The Five "Kingdoms"

by Stan Feldsine (www.tojesusbeallglory.com)

 The Bible describes 5 different “kingdoms” in which God reigns. When discussing the various kingdoms in scripture, it is important to determine the context of the passage. The context will determine the kingdom.

1. The Universal or Eternal Kingdom - This kingdom refers to God's rule over all the universe for all time. It includes the angelic realm, and has always existed. This is the kingdom the believer enters upon death (1Co 15:50, 2Ti 4:18).
   
   Psa 93:2 Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.
   
   Psa 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
   
   Scriptural references: 1Ch 29:11-12, Psa 10:16, Psa 29:10, Psa 74:12, Psa 90:1-6, Psa 93:1-5, Psa 103:19-22, Psa 145:1-21, Psa 148:8, Jer 10:10, Lam 5:19, Dan 4:17, Dan 6:27, Act 17:24).
   
   

2. The Spiritual Kingdom - This is God's rule in the heart of a believer. This kingdom is comprised of all who have been born again by the Holy Spirit.
   
   Joh 3:3 Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."
   
   1Co 6:9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men (10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
   
   Scriptural references: Mat 6:33, Mat 19:16, Joh 3:3-5, Act 8:12, Act 14:22, Act 19:8, Act 20:25, Act 28:23, 1Co 4:20, 1Co 6:9-10, Gal 5:21, Eph 5:5, Col 1:13-14, Col 4:11, 1Th 2:12, and 2Th 1:5.
   
   

3. The Theocratic Kingdom - This is the rule of God by means of a theocracy over the nation of Israel. This kingdom started when the Law of Moses was established and served as the constitution of the nation of Israel. This kingdom ended with the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586BC. This kingdom is documented from Exo 19:1 to 2Ch 36:23.
   
   Exo 20:22-23 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: (23) Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
   
   

4. The Messianic / Millennial Kingdom - This is the future kingdom during which time Jesus will rule over saved Israel and all the earth from David's throne in Jerusalem for 1000 years. This kingdom is the subject of a great deal of OT prophecy as well as being the kingdom that was declared to be "at hand" by John the Baptist and Jesus (Mat 3:2, Mat 4:17) and rejected by Jewish authorities.
   
   Mat 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea (2) and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
   
   Psa 2:4-6 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. (5) He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, (6) "I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain."
   
   Scriptural references: Psa 2:1-12, Psa 72:1-20, Isa 9:6-7, Isa 11:1-16, Jer 23:5-6, Jer 32:14-17, Eze 34:23, Eze 37:24, Hos 3:4-5, Mic 4:6-8, Mic 5:2, Mal 3:1-4.
   
   

5. The Mystery Kingdom - Following the rejection of the Messianic Kingdom, Jesus's focus switches to the "mystery" kingdom. This is a kingdom that Jesus revealed on the day of Israel's rejection of Himself (Mat 13:11, Mat 13:35). This kingdom covers the period of time between the first and second coming of Jesus.

 

 

How We Know That the Promised Restoration of Israel Has Not Taken Place

by James C. Morris – www.tojesusbeallglory.com/p/james-c-morris.html 

Many imagine that the many scriptures that promised the return of Israel to its ancient homeland were fulfilled in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. But that is manifestly incorrect. Each of the following numbered points proves it, in and by itself. But their cumulative proof is simply overwhelming

Point 1:

The return that took place at that time included only the southern sub-kingdom of Judah. For according to Nehemiah 6:6, those who returned at that time were those “whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.” And according to 2 Kings 17:6, the northern sub-kingdom of Israel had been carried away by “the king of Assyria.” And according to the chronology of Ussher, this had taken place 130 years earlier than the deportation made by Nebuchadnezzar. The number of those who returned at that time was clearly stated in Nehemiah 7:66–69 saying, “Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.” That was a total of only forty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety two persons. But 2 Chronicles 17:12-19 informs us that, in the days of Jehoshaphat, the army of Judah included one million, one hundred and sixty thousand men, to say nothing of the men that were not in the army, and women and children. So the return from Babylon included less than a half of one percent of Judah, and did not include Israel at all. But the promised return was a return of absolutely all of Israel. For in Micah 2:12, the Lord said:

“I will surely assemble all of you,

O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;

I will put them together like sheep of the fold,

Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;

They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.”

And in Ezekiel 36:10, the Lord promised the “mountains of Israel,” along with “the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken,” (verse 4) that “I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it.” Here, the Holy Spirit doubled the Hebrew word “kol” which translates literally as “all,” literally saying “all all of the house of Israel.”

So the return of less than a half of a percent of Judah was most assuredly NOT a fulfillment of these promises.

Point 2:

The Lord very explicitly promised Israel that, after the promised return, they would never again be expelled from the land, saying,“Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land... Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever.” (Ezekiel 37:21 and 25)

The fact that they were again expelled from the land around the year 135 AD, and never returned in any significant numbers until the twentieth century is HARD PROOF that this prophecy was NOT fulfilled in the return that took place in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Point 3:

The purging of Israel that was explicitly prophesied has never taken place. For Ezekiel 20:33-38 clearly describes a purging of the rebels from among the people as they return to the land, saying: “‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you FACE TO FACE. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I WILL BRING THEM OUT OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THEY DWELL, BUT THEY SHALL NOT ENTER THE LAND OF ISRAEL. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

There can be zero question that there has never been a time when those returning to the land of Israel were met by the Lord FACE TO FACE after having been brought OUT OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THEY DWELL, but not allowed to ENTER THE LAND OF ISRAEL.

So the fact that this explicitly prophesied purging has never taken place is HARD PROOF that the prophesied return was NOT fulfilled by the return that took place in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Point 4:

The promised COMPLETE conversion of Israel has never taken place. Some Israelites have indeed been converted. But there has never been a time when they were ALL converted.

Zechariah 12:11-14, says, “In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.”

This result of this mass repentance is described in Isaiah 4:3-4 saying, “it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy; everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.”

And again Jeremiah 31:33-34 says, “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. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

There is no way to even pretend that a mass conversion that even resembled this took place in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Instead, we are repeatedly told about the widespread sinfulness of both the people and their leaders in the times of Nehemiah.

Point 5:

The specific boundaries of the land, and its division, promised in Ezekiel 47-48, have never existed.

In Ezekiel 47:13-20, the future borders of the land are specified in such high detail that, even to this day, it is possible to draw a map of the future Israel. And there is no way to even pretend that Israel has ever had borders even approximately corresponding to those specified there.

And in Ezekiel 48, we are told in high detail how that PLOT OF REAL ESTATE will be divided among the twelve tribes of Israel. And there is no way to even pretend that the land of Israel was EVER divided in that way.

So these EXPLICITLY STATED geographical details of the future Israel are HARD PROOF that they were NOT fulfilled in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Point 6:

A FUTURE restoration of Israel was clearly promised in the inspired writings of the apostles.

In Romans 9:3-5, Paul said, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”

Here, long after the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, “the promises” still “pertained” to Paul’s “brethren,” his “countrymen according to the flesh.” The words “according to the flesh” make it absolutely clear that this was speaking about the fleshly nation of Israel, not about some imaginary “spiritual Israel.” This leaves no logical way to avoid the fact that, at the time the epistle to the Romans was written, “the promises” still pertained to the fleshly nation of Israel. That is, to the physical descendants of that ancient nation.

And in Romans 9:26, Paul quoted Hosea 1:10 as still applying to the future, saying, “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

And then, two chapters later, Paul clearly stated the reason for this, saying about the unbelieving Jews, “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are IRREVOCABLE.” (Romans 11:28-29)

So, even in the apostolic writings of the New Testament, The promised restoration of Israel is clearly spoken of as something that would take place in the future. This is again, HARD PROOF that the return that took place in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah was NOT the return of all Israel that was promised in so many places in the prophetic scriptures.

Specific Promises of Repentance for Israel

 by James C. Morris – www.tojesusbeallglory.com/p/james-c-morris.html 

 Explicitly Stated Promises to Eventually Bring the Ancient Nation of Israel to Repentance

Many people think that, since Israel rejected its Messiah (Jesus) when He came, by that act they lost their promised blessings and have therefore been forever set aside. To prove that claim, they cite such scriptures as Jeremiah 18:7-10, where the Lord said, “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.”

On the basis of this concept, these people claim that ALL the promises of God are conditional, even when they are stated in unconditional terms. But is that correct? In considering this matter, we need to notice a promise made to David. In Psalm 89:28–35, the Lord said concerning David, “My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes. NEVERTHELESS MY LOVINGKINDNESS I WILL NOT UTTERLY TAKE FROM HIM, NOR ALLOW MY FAITHFULNESS TO FAIL. MY COVENANT I WILL NOT BREAK, NOR ALTER THE WORD THAT HAS GONE OUT OF MY LIPS. ONCE I HAVE SWORN BY MY HOLINESS; I WILL NOT LIE TO DAVID:”

Here we see that our God explicitly said that His promise to David was so sure, so certain, that EVEN SIN could not cancel it. Sin, if it came, would be dealt with. But the punishment would NOT be a cancellation of the promise. And we need to notice God’s reflexive statement that He would have been lying when He made this promise if He were not going to ACTUALLY keep it.

So now we must ask, did God actually SAY that He had canceled the promises He made to Israel? And the answer to that question is a very decided NO. There is no scripture that says, or even that implies, that even one of these promises has been cancelled. Instead, we find that, long after “they cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ ” (John 19:15) And long after, in the stoning of Stephen, they “sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us,’ ” (Luke 19:14) the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write that “the promises” still “pertain” to his “countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites.” (Romans 9:3-4)

And two chapters later the same Holy Spirit inspired the sme Paul to write, concerning the Jews who were currently refusing to believe the gospel, that, “Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are IRREVOCABLE.” (Romans 11:28–29)

How, then can these promises to Israel, remain “IRREVOCABLE,” when God has so clearly said that Her would cancel promises of blessing if men turned to sin? It is because our merciful God has not ONLY promised to bring the ancient nation of Israel back to their ancient homeland, He has ALSO promised to b ring them to repentance, leading to a true and l,iving faith in Himself.

Like the promise to bring them back to their ancient homeland, this promise is ALSO explicitly stated, again and again, in the prophetic scriptures.

Their national repentance is graphically described in Zechariah 12:10–14, saying, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.”

And the result of this repentance is stated in Isaiah 4:2–4, saying, “In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.”

This is repeatedly stressed in the prophecies of Jeremiah.

For Jeremiah 24:7 says, “Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.”

And Jeremiah 31:31–34 says, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, MY COVENANT WHICH THEY BROKE, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 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. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” We need to notice that this promise includes a specific reference to the fact that they “BROKE” the first covenant. So this promise of a new covenant was made in view of their SIN, in BREAKING that first covenant. So it could NOT have been cancelled because of that sin.

And in the next chapter, Jeremiah 32:38-42 says, “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

“For thus says the LORD: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.’ ”

And inn the next chapter after that, Jeremiah 33:7-8 says, “ ‘I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.”

And finally, as far as the prophecies of Jeremiah go, Jeremiah 50:19-20 says, “But I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days and in that time," says the LORD, "The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve.”

But going on in the major prophets, we find that Ezekiel 36:24-29 says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.” ’ ”

From there, we go on to the so-called minor prophets, where we find that Hosea 3:4-5 says, “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness IN THE LATTER DAYS.” We need to particularly notice this clause, “IN THE LATTER DAYS.” This is NOT speaking about something that would take place after a delay of a mere 70 years.

And Zephaniah 3:11-13 says, “In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain. I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth.”

And finally, as far as the Old Testament prophesies go, Zechariah 13:8–9 says, “ ‘And it shall come to pass in all the land,’ Says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

So there can be zero question that, as God has repeatedly and explicitly promised to eventually bring Israel to both repentance and faith in Himself. And thus, there can be no excuse for committing the sin of denying that God will actually KEEP these many and “IRREVOCABLE” promises He made to the ancient nation of Israel.

Specific Promises of LAND for Israel

 by James C. Morris – www.tojesusbeallglory.com/p/james-c-morris.html

Explicitly Stated Prophecies About the Return of the Ancient Nation of Israel to its Homeland.

In promises specifically addressed to the ancient nation of Israel, God repeatedly and explicitly pledged Himself to bring them back into “the land that I gave to your fathers,” “the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers,” “the country for which I raised my hand in an oath to give to your fathers,” “the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, where your fathers dwelt,” and “your own land.” And in prophecies ABOUT them, as opposed to promises TO them, He pledged to bring them back into “the land that I gave to their fathers,” “their land which I gave to their fathers,” an d “their own land,” as well as “the land of Israel.”

The fact that these prophecies and promises could not even possibly be speaking about “the church” is shown by the fact that they all speak about a return of a SPECIFIC ancient nation to a specific PLOT OF REAL ESTATE. But then, not satisfied by using so very many specific designations, in Ezekiel 36 the Holy Spirit went on to designate that PLOT OF REAl ESTATE as the “mountains of Israel,” along with “the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around.” And He promised that PLOT OF REAL ESTATE that “I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.” Then, eleven chapters later, in Ezekiel 47, He went so far as to precisely define the future borders of that PLOT OF REAL ESTATE, and in the next chapter, Ezekiel 48, to designate which part of that PLOT OF REAL ESTATE would go to each of the twelve tribes of Israel, naming each tribe as its portion was specified. So there is no way to rationally even try to pretend that these prophecies and promises applied to “the church.”

Many imagine that these prophecies and promises were fulfilled when the Jews returned from Babylon in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. But that return was only a return of a very small part of the southern sub-kingdom of Judah. So it did not even approximately resemble the “all the house of Israel, all of it,” that was promised in Ezekiel 36. And those who returned at that time never attained borders even approximately like those specified in Ezekiel 47, nor was their land ever divided in a way even approximately resembling what was specified in Ezekiel 48. And Ezekiel 37:25 explicitly says that, after this return takes place, “they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever.” And it is common knowledge that in approximately 135 A.D., they were again expelled from the land, never to return until the twentieth century. So again, there is no way to rationally even try to pretend that these promises have ever been fulfilled.

And finally, our God has plainly told us WHEN that return will take place and THAT time has not yet come. For Isaiah 66:15–21 says: “For behold, the Lord will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; And the slain of the Lord shall be many. “Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,” says the Lord.

“For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says the Lord.”

It is absolutely unquestionable that this has NOT already taken place. For the Lord’s coming “with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire” is unquestionably an end times event.

But some go so far in their unbelief as to claim that the ancient nation of Israel no longer exists, as if the promises of God could not even possibly be true. But what did God Himself say about THAT claim? In Jeremiah 31:35–36, He said, “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): ‘If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a NATION before Me forever.’ ”

To make my opening statement shorter, I did not give either the complete statements or the citations for many of the scriptures that I quoted here. But I will now quote each of these scriptures in its entirety, with its citation, in the order in which they occur in the Bible.

Jeremiah 3:17–18 says,“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.“In those days THE HOUSE OF JUDAH SHALL WALK WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, AND THEY SHALL COME TOGETHER out of the land of the north TO THE LAND THAT I HAVE GIVEN AS AN INHERITANCE TO YOUR FATHERS.”

Jeremiah 16:14-16, says, “ ‘Therefore behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that it shall no more be said, “The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” but, “The LORD lives WHO BROUGHT UP THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FROM THE LAND OF THE NORTH AND FROM ALL THE LANDS WHERE HE HAD DRIVEN THEM.” For I will bring them BACK INTO THEIR LAND WHICH I GAVE TO THEIR FATHERS. ‘Behold, I will send for many fishermen,’ says the LORD, ‘and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.’ ”

Jeremiah 23:3-8 says, “ ‘Therefore, behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” but, “As the LORD lives WHO BROUGHT UP AND LED THE DESCENDANTS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.” AND THEY SHALL DWELL IN THEIR OWN LAND.’ ”

Jeremiah 30:2–3 says, “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I WILL BRING BACK FROM CAPTIVITY MY PEOPLE ISRAEL AND JUDAH,’ says the Lord. ‘And I WILL CAUSE THEM TO RETURN TO THE LAND THAT I GAVE TO THEIR FATHERS, and they shall possess it.’ ”

Ezekiel 20:40–42 says, “For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “THERE ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, ALL OF THEM IN THE LAND, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things. I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, WHEN I BRING YOU INTO THE LAND OF ISRAEL, INTO THE COUNTRY FOR WHICH I RAISED MY HAND IN AN OATH TO GIVE TO YOUR FATHERS.”

Ezekiel 36:4–10 says, “therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around—therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.’

“Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, ALL OF IT; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.’ ”

Ezekiel 36:22–28 says, “Therefore SAY TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and BRING YOU INTO YOUR OWN LAND.Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. THEN YOU SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND THAT I GAVE TO YOUR FATHERS; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”

Ezekiel 37:21–25 says, “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. THEN THEY SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND THAT I HAVE GIVEN TO JACOB MY SERVANT, WHERE YOUR FATHERS DWELT; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.”

Ezekiel 47:13–20 says, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. “This shall be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea, by the road to Hethlon, as one goes to Zedad, Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazar Hatticon (which is on the border of Hauran). Thus the boundary shall be from the Sea to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus; and as for the north, northward, it is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. “On the east side you shall mark out the border from between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, and along the eastern side of the sea. This is the east side. “The south side, toward the South, shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side, toward the South. “The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side.” ’ ”

Ezekiel 48:1–8 says, “Now these are the names of the tribes: From the northern border along the road to Hethlon at the entrance of Hamath, to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus northward, in the direction of Hamath, there shall be one section for Dan from its east to its west side; by the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, one section for Asher; by the border of Asher, from the east side to the west, one section for Naphtali; by the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, one section for Manasseh; by the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, one section for Ephraim; by the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, one section for Reuben; by the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west, one section for Judah; by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the district which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length the same as one of the other portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the center.”

And finally, Ezekiel 48:23–29 says, “ ‘As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west, Benjamin shall have one section; by the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon shall have one section; by the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar shall have one section; by the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun shall have one section; by the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad shall have one section; by the border of Gad, on the south side, toward the South, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the land which you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions,’ says the Lord God.”

Study of Matthew Handout Chapter 15:10-20

by Stan Feldsine (www.tojesusbeallglory.com)

Matthew 15:10-11 - What Defiles a Person Parable

Jesus calls the entire crowd to hear a parable that explains that defilement is a heart issue, not a physical issue. In the following passage we see that the Pharisees were only concerned with outward ritual (Mar 7:1-4).

Jesus contradicts the traditional teachings of the Pharisees by stating that it is not what is done ritually that determines if one is "clean" or not, rather, it is the expression proceeding forth from the heart. One is physical cleanliness, the other is spiritual cleanliness. The Pharisees were concerned with physical cleanliness and ignored spiritual cleanliness (Mat 15:11, Mar 7:15).

Matthew 15:12-14 - The Offense to the Pharisees

The people held the Pharisees in high regard, even the disciples respected them, and wanted to know why Jesus was speaking in a way that offended them. The passage that "every plant ... that the Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots" hearkens back to the parable of the Wheat and Tares (Mat 13:24-30, Mat 13:36-42). The righteous are plants the Lord has planted (Isa 60:21), the unrighteous plants that will be destroyed (Isa 5:1-6). The Pharisees are the unrighteous plants.

Matthew 15:15-20 - What Defiles a Person Explained

Peter and the disciples referred to the statement Jesus made in Mat 15:10-11 as a parable. Parables were designed so that no one understood what He was talking about (Mat 15:10-11, Mar 7:14-15). Peter and the disciples asked Jesus to explain this short parable. Even the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying (Mat 15:15, Mar 7:17).

The Pharisees taught defilement as external. I.E. they ate pork, touched a dead man, associated with Gentiles, they were defiled. Jesus was teaching them that defilement was not something caused externally, but originated internally, in the heart. The law was concerned not about external cleanliness, but regeneration (Deu 10:15-16, Deu 30:6, Jer 4:4). The washing of hands was a worthless ritual that did not deal with the heart.

Mark adds a detail that should not be overlooked (Mar 7:19), "(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)". A part of Jesus' mission was to eliminate the distinction between clean and unclean in the realm of food. Physically Jesus is saying that nothing outside of us can defile us: (Mar 7:15, Mar 7:20-23). Jesus is applying this to foods that previously had been considered unclean to eat. If nothing physically outside a person can defile them, and pork is something eaten physically, then pork cannot defile a person who eats it. Thus, Jesus made pork clean.

Other writers confirmed this the change in the nature of unclean meat. Luke writing in Acts states this: (Act 10:9-15). The context of what Luke is recording here is Peter's rejection of Gentiles. Jesus is teaching him, using the metaphor of unclean meats becoming clean to illustrate that Peter should not consider Gentiles to be unclean. In the metaphor, all meats are necessarily clean, or the metaphor would not be a valid illustration indicating that Gentile were now to be considered clean (Act 10:28).

Paul also shows that all meats are considered clean now:(Rom 14:6, 1Ti 4:1-5).

The "truth" that Paul is referring to in this letter to Timothy is that external things are not the source of defilement, our heart and mind is. Guard our hearts and minds, and our behavior will be protected as well.