The Challenge To The Church

THE CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH

"Produce your cause, saith the Lord: bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen, let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come... " (Isaiah 41: 21-22.)

In these troubled times our Christian civilization is being presented with a mighty, challenge. Termites are undermining the very basis of the Faith, and the challenge is not being met by the leaders of Christendom.

This is largely because the churches of Christendorn have allowed modernistic philosophy, to rob them of the precious Protestant heritage, namely an abiding faith in the Holy Bible.

Next to the Bible, which reveals the Divine Plan to establish a world-wide Kingdom of true peace and righteousness in which ultimately all nations shall partake, the Book of Common Prayer is, perhaps, the most valuable document still in use in the established Church of England. The beautiful services contained therein, under "The order for Morning and Evening Prayer" are also used by some Non-Conformist Churches.

The God-fearing men who so carefully compiled these services believed in the Word of God, having an understanding of the Divine Purpose and a knowledge of that purpose as it relates in particular to the British Peoples.

Unfortunately, most of the ministers who conduct these services, and the tens of thousands of people who repeat the set responses every Sunday, fail to appreciate the actual truth contained in the very words they utter.

If words mean anything at all, the plain English of what is both said and sung by the ministers and their congregations in hundreds of churches throughout the land, imply that the British Peoples are none other than the actual descendants of ancient Israel!

If this Israel-British Identity is not true, then why is it so suggested by the plain words in the Order for Morning and Evening Prayer?

In the overruling providence of God, the Abrahamic promises are claimed as applying to the British People, even although they remain blind to the vital implications of what they say, and what they sing!

The day is surely coming when their blind eyes shall be truly opened, and they will realize the great heritage that belongs to them, and the great responsibility that has been given them to "become a blessing to all the families of the earth"!

When the British Peoples and their kinsrnen of the U.S.A. are awakened to their great calling as God's Israel, their faith will be strengthened, and they will surely stand firm against all the inroads of Communistic propaganda that is aimed at destroying the Christian Faith.

The Israel White Race will no longer almost apologize for its existence, but the Nation will be "born in a day", seeking to put its own House in order, and asking God's help and power, for to fulfil its great destiny in the approaching era of God's Kingdom on earth.

Let us then examine the Divine Order of Service in the Book of Common Prayer, and see how wonderfully the God of Israel has preserved the truth concerning His People, in spite of their sad declension from the faith of their fathers. A study of our True Israel Identity chart will show how God's word has been fulfilled, even as is claimed, from "our forefather Abram".

MORNING PRAYER in the ESTABLISHED CHURCH in ISRAEL-BRITAIN

In these extracts from the Church of England Book of Common Prayer let us first note that there is a call to repentance, wherein with a loud voice the Minister shall read from one or more Old and New Testament Scriptures. These call for both individual and national repentance. We give two examples here. The first is from the prophet Daniel's famous prayer in chapter nine, in the which he acknowledges that 'All Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice':

"To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him: neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he set before us. " (Daniel 9:9-10.)

The New Testament example is:-

"Repent ye; for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2)

Thus as it were, the machinery for National Repentance is ever present in the Established Church, even as the God of our fathers calls for His Israel People to turn to Him through all His Holy Prophets, such as Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel and others.

Then follows A General Confession to be said by the whole congregation, after the Minister:

"ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep ... We have offended against thy holy laws..."

We cannot forbear to comment here that God's People Israel are referred to as lost sheep by His prophet Ezekiel, in chapter 34, wherein the faithless shepherds of Israel are challenged because they have fed themselves, instead of feeding His flock. (See Ezekiel 34:1-10.)

Furthermore, in many churches the Ten Commandments have been removed where once they were set out before the eyes of all the people.

The challenge to the Church today is to strongly preach and teach a return to God's Holy Laws, and not to remove them and to ignore them ...

Another comrnent we must rnake here is that Jesus Christ particularly instructed His Twelve disciples to:

"Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, and as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of God is at hand. " (Matthew 10:6-7)

Moreover, He intimated:

"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel " (Matthew 15:24)

In other words His particular mission was to accomplish the redemption of Israel as the Divine instrument to be used to win the Gentiles.

Evidence may one day be fully substantiated that Jesus did in fact visit Israel-Britain in the "Isles of the West", to whom the Prophet Isaiah addresses many prophecies. (See Isaiah chapters 41, 42, 49, etc.)

Evidence is also available that the great Apostle Paul was sent to Britain where he preached on Ludgate Hill:

"For he had heard in Phoenicia that certain of the children of Israel, about the time of the Assyrian captivity, had escaped by sea to 'the Isles afar off' as spoken by the prophet, and called by the Romans, Britain."

(See Novernber 1959's Kingdom Voice, "St Paul's Visit and Message to Britain".)

But let us return to our Morning Prayer study wherein we shall discover further acknowledgment that the British People are the Israel heritage of God's choosing.

VENITE, EXULTEMUS DOMINO

Psalm 95

"O Come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation."

"Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving: and shew ourselves glad in him with Psalms".

"For the Lord is a great God: and a great King above all gods. In his hands are all the corners of the earth: and the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands prepared the dry land."

"O come, let us worship, and fall down: and kneel before the Lord our Maker."

"For he is the Lord our God: and WE ARE THE PEOPLE of HIS PASTURE, and THE SHEEP of HIS HAND ..."

"When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works ... "

After singing this beautiful Psalm in unconscious acceptance that "we are the (Israel) sheep of the Lord's pasture the British People in their National Church follow this up with the TE DEUM LAUDAMUS, in which they praise God, and in which they acknowledge Christ as the King of Glory, Who overcame the sharpness of death, opening the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers ...

The Te Deum continues:

"We believe that thou shalt corne: to be our Judge."

"We therefore pray thee, help thy servants: whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood."

"Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in glory everlasting."

"O Lord, save thy people: and bless thine heritage. Govern them: and lift up for ever..."

Here then is joyful acceptance that our Saviour King has redeemed His people, and is to return. Israel is the Divine heritage, the saints of the most High, who shall possess the kingdom to come.

Holy writ rnakes this very clear.

When the Prophet Daniel was given his remarkable visions of the Great Gentile Empire systems which would rise and fall, making way for the return of the Son of man, to whom should be given an everlasting Kingdom, he was told:

"The Saints of the most high shall take the kingdom, and possess the Kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever ... the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." (Daniel seventh chapter)

This is confirmed by the Psalmist when he stated:

"He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his SAINTS, even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him." (Psalm 14:8,14.)

Thus Sunday by Sunday, and year by year, the Israel-British people have been blindly asking the Lord to save His people, and bless His heritage, yet still unmindful of His Kingdom Plan.

BENEDICTUS - ST LUKE 1:68

'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited, and redeemed his people. And bath raised up a rnighty salvation for us: in the house of his servant David;'

'As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets: which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies: and from the hands of all that hate us;'

"To perform the mercy promised to OUR FOREFATHERS: and to remember his holy Covenant:"

"To perform the oath which he sware to OUR FOREFATHER ABRAHAM: that he would give us:"

"That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies: might serve him without fear..."

Is it not an extraordinary thing that the National Church of England as represented by its clergy and congregations, should exhort the Lord in praise, prayer and song to keep His oath to "our forefather Abraham" and yet have so little understanding of the Divine Covenant which they call upon Him to remember?

Before the service closes these things are even further endorsed, when the minister and people cry:

Priest: Endue thy Ministers with righteousness.

People: And make thy chosen people joyful.

Priest: 0 Lord, save thy people.

Answer: And bless thine inheritance.

The whole service is an "Israel" service, with a blind Israel-Britain calling upon God to fulfil His Covenant, and bless His own people, whose heritage indeed they are. And, as they gather for Evensong, all this is further enlarged upon in the evening prayers and responses, and the quoted Scriptures, which are sung in the House of the Lord.

Again the minister prays: Endue thy ministers with righteousness.

And again the people answer: And make thy chosen people joyful.

Minister: 0 Lord, save thy people.

Answer: And bless thine inheritance.

Again the people sing about the Abrahamic Covenant in the lovely words of the MAGNIFICAT, LUKE 1:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my saviour ... "

"He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel: as he promised to OUR FOREFATHERS, ABRAHAM and his seed, for ever..."

Just what did the Lord our God promise to our forefathers? Well, amongst many other things, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob promised that their latter-day descendants would become A NATION AND A COMPANY OF NATIONS; A GREAT PEOPLE A WORLDWIDE KINGDOM-EMPIRE!

It was by Divine decree that our British Commonwealth has grown, a Company of Nations, gathered round an English Throne.

It was by Divine decree that the American Republic was born, founded by the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed from these British Isles of the West.

It was by Divine decree that our Peoples have spread abroad to all parts of the earth, and the Lord has indeed kept His Covenant, which He made with "our forefathers".

As the British People continue to acknowledge when singing the CANTATE DOMINO:

"O SING unto the Lord a new song: for he hath done marvellous things ... With his own right hand, and with his holy arm: hath he gotten himself the victory. The Lord declared his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen".

"He hath remembered his mercy and truth TOWARD THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God."

"Shew yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands: sing, rejoice, and give thanks... " (Psalm 98)

If indeed, as we have seen, the Lord has kept His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, fulfilling the same in the latter-day formations of Anglo-Saxondom, and providing redemption for His Israel People, through Jesus Christ our Lord, then should we surely rejoice and give thanks unto Him.

Jesus Christ, is Israel's Messiah. He is their Redeemer, Who will return to take the Throne of His father David and reign over the House of Jacob for ever. (See Luke 1:31-33.)

THE CHALLENGE TO THE CHURCH LEADERS TO RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH!

(II Timothy 2:15)

From COMING EVENTS AND PRESENT DUTIES,

By The Late Right Revd J.C. Ryle, Lord Bishop of Liverpool.

[The following extract is quoted as supporting the contention of believers in the Identity of the British Race with Lost Ten-tribed Israel (apart from Judah), that the promises, covenants and prophecies in the Holy Scriptures concerning the Chosen People, Israel, should be given their obvious and (consistently with the context) literal meaning, and not misapplied and assumed, in a so-called "spiritual" sense, to mean the Church. Such interpretation makes for confusion and apparent contradiction, and is a fruitful source of present-day infidelity and disregard of Holy Writ.

By divine oath (Jer. 31:35-7), Israel exists today as a nation, despite the silence of history after their exile to Media in 721 B.C. (II Kings 17:6 and 18). Such nation, now grown into "a nation and a company of nations" (Gen. 17 and 35:11), and bearing all the marks of identification will he found functioning exactly as foretold by God through the prophets, and confirmed by our Lord.

A study of the Bible in the light of Israel's identity and eventual restoration, united with Judah, in the Holy Land, proves the integrity and harmony of the Scriptures, silences the scoffer and doubter, and restores faith shaken by the "spiritualising" method of interpretation of historic and prophetic events. It illustrates the Gospel of the Kingdorn taught by our Lord, and shows Israel's Divine Commission, the working out of her prophetic destiny as the British race, and her glorious heritage and mission for the good of all mankind.]

THE LATE BISHOP SAID:

"I think we have made great mistakes, and it is high time that we should confess it."

"I warn you that unless you interpret the prophetical portion of the Old Testament in the simple, literal meaning of its words, you will find it no easy matter to carry on an argument with an unconverted Jew ... Will you dare to tell him that Zion, Jerusalem, Jacob, Judah, Ephraim, Israel, do not mean what they seem to mean, but mean the Church of Christ? Oh, reader! if you are a man of this mind, take care what you are doing! I say again, take care! ... I think we should remember that we must reject Protestant traditions which are not according to the Bible, as much as the traditions of the Church of Rome."

"Where, in the whole New Testament, shall we find any plain authority for applying the word Israel to anyone but the Nation Israel I can rind none."

"We are often told in the New Testament that under the Gospel believing Gentiles are 'fellow-heirs and partakers of the same hope' with believing Jews (Eph. 3:6), but that believing Gentiles may be called 'Israel' I cannot see anywhere at all.

"To what may be attributed that loose system of interpreting the language of the Psalms and the Prophets? ... To nothing so much, I believe as the habit of inaccurately interpreting the word Israel and the consequent application of the promises to the Gentile Churches, with which they have nothing to do."

"Beware of that system of allegorising and spiritualising and accommodating, which the School of Origen first brought in and found such an unfortunate degree of favour in the Church."

"In reading the words which God addressed to His Ancient People, never lose sight of the primary sense of the text."

"I believe it is high time for the Church of Christ to awake out of its sleep about Old Testament prophecy. From the time of the Old Fathers Jerome and Origen down to the present day men have gone on in a pernicious habit of 'spiritulising' the words of the prophets until their true meaning has been well nigh buried. It is high time to lay aside the traditional methods of interpretation and to give up our blind obedience to the opinions of such writers as Pool, Henry, Scott and Clark, upon unfulfilled prophecy. It is high time to fall back on the good old principal that Scripture generally means what it seems to mean, and to beware of that semi-sceptical argument - Such and such an interpretation cannot be correct, because it seems to us carnal. It is high tirne for Christians to interpret unfulfilled prophecy by the light of prophecy already fulfilled.

"The curses on the Jews were brought to pass literally; so also will he the blessings. The scattering was literal; so also will be the gathering. The pulling down of Zion was literal; so also will be the building up. The rejection of Israel was literal ; so also will be the restoration."

"It is high time to cease from explaining the Old Testament prophecies in a way not warranted by the New Testament. What right have we to say that the words Judah, Zion, Israel, and Jerusalem ever mean anything but literal Judah, literal Zion, literal Israel, and literal Jerusalem? What precedent shall we find in the New Testament?"

"Hardly any, if indeed, any at all. I can only discover three senses in which the word Israel is used: First, it is one of the names of Jacob; Second, a name given the Ten Tribes which separated from Judah and Benjarnin and became a distinct Kingdom, often called Israel in contradistinction to the Kingdom of Judah; Third, the name given to the whole Twelve-Tribed nation"

"For centuries there has prevailed in the Churches of Christ an unwarrantable mode of dealing vvith the word 'lsrael'; it has been interpreted in many Passages of the Psalms and Prophets as if it meant nothing more than Christian believers. Have promises been held out to Israel? Men have been told continually that they are addressed to Gentile Saints. Have glorious things been described as laid up in store for Israel? Men have been incessantly told that they describe the victories and triumphs of the Gospel in Christian Churches. The proofs of these things are too many to require quotation."

Against that system I have long protested, and I hope I shall always protest as long as I live ... What I protest against is the habit of allegorising plain sayings of the Word of God concerning the future history of the Nation Israel, and explaining away the fullness of their contents in order to accommodate them to the Gentile Church. I believe the habit to be unwarranted by anything in Scripture and to draw after it a long train of evil consequences.