Category: Palestine / land of Canaan / Holy Land

Not Thy Righteousness, But Their Wickedness #5

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

“Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:5 KJV).

May we have the proper perspective of wickedness versus righteousness….

Abraham understood that the LORD God would work in His grace to make of his lineage a people whom God would use to serve Him in the Earth. This unconditional contract or agreement is the Abrahamic Covenant: “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). Israel is that “great nation,” which descended from Abraham’s son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and Jacob’s 12 sons (patriarchs or forefathers of Israel’s 12 tribes). God’s covenant was transferred to each successive generation, as today’s Scripture states.

Of course, like every other sinner, Abraham wanted to “help” God, so he and wife Sarah plotted to produce a son (Ishmael) in Genesis chapter 16. This was human effort, not grace; God’s son for Abraham was Isaac, born many years later (chapter 21). By the time of Moses and Sinai, Israel favored the Law and foolishly entered into that (conditional) Mosaic agreement (Exodus 19:3-8). This religious system was still on the minds of the Israelites of today’s Scripture, and Moses prompted them to recognize how God’s promise of blessings of grace to father Abraham came long before their promise to “do good” and inherit blessings based on their works. If they would receive anything from God, it would be solely because of His faithfulness, not theirs.

Notice! Sinful Israel did not “deserve” the Promised Land any more than the sinful Gentiles whom God was throwing out of it….

Not Thy Righteousness, But Their Wickedness #4

Monday, April 13, 2026

“Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:5 KJV).

May we have the proper perspective of wickedness versus righteousness….

Re-read today’s Scripture, noting the reference to “the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Go all the way back to Genesis chapter 15, the LORD God deeding the Promised Land to Abraham centuries before Moses: “[13] And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; [14] And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. [15] And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. [16] But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”

Essentially, the LORD God informed Abraham, “One day, long after your death, your people will go away from this land of Canaan and I will bring them back here. Until then, I will keep tolerating the sins of the Gentiles in this land [the ‘wickedness of these nations’ of today’s Scripture!]. When judgment can no longer be withheld, those Gentiles will be violently evicted and destroyed as Israel comes in to occupy their land.” Approximately four centuries after this conversation with Abraham, the LORD commissioned Moses to lead the nation Israel out from Egyptian slavery and into the Promised Land. Of course, Israel did not immediately settle the land under Moses because of their unbelief… and, so, another 40 years passed, which brings us up to Deuteronomy (today’s Scripture).

Moses wanted to make sure his people knew the nature of their entrance into Canaan. Like the Gentiles, the Israelites were equally sinners, but God had made promises to the Israelites out of His goodness….

Not Thy Righteousness, But Their Wickedness #3

Sunday, April 12, 2026

“Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:5 KJV).

May we have the proper perspective of wickedness versus righteousness….

Listening to certain “Christians” (?), you would think they deserved Heaven—and, even if you do not think it, they certainly believe so! Another way to describe their outlook is this: they suppose Heaven will undergo a major improvement once they get there! I call to mind how one such woman, nearly a century old (!), bragged about how she raised four small children as a single mother after her young husband died in an accident. She believed that that was sufficient to make God smile upon her and usher her into His presence. Rejecting the Gospel message I and others shared with her, she died less than five years later—just as smug in her “religious goodness” as ever. The likelihood that she is burning in Hell’s fires right now is astronomically high. If that is the case, she has no one to blame for her willfulness but herself.

In today’s Scripture, there is an assumption that human goodness merits favor with the God of the Bible. However, if you scan the context, assorted uncomplimentary bits will stand out in bold relief. Moses had spent many, many decades with millions of people who loved self… and the LORD moved him to deliver a series of farewell comments to advise them. This counsel included having a clear understanding of why they would settle the Promised Land under Joshua’s command. It was surely not because of their goodness! Observe this excerpt: “…[F]or thou art a stiffnecked [haughty/proud and stubborn] people. Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place [40 years later!!], ye have been rebellious against the LORD” (Deuteronomy 9:6,7).

Yea, these sinners had no righteousness….

A Hope Reserved for Israel in Heaven? #6

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,…” (1 Peter 1:3,4 KJV).

Perhaps we can search the Scriptures to resolve an apparent contradiction, thereby perfecting that which is lacking in superficial readers….

Dispersion or exile was one of the curses or punishments that resulted because Israel disobeyed the Law of Moses. JEHOVAH God would vacate the Promised Land, throwing out the idolatrous 12 tribes of Israel by making them political prisoners to the Gentiles of foreign places. See 2 Kings 17:6-23 (Assyrian Captivity) and 2 Chronicles 36:14-21 (Babylonian Captivity).

The Book of Ezekiel explains how the Prophet watched the glory of the LORD gradually leave Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. “Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory…. Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above” (Ezekiel 10:4,18,19). “Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city” (Ezekiel 11:22,23).

By the time the Babylonian troops entered Jerusalem and burned down the Temple and the city (2 Kings 25:8-10; 2 Chronicles 36:14-21), God’s presence had long departed. It is in this context of exile or captivity that the title “the [LORD] God of Heaven” surfaces (Ezra 5:11,12; Ezra 6:9,10; Ezra 7:12,21,23; Nehemiah 1:4; Nehemiah 2:4,20; Daniel 2:18,19,37,44; Jonah 1:9; Revelation 11:13; Revelation 16:11). Let us think on this “God of Heaven….”

Possessed with Devils #21

Sunday, October 26, 2025

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:24 KJV).

What does the Bible say about devil possession?

Two passages that will revolutionize the way we look at the Holy Scriptures (if we let them!) are Acts 3:21 and Romans 16:25,26. Acts chapter 3 is Jesus Christ preached according to prophecy, that “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Romans chapter 16 is Jesus Christ preached according to mystery, that “which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest [through Pauline revelation].” Remember Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Prophecy corresponds to God’s will for Earth, whereas mystery regulates His will for Heaven. To mix them is to become totally mixed up. These prophetic and mystery programs cannot be combined, lest unanswerable confusion result. Again, we must “study… rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

The kingdom of the Gospel of the Kingdom is God’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom. Prophecy is the series of events which will result in God having an earthly people, Israel, to accomplish His will in the Earth. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth [not ‘heaven!’],” says Matthew 5:5, the earthly kingdom constitution. “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:…” (Matthew 25:34), which kingdom loops back to God placing Adam on the Earth (not in Heaven!).

Mystery is what information God kept secret from mankind until Christ revealed it to and through the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 9 onward. As Israel will exalt Jesus Christ in Earth, so we learn from Pauline revelation how the Church the Body of Christ will glorify Him in the Heavenly Places. God is not claiming real estate on the Earth today. The current battle is in the heavenly places, and, to miss this is to give Satan the victory. Devil possession is Satan’s way of corrupting the Promised Land, but with Israel temporarily fallen (Romans chapter 11), Satan and God are at war in the heavenly places now….

Possessed with Devils #9

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:24 KJV).

What does the Bible say about devil possession?

As Israel was captive to sin and Satan (pictured by Egypt and Pharaoh), the LORD God commissioned Moses to heal sickness and handle serpents in Exodus chapter 4. Similarly, Father God sent Jesus Christ to redeem Israel yet again—for, the Jewish people had allowed themselves to be contaminated with false religion or devil worship during the 15 centuries between Moses and John the Baptist. Christ therefore healed the sick and cast out devils.

Notice what the Bible remarks about Mary Magdalene. “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils” (Mark 16:9). “And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,…” (Luke 8:2). “Mary” in Hebrew is “Miriam,” meaning “rebellious.” She represents sinful Israel, filled with devils to maximum capacity (seven is the Bible’s number of completion). Yet, Jesus Christ (“Anointed Saviour”) cured Mary Magdalene of both her sin-problem (“infirmities”) and her devil-problem (“evil spirits… seven devils”). She represents Israel’s kingdom restoration and glorification in the ages to come.

Observe: “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee” (Mark 1:23-28; cf. Luke 4:33-37). Father God wants Israel to be cleansed of her spiritual filthiness, so the Lord Jesus works with Him in doing just that….

Possessed with Devils #8

Monday, October 13, 2025

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:24 KJV).

What does the Bible say about devil possession?

Two obstacles stop Israel from becoming God’s kingdom of priests who fulfill His will in the Earth—a sin-problem (symbolized by physical illness) and a devil-problem (devil possession). By performing miraculous demonstrations (healing the sick and casting out devils) as He preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Lord Jesus Christ proves He can deliver Israel from both dilemmas. Few ever realize Moses’ own ministry 15 centuries prior was a pattern for Christ’s earthly ministry.

“And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign” (Exodus 4:1-8).

For Israel’s sake, Moses is given the power to heal leprosy (various skin diseases, which represent sin) and handle snakes (a picture of Satan, devil possession and exorcism)….

Possessed with Devils #7

Sunday, October 12, 2025

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:24 KJV).

What does the Bible say about devil possession?

In addition to the devil-possessed men of Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-19, and Luke 8:26-39; there is a second record of exorcism connected to the Sermon on the Mount (Christ’s Kingdom Constitution). We refer to Matthew 9:32-34: “As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.” Observe that, as Christ drives out evil spirits, He encounters more antagonism from Israel’s unbelieving religious leaders.

Look at the verse just prior to today’s Scripture: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” Exorcism is connected to the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom.“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [near, within grasp]” (Matthew 3:1,2). “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14,15).

Although apostate, Christ-rejecting, unbelieving Israel did not know what the God of the Bible was doing during Matthew to John, Satan and his angelic armies were well aware of it. Their goal was simply to contaminate the people of Israel and the land of Israel, that the kingdom of God be prevented from being founded in the Earth. Hence, the Bible refers to devils as “unclean spirits.” Think of strongholds or fortresses, situated to defend one’s territory. Satan had people possessed with devils scattered throughout the land of Canaan in order to pollute the Jewish nation and their earthly abode….

The “Terrible” God #2

Saturday, May 3, 2025

“Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible” (Deuteronomy 7:21 KJV).

The Authorized Version features eight references to the LORD God being “terrible.” Why?

In the larger context of today’s Scripture, Moses in his farewell speech advises Israel about the seven strong Gentile nations they must encounter and destroy as they enter and possess the Land of Canaan under Joshua’s command (see verse 1). Though Moses will be long dead, his successor will lead them into those battles moving westward toward the Mediterranean Sea.

Today’s Scripture with its immediate context: “If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible” (verses 17-21). JEHOVAH God is “mighty and terrible” in connection to Israel’s fear of upcoming battles with intimidating heathen enemies. That God comforts the nation through Moses’ address.

Now, Deuteronomy chapter 10, Moses continues his counsel: “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,…? Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment” (verses 12,16-18). The LORD God is “terrible” as touching rebellious Israel worshipping heathen idols.

There is more….

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel #8

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Daniel 9:24 KJV).

What precisely are these seventy weeks of Daniel? How do they form the backbone of prophecy?

The purpose of Daniel’s seventy weeks of years is to prepare Israel to serve as God’s earthly kingdom of priests. During the last of these weeks of years, the Antichrist will reign, commencing the final phase of eliminating unbelievers that have contaminated the nation for centuries. The Antichrist is God’s method of exposing the tares (spiritual weeds) or unbelievers in Israel (Matthew 13:1-51), for they will worship the Antichrist, his image, and receive his mark (Revelation 14:9-11). They are the idolaters whose Law-breaking ancestors caused the fifth course of chastisement in the first place (Babylonian Captivity 600 years before Christ).

Again, Daniel’s seventy weeks cleanse the Jewish people of idolatry just as the 70-year Babylonian Captivity purified the land of Canaan of idolatry: Satan’s influence will be addressed and reversed. The Lord Jesus Christ’s Second Coming terminates Daniel’s 70th Week and brings God’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom. Once more, we have absolutely no reason whatsoever to place us the Church the Body of Christ into any of Daniel’s seventy weeks. Today’s Scripture indicates those 490 years are for Israel’s sake alone, not us. If we fail to “study… rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)—like (!) many (!) do (!)—we will combine Daniel and Paul, law and grace, prophecy and mystery, Israel and the Body of Christ, Earth and Heaven. Nothing but unanswerable confusion will result.

Prophecy is quite interesting. Since it is God’s inspired Word, we can, should, and do study it. Yet, because it is not God’s Word to us or about us, many prophetic verses are unclear to us. This should not bother us in the least, for to whom and about whom they are written these passages will make complete sense in due time. Doubtless, this we know: our victorious Christian living in this the Dispensation of the Grace of God is found exclusively in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.