was written. And although the authorship is disputed, we will refer to Barnabas as the author.
The Epistle of Barnabas sets forth the common view held by the early Church that the seventieth week of Daniel ended with the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, as Messiah’s Day dawned and Christ’s Church was born. Barnabas writes, "For it is written, ‘And it shall come to pass, when the week is completed, the temple of God shall be built...in the name of the Lord.’ I find...that a temple does exist. Having received the forgiveness of sins…in our habitation God dwells in us….This is the spiritual temple built for the Lord." (EOB, 16:6)
Barnabas uses the expression "the week," but does not mention Daniel. Yet scholars agree from the context that this is definitely a reference to Daniel’s 70th week. And it is assumed by many scholars that the prophecy of Daniel’s seventy weeks was so well known and so widely expounded in the early Church that it needed no further explanation. The early Church did not avoid Daniel’s prophecy.
This early Christian writer connects Daniel’s vision of seventy weeks with the prophecy of Haggai 2:7-9 and the building of a "spiritual temple," the Church. The author of the Epistle of Barnabas obviously believed that Daniel’s 70th week was fulfilled with Christ’s first advent. This was when the Old Temple was destroyed and the new “spiritual temple” was initially established. Writing in 100 AD he clearly believed the 70th week of Daniel was already completed.
It seems clear from this passage in the Epistle of Barnabas that less than a century after Christ’s passion (remember that according to Daniel the Messiah would be cut off in the middle of the 70th week), it was the widespread belief of the Church that the 70th week of Daniel was completed. It is certain that Barnabas placed the end of the 70th week no later than 70 AD. His mention of the building of the Church (which was able to grow largely unimpeded after 70AD) makes it probable that Barnabas saw 67 to 70 AD and the destruction of Herod’s Temple as the end of the Jewish or Old Covenant Age and the dawning of Messiah’s Day. As David B. Currie writes in his book, Rapture, The End-Times Error That Leaves The Bible Behind, "He (Barnabas) assumes his readers will agree that the events of ‘the week’ led to the building of the Church.” (Page 422)
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDREA
Within a century of Barnabas, Clement became bishop of Alexandria until his death in 215 AD. Clement taught that the blessings of the New Covenant required the end of biblical Judaism within the 70 weeks of Daniel.Clement writes of the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD in the prophetic language of Daniel’s seventy weeks, "Vespasian rose to the supreme power (Emperor of Rome) and destroyed Jerusalem, and desolated the holy place” (STO, XXI, 142-143).
Clement of Alexandrea believed the Jewish Age, the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel and the great tribulation were behind, not ahead of the Church.
ORIGEN (185-254 AD)
A student of Clement of Alexandrea, Origen agreed that the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD marked the end of the Jewish Age and the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy regarding the 70 weeks. Origen writes, "The weeks of years up to the time of Christ the leader that Daniel the prophet predicted were fulfilled" (TPR, IV:1:5).
Like Clement, Origen also believed the Jewish Age, the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel and the great tribulation were behind the Church, not ahead of it.
TERTULLIAN
In 203 AD Tertullian wrote his famous treatise Against The Jews. This early Church father also taught that Daniel’s 70th week had been fulfilled in 70 AD: "Vespasian vanquished the Jews…and so by the date of his storming Jerusalem, the Jews had completed the seventy weeks foretold by Daniel” (AAJ, VII; CID).
Contrary to modern postponement preachers and teachers, Tertullian believed the Jewish age, the abomination of desolation, and the great tribulation was behind, not ahead of the Church.
ATHANASIUS
Athanasius was bishop of Alexandria from 326 to 373 AD. Like the early Church fathers before him, he also taught that the 70 weeks of Daniel culminated and the Jewish Age ended in 70 AD: "Jerusalem is to stand till His coming (Daniel’s reference to Messiah’s appearing in His First Advent), and thenceforth, prophet and vision cease in Israel (the end of the Old Covenant or Jewish Age). This is why Jerusalem stood till then…that they might be exercised in the types as a preparation for the reality…but from that time forth all prophecy is sealed and the city and Temple taken" (INC, XXXIX:3-XV:8).
Athanasius clearly reflects the view of the entire early Church: once the Messiah had come, the role of the Temple in Jerusalem would be ended. “Things to be done which belonged to Jerusalem beneath…were fulfilled, and those which belonged to the shadows had passed away” (FEL, IV:3-4).
This important early Church father clearly believed that the Jewish age ended in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
IRENAEUS AND HIPPOLYTUS
Irenaeus was a contemporary of Clement of Alexandrea whose widely held view we dealt with above. Irenaeus and his pupil Hippolytus are the only two writers from the early Church period who believed in a still-future fulfillment of Daniel’s 70th week. They both placed the 70th week at the end of the gospel age and so are the first interpreters to postulate a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks (AG, V). Both predicted a specific date for the second coming that has long since come and gone.
But their belief in a future 70th week was never widely accepted! St. Jerome specifically pointed out that the number of years in their system did not coincide with the historical events they purported to cover. He wrote, "If by any chance those of future generations should not see these predictions of his (Irenaeus) fulfilled at the time he (Irenaeus) set, then they will be forced to seek for some other solution and to convict the teacher himself (Irenaeus) of erroneous interpretation” (CID)
David B. Currie points out in his scholarly work, "As a point of history, the views of Irenaeus did give seed to premillennialism. But the early fathers of the Church strongly and universally denounced this concept. The early Church understood the presumptuous-parenthesis theory that rapturists employ…but they resoundingly rejected it.” (David B. Currie, Rapture, page 425)
The prevailing view of the early Church fathers was that Daniel’s vision of the 70 weeks was fulfilled in 70 AD. The final or 70th week began with the baptism of Jesus and his presentation to Israel by John the Baptist. The Messiah was cut off in the middle of the 70th week when Jesus was crucified. The abomination of desolation and the great tribulation spoken of by Daniel were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD.
http://georgekouri.com/the-early-church-fathers-and-the-last-days-of-the-jewish-age
Thunderian
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You can believe in a heresy and still be saved.
1 Corinthians 11:19 - For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
Simeon knew. In Luke 2, when Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the ancient capital city of
John the Baptist also completely understood who Jesus was. According to John 1, John the Baptist was sent as a witness for Jesus Christ. Do you really believe that God would send a witness for himself that didn't know who he was?
All I can say is, read your Bible. You wouldn't make the mistakes that you do.
No one thinks your view on Israel is a salvational issue. But that's no reason to be content with being wrong.
You and I are brothers in Jesus Christ, there's no doubt in my mind about that. We'll have a good laugh about it at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Rapture will happen to everyone who has believed on Jesus Christ, whether they believe in the Rapture or not. And since we'll have glorified bodies, and minds like Christ, I will be able to resist the temptation to say, "I told you so!"
Daciple
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So you think Simeon knew HOW Jesus would fulfill that role? You think Simeon knew Jesus was going to die and be Crucified? You think He knew the details and exactly how they were going to play out?
Then you are lying to yourself if you believe that, because while he may have known that Jesus was going to be the Messiah, the one who took away Sins, I am 100% sure that he didnt comprehend that Jesus was going to be taken in chains by the Romans, beaten, and then Crucified. That He would then be in the grave for 3 days, Resurrect and then Ascend to the Father. That He would send the Holy Spirit to dwell in us ect.
Also concerning John the Baptist, you say he knew exactly who Jesus was huh? If you read your Bible you wouldnt make these mistakes brother...
Matt 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
John the Baptist literally sent 2 of his Disciples to question Jesus to make sure if He was actually the Christ, however you want to tell me that John the Baptist understood everything about Jesus. Again brother read your Bible it is spelled out very clearly that even John the Baptist questioned if Jesus was Christ, let alone understand that Jesus was going to die on the Cross and Resurrect.
And THAT is the point I am making, no one in the World understood the details surrounding Jesus 1st Advent. They knew bits and pieces and then put their own interpretations on it and created beliefs they thought would be right, but everyone of them were wrong. John the Baptist wasnt even sure at one point that Jesus was the Christ! The Disciples didnt understand what Christ meant when He straight up told them what was going to happen!
Luke 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
You want to tell me that other people understood this, yet Jesus tells the Disciples straight to their faces and they couldnt comprehend it? Come on now Thunder, dont reject your Bible to try and be stubborn in a debate on a forum, especially when the person you are debating is essentially trying to extend an olive branch. Read your Bible more you would understand what I am saying..
I agree you should probably come to the Truth that the Church has taken Israels place, if you read your Bible more you would know that all the Promises to Abraham have been given to us by Faith.
Yes I believe that we will laugh about it when Christ comes in the middle of a horrible Tribulation that if it takes place in your lifetime, you are wondering why you are having to endure, and then He destroys this Earth and we will sit together in the New Heavens and New Earth enjoying all the Promises of Israel together!!!
Thunderian
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God Bless you Thunder, Ill never give up on you!!
Why would the Church Fathers understand the whole prophecy in Daniel 9 if it's completion was almost 2000 years in future ? What would they do with that knowledge ? We got to study the Scriptures ourselves and not only rely on the interpretation of others. There is a time for everything and the early Church had absolutely no need to know that 2000 years in the future... you get my point.
In Gabriel's riddle it is seven sevens and sixty-two sevens until Messiah would come and be cut off. Counting from when the command to restore and build Jerusalem went forth.
To solve this you need to know how long one seven is and when the command went forth.
AspiringSoul
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Leviticus 26
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You have been posting all over the place how Darby invented it all... which is simply not true..
That's the point I made..
phipps
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The Rise and Fall of Ancient Israel
One of God’s most remarkable claims is found in Isaiah 46:9-10: “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand …’”
Here God not only says that He can reveal the future; He also claims the power to bring it to pass!
God’s promises to Abraham, while astounding in their magnitude, nevertheless started small—with the promise of a son, Isaac, to be born to him and Sarah (Genesis 17:19-21; Genesis 21:1-3). Isaac, in turn, had two sons, Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:19-26). Jacob had 12 sons, from whom the 12 tribes of Israel are descended.
Prophesied birth of a nation
But long before this, before Abraham even had a son at all, God revealed to Abraham the fact that his descendants would go through one of the most remarkable “birth processes” a people could go through—they would be enslaved in a foreign land before emerging as a nation.
We find this prophesied in Genesis 15:13-14: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”
This is referring, of course, to the Exodus. The remarkable chain of circumstances leading to the fulfilment of this prophecy is spelled out in Genesis 37-50 and Exodus 1-14.
While the Exodus itself is one of the Bible’s best-known stories, the events that led up to it aren’t so well understood. In brief, Jacob’s favourite of his 12 sons, Joseph, was sold as a slave by his jealous brothers and ended up in Egypt (Genesis 37). There, through a series of events and God’s blessings, Joseph thrived and amazingly rose to the highest position in the Egyptian government under the pharaoh (chapters 39-41).
When a famine struck the region, Joseph’s family migrated to Egypt, which, thanks to Joseph’s foresight, had stored enough grain to survive the famine (chapters 42-47). Joseph recognized that God had been behind all these events and that things had worked out this way so that his family would be spared and God’s prophecies fulfilled (Genesis 50:19-20).
The 12 sons of Jacob—progenitors of the tribes of Israel—thrived in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-7). But then “there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). The new pharaoh, feeling threatened by the growing number of Israelites, enslaved them and “made their lives bitter with hard bondage” (Exodus 1:14).
God called the son of two of these Hebrew slaves, Moses, who through miraculous circumstances had himself been a prince of Egypt but was later a fugitive, to lead Israel out of their enslavement. “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” He announced to Moses (Exodus 3:6).
God then followed with a remarkable prophecy of what He intended to do with Moses and his countrymen: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey … Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:7-10).
What God proposed to do was stunning —to deliver a people from enslavement at the hands of the greatest superpower of their day! The following chapters— covering the 10 plagues and the awesome parting of the Red Sea—show how God indeed miraculously delivered the Israelites, even down to the detail of fulfilling His promise to Abraham that “they shall come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:14; compare Exodus 11:2; Exodus 12:35-36).
Israelites in the Promised Land
Following Israel’s miraculous deliverance from Egypt came the periods of the 40 years in the wilderness, the conquest of the Promised Land and the period of the Israelite judges. Many specific minor prophecies were given and fulfilled during this time as recorded in the biblical books of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges.
When we come to the establishment of the Israelite monarchy, we find that the dynasty of Israel’s most famous king, David, had been prophesied to arise from the tribe of Judah centuries before, while the Israelites were still in Egypt (Genesis 49:8-10). Like many prophecies, this was dual—meaning it had more than one intended meaning or fulfilment—in that it also foretold that the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come from the tribe of Judah (compare Hebrews 7:14).
Because of space limitations we won’t go into the dozens of specific prophecies that were given and fulfilled during the several centuries that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah existed, but will touch on only the most significant.
After righteous King David’s passing, his son Solomon ascended the throne. Solomon had it all—a powerful kingdom he inherited from his father, humility, and wisdom and wealth granted to him by God (1 Kings 3:11-13). Under his reign the kingdom of the combined tribes of Israel grew even more powerful, dominating the region.
But, regrettably, while Solomon knew what he should do, he lacked the personal character and conviction to carry it out. His heart was turned from serving the one true God to serving the pagan gods and idols of the lands around him (1 Kings 11:4-8).
One of God’s most remarkable claims is found in Isaiah 46:9-10: “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand …’”
Here God not only says that He can reveal the future; He also claims the power to bring it to pass!
God’s promises to Abraham, while astounding in their magnitude, nevertheless started small—with the promise of a son, Isaac, to be born to him and Sarah (Genesis 17:19-21; Genesis 21:1-3). Isaac, in turn, had two sons, Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:19-26). Jacob had 12 sons, from whom the 12 tribes of Israel are descended.
Prophesied birth of a nation
But long before this, before Abraham even had a son at all, God revealed to Abraham the fact that his descendants would go through one of the most remarkable “birth processes” a people could go through—they would be enslaved in a foreign land before emerging as a nation.
We find this prophesied in Genesis 15:13-14: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”
This is referring, of course, to the Exodus. The remarkable chain of circumstances leading to the fulfilment of this prophecy is spelled out in Genesis 37-50 and Exodus 1-14.
While the Exodus itself is one of the Bible’s best-known stories, the events that led up to it aren’t so well understood. In brief, Jacob’s favourite of his 12 sons, Joseph, was sold as a slave by his jealous brothers and ended up in Egypt (Genesis 37). There, through a series of events and God’s blessings, Joseph thrived and amazingly rose to the highest position in the Egyptian government under the pharaoh (chapters 39-41).
When a famine struck the region, Joseph’s family migrated to Egypt, which, thanks to Joseph’s foresight, had stored enough grain to survive the famine (chapters 42-47). Joseph recognized that God had been behind all these events and that things had worked out this way so that his family would be spared and God’s prophecies fulfilled (Genesis 50:19-20).
The 12 sons of Jacob—progenitors of the tribes of Israel—thrived in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-7). But then “there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). The new pharaoh, feeling threatened by the growing number of Israelites, enslaved them and “made their lives bitter with hard bondage” (Exodus 1:14).
God called the son of two of these Hebrew slaves, Moses, who through miraculous circumstances had himself been a prince of Egypt but was later a fugitive, to lead Israel out of their enslavement. “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” He announced to Moses (Exodus 3:6).
God then followed with a remarkable prophecy of what He intended to do with Moses and his countrymen: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey … Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:7-10).
What God proposed to do was stunning —to deliver a people from enslavement at the hands of the greatest superpower of their day! The following chapters— covering the 10 plagues and the awesome parting of the Red Sea—show how God indeed miraculously delivered the Israelites, even down to the detail of fulfilling His promise to Abraham that “they shall come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:14; compare Exodus 11:2; Exodus 12:35-36).
Israelites in the Promised Land
Following Israel’s miraculous deliverance from Egypt came the periods of the 40 years in the wilderness, the conquest of the Promised Land and the period of the Israelite judges. Many specific minor prophecies were given and fulfilled during this time as recorded in the biblical books of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges.
When we come to the establishment of the Israelite monarchy, we find that the dynasty of Israel’s most famous king, David, had been prophesied to arise from the tribe of Judah centuries before, while the Israelites were still in Egypt (Genesis 49:8-10). Like many prophecies, this was dual—meaning it had more than one intended meaning or fulfilment—in that it also foretold that the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come from the tribe of Judah (compare Hebrews 7:14).
Because of space limitations we won’t go into the dozens of specific prophecies that were given and fulfilled during the several centuries that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah existed, but will touch on only the most significant.
After righteous King David’s passing, his son Solomon ascended the throne. Solomon had it all—a powerful kingdom he inherited from his father, humility, and wisdom and wealth granted to him by God (1 Kings 3:11-13). Under his reign the kingdom of the combined tribes of Israel grew even more powerful, dominating the region.
But, regrettably, while Solomon knew what he should do, he lacked the personal character and conviction to carry it out. His heart was turned from serving the one true God to serving the pagan gods and idols of the lands around him (1 Kings 11:4-8).
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phipps
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...continued.
The kingdom divides
Solomon’s ill-chosen path set the kingdom on a road from which there would be no recovery. Because of Solomon’s sins, God announced that He would tear the kingdom away from him and give it to one of Solomon’s subjects (1 Kings 11:11-13). Indeed, most of the kingdom would split away to follow a rival; only a minority would remain to follow Solomon’s son and the kings of David’s line.
This prophecy was fulfilled a few years later at Solomon’s death when most of the tribes broke away to follow Jeroboam, leader of the northern kingdom, Israel. The rest remained with Solomon’s successor, Rehoboam, leader of the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10-11). The two kingdoms would become rivals—and sometimes enemies—for the next two centuries.
Most people assume that the Jews and Israelites are one and the same. But this is clearly not true. Any look at history and these relevant Bible chapters shows they were two separate kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah (from which the term Jew is derived). As an interesting historical note, the first time the word Jews appears in the Bible, it is in 2 Kings 16:5-6 (King James Version) where Israel is allied with another king and at war with the Jews.
Israel’s first king, Jeroboam, quickly established a pattern of idolatry and syncretism (mixing elements of true and false worship) from which the northern kingdom would never depart (1 Kings 12:26-33). God sent many prophets to warn the Israelite kings of the destruction that would come their way if they didn’t return to Him.
The first of these was Ahijah, who gave this warning to Jeroboam’s wife: “For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River …” (1 Kings 14:15).
This was a clear pronouncement of the northern kingdom’s fate if they wouldn’t repent—they would be taken captive “beyond the River” (the Euphrates) at the hands of the coming Assyrian Empire.
Many other prophets followed, repeating God’s warnings to the Israelites and their kings, pleading with them to repent lest they suffer that awful fate. Among these prophets were Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah, whose messages are recorded for us in the biblical books that bear their names.
But the messages of these prophets went unheeded. Finally, in 722 B.C., after a series of attacks, invasions and deportations, the northern kingdom was crushed and its people carried away into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians—”beyond the River” as God had warned their first king two centuries earlier.
Judah follows in Israel’s footsteps
The story of Judah, the southern kingdom, is somewhat different though equally tragic. Both kingdoms quickly abandoned the true God and sank into moral and spiritual depravity. While the northern kingdom never once had a righteous king, Judah at least had a handful who turned to God and instituted religious reforms aimed at turning the people to proper worship of the true God.
These righteous kings were somewhat successful, at least for a while. As a result, the kingdom of Judah outlasted its northern neighbour by more than a century. Yet eventually those in Judah, too, would pay a heavy price for rejecting their Creator.
They should have learned a lesson from the captivity of the 10 northern tribes, especially since some of the same Assyrian invasions devastated much of Judah. In Hezekiah’s day virtually all of Judah except for its capital, Jerusalem, was conquered by the Assyrians—and Jerusalem, too, would have fallen had God not supernaturally delivered the city (2 Kings 18-19).
The prophet Isaiah, speaking to Hezekiah, was the first to reveal the specific enemy that would subjugate Judah if they, too, refused to change: “… ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon’ ” (2 Kings 20:16-18).
God sent many other prophets—including Micah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk and Jeremiah—to warn Judah, but to no avail. As the Assyrians vanquished the Israelites in several waves of invasions and deportations, so the Babylonians took away the Jews in several deportations before and after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Many details of the biblical accounts of the downfalls of Israel and Judah are confirmed by Assyrian and Babylonian records from the time, demonstrating again the accuracy of the biblical record.
Judah’s exile and return
The outcome of Judah’s exile, however, was far different from that of the northern kingdom. Israel was deported to the far reaches of the Assyrian Empire and its people lost their national and ethnic identity. But God gave Judah an encouraging promise through this prophecy from Jeremiah:
“For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity …” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).
Here, too, we find a remarkable prophecy that was fulfilled to the letter. This 70-year period appears to have begun with the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s temple—the centre of Jewish worship—in 586 B.C. and to have concluded with the completion of a new Jerusalem temple in 516 B.C. The biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the return of many of the Jewish exiles from Babylon.
The kingdom divides
Solomon’s ill-chosen path set the kingdom on a road from which there would be no recovery. Because of Solomon’s sins, God announced that He would tear the kingdom away from him and give it to one of Solomon’s subjects (1 Kings 11:11-13). Indeed, most of the kingdom would split away to follow a rival; only a minority would remain to follow Solomon’s son and the kings of David’s line.
This prophecy was fulfilled a few years later at Solomon’s death when most of the tribes broke away to follow Jeroboam, leader of the northern kingdom, Israel. The rest remained with Solomon’s successor, Rehoboam, leader of the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10-11). The two kingdoms would become rivals—and sometimes enemies—for the next two centuries.
Most people assume that the Jews and Israelites are one and the same. But this is clearly not true. Any look at history and these relevant Bible chapters shows they were two separate kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah (from which the term Jew is derived). As an interesting historical note, the first time the word Jews appears in the Bible, it is in 2 Kings 16:5-6 (King James Version) where Israel is allied with another king and at war with the Jews.
Israel’s first king, Jeroboam, quickly established a pattern of idolatry and syncretism (mixing elements of true and false worship) from which the northern kingdom would never depart (1 Kings 12:26-33). God sent many prophets to warn the Israelite kings of the destruction that would come their way if they didn’t return to Him.
The first of these was Ahijah, who gave this warning to Jeroboam’s wife: “For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River …” (1 Kings 14:15).
This was a clear pronouncement of the northern kingdom’s fate if they wouldn’t repent—they would be taken captive “beyond the River” (the Euphrates) at the hands of the coming Assyrian Empire.
Many other prophets followed, repeating God’s warnings to the Israelites and their kings, pleading with them to repent lest they suffer that awful fate. Among these prophets were Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah, whose messages are recorded for us in the biblical books that bear their names.
But the messages of these prophets went unheeded. Finally, in 722 B.C., after a series of attacks, invasions and deportations, the northern kingdom was crushed and its people carried away into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians—”beyond the River” as God had warned their first king two centuries earlier.
Judah follows in Israel’s footsteps
The story of Judah, the southern kingdom, is somewhat different though equally tragic. Both kingdoms quickly abandoned the true God and sank into moral and spiritual depravity. While the northern kingdom never once had a righteous king, Judah at least had a handful who turned to God and instituted religious reforms aimed at turning the people to proper worship of the true God.
These righteous kings were somewhat successful, at least for a while. As a result, the kingdom of Judah outlasted its northern neighbour by more than a century. Yet eventually those in Judah, too, would pay a heavy price for rejecting their Creator.
They should have learned a lesson from the captivity of the 10 northern tribes, especially since some of the same Assyrian invasions devastated much of Judah. In Hezekiah’s day virtually all of Judah except for its capital, Jerusalem, was conquered by the Assyrians—and Jerusalem, too, would have fallen had God not supernaturally delivered the city (2 Kings 18-19).
The prophet Isaiah, speaking to Hezekiah, was the first to reveal the specific enemy that would subjugate Judah if they, too, refused to change: “… ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon’ ” (2 Kings 20:16-18).
God sent many other prophets—including Micah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk and Jeremiah—to warn Judah, but to no avail. As the Assyrians vanquished the Israelites in several waves of invasions and deportations, so the Babylonians took away the Jews in several deportations before and after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Many details of the biblical accounts of the downfalls of Israel and Judah are confirmed by Assyrian and Babylonian records from the time, demonstrating again the accuracy of the biblical record.
Judah’s exile and return
The outcome of Judah’s exile, however, was far different from that of the northern kingdom. Israel was deported to the far reaches of the Assyrian Empire and its people lost their national and ethnic identity. But God gave Judah an encouraging promise through this prophecy from Jeremiah:
“For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity …” (Jeremiah 29:10-14).
Here, too, we find a remarkable prophecy that was fulfilled to the letter. This 70-year period appears to have begun with the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s temple—the centre of Jewish worship—in 586 B.C. and to have concluded with the completion of a new Jerusalem temple in 516 B.C. The biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the return of many of the Jewish exiles from Babylon.
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phipps
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The Second Temple Desolated
After their release from Babylonian captivity and rebuilding the city and temple, the Jewish leaders erected a mountain of rules and regulations designed to protect them from repeating the sins that had led to their bondage. The fourth commandment's seventh-day Sabbath became a special object of amendment. The Jews reasoned that since it was transgression of the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:19-22, Jeremiah 25:11, 2 Chronicles 36:21) that led to their captivity, they needed to define in minute detail how the Sabbath should be kept.
Over 500 rules concerning Sabbath-keeping eventually resulted. Some of these Sabbath laws were as ridiculous as this: one could not leave an egg in the sun on the Sabbath because the sun might cook it, and cooking on the Sabbath was a violation of the fourth commandment. Of course, this only resulted in a system of pure legalism. At last the people began to believe that favour with God depended on how well they obeyed the traditions of their elders.
Ultimately the people were led full circle to disobedience again. Jesus comments that in spite of their apparent religiosity they were still breaking God's law even as their forefathers had during Isaiah's and Daniel's day. "Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men... full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition... making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered" (Mark 7:6-13). Once again the people found themselves immersed in vain and rebellious worship.
Even though their apostasy expressed itself in legalism instead of laxness, it was still based on the same principle upon which all pagan religions are based - that man can save himself by his own works. Jesus, like Jeremiah of old, rebuked this religious system and called it an abomination. "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
Jesus expressed His displeasure for their abominations on numerous occasions. Most notable were the two times He cleansed the temple. On these times He expressed His anger at the desecration of His holy place. The controversy between Jesus and the Jews steamed, boiled and spewed over religion. The religious leaders hated Him because He didn't look like the Messiah, He didn't respect their traditions and most notably He didn't keep the Sabbath in the manner they thought it should be kept. This latter issue infuriated the Jews and led them to seek Jesus' death (See John 5:10-16; Matthew 12:1-4; ).
In spite of the religious leaders' resistance, Jesus sought time and again to bring them to repentance and reformation. Often He reproved them for their erroneous ways and pointed the way to true and undefiled religion that is of great price in the sight of God. Yet they hardened their hearts and beat back the waves of God's mercy.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, His prophetic eye saw the consequences of their constant rebellion. With a grief-stricken heart and tears coursing down His cheeks, He prophesied the coming doom of the city: "For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:41-44).
After teaching in the temple for several days, Jesus left its precincts for the last time. Again He was choked with anguish as He saw the ultimate result of His people's apostasy. He exclaimed, "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 chickens under her wings and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate" (Matthew 23:37,38).
On both these occasions Jesus placed the guilt upon the people by stating, "they knew not the time of their visitation" and "ye would not." As a result of not responding to God's call to turn from their abominations, their temple was to be desolated. This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies of Titus burned the temple to the ground. This second desolation of the temple perfectly paralleled its first destruction. On both occasions the abominations were done by the apostate people of God and the desolation was an act of judgment performed by a heathen army.
This desolation of Jerusalem was prophesied by Daniel to come as a result of the people rejecting Messiah the prince. A careful study of Daniel 9:25-27 will show this to be the case. In verse 25 Messiah is promised to Israel and the city's restoration is also predicted. But then, ominously, all is prophesied for doom again. Verse 26 speaks of Messiah being killed by His own people and of how this act would cause their city and sanctuary to be desolated once again.
As Daniel heard Gabriel relay this prophecy, it was to his mind a replay of what he had seen happen to the Jerusalem of his day. The prophecy indicated that history would repeat itself, and this is exactly what happened. The abominations that God's people committed resulted, in the destruction of their sanctuary and city -- first by Nebuchadnezzar, then by Titus.
Because Israel rejected the Messiah they lost their place as God's favoured people. Jesus predicted this would take place by saying, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" (Matthew 21:43). Israel forfeited their franchise of the gospel by their own obstinate sin.
Who would be the new nation to receive the kingdom of God and bring forth the fruits thereof? The Bible provides a clear and concise answer in the apostle Peter's letter to the Gentile converts who "In time past were not a people, but are now the people of God." Of the converts to Christianity, the new people of God, he further says, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9,10).
In the new dispensation God bestows upon the converted Christians all the privileges and promises that had been made to the literal seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:26-29). Now converted Christians assume the role of Israel, and the Christian church absorbs the status of the temple or sanctuary of God. The Scriptures make this abundantly clear in such texts as Romans 2:28,29; Ephesians 2:11-13; 19-22; and 1 Peter 2:5.
https://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/book/e/51/t/the-abomination-of-desolation#The-Second-Temple-Desolated
After their release from Babylonian captivity and rebuilding the city and temple, the Jewish leaders erected a mountain of rules and regulations designed to protect them from repeating the sins that had led to their bondage. The fourth commandment's seventh-day Sabbath became a special object of amendment. The Jews reasoned that since it was transgression of the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:19-22, Jeremiah 25:11, 2 Chronicles 36:21) that led to their captivity, they needed to define in minute detail how the Sabbath should be kept.
Over 500 rules concerning Sabbath-keeping eventually resulted. Some of these Sabbath laws were as ridiculous as this: one could not leave an egg in the sun on the Sabbath because the sun might cook it, and cooking on the Sabbath was a violation of the fourth commandment. Of course, this only resulted in a system of pure legalism. At last the people began to believe that favour with God depended on how well they obeyed the traditions of their elders.
Ultimately the people were led full circle to disobedience again. Jesus comments that in spite of their apparent religiosity they were still breaking God's law even as their forefathers had during Isaiah's and Daniel's day. "Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men... full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition... making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered" (Mark 7:6-13). Once again the people found themselves immersed in vain and rebellious worship.
Even though their apostasy expressed itself in legalism instead of laxness, it was still based on the same principle upon which all pagan religions are based - that man can save himself by his own works. Jesus, like Jeremiah of old, rebuked this religious system and called it an abomination. "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
Jesus expressed His displeasure for their abominations on numerous occasions. Most notable were the two times He cleansed the temple. On these times He expressed His anger at the desecration of His holy place. The controversy between Jesus and the Jews steamed, boiled and spewed over religion. The religious leaders hated Him because He didn't look like the Messiah, He didn't respect their traditions and most notably He didn't keep the Sabbath in the manner they thought it should be kept. This latter issue infuriated the Jews and led them to seek Jesus' death (See John 5:10-16; Matthew 12:1-4; ).
In spite of the religious leaders' resistance, Jesus sought time and again to bring them to repentance and reformation. Often He reproved them for their erroneous ways and pointed the way to true and undefiled religion that is of great price in the sight of God. Yet they hardened their hearts and beat back the waves of God's mercy.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, His prophetic eye saw the consequences of their constant rebellion. With a grief-stricken heart and tears coursing down His cheeks, He prophesied the coming doom of the city: "For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:41-44).
After teaching in the temple for several days, Jesus left its precincts for the last time. Again He was choked with anguish as He saw the ultimate result of His people's apostasy. He exclaimed, "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 chickens under her wings and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate" (Matthew 23:37,38).
On both these occasions Jesus placed the guilt upon the people by stating, "they knew not the time of their visitation" and "ye would not." As a result of not responding to God's call to turn from their abominations, their temple was to be desolated. This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies of Titus burned the temple to the ground. This second desolation of the temple perfectly paralleled its first destruction. On both occasions the abominations were done by the apostate people of God and the desolation was an act of judgment performed by a heathen army.
This desolation of Jerusalem was prophesied by Daniel to come as a result of the people rejecting Messiah the prince. A careful study of Daniel 9:25-27 will show this to be the case. In verse 25 Messiah is promised to Israel and the city's restoration is also predicted. But then, ominously, all is prophesied for doom again. Verse 26 speaks of Messiah being killed by His own people and of how this act would cause their city and sanctuary to be desolated once again.
As Daniel heard Gabriel relay this prophecy, it was to his mind a replay of what he had seen happen to the Jerusalem of his day. The prophecy indicated that history would repeat itself, and this is exactly what happened. The abominations that God's people committed resulted, in the destruction of their sanctuary and city -- first by Nebuchadnezzar, then by Titus.
Because Israel rejected the Messiah they lost their place as God's favoured people. Jesus predicted this would take place by saying, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" (Matthew 21:43). Israel forfeited their franchise of the gospel by their own obstinate sin.
Who would be the new nation to receive the kingdom of God and bring forth the fruits thereof? The Bible provides a clear and concise answer in the apostle Peter's letter to the Gentile converts who "In time past were not a people, but are now the people of God." Of the converts to Christianity, the new people of God, he further says, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9,10).
In the new dispensation God bestows upon the converted Christians all the privileges and promises that had been made to the literal seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:26-29). Now converted Christians assume the role of Israel, and the Christian church absorbs the status of the temple or sanctuary of God. The Scriptures make this abundantly clear in such texts as Romans 2:28,29; Ephesians 2:11-13; 19-22; and 1 Peter 2:5.
https://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/book/e/51/t/the-abomination-of-desolation#The-Second-Temple-Desolated
Thunderian
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Not so. When God makes a promise, he keeps it. The promises God made to Abraham and his seed were to be fulfilled upon Abraham's literal descendants. That disqualifies anyone who can't trace their lineage back to Abraham. I can't. Can you?
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Galatians 3:29 says that if we are Christ's, then we are Abraham's seed, but why would anyone think that makes us Israel? There is no way to know the whole Bible and believe something so wrong. Abraham is not just the father of Israel, he is also the father of the faithful. As believers, we are spiritual descendants of faithful Abraham, but the only physical promise believers inherit through Abraham is Jesus Christ.
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Replacing Israel with the Church creates a ton of problems, not the least of which is that it's completely at odds with scripture. Jesus promised Israel that after their destruction would come their restoration.
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
One day, the physical descendants of Abraham, called by the name Israel, will turn back to God. They will accept Jesus Christ, and be restored to him.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
If the Church has become Israel, how does God's word in Zechariah make any sense at all? You have to spiritualise that entire verse, as well as many, many other verses in the Bible, and that's just not how you read the word of God. It can't be.
I don't know if you have any descendants, but I have a couple, and if God made me a promise regarding my kids, and their kids, and so on, but when the time came to fulfill the promise, God gave the inheritance to some other guy's kids, I'd feel ripped off. Do you really believe our God rips people off like that?
phipps
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A People Special to God
To most people, a church is a building where people meet. But in Scripture, the word refers to a group of people—those called to follow Jesus Christ. It's important that we understand the spiritual heritage of these people special to God.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Jesus Christ founded the New Testament Church in the city of Jerusalem on the biblical festival of Pentecost 50 days after His resurrection from the dead.
Between the time of His resurrection and the founding of His Church, Christ appeared to His apostles over the course of the first 40 days, further enlightening them concerning the nature of the coming Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). During that time “He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4). He explained to them, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Later He inspired the apostle Paul to explain the crucial importance of the receiving of the Holy Spirit in the process of becoming a truly converted member of His Church: “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead [symbolically] because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:9-10).
Through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within Christians, Jesus Christ and God the Father actively participate in their lives to strengthen and inspire them in their obedience and service to God (Philippians 2:12-13).
Therefore the Church, the spiritually transformed body of believers, began when Christ’s apostles received the Holy Spirit, just as He had promised (Acts 2:1-4). The Spirit of God instantly changed them. A great many who heard them realized they had received special inspiration and power from God.
The apostles at once began preaching to those gathered in the temple area in Jerusalem on that Day of Pentecost that Jesus of Nazareth was the long-awaited Messiah—or, in Greek, the Christ (Acts 2:36). They urged their listeners to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38). By the end of that day about 3,000 people were added to the Church (Acts 2:41).
The Church that Jesus had promised to build had begun! Its members were repentant people who “gladly received” the truth of God (verse 41) and were baptized (immersed into water)—symbolizing their acceptance of the sacrificial death of Christ for forgiveness of their sins and the burial and washing away of their old, sinful ways.
To most people, a church is a building where people meet. But in Scripture, the word refers to a group of people—those called to follow Jesus Christ. It's important that we understand the spiritual heritage of these people special to God.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Jesus Christ founded the New Testament Church in the city of Jerusalem on the biblical festival of Pentecost 50 days after His resurrection from the dead.
Between the time of His resurrection and the founding of His Church, Christ appeared to His apostles over the course of the first 40 days, further enlightening them concerning the nature of the coming Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). During that time “He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4). He explained to them, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Later He inspired the apostle Paul to explain the crucial importance of the receiving of the Holy Spirit in the process of becoming a truly converted member of His Church: “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead [symbolically] because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:9-10).
Through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within Christians, Jesus Christ and God the Father actively participate in their lives to strengthen and inspire them in their obedience and service to God (Philippians 2:12-13).
Therefore the Church, the spiritually transformed body of believers, began when Christ’s apostles received the Holy Spirit, just as He had promised (Acts 2:1-4). The Spirit of God instantly changed them. A great many who heard them realized they had received special inspiration and power from God.
The apostles at once began preaching to those gathered in the temple area in Jerusalem on that Day of Pentecost that Jesus of Nazareth was the long-awaited Messiah—or, in Greek, the Christ (Acts 2:36). They urged their listeners to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38). By the end of that day about 3,000 people were added to the Church (Acts 2:41).
The Church that Jesus had promised to build had begun! Its members were repentant people who “gladly received” the truth of God (verse 41) and were baptized (immersed into water)—symbolizing their acceptance of the sacrificial death of Christ for forgiveness of their sins and the burial and washing away of their old, sinful ways.
phipps
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The biblical view of the Church
As we examine the Church Jesus built, we see how the word church is used in the Bible. Throughout the Scriptures church and congregation refer to people, never to a building. The Church (the Body of Christ) or the church (a congregation of members of the Church) is made up of people called to follow Jesus Christ.
The concept of people assembling to learn the teachings of God is embedded in the writings of the Old and New Testaments. It is closely associated with one of the Ten Commandments, the law concerning the Sabbath.
During times of general obedience to God, the ancient Israelites assembled every Sabbath as a congregation. The seventh-day Sabbath (defined in the Bible as lasting from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday) is a “holy convocation”—a sacred assembly. God ordained that “six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:3). The New International Version translates the same verse, “The seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly.”
The equivalent concept—a congregation of disciples assembling to learn God’s Word—was practiced by the earliest Christians. Notice Acts 11:26 regarding the apostles Barnabas and Saul (better known as Paul): “So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples [Greek mathetes, meaning learners or pupils] were first called Christians in Antioch.”
The Church, then, is made up of disciples or students of Jesus Christ who convene to receive God’s instruction.
The Bible is the textbook for these students of Christ. Paul explains that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable … for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The teachers are the duly appointed elders of Jesus Christ who preach God’s Word (Romans 10:14-15; 2 Timothy 4:2). God holds them accountable for “accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, New American Standard Bible) and for “being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3; 1 Timothy 3:2-7).
The Church, however, is far more than just a spiritual assembly of students who gather to be instructed for their own benefit.
As we examine the Church Jesus built, we see how the word church is used in the Bible. Throughout the Scriptures church and congregation refer to people, never to a building. The Church (the Body of Christ) or the church (a congregation of members of the Church) is made up of people called to follow Jesus Christ.
The concept of people assembling to learn the teachings of God is embedded in the writings of the Old and New Testaments. It is closely associated with one of the Ten Commandments, the law concerning the Sabbath.
During times of general obedience to God, the ancient Israelites assembled every Sabbath as a congregation. The seventh-day Sabbath (defined in the Bible as lasting from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday) is a “holy convocation”—a sacred assembly. God ordained that “six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:3). The New International Version translates the same verse, “The seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly.”
The equivalent concept—a congregation of disciples assembling to learn God’s Word—was practiced by the earliest Christians. Notice Acts 11:26 regarding the apostles Barnabas and Saul (better known as Paul): “So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples [Greek mathetes, meaning learners or pupils] were first called Christians in Antioch.”
The Church, then, is made up of disciples or students of Jesus Christ who convene to receive God’s instruction.
The Bible is the textbook for these students of Christ. Paul explains that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable … for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The teachers are the duly appointed elders of Jesus Christ who preach God’s Word (Romans 10:14-15; 2 Timothy 4:2). God holds them accountable for “accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, New American Standard Bible) and for “being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3; 1 Timothy 3:2-7).
The Church, however, is far more than just a spiritual assembly of students who gather to be instructed for their own benefit.
Cruxkingdomkid
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Replacement theology (also known as supersessionism) essentially teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. Adherents of replacement theology believe the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people, and God does not have specific future plans for the nation of Israel. Among the different views of the relationship between the church and Israel are the church has replaced Israel (replacement theology), the church is an expansion of Israel (covenant theology), or the church is completely different and distinct from Israel (dispensationalism/premillennialism).
Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. The prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are spiritualized or allegorized into promises of God’s blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1,900 years?
The view that Israel and the church are different is clearly taught in the New Testament. Biblically speaking, the church is distinct from Israel, and the terms church and Israel are never to be confused or used interchangeably. We are taught from Scripture that the church is an entirely new creation that came into being on the day of Pentecost and will continue until it is taken to heaven at the rapture (Ephesians 1:9–11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17). The church has no relationship to the curses and blessings for Israel. The covenants, promises, and warnings of the Mosaic Covenant were valid only for Israel. Israel has been temporarily set aside in God’s program during these past 2,000 years of dispersion (see Romans 11).
Contrary to replacement theology, dispensationalism teaches that, after the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), God will restore Israel as the primary focus of His plan. The first event at this time is the tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The world will be judged for rejecting Christ, while Israel is prepared through the trials of the great tribulation for the second coming of the Messiah. Then, when Christ does return to the earth at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be ready to receive Him. The remnant of Israel who survive the tribulation will be saved, and the Lord will establish His kingdom on this earth with Jerusalem as its capital. With Christ reigning as King, Israel will be the leading nation, and representatives from all nations will come to Jerusalem to honor and worship the King—Jesus Christ. The church will return with Christ and will reign with Him for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1–5).
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament support a premillennial/dispensational understanding of God’s plan for Israel. The strongest support for premillennialism is found in the clear teaching of Revelation 20:1–7, where it says six times that Christ’s kingdom will last 1,000 years. After the tribulation the Lord will return and establish His kingdom with the nation of Israel, Christ will reign over the whole earth, and Israel will be the leader of the nations. The church will reign with Him for a literal thousand years. The church has not replaced Israel in God's plan. While God may be focusing His attention primarily on the church in this dispensation of grace, God has not forgotten Israel and will one day restore Israel to His intended role as the nation He has chosen (Romans 11).
Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. The prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are spiritualized or allegorized into promises of God’s blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1,900 years?
The view that Israel and the church are different is clearly taught in the New Testament. Biblically speaking, the church is distinct from Israel, and the terms church and Israel are never to be confused or used interchangeably. We are taught from Scripture that the church is an entirely new creation that came into being on the day of Pentecost and will continue until it is taken to heaven at the rapture (Ephesians 1:9–11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17). The church has no relationship to the curses and blessings for Israel. The covenants, promises, and warnings of the Mosaic Covenant were valid only for Israel. Israel has been temporarily set aside in God’s program during these past 2,000 years of dispersion (see Romans 11).
Contrary to replacement theology, dispensationalism teaches that, after the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), God will restore Israel as the primary focus of His plan. The first event at this time is the tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The world will be judged for rejecting Christ, while Israel is prepared through the trials of the great tribulation for the second coming of the Messiah. Then, when Christ does return to the earth at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be ready to receive Him. The remnant of Israel who survive the tribulation will be saved, and the Lord will establish His kingdom on this earth with Jerusalem as its capital. With Christ reigning as King, Israel will be the leading nation, and representatives from all nations will come to Jerusalem to honor and worship the King—Jesus Christ. The church will return with Christ and will reign with Him for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1–5).
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament support a premillennial/dispensational understanding of God’s plan for Israel. The strongest support for premillennialism is found in the clear teaching of Revelation 20:1–7, where it says six times that Christ’s kingdom will last 1,000 years. After the tribulation the Lord will return and establish His kingdom with the nation of Israel, Christ will reign over the whole earth, and Israel will be the leader of the nations. The church will reign with Him for a literal thousand years. The church has not replaced Israel in God's plan. While God may be focusing His attention primarily on the church in this dispensation of grace, God has not forgotten Israel and will one day restore Israel to His intended role as the nation He has chosen (Romans 11).
phipps
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The earliest roots of the Church
Ancient Israel, a nation descended from the patriarch Abraham, was, also God’s holy people. Moses further told the Israelites, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2). They were God’s “congregation” (Acts 7:38) or “church” (King James Version).
God promised Abraham in the first book of the Bible that he would be the father of a special, chosen people.
The Bible describes the extraordinary relationship between Abraham, Christ and the Church. The New Testament begins by reminding us that Jesus is the descendant of Israel’s King David and of Abraham (Matthew 1:1)
Why was Abraham such a significant figure in the Bible?
Abraham, who lived almost 2,000 years before Jesus Christ, was the patriarch of the people of Israel through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel. We read of Abraham as “the father of all those who believe” (Isaiah 51:1-2; Romans 4:1-12). He shines as an example of faith in and obedience to God. Because of his obedience, God gave him a promise—a sacred covenant—that he would be the father of a great nation (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:5; Genesis 17:2-6).
God’s promise to Abraham involved much more than the promise of many descendants. The apostle Peter reminded his Jewish countrymen of the importance of God’s promise to Abraham: “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed’ ” (Acts 3:25; Genesis 22:18).
The apostle Paul explained that the promised “Seed” in the ultimate, spiritual sense is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).
Ancient Israel, a nation descended from the patriarch Abraham, was, also God’s holy people. Moses further told the Israelites, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2). They were God’s “congregation” (Acts 7:38) or “church” (King James Version).
God promised Abraham in the first book of the Bible that he would be the father of a special, chosen people.
The Bible describes the extraordinary relationship between Abraham, Christ and the Church. The New Testament begins by reminding us that Jesus is the descendant of Israel’s King David and of Abraham (Matthew 1:1)
Why was Abraham such a significant figure in the Bible?
Abraham, who lived almost 2,000 years before Jesus Christ, was the patriarch of the people of Israel through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel. We read of Abraham as “the father of all those who believe” (Isaiah 51:1-2; Romans 4:1-12). He shines as an example of faith in and obedience to God. Because of his obedience, God gave him a promise—a sacred covenant—that he would be the father of a great nation (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:5; Genesis 17:2-6).
God’s promise to Abraham involved much more than the promise of many descendants. The apostle Peter reminded his Jewish countrymen of the importance of God’s promise to Abraham: “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed’ ” (Acts 3:25; Genesis 22:18).
The apostle Paul explained that the promised “Seed” in the ultimate, spiritual sense is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).
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