Book of Romans Chapter 9 (Rejection) Bible Study

Bible Study For June 28 2014

Book of Romans Chapter 9 (Rejection) Bible Study

[Note to Blog Readers: Expositor Notes Are in Bold Italic  Font]

There are going to be so many souls rejected by God and will not be allowed into heaven and yes, some will be Christians. Why, because of works. Works rejects Jesus Christ, the Cross and Him Crucified, due to works. Works is like, Water Baptism, which does not Save, like what many so called Churches believe. Some believe that you have to be water Baptized, to get into heaven. Prayer blankets, beads, water Baptism, is all idol Worship. Mormon’s, Catholics and the Church of Christ, has the same beliefs, even though they all will deny the truth, they all deny Jesus Christ and the Cross, which rejects everything that is in the Bible. When a Church brings in Water Baptism for Salvation, rejects everything, including Faith. You are Saved by Faith in the Cross and what Jesus Christ did at the Cross for Salvation and Him Crucified, is what brings Salvation and Saved souls, not works in water. People who has pride and the proud, the gay’s, lesbians, homosexuals, murderers, the rapists, all rejected Jesus Christ, the Cross and Him Crucified, they too, will be rejected from Heaven, they will be in hell for all eternity, unless they repent and turn away from that hell bound act, then and only then, they can be Saved, other wise, they will be rejected and God may hear their prayers, but will not answer them. Same thing about these so called Churches that believes that Works will get them Saved, God may hear their prayers, but their prayers, also, will be not answered, due to the sins of Works, they will be rejected by God. The alcoholics, God will hear their prayers, but will not answer them or even help them either, unless all of them, will deny themselves at the Cross, Believe and have Faith in Jesus Christ, the Cross and in Him Crucified. That is what Saves people. Not everyone is a child of God, because they have Rejected Jesus Christ and the Cross and some denied that, due to false Beliefs, Works and in a hell bound life style. Listen Friends, I am only telling you this, because I have seen the way some of you live and I care about you and your soul. Souls getting Saved, that has become my business, because God is inside of me and He desires for me to do His Work, because I desire to follow Jesus Christ and be more like Him everyday. I study God’s Word, not just for my Salvation in Heaven, but to win your soul for that same Victory, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you reject me for sharing the True Gospel of Jesus Christ, you then also reject Jesus Christ and the Cross, because Jesus Christ, resides in me. I know I have shared a lot of things that is probably stepping on toes, but you need to hear the Truth, in hopes to bring you to repentance at the Cross, so you maybe Saved. Everything that I have talked about, may not be in this study but, it all will tie right into this lesson, here today. There are so many souls that are hell bound, but please get through this study and see what God has to tell you and approach this with an open mind, heart and spirit and allow the Holy Ghost make a change in your life. Lets get Started.

Romans 9:1-33 (KJV)

1 I say the Truth in Christ, I lie not (Paul refutes the accusation in preaching to the Gentiles; he is not animated by hostility to the Jews), my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit (his own spirit is exactly in tune with the Holy Spirit), 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart (grieving over the plight of the Israel of his day; they were in this state because they rejected Christ and the Cross; regrettably, the Church, with some exceptions, is doing the same). 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my Brethren (presents a moot point, for such is impossible), my kinsmen according to the flesh (Jews): 4 Who are Israelites (God’s chosen People, yet who rejected the Lord); to whom pertains the Adoption (refers to the selection of Israel to be God’s peculiar People [Ex. 19:5]), and the glory (refers to the Divine Presence which was always with them, at least until they rejected God [Ex. 16:7, 10; 24:16-17; Lev. 9:6; Num. 14:10, 21; Deut. 5:24]), and the Covenants (various Covenants God made with Israel, such as the Abrahamic, first of all promising Salvation by Faith [Gen. 15:6]), and the giving of the Law (the Mosaic Law), and the service of God (Tabernacle, offerings, Priesthood, etc.), and the Promises (the Messianic Promises); 5 Whose are the fathers (refers basically to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came (through the Jews), Who is over all (the very purpose of Israel was to bring the Redeemer into the world), God blessed forever (Jesus is the Redeemer, Who is God). Amen (Truth). 6 Not as though the Word of God has taken none effect (even though Israel failed, the Word of God didn’t fail; the Redeemer came). For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel (is meant to denounce national Salvation; in other words, one is not saved just because he is an Israelite): 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children (further debunks the nationalistic Salvation theory): but, In Isaac shall your seed be called (Ishmael was not included, even though a son of Abraham; this means that all works of the flesh are rejected). 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the Children of God (are not Children of God merely because they are Jews): but the Children of the Promise are counted for the seed (those who believe in “the Promise,” Who is Christ). 9 For this is the Word of Promise (pertains to Faith, not works), At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son (Abraham is not the principle figure, neither is Sarah or Isaac for that matter; only the “Promise,” which would ultimately figure into Christ). 10 And not only this (he will now give another example); but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac (Paul further shoots down the idea of nationalistic Salvation, as we shall see); 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil (refers to Esau and Jacob, who were twins), that the purpose of God according to election might stand (speaks of God’s foreknowledge), not of works, but of Him Who calls;) (This pronounces the entire basis of God’s dealings with men and His manner of operation.) 12 It was said unto her (refers to the Lord speaking to Rebecca, found in Gen. 25:23), The elder shall serve the younger (in the spiritual analysis, the Sin Nature, which is the oldest in the Believer because the Believer is born with such, will serve the Divine Nature, which is younger; that is, if the Believer properly follows Christ). 13 As it is written (Mal. 1:2-3), Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (was not done capriciously; God did not indiscriminately love Jacob, nor did He indiscriminately hate Esau; both passions, love and hate, were based on the attitudes of both men toward God). 14 What shall we say then? (This is meant to counter the claim that God was unfair in His Disposition toward Jacob and Esau.) Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid (there is no unrighteousness with God, Who, through foreknowledge, sees the attitude of both these boys and judges accordingly). 15 For He said to Moses, I will have Mercy on whom I will have Mercy, and I will have Compassion on whom I will have Compassion ([Ex. 33:19] God has Mercy and Compassion on those who meet His Conditions). 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs (Mercy and Compassion cannot be earned or merited by the sinner; consequently, this completely rules out a “works” Salvation), but of God Who shows Mercy (God shows Mercy on the basis of man’s acceptance of Christ and the Cross; otherwise, there is no Mercy). 17 For the Scripture said unto Pharaoh (Ex. 9:16), Even for this same purpose have I raised you up (presents the Lord using what is available, but not forcing the issue; in other words, God did not predestine Pharaoh to take a position of rebellion, leaving him having no choice in the matter), that I might show My Power in you, and that My Name might be declared throughout all the earth (as stated, God used the stubbornness of Pharaoh, which was Pharaoh’s own choice, to glorify His Name — God’s Name). 18 Therefore has He Mercy on whom He will have Mercy (God will always have Mercy on those who meet His Conditions), and whom He will He hardens (stubbornness towards God will be met with God forcing the issue by providing the setting which will make the heart even harder; in other words, if one wants hardness, one will get hardness). 19 You will say then unto me (Paul knows the argument of the Jews), Why does He yet find fault? (Why does God find fault with man?) For who has resisted His Will? (Untold numbers have resisted His Will, but never with success!) 20 No but, O man, who are you who replies against God? (Man finds fault with God!) Shall the thing formed say to Him Who formed it, Why have you made me thus? (Man wants to blame God for his predicament!) 21 Has not the potter power over the clay (God is likened to a “Potter”), of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? (He has the power to make it possible for man to choose honor or dishonor. The fault is never with God, but always with man. God is not to blame simply because He gives man the power of choice, and man chooses the way of dishonor!) 22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make His power known (in effect, is saying, inasmuch as there are vessels of dishonor; there is a Divine necessity that God should demonstrate the Power of His Wrath, as well as the riches of His Mercy), endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction (those who choose dishonor will ultimately be destroyed, but God in His longsuffering will bear long with them, even though He knows beforehand their fate): 23 And that He might make known the riches of His Glory on the Vessels of Mercy (pertains to those, whether Jews or Gentiles, who accept the “riches of His Glory” unto Salvation), which He had afore prepared unto Glory (doesn’t mean that God predestined these for Salvation, but does mean that those who accepted His Mercy and Grace would be “prepared unto Glory”), 24 Even us, whom He has called (God initiates the Call, but regrettably many, if not most, refuse), not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (The Lord had always intended that the Gentiles be included as well.) 25 As He said also in Hosea (Hos. 2:23), I will call them My people, which were not My people; and her beloved, which was not beloved (is used by Paul in the context of the Gentiles, even though it was originally meant for the Jews). 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them (Hos. 1:9-10), You are not My people; there shall they be called the Children of the Living God (once again, the Apostle is taking a Passage that was given exclusively to Israel, and broadening it in order that it cover the Gentiles). 27 Isaiah also cried concerning Israel (Isa. 10:22), Though the number of the Children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved (despite the vast number of Israelites down through the many centuries, only a small number were actually saved; it is the same in the modern Church): 28 For He will finish the work (which He did at the Cross), and cut it short in Righteousness (God’s Righteousness demands such! however, what is short to Him is not necessarily short to mankind): because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth (by comparison to Eternity, the six thousand years we have now seen constitute a short time). 29 And as Isaiah said before (Isa. 1:9), Except the Lord of Sabaoth (the Lord of Hosts) had left us a seed (the Remnant), we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrha (completely destroyed). 30 What shall we say then? (Paul wants to say something good about the spiritual condition of the Jews, but finds there is nothing good to say.) That the Gentiles, which followed not after Righteousness (has reference to the fact that these Pagans did not pursue after God or Righteousness, of which their history is replete; they were idol worshippers), have attained to Righteousness (because they accepted Christ), even the Righteousness which is of Faith (Faith in Christ and what He did at the Cross, which Israel rejected). 31 But Israel, which followed after the Law of Righteousness (presents Israel following in the wrong way, by works), has not attained to the Law of Righteousness (couldn’t attain to Righteousness by works; it can only be attained by trusting in Christ and the Cross). 32 Wherefore? (Why?) Because they sought it not by faith (proper Faith can only be exercised by accepting Christ and the Cross, which Israel rejected), but as it were by the works of the Law (by their performance, which can never measure up). For they stumbled at that stumblingstone (presents the necessity of Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the One Whom all the Sacrifices had symbolized); 33 As it is written (Isa. 8:14), Behold, I lay in Sion (Israel) a stumblingstone and rock of offence (refers to Jesus Christ; He was not the type of Saviour they wanted; they needed Salvation from sin, but they wanted something else): and whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed (portrays that Salvation is open to all, not a select predestined few, as many teach).

Exodus 19:5 (KJV)

5 Now therefore, if you will obey My Voice indeed, and keep My Covenant, then you shall be a Peculiar Treasure unto Me above all people: for all the Earth is Mine (now, in Christ, spiritual Israel, which is the Church, is a part of this “Peculiar Treasure”):

Exodus 16:7, 10 (KJV)

7 And in the morning, then you shall see the Glory of the LORD; for that He hears your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that you murmur against us? (The next morning, the Manna was sent. The murmurings of Verses 6 through 8 proclaim that God hears and sees all the acts of man and will hold each person responsible as to “right” and “wrong” in every detail [I Cor. 3:11-15].) 10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the Children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the Glory of the LORD appeared in the Cloud. (This Verse seems to indicate that the entirety of the Children of Israel should present themselves as a “whole congregation” to the Lord. Concerning the “Glory of the Lord” appearing in the Cloud, it is not known whether something was visible or not, but, more than likely, the Cloud took on a new appearance of greater glory.)

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (KJV)

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid (anything other than the Cross is another foundation and, therefore, unacceptable to the Lord), which is Jesus Christ (Who He is, God manifest in the flesh, and What He did, Redemption through the Cross). 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones (presents Paul using symbols; the first three are materials which will stand the test of fire, symbolic of the Word of God which is the Standard), wood, hay, stubble (will not stand the test of fire); 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest (at the Judgment Seat of Christ): for the day shall declare it (the time of the Judgment Seat of Christ), because it shall be revealed by fire (the fire of God’s Word); and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. (“Fire” in the Greek is “puri,” and speaks of the ability of Christ, Who will be the Judge and Who sees through everything we do [Rev. 2:18]. He Alone knows our very motives!) 14 If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon (assuming it to be true), he shall receive a reward (pertains to that which will be eternal, although we aren’t told what it will be). 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss (refers to the loss of reward, but not Salvation): but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (Actually, this means the person is saved “despite the fire.” While the fire of the Word of God will definitely burn up improper works, it will not touch our Salvation, that being in Christ and the Cross.)

Revelation 2:18 (KJV)

18 And unto the Angel of the Church in Thyatira write (called the “Papal Church,” signifying the beginning of Catholicism; it began about A.D. 500 and continues unto this hour); These things saith the Son of God, Who has His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass (presents Christ in the role of Judgment, as He must be concerning the Church going into idol worship);

Exodus 24:16-17 (KJV)

16 And the Glory of the LORD abode upon Mount Sinai, and the Cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the Cloud. (Moses evidently waited until the Lord called him.) 17 And the sight of the Glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the Mount in the eyes of the Children of Israel. (It looked like the entirety of the top of the Mountain was on fire, with this being seen by all of the Children of Israel.)

Leviticus 9:6 (KJV)

6 And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that you should do: and the Glory of the LORD shall appear unto you (if it is to be noticed, everything depended on the Sacrifices; this means everything presently depends on the Cross, of which the Sacrifices were a Type; if the true “Glory of God” is to appear, it can only be done through and by the Cross of Christ).

Numbers 14:10, 21 (KJV)

10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones (that was the answer to the Faith of Joshua and Caleb). And the Glory of the LORD appeared in the Tabernacle of the congregation before all the Children of Israel (whatever type of demonstration there was, the Children of Israel observed it all). 21 But as truly as I live, all the Earth shall be filled with the Glory of the LORD (this will come about to a great extent during the coming Millennial Reign, and totally in the coming Perfect Age, which will last forever [(Please refer back to these Studies) Rev., Chpts. 21-22]).

Deuteronomy 5:24 (KJV)

24 And you said, Behold, the LORD our God has showed us His Glory and His Greatness, and we have heard His Voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God does talk with man, and he lives (they did not die upon hearing the Voice of God).

Genesis 15:6 (KJV)

6 And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD (exercised Faith, believing what the Lord told him); and He (the Lord) counted it to him (Abraham) for Righteousness. (This is one of the single most important Scriptures in the entirety of the Word of God. In this simple term, “Abraham believed the LORD,” we find the meaning of Justification by Faith. Abraham was Saved by Grace through Faith, not by his good works. There is no other way of Salvation anywhere in the Bible. God demands Righteousness; however, it is the Righteousness afforded strictly by Christ and Christ Alone. Anything else is self-righteousness, and totally unacceptable to God. Directly the sinner believes God’s Testimony about His Beloved Son, he is not only declared righteous, but he is made a son and an heir.)

Genesis 25:23 (KJV)

23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in your womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from your bowels (those two nations were Edomites and Israelites; from the time of their birth, Esau and Jacob would be separated, divided, even hostile, for they would have nothing in common); and the one people shall be stronger than the other people (Jacob, who was younger, would be the stronger, but only through the Lord); and the elder shall serve the younger (every person is born with a sin nature, which makes that the “elder;” the Divine Nature comes into the Believer at conversion, and is the younger; however, if we follow God’s pattern of victorious living, which is Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, “the elder shall serve the younger,” meaning that the Divine nature will be victorious over the sin nature).

Malachi 1:2-3 (KJV)

2 I have loved you, says the LORD. Yet you say, Wherein have You loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? says the LORD: yet I loved Jacob (“I have loved you, says the LORD,” is meant to proclaim to the people God’s Love and its past action, in contrast to their ingratitude for that Love. The question, “Yet you say, Wherein have You loved us?”, provides the unjust complaints of the people. They doubted God’s Love and Faithfulness, because events had not turned out as they expected. The question, “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”, was meant to draw Israel’s attention to the miserable condition of the Edomites, who were descendants of Esau, in comparison to the fortunate and blessed condition of the Israelites, who were descendants of Jacob, despite their Spiritual declension! “Says the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,” does not refer to an arbitrary choice. The Lord loved Jacob because Jacob loved Him), 3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. (“And I hated Esau,” is used here as an idiom of preference [Lk. 14:25-27]. It does not express personal malice as we think of such presently. In fact, if Esau, as Jacob, would have honestly sought the Lord in Repentance, he would have been treated with the same kindness, love, and help that his brother, Jacob, received. “And laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness,” refers to the ultimate destruction of Edom, which sprang from the loins of Esau. By comparison, Israel was greatly blessed.)

Luke 14:25-27 (KJV)

25 And there went great multitudes with Him (proclaims Him having left the home of this Pharisee, and now continuing His journey toward Jerusalem): and He turned, and said unto them (He was anxious now, at the end, clearly to make it known to all these multitudes what serving Him really signified), 26 If any man come to Me (no exceptions), and hate (prefer) not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also (no affection, however strong, must be permitted to compete with or displace Christ), he cannot be My Disciple (once again, no exceptions!). 27 And whosoever does not bear his Cross (this doesn’t speak of suffering as most think, but rather ever making the Cross of Christ the Object of our Faith; we are Saved and we are victorious not by suffering, although that sometimes will happen, or any other similar things, but rather by our Faith, but always with the Cross of Christ as the Object of that Faith), and come after Me (one can follow Christ only by Faith in what He has done for us at the Cross; He recognizes nothing else), cannot be My Disciple (the statement is emphatic!; if it’s not Faith in the Cross of Christ, then it’s faith that God will not recognize, which means that such people are refused [I Cor. 1:17-18, 21, 23; 2:2; Rom. 6:3-14; 8:1-2, 11, 13; Gal. 6:14; Eph. 2:13-18; Col. 2:14-15]).

Exodus 33:19 (KJV)

19 And He (the Lord) said, I will make all My Goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name of the LORD before you; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. (The Lord shows “Grace” and “Mercy” to those who meet His conditions. Those conditions are simple: Faith in Christ and what Christ has done for us at the Cross, and that exclusively.)

Exodus 9:16 (KJV)

16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, for to show in you My Power; and that My Name may be declared throughout all the Earth. (Up until now, Jehovah was known only to the descendants of Abraham. But now, and because of the obstinacy of Pharaoh, all the nations in that vicinity would learn Who Jehovah was, and eventually the entirety of the Earth, which is now the case.)

Hosea 2:23 (KJV)

23 And I will sow her unto Me in the Earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not My People, You are My people; and they shall say, You are my God. (Israel was Lo-ruhamah and Lo-ammi, meaning “no more mercy” and “not My People.” Now, Israel will become “Ruhamah,” i.e., “pitied one,” and “Ammi,” i.e., “My People.” “And I will say to them which were not My people, You are My People,” is quoted in Rom. 9:25. It refers in that case to the Gentiles, as an illustration of what may be true in their case as well as in Israel’s.)

Hosea 1:9-10 (KJV)

9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for you are not My People, and I will not be your God. (“Lo-ammi” means “not My People.” As stated, the Prophet’s children symbolized, step by step, Israel’s fast coming calamity. There will be no reprieve, because there will be no Repentance.) 10 Yet the number of the Children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, You are not My People, there it shall be said unto them, You are the sons of the Living God. (There is no contradiction between Verses 9 and 10. Even though the Northern Kingdom of Israel was totally destroyed as a nation, and in fact will never, as such, rise again, still, “the Children of Israel” were not destroyed, and, in truth, will be, in a future happy day, completely restored. Consequently, this Passage and Verse 11 have to do with the coming Kingdom Age.)

Isaiah 10:22 (KJV)

22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. (Verses 22 and 23 are exegetical of the term “remnant” and bring out its full force. The Promise had been made to Abraham that his seed should be “like the sand of the sea for multitude” [Gen. 22:17]. This Promise had been fulfilled [I Ki. 4:20], but now the sins of the people would produce a reversal of it. It would be a “remnant,” and only a “remnant,” of the nation who would escape. Judah, in the time of Hezekiah and in the time of the Coming of the Lord, would have to make a fresh start, as from a new beginning [Ezra 2:64].)

Genesis 22:17 (KJV)

17 That in blessing I will bless you (blessing always refers to increase), and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore (this includes the Church as well, and for all time); and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies (this speaks of Jesus Christ defeating Satan, and doing so by removing Satan’s legal right to hold man in bondage, which legal right is sin; Jesus did it at the Cross; there the gates of Hell were torn down [Mat. 16:18]);

Matthew 16:18 (KJV)

18 And I say also unto you, That you are Peter (the Lord changed his name from Simon to Peter, which means “a fragment of a rock”), and upon this rock (immovable mass; Jesus is the Living Rock on which the Redeemed as living stones are built; for other foundation can no man lay [I Cor. 3:11]) I will build My Church (the Church belongs to Christ, and He is the Head [Col. 1:18]); and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it (the power of death caused by sin, shall not prevail against it, which victory was won at the Cross [Vss. 21, 24]).

1 Corinthians 3:11 (KJV)

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid (anything other than the Cross is another foundation and, therefore, unacceptable to the Lord), which is Jesus Christ (Who He is, God manifest in the flesh, and What He did, Redemption through the Cross).

Colossians 1:18 (KJV)

18 And He is the Head of the Body, the Church (the Creator of the world is also Head of the Church): Who is the Beginning (refers to Christ as the Origin or Beginning of the Church), the firstborn from the dead (does not refer to Jesus being Born-Again as some teach, but rather that He was the first to be raised from the dead as it regards the Resurrection, never to die again); that in all things He might have the preeminence. (He is the First and Foremost as it relates to the Church.)

1 Kings 4:20 (KJV)

20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. (All of this resulted from the one fact that Solomon, God’s choice, was king. The destruction of the rebels and the enthronement of God’s elect prince originated this universal contentment and prosperity. It is a fore-picture of the happy day that awaits the Earth, when the rebels who now govern it and fill it with misery will be overthrown, and the Prince of Peace, the greater than Solomon [Mat 12:42], will take unto Himself His great Power and reign gloriously before His ancient People, Israel. The present miseries that oppress the nations, which they vainly try to remove by repeated efforts, will have an end whenever the Messiah returns and takes the government of this world into His Mighty Hands — Williams.)

Matthew 12:42 (KJV)

42 The queen of the south (Queen of Sheba, another Gentile) shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here (this woman marks a higher stage of inquiry and faith, inasmuch as she traveled a great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon; by contrast, Jesus came directly to Israel, but still they wouldn’t receive Him, even though He was far greater than Solomon in both wisdom and power; what an indictment!).

Ezra 2:64 (KJV)

64 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,

Isaiah 1:9 (KJV)

9 Except the LORD of Hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. (In a sense, there were always two Israels. There was the “remnant” which served the Lord, and which was always very small; and the balance of Israel, which rebelled against the Lord. It is the same in the modern Church; consequently, every blessing experienced by Israel, whatever it may have been, was because of that “small remnant.” Once again, it is the same in the modern Church.)

Isaiah 8:14 (KJV)

14 And He shall be for a Sanctuary; but for a Stone of stumbling and for a Rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (A “Sanctuary” is a refuge, and something more. It is a Holy Refuge, a place which is a refuge because of its holiness. The Prophecy is that both the “houses” of Israel and Judah would ultimately forsake Jehovah and find in Him a “snare” and a “Rock of offense.” As well, it is a direct Prophecy of the coming of the Messiah and His Ministry in Israel. Christ is the “Sanctuary” to those who will believe Him — a place of safety. He would also be the “Stone of stumbling” and the “Rock of offense.”)

Let's Close in Prayer