Much of Christianity and all of Judaism anticipates the endtime recovery of Israel from the north country and the far corners of the world. This recovery will eclipse the exodus from Egypt in importance. But why? How can a very small country wedged between once powerful but now second-nation neighbors influence the affairs of humanity? The answer is in prophecy. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/israel.html Beginning any discussion of Israel in prophecy requires identifying the referent for the naming expression that roughly translates into English as "to prevail or have power with the Almighty or God." Israel can, thus, be said to mean Prevailer with God. The naming expression is assigned to the patriarch Jacob after he wrestled all night with his deity. His descendants, a portion of the physically circumcised progeny of the patriarch Abraham, applied this naming expression to themselves. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael.html The Israel of prophecy will return to the land of the nation's nativity, but not before suffering severely for its lawlessness. The Israel of prophecy is the holy nation of God. His eyes are continually on this nation. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael2.html The fate of Israel hung on whether Solomon, the wisest man who has ever lived, kept the commandments and statutes set before him. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael3.html This day, when the Jerusalem above relocates to the Jerusalem below, will also include the resurrection of the saints. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael4.html Disciples are, indeed, the children of God--but the reasoning that would have Christ immediately striking dead anyone who harmed these children is fallacious. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael5.html All of biblical prophecy is about two kingdoms, both represented by human-like figures. The first is Babylon, presently reigning over the earth. The other is the Son of Man, the Head of which is Christ Jesus, the body of which are disciples, glorified when Christ returns. Because of the timeless nature of the heavenly realm, what is must co-exist with what will be in a dance of oneness. Thus, the Son of Man, however, cannot reign over the same mental topography that Babylon presently rules. Babylon must fall before the Son of Man can receive power. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael6.html Traditionally, Daniel's interpretation has been read to mean that the course of secular history was followed as the series of metals replaced one another: Babylon succumbed to the Medes and Persians, who were defeated by Alexander the Great. But here problems enter. The usual assignment of meaning has Rome then defeating the Greeks, which they did. Then the traditional interpretation has Rome dividing into two legs, which, again, Rome did during the reign of Emperor Constantine, centuries after defeating the Greeks. But Daniel's interpretation doesn't support this scenario. The division of the image was in its bronze portion, with the thighs or loins, the heaviest part of the legs being bronze. So the usual Protestant or Arian interpretation is, frankly, dishonest with the text. And those pundits who teach this tradition are false prophets, deceitful, and carnally or naturally minded. They are without spiritual understanding and should be avoided. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael7.html When the Son of Man is revealed, the legalism of present day Islam will be exploited by legalistic Arian Christianity, for the largest Arian denomination has positioned itself to leverage food into discipleship - Arian denominations are those that hold the error of Bishop Arius, who taught that Jesus was a created being. Those who hold this error place the creation of Jesus as early as Jesus (as the Logos) being the brother of Lucifer and Michael to as late as Jesus being created in the womb of Mary. So it will not be difficult for the false prophet, a demon given the mind and heart of a man, with "miracles" to convince Muslims that Jesus is more than a prophet, born of God to the woman Mary, especially after their firstborns have been ransomed for the liberation of Christians from bondage to sin. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael8.html The Judean hill country is the visible representation (or shadow) of God’s rest, which is ultimately glorification in the heavenly realm, and this hill country produced two grain harvests. Judgment is today on the household of God (1 Pet 4:17), with judgment of those who are not of this household to occur in the great White Throne Judgment. Thus, all of humanity will be of either the barley harvest or of the wheat harvest, except for those human beings represented by the olive and grape harvests. As the grains are ground into fine flour before being offered to God, olives and grapes are pressed and crushed before being offered. But they are refined on-site (i.e., where they are grown), not at a communal gristmill. What’s heard when the black horse appears is grain (before being ground into flour) being priced for sale, with instructions not to harm the refined oil and wine. The grain represents both the early and later harvest of the Judean hill country. Thus, without making too large of a logical leap, it can be said that the third horseman weighs all of spiritually unrefined humanity. http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/whoisrael9.html