Hi Child
Blessings to you dear
sister
Aye, its sad on the surface, but part of the process of God hardening hearts as he did Pharoah, is for the greater purpose of "manifesting" the persons he has chosen for honor and righteousness. This is so that we Christians know and rejoice in our deliverance from their wicked words and deeds. (Rom 9, Ex 7) To beware the Jewish fables!
(Tit 1:14) not giving heed to Jewish fables and commands of men, turning themselves away from the truth;
He creates most people as vessels of dishonor.
The "broad gate to destruction" is peopled with hard hearted people. (Matt 7:13)
Hard hearted people become religious too. Israel was hard hearted and stiff necked always, just as the church is full of judahized dispensationalists who put all their belief into a jewish fabled futuristic "Christ coming" story.
But there were always that small number or "remnant" of Israel that didn't buy into the dominating Jewish wickedness, we can read of that throughout the O.T. ("I have reserved seven thousand men unto me...")
So also are some Christians (Israel) delivered from the "second coming" myth to embrace Jesus NOW in His PRESENCE.
(1Th 2:19) for what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye before our Lord Jesus Christ in his presence?
Yet how many hard hearted Christians are still standing gazing up into Heaven waiting for Him to "come"?
How many!
They are those of the strong delusion.
They fulfill a purpose of God, in being a vessel of dishonor by which true Christians are to identify and rebuke in Love, and possibly save... all the while getting strengthened in our faith because of their dishonarable handling of scriptures and their blindness and lack of desire for truth. People like that affect Christians, as tares amongst the wheat. They are of the enemy.
(Mat 13:27)So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
(Mat 13:28)He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
(Mat 13:29)But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
(Mat 13:30)Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
The only way that our hard or "stony" Jewish heart can be removed is by receiving the New Covenant Holy Spirit into our hearts, as God lovingly promised;
(Eze 11:19) And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
(Eze 36:26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
(Eze 36:27) And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
As God promised, so has he fulfilled this promise to Israel, fulfilled within Christians' hearts. This is how "all Israel is saved". The ONLY way Israel is saved.
The stony hearts of the people who don't believe that Jesus has fulfilled all this in us, put it all off into the future. They don't "believe". They haven't "SEEN" what they think they should see. Therefore, "seeing" they are made blind!
(Joh 9:39) And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
These are those of the "strong delusion" believing the lie.
They exist, so that we would preach to them truth, and manifest righteousness. They exist so that we can see what not to be.
(Rom 9:17) For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might shew in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth.
(Rom 9:22) What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction:
(Rom 9:23) and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory,
