No One Expected This—God’s Plan Is Unfolding Now | Rabbi Tovia Singer

However, God had a different plan, didn't he? He tells us that one day you come back to this land. Your enemies would be destroyed, who disappear. After all, they have no covenant with the God of Israel. The people who built these pillars and these streets that are thousands of years old, they're gone now. Why? You know, the the people who built these pillars, they never thought a Jew would ever walk down this road. It's called the Cardo. These pillars, this street, Byzantine Empire. Jews were expelled from this holy city, from Jerusalem, in 326, immediately following the Council of Nicaea in 325, where the church voted on the doctrine of the Trinity, a self-inflicted wound from which it never recovered. In Nicaea, the church decided on what was orthodoxy of the doctrine of the Trinity, and immediately the Jews were expelled from the city. This is all Byzantine Empire. In fact, this road Justinian expanded it, 6th century emperor, hated the Jews. Ooh, did he hate us. In fact, he made a decree that Jews couldn't even pray in the Hebrew language. It was forbidden for Jews to celebrate Passover if it fell out before Easter. Imagine that. And strikingly that the at the Council of Nicaea the other feature of that ecumenical council that had enormous influence on the church was to abandon the Jewish calendar in favor of a solar calendar to determine Easter. It is pure darkness. Justinian responsible for expanding this road here in Jerusalem. He never thought we'd return. None of the church fathers did. They thought it was impossible. And they all declared that in fact the Jewish people were a rejected people of God while once we were chosen at one time kingdom of priests designated by God but because they were unimpressed with the Christian message rejected Jesus and worse killed him. So we are an accursed people never to have any sovereignty here in Jerusalem. Instead we are destined to live in exile in a beleaguered state. Augustine formulated this very succinctly in his most influential apologetic work The City of God written after the fall of Rome. About 412, about 2 years after it was sacked. It's a 22-volume series. And in it he says that in fact the Jews and their beleaguered state would demonstrate that God was well, done with them. But, they were destined to live here in around the world in a lower state, in a beleaguered state, and that would bear witness to the truthfulness of Christianity. And God was done with Judaism and the Jews. The people who built this never thought we'd return. But, they weren't counting on the God of Israel. No. They were counting on the teachings of prior church fathers, patristic church fathers, going back to Ignatius, Irenaeus, that second-century Tertullian. These people actually wrote books, authored tomes, designated the Jews as a rejected people, as would Melito, all second century, that's early stuff, as would Origen, third century, and the rest of them. What do they all have in common? They ignored the eternal promise that God made to the people of Israel. One day you would return. One day you would return back to this land. And today, if you want to learn about the Byzantine Empire, just go to a library. The librarian will direct you. Blow the dust off the book and open it, and there you can read about them. The Roman Empire lasted for a long time. And ultimately, the Turks defeated them and they're gone now. They disappeared. They only languish in history books. They used to have a covenant with God. They were the implacable enemies of God. It's striking that in 361, an emperor emerges of Rome, his name was Julian. What's striking about him is he rejected Christianity. He didn't believe in it anymore and and because he didn't believe in the Christian religion, he said that the Jews could return back here to Jerusalem. Let the Sanhedrin do what you want. I don't have a problem with him cuz I'm not a Christian. Isn't that striking? He got himself killed in a war with the Persians he probably should have stayed out of. That's history. And following that, again, a Christian emperor is in charge and the plight of the Jews Oh, you know the rest of the story. Or do you? The Jewish people are in exile for a very long time. However, God had a different plan, didn't he? He tells us that one day you will come back to this land. Your enemies would be destroyed, would disappear. After all, they have no covenant with the God of Israel. The people who built these pillars and these streets that are thousands of years old, they're gone now. Why? It's the merit of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the progenitors of the children of Israel. That's why we're here. And we have returned. The people who built this street, they're gone now. They've disappeared. They were mighty at one time, but not any longer. The Roman Empire, so many years. You know, it's striking that in 410, when Rome was sacked, it was Germanic tribes, Visigoths, and they too were Christians. Isn't that interesting? The difference between the Rome, who were Nicene Christians, and the Visigoths was not that the Visigoths were not Christians, they were Christians, too. But the difference lies in that the Visigoths were not Trinitarians. They were Arians with an I, this is very important to bear in mind, which means they reject the notion Jesus was eternal. And that alone made, well, the difference in the world. The relationship between Jews and the Visigoths, who converted to Christianity about 311, about a year before Constantine, was fairly benign until one day the Visigoths, too, would adopt Trinitarian Christianity in 589, things would go south for them, but not for us. God has indeed kept his and the people who built that, they're gone. The Almighty made a promise. And it's this city where it all started. After all, it was Abraham, our forefather of blessed memory, who brought his son, Isaac, for an offering here on where the Holy of Holies is. It was here where Jewish history was sown. And Jewish history would culminate. What Why? Oh, because everyone, more than 5 billion people on this planet, think that the Jews would never return. Now, they're saying what's unfolding quickly. Many of them are repenting and choosing the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Others will be convinced shortly. If you enjoy this program, please like and subscribe.