The New 95 Thesis

[happysandyh]

I had started posting this once before (pre-crash) and I thought I'd post them once again. This is some of my dad's materials - taken from a booklet of the same name or from his larger book "Signs of His Coming'. He wrote this after discovering the deep anti-Semitism that Luther harbored later in his life. In fact even the Lutheran World Federation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America have repudiated and repented for Luther's anti-Semitism.

The New 95 Thesis
By: Dr. David Allen Lewis

1-6 Christian and Jewish Relations

1. The Church and Israel share a common heritage in the worship of Jehovah, the one and only true God. While the Jewish people do not need the Church to explain their existence, the Church cannot explain it's existence without Israel. The tragedy of the ages is that hostility has scarred the relationship between the church and the Jewish people. It is time for us to begin searching for our real roots as Christians. The search leads us back to Jerusalem and to Israel. It is a time for healing of old wounds. This is our moment in history. Let us not miss it.


2. The Bible is the Word of God. The 66 books of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures solely comprise the written Word of God. The entire Bible is verbally inspired by God and is the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.


3. God is sovereign, He rules over all things.
'The Lord shall reign for ever and ever' - Exodus 15:18
'The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.' Psalm 146:10
'The Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even forever.' Micah 4:7
'And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of HIs kingdom there shall be no end.' Luke 1:33
'For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.' I Corinthians 15:25
'The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.' Revelation 11:15



4. God owns the whole world.
'The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.' Psalm 24.
'For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.' I Corinthians 10:26.
Also see, Exodus 9:29 and I Corinthians 10:28.


5. God can give any portion of the world to whomever He wills.
'When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.' Deuteronomy 32:8
'And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.' Acts 17:26


6. God has determined to give the land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham, through the promised line of Isaac and Jacob (Israel).
'For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.' Genesis 13:15
'And Jacob (Israel) said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the lnad of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I.... will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.' Genesis 48:3-4
'And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which He sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.' Genesis 50:24




I'll pick up with the next section 'The Abrahamic Covenant' later on....

[happysandyh]

7-9 THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

7. The Jewish people own the Land of Israel.
The church too often views Israel as merely an eschatological curiosity, a sign of the times. This misses the point that the Jews are a real people with a real future. They are not a fossil race, best ignored or placed in a museum of our dreams. They are the Divinely appointed owners of the Holy Land. God's covenant with Abraham is a prophecy. It is unconditional, unilateral, and proceeds from God alone. Here is the original covenant made with Abraham:
"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of the country, and from thy kindred, and from they father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3
"And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy see will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him." Genesis 12:7
"After these things the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward... And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness... And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it... And when teh sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. [The fact taht God put Abram into a deep sleep to finalize the covenant indicates the unilateral nature of the covenant]... And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces... In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Genesis 15:1,6,7,13,17,18

[happysandyh]

8. The Mosaic Covenant was conditional, filled with phrases like "if you obey then blessings will fall upon you." The Mosaic Covenant was bilateral, conditional, and finally fulfilled in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
"A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of teh Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 11:27-28
By contrast the Abrahamic Covenant with Israel is unconditional, unilateral, and eternal, and is based solely on the sovereign determination of God.

[Bookman]

I love number 3 and the final lines of number 8!

[happysandyh]

9. If God should break His solemn promise to Abraham, how can Christians be sure that God will not break the New Covenant, also confirmed with Israel (not the gentiles) which assures the basis of our salvation? We former gentiles are wild branches grafted into Israel's olive tree.
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." Jeremiah 31:31
"...Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." Hebrews 8:8
This new covenant fulfills the Mosaic covenant of redemption, but there is no indication that it replaces the Abrahamic Covenant. That God has more than one covenant active with various entities is shown by the everlasting nature of the Noahic Covenant, and the rainbow promise to all humankind that there will never again be a universal flood. See Genesis 9:9-17. Genesis reveals this covenant, made with Noah, to be unilateral, unconditional, and eternal.
"And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;" Genesis 9:9
"And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." Genesis 9:13
"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." Genesis 9:16
"And God said unto Noah, this is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." Genesis 9:17

[happysandyh]

10-13 GOD'S PLAN FOR ISRAEL

10. God's plan for Israel includes habitation of the Land of Israel.
God brought Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees and later commanded him to leave Haran and make his way to a land that would be shown to him. That new land was to be the possession of Abraham's promised descendants by the decree of the Almighty.
"In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land." Genesis 15:18
"And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God" Genesis 17:8
In response to the statement that "God is not in the real estate business," it should be noted that Genesis 1 describes the greatest land transaction of all time. See Revelation 21:1. "New earth" is real estate. In the Bible, land is mentioned 1533 times, earth 906 times, world 248 times, heaven 678 times. Yes, God is interested in earth and all its lands.

[fuego]

8. The Mosaic Covenant was conditional, filled with phrases like "if you obey then blessings will fall upon you." The Mosaic Covenant was bilateral, conditional, and finally fulfilled in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
"A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of teh Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 11:27-28
By contrast the Abrahamic Covenant with Israel is unconditional, unilateral, and eternal, and is based solely on the sovereign determination of God.

9. If God should break His solemn promise to Abraham, how can Christians be sure that God will not break the New Covenant, also confirmed with Israel (not the gentiles) which assures the basis of our salvation? We former gentiles are wild branches grafted into Israel's olive tree.
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." Jeremiah 31:31
"...Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." Hebrews 8:8
This new covenant fulfills the Mosaic covenant of redemption, but there is no indication that it replaces the Abrahamic Covenant. That God has more than one covenant active with various entities is shown by the everlasting nature of the Noahic Covenant, and the rainbow promise to all humankind that there will never again be a universal flood. See Genesis 9:9-17. Genesis reveals this covenant, made with Noah, to be unilateral, unconditional, and eternal.
"And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;" Genesis 9:9
"And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." Genesis 9:13
"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." Genesis 9:16
"And God said unto Noah, this is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." Genesis 9:17

So is your dad basically saying that in Hebrews 8:13 that he is talking about a Mosaic covenant there and not the Abrahamic covenant?

13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

[happysandyh]

11. The Holy Land is a title given by God to only one of earth's nations, the land of Israel.
"And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of His holy habitation." Zechariah 2:12-13
"And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Zechariah 3:1-2
Of all the cities of the world only Jerusalem is called the holy City in the Bible, five times in the Old Testament and five times in the New:
Nehemiah 11
Nehemiah 11:18
Isaiah 48:2
Isaiah 52:1
Daniel 9:24
Matthew 4:5
Matthew 27:53
Revelation 11:2
Revelation 21:2
Revelation 22:19
(the last two references are to the New Jerusalem).

[fuego]

8. The Mosaic Covenant was conditional, filled with phrases like "if you obey then blessings will fall upon you." The Mosaic Covenant was bilateral, conditional, and finally fulfilled in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
"A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of teh Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 11:27-28
By contrast the Abrahamic Covenant with Israel is unconditional, unilateral, and eternal, and is based solely on the sovereign determination of God.

9. If God should break His solemn promise to Abraham, how can Christians be sure that God will not break the New Covenant, also confirmed with Israel (not the gentiles) which assures the basis of our salvation? We former gentiles are wild branches grafted into Israel's olive tree.
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." Jeremiah 31:31
"...Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." Hebrews 8:8
This new covenant fulfills the Mosaic covenant of redemption, but there is no indication that it replaces the Abrahamic Covenant. That God has more than one covenant active with various entities is shown by the everlasting nature of the Noahic Covenant, and the rainbow promise to all humankind that there will never again be a universal flood. See Genesis 9:9-17. Genesis reveals this covenant, made with Noah, to be unilateral, unconditional, and eternal.
"And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;" Genesis 9:9
"And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." Genesis 9:13
"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." Genesis 9:16
"And God said unto Noah, this is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." Genesis 9:17

So is your dad basically saying that in Hebrews 8:13 that he is talking about a Mosaic covenant there and not the Abrahamic covenant?

13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Bump.

[happysandyh]

From what I read of dad's material here I would say yes. Because the Abrahamic covenant is eternal. Dad said in point 9, that the New Covenant fulfills the Mosaic covenant of redemption.