Judah, Edom, and Khazaria

The Jewish Khazars, now called the Ashkenazim, were conquered by the Russians from the north, and many were pushed into Poland, Germany, and other European countries. The Bauer family settled in Hamburg, where they used a red shield as their logo and later adopted the surname Rothschild.

The Rothschilds were especially instrumental in establishing the Israeli state in 1948, and so Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv is named for this family.

Rothschild Boulevard is one of the oldest streets in Tel Aviv; soon after its creation, residents requested it to be renamed in honor of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild…

Israel’s Declaration of Independence was signed at Independence Hall on Rothschild Boulevard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_Boulevard

Hence, from a prophetic standpoint, the state of Israel is not what most Christians think it is. It actually fulfills three sets of prophecies, because Jews comprise three main prophetic elements: Judah, Edom, and the Magog-Togarmah coalition.

Merging Judah and Edom

In 126 B.C. Judah conquered Edom under John Hyrcanus and gave them the option of exile or conversion to Judaism. They chose to convert, and so Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, writes: “they were hereafter no other than Jews” (Antiquities of the Jews, XIII, ix, 1).

These ethnic Edomites continued to be known as Edomites until the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., after which time, this distinction began to fade from history. Yet because of the many biblical prophecies of Edom in the latter days, it is clear that God did not forget. The Jews as a whole had two sets of prophecies to fulfill.

I should add that if they had been converted to Christ, they would have transferred their citizenship to the Kingdom of God and not merely to a different religion. Hence, from God’s perspective, they no longer would be either Edomites or Jews but children of God. In the Kingdom of God, “there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Galatians 3:28), for the blood of Jesus eliminates the baggage of one’s past carnal life. Yet without such a change of identity through Christ, men are bound to whatever ethnic or religious system they follow.

The Khazar Conversion to Judaism

The Khazars were not converted forcibly but voluntarily six or seven centuries after the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish Encyclopedia tells how the Khazar King Bulan, a pagan, wanted to unite his people under a single religion. He sent for representatives of Christianity from Rome, representatives of Islam from Mecca, and representatives of Judaism from Constantinople, and each was to present the case for his religion.

When they arrived, however, Bulan simply asked each side: “If you had to choose a religion other than your own, which of the others would you choose?” The Christians and Muslims were already in conflict, so neither of them would choose the other. It is not known what answer the Jewish representatives gave, but both the Christian and the Muslim said that they would choose Judaism. Bulan then decided that this must be the best religion. That is how the king and many of his nobility converted to Judaism.

To Be a Jew

Judaism has had many converts throughout the centuries. Some insist that these are not real Jews. I disagree. Judaism is a religion, not an ethnicity. There are people of every color in virtually every religion. To be a Jew does not require one to be a descendant of Abraham. There are black Jews, white Jews, brown Jews, and every shade in between, just as we see in Islam and Christianity.

Nonetheless, to be one of Abraham’s children requires Abrahamic faith—the New Covenant variety (Galatians 3:7-9). There was no genealogical requirement under the Old or the New Covenant. The “mixed multitude” that came out of Egypt with the Israelites (Exodus 12:38) were soon absorbed into the general populace.

Paul specifically defines a Jew in Romans 2:28, 29 in terms of circumcision. Outward (physical) circumcision did not define a Jew (i.e., a member of the tribe of Judah). Heart circumcision makes the difference, because this is what praises God, or what God finds praiseworthy. (Judah means praise.)

When John speaks of “those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9), he was not prophesying about Khazars falsely claiming to be Jews. He was talking about Jews claiming to be Jews based on their physical circumcision and adherence to Judaism. John was using Paul’s definition of a Jew, which required heart circumcision, the sign of the New Covenant, and faith in its Mediator, Jesus Christ.

When people convert to Judaism, it does not bring them closer to God, nor does it make them “chosen.” In fact, such converts take upon themselves whatever prophetic baggage found in the religion of Judaism. There is some serious baggage that these converts take upon themselves, most notably Jesus’ curse.

The Cursed Fig Tree

John the Baptist conducted a legal investigation of the nation of Judah as he looked for evidence of “fruit.” God has always required fruit, rather than genealogy or even religion (Matthew 3:8, 9, 10). When John was executed just one year into his investigation, Jesus took up the task and investigated the nation for three more years (Luke 13:6, 7, 8, 9).

Toward the end of His investigation, he rendered His verdict against the fruitless fig tree, saying, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you” (Matthew 21:19). This was an act of spiritual warfare against the fruitless fig-tree nation that had rejected Him as the Messiah. Just as the fig tree withered quickly, so also was the nation destroyed 40 years later.

However, Jesus later explained this prophetic act in Matthew 24:32, 33,

³² Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.

Jesus said that the fruitless fig tree would come back to life in the future. It would again “put forth its leaves.” Of course, it could not bear fruit, because Jesus prophesied that it would never again bear fruit. Jesus had cursed the fig tree because “He found nothing on it except leaves only” (Matthew 21:19).

Fig leaves cannot be eaten. In fact, fig leaves have been a problem since Adam (Genesis 3:7). Fig leaves represent a false covering for sin—that is, self-justification by one’s works. This fig tree came back to life in 1948, as most Christians believe. So why do they think that this tree will now bear fruit? If it were to bear fruit, this would only prove that Jesus was a false prophet.

The Chosen Ones

Those who remain in Judaism or who convert to Judaism are liable to God for lack of fruit that God requires to be part of His Kingdom. When Christians support this fruitless fig tree, claiming that it will soon bear fruit, they oppose Jesus Himself. When they claim that Jews are God’s chosen people by virtue of genealogy, they oppose the teachings of Paul and John.

Paul tells us clearly in Romans 11 that the chosen ones are “a remnant according to the election of Grace” (Romans 11:5 KJV)—a tiny minority of the Israelites. Romans 11:7 says of those who were seeking to obtain the promise of God, “those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened.” He means the rest of the Israelites were hardened, because there were only 7,000 men in the time of Elijah who were “chosen.”

Therefore, if a Jew wishes to be “chosen,” he must have faith in the Mediator of the New Covenant which Abraham himself received. His genealogy will not suffice, as John the Baptist told them in Matthew 3:9,

⁹ “and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

Further, if any non-Jew wishes to be “chosen,” he will not be able to attain this status by converting to Judaism which rejected Jesus as the Messiah. If anyone wishes to be grafted into the Kingdom Tree, it will not benefit them to be grafted into a dead branch that has been cut off from the Root, which is Jesus Christ.