Loading summary
Transcript43 lines
- [00:08]
A
Shalom. Thanks for joining us for today's episode of Christ in Prophecy. For over four decades, Lamb and Lion Ministries has been proclaiming the soon return of Jesus Christ by highlighting the signs
- [00:19]
B
of the times and following the model of our founder, Dr. David Reagan, we've divided all the prophetic signs into six distinct categories. The first five include signs of nature, signs of society, spiritual signs, signs of world politics, and signs of technology. As we've discussed repeatedly, all these categories of signs are increasing in frequency and intensity and converging like never before.
- [00:42]
A
But the sixth category of signs also represents the greatest sign of all, the sign of Israel. More scripture points to the regathering of the Jewish people, their restoration as a nation, and their resurgence as a focal point than any other sign. And and although faithful Christians expected God to fulfill all his promises to the Jewish people in the end times, for almost 2,000 years there was little evidence that Israel would ever re emerge as a people, land and nation of particular blessing.
- [01:10]
B
Perhaps that is because so many Gentile believers have embraced that false doctrine of replacement theology. But even today, as the world has seen ancient prophecies fulfilled right before our eyes, some continue to dismiss the relevance of Israel in plan for the ages.
- [01:25]
A
And that's why we've entitled this episode of Christ in Prophecy the Three Israels of Scripture. I personally have taken to referring to Israel in biblical terms, referring to speak of the House of Israel. Well, with that in mind, our guest today is an expert both on the term and the biblical reality of Israel and the importance of what God is doing as the ultimate Promise Keeper. Muddell Baliston has been on Christ in Prophecy before and was a featured speaker at our annual conference in 2025. Muddle is a Messianic Jew who serves as the director of Messenger's Messianic Jewish Fellowship. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he now serves the Lord mightily from his base in New Jersey. Muddle, as always, I'm delighted that you could join us today on Christ in Prophecy, my friend.
- [02:09]
C
Well, Tim, I'm glad to be here with you. These are momentous times. We're seeing an acceleration of world events and biblical prophecy events. Believers need to be awake to what is happening and so I'm very glad for your program.
- [02:26]
A
Well, I appreciate exactly what you just said, Muddle. It feels like prophetic events are actually accelerating all around us. We touched on that with the frequency and intensity and the convergence. But one of the most alarming things we are seeing right now is a dramatic rise in anti Semitism even here in the United States. But before we jump into that specific satanic hatred, let's discuss the word Israel. I emphasize my own preference for the term the House of Isra Israel, pulled directly from Ezekiel 36. But you teach that there are three Israels in the Bible. What do you mean by that?
- [02:58]
C
Well, the house of Israel is a perfectly acceptable phrase and it's often appropriate. But I think it's often important for believers to understand that the word Israel is used in at least three distinctive ways in scripture. And really they're time delineated. For instance, you have the term Israel as the nation, the theocratic nation that God established with Moses and the Joshua bringing the people into the land. And so for approximately 1,300 years, you had this nation of Israel, which was governed by the Torah, the five books of Moses. And that is the first Israel that I like to speak of, which basically existed for 1,300 years, as I said, and only came to an end at the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. so that would be the first Israel that we like to speak of.
- [04:00]
B
Well, if Israel can refer to the people, the nation and the land, let alone the current government of the nation, state of Israel, then how can we be clear when we're talking about. When we simply say Israel?
- [04:11]
C
And that's such an important question, because if you're doing a Bible study, you might be talking about the Israel of the Old Testament. However, if you're talking about modern politics and the world situation, obviously the current secular state of Israel, which was reborn in the year 1948, that certainly is a very controversial subject today. A lot of misinformation from various political groups on that. And so you have to then pose the question, are we talking about the biblical Israel before 70 AD? Are we talking about the modern secular state of Israel that exists today? Or are we talking about the future state of Israel in the millennium? And while these three Israels are separated by time periods, here's the most important thing. It is the same group of people. And there is Tim's phrase house of Israel. So it's the same people. We don't fall for the nonsense and the conspiracy theories that somehow the Jewish people of today are not the Jewish people of the Bible that's been debunked. The DNA shows that it's the same group of people. And more importantly, God's promise that he would preserve them shows that it's the same people. But you need to ask the very simple diagnostic question, which time period are we talking about? And yet, as Tim, it's a wonderful phrase, House of Israel, because it gives sort of an arc of the way that God is using this people. But ask the question, be a good Bible student, what time period are we talking about?
- [05:54]
A
Yeah, I appreciate you affirming that it is the people. In addition to these, the nation as it existed in the past, the present and the future. I actually find that those who would argue, well, what is Israel? They're echoing a lie of Satan himself who would at one time have said, did God really say? And so they're trying to undermine God's faithfulness to his promise to preserve this people. Ironically, all the anti Semites know who they should hate, even though they claim, well, these aren't really the Jews of the Old Testament. Well, I do believe also there is something telling in the very name Israel. So muddle, what significance do you place on God first assigning that name to Jacob based on his personality and character? And what do you think it says to realize that God referred to the chosen descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob collectively as Israel? The original name meant what? And how does that still bear significance today?
- [06:49]
C
Well, sure, as many of your listeners and viewers will understand, the name Israel, the, the last phrase, El, is short for Elohim, which means God. But ISRA is essentially the one who strives with Jacob, held on to the the angel of the Lord, which is a whole nother story. He held on to the angel of the Lord and I will not let you go until you give me your blessing. In other words, he strove with God. He would not let go of God in his ups and in his downs. We see that Jacob, later named Israel, was holding on to God. He wasn't perfect, he was an individual just like any of us. But he held on and he strove with God. So Israel literally means he who strives with God. And that has been the characteristic of our Jewish people since that time through ups and downs and Roman conquests and the Diaspora and then the return to the land, we strive with God holding on to him, asking him for the return of Messiah. And so this phrase of holding on to God really does characterize it.
- [08:06]
A
Do you think there's any significance to the land itself being given the same name, the land of Israel?
- [08:11]
C
You know, no human being could have come up with this if you would have written this in a book, they said, no, no, it's just too far fetched. But the land is also called Israel, meaning there's a wonderful Hebrew word and the word is Kesher. It means a connection or it means a bridge or a connection. And there is an absolute, eternal connection between the people of Israel and Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel, because God has placed his name there. Just as an aside, there's an amazing thing that happens if you see a topographical map of Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, there are a series of hills and valleys. And you're making the sign right now of the Hebrew letter sheen. If you look at the topography, the letter sheen is illustrated in the hills and valleys. And that is the first letter of the Hebrew word Shaddai. El Shaddai is one of the titles of God. And in the Scripture, God says, I have placed my name in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is his chosen place to manifest Himself. It's the place where, where the prophets went to, to announce the coming of the Messiah. And it's the place where our salvation in Jesus Christ, the Messiah was accomplished. His name is there. And the efforts of the nations to try to separate the Jewish people from the Jewish land is indicative of a satanic conspiracy. Not being overly dramatic, folks, that's literally what it is.
- [09:54]
B
As a student of Bible, many students have wondered about this shortly. What happened after the time of David and Solomon? Israel became two nations. You had Israel in the north and Judah as the southern kingdom. And Judah was the favorite between Judah and Benjamin in the south. But then in the New Testament, the land was divided into different regions. You had Judea and Samaria and Galilee. But the national identity seems to have returned to a singularity. And then again in 1948, the name chosen to identify the modern Jewish state, even by secular founders was Israel. Why is the land now Israel and not Judah? And. And is the word Jews from Judah?
- [10:29]
C
The name Israel is more indicative of all 12 tribes. Whereas if they had named it Judah, it seemed would seem to be just the southern two tribes. Here's something that many of our evangelicals misunderstand. There are not this idea that Jews are just representing the tribes of Judah or Benjamin, and they don't represent the 10 northern tribes. My understanding of scripture history is that there were people from all 12 tribes who returned to the land. In the New Testament, you have Anna, who is said to be for the tribe of Asher. And so there were Many in the 12 tribe, all 12 tribes who returned to the land. But because the kingship was invested in the tribe of Judah, David is from Judah, Judah became the most prominent tribe. So for instance, in the memory of some of our older viewers here, just as the name Frigidaire became synonymous for all refrigerators or Kleenex became synonymous for all tissues. The name Judah was just kind of stretched over all 12 tribes, but it represents all 12. And that's why it's used that way, because even the Apostle Paul says, am I not an Israelite? And then of course, what tribe was he from? He was the tribe of Benjamin. And so the name is used by the year of Jesus birth, the name became synonymous with all of the Jewish people. And that's the way it remains today.
- [12:11]
A
So muddle, just to follow up, you said the name Judah was stretched across the nations. Obviously Israel now signifies all of them. And but because Judah was stretched across, that probably is a root of the name Jew.
- [12:25]
C
And so today when people refer to the Jewish people in shorthand, they'll just say, oh, the Jews. And that can be done either in a positive way or in a negative way. And it's simply and only because the tribe of Judah was the most prominent and the tribe of Judah produced the kings. And so it became the most prominent. Whereas today all Jewish people are representative of all 12 tribes. I have one of my great grandparents is a Levite, but the others are from various other tribes which we don't even know. And so don't be fooled by the idea that we use the term Jew. It means people of all 12 tribes. And the term Israel also means people of all 12 tribes.
- [13:14]
A
Well, obviously we worship the Christ who is the lion of the tribe of Judah, which signifies his royal designation. Well, obviously muddled today, scoffers and some agenda driven commentators like Tucker Carlson like to point out that the modern nation of Israel, the nation state, remains an overwhelmingly secular state. Yes, with a heavy sprinkling of orthodox Jews who skew some government policies to their own favor. And yet the promises of God were not contingent on the Jews ability to be faithful to him. As cited in Ezekiel 36, 7. His faithfulness to his promises was for his own name's sake, not because the Jewish people had deserved to receive his favor. And quite frankly, that's the same good news of the gospel. He's not going to pour out his blessing on us because we deserve it, but because he has promised and for his own name's sake. That's the grace that is extended even to us.
- [14:11]
C
It's amazing the people who try to make that argument, if you turned it back on them and said, well, that means that a person is only in God's favor when they're perfectly obedient. Well, my friend, look at yourself. You know that you're a sinner, you've been saved by grace. And so this false idea that somehow what God does is somehow dependent upon us being good is the opposite of the Gospel. The book of Romans says while we were still yet sinners, Messiah died for us. And that's the good news.
- [14:45]
A
Well, obviously we also realize that there's a lot of pushback today against the modern state of Israel. You would argue that's the number two Israel in your sequence of timeline, identified nations of Israel. Do you think that's because Satan realizes that his time is so short? He, you mentioned it earlier. This is not some conspiracy theory. This is straight out of scripture that Satan is going to become more and more enraged as his time grows short. And quite frankly, he has always had a target on the Jewish people.
- [15:18]
C
That is absolutely true. Think of it this way. The first arrival of Messiah, Jesus was dependent upon the existence of the Jewish people. Satan tried to cut off that line. That's why we have so many wars in the, in the Hebrew scriptures. But he was unsuccessful. God protected the Jewish people so the Messiah can be born. And now here's the thing that most people don't realize. In Matthew chapter 13, we have the leadership of the Jewish people rejecting Jesus Yeshua as Messiah. And what is the response of Jesus to them? He said, okay, you, you will not see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. So the same people who rejected the King and sent the king away according to Messiah Jesus, he said, you are the people who now need to repent of that and look up to heaven as Zechariah says, and say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. So the, the return of the Messiah is, is, has a major component where the Jewish leadership need to recognize who Yeshua is. If there's no Jewish leadership or if they're, we're able to turn them away from Messiah, then you drive a wedge between the Jewish people and Jesus. And that is what Satan wants to do. And Satan is using uninformed, misled people who imagine they are Christians to push these conspiracy theories.
- [16:51]
B
What about those Christians who are out there saying that Israel is an accident of history, it's not godly, because the Jewish people there don't believe in Jesus as their Messiah.
- [17:00]
C
Well, the very simple fact that when Jesus promised to return, he didn't promise to return to Washington D.C. or to Wheaton, Illinois or Salt Lake City. He promised to return to Jerusalem. Over and over again in the New Testament, we see the promise of the return of the Messiah of Israel to return to Israel. And it says that the Jewish people will recognize him. And so this is God's design. This is not an accident of history. In order for the events of the last days to occur, in order for our people to recognize Messiah, there's going to be a Jewish government in place in the Holy Land. And that was intentional. God orchestrated it was. All of the players are assembling on the stage and we are about to see a dramatic event.
- [17:51]
A
You know, you mentioned that some Christians are misinformed. And I've pointed out that it is not beyond the scope of even scriptural narrative to think that a professing Christian could speak words that are actually satanic. And you think, what? But when Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ and was lauded for the Father himself, revealing that to him just a few verses later, Peter became a mouthpiece of Satan when he said, no, Lord, you will not die. And the Lord rebuked Peter and said, get thee behind me, Satan. So my prayer is that I never become an unwitting stooge or just a mouthpiece for uttering things that are satanic and that are contrary to the will of God. And I fear that many Christians are being deceived right now about proper attitude toward Israel as a house of Israel, as the people group, even the nation. But definitely we should ascribe to what Paul describes as wanting to make the Jewish people jealous of the relationship we have with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- [18:57]
C
And I'm so glad that you pointed that out. We are not infallible. We're easily swayed by propaganda. That's why it's so important to stay in this book. We have to stay in God's word and not be swayed by all of these commentators. I have a friend from Texas who said about the commentators, hey, they're just commentators.
- [19:21]
B
Sounds like Texas.
- [19:22]
A
Well, speaking of Texas, we have some great resources that were written by a man from Texas, Dr. David Reagan, regarding Israel and Bible prophecy. Jewish people rejected or beloved. And he makes a dramatic and very biblical case that Israel is throughout God's prophetic word and that the Jewish people indeed are not rejected. God has not washed his hands of them, but instead they are beloved. And because God loves the Jewish people, all of us as followers of Jesus Christ, if we want to be godlike or godly in our attitudes, should also love the Jewish people.
- [19:57]
C
Glad you said that. And this does not mean that we give carte blanche to all the actions of the current secular state of Israel. I'll tell you, even among Jewish believers in Jesus, and among my own Peers, there are different feelings and debates about whether the current government is doing the right thing, whether things should be done slightly differently. However, our enemies simply want to have us destroyed. And that's the big picture. And so we need to keep our eyes on that big picture.
- [20:27]
A
Well, model, I don't mean to take all the questions, but one thing that's burning in my mind is you're from Brooklyn, New York, and so you grew up right there in the big city, the Big Apple. And of late, there's been a very dramatic political dynamic where we've seen an avid socialist, actually I think he's an Islamist, ascend to be the mayor. And I have to believe that that has caused some degree of angst in the Jewish community. And do you see this perhaps as God motivating the Jewish community there in New York, probably the largest enclave outside of Israel, to finally realize they need to go home, they need to make aliyah, and not just to Florida, but to Israel.
- [21:09]
C
Just two days ago in Brooklyn, not far from my old neighborhood, maybe a mile or two away, there was an invasion of hardcore is a grouping of Islamists and hardcore socialists. There's this incredible grouping of people who are hardcore socialists, who are very liberal in their politics, along with hardcore Islamists who would, given half the chance, would persecute them. And so you have this symbiosis that is only satanic. But these people invaded a Jewish neighborhood in Flatbush, New York, just two nights ago. And they were intimidating. They were yelling threats at the homeowners, and they were on their way to a synagogue that was a few blocks away, and they sat down in the road outside the synagogue, blocking traffic, inflammatory intimidation. And because we have a current mayor who is both an avid Muslim and a socialist, very strongly to the left of things, he has sort of step back, whereas other mayors would have condemned this. So we see a concerning situation. And yes, to your point, there is increased talk of immigration and to Israel because the seminar at that synagogue was on that very topic. It was on the idea of making aliyah, making immigration to Israel. More and more American Jews are thinking of it. There was a meeting a week ago in France where several dozen medical professionals, doctors, surgeons, all were there for a meeting with the Israeli medical establishment, which were offering them jobs because France is becoming an Islamic stronghold. So, yes, friends, we're seeing the culmination of things in prophecy. You'd have to be blind or an absolute denial to not see the way that God is bringing about the culmination of these things.
- [23:15]
B
Well, muddle here At Lamb and Lion ministries. We're in the Dallas area. So we're at the heart of what a lot of the news has been all over the nation that the Islamic world is trying to build an epic community. They're trying to build colleges. We see just our own where we live, that the neighborhoods are quickly becoming Islamic. I know mine is too. And the persecution of the Jews spirit, especially on the college campuses, what do you think will eventually lead to the world pushing the Jews out or making the Jews want to regather the diaspora back into the end times and all the Jews to return to Israel?
- [23:47]
C
And you know, in nation after nation, the political temperament is becoming more and more hostile to Jewish people. For instance, in a place like Iceland, you know, they have very little to do with Jewish things and yet they've been invaded by this hardcore nexus of both Islamists and socialists. And in Iceland, in Ireland of all places, there is such a fervent hatred for the Jewish people that ordinary Jewish people. And this puts to the lie the idea that you can be anti Zionist alone and not be anti Semitic. My friends, there is a very slippery slope. And people who were only anti Zionist a year ago are now demonstrating outside of synagogues that are not. This is not Israel, this is America. And so yes, the atmosphere is going to increasingly become such that more and more Jewish people outside Israel are going to recognize that this is the one homeland. And once again it's working toward the culmination of. Of prophetic events. Again, you cannot look at this with eyes wide open and not understand that God is bringing about all these promises that people are coming back to the land. Scripture itself says I will draw you from the four corners of the earth. And that is literally what is happening. People who thought they were very happy and ensconced in a certain diaspora community are now saying let's, let's go back, let's go home.
- [25:24]
A
Amen.
- [25:25]
B
Well, model, you're always a great guest. I've learned so much from you. How can viewers contact your ministry and access your powerful teachings?
- [25:33]
C
Sure, it's. We have an organization that's under a large evangelical mission board and our website is simply www. Messiah NJ. We're based here in New Jersey. So NJ of lower all over the place now but Messiah NJ.org or just type my name into Google search engine. You'll find our website at the very top. We're happy to answer questions. We have a number of helpful articles on some of these very topics. We have a good article on the khazar myth that's something that's making the rounds in evangelical circles today. We have some articles on dispelling the rumors about Israel. We have a number of those articles easily downloaded in PDF formula what I just realized as I'm talking to you about this, I need to put a link to your website on my website.
- [26:22]
A
Please do. We'll do that mutually well, Mudal, thank you as always for joining us today and for blessing us and our viewers with your insights. I'm already looking forward to crossing paths with you in person again, whether here, there or in the air.
- [26:38]
C
Amen.
- [26:39]
A
Well, there you have it. There is much more to the name Israel than initially meets the eye. But what is not disputable from a biblical and therefore Christian perspective is not washed his hands of the Jewish people or the Promised Land of Israel.
- [26:52]
B
Absolutely not. So many prophetic promises are tied to Israel, which is why we refer to the nation, or what Tim has called the House of Israel as God's prophetic time clock. The fig tree that was cursed in Matthew 21 and Mark 11 is putting forth leaves and it's beginning to bear fruit once again, just as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24.
- [27:11]
A
That's right. And today more Jews profess faith in Jesus Christ than in the past 2000 years. Some messianic Jews claim that more Jews believe in Yeshua as Savior and Lord today than the past 2000 years combined. All we can say is Hallelujah.
- [27:25]
B
If you'd like to see what God is doing in the land of Israel and among the Jewish people regathered there, then join us on a Lamb and Lion Ministries pilgrimage. We will soon post details of our trip next year. If you have the ability, go and see with your own eyes or send someone, a loved one or a young person on your behalf and and tell you what they have seen and experienced.
- [27:44]
A
Someday we won't need an airline ticket to travel to the Promised Land. When the trumpet sounds, the Archangel cries and Jesus shouts. All who have trusted in him, Jew and Gentile, will meet him in the air. In anticipation of that instantaneous home going, we pray that you are already saying Baruch haba b' shem Adonai. Blessed is he who comes and he who already came in the name of the Lord. We'll see you next week. Godspeed.