Are Jewish People the Children of the Devil?

The following program is recorded content created by the Truth Network. I am answering a series of questions. I will not be taking calls today, but I think you will want to listen to every single minute because we are talking about important issues, questions, misconceptions. So I'm not giving out the phone number.

Don't post on social media. I have the questions I will be answering. The first question is this. Is it true that according to the Bible, the Jews are children of the devil? You know, friends, it is amazing how much this comes up now when there is an attack on Israel, unprecedented shedding of Jewish blood since the Holocaust, unprecedented in a single day, unprecedented in its atrocity, that rather than a lot of Jewish sympathy, you have some of that, the anti-Semites come out of the woodwork, you know, well, the Jews are the children of the devil. So first, the Bible does not say that. The Bible nowhere says the Jews are children of the devil. Here's what it does say. Jesus is talking with some Jewish listeners in John the eighth chapter, all right?

And this is very, very big. I don't know that I've heard this taught, but it's going to make a lot of sense in a moment. I don't know if I've heard this taught widely, but it's so plain scripturally. So he's going back and forth with these Jewish men, they're believing, but he says, we've got to continue in my word to be the disciples, and you know, the truth, the truth will set you free.

They said, what do you mean free? We've never been slaves of anybody. Think of a Jewish person, an Israelite saying that, with Israelite history being slaves in Egypt.

But what? We haven't been slaves of anyone. So he goes back and forth and they say in John eight 39, Abraham is our father. So physically, they are descended from Abraham. No one's arguing that. He sure doesn't argue that. But he's not going to dispute, are you spiritual sons of Abraham?

That's his point. If you're Abraham's children, said Jesus, then you would do what Abraham did. In other words, if you're really spiritually children of Abraham.

As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me. A man who has told you the truth that I heard from God, Abraham did no such things. You are doing the works of your own father. We're not a legitimate children. They protest that the only father we have is God himself. Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own. God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you?

Because you are unable to hear what I say. So who is he talking to? He's talking to Jewish men who are looking for a way to kill him.

Got it? That's who he is talking to. Then he says, verse 44, you who? You Jews who are looking for a way to kill me. You belong to your father, the devil. And if you want to carry out and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth for there's no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language for he is a liar and the father of lies. And how does the account end?

How does the account end? They are absolutely furious with him. When he ends up saying before Abraham was I am, they picked up stones to stone him. So these are Jewish men who want to kill Jesus. And he says to them, you're not acting like sons of Abraham, whom you claim is your father. You're acting like sons of the devil, not physical descendants of Satan. He doesn't have physical descendants, but spiritual descendants of Satan. You claim to be spiritual descendants of Abraham and physical descendants of Abraham. You're acting like children of the devil. What's his point? You're acting like the world.

You are acting like everyone else. You are not acting like children of Abraham. He's not saying the Jews are children of the devil. In fact, elsewhere in the gospels, like Luke 13, Luke 19, he talks about salvation and healing coming to different Jewish people because they are children of Abraham.

So here's the big point that people tend to miss. The New Testament says that everyone outside of the Messiah, everyone outside of Jesus, in some sense, is a child of the devil. I know that sounds harsh, but that's what the New Testament says. Can I give you examples?

Sure. How about 1 John 5 verse 19? We are of God, little children, and the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. So the thing that I don't often hear taught or emphasize there is Jesus is saying, you're like everybody else. You're like the world because the world wanted to kill him. The people of darkness wanted to kill him. He said, you are acting like everyone else as opposed to acting like a child of Abraham. He's not indicting the whole race of Jewish people. What about his disciples?

Were they also children of the devil because they were Jews? 1 John 5 verse 19. We are of God, little children, and the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. How about 2 Corinthians chapter 4?

In fact, I want to start. Let me read from 2 Corinthians chapter 4 beginning in verse 1. So look at what Paul writes here. Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience and the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to whom?

To those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. So what's Paul writing here? That everyone outside of Jesus in some sense has been blinded by the enemy. Those who reject the gospel or those who don't hear the gospel, and it's a wide, wide range of people, that they have been blinded by the God of this age. 1 John 5 verse 19. Everyone outside of Jesus is under the power of the evil one. 2 Corinthians 4.

They have been blinded by the evil one. And then Ephesians chapter 2. Look at what Paul writes there.

Ephesians chapter 2, as for you. He's writing to believers in Ephesus, presumably Gentile. And in fact, as he goes on, it becomes very clear that he's speaking to Gentiles. As he goes on in the second chapter, it's explicit that he's speaking to Gentiles.

What does he say? As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and its thoughts like the rest we were by nature deserving of wrath.

Hear this again. So all of us outside of Jesus, we were dead in our transgressions and sins. We followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. So we were slaves of darkness. We followed the ways of Satan. We were under the power of Satan.

Our minds were blinded by Satan. This is a description of those who are not saved. So what is Jesus saying then in John 8 to these Jewish people, instead of acting like your father Abraham and welcoming me and believing in me like these other Jews are, like my disciples are, like the book of Acts tells us tens of thousands, multitudes in Acts 21, we're following Jesus Yeshua as the Messiah. Rather than you doing that as children of Abraham, you are showing that you are children of the devil.

You want to kill me. You're just like the people of the world. So the Jews are not children of Satan any more than the whole world. All the people in the world that don't believe are children of Satan. Those Jews who are hostile to Jesus would be considered children of Satan just like Muslims, just like Hindus, just like atheists, just like others. To put it in a special category of the Jews is to misuse the Bible.

Next question. Did the Jews call down a curse on themselves for all generations? This is from Matthew the 27th chapter.

Did the Jews call down a curse on themselves for all generations? So you remember the question should Pilate release Barabbas, going to release a prisoner. One is a notorious man, bloody man. Barabbas, should he release Barabbas or Yeshua?

And what happens? Is the whole nation there? Is everyone there? No, there is a Jewish crowd there. So the people in the crowd who have been incited by the Jewish leadership, the people in the crowd, when they say crucify him, he says, okay, what about Pilate saw he was getting nowhere, verse 24, but then instead an uproar was starting. He took water, washed his hands in front of the crowds. I am innocent of this man's blood, he said.

It's your responsibility, all the people answered. His blood is on us and on our children. So did the Jewish crowd here invoke a curse on all generations of Jews who are now guilty of the death of Jesus? God forbid, God forbid this crowd, which did not represent the whole nation any more than if you had a crowd of 500 Christians in one city in America shouting things that that would represent every Christian in America, let alone every Christian on the planet, let alone every Christian on the level in the future.

What kind of crazy thinking is that? This was a crowd, when they say his blood is on us and on our children, in other words, we take responsibility for his death. We take responsibility for the crucifixion.

That's what they're saying. And, in fact, that is what happened. Judgment came on them and their children. And Jerusalem was destroyed. So them, those that continued to live until the temple was destroyed and their children, it was a terrible time of horrific suffering for the Jewish people and largely the consequence of rejecting the Messiah on a national level.

It happened. Judgment fell on them and their children for rejecting the Messiah. It's not a curse on Jewish people for all time that all Jews worldwide are responsible for the death of Jesus.

And you can look at any Jewish person today and say, well, you killed Jesus and his blood is on your hands. What kind of biblical justice is that? What kind of biblical principle is that?

That a certain group of people at a certain time could do something wrong in God's sight, terribly wrong, take responsibility for it, be punished for it, but now the guilt remains on everybody for all generations that has any connection to them. That's not Bible. That's not biblical justice. That's not the gospel. So no, the Jews did not invoke a curse on all their generations in history so that everyone is now guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus. For any human being that refuses him, we now miss his grace. We now refuse his grace. Therefore, our sins are on our own head. Whoever we are, whatever our background, whatever our religion or non-religion, yeah, if we reject the gospel, if we reject the Messiah, then we reject forgiveness, we reject mercy, we reject grace, our sins are on our own head.

But a Jewish person today is not culpable in the crucifixion of Jesus any more than an Italian or Roman is culpable in the crucifixion of Jesus because a Roman soldier drove your nails into his hand. Please, let's do better. This is Michael Ellison, founder of Tributa Wellness. I want you to hear an amazing testimony from my friend James Robison, and most all of you will know of him. He and his wife Betty host the Life Today television program. Now here is James. Let me tell you about a miracle I experienced. My friend Michael Ellison, he and his wife are our 40-year-plus best friends.

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Call 800-771-5584 or go online to TriVita.com. The Truth Network presents Life 101, the basic rules for getting by and moving ahead in life. Change is one of the toughest things for us to deal with. We like things familiar, comfortable, predictable, and in control. But experts tell us those things that we love so much can poison our dreams for moving ahead. Sometimes life will force us to change, a crisis, a job loss, an economic downturn.

It makes us uncomfortable, to say the least. But years after those things happen, most people say it actually motivated them to make dramatic and positive changes in their lives. But why wait for life to force change? By reading the Bible, you'll begin to see how God wore change in the lives of some of the greatest people who ever lived. And those stories will begin to change who you are. And changing who you are as a person will be the beginning of positive change in your life. The main thing holding you back is resisting changing who you are. Too many people launch out to achieve their dreams before they really change themselves.

John Maxwell said, We cannot achieve our wildest dreams by remaining who we are. Thanks for listening to The Truth Network. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Get on the Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks for joining us on the Line of Fire today.

Michael Brown, so serious about the days in which we lived. But friends, I've been serious for decades because every day that we have is a gift from God. And we only have one life to live. And then what we do in this world has eternal ramifications, eternal implications. And we only have one life with which we can repay our debt of love to the Lord. Obviously, for eternity, we'll be with Him and serve Him and we'll be with Him and serve Him and love Him. But there's only one time in this world, in this fallen world, that we can repay our debt. So I don't need end time prophecy, date setting.

I don't need anything to make me live seriously except reality, day by day reality. And as the war rages on in Israel, friends, it's just a reminder to the fact that we are living in war, that we are called to be soldiers, that our battle is not with flesh and blood. I'm not talking about that we don't have physical war, but our ultimate battle is a spiritual battle with demonic forces. Therefore, 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 8 and 9, urge us, be sober and vigilant.

Why? Because your adversary the devil is going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, resisting steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same type of afflictions are being experienced by your brothers and sisters in the world. So these are serious times and it's my joy to be with you in the midst of these to say, hey, together we can make a difference. Together, friends, we're raising up a spiritual army that overcomes evil with good, that overcomes hatred with love, that overcomes lies with truth, that overcomes the power of the flesh with the power of the Spirit. And I can tell you with the calling God's given me, I want to give you assurance by His grace. I'm not backing down. I'm not shutting up. I am standing up and speaking up, grace and truth together, hearts of compassion, backbones of steel. And I know that there's courage in your heart.

And I know that I'm not the only one together, friends. We are making a difference. Alright, normally on Fridays we just open the phone lines and take calls. I have a number of questions I am responding to. I'm not taking calls today.

I'm not responding to new things being posted on social media. But do by all means listen to the entire broadcast. If you're just tuning in as you're driving and you miss any of it, AskDr.Brown.org. You can listen to every broadcast.

If you're watching on YouTube, even though we're audio only, go ahead, click a thumbs up, share it with others so we can help get this message out. Okay, another question. And we'll go to Romans 9 and other texts for this. Is the church the new Israel? Is the church the new Israel? For sure, the body, the ekklesia, the assembly of believers, Jewish and Gentile, mainly Gentile now, but Jewish and Gentile believers, the ekklesia take on many of the characteristics of Old Testament Israel in that there's a calling to be a light to the world, in that we are a chosen people, in that we are a priestly people.

Those things are absolutely true. Some would even argue that Paul in Philippians 3 refers to followers of Jesus as the circumcision. In other words, we are the real spiritual circumcision as opposed to those who are just the earthly circumcision. Some would argue that according to the end of Romans 2 that a true Jew is one who is spiritually circumcised, not one that would be physically circumcised. Some would make those arguments and based on certain texts, not all Israel is Israel in Romans 9 and 6, that Paul or the New Testament in general calls the church, the ekklesia, this new body constituted in the Messiah.

When I say a new body, it's uniquely constituted by the Jew and Gentile in a way beyond anything it was before. Yes, the church is the new Israel. That is not true. That is not accurate. As I understand scripture, that is not true.

That is not accurate. And by the way, it doesn't diminish who the church is, this glorious body that Messiah has brought together against which the gates of hell cannot prevail. I mean, what could be higher and more glorious than that? To be the bride of Messiah that one day will be presented to Him spotless, without wrinkle or blemish? What could be more glorious than that? Indwelt by the Spirit would become a temple of the Spirit.

But let me ask you a question. Throughout the Old Testament, Jacob and Israel are used synonymously. Jacob, speaking of nations, not the patriarch Jacob, but Jacob, Israel, go through Isaiah starting in the 40th chapter and reading through Jacob, Israel, Jacob, Israel interchangeably.

Many promises of restoration, mercy. Just go to the prophets, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, constant promises to Jacob, Israel, judgment coming on Jacob, Israel. Is the church the new Jacob? Do you ever say, well, we're the new Jacob?

No. No one thinks that and the New Testament never give a hint in that direction that the church is the new Jacob. In fact, Paul makes a clear distinction between Gentile Christians and Israel. So, what is he saying in Romans 9-6? He's just explained that he has a broken heart, he has constant pain in his heart for his people, the people of Israel. He's talking about after the flesh, the people of Israel.

He still identifies them as the people of Israel, right? And he says, theirs is, not was, theirs is the adoption to sons, theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. The promises still remain today. When God said to the prophet Jeremiah, no matter what you do, Jeremiah 31 verses 35 to 37, no matter what you do, I will preserve you and keep you. Even if you sin, I will preserve you and keep you as a people, as a nation.

They never change. That's why we still exist. God preserved us. We've been scattered. We've suffered judgment. Satan's tried to wipe us out. He said, I will scatter you. I will regather you.

He has done that. Recognize the mighty hand of God and stand in awe. And just as we as followers of Jesus do not get what we deserve, Israel has not got what it deserved.

If any of us got what we deserve, we'd all be out of here, completely obliterated. But he says, okay, so how does this work then? There's the patriarchs from them is traced to the human ancestry of the Messiah who's God over all forever praise.

Well, what happened? They're not believing. They're not following the Messiah. So he says in verse six, it is not as though God's word had failed for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Not all who are from Israel are Israel. He's not talking about Gentiles here. He's not talking about Gentiles or the larger body of the ecclesia.

He's not talking about that at all. He's talking about the Jewish remnant that not everyone within Israel is Israel spiritually. Yes, everyone in the nation of Israel is Israel physically.

And that's how he's going to refer to Israel 10 times. And as we get up to Romans 11 26, all Israel will be saved. But here is some of the remnant within them, nor because they are as descendants of all Abraham's children. On the contrary, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. In other words, it's not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promised who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.

And he goes on from there. So he makes it clear Isaac and then through Rebecca, Jacob is chosen. So it is the remnant within Israel. It is the believing remnant that is the Israel within Israel. He's not saying that the nation as a whole is not Israel. He's saying that there is a spiritual remnant within Israel, if you want to call that the true Israel.

It would be like saying messianic Jews within Israel, there the Israel within the nation. Hey friends, Dr. Michael Brown here. Do you remember when people thought I was crazy when I said it's not too late for America, that God can still do something in our country, that there is going to be a pushback, a gospel based moral and cultural revolution. And do you remember when people thought that you were crazy because you felt the same way because you believe what I was saying and already felt it in your heart? Well friends, that pushback is here. The gospel based moral and cultural revolution we've been talking about for 25 years is unfolding and we are right in the thick of it and the line of fire broadcast is divinely positioned for such a time as this. Friends, you would be so gratified and blessed as I hear, if you could hear what I hear, testimony after testimony as leaders, young people, old people, moms, dads, students, people from all backgrounds come up to me and say, Dr. Brown, you're providing a template for us. You're providing a blueprint for us. You're showing us how to do this, how to have hearts of compassion, backbones of steel.

But friends, it's a joint effort. We do this together and with your support, we can amplify this broadcast around the nation and amplify this voice to shake the nation. On our support team today, become a torchbearer with a dollar or more per day. Here's a number to call to sign up. 800-538-5275. That's 800-538-5275 or go to askdrbrown.org, askdrbrown.org and become a monthly supporter. Click on donate monthly support.

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Get on the line of fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks once more for joining us on Along the Fire.

Michael Brown, your host for more of sanity and spiritual quality. Friends, it is time to stand up to wickedness. It is time to stand up to darkness. It is time to let our lives count for the kingdom of God like never before. Let's do it friends.

The hour is ripe for God to move through His people. Every day say, Lord, here I am. Send me. Use me.

Make me fully usable. He'll answer that prayer. Alright, I'm not opening the phone lines today. I'm answering a number of questions that are very much relevant to a lot of what's happening in the world today and a lot of theological confusion. I'm doing my best to open up the Word and be as clear as I can in my communication.

I'm not taking social media questions so just sit back, take this in. We are audio only today as you see if you're watching online. Alright, next question. Does Galatians 6 16 teach that the church is the Israel of God? Does Galatians 6 16 teach that the church is the Israel of God? If you just tune again in the previous segment we answered the question, does the New Testament say the church is the new Israel?

The answer is no. What about does Galatians 6 16 say that the church is the Israel of God? So let me start reading in verse 11. Paul writing, see what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand. Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised.

So who's he writing to? He's writing to Gentile followers of Jesus who have been seduced with a false teaching by some Jewish brothers who came in actually teaching a false gospel. And they said that in order to be saved you must be circumcised and obey the law of Moses. So they weren't saying, you know as Christians you might want to pray about the biblical feasts or holy days, you may want to pray about the dietary laws of the seventh-day Sabbath and see how that fits in your life.

No, they weren't saying that at all. They were saying unless you are circumcised, so that's for men and the women would go through a different rite, but unless you are circumcised and obey the law of Moses you cannot be saved. It was a false gospel.

Paul said it's not a gospel at all. And he calls these people false brothers that came in with this message. So he says those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

It's a profound comment and I don't want to major on that, but it is worth thinking how many things we might do, how many decisions we might make, how many compromises we might make, how many adjustments we might make to our message so as to avoid being persecuted for the cross. Then he says, not even those who are circumcised keep the law, that they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. And then these amazing words, may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus the Messiah through which or through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. And clearly what he's saying is in terms of salvation. It means nothing.

What counts is the new creation. And then he closes out by saying, peace and mercy to all who follow this rule and to the Israel of God. Some translations, peace and mercy to all who follow this rule even to the Israel of God. Or some translations, peace and mercy to all who follow this rule to the Israel of God. Verse 17, from now on let no one cause me trouble for I bear in my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters.

Amen. Now, a little trick that, not a trick, something you can do if you have no Bible software at all. You can go over to BibleGateway.com.

There are probably other sites you can do this at as well. Go over to BibleGateway.com and you type in Galatians 6 16. Now I have it here, the Tree of Life version to come up which is a Messianic Jewish version.

I was able to participate in some of that translation as well. And I'll read it from the Tree of Life version, TLV. Now as many as live by this rule, shalom and mercy on them and on the Israel of God. So in other words, all of you Gentile Christians, you follow this rule, you understand circumcision, not circumcision means nothing. What matters is a new creation, peace and mercy to all who live by this rule and also to the Israel of God.

Who is that? What is he speaking about? Well, when you go over to Bible Gateway, this is the point I wanted to make, and you type in one verse, then when you scroll down, you see, look for this, Galatians 6 16 in all English translations. So there are many, many different translations that are cited here.

I'm going to just read through some of them. The King James reads and upon the Israel of God, the ASV and upon the Israel of God. The Amplified says this, and upon the true Israel of God parentheses Jewish believers. So brackets true and then Jewish believers parentheses. Very interesting there.

Oh, let's see. The CEB and on God's Israel, the complete Jewish Bible and upon the Israel of God, the ESV and upon the Israel of God, the ISV and may mercy be upon the Israel of God, on and on. King James and upon the Israel of God, I guess I cited that.

LEB and on the Israel of God. So you see the overwhelming majority of translations here, NET and on the Israel of God. That's how they read this.

That's how they understand it. So it's two separate groups, not even, so peace and mercy on all Gentile Christians who follow these words, even, you are the Israel of God or to the Israel of God, that's you. No, it's two separate groups. Now the Greek word kai would normally mean and. It can mean even in certain cases, but the most natural reading, the first reading you assume is and. So why do I say that Paul is not calling the church here the Israel of God? Paul is not referring to the Gentile Christians whom he wrote as the Israel of God. Well first, the most natural reading would be and unless you had a strong reason to read even. The natural reading would be and the Israel of God.

So it's two separate groups in that sense. The other reason, the theological reason is this. Paul has just rebuked them from pillar to post, called them foolish Galatians. He doesn't start this like his other letters with words of praise and commendation and encouragement and then he gets into correction where he needs to.

No, he just lays into them right at the beginning and I'm in the pains of childbirth for you again and how have you departed and again calls them foolish and you've fallen from grace. I'm concerned about you. And what's their error? That they think that they have to become Jewish, they have to be circumcised and therefore become Jewish and obey the law of Moses.

Why? After making it clear that that is not the issue, the issue is that you are in Jesus, that you are in the Messiah and therefore you are a spiritual child of Abraham and therefore you are a joint heir with Jewish people and Jewish people in the Messiah and in the Lord there's no Jew nor a Gentile, there's no male nor female, there's no slave nor free, there's no caste system, there's no class system. You're all one in the Messiah. Why would he go through all of that and then call them the Israel of God?

It's like, oh we are Israel. Oh well then shouldn't we keep the command? Well then I guess we should be circumcised. Well what about the Torah? We should, that would confuse the whole thing.

It would undo everything he's saying. Rather he's saying peace and mercy to all of you and hey I'm not throwing Jewish believers under the bus. Jewish believers who observe the Torah, Jewish believers like Jacob, James and Jerusalem and Peter and others, no I'm not throwing them under the bus and Paul, you could debate how Paul the book of Acts would speak of him as living as a Jew but let's not even debate that right now. He's saying yes blessing on the Jewish believers too, I'm not throwing them under the bus. So no, Paul does not call Gentile Christians the Israel of God. Alright, another question. Who are the 12 tribes in Revelation 7?

The 144,000 sealed. Who are the 12 tribes? I want to say up front here that I am not in the least dogmatic when it comes to this subject. I've been very strong on my views on other subjects that I've responded to and answered thus far.

But this to me is a very debatable question. Just like Revelation can be read in different ways and I believe it can be read in different ways because it speaks in different ways to different generations. On the one hand it has to have a universal message for believers in every age, in every setting. But then it had to have a special meaning for believers living in the first century that received the message and the letters to the seven congregations in Asia Minor and I believe it's going to have a special relevance for the last generation.

It has to have relevance for every generation. And then I believe there are aspects of it historical and aspects of it that are still future and theological themes that are timeless. So I am anything but dogmatic here. My understanding of the 12,000 from each tribe, my understanding is that these who are sealed, mentioned in Revelation 7 then again the 14th chapter, that this stands for the fullness of Israel. That just as there is a multitude that no one can number us. So I do not believe that the 144,000 sealed represent the fullness of the Gentiles and that the churches and the race groups. Obviously I don't believe that. And even though some say John in his Revelation, he looks there and he looks there and the second is the interpretation of the first.

I don't see it in this case. So I see it as two distinct groups, the 144,000 and the multitude that no one can number from the nations of the earth. So that multitude that no one can number, that's the fullness of the Gentiles the scripture speaks of and Paul addresses in Romans 11.25 as I understand it. And the 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes that is symbolic of the fullness of Israel coming in, of all Israel being saved. That the 12 times 12,000 speaking of fullness and completeness. So it's a picture of all Israel being saved and the fullness of the Gentiles coming in.

That's how I understand it. I don't understand it as a literal 144,000 people or literal virgins as we read later in the text. I don't understand it in that sense because I don't believe in a preacher of rapture. I don't believe that it's specifically 144,000 Jewish evangelists during the great tribulation. I don't read it in that sense.

If it is referring to that, we'll be here side by side. The Jewish believers will be part of those evangelistic teams because I don't believe in a pre-trib rapture. But to me I see it as symbolic of the fullness of Israel at the end of the age coming to faith. As to why the tribe of Dan is missing, that remains a mystery.

I've seen different theories for it and sin of Dan in history in Israel but that would exclude other tribes as well. So I don't know. I haven't seen any answers that seem like aha, that's it. And there are certain things we don't know but they don't affect our day-to-day life. They don't affect our salvation.

They don't affect our ministry or lives. So it's one of those things, if we don't get a definitive answer in this role, it's one of the things we get an answer to in the world to come. Hey, a quick reminder. We are putting out essential information for you. Life-giving, life imparting, tools equipping for free every single week. If you get our emails, you'll be the first to know. Every week we get a list of the latest articles.

We're putting out so much that's of critical importance in the midst of the war in Israel and anti-Semitism and other things going on. You need to get this for your spiritual well-being, strength and health. Let us pour into you. Sonnetnow.org. A-S-K-D-R Brown.org.

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Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. All right, I'm going to answer one more major question. I'm going to read this to you.

It's not a biblical question, but it's relevant, it's of interest, so I do want to answer that. Before I forget, though, I want to give you a reminder about something we're doing in the month of October. We've never done this before. Those of you who are torch bearers, monthly supporters, part of our support team that help us get out thousands of free resources to believers in America and around the world and serve the body in so many ways, we are indebted to you.

Thank you for your help and support. You know, giving a dollar or more per day, you not only have the joy of knowing that you're partnering with us in this sacred work and storing up treasure in heaven, but you also get, when you sign up, two free books that we send you, Compassionate Father and Consuming Father, Who's the God of the Old Testament, we send you the Revolution Book, and you know that you get access to many classes we've taught, online classes that you normally pay for, you get those for free to access as many times as you want, and you get a new audio message every month and an insider prayer letter and a 15% discount on our online bookstore, and if you come to Israel, there's a discount on the package, so you get blessed in many ways. But we just feel it's so critical now to raise up more support and to spread this message more quickly that we're doing something we've never done, and because of the crisis in Israel now and the continuing world rise of anti-Semitism. So when you sign up to be a torchbearer during the month of October, not only will you get everything that everyone else gets and the two free books, but we want to give you two more free books, Our Hands Are Stained with Blood, The Tragic Story of the Church and the Jewish People, and Christian Anti-Semitism.

I wish I could make every believer, especially in America, read those books. I wish I had the power to do that, but we want to give them to you free as you sign up to join our support team. So you can do that by going to askdrbrown.org, A-S-K-D-R brown dot org, or on your app, you can click on give, donate, and then go to monthly support.

That's where you sign up. Thank you in advance for those that are helping us make an impact that is shaking the nation and touching many, many different lives. A colleague of mine wrote to me, a Christian involved, a lot in media and Hollywood background, and he said, Have you ever written anything on why American Jews overwhelmingly vote for Democrats? It's baffling since conservatives, especially conservative Christians, are the biggest supporters of Israel. Conservative Christians are probably the largest tourism customers in Israel. And in our government, the most vocal supporters of Palestine is commensurate Democrats. And the lesser democratic presidents have paid billions to the Iranian regime, no doubt funding much of this week's attack.

In fact, I suspect Biden's vocal support for Israel this week is an effort to dig his way out of this latest payment to Iran. And all of these Hamas support rallies are led by liberals. And yet most of the Jews in America are hardcore supporters of the Democratic Party and would never consider supporting the Republican Party. It's almost as if they have a death wish. Any insight on that?

Well, like anything, it's somewhat complex. Why do white evangelical Christians overwhelmingly vote Republican? Why do black Christians overwhelmingly vote Democrat? Why do Jews overwhelmingly vote Democrat? There are some simple answers. And then there are others where you have to go back in history and better understand the loyalties and the positions and things like that.

So there are a few things. First, the obvious is that the great majority of American Jews are fairly secular and liberal. The great majority of American Jews are not reading the Bible. The great majority of American Jews, I mean as high as 90 percent, are not regularly attending synagogue on Shabbat and strictly keeping the dietary laws or men getting up at the crack of dawn and saying morning prayers and putting on tefillin, the phylacteries, and so on and so forth. So the vast majority of American Jews are fairly secular and fairly liberal. So they would vote like other secular liberal people. They would have a different set of values than we would have as evangelical followers of Jesus.

A great number of you listening to me right now are evangelical followers of Jesus. And we would have a more conservative worldview and we would look at scripture as guidance in terms of social and moral values and things like that. Your average American Jew is much more secular. Now what's interesting is as the number of orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews in America rises, one reason being high birth rates, another being that Jews could be looking more to religion, to God, so there could be a higher number coming to orthodoxy on some level, whether it's the left side of orthodoxy, which is modern orthodox, or ideologically to the right side, which is ultra-orthodox. Either way, those Jews that are more religious tend to vote Republican much more. And there has been a shift on some level in recent years where more Jews have voted Republican than before. So there are larger numbers of religious Jews that are voting Republican and bucking the historic Jewish tie. And there are Jews, even that are not as religious, but they're seeing some of the extremism of the Democratic Party. They're seeing that it's gone much further to the left than it has, and it has some outright open anti-Semites in its midst and virulent anti-Zionists. So that has turned some towards the Republicans. And as much as Donald Trump was a highly controversial figure who made many enemies, he was a real friend of Israel.

And the Abraham Accords, the move in the embassy to Jerusalem, this made him greatly loved in Israel. You may know the story that when I was sharing the Gospel in Israel, this confrontation, just talking to people on the street about Yeshua, which is perfectly legal, and there was this confrontation and this countermissionary guy started yelling and causing a disruption. So I turned to one of the folks and I said, is it okay to talk about Yeshua here, about Jesus? And he said, what do you think about Trump? I said, well, I voted for Trump because we love Trump. Make America great. Make Israel great. And I saw posters up praising Trump and things like that. So he was perceived as a real friend of Israel.

Again, I understand he made enemies in many other ways. But there are more Jews who have shifted somewhat, on the one hand, because of a higher number of religious Jews and therefore voting for more conservative values, similar to evangelical Christians, and others who have been turned off by the radicality of the Democratic Party, and as it has become more openly anti-Semitic in certain ways, and that has driven some Jews over to the Republicans. But historically, this is what the Jewish community would really fear. The Jewish community really fears a religious takeover of a nation. In other words, the feeling is, if the country is not really religious, then there's freedom for everybody, and Jews can do what they do without being under pressure. If America was an Islamic theocracy, then Jews become second-class citizens at best. If America was a Christian theocracy, Jews become in some way second-class citizens. So in light of that, there is this concern. And when you have Christian nationalists saying, hey, this is a Christian country, not a Jewish country, and we don't want to be listening to these Jewish thinkers and these Jewish leaders, and we don't want Jewish politicians because this is a Christian country, that only confirms the fears that, hey, we don't want this. So to the extent that the Republican Party is looked at as the conservative Christian party in terms of values and aspirations and is going to be much more friendly towards that ideology, then there is the fear that that could lead to some type of theocracy. And whenever you have a religion imposed over the nation, it doesn't go well for the Jewish people there because they're going to be different.

They're not going to fit in. And even those who are not religious still fear this, still have a concern about it because, hey, we don't like the way this is going, and it never goes well for us in history when this happens. So that would be another reason. So one reason is liberal secular. They're going to have a viewpoint very much like the rest of the Democratic Party. A second reason is this fear of a religious takeover or some type of theocratic rule or Christianizing, in this case in America, in other cases would be Islamizing, of the nation.

That doesn't go well. A third thing is this, that American Jews are concerned with the well-being of Israel. They absolutely are, and there is a sense of solidarity, and many friends and relatives would live there. However, there is an evangelical Christian support of Israel, which is a little different. There's an evangelical Christian support of Israel which sees this in prophetic terms and the return of the Jewish people back to the land as fulfillment of prophecy and the end of the age coming and things like that.

And it gives an extra sense of urgency, and these are cosmic battles that are being fought. So in that sense, your average evangelical Christian can be more pro-Israel than many American Jews, and especially Jews within Israel are getting more conservative and going further to the right. Of course, there's all types of liberal social values, but in terms of political ideology, they're going further to the right, and American Jews to the left. So there are a lot of conflicts there. So American Jews would not have voted Netanyahu back in. So they're by and large.

So there are big differences there. And then lastly, tie into this secular liberal mentality that many Jewish people, even though they are secular, still have a religious sense, or they still have a prophetic sense. They still feel that as Jews, they should stand for righteousness, that as Jews, they have an obligation to stand up for the oppressed, for the outsider. When you look at it through the liberal secular view, then the woman is the one who is the excluded one when she's pregnant and someone at pregnancy. So standing with the outsider, standing with the excluded, standing with the marginalized, that means standing with the woman, not standing with the baby in the womb. It would mean, say, gay couples. Well, of course you support same-sex marriage.

Why? Because that's the outsider. That's the marginalized. And as Jews, we stand with the outsider, the marginalized, because that's been our history. So it's kind of a strange arrangement in terms of what happens. But those are some of the reasons.

But I do believe, as the Democratic Party continues to lurch left and Iran is supported and helped in different ways by the Democratic Party to the extent that's true, that there will be still a filtering over to Republicans unless the Republicans are considered to be too extreme. Hey friends, again, if you don't have our app, please do download it. Ask Dr. Brown Ministries, A.S.K.B.O. Brown Ministries. You'll be blessed. So much to fortify yourself, to help you, to encourage you. Debates we've done, teachings we've done, short videos, full-length series, all waiting for you. Our Real Messiah Jewish Outreach website. Check it out. If you don't have the app, download it. A.S.K.B.O. Brown, Ask Dr. Brown Ministries, back with you on Monday.