God's Eye View

We finished up getting our “God's Eye View” of who Jesus really is. We have been through the Prologue, the testimony of John the Baptist and the testimony of the disciples. As God answered Jacob's prayer for salvation some 2,000 years before by sending a Man who turned out to be God to confirm His promises to the Fathers of Israel (Gen. 32), so too here in the earthly ministry of Christ God answers the prayer of the Believing Remnant for salvation by likewise sending a Man who turned out to be God to confirm and partially fulfill God's promises to Israel's fathers (Lk. 1-2; Rom. 15:8). Once we have a this “God's Eye View” of who Jesus is, we can go on to watch what happens when Jesus--the eternal Word (Jn. 1:1), the Creator of all things (1:3), the Life and Light of men (1:4), the only-begotten Son of God (1:14, 18, 34, 49), the Messiah/Christ (1:17, 41), the Prophet like unto Moses (1:21, 30), the I AM Jehovah God of Israel (1:23), the Lamb of God (1:29, 36), the One who baptizes with the Spirit (1:33), the Fulfiller of all that Moses and the Prophets wrote about (1:45), the King of Israel (1:49), and the Son of Man (1:51)--interacts with ordinary everyday people engaged in ordinary everyday activities, beginning in John 2 with Jesus' Mother, Mary and the changing of the water into wine.

Throughout this message we also pointed out what we lose today when we confuse God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel with His Mystery Program for the Body of Christ.

One thing anyone who reads the Gospel of John notices is that Jesus' responses don't always seem to correlate with the comments or questions characters say or ask in the story. The Jewish leaders in the Temple, for instance, ask Jesus for a sign, and He starts talking about destroying the Temple and raising it in three days (Jn. 2:14-20). Huh? Nicodemus comes talking about how good Jesus is, and Jesus responds with you must be born again (Jn. 3:3). Huh? The Samaritan woman is all concerned about natural well water, and Jesus talks about living spiritual water and how many husbands she has had (Jn. 4:9-14). Huh? The nobleman asks for his son to be healed, and Jesus responds by crying out: Unless ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe (Jn. 4:47-48). Huh, Huh?

Sometimes we have to just scratch our heads and wonder about what is really going on, and that's ok. That is exactly what the text is trying to get us to do. Rather than getting frustrated, we need to get inquisitive. To help with this problem, John gave us the master pattern that explains how Jesus interacts with others in John 1 where Jesus interacted with Peter and especially Nathaniel. Jesus didn't just “see” outward appearances. He “saw” the inner being of the person. He “saw” into Simon and knew who he was and who he would become and renamed him Cephas, Peter (Jn. 1:42). Jesus' encounter with Nathaniel begins with Nathaniel asking a rather ordinary everyday question: Can anything good come out of Nazareth (Jn. 1:46)? But Jesus sweeps that aside and ignores it, and instead “sees” into the core of Nathaniel's being, identifying him as an Israelite indeed a member of true Israel, the Believing Remnant of Israel (Jn. 1:47). But that is not all. He also “saw” what Nathaniel was doing in the past under the Fig Tree (Jn. 1:48) and what he would be doing in his future ministry (Jn. 1:50-51).

So, here we have a pattern, that will help us better understand Jesus' responses when He encounters people. Jesus “sees” not only the person's past and future but also into the very core of their being. Therefore, Jesus won't be forced to respond directly to the external ordinary everyday concerns of people. Rather, He will respond to their deepest, most longed for needs and desires of their hearts and souls and spirits—concerns, desires, needs that they themselves may not even know they have.

Take Jesus' interaction with Mary, His Mother, at a wedding feast in Cana. Here we are at an ordinary everyday wedding feast in Israel (Jn. 2:1-11). Mary makes the rather mundane comment that the wine has run out. Seems plain, simple and ordinary enough. Then Jesus responds pointedly with: Woman, what have I to do with thee? And then rather mysteriously: My hour has not yet come (Jn. 2:4). This is a great first example because unlike other characters in the Gospel of John, WE ACTUALLY KNOW what is in Mary's mind, soul, spirit and heart!

We know from Luke 1:26-35 that Mary's MIND was concerned with the words of the angel Gabriel, who explained to her about the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus. Her Son would be named Jesus, Jehovah Our (Israel's) Salvation, the fulfiller of all God's promises to Israel. He is the Son of the Highest, the Son of God. He is the One to whom God has given the everlasting throne of David to reign in Israel and through Israel the world in the everlasting earthly Kingdom of peace, prosperity and joy. Mary, we are told, thought diligently about these things in her MIND!

And we know from Luke 2:46-55 what was in Mary's SOUL and SPIRIT. Her soul magnified the Lord and her Spirit rejoiced in God her Savior because God had blessed her. Through her son Jesus, God would deliver Israel, destroying all enemies and delivering them into the long-prophesied Kingdom to receive His everlasting mercy in fulfillment of the Davidic and Abrahamic Covenants. Mary, we are told, filled her SOUL and SPIRIT with these things!

Finally, we know from Luke 2:8-19 and 2:46-51 what Mary held most deeply and dearly in her HEART. Mary's son would be the Davidic Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah/Christ Deliverer, the LORD God of Israel, who will work on her behalf to establish the earthly Kingdom of righteousness, peace and prosperity, which would become good news and great joy to the whole world. Mary, we are told, kept thinking about these things and pondered them deeply in her HEART!

With all this in mind we can return to John 2 with some fresh insight. With this information, we can “see” into Mary the way Jesus “saw” into Mary. Like Jesus, we actually know what she cherished in her MIND, SOUL, SPIRIT and HEART! And with this insight, we recognize that while it appeared that Jesus was refusing Mary's comment, He was, in fact, just responding to it on a whole different level, a higher plane. Rather than limiting His response to her outer, ordinary, everyday concern—they ran out of wine--He plunged down to the inner, deepest and dearest concerns of her HEART and SOUL!. He didn't just address her ordinary concern about wedding wine. He displayed the glory of God and gave her a foretaste of the overflowing, super-abundant joy of Kingdom blessings that will come to her and Israel at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in the everlasting Kingdom of God on earth!

Now, as we come to additional encounters in John, we have a “leg up on the horse” in understanding them. Even if we don't know other characters deepest and most longed for and dearly held thoughts, concerns, needs and desires, we know that Jesus does.

If the purpose of the “signs” John includes were written that believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His Name (Jn. 20:31), then it would probably be a good idea to have an idea of what those “signs” are right up front in our study (Jn. 2:11).

Using three basic criteria:

1. Something performed by Jesus in His public ministry;
2. Something that is identified as a “sign” in the text; and
3. Something that displays the Glory of God in Christ;

We end up with 6 signs that virtually everyone agrees upon:

1. Water to Wine (Jn. 2:1-11; identified as a sign in 2:11)
2. Healing of the Nobleman's Son (Jn. 4:46-54; identified as a sign in 4:54)
3. Healing of the Lame Man (5:1-15; identified as a sign in 7:21-31)
4. Feeding of the Multitude (6:1-15; identified as a sign in 6:26)
5. Healing of the Man Born Blind (Jn. 9:1-10; identified as a sign in 9:16)
6. Raising of Lazarus (Jn. 11; identified as a sign in 11:47 and 12:18)

If we don't limit ourselves strictly to these criteria, other possible “signs” in John are:

7. Cleansing of the Temple (Jn. 2:13-23; Meets criteria #1 and #3 and might include criterion #2 as well if we take into consideration Jn. 2:18 in comparison with Jn. 6:30 for a potential pattern (also Jn. 2:23). Of course, this would be a “sign” not in the sense of a miraculous display of supernatural power (miracle) but in the sense of a prophetic sign (ex. Is. 20:3; Ezek. 4:3).
8. Walking on the Water (Jn. 6:15-21; Meets criteria #1 and #3 but the text does not identify it as a sign, therefore, failing criterion #2).
9. Death and Resurrection of Christ (Jn. 19-20; Meets criterion #3 but probably fails criterion #1 (although that depends on how one takes “something performed by Jesus in His public ministry”). As far as criterion #2 it be identified as a “sign” indirectly in Jn. 2:18-23 and is actually called a “sign” in Mat. 12:38-40.
10. The Surplus of Fishes (Jn. 21:6-8; Meets criterion #3 but probably not criteria #1 or #2).

Thursday night in our study of John's Gospel, we saw that John gives us right up front in Jn. 2 an understanding of the two extremes of what's in the hearts of Israel in Jesus's day. At one end of the spectrum, we have Mary, who represents the Believing Remnant of Israel (Jn. 2:1-12). What Mary treasured in her heart was generally what the Believing Remnant of Israel treasured in its heart, and we know what Mary is treasuring in her heart because Lk. 1-2 tells us. She was treasuring in her heart all the promises God made to her about her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He would be the fulfiller of all the promises God made to Israel. He would be Israel's Redeemer and Deliverer. Her Son would save Israel from all its enemies. He would be the one to establish Israel in her long-prophesied Kingdom on earth. And He would be the source of the righteousness, peace and prosperity that would reign in the Kingdom. In short, Mary longed for God to fulfill all His promises to Israel THROUGH HER SON, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

At the other end of the spectrum, however, was the group of Israel's religious leaders, who represented the unbelieving apostate Nation of Israel. We know what was in their heart (as a group) as well because passages like Mat. 3:7-9, 15:3, 23:27-33; Lk. 7:30, 11:39; Jn. 8:37-44 tell us. They were a generation of vipers, the spiritual progeny of the devil, who were corrupt on the inside with unrepentant hearts while thinking everything was okay just because they were the natural progeny of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob. They thought that they automatically were in a right relationship with God. They thought they were automatically excused from God's wrath. They thought that they would automatically see and enter the Kingdom with privileged positions of rulership. No wonder that in the verses that follow, Jesus tells a representative of this group (Nicodemus) that they all needed to be born again (Jn. 3:3)! In short, the religious leaders as a group (not necessarily every single individual) longed for God to fulfill His promises to Israel, not through Mary's Son but THROUGH THEM!

Every character Jesus encounters in the rest of John's Gospel will fall somewhere between these two extremes. Jesus will try to encourage and strengthen the former (come to Mary's Son) and correct and alleviate the latter (leave the Vain Religious System).

Thursday night in our study of John's Gospel, we used the Passover context of Jn. 2 (Jn. 2:13 and 2:23) to start a short overview of God's Prophetic Calendar for the Nation of Israel. Israel's Feast days gave believing Israelites an opportunity to annually partake in a display (prophetic sign act) that showed how God will accomplish Israel's NATIONAL salvation in the future. We noted that it is important to understand that Israel's Prophetic Calendar pictured Israel's NATIONAL salvation and NATIONAL forgiveness of sins before Christ at His 2nd Coming—Israel's NATIONAL restoration. If we don't appreciate this and think they picture individual personal spiritual salvation, justification before God and His Tribunal, we might erroneously conclude that Old Testament saints were individually/personally saved before God by Faith PLUS Works. But that would be a very great error. Salvation before God--justification unto eternal life, a right-standing before God—ALWAYS WAS, ALWAYS IS AND AWAYS WILL BE BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, believing God's Word to them. Abraham believed God and God counted His faith for righteousness (Gen. 15:6--WITHOUT WORKS!). Then once Abraham was personally saved and all his individual sins forgiven and in a right-standing before God, God could go on and do other things for Abraham and ask Abraham to do things for Him, giving him opportunities to participate in His Prophetic Program with Israel. While participating in these things (like the Abrahamic Cov., circumcision, offering his son Isaac, etc.) had no bearing on his personal individual justification before God unto eternal life, they could have a bearing on how he participated in Israel's national salvation before Christ at His 2nd Coming for entrance into Israel's Millennial Kingdom on earth and having a privileged place there.

THE PASSOVER

When we overview Israel's ancient history, one remarkable thing of note is how rarely Israel actually observed the Passover. We tend to think that they observed the Passover every year (religiously), like they were supposed to. But let's look at the biblical record.

Of course, the Passover was given and fully observed when Israel was in Egypt—blood smeared on the door's cross-posts and all (Ex. 12). Then it was again the next year at Sinai in the wilderness in tents (Num. 9:1-5). Then, it was NOT observed again for some 40 years when they entered the Promised Land under Joshua, again in the wilderness in tents (Josh. 5:10-11). The latter two observances, however, didn't have cross-posts (they carried tents), and they probably didn't have enough lambs (there were 2 to 3 million Israelites). Therefore, these observances, as complete as they were, were not carried out exactly as they were in Egypt.

Then, the Passover was not observed again for some 300 years later during the “revival” under David and Solomon. While not stated explicitly, David and Solomon most likely observed the Passover at the establishment of the Tabernacle in Jerusalem and in the new Temple (see below for further explanation).

Then it isn't mentioned again in the Scriptures until Hezekiah's “revival” some 300 years later! Only in this case, it is not observed properly because it had to be observed in the 2nd month rather than the 1st month of the year. While Moses did give an exception whereby “certain men,” who for various reasons were unable to keep the Passover in the prescribed 1st month, could observe it in the 2nd month (Num. 9:6-7—ie., handling a dead body, travelling, etc.), it must be admitted that the intent of the exception was for individual people not the WHOLE NATION! So, even though Hezekiah observed it with the nation, it is not really done properly because the whole nation wasn't ready.

Then it isn't mentioned again in the Scriptures until Josiah's “revival” some 100 years later with these words: And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah (2 Kgs. 23:21-22). That's shocking! This passage sums up Israel's whole embarrassing Passover history and supports what we have said so far. According to this passage, the Passover was not held (at least properly) throughout all the days of the Judges (from Joshua to David)! Nor was it observed in all the days of the kings of Israel (from Solomon to that time with Josiah)! In between the days of the Judges and the days of the Kings, reside the golden reigns of David and Solomon when most likely the Passover was kept. Another interesting note of this passage, is that Josiah did not consider Hezekiah's observance of the Passover as countable, probably for the reasons mentioned above. Unfortunately for Josiah, however, it was too little too late. The wrath and judgment the Passover was supposed to protect Israel from was going to come anyway. Josiah's near perfect Passover observance was not enough to steer God's wrath away. Israel would enter the 5th Course of Punishment and be carried into exile by the Babylonians (2 Kgs. 23:26).

Then it is not observed again until the remnant of Israel returns to the land under Ezra's “revival” when the Temple is restored (Ezra 6:21-22). During the next 400 years Israel will develop into the pharisaical, Vain Religious System, that is present in Jesus's day. By then, they had stolen the Passover away from the LORD (Ex. 12:11) and made it the Passover of the Jews, degrading it to just another empty ritual in their Vain Religious System (Jn. 2:13). Thus like Hezekiah and Josiah, Jesus's “revival” begins with the cleansing of the Temple (Jn. 2:14-15).

This history of Israel's Passover observance or more properly NON-observance shocks us. How can this be? If it was God's Word to them, why didn't they do it? How could they be so foolish? Well, I will answer those questions by asking other questions. Why has most of historical Christianity totally disregarded God's Word to us today for the last 2,000 years? Why has it for the most part thrown away Pauline Grace Mystery Truth? Why is it that we could go into almost any so called “Christian church” in the world and while finding a whole lot of things going on, very little if any of it actually having anything to do with God and His Word? The answer, of course, is the same for us today as it was for Israel in the past. Just as most of Israel's history was spent in apostasy, so too, most of “Christianity's” history has been spent in apostasy. We are all cut from the same cloth: Sinners with rebellious hearts, who In our idolatry replace God and His Word with man and his traditions, leading to our detriment, loss and destruction.

Fortunately, this can all be alleviated by clinging to God's Truth for today: Pauline Grace Mystery Truth!

Thursday night in our study of John's Gospel, we continued to look at the first of Israel's annual feasts, and specifically the role of leaven in them. Leaven is often automatically equated with sin. Leaven = Sin/s. But we saw things are not really that simple. When God commanded Israel to remove all leaven from their households, it wasn't so much that He wanted to remove all sin/s from their household (although that is certainly true as well!!) but that He wanted them to remove all reliance on anything associated with Egypt and her gods and idolatries (which, of course, is a form of sin). Where we just go to the symptoms—SIN/S—God, however, goes down to the underlying disease—RELYING AND TRUSTING IN SOMETHING OTHER THAN GOD. God wanted them to leave Egypt as unleavened dough (NOT bread) so that He could knead His Own things into them during the trip from Goshen in Egypt to Sinai, teaching them along the way that if they were going to be the great nation he created them to be, they must rely solely on Him and the Grace resident in His Jehovah Name. Removal of leaven had more to do with sanctification/separation than redemption/forgiveness. While Israel's national forgiveness of sins was provided for at the death of Jesus Christ (Passover) it will not be dispensed until the Fall Feasts (Atonement) in fulfillment of the New Covenant at His 2nd Coming with Israel's national forgiveness of sins. In this light, Israel's Spring Festivals progress something like this: The LORD redeemed Israel out of Egypt (Passover through blood and power), which the Israelites were to participate in by sweeping away all reliance upon Egypt, her gods and her idolatries so that they could learn to rely solely on the one true God of Israel (Unleavened Bread) (Ex. 12-13), whereby God would permeate, inflate and raise them up during their trip through the wilderness (bear them along--Ex. 19:4), kneading His Own things into them through testing and trials (Ex. 14-17), so that once they got to Sinai, the nation that started out as the deflated slaves of Egypt would be raised up as God's great nation, who were already beginning to fulfill His purpose by proclaiming His Name to the Gentiles (Firstfruits and Pentecost) (Ex. 18).

The Leaven Principle

Leaven is one of those words that ignites an automatic knee-jerk reaction with many Bible commentators: Leaven = Sin. Period. End of story. It's an established fact of the universe. We know it. Absolutely, 100%! Next topic. But a professor in college once told me that when something becomes so certain that it is beyond discussion, that's probably a good time to re-evaluate everything you think you know about it.

So, let's do just that and see if it increases our understanding and enjoyment of the Bible. Let's run a little thought experiment with regard to the word “leaven,” starting with its literal meaning and common use. According to the Oxford, Merriam-Webster and Collins dictionaries, leaven is defined as a substance that is used in dough to make it rise; then, a pervasive influence that modifies something or transforms it for the better. We use leaven everyday to raise dough to make bread, for instance. We use the leaven of humor to lighten a boring speech. And it gives us the word levity—Let's add a little levity to the argument.

The Hebrew definition of leaven (se'or) comes from the root word that means “what remains, what is left over; a remnant.” It was used of Noah's family after the flood (Gen. 7:23) and, of the Believing Remnant of Israel (1 Kgs. 19:18; Is. 4:3; et al.). It is something small that has the power to affect something large, permeating the whole thing, causing it to rise up. The most common literal use for this is in breadmaking whereby a small amount of left-over leavened dough is held back and used in a future batch of dough as a raising additive, causing it to rise and when baked produce a loaf of bread.

These meanings converged into the general idea that leaven is something that when added to something else, even in extremely small amounts, gradually and powerfully affects the whole thing. I call this the “leaven Principle.” This principle is neutral on its own and requires something explicit in the context to indicate it is something positive or negative. Take the proverbial saying: A little leaven leavens the whole lump, for instance. On its own with no context it is neutral. It can be either positive or negative. When Paul used this proverb to the Corinthians it was in the context of how one person's sexual immorality affected the whole church (1 Cor. 5:6). Here, of course, the proverb is used negatively but that isn't inherent in the proverb's itself. It is derived from the context in which it is used.

Now, let's get back to the Bible. Commentators almost always insist that the word leaven always carries a negative connotation in the Bible. Leaven = Sin! They are virtually synonyms. Usually, they try to justify this by suggesting that the reason for this is that leaven causes fermentation, and fermentation always corrupts. No doubt, most of the world would be very shocked to hear such a thing. The Middle East and Israel had innumerable treasured and life-giving fermented foods—fermented milk and cheese and vegetables and grains—that saw them through the vagaries of war and weather. It is doubtful that the Nordic nations could have survived without their innumerable cherished, health-giving, life-sustaining fermented foods that have preserved them through long, cold, dark winters. Fermenting food makes them healthier with much longer shelf-lives.

And then there is wine. While bread may ferment a day or two, wine ferments for months and years. Yet God commanded it be used in the Temple Worship service even in offerings God took part in, offerings of fire. So, if leaven is always used negatively in the Bible, it is not because it is fermented and, therefore, causes corruption.

It might be worthwhile to ask if the Bible does always use the word leaven negatively? It is true that God commanded leaven could not be used in some offerings and the Passover (Lev. 2:11; Ex. 12). But it is also true that God commanded it be used in others (Lev. 7:12; Amos 4:5; Pentecost--Lev. 23:17). Yes, Jesus did warn about the negative leaven of the teachings of the Pharisees (Mat. 16:6), but in the same Gospel He also described the Kingdom of God as being like leaven, surely something good (Mat. 13:13). So, perhaps the answer to how the Bible uses the word leaven is not as definitive as commentators suggest.

But setting all that aside, let's concede for the sake of argument that whenever the Bible uses the word “leaven,” it is always with negative connotations. Doing this, we must likewise concede that when God powerfully works, He does positively what leaven does negatively. Let's see how this plays out by reading some passages not just taking note of when the specific word “leaven” is used, but also taking note of when the “leaven principle” (something small added to something big that permeates the whole, powerfully effecting it-) is used.

This is where the thought experiment comes in. Let's look at the Book of Exodus. Exodus opens with a very small Israel (just 70 souls—Ex. 1:5) being added to a very large Egypt (est. 3-5 million Egyptians). Israel was fruitful, AND increased abundantly AND multiplied AND GREW EXCEEDINGLY MIGHTY AND THE LAND WAS FILLED WITH THEM (Ex. 1:7). Does that remind you of anything? Perhaps the “leaven principle?” This grieved Pharoah, and he decided he needed to purge the Israelites out by killing their infant sons. One could say that Pharoah considered the Israelites leaven that needed to be purged out.

With this in mind, doesn't it make you smile to next see God instructing Israel to remove all of Egypt's leaven—all reliance on the Egypt's gods and idolatries—from their households—purge it all out! Oh, the irony's delightful! What Pharaoh wanted to do with the LORD's Israel (purge them out), the LORD's Israel was supposed to do with Pharaoh's Egypt! And the Passover week was given to memorialize their national salvation. They were to purge out all reliance on Egypt and her gods and rely solely on the LORD, the one true God of Israel. Something similar only far greater will happen at Christ's 2nd Coming when He calls the Believing Remnant out from the nations, causing Satan's whole world system to collapse.

But let's keep going in Exodus. While Israel leaves Exodus as unleavened dough (Ex. 12:34), after being with the LORD for a short time (40-50 days), God raised them up as a nation. When they got to Sinai, they were already fulfilling God's plan for them to be the proclaimer of His Name to the Gentiles (Ex. 18:8-12). Here's how the LORD describes what He did with them: He bare them along (lifted them up, raised them, carried them along) on eagles wings, bringing them to Himself (Ex. 19:4). Those who started as slaves in Egypt were raised-up to become the Nation God designed her to be. The “leaven principle” is at work here as well.

But that's not all. A little later in Exodus there is the Golden Calf Incident. In response the LORD said to Moses: Let me alone that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation (Ex. 32:10). God would use little old Moses to raise up a whole new great nation. Once again, we see the “leaven principle.”

What a fun Bible study this makes! Once we start looking for it, we find it everywhere in the Bible. One might go so far to say that this little “leaven principle” permeates the whole Bible (yes, pun intended!). For instance, Jesus said, Verily, Verily, I say unto you: Except a seed of wheat falls into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth MUCH fruit (Jn. 12:24). One little buried seed results in a huge harvest of seeds. The “leaven principle.”

Let's look at an example from Paul:

In Rom. 5:12-14, Paul states that it was through one man's one transgression (Adam) that the whole old humanity was permeated and raised-up with sin and death. One commentator even entitles this passage as: The Leaven of Sin. But in the very next verses, Paul states that likewise it was through one man's one act of Righteousness (Jesus Christ and His Cross) that the whole new humanity was permeated and raised-up with righteousness and life (Rom. 5:15-18). If the commentator called the former the Leaven of Sin, why didn't he call the latter the Leaven of Righteousness? No doubt, because he thought leaven = sin and could not be applied to the work of God and Christ. But we do see the “leaven principle” displayed here.

But this passage doesn't stop here. Paul goes on to explain that when the little Law (something good—Rom. 7:12) entered the nation of Israel, it caused the nation to rise-up with abounding iniquities. And then, when iniquities abounded God's Grace super-inflated, massively rose-up and SUPER-ABOUNDED. Once again, the “leaven principle” is seen at work.

In conclusion, perhaps we can say that in the Bible, the negative application of the “leaven principle” refers to those things that permeate a person or group, affecting the whole by powerfully leading them away from God and causing them to rise-up in rebellion against God. The key words here being “iniquity” and “idolatry.” The positive application of the “leaven principle” in the Bible, however, refers to those things that permeate a person or group, affecting the whole by leading them to God and causing them to rise-up in faith and reliance on Him. Perhaps the key word for this is firstfruits, which, by the way, is the feast that occurs after the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread! The Feast of First-Fruits.

Because many people asked, on Thursday we looked at our Apostle Paul's use of Passover terminology in 1 Cor. 5. If we remember that the Passover was not a sacrifice for sin/s but a sacrifice for separation that removed believing Israel from Satan's outside realm of sin and death, wrath and judgment, and brought them into the Lord's realm of safety and peace; and that it was to be carried out with great haste (Ex. 12:11), we will understand why Paul uses the Passover as an analogy in dealing with the Corinthian problem in 1 Cor. 5. While the man engaged in ongoing sexual immorality was horrible (1 Cor. 5:1), what was even more horrible for Paul was that the Corinthian church hadn't done anything about it yet (1 Cor. 5:2)!

The Correctly Operating Church

We all know that Paul gave complete and lengthy instructions for how assemblies of believers are to operate today in the Dispensation of grace in the Pastoral Epistles. But that is not the only place we find such instructions, and here in 1 Cor. 5:3-5 Paul gives us about the shortest and most concise explanation of a correctly running church possible! Because it is so short, perhaps the best way might be to look at 1 Cor. 5:3-5 all at once like this:

A correctly functioning church begins with recognition and appreciation of the fact that we, as members of the Body of Christ in the Dispensation of Grace, are under Paul's apostolic authority (1 Cor. 5:3). This is important because it is through Paul's distinct apostleship that God is now revealing the Glory of His Name to the world, especially the Gentiles (1 Cor. 5:4a; Rom. 1:5). Then, once we are going to our apostle, the Apostle Paul, and are enjoying all that is true of the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in his Scriptures, then he invites us to come together with him as an assembly (1 Cor. 5:4b), which releases the power of Christ in our lives (1 Cor. 5:4c) so that we can be obedient to his authoritative apostolic instructions (5:5), which, in this specific case, meant kicking the man out of the assembly ASAP! Of course, the corollary of this is that if your church is not operating in this way, it is NOT operating correctly!

On Thursday we continued our look at Jesus's encounters with various people and representatives of people in the Gospel of John. Jn. 2 gives us the spectrum of belief and unbelief that ranges from the unbelieving hearts of the Vain Religious System (VRS) as represented by the Temple leaders in Jn. 2:13-23, who think God is going to fulfill His promises to Israel through them, and goes on to the believing hearts of the Believing Remnant of Israel as represented by Mary in Jn. 2:1-11, who thought God was going to fulfill all His promises to Israel through her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone else we encounter in the Book of John will fall somewhere between these two extremes on their journey of faith or lack thereof.

We continued our look at Jesus's encounter with the Pharisee Nicodemus. Rather than reading Paul into this passage, and personal salvation in the Dispensation of Grace, we looked at John's ties to the Old Testament, especially the Book of Ezekiel. When we do that, we get a better understanding of what being “born again” and being “born of water and flesh” mean as we watch Jesus lead Nicodemus step-by-step through Israel's national salvation plan that will bring the nation of Israel into their long-prophesied Kingdom on earth.

SAVE ISRAEL AND SAVE THE WORLD

When Israel entered the 5th Course of Punishment because of her rebelliousness against God, she went into Gentile captivity, and she died as a nation (Ezek. 33:7-11). Her country was desolate, her cities forsaken, her beloved Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed, and the people carried away into the graves among the Gentiles (Ezek. 36:4). Israel's fall profaned the Name of the Lord among the Gentiles because it caused them to think that their gods were greater and more powerful than Israel's God (Ezek. 36:20-23)! Of course, we know that this isn't true. We know that God was just using Babylon as His tool to chastise the Israelites, and once the 70 years captivity was over, God used the Medo-Persians to destroy the Babylon Empire, which freed the Israelites to return to the land. But their return to the land did not restore the nation. Only a small number of Israelites returned, there were no more Israelite Kings, and the nation remained under Gentile control. By the time Jesus arrived in His earthly ministry some 400 years later, the Nation of Israel was ruled by a Vain Religious System, that was ruled by the Gentile nations, that were ruled by Satan and his devils.

Israel was born the first time when the LORD brought her out of Egypt. But that birth fizzled out because she didn't learn the lesson God tried to teach them in the Exodus: If they are going to be His people, fulfilling His purpose for them, they NEEDED TO RELY SOLELY ON THE LORD TO DO IT FOR THEM! All God wanted them to do is to rely on the Grace Resident In His Jehovah Name by holding up the Rod Of God Of Faith. If they just did that, He would do everything else for them (Ex. 14:13-25). But they didn't learn the lesson. Instead, at Sinai, they decided to do everything themselves through the power of the flesh, and they failed miserably (Ex. 19:8), spending the next 1500 years under the Curses of the Law in the Courses of Punishment (Lev. 26:16-34).

Which brings us to Jesus's encounter with Nicodemus. What Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews (Jn. 3:1) and the hoped for master teacher of Israel (Jn. 3:10) needed to know was that for Israel to be God's “peculiar treasure and holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6), the nation as a whole needed to be “born again.” They needed a 2nd birth, a 2nd Exodus that would teach them again about the need to rely solely on God's Jehovah Name. This will ultimately take place at Christ's 2nd Coming when they will all do what they should have done at the 1st Exodus: They will fall on the Grace resident in His Jehovah Name (Hos. 14:2), and He will then make them the head of the nations rather than the tail, establishing them in Israel's long-prophesied earthly Kingdom (Deut. 28:13) as a reborn Nation of Israel that honors and sanctifies the Name of the Lord among the Gentiles. This is Israel's National Restoration, Israel's National Salvation.

In John 3, Jesus takes Nicodemus step-by-step through how the Nation of Israel will be “born again” :

1. Jn. 3:3: In order for someone to “see” (spiritually perceive) the Kingdom (which at that time was embodied in the presence of the King, Jesus Christ), he or she must be “born again.” This gives them the spiritual eyes to “see” the King/Kingdom.
2. Jn. 3:5: Then, once they “see” the Kingdom, they could “enter” the Kingdom by being brought forth (born) of water and the Spirit by going through Israel's national cleansing program (Jn. 3:5; Ezek. 36:25-27), typified in a foretaste manner with John the Baptist's and Jesus's water baptism in the Gospel Accounts and Peter and the 12's water baptism and Christ's Spirit baptism in early Acts (Jn. 1:25-26, 31-34; 3:22-34; Acts 2-3). These types will ultimately be fulfilled by the LORD Himself at Christ's return when He regathers believing Israel and restores them to the land, sprinkling them with water and giving them the Spirit (Ezek. 36:24-28).
3. Jn. 3:8: Then God will blow a wind (Spirit) over this “born again” people, raising them up from their Gentile graves, and through a 2nd greater Exodus, bringing them forth out of the Gentile nations. He will gather them together and usher them into the Promised Land, enlivening them with His Spirit thereby giving birth to the “born again” Nation of Israel, God's Own Nation, His conduit of blessing and salvation to the rest of the world (Jn. 3:8; Ezek.37).

That gets us through Jn. 3:10 but there is still one pivotal, all-important piece of information that Jesus needs to give to Nicodemus. HOW is someone “born again” so that they can “see” and “enter” the Kingdom and participate in Israel's national salvation and restoration in the Kingdom? HOW?? Jesus explains that the beginning point of everything is BELIEVING IN GOD AND HIS WORD, WHICH HERE IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (Jn. 3:18). Believing in His Name, trusting in Him, relying on the grace resident in His Jehovah Name now embodied in Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:14; 2:23; 20:31). Faith in God and His Word was the essential ingredient.

This is the very opposite of what the Vain Religious System of Israel was doing. They thought they would “see” and “enter” the Kingdom just because they were the natural progeny of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh (Jn. 8:37-58; Mat. 3:9-12). Jesus, however, says that is not enough. The King (Jesus) was present in Israel, but they didn't “see” Him. John the Baptist came calling the people into Israel's national repentance and cleansing program, but they didn't think they needed it. They thought that as the natural children of Abraham they were automatically qualified to participate in Israel's National Salvation, but Jesus shows Nicodemus that they are not qualified at all. They are excluded. Without believing, they would not participate in Israel's “new birth,” and without the “new birth” they could not participate in Israel's cleansing program. Not only could they not “enter” the Kingdom, they could not even “see” the Kingdom (Jn. 3:36; 9:39; 12:40). By rebelling in unbelief, the only thing they were automatically qualified for was darkness and condemnation, wrath and perishing (Jn. 3:18-21).

Nicodemus should have known all of this, but he didn't. But HE KNOWS IT NOW! Now Nicodemus the Pharisee is equipped with Jesus's teaching needed to go and convert his Pharisee co-workers; who then needed to go and convert the rest of the religious leaders; who then needed to go and convert all Jerusalem; who then needed to go and convert all Judea and Galilee; who then needed to go and convert all Samaria. And then, once all Israel was saved, they needed to take God's salvation out to the whole world. Come on Nicodemus! Get with the program!! THE WHOLE WORLD IS WAITING for you (Jn. 3:16)!!!

In His discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus was telling Nicodemus to follow in the footsteps of Abraham.

1. First, Israel needed to recognize that following in Abraham's footsteps wasn't just being born of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh. A spiritual birth, a spiritual bringing forth was also required.
2. Second, to follow in the spiritual footsteps of Abraham required them to believe in God and His Word. God gave Abraham Good News. Abraham believed God and God counted his faith for righteousness. Likewise, in the Gospel of John, God was giving the Israelites Good News through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Mat. 4:23), and upon believing, God would likewise count their faith for righteousness. This is Justification before God and His Tribunal by faith WITHOUT works unto eternal life with all personal and individual sins forgiven--Gen. 15:6. This is what gave Abraham in his day the spiritual eyes to “see” the King and the Kingdom (Jn. 8:56; Heb. 11:10). And this is what will give the Israelites in Jesus's day the spiritual eyes to “see” the King and the Kingdom (Jn. 9:39).
3. Third, in His Prophetic Program, God then places those He justified by faith without works into the Believing Remnant of Israel, where He gives them opportunities to serve Him. For instance, He gave Abraham the opportunity to participate in a picture of what He would do with His Son on Calvary 2,000 years later by sacrificing his own son, Isaac, on Mt. Moriah. Later He gave believing Israel an opportunity to participate in a picture of what Christ would do for them on the Cross 1,500 years later in the Passover ritual. And in Christ's earthly ministry, God gave members of believing Israel an opportunity to participate in a picture of what the Lord Himself is going to do to them when He restores the Nation of Israel. He is going to sprinkle them with water and give them the Spirit, making them into a reborn nation (Ezek. 36:24-29)-. By participating in Israel's national cleansing and repentance program--beginning with John's water baptism and leading to Christ's Spirit baptism--they gave an advance picture of this during Christ's earthly ministry (the Gospel Accounts), the ministry of the 12 (early Acts) and especially during the Tribulation Period, which would enable them to “enter” into the Kingdom. This is Justification before Christ at His 2nd Coming by faith PLUS works whereby, they would participate in Israel's national forgiveness of sins and enjoy a privileged position in the Kingdom.
4. Finally, once God has transformed His “born again” People (the Believing Remnant) into His “born again” Nation (the Nation of Israel), God's Own “peculiar treasure” and “holy nation,” He will use them as the conduit of His blessings to the whole world, saving it (Jn. 3:16).

Nicodemus should have known all of this, but he didn't. But HE KNOWS IT NOW! Now Nicodemus the Pharisee is equipped with Jesus's teaching needed to go and convert his Pharisee co-workers; who then needed to go and convert the rest of the religious leaders; who then needed to go and convert all Jerusalem; who then needed to go and convert all Judea and Galilee; who then needed to go and convert all Samaria. And then, once all Israel was saved, they needed to take God's salvation out to the whole world. Come on Nicodemus! Get with the program!! THE WHOLE WORLD IS WAITING for you (Jn. 3:16)!!!

Thursday night we are in the familiar passage of Jn. 3. The biggest mistake we can make in this passage is to assume that “seeing” and “entering” the Kingdom (Jn. 3:3, 5) is the same thing as saying “getting saved” in the Dispensation of Grace. Rather it refers to how an Israelite in the Nation of Israel can not only “see” the King and the Kingdom with spiritually empowered eyes, but can also “enter” the Kingdom through faithfully being brought forth (born) through Israel's National repentance and cleansing program, beginning with John the Baptist's and Jesus's water baptism in the Gospel Accounts, Peter's water baptism and Christ baptism of the Believing Remnant of Israel in early Acts, continued in the Tribulation Period and fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ at His 2nd Coming. At that time He will gather the scattered Believing Remnant, sprinkling them with clean water that cleanses them from their association with Israel's National debt of sin and giving them the Spirit, who will cause them to obey the Law so that they can receive its blessings rather than its curses, whereby they can be brought into their long-prophesied earthly Kingdom with no chance of failure: A “born again” Nation of Israel, God's Own holy Nation and Kingdom of Priests. The classic example of what Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about is Moses. Moses was allowed to “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom but was not allowed to “enter” into it (Num. 27:12-14; Deut. 34:1-6).

Israel: Seeing and Entering the Promised Land/Kingdom. (Jn. 3:1‑5)

After the 1st Exodus and after 40 years wondering in the wilderness Israel could be broken down into the following categories:

1. The bulk of the nation did not “believe on His (Jehovah) Name. Therefore, they did not have spiritual eyes to “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom and were not allowed to “enter” into the Promised Land/Kingdom. The whole first generation (except Caleb and Joshua) died in the wilderness.
2. Some of Israel did “believe on His (Jehovah) Name.” Therefore, they were empowered with spiritual eyes to “see” the Promised Land, but because of lapses in faithfulness were not allowed to “enter” the Promised Land/Kingdom. The classic example of this is Moses, who had the spiritual eyes to “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom but was not allowed to “enter” it (Deut. 34:1-6).
3. Two additional Israelites from the first generation, Caleb and Joshua “believed in His Jehovah Name.” Therefore, they not only had the spiritual eyes to “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom (Num. 13:2, 18; 14:6-9), they could also “enter” the Promised Land/Kingdom (Num. 14:21-24, 30).
4. This failure for the Nation of Israel at their first Exodus/Birth was because they entered into the Law at Sinai relying on the power of their own flesh rather than on the power of the Grace resident in the LORD's Jehovah Name, resulting in falling under the curses of the Law. When Israel is “born again” at Christ's 2nd Coming, they will believe on His Name and will be given the Spirit, who will cause them to walk in His statutes and keep His judgments and do them (Ezek. 36:27), the reverse will be true. They will receive the blessings of the Law rather than the curses, and the Courses of Punishment will be over. At that time, the bulk of the Nation will enter the Kingdom and only a very small number will be excluded.

See a summary chart below:

Thursday night we finished looking at Jn. 1:1-16, a well-known passage but unfortunately not a well-understood passage.

The past few weeks we had to spend some time getting up to speed on the Old Testament context for this passage. This passage has nothing to do with personal salvation in the Dispensation of Grace, in spite of what most theologians, preachers and even famous sports stars may say. And there is nothing magical and mystical about the numbers 3:16 (that's just pagan superstition cloaked under the name of Christianity). Neither John nor Nicodemus nor anyone else at that time knew anything about God's Mystery Program with the Body of Christ. God and Paul tell us over and over again that what He is doing today through the distinct apostleship of Paul in the Dispensation of Grace had been kept secret since the world began, kept secret that is until the Risen Lord Jesus Christ made it known to Paul through a DIRCET revelation (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:2-4; Gal. 1:11-12).

Before Paul, no one knew about it (Eph. 3:5). In fact, you could get all the supercomputers in the world, put them all together and search for Mystery Truth in all human wisdom, worldly and angelic knowledge and even the non-Pauline Scriptures (the Old Testament, Gospel Accounts and Ministry of the 12) and the result would always be the same: NO MATCHES FOUND. But we needn't bother because God explicitly told us that it was UNSEARCHABLE until He revealed it to the Apostle Paul, who recorded it in the Scriptures (Eph. 3:4, 8; Rom. 16:25-26). And contrary to what most of historic Christianity teaches, it wasn't hid in the Old Testament; it was HID IN GOD from eternity past (Eph. 3:9). While John and Nicodemus might have known something about the Gentile nations being blessed with the Nation of Israel and through her rise in accord with the Abrahamic Covenant, they knew absolutely nothing about the riches of God's Grace being dispensed to the world today, especially to the Gentiles, apart from Israel and through her Fall (Rom. 9-11). So, if we are going to properly understand this passage we must go to the Old Testament, especially the Exodus Account (Exodus 3-19), Israel's Entrance into the Promised Land (Numbers 13-14, 27) the Psalms (Ps. 41:13; 72:19; 89:52), Isaiah (Is. 66:7-9) and Ezekiel (chapters 37-38). If we do that, we will see Jesus leading Nicodemus and the whole nation, step-by-step, into Israel's national salvation program so that they can not only “see” the long-prophesied earthly Kingdom, but they can “enter” it as well (Jn. 3:3, 5).

While last time we looked at the Old Testament passages for the background for Jn. 3:1-16, this week we jumped into the future to see how a foretaste of what Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about plays out after the resurrection through the ministry of Peter and the 12 and the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

“Seeing” and “Entering” the Kingdom

To not understand what Jesus is trying to teach Nicodemus, we must not go to Paul's Mystery Scriptures but to the non-Pauline Scriptures of God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel. We can get a good idea of what Jesus means by “seeing” and “entering” the Kingdom, that is, Israel's long-prophesied, literal, physical earthly Kingdom, centered in the Land of Canaan, by what it looked like at Israel's first entrance into the Promised Land (home of the Kingdom) in Numbers and Deuteronomy (Num. 13:2, 18; 14:6-9; 27:12-14; Deut. 34:1-4a); then what it looked like at Pentecost after the Death and Resurrection of Christ (Acts 2-5); and finally what it will look like when Christ returns and establishes Israel's Kingdom on Earth (Ezek. 36- 48).

1. Numbers and Deuteronomy: If we just focus on Moses and the 12 spies, we discover a representative sample of the spectrum of the Israelites and their relationship to the Promised Land/Kingdom.

• Of the 12 spies that went in to scope out the land, 10 of them could not “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom. All they saw were giants and enemies too powerful for them to defeat, danger and destruction at every turn. They did not believe on the I AM Jehovah Name that God gave to them before the Exodus (Ex. 3) and, therefore, didn't fall on the Grace resident in that Name whereby the Lord would do everything they needed for them. Therefore, because of their unbelief, they were not only excluded from “entering” the Land/Kingdom because of unfaithfulness, they couldn't even “see” it because they didn't have spiritual eyes that come from believing in His Name (Num. 13:28-29; 14:29-30).
• On the other end of the spectrum, we have the 2 spies, Joshua and Caleb, who believed on the Name of the Lord, relying on the Grace resident in His Jehovah Name to do everything for them (Num. 14:6-9). Therefore, they not only had spiritual eyes to “see” the Kingdom (Num. 14:7), they could also actually “enter” the Land/Kingdom (Num. 14:29-30).
• Then between these two extremes we find Moses. Moses believed in the Name of the LORD and relied on the Grace resident in His Name (Ex. 14:14‑25), therefore He could “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom (Num. 27:12-13; Deut. 34:1-4). But because of an act of unfaithfulness (Num. 20:2-13), He was prohibited from “entering” the Promised Land/Kingdom.

This is the same pattern we find in John 2:23-3:5: Step #1: Believe in the Name of the Lord and become the children (born ones) of God by faith without works (Jn. 2:23; 3:15-16). Step #2: This gave them the spiritual eyes they needed to “see” the Kingdom (Jn. 3:3). Step #3: Then the Lord invited them to “enter” the Kingdom by being brought through (born of) faithfulness (faith plus works) by going through Israel's National Repentance and Cleansing Program, beginning with John the Baptist's and Jesus's water baptism before His resurrection, and advancing afterwards with Peter's water baptism and Christ's Spirit baptism of the Believing Remnant of Israel at Pentecost in early Acts.

2. Acts 2-5: Here we find a picture of how this all works in a foretaste manner as they await the arrival of the Kingdom in their own lifetimes because according to Daniel's Time Schedule it would arrive about 7-8 years later.

• Step #1: Peter preached to the Men of Jerusalem, Judea and Israel (Acts 2:14, 22), and they believed God's Word through Peter with regard to who Jesus is, the embodiment of the Name of the Lord, and God counted their faith for righteousness (Acts 2:37). They are justified before God unto eternal life, all personal sins forgiven and eternally secure.
• Step #2: Those who believed in His Name and were justified before God are then given an opportunity to be justified before Christ at His 2nd Coming for entrance into the Kingdom (Acts 2:37, 41, 44): Repent and be water baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit (2:38).
• Step #3: Then they were brought into a foretaste of New Covenant and Kingdom Blessings, “entering” into the manifestation of the Kingdom at that time (2:42-47; 4:31-37). But two members of the Believing Remnant, who had been water baptized and participated in the reception of the Spirit, rebelled against Him and were put to physical death. This makes an interesting comparison. Whereas at the 1st Exodus the whole 1st generation of Israel died physically in the wilderness because they tried to do it through the power of the flesh and only 2 people (Joshua and Caleb) were allowed to enter the Promised Land/Kingdom, in Acts 2-5, we find the whole group of believing Israel entering the blessings of the Kingdom because the Lord did it for them through the Spirit (Acts 2:42-47; 4:31-37) and only 2 were excluded from the Kingdom.

Once again, we find the same pattern Jesus describes to Nicodemus in John: Believing in His Name leads to “seeing” the Kingdom through faith alone, which gives longing to “enter” the Kingdom by faithfulness by going through Israel's national cleansing program, which would make them into the “born again” Nation of Israel.

3. Ezek. 36-36

Ezekiel brings all of this together by explaining the end time events that will culminate in the complete fulfillment of all God's promises to Israel, making her His Own holy nation and the source of a Kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6).

• Ezek. 33: When Israel went into captivity, they died as a nation. At Sinai, they entered the Law declaring “we will do all that you say through the power of our own flesh,” and that decision put them under the Curses of the Law that culminated in the 5th Course of Punishment, their exile from the Promised Land and their subjection to Gentile rule that continued in the days of Jesus's earthly ministry.
• Ezek. 36:1-23: Step #1: They needed a new beginning that is better than the one in their past. They needed to be enabled this time to sanctify His Name by believing on it and falling on the Grace resident in it, so that this time He could do everything for them, guaranteeing success this time (36:11). This would give them spiritual eyes to “see” the Kingdom (Ezek. 36:23; 37:20; Jn. 1:12-13; 2:23; 3:3).
• Ezek. 36:24-38: Step #2: Then the LORD will gather believing Israel and sprinkle them with clean water, cleansing them from all association with apostate Israel's national debt of sin. Then He would give them the Holy Spirit, who would cause them to walk according to God's commandments, so that they would never accrue a national debt of sin ever again.
• Ezek. 40-48: Step #3: The establishment of Israel's Kingdom on Earth for the enjoyment of those who could “see” and “enter” it forevermore.

There has been a large amount of interest in the our study of John 3. While this passage contains some of the most familiar verses in historic Christianity, it contains some of the least understood passages as well. Many of you have contacted us with many similar questions and comments. Therefore, rather than responding to every question individually, I have decided to instead put together a Verse-By-Verse explanation of this passage, beginning with Jn. 2:23 and going through Jn. 3:16 and beyond.

Verse-By-Verse: John 2:23‑25

Let's go through this passage verse-by-verse in the light of the Old Testament, not reading Paul into this passage, but reading the Exodus Account, Numbers, the Psalms and Ezekiel 36-37 into this passage.

John. 2:23: Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the signs which He did.

• Believing in His Name, refers Israel back to when God gave them His I AM Jehovah Name just before the Exodus out of Egypt (Ex. 3:13-15). To an ancient Israelite, when one referred to believing in His Name, it referred to the I AM Jehovah Name of the God of Israel. That Name encapsulated all that God is for the Nation of Israel: I AM (blank space) whatever you need Me to be. God designed the wilderness wanderings to teach Israel that if they were going to be the people He created them to be, HE WOULD HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING FOR THEM. To believe in His Name was to believe in the I AM Jehovah God of Israel, fall on the Grace resident in that Name, which in John was now embodied in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Along with His Jehovah Name, God also gave Israel signs and wonders so that they might believe (Ex. 4:1-9). For an ancient Israelite to say they believed in His Name after experiencing the signs (remember, John does not use the word “miracle” (dynamis) but the word “signs” (semeion)), indicated that they believed God, relying on the Grace resident in His Jehovah Name, and like Abraham, God would count their faith for righteousness, ie., justification unto eternal life--Gen. 15:6. This is exactly the way God intended it to work when He gave them the signs to believe (Ex. 3‑4).
• Recognizing that the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus in Jn. 3 flows out of Jn. 2 (see below), Nicodemus may very well have been one of those who believed in His Name when they saw the signs which He did. Nicodemus “saw” something in Jesus, recognizing that He was someone sent from God and that God was with Him (Jn. 3:2). Most commentators say that faith based on signs was not sufficient, was not “saving” faith. But this cannot be so because in the Prologue, when John was setting the groundwork for reading his Gospel, he explained that while the bulk of Israel would reject Christ, those who received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, and how did they receive Him: EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE IN HIS NAME, which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man but of God (Jn. 1:12-13). So, when John states in the very next chapter that many believed on His Name (Jn. 2:23), it should be understood as “saving” faith. They became the children, the born ones of God. Just like Abraham, they believed God and God counted their faith for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). They were justified before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life; they were brought into a right-standing before God with all individual and personal sins forgiven; they were eternally secure.
• This happened at or on the Passover, which takes the reader back to when God delivered Israel out of Egypt, giving birth to the nation the 1st time. The Passover was eaten at night and right after that, they left Egypt. Therefore, the background to Jesus's encounter with Nicodemus is the night of the Passover and the Exodus, through which Israel was “born” the 1st time (Jn. 3:1-2).

John. 2:24-25: But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man.

• Many use these verses to argue that believing based on the signs was insufficient for “saving” faith. But as we saw in the previous point, this confuses everything. Salvation isn't the result of Jesus trusting or believing in them! It is the result of them trusting and believing in Him!! Jesus didn't trust in ANY human: NOT EVEN HIS OWN MOTHER (Jn. 2:4). Humans are fallible, limited, and prone to faltering. If Jesus had trusted in His Mother, He would have operated contrary to His ”hour,” contrary to the will of His Father as revealed in Daniel's time schedule (Dan. 9). Jesus goes on to say that He also doesn't need ANY human testimony: NOT EVEN JOHN THE BAPTIST'S (Jn. 5:33-34)! Jesus doesn't trust in or need the witness of any fallible human. He only trusts in and needs the witness of the Father. He only needs the testimony of the Father's Words and Works and the Scriptures (Jn. 5:33-39). In short, if Jesus's not trusting in Mary and not needing the testimony of John the Baptist doesn't call into question their “salvation,” it likewise doesn't call into question the “salvation” of those who believed in His Name, when they saw the signs! Let me say again: Thanks to God that “salvation” isn't God believing in us! It is us believing in God and His Word!!

John 3:1: There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

• Jn. 2 ends with people trusting in Jesus, but He doesn't trust in any man (not even His Mother—Jn. 2:1‑12); nor does He need any man's testimony (not even John the Baptist—Jn. 5:33-34). Then Jn. 3 opens immediately with Nicodemus described as a man of the Pharisees, which seems to connect these two passages. Therefore, Nicodemus is most likely one of those who believed in His Name when they saw His words and signs at the end of chapter 2. In other words, he believed in God and God counted His faith for righteousness, justified before God unto eternal life.
• In addition, reference to the “night” connects the scene back to the Passover context also at the end of chapter2 (Jn. 2:23). The Passover was eaten in the “night,” after which, the LORD delivered Israel out of Egypt. Nicodemus came out of the darkness of the prophetic night of Israel under the 5th Course of Punishment and came into the Light of Jesus (Jn. 1:4-5, 7), which seems to meet the criterion of Jn. 3:21: He that does the truth comes to the Light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought by God (Jn. 3:21). Any one of these reasons alone would be sufficient to indicate that Nicodemus believed in His Name thereby becoming a child (born one) of God (Jn. 1:12-13) and, therefore, was “saved” in the sense of being justified before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life by faith without works, all personal and individual sins forgiven. But if we put all these reasons together, it seems to make it certain.
• Through Jesus's teaching in the next verses, Nicodemus is supposed to progress from being just a teacher of the Jews (Jn. 3:1) to being THE TEACHER OF ISRAEL (Jn. 3:10—see notes on that verse).

John 3:2: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with Him.

• We noted above that believing in His Name meant believing in the I AM Jehovah Name of the God of Israel now embodied in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here Nicodemus gives us sone initial information on what he “saw” with regard to Jesus when He believed. Nicodemus “saw” Jesus as a teacher who came from God, and that God was with Him. Many shrug off this “confession” as being woefully inadequate, and use it to prove that Nicodemus didn't have “saving” faith. But we mustn't set the bar higher for Nicodemus than we do for everyone else in the Gospel of John. No one really understood what was going on at the time.

For instance, Nicodemus's faith is called into question because he just called Jesus Rabbi. But is this so woefully inadequate when we remember that that is how the disciples initially identified Jesus as well (Jn. 1:38)? And while on the surface it may look like the disciples came along a lot faster and further in their descriptions of Jesus (Jn. 1:36-51), we must also remember that they had a considerable head start. They had already been under the teaching John the Baptist for a long time. Nicodemus, however, had been a member of the Vain Religious System and, therefore, had a lot further to go.

It is also important to note that when Nicodemus recognized that Jesus was sent by God and that God was with Him, he was saying the same thing that Jesus said Himself over and over again throughout the Gospel! In this very chapter, for instance, Jesus states that He is with God the Father in Heaven (3:13), and that He came from God the Father (Jn. 3:17). Over-and-over He says things like: I and my Father are One (Jn. 10:30). And, I am sent of the Father (Jn. 7:29). These themes are present everywhere in this Gospel. They are two threads that run through Jesus's whole earthly ministry in John, tying everything together. Here are a few examples: Jn. 4:34; 5:17, 24; 6:29, 38-57; 7:18-33; 8:54; 14:10-11; 17:7-8, 11-17, 21, et al.

Based on all of this, Nicodemus's initial perception of Jesus is consistent with a heart of faith that gives him the spiritual eyes needed to begin to “see” Jesus is (the King) and, therefore, begin to “see” the Kingdom. He recognized that Jesus could lead him into the long-prophesied Kingdom of Israel. He just needed to grow in that understanding, which is exactly what Jesus is going to try to accomplish in the next few verses. Nicodemus pops up occasionally in the Gospel of John (Jn. 7:50; 19:39), and we can look for evidence of this progression. While Nicodemus's perception of Jesus showed a heart of faith and ability to “see” Him, it also showed a complete lack of understanding. Again, we must not set the bar higher for Nicodemus than others in the Gospel. The disciples themselves understand very little as well (Jn. 6:32-35; 12:16; Mk. 6:52; Mat. 15:16; 16:21-23; et al.).

Afterall, how many of us today, even with the complete Scriptures and 2,000 years to think about it, could really explain the intricacies of the Trinity or verbalize the details of our salvation in great detail using all the right concepts and words? As noted in the previous section, it is a very good thing that salvation doesn't come by God believing in us! But by us believing in God!!

• It is worth noting that when Nicodemus tries to explain his understanding, it is faulty. As a (self-proclaimed) expert in the Law, he should have known that doing signs and wonders does NOT automatically mean God is working with someone. In Deut. 13:1-5, Moses explains that the signs must be corroborated by verifying that they are in accord with God's Word. They must be in accord with the commandments of the LORD. Jesus identifies such false-sign people in Mat. 7:21-23, and they will be especially active in the Tribulation Period (2 Thes. 2:9).

John 3:1-16: OVERVIEW

BACKGROUND: THE OLD TESTAMENT!  NOT PAUL!!

• This passage is one of the most well-known in all the Bible. Unfortunately, it is also one of the least understood. The biggest mistake we can make is reading the Apostle Paul and the Body of Christ in the Dispensation of Grace into this passage. Today it is commonly assumed that John's use of “born again” is just another way of saying “getting personally saved.” While today we talk about being “saved” personally as being “born again,” that is most certainly not what Jesus was talking about with Nicodemus. John and Nicodemus didn't know anything about Pauline Grace Mystery Truth. Rather, in this passage Jesus was reminding Nicodemus as the representative of the religious system of Israel, how Israel's NATIONAL salvation would be accomplished, and He used Old Testament Scriptures to do it, Old Testament Scriptures that Nicodemus should have known inside out and backwards.
  
  Jesus was pointing him back to the Exodus Account, the Psalms and, especially, Ezekiel, refreshing his memory with what was required for Israel to not only “see” the Kingdom, the long-prophesied Kingdom of Israel on the Earth (Acts 2:3, 6), but to “enter” it as well. This Kingdom is not some spiritual kingdom that most of historic Christianity has tried to turn it into. It is the literal/physical Kingdom of Israel, centered in the literal/physical Promised Land, in the literal/physical Middle East with Christ reigning literally and physically on His literal/physical throne in literal/physical Jerusalem. Therefore, to understand this passage, we must not go to Paul but to the Old Testament. And the first stop is the Exodus Account where Israel was born the 1st time.
• Background #1: The Passover and the Exodus
  (Exodus).
  
  This passage flows out of the context of the Passover (Jn. 2:23), which God gave to Israel when He delivered them out of the land of Egypt. At that time, the Nation of Israel was “born” the 1st time (Ex. 4:22). This birth fizzled out because they did not learn the lessons of relying on the Grace resident in God's Jehovah Name (Ex. 14-19) , and instead wanted to become His special people through the power of their own flesh (Ex. 19:8). Instead of relying on the LORD to do everything for them, they rebelled and said we will do it ourselves (Ex. 19:8).
  
  As a result, they spent the next 1500 years under the curses of the Law in the Courses of Punishment that culminated in the 5th Course of Punishment when they were taken captive under Gentile rule and exiled into their nations. When that happened they died as a nation (Ezek. 33). Even when a small number returned to the Promised Land after the Babylonian Captivity, they were still under Gentile rule and would continue that way even in the days of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. When Jesus visited the Nation of Israel, they were ruled by a Vain Religious System, which was ruled by the Gentiles, who were ruled by Satan. They needed new life, they needed a 2nd birth: THEY NEEDED TO BE BORN AGAIN AS A NATION.
• Background #2: Past Israel
  Called on to “See” and “Enter” the Promised Land/Kingdom
  (Numbers and Deuteronomy).
  
  Now fast forward 40 years after the Exodus, and we find Israel at the borders of the Promised Land of Israel, the land on which Israel's long-prophesied earthly Kingdom would be centered. The whole 1st generation would die in the wilderness with only two—Joshua and Caleb—allowed to enter the Promised Land (Num. 14:22-24, 30). If we focus on Moses and the 12 spies he sent to spy out the Land, we will see the whole “faith” spectrum of the Israelites. On one end of the “faith” spectrum you have the 10 spies who went into the land but could not “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom. All they saw was walled cities, giants and armies too strong for them to conquer because they were relying on their own strength rather than believing on the Name of the LORD and relying on His strength. Therefore, they could not even “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom, let alone enter it (Num. 13:28-29, 31-33).
  
  At the other end of the spectrum there was the remaining 2 spies, Caleb and Joshua. They went into the same land, but when they looked at the rivers, they didn't see them flowing with water. They “saw” them flowing with milk and honey! And when they saw the enemy, they didn't just see the giants and their armies, they saw the LORD destroying the enemy for them. Why, it took two men just to carry one cluster of grapes (Num. 13:23, 27, 30; 14:6-9)! The 2 spies believed in His I AM Jehovah Name and relied Him to do EVERYTHING FOR THEM! Therefore, because of their FAITH (without works), they had the spiritual eyes they needed to “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom. And because of their FAITHFULNESS, their faithful report on the Land, they were allowed to “enter” the Promised Land/Kingdom as well (Num. 14:30).
  
  Between these two extremes was Moses. While he certainly believed on the Name of the LORD and, therefore, had the spiritual eyes needed to “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom (naturally--Num. 27:12; and supernaturally--Deut. 34:1-4), he was not allowed to enter the Land because of an act of unfaithfulness in the desert of Zin in Kadesh (Num. 27:13; Deut. 34:4-5).
  
  This is the “seeing” and “entering” of the Kingdom that Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about in John. 3. In order for Israel to participate in Israel's National Salvation and Restoration in the Promised Land/Kingdom, they will need to:
  1. Believe on the Name of the LORD—Ex. 3-4 with Jn. 1:12-13; 2:23; 3:15-16, et al. This was participated in by faith without works—justification before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life, forgiveness of all individual and personal sins, eternally secure.
  2. Those who believed became the children (born ones) of God (Jn. 1:12-13; 2:23) and were placed into the Believing Remnant of Israel and given spiritual eyes to “see” the Kingdom—Num. 13:27, 30; 14:6-9; 27:12; Deut. 34:1-4 compare Jn. 3:3, 36. At the time Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus, the manifestation of the Kingdom was the presence of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His signs (Lk. 11:20).
  3. But those who “see” the King and the Kingdom don't want to just “see” the Kingdom like Moses, they want to “enter” it as well, like Joshua and Caleb—Num. 14:30 compare Jn. 3:5. This is participated in by faithfulness. We will see in a future installment that the faithful act believing Israel is called on to do is to participate in Israel's National Cleansing Program by being brought forth (born of) by baptism of water and of the Spirit.

Here's this information in chart form:

• Background #3: Amen, Amen/Verily, Verily and the Psalms
  
  When Jesus introduces His teaching to Nicodemus with Amen, Amen or in our KJV Verily, Verily or in some other versions Truly, Truly, we must not simply reduce it to a plain a statement like: Most assuredly (NKJV) or very truly (NIV). To do so hides its clear reference to the Old Testament that Nicodemus would have immediately recognized. John's Gospel is the only place in the New Testament that uses the double Amen phrase. And in the Old Testament it is only used 5 times, three of which are placed strategically at the end of each of the first three books of the Psalms: Ps. 41:13, 72:19; 89:52.
  
  When we remember that the five books that make up the Psalms have to do with the Davidic Covenant, which provides for Israel's National Salvation Package, we will appreciate Jesus's use of this terminology with Nicodemus, who knew his Old Testament inside out and backwards. Using the double Amen phrase, the Psalmist used the first Amen to close one Book while using the second Amen to open the next Book. For instance, the Amen, Amen, in Ps. 41:13 closed Book 1 of the Psalms (Ps. 1-41), which proclaimed: The LORD is Israel's Redeemer and led into Book 2 (Ps. 42-72), which proclaimed: The LORD is Israel's Deliverer. The Amen, Amen, in Ps. 72:19 closed Book 2 and led into Book 3 (Ps. 73-89), which proclaimed: The LORD is Israel's Avenger. Finally, the Amen, Amen, of Book 3 (Ps. 89:52) closed Book 3 and led into Books 4 and 5 (Ps. 90-150), which proclaimed: The LORD is Israel's King and Blesser.
  
  Put another way, once Israel's redemption, deliverance and avengement are accomplished (Books 1-3), the LORD will usher saved Israel into her long-prophesied earthly Kingdom and its blessings (Books 4-5). This is what Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus about in Jn. 3 (Jn. 3:3, 5, 8).
• Background #4: 2nd Exodus: Future/End Time Israel Called on To “See” and “Enter” the Promised Land/Kingdom (Ezekiel 33-39, especially 36-37).
  
  Ezekiel reiterates what we learned in the previous section although giving more detail. It goes a step further, pushing everything into the future in the light of Israel's captivity. Let's proceed step-by-step:
  
  Ezek. 33 with Jn. 8:37-47, 11:48 et al. : When Israel went into captivity under Gentile rule they died as a nation. That is still their condition in the days of Jesus's earthly ministry. They were still ruled by a Vain Religious System, who were ruled by the Gentiles, who were ruled by Satan.
  
  Ezek. 36:1-23 with Jn. 1:12-13; 2:23; 3:3, 15-17: Therefore, Israel needed new life; a new beginning that would accomplish what their previous beginnings didn't (Ezek. 36:1-15, esp. vv. 8-11). They needed to be “born again,” be born a 2nd time by believing on the Name of the LORD so that they could be empowered to sanctify the Name of the LORD in faith rather than profaning it in unbelief (Ezek. 36:11 vs. 36:20). Then, once Israel was believing and sanctifying the Name of the Lord, they would be enabled to proclaim the LORD to the rest of the world so that the Gentiles could sanctify His Name with and through God's holy Nation, the “born again” Nation of Israel (Ezek. 36:23). And when this occurs, it results in the salvation of the world in accord with God's Prophetic Program with Israel and the Abrahamic Covenant (Jn. 3:17).
  
  Ezek. 36:24-38 with Jn. 3:5-7: In that future “end time” or “last days” of Daniel's Time Schedule, the Tribulation Period ends with the 2nd Coming of Christ, who will regather Believing Israel, sprinkle them with clean water to cleanse them from all association with apostate Israel's National debt of sin. Then He will give them the Holy Spirit, who will cause them to walk in His commandments so that they never accrue a National debt of sin again. (This is pictured in water baptism by men and Spirit baptism by Christ—acts 2-3.) Having received these New Covenant and Kingdom blessings, the Lord will create His Own debt- free Nation of Israel from them, a holy Nation of Israel, to be a Kingdom of priests to the world. He will plant them in the Promised Land/Kingdom of Israel, restoring them and making them into the greatest of nations (Deut. 28:13), the envy of the world, the reflector of God's Glory and Light, and the proclaimers of His Word and Name to the whole world (Is. 60:1-3), fulfilling God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel.
  
  Ezek. 37:1-14 with Jn. 3:8: The LORD's Wind, His Spirit, scattered Israel throughout the Gentile world (Ezek. 5:1-2), and it will be His Wind/Spirit that will regather them. He will blow over the dead bones of Believing Israel laying in graves amongst the Gentiles, raising them up, giving them life, gathering them to Himself and planting them in their own Promised Land/Kingdom, a restored, regenerated (re-born) Nation of Israel ready to carry out God's plan and purpose for them.

On Thursday night, we finished our look at the progressive “lifting up” of the Son of Man to be looked upon, beginning with God lifting Him up in His earthly ministry to Israel ... to His lifting up on the Cross ... to His lifting up through His resurrection and exaltation ... and to His return in Glory when the whole earth will look upon Him in His Glory (Mat. 24:30).

John 3:3-4: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

• Verily, Verily (see Background #3).
• As He did with Nathaniel, Mary and the Temple leaders, Jesus sweeps away all Nicodemus's blather and plunges to the depths of his deepest longings: “Seeing” and “entering” Israel's long-prophesied Kingdom, the Kingdom of God on Earth (Acts 1:3, 6). Since Nicodemus appears to be one of those who believed in His Name at the end of chapter 2 (Jn. 2:23), he is a child of God, a born one of God (Jn. 1:12-13) and has the spiritual eyes to “see” (like Moses, Caleb and Joshua— see Background #2) the Kingdom, which was manifested at that time in the presence of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, tabernacling among them (Jn. 1:14).
  
  Nicodemus recognized that in some way Jesus was the embodiment of the I AM Jehovah God of Israel, their Messiah and King. He “saw” that Christ came from God, and that God was with Christ (Jn. 3:2). Some say this is insufficient faith but this is the way Jesus refers to Himself throughout the Gospel of John (see Jn. 3:13, 16-17; 10:30; 13:20; et al.). Nicodemus “saw,” perceived spiritually, that this was Someone who could lead him and the Nation of Israel into their long-prophesied literal, physical earthly Kingdom that would be centered in the literal/physical Land of Canaan, the Promised Land. God promised this earthly Kingdom to Israel going all the way back not only to Moses (Ex. 19:5-6; Deut. 28:12-13, et al.) but to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), and really all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen. 1-2).
• To “see” the Kingdom one (John uses “you” in the singular—Nicodemus and all Israelites) must be born again, becoming born of God, the children of God, by believing in His Name (Jn. 1:12-13). In v. 7, Jesus changes to the “you” in the plural, YE, You All, referring to the Nation of Israel as a whole. In other words, the “born again” Nation of Israel will only consist of the “born ones” of God. More on this in v. 6.
• Nicodemus isn't keeping up with Jesus's teaching and doesn't understand its meaning. Instead of thinking about the regeneration (rebirth) of the Nation of Israel as described in the Exodus Account, the Psalms and Ezekiel 33-39, he's still thinking about the natural human birth. So, Jesus tries to lead him another step forward.

John 3:5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

• But Nicodemus and Israel didn't want to just “see” the Kingdom (like Moses—see Background #2), they wanted to also “enter” the Kingdom (like Caleb and Joshua-- see Background #2). Because they believed in His Name, by faith without works Caleb and Joshua were given spiritual eyes to “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom. And because they were faithful in their good report about the Land, they were allowed to “enter” the Land/Kingdom as well. They were the only two of that generation to do so. Contrast this with Moses, who while he believed in His Name and, therefore, could “see” the Promised Land/Kingdom, he was not allowed to “enter” the Land/Kingdom because of an act of unfaithfulness.
  
  Jesus is leading Nicodemus step-by-step: First, he and all Israel must believe in His Name (Jn. 1:12-13; 2:23; 3:15-16). Second, doing that would give them the spiritual eyes to “see” the Kingdom (like Moses). Third, once they “saw” the King and Kingdom, they were invited to participate in a faithful act to “enter” the Kingdom. And at the time of Christ's earthly ministry, that faithful act was being brought forth through (born of) Israel's National Cleansing and Repentance Program. He gave them the opportunity to picture what He Himself is going to do at His 2nd Coming when He sprinkles them with water and gives them the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the New Covenant.
  
  This participation in Israel's National cleansing Program began with water baptism by men, starting with John the Baptist's in the Gospel Accounts (Jn. 1:15‑34; 3:22‑36), which progressed to Peter's baptism with water and the addition of Christ's baptism with the Spirit at Pentecost in early Acts (Acts 2‑3). Picturing this will continue through the Tribulation Period and will ultimately be fulfilled at Christ's 2nd Coming when the LORD Himself will gather believing Israel when He will sprinkle them with clean water, separating them from all association with apostate Israel's National debt of sin, and give them the Spirit so that they never accrue a National debt of sin again in accord with Ezek. 36‑37 (see Background #4).
  
  The Spirit given in early Acts gave believing Israel a foretaste of Kingdom and New Covenant blessings, empowering them to have perfect knowledge of God's Word and the apostle's doctrine, live in complete harmony with one accord and walk in accord with all God's commandments (Acts 2-4). This foretaste of blessings provided by the Spirit will start up again in the Tribulation Period when it will be especially needed as they go through its severe persecutions, trials, tribulations, and temptations.
  
  Water baptism by men and Spirit baptism by Christ gave and will give Believing Israel an opportunity to “picture” or be a type of what Christ will do in full at His 2nd Coming when He completely fulfills and implements the Davidic Covenant, New Covenant and Abrahamic Covenant, thereby ushering believing Israel and her believing Gentile friends into the Kingdom.

We reach the culmination of everything Jesus has been trying to teach Nicodemus: Israel's National Salvation/Restoration MUST START with faith. The “born again” Nation of Israel will only be made up of the “born ones” of God.

Verse-By-Verse: John 3:6‑10

John 3:6-7: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye (you plural—the whole Nation of Israel) must be born again.

• This brings everything together, going from individual Israelites to the Nation of Israel as a whole.
  
  Individual Israelites are qualified to be members of true believing Israel by being born not just of the flesh but of the Spirit as well:
  
  Individual Israelite's 1st Birth—Born of the Flesh: Yes, they must be born the natural progeny of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh. But that is not the sole qualification.
  
  Individual Israelite's 2nd Birth—Born of the Spirit: They must also be born the spiritual progeny of Abraham by following in His footsteps of faith thereby becoming the children (born ones) of God according to the Spirit. Abraham believed God and God counted His faith for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). This is what the nation was missing. They all met qualification #1, but very few met qualification #2 and were, therefore, excluded from not only “entering” the Kingdom but even “seeing” it as well.
• This extends to the Nation of Israel as a whole:
  
  Nation of Israel's 1st Birth—The Exodus when God brought them forth out of Egypt and unto Himself (Exodus Account).
  
  National Israel's 2nd Birth—The greater Exodus in their future that will occur at the end of the Tribulation Period when Christ returns and delivers them out of their Gentile graves, giving them new life and planting them in the Kingdom as His Own “born again” Nation of Israel, a holy Nation and a Kingdom of Priests (Ex. 19:5; Ezek. 36-39; Is. 60, et al.)

John 3:8-10: The wind blows where it lists, and thou hears the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him: How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him: Art thou a (Gk. THE) master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

• Starting with Israel's need of a new beginning, a new birth, that would come about by believing in and sanctifying the Name of the LORD (Jn. 3:3-- “born again” to “see” the Kingdom--Ezek. 36:1-23; Jn. 1:12-13; 2:23), Jesus goes on to explain that Israel needed to be brought through her National Cleansing Program (Jn. 3:5--“born of water and the Spirit” to “enter” the Kingdom—Ezek. 36:24-38; Jn. 1:25-34; 3:22-36). Next, He explains that Israel's national restoration will occur when God blows of His “Wind,” His Spirit, over them, raising Israel out of their grave among the Gentiles, giving them new life, planting them in their Promised Land, creating of them His Own holy Nation (Jn. 3:8—Ezek. 37:1-14). God's Wind/Spirit scattered Israel (Ezek. 5:2-5), and it will be God's Wind/Spirit that will re-gather them. See Background #4.

• At this point, we have the basic outline of Israel's National Salvation package as promised in the Old Testament, going all the way back to Moses and Abraham and even Adam. Nicodemus as a Pharisee was an “expert” in the Old Testament, and he should have known these things.
• Jesus now invites Nicodemus to progress from being just “a ruler of the Jews” (Jn. 3:1) to being THE Master Teacher of all Israel (Jn. 3:10). Now, that Jesus has reminded him about how Israel's National Salvation will be accomplished, Nicodemus has the opportunity to keep rolling the ball that Jesus and John the Baptist set in motion by teaching and converting his fellow Pharisees ... who in turn would teach and convert the whole religious system ... who would teach and convert all Jerusalem; who would teach and convert all Judea; who would go teach and convert Galilee; who would go and teach and convert Samaria. And when that happened, all Israel would be saved, sanctifying the Name of the Lord in faith, and God would use her to take His salvation out to the whole world in accord with the Abrahamic Covenant (Jn. 3:16).
• But all this hinges on and begins with FAITH, believing in God and His Word, believing in His Name (Jn. 1:12-13; 2:23; 3:15-16).

On Thursday night, we concluded our study of Jesus's encounter with Nicodemus in the first half of John 3, culminating in everybody's favorite verse Jn. 3:16. Whereas most of historical Christianity uses this verse by removing Jesus's and John's teaching from it and reading Paul, the Dispensation of Grace and the Church, the Body of Christ, into it, we looked at it keeping Jesus's and John's teaching in place and understanding it through the Old Testament.
We concluded the study of Jn. 3:16 by looking at the ministries of two professional football players:

1. One player used Jn. 3:16 to introduce people to Jesus Christ. The night he put Jn. 3:16 in his face paint, Google said there were 84 million searches for it. This is good. I am very glad that perhaps 84 million people were introduced to Christ through this, and I thank God for it. But this player thought the verse referred to the Church, the Body of Christ in the Dispensation of Grace. So, when he explained the verse, he had to remove what Jesus, John and Nicodemus were actually talking about and replace it with Paul's teachings, especially as summed up in Rom. 3 and 5. Then, since he didn't rightly divide the Scriptures, he didn't know what God is really doing today. Therefore, while he introduced people to Christ (very good), but he didn't know what to do with them next (very bad). So, he steered them astray into a man-centered Christianity that thought of salvation as our way to get God involved in our things; our way to get God to do what we want (Get saved, and you can get God to do what you want, just like He did for me! He will enable you to throw the ball farther or run faster or take your business to the next level, etc.), which leads to little more than pagan superstition dressed up in Christian verbiage (When I put Jn. 3:16 in my face paint—you're not going to believe this--miraculously I averaged 31.6 yards, I threw 316 yards, time of possession was 31.06, the game rating was 31.6, etc. See! God is really working for me, and He'll do the same for you if you get saved!). The truly sad thing is that He thought this was true, spiritual Christianity when, in fact, it was just carnal, fleshly Christianity.
2. Now, let's think about another professional football player. Like the first one, he also introduced people to Christ. But because he rightly-divided the Scriptures, he took them to Christ directly through Paul's Scriptures (without any sleight of hand) with verses like Rom. 3:21-26 and Eph. 2:1-11, which really are for the Church, the Body of Christ, in the Dispensation of Grace. In addition, because he rightly-divided the Scriptures, he knew what God is really doing today. Therefore, He could not only introduce people to Christ, he could also lead them into a God-centered Christianity that realized getting saved is God's way to get us involved in His things, His plans, His purpose. Getting saved isn't our way to get God to do what we want! Getting saved is God's way to get us to do what He wants! which leads them out of human thinking and pagan superstition and brings them soundly into God's thinking and true, spiritual Christianity. While the first player's ministry is good! The second player's ministry is much, much better!!

Verse-By-Verse: John 3:11‑13

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

• Verily, Verily links us back to Israel's National Salvation Package as God promised to David in the Davidic Covenant and revealed in detail in the Psalms (see Background #3).
• We: This refers at the least to Jesus and John the Baptist (and perhaps the disciples). But when we remember the Prologue where we learned of Jesus Christ's heavenly origin in eternity past where He was with God (Jn. 1:1) and always resides in the bosom of the Father (1:18); and when we remember that the subsequent verses refer to heavenly things (3:12-13); it is more likely that here Jesus's WE refers to the Triune Godhead. In addition, it is interesting to note that Nicodemus opened the scene saying: We (Israel's mostly apostate religious leaders) know something (3:2), and Jesus closes the scene saying We (especially the Triune Godhead, but also including John the Baptist, the disciples and ultimately believing Israel, who would see Heaven open) are trying to teach you something (1:51).
• Ye: Earlier in the passage everything was in the singular—a man, one (Jn. 3:3, 5). Then in verse 7 everything changed to the plural YE, You All, the religious leaders as a group and ultimately the Nation of Israel as a whole. What was treated as general principle in verses 3-6 is applied to the whole nation in verse 7-12. The whole Nation must be “born again” and will be made up of the “born ones” of God: Those who believe.
• YE believe not does not necessarily rule out the possibility that Nicodemus was a true believer (Jn. 2:23) because while the YE, You All, could include every single person in the group, but it could also simply refer to the group as a whole, not necessarily to every single individual in the group. This is a common usage. A coach tells his winning team that you (Pl.—you all) played well even though the shortstop fumbled the ball numerous times. The team played well as a whole but not necessarily every single individual player. While the group of religious leaders as a whole rejected Jesus Christ, that doesn't necessarily mean every single individual in the group rejected Christ (like, perhaps, Nicodemus).
• The Son of Man (God the Son, especially in relationship with humanity) descended out of eternity and the Heavenlies via the Incarnation, and He will ascend back up into eternity and the Heavenly through the Ascension via His Own will and power. Enoch and Elijah do not contradict this because they did not ascend by their own will and power but were taken by God (Heb. 11:5; 2 Kgs. 2:9-11).
• Between His descending and ascending in time, the Son of Man was simultaneously perfect Man on Earth and absolute eternal God in Heaven.

Thursday night, in our Gospel of John Bible study fellowship, we looked at how everything begins with and hinges on Israel believing in His Name (Jn. 1:12; 3:18) thereby falling on the Grace resident, the Grace that resides in God's Jehovah (LORD) Name by which He will make Israel into His Own holy nation and Kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6). Israel's only job was to access this Grace by Faith (Ex. 3-4).

One very good question came up: What is the relationship between the Grace Resident in God's Jehovah Name for the Nation of Israel as revealed in the non-Pauline Scriptures (the Old Testament, Gospel Accounts and the ministry of Peter and the 12) and the Riches of God's Grace for the Body of Christ as revealed in the Pauline Scriptures (Romans through Philemon)? That is the topic in the below Highlights Article entitled: What Grace?

WHAT GRACE?

The Grace Resident in God's Jehovah Name (LORD in our English Bibles) is one of the most important concepts in His Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel. The Mosaic Law called for immediate and complete vengeance, wrath and judgment on rebels and idolaters (Ex. 20:5; Ex. 32:10). If God only dealt with Israel based on the Mosaic Law, they would have been completely consumed and destroyed before they got out of the starting gate (Ex. 32:1-10).

But God isn't limited by the Law. He reserved the right to deal with Israel outside the Law in accord with the Grace Resident in His Jehovah Name (LORD). God partially revealed to Moses the Glory of this Name, explaining “how” it worked to preserve the Nation of Israel in spite of her breaking of the Law. He revealed to Moses that His Name worked because it reversed the order of divine responses. According to the Law, God's FIRST response was to in vengeance and wrath against the disobedient (i.e., Moses, get out of the way, I'm going down to consume them—Ex. 32:10a), then, after that, He would extend mercy and grace to the obedient (i.e., Moses, I will make of you a great nation—Ex. 32:10b). But according to the Grace Resident in His Name, His FIRST response was to be merciful and gracious to the disobedient (Ex. 32:11-14), then He would respond in vengeance and wrath if the disobedient continued in their rebellion and increased in their idolatry; thereby taking His Jehovah Name in vain, throwing its longsuffering mercy and grace away, treating it as though it was nothing.

This is important not only because it opens up the Old Testament, but because it is also the very basis for the Gospel of John. In John's Gospel, Jesus is identified with God's I AM Jehovah Name no fewer than 32 times. In John's Gospel, God reveals to Israel what Moses wanted to know but couldn't: the full glory of His Name. In John's Gospel, Israel learned not just “how” His Name worked (that is what He revealed to Moses in Ex. 34:6-7) but “who” and “what” was the very source of the Grace Resident in that Name: The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ for national Israel (Jn. 1:14-18). In John's Gospel, God gave the greatest display of the Grace Resident in His Jehovah Name that He had ever given: He Himself enfleshed Himself into the human line of David to reveal His glory person to person to Israel in all its fullness. What Moses longed for some 1500 years before, actually appeared in the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the Gospel of John.

And this brings us back to our question: What is the relationship between the Grace Resident in His Jehovah Name for the Nation of Israel and God's Riches of Grace for the Body of Christ in the Dispensation of Grace as revealed through the distinct apostleship of Paul?

Remembering that one of the key distinctions between God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel and His Mystery Program with the Body of Christ is that the former manifests the Righteousness of God IN SAVING HIS FRIENDS AND DESTROYING HIS ENEMIES whereas the latter manifests the Righteousness of God IN SAVING HIS ENEMIES BECAUSE HE HAS NO FRIENDS (Rom. 3:21-26; Rom. 5:1-11). The Grace Resident in His Name was sufficient for God to save His Own people, His friends, the Nation of Israel, especially as encapsulated in the Believing Remnant of Israel. But God's Riches of Grace dispensed through Paul's apostleship is sufficient for God to save His enemies, ungodly sinners on enemy status before Him. In the former Christ died for His friends (Jn. 15:13). In the latter Christ died for His enemies (Rom. 5:8-10). The former certainly consists of a fullness of divine grace, but the latter consists indeed of the infinite, boundless, immeasurable RICHES OF HIS DIVINE GRACE in Christ!

To appreciate Jesus's encounter with the Samaritan woman more fully, we have to first answer the question who, exactly, are the Samaritans in Jn. 4? Most Bible teachers go to 2 Kgs. 17:29. But are the “Samaritans” referenced in 2 Kgs 17 in 722 BC the same as the “Samaritans” 750 years later in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ (30 AD)? Most assume so, but let's take a closer look:

1. In 1 Kgs. 12:16-33 we read about the Nation of Israel in the 2nd Course of Punishment (Lev. 26:19) being divided into the Northern Kingdom (10 Tribes under Jeroboam and variously called Israel/Ephraim/Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom (2 Tribes—Judah and Benjamin--under Rehoboam and variously called Judah/Jerusalem) in 975 BC. Jeroboam set up his own religious system in the Northern Kingdom and worshipped on Mt. Gerizim. Jeroboam introduced all kinds of idolatrous worship, including worship of the golden calves, that would lead to the Northern Kingdoms downfall.
2. Now, fast forward 250+ years to 722 BC and the account in 2 Kgs. 17. Here we find that after 250+ years of the LORD being longsuffering, extending the Grace resident in His I AM Jehovah Name to the Northern Kingdom, they treated it as nothing, taking it in vain. Rather than believing and returning to the LORD, they continued and actually increased in their rebellious idolatry. Having taken the Name of the LORD in vain, they would receive His wrath and judgment by being removed from the land and His sight. The Assyrians took away the people who had special skills and talents—the leaders, businessmen, tradesmen, the young, the literate, etc—and left behind those who had none. Then Assyrians brought foreign Gentiles with their false Gods and false worship into the Samarian province to rule on their behalf.
   
   These Gentile rulers from all their nations made gods of their own and put them in the houses of the high places which the SAMARITANS had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt (2 Kgs. 17:29). These pagan Gentiles brought in from the idolatrous nations set up shrines to worship their own pagan gods using the shrines the idolatrous Northern Kingdom, beginning with Jeroboam, had used. Those SAMARITANS in context are the leaders and priests and tradesmen of Samaria's idolatrous system that began with Jeroboam. They were carried off into captivity, and they never returned. THESE ARE NOT THE SAMARITANS OF JOHN 4!
3. Fast forward another 200-300 years, and some think they see a reference to the SAMARITANS in Ezra 4:1-4. But there is no reference to SAMARITANS in that passage. All this passage shows is the basis for division between Samaria, now under the rule of pagan Gentiles, who mixed Jehovah worship with the worship of their own gods, and Judah, who worshipped the one true Jehovah God. To make this clear, many identify these people (mostly Gentile brought in by the Assyrians) as Samarians to distinguish them from the SAMARITANS, who would come later.
   
   The SAMARITANS were a sub-group of Samarians in that they were Samarians who belonged to a sect of Judaism that continued to worship the LORD alone albeit in Mt. Gerizim: SAMARITANS. Understanding this, Ezra 4 says nothing about a division between Judeans and SAMARITANS. At best, it speaks at that time of a division between the Judeans and the Samarians, which no doubt laid some groundwork for the future division between Judeans and SAMARITANS.
4. It isn't until they built a temple at Mt. Gerizim dedicated to the LORD in about 400 BC that we get our first real glimpse of the SAMARITANS. This is historically between the Old and New Testaments, establishing a clearly visible and self-identified group centered in Shechem in 300-200 BC called the SAMARITANS. These were the SAMARITANS of Jesus's day. They considered themselves pure descendants of the Israelites who remained in the Land after the Assyrian Captivity. In about 200 BC they developed the SAMARITAN Pentateuch, which consisted of the 5 books of Moses. They rejected the rest of the Old Testament because of its insistence on Jerusalem as the true place of worship. (Now before you gasp in surprise, that's what most Christians do as well—they keep what they like from the Bible and throw away what they don't like!)
   
   The Judean and SAMARITAN Israelites lived in relative peace until 120 BC when a Judean named Hyrcanus destroyed the SAMARITAN temple and devastatingly attacked the SAMARITAN population, forcing them under Judean control in the days just prior to Jesus's earthly ministry (120 BC), which drove a large wedge between them and is the source of the separation that Jesus and the SAMARITAN woman speak of in Jn. 4:9, 20.
5. The SAMARITANS of Jn. 4 were not half-breed idolaters that most commentators make them out to be. They were a closed knit group, who believed they were faithfully worshipping the one true God of Israel. They had minimal intermarriage with the Gentiles and considered themselves descendants of the pure line of Israelites who had been left behind during the Assyrian Captivity. They held firmly to the 5 books of Moses and revered their fathers to be the patriarchs of Israel: Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim (Jn. 4:5-6, 12). They considered themselves pure Israelites, who belong to a sect of Judaism.

The poor Samaritan Woman has been denigrated by mostly male teachers for centuries. Usually, she is presented as being a woman of ill-repute, only concerned about her next illicit conquest. They explain that she came to the well at noon, because she was an outcast and couldn't go earlier when all the good women of her city were there. Usually, this passage is taught in an evangelistic way, suggesting that if Jesus could interact and save some one as bad as her, He can save anyone; of course, the underlying assumption is that the preacher and his audience aren't as bad as her!

But does the context really demand this traditional teaching? Or can the context offer a different plot line? We have already swept away some of the errant presuppositions that haunt the Samaritans in general, let's now sweep away the errant presuppositions that haunt this poor Samaritan Woman in specific.

Set Aside Presumptions of Traditional View:

First, there is nothing in the passage taken as a whole that indicates she is spurned by her fellow Samaritans. In fact, they listen to her closely and respond to her quite enthusiastically (Jn. 4:28-30). Second, there is nothing in the passage taken as a whole that indicates she was some great immoral sinner called to repentance and confession of her sin. Jesus doesn't tell her to go and sin no more as He does with the adulterous women a couple of chapters later (Jn. 8:11). As we will see, her marital status can be explained in other ways.

Alternate View of Jn. 4:5-12:

Can we offer a different plot line if we take into account what we have already learned about the Samaritans in general, keeping in mind the geography of land where all this happens (Shechem, Sychar), and using only the details John gives about her in the text? I think we can.

Instead of a bad woman slinking through the countryside in the heat of the day to avoid the good women of the city, only thinking about her next illicit conquest, what if she came with head held high, skipping along, thinking about other things altogether? What if she came in the full heat and sun of the day because like Jesus, she had been on a journey and was simply thirsty? Or maybe she got water earlier with the other women but ran out? Maybe she had unexpected visitors. Or, maybe any one of a million other possibilities.

Or even more likely, what if this is a play on John's theme of LIGHT in this Gospel? Jesus is the LIGHT, who LIGHTENS everyone that comes into the world (Jn. 1:7-9). If Nicodemus could leave the darkness of night and came into the LIGHT of Jesus (Jn. 3:2), why can't the Samaritan Woman come to Jesus THE LIGHT by coming into the full light of the noon day sun? After all, John just told us that He that does truth comes into the LIGHT (Jn. 3:21), thereby showing that God is working in them! Why can't this be the plot line?

If we recognize this, we realize that we can know at least some of her inner thoughts and deepest longings of her inner person. For instance, we know she was thinking about the well, and that she wasn't going to just any old well. She was going to her father Jacob's well! The well the patriarch Jacob went to meet the needs of his family--of which she was one (Jn. 4:6, 12). Thinking about Jacob would bring to mind Jacob's son, Joseph, whose bones were buried not far from that very spot (Jn. 4:5)! And thinking about Joseph would bring to mind Joseph's son, Manasseh, and his tribe, from which the Samaritans especially descended. And thinking about all these patriarchs, would bring to mind the patriarch of patriarchs Abraham, who worshipped God near here 2,000 years before (Gen. 12:6-8). And with all this floating around in her mind, perhaps a well of worship opened in the depths of her soul (Jn. 4:20), revealing her heart-felt longing for Messiah, the Christ, who would tell her and the Samaritans all things (Jn. 4:25).

Why can't this be the plot line? Why can't this be the Samaritan Woman's inner thoughts and deepest longings of the heart? I think it can and should. After thousands of years of misusing this woman, it's time, nay, high time, to let her off the hook and set her free.

In last Thursday's Bible Study Fellowship, we drove home the point that John 4 isn't primarily about personal evangelism and individual salvation. It is about Israel's national salvation, which requires the re-unification of the whole nation—Judea and Samaria—centered on the Lord Jesus Christ. By the time you get to Jn. 4, Jesus had already been to Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee (which was ruled by Judea at that time). Now, in Jn. 4, He MUST NEEDS go to Samaria (Jn. 4:4) to complete the picture of Israel's national restoration. Remember, after the reign of Solomon in about 950 BC, Israel's power was broken, and they divided into two nations, two kingdoms: The Southern Kingdom was called Judea (which included the capital city of Jerusalem and two Tribes of Israel) and the Northern Kingdom called Samaria (which included the capital city of Samaria and ten Tribes of Israel) (1 Kgs. 12; Lev. 26:19). In order for national Israel to be saved and restored, it needed to be re-unified. Samaria MUST NEEDS be brought back into the fold of the House of Israel, centered on the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, “saved” Israel is made up of “saved” individuals. While personal salvation is not the primary purpose of Jesus's encounter with the Samaritan Woman, it is also not completely absent from the account.

Bible teachers (mostly men!) use these verses to categorize the Samaritan Woman as someone who is involved in gross sexual immorality, even a harlot. But are there other options for her marital situation? It must be noted that there is nothing in John 4 about sin--repentance, confession, acknowledgement of sin. Jesus doesn't tell her what He told a woman whom we know committed adultery just a few chapters later: Go, and sin no more (Jn. 8:11).

It also must be noted that when we listen to what the Samaritan woman actually talks about, it is not her next illicit conquest, but about Jacob, His well and his children, of whom she considered herself to be one of (Jn. 4:12). And in thinking about Jacob's children, she would have thought of Joseph, whose bones were buried nearby (Jn. 4:5), and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, with whom the Samaritans closely associated themselves. She goes on to talk about worship (Jn. 4:20), perhaps remembering that Abraham worshipped near this spot centuries before (Gen. 12:6-8). Then she talks about how she is waiting for Messiah, the Christ, who will tell her and the Samaritans all things (Jn. 4:25). Finally, she freely shares Christ with the whole Samaritan community (Jn. 4:28-29). None of these things lead to the traditional conclusion that she is sexually immoral, let alone a harlot, who is excluded from the good people of the Samaritan Community.

It must also be noted that unlike modern society, in ancient Israel woman were almost completely dependent on men. It was a patriarchal society. Unless a woman had significant means of her own, she would of necessity have had to rely on a man in one way or another just to survive. In addition, marriages were of need not necessarily of love and were usually arranged by others, who may have hoped love would come later, but it often didn't.

One final thing to note is that harlots don't typically marry their clients. And men don't marry harlots. The Prophet Hosea is the exception that proves the rule: Shockingly, he married a harlot to display metaphorically Israel's broken relationship to the LORD. So, what are the other options available that might explain this woman's life situation of having five husbands and the one she now has is not her husband (Jn. 4:18) without demeaning her character?

1. She could be a victim of easy divorce made available to men by the vain religious system of Israel that allowed for men to divorce their wives for almost any reason whatsoever. Jesus condemned this strongly in the Gospel of Matthew (Mat. 5:31-32; 19:3-8). The Samaritan woman may have been guilty of many things—ie., not good at cooking and cleaning or may have been difficult to get along with—resulting in men divorcing her, but it doesn't make her sexually promiscuous, let alone a harlot.
2. She may have been caught in a Levirate marriage, which was commanded by the Mosaic Law the Samaritans revered (Deut. 25:5-10). If a woman married the eldest son in a family of multiple sons, and he died, she would have been expected to marry his brother. And if the 2nd brother died, she would have been expected to marry the next son, and so on until the family ran out of available sons. Levirate marriage was designed to keep a family's and tribes inheritance from being lost to them during difficult times.
3. She may have also just had a very unfortunate life, losing husbands to a variety of circumstances beyond her control like war, disease, accidents, etc.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES:

1. Tamar and Judah (Gen. 28):
   While Moses codified Levirate marriage in the Law, the patriarchs practiced it as well. Jacob's son Judah had three sons. Tamar married the oldest, but he died. So, she married the 2nd son, but he died as well. So, she expected to go on to marry the 3rd son, but Judah refused to give his youngest to her. If he had, Tamar would have had 3 husbands, and if Judah had had more than three sons, she could have potentially had even more. While a sordid account, it paints Tamar as the one in the right. Judah is the one in the wrong. If Judah had done what he was supposed to do, Tamar wouldn't have had to resort to her sinful deception. Finally, the whole account ends with Tamar coming under the protection of a man WHO WASN'T HER HUSBAND, Judah.
2. Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1):
   Remember, Naomi went with her husband and two sons to Moab because of a famine in the land of Israel. While there, her two sons married women, one of them being Ruth. But in time, Naomi's husband and two sons died. Ruth went with Naomi back to Israel and then married a near kinsmen of Naomi's, Boaz. Therefore, in this account as it is presented in the Bible, Ruth had at least two husbands.
   
   But now let's think through it a little. When Ruth's 1st husband and Naomi's son died, Ruth would have been expected to marry Naomi's 2nd son in accord with the Levirate Law. Of course, she didn't because he was already married. Naomi says as much when the wives of her two deceased sons insist on staying with her, and Naomi responds: Why will you go with me? Are there any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? She goes on to say that even if she got married that night (and got pregnant), Would ye tarry for them until they were grown? Would you stay for them from having husbands (Ruth 1:11-13)?
   
   The point is that if Ruth's husband died, and Naomi's 2nd son wasn't already married, Ruth would have married him, making him her 2nd husband. And if he died and Naomi had more sons, Ruth would have married one or more of them—3rd or 4th husbands—and none of this would have called into question her character or morality. Then, after all that marriage and death in Moab, Ruth returned with Naomi to Israel and married Boaz, a near-kinsman. But it is important to note that even before they got married, Ruth went to Boaz, and he covered her with his protection (Ruth 2-3). In other words, THE MAN SHE HAD NOW WAS NOT HER HUSBAND. Let's go one step further. What if Boaz died before Ruth—he was probably significantly older than her? Ruth would have been perfectly free to marry again if she wanted. Or, if after multiple marriages, she decided not to get married again, she would have moved in with or lived near another male protector, probably in her case a son: A MAN WHO WASN'T HER HUSBAND.
3. Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Jn. 18:26-27):
   We know she was married to Joseph early in the Gospel accounts (Mat. 1; Lk. 1). But by the time you get to Jesus's earthly ministry, some 30 years later, Joseph is completely off the scene and not mentioned again. Most commentators assume that he had died. While it appears Mary did not marry again, she was certainly free to do so, which would have resulted in multiple husbands. What we do know, however, is that at the end of the Gospel accounts, Mary is not married, and while on the Cross, Jesus stops everything to hand her over to another man, the beloved disciple, saying: Woman, behold thy son! Then He said to the disciple: Behold thy Mother! And from that hour, the disciple took her unto his own home (Jn. 19:26-27). In other words, with the early death of Joseph, Mary could potentially have had multiple husbands, and the man she had after the Cross was A MAN WHO WASN'T HER HUSBAND.
   
   With these examples in mind, is it impossible that the Samaritan Woman, while perhaps not a paragon of virtue (after all, she was a sinner like the rest of us!) may have been the victim of many unfortunate situations, mostly brought about by a male dominated society and a vain religious system? Ease of divorce that encouraged the selfish desires of men mixed with Levirate marriage requirements mixed with unfortunate accidents, could reasonably add up to five husbands, and the man she was now living with not being her husband—a son, brother, father, close family friend or relative, etc.
   
   The Samaritan woman suffered at the hand of the Jewish patriarchal system that ruled in ancient Israel in her day, and she has continued to suffer at the hands of mostly male Christian theologians for the last 2,000 years. Could it be that rather than being sexually immoral, even a harlot, she was actually a member of the Believing Remnant of Israelites in Samaria, who already belonged to the Father through faith, and, therefore, recognized the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, when He came and spoke (Jn. 8:47)?

We continue with Jesus's encounter with the Samaritan Woman, which is really an encounter that pictures Judah being re-united with Samaria, an essential ingredient in Israel's National Salvation. Through the Samaritan Woman, Jesus--THE Man of Judah--introduces the Samaritans to the Living Water He can supply, and then He leads them from recognizing Him as not just being a man, a Jew, a sir/lord (Jn. 4:9, 11, 15, 19), but a/the Prophet, the Messiah/Christ, the embodiment of the I AM Jehovah God of ALL Israel (4:19, 25, 26, 42), the object of true worship in the Spirit (Jn. 4:23-24). It is through His I AM Jehovah Name that they will access the living water He introduced them to earlier (Jn. 4:10, 13-14)!

WORSHIP:
EMBARRASSED OR AWESTRUCK INTO WORSHIP?

By prophetically knowing (could this be one of John's signs (John 20:30-31), a miraculous prophetic “sign”?) the Samaritan woman's whole life story as summed up in these 6 men, Jesus points her to Himself, and she immediately follows, recognizing Him as a prophet. Because the Samaritans only used the 5 Books of Moses, there was only one prophet that they were still waiting for in the days of Jesus. That was The Prophet that Moses promised (Deut. 18:15). The Prophet that was to be like unto Moses but even greater. Jesus's prophetic sign led her to think that He is that Prophet, which leads her into thinking about worship.

Those who teach the traditional view that these 6 men indicate she is sexually immoral and probably a harlot, miss this whole point. They assume she is just trying to shift the discussion from an embarrassing discussion of her past to obfuscating religious talk about worship. But to do this is a mistake. It suggests that the woman is leading the encounter with Jesus rather than Jesus Himself doing all the leading. He is leading her to the One who is greater than Jacob (Jn. 4:10-14)--then to the One who is the Prophet (4:19)—then to One who is the center of true worship (4:21-24)—then to the One who is the Christ/Messiah (4:25)—and finally to the One who is the I AM Jehovah God of Israel (4:26). She isn't embarrassed into false worship. She is awestricken into true worship (Jn. 4:25-26, 29)!

When we remember that Sychar (Jn. 4:5) either is ancient Shechem (as some suggest) or is very close to it (less than 1 mile away as most suggest), it is no surprise that her thoughts immediately go to worship. Afterall, it was HERE that the Lord spoke to Abraham, and Abraham worshipped God HERE (Gen. 15:6-7)! HERE Jacob (her father--Jn. 4:12) worshipped God (Gen. 33:18-20)! HERE Joshua (Moses's direct successor) worshipped the Lord with the people of Israel (Josh. 24:1, 26)!

And now, HERE stood the ONE, whom her fathers—in this very place--had worshipped, ready to accept her (and all the Samaritans) true worship by faith (Jn. 4:28-30, 39-42)! Let me say it again. The ONE the Samaritan's forefathers had worshipped, now presented Himself in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive the true worship of the Samaritans! He had been tabernacling throughout Israel (Jn. 1:14), and now He was in Samaria ready to abide with them (Jn. 4:40), thereby re-uniting the stick of Judah with the stick of Samaria, providing a foretaste of what it will be like when what Ezekiel prophesied in Ezek. 37:15-28 is fulfilled. By bringing the Samaritans back into the fold of the Davidic Household of Israel and re-uniting Judah with Samaria, they will be His people, His participants in Israel's National Salvation, and His conduit of salvation to the rest of the world (Jn. 4:42).

In John 1-4, Jesus is training the disciples in the process of Israel's National Salvation. This is just a practice run because He is going to send them out to continue this work after He leaves (Jn. 4:38; Jn. 17:18). He is showing them that not only is Judea's salvation needed to restore the Nation of Israel, so is Samaria's. Therefore, He MUST NEEDS go to Samaria to complete the training of the disciples.

While Israel's National Salvation is not accomplished and fulfilled at that time because of unbelief, it will be accomplished and fulfilled in the future when Israel will believe. He MUST NEEDS go to Samaria not to provide evangelists in the Dispensation of Grace with a quaint example of the greatness of God's salvation in saving an individual sinner and outcast. He could have done that anywhere anytime and will shortly in Jerusalem with a woman caught in adultery (Jn. 8:3-11)! Rather, He MUST NEEDS go to Samaria to complete the picture of Israel's National Salvation, one aspect of which is the re-unification of Judea and Samaria (Ezek. 37:15-28)! He is training the disciples so they can pick up where He left off after He leaves them in early Acts, especially Acts 1:8.

Through a miraculous prophetic sign of knowing her whole past life (Jn. 4:18, 27), Jesus leads the Samaritan Woman to perceive that He is a/the prophet (Jn. 4:19). When we remember that the Samaritans used only the 5 books of Moses, the woman would have been thinking not so much about “a prophet” in general but THE PROPHET” in specific, the Prophet that Moses promised God would send: The Prophet Like Unto Moses (Deut. 18:15-22). This conclusion is strengthened by her next statement that she and the Samaritans were still waiting for the Messiah/Christ, who would tell them all things (Jn. 4:25). For the Samaritans, the Prophet and the Messiah go hand-in-hand.

Is Jesus this Prophet? Does He meet all the requirements Moses listed in Deut. 18:15-22?

MOSES'S REQUIREMENT (Deut. 18:15, 18-22)	JESUS'S FULFILLMENT
Must come from midst of Israel and be a “brethren;” He must be an Israelite.	Born seed of David (Rom. 1:3; Mat. 1:1‑17;
Israel shall listen to Him (true Israel, the Believing Remnant of Israel).	Moses spoke of Him (Jn. 5:46), many recognized Him as a/the prophet (Jn. 4:19; 6:14; 7:40; 9:17).
God will put His Word/s in His mouth, and He will only speak the words that God commanded Him to speak.	The Son has no will of His Own; just the will of the Father (Jn. 6:38), and only says and does what the Father tells Him to say and do (Jn. 3:11; 5:19, 30; 7:28; 8:28; 12:49-50; 14:10, 31).
Israel will be accountable for how they respond to the Prophet God sent.	Jesus is the ultimate Judge based on response to His Word (Jn. 5:22-24, 37-38; 12:48; Acts 3:23).
If he speaks presumptuously: False Prophet: Put to death.	Vain religious system tries to turn Jesus into a false prophet worthy to be put to death (Jn. 5:18; 8:37, 40, 59).
	... BUT ...
If what he says comes true: True Prophet: Listen to Him.	All His Word/s come true (Jn. 2:22; 4:50; 5:8; 13:19, 38; 14:29; 18:9; et al.)

While there were other prophets, there is only One True Prophet Like Unto Moses that perfectly and completely meets all of these requirements: THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. According to Num. 12:6-8, Moses was the exemplar prophet:

1. Moses was the most faithful in God's House, but He was not perfectly faithful and completely obedient (Num. 20:10-13). THE LORD JESUS CHRIST was ALWAYS PERFECTLY and COMPLETELY FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT (Mat. 3:17; Jn. 5:19; 17:4).
2. Moses spoke to God face-to-face in a cloud for a short time on Earth (Ex. 33:7-11). THE LORD JESUS CHRIST SPOKE WITH GOD FACE-TO-FACE DIRECTLY IN THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS FULL GLORY throughout all eternity in Heaven (Jn. 1:1-2; 14-18; Heb. 1:1-3).
3. Moses saw God partially, only His back-side (Ex. 33:19‑23). THE LORD JESUS CHRIST SAW GOD FULLY AND COMPLETELY (Jn. 1:1-2, 18; 3:11-13).

The Lord Jesus Christ is THE PROPHET Moses Promised! No wonder the Samaritan Woman rushed on to the Messiah/Christ, and Jesus kept right on going by inviting her to make use of His I AM Jehovah God of Israel Name (Jn. 4:26): I AM whatever you Samaritans need me to be. I AM your living water! I AM the One who will tell you all things! I AM the fulfiller of all you hoped for through the patriarchal fathers! I AM everything for you!

When Jesus reveals the Samaritan Woman's whole life story (a miraculous prophetic sign), she immediately perceived that He was a prophet. Because the Samaritans only recognized the 5 Books of Moses as Scripture, she would have been thinking of Him being not just any prophet but THE PROPHET LIKE UNTO MOSES that God promised to send. We have seen in our study that Jesus not only meets all the requirements to be the Prophet Like unto Moses (Deut. 18:15‑22), He is also the Prophet par excellence, far exceeding the relationship and experience Moses had in the presence of God (Num. 12:6-8). In His encounter with the woman, Jesus leads her into seeing that He is the Prophet Like Unto Moses (Jn. 4:19), to being the coming Messiah/Christ the Samaritans were waiting for (4:25), to being the Dispenser of the Grace resident in God's I AM Jehovah Name (4:26) by which He will heal and restore ALL Israel, which includes the reuniting of Judah and Samaria.

Here's summary charts that display this:

NUMBERS 12:6-8
Prophets In General	Moses	Jesus Christ
	Most faithful in the House of Israel, but not always. (Num. 12:7; Num. 20:9-13)	Perfectly and completely faithful. (Mat. 3:17; Jn. 5:19; 17:4)
God indirectly communicates by visions and dreams (Num. 12:6).	Directly Communicates mouth-tomouth/face-to-face (Num. 12:8; Ex. 33:9, 11)	Directly Communicates mouthto-mouth/face-to-face (Jn. 1:1-2, 18; 3:11-13; 17:5)
	Only sees God indirectly in the cloud—in similitude; just the backside for only a moment in Time (Ex. 33:2—23; 34:5-9).	Sees God directly—His exact image; face-to-face in His bosom in Time and for all Eternity (Jn. 1:1-2, 18; 3:11-13; 17:5).

DEUTERONOMY 18:15-22
MOSES' REQUIREMENT (Deut. 18:15, 18-22)	JESUS' FULFILLMENT
Must come from midst of Israel and be a “brethren;” He must be an Israelite.	Born seed of David (Rom. 1:3; Mat. 1:1‑17;
Israel shall listen to Him (true Israel, the Believing Remnant of Israel).	Moses spoke of Him (Jn. 5:46), many recognized Him as a/the prophet (Jn. 4:19; 6:14; 7:40; 9:17).
God will put His Word/s in His mouth, and He will only speak the words that God commanded Him to speak.	The Son has no will of His Own; just the will of the Father (Jn. 6:38), and only says and does what the Father tells Him to say and do (Jn. 3:11; 5:19, 30; 7:28; 8:28; 12:49-50; 14:10, 31).
Israel will be accountable for how they respond to the Prophet God sent.	Jesus is the ultimate Judge based on response to His Word (Jn. 5:22-24, 37-38; 12:48; Acts 3:23-26).
If he speaks presumptuously: False Prophet: Put to death.	Vain religious system tries to turn Jesus into a false prophet, who speaks presumptuously, and is worthy to be put to death (Jn. 5:18; 8:37, 40, 59).
BUT
If what he says comes true: True Prophet: Listen to Him.	All His Word/s come true (Jn. 2:22; 4:50; 5:8; 13:19, 38; 14:29; 18:9; et al.). He's a true Prophet speaking the Words of God: They better listen to Him.

Last night we continued our study about true worship in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:23). Was the Samaritan Woman's question about the place of worship really just her way to change the topic from her embarrassing past (as traditional teaching says)? Or was it a legitimate question that flowed out of her perception that Jesus was a prophet, perhaps even the Prophet Like Unto Moses?

Why MUST Jesus Go To Samaria?

The traditional answer to this question is that Jesus must needs go to Samaria to meet with an immoral outcast Samaritan woman at a well to demonstrate the greatness of God's salvation for individual sinners. The root problem with this interpretation is that it is based on the presumption that the Gospel of John is about evangelism and salvation of individual sinners in the Dispensation of Grace. We have demonstrated, however, that this presumption is erroneous. The Gospel of John is primarily about the greatness of Israel's national salvation (although, of course, it includes individual salvation and the full explanation of that is given by Paul, Rom. 3-5; etc.).

Jesus didn't MUST NEEDS go to Samaria to display the greatness of God's salvation for a sinner. He could have done that anywhere. In fact, in just a few chapters, Jesus will encounter an immoral outcast woman, whom we actually know was an adulteress, and it occurs IN JERUSALEM (Jn. 8:4ff). In John, MUST NEEDS always refers to inevitable events that are part of His mission to provide for Israel's national salvation:

Jn. 3:7—To be saved, Israel MUST be born again, born of God, receiving the Lord Jesus Christ by believing in His Name, His I AM, Jehovah God of Israel, Name (Jn. 1:12-13).

Jn. 3:14—To accomplish this, God has sent His Son, who MUST NEEDS be lifted up, giving Israel something to believe and look upon so that they could be healed and restored as a nation (cp. Num. 21:9).

Jn. 3:30—To accomplish this, John the Baptist's much physical water MUST give way to Jesus's spiritual living water. Jesus's lifting up, necessarily requires John the Baptist's decrease.

Jn. 4:4—Jesus having been in Galilee began a journey that went from Jerusalem to Judea and finally He MUST NEEDS now go to Samaria, proclaiming the Name of the Lord. He did this to teach the disciples how ALL Israel will be saved. One aspect of which is the re-unification of the Nation—The sticks of Judah and Samaria must be re-united to accomplish the greatness of Israel's national salvation and through her the world (Ezek. 37:15-28; Jn. 4:42).

Jn. 4:24—Those who participate in Israel's salvation MUST worship God in S/spirit and T/truth; not first in a place but in a person: The Lord Jesus Christ—The Prophet, the Messiah/Christ, the embodiment of the I AM Jehovah God of Israel (Jn. 4:19, 25, 26).

Jn. 9:4—Jesus MUST work the works of Light of the Father before the night of Israel's prophetic darkness returns in the final installment of Daniel's time schedule with the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord (Acts 2:20; Lk. 1:79; 22:53; 1 Thess. 5:4-5).

Jn. 10:16—The salvation of Israel not only requires the protected fold of the Believing Remnant of Israel in Jerusalem/Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (as we have already seen), but also of the Believing Remnant of Israel scattered among the Gentiles.

Jn. 20:9—To bring Israel's national salvation to its complete fulfillment: Jesus MUST rise again from the dead.

Jesus's visit to Samaria completed the training program for His disciples, who will continue His work after He is gone (Jn. 4:34-38). He took them step-by-step on a journey that showed the greatness of Israel's National salvation, which would end with them being the reflectors of God's Light and Glory, the conduit of His blessings and salvation to the whole world (Jn. 2:1-4. And that is exactly what we see the disciples trying to do in early Acts: Israel first (Acts 3:26): starting in Jerusalem, then Judea (and Galilee, which was ruled by Judea at that time) then Samaria; and then, after ALL Israel was saved, she would take Christ's salvation out to the whole world. Of course, this didn't happen. Jerusalem continued to refuse her Messiah and King, the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby throwing a monkey wrench into the whole operation, temporarily shutting down God's Prophetic Program with national Israel.

But at that very point, God began a new Mystery Program with the Body of Christ and raised up Paul as His light to proclaim it to the whole world of enemies (Rom. 11; Rom 16:25; Acts 13:47; et al.).

In our study of the Gospel of John, one question that comes up repeatedly is the concept of Israel's NATIONAL salvation. Because this is a critical concept to understanding the non-Pauline Scriptures, I have taken a closer look at it in the Highlights Article below.

Israel And Her Two Salvations

One of the most important things we have to understand about the Bible rightly-divided is that the non-Pauline Scriptures are the revelation of God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel while the Pauline Scriptures are the revelation of God's Mystery Program with the Body of Christ. As such, it is important to realize that when the non-Pauline Scriptures refer to salvation and forgiveness of sin, they are usually referring not first to INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL salvation and forgiveness of sins but to the Nation of Israel's NATIONAL salvation and NATIONAL forgiveness of sins. Of course, the two salvations—NATIONAL AND PERSONAL--intertwine. For Israelites to participate in Israel's NATIONAL salvation (through faithfulness), they must have already received INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL salvation (through faith).

But they also must be distinguished because they present different depths and aspects of the Righteousness of God. The NON-Pauline Scriptures fully reveal, manifest and display the Righteousness of God in saving His FRIENDS while destroying His (and Israel's) enemies in accord with the Grace resident in God's Jehovah Name and the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12:3; almost any Psalms, Exodus account, et al.). This manifestation of God's Righteousness explains how He will save and restore the NATION of Israel so that He can make her the conduit of His salvation to the Gentile NATIONS based on faith PLUS works.

The Pauline Scriptures, however, fully reveal, manifest and display the Righteousness of God in saving His ENEMIES because He has no friends in accord with His Riches of Grace (Rom. 3-5, esp. 3:21-26; 5:6-10; Eph. 1:3-14; 2:4-7). This manifestation of God's Righteousness explains how God has provided, is providing and always will provide salvation to INDIVIDUAL enemy sinners, which includes giving them PERSONAL forgiveness of their sins based on faith alone WITHOUT works (Rom. 4:1-8; Eph. 2:8-9; etc.). Saul/Paul, the archenemy of God, the persecutor of Christ and His followers, is the pattern for this righteousness and salvation (1 Tim. 1:13-16; Acts 8:1-4).

Now, with all this in mind, we can appreciate that John 1-4 is not primarily about individual evangelism and personal salvation (as those who don't rightly-divide suggest). Rather it is about Israel's NATIONAL salvation, which begins in Jerusalem (Jn. 2:13-3:21), progresses out to Judea (Jn. 3:22-4:3) and then MUST NEEDS go to Samaria (Jn. 4:4-43), completing the picture of Israel's NATIONAL salvation. And when this happens, the saved and restored NATION of Israel will take salvation out to the rest of the world (Jn. 4:42; Acts 1:8; 3:12, 25-26). Of course, this didn't happen at that time because Jerusalem rejected their King and Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby shutting down the whole progression at its very starting point. Jesus, instead of continuing by going out to the world, just returned to Galilee (Jn. 4:43-54).

Why did Jesus do this? And why did John put it at the beginning of his Gospel Account? Jesus did it to give His disciples a foretaste of and an instruction video on how Israel's NATIONAL salvation—Israel's NATIONAL re-unification and restoration--would occur so that they can continue this work after He is gone (Jn. 4:31-38).

In summary, the Israelites not only needed to participate in INDIVIDUAL salvation and PERSONAL forgiveness of sins (justification before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life by faith), they also needed to participate in Israel's NATIONAL salvation and NATIONAL forgiveness of sins (justification before Christ at His 2nd Coming by faith plus works), becoming God's true restored Nation of Israel in her long-promised Kingdom of God on the Earth. Let's see how this works with a few illustrations:

ILLUSTRATION FROM MODERN HISTORY

The classic illustration of this is Germany in WWII. Not everyone in Germany at that time was pro-Nazi. Not every individual German participated in its atrocious sins. In fact, many worked against the Nazis and provided avenues of escape for many people, especially Jews. Yet when sanctions and punishments were applied to Germany, they applied to all German citizens whether they were involved with the Nazis or not. It didn't matter. All that mattered was whether you were German or not. In other words, all Germans were associated with Germany's NATIONAL debt of sin even if they didn't do any of those sins themselves.

But the Allies weren't just interested in punishing Germany. They were also interested in Germany becoming a stable, democratic, responsible nation that could contribute to the world. If they just kept the NATION under its enormous, unpayable debt of sin, Germany would have become even more dangerous and irresponsible than she was before. So, to “save” and restore the NATION of Germany, the Allies forgave Germany's NATIONAL debt and actually began giving them financial and other material support so that they could rebuild the NATION.

It is important to recognize while the NATION was forgiven so that it could be “saved” as a NATION, not all INDIVIDUAL Germans participated in that NATIONAL forgiveness of sin. The Nazi leaders and co-workers were pursued aggressively and convicted of war crimes. To use biblical terminology: If the world and human sight were perfect, ALL the INDIVIDUAL “unsaved” citizens of Germany—the Nazis and their helpers—would be destroyed, and ALL the INDIVIDUAL “saved” citizens of Germany—those who rejected the Nazis and resisted—would participate in Germany's NATIONAL salvation and forgiveness of sins in the restored NATION.

With this illustration in mind, the concept of someone being associated with their NATION'S sin is a common everyday concept. I remember going to grammar school in the 60s, and there was a boy in my class that was of German heritage. He spoke perfect English, but his parents, who left Germany after the war, only spoke broken English and that with a strong German accent. Many kids in my class ridiculed that little boy because they associated him with Germany's NATIONAL sin, even though he had absolutely nothing to do with it. He hadn't even been born yet!

BACK TO THE BIBLE AND ISRAEL

The same kind of thing is true of the NATION of Israel. For 1500 years Israel rejected God and His Word God, falling under the Curses of the Law and the Courses of Punishment (Lev. 26), thereby accruing an enormous, astronomical, unpayable, NATIONAL debt of sin (10,000 talents--Mat. 18:24) before God. Just as with Germany, to save and restore Israel and make her the conduit of His salvation to the Gentiles, God would need to first remove, pay off, Israel's NATIONAL debt of sin. He did this through Christ's shed blood on the Cross (for His friends—Jn. 15:13), which provided the basis for the New Covenant (Mat. 26:28). The New Covenant on the one hand cleanses and separates believing Israel from Israel's NATIONAL debt of sin and on the other hand gives the Spirit, who will cause them to walk in the commandments of God so that they can receive the blessings of the Law rather than its curses, thereby ensuring that they never accrue a NATIONAL debt of sin ever again (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-27).

In short, God will take believing Israelites, who have already received INDIVIDUAL salvation and PERSONAL forgiveness of sin by faith alone (justification before God and His Tribunal) and places them into the Believing Remnant of Israel where they are given the opportunity to also participate in Israel's NATIONAL salvation and forgiveness of sins by faithfulness (justification before Christ at His 2nd Coming by faith plus works) for entrance into the Kingdom and attaining a privileged position there.

DANIEL, JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS

In Israel's history, Daniel gives a classic example of how this is supposed to work for Israel. The general pattern that leads to NATIONAL Israel's healing and restoration goes like this: Israel goes away from God ... God appeals to Israel based on the Grace resident in His Jehovah Name ... they return to the LORD through NATIONAL repentance and confession of sins ... and God heals and restores them as a nation (Ex. 32-34; Num. 21:9; Book of Judges).

With this in mind let's pick it up with Daniel. Daniel was taken captive to Babylon. Near the end of Israel's 70 year stay there (according to Jer. 25:11), he prays for Israel's NATIONAL salvation (Dan. 9:1-19). His “my” confession and repentance of sins in Dan. 9:4 immediately becomes “we” in v. 5. In other words, Daniel's confession here isn't really about him INDIVIDUALLY but about him as a member of the fallen and ruined and dead NATION of Israel. While Daniel was certainly a sinner and committed iniquity (Dan. 9:5), he most certainly hadn't done wickedly or rebelled against God or departed from the precepts of God (Dan. 9:5b)! Daniel was one of the good prophets, faithful to the LORD in every detail of his life (Dan. 1-8). He is not one who refused to listen to the prophets (Dan. 9:6a)! It was the kings and princes and fathers and people of Israel as a whole, as a NATION, who refused to hear God. Yet Daniel was associated with that NATIONAL sin of Israel not because he actually did it but simply because he was an Israelite.

Daniel wasn't confessing his own PERSONAL sins so that he could receive INDIVIDUAL salvation and PERSONAL forgiveness of sins (he most assuredly had that by faith already!). Rather, as an Israelite, he was associated with Israel's NATIONAL debt of sins even though he wasn't personally involved in it. In Dan. 9, he is participating in Israel's NATIONAL confession of sins so that he could participate in Israel's NATIONAL salvation and forgiveness of sins that will be fulfilled at Christ's 2nd Coming.

Now, jump ahead some 500 years, and we find John the Baptist breaking the 400 years of the silence of God by calling on believing Israel to join with him in confessing and repenting of the NATION'S sins and their association with it, returning to the LORD so that He can heal and restore them NATIONALLY. In short, John the Baptist announces that the King is present, and the Kingdom is at hand, Israel get ready for your LORD, prepare His way—pray as Daniel did for Israel's NATIONAL salvation.

But let's take another step and go to Jesus's Sermon on the Mount where He gives what is traditionally called the Lord's Prayer (Mat. 6:9-13). Most dispensationalists use this passage to demonstrate the distinction between Law and Grace. Under the Law they were to first forgive others, and then God would forgive them. Whereas today under Grace, God first forgives us, therefore, we should forgive others (Eph. 4:32). But this misses the whole point of what Jesus is doing here.

Notice the pronouns Jesus uses in this prayer: OUR (Jesus and His listeners) Father who art in Heaven ... Thy Kingdom Come. They will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven ... Give US (Jesus and His listeners) OUR (Jesus and His listeners) daily bread and forgive US (Jesus and His listeners) OUR (Jesus and His listeners) debts as WE forgive others. Notice that in using OUR, US, WE, Jesus includes Himself in the prayer! Therefore, the issue here can't be about how they participate in INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL forgiveness of sins because Jesus had no INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL sins!!

Rather, Jesus is talking about how they can participate in God's forgiveness of Israel's NATIONAL debt of sin. Jesus, as an Israelite, and just like Daniel and all other Israelites, was associated with Israel's NATIONAL debt of sin. What Jesus is saying here to the members of the Believing Remnant of Israel (who as believers already had their own INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL sins forgiven!) was that they needed to be separated and cleansed from all their association with Israel's NATIONAL debt of sins so that God could use them to create His Own restored, true—DEBT-FREE servant--NATION of Israel through their faithfulness, especially during the Tribulation Period.

God's true “end-time” Nation of Israel will be made up, yes, of INDIVIDUALS, who have been PERSONALLY saved and forgiven all their INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL sins by grace through faith (for the full explanation and manifestation of how this is possible and how it works, you have to go to Paul's Scriptures). But in God's Prophetic Program, they as a group (the Believing Remnant of Israel) also needed to participate in Israel's NATIONAL forgiveness of sins because that is what will separate and cleanse them from all association with Israel's NATIONAL debt of sin so that God can make of them His Own debt-free NATION (and for the full explanation and manifestation of how this is possible and how it works, you have to go to the non-Pauline Scriptures).

Last time, we connected John's references to the hour coming and the hour coming and now is (Jn. 4:21, 23), to the Old Testament's “appointed times” of end “time” events, especially regarding the Death and Resurrection of Christ, the Tribulation Period and Christ's 2nd Coming. I have prepared a more in depth explanation of this thesis in the Highlights Article below, entitled: Daniel's “TIMES” and John's “HOURS.”

DANIEL'S “TIMES” AND JOHN'S “HOURS”

Most commentators on Jn. 4:21, 22 have rejected Paul's distinct apostleship and, therefore, assume that the Gospel of John is written to and about us today in the Body of Christ in the Dispensation of Grace. Jesus, they claim, is here doing away with the all the national distinctions between Jew and Gentile, opening the way to all equally. Jesus is here, they say, doing away with a literal physical Israel in a literal physical land, centered on a literal physical Temple in the literal physical city of Jerusalem that the Old Testament had spoken about since the world began (Lk. 1:70; Acts 3:21) and is replacing it with a spiritual Israel. Guess who that is? Us, the Church, the Body of Christ!

What nonsense! We have already seen the danger of reading Paul into John, and here in Jn. 4:21, 23, we have another classic example of the confusion it causes. But I suggest we turn the tables and see what happens if instead of reading Paul into John, we read the Old Testament into John?

First, remember that the Gospel of John was written in Greek. Therefore, it is helpful to note that the Hebrew word “time” or “times” is often translated into Greek with the word “hour” (Gk. hora). The point being that John's Greek speaking audience would have been able to connect John's “hour” with the Old Testament word “time” or “times” from their knowledge of the Old Testament in Greek. The general definition of the Hebrew word for “time” is an appointed or a fixed time or times when God would intervene for and meet with His people, the Nation of Israel. The Old Testament prophets used this terminology to describe the end “time” events of Israel's Prophetic Time Schedule, especially as revealed in the Book of Daniel (Dan. 7:22, 25; 8:17, 19, 25; 11:27, 29, 35; 12:1, 4, 7, 9, 11).

God revealed to Jeremiah and Daniel, the Time Schedule for the 5th Course of Punishment, which was made up of 5 installments:

1. 5th Course of punishment, 1st Installment:
   The 70 years Babylonian Captivity (Jer. 25:11);
2. 5th Course of punishment, 2nd Installment:
   The 49 years under Medo-Persian rule ...
3. 5th Course of punishment, 3rd Installment:
   400 years of the silence of God ...
4. 5th Course of punishment, 4th Installment:
   And the earthly ministry of Christ.
5. 5th Course of punishment, 5th Installment:
   The 7-year Tribulation Period (Dan. 9:25).

When Israel's Prophetic Time Schedule is fulfilled, the nation will be saved, her enemies destroyed, and she will be ushered into her long prophesied Earthly Kingdom.

Associated with Daniel's Time Schedule is a series of prophesied future events. The question we are asking is: Can they be correlated with the appointed “hours” that John mentions?

1. John's Gospel as a whole: The BIG HOUR mentioned in John is, of course, the HOUR of Glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ through His Death and Resurrection, Ascension and Return to the Father. When Jesus talks about this hour, it is always MY HOUR, and when others mention it, it is HIS HOUR (Jn. 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1). This appointed “hour” is delineated in Daniel as part of his Time Schedule (Dan. 9:25), and it is also prophesied by Isaiah (Is. 53) and David (Ps, 23) as well.
   
   This BIG HOUR is associated with two lesser “hours.” First, with reference to the disciples, it will be at this “time,” this “hour,” that the disciples will be scattered. While not mentioned by Daniel specifically, this “hour” is mentioned by Matthew as the fulfillment of Zechariah's end-time prophecy in conjunction with the Death and Resurrection of Christ (Zech. 13:6-7; Mat. 26:31) as prophesied by Daniel.
   A second lesser “hour” that is associated with Christ's BIG HOUR is with reference to the raising of the dead. Jesus gives a foretaste of this in His earthly ministry (Jn. 5:25, 28; 4:47; 11:38-44; Mat. 27:52), culminating in His Own resurrection. Its complete fulfillment for the saints, however, is still future. Daniel refers to these resurrections directly (Dan. 12:2) and Isaiah and David refer to them indirectly (Is. 53:10-12; Ps. 23:19-23).

It is worth noting that the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn't mean the same thing to John as it does to Paul. In the non-Pauline Scriptures, including John, Christ died for His friends, believing Israel, to pay the debt for their association with Israel's NATIONAL debt of sin (Jn. 15:13; Zech. 13:6). And in that Program, Christ was raised up to sit on David's throne in the restored and reunited DEBT-FREE Nation of Israel in the Kingdom (Acts 2:30). For Paul, however, Christ died for His enemies (Rom. 1-3; 5:6-10), and He was raised up for their justification (Rom. 4:25)!

2. Jn. 4:21, 23: We have dealt with all John's references to “hour,” except for two occurrences, one in Jn. 4:21 and the other in 4:23. Jesus told the Samaritan Woman that there was an “hour” coming at which time no one would be worshipping the One True God of Israel, not in Jerusalem nor in Mt. Gerizim. Can we identify a “time” on Daniel's Prophetic Time Schedule that potentially refers to this? As mentioned before, most commentators use this passage to do away with the literal Nation of Israel so they can replace her with a spiritual Israel, namely us--the Church, the Body of Christ--in accord with their theological system. But this explanation is unsatisfactory because it comes from the rejection of God's one apostle for today, the Apostle Paul.
   If our thesis is correct that John's “hours” connect with various prophetic “hours” or “times,” especially in Daniel's Time Schedule, then there ought to be something Daniel prophesies about having to do with the Temple, and there is. Amid the Tribulation Period, the Anti-Christ will desecrate the Temple by setting up idolatrous abominations, making himself “God” and demanding world-wide worship (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 13:15-16). When that happens, Matthew instructs the Believing Remnant in Jerusalem to flee to the mountains as fast as they can (Mat. 24:15-16). They will experience severe persecution and be forced to worship the Anti-Christ. Some will be scattered into the wilderness while most will be scattered out among the Gentiles. In Jn. 4:21, therefore, Jesus could be referring to this prophetic “hour” or “time” as mentioned by Daniel when all true worshippers will be scattered out of the City and the Land.
   Now, for our final Johannine reference to “hour” in Jn. 4:23. Jesus tells the woman that there is an hour coming, and has also already begun when true worshippers will need to persevere in worshipping the True God in spirit and truth. This leads the Samaritan Woman to wonder if Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and Jesus responds by proclaiming His I AM Jehovah Name, the LORD God of Israel, to her.
   
   When we remember that it is the grace resident in His I AM Jehovah Name that will save and restore the Nation of Israel, Jesus is calling on the Samaritan Woman to do what all Israel needs to do if they are to participate in Israel's National Salvation. They are to fall on the grace dispensed through His I AM Jehovah Name by believing. Jesus does these signs so that they might believe (Jn. 20:30-31; Ex. 4:1-9). So, is there a prophetic time when all true Israel will fall on the grace resident in His Jehovah Name by faith? There is, and we find it in Hos. 14:2, a prophecy about what all believing Israel will do in the future. At that “time,” they will Take with you words, and turn to the LORD (the I AM Jehovah God of Israel): and Say unto Him take away all iniquity and receive us GRACIOUSLY ...
3. By faith, they will participate in Israel's NATIONAL confession and repentance program, so that they can participate in Israel's NATIONAL salvation AT Christ's 2nd Coming. Daniel gives a classic example of this in Dan. 9:3-19. And this is what John the Baptist called on Israel to do at the beginning of Jesus's ministry (Mat. 3:1-12). And here in Jn. 4:23, Jesus is not only explaining that this is what all true Israel will do in the future (during the Tribulation Period, culminating at Christ's 2nd Coming—Hos. 14:2), but is what they MUST begin doing right now in the present! This hasn't happened so far in Israel's history because of the lack of the vital ingredient: FAITH. Without FAITH, they cannot fall on the grace resident in His I AM Jehovah Name, and therefore, they cannot worship God in S/spirit and T/truth.

Thursday night in our Gospel of John Bible Study Fellowship, we heard Jesus explain to the Samaritan Woman that what all Israel needed was to worship God in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23). We saw the exact opposite—false worship in the flesh and lies--in Saul, whom God made into our Apostle Paul, when He gave him “spiritual” eyes to see what his physical eyes could not see. This is as pertinent today as it was back in Jesus's day. Just as Judaism back then had its Vain Religious System (Is. 1:13; 29:13), historical Christianity has its Vain Religious Systems as well.
You can read how Paul exchanged the false religious system of his day and counted it as worthless in comparison to a relationship with God through Christ, in the Highlights Article below entitled: False Religious Systems and Paul.

FALSE RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS AND PAUL

I talk to people regularly who are caught up in man-made religious systems and man-centered theological systems. They boast that they were born into a religious system that goes all the way back to the church fathers (some 2,000 years) with all its fleshly rites and rituals. They have confidence in the denominational system that their parents belonged to and their parent's parents before them. They could never leave all that!

Or, could they? The Scriptures give us an example of someone who, like these people, was born into the family religious system that doesn't just go back to the church fathers but to the much more ancient patriarchal fathers (some 4,000 years before), going back to Abraham (the Hebrews), Isaac and Jacob (Israel)! And he placed his confidence in all of its external rites and rituals and heritage: If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Phil. 3:4-6).

Through his physical eyes all he could see was fleshly things. He was confident that being externally circumcised he automatically belonged to God. He was confident that by being a physical descendent of Abraham through the line of Jacob (Israel) that he automatically was a participant in God's things. He thought that carrying out the external demands of the Law through the power of the flesh automatically gave a righteousness of his own before God. This confidence in his religious system, however, didn't automatically bring him nearer to God. Rather, it automatically drove him farther away from God, making him His enemy and the lead persecutor of the Lord Jesus Christ and His people!

So, on the road to Damascus, the Risen Lord Jesus confronted Paul, removing his physical sight while giving him new “spiritual” sight (Acts 9:1-9). What he most needed wasn't external circumcision but internal circumcision of the heart. What was most important wasn't being a physical descendent of Abraham but being a spiritual descendent of Abraham by following in his footsteps of faith: Abraham believed in the Lord, and He counted his faith for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). What he most needed to do wasn't the externals of the Law but to bring the Law into his heart by faith, which would have shown him that he was a law-breaker and caused him to fall on the Grace resident in the Lord. What Paul needed most wasn't external rites and rituals but an internal change of the heart by faith in the spirit. Only these things would produce true worship of God in S/spirit and in T/truth (Rom. 2:29; Jn. 4:23).

It was with this new spiritual insight that Paul threw away all his worthless false religious things and replaced them with the one true thing of surpassing infinite and eternal value: The knowledge of Christ and His faithful work on the Cross for him that when believed brought him into a right relationship with the Lord, making him a participant in the Righteousness of God that comes as a free gift. In his words: But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (Phil. 3:7-9).

In Jn. 4:23, Jesus is telling the Samaritan Woman, the Samaritans, the Judeans and all Israel that they MUST throw away their vain religious system that falsely worships God in flesh and in lies. Instead, they must worship Him in S/spirit and in T/truth by believing in God and His Word.

And that is what we need to do today as well. We do this by believing the Good News about the Death and Resurrection of Christ as revealed in the Apostle Paul's Scriptures, Romans through Philemon. For it is there that we learn that God displayed His Love for us in that Christ died for us while we were yet ungodly sinners on enemy status before Him (Rom. 5:6-10). It is there that we learn that through that Cross the Lord Jesus Christ took all our sins and death, punishment and guilt onto Himself and paid the price to remove them forevermore in FULL, redeeming us who believe from everything that was against us. And it is there that we learn that when we believe in Christ and His Crosswork, trusting in it for our salvation, we instantly and permanently receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17). In other words: The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:23).

Jesus stated what Israel needed most was to worship God in spirit and in truth because God is Spirit.

This brought up several excellent observations: First, if God is Spirit, He is unknowable and invisible to humanity on its own. But God didn't leave humanity in this hopeless predicament. Rather, He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who as the Word is the external expression of the internal thoughts of God who is Spirit, making Him audible and knowable to humans (Jn. 1:1-18). And as the God-Man, He is the manifestation of the God who is Spirit embodied in humanity, making Him visible and knowable to humans (Jn. 1:14; 14:9). When sinners receive this revelation of God through Christ, they enter a relationship with God whereby they know Him. John identifies this as ETERNAL LIFE (Jn. 17:3).

Second, if Israel must worship God in S/spirit and T/truth, how do they (and we!) do it?

1. They believe the words of Christ (which are spirit—Jn. 6:63—and are taught by the Spirit—Jn. 14:26) to them. For them, this was the preaching of Jesus Christ according to God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel, which had been spoken about since the world began (Lk. 1:70; Acts 3:21). (For us, however, it is the preaching of Jesus Christ according to God's Mystery Program with the Body of Christ, which had been kept secret since the world began (Rom. 16:25)).
2. This would bring God's Word into their hearts of faith.
3. Whereby the Spirit would enliven their spirits by re-connecting them to God who is Spirit, forming a group of redeemed humanity (the Believing Remnant of Israel) that as a whole is re-connected to God, and out of whom He will create His Own True Nation of Israel.
4. Through their enlivened spirit/s, they are now able to receive God's things. God who is Spirit can now commune with them through the Spirit (Rom. 8:16), and they can serve and worship Him in spirit and truth as true worshippers of the one True God who is Spirit (Rom. 1:9; Jn. 4:24)

MUST NEEDS of John

The Apostle John expresses in his Gospel the necessity of certain things happening by using the word MUST (or MUST NEEDS), which indicates something very important is being mentioned. John uses it in this way nine times to explain what MUST happen to accomplish Israel's National Salvation.

1. Jn. 3:7—Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. For Israel's National Salvation to occur, it MUST be “born again.” Individual Israelites who believe become the children of God (Jn. 1:12) and are placed into the Believing Remnant of Israel, which God will use create His Own “born again” Nation of Israel.
2. Jn. 3:14—And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. For Israel's National Salvation to occur, they must look upon the sign He provided in the earthly ministry of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who MUST be lifted up (as a sign) so that all Israelites could look upon Him and, by believing, receive eternal life and be healed and restored as His Own Nation, the conduit of His blessings and salvation to the rest of the world (Jn. 3:16).
3. Jn. 3:30—He must increase, but I must decrease. For Israel's National Salvation to occur, all other voices needed to recede and diminish. The Father has lifted up the Lord Jesus Christ, who is not only greater than John the Baptist, but greater than Abraham (Jn. 8:58), Jocob (Jn. 4:10-14), Moses (Jn. 1:17; 5:46), and any and everyone else for that matter! He is the One who speaks for God (Jn. 1:1; 12:49), and the One whom all the Scriptures spoke of (Jn. 5:39, 46).
4. Jn. 4:4—He must needs go through Samaria. For Israel's National Salvation to occur, it requires the re-unification of the whole Nation. The stick of Judah needed to be re-united with the stick of Ephraim/Samaria (Ez. 37:15ff). Therefore, to complete the picture of Israel's National Salvation Jesus was giving to His disciples in Jn. 2-4, and having been to Jerusalem and Judea (which ruled Galilee), He now MUST NEEDS go to Samaria.
5. Jn. 4:24—God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. For Israel's National Salvation to occur, all Israel—the Judeans and Samaritans and all Israel—MUST worship God in spirit and truth by believing God's Word and words to them, bringing them into their hearts of faith, which the Holy Spirit uses to re-connect them to God, Who is Spirit, thereby enlivening their spirits so that they can receive God's things and share them on to others, especially the Gentiles.
6. Jn. 9:4—I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. For Israel's National Salvation to occur, Jesus had to complete the work the Father gave Him to do as the Light of the world (Jn. 1:4-9). This culminated in His Work on the Cross where He shed His blood to implement the New Covenant for Israel (Lk. 22:20). The New Covenant provided forgiveness of Israel's National debt of sin and the giving of the Holy Spirit so that the Nation would never again accrue a national debt of sin (Jn. 14:26). After this work is over, Israel will enter the prophetic night of darkness—the 7 year Tribulation Period, and the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord (Joel 2:31; Acts 2:16-21; 1 Thess. 5:1-5).
7. Jn. 10:16—And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. For Israel's National Salvation to occur not only MUST there be the re-unification of the Believing Remnant of Israelites within the Land of Israel (Judeans and Samaritans), but believing Israelites who live outside the Land, scattered out among the Gentile nations, MUST also be gathered in as well (Is. 11:11-12).
8. Jn. 12:34 (indirectly)—How sayest thou, The Son of man must be lift up? For Israel's National Salvation to occur, not only MUST God lift up Jesus in His earthly ministry (Jn. 3:14) but the Jews (and Gentiles) MUST lift Him up as well, bringing to completion His earthly ministry through His death on the Cross where He died for His friends (Jn. 8:28; 15:13).
9. Jn. 20:9—For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. For Israels National Salvation to occur, He MUST be resurrected from the dead so that He can ascend and return to the Father, who will then send the Holy Spirit to give the Believing Remnant of Israel (those under the ministry of Peter and the 12 in early Acts and those in the Tribulation Period) an increasing foretaste of the New Covenant blessings, which will reach its complete fulfillment at the return of Christ when they are ushered into the Kingdom.

Now, let's put it all together:

For Israel's National Salvation to occur, they MUST be “born again” as God's Own believing Nation ... which happens by their looking on His Son whom He lifted up in His earthly ministry, that they might be healed and restored ... therefore, everyone else MUST diminish ... He is the only One who can bring about the MUST NEEDS re-unification of the whole Nation of Israel—those in the Land and those scattered among the Gentiles—the true worshippers who MUST worship God in S/spirit and T/truth ... Therefore, Jesus Christ MUST be lifted up on the Cross and He MUST be raised from the dead, providing all that is needed to accomplish Israel's National Salvation, fulfilling literally and completely every promise He had ever made with her. And when that happens, God's Prophetic Program will be fulfilled and the whole world will praise and glorify God together with Israel and through her RISE.

We have reached the high point of Jesus's encounter with the Samaritan Woman where He shows her His Glory by proclaiming the Name of the LORD (Jn. 4:26).

The Samaritan Woman, Moses and the Glory of God

As Jesus's Glory dwelled with and passed by her (Jn. 1:14), the Samaritan Woman goes from seeing Him nonchalantly as a man and a Jew (Jn. 4:9), a lord/sir (kurios—ironically, as He is, in fact, the embodiment of the I AM LORD—KURIOS--God of Israel, which He will reveal to her in Jn. 4:25!) (Jn. 4:11, 15, 19); to being awestruck that He knew her whole life story thereby seeing Him as a prophet, and perhaps the Prophet that Moses promised (Jn. 4:19; Deut. 18:18) and thought would also be the Messiah/Christ, who would come to tell them all things (Jn. 4:25).; to being blown over by His Words, which are S/spirit (Jn. 6:63) as He proclaimed the Name of the LORD—the I AM, Jehovah, LORD God of Israel (Jn. 4:26).

To understand the significance of all of this, we need to go to the account of the Golden Calf Incident when God showed Moses His Glory (Ex. 32-34). There, operating according to the Law, all God could do was destroy them (Ex. 32:10). Basically, the LORD told Moses to get out of the way so His wrath can grow hot against them, so that He might consume them (Ex. 32:10). They had broken the first of the 10 Commandments: Thou shalt not commit idolatry, and if you do commit idolatry there will be immediate wrath and judgment (Ex. 20:2‑5). According to the Law, God was to FIRST go down and consume the idolaters, and SECOND, if anyone was left standing, He would show grace and mercy (in this case only Moses).

But God was not limited by the Law. He didn't have to deal with Israel on the basis of the Law. To that end, Moses intervened for Israel and appealed to the LORD based on the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant and the Grace Resident in His I AM Jehovah (LORD) Name, which God had given them before the Exodus (Ex. 33:11‑13; 3:14‑15). Based on Moses's appeal, God repented and respond outside the Law in accord with His mercy and grace for Israel (Ex. 33:14)!

Moses wanted to know how this could be? How could God show mercy and grace to those who only deserved His wrath and judgment when the Law called for their immediate destruction? How could the holy and righteous LORD be present with the polluted and sinful Israelites? What allows for this? Moses asked God to Show me Thy Glory (Ex. 33:18). Show me what is true about You and how You operate that allows you to act this way, the way of mercy and grace rather than the way of wrath and judgment. And the LORD did just that, answering: I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy (Ex. 33:19).

While Moses could not see the fullness of the Glory of God face-to-face and live (Ex. 33:20), he could see the “backside,” the afterglow, if you will, of His Glory. Importantly for us in our appreciation of Jn. 4 is to note that as the Glory of the LORD passed by Moses, He proclaimed the Name of the LORD (I AM—Jehovah Name), the LORD God (the I AM Jehovah God) of Israel (Ex. 34:5‑6). And now MOST IMPORTANTLY God explained His Glory as revealed in His I AM Jehovah Name: And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation (Ex. 34:6‑7).

This proclamation about the Glory of God in His I AM Jehovah (LORD) Name is the most important passage in all the scriptures regarding God's Prophetic Program with Israel because it reverses the order of what the Law demanded. As we saw above, the Law demanded that God FIRST destroy idolaters and rebels (Ex. 20:5), and then SECOND, if anyone was left standing, show mercy and grace to the repentant (Ex. 20:6).

God's I AM Jehovah (LORD) Name, however, reverses this this order. Operating in accord with His I AM Jehovah Name He FIRST shows mercy and grace to idolaters and rebels out of His longsuffering kindness. And then, SECOND, depending on how they responded, He would give more mercy and grace unto salvation to those who receive it in faith and repent or wrath and judgment unto destruction to those who reject in in unbelief and remain unrepentant. The latter happens not so much because they violated the 1st commandment by committing idolatry (Ex. 20:3‑5), but because they violated the 2nd Commandment by taking His Name in vain, rejecting its mercy and grace, throwing it away as though it were nothing or worse (Ex. 20:7).

Without the provision of God's I AM Jehovah LORD Name (Ex. 3:14), Israel would never become the Nation God created her to be. He would have had to repeatedly destroy the nation and start over again. But His I AM Jehovah Name allows Him to work outside the Law to secure His promises to Israel and fulfill His Prophetic Program for the Earth with her.

And it is this amazing provision of the Glory of God that blows Moses over, so to speak, at the end of Ex. 34: Moses made haste (Heb. suddenly rushed), and bowed (Heb. rare word—obeisance at crucial times) his head toward the earth and worshipped (Ex. 34:8), and immediately began intervening to bring the Israelites back to the LORD (Ex. 34:8‑9). When he left the presence of the LORD, his face glowed, causing fear among the Israelites, so he covered his shining face with a veil (Ex. 34:29‑30).

Now, let's go back now to the Samaritan Woman in Jn. 4. The LORD Jesus passed by her, displaying His Glory while proclaiming the I AM Name of the LORD, giving her an even greater display of God's Glory than Moses received (Jn. 1:14‑18). Let's make a comparison chart:

Moses	Samaritan Woman (SW) and Samaritans
Moses made haste, suddenly rushed (Ex. 34:8a).	SW left Jesus, leaving her waterpot behind, immediately going to the Samaritan city (Jn. 4:28).
In obeisance observed at crucial times, Moses bowed toward the earth and worshipped the LORD (Ex. 34:8b).	The SW, after being instructed by Jesus in worshipping in S/spirit and T/truth, worships by sharing Jesus's words and testifying of Him to others (Jn. 4:23‑26, 29, 39).
Moses intervened to bring the Israelites to the LORD (Ex. 34:9).	The SW intervened to bring the Samaritan Israelites to the LORD Jesus (Jn. 4:29‑30, 39‑42).
Moses's face shined literally from being in the presence of the LORD that he veiled so that it would not cause fear (Ex. 34:29‑30).	Perhaps ... The SW most likely would have been veiled, covering her metaphorically shining face revealed in her shining testimony of Christ without fear (Jn. 4:29).
Moses desired that the LORD abide with the Israelites (Ex. 33:12‑17).	The Samaritan Israelites desired that the LORD Jesus abide with them (Jn. 4:40).

The Day Israel's GRACE‑Tank Read Empty

Outside the Gospel Accounts, God's I AM Jehovah Name is only used of Jesus in the books of Acts and Revelation. Paul never uses it in his Scriptures (Romans through Philemon) because the Grace resident in God's I AM Jehovah Name has to do with God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel. God gave them His Name at the Exodus (Ex. 3:14), dispensed His Grace from it in accord with what He told Moses at the Golden Calf Incident to preserve the nation (Ex. 34:6‑7), and made the biggest display of it to them in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit through Peter and the 12 in early Acts. But Israel as a whole, rejected all these offers of Grace extended to them by God.

It is important to remember what God's I AM Jehovah Name did. Through that Name, God reversed the order of the judgment and mercy that the Law commanded. For rebels and idolaters, the Law called for wrath, judgment, and condemnation FIRST and mercy and grace SECOND (Ex. 20:5‑6). We have a perfect example of this in Israel's idolatry at the Golden Calf Incident. According to the Law, God would FIRST go down and consume the Israelites (Ex. 32:10a), and then SECONDLY, if anyone was left standing (in this case only Moses), He would show mercy and grace and start the nation over with them (or him) (Ex. 32:10b).

But that didn't happen. God didn't go down and consume the Israelites. Instead, He showed them mercy because Moses appealed to Him based on His I AM Jehovah Name and the Abrahamic Covenant (Ex. 32:11‑13), which reversed the order of the Law. Operating outside the Law and in accord with His I AM Jehovah Name, God would now dispense mercy and grace FIRST to rebels and idolaters, and then what He did SECOND would depend on their response. If they responded positively by faith, repenting and returning to the LORD, He would give them more grace and mercy SECOND. But if they responded negatively, rejecting the grace and mercy of His I AM Jehovah—LORD—Name in unbelief, they would receive wrath and judgment SECOND—not so much for being idolaters (the 1st Commandment) but for taking the I AM Jehovah lord Name of God in vain (the 2nd Commandment).

This day of reckoning came to the Nation of Israel in early Acts. Israel had been the beneficiary of the greatest displays God had ever given of the Grace resident in God's I AM Jehovah Name Grace: the earthly ministry of Christ as recorded in the Gospel Accounts and the ministry of the Holy Spirit through Peter and the 12 in early Acts. Israel as a whole rejected it all, and with the stoning of Stephen, they declared once-and-for-all that they would not have this man to reign over them (Lk. 19:14). They rejected their Messiah and King, Creator and Savior. They joined hands with the Gentiles in declaring their rebellion against God and rejection of His Word. The whole world—Israel and the Gentile nations—joined hands, declaring their independence from and enmity against the One True God.

The GRACE-tank of God's I AM Jehovah Name fell to E for empty. They had FIRST rejected the Grace resident in His I AM Name so now SECOND, God would begin dispensing His wrath and judgment. According to Peter in Acts 2 and Stephen in Acts 7, the next thing that should have happened was for Christ to return in wrath and judgment to once-and-for-all destroy His enemies and deliver His friends (Believing Israel and those Gentiles associated with them).

But this didn't happen. The Risen LORD did return, not to destroy His enemies, but to give them a new, infinitely greater bucket of Grace! This is demonstrated in the conversion of Saul. Saul was the leader of Israel's vain religious system, the chief persecutor of the LORD and His people (Acts 7:58‑59; 9:1), deserving only wrath and judgment. The LORD confronted Saul, stopped him dead in his tracks and buried him under an onslaught of His I AM Jehovah Name. He fell to the ground, incapacitated, trembling with fear and blinded, and his whole life recalibrated in an instant (Acts 9:6, 8). Let's listen in:

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord (Ex. 3:14--LORD=I AM), went unto the high priest, 2... that if he found any of this way (Jn. 14:3—I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life) ... he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3... and suddenly there shined round about him a light (Jn. 8:12--I AM the Light of the world) from heaven (Jn. 8:23--I AM from above): 4 and he fell to the earth (Jn. 18:5-6--the result of the proclamation of His I AM Name), and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord (Ex. 3:14--LORD=I AM) said, I Am (ego eimi—I AM) Jesus (Mat. 1:21—Jehovah Your Salvation=I AM Your Salvation) whom thou persecute: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Now, let's look at a very loose paraphrase to drive the point home. The Lord said: Saul, in threatening My people, you are threatening Me, for I AM the Jehovah God of Israel. Saul, in persecuting those of My Way, you are persecuting Me, for I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life. And in trying to put out the Light of My disciples, you are trying to put out Me, for I AM the Light of the world, the I AM who came from down Heaven. Saul, in short, I AM, I AM your Savior!!

Paul called this infinitely greater bucket of Grace the RICHES OF GOD'S GRACE AND MERCY (Eph. 2:4‑7). With this bucket of Grace found in Pauline Grace Mystery Truth, God began His Mystery Program for the Body of Christ, which is now displaying His infinite love in that Christ died for His ENEMIES and manifesting His glorious Righteousness in SAVING HIS ENEMIES BECAUSE HE HAS NO FRIENDS, and he made our Apostle Paul the pattern to them who should hereafter believe on Him unto life everlasting (1 Tim. 1:16)!

We tied together the loose ends of the importance of God's I AM Jehovah (LORD) Name for God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel. It is as though John gathers up all the most important themes and types of Israel's history and exhibits them in his I AM sayings. We attempted to connect the Feasts of Israel to the Jehovah compound names of the OT to the I AM sayings of John!

Opening Up God's Word To Israel

The key to the non-Pauline Scriptures is understanding the grace resident in and dispensed from God's I AM Jehovah (LORD) Name. While this Name had been used before (Gen. 3:8 et al.), it wasn't until the Exodus account that God revealed, showed, and taught all that it means. God officially gave Israel His Jehovah (LORD) Name at the beginning of the Exodus account (Ex. 3:14), then went on to reveal it progressively throughout Israel's journey from Goshen in Egypt to Mt. Sinai (Ex. 3-31), finally manifesting it in all its fullness at the Golden Calf Incident (Ex. 32-34; esp., Ex. 34:6‑7). This is how God explained the way His I AM Name worked to Moses:

And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation (Ex. 34:6‑7).

Now, don't speed read through these verses. Take a few minutes to study them carefully. For if you do, you will notice what the Glory of God does through His Jehovah Name: IT REVERSES THE ORDER OF THE LAW. Remember that the Israelites foolishly entered the Law, saying: We will do everything ourselves and immediately fear and death entered the scene (Ex. 19:8-13). When they all together said, “We will do it ourselves,” it of necessity ruled out the LORD doing it for them by faith. God tried to teach them about relying on His I AM Jehovah Name--that they can't do anything on their own—but they didn't learn the lesson. They needed to realize that if they were going to be God's Own Nation, HE MUST DO EVERYTHING FOR THEM!! Otherwise, it is hopeless. One day they will recognize this (Hos. 14:2).

At Mt. Sinai, they flunked the final exam. Instead of saying: LORD that's a great Law! But we can't do it. We couldn't even keep two eensy-weensy, teeny-tiny, easy-smeasy little commands about collecting manna (Ex. 16), there is no way we would be able to keep 613 commandments that penetrate every detail of our lives! No, no, no—You are going to have to keep doing it for us. We need You to raise us up and carry us along as on eagles wings, bringing us to Yourself (Ex. 19:4). That's the only way we will be made into Your Own Nation. Instead, they contracted with God to deal with them based on the Law, blessing them for obedience and cursing them for disobedience, and they spent most of the next 1500 years under the Curses of the Law (Lev. 26).

The Law commanded that for rebels and idolaters the jealous God was to FIRST display wrath and judgment—the death penalty—that rippled through succeeding generations—the Courses of Punishment (Ex. 32:10a; Deut. 17:2-7; Lev. 26), Then, if anyone was left standing, SECONDLY, after that, He would show mercy and grace (Ex. 32:10b).

Now, go back and re-read Ex. 34:6‑7 and take special note of the glory of God's I AM Jehovah LORD Name for Israel. God reserved the right to operate outside the Law. Through His I AM Jehovah LORD Name, He would respond to rebels and idolaters FIRST in longsuffering grace and mercy, and then what happened next, what happened SECONDLY, depended on how they responded to that dispensing of grace and mercy. If they received it in faith, repenting and returning to the LORD, then they received more mercy and grace. If, however, they rejected it in unbelief, treating it as though it is nothing, continuing in their rebelliousness and growing in their idolatries, then they received wrath and judgement, not so much for breaking the 1st Commandment by committing idolatry, but for breaking the 2nd Commandment by taking the Name of the LORD in vain (Ex. 20:7).

Understanding this changes everything when dealing with the Scriptures for God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel. Every time we see the LORD sending prophets to plead and reason with rebellious Israel in the Old Testament, we can now appreciate that it was the Grace resident in His Jehovah Name. When we see God sending His Son to be a Light to Israel in His earthly ministry, that too is the Grace resident in His I AM Jehovah Name. And when we see God giving Israel another opportunity to receive their Messiah and King through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and Peter and the 12 in early Acts, that likewise is the Grace resident in His Jehovah Name. In short, it is through the Grace resident in His I AM Jehovah LORD Name that He can go down to restore and save Israel (Ex. 32:11‑14) rather than going down to consume and destroy them (Ex. 32:10).

The only reason Israel's future is guaranteed is because God reserved the right to deal with them outside the Law based on His I AM Jehovah LORD Name. With this understanding when we see that word LORD in our English Bibles, we know that He is either dispensing Grace and Mercy to rebels and idolaters who don't deserve it, or, if He is dispensing wrath and judgment, we can rest assured that it was only after He had FIRST loooongsufferingly offered them His Grace and Mercy and Kindness but they rejected it in unbelief. He is not the mean vengeful God of the Old Testament as even some Christians think! He is the gracious and merciful God of the whole Bible who always dispenses Grace and Mercy FIRST to those who don't deserve it, and then wrath and judgment SECONDLY to those who reject the Grace dispensed from His I AM Jehovah LORD Name (Rom. 2:4‑5). Knowing this, changes our understanding of EVERY SINGLE VERSE in the non-Pauline Scriptures.