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The cover image for this booklet features the national flag of the State of Israel. Against seemingly impossible difficulties, the Jewish people returned to their ancestral homeland—becoming a nation on May 14, 1948. As this booklet shows, great trials still lie ahead for this persecuted people, but God’s deliverance and an unending future of peace are also prophesied.

Foreword

Uncountable history books have been written about the Jewish people, most notably in regard to their oppression. It seems that very few ethnic groups have been maligned, persecuted and murdered to such an extent, often by professing Christians. Yet, the Judeo-Christian religion acknowledges that Christianity has its roots in the Old Testament of the Bible (actually preserved by the Jewish people). We even read in the Holy Scriptures that true Christians must become spiritual Jews. What does this mean? Will there ever come a time when anti-Semitism belongs to the past?

There is certainly great confusion about who the Jews are. Most people believe, erroneously, that “the house of Israel” of the Old Testament is identical with the Jews, or the “house of Judah.” What is the true history of the Jewish people, and perhaps more importantly, what is their prophesied future?

Will the present-day State of Israel soon be occupied and terrorized by Western powers—huge armies under a political and religious leadership? What is meant by the proverbial phrase “abomination of desolation” and who is the “man of sin” who will sit in the temple of God, claiming to be God?

In this booklet, we will address these questions, and more, as we discuss the largely misunderstood history and future of the Jews, the city of Jerusalem and the State of Israel. We will make the case that the ancient throne of David still exists today, and we will show where it can be found. We will prove from Scripture whether the Jews will yet build a third temple—in light of Ezekiel’s millennial temple—before Christ returns, and we will clear up the misunderstandings regarding the famous “red heifer” ritual.

We will also answer the important question as to why the Jewish people, as a whole, have rejected and still do reject the Messiah—Jesus Christ—and what was, and is the consequence, if any, of the famous saying by the Jews to Pilate: “His blood be on us and our children.”

We will explain God’s present anger with the Jewish people and His pronouncements of their horrible future—their national fall—in a devastating World War, but also their tremendous rise and ultimate worldwide positive influence in the soon-coming Millennium, a time when God will ultimately bestow honor, mercy and grace upon them.

Introduction

It is important to note that the modern “Israelites” are NOT the Jewish people. As will be explained in detail in this booklet, the Jewish people comprise just ONE tribe of the original TWELVE tribes of Israel. The present-day Jewish people are the descendants of the tribe of Judah. They, together with the tribe of Benjamin and parts of the tribe of Levi, formed the original house of Judah (1 Kings 12:21, 31), which is altogether different from the house of Israel. The people of the present-day Jewish nation—known by the name of Israel, with its capital in Jerusalem—are actually descendants of the house of Judah, NOT the house of Israel.

The ten tribes of the house of Israel were lost from public view by the time of Jesus. Jesus referred to them as the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). Today, most people have no idea where these “lost” tribes of the house of Israel are located. Interestingly enough, the modern nations of the United States and the British Commonwealth—mainly Great Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand—have been identified as being the major tribes of the house of Israel. As the Jewish Encyclopedia points out: “If the ten tribes… have not disappeared, obviously they must exist under a different name.”

Under both King David and King Solomon, the house of Israel and the house of Judah—all the twelve tribes—were united as one nation. It is critical to understand, however, that under King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, the nation of Israel became divided following the death of Solomon.

Two separate nations developed, known as the “house of Israel,” with Samaria as its capital, and the “house of Judah,” with Jerusalem as its capital. We read in 1 Kings 12:19–20 (Authorized Version): “So Israel [being reigned by King Rehoboam, son of King Solomon] rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam [a prominent officer] was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.”

The two houses or kingdoms did not unite again throughout their history. They remained as two separate kingdoms—the “house of Israel,” consisting of the ten northern tribes, and the “house of Judah,” consisting of the southern tribe of Judah (the priestly tribe of Levi followed Judah, as noted in 2 Chronicles 11:13–14). We read in 2 Kings 16:5–8 about a war between Israel and Judah, or the Jews. Later, the ten tribes, led by the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, became “lost” from public view.

Many people believe that the Jews are identical with the modern house of Israel, but this is not true. Christ spoke of the “LOST” sheep or tribes of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6; 15:24). James referred to all of Israel and Judah as the “twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1; compare Revelation 7:4–8). We read that in the FUTURE, a unification of the houses of Israel and Judah will occur—under Christ’s rule—when they come out of a (still future) captivity and return to the Promised Land (Jeremiah 30:3; 33:7).

In due time, the ancient house of Israel went into captivity (721–718 B.C.) by the hand of the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:5–6, 23). The house of Judah did not go into captivity until more than one hundred years later, by the hand of the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1–10). Eventually, the house of Judah returned to the Promised Land, and many descendants of the house of Judah can still be found today in the present State of Israel. The house of Israel never returned.

At the time of Paul, the house of Judah politically consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as well as part of Levi.

We read in Acts 21:39 where “Paul said, I am a man which am a JEW of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.” However, in Romans 11:1, Paul explained: “I also am an ISRAELITE, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Notice that Paul called himself a Jew and an “Israelite”—a descendant of ancient Israel or Jacob. All Jews are Israelites [excluding of course “proselytes” or “Gentiles,” who became religious “Jews” by choice], but most of the Israelites are not Jews. We will further explain what is meant by this statement because it is important to understand this distinction.

Chapter 1 – A Brief History of Judah

The term “Jew” is found in both the Old and New Testaments, and primarily refers to the descendants of only ONE of Jacob’s sons. Jacob had twelve sons by four wives (Genesis 35:22–26), and these are the ones who became the nation of Israel, with each son becoming a distinct tribe, and eventually, individual nations. However, in keeping with the subject of this booklet, we will focus on the lineage, the history and the future of the Jews through Jacob’s son Judah.

Genesis 29, verse 35, records the birth of the fourth son of Jacob by his wife Leah. His given name was Judah, which means, “praise.”

Judah—the Man

Out of all of Jacob’s sons, it appears that Joseph was favored by his father, but was disliked by his brothers to such an extent that they contemplated killing him (compare Genesis 37:18–20). First, his brother Reuben, and then Judah, intervened to save Joseph’s life. We find Judah’s “financially lucrative” suggestion for rescuing Joseph in Genesis 37:26–28:

“So Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.’ And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.”

In due time, when Joseph’s brothers stood before him, accused of theft, it was Judah who offered himself as a substitute for Benjamin:

“‘For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, “If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.” Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?’” (Genesis 44:32–34).

Another recorded incident regarding Judah involved his daughter-in-law (compare Genesis 38). This occurred following the death of two of the sons of Judah, both of whom were successively married to Tamar, but the sons were evil, so God killed them. Tamar disguised herself as a harlot and Judah lay with her, not knowing that she was his daughter-in-law. Judah’s subsequent hypocritical and repentant conduct is described in verses 24–26 of Genesis 38.

Twins, Perez and Zerah, were born to Judah by Tamar. Shelah was Judah’s son by his wife, Shua, but it is from the lineage of Perez that David was born (Ruth 4:18–22), and from David’s lineage, Jesus Christ was born (Luke 3:23–38).

Prophecies About Judah’s Descendants

On his deathbed, Jacob blessed his twelve sons, and specifically spoke of their circumstances “‘…in the last days’” (Genesis 49:1). Here is what he said about Judah:

“‘Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh [the Messiah] comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk’” (Genesis 49:8–12).

The “scepter”—signifying kingship—was given to the tribe of Judah. The Bible establishes this fact in the unfolding history of the Jews. David [of the tribe of Judah] understood this:

“‘However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel’” (1 Chronicles 28:4).

In Psalm 78:67–71, we find this further acknowledgement:

“Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever. He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.”

Separation Between Israel and Judah

A momentous event occurred when Judah and Israel became SEPARATE nations. The reason for this separation was because of Solomon’s disobedience—especially his idolatry—as we read in 1 Kings 11:11–13:

“Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.’”

From this point forward, ten tribes of Israel and the tribe of Judah were separate, and have remained so throughout history. At times, violent wars were fought between the kings of Israel and Judah. Ultimately, Israel was taken into national captivity by the Assyrians (about 722 B.C.). That record is found in 2 Kings, chapter 17.

Likewise, Judah rebelled against God, so they also were sent into national captivity, to Babylon (just before 600 B.C. and culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple of God in 587 B.C.).

After a seventy-year period, the Jews were allowed to return. They rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and the temple of God. Judah once again became a nation in their homeland. This set the stage for the prophesied appearance of the Messiah, which would occur several hundred years later.

Christ Was a Jew

When Jesus was born, Judah was a nation under Rome’s dominion. Jesus preached to the Jews of that time, but He was rejected by all but a very few of that generation. They did not believe that He was the Messiah:

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11; compare Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 13:54–58; Acts 3:11–15).

Many Old Testament prophecies reveal that the Messiah would come from King David’s lineage. Note this example in Jeremiah 23:5–6:

“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is identified as a Jew, and this is confirmed by what is written in the Book of Hebrews, “For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah…” (7:14).

Paul presents more proof of the lineage of Jesus Christ in Romans 1:1–4:

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

As the promised “Messiah,” Jesus has been appointed ruler over all things:

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).

At this time, the Jewish people reject Jesus Christ as being the hoped–for Messiah. However, Jesus has promised to return to the earth, and at that time, the Jews will accept Him, as will be explained in this booklet.

Jesus made a remarkable statement about Jews when He told a Samaritan woman, “‘…SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS’” (John 4:22).

Yes, the Messiah—God’s Son—was a Jew.

Chapter 2 – Judaism and the Oracles of God

Even though salvation is of the Jews, we must understand a very important distinction, and a warning.

In Romans 3:2, we are told that the “oracles of God” were committed to the “circumcision” or the Jews. At the same time, we are told that “their unbelief” did not make “the faithfulness of God” without effect (verse 3). The Greek word for “oracles” is “logion.” It is also used in Acts 7:38; Hebrews 5:12; and 1 Peter 4:11. In all these passages, the oracles or “sayings” must originate from God. If something is being said or written which is contrary to God’s Word, it does not constitute the “oracles of God.”

When referring to the oracles that God committed to the Jews, or the “circumcision,” the Nelson Study Bible states: “The oracles of God refer to the entire Old Testament, the laws and the covenants that had been given by God Himself to the nation of Israel. This phrase [in Romans 3:2] reaffirms the belief of the apostles in the inspiration of the Old Testament. The Bible is God’s Word for us.”

These “oracles of God” included the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the knowledge of the Sacred Calendar, the seven-day week, and the knowledge of which day is the Sabbath—the seventh day of the week.

The preservation of the Old Testament by the Jews (as well as the knowledge of the Sabbath and the Hebrew Calendar) is not the same, however, as Jewish practice.

The Jewish scribes were meticulous in writing down and making copies of these Words of Truth given to them, thus passing these Words on so that we have them today. It was an advantage to the Jews in that God gave them His Words, along with the responsibility of preservation of His Words. Having the written Word of God, however, placed another grave responsibility on their shoulders. They were to observe these Words and to keep them. They were to walk in them! Unfortunately, only a few did so.

Jewish Traditions

The Jews today do many things that are not in conformity with Scripture. In fact, even at the time of Christ, the Jews were DIVIDED among themselves as to how to apply Scripture. While the Pharisees accepted both the written and the “oral” law—a collection of Jewish traditions—the Sadducees only accepted the written law, but they did not understand that correctly either, as Christ pointed out to them on several occasions. Christianity is not the same as Judaism.

Jesus instructed His own disciples about the problems inherent within Judaism at that time. Note this quote in Matthew 16:12: “Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Paul also warned of possible wrong influences from Judaism in Titus 1:14: “…not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.”

We must take our direction from God’s Holy Word—the Bible—not from human traditions. If there is a conflict between the two, we must follow God! Christ warns us clearly not to follow human traditions that are contrary to the Word of God. He told the Jews of His time: “‘“This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the traditions of men… All too well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:6–9).

Modern Judaism includes many man-made traditions and rituals that are contrary to the Word of God. We are to follow the “oracles” of God, not those human inventions.

Chapter 3 – Prophecies Concerning the Modern State of Israel

The modern State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948. This event was the culmination of a vote in 1947 by the newly formed United Nations. The Israeli nation was born in spite of international opposition and the bitter resentment of Israel’s Arab neighbors.

The Bible reveals an earlier occurrence in history, which finds parallels when some captive Jews were allowed to return from Babylon to rebuild the temple and the Jewish nation. In this case, God very specifically told the Jewish people that He would make it possible for them to return:

“For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10).

Fulfillment of Prophecies

Daniel the prophet came to understand this prophecy, as he stated in Daniel 9:1–2:

“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”

The fulfillment of God’s promise is recorded in the Book of Ezra (Ezra 1:1–4).

God prepared for these events! The Book of Isaiah contains an astounding prophecy which actually names Cyrus and commissions him to perform God’s Will regarding Judah’s return from captivity and the re-establishment of the Jewish nation (compare Isaiah 44:28; 45:1–5, 13). Isaiah prophesied over 150 years before the time of Cyrus!

Now why was it important to God that the Jewish remnant should return to the land of Israel following the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple of God? The answer centers on the first appearance of the Messiah.

Jesus Christ was born of a human mother of the tribe of Judah (Luke 3:23–38; Hebrews 7:14). Many Old Testament prophecies point to Jesus, and they are very specific about Him coming to His own people of Judah to begin His redemptive work:

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:10–11; compare Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30; Acts 3:12–18).

Even though the entire world rejected Him, special emphasis is also being given here to the Jewish people—“His own”—who did not, and still do not, accept Him.

The rejection of Jesus Christ by the rulers of Judah proved to be devastating to the nation, just as it was in the time of Jeremiah’s warnings to the people of God’s impending judgment! Note what Jesus prophesied for the city of Jerusalem because of their refusal to repent:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”(Matthew 23:37–39).

The Modern Nation of Judah

It is in these verses that Jesus provides a key to begin unlocking the answer as to whether or not a modern nation of Judah would once again be established. Jesus metaphorically addresses the city of “Jerusalem” as representative of the seat of government for the nation of Israel, specifically, the ruling tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; 1 Chronicles 28:4). By what He said then, we can understand that Jerusalem WILL exist at the time of Jesus’ return to earth.

History gives us a record of the destruction of the temple that occurred in 70 AD. Subsequently, the entire Jewish nation was driven out of the land of Israel, and the Jews became a scattered, remnant people, grouped together by ethnicity and religion in countries all around the world. However, the prophecies of Jesus must and will be fulfilled!

In Genesis 49, Jacob presented to his twelve sons the prophecies concerning their circumstances “in the last days,” which prophecies included the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:1; verses 2–28). In Revelation 7, twelve of the tribes of Israel are sealed for special protection from God during the horrific events leading to the return of Jesus Christ. Among those sealed is the tribe of Judah (verse 5). By these references, we can establish the continued existence of the tribe of Judah. Regardless of the mindless hatred against Jews, they have existed and will continue to exist. In fact, during the future reign of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords over all the earth, Jews will be among the most highly cherished and respected people (Zechariah 2:12; 8:23).

Now let us examine some more remarkable prophecies about the existence of a Jewish nation, with the capital of Jerusalem, in our time:

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:2–3).

At no other time in history have “all nations of the earth” gathered against Jerusalem as is now happening! We also find in Psalm 83 that Gentile nations will conspire to destroy the State of Israel. (This will be further explained in this booklet, and it is also discussed in our free booklet, Germany in Prophecy, on page 16.) Jerusalem, ruled by the Jewish people, has become the object of world attention, and it is obvious that prophecy will be fulfilled.

The State of Israel Versus the UK and the USA

Another critical prophecy that is finding fulfillment is the deteriorating relationship between the State of Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States—three key nations among the modern descendants of the sons of Jacob:

“Manasseh (USA) shall devour Ephraim (UK), and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah (State of Israel). For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still” (Isaiah 9:21).

The strategic ties between these sons of Jacob are further described in a prophecy in Zechariah 11:14 in which the “brotherhood” between Israel and Judah is broken.

These, along with many other prophecies in the Bible, attest to the existence of a modern nation of Jewish people—now called Israel—with Jerusalem as its capital city.

Finally, there remains an ominous fact for the people of the State of Israel and for Jerusalem—destruction and captivity will come! Consider this end-time prophecy, something that has not yet happened, and the scale described is nothing short of global war:

“Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The CITY shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the CITY shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the CITY” (Zechariah 14:1–2).

The Bible speaks in many places of Jesus Christ returning to this earth, and He will return to the city of Jerusalem—to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11). And although great trials are ahead before this occurs, the Holy Land will then find peace—for the Jews and for all the house of Israel (Zechariah 1:17).

Consider, also, how God’s peace will then be available to EVERYONE:

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).”

The modern State of Israel with its capital of Jerusalem is fulfilling and will continue to fulfill prophecies leading to the return of Jesus Christ, and THEN, the Jewish people will recognize Him for Who He is—their only Savior and the Savior of the World!

Chapter 4 – The City of Jerusalem in History and in Prophecy

The Bible speaks of Jerusalem as the future capital of the world, yet today, the world does not even want to acknowledge the city of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.

Jerusalem stands as one of the most contested cities on earth. It is divided politically, economically and culturally. The religions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity all claim holy sites within the city—especially, the Old City, which is in East Jerusalem.

The Arab-Israeli conflict that dominates today’s world news is growing more and more volatile as Palestinians and Israelis vie for control of Jerusalem. The prophetic importance of what is happening right now in Jerusalem must not be underestimated!

Jerusalem’s History

First, though, a review of Jerusalem’s historical and foundational relevance to Christianity is necessary.

A little over four hundred years after the Flood, Abraham was told by God to move to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:1–7)—the area in which modern-day Jerusalem now exists.

In the Bible, we are first introduced to Jerusalem when it was called by another name, Salem. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, met with Abraham (Genesis 14:18–20). This king of Salem is identified in the Book of Hebrews as none other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7).

A later reference to Salem is found in Psalm 76:

“…In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. In Salem also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion” (Psalm 76:1–2).

Next, we find a very specific place mentioned that can be shown to be a part of the city of Jerusalem. God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice “‘in the land of Moriah’” on a specific mountain (Genesis 22:2)—called by Abraham “‘the Mount of the LORD’” (Genesis 22:14).

Note how this location emerges as the same place in which Solomon was instructed to build the temple of God:

“Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (2 Chronicles 3:1).

When Israel entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, Jerusalem remained under Gentile control:

“But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day” (Judges 1:21).

Jerusalem Under David and Solomon

It was not until the time of King David—hundreds of years after Israel possessed Canaan—that Jerusalem was captured and then became the capital of Israel:

“And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, ‘You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,’ thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). Now David said on that day, ‘Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain.’ Therefore they say, ‘The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.’ Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward” (2 Samuel 5:6–9).

It is important to note that God rejected Shiloh, which was in Ephraim, and He chose Jerusalem and Judah for Himself:

“And he [Solomon] said: ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying, “Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there; and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel”’” (2 Chronicles 6:4–6; compare Psalm 78:60, 67–69).

Jerusalem Destroyed and Rebuilt

The Bible relates that God punished Jerusalem and Judah because of their flagrant sins against Him (compare 2 Chronicles 36:15–21), but He did not utterly reject and abandon His city. Jerusalem and the temple of God built by Solomon were destroyed, but God provided for the restoration of Jerusalem, even before it was devastated by the Babylonian empire. Note this remarkable prophecy given about a future ruler some one-hundred-fifty years before his birth and long before Jerusalem’s fall:

“‘Who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ And to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid’”’” (Isaiah 44:28).

Even in their captivity, God caused the prophet Jeremiah to write to the Jewish captives in Babylon to assure them that they would return to Jerusalem and the land of Judah (compare Jeremiah 29:1–11).

In both the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we have a record of the remnant of the house of Judah who returned to the land of Israel and rebuilt the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem, including its defensive walls. The Gentile rulers of that time who were neighboring Judah stood in opposition and tried to stop the Jews. They failed, for the Jews re-established the city of Jerusalem, the temple of God and other cities in the land of Judah.

Jerusalem at the Time of Christ

It was approximately 500 years later that Jerusalem became the focus of the life and work of Jesus Christ, as well as His death. The New Testament of the Bible records detailed accounts of those events, but let us also consider the dramatic prophecies Jesus gave in Luke 19:41–44, concerning Jerusalem:

“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’”

Historically, that did occur! In 70 A.D., the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the magnificent temple of God. Judah, as a nation, ceased to exist.

Of note, also, is that Jesus established the Church of God in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. (compare Acts 2). Following His resurrection, Jesus specifically instructed His disciples “‘…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name in all nations, BEGINNING AT JERUSALEM’” (Luke 24:47).

The Signs of Our Time

Consider the fact that for almost nineteen hundred years following this prophecy by Jesus Christ, the Jews were without a country. However, against seemingly impossible obstacles, the Jewish people formally re-established their homeland in Palestine on May 14, 1948, calling it, “the State of Israel.” At that time, Jerusalem remained a divided city, partially controlled by the Jordanians (East Jerusalem and the Old City) and the Israelis (West Jerusalem).

As a result of the Arab-Israeli war in 1967 (called the “Six-Day War”), the State of Israel gained full control of Jerusalem, and on June 28 they declared Jerusalem unified and announced free access to holy sites of all religions. Ironically, while the State of Israel designates Jerusalem as its capital, no other major nation in the world recognizes this claim! The Palestinians continue to demand an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and there is growing international support for their cause.

In the Book of Luke, Jesus is quoted concerning the signs of the times and the end of the age. His answers include events that are prophesied to take place at Jerusalem but have not yet been fulfilled—events that we should certainly anticipate:

“‘But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled’” (Luke 21:20–24).

When Jerusalem is under the control of nations other than the State of Israel, two “witnesses” will prophesy with great power from God. However, they will be killed in Jerusalem once their work is finished:

“And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:8–10).

Only in the last few decades has it become possible for people all over the earth to be aware of the death of two people in Jerusalem! With the advances in media technology, people can see live broadcasts from around the world. Cell phones are now possessed by over ninety percent of the world’s population, and gifts can indeed be sent using a cell phone.

Carefully bear in mind what Jesus specifically said—to Christians:

“‘Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man’” (Luke 21:36).

Also:

“‘Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is’” (Mark 13:28–33).

Events in Jerusalem grip the attention of the world. In the meantime, many of the neighboring countries of the State of Israel continue to openly call for Israel’s outright destruction. What is happening right now in Jerusalem is the fulfillment of prophecy!

Christ’s Return

When Jesus Christ comes to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, He will return to an area from which He also ascended to Heaven—the Mount of Olives. It was specifically at Bethany, which is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, that Jesus Christ left His disciples (Luke 24:50–51).

More details of this event are provided in Acts 1:9–12:

“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.”

Consider also what is prophesied in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ’s future return:

“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south… Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with [Him]” (Zechariah 14:4–5).

In the New Testament Christ’s return is similarly described:

“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

Mount Zion is closely identified with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This verse in Revelation 14 seems to indicate a time immediately following that of Zechariah 14, as quoted above. Some have suggested that Revelation 14 describes saints in heaven. However, Revelation 14 only states that the Lamb and 144,000 of those “who were redeemed from the earth” stand on Mount Zion (verse 1), and that they are “without fault before the throne of God” (verse 5). Although “Mount Zion” can refer to a spiritual mountain in heaven (compare Hebrews 12:22), it can also refer, of course, to the physical mountain here on earth. The saints might be standing, on Mount Zion, before God’s transportable throne, which was on earth before (compare Ezekiel 1). Or, verse 5 might just express the thought that they are without fault “in the sight of” God. The Greek word for “before,” i.e., “enopion,” literally means, “in the sight of” or “in the face of.” (Compare, Luke 1:15; 16:15; Acts 4:19). Even today, we appear daily “before” God’s throne in heaven, through prayer.

Then, in Ezekiel’s vision of the future temple of God, Jesus Christ is described as having entered the temple:

“Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east.  The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is 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 forever…’” (Ezekiel 43:1–7).

Important considerations confront us! These verses that have been referenced show that Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 17:14; 19:16), will return to the Mount of Olives and to Jerusalem. He will have the saints—the then immortal Christians who will be part of the first resurrection, the “firstfruits”—with Him (Revelation 14:4; 17:14; compare 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17)!

Heaven Not the Reward of the Saints

Deceived, self-appointed ministers teach that the reward of Christians is to go to Heaven “to be with the Lord.” The idea that some will be “raptured” and protected in Heaven while those left behind suffer miserable retribution is widely believed by many. Yet, depending on which denomination or group one might consult, there is little consistency on the details of what Christians are to experience, especially when their doctrines are measured against the Word of God!

Jesus said that His servants would be with Him, but His promise was for a future time—in the Kingdom of God. On this point it is critical that we understand that no Christian is NOW with Jesus Christ!

Note what Jesus told the people who heard His preaching:

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’” (John 7:33–34).

And what He told His own disciples:

“‘Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, “Where I am going, you cannot come,” so now I say to you… Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, where are You going?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’” (John 13:33, 36).

“‘In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also’” (John 14:2–3).

Jerusalem Future Center of World Government

As we have already established, Jesus will return to the earth, and Jerusalem will then become the center of world government:

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2–4).

“‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem’” (Zechariah 2:10–12).

The Kingdom of God will replace all governments on the earth (Daniel 2:44). In this context, consider that Jesus promised the apostles who had followed Him that they would rule the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28–29; Mark 10:29–30; Luke 22:28–30). Rulership—with Jesus—is the promise given to Christians:

“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6; also, Revelation 5:10).

How, then, is the city of Jerusalem important to Christians?

First, Jerusalem is a KEY for watching prophesy in our generation. All-important, crucial events in Jerusalem will be among those indicating the imminent RETURN of Jesus Christ.

Second, Jerusalem will be WHERE Jesus Christ establishes God’s government in His millennial rule. Christians will be WITH Him.

Third, Jerusalem—created anew by God—will exist FOREVER as a spiritual city. Christians, as born-again sons and daughters of God, will be with God the Father and Jesus Christ—ETERNALLY!

Chapter 5 – The Throne of David—Today!

God promised David that one of his descendants would always sit on his throne to rule over Israel (Jeremiah 33:17); therefore, David’s occupied throne must exist somewhere on earth today. Where can it be found?

To determine where it is located, let us consider the following facts:

(1) We are told that the scepter, a symbol of kingship (compare the margin in the New King James Bible), was given to Judah:

Genesis 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah… Until Shiloh [the Messiah, Jesus Christ] comes.”

Judah to Rule Over Israel

(2) We are told that David’s “seed,” or descendants, would rule, or have dominion, over Israel. This could be fulfilled in ANY of the tribes of “Israel”—the name given to Jacob by God (compare Genesis 32:28; 35:10). We are specifically told that God would establish the throne of David’s kingdom forever over Israel:

2 Samuel 7:12–13: “…I will set up your [David’s] seed after you, who will come from your body… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

2 Chronicles 13:5: “…the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons…”

Psalm 89:4: “Your seed [David’s seed] I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.”

(3) When Christ returns, He will take over and sit on an existing throne of David, here on earth (compare Luke 1:32).

(4) Until the last King of Judah—Zedekiah—the descendants of David ruled as kings over the house of Judah. The house of Judah consisted of the tribes of Judah, Levi and part of Benjamin—they are the “Jews” and are called “Jews” in the Bible.

(5) The Babylonians killed all the sons of Zedekiah, and placed Zedekiah into captivity. There has not arisen since then a descendant of David to rule as king over the house of Judah—the Jews. Today, the State of Israel is not ruled by a king. Where, then, is the throne of David today? In which country do we find a descendant of David ruling as king?

The Role of Jeremiah

(6) The prophet Jeremiah lived during the time the Babylonians enslaved the house of Judah, and when the last king of the house of Judah—King Zedekiah—was captured. God gave Jeremiah the commission to uproot the throne of David, but also to plant it:

Jeremiah 1:10: “I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”

(7) God gave Jeremiah a prophecy regarding the kingship or throne of David, which was to be transferred from the nation or house of Judah to the house of Israel. [The house of Israel, the “Northern Kingdom,” consisted of descendants from the other sons of Israel or Jacob, including Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. The house of Israel had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians more than 100 years prior to Jeremiah. They never returned to the Promised Land and have become known as the “Lost Ten Tribes.”]:

Jeremiah 33:17, 21, 26: “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel… he shall [always] have a son to reign on his throne… [David’s] descendants [will be] rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Jeremiah was to be instrumental in uprooting the throne over the house of Judah, and to plant it over the house of Israel. Prior to this, it was said that David’s descendants were to rule over Israel [or Jacob; that is, ANY of the descendants of Jacob]. That INCLUDED the house of Judah, of course. But from the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, David’s descendants were to rule over the HOUSE of Israel—which EXCLUDED the house of Judah.

Jeremiah “uprooted” the throne of David over the house of Judah by bringing the last remaining descendants of King Zedekiah—his DAUGHTERS [compare Jeremiah 43:6]—to IRELAND [where some of the “lost tribes” of the house of Israel had settled. For proof that the people of England, Scotland and Ireland are, in fact, descendants of the ancient house of Israel, please read our free booklet, The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.]

According to historical records of Ireland, one daughter, Tea, married the Irish king, who was a descendant of Judah, but not of David. In this way, through the son of the king and of the daughter of Zedekiah, Jeremiah “planted” the throne of David and the scepter of Judah over a tribe of the house of ISRAEL—in Ireland. Historical records confirm that subsequent kings of Ireland KNEW that they were descendants of King David through one of Zedekiah’s daughters. While the Irish king was not of the house of David, the daughter of Zedekiah was, and through their marriage and their offspring, the house of David continued to rule over a tribe of the house of Israel.

Zedekiah’s other daughter, Scota, married into a noble family and gave the name Scotland to the land where they settled.

Transfer of the Throne of David

(8) The throne of David was to be transferred three times before Christ would return to occupy it.

Ezekiel 21:27: “Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it [the crown, compare verse 26] overthrown!” The Authorized Version renders it even clearer: “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it…”

The crown or throne of David was first overthrown in Judah and transferred to or planted in Ireland.

(9) The throne or rule of David’s descendants was later overthrown in Ireland and transferred to Scotland [where some of the tribes of the house of Israel had settled]. It was transferred to the royal house of the descendants of David in Scotland—to the offspring of Scota, the other daughter of Zedekiah.

(10) Thirdly, it was overthrown in Scotland and transferred to England where the Stewart line of David had settled around 1600, in the person of James I. Also, descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh—the sons of Joseph—had settled there. The subsequent royal rulers in England all descended from King David, and so the throne of David is today in England. Queen Elizabeth sits on that throne, and it is expected that Prince Charles or his firstborn son William will sit on it soon.

England

We are told that the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed on May 1, 1707, with the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which had been in personal union under the House of Stuart since 1603. In 1801 Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland left the union in 1922, and its name was amended to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927.

Nowhere else could the existing throne of David be today but in England. It is not in the State of Israel [which is part of the house of Judah], and neither is it vacant. Jesus Christ will occupy it when He returns (compare Luke 1:32; Isaiah 9:6–7); He has not occupied it so far. And it is a throne here on earth—not somewhere in heaven. Yes, Christ—from the house of Judah—will come back to this EARTH, and He will then SIT on the throne of His father David here on earth! Jesus will once again establish rule over Israel, in Jerusalem (compare Zechariah 1:17; 2:12)! Remember, it was prophesied that the scepter would not depart from Judah.

Chapter 6 – A Temple in Jerusalem Prior to Christ’s Return

So far in this booklet, we have alluded to the building of the third temple in Jerusalem, but will the Jews actually build a temple prior to Christ’s return?

Some historical and contemporary background will shed light on the ongoing desire of the Jews to once again establish a temple in Jerusalem, which would include daily animal sacrifices in accordance with Old Testament guidelines. This is revealed to commence soon in Jerusalem, before they are suppressed again by an invading power (compare Daniel 12:11).

The Temple Mount

Jerusalem itself has become a focal point of international concern, and the Temple Mount is considered the most contested religious site on earth. For centuries, various factions have challenged control of this area. Up until the Six-Day War in 1967, Jews did not even have access to the area called the Temple Mount.

Considered to be the site of Solomon’s temple, as well as that of the second temple, the area is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock (built in 691 A.D.) and the Al Aqsa Mosque (built in 720 A.D.), both of which are considered sacred to Muslims.

As never before, there is rising sentiment advocating the building of another temple in Jerusalem, both from Jews and Christians, whose views are generally considered extremist by most of the political leadership in Israel. Nonetheless, the movement is gaining support.

The complexities that surround this small parcel of land are staggering!

Although Jerusalem is under Israel’s political control, Muslims hold religious sovereignty over the Temple Mount. However, many religious Jews feel that Jews must be allowed to worship on the Temple Mount. At the present time, the chief Rabbinate of Israel forbids access to the Temple Mount by Jews, because the area once occupied by the Holy of Holies is believed to be there (although the exact location is unknown). No one, according to their reasoning, should therefore enter this area, hearkening back to the biblical prohibitions established by God about anyone other than the High Priest being allowed access to this area—and that only once a year (compare Leviticus 16:1–2, 34; Exodus 30:10).

Preparations for a Third Temple

Today, there are numerous and varied individuals and organizations who are taking steps to bring about a new temple in Jerusalem. While this cannot be deemed a unified effort because of the conflicting views underlying these endeavors, the net effect is giving rise to a movement with the common goal to reestablish a temple, inclusive of animal sacrifices and formal temple worship. The genealogy of the Levites has been preserved, and there are lists of living Levites who would be qualified to perform the sacrifices and to serve in that capacity at the temple.

Education about temple service has already been established in Israel. This includes rabbinic schools dedicated to researching and developing the necessary training for service in the temple. The thought among those engaged in this endeavor is that they must be prepared for what they consider to be a certainty—the rebuilding of the temple! In addition, contributions and gold have been received from national and international sponsors for the building of the temple, and replicas of certain furnishings and utensils for the temple have already been prepared in accordance with the descriptions of the Old Testament Tabernacle in the wilderness and Solomon’s temple. The replicas of those vessels and vestments include, among many other items, the golden lampstand, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, the Ark of the Covenant, and the crown and ephod for the High Priest.

Great fervor among evangelical Christians for a new temple has added support, if not confusion, to the prospect of what might be in store for the Temple Mount! Numerous Christian publications, sermons and personal contacts promote the idea that another temple is prophesied in both the Old and New Testament. This fervent attention adds weight to the international support that Israel enjoys, and, even more, it fuels the idea that the Israelis will soon begin to build on the Temple Mount!

While only rudimentary evidence of the former structures remains on the Temple Mount, the Bible contains detailed documentation of the plans for both the historic temples and that of a future temple that will exist in the Millennium. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness is described in great detail; Solomon’s work in building the temple of God in Jerusalem provides extensive descriptions; and, the very intriguing “building plans” presented, beginning in Ezekiel 40, have inspired some to believe that they can effectively reconstruct the temple prior to Christ’s return.

For reasons that may well transcend the troubles of the moment confronting the tiny nation of Israel, world attention will focus on Jerusalem!

When Christ returns (compare Zechariah 14:4), He will go to a very specific place once He is on this earth (compare Ezekiel 43:1–7). Then will be the ultimate fulfillment of Malachi 3:1:

“‘And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple.’” Although this passage speaks primarily of Christ’s spiritual temple—His true Church (compare 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16)—it might also refer to an existing literal temple in Jerusalem.

Prophecies About a Third Temple

Numerous prophecies indicate that a new temple of God will arise in Jerusalem, a task which the Jews will complete, just as they have done in the past.

Note the physical setting and the prophetic timeframe described by Jesus:

“‘Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened’” (Matthew 24:15–22).

Holy Place and Inner Rooms

Jesus continued to warn His disciples in verse 26:

“‘Therefore if they say to you, “Look, He is in the desert!” do not go out; or “Look, He is in the INNER ROOMS!” do not believe it.’”

“INNER ROOMS,” along with what Jesus said about “the abomination of desolation… standing in the HOLY PLACE,” gives strong evidence that a temple of God will exist in the city of Jerusalem at the time leading up to Christ’s return, and that the “inner rooms” might refer to the section of the Tabernacle—and later the temple—called the “Holiest of All” (Hebrews 9:3)!

To repeat: The “holy place” can only refer to an area within the temple of God as existing in the city of Jerusalem. “Inner rooms” might refer to the inner sanctuary in the temple of God, which is behind the veil and which is also called “the Most Holy Place” (Ezekiel 41:4). This has not yet been fulfilled!

Also, a prophecy in Matthew 24:16 addresses those “in Judea.”

Yet, the Temple Mount, situated in the Old City and administered by Jordan, is off limits for Jewish worship to this day! Nonetheless, the Bible gives clear evidence that Jews will once again gain control of this area and that a temple of God will be built!

The Abomination of Desolation

When Christ spoke in Matthew 24 about the future “‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (verse 15; compare, too, Mark 13:14, adding, “where it ought not”), He said: “‘But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near’” (Luke 21:20).

From these passages, we see that the abomination of desolation refers to foreign armies that will desolate Jerusalem.

But is this ALL that the term, “abomination of desolation” refers to? 

The prophet Daniel spoke about the “abomination of desolation” on three occasions—Daniel 9:27; 11:31 and 12:11. (An additional similar reference can be found in Daniel 8:13). The way those passages are worded, they seem to refer to more than just armies. Daniel 11:31 states that a king of the North shall muster forces, “and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and PLACE THERE the abomination of desolation.” Daniel 12:11 speaks about “the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is SET UP…”

These end-time prophecies predict that a future “king of the North” will invade Jerusalem and take away daily sacrifices, indicating that the Jews will, in the future, begin again the daily sacrifices in Jerusalem. It is true that the Jews don’t need to have a temple in order to bring daily sacrifices (compare Ezra 3:6), but this does not mean that the Jews will NOT build a temple and bring daily sacrifices there.

Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabees

Returning to the prophecy in Daniel 11:31, most commentaries agree that this particular passage refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, at least as a forerunner for another end-time fulfillment. As The Nelson Study Bible points out, “Antiochus polluted the altar by offering a sow upon it. He declared the daily sacrifices and other Mosaic ceremonies illegal and committed an abomination of desolation by erecting an image of Zeus in the holy place (9:27; 12:11). Jesus said a similar thing would happen just prior to His return (see Matt. 24:15).”

We should take note of the fact that at the time when the first “abomination of desolation” was set up, Antiochus overran Jerusalem with armies; did away with the daily sacrifices that were brought TO THE TEMPLE; and erected an image of Zeus (or Jupiter) in the “holy place”—the TEMPLE.

Please note the following comments published on June 24, 2004, by the Arutz Sheva National News: 

“After their conquest and occupation of Judea, the Syrian Greek Hellenists (c. 168 BCE) attempted to ‘break’ the Jews. They set up an idol and began offering pigs to their pagan deity in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When they began to spread their heresy among the Jews, they started in a small town called Modi’in. They set up an altar in the town square and instigated some weak Jew to offer a pig up as a sacrifice in plain public view. Public acceptance was meant to imply that the Jews were repudiating the Torah and their covenant with the [God] of their fathers. But in a clear example of the ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’, it sparked a national revolt instead, when a priest by the name of Matityahu took a sword, stabbed the turncoat Jew and the Syrian Greek officials, and declared, ‘Whoever is zealous for the Torah and is steadfast in the Covenant, let him follow me.’ The revolt spread, and ultimately was successful, leading to a liberation of the Judean homeland from occupation. The Jews cleaned-up the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and re-lit the menorah. And Hanukah is celebrated until this day, throughout the Jewish world as a holiday of the liberation of the Jews and Judaism from pagan culture.”

As referred to by Jesus, Daniel speaks of someone who will be “on the wing of abominations… who makes desolate,” and he refers to the “abomination of desolation” in the visions given to him by God (compare Daniel 9:27; 11:31; and 12:11). As mentioned, the temple of God constructed by Zerubbabel suffered a prefiguring of this prophecy when Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled over the Jews in the second century B.C.

Let us review additional information about Antiochus Epiphanes and the revolt against his actions from the Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible; Herbert Lockyer, Sr., Editor; Antiochus, page 69:

“Antiochus IV (175–164 B.C.), surnamed Epiphanes (God manifest) but called by his enemies Epimanes (madman). Antiochus IV was one of the cruelest rulers of all time. Like his father, Antiochus III the Great, he was enterprising and ambitious; however, he had a tendency to cruelty that bordered on madness. His primary aim—to unify his empire by spreading Greek civilization and culture—brought him into direct conflict with the Jews. This conflict broke into open rebellion in 167 B.C. Accounts of these conflicts are found in the apocryphal Book of 2 Maccabees.

“The revolt began with Antiochus’ edict that sought to unite all the peoples of his kingdom in religion, law, and custom. The Jews were the only people who would not adhere to this edict. Antiochus issued regulations against observing the Sabbath, practicing circumcision, and keeping all food laws. These regulations were followed by the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ (Dan. 11:31)—the erection of the altar of the Greek god Zeus over the altar of the burnt offering in the Temple. Jews were forced to participate in heathen festivities and were put to death if they were caught with the Book of the Law in their possession.

“As the revolt, led by Judas Maccabeus, gained momentum, the people of Israel united to overthrow Seleucid domination of their land. The Syrians were routed and the Temple was cleansed on the 25th of Chislev, 165 B.C. This cleansing is now observed by the Jews as the Feast of Lights (Hanukkah), around December 25. According to ancient writers, Antiochus IV withdrew into the East following his defeat. He died in Persia a madman…”

Since the original abomination spoken of by the prophet Daniel involved the existence of the temple, it is reasonable to conclude that the final abomination of desolation will likewise involve an existing temple.

The Man of Sin

Another Scripture that points to the existence of a future temple in Jerusalem, just prior to Christ’s return, can be found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4. Paul writes:

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day [of Christ’s return] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

This “man of sin,” who is also called “the lawless one” in verses 8 and 9, is identified in the Book of Revelation as “the false prophet” (compare, for example, Revelation 16:13; 19:20; see also Revelation 13:13–14). This religious figure will deceive people through “great signs” (Revelation 13:13; 19:20). We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 that the coming of the lawless one is “according to the working of Satan, with all power, SIGNS and lying wonders.” This false prophet will receive his powers to perform great signs from Satan and his demons (compare Revelation 16:13–14).

The False Prophet and His Religious System

The Book of Revelation, written well after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., gives us more detail about “the man of sin” or the “false prophet,” as well as the religious system that he will represent and lead:

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Revelation 13:11–18).

(Please read our free booklets, The Mystery of the Book of Revelation and The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire, for further information on the beast, the false prophet, the speaking image, and the name and number of the beast.)

The fate of this individual is to be thrown alive into a burning lake of fire (compare Revelation 19:20; 20:10). This serves to confirm that the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2 is uniquely singled out for the horrific actions he will commit, including his pretense of being “God” and of daring to enter into the inner rooms of the temple of God!

The Man of Sin in the Temple of God

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following about the man of sin, in the Plain Truth of June 1967:

“This European power, resurrecting for a VERY short while the Roman Empire, will take over the city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2.) They will take the Temple, and plant the palace of their headquarters there. With this coming military leader, pictured in Revelation 17 as the symbolic ‘beast,’ will be a supreme religious leader, called ‘the False Prophet,’ [Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10] and the ‘man of sin.’ So will you turn next to II Thessalonians 2:3–4: ‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day’ — the Day of the Lord, verse 2 — ‘shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and THAT MAN OF SIN be revealed, the SON OF PERDITION; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.’ So there will have to be the Temple there!”

The Ryrie Study Bible comments:

“… the Antichrist [this is an incorrect designation; rather, the passage speaks about the false prophet] will desecrate the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem by placing himself there to be worshipped… This will be the climax of man’s great sin of self-deification, in open defiance of God.”

The Nelson Study Bible adds:

“The man of sin will proclaim himself to be divine and will sit in the temple of God, acting as if he were a god… The man of sin will probably stand in a physical temple in Jerusalem, and declare himself to be a god [better: “God”, see below], the ultimate fulfillment of the ‘abomination of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel (Dan. 7:23; 9:26, 27; 11:31, 36, 37; 12:11) and Jesus (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). These prophecies may have been partially fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes erected a pagan altar to Zeus in the temple of Jerusalem in 167 B.C. (175–164 B.C.), or when Titus destroyed the temple in A.D. 70. Others have interpreted Paul’s reference to the temple of God as a reference to the church.”

However, we read that the returning Christ will consume the man of sin “with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Therefore, this man of sin will exist at the time of Christ’s return. He will proclaim himself to be God, not just “a god.” It is highly unlikely that Paul was talking about the Church as the temple of God in this context. There is no biblical evidence that the false prophet will be sitting in God’s true Church, proclaiming himself to be God. However, Christ warned His Church in Matthew 24:11 that “many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

A Literal Temple in the Book of Revelation

One argument that has been advanced for the idea that the “man of sin” is or will be a religious leader within the true Church of God is that he allegedly has to fall away from the truth he once knew. This is, however, not in accordance with Scripture. Note that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 does not say the end-time “man of sin” must fall away from the truth he once understood. Rather, the passage only states that Christ will not return “unless the falling away comes first, AND the man of sin is revealed.” It does not say that that man of sin once knew the truth and that he will fall away from the truth.

Just before the two witnesses, identified in Revelation 11, begin their prophesying for a period of one thousand two hundred and sixty days, mention of an existing temple of God is made:

We read in Revelation 11:1–2 that an angel of God tells John: “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months [or 3-1/2 years].” Some rightly point out that the term “temple” or “temple of God” in the New Testament can refer to God’s Church [compare Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17]. They claim that the reference in Revelation 11:1–2 speaks exclusively to the Church. Although the Church might be included here, the more obvious and intended meaning is a reference to a literal temple in Jerusalem. After all, the Gentiles will tread the holy city underfoot for three-and-a-half years, and the court which is outside the temple will be given to those Gentiles. It is difficult to see how all of these references could exclusively refer to the Church. Especially the reference to the holy city includes more than just a temple.

The Nelson Study Bible comments: “John is given a reed like a measuring rod, much like that used by Ezekiel (see Ezek. 40:3, 5) in his vision of the measuring of the temple (see Ezek. 40–48)… This is the temple of the tribulation period that will eventually be desecrated (see 13:14, 15; Dan. 9:27; Luke 21:24; 2 Thess. 2:4)… Luke 21:24 prophesies that the Gentiles will tread the holy city underfoot until ‘the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’ Apparently the period of forty-two months is the conclusion of ‘the times of the Gentiles.’ ‘Gentile’ here may also be translated ‘nations’ (v. 9; 10:11).”

Further Biblical Evidence in Psalms and Ezekiel

An additional passage that suggests the Jews will build an end-time temple in Jerusalem, just prior to Christ’s return, is Psalm 79:1–7. This is an end-time psalm, as verse 6 shows. God is asked to pour out His wrath on the nations—a reference to God’s pouring out of the end-time plagues of His wrath, as described in Revelation 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19. In this context, Psalm 79:1 says: “O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.”

Another Scripture that seems to make reference to a future physical temple in Jerusalem, can be found in Psalm 122:1: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’ Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem!” David wrote this psalm before there ever was a temple—the house of the LORD—in Jerusalem.

Other prophetic references to a future temple in Jerusalem could perhaps be found in Ezekiel 8:5, 16, as well as in Ezekiel 9:1–7. All of these Scriptures are prophecies for the end-time, and they seem to refer to a physical temple and the abominations that will be practiced in it.

Finally, we find detailed descriptions of a future physical temple in Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, beginning in chapter 40. We know from those Scriptures that a literal temple will be in Jerusalem after Christ’s return. Ezekiel 40–46 does not tell us, however, when this future temple will be built. Is it possible that these chapters in Ezekiel describe the very same temple that the Jews will begin to build just prior to Christ’s return?

We will discuss this question in the next chapter.

Chapter 7 – Who Will Build the Temple of Ezekiel?

In the Book of Ezekiel, a millennial temple is described. The question is whether this temple will exist prior to the Millennium, and if so, whether it will be built by the modern Jewish State of Israel. In spite of the current seemingly overwhelming obstacles, a temple dedicated to God is destined to once again arise in Jerusalem!

Ezekiel Describes a Future Temple

The setting for the Book of Ezekiel is of particular interest.

Ezekiel, a member of the priestly family of Buzi (Ezekiel 1:3), was taken to Babylon from Judah in 597 B.C. It was in this period of captivity that Ezekiel received visions from God. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 586 B.C., and some of Ezekiel’s prophetic messages addressed these events; however, the greater part of his prophecies were for future fulfillment!

The fact that God was sending Ezekiel “‘to the children of Israel’” (Ezekiel 2:3), and that God had made him “a watchman for the house of Israel’” (Ezekiel 33:7), points to a period that far transcends his own lifetime.

The house of Israel, as the tribes exclusive of Judah, Levi and parts of Benjamin were known, had been removed from their land long before Ezekiel lived. We find in 2 Kings, chapter 17, the record of this occurrence, culminating in approximately 721 B.C.

Yet, Ezekiel’s messages from God were to be proclaimed to Israel and to Judah in spite of the fact that both nations were, at that time, devastated and scattered as captives among other empires.

Couched in the oftentimes enigmatic context of prophecy, the visions Ezekiel witnessed have very specific application for our time, especially those found beginning in Ezekiel 40.

While much of the last eight chapters of Ezekiel very clearly depict the beginning period following Jesus Christ’s return and the establishment of His rule in Jerusalem, great detail is rendered concerning the temple He will enter. In fact, there is what amounts to an architectural plan one could use to actually build this structure.

Note these specific instructions given to Ezekiel:

“And the man said to me, ‘Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see’” (Ezekiel 40:4).

Also:

“‘Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them’” (Ezekiel 43:10–11).

Patterns Under Moses and David

Before the Tabernacle was constructed by the Israelites, Moses was given very exact details by God concerning how it was to be done:

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… ‘And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it’” (Exodus 25:1, 8–9; compare verse 40; Numbers 8:4; also note Hebrews 8:5).

Before the temple was constructed, God revealed the plans to King David, who, in turn, gave them to his son, Solomon:

“‘Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.’ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD… ‘All this,’ said David, ‘the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans.’ And David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD’” (1 Chronicles 28:10–13, 19–20).

Even before this magnificent temple of God was destroyed by the Babylonian Kingdom, God revealed through the prophet Isaiah that His House would stand again in Jerusalem, and He did perform this, even calling by name the yet unborn Gentile king who would implement this:

“‘… Who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ And to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid’”’” (Isaiah 44:28).

The Second Temple

In the beginning of the Book of Ezra, we find the fulfillment of this prophecy:

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem’” (Ezra 1:1–4).

God had also caused Jeremiah to write to the captives in Babylon to assure them that their nation would be restored:

“‘For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place’” (Jeremiah 29:10).

Location of the First and Second Temples

In both the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we have a record of the remnant of the house of Judah who returned to the land of Israel and rebuilt the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem, including its defensive walls. The Gentile rulers neighboring Judah stood in opposition and tried to stop the Jews. Among their many opposing actions, they complained in a letter sent to King Darius, but the king’s answer was in support of the rebuilding:

“Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God ON ITS SITE” (Ezra 6:7).

While the temple of God was rebuilt on the original location as that of Solomon’s construction, it did not compare in size and grandeur:

“But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off” (Ezra 3:12–13).

God, through the prophet Haggai, responded to those who were so disappointed with the temple then being constructed:

“In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying: ‘Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,” says the LORD; “and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,” says the LORD, “and work; for I am with you,” says the LORD of hosts’” (Haggai 2:1–4).

Now the place for the building of Solomon’s temple had been clearly manifested by God. This happened when David numbered Israel. However, David’s foolish action in numbering the people was a great sin before God:

“So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, ‘It is enough; now restrain your hand.’ And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (1 Chronicles 21:14–15).

This account also states that David was instructed to “…go and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (verse 18).

God accepted David’s offerings, and in the events of this occurrence, the location for the temple of God was revealed to David:

“Then David said, ‘This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel’” (1 Chronicles 22:1).

Solomon followed his father’s instruction and built the temple of God where God had revealed that it should be placed:

“Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (2 Chronicles 3:1).

As we have seen, Mount Moriah is also linked to Abraham, for it was to this area of what would become part of the city of Jerusalem that Abraham brought his son Isaac to offer in sacrifice.

We also pointed out that Jerusalem is associated with Melchizedek in an earlier account involving Abram’s rescue of Lot. (Regarding the identity of Melchizedek, please refer to our free booklets, God Is a Family and Jesus Christ—a Great Mystery.)

We must understand from the foregoing accounts that the place where God’s temple will be built in the future (Psalm 76:2) has historical precedence! Even more importantly, the Word of God shows that He very specifically chose the site that would be His dwelling place, and prophecy indisputably establishes that this will not change!

Temple Enlarged Through Herod

Before going into the prophecies about a future temple being built in Jerusalem, let us examine the temple of God that was enlarged through Herod.

“In the 18th year of his reign (20–19 B.C.) Herod obtained the reluctant consent of his subjects to his ambitious scheme for [enlarging and beautifying] the temple [and] its courts. The former was finished in eighteen months by a thousand priests trained for this special purpose, the courts in eight years, but the complete reconstruction occupied more than eighty years, lasting almost till the final breach with Rome, which culminated in the destruction of the sacred edifice by the soldiers of Titus in A.D. 70” (Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, The Temple of Herod, page 607).

“The Jerusalem temple is the focus of many NT events. The birth of John the Baptist was announced there (Luke 1:11–20). The offering by Joseph and Mary [after] the circumcision of the baby Jesus was brought there. Simeon and Anna greeted Jesus there (2:22–38). Jesus came there as a boy of 12 (2:42–51) and later taught there during His ministry…” (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Herod’s Temple, page 1567).

A point to be made about the temple of God that existed during the lifetime of Jesus Christ is that Jesus recognized this structure as God’s or the Father’s House. We have two examples of Jesus forcefully defending the temple, one in the beginning of His ministry and another shortly before His death:

“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with [better: both] the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’” (John 2:13–16).

“So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it a “den of thieves”’” (Mark 11:15–17).

Because of the terrible sins of the nation of Judah, Jesus foretold that Jerusalem would soon be destroyed (Luke 19:41–44).

Destruction of the Second Temple

In addition, Jesus revealed that the temple of God would suffer the same fate in the first century:

“Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!’  And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down’” (Mark 13:1–2).

That destruction came upon the city of Jerusalem, along with its temple, in 70 A.D. Judah, as a nation, ceased to exist at that time. Throughout the centuries several attempts have been made to re-establish the temple in Jerusalem, but all have failed!

The Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock, completed about 691 A.D., is considered to be one of Islam’s most important shrines. Along with the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock now occupies the place that is biblically known as Mount Moriah—the very same location of the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, and the place where the temples built by Solomon and Zerubbabel, as well as the additions done by Herod, once existed.

Now surrounded by the Jewish State of Israel, the Dome of the Rock is also the place where the future temple of God prophesied by Ezekiel is appointed to stand!

When focusing on the prophecies in the Book of Daniel, we read that Daniel was told to “‘shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end…’” (12:4); and, that “‘the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end’” (12:9). Then, in verse 11 of Daniel 12, we find this extraordinary statement:

“‘And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.’”

Daily Sacrifices

This prophecy is speaking of a situation that will occur in the final generation, the one to be living just before the return of Jesus Christ! It addresses the forceful cessation of daily sacrifices, something that could only rightfully be happening at the site of the temple of God. It is true that in the past, the Jews sacrificed at the temple site before the temple was actually built, but they did so after the foundation of the temple had been laid, and in anticipation of the final completion of the structure. This prophecy also reveals that a yet future idolatrous act of sacrilege will take place—the very thing we have already cited from what Jesus warned and the apostles Paul and John wrote.

Desecration of the Third Temple

Jeremiah also addresses the desecration of the temple of God.

In chapters 50 and 51 of the Book of Jeremiah, God’s judgment on Babylon is proclaimed. While parts of this prophecy pertain to Babylon during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar, there is duality in applying and understanding what is written.

Focusing on the future fulfillment of this prophecy, carefully consider the following:

“‘In those days and in that time,’ says the LORD, ‘The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, “Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten”’” (Jeremiah 50:4–5).

This is an event that has never happened, but it will in the future, as many other Scriptures support!

Note, also:

“‘The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon Declares in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, The vengeance of His temple’” (Jeremiah 50:28; compare 51:11, 24).

“You who have escaped the sword, Get away! Do not stand still! Remember the LORD afar off, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. We are ashamed because we have heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, For strangers have come into the sanctuaries (better, Holy places) of the LORD’S house” (Jeremiah 51:50–51).

Again, what Jesus indicated would happen regarding the defilement of the temple of God finds mention in prophesied events at the close of the age!

There is great significance to the temple of God that has yet to arise in Jerusalem; prophecies from both the Old and New Testaments make mention of it! And while this temple will again become part of Jewish life, it will also be profaned when it is seized and occupied by the final resurrection of the Roman Empire—Babylon the Great!

Temple in Jerusalem at the Time of Christ’s Future Rule

Jerusalem is designated to be the royal city of Jesus Christ’s future reign on the earth! Ezekiel’s presentation of the temple he saw has its setting in the future, in the city of Jerusalem: “In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city” (Ezekiel 40:2).

Another prophecy that speaks of Jesus Christ establishing Jerusalem as the place of His future rule is found in Zechariah 1:12–17:

“Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?’ And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words. So the angel who spoke with me said to me, ‘Proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.’ “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.’”  ‘Again proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.’”’”

The LORD’s return to Jerusalem is described further in Zechariah 2:10–12:

“‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem.’”

Zechariah Announces the Third Temple

The time settings throughout the chapters of Zechariah reveal events occurring immediately before, during and following the return of Jesus Christ. Joshua and Zerubbabel led the rebuilding of the temple of God following the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity after the “seventy years.” However, these two men also serve as prophetic types—representative of individuals who will live and accomplish God’s Will in the future.

In chapter 3 of Zechariah, “Joshua” is cleansed and restored, and note that this has to do with his priestly role in the “house” or temple of God:

“Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here. Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH”’” (Zechariah 3:6–8).

As we point out in our free booklet, The Book of Zechariah—Prophecies for Today, pages 31 through 37, the references to the temple of God in the context of Joshua refer primarily to the spiritual temple—the Church of God (compare 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 and many additional references, proving that God’s Church is called the temple or the House of God). However, they may also refer to the building of a physical temple just prior to Christ’s return.

In Zechariah 4:6–9, “Zerubbabel” is promised that he will both start and finish the building of the temple:

“So he answered and said to me: ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” ‘ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.’”

However, let us also consider what is said about the “BRANCH” in regard to the temple in Zechariah 6:12–13:

“Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD; Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both [margin: both offices].”’”

The One called the “BRANCH” is the Messiah—the One who will return to occupy the temple of God (as we will see in Ezekiel). From other references in this booklet, we noted that God gave the plans for the Tabernacle’s construction and of the temple built by Solomon, that served to also guide those in Zerubbabel’s time. The future temple will be built according to the plans given in Ezekiel’s description, along with what is recorded about the previous houses of God.

In our aforementioned publication, The Book of Zechariah—Prophecies for Today, we state on page 42:

“Even though the vision is talking about the construction of a physical temple at the time of Zerubbabel, it also applies to the end time. As explained above, one application must be seen in the reference to the spiritual temple—the Church. But it is also possible that another physical temple will be built prior to Christ’s return—and that a modern ‘Zerubbabel’ will be used in some way for the accomplishment of that task.”

In this context, we find an additional striking proclamation in Zechariah 6:15:

“‘Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.’”

Also in Zechariah 8:9:

“‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, You who have been hearing in these days These words by the mouth of the prophets, Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid For the house of the LORD of hosts, That the temple might be built.”’”

Again quoting from our booklet, The Book of Zechariah—Prophecies for Today, we explain on pages 62 through 63 that the building of the temple could refer to the spiritual temple of the Church or the physical temple in the Millennium. However, we continue to state on page 64:

“It is also possible that the reference to a future temple, which will be built by the BRANCH, could relate to a physical temple still to be built in Jerusalem—just prior to the return of Christ. We know from Scripture that the Jews will bring sacrifices to Jerusalem. If there is a physical temple, then these sacrifices would be brought to that temple, until they are—temporarily—abolished by a European power.

“As we discussed in our free booklet, ‘Is That in the Bible?—The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation?,’ … strong biblical evidence exists for the rebuilding of a temple in the modern Jewish nation of Israel.

“It would also be possible that it is THAT temple which will survive the partial end-time destruction of the city of Jerusalem, which is described as the millennial temple in the [Book] of Ezekiel.”

The Third Temple in the Book of Haggai

In the Book of Haggai, a prophecy is given that still has to find its fulfillment, and it may be in a physical temple of God, which must yet materialize:

“‘For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,” says the LORD of hosts. “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,” says the LORD of hosts. “The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,” says the LORD of hosts. “And in this place I will give peace,” says the LORD of hosts”’” (Haggai 2:6–9).

In what way will “the glory of this latter temple… be greater than the former”? It will be because the glorified LORD—Jesus Christ—will come to this temple:

“‘Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the LORD, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ Says the LORD of hosts. ‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness’” (Malachi 3:1–3).

As we have understood for a long time, the above-quoted references in the books of Haggai and Malachi refer foremost to Christ’s Second Coming to His spiritual temple—the Church. However, purifying the sons of Levi will go hand-in-hand with a ceremonial cleansing of the altar in the temple of God, which is prophesied to take place AFTER Jesus Christ has returned to the earth (compare Ezekiel 43:18–27)! In fact, in the vision given to Ezekiel, it is the LORD who delegates the purging of the temple and who rebukes those who have defiled His House:

“And He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is 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 forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever’” (Ezekiel 43:7–9).

Purging of the Temple in the Millennium

Now carefully note what the LORD says about what has been allowed to take place in the temple of God:

“Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “O house of Israel, let us have no more of all your abominations. When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.” Thus says the LORD God: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel”’” (Ezekiel 44:6–9).

This recounting of the detestable shame that will have happened to the temple finds its parallel in the prophecies of Jesus from Matthew 24 and that of Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, as we have already shown. The purging of the temple at the time of the Millennium proves that prior desecration (including the occupation of the temple by the man of sin) must have occurred in an existing physical temple, prior to Christ’s Second Coming. These Scriptures, along with the many others we have cited, point to the fact that a temple of God will be built BEFORE and NOT AFTER Christ’s appearance!

There is no clear implication that the modern Church of God will have direct involvement in this endeavor. However, every indication—both by precedence and by the reality of having a restored Jewish nation in the State of Israel—is that the Jews and the Levites with them will find a way to once again erect the temple of God, the very one that is so meticulously revealed in the Book of Ezekiel!

Considering the precarious situation of the State of Israel, we can understand that there will be violent resistance to any effort to build a temple to God, especially on the biblically revealed area now known as the Temple Mount, and occupied by the Dome of the Rock along with the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Exactly how circumstances may play out, we do not precisely know! What we do know, and believe, is that this will unquestionably take place, and that through the providence of God!

Chapter 8 – Does the Bible Require the Birth of a “Red Heifer” Prior to the Coming of the Messiah?

Since the Jews will begin offering sacrifices in Jerusalem in the near future, will they first require the birth of a “red heifer” to purify the area?

No Biblical Requirement

There is nothing in the Bible demanding that a red heifer be born prior to the return of Jesus Christ. It is true, however, that some Jews and Christians have attached an end-time application to the Old Testament ritual of the killing of a red heifer for purposes of purification. As will be explained herein, this ritual is no longer in force. But some Jews and Christians believe that the ritual must be applied today as a prerequisite for the commencement of sacrifices and the building of a third temple, and they do expect a red heifer to be born soon. (In fact, when conducting a Yahoo search on the Internet, one receives over one million results for “red heifer.”)

History of the Red Heifer Ritual

To obtain a better understanding as to the rationale behind this expectation, let us first review the rituals pertaining to the red heifer, as described in Numbers 19.

The Wikipedia Encyclopedia informs us that “The Red Heifer… was a sacrificial cow whose ashes were used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact with a corpse. According to Numbers 19:2: ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came [a] yoke’… The heifer is then slain (Numbers 19:3) and burned outside of the camp (Numbers 19:3–6)… the remaining ashes are placed in a vessel containing pure water (Numbers 19:9).

“In order to purify a person who has become ritually contaminated by contact with a corpse, water from the vessel is sprinkled on him, using a bunch of hyssop, on the third and seventh day of the decontamination process (Numbers 19:18–19)… The kohen [Levitical priest] who performs the ritual must… bathe himself and his clothes in water. He shall be deemed impure until evening.”

Based on this description alone, it is indeed difficult to see at first how the ancient “red heifer” ritual could have anything to do with the coming of the Messiah or even a purification ceremony pertaining to a third temple. However, we should take note of the fact that the ritual was applied in conjunction with the Tabernacle in the wilderness—the predecessor of the temple (compare Numbers 19:4, 13).

Jewish Traditions Regarding Red Heifer and Water of Purification

Based on their “interpretations,” the “oral law” and other traditional “additions” to the Law of God, Judaism has established all kinds of requirements in relationship to the “red heifer” and the “water of purification.”

The Wikipedia Encyclopedia explains:

“… the presence of two black hairs [or two white hairs, see below] invalidates a Red Heifer [as the Jews understand the requirement that the red heifer must be “without spot” as meaning, “without any other color but red,” or “having no mixture of any other color but red”]… there are various other requirements, such as natural birth (Caesarian section renders a Heifer candidate invalid). The water must be ‘living’ or spring water… Rainwater… cannot be used in the Red Heifer ceremony. The Mishnah reports that in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, water for the ritual came from the Spring of Shiloah…

“To ensure complete ritual purity of those involved, enormous care was taken to ensure that no-one involved in the Red Heifer ceremony could have had any contact with the dead… The Mishnah recounts that children were used to draw and carry the water for the ceremony, children born and reared in isolation for the specific purpose of ensuring that they never came into contact with a corpse…

“According to the Mishnah, the ceremony of the burning of the Red Heifer itself took place on the Mount of Olives. A pure priest slaughtered the Heifer, and totally sprinkled of its blood in the direction of the Temple seven times… In recent years, the site of the burning of the Red Heifer on the Mount of Olives has been tentatively located by archaeologist Yonatan Adler…

“The existence of a red heifer that conforms with all of the rigid requirements [of Jewish tradition] is a biological anomaly. The animal must be entirely of one color, and there are a series of tests listed by the rabbis to ensure this, for instance, the hair of the cow must be absolutely straight (to ensure that the cow had not previously been yoked, as this is a disqualifier). According to Jewish tradition, only nine Red Heifers were actually slaughtered in the period extending from Moses to the destruction of the Second Temple…

“The absolute rarity of the animal, combined with the mystical ritual in which it is used, have given the Red Heifer special status in Jewish tradition… Because the state of ritual purity obtained through the ashes of a Red Heifer is a necessary prerequisite for participating in any Temple service, efforts have been made in modern times by Jews wanting to rebuild the Temple to locate a red heifer and recreate the ritual…”

Gershom Gorenberg writes the following in “The End of Days,” copyright 2001:

“… this sacrifice [of the red heifer] must be performed outside the Temple, yet the heifer’s ash becomes the key to the sanctuary: It alone can cleanse a man or woman tainted by contact with human death… anyone who touches a corpse, or bone, or grave, anyone who even enters the room of a dead body, is rendered impure, and must not enter the Temple. Yet proximity to death is an unavoidable part of life… So to free a person from impurity… mix the heifer’s cinder with water, and sprinkle the mixture on him… Two white hairs would disqualify [the heifer]… The last ashes of the last heifer ran out sometime after the Romans razed the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70. Every Jew became impure by reason of presumed contact with death…”

Red Heifer Rituals Superseded

We need to understand that the temporary ritual pertaining to the red heifer pointed at and foreshadowed the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which superseded the red heifer ceremony. Paul writes in Hebrews 9:9–10 that the Old Testament rituals and fleshly ordinances were only imposed until the time of reformation. In this context, he says in Hebrews 9:11–14:

“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come… Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and THE ASHES OF A HEIFER, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Paul made it very clear that Christ came to “take away” sacrifice and offering (Hebrews 10:8–10), and that there is no longer a requirement of offering for sin (Hebrews 10:18). He wrote that the Old Covenant with its rituals has been made obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). Rather than being purified with water mixed with ashes from a red heifer, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). Paul also explains in Galatians 3:24–25 that we are no longer under the tutor of the ritual law.

It is also interesting to note that the procedures for the inauguration of the millennial temple, which are outlined in Ezekiel 40, beginning with verse 18, do not mention a red heifer or water of purification.

In conclusion, the red heifer ritual is no longer biblically commanded, and the Bible does not demand the birth and sacrifice of a red heifer and its ashes as a requirement for the return of Christ. However, it is very likely that Jewish clerics may insist that the sacrifice of such a heifer for the purpose of producing the ashes for the water of purification of the Temple Mount, and the temple itself, will be essential for the reconstruction of the temple and the coming of the Messiah. We can therefore expect that the diligent search for a “pure” and “spotless” red heifer will continue; but this is NOT to say that Jews will abide by the interpretation of some clerics and that they will not begin with the construction of the temple and the offering of sacrifices before they “find” such a red heifer.

Chapter 9 – Why Did the Jews Reject Jesus?

The house of Judah rejected Jesus Christ when He first came to them, a fact foretold and indeed fulfilled! Yet, it was from among His countrymen—Jewish men and women—that Jesus first found those who came to believe that He was “‘…the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Mathew 16:16).

There was a sense of expectancy for the appearing of the Messiah in the time of Herod the king. Luke, chapter 2, and Matthew, chapter 2, both recount events that occurred in the land of Judea following the birth of Jesus, all pointing to prophecies about the Messiah. These things were known—they were spoken of by many people (compare Luke 2:17).

It was knowledge of the Messianic prophecies that drew the attention of those who did follow Christ:

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’” (John 1:45).

The apostle Paul identified himself as “‘…a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee’” (Acts 23:6). For a time Paul did not believe Jesus to have been anything more than a dangerous cult leader. Note what he says of himself:

“For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:13–14).

However, when Jesus miraculously appeared to Paul, He commissioned him to proclaim the gospel:

“Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul (Paul) increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 9:20–22).

Note how Paul proved what he taught:

“[F]or he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 18:28).

Some Jews Believed in Christ

Some Jews believed what Paul taught, as noted in Acts 17:1–4:

“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.”

Most Jews Did Not Believe

Most Jews rejected what Paul taught:

“On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles’… But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region” (Acts 13:44–46, 50).

Later in his ministry, being a prisoner, Paul was taken to Rome. Nonetheless, he was still able to teach those who came to him. Among those were leaders of the Jews in Rome (Acts 28:17), and Paul spoke to them:

“So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved” (Acts 28:23–24).

Why the Rejection?

Paul explained why most of the Jews rejected Jesus, using the analogy of the veil that Moses had to place over his face, due to the glory of his countenance, following his presence before God:

“But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:14–16).

Paul made it clear that the rulers killed Jesus because they did not understand the wisdom of God, as written in 1 Corinthians 2:7–8:

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Christ confirmed this fact, praying to God the Father to forgive His murderers, because “they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

On the other hand, it is true that the Pharisees had some knowledge about the person of Christ. Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, came to Christ by night and told Him: “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him” (John 3:2).

Still, most Pharisees rejected Him because they were envious and did not want to lose their positions in the community (Matthew 27:18; John 11:48). They even accused Him of casting out demons through the power of Satan, which caused Christ to give them a stern warning, since they knew better (Matthew 12:22–32).

The apostle Peter boldly preached to the Jews about Christ, showing again that the Jews were “ignorant” as to who Christ was:

“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses… Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:13–15, 17–18).

The people did not really understand who Christ was. Christ asked His disciples: “What do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” The disciples answered: “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or some of the prophets.” When Jesus asked them: “But who do you say that I am?”, Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ responded that this revelation had to come from God the Father; otherwise, he would not have understood this either (compare Matthew 16:13–17).

Jewish Persecution

Because of the healing of a man who had been lame from his birth, Peter and John were arrested and brought before Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 4:5–12:

“And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, ‘By what power or by what name have you done this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the “stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.” Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’”

Stephen was brought before the council of the Jews for preaching about Jesus (Acts 6:15), and in his address to these leaders of the Jewish nation, he sharply rebuked their obstinate rejection of God:

“‘You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it’” (Acts 7:51–53).

What Stephen said so enraged the Jews that they murdered him (compare Acts 7:54–60). The Jewish leaders had also opposed what Jesus said, and they plotted His death, which was agreed to by the Jewish people (compare Acts 2:23, 36) and carried out by the Romans. The New Testament records the fact that Jesus was rejected by the house of Judah.

In responding to the Jews and their leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus challenged their lack of understanding, for He consistently revealed Himself by referring to prophecy:

“‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me… Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?’” (John 5:39, 45–47).

Jesus Proves His Identity

Following His resurrection, Jesus proved His own identity by what was written in the Old Testament. Here is what Jesus said to His disciples: “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27); and, “Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’” (Luke 24:44).

In unsparing words, Jesus denounced the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees—the religious leadership in Judea (compare Matthew 23). Even in His blistering rebuke, Jesus also pointed to a future time when “His own” (John 1:11) would not reject Him:

“‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”’” (Matthew 23:37–39).

Indeed, the Jewish people who lived under the rule of the Roman Empire looked for a Savior for deliverance, and they applied the Messianic prophecies to their own circumstances instead of what was actually revealed in the Word of God. Also, the religious leaders in Judea were unwilling and unable to turn to God. They failed to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” at the preaching of John the Baptist (compare Matthew 3:7–10). With premeditated evil, they plotted the death of Jesus (compare Matthew 26:3–4) and rejected Him as their King (compare John 19:1–22).

Most of the Jewish people and their leaders rejected Christ because of a lack of understanding as to who He was. They were “willfully ignorant” (2 Peter 3:5, Authorized Version).

Today’s Rejection of Christ

It is the same today. Most Jews, as well as most people around the world, do not really know God the Father and Jesus Christ, because the true knowledge as to who and what God is has been hidden from them (John 16:3). As a consequence, just as Christ was rejected and persecuted, so Christ’s true disciples are rejected by the world and will have to endure persecution (Matthew 24:9; John 15:18–21).

Chapter 10 – “His Blood Be On Us and On Our Children”

What is the significance of the saying of Jews at Jesus’ time that “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25)?

As will be explained in this chapter, many have taken this statement to justify anti-Semitic sentiments, or to explain horrible incidents, like the Holocaust, when millions of Jews were killed in gas chambers. But is it possible that a “curse” placed by parents on their children and future generations can automatically bring about such terrible results? Some turn for an explanation to the “curse” which God placed on parents and children who “hate” Him.

Visiting the Sins of the Fathers Upon the Children?

What does it mean that God will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him (compare Exodus 20:5)? This passage cannot contradict Scripture, such as Deuteronomy 24:16, where it states that children are not to be put to death for their fathers, but that a person “shall be put to death for his own sin.”

The explanation is that children will only be punished if they themselves are sinning. The Companion Bible comments on Ezekiel 18:4, 20 as follows: “Descendants were not punished for the sins of their ancestors unless they persevered in their ancestors’ sins.” The same thought is expressed in Exodus 20. Note that Exodus 20:5 speaks of those “who hate Me.” Soncino points out that the phrase, “of those that hate Me,” applies to the children, i.e. God will punish the children if they [the children] hate Him. Soncino comments, too, that the punishment will be brought upon the children, “when they retain the evil deeds of their fathers.”

The conduct of the parents may have a lot to do with whether their children or grandchildren love or hate God. The sins of the fathers do affect future generations, and so does the penalty for sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, the penalty imposed on them affected ALL of mankind. Through their sin, they cut themselves—and man—off from God. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1–2), and since ALL have sinned, ALL have incurred the death penalty for sin (Romans 5:14). One might say that the sin of Adam and Eve affected, at the very least, the third and fourth generations, but since Cain sinned, his sin affected the next four generations, and so on. The effect of sin is cumulative. And finally, sin had become so all-encompassing that God decided to destroy the entire world in a flood.

Christ, in showing the evil influence of their parents and their own culpability in their continued hate of God, pointed out in Matthew 23:31–36, how the principle of Exodus 20:6 was fulfilled in the persons of the scribes and Pharisees at Christ’s time.

The vicious cycle of sin, penalty, and death can be interrupted, however, when a person turns to God, repents, and obtains forgiveness. God is determined to call some in this day and age to have a special relationship with Him, and this includes the children of called-out parents. Whether they may realize it or not, parents have a tremendous influence on their children and grandchildren—in good and bad ways.

Automatic Consequences for Children?

In light of this concept, let us return to Matthew 27:25. In the context of this passage, Pilate washed his hands and stated that he was “innocent of the blood of this just Person,” Jesus Christ. In response, the crowd yelled, “His blood be on us and on our children,” demanding His death by crucifixion.

Many commentaries feel indeed that this saying had automatic consequences for their future generations.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary writes: “The Jews’ curse upon themselves has been awfully answered in the sufferings of their nation.”

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says: “To this day… the curse has remained. They have been a nation scattered and peeled; persecuted almost everywhere, and a hissing and a byword among people. No single nation, probably, has suffered so much…”

Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible says: “They were visited with the same kind of punishment; for the Romans crucified them in such numbers when Jerusalem was taken, that there was found a deficiency of crosses for the condemned, and of places for the crosses. Their children or descendants have had the same curse entailed upon them, and continue to this day…”

The People’s New Testament says: “His blood be on us. That is, let us have the responsibility and suffer the punishment. A fearful legacy, and awfully inherited. The history of the Jews from that day on has been the darkest recorded in human annals.”

Terrible Misunderstanding

This will suffice. Even though the human mind might hastily conclude that the sufferings of the Jews are the direct result of a curse uttered by parents for them and future generations, such interpretation is not biblical. However, the consequences of this kind of interpretation have indeed been terrible. Adolf Hitler used this Scripture and the concept that the “Jews killed Christ” to exterminate millions of them during the Holocaust. Others, prior to Hitler, had used the same “justification” for their horrible and ungodly deeds toward the Jews. But what is forgotten is the fact that the Jews were persecuted long before the death of Christ. Recall that in the Book of Esther, all the Jews would have been killed if it had not been for Esther’s intervention. Clearly, Satan was behind that attempt to exterminate the Jewish people to make prophecy “fail” by trying to prevent the birth of Jesus Christ, knowing that He would be a descendant of the house of Judah.

The Nelson Study Bible comments that “The destruction of Jerusalem was one of the results of this sin [the curse uttered by the parents].” For proof, the commentary points at Matthew 23:32–39. However, that passage describes the results of the sins of those who were involved—it does not inflict a curse on innocent children who do not participate in the evil lifestyle of their parents. In addition, we should realize that this was not a curse uttered by God, but a curse uttered by ignorant people. God is not bound by such a curse. To the contrary, we read that no one can curse or effectuate a curse on someone whom God does not curse (Numbers 23:8).

Some Commentaries Reject False Interpretation

Recognizing the injustice of categorically condemning all future generations to a terrible curse uttered by some of their ancestors, some commentaries take a different point of view.

The New Bible Commentary: Revised states that the “saying has been wrongly used in later generations to persecute the Jews.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary agrees, saying: “Verse 25 has unfortunately been used in anti-Semitism, and such use is to be deplored. Jesus was crucified by Romans at Jewish initiative, but not all Jews then supported the crime, and Jews today are no more guilty than any other people. Jesus died on account of the sins of the world, not of the Jews alone.”

This is indeed true. Christ came to die for all men—Jews and Gentiles—and ALL of us are guilty of His death, because ALL of us have sinned, and the wages of sin is death! Christ came to free us from sin and the death penalty through the shedding of His precious blood, and to remove from us the curse of eternal death. (For more information, please read our free booklet, Jesus Christ—a Great Mystery.)

It is also a fact that this is Satan’s world, and that Satan is anxious to destroy all of mankind. Millions of people have died in wars, famines, disease epidemics and “natural” catastrophes, and millions of Christians were murdered during the time of the Inquisition. We suffer the consequences of our own misconduct, and we are only responsible for the misconduct of our parents if we adopt their life style and make it our own. To say that Jews were singled out by God and persecuted and killed throughout history because of a curse uttered by some Jews at the time of Christ’s death, is equally as wrong as to hold the current generation of Germans responsible for the crimes of some of their fathers and grandfathers against the Jews and others during Nazi Germany.

How It Could Also Be Understood

We should also focus on another possibility as to how to understand Matthew 27:25. Even though the Jews who uttered these terrible words were misled and meant them as a rejection of Christ to be applied to them and their children—apparently not realizing what they were saying—God might have inspired the recording of these statements to point out quite a different concept. For instance, we read that the high priest recommended the death of Jesus Christ, as “it is expedient to us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:49–50). He meant that Jesus should die so that the Romans would not come in to destroy Judah, but God inspired this saying for quite a different reason. As John 11:51–52 explains: “Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.”

In that sense, some commentaries understand the saying in Matthew 27:25 in a similar way. The One Volume Bible Commentary by J.R. Dummelow refers to the Jews’ saying also as “a blessing upon believers, on whom the blood of Jesus came for sanctification, and the remission of sin, compare John 11:50.” Indeed, when the blood of Jesus covers our sins, this will have a positive influence on our children. When a parent is becoming converted and accepts the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the remission of his sins, his children become “holy” or “sanctified” (1 Corinthians 7:14); that is, they are being set aside for the holy purpose of realizing their potential of entering into a relationship with God. In that sense, the “curse” of the parents in Matthew 27:25 could perhaps be understood, in God’s eyes, as the (unrealized) cry for a blessing for them and their children.

God will answer that cry. He will soon send Jesus Christ to this earth to offer all of mankind—Jews and Gentiles alike—the gift of eternal life and freedom from sin and the curse of eternal death. That is why we are to pray daily for the coming of God’s Kingdom (Matthew 6:10).

Chapter 11 – God’s Anger Against, and Mercy for, Judah

The Bible tells us that in the near future, God will bring terrible punishment on the modern descendants of the ancient house of Judah, not because of the conduct of ancients, but because of their own conduct.

Defeat in War and Captivity Prophesied for Judah

In speaking of OUR day, God tells us that modern Jews WILL repent and accept the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, but only AFTER they have been held captive by foreign invaders. We read in Zechariah 8:7–17:

“(7) Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east And from the land of the west; (8) I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people, And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness… (10) For before these days… There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in; For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor… (13)… just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing… (14) Just as I determined to punish you When your fathers provoked Me to wrath… And I would not relent, (15) So again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah… (16) These are the things you shall do; Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; (17) Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate…’”

Why Is God Angry With Modern Judah?

One aspect of God’s anger today over sinful Judah is their willingness and eagerness to fight wars that are not approved of nor endorsed by God. But God says this will be changed and this will be accomplished by Jesus Christ: “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim [Great Britain] And the horse [symbolic for war machines like tanks] from Jerusalem [the State of Israel]; The battle bow shall be cut off” (Zechariah 9:10).

An ungodly sexual lifestyle is also clearly one reason for God’s punishment of Judah. God calls the leaders and the people of Judah “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10); and He refers to modern Jerusalem “spiritually” as “Sodom” (Revelation 11:8).

The State of Israel is viewed by many in the Middle East as the “capital” of homosexual conduct and other prohibited sexual activities, including the approval of same-sex marriages and transgenderism. Some cities of the State of Israel have actually become the center for such activities and parades in the Middle East.

Another reason for God’s coming punishment is Sabbath-breaking. Even though the Jews have preserved the knowledge as to when to observe the Sabbath, only very few do so. Rather than being a positive example, they either disregard the Sabbath altogether, or they follow a radically restrictive and pharisaical interpretation, making a yoke and a burden of the Sabbath (exactly as was the case in Christ’s day). In addition, they do not keep the annual Holy Days in the manner in which God has prescribed, having even changed the ordained times and seasons in some cases.

We should also remember that Judaism has rejected Jesus Christ by refusing to accept clear passages of the Old Testament, and as long as they do not embrace Christ as their personal Savior, they cannot have forgiveness for their sin and relief from their suffering. Our free booklet, Do You Know the Jesus of the Bible?, explains in detail how the Jews have misinterpreted the clear statements in Isaiah 53 that prophesy Christ’s First Coming.

God pronounces His punishment against the religious leaders of ancient and modern Judah in Zechariah 10:3: “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds [leaders]… ” The context with verse 2 indicates that those religious leaders were engaged in (and that they approved of) idolatry, divination and the preaching of a false hope.

Dual Prophecies

God continues to explain in Zechariah that He allowed His people to be defeated in war and become captives of war. This prophecy is most certainly dual in that it also refers to our time and age, as God points out that He will free them from their captivity and bring them back to the Promised Land. Notice in Zechariah 10:6–11:

“(6) I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph [the modern English-speaking nations of the USA and the British Commonwealth]. I will bring them back [out of captivity and slavery], Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside… (9) I will sow them among the peoples, And they shall remember Me in far countries; they shall live together with their children, And they shall return. (10) I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria [modern German-speaking peoples]… (11) Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart.”

When God intervenes, He will cleanse the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their sin and uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1). He will wipe out idolatry and cause the false prophets and their evil demonic spirits to depart from the land (verse 2). This shows the depth of depravity that will have overtaken the land prior to Christ’s return. That is WHY God made the following terrible pronouncement for our time and age in Zechariah 13:

“(8) 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: (9) I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested.”

Continuing in Zechariah 14:2: “For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity.”

Modern Assyria Will Not Help

In our booklet, Germany in Prophecy, we state the following:

“The prophet Hosea… describes the futile undertaking of modern Israelites and Jews, at the time of godly punishment, to try to obtain protection and help from human powers, especially the modern Assyrians… We read God’s words in Hosea 5:9–14:

“Ephraim [modern Great Britain and possibly, by extension, the USA] shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure. The princes of Judah [modern Jews] are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out My wrath on them like water. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, Because he willingly walked by human precept. Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth, And to the house of Judah like rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And [the Menge Bible says: “…and Judah…”] sent to King Jareb [Note that the “Elberfelder Bibel” explains that “Jareb” means, “fighter; or one who seeks quarrels”]; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue…

“As in the past, modern Assyria will also (in the near future) wage war against the Jews (the State of Israel in the Middle East), as clearly revealed in Isaiah 8:7–8: ‘… The king of Assyria… will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.’

“Enslavement and mass deportation of peoples will be the result. Assyria, which will invade the territories of the modern Israelites and Jews, will bring some of the prisoners into its own country (as in the Second World War many of the imprisoned Poles and Yugoslavs were deported to Germany as forced laborers). Other Israelite and Jewish prisoners of war will be deported to various countries…

Psalm 83 for Us Today

“In Psalm 83:4–8 a remarkable prophecy is found about a multilateral agreement of many nations that will ally against Israel—apparently against the modern descendants of the house of Israel as well as the Jews. Note who is being mentioned here, by name:

“‘They have said, “Let us come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy [literally, “cut a covenant”] against You: The tents of Edom [Turkey] and the Ishmaelites [Saudi Arabia]; Moab [parts of Jordan, perhaps also Western Iraq] and the Hagrites [originally cattle breeding nomads in East Canaan]; Gebal [originally a city in Phoenicia, Ezekiel 27:9, perhaps today, Lebanon], Ammon [Jordan], and Amalek [perhaps modern description for PLO]; Philistia [modern Palestinians from the Gaza Strip] with the inhabitants of Tyre [city of the Phoenicians, Joshua 19:29; 2 Samuel 24:7; today perhaps a label for Rome, Italy and the political Babylonian system]; Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot [Jordan].’”

We continue to describe in our aforementioned booklet the future of Assyria and how God will deal with the king of Assyria, AFTER He has used him to punish the Jews.

But as we saw, modern Assyria [Germany] is not the only country that will behave with hostility toward the Jews.

Modern Esau

In our free booklet, Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy, we said this about Edom or Esau—modern Turkey:

“Psalm 83:6 tells us about a future confederacy of nations against ‘Israel.’ This confederacy will consist of Edom (including Amalek, today’s PLO and other violent groups, one of Edom’s grandsons) and other Middle Eastern nations, as well as modern Assyria (Germany) and the revived Babylonian system (‘Tyre’). The goal of that confederacy is to cut off Israel, so that ‘the name of Israel may be remembered no more’ (verse 4). A reference to that conspiracy is alluded to in Amos 1:6, 9 where we read that ‘Gaza’ and ‘Tyre’ will be punished because they ‘took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom’ and because ‘they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom.’

“The reference to the ‘captivity’ is to the enslavement of the modern descendants of the house of Judah and perhaps some from the modern house of Israel. In addition to bringing about slavery, we are specifically told in Amos 1:11 (among many other places) that Esau will pursue his brother (Israel) with the sword and cast off all pity, keeping his wrath against Jacob forever.

“In fact, we read in Obadiah 11–14 that Edom was as one of them who carried captive the forces of Israel, and who gazed on or gloated over the day of his brother’s calamity in the day of his captivity; that Edom rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; and that they entered the gate of God’s people in the day of their calamity and laid hands on their substance. We even read that Edom stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped and delivered those up who remained in the day of distress (verse 14), or, as the Menge Bible puts it, at the time of the Great Tribulation.”

Modern Judah Will Become a Blessing

But then, so we are told, beginning in verse 3 of Zechariah 14, God will intervene and fight for the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the modern people of Judah who have been brought into slavery and have become captives of war.

The LORD—Jesus Christ, the Messiah—tells us that He will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and that His house shall be built in it (Zechariah 1:16). He assures us that Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls; that is, it will be peaceful (2:4). When God dwells in Jerusalem, it shall be called the “City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain” (8:3). Then, “Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem… The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets…” (8:4–5). The captives of Israel and Judah will be brought back to Jerusalem “from the land of the east and from the land of the west… And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people, And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness” (8:7–8).

As the modern nations of Israel and Judah will become a curse among the nations just prior to Christ’s return [remember, not because of any statements of the parents toward their descendants regarding the death of Christ, but because of their own sinful conduct], so they will become a blessing when Christ saves them (8:13). Christ is determined to do good to Jerusalem in the end (8:15). Then, “many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem And to pray before the LORD” (8:22). The Jews will be respected at that time, and rather than continuing to harbor anti-Semitic feelings, the Gentile nations will ask the Jewish people to show them the way to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (8:23).

When Christ returns to Jerusalem, He will “cut off the names of the idols from the land” and He will “cause the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land” (13:2). As you will recall, we also read that two-thirds of all the inhabitants of the land of Judah will die, and that the remaining one-third will be refined in fire—that is, they will repent during the “Great Tribulation” and the “Day of the Lord,” and become converted (13:8–9).

Chapter 12 – Spiritual Jews

Today, the Jewish people are rejected or looked down on by far too many people. This may even include Christians, but we must realize that a true Christian IS a spiritual Jew. Paul states in Romans 2:28–29 that a Christian “is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter.”

What did Paul mean by this?

The underlying point of this statement centers on Paul’s explanation about true Christianity. Note these opening comments in the Book of Romans: “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called… saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1–7).

In this introduction Paul establishes that Jesus Christ was a Jew by birth. This is confirmed in Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 11:1; Micah 5:2; Luke 3:23–38; Hebrews 7:14; and Revelation 5:5. Furthermore, Jesus Himself revealed that “‘salvation is of the Jews’” (John 4:22).

Continuing in the first chapter of Romans, Paul states:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

When it came to the promises of God, the issue of “Jewishness” was a source of great contention in the society of Paul’s day—and in the Church of God.

Physical Circumcision

The most obvious physical identification of male Jews was circumcision. Gentiles did not generally practice circumcision. However, the rite of circumcision in the first century A.D. had become ritualistic for Jews. This physical procedure was viewed as securing their relationship with God—a false confidence and an empty profession of religion.

Circumcision, as Paul explains concerning Abraham, was merely an outward sign:

“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:11–12).

The true intention of this “sign of circumcision” was revealed in the Old Testament:

“‘Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer’” (Deuteronomy 10:16; also: Jeremiah 4:4; Deuteronomy 30:6).

Paul carries forward this teaching in Romans 2:28–29, which reads in its entirety:

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”

The pride of the religious leaders in Judaism had blinded them. When John the Baptist encountered Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him for baptism, he said:

“‘Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones’” (Matthew 3:8–9).

When Jesus taught the Jews who followed Him that they could learn the truth and become free, their response was one of arrogance:

“They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, “You will be made free?”’” (John 8:33).

Jesus responded, “‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham’” (John 8:39).

Salvation Not Based on Physical Lineage

From these two examples we see that being in the physical lineage of righteous Abraham did not fulfill the inward requirements for repentance or for understanding the Truth of God on the part of the Jews. Furthermore, the hope of eternal salvation is not based on physical lineage. Note what is promised to those who live “in the Spirit”; that is, who are “inwardly” true Christians:

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26–29).

The New Testament makes reference to circumcision to show that this physical action was no longer necessary (compare Acts 15:1–29), but there was a strong demand by some Jewish Christians to require the Gentile converts to be circumcised. The Book of Galatians addresses this false teaching. While it is not wrong to circumcise newborn babies on the eighth day (understanding however that circumcision is not and never has been a physical health law), it would be wrong to circumcise if it is believed that it is a biblical requirement today, and that one can thereby obtain justification and salvation. Paul made it very clear that if we think and act that way, “Christ will profit [us] nothing” (Galatians 5:2) and we “have fallen from grace” (verse 4)—the need for God’s help and forgiveness—while rejecting forgiveness of sin through Christ’s Sacrifice (compare our comments to Galatians 5:2–4 in our free booklet, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.)

Spiritual Circumcision

Let us note Paul’s conclusion:

“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” (Galatians 6:15–16; compare Romans 9:6).

Of this “Israel of God,” Paul further describes what being a Jew “inwardly” means:

“For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).

True Christians are “inward Jews” because they are spiritually circumcised in their hearts, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.

When Christ returns and opens the minds of the Jewish people to the truth, and when they respond, repent, believe in their Savior and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, then they—being physical Jews or Jews “outwardly” (Romans 2:28) and in accordance with the flesh—will also have become “Jews inwardly”—spiritual Jews.

Conclusion

God reveals to us in His Word both the history and the future of the Jewish people. The warning is very serious: Repent of your sins and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in Him as your personal Savior, or suffer the consequences! This message is not limited to the Jews; it is directed at ALL peoples—the entire world! While most will not heed the warning now, some might. Even “a great company” of the Jewish “priests” became obedient to the faith after Christ’s resurrection when they realized what had happened (Acts 6:7).

The Jewish people, the city of Jerusalem and the State of Israel will be the focus of many world events in the not-too-distant future. Ongoing developments show us that the prophesied “Great Tribulation” is not far away. If Christ were not to intervene, no human being would survive. However, for the elect’s sake, God the Father will send His only-begotten Son to this earth to shorten those days (Matthew 24:21–22). The nation of Judah will fall in the hands of their enemies, but it will rise again when Jesus proceeds to bring them out of captivity and open their minds to the Truth. Then most Jews will repent; we pray that at least some will repent before then.

We also pray that you, the reader, will recognize the seriousness of our time, and understand and heed God’s admonition, as recorded in Isaiah 62:6–7:

“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

May God grant that this will happen very soon!

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The cover image for this booklet depicts two paths reflecting the erroneous beliefs that one must “have works” OR “have faith” in order to be saved! James addressed this controversy in chapter 2, verses 17-18—as we also do in the pages which follow. The cover image shows that the two paths lead to opposite directions, without reaching the same destination.

Introduction

The topic of law and grace has been widely discussed among various Christian groups, yet it remains fundamentally confusing for many people. Traditional Christianity believes that Christ came to abolish the law of the Ten Commandments, and that we are absolved from any responsibilities simply because we are under grace. But is this true? How does one who claims to be a Christian know what to believe?

In this booklet we will examine many of the ideas brought forth by mainstream Christianity, many of which are diametrically opposite ideas. Some quote certain passages to say that we will inherit eternal life because of grace, no matter how we live. Others claim that we must keep the Ten Commandments in order to earn our salvation. Still others say that we must also keep the entire Law of Moses, including the ritual laws contained in the Old Testament. Then there are those who say that we earn salvation through our good works. We will show you, through Scripture, why all of these concepts are wrong.

We will explain what law and grace are, and why we are no longer under law but under grace, and what, exactly, this statement means. We will lay out scriptural proof that salvation is a free gift from God, but that He will not save us if we continue to live with hatred and malice toward Him, thereby showing our total disregard and rejection of His law.

In addition, we will show you how it is actually possible for us to keep God’s law and what it means that His law is written on our hearts, because these questions have also been grossly misunderstood.

The first part of this booklet explains the many aspects of God’s law and how it is possible for us to keep the law, and the second part discusses God’s grace and what effect it has on us.

To be clear, the real issue is not a matter of law OR grace, but rather a matter of law AND grace.

Part 1 – The Law of God

Chapter 1 – Christ Fulfilled the Law

What did Christ mean when He said that He had come to FULFILL the law? Does this imply that He did away with the law?

Quite the contrary is correct. Christ’s statement that He came to FULFILL the law does NOT mean that He did away with it.

Notice what Christ said in Matthew 5:17: “Do NOT think that I came to DESTROY the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy BUT to FULFILL.” Christ did not say here that He had come to destroy the law. Neither did He say that “fulfilling” the law meant “destroying it,” because if that were true, then Christ’s statement would read: “I did not come to destroy the law but to destroy the law,” which, of course, would make no sense.

Meaning of “Fulfill”

In the Greek, the word for “fulfill” is “pleroo.” It is true that this word can designate completion or even cessation—but as will be pointed out, it can also mean continued activity in carrying out something, depending on the context. For instance, in Luke 7:1, the word “pleroo” is used in the sense of “end” or “conclude”: “Now when He concluded all His sayings…” In Acts 19:21, the Greek word is translated as “accomplished”: “When these things were accomplished…” (The Authorized Version says “ended” in both passages.)

However, the Greek word “pleroo” also conveys the meaning of “filling up” or “making full,” with the concept of continuing to carry out a specific task.

In our free booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound, we explain on pages 17 and 18:

“Christ did not come to do away with God’s spiritual law of the Ten Commandments. He stated in Matthew 5:17 that He had NOT come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it—to magnify it, to exalt it and to make it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21), to fill it up with its intended meaning, to show how to keep it perfectly in the flesh. The Greek word for ‘fulfill’ is ‘pleroo.’ It literally means ‘to fill’ or ‘to make full’ (Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible). In Matthew 3:15, it is used in this context: ‘…it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’

“In Philippians 2:2, Paul states, ‘…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love.’ Further, Paul reminds the saints in Colossae that he became a minister to ‘fulfill the word of God’ (Colossians 1:25), and he admonishes Archippus to ‘take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it’ (Colossians 4:17). None of these passages conveys the thought that something has ended—rather, the obvious understanding is that something should be continued to be filled with meaning, or to be brought to perfection… God’s spiritual law, as defined in the Ten Commandments, the statutes and the judgments, ‘stand[s] fast forever and ever’ (Psalm 111:7–8), and… it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away ‘than for one tittle of the law to fail’ (Luke 16:17). A tittle is the smallest stroke in a Hebrew letter.”

In the above-quoted excerpt, the Greek word “pleroo” conveys the meaning of fulfilling a task in a continuing way, rather than completing a task and ceasing to do it.

In addition, note this quote from page 4 of the same booklet:

“The apostle James… silences those who claim that we today do not have to keep ALL of God’s Ten Commandments. Let’s read his decisive answer in James 2:8–12: ‘If you really fulfill [that is, keep] the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep [or, fulfill] THE WHOLE LAW, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of ALL. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a TRANSGRESSOR of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.’”

In this passage, the Greek word for “fulfill” is “teleo,” but the intended meaning is obviously the same: We are to continue fulfilling or keeping the law—not ceasing to keep it. This conclusion is clear when we understand what sin is—and that we have to repent of sin to obtain eternal life.

Repent of SINNING Against God’s Law

Please note these excerpts from pages 14–15 of our free booklet, Baptism—A Requirement for Salvation?:

“What, exactly, is it that we need to repent of…? Simply put, we must repent of the sins we have committed. What is sin? The biblical definition is: ‘…sin is the transgression of the law’ (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). Which law? The law of God’s Ten Commandments. James calls it the ‘royal law according to the Scripture’ (James 2:8). It defines our love toward God and our love toward neighbor. When we break even one of the Ten Commandments, we are guilty of having broken them all and have become a transgressor of the law (James 2:10–11). The law of the Ten Commandments is a spiritual law, as Paul explains in Romans 7:14, because it regulates not only our actions, but also the motives and intents of our heart. We sin when we commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), but we also sin when we DESIRE or COVET the wife of another man (Exodus 20:17), or when we look at another woman with the desire to commit adultery with her (Matthew 5:28). Additionally, we sin when we kill someone (Exodus 20:13), but we have already sinned by violating God’s spiritual law of the Ten Commandments when we even HATE another human being (Matthew 5:21–22; 1 John 3:15).”

Christ did not come to do away with God’s law; otherwise, there would be no more sin and we would not need to repent of anything. But Christ said that we have to REPENT and believe the gospel (Mark 1:14–15). The resurrected Christ commanded His disciples that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name” (Luke 24:47). And Peter proclaimed that same message, as is recorded in Acts 2:38. Christ had come to FULFILL the law; that is, He kept it PERFECTLY, giving us an example that we “should follow His steps” (compare 1 Peter 2:21). He did not keep the Law FOR us so that we don’t have to keep it anymore. Rather, He told a young rich ruler: “If you want to enter into life, KEEP the commandments” (compare Matthew 19:17).

Keep the Commandments

Note this excerpt from our free booklet, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, on page 24:

“Christ warned those of His time, as well as us today, that not everyone who would just say ‘Lord, Lord’ to Christ, would enter the Kingdom of God, but only the person ‘who does the will of My Father in heaven’ (Matthew 7:21). This same thought is expressed in Luke 16:16: Everyone wants to desperately enter the Kingdom of God. But what does Christ tell us in verse 17: ‘And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.’ In other words, if you want to enter into eternal life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. Only those who do the will of the Father, which is, to keep the commandments of God, will enter the Kingdom of God.

“And now Christ continues to give us an example of such a commandment to be kept, in verse 18: ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery’ is one of the commandments that we are to keep. And divorcing someone for any other than Biblical reasons and then marrying again, is a violation of the law against adultery. In order to enter the Kingdom of God, in order to be part of the Kingdom of God, we must KEEP God’s Law. It is the SAME Law, as we are told in Luke 16:16, that had already been preached up until the time of John the Baptist. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the Law to fail.”

The teaching of the Bible is consistent. In order to inherit eternal life, we must keep God’s law—the Ten Commandments—as well as the statutes and judgments that further define and explain the Ten Commandments. Christ did not come to “fulfill” the law by doing away with it or by destroying it. Rather, Christ came to “fulfill” the law by making it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21), by MAGNIFYING it, by showing us HOW to obey it both in the letter AND in the SPIRIT. This includes ALL of God’s commandments, including the Fourth Commandment, which enjoins us to keep God’s Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8). For more information on that important subject, please read our free booklet, God’s Commanded Holy Days.

Chapter 2 – Christ Is the End of the Law

We find the following statement in Romans 10:4: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Many use this Scripture to support the false concept that Christ came to end or abolish the law, and that we are free to break the law (which, they claim, does not exist anymore for us), and that all we need in order to be righteous in the eyes of God is to believe in Christ.

End of Sacrificial System

It is true, of course, that with the death of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial system found its completion, so that we are no longer bound to keep Old Testament rituals, including animal sacrifices and physical circumcision. We are no longer under a temporary tutor of rituals which brought us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Those ritual laws and sacrifices were added because of sin and transgressions until the Seed (Jesus Christ) would come (Galatians 3:19; Romans 5:20). Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). It is obvious then that Galatians speaks about two different sets of laws—the law of temporary rituals and sacrifices which was added and the permanent spiritual law which defines sin (Romans 7:14). While the ritual law has been fulfilled in Christ and is no longer in force and effect for us, the spiritual law (some call it moral law) is still binding and, as we will see, can be obeyed by us when the love of God and the faith of Christ reside in us and when we are following Christ’s lead.

Spiritual Law Still Binding

The Bible makes it very clear that theoretical faith “in” Christ is not enough, and that we will not inherit salvation when we refuse to keep God’s spiritual law of the Ten Commandments. When a rich young ruler asked Christ what he needed to do to have eternal life (Matthew 19:16), Christ answered that in order to have eternal life, to enter the Kingdom of God and to inherit salvation (compare verses 24, 25), he had to keep the commandments (verse 17), clarifying that He spoke about the Ten Commandments (verses 18–19).

James confirms the biblical teaching that we must still keep the Ten Commandments today, showing that violating even one of the Ten Commandments convicts us as transgressors of the law, which will judge us (James 2:8–12; see discussion in chapter 1).

It is false to say that Christ came to do away with the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments, along with the spiritual statutes and judgments that define and explain the Ten Commandments even further. For instance, the Fourth Commandment enjoins us to keep the Sabbath day holy (Exodus 20:8–11). Other passages show that God is not only talking about the weekly Sabbath day (the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), but also the seven annual Holy Days, which are also called “Sabbath” in Scripture (compare Leviticus 23:27, 32, 39, Authorized Version). Another example is the Seventh Commandment, which prohibits adultery (Exodus 20:14). Other Scriptures show that God not only prohibits sexual relationships involving at least one married partner, but He also prohibits fornication (sexual relationships between unmarried partners), as well as sexual sins such as homosexuality. The Ninth Commandment prohibits bearing false witness against our neighbor (Exodus 20:16), but this is not limited to giving false testimony in a court of law; it also includes lying, slander, libel, false reports and spreading unsubstantiated rumors.

Spiritual Violations Constitute Sin

In addition, Christ made it clear that not only the literal violation of one of the Ten Commandments (and of the statutes and judgments) constitutes sin, but that even the underlying motives and desires are enough to convict us as transgressors of the law. For instance, not only is committing murder a violation of the Sixth Commandment and therefore sin, but anger and hatred (which could lead to literal murder) are forbidden as well (Matthew 5:21–22; 1 John 2:11; 3:15). Not only is committing adultery sinful, but also “looking at a woman to lust for her” constitutes adultery with her in the heart (Matthew 5:27–28).

Christ came to exalt the law and make it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21). He did so by keeping it perfectly, without ever sinning; by emphasizing strongly that we must keep it today, revealing to us how it can be done; and by explaining the intent of the law. God shows us through the law that not only must we refrain from carrying out the literal act of a prohibition, but that we must even control our emotions and desires which, if unchecked, would lead to such literal violations. We read that out of the heart “proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19; compare also Mark 7:21–23).

Christ stated very forcefully that those who practice lawlessness and the transgression of the law would NOT inherit God’s Kingdom! He said in Matthew 7:21–23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of the Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”’ The Swiss Zuercher Bible says: “…you who practice what is against the law.”

John echoed Christ’s statements with these powerful words: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him” (1 John 2:4). He also said this: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

We will answer herein the question of how we can obtain the love of God—the love which enables us to keep His commandments—and how it is actually humanly possible to keep His commandments. In this context, we will explain what Paul meant in Romans 10:4 when he said that Christ was the “end of the law.”

How Is Christ the “End” of the Law?

From what we have seen so far, this passage cannot mean that the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments and of the spiritual statutes and judgments has “ended” or has been done away with so that it would not have any force and effect for us today. The key to understanding lies in the meaning of the word “end.”

Meaning of “End”

The Greek word for “end” is “telos.” It can mean “end,” “goal,” “aim,” “purpose” and “result.” For instance, we read in 1 Timothy 1:5: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” It is obvious that this passage does not say that the commandment has been abolished. Just the opposite is expressed here: Its purpose or aim or goal is love out of a pure heart, as well as having a good conscience and unwavering faith.

Peter expressed exactly the same thought in 1 Peter 1:9 when he states that you will be “receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” Peter did not say that your faith would end [in fact, it never will end, compare 1 Corinthians 13:13]; rather, he stressed the point that the goal or aim of your faith is the inheritance of your salvation.

Another example can be seen in James 5:11 where we read: “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” Here, the word “end” is very clearly used as a description of God’s goal, aim or purpose: God intended to show Job through his trials that He was compassionate and merciful. God had to reveal to Job his sin of self-righteousness, which had to be repented of, but throughout the book of Job, God showed His compassion and mercy with Job, even when he began to launch harsh criticism against God.

Christ describes Himself as “the beginning and the end” (Revelation 21:6; 22:13). It was not His intent to convey that He had a beginning or that He would cease to exist, but rather He wanted to show that nothing exists or came into existence without Him, and that His goal, purpose, aim and result will be accomplished. Nobody can prevent His Will from being carried out.

And so, the German Pattloch Bible renders the phrase in Romans 10:4 as follows: “Final goal [“Endziel”] of the law is Christ for righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Christ Must Make Us Righteous

This leads us to the question as to why Christ is the “end”—that is, the aim, goal or purpose—of the law “for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Righteousness is defined as keeping God’s commandments
(Deuteronomy 6:25). But based solely on our own strength, we cannot keep God’s law. We need Christ to make us righteous. When we sin, we commit unrighteousness (1 John 5:17), but when we repent and believe in Christ’s Sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, then we are washed clean and become righteous again. The law shows us what sin is (Romans 3:20; 7:7), but it does not make us righteous. Only God, through the Holy Spirit, can do this.

We read earlier (in 1 John 5:3) that this is the love of God that we keep His commandments. This is the case because His commandments define for us what God’s love is (Romans 13:8–10). When we love our neighbor, we fulfill the law that tells us how to love him (by not murdering him, stealing from him, committing adultery with his wife, lying to him, etc.). The Bible also shows us how we CAN receive the love of God (“This is what the love of God IS: keeping His commandments,” New Jerusalem Bible). Romans 5:5 tells us that “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit [which] was given to us.”

The important point to realize is that Christ must make us righteous. It is actually Christ, dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit, who fulfills the law through us if we allow Him to do so, and if we don’t resist His lead. Romans 8:3–4, 9 states:

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh [our flesh was too weak to keep it], God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit… Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he is not His.”

The German Revised Luther Bible translates Romans 8:4: “…so that the righteousness, demanded by the Law, would be fulfilled in us.”

The Living Bible translates Romans 8:4: “So now we CAN obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us…”

We can only keep the righteous requirements of the law, IF Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and IF we follow Christ’s lead. When God’s Holy Spirit lives within us, then the love of God and the faith of Christ live within us. And THAT is what will make us righteous.

Romans 3:21–22 (Authorized Version) talks about the “righteousness of God which is by faith OF Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.”

We need to believe in Jesus; that Jesus is the Son of God; that He died for us; that His Sacrifice allows God to forgive our sins and removes our death penalty (because the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23). Understand, though, that such belief is just the beginning! The faith necessary for salvation is Christ’s faith—the faith OF Christ—living in us and enabling us to keep the law.

The Bible teaches that the faith of Christ—Christ’s faith in us—makes us righteous. Those who believe in Christ must have the faith OF Christ living IN them.

Philippians 3:9 (Authorized Version) says: “… and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith OF Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

The faith of Christ in us is a living, obedient faith, which brings forth good works (James 2:20, 26). We are called upon to uphold the OBEDIENCE of the faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26). And remember: “This IS the love of God (which is given to us by the Holy Spirit), that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3).

All of this is expressed in Paul’s profound statement in Romans 10:4 that Christ is the real purpose of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The law shows us what sin is, and Christ in us fulfills the law through us, thereby enabling us to obtain God’s righteousness, if we believe that Christ forgives us our sins (doing away with our unrighteousness) and that He, through the Holy Spirit in us, helps us to obey the righteous requirements of the law.

Chapter 3 – Did Christ Nail God’s Law to the Cross?

Some claim that Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14 teach us that Christ nailed God’s law to the cross so that we do not have to obey it anymore.

Ephesians 2:15 reads that Christ has “abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances…”

Colossians 2:14 reads that Christ has “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us, And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” The Authorized Version says that Christ “[blotted] out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us…”

The Debt of Sin

In a letter some years ago from the Letter Answering Department of the Worldwide Church of God, the following comments were made regarding Colossians 2:14:

“The ‘handwriting of requirements’… simply refers to the debt each of us owes for our sins (Rom 6:23; I John 3:4). Our individual, personal sins separated us from God and demanded the death penalty (Isa. 59:2). This debt of sin is what Paul said was ‘against us’ and ‘contrary to us’ (Col. 2:14), because it would prevent us from being in God’s Kingdom.”

“Ordinances”

In an earlier and much more comprehensive letter that also discussed Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:15, the Worldwide Church of God wrote the following:

“… the word ‘ordinances’ in these passages does not refer to God’s law. It is translated from the Greek word ‘dogma’ and relates to human laws and decrees–the ‘commandments and doctrines of men’ (Col. 2:22). These human ordinances included both the restrictive pharisaical decrees burdening the Jews and the ascetic, oppressive ordinances of ‘touch not, taste not’ bound on the gentiles of Colossae.

“Both sets of human ordinances contributed to feelings of prejudice, animosity, suspicion, and separation between the Jews and gentiles who were being called into God’s Church. These ordinances acted as a ‘middle wall of partition.’ But, Jesus abolished that barrier through His supreme sacrifice: ‘For he [Christ] is our peace, who hath made both [Jew and gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us’ (Eph. 2:14).

“In Paul’s day, many newly-begotten Christians continued to suffer from the burden of their former teachings. For example, at the Temple there was a literal wall which separated the court of the gentiles from that of the Jews. Death was the penalty for any gentile who dared to pass it. Some converted Jews found it difficult to forget and change that deeply-ingrained part of their lives. It affected even Peter. See Galatians 2:11–12.

“On the other hand, the gentiles were under the sway and influence of pagan philosophers, with their restrictive rules. Colossae was known for its ascetic society. The pagans judged their Christian neighbors for their freedom in eating the various meats ordained by God [food from clean animals], for drinking wine, and for keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths in the joyous manner prescribed by God. Ascetics were taught that they could receive release from their guilt by doing penance—through abstinence, fasting, and their self-inflicted punishment.

“All such practices had no spiritual power or benefit, and Paul spoke out against these human standards and judgments: ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through [human] philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ’ (Col. 2:8). Christ came to pay the penalty for all our sins–to release us from the penalty of death incurred through sin and to cleanse our conscience from all guilt.

“Christ abolished the ascetic ordinances of the gentile philosophers as well as the Talmudic traditions, which all were yokes in bondage… He made it possible for both Jew and gentile to become spiritual Israelites, the children of God (Gal. 3:26–29), so they might live together in freedom within His perfect law (Jas. 1:25)…”

More on the Meaning of “Ordinances”

In our free booklet, Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians—How to Understand It, we offer further explanations as to the meaning of the biblical passages in Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14. When discussing Ephesians 2:14–17, we state the following:

“… the Greek word is the same in Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14, and should be consistently translated. In both passages, Paul uses the word ‘ordinances.’ This word does not refer in any way to the Ten Commandments or the statutes and judgments defining and magnifying the Ten Commandments. Sin is defined as the transgression of the law. Christ said He did not come to abolish the law. He said that if we want to enter into life, we have to keep the commandments, and James said that if we break one of the commandments, we are guilty of having broken all of them.

“‘The law of commandments contained in ordinances’ in Ephesians 2:15 and the ‘handwriting of ordinances’ in Colossians 2:14 is not a reference to the Ten Commandments. The Greek word for ‘ordinance’ is ‘dogma’ and refers to a ‘decree.’ In Luke 2:1, it is used to describe a decree of Emperor Augustus; Acts 17:7 refers to decrees of Caesar; and in Acts 16:4, it describes the decrees issued by the apostles regarding decisions made during the ministerial conference in Acts 15. In Colossians 2:20, Paul says that the Gentiles in Colossi were still subject to ordinances or decrees (in Greek, ‘dogmatizomai’; the New King James Bible says, ‘requirements’), which were, in that case, based on ‘the commandments and doctrines of men’ (verse 22).

“We see, then, that the word for ordinances or decrees was never used to describe laws that were given directly by God. [In the case of Acts 16:4, even though these decrees were made and pronounced by men, they were backed up by God, but in many other places, they describe human regulations, which were contrary to God’s Word.]

“Vincent’s Word Studies explains that the ‘ordinances’ or decrees identify the nature of the ‘law of commandments’ mentioned in Ephesians 2:15, stating: ‘The middle wall of partition, the enmity, was dissolved by the abolition of the law of commandments. Law is general, and its contents are defined by commandments, special injunctions, which injunctions in turn were formulated in definite decrees. Render the entire passage [in Ephesians 2:14–15]: brake [sic] down the middle-wall of partition, even the enmity, by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments contained in ordinances.’…

“Paul is not talking about ANY law, which God gave the people. Rather, he is talking about human laws, commandments and decrees.

“These laws or ordinances included restrictive pharisaical decrees—inventions and traditions of men—as well as ascetic oppressive ordinances of Gentile philosophers. In both cases, following these ordinances leads to sin, as they are contrary to the law of God.”

Human Laws of Judaism

Continuing to quote from our booklet on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

“Christ said about the man-made rules of Judaism that people did away with the commandments of God in order to follow their own traditions (Mark 7:7–13)… In addition, Paul told the Gentiles that they violated God’s laws by adhering to the practices taught by their philosophers, which were ‘empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles [or rudiments, Authorized Version] of the world, and not according to Christ’ (Colossians 2:8, New King James Version).

“Paul also said in Colossians 2:14 that Christ blotted out the handwriting of ordinances, that was against us, and nailed it to the cross. Paul is referring to a ‘handwriting’ containing sins we committed by following decrees, traditions and philosophies of man—contrary to the Word of God. In the Greek, the phrase for ‘handwriting’ means literally, ‘certificate or acknowledgment of debt in the handwriting of the debtor.’ The phrase ‘of ordinances’ or ‘decrees’ [in ‘handwriting of ordinances’ in Colossians 2:14] should be translated as ‘in’ or ‘consisting in’ ordinances or decrees (compare Vincent’s Word Studies and the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary).

“Paul is referring to the fact that Christ blotted out the handwriting in—or consisting in—ordinances which was against us. This wording indicates the basis for the certificate of debt—we incurred it because we kept man’s ordinances, which were contrary to God’s law. But through Christ’s death, we obtained forgiveness of our sins—He took the certificate of debt out of the way and nailed it to the cross, thereby abolishing, nullifying, and extinguishing it (Colossians 2:14). Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible explains: ‘It is said that there is an allusion here to the ancient method by which a bond or obligation was cancelled, by driving a nail through it, and affixing it to a post.’

“In the same way, Paul is saying in Ephesians 2:15 that Christ abolished in His flesh, and through His death, the ‘law of commandments contained in human decrees or dogma,’ which were contrary to the Law of God. As he states in verse 14, these human laws had not only created enmity between God and man, but also between Jews and Gentiles. This was even compounded by the fact that in Old Testament times, God did not call the ‘uncircumcised’ Gentiles, in general, to the truth (see again Ephesians 2:11–13).

Separation Broken Down

“In perhaps alluding to the wall, which separated the court of the Gentiles from the court of the Israelites in the Temple, Paul compared the human traditions and rules with a ‘middle wall of partition’ (Ephesians 2:14). But Jesus Christ broke down and abolished that barrier through His supreme sacrifice. We also recall that the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died—indicating that all true Christians have direct access to the Father in heaven. We read that in God’s Church—the BODY of Christ—there is no longer Jew nor Gentile, but they are all one in Christ (Galatians 3:26–29).

“Through Christ’s death, we were reconciled to the Father (Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:19–20). Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), who has made true Christians—of Jewish and Gentile origin—ONE in Him (same verse), ‘as to create in Himself one new man from the two [Jew and Gentile], thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity’ (Ephesians 2:15–16, New King James Bible)…”

So we see then that Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14 do NOT teach that Christ nailed God’s spiritual Law to the cross. But they DO teach that He nullified any human laws and traditions which lead to sin, as they are contrary to God’s Word, and He also nailed our record of sins to the cross, since we obtain God’s forgiveness upon our genuine repentance and acceptance of Christ’s Sacrifice.

Chapter 4 – “Free From” and “Dead To” the Law

Are we free from the law so that we do not have to keep it anymore? Is that the meaning of Paul’s statement in Romans 7:1–4?

“(Verse 1) Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? (Verse 2) For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. (Verse 3) So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. (Verse 4) Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”

Many claim that these passages convey the thought that the law of God (including the Ten Commandments, and especially the law against adultery) has no more force and effect for us today, as the law has “no more dominion” over us; as we are “free from the law”; and as we have “become dead to the law.” Was that Paul’s point?

Adultery Is Sin

Imagine what this would mean, for example, with regard to adultery. It would mean that a true Christian could commit adultery today without being guilty of sin. However, the New Testament teaches the exact opposite. Focusing only on the law against adultery, we read that in order to inherit eternal life, we must obey the commandments, including the commandment against adultery (Matthew 19:17–19). We read that adulterers will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:19–21). We also read that God will judge “fornicators and adulterers” (Hebrews 13:4).

Paul explains that if we commit adultery, we do not love our neighbor as ourselves (Romans 13:9). Christ even said that when we LOOK at another woman with evil thoughts, we have already committed adultery in our heart. He also warned us not to marry a woman whose marriage had been bound by God and who subsequently became divorced without a biblical reason (Matthew 5:27–32).

We can clearly see that the idea that we are free today to commit adultery is preposterous and in total contradiction to the teaching of the Bible. It is also clear that Paul could not have possibly meant in the above-quoted passage in Romans 7:1–4 that we are now free to sin by committing adultery.

Hopeless Confusion in Commentaries

Before we explain what Paul DID mean, let us quote several statements from commentaries to show the HOPELESS CONFUSION in traditional or orthodox Christianity.

For instance, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary writes:

“So long as a man continues under the law as a covenant… he continues [as] the slave of sin in some form… By death we are freed from obligation to the law as a covenant, as the wife is from her vows to her husband… we are dead to the law, and have no more to do with it than the dead servant, who is freed from his master, has to do with his master’s yoke…”

As we pointed out before, this explanation makes no sense.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible does not present a better explanation:

“… believers being dead to the law, and the law dead to them, which is all one, they are loosed from it… they are out of the reach of its power and government… it has no power over them, to threaten and terrify them into obedience to it; nor even rigorously to exact it, or command it in a compulsory way…”

The following explanation by the Broadman Bible Commentary is also ([Romans] 6:2), so he is free from the law because he died to the law…”

Commentaries Seem to See Their Own Error

On the other hand, the same commentaries seem to grasp the total fallacy of their conclusions, since utter lawlessness and anarchy would be the inevitable consequence. Realizing the repeated injunction in Scripture to be OBEDIENT to God, they give lip service to this requirement by saying that we must obey God, without ever explaining how obedience is possible without law or rules or regulations. (For instance, the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary speaks of “Christian obedience,” without explaining this concept). How are we supposed to “obey” God without being told in what way we are to obey? This remains an unexplained mystery to the reader.

In spite of these glaring inconsistencies, note the following excerpts from Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“They are represented as… ‘dead to the law’…  it has no power over them…  nor is there any need of all this, since believers delight in it after the inward man, and serve it with their minds freely and willingly; the love of Christ, and not the terrors of the law, constrains them to yield a cheerful obedience to it…”

Did you catch this? The commentary says that the law has no more power over a Christian who, through the love of Christ, yields to a cheerful obedience to IT—the LAW!

False Distinctions by Commentaries

Apparently realizing that this interpretation leads to the slippery slope of incredible inconsistences, an APPARENT DISTINCTION is being created between “the law” and “the law of Christ.” The law then is reduced, mainly, to the law administered by Moses, while the law of Christ is supposed to be something different, even though it is never explained what the difference within the law should be. Hopelessly caught in a maze of confusion, Gill goes on to write:

“[Christ] is raised from the dead; and is a living husband, and will ever continue so, will never die more; and therefore as the saints can never be loosed from the marriage bond of union between Christ and them, so they can never be loosed from the law of this husband; wherefore though they are dead to the law as a covenant of works, and as ministered by Moses, and are free from any obligation to it, as so considered, yet they are ‘under the law to Christ’, 1 Corinthians 9:21; under obligation, by the ties of love, to obedience to it, and shall never be loosed from it.”

Apparently, the idea is supposed to be conveyed that we are under obligation to OBEY the “law to Christ,” while we are no longer under obligation to keep the law “administered by Moses,” but as we said, it is totally nebulous which two sets of law this commentary is talking about.

Let us take adultery as an example (because, after all, this is the law that Paul uses in his analogy in Romans 7). Whether it was administered by Moses in the Old Testament or whether it is part of the law of, or to, Christ in the New Testament, it is still a rule to be obeyed. David had God’s Holy Spirit, but he still committed adultery and God punished him for it. David was in no way free from the obligation to keep that law (nor was he incapable of violating it), and neither are true Christians today.

The truth is that Paul is speaking in Romans 7 about the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments and the spiritual statutes and judgments, NOT about any temporary ritual law. The prohibition against adultery is part of the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments, not of a ritual law that is no longer valid today.

False Assumptions

It is a usual fact of life that wrong conclusions are oftentimes reached when we operate from wrong premises and presumptions. This is not different in the field of “Christian theology.” Traditional Christianity is hopelessly confused regarding so many of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible because it starts its thought process with WRONG ASSUMPTIONS!

Regarding Paul’s statements in Romans 7:1–4, there are numerous wrong assumptions employed by Christian commentators which inevitably lead to wrong conclusions, as we just pointed out.

Paul Did Not Say That the Law Is Dead

One of these wrong assumptions is that Paul stated that the LAW WAS DEAD. However, Paul nowhere said this. He said that true Christians have become DEAD TO THE LAW; he did not say that the law is dead. This fundamental difference is overlooked by most commentators.

For instance, Gill, in glossing over this all-important distinction, writes that “the law… must be dead, and they dead to that, that so their marriage to Christ might appear lawful and justifiable.”

Gill also states this:

“The law may be said to live, when it is in full force, and to be dead, when it is abrogated and disannulled; now whilst it lives, or is in force, it has dominion over a man; it can require and command obedience of him, and in case of disobedience can condemn him, and inflict punishment on him: and this power it has also as long as the man lives who is under it, but when he is dead it has no more dominion over him; then ‘the servant is free from his master’, Job 3:19; that is, from the law of his master; and children are free from the law of their parents, the wife from the law of her husband, and subjects from the law of their prince.”

His erroneous conclusions (that the law is no longer binding for us) are based on the false premise that Paul allegedly stated that the law died and was dead, which Paul did not say.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary makes some cautionary remarks, as the authors seem to understand that Paul did not preach that the law was dead:

“It has been thought that the apostle should here have said that ‘the law died to us,’ not ‘we to the law,’ but that purposely inverted the figure… It was essential to his argument that we, not the law, should be the dying party, since it is we that are ‘crucified with Christ,’ and not the law.”

Paul Did Not Say the Unconverted Is Married to the Law

In addition to the false premise that the law is dead (which Paul did not say), commentaries have created another false premise, which is that Paul taught that the unconverted person was MARRIED TO THE (Old Testament) LAW, but that the converted Christian is married to Christ, and therefore, the (Old Testament) law had to die so that we are free to marry another.

Gill adopts this view, stating that “the law, their former husband, must be dead… that so their marriage to Christ might appear lawful and justifiable.”

But Paul did not try to explain in his analogy that the first HUSBAND was the LAW, and when the law died, we could marry our second Husband, Jesus Christ.

The first question is whether Paul intended to apply the analogy in Romans 7:1–3 to a Christian (in verse 4) beyond just making the statement that with the death of a person, the law (any law) ceases to have dominion over the person—that is, in using the marriage covenant as an example, a woman is no longer charged by the law as an adulteress if she marries again after her husband’s death. It might very well be that this is ALL that Paul was trying to convey.

What Was Paul’s Analogy?

If we take the positon that Paul meant to apply the different “roles” in this analogy (in verses 1–3) to the life of a Christian, then Paul would not have meant to identify the first husband as the law, but he would have had a completely DIFFERENT “FIRST” HUSBAND in mind.

This concept is something that some early Christian commentaries might have understood, to a degree, who otherwise struggled with the problem that Paul could not have said that the law—as a husband—had died and was dead. The Pulpit commentary explains:

“… it may be observed that throughout the whole passage there is no phrase to suggest in itself the idea of the Law’s death… the former husband is not the law, but the lust of sin… Augustine… is the author of this view… [I]n the death of the mortal Christ this old man is dead with him; and, as the individual man is grafted by faith into Christ, his old man dies…”

In light of this viewpoint, the meaning of the passage in Romans 7:4 would have to be looked at in a completely different light (while understanding that we can carry an analogy, an allegory or a parable only so far. Analogies, allegories or parables are meant to explain spiritual lessons; not every aspect is to be taken literally): The wife would first be “married” to her evil desires—her carnal human nature—the “old man.” With the death of that old man, she became free from unrighteousness and became subject to (“married to”) the righteousness of the new man (Romans 6:6, 13, 16–19). The human being is represented here as a wife [or a bride] before and after conversion, in order to stay within the analogy of her becoming the bride of Christ who will marry her new Husband.

We Died to the Law through the Body of Christ

In addition, Paul tells us in Romans 7:4 that WE DIED TO THE LAW THROUGH THE BODY OF CHRIST. He does not say that the law is dead. The spiritual law of the Ten Commandments and its statutes and judgments is very much alive and binding for us today.

Paul says in Romans 7:5: “For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins which were aroused [or revealed, made known, compare Romans 7:7] by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death [the wages or penalty of sin is death, Romans 6:23].”

Before we repent and receive forgiveness for our sins, we live with the fleshly desires of the natural mind. But note as well that the words “were aroused” are not in the original. And so, the Lamsa Bible translates Romans 7:5: “For when we were in the flesh, the pains of sin, which were by the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruits to death.” Sin is the violation of the law, and sin brings pain.

The Living Bible says: “When your old nature was still active, sinful desires were at work within you, making you want to do whatever God said no to, and producing sinful deeds, the rotting fruit of death.”

Freed from the Law’s Penalty

And so, Christ died for us and delivered us from the PENALTY OF SIN, which is death. He delivered us from the PENALTY OF THE LAW.

Paul says in Romans 7:6: “But now we have been delivered from the law [its penalty, because we had transgressed against it and sinned], having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

Today, we keep the law by including its intent and purpose. We are not only committing the sin of adultery when we carry out the very act [the letter], but we are already sinning [in spirit] when we look at a woman with the desire of committing adultery with her.

Christ died for us, making forgiveness of sin possible. The law has no more claim over us; it does not and cannot claim our lives anymore when we repent and believe in and accept the Sacrifice of Christ. “There is therefore now no more condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ [and He in us], who do not walk according to the flesh [with its evil and sinful lusts and desires], but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).

With proper baptism, the old man dies, and the new man is raised in whom Christ lives (compare also Ephesians 4:20–24; Colossians 3:9–10). And it is Christ who fulfills the righteous requirements of the law IN and THROUGH us (Romans 8:4). We were baptized into Christ’s death and “we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4). Romans 6:10–11 says: “For the death that [Christ] died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin [which is the transgression of the law, 1 John 3:4, Authorized Version], but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Christ Died for Us

We died to the penalty of the law “through the body of Christ” (Romans 7:4) because we could have no forgiveness without the death of the body of Christ (Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 2:24). Since everyone has sinned, we would still be under the law’s death penalty. But since Christ died for us and since we have accepted His Sacrifice for us (He died to pay the penalty for our sins on our behalf), the law (its penalty) has no more dominion over us (Romans 7:1). We, our old man with his lusts, died or have become dead to the law (its penalty), so that we, as the new man, have become betrothed to our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ (Romans 7:4), who enables us to keep the law. Christ will consummate the marriage with us when we become immortal Spirit beings, incapable of sinning, after we have qualified to enter the Kingdom of God.

Was Paul Without Law?

1 Corinthians 9:20–21 is another Scripture that has been used by some for the support of their false claim that Paul no longer taught obedience to God’s law. This is, however, not at all what Paul was saying here.

Let us read the entire passage of 1 Corinthians 9:19–23, in context:

“(Verse 19) For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; (verse 20) and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; (verse 21) to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; (verse 22) to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (Verse 23) Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”

In a “theological” article, the following “explanation” of this passage was conveyed to the readership:

“Paul acted like something he was not. Some people might call that hypocritical or deceptive; Paul calls it part of his evangelistic strategy… For someone to act like a Gentile, they would eat foods that Jews could not, and they would not observe the Sabbath… When Paul was with Jews, he kept the old covenant food laws and weekly and annual Sabbaths. When he was with the Gentiles, he did not. He sometimes acted differently from what he believed.”

Paul Was Not a Hypocrite

Is this “explanation” correct? Was Paul a hypocrite? Did he fail to keep the Sabbath or the Holy Days when in the presence of Gentiles so as not to offend them? Did he teach the Gentiles that they did not have to keep the Sabbath, the annual Holy Days, and the dietary laws?

Of course not! The idea that Paul acted as a hypocrite—that he lied and deceived; that he had double standards; and that he refused to keep God’s law and taught others they did not have to keep it—is highly offensive and unscriptural.

Paul recognized the ongoing validity of God’s law (especially the Ten Commandments, which includes the command to keep the Sabbath holy). Our free booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound…, explains in detail that the Sabbath, the annual Holy Days, and God’s dietary laws are still binding. They are not “old covenant laws.” In fact, to call them such reveals total ignorance regarding the meaning of a covenant. A covenant is a contract, which is based on law—it does not bring law into existence. So then, when a covenant becomes obsolete, this does not affect the laws on which the covenant is based. To term certain laws “old covenant laws” is just an idle and futile attempt to somehow make those laws obsolete.

We should note that Paul kept the Sabbath and the Holy Days, even when in the presence of Gentiles. In fact, as our booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound…, points out, Paul even COMMANDED the Gentiles to keep the Sabbath, the Holy Days, and the dietary laws.

What, then, did Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 9:20–21?

Sacrificial Laws Were a Temporary Tutor

The New Testament makes it clear that certain SACRIFICIAL laws are no longer binding today. Paul calls them “a tutor” in Galatians 3:24. This ritual law, which is referred to as a “LAW,” “was added because of transgression” (Galatians 3:19). Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), the Ten Commandments (James 2:8–12). We see, then, that the Ten Commandments—the “LAW”—had to be in effect BEFORE the sacrificial law system was added, as it was added BECAUSE OF transgression. The sacrificial system with its ritualistic rules is no longer necessary to be kept. However, it would NOT be SINFUL to keep it while in the presence of Jews. Therefore, when Paul was with Jews, he would not offend them by refusing to keep their customs. He would not keep those customs, of course, when he was with Gentiles, as these customs or ritualistic laws are no longer binding. Paul DID make it clear, however, that he DID teach and keep the spiritual LAW of God (Romans 7:14) that IS still binding, including ALL of the Ten Commandments (Matthew 19:17–19).

Conforming to Customs

Notice how the Nelson Study Bible explains 1 Corinthians 9:19–23:

“Paul put his ministry of the gospel above his personal desires. He was willing to conform to the customs of other people, whether Jew or Gentile, in order to bring them to Christ. For example, in order to relate to the Jews in Jerusalem he made a Nazarite vow in the temple (Acts 21:23, 24). Around those who were under the Law — the Jews — Paul obeyed the Law. Around those who were outside the Law — the Gentiles — Paul did not observe JEWISH CUSTOM. Paul clarified this, however, lest anyone misunderstand his actions. He obeyed GOD’S LAW through obedience toward Christ.”

The New Bible Commentary concurs, referring to the ritualistic sacrificial law as the “Mosaic” law:

“Paul has surrendered more than his right to personal subsistence. Though he is free from all men, i.e. in no sense bound by the standards or fashions of others, he is prepared to make himself a slave to all, and conform to their standards or fashions, providing no real principle is at stake, in order to win as many as possible… So when among Jews he acts as a Jew, conforming to their customs under the Mosaic law (Acts 16:3; 18:18; 21:26), though as a Christian he himself is no longer obliged to keep that law (cf. Gal. 2:11–21). Similarly he is ready to identify himself with those who are not bound by the Jewish law, i.e. Gentiles; though he adds an important proviso. Gentiles not only disregard the Mosaic law [our comment: that part of the law of Moses that is ritual and no longer binding], but may also refuse to recognize any divine commandments [our comment: the Ten Commandments with its statutes and judgments — including the Sabbath, the annual Holy Days, and the dietary and tithing laws].”

Giving No Offense

Paul never taught others to sin, and he was careful that he did not sin either. He would never have disobeyed God by breaking His law, only to “win” the Gentiles. He was NOT without God’s law, although he no longer preached as binding and mandatory certain sacrificial rituals, such as physical circumcision, as those temporary laws had been abolished by God in the New Testament. At the same time, he did not offend his Jewish audience by violating their customs and traditions, as long as he could keep them without sinning against God.

Finally, although he was not “under the law,” he became as one “under the law,” so that he might win those under the law. As we will explain later in this booklet in much detail, the term “under the law” refers to its penalty. When we sin, the penalty of sin—death—is hanging over us like the sword of Damocles. Through our repentance and our belief in and acceptance of Christ’s Sacrifice, we can have forgiveness of our sins; that is, we won’t have to die anymore because the death penalty is no longer hanging over our heads. In order to win those who had not yet accepted Christ’s Sacrifice, Paul became as one of them. He showed them compassion and sympathy rather than condemning and offending them. He became as one under the penalty of the law because he understood what it was like to live in sin, being cut off and separated from God.

Paul never taught that any of God’s abiding laws could be broken. He taught: “It is the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath” (Hebrews 4:9; Lamsa translation). Those who want to REFUSE to keep God’s spiritual law, including the weekly and annual Sabbaths, are simply twisting certain Scriptures and inventing arguments to justify their sinful conduct. They do this, however, “to their own destruction” (compare 2 Peter 3:14–16).

Chapter 5 – Cursed For Keeping the Law?

Some teach that we are cursed when we keep the law of the Ten Commandments. But then, we read that we are cursed if we don’t keep it (compare Matthew 25:41, 46). What are we to believe?

The Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments

Some confuse the Ten Commandments with the law of Moses, but there is a definite distinction, and it is important to understand this distinction because it might very well determine one’s eternal life or death (compare Revelation 21:8; 22:15). We must fully realize what the Bible means in referring to the “law of Moses”; what the apostle Paul taught; and what the Church decided in Acts 15.

Did Paul say that we are cursed when we keep the Ten Commandments? In addition, did the Church decide in Acts 15 that Christians don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments and can still be saved? We have thoroughly discussed and answered these and many other related questions in our free booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound…, and we will quote herein from pages 15–16 of this booklet to explain what Paul meant with his statement in Galatians 3:10–13.

The Book of the Law

“… we should be able to better understand what Paul is telling us in Galatians 3:10–13, where he speaks about the ‘works of the law.’ In reading this passage, remember to consider the context to see what specific law this passage has reference to. Beginning in verse 10, ‘For as many as are of the works of the law [including the sacrificial and ritual works that had to be performed] are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them [i.e., the rituals and sacrifices] shall live by them [that is, God did not kill them as long as they lived within the sacrificial system.].” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”).’

“Anyone who did not continue in everything, which was written in the Book of the Law, including the regulations pertaining to washings, rituals and sacrifices, was cursed. Although the Book of the Law included, of course, the Ten Commandments and its spiritual statutes and judgments, it also included the physical works of the law, that is, the sacrificial system, as well as the death penalties for the violations of God’s law.

“Paul’s statement, then, that the law was added because of transgression (Galatians 3:19), refers to that part of the law or laws in the Book of the Law which have to do with sacrifices and other rituals, as well as the curses or penalties for violating God’s spiritual law.”

Another Law Was Added

We later explained in our booklet (though it is worthy of explaining here again) that the “law” mentioned in Galatians 3:19 was ADDED “four hundred and thirty years” after God’s covenant with Abraham (compare verse 17). It was added because of transgression (verse 19). The Bible teaches that SIN is the transgression of the LAW (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). Because the people had sinned by transgressing the LAW of the Ten Commandments, as well as those statutes and judgments that enlarge upon those righteous commandments, ANOTHER “law” was ADDED, the temporary law dealing with sacrifices and other rituals.

To continue with our quote from page 16 of our booklet:

“We need to keep firmly in mind that ‘the Book of the Law of Moses,’ sometimes referred to as ‘the law of Moses,’ included all kinds of laws. We must therefore be careful not to draw hasty conclusions when we read about the Book of the Law in the New Testament. Again, we always need to analyze in context, which particular and specific laws the author is talking about.

“For instance, we read in Acts 15:5, ‘But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them [Gentiles who became Christians], and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”’

“The context of the discussion shows us that they were not arguing about the Ten Commandments — including the Sabbath — but whether circumcision and other rituals contained in the Law of Moses were mandatory for Gentile Christians. Now, notice, how this question was decided in the first ministerial conference in Jerusalem. Notice that it is James who is saying these words — the same apostle who later talked about the Ten Commandments as a package [compare James 2:8–13], saying that we are guilty of violating them all if we break even one of the Ten: ‘“Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood”’ (Acts 15:19–20; compare also Acts 15:28–29).

“James was not talking about the Ten Commandments. But, why does James specifically mention that the Gentiles must abstain from idols, sexual immorality, strangled meat and blood? These four aspects in the Law of Moses were mentioned here in connection with rituals and sacrifices (Leviticus 17:7, 10). Gentiles would often times drink blood with their sacrifices, or they would eat their sacrifices with the blood still in the meat (as happens when animals are strangled), or they would commit fornication with temple prostitutes. So that there would be no misunderstanding, the apostles and elders clarified to the Gentiles that those laws, although mentioned in the context of the sacrificial system, were still valid and binding on them.”

This passage in Acts 15:5 will be explained in more detail in the next chapter of this booklet.

What Was Abolished in the Law of Moses?

Some claim that God abolished the entire “law of Moses” with all of its commandments, statutes, judgments and regulations. They fail to realize that the “law of Moses” or the “Book of the Law” included both temporary ritualistic statutes and timeless spiritual commandments. They are ignorant of the fact that not the ENTIRE “law of Moses” was abolished. They don’t understand what the Bible means when it talks about “law.” Neither do they grasp the difference between law and covenant, falsely teaching that these are identical, and that the Ten Commandments were abolished when the “Old Covenant” was revoked. (For a thorough discussion regarding that false teaching, read page 21 and the following pages of our free booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound…) This biblical ignorance has created a lot of harm, and those false teachers have deceived many who have followed their destructive heresies. However, God makes it clear that they will have to give account for their wrong example, as they live in sin and have induced others to sin likewise.

Let us briefly review the question whether the apostle Paul taught that we don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments any longer. A careful study shows that this was not the case, and that Paul was not even ACCUSED by his enemies of teaching this.

Quoting from our free booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound…, pages 12–13:

Ritual Laws and Customs of the Jews

“We read in Acts 21:18–24, ‘On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.”’

“What ‘law’ is this passage talking about? The law of the Ten Commandments? Note that the specific context is circumcision, purification, and other rituals in connection with the making of a vow. Consider also what Paul actually did do when following the ‘customs’ of the Jews: ‘Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them’ (verse 26).

“The reference to the ‘law’ or the ‘customs’ is solely in regard to that portion in the writings of Moses that dealt with sacrifices, washings and rituals — in other words, the ‘law that was added,’ and not the Ten Commandments at all [nor does it refer to the statutes and judgments which embellish the Ten Commandments].

“We might add here that it was of course not sinful for Paul to participate in these customs, although they were no longer required. Paul said that he became a Jew to the Jews in order to win some (1 Corinthians 9:20). And, although he had made it clear that circumcision was no longer required [see the detailed discussion later in this booklet], he still circumcised Timothy, for the Jews’ sake, in order not to place a stumbling block before them (Acts 16:1–3).”

When we refuse to keep the Ten Commandments, we sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)—eternal death—and we WILL suffer eternal death, unless we REPENT of our sins and begin to WALK in the way of righteousness (compare Psalm 119:172).

False Teachers Claim Abolishment of the Ten Commandments

Christ warns and rebukes all of those who teach that the Ten Commandments are abolished or no longer valid. This is not a light matter in the eyes of God. He says in Matthew 5:19: “‘Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and TEACHES men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and TEACHES them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”’

We should be able to see the tremendous responsibility of the “teachers of the law” to teach man the ongoing validity of God’s Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath commandment. If they fail to do so, they will not be held guiltless by God. On the other hand, if we want to be a part of the “people of God,” we WILL keep the Sabbath, because we read in Hebrews 4:9: “It is therefore the duty of the people of God to keep the sabbath” (Lamsa translation). God, knowing that some would attempt to change this command, wrote the commandment in a unique way: “REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to KEEP it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

Chapter 6 – Gentiles Free from the Old Testament Law?

Some claim that the Scripture in Acts 15:19–20 shows us that Gentile Christians are only obligated to abstain from the four things which are specifically mentioned in that passage, and that they are otherwise free from the “Old Testament” law. Others claim that today, they don’t even have to abstain from these four things anymore.

However, Acts 15:19–20 does not teach anything of the kind. It quotes James as saying: “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.” This concept is reiterated in Acts 15:28–29.

We touched upon Acts 15:19–20 in the previous chapter. We will discuss it now in more detail.

Context of the Jerusalem Council

To fully understand this passage, we must review the context. The Jerusalem Council was held because the charge had been made by some that Gentiles could not be saved unless they became “circumcised according to the custom of Moses” (Acts 15:1) and unless they kept “the law of Moses” (verse 5; compare Acts 15:24).

During the discussion, it was emphasized that God had called Gentiles to repentance irrespective of circumcision and the observance of ritual laws (verses 6–9). As mentioned, the discussion evolved strictly around the “custom of Moses” and the “law of Moses.”

As we saw in the last chapter of this booklet, the law of Moses included ALL kinds of commandments, including the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments (Romans 7:14) as well as the temporary laws of animal sacrifices, physical circumcision and ritual washings. All these laws were written in the “book of the law of Moses,” sometimes referred to as “the book of the law” or “the law of Moses” (Deuteronomy 17:18; 28:58; 29:21; 30:10; 31:26; Mark 12:26).

The decision, which was pronounced in Acts 15:19–20, did not address the Ten Commandments. It would have been a rather strange conclusion to say that Gentiles were entitled to kill someone, steal from someone, lie to and about others, commit adultery, or dishonor his or her parents. In the entire New Testament, it is emphasized time and again that true Christians must keep the Ten Commandments, and since the law of the Ten Commandments is a package (compare James 2:8–11), they are therefore obligated to keep the first four commandments as well, including the Sabbath commandment.

Why Only Four Prohibitions Mentioned?

Why was it specifically mentioned that the Gentiles must abstain from things polluted by idols, sexual immorality, strangled meat and blood? These four aspects can be found in the law of Moses where they are listed in connection with religious worship at the tabernacle, including temporary rituals and animal sacrifices (Leviticus 17:7, 10).

Please note that it was commanded in the law or the book of Moses to abstain from things polluted by idols (Exodus 34:15–16; compare Psalm 106:28, 37–38); from sexual immorality (Leviticus 19:29; Deuteronomy 23:17–18); from things strangled (Leviticus 22:8); and from blood (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 3:17).

These four prohibitions were specifically mentioned in Acts 15 to emphasize to the Gentiles that they were still binding on Christians, to avoid any misunderstanding. Prior to their conversion, many Gentiles would engage in those practices. They would of course sacrifice to idols; they would often times drink blood with their sacrifices or they would eat their sacrifices with the blood still in the meat (as happens when animals are strangled); or they would commit fornication with temple prostitutes in their religious services. Even though it would be made clear to the Gentiles that temporary ritual laws, animal sacrifices and circumcision were not binding on them, the apostles and elders clarified to the Gentiles that those four categories, although mentioned in the context of the sacrificial system, were still valid and in force and effect. The emphasis here was not on what had to be done, but on what was NOT to be done.

At the time of Acts 15, the temple still stood, and animal sacrifices were still being given (even though it was no longer a necessity to do so, since Christ’s death did away with the need to bring animal sacrifices, compare Hebrews 9:9–10). But since the priests would bring daily sacrifices and perform other ritual washings, until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, it was needful to explain to the Gentiles, so that there would be no misunderstanding, what was clearly NOT permitted, even though those practices were mentioned in the book of Moses in connection with the sacrificial system.

Many say today that these four things were specifically mentioned to the Gentiles so as not to offend “Jewish” sensitivities, but as more and more Gentiles became converted, it became no longer necessary (so they say) to abstain from these four categories. Even though it should be obvious to converted Christians that sexual immorality will never be permitted by God, this is, sadly, not obvious today to many professing Christians.

With their liberal “live-and-let-live” attitude, they condone and justify more and more the concept of sexual immorality and fornication, including living and sleeping together without being married, while also attending and participating in religious services; or functioning as practicing homosexual priests and ministers. In addition, many nominal Christians have no compunctions eating food with blood in it, or dinking blood (blood sausage is very common in many Catholic and Protestant countries). Finally, they may enjoy eating food sacrificed to idols (including Easter or Christmas cakes, compare Jeremiah 7:18).

Food Sacrificed to Idols

Even though Paul made it clear that true Christians can eat food which has been sacrificed to idols, as long as they do not approve of the sacrificial idolatrous practice, they should not do so when the conscience of others becomes defiled (1 Corinthians 8:4–13; 10:25–33). Still, it is clearly wrong to eat food which is sacrificed to or “polluted” by idols in the context of religious practices [For instance, one participates in a wrong kind of “communion” (compare 1 Corinthians 10:14–22), or one partakes of an Easter or Christmas meal as part of Easter or Christmas celebrations, which are polluted by pagan sun and moon gods and goddesses].

Note what the New Testament has to say about these kinds of wrong practices, mentioned in Acts 15:19–20, which are still clearly prohibited for Christians today.

Sexual Immorality

Regarding “sexual immorality,” Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:18: “Flee sexual immorality. Every SIN that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.” Compare also 1 Thessalonians 4:3.

Eating or Drinking Blood (of Strangled Animals)

In a prophecy for the end time, God condemns those who eat, drink or sacrifice the blood of animals, as well as those who eat unclean animals.

We read in Isaiah 66:3 (Living Bible): “But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. God will not accept their offerings. When such men sacrifice an ox on the altar of God, it is no more acceptable to him than human sacrifice. If they sacrifice a lamb, or bring an offering of grain, it is as loathsome to God as putting a dog or the blood of a swine on his altar! When they burn incense to him, he counts it the same as though they blessed an idol. I will send great troubles upon them—all the things they feared…”

In addition, we read in Isaiah 65:2–6: “I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good According to their own thoughts; A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; who sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense on altars of brick; who sit among the graves, And spend the night in the tombs; who eat swine’s flesh And the broth of abominable things [Margin: unclean meats] in their vessels; who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. Behold, it is written before Me: ‘I will not keep silence, but will repay—Even repay into their bosom…’”

The Living Bible renders verse 4 as follows: “All night they go out among the graves and caves to worship evil spirits, and they eat pork and other forbidden foods.”

Warning for God’s Church

Finally, in a message to the church in Pergamos, we read this dire warning: “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam… to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality… Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth (Revelation 2:14, 16).

It is clear that all Christians must still abstain today from the four categories mentioned in Acts 15:19–20, but it is also clear that these are not the ONLY four things they must avoid doing. Those who believe the contrary are condemned with the strongest terms in the book of Revelation:

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire, which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

And:

“But outside [the new Jerusalem] are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (Revelation 22:15).

We must avoid following the deceitful doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1–2), which God condemns. Rather, we need to listen to Christ who tells us: “If you want to enter into [eternal] life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17; compare also 1 Corinthians 7:19).

Chapter 7

No More Written Rules?

Some teach that since the law of God is in our hearts, we no longer need written rules, especially since we are to live by the Spirit and not by the letter.

In this chapter, we will explain that it is a common misconception, and a very deceitful one at that, that Christians do not need any written rules, as (so it is claimed) they will automatically do what is right, since the law of God is written in their hearts. With this dangerously deceptive concept, traditional Christianity attempts to justify their claim that Christ came to do away with the rules and regulations of the Ten Commandments of the “Old Testament.” They state that Christians today only need to follow some nebulous and ill- or non-defined spiritual principles, without the need of written rules. They even claim that this is so, as we are not to follow the letter of the law, but the Spirit.

It is true that God’s law must be written in our hearts. But as we will see, that fact does not mean that there are suddenly no more written rules that define the law of God. Rather, what is meant by this is that the written rules have become an integral part of the person. The true Christian has internalized these rules and identifies him- or herself with them. To put it differently, the written rules have become an inward part of the Christian; they have become part of his or her character; they identify the Christian and describe his or her personality and very being.

God’s Words WRITTEN in Our Hearts

For instance, Deuteronomy 6:6–7 states, in connection with the pronouncement of the Ten Commandments: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Deuteronomy 11:18 states, in connection with the second giving of the Ten Commandments: “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul…”

Proverbs 3:3 says: “Let not mercy and truth forsake you… WRITE them on the TABLET of your heart…”

Proverbs 6:21 states that we are to BIND a particular law continually upon our heart. The context is the command and admonition against adultery, compare verses 20, 22–24, 27–29.

Today, God’s Holy Spirit in us reminds us of God’s law, and the law of God is being written on our hearts and minds. Romans 5:5 says that the love of God, which is defined as keeping the commandments (1 John 5:3), is poured out IN our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 8:10 describes the New Covenant, and true Christians—spiritual Israelites (Galatians 6:16)—are living already today under the conditions of the New Covenant:

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and WRITE them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

God’s law must be written in our hearts. But notice, it is still God’s spiritual law (Romans 7:14)—which is defined and described by the words and the RULES of the Ten Commandments—which is WRITTEN in our hearts.

New Covenant Based on God’s Law

We explain in our free booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound…, that the New Covenant is not a covenant without written rules. Just the opposite is true. We read in Hebrews 8:6 that the New Covenant is “established” on better promises. The New Revised Standard Version says here, “enacted through better promises.” The New Jerusalem Bible states, “founded on better promises.” The Greek word, translated as “established,” “enacted” or “founded,” is “nomotheteo.” The word “nomos” means, “law.”

In Hebrews 7:11, the same word “nomotheteo” is translated as “received the law.” In James 4:12, the noun “nomothetes” is used in the Greek and rendered there as “Lawgiver.” In Romans 9:4, the related Greek word “nomothesia” is translated as “giving of the law.”

Hebrews 8:6 tells us that Jesus Christ is Mediator of a better covenant, which, having better promises, including the promise of the Holy Spirit and eternal life in the God Family, is BASED or ENACTED or FOUNDED on God’s given law! The New Covenant is based on God’s spiritual law, but not on laws that God has decreed are no longer valid. The New Covenant is not based, for example, on the sacrificial system, the Levitical priesthood, and other rituals and washings.

Ten Commandments Written on Tablets of Stone

Paul does not say anything differently in 2 Corinthians 3:3–11. We discussed this passage in detail in Appendix A of our free booklet, Old Testament Laws—Still Valid Today? 

For the purpose of the subject of this chapter, we will just focus on verses 3–6:

“(3)… clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (4) And we have such trust through Christ toward God. (5) Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, (6) who has also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life…”

In verse 3, reference is made to the Ten Commandments, which were written “on tablets of stone.” Christians today are to keep the Ten Commandments in their hearts. They are written on the TABLETS of our hearts. It is not sufficient to possess tablets of stone which include the Ten Commandments. It is not enough to just know about the Ten Commandments, or perhaps even to memorize them.  Rather, we are to internalize the Ten Commandments.

The Israelites had the law written on tablets of stone (2 Corinthians 3:2–3). These tablets of stone never became part of their being—never entered their hearts. As the tablets were of stone, so were their hearts. That is the reason why God, in a New Covenant, replaces our stony hearts with hearts of flesh, so that we can walk in God’s statutes and do them (Ezekiel 11:19).

Keeping God’s Law in the Spirit

2 Corinthians 3:3–6 does not teach that the Ten Commandments are abolished. Quite to the contrary, the passage teaches that the Ten Commandments must be kept today. However, they must be kept in the Spirit; that is, they must be applied in our lives with their spiritual intent.

Paul reiterates the same in Romans 7:6, which reads:

“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

(In chapter 4, we explained in detail what Paul meant with his statement that we have been “delivered from the law.”)

We must also realize that Christ came to EXALT the law and make it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). He came to teach His followers the spiritual application of the law, going beyond the application of the letter.

For instance, we read in Matthew 5:21–22 that we sin already and are guilty of murder when we hate someone. Under the letter of the law of the Ten Commandments, we would only be guilty of murder if we actually killed someone. But serving God in the newness of the Spirit, we are already guilty of murder when we have the wish to kill another person, because we are filled with hate and rage toward him or her.

Looking Beyond the Letter

When we keep the law in the Spirit, we are to look beyond the letter and keep the law in accordance with the spiritual intent. This COULD also mean that sometimes, the letter might appear to prohibit something, when viewed with the carnal mind, but it does not really do so when considering the spiritual intent.

The Spirit May Permit What the Letter Appears to Prohibit

A good example is the way in which the carnal Pharisees and Sadducees taught the people about the Sabbath. They applied the law quite literally—from a very carnal viewpoint—but since they did not have the Holy Spirit and since they did not have God’s law written in their hearts, they did not understand and teach the spiritual intent.

Making the Sabbath a Burden?

We explain in detail in our free booklet, God’s Commanded Holy Days, how the carnal religious leaders at the time of Christ had made a burden out of the Sabbath rather than a blessing. Jesus Christ restored the original intent of the Fourth Commandment, using much of His time to show us how to observe the Sabbath. The fact that the Sabbath had to be kept was not in doubt, but Christ had to show—by words and deeds—how to keep it.

Quoting from the above-stated booklet:

“We read in Matthew 12:1–8: ‘At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord… of the Sabbath.”

“This important episode teaches us a great deal about the right attitude toward observing the Sabbath. First of all, Christ points out that it is not the Pharisees—or any human being for that matter, but only God Himself, through His Son Jesus Christ—who is to tell us how to keep the Sabbath as far as what is permitted and what is prohibited. This is not just a matter of pointing at a particular statement in the Bible. One has to focus on the context and on the spiritual application.

“Christ was chiding the Pharisees for being merciless. They did not allow the disciples to pluck heads of grain on the Sabbath, even though they were hungry. Christ compares this situation with David when he and his men ate from the showbread because they were hungry. The law against eating from the showbread was not given, however, for a situation where someone was hungry and had nothing else to eat. Likewise… the commandment against work did not apply to the priests who brought sacrifices at that time, nor to God’s ministers today who engage in ministerial functions on the Sabbath…”

When we keep the rules and regulations of the law of God in the Spirit, we keep them in accordance with their spiritual intent, which might mean that we have to be more “restrictive” or more “permissive” than the mere letter. The rules of God’s spiritual law are written in our hearts; that is to say that they have become part of our inner being. Isaiah 51:7 tells us that God’s people “who know righteousness,” are those “in whose heart is My law.” David exclaimed that God’s law was in his heart (Psalm 37:31). But at the same time, we read that he meditated on God’s statutes (Psalm 119:23); and that he did not forget God’s law (verse 61).

He obviously read the written “rules” of God’s Law in the Bible. The idea that he rejected any written rules and believed that he was just “automatically” doing what was right because God’s law was in his heart, is simply ridiculous.

Paul spoke about the fact that we need to obey God’s teaching “from the heart” (Romans 6:17). We can and will do so, with the help of God’s Holy Spirit within us, when God has written His law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).

This concept will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter.

Chapter 8 – How to Keep God’s Law from the Heart

In the last chapter, we discussed the fact that even though God’s law is written in the heart of a true Christian, that does not mean that he or she can ignore written rules defining and explaining God’s law.  We pointed out that we must follow God’s law, including its written rules, from the heart (Romans 6:17), and that we can only do so if God’s Spirit dwells in us.

In this chapter, we will discuss the practical consequences when God’s law is written in our hearts.

Why the Sacrificial System and Penalties?

In Old Testament times, God revealed the law of the Ten Commandments to the people, but since they did not have the Holy Spirit, they were unable to keep the spiritual intent of the law. However, God expected them to keep at least the letter of the law, but they were also disobedient in that regard. They sinned gravely, and sin is the transgression of the spiritual law (1 John 3:4). Because of their sinful conduct, God introduced a sacrificial system of ritual laws and regulations to remind them of their sins and to make physical amends (Hebrews 10:1–4). This system of ritual laws was only temporary (Hebrews 10:8–10). It included the laborious task of offering animal sacrifices, and sometimes it included very rigorous physical penalties, such as death by stoning. Dealing with carnal human beings, God knew that only harsh measures could prevent them from totally rebelling against Him and from living a terrible life of depravity and violence (compare Ecclesiastes 8:11). Nevertheless, even those measures did not help, and they ultimately became totally and completely corrupt (Ecclesiastes 9:3).

It was never God’s desire to “force” people to obey Him. It was never His desire to introduce harsh physical penalties for disobedience. He never wanted a sacrificial system. He did not desire animal sacrifices, but rather, that men would live in a way that such sacrifices [and penalties] would not be necessary (Psalm 40:6; 50:8–14; 51:16–17).

God created man as free moral agents, with the ability to decide for himself whether or not to follow God’s rules. God offered Adam and Eve the gift of the Holy Spirit (symbolized by the Tree of Life), but they rejected that gift and ate instead from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, representing the concept of determining and deciding for themselves what seemed right to them. The consequence was that man began to call good evil, and evil good (Isaiah 5:20), ending up in his unspeakable depravity and his destruction in a worldwide flood (Genesis 6:5–7).

The God Family

God is a Kingdom—the Family of God ruling over creation. At this point, the God Family consists of the Father and the Son. God wants to enlarge His Family through man. God cannot sin because He does not want to sin. It is totally against His character to sin. He is love (1 John 4:8), and love is the keeping of His commandments (1 John 5:3). God does not keep the law because of fear of punishment for violating His law. He keeps the law because of love, KNOWING that His law is the only way to happiness and peace. He has purified His words (His law) seven times (Psalm 12:6) so that He can be absolutely sure that His law is perfect, right, good and complete (Romans 7:12). It cannot be improved (compare Psalm 18:30).

Right Conviction

God wants His people to develop the same attitude toward His law that He has. He wants us to become convinced that His law is always right, and when we disagree on a given point, we are always wrong. When we have reached that conclusion and become persuaded of the goodness of God’s Word, then we will want to follow it from the heart. But we still won’t be able to do so automatically or without fail, because there is still a war going on in our members (Romans 7:14–24). Many times, we may want to do what is good, but the evil within us has not completely died.

No Fear

However, to the extent that we embrace God’s law and have it written in our hearts, we will begin to do what is right, without having to be forced to do so or because of living in fear of punishment. When we have fear, then God’s law in us has not reached perfection, because God’s perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

No Teachers?

When that point is reached, then we do not need to have anyone teach us the law anymore because we have now internalized it (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:11). We will do what is right, and we won’t need to have someone tell us what is right (1 John 2:27; compare John 14:26). When God’s law is written in our hearts, then we will not listen to nor follow those who want to deceive us and teach us that the law has been done away with (1 John 2:26). However, we will not always obey (there is no one who does not sin, compare 1 John 1:8, 10; 1 Kings 8:46; and Ecclesiastes 7:20 in the Living Bible), and we may not always be totally and perfectly firm in our conviction, and then it is needful and necessary that God’s ministers point out to us and remind us again what the truth is about sin, and how to avoid sinning on our way to perfection (Ezekiel 44:23–24; Ephesians 4:11–16). Even though we are taught by God to love one another (1 Thessalonians 4:9), this teaching was communicated to us through God’s ministers (Romans 10:14–15), and it sometimes needs to be reiterated by the ministry; further, we would not understand this teaching unless God had given His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts (1 Corinthians 2:12).

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible states with regard to 1 John 2:27:

“…and ye need not that any man teach you; not that they were perfect in knowledge, for no man is absolutely, only comparatively so, in this life; or that they needed not, and were above and exempt from the instructions of Christ’s faithful servants; for John himself taught them, and to teach and instruct them was the end of his writing this epistle to them; but the sense is either that they needed not the teachings of these men before mentioned, the antichrists, liars, and seducers, being better taught, and having an unction by which they knew all things; or they needed not to be taught as if they were babes in Christ, as unskillful in the word of righteousness, but so as to increase in spiritual knowledge, and go on to perfection, and be established in the present truths, at least so as to be put in remembrance of them…  this passage does not militate against the external ministry of the Gospel, or human teachings according to that perfect rule and declaration of the whole mind and will of God…”

People to Be Led to the Law

When God writes His law in the hearts of men, then they will respond. In the Millennium, Christ will teach the people about the horrors of war (Isaiah 2:3–4), but that teaching alone will not necessarily convince everyone that they should stop going to war. At the beginning of the Millennium, hordes from the East will still want to fight. And so, God will supernaturally intervene and stop that potential fight (Ezekiel 38:1–13). People will be led to the understanding that war is wrong and also completely unnecessary, as God will fight our battles for us (compare Exodus 14:14). And to the degree to which God’s law against murder, war and killing is being written in their hearts, they do not want to learn war anymore, and they will destroy their weapons of war and exchange them with useful agricultural tools (Isaiah 2:4).

God’s Law Becomes Part of One’s Character

They do not do this because they are forced to do this; rather, they will do so because they accept the fact that God’s law tells them that this is the only right way; and since God’s law has become part of their character, they will be following it willingly and joyfully. This, in turn, will motivate others to do likewise, and we will not see war throughout the remainder of the Millennium, until Satan is released from prison for a short while (Revelation 20:7). When this happens, then many of those human beings, who are alive at that time, will follow Satan’s evil devices and his deception, and they will want to fight in war again (Revelation 20:8–9). They never had God’s law against war written in their hearts. They might have refrained from fighting in war because nobody else did, but when they will be given an opportunity, they will choose to fight.

God wants us to embrace and internalize His law of love (Romans 13:8–10). God desires that we obey His law willingly and cheerfully—without compulsion or fear of punishment. God will not bring us into His Family if we only obey Him because we have to. God lives the Way of give, because love is the outgoing concern for the welfare and benefit of others. And so, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7)—someone who loves to give willingly (compare Exodus 25:2). God loves someone who understands that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). God has always loved His Son (Matthew 3:17), but He GAVE Him for the salvation of the world (John 3:16). In addition, Christ laid down and GAVE His life for us (John 10:17; Matthew 20:28). Nobody forced the Father and the Son to do this; they did it willingly and joyfully for our benefit. We are to be living sacrifices as well (Romans 12:1), giving of ourselves to others. Somebody who gives, but does it grudgingly and under compulsion, does not really live the WAY of give and does not really have God’s love in his heart (compare Romans 5:5). Such a person wants to really live the way of get, and he will do so once the opportunity presents itself.

Loving to Obey

When God’s law is written in our hearts, then we will live the Way of love and of give, and we will do so joyfully and happily. We will love the truth (compare 2 Thessalonians 2:10) and we will love God’s law (Psalm 119:97). We will love to honor and praise God as our ONLY God, rather than choosing other gods and using God’s Name in vain; and we will love to keep God’s weekly and annual Holy Days. We will love to honor our parents; to always tell the truth; to give to others rather than stealing from them; and to respect the marriage of others rather than committing adultery with our neighbor’s husband or wife. We will love to give others joy and happiness rather than killing them; and to rejoice when others are blessed, sharing actively in their joy, rather than envying them and being willing to take from them what they have.

God owns everything, and He wants to give and share everything with us. His law is written on His heart, and He wants to write it on our hearts too. We must allow Him to do so, and then we will be fulfilling God’s law by loving Him with ALL of our heart, and our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36–40).

Chapter 9 – All You Need is Faith?

Some teach that obedience to God’s law is no longer necessary to inherit eternal life, as Paul allegedly said that all that is required is to believe in Jesus.

It is correct that Paul told the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And it is true that we MUST believe in Christ, as only in His name can we find salvation (compare Acts 4:12).

But Faith Is Not All

However, Paul did not say that belief in Christ is ALL that we must have. Rather, belief in Christ is only the starting point. Notice how the record in Acts 16 continues, in verses 32–33:

“Then they [Paul and Silas] spoke the WORD of the LORD to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes [The jailor responded to Paul’s teaching of the Word of God by showing kindness to Paul.] And immediately he and all his family were baptized [They had repented of their sins and showed their faith by baptism, so that they could receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, compare Acts 2:38].”

Faith Shown by Practicing Love

Paul did not preach, and the jailor did not understand him to preach, that ALL that was required of him was just to believe that Jesus was the Christ. Rather, his belief had to be accompanied and manifested by obedience to Christ’s words.

Jesus told us in John 15:14: “You are My friends if you DO whatever I COMMAND you.” He continued in verse 17: “These things I COMMAND you, that you LOVE one another.”

The jailor showed LOVE to Paul when he washed his stripes and gave him food to eat (Acts 16:33–34). Paul told us in Romans 13:8–10 that when we love each other, we FULFILL God’s LAW of love. He said in verse 9: “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

In other words, if we LOVE our neighbor enough so that we don’t kill him or steal from him, or lie to or about him, or covet what he has, or commit adultery with his wife [which are all injunctions contained in the Ten Commandments], we FULFILL God’s law. We read in 1 John 5:3: “For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments.” 1 John 3:23 explains: “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, AND LOVE one another.”

Obedience to the Faith

When a young man asked Christ what to do to inherit eternal life, Christ told him: “But if you want to enter into life, KEEP [or OBEY] the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He proceeded to list some of the Ten Commandments in order to show which commandments He was talking about (verses 18 and 19). And James would later explain that we break ALL of the Ten Commandments when we break just one of them (James 2:8–11). As the Ten Commandments define love to God and neighbor, we don’t show the love of God in our lives when we transgress His law.

Paul did not tell the Philippian jailor that all he had to do was just to believe in Jesus Christ. James tells us that even the demons believe in God (James 2:19). Rather, Paul was teaching that we need to OBEY God, once we come to believe in Him.

We read Paul’s word in Romans 1:5: “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship FOR OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH.” He also stated in Romans 16:26: “… [the mystery] has been made manifest… according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH.”

Acts 6:7 reports about the beginning of the New Testament Church: “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were OBEDIENT TO THE FAITH.”

We read in John 3:36 (correctly translated from the Greek, compare the Revised Standard Version): “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does NOT OBEY the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.”

When the Bible talks about the kind of faith we must have to inherit eternal life, it equates faith with obedience—the right kind of faith. Having faith in Christ that does not manifest itself through an obedient lifestyle to God’s Law, is NOT enough.

In fact, Paul tells us in Romans 2:8 that God will pour out “indignation and wrath” on those who “are self-seeking and do NOT OBEY the truth, but obey unrighteousness.” And “truth” is defined as “all Your commandments” (Psalm 119:151). Paul reiterates in 2 Thessalonians 1:8 that God will take “vengeance on those who… do NOT OBEY the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Romans 6:17, 22, Paul states: “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin [and sin is defined as the “transgression of the LAW,” 1 John 3:4, Authorized Version], yet you OBEYED from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered… having become SLAVES of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and THE END, everlasting life.”

Further proof that our faith must be accompanied by OBEDIENCE can be found in Peter’s first letter. Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:2 to the “elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, FOR THE OBEDIENCE and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” He continues in verse 22: “Since you have purified your souls in OBEYING THE TRUTH through the Spirit in SINCERE LOVE of the brethren, LOVE one another fervently with a pure heart.”

Peter also admonished the brethren to conduct themselves as “OBEDIENT CHILDREN, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (verses 14–15). Again, in 1 Peter 4:17, we are warned about the fate of those who do “NOT OBEY the gospel of God.”

We will only inherit salvation and eternal life if we OBEY God. This is very clearly expressed in Hebrews 5:8–9: Even Christ “learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation TO ALL WHO OBEY HIM.”

As Christ obeyed God’s commandments, so must we (John 15:10). Only if we DO the will of our Father in heaven—only if we cease practicing lawlessness—will we enter God’s Kingdom (Matthew 7:21–23). The MERE confession that we believe in Christ will NOT be enough (verse 21).

Peter made it very clear that we must obey God at all times, even if that means disobeying man (Acts 5:29). He also declared that God would give His Spirit—a guarantee of inheriting eternal life (Ephesians 1:13–14)—only to those who OBEY Him (Acts 5:32).

For more information on this important subject, please read our free booklet, Baptism—a Requirement for Salvation?

Chapter 10 – The New Commandment of Jesus

Some claim that Jesus came to do away with the Law of the Ten Commandments and replace it with a “new” law, which happens to be identical with the Ten Commandments, except for the omission of the Sabbath. This treacherous and deceitful argument has convinced quite a few people that they do not have to keep the Sabbath anymore. But the truth is that the Ten Commandments have not been abolished, and when you break one of the Ten Commandments, you break them all.

Please note these excerpts from pages 14–15 of our free booklet, Baptism—a Requirement for Salvation?:

“What, exactly, is it that we need to repent of…? Simply put, we must repent of the sins we have committed. What is sin? The biblical definition is: ‘…sin is the transgression of the law’ (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). Which law? The law of God’s Ten Commandments. James calls it the ‘royal law according to the Scripture’ (James 2:8). It defines our love toward God and our love toward neighbor. When we break even one of the Ten Commandments, we are guilty of having broken them all and have become a transgressor of the law (James 2:10–11).

“The law of the Ten Commandments is a spiritual law, as Paul explains in Romans 7:14, because it regulates not only our actions, but also the motives and intents of our heart. We sin when we commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), but we also sin when we DESIRE or COVET the wife of another man (Exodus 20:17), or when we look at another woman with the desire to commit adultery with her (Matthew 5:28). Additionally, we sin when we kill someone (Exodus 20:13), but we have already sinned by violating God’s spiritual law of the Ten Commandments when we even HATE another human being (Matthew 5:21–22; 1 John 3:15).”

Christ’s “New” Commandment

It is true that Christ said that He gave the disciples a “new” commandment, but as we will see, not even the most liberal “interpretation” of His statement should persuade an honest person that the Ten Commandments are no longer valid. Christ never said that He gave a new commandment to replace the Ten Commandments. Quite to the contrary, He told the young rich ruler that he had to keep the Ten Commandments if he was to enter the Kingdom of God and inherit salvation and eternal life (Matthew 19:16–26).

What then did Jesus say, and what did He mean, when He spoke of a “new commandment”?

Loving Neighbor Not New

He says this in John 13:34:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another…”

The Greek word for “love” is “agapao,” which is derived from “agape,” describing “godly love.”

But to love one another is hardly a commandment that was new or had never been stated before. When Christ was asked what was the greatest commandment in the law, He responded by quoting two Old Testament passages, demanding that we love God with all our heart and our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36–40). In both cases, the Greek word for “love” is “agapao,” referring to “godly love.” And as was pointed out above, when we keep the Ten Commandments, we show our love toward God and neighbor, because we honor God in the way which is required of us, and we don’t harm our neighbor, for instance, by killing him, lying to him, committing adultery with his wife or with her husband, or lusting after the things that our neighbor has.

1 John 3:11 confirms that the message of love toward one another is not really anything new: “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

And again, we read in 2 John 5–6:

“And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. This is love [Greek: “agape”], that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”

At the same time, we read this startling statement in 1 John 2:7–10:

“Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him…”

Again, the context is loving our brethren. And even though John says that this is NOT a new commandment, he goes on to say that it IS a new commandment. Is there a contradiction? Some try to explain this by saying that even though it is an old commandment, it is always new for us. But this is not the most compelling explanation.

How to Love

The key to understanding this “mystery” is to return to Jesus’ statement in John 13:34. When quoting this passage above, we purposefully omitted the second part of Christ’s saying. Let us now read the passage in its entirety:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, that you also love one another.”

The New King James Bible erroneously places a semicolon before “as I have loved you,” thereby totally obscuring the meaning. In the original Greek there were no commas or semicolons, and the translator added those, as he felt best, but in this case, he did so wrongly. Christ was saying here that we are to love one another AS He loved us; that is, in the SAME WAY AS He loved us.

He repeats this command in John 15:12: “This is My commandment, that you love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.” And He explains in the next two verses this extraordinary love: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do WHATEVER I command you” (verses 13–14).

The connection between loving each other—even to the point of death, if necessary—and obeying Christ is obvious (compare John 14:15, 21). Christ gave up His eternal existence as an immortal God being and became a mortal man and died for us so that we could
inherit eternal life; and He demands of us that same KIND of unselfish and outgoing love toward others.

Can’t Do It Without God’s Spirit in Us

We must understand though that this is not remotely possible for a human being to fulfill, except through and with the help of God, through His Holy Spirit dwelling in us. ONLY if God’s Holy Spirit dwells in us, will we be able to begin to manifest that great godly love toward God and others. As a whole, and barring a few exceptions, Old Testament Israelites did not have the Holy Spirit within them, and neither did the disciples prior to Christ’s resurrection and the Day of Pentecost. Christ announced that the Holy Spirit would be given to them (John 14:16). Only then would they have the power to LOVE each other AS Christ loved them.

Even though the command to love God and neighbor had been given from the beginning—and it was therefore an “old” commandment—it had now become a “new” commandment, in that it encompassed a much more demanding DEGREE of love which can only be manifested through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

In fact, if you are a truly converted Christian, you have received the Holy Spirit of God, dwelling in you, and through the Holy Spirit you have received the love of God (Romans 5:5). The love of God is defined as keeping the commandments. 1 John 5:3 says: “For this IS the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” Paul tells us that “love is the fulfillment [better: “fulfilling,” Authorized Version] of the law” (Romans 13:10). Love does not do away with it; quite to the contrary, it FULFILLS or KEEPS it. Rather than thinking that the Ten Commandments have been abolished, God’s Holy Spirit in you reveals to you that they are still binding for you, and God’s love in you will motivate you to KEEP them.

One good way for a person to determine if he has really responded to his call to repentance and conversion, is to analyze and examine himself to find out whether he is willing to keep ALL of God’s Ten Commandments, including the Seventh-Day Sabbath. If a person believes that these laws are no longer required and that he is “free” to ignore or break them, then it is extremely unlikely that he is truly converted and that God’s Holy Spirit dwells in him. If this applies to you, then you need to pray to God that He may open your understanding to the truth and REPENT of your errors and sins; ACCEPT and BELIEVE IN the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ; understand that Christ DIED for YOUR transgressions of His LAW; and become baptized to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Becoming a New Creation

In order to fulfill Christ’s “new” commandment to love each other AS HE LOVED US, we must become a “new” creation and put on the “new” man (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). We are to become a “new lump”—“unleavened” (1 Corinthians 5:7), without malice and wickedness (verse 8). We must walk the “new and living way” of love which Christ consecrated for us (Hebrews 10:20). When we have been baptized and received God’s Holy Spirit, we are to walk “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4)—or, as we quoted John above, we are to “walk” “in love.”

In order to become a new creation, enabling us to keep Christ’s “new” commandment, we must receive God’s Holy Spirit and be led by it (Romans 8:14).

We read in Ezekiel 18:31: “Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die…?”

Let us notice God’s promises:

“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, THAT they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 11:19–20).

And again:

“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” (Ezekiel 36:26–27).

Far from abolishing the Ten Commandments, Christ commanded us to keep them in a new way–with even more zeal and enthusiasm and much deeper spiritual understanding and commitment—showing the love toward God and neighbor in a way which is impossible for the carnal mind (Romans 8:6–9). It requires that God gives us a “new heart” and a “new spirit,” and that is exactly what He promises us so that we can obey the “new” commandment of manifesting godly love by keeping His commandments.

Part 2 – God’s Grace

Chapter 1 – What Exactly Is God’s Grace?

Simply put, God’s grace is God’s unmerited favor. It is the gift of God. It includes manifold facets of God’s undeserved pardon and forgiveness, His mercy and His compassion.

For instance, our heart is established and made firm, and becomes totally convicted through grace, preventing us from accepting wrong doctrines (Hebrews 13:9). It is grace with God when we suffer wrongfully for righteousness’ sake (1 Peter 2:19); after all, when we experience wrongful persecution, our reward will be great (Matthew 5:10–12).

We are to grow in the grace of or favor with Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), as Jesus Himself grew in the Father’s grace or favor (Luke 2:52). And so, John wishes that the grace of Jesus Christ would be with all of those who read and keep what is written in the book of Revelation, and who do His commandments (Revelation 22:7, 14, 21).

Paul adds in Ephesians 6:24 that God’s grace will be given to all those who love Jesus Christ in sincerity, and Christ told us that we love Him if we keep His words and commandments (John 14:15, 23).

God called us out of this world because of His grace—not because of anything we might have done (Romans 11:5–6; compare also Romans 9:11–16). Ephesians 2:8–9 explains that we were and are saved by grace through faith—not because of our works.

Being justified by His grace, we should become heirs of eternal life (Titus 3:7). Peter clarifies in 1 Peter 3:7 that both husband and wife (male and female) are together heirs of the grace of eternal life. And Romans 5:17, 21 adds that, after having received an abundance of God’s grace and the gift of righteousness, it is our potential to finally reign and rule under Christ for all eternity.

Understanding that our salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom and Family of God is being made possible through the grace of God, some conclude that therefore they don’t have anything to do in the process—that God does it all for them, and that their way of living has no bearing on their inheritance of eternal life. This is a fatal and terrible error!

Continuing in Sin?

Paul asks the question in Romans 6:1 whether we should continue in sin after we have obtained God’s grace of forgiveness. His conclusion is: Absolutely not! He says that we were once slaves of sin, but that we now have become slaves of righteousness. If we were to continue in the practice of sinful conduct, we would have received God’s grace in vain.

Paul warns in Hebrews 12:15 that we must be diligent not to miss out on God’s grace. He cautions us against becoming bitter, implying that living in such a way can lead to the loss of our salvation. In Jude 4, we read of evil ungodly persons who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, thereby denying Christ. They are described as being twice dead, for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.

Don’t Take God’s Grace for Granted

The message is very clear: God’s grace is not to be taken for granted, neglected or abused. If it is, it may be taken away from us and we might not inherit eternal life, but suffer eternal condemnation instead.

Chapter 2 – Does Grace Free Us From Obedience?

Some teach that since we are under grace, we are no longer obligated to keep God’s law and be obedient to Him. This is a dangerous conclusion.

In the last chapter, we discussed the meaning of grace. We pointed out that grace does not dispense with individual responsibility. In this chapter, we will show in more detail what God expects of us.

It is claimed that the New Testament teaches that we are no longer obligated to keep God’s law, and that Paul especially made clear that the law is no longer binding for us. This is a terrible and, quite frankly, abominable doctrine stemming from demons!

An important tool for right Bible study is to look first at the clear and plain passages before trying to understand the more difficult ones. Even Peter said that Paul wrote a few things, which are difficult to understand, and that the unlearned try to misinterpret and twist them for their own purposes (2 Peter 3:16). Let’s not make the same mistake, but rather look at Paul’s clear and plain statements.

Doers of the Law Will Be Justified

Paul tells us in Romans 2:13 that the doers of the law, and not the hearers, will be justified. (James 1:25 says the same thing, and James 2:8–12 shows that the law is a reference to the Ten Commandments, and that we are guilty of the transgression of the entire law if we break just one of the Ten Commandments. Compare also James 4:11–12.)

In Romans 2:22–23, Paul reconfirms that he is speaking of the Ten Commandments (referring to idolatry and adultery as examples), when he says that we dishonor God when we break the law.

In Romans 2:27, he states that those who keep the law, even though they are physically uncircumcised, will judge those who are physically circumcised, but who transgress the law—clearly referring to the Ten Commandments.

Romans 3:31 does away with the wrong concept that because of faith, we are no longer bound to keep the law. Rather, Paul says here that we do not make void the law of God through faith, but to the contrary, we establish the law.

To leave no doubt as to how Paul felt about the law of God, he tells us in Romans 7:12 that the law is holy and that the commandment (that is, any one of the Ten Commandments) is holy and just and good.

He also adds in Romans 7:14 that the law of God is spiritual. He states in Romans 8:7, 9, that the carnal mind does not and cannot obey the law of God in its final spiritual application, and that one must have God’s Spirit dwelling in us to be able to obey the law of God.

True Love

In Romans 13:8–10, Paul emphasizes that God’s law is a law of love, and that we fulfill the law (the portion of the law which deals with our relationship with our fellow man) when we love our neighbor. He stresses the same in Galatians 5:14, stating that all the law (dealing with our fellow man) is fulfilled by us when we love our fellow man. He says in Galatians 6:2 that we fulfill the law of Christ when we love our neighbor by bearing his burden.

However, many have a wrong concept of love, thinking that we can love someone while breaking God’s law. This is totally false. When we break God’s law, we do NOT love our fellow man. God’s law DEFINES for us what true love is. We read in 1 John 5:3 that “this IS the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” When we commit adultery with our neighbor’s wife, we do not love our neighbor or his wife. When we kill or lie to or steal from our neighbor, we do NOT love him.

Paul says in Galatians 5:22–23 that when we love our neighbor and live in peace with him, have patience with him and bring joy to his life, etc., then we do not transgress the law, because against such right conduct and feeling there is no law. In other words, the law does not prohibit right conduct. It does not tell us, for example, not to have peace with your neighbor.

The same is expressed in 1 Timothy 1:9–10 where we read that the law is not made for the righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, and then Paul lists numerous examples of sinful conduct. This statement must not be twisted to say that the righteous is under no obligation to keep the law. Rather, as long as he lives righteously, he obeys it and the law does not convict him as a transgressor; but once he begins to disobey it, he no longer lives in righteousness and has become a transgressor of the law.

And so, Paul tells us that if we are unrighteous and abide in the kinds of sins which he listed in 1 Timothy 1:9–10, we will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

Refusing to Repent

A fundamental statement of John the Baptist can be found in John 3:36 to the effect that he who believes in Jesus Christ will inherit eternal life, but that God’s wrath rests upon a person who does not “obey” Christ (compare the correct rendering in the Revised Standard Version).

John had refused to baptize those who came to him without having shown fruits of repentance, challenging them with the question as to who had warned them to flee from the wrath to come (Matthew 3:7–12; Luke 3:7–17). In Matthew 23:33, Christ reiterated John’s warning, ultimately equating the wrath of God with the condemnation of hell fire. That is, if someone refuses to repent and obey God, ending up committing the unpardonable sin, he will be destroyed in the lake of fire.

Colossians 3:6 tells us that the wrath of God will come upon the children of “disobedience.” Paul adds in 2 Thessalonians 1:6–9 that Christ will take vengeance on them that “do not obey” the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is important to realize that we are going to face God’s wrath if we refuse to obey Him! The book of Revelation announces in vivid terms what will happen to mankind when God pours out His wrath on rebellious and disobedient people (Revelation 6:15–17; 11:18; 14:9–10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15).

On the other hand, 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 states that Jesus Christ delivered us from the wrath to come since we turned from idols to serve the living God. Paul reconfirms in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 that God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ.

How to Escape God’s Wrath

Clearly, the Bible emphasizes repeatedly that we must be obedient to God in order to escape His wrath and to inherit eternal life. In Acts 4:19; 5:29, 32, we read that we must “obey” God rather than man (if there is a conflict), and that God gives His Holy Spirit only to those who “obey” Him (which includes continuing obedience even after we have become converted so that God can provide us with a steady supply of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, rather than taking the Holy Spirit away from us).

We read in Acts 6:7 that when the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem, many priests also became “obedient to the faith.” Romans 1:5; 16:26 speaks as well of “obedience to” or “of the faith”; and Romans 15:18 says that Christ, using Paul as an instrument, is making the Gentiles “obedient,” while Romans 16:19 explains that their “obedience” has become known to all.

Paul states in 2 Corinthians 10:5–6 that we must even bring our thoughts into captivity to the “obedience of Christ,” and once our obedience has been fulfilled or perfected, we will be able to rule with and under Christ, to deal with and revenge all the disobedience of rebellious men.

Peter admonishes us to be “obedient children” (1 Peter 1:14) who have purified our souls in “obeying the truth” through God’s Spirit (verse 22).

John explains that we know God when we keep His commandments; that we are liars when we say we know Him and don’t keep them; and that the love of God is being perfected in us to the degree that we do keep them (1 John 2:3–5). He even states that we know that we love God’s children when we love God and keep His commandments (1 John 5:2–3).

Obedience and Disobedience

Paul has much to say about obedience and disobedience in his letter to the Hebrews. He explained that the Israelites who had left Egypt could not enter the Promised Land because of sin, unbelief and “disobedience” (Hebrews 3:17–19; note that in verse 18, the correct rendering is “disobedience,” not “that believed not,” as the Authorized Version renders it. The New King James Bible and the Luther Bible translate it correctly.). Again, in Hebrews 4:6, 11, Paul states that they were unable to enter the Promised Land because of “disobedience” (as it should be in both verses; compare the New International Version and Luther).

In Hebrews 5:9, we are told that Christ became the author of eternal salvation for all those who “obey Him.” Hebrews 8:10–12 quotes a prophecy from the Old Testament to the effect that God will write His law in the hearts and minds of the people, so that they will know Him and obey the law and not sin anymore (compare also Hebrews 10:15–17).

In the very last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, the need for obedience of God’s law is stressed again. In Revelation 12:17, we are told that Satan will persecute members of the Church of God who keep the commandments of God. In Revelation 14:12 we read about those who, in the face of persecution, have the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus, and who keep the commandments of God. Finally, God warns those who refuse to obey God’s commandments and who instead live in and practice sin, that they will not enter the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27; 22:15).

At the same time, He tells us that we are blessed when we keep His commandments, so that we may enter the Holy City (Revelation 22:14); and that when we overcome sin, self, society and Satan, we will inherit all things and won’t have to die the second death in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:7–8).

We are left with strong encouragement to continue living in righteousness and holiness if we want to enter the Family of God (Revelation 22:11), knowing that Christ will return soon to give us our reward in accordance with our works (Revelation 22:12). We cannot afford to slip and fall and turn away from the holy Word of God, by giving heed to human fables and fairy tales and demonic philosophies that will try to convince us that we don’t need to be obedient to God’s law, because we are now under grace. Paul says that the condemnation of those is just who teach such heresy.

We will discuss in the next chapter what it means to be “under grace.”

Chapter 3 – Not Under Law, But Under Grace

The Bible says that we are no longer under law but that we are under grace. Does this mean, as some claim, that we are no longer obligated to keep the law?

We read the following in Romans 6:14–15:

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

What does it mean to be under grace and not under law? And how does this explain why sin does not rule over us anymore?

More Confusion in Commentaries

There is much confusion in traditional Christianity regarding this passage (“not under law, but under grace”). It is one of the most misunderstood statements in orthodox Christianity. The common explanation is that the law has been abolished and that we are now under God’s grace and freed from any obligation to keep the law.

Notice the following examples from Bible commentaries:

The Pulpit Commentary states: “… grace condones sin… the principle of law is to exact complete obedience to its behests; but the principle of grace is to accept faith in lieu of complete obedience…”

The idea is expressed here that grace has replaced the law or obedience to it.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary writes: “To be ‘under the law’ is, first, to be under its claim to entire obedience; and so, next under its curse for the breach of these. And as all power to obey can reach the sinner only through Grace, of which the law knows nothing, it follows that to be ‘under the law’ is, finally, to be shut up under an inability to keep it, and consequently to be the helpless slave of sin… The curse of the law has been completely lifted from off them… when they were ‘under the law,’ Sin could not but have dominion over them…”

Even though a few remarks in the quote are at least partially correct, it must be recognized that the authors probably did not understand their own words. That is to say that we cannot assume from the foregoing that the writers of the commentary grasped the correct meaning of the term, “the curse of the law” or what it actually means to be “under the law,” as it equates the law with being a slave of sin. The overall tenor is again that grace has replaced the law.

The Geneva Study Bible writes that “the law is… the power and instrument of sin.” It does not explain what this is supposed to mean, but the impression is that the law causes us to sin. This would be totally wrong.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible states: “We who are Christians are not subject to that law where sin is excited, and where it rages unsubdued.”

This is equally difficult to understand. However, the commentary continues with the following pertinent question:

“What is meant by this declaration? Does it mean that Christians are absolved from all the obligations of the law?… The apostle does not affirm that Christians are not bound to obey the moral law. The whole scope of his reasoning shows that he maintains that they are. The whole structure of Christianity supposes the same thing; compare Matthew 5:17–19.”

So far so good. But then, the commentary goes on to mix elements of truth with elements of error, saying:

“… the apostle means to say that Christians are not under the law as legalists, or as attempting to be justified by it. They seek a different plan of justification altogether: and they do not attempt to be justified by their own obedience.”

It is true that we cannot be justified by the law. But in failing to understand what is meant with being “under the law” and seemingly equating this with being “legalists,” the reasoning in the commentary is faulty.

No Longer “Under Law”

Let us begin to give the answer as to what Paul meant, by explaining the statement that true Christians are no longer “under law.”

Even though it is true that, at times when Paul uses the word “law” he is referring to the temporary ritual law which is no longer in force and effect for us today (compare, for example, Romans 5:13–14; Galatians 3:17, 19, 24–25), the context of Romans 6:14–15 addresses, at least in part, the spiritual law (some call it “moral law”) of the Ten Commandments.

In what way then are we no longer “under law”?

In our free booklet, And Lawlessness Will Abound…, we explain this phrase as follows, on page 18:

“… Others quote Romans 6:14, stating that we are no longer ‘under law but under grace,’ saying this means we don’t have to obey the law anymore. However, the correct meaning of this passage is that when we violate the law, we are no longer under the curse of the law—the death penalty—as the blood of Christ, given to us by grace, has covered and forgiven our sins—has paid the death penalty that we earned. Paul explains in the very next verse (verse 15), that this does not mean that we can now continue to sin—that is, to break God’s law. Rather, we are now to be ‘slaves of righteousness’ (verse 18), in keeping God’s law.”

The Greek Word “HUPO” for “Under”

Some may question this statement, asking for further proof that this conclusion is correct. Let us therefore review additional passages where the term “under law” is mentioned, and let us see in what way this phrase is used. We need to note that in Romans 6:14–15, the Greek word for “under” is “hupo.” We will limit our discussion to the use of that Greek word.

In Galatians 4:4–5, we read:

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born UNDER (Greek: “hupo”) THE LAW, to redeem those who were UNDER (Greek: “hupo”) THE LAW, that we might receive the adoption as son (better: “sonship”).”

No Longer Under the Law’s Penalty 

In our free booklet, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians—How to Understand It, we explain this passage as follows:

“Christ had to be made UNDER the law—subject to its penalty—as Christ never sinned. He never was under the law—its penalty—due to His conduct; rather, He had to be placed or made under the law, so that He could pay the penalty of sin for us. We came under the law—its penalty—through our conduct, so Christ had to be MADE UNDER the law, in order to redeem us who were under the law—its penalty.

“And why? To give us SONSHIP! The Authorized Version translates verse 5, erroneously, as ‘adoption’ (compare, too, Romans 8:15), but the correct rendering is ‘sonship.’ God is not only ‘adopting’ us ‘as sons,’ by granting us certain privileges and possessions, but He is reproducing Himself—His very divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)—in us. When we receive His Holy Spirit, we are BEGOTTEN sons and daughters of God, and when we are changed into spirit at the time of Christ’s return, we are then BORN AGAIN children of God—not just adopted children, but children with the very same NATURE and MIND of God (Philippians 2:5).”

Another passage, where the term “under the law” is used, is in Galatians 4:21.

It reads: “Tell me, you who desire to be under (Greek: “hupo”) the law, do you not hear the law?”

Desire to Be Under the Law?

In the above-mentioned booklet on Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we state:

“Paul is not saying here that they desired to be under the law in the sense that they wanted to be under the penalty of the law. They did not desire to die because of their sins. But they seemed to desire to live their old way of life again (which brings forth death)—or they desired to follow wrong teachers believing that they must be circumcised in order to be saved.

“But as we saw, circumcision does not justify us—nor do even the Ten Commandments. In violating just one of the Ten Commandments, we have sinned and incurred the death penalty. What saves us is Christ’s sacrifice, by which God forgives us our sins and removes the penalty—but we can’t keep on sinning so that grace may abound.

“To put it differently, if we desire to break God’s law of the Ten Commandments, we are again under the law; that is, under or subject to its penalty. Also, if we desire to obtain justification apart from Christ, we are still under or subject to the penalty of the law, as we can only become justified through Christ.

“Furthermore, Paul is using the word ‘law’ in different ways in verse 21. To be ‘under the law’ means, under its penalty; when he then says, ‘hear the law,’ he means the five books of Moses.”

A third passage can be found in Galatians 5:18.

It reads: “But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under (Greek: “hupo”) the law.”

Not Under the Law When Led by the Spirit

Again quoting from our booklet on Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

“We can choose to walk in the Spirit (verse 16), which will motivate and empower us to KEEP the law of love, and when we do, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh which will induce us to sin and to break the law (compare 1 John 3:4: ‘Sin is the transgression of the law.’). But if we chose, instead, to walk in the flesh, we don’t show love, but selfishness, and we will engage in biting and devouring one another (verse 15)…

“To walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh is a constant struggle, as Paul explains in verse 17. There is a battle going on in our minds between God’s Spirit and our fleshly desires… When we are led by God’s Spirit and do the things which are pleasing in God’s sight, we are no longer ‘under the law’ (verse 18). When we walk after the Spirit and are led by it, we will keep the law. And since and as long as we don’t break it, we are not under the penalty of the law.”

When we are under the law, we are under its penalty for having violated it. The law has dominion over us in that it can demand our life. The penalty of the law is also described as the “curse of the law.” We are under that curse when we sin, and nothing that WE might do subsequently can abolish that curse.

Galatians 3:10, 13 tells us: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under (Greek: “hupo”) the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’… Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’)…”

Those Who Are of the Works of the Law Are Cursed

In our booklet on Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we state the following:

“Paul conveys the thought that nobody kept all the physical works of the law, including all of its rituals, washings or sacrifices. In addition, nobody even kept all of God’s spiritual commandments of the Ten Commandments and its judgments and statutes. Therefore, everybody is under the curse or penalty of the law, which is the second death for spiritual sin or which might be physical death or other physical penalties for civil or criminal infractions…

“The curse of the law is the penalty for breaking or violating the law. Christ redeemed us from the curse or penalty of the law—not the law—as He became a curse for us, in that He took our sins upon Himself and paid the penalty for our sins on our behalf. He thereby redeemed us or set us free from the penalty of death, which we brought upon ourselves by sinning—breaking the law.”

Under Sin

In the same way, we are “under” sin (Greek: “hupo”), as Romans 3:9 says (“we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.”). When we sin, then we are under the power or influence of sin. Sin has us in its clutches. Rather than ruling over it (Genesis 4:7), it rules over us. And as carnal human beings, we cannot keep the law of God (Romans 8:7). But even after conversion, a fight of good versus evil is going on in our minds and in our lives. Paul was still compelled to say, years after his conversion, that he was “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14; Greek: “hupo”) and did “evil” (Romans 7:19), obeying the “sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:17, 20), and being held in “captivity” to sin (Romans 7:23).

When we sin by transgressing the law (compare Romans 4:15), then we are under sin, under the law, under the curse of the law, under its penalty. Sin has power over us so long as that penalty is not removed, because the penalty of sin—the wages of sin—is death (Romans 6:23). So, death needs to be removed.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:54–57 that death will be swallowed up in victory when we become immortal Spirit beings (unable to die anymore), exclaiming: “O Death, where is your sting?… The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” When we sin (by transgressing the law), then we bring the death penalty upon us. But Paul continues: “But thanks to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Under God’s Protection

Notice that it is God who GIVES us the victory. The Bible tells us that we can find mercy, forgiveness, protection and help from God. We can be placed under God’s grace, rather than living “under the penalty of the law.”

God—through Jesus Christ—is offering us His grace, so that we can be freed from the law’s death penalty. When we accept God’s grace, then we are UNDER His grace. We can be under God’s protection.

Jesus uses a similar analogy when He states in Matthew 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under (Greek: “hupo”) her wings, but you were not willing.”

You must be willing to come under Christ’s wings. You must be willing to “humble yourselves under (Greek: “hupo”) the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7).

The use of the Greek word “hupo”, in English “under,” is important. We are no longer “under” the law—its death penalty—but “under” grace. Since God is willing to give us protection by, symbolically speaking, gathering us “under” His wings, and as we are to humble ourselves “under” the mighty hand of God, we can come “under” God’s grace; that is, under God’s protection and authority. In Matthew 8:9, a Roman centurion states that he is “a man under (Greek: “hupo”) authority, having soldiers under (Greek: “hupo”)” him (compare also Luke 7:8). In the same way, we are “under” God’s grace, coming “under” and putting our trust “under” the shadow of His wings (compare Psalm 17:8; 36:7).

We are still using similar terminology today when we want to express the thought that someone is under authority of someone or something else. We speak of someone who is “under the influence” of alcohol; or that someone is placed “under observation.”

What, then, is meant in detail that we are to live “under grace”?

Under God’s Grace

Simply put, God’s grace is God’s unmerited favor. It is the gift of God. It includes manifold facets of God’s undeserved pardon and forgiveness, His mercy and His compassion, and more.

The Greek word for “grace,” “charis,” can mean benefit, favor and gift. The Greek word “charisma” is derived from the word, “charis.”

God’s grace is a gift, and it includes forgiveness of our sins and thereby the removal of the death penalty. We were freely justified by God’s grace in that God forgave us our sins, following our repentance and belief in Christ’s Sacrifice (Romans 3:23–24).

Paul makes it clear that we cannot justify ourselves. When we sin, we incur the death penalty, which needs to be forgiven. The law—any law, whether ritual or spiritual—cannot forgive our sins or justify us. We read in Galatians 5:4: “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

When and as long as we are under grace and not under the law’s death penalty, then we have the promise of eternal life (Romans 6:23: “the GIFT of God is eternal life”)—something which is promised to us by grace. (1 Peter 3:7 speaks of the “grace of life.”)

We need to realize what is included in the concept that we are under grace. First of all, grace is a GIFT which is FREELY given to us. We cannot earn it—nothing that we do “entitles” us to receive God’s gift of His grace (Romans 5:15; 1 Corinthians 1:4; Ephesians 3:7).

We read that God calls us to salvation through His grace (Galatians 1:15). It is a gift from God that we CAN even come to Him. We read in John 6:44 that we cannot come to God unless God draws us to Him (and John 6:65 says that this must be “granted” to us). And Romans 2:4 adds that repentance is a gift from God as well.

We read that we believe through grace (Acts 18:27). It is a gift from God that we CAN even believe.

We read that it is through the grace of God that we have been and can be saved (Acts 15:11; compare Ephesians 2:8).

Grace Does Not Nullify the Law

None of this does away with the need to keep God’s law, as we have thoroughly explained throughout this booklet.

To briefly reiterate, Paul asks the question in Romans 6:1 whether we should continue in sin after we have obtained God’s grace of forgiveness. His conclusion is: Absolutely not! He says that we were once slaves of sin, but that we now have become slaves of righteousness. If we were to continue in the practice of sinful conduct, we would have received God’s grace in vain.

Grace Helps Us to Serve God Now

Grace is not limited to the past. Rather, it is through grace that we can serve God now. Hebrews 12:28 says: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, BY WHICH we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” We are to be “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).

It is through grace that God gives us His Holy Spirit, and that is why we are warned not to insult “the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29).

Grace includes more than forgiveness of past sins. Otherwise, sin would again rule over us the minute we fall for its evil devices. And we oftentimes do. But when we do, we can again obtain forgiveness after true repentance and belief in Christ’s Sacrifice, and God then cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8–9). But grace is not a license to sin. God expects us to improve toward perfection—to live more and more without sin.

However, as we saw, we cannot keep God’s law or be obedient to God just on our own strength. We need God’s grace to be able to accomplish this.

God’s Grace Gives Us Power to Conquer Sin

And so, grace is not only the favor of forgiveness of past sins, but it also includes the strength and power to overcome sin now and in the future, and to live more and more righteously. This is an all-important reason WHY sin will no longer have dominion over us, as we read in Romans 6:14–15.

In Titus 2:11–12, we read that God’s grace that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that we are to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and that we must instead live soberly, righteously and godly in this present evil world. The German Luther Bible is even clearer, emphasizing that it is the grace of God that helps and motivates us to forsake ungodliness and to embrace a righteous and godly life.

The Life Application Bible has the following annotation: “If we’re no longer under the law but under grace, are we now free to sin and disregard the Ten Commandments? Paul says, ‘By no means.’ … the law does not justify us or help us to overcome sin. But now that we are bound to Christ, he is our Master, and he gives us power to do good rather than evil.”

Christ Lives in Us

Romans 5:8–10 adds that we were justified and reconciled to God through Christ’s death, but that we will be saved by His life. It is Christ’s life in us that continues to justify us and that saves us.

When we are under grace, we receive justification for our sins when we repent of them and believe in Christ’s Sacrifice. We become justified through faith. We must believe in Christ, but we must also have the faith OF Christ in us (Galatians 2:16, Authorized Version), which is given to us through the Holy Spirit. Christ must be living in us. It is HIS faith which continually justifies us.

In addition, we receive power and strength to become more and more righteous. God’s righteousness, which we are to seek (Matthew 6:33), is also God’s gift, as is God’s grace (Romans 5:17). In other words, God gives us His righteousness through His grace. He offers it to us, but we must accept it. When we let God live in us and guide us through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, then we will become more and more righteous.

We can only keep the righteous requirements of the law, IF Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and IF we follow Christ’s lead. Christ must keep the law in and through us (Romans 8:3–4). He condemned sin in His flesh—and we must allow Him to condemn sin today in our flesh!

Rather than abolishing law through grace, it is God’s grace which cleanses us from sin; which frees us from the death penalty; and which enables us to become more and more righteous by obeying the law. We are under grace—including its power to overcome sin—thereby abolishing sin’s dominion over us.

Conclusion

We have shown you in this booklet that true Christians, who are under God’s grace, must strive to keep His law. Grace does not do away with God’s spiritual law; rather, God’s grace helps us to keep the law. At the same time, Christ must live IN His disciples, empowering them to be obedient, but they must be willing participants in the process of becoming righteous and inheriting eternal life in the Kingdom and Family of God.

God has revealed His character in the law of the Ten Commandments, and the statutes and judgments, which explain the Ten Commandments even further. God wants us to become perfect, as He is perfect. When Christ was here on earth as a human being, He kept the law perfectly. He magnified the law in His life to show us how to keep it in the spirit, not just in the letter. When we are under God’s grace of deliverance, we are no longer under the penalty of the law, as Christ’s death paid the penalty on our behalf. When we are under God’s grace of power and protection, we receive Christ’s help to become more and more righteous and successful in conquering sin.

God’s laws include so many facets of life, all of which can be found in the Holy Bible. Some of His laws were temporary and of a ritual nature, while others were and are spiritual and must still be obeyed. We have prepared many booklets to explain to you which commandments are still binding today for true Christians, and how they are to be kept in the letter and in the spirit. Please review our list of available free literature at the end of this booklet, and send us your request. We will be happy to assist you on your journey toward eternal life.

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Did God Give Israel Bad Laws?

Some quote Ezekiel 20:25 (Authorized Version) for the proposition that God gave Israel laws that were not good. But when we review from God’s Word what He tells us about His laws, we can know this statement in verse 25 of Ezekiel 20 cannot be complete as presented.

In Psalm 19:7–10 we read: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.”

Romans 7:12 tells us: “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”

What then could this verse in Ezekiel be revealing to us? Much can be learned by reading the preceding twenty-four verses of this 20th chapter of Ezekiel. Israel, of course, had been in captivity under the rule of the Egyptians for a long time and had totally lost any knowledge of God and of His Ways. God had determined to reveal Himself once again to these descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).

In verse 11 of this chapter we see that God gave them His statutes and judgments, “which if a man does, he shall live by them.” Continue in verses 12–13:

“Moreover, I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths.”

Thus, God turned against them (verses 23–24): “Also I lifted My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.”

Somewhat clearer than the Authorized Version, the New King James Bible gives a little more understanding relative to verse 25, stating that God “…GAVE THEM UP to statutes that were not good.” The Living Bible states it this way: “I let them adopt customs and laws which were worthless. Through the keeping of them they could not attain (eternal) life.”

These were laws and statutes they had determined for themselves to live by. Yet, in so doing, they could not please God!

What were these laws, these statutes and these judgments that the people took to themselves? They are the laws Paul spoke of in the second chapter of the letter to the Colossians. He described these laws as “philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and NOT according to Christ” (verse 8). Paul identified these human “regulations” (verse 20) as “commandments and doctrines of men” (verse 22).

In Psalm 81:11–12, God reveals exactly what He did in this matter with Israel. “But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.”

Notice, also, Acts 7:41–42: “And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven (false worship), as it is written in the book of the Prophets…”

Yes, God allowed them to go their own way. It was their choice, as it is with God’s people today! Proverbs 14:12 tells us: “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”

Moses explained to Israel in Deuteronomy 4:5–8 that God’s righteous laws were for their wisdom and understanding in the sight of all the nations. This was a blessing to them from the Almighty!

Notice verse 8 of Deuteronomy 4 (Authorized Version): “And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” And in Deuteronomy 6:24–25 (Authorized Version): “And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is today. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all the commandments before our God, as He hath commanded.”

God’s people would do well today to follow these righteous instructions from their God!

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