LOTR: The Return of the Rings, Revisited and Revealing

A few months ago, I wandered into aFacebook fan page for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the films directed by Peter Jackson.

Wow, what a great set of films they were! I had not appreciated how good they were. Indeed, The Return of the King deserved to win the 2004 Academy Award for Best Picture.

It's a really moving series, a powerful fantasy, excellent movie-making. The source material from J.R.R. Tolkien is high-quality stuff to begin with, and the actors and director magnified its beauty, wonder, and wit. There were so many opportunities for the film to fail, to become too schmaltzy or cloistered in a world of petty fandom. Instead, this film resonates on many eternal themes, and showcases that even in great victories there are still failing characteristics which all of us must overcome.

For all of its whimsy, "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy speaks to real hearts and real minds, does not insult viewers. The playful antics of the Hobbits, coupled with the raw emotions of human beings and other fairy-like creatures, appeal to all audiences.

I took the time to watch all three movies over the last few weeks (including over the Christmas-New Years break), and I was really impressed with the whole production.

One of my favorite quotes from the trilogy takes place in the midst of the musing fears and comforts between Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins toward the end of "The Two Towers":

I love this quote, and I have been sharing it often.

But now, I want to focus on the final film in the trilogy "Return of the King," and specifically the final scenes.

Frodo Baggins and his fellow Hobbits return to their homes in The Shire. They see all their friends, family, and neighbors whom they have known for years.

When they return to the local pub to drink a pint, however, their is a marked, saddened sobriety in their bearing, in their actions. Life is completely different for them, especially Frodo. They journeyed all over Middle Earth, they fought some of the greatest forces in that world, they defeated the most formidable foe--Sauron--and they overcame some of their own vices and limitations to accomplish those deeds. They received consummate honor for their sacrifices, too.

Who can forget Aragon, the rightly crowned king of Minas Tirith, telling the four Hobbits: "My friends, you bow to no one!" Amazing. After such powerful and moving service to their countrymen and to the world at large, one would think they would be received with greater aplomb.

Yet that does not happen. Instead, all the other Hobbits in Hobbiton go about their little lives, enjoying simple pleasures, not realizing how big, grand, amazing, and even intimidating the world can be, and not understanding not appreciating (or rather, being able to appreciate) the incredible good that Frodo and his Fellowship achieved for them.

Who can go quotidian routines after having done so much unprecedented good?

This revelation really spoke to me, and one of the last lines in the film encapsulated this sentiment for me:

You can see the whole scene here.

Not only do Gandalf, Elrond, and the other creature-heroes of Middle Earth leave for the West, but so does Frodo. There is nothing left for him in Middle Earth, in the Shire. He has changed dramatically so, he has grown, he has seen things about himself, much good and even some not so good, and that revelation has transformed everything for him.

He left the Shire, and he cannot go back to the way things were.

There is one commentary on this scene which casts a particularly negative interpretation on the exchange between Frodo and Samwise:

Tolkien wrote: “We are finite creatures with absolute limitations upon the powers of our soul-body structure in either action or endurance. Moral failure can only be asserted, I think, when a man’s efforts or endurance falls short of his limits, and the blame decreases as that limit is closer approached.”

So no blame is attached to Frodo by any other person except for the blame that he attaches to himself but that is sufficient for Frodo to experience both judgement and punishment.

Tolkien addresses this with wonderful sensitivity in his letter.

The main thrust of this article is that Frodo is leaving Middle Earth to atone for his failure to get rid of the Ring of Power completely on his own. The main argument is that Frodo is not fit for his homeland because in a sense, he failed them.

I do not accept this view.

What I see is a Hobbit, a youth who has matured through great trial, one who sees everything so differently, more profoundly than before, and who can never quite fit in with the surroundings and personalities of his younger days, before he ventured to Mordor to get rid of the Ring.

Now that Frodo has changed, now that he has grown, he has to move on. 

This revelation speaks to me because I have experienced this similar transformation in my life. Over the last few months particularly, I have found myself no longer interested in going to the same haunts, same events with people whom I have known, whom I befriended long ago. We don't share the same values, views, or goals anymore. I have been really growing in grace as I see more of Jesus in God's Word, as I understand more of the abuse and pain I went through when I was younger, and now that I am older and wiser, I can see things more clearly.

How I related to people in the past, and many of the activities and efforts I invested in in the past, no longer matter that much to me. Some friendships I have given up, seeing how those individuals have not grown up, do not see more, have no interest in trying new things or obtaining greater revelation of the truth.

It's painful to part ways with people whom you have known for so long, yet you find that there is little else to know, and you have come to see, understand, perceive, and discern so much more than they have, and more than they care to learn about. Yet there is great peace in understanding that the pain of parting ways with others, with familiar faces and places, is inevitable, and an inevitable good. It means that I am growing, changing for the better, something that I have consistently prayed for in my life.

This powerful revelation really shook me, and I am so grateful to have rewatched not just the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but to appreciate the final goodbyes of Frodo Baggins in that final scene.

The Church MUST Influence Goverment

 

FEC United Faith Pillar Devotional November 7, 2022

The Church Should Influence Government   When did the Church decide we shouldn't be a part of government decisions?  Why did we fall for the incorrect interpretation of "separation of church and state?"  That seems like a scheme of the devil to me.  Without the influence of God in our government offices, the laws change to more lawlessness, Biblical values are taken out of the public square, and we wind up with the mess we are in now.    Recently, I was reminded of many Bible prophets, and leaders that were willing to listen to God for guidance and wisdom.  Let me share a few to remind us that the Church (its people) should very much be right in the middle of what happens in our government offices locally and nationally!   Abraham—the father of all nations by God's promise to be his shield and his very great reward (Genesis 15)   Joseph—interprets Pharaoh's Dream and becomes the 2nd in command of Egypt (Genesis 37)   Moses—God gave him the Ten Commandments and much more to teach to the people on how they should live (Deuteronomy 5)   Joshua—God fights for His people when they are strong and courageous (Joshua 1)   Deborah—Used by God to judge the people when they once again turned from God and did what was evil in the sight God (Judges 4)   Gideon—Commanded 300 men to defeat an army of 1000s because he listened to God (Judges 7)   Prophet Samuel—Advised 2 Kings (Saul:  1 Samuel 9-16 David:  1 Samuel 16-25)   King David—Serves God throughout his reign as king (2 Samuel)   Prophet Nathan—Rebukes King David (2 Samuel 12)   Prophet Elijah—Tries to warn King Ahad that turning from God would be his demise (1 Kings 17-22)   Esther and Mordecai—changed Israel's future through King Ahasuerus by standing firm on God's promises even though all seemed lost (Esther)   Prophet Isaiah—advised four Kings (Isaiah)   Nehemiah—Even as a cup barrier he influenced the king (Nehemiah) Jeremiah—tried to warn the leaders of Israel that the country would fall into the hand of Babylon (Jeremiah)   Ezekiel—prophesied hope and reassurance to God's people while enslaved in Babylon (Ezekiel)   Daniel-- serving king Nebuchadnezzar and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the Persian conqueror Cyrus, all the while remaining true to the God of Israel (Daniel)   John the Baptist—Warned King Herod that his lifestyle would be his demise (Matthew 14)   Jesus—Our savior from the dying world (throughout Bible)   Paul—Spoke with Government leaders throughout his journeys across the nations (Paul wrote 13 books of the New Testament)   These are just a few people that served the Lord faithfully during their lifetime that had  major influences on their governments.  I encourage you to read the Bible chapters and books listed above to help encourage us that we, as a church, must be an integral part of the decisions made within our government today.   PLEASE VOTE!!!   If you would like to be a part of the FEC UNITED Pikes Peak Faith Pillar, CONTACT:   National FEC Chaplin and Pikes Peak Faith Pillar Pastor Garrett Graupner:    ggraupner@fecunited.com    Pikes Peak Faith Pillar Admin. Jeri S: jeri@fecunited.com

No Such Thing as Christian Anti-Semitism

Dr. Michael Brown is a good friend of mine. He has been a long-time supporter of MassResistance, the pro-family organization I worked for for a number of a years. I have enjoyed joining his radio program from time-to-time as well. I really appreciate his outreach to Christians on all matters political, and I respect his support for the state of Israel as well as his Christian missionary outreach to Jews in the United States and around the world.

I must take exception, however, to the title of his latest article, in which he denounces “Christian Anti-Semitism.” With all due respect, there is no such thing. That’s like talking about Satanists for Christ, or Jews for Hitler. It makes no sense. There is religious anti-Semitism, certainly, but there is nothing Christian about Christians hating Jews or (justifiably) hating Israel. To his credit, Dr. Brown in his article was clearly denouncing the so-called “progressive” Christians of the so-called Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Still, the joining of “Christian” and “Anti-Semitism” is wrong.

This discussion is timely, for sure. Anti-Semitism is a catch-all smear used all too often against conservatives, when the Democratic Party has a long history of anti-Semitism (one that has barely abated, I might add). Furthermore, even some so-called nationalists and populists are embracing a total hatred of Israel and of Jews, as though support for Israel is anti-America First. It’s about time that we confronted this matter.

Again, I take exception with the title and the notion “Christian Anti-Semitism,” not with Brown’s criticism of the regressive church in South Africa that he was calling out. I must add that an estimable missionary movement, One For Israel Ministries, also talks about Christian Anti-Semitism, and I think that their use of that moniker is wrong, too.

For starters, what does the Bible say about Christians and their calling in relationship to the Jews? Paul the Apostle writes to the Romans: “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Romans 9:3) He then writes: “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” (Romans 10:1)

Wanting Jewish people to be saved does not quite square with “The Jews should get the hell out of Palestine” or “Jews are going to hell, and I don’t care” or “Jews control everything, and we must stop them.” You cannot be a Christian and hate Jews. It makes no sense, just as someone who lives under the grace of God would have no compunction to go out and live in sin (cf. Romans 6:11-14).

Of course, the common retort from some critics is “The Jews killed Christ.”

Was it just “the Jews”? True, the Israelite religious leaders during Jesus’ earthly ministry plotted to destroy Him, and they corrupted the legal process to rush through an immediate execution of our Lord and Savior. There are numerous passages testifying to this throughout the Gospels. But let’s not forget that it was Roman leaders and soldiers along with a crowd of Jews and Gentiles which rejected Jesus before He was crucified. At this point, it’s necessary for us to embrace a humbling spiritual truth. If everyone of us had been in that crowd that day, standing before Pilate and the beaten, bleeding Christ, we all would have shouted “Away with this man! Crucify Him!” And why? Isaiah declares it so: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)

Biblical Hebrew uses a number of words for “man”: adam, ish, enosh, gibbor, etc. In the Messianic verse above, “ish” is used in the passage “rejected of men.” There is no difference there among the different groups of men in the world. The verse does not discriminate between Jew and Gentile. Abandon this notion “Well, if I had been there, I would have called for His release!” No, you would not.

Furthermore, there were many Jews who believed on Jesus, before, during, and after His Crucifixtion! (John 11:45, John 12:11; Acts 17:12, 21:20). No, it was not “The Jews” who killed Christ.

Some scholars distort Scriptures show that we should fear and oppose Jews. Here’s one example: “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” (John 20:19).

When you read the Bible, don’t discard your reason. The disciples in the upper room were Jews themselves! Were they afraid of themselves, too? The context alone bears out that the disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, since they were the ones trying to suppress the Gospel.

Even in the Catholic Church, if one follows the old-school Latin rite of the traditional Good Friday liturgy, there is a recitation in which the congregants pray for the conversion of the Jews: “Oremus et pro perfidies Judaeis,” i.e. “Let us pray for the unbelieving Jews.” That is not anti-Semitism. Why would anyone pray for anyone else to believe if they have a hatred towards them?!

Consider once again that prayer in the traditional Latin Mass: “Let us pray for the Jews who don’t believe,” which implies that there are Jews who DO believe! Of course there were, and there are (Michael Brown, among hundreds of thousands, if not millions around the world)!  Christianity would not exist but for those believing Jews, starting with the apostles and their adherents, who spread the Good News.

The Bible does not support anti-Semitism. True Christian faith is incommensurate with anti-Semitism, as well. Christian faith, revelation of God’s Word, Christ and Him Crucified does not teach let alone justify anti-Semitism. In fact, it outright rejects it (cf. Romans 11:18-21). Religious anti-Semitism, yes, but let’s stop calling it “Christian Anti-Semitism.”

Why I Loathe Alcoholics Anonymous

 

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:11)

For years, I was stepped in this terrible cult called Alcoholics Anonymous.

My mother was a recovering alcoholic, according to her statements, testimony, blah. She worked "the steps" every day of her life, so she claimed. She got sober in 1978, having had a spiritual revelation after drinking a morning mimosa. Something in her spirit told her "You don't have to do this anymore."

And that was the last time she drank alcohol. For the record, I feel compelled to point out that she received a spiritual revelation from God, not help or support from working Twelve Steps. However, the evil genius of Alcoholics Anonymous is to teach people that "It works if you work it" and the Big Book offers this guarantee that people who follow the Twelve Steps rarely fail.

The truth is, my Mom got sober without AA, but she still believed that she had to work the Twelve Steps every day of her life just to get through the day.

On another note, my mother quit smoking when she prayed, when she asked the LORD for help and stopped relying on her own efforts to quit. "I have no faith in me, and I have very little faith in you."

But God can use our little faith to do great things, and my mother was set free from smoking.

Sadly, she was still addicted to AA, and she worked that awful program, until it worked her to death.

Why do I loathe AA? It's not just that that legalistic, self-loathing cult damaged my mother, it's not just that that awful cult turned my mother into an abusive therapy who put her own "recovery" ahead of the needs of her children, her family, and anyone else--even Christ Himself!

I loathe AA because it teaches people to identify with a lie.

At every meeting, every member of the club in the "rewms" will say: "Hi, my name is ... , and I am an alcoholic."

Now, tell me ... how can we really expect anyone to break free of a damaging perversion if we teach people to identify with it? If you are "born" an alcoholic, then you should just drink and drink until you pass out or die.

BUT ... people are NOT born alcoholic. Just as there is no evidence that people are born gay, there is no gene for alcoholic. Granted, patterns of alcoholism do ensue in families, but it has to do with the abuse and trauma which children suffer from their parents, and there is this uncanny tendency for children to replicate the bad behaviors of their parents based on the imprinting and the wrong believing that comes with identifying with one's parents--no matter how bad they may be,

To sum up: no, people are not born "alcoholic." What's more, many people get over alcoholism without taking those ridiculous Twelve Steps.

The AA cult teaches lies to its members. It purports to not be a religious program, and yet members are instructed to turn their will and their life over to a "Higher Power" as they understand Him. Going beyond that, however, this Higher Power is still subject to the Twelve Steps--which have no pattern or value in the Old or New Testaments. In effect, the higher power for everyone in AA is not the Lord God as revealed in the Scriptures.

It's the creepy God of Bill W.'s insidious creation. (For those who don't know, Bill Wilson--or Bill W.--founded Alcoholics Anonymous.) Bill W. is treated with almost divine reverence in the meeting rewms of AA. It's really sickening. Let's state this fact plaintly once more: this "Higher Power" is an invention of Bill W.

It is total idolatry. Christians, Muslims, Jews, anyone who belongs to any faith community should reject AA out of hand. 

But for those who believe in Jesus, who recognize the Bible as God's Word, AA is all the more fully incompatible.

This terrible cult teaches people to identify with a sin, with an addiction, a moral failing.

What does the Bible say about our new identity in Christ?

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We receive a new standing before our Loving Father. God is no more some distant deity, but our Loving Father!

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

and

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:17)

Yes, AA's Big Book makes one reference that "He is our Father. We are His children," but then goes back to leveling adherents with religious demands. The truth is, the AA program does not reveal anything about the Higher Power, aside from what is in the book. This notion of "God as I understand Him" is absolutely ludicrous. If I could understand God, He would not be God anymore, now, would He?

But I digress.

The biggest fraud about the AA cult is that it teaches people to identify with their sins, with their failures, with their faults.

At the top of this post, I quote Romans 6:11, in which Paul clearly declares to the Christian believers in Roman: "Reckon yourself dead indeed to sin, and alive to God through Jesus Christ."

When you are born again, you are no longer a sinner. You are a saint. You are a child of God. Yes, there is training, there is the process of sanctification, which the Holy Spirit works on and in us as we see more of Jesus in the Word (cf 2 Corinthians 3:18)

You don't need to take steps to be one with your Heavenly Father.

In fact, even in the Old Testament, taking steps to God's altar was expressly forbidden:

"Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon." (Exodus 20:26)

If we try in our own efforts to get right with God, we merely expose our nakedness, our sin, our shame:

"But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

But in Christ, we have the fullness of His work. He declared "It is Finished" (John 19:30)

But you are no longer a sinner, and you are called to no longer identify with sin or any sins in your life.

Alcoholics Anonymous urges people to keep identifying with their sins, to keep rehashing their failures, to keep going to the joyless AA meeting, to keep repeating the empty mantras, to fall in line with the mob mentality, the mob identity.

My mother worked the program all right ... until she ended up taking her own life in 2012. This is the first time I have made this revelation public, but it needs to be said. Anyone who learns that he has to keep looking at his own sins and failures, that he must keep "taking his inventory" to stay one step ahead of an alcohol relapse, is looking at an empty life full of shame, hurt, and loss.

The number of people who have committed suicide while going to the AA "rewms" is pretty staggering, as well. But is anyone really surprised? A relentless program of self-loathing and self-abnegation is not going to produce happiness, joy, or freedom. 

Did I forget to mention that AA members often tout that their program is a "selfish" program, as if that is something to be proud of ...?

At any rate, I hope I have explained fully why I loathe Alcoholics Anonymous. The blood of Jesus cleanses everyone of us from all sins (1 John 1:9), and Jesus rests as the propitiation (full payment) for our sins and the sins of the entire world. If He has paid for all the sins of all the world, then there is no reason for people to rehash their sins or rest in their failures. It's time to stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing on Christ Jesus! Forget the false god of Alcoholics Anonymous and believe in Christ and Him Crucified:

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2:8)

If you find that you are still struggling with certain behaviors or bad habits, you just need to receive more favor, a greater revelation of Christ Jesus, and who you are in Christ:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

and

"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 

5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" (Colossians 3:1-5)

and

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord," (2 Peter 1:2)

We don't need AA. Let us have grace, which we receive through Christ Jesus!

True Conservative Influencer: Porn Destroyed My Life, Jesus Set Me Free

Kangmin Lee has been establishing a true, conservative, most importantly CHRISTIAN profile on social media.

He has been open about his faith, unashamed of the Gospel:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)

He started denouncing the spread and promotion of pornography to youth. Recently, he criticized TPUSA for allowing a "conservative" porn start to attend one of their events in Florida.

He wanted to make it very clear that he was not standing on some throne of sanctimonious self-righteousness when he condemned this porn star's appearance at an event with kids.

Check out what he shared below. This is the kind of conservative influencing we need to see in our culture today:

I am not speaking out against pornography as if I’m some righteous Pharisaical paradigm of purity.

I was addicted to pornography for 10 years. God radically delivered me from it last year.

It is destructive, dehumanizing, and degrading.

— Kangmin Lee 🇰🇷✝️🇺🇸 (@thekangminlee) July 19, 2021

It takes a great deal of courage for someone to come out about such a struggle. For someone like this young man to talk about the great pains, dangers, and losses which follow from pornography is truly inspiring. These are the young men and women whom we should cherish and support. We need to encourage more young people to realize that they are not alone in this world, but that in Christ, they have everything that they need. 

Discussing the Scofield Bible, The Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and Israel

I have been conversing with a Christian friend of mine, one who does not support Israel, who believes that the current state should not exist. He also adheres to "replacement theology," which suggests that God has abandoned the Jews and now only works with Christians.

Here was the first question that I posed to him:

Hey -----!

The Scofield Bible is getting some massive excoriation at this time [on social media].

I have never read that version, since I am not interested in any version of the Bible which has someone else's comments or ideas embedded into it.

Your reasons for being vocally opposed to the Scofield, and what are the errors which it teaches? -- Please share when you have time.

Here are the responses that I received:

It altered who all Christians believed - for nearly 2,000 years - that NT Israel was. His Bible was bankrolled by the biggest Zionists in America....to swing millions of Christians into their political camp. Palestinian Christians and non-violent Muslims have paid a huge price. World peace has been altered. And due to this poor theology we treat Israel different then all other nations, in desperate need of the Gospel of the Messiah. Send me your personal email address again Arthur. I will send you a two-page short Bible study and a theological reading list that has impacted a lot of other dispensationalists.

Here is the second message I received:

Arthur:

 I fear your hermeneutical view of Scripture starts with your support of a political entity lost, apart from Jesus Christ.  The Zionist Jews of Israel are not being threatened from others.  Their hatred of the Triune God makes themselves their greatest enemy.  They have the highest tax-payer funded abortion rate in the world.  Tel Aviv is the homosexual capital of the world.  (Ask the Jewish psychologist who used to practice in San Francisco until they ran him out….and who called to thank me for burning those transgender library books.)  And they just vaccinated 61% of their population with the deadly mNRA full of spike proteins.  And they are brutally cruel to their neighbors, whom the Zionists in charge see as goyim or cattle.  God is dealing with Israel for rejecting the Messiah.  May we one day see them return to Christ, via Romans 11.  But not through more nuclear bombs and American aid.

 See my attached piece I use to ‘lit-drop’ dispensational churches in the region and my reading list.  Those who adhere to the erroneous ‘end times’ doctrine have done such harm to take Christians off the battle field.  Such harm!

And see the Meme, I produced.  The best Reformed Covenantal (we never use the word ‘Replacement’….that was made up by dispensationalists) theologians came from former pro-Israel dispensational backgrounds.  They stopped reading the Scofield margin notes and started reading the Bible.  Some of the best people sounding the warning against Zionists are Karaite Jewish Rabbis.  I appreciate them and think they could be good neighbors.

 BTW, does ‘Schaper’ have any Jewish roots to it?

Here is my first response, and extensive set of remarks to contrast with what he had shared with me:

Hey P-----!

You've made a number of great responses to me regarding this issue.

I want to make it very clear that I recognize that there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. I do not suggest that people can be saved apart from believing in his perfect sacrifice of the cross. Amen!

The notion however that God has cut off Jews from his loving power is just not true. He wants them to believe, and he continues to reach out to them just as he reaches out to us. He does have a special covenant with them, as he established not just in Genesis chapter 12, but has been affirmed in other passages as well throughout the old and new testaments.

Consider these passages:

"19And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; 21Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me." (Jeremiah 33:19-22)

And

"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, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God." Hosea 1:10

 I did not accept this replacement theology. The fact is that we are blessed with believing Abraham, every person who believes in Jesus Christ. This is available to everyone, including the Jewish people. God has not cut off his covenant with them. However, because they insist on staying under the old covenant, they endure the old covenant curses. That is why, for example, they were dispersed throughout the world in AD 70.

Consider these passages, too:

"Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus."( John 12:11)

 During Jesus earthly ministry, many Jews ended up believing in him! If he had cut them off, they would have never believed in him.

Ask for today, or in our current times, Many Jews don't even believe in God, right now, because of a great blindness due to seeing Moses and not Jesus:

"13And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away." (2  Corinthians 3, versus 13 through 16)

 Regarding the rebirth of Israel as a nation:

"Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." (Isaiah 66:8)

And

"But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land." (Jeremiah 23:8)

And

"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither." (Jeremiah 31:8)

 I wish to affirm that everything that I've shared with you is from The Bible, specifically the King James version. I have not drawn any inspiration or insight from the so-called Scofield bible. In fact I've never even read that version. I agree that nobody should settle for a version of The Bible that is replete with passages, messages and notes from someone else. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us in the scriptures. We don't need to keep running to Other people to do that for us.

 My starting point is not a nation state. My starting point is Jesus Christ! My starting point is that Jesus will fufill the old covenant, and enacted a new covenant.

My last name is not a Jewish last name. I find it interesting that you're bringing up ethnic backgrounds. That's very strange. Truth has nothing to do with one's ethnic status or ancestry.

My second response:

Believe me, I am well aware of the hostility that rabbis and secular Jews have towards Christianity. That hostility is quite rampant among Muslims and other secular groups as well, so it doesn't make a lot of sense just to target Jews regarding this issue.

As we speak, especially in spite of covid 19, an incredible Christian messianic Jewish ministry has been sharing the gospel with Jews throughout Israel, and more of them are believing in Jesus!

https://www.oneforisrael.org/

I then followed up with this question:

Another question, P---:

Do you believe that christians today are still bound to try to keep the 10 commandments?

Here were the final responses that I wrote to him:

Hey P---:

I am responding now to your points about Under Law vs. Under Grace.

That is two different things.

Being under law (as to justification) where the answer is No; 

AGREED!

 opposed to we are expected to keep them (as to sanctification), where the answer is Yes.

If that is the case, then how do you respond to Paul's own words in these Epistles (these are not comments from Paul Scofield)?

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Romans 7:4)

And

"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:6)

And also:

13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

The passage about "handwriting of ordinances" is the Law, and it has been rendered inoperative against us because Jesus fulfilled the Law.

I agree that the WORLD needs to the Ten Commandments. We need to post the Ten Commandments in every courthouse. But for us who are believers in Christ, who have received the adoption of children. We are taught by His GRACE!

"11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:11-14)

Again, Jesus fulfilled the Law. He declared as much in the Sermon on the Mount:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." (Matthew 5:17)

Since He fulfilled the law, why would we try to keep it?

How do you respond to these statements from Paul, after receiving incredible revelation from The Lord?

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." (Romans 3:19)

and

"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:" (Romans 5:20)

and

"23But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." (Galatians 3:23-25)

Based on the revelation which Paul shares in the Epistle to the Romans, for example, the law is not a standard to live by, but rather a standard which condemns us and shows us our need for a Savior. Do you agree with what Paul writes, or do you read this differently?

Your point about holiness, sanctification is well noted. How do we become holy?

"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" (1 Corinthians 1:30)

and

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Christ is our sanctification, not the Law, as Paul declares to the Corinthian Church. The more that we see Him in the Word, the more that His Holy Spirit transforms us from glory to glory. AMEN.

I wanted to share these remarks with you, as well, following your statement about Old Covenant v. New Covenant. You have helped me to understand why there is such a harsh opposition to Israel and Jews. If Christians do not enter fully in the Grace of God, but attempt to go with mixture (grace and law), then inevitably they will persecute those who recognize that we no longer keep the law (Christians like me) or Jews, who do not (yet) believe in Jesus.

Thanks for your time, P---.

Take care!

More Than Adding or Submitting: Jesus Gives Us His Life

 Two days ago, the pastor at my church shared a statement about the role that Jesus is supposed to play in our lives.

"Some of us want to add Jesus to our lives. We see people saying things like: 'Oh, let's bring our kids to the local church. We want them to learn good moral values on how to live.'"

"But Jesus is not someone you add to your life. You need to surrender your life to Him. You need to submit your life to Him!"

But even here, this is wrong, too.

Jesus said to the Israelites of His day, and this promise resonates with all of us:

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

Jesus didn't just come to make our lives better, or show us how to live.

He came to give us life! 

We therefore have to accept the corrollary before this, that we don't have life on our own:

"Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." (Romans 5:14)

and

"1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." (Ephesians 2:1-3)

We were dead, and Jesus brings us to life!

We do not submit our lives to Jesus, we submit so that Jesus can give us His life!

"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." (John 14:19)

The Gospel is about so much more than adding something to our lives, or submitting our lives to Jesus: He is our Life! (Colossians 3:4)