Did GOD -- or FATE -- Save President Trump?

 

“DID GOD—OR FATE—SAVE TRUMP?”

Pastor Terry L. Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh, PA; 10/11/24

 

1 Sam. 6:9: “And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”

 

“I believe God saved his life."—Rev. Franklin Graham (BGEA, Samaritan’s Purse)

 

“My understanding of Christian theology makes me certain that God did not save the former president from assassination…"—Shane Claiborne (“Red-Letter Christian” and “Neo-Anabaptist” leader)  

 

Two starkly opposite perspectives: Rev. Graham believes that Divine intervention saved President Trump from the assassin’s bullet at Butler—but the “progressive-evangelical” leader, Claiborne, is “certain” that God had nothing to do with it. According to Shane, FATE was Mr. Trump’s deliverer.

 

Likewise, View hostess Joy Behar ridiculed Mr. Trump’s public expression of gratitude to God for sparing his life, defining it as being arrogant and presumptuous:

 

“…you say something like, ‘God was watching me.’ That is a very unchristian thing to say because he’s very narcissistic.”

 

We might interject here that if Behar were consistent in this line of reasoning, it would inevitably follow that thanking God for anything that transpires would constitute sinful “presumption.”

 

The above passage from 1Samuel 6 was a favorite of the late Dr. R.C. Sproul in discussions involving the matter of sovereign Divine ordination lying beneath all events—good, bad, or ethically indifferent (Amos 3:6). The Philistine priests had established a “test” to determine whether or not Yahweh was behind the plague that had invaded their regions. The very fact that these men even considered it a POSSIBILTY that some events lay outside of God’s Providence and within the realm of blind “chance” revealed one thing with certainty: these men were, at their very core, ATHEISTS. They met the definition of atheists because their conception of deity was FALSE; their “god” simply didn’t exist! IF GOD IS TRULY GOD, THEN HE MUST BE SOVEREIGN OVER ALL THINGS, and He thus ordains and presides over ALL EVENTS! 

 

Do you believe in a SOVEREIGN God—the real God—or in some UNREAL, finite alternative?

Justification Chart

Justification: The Reformers vs. Rome

 

JUSTIFICATION: Contrasting the Reformers with Rome

                                       JUSTIFICATION: A DIVIDING LINE

Rome vs. the Reformers: Contrasts & Comparisons

Pastor Terry L. Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh, PA; 9/08/24

The REFORMERS	ROME
1. FORENSIC. “Forensics” deals with speech; something is called “JUST” based upon the spoken declaration of God (Rom. 4:3). This is a Divine Act that happens apart from & outside of a man—it is God’s declaration of a man’s legal status before Him. If a sinful man is connected by Faith to Christ, he is declared to have a righteous status by God. Inwardly he remains a sinner—but legally his status is “RIGHTEOUS!”	1. LEGAL FICTION! Roman Catholics despise the Reformers’ doctrine of Forensic Justification, believing that it involves God in some sort of legal fiction, whereby He is found dishonestly calling a man “righteous” when in fact it he not righteous! The God of Truth will not “call an ashtray a rose,” and He will only call a man “just” when He actually sees a genuine justness or righteousness within him.
2. SYNTHESIS. The Reformers responded to Rome’s charges that they were teaching a “Legal Fiction” by affirming that something has been added to the sinner’s account (i.e., a synthesis has taken place)—namely, the atoning death and righteous life of Christ has been reckoned or imputed unto the sinner. We are justified in the merits of Christ.	2. ANALYTIC. Rome believes that Justification is a matter of Divine analysis: What does God actually see within the man? The judicial outcome is based upon God’s analysis or examination of what He sees within the life of the man. God will only legally declare a man “JUST” when He sees real and authentic righteousness within the man.
3. IMPUTATION. The merits of Christ are reckoned unto the account of the believing sinner— even as the believer’s sins were reckoned (or imputed) unto Christ at Calvary (2 Cor. 5:21, Phil. 3:9, Rom. 5:12-19, Isa. 53). The believer stands before God in union with Christ. See Philemon 1:17-18 for a beautiful example of this double-imputation.	3. INFUSION. This term describes how a believer can have a real internal righteousness that will meet the demands of Divine analysis. Christ’s power and God’s preparing-grace is infused or placed into the sinner. As the sinner co-operates with this grace, he can reach a state of internal justness that merits a Divine declaration of righteousness.
4. NO HUMAN MERIT. Believers have no internal merits that stand as a basis for legal Justification before an infinitely holy God. For the Reformers, the basis for a believer’s legal Justification before God is CHRIST HIMSELF, to whom the believer is united through faith! Our Justification is never based upon the believer’s inherent internal righteousness, or upon his own obedience or good works (Rom. 3:21-22, 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 2:16; Titus 3:5).	4. CONGRUOUS MERIT. For Catholics, the basis for Justification is the righteousness that God actually finds within the man who has both co-operated with and been transformed by the grace of God that has been infused into him via the Sacraments. While the co-operative believer will not attain earthly perfection, he will live the sort of life whereby it is fitting (i.e., congruous) for him to be granted Justification. A man’s good works thus earn him justifying merit before God—and are absolutely necessary for justification to be granted.
5. BY FAITH ALONE (Rom. 3:28, 4:1-5, 5:1-2). Saving faith is placing our trust exclusively in the Biblical Jesus and in His saving work on the Cross. Our faith places us in covenantal solidarity with the One whose Atonement answered for our sins and whose righteousness becomes our white robe of perfection before God (Isa. 61:10; Jer. 23:6, 33:16). Faith itself is NOT to be deemed a meritorious “work;” rather, it is an instrument that connects us to CHRIST—who is the grounds of our Justification.	5. FAITH AND WORKS. For Roman Catholics, Faith Alone is insufficient. Faith produces meritorious works, which serve as the instrumental cause of Justification (based upon Rome’s misapplication of James 2:14, 24 that confuses the relationship between Sanctification and Justification). Catholicism fails to apprehend that good works are the resulting fruit and evidence of genuine saving faith—and NEVER the grounds of Justification. Because good works are introduced as the basis for Justification, Roman Catholicism stands in denial of Eph. 2:8-9.
6. CAN’T LOSE IT! (Phil. 1:6) Our salvation is eternally secure in Christ, its Divine Author. A denial of Eternal Security is a lapse in unbiblical LEGALISM.	6. CAN LOSE IT! As a merit-based works system, Romanism regards an affirmation of Biblical Eternal Security as the “sin of presumption.”

 

Popular "Bible Teachers" Who Should be Avoided like the PLAGUE!!!

 

“RUN FOR YOUR VERY LIVES!!!”

Wildly Popular Teachers YOU should AVOID like the Plague!

By Pastor Terry L. Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh, PA; 5/17/24

 

Note: As always, the “hills are alive”—with heretics! And our people fail to discern. In this survey, I limit myself to what I perceive as the present needs of the people. The spate of false teachers listed below meet the following criteria: 1) a presently high level of popularity, and 2) a certain level of respectability within the evangelical mainstream. In short, they represent a present and insufficiently apprehended danger that others may not. For this reason, the “usual suspects” typically dealt with in studies like this (e.g., Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland) have been set aside.      

 

John (and Lisa) Bevere: Wildly popular and outrageously self-aggrandizing author/lecturer (e.g., the “hero” of all of his colorful personal anecdotes) who is associated or strongly allied with various Word-Faith/“name-it-and-claim-it” ministries (e.g., Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Bill Johnson’s Bethel Church). Bevere strongly advocates minimizing Bible doctrine (“it’s divisive!”) and promotes ecumenicalism. Unlike most speakers of this genre, Bevere is dangerously smooth & reasonable in tone—and yet, he is involved in “deliverance ministry” extremes. He claims, for example, that Satan can, under certain circumstances, have “legal rights” over genuine, Spirit-indwelt Christians—who can actually become DEMON POSSESSED (a falsehood). In his teaching, Bevere heavily relies upon extrabiblical revelations and experiences.

 

Sarah Young: Originator of the entire Jesus Calling mega-franchise—which, in turn, was based upon the channeled New Age “classic” God Calling (a fact that is downplayed by publisher Thomas Nelson—“a name you can trust!”). In a meditative state, Young received a series of supposed messages from “Jesus”—which are in reality a series of extrabiblical quotations from a false Christ (Matt. 24:23-24), or “another Jesus” (2Cor.11:4)—that are were compiled by Young as Jesus Calling. Despite the claim that these mystical words were infallibly spoken by the Divine Christ, these “revelations” were altered & edited for later editions of the book!!! Despite the testimony of 2Tim. 3:16-17, Young believed (died 2023) that the Bible is no longer sufficient for us, and that a more personal, direct revelation from God is therefore necessary.   

 

Beth Moore: Best-selling author, Bible-teacher—and all-around “gal pal” to zillions of Christian ladies (the central fan base). An outspoken activist for egalitarianism in ministry (i.e., female pastors), she created a huge ruckus when she noisily left the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) over the issue and rebranded herself as an Anglican (despite wide doctrinal differences between the two groups). Over the past quarter-century, the perky and entertaining Ms. Moore has succeeded in teaching an entire generation of American women how to mishandle the Word of God via her insufferably shoddy hermeneutics (i.e., methods of Biblical interpretation). Employing medieval Roman Catholic methods of interpretation (including extreme allegorization and mystical-contemplative prayer), Moore has offered some highly novel interpretations of the Word of God over the years—and most seriously, has instructed others to follow in her example. For example, the story of the Gadarene Demoniac living amongst the tombs (Mark 5:3) is NOT a spiritual allegory focusing upon our need to bury our bad memories and move forward! But this is all too representative of Moore’s cavalier incompetence in handling Scripture. Often, however, she doesn’t even bother to expound upon a particular text, making her personal experiences or alleged communications from God the basis of exposition. In terms of her theological orientation, Moore is the consummate self-loving sentimental humanist—as seen in the recent vitriolic tirade that she unleashed on Twitter against the great Puritan revivalist, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), for his godly emphasis upon the magnitude of human depravity and the holiness of God. In her shallow critique of Edwards’ preaching, Moore insists that Jesus died for us because we’re WORTH IT—thereby demonstrating her complete inability to grasp the Bible’s basic concept of GRACE: Grace is God’s UNMERITED favor upon UNWORTHY sinners! Further, Moore has progressively adopted definite Charismatic tendencies, with persistent claims that God “talks” to her. Moore has also taken a decidedly hard-left turn in favor of the WOKISM, as seen in her subtle retreat from formerly expressed objections to the “gay” lifestyle, and in her increasing bitter expressions of rage directed towards politically conservative Christians. A word to our sisters: Beth is not your “bestie”—she’s your theological nightmare!

 

Rick Warren: As author of The Purpose Driven Life, Warren is the Apostle of mass marketing (a.k.a, the Church Growth Movement, or “McChurch,” which sees God’s Church as a business), as well as the Apostle of easy-believism (i.e., salvation without discussing sin or repentance), and is further noted for his inoffensive and vapid “Walmart” style of preaching. Indeed, people have testified to sitting under Warren for years without ever once hearing a solid Gospel presentation! Unlike Joel Osteen (with whom he shares these qualities), Warren has somehow managed to sneak under the radar and retain an inexplicably high level of respectability amongst conservative evangelicals. In recent years, Warren has increasingly emphasized lefty “social justice,” and has a long track-record in embracing ecumenicalism—professing to be a “huge fan” of Rome’s left-leaning “hippy pope,” Francis. Warren’s multicampus Saddleback megachurch was rightly thrown out of the Southern Baptist Convention last year for irregularly ordaining female pastors. Rick protested this decision on the Convention’s floor, arrogantly trumpeting the great size of his church and their vast number of baptisms. The SBC was apparently unimpressed!

 

The “Heavenly Tourism” Fad: Heaven is for Real, 90 Minutes in Heaven, etc., ad nauseum. Fortunately, this genre isn’t as big as it was five years ago—but these books are still out there! ALL of these “beyond-and-back” books that offer new “revelations” of what Heaven is “really like” stand in open denial of Heb. 9:27. The great harm: these books train Christians to look to experiences—rather than the Scriptures—as the final source of truth & authority.

 

Joel & Victoria Osteen: The Osteens of the gigantic Lakewood megachurch (average weekly attendance: 45,000!!!) are BIG Business: NY Times best-selling books, their own Sirius Radio Network, podcasts, television, etc. Joel is soft on gays, soft on Mormonism, soft on sin, soft on…EVERYTHING. He offers no saving Gospel, consciously refusing to preach that there is either sin to be repented of, or a Hell to be shunned—thus promoting easy-believism: Heaven is achieved by mouthing a meaningless prayer without any substantial content. He does, however, forcefully advocate the error of positive confession (i.e., “name-it-and-claim-it” theology: physical healing is supposedly a guaranteed provision of the Atonement that is ready to be “claimed”). Thus, it’s always your fault if you haven’t “claimed” your healing & prosperity, and if you aren’t healthy & wealthy like Joel & Victoria! The worldliness of their message is seen in the sad titles of their miserable earth-bound books: Your Best Life Now and Love Your Life. Silly, silly me: I thought that the coming Kingdom of our Lord is our best life, and that Matt. 10:39 & John 12:25 were still operative!

 

“Bishop” T.D. Jakes: WHEN will the God’s People stop being conned by slicksters who don’t even adhere to the bare basics of historic Christian orthodoxy? For the record, “Bishop” Jakes (once hailed by some as the “new Billy Graham”) is only recognized as a “Bishop” by a Oneness (i.e., anti-Trinitarian) cult that claims that there is only ONE Person in the Godhead. To this day, Jakes refuses to cease from referring to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as “manifestations” (classic Oneness terminology)—but cleverly and dishonestly claims (when speaking to naïve, book-buying evangelicals) that this is simply just a matter of “semantics.”

 

Tommy Tenney: The popular author of the God Chasers is yet another Oneness-Doctrine con man! Like T.D. Jakes, Tenney fraudulently downplays his anti-Trinitarian Oneness background in order to court popularity (and coax dollars) from naïve, uninformed evangelicals. We give the man credit—he’s doing a good job of it!

 

Steven Furtick: Hoodie-garbed, muscle-bound, and “super-cool,” this zany and wildly entertaining “hipster” is pastor of the multi-campus Elevation Church (a megachurch noted for its trendy, contemporary Christian music). Elevation Church, incidentally, recently withdrew from the SBC in the aftermath of the Rick Warren-controversy over female pastors (Furtick’s wife serves as his co-pastor). Steven is noted for his “novel” interpretations of the Bible, in which he sees all manner of “cool new truths” within the passages that were hidden unto others—“cool new truths” that simply AREN’T THERE!!! Frankly, being as charitable as I can, Furtick is one of the most simple-minded, childish, & sophomoric pulpiteers I have ever had the misfortune to observe in my entire life—and yet, he has a staggering 3.1 MILLION subscribers on YouTube!!! Question: “Is evangelicalism doomed, or what?”

 

Andy Stanley: Heretic son of the late Charles Stanley who is noted for promoting antinomianism (i.e., the idea that believers are “unbound” and “unshackled” by the observance of any moral or legal code). This is witnessed in his obsessive support for the full acceptance and normalization of the “Gay Christian.”

 

Frank Viola & George Barna. These two have written one of the most absurd and arrogant Christian tomes to appear in YEARS: Pagan Christianity. Sadly, its thesis has gained traction in some circles. According to Viola—the self-styled champion of the “new reformation”—any imposition of structure, order, or innovation with reference to the local church is to be disdained as a “pagan” intrusion. Church buildings, ordered worship services, ordained clergy & recognized leadership, formal sermons, choirs, Sunday Schools, formal pastoral training… all of these are somehow “pagan” and/or “unbiblical.” Only anarchic, leaderless House Churches that subscribe to Viola’s brand of “open,” “participatory” ministry meet with approval. The co-author, Barna, has a sorry record of falling for just about every evangelical “fad” for decades.   

Biblical Reasons for Affirming a LITERAL Creation Week

 

Biblical reasons

for affirming creation in six literal days

Pastor Terry L. Reese; 4/28/24

 

I. While the Hebrew word yom (“day”) can indeed refer to an extended period of time (cf., Gen. 2:4), it is NEVER used in this manner when qualified by the phrase “evening and morning” (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31) and associated with a specific numeric value (e.g., first, second, third, fourth days, etc.).

 

II. GENRE. Genesis chs. 1-11 (often cast by modern men as fable or poetry) are written in the form of HISTORICAL NARRATIVE. The author Moses is engaged in didactic teaching, recounting God’s creative & redemptive acts in real space-time & history. The literary genre here is history—not poetry or parable!

 

III. The Ordering of Events. Genesis 1 cannot be reconciled with modern “scientific” theories by interpreting the “days” as vast geologic ages. In contrast to modern theories, the Earth (and plant life) precedes the creation of the Sun, even as birds and whales precede the origin of land animals, etc.

 

IV. 7-Day Week. Unlike Days & Years, there is no astronomical basis for having a 7-Day Week! WHERE, then, does it come from? The true basis for our Week is God’s creative activity as recorded in Gen. 1:1-2:3! In the 4th Commandment, which calls for the observance of the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11), Moses records that Creation Week forms a literal pattern for man to follow (6 Days of work+1 Day of rest).

 

V.  ACCORDING TO JESUS and the Apostles, WHEN did the events of early human history occur? The martyrdom of Abel (Luke 11:50)? The marriage of Adam & Eve (Mark 10:6)? The temptation of Adam (John 8:44) and human sin (Heb. 9:25-26)? Answer: In the beginning, from the foundation of the world!

 

VI. GENEOLOGY. The genealogies of Gen. 5 & 11 create a time-frame that serves as the “spine” or framework for a meaningful historical chronology that cannot be unreasonably “stretched.”

 

VII. THEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS regarding Adam’s role and relationship unto Creation. Should we accept billions of years of earth-history without the presence of Adam—who was created as God’s Vice-Regent over Creation (Gen. 1:26-30, Ps. 8)? Or millions of years of pain, death, and decay in God’s “very good” world (Gen. 1:31) prior to Adam’s Fall? When did the Curse of Death fall upon Creation (Gen.3:17-19, Rom.5:12-21, 1Cor.15:21-22)?    

Biblical Fundamentalism vs. Neo-Evangelicalism

 

Biblical Fundamentalism vs. Neo-Evangelicalism

A Historical & Theological Analysis by Pastor Terry L. Reese

 

I. The Historical Context behind the present dispute…

o   The rise of modernism; a major battle in the early 1900’s; fundamentalists vs. liberals in all major denominations; disputes over the Nature of God, the Deity & Virgin Birth of Christ, Biblical Authority & Inerrancy, salvation, etc.

o   Liberals capture the major denominations, resulting in major denominational schisms. Conservatives separate from the liberals and operate within their own structures, creating new denominations & seminaries—and are often branded by critics as sectarians who are disconnected from the culture.

o   Post-WWII: the rise of Neo-evangelicalism: Billy Graham, Christianity Today, & Fuller Theological Seminary become flagship ministries for the “new evangelicals.” These “new men” were basically orthodox in their central doctrines, but sought a new pragmatic approach and a new methodology with the aim of reaching the prevailing secular culture…

o   Neo-Evangelicals denounced the older fundamentalists as being divisive, separatistic, disengaged from the culture, anti-intellectual, & culturally isolated (“fumbling fundamentalists”).

o   Fundamentalism’s response to Neo-evangelicalism: The “new evangelicalism” is doctrinally shallow, dismissive of separation, overly pragmatic, and spiritually compromised; it is too “Madison Avenue,” and is preoccupied with gaining worldly applause (John 15:18-19;17:14). Further, it is prideful in its unbounded desire for academic acceptance by infidel-elites.

 

II. A Summary Critique of Neo-Evangelicalism

 

1.     Neo-evangelical churches are often characterized by a certain shallowness, without adequate attention to the value of doctrine or truth. Often people are not choosing churches based upon truth-considerations, but upon purported “lifestyle-enhancement” (e.g., programs, entertainment, “flash,” etc.).

 

2.     The above speaks to a SELF-centeredness, as opposed to a GOD-centered focus; i.e., “What can the local church do for ME and MY felt-needs?”—as opposed to: “What can I do for GOD? How can I best glorify HIM and preserve HIS Truth?”

 

3.     It is rooted in pragmatic compromise. The Message is thus modified, streamlined, compromised, and over-simplified (despite Matt. 28:20, Acts 20:27). Ends-justify-the-means style expediency is valued, as are “Madison Avenue” approaches. Numeric growth is everything—obedience to God is nothing!

 

4.      So-called “non-essential” doctrines are de-emphasized (e.g., creation, eschatology, church ordinances)—which has now led to the de-emphasis of MAJOR doctrines (e.g., God’s attributes & perfections, Biblical inerrancy, Eternal Punishment, etc.)!

 

5.     A decline in moral/lifestyle standards—more “easy-going.”

 

6.     Biblical Separation (2 Cor. 6:14-18) is NOT emphasized nor maintained! Neo-evangelicals often ecclesiastically unite for pragmatic purposes with liberals & Catholics (e.g., Billy Graham).

 

7.     It is overly preoccupied with humanistic strategies (contra Ezek. 2:3-7), business models, marketing strategies, and the latest fads—as opposed to resting in the power of God…

 

8.     It is overly preoccupied with receiving the applause of the empowered academic infidel elites—a key issue involved with the undermining of once-conservative seminaries (Jms.4:4).

 

9.     Extrabiblical authority (e.g., the latest “science” or popular “wisdom”) is often favored over the Scriptures…

 

10.  “Woke!” In accordance with its desire to reach the elites and curry favor with the crowds, it has, in recent years, tended to demonstrate its “enlightenment” through an increased association with political & economic utopian-progressivism.

 

11.   It is overly preoccupied with love & unity (John 17:21)—at the expense of TRUTH (John 17:17). 1 Cor. 13:6: “[Love] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth…”

 

The results: a downgrade—a postmodern Church whose deficiencies and immaturities have led to doctrinal & lifestyle accommodation with the world. Neo-evangelicalism is “neither cold nor hot” (Rev.3:15)—and it has not even achieved the promised and anticipated results in terms of growth and outreach: the culture continues to putrefy!

The Riddle of Antisemitism & Jewish Survival

 

The Riddle of Antisemitism

Pastor Terry Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh, PA (01/14/23)

“The Eternal Jew & his Enemies.”

Left to right: Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the “Reverend” Al Sharpton, Haman the Agagite, Roman Emperor Hadrian, King Sennacherib of Assyria, Pharaoh Thutmose I of Egypt, an anonymous Spanish Inquisitor, Joseph Stalin, the Ayatolla Khomeini, Haj Amin al-Husseini (the Grand Mufti), Adolf Hitler, Yasser Arafat, and Heinrich Himmler. 

 

I. The trek of the “Wandering Jew” (a.k.a., the “Eternal Jew”).

A. A Stateless People: the Diaspora (i.e., “dispersion”).

The Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24; cf., Dan. 2 & 7), extend from the Babylonian Conquest until the Second Coming. Despite the reconstitution of a Jewish state (1948), the Diaspora prevails.

 

B. A Persecuted People…

1. Antiquity (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Seleucids, Rome)

2. The Middle Ages (both European Christendom & Islam)

3. The Modern World

a. Modern western Europe (especially Germany)

b. Eastern Europe (e.g., Russia & the Ukraine)

c. The Modern Arab/Islamic World

d. Today’s Hard-Left & “Progressives.”

4. The Future: the Antichrist & the Great Tribulation.

 

C. The mystery of such unreasonable & undying hatred!

Note Mark Twain’s thesis in his essay for Harper’s (1898): the Jew is a law-abiding model-citizen with a strong sense of civic & familial responsibility. WHY is he the focus of such hatred?

 

II. Especially baffling, considering the Jew’s disproportionate level of contributions to humanity—a blessing to all (Gen.12:3)!

>Foremost: From the Jews came the Messiah & the Scriptures!

A. The rise of nations & their political development.

(e.g., the British Empire: Benjamin Disraeli, Chaim Weizmann)

B. The “Court Jew” & the development of modern finance.

C. Scientific & technological progress & development.

(e.g., Astronomy, Medicine, Physics, Atomic Science, Invention, etc.)

D. Art, culture, and popular entertainment.

 

III. America & the Jews (cf., Jer. 29:4-7). >A proud tradition of Jewish service the U.S. Armed Forces; 5,000 Jews buried at Arlington.

 

"And I will bless those who bless you..."

IV. Why does unreasonable antisemitism continue?

A. God loves Israel (Zech. 2:8)! Note: God’s love involves disciplinary correction (Heb. 12:6, Deut. 28:15-16, Matt. 27:25, Luke 23:28-30) and the refiner’s fire (Isa. 48:10).  

B. Satan hates Israel (Rev. 12:13) because of her role within God’s redemptive & prophetic program for the ages.

C. God’s plan is to purge, regather, and redeem Israel in preparation for its role in the Millennial Kingdom (Isa. 2:2, 6:11; Ezek. 20:37; Dan. 12:1; Zech. 12:10, 13:8-9; Rom. 11:26).  

 

The Riddle of Israel’s Survival

Pastor Terry Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh, PA (01/21/24)

 

I. The miracle & mystery of Jewish survival.

By all logical expectations, the Jew should no longer exist; the assimilation & persecution associated with the Diaspora (“Dispersion”) should have finished him—yet he survives! HOW?

 

"Last Man Standing"

II. The Abrahamic Covenant: the central Scriptural covenant.

(e.g., Gen. 12:1-3, 15:9-21, 17:1-8, 22:15-18).

a. God made unconditional promises to his friend, Abraham!

b. God chose & called an unworthy people (Dt.9:4-5; 17:7) for the purpose of making them a Holy People (Dt. 17:6).

c. He would bless the whole earth through that people, giving them His Word, and sending the Messiah from them…

d. He would provide a land & a brilliant destiny for that people.

 

III. Despite the present estrangement (Matt. 21:33-41, 23:34-39;

Rom. 9-11), God will spiritually restore them (Zech 12:10, Matt. 23:39, Rom. 11:26)—the culmination of the work of the Two Witnesses (Rev. 11) and the 144,000 (Rev. 7:3-8, 14:1-5).

 

He will rescue them (Zech. 14:3-5, 9, 12) from the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jer. 30:7, Dan. 12:1, Zech. 13:8-9)…

 

He will regather them from the nations where they had been dispersed (Deut. 30:1-6), ending the Diaspora that has marked the Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24; Dan. 2&7)—which extend from the Babylonian Captivity until the Second Coming…  

 

He will honor His eternal land grant to them, and restore His Holy Temple—the Great Millennial Temple (Ezek. 40-48)—and fill it with His Glory (Ezek. 43:1-4)…

 

He will make Israel the Head of Nations in His Kingdom (Mic. 4:1-2) and the Jews the most honored of people (Zech. 8:20-23).

 

Everything declared in Scripture MUST be fulfilled (e.g., Matt. 26:54, Acts 1:16)—the true secret of Jewish survival!

 

IV. BUT individual Jews MUST repent & trust in MESSIAH—

or they CANNOT be saved (John 14:6, Acts 4:12)!!! So-called “Dual Covenant Theology” (e.g., John Hagee; i.e., the idea that Jews will supposedly be saved by “keeping” the Mosaic Law) is FALSE (Rom. 3:20,23; Gal. 2:16, 21)!!!