Saturday December 18 730 8pm William Bell Restoration of Israel Part 3

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the all things field broadcast. This is William Bell with the Rainsboro Church of Christ Bidding you a very good evening. I trust and pray that everything is going well with you Hope your family is safe and that you are taking care of yourself in the best way possible during these uncertain times We have been talking about the restoration of Israel and we based our beginning of our study on Acts chapter 1 verse 6 Through 8 particularly where the Bible says the disciples came to Jesus. They asked him Lord, will you at this time? Restore again the kingdom to Israel and his response to them was it is not for you to know the times or the seasons Which the father has put in his own authority But you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me Both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the outermost part of the land Now their question centered around will you at this time? so they wanted to know the specific time that the Lord would restore the kingdom to Israel and As a result of that We have seen that the history of the kingdom being taken from Israel is found in Hosea 4 1 Hosea chapter 1 again in 1st Kings chapter 17 and the Bible points out in verse 4 of Hosea Then the Lord said to him call his name Jezreel for in a little while. I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu and Bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel It shall come to pass in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel And then he goes on to say that he would no longer have mercy on the house of Israel But will utterly take them away and yet during this time that he had scattered Israel He says I'm going to yet have mercy on Judah. Now. That's a point that we didn't talk about at all in the previous messages in Lessons one and two and that is the fact that he says when Israel Has been scattered He is going to show mercy on the house of Judah. Now. He didn't say that Judah and Israel would be scattered at the same time. That's not what he said. That's not what the Bible teaches here It says yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah will save them by the Lord their God and will not save them by bone or by sword or battle by horses or Horsemen, but then he also talked about the fact that Israel will no longer be his people for he said when His wife Gomer had conceived again And weaned lo Ruhamah. She's conceived and bore son Then God said call his name lo Ami for you are not my people and I will not be your God Yet, here's the blessing the promise The number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea which cannot be measured or numbered And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them You are not my people there shall be said to them. You are the sons of the Living God Now here we are looking at a situation where? Israel has been cast out of the land But Judah has remained in the land, even though they committed some of the same sins They remained in the land So at the time that Israel is scattered Judah remains in the land And this is very very important because when we hear people talk about the scattering of Israel, they want all the tribes Extricated from the land they want them all removed from the land At the same time for this particular scattering and that is not what? The Bible teaches and I said earlier the reference was first Kings, but let me correct that it is 2nd Kings chapter 17 where we see God cutting off the northern tribes of Israel and Removing them from his sight saying that he would no longer be their people as we have here in Hosea But all during that time he says yet I'm not going to remove Judah because of David my servant's sake and because of the father's So Judah would remain in the land while the northern tribes were scattered very very important because we have a narrative out there today that Judah is removed from the land and Israel is removed from the land and they both will remain outside of the land until this alleged future return of Christ Until this alleged gathering of the tribes until they all go back to the land Well, that is not what the Bible says the Bible says Judah Remains in the land and that's exactly what we see in the New Testament Because and here you here they were you had the Apostles right there with the Lord Asking him the question. Will you at this time? restore The kingdom to Israel, but where are they? They are in the land. That's what happened on the day of Pentecost Jews Came to Jerusalem why because the temple was still there the people the Judeans were still there and as a result you had People already in the land They had not been removed from the land and yet the Bible says that Judah and Israel were going to be gathered together We're going to see that as we look at this So in verse 11, it says then and this is when he says to them you are not my people I pointed that out in the last lesson. You are not my people there shall be said to them You are the sons of the Living God now, that is the key killer phrase That's a killer statement That we need to look at because it's when he says that That is the time of the gathering that the Bible speaks about now. You might be talking about another gathering You might have your eyes set on something different But the gathering of which the Bible speaks is the one where the Lord makes this statement in the place Where it was said to them. You are not my people there. It should be said to them You are the sons of the Living God. Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together and shall appoint for themselves one head and They shall come up out of the land now, isn't that rather unique isn't that rather unusual? That he says they shall come up out of the land when Judah is still in the land Now that ought to make us think about what's going on here for all of those Extreme literalists out there who want to talk about real estate want to talk about land We've just established the fact that Judah remains in the land they were in the land in the time of Christ But he says they're going to come up out of the land For great will be the day of Jezreel They're going to appoint for themselves one head who's going to do that Judah and Israel now, of course We will acknowledge Certainly that there were some of Judah who were scattered among the nations as well as some Israelites some of them chose not to come back to the land even under the time of Ezra and Nehemiah some of them chose not to come back and So you could say well, that's who he's talking about. But the point is They would be gathered together so whenever Israel returns They're going to return with Judah and whenever we see that phrase that is the gathering of Israel in Judah That is the twelve tribes being gathered now. We also went to chapter 2. I'm not going to cover all of chapter 2 we're just going to talk about the latter verses and that is the statement that says It shall come to pass in that day. Now when he talks about in that day, it's talking about the eschatological day it's talking about the time of the end and so in the last days and you'll see that as We move through these verses It shall come to pass in that day that I will answer says the Lord I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth the earth shall answer with grain with new wine and with oil They shall answer Jezreel. Then I will sow her for myself in the earth And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy Then I will say to those who were not my people You are my people and they shall say you are my God. So that's a reiteration of what we had in Hosea 1 but also understand that This is the time when God says they would no longer be his servant or call him master my master But we'll call him my husband in other words It's going to be the time of a new covenant relationship with him and it's going to be the time when he would betroth them in righteousness forever and in faithfulness and In justice and mercy and they would come to know the Lord indicating that renewed intimate relationship with the Lord now let's go on and read chapter 3 down to about verse 5 or 6 And what I want us to understand here is that there is no break in the continuity of the context What we're seeing here is the subject matter continuing because it says then the Lord said to me go again love a woman who is loved by a lover and Is committing adultery just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel? Who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans? so I bought her for myself for 50 shekels of silver and One-and-a-half homers of barley and I said to her you shall stay with me many days You shall not play the harlot nor shall you have a man. So to I will be toward you for the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince without sacrifice or a sacred pillar without ephod or terefin and therefore referring to the time that they would be without a priest and Without the temple, etc. But he says afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their King now remember when they are gathered together Whenever that statement is made to say to them That he would have mercy on those who had not have on whom he had not had mercy and to those to whom he would say You were to me it said you're not my people you are my people and Then he would say you are my God that is when the gathering takes place That is when we should look for the gathering of Israel if we're going way beyond that We're going way beyond the scriptures way beyond the time frame of the Bible But that is also the time when they would have one head over them and that one head over them I submit to you is the David who is their King that is mentioned in verse 5 of chapter 3 then the Bible says therefore it says They shall fear the Lord and his goodness when in The latter days they shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days So these events are going to take place in what the Bible calls the last days In other words, we're going to be able to identify the last days just by looking at these passages, but we'll also identify The time in which this gathering takes place as well. Now, there's something else that we should consider here Moses had spoken to Israel long before in the song of Moses and When he talked to them, he spoke to them about Israel or the nation provoking the Lord and Then he's going to say that when they provoke him to anger through their idols That he's going to provoke them In other words, they're going to get back What they had given to the Lord They provoke the Lord and then the Lord is going to provoke them So let's go over to Exodus chapter 32 now one thing one thing that's important when we look at Exodus chapter 32 is We should not omit the introductory verses to the song of Moses which are found in Exodus chapter 31 and in Exodus 31 the Bible Tells us that these were things. I'm sorry. I keep saying Exodus, but what I mean is Deuteronomy We're talking about Deuteronomy so Deuteronomy 32 is where the song of Moses is and Deuteronomy 31 is the reference that I wanted to make so when we look at Deuteronomy 31 and the verse is 29 Here's where Moses said you can read other verses, but we're just going to pick it up Try to kind of shorten the time here. He says for I know that after my death You will become utterly corrupt and turn aside from the way which I Have commanded you Now watch this an evil will befall you in the latter days Because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord to do what to provoke him to anger Through the works of your hands Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended Then he goes on to speak about the song and In this he talks about The nation and he tells them about the time when they would provoke him to anger So if we read on down and again, I'm not going to read all of this But the first time we see it is in verse 16 The Bible says and I'll read 15 along with it It says but Jeshurun grew fat and kicked you grew fat. You grew thick you are obese Then he forsook God who made him and scorned fully esteemed the rock of his salvation They provoked him to jealousy with foreign gods They provoked him to jealousy with foreign gods with abominations. They provoked him to anger They sacrificed to demons not to God to gods They did not know to new gods new arrivals that your father's did not fear Of the rock who begot you you are unmindful and have forgotten the God who fathered you and when the Lord saw it He spurned them because of the provocation of his sons and daughters And he said I will hide my face from them. I will see now watch. This is very key. I Will see what their end will be For they are a perverse generation now look when the Bible speaks about that perverse generation It's talking about a very specific generation nothing in between but that perverse generation and Over and over again you see in the New Testament where the Lord spoke of Israel in his day when he was on earth as the adulterous and sinful generation They're called a crook generation. So in Matthew chapter 12 verses 38 39 etc they're called an evil and adulterous generation in Matthew 16 and evil and adulterous generation in Mark 8 38 and Evil and adulterous generation in Matthew 17 in verse 17. Oh Perverse generation. How long shall I be with you again in Acts 2 in verse 40 save yourselves from this crooked and perverse generation and again in Philippians chapter 2 in verse 15. He speaks about the crooked and perverse generation they were talking about the generation that was living in the time of The Lord and his apostles they weren't talking about any other generation. It was that generation and the Proof that they were that perverse and crook generation besides all the passages We just mentioned was the fact that Jesus said all the righteous blood shed on the earth From the blood of righteous able to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barak I whom you murdered between the temple and the altar All these things will come upon this Generation why because it was that specific perverse generation. It's the one Moses was talking about That's why he said in the latter days So when we're looking in the New Testament and we see these references to that perverse generation That Jesus and the Apostles talked about they're talking about the generation in the first century They're talking about the things that would happen before That generation passed away not after but before it passed away And that's why that verse gives people so much trouble so many heartaches so much pain so much indigestion exegetically when it comes down to understanding the scripture and so the Bible says in verse 21 Rather continuing on they are perverse generation children in whom is no faith. Remember? I just quoted Matthew 17 17 where he says Oh Faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? Then he said they have provoked me to jealousy by what is not God They have moved me to anger by their foolish idols I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation now It's easy for us to say that that is the Gentiles. In other words those who are totally separated and apart from Israel But I think when we look more closely We will see that This refers to those That God made the statement as we had been speaking before Who were not a people in other words they had once been a part of Israel But they were cut off from Israel and had become not a people those upon whom God would not show mercy and Whom he would say you are not my people and I will not be your God And they had become foolish why because they had rejected the wisdom of God. They'd rejected the knowledge of God Now truly as we said they had been swallowed up and Were scattered among the Gentiles But we can see That in as much as that occurred He was still speaking about the people whom he had cut off and So he says I will move them to anger by a foolish nation So now we need to go to the New Testament and look at some of these passages and see What was taking place because remember this was taking place in the last days the Bible says this was the time in which the Apostles and the Lord was on earth when they would become utterly corrupt and it was the time in which he makes this statement So these statements, so where can we find such statements in the scriptures? Well one of them That we find is In the book of Romans Romans chapter 10 So let's go over to Romans chapter 10 and let's notice what the Bible says in that In that particular chapter Romans chapter 10 notice in Romans 10. The verse is 19 and We'll read verses 18 and 19 just so you can see that This is the time when the gospel is going out to all the inhabited earth to all the land. The Bible says Excuse me In Romans chapter 10 and verse 18. He says I say then have they not all Heard he says yes Verily for their sound went into all the earth or all the land and their words to the ends of the inhabitable earth That's the same Text of Matthew 24 14 when the Lord said in this gospel of the kingdom Shall be preached as a witness to all the nations and then the end would come So he's quoting these passages showing that the gospel had in fact gone to all the inhabited earth It had gone to all the land just as Acts 1 8 says when they raised the question about the restoration of Israel It says but I say Did Israel not know? First Moses says I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation I will move you to anger by a foolish nation But Isaiah is very bold and says I was found by those who did not seek me I was made manifest to those who do not ask for me, but to Israel. He says all day long I've stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people Now it's interesting that right after he says that in chapter 11 the question is raised I say then has God cast away his people Certainly not for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin God is not cast away his people whom he what? for knew Now who were the people that he foreknew? that were even under the concept and Condition of having been cast away. That would have been Israel. It would have been the Northern Kingdom and So from that perspective we should see this but I don't see it as totally separate and exclusive Exclusive to Israel because of their association with the Gentiles as well But at least we'll see that they are included in the fulfillment of the prophecy. So in Romans we have that but notice they also mention Isaiah and it's important to talk about Isaiah 65 we don't have time to develop because we're Running out of time as a matter of fact, we don't even have time to bring it up So that means we'll pick this up because that becomes one of the objections to try to take this restoration this gathering the time of the New Testament out of the time of the first century and place it into a Concept and a time frame a framework of the transatlantic slave trade that won't work to place it in the time of 1948 and it will not work and we'll see that from the scriptures, but that's our time I'm William Bell with all things fulfilled saying you have a very pleasant Good afternoon, and I look forward to being with you again on next week for another episode of all things fulfilled