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The BibleSearchers Reflections
Reflections on the Time of the End
By Robert Mock MD
robertmock@biblesearchers.com
www.BibleSearchers.com
A World Religion for a World Peace
Matthew 24:24 – “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
It is hard to know how to spiritually walk in these times because of the fear of deception. Pursuing any one institutional image or thought process has the appearance of being spiritually perilous. The life that Jesus taught us to live was a life in a personal relationship with Him. As such we have full access through Him to His Father in heaven. In all of us there is truth mixed with deception. Is it not true that usually what we fervently believe, we will eventually create an institutional framework in order to justify what we want to believe. What is harder is to walk solely focused on the Eternal One of Israel. Yet this is what the Lord of hosts asked His people to do at the Mount of Sinai. He sought a covenant relationship with His people directly, not shielded within a framework of “Israelism” or any other institutional “isms”.
The following article is extremely informative on the growth of Christian Zionism. Yet, is this true spiritual politics? The only Zionism I can find in the Bible, the TaNaKh or the Brit Hadassah, is that the Lord of hosts when He was speaking to the Jewish people and to the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel was that He will bring them back to the “Land” that He gave to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When we read the New Testament (Brit Hadassah) neither does there appear to be a mandate for Christians to convert the Jews to their Messiah, Jesus the Nazarene.
The big question is whether the God of Israel rejected His people, the Jews, because they rejected His Son. The Rabbi Shaul, known as the Apostle Paul, emphatically denies this:
Romans 11:1-2,5 - “Did God reject His people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. (Paul was half Jewish through his Jewess mother, of the House of Benjamin who allied themselves with the House of Judah) God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew…..So too at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace. ”
Paul then continues, the Jewish experience of not accepting the gospel of Jesus, that is “Salvation by faith in Jesus”, was foreordained by God. “What then?
Romans 11:7-8 - “What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”
Let us listen to these words carefully. The hardening of the hearts of the Jewish people was an “Act of God” for His own people and an “Act of the God of Israel” so that the Gentiles may have access to salvation through Yahshua (Jesus) the Son of God. Here are Paul’s words:
Romans 11:25-27 - “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part (partial blindness) until the full number of Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel (House of Israel and the House of Judah) will be saved, as it is written;: ‘The delivered will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’
Will Christians bring salvation to the Jews by converting them to Christianity? Let me state this a different way. Will Christians, Catholics and Protestants, bring salvation to the Jews by converting them to any of the varieties (denominations) of Roman Orthodox Christianity? The Apostle Paul denies that this can be true. The deliverance and salvation with the Jews can only come from the Lord of hosts. ‘The delivered will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ The God of Israel will honor His covenant with His people, the children of Jacob in order to honor His Holy Name.
Does there not appear to be some issues of power, greed and control that suggest that a Christian should go to Israel to convert them to the Christian Messiah. Would it not suggest that the Jewish people will open their hearts to their own Messiah, who was an authentic Torah observant rabbi, who kept the Shabbat (Seventh-day Sabbath) of the Hebrews, kept all 613 commandment of the Mosaic Law, was born and raised under the strict provisions of the Mosaic Law, taught his disciples the literal, spiritual and mystical applications of the Torah, observed all the Festivals of the Lord, worshipped and prayed in the Temple of the Lord as all observant Jews did, spent His life teaching His followers about how to live the ‘kingdom of God’ on this earth and how they through Him could find access to His Father who was also their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
While some Christians feel impelled that they need to help God in His covenant relationship with the Jews we also find some interesting ‘power’ and ‘control’ issues that are being done by the Catholic and Presbyterian Churches of Amer ica.
In the July, 2004 the story of the Jewish roots of John Kerry was revealed in The Kerry Equation. In spite of this ancestral revelation, John Kerry has been questioned by reporters as to whether he is Jewish. His reply has publicly been: “My wife is Jewish and I was raised a Catholic.” It seems that Kerry’s affirmation only of his Catholic roots may be more political than mutual. Worshipping as a Catholic for a politician may not be an open expression of worship as more and more bishop’s are taking a stand in denying sacraments to a politician who supports pro-choice political views. John Kerry, who openly affirms his pro-choice views, chooses to worship at the Boston’s Paulist Center who has open communion for gay couples whose adopted children are baptized at the church, bisexual and lesbian Catholics and divorced and lapsed Catholics who want a church family.
At the same time, while the Catholics are denying the rites of ‘their’ salvation to pro-choicers, the Presbyterian Churches of America are using their financial wealth with its political power to divest any not to help the Israelites find a spiritual assent to their God but try to destroy the secular State of Israel and support the regime of Yasser Arafat that is a terrorist not only to Israel but Arab Christians and Arab Muslims who do not actively support their politics of evil and destruction.
Mixing prophecy and politics – July 7, 2004
Christian Zionists are growing in influence - even as they fight for policies their critics say work against peace in the Mideast. For these believers, it's all about fulfilling biblical prophecy.
Jerusalem (Christian Science Monitor) - Ray Sanders and his wife, Sharon, grew up on farms in the American Midwest, but Israel has long been their home. Their journey began in the 1970s, when they read Hal Lindsey's apocalyptic bestseller, "The Late Great Planet Earth," which laid out a scenario for the end of the world according to a literal interpretation of Bible prophecies. "That awakened our understanding to Israel and its prophetic role in the Last Days," Mr. Sanders explains in his spacious Jerusalem office. "That was a real paradigm shift in our lives."
That shift spurred the couple to leave their jobs, attend Bible college in Texas, and move to Jerusalem, where in 1985 they helped found a biblical Zionist organization called Christian Friends of Israel (CFI). With a handful of similar groups here they are marshalling financial and moral support from evangelical Christians around the world, and particularly in the United States, to fulfill what they see as their role in an unfolding final drama.
Christian Zionists, an Evangelical subset whose ranks are estimated at 20 million in the US, have in the past two decades poured millions of dollars of donations into Israel, formed a tight alliance with the Likud and other Israeli politicians seeking an expanded "Greater Israel," and mobilized grass-roots efforts to get the US to adopt a similar policy. Christian Zionist leaders today have access to the White House and strong support within Congress, including the backing of the two most recent majority leaders in the House of Representatives. For many Jews, the enthusiastic support of these evangelical Christians is welcome at a time of terrorism and rising anti-Semitism. Several Israeli leaders have called them "the best friends Israel has." But other Jews and Christians have begun speaking against the alliance, which they see as a dangerous mix of religion and politics that is harmful to Israel and endangers prospects for peace with the Palestinians.
The prophecy
For Christian Zionists, the modern state of Israel is the fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham and the center of His action from now to the Second Coming of Christ and final battle of Armageddon, when the Antichrist will be defeated. But before this can occur, they say, biblical prophecy foretells the return of Jews from other countries; Israel's possession of all the land between the Euphrates and Nile rivers; and the rebuilding of the Jewish temple where a Muslim site, Dome of the Rock, now stands.
These beliefs lead to positions that critics say are uncompromising… (Read Entire Article on Christian Zionism)
SE Roman Catholic Bishops: No Communion for Pro-Choicers – August 4, 2004
Atlanta (AP) - Roman Catholic bishops in three Southeastern dioceses said Wednesday they will deny Communion to lawmakers who consistently support abortion rights unless the dissenting politicians publicly recant. The bishops said in a statement that Catholics who violate church teaching in policy-making were "cooperating in evil in a public manner." The banned Catholic lawmakers could resume taking the sacrament "only after reconciliation with the church has occurred, with the knowledge and followed by baptism and the Catholic faith and the public expression of those values," the bishops said.
The announcement by Archbishop John Donoghue of Atlanta, Bishop Robert Baker of Charleston, S.C., and Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, N.C., brings to four the number of American bishops who said they would deny the sacrament outright to defiant politicians. Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis said in January he would refuse Communion to Democrat John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights. However, the three Southern bishops appeared to go further, by setting up strict requirements for the prohibition to be lifted….
Their statements, during a tight presidential race, have left bishops open to accusations of partisanship and sparked a national debate over religion and politics.
Kerry is the first Catholic presidential nominee on a major party ticket since John F. Kennedy ran in 1960. President Bush is a Methodist whose position on abortion is more in line with the church. The bishops deny they are attempting to influence voters and say they are concerned only with preserving core, unequivocal church teachings on preserving life. Communion affirms a Catholic's bond with God, and asking a parishioner not to participate is a harsh punishment in the church….The bishops' decision affects at least 200 churches in Georgia and the Carolinas. (Read entire article)
Presbyterians to divest
from Israel – July 17, 2004 - 3 million-strong denomination
supports Arab demands
WorldNetDaily - By
an overwhelming vote of its general assembly, the Presbyterian Church USA,
boasting 3 million members, is siding with Palestinian Arabs and against
Israel, choosing to divest from the Jewish state as it did only with
apartheid South Africa. With the decision, approved in a 431-62 vote at the
216th annual general assembly of the PCUSA, the denomination is believed to be
the largest organization or institution to join the divestment campaign
against Israel. It is the first Christian denomination to do so. In 2001,
the combined value of the church's foundation and pension fund was estimated at
$7 billion.
Leaders of the liberal mainline Protestant church approved several other anti-Israel resolutions at their gathering in Richmond, Va., and also refused to halt funding for "messianic congregations" that target Jews for conversion. The Presbyterian resolutions came just as Jewish organizations were hailing the results of a historic international interfaith meeting in Buenos Aires last week, where Roman Catholic officials for the first time signed on to a document equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. The assembly set the stage for the church to divest itself from companies that receive $1 million dollars or more in profits per year from investments in Israel or have invested $1 million dollars or more in Israel. (Read Entire Article)
Presbyterians Attempt to Mend Damaged Ties With Jews – July 23, 2004
(RNS) The Presbyterian Church (USA), under fire from Jewish groups for its funding of messianic Jewish congregations and a move to divest from Israel, is appealing to both faiths to respect whatever "fragility of trust" still exists between them…Church headquarters in Louisville, Ky., has been "inundated" with hundreds of angry phone calls and e-mails from Jews who protested votes on Jewish evangelism and the Israeli-Jewish conflict during the church's recent General Assembly in Richmond, Va. Delegates narrowly voted -- 260-233 -- to maintain funding for churches, including one in suburban Philadelphia, that are geared toward Jewish converts to Christianity.
The Philadelphia congregation, Avodat Yisrael, received $260,000 from various church agencies and has been called offensive by Jews for its use of Jewish ritual music and sacred objects such as Torah scrolls and menorahs in Christian worship. Delegates also voted 431-62 to study whether the church should divest from companies doing business in Israel. The last time the church altered its portfolio in protest of a foreign country was in the 1980s against South Africa.
Recent articles in the Jewish press had reported that the church approved a blanket divestment. Rather, a decision will not be made until next March when a committee reports back with recommendations to church leaders. In a separate 471-34 vote, delegates said the controversial Israeli security wall "ghettoizes the Palestinians and forces them onto what can only be called reservations…"
Joel Kaplan, president of the international humanitarian group, demanded an apology for the "absolutely horrifying" statements by the Presbyterians that he said ignored the ongoing terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. "I think the Presbyterian Church on this issue totally departed from anything real, rational or fair, and has in a great way debased itself and its reputation," Kaplan said in an interview. Last week, the Anti-Defamation League said "targeting Jews for conversion to Christianity is an insult to the Jewish people." The Rev. Jay Rock, the church's interfaith affairs director, acknowledged that relations with Jewish groups have hit near rock-bottom. "It’s certainly a very tense point, but I don't think it's going to break the relationship," Rock said. "At least we don't have any intention of doing that on our side…"
"I do not believe the Presbyterian Church is backing off in any way, shape or form from its historic relationship with American Jews," she said, "and we continue to respect and understand that the Jewish people are already in covenant with God." (Entire Article)
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