WHO ARE The Chosen People

http://endtimepilgrim.org/chosen.htm WHO   ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE? A study by Gavin Finley MD endtimepilgrim.org - 2006

The two sticks become one. (Ezek37) Image from Batya Wootten's book. Who Is Israel?

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WHO ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE?

One of the most problematic and perplexing religious questions is this.
Who are God's Chosen People?
Are they The Jews'?
Or,
Are they 'The Christians'?
The Holy Scriptures give plenty of evidence for both. And at present we certainly see two camps of people. Both factions have some claim to the title, "Chosen People". And it seems that the God of the Bible throughout holy history has been dealing with both. They are the Jewish nation and people. And they are the people of western Christendom extending out to the Christian/Messianic Congregation in every nation around the world. And yet the Bible speaks of one Elect, never two. They may be two camps as we see them now. But as God sees them coming to Him the Chosen People are one undivided passing parade. All of them belong to the family of faithful Abraham by a deep and binding blood covenant relationship. As we shall see, this blood covenant relationship goes above and beyond bloodlines and race. And while the Chosen people were associated with the DNA of the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in former times the grace that brought human beings into a blood covenant relationship with YHVH-God, (the God who always was and ever shall be), overflowed beyond racial Israel into the nations even as the Jordan river overflows its banks all the days of the harvest. This overflow of the Holy Spirit beyond national Israel into the heathen nations happened in a major epic way on the Day of Pentecost. This was back in 32 A.D. during the summer that followed the Passion of Messiah. This overflow of God's Holy Spirit took the grace of Yehoveh-God beyond the racial precincts of Israel. This was prophesied to happen by Isaiah. In the Servant Songs we see that God's Servant was destined to become a Light to the heathen. The prophet Isaiah quoted what he had heard the God of Israel say,

Joseph's coat of many colors by Thomas Blackshear. Click the image to go to his gallery.

6 "Indeed He says,
' It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a Light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'"
(Isaiah 49:6)

So quite early on we saw Israel's prophets speaking of His Light, Messiah, and those who served under Him, having a worldwide global outreach. And while the Chosen People included Jew and non-Jew, people of Israel's DNA and people not of Israel's DNA, they are still one discrete Chosen people as they come to God by grace through faith in the atoning blood of Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb. The Chosen people, drawn out, wooed out, called out from whatever racial background are new creatures in a binding personal and national blood covenant relationship with Israel's Messiah. They may be a Hittite, as was Bathsheba's husband Uriah. But in their new devotion to Yehoveh, the God of Israel, they now belong to Yehoveh-God, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. From Abraham, (and even before Abraham), the Holy One of Israel has been working in and through the nation and people of Israel. He is at work in the Royal House of Judah, the faction which we can see. And He is also at work in and through and scattered lost ten tribes of the House of Israel which we cannot see, (yet). The Light to the nations is shining out of Israel, drawing out one single company of people, God's Chosen People. And a full and faithful search throughout the Holy Scriptures will establish one very important truth.
There is but one single Elect or Chosen people. The Holy Spirit is no respecter of persons. God has always dealt with people according to what is going on in their hearts. He deals mercifully and in righteousness with any who come to him, from whatever race. He draws them to Himself and they are born again. They come into Yehoveh-God's nation as a "melo-hagoyim", a company of many races and nations. This promise of a huge massive company of people was the original blessing given to Joseph's younger son Ephraim. And it was part of the original twofold promise to Abraham where God promised him,
1. a City not made with hands, and
2. a multitude of descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. The God of Israel is a big God with big plans. And He is abundant in mercy to all who come to Him in genuine repentance for their sins. He knocks at the door of their heart. Those who invite Him to come inside their lives and take over at the throne and altar of their heart enter into a serendipity. And their lives are changed forever. The Holy One of Israel has always entered the lives of any person who repents and opens themselves up to Him by faith. Such people receive the promised redemption that comes by the atoning blood of Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb.

NATIONAL ISRAEL WAS ESTABLISHED AT MOUNT SINAI.
THE NATION OF ISRAEL WAS ESTABLISHED FOREVER!

The Nation of Israel is Established Painting by Jewish artist Eizen. Click image to go to his paintings.

God always did, (and always will), work corporately in the nation of Israel. Israel as a nation will last forever. The ecclesiastical ecumenical plans of churchmen to replace Israel with some entity they name and claim as their own called "The Church", (which by itself means nothing more than "called out assembly" are without any scriptural foundation whatsoever. And those who espouse such rebellion against Israel as a nation and against Israel's coming Messiah are under God's judgment in this very heavy matter. See King David's song in Psalm 2.
So in the Old Covenant God works with Israel as a nation. And He continues to deal with Israel, both visible Judah-Israel and also lost Israel today. The lost ten tribes are sinsick, lost, and have national amnesia. They have forgotten the ancient paths and they have forgotten their resting place in God. But Yehoveh-God sees them. And He deals with them today, (and in the future even more so), just as He did back at Sinai. And He writes His Torah upon their hearts by the indwelling living Word of God. This is the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:31-33, The God of Israel and Joseph works personally and individually inside the hearts of His people. He has always done this. Old Testament or New Testament it matters not. By this New Covenant Jeremiah speaks of the Holy One of Israel has always reached out and extended His ministry of Grace, entering into the hearts of all those who have answered His call and invited Him in to save them. So the Old Covenant is not "done away with" as many modern day antinomian anti-Israel churchmen have told us. The Old Covenant will stand, even as the nation of Israel will stand, - forever! The Old Covenant with the nation of Israel faltered in times past under the Levitical priesthood of the time. But the Old Covenant with Israel as a nation will be fulfilled and brought to completion. The Old Covenant with the nation will be fulfilled by the work of the New Covenant in the individual. God Himself is doing this work in the ministerial work of Messiah, even Meshiach ben Joseph. Joseph in the former time fed the world the bread of life, bringing salvation to all who came seeking food in a time of famine. And so at their invitation Messiah as the Bread of Life, the Unleavened sinless Bread of Heaven comes inside them. And so He saves them to the uttermost. The indwelling Meshiach does the work inside individual human hearts. So the New Covenant Yehoveh-God makes with individuals does not replace or displace or "do away with" the Old Covenant He made with the nation of Israel back at Sinai. As we see in Revelation chapter 7 the New Covenant will draw and gather a single unified nation and congregation of people before the throne of God. Moses and the Apostle Peter spoke of a royal priesthood and a holy nation. This New Covenant will gather the individual living stones for the New Jerusalem. And so Yehoveh-God will make up His jewels just as Malachi prophesied that He would. And by this solid foundation based upon individual integrity of individuals in God the nation of Israel will be fully restored again. A single nation will be formed, drawn out, called out, wooed, and gathered from every nation, race and tribe. They will be camped out before God again at the climax of this age at that epic prophesied Feast of Tabernacles.

The Light of Israel goes global. Image from 'Christianity Today'

The Day of Pentecost is a key to our understanding here. On that epic day the Holy Spirit outpouring overflowed Israel and went out into the heathen goyim nations. The Light of Israel went international at that point. The Apostle Peter remarked on this in Acts 2 referencing the words of the prophet Joel in Joel 2. That was just the beginning of the great Holy Spirit outpouring that Joel had seen hundreds of years before and written about in Joel 2:28-32. As we can see in the passage from Joel 2 above, the Holy Spirit outpouring peaks and climaxes in a future time that will see the epic cosmic signs of the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood. This is the 6th seal and in the Olivet Discourse our Messiah tells us quite plainly that it will be 'immediately after the tribulation of those days that 'the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood'. So the blow-out climax of the Holy Spirit outpouring will be very late in this age. So we can be fully assure that the Holy Spirit will NOT be "taken ot of the way" as we have been told. On the contrary, the very best is yet to come. The Master of Ceremonies, true to Biblical pattern, is saving the best wine until last. The Holy Spirit outpouring will power up right inside the coming Great Tribulation period. The best wine will be served at the very end, just as we saw in the miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana. Again, the Prophet Joel is trying to tell us something here. Joel saw the peak of the Holy Spirit outpouring coming quite late. Remember Yeshua said that it will be AFTER the Great Tribulation when the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood. So the blockbuster climax of this great End-time Revival will come right at the very end of this age. We serve an awesome God. By His mighty hand and His awesome judgments He brought a nation of two million souls out from the bondage of Egypt. And and by His mercy and grace He writes His Law or Torah upon individual human hearts. (Jer. 31:31-33) And so He brings each one into the faith of Abraham. In Christ/Messiah they become Abraham's Seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal.3:29) They have entered into a blood covenant relationship with God. And that God is the Redeemer of Israel. Here is a word search of the word 'chosen' with the word 'people'. And here is a word search of the word Elect as it is used throughout the Holy Scriptures. These word studies from the same Greek word show us one thing very clearly. There is a single undivided Chosen people of God, And this is well established in the Bible. The established Church and Judaism may have their own opinions. And our established Christian Church Church can be pragmatically double minded and quietly assent to eternal separate destinies for two Chosen peoples. But as far as Yehoveh-God is concerned this is just not the case at all. He looks down upon earth and sees just one Elect and Chosen people. Holy Scripture shows God drawing out a single company of people through time. He started with Abraham and two generations later a family of fifty went into Egypt under Joseph. They emerged 400 years later being led out by Moses in a great Exodus. They entered the promised land under the Judges and later became a Kingdom under David and Solomon.

THE BREACH OF JEROBOAM.
THIS AWFUL BLOOD FEUD BETWEEN THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL
HAS STILL NOT BEEN RESOLVED. BUT IN THE LATTER DAYS IT WILL.

Woodcut illustration by Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld. (1794-1872)

After the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel split up into two kingdoms. The southern kingdom was comprised of the royal house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. The northern ten tribes of Israel under labor leader Jeroboam, (who subsequently became their king), went off into deep idolatry. They rejected the faith of their fathers. They left the devotion to YHVH-God and no longer attended the Feasts of Israel in Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. They went after the Ba'als and the bull calf worship their king Jeroboam set up for them.
So the rebelling northern kingdom under Jeroboam comprised ten tribes even a wild olive tree. These were to the God of Israel as lost Gomer was to Hosea. They were divorced from YHVH-God, and scattered in the nations. But the continuous promise of the prophets was that 'a remnant shall return'. The lost ten tribes are not discerned today by established Christendom. Nor are they recognized by established Judaism. It seems that the lost ten tribes will not be found again until the mysteries are revealed at the climax of this evil age. At that time the fullness of the heathen Gentiles will be brought in. And the partial blindness of Israel will be healed. The remnant of Israel, as true born-again Christian/Messianic believers, will finally come to understand their identity in the Seed of Abraham. The indwelling Messiah will show them that they are being drawn out to find the place they truly belong. By the blood of Christ they will see that they have come into the Commonwealth of Israel. (See Ephesians 2:12-13) The 'Breach of Jeroboam' is exceedingly important to understand. This historic parting of the ways has led to the deep and hurtful blood feud which continues to this day between the Jewish House of Judah in the Southern Kingdom, (which contains the royal House of David), and the lost ten tribes of Israel from the northern kingdom. Jewish scholar and writer Yair Davidiy of Britam.org has shown that these lost ten tribes went west along the northern coast of the Mediterranean and westwards out of the steppes of Russia to become the western nations. See these YouTube videos in which the author interviews Yair Davidiy in Jerusalem. If the lost ten tribes are indeed in the nations of the West then this may explain the racial and yet spiritually misdirected homing instinct of the Europeans to recapture Jerusalem in the bloody phenomenon we know as the Crusades. This jealousy of the royal Jewish House of Judah would also unravel the mystery of Anti-Semitism, a word which is clearly a misnomer. It is an over-generalization by a spirit which is obviously trying to hide something important. At its root Anti-Semitism is not just a racial thing. Nor is it just "crazy behaviour". Anti-Semitism is not a racial aversion to the Semitic people, the children of Shem, which includes Arabs. The malignant hatred is more specific than that. It should really be called for what it is, an "Anti-Throne of David" spirit. So-called Anti-Semitism is really a hatred and loathing by the evil worldly principalities and powers, both angelic and human. They despise and loathe the Messianic Jewish Throne of David. And why all the fear and hatred and loathing? The answer is simple. It is upon the Throne of David that David's greater Son, the coming Messiah of Israel will sit and rule. He will judge the heathen goyim nations. And when Messiah comes it will not be a pretty sight. He will judge the wicked. And He will deliver His Elect from their exile at Bozrah. (See Isaiah 63) The heathen Gentiles don't like that one bit. That is why the heathen, the nations, are raging.
And more so as we approach the end of the age. (See David's song in Psalm 2) So the 'Breach of Jeroboam' was an epic and historic event in holy history. And yet among Jewry and certainly in Western Christendom it is no longer remembered. This epic and awful day of rejection and cursing has been forgotten. But there are issues which must be revisited here. During the latter days these blood covenant matters will be addressed by both houses of Israel. And in the Apocalypse of Messiah the Breach of Jeroboam will be healed. With weeping and repentance the two houses of Israel will be re-united. The entire 12 tribe nation of Israel will be restored. And so all Israel will be saved. (See Romans 11:13-27)

THE PROMISED "LIGHT TO THE GENTILES".

So in the New Covenant YHVH-God reaches out to regather the lost ten tribes, the people He had previously divorced and scattered. But that is not the end of His work of regathering. And at the climax of the holy history of this age He draws out His Elect from the royal Jewish House of Judah.
The prophet Jeremiah was first to speak of this New Covenant. The New Covenant prophecy was directed to both estranged houses, the royal Jewish House of Judah and the lost sheep of the House of Israel. He said that the Law or Torah would be written in their hearts. (See Jer.31:31-33) This is the wonder of wonders, unveiled by our God whose very name, 'Wonderful', means "SURPRISE!!!"
The Old Covenant is not passe' and "done away with" as we have heard.
Rather, the Old Covenant with the nation of Israel will be fulfilled down at the personal; level.
Oh yes, the Old Covenant will be fulfilled in the New Covenant. The Old Testament prophets declared that this would happen.
The Sovereign One of Israel would reach out to bring home all the wanderers.
He would find the lost sheep of the House of Israel and all their companions from the nations.
And in this He would bring in Israel's total national restoration. In His first coming Messiah declared His priority in this New Covenant.
He said that He would seek out the prodigals, the lost sheep of the House of Israel. (See Mat.15:24) But wait, .......
there is more.
Israel's Messiah was destined to become a Light to the Gentiles.
And the heathen in the nations, are also drawn into His Covenant.

NO LONGER STRANGERS TO THE COVENANTS OF PROMISE,
DRAWN OUT FROM THE HEATHEN DARKNESS AND "BORN AGAIN"
THROUGH THE ATONING BLOOD OF ISRAEL'S PROMISED SACRIFICE LAMB,
TRUE BELIEVERS ENTER INTO THE CONGREGATION/CHURCH/COMMONWEALTH OF ISRAEL.

When heathen gentiles are saved by Israel's Messiah He brings them into His eternal covenant. The word "Gentile" in the Bible means "heathen". And so Christians who have experienced the new birth no longer fit the category of "Gentiles". Our Apostle Paul speaks of them becoming 'new creatures' in Messiah.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (King James Version)
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
  old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

So Christians who have known and experienced the new birth should no longer consider themselves heathen Gentiles. In the blood of Messiah they have entered into the New Covenant. In this blood covenant relationship with Messiah they take on their new national identity. That new citizenship, (and a new passport), is in the Commonwealth of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13)
Of course evangelicals steeped in the deep dispensationalism are slow to warm up to this Biblical truth. They say "We are different from Israel. We are in "The Church". We are the people of Grace living in the Age of Grace. The Jews are the people of "The Law". And so shall they ever be. But they have not read and taken to heart the prophet Zechariah's message in Zechariah 12. There is no Biblical foundation for this. Hellenized minds have departed from the Holy Scriptures and in the spirit of religious humanism they have contrived this false dichotomy. Churchmen have no right before God to separate out the Chosen People or throw them forever into two boxes. Nowhere in Holy Scripture do we see the Holy Spirit setting forth a divided Elect or an "Apartheid of the Chosen People". This is sad to report. But it seems that the people teaching this escapist eschatology we see in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture scenario are impatient. They want the train to glory to pull out imminently, even right now. They are just not prepared to wait on God or to stand as His witnesses. Nor are they willing to run the race to the end and see the God of Israel do His wonders. And yet YHVH-God has stated clearly and repeatedly that he fully intends and save and restore all Israel. Evangelicals glory in belonging to the Church. But there is nothing inherently sacred about the word "Church". It is merely the Greek word "Ekklesia". It simply means a "called out assembly", company, or "congregation", nothing more. So the real issue is simply this. To whom have we as the Congregation been "called out"? As Christian believers we have been "called out" to Jesus Christ. He is Yeshua Hamashiach, the Jewish Messiah. Responding to the Good News of the Gospel we came to Israel's King and High Priest for salvation. We repented of our sin and turned from our Luciferian selfism. Then we asked the Holy One of Israel to come into our lives as Savior and Lord. Our redemption comes from the New Covenant and the Gospel plan of salvation. This, in turn, comes from the covenants of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13) People are saved by grace through faith in the atoning blood of Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb. There simply is no other salvation plan being offered by our God. Our Lord and Savior is the Holy One of Israel. (Act 4:12) We are brought to salvation by our Jewish Messiah. "The Church", so called, is rooted and grounded in the true and genuine faith of Abraham. (Gal.3:29) It has never replaced Israel, nor will it ever replace Israel. Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures does God ever speak of two covenant peoples. Nowhere in Holy Scripture do we see one salvation plan for Israel and another for the Church. All who have been saved, or ever will be saved, are saved by the same plan of salvation. They are saved by grace through faith in Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb. But this error of "two covenants" has crept in and dominated our thinking. The error goes all the way back to the early Church Fathers. This is due to the deep and longstanding politico-religious rift between Christianity and Judaism. Religious leaders took it upon themselves to make an eternal theological division based on the breach of Jeroboam. But in Christ our Savior we become new creatures. (2Cor.5:17) We become identified in Abraham's Seed. (Gal.3:29) In covenant with our indwelling Jewish Messiah and King of Kings we actually take on new citizenship. And in the covenants of Israel we become heirs according to the promise. (Gal.3:29) A person who was formerly a heathen goy finds his Jewish Messiah. And by the personal work of Christ in the Gospel he is "saved". He may not realize it, but his heart has just undergone circumcision. And as the flesh and the blood falls to the ground he also has a new identity in Israel. Because of the kings and merchants this true identity of Christianity in Israel is veiled. But the Congregation of Israel, the true church, became a global company on the Day of Pentecost. The New Covenant in the Gospel has overflowed the banks of Israel for the past 2,000 years. And it will continue to do so "all the days of the harvest".

THE COMMONWEALTH OF ISRAEL OR, ... RESTORED ISRAEL From Zechariah Chapter 4 Image from the Jewish Cervera Bible (Spain circa 1299)

When Gentiles repent and are saved they are no longer Gentiles. They are no longer spiritually uncircumcised heathen outsiders, or goyim. Nor are they lost, aliens from the covenants of promise, and outside of the Commonwealth of Israel. (Eph.2:12-1 Through the blood of Messiah they become new creatures. And so they are grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel. (See Ephesians 2:12-13) The Holy Scriptures only speak of one covenant people of Yehoveh-God.
And they are identified in Israel. Israel may have been split up into two kingdoms back in 900+ B.C.. And today we may have "the Church" and "Israel", even as the two kingdoms and two houses of Israel. But YHVH-God never did ordain this nor speak in Holy Scripture of this lasting forever. Nor does the Bible ever speak of YHVH-God instituting any "Apartheid of the Elect". So the present divided situation is temporary. It is destined for reunification and restoration. The present "wall of separation" between Israel and "The Church" does not reflect God's ultimate will or His plan. The Messianic movement in Jewry has shown us what YHVH-God will do in a big way in times to come. He intends to unveil and restore "all Israel", meaning both houses or both kingdoms of Israel. And He will finish this task at the climax of the age. (Zech 12:7-13:1) So the separation of the bulk of the royal tribe of Judah from the lost ten tribes of Israel and from the Church is not "forever". What we see today is merely our present pragmatic Ecclesiastical and Judaic accommodation to the Breach of Jeroboam. The present split between Israel and the Church is quite obviously unfinished covenant business. YHVH-God will attend to this unhealed wound as the 70th Week of Daniel opens into the End Time drama. YHVH-God is even now at work in restoring divided Israel.
He will restore all Israel in the 70th Week of Daniel.
All His lost sheep will be found.
He will find every last one of them and bring them home. Throughout the history of Israel and the Church God has called out one Elect. All the people who have been saved come in by His grace through faith. They are personally known by God. All of God's Chosen People, from righteous Abel to the last Tribulation saint, will be regathered. The end of the age will see them all glorified. They will enter the mansions of glory together in the Resurrection-Rapture at the last day. (Mat.24:31) But the wider Judeo-Christian people reveals a people divided and in disarray. Both the Northern and the Southern Kingdom of Israel have suffered a long and painful separation. The two houses of Israel have been divorced for 2900 years. Now, because of sin and partial blindness, Israel and the Church can scarcely recognize each other. The breach of Jeroboam, broke Israel into two kingdoms. The lost ten tribes have been scattered to the ends of the earth. Many of them are out there still, making protection deals with the princes in the nations. They are partially blind, disorientated, and lost. And they have amnesia .... even as lost Gomer. But hundreds of millions of them have already been found.
Many in Lost Israel are being picked up in the New Covenant. (Jer.31:31-33)
They are bringing home a multitude of companions with them. (Ezek.37:16)
The worldwide ministry of the Gospel is destined to bring in Israel's great global harvest.
Quite clearly the Gospel transcends race and national boundaries.
And for political reasons this identity of the true Church in Israel is "cloaked".
It remains under a religious smokescreen because of the principalities and powers.
And the Holy Spirit of YHVH-God still has much work to be done in the hearts of men. So here then is the real and foundational basis for world peace. There cannot be and will not be world peace without a change in the hearts of men. This can only be accomplished by the indwelling Christ and the personal coming of the Prince of Peace into the hearts. Afterwards this age will then be wrapped up with the coming of Messiah. The Jewish house of Judah cannot and will not be forgotten. (Zech.12:7-13:1) The lawlessness and rebellion will be purged from the Church. Antinomianism will not be seen in Commonwealth of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13) All this will surely come to pass. God's righteous rule, His Law, will be enthroned in human hearts and in the bonds of love, even as the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in to Israel in a great harvest. (Rom.11) Because in the New Covenant God’s Law, His Torah, is being written into the hearts. (Jer.31:31-33)) The New Covenant and salvation came into the world via the Messiah of Israel. (Acts 4:12) His great salvation is the Light that was sent to the heathen (or gentiles). (Isa.42:6, 49:6, 60:3) Christ/Meshiach brought us the blood of atonement, the only means of reconciliation with God. (1John 1:7) The only salvation this planet will ever see comes through the blood of Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb.

THE BREACH OF JEROBOAM SPLIT ISRAEL INTO TWO HOUSES OR KINGDOMS.
THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM RETURNED TO THE LAND UNDER EZRA AND NEHEMIAH.
JERUSALEM WAS RE-ESTABLISHED AS A SOVEREIGN CITY-STATE.
THE NORTHERN KINGDOM AND THE TEN TRIBES REMAIN SCATTERED IN THE NATIONS.

The breach of Jeroboam split Israel. And the resulting chasm continues to divide His people today.
The rift between the Jewish nation and Western Christendom is very deep and dark.
The fracturing of Israel into two camps is old history. But it definitely involves the Church.
This broken relationship is the reason for much of the jealousy and the vexation. (Isa.11:13)
This is the 'bad blood' that brought us the crusades.
Sadly, much shameful Church sponsored Anti-Semitism continues to this day.
Apostasy has alienated both houses of Israel from their Messiah.
And sin continues to alienate the Church from Israel, and Israel from the Church.
Today the Judeo-Christian people remain a deeply divided and dysfunctional family.
This is our present political and religious reality.
It goes back to Israel's great divorce around 900 B.C..
And the two great lights of Israel, went there own separate ways.
Woodcut illustration by Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld. (1794-1872)

1Kings 12:16
Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them,
the people answered the king, saying: "What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!" So Israel departed to their tents.

This was the great divorce of Israel,
the awful 'breach of Jeroboam'.
Israel was split into two houses.
One majored in the Law, and the other went looking for Grace.
The object of the hatred and rejection is quite apparent here.
The venom and the rebellion was directed against the Throne of David.
And so, because of misunderstanding, the feud goes on.
The animosity continues to this very day.

THE NORTHERN TEN TRIBES WENT TO KING REHOBOAM LOOKING FOR GRACE.
DID THEY, WILL THEY, EVENTUALLY FIND IT?

The Messiah/Christ of Israel comes to minister and to reign.
He officiates over the dual offices of the Order of Melchizedek. In His Presence comes the end of theological bickering and head scratching.
In Him comes the reconciliation between His Law and His Grace.
In Him comes the Grace and the Shalom each side seeks from the other.
"Mercy and Truth have met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." (Ps.85:11)
The fullness of the gentiles will be brought in. (Rom.11:25)
The breach of Jeroboam will be healed.
And Judah will be saved. (Zech.12:7-13:1).
The natural olive branches will be grafted back in. (Rom.11) The people of the lost ten tribes bring with them a "melo-hagoyim".
They are a multitude of companions from the nations.
Over the past two millennia hundreds of millions have come into the Congregation and Commonwealth of Israel. Half of God's Elect are asleep in Christ.
The other half are alive on this planet right now. "The Church" is partially blind to its roots in Israel. (Rom.11:25)
Even as Judah is partially blind to her Messiah. The Church is therefore estranged from the royal tribe of Judah and the Jewish nation.
Because of the Breach of Jeroboam they do not recognize their Jewish brethren.
Instead, they see two companies, namely "The Church" and "Israel".
Sadly, they see them as two elects, forever separate, and never to be reconciled. But this rift between the Church and Israel is not a permanent eternal state of affairs.
From God's eternal perspective it is a temporary aberration.
It was not the state of affairs in the predominantly Jewish Church of the first century.
And it is certainly not God's ultimate eternal plan for His Elect in the future.

THE PRESENT BROKEN AND DIVIDED STATE OF ISRAEL WILL NOT LAST FOREVER.
THE SCRIPTURES SHOW A GLORIOUS RESTORATION AT THE CLIMAX OF THIS AGE.

The wall of separation between Israel and "the Church" is an open wound.
It is a broken bridge, an artificial man-made division in the family of God.
It exists because of Israel's sin and Lawless rebellion.
And it exists because of of Judah's unwillingness to receive God's Grace.
God's redemptive plan will bring this broken communication to an end.
All this, and more, will happen in the fullness of holy history.
It will happen in the crucible of the latter days.
The mysteries will unfold when Bible Prophecy is fulfilled. The breach of Jeroboam must be healed, and it will be.
The two houses of Israel will surely be re-united.
The two sticks will come together as one Elect people,
Just as the prophet Ezekiel has said. (Ezek.37:15-28) The prophet Zechariah saw two olive trees supplying oil to a golden bowl,
And the oil flowed through two golden pipes to a lamp stand of seven lamps. (Zech.4:7)
Two candles are placed on our tables in the west for fellowship meals.
And two witnesses are seen in the end time drama. (Rev.11:3) Two offices and two anointings are also seen in the Order of Melchizedek.
He was King of Salem, shalom, or peace).
And he was Priest of God Most High or God Almighty.
These are the dual offices of our Messiah. The two offices of Melchizedek are
1. the kingdom, and
2. the priesthood. We might view these as
1. Law, (God's righteous rule and precepts), and
2. Grace, God's priestly ministry for salvation to all who come to Him. Both anointings and authorities are in Israel.
Both of them are wrapped up in our Messiah.
He is drawing to Himself a "royal priesthood and a holy nation. (Exo.19:6 & 1Pet.2:9)
And at the end of the age Messiah will gather His Elect. (Mat.24:31) We have already seen the priestly ministry of Messiah.
It was showcased in His first coming.
Messiah was sacrificed on Passover. He was buried on Unleavened Bread. And He rose again from the dead on Firstfruits. The summer of that epic year saw the Feast of Pentecost fulfilled.
This was the very day on the Hebrew calendar that Moses brought down the Torah, or the Law.
It was the birthday of the nation of Israel.
The New Covenant fulfillment of Pentecost would also see the birthday of the Church. The Fall Feasts of Israel are up next.
The Apocalypse will see His Kingdom come.
Messiah's royal authority in Judah will come to earth.
His Kingdom will be established at His Second Coming. Messiah will wrap up the history of this age.
No Ecumenical resolution, no United Religions Initiative,
no Kingdom Now movement by Ecclesiastical Dominionists will do this.
Only the returning Messiah can wrap up history.
And He is the One who will do it, - not established religion. Messiah will deliver His Holy City, Jerusalem, at Armageddon.
And He will be the Breaker who comes in the Bozrah Deliverance.
He will regather the outcasts of Israel from all the places they have been scattered.
He will refine, restore, and reunite all Israel in the crucible of the end time. The 70th Week of Daniel has been written into the play and determined by God.
This is a certain and established future time period cut out of time.
Seven years have been set for God’s dealings with His covenant people.
He will be settling all issues with both houses of Israel. The Ancient of Days will be holding court during the Apocalypse.
He will also be dealing with the raging nations regarding
1. His holy city,
and
2. His holy people (singular), His Elect. All this has been determined and the 70th Week of Daniel has been set.
All these matters must be settled before this age comes to its awesome glorious climax.

ONE SALVATION PLAN. ONE ELECT PEOPLE.
THE RESTORATION OF ALL ISRAEL AT THE END OF THE AGE.

Let us get back to basics. Our salvation is not a gentile/heathen or even an ecclesiastical or churchy thing. Our redemption is in the atoning blood of Israel's Sacrifice Lamb. This is our great salvation. And it is nestled there within the covenants of Israel. There is no other salvation. The Messiah of Israel is our only Source for all things eternal. When we are saved we become new creatures in Christ our Messiah. (2Cor. 5:17) Our Savior Jesus Christ is the Holy One of Israel. He is the Anointed One, the Chief Cornerstone, the foundation for a building not made with hands. (Eph.2)
So our citizenship as evangelical Christians is not just in our national flag. Because when the mysteries are unwrapped we shall see the glory we see in the nations are reflections of the Light shining forth from the 12 gates of Israel. So our eternal citizenship is an allegiance to a higher loyalty, even the Commonwealth of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13) It is an allegiance of the heart, not in the bonds of national law but in the bonds of love. Our Messiah writes His Law in our hearts. (Jer.31:31-33) And this, by a divine serendipity, becomes our zeal and our devotion. Profane religion knows little of these holy things. Church life in the west has been taken over by business interests. They supply us with the best high priests of modern antinomian psychology. Today's post-modern church teaching is most often a mixed fare of merchant motivational materials and selfist psychobabble. But the "success in life" it sells is an illusion. Our life is not to be found in ourselves. Nor is our life meant to be spent in the pursuit of personal happiness for ourselves alone. Our self worth cannot to be found in these carnal endeavors. And our "self esteem" cannot be pumped up with religious hype. This narcissistic deception leads downwards to Luciferian selfism. Psychologists cannot give us self esteem. Nor can they give us self worth. Our self respect comes only when we enter into a true and real blood covenant with someone far greater and more worthy than ourselves. If the Church continues to coddle Christians in this vain selfism and prevent them from entering into true Blood Covenant Christianity then two sad outcomes lie ahead of us.
1. Our present malaise may continue. Or
2. We shall be led off by pied pipers into Dominionism.
This will lead to a tragic crusade at the end of the age. Both of these pathways are low roads.
They lead down from the Highway of holiness. (Isa.35)
And away from the glory road.
They will lead Christian believers to shame and personal tragedy. Christian politics and ecumenism is not the answer. Our ultimate destiny is up ahead a ways.It is the New Jerusalem. Our final destination is not in our present political encampment. We shall find our way home in the faith and covenants of Abraham. And the God of Abraham is leading His people each step of the Way. If we are in Christ then we are Abraham's Seed. (Gal.3:29)
Our Savior is not just Someone who gives us a free ticket to heaven.
We are in a blood covenant relationship with Israel's Messiah.
He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. We have our loyalties here below. And we are called to be good citizens in our country.
But our destiny is not in Paris, Berlin, London, Washington D.C., or Canberra.
When the great multitude is gathered before the Crystal Sea they do not sing their national anthem.
His Elect will sing the Song of Moses. (Rev.15:1-4) Many are the mansions or dwelling places we have been promised.
And they are to be found in the New Jerusalem, a city not made with hands.
John saw the Holy City, the Bride of the Lamb, descending from heaven. (Rev.21)
All the Elect people of YHVH-God will be there, gathered from Israel and from all nations.

YHVH-GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE AS ONE SINGLE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD/HOLY NATION

The Elect are drawn into the Kingdom of Messiah.
It is a Kingdom of Godly Law and Righteousness.
This was, and remains today, the burden of the royal tribe,
the Jewish House of Judah in the Southern Kingdom.
The Elect are also drawn into the Priesthood of Messiah.
It is a priesthood of Divine Grace, of atonement and of forgiveness of sin.
This was the burden of God's priesthood in joining man to God.
It was not seen in the Levitical priesthood but in the Priesthood of Melchizedek. (Heb.7) Grace was also what the Northern Kingdom went seeking back in 900 b.c..
At that time they went to King Rehoboam looking for Grace.
They were seeking relief in the matter of the heavy labor and servitude in Judah.
And they wanted some relief from the high taxes issuing from the debt left by the waning glory of Solomon. The prophets are unanimous in predictiing the full restoration of all Israel. The Kingdom embraces the House of David and the throne of David. This is in the Jewish House of Judah. And the Priesthood, (uniting God with man), is surely being ministered in a mighty way in the New Covenant. The Gospel, (the Good News of salvation), spilled out from Israel on the Day of Pentecost. 50 days after the Resurrection of Messiah Israel's Congregation, (or Church), began to be established out in the nations. These two great ministries of God are yet to come back together.
This eventual union of
the Kingdom and the Priesthood,
of Law and Grace,
of Israel and 'the Church'
is a glorious future reality.
The re-union and restoration of all Israel, both houses, will surely come.
The Holy Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments give abundant evidence of this. The promised restoration of all Israel will see the Kingdom and the Priesthood rejoined.
This is God's divine plan for His Elect.
It was laid out for the covenant people of God way back at Sinai.
Moses's charged the Children of Israel with this exhortation and challenge,

Exodus 19
5 'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant,
then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples,
for all the earth is Mine;
6 and you shall be to Me
a kingdom of priests and
a holy nation.' -Exo.19:5-6 NKJV

Notice that God does not speak of a 'royal nation' and a 'holy priesthood' as we would do today. This would be our inclination, (in Greek logic and mindset). We would bundle them up in this way. But that is not the way our God does things. He is not into boxing things up. He is for free interchange in the two offices of Melchizedek and between all the gates of His Holy City. God, through this message to us from Moses, crosswires the two virtues, (royalty and holiness), and re-wires them with the two offices, (the kingdom and the priesthood.
The priestly virtue of holiness He applies to the kingdom, and
the kingdom virtue of royalty He applies to the priesthood. So we have a 'royal priesthood'
and we have a 'holy nation'. Our Apostle Peter brings us the same message from out of the New Testament.
It is precisely the same message Moses brought to us 3500 years ago.

1 PETER
2:9 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; - 1Pet.2:9

DISPENSATIONALISM HAS GOD'S ELECT PEOPLE FOREVER SEPARATED
INTO TWO CAMPS AND NEVER RESTORED. THE DOCTRINE SMOKESCREENS
GOD'S PLANNED RESTORATION OF ISRAEL. ACCORDING TO DISPENSATIONALISM
"THE CHURCH", HAS THE GLORIOUS FUTURE DESTINY. "ISRAEL", OR
(THE JEWISH NATION), DOES NOT. DISPENSATIONALISM FIXES
AN "APARTHEID OF THE ELECT". THE BREACH, (THEY SAY), WILL
NEVER BE HEALED AND WILL LAST FOREVER. THIS IS A TRAVESTY.

Dear saints, we need to "unlearn" the dispensationalism that has been programmed into us. Churchmen should never have put those false Masonic walls in our timelines and in our doctrines. They should never have imposed their man-made divisions upon Holy Scripture. And they should never have denied the prophesied full restoration of God's Elect.
This is so sad to see. We get teachings of a so-called the "Age of Grace", a time period extending between Calvary and the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel. Their "age of grace", (so-called), is the "age of the Church". Their "grace period" does not extend into the last 7 years of this age. They say God has a separate deal for Israel inside the 70th Week. Some even say that since the Age of Grace will end at the beginning of the final seven years of this age that Israel will "have to keep the Law" to be saved! Where do they get this notion of salvation by the Law? Has anyone ever been saved by the keeping of the Law?! Is there one scintilla of evidence in scripture to support this ecclesiastically dispensed "apartheid of God's Elect"? Where did dispensationalists get this brash idea of an "Age of Grace" stopping short of the 70th Week? Who are they to dare to limit God's Divine Grace? Who gave them the authority to jam God's Divine Grace into a box, an arbitrary time period that fits their ecclesiastical and political agenda? The answer is now becoming clear. Freemasons infiltrating the Church through Rev. Darby and C.S. Scofield and a host of others had an agenda and a job to do. The Western Church has been "hoodwinked". They were determined to ramrod their Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine into the Holy Scriptures. Of course it does not fit. The resulting botched eschatology is not a pretty sight. Pre-tribulation Rapturism is a confusing mess. Many Christian erroneously are led to believe that "only the experts can understand it". How sad. The jigsaw puzzle never comes together. It remains a morass of confusing conflicted pieces jumbled and jammed together where they do not belong. And these were the dispensationalists who decided to cut up God's Elect and box them up forever as "the Church" and "the Jews" . This is indeed a sorry state of affairs. This doctrine of eternal separation between the Church and Israel is bad theology. It will surely spawn some grievous political consequences down the line. Dispensationalists say that they are not espousing replacement theology. But their early departure and glorification of the Church crafted into the doctrine of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture achieves the same result. The doctrine has effectively shut out the Jewish nation and the Tribulation Saints. They are prevented from entering into the glory. They have boxed up God's glory up for themselves in "the pre-tribulation church" with their Pre-Tribulation Rapture program. This is the "special deal" or "golden parachute" they have laid out for themselves. However, there is a problem. By cutting out repenting returning Israel from the flows of Grace they have cut returning repenting national Israel (Zech.12) from coming into the Church. This may be just as bad as Replacement Theology. Because the Jewish nation is "left behind" as a "B" grade "lesser elect". Dispensationalists say that the Jewish nation will not be joined to the Church in the end time. Their glory train is ready to go out imminently. So they are not going to be waiting for the Jewish nation. The western Church has bought their ticket to glory. And most of them right now are dead sure that they will be pulling out seven years early. The Holy Scriptures are in direct opposition to this apartheid policy.
The Bible shows us one single Elect being gathered at the climax of history.
But Dispensationalists do not wish to have this pointed out to them.
They are bound and determined to "have it their way". This is not the only travesty we see in Western Christendom. Dispensationalists paint the End Time a just a hellish wrath zone, with no Grace, no Holy Spirit, and no Church. They deny the truth concerning the End Time Revival. (Joel 2:28-32) Joel saw the peak of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming with the sun turning to darkness, the moon to blood. He saw it at the very end of the age! This is exceedingly good news. It would be a great morale booster for the Church, (if churchmen would make it their "purpose" to tell it to the people). This is the basis for the epic national salvation of the Jewish nation. (Zech. 12:7-13:1, Joel 2:28-32) So the Holy Spirit must surely be there inside the great drama of the 70th Week. The presence of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary to bring in the huge international harvest of the Tribulation Saints we see in Revelation 7. But Pre-Tribulation Rapture Dispensationalists refuse to acknowledge any revival at all in the Tribulation Period. What has happened here? Popular prophecy teachers have erroneously identified the Restrainer of 2Thes. 2 as the Holy Spirit. They have the Comforter taking leave of His divine omnipresence, (if that were possible). They have the Holy Spirit deserting the planet and deserting God's Chosen People for seven years. They have Him abandoning the saints during the 3.5 Harlot years and the 3.5 Tribulation years. Does this scenario fit the scriptures? Does it jive with what we know about the character of our omnipresent God and His omnipresent Holy Spirit? This Church vs. Israel dispensationalism gives rise to a lot of very strained and tortured eschatology. This could have some unfortunate political consequences. We have already seen what German Replacement Theology did. This American Dispensationalism could provide a theological basis for Western Christendom to once again bring grief to the nation of Israel. Tough hearted carnal Christian fundamentalists might say,

"These Jewish people are taking too long to repent!
They are probably ’not going to make it’ into the glory.
So why should we in the Church worry about them.
I’ve purchased my ticket for as Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
So I’m outta here!"

Such self-serving irresponsible eschatology has the Jews "left behind".
When the Pre-Tribulation Rapture fails to materialize the results could be grievous.
Christian Fundamentalists could get extremely angry about a perceived "raw deal" from God.
This failed doctrine could even fuel another seething round of Anti-Semitism.
Shameful political fallout does spring up from the seed of bad theology.
Remember, we have seen this before.
We saw it played out in the earlier histories of the European nations.
Pray God this never happens in America.

Who shall wear the starry crown?

Click on the image to go to 'the rest of the story'. ....................... Art used by permission of Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. Visit her 'Revelation Illustrated' website.

Christian believers must get back to the Bible. We must see the eventual confluence of Israel and the Church as one single Elect. God has only ever called one Chosen people, one covenant family of God. If we see two companies of people vying to be identified as God's Elect today then that does not mean God intended for them to remain in this broken disconnected state forever. In the Olivet Discourse Messiah said that He would gather His Elect, (singular), at the end of the age. (Mat.24:31) He will regather and glorify His Elect at the last day in the Resurrection-Rapture. He will be gathering "all who are Christ's at His coming". (iCor.15:22-23) This is God's wonderful plan. The plan calls for the completion of the Great Commission, the salvation of the Jewish nation, (Zech.12), and the restoration of both houses of Israel. All of them will be gathered up at the last day. They will be gathered up together as one Elect, one big happy family. This is simple, it is uncomplicated, it is elegant, and it is Bible truth.

THE CHOSEN PEOPLE IN THE END TIME DRAMA.
THE TRAVAIL OF THE WOMAN OF REVELATION 12.

One question that is commonly asked is this. Who is the woman John saw in Revelation 12? Who does she represent? If she has a crown of 12 stars then we must assume that all of God's covenant people are represented, Jewish and non-Jewish. God's Elect People who are alive in that future time will go into the crucible of the end time. The Elect, as a remnant, will emerge victorious at the climax of history.
Yes, the time of 'Jacob's trouble' is in view here. (Jer.30:7) And it does indeed involve the Church. The woman of Revelation 12 is a representation of the Elect. She represents every believer who died in the faith of Abraham and who trusted in the shed blood of the promised Sacrifice Lamb. And here in Revelation 12 we see the woman coming into her magnificent destiny wearing the starry crown. She is entering into the glory at the climax of the age. So when we see "the woman of Revelation 12" in scripture this is not just a picture of "Israel = the Jewish nation" as we have been told. She is that of course, but more. The woman clothed with the glory of the sun is a picture of the covenant people of Israel, the Elect, as they relate to YHVH-God. We first saw the woman in the Garden of Eden. She was carrying the Seed that would crush the serpent's head. She was in the family of Noah, who was perfect in his generations. Later we see her leave Ur with Abraham, the father of all those who by faith sought a city with eternal foundations whose builder and maker is God. Later we saw the woman become a nation at Mount Sinai after the Exodus. The woman of Israel is the "Church in the Wilderness" who was to enter into the Promised Land. (Acts 7:38) She is the Israel that gave birth to our Messiah 2,000 years ago. We saw her in the Church that emerged after Pentecost. And John saw her at the glorious climax of this age. The woman of destiny we see in Holy Scripture is just one more picture of God's Chosen People The woman of Israel John saw in Revelation 12 has a crown, or diadem, of 12 stars. This cannot be a picture of the house of Judah or the Jewish nation alone. If there are 12 stars upon her crown this must be a picture of fully restored Israel. The ten lost ten tribes have clearly been found. The nation of Israel, a nation of twelve tribes is obviously now restored and complete. Twelve stars now adorn her crown. It is in a garland of victory. The woman of destiny is clothed in the sun, the glory of her Father. The travail of the woman of Revelation 12 is not limited to the birth of Jesus/Yeshua two millennia ago. From the two time references we are given in Revelation 12 the flight and exile of the woman is 1260 days or 3.5 years. (Rev.12:6 & 12:14 respectively) This is a picture of God's covenant people in the last half of the 70th week of Daniel. It is the time of "Jacob's trouble" in the latter days.

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it:
it is even the time of Jacob's trouble;
but he shall be saved out of it. (Jer.30:7)

John tells us that the woman is given the wings of a great eagle.
She flies off to her place. Is this the Bozrah exile?
The woman is to be nurtured, or spiritually fed for 1260 days.
These are the 3.5 biblical years of the Great Tribulation.
One of those 12 stars on the diadem is the royal tribe of Judah. How about the other stars? Benjamin is there with Judah. How about the other ten? We must assume that all the lost 10 tribes will emerge from the fog of mystery. All 12 tribes will be there. They will be bringing home with them a boatload of companions from their sojourn in the nations. ALL of the saints, from every kindred, race, and tribe, are grafted into the olive tree of Israel. (Rom. 11) Here in the woman of revelation 12 we see Israel undivided. We see the Chosen People all together at last. So God does not decree or ordain an 'Apartheid of His Elect'.
The Elect we see gathered at the end of the age are from all of human history.
God's covenant people, both Jewish and non-Jewish, will be rejoined together at the end of the story.
As one single Congregation they will be coming home to Zion. (Isa.35) They are on their way to a single party at a single table with a single unfying Messiah.
The grand occasion is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

"Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return.
And come with singing unto Zion.
And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads."

Grace and shalom to all God's Elect.

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Burnt Offering, What does it mean?

2. The Law of Burnt Offerings (Leviticus 1:1-17)

https://bible.org/seriespage/2-law-burnt-offerings-leviticus-11-17

Introduction

For many of us, the most we know of “burnt offerings” is from the jokes which are told by husbands pertaining to the “burnt offerings” of their wives. The ancient Israelite knew much more about burnt offerings, much thanks to the Book of Leviticus. The burnt offering is the first, and one of the most significant offerings.

The burnt offering, along with the others described in Leviticus 1-7, was offered on the bronze altar of burnt offering, the plans for which God gave Moses in the Book of Exodus:

And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. And you shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its fire pans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. And you shall make for it a grating of network of bronze; and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. And you shall put it beneath, under the ledge of the altar, that the net may reach halfway up the altar. And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. And its poles shall be inserted into the rings, so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. You shall make it hollow with planks; as it was shown to you in the mountain, so they shall make it (Exod. 27:1-8; cf. also 38:1-7).

The altar for the burnt offerings was thus made of acacia wood, overlaid with bronze, being nearly 8 feet square and about 4 and a half feet high.²¹ It was a very large altar indeed, but certainly not too large considering the large number of sacrifices and offerings which it was required to facilitate.

As one entered the courtyard of the tabernacle through the gate, the altar of burnt offering would be the first of the tabernacle furnishings to be encountered as one approached the tabernacle proper. To the left of the altar would be the ash heap, where the ashes from the altar were placed (cf. Lev. 1:16). Between the altar and the tabernacle doorway was the bronze laver (30:17-21; 38:8), where Aaron and his sons cleansed themselves. Then, there was the doorway to the tabernacle. Since the altar was located at the approach to the tabernacle, the sacrifices enabled men to draw near to God who dwelt in the tabernacle, and who spoke to Moses from within it (Lev. 1:1).

The purpose of this lesson is to study the first of the sacrifices regulated by chapters 1-7 of Leviticus. We will first make several observations about this sacrifice; then we will attempt to pursue the meaning of the burnt offering for the Israelite, and then we will seek to determine its meaning and application to the New Testament Christian.

As we seek to study the sacrifices of Leviticus, we will focus on two aspects of each. First, we will seek to see the continuity of one sacrifice to the rest. That is, we will seek to learn how a particular sacrifice is like the others. Secondly, we will seek to discern the unique contribution of each sacrifice. That is, we will attempt to determine how each sacrifice is distinct and unique from the others. I believe this two-fold approach will provide us with the key to understanding the sacrifices.

Observations Concerning the Burnt Offerings

The following observations will provide us with the raw material necessary for understanding the significance of the burnt offering of Leviticus chapter 1 (cf. the “law of the burnt offering” in Lev. 6:8-13):

(1) The burnt offering does not originate in Leviticus, but is found early in the Book of Genesis. It is incorrect to suppose that the burnt offering originates in Leviticus. Consulting a concordance will show that the first occurrence of the burnt offering is found in Genesis chapter 8. The first “burnt offering”²² was that offered by Noah after the flood waters had subsided, at which time he offered “burnt offerings” of all the clean²³ animals (Gen. 8:20). God instructed Abraham to offer up Isaac as a “burnt offering” (Gen. 22:2ff.), and so the ram which God in Isaac’s place was offered by Abraham as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:13). When Moses told Pharaoh that Israel must take their cattle with them into the wilderness to worship their God, it was because they needed them to offer burnt offerings (Exod. 10:25-26). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, offered a burnt offering to God in Exodus chapter 18 (v. 12). The Israelites offered up burnt offerings in conjunction with their meeting with God and receiving His covenant on Mt. Sinai (Exod. 20:24; 24:5, etc.). Unfortunately, when the Israelites worshipped the golden calf they offered up burnt offerings as a part of their false worship (Exod. 32:6).

It is my contention that it is these earlier references to the burnt offering in Genesis and Exodus which provided the Israelites with the key to understanding the meaning and significance of the burnt offering regulated in Leviticus chapter 1. We will demonstrate this fact a little later in this message.

(2) The burnt offering regulated in Leviticus chapter 1 was viewed primarily as a personal offering, done voluntarily by the individual Israelite.²⁴ Elsewhere, the burnt offering is often a corporate offering, but as it is regulated in Leviticus 1 it is viewed as a personal, private offering. Thus, verse 2 reads, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock’” (Lev. 1:2). From here on, the personal pronoun “he” is employed, referring to this individual Israelite, who comes with the burnt offering. It is also apparent that it was only the males who could make these offerings to the Lord. It seems that they represented their families (cp. Job 1:5).

(3) The burnt offering is one of the most common offerings, which is offered on a great variety of occasions, often in conjunction with another sacrifice or offering. The major purpose of Leviticus 1 is to instruct the Israelites how the burnt offering is to be offered, but they also needed to know when it should be offered. We find the answer to this question elsewhere in the Pentateuch. I will summarize the occasions on which the burnt offering was appropriate or required.

There were the regularly scheduled times for the burnt offering. Burnt offerings were to be made every day, in the morning and the evening (Exod 29:38-42; Num. 28:3, 6, cf. 2 Chron. 2:4, etc.). An additional burnt offering was to be offered up each Sabbath day (Num. 28:9-10). Also, at the beginning of each month (Num. 28:11), at the celebration of Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month (Num. 28:16), along with new grain offering at Feast of Weeks (Num. 28:27), at the feast of trumpets, on sacred day in the 7th month (Num. 29:1ff.), and for the celebration of the new moon (Num. 29:6).²⁵

A burnt offering was often offered in conjunction with another sacrifice. Among these were the guilt offering (Lev. 5:7, 10, 17-18), the sin offering (cf. Lev. 5:7; 6:25; 9:2-3, 7; 12:6, 8), the votive or freewill offering (Lev. 22:18), the sheaf offering (Lev. 23:12), and the new grain offering (Lev. 23:15-22, esp. v. 18).

There were a number of occasions when a sacrifice was required for cleansing, of which the burnt offering was one of the sacrifices offered. The burnt offering was required in the cleansing of a woman’s uncleanness as a result of child-bearing (sin and burnt offering required, Lev. 12:6-8), of a leper (Lev. 14:19-20), of a man with a discharge (with a sin offering, Lev. 15:14-15), of a woman with an abnormal discharge (with a sin offering, Lev. 15:30), and of a Nazarite who was unintentionally defiled by contact with a dead body (Num. 6:11, 14). When the congregation unwittingly failed to observe one of God’s commands, and was thereby defiled, a burnt offering was required for the purification of the congregation (Num. 15:22-26). A burnt offering was required for the purification and consecration of Aaron (Lev. 16:3, 5, 24), as well as the Levites (Num. 8:12).

In addition to this, there were special times at which the burnt offering was appropriate. Then, there were times when this sacrifice could be offered voluntarily. The bottom line is that this sacrifice was the most common of all sacrifices in Israel:

The reason for describing the burnt offering first is that it was the commonest of all the sacrifices, performed every morning and evening, and more frequently on holy days. … This makes it plausible to suppose that the sacrifices in chs. 1-5 are arranged according to their various theological concepts, so that it is easier to remember their distinctive features. It may be that they were grouped in this way to help the priests learn their tasks.²⁶

(4) The burnt offering was a whole “burnt offering,” which was totally consumed on the altar. Most of the sacrifices benefited the offerer and the priests, in addition to being pleasing to God. Sometimes, the offerer would eat some of the meat of the sacrificial animal, and most often the priest received a portion of it. Thus, when one offered a sacrifice to God, one’s mouth would water, knowing that he would be able to partake of the sacrifice. Not so in the case of the burnt offering, however. Neither the offerer nor the priest partook of any of the meat, for it was all burned in the fire. The hide of the animal was the priest’s only remuneration (cf. Lev. 7:8).

Incidentally, in verse 2 the Hebrew word used for an offering is “corban,” which is referred to by our Lord in Mark 7:11, providing us with an interesting and helpful insight into the evil practiced by the scribes and Pharisees when they called a possession “corban” to keep from having to provide for their parents in their old age.

(5) The regulations for the burnt offering (as well as the other offerings) are very important, and violations are taken very seriously. The way in which one offers any of the sacrifices described in chapters 1-7 must follow God’s regulations precisely. One need only read of the death of Nadab and Abihu in chapter 10 to have this point vividly underscored (cf. also Lev. 17:8-9).

(6) There are three types of animals to sacrifice in the burnt offering.²⁷ The three types of animals, and the specific regulations pertaining to each, provides the structure for chapter 1: (1) Offerings from the herd (bull), vv. 3-9. (2) Offerings from the flock (a sheep or a goat), vv. 10-13. (3) Offerings of birds (turtledoves or pigeons), vv. 14-17. It would seem that the principal reason for providing several sacrificial animals is that the poor could not afford to sacrifice a bull (cf. 14:21-22, 31, where being poor is given as basis for reduction in sacrifice demanded by God).

(7) The animal to be offered in the burnt offering was always to be of the highest quality. A bull, a sheep, or a goat, were all livestock of considerable value.²⁸ With the exception of the birds which could be offered for a burnt offering, the animal must be a male of the flock (v. 10) or the herd (v. 3).²⁹ The animal was to be young, not a old, unproductive, useless creature, fit only for soup or for the proverbial “glue factory.” In fact, it is my impression that the animals were just at the point where they would begin to “pay for their keep.” It truly would be a sacrifice to offer up an animal which one had raised, which was about to be productive, and was thus valuable.

(8) There is an alternation between the activity of the priest and the offerer. As you read the regulations in Leviticus 1 pertaining to the burnt offering you notice an intermingling of involvement between the offerer and the priest(s). While the offering of the birds is somewhat different (it is not nearly so complicated a process), the offerer generally puts the animal to death and cuts it up, while the priest handles the sprinkling of its blood and its burning on the altar of sacrifice. The offerer is much more involved in the process of sacrifice than we might think.³⁰ Sacrifice was, for the offerer, a very personal experience. This was intended, I believe, to make an impression on the Israelite who was making his sacrifice.

(9) The purpose of the burnt offering was to make atonement for the sin of the offerer and thus to gain God’s acceptance. The offerer laid his hands upon the animal, identifying with it.³¹ More specifically, he identified his sins with the animal. Thus, when the animal was slain (by the hand of the offerer) it died for the sins of the offerer. It is not so much for the offerer’s specific sins (which are dealt with by other sacrifices), but rather for the offerer’s general state of sinfulness.³²

The burnt offering was required by, and served to remind the offerer of, his depravity. The burnt offering was thus not so much to gain forgiveness for a particular sin, but to make atonement for the offerer’s sinfulness. It was not just a certain sin which required men to remain separated from God, but the individual’s sinful state. The burnt offering seems to provide a divine solution for man’s fallen condition.

Burnt Offerings and the Ancient Israelite

When we come to the point of trying to discern the meaning of the burnt offering (or any other offering, for that matter) to the Israelites of Moses’ day, we tend to forget a very important fact: they understood this sacrifice in the light of what they already knew about it, not in terms of its future fulfillment. We often impose our viewpoint and interpretation on the Israelites of old by interpreting the meaning of an Old Testament text in the light of the coming of Christ. We must remember, however, that Christ’s coming, life, death, and resurrection is a past event for us, but a future event for the Israelites. They (like Christians today) had to interpret God’s Word in the light of what God had already said and done.

Thus, the key to understanding the meaning of the burnt offering for the ancient Israelite was what had already been revealed about it before the regulations of Leviticus. Leviticus 1 informed the Israelite how the burnt offering was to be offered, not what it meant. I believe that the two major interpretive keys to the meaning of the burnt offering are to be found in the “burnt offerings” of Noah in Genesis 8 and of Abraham in Genesis 22.

In Genesis chapter 8, after the flood has destroyed all life on earth (except for what was in the ark), and after the water has subsided, we read:

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease” (Gen. 8:20-22).

The relationship between this text and that of Leviticus can be seen by several lines of correspondence. First, the term “burnt offering” found in Genesis 8:20 is the same as that of Leviticus 1. Second, “clean” animals and birds are offered by Noah (Gen. 8:20). It is Leviticus which defines the difference between what is clean and what is not. Third, the offering is said to be a “soothing aroma” to God (Gen. 8:21), which is an expression similar to that found frequently in Leviticus, and more specifically in Leviticus chapter 1 (vv. 9, 13, 17).

The sacrifice which Noah offered was the basis for the covenantal promise of God that He would never again destroy every living thing by a flood again (Gen. 8:21). This promise was not due to the fact that all sin had been destroyed from the face of the earth. The fact of man’s depravity (as will soon be manifested in Noah and his family) is still present, for God can still say, “the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21), a statement very similar to that of Exodus 32:9, where God told Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.”

The basis for God’s promise to Noah is not the goodness of man, for man’s depravity is specifically stated. This basis for God’s covenant promise is the result of the burnt offering offered up by Noah. Thus, the Israelites saw that the burnt offering was a means of avoiding God’s wrath and of obtaining God’s favor. God’s blessing was the result of a burnt offering, not of man’s good deeds.

The second interpretive key is found in the burnt offering of Abraham in Genesis 22. God summoned Abraham with this command: “Taken now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you” (Gen. 22:2).

We know from the account given by Moses that Abraham did as God commanded him. We know from the New Testament accounts that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son because he believed that God would raise him from the dead (cf. Rom. 4:19-21; Heb. 11:19). In God’s grace, He stopped Abraham from slaying his son, and provided a ram in his place (Gen. 22:13).

In what way did this account of the offering up of Isaac as a burnt offering instruct the Israelites about the meaning of the burnt offering? I believe that it taught them several important lessons. First, they could have seen that the promise of God’s blessing to all the earth, the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3), involved the death and resurrection of Abraham’s offspring. Secondly, the Israelites saw that in the “burnt offering” the sacrificial animal died in place of the man. Isaac didn’t die because God provided an animal to take his place. So when the Israelite place his hand on the head of the sacrificial animal, he should have known that this animal was dying in his place, just as the ram died in the place of Isaac. He should also have seen that something must take place in the future, so that the death of Isaac, which was prevented by the sacrifice of the ram, could be carried out in some greater way.

All of this has become clear to the New Testament saint, but it was obscure to the ancient Israelite, who knew that God was at work in some mysterious and, as yet, unknown way. Until the time when this purpose was made known, the Israelite offered up his burnt offering, so that God’s wrath could be avoided, and so that God’s blessings could be received.

The Burnt Offering and the New Testament Saint

Regardless of what the ancient Israelite understood of the symbolism of the burnt offering in terms of its future fulfillment in Christ, Christ was the ultimate fulfillment, the antitype of the burnt offering. John the Baptist indicated this at the very outset of our Lord’s ministry, when he greeted Him with the words, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).³³

We must agree with the theology of the Book of Hebrews (in particular) and of the New Testament (in general) that now that Christ has come as the Lamb of God and died “once for all” there is no longer any need for the burnt offering, the type of which our Lord is the ultimate and final antitype.

It might seem that if the burnt offering is no longer necessary, we must conclude that the burnt offering is no longer relevant, since the future meaning of that sacrifice has been realized in Christ. There is a sense in which this conclusion is absolutely correct. There is another sense in which this conclusion can be carried too far. Let me press on to show the importance and the applicability of the burnt offering to New Testament saints today.

The burnt offering (and the others, too) was symbolic in the sense that it represented and portrayed, in advance, the ultimate burnt offering, Jesus Christ. The burnt offering also symbolized the Old Testament saint’s faith in God’s provision for his sins, and for his access to God. The burnt offering symbolized the Old Testament saint’s faith in God, and his intention to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love his neighbor as himself.

The Israelite’s worship often deteriorated to mere ritualism when the sacrifices were offered, but then the faith and obedience which they symbolized did not follow. When this happened, the prophets sternly rebuked the Israelites for their hypocrisy:

With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my first-born for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8).

It is my contention that the faith and obedience of the Israelite, which the sacrifice of the burnt offering symbolized, and which was required by God of the Israelites, is the same faith and obedience which the death of Christ is to produce in all who profess Him as Savior, and which God requires of us. These acts of faith and obedience are described by the New Testament writers by the use of the same sacrificial terminology as is employed in the Old Testament.

Christian service, in church and in the community, is compared to sacrifice: “Through him let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. … Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Heb. 13:15-16; cf. Phil. 4:18; 1 Pet. 2:5). In that the only burnt offering that can atone for sin has been made by Christ, Christians no longer have to bring their lambs to the altar to receive forgiveness of sins. But bringing a sacrifice involved praising God for his grace and declaring one’s intention to love God and keep his commandments. Now that animal sacrifice is obsolete, praise and good works by themselves constitute the proper sacrifices expected of a Christian.³⁴

Thus far, we have seen that the burnt offering and the other Old Testament sacrifices apply in the fulfillment of Christ as the “once for all” sacrifice for sinners, and in the faith and obedience of the offerer which the sacrifices symbolized. There is yet another way in which the sacrifices apply to us. The same principles which the sacrifices were intended to teach the Israelite and those which these sacrifices teach us, these principles still apply today, as much as in the days of the Israelite. Let me identify a few of these principles and suggest some of their practical implications to New Testament saints. As our study of Leviticus continues, we shall pursue these principles in greater detail.

(1) The principle of man’s depravity The burnt offering was not an offering for a specific sin, but was associated with other offerings, and with various occasions, from mourning and repentance, to celebration and joy. The purpose of this sacrifice, I believe, was to be a reminder to the Israelites of man’s depravity. As God Himself put it in Genesis 8:21, “the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” In any instance when an Israelite wanted to approach God, to worship Him, to be accepted by Him, he had to come with a burnt offering, thus acknowledging and making provision for his sinfulness. We ought not forget our own depravity.

The principle applies equally to Christians today. While it is true that Christ died for our sins, once for all, it is also still true that we will not be freed from sin’s presence until we are in the presence of God, with transformed bodies. Our present condition is the reason why we must die, and to enter into heaven in a different form (cf. 1 Cor. 15). Because we are still corrupted by sin, we need to suspect and scrutinize our every motive and action. We need to realize that whether we are witnessing, preaching, or serving, our actions can appear to be pious, but can be prompted by the basest motives. We need to realize that we are in need of the present intercession and mediation of Christ, that we need Him every hour, yes every moment. The only reason why we can approach God is due to the sacrificial work of Christ.

(2) The principle of particularity. If the Israelite learned anything from the meticulous rules and regulations which God laid down for the burnt offering and all of the rest, it was that He is very particular about the way men approach Him. The rebellious nature of fallen man inclines him to want to approach God his own way. The song, “I did it my way,” illustrates this tendency. God did not allow men to approach Him their own way, but rather only in accordance with the means He Himself established. Men could only approach God by means of the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrifices. Today, men can only come to God God’s way, through the person and work of Jesus Christ, who, as the sacrificial lamb, died for our sins, making a way of approach to God. Our Lord conveyed the exclusiveness of His death as the way to God when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

If you wish to approach God, to be assured of the forgiveness of your sins, and to dwell in His presence forever, my friend, you can do so only through faith in the person of Jesus Christ, who came to earth and died in your place. No other way is acceptable with God. In no other way can you be found acceptable in Him.

(3) The principle of acceptance with God. Closely related to this is the principle of acceptance with God. There is a great deal of emphasis these days on self-acceptance, or self-esteem, most of which is wrongly oriented. Contemporary self-esteem looks inward for acceptance, while the Bible tells us that the ultimate acceptance we must seek is God’s. People today want to “feel good about themselves” by looking for the good which is in them, while God’s word tells us that we are not good, in and of ourselves, but must look for God’s favor which is occasioned by something outside ourselves, ultimately in something which we put to death. Today we are told, even from the pulpit, that we must first feel good about ourselves, we must first love ourselves, and then we will be able to love God. The Bible tells us that we cannot, that we should not, accept ourselves until God has accepted us.

The bottom line is that the Bible portrays God’s acceptance as the highest good of all, and that making great sacrifice is worth the price to attain God’s favor. Let us see God’s approval as our highest good, and let us forsake all, including self-seeking and self-love to attain it. It is in our death, in Christ, that God is well pleased. It is in giving up our life that we gain life. And as Christians, no motive should be stronger than that of pleasing God, of hearing Him say to us in that day, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

(4) The principle of atonement through the shedding of blood. The sinful state of man is dealt with by the shedding of innocent blood, the blood of a sacrificial victim. The burnt offering communicates and illustrates this principle of atonement.

(5) The principle of identification. The one who was to benefit from the death of the sacrificial victim had to identify with that animal. It was, first of all, his animal, one that he had either raised or obtained at a price. Then the offerer placed his hand upon the victim, symbolically identifying himself with the victim, which he killed in his place. Apart from identifying with the sacrificial animal in this way, the sacrifice had no benefit for the individual Israelite.

We, too, are redeemed, and atonement is made, when we identify ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism is the rite which God has established, whereby men identify personally with the work of Christ. Baptism does not, in and of itself, save men, but identification with Christ (which is symbolized and expressed by baptism) is the instrumentality God has ordained so that we may be delivered from the judgment we deserve. Those who have failed to be baptized may either fail in their understanding of the importance and urgency of this public act of identification, or they may not have personally identified with Christ by faith.

(6) The principle of sacrifice. One of the unique contributions of the whole burnt offering is that it illustrates sacrifice in its purest form. A very valuable animal is given up wholly to God. Neither the offerer nor the priest gains much from the offering, other than the benefit of being found acceptable to God, which, in the final analysis, is the ultimate benefit.

This kind of sacrifice is seldom practiced, and even when it is we may wonder at the wisdom of such waste. The widow who gave her last two mites might be criticized today for her lack of prudence in failing to plan and prepare for the future. The woman who poured out her expensive perfume, anointing the feet of the Lord, was accused of wastefulness. And so we tend to give our worn out old things to God, while we keep what is new and best for ourselves. We know little of giving our best to God, with no hope of anything beyond His approval.

But this kind of sacrifice is what God calls for from those who would be true disciples. Disciples are those who give up all to follow Christ. They are to count the cost of discipleship, and then to gladly pay it. When we give ourselves to God, as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1-2), we are to do so totally, without reserve, so as to be pleasing to Him. May God enable us to practice this kind of sacrifice in our own lives.