“God’s Word affirms that the Jews are God’s chosen people: “You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 7:6)…The Old Testament tells the story of how God set about creating, distinguishing, and preserving that race…The fact that God has an eternal future for Israel is evident in that five sixths of the Bible bears directly or indirectly upon them—Jesus being the central figure who brought the Jews and Gentiles together (Ephesians 2:14).
The concept of Israel as God’s Chosen People has, understandably, given America’s secularized Christianity, shifted from a spiritual perspective of harboring and producing the Seed of the Woman as YHVH’s Savior of the World, to enjoying special privileges over the rest of the world, with American alliance and support of Israel for the purpose of ensuring a stream of oil-based wealth flowing from the Middle East. In November 2017, Steve Bannon headlined a Zionist Organization of America dinner. In his remarks, Bannon praised the organization’s “unapologetic” defense of Israel, and proclaimed himself “a proud Christian Zionist,” invoking the Bible as a basis for supporting Israel.
“ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God…being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them…because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear…if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” (I Peter 2:9-10, Romans 11:17-22)
“said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel…Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail…even they shall fall, and never rise up again…I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.” (Amos 9:8)
- “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians / Cushites unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD.” (Amos 9)
- At the time of Amos’ ministry (c. 750 b.c.), an Ethiopian dynasty ruled autonomously, and prosperously, in the Upper Nile Valley, so this is comparing God’s blessings on his people.
- Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt?
- Confirming this is a reminder of the goodness of the LORD.
- “Thus saith the LORD…that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee...I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight,..I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.” (Isaiah 43:1-4) No question about it. God redeemed Israel with nations he highly valued.
- AND the Philistines from Caphtor /Crete?
- Comparison of saving from tribulation, as Crete was the centre of Europe’s most ancient civilization, the Minoans,. with complex urban settlements resurfacing after the flood around 2000 BC. i.e. subjugating peoples under tyrant kings.
- AND the Syrians from Kir meaning “Fortress” / in ancient Assyria
- another example of providing a new home for refugees.
- “Ahaz [king of Judah] sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and…the king of Israel…And the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.” (II Kings 16:5-9)
Genetic studies of modern Palestinians confirm Amos’ designation as ancient Mesopotamian peoples who have lived in this land for at least 3700 years. Israel’s genocidal determination to wipe them out in order to appropriate their valuable land, especially the coastal Gaza strip, cannot be justified by scripture and will be dealt with by the LORD God, including judging the international agencies who deplore it but refuse to do anything to stop it and America which is funding it.
Why is the restoration of Israel a big deal but the saving of “all the heathen which are called by my name” ignored?
“I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.” (Isaiah 65:1)
- The Egyptians
“The angel of the LORD said unto [Hagar, the Egyptian]…I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude…thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction…and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name / attribute of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me [establishes a relationship with me]…And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.” (Genesis 16)
- The Ethiopians
“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married – united himself with – an Ethiopian woman…And the LORD heard it…And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth…wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses – WHO HAD UNITED HIMSELF WITH ME. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them.” (Number 12:5-9)
Our humanistic post-modern culture is simply oblivious to God’s ordinances and laws and the way to live as family, including the significance of Moses’ Ethiopian wife in her supporting role to Melchizedek Moses. We should absolutely understand that Moses and the Ethiopian woman were as much “two become one” as Adam and his wife. No offspring from that marriage are documented, but that does not exclude Moses from being the head of an Ethiopian household that maintained a loyalty to their “father Moses”.
“Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” (Psalm 68:31)
They call themselves Beta Israel – the house of Israel – and use the Torah to guide their prayers and memories of the heights of Jerusalem as they lived in their thatched huts in Ethiopia. Little is known about the early origins of the Beta Israel beyond the fact that they represent one of the oldest Diaspora communities with ancient origins from southern Arabia. The Beta Israel have consistently viewed themselves as Jews and maintained a distinguishable culture.
As early as 2000 BCE the ancient Ethiopians can be identified as Semitic because they spoke South Semitic languages, in particular the oldest dialect, Ge’ez. Even now, the Ethiopian Semitic languages have by far the greatest numbers of modern native speakers of any Semitic language other than Arabic.
Anthropologists note that at this very early stage in history there was a merging of Semitic culture with Cushite Agaw culture in Ethiopia. It was clearly as a result of this merging that the Agaw peoples have historically practiced a “Hebraic religion”. With as much accuracy as any anthropologist we can conclude that Semitic people converted some of Cush’s descendants to the Hebrew faith.
Ethiopian culture has been influenced by Judaism. The Ethiopian Church, for example, adopted customs associated with Judaism, such as circumcision, dietary laws and the observance of the Sabbath. Ethiopians also believe that the Ark of the Covenant out of Jerusalem and brought to Aksum, the capital of ancient Abyssinia, for safekeeping.
Ebedmelech the Ethiopian risked his life serving Jeremiah while Jerusalem was under siege, even being used by God as Jeremiah’s spokesman.
And another royal Ethiopian was certainly responsible for helping to establish the Coptic Church about 42 AD.
“And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza…and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet… And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him…Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus…And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him / joined him to the body of believers.” (Acts 8)
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles.” (I Corinthians 12:13)
Kingdom Come 