Land and Bible

The story is told that the Prussian German King Frederick the Great asked his physician and advisor,  "Can you name me a single proof of the existence of God?" The physician replied, "Your majesty, the Jews.” All nations and all kingdoms of men will come to an end. There is only one exception: Israel. Israel also as a nation and people would have come to an end (Isa. 1:9, Psa. 124, Deu. 9:4). They wanted to “become like all nations” and would have, except for God’s promise.  God promised that Israel’s persistence as a people and nation would be a witness to all the world that He, Yahweh, is God (Isa. 66:22, Eze. 36:22-23). Israel became like the Canaanites and deserved destruction. But because of God’s plan and promise, because of God’s power – not because of Israel’s goodness or greatness - Israel persists. There was restoration.  No other nation has the promise of God for perpetual survival or, more specifically, for restoration like Israel. If or when America, Russia,...

Most English translations of 2 Corinthians 5:21 state that for our sake God made Jesus who “knew no sin to be sin .”  A better understanding and translation of this verse is that “for our sake He made him who knew no sin to be a sin offering .” In Hebrew, the word חטאת hatat can be both “sin” and “sin offering”. There are many examples of both uses. The two meanings can be seen in a comparison of, for example, Lev. 4:14 and Psa. 32:5 (sin), to Lev. 4:24 and Ezek. 40:39 (sin offering).  The same word is used for both “sin” and “sin offering” because the “sin offering” becomes the symbol or representation of sin.  The sin offering becomes the substitutionary means by which the guilt and punishment of the sin is removed.  But the animal which was given as a “sin offering” was innocent.  The animal didn’t become sin, but became the innocent “sin offering” replacement for the guilty sinner. Jesus didn’t “become sin” on our behalf, but he became the “sin offe...