GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF (2 COR. 5:19) – WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

INTRODUCTION

OPENING TEXT: In 2 Cor. 5:18-21 we read: “And all things are of GOD, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation: To wit, that GOD was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them: and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though GOD did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to GOD. For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of GOD in Him.”

We also read thus: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible GOD, the first born of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead: that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. And having made peace through the blood of his cross (sic), by him to reconcile all things unto himself: by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight” (Col. 1:14-22).

It is said: “GOD, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds” (Heb. 1:1-2).

Yahshua said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (Jn. 8:58).

It is written: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5:2). See Matt. 2:6.

We read: “And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of GOD” (Rev. 3:14).

And we read further: “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But GOD commanded His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to GOD by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Rom. 5:7-11).

According to the American heritage Dictionary, the word “reconcile” means, “to re-establish friendship between.” In our context, it means the restoration of the favour of GOD or to be restored to the favour of GOD; to bring back to the former state of harmony.

From the above texts, Yahshua was clearly in existence before the world was created. He was the firstborn of every creature. He was before all things. All things were created through him and for him. And through him all things consist and in him all things hold together. He is the firstborn from the dead. The shedding of his blood brought forgiveness of sins and atonement for sins.

Mainstream Judaism would consider the content of the above texts blasphemous. GOD is one (Echad) and the belief in a monotheist GOD questions and condemns the notion that Yahshua has a place in the belief equation of the regular Jew.

To say that all things were created through (by) Yahshua and for him and that his blood brought forgiveness of sins and atonement for sins is a deep mystery. Equally so is to say that he was the firstborn of every creature and the firstborn from the dead. It is well beyond the comprehension of the ordinary mind. It is only spiritually discerned.

But Judaism believes that GOD created “reconciliation” before man was created, in as much as it believes that GOD creates the solution before the problem. Judaism is absolutely correct. The Apostle Paul is correct as well, in his assertions about Yahshua.

If “reconciliation” predated the creation of man, the question is, “how” “when” and “by whom?”

HOW, WHEN AND BY WHOM WAS RECONCILIATION CREATED AND MADE?

GOD created reconciliation when Yahshua was created, because he was created for that purpose. Yahshua was GOD’s first creation. He is the firstborn of every creature in heaven and on earth.

Reconciliation: Before heaven and earth were created and before man was created, GOD made Yahshua to shed his blood (die) for the anticipatory sin of man who was yet to be created, much less would commit sin. The all-knowing GOD well knew that man will commit sin when he is created. Man is not created to dwell in heaven, for heaven is the throne of GOD, for it is written: “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool….” (Isa. 66:1).

It is written: “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath He given to the children of men” (Ps. 115:16).

It is written: “The LORD looketh from heaven: He beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike: He considereth all their works” (Ps. 33:13-15). Man is created to dwell on earth.

The nature of GOD abhors sin. He is the perfect and the perfection of holiness. It is written: “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity….” (Hab. 1:13).

GOD is by nature, a consuming fire, for it is written: “For the LORD thy GOD is a consuming fire, even a jealous GOD” (Deut. 4:24). See also Heb.12:29. A glimpse of GOD’s nature can be garnered from the text: “… For I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way” (Ex. 33:3).

GOD was going to create the earth and create man to inhabit the earth. The creation of man on the sixth day of creation was His crowning work of creation. It was the creation of man that gave meaning to all His work of creation because it is man that would dominate every living and more, that He created.

It is written: “And GOD said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So GOD created man in His own image, in the image of GOD created He him: male and female created He them. And GOD blessed them, and GOD said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:26-28).

That is the reason the creation of man marks the birthday of the world, and the Hebrew civil calendar dates from the creation of man. GOD would not create man only to destroy him from the face of the earth for his failings. Then He would have created the earth in vain. GOD neither intended nor wished that result.

The death of Yahshua before the creation of man was a vindication of the righteousness of GOD. The earth must be inhabited by man, for it is written: “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; GOD Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isa. 45:18).

The way to ensure that the earth is inhabited by man was for Yahshua to shed his blood ever before man would commit sin.

To answer the question, “By Whom?” reconciliation of man to GOD was done the moment Yahshua, as a Lamb of GOD, shed his blood. It was done before hand. It was done in anticipation of the inevitability and eventuality of the sin of man who would be created. Again, GOD’s salvation exists prior to any misfortune since GOD creates the remedy before the disease.

The reconciliation was by the blood of Yahshua, who knew no sin. He became sin for man, as it is said: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of GOD in him” (2 Cor. 5:21). It is also said: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin” (1 Jn. 3:5). It is said: “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities: but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). And it is further said: “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22). It is written: “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death: because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth” (Isa. 53:9).

He became man’s ransom. And so, when Scripture says that “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually: and that it repented GOD that He made man and it grieved Him at His heart” (Gen. 6:5-6), it is not to say that the sin or wickedness of man took GOD by surprise. As I said before, GOD well knew that man will commit sin, because Satan, the devil who would deceive man and cause him to sin against GOD had been cast of heaven and thrown down to the earth with his angels by the time man was created.

In the Apocalypse (revelation) of John, we have the following record: “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:7-8).

The mystery of reconciliation had taken place since before the world was created, before the creation of man. The mystery was in the blood of Yahshua which was shed before-hand by which man obtained forgiveness and atonement for sin.

And the text says: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; either was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our GOD, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our GOD day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Rev. 12:7-12).

The book of Revelation talks about things past, present and future. The war in heaven talked about in the above text relates to the past. It was a war that took place before the creation of man. It is significant that Michael and his angels overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They could not have overcome by the blood if the blood was not already shed.

Yahshua is otherwise repeatedly referred to as the “Lamb of GOD.” It is written: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa. 53:7). Other such reference are in the following texts:

Jn. 1:29: “The next day John seeth Jesus [Yahshua] coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of GOD, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

1 Pet. 1:18-20: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”

Rev. 7:9-10, 14: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our GOD which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb…. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Rev. 6:16: “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”

Rev. 14:4: “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto GOD and to the Lamb.”

Rev. 15:3: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of GOD, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, LORD GOD Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

Rev. 17:14: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”

Rev. 19:7,9: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready…. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of GOD.”

Rev. 21:9, 14, 22-23,27: “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife…. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb…. And I saw no temple therein: for the LORD GOD Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of GOD did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof…. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.”

Rev. 22:1, 3: “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of GOD and of the Lamb…. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of GOD and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.”

Heb. 4:2-3: “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”

It is therefore, clear that Yahshua shed his precious blood for man before man was created in order to make possible, forgiveness and atonement for sin, and thus reconcile man to GOD.

One may then ask: “If reconciliation was done before man was created and committed sin, why was it necessary for him to manifest physically and die on the tree?”

THE REASONS FOR YAHSHUA’S MANIFESTATION

When some things remain in the realm of the spirit, it continues to be an abstraction and a mystery to man. It is important to know that Yahshua’s physical manifestation and death were not merely a re-enactment anew of the work of reconciliation already obtained for man before the foundation of the world. For the text says: “… although the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Heb. 4:3).

His manifestation and physical death was a demonstration of GOD’s righteousness made perceptible to man. He also came to complete GOD’s work. As firstborn of every creature and firstborn from the dead in the realm of the spirit, he gave his life for man and took back his life again in order for him to manifest and complete GOD’s work. The text says: “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (Jn. 4:34). Yahshua said: “But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father had given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (Jn. 5:36).

The work of reconciliation and atonement had been done but the work of redemption must continue to the end. He came on a mission and his mission was clear-cut. Speaking of Yahshua in his first epistle, the Apostle John wrote: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of GOD was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8).

Speaking of Yahshua in prophecy, the Prophet Isaiah said: “The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable” (Isa. 42:21). We are all too familiar with the way he expounded and elucidated the Law that confounded the Jews of his time, giving a sense of the breadth and width of the Law of GOD and according it honour. He magnified the Law and accorded it honour by both his teachings and the spiritual life he exemplified. For instance, we read as follows: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:21-24).

He went further: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is GOD's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matt. 5:27-37).

Also speaking of Yahshua’s mission in prophecy, the Prophet Isaiah was moved by GOD and prophesied as follows: “The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our GOD; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified” (Isa. 61:1-3). Also Lk. 4:18-19.

The Prophet Malachi also spoke concerning Yahshua’s mission. He was manifested physically in order to strengthen the Levitical Priesthood so that the Priests may execute the Priests’ office in righteousness, that GOD may be pleased with their sacerdotal service. It is written: “But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years” (Mal. 3:2-4).

The parable of the good Samaritan told by Yahshua reveals the nature of the work that Yahshua came to do on the Levitical (Aharonic) Priests. Very often, people who are called to serve GOD at such privileged level abuse their position and sometimes take a blinkered view of their work. They lose the sense and touch of common humanity. There is a tendency to think that offering GOD’s food (sacrifices) at the altar and perhaps, teaching the people the letter of the Law of GOD in a pontifical way are all the righteousness required of them. They neither comprehend nor live by the spirit of the Law. In fact, hardly do they inspire GOD’s people to righteous and holy living as they fail to exemplify what they teach. Their lifestyle is a daily contradiction of what they teach. They live on the periphery of the Commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39).

The duties of the Levitical Priests are basically two-fold, as it is written: “And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with Thy holy one, whom Thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah: who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him: neither did be acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed Thy word, and kept Thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob Thy Judgments, and Israel Thy law: they shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt offerings upon Thy altar” (Deut. 33:8-10).

Of the Levitical Priests, it is written: “The Priests said not, Where is the LORD? And they that handle the law know not Me: the Pastors also transgress against Me, and the Prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit” (Jer. 2:8).

It is written of Priests: “But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the Law” (Mal. 2:8-9).

Of Priests, it is also written: “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a Father, where is Mine honour? And if I be a Master, where is My fear? Saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? Saith the LORD of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech GOD that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? Saith the LORD of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? Neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand” (Mal.1:6-10).

It is written: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no Priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy GOD, I will also forget thy children” (Hos. 4:6).

It is also written : “For both Prophet and Priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD” (Jer. 23:11-12).

It is further written of Priests thus: “For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments” (Lam. 4:13-14). And: “Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them” (Ezek. 22:26). And: “The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? None evil can come upon us” (Mic. 3:11).

The text says: “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes (Torah teachers) and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not” (Matt. 23:1-3). The text also says: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23:23). For the avoidance of doubt, the Scribes are Priests. They are the Torah teachers.

In the parable of the good Samaritan, Yahshua narrated as follows: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain Priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise” (Lk. 10: 30-37).

This parable highlights the critical deficiency of love, kindness, mercy and compassion in the Levitical Priests/Levites, not just of his time. The spiritual fruits of mercy and compassion are at core of the Law of GOD, and yet lacking in the teachers of the Law. No one can deny that Yahshua is the greatest teacher of all time. He brought good tidings to the meek. There is no parallel in the way that he expounded the Law and its spirituality. When one considers his sermon on the Mount and all his teachings, one would agree that they are other-worldly, and are intended to make one perfect. He said: “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:41-48). How sobering!

Yahshua was manifested in order that we might live like him and be saved by his example. Talking about himself, Yahshua said: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:29-30).

Properly understood, the Law of GOD aims to make us live like Yahshua. That is the purpose of the Law, for the text says: “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to GOD for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of GOD, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of GOD's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of GOD. For Christ is the end [purpose] of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 10:1-4). The text also says: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal.3:24).

Everything about the law of GOD is about being like Yahshua. Therefore, Yahshua said: “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believed not his writings, how shall ye believe my words” (Jn. 5:45-47). Moses is just a metaphor for the law. His writings are the law of GOD.

The text says: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love GOD, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:28-29).

The text says: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of GOD perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 Jn. 2:2-6);

The text says: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:21-25).

And the text says: “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15).

Yahshua came to make us understand the exceeding sinfulness of sin because sin is obedience to Satan the devil, the alternate Master. For if GOD is not one’s Master by obedience to His will, Satan automatically and unalterably is, through one’s disobedience, for he is the Master of them that disobey the will of GOD.

Yahshua said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (Jn. 8:34). The Apostle Paul wrote: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16). Speaking in the same vein, The Apostle John wrote: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of GOD was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of GOD doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of GOD. In this the children of GOD are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of GOD, neither he that loveth not his brother” (1 Jn. 3:5-10).

To take away the sin of man is to forgive his past sins and to save him from committing sin anymore, for the text says: “Whom GOD hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of GOD” (Rom. 3:25). And as it is said: “But when the fullness of the time was come, GOD sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). See also Rom. 3:19.

GOD is not GOD only for the Jews. He is GOD of all people, as it is said: “Is he the GOD of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one GOD which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith” (Rom. 3:29-30). To be clear, to be under the Law is to be a Law breaker (a sinner). One is not to be a Law breaker if one is in Christ.

To further make the point clearer, I reproduce the following texts:

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to GOD by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10). No one is to be justified by the works of the Law. As it is said: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16). See also Rom. 3:20.

The works of the Law is the letter of the Law. We are to obey the Law according to Yahshua’s example and standard of obedience to the Law, as it is said: “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? GOD forbid!” (Gal. 2:17).

The Law is spiritual (Rom. 7:14) and obedience to it should make us spiritual and be like Yahshua – loving, kind, meek, lowly in heart, poor in spirit, pure, gentle, merciful, compassionate, forgiving etc. These are what obedience to the Law is meant to achieve in us. That is what is meant by the spirit of the Law. We are now to obey the Law of GOD like Yahshua. The text says: “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom.7:6). The letter of the Law kills, it is said (2 Cor. 3:6). Yahshua’s teachings and lifestyle were all lessons in how not to live by the letter of the Law. For the sake of emphasis, a few examples would suffice:

“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:20-24);

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt. 5:27-28).

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:43-48).

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matt. 23:23-28).

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:29-30).

Yahshua’s miracles in diverse healings and works of mercy and compassion were just as were written of him in Isaiah 61:1-3. He shed extraordinary light on the meaning of the Law and confounded the Jews of his time who thought they were learned and knew it all, and yet, were hypocritical in their ways. Again, as it is said: “For they being ignorant of GOD's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of GOD. For Christ is the end [purpose or aim] of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 10:3-4).

Yahshua manifested and died physically so that the plan of GOD from the beginning to make salvation available to all, if possible, might be made more obvious.

Having first adopted Israel as His own, Israel thought itself to be the chosen people, almost to the exclusion of all other people. When one views the meaning of the name “Israel” in a literal sense GOD Himself would appear to have intended that meaning when He told Moses, for instance: “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn” (Ex. 4:22-23). And when He said: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Ex. 19:4-6).

And the LORD spoke to Moses saying: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your GOD. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your GOD. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD” (Lev. 18:2-5).

GOD Commanded Israel thus: “When the LORD thy GOD shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy GOD shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy GOD: the LORD thy GOD hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:1-5).

GOD refers to Israel variously as His Servants, His Chosen, His Elect and His Witnesses. For instance, the text says: “For they are My servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen … For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your GOD” (Lev. 25:42, 55).

The text says: “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art My servant: I have formed thee; thou art My servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me” (Isa. 44:21).

The text says: “But thou, Israel, art My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art My servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away” (Isa. 41:8-9).

The text says: “For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me” (Isa. 45:4).

The text says: “Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the t” (Isa. 42:1).

The text says: “Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no GOD formed, neither shall there be after Me…. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am GOD” (Isa. 43:10, 12);

The text says: “Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even My witnesses. Is there a GOD beside Me? Yea, there is no GOD; I know not any” (Isa. 44:8).

GOD uses the metaphor of “husband” in His relationship with Israel. He declared that He is Israel’s Husband. The text says: “For thy Maker is thine Husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The GOD of the whole earth shall He be called” (Isa. 54:5). See also Jer. 31:32 where it is written: “…Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD.”

Of all nations of the world, GOD says He knows only Israel, for the text says: “Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” (Amos 3:1-2).

In all these, GOD’s purpose was not to exclude the rest of the world from His plan of salvation. His plan was that of inclusiveness. He is GOD of the whole earth, the Creator of all, as it is said: “Is He the GOD of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also” (Rom. 3:29). He therefore, made Yahshua to shed his blood at the beginning of creation as a propitiation for the sins, not just for the Jews only but for the whole world, for the text says: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2).

GOD’s desire was to separate and preserve a people unto Himself and give them a distinct identity in a world that is oblivious to the existence of the one true GOD, the Almighty GOD who created all things; in a world that was polytheistic. People of the world turned objects of GOD’s creation into objects of worship in addition to worshipping objects created by themselves, for it is writen: “Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? For to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. But the LORD is the true GOD, he is the living GOD, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name” (Jer. 10:1-16). False god worship all started in Babylon with the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah.

It is written: “Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their GOD? But our GOD is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield” (Ps. 115:2-9). See also Ps. 135:15-17.

In turn those called out of the world (Israel) unto Him would bring the knowledge of the one true GOD to the rest of the world, for the text says: “And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). See also 42:6; 60:3.

The Apostle Paul put it this way: “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law” (Rom. 2:17-20).

In all of these, GOD’s purpose was not to make salvation available and exclusive to literal Israel. His plan was that of inclusiveness. Reference to Israel as His firstborn in itself suggests that there are other sons. Only that one is the first among others. As the Apostle Paul said: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of GOD unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [Gentile]” (Rom. 1:16).

Israel missed the point of its mission to the world as light to the nations. Thy have the true GOD. They have the true worship. They have all the privileges as first born, as it is said: “They are GOD’s people: He made them His children and revealed His glory to them: He made His covenants with them and gave them the law: they have the true worship: they have received GOD’s promises: they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors: and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race….” (Rom. 9:4-5, GNT).

Israel became supercilious and self-conceited. Israel saw herself as specially favored almost to the exclusion of the nations of the world. Because Israel pursued righteousness of the law without the Spirit of GOD, Israel had no knowledge of GOD. In Israel was found men of blood and deceit and workers of iniquity. There was much hypocrisy. The people practiced the very opposite of the message of the law – love, kindness mercy, forgiveness, truth, faith, holiness etc. The law of GOD is light. The people practiced darkness. To practice darkness is to do the opposite of the requirements of GOD’s law in the example (faith) of Yahshua. To live in darkness is to live like people of the world where wickedness and godlessness reigns. They were spiritually blind. GOD denounced Israel as not knowing His way.

Yahshua came as light to Israel and to the world walking out the true meaning of the law. Because of spiritual blindness, his people, fellow Jews rejected him as an impostor. Yahshua said, and correctly so: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). He said: “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:5). Yahshua’s example of obedience to the law is a reflection of the light of the law.

Yahshua came for judgment upon Israel, for he said: “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see: and that they which see might be made blind” (Jn. 9:39). Israel had the Law, but did not know GOD. Israel was not spiritual. They suffered from spiritual blindness. The law is spiritual as noted earlier on (Rom. 7:17).

The wilderness generation of Israel did not know GOD, as it is written: “Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, it is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways: unto whom I swore in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest” (Ps. 95:10-11).

The post-wilderness generation of Israel did not have knowledge of GOD as well. It is written: “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not” (Ezek. 9:9). It is said: “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also” (Jer. 3:8). It is said: “For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD” (Jer. 5:11). See also Jer. 32:30.

Judah was in captivity in Babylon for seventy years, as it is said: “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jer. 25:11). And it is said: “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place” (Jer. 29:10). This took place in 586 BC.

Here are some examples of GOD’s controversies with Israel:

It is written: ““The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (Isa. 1:3-4).

It is written: ““To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? Saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isa. 1:11-20).

It is written: “Therefore My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst” (Isa. 5:13).

It is written: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their GOD: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to GOD. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and Thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in” (Isa. 58:1-12).

It is written: “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your GOD, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our GOD, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment” (Isa. 59:1-15).

It is written: ““For My people is foolish, they have not known Me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jer. 4:22).

It is written: “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely. O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their GOD … How shall I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forsaken Me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit for these things? Saith the LORD: and shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? … For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against Me, saith the LORD. They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine … Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not Me? Saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our GOD, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among My people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? Saith the LORD: shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jer. 5:1-4, 7-9, 11-12, 20-31).

It is written: “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the GOD of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim … Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the GOD of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your GOD, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their GOD, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath. For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate” (Jer. 7:1-15, 21-34).

It is written: “Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the LORD” (Jer. 8:7).

It is written: ““Oh that My head were waters, and Mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of My people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave My people, and go from them! For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the LORD. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me, saith the LORD” (Jer.9:1-6).

It is written: “Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait. Shall I not visit them for these things? Saith the LORD: shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? … And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant… And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the GOD of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them… Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart” (Jer. 9:8-9, 11, 13-16, 23-26).

It is written: “Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know Me? Saith the LORD” (Jer. 22:15-16).

To reiterate, Israel did not know GOD. Here are further examples of the Almighty GOD’s controversies with Israel:

It is written: “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am GOD, even thy GOD. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before Me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto GOD thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me. But unto the wicked GOD saith, What hast thou to do to declare My Statutes, or that thou shouldest take My covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest My words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget GOD, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of GOD” (Ps. 50:7-23).

It is written: ““For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye Me, and ye shall live … Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is His name: That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right… Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the GOD of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD GOD of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! To what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it? I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” (Amos 5:4, 7-12, 14-15, 18-24).

The text says: " For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of GOD more than burnt offerings” (Hos. 6:6).

The text says: “He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations (Isa. 66:3).

The text says: ““Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High GOD? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy GOD? The LORD'S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword. Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine” (Mic. 6:6-15).

It is said: ““The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is His delight. The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but He loveth him that followeth after righteousness” (Prov. 15:8-9).

It is also said: “The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?” (Prov. 21:27).

It is written: “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of GOD in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy GOD, I will also forget thy children” (Hos. 4:1-6).

It is written: “Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the GOD of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness” (Amos 6:12-14).

It is written: “That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought” (Isa. 29:21).

Yet it is said that, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD” (Prov. 17:15).

Yet is said that, “He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him” (Prov. 24:24).

It is also written: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” (Isa. 5:20-23).

Yahshua did indeed say as follows: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his household” (Matt. 10:34-36). These are only incidents and consequences of true belief in him.

All said, the sum of the reason why Yahshua manifested in the flesh was to bring knowledge of GOD to Israel and to the world. Thus Yahshua said, at the completion of his assignment on earth: “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true GOD, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (Jn. 17:3-4).

ISRAEL AND NON- ISRAEL ARE BOUND BY THE SAME LAW

GOD demonstrated His design and purpose of inclusiveness many times in history. GOD’s command that non-Israel are bound to keep the same Law as Israel is incontrovertible proof of His design and purpose of inclusiveness. This is because the work of reconciliation done by the death of Yahshua before the creation of man was for the benefit of man and not just for Israel as a nation. A case in point is that of the mixed multitude who left Eqypt with Israel in the exodus. This was a mix of people of other nationalities who joined Israel to worship the GOD of Israel. These were strangers and foreigners who would have had no place among Israel otherwise. The text says: “And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle” (Ex.12:38). GOD did not reject them. Israel did not segregate against them. GOD did not segregate between them and Israel. All nationalities were bound to keep the same Laws of GOD without distinction.

The Law regarding keeping of the LORD’s Feast of Passover (Pesach) was binding on all, for it is written: “All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you” (Ex. 12:47-49).

The same for the Law regarding the keeping of the second Passover. It is written: “And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land” (Num. 9:14).

As concerns the Law on observance of the Day of Atonement (Yom ha Kippurim) fast and the perpetuity of the Fast day, it is written: “And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you” (Lev. 16:29).

On the Law prohibiting the eating of blood, it is written: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood” (Lev. 17:11-12).

On the Law regarding the place to present or offer burnt sacrifice to GOD, the text says: “And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people” (Lev. 17:8-9).

On the Law prohibiting eating of that which died of itself or torn by beast, the text says: “And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity” (Lev. 17:15-16).

On the Law prohibiting incest and sexual immorality generally, the text says: “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you” (Lev. 18:26).

On the Law prohibiting human sacrifice to molech, god of the Amonites, the text says: “Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones” (Lev. 20:2).

On the Law of bringing animal offerings to GOD, the text says: “And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do. One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance forever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you” (Num. 15:14-16).

On the Law regarding ignorant sins, the text says: “Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them” (Num. 15:29).

On the Law of purification for sin with water of separation wherein is the ashes of the heifer regarding defilement by the dead, the text says: “And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute forever” (Num. 19:10).

In further proof of the Almighty GOD’s design and purpose of inclusivity, the Law of GOD says: “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your GOD” (Lev. 19:33-34).

Shabbat observance is the cornerstone of the worship of the GOD of Israel. Even on the most important institution of the Shabbat, GOD did not exclude non-Israelites from its observance. The Shabbat is the very sign or mark that distinguishes one as worshipping the true GOD. The text says: “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your GOD” (Ezek. 20:20).

Shabbat is the sign that one belongs to the GOD of Israel and married to Him. It is written in the Law of GOD: “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you…. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Ex. 31:13, 16-17). See also Ezek. 20:12.

A non-Israelite who believes in the GOD of Israel is, by Law, obligated to observe the Shabbat. It is written in the Law of GOD: “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy GOD: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Ex. 20:10).

The Gentiles and their future generations were part of the renewal of the Covenant of GOD with Israel, as the text says: “Keep therefore the words of this Covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your GOD; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy GOD, and into his oath, which the LORD thy GOD maketh with thee this day: That he may establish thee today for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a GOD, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day” (Deut. 29:9-15).

And speaking by the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah, the Almighty GOD said: “Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my Covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The LORD GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him” (Isa. 56:2-8).

Prophesying about the Kingdom of GOD (the Messianic era), it is written: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” (Isa. 66:22-24). The phrase, “all flesh” clearly means Israel and non- Israel alike.

GOD’s servant Moses married the daughter of Jethro, a priest of Midian, a Gentile, and she was received by the community of Israel. She became part of Israel.

Jethro the Priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, was very well received by the Community of Israel in the wilderness and by GOD, and had no inhibition to worship the GOD of Israel. He, it was, who advised Moses on how to administer the people. He acknowledged the Sovereignty of the GOD of Israel and brought sacrifices to Him, for it is written: “And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for GOD: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before GOD. Judaism honoured Jethro by devoting a Parashah to his name and is read every Torah circle.

Another case in point that proves that the work of reconciliation was done before hand and was not only for the benefit of the nation of Israel, is the case of Rahab and her Father’s household from Jericho. They all were saved from destruction when Israel conquered Jericho, and became part of Israel without protestation.

It is written: “And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho” (Josh. 6:25). The GOD of Israel became their GOD and it is said that Rahab went on to marry Salmon, of the tribe of Judah and one of the two spies who spied out the land of Jericho before it was destroyed by Israel. Rahab and Salmon became part of the geneology of Yahshua (Matt. 1:4-5). Rahab became the mother of Boaz.

The story of Ruth the Moabitess is another case in point. GOD had said about the Ammonites and the Moabites thus: “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD forever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the LORD thy GOD would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy GOD turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy GOD loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days forever” (Deut. 23:3-6).

When Naomi, the Bethlehemite entreated Ruth to return to her people while she (Naomi) returned to her people in Bethlehem, Judah because Ruth’s husband (Naomi’s son) had died in the land of Moab where Naomi and her household had sojourned as a result of famine in Israel, Ruth refused her entreaty and insisted on returning to Israel with her, as the text says: “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy GOD my GOD: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me” (Ruth 1:16-17). When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, they both returned to the land of Israel. Ruth went on to be married Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed and Obed was the father of Jesse the father of the King David. These all were part of the geneology of Yahshua. See Ruth 4:20-22.

It is significant that Yahshua’s great grandmother was a Moabitess. It signifies that the door of salvation was always open to anyone of any nation who worships the GOD of Israel, and as the Apostle Peter told the household of Cornelius, the Gentile Centurion of the Italian band: “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34-35).

In the war of vengeance against Midian, GOD allowed Israel to keep for themselves Midianite women and females who were virgins, for the text says: “But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves” (Num. 31:18). These Midianites were going to worship the GOD of Israel with GOD’s people. It is an act of dispensation of grace to the Gentiles.

The same would said of the Gibeonites. They were remnants of the Amorites. Although they extracted a covenant with Israel by trick so that Israel spared them, they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of the GOD of Israel. They were Gentiles but were admitted into the Commonwealth of Israel. It is an act of grace. The text says: “And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose” (Josh. 9:27).

An attempt to break this covenant brought calamity to Israel, for the text says: “Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? And wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you. And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel, Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest” (2 Sam. 21:1-9).

At the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, he prayed: “…Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name” (1 Kg. 8:40-43). This is yet another pointer to the fact that GOD was and is ever willing to receive anyone of any nation who accepts Him as GOD because reconciliation had been made and the door of salvation open to whosoever will.

This was made possible only because the reconciliation had been made from the foundation of the world for the benefit of man and not just the nation of Israel as it seemed. Even then, it would be realized that Israel truly means those obedient to the Laws of GOD and faithful to His Covenant, otherwise called the Israel of GOD, as the text says: “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of GOD” (Gal. 6:16). And it is also said: “Not as though the word of GOD hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Rom. 9:6).

The foregoing instances of the admission of non-Israelites by GOD’s Law into the Commonwealth of Israel and non-segregation policy against them before the physical manifestation of Yahshua and his physical death on the tree effectively punctures and negatives the argument that it was at the physical death of Yahshua in 32 or 33 AD, that the door of salvation was opened to the Gentiles.

All of these categories of people enumerated above were all proselytes to the religion of Israel. Israel ran a Theocracy and there was no rival religion practiced by these people other than practice of idolatory that may be termed traditional religion. Their pagan and polytheistic ways ended with their proselytization. They assimilated into the worship and lifestyle of Israel. The strangers (Gentiles) in Israel were co-sojourners and co-religionists with Israel. They worshipped and served the GOD of Israel. Again, as it is written in the law of the LORD: “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your GOD” (Lev. 19:33-34).

One is bound to interrogate: “Why did it appear as though salvation was available only to the Jews until Yashshua manifested physically and was rejected by the Jewish religious establishment, especially in the light of Yahshua’s own statements when he said: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the LORD” (Matt. 23:37-39). Also Lk. 13:34-35.

The same suggestion can be found in the Parable of the Vineyard thus: And he began to speak unto them by parables. “A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his well- beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be 0urs. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others” (Mk. 12:1-9). See also Lk. 20: 9-16.

In Matt. 21:42-43, we read: “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of GOD shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

As noted earlier on, Yahshua also said: “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind” (Jn. 9:39).

All of these statements of Yahshua tend to give rise to the perception that non- Israelites did not benefit from the reconciling blood of Yahshua shed before the foundation of the world neither were they part of GOD’s plan of salvation. The impression was that the door of salvation had not been opened to them and awaited the manifestation and physical death of Yahshua in order for the door to be opened. In other words, the impression was that it was Yahshua’s rejection by the Jewish religious establishment that would give the Gentiles opportunity to be part of GOD’s plan of salvation. Far be it!

The Apostle Paul brought about the same perception by his many suggestive statements in his Letters (Epistles), as for instance, when he said to the Jews in Rome thus: “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of GOD is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves” (Acts 28:28-29). Before he made the statement, Paul had expounded and testified the kingdom of GOD to them, and persuaded them concerning Yahshua out of the Law and the Prophets from morning until evening. Some believed him and others did not.

In his Letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul said: “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without GOD in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto GOD in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of GOD” (Eph. 2:11-19).

Also to the Ephesians, he wrote: “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words) That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (Eph. 3:3,6). And further: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One GOD and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6).

The saying that through Yahshua the Jews and Gentiles have access by one spirit unto the father is true from the beginning and had manifested consistently in the cases of the mixed multitude, Rahab and her father’s household, Ruth, acceptance of Midianite virgin women into the household of GOD, following the conquest of Midian by Israel and the acceptance and admittance of Gibeonites into the family of Israel, as shown earlier on. Even Jethro the Priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, had no inhibition to worship the GOD of Israel as noted earlier, neither his daughter, Zipporah, Moses’ wife. It is instructive that Moses the servant of the Most High GOD took a Gentile as wife and GOD had no objections. It would be recalled that Miriam was struck with Leprosy because she was part of the gossip castigating Moses for taking a Cushite (Gentile) woman as wife. GOD knew that Moses had understanding and would not be ensnared by Gentile marriage.

Writing to the Colossian Gentiles, the Apostle Paul said: “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:13-15). And in Colossians 3:11, he said: “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”

It was in reference to the enmity that the Apostle Paul talked about in Ephesians 2:15-16, that the Apostle Peter alluded when he told Cornelius and his household (who were Gentiles) thus: “And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but GOD hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28).

In his letter to the Galatian Gentiles, the Apostle Paul wrote: “For ye are all the children of GOD by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:26-29).

To the Romans, the Apostle Paul wrote: “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same LORD over all is rich unto all that call upon him” (Rom. 10:12). The Apostle Paul also talked about the grafting of the Gentiles into the Jewish Olive tree. The text says: “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if GOD spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of GOD: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for GOD is able to graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?” (Rom. 11:17-24).

The Apostle Peter, in his letter to the Gentiles (strangers) scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia wrote, saying: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of GOD: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Pet. 2:9-10).

John the immerser (Baptizer) echoed the same motif when he said to the Jews of his era: “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that GOD is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matt. 3:9).

GOD had said something to the same effect earlier thus: “They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not GOD; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation” (Deut. 32:21).

Again, all the texts reproduced above convey the impression that the door of salvation was closed to the Gentiles until Yahshua manifested physically and shed his blood.

The same may be said of the words of Simeon who spoke by the Holy Spirit when he took up baby Yahshua in his arms when he was brought into the Temple in Jerusalem thus: “LORD, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel….” (Lk. 2:29-32).

Yahshua is, indeed, a Light to lighten the Gentiles. It is not say, however, that he became that light when he manifested and died physically. Far be it! GOD had in Yahshua reconciled man unto Himself from the beginning, whether Jew or Gentile. The text says: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:4-11). And the text also says: “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

It must be understood that a nation needed to be raised, through which the Almighty Creator was to make Himself known to the world. Israel was adopted in the merit of Father Abraham in an evil ridden world oblivious to the existence of the true GOD. Israel was then called the first born (Ex. 4:22), the Elect or Chosen of GOD. GOD was to reveal His true identity to Israel, for it is written: “GOD spoke to Moshe; He said to him, “I am Adonai. I appeared to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai]” (Ex. 6:2-3, Complete Jewish Bible, CJB).

The Almighty GOD was to show Israel His way. Israel was to receive the living oracles for herself and on behalf of the world. Israel was to be a beacon of light to the world. Again, concerning Israel, it is written: “It is a light thing that thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). It is written: “I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:6). It is written: “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Isa. 60:3).

This is the privileged position for which GOD chose Israel and made Israel His emissary to humanity. Bur Israel was to fall from their spiritual pinnacle and be exiled among the nations.

The same is said of Yahshua, for the text says: “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Lk. 2:32). It is written: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isa. 9:2). The text says: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto GOD, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts. 26:18). The text says: “For so hath the LORD commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth” (Acts. 13:47).

As noted earlier on, Israel was to be GOD’s witness to reveal GOD’s existence and true identity to a Polytheistic world that had no notion of the true GOD of all creation.

It is written: “He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel” (Ps. 103:7).

It is said: “He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your GOD raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us” (Acts 7:36-38).

It is said: “What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of GOD” (Rom.3:1-2).

And again, it is said: “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of GOD, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law” (Rom. 2:17-20).

In the Ten Commandments which GOD wrote with His own fingers on tablets of stone, GOD opened with the Commandment: “I am the LORD thy GOD, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” This is the first Commandment of the Ten. He then continued thus: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy GOD am a jealous GOD, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments” (Ex. 20:2-6).

He who comes to GOD must first believe that He is GOD (Heb.11:6). Idolatory, under whatever guise, is one of the cardinal sins against GOD and it attracts the death penalty.

It is written: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your GOD proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your GOD with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your GOD, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your GOD, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy GOD commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy GOD, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you. If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy GOD hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword” (Deut. 13:1-15).

Moses the servant of GOD warned Israel sternly against practice of idolatory of any form, as it is written: “And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten Commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy GOD hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day” (Deut. 4:12-20).

It is written: “If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy GOD giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy GOD, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you” (Deut. 17:2-7).

The nations of the world worshipped false gods known by diverse names, some of whom are mentioned in the Scriptures as follows:

Zidon worshipped baal, ashtoreth etc.,

Moab worshipped chemosh etc.,

Ammon worshipped milcom , molech etc.,

Assyria worshipped nisroch etc.,

Hamath worshipped gozan, ashima, etc.,

Arphad worshipped Haran.,

Sepharvaim worshipped adramelech and anamelech.,

Babylon worshipped bel, nebo, succotbemoth, tammuz, marduk etc.,

Samaria worshipped baal, etc.,

Cuth worshipped nergal, etc.,

Avites worshipped nibhaz, tartak, etc.,

Ekron worshipped baalzebub. Etc.,

Syria worshipped rimmon, etc.,

Philistines worshipped dagon, Ashtoreth, etc.,

Egypt worshipped baashemesh, etc.

The GOD of Israel, the true GOD, revealed His name (YHVH) to Israel in order to make a distinction between Him and the gods of the nations. As I noted earlier, GOD said to Moses: “I am Adonai. I appeared to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai]” (Ex. 6:2-3, CJB). He went on to warn Israel saying: “And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth” (Ex. 23:13).

The Pharoah had told Moses: “And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go” (Ex. 5:2).

It was the absence of knowledge of the existence of the true GOD that prompted Sennacherib, King of Assyria to send Rab-Shakeh from Lashish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah, king of Judah with the following words of threat and blasphemy against GOD: “And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our GOD: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? …. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” (Isa. 36:4-7, 18-20).

And also: “Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy GOD, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?

Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?” (Isa. 37:10-13).

Sennacherib paid dearly for this great blasphemy. The Almighty GOD, the GOD of Israel did, of course, send His angels who slew 185,000 Assyrians in their camp and caused the sons of Sennacherib to kill him in the house of nisroch, his false god.

As a result of Israel’s privileged position as a people favoured and chosen by the true and Almighty GOD, the sheer display of power and exploits of their GOD, and considering the restrictions GOD placed on them against social intercourse with people of other nations in order that they do not corrupt Israel with their idolatrous practices, sexual immoralities and vain customs, Israel naturally saw herself as a special people above other nations as GOD had promised in Exodus 19:5. They were the circumcised and people of other nations were despised as uncircumcised. Rightly so!

Notwithstanding that the same Laws bound the Israelites and the Gentile proselytes among them, there had to be a separate court for Gentiles in Solomon’s Temple.

Man had obtained grace from GOD by the death of Yahshua from the foundation of the world. By his death, man (Jew and Gentile) had been reconciled to GOD. Forgiveness had become possible and atonement for sin had been done. The door of salvation had opened to the Jew and the Gentile. But in the current state of affairs, it did, as it were, appear that salvation was mainly available to Israel, except for a negligible number of Gentiles in the Community of Israel and perhaps, a few others that would be added in time.

In order to give full effect to the meaning of the reconciling death of Yahshua from the foundation of the world, that aperture which had allowed a few Gentiles access to the Commonwealth of Israel needed to be widened so that the complete number of Gentiles who would take advantage of the grace available to all may come in and be saved. The narrow door must now be made broad. What was lost on both the Jews and the Gentiles was that this was the original scheme. The time to execute and achieve the scheme had come.

Yahshua needed to manifest among men and die a physical death. He was not to manifest with the kingly pomp and pageantry of a Messiah anticipated by Israel. He was to come as a suffering Lamb a from humble background as would make any suggestion of his Messiahship unintelligible and incredible, for it is written: “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:1-3). Yet prophecy had spoken of him thus: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5:2).

The overarching scheme to bring in or gather GOD’s people from among the Gentiles for whom the reconciliation had been made from the beginning, had to be set in motion by the all-wise GOD whose greatness and ways are unsearchable (Ps. 145:3; Rom. 11:33). Israel must be made to reject him, if the scheme is to be achieved.

Israel itself had been successively dominated by political powers and a Messiah had been expected who would free them from the oppressive power of Rome whose kingdom or empire held sway when the Messiah was born. The mood of the time was that of expectation of a Messiah. Two false Messiahs had previously arisen at different times, prior to his birth, for as narrated: “Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed” (Acts 5:34-37).

Cynicism was already in the air. Against this cynical backdrop together with the circumstances of Yahshua’s humble birth, his rejection by the Jews was sealed. Had the Jews not been blinded by GOD about Yahshua’s Messiahship, they would very likely have kept him as their own and furthered their attitude of near exclusivism, thus limiting or frustrating his earthly mission. But the Almighty GOD who is rich in wisdom, in His omniscient, caused Israel to reject Yahshua so that his rejection by his people becomes an opportunity for a greater number of Gentiles to come to GOD. It is a mystery.

As the Apostle Paul said in his Letter to the Gentile Romans: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes” (Rom. 11:25-28). Care must be taken to understand that the phrase “And so all Israel shall be saved” refers to “the Israel of GOD” for it is written: “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob” (Isa: 59:20).

And as it is said in another place: “Simeon hath declared how GOD at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the LORD, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, saith the LORD, who doeth all these things. Known unto GOD are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:14-18).

WHAT WAS THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF YAHSHUA’S RECONCILING DEATH?

Historians are generally divided as to the exact year of Yahshua’s impalement on the tree. Some say that he died in 30 AD and others say 32 or 33 AD. Whichever date it was, all are agreed that he died and was resurrected on the third day. Would it be correct to say that GOD reconciled man unto Himself following the physical death of Yahshua in 30, or 32 or 33 AD (Common Era) as the case may be?

In other words, can it be said that man obtained forgiveness from GOD only following Yahshua’s physical death in the ADs? Can it be said that the Gentiles obtained grace to be part of GOD’s salvation plan only following Yahshua’s death in the ADs? It must be understood that in GOD’s salvation plan, Yahshua is grace and mercy of GOD and both Israel and Gentiles are alike under grace, as it is said: “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Yahshua the Messiah we shall be saved, even as they” (Acts 15:11).

Noah found grace in the sight of GOD (Gen. 6:8). There was no nation of Israel when Noah found grace. The meaning of the grace that the Apostle Paul talked about in his Letters and the grace found by Noah is the same. Grace did not take on a different complexion or colouration because the Apostle used the word in his Letters. The name “Adam” means “man,” and the name “Eve” means “Woman.” The first demonstration of act of grace by GOD to man and woman was the covering of their nakedness with the Lamb’s skin after their fall at Eden, for it is written: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD GOD make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). Yahshua is that Lamb. Adam and Eve were not Israelites.

However the question is framed, the answer must be an emphatic, No! This follows from what has been said in the preceding paragraphs. To be clear, it is not correct to say that the reconciliation of man to GOD took place at the physical death of Yahshua in the ADs. It is not correct to say that man did not obtain forgiveness of sin and atonement for sin from GOD until Yahshua’s physical death. It is also not correct to say that Gentiles did not obtain grace to be part of GOD’s salvation plan until the physical death of Yahshua in the ADs.

The point has been made hitherto that the work of reconciliation by Yahshua was a mystery that took place before the world was created and before the first man would sin against GOD in the Garden of Eden. As clear evidence that his atoning blood was shed and reconciliation made since the foundation of the world, Yahshua’s blood has been very active in history. A brief consideration of three fundamental concepts would make the point clear:

THE CONCEPT OF SIN

Sin is defined in the following terms: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the tr ansgression of the law” (1 Jn. 3:4). It is said: “All unrighteousness is sin….” (1 Jn. 5:17).

It is written: “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our GOD, as He hath commanded us” (Deut. 6:25). Therefore, it is recorded: “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain Priest named Zecharias, of the course of Abijah: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before GOD, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the LORD blameless” (Lk. 1:5-6).

Properly understood, Righteousness is defined as obedience to the Law of GOD, in the example [faith] of Yahshua the Messiah. So it is said: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of GOD, and the faith of Yahshua” (Rev. 14:12).

Man fell to sin at the Garden of Eden against GOD’s clear commandment prohibiting him from eating the forbidden fruit, for it is written: “And the LORD GOD commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17). This Commandment was given to Adam (man) before Eve (woman) was formed from Adam’s rib (Gen. 2:21-23). It is palpable that the same was communicated to Eve by Adam.

The text says: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of GOD: for GOD cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted He any man. But every man is tempted, when he drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas. 1:13-15).

The serpent said unto Eve: “Yea, hath GOD said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, GOD hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For GOD doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:1-5).

The Scriptures say: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:6). Even certainly had lusted for the fruit and that gave the serpent the footing to engage her. It usually begins with lust.

Man sinned. He broke GOD’s commandment. That was how sin entered the world. GOD became angry and pronounced judgment on the serpent, the woman (Eve) and the man (Adam), for it is written: “And the LORD GOD said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:14-19).

GOD then sent them out of the Garden of Eden, but not without covering their nakedness, for they were naked and only realized their nakedness when they sinned. It is written: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD GOD make coats of skins, and clothed them … Therefore the LORD GOD sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken” (verses 21, 23).

Because humanity descended from Adam and Eve, sin was imputed to all, for the text says: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of GOD.” (Rom. 3:23). The text also says: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12). King David the Psalmist prayed: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5).

Since the fall of man at Eden, man has continued to commit sin against GOD. By reason of sin the antediluvian world was destroyed by flood, and only Noah and his family were saved – eight persons in number. Noah was said to be a just and perfect man who walked with GOD (Gen. 6:9). He was called a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5).

Before the flood, there was a man named Enoch, the father of Methuselah, who had walked with GOD and GOD took him (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5). The Scriptures reveal other giants of faith who walked with GOD before Yahshua was manifested on earth and died physically. We cannot forget or simply gloss over names of giants of faith like Abel, Adam’s son, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Job, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and so on. Yet it is generally understood that mankind lived in sin.

It is said: “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Eccles. 7:20).

All of Israel’s captivities, travails and oppression by heathen powers were as a result of sin which translates to lack of knowledge of GOD, for it is written: “Therefore My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and GOD that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness” (Isa. 5:13-16).

The people were not faithful to the Covenant Laws of GOD despite Israel’ repeated affirmation that, “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do” (Ex. 19:8; 24:3).

The rest of mankind wallowed in sin, as it is said: “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after GOD. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of GOD before their eyes” (Rom. 3:9-18). See also Ps. 5:9; 14:1-3; 140:3; 53:1-3). .

Mankind was surely in need of redemption because by their ways, they had become enemies of GOD. Man had been reconciled to GOD beforehand by the death of Yahshua apparently unbeknownst to man. There was need for Yahshua to be made manifest and his death made manifest. Yahshua needed to show us an example of how to live so that we would be saved by his life (his example), as it is said: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to GOD by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10).

It is also said: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of GOD perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 Jn. 2:2-6). The Apostle John’s audience was a mix of the Jewish and Gentile believers.

It is also said: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:21-25).

To be saved from sin was thus the principal reason for Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, for the text says: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The text also says: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of GOD was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of GOD doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of GOD. In this the children of GOD are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of GOD, neither he that loveth not his brother” (1 Jn. 3:8-10). See again, Acts 26:18.

Presented the way it is in Christendom, the impression is that mere declaration of faith in the name “Jesus” [Yahshua] is a guarantee for eternal salvation. That confession and belief in Yahshua, without more, is all that it takes in order to ensure eternal salvation of the soul. That is the way present day Christendom seem to preach it. “Accept the Lord Jesus as your Lord and personal savior,” and pronto! You are saved.

To Christendom, accepting Yahshua means that you are no longer bound to keep what they choose to call “Old Testament Laws.” It means that you have no power of your own to keep the Laws and that Christ is your righteousness. For them, there is no point in even trying to keep the law because in their perverted understanding, whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (Jas. 2:10).

That is a complete inversion of the message of salvation captured in what Yahshua told the Apostle Paul thus: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto GOD, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18).

That is antithetical to the purpose of the manifestation of Yahshua in life and death. And so, behind the shield of confession of belief or faith in the name “Jesus” [Yahshua], sin continues to have a free reign. From Bishop to the choirboy the Church is populated by reprobates. The example of Yahshua of the possibility of life without sin is abandoned. Rather than accept the so –called Old Testament Laws according to Apostolic example, they pretend that the Laws are no longer binding. That, for them, is the escape route from the perceived burdensomeness of the eternal Laws of the Creator.

Curiously, one hears so - called Christendom’s preachers urge repentance on their congregation and listeners time and again. One also hears them say: “If you fear GOD, men will fear you.” Contradictory, isn’t it? To repent from what? That is the question. Can anyone be guilty of sin from which repentance is called for, where there is no Law? Again, does the fear of GOD not mean obedience to His Laws? So how can one be said to fear GOD where there is no Law? Or perhaps they think it is sufficient to pick and choose between what commandment to obey and not to obey.

Such a choice is not given to man, for it is written: “And thou shalt love the LORD thy GOD with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. 6:5). See also Matt. 22:37.

It is also written: “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy GOD require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy GOD, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy GOD with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and His Statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deut. 10:12-13). And they also say that all things happen for good, and in many things they love to say “it is well” in a simplistic way.

Indeed, all things happen together for good. But it is to them that love GOD, as it is said: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love GOD, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:28-29). Put into the correct perspective, it is good to say “it is well” when things happen whether positive or seemingly negative, and not otherwise.

To love GOD is to keep His Commandments. It is written in the Decalogue: “And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments” (Ex. 20:6).

Yahshua said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments. … He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (Jn. 14:15, 21). And it is said: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (Jas. 2:10-11).

It is written: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endureth forever” (Ps. 111:10).

It is written: “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job. 28:28). It is also written: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear GOD, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccles. 12:13).

In any event, man is forbidden to add to or diminish from the eternal laws of GOD, for it is written: “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD GOD of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your GOD which I command you” (Deut. 4:1-2). And it is written: “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it” (Deut. 12:32).

The Almighty GOD to Joshua thus: “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest” (Josh. 1:7).

It is written: “Every word of GOD is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Prov. 30:5-6).

And in the Apocalypse [Revelation] of the Apostle John, it is recorded: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, GOD shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, GOD shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Rev. 22:18-19).

An infraction of even one of the smallest of the eternal laws of the Almighty GOD is tantamount to a diminishing of His laws, much more a near wholesome abandonment by Christendom of GOD’s Commandments (Testimonies), Statutes and Judgments (Ordinances) which constitute the basis of His covenant relationship with His people.

In the words of Yahshua, “Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true. Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with — not until the end of all things. So then, whoever disobeys even the least important of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be least in the Kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys the Law and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the Kingdom of heaven. I tell you, then, that you will be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what GOD requires” (Matt. 5:17-19, GNT).

SIN REMAINS REGNANT

What then is the purpose of the manifestation of Yahshua in life and death since man has continued to commit sin? Does the destruction of the work of the devil not mean that man would not commit sin anymore? The answer lies in our postulation that the work of reconciliation was done before creation and has been effective since the fall of man at the Garden of Eden.

Since before and after the manifestation of Yahshua’s death, man’s greatest debt to GOD has been to live righteously. As it is written: “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our GOD, as He hath commanded us” (Deut. 6:25). The debt man owes GOD is to live righteously, meaning, to live in obedience to His commandments in the faith [example] of Yahshua – the same commandments that were received on our behalf on Mount Sinai. It is the breaking of even the least of them that constitutes sin (1 Jn. 3:4). Again, I say, it is written: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear GOD, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For GOD shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccles. 12:13-14).

I conclude that nothing has changed in regard to sin since Yahshua manifested and was impaled on the tree. This underscores our assertion that reconciliation took place beforehand. There was sin before Yahshua came and there has been sin since he came and died. The challenge of sin has remained with man.

To buttress the point further, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). The curse of the Law is “sin.” If the turning point was the physical death of Yahshua, then there would have been an end to sin by his physical death on the tree.

But sin has remained with man, thus keeping the Law of GOD alive, for the Law is made for the sinner, as it is said: “But we know that the law is good, if we use it lawfully: knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:8-10).

It is said: “Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression” (Rom. 4:15). And it is said: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? GOD forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Rom. 7:7). Suffice it to say that the strength of sin is the Law, as it is said: “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56).

As I said before, Yahshua manifested in order that we may by his own example, live a life without sin. This is precisely what the Apostle Paul meant when he told the Galatians in his Letter that the Law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ and be justified by being like him (by faith in him), following his example (Gal. 3:24-25). Yahshua surely came to save sinners, so that man will sin no more, as it is said: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15).

The manifestation of Yahshua and his physical death has not ended sin. Just as sin was with man before Yahshua’s manifestation, so sin has remained with man since he was manifested and died. And so is death, physical and spiritual, as a result of sin, for death is the consequence of sin, as it is written: “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4). And in another place it is said: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of GOD is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

It is correct to say that Yahshua came in order to make us see the exceeding sinfulness of sin so that we may, by his own example, live above it, for sin is obedience to the devil (1 Jn. 3:8; Rom. 6:16; Jn. 8:34).

It is not correct to say, however, as some who invert the Scriptures do say, that Yahshua came to remove the punishment for sin. That is blasphemy. For GOD punishes every sin committed by man, because sin is disobedience to His Law. His Law is symbol of His authority as lawgiver and Sovereign of the Universe. GOD does not leave the guilty unpunished, for there is no unrighteousness in Him.

GOD is a GOD of truth. His law is truth, for it is written: “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth… Thou art near, O LORD; and all Thy Commandments are truth” (Ps. 119:142, 151). When we break His law, we literally reject Him and His authority as the lawgiver. We deny Him. But He does not deny Himself. He upholds His word or Law by punishing for its infraction. That is the way of a righteous GOD.

Sin renders one guilty before GOD, the Lawgiver. GOD punishes for every sin, even if in measure, because of His attributes of mercy and grace (Yahshua), and not according to the full measure of one’s guilt, for it is written: “Righteousness and Justice are the habitation of Thy throne: mercy and truth goeth before Thy face” (Ps. 89:14). See also Ps. 33:5; 97:2; 99:4.

It is written: “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:5-7).

The paths of GOD are mercy and truth to such as keep His Covenant and His Commandments (Ps. 25:10). He is a faithful GOD who keeps Covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His Commandments to a thousand generations (Ex. 20:6; Deut. 7:9; Dan. 9:4) Yet, GOD will not deny His Law, because there is no unrighteousness in Him (Ps. 145:17; 92:15; 2 Chron. 19:7).

Here is what GOD said of David (Speaking of Yahshua spiritually): “I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him: With whom My hand shall be established: Mine arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him: and in My name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto Me, Thou art my Father, my GOD, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him My firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments; If they break My statutes, and keep not My commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven, Selah” (Ps. 89:20-37).

GOD PUNISHES FOR EVEN THE SMALLEST DELIBERATE SIN

If GOD does not punish us for the sins we commit, then He does not love us. We are not His sons and daughters. We are bastards. GOD forbid! It is said: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the LORD, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the LORD loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, GOD dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:5-11). See also Job 5:17; Ps. 94:12-13; Prov. 3:11-12.

FORGIVENESS

It is incorrect to say that the sinful man who repented of his sin did not obtain forgiveness from GOD until Yahshua was manifested and died. A man who committed sin, confessed his sin, repented and forsook his sin always received forgiveness from GOD since the time when Adam sinned at the Garden of Eden. This is because GOD knew that man would sin inevitably and created reconciliation in Yahshua’s death beforehand. The rule is as it is written: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13).

If GOD did not forgive Adam and Eve after the fall, their death would have followed automatically. It was in anticipation of the sin of Adam (man) that GOD caused Yahshua to die so that man may obtain forgiveness, atonement and be reconciled to Him. Forgiveness was granted but atonement must follow in order to cleanse man from the guilt of sin. That is the mystery of GOD, whether or not we are willing to accept it.

For the sake of emphasis, following the fall at Eden, GOD made the following pronouncements in judgment as reproduced above thus: “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:17-19). To reiterate, Adam means “Man.”

And unto the woman, GOD pronounced the following judgment as reproduced above: “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16). Again, Eve means “Woman.”

Cain and Abel were born to Adam and Eve after the fall. Adam lived a total of nine hundred and thirty years and died (Gen.5:5). The pronouncements of GOD in judgment are the way the forgiven man is to atone for sin. What Yahshua suffered in the flesh was atonement for sin that cleanses man of sin, including the original sin, so that the original sin may no longer be imputed to all men. It is a demonstration of what atonement for sin entails. Atonement is evidence that sin is forgiven (remitted).

The text says: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of GOD; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom GOD hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of GOD” (Rom. 3:23-25). The text also says: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2). And further: “And not only so, but we also joy in GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Rom. 5:11).

To propitiate is to atone for sin or wrongdoing. The text says: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin” (Col. 1:14). See also Eph. 1:7.

The question is, “if it was Yahshua’s physical death following his manifestation that brought forgiveness of sins, why were men forgiven their sins before he was manifested and died on the tree?” The truth is that man would not have obtained forgiveness for sins if reconciliation had not taken place beforehand as I assert.

GOD revealed His attributes to Moses, for it is written: “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:5-7). These are what the Jews call the thirteen attributes of mercy or thirteen qualities which GOD taught Moses. These spell out the nature and character of GOD and it must be said that Yahshua inhabits and reflects that part of GOD that is kind, merciful, gracious, forgiving and abounding in goodness and truth.

GOD does not change (Mal. 3:6). He is constant. See also Jas. 1:17. He did not suspend or leave in abeyance His attributes, whether of mercy, grace and forgiveness or others pending the manifestation of Yahshua and his death on the tree. These have been His attributes and they have been active in His relationship with man since man (Adam) was created. And so, King Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of his magnificent Temple was deliberate when he prayed: “If they sin against Thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto Thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto Thee toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name: Then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive Thy people that have sinned against Thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against Thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them” (1 Kgs 8:46-50).

Solomon knew that GOD is a forgiving GOD because he had always demonstrated that attribute. For Solomon, GOD’s attribute of forgiveness is not an abstraction. He did not use the word “forgive” in speculation, conjecture or surmise.

The words in parenthesis, “For there is no man that sinneth not,” is a clear suggestion that even those considered in the Scriptures as giants of Faith were not without sin, being humans, but that GOD forgave them their sins when they turned to Him in true repentance.

And GOD’s forgiveness did not mean that they were absolved from atonement or punishment for those sins, for the text says: “Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His name; they called upon the LORD, and He answered them. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept His testimonies, and the ordinance that He gave them. Thou answeredst them, O LORD our GOD: Thou wast a GOD that forgavest them, though Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions” (Ps. 99:6-8). “Vengeance” here means punishment or atonememt for their sins.

When King David, the man after GOD’s heart sinned against GOD in the matter of Uriah the Hittite, GOD pronounced His judgment on him through the mouth of the Prophet Nathan saying: “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised Me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun” (1 Sam. 12:10-12). And David knowing the attribute of GOD as the Father of mercy, grace and forgiveness, in sincerity and remorse, immediately said unto the Prophet Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD” (V. 13). Nathan in turn communicated GOD’s mind to David saying: “The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die” (1 Sam. 12:13-14). The pronouncement, “the LORD also hath put away thy sin” is rendered, “The LORD forgives you” (GNT).

David’s sincere remorse and repentance is captured by the following record: “Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite” (1 Kgs 15:5).

David prayed: “But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared” (Ps. 130:4). He always knew that GOD is forgiving. Very clearly, GOD forgave David his sins as is in His nature to do, but atonement must follow, notwithstanding that forgiveness was graciously given. That is the way of Divine operation. It is only when there has been atonement that one is washed clean of the sin committed. That is when what is recorded in the Psalms comes into play thus: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (Ps. 32:1-2). The man to whom iniquity is not imputed and in whose spirit there is no guile is the man who has atoned for his sin. The pedestrian understanding by religionists that there are people against whom GOD does not count or reckon sins is a poor understanding. It is what it is. It is a poor understanding. Even for bastards, their sins will report against them on the last day, for nothing defiled has a place in the Kingdom of GOD.

David prayed: “LORD, Thou hast been favourable unto Thy land: Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people, Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. Thou hast taken away all Thy wrath: Thou hast turned Thyself from the fierceness of Thine anger” (Ps. 85:1-3).

David praised the LORD and said: “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; … The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. … But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them” (Ps. 103:1-4, 8-14, 17-18).

It is an illusion to think that one can commit sin, show contrition and remorse, repent and be forgiven the sin and not atone for the sin. Atonement takes the form of punishment for the sin and cleanses the guilty of sin, for He that said that He does not acquit the guilty is faithful. Atonement for sin is evidence of the love of GOD for the sinner, as noted earlier. To be indifferent to man’s sin is to be abandoned by GOD. It is better for GOD to punish man for his sin than to be indifferent to it.

Although forgiven, King David atoned for the sins for which GOD pronounced judgment on him. We read about the incest committed by his son, Amnon and virgin daughter Tamar, following Jonadab’s ill advice. For it is recorded: “And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her” (2 Sam.13: 10-14).

Tamar war Absalom’s uterine sister. Absalom murdered Amnon as a result, for it is recorded: “And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? But hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house. But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar. And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him. Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee? But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? Be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled. And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left. Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent. And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar” (Verses 20-32).

Following the counsel of Ahitophel, David’s counsellor, Absalom committed treason against David, his father and attempted to oust him as king. David became a fugitive in his own kingdom (2 Sam. 15). Absalom violated David’s ten concubines on a tent spread upon the top of the house in the glare of all Israel to fulfill the word of the LORD, for the text says: “So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel” (2 Sam. 16:22).

The Scriptures record the wickedness of King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and how as a result of his wickedness, the LORD brought upon him and his cohorts the captains of the host of the King of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with fetters and carried him to Babylon. When Manasseh was in distress, he besought the LORD and humbled himself before He who is merciful and forgiving. He prayed and GOD forgave him, and he was brought back to Jerusalem, his Kingdom.

Here is King Manasseh’s story in brief as recorded in the Scriptures: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall My name be forever. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of GOD, of which GOD had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put My name for ever: Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to His people: but they would not hearken. Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his GOD, and humbled himself greatly before the GOD of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and He was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD He was GOD” (2 Chron. 33:1-13).

The Scriptures tell the story of King Ahab’s many evils and wickedness in turning Israel to Baal worship with his wife, Jezebel, and killing Naboth, the Jezreelite, and taking over his vineyard. GOD communicated His indignation and judgment to Ahab through the Prophet Elijah in the following terms: “And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat” (1 Kgs. 21:17-24).

At the hearing of these pronouncements, King Ahab repented, humbled himself and sought the face of the LORD. GOD heard his prayers, for the text says: “And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before Me? Because he humbleth himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house” (1 Kgs. 21:27-29). GOD clearly forgave him because he repented of his iniquities.

When Moses prayed that GOD should forgive the sin of those who set up idolatory by making the golden calf and worshipping it, he was deliberate about it. He knew GOD to be a forgiving Father (Ex. 32:32).

When Moses entreated GOD on behalf of his Sister, Miriam, after GOD had struck her with leprosy, GOD forgave her, for the text says: “And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O GOD, I beseech thee. And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again” (Num. 12:13-15).

The evil report of the ten spies concerning the Promised Land and Israel’s reaction thereto was a grave sin against GOD which awakened GOD’s indignation against the people. GOD said to Moses: “And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? And how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they” (Num. 14:11-12).

Moses stood between the people and GOD and interceded on their behalf, invoking GOD’s attributes of mercy. Moses prayed: “And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now” (Num. 14:17-19). GOD forgave the people when He said to Moses: “And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word” (Verse 20).

When Hezekiah, King of Judah celebrated the Feast of Passover in Jerusalem, he sent letters to remnants of the children of Israel who had escaped the captivity of the Assyrians, requesting them to come to Jerusalem and observe the Feast of the LORD. Those sent with the letters passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim, Manasseh and Zebulon. Some of them laughed the dispatchers to scorn and mocked them, but many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Asher, Issachar and Zebulon accepted the invitation and attended the Feast in Jerusalem, in humility. Those were the days when the kingdom stood divided. The multitude of the people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulon, ate the Passover without sanctifying themselves unto the LORD as required by Law. King Hezekiah prayed for them on account of this violation saying, “The good LORD pardon every one That prepareth his heart to seek GOD, the LORD GOD of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary” (2 Chron. 30:18-19). The LORD heard his prayer and healed the people, for the text says: “And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people” (Verse 20).

Daniel fasted and prayed to GOD during the reign of Darius, seeking His forgiveness of the sins of the children of Judah, because he knew that GOD is a forgiving GOD. The text says: “And I set my face unto the LORD GOD, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my GOD, and made my confession, and said, O LORD, the great and dreadful GOD, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, which spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O LORD, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O LORD, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against Thee. To the LORD our GOD belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our GOD, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of GOD, because we have sinned against Him. And He hath confirmed His words, which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our GOD, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand Thy truth. Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our GOD is righteous in all His works which He doeth: for we obeyed not His voice. And now, O LORD our GOD, that hast brought Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O LORD, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our GOD, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the LORD's sake. O my GOD, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies. O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my GOD: for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name” (Dan. 9:3-19). GOD forgave and Jerusalem was rebuilt. GOD vouchsafed Daniel revelations through the angel Gabriel.

The Prophet Jonah chose death over life in an attempt to avoid GOD’s assignment for him to proceed to Nineveh and warn the people of impending doom because of their wickedness. Jonah knew that GOD is forgiving and would forgive and not destroy the people if they turned to Him. Jonah said: “I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious GOD, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?” (Jon. 4:2-4).

All of the above instances, and many more, of GOD forgiving man, took place before the manifestation and death of Yahshua on the tree. Although the Law of GOD would appear to emphasize GOD’s forgiveness for ignorant sins (Num. 15:22-29) and prescribed the punishment of excision for deliberate sins (Verses 29-30), yet we see GOD’s attribute of forgiveness very active in history. It is to say that forgiveness for sins had existed since the fall of Man at Eden. This reinforces my assertion that Yahshua shed his blood and reconciled man unto GOD before the foundation of the world, before man was created, and sinned. That was the reason Israel and Strangers (Gentiles) among them enjoyed fellowship with a GOD who is a consuming fire because His very Being abhors sin. That was the reason man enjoyed forgiveness for sin before Yahshua’s physical manifestation and death on the tree.

To show that the plan of GOD cannot be altered, sin continues to bear its meaning since Yahshua came and died physically. Forgiveness continues to follow true repentance and punishment (atonement) for sin remains very much with man. Whether or not we are willing to accept it, I reiterate that there is no breaking of GOD’s, Law, however little, that goes unpunished. GOD, the Lawgiver, who was affronted by the infraction must exact punishment in retribution, even if the punishment is not in proportion to our guilt because of His attribute of mercy.

The bane of Christianity is its unwitting debasement of the eternal Laws of GOD while adherents live in sin as it shields itself behind the death of Yahshua. It is unthinkable that one would claim that he is a child of GOD, profess that Yahshua is his Lord and Saviour, and yet live in sin. The text says: “They profess that they know GOD; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Titus 1:16). The text also says: “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our GOD into lasciviousness, and denying the only LORD GOD, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). This is the result of Christendom’s error of grace, no- Law salvation message, especially among the so-called Pentecostals. This is nothing short of monstrous antinomianism.

From Christianity’s numerous lying preachers and prophets and purveyors of the pervasive no-Law doctrine to the multitude of their pretentious and faithful followers, damnation is sure, unless they repent and turn to GOD and obey His eternal Covenant Laws. The Apostle Paul wrote: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). It was said by Yahshua: “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Lk. 16:17). No alibi can save anyone who indulges in deliberate breaking of GOD’s commandments because of the falsehood sold to him by his General Overseer, Pastor or prophet so-called.

Christendom must heed the warning of the Apostle Paul: “For there is no respect of persons with GOD. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before GOD, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom. 2:11-13).

The Apostle Peter also warns: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not…. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Pet. 2:1-3, 12-19).

We cannot say that we have not been warned. Today is the day of salvation.

GRACE

“Grace” is another concept that Christendom erroneously believes to have become available from GOD to man only with the manifestation of Yahshua and his death on the tree. Just how wrong! It is one of the concepts most abused by Christendom. To add to its confusion, it is said: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17).

Taken at face value, the Apostle John’s statement is apt to be misunderstood. One gets the impression that Moses and Yahshua were and are at cross-purposes. Nothing can be further from the truth. One also gets the impression that the Law is false and not true; that GOD was not gracious to man before the manifestation of Yahshua, and that the Law is not grace. It is these wrong impressions about GOD’s Holy Law and the meaning of Yahshua that feeds Christendom’s message of easy-believism that has virtually destroyed the religion.

In the first place, Moses and Yahshua came to fulfill the same purpose. Moses and Yahshua are inseparable. Moses represents the Eternal Law of GOD. I have shown that man’s whole duty is to fear GOD and keep His Commandments (Eccles. 12:13) and that only doers of the Law shall be justified (Rom. 2:13). We find the following record in the gospel according to Mathew: “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, “Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, GOD: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:16-17). See Mk. 10:17-19; Lk. 18:18-20.

As noted earlier, Yahshua had reaffirmed the immutability of the Law earlier when he said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:17-19).

And as Luke also records: “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Lk. 16:17).

Yahshua also said of the Law as follows: “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words” (Jn. 5:45-47).

In the Apocalypse, the Apostle John was made to see in spirit, that those who overcame the Devil (beast) and his mark, image and number of his name sing the Song of Moses (law) and of the Lamb (Yahshua), signifying that obedience to the Law in the faith or example of Yahshua gave them the victory, for it is said: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of GOD. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of GOD, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, LORD GOD Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O LORD, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest” (Rev. 15:2-4).

The saints of GOD are identified in the revelation of John as those who keep the Commandments of GOD and the faith of Yahshua, as it is said: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of GOD, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). They are the people who are said to not have worshipped the beast (Devil) neither received his mark, image and number of his name.

What is the faith of Yahshua, one may ask? The faith of Yahshua is to live by Yahshua’s example of living by the spirit of the Law that produces the spiritual fruits of mercy, holiness, love, kindness, forgiveness, goodness, meekness, humility, lowliness of heart, poverty of spirit, graciousness, obedience to GOD’s Law, joy, peace, faith, gentleness, patience, temperance, longsuffering.

It was revealed to John that Satan’s greatest war is with those who keep the Commandments of GOD and the faith of Yahshua, as it is said: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:17).

It was also revealed to John that the Kingdom of GOD belongs to those who keep GOD’s Commandments, for the text says: “Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (Rev. 22:14-15).

Yahshua manifested on earth as a Messenger of the same covenant which GOD gave to Israel and non-Israel (Gentiles or strangers) on Mount Sinai, for it is written: “…and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts” (Mal. 3:1). Wherein lies the justification of his endorsement and affirmation of all the covenant laws anchored on the commandments, statutes and judgments.

It is important to note that John’s revelation were given to him by Yahshua himself, for the text says: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which GOD gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John, Who bare record of the word of GOD, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw,” and “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16).

The Law is the Word of GOD and it is obedience to the Word (Law) that gives life everlasting and abundant life on earth. It is written: “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD” (Matt. 4:4; Lk. 4:4). It is written in Deut. 8:3.

In Lev. 18:5 it is written: “Ye shall therefore keep My statutes, and My judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.” See also Ezek. 20:11, 21. It is also written: “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy GOD, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy GOD shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it” (Deut. 30:15-16).

The Law is also grace, for had the Law not been revealed to sinful man, no one would know the Will of GOD and strive to live righteously by obedience to the Law. The Law was revealed to sinful man as an act of grace, for the text says: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our GOD: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29).

Grace is not a concept that came when Yahshua was manifested, it must be understood. Before Yahshua’s manifestation on earth, GOD had always dealt with man as a gracious GOD, to signify that Yahshua had reconciled man unto GOD before the foundation of the world, before man was created.

It is written: “The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works… All Thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power; To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing” (Ps. 145:9, 15-16).

It is written: “These wait all upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them they gather: Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good” (Ps. 104:27-28). And it is written: “Who giveth food to all flesh: for His mercy endureth forever” (Ps. 136:25).

Said Yahshua: “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).

Yahshua is otherwise called the grace of GOD, for the text says: “For the grace of GOD that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). It is said: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen” (Philemon 1:25).

The text says: “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

It is not surprising that even in his fallen and guilty state resulting from his sin at the Garden of Eden, GOD gave man grace by covering his nakedness before he was sent out of the Garden, for the text says: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD GOD make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). That act was an unmerited favour from GOD. It was an act of grace. That was Yahshua in reality, exemplifying GOD’s righteousness as man’s Creator.

As noted earlier, GOD revealed His attributes to Moses on Mount Sinai, proclaiming Himself as a GOD who is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth etal (Ex. 34:6).

The grace of GOD (Yahshua) has been ever active in history, beginning with the fall of man at Eden. That was the reason GOD gave Noah grace, as the text says: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8).

Ezra prayed after the Babylonian captivity of Judah saying: “And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our GOD, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our GOD may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage” (Ezra 9:8).

In the Psalms, King David repeatedly invoked GOD’s gracious, merciful and compassionate attributes when he prayed to GOD. The following examples will do:

Ps. 77:9: Hath GOD forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah

Ps. 84:11: For the LORD GOD is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Ps. 86:15: But thou, O LORD, art a GOD full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Ps. 103: 8: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Ps. 111:4: He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Ps. 116:5: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our GOD is merciful.

Ps. 145:8: The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

In the Proverbs of King Solomon, he said: “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly” (Prov. 3:34).

The Prophet Jeremiah prophesied, saying: “Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest” (Jer. 31:2).

As pointed out earlier, the Prophet Jonah prayed to GOD that he fled to Tarshish because he knew that GOD is a gracious GOD (Jon. 4:2).

As noted earlier on, when Hezekiah, King of Judah celebrated the Feast of Passover in Jerusalem, he sent letters to remnants of the children of Israel who had escaped the captivity of the Assyrians, requesting them to come to Jerusalem and observe the Feast of the LORD. In King Hezekiah’s letter of invitation were the following words: “Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD GOD of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into His sanctuary, which He hath sanctified forever: and serve the LORD your GOD, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your GOD is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto Him” (2 Chron. 30:6-9).

The foregoing demonstrate incontrovertibly that the grace of GOD had been with man since creation and before Yahshua was manifested and died on the tree. I am on firm ground therefore, when I assert that GOD had reconciled man unto Himself by Yahshua’s death before the foundation of the world, and that grace is not a New Testament concept.

It is the same grace that brought salvation to the Gentiles and allowed them to become part of GOD’s people before the manifestation of Yahshua, because the death of Yahshua beforehand brought reconciliation of the world unto GOD and not only the Jews (1 Jn. 2:2), for GOD is not GOD only of the Jews but also of the Gentiles (Rom. 3:29).

I have endeavoured to prove that it was GOD’s original plan from before creation, to save not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. It was only up to Him to actualize the plan by the way He thought necessary according to the unsearchable depth of His wisdom and judgment as Master planner, for it is said: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of GOD! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the LORD? Or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33-36).

Grace is thus, not a New Testament concept.

THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION OF JOHN 1:17

The text says: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17).

The Law of GOD is spiritual (Rom. 1:14). Being spiritual, the mission of the Law is to transform man into a spiritual being. Being spiritual means being GOD-like, expressed, reflected and manifested in the example of the life of Yahshua.

Properly understood, there is really no distinction between law and grace and truth in the context of Moses and Yahshua. The terms mean the same thing.

The law is the Word of GOD. Yahshua is the Word of GOD, for the text says: “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of GOD” (Rev. 19:13).

Yahshua is the Law. He is the law that turned into flesh, as it is said: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). Yahshua became the walking Torah (law) of GOD.

The law is the grace of GOD. The law is GOD’s secret revealed to His people, for it is written: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our GOD: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). It is also written: “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant” (Ps. 25:14).

Revelation of the Law is an act of grace, in the absence of which obedience would be impossible and no soul would be saved. The text says: “For the grace of GOD that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12). Yahshua said he did not come to abolish the Law and the teachings of the Prophets. He upheld the Law and its commands in ways that make their meaning clearer. Yahshua’s example of obedience to the Law of GOD is the believer’s paradigm.

Mercy, holiness, love, forgiveness, goodness, meekness, kindness humility, lowliness of heart, obedience to GOD’s Law, joy, peace, faith, gentleness, patience, temperance, longsuffering are the grace in the law which Yahshua demonstrated.

The covenant laws are all about Yahshua, as it is said by Yahshua: “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (Jn. 5:45-47). Moses is simply a metaphor for the law. Yahshua is the grace of GOD hidden from those who are ready to perish. It is said: “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of GOD, should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

However, the era of Moses was an era where a spiritual law was received by a carnal people. It does not end there. The world is a wilderness of sorts. The sojourn of Israel from Egypt to the promised land (Canaan) represents our sojourn on Earth. The same laws govern our relationships, whether vertical towards GOD or horizontal towards fellow humans. Moses still governs until the era of the new covenant which is still future. The new covenant era is the Kingdom era. The world is carnal. The law is meant for the inhabitants of the earth.

GOD is GOD of truth. His law is the truth. GOD is truth and His Law is ipso facto, truth, as the Psalmist said: “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth” (Ps. 119:142, 151).

Yahshua is the truth, as the text says: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6). And also: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). The truth in the law is its spirituality which Yahshua embodied and demonstrated by GOD’s many attributes of mercy, holiness, love, forgiveness, goodness, meekness, kindness humility, lowliness of heart, graciousness, obedience to GOD’s Law, joy, peace, faith, gentleness, patience, temperance, longsuffering. These are the fruits that ought to be borne by those who obey GOD’s Law. These are the truth (in the Law) that Yahshua brought.

When Yahshua said: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32), he was simply talking about the spirituality of the law and its fruits of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul said: “For I delight in the law of GOD after the inward man” (Rom. 7:22). The inward man is the spiritual man.

For instance, it is clearly stated in the Law of GOD: “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:18).

It is also clearly stated in the Law thus: “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy GOD: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him” (Lev. 19:11, 12, 13, 15-17).

These ideals are rather too lofty for the carnal man. A man who is not spiritual cannot keep the laws of GOD because the law is spiritual, as it is said: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against GOD: for it is not subject to the law of GOD, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please GOD” (Rom. 8:7-8).

It is said: “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14).

Unfortunately, the wilderness generation of Israelites who received the Law at Mount Sinai for themselves and on our behalf, and much of those after them, were carnal and could neither receive GOD’s spiritual Law nor live by its standards and bear the spiritual fruits that the Law is meant to produce in man. The people who were brought out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage had gone through layers of brainwashing and assimilation into the ways of the Egyptians. They had a very high Egyptian content in them. To be transformed into the ways of GOD mirrored in His spiritual laws necessarily had to be a process. It was not going to automatic. It was not simply going to be an event. Thus, the people gave Moses a very hard time. They gave GOD a hard time.

Moses, the servant of GOD was way more mature in spirit than his followers, for it is written of him: “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. And He (GOD) said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house” (Num. 12:3, 6-7).

Because of the peoples’ carnality, they could not look at the face of Moses when he came down from the Mount of GOD with the tablets of stone on which GOD wrote the Law, because his face shone as light, having spent forty days and forty nights on the Mount before GOD. Moses was, as it were, transformed spiritually. To speak the Law to the people, Moses put a veil on his face, as it is written: “And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him” (Ex. 34:29-35).

Because of the hardness of the heart of the carnal people, certain Laws were permitted, such as the Law, “Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again” (Lev. 24:20). The peoples’ lifestyle was peripheral to what GOD’s spiritual Law seeks to achieve in man.

The hearts of the people were blinded to a spiritual Law. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away” (2 Cor. 3:13-16).

The Letters of the Apostle Paul are often misunderstood by the apostles of grace, no-Law salvation Bible thumpers. The Law of GOD is not abolished. What has been abolished is the Law without its spiritual fruits, otherwise known as the Letter of the Law. Yahshua’s life was a perfect example of obedience to the Law of GOD with its spiritual fruits. We are then to live like Yahshua. To walk as He walked. To be like Yahshua is what GOD’s Law sets out to achieve in man.

Yahshua came to magnify the Law and to make it honourable” for the sake of our righteousness (Isa. 42:21). If while we say that we are in Yahshua we are seen to break GOD’s Law, we make Yahshua a Minister of sin. GOD forbid! (Gal. 2:17).

Of Yahshua, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews said: “…Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is GOD. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a Son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” (Heb. 3:1-6).

There is no question that Yahshua is greater than Moses but they are inseparable. The Law given through Moses is Yahshua turned flesh. The Law is the Word of GOD, and Yahshua is called the Word of GOD, for the text says: “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Rev. 19:13).

The Gentiles live according to the course of this world and according to the prince and power of the air (Eph. 2:2), because they knew not the Will (Laws) of GOD. Israel would not have been in a better position than the Gentiles were the Law not revealed to them, just as the text says: “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of GOD” (Rom. 3:1-2).

The text says: “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law” ( Rom. 2:17-20).

The text says: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of GOD, and the promises” (Rom. 9:4).

The text says: “For what nation is there so great, who hath GOD so nigh unto them, as the LORD our GOD is in all things that we call upon Him for? 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?” (Deut. 4:7-8).

And the text says: “He sheweth His word unto Jacob, His Statutes and His Judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD” (Ps. 147:19-20).

CONCLUSION

Having said all, we conclude as follows:

Before Yahshua’s manifestation and death of the tree, man sinned against GOD.

Since Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, man has continued to sin against GOD.

Before Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, GOD forgave the repented man and punished him for sin by way of atonement. GOD is holy and man must be holy in order to remain in communion with Him. Sin damages the relationship between man and GOD, and the process of atonement through repentance, restores the relationship.

Since Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, GOD forgives the repented man and punishes him for sin by way of atonement.

Before Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, GOD was gracious, merciful and compassionate.

Since Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, GOD has continued to be gracious, merciful and compassionate.

Before Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, the door of salvation was opened for Gentiles to worship the GOD of Israel and become fellow citizens with His people.

Since Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, the door of salvation became widely opened for Gentiles to worship the GOD of Israel and become fellow citizens with His people.

Before Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, the wages of sin was death.

Since Yahshua’s manifestation and death on the tree, the wages of sin remains death.

GOD was in Yahshua reconciling the world unto Himself since before the foundation of the world.

All of the above were possible because the reconciling death of Yahshua took place since the foundation of the world and the redeeming blood of Yahshua has been active since the fall of man in Eden.

– By The Apostle (Justice) Paul Madubochi

Note: This message contains sacred literature. Please do not deface or discard