 
Jew And Gentile Worshipping Together

Tiaan Gildenhuys
Copyright author ©: tiaan gildenhuys

Publisher: tiaan gildenhuys

ISBN: 978-1-928499-09-1

First publication: 2018

Print on request.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher or reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, either through photocopying, or tape recording, microfilming or any other information retention system.

© King James Version Holy Bible (Authorised Version)

Linguistic care: tiaan gildenhuys and hein henning

Front page: Painting by Mrs. Joy Heyneke (Pretoria),

"The Olive Tree of Life".

Printed and bound by:

Groep 7 Drukkers en Uitgewers (Pty) Ltd

www.groep7.co.za
INDEX

Preface

Introduction

1. Sections Of Theology

2. Three Groups Of People

3. The "Replacement"-Theology

4. Israel And The Church

5. "ELect"

6. The Jesus Root

7. One Wedding Feast, Two Different "Brides"

8. Conclusion

Prayer
PREFACE

When the children of Abba Father and followers of Yeshua (Jesus) are not ground in the Word of God, then the possibility of temptation is very great. Through the centuries there were many tempting theories, but few of them as dangerous as the Replacement Theology. It is precisely this theology that separates the children of Abba Father, while it is His desire that there be unity among His children. Yeshua himself prayed to Father that we would be one in Him: John 17:20, 21: _"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father,_ _art_ _in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."_

The importance of this is that we will walk purely according to the Word of God and that we will not follow any tradition or non-biblical writings. What Tiaan conveys in this book is extremely important to the true congregation of Yeshua. When we understand this, it will prevent us from being caught in any heresies or false doctrines. Many well-meaning Christians have become involved with some of these false doctrines and, in the end, realized that it eventually removes them from the true gospel of Yeshua.

I personally love the Old Testament and like to teach from it to illustrate the pattern of Abba's Word to people. As a ministry we celebrate the feasts of Abba Father and perform our Yeshua's command as in: John 14:15: "If you love me, keep my commandments". As a result, several people have asked me if our ministry is Messianic, or "Hebrew Roots". My answer is always a clear and unambiguous: No! We are grounded in Yeshua (Jesus) alone. Recently, someone also mentioned that I read the Bible like a "Messianic Jew" and my answer was that I actually read the Bible like the bride of Christ.

As Tiaan explains in this book, it is imperative that the congregation of Yeshua take the whole Word into account and understand that the whole Bible is still applicable to us. However, it is important that we identify Abba Father's pattern and see how every aspect of the Old Testament was a pattern of Abba's plan of salvation for man and how Yeshua fulfilled this wonderful plan of Abba Father. As someone said, "The New is in the Old contained; The Old is explained in the New." This means that the Old Testament contains the pattern which is revealed to us in the New Testament.

One of the most important aspects to understand is that many of the Jewish customs and traditions are not contained in the Old Testament. They are traditions which were defined by people over the centuries and now there are many Christians who want to follow these traditions. The problem with this is that most of these traditions are a lie. The easiest way to hide a lie is between two truths. The traditions look right because they are enclosed by truths, but unfortunately because of the lies contained in it, the truths are also useless. Modern Rabbinic Judaism really only originated after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD - the origin of the Talmud dates back to 200 AD - and resulted in the creation of a "new" faith to adapt to the absence of a temple. And as a result many traditions have been added to the Scriptures to compensate for the lack of complete worship. Unfortunately, it is now many of these traditions (which are not Scriptural) which are now closely followed by many proponents of the "Hebrew Roots" movement.

Tiaan gives an excellent explanation why we as the true congregation of Yeshua (Jesus) cannot become involved in this and that Yeshua is the only root in which we can be established. In Romans 11:11, Paul specifically states that we, who received our salvation through Yeshua, have to make the Jews jealous of the miracle of and the salvation found, in Yeshua. How can we do this if we follow their traditions? How can you be made jealous of something you already have? No, we must show them the wonder of the gospel so that they will abandon their traditions and follow only the truth of the FULL Word.

May the words of this book inspire you to identify and follow Yeshua (Jesus) as the only root of your life!

(Chris van Niekerk

Christ the Way, Truth and Life Ministries,

Pretoria, RSA.

www.cwtlm.org)
INTRODUCTION

My wife and I had the privilege of visiting the country of Israel with friends for the first time in 2007. After that, we were supernaturally able to go back with other friends in 2008. And in the course of both those visits, the Lord gave me certain Scriptures confirming that my wife and I should start leading spiritual tour groups to Israel. From that assignment flowed forth that we have been able to guide seven tour groups to Israel by the grace of the Lord since 2010 until 2018.

One of the places we visit in Jerusalem during each tour is the so-called "wailing wall" or the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, where orthodox Jews go to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob every day. The picture there looks like this every day:

Here we see ultra-orthodox Jews, ordinary orthodox Jews and Christian believers who come together to come and worship. And funny enough, the Lord has been speaking to me regularly at that dead wall for the past 11 years. A specific conversation that He already had with me in 2007 will be discussed in Chapter 6.

But this year (2018), the Lord made the assignment for this particular teaching and book really explode in my heart. And it happened the moment I took a picture of a friend of mine who also stood by the wall and prayed, while an ultra-orthodox Jewish man sat right behind him and prayed from his prayer book. This was the picture I took in that moment:

And just then I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit gently whispering to me: "Jew and Gentile worshiping together" ....

Because you see, my friend Jasper there is a "Gentile" believer, and the man who was sitting behind him at that moment praying out of his prayer book is a physical ethnic Jew.

My prayer is that this little book's information will help you to truly discern and understand what you previously may have thought to be "contradictions" which are contained in the Bible, but which are not - for the very first time.

All praise, honor, thanks, glory and worship for all that is written herein is given only to God the Father (Yahweh), God the Son (Jesus / Yeshua) and God the Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh).

I personally gave my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ on 28 August 1999. And since then the Lord began to give me wonderful revelations from the Word through His Holy Spirit. Things like 2 Corinthians 1:13:

"For we write NONE OTHER THINGS unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end..."

Since the Holy Spirit first showed this verse to me, I started to read my Bible in a completely new way. I have now learned to read my Bible just as it is written, to understand what it says and then to do what it says, according to Luke 6:46:

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and DO NOT the things which I say?"

And since I began to physically do the things of the Word of God in my personal life, all the wonderful truths in the Word have become a reality to me and my family.

In this book we will read what the Bible clearly teaches about the DIFFERENCES between Israel as a nation, and God's true church. We do not need to attach any strange interpretations to any verses or to apply contextual distortions in order to try to determine what the Bible teaches us about this very important topic.

You as a reader will see for yourself what the Bible teaches on this subject, just as it is written. And you will then make your own decision about where you stand personally.

The second thing I realized shortly after my rebirth is that, like most Christian believers, I did not know or appropriate my Scriptures (though at that time I was already an elder on a traditional church council for several years), just as Jesus warned in Matthew 22:29:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God "

The more I talk to other believers - also regarding the message of this little book - the more I see the truth of this Bible verse. People, including Christians, do not know what the Scriptures teach because they do not know their Scriptures, and because they do not know their Scriptures, they do not know the power of God, not in their personal lives, nor regarding the prophecies about Israel as a nation, and about the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then they start erring and start wandering into all kinds of wrong or false doctrines, which either keep them VERY busy, or eventually start drawing them away from Jesus Christ slowly but surely.

But the question is WHY do they not know their Scriptures? The answer is simply because they do not know the AUTHOR of the Scriptures.

It used to be my personal problem too. I was so busy with "religion" that I never realized that as an ordinary human being I may also have an intimate personal relationship with the living God. Only when I met Jesus Christ personally, I understood for the first time in my life that RELIGION is DEAD, only intimate RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ is LIFE! For far too long in our life we were so busy with "dead religion" that we missed the living God.

May this book help you to the reader to get new knowledge and have a clearer understanding of this extremely important end-time message, because it only became a reality in my own life after I came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and got spiritually liberated from the evil spirits of religion, of pride and haughtiness, and of doubt and unbelief, in my own life.

Because only then could the Lord reveal the truths in this book through His Holy Spirit in recent years, and I stopped arguing and debating about the things of the Lord. And since you and I now both have this knowledge, we will never be able to stand before the throne of God one day and say we did not know...

(tiaan gildenhuys - November, 2018)
1

SECTIONS OF THEOLOGY

There are different "sections" of theology today, if we can call it that.

They are:

Bibliology - The Study of the Bible.

True Theology (Greek - "Theos Logos") - The Study of the Characteristics of God. (As if it were possible for us finite people to be able to make a complete and true study of the characteristics of that Almighty, All-Knowing, Omniscient, Omnipresent God - but okay, we try.)

Christology – the study of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pneumatology – the study of the Holy Spirit.

Angelology and demonology – the study of angels, fallen and holy ones.

Anthropology – the study of man.

Soteriology – the study of salvation.

Ecclesiology – the study of the church.

Eschatology – the study of the end-times.

But ... many believers do not understand that to that list there should in fact also be added...

"Israelogy" - the study of Israel as God's instrument to reveal certain specific truths about the end times.

This is a very, very important point that many believers do not understand or do not even want to take knowledge of, for various reasons, as I will discuss in this book. One of the most likely reasons for this is that they believe the false doctrine of the so-called "Replacement Theology", which I will explain in more detail in Chapter 3 below.

We must never forget that God chose Israel as _"a special people unto Himself"_ :

"For thou art an holy PEOPLE unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people;

for ye were THE FEWEST OF ALL PEOPLE:

But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." **(Deuteronomy 7:6-8)**

So here we see that He chose them, not because they were bigger or stronger than the other peoples, but precisely because they were THE LEAST of all peoples. I personally believe that He wanted to show to the world that He can do a divine work in the world with something that is / was insignificant and unimportant in the eyes of the rest of the world.

"Amazingly, God sovereignly chose to love Israel because of their weaknesses, in order to demonstrate this principle: His grace according to His promise is sufficient for any person to trust in for their own existence and fulfilment (see **1 Corinthians 1:26-30; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10** ).

**Thus we see why Israel was chosen: to be God's instrument of love expressed to the entire world.** This blessing of love and grace would be ultimately personified in Yeshua, the seed of Abraham, Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world ( **Genesis 12:3, Galatians 3:14; Romans 9:5** )."

("GOD'S PLAN FOR ISRAEL, AND WHY IT MATTERS" by Sam Nadler)

We can therefore argue as much as we want. God Himself chose Israel as the people He wanted to use to reveal His eternal counsel to the world. And we can say of Israel whatever we want; they are still God's one single physical elect NATION.
2

THREE GROUPS OF PEOPLE

Many believers do not understand that the Bible is effectively written for THREE "groups" of people, namely the "Jews", the "Gentiles", and the true "Church of Jesus Christ" (This is "the church of God"). Where do we read this confirmation?

"Give none offence, neither to

(1) the Jews, nor to

(2) the Gentiles, nor to

(3) the church of God;..."

(1 Corinthians 10:32)

The word: "Gentile" in Greek = "Hellēn; a Hellen (Grecian) ... especially a non-Jew: - GENTILE." That word refers to the heathen nations of the world.

From this we see the three groups discussed in the Bible, and to whom the truth of the Bible is directed, namely: \- the Jews and the Gentiles - and the true church of Jesus Christ. And if I say "church" here, I do not mean that particular church-DENOMINATION, or church-SYSTEM in which you grew up, or that church-BUILDING that you visit every weekend, I mean the true CHURCH of Jesus Christ, also known as the "body of Christ" or the "congregation of God" of which the Bible speaks, and which I will discuss in more detail herein.

We see that Brother Clarence Larkin explained it very well in his book in 1918 already:

"While the "Word of Truth" is written FOR all classes of people, and FOR our learning, it is not ADDRESSED to all peoples in general,

but part of it is addressed to (1) the JEWS,

part to (2) the GENTILES and

part to (3) the CHURCH.

These three constitute the THREE CLASSES into which humanity is divided. **1 Corinthians 10:32:**

"Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:..."

It follows therefore that **while the WHOLE Bible was written for the INSTRUCTION of the church, it is not all written ABOUT the church**.

The church is not mentioned in the Old Testament.

It was hid from the Old Testament prophets and was a "mystery" first revealed to Paul, and disclosed by him in **Ephesians 3:9,10:**

" _And to make all men see what is_ _the fellowship of THE MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God_ _, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might_ _be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God_ _..."_

The Old Testament is mostly taken up with the history of one nation, that of Israel.

In the first five chapters of Genesis we are given the history of Creation, and 1700 years of human history. In the next four chapters we are given the account of the flood.

The tenth and eleventh chapters give the account of 400 more years of human history, and then God singles out one man, Abraham ( **Genesis 12:1-3** ), and FROM THERE ON the whole of the Old Testament centres around the Jewish race.

When we take the Old Testament promises and apply them ONLY to the church we rob the Jew of that which is exclusively his...

**what happened to Israel was written for our EXAMPLE and ADMONITION, but** we must not apply to the Church what does NOT belong to it."

("Dispensational Truth" (1918) – Clarence Larkin)

Dear reader, this is an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT point to take note off if we truly want to understand what the Bible teaches us. Because if we do not understand this point regarding the three different groups written about in the Bible, and TO WHOM the instructions contained therein are directed, we will easily be deceived, or be pulled into various different groups who think that only their own unique little group has the whole truth of the Word. They are often jokingly referred to as "Us four and no more!" because they do not think anyone else but themselves have any truth.

But the moment we do get this point, it's very easy to understand where we as New Testament believers truly "belong" according to God's Word, and we no longer need to find ourselves in some uncomfortable "vacuum" where we no longer feel part of the worldly church systems or church denominations, but we are also not comfortable in any of the various groups either claiming that they today are the physical people of Israel and only they can therefore be saved, or other groups, which in turn claim that we should all "return" to our "Hebrew Roots" now.

The truth contained herein truly frees people to really belong where God planned us all to belong.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance. _"  
_ **(2 Peter 3:9)**

The point that we should not lose sight of is that when someone comes to repentance, he or she immediately and automatically becomes part of the true "church" of Jesus Christ and is this now the place where he or she "belongs" forever. His repentance does NOT make him a Jew, or an Israelite, or a Hebrew. Certainly not in a physical sense.

The word "church" that was used in the King James Version Holy Bible, is the word "ekklesia" in Greek.

"Greek - "ekklēsia" - ... "a calling out, that is, (concretely) a popular meeting, **especially a religious** **congregation..** **\- assembly, CHURCH." (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries)**

Therefore, wherever I refer to the "church" in this book, I refer to this WORLDWIDE called out "ekklesia" of which the Bible speaks, the "true church" of Jesus Christ, I do NOT specifically refer to any single church-SYSTEM or any specific church-DENOMINATION, or any specific church-BUILDING at the corner of two streets somewhere in any particular town or city, so do not confuse these two concepts.

This true church of Jesus Christ you only become part of through your faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, and NOT through any church ritual or liturgically-prescribed traditions, for example infant baptism.
3

THE "REPLACEMENT"-THEOLOGY

As a result of the fact that many nominal Christians have never heard of the "Replacement Theology" or do not know what it means, they are quick to declare that the Bible "contradicts" itself because certain things in the Word do not seem to really make sense anymore. And this is simply because they do not distinguish between the physical people of Israel on the one hand and God's true church on the other hand, because in certain cases there are Bible verses where God gives certain instructions to Israel, and in other cases He speaks to His true church. To the undiscerning reader it may sound as if they are contradictory until you begin to understand the DISTINCTION between these two entities or groups.

Well what is the so-called "Replacement Theology" then, and what did it cause in the history of the church throughout the world?

Matt Slick explains it as follows:

"Replacement Theology is **the teaching** that the Christian church has REPLACED national Israel **regarding the plan, purpose, and promises of God**. Therefore, many of the promises that God made to Israel must be spiritualized."

And this is exactly where the problem starts - because IF the church has now "replaced" Israel in the Bible, and came "in the place of Israel," many verses in the Bible can NOT be read literally or be explained literally anymore, and do they suddenly have to be "spiritually INTERPRETED" to make their meanings "acceptable" to the nominal believers, because otherwise some things contained therein simply do not make any sense at all. It is then that people begin to think the Bible contradicts itself.

That little word - Bible "interpretation" - has already caused much chaos in the lives of millions of believers over the centuries, because they no longer know whether they can read the Bible literally just as it is written. Furthermore, they also do not know WHOSE "interpretation" of the Bible would then be the "most correct". This eventually leads to the point where they do not link nor want to link much credibility to ANY part of the Bible - because who says whether what this or that preacher spoke about is not also just his own "interpretation" of the particular verse? – they tend to argue. As a result, thousands of people's eyes are closed for the literal truth of the Word of God in many cases.

Remember, however, 2 Corinthians 1:13 with which I started this book and understand that you can read your Bible in this manner, EVEN MORE SO with regard to this subject:

"For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end _..."_

This verse proves that we should NOT try to interpret the Bible, but that we should understand it, just as it is written - until the end. We also see that Jesus, every time Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, said: "It is written ..." He did not once say that satan should first "interpret" that which is written.

But let's read further how this writer explains the issue of the Replacement Theology:

"For example, when it speaks of Israel being restored to the land, this really means that the Christian church will be blessed _(they say)_. Also, _(according to them)_ covenants made with Israel are fulfilled IN the Christian church so, for example:

1. The Jewish people are no longer God's chosen people. Instead, the Christian church now makes up God's chosen people.

This view is simply NOT true, as we will see clearly in Chapter 5 below. The Bible is very clear about God's promises to the physical people of Israel \- FOREVER.

2. In the New Testament after Pentecost, the term "Israel" refers to the church.

3. The Mosaic covenant **(Exodus 20)** is replaced by the new covenant **(Luke 22:20)**.

This is also not true, since the old covenant still applies to the physical people of Israel, while the new covenant applies to the true church of Jesus Christ. Israel is still Israel and the church is Jesus' true church.

4. Actual circumcision is replaced by a circumcision of the heart **(Romans 2:29)**.

Physical circumcision is still a sign for the ethnic Jews today, but NOT for the church. The circumcision of the heart applies to Jesus' true church. It did not "replace" the physical circumcision of the Jews. However, if people in the church let themselves be circumcised today, there are very serious physical and even spiritual consequences, as I will discuss in Chapter 6 below.

"So, in "Replacement Theology", the church has "replaced" Israel as the primary means by which the world is blessed by God's work.

**Though it is true that the church does replace Israel** IN SOME AREAS **such as properly REPRESENTING God on earth, ACKNOWLEDGING the promise of the Messiah, etc**., it is NOT Biblical to say that God is completely done with Israel and that the Christian church is its complete replacement.

" _For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a_ _PARTIAL_ _hardening has happened to Israel UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;_ _and thus all Israel will be saved_ _; just as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion,_ _he will remove ungodliness from Jacob_ _,'"_ **(Romans 11:25-26)**

Some replacement theologians would teach that any mention of "Israel" after Acts chapter 2 (Pentecost) would be referring to the Christian church, but the above Scripture cannot be used to support that idea. In fact, it plainly contradicts it.

Obviously, God is NOT done with Israel **.** The text tells us that God has hardened Israel but it also tells that that disheartening is temporary."

("What is Replacement Theology?" - Matt Slick)

I cannot truly convey to you as a reader strongly or deeply enough what damage the Replacement Theology has done to the Word and the Kingdom of God over many centuries. But there are enough Christian believers who stand up against it to reveal the lie to the world, like Matt Slick above, and also as the following article points out:

"Most of us have heard of the false teaching called Replacement Theology. This article is for those who either have never heard of it, or have had this preached to them Sunday after Sunday and just figured that it was Biblical.

I'm here to tell you – IT'S A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL.

Replacement Theology (RT) has been around for centuries. The term used by theologians is supersessionism. The church supersedes Israel. Theologians have cited the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD as proof that God was finished with the Jewish people.

It has always amazed me that churches who teach RT completely ignore some critically important words by the apostle Paul in **Romans 11**. I would HIGHLY recommend that you read all of Romans 11 (9 and 10 as well) but Romans 11 truly expresses why the Jews did not receive their Saviour, **and clearly shows that God is NOT DONE with His Chosen people.**

RT is closely related to Reformed or Covenant Theology, which is associated with John Calvin. If you've noticed that your pastor does not speak or teach on eschatology (the study of End Times) it's most likely that the leadership of your church adhere to a-millennialism. ( **A view of eschatology which views End Times prophecy** as "spiritual" instead of literal **).**

It's a convenient way of AVOIDING THE PROMISES MADE TO ISRAEL in the Word.

Since the proponents of RT believe that the church inherited the promises made to Israel, there is no need to teach that End Times prophecy is literal. The prophecies are viewed more as ALLEGORICAL."

("The Lie Of Replacement Theology: Is Your Church Part Of This?" – Geri Ungurean)

(<https://grandmageri422.me/2017/08/04/the-lie-of-replacement-theology-is-your-church-part-of-this-full-article/)>

But where did this evil lie originate? With none other than the Roman Catholic Church - of course. And more specifically, with Emperor Constantine. Let's read how he put it in his statement to the churches in 325 AD:

" **Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd** ; for we have received from our Saviour a different way. A course at once legitimate and honourable lies open to our most holy religion. Beloved brethren, let us with one consent adopt this course, and withdraw ourselves from all participation in their baseness."  
**(Caesar Constantinus Augustus (Constantine) to the churches – Council of Nicea 325 AD)**

This is where it all began, where the Roman Catholic Church began to believe and began to teach that we must not, or should not have anything more to do with the Jews, and that we as a church, have totally "replaced" them in God's great counsel. And unfortunately even the man responsible for initially setting the wheel rolling for the entire Reformation in the 16th century that led to people being able to start reading the Bible for themselves and be set free from the Roman Catholic Church - Martin Luther - later in his life contributed greatly to the determination and "refinement" of the Replacement Theology.

"There are two main schools of thought regarding RT: Israel's role as God's Chosen was completed once Jesus came to earth (economic supersessionism).

Because of her disobedience, **Israel forfeited her role as Chosen of God** because of her rejection of Jesus as Messiah (punitive supersessionism).

Punitive supersessionism was clearly articulated by Martin Luther **in his sermon: "On the Jews and Their Lies."**

"For such ruthless wrath of God is sufficient evidence that they [i.e., the Jewish people] assuredly have erred and gone astray. Even a child can comprehend this. For one dare not regard God as so cruel that he would punish his own people so long, so terrible, so unmercifully ... Therefore this work of wrath is proof that the Jews, surely rejected by God, ARE NO LONGER HIS PEOPLE, and neither is he any longer their God."

("On the Jews and Their Lies," Trans. Martin H. Bertram, in Luther's Works [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971], p. 265).

How could a man used of God as was Martin Luther come to such a conclusion about the Jews? It is written that later in his life, Luther was convinced that he was called of God to save the Jews. When his efforts failed, he became enraged. In one night, in response to his anti-Semitic sermon, synagogues were burned to the ground and over 2000 Jews were slaughtered. Martin Luther was used by God in a mighty way in the Great Reformation, but alas he was merely a man. His teachings about Jews had a dramatic impact on the church in Germany for many years to come. Hitler was a great fan of Luther. He carried the sermon: "On the Jews and Their Lies" to every SS meeting."

("The Lie Of Replacement Theology: Is Your Church Part Of This?" – Geri Ungurean)

(<https://grandmageri422.me/2017/08/04/the-lie-of-replacement-theology-is-your-church-part-of-this-full-article/>)

Dear reader, can you see how dangerous – even LETHAL - the Replacement Theology was and still is? That's why Hitler thought he was doing the "right thing" to kill six million Jews - because he was a member of the Roman Catholic Church, had their support for what he did, and he believed that the Jews had to be completely eradicated as a people because they rejected Jesus as Messiah and even according to Luther himself, were now no longer God's people. And just this fact alone, proves to us that the Roman Catholic Church-SYSTEM is not part of Jesus' true church. But are there still people IN the Roman Catholic Church who truly come to repentance by their own faith in Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross, thus becoming part of His true church? I have no doubt about that.

The Replacement Theology DENIES ISRAEL'S PLACE in God's great counsel:

- First of all, it makes God a liar, because then He can no longer be literally believed if He said in the Old Testament that He is going to do certain things with physical Israel as a nation. And if we cannot literally believe Him about what He said He will do to the physical nation of Israel in the physical land of Israel, how can we believe Him about our salvation either, or about the Second Coming or about Eternal Life? Or about anything else in the Word? Is it any wonder that so many millions of people do not want to believe in God, because if He cannot be believed literally about ONE particular aspect, how can we believe Him literally about ANYTHING else in the Word? (And here I am not referring to certain parts in the Word of God that we know are symbolic or metaphoric or beautiful poetry – those must still be read in that way and not literally).

- Secondly, it laid the foundation for Christian anti-Semitism (Jew-hate) because as a result thereof many Christian believers over the centuries grew up with the familiar words that sounded in their ears: "Of course, he's a Jew, what else do you expect?"; or also: "Beware of that Jew, he will surely cheat you!" or "Do not have anything to do with any Jews!" Can you still hear Emperor Constantine's words resounding more than 1700 years later? And as a result thereof even many sincere Christians were (and still are) ignorant of, and participated in, the worldwide hatred of Jews in the world.

- All the Neo-Nazi and white supremacy groups are proof of this all over the world, and it leads to the most diabolical atrocities like the man who walked into a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on October 27th, 2018 and killed 11 Jewish people attending a synagogue service.

The world also conveniently forgets God's warning words in **Numbers 24:9** :

"Blessed is he that blesseth thee (Israel), and cursed is he that curseth thee (Israel)."

Worldwide there are more than enough testimonies of people or even countries that have cursed Israel as a nation and have seen the words of the above-mentioned verse become a physical reality in their own lives or in their economies, after they broke off their economic or military relations with Israel. Here I can highly recommend the book: "Will Africa be blessed or cursed?" Edited by Tom Hess in Israel, it can be ordered from: materials@jhopfan.com. In this book, the testimonies are given of all the countries in Africa who had economic, trade and military relations with Israel in the past and how successful they were and how well it went with them UNTIL they broke off those relations with Israel and entered into agreements with Islamic countries; after which each of the economies of those countries experienced eventual destruction.

And no, it does not help to use the argument that the inhabitants of the present Israel are not really the Jews or Israelites to which the Bible refers, and that those currently living there are just a bunch of "impostors" or "bastards" or "mixed-breeds" who returned to the country, etcetera. For that type of argument again makes God a liar, as it effectively means that He was unable to fulfill His own prophetic words about the people of Israel that He chose Himself, and their return to that physical country. And my God is definitely NOT a liar! But humans are. Proverbs 30: 6 states:

"Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and THOU be found a liar."

And **Numbers 23:19** :

"God is not a man, that he should lie _..."_

By claiming that anyone other than the physical people of Israel in the physical country of Israel today is actually the ONLY "true Israelites", adds to God's Word what is NOT there and that we can NOT do. And what does that mean? That those who ADD such things to the Bible which it does NOT teach will someday be revealed as a liar by God Himself.

Furthermore, we also find the following terrifying warning to those who say they are Jews, BUT ARE NOT:

"And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)

and I know THE BLASPHEMY of them WHICH SAY THEY ARE JEWS, AND ARE NOT, but are the synagogue of Satan."  
 **(Revelation 2:8,9)**

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, WHICH SAY THEY ARE JEWS, AND ARE NOT, BUT DO LIE;

behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." _  
_ **(Revelation 3:7-9)**

Here, the Lord Jesus Himself, TWICE refers to those who say that they are Jews but who are NOT, saying that actually they are a "synagogue of satan". Furthermore He says that they BLASPHEME and LIE by saying that. Now, of course, there are many people from those groups who claim to themselves the "title" of "the only true "Israelites" who also try to claim that those text verses do NOT apply to THEIR special group, but specifically to the people who today live in the physical land of Israel and who "think that they are Jews" but are not the "true Israel" - according to these various groups, who want to attach all sorts of "interpretations" to these verses in the Bible that simply are NOT found there, thereby trying to "prove" their twisted views .

According to them, those people in Israel who call themselves Jews there and who perfectly fulfilled most of God's prophecies in the Bible concerning the RETURN OF THE JEWS to their own country since 14 May 1948 with the creation of the physical land of Israel are NOT really Jews. And why not? Because only members of their own various groups in either Britain, or South Africa, or America, or Namibia, or wherever they are, are the ONLY "true Israelites" - they say. And this while they are more likely to be that "synagogue of satan" because they claim something that they are VERY DEFINITELY not, and while none of them in any other country have fulfilled ANY of those prophecies of God regarding Israel's physical return to the physical land of Israel.

And no, do not try to "spiritualize" or "misinterpret" those prophesies about Israel's return to their own country as it has been done by the Replacement Theology for years, to try to justify a twisted view, because I repeat, by doing so, you effectively declare God as a liar about His own chosen people, Israel. That is a very dangerous place to find yourself in when you stand before His Throne one day.

The prophetic "70 weeks" in the book of Daniel (Daniel 9: 24-26) specifically refers to God's plan WITH ISRAEL AS NATION, NOT with the true church, because the Old Testament prophets knew nothing about the church, and never "saw" it, as we will discuss it later.

"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people (Israel) and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem), to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off (Jesus on the cross), but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (The Romans in 70 AD); and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

And he (Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (Prophetic year week = seven years): and in the midst of the week (After three and a half years) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

That which Daniel prophesied here has never happened in the history of the world to ANY OTHER NATION or any other country or any other city than with physical Israel and physical Jerusalem - although many people over the centuries have tried in a variety of ways to try and "prove" that those verses actually refer to them as people and to their own country, whether Britain, where the so-called "British-Israel vision" originated in the early 1600s, or America, or even South Africa, where the "Israel vision" also has a strong influence, where many believe that the Afrikaner / Boer people are the "nation of Israel" or "the people of the covenant" today, because of certain similarities between what happened to Israel in the Bible and what happened to the Afrikaner nation in South Africa. But even though such "similarities" do exist, it still does not make any other people or any other nation the true people of Israel who were chosen FOR Himself BY God Himself. Israel in Israel is still the Israel of God.

The point is that no other city in the world can ever "replace", the role played by physical Jerusalem and all the proven historical things that have already happened in that particular city - and are still happening to this very day – and that will happen there to the very end. What Daniel referred to in his prophecies have only occurred in the physical city of Jerusalem, in the physical territory known today as Israel, throughout history. No matter how much people try to argue or "spiritualize" or "interpret" it, London, Washington, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Windhoek - OR WHEREVER else - CAN NEVER claim to be that city which the Bible refers to, because NONE of the specific things the Bible refers to ever happened in any other city in the world.

Let us now read how that prophetic word which Daniel spoke, was fulfilled IN physical ISRAEL and IN physical JERUSALEM:

THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH

"In 538 B.C. Daniel wrote the following bold prediction:

_Daniel 9:25_ _"So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks of years and sixty-two weeks of years"_

In this prophecy, Daniel is claiming that there will be 69 weeks of years between the issuing of a decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the appearance of the Messiah. Now keep in mind that this bold prediction came 538 years before Christ was born.

Now let's investigate a little history, OK? In 464 BC, Artaxerxes, a Persian king, ascended to the throne. His twentieth year as king would be 444 BC. Nehemiah, the Jewish cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, was deeply concerned with the reports about the ruined condition of Jerusalem which came about as the result of their being defeated (Nehemiah 1:1-4) and as a result, he petitioned the king: _N_ _ehemiah 2:5,6_ _"Send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it. So it pleased the king to send me"._

Scripture then provides us with the exact date of this decree to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem. According to the scriptures the decree is issued "in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king" ( **Nehemiah 2:1** ). The Jewish calendar month was Nisan, and since no day is given, it is reasonable to assume that the date would be understood as the first, the Jewish New Year's Day. And, in the calendar we presently use, the corresponding date would be March 5, 444 B.C. This was the day on which the decree was issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

Now let's remember this date, March 5, 444BC and take a look at the appearance of the Messiah. You may recall that the Gospels tell us that Jesus, on numerous occasions, had forbidden his followers to make him known as "the Messiah". He would frequently do miracles and tell the disciples not to tell anyone who had done the miracles because his "hour has not yet come" ( **John 2:4, + 7:6** ). However, on March 30, 33 A.D., when he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, he rebuked the Pharisees' protest and encouraged the whole multitude of his disciples as they shouted, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord". And Jesus said, "If these become silent, the stones will cry out" ( **Luke 19:38-40** ). This was the day on which Jesus was publicly declared the Messiah.

Now let's compare the date of the decree (March 5, 444 BC) with the date of Jesus' declaration (March 30, 33 AD). Now before we begin, we need to clarify the fact that the Jewish prophetic year was composed of twelve 30 day months. In other words, the ancient evidence indicates that the Jewish prophetic year had 360 days, not 365 days. Since Daniel states 69 weeks of seven years each, and each year has 360 days, the equation is as follows: 69 x 7 x 360 = 173,880 days. In nothing more than a simple mathematical demonstration, the number of days in the period from March 5, 444 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes) to March 30, 33 A.D. (the day Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey) can be determined at this point.

The time span from 444 B.C. to 33 A.D. is 476 years _(remember that 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. is only one year)_. And if we multiply 476 years x 365.2421879 days per year (corrected for leap years), we get the result of 173,855 days. Now let's add back the difference between March 5 and March 30 (25 days). What is our total? You guessed it, 173,880 days, exactly as Daniel predicted it."

**(** http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/the-old-testament-is-filled-with-fulfilled-prophecy-11652232.html **)**

Dear reader, our God is always faithful to His own Word. He is NOT a liar! If He said in His Word something WILL happen at a particular time and in a particular way in a particular country, then it will happen - and it always happened exactly like He said in the Bible. I also discuss the truth of all the prophecies in the Bible on my DVD titled: "The Prophetic Word in the Bible". And if the Bible refers to the physical people of Israel in the physical land of Israel and the physical city of Jerusalem in the Old Testament, then those concepts are still exactly the same when we read about them in the New Testament.

The differences between Israel and the church are seen more clearly after Revelation 4, after the Rapture takes place, as I wrote in detail in my book: "The Rapture of the Saints. True or False?" It can be ordered from our website at www.oicb.co.za under "eshop / tiaan gildenhuys". It can also be read as a free e-book at:

<https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tiaangildenhuys>

Throughout the centuries God has had a very specific plan with His (chosen) people, Israel, AND He has very specific plans with His (chosen) church. And these two things should NOT be confused with each other.

However it is true that, as the true church, we became part of the promises made to Israel through our faith in Jesus Christ.

"For the PROMISE, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

_Therefore IT IS OF FAITH, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law_ (Israel _), but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham_ (the true church) _; who is the father of us all,_

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be."

(Romans 4:13-18)

The trouble is however, that so many people have been hurt by the Replacement Theology in the various churches or church denominations in the world that they no longer want to hear anything about the word "church". In that way, for many centuries, Satan has hidden the truth of the Word and what I write in this book from thousands of people. And as a result thereof, if you try to explain to those people that we as New Testament believers are part of God's true "church" under the new covenant, they usually respond with a rather vehement: "I do not want anything to do with the church, the church is a failure and it just hurt me!"

And as a result, they fall away and become part of any of a multitude of splinter groups who claim that they are no longer part of the "church" but they DO ALL claim that ONLY THEY now proclaim the truth about the Word, as I will discuss it in Chapter 6 below.

What they do not necessarily understand, however, is that it is NOT THE TRUE CHURCH of Jesus Christ that hurt them, but all the different church SYSTEMS or church DENOMINATIONS which they previously belonged to and which in many cases, for a variety of reasons - including in some cases a lack of knowledge of the whole Word – were themselves unfortunately not in line with what God really meant for His true church and what they were supposed to be or to do.

In **Hebrews 12:22,23** the Bible describes the true church as follows:

"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

To the general assembly and CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN, which are written in heaven,

and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,.... _"_

This is the "church" to which every repentant Jew and every repentant Gentile who receive Jesus Christ as their only Saviour and Redeemer, belong to, namely the "general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in heaven". I once wrote to someone who enquired from me, that my church is the "COF" and we are affiliated to the "BOC". When someone asked me what I meant by that, I replied, "I'm part of the Church of the Firstborn (COF), written in heaven, and we are affiliated to the Body of Christ (BOC)." You see, I personally am NOT part of ANY church-SYSTEM or church-DENOMINATION here on earth any longer. I resigned from all worldly church systems back in 2001, after the Lord said to me one Sunday morning in a traditional worship service: "You will NEVER AGAIN belong to any traditional church system or denomination."

But as a result of my faith in Jesus Christ I DO MOST DEFINITELY belong to that true "ekklesia", the body of Jesus Christ, the church of God.
4

ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH

Since the Bible was written for those three groups of people I referred to in Chapter 2, we must really note that the church and Israel are clearly DISTINGUISHABLE in the Bible.

They have:

DIFFERENT origins,

DIFFERENT instructions from God and also

DIFFERENT destinies in the end time.

US Pastor Doug Riggs of Syracuse New York also explains this very important subject regarding the various groups of people for whom the Bible was written, as well as the different origins of Israel and the church, on his YouTube video series entitled "The Blessed Hope." This series, as well as other videos about the Rapture and Jesus' second coming, which I can recommend to any serious Bible student, can be found online at: http://www.dougriggs.org/Videos.html.

We clearly see the DIFFERENT ORIGINS of Israel and the church in the following texts:

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you FROM the foundation of the world:... _"  
_ **(Matthew 25:34)**

This verse refers to the remnant of Israel that will be part of the nations who will survive the seven year tribulation period and who will find themselves in the "sheep and goats"-judgment before the throne of Jesus after the tribulation period. And here Jesus tells them to inherit the kingdom prepared for them FROM the foundation of the world.

But later we read wat Paul says regarding the origin of the church:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: _..._

(We know he is speaking to the New Testament church here because all the Jews as such are not part of the "faithful in Christ Jesus" \- Author)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us (the true church) with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

According as he hath chosen us (the church) in him BEFORE the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: _..."  
_ **(Ephesians 1:1-4)**

Wow! What do we learn from this? In short, it means that Israel as "chosen" people forms part of God's eternal plan FROM the foundation of the world, while the true church - as God's "mystery" to the world - was chosen by God to one day form the Body of Christ (which would consist of BOTH Jews and Gentiles) even BEFORE the foundation of the world, in other words even before Israel was chosen by God as that one particular nation / people BY WHOM He wanted to reveal His glory to the world.

God could have chosen ANY nation in His Omnipotence if He wanted, either the Zulus, Germans, Russians, or whoever ... but in His Omniscience He chose Israel. And because they are His chosen people and His "inheritance" according to the Bible, the world can try whatever they want, they will not succeed in all their attacks and plans and deliberations against Israel and Jerusalem. God Himself protects them. Why? So that all His prophecies about them and the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem can be physically fulfilled in these end times in which we find ourselves, just like all the hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies which He had had recorded in the Bible and which have ALL been literally fulfilled thus far.

Let's read those verses again where Paul discusses this "mystery" of God (in Greek = "musterion" = "secret / mystery"):

"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach AMONG THE GENTILES the unsearchable riches of Christ;

And TO MAKE ALL MEN SEE

what is the fellowship of THE MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,

who created all things by Jesus Christ:

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known

BY THE CHURCH the manifold wisdom of God, _..."  
_ **(Ephesians 3:8-11)**

This "mystery" of which Paul wrote, is the fact that NONE of the prophets in the Old Testament ever knew about the true church or the church dispensation / church period. That mystery was first revealed to Paul by God for the first time in history. And exactly because none of the Old Testament prophets ever "saw" or ever wrote about the church, the Orthodox Jews who still study only the Old Testament writings today, do NOT know what the Bible teaches about the true church and / or the Rapture thereof.

But the point is that the church was FIRST in God's eternal plan, BEFORE he chose Israel as a nation to be his "barometer" in the world, against which everything would be measured. Therefore the true church, the "ekklesia", is that great "mystery" that the Old Testament people and Israel did not know about, until Paul started explaining it to the world.

And please note what that "mystery" also entails?

"To the intent that now UNTO the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known

BY THE CHURCH the manifold wisdom of God, _..."_

It entails that the "manifold wisdom of God" should now be revealed unto the powers and principalities in heavenly places BY THE CHURCH - NOT by the Jews. That means - by studying "under a Rabbi" in Israel, and thinking that you will thereby learn more about the "manifold wisdom of God" is contrary to the Word. That Jewish Rabbi will not be able to teach you the manifold wisdom of God. It is THE CHURCH that has to announce it to them (and even to the Jews), precisely because of our knowledge of the New Testament and Jesus' new covenant with us as His true church.

In line with this verse I personally had the wonderful experience and confirmation about what I wrote here during our tour in Israel this year when a Jewish businessman, who I have known since 2007, was very excited to tell me that for the first time in his life, he also started reading the New Testament in Hebrew. But what struck me in the heart and confirmed the truth of this Bible verse was when he told me: "Please, next time you come, I want some of your time, because you must come and teach me more about the New Testament!" This is what God wants in His Word - that we as part of His true church must be able to make known to them (even to the Jews) His manifold wisdom. Why? Because the Bible says we must "provoke" them to jealousy with what we have, as I will discuss later.

But unfortunately because many people, even here in South Africa, today believe that THEY themselves are the true and physical people of Israel, they claim that Paul was a "false prophet" and they even write and produce their own so-called "Bibles" in which all parts that refer to Paul, as well as all Paul's epistles are left out, because what he writes about the true church ("ekklesia") is not consistent with their twisted theology (actually "reverse Replacement Theology") that only they themselves are "Israel" or "the lost tribes of Israel" today. So instead of obeying the Word and rather ensuring that they become part of Jesus' true church through their faith in Jesus Christ, they tear everything out of the Word that does not fit their theology and claim themselves to be Israel. Which they are not.

It's a very dangerous place to be, because by tearing out all of Paul's words, they also tear out the very important words of Romans 10: 9,10 which teach us exactly WHAT we need to DO to be saved.

Clarence Larkin proceeds in his book to say:

"From this we see that the church was UNKNOWN to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets. That the Gentiles were to be saved was no mystery. **(Rom. 9:25-30)**.

**The "Mystery" was, that God was going to form an entirely "NEW THING",** composed of BOTH Jew AND Gentile **, to be called "THE CHURCH".**

It is a "called out" body..."

("Dispensational Truth" – Clarence Larkin)

For further information on the differences between Israel and the church, and that the Old Testament prophets did not "see" the church, please visit the website of Amir Tsarfati, a "Messianic Jew" (New Testament believer) in Israel. He explains in various blogs and YouTube videos how things will work during the tribulation, and the fact that Israel will not be in the Rapture. His webpage is: "beholdisrael.org". He also gives daily updates on how those things that happen in and around Israel today are the fulfillment and / or "precursors" of many of the Biblical prophecies before Jesus' second coming.

But notwithstanding all that satan has tried to do through the ages to confuse these concepts, God through all the centuries has had a very specific plan with His ("chosen") people Israel, AND He has a very specific plan with His ("chosen") true church, as I have already said. And these two things should NOT be confused, or clouded, otherwise many things in the Bible do not make sense.

The prophetic "seventy weeks" referred to by Daniel in Daniel 9:24-27 and which I discussed in Chapter 3 refer specifically to God's plan with ISRAEL as a nation and NOT with the church (because just remember again, the Old Testament prophets never "saw" the church). I repeat, the differences between Israel and the church become very clear only after Revelation 4, as Israel will not be taken away with the Rapture, but will remain in God's revenge / wrath during the tribulation period.

Now involuntarily the question is, of course: - Why would Israel as God's "elect" not also be Raptured BEFORE the tribulation? Why do THEY need to go through tribulation? Does not the Bible say that God is "no respecter of persons"?

Well, the point is first of all that God Himself has spoken prophecies over Israel for centuries, since He brought them out of Egypt, and also specifically about what will happen to them as a people in the end times. Those prophecies He pronounced over them because of their stubbornness, disobedience and rebellion against Him, and He told them REPEATEDLY and EXACTLY what He would do to their nation at the "end of days" – in the end-times. And seeing that God cannot lie and that He is not divided against Himself, and never goes against His own Word and His own prophecies, ALL those terrible things that He declared over Israel will certainly happen to them in the end times, exactly as He said.

And secondly, they effectively brought it over themselves during Jesus' crucifixion by shouting:

"When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, AND ON OUR CHILDREN."  
 **(Matthew 27:24,25)**

The only Jews who will miss those seven years of tribulation are those Jews who themselves received the Lord Jesus Christ and became "Messianic Jews" (New Testament believers) during the church dispensation, who prepare for the Rapture and will therefore be part thereof, or those New Testament Jewish believers who die "in Christ" before the Rapture and tribulation.

Just remember, the moment those Jews accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Redeemer, they immediately also become part of His true church, and are no longer part of "Israel", they are no longer "Jews".

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek ("Gentile"), there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:

for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."  
 **(Galatians 3:26-29)**

So, the name or label: "Messianic Jew" is actually a bit misleading because although we all know that it refers to Jews who have received the Saviour, Yeshua Ha Maschiach (Jesus the Messiah) as their personal Saviour and Redeemer, that specific term makes it sound as if the emphasis still falls on their "Jewishness" rather than on their membership of the true church of Jesus Christ.

But the emphasis should not be on their "Jewishness" any longer because the moment they accept Jesus Christ, they are immediately part of the church ("ekklesia") and there in the true "ekklesia" there is NO more JEW NOR GENTILE, but we are ALL ONE in Christ Jesus! So there is actually no such thing as a "Messianic Jew", just as you do not get something like a "Messianic Gentile / heathen". Both the Jews AND the Gentiles who receive the Lord Jesus and who become reborn are immediately part of His true church.

So, we should actually no longer use the term "Messianic Jews" for them, because then it sounds as if a FOURTH group of people are now involved in the Bible, namely: Jews, "Messianic Jews", Gentiles and the "ekklesia" - the true church. No, the moment a Jew accepts Jesus Christ as his Saviour, he becomes part of the true church of Jesus Christ - and therefore, in this book, I rather prefer the term "New Testament believer" - because he immediately "loses" his "Jewishness" as we read in the Bible must indeed happen according to Psalm 45: 10,11:

"Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear;

FORGET also THINE OWN PEOPLE, and thy father's house;

So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. _"_

Very interesting, here the Bible speaks to the King's (Jesus') bride, and look carefully at the command, namely, that if you bow down to the King, you must FORGET your OWN PEOPLE and your father's house! For the point is that the moment you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your King, YOUR PHYSICAL AND ETHNICAL ORIGIN IS NOT IMPORTANT OR APPLICABLE ANYMORE, but indeed the fact that we are all ONE in Christ Jesus, like we read in Galatians 3: 26-29 above.

So the Jew must forget that he was a Jew with all his Jewish traditions, the Afrikaner must forget that he was an Afrikaner with all his Afrikaner traditions, the Zulu must forget that he was a Zulu with all his Zulu traditions, and so on - once he has accepted the King of kings as his only King.

For the moment we do that we must understand that our citizenship is not here on earth any longer, according to **Philippians 3:20** :

"For our conversation (in Greek also means "citizenship") is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ _..."_

We who have accepted Him from all the different peoples of the world, therefore, ALL receive a new "citizenship" when we receive Him as our King. We all become citizens of the "church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven", namely the true church of Jesus Christ.

You only get New Testament (Jewish) believers who are part of the true church by faith in Jesus Christ, and you get Gentiles who through faith in Jesus Christ also became New Testament (Gentile) believers, and together with those believing Jews, now form the true church of Jesus Christ, thus:

"Jew and Gentile worshiping together!"

The Orthodox Jews who do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah on the other hand still stay just that – Jews. They do not form part of the church of Jesus Christ.

That's why wherever I go I say unequivocally that since I gave my life to Jesus I am definitely not an Afrikaner anymore, I am a CHILD OF GOD who speaks Afrikaans. Likewise, a Zulu who gave his heart to the Lord is no longer a Zulu, he is a CHILD OF GOD who speaks Zulu, and a Jew who gives his heart to the Lord is no longer a Jew, he is a CHILD OF GOD who speaks Hebrew.

Because of this, we in the true church now ALL have a NEW CULTURE, namely the "Jesus-culture", and we must live according to that culture in the world around us. So the Jew must stop desperately clinging to his Jewish culture and traditions, the Afrikaner must stop desperately clinging to his Afrikaner culture and traditions, the Zulu must stop desperately clinging to his Zulu culture and traditions - which are all things that the enemy uses in our different nations to prevent us from entering the fullness of our "Jesus" culture - the moment when we accept Jesus Christ and become part of His Kingdom, His "ekklesia" and His culture.

It is sometimes interesting to see how some white Christian believers who do or have done missionary work in Africa take some effort to teach those people they minister to in those countries to distance themselves from their Zulu or Shona or Tsonga or Chichewa or Tumbuka, or whatever other specific culture, and to only follow their new "Jesus culture" after having received Jesus; yet those same missionary Christians themselves are often not willing to abandon their OWN cultures and to also follow ONLY the "Jesus culture". As if ANY relevant culture's people would NOT need to also renounce their own peoples and their own fathers' houses according to that command in Psalm 45:10,11.

Let's read further how the Bible clearly confirms that God will not recall what He has pronounced.

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he NOT do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he NOT make it good?"  
(Numbers 23:19)

"My covenant will I not break, NOR ALTER the thing that is gone out of my lips."  
(Psalm 89:35)

The rest of the orthodox Jews who still do not believe or want to believe in Jesus Christ as Messiah and who still await the coming of the Messiah must all go THROUGH the consequences of all those prophecies that God spoke over their nation, because God does not lie and He does not change that which has gone out of His lips.

The reason for the great tribulation and Israel's staying behind in it is to get Israel as a nation to acknowledge that they rejected Jesus Christ as the true Messiah, then to confess it and thereafter to acknowledge Him as their true Messiah, God and King. So what is the true reason for the Rapture? Actually not for the church, as many Christians believed over the years. No, there has to be a Rapture due to the fact that God must fulfill His prophecies concerning Israel to the letter, just as He has already fulfilled all His other prophecies in the Bible to date, to the letter.

"According to the prophet Zechariah, in the future, Israel will look unto Messiah, _whom they have pierced_ ( **Zechariah 12:10** ), confess their sin of rejecting Him (see **Isaiah 53** ), and at that time Israel will be cleansed of their sins through His atonement ( **Zechariah 13:1** ). Zechariah then states that the result of Israel's "looking to Messiah" will be His return to planet Earth to rescue them, _And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives_ ( **Zechariah 14:4** ).

**This correlates perfectly with the New Covenant teaching that Messiah will not return UNTIL ISRAEL REPENTS NATIONALLY** , as Yeshua said, _Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'"_ ( **Matthew 23:38,39** ). In that day Israel's repentance and trust in Yeshua will usher in the Messianic kingdom period declared by all of Israel's prophets ( **Acts 3:19-22** )."

("GOD'S PLAN FOR ISRAEL, AND WHY IT MATTERS" by Sam Nadler)

That means, contrary to what many believers may think or believe, the Rapture is not so much about the church, but it has EVERYTHING to do with Israel! By this I mean that there will not be a Rapture because the church (and those in it who have prepared for it) is so "special", no, there will be a Rapture because God is so TRUE TO HIS OWN WORD and to the prophecies that He spoke over Israel.

And exactly because God has DIFFERENT plans for Israel and the true church in the end times, the true church that has prepared itself must be "out of the way" so that God – TRUE TO HIS WORD - can deal with the people of Israel according to His own prophecies.

Okay so let's look at some of God's prophecies regarding what will happen specifically to the people of Israel here on earth during the seven-year tribulation period.

"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver:

and he shall PURIFY the sons of Levi, and PURGE THEM as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

THEN shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, AS IN THE DAYS OF OLD, and as in former years."  
(Malachi 3:2-4)

Firstly, we understand from the wording of these verses that it refers to the day of Jesus 'coming, so it is definitely one of the outstanding prophecies about Israel that will be fulfilled at Jesus' second coming. Secondly, we learn that He will "purify the sons of Levi" (one of the tribes of Israel, but in this prophecy clearly referring to what will happen to Israel as a nation) and purge THEM like gold and silver. It takes a VERY HOT fire to purge gold and silver.

Thirdly, we read that after He has purged them in the day of His coming (during the tribulation and in the millennium), they will bring sacrifices to Him again, and then those sacrifices will be pleasing to the Lord as in "the days of old" when they were His people and He their God. These things have never happened in history yet, so they still lie in the future.

In my book on the Rapture, I explain in much more detail that those days of tribulation will be days of God's revenge / wrath / fury and that wrath will be terrible. Yes, so terrible that many millions of people will die on the earth.

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.

And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."  
 **(Revelation 6:8)**

These verses teach us that one quarter (25%) of the people on earth will be killed during this time. There are currently just over seven billion people on earth. If one quarter of them dies today, we are talking about one billion eight hundred and fifty-five million people who will die by the sword, famine, pestilence and also by wild animals during the tribulation period.

But that is not all...

"And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths."  
 **(Revelation 9:15-18)**

Here we read further that one third of all people will die by fire and smoke and brimstone - which is likely to be due to all the fires that will break out on the earth, or possibly due to nuclear explosions – but even if it's only one third of the current world population, it still means TWO BILLION four hundred and fifty-five million people who will die as a result of fire, smoke and brimstone.

As soon as you begin to point out these things to people, many of them are quick to say, "But HOW can a God of love allow such TERRIBLE things to happen here on earth?" The problem is that many people do not understand that BECAUSE God's love and grace and mercy is so awesome and immense and immeasurable on the one side of the scale, His righteousness, His fury His revenge and His wrath are proportionally as terrible and weighs just as heavy on the other side of the scale. I usually say, "He is God, so He gets to make the rules!" His Word determines that these things will happen and then it means nothing else than that it WILL literally happen - whether you want to believe it or not and no matter how terrible it may seem.

And you know it does not help saying, "I DO NOT WANT TO SERVE THIS TERRIBLE GOD!" Because by that you simply place your eternity squarely into satan's hands and will you spend eternity in hell with satan and his demons. And all just because you are not willing to serve this righteous and fair God who in His awesome grace has already put plans in place BEFORE the beginning of time so that you will NOT need to go through those terrible times – and all you have to do is to obey His Word and choose FOR HIM. It's your own voluntary choice. The Lord does not force Himself on us. He gave us a free will to choose, for Him or against Him.

Rather ensure that you immediately enter into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ if you are not there yet, and that you start preparing for the Rapture, because then those terrible things that will happen will not affect you and will not apply to you. So, instead of being angry with God for all those terrible things that are definitely GOING TO happen one day, start praising and thanking Him for His infinite grace that makes it possible for you and me (and ALL other sinners in the world - read 2 Peter 3: 9 again) to escape all these things (also read Luke 21:34-36), as long as you appropriate His grace and mercy for yourself by faith in His finished work on the cross.

But let's read on, regarding what will happen to the nation of Israel during that time. When you read the book of the prophet Zechariah and especially chapter 12 thereof, you will see that the prophet prophesies about things that will happen at Jesus' return. And then we read in the following chapter:

"And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, TWO PARTS therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will REFINE THEM as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God."  
 **(Zechariah 13:8,9)**

However terrible it may sound, we see that TWO THIRDS of all the people in Israel WILL DIE during the tribulation period. It will therefore be much worse than the "Holocaust" of World War II where six million Jews died under Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. Only one third of Israel will survive as a remnant. And what do we see will happen even to them? God says He will "bring them through the fire" (during the tribulation period) and will refine them as silver is refined and try them as gold is tried. It takes a VERY HOT fire to refine silver and gold. This is a further confirmation of the prophecy we read in Malachi 3: 2-4 on page 54 above.

We also read that God spoke to the nation of Israel through Moses in **Deuteronomy 4:30** :

"When thou art IN TRIBULATION,

and ALL THESE THINGS ARE COME UPON THEE,

even IN THE LATTER DAYS,

if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them."

From this it is clear that God will not totally destroy Israel as nation. As we have seen, one third will be kept alive and they will return to God as their God, thus fulfilling this prophecy that He spoke over Israel way back in the book of Deuteronomy already. Why will He do that? Again because God is always true to His own Word, and therefore He will not forget the covenant He made with Israel's forefathers.

The following verses also confirm that Israel will again seek God during their tribulation time:

"For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

I will go and return to my place, TILL THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR OFFENCE, and seek my face:

IN THEIR AFFLICTION they will seek me early. _"  
_ **(Hosea 5:14,15)**

These verses also prophetically confirm that the reason Israel will remain in the tribulation is so that they, as a nation, will acknowledge their offence for not recognizing Jesus as Messiah. In their distress, their "affliction" at the end of days, in "the time of Jacob's trouble", they will eventually acknowledge their offence and seek God's face. And He will let Him be found by them and He will save them.

"Alas! FOR THAT DAY IS GREAT, so that none is like it:

it is even the time of Jacob's trouble;

but he shall be saved out of it."  
(Jeremiah 30:7)

From all these different prophecies, we learn what will eventually happen to Israel, also among other things, that all who remain in Israel SHALL be saved.

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

AND SO ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED:

as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins."  
(Romans 11:25-27)

We further see that that remnant of Israel will be saved in one day.

"Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH (Jesus).

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts,

and I will remove the iniquity of that land IN ONE DAY. _"  
_ **(Zechariah 3:8,9)**

I personally believe that that specific day in which Israel will be saved and their iniquity be removed in one day, will be the final fulfillment of the "Day of Atonement" (Yom Kippur) as I explained in my book about the Rapture, where I wrote about the Seven Annual Feasts of the Lord and all seven feasts' fulfillment in the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That will be the specific day when the nation of Israel will be reconciled with Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha Maschiach) as their Messiah, King and Lord at His Second Coming.

Just a final confirmation that God will save Israel and their descendants, we find in the words of **Isaiah 59:20,21** :

"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. _"_

I know of many New Testament believers in various countries - including South Africa - who would so dearly like to be part of the PHYSICAL twelve tribes of Israel and who are very zealous and spend a lot of time to find out if they may not perhaps have any "Jewish blood". They are also quick to say, "I believe that I am from the tribe of Ephraim / Reuben / Naphtali," or whatever, and they do all kinds of bloodline research to try and see if they might even prove such descendancy in their lives.

Others on the other hand are very keen to "return" to the "Hebrew Roots" of their faith, and therefore study their Bibles largely - or only - in Hebrew, and they begin to participate in certain specific Jewish practices such as wearing the "tzitzit" or praying ONLY under a "tallit" (prayer shawl), or just using the so-called "Sacred Names" of Yahweh (YHVH) (pronounced in a variety of different ways, depending on which specific group they are part of), etc.

These next two pictures show persons wearing the so-called "tzitzit", those "fringes" worn by the Jews on the corners of their garments.

But once again those fringes were ONLY applicable to the nation of Israel and THEY had to wear them on the corners of their clothes for a VERY SPECIFIC REASON:

"Speak unto THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, and bid THEM that THEY make them fringes in the borders of THEIR garments

throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:

And it shall be unto you for a fringe,

that ye may LOOK UPON IT, and REMEMBER ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD, and do them;

and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

That YE MAY REMEMBER, and DO ALL MY COMMANDMENTS, and be holy unto your God."  
(Numbers 15:38-40)

What do we see here, what was the SPECIFIC reason why the people of Israel had to make those fringes in the corners of their clothes? It had to REMIND THEM of the commandments of the Lord! Thus, every time a Jew saw or touched those fringes, it would remind him of all God's laws and commandments. To this very day. There is a lot of interesting information available regarding how those fringes were knotted in specific and special ways to represent the 613 laws that were contained in the Old Testament.

But we as New Testament believers do NOT need to wear the "tzitzit". Why not? Because after Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, He sent us the Holy Spirit, and what did He come to do for us?

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove (convict/convince) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: _..._ _"  
_ **(John 16:7,8)**

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you INTO ALL TRUTH: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you."  
(John 16:13,14)

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth IN YOU (Holy Spirit), and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of ALL THINGS, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."  
(1 John 2:27)

From these verses we see that according to Jesus the Holy Spirit would come to earth to do the following things:

1. He would convince / convict ("reprove") the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. And to be able to convince or convict the world of sin, the Holy Spirit needs to remind us of God's laws, because by the law of God do we know what is sin and what is not.

2. He will guide us IN ALL TRUTH, in other words, including the whole truth of the laws and commandments of God and how they are applicable to our lives today.

3. He will teach us about ALL THINGS, which of course includes God's commandments, ordinances and laws, and in which ways, which laws apply to us today - or not.

Therefore, if a New Testament believer of the true church of Jesus Christ begins to wear the "tzitzit" like the Jews in Israel, he is in effect saying that the Holy Spirit has not yet come or is not really able to remind us of all God's ordinances, commandments and laws, because he still needs to see those physical fringes on his clothes to remind him thereof.

Remember, the Jews are obliged to wear the "tzitzit" to this very day in obedience to God's commandments in the Old Testament because they do not believe that Jesus Christ has already come, so they also do not believe that the Holy Spirit has been sent to earth. So they still need to look at the "tzitzit" today to remind them of all God's laws in the Old Testament. I will further discuss this aspect of the observance of the laws of God by the Jews, in a later chapter.

But if you as a New Testament believer want to wear the "tzitzit" today, I want to ask you whether you also do the following things that the Jews do?

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:...

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand,

and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."  
(Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

In obedience to these commands, Jewish men to this very day physically wear two things during their weekday morning prayers, which are called "tefillin" and also "phylacteries", and they look like this:

So here we see the two items that the Jewish men in obedience to the above-mentioned verses, bind around their arms and on their foreheads. And within those square containers, certain sections of the law of God (Torah) are rolled up. That means they exercise those words in Deuteronomy 6:6-8, in a physical manner by wearing those two items, just as they physically wear the "tzitzit" in obedience to Numbers 15: 38-40.

Furthermore, they place the following item on the doorjambs of their homes and on the gates of their cities, in obedience to Deuteronomy 6:9 above. This is known as the "mezuzah" and contains a small scroll with the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11 written thereon.

Again, they apply the words of verse 9 in a literal manner by placing this small item on their doorposts and gates.

My friend who wrote the Foreword to this book, Dr. Chris van Niekerk asked the following question in one of his sermons: "If you want to wear the" tzitzit ", why don't you wear the "tefillin" as well? I totally agree with this question because why do you as a New Testament believer choose to follow the literal execution of only certain specific Old Testament verses which are applicable to the Jews, but others you do not? And no, it will not help to use the argument that you wear the "tzitzit" because it still reminds you of God's laws, but you do not have to wear the "teffilin" because you are not an orthodox Jew.

As we have already seen, the commands to wear the "tzitzit" and the "tefillin" were specifically aimed at the Jews. You must therefore make the decision, IF you want to associate yourself with the Jews so strongly, and want to deny that the Holy Spirit is doing His work in the lives of us New Testament believers, from now on to start wearing BOTH the "tzitzit" AND the "tefillin" AND to affix the "mezuzah" to all the rooms in your house as they do, OR you must turn away from ALL those Jewish practices as New Testament believers, and begin to acknowledge ONLY the Holy Spirit and His leading and operation in your life, your thoughts, your prayers, and in your house.

You cannot simply pick and choose which of their physical traditions you want to maintain, and which ones not, or just decide for yourself that some of the things they do apply to you, but other things they still do, do NOT apply to you. What are you then, or where are you? Are you a one-third orthodox Jew, a one-third "Messianic Jew", and a one-third New Testament believer?

One question that comes to mind of course, is what would those verses in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 quoted above actually mean to us as New Testament believers in Jesus' true church, and what can we still learn today from that which God said to Israel back then? To us, it simply means that God's Word and His laws must be written in our hearts, that we must meditate on it in our minds and that it must be visible in our physical deeds, in our own homes and of course wherever we go.

A further question arises as to why we as New Testament believers can't actually just wear the "tzitzit" as a type of "prophetic action"? No, we cannot. Because the point is, one cannot perform a prophetic action with something which refers to the PAST and not to the future. For prophetic word in the Bible always refers to the FUTURE, never to the past. It therefore means that a prophetic action will also refer to something in the future, for example to prophetically walk or drive around a property that the person would like to purchase, or to prophetically start packing your suitcases in anticipation of the possibility to move to a new property, new town or even new country. These are all examples of "prophetic actions" that people have performed in certain cases, but in each instance it referred to something that would happen in the future.

The wearing of the "tzitzit", or the doing any of the above-mentioned traditional things that the Jews do, all refer BACK into the past, not to the future. Because all these physical symbols they use have all already received their fulfillment at the first coming of Jesus Christ, and upon the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

My mentioned friend also refers to the fact that the Old Testament is like the PATTERN of a dress, while the New Testament and what Jesus Christ is doing for us, sets up the FINAL GARMENT or DRESS. Somebody once said, "In the Old Testament the New Testament is concealed, and in the New Testament the Old Testament is revealed."

A well-known American evangelist, Dick Reuben, once said, "If the pattern is right, the glory will fall." This means that when we understand the pattern of Abba Father we will be able to experience the glory of His salvation. And then we will also understand what that pattern represents.

Now how do you make a dress? First, you buy a pattern made of paper and put it on top of the material you want to use. Then you cut the material along the lines of the pattern. Then you sew the pieces of the material together in accordance with the pattern, and finally it gives you the full dress. At that stage you save the pattern and you wear the dress. You do not put away the completed dress, stitch the paper pattern together, and then wear the paper pattern.

Because that paper pattern will not cover you very well if it should get wet or if it should get hooked on something. You also do not stitch the pattern onto the garment, and wear it together with the dress; no you put away the pattern in question after finishing the dress. From there on you only wear the garment itself, the completed dress! But you still can never FORGET the pattern because without the pattern you would not have the dress. The one is still linked to the other.

Therefore, we must definitely take note of the PATTERNS given by the Lord to us in His Word THROUGH His chosen people, Israel. But we cannot wear ónly the PATTERN, nor can we wear the pattern stitched onto the garment, no, we must only wear the GARMENT of righteousness we find in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Yet, beware of falling off the other side of the bus by claiming that we cannot learn ANYTHING from the Old Testament anymore, and that we must now ONLY read the New Testament. No, the Old Testament teaches us the "pattern" and the New Testament teaches us how to wear the "dress" on a daily basis. We therefore need BOTH the Testaments in the Bible to learn from.

Now, some groups tend to quickly argue that the "patterns" they study from the Old Testament, all refer them to Jesus Christ (Yeshua). Yes, that is true, because EVERYTHING in the Bible eventually points to the message of salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ, but after they followed the pattern TO JESUS, what do they then do? They do not start to execute the instructions of the New Testament as Jesus Himself commanded, because they no longer study the New Testament. So they follow the pattern that points TO the dress, but they do not finally reach the point where they stitch the whole dress together, putting it on and then living in the dress.

Instead of letting the Old Testament lead them to Jesus and then on to what He did and commanded in the New Testament and for the future, and then starting to live according to His instructions in the New Testament, they keep on pulling Jesus BACK into the Old Testament.

They keep on returning to the pattern and to look for another piece of material to attach to the dress, and once they have attached it, they look for another piece of the pattern, and another piece of the pattern, and another piece of the pattern, and so on and on and on. In doing so, they study the pattern, and eventually they know the pattern from the top of their heads, and have even assembled some pieces of the material, but they never get to the place of assembling the full dress. Why not? Because they do not attach the pieces of the pattern in the New Testament to the dress as well, so they are not obedient to, and they do not practice the instructions of Jesus in the New Testament. They are so busy looking for still other pieces of the pattern in the Old Testament that they never assemble the entire dress.

I have a personal testimony from a friend of mine, who at one stage was also involved in one of the "Hebrew Root" groups which I referred to in Chapter 6, for a while. He says for some time they just studied even more and more teachings from Hebrew and in the Old Testament and he said for a while it was great, because yes there are definitely wonderful and interesting things we can learn from the Hebrew in the Old Testament. But he testified that he returned home one evening after one of those many teachings, and stopped at a crossing where there was one of the well-known South African "pub and grill" eateries.

The moment he stopped at the crossing he heard the Holy Spirit talking to him and asking him what ALL those Hebrew teachings they had had the previous weeks meant to those unsaved and drunk men in the pub & grill, and wasn't his assignment to actually make disciples of all nations? And right there he decided to totally withdraw from the particular group and he is presently doing great work for the Lord's Kingdom and His true church in winning souls for the Kingdom.

Because no matter how hard you may study you will not get one piece of text – not one piece of the "pattern" - in the Hebrew of the Old Testament that says, "Make disciples of all nations". Why not? Because that was an assignment to Jesus' true church in the New Testament and I repeat, the Old Testament writers knew nothing about the church, so you will learn nothing in the Old Testament about what Jesus's instructions were to His true New Testament church. Therefore, by just studying the Old Testament, eventually, a HUGE HOLE will be left in your final "garment". So huge in fact, that it may even cost you eternity, as we will see later.

And because of all this persistent searching for, and clinging to, the different pieces of the "pattern" in the Old Testament, we have already received more than one sad testimony of people who - after becoming involved in such "Hebrew Roots"- or "Torah Groups"- letting their Christian friends know: "Do not send me any messages from the New Testament anymore, because I no longer believe in your "Western" Jesus, I'm waiting for the true Messiah who still has to come." Very sad.

Because can you see what happened here? The Old Testament "pattern" led them to Yeshua (Jesus) yes, He Who is about to come again according to the New Testament, but now they believe like the Jews do, that it will only be His first coming - because they all now concentrate only on the Old Testament, and of course, all the rabbinical writings of the Jews. They have the pattern pieces and these pieces lead these students of Hebrew to the material of the "dress" but they do not go further to STITCH TOGETHER the dress and then start to WEAR that garment of righteousness by DOING what Jesus instructs us in the New Testament to do.

But please note that if you ARE successful in your research and investigations on your bloodlines which I referred to earlier, and you find out that you actually are REALLY part of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Bible you are in the first place OBLIGED to return to the physical land of Israel, you can no longer live in South Africa or Britain or America or wherever you are outside of Israel.

"For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD:

and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. _"  
_ **(Jeremiah 30:3,4)**

Look carefully, God says He will restore the tribes of Israel and Judah to the land He gave to their fathers. And that land is NOT Britain, America, or South Africa, or any other country on the globe, other than the physical territory of Israel.

We read the clear reference to which physical territory that was and still is, in the book of Joshua. There the Lord clearly states what would be the northern, eastern, southern and western borders of the country, and where He also named certain specific river names, e.g. the Euphrates River. Clearly therefore, it can NOT refer to the territory of Britain, or America, or South Africa, no matter how much you want to "interpret" those Bible verses in the Bible. You cannot claim that those descriptions in the book of Joshua actually refer to ANY other physical country than Israel. And the Limpopo River, or the Thames River, or the Mississippi River, or any other river in the world, is still not the Euphrates River. There is only one Euphrates River in the world.

So, if you are quite sure that you ARE part of one of the physical tribes of Israel, firstly you must start taking steps to finally return to the physical land of Israel.

Secondly, you must understand that you might then not be in the Rapture, but that you will remain with the rest of Israel to go through God's revenge / wrath / fury during the so-called "time of Jacob's trouble". Thirdly, you must hope that you will not be part of the two thirds who will die in Israel during those seven years of tribulation but that you will be part of the one third remnant that God Himself will protect in the wilderness.

I personally am very grateful to know that I, tiaan gildenhuys, am definitely NOT part of any of the physical tribes of Israel, although there are people who try their best to convince me that I should be. No, I WAS a Gentile, who had the privilege of being saved by FAITH in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2: 8) and I am very grateful for that. Now I'm part of that "new creature" known in the world as the "Body of Christ" (Galatians 6:15), the "ekklesia".

I know that salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22), as Jesus himself said, so if it were not for Israel, I would not have had the privilege of being saved. Therefore, according to the Word, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and I pray for the peace of the people of Israel and we visit Israel on a regular basis by taking Christian tour groups to Israel on an annual basis as I have already said.

But I certainly have no desire or urge to be part of physical Israel, especially when one knows what will soon happen to them as a nation after the Rapture takes place.

Please understand me very clearly, I do NOT say for one moment that you should not, or may not have any empathy, sympathy, or even an intimate love for the Jews or for the people of Israel! I personally have a great love for Israel, for Jerusalem and for the Jews as a people.

What I am warning against in this book, is that New Testament Gentile believers, because of their love or empathy for the country of Israel and the Jews, ought not to try to become more Jewish, especially in the practices, traditions and customs, as the Jews themselves. For, as I point out throughout this book, in the long run it could have dangerous consequences in those people's lives. They must not exchange their own culture for, or replace it with the Jewish culture. No, as I have already written, we must ALL \- including the Jews – exchange our different cultures for the JESUS culture.

We are very fast nearing the end of the end-times, which means the Rapture, the seven years of tribulation and the "time of Jacob's trouble" is VERY CLOSE. But any Jewish brother or sister can also escape all these terrible things that will come upon the nation of Israel during the tribulation period, by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Redeemer and Saviour according to John 1:12,13 and also Romans 10:9,10, which means that they will thereby immediately become part of Jesus Christ's true New Testament church ("ekklesia"). Then it also means that those New Testament (Jewish) believers who are preparing for the Rapture will also be there, or if they should "die in Christ" prior to the Rapture and the tribulation.

People who know me know that I always say that EVERYTHING in the Bible applies to me as a New Testament believer - and that I can learn something from every single verse in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation - to enable me to apply it to my personal life.

Nevertheless, it is important for New Testament believers to take note of the fact that although I can learn something, or can be exhorted or rebuked or reprimanded from every single verse of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - although I'm not a Jew and very large sections of the Bible have been written about and for them, when it comes to the end times and the Rapture and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, there are certain verses in the Bible that apply EXCLUSIVELY to the Jews / Israel, concerning things that will only happen to THEM as a nation, and NOT to us as the church, as I have already explained in detail.

Where will you be during those seven years of wrath / revenge / fury of God dear reader? Safely in heaven, out of the tribulation with those in the true church who really prepared themselves for the imminent return of Jesus with the Rapture, or IN in the so-called "time of Jacob's trouble" WITH Israel and the rest of the unbelievers and disobedient, here on earth?

The events of the Rapture are also clearly symbolically seen in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Their story is one of those PATTERNS in the Bible that Abba Father gave us to learn from.

(1). Joseph's brothers sold him to Egypt (which is a symbol of the world).

Jesus' Jewish brothers sold Him to the world.

(2). Joseph became king of Egypt.

Jesus is the King of the world and the universe.

(3). Joseph revealed himself to his brothers at their SECOND appearance before him. (After he had properly tested them to see if they had a true change of heart.)

Jesus will reveal Himself to His Jewish brothers as their Messiah, at His SECOND appearance in Israel. (After having first tested them properly to see if they had a true change of heart, during the tribulation period.)

(4). But before Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he first sent all the Egyptians out of the room. (Genesis 45:1)

Likewise, Jesus will send those who are ready in the New Testament Church "out of the room" with the Rapture before revealing Himself to His Jewish brothers as their true and only Messiah.
5

"ELECT"

When we begin to understand the DIFFERENCES between Israel and the church in the end times, we will also begin to understand that when the Bible speaks of His "elect", it sometimes refers to Israel and sometimes to the church; it does not ALWAYS refer just to the church. Let's read some verses that confirm this fact:

"For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me."  
 **(Isaiah 45:4)**

"...for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect (Israel) shall long enjoy the work of their hands. _"  
_ **(Isaiah 65:22)**

In these verses the "elect" are clearly the nation of Israel.

"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. _"  
_ **(Romans 8:33)**

This verse refers to the true church, the "ekklesia".

"For there (during the tribulation) shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. _"  
_ **(Matthew 24:24)**

This verse refers to the Jewish remnant during the tribulation.

From these verses, we therefore see that when we read about the "elect" in the Bible, we cannot just accept that it ONLY refers to God's New Testament children in the church.

Many times it also refers to Israel as God's elect and it is easy to understand the difference when one stops trying to "interpret" or "force" New Testament believers into those texts.

But as a result of the fact that many believers have not yet learned to discern between Israel as a people, and God's plan with them, and the true church of Jesus Christ, and God's plan with them, they think that when they read about the "elect" DURING the tribulation here on earth, then according to them it MUST refer to the church that will be in the tribulation here on earth.

However, it is simply not true. Feel free to order my book about the Rapture of the saints, or read it as a free e-book as I said earlier to get more detail about this from the Word.
6

THE JESUS ROOT

Unfortunately, it has happened over time that many New Testament believers who initially believed the lie of the "Replacement Theology" - that the church has "replaced" Israel in God's plan - became so disappointed and in some cases even angry when they realized they have been lied to in the different church denominations for many years, that they unknowingly fell straight into a new lie, and began believing and declaring that we in fact are all part of the ten / twelve tribes of Israel (depending which group they ended up in) who after the various exiles were spread all over the world, or that we should now all "return" to our "Hebrew (Jewish) Roots" as I wrote earlier.

So they simply got stuck in a type of "reverse Replacement Theology" and became part of any of a number of similar groups who believe that Israel or the Hebrews, in turn, now actually replaced the true church of Jesus Christ, and that we must therefore ensure that we all begin to associate with Israel, either by claiming that we (and if I say "we" I mean that, from the point of view of some of these groups, ONLY the white nations of the world) are physically part of the "ten / twelve scattered tribes of Israel" today (depending on which specific group you find yourself in), or by claiming that we should ALL "return" to our "Hebrew Roots" as believers in Yeshua / Jesus.

However, it is dangerous to associate you with Israel in these wrong ways, or to see yourself as a physical Jew. Why? Let's see what this author says, what can be the possible consequences in your life if you associate yourself with the wrong people:

**Are You Benefiting from the Spiritual Law of Association? (** _Steve Backlund_ **)**

" _He who walks with wise men will be wise."  
_ **(Proverbs 13:20)**

"The spiritual law of association is revealed in the Bible in passages such as:

\- "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed," ( **Proverbs 13:20** ).

\- "Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits,'" ( **1 Corinthians 15:33** ).

\- "And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him (David)," ( **1 Samuel 22:2** ).

\- "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus," ( **Acts 4:13** ).

\- "Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him," ( **Deuteronomy 34:9** ).

\- "When Solomon was old...his wives turned his heart after other gods," ( **1 Kings 11:4** ).

**This law will work** _FOR US_ **and cause increase and blessing if we intentionally ALIGN OURSELVES WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE AHEAD OF US IN THE THINGS OF GOD and life.**

The "3-D People" of **1 Samuel 22** (those in Debt, Distress and Discontent) became the mighty men of David in **2 Samuel 23** because of their association and commitment to David. Likewise, the dysfunctional disciples in the gospels became world changers because of their covenant relationship with Jesus. We too can accelerate our success in life by partnering with people of wisdom and victory.

**This law will work** _AGAINST US_ **TO RESTRICT AND IMPOVERISH US IF OUR MAIN RELATIONSHIPS ARE WITH THOSE WHO DO NOT HONOR GOD OR HIS SPIRITUAL LAWS.**

Scripture admonishes us to avoid being misled concerning this. "Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits,'" ( **1 Corinthians 15:33** ). This law will bring us into a greater intimacy with God because it helps us to discover that He is the greatest association that we can have, and that we will become like Him (and become blessed) by being in His presence. The untrained disciples became astoundingly like Jesus through being with Him. Moses' face shone because He also was with God. (See **Exodus 34:35**.) The disciples and Moses illustrate the reality of **2 Corinthians 3:18:** _"We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory."_

I delight in this law by joyfully declaring:

I walk with the wise. I am committed to people who are more blessed than I am. I have renounced unhealthy relationships. I spend so much time in God's presence that it is obvious to others that I have been with Jesus."

**(**<http://ignitinghope.com/blog/the-spiritual-law-of-association> **)**

If I just want to associate myself with Israel or the Jews and their PHYSICAL Old Testament practices, is that going to have positive or negative consequences in my SPIRITUAL life? In other words, will it take me FORWARD in my spiritual growth and walk of faith, or is it going to PULL ME BACK into the past?

The question is does Israel as a nation give recognition to Jesus Christ and His SPIRITUAL laws and commands to the true church in the New Testament? If not, WHAT can they teach me about Jesus Christ and His spiritual principles regarding His true church in the New Testament? Will the observing of their physical Old Testament and extra-Biblical PRACTICES bring me closer to Jesus Christis and His love, mercy and grace, or will it cause me to wear only the PATTERN, instead of the completed ROBE?

If I as a believer in Jesus Christ who preach strongly against entering any bar or casino, (unless the Lord specifically instructs you to go and remove someone from out of the specific place), suddenly start to continually visiting pubs and casinos, will the people associate me with the mission of the Lord to save souls in those bars and casinos? Or will they start to associate me with the barflies, drunks and gamblers, especially if I start drinking with them and playing a few dollars on the blackjack table with them from time to time? Will that which I associate myself with PHYSICALLY in those places, thus be seen in a positive or negative light regarding my SPIRITUAL life? Most definitely in a negative light.

So what would be best option - to associate myself with the constant search for the PATTERNS of the dress, or to wear the final dress?

I have to realize that by supporting the view that we are all physical Jews or physical Israel, or that everyone must now "return" to our "Hebrew Roots", it firstly DENIES God's plan for and with the GENTILES of the world, and with His New Testament Church, because God's plans in the Bible are NOT ONLY for the Jews or those who speak Hebrew as language. For there are NOT ONLY Jews / Israelites (spread worldwide) today, but also "real" Gentiles (who are NOT part of nor ever were part of the initial so-called "lost" tribes of Israel), and also New Testament believers (who are NOT necessarily Jews nor Israelites).

Please take a look at these two pictures that I have taken from only a small section of "Adam's Synchronological Chart or Maps of History", a book that I have in my personal possession and which was published in 1871 for the first time, which contains a map that in its total length is approximately five METERS long.

On this map, the time line of the world is depicted, from Adam and Eve, until the mid-1800s. And on this map, we clearly see what happened to the people who the Bible speaks about, including Israel, in chronological order, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME showing what happened to the other peoples and nations (the Gentiles) in the world. This map very clearly shows that while some things were happening to the Jews here on earth, certain other things were happening to the Gentile nations at the very same time.

The top one-third of the map contains the information regarding the Bible characters, while the bottom two-thirds give details on what happened to the rest of the Gentile nations across the globe during the same time-frame.

So the whole world has not always consisted of ONLY Israelites, and the whole world has not always consisted of ONLY Gentiles. BOTH those groups existed here on earth, as we read very clearly in the Bible, and they still BOTH exist on earth to this very day.

But let us proceed ...

Secondly, the views of some of the groups we are discussing in this chapter led to them also beginning to celebrate God's Feasts, but very specifically according to certain JEWISH TRADITIONS e.g. concerning only specific foods to be eaten, or specific clothing to be worn during the days of the respective feasts, also traditions regarding the so-called "Seder-meal", the eating of the Pesach-lamb etcetera, traditions that mostly come from the rabbinical writings that I wrote about earlier and that were applicable ONLY to the Jews \- and which do NOT come from the Bible.

For example: the people of Israel had the task of removing all leaven from their homes before and during the Passover Feast (Pesach) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ha Matzot), and for the full seven days of the festival, to eat only unleavened bread (Matzah / Matzos). Remember, first and foremost, that when they celebrate the feast of Passover every year, it continually reminds them about the escape of their nation from Egypt. Pesach does not remind them of Jesus Christ or of what He would come to do. They are still trying SYMBOLICALLY to get rid of the "sin" in their homes by physically removing the leaven, while we as members of His true church ("ekklesia") know that Pesach was finally FULFILLED when Jesus DIED FOR ALL OUR SINS on the cross.

So by associating with the Jewish traditions by participating in an exercise to still physically remove any leaven from our homes prior to Pesach, we are actually agreeing with the Jews that the Messiah (Jesus) has not yet come, and that He has not taken away all our sins yet. (Even though we may not know this, or even though we may "think differently" about it as some people say, just remember the words of Hosea 4:6. Satan still uses our lack of knowledge against us).

Remember, to them the feast of Pesach reminds them of getting out of bondage in EGYPT. To us New Testament believers in the "ekklesia" it means something TOTALLY different than to them. And just in that one thing we also see the DIFFERENCE between Israel and the true church, as there are many other differences found in the Word. If we don't discern these DIFFERENCES, the errors slowly creep in, where New Testament believers start to see themselves as "Israel", or as descendants of the tribes of Israel. You know why? Because all people want to BELONG somewhere. And the moment you understand that you are NOT a Jew or Israelite, you can have reassurance in the fact that you DO BELONG in the true church of Jesus Christ, if you have received Him as your Lord and Saviour.

As explained in detail in my book about the Rapture of the saints, the first four (spring) feasts have all been fulfilled by Jesus Christ at His first coming to earth (the beginning of the church age), and the last three (autumn) feasts will be fulfilled at His Second Coming (the end of the church age). The feast of unleavened bread was thus already fulfilled by Him when His sinless body hung on the cross and lay in the grave on our behalf.

Furthermore, the Jews have a tradition to enjoy a so-called "Seder-meal" during the Passover (Pesach), to commemorate their freedom from Egypt. And then they have the practice of placing an empty chair at the table, which is symbolically held for Elijah, who, according to them, will announce the coming of the Messiah. They also pour a glass of wine for Elijah and actually invite him in by opening the door for him and reciting a specific passage. He is seen as "the harbinger of the coming of Moschiah, our righteous Messiah".

What they do not understand because they do not read the New Testament - but we do know it today - is that "Elijah" has already come, as Jesus himself confirmed:

"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

And if ye will receive it, THIS (John) IS ELIAS, which was for to come.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. _"  
_ **(Matthew 11:13-15)**

Here Jesus says in so many words that the use of the chair at the Seder-meal is no longer necessary, because "Elijah" / "Elias" has already come. If we as New Testament believers in Jesus' true church should share in a Seder-meal with certain groups where a chair is placed for "Elijah" and a cup of wine is poured and a door opened to invite him in, we thereby firstly agree with the view that John the Baptist actually has not yet come and did not do his part to announce the coming of the true Messiah. Secondly, we thereby associate ourselves with the view that even the Messiah Himself has not yet come, and that we are still waiting for His (FIRST) coming, like the Jews. And thirdly, we are thereby actually also saying that Jesus Christ told a lie when He said "Elijah" has already come. It's a dangerous place to be in...

I keep getting more and more reports of people joining these different groups and then during Passover / Pesach going as far as "sacrificing" a Passover lamb to celebrate the feast (sometimes just calling it a barbeque but specifically stated that they are celebrating Passover with that). By participating in such a Passover meal as a New Testament believer, I therefore AGAIN associate myself with Israel first and foremost, and their celebration of their exodus from Egypt, RATHER than with Jesus Christ and His FULFILLMENT of Passover as the Lord's FINAL PASSOVER LAMB. Thereby again saying that Jesus Christ has not yet come and that we are still waiting for the (first coming of) Messiah. It's a dangerous place to be...

Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, led Paul to write the following:

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.

For even CHRIST OUR PASSOVER IS SACRIFICED for us:

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. _"  
_ **(1 Corinthians 5:7,8)**

The warning of Paul is therefore clear that we have to PURGE (throw out) the OLD LEAVEN, referring to the OLD TRADITIONS of the Jews, because as for us New Testament believers in the "ekklesia", OUR FINAL PASSOVER LAMB has already been sacrificed, ONCE AND FOR ALL. We also cannot participate in such a Passover meal and then proclaim that I am just doing it as a kind of "prophetic action"; because all that Jesus said we as church SHOULD eat at the Passover is His body and His blood, as symbolized in the bread and the cup with grape juice - NOT any physical Passover lamb.

No, that "old leaven" we have to throw out, does not mean that we still have to remove the physical leaven from our kitchens during Passover. And it does not mean that during the Passover we must eat unleavened bread for the whole week of the feast, because Paul clearly states that we must celebrate with the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth". That means that the "unleavened bread" that we celebrate the feast with in the church, is quite different than the physical unleavened bread that the Jews still eat for seven days during the festival.

We also have Jesus' own clear answer regarding this in the following verses:

"Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread... How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

Then understood they how that he bade them NOT beware of the leaven of bread, but of the DOCTRINE OF the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." **(Matthew 16:6-12)**

When we as New Testament believers of Jesus' true church, start to study the rabbinical writings that I have already mentioned, namely the Talmud, Mishna, Midrash, Gemara, etc., with the Old Testament, we are placing ourselves back under that same "old leaven" that Jesus said we should be careful about, and that Paul said we should "purge out" seeing as those books were written by Pharisee Jewish Rabbi's over centuries, and as such are still part of the "...doctrine of the Pharisees ...", but which is not part of the Word of God.

Pieces of that "old leaven" that many New Testament believers put back in place in their lives are among other things, when they also start to buy or bake a "challah"-bread to eat on Friday (Sabbath) night like the Jews, and when they also burn two candles to refer to Eve and Mary, like the Jews. Those are Jewish customs that are NOT mentioned in the Bible. There are a lot of other things that I can mention regarding all this, but I believe that any reader of this book who may knowingly or unknowingly have been caught up in some of these Jewish "old-leaven- traditions" now knows what he or she should take note of when celebrating the Lord's feasts in future.

I repeat, as New Testament believers, the seven Feasts of the Lord are VERY DEFINITELY still applicable to us and we must acknowledge and celebrate them, but only to the extent that the feasts have all found their fulfillment, and will continue to be fulfilled in the first and Second Comings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is unfortunately also true that many of the mentioned believers in these different groups do not take note of the fact that we can NOT "go back" to our "Hebrew roots" because we as Gentile believers are the "wild olive branches" that were grafted onto the normal olive tree precisely because its branches were BROKEN OFF as a result of their disobedience and disbelief.

Those branches that were broken off, is the nation of Israel and we can NOT be grafted onto broken off branches. No, although we are grafted onto the olive tree, everything still grows out of the ROOT and who is that? ONLY Jesus Christ Himself. This means that we cannot go back to the "Hebrew Roots" of our faith, but that we MUST all return to our "Jesus Root".

Just see how clear the Bible is about this:

"And in that day there shall be a ROOT of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." _  
_(Isaiah 11:10)

"And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a ROOT of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. _._ "  
(Romans 15:12)

And in the last chapter of the Bible, Jesus Himself says:

"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I AM THE ROOT and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." (Revelation 22:16)

Thus from the Word it is very clear that that ROOT of Jesse and the "offspring of David" is NOT Israel or the Hebrews, the ROOT IS ONLY Jesus Christ.

But then the argument quickly comes: "But Jesus was a Jew and He followed all the Jewish laws, traditions and practices, and that is why we do it today!" Yes he was and yes He did, but remember that His church only originated AFTER His ascension to heaven, which means that even though He Himself lived according to the "pattern" while He was on earth, He explained to us in the New Testament how to finally put together the "pattern of the robe" and how to live in the fullness thereof according to His instructions and in righteousness in the New Testament and in the future – from His ascension to heaven and further. We don't need to follow the shadows of the Old Testament anymore we can live in His marvelous light!

But let us return to Israel. Israel itself is just a portion – namely a part of the branches – of the olive tree, and what happened to them according to the Bible?

"The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee (Those prophecies I referred to - Author), for the evil of THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger..."  
(Jeremiah 11:16,17)

"For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if THE ROOT be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a WILD OLIVE TREE, wert graffed in among them, and with them PARTAKEST OF THE ROOT and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Thou wilt say then, THE BRANCHES WERE BROKEN OFF, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee."  
(Romans 11:16-21)

From all these verses we learn a number of very important principles that we should not lose sight of:

1. Firstly we learn that although Israel is called a "green olive tree", the "branches" (also Israel, the Jews, the Hebrews who do not acknowledge that Jesus has already come) were BROKEN OFF as a result of their evil and because they provoked God to anger, so that He Himself spoke those prophecies over them, regarding what will happen to them during the end-time tribulation period.

2. On the opposite side we (the New Testament church) stand today ONLY as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ,

3. Because through that we have become partakers of the ROOT (Jesus), and NOT of the branches (Israel).

4. BUT we should not become prideful because of that and think that we are better than they are, but it must rather awaken the fear of the Lord in our hearts, because if He did not spare them, He can just as easily break us off as well if we become unfaithful and disobedient and start to provoke Him to anger with our actions. So we must not try and "boast" against Israel (the branches), because it is not us carrying the root, but the root carries us. And who is that root again?

The only JESUS CHRIST /  
YESHUA HA MASCHIACH.

These few points clearly explain that we CAN NOT return to our "Hebrew Roots", because those broken off BRANCHES are NOT our roots, even the olive tree itself is not our root, ONLY Jesus Christ is that.

But you see that green olive tree (Jewish believers in Jesus as the Messiah) and the wild olive branches (we as Gentile believers who received Jesus as our Messiah) who were grafted in, and who then TOGETHER form the TRUE OLIVE TREE having the same ROOT, is eventually the true CHURCH ("ekklesia") of Jesus Christ, "JEW AND GENTILE WORSHIPING TOGETHER!"

That is precisely what my sister in Christ, Joy Heyneke depicted in her painting: "The Olive Tree of Life" which she kindly donated to me when she heard me deliver this message the first time, and which I have placed on the front cover of this book of mine. And the most interesting thing is that she painted this painting quite a while before she heard me speak about this subject, and even before we left for Israel early in 2018, where God gave me the final instructions for this book. Yet we see clearly how she depicted both the green olive tree and the wild olive branches and also the HUGE root, and also that those two would be coming from all directions of the compass to be partakers of that root.

The wild olive branches do NOT suddenly become normal olive branches, but they receive their food JUST from the root, Jesus Christ. The normal olive tree does NOT suddenly change into a wild olive tree as a result of the grafting-in of the wild branches, but THE WHOLE TREE receives its food JUST from the root, Jesus Christ.

The Jews in the church do not suddenly become Gentiles because they are now part of the true New Testament church, and the Gentiles in the church do not suddenly become Jews / Hebrews / Israelites because they are now part of the true church. No, ALL who have received the Lord Jesus Christ and are born again are now ONE IN CHRIST!

"For YE ARE ALL THE CHILDREN OF GOD BY FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is NEITHER Jew nor Greek (Gentile),

there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:

for ye are ALL ONE in Christ Jesus.

And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. _"  
_ **(Galatians 3:26-29)**

My friend Chris also testified about a little kumquat citrus tree that he bought at a nursery, especially because it was carrying quite a number of fruits. He had the little kumquat tree for two years and found a number of handy uses for all the kumquats that little tree carried during those two years. But in the third year the kumquat tree died. However, he noted that that kumquat tree was grafted into a thicker stump lower down. He decided not to destroy the stump below but that he was going to allow it to grow it by itself so that he can see what exactly it was. A short while later that stump started forming new branches and eventually started forming new fruits – and it was a lemon tree! Then he understood for the first time that the kumquat branch was grafted into a lemon tree. Yet, during those two years that he had had the kumquat tree, the kumquat did not suddenly start carrying lemons, and the lemon tree did not suddenly start carrying kumquats. The kumquats were still kumquats and the lemons were still lemons. But for those two years they both were fed by the same root.

The same principle is applicable to the Jews (green olive) and the Gentiles (wild olive) who, in the church of Jesus Christ are carried by the same Root, Jesus Christ. The Jews are still Jews and the Gentiles are still Gentiles (no matter from which nations they originate, albeit Afrikaner, British, German, Dutch, Zulu, Tswana, or whatever), - but ALL ARE ONE in Christ Jesus when they become part of His church. Thus, as I wrote earlier, ALL then children of God, part of the body of Christ, but who just speak different languages.

If we want to "return" to the broken off branches (Israel / Hebrews) and make ourselves part of THEM, it effectively means that we are thereby putting ourselves under the same curse of their sin and unbelief which provoked the Lord to anger. Thereby we actually also deny our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED ("It is finished!") for us on the cross.

Because remember, the orthodox Jews do NOT yet believe that Jesus has already come. By seeing THEM as the "root" of our faith to which we must all "return", while they as a nation still deny Jesus as Messiah, has far-reaching implications for our faith.

That is why we as Gentile believers who were grafted into the ROOT (Jesus Christ) CANNOT "return" to something we were never part of in the first place (Israel / Hebrews), but on the other hand we must beware that we DO NOT BEGIN TO THINK WE ARE BETTER than the nation of Israel in any way (that is anti-Semitism), because if God did not spare them, then He can break us off from that tree just as easily if we become prideful or haughty and think we are better than they are. James 4:6 teaches clearly:

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

As I already said earlier, my wife and I have had the privilege by the grace of God to have already been able to go to Israel nine times, and upon His instruction to lead various tour groups to that country. And since we went there the first time in 2007 and having met and gotten to know various Jews both here in South Africa and in Israel, I initially wondered HOW it was POSSIBLE that they could NOT see what all of us saw and experienced so clearly there in Israel?

For quite a while I wondered how they – including the various Jewish tour guides who I could see were very knowledgeable regarding the Bible, and even our Jewish tour operators – could take literally hundreds of thousands of tourists to all the specific places in Israel which the Bible refers to, including the places we read about in the NEW TESTAMENT, yet they do not HEAR and they do not SEE what we hear and see – and they don't BELIEVE it? How was this possible, I thought? Do they really think that all those thousands of tourists, who come from ALL levels of society, including spiritual leaders and even some world leaders, and who also really know their Bibles, are ignorant or stupid, I wondered? What is going on? Initially it really baffled me.

Until the Lord Himself, through His Holy Spirit revealed the following verses to me one day:

"What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded

(According as it is written,

GOD HATH GIVEN THEM THE SPIRIT OF SLUMBER, EYES THAT THEY SHOULD NOT SEE, AND EARS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT HEAR;) unto this day.

And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall?

God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?"  
(Romans 11:7-12)

Wow! Note closely what is written here. God HIMSELF has given Israel _"...the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, ears that they should not hear...!"_ Why? So that salvation could come to US as Gentiles! And we must understand that if it was not for the Jews, we could not be saved, as Jesus Himself said:

"Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. _"  
_ **(John 4:22)**

Why is _"...salvation of the Jews"_ , as we said earlier? Because Jesus was born as a Jew in Israel and we can only come to salvation through Him.

But WHY did God give them that spirit of slumber?

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits;

that blindness in part is happened to Israel,

UNTIL THE FULNESS OF THE GENTILES BE COME IN. _"  
_ **(Romans 11:25)**

What a wonderful God we serve! If He Himself did not close Israel's eyes and ears like that, we as Gentiles would not have had any chance of salvation, because then ONLY the Jews would have been able to understand the Word of God and become saved. But because He blinded them TEMPORARILY, we as Gentiles can now also enter into His grace and become saved.

And precisely because we have now received that wonderful privilege to _"come in"_ , while THEIR eyes are temporarily veiled by God Himself, we must provoke them to jealousy with what we have. And we can only provoke them to jealousy if we have something that they DON'T have. If we follow after all THEIR practices and traditions, how can we provoke them to jealousy with something they already have then?

But the question remains, is God going to "open their eyes" again? Definitely yes! Just read the two verses following the one I quoted last:

"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,

There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

For this is my covenant unto them, WHEN I SHALL TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS. _"  
_ **(Romans 11:26,27)**

Note clearly, God says that all Israel shall be saved because He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob and take away their sins. And that does not refer to when Jesus was here on earth the first time, because these two verses were written by Paul – under instruction from the Holy Spirit – a number of years AFTER the ascension of Jesus Christ, and after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, so clearly it refers to something that still lies in the future, more specifically at the second coming of Jesus Christ, as I explain in detail in my book on the Rapture of the saints. And once again it refers to PHYSICAL Israel, and NOT to any other nation upon the earth who THINK that they are the "Israelites" today.

These verses also do NOT refer to us who have received the Lord Jesus Christ and who are part of His true church, because we are not going to be saved somewhere in the future, we are ALREADY saved through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. And yes, we can KNOW that we are saved, if we have DONE what the following verses instruct:

"But as many AS RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. _"  
_ **(John 1:12,13)**

"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED."  
 **(Romans 10:8-13)**

If we have done the above-mentioned things, we can KNOW that we are saved and have eternal life, we don't have to wonder about that any longer.

"These things have I written unto you that BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God; that YE MAY KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. _"  
_ **(1 John 5:13)**

"For BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. _"  
_ **(Ephesians 2:8,9)**

And **Romans 10:8-13** I quoted above also confirm that the only way for BOTH Jews and Gentiles ("Greeks") all over the world to be saved and become part of the true church of Jesus Christ, is to confess the Lord Jesus Christ with their mouths and to believe with their hearts that God raised Him from the dead physically, and to call on His Name.

So, the Jews who do NOT do that still remain Jews following Judaism as faith and who can only be justified by the observance of the Old Testament law of God, or who will be judged by the law as I will discuss a little later. And the Gentiles who do NOT do that still remain unsaved Gentiles in danger of eternal hellfire if they do not receive the Lord Jesus Christ BEFORE they die.

There is another very important point that we should not lose sight of and that is, if we want to associate ourselves with the Jews and THE TRADITIONS WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO THEM, then we are knowingly placing ourselves under that same _"spirit of slumber"_ WHICH GOD HAS GIVEN THEM and which keeps their eyes and ears closed. Do we really believe that our ears and eyes will be open to the truth, if theirs are closed especially if we also study exactly the same documents that they do?

In other words it is not even a "different spirit" or a demon from satan that is keeping our ears and eyes closed in such a case, it is effectively God Himself!

Because God says in His Word that if we WANT to believe the lie, He will allow us to believe that lie:

"And for this cause GOD SHALL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION, that they should believe a lie:

That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. _"  
_ **(2 Thessalonians 2:11,12)**

That means if we as New Testament believers WANT to believe satan's lies that we are actually Israel today, or that we should all "return" to our "Hebrew Roots", then God says He will send us strong delusion to believe that lie, just as He has given that _"spirit of slumber"_ to Israel. The obvious problem is then that we will really believe that we are busy with the "right" things, while we are not – ór we will believe that we have truly heard "the voice of the Lord", but in the meantime it is delusion.

That is exactly the reason I see why people who believe that all white people are Israel, and most people who are trying to "return" to their "Hebrew Roots", are adamant that they are "right" in their beliefs and are VERY condemning of anybody who do not agree with them. They believe the lie, because God Himself is ALLOWING them to believe that lie. It is a very dangerous place to be...

And because people do not heed this, and do not understand what the Bible teaches about this, people in those different groups become FURIOUS when you try to show them that maybe, just maybe their views are wrong, because how DARE anybody allege that they are busy with wrong doctrines while they (according to them) KNOW that THEY "have the truth of Yeshua!"? One of the people from these groups sent an e-mail to a friend of mine one day to say he does not know in part any longer (as the New Testament teaches us in 1 Corinthians 13:9 and 12), no, as a result of His Hebrew Roots studies he now knows "in full" he stated. Is it very difficult to see the spirit of religion and the spirit of pride lurking behind such blatant distortion of the Word of God?

Because they do not realize that it is now God Himself who is closing their eyes for the truth of the Word, because they want to associate themselves with Israel, rather than with God's true New Testament church (the "ekklesia") ...

**But the eventual and most dangerous part of all this** , when people do get pulled into some of these different groups, is the following practice:

Here in South Africa I have been confronted more than once by men who became part of any of a variety of "Torah-groups", or "Hebrew Roots"-groups, and who told me that they have now also had themselves circumcised "according to God's instructions in the Bible".

Now THAT is an EXTREMELY dangerous place to find yourself in because just read what the following verses teach about that:

"STAND FAST THEREFORE IN THE LIBERTY wherewith Christ hath made us free,

and be not ENTANGLED again with the yoke of bondage.

Behold, I Paul say unto you,

that IF YE BE circumcised,

CHRIST SHALL PROFIT YOU NOTHING.

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised,

that he is a debtor TO DO THE WHOLE LAW.

CHRIST IS BECOME OF NO EFFECT UNTO YOU,

whosoever of you are justified by the law;

YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE."  
(Galatians 5:1-4)

Scary words those! Read it again!

I have also read certain "explanations" by some "Torah groups" and "Hebrew Roots" groups who try their best to "interpret" these very clear words by Paul (as he was led to write them by the Holy Spirit of God) or try to explain it away, usually by referring to the Hebrew way of reasoning, compared to the Hellenistic (Greek) way of reasoning just so that the members in their different groups who may NOT know their own Scriptures very well, should not realize HOW very serious the implications of Paul's words are in actual fact – JUST as they are written...

Let us just refresh our minds on what **2 Corinthians 1:13** says:

"For we write NONE OTHER THINGS UNTO YOU, THAN WHAT YE READ OR ACKNOWLEDGE;

and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end _..."_

What do we read and acknowledge VERY CLEARLY from Paul's words in **Galatians 5**?

1. In the first place we as New Testament believers must **STAND FAST in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us in the true church free**.

2. Secondly if we as New Testament believers LET ourselves BE circumcised, **then CHRIST WILL PROFIT US NOTHING.**

3. Thirdly if we as New Testament believers LET ourselves BE circumcised **then we ARE OBLIGED TO OBSERVE THE WHOLE LAW.** Then it won't help us anything to try and use the argument that we are "free from the law", because these verses in the Bible teach very clearly that my circumcision pushes me right back under the OBLIGATION to OBSERVE THE WHOLE LAW.

4. In the fourth place if we as New Testament believers LET ourselves BE circumcised, **then Christ is become OF NO EFFECT to us** , and lastly

5. If we as New Testament believers LET ourselves BE circumcised, **then we ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE!**

Scary thought and very scary place to be! Because it means nothing other than if I let myself be circumcised for religious reasons, then I CANNOT appropriate the grace of Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for us, for my salvation any longer, and cannot enter eternity through that grace anymore. By letting myself be circumcised it means I did not _"stand fast in the liberty"_ that Jesus Christ brought for us and have thereby let myself be ENTANGLED in _"the yoke of bondage"_ , the same yoke of bondage under which the Jews are to this very day.

No, the ONLY way for me to be justified after such circumcision, is to start observing THE WHOLE LAW. If I remember correctly there were 613 laws in total. And if the physical ethnical Jews in Israel were not able to observe all the laws in the Old Testament, how is a "boytjie" from South

Africa going to be able to do so? Let us now read another verse that confirms that I need to observe the law if I let myself be circumcised, otherwise the circumcision will not profit me anything:

"For circumcision verily PROFITETH, IF THOU KEEP THE LAW:

but if thou be a breaker of the law,

thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. _"  
_ **(Romans 2:25)**

That means if I am circumcised but do NOT observe the whole law then my circumcision effectively becomes _"uncircumcision"_ for me. So I can't let myself be circumcised and then CHOOSE only A FEW LAWS that I want to observe, or think that I must observe. No, I am OBLIGED to observe them ALL, otherwise I become a breaker of the law.

As already stated, after being so circumcised I CAN NOT appropriate the grace of Jesus Christ for myself any longer, and according to the quoted verses the only way I can proceed thereafter, is to start observing ALL THE LAWS. And the only way to be able to do THAT is to become a "proselyte". What is a proselyte? We read about this word where Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."  
(Matthew 23:15)

That word: "proselyte" means:

" _Greek - "prosēlutos"... that is, (specifically)_ _AN ACCEDER (CONVERT) TO JUDAISM:_ _\- proselyte."  
_ **(Strong's Greek Dictionaries)**

In other words, in order to enable me to start to observe ALL THE LAWS, I must become an acceder / convert to Judaism, because the Jews are the only nation who still try their best to observe ALL God's laws in the Old Testament (even though they are also not entirely successful in doing that after all these centuries), so it is only from them that I will be able to learn HOW to start observing all the laws. Please note, I am referring to God's laws as contained in the Bible, and NOT all the rabbinical laws and extra-Biblical books and documents which the rabbi's wrote over centuries and loaded onto the people of Israel.

As I have now said repeatedly (to really fix the importance of this point that we must not miss), after such circumcision I can no longer proclaim that I am saved by grace, because through that circumcision I have _"fallen from grace",_ Christ can profit me NOTHING and is of NO EFFECT to me – says the Word of God. I can also not proclaim that I can be justified by observing just a few of the laws, no I must then start to observe them ALL. This means that there is NO WAY that I am allowed to personally "choose" just a few "choice" or "nice" laws that I WANT TO observe (that make me feel very "spiritual" and "learned" compared to the other believers around me), but summarily leaving the rest of the laws by the wayside! Then I am still a breaker of the law and will be condemned by the law.

So it means that if I have fallen from grace through that circumcision, and Christ profits me nothing anymore and is of no effect to me, then I can't go to heaven through Christ and His grace anymore. The only way that I can now be justified and end up before God's throne, is to observe God's laws and as I said already, for that I need to become a proselyte who follows Judaism.

BUT: If I REFUSE to become a proselyte who observes the WHOLE LAW, then I am also disobedient to THAT instruction in God's Word and can I also NOT be justified thereby.

Where do I find myself now on a spiritual basis? And where am I on my way to?

No grace... and also no law....

According to the Word of God those are THE ONLY TWO WAYS that were and still is available for Jews and Gentiles to be justified or get saved and get to God in heaven. So, what else is there if I can't avail myself of any one of these two ways found in God's Word to be justified and enter eternity?

What is left?

The alternative is frightening and eternity is very – very – very - long! Are you really willing to place eternity on the line dear reader who believes that you as a Gentile New Testament believer must also let yourself be circumcised like the Jews? And here I am not referring to people who had to be circumcised for medical reasons; I am referring to people being circumcised specifically for "religious" reasons.

So this warning in the Word is only applicable to those believers who became part of any one of these mentioned groups **and that went so far as let themselves be circumcised for religious reasons.** If they have not yet let themselves be circumcised they can still appropriate the grace of Jesus Christ for their salvation.

But the point that must not be forgotten is that physical circumcision was an instruction from God to the physical nation of Israel as a sign of God's covenant with them.

" _And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations._ _This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, BETWEEN ME AND YOU AND THY SEED AFTER THEE;_

_Every man child among you shall be circumcised_ _._

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin;

_AND IT SHALL BE A TOKEN OF THE COVENANT BETWIXT ME AND YOU._ _"  
_ **(Genesis 17:9-11)**

" _And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,_

_Speak unto THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,_ _saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean._

_And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised._ _"  
_ (Leviticus 12:1-3)

This means that physical circumcision is an instruction to the physical nation of Israel to this very day, and do they still practice it as such according to God's instructions in the Word.

What is applicable to us as church then?"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly;

and CIRCUMCISION IS THAT OF THE HEART, IN THE SPIRIT, and not in the letter;

whose praise is not of men, but of God."  
 **(Romans 2:28,29)**

So we in the church are circumcised IN THE HEART, in the spirit and not physically in the letter. And that makes us part of God's SPIRITUAL nation – "spiritual Jews / Israel" if you really want to use that term – but that still does not make us PHYSICAL Jews or Israelites. And what is the SIGN of God's covenant with us as New Testament believers in the true church ("ekklesia") of Jesus Christ, as we have already seen?

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

For this is my blood of the new testament

(The word "testament" in Greek, also means "covenant" - Author),

which is shed for many for the remission of sins. _"  
_ **(Matthew 26:26-28)**

Thus the grape juice and bread that we use during communion is the PHYSICAL SIGN of the new covenant with us as New Testament believers in the true church of Jesus Christ, NOT the physical circumcision and NOT any other Jewish symbols, practices or traditions.

But then the question arises, are there people even in these New Testament times that we live in that can still be justified by the observance of God's laws? In the light of what I have discussed so far I have no doubt about that. People may differ from me, that is okay, but this is something the Lord Himself showed me the first time I stood next to the so-called "Wailing Wall" in Jerusalem in 2007 and I stand on what the Lord showed me there, as I stood there and watched all the Jews praying before that wall.

Take note - how were the Jews / Israelites justified and saved in the Old Testament? By observing all the laws, which laws all pointed to the Messiah, Jesus Christ – even though they did not know that. So how are the modern day Jews who do not believe in Jesus as Messiah but who are still totally obedient to God's laws, and who are still awaiting the coming of the Messiah, justified and saved?

By EXACTLY those same laws of God. Where do I get that?

That day in 2007 I stood next to that wall for the first time and I watched how those Jews would come there to stand and pray for hours every day, as shown in the following photo which I took myself.

And as I stood there I had a conversation with our Heavenly Father which more or less sounded like this:

Me: "Father, it is so tragic to think that all these Jews who come here daily to pray for hours on end, but who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, will all be going straight to hell."

Father: Pardon me? Do you think I am an unfair God?"

Me: "No Father, never. What am I missing?"

Father: "Who are they praying to and worshiping before that wall?"

Me: "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Father: "And who do you worship and pray to?"

Me: "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Father: "So you all worship the same God and that is Myself. Do you really think I will condemn them to hell while they – like yourself – are calling upon My Name and worshiping Me day in and day out?"

Me: "But father I was taught in my church that we can ALL ONLY be saved by grace."

Father: "Yes, all who will be part of My New Testament church. But I have different plans for them as a nation. Go read **Romans 2:12,13**."

End of conversation.

So I went home and read those verses:

"For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law:

and as many as have sinned in the law SHALL BE JUDGED BY THE LAW;

(For not the hearers of the law are just before God,

BUT THE DOERS OF THE LAW SHALL BE JUSTIFIED."  
(Romans 2:12,13)

Suddenly it exploded in my spirit! These verses were written by Paul under the instruction of the Holy Spirit AFTER the ascension of Jesus to heaven and AFTER Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit!

And it is written there that _"the doers of the law"_ in other words those who in obedience to the Word of God still DO what the law says **SHALL BE JUSTIFIED by the law** – future tense! Thus those Jews today who still observe ("do") the whole law of God (as far as possible) will still be JUSTIFIED by THE LAW, and those among them who have sinned under the law will be JUDGED by the law.

And the rest of the Jews who do not believe at all and also do not observe the law and are not even interested to observe the law, they will still be judged by the law – because the law was given to them as NATION to observe.

As I already said before, in the Bible we find ONLY TWO WAYS to be justified and that is (1) either by the observance of the WHOLE LAW of God, (2) or by the GRACE that we find in Jesus Christ through faith in His finished work on the cross. The first way was and still is available to the Jews / Israel as ethnical nation (AND to the "proselytes" among them) – and the second way is available to BOTH Jews AND Gentiles in the world, thereby to become part of the true church ("ekklesia") of Jesus Christ.

After that conversation that the Father had with me next to the Wailing Wall in 2007, He slowly but surely started showing me the past eleven years what His DIFFERENT plans were with Israel as His chosen nation on the one hand, and with His true church on the other hand. Until at the end of 2017 He instructed me to first write my English and Afrikaans books on the Rapture of the saints, the differences between Israel and the church, and what was going to happen to these two different groups in the end-times.

And as I said before during our tour to Israel this year (2018) He again spoke to me at the Wailing Wall when I took that picture of my friend Jasper and that Jewish man behind him, which can be seen right at the beginning of this book.

His further words to me were: "Now go and give more detail about my different plans with Israel and with the true church here in the end-times, and that My people must decide where they belong." And here I sit writing this book, because there is an absolute URGENCY in my spirit about this. May this book help you to also understand where you "belong". You no longer need to hang around in some kind of an "air-bubble" regarding your faith because you are not certain whether you are actually supposed to be Hebrew / Jewish or an Isarelite, or if you must be part of the different denominational church systems of the world, or of the true church of Jesus Christ. You have a choice – and now you can KNOW where you TRULY BELONG as New Testament believer in Jesus Christ!

If you are a Jew and you are still obedient to God's Old Testament laws, you will be justified or condemned thereby, OR you have the choice to already receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Redeemer, thereby receiving His grace and becoming part of His true church.

If you are a Gentile, you have the choice to become a "proselyte", thereby associating yourself with physical Israel and Judaism and then starting to learn from them regarding ALL the laws of God and the observance thereof (which laws in any case all refer to Jesus Christ) so that you can eventually also be justified or judged by the law, OR you have the choice to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Redeemer, thereby receiving His grace and becoming part of His true church. The choice is yours.

But if you choose to associate yourself with and see yourself as part of physical Israel, remember what I said earlier that you will then need to return to the land of Israel, and that you must then hope that you will not be part of the two thirds of Israel that will die during the seven years of tribulation.
7

ONE WEDDING FEAST, TWO DIFFERENT "BRIDES"

As a result of the fact that most believers do not DIFFERENTIATE between Israel and the church, due to the "Replacement Theology" that I explained in chapter 4 above, they do not discern that the Bible also actually teaches us about TWO "brides" but only ONE wedding feast.

What am I talking about, you ask?

Well, firstly the physical nation of Israel is the bride of God the Father (YHVH).

And secondly the true church ("ekklesia" \- consisting of BOTH Jew and Gentile) is the bride of the Lamb (Jesus / Yeshua).

What? Can this be proven from the Bible? Without any doubt yes, if people don't desperately keep on clinging to the heresy of the Replacement Theology on the one hand any longer, and also do not desperately keep on clinging to the view that we must all return to our "Hebrew Roots" on the other hand either.

Because the first view denies physical Israel their rightful place in God's eternal plan and the second view denies the true church its rightful place in God's eternal plan.

And both those views cause people to err and stray from the truth of the Word of God.

Let us read what the prophet Jeremiah said to the nation of Israel:

" _Turn, O backsliding children,_ (Israel) _saith the LORD_

(The word used in the Hebrew for "LORD" is YHVH (Yahweh), the Name of the Father - Author);

_for I AM MARRIED UNTO YOU_ _:_

_and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."  
_ **(Jeremiah 3:14,15)**

So here we see that God the Father (YHVH \- Yahweh) says that the nation of **Israel IS MARRIED to Him**.

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her (Israel), and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi ("husband"); and shalt call me no more Baali ("Master")...

And I will BETROTH THEE UNTO ME FOR EVER; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies."  
(Hosea 2:14-19)

Here in Hosea God the Father says that He BETROTHS Israel to Himself FOR EVER. And if we look at the ancient Hebrew marriage ceremony which I describe in detail in my book on the Rapture of the saints, we know that such betrothal was just as legally binding as the marriage itself.

But then we also read about another bride, the bride of the Lamb (Jesus / Yeshua).

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and HIS WIFE hath made herself ready. _"  
_ **(Revelation 19:7)**

"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, THE LAMB'S WIFE."  
(Revelation 21:9)

"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things IN THE CHURCHES. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and THE BRIDE SAY, COME. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. _"  
_ **(Revelation 22:16,17)**

From this we learn that God the Father has His own bride, and the Lamb (Jesus) has His own bride. The difference is just that the Father's bride consists of ONLY the physical nation of Israel, while the bride of Jesus consists of BOTH "Jews and Gentiles", who TOGETHER are part of His true church, by all having received Him as their only Saviour and Redeemer.

Let us now read how other authors also wrote about this very important – but not very often preached about \- subject.

"The relationship between Israel and God is dramatically different than what the New Testament records concerning Christ and His bride.

**Perhaps the most significant difference is that the marriage of Jehovah (YHVH) to Israel** OCCURRED IN TIME PAST **,** whereas the marriage of Christ with His bride HAS NOT YET TAKEN PLACE...

Israel in her land was the wife of God (Jehovah) (Jer. 3:14-20; Isa. 54:1), but the wife was divorced because of her iniquity. Israel, however, is to be reinstated in God's favour.

But a divorced wife can never again be a virgin, **and it is not a divorced wife BUT A VIRGIN whom the Lord** _(Jesus)_ **marries** –

"And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife." **(Leviticus 21:13,14)**."

**(Walter Scott, "** _Exposition of The Revelation"_ **(London, England: Pickering & Inglis.)**

Walter Scott touches a few very important points of which we must take note, namely that the marriage of God the Father (YHVH) with the nation of Israel OCCURRED LONG AGO, as we could clearly see from the verses I quoted, while the marriage of Jesus with His bride still LIES IN THE FUTURE. The further important point he makes is that YHVH divorced His bride as a result of her disobedience and adulteries, but that He will reinstate her in His favour (as we read in the book of the prophet Hosea), and Jesus Christ is NOT going to marry a divorced woman, but a virgin bride.

Now let us read what dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum wrote about this subject:

"There are certain key distinctions in the Scriptures. If one does not understand these biblical distinctions, the Scriptures become contradictory because one part of the Bible says "you may" and another says "you may not" concerning the very same subject.

One of these key biblical DISTINCTIONS is the one between Israel and the Church. In the Bible, Israel is represented as the "Wife of Jehovah" (YHVH), whereas the Church is represented as the "Bride of Christ (Messiah).

**A failure to maintain that distinction will only result in a misinterpretation of what the Scriptures teach**."

("The wife of Jehovah and the bride of Messiah" - Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum)

And the moment that we understand these differences between the two "brides", then we also understand why the divorced (but reinstated) wife of YHVH will stay behind during the tribulation period so that God Himself can deal with her according to His spoken prophecies, while the obedient virgin bride will be taken away to the "honeymoon suite" in heaven to be with her Bridegroom.

If we understand these differences, then we also understand why people sometimes think that the Bible "contradicts" itself, because certain verses are applicable to Father Yahweh's bride and what they may or may not do, while other verses are applicable to Jesus' bride and what they may, or may not do. And the moment we understand who God is talking to in that specific moment we also understand that the Bible does NOT contradict itself.

However we also know that when we enter the new heaven and new earth after the thousand years of peace, that THERE will only be one bride and not two any longer, because then everything will be made new and there will be no distinction between the nation of Israel and God's "church" any longer.

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:

and the former shall NOT BE REMEMBERED,

nor come into mind _."  
_ **(Isaiah 65:17)**

Thus, when the new heavens and new earth come to be we will have no recollection of ANYTHING that happened before. And in the new heavens and new earth the New Jerusalem will be called the "bride of the Lamb" and all the nations of those who are saved will live in the light thereof:

"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;...

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And THE NATIONS OF THEM WHICH ARE SAVED SHALL WALK IN THE LIGHT OF IT: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. _"  
_ **(Revelation 21:9-24)**

Don't we just have an awesome future to look forward to – in all eternity! As long as we ensure that we have done what the Bible says to be saved.
8

CONCLUSION

In concluding this book I want to answer a few questions that friends sent me, in order to further explain the differences between Israel and the church:

1. Why would the feasts of the Lord be an eternal instruction if Yeshua already fulfilled the first four at His first coming and will fulfil the last three at His second coming? (As explained in detail in my book on the Rapture of the saints.)

We must remember that the instruction that the feasts must be an eternal statute throughout their generations was given to the nation of Israel and not to the church because at that time the church did not yet exist.

"...it shall be a statute for ever throughout YOUR GENERATIONS in all your dwellings." _  
_ **(Leviticus 23:14)**

What we as New Testament church ("ekklesia") of Jesus Christ now know, because we do not just study the Old Testament, but also the New Testament, is that all the feasts have and will find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ in His first and second comings. That is why we read that during the millennium only the feast of tabernacles will be celebrated because by that time the first six of the seven feasts will all be finally fulfilled, while the millennium itself will be the fulfilment of the seventh feast, the feast of tabernacles. So even Israel as nation will celebrate the last of the feasts just until the millennium is over, because as I quoted from **Isaiah 65:17** in Chapter 7 above, in the new heavens and new earth the things that were before will then not be remembered any longer.

2. Like Paul who became a "Messianic Jew", is there a difference between him and a normal Gentile who got saved? If both are now believers, is it okay for the one to celebrate the feasts like the Jews do, but not for the other one?

As I wrote in Chapter 4 above, the words "Messianic Jew / Jews" is actually not correct because we Gentiles don't become and are not called "Messianic Gentiles" when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ. No, BOTH Jew and Gentile who receive the Lord Jesus Christ are **New Testament believers in the true church ("ekklesia") of Jesus Christ**. That means there is no difference between Paul as New Testament believer and the normal Gentile who receives the Lord Jesus and also becomes a New Testament believer.

So it is actually not okay for any one of them to celebrate the feasts according to the traditions and practices of the Jews - especially those traditions that are not found in the Bible - because Paul is no longer a Jew according to **Galatians 3:26-29** , and the Gentile does not become a Jew when He receives the Lord Jesus. Thus, the feasts are no longer celebrated to refer back to what the Jews celebrate therein (the pattern); they are celebrated to refer to the fulfilment thereof by Jesus Christ (the finished robe).

3. Are "Messianic Jews" then supposed to not celebrate the feasts like they did before and if they do, are they actually saved?

As I wrote earlier, as soon as a Jew gives his heart to the Lord Jesus, the emphasis is not on his "Jewish-ness" any longer, so he must now also start to learn what the terms and conditions of the new covenant that is applicable to the church and as contained in the New Testament, are. Thereafter he should actually not celebrate the feasts according to the old Jewish practices and traditions any longer.

That is why Paul says in **1 Corinthians 5:8** :

"Therefore let us (as the church) KEEP THE FEAST, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. _"_

Paul himself says that we as members of the "ekklesia" keep the feast in a new manner – not with "old leaven", in other words in the same old ways - and he uses the word "us" which included himself of course.

Just as we Gentile Christians, who previously thought that we are celebrating Biblical feasts by celebrating "Easter" or "Christmas" with the rest of the world, had to STOP following those old traditions after we received knowledge of the truth about the pagan roots of those celebrations, the same principle is applicable to any Jew that comes to faith in Jesus Christ, in that he must then stop celebrating the feasts according to the old Jewish traditions that are not found in the Bible but only in the rabbinical writings.

But no, whether he celebrates the feasts correctly, or not, has got nothing to do with his salvation. If he as Jew received the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Redeemer, he is saved through that.

4. If it is possible for a Gentile believer to become a proselyte (acceder to Judaism), can a Gentile believer also become a "Messianic Jew"?

No, because as I stated clearly the Bible only refers to three groups of people, namely the Jews, the Gentiles and the true church of Christ (which consists of both Jesus and Gentiles). There are not four groups namely Jews, Messianic Jews, Gentiles and the church of Christ.

A Jew who gives his heart to Jesus Christ, thereby becoming "Messianic", now becomes part of the true church of Jesus Christ, and a Gentile that gives his heart to the Lord Jesus, is also part of the true church of Jesus Christ. They now both belong to the same body of Christ. As I wrote earlier, the Jew does not thereby become a "saved Gentile" and the Gentile does not become a "Messianic Jew".

5. Pesach / Passover – To eat unleavened bread for the whole seven days of this feast, is it deemed a Jewish tradition, because it is part of Pesach ... we know that Yeshua is our Bread of life, but if you deem it to be a "prophetical action", do you deny the Lord Jesus? Many people see the Jewish traditions during the feasts partly as "prophetic actions" e.g. eating the unleavened bread for a week, but are you indirectly denying Jesus thereby then?

As I wrote earlier, all prophetic word in the Bible was and is applicable to future things. And all "prophetical actions" that people partake in e.g. walking around a property that they would like to buy and trust the Lord for, are also done with a view on future happenings. Therefore you cannot do a "prophetic action" with something that refers to the past, ESPECIALLY when you have knowledge that that specific item, e.g. the eating of unleavened bread for a week – was ALREADY fulfilled in the sinless body of Jesus Christ that hung on the cross and was buried. It falls in the same category as eating a Passover lamb during Pesach / Passover.

By doing both those things – eating unleavened bread for seven days and again slaughtering / sacrificing a Passover lamb – it is actually implied that Jesus Christ has not yet fulfilled those things. Do you deny Him indirectly by doing that then? Yes I do believe you are thereby directly or indirectly denying that which He has already fulfilled according to the Word of God. Because remember by doing that you are associating yourself with Israel again, and the reason why THEY eat unleavened bread for seven days and why they still eat the Passover lamb, is to remind them of their exodus from Egypt. They do not eat it as a symbol of the fulfilment of that feast in Jesus Christ.

By doing it like they do, you are thereby looking BACK to the "pattern" and do you not yet wear the final robe. And we find a warning about that in **Luke 9:62** :

"And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and LOOKING BACK, is fit for the kingdom of God."

6. If we as New Testament believers are not part of the laws which are applicable to Israel how do we know what in the Old Testament is still applicable to us as well?

As I already quoted Brother Clarence Larkin in Chapter 2:

"It follows therefore that **while the WHOLE Bible was written for the INSTRUCTION of the church, it is not all written ABOUT the church** ...

When we take the Old Testament promises and apply them ONLY to the church we rob the Jew of that which is exclusively his...

**what happened to Israel was written for our EXAMPLE and ADMONITION, but** we must not apply to the Church what does NOT belong to it."

("Dispensational Truth" (1918) – Clarence Larkin)

We as New Testament church can LEARN from the WHOLE of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

"ALL SCRIPTURE is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable

for doctrine,

for reproof,

for correction,

for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. _"  
_ **(2 Timothy 3:16,17)**

Okay sure, but how do I discern WHAT in the Old Testament is still applicable to me to receive instruction from, and what is only applicable to Israel? The answer is the more time I spend with God Himself and His Word the easier it becomes to make that discernment under the leading of the Holy Spirit. It also helps when we have knowledge of the prophetical word in the Bible and can know what has already been fulfilled in the New Testament, and which ones are still outstanding.

Here are a few examples:

"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

For ALL THAT DO THESE THINGS are an abomination unto the LORD:... _"  
_ **(Deuteronomy 18:10-12)**

These verses were given to Israel in the Old Testament and were applicable to them, AND they are STILL applicable to us in the New Testament church today because divination, enchantments, witchcraft, charms and conversing with the spirits of the dead is still an abomination unto the Lord, as He has not yet changed.

"These are the feasts OF THE LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. _"  
_ **(Leviticus 23:4)**

These instructions for the celebration of God's feasts were initially given to Israel, to act as "pattern" of that which would follow, and that which would follow was the fulfilment of all seven feasts in the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. In my book on the Rapture I explain in detail how the seven feasts of God have been fulfilled and will finally be fulfilled, in the two different comings of our Lord Jesus. Initially they were just applicable to Israel – and as a result people tend to call the feasts "Jewish feasts" – but we as New Testament church MUST also acknowledge and celebrate God's feasts as they all refer to Jesus Christ – but we must celebrate them WITHOUT the Jewish traditions and practices surrounding these feasts – as I explained earlier. They still celebrate the feasts ONLY according to the Old Testament and their rabbinical writings because they do not know, read or acknowledge the New Testament, but we celebrate them from a New Testament point of view.

But then the question arises if we are still supposed to do those things like Israel had to, why are we not also obliged to wear the "tzitzit" like they do? Because I have already explained that they had to make fringes on their clothes for a very specific reason, namely to remind them of the laws of God, while we have the Holy Spirit IN us today and HE reminds us about the laws of God that are applicable to us.

Israel had to celebrate the feasts to remind them about what God did for them by allowing them to escape from Egypt and by keeping them safe in the desert for forty years. The New Testament church celebrates the feasts to remind us of everything Jesus Christ did for us. This is another clear proof of the DIFFERENCES between Israel and the church but also how we can learn from the example that God initially gave Israel.

If the Bible says in the Old Testament:

"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. _"_ **(Leviticus 19:28)**

...then it means nothing other than that we as New Testament believers may STILL NOT _"print any marks"_ upon us. And what does that refer to? Nothing else but the oh-so-popular tattoos found on more and more human bodies across the world, inlcuding on many Christians. But the moment you say this, immediately the arguments start to come:

_A. "But I did not get myself a tattoo for the dead, so that verse is not applicable to me!"_ – (Meanwhile many believers have tattooed the names of deceased family members on their bodies. Is that not for the dead?)

But people also do not note that TWO things are warned against in that verse, which were BOTH prohibited by God, because both those things were and still are IDOLATROUS PRACTICES.

The first thing that is warned against is that you may make no CUTTINGS in your flesh for the dead. Many of the black nations in Africa and other nations who practice witchcraft and who believe in the existence of ancestral spirits, make cuttings in their flesh, either on their cheekbones, or on their heads or on various parts of their bodies. It is to this and similar practices that were and are still practised all over the world that the first part of that verse refers to, which may STILL NOT be done as God forbids it to this very day.

The second thing the verse warns against, in the second part of the verse, is very clear on its own and that is that we may NOT PRINT ANY MARKS upon us. And have you seen some of the "print marks" upon the bodies of most celebrities and sport stars around the world? Some even look like living paintings or artworks, covering huge parts of their limbs or bodies. Now why does God say we may NOT do that? Because that is also an idolatrous practice all over the world, where idols are worshiped through the tattoos people put upon their bodies and God says we may not do that. Why not? Because God hates any form of idolatry. To this very day. And according to **Malachi 3:6** and **Hebrews 13:8** God has not changed yet.

B. _"But my pastor says it is not written in the New Testament so it is not applicable to us at all and may we actually get ourselves some "Christian" tattoos!"_ – The moment I hear that kind of argument, my counter-question is whether that pastor also advises his church to also NOT take heed of the very following verse, namely **Leviticus 19:29** (which is also NOT found in the New Testament):

"Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness. _"_

According to that pastor's argument that if something is NOT written in the New Testament, then it is not applicable to us as New Testament believers, will he be willing to prostitute his daughter/s, seeing as he is willing to advise his church members to disregard verse 28? Why would he take heed of verse 29 then, seeing as it is also NOT contained in the New Testament?

The next question to ask that pastor is whether he also gives his flock the green light to have sex with animals? Because there is also NOTHING written about THAT in the New Testament, while the Old Testament clearly states:

"Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen. _"  
_ **(Deuteronomy 27:21)**

Or do those pastors allow their church members to have sex with their sisters, seeing as there is also NOTHING against THAT in the New Testament? But the Old Testament is very clear about that:

"Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. _"  
_ **(Deuteronomy 27:22)**

Pastors, ministers, reverends or teachers must therefore be very careful before they just tell their church members that because something is NOT specifically warned against in the New Testament but only in the Old Testament, then it is not applicable to us any longer and that we MAY now do such a thing - because by doing that it may bring questions about their credibility and true knowledge of the Word of God.

So in this way we know and learn from everything that God said to Israel which they may not do as it is either an abomination to Him, or provokes Him to anger, then we may still not do those things to this very day, because if those things were an abomination to Him 4000 years ago, and provoked Him to anger 4000 years ago, it is still the same in His eyes. He has not changed.

Thus if He said to Israel that they may not have sex prior to marriage then to this very day it is still sin for New Testament believers to have sex prior to marriage.

If He said to Israel that they may not eat certain specific types of food, then He says it to us today as well because there are certain medical and health reasons why He made and declared certain foods as "unclean" for human consumption. I discuss this point in detail in an article I wrote on: "Why not pork?" which I can e-mail to you upon request.

If He said to Israel they may not receive or pay bribes then we may still not receive or pay bribes to this day, etcetera.

In this manner we start to understand from our study of the Scripture in a step by step manner how we can also learn and receive instruction from that which God said to Israel WITHOUT making any extra-Biblical Jewish traditions or practices (which are not applicable to the true church of Jesus Christ) our own.

7. Then just a last question, why do so many New Testament believers so dearly want to wear the so-called "tallit" (prayer shawl), and why are some groups of the opinion that all believers MUST pray under such a "tallit" otherwise: "... God will not hear our prayers"?

WHERE do they get that, seeing that there is NOT ONE specific Biblical command or instruction for either the wearing of that piece of cloth, NOR for praying under it? Yes, you guessed correctly, it also comes from those same Jewish rabbinical documents and books which I referred to earlier.

" **The Bible does not command wearing of a unique prayer shawl or tallit**. Instead, it presumes that people wore a garment of some type to cover themselves and instructs the Children of Israel to attach fringes ("tzitzit") to the corners of these ( **Numbers 15:38** ), repeating the commandment in terms that they should _"make thee twisted cords upon the four corners of thy covering, wherewith thou coverest thyself"_ ( **Deuteronomy 22:12** ). These passages do not specify tying particular types or numbers of knots in the fringes.

**The exact customs regarding the tying of the tzitzit and the format of the tallit are of POST-BIBLICAL, RABBINIC ORIGIN AND, THOUGH THE TALMUD DISCUSSES THESE MATTERS,** slightly different traditions have developed in different communities.

However the Bible is specific as to the purpose of these tzitzit, stating that _"it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray; that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God"._

Encyclopaedia Judaica describes the prayer shawl as "a rectangular mantle that looked like a blanket and was worn by men in ancient times". Also, it "is usually white and made either of wool, cotton, or silk".

According to the biblical commandment, a blue thread is included in the tzitzit. However, for many centuries since the exile of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel, tzitzit have been worn without a techelet fringe, though in the last hundred years there has been something of a comeback... **Tallit literally means cloak or sheet but IN TALMUDIC TIMES ALREADY REFERRED TO THE JEWISH PRAYER SHAWL.** "

**(**<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallit> **)**

We do see in the Bible that there was an instruction to the nation of Israel to make "fringes" on the corners of their clothes ("tzitzit") as we already discussed it earlier from **Numbers15:38**.

"Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that THEY make them fringes in the borders of their garments _..."_

However there is no indication anywhere in the Bible that those "garments" were specifically the "tallits" to which those "tzitzit" were to be affixed. Over the centuries the Jews started assuming that it had to be the "tallit" to which those fringes were attached, but God's initial instruction was that those fringes had to be affixed to the borders of their CLOTHES and it is a well-known fact that they wore different types of clothes as we read in **Matthew 5:40**.

"And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. _"_

The word which was used in the Hebrew for "garments" in **Numbers 15:38** according to Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, is: _"_ _beged"_ _\- a_ _covering_ _, that is, clothing;_ _-_ _apparel, cloth (-es, -ing), garment, rag, raiment, robe, vesture, wardrobe."_

So we see that the word used in the Hebrew there is NOT "tallit" but "beged", and the meaning thereof is clearly the normal CLOTHES which they wore on a daily basis. To those normal clothes those fringes ("tzitzit") were attached.

TAKE SPECIFIC NOTE: There is NOT ONE single verse in the Bible about the "tallit", what it should look like or that the children of Israel (or anybody else) should only pray under such a "tallit", or that a believer's prayers are "stronger" or are heard more clearly by God when they pray under such a "prayer shawl", OR that God does NOT hear your prayers if you do NOT pray under such a "tallit", etcetera...

From the rabbinical documents it can be seen that the Pharisees started this tradition. After the fall and destruction of the second temple in 70 AD, the Pharisees started to see and use the "tallit" as a "replacement" of the destroyed temple as a kind of "private place of worship" and started to use the "tallit" as their own little private "tabernacle" where they could "meet" with God, seeing as how the temple was not there anymore to enable them to do so.

So again it is a strictly Jewish (but extra-Biblical) tradition which the Jews acquired over the centuries, and the only thing that happens is that the New Testament believers who also just want to wear the "tallit" all the time, are thereby again associating themselves with the Jews and their traditions – albeit Old Testament traditions, or extra-Biblical rabbinical traditions – with the associated results that it can have for them as I already discussed earlier.

Dear reader, please forgive me if I repeated certain principles in this book more than once but to me it is just so important that you will truly understand what it means to be part of the true church of Jesus Christ when you have received Him and became born again. You do not have to and you SHOULD NOT and you MUST NOT let yourself be put under a _"yoke of bondage"_ by trying to be a better Jew than the Jews through your following of their traditions and practices.

Stand fast in the LIBERTY with which Jesus Christ has made you free through His blood on the cross of Calvary.

Please do not believe the Replacement Theology any longer that the church has replaced national Israel as God's only "elect", but also do NOT believe the "reverse Replacement Theology" that all white people are the "Israelites" of today who got "lost" throughout the world, OR that we must all "return" to our "Hebrew Roots" because the tribes of Israel have now replaced the church. The one lie is as grave as the other, each with its own eternal consequences.

Let us end this book with a prayer:
PRAYER:

"Father I come to You in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ / Yeshua ha Maschiach. I confess today that I have sinned against your Word, firstly by believing the Replacement Theology, thereby denying Your plan with the nation of Israel and effectively declaring Yourself as a liar through that. I also confess that through that I had let myself be pulled into anti-Semitism, even making some anti-Semitic declarations against the Jews myself, as a result thereof. I confess this as sin Lord and I pray that You will please forgive me for that. Would You please lift any and all the curses that I brought over myself as a result thereof?

I also confess that I mistakenly believed that I as a Gentile actually form part of the physical nation of Israel, thereby denying Your plan with Your church. I also confess this as sin Lord and I pray that You will forgive me for that. I also confess that I as a New Testament believer even started participating in specific Jewish practices and traditions, and by doing that denying the fulfilment of those things by the Lord Jesus Christ.

I confess my lack of knowledge of Your Word Lord, and I pray that You will overlook the period of lack of knowledge that I had had, according to **Acts 17:30**.

Thank You Abba Father I now receive Your forgiveness for these things and I ask that You will from now on lead me through Your Holy Spirit and teach me Your Word, and show me how and where You want to use me in Your true church, the "ekklesia", the Body of Christ – and not necessarily in any specific church denomination – to be obedient to all Your instructions on a daily basis, until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I also pray for the peace of Jerusalem according to **Psalm 122:6** and I pray that You will bring Your own prophecies regarding the nation of Israel and Your church to fulfilment according to Your Word. I also pray that You will keep me humble and keep me from becoming prideful and not to think that I am better than the Jews in any way because their eyes are closed temporarily so that I can have the privilege to enter into Your Kingdom through my faith in Jesus Christ. I ask that You will also use me to provoke them to jealousy with that which I have received from You in Your grace.

Thank You Lord Jesus for Your love and abundant grace and mercy in my life! Amen."

My brother and sister may you after reading this book really KNOW where you belong as member of the true church of Jesus Christ, the "general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven", the Body of Christ - "Jew and Gentile worshiping together!"

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself take you from strength to strength in Him, through His Holy Spirit and by the revelation of His Word!
dr. tiaan gildenhuys

(B.Proc. (UP) D.Div. (TICU))

Authority in Christ Ministries

Pretoria

RSA

November 2018

www.oicb.co.za

e-mail: tg@oicb.co.za

