God’s people, Israel, are a spiritual one, not tied to physical land or lineage. He chooses who he wishes, according to His purposes, wherever they reside, regardless of their parents. If He chooses to sanctify a particular land or lineage, it is His choice. There is nothing intrinsically special about these identifiers that binds God to them. God is not beholden to them, but rather, they are bound to God as instruments to demonstrate His glory. He has chosen to keep His promise through them (as tools), but it is important to realize that there is nothing intrinsically special about anyone from the standpoint of the flesh, for we are of the spirit eternally. God is in no way beholden to save any individual because they are of a certain lineage or because they reside on a particular land. Their salvation is based on His choosing, according to faith. Anyone who puts faith in their lineage, where they live, or even what they do, has built their house, to some degree, on sand.
It is also important to distinguish God’s law (Torah) from man’s law (tradition and ordinances). God’s law demonstrates His character, and His intent for how we are to live. Man’s law is corrupt and seeks power/authority. God’s law came with punishments for transgressions and sacrifices as a means to an end –to bring about His glory through Christ. Christ is the unifying authority between Gods split people, Israel, who brings them into a New Jerusalem. There is no such thing as ‘the church’ and ‘Israel’ or ‘the body’ and the ‘bride’. There is only one church, one body, and one bride, and they are all Israel. While there are other ways to read scripture, they are disparate, incoherent, and contradictory –both ‘old’ and ‘new’ testaments represent a single continuous structure, imparted to us, by God.
We live in the last days. There are signs everywhere that point us to His coming. God’s prophetic plans may very well come to fruition in our lifetimes. It is important to understand that just as Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled many of the important prophecies in His day, and many did not see them, so too today, we may be witnessing prophetic fulfillment of the end times, and not have eyes to see. While there may be a final culmination of the Book of Revelation which identifies an individual as a ‘beast’ or ‘false prophet’ or ‘witness’, these identifiers may already be defined for us Biblically, and it is important to scour the scripture for clues as to their meaning. May we have eyes to see, and consider things with an open mind. May we never miss prophetic fulfillment in our day due to preconceived notions.
I pray that I am able to impart to the reader my firm belief that earth is specially made for us. We are special to God, our existence matters, and we dwell within a closed system. The laws of physics point to a God who created a special dwelling place for us. We are not here by happenstance. We are not evolved, the earth is young, and the nature of this realm is that of a plane, enclosed with bounds, as it states in scripture. This topic can be off-putting, so I pray the reader tackle the issue with an open mind. May we never miss His important truths, that He set out before us to assure us of our importance.
We are here to serve God, may His name be praised forever. Nothing else matters. The great questions of who, what, when, where, and why we are, have been answered in written scripture and have been preserved through time as a perpetual answer book for those seeking His wisdom. After the fall of man, God placed a guardian to the Tree of Life, and throughout time, placed guidance for how we are to attain His living waters. I pray you read this work with an open mind and a discerning heart, and that you allow His word to provide you answers. May we have eyes to see.
At the conclusion of this book, I pray the following verses are seen with new understanding. In them, may you find rest for your soul, and may all glory be to God forever.
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:22-24 ESV
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
Revelation 22:12-14 ESV
Thank you for your work here, I enjoyed reading the information and am in agreement about our cosmology being important to learn.