Hutchens

Rep. Louie Gohmert [R-Texas] and 46 co-sponsors introduced House Resolution 1553; it “condemns the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its threats of ‘annihilating’ the United States and the State of Israel, for its continued support of international terrorism, and for its incitement of genocide of the Israeli people.”
 
It “supports using all means of persuading the Government of Iran to stop building and acquiring nuclear weapons” and pledges that the U.S. will ensure that Israel “continues to receive critical economic and military assistance, including missile defense capabilities, needed to address the threat of Iran.”
 
In addition, it “expresses support for Israel’s right to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by Iran, defend Israeli sovereignty, and protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within a reasonable time.”
 
God says:  I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.  Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.  But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the white horse.” [Revelation 19:11-21].
 
The Jerusalem Connection says: War with the Muslim world is inevitable. It is a fact of the prophetic future. It’s just a matter of time. Islam refuses to tolerate the existence of non-Muslims. They must convert or die. But the day is coming when Yahweh and his Messiah will tolerate no opposition. Those opposing him will be struck down and ruled with an iron scepter. Resolution 1553 signed by one-third of the House Republicans is merely a warning shot across the bow of Islam. And we will either be on God’s side in this battle or we will be destroyed. As we approach the elections of 2010 and 2012 we need to pray as we have been told to pray – that those in authority over us “may be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” And if they refuse and reject the truth, that God would refuse and reject them. We can no longer live under Godless, deceitful and corrupt leaders. O Yahweh, have mercy on your people, in Jesus name, AMEN.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said: “When Netanyahu uses religion for his political purposes he only spreads hate and fear…Israel does not have any biblical or political right to Jerusalem.”
 
God says: “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them and I will inspire them to fear me so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will most assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.”…“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”… “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right had forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” [Jeremiah 32:40-41; I Kings 9:3; Psalm 137:5-6].
 
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said: “When Netanyahu uses religion for his political purposes he only spreads hate and fear…Israel does not have any biblical or political right to Jerusalem.”
 
God says: “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them and I will inspire them to fear me so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will most assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.”…“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”… “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right had forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” [Jeremiah 32:40-41; I Kings 9:3; Psalm 137:5-6].
 
The Jerusalem Connections says: The “hate and fear” that Saeb Erekat speaks of is really a “hate” for the God of Israel and a “fear” He will do what he has promised. Whether he knows it or not, Erekat is speaking for all those opposed to Israel. Anti-Semitism (or as it is popularly called today, anti-Zionism) is really anti-God in its attitude and actions. God is the one who has decreed the irrevocable and eternal covenant with the descendants of Abraham. Those opposed to the covenant have a quarrel with God. For since its inception that covenant galls to no end some people, especially Palestinians and Arabs as well as the whole Muslim world. The strongest and safest argument Israel has for its existence is its land with an undivided Jerusalem that God has guaranteed by covenant promise. Israel would do well to rely more on God’s promises.

by James M. Hutchens

Romans chapters 9-11 of Paul’s letter to the Gentile followers of Jesus Christ in Rome, is God’s definitive word about Jews and Israel in the New Testament. At the same time it voices some admonitions to Gentiles about potentially negative attitudes on their part – some significant “Don’ts” that we do well to avoid.

Romans 9-11 follows one of the clearest statements in the Bible about the confident security of our eternal salvation that we have as the beloved people of God. Romans 8:31-39 proclaims: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now if this is true of us who confess Christ, and we most certainly do believe it is, then what are we to make of the “everlasting covenants” that God has promised to the Jews? Are they no longer in effect? Have they been so completely fulfilled in Christ that they have no continuing validity for Jews? Has God, in fact, totally rejected the Jews because of their sin, unbelief and disobedience? Paul answers these questions in Romans 9-11.

In summary, Paul connects God’s continuing work with the Jewish people with Isaiah’s prophecy concerning “the remnant.” “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.”  [Romans 9:27 quoting from Isaiah 10:22.]

Paul further identifies himself with this “remnant” when he says, “I ask then, did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people. …So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” [Romans 11:1-2, 5.] Finally, Paul sees the “remnant” as being the present continuation of the faith of the Patriarchs and the covenant community that he identifies as the “root” in the Olive Tree metaphor of Romans 11:17-24.

Paul tells us in Romans 11:25, the Olive Tree metaphor is a mystery. What is this mystery? The mystery now being unveiled is that Gentiles who believe are now grafted into the “root” or the “remnant.” In Ephesians 3:6 Paul states the new mystery relationship this way, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” We must note that believing Gentiles do not become physical Jews in this new mystery relationship, however they do have a spiritual “citizenship in Israel – fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” [Ephesians 2:12, 19.] This new mystery relationship appears to be what Paul is referring too when he speaks of the “Israel of God.” [Galatians 6:16.]

However, in the Olive Tree metaphor of Romans 11:17-24, Gentile believers are referred to as a “wild olive shoot” that has been “grafted in” to the original olive root, in other words, the believing Jewish remnant. It is at this point that Paul gives his admonitions against negative haughty attitudes evidently existing in his day and expressed by believing Gentiles toward Jews. In giving these admonitions he is anticipating these same attitudes that are pervasive today among Gentile believers. There are four admonitions.

The first, “do not boast,” is found in verse 18. This speaks to a prideful attitude that sees Gentile believers or Christians as superior to Jews and in some cases as having replaced them as the covenant people of God. Paul declares that no such replacement has taken place. He further clarifies by saying in effect, “let’s get one thing straight,” “You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” That is to say, we as Gentile believers are dependent on our Jewish spiritual linkage, not vice versa.

The second, “do not be arrogant,” is found in verse 20. The word used here means “high minded” or having a superior and condescending attitude on the part of Gentiles to Jews. Paul’s warning here is indeed a stern and solemn one. God did not put up with arrogant, disobedient and obnoxiously unbelieving Jews in the past. Be careful! He will put up with you only if you continue in His kindness and grace.

The third, “do not be ignorant,” is found in verse 25. Here the Apostle is calling for knowledge and understanding of the “mystery.” What mystery?  Clearly the context is speaking of the mystery of the Olive Tree. Paul is obviously referring to the mystery, heretofore unknown, but now revealed, namely, “that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” [Ephesians 3:6.]  Paul is speaking to a problem that pervades the Gentile believing community today and it is one of ignorance. We simply don’t have the first clue that we are inseparably linked to our Jewish root. As such we are like an orphan who doesn’t know who his parents are. It is a matter of gross ignorance based on lack of clear knowledge from God’s Word.

The fourth, “do not be conceited,” is also found in verse 25. Literally the words mean, do not be “wise in yourself” or have an attitude of “self-exalting wisdom.” The question is, about what? The answer is, about the role and goal of salvation for both Israel and the Gentiles. Paul refers to both when he says, “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” That is to say, the day is coming when the remnant of Israel will be significantly enlarged by ethnic Jews and will include the full number of Gentiles that have come in, and in this way, “all Israel will be saved.”

Until that time, Paul’s admonitions to Gentile believers remain in effect. Basically, these admonitions or “Don’ts” are directed against a willful and prideful ignorance on the part of Gentile believers in Christ regarding their vital and inseparable connection with Jews as a people as well as the believing Jewish remnant. Since it is impossible to know what Jews will ultimately constitute that remnant, we are exhorted to follow Paul’s further admonition:
“Just as you were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they to have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.”  [Romans 11:30-31.]

Of all the plans to enlarge the Jewish remnant, proactively showing them mercy appears to be the Biblical means of moving them to jealousy and envy and avoiding the “Don’ts” of Romans 11.

Gary Bauer said:  “The flotilla of boats intercepted by Israel this week flew the Turkish flag and was paid for by a “charity” deeply implicated in Islamic terrorism. But the Captain of the fleet was none other than Barack Hussein Obama. … The enemies of Israel and the U.S. are emboldened. They have taken the measurement of the man in the White House and have found him soft. That is why war looms on the horizon eighteen months into hope and change. And that is why the war’s outcome is very much in doubt.”

God says:  “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. Those who hate Yahweh would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.”… “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”  [Psalm 81:13-15; 2:12].

The Jerusalem Connection says: The international lynching of Israel is a work in progress. We have only to see the recent “Gaza Flotilla” incident as an effort to further demonize Israel in world opinion. The tragedy is, it has been a huge success. Sadly, too many in the U.S. have jumped on the band wagon of those criticizing Israel. It’s not going to get better. War is inevitable. As a matter of fact the Scriptures indicate it will get a lot worse before it gets better. It will only get better when Israel cries out, “Blessed is he that comes in the name of Yahweh.” [Matthew 23:39]. Even sadder is the fact that many who are supposedly Israel’s strongest Christian supporters believe they won’t even be here when Israel will need us the most. While that will be a rude awakening for many, we should be encouraged by these words, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus the Messiah. He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” [I Thessalonians 5:9-11].

Dennis Prager said: “If there is any group that should know the uniqueness of Nazi evil and should not want the evil of the Holocaust cheapened for political purposes, it is the Jews. Yet, there is at least a 50-50 chance that if you read or hear a public personality use Nazi imagery to describe conservatives, the person is a Jew. Specifically, a Jew on the Left. … As a Jew who has devoted much of his life to fighting anti-Semitism — from being sent by Israel to the former Soviet Union to aid Soviet Jews, to writing a book on anti-Semitism (“Why the Jews? The Reason for Anti-Semitism”), to serving on the board of directors of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — I have always found any trivialization of Nazism and the Holocaust offensive. That Jews would do this — to fellow Americans, no less — and solely in order to serve their Left-wing politics is worse than offensive. It is immoral!”

God says: “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations will come, and I will fill his house with glory.”… “A day of Yahweh is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” (Haggai 2:6-7; Zechariah 14: 1-5).

The Jerusalem Connection says: From the vantage point of the Hebrew prophets the Holocaust would have to be seen as a preview of coming attractions. In other words, the worst is yet to come and the focus of the future will be not only on the Jews but on Christians as well. Remember, it’s the Saturday people first and then the Sunday people that are in the crosshairs of the Islamic Jihadists. The flippant attribution of “Nazi” on one’s political enemies will become a reality when a third (yes, that’s 2 billion plus) of mankind are killed by a Satanically controlled army (Revelation 9:13-18). Anticipating this, Jesus admonishes us to pray with confidence that he would not ask to pray for something that he did not intend to answer. “Be always on the watch and pray that you may have the power to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36).

Daniel Greenfield, blogger at Sultan Knish said: “We are no longer bidding for the Muslim world as an ally. We are bidding to prevent it from being our enemy. But the problem is that the very people we’re bidding for already see us as the enemy. We are not going to change that with free English lessons, weapons and speeches praising their enlightenment, and clapping with delight when one of their clerics sorta suggests that terrorism is probably wrong. We’re not children and we’re not cowards, and we should stop acting like both. By competing for Muslim favor, we are only bidding ourselves, and paying up to the very people who are our enemies. By competing for their favor, we are only undercutting ourselves.”
 
God says:  “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power … “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever … “Yahweh has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all.” (I Corinthians 4:20; Daniel 2:44; Psalm 103:19). 
 
The Jerusalem Connection says:  The God of Holy Scripture has no competition – Allah notwithstanding. As a matter of fact when Messiah comes all false religions will be destroyed and only Yahweh and his Messiah will be served and worshiped. To compete for Muslim favor is to deny the supremacy of the one true God, the God of Israel, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.