The Almighty hates sin, which is the transgression of His Law, which He condensed into ten commandments, wrote in stone with His finger and gave to the nation of Israel to serve as their rules for living.  Anciently they included the Tora and the writings of the prophets–Genesis to Malachi.  Those writings, along with the information the same God gave to the Jews when He came to earth as Jesus of Nazareth, are today called the Holy Bible, which should not be divided into “old” and “new” segments in that His true church is founded on the writings of both the prophets and the apostles (Eph. 2:20).  Also, Jesus told His apostles that anyone who did not believe “ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN” was a “fool” (Lk. 24:25).  He told the Jews that they did not believe the writings of Moses and therefore did not believe Him, “… for he wrote about Me” (Jn. 5:45-47).  Israel is referred to as “the people of the Book” (Eng.–Bible), which is true in that the Book (Bible) was written to, for and about Israel.  The only time Gentiles are mentioned is when they have dealings with Israel.  According to the Lord, there are two categories of people on earth: Israelites and non-Israelites.  The Lord’s name for all non-Israelites is “Gentiles” (Heb.–“goiim”–heathen).  In the eyes of God, one is either an Israelite or a heathen.  Both are His physical creations (children) for whom He has offered the possibility of eternal life.

Israelites are God’s chosen people, not because they are better than other people, but to serve as His example of obedience to the Gentile world.  In order to become one of His people, a Gentile must become a spiritual Israelite by knowing, believing and obeying His rules for living the God-centered, God-obeying life required in order to inherit eternal life.  Living that life transforms biological Gentiles into spiritual Israelites.  Obedience to His Word also transforms biological Israelites into spiritual Israelites.  Doing so shows that one has been converted and eligible for salvation.  Only by obeying God’s Word with faith can a Gentile or Israelite become a spiritual Israelite–a converted Christian who is eligible for salvation provided he/she endures in a state of obedience until the end (Mat. 10:21,22).

God chose Abraham to be the progenitor of a special group of people that would become known as Israel, meaning “power with God.”  As previously stated, being a biological descendant of Abraham makes Israelites His biological people whom He raised up to be “a light to the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:6; 60:3).  In the latter days the United States and Britain–descendants of Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim respectively–were prophesied to be known as “Israel” and, as the two greatest nations in mankind’s history (Gen. 48:5,6,19), would carry His light (Word) to the Gentile world.  As did their ancient Israelite ancestors, they failed to live up to the Lord’s expectations.  As a result modern day Israel, including the Judahites (Jews) of the Middle East, will be defeated, the people slaughtered and the survivors taken into slavery in the lands of the victors, exactly as did their Israelite ancestors.  This generation will witness these disasters.  Only God’s Very Elect will be physically protected from the terror to come upon the earth.  Read Who and Where is Israel Today and God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe.  Key words–Where and Caretakers caretakers.  The Book of Revelation graphically forecasts these events that will come upon this present generation for all of the signs of their coming have been fulfilled, except one.  Read about it in Luke 21:20.

Those who will sit with Jesus on His throne in the Kingdom of God are those who resist Satan’s temptations to sin.  These are true spiritual Israelites (Rev. 3:21).  Recall that Jesus defined spiritual Israelites–His spiritual “brethren”– as “… they who obey the Words of My Father in Heaven” (Mat. 12:46-50).  At that point in time, His mother and siblings were not Jesus’ spiritual brethren because they did not believe Him and refused to accept Him as the Messiah.  Later they would be converted and would be among the members of the original Church of God that came into being on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D.

God does not respect persons (Acts 10:34).  Biological Israelites must become spiritual Israelites in order to enter His kingdom upon the return of His Son to earth.  “Not all of (biological) Israel  are of (spiritual) Israel” (Gal. 4:22-31).  For Gentiles to become spiritual Israelites they must become one with Israel.  When God brought Israel out of Egyptian slavery, “a multitude (of slaves) came out WITH Israel,” meaning that they were not Israelites.  As Scripture reveals, they became Israelites by observing Passover, embracing Israel’s God and obeying His Law that would be spoken to them a few days later from Mt. Sinai.  Since that time Israel has welcomed God-seeking Gentiles into the commonwealth.

Throughout history, beginning in the Garden of Eden, man has rebelled against his Creator.  History is rife with instances in which God cursed sinning man who refused to obey His Rules of Engagement as put forth in the Holy Bible.  Preferring self-rule over God-rule, mankind has rebelled against the Word of the Lord to the point that he has created hundreds of different interpretations (versions) of God’s Word and has formed those of like religious mind into groups.  These groups (divisions) are known as “denominations,” each of which describes itself as “the church.”  All “churches” claim to use God’s divine Word as their foundation.  Knowing little about His Word, they veer of into cults, sects, denominations, etc.  Each division proclaims to have the “real truth” based on that group’s interpretation of God’s “Truth.”  This in spite of His commands that there be no interpretations of  His Word (2 Pet. 1:20) and no divisions within His church (1 Cor.  1:10).  For this reason He labels all denominations and their “truths” the same–abominations.  These groups, along with the unchurched world, are Gentiles–heathen–because they do not obey God’s Word.

Because of man’s rejection of God’s Word and his creation of his own systems of “truth,” the Lord decreed in Amos 8:11-14 that He would send famine upon the earth.  It would not be a famine of food or drink, but a famine of “hearing the Words of the Lord”–His Truth.  During that time men would “run to and fro” from “sea to sea” in search of the Word of God, but “would not find it.”  He did not say that His Word would not be available, but that man would be unable to find (“hear”) it.  Nowhere does He say that His Word would not be available to mankind during the Truth famine.  Jesus made this clear in Matthew 28:18,19 when He instructed His apostles to preach the gospel throughout all the world unto all nations.  “THEN, He said, “the end (of the present world system) will come.”  Therefore, the gospel will be available until He returns to earth.  The problem for men will be, not a famine (lack) of the Word, but rather a famine of HEARING the Word.

Upon the return of Jesus Christ to earth following the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord there will have been two famines (a duality) of hearing the Word.  The first famine took place between the deaths of the original apostles and the early 1930’s when the Lord raised up a man named Herbert W. Armstrong through whom He preached His (God’s) Scriptural Truth throughout the world.  For some 1900 years the world had not heard God’s Truth preached.  His printed Word/Truth was in the world, but the world was not HEARING it preached.  His “little flock” of scattered, hunted, often martyred believers (His church) managed to keep His Truth alive until the arrival of His end-time apostle on the world scene.  The apostle’s rise to world prominence took place in conjunction with the advent of radio and television which enabled him to preach God’s Truth throughout the world.  Today there are a few men who are proclaiming that same Truth.  And due to television, radio, the print median and the internet God’s messengers are able to “shout it (the gospel) from the housetops” (Mat. 10:27) as never before.

In Malachi 3:1 we find God (the Word–Jn. 1:1-4,14) saying that He would send to Israel (“the sons of Jacob”–3:6) His messenger (John the baptist) who, operating in the spirit and power of Elijah (Lk. 1:17), would prepare the way for Him (the Messiah).  As the “messenger of the covenant” He would present Himself to the Jews as Jesus of Nazareth.  However, the Jews make up only a small percentage of Israel.  The rest of Israel had not received His Word.  Before His death He told His apostles to: “… go to the lost (globally scattered) sheep of the House of Israel ….” (Mat. 10:6; 15:24; 18:11).   Jesus had ministered to the Jews Himself.  The apostles were to go to the Israelites and tell them what Jesus had told the Jews and to do among them what He had done among the Jews.  As Jesus had done for the Jews, the apostles would offer salvation to the other tribes of Israel.  Later, salvation would be offered to the Gentiles.  Biological Gentiles, upon being converted (becoming spiritual Israelites), would be eligible for salvation at the return of Christ to earth.

In Amos 4:5 He (the Word/Jesus) promised Israel that before His second coming, “I will send YOU (Israel) Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord ….”  This end-time Elijah would bring Israel back to the teachings of God that had been preached by His prophets and original apostles.  He would, as prophesied, “restore all things (Truths of God)” (Mat. 17:11).  Herbert Armstrong–the promised Elijah–fulfilled this prophecy superbly.  Since his death in 1986 the Lord has raised up other messengers who continue to take His Word to the world through radio, television, the internet, the print media, etc.  Those who are Christ’s “friends” (Jn. 15:13,14) and His spiritual “brethren” (Mat. 12:46-50) are those Israelites and Gentiles who recognize the LIGHT/WORD OF GOD, embrace it, believe it and obey it.  However, as Jesus warned would be the case, they are few in number (Mat. 7:13,14).  L.J.