THE TRUTH IN PRINT
Jan. 2007, Vol. 12: Issue 12
A Publication of the Valley church
of Christ
2375 W. 8th Street, Yuma, AZ 85364
THE KING
IS JESUS CHRIST AND HE REIGNS TODAY!
The two articles below appeared on our
website during the month of December. These were also newspaper articles the
church ran during the month as well. The necessity of speaking out, I believe,
is evident from the introduction to the first article.
JESUS IS
KING OF THE JEWS AND OF ALL MEN
This time of the year you get the usual
non-offensive "religious" articles. Institutions seek journalists who
strive to please all by equating Christianity, Judaism and the Muslim religion.
This customary "take your pick" type of religious writing is
deceiving in many ways.
When the wise men came to Jerusalem they asked, "Where is he that
is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him." Being the Son of God, Jesus was
the King of the Israel
(Cf. Lk. 1:35; John 1:49). The Christ (Messiah) had been born in Bethlehem of
Judea in fulfillment of Micah's prophecy (Cf. Matt. 2:2-6). In that vicinity an
angel said to shepherds out in the fields, "For unto you is born this day
in the city of David
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Lk. 2:11). Being the Christ he was Lord of all!
Concerned reader, Jesus is not only the
King over the Jews today but He is everyone's King. He rules today from heaven
and has all authority in heaven and upon earth (Read and understand ~ Lk.
10:22; John 3:35; 5:22-27;17:2,10; Matt. 28:18-20; Eph. 1:19-23). If you desire
eternal life then you must understand this. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the
judge of all the world (Read Matt. 7:21-27; 2 Cor.
5:10). You must believe in and serve Him according to his will, the New
Testament, in order to be saved (Cf. Jo. 12:48, 14:6; Mk. 16:15-16; 2 Th.
1:7-8). You may read an article explaining the difference between the Gospel of
Christ and major world religions at http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com/articles/notislam.htm
.
THE ISRAEL OF GOD
TODAY
The modern state of Israel is not
like the Biblical theocracy that the Israel of old was. Neither
structure nor boundary equates with that of king David's and Solomon's time.
Under the old Mosaic covenant retention of the land, as promised, was
"conditional" upon keeping God's covenant. However, God foretold they
would not keep His covenant. And the penalty would be their captivity and loss
of the land (Cf. De. 28, 29:58-64). Following the loss, and captivity, God told
them a return to Him would effect their return to the
land (Cf. De. 30:1-9). Upon their return He tells them their possession of the
land is still conditional upon keeping His covenant (Cf. De. 30:8-10). Once
again they did not keep His covenant and once again they lost the land. This
explains why the Jews were under Rome's
control when Jesus Christ was born King of the Jews (Cf. Matt. 2:1-6; Jo. 18:33-37).
The New Testament teaches that the Israel
(spiritual) of God today is made up of those who have faith in Jesus Christ,
the Messiah (Cf. Jo. 1:41;
Rom. 2:28-29; Phil. 3:3,9;
Gal. 6:16). His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and rule (Cf. Jo. 18:36; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:22-36;
Eph. 1:18-23). Those with faith in Christ are said to be the spiritual
descendants of Abraham (Gal. 3:26-29;
Rom. 11:28). These in
Christ's church make up the "new man" in Christ from among both Jews
and Gentiles (Cf. Eph. 2:10-22).
The Gospel is God's power unto salvation for all men (Rom. 1:16). You may read more about the difference
between the old Israel
and Christ's church at http://yumavalleychurchofchrist.com/articles/speakout.html
.
ADDITIONAL
COMMENTS
This "Christmas Season" we heard
a great deal, of course, concerning the middle east
controversies, Iraq,
Iran,
Israel
and the Palestinians, etc. It appears from a "religious" viewpoint
(and I must admit that it increasingly more difficult to separate some people's
politics from their religious views) that the Dispensationalists and premillennialists are having a hey
day. Some say that Dispensationalism now dominates
the American Evangelical scene. That would include many so called
non-denominational bible churches, Baptists, Pentecostals, Armstrongists,
Charismatic groups, etc.
On the political scene references are
being made to "Zionism." What is Zionism? It is said to be an
international political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people
in the land of Israel. Of course, the idea of
"nationhood" is traced back to the information we have in the Bible
of God giving the Jews the land Canaan in Old
Testament times. Zionism, we are told, has produced the "modern"
state of Israel.
I believe a good example of the influence
of the dispensationalists viewpoint is seen in Jerry Falwell. As a noted religious leader (I by no means
consider him to be God's leader) he believes that God's purpose for the United States
is the protection of the Jews. I believe he was the one coined with having
said, "To stand against Israel
is to stand against God." I'm certain that "politically" Israel's
leaders are delighted to have all the Evangelicals'
support. But I'm also certain that this kind of pandering has caused many to
err in their religious beliefs as to
just who the people of God
"religiously" are today. (See the above article, "The Israel Of God Today.")
A discussion on Evangelicals in our national
news lately pointed out that Israel
had picked up on the extent of the movement and its support. Thus, Israel is
flooding the evangelical churches with tourist videos for prospective visits to
the so called "holy land." Concerned reader, there are some things
that Christ's church teaches that man made churches do not teach. One thing
that few dare to teach on today is that the church of Christ
is the true Israel of God!
By Bob
Lovelace
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