1 Peter Chapter 2

1 Peter Chapter 2 - 03-09-2012

Discussing the first chapter of 1 Peter we saw that Peter was indeed addressing the uncircumcision, who were Israelites of the Old Kingdom that were dispersed in ancient times, which Peter by this time had fully understood, even though he had not understood it at the time of the events which were described in Acts chapter 10, which actually occurred some years before the writing of this epistle. We also saw how Peter directly connected the Old Testament and the New where he wrote of things such as the “foreknowledge of Father Yahweh in a sanctification of the Spirit in obedience and a sprinkling of the blood of Yahshua Christ”, which we see in the opening lines of this epistle.

Many universalists take the famous vision of Peter found in Acts chapter 10 and insist upon applying it to everyone on the face of the earth, although some numbskulls would instead insist that it applies to the eating of ham sandwiches. The primary key to understanding what Yahweh intended in His vision to Peter is at Acts 10:15 where it is recorded that He says to Peter: “The things which Yahweh has cleansed, you do not deem profane!” Yahweh told us in the Old Testament precisely what it was that He would cleanse. Any imagining of man as to what the object of the cleansing could be, which does not explicitly come from Scripture, is a false gospel. Among many other promises of that cleansing and its pertinence to Israel alone, we have these from Jeremiah and Ezekiel:

Jeremiah 33:8: “And I will cleanse them [Israel] from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.”

Ezekiel 36:25 “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.”

What has Yahweh cleansed? Israel, all of Israel, and Israel only: for there is no promise of a cleansing to anyone else anywhere in the context of the Scriptures. And if only Israel had the promise, then only Israel received the cleansing. This carries all the way through to the end of the Revelation, where we see the following at Revelation 19:7-8: “7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” Who shall Yahshua betroth Himself to, but Israel?

From Hosea chapter 2, verses 15-20: “15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. 16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. 17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. 18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. 19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.”

From Revelation chapter 21, verses 2 and 12: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband," then describing this city it "...had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel." The children of Israel alone are the Bride of Christ, the children of Israel alone had the promises of cleansing. The children of Israel, from which the White race of today has for the most part descended, are those whom Peter references in 1 Peter 1:3, where he says that “according to His great mercy [He] has engendered us from above into a living hope through the resurrection of Yahshua Christ”. In his first epistle, the apostle John describes the children of God, whose “seed is in them”, as being born from of God, in contrast to the anti-Christs who are born of the world. In John's gospel. In John chapter 3, Yahshua Christ tells us that “unless a man should be born from above, he is not able to see the Kingdom of Yahweh.” The children of Israel are the bride of Yahweh. The children of Israel are the allegorical city descended from heaven [born from above] described in the Revelation. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 9, the promises and the covenants are for the children of Israel, his kinsmen “according to the flesh”, and not some “spiritual” kinsmen according to man. Paul's concern in Judaea were for his kinsmen the remnant of Israel, and Paul's mission to the nations was for his kinsmen the dispersed of Israel. Peter also came to that understanding, and addressed his epistle to “the elect sojourners of the dispersion” in those places where Paul had formerly established Christian assemblies for dispersed Israelites.

1 Chronicles 29:15: “For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.”

In verse 19 of his first chapter, Peter tells his readers that they have “been redeemed from out of your vain conduct handed down by your fathers” where again he is seen to have been speaking only to Israelites of the ancient dispersions, for the words could not apply to anyone else, and neither could they apply to the remnant of Israel among the Judaeans.

Referring again to that same cleansing which the cross of Christ granted to the children of Israel, Peter ends his first chapter in this manner, from verse 22: “22 Your souls having been purified in the obedience of the truth for brotherly love without hypocrisy, from of a pure heart you should love one another earnestly, 23 being engendered from above not from corruptible parentage, but from incorruptible, by the Word of Yahweh who lives and abides, 24 since 'All flesh is as grass and all of its glory as a flower of grass; the grass withers and the flower falls off, 25 but that which is spoken by Yahweh abides for eternity.' Now this is that which is spoken, which is announced to you.”

Here Peter quotes from Isaiah chapter 40, and it would be fitting to read the entire passage, to see the context, and to understand what Peter is calling attention to: Isaiah 40:1-9: “1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [That is the forewarning of John the Baptist announcing the coming of Yahweh as Yahshua the Christ.] 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” The direct connections between the words of Isaiah which were intended only for the children of Israel, and the epistle of Peter intended for those same people, cannot be justly ignored or modified. This situation continues throughout Peter's epistle.

II 1 Therefore putting off all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 as a newborn infant you must yearn for the pure rational milk, in order that by it you would grow into preservation, 3 if “you taste that the Prince is benevolent”.

The milk, not even the meat, is enough to preserve us if indeed we obeyed it. To understand what Peter considered to be the milk of the Gospel, we must simply observe what Peter has told his readers thus far, and what he is about to tell them. To this point, Peter has explained to his readers that they have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, and for that reason they should abandon the folly of paganism and the disobedience to God which had gotten their fathers in trouble in the first place. However in Christ they have mercy, and their lives are spared in that mercy. Such is the common faith which all Israel should share, that the promises of redemption made to the fathers were indeed fulfilled on the cross of Christ. While Peter does not in this epistle explain how that was achieved, a sufficient explanation of that is indeed found in the books of the prophets and in the letters of Paul. Peter tells his intended readers that their “souls having been purified in the obedience of the truth for brotherly love without hypocrisy, from of a pure heart you should love one another earnestly”. They, being the children of the same fathers, as Peter explained in the first chapter, in verse 18, then their “brotherly love” can only be applied to their ethnic kinsmen, for that is the context of the epistle, as is clear later in this same chapter where he invokes Exodus chapter 19, calling his intended readers an elect race, a holy nation and a peculiar people. And as we see, this message is only the milk of the gospel.

Paul defines the meat of the Gospel in Hebrews chapter 5: “12 For even you are obliged to be teachers, because of the time. Again you have need of one to teach you from the beginning the many elements of the oracles of Yahweh; and have come having need of milk, not of solid food. 13 For any who are partaking of milk are inexperienced of the word of righteousness: for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who through habit have the senses exercised for distinguishing both good and evil.”

Once we understand the milk of the Gospel, which is the purpose of the Christ and His redemption of the descendants of cast-off Israel, only then can we truly understand what is evil, and the nature of evil. While most people can see something as good, or as bad, according to the judgement of man, the true Biblical identification of evil goes far beyond the simple categorization of singular acts.

4 Coming forth to Him a living stone, indeed having been rejected as unfit by men but honored elect before Yahweh, 5 and yourselves as living stones are built a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Yahweh through Yahshua Christ. 6 Wherefore it is contained in the Scripture: “Behold, I place in Zion an honored elect corner stone, and he believing in Him shall by no means be ashamed.”

While the language of verse 4 is a little difficult, Peter tells us that Christ Himself is a living stone rejected by men but honored by God, and that we come forth to Him. If indeed we go forth to Him and He accepts us - if perhaps we are of His people - then He honors us. The honor of men is temporary and short-lived, but the honor of God is forever. Paul said in Romans chapter 8: “28 But we know that to those who love Yahweh all things work together for good, to those who in accordance with purpose are called. 29 Because those whom He has known beforehand, He has also appointed beforehand, conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be first born among many brethren. 30 Moreover, those whom He has appointed beforehand, these He also calls; and those whom He calls, these He also deems worthy; while those whom He deems worthy, these He also honors.” Then in verse 5 he draws a picture, much like the pictures of the body of Christ that Paul also often drew in words, but here Peter uses stones in a building as an analogy. In Matthew 16:18 Christ is recorded as having said to Peter: “And I say to you that you are a stone [petros], yet upon this bedrock [petra] shall I build My assembly and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it!” The Catholics scoff at the distinction, desiring to foist their mafia-don pope-cult upon us, however the distinction cannot honestly be ignored. Christ told Peter he was a stone, but that He, Christ Himself, would build His congregation upon bedrock.

Here Peter himself tells us that each Israelite Christian submitting himself to Christ is a stone, and that Christ Himself is the chosen corner-stone, and the word lithos is also used to describe Him in this passage. All together we have the real “church”, which is the true Body of Christ, Christ Himself being the Head. While Peter used the word lithos here, rather than petros, the distinction is purposeful, but not in the way that a Catholic may assume. A petros was a common stone, such as one found anywhere on the ground. But the word lithos was usually used of stone employed in building, of marble or of precious stone. Although it is a synonym for petros,lithos was also often used of blocks of hewn stone.Lithos was also the word used by the apostle John, where he described the City of God in Revelation 21:19 where he said: "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones". The children of Israel are those foundations: for they themselves are the City of God.

Paul uses very similar language, at Ephesians 2:19-22: “19 So therefore you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household of Yahweh, 20 being built upon the foundation of the ambassadors and the prophets, Yahshua Christ being the cornerstone Himself. 21 In whom the whole building joined together grows into a holy temple with the Prince, 22 in which you also are being built together into an abode of Yahweh in Spirit.”

The “spiritual sacrifices” Peter mentions are those good deeds which we do for our brethren. Paul often spoke of this same thing, for which compare 1 Timothy 6:17-19: “17 To those who are wealthy in this present age, you exhort neither to be high-minded nor to have hope in uncertain riches, but in Yahweh who provides for us richly all things for enjoyment: 18 to do good work, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous, sharing, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future, in order that they would obtain the true life.” and 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “16 All writing inspired of God is also beneficial for teaching, for evidence, for correction, for education which is in righteousness, 17 that the man of Yahweh would be perfect, having prepared himself for all good works.” If we learn the Gospel through the Scriptures, we seek to act on that knowledge. Likewise James, in the second chapter of his epistle, says “14 What is the benefit, my brethren, if one should claim to have faith, but does not have works? Is faith able to save him? 15 If a brother or sister becomes naked and lacking daily food, 16 and one from among you should say to them: 'Go in peace, be warm and fed', but you would not give to them the provisions for the body, what is the benefit? 17 Thusly also faith, if it should not have works, is by itself dead.” Peter told us in the first verse of this chapter, that if we “yearn for the pure rational milk ... that by it you would grow into preservation”. Once we learn to care for our kindred, and put away the selfish and uncaring ways of the flesh, we ensure our preservation as a people. If we could only do that, the enemies of God would have no power over us.

To repeat verse 6: “Wherefore it is contained in the Scripture: 'Behold, I place in Zion an honored elect corner stone, and he believing in Him shall by no means be ashamed.'”

The Scriptures Peter talks about are those of the Old Testament. This saying is first found in Psalm 118:22 and then in Isaiah 28:16. It is also attributed to Christ in three Gospels, where He quotes it in reference to Himself, it is referred to at Acts 4:11, and by Paul at 1 Corinthians 3:11-12 and Ephesians 2:20, all in reference to Christ. This must be the most-repeated concept in all of Scripture!

7 Therefore the honor for you is for those who believe, but they who do not believe: “The stone which the builders have rejected, this has come to be for the head cornerstone” 8 and “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” They stumble disobeying the Word, for which also they have been ordained.

1 Samuel 8:7: “And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

The image of the builders is used analogously, of those early leaders of Israel who first rejected Yahweh as their king. In Revelation chapters 19 through 22, we see that at the end of days Yahweh will indeed rule over us again, through Yahshua Christ.

Isaiah 28:15-19: “15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.”

Rejecting our God, our fathers made a covenant with death. Through Christ, that covenant with death is disannulled, meaning it is cancelled. The overflowing scourge: in the form of the humanist gods of diversity, multiculturalism, and all the other false ideologies which destroy our people, is passing through now, and we are being trodden down by it. Certainly it is a vexation, only to understand the report. The Stone laid in Zion is Christ, our rock.

In reference to that stone laid in Zion, repeating verse 6, Peter says concerning those of his own time who have stumbled upon it once it was laid, which is those who have rejected Christ in His day, that “they stumble disobeying the Word, for which also they have been ordained.” Isaiah 53:3: “3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

The gospel already separated the Wheat from the Tares, we just don’t get it, and like fools we keep trying to convert the tares! These are the “vessels of destruction” of Romans Chapter 9, the children of Esau, as compared to the “vessels of mercy” of Romans Chapter 9, the children of Israel! Why, if Yahshua Christ Himself could not do it, have men insisted ever since that time, that they could convert the tares, and they still do not understand the nature of the tares, although they have always failed to convert them? Today those tares are among us once again, because we never understood these things, and now only God Himself can possibly rid us of all of them. And He will do so indeed: for such is the Christian promise.

9 But you are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, so that you should proclaim the virtues for which from out of darkness you have been called into the wonder of His light,

The word genos here must be “race” since the words which follow: nation, priesthood, and people, cannot be reduced to a single point in time, and therefore understanding it as a mere “generation” is out of context. Rather, the allusion is to Exodus 19:5 19:5-6, which is the only valid context.

At Exodus 19:5-6 Yahweh said to Israel: “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.”

Psalm 135:4 “For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.”

The universalists might see an opening here, and claim that Israel was not obedient, as they agreed to be in Exodus 19. However the stated purpose of the New Covenant in Christ is not to let others in because of Israel's disobedience. Rather it is to bring cast-off Israel into obedience. Thus Paul says to the Corinthians, who had indeed descended from ancient Israel, at 2 Corinthians 10:1-6: “1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: 2 But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

The aged Sumeon, who was told that he would not die until he saw the Messiah, upon seeing the Christ child in the temple in Jerusalem: exclaimed: “29 Now release Your servant, Master, in peace according to Your word: 30 Because my eyes have seen Your Salvation, 31 which You have prepared in front of all the people: 32 a light for the revelation of the Nations and honor of Your people Israel!” (Luke 2:29-32) This light for the revelation of the nations is the light which Peter references, for the revelation of the children of Israel, those who were “not His people”, but are now called the sons of the Living God.

10 who at one time were “not a people” but now are the people of Yahweh, those who “have not been shown mercy” but are now shown mercy.

These words of Peter's could not refer to jews, they could not refer to alien “gentiles”, and they could not refer merely to the 70-Weeks Kingdom set up by the 42,000 or so people who returned out of the Babylonian captivity in the days of Zerubbabel, Nehemiah and Ezra. These words in Hosea can only refer to those people of the Assyrian deportations and earlier, and the Greeks and the Kelts of the assemblies to which Peter is writing are indeed descended from those Israelites. The apostles did not quote the Old Testament because it is full of cool stuff to say. They cited it because they were explaining the fulfillment of prophecy to the very people who were the object of that prophecy. This is stated of Israel alone in Hosea 1:10, and Paul also quotes it in Romans 9:26, again speaking of dispersed Israel and nobody else, and here Peter means only dispersed Israel, since it cannot possibly apply to anybody else!

11 Beloved, I exhort as emigrants and sojourners that you abstain from fleshly desires which make war against the soul,

Here again we see Peter's audience linked to the Old Testament Israelites, and these are the scattered sojourners whom Peter is addressing. Paul also described our struggle to overcome the lusts of the flesh, at Galatians 5:17: “The flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; indeed these are in opposition to one another, in which case you should not do these things that you desire.” The flesh is weak, and the Adversary, the jew and his minions, understand that very well. Therefore they are found everywhere pandering to those weaknesses, and deceiving our brethren who are in the world with every sort of vice and perversion. We have given way to these panderers ever since Genesis chapter 3.

12 holding your conduct well among the heathens, in order that while they slander you as evil-doers, watching from the good works they may honor Yahweh on the day of visitation.

I read ἔθνος here as intending those people of the Adamic nations who have not accepted the Gospel – at least not yet - considering that only a small percentage of the people accepted it at this early time. Without this bias, ἔθνος should probably be rendered as “peoples” here. Paul uses the word in this same sense, at 1 Corinthians 5:1 where he says “Fornication is generally reported among you, and fornication so bad that such is not even among the heathens, for one to have his father’s wife.” Paul uses the term again in that same manner in 2 Corinthians 11:26. While the word properly means nations, in the plural, or peoples in the sense of diverse ethnic groups, it seems to be used at times in a manner which refers to the ungodly practices or conduct of non-Christian nations regardless of their ethnicity, and not merely to the nations themselves, and so it is here and in these other cases which I have cited in Paul's letters, where I have rendered it as heathens.

13 You must be obedient to every authority created by mankind on account of the Prince, whether to kings as if being superior, 14 or to governors as if being sent by Him for the punishment of evil-doers but for the praise of those doing good. 15 Because thusly is the will of Yahweh: doing good to muzzle the ignorance of foolish men, 16 as free men yet not as if having freedom for a cover for evil, but as servants of Yahweh.

Many people, especially in Christian Israel Identity, steadfastly refuse to accept this precept. We have to consider our lives within the context of all History and Scripture, as a part of the “big picture”, and not be so concerned about our own personal sense of justice. This life is about trials, as we saw here in this very epistle in Chapter 1. Here we have an absolute corroboration of Romans Chapter 13, and the Paul-bashers scoffing against Paul are in reality rebelling against the decrees of Yahweh. At John 19:11 Christ said to Pilate that “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” We should deal with governmental authorities with that same attitude, or are we better than our Redeemer? Today our kingdom is handed over to the beast, to those true engineers of Mystery Babylon, and it is clearly our own fault! At Revelation 13:4 we see these words spoken, the truth of which are fully evident as we observe the world around us today: “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

We must learn that Yahweh is sovereign, and that no power rules over men outside of His will. He revealed to the prophet Daniel, that the beast would rule “wheresoever the children of men dwell”, in Daniel chapter 2, speaking of ancient Babylon. Therefore we see these words in the book of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 21:1-10: “1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us. 3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. 8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.”

Jeremiah 38:17-18: “17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.”

While Yahweh’s commandments are first, and we are not to violate them even unto death, the Christian Martyrs being the primary example of that, if we render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, then we will be able to render to Yahweh what is Yahweh’s, and striving to do that which is good, we pray that Caesar will not bother us. Doing that, seeking Yahweh’s will, perhaps we will not be judged harshly. We may be poor, but Christians are not supposed to be wealthy – in fact, James in Chapter 5 of his epistle even warns the wealthy, that they are being disobedient to Yahweh. The bottom line is that this life is a trial, and that Yahweh chooses whether or how each of us is tried. Some of us will suffer the judgements of those around us. As I have translated Revelation 13:10: “ If one is for captivity, into captivity he goes. If one is to be slain by the sword, he is to be slain by the sword. Thus is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

Remember that our time of punishment as a people was more or less sealed when our ancestors rejected the Israelite Theocracy of Yahweh and demanded an earthly king. By the time this is all over, we will be begging to have Yahweh back as our king! That is a major overall theme of the Bible, clouded because of false doctrines, where people do not really know what it means to see that in the end Yahshua Christ certainly shall be king of kings and lord of lords. That is the return of Yahweh’s Theocracy to Israel. In the meantime, we suffer the will of our ancestors, and we are oppressed by earthly kings. And as long as we are a sinful people, we will never have a righteous ruler. Expect to be punished even more, because it is the natural outcome of our sinful behavior.

Repeating 1 Peter 2:13-16: “13 You must be obedient to every authority created by mankind on account of the Prince, whether to kings as if being superior, 14 or to governors as if being sent by Him for the punishment of evil-doers but for the praise of those doing good. 15 Because thusly is the will of Yahweh: doing good to muzzle the ignorance of foolish men, 16 as free men yet not as if having freedom for a cover for evil, but as servants of Yahweh.”

Paul's words at Romans 13 are exactly in line with Peter's words on this subject: “1 Every soul must be subject to more powerful authorities. Since there is no authority except from Yahweh, then those who are, by Yahweh are they appointed. 2 Consequently, one opposing the authority has opposed the ordinance of Yahweh, and they who are in opposition will themselves receive judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good work, but to evil. Now do you desire to not be fearful of the authority? Practice good, and you will have approval from it; 4 a servant of Yahweh is to you for good. But if you practice evil, be fearful; for not without purpose will he bear the sword, indeed a servant of Yahweh is an avenger with wrath to he who has practiced evil. 5 On which account to be subordinate is a necessity, not only because of indignation, but also because of conscience. 6 For this reason also you pay tribute; they are ministers of Yahweh, obstinately persisting in this same thing. 7 Therefore render to all debts: to whom tribute, tribute; to whom taxes, taxes; to whom reverence, reverence; to whom dignity, dignity. 8 You owe to no one anything, except to love one another: for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 Indeed you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not lust, and any other commandment is summarized in this saying, to wit: “You shall love him near to you as yourself.” 10 Love for him near to you who does not practice evil: therefore fulfilling of the law is love. 11 Likewise, seeing the time, that hour we already are to be aroused out of sleep; for now it is nearer to our deliverance than when we had believed. 12 The night has advanced, and the day is drawn near; therefore we must put away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. 13 As in the day, we shall walk honorably; not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lasciviousness and licentiousness, not in strife and jealousy. 14 Rather put on Prince Yahshua Christ, and do not fashion for lust provision of the flesh.”

17 You must honor all, love the brotherhood, fear Yahweh, honor the King.

Love the brotherhood, your fellow kinsmen. Honor the King. The King in this instance is Yahshua Christ, Peter talking from the perspective that His kingship is certain.

18 Servants, subject yourselves with all fear to the masters, not only to the good and reasonable but also to the crooked. 19 For this is a benefit, if through consciousness of Yahweh one endures suffering grief unrighteously.

Slavery was an accepted fact of life, and just like no government has authority over the will of man outside of the purview of God, no man is a slave outside of the purview and the permissive will of God. Revelation 13:10, “If one is for captivity, into captivity he goes”. When we suffer loss, and account it for nothing, we demonstrate a faithful expectation in the justice of God and His reward in the world to come. For that reason Paul told the Hebrews, at 11:34: “For you also sympathized with the prisoners and you accepted the seizure of your possessions with joy, knowing to have and awaiting a better possession yourselves.”

From the Septuagint:

Proverbs 12:28: “In the ways of righteousness is life; but the ways of those that remember injuries lead to death.”

Proverbs 17:9: “He that conceals injuries seeks love; but he that hates to hide them separates friends and kindred.”

Paul, at Ephesians 6:5-7: “5 Bondmen, obey fleshly masters with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as with Christ. 6 Not with lip-service as men-pleasers, but as bondmen of Christ, doing the will of Yahweh from the soul, 7 with good will doing service as if to the Prince and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good each may have done, this he will recover for himself as appropriate, whether bondman or free. ”

20 For what sort of report, if doing wrong and being beaten you will submit? But if doing good and suffering you submit, this is a benefit before Yahweh.

How can you complain about being beaten before your judge, if you were beaten for doing wrong?

Mark 13:9: But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. (Mar 13:9 KJV)

21 Indeed, for this you have been called, because Christ also had suffered on your behalf, leaving behind for you an example in order that you would follow in His footsteps, 22 who had not committed wrong nor had guile been found in His mouth, 23 who being abused had not abused in return, suffering had not made threats, but surrendered to Him judging righteously.

This is also an example for us today. Luke 12:47-49: “47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. 49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?”

24 Who Himself carried your errors on His body upon the cross, that the errors being taken away we should live in righteousness; by whose wounds you are healed. 25 For you were as sheep wandering astray, but you must return now to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls!

These verses are straight from Isaiah chapter 53, except for Peter's own modification of part of Isaiah 53:6 into the warning which he issues in verse 25, which shall be discussed shortly. First it may be fitting to discuss the book of Isaiah. Many critics claim that the last 25 chapters of Isaiah were written by some different Isaiah, and do not belong to the original Isaiah. That is jewish treachery and a lie, because once the prophecy of Isaiah is examined in depth, the identification of the jews with Israel cannot stand. Therefore jews seek to demean the book and diminish it. Many jews and other scoffers also seek to discredit the predictive quality of the prophecies, however neither do those criticisms stand upon examination.

There are two witnesses that Isaiah is a singular book written by a singular author. First there is the Wisdom of Sirach, known historically and without doubt to exist from the third century before Christ. Sirach 48:24 ff. Discusses Isaiah and his mission in the days of Hezekiah the king, and the nature of his prophecies. The next is the Gospel, where Isaiah is often mentioned. In Luke chapter 4, however, there is a very strong attestation of these last chapters of Isaiah, where Christ in an assembly-hall in Nazareth is said to have “...stood up to read. And a scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed over to Him, and unrolling the scroll He found the place where it was written...” and Christ then proceeds to read portions of Scripture found at Isaiah chapters 58 and 61. There should be no doubt in the Christian mind as to the authenticity and the unity of the Book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 53:1-6: “1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Isiah chapter 53 is a clear messianic prophecy, and there is much more to it than these six verses. It has already been demonstrated here, that among other things, Peter by quoting Hosea in reference to his readers must have been addressing Israelites, but could not have been referring to the people of Judaea who descended from the returnees of the Babylonian captivity. Here this reference to Isaiah chapter 53 again proves that Peter was talking to people of the earlier dispersions of Israel, since the last twenty-five chapters of Isaiah refer only to those people, the “lost sheep” of the House of Israel. The meaning of Isaiah chapter 53 is that there would be an innocent man who would suffer undeservedly as a propitiation for the sins of the people of Israel. It cannot apply to anyone but the children of Israel, which is the entire context of the prophecy.

Isaiah 41:1-2 shows that this part of Isaiah's prophecy is written to the people of the Mediterranean coasts: “1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. 2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.”

Isaiah 42:1-8, another part of a Messianic prophecy, shows the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, that his seed would become many nations, in the bearing of the message of salvation to the nations of Israel: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Nations. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Nations; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” The covenants are for Israel, and the captives are those Israelites formerly dispossessed by God, which was the theme of the first forty chapters of Isaiah.

Isaiah 43:1: “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” None of these words in these chapters of Isaiah can be imagined to ever apply to anyone else but the people of Israel.

Isaiah 66:19: “And I will set a sign among them [Israel], and I will send those that escape of them [captive Israel] unto the nations, to Tarshish [Spain], Pul [Assyria], and Lud [Lydia and Etruria], that draw the bow, to Tubal [on the Black Sea], and Javan [Ionia], to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Nations.” Not two hundred years after the Assyrian deportations and the time of Isaiah's writing, the Kelts and Saxons (Kimmerians and Sakae, or Scythians) appeared in all of the places where Isaiah tells us that the children of Israel were to be sent. Christian Identity is the only true Christianity.

Now to repeat 1 Peter 2:24-25: “24 Who Himself carried your errors on His body upon the cross, that the errors being taken away we should live in righteousness; by whose wounds you are healed. 25 For you were as sheep wandering astray, but you must return now to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls!”

Compare this last passage again to Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Here Peter is again telling us that his message is exclusively for those cast-off children of Israel. It is fitting to repeat this once more in comparison; Isaiah: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way”; Peter: “For you were as sheep wandering astray, but you must return now to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls!” Peter is admonishing his readers to return to their God, and therefore he must only be addressing Israelites, and these words cannot apply to anyone else.

This statement is also a refutation of humanism, because here it is evident, as it often is in the Bible, that we are not the captains of our own souls, as we so often suppose. In some of the materials of the Paul-bashers which I have addressed in the past, Henry Graber actually insisted that he was the “captain” of his own soul, while he was hypocritically quoting a different chapter in Peter! Many also claim that Timothy McVeigh was a Christian, even a Christian Identity adherent, and he was found with this poem, "Invictus," by William Earnest Henley, which received some media attention at the time. But if you know the New Testament and read the poem, you may find that it sounds nice, but it is really a piece of humanist trash. To me it is apparent that McVeigh was probably not a Christian at all.

Christians have to realize that God alone is the Captain and Shepherd of our souls. Christians have to realize that God has a greater purpose than their own immediate desires for comfort and temporal gratification. Seeking His will now, we shall perhaps make it better for ourselves later.