God Wanted the Israelites To Live With The God Of The Old Testament

[Tigger Boy]

The Father Wanted Israel to Live With the God of the Old Testament!

A larger book than the one you are holding could be dedicated to the topic of Jesus, the God of the Old Testament. I have briefly touched on the topic in this book because the fact plays an important part in the untold story of Jesus. It was the Father’s original plan that Jesus, the God of the Old Testament, should come to Earth and permanently live among Abraham’s descendants. This is a truly fascinating story; here is the short version:


When Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus created three curses: one on the serpent, one on Eve, and one on Adam.42 Consider the curse on Adam, specifically the italicized portion: “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’ ”43 The ground was cursed because of Adam’s willful sin. It does not produce as it once did; in fact, it requires painful toil to keep “thorns and thistles” from ruining crops. Keep this curse in mind for the next few paragraphs.


Jump forward in time about two thousand years. When God called Abraham out of Ur, God had a glorious plan in mind–far greater than Abraham could imagine. To start, God needed a man of faith who was childless. He also wanted to use the man as an example. God planned to give the man a choice piece of land and bless him with many children. God wanted to use Abraham to establish a temporary “kingdom of God” on Earth!


God planned His temporary kingdom would be an ideal place to live until the time came to establish a permanent kingdom. His temporary kingdom would reduce “the painful toil” required to grow food because the territory would be a land that “flowed with milk and honey.”44 God’s temporary kingdom would have plenty of water and fertile soil, the curse of painful toil would be greatly reduced and, just as important, His kingdom would be a very safe place to live. “Jerusalem would be a city without walls!”45 The Father purposed to invite the whole world to come and live in His kingdom. All who loved God and trusted Him would gladly be accepted. However, I am a little ahead of the story.


When God called Abraham to leave home and live in Canaan, Canaan was filled with wicked and violent tribal nations. Since Canaan would later become the home of the “faith-full,” it was only appropriate the founder of God’s temporary kingdom on Earth be a faith-full man. The Father tested the depth of Abraham’s faith when He called Abraham to leave Ur. God did not tell Abraham where He wanted him to go. We can be sure Abraham was ridiculed, but, nonetheless, packed up whatever he could carry, left most of his family behind, and set out. Later, God revealed to Abraham His plans for Canaan.


Paul makes His anticipation obvious: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”46


God called Abraham to journey to an unknown place as an example for his descendants. Living by faith always consists of traveling into the unknown. Additionally, faith in God always comes with a price! However, with God, the higher the price, the greater the reward! (Consider the reward that will come to Jesus when the saints go marching in through heaven’s gates!) The land of Canaan had everything the Father needed for a temporary kingdom. It was strategically located between large nations to the north and south with natural boundaries for safety. The Mediterranean Sea lay to the west, vast deserts lay to the east and south, and the Euphrates River formed a natural boundary in the north. God wanted His kingdom to be a model kingdom–a testimony to the world. To save as many people as possible, the Father would provide a stark contrast between a government dedicated to righteousness and governments run by corrupt, self-serving people.


Unfortunately, from the time of the Exodus, Israel’s constant rebellion and faithlessness frustrated God’s efforts to establish “the kingdom of God.” In fact, the very first generation made God angry and He sentenced them to death. They had to wander in the desert for forty years. God said: “For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ so I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”50


Notice this very important point! God referred to Canaan as His rest. God’s temporary kingdom on Earth was to be rest from “the painful toil” imposed on Adam’s descendants. God is all about rest. Night comes before light because God gave us rest before work. The first full day of life for Adam and Eve was the seventh day, a day of rest! Counting from the year of the Exodus, God set up every seventh year as a year of rest! Consider God’s generosity to Israel! “You may ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?’ I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.”51


After Adam and Eve sinned, the seventh day Sabbath became a weekly “prophetic signpost;” a day of rest pointing forward to the rest God would give His people in His temporary kingdom. This would point forward to the eternal rest coming with God’s permanent kingdom. After the Exodus, God became more emphatic about His plan to give His people rest from the painful toil that the curse of sin imposes. He established a seventh year rest and a Year of Jubilee as “prophetic signposts” pointing toward the establishment of the temporary kingdom of God.


The Father sent many prophets including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah to encourage and nudge His rebellious people forward into His glorious plan and desire to establish His kingdom on Earth. Over and over, conditional promises and prophecies were given because God’s covenant with Israel was bilateral: If you will be My people, I will be your God,52 but Israel’s defiance and rebellion eventually terminated the Father’s covenant and plan. Because the Father had made a unilateral covenant (non-conditional) with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (who was renamed “Israel” after wrestling with Jesus), the Father implemented a new bilateral covenant (conditional) when Jesus was on Earth. The new covenant ignores biological origin. This covenant is open to people of all nations who are led by the Spirit! “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”53 Thus, when he is resurrected “at the last day,” Abraham will discover that through Christ, he is actually the father of many nations! “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”54

Plan A / Plan B
Contrary to what is widely taught and broadcast around the world by Christian evangelists, the Father’s original plan for Israel (Plan A55) was not, could not, and will not be fulfilled. When it became clear Israel had rejected the Son of God, by hanging Him on a cross and crucifying Him as a felon, the Father divorced Himself from the biological descendants of Abraham for their unfaithfulness. He did this because His covenant with Abraham’s descendants was bilateral (two-sided). Afterward, He created a new covenant in which every repentant sinner is counted as Abraham’s “seed” (Greek: sperma).56 This may be shocking to realize at first, but nothing is said in the Old Testament concerning a Second Coming except the book of Daniel, which concerns a coming in Plan B. There is a simple reason for this silence: A Second Coming was not needed under Plan A. Many pastors and scholars fail to understand this point and merge promises and prophecies that pertain to Plan A with promises and prophecies that pertain to Plan B. The result is endless confusion. Plan A is significantly different from Plan B and keeping them separated is imperative.


It was the Father’s original plan (Plan A) that when Jesus was sent to Earth, He would die for our sins and after His resurrection, Jesus would remain on Earth to establish God’s temporary kingdom. The Father planned Jesus would rule from David’s throne57 in Canaan until the time came to destroy the wicked and create a new heaven and a new Earth.58 Once a new heaven and a new Earth were created, the permanent kingdom of God would then be established on the new Earth.


Here is a brief sketch of Plan A to show how Scripture could have been fulfilled. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government [of the temporary kingdom of God] will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”59


It was not the Father’s plan for Jesus to die on a cross. Under Plan A, Jesus was supposed to die in the temple on the Altar of Burnt Offering.60 I believe the Lamb of God was to be sacrificed at the very same location and in the very same way Abraham was instructed to kill Isaac! Consider this point: Isaac’s death was necessary to transfer Abraham’s sin with Hagar to an earthly altar of burnt offering in the same way that Jesus’ death was necessary to transfer our sins to the Altar of Burnt Offering, “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’ ”61

God called Abraham to give “his only son” up because the Father would have to give up Jesus, the Son He loved most! Moreover, God chose and directed Abraham to the exact place where Abraham built an altar for a burnt offering.62 Fifteen hundred years later, when the time came to build the temple, God directed King David to purchase a specific location on Mount Moriah for His temple.63 This is not a coincidence. God directed Abraham and King David to build altars for burnt offerings at the very same place on the same mountain!64

The Father wanted Israel to enthusiastically receive Jesus as its King and the Savior of the world when He was sent to Earth. The Father wanted to delight Israel with the fact the Messiah was the God of the Old Testament who actually spoke the Ten Commandments from Mt. Sinai; the same God who created Adam and Eve; the God who appeared to Abraham and talked with Moses from the burning bush! This is what the Father planned, but it did not happen because Israel was unfaithful.65 Israel did not become a nation of “born-again Abrahams” and the Father could not use that nation of rebels for His glorious purposes.66


When the time drew near for Jesus to appear and begin His ministry, the Father raised John the Baptist to “prepare a people” for the Messiah’s arrival and to begin the process of “establishing God’s kingdom.”80 John the Baptist received Holy Spirit power to deliver a gospel of sanctification which is a very difficult gospel to preach because it is ever at odds with the desires of the sinful nature. John taught that membership in the coming kingdom of God required genuine repentance, a total commitment to God’s two commandments of love, and baptism.

The Kingdom of God
When Jesus began His ministry, one of the first things He announced was the time had come to establish the kingdom of God.92 However, we now know the opportunity was not realized and the kingdom of God was not implemented. The God of the Old Testament—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel— was rejected, hung on a cross, and recalled to heaven! If Israel had cooperated with the Holy Spirit during the 490 years of grace and had become the nation which the Father wanted, there would have been enough “born-again” people to establish God’s kingdom in Canaan! If Jesus had established the “kingdom of God,” world history since that time would be vastly different.

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[Tigger Boy]

Paul understood after Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah and Jesus returned to heaven, the temporary kingdom of God could not be established on Earth. He also understood how the temporary kingdom of God, the permanent kingdom of God, and God’s seventh day Sabbath are related. Carefully consider his words: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his [permanent] rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. . . .For somewhere [in Scripture] he [Moses] has spoken about the seventh day in these words: ‘On the seventh day God rested from all his works.’. . . There [also] remains, then, a [weekly] Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s [weekly] rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that [permanent kingdom of] rest, so that no one will perish by following their [our forefather’s] example of disobedience.”93

Why do we need to enter God’s rest? The curse of sin imposes “painful toil” on everyone. At the appointed time, God will establish a permanent kingdom of God and repentant sinners will live in a land of rest, flowing with milk and honey. Now that you have considered God’s plan, I am sure these words of Jesus will mean so much more: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”94

Plan A Details
There are a few details about the temporary kingdom of God which I would like you to consider. I believe these details were established when Jesus was on Earth. I include them so you can see how Plan A and the Old Testament align. Once you grasp the concept that Plan A pertains to the Israel that came out of Egypt and Plan B pertains to the Israel that is made up of repentant sinners, your appreciation for this topic will make the Bible clearer and more exciting than ever!

According to the Father’s original plan, Jesus would have remained on Earth after His death and resurrection, and established the kingdom of God on Earth. His headquarters would have been in Jerusalem and Jesus would have ruled from the throne of David. Isaiah 9 states the government would have been on Jesus’ shoulders. Consider what life in the temporary kingdom of God on Earth would have been:

“ ‘I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.

“ ‘They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they [be overrun by their enemies, My people will not] build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them.

“ ‘Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will [still] be the serpent’s food. They [serpents] will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,’ says the Lord.”95

After God’s kingdom was established, the twelve tribes would have carried the gospel of Jesus throughout the world. Christ’s kingdom would have grown and expanded.

“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple [the temple is described in Ezekiel 40-45] will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”96

Under Plan A, there would come an appointed time for the end of the world. When that time arrived, a testing gospel from Jesus would be proclaimed throughout the Earth by the twelve tribes. The message would be very similar to the message given to Noah and Abraham! “Leave your homes, if necessary, leave your families, leave everything behind and come to Jerusalem for the Lord is about to destroy the wicked!” The honest-in-heart, repentant sinners would have heard the message. They would have obeyed the Holy Spirit conviction and left their homeland.

“At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”97

“On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”98

“For this is what the Lord says: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever. And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ The Sovereign Lord declares—he who gathers the exiles of Israel: ‘I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.’ ”99

After each person made his choice whether to leave home or not, the wicked would have been destroyed.

“I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”100

“Therefore, son of man [Ezekiel], prophesy and say to Gog [a title given to Lucifer]: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.”

“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused,” declares the Sovereign Lord. “In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.”

“ ‘ “I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains,” declares the Sovereign Lord. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”101

“ ‘And I, because of what they [Gog and the wicked] have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.

“ ‘And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord – on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,’ says the Lord. ‘They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them [foreigners] also to be priests and Levites,’ says the Lord.

“ ‘As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,’ says the Lord. ‘And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.’ ”102

I hope these passages give you a framework for understanding Plan A. Unfortunately, these promises and prophecies did not, and will not, come to pass because the original covenant with Israel terminated for unfaithfulness.103 A new covenant (Plan B) which has parallels with Plan A, was implemented.104

Plan B Details
The kingdom of God is still coming; but, unlike Plan A, the kingdom of God under Plan B will be permanent. Consider these details:

1. Plan B has a high priest from the tribe of Judah. Plan A had a priest from the tribe of Levi.105
2. Jesus serves in the “true temple” located in heaven.106 Plan A no longer has a temple (and it never will) because the Lord sent the Romans to destroy Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Jesus gave temple mount to the Muslims to keep the temple from ever being rebuilt.
3. Plan B’s capital city is the New Jerusalem. Abraham anticipated this city. Plan A’s capital city was Jerusalem until it was destroyed.107
4. Plan B has nothing to do with Zionism or modern Israel. The kingdom which the saints will inherit is not located in the Middle East. Instead, it will be Earth made new. 108
5. The requirements for repentant sinners under Plan B are unlike the requirements for those who lived under Plan A. (The Levitical code was abolished at the cross.) Those seeking to live under Plan A today cannot do so because there is no temple.109
6. Paul says Plan B has a better set of promises and prophecies than those under Plan A.110
7. According to the new covenant (Plan B), God considers repentant sinners as the seed of Abraham and heirs of the promises given him.111
8. According to the new covenant, a Jew is neither a race nor a religion. “A person is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly [as the result of the circumcision of the flesh], nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.”112

Source: The Untold Story of Jesus, chapter nine, by Larry W. Wilson. The numbers reference the text in support of the authors conclusions. Should you grasp the truthfulness of Mr. Wilson’s insights you will understand why one should never use the prophecies of the Old Testament plan (A) (with the exception of the book of Daniel) to explain closing events under plan (B).