And hopefully exposing the tactics of those who exploit their beliefs

As I wrote in a previous blog, I have always detested the Roe vs. Wade decision. To me, it never fully addressed the issues that Americans have with abortion. I believe that it needed to be changed. For years since the ruling in 1973, religious organizations opposed it and sought through legal and political means to overturn it. Finally, in 2022, the United States Supreme Court did. To me that was needed. However, was the abortion issue really solved?

It is a strength of American democracy that issues of differing opinions are weighed in the courts and in elections. Many Americans believe that it is a moral issue that ultimately rests with the Divine court of heaven. Christians are not alone in this opinion. Are we willing to listen to the Divine court? Are we open to the conversations that the Lord Jesus wants to have with us?

In addressing this issue as a controversy that might overshadow even more important matters, I do not intend to undervalue the beliefs and legal actions based upon those beliefs. I respect those who stand for what is right and defend the rights of those who are unable. Please continue to do so humbly, while considering the sanctity of lives of both the unborn and the born of all people. Such a stance reflects the grace and love of God for all human beings. Please act on your beliefs without turning opponents into enemies. To do so allows political entities to manipulate sincere beliefs and values into support for their interests. Political demagogues prey upon deeply-held values that can serve as wedges to divide, providing a following for themselves. With this realization in mind, is there any wonder that certain issues become “hot buttons” and highly controversial? Please don’t fall for it; instead, if you join such campaigns, hold the leaders accountable for values of equal importance.

Can we agree that we must endeavor to hear the Lord Jesus Christ for the truth?

I believe that this subject has a place as we Christians consider Jesus’ prayer for oneness of His followers. The book Echo of Jesus’ Prayer – in the Church has more to say about this oneness.

Does Abortion Cause the Greatest Damage to Children?

Statistically, in America the annual number of abortions and divorces do not greatly differ.  Most of us would agree that taking the life of an unborn baby without a reasonable cause is unimaginably cruel.  Can we also agree that the breakup of a family damages the lives of its children?  In both cases, the action of adults, often selfish, inflicts horrible harm on innocent offspring!  The fact is that each year, divorce damages more children than abortions.

American girls suffer from sexual abuse at the alarming rate of one out of every four!  Boys suffer less, one of 20, but that too is alarming.  Shockingly, some of this damage is inflicted by Christian priests, and ministers.  Even more outrageous is that some of these have been outspoken critics of abortion.

Jesus did not mention gun violence, but neither did He mention abortion.  Because abortion is such a controversy, shouldn’t gun violence be considered too – especially since too often children are the victims?  Guns in America kill thousands of youths each year.  The CDC now rates gun violence as the number one cause of child mortality.  Not statistically counted is the number of young people who are injured physically or psychologically by the gun violence that they experience or witness.  Are Christians as concerned about the sanctity of these lives as they are about the unborn?

If Christians consider it essential to campaign for the lives of the unborn, shouldn’t Christians equally campaign for marriage fidelity, ministry ethics, and gun safety?

Words from Jesus

What does Jesus say? I wrote some words about Jesus in the first blog, but I will not venture to speak for Jesus Christ about the abortion controversy. Nonetheless, I will say that Jesus had something to say to religious people who point the finger at what they consider the sins of others while ignoring their own. The writers of the New Testament included His words in their accounts about His life and work. He found Himself the target of criticism from religions people. There were many occasions and accusations, but I cite here Luke 16:14-18 (NIV).

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

What did love of money, self-justification, human values, divorce, and adultery have to do with each other? Let’s understand this passage in context and entirety. The Pharisees were a religious sect of Judaism. Those who spoke for them were leaders in the group – often rabbis. They opposed John the Baptizer and Jesus Christ. They were present with Jesus, His disciples, and the crowd when Jesus taught His followers some important lessons about money. Shortly beforehand, they had criticized Jesus for associating with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 15:1). Jesus patiently spoke three parables to them to explain the love of God for such people and desire for them to turn to Him. Afterward, Jesus spoke to His disciples about their erroneous ideas about wealth, urging them to be generous toward the needy and that you cannot serve God and money (Luke 16:13). It was then that these religious critics tried to belittle Jesus for what they considered his naïve views about money.

Jesus’ answer was to point out to them that they were living out hypocrisy, proclaiming and believing in their own righteousness but failing to understand that God sees through them. They were respectable in the eyes of the public but were secretly involved in reprehensible conduct. That conduct was to twist the Law of Moses to justify abusive sexual practices. Divorce was their ticket.
Can we connect the dots?
• Religious leaders who put down “sinners” and opposed the Truth of Jesus
• Excessive wealth and oppression of the needy
• Secret sexual pursuits that used the divorce loophole to justify marital infidelity
These religious people wanted to make the conversation center around people who were not as righteous as they, but Jesus turned the conversation to the truth, exposing what they really were about.

So come on American Christians! While our conversation centers on abortion, our divorce practices are the same as those who do not share our belief in Jesus Christ. As if that were not enough, our churches are riddled with sex scandals that leaders have sought to cover up. In our pursuit to make ourselves look upstanding, we go so far as to align ourselves with political approaches that are contradictory and hypocritical! If we were to consult with the Lord Jesus Christ, what would He want to talk to us about?

What is my personal viewpoint and motivation in writing this blog?

Around ten years ago, I received a telephone call from a pollster who asked me if I was pro-life or pro-choice.  I answered, “Neither.”  My response troubled the caller, who asked how I could have such an opinion.  I did my best to explain.

Actually, I have held a strong opinion since Roe v. Wade was rendered in 1973.  I recall exactly where I was when I heard the news report of the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision announced on my car radio in 1973 while I was driving home from work.  I was furious!  How could destroying unborn babies be legalized?

However, in the years between that Supreme Court decision and the call from that pollster, I had come to realize that the issue was extremely complex.  What about the life of the mother?  What about instances of pregnancy caused by rape or incest?  What about the physical and mental health of the mother?  What role does a medical or psychiatric doctor have?

At the time of the call from the pollster, I had not studied the positions of the two opposing groups; nonetheless, it was clear to me that both took extreme positions.  One considered abortion wrong exclusively for moral reasons, and the other wanted the freedom to abort a child solely on the mother’s decision.  One speaks about “the sanctity of life” while often embracing ideas about the legitimacy of taking life.  The other often dismisses any moral responsibility, insisting that it is solely up to the mother to choose what occurs to the baby in her body.  One is compassionate to unborn babies, but often judgmental toward mothers.  The other considers the concerns of mothers, but shows little consideration for the unborn.    

Then, there is the role of politics.  The two opposing camps coincide with the conservative and liberal opinions of the Republican and Democratic parties.  I identify with neither; thus, my response. Politics is a factor in the controversy.  It was when the religious right, as they were called, made abortion an issue in the 2000 US presidential election that Christians were called upon to take a political stand.  The effect is not only has the issue divided Americans, it has also divided believers and followers of Jesus Christ.  I believe that the oneness of Jesus’ followers is encouraged by common knowledge of Jesus – who He is and what He said.

Is abortion the greatest threat to children in America?  Is it the nation’s worst moral failure? If not, why is it so controversial?

To say that abortion is a controversial topic in the United States of America is an understatement.  The topic is such a hot button that it has been a central issue in the American national elections over the past twenty years.  Many American Christians are at the center of the controversy, opposing abortions and those who advocate them.  To these Christians I ask, would Jesus be in this controversy as you are?

Most Christians cite the Ten Commandments as their source of moral and ethical law, but the Ten Commandments do not mention abortion.  Yes, the sixth commandment is about murder, but do any Old Testament passages suggest that abortion was considered murder?  What about the New Testament?  In fact, the Bible does not mention abortion in either the Old or New Testaments.  History documents that abortion was practiced anciently long before the books of the Bible were written.  Why then is abortion not specifically addressed there?

If Jesus addressed American Christians about moral failure, what would He say?  Would He put abortion at the top of the list?  Abortion most certainly is our controversy; would it be for Jesus?

Although I ask that question, I do not speak for Jesus.  So, what’s my angle?  Which side am I on?  What is my motivation for writing a blog on this highly controversial subject?  Certainly I do not have all the answers.  But what I have is a calling as a follower Jesus Christ to tell the good news for all of us.  That is my motivation.

I can say definitely that Jesus Christ is for those on both sides of this controversy.  He came and gave His life for all of us that instead of dying and becoming extinct as a species, we would become what we were created to be – God’s creation in His image, His children enjoying life forever with Him and without all of the ills that plague us.  More than anyone, He understands people on both sides of the controversy and loves them all.  He has a special interest in those who believe in Him and are trying to live in conformance with His teaching. In the next Blog, I intend to explain my personal viewpoint.  Not that my viewpoint has any bearing on this subject; rather I hope to make clear that our controversy needs to consider some equally or even more important matters.

As we saw in the two previous blogs, the Old Testament and New Testament agree that God has people. Indeed, he has a covenant with people, and those people are his through an Anointed one – a Messiah or Christ – who leads them in their covenant relationship with God.

Who are these people?  Are they the Jews?  Are they the white-skinned, blond-hair, blue-eyed race of Northern European origin?  Are they the dark-skinned race mostly of Africa?  Are they some other race?

What about the descendants of Abraham: are the true people of God those who believe and practice monotheism?  Since most who claim to be the people of God acknowledge Abraham as their patriarch, let’s start there with our answers from the Bible. The Apostle James, the half-brother of Jesus, challenged his readers who were of Abrahamic heritage (James 2:21) about their belief in one God that they thought sufficiently identified them as the true people of God.  He wrote in James 2:19, You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  As James insisted, faith itself is nothing without actions that complement it.  Knowing that there is only one God is of no merit of itself.  Even the spirit enemies of God know that, but although that realization frightens them it does not result in the humble response to God that he seeks.  Thus, monotheism is not the identifier of the people of God.

What about being Jewish?  Here is Jesus’ answer: To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples” (John 8:31). Being Jewish was not enough if they were not disciples or followers of Jesus.  Some of his audience angrily reacted by claiming, “We are Abraham’s descendants” (V.32), but Jesus did not buy that argument.  Instead, he boldly asserted, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad… before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:56-58).  This astounding statement shouts that Jesus preceded Abraham, who was the first to follow him!  Thus, only those who, like Abraham, followed him are the true people of God.  Because many in his audience did not realize who Jesus is, they picked up stones to stone him.  If they had understood, the correct response would have been to worship him and join his group of followers.

If not a nationality, what about a religion?  Are the people of God in a religious group?  Let’s consider the three monotheistic religious groups: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

Judaism is the religious practice of the Jewish people and non-Jews who convert to the practice through observance of the Sinai Covenant laws.  What does the Bible tell us about it?  Hebrews 8:13 answers: By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.  The “new” refers to the New Covenant, explained in the previous blog.  Nearly two thousand years ago, inspired Scripture considered the previous covenant obsolete.  The whole system as put in place under Moses vanished when the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, effectively eliminating the priesthood of Aaron’s descendants and all of their religious articles and practices.  Although a variant of that system was adopted, according to the Bible, it too is obsolete.

Islam is another Abrahamic-monotheistic religion.  Established early in the seventh Century AD by its prophet, Muhammad, and documented in its holy book, the Quran, its practitioners reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus while establishing a system of worship practices of their “one God, Allah.”  They consider Jesus a Prophet and the Messiah, but their beliefs and practices are inconsistent with his followers, who worship him as the Son of God, live in his grace, and obey his commands.

So, that would seem to leave Christianity as the religion of the people of God.  Does the Bible confirm that conclusion?  It may surprise some to realize that Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).  Anciently, the Christian Creed stated, “Jesus is Lord.”  But Jesus said that saying he is Lord does not make one his follower.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (online), “Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century CE. It has become the largest of the world’s religions and, geographically, the most widely diffused of all faiths. It has a constituency of more than two billion believers.”

The word Christianity is not in the Bible.  The definition given by the Encyclopedia Britannica places it alongside other religions.  Its huge constituency around the world consists of a mix of people who were born into it, who converted to it from other religions, who personally embraced it as their faith, and whose ancestors had the religious worship of Christ imposed upon them by nations and rulers who considered themselves Christian.  All of them would call Jesus “Lord,” but remember what Jesus said.  Contrast the word “Christianity” with “Christian,” which is mentioned in Acts 11:26: The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.  It was the disciples of Jesus who were called Christians.  These people were followers of Jesus – the role of a disciple – not merely adherents to a religion.  To people whose faith in Jesus resulted in persecution, Peter wrote: However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name (1 Peter 4:16).  By the time that Peter wrote these words, the name Christian was being applied generally to all of Jesus’ followers.  In Peter’s words, they bore the name of the Messiah’s people.

So, although various religions, including Christianity, might claim to be the people of God, the Bible is not the source of their claim.  Jesus Christ, and his Apostles who wrote much of the New Testament, clearly and pointedly designated the people to whom that claim belongs.  Let’s look deeper into that claim.

The Apostle Peter identified the true people of God in 1 Peter 2:9-10, which says: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession… Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.  Let’s notice a few things about these people, who Peter called the people of God.  First, they were given the special and unique status that had been promised to Israel at Mt. Sinai, which we read in Exodus 19:5-6: Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.  Next, they could not be the same people who previously were identified as the people of God, because previously, as Peter said, they were not a people.  So, who were they?  According to Peter’s statement in 1 Peter 4:16, Christians – not merely those who call themselves Christian or the adherents of Christianity but the followers of Jesus Christ!

Were there racial, national, gender, or other distinctions that identified these people?  The Apostle Paul answered that question in Galatians 3:28-29, which says: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  To these same people, Paul later wrote: Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God (Galatians 6:15-16).  Circumcision was the distinguishing sign of the people of God under the Mt. Sinai Covenant.  It was a religious practice that began with Abraham and, through a covenant, was required in all of his descendants.  But because that Covenant had been replaced by the New Covenant, no longer was circumcision a requirement.  God made no distinction between people who were circumcised and those who were not.  Instead, God has a “new creation.”  As Paul went on to say, these people are the “Israel of God.”

In reality, the people of God are new; in another sense, they are “Israel,” because they are what the Israelites were intended to be.  Thus, the new people of God are not defined by their ethnicity.  God sees them as Israel not ethnically but spiritually.

For this overwhelmingly significant reason, it does not matter what anyone’s ethnicity is before God.  As Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28, you are all one in Christ Jesus.  The people of God are now defined by being in Jesus Christ.  Being “in” is a condition of complete loving union. They are in union with him, thus they follow him.  This union that they have in him includes union with each other.   Isn’t that fabulously good news!  In Christ, there are no races; there is only one human race, consisting of all nationalities and ethnicities.  Therefore, is there a need for research, books, or documentaries about the world’s ethnic groups to discover the identity of the people of God?  I don’t think so!  Jesus defines their identity.

The book, Echo of Jesus’ Prayer – in the Church explains the amazing oneness that God desires for all people through Jesus Christ.  Go to the Home page for details and to order.

We saw in the previous blog that the Bible’s Old Testament had much to say about the people of God.  Now we will look at the New Testament.  But first, why are there two “testaments?”  According to Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary, p. 445: “The name Testament is derived from the Latin Testamentum, an erroneous translation of the Greek and Hebrew words meaning Covenant.”  Thus, it is more accurate to think of these two sections of the Bible to be based upon the Old and New Covenants.

Both sections agree that God established an Old Covenant with Israel and then replaced it with a New Covenant.  We can see this first in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 31:31-32: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant.”

God made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai, but the nation Israel broke that covenant.  Consequently, God announced through Jeremiah the Prophet that he would replace that covenant with a new one.  This is confirmed in the New Testament book of Hebrews 8:7-8: For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant.”  The Old Covenant was administered by God at Mt. Sinai through his human servant Moses.  The writer of Hebrews explained in V6 that the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.  In administering the New Covenant, Jesus fulfilled the roles of both the Covenant God at Mt. Sinai and Moses.

These passages explain why the Bible has two sections.  The New Testament passages further tie Jesus Christ to the New Covenant as its mediator.  So once again, as we saw in the previous blogs, the Messiah Jesus is the ultimate authority of the Bible.  He said so as recorded in John 5:39-40: You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.  Jesus said this to his religious critics, who had accused him of making himself equal with God (V. 18).  The Scriptures that he referred to were the Old Testament.  In the previous blog, we saw a few examples of the Old Testament scriptures that foretold the Messiah and his ministry toward and for all people.  Jesus told these religious leaders that eternal life was through him, not the Scriptures.  Clearly, he is the ultimate authority on the Bible.   

But aren’t Jesus’ words a matter for interpretation?  Yes.  There are various views on what Jesus said.  Nonetheless, those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who lived a full life among us humans and said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), must concede that his words are the truth.

Instead of indulging in complex interpretation, let’s consider the following that Jesus plainly said:

• Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness… the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say” (John 12:44-46, 49-50).
• The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life (John 3:35-36).
• Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24).

According to these plain statements, Jesus claimed to have been sent by God the Father.  In fact, Jesus so perfectly represented the Father that those who saw him were seeing the Father.  With the absolute authority of God, he said that those who believe in him are the people who are hearing and following God.  These people are given eternal life.  Therefore we can state categorically that the true people of God are the followers of Jesus!

If Jesus was speaking about people of a certain nationality, it would have been needless to say that they had to believe in him.  Most of his words quoted above were spoken in Jerusalem among Jewish people.  If they were the people of God, why would it have been necessary for them to believe him?

Jesus also said, I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me… I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:14, 16).  Using the metaphor of sheep, Jesus explained that the true people of God belong to him.  Speaking these words in Jerusalem, he alluded to people who belong to him that are not among his Jewish followers.  His intent was to combine them into one group of followers.  Who are these other people?

Finally, Jesus said: “I am the light of the world (John 8:12).  He used the metaphor of a dark world being lit by his presence.  The beneficiaries of his presence are all over the world, for he went on to say that “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  He is not the light of only a certain group that consider themselves enlightened, favored, or special.  He shines this light before all people, and those who follow him have the light of life.

In the next Blog, we will more precisely define these people.

You may be surprised at what the Hebrew Scriptures say.

What is known as the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible, originally was called the Hebrew Scriptures.  It consists of at least 39 scrolls written over a period of about 1000 years between approximately 1400 BC and 400 BC by at least 25 different authors.  I use “at least” to generalize the actual numbers, which are disputed in several scholastic circles.  These Scriptures were the sacred writings of the Israelite people.

To the Israelite reader, the true people of God were the descendants of Jacob, later known as Israel, Abraham’s grandson.  Abraham was also the forefather of other Middle Eastern tribes, including the Ishmaelites, Midianites, Edomites, and others whose descendants settled mostly in the Middle East and later in parts of northern Africa.  Abraham’s identity as the father of the people of God stems from a promise to him by God.  This promise is recorded in Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV this and all quotes).

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.  “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Later God made clear by saying my covenant I will establish with Isaac (Genesis 17:21), Abraham’s son, not with Ishmael and the other descendants.  To further clarify, God said to Jacob:

“I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring (Genesis 28:13-14).

Notice that the promise that God made to Abraham, which, in turn was repeated to Isaac and Jacob, included not only national blessings but a blessing upon all nations of the earth.  Israel, the nation was to be a priestly people among all of the world’s people, all of whom belong to God.  We can read about this in Exodus 19:5-6; when God was about to formalize this covenant with the Israelite people, he said, Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In a future Blog in this series, we will see in detail how this promise was fulfilled.

The covenant with the nation Israel was made at Mt. Sinai when they were enroute from Egypt to the Promised Land.  In making this covenant, God inspired first Moses to write about its terms.  After Moses, God inspired other prophets as additional authors.

Moses wrote the first five books, which were called the The Law.  Generally, the rest of the scrolls were categorized as the The Prophets and The Writings (or Psalms).  Together, these major sections of Scripture tell of the failure of the nation of Israel and of the success of the Messiah (the Anointed One of God), who would be the true King and leader of the people of God.  I mention here only a few examples of the many Scriptures.

Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 18:15-19:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”  The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.

Let’s understand this profound statement.  When the Israelites met God at Mt. Sinai, or Mt. Horeb as it was also called, they experienced an astonishing manifestation of God’s glory and power.  The mountain literally shook, and smoke poured forth from its top as God spoke the words of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments.  You can read about this in Exodus 20.  The Israelites reacted with such fear of God that they asked Moses to do the speaking as an intermediary.  So, when God told Moses that he would give them a prophet like him, it was a direct reference to the need of the people Israel to have a human as their leader and teacher who was especially anointed by God.

The Hebrew Scriptures do not cite another prophet after Moses who would fit this description.  This prophet, like the One who spoke to them from Mt. Sinai, would speak the words of God; nonetheless, he would be human like Moses.  This plainly alludes to the Messiah and subtly hints that he would be both divine and human.

Below are additional prophecies of the Messiah.

Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 42:1, 6, Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations… I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.  This servant of God is not only for Israelites but for all people groups.  Isaiah adds more about this servant in Isaiah 49:5-6, And now the Lord says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself… he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”  The ministry of this servant includes bringing the descendants of Israel back to God but also extends to all nations that they too would know the true God and experience his salvation.

In a notable, and no doubt, intentional use of words, the original Hebrew word in V.6 translated “My salvation” is Yeshuwah, which is the Hebrew name for Yeshua, the Aramaic name of the one we English-speaking people call Jesus!

King David wrote in Psalm 2:2, 7-8, The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed… I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. This passage about the Messiah (anointed) also proclaims him to be the Son of God and king of all people of the earth.  David also wrote Psalm 22 that predicts the suffering of the Messiah during Jesus’ crucifixion.  Often overlooked is the outcome: All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations (Psalm 22:27-28).  This prophecy reveals the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.

Moses, Isaiah, and David, three primary authors of the three sections of the Old Testament, foretold the Messiah, the Savior of Israel and of all the nations.  What does this suggest about the people of God?  In the next Blog, we will see how these prophecies were fulfilled and explained in the New Testament.

Are they those who believe in Christianity or Judaism or Islam?  Are they white people from Europe or black people from Africa or the indigenous people from North and South America?

Many years ago, I read The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy, a book by Herbert W. Armstrong that claimed that Europeans and North Americans were the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel.  Recently I watched a documentary titled From Hebrews to Negroes by Ronald Dalton Jr. that similarly argues that black Africans are the descendants of Israel.  These are two examples among many in which one of this world’s people groups claims to be the true people of God.  Among those who hold the belief that the true people of God are religiously monotheistic (belief in one God), Abraham’s descendants are considered the true people of God.  Who are they?

Does it matter?

Wars have been fought over this or similar questions.  Threats of another American Civil War loom over concerns about cultural, moral, and religious division.  Recently, entertainers and professional athletes have made statements that aroused accusations of anti-Semitism.  The debates, having political and financial ramifications, are heated and sometimes violent.  Apparently, it matters to some people.

But does being a genetic descendant of Abraham or Israel matter to God?

Usually, the Bible is cited as the authority that answers this question.  Let’s look into the Bible to see what it has to say.  The Bible consists of two parts: Old Testament and New Testament.  The Old Testament, completed around 400 BC, is replete with prophecies of a coming person who would be the Anointed One (Messiah or Christ) of God.  The New Testament, completed near the end of the first Century AD, is clear that Jesus is that Messiah or Christ, and that he alone is the absolute authority on the Bible.  Jesus Christ said to the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me (John 18:37).

In the upcoming Blogs, we will take a close look at what the Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, says about this Messiah, and we will consider Jesus, proclaimed by the New Testament to be the person who fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies about his coming.  In them we will see the clear identity of the true people of God.

Why didn’t Jerusalem become a fully Christian city?  With the steady growth that took place from Pentecost 31 AD through the 30 years or so of James’ oversight, couldn’t the number of Christians have become a majority of the population?  Wouldn’t that have been a good thing?  What if this growth had so spread throughout Judea that it became a Christian province of the Roman Empire?

Part of the answer to these questions is that the persecutions carried out by Saul of Tarsus and later, Herod when he targeted James of Zebedee and Peter for execution, and finally, the Roman destruction of the Temple and scattering of the Church in 70 AD made a virtual Christian takeover impossible.  The other part of the answer is that apparently it was not the will of God; otherwise I think it would have occurred.  If anywhere in the world, the Church should be predominant, one would think it should be where it all got started with Jesus and the Apostles.  Surely there was nothing that could have prevented God if that was what He willed.

A large church can be the result of effective evangelism.  Megachurches are not intrinsically bad.  However, the actual history of “First Megachurch” highlights the problems that can plague such a large gathering of Christians in one place.  The large group can more easily lose focus on its purpose and centrality in Jesus Christ.  Instead, it can become subject to “movements” among the members that generate a mob effect.  These movements are often the product of influential people who are not the real Spirit-chosen leaders.  Such individuals are subject to corruption through temptations of power and wealth.  Further loss of centrality in Christ can result in political cooperation with governments, leading to misguided attempts to convert the masses through compulsory compliance with “Christian” values and ideologies.  Smaller churches are less prone to such temptations and more likely to keep their focus on Christ.  

Later, as Christianity spread and became dominant in some nations, Christian rulers began to enforce their values on the people they ruled.  A “Christian culture” compelled the non-Christian culture around it to submit to what eventually became known as Christendom – the collective culture, institutions, and even government that ascribed its name to Jesus Christ.  Of course, the risen Christ did not see it that way and was not the author of their mistake.  History shows that this outcome is adverse to the Kingdom of God.

Megachurches, and taken to the extreme, Christendom, do not promote unity or oneness in the Church as Jesus had prayed in John 17.  The book, Echo of Jesus Prayer – in the Church explains how God will bring about the answer to Jesus’ prayer, and it helps readers to understand their roles.