Isaiah 41:8-10 ESV
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I
have chosen,
the offspring
of Abraham, my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from
its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen
you and not cast you off”;
fear not, for I am with you;
be not
dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand.”
Who is this talking about today? Who is Israel? The Jews who
don’t believe in Jesus Christ? No. It is all who believe in Jesus Christ,
whether Jew or Gentile by birth. Who are the true children of Abraham? The Jews
who don’t believe in Jesus as their Messiah? No. It is us who trust Jesus to be
our Lord and Savior. And, who is the promised seed of Abraham? The unbelieving Jews?
No. Jesus. (Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 3:10, 16, 26-29; Gal. 4:22-32).
The physical nation of Israel is not the Israel of God. She
is of Hagar, the slave woman, because she is still in slavery to sin. She is
antichrist because she, as a nation, denies that Jesus is the Christ, and thus
she denies the Father and the Son. She doesn’t believe in the God of her
ancestors, because she doesn’t believe in God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and
Holy Spirit. The nation of Israel, thus, is no different than an Arab nation.
But these are not my words. This is what the Scriptures
teach. And, it is important that we understand this so that we are not deceived
into thinking that the physical nation of Israel are God’s chosen people and
that they have some special status with God. Thus, if we support or if we stand
with the nation of Israel, we are standing with and supporting the antichrist.
If Jesus was the singular seed of Abraham, which he was, that
would mean that it is all those who are in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile by
birth, who are the children of Abraham and the heirs of the promise. We are the
only heirs. We are the only Israel in God’s sight. So, when you interpret the
events of these last days, you must interpret them in that light. For, through
Jesus’ death, he made us both one in Christ, so there is no more separation.
Satan is not against the Jews who don’t believe in Jesus,
because they are antichrist, so they are on his side. The ones Satan is after
are those who are of Christ, the true Israel of God, who are the true children
of Abraham, and the true heirs of the promise. So, the “Jerusalem” the Gentiles
will trample on is heavenly Jerusalem, i.e. true Israel, the only Israel of God,
which is us. We are the persecuted ones. We are the ones Satan is out to
destroy.
But we are not to fear Satan’s evil schemes and his evil
attacks against us, which come through his servants and messengers and via the naïve
who are just repeating what they have been taught. For, God has not abandoned
us, no matter what we are going through. He will strengthen us, and he will
help us, and he will uphold us through every storm and through every trial.
Isaiah 41:11-13 ESV
“Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to
shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as
nothing and shall perish.
You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall
not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as
nothing at all.
For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right
hand;
it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not,
I am the one
who helps you.’”
So, just know here that the Scriptures teach that the Jews
who don’t believe in Jesus are the persecutors of Jesus and his followers. This
is not saying that every Jew is personally against us, but that if they don’t
believe in Jesus, they are against Christ, and against Christ is also against
his followers. And, this includes all non-Jews who also do not believe in
Jesus. They are antichrist if they deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.
So, don’t be surprised if, in these last days, as it becomes
more and more apparent that the beast is rising and that he is conquering
nations and peoples and the saints of God, that there is a large number of Jews
who are part of this beast who are coming against us to persecute us. For they
who persecuted and killed Jesus will also persecute and kill us who follow Him.
But, obviously, they are not our only persecutors. Even many
people who claim faith in Jesus Christ are antichrist and are against the Lord’s
servants and messengers because his servants are out sharing his gospel message
so that many will be saved before our Lord returns. And, they don’t like the
message of the cross because it is an offense to them, because they are still
living in their sin. And, so they have altered the message of the cross to make
it more acceptable to the flesh and to the world.
Teaching the Truth
So, if you are teaching the truth of the gospel, and if you
are living it, and if you are exposing the lies which are opposed to the
gospel, Satan and his groupies will come against you in one way or another.
And, that is because their goal is to either convert you to their false gospel,
which delivers no one from sin, or they will try to destroy you in order to
silence you.
For, the love of God that they are teaching is a very
fleshly love which coddles people in their sins rather than confront them in
their sin and call them to repentance. If you confront people and call them to
repentance and obedience of faith in Jesus Christ, they will say you are being
unloving, intolerant, not caring about others, judgmental and self-righteous,
etc.
If you teach that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and to
heaven, they will object and say you are being judgmental, unloving, and
disunifying. They may even call it hate speech, especially if you are calling
out sin, warning of divine judgment, telling people that they are going to hell
if they don’t believe in Jesus, and that they must stop living in sin and live
holy lives pleasing to God. They will accuse you of disunity.
For, the message is strong and clear these days that we are
all supposed to be “in this together.” We are all supposed to look alike, act
alike, talk alike, think alike, and believe the same, too. We are to break down
everything that divides us and that disunifies us as the people of the world so
that we can all live at peace with one another, which is a false peace.
So, don’t fall into that trap, for it is of the devil. Jesus
called us to come out from the world and be separate. He called us to faith in
Jesus Christ and to him alone. He called us to be a holy people, and a godly
people committed to serving our Lord and to doing what he says. And, that
includes sharing his gospel message, which is going to get us hated and
persecuted.
So, don’t buy into the lies which say that loving people is
unifying with them and that it is not saying anything which might offend them,
or that it is keeping our religion to ourselves and not proclaiming what we
believe, or that it is accepting all religions as legitimate and all gods as
the same God.
And, don’t believe the lies which say it is not loving to
confront people with their sin or to warn them of judgment or to call them to
repentance, for that is the most loving thing we can do for anyone, for love is
not what we feel, it is what we do in obedience to our Lord and in obedience to
his word. For, they need to hear the truth which will set them free from their
sin if they believe it, and if they do, that is the best thing ever we could do
for them.
Anniversary Song
By Ann Aschauer
Well, some folks think that "love" means emotion,
So it comes and goes their whole life through.
Some folks never know that when the magic goes,
If you keep on lovin', it'll come back to you.
I was so afraid we'd lose the special feeling,
And someday we'd find our love wasn't true,
But then God opened up my eyes and made me realize,
Love is not what you feel, it's what you do.
c 1987 Ann Aschauer
Used by permission
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