A popular term used by biblical commentators is the word, “Judaizers.” For example, in his excellent commentary on Galatians, F. F. Bruce comments on Gal. 2:12: ”. . . ‘the circumcision party,’ i.e. Judaizers within the church (Acts 11:2; Tit. 1:10); the circumcised members of the church, i.e. Jewish Christians . . .” (Bruce, F. F. The Epistle To The Galatians, A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982, 131). Notice, Bruce correctly identifies “the circumcision” as regenerate Jews.
However, if one consults an English concordance of the Bible, the term “Judaizers” can not be found.
Thus, this observation is offered for Bible students consulting a concordance so that confusion about the often used term “Judaizers” may be clarified.
Judaizers were Jewish believers in Jesus who aggressively advocated and relentlessly promoted circumcision, as well as following the Law of Moses, for gentiles who had believed in Jesus as their Savior. Biblically, this group of Jewish believers were known as “the circumcision.”
THE BIRTH OF THE BELIEVING REMNANT
IN ROMANS 11:5
Introduction
In an expanded version of his theological PhD dissertation, Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum makes the accurate and noteworthy observation that the apostle Paul, in Rom. 11:5, used the Greek perfect tense in a comparative application of nation Israel’s history in the day of Elijah: “Even so then [at this present time also—omitted by Fruchtenbaum] there is (emphasis mine, highlighting the perfect tense) a remnant according to the election of grace” (Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. Israelology: The Missing Link In Systematic Theology, rev. ed. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1994, 741).
In his superb Greek grammar, Prof. Daniel B. Wallace explains, “The force of the perfect tense is simply that it describes an event that, completed in the past . . . has results existing in the present time . . .” (Wallace, Daniel B. Greek Grammar Beyond The Basics. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996, 573). Thus, any theological inferences based upon use of the perfect tense should identify from the context the completed past event that accounts for the present results.
Dr. Fruchtenbaum rightly notes “the seven thousand of Elijah’s day” are illustrative of, and correspond to, the present remnant in Rom. 11:5 (Fruchtenbaum, 741). He also correctly equates the present results as that referred to by Paul in Gal. 6:16 as the “Israel of God” (ibid. 741). As Fruchtenbaum concluded earlier in his study, the “Israel of God” most likely refers to the believing Jews within the Church (ibid. 619-699). This believing remnant constitutes the results in the present time connoted by the Greek perfect tense Paul used in Rom. 11:5.
However, what Dr. Fruchtenbaum fails to identify is the completed past event in the history of the Church that distinguished believing Jews in the Church—a remnant according to the election of grace—from those regenerate Jews in the Church pursuing a law of righteousness (cf. Rom. 9:31). Surely, Dr. Fruchtenbaum is not suggesting that Elijah’s experience was the seminal event that marked the birth of the believing remnant of Israel within the Church!
The following essay will identify the seminal event in the history of the Church that distinguished the believing remnant from those Jews in the Church that, out of ignorance, sought to establish their own righteousness (cf. Rom. 10:3).
Preliminary Matters
A few items for understanding are necessary before identifying the event in the Church’s infant history that highlighted a believing remnant of Jews in the Church.
- The Church was a new creation, and not simply an improved or remade form of—or even an extension of—the nation Israel (Gal. 6:15). The Church began around 33 AD on the Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection (cf. Acts 2:1-47). For example, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses were unquestionably not part of the Church. On the other hand, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and Titus were identifiably part of the Church. Thus, the Church is not part of the nation Israel and the nation Israel is not part of the Church.
- Administration of God’s earthly kingdom was taken temporarily from the nation Israel and given to the Church (cf. Matt. 21:42-45; Acts 1:6; e.g., the Church ‘council’ in Acts 15:1-29 replaced the Sanhedrin of Acts 5:21-29). The Levitical priesthood was also taken temporarily from the nation Israel and given to the Church meaning, among other things, that animal sacrifices were no longer efficacious for covering sins (Mark 11:16; Acts 6:7; Heb. 7:12; Rev. 1:6).
- A believing Jewish remnant existed in the nation Israel from the time of Jesus’ birth as exemplified by Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zacharias, Simeon, Anna, and John the Baptist.
- Following Pentecost in 33 AD, a believing Jewish remnant did not exist in the nation Israel.
- The word “saved” in the New Testament was used to describe two kinds of regenerate people. The first kind, to which all Church members belonged, was saved from God’s judgment of their respective sins by their belief in God’s forgiveness of their sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The second kind of regenerate people—a portion of the first—was saved from slavery to indwelling sin by their belief that their Lord Jesus’ obedient life would be manifest through them by the Spirit’s power thereby removing them from the jurisdiction of the Law (e.g., the apostle Paul; cf. Rom. 6:14).
- The word “remnant” means a portion leftover from the whole. To illustrate, a portion from a bolt of plaid linen material cannot be a remnant from a bolt of white canvas material. Thus, a remnant from the nation Israel cannot be a remnant from the Church.
- God intended the Law of Moses to be kept in its entirety (cf. Gal. 5:3; Jas. 2:10). If a single commandment of the Law were broken, the whole Law was broken. The Law was like a window pane: if a ball sailed through the glass, the entire pane was broken—not just a part.
The Event Giving Birth To A Believing Jewish Remnant In The Church
The apostle Paul had pointed to the prophet Elijah, and his 870 BC exchange with God, that exposed the existence of a believing remnant in Israel (Rom. 11:2-4). Using this historical episode for an inferential comparison—“even so then”—Paul specifically applied the event to his own time: “. . . at the present time . . .” (Rom. 11:5).
Quoting Paul’s words, Fruchtenbaum emphasizes the present remnant is “according to the election of grace” (Fruchtenbaum, 741). He goes on to correctly conclude, “. . . Paul gave the standard according to which the remnant comes into existence. It is not on the basis of the Law of Moses (10:4), but on the basis of grace” (ibid. 741). But Elijah’s remnant would have lived according to the Law of Moses—a reality that needs to be addressed in Fruchtenbaum’s comparison.
So when was there an event, early in Church history, where God made it clear that life was no longer to be lived according to the Law of Moses? Such an event took place one noontime on the rooftop of a house by the sea in the city of Joppa (Acts 10:9-16, with quotes from NET Bible, 1996).
The apostle Peter fell into a trance. A king-size sheet holding animals, reptiles, and birds was lowered by its four corners from heaven to the ground. And a voice commanded Peter to arise, kill some of the sheet’s contents, and eat thereof—because he had become hungry, being that it was midday.
Peter’s response to the command was quite revealing: “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean” (Acts 10:14). Peter’s answer revealed that he had always been an observant Jew, keeping the dietary laws which were part of the Law of Moses (cf. Lev. 11). Note: if Peter had broken any of the dietary restrictions of the Law, he would have been guilty of breaking the whole Law. Furthermore, Peter recognized the voice as authoritative—responding with the epithet, “Lord.”
The voice next announced a dramatic change: “What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean” (10:15). This announcement was tantamount to rendering the whole Law of Moses obsolete for Jewish believers that were Church members. Church members would live according to grace—free from the Law. This interchange between Peter and the voice giving him instructions was quite likely the past event Paul had in mind when he declared (using the Greek perfect tense) the existence of a remnant in the Church—“at the present time.”
However, if those believing Jews in the Church—like Peter—were considered the believing remnant, then who are the ‘unbelievers’ in the Church? The answer comes from some interesting details revealed in what transpired after Peter’s thrice-experienced event that gave birth to a believing remnant in the Church.
Following the vision, the Spirit instructed Peter to go with the three men that a Roman centurion, the Gentile Cornelius, had sent to fetch him—and to go “without hesitation” (10:19-20). The next day, Peter followed the Spirit’s instructions, accompanied by “some of the brothers (Jewish believers) from Joppa” (10:23).
Fast-forwarding in the story’s unfolding, one discovers that some of the brothers accompanying Peter were “believers from the circumcision” (10:45). This is a critically important fact because it suggested a division among Jews within the Church.
Now back to Peter: his vision and instructions from the Spirit were intended to convey to Peter that Gentiles were no longer to be considered “ritually unclean.” Nevertheless, when Peter entered Cornelius’ abode, he greeted everyone with the following: “You know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate or visit a Gentile, yet God has shown me (emphasis mine) that I should call no person defiled or ritually unclean” (10:28). Since God had recently revealed to Peter that the whole Law of Moses was obsolete for Jewish believers that were Church members, why did Peter feel it necessary to preface his greeting with, “. . . it is unlawful for a Jew to associate or visit a Gentile . . . ?”
One reasonable explanation is that Peter intended to give a ‘heads-up’ to Cornelius et al. that while God had shown him it was OK to visit a Gentile home, some of the brothers with him had not been so informed personally by God. So the Gentiles should mind their manners and not offer non-kosher food to their Jewish guests (cf. Acts 15:29).
Another possibility for Peter’s greeting was that Peter wanted to remind those “believers from the circumcision” with him that he was not acting cavalierly regarding the Law, but rather was acting under God’s direct command. Perhaps Peter wanted the circumcision to realize his respect and concern for them as believers despite their practice of living according to the Law of Moses. Or maybe, Peter wanted to preempt any potential criticisms of his behavior from the circumcision. Possibly Peter was simply intimidated by the presence of the circumcision (cf. Gal. 2:11-12).
Whatever the reason, Peter’s greeting served to highlight a sect of Jewish believers within the Church that was seeking a righteousness of their own by Law, not knowing about God’s righteousness by faith (cf. Rom. 10:1-4).
The circumcision’s unique reaction to God’s acceptance of Cornelius and his household was one of great astonishment (10:45). The astonishment likely stemmed from the fact that Cornelius and the other Gentile males present had not been required to undergo circumcision before the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon them.
This incident may have given rise to the label, ‘the circumcision,’ for the sect within the Church—i.e., those believing Jews who zealously lived by the Law of Moses, aggressively promoting circumcision for Church Gentiles (e.g., Acts 15:5).
That such a sect of believing Jews known as ‘the circumcision’ existed within the Church was confirmed by Peter’s Jerusalem reception following his successful trip to Cornelius in Caesarea. The circumcision took issue with Peter’s entering a Gentile abode and eating with Gentiles (Acts 11:2-3).
Peter recounted in detail the background and results of his missionary endeavor (11:4-17). After hearing Peter’s words, the circumcision became silent and glorified God—acknowledging God had indeed granted life (without circumcision) to the Gentiles (11:18).
Conclusion
From the foregoing analysis, it may be concluded that the apostle Paul, in Rom. 11:5, was referring to that believing remnant in the Church—Peter being an excellent example—who were of the election of grace. They were indeed the “Israel of God.”
However, a sect of regenerate Jews in the Church known as the circumcision coexisted with the Israel of God. The circumcision lived their lives according to the Law of Moses (cf. Acts 15:5; Gal. 2:11-12) and not by faith in God’s promise that the Lord Jesus’ lawful life would be manifested through them by the Spirit’s power (cf. Rom 8:1-4; 2 Cor. 4:10-11; Gal. 2:20). The sect known as the circumcision was the object of Paul’s intense concern, teachings, behavioral adaptations (cf. Acts 21:20-26), and prayers for salvation from slavery to sin (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1-4).
It was to this sect of regenerate Jews in the Church that Paul made himself a slave so that he might save some from sin’s bondage (cf. 1 Cor. 9:20b, 22b). Salvation was not from the lake of fire (cf. Rev. 20:15) but from a useless and unfruitful life lived in slavery to indwelling sin activated and empowered by the Law of Moses (cf. Rom. 7:9; 1 Cor. 15:56).
Finally, Dr. Fruchtenbaum’s suggestion that the believing remnant came into existence in Elijah’s time may be accurate for the nation Israel, but not beyond Pentecost, 33 AD. Within the Church, the birth of the believing remnant began in the pages of Church history as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles—Peter’s trance being the seminal event.
Introduction
Every believer faces a daunting dilemma. The predicament arises from indwelling sin with its agenda and tactics that infests all human bodies from birth to physical death. Of course, Jesus was not born with the dilemma because His birth was without a biological father from whom everyone else inherits indwelling sin.
The biblical record features the personal testimony of a single believer who articulated the dilemma and was guided by God into His solution for the predicament. The following essay recounts that believer’s struggle with indwelling sin, disclosing both sin’s power and methods.
A Biblical Problem
All translations that disclose the origin of the dilemma are subject to a spurious error in the English text. To set this study on the correct course, Paul’s words in Rom. 5:12 should read:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, also thus it began to spread to all men on the basis of which all sin.
The “one man” is Adam. “Sin” is indwelling sin. “Death” is physical death. The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is indwelling sin. The comparative conjunction and correlative adverb “just as . . . also thus” mean that the introduction, as well as the spreading, of indwelling sin have a common source that can be traced to the male—i.e., Adam. “All men” means the entire human race—male and female—receive indwelling sin through each one’s respective father. “All sin” means that at some point—probably during adolescence—every member of the human race is irresistibly beguiled by indwelling sin to commit an act which separates that person from God.
Life Following One’s First Act Of Sin
The visible result from one’s indwelling sin leading to one’s first sin is eventual physical death.
Furthermore, each human has a spirit and a soul integrated within a physical body—a body that also houses indwelling sin. The spiritual effects of separation from God due to the first act of sin are threefold and devastating.
The first effect is that God’s Spirit is separated from the person’s own spirit. The person’s spirit then becomes a channel through which Satan and/or his minions can access the human body. The second effect is that the person’s heart—the seat of one’s reason, emotions, and will—becomes immediately and completely unresponsive to God. In biblical parlance, the person has a ‘heart of stone.’
A third effect is that indwelling sin now effectively controls the person’s reasoning, feelings, and actions.
Under the afore-described conditions, the human is now a sinner enslaved to indwelling sin, without any capability of accessing or pleasing God. The sinner does what comes quite naturally—sins. Those sins are credited to the sinner’s account for God’s adjudication and appropriate retribution following physical death.
God’s Solution To The Human Condition Following The First Sin
First and foremost, God’s Spirit sovereignly dispenses new equipment to restore the sinner. The Spirit effects a permanent ‘heart transplant,’ removing the heart of stone and replacing it with a heart that is both receptive and responsive to God. Second, the Spirit provides a new human spirit that is permanently connected to God. This new equipment, installed in a body and co-resident with indwelling sin, is protected by the Spirit (who also permanently indwells the body) from any corruption of the new equipment from indwelling sin’s presence.
The biblical description for such a human with new equipment is that the person is ‘born again.’
At some point in time following the new equipment installation, the person is confronted with a message from God that his/her own sins are forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the Spirit’s ministry, the new receptive and responsive heart swings into operation upon hearing the message, and believes God’s promise of forgiveness.
Now the person is no longer a sinner by nature, but a saint—i.e., one separated from his/her former sins and separate also from the control of sin dwelling within the saint’s physical body. The saint has eternal life, permanently and irreversibly, will not experience God’s judgment of sinners, and has passed out of spiritual death into spiritual life. But the saint is still susceptible to the influence and passions of indwelling sin. The saint sometimes sins.
The Dilemma Shows Itself
All the world’s religions, except biblical Christianity, teach that a human must do things to please one’s god or gods, thereby hopefully receiving the deity’s blessings. Failure to please the deity runs the risk of experiencing the deity’s displeasure.
Judaism’s tenets around 35 AD were no exception to this form of teaching. So when Saul of Tarsus became born again, his immediate religious reflex was to please God by doing something. That ‘something’ was to obey God’s commandment.
Saul’s experience—the law-keeping Pharisee who later became better known as the apostle Paul—recorded his personal testimony in his letter to Rome (7:7-25). Paul’s experience reveals the dilemma all believers face throughout life after spiritual birth.
Details Of The Dilemma
Paul decided that he must please God by obeying the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet.” Paul, the newly minted saint, discovered he could not obey God’s commandment. In fact, he discovered that deciding to obey the Law actually resulted in his committing lots of sins.
This unanticipated behavior led to the realization that in his newly equipped body, indwelling sin was effectively at work deceiving him into thinking that his new equipment—including the Spirit of God—would promote and enable his own obligatory obedience to the Law. Such was not the case.
To summarize Paul’s dismal experience of failure: using God’s Law given to Moses—the Law which accurately described God’s will for His children—indwelling sin deceived Paul into thinking he had to obey the Law and would surely have the power to do so.
Paul’s new heart was totally willing and committed to obeying God’s will, but in Paul’s body was another entity at work, i.e., indwelling sin, that powerfully and effectively made Paul powerless to execute his own will even though his will was perfectly aligned with God’s.
Here, then, is the believer’s dilemma. On the one hand, the believer desperately wants to, and doggedly tries to, obey God’s Law. On the other hand, those same wishes and attempts to obey God activate indwelling sin that renders the believer powerless to do so. Furthermore, making the attempt to obey God actually promotes additional acts of sin because the believer has become enslaved to indwelling sin through trying to obey the Law.
God’s Solution Of The Believer’s Dilemma
Simply put, God’s ingenious solution to the believer’s dilemma is to remove the believer from the Law, and let someone else—who can and does always obey God’s Law—do so within the believer.
The solution was nothing less than to have Jesus dwell in the believer’s body. Jesus, Himself, by the Spirit’s power overcoming indwelling sin’s power, would fulfill His Father’s will perfectly by operating the believer’s body in obedience to God’s Law.
To illustrate: God’s Law for His child may be summarized biblically by the straightforward statement, “love one another.” Dwelling in Paul by faith, Christ’s love for Paul’s brethren would successfully nullify any coveting. Thus, the Law is fulfilled.
What is the believer’s role in resolving his dilemma? Simply to believe God’s promise that Jesus’ obedient life will be manifested by the Spirit’s power in His child. God will accomplish this despite the counterclaims and pressures of indwelling sin, and other believers, to the contrary.
Conclusion
The believer’s dilemma is solved by God doing what God requires. God’s sovereign grace in this matter—as always—is made functional simply through the believer’s faith.
Sin’s message is: ‘the believer, himself, must obey God’s will.’ In counterintuitive contradistinction, the Spirit’s message is: Jesus’ obedient, Law-fulfilling life, will be manifest by My power–under the Father’s direction–through the believer simply by the believer’s faith.
At the conclusion of his marvelously thorough commentary on Galatians, F. F. Bruce explains, “The religious mind is too prone to subject itself to regulations; the liberating gospel of sovereign grace is too ‘dangerous’ to be allowed unrestrained course. As Paul became less a figure of controversy, as his memory was venerated and his writings canonized, his teaching was overlaid with a new legalism. When, from time to time, someone appeared who understood and proclaimed the genuine message . . . he was liable to be denounced as a subversive character—as, indeed, Paul was in his own day.” However, Paul’s message, as Bruce continues, “. . . with its trumpet-call to Christian freedom, has time and again released the true gospel from the bonds in which well-meaning but misguided people have confined it so that it can once more exert its emancipating power in the life of mankind,”. . . and those who believe the message can, “. . . stand fast in the freedom with which Christ has set them free” (Bruce, F.F. The Epistle To The Galatians. A Commentary of the Greek Text. The New International Greek Testament Commentary, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982, 277-278).
To which, one might add: ‘to God alone belongs the glory!’
ROMANS NINE REVISITED
Introduction
In 1983, Dr. John Piper first introduced his inspiringly thorough exegetical and theological analysis of Romans 9:1-23 to a theologically diverse audience through his book, The Justification of God. Ten years later, Baker Book House published the second edition of Piper’s book.
Early in his analysis, Dr. Piper introduces a major presupposition that has been an integral part of Reformed Theology since the middle of the 17th century (Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. Dispensationalism Today. Chicago: Moody Press, 1965, 179, citing the Westminster Confession). Although relatively late in Church history, Reformed Theology has nevertheless profoundly influenced a wide spectrum of Protestant thought and beliefs.
Quoting Piper’s presupposition: “If the Church enjoys divine sonship, it must remember that it does so by participating in the people of God which is historical Israel . . .” (Piper, John. The Justification of God, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993, 32).
Sadly, this presupposition colors Piper’s exegesis of Romans 9 causing an oversight of Paul’s intended argument in Romans 9-11. The following essay will revisit Romans 9 based on the presupposition that the new covenant Church (capitalization designates the Church universal) does not participate in historical Israel. The Church is, biblically, a new creation having a beginning and end quite separate and distinct from historical Israel (Gal. 6:15). And because Paul was Jesus’ bond-servant and apostle to His Church, Romans 9 relates predominately to the Church—not to the nation Israel.
The Problem Behind Romans 9
A major spiritual problem of immense proportions arose in the apostolic church. The issue developed among Jewish believers who held that observing the Law of Moses was incumbent upon all Church members, both Jews and gentiles.
The apostle Paul, personally, had discovered the problem’s spiritual dimension soon after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Perhaps influenced by his Pharisaical training and subsequent lifestyle, Paul determined to obey the tenth commandment: “You (emphasis mine) shall not covet” (Rom. 7:7).
Keep in mind that uppermost on sin’s agenda—sin that dwells in all human bodies—is to replace God with man, often through outright deception: ‘you, man, are responsible for doing God’s work.’ And regenerate people are not exempt from sin’s agenda or tactics.
In his attempt at obedience, the apostle discovered the terrible fact that trying to obey the Law actually triggered the power and control of indwelling sin thereby, astonishingly, compelling him—a believer—to commit sins (Rom. 7:7-25).
Ultimately, those sins severed Paul from Christ resulting in a fall from grace (cf. Gal. 5:4). The apostle recognized his spiritual status, confessing he was a “wretched man” (Rom. 7:24). God responded to Paul’s confession by revealing His Son in Paul (Gal. 1:16)—an experience quite distinct from Jesus revealing Himself to Paul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:5).
A critically important reality to note from Paul’s testimony: God’s grace did not enable Paul, himself, to obey His commandment. God actually let Paul fail because God intended to teach His child that only by His Spirit’s power through faith can a believer actually be counted on to fulfill His will expressed in the Law.
Instead of helping Paul himself to obey, God’s grace provided that the requirement of the Law would be fulfilled by the Spirit’s power manifesting Christ’s life through him as Paul believed this new revelation from God (Rom. 8:4; cf. Col. 1:27, “Christ in you,”—a mystery, i.e., something not revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures; cf. also 2 Cor. 4:10-11). Paul’s responsibility was to believe God’s new-covenant promises (cf. Ezek. 36:25-27, particularly God’s mechanism for obedience, i.e., Christ in the believer—not fully revealed, but partially alluded to by mention of the Spirit in verse 27).
The problem reared its ugly head among regenerate people in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 11: 2-18; 15:1-21; Gal. 2:1-9) in Antioch (Gal. 2:11-14; Acts 15:22-30) as well as in the churches of Galatia (Gal. 1:6-9; 5:11-13). The problem was manifested among those regenerate people by their attempts to establish their own righteousness by works of the Law. However, some of the Law-keeping regenerate Jews became saved to a life of freedom from sin’s control, by faith (e.g., Col. 4:10-11).
Living as a victim to the problem did not mean a believer lost salvation, or that the believer had never been saved in the first place (cf. John 5:24). The condition did mean, however, that the believer became unfruitful, separated from fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (Rom. 7:5; cf. 1 John 1:3-10). This separation from fellowship was sometimes referred to biblically as “death” for the believer (Rom. 8:13; also cf. Rev. 3:1).
The problem faced Paul in his missionary work among the gentiles. Regenerate gentiles had been intimidated by Jewish believers who argued aggressively in the local churches that gentile members must be circumcised and follow the Law (Gal. 5:1-3).
Subsequently, the problem was addressed in an unprecedented Jerusalem church meeting by the elders and apostles (Acts 15). The decision taken in Jerusalem resolved the issue for the moment by declaring gentiles did not have to be circumcised and follow the Law. But the decision—although purportedly unanimous—did not persuade those believing Jews who observed the Law, that their esteem for, devoted reliance upon, and obsession with the Law should also be abandoned (cf. Acts 21:20).
This situation provides the background and context in which Paul dictated his letter to the Jews and gentiles beloved of God—the saints of the Roman church.
The Purpose Of Romans 9
Paul’s purpose in writing the gospel to both regenerate Jews and gentiles in Rome was to reveal the specific details of how the righteous shall live by faith (Rom. 1:16-17). The apostle’s purpose is pretty much uncontested among the commentators on the apostle’s epistle.
One party that Paul warned specifically among the saints of Rome was comprised of those believing Jews who boasted in the Law (Rom. 2:23-25). Those of this contingent were none other than Paul’s ecclesiastical brethren (Rom. 9:3). Paul used this specific word, “brethren,” 13 times in this epistle referring always and exclusively to believers. In the opening verses of Romans 9, the apostle also identified members of this party as his ethnic brethren—that is, Jews (Rom. 9:3). Therefore, the subjects Paul discussed in Romans 9 were regenerate Jews.
Confirming the fact that Romans 9 was about believing Jews, Paul listed among their belongings from God “the adoption (emphasis mine) as sons” (Rom. 9:4)—the precise description Paul had just used to refer unquestionably to regenerate people who had received the Spirit (Rom. 8:15). The qualification of adoption is nowhere attached to the nation Israel, either in the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Septuagint. Thus, the believing Jews discussed in Romans 9 were part of the Church.
The regenerate Roman Jews that were keeping the Law (Rom. 9:3) were the very same group members Paul highlighted in Rom. 10:1-4. In Chapter 10, Paul specifically defined the problem (Rom. 10:3, Law righteousness versus God’s righteousness) and its solution (Rom. 10:9, belief in Christ’s Lordship)—the solution that the apostle had briefly touched upon in Rom. 7:4, i.e., union with the resurrected Christ. The solution was to confess personally Jesus as Lord of one’s life, realizing each one was dead to the Law and thus enabled to serve fruitfully the resurrected Christ by faith.
In Romans 11, Paul again referred to regenerate Jews—this time with a metaphor of the “rich root of the olive tree” (Rom. 11:17). The “root” portion of Paul’s metaphor likely referred to Jesus (cf. Eph. 3:14-17 wherein Paul prayed that Christ might dwell in the regenerate hearts of the Ephesian saints through faith, resulting in their being “rooted” and grounded in love—love being the Father). The “olive tree” was biblical metaphor for a prophet (cf. Rev. 11:3-4), certainly an accepted title for Jesus (cf. Deut. 18:18-22 foretelling a Jewish prophet and recognized as that Prophet by His contemporaries in John 6:14). The “branches” were regenerate Jews and gentiles (cf. John 15:1-6 for a similar metaphor of regenerate branches).
Hence, the purpose of Romans 9 is comfortably cradled without contortion into the context of the Romans letter.
Christ’s Lordship over each Law-practicing regenerate Jew was the second phase of Paul’s gospel initially recorded by Luke from Paul’s word of exhortation to the Diasporal Jews at Pisidian Antioch. According to Paul, the first gospel phase was personal forgiveness of sins through belief in God’s promise of same by belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The second phase was freedom from slavery to indwelling sin, which the Law could not provide, by confessing the resurrected Jesus as Lord of one’s already regenerated life (cf. Acts 13:38-39). Thus, Paul’s purpose in Romans 9 was unwaveringly consistent throughout his ministry.
Exposition Of Romans 9
The immediate reaction to the problem from regenerate Jews in Rome, who were living by faith under the Lordship of Christ, might well have been: “. . . the word of God has failed” (Rom. 9:6) with regard to our regenerate brethren—the Jews in Rome who boasted of living life by the Law of Moses.
Paul’s response to such a reaction was immediate. God’s word had not failed. But a God-designed bifurcation did exist within the Church. The apostle pointed out proverbially that they—the Church Jews who were boasting in the Law—were “not all Israel who are from (the nation) Israel” (Rom. 9:6). To explain the Church division, Paul called attention to two of the Jewish fathers, Abraham and Jacob, as examples of God-designated divisions.
Paul had argued earlier in his epistle that Abraham had been justified by believing God’s promise that Sarah, who was dead reproductively, would give birth to a son by Abraham within a year (Rom. 4:16-25). As the apostle had made clear in this previous example of Abraham, God’s promise of life out of death (illustrated by Isaac’s birth from Sarah’s ‘dead’ womb) had functioned successfully in dividing Isaac’s line—those of faith in the promise—from that of Ishmael’s—those of the flesh (cf. also Gal. 4:21-23).
Revisiting (in Rom. 9:7-9) his former example of Abraham, Paul observed God’s promise of life by faith in Jesus divided all (Jews and gentiles) from the unregenerate. So it followed logically that the children of God’s promise of life—including those in the Church who were of the Law—were indeed regarded by God as His children (Rom. 9:8).
However, Paul added an explosive qualifying caveat about the life of service for regenerate Jews under the Law. The caveat was derived illustratively from God’s covenant with Rebecca regarding her twins—Jacob and Esau (Rom. 9:10-13). Before either twin was born—and had done nothing good or bad—God chose Esau’s offspring to become servants to Jacob’s—another God-designated division.
The chilling implication of this caveat was that some of the regenerate Church Jews who lived under Law may have been chosen by God to do so throughout life.
Church Jews who lived by faith—the apostle Paul being a credible example—would react negatively to the implication, labeling God as unjust in making such a choice (Rom. 9:14). His choice seems arbitrary and capricious. In our day, we might say that God is just not fair.
So the apostle responded to this spurious label by citing an Old Testament example of God’s nature from Moses and his experience with God’s favoring him (Rom. 9:15-18). Paul quoted God’s revelation to Moses about Himself—namely, that God’s mercy and compassion stem from His own intrinsic nature and had nothing whatsoever to do with Moses’ own intrinsic nature, actions, or will.
As an example of God’s will versus man’s will, Paul cited Pharaoh’s decision to refuse release of the Jews from bondage in his kingdom. Fourteen times God hardened Pharaoh’s will against release so that God’s own nature might be universally revealed (Rom. 9:17). God had mercy upon the Jews—quite independent of any Jewish actions or desires—while simultaneously hardening Pharaoh’s resolve to sustain his enslavement. Paul’s conclusion: God’s mercy for the Jews in the Church who lived by faith stemmed from His own nature independent of man’s actions or desires, as does His choice and ability to control any man’s will (Rom. 9:18).
But, what about the possibility of God controlling believers—even hardening their hearts? Although Paul didn’t address this issue explicitly in Romans 9, he did so in Rom. 11:5-7 (cf. Phil. 2:13). Perhaps an example of God hardening His own took place in the apostle Paul himself in his undeterred determination to go to Jerusalem despite what was awaiting him there (cf. Acts 20:22-23).
The obvious question at this point: how, then, can God find fault with His creature under these conditions for which He Himself is responsible (Rom. 9:19)? In modern parlance: “Man seems nothing more than a robot!”
The apostle’s answer to this question took an interesting turn. Paul argued from the example of a pot maker and his raw material, clay (Rom. 9:20-23). The interesting turn: the example focused on vessels—the very figure Paul used elsewhere for regenerate people (e.g., 2 Tim. 2:20)—and the artisan’s absolute sovereignty over his raw material. Of course, in Paul’s illustration the artisan pointed to God, and the vessels to all regenerate people.
Regenerate people included gentiles (Rom. 9:24). Church Jews had received an indication about gentiles being included in God’s “vessel” crafting from Hosea’s prophecy which Paul used by applying the prophet’s words to gentiles (Rom. 9:25-26).
Regenerate Jews also got another indication through application of Isaiah’s prophecies (applied by Paul to the Church) that some of nation Israel’s vessels will, by God’s choice, be fashioned to honor Him—while at the same time, God will create other Israelites that would dishonor Him (Rom. 9:27-29). Paul’s application of Isaiah’s prophecies about nation Israel meant that a Jewish remnant, living by faith and not by works, existed in the Church (cf. Rom. 11:5-6 wherein Paul qualified the remnant by the phrase, “at the present time,” referring to his experience within the Church, and not the nation Israel).
An editorial aside: in the Church, God intended that Jesus inhabit some of His vessels (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7).
Next, Paul summarized the twin realities of gentiles in the Church as well as God-dishonoring regenerate Jews (Rom. 9:30-31). God gave already regenerate gentiles the righteousness of faith. But some of the already regenerate Israelites did not receive the righteousness of faith because they lived by the works of the Law rather than the Lordship of Jesus.
Here, then, is the confirmation of Paul’s earlier declaration: “For they are not all Israel who are from Israel” (Rom. 9:6). The declared designation is among Israelites within the Church and not within the nation Israel. Indeed, Paul had called some of those “from Israel” the “Israel of God” (cf. Gal. 6:16 wherein Paul made a distinction between regenerate Jews who kept the Law—the “circumcision”—and regenerate Jews who lived by faith—the “Israel of God”).
Finally, Paul explained the reason why some regenerate Jews in the Church were “not all Israel.” They had “stumbled” over Jesus by making the Law their lord (Rom. 9:32-33a). But hope for regenerate Jews who were boasting in the Law still existed through a mind change (aka, repentance) from Law dependence to dependence on Jesus through faith (Rom. 9:33b).
The Biblical Aftermath Of Romans 9
Paul did not know exactly the ones among the regenerate Israelites living under Law that God had chosen to receive the righteousness of faith. But he did know some of these were eligible for being saved from the control by indwelling sin activated by the Law. That is why he prayed to God for this group of regenerate Jews living under Law (Rom. 10:1) that he might be granted the privilege of being used by God to introduce some, in God’s time, to the Lordship of Christ and God’s promise of freedom from control by indwelling sin through faith. This explains why Paul was eager to preach the second phase of the gospel to regenerate Jews and gentiles who comprised the church in Rome (cf. Rom. 1:15). Paul desired the timely opportunity of presenting the gospel so that those with ears to hear (by God’s choice, of course) within the church would understand and respond.
The apostle’s gospel for regenerate Jews’ salvation from control by indwelling sin—the subject of Paul’s prayer for them—was further elaborated upon in Rom. 10:2-13. These were from the same category of believing Jews under the Law that Paul mentioned in 1 Cor. 9:20.
It is worthy of note that the remnant Paul identified in Rom. 11:5 was within the Church, not the nation Israel as is the more popular present-day interpretation.
As a final point, in Romans 11:25-32 Paul did reveal that, in the future, all of the nation Israel will be saved from their sins as well as from control of indwelling sin, recognizing God is Lord, and not the Law of Moses (cf. Jer. 31:34). Therefore, God will be faithful to all His promises regarding the nation Israel as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Conclusion
From the foregoing biblical analysis of Romans 9, it can be concluded that an individual’s spiritual status is made functional by both God’s promise and God’s choice. God’s promise becomes reality by His sovereign work of regeneration. Subsequently, the believer—who now enjoys God’s righteousness credited to his account by faith—is chosen by God to live out the remainder of his life by faith in Jesus’ Lordship, or to live by his own works. In the Church, both the faith group and the works group coexist side-by-side.
Salvation from the control of indwelling sin in a believer’s life is a legitimate object of prayer, even considering that such a prayer’s fulfillment relies upon both God’s choice and timing. So insidious was the problem that Paul even ‘prayed’ for himself regarding the problem (Phil. 3:8-9).
Romans 9 highlights a half-dozen examples from the historical record of the nation Israel (i.e., the Law and the Prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures) that relate to the nation’s spiritual experiences—past and future—with God. Paul used the highlighted examples to illustrate similarities between Israel’s experiences and those of the Church, thereby validating and explaining the existence of Church Jews who live by works. However, the similarity between God’s saving work with Israel is only an historical example for the Church (1 Cor. 10:11)—a distinction Piper fails to recognize.
The similarities between historical Israel and the Church do not make the Church Israel, nor Israel the Church, consistent with the presupposition that the Church does not participate in historical Israel.
Romans 9 also encourages Jew and gentile Church members who live by faith that they do so rightly in spite of opposition from those brethren who live by works.
OLIVET DISCOURSE
COMPOSITE FROM THE GOSPELS OF MATTTHEW (24:39-26:1)MARK (13:2-37), AND LUKE (21:5-36)
PREAMBLE
LUKE 1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,
LUKE 1:2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed them down to us,
LUKE 1:3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;
LUKE 1:4 so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
JESUS’ TEACHING BEFORE THE OLIVET DISCOURSE
LUKE 17:22 ¶ And He said to the disciples, “The days shall come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
LUKE 17:23 “And they will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them.
LUKE 17:24 “For just as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
LUKE 17:25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
LUKE 17:26 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man:
LUKE 17:27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marrriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
LUKE 17:28 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;
LUKE 17:29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
LUKE 17:30 “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
LUKE 17:31 “On that day, let not the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house go down to take them away; and likewise let not the one who is in the field turn back.
LUKE 17:32 “Remember Lot’s wife.
LUKE 17:33 “Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it (to be fulfilled by Jews fleeing Babylon, cf. Jeremiah 51:6).
LUKE 17:34 “I tell you, on that night there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken(removal of the Church), and the other will be left.
LUKE 17:35 “There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken, and the other will be left.
LUKE 17:36 [ "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left."]
LUKE 17:37 And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered ( probably in Babylon, cf. Jeremiah 50:40 and Revelation 18:2).”
COMPOSITE OF DISCOURSE AND FURTHER INFORMATION
A. FULFILLMENT OF DANIEL 9:26
LUKE 21:5 ¶ And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said,
LUKE 21:6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
MARK 13:3 ¶ And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately,
MATT 24:3 ¶ And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
LUKE 21:8 And He said, “See to it that you be not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand’; do not go after them (e.g., Acts 15:5; cf. Paul’s response to the churches in 49 AD—Gal. 5:12; also cf. 2 Thess. 2:2, 51 AD).
LUKE 21:9 “And when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
LUKE 21:10 ¶ Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,
LUKE 21:11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
MARK 13:8 “For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
LUKE 21:12 “But before all these things (i.e., Luke 21:10-11; Mark 13:8), they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake (e.g., Acts 9:1-2; 26:2).
LUKE 21:13 “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
MARK 13:10 “And the gospel (of Jesus Christ, cf. Mark 1:1) must first be preached to all the nations (fulfilled by 57 AD, cf. Romans 16:26).
MARK 13:11 “And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
LUKE 21:16 “But you will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
LUKE 21:17 and you will be hated by all on account of My name.
LUKE 21:18 “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.
LUKE 21:19 “By your endurance you will gain your lives.
LUKE 21:20 ¶ “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies (answer to question 1 and fulfilled in 66 AD by the Roman general, Cestus Gallus), then recognize that her desolation is at hand.
LUKE 21:21 “Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter the city;
LUKE 21:22 because these are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
LUKE 21:23 “Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people,
LUKE 21:24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
MATT 24:9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.
MATT 24:10 “And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another.
MATT 24:11 “And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.
MATT 24:12 “And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.
MATT 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.
MATT 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come (to be fulfilled in accordance with Matthew 28:18-20).
B. FULFILLMENT OF DANIEL 9:27
MATT 24:15 ¶ “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place [let the reader understand],
MATT 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;
MATT 24:17 let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house;
MATT 24:18 and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak.
MATT 24:19 “But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days!
MATT 24:20 “But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath;
MATT 24:21 for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.
MATT 24:22 “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.
MATT 24:23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him.
MATT 24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
MATT 24:25 “Behold, I have told you in advance.
MATT 24:26 “If therefore they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go forth, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.
LUKE 21:25 ¶ “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
LUKE 21:26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
MATT 24:27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
MATT 24:28 “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
LUKE 21:28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
MATT 24:29 ¶ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken,
MATT 24:30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky (answer to question 2), and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
MATT 24:31 “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
MATT 24:31 “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
MATT 24:32 ¶ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree (and all the trees, Luke 21:29—answer to question 3): when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves (fulfilled in 1978 AD), you know that summer is near; (The fig tree is a symbol for the Levitical priesthood. Priests began training at about 30 years old, cf. Ezekiel 1:1. This would mean that the priests were born around 1948—the year of Israel’s Declaration of Independence.)
MATT 24:33 even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
MATT 24:34 “Truly I say to you, this generation (a biblical generation is about 70 years long, Psalm 90:10) will not pass away until all these things take place.
MATT 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
MATT 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
MATT 24:37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
MATT 24:38 “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
MATT 24:39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
MATT 24:40 “Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.
MATT 24:41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
MATT 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
MATT 24:43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
MATT 24:44 “For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
LUKE 21:34 ¶ “Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap;
LUKE 21:35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
LUKE 21:36 “But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
MARK 13:33 ¶ “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is.
MARK 13:34 “It is like a man, away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.
MARK 13:35 “Therefore, be on the alert– for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrowing, or in the morning–
MARK 13:36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
MARK 13:37 “And what I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”
C. JESUS’ COMMENTS TO ISRAEL REGARDING HIS RETURN
MATT 24:45 ¶ “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
MATT 24:46 “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
MATT 24:47 “Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
MATT 24:48 “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’
MATT 24:49 and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
MATT 24:50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
MATT 24:51 and shall cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth.
D. JESUS’ PARABLES FOR ISRAEL AND HIS JUDGMENT OF GENTILES
MATT 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.
MATT 25:2 “And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
MATT 25:3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
MATT 25:4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
MATT 25:5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
MATT 25:6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
MATT 25:7 “Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps.
MATT 25:8 “And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
MATT 25:9 “But the prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
MATT 25:10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
MATT 25:11 “And later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’
MATT 25:12 “But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
MATT 25:13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
MATT 25:14 ¶ “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them.
MATT 25:15 “And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.
MATT 25:16 “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.
MATT 25:17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.
MATT 25:18 “But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
MATT 25:19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.
MATT 25:20 “And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.’
MATT 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.’
MATT 25:22 “The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.’
MATT 25:23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
MATT 25:24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed.
MATT 25:25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.’
MATT 25:26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed.
MATT 25:27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
MATT 25:28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
MATT 25:29 “For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
MATT 25:30 “And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (cf. Luke 12:35-48).
MATT 25:31 ¶ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
MATT 25:32 “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
MATT 25:33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
MATT 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
MATT 25:35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
MATT 25:36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
MATT 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink?
MATT 25:38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
MATT 25:39 ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
MATT 25:40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
MATT 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
MATT 25:42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
MATT 25:43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
MATT 25:44 “Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
MATT 25:45 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
MATT 25:46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
MATT 26:1 And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples . . .
(See also Luke 12:35-48.)
E. COMMENTS ON THE COMPOSITE’S CONSTRUCTION AND SOURCE
1. The Composite is taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1995.
2. Major Composite Section Headings have been inserted for clarity.
3. The foregoing composite relies heavily upon Luke’s ordered organization of the material in his gospel presentation.
4. No Discourse subject material has been omitted; however, duplications of the same material have been eliminated. For example, Jesus’ comments about the permanency of His words recorded in all three gospels have been reported only once in the composite.
5. Bold type and underlining have been added to some words and phrases for emphasis.
6. Parenthetical information has been inserted in the text as an aid to understanding the Discourse.
F. THE CHURCH’S PREPARATION FOR THE RAPTURE
Galatians 2:20
G. RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY
1. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps Of The Messiah, rev. ed. Tustin CA: Ariel Ministries, 2004.
2. http://www.mcclymont.org
TWO BIBLICAL GENERATIONS IN THE HISTORY
OF MODERN ISRAEL
DEUTERONOMY 29:22-30:6
Dedicated to the Holy Trinity—to the Father for His plan for His elect, to the Son who makes the plan reality, and to the Spirit who teaches the plan to the elect.
PREFACE
For those of us living in a fast-paced generation, we like our news in succinct sound bytes. So wading through a 6,000-word essay is uninviting. Therefore, let me summarize the 6,000 words by the good news that we are living in a generation that will likely experience the rapture of the church—based on evidence from the scriptures and recent history. For those who enjoy digging into details, continue to read on—potentially a bit onerous, but nevertheless scripturally and factually sound.
Introduction
Mentioning the pending return of the Lord Jesus for His church sometimes causes believers to roll their eyes. Yet, the biblical record provides the framework, as well as encouragement, for an accurate chronological anticipation of His return. This essay will highlight the biblical evidence for the timeline leading to the Lord’s coming for His church. The timeline will be developed from the scriptures by pinpointing two pivotal generations in the history of modern Israel. In turn, believers will be reassured that eager anticipation of the church’s rapture is appropriate. Furthermore, some of the confusion will be dispelled that surrounds alternate end-times scenarios that have been offered for discovering the end of the age.
An Overview
Before becoming immersed in details, it might be helpful to provide an overview of Deut. 29:22-30:6 so one can grasp the outline into which all the details of this extraordinary passage fit.
Astounding as it may seem, this 3,400 year-old Bible verse—Deut. 29:22—is actually a hinge that links two generations of Jews in history the of modern Israel.
The first generation was a generation of Jewish unbelievers (in Jesus) both inside and outside the land of Palestine. God consigned this generation to make preparations for the repopulation and reclamation of what had become a desolate wasteland due to His curse. The second generation was that which God assigned to occupy the land and make preparations for the coming of His Messiah as King. The two generations are contiguous as will be shown later from Matthew’s Gospel.
History’s events from the outset to the end of God’s land curse were never recorded in the Old Testament because God kept them temporarily secret from the nation Israel. This period may be given the secular label of the “Church Age.” Although held secret from nation Israel by God, Jews and gentiles that are church members can interpret from the New Testament scriptures, and from historical events as well, the meanings of the prophetic details from Deut. 29:22-30:6 about what was happening in the land.
The following analysis from God’s word, as well as from the historical events He has and is orchestrating, reveal the secrets kept from the nation Israel until their pending spiritual revival.
Definitions For Biblical Generations
Writers of the Bible used the word generation in different ways. For our study, two of those ways are important. The first important use of generation was to designate a company of contemporary people by some common attitude, behavioral trait, or unusual event.
For example, the children of Israel that Moses led out of Egyptian bondage were actually comprised of people of all ages. That generation received God’s miraculous provisions for its escape, and His sustenance for both physical and spiritual needs. Yet that generation was characterized by a common attitude and behavioral trait that caused God to refer to them as a loathsome generation (Ps. 95:10).
A second example was recorded by Matthew in his gospel. A certain duplicitous group of Pharisees and Sadducees, likely comprised of men born in various years, challenged Jesus to show them a sign. And the Lord labeled that obdurate contingent of Israeli leaders as, “An evil and adulterous generation (emphasis mine) . . .” (Matt 16:4).
The second use of generation was to designate a portion of the population that had the same birth year. For example, upon Israel’s exodus from Egypt, God ordered an initial census of Israel’s warriors from twenty-years old and upward—meaning they would all have had the same birth year (Num. 1:1-3). Moses then referred to this same contingent of warriors as a generation—a generation that perished within a thirty-eight year stretch following the census, just as the Lord had sworn would happen (Deut. 2:14-16).
The length in years of a biblical generation varied depending upon one’s birth before, or immediately following, the flood. The flood may have caused significant atmospheric changes with resultant adjustments to conditions affecting life expectancy on earth, perhaps eventuating in the dramatic decrease of centuries from the pre-flood life expectancy. In any event, when life had normalized under post-flood conditions, Moses defined the number of years in an average generation as follows: “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years (emphasis mine) . . .” (Ps. 90:10).
A seventy-year life expectancy explains conclusively God’s judgment upon the specific wilderness-wandering generation coming out of Egypt by the premature passing (at fifty-eight years old for the youngest) of Israel’s warriors. Had that generation of warriors lived to the ripe old age of seventy, their deaths would not have been recognized as God’s judgment. The warrior Joshua was, of course, an exception.
Some confusion has resulted from the psalmist’s reporting God’s words about Israel’s wilderness experience: “. . . For forty years I loathed [that] generation . . .” (Ps. 95:10). Some have taken this to mean that a biblical generation was forty years long. However, the forty-year period in the wilderness was God’s judgment for spying out the land—one year in the wilderness for every day of spying (Num. 14:33-34). The forty years did not refer to the generation’s life expectancy.
To summarize: one use of the biblical word generation was to refer to contemporaries by a noteworthy characterization. The second important use of generation was to identify a segment of any population as having the same birth year with a typical life expectancy of seventy years. Sometimes these two uses were combined. The biblical context in which the word generation is found assists in discovering which use the writer intended. This study will adopt these biblical protocols in using the word generation.
Definitions Of Generations Used In This Essay
Because of the several times the word generation appears in this essay with specificity, an epithet that characterizes a particular Jewish generation will be affixed each time the word is so used for the purpose of mitigating confusion. The epithets thus affixed are: the “wilderness” generation; the “Jesus” generation; the “homeland” generation; and the “rapture/tribulation” generation. The approximate time periods in which the generations lived: the wilderness generation, 1476 BC to 1406 BC; the Jesus generation, 5/4 BC to 66 AD (the date believers escaped the Roman ravage of Jerusalem); the homeland generation, 1878 AD to mid-1948 AD; and the rapture/tribulation, mid-1948 AD to 2018 AD.
A note of clarification: the split epithet “rapture/tribulation” refers to a single generation of Jews, part of which is raptured in the church and the other part that experiences the tribulation to become the Jewish-populating contingent in the Messianic Kingdom (aka the Millennium). Some of the rapture/tribulation generation originates from the Diaspora. Immigration to the land takes place in two phases: one, an initial gathering after statehood was established; and two, a final gathering for the Kingdom.
God’s Covenant With Israel In Moab: Predictions About The Homeland Generation
Having learned two biblical meanings for the word generation, we will next learn about two generations of modern-day Israel. The first generation, the homeland generation, is the generation of Jews who worked toward establishing a Jewish homeland starting in the 19th century. The second generation is the rapture/tribulation generation.
Ironically, the homeland generation was the subject of a prophecy God gave Moses only days before the children of Israel—the wilderness generation—entered the land for the first time in the 15th century BC. Therefore, keep in mind the homeland generation is not the same as the wilderness generation. However, the homeland generation is the first in a sequence of two consecutive generations that end with the Lord’s return at the end of the age.
Just before the sons of Israel entered the land under Joshua’s leadership, God commanded Moses to make a covenant that complemented the covenant He had made with Israel at Horeb. One of the remarkable aspects of this covenant made across the Jordan in Moab was God’s predictions recorded in Deut. 29:22-30:6. It might be helpful to keep in mind that the predictions were presented in the following sequence: an effect, the cause of that effect, and the resolution of that effect. The “effect” was utter desolation of the land of Israel. The “cause” was Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. The “resolution:” a Jewish generation from the Diaspora assigned by God to begin reclamation of the land.
Several features of God’s predictions help to identify accurately the six specific parties that He referred to in His prophecy. To simplify our study, we will label the six parties in order of their appearance in the prophecy: the homelanders; the foreigner; the inquirers; the commentators; the uprooter; and the re-gathered. Because of the novelty of this interpretation, the analysis leading to party identification will proceed verse-by-verse.
The prophecy began with an introduction to two parties who were on the verge of making a joint observation and subsequent announcement. God referred to the first party as “. . . the (emphasis mine) generation to come, your sons who rise up after you (the original wilderness Jews to enter the land) . . .” (Deut. 29:22). Five identifying first-party features included a generation that would be:
• unique, underscored by the article “the” attached to the common noun “generation,”
• a generation future to the wilderness generation,
• of Israeli origin,
• in the land when observing the land’s then-current desolate condition, and
• comprised of a contemporary company encompassing a population with various birth years, but having a significant characteristic that would recognizably mark that generation as unique in Israel’s history.
God referred to the second party as “. . . the foreigner who comes from a distant (emphasis mine) land . . .” (Deut: 29:22). Three identifying features of the second party were:
• a foreigner that would clearly be a co-resident with the first party in the land of Israel,
• a foreigner from a single country rather than a multi-national force, and
• a foreigner from a distant land rather than a land bordering on, or nearby to, the land of Israel.
The joint observation of parties one and two would focus on God’s past treatment of the land.
The joint communiqué from the two parties would give specific details of their land observations after all the land had experienced God’s wrath (Deut. 29:23).
Note: the plagues and diseases of the land, described as like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, resulted from every curse upon the land triggered by the anger of the Lord (Deut. 29:23, 27). Nowhere in the post-Moses historical or prophetical Old Testament writings is such a description ever applied to the land. Therefore, this description must apply to a period not covered by those biblical texts—a period during which, “The secret things belong to the Lord . . .” (Deut. 29:29).
A third party was next introduced in God’s prophecy. The third party was identified as “. . . all (emphasis mine) the nations . . .” (Deut 29:24). The third party would be readily discerned as the sum total of nations privy to the collaborative communiqué about the land evaluation. However, what is noteworthy is that all the nations would exist in a forum such that—with a single voice—they raise a single question: “Why has the Lord done thus to this land?” (Deut. 29:24).
A nondescript fourth party would provide the answer to this single question. Although unidentified, this fourth party would provide an answer reflecting scriptural literacy. The answer would provide the real reason for the land’s desolation: God assessed upon the land every curse written in the five books of Moses due to Israel forsaking the covenant, and because of its idolatry (Deut. 29:25-27).
In addition to this accurate answer to the question, the fourth party would also provide information allowing identification of yet another party.
This fifth party would:
• have uprooted a former Israeli generation from their land,
• have deported those sons of Israel into another land,
• this other land would not be the distant land from which the foreigner of Deut. 29:22 came, and
• results of the deportation would continue and exist on the very day the unidentified fourth party provided the accurate reason for God’s wrath that caused deportation from, and desolation of, the land (Deut. 29:28).
Subsequently, what amounts to a parenthetical comment answered the implied question, “What events will take place between the deportation, and the distant foreigner’s presence in the land?” The answer to the implied question: “. . . the secret things belong to the Lord our God . . .” (Deut. 29:29). Or, in other words, those things that will happen between the deportation from the land and partial restoration to the land will not be revealed in the Old Testament.
History has recorded more than 18 centuries elapsed between the deportation and initial restoration.
Ignoring the chapter division between Deut. 29:29 and 30:1, one observes that Moses noted a spiritual revival among Diasporal Jews followed by God’s re-gathering them to the land, and their possession of the land accompanied by prosperity and historic multiplication (Deut. 30:1-6). Here is the sixth group in the Moabitic predictions—the re-gathered.
Note: spiritual revival of Jews in the land likely follows God’s defeat of an invasion by a Russian coalition (cf. Ezek. 39:7). Therefore, context may well support the suggestion that the generation experiencing God’s re-gathering to the land would follow immediately the unique homeland generation referred to in Deut. 29:22. If this assumption is accurate, the homeland generation would be adjoined by the rapture/tribulation generation.
The Parties In God’s Moabitic Prophecy
At this point, it would be appropriate to identify (through the lens of fulfilled prophecy from an historical context) those parties God referred to in Deut. 29:22-30:6. Remember, the labels for the six parties are—in order—the homelanders, the foreigner, the inquirers, the commentators, the uprooter, and the re-gathered.
Unlocking the prophecy begins with the identity of the distant foreigner resident in the land. Recall the foreigner was from a distant land, and occupied the land together with the unique Israeli generation—the homeland generation. Recent history suggests the foreigner was most likely from the distant land of Britain. Some scripture students speculate Tarshish—Jonah’s intended flight haven—was part of the British Isles. If accurate, this could mean the distant land mentioned by God was not unfamiliar to Jews of later generations, but was known to them as Tarshish.
The British had authority over Palestine under the League of Nations’ Palestine Mandate of July 1922. British authority lasted for 28 years, until the Palestine Mandate was effectually terminated in May of 1948 under UN Resolution 181. Upon British withdrawal, the unique Israeli homeland generation of God’s Deuteronomic prophecy came to a recognizable and time-stamped end. Therefore, 1948 marked the birth year of a new generation of indigenous, native-born, Israeli citizens, many of whom were offspring of immigrant Jews from the unique homeland generation.
The Israeli generation was also unique because it reinvigorated reclamation of the land and witnessed Israel’s Declaration of Independence in May 1948. Using the 70-year lifespan of a biblical generation, this unique generation began around 1878. That was the year Benjamin Disraeli (aka Lord Beaconsfield), first and only Jewish prime minister of Britain, was head of Britain’s delegation to the Congress of Berlin.
One of the issues considered at the Congress was equal rights for Romanian Jews. In addition, Judah Leib Gordon, Jewish poet laureate from Vilna (Lithuania), prepared a memo proposing the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine for consideration by the Congress. This bold proposal was never incorporated into the resulting Treaty of Berlin. However, the Treaty of Berlin did become foundational for Jewish homeland arguments in succeeding decades.
In 1891, American restorationist (aka a Christian Zionist) William Blackstone used the Treaty of Berlin’s provisions as a backdrop to petition US President Benjamin Harrison to support restoration of Palestine to the Jews. What made that homeland generation unique was it had lived during the historically formative years leading up to the re-establishment of a national homeland for the Jews, had experienced a partial re-population of the land, and had initiated concerted efforts to reclaim the land from its centuries of waste conditions.
In 1917, the British government’s Balfour Declaration called outright for establishing a homeland for the Jews. The Balfour Declaration was presented by Britain’s Foreign Secretary (Arthur James Balfour) to Baron Rothschild, a leader of the Jewish community in Britain, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland—an organization started in 1899 to campaign for a Jewish homeland.
Disraeli, Gordon, and Rothschild were but a tiny sample from the “. . . the sons who rise up after you . . .” referred to by Moses at Moab (Deut. 29:22).
Another component of God’s prophecy—the “interrogators” as labeled in this analysis—was that “all the nations” would join in an inquiry about the Lord’s reason for causing the land’s desolation (Deut. 29:24). The League of Nations comprised a forum in which all the nations “would question” with a single voice about the land’s conditions as witnessed in the aforementioned Palestine Mandate—just as God had predicted (Deut. 29:24). And as a totally secular organization, the League would not recognize Israel’s culpability in rejecting God’s Messiah that led to His land curse.
The scripturally literate “commentators,” with the correct answers for the interrogators, might well have been Christian Zionists who, between 1878 and 1948, supported, petitioned, and worked unstintingly for a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine. This suggestion is based on the supposition that the Jewish inhabitants of the land were likely dead spiritually—unless they were Hebrew Christians. Spiritually dead Jews would not be aware—or wouldn’t admit—the reasons for the land’s condition. As noted, secularists in the League of Nations certainly wouldn’t know the reason; if they knew, no reason would exist for their question. But Christian Zionists would definitely know the answer to the question because they were biblicists who interpreted the scriptures literally—particularly Deut. 29:25-27.
The desolate condition of the land began in 70 AD when Titus took captive Jewish citizens of the Jesus generation, alluded to in His prophecy in Luke 13:1-5 (also see Dan. 9:26). Titus was “the uprooter” who took thousands of those Jewish citizens to Rome—“another land” (Deut. 29:28). God likely used the adjective, another, to distinguish the captives’ destination from the distant land of the foreigner’s origin. Titus effectively and forcibly dissolved the Jewish state—conditions that existed until May 1948.
Furthermore, the commentators’ answer regarding the land’s condition, as well as the Jews’ being uprooted, noted that God’s wrath continued until “today” (Deut. 29:28). After May 15, 1948, the state of Israel was reconstituted, thus marking the end of “the [Jewish homeland] generation” that God had highlighted at the outset of His predictions. After the establishment of a Jewish homeland through the May 15, 1948 Declaration of Independence, the situation described as “until today” ceased to exist.
A compelling current-day vignette ties the 1948 inhabitants of the land with their fathers uprooted to Rome by Titus in 70 AD. Titus’ younger brother, Domitian, had constructed a triumphal arch on the Via Sacra located just southeast of the Forum Romanum. For centuries, Jews living in Rome had refused to travel beneath that arch because it was constructed to commemorate the sacking of Jerusalem and the temple. However, in 1948 living Jewish descendants in Rome marched publicly under the arch in the direction toward Jerusalem—opposite to the direction their ancestors had sometimes been forced to march throughout the centuries.
To summarize:
• the homelanders were the last generation to inhabit the land as Jewish aliens, as well as Jews in the Diaspora that worked unremittingly to establish a Jewish homeland,
• the foreigner was the British administration operating under the Palestine Mandate (history testifies to the significant impact the British had in matters related to securing a homeland for the Jews),
• the land-condition interrogators were the League of Nations’ members,
• the commentators explaining the land’s desolation were Christian Zionists,
• the uprooter was Titus taking Jews captive to Rome in 70 AD, and
• the re-gathered were Diasporal Jews that would populate the Messianic Kingdom.
God’s Covenant With Israel In Moab: Prophecy About The Rapture/Tribulation Generation
The second generation to be addressed by Moses at Moab was introduced in Deut. 30:1-6. This second generation may be identified by its dual returns from the Diaspora, and be characterized as the rapture/tribulation generation. This generation’s first return was at the beginning of the nation’s reestablishment (cf. Ezek. 38:8, 12). The second return (Deut. 30:1-6) was at the end of this generation leading into the Messianic Kingdom (see Isa. 11:11 for confirmation of a second return to the land).
Several factors may be observed that relate to the second generation from this section in Deuteronomy. The generation
• experienced the final expressions of God’s blessings and cursings (likely including the tribulation and Jesus’ second coming),
• reflected upon God’s dealings with the nation,
• lived in the Diaspora and not in the land,
• underwent a spiritual revival that took place among Diasporal families,
• participated in a second restoration from captivity to the land of Israel (the first restoration this generation experienced was in unbelief when Israel declared independence), and
• began a life of unparalleled prosperity and reproduction under the New Covenant in the Messianic Kingdom.
From the above six items, the following deduction may be drawn. In the latter-years experience of this second generation, God’s curse on the land had been drawn to a close. This fact is confirmed by the prophet Ezekiel wherein Jews “. . . gathered from many nations . . .” inhabit “. . . the mountains of Israel which had been (emphasis mine) a continual waste . . .” (Ezek. 38:8, 12). The mountains of Israel had been reclaimed from the effects of God’s curse upon the land by the first contingent of this generation that had returned to the land in unbelief. As mentioned above, the twofold recovery of God’s people from the Diaspora is confirmed by the prophet Isaiah.
At this point, it is appropriate to remind the reader of the name characteristic of the second generation: the rapture/tribulation generation. The rapture/tribulation generation is suitable because the generation will have been exposed to the vicissitudes of life under the tribulation preceded by the rapture of the church.
The events of the tribulation may have put the Diasporal members of this generation in a reflective mood, comparing the devastating effects of the tribulation with the similar effects—in a more limited and local sense—of God’s curse upon the land of Israel referred to in Deut. 30:1.
Some of the first contingent of the rapture/tribulation generation, although originally in the land in unbelief, will likely undergo spiritual revival prior to, and during, the tribulation (see Ezek. 38:23; 39:7 for prediction of the onset of Israel’s spiritual revival in the land).
The second contingent of Diasporal Jews that remain outside the land until the end of the tribulation is likely comprised of those for whom Jesus dispatched disciples under the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) when the kingdom gospel will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, some of which would have Diasporal Jews as citizens (Matt. 24:14).
Finally, both Jewish components of the rapture/tribulation generation—those initially in the land that reclaimed the waste places and those spread throughout the nations in the Diaspora—will be combined in a single kingdom under the New Covenant (Deut. 30:6). Provisions of God’s New Covenant with the nation Israel are discussed by the prophets Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31-34) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 36:23-28).
Ignoring the chapter division between Deuteronomy 29 and 30, one discovers that “. . . when all these things have come upon you (the rapture/tribulation generation that succeeds the homeland generation) . . .” (Deut. 30:1), i.e., the curse of the Lord upon the land, and “. . . you call them to mind (emphasis mine) . . .” (Deut. 30:2) in the Diaspora (implying, of course the spiritual revival among Diasporal Jews), “. . . then the Lord will restore you from captivity . . . and gather you again (emphasis mine) from all the peoples . . .” (Deut. 30:3-6). This second gathering likely involves the generation succeeding the homeland generation and is that alluded to by the prophet Isaiah as inaugurating the Messianic Kingdom following restoration of the remnant (again, cf. Isa. 11:11 for a second re-gathering). God made the prediction of the Messianic Kingdom to Moses in Moab (Deut. 30:6, that refers to New-Covenant life of the Kingdom implying existence of the Kingdom).
Both the homeland generation and the rapture/tribulation generation had in common sharing the effects of God’s curse upon the land. The early settlers before Israel’s Declaration of Independence worked on land reclamation under the Palestine Mandate of 1922. The early settlers arriving just after the Declaration also began doing land reclamation projects that reached completion—ending the effects of God’s land curse—by the time of the invasion of the Russian coalition (see Ezek. 38:1-39:16 for an outline of the invasion preceded by an end to land reclamation). Revival among Diasporal Jews will likely be partially due to Jews from Israel fulfilling the Great Commission in accordance with Jesus prediction in His Olivet Discourse.
A Review
The crux of Deut. 29:22-28 is the condition of the land. As mentioned above, the land-desolation curse began in 70 AD (cf. Dan. 9:26).
God gave the Jews responsibility for reversing the curse’s effect upon the land. God used the homeland generation of the Jews, the British, two international organizations, and Christian Zionists to establish, once again, a homeland for the Jews in Palestine. One of the initial tasks of the new citizens was to reclaim the land from the effects of God’s curse.
As God’s curse ran its course, and as Israel’s national status became a reality, God began to return the rapture/tribulation generation from many nations to the land. The initial return of this generation from the Diaspora was in unbelief. Their first assignment: continue to restore the land’s productivity.
However, a second and more significant task: secure Jerusalem and begin preparations for temple worship. Near the end of the rapture/tribulation generation, spiritual revival will break out in Israel, followed by the spread of revival to the members of the rapture/tribulation generation still in the Diaspora.
A world-wide tribulation will ensue. And finally, God will again return people from the rapture/tribulation generation to the land from the Diaspora—this time in belief—to begin citizenship in the Messianic Kingdom.
The specific nature of God’s land curse was never addressed in Harton’s comprehensive review of all the biblical allusions and fulfillments of Deut. 28—30 (see End Note 2). In Deut 29:23, God’s curse was directed toward the land—not upon His people—and is never alluded to nor fulfilled in the scriptures.
The land curse was not universal in nature as was the general curse by God upon the planet after the Fall, and that curse will probably be lifted in the Messianic Kingdom. Harton assigned lifting of the land curse to the Messianic Kingdom (Harton, 245), whereas Ezekiel pointed to a pre-messianic period for the curse’s removal (cf. Ezek. 38:8, 12).
Citing Baron (a book originally published in 1905), Harton recorded the land’s occupants during the Jewish Diaspora as the “. . . Romans, Persians, Saracens, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Tartars, and Turks,” (Harton, 225). To that 1905 list must be added the British, following the Palestine Mandate from the League of Nations in 1922.
New Testament Confirmation: Generations Homeland And Rapture/Tribulation Are Contiguous
Clearly, Jesus tied a specific generation to the end of the age in His Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:31).
Jesus was God’s prophet that He had promised Moses (Deut. 18:20, and validated in John 6:14). Therefore, the Lord was likely quite familiar with Deut. 30:1-6. Early in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:14), Jesus certainly pointed to the end of the age: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world (emphasis mine, whereby some Diasporal Jews would come to faith) for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.” He then followed with the warning of great, world-wide tribulation (Matt. 24:21). Next, the Lord related that following His second coming, He would “. . . send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matt. 24:31). So Matt. 24:14, 31 referred to the exact same generation as Deut. 30:1-6. Let’s see if that generation Jesus pointed to in Matt. 24:14, 31 can be tied more specifically to the generation of Deut. 30:1-6.
After the tribulation and gathering-of-the-elect portions of His sermon that addressed Jews who would populate the Kingdom, Jesus addressed Hebrew Christians by alluding to the rapture of the church (Matt. 24:32-41). This gives credence to the epithet for this generation as the “rapture/tribulation generation.”
Remember, in His Olivet Discourse, Jesus gave a specific sign for the rapture/tribulation generation to determine the end of the age by referring to it as this generation (Matt. 24:34). He did so through His parable of the budding fig tree (Matt. 24:32-35). The symbol of the fig tree represented the Levitical priesthood (priests and Levites). The fig tree budding meant revival of the Levitical priesthood.
On Passover and Sukkot of 1978, seminars were held in Jerusalem for training priesthood candidates in the order of the priest’s services and associated rituals.
God had given the Levites—who belonged to God in place of Israel’s first-born males—to Aaron to help in the ministry of the tabernacle (Num. 3:12). God set the age at which the Levites would enter service at 30, and ordered a census of Levi’s descendants among the wilderness generation. The census meant that generation of Levites all had the same birth date.
Years later, King David reduced that age to 20. However, it appears that the priest Ezekiel observed God’s original directions by beginning his ministry at 30 years old (Ezek. 1:1, 3). Furthermore, John the Baptist (a priest by descent, and about 6 months older than Jesus, Luke 1:5, 36, 56) as well as Jesus (a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, Heb. 5:6) began their respective ministries at about 30 years old (Luke 3:23). The age of 30 years is significant.
The fig tree budded in 1978, suggesting the generation of the priests entering training at 30 years old would have been born around 1948—the year marking the end of the homeland generation and the beginning of the rapture/tribulation generation. The two generations adjoin. The fig tree had budded exactly 30 years after Israel’s reconstitution in a Jewish homeland. This would make the priests and Levites part of the succeeding generation. The succeeding generation of Jews inhabiting the land has been labeled the “rapture/tribulation generation” because they will experience both events—the rapture and tribulation—leading up to the end of the age.
This generation will likely be
• the first generation of Jews since 70 AD that have possession of the land,
• the one immediately following the homeland generation,
• would see the effects of God’s curse upon the land come to an end,
• the one experiencing the invasion of the land by the Russian coalition,
• would experience two gatherings to the land, one in unbelief and the other in belief bringing the Diaspora to an end,
• the one in which the rapture takes place,
• the one that would experience the tribulation, and
• the one witnessing Jesus’ second coming and the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom.
So scripture and history show the rapture/tribulation generation is contiguous to the homeland generation.
Following Moses’ definition of a 70-year generation, the priests’ generation will terminate around 2018. This year is probably a good indicator of when gentile domination of Jerusalem will come to an end.
Rapture Of The Church
In a mid-seventies lecture to underclass students at Dallas Theological Seminary, then President John Walvoord announced reservedly his belief that the church’s rapture was likely to occur in his listeners’ lifetimes. Dr. Walvoord quickly followed up on his comments by suggesting that no one should visit the registrar’s office to initiate withdrawal from seminary in anticipation of the event.
About the same time as Walvoord’s lecture, Dorothy Miller began an “. . . eighteen-year struggle to adjust some of my prophetic beliefs to the Word of God.” In a reasoned, thoughtful analysis, Miller argued persuasively that God had the writers of Scripture record sufficient prophetic knowledge to discover the rapture’s approach at God’s appointed time.
From a recent essay detailing the interpretive meanings of the seven churches in The Revelation of Jesus Christ—Chapters two and three—it was proposed that the historic church in Sardis represented a Diasporal messianic-Jewish congregation of the rapture/tribulation generation. In that message to Sardis, Jesus warned the congregational leader that if he didn’t wake up, he wouldn’t know the time of the rapture (Rev. 3:3). By an unavoidable implication, if the Sardian leader were to awake from his spiritual stupor, he would know the time of the rapture. Therefore, Jesus fully expected believers living in the rapture/tribulation generation to know the timing of the rapture.
In fact, four of Jesus’ disciples asked Him—just days before His death and resurrection—to tell them the sign for the end of the age (Matt. 24:3). Jesus answered their request using a parable featuring a fig tree (Matt. 24:32; remember, the fig tree is a symbol for the Levitical priesthood).
Earlier in His ministry, Jesus had informed His disciples that parables were designed to fulfill an Isaianic prophecy predicting continued ignorance of God’s plans for Israeli unbelievers. However, God would grant discerning believers insight into His plans through diligent study of the parables (Matt. 13:10-17). Thus, the parable Jesus gave for the end-of-age sign was crafted to reveal to believers who would be raptured, and living in a generation with an unbelieving Israeli population, a signal for discovering God’s timing of the end of the age. The end would be preceded by rapture of the church (cf. Rev. 3:10 wherein Jesus promised protection, for a post-rapture Jewish believer living on earth, from the upcoming world-wide tribulation thereby confirming the rapture precedes the tribulation). Note: Jesus giving the end-of-age sign in a parable would only have meaning with unbelieving Jewish citizens resident in Israel. This scenario fits perfectly the nation Israel.
Jesus’ cloud-enveloping ascension was described by Luke in Acts 1:9, where the “cloud” may well describe the Shekinah glory rather than some atmospheric anomaly. Angels commented on Jesus’ ascension thusly: He “. . . will come [back] in just the same way (emphasis mine) as you [the disciples] have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Jesus’ return for His church—the rapture—has the same cloud-enveloping feature that will replicate His ascension (1 Thess. 4:17).
Jesus’ appearance on a white horse followed by armies, described in Rev. 20:11-16, is in stark contrast to the scene at the rapture of the church. The horse and armies most probably describe the Lord’s “second-coming” event as King of the earth. Therefore, three decades after Jesus’ ascension, when the great apostle to the gentiles wrote his true child in the common faith that he, Titus, should look for the “. . . blessed hope and the [re]appearing of the glory (emphasis mine, reminiscent of the Shekinah glory at Jesus’ ascension) of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13), Paul was referring specifically to the rapture (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17 connecting the rapture specifically with clouds).
Unreservedly, unabashedly, Paul encouraged his spiritual son to eagerly wait for the rapture—not shutter in skepticism bordering on disgust. Paul’s unapologetic directive to Titus becomes truly meaningful and appropriate today for our generation that is witnessing worldwide adjustments foreshadowing His [re]appearance.
Parallels Between The Jesus Generation And The Rapture/Tribulation Generation
A remarkable chronological similarity exists between believing Jews of the Jesus generation and of the rapture/tribulation generation as to God’s judgment of Jerusalem. Peter raised the issue in his sermon at Pentecost when he warned, “Be saved from this (emphasis mine) perverse generation!” (Acts 2:40).
The Jesus generation, rightly referred to by Peter as a perverse generation, began in the winter of 5/4 BC. The judgment Peter warned against began about 70 years later in 66 AD when the Roman army under the command of Cestus Gallus surrounded Jerusalem (Fruchtenbaum, 439). The believing Jews escaped Jerusalem’s judgment as reported by the 2nd century Jewish believer Hegisippus (ibid., 212). That escape occurred within that generation’s lifetime of 70 years.
In a strikingly similar parallel in timing, the rapture/tribulation generation was instructed to flee Jerusalem’s judgment about the year 2018—seventy years from its birth within the nation Israel in 1948. This similarity shows the consistency, over time, that a biblical generation is 70 years.
Summary And Conclusion
The homeland generation of Deut. 29:22 ended in 1948 with the declaration of a Palestinian homeland for the Jews when the British “foreigner” departed the desolated land. The historical record shows that the homeland generation was followed immediately by another generation—gathered from the nations—a generation that continued restoration of the land confirmed by Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezek. 38:8, 12). This new generation (Deut. 30:1-6) was labeled the rapture/tribulation generation from which Diasporal Jews were again gathered to the land in the latter years to become citizens in the Messianic Kingdom (Deut: 30:1-6, as confirmed by Jesus’ prophecy in His Olivet Discourse, particularly the parable of the fig tree in Matt. 24:32). The fig tree symbolized the Levitical priesthood which was revived in Jerusalem in 1978 as the historical record has indicated.
Using the biblical seventy-year length of a generation, the Messianic Kingdom will be inaugurated around 2018 at the end of the rapture/tribulation generation.
Rapture of the church will precede the seven-year tribulation by about a year. The rapture portends being in the presence of the Lord, an event that should elicit great joy from many of His saints throughout the age.
END NOTES
[1] All biblical citations and quotes are taken from the New American Standard Bible—NASB, 1995.
[1] Harton, George M. Fulfillment of Deuteronomy in History and Eschatology 28—30. ThD Dissertation, Dallas, TX: Dallas Theological Seminary, 1981, 96-215, for suggested fulfillments in ancient Israel’s history.
[1] Four ways are reported in Bauer, W., Danker, F. W., Arndt, W. F., and Gingrich, F. W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000, 191-192.
[1] Ibid., 191.2.
[1] Harton, 75-93, features a discussion on the hermeneutics of prophetic interpretation. Particularly important is Harton’s position—with buttressing citations—that Deut. 28:68 is an example of a single-fulfillment prediction, 82-83. In this context, Deut. 29:22 is very likely also a single-fulfillment prediction.
[1] Waltke, Bruce K. and O’Connor, M. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbraus, 1990, 242, provides biblical examples for a common noun (e.g., generation) combined with the definite article as designating a unique referent. So “the generation” of Deut. 29:22 is a unique or particular generation.
[1] Roughly estimated at 480,000 Jews before 1948 (from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics). http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton58/download/st04_04.xis.
[1] For an excellent discussion about the historical significance of the 1948 date, see “The Re-establishment of Israel:” Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps of the Messiah. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries Press, 1983, 65.
[1] Considering the pivotal role the Levitical priesthood enjoys in this study, the following biographical sliver for Disraeli is most interesting. Although his father had Benjamin baptized in the Church of England at 13, he was a proud Sephardic Jew of Italian descent who held that Christianity was “completed Judaism” (perhaps wise politically, but theologically foolish). During a heated 1935 debate in Parliament with Irish MP Daniel O’Connell, Disraeli said, “Yes, I am a Jew and when the ancestors of the right honourable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests (emphasis mine) in the temple of Solomon.” http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/dizzy.html
[1] For a helpful thumbnail sketch highlighting this historic period of modern Israel’s birth, and the importance of the Treaty of Berlin, see: Gold, Dore. The Fight for Jerusalem. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2007, 119-143. Gold has served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN, and as an advisor to an Israeli prime minister.
[1] See Fruchtenbaum, 436-437, for a details of this period, particularly from 1914-1917.
[1] The first gathering was roughly estimated at 2,900,000 from 1948 to 2006 by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton58/download/st04_04.xis
[1] Deut. 30:4 and Matt. 24:31 describe the same singular event in Israel’s history—as unmatched as was Moses leading the wilderness generation out of Egypt. Matt. 24:31 refers to the rapture/tribulation generation.
[1] The intensive pronoun “this” singles out grammatically the noun “generation” in a demonstrative way. (cf. Dana, H.E. and Mantey, Julius R. A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament. Toronto, Ontario: The Macmillan Company, 1927, 130, § 138(2). It is thus translated as a demonstrative by all English translators.
[1] See Biblical Prophecy and the Rapture. McClymont, J. C. March 7, 2008. http://www.mcclymont.org/?cat=20 and The Rapture/Tribulation Generation. McClymont, J. C. July 6, 2007. http://www.mcclymont.org/?p=13 God had planted the priesthood (fig tree) in the “vineyard” of the nation Israel (Num. 1:47-4:49 and Luke 13:6-9). Jesus’ symbolic cursing of the fig tree, coupled with His subsequent stoppage of temple sacrifices (Mark 11:12-21), reflected God’s judgment on the Levitical priesthood—a judgment that will be terminated in the Messianic Kingdom (cf. Jer. 33:18). The judgment also set the stage for Jesus’ own Melchizedekian priesthood (cf. Heb. 5:10) when He would become both high priest and sacrifice on the cross.
[1] One example, among several, that covered this revival story and noted the 1978 date: Levine, Charley J. “Getting Ready, A Very Special Yeshiva,” Hadassah Magazine, December 1981, 19, 36. Levine (by name, a descendant from the tribe of Levi) was Director of Zionist Affairs for Hadassah.
[1] Miller, D. A. Forbidden Knowledge, Or Is It? updated ed. Fountain Valley, CA: Joy Publishing, 1998, vii.
[1] See Revelation, Chapters 2-3. McClymont, J. C. August 17, 2008. http://www.mcclymont.org/?cat=16 This is a novel historic-prophetic interpretation that proposed two modern Messianic congregations ( Thyatira in Rev. 2:25 and Sardis in Rev. 3:3) that would be witness to—by being part of—the rapture of the church.
[1] For a discussion about the theological doctrine of the rapture’s imminency, see Imminency, Parts I, II, and III. McClymont, J. C. February 7 and 8, 2008. http://www.mcclymont.org/?cat=19
[1] Compare Wallace, Daniel B. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, 325.B.1 for a definition of the demonstrative pronoun “this” singling out the word “generation” in a special way.
[1] For the dates of Jesus’ chronology, see Hoehner, Harold W. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977, 27.
[1] All biblical citations and quotes are taken from the New American Standard Bible—NASB, 1995.
[1] Harton, George M. Fulfillment of Deuteronomy in History and Eschatology 28—30. ThD Dissertation, Dallas, TX: Dallas Theological Seminary, 1981, 96-215, for suggested fulfillments in ancient Israel’s history.
[1] Four ways are reported in Bauer, W., Danker, F. W., Arndt, W. F., and Gingrich, F. W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000, 191-192.
[1] Ibid., 191.2.
[1] Harton, 75-93, features a discussion on the hermeneutics of prophetic interpretation. Particularly important is Harton’s position—with buttressing citations—that Deut. 28:68 is an example of a single-fulfillment prediction, 82-83. In this context, Deut. 29:22 is very likely also a single-fulfillment prediction.
[1] Waltke, Bruce K. and O’Connor, M. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbraus, 1990, 242, provides biblical examples for a common noun (e.g., generation) combined with the definite article as designating a unique referent. So “the generation” of Deut. 29:22 is a unique or particular generation.
[1] Roughly estimated at 480,000 Jews before 1948 (from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics). http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton58/download/st04_04.xis.
[1] For an excellent discussion about the historical significance of the 1948 date, see “The Re-establishment of Israel:” Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps of the Messiah. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries Press, 1983, 65.
[1] Considering the pivotal role the Levitical priesthood enjoys in this study, the following biographical sliver for Disraeli is most interesting. Although his father had Benjamin baptized in the Church of England at 13, he was a proud Sephardic Jew of Italian descent who held that Christianity was “completed Judaism” (perhaps wise politically, but theologically foolish). During a heated 1935 debate in Parliament with Irish MP Daniel O’Connell, Disraeli said, “Yes, I am a Jew and when the ancestors of the right honourable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests (emphasis mine) in the temple of Solomon.” http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/dizzy.html
[1] For a helpful thumbnail sketch highlighting this historic period of modern Israel’s birth, and the importance of the Treaty of Berlin, see: Gold, Dore. The Fight for Jerusalem. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2007, 119-143. Gold has served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN, and as an advisor to an Israeli prime minister.
[1] See Fruchtenbaum, 436-437, for a details of this period, particularly from 1914-1917.
[1] The first gathering was roughly estimated at 2,900,000 from 1948 to 2006 by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton58/download/st04_04.xis
[1] Deut. 30:4 and Matt. 24:31 describe the same singular event in Israel’s history—as unmatched as was Moses leading the wilderness generation out of Egypt. Matt. 24:31 refers to the rapture/tribulation generation.
[1] The intensive pronoun “this” singles out grammatically the noun “generation” in a demonstrative way. (cf. Dana, H.E. and Mantey, Julius R. A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament. Toronto, Ontario: The Macmillan Company, 1927, 130, § 138(2). It is thus translated as a demonstrative by all English translators.
[1] See Biblical Prophecy and the Rapture. McClymont, J. C. March 7, 2008. http://www.mcclymont.org/?cat=20 and The Rapture/Tribulation Generation. McClymont, J. C. July 6, 2007. http://www.mcclymont.org/?p=13 God had planted the priesthood (fig tree) in the “vineyard” of the nation Israel (Num. 1:47-4:49 and Luke 13:6-9). Jesus’ symbolic cursing of the fig tree, coupled with His subsequent stoppage of temple sacrifices (Mark 11:12-21), reflected God’s judgment on the Levitical priesthood—a judgment that will be terminated in the Messianic Kingdom (cf. Jer. 33:18). The judgment also set the stage for Jesus’ own Melchizedekian priesthood (cf. Heb. 5:10) when He would become both high priest and sacrifice on the cross.
[1] One example, among several, that covered this revival story and noted the 1978 date: Levine, Charley J. “Getting Ready, A Very Special Yeshiva,” Hadassah Magazine, December 1981, 19, 36. Levine (by name, a descendant from the tribe of Levi) was Director of Zionist Affairs for Hadassah.
[1] Miller, D. A. Forbidden Knowledge, Or Is It? updated ed. Fountain Valley, CA: Joy Publishing, 1998, vii.
[1] See Revelation, Chapters 2-3. McClymont, J. C. August 17, 2008. http://www.mcclymont.org/?cat=16 This is a novel historic-prophetic interpretation that proposed two modern Messianic congregations ( Thyatira in Rev. 2:25 and Sardis in Rev. 3:3) that would be witness to—by being part of—the rapture of the church.
[1] For a discussion about the theological doctrine of the rapture’s imminency, see Imminency, Parts I, II, and III. McClymont, J. C. February 7 and 8, 2008. http://www.mcclymont.org/?cat=19
[1] Compare Wallace, Daniel B. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, 325.B.1 for a definition of the demonstrative pronoun “this” singling out the word “generation” in a special way.
[1] For the dates of Jesus’ chronology, see Hoehner, Harold W. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977, 27.
A MISSIONS CREDO
“A Slave To All So That I May Win More”
Introduction
Sometimes mentioned as one of the basic “indispensables” of missionary qualifications is servanthood. The biblical texts cited to support this claim are 1 Cor. 9:19-23 and Phil. 2:7-9. However, these texts do not point to unbelievers as the objects of servanthood, and therefore do not apply to mission activity among the lost. The following essay will show that the apostle Paul’s comments in both letters were in fact describing his admonition to, and work of, servanthood among members of the church.
Jesus As Servant Of The Lord
Paul’s letter to all the saints at Philippi recounted certain aspects of Christ Jesus’ incarnation. Christ Jesus “. . . emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:7-9, New American Standard Bible—NASB, 1995). Paul admonished the Philippian saints to have a similar attitude as that exemplified by Jesus—an attitude of humility and concern for other believers, but not that of being a servant to humankind.
Although God had several servants, among whom were Abraham, Moses, and the nation Israel, Paul was clearly referring in his Philippian letter to Jesus as the Servant of the Lord (cf. Isa. 42:1). To suggest from the incarnation reference in Philippians that, during His earthly ministry, Jesus became the servant, or slave, to all people is probably extending His servanthood well beyond Paul’s intended meaning.
Some might argue that Jesus’ foot-washing example in the upper room showed He indeed became servant to the Satan-controlled unbeliever Judas (John 13:2-16). However, Jesus’ foot washing may be accurately described as a symbol of God’s forgiveness that led to salvation for the eleven, as well as a public demonstration of Jesus’ own personal forgiveness of Judas. In any case, after the foot washing, Jesus acknowledged that He was indeed Lord—not a bond-servant.
Four Kinds Of Believers Within the First-Century Church
The first-century church was comprised of at least four kinds of believers: one, Jews without any particular party affiliation; two, Pharisees or Law-keeping Jews; three, gentiles—both proselytes to Judaism as well as plain pagans; and four, Jews that had developed a conscience about indulging in some gentile practices. So Paul’s becoming a slave “to all” likely meant a slave “to all kinds of” believers that made up those four groups.
Typical examples from each group were: group one, Peter (Acts 10:9-16); two, John Mark (Col. 4:10-11); three, the proselyte Nicolas (Acts 6:5) and Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:7, 12); and four, the unnamed that Paul referred to in 1 Cor. 8:1-13 and Rom. 14:1-23.
The likelihood is quite strong that some among these four kinds did not fully comprehend God’s salvation. For example, some believing Pharisees believed the Law must be kept (Acts 15:5). Others, like “the weak” Paul mentioned in 1 Cor. 9:22, had already been identified by the apostle in 1 Cor. 8:11 as “. . . the brother (emphasis mine) for whose sake Christ died.” Obviously, the “weak” brother in 1 Cor. 8:11 is part of the same group of believers Paul works to win from wounded consciences in 1 Cor. 9:22. Such believers were all objects of Paul’s stated goal of ‘winning more’ in 1 Cor. 9:19-23.
The Word “Win”
The word “win” may be used in reference to both believers and nonbelievers. Jesus used the very word, applying it to a brother who obviously was a believer (Matt. 18:15). Since the weak in 1 Cor. 9:22 refers to the same weak brother in 1 Cor. 8:11, Paul also used the word “win,” as Jesus had, to refer to believers.
Winning More Vs. Saving Some
While one may concede that the word “win” can be applied to both believers and unbelievers, what about the word “save” that Paul used in the same context as becoming “all things to all men” (i.e., 1 Cor. 9:22)? One need only consult Paul’s letter to his child in the faith—Timothy—to discover that “save” may also apply to believers, like Timothy himself. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save (emphasis mine) both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Tim. 4:16, author’s translation).
According to Paul, one already saved can also become saved. This reality is most pronounced among believers whose lives are dominated by the control of indwelling sin. The Pharisees who had believed, but were seeking righteousness by keeping the Law, are a prime example of believers that needed to be won, or saved. by accepting God’s salvation promise of liberty (cf. Acts 13:39). Paul may have become as one under the Law for the four men “zealous for the Law” (Acts 21:20-24) to “win those under the Law” (1 Cor. 9:20).
Paul As A Slave To All
The only place in the scriptures that the apostle mentioned becoming “a slave to all” was in 1 Cor. 9:19. The word for “slave” is the same word translated elsewhere in Pauline writings as “bond-servant.” In 2 Cor. 4:5, Paul stated that Timothy and he were “. . . your (emphasis mine) bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.” The plural possessive pronoun, your, has as antecedent, “. . . the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia” (2 Cor. 1:1). Since Paul was addressing the same readers in both Corinthian letters, the probability is high that he was a servant to all kinds of believers in Corinth—and elsewhere as well, one might add. Therefore, Paul meant believers only when he said, “your bond-servants.” Consequently, Paul never intended his readers at Corinth to understand he had become a slave to unbelievers for the purpose of winning unbelievers to a saving faith in Christ.
Conclusion
A brief survey of the scriptures has clearly demonstrated that the doctrine espousing the believer’s need to become “. . . all things to all men (emphasis mine) . . .” (1 Cor. 9:22) is erroneous when believers are exhorted to become servants to unbelievers during missionary endeavors.
Matthew 28:16-20, author’s translation
“But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him, they worshipped [Him]; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I, Myself, have commanded you; and remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”
Introduction
A portion of Matthew’s report from the mountaintop has become known throughout recent church history as the Great Commission. To help grasp the overwhelming church-wide emphasis placed present day on this piece of scripture, one needs only to reflect on the contemporary sentiments of a renowned Bible expositor and pastor. He holds the Great Commission is the focal point of all scripture. Further, he goes on to lament the misunderstanding of God’s people about the Great Commission’s significance, and their unwillingness to fulfill it. He concludes the unfulfilled Great Commission is the only reason the church remains on earth.
One reason for church saints’ misunderstanding and confusion about the critical importance God allegedly places on the Great Commission is that Jesus’ commands to “Go . . . and make disciples . . .” appear only in one place in the entire New Testament—at the very end of Matthew’s gospel. For example, the epistles are completely silent about Jesus’ injunction.
One might conjecture that such an important command would be repeated often, or at least alluded to, in the rest of the New Testament. Some with missionary fervor have noticed this anomaly of silence, and have speculated that the Great Commission’s great significance has been propagated throughout the ages by oral tradition, or by implication from the rest of scripture rather than by direct apostolic reference. Therefore, the Lord did not deem it necessary to have His spokesmen mention the Great Commission again.
However, an explanation other than oral tradition and implication may account for the Commission’s solitary mention by Matthew. Jesus’ disciples understood from their mountaintop experience that His commands did not apply to them. Nor did it apply to the church formed some weeks later at Pentecost.
Seven issues need to be resolved before one can accurately comprehend Jesus’ Commission-encapsulated instructions to His disciples. Resolution of these seven issues clearly presents a scriptural understanding for the New Testament’s silence about the Great Commission in letters to local churches and their leaders, as well as for the Commission’s dormancy in saints’ lives. The seven issues are: Jesus’ ‘heads-up,’ the disciples’ doubt, disciple making, disciple makers’ curricula, baptism and the baptismal formula, Jesus’ presence at the age’s end, and Paul’s missionary endeavors.
A “Heads-Up” for Jesus’ Disciples
Just weeks before Jesus gave His post-resurrection Great Commission in Galilee, He sat on the Mount of Olives across from the temple and delivered what has become known as The Olivet Discourse. The discourse may be divided into two sections. The first section was His prophecy about what would take place from the time of His death and resurrection to the 70 A.D. destruction of Jerusalem. The second section was His prophecy related to events of the Tribulation that would take place between the rapture of the church and His Second Coming. The Great Commission passage is actually a parallel passage, but in more detail, to Jesus’ statement about the kingdom gospel and all nations in His Olivet Discourse.
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave His disciples a one-sentence ‘heads-up’ on what would take place during the period from the church’s rapture to His Second Coming. He said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come”—the end being a permanent halt to gentiles trampling Jerusalem underfoot terminated by Jesus’ return. Without question, preaching the kingdom gospel to all the nations was addressed in further detail through the Great Commission. So the Commission relates to a generation that will see the Second Coming, and not to the immediate generation of Jesus’ disciples in Galilee.
The Disciples’ Doubt
At Jesus’ clear and direct instructions following His resurrection, eleven disciples of the original twelve headed to Galilee, to a particular mountain designated by the Lord. Upon their arrival, Jesus appeared on the mountain. All eleven disciples worshipped Him as King even though some of the eleven were doubtful.
Some commentators believe that all the eleven disciples were doubtful. However, skilled, articulate, and knowledgeable grammarians point out from word use that only a portion of the eleven disciples was doubtful. Further, most English translations read, “some doubted.” The question then arises, “About what, exactly, were some doubtful?”
Doubt had run rampant among most of Jesus’ disciples after His crucifixion. On the third day following His death, the news of His resurrection spread haphazardly among His followers. At least one of the disciples was so skeptical that he earned for himself the nickname ‘doubting Thomas’ because of skepticism and doubt upon hearing the resurrection news. But Jesus had proceeded to effectively resolve all doubts in dramatic and thorough fashion so that, when the disciples set off for Galilee per His command, uncertainty about the reality of His life beyond the grave had been removed beyond doubt. Yet, when some saw Him on the mountain, they were doubtful, but not about His resurrection.
To understand the cause of their doubt, we recall that the Lord Jesus entrusted three of His disciples with a special vision—a vision that He ordered them not to communicate to the others until after “the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” Those three disciples followed Jesus’ orders to the letter.
But after Jesus’ resurrection—and probably on the way from Jerusalem to the Galilean mountain—the three, no doubt, eagerly and openly discussed with the other eight their experience of something extraordinary that had happened previously on a particular mountain quite possibly located in Galilee—that “holy mountain,” as Peter referred to it. Peter, James, and John had witnessed “the Son of Man coming in His kingdom,” something referred to as the Transfiguration. So it’s possible the three’s account met with doubts.
Peter likely addressed skeptical responses to the Transfiguration report. He said, “We [Jews] have an altogether reliable thing—the prophetic word.” In other words, if anyone doubts our eyewitness accounts of what took place on that holy mountain, he can consult God’s word for reassurance. The ‘prophetic word’ likely referred to Daniel’s prophetic vision wherein he saw one like a son of man coming up to God and receiving from Him dominion and glory as well as a universal and everlasting kingdom.
Peter concluded Jesus was the Son of Man in Daniel’s vision Who received the kingdom from God. The Transfiguration experience eliminated any doubt from Peter’s mind that Jesus was King. Since He was also Israel’s Messiah, the kingdom Jesus received is sometimes called the Messianic Kingdom.
Remember, Elijah was present on the Mount of Transfiguration. God had promised, according to Malachi’s prophecy, to send Elijah as a missionary and herald to the nation Israel before the King inaugurated the kingdom. And Moses was also present on that holy mountain, the one born outside the land that God had sent to bring His people out of Egypt (a pseudo-diaspora) and into the land He had promised to the fathers. Peter’s reaction to the vision shows all doubts were dispelled about who was King on that mountain, so he offered to build three Sukkot booths—a certain indication that he, as a Jew, expected the King to immediately launch His kingdom. So perhaps Moses and Elijah exemplify Jewish activity leading up to His return as King.
Now, back to the mountain in Galilee where the group of eleven was then standing—perhaps the very mountain where the Transfiguration had taken place (some believe Mt. Tabor in Galilee was where the Transfiguration took place). The Transfiguration, either by personal experience or by a doubt-free acceptance of the recent eyewitnesses’ reports, naturally divided the group of eleven in two: those who had no doubt Jesus was King, and those who found it difficult to accept what other eyes had seen, and other ears had heard—like Thomas with Jesus’ resurrection. Since the three eyewitnesses unreservedly worshipped the King on the Galilean mountaintop, based on their prior personal experience and subsequent understanding, the others instinctively followed the trio’s lead. But some had nagging doubts.
Not having the benefit of seeing the vision firsthand, nor hearing the voice of the Majestic Glory announcing His pleasure with His beloved Son, some of the disciples very likely had doubts about the kingdom’s status. The doubts probably went something like this: “If He is coming in His kingdom, why are we worshipping up on this mountain in Galilee instead of at post-coronation festivities in Jerusalem?”
To assuage their doubts on that Galilean mountain, and to reassure them that kingdom matters were going along according to God’s will, “Jesus came up and spoke to them [the doubters], saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’” Jesus thereby asserted that He was indeed the “Son of Man” in the prophet Daniel’s vision, Who, “. . . came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion . . . and a kingdom . . .” Jesus’ reassurances for the doubters amounted to Him saying, ‘My Father made Me permanent King of everything; it’s OK to believe the Transfiguration accounts despite the Jerusalem leaders demanding, and being granted, My crucifixion.’
Our analysis has suggested that those doubts of some of Jesus’ disciples arose because, even though the King was present, the anticipated kingdom was nowhere to be seen in a form that corresponded to revelations made by Israel’s prophets. Nevertheless, they worshipped Him, even in the face of their doubts. Against that Messianic Kingdom backdrop, and in accordance with His position as King, Jesus issued The Great Commission.
In such a context, the Great Commission’s goal would be to fill the ranks of gentile citizens in the Messianic Kingdom as well as the ranks of Jewish citizens from both the nation, and the Diaspora—hence the command to go into all nations. The word ‘Diaspora’ refers to Jews living in gentile nations.
One further point is worthy of note. During Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry, the major topic of discussion with His disciples was the kingdom.
Prophetical Significance of the Galilean Mountain
In his superb book about the sequence of prophetic events, Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum discusses the significance of the mountains of Israel mentioned in Ezekiel 39:1-4 (Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps of the Messiah. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries Press, 1983, p. 75). Ezekiel revealed an invasion of Israel by a Russian coalition from the north. In that revelation, God declared directly to the invading armies that, “You shall fall on the mountains of Israel . . .” (Ezek. 39:4).
Fruchtenbaum points out that the mountains of Israel “extend the length of the center of the country beginning at the southern point in the Valley of Jezreel at the town of Jenin in Galilee (emphasis mine) . . .” (op. cit., p. 75). Further, Fruchtenbaum notes that until the Six Day War of 1967, “all of the mountains of Israel, except for a small corridor of West Jerusalem, were entirely in the hands of the Jordanian Arabs,” concluding the stage has now been set for the prophecy’s fulfillment (op. cit., p. 75).
A significant event will then happen upon those mountains. God will make known His holy name (Yahweh) in the midst of His people Israel, and the nations will know that He is the Lord, the Holy One in Israel (Ezek. 39:7). Could it be that Jesus’ post-resurrection commission to the eleven—on the designated mountain in Galilee—to go into all the nations and make disciples was based upon Ezekiel’s prophecy, and intended for a future generation?
Disciple Making
Here is an interesting New Testament statistic: the words disciple/disciples are found 224 times in the gospels, 30 times in Acts, and 0 times in the epistles and Revelation. What might one discover from this precipitous drop-off in word usage as the chronology in the New Testament progressed? One might say that emphasis on disciple making decreased dramatically as the nature of the church was revealed.
To elaborate on this point, the word ‘disciple’ identified an individual who assumed the long-term responsibility of learning from a specific teacher. In the gospels, John the Baptist had disciples. Jesus was addressed by the title, ‘Rabboni,’ which meant ‘teacher.’ Hence, Jesus had identifiable students who became known as His disciples. Why, even Moses had disciples! Since John the Baptist had disciples, and Jesus had disciples, at least two distinct disciple groups sprouted, and were identified by their respective teachers. After Jesus departed, who would assume His role as ‘Teacher?’
The apostle John likely pointed to the Teacher Who would take Jesus’ place. John informed his local church audience, “As for you, the anointing [the Holy Spirit] which you received from Him [Jesus] abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you . . .” So while teachers existed in the churches, the Spirit likely replaced Jesus in His role of personal Teacher. In the epistolary literature, therefore, no one was ever instructed to ‘make disciples’ because all had the indwelling Holy Spirit’s personal ministry.
As the church’s nature began to unfold after Jesus’ departure, it became apparent that no distinction was to exist among church disciples (even though the church was omni-national) as had been experienced between Jesus’ disciples and John’s disciples. In fact, the apostle Paul admonished the Corinthians because each one was saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I am of Apollos,” and “I am of Cephas,” and “I am of Christ.” Such Corinthian claims may well have highlighted the practice of claiming a certain superiority by virtue of the one with whom he identified himself in the hierarchy of personal teachers—Christ being the preeminent one.
Paul’s argument against this practice was conveyed by the simple question, “Has Christ been divided?” The church became a unified entity wherein no one stood above another, or even claimed self-aggrandizing distinctions. Hence, the word ‘disciple’ may have lost relevancy in the church and stopped being used. In place of ‘disciples,’ the terms ‘brethren’ and ‘saints’ came into vogue. The plethora of traveling church teachers may also have resulted in fewer saints assuming the responsibility of learning from the necessarily abbreviated ministry of a specific traveling teacher, and so they were no longer called disciples. Finally, as a corpus of letters from itinerant teachers accumulated in, and were circulated among, local churches; preachers using those epistolary resources replaced disciple makers.
Some wish to infer that the other gospel writers alluded to Jesus’ sentiments given to the eleven on the mountain in Galilee. However, inspection of what the other gospel writers said shows that not even one echoed Jesus’ specific instructions to the eleven.
The foregoing review suggests that Jesus’ command, “to make disciples in all nations,” may not have been directed to the eleven disciples of His generation, but perhaps to a future generation. That may explain why the words ‘preach,’ ‘proclaim,’ and ‘witness’ were popular among those of Jesus’ generation when referring to the ministry. Not one of the gospel writers, or any of the epistle authors, repeated Jesus’ command to “make disciples.” Matthew is the only one who records this particular command because his gospel was written to Jews to explain the status of the kingdom—both present and the future.
For an example in the future, Jews in the land during Elijah’s ministry will likely become Elijah’s disciples, and Jews in the Diaspora (as well as gentiles) will probably be discipled by some of the 144,000 ‘sealed’ Jews referred to in Revelation.
The Disciple Makers’ Curricula
Per instructions, disciple making was to begin with baptism upon belief in the gospel. The gospel would highlight the nearness of the kingdom of God, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins was obligatory for kingdom citizenship. The Baptist had proclaimed this gospel. Jesus, Himself, emphatically echoed the Baptist’s gospel of the kingdom from the outset of His ministry until the Pharisees blasphemed the Holy Spirit. This kingdom gospel may be differentiated from the church gospel. The kingdom gospel addressed national Israel as separate from all other nations as well as individual citizens from those national entities, while the church gospel addressed people from all nations, including some from Israel, as a single entity.
Matthew made it abundantly clear by his word choice that the content of what the disciple makers were to teach was everything Jesus Himself had commanded the eleven disciples. Emphasis on the commands that Jesus alone had taught the eleven limited the teaching curricula of His Commission. For example, rabbinic traditions alluded to in the gospels would not be taught to disciples, nor would Pharisaic practices. Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount would be especially pertinent in the curricula of kingdom disciples. But probably church doctrine, briefly sketched in the gospels and explicitly developed in the epistles, would be marginalized. Because of similarity to Daniel’s prophecies, the material in The Revelation of Jesus Christ would also be properly included in the content of teaching material for disciples of the tribulation generation—that generation living between the church’s rapture and the Lord’s second coming.
From our vantage point of a completed canon, we can clearly discern that Jesus’ instructions about teaching content in fulfilling the Great Commission—content limited to what He personally had commanded during His earthly ministry—could not logically apply to the church. For example, Jesus revealed to Paul several unique details of church doctrine not included in His earthly-ministry commands. These details were later recorded in the apostle’s epistles, and would prove essential to spiritual growth and maturity of Jesus’ body—the church—but would have little value to tribulation disciples.
Baptism and the Baptismal Formula
It might be helpful to review the practice of baptism. John’s baptism was intended to mark publicly the moment when a Jew of the believing remnant removed himself from that generation of Jewish nationals facing judgment. This became known as John’s baptism. Following Pentecost, the believing Jewish remnant was baptized in Jesus’ name to identify Jews in the church as distinct from Jews in the rest of Israel. Gentile converts were immediately baptized in Jesus’ name in public recognition that they did not have to become proselytes to Judaism to become part of the church.
Jesus’ Great Commission instructed that disciples be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet one of the more tantalizing facts of the New Testament is that there is no record of anyone ever being baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! On the day of Pentecost, Peter commanded that those baptized with the Holy Spirit be baptized in the name of Jesus. The same name of Jesus was used for the believing Samaritans’ baptism, as it was for the baptism of Cornelius and those gentiles assembled at his house.
One might note that the Great Commission instructed baptism in the name of the Deity for those disciples that were in nations outside Israel. Thus, a more rigorous test of the correct baptismal formula for the church might be converts made beyond Israel’s borders. And we have just such a test case. In Ephesus—well beyond Israel’s boundaries—the apostle Paul found about twelve men who were John the Baptist’s disciples. After Paul instructed them about Jesus, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, not the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, it is likely they no longer retained the sobriquet of John the Baptist’s disciples.
It is unequivocal that Peter, one of the very disciples who heard firsthand Jesus’ Great Commission, consistently disregarded Jesus’ commandment, as did Paul, the apostle sent by Jesus to the gentiles (e.g., Ephesus). What might account for this blatant and consistent violation of Jesus’ instructions? Close scrutiny of the baptism formula itself may help resolve the apparent disregard for our Lord’s commandment.
Let’s start by asking the question, “What is the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?” The description, “the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” is not a proper name but a description of the Deity’s fullness. This is somewhat analogous to the use of the name ‘Pharaoh’ for Amenhotep II of Exodus fame; ‘Pharaoh’ is not a proper name, but likely a title for Egyptian rulers. The Exodus monarch’s proper name was actually Amenhotep II. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit might function as the Deity’s full title.
So what is the proper name of Israel’s Deity? The answer to this question takes us back to Moses and the burning bush. Most are familiar with the story. The angel of the Lord (probably the pre-incarnate Christ) appeared to Moses in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush. The Lord identified Himself to Moses and eventually said, “. . . I will send you to Pharaoh [ruler of the gentile nation Egypt] so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Anticipating His peoples’ response, Moses posed the scenario: “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God responded with His proper name: “I AM WHO I AM.” God said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM’ (‘Yahweh’ in Hebrew) has sent me to you.” Then God made clear the implications of His name: “This is my name forever, and this is my memorial-name to all generations [of the sons of Israel].” Years later, Moses extolled God, identifying that ‘I AM’ is His name.
Jesus instructed that disciples from the nations should be baptized in the Deity’s name—i.e., ‘Yahweh.’ The disciples of Jesus’ generation were quite aware of the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. But their inclination not to use the name Yahweh when baptizing church saints likely resulted from their realization that ‘Yahweh’ was the name of Israel’s God, while ‘Jesus’ was the name of the church’s “God and Savior.” (The Son and the Father are One, but have different proper names.) The disciples of Jesus’ generation were preaching or proclaiming the church gospel; a future generation of His servants would be making Jewish and gentile disciples for Israel’s worldwide Messianic Kingdom—hence baptism would be in the proper name of Israel’s God. Baptism in the kingdom would be in God’s name (Israel’s deity) rather than in Jesus’ name, which was reserved for the single, but omni-national entity—the church.
For example, Peter—who certainly was present on the mountain in Galilee—had to be commissioned by a vision plus God’s Spirit to take the gospel to the gentile Cornelius. When initially facing Cornelius and his household, Peter related how inappropriate it was for him, a Jew, to be in a gentile house. Had Peter understood Jesus’ instructions on the mountain in Galilee as applying to himself, he would certainly have willingly and enthusiastically embraced the idea of making Cornelius a disciple. However, Peter tarried only a few days with Cornelius. Not only did he not spend enough time to make Cornelius a disciple, he ordered Cornelius be baptized in Jesus’ name and not in the name Jesus had instructed on the mountain in Galilee. Peter’s behavior with Cornelius clearly indicates Peter rightly understood the Great Commission was intended for another generation of Jews and not his generation.
Of course, if the church replaced Israel–as some in the early church believed–then the appropriate baptismal formula would be in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (a preterist’s perspective). This historical fact may help explain the popularity of the Father-Son-Holy Spirit baptismal formula. However, if nation Israel still has a future (the futurist’s viewpoint), then baptism into the church would be in Jesus’ name.
Jesus’ Presence And The End Of The Age
To encourage the disciples who would execute the Great Commission, Jesus instructed them to remember His ever-present presence, “even to the end of the age.” Such a promise may be reminiscent of the Lord’s encouragement to Moses, “Certainly I will be with you . . .” in carrying out his commission in a gentile nation—hence Jesus’ instructions to “remember.” The phrase, “end of the age,” likely refers to fulfillment of the times of the gentiles, and is nearly co-terminal with the end of the Great Tribulation and second coming.
Jesus taught in the ‘Olivet Discourse’ that His second coming would occur when “all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” It is the ‘end’ Jesus mentioned earlier in the same discourse when He said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Jesus’ prophecy about the gospel and its relationship to the end of the age is likely a seminal summary of His detailed commands later given the disciples atop the mountain in Galilee.
When the kingdom is restored to Israel before the tribulation, the spiritual revival and salvation of Israel as a nation will begin and God’s servant, Israel, will be responsible for making Jewish and gentile converts who will become citizens in the pending Messianic Kingdom. As we know, reassurance of the Lord’s protective presence for those disciples fulfilling the Great Commission will be critically important because of the terrible and devastating resistance mounted against their efforts by an earthbound Satan, the beast, and the false prophet as prophesized in Revelation.
Remember, the kingdom will be restored to Israel when the Lord God fulfills His promise reported by Ezekiel: “My holy name [I AM] I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name [I AM] be profaned anymore.” The initiation of Israel’s national conversion will occur immediately upon the church’s removal from earth because two administrative entities cannot have stewardship of God’s kingdom simultaneously—only sequentially, and without any hiatus. Making disciples of all nations “even to the end of the age” would be nonsensical if applied to the church because the church will not be present on the earth in that time period.
The Apostle Paul—Missionary to the Gentiles
Approximately a dozen-and-a-half years after the Great Commission was given, Jesus gave a specific task to His apostle Paul to make disciples in the gentiles nations of Asia Minor, Greece, Europe, and possibly Spain. Was Jesus’ commission to Paul necessary because His eleven disciples had failed to obey His Great Commission?
The answer is that the Great Commission was never intended for those eleven disciples, but rather for a future generation of Jews who would be spiritually awakened almost simultaneously with the rapture. The reason one can be assured that Paul was not Jesus’ substitute for the disobedient eleven is that Paul claimed God had set him apart from his mother’s womb for preaching Jesus among the gentiles. Of course, such a claim by Paul meant that at the time the Great Commission was given, God was at work preparing a contemporary of His Son who would become His missionary to the world.
Less than ten years into his missionary work, the apostle asserted that the gospel had successfully been made known to all the nations. The task had been completed for both the Jews in the Diaspora and for the gentiles. Paul and others had fulfilled the intent expressed in the Great Commission in their generation.
Summary and Conclusions
- Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, our Lord gave His disciples instruction about the Tribulation that included the preaching of the kingdom gospel to all nations thus pinpointing activation of the Great Commission.
- At the promulgation of the Great Commission, some disciples doubted Jesus’ God-given supremacy because some did not have the benefit of being eyewitnesses to His Transfiguration. Jesus’ reassured the doubtful by verbally asserting His God-given universal authority.
- Disciple making is a Messianic Kingdom convention and not a church practice.
- Baptizing disciples according to the Great Commission is to be in Yahweh’s name, not Jesus’ name.
- Teaching of disciples is organized around Jesus’ personal commands made during his earthly ministry, and does not extend to rabbinic, Pharisaic, or church doctrines.
- Jesus will accompany the besieged Jewish disciple makers from the rapture to the end of the Great Tribulation.
- God prepared and commissioned the apostle Paul to make disciples in all nations, a task never intended for the original eleven or the church. Paul successfully completed his commission.
The astounding conclusion to which these analyses point is that Jesus addressed the Great Commission to disciples not of His generation. He had spoken in similar fashion almost three weeks earlier. On the Mount of Olives during His final week, Jesus spoke directly to four of His disciples, yet actually addressed a future generation who would be living in the Great Tribulation. He did this without any signal, except context, indicating a switch in those addressed as subjects. Thus, Jesus addressed the eleven on the Galilean mountain, speaking prophetically in reference to a future Jewish generation.
The Great Commission is for Jews of the tribulation generation. The Great Commission does not apply to the church. Corroborating this conclusion is the fact that the apostle Paul wrote on three different occasions that the gospel had been made known to all the nations—even “to all creation under heaven.” Paul maintained the commandment to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ had been fulfilled during the apostolic era, as early as 57 A.D., roughly some two decades after his conversion but well within his lifetime. The apostolic era ended almost two millennia before the end of the age will end. Therefore, even proclaiming worldwide the gospel of Jesus Christ could not possibly pertain to the contemporary church. Because of the terminus ad quem, the Great Commission pertains to a period yet future, and is intended to recruit and develop qualified citizens for the Messianic Kingdom: first, Jews in Israel and of the Diaspora, and then gentiles.
The Great Commission was never repeated as a command to local churches in any of the epistles. This anomaly was not because the commandment was promoted by oral tradition or implication from scripture, as some have speculated, but because Jesus’ Jewish disciples understood His commands on the Galilean mountain did not apply to them or His church.
Although the disciples’ doubt about Jesus’ identity as King had been alleviated on the mountain in Galilee, the kingdom’s status was still at issue in the disciples’ minds. Moments before Jesus’ ascension, Luke noted His disciples asked, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus’ response amounted to keeping them in the dark, strongly indicating other matters were at hand—matters more timely, pertinent, and pressing than fulfilling the Great Commission. Jesus’ response probably confirmed the disciples’ suspicion that the Great Commission did not apply to them.
Understanding that the Great Commission applies to a post-church generation resolves Jesus’ apparent conflict between His restriction about teaching church doctrine, and His disciples John and Peter doing just that in their generation. As the prophet Daniel was informed, “knowledge will increase” in the tribulation generation. The knowledge phenomenon likely occurs because Jewish disciple makers come to believe the New Testament is indeed joined to the Old as the very Word of God. However, some of the New Testament is relevant only to church matters and may, therefore, be disregarded in teaching tribulation disciples.
Making disciples during the tribulation answers the problem of creating disunity in the church because the church will have been completed by the rapture before tribulation teaching begins. Tribulation disciples will have Jewish teachers and maintain their distinction as separately discipled groups—unlike the distinction-less members of the ‘new man’ known as the church. Gentiles with Jewish teachers will be a likely reality as pictured by Zechariah, “In those days, ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
Would-be disciples will be taught that the Messianic Kingdom is about to be reality, and that unless their righteousness exceeds that of the Hassidic Jews’ righteousness, they cannot enter the kingdom. Belief on Jesus for forgiveness of sins will be obligatory for both Jewish and gentile citizenship. Teaching the Talmud will be irrelevant because Jesus had not taught the then nonexistent Talmud to His disciples.
The explanation of the baptismal formula has become clear—a clarity Peter and Paul would have recognized immediately. The generation of Jews coming out of Egypt had been baptized into the name of their great teacher, Moses; but Moses’ name was far too parochial for the Great Commission. Another formula was required to focus on both national Israel and on the forthcoming nationally-inclusive kingdom. That formula would be the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit in contradistinction to the end-of-the-age worldwide kingdom of the unholy trio: Satan, the beast, and the false prophet. The apostle Paul knew the Great Commission did not apply to the church, for he stated to the Corinthians, “Christ did not send me to baptize . . .” Such an assertion by saint Paul could only be true if he were not commissioned under the Great Commission. Thus, Peter and Paul never violated the Lord’s baptismal instruction.
Paul was God’s agent in spreading the gospel of Jesus to gentiles as well as Diasporal Jews in all the nations. He stated repeatedly that the task had been effectively completed. The apostle’s words should effectively reduce the mania of modern mission.
What difference do these conclusions make for the contemporary local evangelical church? After all, the Lord has used modern missions as a conduit for some into His church. The difference is this: irrespective of what local churches and mission agencies propound, missions is not presently the central mission of the people of God. Love from a pure heart, pleasing God in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God are closer to the church’s central mission. Modern mission mania is perhaps a diabolical scheme to distract God’s children from pursuing holiness.
The enormous expenditure of local church resources in funds and prayers is currently being misdirected because of the myth of modern missions. Individuals from local congregations need not feel guilty because they remain at home leading a quiet life, attending to their own business, and working with their hands as the apostle Paul commanded the local church of the Thessalonians. A caveat: of course, if, while the Jewish and gentile elders of a local church are ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit says, “Set apart for Me elder (insert his name) for the work to which I have called him,” then by all means, “Go!” Finally, an elite class of saints known as missionaries who expect, and enjoy, preference in allocation of local church assets was never in view in the Lord’s plan for His church.
Much has been said in our time about Liberation Theology. Biblical liberation comes in two parts: liberty from control of indwelling sin for the believer, and liberty to forego certain behavioral practices to protect certain types of Church believers. Paul explained this latter liberty in Rom. 14:1-15:13, as well as 1 Cor. 8:1-9:23.
Before explaining 1 Cor. 8:1-9:23, it might be helpful to review some history leading up to Paul’s Corinthian letter.
When Jesus returned to His home synagogue in the Galilee, He read from Isaiah “. . . He sent Me to proclaim release to the captives . . .” (Luke 4:18). Next, He had the audacity to assert, “Today (emphasis mine) this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). Meanwhile, John the Baptist was languishing in Herod’s prison (Luke 3:20). So much for “Liberation Theology!”
Or, was it? Later in His ministry, Jesus pointed out to some Jews who had believed Him that ‘the truth would make them free’ (cf. John 8:32). They objected. Then Jesus made this critically important statement: “. . . everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). So the freedom Jesus was talking about was not a physical release from the clink, but a spiritual release from indwelling sin.
Later in the history of the Church, Paul had summarized the gospel in these two statements: “therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and (emphasis mine) through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses” (Acts. 13:38-39).
To summarize: the gospel addresses two human problems. The first problem is the unbeliever’s sins that require God’s forgiveness. The second problem is the believer’s slavery to sin that requires God’s Spirit.
So far, we have simply traced from biblical sources the complete salvation message.
Now, let’s review Paul’s commentary on a believer’s liberty. The believer has the liberty not to become a stumbling block to the weak (1 Cor. 8:9). The “weak” is a brother for whose sake Christ died—i.e., a believer (1 Cor. 8:11). The same “weak” for whom Paul became weak, so that he might win the weak (a believer) by any and all means and save the weak brother (1 Cor. 9:21-22).
By the way, the “weak” believer is a singular but integral part of Paul’s four-party classification of the Church that needs to be saved: Jews (non-observant), those under the Law (aka, the circumcised), those without the law (gentiles), and the weak (mostly believing Jews brought up under Moses who had developed a conscience about eating meat sacrificed to idols, and about which their believing gentile brothers had no such conscience (cf. Acts 15:20-21; Rom. 14:1-15:6).
Paul became as a Jew to Timothy (re circumcision) and likely to Barnabas. Paul became as those under the Law in Acts 21:20-26. Paul became a “gentile” in Syrian Antioch (cf. Gal. 2:11-14) and in Philippi (cf. Acts 16:15). And Paul purposed forever to be as “weak” to a weak brother in 1 Cor. 8:13.
Notice from 1 Cor. 9:21 that no matter Paul’s choices to temporarily suspend his liberty in certain behavioral practices, he nevertheless remained under the law of Christ to which he alluded in Rom. 7:4 and 8:2. In other words, his behavior on behalf of salvation for believers did not activate his indwelling sin, nor did it dishonor God because he did it out of love for edification of believers (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1b).
A compelling theological argument that 1 Cor. 9:19-23 does not apply to the unsaved is as follows. All unsaved people are under the control of indwelling sin (Rom. 11:32; Gal. 3:22). As a saved person, the apostle Paul is “in Christ,” that is, Christ is Paul’s Lord (Rom. 1:1), controlling Paul’s members to bear fruit for God (Rom. 7:4-6; 15:18; cf. Gal. 2:17). Were Paul to enslave himself to the unsaved, as some understand 1 Cor. 9:19 to mean, then Christ, abiding in Paul (Gal. 1:16), would become the slave of sin by virtue of His host’s actions (cf. Gal. 2:17). Obviously, such a situation would be truly ludicrous (Rom. 6:10 wherein Christ died to sin once for all). In fact, Christ was careful to avoid entrusting Himself to those under sin (cf. John 2:24-25). However, Paul’s enslavement to saved people (e.g., 2 Cor. 4:5) puts Christ in no such situation because saved people share a common Lord (cf. Rom. 14:4).
Introduction
Local churches, some with televised worship services, have become enclaves of ethnicity. In the multiculturalism of the United States, there are individual congregations whose makeup is predominately Norwegian, or German, or Anglo, or Hispanic, or African, or Jewish, or Chinese, or Korean—hyphenated Americans all.. One wonders if such will be the case when the body of Christ, the universal Church, is completed and in heaven. This essay will explore some biblical indicators suggesting that ethnicity will be absent when the Church is completed.
The Biblical Origin of Ethnicity
The scriptural record pinpoints the beginning of the nations and ethnicity. In Gen. 11:6-7, God took ingenious steps to separate the one people that inhabited the earth after the flood. The method God used was to confuse the people’s one language so that they would not understand one another. God then scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth. In turn, this gave rise to ethnicity.
Reversal of Ethnicity
On the day of Pentecost following Jesus’ ascension, the gift of the Spirit was poured out upon Jesus’ disciples. One of the bewildering phenomenon that accompanied the Spirit was people from various nations heard each of the disciple’s words in his own language (Acts 2:6).
Since many believers hold that this particular Pentecost in Jerusalem was the beginning of the Church, the language miracle may have signaled for the Church the reversal of what God did as reported in the Genesis account of the city of Babel. If so, God might intend that, in the Church, the former separation into ethnic groups is being reversed. Could that Pentecost have been a harbinger of God’s ethnic cleansing?
Spiritual Gifts and the Demise of Ethnicity
Another phenomenon following on the heels of Pentecost was that the Spirit distributed spiritual gifts to each one in the body of the infant Church (1 Cor. 12:1-10). One of the reasons for the gifts could have been the great disparity resident among members from different nations joined in a single body. The gifts were intended to draw peoples with formerly pronounced ethnic or even jingoistic distinctions into a cohesive, interdependent body. For example, through the gift of teaching, members of the body from one nation (e.g., Ephesians from Asia) would become quite dependent upon members from other nations (e.g., Apollos from Egypt, Priscilla and Aquila from Pontus, and Paul from Tarsus). Note: identification of “nations” during the early church was reported in Acts 2:5-11.
Paul had argued such interdependency among members of the Church body was analogous to the interdependency among members of the human body (1 Cor. 12:14-21). However, once the Church matured and recognized that interdependence between members from different nations was God’s plan for the Church, the gifts were no longer necessary (1 Cor. 13:8; Eph. 4:12-13). Thus continued the demise of ethnicity.
The Church: a New Creation Without Ethnicity
The apostle Paul taught that each member of the Church is a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). He went on to describe that the new creature is not, among other things, a Greek, or a Jew, or a Scythian (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11). In other words, ethnic distinctions disappeared in the new creature. How is this so?
The Body of a New Creature is Made Without Human Hands
In discussing some features of the new creature’s new body, Paul described metaphorically that the new body is, “. . . a building from God, a house not made with hands . . .” (2 Cor. 5:1). Stated in another way, the new body does not derive its origin from human parents—the new body has no ethnic origins.
Prior to an unbeliever being born-again, God provides a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26). The Spirit installs, temporarily, that new heart and new spirit in the unbeliever’s flesh—meaning his old body. That body most definitely has ethnic origins as derived from his parents. At physical death, or translation—that is, receiving a new body without undergoing physical death—the newly literate heart, and spirit, are transferred into a body without ethnic origins because it was fashioned by God, not a Jewish husband and Jewish wife by procreation, for example. Ethnic cleansing has occurred in mind and body.
The Transfiguration
Remember Jesus’ transfiguration? Matthew described the event in his gospel (Matt. 17:1-4). Along with Jesus, Moses and Elijah also appeared—in immortal bodies—to Peter, James, and John atop that high mountain located, perhaps, in the Galilee. Moses and Elijah certainly had immortal bodies most certainly with national identity. They were definitely Israelites! Doesn’t this contradict loss of ethnicity among members of Jesus’ Church?
The Nation Israel and the Church
The nation Israel is not the Church; the Church is not the nation Israel.
Israel and the Church do share a number of similarities. For example, both have the same God and His anointed One. Both are a congregation of people, whose members have the same human problem of indwelling sin. Members of both need forgiveness of sins to enjoy an eternal relationship with God. And each is referred to by the same Greek name, ecclesia—the nation Israel in the Greek Septuagint, and the Church in the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament.
But similarities do not make these two entities identical—like the elephant and the lion. Both have four legs, eyes, and a tail. However, one has a trunk, tusks, and a skin without fur. The other has fur, claws, and stalks to kill prey for food. Everyone would agree that, despite their similarities, the elephant is not a lion and the lion is not an elephant.
Likewise, the nation Israel is not the Church; the Church is not the nation Israel. For example, to combine these two separate and distinct entities is to assert that God breaks His promise and His oath. To wit: God promised unilaterally, sovereignly, and without conditions, the land of Israel (a specific chunk of real estate partially bordered by the Mediterranean Sea) to the embryonic Israelites: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Heb. 11:8-9). Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died without receiving God’s promise, guaranteed by His oath, of a land inheritance (Heb. 6:13-18; 11:8, 13).
Not to worry! God’s promise and oath will be fulfilled in the resurrection. According to Jesus, the proof of resurrection was provided by God Himself in asserting to Moses that, “‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead but the living” (Matt. 22:32). God’s land promise and oath to Israel will be fully fulfilled, not altered or broken.
God made no such land promise or oath to the Church—to the non-Israelite nations that comprise an integral part of Christ’s body. Instead, this new body, the Church—unannounced in the Old Testament, and unprecedented in the annals of human history (Eph. 2:11-16; 3:4-6)—will be an heir, not of land, but of God (Rom. 8:17). So to claim that the Church has permanently replaced the nation Israel effectively negates God’s unconditional land promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
A note of clarification: for a season, God has made the Church manager or administrator of the kingdom on earth instead of the nation Israel (Matt. 21:41). This temporary responsibility of the Church ends at the Church’s removal to heaven (rapture) with the concomitant spiritual renewal of Israeli citizens (1 Cor. 15:50-57 and Ezek. 39:7).
Those of the Church who have suffered with Christ, Peter the Jewish fisherman for example, will be fellow heirs with Christ, the First-born heir of the world (Rom. 4:13 combined with 8:17). Note: first-born heirs were entitled to a double portion of an inheritance (Deut. 21:15-17). All Church members likely share in the first half of the double portion, since Jesus is not the First-born among all the brethren—just many who will also share from the second half of His double portion (Rom. 8:29). Inheriting the world with Christ likely precludes Peter a plot of land in Israel inherited by resurrected (and living) descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the outset of the God-promised Davidic kingdom. Abraham was never promised the world; his Seed—Jesus—was (Gal. 3:16).
At least thirty critical characteristics of the Church distinguish it dramatically from the nation Israel. To name ten of those characteristics in no particular order:
- For individual Church members, Jesus may abide in them and they in Jesus; no record of this relationship exists for Israel as a nation.
- Jesus is the true vine for the Church; Judah was the vine for the nation Israel.
- A Sabbath rest exists for the Church; no such rest exists for nation Israel.
- Church members can live free from enslavement to indwelling sin; all under the Law in the nation Israel are enslaved to indwelling sin.
- Church members can live under grace. Israel as a nation lives exclusively under the Law.
- Church members enjoy forgiveness of sins via Christ’s blood, and have cleansed consciences, while the nation Israel only enjoyed a covering for sins via blood from the animal sacrifices of the tabernacle and temple. Guilty consciences plague the observant citizens of nation Israel because of defilement from their dead works done under sin’s slavery in obedience to the Law.
- The Church is baptized by God’s Spirit into Christ’s body; the nation Israel was baptized into Moses.
- The Church is the bride of Christ. The nation Israel is the wife of God.
- The high priest of the Church is Jesus after the Melchizedekian order. The high priest of the nation Israel can only be a descendant of Levi. Jesus is a descendant of Judah. And finally,
- Like an angelic seraph, the Church’s citizenship is in heaven. The nation Israel’s citizenship is on earth, although some of nation Israel occupies heaven temporarily.
Again, the nation Israel is not the Church; the Church is not the nation Israel. A final example confirming this separate identity is that the apostle Paul, part of the Church’s very foundation, considered himself no longer a Jew. He changed his Jewish name, Saul, to Paul.
In a letter Paul sent to the saints at Corinth, he said that he became as a Jew for Jewish believers who had developed a conscience about eating certain things (1 Cor. 9:20 following 8:9-13; cf. Rom. 15:20 for Paul’s intent). Why would Paul have to act like a Jew if he considered himself still a Jew?
The answer lies in an issue that erupted in the local church at Antioch. Unlike Jerusalem, the Antiochian body was comprised of an ethnically-diverse population. To establish an ethnically-neutral witness, disciples became known as Christians. Even the apostle Simon Barjona, whom Jesus renamed Peter based on his confession of Christ in the foundational credo for Church members, wrote to Jewish believers in the Diaspora, referring to those ethnic Jews as suffering like Christians (1 Pet. 4:16). Peter had been to the Antiochian church (Gal. 2:11).
Therefore, Moses and Elijah, in immortal bodies, maintain their ethnic identity as members of national Israel.
Jesus, the Son of David
Abraham’s Seed is the “Head” of the body, the Church (Col. 1:18). When this Seed, the Son of David, sits on His throne in Jerusalem, He will most assuredly bear the ethnic identity of a Jew. How can Jesus be, simultaneously, an integral part of an ethnically purged body, and the reigning Jewish monarch of a Jewish nation?
Part of the answer lies in the fact that the Bible maintains a distinction between the head and the body. The head is the control center that directs and operates the body. The body, in turn, comprises the members that execute orders from the command center. The head is not the body, only part of it; the body is not the head, but doesn’t function independently of the head.
Another part of the answer is that Old Testament prophets prophesied about a then unnamed Jesus, and His role as Israel’s King, whereas no specific mention whatsoever of His body, the Church, was ever made. Thus, while Jesus can have ethnic identity, His body need not have. Thus, to fulfill prophecy, Jesus will also be known as the Son of David. And while the Head is attached to the body, the Head may wear many hats (or, should we say “crowns”) to fulfill other prophecies featuring God’s Prophet, God’s Anointed, God’s Suffering Servant, and Savior.
Remember, Jesus’ biological father had no ethnicity. The Spirit provided the necessary genetic material to impregnate Jesus’ mother, Mary, making Jesus a truly unique human—unlike each member of His Church. Therefore, it is quite possible for Jesus to be the Son of David (see Matt 1:6 that includes king David in Mary’s genealogy) while His body, the Church, remains ethnically cleansed.
The Believing Remnant of Rom. 11:1-27
The following is somewhat of a subtle argument. Saved Jews are indeed testimony that God has not rejected His people. But this is not the same as saying the Church is comprised of a distinct and separate remnant identified as the nation Israel. The examples Paul gave of believing remnants in Israel’s history were a remnant of the northern kingdom (Rom. 11:3-4; cf. Rom. 9:25-26 and 9:27-28, a future prophecy yet to be fulfilled) and a remnant from the southern kingdom (Rom. 9:29).
Remember, a remnant is a small part of a larger piece. In the believing remnants of the northern and southern kingdoms, the larger piece existed at the time of the remnant.
Yes, saved Jews enjoy the marked distinction of being descendants of Abraham, regarded as Hebrews, and even having a tribal identity—all acknowledging them as being saved out of the nation Israel. God has not rejected His people. But in the Church, saved Jews do not enjoy the distinction of being part of the nation Israel from 70 A.D. until 1948 because the nation Israel did not then exist. Paul perhaps anticipated this (from Dan. 9:26) because he qualified his argument about a believing remnant in his generation by saying one has come to be “at the present time” (Rom. 11:5) when the nation Israel was under Roman rule.
A believing remnant of Jews could conceivably exist after 1948 when the nation again existed.
In Elijah’s time, as well as in Isaiah’s (cf. Rom. 11: 1-26), the remnant of believing Jews did have the unquestioned distinction of being part of the nation Israel. And in the future, when all Israel will be saved at the outset of the Messianic kingdom, a national distinction will certainly be recognized.
The last part of Paul’s statement, however, does not refer to the Church, but rather to believing Jews that become citizens of the Messianic kingdom. Ethnic distinctions will certainly exist in the kingdom, but not in the Church.
So what is the “remnant” of Rom. 11:5? This remnant exists within the Church among born-again Jews. The remnant consisted of Jews who lived by faith (Rom. 2:17) as distinct from the Jews who lived by the Law of Moses (Rom. 2:23). The Jews who lived by faith were “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). And at the outset of the Messianic kingdom, all Jews will live by faith (Jer. 31:34).
Conclusion
One cannot assert dogmatically from the evidence that, in the Church, ethnic cleansing has occurred. However, enough biblical evidence does exist that defies explanation in any other way. What is the value of this study?
Simply this. In the services of local churches, the worship of God ought to be ethnically neutral. Some churches celebrate man’s importance, and responsibilities. Others enthusiastically celebrate their ethnicity with zeal. However, the clear and consistent testimony of the scriptures suggests that God, alone, should be the object of a believer’s corporate worship.
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