THE REMNANT OF ISRAEL

The Remnant of Israel

I think that what defines the Remnant of Israel, which is the

Christian Remnant, is a greater knowledge of and love of the truth of

the Bible, being much more free of false doctrines and having a

greater desire to obey Christ on the whole counsel of God than is true

of those in the Multitude, now under "hypnosis," delusion and

following leaders who are asleep at the wheel.

Although Paul in Romans 11: 5 talks about a remnant according to the

election of grace,

the Remnant of Israel are not only those who are saved by grace, but

who also have a greater

knowledge of scriptural truth, greater love for it, are more free of

false doctrines and want more to obey and serve Christ than the

majority of those who are saved. Probably there are no "baby

Christians" (I Corinthians 3: 1) in the Remnant.

The Lord puts us in the Remnant - or in the Multitude, though I think

that many who are to be in the Remnant will first pray that God

will put them in it. And - those who may be in the Remnant do not

boast about being in it.

In the Old Testament several Hebrew words are translated as the

remnant. These six words according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

mean a remainder, remnant, a portion, a remaining residual, remnant,

an escaped portion and survivors, or remaining. Strong's number 7611

is used most often, which means a portion, or remaining residual.

Then in Romans 9: 27, Strong's number 2640 or kataleimma appears which

means a few, a remnant. Loipoy or Strong's number 3062 is used in

Revelation 12: 17, and it refers to the remaining ones.

The way these words are used determines the meaning of the Remnant of

Israel, not the meaning of the words themselves which refer only to a

remaining small portion of a larger group. In addition, there are uses

of remnant that do not refer to a few people who remain faithful to

the Lord when the Great Multitude are not faithful. For example in

Deuteronomy 3: 11

it talks about the "remnant of giants," and in Amos 1: 8 to the

"remnant of the Philistines." In Jeremiah 15: 11 remnant is used in

God's promise to Jeremiah that his enemies will "entreat thee well in

the time of evil and in the time of affliction." The enemy is the

Babylonians who God promises will

entreat him well.

Isaiah 10: 21 says "The remnant shall return, even the remnant of

Jacob, unto the mighty God." The remnant of Jacob is the same as the

Remnant of Israel because Jacob was re-named Israel. It is the

Remnant who return to God in faithfulness, and not the Multitude.

In Isaiah 37: 32, it says "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a

remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD

of hosts shall do this." I think this is spiritual Jerusalem rather

than physical Jerusalem out of which go forth the Remnant. The

Remnant could not be limited to only those going forth out of physical

Jerusalem. In addition, physical Jerusalem is sometimes described in a

negative light in the Bible. Jerusalem in Revelation 11: 8 is called

Sodom and Egypt, for example.

It is the zeal of the Lord that brings forth this Remnant.

God ordains that there will be a faithful Remnant, both in the Old

Testament times and

in the end times when widespread apostasy is predicted (Matthew 24:

11, II Thessalonians 2: 3, 10, I Timothy 4: 1, II Peter 2: 1). All

the Remnant will go forth out of spiritual Jerusalem which is Mount

Zion.

Going on in this book, Isaiah 46: 3 tells us that "Hearken unto me, O

house of

Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by

me from the belly, which are carried from the womb." Again, this says

that it is God who creates the Remnant.

Chapter 4 and verse 7 of Micah says "And I will make her that halted

a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD

shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever."

God will bring into his Remnant some who at an earlier time of their

lives had halted before him, being unsure of their faith and belief

and being in sin and false doctrines. God will clean up and develop

spiritually those he has

decided to bring into his remnant.

Finally, in the Old Testament, Zephaniah 3: 13 is an important verse

in saying that "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak

lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for

they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid."

The Remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity. To those who believe

that Christians in this life are never largely set free from the

burden of sin, this may be hard to accept. But the Remnant of Israel

is made up of people who the Lord has

largely set free from sin and false doctrines. Their tendency to sin,

or sin nature, which Paul deals with in Romans 6 and 7, has been

almost totally removed.

And the Remnant of Israel will not speak lies or be deceptive.

Remember that Revelation 14: 4-5 says the 144,000 are not defiled

with woman, meaning they are not defiled by the false teachings of the

apostate church (Revelation 17: 4-5), and "in their mouth was found no

guile," meaning no deception. And "...they are without fault before

the throne of God." They follow the Lamb wherever he goes, meaning

they serve Christ and want to obey him in all things, wherever he

leads them.

Nothing will make the remnant afraid. This is the protection given

them by the Lord from from their enemies and from the destruction

coming on the earth.

In Romans 9: 27 Paul quotes Isaiah 10: 22. Then in Revelation 12: 17

it says "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war

with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and

have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The remnant keep the commandments

of Jesus.

The Four Hebrew Boys in Daniel as a Remnant

The four Children of Israel in Daniel 1: 4 were without blemish,

skillful in all wisdom, and understanding. They were faithful to the

Lord's teachings on diet. In Daniel 3: 7-26 Shadrach, Meshach and

Abednego refused to worship the golden image Nebuchadnezzar had set

up. For refusing to do that he had all three thrown into the fiery

furnace. But in Daniel 3: 25 the king saw four men walking around in

the midst of the fire and one of them looked like the Son of God.

Daniel himself was thrown into the Lion's den for praying to God. The

king arose the following morning to see what had happened to Daniel

and in Daniel 6: 20, he asked "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is

thy God whom thou servest continually able to deliver thee from the

lions?" Daniel answered saying God sent his angel to shut up the

mouths of the lions.

The prayers of Daniel were answered in Daniel 9: 4-21 when Gabriel

appeared to him saying "thou art greatly beloved." Gabriel gave

Daniel the Seventy Weeks prophecy in Daniel 9: 24-27.

In Daniel 10: 5-21 an unnamed angel of the lord comes to Daniel to

show him more "in the Scripture of truth." This angel also reveals

to Daniel that fallen angels are assigned to the various kingdoms of

the world. The angel told Daniel he was delayed 21 days in coming to

Daniel by the prince of Persia when Michael, one of the Lord's chief

angels, came to help him against the fallen angel, the Prince of

Persia.

The miracles done by God in saving the three Hebrew men from the fiery

furnace and Daniel from the lion's den and the appearing of the angels

of God to Daniel show these four were part of the Remnant of Israel.

The Multitude of the people of Judah in Babylonian captivity at this

time were not treated by God the special way this small Remnant were

treated. Because these four were part of the Lord's Remnant and since

he loved them, he delivered them from adversity. The text does say

Daniel was loved and we might think the other three were also.

Isaiah 28: 24-27 uses a metaphor about the planting of seeds to

describe several different groups of God's people. The text says

"Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the

clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth

he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in

the principle wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their

place?"

Christ in Matthew 13: 3-23 uses a parable about the sowing of seeds to

represent the giving of the Gospel of salvation. Some seeds are

taken away by the devil, some fall in stony places and are not

fruitful to salvation, and some fall among the thorns and are choked

off because of deceitfulness of wealth and cares of this world. Yet

some good ground does receive the seeds of salvation, understand it,

and the seed bears a lot of fruit for them.

But in the parable of Isaiah 28: 24-27 who are the fitches, the

cummin, the wheat, the barley and the rye?

In Leviticus 23: 10 the children of Israel were to bring a sheaf of

the firstfruits to the priest. Then according to Leviticus 23: 15-16

they are to count, from the day after the offering of the

firstfruits, seven sabbaths. From the time the sheaf of the

firstfruits is waved to the Lord by the priest, which is Passover

(Leviticus 23: 12), they are to number fifty days to Pentecost, with

the Feast of Weeks in between during which they harvest the barley.

But Leviticus 23 does not say its the barley harvest that comes before

the wheat harvest, nor that the

firstfruits the priest is to wave to the Lord around the time of

Passover is the first harvesting of barley We have to figure that

out.

I want to show that the barley harvest comes earlier in the spring

than the wheat harvest. In Exodus 9: 31 the plagues brought on Egypt

hit the barley but not the wheat because the wheat at that time of the

year was not up enough to be smitten. So we know the barley harvest

comes first, then the wheat harvest. The firstfruits at about the

time of Passover are barley. Revelation 14: 4 says the 144,000 are

the firstfruits redeemed from among men. It looks like the 144,000 -

who are at least one Remnant of Israel -

are the barley in Isaiah 28: 25.

The wheat are the Multitude

(Revelation 7: 9), at least in the Tribulation. Who are the rye? They

are also said to be appointed. Perhaps they are not apostate enough to

be in the Multitude but not purified enough of their sin nature to be

in the 144,000. The word appointed

though is the only indication we might be on the right track here.

Perhaps they are represented by the few at Sardis who had not defiled

their garments and will walk with Christ in white (Revelation 3: 4).

Remember that those in Sardis are told in Revelation 3: 2 to "Be

watchful, and strengthen the things which remain..." The few in

Sardis

who are to walk with the Lord in white may be another remnant of the

last days.

Who then could the fitches and the cummin be? Fitches and cummin are

not grain, but may be some kind of condiment, or seasoning, or maybe

something like poppy seeds. Not being grain could suggest they are not

part of the wheat, barley and the rye, but are hopelessly apostate.

Ezekiel 5: 1-4 and 5: 12-17 also deals with groups of people. Ezekiel

is to shave his hair and beard and divide up the hair into three parts

and also a smaller fourth part. The first third is to be burned with

fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are

fulfilled. Another third is to be smitten about with a knife, and the

last third is to be scattered and "I will draw out a sword after

them." Then, Ezekiel is to take a few in number (verse 3) and bind

them in his skirts.

Ezekiel 5: 12 says "A third part of thee shall die with the

pestilence, and with faminine shall they be consumed in the midst of

thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and

I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a

sword after them." Ezekiel is adressing the portion of the hair as

"thee," indicating he is talking about people. Ezekiel in verses 12

to 17 does not mention the "few in number" that he is told to bind in

his skirts. If these few in number represent the Remnant of Israel,

then this remnant here in Ezekiel 5 does not die by pestilence and

famine, by the sword or is scattered and chased by the sword.

Zechariah 13: 8-9 also describes the fate of three groups of what must

be people.

Two thirds of these people are to be "cut off and die." The last

third, however, is to be brought through the fire and refined. The

Lord will hear them and say "It is my people: and they shall say, the

Lord is my God." So the last third is a kind of remnant, though in

Zechariah 13: 8-9 they do not appear to be the very small number like

those Ezekiel is to bind in his skirts. Yet the one third of Zechariah

13: 8-9 could still be the Remnant of Israel even though the

mathematics may not be that exact here.

In commenting on Zechariah 13: 8 John Gill says "...but the third

shall be left therein; the few names in Sardis, which have not defiled

their garments; the hundred forty and four thousand that will stand

with Christ, and by him, on Mount Zion, being redeemed from among

men."

How do we know that the Remnant of Israel talked about in the Old

Testament is also the Christian Remnant? Dispensationalism says God

has one dispensation for the Old Testament people, the Hebrews or

Jews, and a different one for the Christians. For the

dispensationalists, who are influential among seminary trained

clergy and their church members, Christians are not the Remnant of

Israel. But the dispensationalists are refusing to accept our

position in Christ, that Christians are Israel. You do not want to

reject your position in Christ as Israel.

In Romans 11: 26 Paul writes that "And so all Israel shall be

saved..." The

dispensationalists would have to claim that all Jews will be saved

because they are Jews, and yet in John 3: 3 Christ told Nicodemus, a

Jewish Pharisee, that "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the

kingdom of God." No, all Israel will be saved because all, Gentiles

and Jews, who are in Christ and born again are saved, and all are

Israel.

Paul says in Romans 9: 6 that "For they are not all Israel, which are

of Israel." He makes this clearer in I Corinthians 10: 18 in

referring to "Israel after the flesh." So there is an Israel after

the flesh which are the physical descendants of Abraham but not

faithful to the Lord, and then

there is spiritual Israel that is made up of all saved people in

Christ. Paul talks about the "Israel of God," all saved people, in

Galatians 6: 16.

In the parable of the husbandmen of the vineyard, the husbandmen beat

and killed the servants of the owner of the vineyard and then the

owner sent his son and they killed him. In Matthew 21: 40-41 it says

"When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto

those husbandmen?

They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and

will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render

him the fruits in their seasons." His vineyard is the kingdom of God

and the other husbandmen are Christians.

In Isaiah 50: 1 God asks "Where is the bill of your mother's

divorcement whom I have put away?...Behold, for your iniquities have

you sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put

away."

Paul tells us clearly in Galatians 3: 29, "If ye be Christ's, then

are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Again, in

Romans 2: 28 Paul says "For he is not a Jew, which is one

outwardly..." Bernard