God’s Plan for Israel

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Gods-Plans-for-Israel.mp3 by Raymond Warfel

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The Saving of Israel

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Saving-of-Israel.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 2:17-29   I.         In these days of troubled times in the middle East, those who believe that physical Israel is central to God’s plans for the future have come to the forefront.             A.        “Readers of the Bible know that the Book of Revelation tells of a time when Messiah himself…

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Were the Ten Tribes of Israel Really Lost?

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Were-the-Ten-Tribes-Really-Lost.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ezekiel 37:15-28   I.         Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible: “As in their own land, the children of Israel had forsaken the Lord and had worshiped idols, so after they were taken to these distant lands, they sought the gods of the people of those lands and ceased to be Israelites;…

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Is the Modern Nation of Israel Important?

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2005/06/Is-the-Modern-Nation-of-Israel-Important.mp3 Text: Hebrews 6:13-20   I.         It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the nation of Israel holds importance in the eyes of many people in America             A.        Jerry Falwell: “God has raised up America in these last days for the cause of world evangelism and for the protection of His people, the Jews. I don’t…

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Israel and the Promised Land

by Roger L. Leonard Because the Jews in the time of Jesus rejected the Old Testament prophets who foretold of Him and subsequently rejected Him as the Messiah, He said to them: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together,…

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And So All Israel Will Be Saved

by Terry Wane Benton Romans 11:26 is typically misunderstood and misapplied. The church is the true Israel that will be saved. The gospel is the power to save (Romans 1:16). Being a mere Jew in the flesh does not save. There must be the circumcision in heart to make a true Jew (Romans 2:28-29). So,…

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Why didn’t you list the ten tribes?

Questions: You fail to answer your own question, “Who are the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom?” I was looking to see if Levi was among them but no list is given. If Judah and Benjamin remained in the south then that would mean Levi was in the north. But I have read that some…

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Children According to the Promise

by Matthew W. Bassford The wisdom and subtlety of God truly are beyond our comprehension. Sometimes, though, we are privileged to get a glimpse of it in the Scriptures. This is the case with the story of Abraham and his descendants in Genesis, which only makes sense in the light of its New-Testament explanation. For…

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What does Jeremiah 31:36 mean?

Question: Good evening. I want to know what ordinances are being referred to in Jeremiah 31:36. And what does it mean by Israel will cease from being a nation? Jeremiah 31:36 (NKJV) “If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, [Then] the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before…

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Jerusalem’s Fall

by Terry Wane Benton Though Jerusalem had been destroyed during the Babylonian period (536 BC) as predicted by Jeremiah, it was also predicted that the Lord of hosts would be riding on the clouds to bring about that fall, and later the fall of Babylon, which was used to bring about the 70-year captivity of…

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Jacob Blesses His Sons

Some thoughts on Genesis 49 by Jefferson David Tant Prophecy and its fulfillment present some of the strongest evidence of the inspiration of the Scriptures. This presents a strong challenge to those who seek to deny that the Bible is of Divine origin. The apostles also recognized the significance of prophecy, as so often they…

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When the Fullness of Time Had Come

by Wayne Chamberlain Sentry Magazine, December 2002 Throughout history, God has used natural events, nations, cultures, individuals, and even beasts to facilitate and accomplish the fulfillment of His will. Evidence is strongly indicative that God used some of these same components in preparation for the corning Messiah and the carrying of His message into all…

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When did God take Israel and Judah back?

Question: When exactly did God take both Israel and Judah back? Answer: When Judah returned from the Babylonian captivity, they did not come alone. “So all Israel was enrolled by genealogies; and behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was carried away into exile to Babylon for their…

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Were only the Jews God’s chosen people in the Old Testament?

Question: Do you believe and teach that the house of Israel were all Jews? I mean that only the Jews were God’s chosen people in the Old Testament. Thank you. Answer: The Israelites were chosen by God above all the other nations because of His love for their ancestors (i.e. Abraham). “Because He loved your…

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Why did the Jews reject God?

Question: I have read what was written on the website about why the Jews rejected God, but I remain confused as to why this occurred. Are you able to make it clearer? Using passages from the Bible does not explain this, at least I have not read it. What I have gathered, by reading, is…

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Joseph’s Brothers

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/JosephsBrothers.mp3 by Raymond Warfel

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The Natural Comes Before the Spiritual

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/NaturalComesBeforeTheSpiritual.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 15:35-49   I.         It’s spring and gardener’s are out putting seeds into the ground, looking forward to crops of fruits, vegetables and flowers.             A.        Yet, no gardener puts in a seed expecting the seed to get bigger. The seeds stop being seeds, they “die” if you will, and become…

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Shouldn’t there be 12 children in Genesis 32:22?

Question: Good morning, I am working on my Bible class lesson for my Bible class tonight. While reviewing Jacob’s children up to this point in Genesis, he should have 12 children: 11 sons and 1 daughter. However, Genesis 32:22 says that Jacob sent his two wives, two maids, and 11 children across the Jabbok. I…

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Were some blessings meant only for the Jews?

Question: Sir, Many say that some blessings in the Bible are meant only for Jews. If so what are those verses? Answer: They don’t exist, unless you are talking about specific promises to the nation of Israel given in its past, such as the promise to give them the land of Canaan. “”Indeed He says,…

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Could you explain Romans 11:25-27?

Question: I found your website online trying to do some research. Can you please tell me your perspective on Romans 11:25-27 and to whom Paul is referring? Answer: “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part…

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If the land was promised to Abraham, why did God let it be destroyed?

Question: If God promised the land to Abraham, then how come God let it be destroyed and taken over by the Assyrians and Babylonians? Answer: Answer: God made other promises to Israel that He also fulfilled. God promised to destroy Israel when it disobeyed. “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but…

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What was the real sin for Israel asking for a king?

Question: How does I Samuel 8 as a whole fit in with regards to God’s history of redemption and what was the real sin for Israel asking for a king? Answer: This sounds like a question out of a theology class book. I generally decline to answer such questions. But the second half is straight…

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Why did God choose the Jews?

Question: “Why did God choose the Jews?” is what a lady in Bible study asked me recently. My first thought was, “Why did God make the sky blue?” recognizing that the people which became the Israelites were completely made that way by the laws of God, not by themselves (the people thus an arbitrary point).…

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Can a Jew go to heaven?

Question: Can a Jew go to heaven? Answer: We use the word “Jew” in two different senses. A person can be a Jew because of his ancestry; that is, he descends from Jewish people. A person can also be a Jew because that is the religion he practices. As an ethnic group, Jews can be…

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Why did God choose the Israelites as His people?

Question: Why did God choose the Israelites as His people? They were the only saved people before the death of Jesus Christ. What about others? Why did God has chosen only Israel as His own people? Answer: “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you…

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The Promise and the Law

by Homer Hailey via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 7, May 1952. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul began his defense of the truth he preached by showing that the gospel is one gospel and that any deviation from it is a perversion of the gospel and not another gospel. This convicts every sectarian today…

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Could you explain Matthew 21:44?

Question: In Matthew 21:44, I know that Jesus is talking to the chief priests and the Pharisees, but I am having trouble understanding this verse. “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” Is Jesus saying that whoever goes against him, since…

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The Found Tribes of Israel

by Edwin L. Crozier, via Gospel Power, Vol. 15, No. 4, Jan. 27, 2008. One of the most common mistakes made about Biblical history is the supposedly lost tribes of Israel. We know God divided the descendants of Jacob into 13 different tribes: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Ephraim,…

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Are the problems in Israel and wars in Iraq what Revelation talks about?

Question: I have had a ton of friends who are part of denominations, mostly Pentecostals. Obviously the first problem is the fact that they are part of a denomination. They have this idea that what is going on in Israel and the war in Iraq and around the world is what is talked about in Revelation. …

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Premillennialism and the Bible

By Jefferson David Tant Our nation was shocked, saddened, and angered on September 11, 2001, by the events that transpired in our nation — the cold-blooded murder of thousands. And people wonder, why this hatred, why this insane rage? A few days after the atrocities, I spent some time talking with a peaceful Islamic young…

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The Land Promise

by Franklin T. Puckett in The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 10, August 1952. Premillennialists tell us that God’s promise to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed has never been fulfilled. Since His promises do not fail, there must be a future fulfillment. Consequently, when Jesus comes the Jews will be miraculously converted…

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How long did it take for Jacob’s children to be born?

Question: At our Wednesday evening class, the teacher said all of Leah and Rachael’s children were born within 7 years.  Another man in the class, who is very intelligent, was puzzled by that and asked several questions for clarity. After about 5 minutes of discussion with the teacher, who is also very intelligent, was convinced,…

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How did the children of Israel get their name?

Question: How did the children of Israel get their name? Answer: They were descendants of Jacob who was a son of Isaac who was a son of Abraham (Exodus 19:3). Jacob, when concerned about his brother Esau’s possible approach to kill him, stayed behind to pray all night. There he was visited by an angel.…

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Does God still need to keep His covenant with Abraham?

Question: Thank you so much for answering me. So many people are deceived about the Jewish people and their destiny. I was 99.999% sure I was reading God’s Word in the context in which God meant for it to be understood. I know they are no longer God’s chosen people. Some people tend to take one scripture in God’s Word, and ignore a…

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How could Herod, an Idumean, end up ruling Israel?

Question: I found the article on the Internet concerning Edom quite informative. I am reading Josephus Flavious and have some interest in what the secular historians say in regard to biblical times and places. Josephus states that Herod was an Idumean. My question is, since Ezekiel’s time, when the land was uninhabited, how a personality…

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Why was the kingdom divided in the Old Testament?

Question: Why was the kingdom divided in the Old Testament? Answer: “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites- from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor…

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