Donna Danna (7 Jan 2024)
"TO GINO:  Israel's Ultimate Test With The FIRST & SECOND Commandments"


This is in reply to your 12/31 post Israel's ultimate test with the second commandment? (fivedoves.com) I would agree with you that one of Israel's ultimate tests is obeying the second commandment. But Israel's other ultimate test would be not to worship the Antichrist as God because God will not have any other gods before Him which was the first commandment as shown in the first 2 verses below:

Exodus 20:3, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Deuteronomy 5:7, "Thou shalt have none other gods before me."

Rev. 13:4, "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?"

Rev. 13;12, "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."

They should also keep in mind the following verses from Deuteronomy in regards to a sign or wonder from a prophet that comes to pass.  In this case it would be a sign or wonder from the 2nd Beast, the False Prophet.

Deut. 13:1-5, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; giveth thee a sign or a wonder, Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.  And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee."

Perhaps the Jews in Israel who are aware of and believe all the above Old Testament verses will be the ones in Judea who flee to the mountains when the image of the beast, the abomination of desolation, stands in the holy place (Matt. 24:15-16 & Mark 13:14) and they may also be part of "the woman who fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days" in Rev. 12:16.  However, according to the article below about half the Jews in Israel are atheists so they may be more likely to take the mark of the beast.


Religion has outsized role in Israel, yet most of its Jews aren't really observant | The Times of Israel

"As of December 2023, Israel's population stands at approximately 9,842,000 million. Jews make up the majority at 73.2% (about 7,208,000 people)."
Latest Population Statistics for Israel (jewishvirtuallibrary.org)
"Of the Jewish population aged 20 and over, 44% of Jews self-identify as secular, 21% as traditional but not very observant, 12% as traditional and observant, 12% as religious, and 11% as ultra-Orthodox."