https://www.jewishhistory.org/a-mystical-view-of-exile/  (from jewishhistory.org)

Notice these extracts from the above article:

“What sin of the Jewish people was so great that it required such a long, bloody and painful exile – with seemingly no end? The Jews may have sinned, but if we compare the Jews’ behavior to many other nations and religious groups in history, it is difficult to place them at the bottom of the ladder. We are not found to be that wanting morally or spiritually. The punishment seems disproportionate to the sin.”

“What purpose does this exile accomplish?”

“The exile was transformed from being viewed as a punishment for the sins of the Jewish people into a vehicle for redemption”

In this last sentence and what follows, we see the problem of the exile being collapsed into one aspect of a common Jewish answer to the so called, “problem of evil”:

“only through darkness could light shine.”

This softens the blow of the traditional view of exile as punishment for sin. It doesn’t deny sin, but it makes sin, and evil in general, to be the means by which the nobility of innate human goodness can be applied towards some eschatological ’re-assembling’ of the good, ultimately purged and freed of the power of evil through good deeds.

How much more optimistic of a properly “educated” and incentivized human nature could there be than this?!

Kabalistic Judaism is an enormous leap of faith in man as the ultimate cooperator to assist God to put the world right. At best, God can do no more than help us “get ourselves back to the Garden”. The golden age dawns when this elusive mutual endeavor has been achieved.

The Hebrew prophets who continually describe a golden age of peace held no such optimism concerning man’s role in bringing such an age into existence. Only an apocalyptic in-breaking of supernatural divine power would ever be sufficient to break unending cycle of wars and rumors of war.

According to Judaism’s boundless optimism in the potential of human nature, the messianic era waits for man to come around to a sufficient cooperation with God to finally end the exile, but for how long? How long can the messianic era, once it comes, be expected to endure apart from a radical change at the root of human nature?

This is precisely where we must make much of the promise of the Holy Spirit as indispensable to the hope of the nation then, “in that day”, and the individual now, in this day.

We must show in our Jewish evangelism that the hope of the nation is the same as the hope of the individual. That is the indispensable necessity of vital regeneration. “You MUST be born again!”

The prophets recognized that only the outpouring of the Spirit on the “whole” of the surviving nation (ALL Israel) is the indispensable necessity that marks the end of exile (see Isa 32:15; 44:3; 59:21; Eze 39:29; Zech 12:10). It is Zechariah who reveals the ground of this great eschatological event as a transforming revelation that will come to the Jewish survivors of the tribulation, as it came to Isaiah when he saw the Lord (Isa 6:1-8; Jn 12:41 with Zech 12:10; Mt 23:39; Ro 11:26 with Joel 3:16 & Rev 1:7).

The NT will make explicit what was implicit in the OT, that the eschatological promise of the Spirit would be given on the basis of faith in “the blood of the everlasting covenant” in Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice. According to Paul, the apostolic proclamation was to be presented as the revelation of a mystery, fully foretold in “the scriptures of the prophets” (Acts 26:22), but kept secret until the appointed time when the Holy Spirit would be “sent down from heaven” (Ro 16:25-26; Eph 6:19; 1Pet 1:11-12).

We might ask how nearly our approach to evangelism conforms to Paul’s?

What follows is an overview of something that began with a text exchange with Adam this morning:

The exile (i.e., the Jews driven from the Land that God gave specifically to them as an everlasting possession) was once looked upon as a shocking and puzzling anomaly:

“Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?” (Deut 29:24 KJV).

For the Hebrew prophets, the healing of the nations would not come until All Israel would be All righteous (Isa 60:21), ALL back in the Land (Eze 39:28), dwelling in everlasting security, “never again” to be menaced by the enemy within or without.

Therefore, an Orthodox Jew who reveres the scriptures and interprets them literally MUST deal with the fact that so long as his people are not ALL back home in that particular Land, ALL preserved in abiding holiness by reason of a new heart and new spirit (Isa 59:21; Jer 31:34; Eze 37:26, etc., etc.), an apocalyptic end of unequaled distress yet awaits his nation. It is crucial that this be stressed in our witness.

This unequaled trouble (“the time of Jacob’s trouble”) will bring about the deepest national humbling and breaking in the nation’s history (Deut 32:36 with Jer 30:6-7; Dan 12:1, 7; Mt 24:21). It will accomplish the permanent end of exile in the spiritual rebirth / resurrection of the nation in “one day” (Ps 102:13; Isa 66:8; Eze 39:8, 22; Zech 3:9).

Only an ultimately climactic, ultimately transformational event could ever hope to reconcile the great tension that exists between the unconditional, unilateral covenants promised to Abraham & David and the many conditions necessary to secure the inheritance that would be subsequently introduced at Sinai. That built in tension pointed to a covenant that could not be defeated by conditions that would invariably be broken through human weakness. Unlike the covenant mediated by Moses, this covenant would be incapable of EVER being broken again (Jer 31:31, 34; 32:40).

This is NOT because the stipulated conditions of obedience would be conveniently removed, but because all conditionality would be provided for, and guaranteed by the atonement of Messiah’s atoning blood and the promised gift of the outpoured Holy Spirit, poured out, not only on the perennial remnant, but on the whole of the newly born (Isa 66:8; Zech 3:9), newly raised, holy nation of born-again tribulation survivors.

This covenant that would subsume, supersede, and fulfill all others is what the prophets would call, “the everlasting / new covenant”. It would not be fully enacted with “ALL Israel” until AFTER the unequaled trouble when the Deliverer would come out of Zion “to turn ungodliness away from Jacob” (Isa 27:9; 59:20-21; Joel 3:16; Ro 11:26).

Because the Hebrew prophets entertained no such optimism concerning the intractability of fallen human nature, they cast their focus on a future apocalyptic event of ultimate divine intervention, comparable to the power of the original creation, the supernatural birth of Isaac, or the resurrection of the dead. Nothing less would avail. “Not by might not by power but (ONLY) by My Spirit, says the Lord.”

So the very concept of the Day of the Lord grows out of the logic of what we might call the crisis, or dilemma of the covenants.

To know both the extravagance and the certainty of the unilateral promises to Abraham and David, and to compare this to the hopeless weakness and predictability of the human condition is to raise the searching question: “what’s it going to take?” Surely nothing less than “the God who raises the dead” (2Cor 1:9).

Herein lies the unspeakably glorious resolution that the mystery of the gospel will reveal after Christ’s ascension at Pentecost. The shed blood of the Lamb of God would be the means by which the gift of the Spirit would secure the blessings of the everlasting covenant for “all the seed” (Isa 45:24-25 with Ro 4:16).

So contrary to popular replacement presumptions, the ultimate goal of the everlasting covenant does not reach its climax with the crucified and risen Messiah but with the age ending resurrection of an internationally impaled Jewish nation at His return.

That question: “What’s it going to take?”, must be pressed! It should be a pivotal point to be made in our apologetic to Israel.

This is because, according to any plain reading of plain language, an unparalleled time of devastation looms over the fledgling nation locally, and world Jewry internationally. Nothing could be clearer: Covenant chastisement cannot end until the exile has ended with every Jew filled with the Spirit, safe at home in his own Land (Eze 39:28-29).

With any opportunity, we must be careful to stress that while this time of unequaled trouble will touch everyone everywhere, it will be centered around the age old, “Jewish question”. When its implications are duly unpacked, this question is divinely designed to evoke an even more central question, namely, the Jesus question, and the question of the nature of justifying righteousness (Acts 13:38-39).

Before coming to the question of Jesus, we should point out that the fate of the nations hangs in the balance over an ancient covenant contention, namely Yahweh’s (“quarrel” KJV) controversy with “My people” (Lev 26:25; Mic 6:2; KJV).

Even God’s “controversy with the nations” (Isa 34:8) will be over how they see and interpret His controversy with His people (Joel 3:2; Eze 38:17), since both points of great divine contention revolve around the greatest and most decisive of all questions: “whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am? … what think ye of Christ?” Not only that Jesus is the promised Messiah, but that His is the only acceptable perfection of righteousness imputed to the believer that can stand in the judgment (Isa 45:24; 54:17; Jer 23:6; Dan 9:24; Ro 1:17; 3:21; ;1Cor 1:30; 2Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9)

The question of why a future great tribulation must yet come upon the Jewish nation locally and the Jew internationally, leads to the issue of the Holy Spirit received by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, as the only resolution to the perennial problem of covenant failure for both Jew and gentile. This is the resolution that the gospel reveals to the praise of the glory of His grace in Christ.

To summarize:
According to the prophets’ manifest interpretation of the divine covenants of Abraham and David, the world can never know abiding, unthreatened peace, until ALL (not some but ALL) the Jews are safe in their own Land, not only home, but “home free”, home to stay in an “everlasting righteousness” that extends to the entirety of an entirely saved Jewish population, unto children’s children (Isa 4:3; 45:17, 25; 44:3; 59:21; 60:21; 65:23; 66:22; Jer 31:34; 32:40; Eze 20:40; 37:25; 39:22, 28-29; Zeph 3:13, etc.).

The question why this should be so leads to the greater “glory of the story”. The end time proclamation that will bring the Jew at last to “consider” what the nation has been so reluctant to consider (Deut 32:29; Isa 1:3; 42:25 with Jer 23:20; 30:24) will be no less effective to reach the gentile, according to the approach of Ro 16:25-26.

These are the divinely ordained questions that an anointed and empowered ‘maskilim’ (those who “understand”) will be prepared to answer at a time when all the great questions of the faith will be pressed upon the nations, as the question of Jesus was pressed on first century Israel (Dan 11:32-33, 35; 12:3, 10; Mt 24:14; Rev 7:9, 13-14; 14:6).

The post Jewish Wrestlings with the Tragedy of Exile appeared first on Mystery of Israel.

https://www.newantisemitism.com/antisemitism/is-the-stage-being-set-for-the-prophecy-of-zechariah-123

Good thoughts, good points, raising a very timely question. However, and it’s a big however, we must never forget the larger surrounding context of Zech 12:2-3. Obviously, the final siege of Jerusalem ends when the repentant survivors of Israel “look upon Him whom they pierced” (Zech 12:10), as a fountain for cleansing is opened (Zech 13:1). So when do “all” nations gather against Jerusalem? (Zech 12:3; 14:2), and what are the circumstances that will be prevailing at the time?

It may come as a surprise, but not all nations that come to fight at Jerusalem are being driven by an antisemitic hatred. Not all the nations that are gathered to Armageddon are coming against Israel. This is not well known, but contrary to popular prophecy scenarios, the final siege of Jerusalem is not directed against the Jews but against the Antichrist (Dan 11:40-45). The modern state of Israel will have already been overwhelmed and conquered 3 1/2 years earlier. This is clear from Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:1, 7, 11 with Mt 24:15-16, 21; Rev 11:2; 12:6, 14. A careful comparison between Eze 39:8, Dan 11:40-45, and Rev 16:12-17 will show that “at the time of the end”, the nations are directing their attack against the Antichrist, little expecting that they will be meeting the returning Lamb of God. Armageddon is the time at the end of the tribulation that all nations, deceived by demons (Rev 16:13), are rushing headlong into the trap that God has prepared for all who have ignored His everywhere declared covenant Word.

At this time (i.e., the end of the tribulation), the nations are not coming to destroy the Jews. They are coming to oppose the Antichrist who will have set up his royal pavilion on God’s holy mountain (Dan 11:45). It is then that the gathered armies of the nations will come flooding into the valleys of Esdraelon, Jehoshaphat (Decision), and Jezreel (Hos 1:5; 2:22-23; Joel 3:2, 12-17), only to “fall upon the mountains of Israel” (Eze 394, 17). God will use, not only the rabid antisemitism of the Antichrist and his ten, but the revolt of other great nations that have apparently found his yoke unbearable. In this way, God will fulfill His long declared intention to bring all the nations into a final trap of judgment for their defiance or indifference to the prophetic Word of God (see Isa 5:26; 13:4-6; 14:24-26; 17:12-13; 29:7-8; 34:2; Eze 38:4-6; 39:8; Dan 11:40-45; Joel 3:2; Mic 4:11; Zeph 3:8; Zech 12:3, 9; 14:2-3, 16; Rev 16:12-17).

Not all nations will unite with the Antichrist against Israel. Some will express astonishment and helpless disapproval (Eze 38:12-13), while others such as Egypt will be ravaged at the same time that Israel is ravaged by the same fierce king (Isa 28:2; 19:4; Dan 8:23-25). Notice that whereas Ezekiel is notably prolific in his prophecies concerning Egypt, curiously, Egypt is not mentioned in the list of nations that come against the Land under the leadership of Gog (i.e., the Antichrist; cf. Eze 38:17). This strange silence speaks volumes. Evidently, Egypt is among the moderate Arab nations that are at peace with the peace, intensifying the hatred of the Antichrist that will also break out with fury against Egypt at nearly the same time he makes his move against Israel (Dan 11:42).

If we are correct to understand that the covenant that the Antichrist ‘confirms’ (strengthens / gives formal approval) in Dan 9:27 is indeed the “holy covenant” of Dan 11:28, 30 that is violated in the middle of the week (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11), then apparently the Antichrist was only one among “many” other nations who lent his support to the holy covenant that manifestly recognized Jewish right of return to the temple mount, (perhaps in some agreement to share the temple mount). This too suggests a divided world, since some nations will be in support of the ill-fated peace, as others who have hated the covenant from the start will join the Antichrist’s secretive plot to overthrow it (Dan 11:23-31).

We know from a number of scriptures that before the fateful invasion of the Antichrist, there has been some kind of peace arrangement that has worked to greatly relax Israel’s guard (Isa 28:15, 18; Eze 38:8, 11, 14; Dan 11:23-24). This helps to explain why the invasion will take Israel so suddenly by complete surprise (Isa 28:17-18; 1Thes 5:3). That Jerusalem is not under siege before this time is made clear by Jesus’ reference to Daniel’s mention of the abomination of desolation (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). The demand for urgent flight is in plainest connection with this particular signal event (Mt 24:15-16). This tells us that Israel does not come under final siege until the middle of the week. Before this, the Jews suppose themselves safe and secure in their alliance with the Antichrist, with other nations that are doubtless pledged to protect the peace (Isa 28:15; Eze 38:8, 11, 14; Dan 11:23-24).

All of this goes to show how tremendously secure this peace will seem. It would appear from Isa 28 & Eze 38, in light of the presumption depicted in 1Thes 5:3, that at least the orthodox will perhaps (?) suppose that that the messianic era has dawned, or is soon to dawn. Therefore, what seismic changes must be expected between the present status quo and the kinds of conditions described in scripture? Certainly recent events are moving us along an inexorable trajectory in that direction, but radical changes are required to get us there. We’re getting there, but we’re not there yet!

Obviously, there must be renewed Jewish access to the controversial temple mount in order for there to be a temple that the man of lawlessness can enter, not only to exalt himself above all forms of deity (Dan 11:36-37; 2Thes 2:4), but also to place what appears to be an idol image of himself in the holy place (Dan 11:38-39; Mt 24:15; Rev 13:14). We know too that with a temple, and probably before the temple is finished, there must be the restoration of the ancient sacrifice (Dan 8:11; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). The continual sacrifice is “stopped” / “taken way” 3 1/2 years before the end (Dan 9:27; 12:7, 11). This is very plain. It is this twin event (namely, the placing of the abomination and removal of the daily sacrifice) that starts the unequaled tribulation (compare Dan 12:1, 7, 11; Mt 24:15-16, 21; Rev 11:2; 12:14; 13:5).

Due to the massive amount of error that is currently circulating, it is important to stress the point that it is Jesus Himself who sends His disciples (and therefore us), to “read and understand” Daniel’s prophecy concerning this decisive event that signals the start of the tribulation (“let the reader understand”). Jesus well knew that when this simple command would be obeyed (as Daniel “set his heart to understand”; Dan 10:12), not only would one discover what follows, but also what precedes this pivotal event that would work to align and put in order all of the most strategic events of the end. In view of what is being taught, it is very critical that we note very carefully that this unequalled tribulation that begins with standing up of Michael in heaven (Dan 12:1 with Rev 12:7-14), coupled with the removal of the continual sacrifice and invasion of the temple on earth (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:7, 11) ends in nothing short of the return of Jesus (Mt 24:15-31) and the resurrection of the righteous (compare especially Dan 12:1-2, 13 with Mt 24:21, 29-31).

To miss the vital interconnection between the abomination, the cessation of the sacrifice, the tribulation, and the resurrection is to run adrift. For example, with only one exception, every misleading interpretation that I’ve encountered invariably disjoins and separates the abomination of desolation from the cessation of the regular sacrifice. Note this connection carefully. It will help you when you encounter any number of highly influential viewpoints that separate the inseparable. No less than the abomination, it is the cessation of the daily sacrifice that starts the final half week of unequaled tribulation. Both aspects of this single event are at an equal distance from the resurrection (Dan 9:27; 12:7, 11).

The sacrifice is stopped at the same time the abomination is placed in the temple. It should be obvious that these are two aspects of a single event that cannot be separated. For many, this will seem obvious, but it may surprise to know that the throughout the vast literature over the centuries, the abomination is seen as one thing (often the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.), and the cessation of the sacrifice another (usually imagining that when Jesus died, the sacrifice became obsolete). But any careful comparison will demonstrate that these two aspects of a single event cannot be separated, and the tribulation that follows this event, though very brief, cannot end with anything short of the resurrection at Jesus’ return (Dan 12:1-2; Mt 24:21, 29-31).

All’s to say, these inextricably conjoined aspects of the single event that starts the unequaled tribulation cannot be exegetically separated without unconscionable violence to the text. But this is precisely what has been done, yet nothing could be more vital for the church’s awareness and preparation against the great deception so urgently stressed and forewarned by Jesus and Paul (Mt 24:4; 2Thes 2:3). The connection is crucial, not only to escape from the great deception but also the means by which those of understanding will be made ready agents of world witness, holding the critical key of interpretation for the final great, unparalleled harvest of souls that will come out of ‘the tribulation, the great one’ (Dan 11:32-33; 12:3, 10; Mt 24:14; Rev 7:9, 12-13; 14:6).

As much as many of us are convinced that the time is very short, we are to hold the church steady by helping our brethren to avoid the false alarms of prophetic speculation. Not only because this has discredited the witness of many, but because of what God has invested in that time when those of understanding will know the time with utmost certainty. It is for this cause, we are to guard with utmost diligence the proper order of events. For many, the time will become very certain at the outset of the last week. For others, this certainty may not come until more nearly the middle of the week when the man of lawlessness is about to be revealed.

Personally, I believe God has been pleased to reveal even more than this. We have made no secret of our conviction that a compelling case can be made from many interrelated scriptures that the two days of Hos 6:2 represent the 2 thousand years since the cross and ascension, as the third day represents the millennium that follows Israel’s national resurrection. As compelling as we believe the case to be, and the greater glory of God in the marvel of such a fully foretold timeline, we too are held in check. Only by confirmation of these necessary preliminary events sometime within the next few years will our confidence be vindicated. Until then, we must remain tentative and restrained. What is NOT tentative, but most certain, is the necessity of a temple and sacrifice before the tribulation can begin.

What great use God will make of such unprecedented certainty seems implied by the great power and anointing that is seen to rest on the godly remnant of the last half of the week (Dan 11:31-35; 12:3; Rev 11:2) and the fruit that comes of it (Dan 11:33; 12:3; Zech 12:10; Ro 11:26-27; Rev 7:9, 13-14). This is why Satan will do all in his power to discredit, confuse, and obfuscate the certainty of the time that will spell his downfall (Rev 12:12), as these things will be seen and known by the saints with utmost certainty at that time. I love to quote G. H. Lang, “The History and Prophecies of Daniel”, pg 140.

“When this agreement shall have been confirmed, the wise will know that the final Seven of years has commenced, that the end days are present, that the consummation of the age has arrived. They will expect the violation of the covenant after three years and a half, and will not be overwhelmed with surprise, having been told beforehand by this prophecy. Then will it be seen in fullness that the knowledge of the prophetic Scripture is simply priceless.”

In the patient waiting (James 5:7-8), reggie

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Isaiah 43 and Deut. 32:8. (Isaiah 43:1, 2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14-15, 16, 17-18, 19, 20, 21-22, 23, 24, 25-26, 27-28)

I am reeling under what you just sent, Gary. That is indeed a remarkable and revealing pairing of scripture portions, and then the reminder of the blind servant who opens many eyes that we’ve discussed so richly in times past, literally reeling.

The wandering Jew is indeed the blind servant in our midst. (Isa 42:19, 43:10) Isa 43 comprehends the whole story of the exile from its beginning to its end, underscoring that a mere remnant could never realize the promise. Even when Moses spoke these words, “Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day” (Deut 29:4), even then there was a remnant of the Spirit, made up of those comparative few who had circumcised hearts, indwelt and endowed, or filled with the Spirit (Gen 41:38; Ex 28:3; 35:31; 36:1; Deut 10:16; 30:6; 34:9; Num 11:17, 25, 29; 14:24, 27:18; Ps 51:10; Prov 1:23; Jer 4:4; Eze 18:31; Dan 4:8; 5:11; Jn 3:3, 10; 1Pet 1:11, 23).

This is OT language for the provision of the regenerating, renewing power of the Holy Spirit that was presently available to the true remnant of faith. This perennial remnant stood in contrast to the larger nation whom Moses would describe as a perennially “perverse generation … children in whom is no faith” (Deut 32:5, 20). Because this would be the often predominant condition of most of the larger nation, so long as this condition persist, it forbids long or secure tenure in the Land.

Deut 4:26
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

Deut 30:18
I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

Yet, Moses well understood that nothing short of ‘eternal possession’ was promised. This would not be immediately forth coming. Therefore, something very big had to happen to move this mountain of the Jewish condition, which, of course, is nothing more than the human condition, albeit with the great advantage of the light of revelation and the entrustment of the holy oracles. So like Abraham and the patriarchs, Moses knew that something big had to give! What would that be?

What would be sufficient to move this mountain of unbelief and release an entire people to an eternal Jubilee by an abiding holiness that would persevere and guarantee abiding continuance in the Land, the promised “everlasting righteousness” that would extend, not only to a remnant, but now to the whole of the nation (Jer 31:34; 32:40), so that “from that day and forward” (Exe 39:22, 28-29), no invader could menace (2Sam 7:10; Isa 54:15-17), and no curse could light, so that never again would THIS people in particular (“my covenant with THEM”; Ro 11:27) be plucked out of the Land (Amos 9:15), or subjected to the judgment of exile?

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of THEIR land which I have given THEM, saith the Lord thy God.

What would accomplish something so radical? A new existence in another world? This has been the answer of the church, but it is not the answer of the scripture. Rather, Moses looks ahead to see an age ending (not earth ending) apocalyptic resolution. He understands this great dilemma of covenant obedience to be solved, not in transfer to another realm or sphere, but in a national regeneration that takes place at the end of a final ‘great tribulation’ in the latter days, when Israel will be brought to the end of their power (Deut 4:29-30; 30:1-6; 32:36; Dan 12:7).

The problem of blindness and therefore covenant obedience through a regenerate faith was the abiding great dilemma that demanded an apocalyptic resolution. Even before the successive line of prophets would use the precise language of a coming great ‘day of the Lord’, Moses would look ahead to an ultimately transitional great tribulation. This would be “in the latter days” (Deut 4:29-30) when, not only a small part, but the whole of the nation, and all of their children afterward would receive the circumcision of the heart that would accomplish the ‘whole heart’ of covenant demand, and therefore the ‘new heart’ of covenant promise.

Moses, and all the prophets following understood that THE day must come when, not a mere remnant, but “all Israel” will lie down in safety (in the Land!) and none make them afraid again forever (). That’s final security in the Land!

Why? because that was the promise as attested in plan language and plainly understood by all.

How? Because of the ‘coming in’ (not only for the remnant, but for ‘all Israel’) of “the everlasting righteousness” (Dan 9:24), from which not one Jew, or child born to a Jew will ever again depart (Isa 54:13; 59:21; 60:21; 61:9; Jer 31:34; 32:40; Eze 37:25). That’s the covenant! That’s how Paul was reading it when he said, “and so then all Israel shall be saved”. He is seeing the end of the covenant as a time when there will be a uniform;y saved Jewish salvation, with all nations under divine threat to respect God’s right to exalt the very people He so deeply abased and subjected to shame and spitting (many scriptures go here).

Only this abiding inheritance of the Land by an all saved, fully exalted nation can fulfill the promise, not somewhere in the great beyond of mystical, unverifiable transcendence, but here on this earth in the real stuff of time, all opposition to the contrary notwithstanding. Therein is the glory of the covenant. It’s all about grace, sovereign, discriminating, electing grace.

So from the beginning it is made clear that so long as this condition of blindness persists for Israel as a corporate whole, not only Israel, but the nations will not have abiding peace. “How much more THEIR fullness?!”

The blind servant exists in two distinct forms, personal and corporate. The blindness of the Servant (Messiah) is a holy blindness that sees only what the Father reveals, as Jesus never lifted Himself to know or see anything as of himself, being free through virgin birth of that powerful propensity of fallen self reliance. He was the perfect selfless servant, judging nothing after the sight of His eyes, yet in full and perfect knowledge of the mystery (Isa 53:11; “by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify man”) of who He was and what He was sent to be and to do.

Conversely, the elect nation, no less elect in their blindness, is also a servant with an indispensable role for the sake of the world, but even more for the sake of the highest glory of God as open testament to undeserved, sovereign, discriminating grace. It is the role of one who is blind for the sake of the many. How can this be? It is the same as when God says to Israel, “I have given men for your life” (Isa 43:3-4). For there to be an election, there has to be a non-election. For this cause, God has ordained that Israel’s blindness serve as a profound, utterly humbling revelation and instruction for those, equally unqualified, whose eyes the Lord has chosen to open.

To what end? Ro 9:11 tells us expressly. “So that the purpose of God might stand, not of works but of Him who calls”. To THAT end God has bound all over to unbelief that when mercy comes at God’s appointed time, it can be seen to be wholly mercy, undeserved and unhurried by flesh. Then will the blind see that there is no difference between those who see and those who do not see except the sovereign grace of the Spirit that opens the eyes and changes the heart by a faith that is given, not on the basis of human readiness or seeking, though God will arrange the most earnest seeking, but on the basis of a divinely timed act of free grace that us utterly apart from anything of, in, or from man.

What offense this, but it is THE offense that explains so much that must remain hidden until this prerogative of God to judge, to kill or make alive, be acknowledged as just and right and holy.

Where is free will in this? It is nowhere because it does not exist. By the nature of its nature, the will is bound until liberated by a sovereign, free, completely unconstrained act of sovereign grace, and Israel is the great example of this much opposed and ever disputed reality that underlies all the theology of grace, which is just the theology of “not by might nor power but by My Spirit says the Lord,” the theology of the whole Bible in a verse.

Not ashamed, not afraid to offend, the repentant, but probably very dismissed and very poor Reggie Kelly, fearful flesh be hanged, no, ‘crucified’.

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