The Chosen People of HaShem
Part Four
by Jagannatha Prakash, August 5, 2007
But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation:
ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
-- Isaiah 45:17
The Chosen People of HaShem
Israel and Nations
Before the Kingdom is established several things must take place.
Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
This was fulfilled in 70 CE as Titus and his Roman troops devastated the Holy City and the Second Temple.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The “end of the world” here is better written the “end of the age.”
Jews had been longing for the establishment of God's kingdom for a very long time. According to the Hebrew prophets a deliverer would one day come, vanquish Israel's enemy and restore the Theocracy. Master Y'shua frequently discussed the coming kingdom and his followers wanted to know when it would be established. Many of them had hoped that Master Y'shua might the one they had been waiting for. In the following verses Master Y'shua shares a basic time frame for the establishment of the Kingdom.
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Beginning around the 1850's everything was being called into question. New versions of Christianity and other religions began appearing on the scene that questioned the religion's core beliefs. Eastern religions were come west and western beliefs began altering the east. Science was elevated into a secular religion and for the first time in world history a significant percentage of the population were Atheists or Agnostics. Everywhere prophets were appearing with diverse teachings, challenges and explanations and the majority of westerners began abandoning Christianity in favor of Secular Humanism and rampant hedonism.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then came World War One, “the war to end all wars,” and the one after that. Nation rose against nation and kingdom again kingdom in two global wars. Then came another and another... During the Cold War years one heard rumors and paranoia spread across the planet as school children hid beneath our desk in nuclear war drills. Earthquake activity increased to levels not seen in recorded history, famines and diseases were wide spread.
And these were only the beginnings
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
The Jewish were delivered up and slaughtered around the globe in pograms and the Shoah. So too with those grafted off Christians as prophets arose teaching fundamentalist hate and liberal agnosticism. From all sides belief in the Holy One was/is under attack.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
What Kingdom? The kingdom Jews had been waiting on for ages!
Zionists began speaking of a restored Israel and yet many righteous Jews were not interested. Prophecy indicates that it will be the Meshiach who will restore Israel, not human endeavor. Secular Jews were working for the creation of a Jewish homeland but little came of it. The Balfour Declaration (dated November 2, 1917) spoke of creating Israel, but the time was not yet. But the gospel of the kingdom was being preached and gradually it took root in Jewish hearts.
Some Christians will argue that the Gospel of the Kingdom is the proclamation of the Christian message, but this clearly is not the case. Consider for instance that in verse three his disciples asked about the establishment of the Kingdom and he began this prophesy. Then he says, “...And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached ...” clearly referencing the establishment of Israel.
Talk about the Kingdom of Israel, hope that it might come.... these were preached but the time is not yet.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Verse thirteen says the people must continue to endure. For how long? It isn't made clear at this point in this prophecy. After explaining the general events, Master Y'shua skips forward. The subject of the desecration that causes the abomination spoken of by Prophet Daniel references chapter nine of his book. I'll come back to this shortly. For now, a specific event will occur and those who witness it, those living in and around Jerusalem, will do well to flee into the desert. Form other texts we know the suggested location, Petra. This will be advisable because once this act is performed a period of time will begin known as the tribulation period. These will be the most troubled seven years in human history.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
These seven years will be so horrible that if HaShem does not intervene no one on earth will survive it. As I said early in this study, HaShem gives the human race freedom. Our freedom would lead us to our destruction were it not for one thing:
The Jews.
The Elect of HaShem.
To save the Jews from annihilation HaShem will intervene and shorten the seven years.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
From among the nations of the European Union, probably from the Greek Isles, an amazing man is going to appear. Suggestions that he might be the foretold Antichrist will seem ludicrous! From other scriptures we know that he will speak great things and present himself as a true humanitarian. Through a series of negotiations and treaties this man will establish world peace. People the world over will hail him as a great person, many will believe to be divine. Many Jews, Christians and Muslims will declare his the Messiah, the Madhi, the Great Master.
But then he will order the construction of a temple in Jerusalem. Through peace treaties he will establish the inviolate security of Israel and even the temple sacrifices will resume and many Jews will accept him as the Meshiach.
But then this man who the entire world hails as one of the greatest human ever, will commit the desecration the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, and those who are wise will head for the hills.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Then will begin the darkest period in human history. For this offense the Rex Mundi, the world leader, will be assassinated. After three and a half days he will rise from the dead and proclaim himself God.
He will blame the Jews for his woes and his hatred of them will know no bounds. He will order his forces to hunt them down like dogs and slay them. Others, fearing for their lives or out of support for his regime will join in and without Divine intervention they, and the rest of humanity, would have no hope of survival.
So, the logical question is: When will this happen? At the beginning of the chapter he explained the wars etc. that in hind sight can be identified, however every generation has had wars etc. The information thus far could be applied to any generation. But then he gets specific:
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
I referenced these verse earlier. That this budding of the fig tree is referring to a specific event is made clear in the next verse where our Master explains that he doesn't know exactly when the tree will bud. When it does however, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. We sometime see people pointing to the verse and claiming that Y'shua believed his generation would be see these things, but he did not say that. He clearly says that the generation that sees the fig tree bloom and begin putting forth leaves, THAT generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
THAT generation began putting forth its leaves in 1948, the year Israel was born again. From out vantage point we know that. From his in the first century he did not not.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Even the generation, as Noah did that he would face the flood, we do not know the day or the hour.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Not watching these signs one may wait too long. We however know the general time frame if not the exact hour and should not therefore be taken by surprize.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This of course is precisely what the prophets including Master Y'shua says will happen. In the name of God people will condemn their fellow.
According to both the Hebrew and the Christian Bible the Jews, the descendants and inheritors of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, are as they have always been the Chosen of HaShem and the pivot around which history revolves.
Today, as the prophets foretold, people are turning again the Jews in droves.
John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
As we have seen, Master Y'shua was a devout Jew who spoke only to other Jews:
Matthew 15:24 But he [Jesus] answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
So what does he say to the sheep of the House of Israel? Tot he Jews?
John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
There are generally well meaning people who sincerely believing that by attacking Israel and the Jewish people they are doing God a service. They are not! The truth is, as it has always been:
Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
"For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."
"But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation:
ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end."
-- Isaiah 45:17