06/23/2023 – “The Tell” – 1964 C.E. – The Concluding Chapter Seventeen // Group Fellowship and Discussion
I just finished reading the book. I have decided to post questions for discussion in the last chapter. My intention is to go back over and to do the same with Chapters 11 through 16.
Let’s get started:
C – Michener’s last sentence in the book is very appropriate: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
And Jews and Gentiles will unite as one chosen people when Christ comes again, all declaring the Lord is One, as in “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”, three persons, One God. (See Romans 11: The Remnant of Israel / Ingrafter Branches / All Israel Will be Saved *)
* “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” Romans 11:32. Does this mean each and every soul is saved? I submit absolutely not, we need to let scripture testify to scripture. (See the attached link to an explanation of “universalism”, the heresy)
https://www.compellingtruth.org/universalism.html
Also, note the distinction: The Remnant of Israel is not “all Jews”, certainly not “ethnic” Jews, nor all of those professed of the Jewish faith, nor is it for all self professed Christians.
We can discuss this but I would maintain that Judaism and Christianity are one faith, not two. Separated in history and distinctive where we stand today?
Of course but not in the end.
A question back to our chapter on the Crusades: What about the Jews that were martyrd by Christians at the point of a sword for not converting to Christianity on the spot? Could they be saved? I submit: Absolutely. Only God can measure a human heart, but no one gets to heaven for being a “good” person. A soul can only be saved by accepting Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior. But a rejection of Christian at the point of a sword is not necessarily a rejection of Jesus as Lord and Savior. Or stated differently, one can be saved without even knowing of a historical Jesus, starting with people who lived before Jesus did on this earth.
Could a Crusader christian that wielded the sword, ending the life of the non-confessing Jewish brother or sister be damned to hell? I would submit absolutely, had he not repented and given his heart and his life to Jesus before he died. Only God measures a heart, but I would expect it is highly probable that he had not yet given his life to Christ at the point of the murder, just as the case of the modern day self-professed Christian that sits with his butt in the pew every single Sunday, yet lives like a pagan in his daily walk. Where is the love? *Note – Our works alone cannot possibly save us but it is not possible to have a heart for God without works, flawed as they may be. That is why James wrote: “Faith without works” is death, from the hand of God.
I submit that saving faith is in itself a gift from God. I have been challenged on that. I remember debating some brothers once, submitting that saved or not, we all face a judgment, a separate discussion, so I was definitely taking a risk with that position, namely, that “I was giving God too much of the credit.” With that, both brothers responded with a belly laugh, and so ended that discussion.
Q – Question: Who do you most sympathize with in the fight triggered by Shwartz’ sign: “We did so crucify Him.”,
Schwartz , Father Vilspronck, or Cullinane? (pgs 1035 to 1039 or so).
My answer would be Schwartz. Why?
After their history, particularly coming off of the Holocaust, I can sympathize with the emotion: “We don’t care what you (the Gentile world) think… We’re not going to wait for the Christian Church to exonerate us of our guilt.”
My insert: Who killed Jesus? We all did! It is called sin, rebellion against God Almighty. For a self professed Christian, past or present to point to the “Jews” is sick, it is from the Devil.
C – The provisional estimates of Galilean population for each level” is very telling, see pg. #1031. The persistent population through the crusades and the Muslims led the character Father Vilsponck to observe: “Something was going on here that the history books did not tell us.
(See pg. #1032)
C – On page #1043 – within the Zodman protest to the American ambassador, we are informed that: “the state of Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital and governed the country from there, but foreign powers, still holding that under the United Nations agreement all of Jerusalem was internationalized instead upon keeping their embassies in Tel Aviv.” We know that is wasn’t until the Trump presidency that the United States reversed that and moved its embassy appropriately to Jerusalem.
C- Excerpt paragraph – page 1080 (last page): “On the day he left, John Cullinane had asked in his easy Irish manner, ‘Ilan, Why do you Jews make life so difficult for yourselves?’ At the time Eliav had though of no reply, but now, having lost Vered for a Jewish reason and having been projected into the heart of Jewish responsibility, he understood: Life isn’t meant to be easy, it’s meant to be life. And no religion defended so tenaciously the ordinary dignity of living. Judaism stressed neither an after-life, an after-punishment, nor heaven; what was worthy and good was here, on this day, in Defat. We seek God so earnestly, Eliav reflected, not to find Him but to discover ourselves.”
Amen, on the first highlight. We owe so much to Judaism and the Jewish people when we speak to God honoring civilization, the dignity of man in God’s image. And indeed, apparently skipping over any degree of emphasis on after-life motivation. But on the 2nd highlight, I submit we can only discover ourselves going through our creator God.
He alone is sufficient.
Thoughts? Reflections?
What an awesome book!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Your brother in Christ,
Jimmy