The Holy Bible’s so-called Old Testament was written to, for and about God’s Chosen People–Ancient Israel.  The so-called New Testament was written to, for and about God’s Chosen People–modern Israel–His church–“the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).  Biblically, there should be no break between the two Testaments in that, many years later, Matthew picks up where Malichi ends.  Matthew announces the arrival of the Messiah promised by Malichi and other prophets.  The Word Who was the God of the Old Testament became Jesus of Nazareth (Jn. 1:1-4,14).  The people He ministered to and sent His apostles to minister to are the biological descendants of the ancient Israelites.  Read Who and Where is Israel Today?  Key word–Who?

Relative to who Israel is today, let us recall several of the Biblical passages that remind us of the connection among ancient Israel, the United States, England and the Jews of the Middle East of modern times–they are one and the same biologically in that they were all settled by the offspring of Jacob (Israel).  The apostles wrote often about that connection.  God’s true church is the Kingdom of Heaven comprised of the “remnant”–God’s “little flock” of obedient believers within modern Israel.

In First Peter 2:21 we are told that HOLY MEN OF OLD spoke (and wrote what they spoke) as they were moved on by the Holy Spirit.  In Second Timothy 3:13-16 we are told that ALL SCRIPTURE (INCLUDING THE OLD TESTAMENT) WAS WRITTEN UNDER THE INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.  In Ephesians 2:20 we are told that the New Testament Church was founded on the teachings of both the OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS and the New Testament apostles.  In First Corinthians 10:11 we are told that the OLD TESTAMENT WAS PRESERVED to serve as the Lord’s instruction book for “us upon whom the ends of the world have come,” meaning those serving God in the last days (from 31 A.D. until Christ’s return).  Lastly, we must “STUDY (ALL SCRIPTURE) in order to be approved by God” (2 Tim. 2:15).  We must also PROVE ALL THINGS relative to the Christian walk by those inspired Scriptures (1 Thes. 5:21).  And let us remember that the apostles taught the early church using the Old Testament, the only Scriptures in existence at that time.  Truly, the man-divided testaments should be viewed as one testament–one “witness” (Mat. 24:14).

With those Scriptural Truths in mind, let us return to the premise of this series, that ALL OF MAN’S PROBLEMS ARE SPIRITUAL, AND THAT EVERYTHING MAN HAS SUFFERED, IS SUFFERING AND WILL SUFFER ARE SELF-INFLICTED, TOTALLY AVOIDABLE CURSES SENT BY GOD AS A RESULT OF MAN’S SINS.  In other words: MAN DETERMINES WHETHER HE WILL BE BLESSED BY GOD OR CURSED BY GOD. 

With the above Biblical Truths fresh in our minds, let us turn to Deuteronomy 28 where we find the word “IF” recorded six times relative to God’s blessings for obedience to His Law and His curses for disobeying His Law.  His Law encompasses the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, which the Apostle Paul called “the whole counsel (Word) of God” (Acts 20:27) which the Almighty condensed into Ten Commandments.  Note that HIS WORD IS HIS WILL FOR HIS PEOPLE.  His will is to give them blessing after blessing (vss 1-14).  Note the word “IF” in verses 1,2,9,13.  In this sense, “IF” is the most important words in the Holy Bible.  If  the “IF” caveat is not met by the believer, every promise of God is rendered null and void relative to that believer.  Nothing is for nothing.  Everything has a price.  We were “bought with a price” on Christ’s part.  God’s promised blessings, including salvation, are bought with a price on our part.  The price is our obedience to His Law.  We must pay that price in order to receive everything Jesus died for.  The “cost” we must pay for our obedience is the hatred and rejection of those around us on the spiritual level.  Jesus made it clear that if we obey our Father’s Word the world will hate us just as it hated Him and His apostles for obeying that same Word.  And note who “the world” referred to–the religious leaders and their followers.  Recall that Pilot did not want to kill Jesus.  He did it ONLY because the Jewish priests and their followers insisted on it.  Read Persecution using that key word.  Read Deuteronomy 28:1-13 before reading the rest of this posting.  We must understand the obedience=blessing, disobedience=cursing Truths.  Now let us look at God’s Word concerning the relationship between disobedience and cursing from the Lord as proclaimed in verses 14-68.  For further proof of the Deuteronomy 28 Truth read Leviticus 26.

In Deuteronomy 28:14-68 the Lord promises curses of every kind on every aspect of man’s existence for disobeying His Law/Gospel/Word/Truth/Will/Light.  Read Psalm 119 to discern God’s attitude toward His Words–every one of them.  In this series we are narrowing our focus to His attacks on our physical and mental lives because of our sins–transgressions against His Law (1 Jn. 3:4).  Disobedience to His Law is the central theme relative to His “IF” caveat.

In verse 15 the Lord, through Moses, warns us that “IF” we do not obey ALL of His Words (the Ten Commandments–5:6-21) “… all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”  Skip down to verse 21 where He lays out how He will curse us physically.  He begins with a general statement, saying that He will send “PESTILENCE” upon us.  The word “pestilence” is defined in the Hebrew language as sickness, disease, plague, pandemic.  Look familiar?  God warns that He will make pestilences “cling” to us.  This means that sicknesses, plagues, diseases and pandemics will be ever-present and ready to strike if sin persists.  In verse 20 He reveals that to continue to break His Law (sin) means that the sinner has “forsaken Me.”

In verse 22 God warns that He will “smite” church sinners (along with all other sinners) with consumption, fever, inflammation and burning.  In verse 27 He promises to smite such sinners with boils and tumors, along with the itch and scabs as He did to the Egyptians.  The medical industry is one of, if not the largest industry on earth.

In verse 28 the Lord switches the focus of His wrath to the mind of sinners. which He will afflict.  He promises that He will curse church sinners with madness, spiritual blindness and “astonishment of heart” (mind).  Mental and corresponding emotional problems plague people of every age today.  Suicide is the second highest reason for teen deaths behind automobile accidents.

In verse 35 God warns that He will smite sinners in the knees and the legs with diseases which cannot be healed.  Think about the number of leg and hip joints that have been replaced with artificial ones.  He promises church sinners that He will curse them “from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.”  Our ancestors did not obey Him.  He said of them, “… the whole head is sick” (Isa. 1:5).  Nothing has changed.

In verse 45 the Lord summarizes His curses upon His sinning people with this epithet: “Moreover, all these curses will come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed.”  Why?  “BECAUSE YOU DID NOT HEARKEN TO THE VOICE (WORDS) OF THE LORD YOUR GOD TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS (LAW) AND HIS STATUTES WHICH HE COMMANDED YOU.”  

Can anything be more clear: IN THE EYES OF GOD, SO-CALLED “SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE” ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM SINNING ATHEISTS WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN HIM.  SIN IS SIN.  THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.  THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE IS PROMISED ONLY TO THOSE WHO “GO AND SIN NO MORE” (JN. 8:11; 5:14).  HE WHO CONTINUES TO SIN IS A CHILD OF THE DEVIL (1 JN. 3:8,10).    

Jesus came to save man “FROM (OUT OF) SIN.”  He did not come, as the church contends, to save men in their sins.  Those who continue to sin after receiving justification (forgiveness of all past sins) are like the cleansed sow that returns to her mire and the healed dog that returns to his vomit.  There will be no such sows or dogs in God’s kingdom.  Christ will not share His throne with swine and canines.  He died to take sin out of our lives PERMANTLY, not, as the church proclaims–PERIODICALLY.  Contrary to popular opinion, He did not die so that we could sin and get away with it.  For this reason God commands true believers to “COME OUT OF HER (THE CHURCH) AND REMAIN SEPARATE FROM HER”  Only then will He be one’s God and one will be His child (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).  Otherwise, He will curse the counterfeit Christian again, and again, and again …, EXACTLY AS HE CURSES THE ATHIEST AND FOR THE SAME REASON.  IN HIS EYES THEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME.

There is an age-old hymn that proclaims the deadly truths made clear by this series.  In the song Jesus is pictured as one who has an endless supply of mercy.  The lyrics assure us that no matter how many times a religious person sins, “… He’ll (Jesus will) always say, “I FORGIVE.”  THIS IS A LIE STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART OF SATAN.  And I will prove it in the next series in which the Lord’s “fine print” will shed His important light on one of professing Christendom’s most cherished “truths.”  It has also been one of, if not the most embraced of Satan’s lies by which he has deceived the whole world (Rev. 12:9).  L.J.

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