Christian Study

Growing up Catholic we were taught that only theologians could understand scripture. In seminary we were also discouraged from the study of scripture. Scripture teaches that this idea of understanding is false. This teaching, shared by some Protestant denominations as well, keeps people ignorant of God’s word. God wants us to know his word, not so much church doctrine. Read scripture daily and pray for understanding.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Luke 12:47 “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.”

God considered He was married to true Israel.

Isaiah 54:5 “For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of Armies is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.”

More of the story is in Ezekiel 23, Romans 7:1-4, Jeremiah 3:8 and easily a couple dozen other passages as well. It is the greatest continuing love story found in scripture.

It is important to know the source of quotes in Scripture. The reader is expected to know the meaning behind a quote from the old testament.

1 Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

The quote is from Leviticus 11:44, God’s health laws, the food laws. The implication is that being holy is effected by what we eat. Therefore the question, can one be holy before God as commanded in 1 Peter 1:16 and still eat pork?

If one sins against God’s Law, then to God we must go for forgiveness.

Psalms 51:1b-4 “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Men do not always get along and one must ask forgiveness or forgive a brother. Many read only Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 6:37 and Ephesians 4:32 ignoring further teaching. Forgiveness is for a brother who is repentant. A brother is only a fellow Christian by scriptural definition.

Matthew 18:21-22 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

Then Christ tells the parable about the man who was forgiven, but did not forgive his fellow servant.

Matthew 18:35 “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

Luke 17:3-4 “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”

It is hard to overcome the teaching of Psychology in the churches, but forgiveness is never extended to an unrepentant sinner. God did not give us the power to forgive unrepentant sinners.

Matthew 18:17 “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”

Christ is our example.

Luke 23:39-43 “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.”

Did Christ forgive the unrepentant sinner?

The idea of extending forgiveness to everyone and anyone is not found in scripture. Forgiveness is never extended to an enemy of God. Rightly divide the Word of God.

Isaiah 48:12  “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.”

Isa 45:4 “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”

When they apply to people God defined the terms called and elect to be Israelites. Only true Israelites are called and elect. This listing of scripture should also show that those whom God predestined and foreknew are also only Israel. Even the term adoption is only for Israel, Romans 9:4.

Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Paul shows that those called are the same as those whom God foreknew and predestinated.

Romans 9:24-26 “Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Judeans only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”

Modern churches have violated scripture by making other people as God’s called. Paul does not redefine God’s use of the word called, but shows that there are Israelites among the Judeans and also among the nations (Gentiles).

Romans 11:1-2a “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.”

1 Peter 1:2 “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

There are many verses that mention the elect. All of them relate to God’s definition. The elect are only Israelites.

So what makes more sense considering who is really the Israel of scripture?

People who say they are Jews, but spit when they hear the name of Jesus Christ.

or

People who, if they have had any religion at all for the past almost 2000 years, have been Christians and have fulfilled every prophecy intended for Israel.

Hebrews 11:18 “Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called”. (Saxons)

Numbers 6:27 “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” (Christians)

Isaac’s sons or the general term for the people has been Saxons. True Israel is found among the Anglo Saxon, Celtic, Germanic, Scandinavian and kindred peoples. God did not fail. He is still dealing with the same people today as he did in the desert with Moses. He still rewards us for good behavior and punishes us for bad behavior as specified in Deuteronomy 28.

While we may be fairly good at keeping some of the ten commandments we have allowed fake Christianity to teach us to love and help those who hate our God. This is treason against God. We also have commerce with them. Scripture teaches this is sin. Taking the Gospel to the world does not mean that we must help them before they repent. Go back into your scripture and learn the real definitions for brother and neighbor. Those terms have specific definitions. Not everyone is your brother or neighbor.

Let me suggest that Ephesians 2 has a different meaning than is usually taught in churches. Lets start with two words.

Gentiles in verse 11
Ethnos is a Koine Greek word that means nation/race. It is where we get the English word ethnicity. It is sometimes translated as heathen. In many places it was “translated” with the Latin word Gentile. The Latin word Gentile means nation/kin. Over many years the meaning of the word was changed to mean non-Jew. However if you want to understand scripture in the manner desired by the author, then when you read Gentile, think nation. Let the context determine who that nation is in the text. In some instances the context demands that the nation is those of the ten tribes who were afar off. Always let the scripture define its own terms for proper understanding.

Aliens found in verse 12.
Apallotrioo is a Greek verb that means to to estrange away. It is a verb that should have been translated as alienated.

There are more clues with the words children, uncircumcision, circumcision, nigh or near and afar off and reconcile. The middle wall of partion is also important. Let scripture define those terms. Christ Himself defined the word children.

When Rehoboam became King of Israel the nation of Israel split into two separate nations, the house of Judah and the house of Israel. Ephesians 2 is about the reunification of the house of Judah, who were those near, with the house of Israel who by this time were those afar off in Europe and Greece. (History and archeology including Asyrian tablets show that the ten tribes escaped from Asyria and moved mostly into Europe as Josephus, Ptolemy and others document.) This reunification was under one head, Christ. So the enmity between them was ended when Christ broke down the middle wall of partition.

God did not cast away those whom He foreknew. To do so would have made God a promise breaker and liar. The book of Hosea does not leave the Northern tribes lost forever, but gives hope to those who were temporarily called “not my people”. The word reconcile is also a clue. One can not reconcile two groups who were never together in the past. Much like the idea of redemption. Only Israel can be redeemed. Scripture makes that very plain.

So it was the house of Israel, the ten northern tribes, who became estranged, Ezekiel 14:5 and lost the right to be called Israel. This is why scripture calls them nations (Gentiles). They became “alienated from the from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world”. That is except for the promises in Hosea.

Hosea 1:10-11 “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.”

By the way, there are at least two other Gentile references that by context must be the house of Israel and not some non-Israelites. They are Romans 2:14-15 and Romans 9:24-26. I leave it to you to check those out.

Spiritualizing scripture to make it fit other people destroys the intended meaning.

Amos 9:9 “For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”

and

Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people”.

There are many clues in the following verses, not the least of which is “peculiar people”.

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But ye are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

As they admit in a growing number of writings, the modern day Jews are not Israelites.

One preacher said that if you only ever fed milk to a baby it would be weak and sickly. That is the state of most Christians today. Yet they get very defensive if you try to show them some meat. Now and then I listen to sermons from normal every day churches. It is all milk and a lot of filler that includes nice stories intended to make people feel good about themselves. There is no meat. Meat can be controversial and people do not want to be uncomfortable. The word translated smooth things also means flattery. It goes right along with preachers teaching so that people can feel good about themselves.

“Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits”, Isaiah 30:10