Have you ever been “unfriended” on Facebook? It seems to happen to me quite regularly. As the saying goes “I have been kicked out of better places than this!” In fact Andy Woods unfriended me, over my comments about polygamy, and Andy Woods certainly has a better grasp on Scripture than this group of Judaizers. I just disagree with him on one or two subjects, and can show from Scripture why he is wrong, but I am not writing about Andy Woods today.

A few weeks ago someone on Facebook, one wil’Liam Scott Hall, sent me a friend request. As usual I checked out his page before approving the “friendship” I hesitated because I could see from his page that he spent a lot of time attacking the New Testament and Christianity, but I reasoned that maybe I could help him, so I agreed.

In spite of his gentile name this person has converted to Judaism, and consequently spends his time attacking everything about Jesus Christ. I spent some time showing him and his followers why they are wrong, but they always have a comeback. Often I would respond to one person only to have ten reply back, each on a different tack. I came to dread their replies because each one would take hours to research and they would simply change the subject and keep on. It was truly a blessing to be unfriended by this group!

Since he has unfriended me, he has also blocked me from viewing his posts, so I am not sure I will be able to get too many quotes for you, but I’ll try to find some of them in my email pile.  Here’s one.  I can’t remember what my statement was, but you will see the tone immediately in the reply;

‘LOL! IT is NOT impossible! The “true christians,” died out long ago with the “primitive chuch!” As soon as you begin to put into practice the decisions of the council of Nicea, you CEASE to be a christian…and you form part of that cult that came later! YES, that includes your precious “nondenominational churches!” The following is the Nicean Creed. If this is your faith, then you are NOT a christian! You are the product of idolatry made state religion by Constantine! “believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”‘ Roman Luna November 18 at 11:03am

Constantine, of course, was Baptized by an Arian Bishop shortly before his death. The doctrine of the Arians is virtually the same as the modern Jehovah’s Witness cult, who deny the deity of Christ, and the deity of the Holy Spirit, and thus their beliefs line up more closely to Judaism than to Christianity.

The true Christians have not died out, although their numbers are dwindling today. We can trace true Christianity, not through the Roman Church, but through a group of biblical Churches stretching all the way back to the second century. Groups like the Novatians, Donatists, the Early Celtic Churches, the Albigenses, the Waldenses, the Armenians, the Anabaptists, and even Baptists up until the late 1800s. Unfortunately, by the late 1800s Rome’s influence was spreading even into Baptist Churches, nevertheless there are still a few believers among the Baptists to this day. In fact there are a handful of believers even in liberal denominations, although I would recommend you come out of them, if this is you!

Contrary to Roma Luna’s contentions, the true bible did not come from the Council of Nicaea, but was already in use in the Christian Churches long before that time. Even the book of Revelation, which was not included at Nicaea, was already in use from the late first century. The bible was recognized by Christians without having any “Church Council” to tell them what to read; the Holy Spirit had already done that!

‘Daniel Knezacek, Remember how we said the KJV is a very poor translation? Well, if you missed us saying that, be assured it is very poor indeed. But that’s not the only problem with Christians trying to read God’s Holy Scriptures. Another is that they have no idea what they are reading, nor do they understand context and idiom. To begin, let’s look at a JEWISH translation, and some of what you claimed the text says vanishes immediately. “1 Gather yourselves together! Yea, gather together, O nation that has no desire, אהִתְקוֹשְׁשׁוּ וָקוֹשּׁוּ הַגּוֹי לֹא נִכְסָף: 2 before the decree is born, as chaff that passes..the sun; before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you; before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you. בבְּטֶרֶם לֶדֶת חֹק כְּמוֹץ עָבַר יוֹם בְּטֶרֶם | לֹא יָבוֹא עֲלֵיכֶם חֲרוֹן אַף יְהֹוָה בְּטֶרֶם לֹא יָבוֹא עֲלֵיכֶם יוֹם אַף יְהֹוָה: 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth who executed His judgment; Seek righteousness, seek humility! Perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the Lord’s wrath. גבַּקְּשׁוּ אֶת יְהֹוָה כָּל עַנְוֵי הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר מִשְׁפָּטוֹ פָּעָלוּ בַּקְּשׁוּ צֶדֶק בַּקְּשׁוּ עֲנָוָה אוּלַי תִּסָּתְרוּ בְּיוֹם אַף יְהֹוָה: Notice: Claim: “O nation not desired” (vs 1) Actual translation: “O nation that has no desire”‘ Matt Tillman, November 17 at 11:26pm

I am sorry to inflict this rubbish on true Christian brothers, it grieves my spirit to read such trash as well.

To say that Zephaniah 2:1 says Israel is a “nation that has no desire” is utterly foolish. This is a translation by someone who does not know God. Think about it, every nation, every person has desires. Israel always had desires. Why would God be talking about bringing God’s wrath on a nation that has no desires? Why would He be angry with a nation that has no desires?

No one would come up with this translation unless they were attempting to hide the original meaning, and that is exactly what Jewish translators have been trying to do since the first century. Don’t forget they are trying to write Jesus-off. To discredit Him, because otherwise they have to admit that they missed their Messiah! And they have!

No, the King James Bible is the most accurate bible translation in the world. God has no desire for the modern nation of Israel, because they have failed to recognize their Messiah. They will be left behind at the rapture because of this lack of desire on God’s part. He does NOT desire to have them in Heaven! Their attacks on the Messiah have offended God to the point of anger! He will bring them together, however, because He remembers the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He will bring them to a place where they will recognize their Messiah! He will bring them to the place of repentance, and He will destroy those who refuse!

5:15 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. 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Hosea 5:15-6:2

Israel will seek the Lord during the Tribulation. This is the sense of Hosea’s statements about the Lord has “smitten” and “torn” Israel. This particular smiting and tearing will occur during the Tribulation period, at a time shortly after the Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39 wars when Israel thinks they are about to receive many great blessings, and the lifting-up of their kingdom above all the kingdoms of the world.

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. Malachi 3:3

Think of what He is saying here; refiners use intense heat to purify gold and silver. That heat is so intense that it drives-off the dross, or the slag. This is the picture of the Tribulation, and furthermore Zechariah 13 reveals that 2/3 of Israel will die at that time!

8 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. 9 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.

The Tribulation will be a terrible time. In fact it will be the most terrible time the earth has ever seen. No-one will come through unscathed, but 100% of the survivors, both Jew and Gentile will be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ! But who would want to return to the land of their ancestors, knowing that they had a 66% chance of dying in the next few years, and 100% chance of going through incredible horrors?

God is going to allow the illusion of fulfilment of the kingdom prophecies during the time from the Psalm 83 war to the Gog/Magog war, and after. This is how He will bring the last remnants back to the land. The Jews who are wary of the Time of Jacob’s trouble will be brought to a place where they think it is all over!

As I pondered the meaning of the attack against the gospel and against the Lord Himself, I realized that this movement, back to the law, the Torah, among former Christians and Messianics is actually a part of the End Times deception. In order for Israel to return to the land they will have to be convinced that the end Times prophecies concerning Israel have actually come true (past tense i.e. that they are over!);

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. Zechariah 8:23

And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. Isaiah 61:5

These verses will indeed come true in the time after the Tribulation, but there is a great danger in misinterpreting the times. The Jews, like all people, want to be lifted up and praised. Like all people they are susceptible to flattery. This is one of the big traps of Islam; Muslims are told in the Qur’an that they are special, and specially favoured by Allah, and that they deserve to be honoured by the rest of the world.

It is the same with Israel, and the time when the Gog/Magog war is over will be a time when the people of the world will flatter Israel, because it will be clearly obvious that God has favoured them in that war. There will be many volunteers from all over the world who will willingly go and work for the Israelis in Israel, and they will allow this flattery, and God’s providence in that war, to convince them that the Time of Jacob’s trouble is over, and they can now rest in their own land.

These volunteers will come from groups of people who have a love for Israel, but no understanding of the gospel or God’s plan of salvation. No doubt groups like I encountered on Facebook, and followers of men like John Hagee will make up the volunteers in this great deception.

This is the hiss found in Zechariah 10:8

“I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.”

God’s “hiss” for Israel is not a friendly hiss. “Hisses” are never friendly. And please don’t think that the next statement means that they are saved. The word “redeemed” simply means “purchased”. God redeemed Israel when He died on the cross, and now they are His property, to do with as He pleases! Some will go to Heaven and the rest will perish in the lake of fire.

He actually redeemed the whole world at that time, but the majority still are not going to Heaven. They were purchased by His sacrifice, but only those who receive Him are actually saved.

So how could God “hiss” for Israel to get them to return? God will not lie Himself, rather He will use Satan and his servants to convince Israel that it is safe to return. And, these deceptive servants will deceive them with the lies of Satan! They are already working on them!

This encounter with gospel deniers has shown me the need for some apologetics, so in my next instalment, Lord willing, I will take a look at some of the prophetic passages that these people deny.

God Bless,

Dan