God led the descendants of Jacob out of Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea and into the wilderness and then gave them his Law, and also statues, ordinances and judgments by the hand of Moses.

And God declared to them at that time these words,

DEUTERONOMY 14:2

For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

But that promise was a conditional promise.

EXODUS 19:5-6

5. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

But they Broke the Covenant and continued to trample upon the Holy Precepts of Jehovah and forsook the Statues, ordinances and Judgments spoken by Moses...and they continued and continued to neglect the conditions AND the terms of the Covenant.

The LORD then got tired of them trampling upon his Holy Covenant, so he sent the angel Gabriel to Daniel and gave him a probationery time line for them to repent and turn to him and keep his covenant or else they will cease to be his chosen people.

DANIEL 9:24

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

This Seventy weeks prophecy, started in the year 457 BC and ends in the year 34 AD.

For more Information on this Seventy weeks prophecy, check out the topic: Seventy weeks prophecy; in this group.

Question: Did the Israelities repent and return to God; to keep his Everlasting Covenant AND to perform the things that were written in the Book of the Law of Moses?

No they didn't, instead of returning to the Covenant of the LORD, they went and set up man made theories and man made commandments, and not only that; but, they did something even more rebellious than to just refrain from performing the things that were written in the Book of Moses. But they reject the very One who came to save them from their sins.

The One to whom all those sacrifices and ordinances that were written in the Book of the Law of Moses pointed to. AND in rejecting the Messiah they also rejected the New Covenant promise in (Jeremiah 31:31-33) which the angel Gabriel said the Messiah was to confirm with them.

Jesus at the close of his Earthly ministry went upon the Mount of Olives and sat down on the Mountain and looked at the City and said, these words,

37.O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38.Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

(Mathew 23:37-39)

Jesus then made a stunning remark to the Jewish Nation, because they were doing the most rebellious thing they have ever did in the sight of God, which was to reject Jesus the promise Messiah.

MATHEW 21:33-45

33. Hear another parable: There was a certain householder [God the Father], which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen [The Jewish Nation], and went into a far country: 34. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants [The Prophets] to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35.And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36.Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 37.But last of all he sent unto them his son [Jesus the Son of God], saying, They will reverence my son. 38.But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 39.And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 40.When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 41.They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen [Another Nation], which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 42.Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43.Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [The Jewish Nation], and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44.And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 45.And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

Around the closed of Jesus earthly ministry he uttered the words we find in [Mathew 21:33-45]. But even though he said, the Kingdom will be taken from the Israelites and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. He still told his disciples after he resurrection, that were not to go the Gentiles as yet, rather they were suppose to go to the Lost sheep of the House of Israel.

MATHEW 10:5-6

5.These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Now, why was that? Because Jesus knew the Seventy Weeks Prophecy of (Daniel 9:24). As a matter of fact he also taught forgiveness using an allegory of the Seventy weeks prophecy. Now, remember that the Jews were given Four Hundred and ninety (490) years to repent and return to God. And we arrived at that (490 years) by Multiplying (70 weeks x 7 days).

In Mathew chapter 18, Jesus told his followers to be long suffering with a brother or sister that offends you Seventy x 7 which is 490 times.

MATHEW 18:21-22

21.Then came Peter to him, and said , Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22.Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven [490 times].

Now, the Jewish People especially the Scribes and Pharisees; almost every encounter they had with either: Jesus, other the disciples of Jesus; they boast, about the fact that they are the children of Abraham: which means, they are the descendants of Abraham; which signified that they were free from bondage, as well as they were safe from sin, and destruction of the wicked. Because, after all, ''Salvation is of the Jews'' (John 4:24) and ''All Israel shall be saved'' (Romans 11:26) quoting Isaiah 45:17. Subsequently the Scribes and Pharisees boasted about this fact EVERY instance when they are confronted with the idea; that they need repentance.

TAKE FOR EXAMPLE:

JOHN 8:31-33 31

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32.And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33.They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

JOHN 8:39

[I]They [Scribes and Pharisees answered and said unto him [Jesus], Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham[/I].

At this time, John the Baptist who was the forerunner of Jesus Christ as prophesied about in Isaiah chapter 40 and Malachi chapter 4 said something to the scribes and Pharisees that shouldn't be read over.

In MATHEW 3:1-9 the Bible Records,

1.In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2.And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3.For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4.And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5.Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6.And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. 7.But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8.Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9.And THINK NOT to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

QUESTION: ''Children unto Abraham?'' What did John the Baptist mean by that?

The Patriarch Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was born of a bondwoman name Hagar, and Abrahams second son was born of his Wife Sarah and the name of that son was Isaac. Before we can accurately define what John the Baptist meant by Children unto Abraham we will divert a bit and look at some other references to this idea of Children of Abraham.

The Bible uses several terms in reference to the true people of God in Old Testament times:

(1) Hebrews

(2) Israelites

(3) Jews

QUESTION: 1) - Do all these terms mean the same thing?

The answer is Yes and No. A person can be a Hebrew, but not an Israelite, nor a Jew; while a Jew can be a Israelite, and a Hebrew. Likewise, an Israelite can be a Hebrew, but not a Jew.

QUESTION: 2) How is this so?

Abraham was a Hebrew, but he was not an Israelite, nor a Jew. Isaac Abraham's son was a Hebrew as also, but he wasnt an Israelite, or a Jew. Jacob Isaacs's son was a Hebrew as well as an Israelite, but he was not a Jew. Judah one of Jacob's son was a Hebrew, as well as an Israelite, so, too a Jew.

- Hebrew - the ethnic group claiming descent from Abraham and Isaac. Therefore; a Hebrew is a descendant or a convert to the faith of Abraham.

- Israelite - a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious knot. The root word for Israelite is ''Israel'' which was the name given to the Jacob after his conversion. Therefore; an Israelite is a descendant of Israel, that is, Jacob or convert to the faith held by the man Israel.

- Jew - a person belonging to the worldwide group or religion know as Judaism. The word Judaism derives from the word Judah one of the twelve tribes or sons of Jacob, that is Israel. Therefore; a Jew is a descendant of Judah (or one converted to Judaism) by cultural or religious knot to the fiath held by the man Judah.

To be Continued...