Backward Thinking
Lonnie Hendrix
Folks who have been following the comment thread for my last post (Trying to get out from under the weight of history), know that I criticized CGI for permitting a sermon on Anglo-Israelism to be delivered to one of their congregations (Jeff Reed’s Atlanta, Georgia congregation). Although Jeff personally assured me that he was surprised by the sermon and explained his objections to the message to one of his members, the sermon still managed to get posted on CGI’s Facebook page and main website!
This kind of double-dealing, however, is typical of my interactions with the upper echelons of CGI. Privately, the leadership expresses their distaste for Anglo-Israelism and headline theology, but they continue to provide an official CGI platform for those within their community who support those views. Moreover, they justify this blatant hypocrisy by insisting that they are trying to keep the peace and to be “tolerant” of views which they don’t necessarily support. I call it trying to have your cake and eat it too!
The sermon, Forward Thinking, was delivered by an independent COG elder named Jim Eason. To be fair, Mr. Eason begins well. For the first fifteen minutes (or so) of his sermon, he talks about the centrality of the message about salvation through Jesus Christ to the overall message of Scripture. Unfortunately, at that point in his message, he begins to decry the fact that most Christian Churches aren’t focused enough on prophecy. More particularly, he noted that NONE of the mainstream churches are preaching about Anglo-Israelism. Even worse, according to Mr. Eason, is the fact that the ACOG’s aren’t focusing more attention on these teachings.
In typical Armstrongist fashion, he begins with the promises made to the one who would eventually be known as Abraham in the twelfth chapter of Genesis. Elder Eason then proceeded to list the promises which Abraham’s descendants would eventually inherit. Predictably, the sermon then shifted to Joseph and his two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Of course, he went on to identify the United States as Manasseh and the British as Ephraim.
Like Herbert Armstrong before him, for Mr. Eason this is the key to understanding prophecy and current events. He went on to say that his audience wouldn’t hear this important message in any other churches (meaning mainline, traditional Christian churches). Next, he read from the first chapter of the book of Isaiah and insisted that the passage perfectly described the current condition of the English-speaking peoples of the earth. He went on to talk about the time of “Jacob’s trouble” and suggested that those same peoples would shortly endure incredible sorrow and suffering. He said, “There is a judgment coming on the nations of Israel” (including the United States).
Even so, Mr. Eason ended on a note of hope – insisting that God would eventually restore these nations to prosperity and power. He concluded his message by saying that we (the ACOG’s) need to be “shouting” this message to the people of the United States. Indeed, he insisted that this is “an important part of the Gospel” message; and that “if we aren’t speaking about it, then we aren’t preaching the Gospel.”
Now, to Mr. Eason, all of this sounds like “forward thinking.” However, for those of us who are familiar with the history of Armstrongism, it sure sounds like backward thinking to many of us. And, for those who would present CGI as a more progressive and intellectually honest manifestation of “The TRUTH,” all of this sounds an awful lot like that old-time religion of Herbert Armstrong. Moreover, if you really have accepted the fact that Anglo-Israelism has been thoroughly discredited, how can you continue in good faith to provide a platform for it?
37 comments:
Those outside The Church are not expected to understand.
"We're not Armstrongists" (preaching Armstrongism)
There is a dichotomy in how British-Israelism is presented by Armstrongists. First, it is about national punishment for a legacy of sin. Second, it is about national restoration to a vaunted state. The former is cited by those who want to counter the argument that Armstrongism is strongly influenced by White Nationalism. Their argument is that, far from any notions of White privilege, the US and BC will undergo chastisement in the Great Tribulation. So, the Armstrongist “gospel” contains a geopolitical object lesson: the bad boy will be punished. Also, the first point centers on a transient condition, where the chosen people are afflicted for a season in a kind of worldwide theater.
The second point, on the other hand, refers to the eternal condition for US and BC. They will rise to spectacular prominence in the Millenium and thereafter. Israel will rule over all the other nations in the Kingdom of God. This idea was preached principally by Dean Blackwell partly based on a mistranslation of Deuteronomy 32:8. Overall, the second point makes the first point tolerable to the Pews. And overall, the influence of White Nationalism remains and dominates.
What puzzles me is where this all fits in the New Testament which states that salvation is a free gift to everyhone and we are rewarded in some way through our works. That we are all spiritual Jews. That the wall between Jews and Gentiles has fallen. That the Gentiles have been grafted into the Jewish olive tree. Yet, Armstrongist maintain that pre-eminence in salvation will be accorded, all else being equal, to a group of people based entirely on race – on a condition of their birth, on biology. The truth is the “gospel of Israel” has no place in NT soteriology.
This “gospel of Israel” stands in opposition to the gospel preached by Jesus. It is not that it is a viewpoint that can be tolerated by the enlightened and tolerant mind. While it does not accord with the science of genetics, it also does not accord with the theology of salvation. As such, it is a deviant fantasy that should be opposed and stricken down wherever it insinuates itself – not permitted to co-reside with the valid NT message.
That’s the long way around to saying that I agree with Hendrix on this topic.
Rider
1 Timothy 1:4
Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
BI ... it just goes on and on. It's endless.
I look on COGWA site and they too have a big colorful US&BC booklet (lol)
7.24 am
I've been reading HWAs church literature since the 1960s, yet I never came across your claim that they teach that the tribes of Israel will have pre-eminence in salvation,
There's no mention of that in the rewards allocated in the parable of the talents. It's purely merit based.
And Israel ruling over other nations in the kingdom? The word "rule" in CCOG culture is a code word for dominate. The bible condemns individuals or nations dominating others.
I just checked GDP per capita in 2023. It sure seems countries from North America and Western Europe, on average, are much more wealthy than other countries.
I do not see a problem with COG's warning those countries that are more materially blessed that there will be consequences with members of their respective societies being addicted to porn and gambling.
12:53
The pre-eminence in salvation was something taught by Blackwell to local congregations by means of a tour. You won't find it in documentation anywhere. I have no idea why the information was promulgated in this way back last century.
Rider
Greetings Mark Wolfe, but the problem that you have, is that you're using the meaning “blessed” in a material sense from a publication towards GDP per capita instead of the Bible.
See in the New Testament, the term “blessed” can mean another thing.
See, Paul took the time to show spiritually under the new covenant that blessed meant something other than the physical.
Galatians 3:8-9 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
Now Paul (God’s TRUE Apostle) references Genesis 12:3
Gen. 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Paul is not addressing any Israelites here, neither is he referring to physical material wealth. But Armstrongism can’t see this or change. It’s all about the material wealth side. Armstrong uses Genesis 12:3 for the birthright blessing (GDP), Paul uses the term blessed for something entirely different.
One thing that would be wonderful for you COGs, is since you guys like using math (GDP), why not include the science, since (God is the God of Science) and start comparing the DNA of British & American descended peoples to the ancient sites of the holy land. And porn and gambling are nowhere near the main gist of the problems of the history of Britain and America.
BI is more compelling than anything I ever learned in the presbyterian church.
Sometimes, whitewashing (no pun intended) and revisionism are possible because people fail to realize that there is the written record of the WCG past, but there was also the spoken word which accompanied it. So, yes, you have the literature, which is still extant and preserved, and easy to use in "proofs". What was said in church services and in classes at Ambassador College, (the spoken word), expounded upon and amplified what was written in the literature. There aren't too many people left around who, as an example, heard a Gerald Waterhouse extravaganza in Pittsburgh, PA in the early 1960s, in which this "pre-eminence" was taught, and smiling faces of all colors embraced it not as fantasy, but as an accurate and inspiring description of what the Kingdom and Millennium would actually be like.
I do recall some Dean Blackwell materials, as well. Like when he mentioned that in his area, when they were breaking in some new members of the church who had formerly been "hard-shell" Baptists, he loved to open a new pack of Bicycle playing cards, and a six pack of beer and show them how to have fun in "God's" Church. I also remember him chastising people back in '63 about their donations for the early versions of SEP. Apparently, he had overheard some members of color say, "Now if they were having a camp for a bunch of the colored kids, I'd be glad to kick in for that!"
So many outrageous things were preached at Feasts of Tabernacles. You know, the era when numerous parents were seen practically horsewhipping their kids in the parking lot of the New Tabernacle, or outside the big tent at Jeckyll Island, GA??? A time when Rod Meredith was at the peak of his buffoonery, making his outrageous remarks, and at one point pounding the lectern so hard as he emphasized his points, that it knocked out the whole sound system, yet he continued to shout his message until technicians got it fixed? And his sermons sometimes lasted 3 hours?
Yep, even most of the kids from that era are now in their late sixties, and mid- seventies, or just plain gone. My strong point was always my memory, which is still nearly eidetic, and there are others just like me. When we're gone, the whitewashers will succeed in actually changing the history of the classic Armstrong era, glossing over and forgetting the horrible and unspeakable things that were said and done during that time. Since the Armstrong experiment has been tried and tried again, more of the bad and stupid things continued throughout the splinter era, and the experiences have been recorded at the Exit and Support Network. It's going to be a long time before Armstrongism can reinvent itself. The brand is so trashed and tarnished and easily fact-checked by a few quick mouse clicks. Failed prophecies alone will keep it in the realm of noncredibility except to certain types of unfortunate ones who, sadly, will always be susceptible to manipulation.
Material and spiritual
Ge 12:3c and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed [eneulogeo, LXX].
Gal 3:8b preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed [eneulogeo]
Both Moses and Paul are correct. Moses from a literal, material perspective [but see Ex 19:5-6]; and Paul from a midrashic, spiritual perspective; though the latter is not obvious from Genesis.
“Paul’s citation of God’s promise to Abraham is a conflation of Gen 12:3c (cf. 28:14c) and 22:18a (cf. 18:18b; 26:4c) in the LXX; the words “all nations” from 22:18a are substituted for “all the families” in 12:3c, so as to bring in the word “nations” (ethne), because of its current use in the sense of “Gentiles”...” (Ronald Y. Fung, The Epistles to the Galatians, NICNT, pp.138-39).
Look at the context of 12:3, 18:18b and 22:18:
Ge 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Ge 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
Ge 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Ge 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Abraham’s great nation will be a blessing to all nations.
Ge 12:3c ... and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
"Then God stated the highest goal for Abram's calling. All peoples on earth will be blessed through him. The verb may be ... translated "find or obtain blessing." God's primary way of working among the nations is through Abram's seed. Thus, to experience God's blessing, the various peoples must interact with Abram's offspring. Having selected one family, God in a sense shows favoritism, but his design is not parochial. God was and is working through one family for the benefits of all families..." (John E. Hartley, Genesis, NIBC, p.133).
" "You shall be a blessing ... is an unusual construction... "be a blessing" occurs in only two other passages, Isa 19:24 and Zech 8:13..." (Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, WBC, p.276).
Ge 12:2a And I will make of thee a great nation
Ge 12:2b ... and thou shalt be (hayah) a blessing (berakah):
Isa 19:24a In that day shall be (hayah) Israel...
19:24c a blessing (berakah) in the midst of the land:
Zec 8:13b O house of Judah, and house of Israel;
Zec 8:13c ... and ye shall be (hayah) a blessing (berakah)
"... the way the language of blessing and curse is constructed creates an unmistakable link to another tradition of blessing and curse: the Abrahamic tradition. Although the word pair curse/blessing is typical of the Deuteronomic covenant texts, the verbal phrase in which the word "blessing" occurs in 8:13 ("you will be a blessing") is reminiscent of the promise of Abraham in Genesis 12:2. There God promised to bless Abraham, and he will in turn become a source of blessing to the nations. Zechariah represents a similar trend. The people had been an example of curse among the nations, but they will become a source of blessing to the nations" (Mark J. Boda, Haggai, Zechariah, NIVAC, p.385).
So your using the reference of a nation and blessings
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;
Who was Peter referencing? The church is the holy nation
1 Peter To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (Asia minor), elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
This would have been a fine time for Peter to reference Britain, but the letter is to the strangers or pilgrims in the Asia Minor area.
The blessings are spiritual.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
Galatians 3:14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith
Paul understood this spiritual blessing. Did Abraham’s blessing improve the gentiles GDP back then? LOL Armstrongism in the NT era cannot rightly divide the word of truth.
Anon913,
Very fine posting and well stated. I have considered your very same thoughts that once those that heard and know certain things (e.g. the incest rape by hwa of his daughter Dorothy) unprinted in WCG writing actually pass on, then the COGs could become emboldened. Did the COGs breathe a sigh of relief when HWA's daughter Dorothy Armstrong Mattson died? And then her husband Vern Mattson? Will they start teaching boldly that Herbert was lied about when the Antions (who know about the incest from Dorothy firsthand) pass on?
I'll never forget all the sermons given in the early 80's about King David's sin and others and Herbert himself coming out and stating "the worst thing he had ever done was getting into a closet naked and smoking". The audience just laughed.
Later I realized this was all said to steal the thunder of any rumblings from Robinson's 1980 book "Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web" which revealed the Incest rape by HWA and other excesses of the WCG.
But, as 913 seems to conclude, I think the COGs will continue to diminish. The internet will assure that. The sooner the better.
Anon619,
You said, "Those outside The Church are not expected to understand."
I believe you may well be indicting yourself. Too believe the disproven, particularly when the doctrine is unnecessary, reveals delusion. You do not have to believe all the excess doctrines some add to the Gospel, and sadly, as with the COGs, those excess doctrines that replace the Gospel.
Anon, Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 7:49:00 PM PDT, said:
"...Greetings Mark Wolfe, but the problem that you have, is that you're using the meaning “blessed” in a material sense...
...See, Paul took the time to show spiritually under the new covenant that blessed meant something other than the physical.
******
The blessing is both physical and spiritual. Why? God, no respecter of persons (whether Israelite or Gentile), is the author of the gospel, or good news, because it is part of God's Plan of Salvation that God is working out: part of His works.
"Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." Acts 15:18
God, knowing what was ahead, told Abram this: "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Gen 12:3
That gospel was future good news for all families of the earth, and not just for Isaac, Jacob, Israel, and Gentiles (e.g. Egyptians, Assyrians, those of the Roman Empire, etc.)
But, when shall all families of the earth be blessed? Is it today? Was it during the time HWA lived? Was it during the time America and Britain were at their material peak of wealth, etc.? Will it be during the millennium? Will it be during the Day of the LORD? No! How about after Satan is loosed from that bottomless pit? No. All families will not be blessed until after what the Bible speaks of as a short/little time/season.
When God told Abram what was ahead He knew it was way, way, way off into the future before all families of the earth would be blessed. Oh, there surely will be blessings and cursings along the way, but for a time when all families of earth being blessed?
That gospel hasn't changed. God hasn't changed, and much later God inspired Paul to tell us what is recorded in Galatians:
"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed." Gal 3:8
That gospel was for all families, all nations, on earth.
Yes, it is God who justifies through faith, but faith is a fruit of God's Spirit, something God controls and gives out in accordance with His will and purpose, as witnessed by what God did with OT prophets, the Apostles, God's Church as described in the Book of Acts and elsewhere in the Bible.
Abram never saw all families/nations on earth being blessed; Abraham is still dead, and will not live again until he awakes in the second resurrection along with billions of others, including Israelites and Gentiles/nations from the time of Adam and Eve (including them).
They all broke God's law, sinned, earned the wages of sin, and paid them wages with their own death, as has been appointed to all.
God's Spirit (wouldn't that be a fantastic blessing?) will be poured out upon them all.
Abraham and Sarah will be among the witnesses of that fantastic blessing upon all families/nations at long last. God will have kept His word, but God had to begin that work, His work there, with a miracle by giving them a son Isaac when they were incapable of producing a son on their own...and you probably know the rest of the story. God will also insure that all families/nations are blessed materially: e.g. agriculturally, etc.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, HWA of the former WCG strived to shove physical blessings into a "very soon to come" millennium with another Jesus reigning on earth, when those blessings were scheduled for a time after that short/little time/season.
A future time will come when all families/nations will be blessed physically and spiritually, or God is a liar. God cannot lie, but time will tell...
John
“And I will cast you [Judah] out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim” Jeremiah 7:15
“I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from Me; for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled” Hosea 5:3
“Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be” Hosea 5:9
John,
Arrogance and ignorance doesn't make you great!
and think not to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say unto you that God is able from these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Matthew 3:9
Those outside the church have done their own research. BI is a false doctrine.
Anon, Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 6:46:00 PM PDT said:
"John,
Arrogance and ignorance doesn't make you great!
and think not to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say unto you that God is able from these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Matthew 3:9"
******
Amen, Anon:
I Peter 5:10 "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].
:11 To him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Believe those words now, or don't believe them: time will tell...
John
Well, 7:57, so is Bigfoot lore and hollow earth nonsense, but those arent particularly accurate either.
But I have to ask, is it true that where there are four Presbyterians, theres a "fifth"? :)
Israel’s titles bestowed on the Church and the Nations
Zec 2:11 And many nations [Heb: goyim; LXX ethnos] shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people [Heb: ‘am; LXX: laos]:
1Pe 2:9a But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation [ethnos], a peculiar people [laos];
1Pe 2:10a Which in time past were not [ov] a people [laos], but are now the people [laos] of God [Theos]:
“Peter applies to the church various terms originally spoken concerning Israel (cf. Exod 19:5-6; Deut 4:20; 7:6; Isa 43:20-1). But this does not mean that the church is Israel or even that the church replaces Israel in the plan of God.
Ro 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Ro 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Ro 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Ro 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Ro 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
“Romans 11 should help us to guard against this misinterpretation. Why does Peter apply Old Testament terminology to the church. He does so chiefly because of the conviction of the church that the OT writings are for it (2 Tim 3:16) and that these writings speak of Jesus and his times. The functions that Israel was called into existence to perform in its day of grace the church now performs in a similar way. In the future, according to Paul, God will ... use Israel to bless the world (cf. Rom 11:13-16, 23-24)” (Edwin A. Blum, 1 & 2 Peter, EBC, Vol. 12, p.231).
Hos 1:9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
“The people of Israel broke God’s covenant and defiled themselves with immorality and idolatry. God delivered his judgment through the prophets: they had become Lo-Ammi, “no people”, no longer the holy people of God” (Edmund P. Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter, BST, p.89).
Hos 2:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;
Hos 2:22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.
Hos 2:23a And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy;
Hos 2:23b and I will say to them which were not [ov] my people [laos, LXX], Thou art my people [laos, LXX; and they shall say, Thou art my God [Theos, LXX]. (Cp. 1 Peter 2:10 above).
Isa 61:6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles [goyim], and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
“Yet God also promised a marvellous restoration. Instead of shame they will be given glory. The prophets describe the marvel of God’s restoration in the latter days. Not only will the remnant of Israel be gathered to worship the Lord; the remnant of the nations, even the enemies nations, will be gathered, too... In the day of God’s salvation, the covenant blessing will be shared by the enemy nations” (Edmund P. Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter, BST, pp. 89-90).
Part 2
Isa 19:23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve [God] with the Assyrians.
“A highway is a favorite metaphor in this book for the removal of alienation and separation (11:16; 33;18; 40:3; 49:11; 62:10). In rough and hilly Israel, the force of such a figure is obvious. God’s longing is for swift and open communications between himself and all peoples, but also among all peoples. His purpose is that it will be so in one day. In this respect Assyria and Egypt stand for all he warring nations of the earth...” (John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, NICOT, pp.380-81).
Isa 19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
"Israel, Egypt, and Assyria are placed on par. Among them Israel will exist as a blessing, but all of them are at one before God” (John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, NICOT, p.381).
1 Sam 2:29b of all the offerings of Israel my people [‘am-mi].
Isa 19:25a Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people [‘am-mi]
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father... thou our potter; and we all are the work [u-ma-‘a-seh] of thy hand [ya-de-ka’].
Isa 19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying ... Assyria the work [u-ma-‘a-seh] of my hands [ya-day],
“In a remarkable statement Isaiah applies terms previously restricted to Israel to both Egypt and Assyria. He calls Egypt my people ... and Assyria the work of my hand...” (John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, NICOT, p.381).
Isa 19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying ... Israel mine inheritance [nachalah.
Dt 32:9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance [nachalah].
“Some commentators ... suggest Israel’s title is the highest and best. It is certainly not less than the others. But that is to miss the significance of the passage. All three titles traditionally belong to Israel. Here they are shared with Assyria and Egypt. Yahweh’s divine imperium is seen to drawn within its scope and purpose the entire known world” (John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 1-13, WBC, p.261).
“Between the two poles of northeast (Assyria) and southwest (Egypt), Israel will fulfill the function that God promised to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 12:3). They will be a blessing to the world, a means whereby the blessings of God will come to all peoples...” (John N. Oswalt, Isaiah, NIVAC, p.243).
Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Ac 13:47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Jesus Christ, in his second-half of his prophetic week, will commission Israel to be his salvation to the ends of the world, during the Kingdom Administration of the New Covenant; just as he commissioned Paul and Barnabas under the Church Administration of the New Covenant.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Only God’s kingdom, Israel, not God’s Church, the Israel of God, can be the realization, to the full, of both material and spiritual blessings to the nations.
Paul understood who the Israel of God is in the New Covenant Era. It is important to embrace the era in which you currently live in.
Galatians 6:15-16 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. (Gentile church)
This coincides with what Paul spoke about in Romans.
Romans 9:7-8 Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. (NLT)
Perhaps you (Anon 6:29) should focus and work out your own spiritual salvation in your timeframe. David, and the apostles will work on the salvation of physical Israel during the millennium.
All Israel shall be saved. When? After they get converted (Get the context)
The COGs prides itself on knowing the process of salvation. They explains how there is a conversion that must take place involving God’s spirit and obedience to God. Paul does mention to the gentiles that Israel will be saved (Romans 9:27), but he doesn’t go into WHEN they will be saved.
Israel must be converted first before being saved. It says in the prophet Ezekiel 36:27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. This is the context of the millennium. Even after the millennium it also says in Ezekiel 37:14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ” This is during the valley of dry bones during the great white throne judgment. The prophecy is referring to the House of Israel v. 11. Even later Ezekiel mentions that others will also be given God’s Spirit and a chance for salvation (Eze 39:29).
The prophet Jeremiah mentions that Israel’s conversion will take place when they enter the new covenant, Jeremiah 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. These scriptures have to do with physical Israel being saved during a future time after their conversion. They will have access to God’s Spirit on a collective scale, and then they will keep God’s laws and commandments. As pioneers, Paul brought this scripture fittingly to the Hebrew Christians (Hebrews 8:10), because this is in place for Spiritual Israel. It’s the same teachings to non physical Israelites (2 Cor. 3:3).
These scriptures in the prophets describe a time when Israel is saved during the millennium and the great white throne judgment.
What we know about Israel’s salvation regarding David and the apostles?
Jesus Christ mentions that the twelve apostles who would continue in the faith would receive a kingdom and they would judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). They would assist in the salvation of physical Israel during the future millennium. The prophets Jeremiah & Ezekiel mentions that David would be over the children of Israel (Ezekiel 37:24-25; Jeremiah 30:9). He would oversee the twelve apostles judging the physical tribes of Israel. The context is physical Israel going through their process of salvation during the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ and one-hundred-year period.
The apostles were given the great commission and legend has it that they went to nations around the known world (Matthew 28:19-20). Currently not any church organization can help save Israel (as a nation) in its present premillennial state. This is designed and ordained for the future under Christ, David, and the apostles.
Part 2
While Jesus will be in heaven - King in the heavenlies, and Priest in the heavenly holy place (cp. Heb 9:24) - He will have a dwelling presence in Ezekiel’s Temple, just as He did in the Mosaic Tabernacle and Solomonic Temples.
Lev 10:17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?
While sacrifices in the Messianic Age will be a means of ‘fellowshiping’ with God, compare Eze 44:3, 46:19-23; they are especially required to maintain Christ’s ‘presence’ in the holy of holies. (Also, the priests eating of the purification offering, cp. Lev 10:17, play their part in the atonement process of eliminating sin - this suggests that this is a ‘physical’ counterpart, in some way, with the role of the Saints in the heavenly temple during the Messianic Age.).
Eze 45:18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:
Eze 45:20 And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye make atonement for the Temple.
In the Messianic Age the annual cleansing of the Temple will take place in the first month, over two days, also in preparation for the Passover,
Eze 45:22 And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering.
The prince [nasi’; Solomon was also a nasi’ (1 Kgs 11:34)], the person ruling for Jesus (cp. 2 Ch 9:8), as patron of the Temple and the sacrificing system will offer a bull for a purification offering. The official Passover sacrifice in now a ‘public sacrifice’; it is not a zebah selamim.
7:14 writes:
Perhaps you (Anon 6:29) should focus and work out your own spiritual salvation in your timeframe.
1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
It is the hope in the resurrection and what comes after that helps me focus on the now. But coming from a rather dysfunctional background and being dysfunctional as well, [a prerequisite to being attracted to Armstrongism?], it is indeed a challenge.
Phil 2:12 Wherefore, my BELOVED, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Phil 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
“Paul now begins to apply the example of Christ’s unselfish humility and obedience to the Philippian situation. His basic meaning is clear: He want the Philippians to obey as Christ obeyed, and presumably this means to work for unity by avoiding the kind of selfish ambition that leads to dissension (2:1-4, 14). The finer details of Paul’s statement, however, are difficult to clarify. To whom does Paul expect the Philippians to render obedience? Does this command to the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling contradict his emphasis elsewhere on the believers justification by faith through God’s grace? Does it indeed contradict the next sentence, in which Paul says that God’s creates both the will and the ability of believers to accomplish his desires?...
Part 3
“The second question is more difficult. The Philippians should pursue obedience, Paul says, by working out their “salvation with fear and trembling.” One of the moist important themes in Paul’s theology is that human effort cannot even cooperate with God’s grace to yield a right standing before God on the final day. To Paul, even Abraham, popularly thought to be the most righteous of all ..., must be considered ungodly when a right standing before God is at issue. Abraham served as Paul’s illustration of the principle that “to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited to him as righteousness” (Rom4:5). God’s people, Paul says, are not chosen because of their works but on the basic of grace, for otherwise “grace would no longer be grace” (11:16). What could Paul possibly mean, then, when he says that the Philippians should “work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling”?...
“When Paul says in Philippians 2:12 that believers must “work out [their] salvation,” he does not mean that they should “work for” (JB, NJB) salvation on the final day. He means that they should “conduct” themselves “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27) as they await the final affirmation of their right standing before God at the day of Christ. They should busy themselves with discerning “what is best” so that they “may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ” (1:10). They are to do this “with fear and trembling,” because such seriousness is appropriate to task of living out their commitment to the gospel in a way that demonstrates that they are genuine believers. In other words, Paul’s intention in 2:12 is not far from Peter in 2 Peter 1:10-11:
“Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”... (Frank Thielman, Philippians, NIVAC, pp.135-38).
“The context makes it clear that this is not a soteriological text per se, dealing with “people getting saved” or “saved people persevering.” Rather it is an ethical text, dealing with “how saved people live out their salvation” in the context of the believing community and the world. What Paul is referring to, therefore, is the present “outworking” of their eschatological salvation within the believing community in Philippi. At issue is “obedience,” pure and simple.
“... it means to continue in their obedience to Christ.... and contextually that means that they stop whatever squabbling is going on and get on with being “God’s blameless children” in pagan Philippi. Thus everything about the sentence and its context indicates that Paul with this imperative is not referring to the “salvation” of individual believers, but the salvation that God has wrought in making them a people of God for his name in Philip, and that at issue is their getting on with it. Even though, as before (vv. 4-5) they will have to respond individually the imperative itself has to do with what takes place in their community life, as they return to their common cause with regard to the gospel” (Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, NICNT, pp. 235-36).
It appears that I didn't send part 1 earlier, so here it is:
Hi 7:14
Part 1
Below are a few points that I disagree with or need qualifying.
"This is during the valley of dry bones during the great white throne judgment.
"As pioneers, Paul brought this scripture fittingly to the Hebrew Christians (Hebrews 8:10)
"The prophets Jeremiah & Ezekiel mentions that David would be over the children of Israel (Ezekiel 37:24-25; Jeremiah 30:9). He would oversee the twelve apostles judging the physical tribes of Israel.
"This is designed and ordained for the future under Christ, David, and the apostles."
Ro 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
I disagree that the valley of dry bones refers to the "great white throne judgment" - it refers to the ‘resurrection' of Israel after the Great Tribulation.
It is debatable who was the author of Hebrews.
David in Eze in 37:24-25 and Jer 30:9 is the Messiah.
NIVSB: My servant David. As in 34:23 (see note there) the coming Messianic ruler is called David because he would be a descendant of David and would achieve for Israel what David had - except more fully.
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.
Phil 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven.
2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
NIVSB on 1 Cor 15:46: Adam, the earthly man, and his descendants received natural, earthly bodies. Christ, the last Adam, the man from heaven who became incarnate in a human body, received a glorified, spiritual body following his resurrection. Similarly, his redeemed people will receive a spiritual body.”
Jesus, David and the twelve apostles will not be on the earth during the Millennium. Christ and the Saints, having spiritual bodies, are going to replace Satan and demons in the heavenlies - spiritual bodies are therefore needed to live in the spirit realm.
The problem with ‘premillennialism' is that it doesn't consider/dismiss Scripture that argues for heaven and does not take into account the ‘principal of agency'.
“... the agency principle that the saliah embodies was pervasive in the ancient Mediterranean world..." (C. S. Keener, "The Gospel of John," Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, p.429).
2Ch 9:8 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to RULE FOR the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.
In this regard it is ironical that the UCG can teach below and still say that Christ will literally rein on the throne of David.
Eze 43:7a And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever
UCG Bible Commentary:
"Christ's Arrival at the Temple; Altar of Burnt Offering (Ezekiel 43) February 19-20 [2004]:
"Returning to the east gate, Ezekiel is now given a glimpse of the awesome and thrilling arrival of Jesus Christ (identified by Ezekiel as the coming of the "glory of the LORD") to this newly completed temple, a scene that reminded him of the visions he had recorded earlier in his book (verses 1-5; see Ezekiel 1; 10). Ezekiel 10:18-19 had specifically mentioned God leaving the temple, after which it was destroyed. Here we have God returning again."
(Some even argue that the throne of David will be in the holy of holies. This would indeed make it hard to exercise a kingly role considering only priest are allowed into the inner court).
Kind of going out of order part 2,part 3, part 1.. ( I was wondering)
Anyways, so you say it’s unclear who the author of Hebrews is?
I disagree because of 4 main points, because Paul was the author of the book of Hebrews (IMO).
1st Proof: Hebrews 13:23 Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.
As you know Paul’s brother companion was Timothy throughout Acts and Paul’s letters.
2nd Proof: Hebrews 13:24 Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.
Italy? Italy?, Paul the apostle to the gentiles who would work with the gentiles in Rome, Italy (2 Timothy 1:17), Acts 27-28
3rd Proof: Peter tells the Jewish Christians that Paul has written to them. 2 Peter 3:15-16 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand…
Well, when did Paul write to the circumcised Jewish Christians.
It would be no other than the Book of the Hebrews
Proof 4: Hebrews 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
Now Paul, even though he wasn’t the original twelve, later declares that he received his doctrine directly from the Lord Himself through his testimony (Galatians 1:12; 1Corinthians 9:1)
Now the Him at the end of the verse is not in some of the translations, but I have other proofs such as the Pauline style that are found in his other epistles.
So you think the valley of dry bones coincides with the 144,000 spoken of in Revelation and not the GWTJ? Please do explain?
Hi 11:27
Part 1
We will have to agree to disagree on the authorship.
In regard to point 4, Heb 2:3 COULD provide support that Paul wasn’t the author of Hebrews:
Gal 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Gal 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
“Would Paul, who insisted his gospel was not from any human source but from the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal 1:11-12) have written: “It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him” (Heb 2:3 NRSV)?” ( Fred B. Craddock, The Letter to the Hebrews, NIB, Vol.123, p.6).
I will leave it as a rhetorical question; now in regard to:
“So you think the valley of dry bones coincides with the 144,000 spoken of in Revelation and not the GWTJ? Please do explain?”
From the context of Ezekiel, No.
In Isaiah 49 God appointed Jesus to raise up the twelve tribes of Israel - the metaphor of the dry bones and graveyard pictures this future event. The typology of Joshua, son of Nun, and Joshua, son of God helps in supporting this argument.
Jos 18:1 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.
Jabin king of Hazor provides a ‘type’ for Gog. It was after the defeat of the Canaanite northern coalition that the land was “subdued” before them and the tabernacle was raised up at Shiloh.
While there was much land to be occupied this was the last major battle/campaign of the conquest of the Holy Land by Joshua.
After Jesus return the defeat of Gog is the last major campaign of the conquest of the world by Him. After Gog is defeated, the land is now at rest and Ezekiel sees the New Temple.
In the recording of the allocation of the land to the tribes under Joshau, five tribes are allocated first and then there is the mention of the setting up of the tabernacle and after this not seven tribes are alloted their inheritance.
In Ezekiel’s land distribution it is the opposite: seven tribes are given their inheritance, then there is the description of the teruma, and then follows the inheritance of the remaining five tribes.
Looking more at Ezekiel 37 - works better in charts with parallels and highlight:
Ezekiel’s Familiar Prophecy
“With the possible exception of the opening vision, no prophecy in the book of Ezekiel is as well known as 37:1-14” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.370).
“... the vision of the dry bones, is arguably the most famous and influential passage in this book...
“Like the wheels in Ezekiel’s vision of God’s chariot throne in chapters 1-3, the odd and powerful imagery of this passage captured the imagination of African slaves in America. A familiar African-American spiritual describes the macabre scene from verse 7 in joyous song (“the foot bone connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone connected to the leg bone...”) punctuated by “Now hear the word of the Lord!” The song reached its climax, as does Ezekiel’s vision, with an image of life brought from death, and joy from sorrow: “Them bones, them bones gonna walk around.” For the victims of the slave trade in America, as for Ezekiel’s audience of exiles, this text spoke of hope for the hopeless, freedom for the captives, and life for those who had thought themselves as good as dead. For this reason, verse 1-14 are read in the synagogue at Passover, that great festival of liberation from bondage” (Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, NIBC, pp.250-251).
Part 2
Context
Ro 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
“FAMILIARITY LEADS TO misinterpretation. Of all the prophecies of Ezekiel this section is perhaps the most familiar to the average reader. This is not necessarily an advantage, however, because it means the common misconceptions may first have to be cleared away before the constructive work can be done.
“At first sight, for example, Ezekiel seems to be a proof text for the resurrection of the body, as many of the early church fathers (and early rabbinic interpretations) understood it to be. However, what the prophet is depicting is certainly not an expected universal resurrection...
“The fact that this passage has been widely misunderstood by interpreters from such a wide range of backgrounds raises a further point about the nature of visions. Visions, like parables, tend to be open-ended, full of imagery that is capable of diverse interpretations. The precision of logically constructed syllogisms is traded for the effective power of symbols. Some visions are deliberately open-ended, especially those dealing with the future. To avoid such misunderstandings, therefore it is especially important to read visions within their context. If the vision itself is removed from the context of the biblical book in which it stands, as if it were a timeless statement of universal truth, misunderstanding is likely.
“In a similar way a single still photograph taken from a film might be open to many different interpretations, although, seen within the flow of the movie, its meaning may be univocal. In the case of Ezekiel 37, the context is twofold. The narrower context is the interpretation of the vision given by the Lord himself in 37:11-14. The broader context is the place of the vision within the book itself, as part of the message of restoration to a people who have experienced a full outpouring of the wrath of God” (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, pp.428-29).
Dt 30:5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
Dt 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Dt 30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
“The familiarity of this well-known chapter of all in Ezekiel can easily blind readers to its meaning... the key to understanding the chapter aright is to see it in its context. Ezekiel had been promising his people a change in their fortunes: new leadership, a restored land, rebuilt cities, and many of the features of the Messianic era. It is not surprising that he was met with scepticism: the fall of Jerusalem had meant the break-up of their faith and it was not going to be restored as easily as that. They looked at the shattered remains of their people in exile and they could only say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. Can these bones live?’ The answer appeared to be unmistakably ‘No’. Ezekiel, however, believed that it could happen. If God’s purpose was to restore Israel, he would do it by however great a miracle. Both the vision and the oracle of the two sticks conveyed this message. In the case of the first (1-14), the nation was shown that God’s Spirit had the power to turn what looked like a host of skeletons into an effective army of men, a picture of Israel restored to life again and filled with the Spirit. In the second (15-28) Ezekiel shows that the old divisions between Israel and Judah will pass away: the new nation will unite the remnants of both peoples in one land under one king, and without their traditional animosity” (John B. Taylor, Ezekiel, TOTC, pp. 227-28).
Part 3
Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Eze 36:27a And I will put my spirit within you
Eze 37:14a And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live
Eze 36:27b and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. Eze 37:24b they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
“The echoes of 36:27a in 37:14a and of 36:27b in 37:24b suggest extensive compositional structuring. 37:1-13 seems to have been intended as a commentary on 36:27a ... and likewise 37:15-24a as a commentary on 36:27b). Ezekiel’s oracles have thus been artistically woven into an explanatory framework, which sought to illustrate the role of Yahweh’s spirit and the means whereby obedience to Yahweh’s moral will would be achieved in the new age” (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.192).
Eze 37:3 AND HE SAID UNTO ME, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Eze 37:19 SAY UNTO THEM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah...
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Eze 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?
Eze 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, AND THE BONES CAME TOGETHER [QARAB], bone to his bone.
Eze 37:17 AND JOIN [QARAB] THEM ONE TO ANOTHER INTO ONE STICK; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Eze 37:9 THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
Eze 37:21a AND SAY UNTO THEM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone,
Eze 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and BREATHE UPON THESE SLAIN, that they may live.
Eze 37:21a And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone,
Part 4
Eze 37:12 I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, AND BRING [BO'] YOU INTO ['EL] THE LAND ['ADAMAH] OF ISRAEL.
Eze 37:14b And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, AND I SHALL PLACE YOU IN YOUR OWN LAND ['ADAMAH]:
Eze 37:21 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and will gather them on every side, AND BRING [BO'] THEM INTO ['EL] THEIR OWN LAND ['ADAMAH]:
“This literary unit [37:15-28], like the previous one, functions as a commentary on 36:27. It wants to carry forward the earlier one in a dynamic development... The repeated promise to bring the people to their own country hinges the units, ending the former and introducing the interpretative oracle in the latter (vv 12, 21). In the first case the promise functions as a goal, and in the second as a starting point for a new work of God. The same figurative verb for uniting occurs in both, with reference to the joining of the bones in the vision and the joining of the sticks in the symbolic act (... [qarab], vv 7, 17). But now the first simile of coherent life has given way to one of greater unity... There is a reaching back beyond the claims of a southern kingdom to represent the Yahwistic traditions, beyond the religious and political tensions of a divided nation. The deuteronomistic ideal of a united kingdom, under a monarch that reflected and upheld Yahweh’s purpose for lifestyle and worship, is held up as a model for the future” (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.195).
Eze 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
“THE UNIT IN ITS CLOSING VERSES PAVES THE WAY FOR THE VISION OF CHAPS. 40-48. In its later part it also wants to draw positive strands from chaps. 34 and 36, as well as from chap. 28. The message of new life and the fulfillment of covenant ideals is both repeated and developed along fresh lines” (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.196).
Anon, Friday, August 18, 2023 at 8:06:00 PM PDT, said:
"...Part 1...Jesus, David and the twelve apostles will not be on the earth during the Millennium...
******
Anon, amen to that, and time will tell...
John
Part 1
Below follows the “General Overall” of Eze 37:1-14, which is too long to post, of an uncompleted Bible Study of these verses.
A more detailed overview
Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit [ruah] of the LORD, and set me down [wayeniheni] in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit [ruah] in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place [wehinnahti] you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
A - Ezekiel is inspired by the divine Spirit (ruah) and relocated (wayeniheni) in a death valley (vv.1-2).
A1 - Israel is resuscitated through the divine Spirit (ruah) and relocated (wehinnahti) in its ancestral homeland (v.14).
“[Some] observe an artful chiastic arrangement of subjects...” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.371-72). Only the opening and closing of the “chiastic arrangement” has been quoted.
Eze 37:1a The hand of the LORD was upon me...
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man,
Eze 37:14b then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
“Although C. Barth has argued for the unity of the entire chapter, most agree that vv. 1-14 should be isolated as a separate literary unity, marked off by the opening announcement of the arresting hand of Yahweh in v.1 and the concluding signatory formula in v.14. Within these borders an obvious break occurs at v.11, as the prophet’s visionary experience gives way to a series of interpretative comments” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.370).
“The present literary unity incorporates at least three different prophetic forms: a vision report (vv.1-10) a disputation address (vv.11-14), and two proof sayings with this address (vv.12-13, 14) in the refutation of the circulating quotation...” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.371).
“The two main sections, vv 1-10 and vv 11-14, thus stand in a relationship of image and interpretation, where the interpretation contains at the same time the real proclamation to the people” (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.257).
Eze 17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
Eze 17:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
Eze 17:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
“From the point of view of form this recalls Ezekiel 17 and 21:1ff” (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.257).
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
“The transition from the first part to the second is achieved by means of v 11” (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.257).
Eze 12:21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 12:22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
Eze 12:23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.
Eze 12:24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
Eze 12:25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
Part 2
“... vv 11-14, which are introduced by a new address, are for their part quite clearly in the form which is frequently attested in Ezekiel, that of disputation. V 11 begins with a quotation of the words of the people, which is followed by a divine response in vv 12-14, which quite unconcernedly introduces a new image [graves]... Thus v 11 fulfills a double function: 1) It interprets the imagery of the vision and in this respect has a backward reference” (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.257).
Eze 33:10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
“At the same time it introduces 2) the form of the disputation in vv 11-14, in which God, as, e.g., in 33:10ff, counters the people’s resignation with his word of promise...” (Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, p.257).
“Allen recognizes a double movement in the vision account” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.371).
“After the introduction in v 1a, the vision falls into two parts unequal in size but largely symmetrical as to their motives, v 1b-8a and vv 8b-10” (Leslie C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, WBC, p.183).
“The first movement consists of a negative picture of Israel’s condition (vv 1b-3), followed by a positive, transforming event (vv.4-8a). The second movement is briefer, echoing and telescoping elements found in the preceding verse (vv.8-10). The vision account is followed by an ocular pronouncement of salvation (vv.9-14), which reinforces the message of hope [L.C. Allen, “Structure, Tradition and Restoration in Ezekiel’s Death Valley,” in among the Prophets: Language, Image and Structure in Prophetic Writings, pp.126-34]” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.371).
"The literary unit is cast in the form of a dramatic autobiographical narrative. Even so it is difficult to establish the precisely the nature of Ezekiel's experience” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.372).
Eze 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw [ra’a] visions [mar’eh] of God.
Eze 8:2 Then I beheld [ra’a], and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.
Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold [hinneh], there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
“Is this a vision account, or does it describe a moment of prophetic ecstasy? The absence of the verb ra’a, “to see” (cf.1:1; 8:2), or the derived noun mar’eh, “vision,” and the seizure by the hand/Spirit of Yahweh point to the latter. Nonetheless, the particle hinneh (v.2), common in dream and vision reports, implies a visual experience. It is probably unnecessary to vote for one or the other. In none of the other visionary reports in the book (1:1-3:15; 8:1-11-25; 40:1-48:35) is the prophet a detached observer” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.372).
Eze 47:2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
“Each examples portrays him being physically led around the visionary scene by Yahweh (or by his representative)” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.372).
Part 3
Eze 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
“In this vision his involvement is even more dramatic as his own activity and speech actually affect the events envisioned” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.372).
Eze 11:13a And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died.
“The nearest parallel is the vision of Pelatiah’s death (11:13), but only here does the prophet’s activity have a direct bearing on the outcome. Vv.1-14 represent an autobiographical account of Ezekiel’s seizure and commissioning by Yahweh. As the narrative proceeds, however, the reader learns gradually that this is a salvation oracle for the exiles” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.372).
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
“The occasion for the prophecy is indicated by v.11; they have lost all hope in the future and all hope in God. The nation obviously needs deliverance not only from exile in Babylon but also from their despondency. In promising this deliverance, Ezekiel’s salvation oracles reach a new and dramatic height” (Daniel I. Block, Ezekiel 25-48, NICOT, p.372).
Eze 12:22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
“The vision seems suggested by the saying current among the people, “our bones are dried, our hope is lost; we are wholly cut off.” This idea and feeling of the people takes form in the vision which the prophet saw in the valley. The language of the people is figurative: they speak of the nationality, which is no more, - it is dead and its bones scattered and dry. And this idea regarding the nationality, figuratively expressed by the people, is embodied to the prophet in a vision. Hence the passage is not a literal prophecy of the resurrection of individual persons of the nation, dead or slain; it is a prophecy of the resurrection of the nation, whose condition is figuratively expressed by the people when they represent its bones as long scattered and dry” (The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges).
Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
“Perfect consistency is not maintained by the prophet: in Eze 37:1-2 the dry bones are represented as lying on the face of the valley, very many and very dry; in Eze 37:12 they are represented as buried and brought up out of their graves” (The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges).
“The imagery shifts from a scattering of bones on a battlefield to a cemetery with sealed graves”. (NIVSB).
Part 4
Two Examples from Revelation
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
“Note that in vv.7-9 the church is pictured both as the bride and as the guests who are invited to the wedding. Far from constituting a contradiction, this sort of freedom is a normal characteristic of apocalyptic writing” (Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, Revised, NICNT, pp.348-49).
Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes,...
Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb...
Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof
“John’s crying is interrupted by the announcement that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered and can open the book... John looks at the appointed place in the vision where the Lion was supposed to appear, and what he sees is a slaughtered lamb” (M. Eugene Boring, Revelation, IBCTP p.108).
“... vv 5-6 capture the two complimentary aspects of the apocalyptic metaphor, namely, Jesus as the conquering Messiah (v5) and Jesus as the atoning sacrifice (v6)” (David E. Aune, Revelation 1-5, WBC, p.352).
“Christ’s sacrifice is His victory” (F.F. Bruce, Revelation, PBCFT, p.1689).
To use up the characters below is from the “General Overview”:
Eze 40:2 In the visions of God brought he me [bo’] into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain [har]...
Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out [yasa’] in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley [biq‘a]
[biq‘a means a large flat valley, or plain].
“In light of 3:22-23, it becomes clear that the valley was not just a random geographical location but a valley in exile. Yet, viewing the vision in light of chapters 40-48 suggests the significance of the fact that it is a valley: The valley in exile forms the ultimate contrast to the “very high mountain” within the land of Israel (40:2). It is the place of death, from which Israel must be delivered before they can be brought into the land of life. This contrast is underlined by the verbs of motion by which the prophet is transported: He is “brought out” (Hiphil of yasa’) to the valley of death in 37:1 but “brought in” (Hiphil of bo’) to the land of life in 40:2” (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.426).
Dt 8:7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys [bia‘a] and hills [har]; - bia‘a and har are singular here in Hebrew
“bia‘a (“valley”) appears as the antonym of har in several places in the Old Testament, notably Deut 8:7; 11:11; Ps 104:8...” (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.426).
Ge 11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain [biq‘a] in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
“Intriguingly, perhaps underlining the contrast between the Babylonian bia‘a and the Israelite har, the builders of the tower of Babel locate their false place of worship in the bia‘a be’eres sin‘ar (“a plain in [the land of] Shinar”) in Gen 11:2. In terms of the SPIRITUAL GEOGRAPHY of the Old Testament, such a location is inappropriate for divine worship” (Iain M. Duguid, Ezekiel, NIVAC, p.426).
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