I have spent time – probably too much time – discussing eschatology with every form of eschatology that is out there, and one thing has become clear:
Everyone claims that the children of Jacob need to be punished.
The Jews have suffered unspeakable persecution and suffering for two thousand years, yet most Christians believe that this isn’t enough. Most say that the Great Tribulation is the punishment of Israel. A few claim that they are tossed into the Millennium, while we rule over them. Others say that the Jews had their chance, and they don’t get a second one.
I am appalled at this.
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Jacob, The Prodigal Son?
Most think of the parable of the Lost Son/Prodigal Son as being about a child that turned bad, but then returned. And, in one sense this is true. The father did have a child that decided to leave the family and waste his life on worldliness.
But, is the Prodigal the point?
Let’s look at the parable that Jesus gave us in Luke 15:
11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’
20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
– Luke 15:11-24 (NKJV)
The son who was lost, was found again. And the father was overjoyed to have his son back. And, while I do not have children, I can imagine the profound joy of having someone that you love more than life itself, return to you. Now, there are some fathers who might not love their children as much as this father in the parable. But, I can tell you that Our Father in Heaven loves us that much. And, in the verse just preceding this parable, Jesus said this:
Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
– Luke 15:10 (NKJV)
That’s from the Parable of the Lost Coin. And, Jesus could have ended the parable of the Lost Son, with his joyous return to his father, but our Lord didn’t. He had something more to say:
25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”
– Luke 15:25-31 (NKJV)
What is the message that Jesus is giving us, in this parable?
Jesus had already given us the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin. Both of those parables were about redemption. And, while this parable is also about redemption, it’s more about something else:
Bitterness and resentment among the righteous toward those who God has redeemed.
We saw this among the Pharisees who criticized Jesus for going to the sinners to offer them salvation. They, in their pride, considered the publicans and harlots to be irredeemable.
A Personal Example
Back in the late ’90s I was sent by an Israeli high tech company to assist them on an AI project in San Francisco. I would be the guy responsible for technical materials presented to Wells Fargo. Our software would read customer communications and respond with an answer. And, our software was more accurate and more reliable than their customer service representatives.
And, since it was San Francisco, there were a number of homosexuals working in the office. And, I did my best to be as good a friend to them as possible.
On my way back to Jerusalem, I visited the ‘parent church’ of the one that I grew up in. I told the pastor of my friendship with these homosexuals.
His response?
“I would never be friends with a homosexual!”
I responded, “How else will they hear the gospel?”
This pastor was left speechless. But, I fear that he was unrepentant, as are many of the other churches in that circle of fellowship. I’m afraid that I am no longer welcome in these churches because their hearts are cold and hard.
Jacob, The Prodigal Son
But, what about our own views of the prodigal son of God, Jacob?
For 2000 years, the Children of Jacob have defied God and rejected their Messiah. Quite a few over these two millennia have come to Christ, and I have a number of friends who were born into Jewish families – even orthodox Jews – that came to Christ. And, there is a growing number of Israeli Jews that have come to Christ in Israel. But, this slow, organic growth of evangelical Christianity in Israel is not what God spoke of through the prophets.
God has spoken of a tremendous moment in time in which two thirds of all who are in the land will die, and one third will place their faith in Christ and suffer great trouble as they are being refined. But, God promised great joy in their redemption. The prophecies of Jacob’s Return are beyond joyful and are full of great blessings that Israel will receive, when they finally accept their Messiah.
But, we Christians are acting like the resentful son who was bitter that his younger brother was being celebrated by his father. We are acting as if it is unfair for the Jews to be Redeemed. We claim that they deserve the sufferings of the Great Tribulation or the time of Armageddon.
The Center Of The Last Days
We have forgotten that Jerusalem and the Redemption of Jacob are at the center of the Last Days. We have forgotten that the vast majority of the prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled, are about the Redemption of Israel.
Yes, I know that they are not saved, and have rejected Christ. But, there was a time in which you also were unsaved and in rejection of Christ. It would be the worst kind of hypocrisy to resent the Redemption of Israel, while we conveniently forget the pit from which God saved us.
The days of Israel’s Redemption are coming, and they will shake the world. Those days will crush what is left of our civilization and usher in a new Dark Ages, in which billions will die.
God is angry with us for how we treated the Jews, and we will pay a terrible price for that:
And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
– Zechariah 1:15 (KJV)
If you want to understand WHAT that price will be, go here:
Ezekiel’s Fire
https://ezekielsfire.com
It is time to examine ourselves:
Are we the resentful and bitter older brother in the Parable of the Lost Son?
Have we lost touch with the promises God made, about Israel’s Redemption?
The vast majority of Christians have, and God will not be pleased with us if we continue down this path. The time of Redemption and Judgment is coming, and may even be at our door.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
שאלו שלום ירושלים
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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you… Hosea 4:6
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Keep this ministry alive with a donation.
Subscribe for free to Revelation Six and receive my articles in your inbox:
https://revelationsix.substack.com/subscribe
And, read my two books:
I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here:
https://revelationsix.com/android-apps/
If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter.
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