The soiled girdle“For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord, that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and

for a praise, and for a glory; but they would not hear.”—Jer(13:11)

The History of IsraelGen 12:1-7

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land:

Gen 13:14-15

“And the LORD said to Abram, after that lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.”

Gen 15:18

“In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”

... more

Gen 17:8

“And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

The Resurrection of Israel

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went ... he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.” Hebrews 11:8,9

Isaac and Jacob were promised the same land.¨ To Isaac Gen 26 : 3 “... I will perform the

oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father”

¨ To Jacob Gen 28: 4 “and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.”

¨ To thy seed - The 12 sons of Jacob (the 12 tribes) were promised the same land being Jews.

¨ Israel goes down into Egypt for many years. Moses delivers them from the Egyptians and goes to mount Sinai.

Israel Becomes the Kingdom of God¨ Duet 11 8 Therefore shall ye keep all the

commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

Israel Becomes the Kingdom of God¨ Duet 11 22 For if ye shall diligently keep all

these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; 23 Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.

Warning to Israel

¨ Duet 4 23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you,

¨ 27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.

Kingdom of God

¨ Wander for 40 years in the wilderness under Moses

¨ Enter the Promise Land under Joshua¨ Period of the Judges¨ God is the king¨ Want to be like the other nations under the last

Judge Samuel¨ Saul¨ David

God further reveals his plan in His promise to David2 Sam 7

10Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, 11And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house. 12And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom..

¨ 13He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever

God Promise to David

David’s Son

¨ Solomon “And the kingdom was established in

the hand of Solomon.” 1Kgs 2:46¨ After many years of disobedience Gods

judgment of Israel is brought forth during the Last King Zedekiah

Israel Destroyed

¨ Eze 21 25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

Israel Still Gods Chosen People

¨ Jer 30 10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

Israel Still Gods Chosen People

¨ Zech 2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

Ezekiel 37:1, 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry

Jesus Predicts The Conquest And Exile Of The Jews

Luke 21:2424 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

The Arch Of Titus

The Roman general Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem in fulfilment of Christ’s prophecy, raised a monument to his victory.

On this monument he depicted the Roman armies carrying away Jewish captives and spoils from the Temple.

Jesus Predicts The Destruction Of The Jewish Temple

Matthew 24:1-2 1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Ruins Of The Temple

These stones, which used to be part of the Temple buildings, were thrown down from the top of the wall to the right.

They are a silent witness to the truth of Christ’s warning.

In subsequent wars the Romans sent the Jews into exile:

132-135 AD: The Bar Kochba revolt in Israel is crushed by Rome

Jews are forbidden to live there, and the city is surrounded by a wall

Thousands of Jews are sold into slavery outside Israel

It is forbidden to teach the Jewish religion or read the Scriptures

Pagan temples are built in Jerusalem, including on the Temple site

Jews are forbidden to return on pain of death

Destroyed and scattered, the Jewish people wandered the earth:

Leviticus 26:33And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

Jeremiah 24:9And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

For centuries they were persecuted, derided, and mocked:

By Christians:

‘The Jews are the odious assassins of Christ and for killing God there is no expiation possible, no indulgence or pardon.

Christians may never cease vengeance, and the Jew must live in servitude forever. God always hated the Jews. It is essential that all Christians hate them.’

John Chrysostom, 407 AD

‘The Jew can never understand the Scriptures and forever will bear the guilt for the death of Jesus.’

Augustine, 354 – 407 AD

For centuries they were persecuted, derided, and mocked:

By Christians:

‘The Jews' guilt of the crucifixion of Jesus consigned them to perpetual servitude, and, like Cain, they are to be wanderers and fugitives. The Jews will not dare to raise their necks, bowed under the yoke of perpetual slavery, against the reverence of the Christian faith.’

Pope Innocent III, 1237

‘Set Jewish synagogues on fire for the honor of God. God will see we are Christians when we get rid of the Jews. Likewise homes should be destroyed; they should be put in a stable; they are not heirs of promises of God and deserve to die.’

Martin Luther, 1543

Many Christians said the Jews would never return:

‘…they have been cast out, dispersed, and utterly rejected for almost fifteen hundred years. By virtue of their own merits they still hope to return there again. But they have no such promise with which they could console themselves other than what their false imagination smuggles into Scripture.

…These persons must be informed that the kingdom of Israel was led into captivity and destroyed, that it never returned home and never will return home...’

Martin Luther 1543

What the Bible Says

¨ Jer 46 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

What the Bibles does Prophecy About the Jews

Jer 30:10-11 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

But even those who scorned them could not explain their survival:

‘...If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way.

Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of.

He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.’

Mark Twain, ‘Concerning The Jews’, Harper's Magazine, 1898

Or how they had outlived their worst enemies:

‘The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.

The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind.

All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains.

What is the secret of his immortality?’

Mark Twain, ‘Concerning The Jews’, Harper's Magazine, 1898

But God had not forgotten His people:

Jeremiah 33:25-26 Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

Ezekiel 37:7-87 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

Ezekiel 37:12

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

Ezekiel 37: 2121 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

William Torrey, 1695

‘Considering how these dry bones of Israel lie scattered most parts of the world over, and do hardly know themselves of what nation they are, much less do others know, and it may be speak divers languages, I rather incline to think that God will, in some way or another, first bring the Jews into their own Land, and give them advantage to return by drying up the river Euphrates, that is, as I conceive, by diminishing and abating the great power of the Turk in and about that part of the world; and that either by intestine commotions or wars with other nations, or both.

Now is the time when those dry bones will come together and stand upon their feet, and become an exceeding great army, and have breath breathed into them, and have a civil life put into them, but no spiritual life till after they be in their own Land.’

‘Prophetical Considerations In New England’

Thomas Newton, 1754

‘The preservation of the Jews is really one of the most signal and illustrious acts of divine providence.

… and what but a supernatural power could have preserved them in such a manner as none other nation upon earth hath been preserved?’

Thomas Newton, 1754‘As the Jews were to be led away captive into all nations, so Jerusalem was to be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

And accordingly Jerusalem has never since been in the possession of the Jews,’

‘When the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, then the expression implies that the Jews shall be restored: And for what reason, can we believe, that though they are dispersed among all nations, yet by a constant miracle they are kept distinct from all but for the farther manifestation of God’s purposes towards them?’

‘Dissertations On The Prophecies

John Thomas, 1849

‘They will emigrate thither as agriculturists and traders, in the hope of ultimately establishing their commonwealth, but more immediately of getting rich in silver and gold by commerce with India, and in cattle and goods by their industry at home under the efficient protection of the British power.’

‘Elpis Israel’, pages 441-2

Ezekiel 37: 22:22 … and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the

mountains of Israel;

Ezekiel 37: 23-2824 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

¨ To Jesus – via His genealogy “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Matthew 1:1 To Gentiles – us by adoption “that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:14

The Land of Promise is the focus ofthe kingdom of God on earth

¨ Acts 1:6 “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again

the kingdom to Israel?”

Hebrews 11:8-10

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country; dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

WHY did Paul mention this fact in the New Testament?

¨ Because – This promise is yet future to include all those whom verse 40 says:

¨ “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

(that is – God’s plan embraces the Gentiles)

Acts 13:32-35 - 32 “We declare unto you glad tidings (The Gospel), how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again ...”.

WHO are the US – their children?

also - THE GENTILES -

Galatians 3:28-29 – “... for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.— 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed , and heirs according to the promise.

THE JEW - first

Romans 1:1-4 - Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated unto the gospel of God— 2 (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ) 3 concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh ...”

The Promise to inherit the land

is conditional upon both Jews and Gentiles believing in a coming

Messiah – Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:6-9 …as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen (Gentiles) through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, “In thee shall All nations (Gentiles) be blessed .” 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

paraphrasing the text we read:Gal. 3:16, The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning

many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.

Acts 3:25,26, 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God

made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your seed all peoples

on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant (Christ), he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of

you from your wicked ways.”

Rom. 4:11,12- So then, he is the father of all who believe”Gal. 3:7- Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham

concerning Abraham then:

Kingdom of God

"In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven SET UP A KINGDOM, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand or ever." Danie l2:44

"The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover

the sea" (Hab 2:14)

(Numbers 14:21) “But as truly as I live, all the EARTH shall be filled with the glory of the

Lord.”

(Isaiah 11:9) “ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my Holy mountain: for the EARTH shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the

waters cover the sea.’’

The Kingdom Of GOD