As the series titled Who and Where is Israel Today? revealed, the United States and Great Britain carry the title of “Israel” today.  Other self-proclaimed “Christian nations” are also populated by the descendants of Jacob, the great grandson of Abraham, the “father of the faithful.”  But out of the dozen sons of Jacob, God chose to name only America and Britain after Jacob, whose name He changed to “Israel.”  This Truth is brought out in Genesis 48:16,19 where the dying patriarch placed his hands on the heads of Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh and proclaimed that henceforth “… they will be known by my name (Israel), and each will become a multitude in the midst of the earth,” meaning that all other nations would look up to and fear them.  In verse 19 he noted that Manasseh’s descendants would become the greatest (single) nation the world would ever produce while Ephraim would become a “multitude of nations”–history’s greatest commonwealth in which many nations would all choose to serve one other nation.  These national configurations would fulfill the promise God made to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 17:4,5,6.  Later, as recorded in Genesis 35:18, God confirmed the covenant with Abraham’s grandson Jacob (Israel), telling him that “a (single) nation and a company (commonwealth) of nations will come out of you ….),”, adding that kings (leaders of those nations) would be born of him.

After prophesying Ephraim and Manasseh’s respective futures, Jacob then prophesied over ten of his other sons (ch. 49).  One will note that Israel’s other sons, Israelites all, nevertheless would not bear the name “Israel.”  Judah did received a special prophecy (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; 49:8-10) in which he was told that one of his descendants would be a blessing to the entirety of mankind.  This blessing would come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth who would die for the sins of mankind.  He would be called the “Lamb of God” as well as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”  Through Him all of mankind would be blessed.  The descendants of Ephraim later became Great Britain (the world’s greatest commonwealth of nations) while Manasseh’s descendants became the United States of America (the world’s greatest single nation), exactly as God had promised Abraham because of his obedience.  As God promised Abraham and Jacob, these two nations joined to form the most powerful, most prosperous entity the world has ever seen.  At one time they controlled almost 80% of the world’s land production and ruled the world’s seas.

However, there was a divine caveat.  The Almighty warned Abraham that if his Israelite descendants (initially the tribes of Israel and later their Britain and the U.S.) did not obey Him, He would curse them, and that He would do so repeatedly and with ever greater curses if they persisted in their rebellion.  And if they proved themselves to be unchangeable, He would cause them to be defeated, slaughtered, enslaved and scattered throughout the earth.  This is exactly what happened to the descendants of Jacob’s sons–the 12 tribes of Israel–during the 6th and 7th centuries B.C.  God also prophesied that He would scatter Israel throughout the world, and that would send His Light (Gospel) to the Gentiles (heathen–non Israelites through them when they returned to Him (Jer. 9:16; 13:24; 18:13/ Isa. 10:17; 49:6).

The scattering of Israel began with the defeat of the northern tribes and later the southern tribes at the hands of Assyria and Babylon respectively during the 6th and 7th centuries.  The Light-bearing work of Israel began hundreds of years later when Jesus sent the apostles to them with His Gospel/Light/Truth beginning in 31 A.D.  His commission to find and Gospelize scattered Israel is recorded in Matthew 10:6 and 15:24.  Then in 24:14 He proclaimed to the apostles that: “This Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations (where the scattered Israelites had settled), then the end (of the age) will come” (upon His return to earth).  Today that gospel is being preached by the spiritual descendants of the original apostles.  This spiritual army is comprised of a minutely few men who are believed and obeyed by a minutely few followers, estimated to be less than 10,000 globally.

Having rejected God’s pure Gospel, the vast majority within professing Christendom have embraced Satan’s counterfeit (Catholic/Protestant) version of it.  Some of its tenants are listed on the Introduction to this website.  This ministry is designed to warn those in Satan’s church of what is coming upon them if they do not turn from their idolatry and obey God’s Words.  A major part of God’s warning is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 where He commands those in Catholicism/Protestantism to: “Come out from among them and be separated from them … do not touch that unclean thing.  Then I will receive you and (then) I will be a Father to you and (then) you will be my children and (then) I will be your God.  Having these promises, cleanse yourselves from all (of Satan’s religious) filthiness and be holy in the fear of God” (6:17-7:1).  Note that Paul was writing to the church.  From the writings of the apostles we find that many in the early church were Christians in name only.  Nothing has changed.  For more information read the series titled Who and Where is Israel Today.  Key word–Where.

Before we launch into the meat of this series, I will remind any who reject the Old Testament that “holy men of old (the prophets) spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21).  Then, under the direction of the Spirit, they recorded their words to be used to teach the New Testament Church which was founded on the teachings of both “the PROPHETS and the apostles” (Eph. 2:22/ 1 Cor. 10:11).  This Truth is brought out again in 2 Timothy 3:14-17 where we are told that all (Old and New Testament) Scripture IS (still) inspired by God and IS to be used as doctrine, to reprove (call out) those who are in error, to correct them and to instruct believers how to attain righteousness which makes one perfect and able to serve God properly.  With the status of the Old Testament exalted to its true status, let us turn to the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy in order to be reminded of what the Lord told ancient Israel then and modern Israel today concerning His will for them and us.  In these Scriptures we will find the promises with which God will bless us if we obey Him, along with the curses with which He will afflict us if we fail to do so.  What He wrote to ancient Israel holds true for modern day Israel.  A few Israelites comprise His true New Covenant Church–His “little flock” (Lk. 12:32/ Gal. 6:16) who are the descendants of Jacob’s (Israel’s) grandsons.  Others in the true church are Gentiles (non Israelites) who have become spiritual Israelites by obeying Israel’s God.  Let us now turn to Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 that were written to biological Israel then and spiritual Israel now.

We will begin with the statements God made concerning His will for His church then (Acts 7:38) and His church now (Acts 2:47).  These are the biological descendants of Joseph’s sons who were given the name “Israel.”  Converted Gentiles are also called “Israel” in that they are part of “the church, which is also the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).  In the first 13 and 14 verses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 respectively we find the Lord proclaiming His will for those who will obey Him, who will “… keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary … (who will) walk in My statues and keep My commandments to do them” (Lev. 16:2,3/ Deut. 28:1).  Upon these precious souls He promises to pour out His many blessings which He enumerates in the following few verses.  Following the listing of the blessings He promises to give those who obey Him, He lists the curses He will pour out on those who refuse to do so.  It is these curses to which we will turn in the remainder of this series.  He has been pouring out His curses on sinning Israel with for many years as she has refused to obey His Word.  Other curses are presently coming upon the United States and Britain.  Others will be afflicting them in the near future because Israel, who was chosen and blessed mightily by the Lord, has turned her back on Him and has embraced Satan.  The children of Ephraim and Manasseh have sown the (sin filled) wind and are now reaping the (curse filled) whirlwind.    L.J.