Daily Bible Nugget #553, Isaiah 55:3

The Nugget:

Isa 55:3  Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

My Comment:

A friend posted on Facebook recently that if Israel still has a covenant with God, then the New Covenant does not exist.

I don’t know that this would be the case. Israel is surely still under the Abrahamic Covenant as well as the Davidic Covenant, since these two great fundamental covenants contain some eternal and unconditional provisions.

My friend further commented that it is easy to be swayed by false teachers. Some of these teachers are apparently to be seen on television. Some of what these teachers proclaim is not really religious or biblical teaching but political content.

As for me, I don’t watch television. I don’t have a working television in my home. But I understand from the testimony of others that there are popular but mistaken false teachers who use that medium. But there are some good Bible teachers out there who teach what the Bible declares quite accurately. Some of these teachers believe present-day Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy and, according to the Bible, there is much more to come.

Some would identify this view as “Zionism,” and describe themselves as “anti-Zionists.” I’m still learning about this subject, thanks in part to the efforts of my friend. But I have studied Bible prophecy extensively directly from the Bible as I prepared my books, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible, and most recently, The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury. I have thoroughly read and continue to read the thorough-going nineteenth century scholarly three-volume study by George N. H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom, originally published in 1884.

I have learned through my reading about Bible prophecy that there are plenty of disagreements about the subject. What I find amazing is that George Peters encountered many of these disagreements in his day and answered them carefully from the Bible. That is why I often recommend interested students of the Bible to procure and read what Mr. Peters has written. His work is available now in digital format for free on the Internet.

My friend suggested that since Jesus clearly said, “My Kingdom is NOT of this World,” we ought to just teach Jesus and let the politicians tackle the subject of politics.

My friend might be right. But I include a note below involving the proper understanding of John 18:36, a note taken directly from Peters’ The Theocratic Kingdom. I think what Peters wrote helps us to understand John 18:36 more completely in its original setting and so helps us see how what Jesus said then factors in to understanding Bible prophecy more accurately.

My Response:

Might be wise to reconsider Malachi 3:6,

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Since God Himself declares that “I change not,” He has preserved the nation of Israel over these many centuries so that He can fulfill the promises He has made to them. They have not been completely fulfilled yet. There is more to come!

Not to mention Isaiah 55:3,

Isa 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

I don’t recall reading anywhere in the Bible that the sure mercies of David have been canceled or transferred to someone else!

In my experience, if you ask anyone in church, or anyone that is even somewhat familiar with the Bible, “What are the sure mercies of David?” the person is usually not able to come up with an answer. This subject makes for a most interesting Bible study.

And as for what Jesus said in John 18:36, my friend on Facebook may not have noticed what is said further on in the verse: “but NOW is my kingdom not from hence.”

Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

but now. Peters observes “Will the Savior contradict the predictions of the prophets? No, for He qualifies His language, guarding it, by the “but now,” i.e. at the present time, my Kingdom is not of this world and my servants do not fight, leaving the plain inference that at some future time, just as prophesied, His servants would fight” (Theocratic Kingdom, vol. 2, p. 109).

My friend has since shared with me many citations from standard Bible commentaries which do not support the position I hold. At least a few of those commentaries (especially the commentaries by Barnes, as I recall) are old enough that they are cited by George N. H. Peters. Peters sometimes catches commentators making very interesting concessions when discussing some passages in the Bible which turn out to support the view Peters presents from Scripture. This is a fascinating subject for deeper Bible study.