Subject: Who is Israel?
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 01:45:41 +0000
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: Robert Koch
To: <heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Subject: Who is Israel?
Dear Eddie,
>
>Re: your response to RoboRemy (my wife) wherein you assert that being
>in union with Messiah and part of the ekklesia (church) is equal to
>being and Israelite/Ephraimite, your premise is way off. R. Shaul clearly states
>that if your are born uncircumcised (Gentile/non-Jewish), stay
>uncircumcised, etc.
>
>From Eddie:
**************
Robert,
You have accurately stated that R. Shaul clearly states that
if you are born uncircumcised (Gentile/non-Jewish) stay
uncircumcised (I Corinthians 7:18-19) . This is clearly what
scriptures teaches. I believe this 100%. However, you still don't
seem to understand God's covenant with Abraham and whom God calls
in the Bible as Israel.
ISRAEL IS A SPIRITUAL PEOPLE
The "church" which in Greek is Ekklesia is the same word
translated as "kahal" or "kehilat" in Hebrew as can be seen in the
Septuagint (Hebrew scriptures translated to Greek). The Thayer's Greek
Lexicon of the New Testament by Baker Book House, 12th printing,
March 1986, page 196 also tells us that the Greek word "Ekklesia"
translated as "church" is equivalent to the Hebrew word "Kahal /
Kehilat" / assembly.
The scripture is VERY CLEAR as I explained in previous posts that the
birth of the "church"/ Israel as a NATION was at Mount Sinai. Again,
this can be clearly seen in Acts 7:37-38 as it is written:
"This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A
prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you and your brethren,
like unto me: him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the CHURCH /
(1577 = Ekklesia which in Hebrew is Kahal or Kehilat) in the
wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the MOUNT SINAI ..."
In Deuternomony 9:10, 10:4, 18:16, the event at MOUNT SINAI is called
the DAY OF THE ASSEMBLY (church in Greek and Kahal in Hebrew). These
people who were at Mount Sinai who were called an assembly/church was
the HOUSE OF JACOB (Exodus 19:3) and the NATION OF ISRAEL.
The covenant the God made with Abraham was BOTH literal and
spiritual. First, let us examine the SPIRITUAL. In Genesis 17:7 it is
written:
"And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed
after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a
God unto thee and to thy seed after thee"
In Galations 3:16,29 it is written:
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And
to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ
... and if you be Christ's then are you Abraham's seed and heirs
according to the promise"
This scripture CLEARLY tells us the the promise of Abraham
was to a SPIRITUAL PEOPLE (both Jew and non-Jew) who have accepted
Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah. WE (both Jew and non-Jew) who are believers in
Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah are HEIRS according to what God promised
Abraham (Galations 3:29). This people in Greek is called the "church".
In Hebrew, they are called the "kahal / kehilat". God only has ONE
FAMILY and this is the "church" / kahal / kehilat. God is the God of
Israel and His family (spiritually) are called Israel as well as his
natural / physical family is called Israel. The spiritual has been
grafted into the natural (Romans 11:13-24, Ephesians 2:11-13)
What is required of this family is the same as what God promised
Abraham. They need to be circumcised. However, this circumcision (for
the non-Jew) is not physical but spiritual. It is a circumcision of
the HEART. For the natural Jew, they are to be circumcised BOTH
physically AND spiritually in the heart. In Deuternomony 10:16, it is written:
"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your HEART and be no more
stiffnecked"
In Deuteronomy 30:6, it is written:
"And the Lord thy God will CIRCUMCISE thine HEART and the HEART of thy
seed to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, that thou mayest live"
This same thought is communicated in the NT in Romans 2:29 as it is
written:
"But he is a Jew which is one inwardly: and CIRCUMCISION is that of
the HEART, in the spirit and not of the letter, whose praise is not of
men but of God"
Spiritually, the "church" is known as the Kahal in Hebrew. We are a
spiritual FAMILY (Mishpachah) whose head is God the Father. God the
Father is the Father of a people called ISRAEL. He is the GOD OF
ISRAEL. Those who are of His family are called by HIS NAME. His name
is the God of ISRAEL. His spiritual family consists of both Jew and
non-Jew who are spiritually ECHAD in in Messiah. His natural family
are also called ISRAEL who are the physical descendents of Abraham
who later became divided into Northern and Southern Kingdom.
ISRAEL IS A NATURAL PEOPLE
Yet, God still has a PHYSICAL people to whom His promises
remain. The sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham was that
his descendents be circumcised. We have already seen how this
circumcision was SPIRITUAL but it was also NATURAL. In Genesis
17:10-12 it is written:
"This is my covenant which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy
seed after thee, Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And
ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be a
token of the covenant between me and you. And he that is 8 days old
shall be circumcised among you ..."
This is a PHYSICAL circumcision for a PHYSICAL / NATURAL people.
Today, we call this people the Jewish people. However, ISRAEL is the
ENTIRE HOUSE OF JACOB. The Jewish people is a strict definition only
comes from the tribe of Judah. In a more liberal sense, all those from
the Southern Kingdom were called Jews. All Jews are Israelites but
not all Israelites are Jews. The Northern Kingdom was not Jewish. The
Northern Kingdom was Israelites. The OT is a story of the story of
this covenant that God made with Israel to a PHYSICAL / NATURAL
people. It is a story of God's promise to the LITERAL descendents of
Abraham.
The promise that God made with Abraham was passed to Isaac (Genesis
26:1-4). From Isaac it was passed to Jacob (Genesis 28:10-14).
Jacob's name was changed to ISRAEL (Genesis 35:10). Jacob had 12 sons
who became head the 12 tribes of Israel (Genesis 49). The children
of Israel went to Egypt as God told Abraham (Genesis 15:13-14). God
called Moses because of His covenant with Abraham (Exodus 2:23-24).
By the mighty hand of God, He delivered the descendents of Abraham
from Egypt and brought them to Mount Sinai. They were called the
HOUSE OF JACOB (Exodus 19:3). It was at Mount Sinai that they became
a NATION (kahal / kehilat / assembly / church).
They became the NATION of ISRAEL (the PHYSICAL descendents of
Abraham) when God entered into a marriage contract with them
(Jeremiah 2:2-3). The marriage contract in Hebrew is called a
KETUBAH. The marriage contract was/is the TORAH. The TORAH was to be
kept in the HEART. The SHEMA states that you are love God with all
your HEART (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Mark 12:28-30).
The NATION of Israel was a KINGDOM under Solomon. However, after the
death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into Northern Kingdom and
Southern Kingdom (I Kings 11 & 12). The Southern Kingdom during the
days of Ezra and Nehemiah first are called JEWS (Ezra 4:12).
The Northern Kingdom were called by the following names:
#1) The House of Israel (I Kings 12:21)
#2) The House of Joseph (I Kings 11:28)
#3) Samaria (Hosea 7:1, 8:5-6, 13:16)
#4) Ephraim (Hosea 4:17, 5:3, 7:1)
The Northern Kingdom committed spiritual "whoredom" by
mixing paganism with the worship of the God of Israel and calling
this true worship of the God of Israel. They set up a "golden calf"
system of worship (I Kings 12:28-33). So, God sent prophets to
testify (both to Judah and Israel) to repent from this "mixture" and
return to the PURE TORAH but they refused to listen (II Kings
17:7-17). Therefore, judgment came upon both the Northern Kingdom and
Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom was taken to Assyria and the
Southern Kingdom was taken to Babylon. The warning of judgment to the
Northern Kingdom was given in Hosea 1.
In Hosea 1, God told Hosea to marry a whore symbolizing the
"whoredom" committed by the Northern Kingdom. Three children are
mentioned in Hosea 1 which resulted from this marriage. The first is
called Jezreel which means "God will sow or God will scatter".
In Hosea 1:6, Lo-Ruhamah is born as it is written:
"And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him,
Call her name LO (not) RUHAMAH (mercy): for I will NO MORE have MERCY
upon the HOUSE OF ISRAEL (Northern Kingdom) ..."
In Hosea 1:8-9, Lo-ammi is born as it is written:
"Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah (no mercy), she conceived, and
bare a son. Then said God, Call his name LO (not) AMMI (my people):
for you are NOT MY PEOPLE and I will not be your God"
There is a DIRECT CONNECTION between the Northern Kingdom and events
here in Hosea 1 and the children named Lo-Ruhamah (NO MERCY) and
(Lo-Ammi) (NOT MY PEOPLE) with those who profess faith in Yeshua/Jsus
as Messiah in (I PETER 2:5, 9-10) as it is written:
"Ye also as lively stones, are built up a SPIRITUAL house, a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ .. But you are a CHOSEN GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD,
A HOLY NATION, A PECULIAR PEOPLE (words spoken to the the nation of
ISRAEL ... at MOUNT SINAI ... Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6) ...
which in TIMES PAST were NOT A PEOPLE (Lo-Ammi ... Hosea 1:8-9 but
are NOW the people of God: who had not obtained mercy (Lo-Ruhamah ...
Hosea 1:6) but now have obtained mercy"
In Hosea 1:10, God promised:
"Yet (even though the house of Israel / Northern Kingdom was called
Lo-Ruhamah (no mercy) and Lo-Ammi (not my people) the number of the
children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
measured or numbered (God promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ...
Genesis 32:12) and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it
was said unto them, You are not my people, there it shall be said
unto them, you are the sons of the living God"
Therefore, there is a DIRECT CONNECTION with what was said to the
Northern Kingdom (no mercy, not my people ... Hosea 1:6, 8-9) and
those who call Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah (I Peter 2:5, 9-10). This
connection is through God's covenant with Abraham (Hosea 1:10). The
people who were not called his people (Northern Kingdom) again were
called His people (I Peter 2:10) who are now believers in
Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah.
This is a story of the PHYSICAL DESCENDENTS of Abraham. The NORTHERN
KINGDOM is DIRECTLY linked to those who call Yeshua/Jesus Messiah
(Hosea 1:6, 8-9, I Peter 2:5, 9-10).
Those who are directly linked are also called, "a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people" (I Peter 2:9).
In Exodus 19:5-6, at MOUNT SINAI it is written:
"Now therefore, if ye will oby my voice indeed and keep my covenant,
then ye shall be a PECULIAR TREASURE ... and ye shall be a KINGDOM OF
PRIESTS and a HOLY NATION" (Exodus 19:5-6 = I Peter 2:9).
In Deuteronomy 7:6, at MOUNT SINAI it is written:
"For thou are a HOLY PEOPLE unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God
has CHOSEN thee to be a SPECIAL PEOPLE unto himself ..." (Deut 7:6 =
I Peter 2:9)
Therefore, by understanding God's covenant with Abraham, we can see
that the promise that God made to Abraham was also to a PHYSICAL /
NATURAL people called ISRAEL. The Northern Kingdom called the House
of Israel and the Southern Kingdom the House of Judah.
There is a DIRECT relationship between the Northern Kingdom and those
who profess Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah (Hosea 1:6, 8-9, I Peter 2:5,
8-9). Those who believe that Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah are given the
SAME WORD DESCRIPTIONS (spiritually ... I Peter 2:9) as NATURAL ISRAEL
(Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6).
Therefore, ISRAEL (Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6) is called the
"church" (those that believe Yeshua / Israel is Messiah .. I Peter
2:9).
Church = Ekklesia which in Hebrew is Kahal / Kehilat. In Acts
7:37-38, it uses the Greek word CHURCH and in
Deuteronomy 9:10, 10:4, 18:16 it uses the Hebrew term "kahal /
Kehilat" / assembly.
So, the birthday of the "church / Kehal / Kehilat / Israel" is at
Mount Sinai. The covenent was RENEWED in Acts 2 once again on the
SAME day of Shavuot/Pentecost as God promised in Jeremiah 31:31,33.
Therefore what you said:
>
>Re: your response to RoboRemy (my wife) wherein you assert that being
>in union with Messiah and part of the ekklesia (church) is equal to
>being and Israelite/Ephraimite, your premise is way off.
>
is not Biblical. I have proven and shown from scripture that the
Greek word "church" is equal to the Hebrew term "assembly" / kahal /
Kehilat. I have shown that there is a DIRECT LINK between the words
spoken prophetically of the Northern Kingdom (Hosea 1:6, 8-9) and
those who now believe that Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah (I Peter 2:5,
9-10). What I have just shared is not "way off" but is exactly what
the Bible teaches.
>
>You have twisted the scriptures to fit into your
>premise. This is called eisegesis and is exactly what the Roman church did
>when they "replaced" Israel as God's chosen people. Your's is simply a
>little different twist on the same theme.
>
>From Eddie:
**************
I have not twisted the scriptures at all. I have spent an
extensive amount of time quoting and explaining things scripture by
scripture. I have NEVER and NEVER will teach that the "church"
replaced "Israel". This is simply not true and I have never stated
this or taught it. As I have taken considerable time to explain
above, the "church" and "Israel" are Biblically SYNONYMOUS terms.
Therefore, one CANNOT replace the other if they are the same. I have
also explained that God has a SPIRITUAL family consisting of (natural
born Jew and non-Jew who believe that Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah and are
Biblical ECHAD (one) and EQUAL in the Kingdom of God. I have also
explained that God has a PHYSICAL / NATURAL people who were / are
called Israel. The spiritual people are GRAFTED into the natural
people. BOTH the spiritual people and the natural people are called
ISRAEL because it is the SAME TREE. This all needs to be and can be
understood by examining and understanding God's covenant with Abraham
which the church has not been taught as I explained it above and as
the Bible presents it. The Bible also tells us that God has a plan
for the NATURAL BRANCHES (the Jewish people) in the end-times as
well. This plan will be fulfilled through the PHYSICAL NATION of
Israel which exists today in the Middle East. Recognizing that God
has a plan for the NATURAL BRANCHES while also recognizing that the
non-Jew is GRAFTED into the natural branch is NOT replacement
theology.
>
>While it is true that, in union
>with Messiah, there is neither Jew or Gentile, in context that statement is
>not about what one is "physically" but rather is about one's spiritual
>condition of being equally justified before God. It does not state that
>Jews are no longer Jewish and Gentiles are no longer gentiles. That
>scripture (Gal 3:28) also says there is no more male or female, does that
>mean we are all unisex now? Come on. I don't think the question raised
>had to do with "prideful arrogance" but rather the idea you put forth about
>the "Goy Yisrael" and equating the term "Israel" with the term "chruch".
>
>From Eddie:
**************
I never said that there is no longer a physical Jew and
a physical non-Jew. Even after we are SPIRITIALLY ECHAD in Messiah,
there still remains physical Jews and physical non-Jews. However, the
scriptures is CLEAR that the physical non-Jew who accepts
Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah is GRAFTED into the NATURAL BRANCH of the
physical people who are called Israel. Therefore, both the physical
and spiritual people are Biblically called Israel.
>
>This is the point which needs to be addressed.
>Remy was responding to your response to L. Adrian Peterson, in which you
>asserted that the nation (goy) of Israel meant a "gentile nation" per
>strongs 1471. This is a real stretch because it does not accurately
>reflect how the terms "goy" and "goyim" are used in scripture. While "goy"
>may mean a foreign nation, it also means in its simplest sense "a nation"
>or a "body politic". Goy is singular and can refer to any nation. The "goy
>Yisrael" is the nation of Israel and the term "goy" is used to allude to
>this many times (Is 1:4, 26:2, 49:7, etc.) However, when used in the
>plural, "goyim", it always means "the nations" that is the NON
>Israelite/Jewish nations. When the Scripture speaks of a "holy nation",
>the term is not goyim as you suggest in your reply, but rather "goy", the
>singular, refering to the nation of Israel. You assert that the term
>"goyim" is used for non-Jews but that it is applied to Israel. I ask,
>"Where?"
>
>From Eddie:
**************
In I Peter 2:9, it says that those who believe that
Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah (I Peter 2:5) is called a ROYAL NATION. In
Hebrew, this would be a royal (goy / goyim). This royal nation (goy /
goyim ) consists of BOTH Jew and non-Jew. This royal nation in I
Peter 2:5 is called ISRAEL. The spiritual has been grafted into the
natural (Romans 11:13-24).
>
>Nowhere in scripture is the term "Israel" ever applied to anyone but
>physical Israelites. When Messiah came, he came to a nation of Jewish
>people whom He called "Israel." While it is true that most were "Judeans"
>they were also Israelites. Yeshua said, "I came only for the lost sheep of
>the house of Israel." Was he talking to the church or to the Jews?
>
>From Eddie:
***************
If you understand God's covenant with Abraham which I tried to
briefly explain above which I explain in further detail in Chapter 13 of my
book, "Who is the Bride of Christ?", in a LITERAL sense, the "House
of Israel" clearly is a reference to the NORTHERN KINGDOM. The
Northern Kingdom was called the HOUSE OF ISRAEL. ( I Kings 12:21).
Why did Yeshua/Jesus need to come for the "lost sheep of the house of
Israel" / Northern Kingdom? Because the Northern Kingdom lost their
inheritance with God as specified in Hosea 1. God told the Northern
Kingdom that they were NOT HIS PEOPLE and that He would show NO MERCY
to them. The Torah made provision that if one within the family sold
or lost his inheritance then a NEAR KINSMAN could come and redeem
and restore that which was sold away. This is stated in Leviticus
25:25 as it is written:
"If thy brother be waxen poor, and has sold away some of his
possessions (which the Northern Kingdom did by committing spiritual
whoredom and God told them that they were NOT His people) and if any
of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his
brother sold"
Therefore, the Messiah has to come from the HOUSE OF JUDAH (Southern
Kingdom) to redeem those who once was in the family of Israel
(Northern Kingdom) who sold away their inheritance. He had to bring
to the Northern Kingdom / House of Israel a RENEWED covenenant which
was still based upon TORAH but this time the TORAH would be written
upon a HEART OF FLESH and not a HEART OF STONE. This promise was
given in Jeremiah 31:31:33 as it is written:
"Behold the days come saith the Lord that I will make a new (RENEWED
ein Hebrew) covenant with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL (Northern Kingdom) and
th HOUSE OF JUDAH (Southern Kingdom) .. .but this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL (Northern Kingdom)
After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my TORAH in their INWARD
parts, and write it upon their HEARTS and will be their God and they
shall be MY PEOPLE"
Not (lo-ammi ... not my people) but ammi (my people).
In Jeremiah 50, the HOUSE OF ISRAEL (Northern Kingdom) is called LOST
SHEEP. In Jeremiah 50:4-6, 17 it is written:
"In those days and in that time, saith the Lord, the CHILDREN OF
ISRAEL (Northern Kingdom) shall come, they AND the CHILDREN OF JUDAH
(Southern Kingdom) ... my people have been LOST SHEEP: their
shepherds have caused them to go astray ... ISRAEL is a SCATTERED
SHEEP, the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria (who
took the Northern Kingdom captive) hath devoured him: and last this
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (who took the Southern Kingdom
captive).
So, who was "cut off" from their covenant and needed the Messiah to
come from the Southern Kingdom (House of Judah) from the line of
David to bring back into covenant relationship (renewed covenant)
with the God of Israel? It was the Northern Kingdom who was
(lo-ruhamah ... no mercy and lo-ammi ... not my people). These were
the lost sheep of the "house of Israel".
However, the Bible said that not only would those from the Northern
Kingdom be brought back into covenant relationship with God but other
non-Jews that were not from the Northern Kingdom would be also.
The Messiah was also a "light to lighten the Gentiles" (Isaiah 60:3,
Luke 2:32). Therefore, those formerly from the Northern Kingdom and
the Gentiles who believed in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah would be able to
be GRAFTED into the natural olive tree (Romans 11:13-24).
>
>There are a couple places where you go off and one is the term "kalal"
>which you correctly translate as "assembly". In the greek, it is
>"ekklesia" which is translated "church" and means "called out body". While
>these terms both signify a called out body of believers, it does not follow
>that the mixed multitude that was the Kalal Yisrael is the same as the
>called out body of believers in the NT that is referred to as the church.
>Just becase the word ekklesia is used for both groups does not mean they
>are the same assembly. While Israel may be a type of the NT chuch, it does
>not follow that the Israelites are the church. You talk about the
>"renewed" contract of Jer 31, but look at the scripture. It states that "I
>will renew the covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Jacob"
>and that "it will not be like the covenant I made with their FOREFATHERS
>when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt..." Are you saying
>the Gentile believers (Ephriam) were part of this group referred to as
>"their forefathers?" That would imply that the forefathers of the torah
>observant Gentile believers were PHYSICALLY Jewish (0r Israelites)!
>This is a pretty big leap don't you think?
>
>From Eddie:
**************
You have come to a conclusion and interpretation that I did
not make. What God was saying was that when God made the covenant
with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai, it was written on a HEART
OF STONE. A HEART OF STONE disobeys the TORAH of God as it is written
in Zechariah 7:11-12 as it is written:
"But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped
the ears that they should not hear. Yea, they made their HEARTS as an
ADAMANT STONE lest they should hear the TORAH and the words which the
Lord of hosts has sent in his spirit by the former prophets"
This renewed covenant was going not be like the first. But
the renewed covenant was going to be the TORAH written upon the HEART
whereby we would be given the POWER of INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT to keep
it. Therefore, this renewed covenant was NOT like what was originally
given. But this renewed covenant was still to the HEIRS of Abraham
(Galations 3:29) and God said that He would remove the HEART OF STONE
(which doesn't obey His Torah) and replace it with a HEART OF FLESH
(which does obey His Torah) (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Therefore, I have not taken a "pretty big leap" and distorted the
word of God. I have presented exactly what the word of God teaches
about the renewed covenant and to whom it was given.
>
>Let's go back to the covenant that God made with Abraham. God's covenant
>with Abraham was both to his physical descendants and his spiritual
>descendants. His physical descendants were promised a particular plot of
>land (sealed with the sign of circumcision) as well as being the people
>through whom the "Seed" (Messiah) would come. It is through this Seed that
>Abraham would become the spiritual father to the believing goyim (nations).
> This is what it means when the scripture states that "through you all the
>nations (goyim) of the earth will be blessed."
>
>From Eddie:
**************
I agree
>
>This is not referring to Israel, but to the nations.
>
>From Eddie:
**************
This is referring to both natural born Jew and natural
born non-Jew who accepts Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah. The natural born
non-Jew is grafted into the natural olive branch. This natural olive
branch is called the church or Israel. Israel consists of natural
branches (the physical Jew) and wild branches (the non-Jew who
accepts Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah). God has ONE FAMILY and they are
called ISRAEL. This is the only way that ALL FAMILIES of the earth
shall be blessed (GRAFTED in Hebrew) (Genesis 12:3).
>
>In fact, it is through Israel, that the goyim
>will be blessed because it is through Israel the Messiah will be born.
>This is a very fundamental concept which Shaul upholds consistantly in the
>B'rit Chadashah.
>
>From Eddie:
**************
This is true. It is through the natural branch that the wild
branches would be blessed. I agree.
>
>Eddie, you have a lot of valulable insights to offer people and we believe
>you are sincere in your love of Israel and things Jewish. However, you are
>beginning to sound a little kookie with this "church is Israel/Ephraim"
>stuff. While you separate yourself from the tradtional wackos, you are
>still trying to fit the Scriptures into your interpretation.
>
>
>From Eddie:
**************
No, I have taken the time and patience to explain to you
scripturally God's covenant with Abraham and how the wild olive
branches (the non-Jew) is grafted into the natural branches (the
natural born Jewish people) and that this olive tree only has one
name and that name is ISRAEL. I would encourage you to take the time
to study Biblically God's covenant with Abraham and understand it in
it's fullness. In order to help you and others, I wrote an entire chapter
consisting of 90 pages in my book, "Who is the Bride of Christ?".
>
> What is wrong with Jew and Gentile being one in union with Messiah Yeshua?
>
> Bob
>
>From Eddie:
**************
Nothing. This is what I have been trying to explain all
along. That BOTH Jew and non-Jew are ECHAD (one) in Messiah and
I have been trying to help you and other to bring down the wall that
Jewish believers in Messiah have put up toward non-Jewish believers.
Remembers the words of Psalm 133:1,3 as it is written:
"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for BRETHERN (Jewish and
non-Jewish believer in Messiah AND the natural branch) to dwell
together in UNITY ... for there the Lord COMMANDED THE BLESSING even
CHAI (life) forevermore!"
Shalom in Messiah
***********************************************************************