The Chosen & the Unchosen

THE CHOSEN AND THE UNCHOSEN

The title of this article should really be “the currently chosen at the return of Christ and the currently unchosen at that time”.  It is my belief, through years of research and study, that a universal reconciliation of all people will eventually take place at some point in time. This will not occur at the return of Jesus Christ or during the Millennium.  It may involve another thousand years after the Millennial era.  Every person involved in the second resurrection will be corrected as God sees fit.

In this article the chosen will be those, both alive and dead, who will be included in the first resurrection.  The so-called unchosen are not actually unchosen for all time, because God loves and cares for His entire creation, even the most unlawful, sin-filled, human being that has ever lived.

Jesus stated, in Old Testament legal terms, the corrective punishment each type of law breaker would receive at their judicial time of the second resurrection.

Luke 12:46-48 NET then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful. (47) That servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating. (48) But the one who did not know his master's will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

The second resurrection will occur after a thousand years, subsequent to the metaphoric return of Christ and the literal first resurrection.  This second resurrection will inculcate the White Throne Judgement of God.  Books will be opened, including the Book of Life.  The unlawful but redeemed individuals found in the Book of Life will receive light judgment and then will be released with a glorified body.  However, their rewards will be minimal and they will not participate within the ruling class of the elect of the first resurrection.

The unbelievers, unredeemed, and unremitting law breakers will be sentenced to the lake of fire.  As written in previous articles, the lake of fire is not an eternal hell fire of punishment for the unredeemed, and it also does not eternally burn up sinners. 

For the record, God is identified as some type of fire throughout the Bible.  Nowhere does one find in the divine law a provision for burning anyone alive for ANY sin.  Most people do not understand the difference between literal fire and the character of God.

Deuteronomy 4:24 NET For the LORD your God is a consuming fire; he is a jealous God.

Jeremiah 23:29 NET My message is like a fire that purges dross! It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! I, the LORD, so affirm it!

Luke 12:49 NET "I have come to bring fire on the earth -- and how I wish it were already kindled!

In Daniel 7, the “fire” that proceeds from the throne is the judgment of the divine law according to their works of those being judged.  This depiction of fire is a universal symbol of law and authority to judge the people.  The divine fire burns “the flesh” in our souls, as it purifies us by means of discipline.

Daniel 7:9b-10 NET "….. His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame. (10) A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence. Many thousands were ministering to him; Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. The court convened and the books were opened.

The actual corrective procedures are not known other than Old Testament quotes contained in the New Testament.  It is doubtful that actual beatings or whippings will take place.

Only the justice of the divine law found in the Bible is true justice. Its purpose is not only to repay all victims for their injuries, but is also designed to work toward the sinner’s forgiveness and restoration.  Actual Old Testament examples of legal justice shows us how we ought to interpret the law.

If a man committed murder, the law cannot restore the victim back to life, and so restoration is not possible because of fleshly weakness. If a married woman is raped, the sinner does not have the power to un-rape her. Because of human, fleshly weakness, then, the law is weak. This is why in such cases, the sinner was put to death. Whenever the crime was such that there was no possible way to restore the lawful order, the sinner was to be put to death.

The death penalty is not justice— it was the law’s way of deferring judgment to the Great White Throne, where justice could be completed, where there was no longer any fleshly limitation in the law’s power to restore the losses incurred by the victims.

The function of the law is not to forgive sin, but to do justice by enforcing various penalties, depending upon the infraction. Forgiveness is something that only victims can do.

God, the ultimate judge, will sentence all unbelieving sinners by imposing upon them the debt incurred for every sin they ever committed.  All sinners will be held fully accountable according to their deeds, as Revelation 20: 12 and 13 clearly tell us.

Revelation 20:12-15 KJV  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  (13)  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  (14)  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  (15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Consider that the Millennium, or the Kingdom of God, is supposedly the seventh thousand years of the earth’s existence.  Thus it will be a type of Sabbath millennia. 

Dr. Stephen Jones has some additional thoughts and opinions concerning the Jubilee:

The Jubilee occurred every 49 years (Lev. 25: 8-17). However, on this highest level, I believe that the Jubilee will occur at the end of 49,000 years of human history. (We are currently at the end of just 6,000 years and awaiting our first millennial Sabbath-rest.) The Creation Jubilee will set all men free, for all debt to the law will be cancelled. Until that time arrives, however, they will have to remain under authority until the Jubilee. During that time, the saints in authority will teach them righteousness.

Biblical Types of the Chosen and Unchosen

Jacob had two wives named, Leah and Rachel.  When he thought he was married to Rachel, the next morning he discovered his wife was actually Leah.  Although Leah and Rachel were twin sisters according to Jasher 28:28, Leah was said to have “weak eyes”, whatever that means.  Laban gave the excuse that Leah was older and had to be given in marriage before the younger could be married.

It was then necessary for Jacob to again work for Laban for seven years as a substitute for a dowry for Rachel to be his wife and he was given permission to marry Rachel the following week.

Leah and Rachel represent two levels of love relationship. Leah was certainly the lawful wife of Jacob, but Jacob loved Rachel. In types and shadows, we find that Christians, too, have different relationships with Christ. Some are merely lawful Christians, in that they have gone through the steps of justification by faith. Others have a love relationship with Christ.

These different levels of love relationships with Jacob teach us also the difference between the general Christian and the overcomer or the elect.

While camped in Mahanaim (Gen. 32:2) Jacob heard that Esau was coming to meet him with 400 armed men. Jacob became afraid and divided his family, flocks, and herds into two camps (Gen. 32:7).  One camp contained Rachel and the other camp contained Leah.  Leah birthed many more sons (children) than Rachel.  Thus the elect group will be composed of less individuals than will the second resurrection.  Jacob’s escape from Esau and the underlying events are given in detail in the book of Jasher.

The events in the life of Jacob are fundamental proofs that Jacob was a type or a pattern of an overcomer (elect).  He was trained by God, by working for Laban, wrestling the angel, and his conflict with Esau.  Through all of these incidents and trials he was showing us the path from "Jacob" to the name given to him by God which is "Israel."

What Method of Corrective Punishment Will Be Used?

According to Dr. Stephen Jones from:  Judgments of the Divine Law

Editor’s Note:  Dr. Jones statements are beyond my knowledge base.  I personally do not agree or disagree with him.  He could be correct but I am not recommending or claiming his understanding as FACT.

From Dr. Jones:

Since God will judge the whole earth according to His law, this provision is very important. It gives us the basic outline of what life will be like during that final age of judgment. Redeemers will purchase their debt note and thereby receive authority over the sinners. This sheds light on Jesus’ parable in Luke 19, where He spoke of the righteous receiving authority over ten cities, or five, or even just one city. Who will they rule? What will be the basis of their authority?

Luke 19:16-19 KJV  Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.  (17)  And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.  (18)  And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.  (19)  And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

The answer is in the law, which prophesies that which shall be. The righteous will be given authority over debtors to the law— those who did not avail themselves of Jesus’ provision to pay their debt. The sinners will be placed as servants of the sons of God. The sons of God will receive authority, but also the responsibility to teach them righteousness.

There may be cases where the judgment of God will call for a sinner to be burned quite literally. Ex. 21: 23-25 prescribes,

23 But if there is any further injury, you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 BURN FOR BURN, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Hence, at the Great White Throne judgment, it is likely that those who tortured others during their life time will, in turn, receive the same identical torture at the hands of the Law. Those responsible for burning people at the stake could find themselves judged in like manner. If they committed these sins multiple times, they might find themselves raised from the dead (as it were) multiple times in order to equal the amount of torture they inflicted upon others.

However, it should be stressed that such a judgment would fit the crime exactly. It would not be unending punishment, but neither will it be a pleasant experience. But the use of fire or burning as a one-size-fits-all punishment for any and all sin is a clear violation of the Law, where all judgment must fit the crime.

We should also say here that if a murderer places his faith in Jesus Christ, then His crucifixion (death) will satisfy the law at the Great White Throne Judgment.

John 5:27-29 NET ….and he has granted the Son authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. (28) "Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice (29) and will come out -- the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation (KJV translates as “damnation”) (krisis:  an official judgement).

The Terrorism of the Nation of Israel - Part 5

The Terrorism of the Nation of Israel (my title)

Original Title:  “Background to a soon-coming prayer campaign, Part 5”

By Dr. Stephen Jones of God’s Kingdom Ministries

April 03, 2017

The book of Jasher is not Scripture, but it is an old history book that is referred to in Joshua 10:13 and again in 2 Samuel 1:18. Its account of the story of Esau is of interest to us now, because it shows in chapter 27 that Esau killed Nimrod, the king of Babylon, and took his garment of animal skins by which he claimed authority over the nations.

This garment, it says, was the one God gave Adam. It was passed down to Noah, and after the flood, Ham and Canaan stole it while Noah was drunk. The story in Genesis 9:20-23 lacks this particular detail, but it is certainly plausible. Jasher says that Canaan ultimately gave it to his son, Cush, who gave it to his son, Nimrod, who claimed the authority of Adam.

Anyway, Esau eventually killed Nimrod while both were on a hunting trip, and Esau took the garment for himself. The story can be read here:  http://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous/jasher/27.htm

The point is to show that Esau-Edom set a prophetic pattern when he killed Nimrod. Esau never actually ruled Babylon, but he usurped his claim of authority. His descendants, as I showed earlier, were conquered by John Hyrcanus and were then forcibly converted to Judaism. Thereafter, they were absorbed into Jewry and were a big factor in the revolt against Rome in the first century, as Josephus tells us.

This element within Jewry today, in essence, killed Nimrod in 1947 and took the authority that the Babylonian beast system had enjoyed previously. Esau’s descendants have now ruled nearly 70 years, and they have not repented of their carnality and violent exercise of power. Even so, let us all be careful not to hate anyone that we suspect is an Edomite, as the law commands (Deuteronomy 23:7), for he is our wayward brother.

The Detour Around Edom

This has also delayed the establishment of the Kingdom, although to be sure, every delay is pre-planned by God. God often delays events until the appointed time, yet they seem like unnecessary delays from our perspective.

When the time came for Moses to lead Israel to the Promised Land, they requested passage through Edom. The Edomites, however, refused to allow Israel to pass through their land, which would have been a short trip along the east shore of the Dead Sea to the Jordan River crossing (Deuteronomy 2:8).

This detour around Edom appeared to delay Israel’s entry into the Promised Land, but actually, it slowed them down so that they would enter the land until the time of Passover, forty years after the first Passover when they had left Egypt. I wrote about this detour in Book 1 of my commentary on Deuteronomy. It is in chapter 6 of that book, and I include a map showing Israel’s route around Edom.

The point is that this detour prophesied of the 70-year delay from 1947-2017. My guess is that it took them 70 days to travel around Edom. However, I cannot prove that, for Scripture does not tell us how long the journey took.

The Law against Drinking Blood

As I wrote earlier, God supported Esau’s right to return to the old land and claim the Birthright, because Jacob had taken it from him by fraud and deceit, trying to fulfill prophecy in an unlawful manner. So for 70 years, the church (as with Isaac) has been blinded by God, so that they would believe that Esau was Jacob-Israel. Because Jacob stole Esau’s identity, God mandated that Esau would steal Jacob’s identity—and with it, the Birthright name, Israel.

It was an ingenious judgment of God, but it is now coming to an end after 70 years. Justice has been granted to Esau, but Esau has ruled with violence and force, refusing to fulfill the calling of Abraham. They have not even tried to be a blessing to all families of the earth, but have mistreated the Palestinians and all of their neighbors from the beginning. They have maintained an Old Covenant mindset while claiming the New Covenant promise to Abraham. Instead of conquering by the Sword of the Spirit, they have conquered by the physical sword.

They have maintained a bloodthirsty policy, as prophesied about Edom in Ezekiel 35:6, although the law forbids eating blood (Leviticus 17:12).

The Deir Yassin Village Massacre: April 9, 1947

Perhaps the main reason why we are being called to the divine court on April 9 of this year is that it is the 70^th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre. I wrote about this event in my book, The Struggle for the Birthright, chapter 11. “The Rise of Jewish Terrorism.”

Many today have forgotten that the terrorists a century ago were Jewish, not Arab or Palestinian. The most prominent among these terrorists were Menachem Begin and his Irgun terrorists, along with Yitzhak Shamir’s Lehi (also called the “Stern Gang”). Both wrote their own books, so we do not need to quote their enemies to learn of their terrorist activities. We only need to read what they themselves wrote.

Here is some of what I wrote in The Struggle for the Birthright:

On April 9, 1947 for no good strategic reason Mr. Begin’s Irgun Gang teamed up with Shamir’s Stern Gang and massacred over 250 men, women, and children in Deir Yassin, a peaceful village outside of Jerusalem. Most of the men were absent, because they were working in Jerusalem. The people were quickly subdued, those who resisted were killed on the spot, and the rest were lined up against a wall in the town square and shot. Many of the women were raped before most of them, too, were killed.

Later apologists tell us that it was their own fault for not leaving when they were warned. Surely, such apologists must be a bit insane to think that a few minutes’ warning relieves terrorists and murderers of all moral responsibility for the massacres! Mr. Begin, a future Prime Minister of Israel, writes on page 163, 164 of his book, The Revolt, Story of the Irgun:

“One of our tenders carrying a loud speaker was stationed at the entrance to the village and it exhorted in Arabic all women, children and aged to leave their houses and to take shelter on the slope of the hill. By giving this humane warning our fighters threw away the elements of complete surprise, and thus increased their own risk in the ensuing battle. A substantial number of the inhabitants obeyed the warning and they were unhurt. A few did not leave their stone houses—perhaps because of the confusion. The fire of the enemy was murderous—to which the number of our casualties [four Irgun fighters were killed—ed.] bears eloquent testimony. Our men were compelled to fight for every house; to overcome the enemy they used large numbers of hand grenades. And the civilians who had disregarded our warnings, suffered inevitable casualties.”

This “warning” given to the civilians is contradicted by Alfred Lilienthal, who wrote on page 154 of The Zionist Connection II,

“No warning had been given to the villagers, as was later claimed (Begin has stated that all victims of Irgun attacks had been warned beforehand), because the armored truck with its loudspeaker had tumbled into a ditch and been tossed on its side far short of the first houses of the village. Advised by a night watchman of the approaching Jewish raiders, some inhabitants, with only a robe thrown around them, managed to flee to the west.”

“Jon Kimche, the Zionist writer, calling the incident ‘the darkest stain on the Jewish record throughout the fighting,’ stated, ‘The terrorist justified the massacre of Deir Yassin because it led to the panic flight of the remaining Arabs in the Jewish state area.’ Jewish writer Don Peretz described the result of Deir Yassin as a ‘mass fear psychosis which grasped the whole Arab community.’ Arthur Koestler wrote, this ‘bloodbath . . . was the psychologically decisive factor in the spectacular exodus of Arab refugees’.” (p. 156)

Menachem Begin also claimed that the town was of strategic military value. He bases this on a letter from Mr. Shaltiel, the Haganah Regional Commander, who had written to Mr. Begin:

“I learn that you plan an attack on Dir Yassin. I wish to point out that the capture of Dir Yassin and holding it is one stage in our general plan. I have no objection to your carrying out the operation provided you are able to hold the village. If you are unable to do so I warn you against blowing up the village which will result in its inhabitants abandoning it and its ruins and deserted houses being occupied by foreign forces. This situation will increase our difficulties in the general struggle. A second conquest of the place will involve us in heavy sacrifices. Furthermore, if foreign forces enter the place this will upset the plan for establishing an airfield.”

So the strategic value of Dir Yassin (or Deir Yassin) was that the Haganah was planning to turn it into an airfield! Certainly that would justify the destruction of the village. And if the people object and fight back, this would certainly justify their massacre. After all, who are they to object to a Jewish airfield? Don’t Jews have rights?

The Haganah, as usual, had denied all knowledge of the Irgun’s plans to destroy Deir Yassin. But Begin makes it clear that they knew about it and even approved of its operation. Begin says he did the “humane” thing by telling the people to flee from their homes before his attack. It was the Arab villagers’ own fault, he thinks, because they did not all flee and leave everything to the Jewish settlers who were soon to occupy the village. When they fought back, then the Irgun invoked its right to “self-defense.”

Do Arabs lack the right to fire upon invading Irgun and Lehi attackers? It was not Deir Yassin that attacked a village of the Irgun.

The primary goal of this massacre was to terrorize the Arabs into fleeing from their land, for only by their leaving could Jews confiscate it for themselves. Once the Arabs had fled—even if they went to a nearby town to stay with relatives for a time—they would not be allowed to return.

This Zionist definition of self defense is still used today as they confiscate more land and destroy more Arab villages. They come in and tell everyone to leave town, then blow up the town and move Israeli settlers to the land, giving the new settlement an Israeli name. Deir Yassin was no exception. I beg to differ with them on their basic definitions of morality and justice.

This murder was so diabolical that even the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, to his credit, excommunicated those who participated in the massacre.

Jacques de Reynier was the Chief Representative of the International Red Cross at the time of the massacre. His report of his inspection of Deir Yassin the day after the massacre may be viewed online at http://www.palestinehistory.com/mass01.htm: It makes grim reading:

“Suddenly the officer tells me . . . the story of this village populated by 400 Arabs, disarmed since always living on good terms with the Jews who surround them. According to him, the Irgun arrived 24 hours previously and ordered by loudspeaker the whole population to evacuate all the buildings and surrender. There is a 15 minute delay in the execution of the command. Some of the unhappy people came forward and would have been taken prisoners and then turned loose shortly afterwards toward the Arab lines. The rest did not obey the order and suffered the fate they deserved. . . .

“Former Haganah officer, Col. Meir Pa’el, upon his retirement from the Israeli army in 1972, made the following public statement about Deir Yassin that was published by Yediot Ahronot (April 4, 1972): ‘In the exchange that followed, four [Irgun] men were killed and a dozen were wounded. . . by noon time the battle was over and the shooting had ceased. Although there was calm, the village had not yet surrendered. The Irgun and LEHI men came out of hiding and began to “clean” the houses. They shot whoever they saw, women and children included, the commanders did not try to stop the massacre . . . I pleaded with the commander to order his men to cease fire, but to no avail. In the meantime, 25 Arabs had been loaded on a truck and driven through Mahne Yehuda and Zichron Yousef (like prisoners in a Roman “March of Triumph”). At the end of the drive, they were taken to the quarry between Deir Yassin and Giv’at Shaul, and murdered in cold blood. . . The commanders also declined when asked to take their men and bury the 254 Arab bodies. This unpleasant task was performed by two Gadna units brought to the village from Jerusalem.

“Zvi Ankori, who commanded the Haganah unit that occupied Deir Yassin after the massacre, gave this statement in 1982 about the massacre, published by Davar on April 9, 1982: ‘I went into 6 to 7 houses. I saw cut off genitals and women’s crushed stomachs. According to the shooting signs on the bodies, it was direct murder.”

Even today, there are Zionists who deplore this murder. Ami Isseroff, of the Peace Middle East Dialog Group, implores his fellow Zionists,

“It is long past time for Israeli Zionists, like myself, to apologize. The Israeli government has never apologized for the massacre of Deir Yassin . . . The perpetrators of the massacre at Deir Yassin were never punished.”

As you can see, the roots of the present-day conflict go back to the days of Jewish terrorism. It worked so well for them, the Arabs decided to try the same tactics. The Jewish state was founded on terrorism by terrorists. This is the true basis of their claim to “the right to exist.” This is part of God’s reason for prophesying its destruction.

The Violent Take the Kingdom by Force

We have shown from the prophet Jeremiah that there were (and still are) two types of “figs” from the fig tree of Judah. There are good figs and evil figs. The good figs are those that peaceably submit to the judgment of God, and there are those who would rather fight and die (Jeremiah 24-30). This was true in Jeremiah’s day, and it was again true in Jesus’ day. Jesus said of these people in Matthew 11:12,

¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.

Jesus denounced the Jewish belief that the Kingdom of God must be taken by violence and force. Forty years later, God brought judgment and captivity upon Judah, this time at the hand of Rome. It was all for the same reasons that we find in the writings of Jeremiah six centuries earlier. One would think that the people would have learned, since they claimed to believe the writings of Moses and the prophets.

Being bloodthirsty is a characteristic of Esau-Edom, not of Jacob-Israel. If the current state of Israel had truly been the beginning of the Kingdom of God, they would not have needed to establish it by terrorism. Their terrorism was soon learned by Yassir Arafat and others, and this has now borne the bitter fruit of modern terrorism. The Islamic terrorists learned their lessons from men like Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir.

It is now time to take this situation to the divine court for justice to be done. While even many Christians try to justify the acts of Jewish terrorism in 1947 and earlier, we will leave it in the hands of God to decide. For our part, based upon Jesus’ view of the law and through our New Covenant perspective, we will advocate for the peaceful victims of Deir Yassin, as this massacre set the tone for the establishment of the Israel state a year later.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  This invasion by the Jewish terrorists prior to 1948 is the partial fulfillment of the Gog-Magog invasion given in Ezekiel 38 and 39. The only remaining part to be fulfilled is their destruction, which will include Jerusalem.  The majority of the faux Jews came from the Russian and Eastern European areas calling themselves Ashkenazi Jews.  They were originally immigrants from the nation of Khazaria who converted to Judiasm during the Middle Ages.  Other fake converted Jews came from Iran or Persia.  Others, possibly Edomite-Jewish inbreeds, came from Ethiopia and Libya exactly as listed in Ezekiel.

Gog Invasion: Part 1  Gog Invasion: Part 2   Khazarian Migration   Khazarians in Prophecy