Across the waters in the suffering church the Christian life is difficult, and sometimes deadly. But the witness to Yeshua Hamashiach/Jesus Christ goes forth faithfully. 500 of our fellow believers died today. But we never heard about it. It did not make the evening news, or the cable news. Nor was it mentioned from church pulpits.

Western Christians have been blessed. Unfortunately they have allowed themselves to indulge themselves to the full. We as a church have become very spoiled.

So how will the western church respond in the trials to come? What will we do if we are O.B.E., overcome by events? Will we get bent out of shape? Shall we respond in anger or react in savagery when our faith is tested? Shall we join the heathen and rage along with the nations in Edomite anger? Shall we despise our birthright, even as Esau did, for the sake of a mess of pottage and the comforts of the flesh? How many will snarl and beat their fellow servants? How many will despise their relationship with Yeshua/Jesus as a 'raw deal"?

There is much hidden frustration in the Church right now. We may as well face this now, before it is too late for us to repent and change our hearts. How much of this sad/bad countenance is a stubborn or rebellious anger against God? Could our own carnality and self indulgence be the root cause of much of the depression and overweight we see today among western Christians?

Our apostle Paul spoke about a coming "great falling away". How many Christians will "walk out" on their Bridegroom in this coming 'great apostasy'? This is a matter of grave concern. Corrie Ten Boom has presented a very important and sobering message to the Church on this very matter.

It seems that modern western Christian may have been taught, (or may have come to believe), that "grace" means that we are merely passive recipients of this great salvation. Many of us seem to regard salvation as just 'a deal'. A "ticket to heaven" has been provided for us by our "receiving Christ's salvation". It has been purchased for us in full. But here is the question. Can we receive it? And if we can receive it then here is the next question. Can we keep it? Well of course in our own strength we cannot keep the faith. But will we stay around long enough to see God work within us? Shall we see our God "keep" or "preserve" us, even in the midst of trials and tribulations?

Yes, we have a great salvation. And the price of our salvation has been paid. It was purchased in full during Passion Week two millennia ago. We also know that we cannot earn this free gift of salvation. We rejoice in the flows of God's grace, and rightly so. Jesus died at Calvary for our sins. He has showered upon us His grace, His "unmerited favor". We have been let off the hook. It is a wonderful reprieve. But is there is more to the covenant than we have been told? Is this escape from eternal punishment all that God's grace will do? Or is there more?

Our apostle Paul exhorted us to,

And no, he is not speaking here about salvation being obtained by our own human effort.
Paul is not advocating a of "works" gospel. We know this for a certainty. Because in the very next verse he goes on to say,

This is active pro-active grace working inside the inner man. The New Covenant is a blood covenant. And yes, it involves a responding action on the part of the Bride. But the energy comes not of ourselves. Rather, the grace comes by the empowering Presence of the indwelling Christ. He has given us His Holy Spirit, and He wants us to be filled to overflowing with Him. The covenant involvesus. But there is a pre-requisite. We are being called to surrender up our own self life. Our Messiah wants us to let Him in to all the rooms of our soul and psyche. The New Covenant is a two way commitment involving two parties. The Christian faith is ultimately a continuation and an unfolding of the Abrahamic Covenant. It is a two way agreement between YHVH-God and His covenant people, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So the New Covenant is a mutual two way blood covenant commitment unto death. It must be witnessed by both parties. Have our pastors and teachers adequately informed us about these things?

Many of us in the west have played around with Christianity. Our Bible is a closed book. Many of us have “played church”. A religious smörgåsbord has been laid out before us in the religious bazaars. And we are picking and choosing what appeals to us.

This is so sad to report. Most of us in the west have simply not been informed. We do not know that our Christian faith is actually a blood covenant. Few, who call themselves Christians, have even invited Christ into their lives. They do not "know Him" in any real and personal way. We have not yet experienced His inner Life coursing within us. So we drift along in the narcissistic streams of life we see showcased today in the west. Even as Christians we still operate in our own strength and under humanistic guidance. It doesn't work very well. We still lack purpose and meaning in our lives. So we buy all the "self-help" and "human potential" and positive thinking" and "purpose" books in the Christian bookstore to help give our life meaning and "purpose".

The emptiness and the malaise in the western church fails to satisfy. We want more. And we push on to get it. Often we are wont to take "grace" further and further down the river until it becomes "licentiousness". We talk about "personal freedom" for "Me, Myself, and I". But we end up in a wilderness of sin. And like the Lady of Shalott, our love for the coming Bridegroom begins to flicker. While the worthless shepherds smile and take their money today's modern Christians remain starved of the heavenly food. Naturally, they go searching for it. They search for it in all the wrong places. Christians drift on down the river into swamp, a cesspool of "license" and lasciviousness. And in the slough of despair their Christian faith slowly and sadly begins to fade away.

For many in the western merchant church our basic material needs have been met. But our diligence in spiritual matters is just not there. We are inclined to drift in a passive "feed me something I like" sort of faith. Herein lies a great spiritual danger. Christians remain as babes. Swaddled in our material comforts we are 'fat and contented'. There seems to be no need for us to go deeper into the eternal covenant.

So we don't.

Fortunately we serve a God who cares. He loves His covenant people, and He is going to lead us out of this spiritual quagmire. He lays out a pathway for us, from:
step 1. salvation to
step 2. sanctification to
step 3. glorification.

Our Redeemer takes us on from:
step 1. "little children" as babes delighting to be fed the sincere milk of the Word by others,
to
step 2. "young men" rejoicing in their strength in the faith,
to
step 3. "fathers", concerned for the welfare of the entire global family of faith.
(1John 2:12-14)

But most of us in western Christendom are passive in our faith. We are as little children. We are still in step 1. Why is this so?

For new Christians, and many old Christians too, the self-centered 'old man' is still the strongman in our lives. He still wants to rule within us. Under the influence of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, we still give the "old man" the nod to call the shots. And the "old man" will continue to rule over the Church until the day comes when we take our faith seriously. We are being drawn into a love relationship. And in that love we shall respond to the Bridegroom. We shall get up from our beds of ease and answer the knock at the door of our heart. And in the devotion we shall invite the indwelling Christ into all the rooms of our spiritual house.

We keep talking about our great salvation as if it were merely a religious purchase deal. We talk and act as if Jesus purchased a ticket to heaven for us and has nothing further for us. But is this true? Could there more to the Covenant? Is there something more involved here, - something we have not been told?

Well of course there certainly is more to the New Covenant, but do we want to know about these things? Do we really want that deeper walk in the Spirit of God?

Unfortunately, for most of us, the answer right now is 'no'. We have quite enough 'religion' right now, thank you very much. Obviously this is an unsatisfactory state of affairs, and quite clearly it cannot continue on forever. And it won't.

This is a very sorry state of affairs in the western church. Over here in the peaceful and pampered western countries our walk with God starts with a 'ticket to heaven'. All too often it stops right there. We let our faith drift. In the narcissistic milieu of our age this has become "normal". We grab our free ticket to heaven and to want nothing more in our relationship with Christ Jesus. We tend to make very little further response to Him in witness to this New Covenant. Like 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'the Lady of Shalott', the Western Church is asleep, and drifting down the river.

This idleness is very strange behavior for the Church. She is a 'bride to be'. Does she know what this means? In the relationship with her Bridegroom she is highly privileged. She is especially called to be a witness for the Bridegroom in this world. She has been chosen into a glorious destiny. A holy city of 12 gates awaits her, even the New Jerusalem. It is a huge extended household of many mansions or "dwelling places".

It seems that we have forgotten our glorious calling. We are unaware of our magnificent future. As Christian believers we have become slothful. We have tended to slip off into a certain soporific religious slumber.

What if someone does respond to their salvation with enthusiasm? In the 18th century the word "enthusiasm" was a derogatory word used to describe the new Bible believing evangelicals. Their enthusiasm for their Savior seemed strange. It was frowned upon back then. The Church of England padlocked their pews against the preaching of John Wesley. Evangelical fervor was judged as "excessive" or "fanatical" by churchmen of the time. During the Great Awakenings people who began to respond to God's calling in revivals were often told to "settle down".

This still happens today. People who hear God's Word often come under conviction of sin. They may even repent and ask Christ to come into their lives. Some may even be filled with the Holy Spirit and manifest the gifts. People coming into the covenant respond in all parts of their being, and yes, sometimes emotionally. Their subsequent actions often reflect their love for their Savior.

This sort of witness is unsettling to the watching world. Often these responding saints are told to "come back down to earth",. The assumption is that they are merely in some sort of temporary "emotional state". Those who respond in this divine romance with some sort of zeal or new commitment may be cautioned, "Don't try to set the world on fire". They may even be reminded that "we are saved by grace" and warned not to 'add works' to God's free gift of salvation.

Is there something wrong with this picture? Christian believers often respond to the indwelling Christ with an entirely new behavior. Is this something we would merely call 'works'? Or is it possible that this is the "normal" response to the wonder of the New Covenant?

Let us return to the picture of the marriage covenant. How about the response of the prospective Bride to the coming of her Bridegroom? This bridal response is part of the covenant story is it not? Is the New Covenant just to be acted out by a single party, the Bridegroom? How about the response of the prospective bride to her Bridegroom? Is the New Covenant just a one way street?

Well the answer to that question is, "Absolutely not!"
In a blood covenant there are always two parties involved.

Here is another question that calls for an answer. Why is the Bride of Christ in the west still asleep? Why is "Sleeping Beauty" not awake and preparing herself, even as the 5 wise virgins) did? Why is she not attending to her bridal responsibilities in the covenant? This is something that all good brides do as a matter of course, is it not? Why then, is the Bride of Christ being doped down into abject ecclesiastical passivity, languishing in the pews. Why is she allowing herself to be hypnotized, shoved into the lower hierarchical domination of a religious hierarchy and told "shhhh", "be quiet" and "go back to sleep"? The church as Sleeping Beauty now has the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit is waiting to be asked in. The church emerged from the dark ages over 500 years ago. But she still rests at ease in her glass case of stained glass and crystal. And the toxic apple of false man-made religion is still there in her mouth. Why has she shown so little response to the covenant so far?

The whole counsel of the Holy Scriptures bears witness to this fact. The Eternal Covenant of the God of Israel is a blood covenant relationship. It is a commitment unto death enacted in bond of love. It is a two way agreement between two parties, those being our Redeemer, (the Bridegroom), and His Bride, the full Congregation of the God of Israel spread out around the globe.

Let us take a moment here to remember our own wedding, (if we are married). If we take a look at the painting above, we realize that a true bride is not passive. Not at all. She takes a very active and important part in proceedings. She has an essential role of witness before Bridegroom and the watching world. Look at her. She is responding to the Presence of her Bridegroom as He approaches. Underneath the signature of the Bridegroom the Bride signs her name. For Christians in the Sudan that act of witness will cost them their lives. Like any bride, the true Bride of Christ, takes a very active part in all the proceedings. She is bringing her witness to her Bridegroom before all who are present and watching. She is vitally, actively, and romantically involved in all of the festivities.

Here is the gist of the matter. The true Bride of Christ loves her Bridegroom! She knows that it may cost her her life to sign on the dotted line beneath that of her Bridegroom. But she signs her life away anyway. She is a Bride! She is prepared to testify of her love for her Betrothed, come what may.

And our returning Messiah has a glorious plan for His saints.
Out there in her future is a magnificent destiny that beggars description!

So as the Church comes towards the eventual Marriage Supper of the Lamb she is not to remain just a slave. And she is certainly not just a purchased concubine. Up ahead in a climactic marital ceremony with the returning King the true bride walks in beauty and in grace. She loves her Beloved and is 100% sold out to Him. She has committed herself to Him forever!

This, dear saints, is what the end time drama is all about. Blood covenant commitment unto death is what makes genuine Christianity awesome beyond words. A prospective Bride, God's covenant people, will be the prime witness when the Ancient of Days sits and the courts of heaven are opened. The true church, or Congregation of Israel, will testify before the world of her love for Yeshua Hamashiach/Jesus Christ. And if need be she will bring forth her witness walking through blood and fire, before men and angels. She will demonstrate this marvelous unconditional Agape love her Bridegroom gave her. And she will do so as long as she has breath within her.

Yes, true Christianity goes beyond the salvation "deal". This is a level of faith that is higher than the just a purchase of a cheap "ticket to heaven". Blood covenant issues will come up for consideration in those awesome future days of the final seven years of this age. The New Covenant involves a relationship with God that is far deeper and more awesome than we as westerners know. The blood covenant we have entered into with Jesus Christ goes beyond any business style "contract". It is not a "deal" that is canceled on a whim such as we have in our present day merchant society. Blood covenant is an eternal "blood covenant unto death". It is forever. Blood covenant means "blood for blood". It is like our marriage ceremony. It is "Until death do us part". This, dear saints, is the true "bottom line".

The relationship of true Christians to Christ is just as deep and binding as that of any true bride with her bridegroom. Her level of commitment in the marriage covenant is total. It is absolute. It is not dependent on how the bride-to-be 'feels' about it at the time. The marriage covenant is a blood covenant written in eternity. It is a relationship of total commitment unto death. Marriage was instituted by God. It is a reflection of the higher covenant between YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all of His covenant people.

With that picture in mind, here then is the question. Having purchased our salvation with His blood is it likely that our Savior is going to set forth anything different to the patterns He has already instituted in marriage? Are the roles for the Bride of Christ and her Bridegroom to be any different to the pattern God has established in marriage? Is the Bride of Christ passive and out of the loop, as we see in the pre-tribulation rapture scenario? Is Christ, our Bridegroom, going to stroll in, sign and seal the New Covenant all by Himself, and then just go in and "pick up" the bride and carry her off without her knowing what is going on? The end time drama is all about the covenant business of the Most High God. Is the Bride of Christ to be left out of the ceremonies? Is the Wife of the Lamb "out of the loop"?

Messiah is surely coming back again to this earth. He will judge the wicked. Then He will be coming to gather His single Elect and take them off to His mansions in the glory. But how about this pre-tribulation Rapture of an unsuspecting uninvolved 'bride' leaving early without Israel? Does it sound like the way our God does things? Is this all there is to the execution of the New Covenant? Or is there more? Have we heard the 'rest of the story'?

The basic question comes down to this. Is the Bride of Christ merely a "tag along" "do-nothing" sort of woman who waits around waiting to be picked up? Is she just a purchased possession awaiting transport? Is she not personally involved with proceedings. Sort of like a concubine?

Here is another question. Do things just "happen" to this would be bride? Do events happen to her without her knowing about it? Is she surprised by the return of Messiah as if He were a thief in the night? Or is that just the experience of the wicked? Is the woman absent from the final witness and the final showdown of this age?

An awesome Blood Covenant end-time drama in God is up ahead in our future somewhere. It will unfold in the fall feasts during the autumn of some future year. And holy history will come to its glorious climax.

God is still on the throne. He is the Source of all our personal and cultural inspirations. We have inspirations for adventure and inspirations for romance. Who put these holy desires and powerful emotions in the bosom of men and women? Was it not our Creator? Were we not created in His own image? Are we not called into a consecrated relationship characterized by fidelity and devotion in love? Pick up any great novel. In any great adventure or romance do we not see that great love put to the test? Is such an idea really all that strange to us?

Well here we are. In times to come things will change. Our faith and patience could suddenly be put to the test very dramatically. At some point in our lifetime we could find ourselves suddenly thrust into the climax of history.

As we look at the end-time truths outlined in holy scripture we can initially become quite alarmed. We might complain, "Nobody warned us!" We might not expect to be challenged to this degree. Some might snarl, "This is a raw deal!" The specter of desertion by a portion of the present day Church is too awful to dwell on. But it is entirely possible that many who call themselves Christians could walk out on God in times to come. Moses warned of this in his closing address to the Church in the wilderness. The Old Testament prophets said that just "a remnant would return". Jesus said that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few that be that enter therein". Our Apostle Paul warned us that their would be a 'great falling away' from the faith or a 'great apostasy'.

We see the woman of destiny all through the scriptures.
A wonderful picture of her is seen in the Song of Solomon.
We see an overcomer coming to her moment of victory.
The daughters of Jerusalem are amazed.
In wonder they ask,

Our Judeo-Christian God/YHVH is our Savior.
He gave His body and His blood for us.
He is worthy or our most ardent zeal and devotion.
He came out of heaven and into our cosmos.
We saw Him in the flesh as Jesus Christ.
He is the Sacrifice Lamb, the Holy One of Israel.
The prophets of Israel saw Him as the Light to the Gentiles.
(Isa.42:6, 49:6, 60:3)
Now, He is the Head of the Church. (1Cor.3:11, 1Tim.2:5)
There is no other.

What can we say about our God? He is the Ancient of Days, the sovereign Ruler who oversees all history? Is He not the Author of all drama, even the end-time drama? Has He not written "The Play" in which we now finds ourselves taking a part? And didn't He "write the Book" on romance which all others have had to either follow or to twist?

As we come into the final acts of this age we need to ask ourselves some serious questions. God has always called for a witness among men for the great things He has done in His covenant. Shouldn't we expect our God to continue to do this? Shouldn't we expect Him to remain true to His divine character? Isn't this Jesus Christ we see expressed in the Holy Scriptures:

"The same yesterday, today, and forever"!

And our Lord Jesus is a gracious Bridegroom is He not? That being the case, wouldn't it be expected that the Father would call for a witness? And wouldn't He give the Bride an opportunity to have her say in the matter?

Let's think about the Bride for a moment. The Bride is coming to love her Bridegroom more and more

as we come into the threshold of the Divine Romance and the End-Time Revival. How would she be expected to feel about this? Wouldn't a true bride cherish an opportunity to bring her witness before those assembled, even before a cloud of witnesses? Wouldn't a true bride actually desire with great passion to testify of the love she has with her beloved? Would she not actually seek an audience before men and the watching angels? And wouldn't her testimony and her bridal witness set her apart from a purchased concubine.

This is sad to have to report but nevertheless true. There are many power hungry Christian pretenders out there who are grasping the authority of Christ. They are in this for the sake of gaining power. And they want the power for themselves. There are also may are the "gold-digger" or "cargo cult' Christians. These people are like Simon Magus who asked the Apostle Paul to give him the spiritual gifts for him to make money. These are those who follow the way of Balaam for filthy lucre.

Magnificent events are set to unfold the times to come. The final drama will be acted out. And the woman of Revelation 12 will unveiled in all her magnificence. She will be revealed for who she really is. The Bride of Christ is a company of saints destined for a holy city more glorious than we can presently imagine. (Rev. 21)

As the end-time drama unfolds it will be plainly seen to be a story of two women. One of them is true and faithful. The other is not. Even in the midst of her trials the true Bride is more precious than rubies. She is quite a bit different from that other woman, the partially committed two-timing harlot. John saw the harlot emerge riding a beast of ten horns. (Revelation 17). Then he saw her destroyed by fire. (Revelation 18)

And so it must come to pass that Christian history will eventually cross a new threshold. Those future days will call for a level of commitment we in the modern or post-modern western church have never seen before.

Our present society loves to ask questions about "feelings". Many a news reporter has asked the question, "How do you feel about that?" Most of our decisions and "choices" revolve around our feelings. And we often make our decisions based on how we answer that question.

OK, lets get "sensitive" here and explore our feelings.
How would you feel if - you attended a wedding with a passive non responding bride? What if the girl was given no opportunity to show her face at the ceremonies. What if she refused to turn up to be pictured with her beloved? What if she refused to sign and publicly witness the marriage covenant she had with her bridegroom before God and before men? What if the bridegroom alone signed the marriage document? How would you feel if you saw the bridegroom sign the register all by himself? Meanwhile, the would-be bride is just standing idly by, chewing gum and looking out the window. You are at a "wedding". But something is missing. You clearly observe that the woman has been given no chance whatsoever to make a public profession of her love and her commitment to her

bridegroom. The bridegroom signs the book then closes it shut. Then snatching his 'tag along bride' he hustles her out the door.

This is a strange sort of wedding isn't it? The wedding ceremony has come to an abrupt end. The show is over. But the bride has not been given a chance to witness or demonstrate the love and commitment she has for her bridegroom!

Well here is the question.
How would you feel about that sort of a wedding?
Would that be OK do you think?

Probably not!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. If we are true to our God then our commitment to Him will also be total and absolute. As Christian believers we are all members of the Body of Christ. We have been redeemed. We have been purchased by the shed blood of the Son of God. Our Bridegroom came to this earth 2,000 years ago. He came bearing the bridal price, the gift of our salvation. Now we are saved! We are born again into a new Life in Him. We are His witnesses! Heaven and earth will be watching us as this age comes to its appointed climax.

So how do we respond to this? Do we just slip the New Covenant in our back pocket and forget it? Do we continue to view it as just a "ticket to heaven"? Is this great salvation merely a modern version "indulgence" sold to the crowds by the lukewarm latter day Laodicean church? Do we tell our Savior, 'thanks very much', and then turning our back on Him just walk back out into the world to go about our own business? Is that all that our covenant of salvation with Christ/YHVH involves? Is our relationship with the Bridegroom just a one way street with Him giving His Life and blood and us just grabbing the "ticket to heaven" and walking off to pursue our own business?

God forbid that we should accept that low grade ecclesiastical "deal". We have a far higher calling and more glorious destiny than that. We are invited into a marvelous Eternal Covenant with the Everlasting God. Our ticket to heaven is very wonderful. But it is just the beginning of our great salvation. It cost the of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ His life blood. He paid the bridal price for our salvation. This is not just a reprieve from hellfire. It is the pathway to eternal glory! Our salvation came to us because of God's love. He was the One who sought us out while we were yet sinners. Are we not to bear witness to Him in this?

God sows His Seed upon the earth and into the lives of His covenant people. There is a harvest. For some it is 30 fold, some 60 fold, and some one hundred fold. Our salvation is just the beginning! Our Lord, our Ishi, Jesus/Yeshua wants to take us further! He plans for us to follow Him. The pathway leads through a strait and difficult gate and along a narrow way. It is not the broad way. And yes, it can be a road of suffering. But nevertheless, this is the road to glory! It is the Paradise Road.

In the Everlasting Covenant we are His body, - we are His bride. We belong to Him. Are we just to continue on as passive non-responding recipients of His bountiful gift of salvation?
Are we never to grow up into maturity in the faith? God forbid!

Our God is a gracious God. And yes, it is true that the bridal price has been fully paid. The bill was taken care of by the Bridegroom, our Redeemer. His blood purchased our redemption completely and totally at the cross of Calvary. We cannot add to that blood of atonement. All our human efforts towards that end are fatally flawed and totally useless. The blood He shed for us is holy. In purchasing this great salvation our Savior could receive no help from sinful men. All our attempts to render ourselves acceptable to God based on our own dead works are in vain. As the scriptures state,

That truth is well established. Indeed, our salvation and our privilege in entering the new covenant was purchased 100% by the atoning blood of our Savior. Jesus Christ, our Redeemer has paid the bridal price for His church. But here is the question that calls out for an answer.

In the outworking of that Eternal Covenant is there not a new life stirring in the heart of the future bride? And in the day in which her witness of the covenant is called for will she not step forward and sign on the dotted line?

These matters should be self-evident. Is it not to be expected that there will be a response by the Bride to this magnificent work of redemption? Is our witness to that purchase agreement of no consequence? Once the bridal price has been paid to the Father of the bride and that legal issue is settled and concluded is that all there is to the Covenant? Is the wedding over? Or does not the bride too have her part to play in the co-signing and the sealing of the covenant?

Well this of course is the essential question and one that our western Church of Laodicea has tried to avoid answering. Wouldn’t it be expected that the Church, as the Bride of Christ, play an important part in these blood covenant proceedings? After all, will not God's covenant people be present at that magnificent celebration at the end of this present age?
Will she not be present, and robed in glory, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? And if so, how did she emerge from a wretched and wicked world with such wonderful character?

The Holy Scriptures prophesy that our Bridegroom will sit at table with a glorious bride. She is in the picture, she is in the loop, and she is responsive to her Bridegroom. She is, in fact, a bride who has made herself ready. (Rev.19:7)
Will she not be dressed in white,
even the righteousness of the saints? (Rev.19:8)
Will she not be resplendent with glory,
even of gold refined in the fire? (Zech.13:9, Rev.3:18)

AS Christian believers we are not passive in this Eternal Covenant. By the Holy Spirit we are revived. The Life of Christ stirs within us, wooing us, drawing us onward towards the gates of glory. And we awaken, as if from a dream. We may have once been lost and drifting down the river like the Lady of Shalott Gomer. But now, in Christ, things have changed. And in His Presence we enter into a serendipity. Oh yes, we now know that as Christian believers coming to the end of the age our lives are in jeopardy. But wonder of wonders! We find that we are now more alive than we have ever been before. In a divine epiphany we become aware of things happening around us that are exciting and unexpected. We have entered into a blood covenant. It is the same Eternal Covenant which Abraham our father knew. And in that blood covenant we discover that we are far from passive. And as the latter days draw near we have a vital and essential role to play. Our witness is being called for. And now we are being beckoned to the stage of history.

The New Covenant we have with Christ began a long time ago. It is a blood covenant. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Sacrifice Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. - Rev.13:8 The sacrifice of Jesus Christ at Calvary as our Passover Lamb began the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant. Our Gospel came out of the very same blood covenant which YHVH, the God of Israel, cut with Abraham 4,000 years ago. Our spiritual father, Abraham, was present as a witness when that original Everlasting and Eternal Covenant with YHVH was cut. The scriptures bear testimony that he was present. - Gen.15. But did he walk it out in his own strength? No, he did not. Abraham's covenant partner, YHVH-God walked through the blood of the covenant for Himself and for his partner Abraham. There was one set of footprints in the blood. Abraham was being carried across a threshold.

This is a magnificent story. God took Abraham out and showed him the stars. He asked Abraham if he could number them. Then He declared to Abraham:
"So shall your descendants be!"

Brothers and sister in Christ, here is something we have yet to realize. We in the Church, along with returning Judah, are that myriad company of saints! God respected and honored Abraham. He is our spiritual father. (Gal.3:29) Abraham was a witness to that covenant way back at the beginning. Abraham entered into covenant with YHVH, whose name means 'the God who was, is, and ever more shall be'. When he entered into this two-way blood covenant the saga of the Judeo-Christian people truly began.

Of course Abraham was awed and overwhelmed by it. -Gen.15 God came to Abram as His covenant partner at nightfall. God gave him His Spirit, and part of His name. The "h" in the breath of God turned Abram into Abraham. And to complete the covenant exchange YHVH became the "God of Abraham". Animals were cut right down the middle when that original covenant was "cut". (Gen.15)

Blood is always shed in the making of a blood covenant. This goes beyond "choice". What we are looking at here is total commitment. How can we insist that our teenagers come into responsible commitment if twe water down our faith? Unfortunately the "Christianity" we have in the west falls so far short in the commitment department. So much so that Christians refuse to embrace true blood covenant Christianity. Corrie Ten Boom has given us a very important warning about this very thing.

Abraham was God's covenant partner. So too are we. It is by faith in Christ, who is the 'Seed of Abraham', that we come into the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This happens when we cry out to God to save us. Our salvation comes by the shed blood of Christ. Christ is the promised Sacrifice Lamb, the Seed of Heaven, and the Seed of Abraham. When we are born again we receive Him into our hearts and into our lives. The indwelling Christ within every true Christian believer is the Seed of Abraham. He is the Seed who brings forth within us our new identity in Christ. And so we become "new creatures".

Is our identity in the Seed of Abraham just a religious matter? With the unfolding of the end time drama we shall discover that the New Covenant is more than this. Both offices of Melchizedek, the political and the religious authorities, the kingdom and priesthood, will be filled by our returning Messiah. He is our High Priest and King of Kings. He is priest and king after the Order of Melchizedek. (Ps.110:4) In covenant with our Messiah we shall bear witness to both anointings.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Israel. When we are born again as new creatures we leave our heathen/goyim past. Christ/Mashiach brings us into our new national identity. As incredible as it seems our true Christian identity is in the Commonwealth or Citizenship of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13) As a wild olive branch we are grafted into the olive tree of Israel. (Rom. 11:17)

The Bible also bears witness that toward the end of this age the covenant people of God will preach the 'Gospel of the Kingdom'. This sounds decidedly political. So we know that the coming of Christ as Messiah is more than just a religious matter. And as we can readily see from the Apocalyptic books of Daniel and Revelation the reality of earthly politics will definitely be involved. In fact the nations will be raging. King David wrote a song about this 3,000 years ago. (Ps.2)

This still sounds strange to us. But it is in the Seed of Abraham, not just our national or racial seed, that we find our true eternal identity. Jesus Christ entered His city of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago riding on a donkey. As our Kinsman Redeemer came bearing the bridal price. And that price was measured out in His blood. He is destined to be the banner and standard for the peoples. In Him we find the only esteem we shall ever need. - Mat.13:44 He has left us a great treasure hidden in a field. In Him we begin to discover, and come to possess, our inheritance. In the covenant the Testator in His death has left us great expectations. He has left us an eternal dwelling place in His Kingdom, and mansions of glory.

As we have seen, the saga of the redemption of this planet and its people is very much a family business. It is the family business of the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As the scriptures testify,

Contrary to what we have been told, God is not through with the nation of Israel. He will use the New Covenant he makes within human hearts to fulfill the Old Covenant He made with the Nation of Israel. This is truly amazing! The New Covenant is the outworking of the Old Covenant through the promised Seed of Abraham. Then God turns around and uses the New Covenant He makes within individual hearts to restore the Old Covenant He made with the nation of Israel. Wrapped up in this restoration of Israel is the promised great Light to the Gentiles. bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. - Isa.49:6 In such a manner YHVH's grand restoration project will come full circle.

So just how will the New Covenant we have in Christ go on beyond the lives of individuals to restore the nation of Israel? God is obviously planning a full and total restoration here! Just how does He propose to do this?

Well His plan here is no secret. Repeatedly, back in the Old Testament, God has said He would restore the nation of Israel. Here in the verses below we see just how He will go about it.

The New Covenant we have in the Church/Ecclesia/Congregation of Christ is therefore the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant. -Gen. 15 It is a blood covenant relationship based on a great salvation that comes in by grace through faith in the blood of the promised Sacrifice Lamb. Indeed our Lord Jesus Christ is the Seed of Abraham. He came in the flesh as that ultimate Sacrifice Lamb. He shed His blood "giving His life as a ransom for many". (Mat:20:28) The task of bearing witness to His great salvation and His righteous rule within men's hearts, would go out beyond the borders of Israel. It would involve the preaching of this "Good News"/Gospel of salvation to all nations. The Light went out to the gentiles in an enormous worldwide missionary outreach. It would bring these new believers into the Commonwealth of Israel. ( Eph.2:12-13 ) This witness was going out beyond the DNA genetic riverbed of national/racial Israel. Like the Jordan River, the Seed of Israel would overflow national riverbanks of Israel all the days of the harvest. ( Josh 3:15 ) These waters of Life would go out as a flood to the surrounding heathen gentile nations. Ultimately it would bring in a magnificent harvest. The Seed of Abraham, Jesus our Savior, would enter into humble human hearts out among the nations. The Gospel is even now being preached to the ends of the earth.

Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach is Israel's "Light to the Gentiles". (Isa.42:6-7) The the end of the story will see the fullness of the Gentiles will be brought in. Then National Israel will be saved even as Jerusalem is surrounded by the armies of the nations at the Battle of Armageddon. (Joel 2:28-32) The royal Jewish house of Judah will be saved to rejoin the wider Commonwealth of Israel. Both houses will be re-united together as one single remnant Elect. (Rom.11) The throne of David will be restored by the returning Christ. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev.5:5) and our coming Messiah. (Zech.12:7-13:1)