In Romans 7:1 – 6 Paul addresses the issue of whether or not a New Testament believer is under the Mosaic Law. In verse 6 he states: “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

While there are aspects of the Hebrew Roots teachings that can be beneficial in giving us insight and greater depth to many of the passages and parables, there is a difference between identifying “with” Israel from identifying “as” Israel.

The first day of the week, Sunday, is the day of worship for Christians in churches around the world. The reason for this is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week. It is now called the Lord’s day. Through the book of Acts and into Romans and Corinthians, we find the church of Paul’s day worshipping on the first day of the week, the Lord’s day (Acts 20:7, I Corinthians 16:2).

Yes, we believe that Moses physically died. Deuteronomy 34:5 – 7 states: “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.”

 
Then in Jude verse 9 we read: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

 
The Bible does not say why Michael and Satan were arguing over the body of Moses, however it is possible that Satan wanted to use the body of Moses to get the Israelites to fall into idolatry. Seven hundred years after it was made by Moses at the commandment of God, (Numbers 21:8-9) the Israelites were worshipping the bronze serpent and offering incense to it (II Kings 18:4). It is not too much of a stretch to believe that they would soon worship the body of Moses if it were enshrined somewhere.

When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, our sins are forgiven and washed away (I John 1:7).   Romans 8:1 says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”   Our sins are not held against us although there is a reckoning time for Christians called the Judgment Seat of Christ.   Romans 14:12 and II Corinthians 5:10 will shed further light on the Judgment Seat.   Notice I Corinthians 3, verse 15: “If any man’s work shall be burned he shall suffer loss...” Everything that we have done in the body shall pass through a proving fire. The works that were good will not burn, like silver, gold or diamonds. The works that were not for the Lord will burn, like wood, hay and stubble.   Even if our works all burn up into a pile of ashes, “…but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire.” This verse proves that sin is not held against us, but we still have to give account for what we have done. We may suffer loss of rewards (see also Ecclesiastes 12:14).

The Bible is clear in its teaching that only the saved stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Those who have not been faithful will be ashamed.   I John 2:28 states: “And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”   The message is to the little children, those who are born again or saved. These are in danger of being ashamed before the Lord at His coming but not cast out.

The Judgment Seat of Christ takes place immediately upon His coming.   You will note from Revelation 20:5 that lost people are not resurrected until after the Millennium, after the resurrection of the saved and the Judgment Seat of Christ.   We can rest assured that the teaching of the Bible will not give comfort to those who do not want to give up their sins.   The true Biblical teaching of the Judgment Seat of Christ should call Christians to a dedicated and holy life because of the wonderful rewards that will be theirs at that time.

Genesis 15:18 states: “In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” And in Joshua 1:4 God states: “ From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.”

According to Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4, the land God gave to Israel included everything from the Nile River in Egypt to Lebanon (south to north) and everything from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (west to east).

The land that Israel possesses now is just a fraction of the land that God has promised to them.

God commanded in the book of Leviticus that the Israelites were not to offer their children as burnt offerings: “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord” – Leviticus 18:1 and “…the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.” – Leviticus 20:1 – 5.

Judges 11: 29 – 40 seems to indicate that as a result of a vow, Jephthah ended up offering his daughter as a burnt offering to the Lord. However, when you look a little bit deeper, there are several things that point to a different conclusion.

Young’s Literal Translation Bible reads: “And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, `If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand — then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon — it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it — a burnt-offering” – Judges 11:30 – 31.

The key word in this translation is “or” instead of “and” in the King James Version. Just as Hannah consecrated Samuel to the Lord’s service in I Samuel 1:11; Jephthah’s daughter was dedicated to the service of the Lord following the vow.

Young’s Literal Translation Bible states in Judges 11:39 – 40: “and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in Israel: from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.”

These daughters of Israel would be the “fellows” or young maidens that went with her for two months to “bewail [her] virginity” in verse 37. They would go to see her for four days each year for the remainder of her life.

So no, Jephthah did not offer his daughter as a burnt offering.

Dr. Van Impe was referring to the fact that those who have died in Christ do not have physical bodies in Heaven at this time.

There is only one glorified physical body in Heaven presently, the Lord Jesus Christ who “…became the firstfruits of them that slept” [I Corinthians 15:20]. Verses 23 and 24 of I Corinthians 15 gives the order of the resurrection to glorified bodies: “…Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.” Christ received the first glorified body, the church age believers will receive our glorified bodies at the Rapture [I Thessalonians 4:13-18], and then the Old Testament saints at the end of the Tribulation before  Christ’s Millennial reign.

There are two Old Testament Saints that were taken to heaven without seeing physical death – Enoch who “…walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” [Genesis 5:24] and Elijah who “…went up by a whirlwind into heaven” [II Kings 2:11]. Since Christ is the first to receive a glorified body, these men would have their physical earthly bodies.

Ezekiel 38:11 – 13 states: “And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”

Russia will invade Israel from the “north” in the “latter years” (Ezekiel 38:15,16) when the Jews are in their own land.

Students of the Bible have always expected this to happen. The key names in Ezekiel’s prophecy are first mentioned in Genesis 10 as sons of Japeth, the son of Noah. They are Gomer, Magog, Tubal, and Meshech (Genesis 10:1, 2). These key verses describe the repopulating of the earth after the Flood. It was customary in ancient times for the descendants of a man to adopt his name for their tribe. Using this system, scholars have furnished the following information:

1. Magog – his descendants are the Scythians or Tartars, whose descendants today are found in modern Russia. Scythians were called Magogites by the Greeks 2,000 years ago (Josephus, book one, chapter seven).

2. Tubal – his descendants peopled the region south and north of the Black Sea. Tobolsk (the “sk” being the Russian suffix) perpetuates the tribal name and is presently located southwest of Siberia.

3. Meshech – his descendants are northern nations mentioned in connection with Tubal and Magog. Meshech is the original name for Moscow.

4. Rosh – the word “chief” in Ezekiel 38:3 is “Rosh” in Hebew. “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the Rosh prince of Meshech and Tubal”. “Rosh” was the name of the tribe dwelling in the area of the Volga and it is the word for “Russia” today in some languages of the world. The name “Russia” was formed from the ancient name “Rosh”. It is clear that Ezekiel was delivering a warning to the Russian prince of Meshech and Tubal. Gog is the prince, Magog his land, the reference to Meshech and Tubal (Moscow and Tobolsk) is a clear mark of identification.

Allies of Russia in that fierce conflict will be Persia (Iran and Iraq), Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer (Eastern Germany and Slovakia), and Togarmah (Turkey). Daniel adds Egypt to the names of nations coming against Israel (Daniel 40-44).

The Russians will be pleased to cooperate with the others, knowing that when their military forces overrun the Middle East they will control all the wealth there, including Arab oil. Add to this the mineral wealth of the Dead Sea (two trillion dollars), as well as the wealth being generated in Israel through industry and agriculture. The Arabs will join the attack to take a prey, Israel, while Russia will be invading to take a spoil (Ezekiel 38:11,12).

The Jews will be dwelling securely. It seems likely this security (vs. 11) will come from enacting a treaty with the head of the Western Alliance, or the revived Roman Empire. It is intended to last for seven years (Daniel 9:27).

It appears that the Russian invasion will come about the middle of the Tribulation period, approximately three and one-half years after signing the treaty. This attack on Israel will be her greatest military blunder ever. Though brief, the conflict will be one of the most destructive in history. Their casualties will be so great that only one-sixth of the fighting force is left after the battle.

Two important developments will follow the defeat of the invaders of Israel:

1. Russia’s attack will give Antichrist an excuse for full occupation of Israel under the pretense of protection and will extend his power over the entire world.

2. The divine protection of Israel, prophesied by Ezekiel and proclaimed by the 144,000 evangelists, will turn many Jews to their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Russia will be driven back to Siberia (Ezekiel 39:1,2; Joel 2:20) where she will strengthen her forces and return to Israel once again. The scope and intensity of the offensive continues to increase until all nations become involved and are finally gathered together against Israel at Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2). At that point, the Battle of Armageddon takes place (Revelation 16:16).

The Day of the Lord begins as the Tribulation period commences. It continues through the 1,000-year reign of Christ, because the renovation of the world by fire afterward is still called the Day of the Lord (II Peter 3:10). Some try to make this the Rapture confusion. It begins immediately after the Rapture. This is the reason that the Day of the Lord comes as “a thief in the night” — I Thessalonians 5:2.

It is not a shortening of the hours of the days, but rather a shortening of the light and heat of the sun.

In Revelation 16:8-9, …the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, s-u-n, and power was given unto the sun to scorch men with fire and men were scorched with a great heat... It’s a judgment that comes during the tribulation hour because of sin and they wouldn’t repent. Carl Sagan once said there’s an hour coming when there’s going to be a horrendous earthquake and it takes place and blots out the sun. And that is God’s way of protecting people so that they won’t all die through that judgment that’s hitting the earth. And that’s there in Revelation 6:12, …I beheld when he opened the sixth seal and lo there was a great shaking, a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood. Darkened, and he said that could last for 90 to 120 days. But Jesus said in Matthew 24:29, that immediately after the tribulation of those days, at the end of the seven year period before Christ comes to set up his kingdom on earth forever he said the sun and the moon were darkened. Why? To save life.

Ezekiel 13: 17 – 23 is not a teaching against the Rapture.

In this passage, the “daughters of thy people” are false prophetesses, or sorceresses, I Samuel 28:3 calls them “those who had familiar spirits” such as the woman at Endor that King Saul consulted with beginning in I Samuel 28:7.

These women in Ezekiel 13 would “sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls!” The exact meaning of the pillows and kerchiefs is not certain, but it is believed that it is referring to trying to put the people at ease. Matthew Henry in his commentary states: “…they did all they could to make people secure, which is signified by laying them easy, and to make people proud, which is signified by dressing them fine with handkerchiefs, perhaps laid or embroidered on their heads…”

Ezekiel 13:19 tells us that these women were doing this out of a selfish motive. They were doing it for “…handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread...” and they were supposedly placing curses on the innocent and promising life to wrongdoers. God declared that He was against these women, and that He would set His people free.

Are demons real? Where did they originate? How do they operate? Are they really present to assist in séances? Are they behind the mysterious powers of fortune-tellers, mystics, clairvoyants, and palm readers? Do they have anything to do with voodoo, white magic, telepathy, astrological charts, and the Oriental meditation cults? Once again, let’s look into God’s Holy Word for answers to these important questions.

For a number of reasons, I personally believe that demons are fallen angels. In the first place, God created nothing that was evil. Lucifer, who became the devil, was perfect before his fall (see Ezekiel 28:15). Therefore, other perfect beings must also have fallen from their perfect condition to one of iniquity, as did Satan. Secondly, since Lucifer was an angel (a cherub) who became the arch or number one demon, it is only logical to state that the angels who followed his leadership also fell because of the same sin, pride (see 1 Timothy 3:6), and also became demons. Finally, since angels are associated with the devil and his work, as are the demons, they must be the angels who fell from their holy estate.

Revelation 12:7 reveals the association of the fallen angels with Satan’s program: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels [good ones] fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels [evil ones]. Verse 9 continues, And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

We also note in Matthew 25:41 that hell has been prepared for the devil and his angels. Nowhere does the Bible mention a judgment for demons. However, it does mention the judgment of Satan and his angels. Since the demons perform their evil work under Satan’s guidance and at his command, and because the Bible teaches the judgment of the devil and his angels, one cannot help but conclude that the demons are the fallen angels. I have studied nearly every book written on the subject of demonology and find that most scholars do not commit themselves. Still, I believe that there is an answer and that the facts outlined above provide it for us.

One account concerning the sin of the angels is found in 2 Peter 2:4: God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.

The other text depicting the angel’s sin is found in Jude 6: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Some may believe that since these angels have been chained, they are unable to roam as demons upon the earth. Let’s consider the subject carefully.

First, 2 Peter 2:4 states that the angels were “cast down to hell.” However, the Greek word is tartarus, not the lake of fire or place of burning. Therefore, this is not the final gehenna where the angels and sinners are imprisoned to burn forever following the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20:11-15.

Remember that Matthew 25:41 states that hell has been prepared for the devil and his angels and this is a place of future burning according to Revelation 20:15. The angels of 2 Peter 2:4 are not in that place of fire presently. Rather, they are in tartarus, or “the place of waiting”, a special place that fallen angels (or demons) call home. Because translators have made the word hell out of tartarus, many have the false idea that Satan and his demons are currently in hell, roasting their victims. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Again I say that tartarus in this text is not the lake of fire. It is the place the demons congregate and call home.

Secondly, the phrase, “chains of darkness,” cannot refer to a literal binding because angels are spirits, and chains cannot hold a spirit without a physical body. The Lord Jesus, as a spirit, could walk through closed doors (see John 20:19,26). Thus, this statement undoubtedly means that the angels are ruled, controlled, and dominated by darkness and wickedness until the judgment day. Such a description certainly fits their situation.

The devil has many names that depict his unholy attributes and deeds. Since we have determined that Satan is a fallen angel who became a demon, and that the fallen angels who followed him are also demons, we can assuredly state that they may be classified with Satan according to his biblical titles. In Revelation 9:11, he is called the angel of the bottomless pit. He is also an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). In this capacity, he fools those persons who follow damnable, heretical cults and new religions. Satan is also the enemy (Matthew 13:29), the foul spirit (Mark 9:25), the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), a liar, and the father of [lies] (John 8:44), the tempter (Matthew 4:3), and the serpent (Genesis 3:1). The demons that follow Satan share these titles with him as enemies, foul spirits, lying spirits, tempters, and unclean spirits.