The New Exodus: Part 2

THE NEW EXODUS: PART 2

 

This writing is based on an article by Peter Goodgame (link below)

http://redmoonhawaii.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/paul-torah-n-t-wright-and-the-new-exodus/

Quotes from Mr. Goodgame will be highlighted.

 

STATUS OF THE GENTILES (NATIONS)

Everyone is unrighteous and under sin, both Jews and Gentiles (nations).

Romans 3:9-10 NET  What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,  (10)  just as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one,

No one practicing the law is righteous, only those of the faithfulness of Jesus who believe.  There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile.  Paul states the law, which gives the knowledge of sin, has performed its mission and is no longer applicable to the people of faith in Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

Romans 3:20-22 NET  For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.  (21)  But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed — (22)  namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

The gospel of the Kingdom of God was told to Abraham and he was credited with righteousness because he believed before his sign of circumcision was implemented.  Abraham was shown that Gentiles (non-Israelites) would be justified by God through faith as he was justified by believing God.

Galatians 3:6-8 NET  Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,  (7)  so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.  (8)  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”

Through the covenant of God, Abraham was promised a large number of descendants (nations).  After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ these descendants are called Christians people of the Way, (Kingdom of God), whether Jew or Gentile.  No one enters the Kingdom of God through sacrifices, circumcision, Sabbath keeping, or works of the law; only through faith in the fulfillment of the sacrifices, circumcision, Sabbath, and law which is Jesus Christ.

Genesis 17:2 NET  Then I will confirm my covenant between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.”

NOTES ON THE NEW EXODUS

Deuteronomy 30:2-6 proclaims the “second or new exodus”.  Well, the Jews thought that it was all about THEM, and they looked for a political solution that would bring righteousness and vindication and establish the Jews as the rulers of the world.  The religious rulers of Judea expected a messiah to conquer the Romans, expand the empire, and eventually make Israel the reigning empire of the world.  That is the reason they rejected Christ in the first century and continue to do so today.  Many consider they are currently attempting to be their own personal messiah and set up an earth encompassing empire.

Deuteronomy 30:2-6 NET  Then if you and your descendants turn to the LORD your God and obey him with your whole mind and being just as I am commanding you today,  (3)  the LORD your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he has scattered you.  (4)  Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back.  (5)  Then he will bring you to the land your ancestors possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors.  (6)  The LORD your God will also cleanse your heart and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your mind and being and so that you may live.

But God, in fact, had something much bigger in mind. Truthfully, the first forced exile was not Israel taken into bondage by Egypt. No indeed! The first exile was when Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden! And then after Cain killed Abel he established the first city, which my previous research has shown was in fact BABYLON. So we see that mankind was driven from Eden into Babylon, even before the flood. This is the first exile, and it continues to this day for many of the lost out there in the world today who have not found Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to redeem the Jews, of course, but this was only a small part of His mission. The “second exodus” predicted in Deut. 30:3-6, which is also mentioned throughout Isaiah 40-55, is actually the redemption of all of mankind — all the nations of the earth, not just the Jews — out of our exile from the spiritual darkness and wilderness of BABYLON, and back into the Garden of Eden. This original Garden, where human beings lived in communion with God without shame or guilt, takes its final form as the New Jerusalem of Rev. 21-22, wherein we find, once again, the Tree of Life!

CHRIST, THE FULFILLMENT OF OLD COVENANTS

The first five books of the Old Testament, generally referred to as the Torah, contain the story of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the wilderness journey, and the Mosiac laws.  The religious leaders of Judea rejected Jesus as the Messiah and as a result, they essentially rejected the teachings and prophecies of the Torah.  The purpose of the Torah was to point to the Messiah Jesus who would fulfill all the covenants, laws, and the second exodus as written in those books.  Jesus specifically stated this truth to the scribes and Pharisees.

John 5:37-40 NET  And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time,  (38)  nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent.  (39)  You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me,  (40)  but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

If the above statement is true, then there is no such thing as a Torah-observant non-Christian “Jew”. To be truly “Torah observant” can only mean to accept the One to whom the Torah pointed.

THOSE WHO SAY THEY ARE JEWS

In the church letters at the beginning of the Revelation, Jesus twice referred to a group as, “those who say they are Jews and are not.”  This statement has been used by some commentators to refer to people who claim to be Jews but are not actual Hebrew descendants of Abraham.  Jesus may have meant something completely different.

To Smyrna Jesus said:

Revelation 2:9 NET  ‘I know the distress you are suffering and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know the slander against you by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

They are accused of blasphemy (KJV) and slander; a synagogue of Satan.

To the Philadelphia church Jesus said:

Revelation 3:9 NET  Listen! I am going to make those people from the synagogue of Satan — who say they are Jews yet are not, but are lying — Look, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

In this instance, He accused them of being liars and continued to refer to them as the synagogue of Satan.  They will be made to bow at their feet. 

These are incredible statements for Jesus to make, especially when compared to today’s popular end-times teaching that declares that the unbelieving genetic/cultural descendants of the ethnic Israelites that rejected Jesus –those who populate the modern-day state of Israel– are “the apple of God’s eye.”  

The Lord God had a special purpose for the Hebrew Israelites.  The Messiah Jesus Christ would come through their linage.  The worship of the one true God and His moral principles were delivered and defined through them by the Mosaic law system.  The laws, the sacrifices for sin, and the rituals were all fulfilled by Christ who is the embodiment of the New Covenant.  Jesus made a way in the wilderness for the new exodus to all who will follow His light, both Jew and Gentile.

THE APPLE OF GOD’S EYE

The phrase “the apple of God’s eye” is supposedly a reference to the children of Israel taken from Zechariah 2: 8.  This may be a reason for John Haggee’s statement that Jews do not need Jesus to be saved because they are God’s chosen people.  I suppose that would mean, Haggee believes they are above the New Covenant.  Actually, his statement is pure heresy and anyone who believes that is a heretic (in my opinion).

Zechariah 2:7-8 KJV  Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwells with the daughter of Babylon.  (8)  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that touches you touches the apple of his eye.

However, this is another example of ignorantly taking a verse out of context; or maybe it is done purposely hoping that 99 percent of the readers will either not read or understand the verses following Zechariah 2:8.  Verse 11 gives the identity of the “apple” which is many nations that will be joined to the Lord in that day.  Also notice in verse 7 that God is delivering people from the Babylon wilderness.  The Lord’s people of Zion will be all those having righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.

Zechariah 2:11 KJV  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

A complete kindle version of the Revelation articles, the Eschatology of Jesus, and the Life and Times of the Antichrist is available at the following link

Amazon Kindle – Understanding the Revelation

This article and many others may be viewed at the following link. http://freedomfromdelusion.blogspot.com/