Who Owns the Land of Israel?

WHO OWNS THE LAND OF ISRAEL?

THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

The area known as the Middle East occupies a considerable portion of the news. The State of Israel is about ¼ the size of Arkansas, and most of the Middle East news is centered on Israel. This small piece of land is very important.

Many religious groups are represented in Israel, but three predominate: Jewish, Islamic and Christian. Jewish religious groups include Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and whatever is left that is not considered Christian or Islamic. Likewise, groups categorized as Islamic are either truly Islamic or are part of a faith related to Islam. Anyone who is not Jewish or Islamic is called Christian. This holds regardless of what a person actually believes regarding the Bible, Jesus, Mohammed, or Rabbi Akiva; the person will be religiously placed into one of three categories.

Socially, a person is either Jewish, Arabic, Christian, a foreigner, or a mixture. Few in the Middle East acknowledge the existence of a Jewish Christian or a Christian Jew.

Since this small area known as Israel is between the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, there is good reason why a power would desire to have and to hold this land. During the times of open borders and trading, there is no other spot on the planet that is a better business location! The very term Mediterranean means middle of the world! Israel is located at the best trade route of the Mediterranean.

Thus, the question comes up: who truly has the right to this Land between the continents? The Palestinians claim to have the first rights to the land, since it was their land long before Israel came. When Israel was still in Egypt, the Palestinians, known in the Jewish Scriptures as the Philistines, were living among other races collectively called Canaanites in the Jewish Scriptures. The word canaan means merchant, and these races were dealers in merchandise of all sorts.

Later, when Israel, consisting of the descendants of Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel) came out of Egypt, Israel came as a warring people with orders from Yehovah to annihilate the Canaanites: men, women, children, babies and farm animals. Yehovah commanded them to move into the homes of the Canaanites as they annihilated them little by little. They were to show no mercy, and they were not to marry among the Canaanites. Israel came, but the Israelis did not do a thorough job. Many Canaanites survived. While the Palestinians were not part of the groups the Israelis were commanded to annihilate, they were very troublesome to the Israelis. Yehovah recognized the lands of the Palestinians, and viewed them as distinct from the Land of Israel. He spoke of a time coming, however, when Israel would also have the lands of the Palestinians.

Much later in Israel’s history, Israel was taken captive. The northern section of Israel was taken over by the Assyrians who intermarried with them. Their children were known as the Samaritans, since northern Israel had its capital in Samaria. This was a way to keep the Israelis from rebelling against the Assyrians. Then southern Israel was overtaken by Babylon, which also took over the Assyrian empire, bringing the twelve tribes of Israel back together again. The Israelis were entirely removed off the Land and transferred to Babylon. Others moved into the void. After a length of time, a few Israelis came back and built up the area. Israel always remained under some other power, however. After the Roman Empire came into being, the Maccabees invited Rome to make Israel part of its domain. The Israelis later tried to get rid of the foreign powers (because Rome became so decadent), and Rome finally became tired of the whole thing the insurrections. Once again, the Jews were forced to leave the area. Laws were enacted to keep them from settling in this territory.

Meanwhile, the various races of the Middle East, like the Ishmaelites who come from Abraham’s other son, the Moabites and the Ammonites who come from Abraham’s nephew, Lot, the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Turks, and many others including the Palestinians settled at various times in the increasingly unproductive land known today as Israel. The populations of these various groups in this land were not large; it was not the best place to live. It still was a very good place to conduct business!

Throughout the history of Europe and the Middle East, attempts were made to obtain this territory, and attempts were made to do something with this strange People, the Jews. In Europe, ‘Christians’ could not hold some professions (like money-lending), since the Catholic Church did not allow them, so the Jews filled in the gaps. The profession of banking was one of these, since one had to lend with usury—what we call interest—to do banking. This was considered immoral by the Church since the Bible prohibited the Jews to lend to a poor brother charging an interest charge. (Catholic leaders believed that they replaced Israel.) The command also said that the Jews had to lend to a poor brother without interest if the brother had a true need, and if the other could lend. Since Jews were not part of the Catholic Church, they could lend money with interest. Thus, the Jewish People did this service of money-lending. They also found that kings soon owed them considerable sums! Some kings formed a plan for debt cancellation: kill the Jews! This is basically the history of Europe. The Jews were an outcast People with few times of peace. The Crusades included the mass murdering of Jews by the European ‘Christians.’ The most recent Crusade was led by Hitler in Germany The call to purify the Aryan race came forth with the statement on the belts of SS men, “God is with us!” The Jews were again the targets.

A movement to set up a homeland in Israel finally had a strong thrust behind it. Groups of Jewish settlers began moving into the Land in question, purchasing at first, then later taking over territory when forced to fight to survive while occupying the territory.

If the whole story were that written above, one could quite easily come to the conclusion that the Jews, though mistreated, were also conquerors, mistreating the residents of the Land (especially the Palestinians), who were driven out or fled when the Jews came into the Land. This tends to be the majority view of what took place! Who truly owns the Land?

In any case under consideration, where one party feels that it has been deprived of rights, there must be a standard upon which to base the case. The idea of right and wrong always assumes that there is a right side and a wrong side to an issue, even though there may be a some right in the wrong side, and some wrong in the right side of many issues. That is what makes justice tough. All questions pertaining to ownership of that land boil down to one: “Which God is the right God?” All Law assumes an absolute. If two people agree on any issue, then one appears to violate that agreement, either a war between the two will decide, or there will be some appeal by both to a higher authority. That authority will be viewed as absolute to the two parties if they agree to follow the decision of that authority. If one of the two parties refuses to accept the ruling after the authority rules in the case, however, what is the next step? That party might then choose to follow what it sees as a higher absolute authority, and there would probably be a war. What is the highest absolute authority? The word absolute indicates highest. This necessarily introduces the issue of a god! There is no appeal higher than a god.

The issue of the ownership of the Middle East is the issue of absolute authority. The Moslems claim that God (Allah) is God, and his attributes are revealed by the Koran. They also claim that Jehovah is Allah. Followers of Orthodox Judaism claim that Adonai is God, and that his attributes are revealed in the Tenach (the Jewish Scriptures) and in the Oral traditions passed down from Moses’ time. Fundamentalist Christians claim that Jesus is God and that Jehovah is God, and that Jesus and Jehovah are one God, and his attributes are revealed in the Jewish Scriptures and the New Testament. What authority, then, will be used to decide land wars? If all three believed in the same god and the same holy book, there would be little problem; the issue could be decided by carefully considering and following the teachings of that god. All three groups claim a different set of standards for deciding such issues, however. Thus, what actually is being decided in the Middle East is, “Whose god is the stronger?”

If the issue could be settled on the basis of which holy book is the oldest one, the Chinese claim to have a holy book that greatly predates Jewish Scriptures. The Jewish Scriptures predate the Jewish writings of the New Testament. New Testament writings greatly predate the Koran. The antiquity of texts has never solved such a problem. The followers of Islam claim that the Taura, the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) was originally right, but the Jews rewrote it so that it now favours the Jews. There are many who claim to be Christians who feel that the ‘Old Testament’ was originally the right way, but Jesus came to bring in a new and a better way, thus effectively undermining the ‘Old Testament’ and its usefulness. Upon which ‘absolute’ can one decide?

Only several things can be true:

1. All three could be wrong. The Jewish Scriptures could be false, the Koran could be false, and the New Testament could be false—either in part or in whole. In this case, justice in this situation would lie either in some other religion or in no religion. It cannot lie in these three religions at the same time, or in two of these three religions at the same time, because the rulings are directly opposite at times! Unless the gods of several of these religions are both true gods, and are at war, the only other possibility would be that the one god has a problem making up his mind. If all three religions are wrong, all this fighting will just go on and on until either the real god steps in, or until one side completely wins by the destruction of the other.

2. One of the three descriptions of god is right. If this is the case, each description of god eliminates the other two, taken in the most orthodox sense. Each description of god also eliminates all the other gods in the world since all three, the Moslem, the Christian, and the Orthodox Jewish faiths state that there is only one god!

3. If only one of the three descriptions is right, this god must be the true God, and the other gods must be false and invented. If a god is false, any ‘absolute justice’ based upon this god is not absolute, but is invented by the god’s makers. Justice becomes a matter of opinion!

So, who owns the land? Whichever god is the True and Living God solely can determine this matter!

The Koran does not give events in the life of the patriarchs from beginning to end, but rather gives pieces of the events with some editorials. In other words, the Koran assumes the Jewish Scriptures! The Koran in effect declares that the Jewish Scriptures are true, though modern Moslems claim that changes have been made (without proof). Only the Jewish Scriptures give the events of the patriarchs from beginning to end, explaining how things came about in their lives and in their relationships. The Koran is more of an editorial than an account. Thus, the Koran is dependant on the Jewish Scriptures.

The ‘New Testament,’ like the ‘Old Testament,’ was penned by Jews. The ‘New Testament’ always assumes that the ‘Old Testament’ (which it simply calls the Scriptures or the Word of God) is absolutely true, and is truth. Thus, the ‘New Testament’ also depends on the ‘Old Testament.’

The difference is that the Koran describes the role of the Jewish People in a very different manner from the ‘Old Testament,’ whereas the ‘New Testament’ sees the role of the Jewish People as completely unchanged. (There are interpreters who like to think that the ‘New Testament’ casts the Jews out and replaces them with the ‘Church.’ They do not read the ‘New Testament’ literally, choosing to vary their interpretations according to their views). The ‘New Testament’ completely agrees with the ‘Old Testament.’ The Koran takes a view similar to the ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’—that Jesus is not God, but is a prophet of God. He is therefore akin to Mohammed who the Koran states is a prophet, but lower than Mohammed.

Many Jewish individuals see no agreement between the ‘New Testament’ and the ‘Old Testament;’ they believe that the ‘New Testament’ makes a human a god. However, the ‘Old Testament’ portrays Yehovah as appearing as a man, eating, wrestling, discussing, writing, and doing a number of other things that a man might do. There is nothing in the ‘Old Testament’ that eliminates the idea of the Eternal God taking an aspect of Himself, making this aspect into a mortal human person, and doing what Yeshua did while retaining the status of being an Eternal, Immortal God. This is outside of what Allah would ever do according to the Koran. Thus it is impossible for Allah. If a god would never do something, that makes it morally impossible for that god to do it. While the Jewish sages might say that it is morally impossible for Jehovah to do what Yeshua did, the ‘Old Testament’ Scriptures do not portray this as being the case.

All three faiths rely upon the ‘Old Testament’ Scriptures (Jewish Scriptures) to a large degree. What does that prove? If the Jewish Scriptures are wrong, all three faiths fall! The Koran falls, because there is no other record of the fractional events mentioned in the Koran, so the Koran becomes a piece-meal volume of editorials regarding events that might be fictional! The ‘New Testament’ would fall, because it assumes the absolute authority of the ‘Old Testament.’ Either the Jewish Scriptures are true, or all three religions have no basis! This does not make any or all true. The fight in the Middle East, however, is a fight within the confines of these three faiths!

Well, with this large introduction completed, what do the Jewish Scriptures say about the issue?

1. Sending Israel From Egypt to the Land of the Canaanites

Exodus 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. ²And the angel of Yehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush is not consumed. ³And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. ⁴And when Yehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. ⁵And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. ⁶Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. ⁷And Yehovah said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; ⁸And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Yehovah chose to set Israel where the Canaanites were located from the start, completely uprooting the Canaanites. This was intentional, and would later be accompanied by intentional genocide. Though Yehovah spoke of the land as the land of “the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,” He intended it to become the Land of Israel! (Justice must always be from the standpoint of God, who alone is absolute. So if Yehovah is God, He had and has the right to do this! If He is not God, then of course this was a murderous plot trumped up by the leadership of Israel.)

2. A Slow Driving Out of the Canaanites in order to Keep the Land from Becoming Desolate

Exodus 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of Yehovah thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. ²⁰Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. ²¹Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. ²²But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. ²³For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. ²⁴Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. ²⁵And ye shall serve Yehovah your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ²⁶There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. ²⁷I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. ²⁸And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. ²⁹I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. ³⁰By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. ³¹And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. ³²Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

The use Yehovah has for the Canaanites is to keep the land from wild beasts and desolation until the Israelis can annihilate them and take over the territory. The inhabitants have a deadly disease: they are sexually perverted idolaters. This disease will spread to the Israelis unless the Israelis kill them and destroy their gods. This commanded annihilation is only true of the inhabitants of the Land in question. There is no such command for the races outside of the land. (One group among the Canaanites, knowing these orders, feigned to be foreign travelers having come from a great distance. They managed to cut a covenant with Israel. Yehovah held Israel to keep that covenant, and Israel was never allowed to destroy them.) Yehovah loves Israel and has utter hatred and contempt for the Canaanite races. This hatred of the God of Israel for those who sacrifice their children by burning them alive, who love idolatry and violence, and who practice sexual perversions of all types is a continuous theme throughout the Jewish Scriptures, Old and New Testaments. These races were hooked on these types of performances.

3. Yehovah Approves of the Slaughter of the Canaanites and Their Cities by Answered Prayer

Numbers 21:1 And [when] king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took [some] of them prisoners. ²And Israel vowed a vow unto Yehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. ³And Yehovah hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

A heart-felt prayer is made to Yehovah, the God of Israel. He graciously answers that prayer. The text implies that Yehovah is fully resolved to destroy and slaughter the cities and their occupants. This theme also carries into the New Testament; there is no change between the Old and the New Testaments.

4. Yehovah Segregates Israel from All Other Races to be His Own Property, and Takes Vengeance.

Deuteronomy 7:1 When Yehovah 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; ²And when Yehovah thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: ³Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. ⁴For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of Yehovah be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. ⁵But 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. ⁶For thou art an holy people unto Yehovah thy God: Yehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. ⁷Yehovah did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye are the fewest of all people: ⁸But because Yehovah loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath Yehovah brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹Know therefore that Yehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; ¹⁰And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. ¹¹Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. ¹²Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that Yehovah thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: ¹³And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. ¹⁴Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

Yehovah segregated Israel from the other races to set His love on Israel, and to choose Israel. The Scriptures emphatically declare that this status is still the present status of this often-hated race. Many are constantly jealous of Israel’s position in the Scriptures. They feel that if Israel were annihilated, they could take Israel’s place!

The Palestinians speak of a homeland in the present location of the State of Israel. There is not enough room in this small land for the Palestinians and for the Israelis. One objective of a number of Middle Eastern groups is to push Israel into the sea, thus solving the problem of the Middle East. Israel’s population is far fewer than Israel’s neighbours, and enjoys far less support from other races and countries throughout the world. Yet, it has managed to defy all odds and has put terror in the hearts of its neighbours. The Jewish Scriptures guaranteed Israel’s survival. They have also guaranteed the annihilation of several other races. The Palestinian race will not be annihilated, But will become a slave of Israel.

Yehovah takes vengeance on His enemies, especially on those who hate Him! Anyone who hates Israel hates Israel’s God since the God of Israel guarantees the continuance and the later success of Israel over Israel’s enemies!

5. Yehovah Differentiates between the Races Outside of the Land and Those Inside Determined for Annihilation. He Protects the Trees.

Deuteronomy 20:10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. ¹¹And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, all the people [that is] found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. ¹²And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: ¹³And when Yehovah thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: ¹⁴But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Yehovah thy God hath given thee. ¹⁵Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities [which are] very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. ¹⁶But of the cities of these people, which Yehovah thy God doth give thee [for] an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: ¹⁷But thou shalt utterly destroy them; [namely], the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as Yehovah thy God hath commanded thee: ¹⁸That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against Yehovah your God. ¹⁹When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an ax against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s [life]) to employ [them] in the siege: ²⁰Only the trees which thou knowest that they [be] not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.

Israel was not commanded to annihilate just any group that might prove to be enemies. If Israel would go to war with a race outside of the Land in question, if the race would absolutely surrender, it would become Israel’s slave. And if the race fights, only all the males need to annihilated, and the women and the little ones left would become the property of Israel. Israel was commanded to treat them differently from the races in the Land in question. Israel must not harm the trees in the Land. Yehovah saw the fruit trees as being far more valuable and useful than the vile human inhabitants. The trees of the field are a man’s [life]! These races would (and did) teach Israel to do after all their abominations that they did unto their gods! Yehovah is a jealous God, but Israel didn’t listen.

6. The Beginnings of the Trouble Between the Hebrews and the Palestinians

Genesis 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and Yehovah blessed him. ¹³And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: ¹⁴For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

A reader might wonder when all the trouble began. Even before Israel was born, Israel’s father Isaac was being envied by the Palestinians, and the Palestinians filled in all the wells that Abraham his father had dug. This bad relationship has continued to the present day.

7. Some Episodes with the Palestinians

Judges 10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of Yehovah, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook Yehovah, and served not him.

This episode shows how the Israelis were greatly attracted to the gods of the Palestinians. The entire book of Judges seems to be a description of the wars and the love-affairs of the Israelis with Palestinians! Samson married a Palestinian girl, and later when the trouble broke out, the Palestinians burned her and her father alive. King David later slew an overgrown Palestinian named Goliath.

8. Yehovah Gave the Land to the Seed of Abraham!

Genesis 15:18 In the same day Yehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: ¹⁹The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, ²⁰And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, ²¹And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Abraham didn’t own the Land in question. The only parcel of territory he obtained was the cave and plot of Machpelah where his wife was buried. He bought this plot from the inhabitants (which Israel later would be commanded to annihilate).

The passage indicates that Yehovah has the absolute rights over the Land. If He is the creator of the earth and all living things in the earth, He has the right to say who will live and who will die. Even if men disagree with Him, counting Him unjust and unfair and hating Him and His ways, if He is the Creator and is all-powerful, what can anyone do against Him? Thus, many have tried to get at Him by getting at His Chosen Race, the race of Israel. So far, no group has succeeded. But attempts continue!

9. The Actual Border Ordered by Yehovah

Numbers 34:1 And Yehovah spake unto Moses, saying, ²Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof: ³Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: ⁴And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon: ⁵And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. ⁶And [as for] the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. ⁷And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: ⁸From mount Hor ye shall point out [your border] unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: ⁹And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border. ¹⁰And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham: ¹¹And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: ¹²And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.

If one were to take a map of Israel and identify all the places mentioned above that can be identified, there is no place in the Land in question for Palestine. Jewish Scriptures teach that the Israelis will occupy all the Land.

According to the Scriptures, Yehovah threw the Israelis into captivity when Israel as a unit went into sin, adopting the gods of its neighbours and committing all sorts of sin. The Israelis were forced off the Land and were taken to Babylon (in modern Iraq). Seventy years after Southern Israel was taken to Babylon, a few returned. There were settlements in this Land during the time of the Roman Empire. Not long after this, the Jews were again forced off the Land. Others took their place, and history is filled with events around this piece of territory, mostly bloody and violent.

The question is not “Did the Jews have the right to the Land?” but rather, do they now or in the future? Who owns the Land?

The actual Landlord over this Land is Yehovah. No one has any right to the Land. Some are given the privilege of temporarily living on the Land, or else it would be left empty.

10. The Land of Israel is Exactly That; And It is the Land of Yehovah

Isaiah 14:1 For Yehovah will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. ²And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Yehovah for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

The Land is considered Jacob’s land, Israel’s land. Yet, it is called the land of Yehovah. This text is for the future, not for the past. It has never happened. If the Scriptures are true, the Israelis will be the occupants of the land.

Jeremiah 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. ⁴And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith Yehovah. ⁵Behold, the days come, saith Yehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. ⁶In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Yehovah OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. ⁷Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Yehovah, that they shall no more say, Yehovah liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; ⁸But, Yehovah liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

11. Israel Gets the Land Forever!

Jeremiah 7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yehovah, saying, ²Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of Yehovah, all [ye of] Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship Yehovah. ³Thus saith Yehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. ⁴Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Yehovah, The temple of Yehovah, The temple of Yehovah, are these. ⁵For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; ⁶[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: ⁷Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Isaiah 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. ¹⁹The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Yehovah shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. ²⁰Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for Yehovah shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. ²¹Thy people also [shall be] all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. ²²A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I Yehovah will hasten it in his time.

One consolation for those who are against Israel having the Land is that Israelis must all be righteous in order for this to finally occur! If Yehovah can keep His promise of giving Israel the Land, He can also keep His promise to cause all Israel to be righteous forever, all at the same time!

12. A Perfect Way to Annihilate Israel, Get Them Off the Land Forever, and Disperse Them As a Race Forever

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith Yehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: ³²Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day 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 Yehovah: ³³But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith Yehovah, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yehovah: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Yehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. ³⁵Thus saith Yehovah, which giveth the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; Yehovah of hosts is his name: ³⁶If those ordinances depart from before me, saith Yehovah, [then] the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. ³⁷Thus saith Yehovah; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have one, saith Yehovah.

The final solution is clear! Simply stop the ordinances of the sun, moon, stars, and the division of the seas, and Israel will cease from being a nation forever! To get Yehovah to cast off Israel forever, simply measure the heavens and search out the foundations of the earth! Otherwise, Yehovah guarantees that all Israel will know Him and will have His Teaching in their hearts. This means that they will all be righteous!

13. Real Trouble for the Palestinians!

Ezekiel 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: ²²And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: ²³Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. ²⁵And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. ²⁶Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. ²⁷My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸And the races shall know that I Yehovah do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

This passage spells real trouble for the Palestinians (and all the other groups that desire to oust the Israelis)! But then, they truly need not fear. For, this text states that David, as in the ancient King David, will be Israel’s prince and king forever at the time that the Israelis, their children, and their children’s children will dwell in the Land forever! So, as long as King David stays dead, the Palestinians and any other group may lay claim to the Land of Israel, in part or in whole! If King David comes back, however, if he is resurrected from the dead to reign, the Palestinians are in BIG trouble! King David already took care of their biggest child, Goliath! He will not tolerate any Palestinian enemy living on Israeli territory!

14. Conclusion

Who owns the Land of Israel? Well, to whom was it promised? Who has the right Scriptures?

Malachi 3:6 For I am Yehovah, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

It is on the basis that He never changes that the sons of Jacob are not consumed! So, if (as some say) “Jesus came to do away with the old law,” this would change the commands of Yehovah, and would be a change in Yehovah. Since the Torah is forever (literally, LeOlam, to Hider, to the end of the Planet), and if ‘Jesus’ came to bring in a new law that is not given in the old, He came to do away with the old God Yehovah, too! This would abolish the Old Testament, and would effectively destroy the New Testament since the New Testament’s validity is grounded in the Old Testament! That solves the problem of the Middle East. Whichever god/God is the strongest will hold title to the Land. The fighting will go on and on among the peoples until one god/God wins and the others are destroyed! If Yeshua will come again to His People Israel to save them from their enemies and to rid the Land of Israel of any occupying power, if Yeshua will place Israel there as the only People to hold the land, Yehovah of Hosts who is Messiah Yeshua and the God of Israel owns the Land. The Palestinians won’t. Period.

October 21, 2008July 5, 2017

Stroking God’s Faces

Stroking Yehovah’s Faces

‘Childisms’ in the Bible

Yehovah designed The Torah, the first six books of the Bible, for children. Yet many adults have found some of these books difficult. I propose to do a series of articles on the ‘childisms’ of the Torah and Tenach (‘Old Testament’). You may desire to collect these articles, since they will define and describe some very important Hebrew words and expressions.

Beseeching God

What does beseech or entreat (intreat) mean in the Scriptures? Several words are translated beseech or entreat, but one with Strong’s Concordance number 2470 will be considered here. This word means to stroke, to make smooth, and is often combined with faces, making the phrase to stroke the face of. This pictures a child in a parent’s lap making a request while stroking the parent’s face. This childism describes an intimate, special, emotional and close relationship with Yehovah the parent Who is King of the Universe. Consider a few texts in which this flavorful definition is employed:

Exodus 32:11 And Moshe stroked the faces of Yehovah his God, and said, “Yehovah, why does Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people that thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?”

1 Kings 13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, “Stroke now the faces of Yehovah thy God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.” And the man of God stroked the faces of Yehovah. And the hand of the king returned unto him again, and became as before.

2 Kings 13:4 And Jehoahaz stroked the faces of Yehovah, and Yehovah hearkened unto him. For he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. 5And Yehovah gave Israel a saviour so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians. And the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. 6And they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam who made Israel sin, but walked therein. And there remained the grove also in Samaria.

In the last case, a non-fearer of Yehovah stroked Yehovah’s faces. One person may use this word toward another person also:

Proverbs 19:6 Many will stroke the faces of the prince. And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
One must humble himself before Yehovah, as a child would:

Matthew 18:2 And Yeshua called a little child unto Him and set him in the midst of them. 3And He said, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The little child that Yeshua called was Jewish, since Yeshua’s ministry was to the Jews:

Matthew 15:24 But He answered and said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
How strange it is that nearly all churches with claims of representing the Bible ignore Israel! One mark of a ‘liberal’ (not fundamentally sound) church is its ignoring Israel and centering on itself. Listen carefully to sermons to see how often Israel is mentioned as central to the plan of God. The Bible mentions it all the time. Any pastor who doesn’t have the central goal of the Salvation of the Jews either hasn’t read the Bible or doesn’t believe it.

Stroking Yehovah’s face is a very wise way to entreat Him and to obtain a benefit or necessity.

April 7, 2007August 9, 2016

What is Disinterestedness?

A Definition

Dictionary.com states that it is one who is “unbiased by personal interest or advantage; not influenced by selfish motives.” Such a person demonstrates true impartiality.

While dictionaries will claim that this word also has the same acceptations as uninterestedness, the older usage of this word and the Biblical concept never have to do with a lack of interest. Being uninterested in others and their situations is a subtle form of contempt.

Advantages of Being Disinterested

The main advantage of being disinterested is so that another can benefit from the disinterested person’s perspective and/or actions of justice and propriety.

Anyone having an interest in an outcome will tend to answer, advise or act in a way that will gravitate toward that outcome even if that outcome is not for the best for others or self.

One who practices disinterestedness will guide another or others to a proper outcome even if that outcome is not to the advantage of the disinterested person. A disinterested person has more investment in justice and propriety than in any advantage.

One person usually demonstrates disinterestedness with another person or persons, and not with self.

Self-Esteem

Disinterestedness kills all forms of self-esteem (high, low or normal). Every form of self-esteem is automatically an antagonist against humility, and is pride—and cannot be otherwise.

Low self-esteem is pride. A person with low self-esteem feels less responsibility and a greater freedom to place blame. This person feels special in a low way. The focus on self is always detrimental. Some with very low self-esteem opt for suicide, intentionally determining to destroy the image of God (though perhaps not thinking of this). Low self-esteem corresponds to low self-worth. No person is able to gauge his or her value with any accuracy. Thus, a person who claims to be able to do so is taking upon himself a characteristic permitted only to a god. That is arrogance.

High self-esteem is pride. A person with high self-esteem feels great ability to take on personal power, and feels little responsibility for damage to others. The focus on self is always detrimental. Some with very high self-esteem are cruel and even murderers, intentionally determining to destroy the image of God in others. High self-esteem corresponds to high self-worth. No person is able to gauge his or her value with any accuracy. Thus, a person who claims to be able to do so is taking upon himself a characteristic permitted only to a god. That is arrogance.

Normal self-esteem is pride. A person with normal self-esteem will view self in comparison to others. The focus on self is always detrimental. Some with normal self-esteem are inconsistently cruel and cold or kind and warm, rarely thinking in terms of responsibility and often thinking of advantage. Normal self-esteem corresponds to normal self-worth. No person is able to gauge his or her value with any accuracy. Thus, a person who claims to be able to do so is taking upon himself a characteristic permitted only to a god. That is arrogance.

The only proper esteem is directed to others:

Philippians 2:3 Nothing is through strife or vainglory. But each shall esteem another better than themselves in lowliness of mind.

A person practicing true disinterestedness will not be driven or controlled by destructive bitterness.

Diplomacy

The best diplomats must always prove disinterested in diplomacy, since the interest of the diplomat cannot interfere with the outcome. A diplomat who falters in diplomacy will be a diplomat who has a personal interest in an outcome.

Joseph in Genesis proved to be a truly disinterested slave and brother. He saved many lives. His brother Judah proved to be the opposite, having personal interests in outcomes. Having a personal interest in an outcome is the first step in justifying corruption and in overthrowing justice. Free Masonry is built on personal interest. It is an association dedicated to rescuing each other from proper justice if the situation arises.

Relationships

How does disinterestedness affect the way the disinterested person sees relationships, situations and responses? A disinterested person will value relationships with a value that is at least as great as those with personal interests, and likely even more. That person will see relationships in a way that isn’t centered on feelings, but rather on benefit, on liability, on considering more carefully the symptoms of good behaviour and bad. Intentional disinterestedness almost demands that a person focus on the details of what is occurring in a relationship and how that relationship is affecting others. Cause and effect become very important, and the outcome is very important even though the person will intentionally not sway the outcome for personal interest.

While many may see the benefit of being candid and open in a relationship, a disinterested person will consider whether candidness and direct openness is truly the best for justice, propriety, and for the relationships. That doesn’t mean that a disinterested person doesn’t speak his or her mind, but rather considers benefit, often in a manner that appears fearless. Daniel spoke disinterestedly to Nebuchadnezzar in a way that others would have been terrified to express. Daniel was not interested in his own aggrandizement. He was interested in benefit to the king.

October 9, 2006March 19, 2017

Godly Parents and Evil Children

This document is intended to answer the question, “How can a Godly and righteous person rear a vile and evil son?”

This question indicates that the person asking it has assumed that child rearing works according to the popular understanding of Proverbs 22:

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The popular understanding is that a child who is trained in a Godly manner will not depart from that Godly manner when he is old. The child might depart from Godliness for a time, according to this belief, but will eventually return to Godliness and fervency in righteousness, and will stay that way until death.

Continue reading “Godly Parents and Evil Children”

October 8, 2006August 22, 2016

Promise and Location of Paradise

Yeshua told the thief who turned in faith to Him that he would be in Paradise with Yeshua that same day:

Luke 23:43 And Yeshua said unto him, “I say unto thee faith! Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise!”

Yeshua spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth as He promised:

Matthew 12:40 “For as Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”

In order for him to be with Yeshua and be in Paradise that very same day, Paradise had to be in the heart of the earth. Yet Sheol is the heart of the earth:

Numbers 16:30 “But if Yehovah make a new thing, and the land open her mouth and swallow them with all that appertains unto them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then ye shall understand that these men have provoked Yehovah!” ³¹And it was as he had made an end of speaking all these words. And the ground clave asunder that was under them. ³²And the land opened her mouth and swallowed them and their houses and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. ³³They and all that appertained to them went down alive into Sheol. And the land closed upon them. And they perished from among the congregation.

Thus, Paradise must have been in Sheol at that time.

How did Paradise come to be in Sheol?

Paradise’s Origin

The Garden of Eden (Garden of Pleasure) was and is Paradise; the two are synonymous. See how Paradise is used to substantiate this:

Nehemiah 2:8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest [Paradise], that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Ecclesiastes 2:5 I made me gardens and orchards [Paradise], and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits.

Song of Solomon 4:13 Thy plants are an orchard [Paradise] of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphire, with spikenard…

Thus, paradise indicates some type of garden or an orchard.

Revelation 2:7 He that has an ear, he shall hear what the Spirit says unto the churches. I will give to him who overcomes to eat of the Tree of the Lives that is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

The Tree of Life (Tree of the Lives) is in the midst of the Paradise of God, according to the above text. It is also in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Thus, the two are synonymous.

Thus, I will next consider Eden and its role in the Bible.

Eden

Genesis 2:8 And Yehovah Elohim planted a garden eastward in Eden. And there He put the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden. And it was parted from thence, and became to four heads.

Genesis 2:15 And Yehovah Elohim took the man. And He put him into the Garden of Eden to serve it and to guard it.

Adam was placed in this garden, in Paradise. His role was to serve and to guard it. It would respond to him with great strength if he would do these things. He instead sinned.

Genesis 3:23 Therefore Yehovah Elohim sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to serve the soil from whence he was taken.

Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man. And He placed Cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of the Lives.

The Tree of the Lives was now blocked from every direction except one: faith.

Yehovah compares locations to Eden when He describes great fruitfulness:

Isaiah 51:3 For Yehovah shall comfort Zion! He will comfort all her waste places. And He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of Yehovah. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, confession and the voice of melody.

Ezekiel 36:35 And they shall say, “This land that was desolate is become like the Garden of Eden! And the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited!”

Joel 2:3 A fire devours before them, and a flame burns behind them! The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and a desolate wilderness behind them! Indeed—and nothing shall escape them.

Yehovah speaks to the future great and violent city of Babylon (a city that will be in its former location, in Iraq) in the following text:

Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God.

He also speaks of the Antichrist as if the man is a great tree. He compares him to the trees in Eden:

Ezekiel 31:9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches so that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him.

Once the Antichrist is sent into Sheol, the trees of Eden will be consoled:

Ezekiel 31:16 “I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall when I cast him down to Sheol with them that descend into the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be consoled in the lower parts of the land.”

Ezekiel 31:18 “To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the lower parts of the land! Thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,” says Yehovah Elohim.

The above text refers to the transfer of the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the land! This is where Yehovah placed Paradise when He removed it from the surface of the earth in the days of Adam.

Eden, Verb

Hebrew has a verb for almost every word form. The verb eden in Hebrew means pleasure, delight. It is used in the following text:

Nehemiah 9:25 And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells dug, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance. They did eat so, and were filled. And they became fat, and delighted [verb, eden] themselves in Thy great goodness.

Eden, Edna, Pleasure

The Hebrew nouns eden [masculine] and edna [feminine, and where the name Edna is derived] describe pleasure, including sexual pleasure as in the first text below:

Genesis 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure [Edna], my lord being old also?”

2 Samuel 1:24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights [Adanim, plural of eden], who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

Psalms 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy House! And Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures [Adanim].

Jeremiah 51:34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon devoured me! He crushed me! He made me an empty vessel! He swallowed me up like a dragon! He filled his belly from my delicates [Adanim]! He cast me out.

Thus, Paradise, the Garden of Eden is always rightly associated with delight and pleasure.

Tree of the Lives

The Tree of Life, or better, Tree of the Lives was placed in the center of Paradise.

Genesis 2:9 And Yehovah Elohim made every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and in the midst of the garden the Tree of the Lives and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad to grow out of the soil.

Genesis 3:22 And Yehovah Elohim said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and bad! And now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the Tree of the Lives, and eat, and live to Hider…

Thus, eating of the Tree of the Lives would give the eater everlasting life.

Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man. And He placed Cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of the Lives.

That tree had to be guarded, since a sinful man who was unrepentant could also eat, and live forever with sin.

The next set of texts refer to the feminine character known as Wisdom.

Proverbs 3:18 She is a Tree of the Lives to them that lay hold upon Her! And everyone who retains her is happy!

Anyone who lays hold upon Wisdom obtains everlasting life. Thus, She is the feminine form of Messiah Yeshua! (Yehovah is neither masculine nor feminine, but He designed the genders for our instruction. Humans of both genders are equally made in the image of God. Thus, it only makes sense that a feminine-gendered being describes another aspect of Yehovah. What radical, liberal feminists might do with this information is of no concern to me, and I suspect that it is of no concern to Yehovah. Perhaps it might be to the salvation of some of them!)

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a Tree of the Lives. And he that acquires beings is wise!

The fruit of righteous folks is also a Tree of the Lives from which one can eat and obtain everlasting life!

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick. And when the lust comes, it is a Tree of the Lives!

Lust is very, very strong desire. The Bible does not classify lust as automatically sinful. It refers to the type of lust before drawing conclusions. Lust for what is good and righteous is right before Yehovah. The Proverbs text above describes such a good lust; its coming also presents the Tree of the Lives, leading to everlasting life! (If this seems confusing, consider the timing of the fulfillment of this text. Once you see that it is referring to a Tribulation event, this outcome may make more sense.)

Proverbs 15:4 A healing tongue is a Tree of the Lives. But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit!

Now, a tongue that speaks words that heal is a Tree of the Lives, and able to bring everlasting life!

Revelation 2:7 He that has an ear, he shall hear what the Spirit says unto the churches. I will give to him who overcomes to eat of the Tree of the lives that is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

The Tree of the Lives is still in the midst of the Paradise of God even at this time in the future. Thus, I always associate the physical location of that Tree with Paradise. Though other items can also be a Tree of the Lives, the actual tree remains in Paradise. It is a real tree, not a spiritual concept.

Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river, there was the Tree of the Lives that bore twelve manner of fruits. And she yielded her fruit every month. And the leaves of the Tree are for the servicing of the races!

The above text demonstrates that the Tree produces real, physical fruits: twelve different types! I could not tell whether there was a different fruit for each month or whether there were twelve different fruits per month.

One tree straddles both sides of the river! It must be a large tree.

The various races will use the leaves of that tree for various forms of servicing (besides being for service) on the New Earth.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do His commandments so that they will have right to the Tree of the Lives, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

One who has come to Truth by Biblically correct faith is given the right to the Tree of the Lives, as well as entering through the gates into the city of Jerusalem.

Living Water: Waters of Lives

‘Living Water’ (waters of lives) is also associated with Paradise. The following texts consider this water.

Song of Solomon 4:15 …a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters [waters of lives], and streams from Lebanon.

Most translators thought that the phrase living water was describing running water, the motion of the water being akin to the motion of a living creature. I put no stock in this view. The waters of lives do not represent running water. The above text shows that the water provides a necessity for living plants.

The following text presents a being Who is the fountain of the waters of lives:

Jeremiah 2:13 “For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters [the waters of lives] and hewed them out cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water!”

This is further explained in the following text:

Jeremiah 17:13 Yehovah the Hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed! And they that depart from Me shall be written in the land because they have forsaken Yehovah, the fountain of living waters [the waters of lives]!

Two beings are described in this verse. One is obviously Yehovah. The other may not be so easily discerned, so the following text will help:

John 7:38 He who believes on me, as the Scripture hath said, rivers of living water shall flow out of his belly. ³⁹(But He spoke this of the Spirit that they who believe on Him will receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Yeshua was not yet glorified.)

Thus, Yehovah is the fountain; the Spirit of Yehovah is that water of life.

Zechariah 14:8 And he shall be in that day. And living waters [waters of lives] shall go out from Jerusalem—half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea. He shall be in summer and in winter.

A split river will come out of the top of the Great Mount Zion during the Millennium, carrying the waters of lives. Drinking of that water will do as much good as drinking from the Rock that followed and preceded Israel in the wilderness: no good at all except for thirst, unless accompanied by faith!

John 4:10 Yeshua answered and said unto her, “If thou knew the Gift of God and who it is Who says to thee, ‘Give me to drink,’ thou would have asked from Him, and He would have given thee living water [waters of lives]!” ¹¹The woman says unto Him, “Sir, Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast Thou that living water [water of lives]?” … “¹⁴Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water springing up in him into everlasting life.”

John 7:38 He who believes on me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water [waters of lives] shall flow out of his belly!

The above two texts show that those waters, combined with faith, give everlasting life. Thus, the Tree of the Lives and the waters of the Lives are quite connected.

Genesis 26:19 And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of springing water [waters of lives].

The picture of a well that is life-saving is a type of that water that is everlasting-life-saving.

The following texts consist of types. A type is a person, place, item, time or action that is real and important in itself, but pictures a person, place, item, time or action that is real and far more important. (A symbol is something that is of little value in itself, but stands for something important and/or valuable.) For now, note the centrality of the waters of lives in them:

Leviticus 14:5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water [waters of lives].

Leviticus 14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it and the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and shall immerse them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water [waters of lives].

Leviticus 14:50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water [waters of lives].

Leviticus 14:51 And he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet and the living bird, and immerse them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water [waters of lives], and sprinkle the house seven times.

Leviticus 14:52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water [waters of lives], and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet.

Leviticus 15:13 And when he who has an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing. And he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in running water [waters of lives], and shall be clean.

Numbers 19:17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burned heifer of the sin-sacrifice. And running water [waters of lives] shall be put thereto in a vessel.

(Did you notice immersion in several of the texts above? They form part of the bases of the doctrines of baptisms mentioned in Hebrews 6:2.)

Revelation 21:6 And He said unto me, “It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the waters of lives.”

Thirsting, then, often precedes obtaining everlasting life!

Revelation 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of waters of lives, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him that hears say, “Come!” And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, he shall freely take the waters of lives!

Sheol

Since Paradise resided in Sheol for a length of time, considering Sheol is important.

Genesis 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him. But he refused to be comforted. And he said, “For I will go down mourning unto my son into Sheol.” Thus his father wept for him.

Jacob was and is a Saint. He knew he would go to Sheol when he died. Saints (at that time) and non-saints went to Sheol, and thus were ‘gathered to their fathers’.

Genesis 42:38 And he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol!”

Genesis 44:29 “And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol!”

Genesis 44:31 “He shall be, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. And thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.”

The following text is quite unusual. Korah and all who stood with him went down alive into Sheol after the land opened. They fell thousands of miles!

Numbers 16:33 They and all that appertained to them went down alive into the Sheol. And the earth closed upon them. And they perished from among the congregation.

Deuteronomy 32:22 “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest Sheol, and shall consume the land with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains!”

Sheol has upper and lower parts.

1 Samuel 2:6 Yehovah kills and makes alive! He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.

This speaks of resurrection; it also speaks of bringing some back to mortal life (like Lazarus, Martha’s brother, and like Ezekiel 37 describes with the dry bones event).

2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of Sheol compassed me about. The snares of death preceded me.

1 Kings 2:6 “Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace!”

1 Kings 2:9 “Now, therefore, hold him not guiltless. For thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou ought to do unto him. But bring thou down his hoar head to Sheol with blood!”

Job 14:13 “O that Thou would hide me in Sheol, that Thou would keep me secret until Thy wrath be past, that Thou would appoint me a set time, and remember me!”

The above text demonstrates a speaker who desires to be hidden in Sheol! Please remember that this text is prophetic. It is not describing a theoretical situation, but one that will occur exactly that way. I propose that this corresponds with Ezekiel 37.

Job 17:13 “If I wait, Sheol is my house. I have made my bed in the darkness.”

Job 17:16 “They shall go down to the bars of Sheol when our rest together is in the dust.”

Sheol has bars/gates. Another text refers to this:

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter [Stone]. And I will build my Church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her!

Job 21:13 “They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to Sheol.”

Psalms 6:5 For there is no remembrance of Thee in death. Who shall confess Thee in Sheol?

The time for confessing Yehovah is past once one goes to Sheol.

Psalms 9:17 The wicked and all the nations that forget God shall be turned into Sheol.

Psalms 16:10 For Thou wilt not leave my being in Sheol. And Thou wilt not suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

Psalms 18:5 The sorrows of Sheol compassed me about. The snares of death preceded me.

Psalms 30:3 Yehovah, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol. Thou hast kept me alive, and I will not go down to the pit.

This is not referring to Yeshua. Read it carefully, and consider Ezekiel 37.

This normally brings the question of a ‘second chance.’ Everyone with basic mental faculties who lives long enough to outgrow being a baby has regular ‘second chances’ in this life. Yehovah will not give those who have died and gone to Sheol another chance. He has promised to resurrect a very large group from Sheol, however, and bring that group back to mortal life, including giving that group His Salvation. This cannot reasonably be objected, since Salvation is by His Grace, and He has the right do keep His Word. That large group is mentioned in Ezekiel 37, and is the House of Israel (previously slaughtered, leaving only the House of Judah). Since all the tribes must be present to fulfill His Word, He will prove that “neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creation shall be able to separate [the Israelis] from the love of God that is via Messiah Yeshua”.

Psalms 31:17 I will not be ashamed, Yehovah. For I called upon Thee. The wicked shall be ashamed! They shall be silent in Sheol!

The most vociferous ‘bad guys’ are silent in Sheol—that is, they are not protesting, rioting, carrying on, shouting, etc. They already know what awaits them; it is terrifying.

Psalms 49:14 They are laid in Sheol like sheep. Death shall feed on them! And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. And their beauty shall consume in Sheol from their dwelling.

Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my being from the power of Sheol! For He shall receive me. Selah.

This, again, speaks of an entity (like a group) who will be redeemed from the power of Sheol. It again connects to the previously quoted text:

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter [Stone]. And I will build my Church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her!

It is the Church (Congregation) of Israel.

Psalms 55:15 Death shall seize upon them! And they shall go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

Going down alive into Sheol is very unusual!

Psalms 86:13 For great is Thy Grace toward me. And Thou hast delivered my being from the lowest Sheol.

Psalms 88:3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws nigh unto Sheol.

Psalms 89:48 What man is he who lives, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his being from the hand of Sheol? Selah.

Sheol is also the fallen angel whom Yehovah has given responsibility over the location!

Psalms 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of Sheol got hold upon me. I found trouble and sorrow.

Psalms 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.

Yehovah is not absent from Sheol!

Psalms 141:7 Our bones are scattered at Sheol’s mouth as when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the land.

Proverbs 1:12 “We shall swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole as those that go down into the pit!”

Proverbs 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on Sheol!

Proverbs 7:27 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 9:18 But he doesn’t know that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Proverbs 15:11 Sheol and destruction are before Yehovah; how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart from Sheol beneath.

Proverbs 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.

Proverbs 27:20 Sheol and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

The following text explains that Sheol continues to widen as newly arrived dead come into her:

Isaiah 5:14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure. And their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he who rejoices shall descend into her!

Proverbs 30:15 The horseleach has two daughters, crying, “Give!” “Give!” There are three things that are never satisfied. Indeed, four things don’t say, “It is enough”: ¹⁶Sheol and the barren womb, the land that is not filled with water and the fire that doesn’t say, “It is enough.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. For there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol where thou art going!

Sheol is not a place for doing work.

Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm. For love is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as Sheol. The coals thereof are coals of fire that has a most vehement flame!

Sheol is a place of torture! This does not describe the Paradise side, however.

Isaiah 14:9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming to stir up the dead for thee—even all the chief ones of the land. She has raised up all the kings of the nations from their thrones.

The feminine-gendered angel Sheol again acts in the above text. This is the only angel of which I am aware to which Yehovah assigned a feminine gender. That does not mean that Sheol is a female. Hebrew assigns genders to all nouns!

Isaiah 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols. The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the pit.

Sheol is located on the sides of a huge pit. That pit makes the great gulf that divided the ‘torments’ side from the ‘Paradise’ side.

Isaiah 28:15 For ye have said, “We have made a covenant with Death, and we are at agreement with Sheol! When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us. For we have made lies our refuge, and we hid ourselves under falsehood.

Making a covenant with Death and Sheol is making a covenant with two demons! It isn’t a wise choice.

Isaiah 28:18 And your covenant with Death shall be annulled. And your agreement with Sheol shall not stand. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it!

Isaiah 38:10 I said in the cutting off of my days, “I shall go to the gates of Sheol! I am deprived of the residue of my years.”

Isaiah 38:18 For Sheol cannot confess Thee. Death cannot praise Thee. They that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy Truth.

Isaiah 57:9 And thou went to the king with ointment, and did increase thy perfumes, and did send thy messengers far off, and did debase thyself even unto Sheol!

The following text was considered early in this document. Consider again what it tells about Sheol.

Ezekiel 31:15 Thus says Yehovah Elohim, “In the day when he went down to Sheol, I caused a mourning. I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof. And the great waters were stayed. And I caused Lebanon to mourn for him. And all the trees of the field fainted for him. ¹⁶ I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall when I cast him down to Sheol with them that descend into the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon—all that drink water shall be consoled in the lower parts of the land! ¹⁷They also went down into Sheol with him unto them that are slain with the sword, and they who were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the races.”

Ezekiel 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him with them that help him out of the midst of Sheol. They are gone down. They lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

The above text is not referring to folks in Sheol communicating with folks on the earth’s land, but of communications within Sheol itself.

Ezekiel 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised who are gone down to Sheol via their weapons of war. And they gave their swords under their heads. But their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of Sheol! I will redeem them from Death! Death, I will be thy plagues! Sheol, I will be thy destruction! Repentance shall be hidden from my eyes!”

The above text is part of a string of texts from which it cannot be extricated. Unless a reader takes the whole set, it will not make sense. Yehovah seems to be vacillating only because this text has been separated. Yes, He will ransom them from the power of Sheol. Yes, He will redeem them from Death. And He will turn to plague Death and to destroy Sheol. But in the meantime He will not change His mind from destroying and slaughtering Ephraim. I propose that this is describing how the dry bones slaughter took place (again, Ezekiel 37).

Amos 9:2 “Though they dig into Sheol, my hand shall take them thence! Though they climb up to the heavens, I will bring them down thence!”

Why would anyone desire to dig into Sheol? But some folks are that stupid!

Jonah 2:2 And he said, “I shouted unto Yehovah by reason of my tribulation. And He heard me! I shouted from the belly of Sheol, and Thou heard my voice!”

Jonah is prophesying regarding the same thing. Most readers think that Jonah is praying over his own situation. They have not considered that a prophet’s responsibility is to prophesy the Word of Yehovah, not his own situation. Jonah didn’t experience all the events about which he prophesied in chapter 2. He was a type, and spoke for another. The timing is also future; the events Jonah described have not yet occurred. They will, however!

Habakkuk 2:5 …indeed because he also transgresses by wine; he is a proud man and doesn’t keep at home; who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and is as Death, and cannot be satisfied; but gathers all nations unto him, and heaps all people unto him…

Of whom does this speak? Can you figure this out?

Hades

Hades and Sheol are exactly the same, and are just from two different languages.

The following texts refer to Hades:

Matthew 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, that art exalted unto the heavens, shalt be brought down to Hades! For if the mighty works that have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day!

An entire city will be brought down to Hades!

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter [Stone]. And I will build my Church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her!

That Church is the Congregation the House of Israel, as I mentioned above. Hades’ gates will not be able to prevail against her; she will ‘bust out’ when Yehovah calls her to come.

Have you rightly determined to what this rock refers? (Hint: It isn’t referring to Yeshua Himself, and it isn’t referring to Peter.)

Luke 10:15 And thou, Capernaum, that art exalted to the heavens, shalt be thrust down to Hades!

The following text describes a real event and real persons in every detail. When Yeshua said “there was,” faith in His Word insists that there really was what He describes.

Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus who was laid at his gate, full of sores, ²¹and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. And the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³And he lifted up his eyes in Hades, being in torments. And he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴And he shouted and said, “Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! And send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am tormented in this flame!” ²⁵But Abraham said, “Son, remember that thou received thy good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus bad things. But now he is consoled, and thou art tormented. ²⁶And beside all this, there is a great gulf fixed between us and you so that they who would pass from here to you cannot, and they who would come from there cannot pass to us.” ²⁷Then he said, “I pray thee therefore, father, that thou would send him to my father’s house—²⁸for I have five brethren—that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” ²⁹Abraham says unto him, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.” ³⁰And he said, “Nay, father Abraham—but they will repent if one went unto them from the dead.” ³¹And he said unto him, “If they don’t hear Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

This text shows several things:

Angels transported Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom, located in the Paradise-side of Hades.
Non-saints are in torments in Hades (and will continue to be in torments for the many centuries until they are judged and consigned to the Lake of Fire and Sulfur)
Non-saints could see the Saints and vice-versa in the distance.
Saints and non-saints could shout to each other.
There is water on the Paradise-side of Hades; the non-saints can see that there is water.
There is no water on the torments side.
There is a flame on the torments side that tortures the non-saints.
There is consolation only on the Paradise-side of Hades.
A great gulf separates the two sides so that none can pass to the other side.
Non-saints realize and care about their lost loved ones who have not yet come to Hades.
Persuasion of the living will not occur even if one rises from the dead to tell the living.
Saints do not have compassion on non-saints on the other side.

Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my being in Hades. And Thou wilt not suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

To whom does ‘my’ refer in the above text? (Hint: It doesn’t refer to Messiah.)

Acts 2:31 He spoke of the resurrection of Messiah, seeing this before—that His soul was not left in Hades, and his flesh did not see corruption.

(Hint: This doesn’t change the question or the hint above!)

1 Corinthians 15:55 Death, where is thy sting? Hades, where is thy victory?

Revelation 1:18 I am He Who lives, and was dead. And behold, I am alive for evermore! Faith! And I have the keys of Hades and of Death!

Revelation 6:8 And I looked. And behold, a pale horse! And his name who sat on him was Death. And Hades followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

These two angels ride (angelic) horses! They will both do a great slaughter of non-Jewish unbelievers during the Tribulation. (How can one tell that the judgments of Revelation are not directed against Israel?)

Revelation 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in him. And Death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them. And they were judged—every man—according to their works. ¹⁴And Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

The Lake of Fire and Sulfur was originally designed only for angels; the majority of humans who will end up there had to determine to go.

Matthew 25:41 Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels!”

Gehena

Gehena is an abbreviated form of Gay-Hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom. This corresponds to Topheth:

2 Kings 23:10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom.

The following text shows what occurred in this terrible place:

2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign. And he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not what was right in the sight of Yehovah, like David his father. ²For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. And he also made molten images for Baalim. ³And he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom. And he burned his children in the fire after the abominations of the races whom Yehovah cast out before the children of Israel.

Thus, burning children alive became a picture of Gehena, akin to the Lake of Fire and Sulfur.

The following texts refer to Gehena, and show that it is what most folks think of hell.

Matthew 5:22 “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! [Worthless!]” shall be in danger of the Council. But whosoever shall say, “Thou fool!” shall be in danger of Gehena fire.

Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast 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 Gehena! ³⁰And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast 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 Gehena.

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehena!

Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye rather than to be cast into Gehena fire having two eyes.

Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte. And when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of Gehena than yourselves!

Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Gehena?

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off! It is better for thee to enter into life maimed than to go into Gehena, into the fire that shall never be quenched, having two hands!

Mark 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off! It is better for thee to enter into life halt than to be cast into Gehena, into the fire that never shall be quenched, having two feet!

Mark 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck out! It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to be cast into Gehena fire having two eyes!

Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him Who has power to cast into Gehena after He has killed! Indeed I say unto you, fear Him!

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity! The tongue is so among our members, so that it defiles the whole Body and sets on fire the course of nature. And it is set on fire from Gehena!

While Paradise has nothing to do with Gehena, both mystify folks in the same discussions.

Tartaros/Tartarus

One text refers to this location:

2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Tartaros/Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment…

This seems to be within that pit that separates the two sides of Sheol. These angels will be released later, and will participate in judgment events.

Absent from the Body

The Spirit of Yehovah through Paul explained,

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that we are absent from the Lord while we are at home in the Body. ⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord!

This text indicates a change, since Saints who die no longer go to Sheol/Hades. The Lord Yehovah’s throne is in the heavens, not in Sheol/Hades. Being present with Him indicates that Saints now go to the place of His throne. The change must have occurred after Yeshua rose from the dead. The Book of the Revelation of Yeshua to John describes Saints in the heavens, not in Hades.

If the Saints are not in Hades, Paradise also is no longer there. Another text confirms this:

2 Corinthians 12:3 And I knew such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell—God knows), ⁴how that he was caught up into Paradise. And he heard unspeakable words that it is not lawful for a man to utter.

The person caught up to Paradise didn’t descend to Paradise.

Paradise will finally come back to earth when Messiah comes with all His angels and with all the Saints who died (thus leaving the heavens devoid of humans and angels). The Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven will be on this earth for one thousand years, and Paradise will be back—but in Israel, this time. Messiah Yeshua, Who is Wisdom, Who is the Tree of the Lives, will be in Mount Zion, so that humans won’t yet see that tree, and will still need to believe in Yeshua for Life. The Tree will be physically visible on the New Earth in Paradise, and its leaves and fruit will be useful and very good.

March 24, 1994August 6, 2016

Roots of the Holocaust

The Roots of the Holocaust

In the Church

by

Sara G.

Mrs. Lloyd

Junior Honors English

28 March 1994

The Holocaust that engulfed the Jewish people in Europe was the culmination of many centuries of enmity toward Jews. Hitler was able to implement his genocidal program because hatred and persecution of Jews was deeply ingrained in European culture. Historically, much anti-Semitism has had its roots in beliefs promoted by the Christian church, and the basic theology for those views remains influential in the Church today.

Many of the early Church Fathers’ interpretations of Biblical prophecies concerning Israel resulted in suffering for the Israelites (Lindsey 24). Origen, one early Church Father who lived in Alexandria in A.D. 185-254, had a profound impact on the Church with his teachings (Lindsey 7). Origen set up a system of interpreting prophecies that led to the idea that when the Israelites rejected Jesus, they forfeited the covenants made with them by God (Lindsey 8). His teachings led to the beliefs that the Church was the “true Israel,” and the Jews no longer had a future as God’s chosen people (Lindsey 8). Origen’s allegorical method of interpreting Scripture, that is, that Israel symbolized the Church throughout Scriptures, was adopted by the Church; and this idea prevailed during the Middle Ages (Lindsey 7). Augustine, another early Church Father, had a method of interpreting the Bible that was partly rationalistic, partly allegorical and mystical (Lindsey 10). The allegorical interpretation theology, taught by the early fathers of the Church, led to the view that the Jewish people no longer had a reason to exist except to suffer for the death of Messiah (“Christianity” 507). Origen and Augustine had no idea of the implications of their errors in the way they handled Scripture-especially prophecy (Lindsey 17).

The Crusades were military expeditions of European Christendom engaged during the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. The goal was to retake the Holy Land of Israel from the Muslims and Jews, who were “the enemies of Christianity” (Lindsey 14). The leaders of the Crusades taught to fight to establish the “Kingdom of God on earth.” They believed firmly that they were the “New Israel,” and their divine commission was to drive both the Jews and Muslims from the land of Israel (Lindsey 17). During the first Crusade, there were terrible massacres in every major German city as well as in other parts of central Europe (Lindsey 15). Tens of thousands of Jews were massacred in the name of Christianity (Lindsey 15). One Pope used the Crusades against the Muslims as an occasion to heap blemish on the Jews (Runes 15). During the Second Crusade, a Cistercian monk who preached on the Crusades, while on his way to fight the Muslims, went out and attacked “those who had crucified Jesus” (“Crusades” 15). Soldiers of the Third Crusade immediately began to circulate old anti-Semitic tales about Jews (Lindsey 16). Murderous feelings arose among the lower class of the Crusaders because of the centuries of misguided sermons they had heard, and the images of Jewish people created by the church leadership portraying Jews as being obstinate impostors having no future as a race in God’s plan (Lindsey 14). In 1320 A.D., a group of young men averaging the age of sixteen went on an unauthorized crusade from the north of France to the south, heaping destruction on all the Jewish Communities which they encountered. This shows the effect of home-taught anti-Semitism during this age (Lindsey 16).

During the Crusade period, intense lies were spread about Israel. Jews were accused of plotting against the Christian world (Lindsey 17). One myth that was used as justification for Christian anti-Semitism was that the Jewish dispersion resulted because the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah. The truth is that the dispersion occurred several centuries before Jesus lived (Freidman 57). During the Middle Ages the Jews were accused of the Blood-libel, which was the rumor that Jews were murdering Christian children in their acts of ritual worship or in preparation of the unleavened bread which they needed for their Passover Seder (Berenbaum 13). At the same time as the Blood-libel Hoax, the Desecration of the Host accusation was spreading. The host is the consecrated wafer which was believed to be the very body of Jesus. Jews were accused of stealing the cracker, and because they wanted to renew upon Messiah the agonies of the Crucifixion, they supposedly stabbed it, tormented it, and burned it (“Host, Desecration of” 1040-43). It was no coincidence that acts of violence against Jews were often in the spring-the season of Easter and Passover (Berenbaum 13). These deliberate lies, which led to trials and massacres of Jews in the Middle Ages and in early modern times, were revived by the Nazis (“Blood-libel” 534).

The Christian teachings that Jews were evil persisted in the Protestant Reformation and in Martin Luther’s teachings (Berenbaum 14). Of all the fathers of Christianity, Augustine had the most influence on Martin Luther (“Luther, Martin,” The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 313). During the first period of Luther’s activities, he condemned persecution of the Jews, and he believed that they would accept Christianity after they listened to his teachings. The Jewish people appreciated Luther’s apparent kindliness toward them, but resisted his message. Whether it was because they resisted his messages of “truth” or for some other reason, Luther grew increasingly hostile toward the Jews. He complained that they were stubborn in clinging to their traditional interpretation of Scripture (“Luther, Martin,” Encyclopedia Judaica, 584). He agreed with Augustine and accused them of deliberately failing to understand the Bible (“Augustine” 851). In Luther’s tract written in 1543, he clearly expresses his feelings about the Jews: What then shall we Christians do with this damned rejected race of Jews? Since they live among us and we know about their lying, and blasphemy, and cursing, we cannot tolerate them if we do not wish to share in their lies, curses, and blasphemy. . . Let me give you my honest advice: First, set fire to their synagogues or schools and bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom. . . Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. . . Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them. Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach. . . Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them. . . Seventh, I recommend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff of a spindle into the hand of young, strong Jews and Jewesses, and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow (Lindsey 23). According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, “short of the Auschwitz oven and extermination, the whole Nazi Holocaust is pre-outlined here” (Lindsey 24).

Martin Luther had an immense influence on the Germans and their succeeding history (Shirer 91). Hitler quoted Luther as justification for his acts (Lindsey 24). Luther wanted Germany rid of Jews; Hitler followed his advice (Shirer 236). It was made clear that Hitler agreed with Luther that “this was to be done in the honor of our Lord and of Christendom” when Hitler stated, “I believe I am working in accordance with the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jews, I am fighting for the work of the Lord (Hitler 65).

Support of the religious leaders for Nazism influenced the people towards Hitler (Haynes 30). A Pope during the fourth century said that a mark of perfidy should be on the name and title of every Jew, and a blot should remain upon the children and children’s children of the House of Israel. A Pope during the thirteenth century said a blot should be made visible to all on their clothing. A Pope during the fifteenth century said Jews should be confined to ghettos so they would not soil the Christians around them (Runes 15). When Nazis took German Aryans who were physically or mentally ill and killed them, the ministers spoke out vigorously against it until it was stopped. They never spoke out for the Jews (Haynes 30). The German people claimed they had no knowledge of Hitler’s plans, yet Hitler clearly spelled out his plans for the “annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe” (Lindsey 30). Hitler did not introduce a new idea-he just exploited what was already in the culture. The clergy did not care-not because they were afraid of Hitler-but because anti-Semitism was a deep part of their mentality (Haynes 30).

From Augustine in the fifth century to Luther in the sixteenth century, some of the most persuasive Christian theologians taught that the Jews were rebels against God and murderers of the Lord (Berenbaum 13). The teaching of the Passion narrative and its circumstances with regard to the Jews at the time revived much of the anti-Semitism which had been already present during the past centuries (Freidman 57). The heat of the rage of Christian hatred of the Jews was inspired by one unforgivable crime: the Jews killed Christ. This one “fact” justified whatever was done to them (Berenbaum 13). Enmity towards the people of Israel was expressed in teachings of contempt in churches (Berenbaum 13), and Pope John XXIII (1881-1963) points this out: We realize now that many, many centuries of blindness have dimmed our eyes so that we no longer see the beauty of Thy Chosen People and no longer recognize in their faces the features of our first born brother. We realize now that our brows are branded with the mark of Cain. Centuries has Abel lain in blood and tears, because we have forgotten Thy love. Forgive us the curse which we have unjustly laid on the name of the Jews. Forgive us that, with our curse, we crucified thee a second time (“Traditional Christian Teachings on the Jews” 25).

The view of the Church was that the Jews were clinging to a hope which belonged to the Church. Israel was an impostor, cursed by God (Lindsey 8). The early church fathers taught that God had finished with the Jews whose only purpose was to prepare for the Messiah. The Jews should have left the scene. Their continued survival was an act of stubborn defiance (Berenbaum 13). If the Church was God’s “true Israel” spiritually, then the Jewish people no longer had a reason to exist (“Christianity” 507). Christianity supposedly replaced Judaism, and the teachings of the New Testament “fulfilled” the “Old” Testament. Christians were the New Israel in flesh and spirit, and in their teachings the God of justice was replaced by the God of love (Berenbaum 13). The Church refused to change the way it interpreted Scriptures, which was the true root cause of the problem (Lindsey 17). The Church claimed fulfillment of the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament and placed itself in Israel’s position (“Christianity” 507). Later, this developed into outright anti-Semitism (Lindsey 25).

Today, Dominion Theologists, those who teach that the Church is the “true Israel” and therefore the inheritors of all God’s promises, believe that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have no future hope as a distinct people (Lindsey 194). Dominionist interpretation of Bible prophecy is that the Kingdom was taken away from Israel by the New Covenant People (Lindsey 25). Dominion Theologists teach that during the time the Church establishes the Kingdom of God on earth, there will be a number of Israelites converted; however, they do not believe that this will be a national conversion. Their teachings that some Jews will be converted and brought into the Church-the New Israel-eliminates all national distinction for Israel (Lindsey 186). The Biblical prophet Jeremiah prophesied, “Have you noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms [Israel and Judah] He chose?’ So they despise Thy people and no longer regard them as a nation” (33:24).

Why did all of this persecution come upon Israel? In Deuteronomy, the Lord said that if Israel did not obey His commandments, they would be uprooted from the land they were entering to possess. Jehovah would scatter them among the nations-from one end of the earth to the other. They would find no repose, no resting place for the sole of their foot. And they would live in suspense, filled with dread day and night. They would never be sure of life (Deuteronomy 28:1, 63-66). David Brale gave a summary of the Jewish predicament: From Biblical times to the present day, Jews have wandered the uncertain terrain between power and powerlessness, never quite achieving the power necessary to guarantee long-term security, but equally avoiding, with a number of disastrous exceptions, the abyss of absolute impotence. They developed the consummate skill of living with uncertainty and insecurity (Berenbaum 16). The majority of Israel rejected the light given to them by God and progressively hardened their hearts, so the Lord added to their hardened hearts (Lindsey 172). God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear to this very day (Deuteronomy 29: 4). Paul asks if they stumbled so far that they could not recover, and replies, “Not at all! Rather, because of Israel’s transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious” (Romans 11:11).

According to Berenbaum, Jewish survival is necessary to Christianity. In the end days, a remnant of Israelis is required to affirm Jesus as the Messiah (13). Scripture says that Elijah appealed to God against Israel, saying that they killed His prophets and tore down His altars. Elijah claimed to be the only prophet left, and they were trying to kill him. The Lord answered him and said, “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed their knees to Baal.” Paul said that at the present time there is still a remnant chosen by grace (Romans 11:2-5). The true nation of Israel always consisted of physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the physical believing descendants-the remnant of Israel (Lindsey 165). Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the Prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'” (Matthew 23:37-39).

Nothing that has happened to Israel has taken God by surprise. Israel’s destruction, apostacy as a nation, world-wide dispersion, great persecution, returning to statehood in the land of Israel-he predicted all these long ago. He also predicted just as specifically that He would not forsake the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would restore them as a believing nation to all the things promised to their fathers (Lindsey 192). Paul said, “I say 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 whom He fore knew” (Romans 11:1-2). Christian anti-Semitism, then, developed as the result of the view that the Church replaced Israel as God’s Chosen People. The Nation of Israel, the Jewish people, temporarily forfeited the promises made by God that ensured its restoration to the land, though its survival as a race was guaranteed. However, Israel’s unbelief was no surprise to God. He Knew all about it before choosing Israel to be His People. And He has a great purpose for this nation in the future. In Deuteronomy 30:1, 3, and 7, the Lord promises to Israel: “When all these blessings and cursings I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart, whenever Jehovah your God disperses you among the nations . . . then Jehovah your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where He scattered you. And Jehovah your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you.”

Works Cited:

Lindsey, Hal. The Road to Holocaust. New York: Boston Books, 1989.
Christianity. Encyclopedia Judaica. 1972 ed.
Runes, Dagobert D. The Jew and the Cross. New York: Philosophical Library, Inc., 1965.
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“Host, Desecration of.” Encyclopedia Judaica. 1972 ed.
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“Traditional Christian Teachings on the Jews.” Icebreaker. Jan. 1994: 25.
Jeremiah 33:24
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Deuteronomy 30:1,3