Israel, the elect, the saints, and the gentiles (part IV)

Now that we understand that Israel is not simply the Jews, we can determine that the elect and saints are not only the Jews as well. This is very important in understanding the last day’s prophecies and some key verses from the book of Revelation along with other books concerning the end times.

Matthew 24:24

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Mark 13: 22

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

We can see that the elect have the possibility to be deceived. These signs and wonders will be absolutely believable. Something we need to think about when studying end times prophecy is, are the elect actually all the entire followers of Christ, including the “gentiles” church?

Ephesians 2: 13-19

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

Speaking to the gentiles, not only those gentiles that were once part of the northern kingdom of Israel, but also those gentiles that never knew YHWH, he says, you are now a fellow citizen with the saints.

Why is it then that so many people claim otherwise? Why do Christians believe that they are not part of the elect, or the “tribulation saints”? [Quick side note: there is no mention of “tribulation” saints as a specific group found anywhere in the bible.] Could it be that because of all the terrible things to come, Christians are scared to face these things? We are not supposed to be scared once we have Yeshua (Jesus) on our side, but I believe that is one of the issues. The faith of a mustard seed? Many of us pay lip service to YHWH, but in reality there is no real faith that we would be delivered through such a time as that. But lets just look at a few of these verses that scare us so much that we have decided to change who the elect are in our own minds and teachings.

Matthew 24: 9

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Matthew 24: 21

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Revelation 6:9

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

Revelation 13: 7

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Revelation 20: 4

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.

As we can read here, believers will die. They will be tormented, and deceived. We do not want to believe that this is our fate for believing in our Savior. But, this is what the text tells us will happen. We are part of the elect once we accept Yeshua as our savior.

Matthew 24: 13

But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Revelation 2: 7

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

Those that “endures to the end”, to the end of what? To find out we must go back a little bit to see what is being discussed here.

Matthew 24: 9-12

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

The book of Matthew tells us in the verse just before that what we must endure is tribulation, being hated for our faith, offensive issues, the betrayal of one another, hate, deception put forth by false prophets, and lawlessness.

What does it mean to be chosen compared to called? Lets go back to the book of Matthew and see if we can find the understanding we need.

Matthew 22:14

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Matthew 22: 1-14

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

As we can see here, some, even bad and unworthy can be called, that does not mean that they are chosen. YHWH has called the whole world to the Son, but only the Chosen will be allowed into the kingdom. So then, what does it mean to be chosen?

Romans 11: 7,15,17,20

What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,

Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.

Romans 11: 5

Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

In order to be chosen we must have the belief of Christ as our savior because election comes through Grace, we also must have the fear of YHWH. We too, must understand what it means to believe in the Hebrew culture, since the Bible was written by Jews and Hebrews, one must take into consideration what the definitions of the words were to that particular group of people. This is the Strong’s definition.

Strong's H539 - 'aman

to support, confirm, be faithful

(Qal)

to support, confirm, be faithful, uphold, nourish

           One of the word used to describe it is “uphold”. Uphold what? The only thing we are told to uphold are the words Christ gave us, those were to follow His commandments. He later tells us that His words are not His own, but the Fathers. So, at minimum, to believe in Christ as a savior, means we must follow the commandments given to Moses. Consider this, YHWH, does not change, He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That being said, when He tells us to follow His commands, and Christ says follow His lead and keep the commands and then tells us that the words He is speaking are coming from the Father, one can only come to the conclusion that we are to follow the commands of YHWH.

Acts 15: 8-9

So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us (Jews) and them (Gentiles), purifying their hearts by faith.

Acts 14:15

Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.

              It was YHWH’s plan to select some from the gentiles as part of the chosen people. These chosen people are the same as the elect. Now that we can see that once we are saved, and we believe Yeshua died for us, we become part of the elect, we must accept that during the great tribulation we are part of the elect that is being discussed in the book of Revelation. Understanding this, at least in my opinion, leaves no room for a pretribulation rapture. Upon Christ’s return He will gather all the elect from the four corners of the earth, not before.

Matthew 24: 29-31

“Immediately after the distress of those days, “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

It is very clear that the elect are not gathered until the end at the return of Christ. It also seem clear that all believers in Christ are the elect, the saints, and the chosen. We are the ones that may be deceived, we are the ones that will be persecuted for our faith, and we are the ones that must endure until the end. What we must understand is this,

Romans 8: 31

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Psalm 118: 6

The Lord is on my side;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

Lost sheep of Israel part III

YHWH’s people from the Northern kingdom of Israel continued to break the covenant that had been given to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and finally written down by Moses. Because of this, they would be taken away into bondage by the king of Assyria in 722 BC. The house of Israel assimilated into the nations. They became part of their culture, so much so, that they even worshipped the other gods that those nations worshipped.

Later, in 586 BC, the Southern Kingdom of Judah was taken into captivity into Babylon for same reason as the Northern kingdom, it lasted 70 years. The story of Nehemiah is about the southern house coming back. Think of it this way, had the house of Judah never returned, there would be no Jesus, because there would have been now Jews.

Deuteronomy 30:1-6

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Scattered Sheep

Jeremiah 50: 17

“Israel is like scattered sheep;

The lions have driven him away.

First the king of Assyria devoured him;

Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”

Micah 2: 12

“I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;

I will put them together like sheep of the fold,

Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;

They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.

Ezekiel 34: 12-13

As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country

Israel is the only people in the bible that are referred to as sheep. The Old Testament was written before the new as we all know, and the new was pulled from the old. Every time the New Testament mentions the scriptures they are referring to the Old Testament. The writers of the new would not have changed the meaning or people group referred to as sheep.

Now that we know who the sheep are, where are the Scattered Sheep?

Ezekiel 11: 16

Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”’

Psalms 106: 47

Save us, O Lord our God,

And gather us from among the Gentiles,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

To triumph in Your praise.

The same word used here for Gentiles is used also as nations and heathens. Meaning that it is interchangeable. So when we read, “sift the house of Israel among all nations”, it can just as easily be written as “sift the house of Israel among all gentiles.”

The word is Strong's H1471 – gowy

nation, people

nation, people

usually of non-Hebrew people

Amos 9:9

“For surely I will command,

And will sift the house of Israel among all nations,

“Sift the house of Israel” is specific in that the Northern house of Israel was prophesied to be scattered among the four corners of the earth, whereas the southern house of Judah was not. Because of this, the house of Judah was able to return after 70 years.

Hosea 7:8

“Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples;

Ephraim is a cake unturned.

9 Aliens have devoured his strength,

But he does not know it;

Remember that Ephriam is another term for the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Hosea 8:8

Israel is swallowed up;

Now they are among the Gentiles

Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.

Remember Ephraim was another name for the Norther House of Israel. Israel was taken into captivity, and dispersed all over the other nations. Over time they became assimilated into these cultures and became just like the gentiles. To take it a step further, they could not even tell themselves apart from the gentiles as we see in Hosea 7. They may have knew which tribes they came from, however, they acted as if they were part of the outside nations.

                Since the destruction of the temple, the ten tribes have completely lost their identity. This fulfils the prophecy of Israel being scattered among the nations and worshiping their gods. During the first century, historian Flavious Josephus writes in his book, “Antiquities of the Jews”.

Antiquities of the Jews. 11.5

“Wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers.

                Flavious Josephus is telling us that Israel of the first century was made up of Judah and Benjamin, no one else was allowed to be a part of Israel unless they were converts. That is why he says that ten tribes were beyond the Euphrates. There were too many Israelites to count, and they were part of the gentiles.

Gentiles hated Jews

Have you ever wondered why pagan gentiles, those that hated the Jews, so readily accepted a Jewish Messiah? The city of Ephesus alone had 100,000 converts. Why would this be? The only real answer is because many of those gentiles had background knowledge of the Torah. They had this knowledge because they were in fact, the scattered sheep of Israel. They knew the prophecies.

1 Peter 1:1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 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.

                Who is the book of Galatians really written to? Considering this book mentions specifically the strangers scattered throughout Galatia. Isnt it more than just possible that the book of Galatians was written to these lost sheep of Israel?

James 1:1

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

The book of James is written to the 12 tribes, NOT gentiles. He tells us this in the very first sentence. Why is it that we always seem to gloss right over verses that do not fit our beliefs? Maybe this is why so many Christians only use Paul for their arguments.

John 7: 33-35

Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?

                There was a Jewish law that forbid Jews to interact with gentiles. This is why Peter was given the vision about the unclean animals.

Acts 10:10-13, 15

He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

                People often use this verse in trying to argue that the Old Testament food law is no longer in place, however, we can see later in the chapter that these unclean animals only represent gentiles and have absolutely nothing to do with the dietary laws and rules.

Acts 10: 28

He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.

John 10: 3-4,7

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

I reiterate the only definition of sheep, as a people group, is that they are the tribe of Israel. When Jesus is talking about the sheep, who is He talking about/to?

My people, not my people

                There is a common misconception about who is being discussed in 1 Peter. Many will have you believe that the verse below is referring to only gentiles that have never been associated with YHWH. I must disagree. Here is the verse, with the Old Testament verse it is being quoted from, along with a few other verses to clear up this misconception.

1 Peter 2: 9-10

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Exodus 19: 6

you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

                We can see from Exodus that the kingdom of priests and holy nation is referring to Israel.

Romans 9: 24-26

even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;

    and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,

    ‘You are not my people,’

    there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

                Now pulling directly from Hosea itself…

Hosea 1: 10-11

“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

Acts 22: 3

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

In the Talmud, Gamaliel is described as bearing the titles Nasi and Rabban (our master), as the president of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. Gamaliel holds a reputation in the Mishnah for being one of the greatest teachers in all the annals of Judaism. Paul was his top student and had memorized the entire Torah. That being said, why would YHWH need someone with such a scholarly background to be His number one teacher? YHWH chose him because he was needed to not only teach the Jews, but also the Israelite gentiles, both of which knew all the background and that they (the Israelite gentiles) could not return to Israel. This was the Good News. Through Christ they could return.

Now that we know that the sheep are the lost tribes of Israel, it brings a much deeper meaning to the verse the book of Matthew.

Matthew 15:24

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

To be continued….

Identity of Israel part 2

Who is the body of Israel?

Lets go back to the beginning. In the Bible Israel was Jacob after he wrestled with God.

Genesis 32: 24-28

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Now that we know where the name Israel started, lets take it back to where this group of people originated. The father of Jacob was Isaac, and the father of Isaac was Abraham. Abraham was NOT a Jew, but rather, he was a gentile.

Genesis 11: 31

And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.

Abraham has a pagan background. Living in the land of pagans, his father Terah had many wooden gods, created with his own hands. Abram, however, had lived with Noah for some time and learned the ways of YHWH and Noah taught Abram how to believe with faith.

Jasher 11:12-43

At that time died Nahor, son of Serug, in the forty-ninth year of the life of Abram son of Terah.

 And in the fiftieth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came forth from the house of Noah, and went to his father's house.

 And Abram knew the Lord, and he went in his ways and instructions, and the Lord his God was with him.

 And Terah his father was in those days, still captain of the host of king Nimrod, and he still followed strange gods.

 And Abram came to his father's house and saw twelve gods standing there in their temples, and the anger of Abram was kindled when he saw these images in his father's house.

 And Abram said, As the Lord liveth these images shall not remain in my father's house; so shall the Lord who created me do unto me if in three days' time I do not break them all.

 And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. And Abram hastened and went from the chamber to his father's outer court, and he found his father sitting in the court, and all his servants with him, and Abram came and sat before him.

 And Abram asked his father, saying, Father, tell me where is God who created heaven and earth, and all the sons of men upon earth, and who created thee and me. And Terah answered his son Abram and said, Behold those who created us are all with us in the house.

 And Abram said to his father, My lord, shew them to me I pray thee; and Terah brought Abram into the chamber of the inner court, and Abram saw, and behold the whole room was full of gods of wood and stone, twelve great images and others less than they without number.

 And Terah said to his son, Behold these are they which made all thou seest upon earth, and which created me and thee, and all mankind.

And Terah bowed down to his gods, and he then went away from them, and Abram, his son, went away with him.

 And when Abram had gone from them he went to his mother and sat before her, and he said to his mother, Behold, my father has shown me those who made heaven and earth, and all the sons of men.

 Now, therefore, hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it savory meat, that I may bring it to my father's gods as an offering for them to eat; perhaps I may thereby become acceptable to them.

 And his mother did so, and she fetched a kid, and made savory meat thereof, and brought it to Abram, and Abram took the savory meat from his mother and brought it before his father's gods, and he drew nigh to them that they might eat; and Terah his father, did not know of it. And Abram saw on the day when he was sitting amongst them, that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them could stretch forth his hand to eat.

 And Abram mocked them, and said, Surely the savory meat that I prepared has not pleased them, or perhaps it was too little for them, and for that reason they would not eat; therefore tomorrow I will prepare fresh savory meat, better and more plentiful than this, in order that I may see the result.

 And it was on the next day that Abram directed his mother concerning the savory meat, and his mother rose and fetched three fine kids from the flock, and she made of them some excellent savory meat, such as her son was fond of, and she gave it to her son Abram; and Terah his father did not know of it.

 And Abram took the savory meat from his mother, and brought it before his father's gods into the chamber; and he came nigh unto them that they might eat, and he placed it before them, and Abram sat before them all day, thinking perhaps they might eat.

 And Abram viewed them, and behold they had neither voice nor hearing, nor did one of them stretch forth his hand to the meat to eat.

 And in the evening of that day in that house Abram was clothed with the spirit of God.

And he called out and said, Wo unto my father and this wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone which can neither eat, smell, hear nor speak, who have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs which cannot move; like them are those that made them and that trust in them. And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all his father's gods. And when he had done breaking the images, he placed the hatchet in the hand of the great god which was there before them, and he went out; and Terah his father came home, for he had heard at the door the sound of the striking of the hatchet; so Terah came into the house to know what this was about. And Terah, having heard the noise of the hatchet in the room of images, ran to the room to the images, and he met Abram going out. And Terah entered the room and found all the idols fallen down and broken, and the hatchet in the hand of the largest, which was not broken, and the savory meat which Abram his son had made was still before them. And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. And he found Abram his son still sitting in the house; and he said to him, What is this work thou hast done to my gods? And Abram answered Terah his father and he said, Not so my lord, for I brought savory meat before them, and when I came nigh to them with the meat that they might eat, they all at once stretched forth their hands to eat before the great one had put forth his hand to eat. And the large one saw their works that they did before him, and his anger was violently kindled against them, and he went and took the hatchet that was in the house and came to them and broke them all, and behold the hatchet is yet in his hand as thou seest. And Terah's anger was kindled against his son Abram, when he spoke this; and Terah said to Abram his son in his anger, What is this tale that thou hast told? Thou speakest lies to me. Is there in these gods spirit, soul or power to do all thou hast told me? Are they not wood and stone, and have I not myself made them, and canst thou speak such lies, saying that the large god that was with them smote them? It is thou that didst place the hatchet in his hands, and then sayest he smote them all. And Abram answered his father and said to him, And how canst thou then serve these idols in whom there is no power to do any thing? Can those idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them? can they deliver thee from the hands of thy enemies, or will they fight thy battles for thee against thy enemies, that thou shouldst serve wood and stone which can neither speak nor hear?

                So after all this goes down back in the bible, the first time we see Abram called a Hebrew or a crossed over one isn’t until chapter 14, during the battle of the war of the nine kings.

Genesis 14:13

Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamr the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.

This shows us Abraham was the FIRST one to have crossed over, before there was any Identities. No Israelites, Jews, Christians or any other denominations.

He was a crossed over one, a Hebrew. The Hebrew meaning of the word Hebrew is this.

Strong's H5680 - `Ibriy

Hebrew = "one from beyond"

The root word for Hebrew is Ibri and it literally means the “crossed over one”, or on the other side. That being said, Abraham being called a Hebrew shows us that he was the first to be chosen.

John 5:23

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

The Greek word for Passed is Strong's G3327 – metabainō

Its meaning is to pass over from one place to another, to remove, depart.

The moment Abram believed in YHWH he passed over.

As soon as Abraham believed, he passed over, or crossed over, or became Hebrew. The difference between him and other is the Hebrew definition of what it means to believe.

believe is this.

Strong's H539 - 'aman

to support, confirm, be faithful

(Qal)

to support, confirm, be faithful, uphold, nourish

foster-father (subst.)

foster-mother, nurse

pillars, supporters of the door

(Niphal)

to be established, be faithful, be carried, make firm

to be carried by a nurse

made firm, sure, lasting

confirmed, established, sure

verified, confirmed

reliable, faithful, trusty

(Hiphil)

to stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in

stand firm

trust, believe

The definition of believing is more than thinking something is real, but rather proving and upholding that faith with your works.

So what YHWH is saying is this, if you actually believe in me, you will come out of Egypt, and cross over the red sea. Once you cross over, you become a new creation. You have proved your belief. I used the red sea here because of Moses, but it could be just as simple to say, if you actually believe in me, you will come out of Ur, the city of sin.

Not only that but it isn’t until after this that YHWH makes the promise to him. The Abrahamic covenant has nothing to do with salvation however, and we all seem to get a bit confused when it comes to that.

The Abrahamic covenant Guarantee

-              God guaranteed to Abraham that his descendants would be blessed.

-              This is an unconditionally irrevocable promise for as long as they live on this earth.

Romans 11:28-29

Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

YHWH made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would be blessed, and He has kept that promise throughout history even to this day. But that is not a promise of salvation, its just a promise of blessings.

Fast forward back to Jacob and we see that Israel started off as 12 tribes with ONE kingdom, Later it was split into 2 houses, the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah. The north held 10 tribes and the south held 2. Jacob had 12 sons, those 12 sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. Those tribes were called the tribes of Judah, Gad, Dan, Assur, Simeon, Levi, Zebulun, Joseph, Reuben, Benjamin, Naphtali, and Issachar.

These twelve tribes made up the entire kingdom of Israel. Unfortunately, that didn’t last and they became split up into two kingdoms. Those two kingdoms are the Norther kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah.

1 Kings 11: 31,33

And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you

because they have[a] forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David.

Now that the kingdoms are split the 10 tribes in the north are called the house of Israel, house of Joseph, or just Ephriam. Out of the 2 kingdoms, it is Judah that can trace back their lineage to Abraham, no one else.

In 586 BC the southern kingdom went into captivity in Babylon. They later returned and resettled Jerusalem. This is the ONLY reason a Jewish people exist today. The northern kingdom were rebellious against YHWH and were also taken into captivity, they went into Assyria. It was at this point that they lost who they were and were scattered unto the four corners of the Earth.

Deuteronomy 28: 15

“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

Deuteronomy 28: 64

“Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone.

Deuteronomy 29:1

These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.

Deuteronomy 29: 14

“I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today

Deuteronomy 29:10-13

“All of you stand today before the Lord your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones and your wives—also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water— 12 that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today, 13 that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

One thing that I would like to point out here is who exactly the Mosaic covenant was meant for. In verse 11, YHWH makes sure to mention “the stranger”. Who is this stranger?

The term Stranger in verse 11 is Strong's H1616 – ger

It means a sojourner

a temporary inhabitant, a newcomer lacking inherited rights

of foreigners in Israel, though conceded rights

Jeremiah 31:31

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—

There is NO house of GENTILES. In Christ there is NO Jew or Gentile, and its not about bloodline, so how do the gentiles fit into the new covenant?

The True Israel

I am studying the book of Jeremiah and I am starting to wonder if 1947-48 was the true coming together of Israel mentioned in the Bible. Was it truly done by YHWH?

I believe that the day that He brings all His people back to that land is really the day of His second coming, based on what I have found in scripture thus far. The book of Jeremiah tells us that the day YHWH brings His people back it will be like no other. We see this phrasing in a few other places of the bible as well.

Jeremiah 30: 2-3

“Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”

Jeremiah 30: 7

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

The last three words are not part of the Hebrew, “out of it”. This is the beginning of the section about YHWH discussing how He will bring back His people. There seems to be a bigger connection with the end times than there is with a mid-20^th century regathering.

Here are a few other verses that have that similar phrasing of time like no other.

Daniel 12: 1

“At that time Michael shall stand up,

The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;

And there shall be a time of trouble,

Such as never was since there was a nation,

Even to that time.

And at that time your people shall be delivered,

Every one who is found written in the book.

Matthew 24: 21

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

It seems that “Israel” will be delivered back to their land, NOT in 1947-48 but rather at the second coming.

Jeremiah 30: 17

But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’

When does YHWH restore/redeem His people? This seems to be KEY to understanding when He gathers His people back to Israel.

Jeremiah 30: 23-24

See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand this.

Jeremiah 31: 2

This is what the Lord says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.”

This verse seems to be telling us that those that find favor will have gone through some pretty tough times. That is contradictory to the pre-tribulation theory.

Matthew 15: 24

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

Christ says Himself that He was sent ONLY for the lost sheep of Israel. If that is the case, we really need to find out WHO are the lost sheep are. It does not make sense that we say He came for all mankind when He tells us Himself who He came for.

Jeremiah 31: 6, 8

There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to YHWH our God.’”

See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng (congregation) will return.

Isaiah 11: 10-12

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

Matthew 24: 29-31

“Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Based on the verses from Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Matthew it seems like He only gathers His people to Israel ONE time. Each of these examples says He pulls them from the corners of the earth. 1947 is looking less and less likely to be the prophesied time that a nation was born in a day.

I am currently trying to figure out if our current Israel is the Israel that was prophesied as the one YHWH brings His people back to. It seems that every time I see anything about this, people are claiming that it is the prophecy. I am, however, having a bit of trouble accepting this. For starters, one of the reasons that people are saying this is because the Ezekiel passage referring to the dry bones. They claim that this is symbolic for YHWH bringing all His people back to the land. Let’s take a look at the passage for ourselves.

Ezekiel 37: 1-14

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound (rash, H7494 – earthquake, quaking), and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

This passage tends to show something other than the 1947-48 reemergence of Israel. First off, this doesn’t seem like an analogy to me, but rather a resurrection. Is this the FIRST resurrection? “I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” I believe that this passage make much more sense in terms of the dead in Christ rising first.

Revelation 20:4-5

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

This verse from Revelation says the same thing as that from Ezekiel.

To be continued!!!!!!!