Still Making Money From Old Worn
Out Theories
When Is Israel Ever
to Rule Over Anyone?
email from Mike Smith
I have a question. While reading Isaiah last evening,
a passage caught my eye, one that I've read dozens of times, but last night
it got my attention.
“And the people shall take them, and bring
them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the
land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives,
whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.”
Isa. 14:2
The context is set in 14:1: “For
the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set
them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and
they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. “And the people shall take them,
and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them
in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take
them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their
oppressors.” Isa. 14:2
Now, according to Scofield, this is a prophetic passage to be done in
the Millennium. My question (or more of a thought) is when is Israel
ever to rule over anyone?
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This is a dominant theme within conservative and Hasidic Judaism today
as well as a “given” within the “Born Again” Jews today also.
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During the Millennium (bear in mind, I’m not much of a Dispensationalist)
Jesus is supposed to reign? Or, does Jesus rules but the administration
of that rule is through the Jews? The NT Church is to consist of
BELIEVERS… “where there is neither Jew, nor Greek…
but Christ is all-in-all”.
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This is where Dispensationalism falls flat on the proverbial face, in my
humble opinion. Even though I have a Scofield KJV (I like the way
its laid out; not so much for the notes…) I really believe that many of
his conclusions are forced and when anything is forced, there usually is
an agenda that is trying to be met.
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Anyway, NT Church doctrine can't be made via the OT anyway.
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Having said all that, this is where Paul's teaching comes into play:
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Many modern Christians/teachers/”famous wanna-be(s)” want to Judaise the
Faith just like those who tried in the book of Galatians.
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The funny thing about interpreting prophecy, it's subject to what psychologist
call judgmental bias which is nothing more than a fancy way of saying hindsight
is 20/20. Scofield, McArthur, Ryrie, LeHay and an innumerable headcount
that consider themselves “prophecy experts” have the luxury of making the
major and minor prophets say anything they want/need them to say.
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Funny thing though, I have a copy of the Jewish scriptures I picked up
from Half-Priced Books for about $4.50 from a 1918 translation from the
Jewish Publication Society (I think that’s what they call themselves) which
is a fairly conservative group.
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Anyway, my point is that they don’t consider the book of Daniel to part
of the Prophets! Ok, so, the Fundamental “prophets/profits” base
almost all their work on the correlation between the book of Daniel and
Revelation… and Daniel isn't considered a Prophet.
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Now, that may not mean a whole lot to you, but from where I sit, modern
(I consider the term “modern” from the release of Late Great Planet Earth
due to the popularity of the prophetic craze) Christianity has been shoveling
$$$ hand-over-fist for some 35+ years looking for the “end of the world”
and the “prophetic industrial complex” has been obliging them
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(in the 80’s, the Soviet Union was the threat; the 90’s was blessed with
a cornucopia of threats: The Democrats, the Gay's, Abortion, the “everyone-who-doesn’t-believe-the-way-I-do”
factions; 2000’s the threat is now Islam and President Obama.)
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So, what they do is dredge up all these worn out theories and tired hypothesis,
but yet, they continue to make money.
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Honestly, if the average professing Christian is foolish enough to purchase
a book by John Hagee and those of their ilk, they deserve the personal
instability it brings.
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People need to learn to live day-to-day and walk in Paul’s teaching rather
than sitting at the table in the morning with a USA Today to the left,
a prophetic book to the right and the bible in front of them.
That’s my story and I’m stick’n to it.
Mike Smith