“My holy Name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel. I will not let My holy Name be profaned anymore, and the Gentiles will know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel.”
Ezekiel 39: 7
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Ezekiel 39
Therefore, thus says Adonai Yahweh, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy Name. They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh their Elohim because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares Adonai Yahweh. (Ezekiel 39: 25-29)
In Ezekiel 39: 25-29, why does Yahweh say “now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel” and “for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel”?
Yahweh is making it clear that this prophecy pertains to all of Jacob’s sons, not Judah alone. All of them are Children of Israel. In Ezekiel 37, Yahweh talks about reuniting Israel and Judah and relocating all of them to the Promised Land. Ezekiel 39 is a continuation of that prophecy.
Too few believers can distinguish between the Children of Israel and Jewish people. This is the long and short of it:
- Jacob had 12 sons.
- All of them are Children of Israel.
- Judah is one of Jacob’s sons.
- Judah’s descendants are Jewish (Judahites) and Children of Israel.
- Jacob’s other sons are Children of Israel, too.
- The prophecy in Ezekiel 39 refers to all of Jacob’s sons.
3 Serious Problems
Problem 1
For the most part, the Children of Israel in the State of Israel today are Jewish, meaning they are descendants of Judah. Judah’s descendants in Israel are doing their best to deny Israeli citizenship to the other Children of Israel. They have made it clear that they want Israel to be a Jewish state. Obviously, that contradicts Yahweh’s word, and it can’t prevail.
Problem 2
In accordance with the Oral Law or the traditions of the Jews, Jewish religious leaders in Israel are willing to accept as Israeli citizens everyone who converts to Judaism, the religion. They think that converting to Judaism makes a person Jewish. That’s not possible. No one is Jewish unless he or she is a descendant of Judah. Jewishness is based on lineage, not faith in any religion. Many Jewish people profess to be atheists, and they are accepted as Jews. Obviously, Jewishness is not based on faith.
Problem 3
Judaism is not based on Yahweh’s word, i.e., the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings or the Tanach/Old Testament. Judaism is based on the teachings of men, ancient rabbis or sages. So-called “Christianity” is problematic, too. Generally speaking, it’s based on the New Testament with particular emphasis on Paul’s letters, even though Paul made it clear that he was not writing Scripture. He said that he was simply explaining Scripture.
Putting a fine point on it, Yahweh expects His followers to have the faith of Abraham. It is not a religion. It is a faith in Yahweh that is manifested by behavior that is consistent with Yahweh’s word and the leading of Yahweh’s Spirit. Religions, all of them, are man-made institutions. Yahweh doesn’t require religion. He requires faith and obedience, i.e., the faith of Abraham.
It’s Time to Change our Way of Thinking
We are rapidly approaching the time when the things I’ve discussed in this editorial will become critically important. Making the transition from religion to faith can be very difficult, because it requires a change in thinking. It’s a way of thinking that is unfamiliar to most people who have been indoctrinated in Judaism and Christianity.
For example, most Christians can recite John 3: 16 by heart:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Few Christians can recite John 3: 36:
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life. The wrath of God abides on him.”
John left no room for doubt. Faith and obedience go hand-in-hand. It’s called the faith of Abraham. I call it “faith with legs” that are willing to go where Yahweh leads.
Christians have been taught that the Law is dead, meaning that it doesn’t apply to them because they have accepted the Messiah as their Savior. That’s not what the Messiah said. He said,
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5: 17-19)
Again, faith and obedience go hand-in-hand. Yahweh’s Law (i.e., the Tanach/Old Testament) is just as applicable now as it ever was. That has to be true, because heaven and earth haven’t passed away yet.
In the Tanach, Yahweh said that He is our only Savior. See Isaiah 43: 11.
In the Tanach, Yahweh said that the Messiah is Yahweh. See Jeremiah 23: 5-6.
In the Tanach, Yahweh said that the Messiah paid the price for our sins, meaning that He is our Redeemer. She Isaiah 53.
Yahweh did not pay the price for our sins so we can sin with impunity.
John 19: 30 and Mark 15: 37 quote the Messiah’s last words from the cross: “It is finished.”
That’s a terrible translation. He actually said, “Paid in full.”
The Messiah’s death on the cross was the price that Yahweh’s Law required for the forgiveness of our sins. Without His sacrifice, there would be no forgiveness.
Yahweh paid the price for our sins, because we are not capable of paying it. Perfection is required. We are not perfect. Yahweh is.
Yahweh gives us salvation if we acknowledge that He paid the price for our sins, place our faith in Him, and obey Him. Obeying Yahweh doesn’t mean sinning with impunity.
Salvation is a gift. If we reject His gift, we are doomed.
Get Familiar with the Facts
Please take the time to read these books. I wrote them for you:
I’m not trying to sell books. I’m trying to share information, and most people prefer to read books or eBooks. Both of the books are available for free in PDF format:
- His Name is Yahweh: Revised Edition in PDF format
- The Trilogy in PDF format
I wish I could make it simpler and easier, but I can’t. I wish I could come up with a cartoon or a 2-minute video that would convey all the facts, but that’s not possible, either. You need to read the books.
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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)
