Category: The Mosaic Law

If Thou Be #6

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4 KJV).

Can Satan use the Bible to confuse God’s people concerning their identity? Yes, today’s Scripture says he most certainly can (and does)!

Every cult in Christendom is “Scriptural.” They all use part of the Holy Bible—the Psalms, Isaiah, the Sermon on the Mount, Genesis, the “Lord’s Prayer,” and so on. Marvel not, dear friends, that false religion does utilize God’s precious words to fool the masses. For, long before false religion used and abused the Bible to support their warped system, Satan did likewise during Christ’s earthly ministry.

Most people greatly underestimate Satan—“The Devil works in those who smoke, chew, and hang around the girls who do. Satan working at and in my denominational church? Never! My preacher uses the Bible! We follow ‘Jesus,’ are led by ‘the Spirit,’ and proclaim ‘the Gospel!’”

Note the following dialog during Christ’s temptations, Matthew chapter 4: “[5] Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, [6] And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

Quoting Psalm 91:11-12 to Jesus, Satan was “Scriptural!!” The Devil grabbed a passage from another dispensation (specifically, Christ’s Second Coming) and forced it into Christ’s First Coming. Jesus knew better, and did not claim those verses because they were irrelevant at that time. Likewise, Paul feared in today’s Scripture that the Corinthians would allow someone to take a Gospel message from another dispensation (Scripture!) and force it on them, Jesus’ earthly ministry to Israel (Scripture!) and force it on them, and the Mosaic Law (Scripture!) and force it on them….

If Thou Be #5

Monday, June 8, 2015

“This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes” (2 Timothy 1:15 KJV).

Today’s Scripture says that long before the modernists, liberals, textual critics, atheists, scientists, and others attacked the Bible, the religionists did it!

Someone once said that Christendom’s “greatest blunder” was the assumption that the Church the Body of Christ started in Acts chapter 2. Friend, to make prophetic into mystery is erroneous. Beloved, to make Israel’s feast day of Pentecost the birthday of the Body of Christ is fallacious. Friend, to see yourself in Acts chapter 2 is dangerous. Unless you begin the Body of Christ with Paul’s salvation in Acts chapter 9, you will never recognize the dispensational boundary that affects your eternity destiny and your earthly life. You will never distinguish between heaven and hell. You will never discern victorious Christian living from futile fleshly living.

Paul claimed to be “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). The Holy Spirit also moved him to write in Ephesians 3:2 that Jesus Christ gave him “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” so that he could give it to us. If God entrusted to Paul our set of divine instructions to believe and follow, and yet Paul was not saved until Acts chapter 9, is it not silly to go to the Scriptures prior to Acts chapter 9 to find God’s message to us? Why are we so fixated on discovering ourselves in Acts chapter 2, when all the scriptural evidence to contrary is plain English? The answer is Satan’s lie program is still confusing the identity of God’s people. Furthermore, plenty of confused individuals are eager to build denominations and religious organizations, systems that actually enable Satan’s lie program to continue and confuse more souls!

Just before Paul’s death, in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), most Christians had already abandoned him, his ministry, and his epistles (today’s Scripture). They forsook God’s grace and returned to the Law of Moses (see 1 Timothy 1:3-11; cf. Acts 20:28-32)! We need not be surprised that the Body of Christ is thoroughly confused today about its identity. It was largely apostate—claiming Israel’s verses as its own—20 centuries ago!

*For more information, you may refer to our two studies: “Did the Church the Body of Christ Begin in Acts 2?” and “When Did the Church the Body of Christ Begin?”

Manipulating Moses to Murder Messiah #3

Saturday, May 30, 2015

“And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17 KJV).

How could Israel have been so blind in rejecting Jesus as Messiah, One who fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies?

In his farewell epistle, the Apostle Peter mentioned people who “wrest” the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15,16). They distort the meaning or interpretation of Bible verses so that they fit their opinions or views (“private interpretations;” 2 Peter 1:20). Before you think about Christendom’s excessive mishandling of the Holy Bible to create thousands upon thousands upon thousands of denominations, remember that the Bible was often largely misused long before Christianity.

Consider how the nation Israel (mis)handled Deuteronomy 13:1-11. They chose to use those few verses to condemn and kill Jesus Christ, all the while ignoring over 300 Old Testament prophecies that justified and validated Him as their God manifest in the flesh! Aptly, Jesus said that they did not believe Moses. Had they believed Moses they would have believed Jesus because Moses wrote about Jesus (John 5:39-47)—animals killed to clothe Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark as salvation from divine punishment, Abraham offering his only begotten son Isaac, Joseph’s betrayal by his brethren, the Passover lamb killed to ward off the death angel, and the whole law system (priesthood, sacrifices, tabernacle, holy vessels, feast days, et cetera), all depicted the Lord Jesus in some way. Israel ignored the fact that Jesus arrived exactly when Daniel predicted Messiah would be born (9:24-26), disregarded Micah’s prediction about Messiah’s birthplace (5:2), and ignored Isaiah when he described Messiah’s ministry, message, and miracles (35:3-6; 53:4; 61:1,2). On and on we could go, but these must suffice.

Who was leading Israel’s rebellion against the Lord Jesus? Saul of Tarsus! First Timothy 1:13 is the Apostle Paul’s reflection on his early years, when he served in the Devil’s ministry: “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (cf. today’s Scripture). What grace and love God poured out on Saul (verse 14), when he deserved God’s wrath poured out on him! Yes, Saul had led Israel in manipulating Moses to murder Messiah, but to him, God’s goodness gave great grace!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Who were the people who followed Jesus before Paul?”

“Very Religious” Versus “True Holiness”

Sunday, May 24, 2015

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind: And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24 KJV).

Is it merely religious, or truly holiness?

Recently talking among a group, I heard a person comment about a certain woman’s modest apparel. Another person replied, “Oh, yes, she is very religious!” (The implication, a common one, is a “religious” person dresses decently and acts respectfully.)

Ironically, it was “religious” people in the Bible who did some of the most disturbing things. Did not “religious” Cain murder Abel his brother (Genesis 4:1-15)? When Baal worship infected Israel, did not “sodomites” appear among the Jews (1 Kings 14:24; 1 Kings 15:12; 1 Kings 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7)? Did not the innumerable pagan priestess prostitutes who roamed Corinth’s streets at night “serve” Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love? (Hence, Paul urged lustful Christians in Corinth to marry in 1 Corinthians 7:2,9.)

Furthermore, Ephesians talks about “true holiness” (today’s Scripture). This implies that there is such a thing as false holiness. Anyone can appear to be set apart for God’s purposes, can be doing things that are noble and nice and noteworthy, but yet they are actually not serving the God of the Bible at all.

Remember Israel’s “very religious” behavior in Isaiah chapter 1. They would raise their hands, assemble for their festivals, offer animal sacrifices according to the Mosaic Law, visit the Temple, and so on. God said He was so sick of seeing such hypocrisy that He hid His face! They were not doing such things by faith. They did not believe His Word. They just loved to appear religious because it appealed to their flesh.

One day, when God calls His Christians home to heaven, we will see once and for all who is a Christian and who is not. Those who remain on earth will be manifested as “false holiness” (the “very religious” bunch). One can fool some of the people some of the time, but one cannot fool all of the people all of the time. And remember, no one can fool God any of the time! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Should Christians accept the practice of cremation?”

A Prayer According to God’s Will

Thursday, May 7, 2015

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;” (1 Timothy 2:1-3 KJV).

On this United States’ National Day of Prayer, we pray you pray according to the Lord Jesus Christ’s will for today!

Today, religious people—the general public, clergy, and government officials—will assemble nationwide, like they do every year, and pray for spiritual and moral revival of the “Christian” (?) United States of America. We commend their noble efforts, but God’s Word says there will be no godly revival of any of the world’s Gentile nations until Jesus Christ returns to earth at His Second Coming (Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 59:20–60:3; Zechariah 8:20-23; Revelation 11:15; et cetera).

The LORD’s words to King Solomon are often quoted on this day: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Friends, this is certainly God’s Word, but has nothing to do with Gentiles in the United States in the Dispensation of Grace. This verse has a context often overlooked—the nation Israel under the Mosaic Law, praying in relation to God’s Temple in Jerusalem (verses 15,16). Actually, that Temple was destroyed over 19 centuries ago! Unlike Israel, the United States was never a divinely-founded nation. The American people as a whole are not God’s people like Israel was.

Rather than praying 2 Chronicles 7:14, remember today’s Scripture (God’s Word to us Gentiles). The verse following today’s Scripture says, “[God] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Pray for those in authority, that they would trust Jesus Christ alone as their personal Saviour, and then grow in His Word to them so they can make wise decisions on behalf of the people they govern.

When the LORD Turns Israel’s Captivity #12

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

“That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee” (Deuteronomy 30:3 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, Moses prophesies Israel’s glorious future restoration!

The Mosaic Law declared that if Israel broke God’s laws, He would punish her with five accumulative and successive courses of judgment. That last round of chastisement was banishment from the Promised Land. Because of her national sins, Israel became increasingly open to Satan’s influence. Contractual agreement forced God to curse His beloved people!

As the Gentile armies led the Jews away captive, Israel mourned. They died in those foreign lands. As long as Israel was scattered globally, she could not be in the land that God had promised her. Furthermore, she could not accomplish His will in His land. That will all change when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back and establishes His earthly kingdom. Israel will rejoice with the establishment of the New Covenant!

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 126:1-6: “[1] When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. [2] Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. [3] The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. [4] Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. [5] They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. [6] He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

As Romans chapter 11 makes so plain, God still has a plan and purpose for Israel. In due time, He will fulfill it. For now, however, He is operating our mystery program. He will take care of Israel and her enemies in due course. For now, however, He is graciously offering salvation from sins, to all who simply believe on His Son.

“Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad” (Psalm 53:6). 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What part of us is justified at salvation?”

When the LORD Turns Israel’s Captivity #11

Monday, April 27, 2015

“That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee” (Deuteronomy 30:3 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, Moses prophesies Israel’s glorious future restoration!

Earlier in these studies, we looked at Exodus 19:5,6, God’s Word to Israel just out of Egyptian bondage. We will look at these verses once more: “[5] Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: [6] And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”

Israel failed to be God’s people. They had religion, but not righteousness. Israel had just escaped Egyptian slavery, and now they set themselves up for more captivity. By agreeing to do everything the LORD commanded them, and entering into the Covenant of Law, they ended up breaking that covenant and not becoming His people! Like all us sinners, they failed miserably. They never came close to God’s righteousness (Romans 2:17–3:20).

We read of Israel’s sin dilemma in Isaiah chapter 49: “[24] Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? [25] But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. [26] And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”

Israel, even to this day, is not only scattered amongst the Gentiles, but she is also in Satan’s captivity. The Messiah is coming to not only redeem Israel from the nations, but from the very depths of sin and hell (Romans 11:26-29)!

We can now summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why does the Bible say Jesus was hanged on a ‘tree?’”

When the LORD Turns Israel’s Captivity #3

Sunday, April 19, 2015

“That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee” (Deuteronomy 30:3 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, Moses prophesies Israel’s glorious future restoration!

When God offered to enter into the Law Covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai, He said, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:5,6). Israel replied, “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do” (verse 8). According to the rest of the Bible, and history, did Israel break her word? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Like many church members today, Israel failed to learn that she could never be God’s people in her own strength. Had the Jews truly learned the lesson of Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac (Genesis chapters 12 through 17), they would not have ignored God’s grace and preferred works-religion with Moses (see Galatians 4:19-31). Had they actually believed that it had to be God’s work to bring about a people for His name—divine efforts rather than human works, not Abraham’s efforts or their efforts but God’s efforts—they would have never entered into the Covenant of Law with the LORD at Sinai. Their deceitful sin nature (Jeremiah 17:9) caused them to believe they could keep God’s laws perfectly. God simply gave them the Law, what they wanted, proving to them and all the world that no one can be perfect (see Romans 3:19,20).

The Covenant of Law was a failure from the start. The Israelites danced naked around a golden calf idol after God wrote on the stones tablets that they were to not embrace idolatry (Exodus chapter 32)! The Law was a strict system—all or nothing. Because Israel broke the Law, she came under the curses, and automatically could not be God’s people. She came under Satan’s control (just as in Egypt). Today’s Scripture is part of God’s solution to Israel’s dilemma….

When the LORD Turns Israel’s Captivity #2

Saturday, April 18, 2015

“That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee” (Deuteronomy 30:3 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, Moses prophesies Israel’s glorious future restoration!

God, some 4,000 years ago, deeded much of “the Middle East” to Abram and his descendants: “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). Concerning his son Isaac’s birth, God told Abraham (notice his new name): “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8). So why does Israel today not have all of that land, from Egypt to the Euphrates (central Iraq)? Why does Israel currently have a sliver along the eastern Mediterranean Sea?

Firstly, 500 years after Abraham, God warned Israel through Moses: after four rounds of persistent wickedness (mainly idolatry) and four sequences of divine judgment, the fifth course of chastisement would be deportation out of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 28:62-68; cf. Leviticus 26:27-46). Israel would live amongst the Gentiles, hear foreign languages, be surrounded by heathen customs (which they had already largely embraced anyway), and serve cruel heathen governments. Many centuries after Moses, idolatrous Israel came under Assyrian, Babylonian, Median-Persian, Greek, and Roman powers. Even today, Gentiles (especially the Palestinians and Arabs, and their sympathizers) still harass Israel.

Secondly, when Messiah Jesus came to Israel “to confirm [or fulfill] the promises made unto the fathers” (Romans 15:8), they wanted God’s physical blessings and deliverance from Rome—they did not want God to deal with their sin problem (Mosaic-Law breaking). National Israel refused King Jesus, demanding His crucifixion, thus delaying their earthly kingdom that would have fulfilled God’s covenant with Abraham.

Thirdly, with unbelieving Israel scattered amongst the nations, God has momentarily paused her program. Through Paul’s ministry and epistles, we learn of the dispensational change—God is forming the Church the Body of Christ today. When our program ends, and Israel’s program continues, God will rescue Israel from her satanic and Gentile captivity….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did Jesus weep when Lazarus died?”

When the LORD Turns Israel’s Captivity #1

Friday, April 17, 2015

“That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee” (Deuteronomy 30:3 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, Moses prophesies Israel’s glorious future restoration!

After delineating the legalistic system of “do and be blessed of God, and do not do and be cursed of God” (chapter 28), and Israel’s punishment for her prior (and future) failure to do (chapter 29), Moses utters some of his final statements to Israel….

Chapter 30: “[1] And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, [2] And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; [3] That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.”

Seven centuries after Moses spoke this, Israel had broken the Law to such an extent that JEHOVAH had enough. After centuries of Israel’s pagan idolatry, God finally sent Assyrian armies into the Promised Land to deport the northern Jews. Some 100 years later, God sent Babylonian soldiers into Judah to deport the southern Jews.

For the last 2,700 years, the Jewish race has been scattered throughout every nation under heaven, suffering Gentile oppression. The day is coming, however, that Messiah Jesus will return to restore Israel as He “turned the captivity of Job” (see Job 42:10). Israel will not be without her land and King forever. Paul clearly teaches in Romans 11:25-29 that Israel will be saved after our Dispensation of Grace, when “there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer!”

“O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad” (Psalm 14:7).