Pastor Bob,

 

I have a question for you.

 

Suppose you were asked by God to write a book and divide it into two sections. The first section you are instructed to publish and give to everybody, worthy and unworthy alike. But the second section you are to deliver only to the wise among the people.

 

My question is: how would you accomplish this? How would you make sure that the wise would receive the part intended for them while at the same time keeping it from the unworthy? How would you even know which people are which in order to carry out such an instruction?

 

I believe the above scenario describes what happened here with Ezra:

 

2 Esdras 14:23 - He answered me and said, "Go and gather the people, and tell them not to seek you for forty days.

 

24 - But prepare for yourself many writing tablets, and take with you Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ethanus, and Asiel -- these five, because they are trained to write rapidly;

 

25 - and you shall come here, and I will light in your heart the lamp of understanding, which shall not be put out until what you are about to write is finished.

 

26 - And when you have finished, some things you shall make public, and some you shall deliver in secret to the wise; tomorrow at this hour you shall begin to write."

 

27 - Then I went as he commanded me, and I gathered all the people together, and said,

 

28 - "Hear these words, O Israel

 

29 - At first our fathers dwelt as aliens in Egypt, and they were delivered from there,

 

30 - and received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you also have transgressed after them.

 

31 - Then land was given to you for a possession in the land of Zion; but you and your fathers committed iniquity and did not keep the ways which the Most High commanded you.

 

32 - And because he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given.

 

33 - And now you are here, and your brethren are farther in the interior.

 

34 - If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy.

 

35 - For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous will become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly will be disclosed.

 

36 - But let no one come to me now, and let no one seek me for forty days."

 

37 - So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we proceeded to the field, and remained there.

 

38 - And on the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, "Ezra, open your mouth and drink what I give you to drink."

 

39 - Then I opened my mouth, and behold, a full cup was offered to me; it was full of something like water, but its color was like fire.

 

40 - And I took it and drank; and when I had drunk it, my heart poured forth understanding, and wisdom increased in my breast, for my spirit retained its memory;

 

41 - and my mouth was opened, and was no longer closed.

 

42 - And the Most High gave understanding to the five men, and by turns they wrote what was dictated, in characters which they did not know. They sat forty days, and wrote during the daytime, and ate their bread at night.

 

43 - As for me, I spoke in the daytime and was not silent at night.

 

44 - So during the forty days ninety-four books were written.

 

45 - And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, "Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first and let the worthy and the unworthy read them;

 

46 - but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people.

 

47 - For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge."

 

48 - And I did so.

 

I’ll tell you how I believe this was accomplished. First consider that what God told Ezra to write about from which the above is taken concerns many things that have not yet happened on this earth suggesting that it is important to us who are alive at the time of the end, (much like another  extra-biblical writing, the Book of  Enoch). Consider that we have in our Old Testament a book called “Ezra,” written by this same man. This book is published and “canonized” and is read by everyone, worthy and unworthy alike. But we also have this other book, by this same man, which is also published yet not “canonized” but placed among the Apocryphal books where it is most likely not read by any but those who would be interested to know whether there is anything of value among these books and then also capable of gleaning from them what is good or important. Such individuals as this, I think may safely be called “wise”. By this method, I would submit this special material is able to give enlightenment to the wise and worthy while at the same time it will not be received by the unwise and unworthy. (In much the same way Jesus answered the disciples’ concern when they asked what was to prevent the world from also receiving the Holy Spirit once He is poured out and in answering He said that the world will not receive the Holy Spirit because they cannot see Him.) This makes this method of “discrimination” or categorization especially interesting since in the end it is left up to each individual to decide into which of the two groups he places himself. (I set before you this day two ways…choose…) This answers how it would be that Ezra himself would not have to decide which individuals would get which books. Obviously I feel that this book of 2 Esdras is important.

 

I bring this up as a response to what I sense is a less than favorable opinion coming from you (Pastor Bob) toward all these “Apocryphal” books among which is found this special book of 2 Esdras (Ezra’s name in another language). Special for a number of reasons, not least of which is its contribution about the movements of the ten tribes of Israel after their captivity ended. It can be set aside as unimportant and not even genuine or it can possibly be of great importance.

 

Solomon advises that we seek wisdom and understanding as we would seek for gold, silver, and precious stones, but if we are either too busy to do so or just declare ourselves wise enough already with whatever we currently have we can only blame ourselves in the end. I feel sorry for the person with the following response to my posts of videos on the Lost Tribes but see it as a fitting example to illustrate what I’m talking about:

___________________________________________________________

Fay (27 July 2014)
"Replacement Theology"

 Hi John and Doves,

Like many of you, I simply don't have the time to sit through hours of video...

http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/july2014/fay727-1.htm

 

 

 

That’s fine but whence comes this need to go on to suggest that there is something wrong with someone who does take the time to look into it and by looking, discover the wisdom of God in it? The man in the “more in depth video” (the second one I posted) begins by stating that he used to be on the same side that Pastor Bob is now, a complete unbeliever in the lost tribes are Britain/USA idea. He set out to settle it once and for all and through careful, honest study of every source he could find he discovered what he shares in the video. But for some like the gal above, she doesn't have time to watch and she already knows it anyway. She is making my point for me. We do get to choose what is important to us and what is not even worth a look but to go on to state an opinion without exposing oneself to the evidence placed in front of you is not something I’d recommend doing. She appears satisfied that she has all the facts already and that anyone with information beyond what she understands must be wrong and should “get over it…”

 

I’m not sure which is worse, to declare an opinion being yet ignorant of the evidence or to claim to have studied it thoroughly and yet come away unimpressed by the evidence and continue to teach against it. Remember the Pharisees used themselves and their opinions about Jesus as proof to others that Jesus was not from God. Yet when Jesus rose from the grave after three days in it, (the proof Jesus gave as a sign and fulfilled it) they paid large sums to the soldiers to tell what they knew to be a lie. Just be careful what you teach to others because it is going to matter.

 

I don’t want to get into a debate on this subject (Lost Tribes of Israel) here because the info is available elsewhere for those who would seek it and it will all be answered for all to see soon enough. I am confident in my own understanding of this subject and trust that God is capable of dealing with other opinions and the holders of them. I will say this about the DNA “evidence” well, just see my above statement about how the Pharisees were the experts of their day to show you what I think about how I’d place any trust on men as “experts” or holders of the final word on something like this. Nah, thanks anyway. Nail in the coffin indeed, just be careful whose coffin it is. Why does this matter? God’s promises are at stake. And proper understanding of what is yet to come is at stake.

 

Once the Bride is removed, all of Israel will again be the focus of everything on earth as the time of Jacob's (as in all the tribes, not just the "Jews") trouble begins. Once the rapture happens the church/bride will be gone and what will be left will be the Whole House of Israel to be dealt with by God as the continuation of Daniel’s 70 weeks once again picks up where it left off. The age and dispensation of grace will have ended with us being raised up on the “last day” of that age. It is at that time that all other nations of the world will be against Israel as a whole which we see the beginning of already and God will fight for her as God brings her back to Himself while also destroying His enemies to make way for His kingdom. More will be saved during this time than in all other times previous. But also more will die than ever before in such a short period. I don’t know, but to me this is important stuff to know about.

 

I wish only to be a signpost and voice for other potential seekers who will seek out the wisdom where God has hidden it for them. I love the fairness and wisdom of God who lets each of us operate from our free will to decide for ourselves what is important and we each will give an account of what we did with the time and talents we were given.

 

Hope to see you soon!

 

Barry Amundsen