Jesus said,
"miscegenation between the races of Cain and Adam, which caused
God to send the Flood would repeat in the time of His 'parousia'
Coming". That is, from 1963 to the present day. Now I've
chosen three Scriptures from which to draw a context for our
sermon tonight.
Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmity (or hatred) between the Serpent
and the woman, and between his seed and her seed;"
Malachi 1:2-4, "I have loved you, says the LORD. Yet you say,
'Wherein have You loved us?' 'Wasn't Esau your father Jacob's
brother?' said the LORD: 'yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and
laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the jackals of the
wilderness'.
Whereas Edom's descendants
say, 'We are impoverished, but we will return and build the
desolate places'. (That's the self-styled Jew of today). At
the end of World War II, these Political Zionists, taking
advantage of the impoverished European Jews, forcibly and
illegally shipped them to Palestine where they seized
control.
'THUS SAITH THE LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will
throw down; and men shall call them, The Land of Wickedness, and,
Those Whom God Does Not Ever Forgive'." (That's what God
thinks of their gangland today, and a prophecy of their fate).
I Peter 2:9-10, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should
show forth the praises of Him Who has called you out of darkness
into His marvelous Light: Which in time past were not a people,
but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but
have now obtained mercy".
God is a Separator, brethren. Those who are His children will not
be offended at His Word. There's been a great battle going-on
since the Fall in the garden of Eden. And it's a story of jealousy
between Lucifer and his children who have no inheritance on earth
or in heaven, and Michael or Christ and His children who are joint
heirs in the kingdom of God.
It's a story of sibling rivalry and a root of bitterness that was
permitted to flourish. Throughout the Bible we see twins like Abel
and Cain, Michael and Lucifer, Jesus and Judas, Light and Darkness
– or Jacob and Esau. In this lesson we will study Jacob and
Esau.
The Israelites who ratified the Covenant at Sinai and the children
born in their homes were entitled to citizenship. Israel came out
of Egypt under the blood of the Lamb and God met with Moses on top
of Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia (not the Sinai Peninsula) as He had
promised.
God made His covenant in Exodus 19:5-8, "If you will obey My
voice by deeds, and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own
peculiar treasure from among and above all people: for all the
earth is Mine: And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests (or
mediators in My Presence on behalf of other nations), a holy
nation (separated and consecrated to the worship of God –
and worship is not praying and hymn-singing, it's living the Life.
True worship is having the Token or Life of Christ on display at
all times). Tell these Words to the children of Israel".
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and told
them all these Words which the LORD commanded him.
And
all the people answered together, and said, "All that the LORD
has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people
to the LORD".
Then God summoned Moses, Aaron and his sons, Nadab and Abihu, and
seventy of Israel's elders to Mount Sinai, where Moses would enter
the Presence and be alone with God for forty days and forty nights
to receive the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone. But before
they ascended, "Moses wrote all the Words of the LORD, and
rising early in the morning, built an altar at the foot of the
mountain, and twelve pillars, representing Israel's twelve tribes.
And he sent young Israelite men, who offered burnt offerings, and
sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took
half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he
dashed against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant,
and read it in the hearing of the people: and they said, 'All that
the LORD has said will we do, and be obedient'.
And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and
said, 'Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made
with you according to these Words'" (Exodus 24:4-8, I
Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 10:28-29).
God established His nation under a blood-sealed covenant. Citizens
who despised the covenant died without mercy by the hand of Israel
on the evidence of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:2-6).
There were, however, certain exceptions. Not everyone who came out
of Egypt with Israel was entitled to citizenship in Israel. And a mixed
multitude of races and beliefs tagged behind the Hebrews for the
opportunity to escape slavery. These people were without faith and
became a stumbling block to the children of Israel, lusting after
the worldly comfort of Egypt, video games, garlic and leeks. Till
they angered God Who sent them manna from heaven. And when they
lusted after fresh meat, He sent quail in such abundance that in
their greed they made themselves ill.
Paul tells us that although these all followed the Shekinah of the
Angel of God's Presence, like we all follow the Message today, and
they were all baptized in the Red Sea (or the Sea of Esau/Edom) as
we're all baptized correctly in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
not His three Titles or Offices of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. And
they all ate the same bread from heaven, as we all feed our souls
upon the same Message; they all drank the life-giving water from
the smitten rock as we are all anointed by the same Holy Spirit.
Yet they still lusted after the world. Paul called them idolaters
and murmurers. Jesus said that their names were removed from the
Book of Life (I Corinthians 10:1-11; Hebrews 3:17; John 8:49).
Paul said that these things happened to them as an example for us.
And as "all Israel is not Israel", all those who came out
from the denominations by hearing the "Shout" of Matthew
25:6, Revelation 10:7 and 18:4, are not citizens of Spiritual
Israel. Indeed, I am persuaded that very few of us are truly
born-again.
Not only was Israel a mixed multitude that included those who were
ineligible for citizenship naturally, for some were excluded on
racial lines, but only three adult men who came out of Egypt were
Spiritually citizens of Israel -- Moses, Joshua and Caleb.
Turn to Exodus 23:20-33 because I want to demonstrate that God is
a Separator. Follow in your Bibles as I ad lib. Here God tells
Moses of the blessing and protection that will go before Israel,
because the Angel of His Presence will prepare the way. And
provided they obey His instructions, nothing will stand before the
Word of the Lord. Their material needs will be supplied, there
will be no illness, and all of their battles will be victorious.
This is how it should be with the end-time Bride of Jesus Christ
as we grow into maturity and come nearer to the end of the Gentile
dispensation, ready for the manifestation of the Sons of God. But
we've got to separate from all unbelief. We are still very much a
mixed multitude.
As God could not bless Abraham until he separated from his heathen
father, Terah, through the old man's passing, and from his nephew
Lot, God can not bless Christ's Bride until we separate ourselves
unto Him. God requires His perfect will in our lives. Abraham just
started out with His permissive will. God called Abraham and his
wife on a journey of faith, He didn't say, "Bring the
family"!
Abraham is our type. He had to separate from Lot who followed
the same Message of deliverance but was not God's elected. Lot
types the foolish virgin who are saved through the tribulation.
Christ's end-time Bride must separate from the foolish virgin who
also heard the midnight cry of Matthew 25:6: the Message of the
prophet of Malachi 4:5-6 and Revelation 10:7, and came out of
Babylon.
We will always have the foolish virgin in our midst. And too many
among us are foolish, but not virgin. Virgin in the Spiritual
sense of the holiness of a life sanctified and consecrated to God.
These are "the little foxes that spoil the vine". Don't
reject them, the Word will discern between you. They can't follow
It, that's why there are so many divisions among us today. Can't
you see this is the Lord's doing? There's no division in the
elect, but among are non-elect. Otherwise we'd all be in
agreement.
Reading on in Exodus 23 God tells Moses, the Angel of His Presence
will guide Israel into the land of "the Amorites, and the
Hittites and the Perizzites, the Canaanites, Hivites and the
Jebusites". He says, "You shall make no covenant with them,
nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land which you
will confiscate from them." These were the Serpent seed
children of Cain through Esau.
Jesus stated emphatically, "My sheep receive My Word, and will
not follow a stranger" (John 10:1-5). He said, "After the
opening of the Seven Seals, false anointed ones and false prophets
will show great signs and wonders, but that His elect could not be
deceived on the revealed Word" (Matthew 24:24). And Paul said,
"If someone can't receive the faith or understanding after two
admonitions you know the election's off" (Titus 3:9-11).
In Church last week, we spoke about the signs Jesus promised would
follow the believer's faith. Mark 16 was vindicated in Acts 28 and
Paul was so full of the Holy Ghost, that when the snake took hold
of his hand to escape the flames, he just shook it back into the
fire and carried on with his work. Paul was not prepared to reason
with the natural circumstances of his situation against a promise
of God's Word. He was full of the Word, which is the Spirit in a
form we can by faith receive.
Brother Branham said, "Give me a Church full of the Holy Ghost.
God will do in one year what all theologists failed to do in two
thousand years. You wait till the anointing of the Church really
strikes home. They have faith, the little remnant. After the doors
of the Gentiles are closed. Oh, God will anoint a church
then".
Well, what are we waiting for? Let's practice, so we're ready for
the manifestation of the Sons of God. But we're not going to get
ready uniting with all the Message denominations. God preserve us
from that! We don't want to dilute the Spirit: sitting down to eat
and drink and rising to play with the mixed Message multitude. Yet
periodically some do-gooder sounds the trumpet for those who don't
agree on the Message, to walk together anyway. Why, when the Holy
Spirit has separated us from one another?
As a child I attended Sunday school where we sang the
chorus:-
"Jesus died for all the children,
All the children in the world;
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His Sight.
Jesus died for all the children in the world."
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Color of
skin has nothing to do with it, but that song is a lie. Jesus did
not die for all the children in the world. He died only for
children who were of Adam's race – and for them alone.
Remember, our subject is citizenship in Israel. The natural types
the Spiritual. Certain individuals in Israel's midst were excluded
from citizenship. Today this applies to Spiritual Israel, the true
Church. In every assembly there are three kinds of believer - the
genuine believer or elect, the make-believer who is deceived, or a
deceiver, and the unbeliever or sinner.
All natural Serpent's seed found in the Promised Land were to be
killed – from the innocent babe at its mother's breast to the
old men and women (Deuteronomy 7:1-6). They were excluded from
Israel. As natural Serpent seed are the descendants of Cain, the
hybrid son of the Serpent and Eve, Spiritual serpent's seed are
the bastard children of Satan's false church which hybrid God's
Word with man-made traditions. They'll all have their part in the
Lake of Fire.
Certain of Israel's relations were also excluded from citizenship, a type of the
foolish virgin, and also the unbeliever in our midst today.
Spiritual Israel are a separated people, united with God and with
one another by faith, not by an artificial man-made fellowship,
however well-intentioned.
There was another group who, like the Canaanites, were begotten by
incest or adultery. Let's look at these "strangers":-
Deuteronomy 23:2-8, "No one born of incest or adultery (a
mamser), or any of his descendants to ten generations, shall
enter into the congregation of the LORD.
No Ammonite or Moabite shall EVER enter the congregation of the
LORD; even after the tenth generation: because they did not meet
you with bread and water when you came forth out of Egypt; and
because they hired Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor from
Mesopotamia, to curse you.
Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; but the
LORD God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because your God
loved you. You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity so
long as you live".
(The Ammonite and Moabite is excluded from Israelite citizenship
even if they married a Jewess. This did not apply to an Ammonitess
or Moabitess (such as Ruth), as the lineage follows the male
line).
"You shall not abhor an Edomite; for Esau was your brother: you
shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land".
(In an upcoming study we will see that Edom is accursed of God and
identify who he is today).
"The grandchildren of the Egyptians who came with you out of
Egypt may enter the congregation of the LORD".
Who were these "strangers" in Israel? The dominant
principles of legislation concerning them are expressed in
Deuteronomy 10:18 and Leviticus 19:33-34, "If a stranger
sojourn with you in your land, you shall not vex him. But the
stranger who dwells with you shall be as one born among you and
you shall love him as yourself . . ." This treatment of the
stranger is based partly on historic recollection and partly on
the duty of the Israelite to his God.
Much misunderstanding has arisen because English Bible translators
have commonly used the word "stranger" for any person,
regardless of race, who is unknown in the immediate circle of a
given family. Had they exercised greater care, they would have
presented this subject in an entirely different light.
Four different Hebrew words have been translated "stranger"
in the Authorized Version. They are: (1) ger (2) toshabh (3) nokri, and (4) zuwr.
In Leviticus 19:33-34, the "stranger that dwells with you shall
be as one home-born". A temporary inhabitant or newcomer,
racially identical with Israel but lacking inherited rights, was
called the ger,
and was conceded rights. The word was used of the Patriarchs in
Palestine, the Israelites in Egypt, Levites dwelling among the
Israelites (Deuteronomy 18:6; Judges 17:7), and particularly of
free aliens residing among the Israelites.
Historical circumstances made the position of the resident alien
important from the foundation of the nation. A "mixed
multitude" went up with Israel from Egypt, and after the
conquest, Israelites and the races of Palestine lived side by side
throughout the land. Solomon numbered 53,600, whom he put under
tribute (II Chronicles 2:17-18; I Kings 9:20-23).
In nationality, the freeman followed his father, so that the son
of a ger and an Israelitess was also a ger, contrary to the false
teaching of the Talmud followed by the Pharisees which claims that
the lineage follows the mother (Leviticus 24:10-22). Special care
was to be taken to do him no judicial wrong (Deuteronomy 1:16;
24:17; 27:19). In Law, the ger or gerim, were to have equality of
justice with native Israelites (Leviticus 18:26; 20:2; 24:10-22;
Numbers 35:15).
A free Israelite who became his slave was subject to redemption by a
near kinsman at any time on payment of a fair price – Leviticus
25:47-55. This passage and Deuteronomy 28:43-47 contemplate the
possibility of a ger's becoming wealthy, but the greater number of
legal provisions regard him as probably poor.
Because the ger would be naturally disadvantaged through his
alienage, he becomes one of the favorites of a legislation that
gives special protection to the weak and helpless. Thus provision
is made for him to participate in tithes.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29, "Every third year you must use your
entire tithe for local welfare programs. Give it to the Levites
who have no inheritance, and the stranger, to widows and orphans
within your town so they can eat and be satisfied; and then your
God will bless you and your work". (Also see Deuteronomy
26:12).
The gerim also shared the gleanings of various sorts and forgotten
sheaves (like the saints of the Seven Church Ages of part-Word)
(Leviticus 19:10; 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-22). And if he hired
himself out, his employer was bound to refrain from oppression
(Deuteronomy 24:14).
He was expected to keep the Law, and nearly all the main holy days
applied to the gerim – he was to rest on the sabbath, to
rejoice on the feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles, observe the Day of
Atonement, and to eat no leavened bread on the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. He was forbidden to eat the Passover until circumcised, and
was then subject to all the rules of purification against
uncleanness like any Israelite. The status and privileges of the
ger derive from the bond of hospitality in which a guest is
inviolable with claims of protection and full sustenance in return
for loyalty (Genesis 18:1-8; Judges 19:16-21).
From the vision granted to Ezekiel 47:22, we see the gerim are
assigned an inheritance in the land among the Israelites.
"Divide the land for an inheritance for yourselves, and the
strangers that sojourn and have children born among you. They
shall be to you as born in the country among the children of
Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of
Israel".
The ger type the elect Gentiles who, like Japheth, come under the
same covering as Shem (Genesis 9:27). These privileges are not
extended to those covered by toshabh, nokri and zuwr.
The Hebrew
word toshabh is used to identify one who is different, in an
unspecified way to the ger, like an alien or estranged person.
Perhaps a less permanent sojourner like a resident guest visiting
the house of a priest in Israel who was denied further rights.
They may not, under any circumstances, eat the Passover or any of
the "holy" things of a priest (Exodus 12:45;
Leviticus 22:10). In contrast to the gerim, His children could be
bought as perpetual slaves with absolutely no recourse to
redemption – the Law of Jubilee did not apply to them (Leviticus
25:45). Toshabh, while permitted to reside in Israel, had no legal
status except in respect of justice, beyond which he had no rights
whatsoever.
The word nokri
(ben nekhar), covers everything of alien or foreign character,
regardless of the place of residence, and is defined by the
context in which it appears. It embraces the Canaanites, who
descended from Ham's incestuous behavior, and the Moabites and
Ammonites who descended from Lot's cohabitation with his own
daughters. These nokri were strictly taboo with no rights or
privileges in the Israel community. Their status was that of a
bastard – in Hebrew, a "mamser", meaning one of mixed or
spurious origins – being specifically prevented by Divine
Decree, from entering the congregation of the Lord even to his
tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:2-3). That is, never! While the
subject of marriage between the ger and the toshabh is not
mentioned, marriage with the nokri is positively forbidden
(Genesis 24:3). The Serpent's seed are Nokri.
The Hebrew
word zuwr, takes its definition, like the other words, from
the context. The word appears in connection with enemy aliens or a
foreign race (Serpent's seed) with no rights whatsoever in Israel.
Even justice is denied the zuwr. In all Israel's national
disasters, the zuwr is reckoned the main contributing factor. And
in each of the following three examples this judgment has befallen
Israel because like Eve, Israel has broken God's Covenant. Isaiah
1:7, "your country is ruined and desolate, your cities are
burned, and while you watch helplessly strangers (zuwr)
destroy and plunder everything in sight . . ." Hosea 5:7,
"They have dealt treacherously against the Lord, bearing
strange (zuwr) children." Hosea 7:9, "Strangers
(zuwr) have devoured his strength, and he knows it not."
(See also Leviticus 26:16, 32; Isaiah 17:10; 25:2, 5; 28:21; 29:5,
43:12; 61:5).
One English word "stranger" thus translated from the
four Hebrew words tends to obscure the true relationship required
by God in dealing with other people. And in a similar way, the
English word "Coming" translated from two Greek words
"erchomai" and "parousia" has produced great
confusion among nominal believers, most of whom actually imagine
the Man from Galilee will physically descend from the clouds, when
this is not what the Bible is teaching.
In Deuteronomy 23:7 we read, "You shall not abhor an Edomite; for
Esau was your brother: you shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you
were a stranger in his land".
How about a German, an Englishman, Australian, Russian, a Canadian
or an American? If the Israelites were "strangers" in the land of
Egypt, much more are they who call themselves "Jews," strangers in
these lands today. They should reverence their hosts, and the host
countries and behave as considerate guests, not account themselves
permanent citizens in these far-away lands where, according to the
Bible, they are "strangers," and as the Land of Palestine has been
given them, they have no Scriptural authority to be.
In her book, "My Life", former Prime Minister of Israel Mrs. Golda
Meir, recalls the seventh meeting of the Canadian Jewish Congress
in Spring of 1947, where future Zionist leader, Dr. Nahum Goldmann
explained, "We insisted on Palestine not because of religious,
historical or sentimental reasons, but because Palestine is a
turning table of three continents and in the military, political,
and strategic sense it is the world's Center." "Besides," &#!50;
added added speaker Goldman, quoting a statement which appeared in
the "Congressional Bulletin" &150; "the oil reserves in this area
are much higher than on the whole American continent."
These people care not a fig for the Promised Land God gave to the
lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They considered settlements
in Australia, Africa, Madagascar, Poland and South America. Those
who settled present-day Israel were often illegal refugees forced
onto ships against their will. These are "strangers" in the land
of Israel today as they were "strangers" in the lands of Germany,
Poland, Russia, Austria, Hungary or America yesterday. According
to Scripture, they are wanderers with no inheritance in any land.
But the God of Israel knows who are His. All things work together
for good to those who love God and are the called according to His
purpose. In His providence the World Wars were to establish Israel
in the Homeland so He could fulfill prophecy – NOT create a
Mafia state for "strangers" to hijack the world. There a
tiny remnant of the predestinated true seed of Abraham, Isaac and
Israel shall be restored in the Covenant Land. There the God of
their forefathers will meet them in the ministry of the two
prophets of Zechariah 4.
Beware wolves in sheep's clothing. Beware of "strangers."
Test all things by the PRESENT Truth of God's unchanging Word.
All Israel is NOT Israel, and all Christendom is NOT Christian.
Let's not be too hasty to amalgamate with every group that claims
to follow the same teaching. Give them the Word test. We can only
know God as we understand the Logos, not as we agree on the Rhema.
As Paul observed, the letter is death, whereas the Spirit is Life.
The question that arises is, what was the status of the
Edomites? bb980909.htm . . ./Next
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