The Plan of God

         The plan of God is really simple in the overall view. It follows a logical pattern of a Man entertaining a bride and being betrothed in marriage. After she departs from Him in spirit, they are separated before the final marriage can take place by the death of the Groom. Next, He rises from death and betroths a new bride who will not depart from Him in spirit, so all that is lacking is the last half of the wedding ceremony to consummate the marriage. When that occurs, He brings the house He has been building and they live happily ever after. However, there are many details we want to understand about this relationship like, Who is the new bride? Who was the old bride? What about religion? Where do we fit in? What is a marriage contract, and Who is a Jew?

         Everyone understands the old bride was the Hebrew people. When a woman gets married her name changes. When God married the Hebrews He changed their name from Hebrews to Jews at the mountain that burned with fire. After that event they became known as the Jewish people because they bore His name. His name is Jehu, His people are the Jehu-dim. It is a fact that today’s Hebrews will deny and Christians care nothing about.

         After a long time and much trouble the Groom died, which ended His betrothal to the first bride. Then He rose from the grave and took another bride at the feast of Shavout while they were in the 'House', Ha By-ise or the courtyard of the women at the Temple. The same things occurred at that event as the previous betrothal at mount Sinai like the rushing mighty wind, the cloven tongs of fire and the people of one accord. Also known as Pentecost, the second betrothal entitled another people to be called by His name, the Jehudim. However, this time the bride would not remain together as a nation but would be scattered among the nations of the world waiting for the return of the Groom and the last part of the wedding.

         The marriage agreement

         It is commonly understood the agreement between God and His people at the mountain constituted the ketuba or marriage agreement between Him and the people. It is also understood as the laws and rules of God. We must notice there was no new ketuba at the second ceremony because the Groom said, Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

         It is important we understand what the first bride did wrong so we do not do the same thing. They sometimes complied with the outward keeping of the law, yet not in the spirit of it. Hence the statement by the Lord, Matthew 23:25, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess." It is still so today.

         Not all the problems with keeping and recognizing God's law are exclusively our fault. There is an old enemy to consider. There are three main camps tying to access the kingdom of God in the world today; Christians, Jews, and Hebrews. Among these camps one claims to understand the New Testament and rejects the Old. Another claims to understand the Old Testament and rejects the New. The right one understands both the Old and the New and accepts them as a single set of events. The plan of God cannot be understood without considering the entire Bible.

The Christians

         It's hard to tell who is closer to the narrow path, the Christians or the Hebrews. The Hebrews, who claim to be Jews because of descent, tend to follow at least the culture of God, and lack only to acknowledge the Lord as Messiah to actually be Jews. While the Christians acknowledge the Lord and His grace, but reject His commandments and His name. Because Christianity is not founded on obedience to God and His ways, but to keeping the traditions of man merely labeled as God's way, the Christian religions all resemble the Catholic Church more than the First Century Church. They all follow some strictly Catholic doctrine, they celebrate some Catholic holidays, and they all customize their religions to suit themselves. The First Century Church was not like these at all. Obedience to the spirit was the first consideration to that group of people. There were none so well versed on the teachings of Christ as His disciples, who wrote the Bible and they kept the Feasts, Sabbaths and Holy days of God. When the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost to find the people of one accord, in the spirit, doing the right thing, they were celebrating Shavout in the Temple and they were all Jews.

         We might want to ask, If the old ways are passed away and all things are become new, why were they celebrating the Jewish festivals? And Why did the Lord say to the woman at the well, John 4:22, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews." The answer is, 'the old ways' means the old ways of being a gentile are passed away and all things are become new living in the ways of God. God did not supply His first bride with temporary rules for living, nor did He change His mind about how He wants people to live.

The Hebrews

        The people in charge of the nation calling itself Yishrael nowadays are not Jews in the eyes of God. They contend a Jew is only someone born of a Jewish mother and has nothing to do with religion or belief in any God. This is the official position of the Yishraeli government. Yet Paul said, "Romans 2:28, "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." It appears Paul knew the nation would be dispersed throughout the world. After Christ died and ascended to Heaven, Paul said, Hebrews 13:12, 'Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."

        Paul said we have no continuing city. When he said that Jerusalem was still standing and so was the temple. What he means is things have changed. There is no more Temple sacrifice for sin so that now we offer the sacrifice of praise to God with the fruit of our lips instead, and the Jews would have no nation on earth until the Lord comes back.

        The Hebrews do not accept the New Testament. Yet we see they usually did not accept the old one either because they lost their position as the bride of Christ as a result. There were some who did believe and they are considered 'stars' or patriarchs, to include those who wrote the Bible and followed the commandments. There are some examples of the misunderstandings of the Hebrews concerning the Tora nowadays. They teach that while Yishrael was at the mountain and God was asking them if they accepted His laws, the people were standing underneath the mountain and the mountain was actually lifted up over their heads. They say if the people had said no, the mountain would have fallen on them. If this were so it was a shotgun wedding.

        Next, they say at the end of days everyone will be resurrected from the Kedron valley near Jerusalem. If you are not buried there, they say, your remains will be transferred underground like a gofer to come out at the Kedron valley. Yet the Bible clearly teaches when the Lord comes back He will gather His people 'living and dead from the nations of the world'.

        There are many more examples like these but that is enough. The Hebrews tried to take the scriptures to extremes because they did not understand them. Like many people of the world they were looking for a magic formulae. Hence came the Kabbalists who use the Bible for magic. While it may work to some extent now, it will not profit in the long run because anyone caught at the wedding of the Lord without a wedding garment will be thrown into the pit and those garments only go to people entering through Christ. Yet there is a remnant of the two houses of Yishrael who will one day be reconciled back to God and accept the Lord. But so far it has not happened.

Jews

        Jews are people who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Yeshua. All the disciples were Jews. Paul said he was a Jew and never called himself a Christian. All the promises of the Old Testament and the New from God to His people apply to Jews nowadays. It is recorded that in the last days before the Lord comes back people will seek out Jews for their relationship with God. Zech 14:13, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour." 8:23, "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you."

        Finally, The Lord cannot break the eternal law. We see that there will be no canaanite in the house of the Lord and Jews were forbidden to marry canaanites. So, The Lord will marry a bride that is Jewish. Many are called but few are chosen.

        It is very difficult to find someone who understands who they are and their relationship with the Lord nowadays. The closest ones call themselves Messianic Jews, but it is not really possible to tell who people are by their name.