Author: Mike Wingfield

February 2023 – Israel at the End of Days

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P r o p h e tic Truth in the N e w s

October 2024

   Published monthly by Mike Wingfield Ministries

All Bible references are from the KJV   

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(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 67, Boones Mill, VA 24065

The Rapture & Feast of Trumpets

“Behold, I [show] you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

By Mike Wingfield

Israel at the End of Days

“This people have I formed for myself; they shall [show] forth my praise.”

Isaiah 43:21

By Mike Wingfield

The ever-changing developments in the Middle East, particularly Israel, seem to indicate that God is setting the stage for His unique time of global judgment. This time that we are marching toward is called “the Tribulation.” And before it begins, God will supernaturally remove his church from the world. That means as believers, current events indicate we should be living in anticipation of the sudden Rapture of the church! Will this be the year that Jesus comes? Only time will tell.

Since Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven almost 2,000 years ago (Acts 1:9), believers have been looking for Jesus’ return as He promised (John 14:3). As the early church believers moved through the decades following Jesus’ ascension, the apostles exhorted the believers to be looking for His imminent return. When the apostle John wrote the final book of the Bible, Revelation, Jesus repeated His promise, “I come quickly” (Revelation 22:12, 20).

A detailed study of the prophetic Scriptures points to an exact setting that would unfold at the end of this age. At the center of those events is God’s chosen nation of Israel. According to God’s eternal plan recorded in the Bible, the Jewish people, and the land that He gave unto them will be the epicenter of the dramatic and deadly events of the last days. God has chosen His people and His land to display His sovereignty and glory to all the nations at the end of time. The prophet Isaiah wrote about Israel’s central role in God’s eternal plans in his amazing prophetic book. In chapters 41-44, Isaiah portrays Israel as His servant and says that He will protect and use as His witnesses and servants at the end of days.

The nation of Israel is God’s prophetic time piece. God’s eternal story of redemption is bound up in Israel’s people, land, customs, and religious feasts. At the center of God’s focus is His land and His people – Israel. They are “the apple [pupil] of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8). God has placed the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem at the geographical center of the earth (Ezekiel 5:5).

Obviously, as Jesus said, no one can know “that day and hour” of His coming (Matthew 24:36). However, in His Parable of the Fig Tree, Jesus informed His disciples that when one examines all the prophetic pieces of the puzzle, he will be able to discover the season [general time frame] of His coming. He simply promised that the generation that witnesses all the prophetic pieces of the approaching Tribulation Period coming together will not all pass off the scene until the end comes (Matthew 24:32-34). It is my firm belief and conviction that we are that generation.

My heart aches as I watch events unfolding in Israel. After many years of examining the prophetic Scriptures, I am convinced that we are watching final events fall into place that will usher in the Tribulation Period. The storm we call the Tribulation Period is approaching and that means believers will soon be in the arms of Jesus in the Father’s house.

Israel’s has a newly-elected government that is biblically conservative. In Israel’s modern history, since its rebirth in 1948, it has always been governed by a secular government. The turmoil and division that have erupted since this conservative government was formed is Israel compels me to believe that the Tribulation is near. Clearly, Israel is a sharply-divided nation, and the divide is between the Israel’s mostly secular population, and the very conservative religious groups. These conservative group’s support Israel’s unique role in world history, as spelled out in the Bible. Israel has existed for 75 years and this is its 35th government.

In the last few decades Israel, just like America, has been sliding further away from God and toward the liberal political left. The previous Israeli government was one of the most liberal, secular governments in Israel’s modern history. Many of the people who were in positions of leadership were anti-Zionists. That simply means they did not view, nor did they support the idea that Israel is a Jewish nation.

The liberal policies of the former government, especially in its last few months, were very damaging. A mostly a care-taker government headed by Prime Minister Yair Lapid sent a shock wave throughout Israel. Therefore, in this last election, the nation voted in a biblically conservative government, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For the first time ever, the religious parties in Israel garnered enough votes to create the largest political parties to form a new government with Netanyahu’s conservative party.

This new government intends to lead the country according to the mandates given to the Jewish people in the Bible. Israel Today declared, “Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is back and eager to lead Israel including making the Bible a central part of Israeli society” (Israel Today, December 30, 2022). At the center of these plans are the two leaders of their religious parties, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Both men are being demonized by the liberal Israeli society and the global media and governments. “The two men’s combined goals are to strengthen Israel’s character as the Jewish state by taking steps, among others, to increase security against terrorism, as well as criminal violence, open the Temple Mount to Jewish worship and increase and consolidate the presence of Jewish residents in the towns and cities of Israel’s biblical heartland – Samaria and Judea” (Israel Today, December 22, 2022). Get ready for a great storm of hate and rejection that will be hurled against Israel. It is coming!

Clearly, the spiritual wars between God and Satan, and between good and evil, are heating up. Psalm 2 tells us that the godless people of the world will violently oppose God and demand that a godless one-world government be formed. The world will reject God and His Son, the Messiah (Psalm 2:2). People of the world will refuse to bow to God’s Word, and especially His commandments. They will demand to be set free from their binding truth and authority (Psalm 2:3). The new Israeli government will be the bullseye of this war. At the center of this war will be the law of God, the land of God, and the will of God.

As we move through the days until Jesus comes, I am convinced there are seven major developments that we need to watch concerning Israel and the end of days. I can promise you that 2023 will become an increasingly difficult time for Israel as these developments continue to unfold. Let us look at them.

1. The Increase in Anti-Semitism

One of the most prevalent signs of the last days is the global hatred for Israel. According to the Bible, when the end comes, the world will hate Israel and be zealously plotting its destruction. Speaking to His Jewish disciples on the Mount of Olives, Jesus said, “Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9). This is the proverbial canary in the coal mine for the world. It clearly warns that danger and the end are near!

Satan’s attack upon Israel and the Jewish people is in essence an attack upon God and His eternal purposes. If Satan can destroy Israel or annihilate the Jewish people, He will have defeated God. From the beginning of time, he has made this his aim. Satan heard God’s promise to Abraham. He saw the hand of God upon the Jews in Egypt in the days of Pharaoh. He saw the miracles of God in the days of Moses. Therefore, he has made it one of his major objectives to attack the nation of Israel and to kill the Jewish people in a desperate attempt to defeat God.

In the last half of the seven-year Tribulation, the global hatred against Jews will be spurred on by the antichrist. This evil global leader will make the Jewish people and their land, including Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the center of his diabolical scheme to control the world. The militaries of the world, under his control, will march to Israel at the end of the Tribulation with a goal of annihilating the Jewish people and seizing control of their land. This final attempt is what we call “The Battle of Armageddon” (Zechariah 14:2-3; Revelation 16:12-16; 19:11-21). The tentacle of lies that will draw the nations against Israel is fomenting all over the world at this very hour!

The hatred for Israel and Jewish people is escalating out of control on many American college and university campuses. Jewish students are witnessing increasing acts of violence. For the first time in the history of America, many people are attempting to hide their Jewish identity. Some fear for their lives.

Fueling this hatred are the radical Islamic communities. The minds of Muslims around the world are being poisoned by their radical religious leaders. Radical Islam spawns deep hatred and contempt for Israel the Jewish people. Adding to Israel’s dilemma are godless governments controlled by socialists and communists. And as all of this transpires, those who hate Israel have found an ally in the liberal news media. Israel’s enemies continually manipulate the media to spread their lies and deception, in an effort turn world opinion against Israel.

This hatred for the Jewish people has blinded the eyes of the godless masses, so that they do not realize they are in conflict with Almighty God. This same thing happened to Pharaoh and his mighty army as they charged after the Jewish people and marched into the Red Sea where they were destroyed by God (Exodus 14:13-31).

2. The Ingathering of the Jewish People

Just as in the days of Moses in Egypt, when the Jewish people were facing an attempt to annihilate them, the Lord used this threat to take them out of the land of their sojourning and lead them back into the Promised Land. According to biblical prophecy, this is happening again (Jeremiah 16:14-15). Because of the mounting hatred being poured out upon the global Jewish community, many Jews are expressing the desire to immigrate to Israel.

In Ezekiel 36:24, God promised the Jewish people living in the last days, “For I will take you from among the heathen [Gentile nations], and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” The past year, 2022, was a record year for immigration to Israel, with more than 70,000 new immigrants from 95 different countries. Most of these Jewish immigrants were from Russia and Ukraine. This is a direct fulfillment of Jeremiah 16:14-15.

3. The Spiritual Awakening of Jews

Another amazing spiritual development is unfolding in our world which rejoices the heart of God. Jewish people are increasingly turning to Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior. Joel Rosenberg, a prolific author of many books and a born-again Jew living in Israel, writes, “A great spiritual awakening is underway in the Jewish community worldwide, but particularly in the United States (The Rosenberg Report, November 28, 2022).

Rosenberg also reports, “A landmark study by LifeWay, the research branch of the Southern Baptist Convention, found that there are 871,000 Americans of Jewish descent who hold the same theological beliefs as Evangelical Christians. … Perhaps just as dramatic and historic is the fact that Jewish people are showing a greater interest in listening to the Messianic prophecies, reading the New Testament accounts, and trying to process the Gospel message for themselves more than ever before” (The Rosenberg Report, November 28, 2022).

Just before Christmas, Israel Today released the following report, “More than 25 prominent rabbis from Israel and abroad issued a statement calling for a renewed look at Jesus, Christians, and the New Testament faith… What we are now witnessing is the undoing of 2,000 years of Jewish rejection and animosity toward Jesus, a miracle by any estimation. For the out-and-out refusal by Jews to accept Jesus is slowly, but surely, coming to an end, as growing numbers of prestigious Orthodox rabbis welcome Jesus back” (Israel Today, December 22, 2022).

These reports represent a major sign that the Church Age is about to end. In Romans 11:25, the Apostle Paul wrote that a spiritual awakening of the Jewish people would coincide with the end of the Church Age. According to the Book of Revelation, during the first half of the Tribulation, 144,000 Jews will come to Christ for salvation (Revelation 7:1-8). These Jewish men (Revelation 14:1-5) will spread the gospel throughout the nations and win many from all nations to Christ (Revelation 7:9-17).

4. The Internal War with Israeli Rebels

According to the prophetic Scriptures, during the Tribulation, the nation of Israel will be plagued by a godless government that will be in defiant rebellion against God. According to Isaiah 28:14-22, at the end of days, a group of influential government leaders in Jerusalem will foolishly attempt to lead Israel into a peace covenant with an enemy that is sworn to their destruction. These leaders will ignore the Word of God. God calls them “scornful men” and “mockers” of God’s truth. This is the perfect picture of the former Israeli government leaders who are opposing the new Israeli government under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Lapid spoke to the U.N. General Assembly on September 22, 2022. In his address, he lied to the UN by stating that the Jewish people were ready for a two-state solution, indicating that they were ready to once again surrender a part of the Promised Land. This is a core issue with Lapid’s liberal political party and other secular Jews who are against a strict Zionist agenda for Israel. However, the election which followed in November proved that the majority in Israel oppose this godless agenda.

Since they lost the election in November, Lapid and his colleagues have continued to call for civil unrest and rebellion against the newly elected government headed by Netanyahu and his right-wing conservatives. Israel has been seeing massive demonstrations, supported by the liberal media. Seemingly, Israel is at the point of civil war. Many fear that this could lead to the eventual collapse of the modern state of Israel. However, as students of the Bible, we know this will not happen.

One of God’s major purposes of the Tribulation for the Jewish people will be to spiritually refine the nation, removing all the unsaved Jews (Isaiah 4:3-4; Zechariah 13:8-9). Concerning this time, the Lord declares, “And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me” (Ezekiel 20:38). When the end comes at Armageddon, the entire remaining Jewish nation will be saved.

5. The Growing Passion for Temple Worship

Under this new Israeli government, there seems to be a renewed passion to fulfill what the Scriptures say concerning the restoration of Temple worship on Mount Moriah – the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The religious Jews in Israel understand that the most holy ground in Israel is the Temple Mount. They know this is the only place chosen by God for temple worship (Deuteronomy 12:10-14). It was the location of all the temples in biblical times. They also understand that according to many Scriptures, they will return to the Temple Mount to build a temple and re-institute temple worship.

There will be two temples built on the Temple Mount in the future. The first will be constructed during the Tribulation (Revelation 11:1-2). Finally, a massive temple will be built upon the Temple Mount during the Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Ezekiel 40-44). This temple will become the focal point of worship for all nations (Isaiah 2:2-3).

After 2,000 years of exile from their Promised Land, the Jewish people began their return during the 20th century. The nation officially began on May 14, 1948. Within hours, five powerful Islamic nations that neighbor Israel attacked the new Jewish state. Miraculously, after 18 months of war, Israel won. However, Israel was not able to gain control of the ancient city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount has been considered the third most holy site for Muslims according to their questionable historical traditions. Therefore, the old city of Jerusalem and Temple Mount have remained in the hands of the Muslims. The Arab country of Jordan became the caretaker of this holy site.

When the Six-Day War broke out in June 1967, the Arabs once again attacked Israel, stating it was an illegal occupant of a land that had belonged to the Muslims. The land had been conquered 13 centuries earlier by Muslim invaders. After soundly defeating the Arabs, Israel took complete control of the areas controlled by Jordan from 1948 to 1967. For the first time in 2,000 years, the Jews were able to walk on the Temple Mount and freely pray at the Wailing Wall. However, in 1967, the secular Israeli government, out of fear of a major war with the Muslim world, decided to allow Jordan to retain control of the Temple Mount and maintain the worship on the site where two historical Islamic structures were located.

Since this time, the world has forgotten the historical significance of the Temple Mount. Many Arab Muslims continue to view this mountain as the third most holy site in the Muslim world. While ignoring the Bible and archaeological evidence, they stubbornly claim the Jews have no right to enter the Temple Mount area. Muslim authorities who control this mountain have a radical mindset and they vehemently oppose any Jewish or Christian activities on the Temple Mount. Unfortunately, the world blindly sides with the Muslims in this debate.

From 1967-1980, most Jewish governments ignored the many requests by Jewish groups to pray on the Temple Mount. Out of fear, many opposed any Jewish presence on the mountain. However, since 1980, several Jews have been allowed to ascend the Temple Mount.

With the election of the new Israeli government, these restrictions imposed upon Israelis are being challenged. Just days after the new Israeli government was sworn in on December 27, 2022, National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, announced he would enter the Temple Mount. On January 3, 2023, he quietly strolled across the Temple Mount for about 13 minutes. This simple walk across the Temple Mount by Gvir was hailed by the media as a brazenly dangerous and provocative act. Even the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden opposed Gvir’s actions, stating that the Temple Mount should be used exclusively for Muslim worship.

Stating that Jews cannot pray on the Temple Mount is like saying Christians cannot pray in their churches. It ignores all the biblical, historical, and archaeological facts that prove that the Temple Mount was a place of Jewish worship for 1,600 years before the religion of Islam came into existence.

Clearly, this is a satanically motivated effort to prevent the fulfillment of the coming of Messiah and His temple in Jerusalem. This present Israeli government is bold and passionate to claim its right to the Temple Mount. Obviously, we are now entering into a new era of conflict over the most important piece of property on the face of the earth.

Muslims know that Jewish groups are preparing for temple worship. Just last Fall, several unique red heifers were flown to Israel in preparation for the red heifer sacrifice and the re-institution of the laws of purification and dedication of temple priests (Numbers 19). Without this sacrifice, no Jewish priest could function at the newly rebuilt temple on the Temple Mount.

The struggle over the Temple Mount is about to enter a new phase. Satan and the demons of hell will do everything in their power to keep the Jews from controlling the Temple Mount. All of hell and approximately 99.97 percent of the global population are opposed to Israel’s control of the Temple Mount. However, the Lord will prevail. The God of Israel is about to display His power and authority, and as a result, the whole world will know that He is the Lord God!

6. The Struggle for the Land of Israel

The conflict over the area the world calls the “West Bank,” biblical Judea and Samaria, is also about to enter a new era of global attention and crisis. This area is the heartland of the Promised Land. In an unconditional land covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, God promised to give the Jewish people this land forever (Genesis 13:15). Most of the events recorded in the Bible took place in this area. Anyone who questions these statements does not know the biblical record.

God promised His people that when the end of this age would come, He would return them to their land. The Scriptures repeatedly exclaim that the returning Jews would be in conflict with their neighbors over this land (see Ezekiel 36:1-7).

Since the beginning of the modern nation of Israel, its secular-minded governments have been willing to appease their Muslim neighbors concerning the Jewish presence in the Promised Land. They have surrendered to the global pressure to not anger their Arab neighbors. However, this is about to change.

For the first time in its modern history, Israel has government leaders that are willing to be bold and take a stand on the promises of God. Recently, the new government stated its official policy, “The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel. … This government will promote and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel—in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan Heights and Judea and Samaria” (Israel Today, December 29, 2022).

This policy has angered the Biden administration in Washington. President Biden adamantly opposes the Jewish occupation of the “West Bank” and views it as an integral part of a Palestinian State. After the Israeli government released its policy about the disputed lands, Biden said, “…as we have throughout my administration, the United States will continue to support the two-state solution and to oppose policies that endanger its viability or contradict our mutual interests and values.” Biden’s comments are in line with the United Nations, but not with God!

Once again, Israel stands in opposition to the entire world on its right to all the land of Israel. However, God stands with them, and they have nothing to fear. God has vowed “to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:9).

7. The Rise of the Russian/Turkish/Iranian Coalition

According to Ezekiel 38-39, three nations will form a coalition against Israel at the end of this age. They are Russia, Iran, and Turkey. For the first time in modern history, these three nations have formed a coalition and are waging war in the Middle East. The Israeli government recognizes the nuclear ambitions of Iran as a major threat to Israel’s existence. The Israeli leadership has made it clear — defending the nation is its top priority. As you read this newsletter, Israel is weighing military options to destroy Iran’s ability to make a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu is warning that Iran is only months away from fulfilling its nuclear ambitions. This is a ticking time bomb for the world. When Israel strikes Iran, it will more than likely set in motion the attack by the Russian/Turkish/Iranian coalition. Before this happens, I am convinced that the Rapture will occur, and true believers will be in heaven with Jesus.

The prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testament wrote about the conditions that would prevail in Israel at the end of days. It is very clear that these conditions have arrived.

Be ready for the shout that will take us out!

January 2023 – There is No “Mother Nature!”

       Proclaiming the Prophetic Word for 31 years!

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P r o p h e c y T o d a y N e w s

January 2023

Published monthly

All Bible references are from the KJV

(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006

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There is No “Mother Nature!”

“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, … [changing] the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the [creation] more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 1:22, 25

By Mike Wingfield

Worshipping “Mother Nature” will not rescue the nations of the world from the tragic and dangerous time in which we live. As our world tumbles deeper into spiritual darkness, the world’s leaders stubbornly refuse to give God His rightful place. They continually reject Him as Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Judge, and King. They ignore His presence and power! They have chosen to pretend that He does not exist. They are defiant against God’s creative order, commandments, and eternal promises. In their pride and arrogance, they foolishly plan how they might thwart the prescribed judgment of God that is coming upon the earth and all creation at the approaching end of this age.

In his quest to lie and deceive, man has created the theory of evolution to mask the reality that God created everything as described in Genesis 1-3. Evolution makes chance and fate the explanation for the existence of creation. From man’s perspective, there is no design or designer of creation. Man foolishly believes everything from the atom to the galaxies came together through random evolution of cosmic forces. Mimicking the demonic deception of many ancient cultures, our world has chosen to worship “Mother Nature.” When people refer to everyday events in the weather or the catastrophic forces of creation, they point to this as an act of “Mother Nature”. This designation of the world’s god is a term that views the earth as a woman. In their sinful way of thinking, the earth is the source and controlling power over all creation. Just like a mother who gives birth and nurtures her children, the world believes that earth, in the evolutionary process, gave birth to all life. They believe that earth, not God, provides us with all that we need to sustain life. Consequently, climate change proponents are demanding a radical shift in our lifestyles to avert what they believe will lead to a catastrophic end to life on earth.

This is nothing new (Ecclesiastes 1:10). The Bible gives several references to a pagan goddess that was being worshipped in Israel and all the other cultures that preceded and followed Israel’s tragic worship of a demonically created goddess. This goddess was called “the queen of heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18). The ancient prophet of God, Jeremiah, rebuked the people of Israel and warned them that they were incurring the wrath of God if they continued to worship idols rather than the living God. However, the men of Israel refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning, stating that they were following the advice of their wives, since they believed that it was “The Queen of Heaven” who had blessed them (Jeremiah 44:15-19). This goddess was a fertility god. They believed that her worship would improve their way of life. They imagined that this goddess would provide them with bountiful food, prosperity, and keep them safe and secure. Like today, the worship of this goddess was filled with lustful sensuality.

Tragically, Israel refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning. Consequently, God destroyed its culture, including the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Those who survived became the slaves of Babylon for 70 years.

Today, in a similar fashion, our pagan global culture views “Mother Nature” as a goddess who is providing and protecting us with many blessings. This is a religion that is sweeping across the world. This is the demonic force behind all the hype concerning climate change. In November, more than 40,000 people attended a summit in the Sinai near the mountain where many believe God gave Israel and the world the Ten Commandments. They gathered to create the “Climate Justice Ten Commandments” (Israel 365 News, November 7, 2022).

America, and the world are traveling down the same path of apostasy and disobedience as nations that were destroyed before us. We are defiantly rejecting the One and only God of the universe. In our foolish and sinful pride, we have elevated man and God’s creation above the worship of the God of glory.

This gathering, which had the blessing of the United Nations, included leaders in business, banking, education, and politics. Among its participants were Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders. This gathering held “Climate Repentance Ceremonies and put forth a prophetic inter-religious call to action” (Israel 365 News, November 7, 2022). Clearly, the entire world, including Israel, has been duped into the deception of worshipping the creation, rather than the Creator.

Friends, the worship of “Mother Earth” is creating a response of wrathful judgment in the heart of our holy God. He is the One and only God! The first and most important of all the commandments is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). God has demanded that we not worship or serve any other god. If we do, He has promised, “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:5). The priority for all mankind is to worship God, and God alone!

Several decades before Jeremiah, the prophet Isaiah was called to warn Israel to turn from its sinful and idolatrous ways. At the heart of God’s plea was for His people, Israel, to recognize that He was the One and only God. Through Isaiah, God repeatedly said, “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me” (Isaiah 45:5). See also Isaiah 45:6, 18, 21, 22; 46:9. In Isaiah 42:8, the Lord said, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

Friends, America, and the world are traveling down the same path of apostasy and disobedience as nations that were destroyed before us. We are defiantly rejecting the One and only God of the universe. In our foolish and sinful pride, we have elevated man and God’s creation above the worship of the God of glory.

The universe and all that is in it has been created by God for His glory. The chief aim of man is to glorify God. In the beginning of creation, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26). The entire testimony of the Bible is that only man has been created as the image bearer of God. That simply means that it is God’s desire for mankind to be reflectors of the infinite glory of God. We are to live, speak, think, act, and plan in such a way that we display the glory of God. What does that mean?

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for the depraved, finite mind of man to grasp is the glory of God. The term “glory of God” points to the collective conception of all that God is. It is the shining forth of His infinite attributes or character. When we delve into the depths of the infinite mind and character of God our intellectual abilities fall short of being able to grasp the fullness of all that God is and has done. While exploring the infinite knowledge and presence of God, the psalmist declared, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it” (Psalm 139:6). After exploring God’s eternal purposes for Israel, Paul exclaimed, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor” (Romans 11:33-34)?

God has created us in such a way that we should be in awe of the creation of human life. The birth of a baby should move us to be in awe of God and to see His divine plan and purposes for the creation of man. This is made clear in Psalm 8. “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of mouth of babes and [newborn infants] hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger” (Psalm 8:1-2). The Psalmist is simply saying that even the enemies of God should be silenced when they look at the life of a new-born baby. They should be in awe of the divine process of the creation of life in the womb (Psalm 139:13-18). Babies are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3).

Abortion and the abuse and neglect of children are other indictments against our godless culture. Every year, millions of babies are killed in the womb. Furthermore, children are the target of unimaginable violence and wickedness. The message of the Bible is clear. How we treat children, and all other people, is a testimony to what we think about God and who God is. The first four of the Ten Commandments deal with man’s response to God. The last six of the Ten Commandments deal with man’s response to man – who has been created in the image of God. We do not know God and cannot glorify Him when we kill human beings. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murdered hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).

Man is not the only part of God’s creation that reflects His glory. All the heavens and the earth were created for His glory – to lead us to adore, worship, and serve Him, and Him alone! As the Psalmist in Psalm 8 continued to speak of God’s glory, he spoke of God’s creation of the heavens as “the work of [God’s] fingers” (Psalm 8:3). The vastness of the splendor of God’s creation is to cause man to be in awe of the God who spoke them all into existence (Psalm 33:6) out of nothing (Hebrews 11:3).

King David of Israel, 3,000 years ago, exclaimed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament [shows] his handywork” (Psalm 19:1). The word “declare” in Hebrew could be translated as “continually count.” The idea is that the vastness of the heavens, and the innumerable stars contained therein, should cause the human mind to be in awe of the One who created them.

Compared to the knowledge of David’s time, our comprehension of the universe today is amazing. David’s generation only observed the vastness of the starry heavens with the naked eye. In our generation, we have powerful telescopes on earth and in space that aid us in visually exploring the galaxies. Our faith ought to be greater than the faith of David. We ought to be more in awe of the heavens and therefore, we should seek to glorify God in a greater way. How sad that this is not true. Instead, we have rejected God and His revelation. Due to man’s pride, man has chosen to ignore God’s written revelation, the Bible, and God’s general revelation written in the heavens. According to Romans 1:18-32, this is always the beginning of man’s tragic journey away from God. Read this passage and reflect upon the truth of Paul’s message.

The field of science, in many cases, began as an exploration of creation for the glory of God. For example, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), was a German scientist who studied the heavens. He discovered and wrote about many of the observations and facts still used today by astronomers and NASA. Kepler, by his own writings and testimony, was a committed believer who held the Scriptures as his rock-solid foundation for all truth. He dedicated himself at an early age to serve God.

How sad that today, most of those who work in the field of science have been blinded by the lie of evolution. The theory of evolution began with the work of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), who followed almost 300 years after Kepler. There is a debate concerning whether Darwin was an atheist. We cannot be sure. However, at one point in his life he said that he did not believe Jesus Christ is God. He also stated that he did not believe the Bible is the Word of God.

Today, we should be stunned by the vastness of the universe and the tiny speck called earth. God told Isaiah, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). In light of what we now know, this is truly an amazing revelation given to God’s servant more than 2,700 years ago!

First, the heavens, the universe, are viewed in the Bible as the dwelling place of God. Yet, God, who is everywhere present at the same time, cannot be contained by the vastness of space. At the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon acknowledged, “Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded” (1 Kings 8:27)?

Just how immense is the universe? The answer to this question is unknown. Even with our most powerful telescopes we have only viewed about 1.25 percent of all that God created by His spoken Word thousands of years ago. Scientists tell us that the expanse of the universe is so stunning that if you could travel across the known outreaches of space, traveling at the speed of light – 186,000 miles per second – it would take you more than 40 billion years to do so. Within this space are believed to be more than 100 billion galaxies! This is stunning! Unimaginable! Our home, the Milky Way, is only a small galaxy when compared to others.

Within each of these galaxies there are hundreds of billions of stars. The number of stars created by the sudden breath of God in the beginning is beyond our human comprehension! Someone has surmised that the number of stars is more than the number of words spoken by man since the beginning of time. Another scientist has estimated that the number of stars would probably be equal to roughly 10,000 stars for each grain of sand on every beach on earth! Let that sink in for a moment!

The Bible tells us that all of God’s creation, including the stars, planets, moons, comets, and asteroids, and all of creation are the servants of God (Psalm 119:91). This means that God is the Creator, Ruler, and Sustainer of every aspect of His creation (Colossians 1:16-17). Jesus proved this when He came to earth. He controlled food, winds, water, diseases, and even demons. He made the blind see and raised the dead!

God is sovereign over every atom and galaxy! Listen to what Psalm 147:4-5 tells us about how infinite God is, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” God not only knows how many stars He created, but He has also named them all!

When we think about stars, we need to remember that our sun is one of them. The sun and stars are simply great balls of fire. They have been created with immense amounts of fuel so that they can fulfill His purposes to shine for His glory. Our sun is huge to the human eye. It is estimated that the sun is 1,300,000 times bigger than the earth. Scientists estimate that it would take about 1.3 million earths to fill up the space taken up by the sun. Yet, the sun is one of the smaller stars in our universe. One star, Antares, is calculated to be 700 times bigger than our sun. Amazing! Stunning!

Think about this. This universe is so infinite in the mind of man – yet the heavens cannot contain God! God has described Himself as the One who “[stretched] forth the heavens, and [laid] the foundation of the earth, and [formed] the spirit of man within him” (Zechariah 12:1).

The finite, depraved mind of man struggles to understand who God is. We tend to think of God in such a way that we make Him like man. And tragically, we foolishly think of man, making him like God. The Bible repeatedly declares that God is holy. That simply means that God is infinitely set apart from all His creation. All creation is finite. Only God is infinite!

In Isaiah 40:25, God asked, “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal.” Then, He answered His question by demanding that man look up into the heavens, “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth” (Isaiah 40:26).

Another testimony of God’s greatness is His comparison to earth itself. To those who were worshipping the Queen of Heaven, He reminded them that He could hold the oceans of the earth in the palm of His hand. He knows the exact weight of planet earth. (See Isaiah 40:12.) In this little speck in the universe there are nations. These nations and their leaders think they are so powerful. Compared to God, they are nothing! The Bible declares, “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. … All nations before him as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity” (Isaiah 40:15, 17).

The Bible tells us that “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27). Also, “The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility” (Proverbs 15:33). The word fear speaks of man being in awe of God. When we think of God in terms of His glory, we will be greatly humbled. This is where great faith begins – humility! When we see God in His glory and mankind in his utterly helpless state of foolishness and sin, then we can be humble and wise.

When I was a little boy, my mother would say to me, “Son you are getting too big for your britches.” This was her kind way of saying that I was acting foolishly, thinking that I was older and wiser, instead of realizing I was still a little boy in need of my parents. This is where we are as a world. We have gotten too big for our britches! The world thinks it doesn’t need God. He has been replaced with a demonic idol called “Mother Nature.”

We need to be reminded that earth is a speck in this enormous universe – only the lowly footstool of God. The heavens are His dwelling place. Isaiah wrote, “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” (Isaiah 40:22). God says that man is like a grasshopper before Him. That is a humbling thought. All of mankind needs to remember that we are at the mercy of the Almighty! All that we have and are, is nothing in His sight!

Pride is the hallmark cornerstone of depravity. It was pride that triggered the beginning of sin in the heart of Lucifer when he thought he could replace God. Satan appealed to the pride of Eve in the Garden of Eden by tempting her with the idea that she could be like God.

The scientific achievements of man in the last 150 years have been amazing. Yet, they are nothing compared to God who made the heavens and the earth in six days (Exodus 20:11). Prideful people think that scientists are so intelligent. However, when they fail to give God His rightful place and see Him as the God of glory, they are acting like fools. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

According to the Bible, God will deal a death blow to the pride of man at the end of this age. As in the days of Noah, God will use His creation to bring a massive upheaval upon this earth. God told Noah thousands of years ago that He would destroy His creation “with the earth” (Genesis 6:13). In Noah’s day, God spoke to the earth and caused a massive global earthquake, allowing the subterranean waters to flood the earth (Genesis 7:11). He also emptied the massive translucent water canopy over the earth (Genesis 1:6-7), eventually covering the entire earth with water for 150 days (Genesis 7:24).

For seven long years during the Tribulation, mankind will be judged by God with climate change, and catastrophic events such as global earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Diseases, demons, and darkness will plague all the earth’s inhabitants. All of this will be used by God to humble mankind and exalt Himself. Isaiah wrote about that day and warned that God will “[arise] to shake terribly the earth” (Isaiah 2:19, 21). God will do this “for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty” (Isaiah 2:19, 21). Why? “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11, 17).

When that day comes, man will realize how foolish his worship of idols and the ideas of godless men has been. They will cast aside their idols and be stricken with their foolishness (Isaiah 40:2-21). Scientists will be helpless. Everyone will know there is no “Mother Nature.” They will know that earth is not a god or a provider.

Scientists look at the immense universe and conclude there must be life on other planets. However, according to the Bible, God created life only on earth (Isaiah 45:18). Why such an awesome display of billions of galaxies and innumerable stars? It is not about us! It is about Him – the God of Glory! In the beginning, God created the heavens with the earth and man in mind. Earth is mentioned 21 times in Genesis 1. The lights of the heavens were for those living on earth (Genesis 1:14-19). God intended that they would look up and see His glory (Psalm 19:1). The Spirit of God caused the Apostle Paul to notice that God has revealed Himself to us. He wrote, “That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath [showed] it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

No Bible believer should ever use the term “Mother Nature.” I must personally confess that when I hear that term I cringe. I am struck to the heart that the Lord God is being rejected. I am awestruck at the blindness of our world and even many in the professing church. We want God to fix our marriages, families, and broken world. However, we are not concerned about giving Him, and Him alone, the glory that is due to Him.

Are you guilty of using that term “Mother Earth”? If so, repent of it now! The use of this pagan term is an insult to the God of glory! Those who do believe and speak of the earth as a goddess are guilty of worshipping the creation instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25). The kind of world that does this is described in detail in Romans 1:21-32. We are living at such an hour!

Is the glory of God the chief aim of your life? Do you live to please Him? Glorify Him? Praise Him? Worship Him? This is the chief aim of man. We were created to have fellowship with God. We were made to know Him and worship Him. If your life’s focus is not upon Him, and Him alone, you are miserable. God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). According to the Bible this is “the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).

Only seconds after we have received our new body and mind and are in the presence of our Lord, we will have a clear understanding of all of this. Then we will say, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

Be ready for the shout that will take us out! What a day that will be!

December 2022 – The Jewish Roots of our Faith

       Proclaiming the Prophetic Word for 31 years!

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December 2022

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The Jewish Roots of our Faith

“What advantage then hath the Jew? … Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Romans 3:1-2

By Mike Wingfield

Very soon, people in many nations around the world will celebrate Christmas. Sadly, most people who celebrate Christmas view it as a holiday that focuses on secular traditions. Christmas has become a part of a growing trend that captures the world’s attention in a way that is far away from God. Only a small remnant of true believers will wake up quietly on Christmas morning and give reverence to its true meaning. We know that Jesus Christ was not born on December 25th. From a Biblical perspective, we should celebrate Christ’s birth every day of the year.

The finite mind of man continues to struggle with grasping the fact that God Almighty became flesh in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago! Jesus fulfilled the hope of a coming Redeemer and King who is eternal, and yet born among men. Jewish believers were anticipating the fulfillment of the coming Messiah since the time of Abraham. For the two millennia preceding the birth of Jesus, God had spoken through His Jewish prophets to declare that He would come as a suffering Messiah, and then in the last days as a conquering Messiah. These precious, yet complex prophecies, have continued to perplex the Jewish people and the entire world for more than 4,000 years.

While rejecting these profound prophecies, most people live in utter confusion and some refuse to accept the Jewish connection of God’s Messiah, our Savior, and the Head of the church (Colossians 1:18). According to the Scriptures, the Messiah would be Jewish. He is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 1:1-2). He is a descendant of Israel’s two greatest kings – David, and Solomon (Matthew 1:6).

Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah, and wrote, “For unto us a child is born…” (Isaiah 9:6). The pronoun “us” in this context makes direct reference to the Jewish people. The promise of the coming Messiah was given exclusively to the Jewish people. God gave this promise to an unbelieving Jewish king, Ahaz, “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The name Immanuel means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). In essence, God told this wicked Jewish king that God would become a man and be born of a Jewish virgin. This sign, a supernatural event, would demonstrate to this wicked king that the God of Israel keeps His promises.

Both Joseph, the legal father of Jesus (Matthew 1:16) and Mary, the physical mother of Jesus (Luke 3:23-38), were Jewish descendants of King David of Israel. This means that Jesus has both the legal and physical rights to the throne of David as the Messianic King. It was this connection to the lineage of David that brought Joseph and Mary more than 2,000 years ago to the little Jewish town of Bethlehem, where Jesus would be born (Luke 2:1-7). In an amazing prophecy, 700 years before Jesus was born, God revealed to the prophet Micah that the future “ruler in Israel: whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2), would be born in Bethlehem.

Clearly, the Scriptures demand that Jesus was conceived as a Jew; born as a Jew; lived as a Jew; died as a Jew; arose as a Jew; and will return as a Jew. I emphasize this because the world rejects the fact that Jesus is Jewish. Some Christians naively think Jesus is a Christian because the Bible declares Him as Head of the church. And they wrongly concur that since He is the Head of the Christian faith, He must be a Christian and not a Jew.

We must remember that the church did not exist when Jesus was on earth during His first coming. Jesus always referred to the church in the future tense (Matthew 16:18). Jesus never preached in a church. He preached and taught in synagogues throughout Israel (Matthew 9:35). He never preached the gospel that is preached in churches today. The gospel is about His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Obviously, that message had to follow His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9).

Let’s clarify this confusion. First, the term “Jew” is the designation of ethnic identity. It is a term that defines the ethnic identity of a group of people who can trace their lineage back to one of the 12 tribes of Jacob. Jews also can be identified by a nationalistic term. For example, they can be an American Jew or an Israeli Jew. An American Jew is a person who has a Jewish ethnicity, but lives in America. An Israeli Jew is a Jewish person who lives in Israel.

The term “Christian” is not a term of ethnicity or nationality. According to the Bible, a person cannot be born a Christian. A true Christian is one who has made the personal commitment to repent of his sins, believe the gospel, and receive Jesus Christ [“Christ” means Messiah] as their personal Lord and Savior. A true Christian believes Jesus is both God and man. They believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God. In other words, the term “Christian” is about a person’s spiritual standing with God.

Christians are from many different ethnicities and nationalities. The Bible speaks clearly about the distinction between a person’s ethnicity and spiritual standing. In the Bible there are two major ethnicities – Jews and Gentiles. The term “Gentile” refers to all other ethnic groups that are not Jewish. The Bible also refers to the nation of Israel, in contrast to “the nations” [all the other nations in the world]. So, in the Bible it clearly distinguishes between a person’s ethnicity and general nationality.

A person’s ethnicity and national status is not to be confused with their spiritual standing. All true believers are a part of the one body of Christ [Messiah] – the church (Ephesians 4:4). They can be a Jew or Gentile. They can be of any nationality. God only has one plan of salvation, and it is for all people (John 3:16).

When a person becomes a Christian, it does not change their ethnic or national identity. For example, they could be a Jewish Christian living in Germany. They are ethnically a Jew. They remain a citizen of Germany, but spiritually they are a member of the body of Christ – the church.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about not being offensive to people while practicing their faith, he wrote that they were not to offend people of any ethnicity – Jew or Gentile. He also concluded that they were not to offend a brother of sister in Christ. He wrote, “Give none offense, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32).

The confusion about the Jewish identity of the Christian faith [the church] has been in existence since the time of the first century. CAUTION: THIS MAY NOT BE IMPORTANT TO YOU, BUT IT IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT TO GOD! Jesus will judge the world based on how they have treated the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3; Matthew 25:31-46).

In this article, I would like to address two biblical facts about the Jewish identity of the true church.

Biblical Fact #1- The Jewish Origins of the Church

The church began in 30 A.D. at the Jewish feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2). The believers in the church on that day and for the next seven years were exclusively Jewish. Their focus, as commanded by their Lord, was on Jerusalem and Judea (Acts 1:8). Jerusalem continued to be the hub of the infant church for the first 14 years (30-44 A.D.). It was not until Acts 10 [44 A.D.] that the first Gentile was saved and became a part of the church. For the next four years, the number of Gentile believers began to increase. Due to opposition from the Jews who rejected the gospel, the Jewish Christians were forced to flee from Jerusalem. Acts 8:4 says, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”

According to Acts 13, it was not until 48 A.D. (18 years after the birth of the church) that the predominantly Gentile church in Antioch began to be a prevailing voice in the early church.

During the early years of the church, the believers gathered in the Temple in Jerusalem, synagogues, or homes. Church buildings did not come into existence until the latter part of the second century.

A study of Romans 11 reveals that the church was grafted into the true historical Jewish faith, which had roots grounded in the faith of Abraham and the Old Testament saints and prophets. In Romans 11, the Apostle Paul makes it adamantly clear that the spiritual life of the church comes out of the faith of the Old Testament believers. The faith of the church is the grafted extension of the faith of the Old Testament believers! Therefore, the faith and message of the church grows out of the faith and message about Jesus the Messiah as presented in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Biblical Fact #2- The Jewish Message of the Church

For the first 15 years of the church, they had no New Testament Scriptures. All they had were the 39 Old Testament books. James was the first New Testament book, written about 45 A.D. (15 years after the beginning of the church). The other 26 New Testament books were written over the next 50 years and they were passed around the churches as individual scrolls, while individual copies were made. The recognition of all 27 books as the New Testament did not take place until 300 years later at the end of the 4th century.

The Bible is a Jewish book. With Luke as the only exception, all the writers of the Bible were Jewish. The Apostle Paul declared, “unto them [the Jews] were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2). God’s Word, which is eternal, is also a historical book set in time. God’s written revelation to man is immersed in the language, customs, geography, and history of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. To ignore or reject this is to depart from the Word, will, and way of God! It is a defiant act of sinful pride. It becomes compliant with Satan’s scheme to reject God’s chosen people (Revelation 11). Attempting to remove the Jewish foundation and source of the true church is like removing the heart and brain of a body – it means sudden spiritual death!

The Bible demands that the message of the church must be an extension of the written message of the Jewish apostles! The teaching of the Jewish apostles is the foundation of the doctrine of the church (Ephesians 2:11-22). If a message that someone proclaims does not agree with the teaching of the apostles, then it is not of God. The apostle John wrote, “We are of God: for he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God [does not hear] us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6). While facing false teachers in the first century, the Apostle Peter admonished the church to remember the teaching of the apostles (2 Peter 3:1-3). The Apostle Paul clearly warned that anyone who attempts to change the message of the apostles, “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

At the heart of the apostle’s doctrine are the following six core teachings:

  1. Jesus is the predicted Messiah of the Old Testament

  2. The triunity of God- three persons & one God

  3. The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ

  4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ

  5. Salvation is based upon faith alone in Christ

  6. The Messianic hope – including the prophetic end-times

A careful study of Matthew 16:13-18 shows that Christ is building His church upon the testimony of the apostle Peter at Caesarea Philippi. Peter declared, “Thou art the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). This means that Christ must be recognized as the physical Jewish descendant of King David – the Jewish Messiah. It furthermore demands that Jesus must be recognized as the spiritual eternal Son of God.

Many professing churches fail to accept these core teachings that are demanded of all true believers. Many churches and professing Christians ignore the Jewishness of Jesus. They reject His people [Israel] and their renewed settlement of the Promised Land. They refuse to believe and teach the doctrines of the Messianic hope. They do not believe in a literal future tribulation on earth. They also reject a physical millennial kingdom when Christ will rule over all nations [which was the core teaching of Jesus in His earthly ministry].

Most churches today refuse to proclaim the prophetic Jesus because He doesn’t fit their mold of expectation. They view this Jesus as offensive, and to them, He does not appeal to the godless, rebellious, self-centered, materialistic, and morally bankrupt society that they want to lure into their assemblies. Our world today doesn’t want to hear about judgment. Instead, they want to hear about how they can feel good about themselves, and how they can appeal to God and have Him bless them where they are in their sinful pride.

The confusion of the Jewish identity of the true church has existed almost since the very beginning of the church. The Spirit of God caused the Apostle Paul to clearly teach about this in Romans 9-11.

Those in the true church must accept the divine role of Jesus’ Jewish brethren. Our efforts of evangelism should be “to the Jew first” (Romans 1:16). We should also “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). The Lord expects us to assist, protect, and support “His brethren” (Matthew 25:31-46).

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let our minds go back to Bethlehem, where Christ was born. Let us also remember that it was outside the walls of Jerusalem where the Messiah was crucified for our salvation according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).

The Changing Face of Bethlehem

Almost all Christians know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4). What they do not know is that the city of Bethlehem is now under the authority of the Palestinian government, which is totally controlled by the tenants and traditions of Islam.

Many decades ago, when I took tours into Bethlehem, the city had a very strong Christian community. However, when the Israeli government was forced by the international community in 1993 to surrender the “West Bank” to the Palestinians, this included the city of Bethlehem. Consequently, the Arab Christians in Bethlehem were persecuted and murdered by Islamic terrorists. For the last 30 years, the Palestinian government has done nothing to stop or curb the attacks upon the Christians in the West Bank, including the city of Bethlehem. Because of this, most of the Arab Christian community has left the West Bank and moved into areas controlled by Israel. They know that the Israeli government provides equal protection for Christians and Muslims in the territories under their control. Only a small remnant of the Arab Christians has chosen to remain in Bethlehem and suffer the threats of persecution or death.

But amazingly, many American Christians have been deceived into making Israel the aggressor in the conflict in the Holy Land. This is simply not the truth. I know! I have personally interviewed Arabs and Jews living in Israel and I know the real facts! Our media and the liberal church leaders in America are anti-Semitic. They are ignorantly supporting the side of the conflict that is openly killing Jews and Christians. They also ignore that the “West Bank” is the same territory known in the Bible as ancient Judea and Samaria. Most of the events mentioned in the Bible took place in what is now called “the West Bank.”

Bethlehem is a Jewish Biblical city. Rachel, the wife of Jacob died near Bethlehem and is buried there (Genesis 35:19). King David was born in Bethlehem and was anointed there by Samuel (1 Samuel 16-17). Hence, Bethlehem became known as “the city of David” (Luke 2:4). The story of Ruth took place in the fields of Bethlehem (Ruth 1-4).

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Micah declared that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). When Herod was inquired of the Magi where the Messiah would be born, the chief priests and scribes pointed to Micah’s prophecy as the place of the birth of Messiah (Matthew 2:1-6).

Many people in the world listen to the Palestinians’ propaganda about their historical ownership of the land. The Palestinians say the Jews never lived in the land. Their lies totally ignore the Biblical history of this significant Biblical city. They even claim that Jesus was a Palestinian martyr. It is amazing to me how many liberal and Biblically illiterate so-called professing Christians agree with the enemies of Jesus and hate His people, Israel.

The hatred of the Jewish people has permeated the nations, and even the liberal churches of the world. These same people have created another religion that is totally foreign to the true Biblical church that was founded and established by Jesus and His Jewish apostles (Ephesians 2:19-22).

What to do When Surrounded by Evil (Part 3)

For the righteous child of God, this is a very difficult time to maintain our joy if we allow the sin around us to smother our strength in the Lord. If we, like the world, think only in terms of the physical world around us, then it can be very depressing. America is collapsing before our eyes and is facing the wrathful judgment of God. The hope of what has been called “the American Dream” is rapidly vanishing by the day. The church is in a state of decline. There seem to be so few professing Christians who are genuinely interested in spiritual things. The Psalmist said it so well, “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted” (Psalm 12:8).

What should we do? How do we live in the face of evil? In the October and November 2022 newsletters, I wrote about five of eight spiritual realities to cling to when you feel overwhelmed by an avalanche of evil. Let us now turn our attention to the final three spiritual realities that will help us to rejoice during the onslaught of evil and its deadly effects.

Reality #6- Refrain from the Presence of Evil and those who Practice Evil

The Bible teaches that victory over evil always accompanies those who desire to be holy. God has called us to live in a world of great spiritual darkness. He has demanded, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). The only way this can be accomplished is for the child of God to continually set himself apart from the spiritual filth around him. We have been called into a relationship with a holy God. In order to maintain fellowship with God we must strive for holiness and continually confess our sins. This will always be accompanied by a hunger for the Word of God (Psalm 1:2; 119:11; 1 John 1:8, 10).

Our lifestyle must be different. Our speech, our attitudes, our actions, and interests must not be like those who are in love with the world (1 John 2:15-16). Psalm 26:5 says, “I have hated the congregation of evil doers: and will not sit with the wicked.” Proverbs 4:14 warns us, “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.” A holy God will not bless those who want to mimic the lifestyles of sinners (Psalm 1:1).

This simply means that the child of God will not continually entertain himself with sin. He will guard his eyes, ears, and thoughts from wicked things (Proverbs 4:23-27)! He will not listen to ungodly music. He will not watch violent or lustful forms of entertainment on television or anywhere else. He will be careful about the friendships he develops. His heart belongs to a holy God. Therefore, he runs from everything that is offensive to God!

Reality #7- God’s Promises of Salvation are more Important

in the Day of Evil, Rather than my Riches!

If we are honest with ourselves, we tend to be too concerned about the loss of our comfortable way of life. The child of God must not fall into the trap of loving material prosperity more than spiritual prosperity. His focus must be upon eternal things (Colossians 3:1-4). The true child of God may be living in this temporal world, but his heart and soul will be longing for his spiritual and eternal home in heaven. He understands that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy [comes] in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

Abraham was said to have a great faith because he was looking “for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). While these eternal promises were in the distant future, these great men of faith “embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).

When difficult times come, physical riches cannot calm the soul or bring contentment and joy. The godly man in Psalm 49 said, “Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, … They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: for the redemption of their soul is precious…” (Psalm 49:5-8). A relationship with God in a time of evil is far more important than the false security provided by physical possessions. The evil culture in which we live may rob us of our wealth, but it cannot take away our faith and hope in the Lord! Nothing can separate us from the love of our Savior (Romans 8:35-39).

Reality #8- Remember the End of the Wicked!

According to the testimony of the godly in the Bible, the child of God seems tempted to wonder why the ungodly seem to flourish in the hour of evil, while the righteous suffer. (See Psalm 37; 52; 73.) The psalmist said that the prosperity of the wicked at times is very difficult to understand (Psalm 73:12-16). However, we can see the goodness of God when we consider the eternal destiny of the wicked (Psalm 73:17-19). God allows the wicked to prosper in this life because this is their heaven. For the righteous, this is hell. For the sinner, it will never get any better. For the child of God, there is a better day coming.

Sinful men live as if there is no God. God in His patience does not immediately judge them for their sin. However, there is a day for them in the righteous courts of God!

When the child of God keeps these eight spiritual realities in focus, he can have joy in the midst of the storms of evil around him. As our world approaches the Tribulation Period, we must remember that at any moment, we will be rescued by the Lord and taken into His arms where we will never suffer the rejection, torments, or hatred of the wicked anymore.

I love the testimony of Revelation 7:14-17 which tells us of the love of our Savior that will be poured out upon the martyrs of the tribulation saints when they enter His presence.

Real joy in this life comes from serving the Lord who purchased our salvation. The world cannot begin to touch the rewards that come from being in His presence and the center of His will. “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).