This blog will show you the origins of both Israel and the Church. I’m writing this blog because I want to lay to rest the controversies surrounding ‘Jews’ and ‘Christians’. They both appear to be vying for attention in the public forum, as well as bolstering themselves up for a secure future through self-preservation. All this calumny for what? If God is in charge of their destiny then what do they have to worry about? Please note that this has been going on since the end of the 1st century AD!
First let me tell you my thesis, and then let me tell you how I came across this little gem. My thesis is, before Jesus died and was resurrected, the only way to access God was through Israel. But after Jesus died and was resurrected, the only way to access God is through Jesus. Thus, God no longer needed Israel from that point forward.
Here’s how I came across this idea. During our recent Sabbath studies we have been reading out of TDOT (Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament) under the entry BRIT. BRIT (Berit) is the Hebrew word for covenant. Sound familiar? We really like the subject of covenant, so we revisited it. The more we study this subject, the more of it we find intricately involved in the Biblical text. This TDOT entry was contributed by M. Weinfeld of Jerusalem, Israel. It’s an older article and is scholarly in the truest sense of the word (in contrast to the many pseudo-scholars we see today).
While reading Section VI, “The Covenants with Abraham and David; the Royal Grant”, we learned something new about covenant: God granted to his favorite persons a gift in the form of covenant promises. Abraham and David were the recipients of covenant gifts from God. The reason? They obeyed God’s law and taught their descendants to do the same. That’s what made Abraham and David so special to God.
Take note of this one fact: Abraham lived before national Israel came into existence. In other words, Abraham lived before the 10 Commandments (the Mosaic law) were given. Herein we see Abraham obeying God’s law long before Israel became a nation (at least 3 generations’ worth of time). In Genesis we see Abraham’s lifetime of obedience being the basis for God’s deciding to give him the promise-gift. Let me show you the text in TDOT so you can see for yourself where I get these ideas:
Note these words from the above text:
Although their loyalty is presupposed, it does not occur as a condition for keeping the promise…on the contrary, the Davidic promise…contains a clause in which the unconditional nature of the gift is explicitly stated…so also the covenants with Abraham and David are gifts bestowed upon individuals who distinguished themselves in loyally serving their masters…the terminology employed in this context is very close to that used in the Assyrian grants.
The well-established historical fact I want to point out to you is this: God gave these covenants because of the performance of these men. That sure seems to fly in the face of Evangelical ‘free grace’ theology, doesn’t it? It also seems to contradict Evangelical ‘you can’t earn your salvation’ theology. But it really doesn’t! The problem with those theologies is they are man-made ideas based on false assumptions and incomplete historical information. Thus, they are departures from the Biblical and historical facts. They are a religious viewpoint about a governmental matter. Effectively, Weinfeld is saying that the Royal Grant covenant was given because the recipient had proven his loyalty to the sovereign. The Sovereign in this instance is YHWH (God).
Let’s take a quick side track and jump to the NT where we can connect the dots on a well-worn Evangelical subject. We all know from Jesus what the ‘Great Commandment’ in the [Mosaic] law is, “love YHWH your God with all your heart…etc.” We also know that Great Commandment is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4ff, while also being essentially a restatement of the 1st & 2nd Commandments in the Decalogue (the Law proper). “You shall have no other Gods before my face…you shall not worship or serve them…[but shall instead] love Me and keep My commandments”. So when a person perseveres in obeying those two commandments, they become like Abraham, who was a man that faithfully obeyed God’s mandates. In other words, Abraham’s lifestyle was built upon obeying God’s law. Therein you can see the ‘doctrine’ of perseverance found in the theological category called Soteriology. You obey God ‘through thick and thin’ because you want to please God, not because you want to get something out of it.
Let’s briefly look at some evidence establishing the FACT that Abraham obeyed God’s LAW long before the MOSAIC law came into existence. Note that the below quotes come from extra-Biblical literature that existed long before Jesus and the Apostles were born. So nobody can tell me that this is AFTER THE FACT, like they do when referring to rabbinic literature for proof of NT realities. Incidentally, I found these quotes in Simon J. Gathercole’s book, “Where is Boasting” on pages 235-6, & fn 59. Thanx Simon, for your excellent contribution to this truth!
19 Abraham was a great father of many people: in glory was there none like unto him; 20 Who kept the law of the most High, and was in covenant with him: he established the covenant in his flesh; and when he was proved, he was found faithful.
(Sirach 44, KJA – 2nd century BC)Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness? (1 Maccabees 2:52, KJA – 2nd century BC)
9 For the days of the forefathers, of their life, were nineteen jubilees; and after the Flood they began to grow less than nineteen jubilees, and to decrease in jubilees, and to grow old quickly, and to be full of their days by reason of manifold tribulation and the wickedness of their ways, with the exception of Abraham. 10 For Abraham was perfect in all his deeds with the Lord, and well-pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life; and behold, he did not complete four jubilees in his life, when he had grown old by reason of the wickedness, and was full of his days. (Jubilees 23, OTP, see also, 16:4-5 & CD 10:8-11 – 2nd to 1st centuries BC)
2 Abraham did not live by it [wickedness] and was considered God’s friend, because he observed the commandments of God and he did not choose to follow 3 the will of his own spirit (DSS, Damascus Document, CD 3:2-4 – 3rd to 1st centuries BC)
The mishna explains: … it likewise states with regard to Abraham our forefather: “And Abraham was old, well stricken in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things” (Genesis 24:1). We found that Abraham our forefather fulfilled the entire Torah before it was given, as it is stated: “Because that Abraham listened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Genesis 26:5), which indicates that Abraham observed all the mitzvot of his own accord and was rewarded in his old age as a result. (Mishnah, Kiddushin 4:14 – redacted 3rd century AD; content from 6th century BC to 1st century AD)
The shocking side effect of this Royal Grant (covenant gift) is the implied obedience to God’s law. That’s precisely why God gave these men those Royal Grants. Remember my Galatians 3 and Romans 3 blogs? I pointed out that the apostle Paul calls the Royal Grant a Promise Covenant. And he thoroughly makes a point of showing you that this Royal Grant (Promise Covenant) has no connection to Israel’s Suzerainty Treaty (the Mosaic covenant). The result is neither covenant can affect the other. In fact, each one — by design — establishes the other! (Romans 3:31)
So what can we take away from this in practical terms? When I learned Evangelical theology, they taught me once saved, always saved. But then I began to notice the moral mess that the churches were in due to their religious ‘fire insurance policy’. That policy purportedly keeps them out of ‘hell’. Such a policy implicitly gives them the latitude to ‘live as they please’ (in sin and uncleanness). I said to myself, once saved, always saved breeds antinomianism (lawlessness). Consequently I rethought the idea. There just had to be a better explanation for eternal security. So, after finding texts in the NT that sternly warn against willful sin after getting saved (e.g., Hebrews 10:26, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 10:5, Galatians 5:21, Ephesians 5:5, 2 Timothy 1:15-18), I said to myself, ‘there is no eternal security. It’s all a modern mental fiction designed by con men for manipulating parishioners (like purgatory is for Catholics). But now I have what appears to be the truth of the matter. There actually IS such a thing as eternal security. However, instead of that concept being based on Evangelical antinomianism, it is based on the Abrahamic Royal Grant (Promise Covenant), as ratified by and in Jesus Christ. In other words, the ‘New Covenant in Jesus Christ’ is the fulfillment of God’s Royal Grant (Promise Covenant) to Abraham.
Okay, so what?! Notice the conditions placed upon it. The Royal Grant was given to faithful persons only, and not to just anyone. And faithful persons are those who obey God’s law (per above). In other words, the person’s obedience to God’s law is implied. That sure does give new meaning to the idea of eternal security, doesn’t it? It also gives new meaning to the people that God accepts as part of his Royal Grant (Promise Covenant) in Christ. It also introduces a whole lot of confusion and doubt in the minds of people who have already been brainwashed with the modern Evangelical eternal security ‘doctrine’. And it also explains what the NT apostles meant when they said things like this:
I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:5)
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. (1 John 5:16)
…let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:20)
Now for those who have been brainwashed with modern antinomian theosophy in the Evangelical churches, here’s my advice to you: Start learning and obeying God’s law, and don’t worry about the rest! Jesus already took care of your unintentional lawlessness on The Cross. So all that remains for you to do is learn God’s law and live according to it in your daily life. And don’t forget God’s purpose for learning His law: so you know right from wrong, and so you know how to treat people right, and obviously so you don’t sin against GOD (Psalm 119:11). It’s not so you can use it against people. Nor is it for you to use to control or judge others. It’s for you to take personal responsibility for yourself, so you can ‘be like Jesus’ (who obeyed God’s law perfectly!).
Just think for a moment. When non-Jews become ‘Christian’, they don’t know anything about God’s law. That means they have a lot of catching up to do, right? So what’s the difference between long-standing nominal Christians and new ‘believers’? One thing: Time. Long-term Christians have racked up a lot of lost time disobeying God in some ways. But for them to catch up isn’t really all that difficult. So that’s my message to all the church people out there who want to get on board with being what God wants you to be. Back to the subject…
Regarding God’s people who are in the Promise Covenant, God will never forsake them because “when he commits iniquity, I will chasten him…but I will not take my steadfast love from him” (2 Samuel 7). So there you have your eternal security without the antinomianism. Those who are ‘saved’ and insist on living lawless lives (refuse to obey God’s law) will be punished.
For example, take a look at modern America. We’re supposed to be a ‘Christian nation’. Yes, American politics, business persons, and professionals are nearly all totally corrupt. They all ‘serve mammon’ (fiat money economics is a big subject about lawlessness in the social institutions, but it’s off topic). Like Frederick Bastiat says, “Stop legal plunder before it starts!” Unfortunately it’s too late for that here in America.
So today, America is riddled with broken families, broken people, broken flora and fauna… broken everything. And people wonder why life is so hard! And when you tell them it’s because no one obeys God’s law, they look at you like you’re a nutcase. Even the churches and religious leaders view you that way. How sad! All they have to do is repent and obey God, and gradually life will get better. It will never be what it could have been, but at least it will be much better than what it is now.
Having said all that, now I can make my point about the origin of both Israel and the church. As we have seen in the previous Galatians 3 and Romans 3 blogs, God fulfilled His Promise Covenant (Royal Grant) to Abraham in and through Jesus Christ. We also saw that God promised to make Abraham into a great nation. The general consensus among scholars is that Israel is that nation. But, scholars also consider that the Mosaic law (the Suzerainty Treaty) is the thing that brought into existence the nation of Israel. I believed that idea up until I saw the one above in Weinfeld’s discussion about BRIT (covenant) in TDOT. Note what he says:
Even when Israel sins and is to be severely punished, God intervenes to help “because he will not break his covenant” (Leviticus 26:44).
Now take a look at the verses leading up to verse 44:
40 ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against me, and also in their acting with hostility against me— 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also my covenant with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. 43 for the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected my ordinances and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.
There you have it! Israel’s eternal security is based on the Royal Grant (Promise Covenant) that YHWH made to Abraham/Isaac/Jacob. It’s definitely NOT based on the Mosaic Law Covenant (the conditional Suzerainty Treaty)! And the restored relationship is based on Israel’s repentance and obedience to YHWH’s law. Note well that fact, which appears to be a contradiction of Evangelical theology. God’s grace (Gift Covenant) is what keeps Israel from annihilation, yet Israel’s obedience to God’s law found in the Conditional Covenant gets Israel back into relationship with YHWH. Why wouldn’t that same principle apply to God’s people today who are called Christians?
By the preceding facts you can see that both Israel and The Church came into existence by God’s Royal Grant (Promise Covenant) to Abraham. And you can also see that the nation of Israel did not come about by the Mosaic Law Covenant. Instead, the Mosaic Law Covenant was merely the guardian that kept the people and social institutions of that nation in check so they would not completely ‘run amok’ over the course of time like America has! Had He let them, they would have ruined God’s plan of producing His Messiah, Jesus Christ (born from within the nation Israel):
Why the law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. (Galatians 3:19)
Now let’s think about the implications of Israel coming into existence based on God’s promise instead of by the Mosaic law. For starters, that explains why God will reconstitute the nation of Israel when HE is good and ready at some future time. In other words, it’s because God keeps His word! God’s Royal Grant (Promise Covenant) will bind YHWH to not totally forsake His beloved Israel. It also means that God will reconstitute Israel when their punishment is finished, or as Paul says, “…until the fullness of the gentiles comes in.” (Romans 11). That is when Israel’s Theocracy will be re-established. But this time it will be ‘in the spirit of Messiah’ … meaning, under Jesus’ authority. All of this has to do with God’s plan for blessing mankind and the rest of His creation. This also explains a lot of what the OT Prophets say about God punishing Israel, but not to their annihilation. When they’ve been chastised enough, God will bring them back into His favor. The idea of God’s Promise Covenant (in contrast to God’s Mosaic covenant) explains many anomalies in the Scriptures which heretofore were inexplicable using any kind of church theology.
One profound effect this will have on the world is that it will put Jews and modern Israel in their place. That’s both good and bad. It’s bad (from a ‘Jewish’ perspective) because it removes from Israel and ‘Jews’, all delusions of grandeur based on their bloodline and other past theocratic blessings. But it’s good because it gives Israel hope for the future based on God’s goodness. That means they don’t have to shove Talmudic law down anyone’s throat for them to become ‘God’s chosen people’. And they can quit relentlessly promoting their own concocted identity for purposes of self-preservation. But the best part of this is the fact that ‘in Christ’ no one is better than anyone else because God is the one who determines the value of people in His Kingdom. And that will be discovered by all humans on Judgment Day. So, based on this new revelation of truth, everyone in God’s kingdom is equal in God’s estimation (whether ‘Jew or Gentile’). And everyone outside of God’s kingdom…well, not so much for ‘what have we to do with outsiders?’ (1 Corinthians 5:12).
Along other lines, let’s consider what the Promise Covenant means to modern day Christians. For starters it means they have ‘eternal security’ in the New Covenant. But it also means they have an obligation to obey God’s law as citizens of God’s Kingdom. Notice I didn’t say obey 2nd temple law. Nor did I say obey the rabbis. Nor did I say they obey God’s law to be saved. Instead, I’m contending that obeying God’s law is part of being a citizen of God’s kingdom. If we Christians refuse to obey God’s law, then what can we expect? Let’s see some of the warnings in the NT on this:
26 for if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 how much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of Grace? 30 for we know Him who said, “vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “the LORD will judge His people.” 31 it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. (Hebrews 10)
9 …be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1)
9 or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6)
…for this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Ephesians 5:5)
5 therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 for it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience… (Colossians 3)
The NT is chock full of such sayings. And I just want you to be aware of your obligations under the Free Grace Covenant. If you violate these mandates, you can’t ‘lose your salvation’. But on second thought, one has to wonder if such a rebellious and disobedient individual was truly ‘saved’ in the first place?!
Therefore, all of us who believe in Jesus can work together to learn God’s law and to obey God’s law, so we can all be united in Christ under one ‘Christian culture’. The current method doesn’t seem to be working too well, especially considering all the crazy theological ideas coming from both Jews and Christians around the world and throughout history. When will people learn?!
OK, enough said. See you in the next blog…
(A big thanks goes out to my good friend Jim for editing this blog for grammar and content!)
Reality Bible 