AdHoc

From the Greek word rendered "Covet" we get the word "Zealous". In modern English the word "covet" is given an illegal dimension, but it is not so in the Bible. In the Bible the object desired decides whether it is illegal or not. So; Modern English "Covet" means to inordinately and illegally desire something Bible "Covet" is to earnestly and zealously desire something. That something could be legal or illegal

There is a number of points here that many students of Matthew 13 miss. The end of the age is a harvest. If we study end-time prophecy, the general consensus is that the Church is harvested first - sometime before the Great Tribulation. (Hey, you post-Trib guys; give me three minutes and read on). But here this parable gives the harvest of the Tares first. Is not the Harvest of the unbeliever at Armageddon which is long after the Church is raptured? How are we to explain this? And then a very strange thing is revealed if we are strict with the grammar. The Tares get harvest first and burned. The next verse begins with "As Therefore". "AS THEREFORE" means "just like the Tares". Then follows the Harvest of "His (God's) Kingdom". The harvest of the Tares is over. And the tares were never "His Kingdom" because to be in His Kingdom one has to be REBORN (Jn.3:3-5). According to the grammar, the "things that offend cannot be Tares, but must be Wheat". How shall we explain this? 1. The Tares Harvested First. The Tares, literally "Darnel" is not just the unbeliever. They are COUNTERFEIT Christians. The parables says; "The Kingdom of Heaven IS LIKE ..." And our Lord Jesus was talking to a mixed crowd of (i) His disciples, (ii) Jews, (iii) Samaritans and (iv) Gentiles. That is, all peoples of earth would see the Kingdom LOOK LIKE ....". And this "LOOK ALIKE" would simulate the Christian Church. Now which entity looks and talks like the Christian Church but is an Imposter? There is only one - The Roman Church. In 300 AD, Rome was in serious decline. Added to this, the more Christians they martyred - the more Christians sprung. So in 313 AD, Caesar Constantine declared Christianity a State religion. The Roman soldiers changed their armour for priests robes and the name changed from "The Roman Empire" to "The HOLY Roman Empire". Caesar, called Pontifex Maximus, kept his designation and his fish shaped hat to show he worshiped the fish-god Dagon. But 97% and more of the "Holy Roman Empire" were still heathens. So to keep them happy, all the pagan feasts were kept but given Biblical names. The resurrection of Baal, three nights after the winter equinox was Christ-mas. And Ishtar, the fertility goddess, whose feast day fell on the first sun-day after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, was named Easter. What with halloween becoming "all-saints", and the heathen idols allowed in the Churches, the infiltration and SIMULATION of the Church was complete. And just to crown it all, the Roman Church could now exercise its politics from the pulpit THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH. It became, and still is the most wealthy and politically active entity on earth. Even the most biased of tourists could not help noticing how the East-West facing Roman Churches dominate the skyline of every small and large city, especially in Europe. That the Russian Revolution and Hitler were supported by Rome is no secret. But be careful. Propagate this and you might have the Jesuits looking you up - fatally. Not so well known among Christians is the fact that we have had six world powers since Nimrod's Babel. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. And while language and local customs changed, the RELIGION of all six powers was the same - Nimrod's Religion of Babel. And if a study is made of all the Theistic religions and cults of the world today, it turns out that they are all branches of one big Trunk - the BABYLONIAN RELIGION. You could say; "Babylon and her DAUGHTERS", which would make her a MOTHER who has infiltrated or spawned all the false religions of the world. And if you said this, you would agree not only with the prophets of old, but you would agree with John in Revelation 17:5 "and upon her forehead was a name written: ‘Secret, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whores, and the Abominations of the earth.’ (Young's Literal Translation) And this leads us to the solution of why the tares are harvested first. If you read on in Chapter 17 you will find that the Beast, who supports Her and is her carrier, in order to get universal worship for the Dragon, must DO AWAY WITH HER! The Beast will demand and command, under pain of death, all mankind on earth to receive a Mark of allegiance and to WORSHIP him. He cannot afford to have a worldwide COMPETING RELIGION. So in verses 15-18 we read that the ten kings who gave the Beast his power on earth DESTROY THE WHORE. The Roman Church and all her branches, her daughters, will be destroyed at least three and a half years before Armageddon. Armageddon is no doubt a harvest too, but not of the Tares. In Revelation 14 we read that Armageddon is the harvest of THE VINE OF THE EARTH, not TARES. Matthew 13 concerns the Kingdom of the heavens and how it looks while in Mystery - that is, the Church age. 2. Why is the Kingdom of Wheat found to have offensive things which too must be burned? To shorten this answer to the OP, I will leave this for another day.

Shalom

Probably (I know because I do it myself) you have not read all the postings in the thread. If you had you would have seen that I objected to the OP and took a glaringly opposite view. So when you added your support to DeighAnn, we surely have some differences. But I'm the first one to seek common ground. On the other hand, we have this privilege of discussing without the same consequences that we would have if we were in the same Assembly. With that in mind, may I suggest a small correction to your statement about Abraham. The Abrahamic Promises are given solely at the discretion of God because He chose and called out Abraham. And the fulfillment of those promises hangs solely on a Contract. God Promises to DO something IF Abraham DOES something. The FAITH counts after this. Faith declares that God is able to fulfill this promise. And if so, then faith dictates that I get circumcised. The events of Abraham's life then dictated by his faith. They are FOUR: 1. Immediately after the Covenant is ratified by blood in Genesis 17, God tells Abraham that he won't inherit the Land in his lifetime. If Abraham still believes God, then he has declared his belief that God can raise the dead - and unheard of thing up to then. 2. Abraham defeats 3 kings with 318 men. He is offered the spoils as earthly possessions. He refuses. Abraham believed that he would receive the whole Land anyway - BUT at the hand of God - not men. 3. Abraham offers his son Isaac. This test was double-barreled. Abraham had been promised a great nation. Isaac was the channel for this. But Isaac was as yet without seed. This was a big test. But even bigger was the fact that in resurrection man is like the angels. He cannot die and he cannot marry. So Abraham must not only believe in the resurrection, but he must believe that God had a solution to the matter of no marrying (in the Bible, marriage is the sex act - not a piece of paper by a magistrate). 4. Abraham, when faced with death, again believes that he will receive the whole Land someday future AT THE HAND OF GOD - not men. So he refuses even the field of his sepulcher at the hand of men. He pay for it. The money he pays is for God's honor. Abraham is thus a "friend of God". This point of waiting for God to give you possession and not men is the crux of the temptation of Jesus by Satan. And it decides who is WORSHIPED. In Luke, Satan declares ownership of the kingdoms of this world. Our Lord Jesus does not deny this. But to gain the kingdoms of this world, Jesus must pass through a terrible suffering and pay a huge price. If He receives the Lands at Satan's hand he can avoid the pain and humility. But is he (Satan) who is trusted as His (Jesus') source. The one who feeds your hand is your Master. The temptation is grave for a man facing what Jesus faced, but He, in a much bigger way, refused the Land (the whole earth) at any hand but the Father's. Faith is the substance of hope in a thing unseen and in the One Who promises it. Faith is vital to please God, but it must FIRST have God's Words. All over the world, men have faith, but it is not in God's Word. We do not get God's Promises because of our faith. We are expected to have faith once His words are given.

Methinks you are going to have problems with that. Let us examine the following. The Covenant of Promises made with Abraham requires circumcision on Israel's part. If a male Israelite was not circumcised. He would be "cut off from his people" (Gen.17:10-14). So an Israelite who was seed of Jacob would not be an Israelite if he was "cut off from his people". The Promises made to Abraham included gaining, as an everlasting possession, Canaan. But this promise is expanded in Romans 4:13 to the whole earth. It is now not Canaan only, which was by being seed of Abraham, but the whole earth by being born of the holy Spirit (Jn.3:3-5, Dan.2:35). But immediately a difficulty arises. There is no promise to Abraham about this rebirth. It might be alluded to in that he has TWO SEEDS, one (i) as the sand of the seashore - that is, earthly, and (ii) as the stars of heaven - heavenly. But this is not part of the Covenant made with Abraham. Conversely, those who accept Christ by faith are predominantly Gentiles and they are NOT of Israel, but "sons of God". How then are they eligible for inhering what was promised to Abraham? So various scriptures deal with this, notably Ephesians (by adoption) and Galatians (by being IN Christ Who is seed of Abraham). But the text you answered to - that of Romans 9 - deals with another deep problem. Romans 1 - 5 show all men condemned. Chapter 6 shows the solution to being transported out of the clutches of sin by being buried with Christ in baptism. But the Jew will claim that he has the Law with which to be justified. Paul soon puts that notion to rest by showing that the Law, though good and spiritual and God-given, only condemns. The rel solution to the "law of sin and death" is the "The Law of life ain Christ Jesus" imparted the Holy Spirit. But Israel refuse that way. What shall become of them? The reason why this is so important is that God's honor is involved. God has given promises of owning the Land of Canaan by one covenant, but 430 years later he gave another covenant that, if broken, would cause Israel to be ejected from the Land. So Paul spends THREE Chapters on how God, without breaking His righteousness and judicial correctness, gets Israel back into their Land (i) WITHOUT them believing in Jesus Christ, and (ii) WITHOUT them keeping the Law. Marvelous!

I could be wrong, but groaning has to do with distress. But I agree with the sentiment that there is blessing attached to this groaning. The groaning means that we admit that we need a Savior and His salvation.

I appreciate your thoughts on groanings and can identify with much of your posting. But the "groanings" of Romans 8:23 have to do with living in this "vile body" (Phil.3:21 - KJV). They are the same groanings found in 2nd Corinthians 5:1-5 where our present body of sin and corruption drags us down daily. In Romans 7 it is "the body of death" (v.24).

I enjoyed the OP AND the objections that followed. Instead of a long posting with argument and counter argument, I would like to set forth the reason for, and the main point of the parables in Matthew 13. But first we must define the Kingdom. A Kingdom is a sphere of rule where the king is present and his laws are executed. So when Jesus cast out demons He said that the kingdom had come. But He later left. The Church is now the only area where the rules of the King SHOULD be carried out. The King is present IN each citizen and these citizens have the "keys to the Kingdom". But on the earth at large the Gentiles rule. But their time is limited and soon their rule will be replaced by God's rule. This is the theme of the book of Daniel. Our Lord Jesus came to offer Israel the Kingdom. Both John Baptist and our Lord Jesus "came preaching the Kingdom at hand". The subjects of the King, the Jews, refused the King and by Matthew Chapter 12 their rejection reached a pinnacle as they accused our Lord of being a servant of Satan. Because the King is rejected, He must withdraw and reach another People to establish His Kingdom. Thus, while the Gentiles rule the earth, Christ is building His Kingdom on enemy territory. And in the process of building His Kingdom there will be attempts to destroy this Kingdom by the "Prince of this world". These attempts will be subtle and how the Kingdom survives is a "Mystery". Thus, it is given ONLY to disciples of Jesus to know the "Mysteries of the Kingdom" by Parables. The Sower. All FOUR recipients are Christians for the seed is "sown in their hearts" - even those who let the seed be stolen. The dangers facing the Christian in this world are summarized; (i) hardness of heart, (ii) cares and distractions of the world, and (iii) sufferings and persecution. Only a few Christians will bear fruit to the Lord. The Darnel (or tares). The enemy, perceiving that God will have His people and their testimony on earth, raises up a COUNTERFEIT kingdom. This is the Roman Church. It looks, acts, speaks and does like the Church but it has its origin in another seed. Darnel looks just like wheat until the harvest. Wheat dries up at the root and is removed from the earth to God's house and barn. As it ripens it turns golden and bows its head of rich grain. The Darnel produces a black, spiny, poisonous fruit that sticks up proudly. This parable show the counterfeit religion being destroyed first - which agrees with Revelation 17. The Mustard seed. God's People, the Church are called "the little flock" (Lk.12:32). Few are Christians compared with the worlds' population. The Mustard bush normally grows to maximum 2 meters/6 feet. It produces a piquant fruit. But something happened to it. It grows to be the big tree of Daniel 4 - Gentile government harboring demons and fallen angels. This is Christianity today - mixing in politics and and causing a shadow on earth rather than light. All manner of worldly things come out of the mega Churches. The Leaven. Leaven is always negative in the Bible. It was forbidden with anything that depicted Christ. Our Lives must be without leaven and we must put it out of the Church (1st Cor.5). The woman is Mystery Babylon the great Whore. She takes Babylonian religion and inserts it into the doctrine of the Church, and she inserts defiling things into the Church. By 320 AD, Christianity was fully "leavened". This leaven can be seen and practiced on this Forum. The Roman Church is fully leavened with their doctrines and behavior. Our Lord Jesus changes places for the next three parables. In Matthew 12, He was in a House. This was the House of Israel where His "brethren according to the flesh were". He leaves this house and teaches from the "sea" - a picture of the Nations. Now He enters another House where only He and His disciples are - the Church. Three parables follow - all pertaining to the Kingdom. When Jesus returns He will deal with THREE Peoples - (i) The Church, (ii) Israel, and (iii) the Nations or Gentiles. The Christian who wants to inherit and enter the Kingdom must have the sure knowledge that it the grand "Treasure" to be gained. Over and over, in the four gospels, the coming Kingdom, when Christ sets it upon earth, is the grand PRIZE. A Christian must be prepared to "sell all" to gain this Kingdom. He must learn righteousness, prepare to lose goods, reputation, family relations and his very life if need be. When Christ returns, He will restore Israel. According to Deuteronomy 30:1-5 Israel must return to the Law "with all their heart" in order for God to initiate this restoration. Their righteousness must be great (single great Pearl), and they must forsake their tradition (many small pearls). This a difficult parable because true students of the Bible only interpret scripture with scripture (2nd Pet.1:20). Israel is the only entity depicted by Pearls (Rev.21:9-21). Israel are blinded and in unbelief until the fullness of the Gentiles come in. They never believe in Jesus till He bursts forth from the clouds. Then they will mourn to see the one "they pierced". But we find a remnant of Israel "sealed" for God's purpose in Revelation 7. And this Remnant are those who "keep the commandments of God" in Revelation 12. When our Lord Jesus returns He will judge the nations who survive the Great Tribulation (Matthew 25:31-46). The sea depicts the Nations (e.g. Ezek.26:3). In the Nations are some who helped "the least of the Lord's brethren" during the Great Tribulation. They are the good fish. But there will be those who made life worse and who set themselves against Christians during the Great Tribulation. They are the offending fish. I take into account that the explanations are very abbreviated. There is much more to be seen in these parables concerning the Kingdom in mystery.

Nicely and concisely put.

Your question is difficult for it assumes that they were, at some time, one entity. The truth of the matter is that they were never the same. Why not read my very first posting on this thread again. I gave four reasons why they could not be the same. The simplest reason is who did Paul belong to when he persecuted the Church? Why ... Israel. So Israel is not the Church because it hates and kills Christians. The next simplest reason is the ORIGIN of both. An Israelite is one who was born of the line of Jacob. Paul calls them "kinsmen according to the FLESH" (Rom.9:3), because it takes a man and a woman to produce one. But a Christian is one who is born of the Holy Spirit. The difference could not be bigger. In Matthew 11:11 our Lord said that John Baptist was the greatest man "born to a woman", but that the least in the Kingdom is greater than he." To be in the Kingdom you have to be born of the Spirit (Jn.3:3-5). That which is born of flesh is not fit for the Kingdom (1st Cor.15:50). Then, in Romans 11 Israel is called "natural branches" and they are cut out. The Gentiles who believe are called "wild branches" and are grafted into the Kingdom. Thus, until the fullness of the Gentiles is come (Armageddon), Israel are not only different but are in UNBELIEF. Finally, in New Jerusalem, the final state of God's purpose, the Church is the Walls of the City and Israel are Gates - totally different things. Even their designation is different. Precious Stones verses Pearls. There is not a single verse stating that Israel is the Church or that it is joined to the Church The Church was not revealed to the prophets of old. That is, there is not a single prophecy concerning the Church in the Old Testament. Types and Shadows - yes. But direct prophecy - no. The Kingdom is ripped away from Israel and given to the Church (Matt.21:43). I hope this helps. Blessings.

I hear you. It is mind-numbing to hear these things for the first time. I remember all those years ago when I was confronted with them. God bless.

Hi and good morning. I have thought much about our exchange. I've come to the conclusion that instead of answering you point for point, which tends to lead us down side-roads, let me put forth my understanding, with scriptures, of Israel's future. But first, let me define the word "saved" because in many Christian's vocabulary, it has only one meaning. That is, believe in Jesus and be saved from hell. But this is not the case in the Bible. We have to define any word, and especially "saved", by its context. Let us take Ham, Noah's son. Ham was "saved" from death by the Ark. But Ham was not saved from the curse that God placed upon him for despising his origin - his father, and in so doing, despised God. Ananias and Saphira were saved by the blood of Christ from eternal death, but not saved from temporal death. And so it is with Israel. Their "salvation" is different to the Christian concept. Israel is God's chosen people among all NATIONS. What made them different was that the very God of the universe dwelt WITH them. For this privilege they receive two things. (i) A Land with secure borders in which is a City and House for God to dwell - Jerusalem. (ii) A set of Laws that would give God His honor, mean his honor and the Land its honor. The Land was a result of a Covenant of Promise, and their continued stay in the Land was governed by a Covenant of this Law. If they broke the Law, and thus the Covenant of Law, they would be ejected from the Land and dispersed among the Nations. After this threat in Deuteronomy Chapter 28, Deuteronomy Chapter 30 starts with a sad note. It assumes that Israel will be dispersed among the Nations. But together with this sad note, Moses the prophet is given a way out - a way of restoration. It is this; If Israel turn back to the Law with their whole heart, God will bring them back to their Land in peace. But the fallen man is helpless to keep God's Law (says Romans 7), and so Israel would, in normal circumstances, remain dispersed among the nations forever. But Moses the prophet, in Deuteronomy 18:18, promises them a Messiah. And Zacharias, in Luke Chapter 1, declares that this Messiah is come. Note the language and the use of the word "saved". 67 And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and did prophesy, saying, 68 ‘Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He did look upon, And wrought redemption for His people, 69 And did raise an horn of salvation to us, In the house of David His servant, 70 As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, Which have been from the age; 71 Salvation from our enemies, And out of the hand of all hating us, 72 To do kindness with our fathers, And to be mindful of His holy covenant, 73 An oath that He sware to Abraham our father, 74 To give to us, without fear, Out of the hand of our enemies having been delivered, 75 To serve Him, in holiness and righteousness Before Him, all the days of our life. 76 And thou, child, Prophet of the Highest Shalt thou be called; For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, To prepare His ways. 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people In remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercies of our God, In which the rising from on high did look upon us, 79 To give light to those sitting in darkness and death-shade, To guide our feet to a way of peace.’ It is at once clear that the Holy Spirit declares "redemption" and "salvation" as something different to what Christians are told. In verse 68 "His People" is Israel. The Church was not revealed to the prophets of old. This is confirmed by the "horn of salvation" coming from "David's House(hold)". David is king of Israel, not any other nation. The basis of this "redemption" and "salvation" is NOT FAITH. It is because God made a Covenant with Abraham (v.72-73). And Israel can only serve God if they have Land surrounding Jerusalem to raise up tithes, bring the tithes to a House in which God lives, and feast and rejoice with God. And all this in peace and safety from surrounding enemies. This Messiah would put away sins because of MERCY. Now we jump to Romans. Romans builds a case that every man is dead in sins and in danger of judgment. In Chapter 6 the only way to overcome sin is to partake of Christ's death. But the Jew would say; "we have the Law"! So Paul shows that the Law, good, spiritual and God-given cannot help the Jew because of the "LAW of sin and death" dwelling IN THEM. Then, in Chapter 8, the way out of this is given. To receive Christ's Spirit and become children of God. But the reader of Romans Chapters 1-8 knows that Messiah would be rejected by Israel. This puts God in bad light. He has made promises to Israel, but because of their sins and their refusal to believe in Messiah, He must chastise them by keeping them dispersed among the nations. God's very honor is at stake because of HIS PROMISES to Abraham. What is the solution??? The answer is that Christ died not only for the sin (singular) of the Church, but the sin of "the whole world" (Jn.1:29). And, Christ died, not only for the sins (plural) of the Church, but the sins of "the whole world" (1st Jn.2:2). That gives God the JUDICIAL right to forgive any man's sin and sins. But God sets a CONDITION for putting away sins. That is; FAITH IN JESUS. And Israel will REFUSE FAITH IN JESUS. So what hope is there for Israel??? The answer is - THE COVENANT!!! Israel has a Covenant and the Nations do not. A member of the Nations MUST BELIEVE IN JESUS to have sins removed, but Israel can receive MERCY because of the Covenant with Abraham. But this MERCY does not include rebirth and eternal life. It includes what Zacharias prophesied AND what God promised Abraham - THAT GOD WOULD GIVE THEM A LAND AND BE WITH THEM! That is Israel's salvation! Paul dedicates THREE CHAPTERS (Romans 9 - 11) to show that God can and will honor His Covenant with Israel THOUGH THEY REMAIN IN UNBELIEF. He says; "I will have mercy on whom I will"! How??? BECAUSE JESUS FULFILLED THE JUDICIAL REQUIREMENT BY HIS DEATH FOR ALL SINS. Thus, we have (1) The Church who DID believe and are saved and given eternal life, (ii) Israel who did NOT believe and are restored to their Land in peace and God's blessing, and (iii) the Nations who did NOT believe and are in danger of the Lake of Fire. That is; THREE SEPARATE ENTITIES, EACH WITH A DIFFERENT FUTURE.

Thank you for your reply. My CAPITALS are also not shouting. They are just for emphasis. I've got 10 minutes so I'll just answer your first objection. There are three proofs that the ten northern tribes rejected Christ. (1) They still do so today. From New York to Beijing the tribes scattered there reject Christ with vehemence. In Israel itself live an estimated 40% of all Jews. Preaching the gospel there is not officially allowed. (2) At Pentecost of Christ's time the population of Jerusalem swelled to an estimated 1 million for the Feast of Weeks. Let us half that to be sure. Let's say Jerusalem had 500,000 on that first Pentecost when the gospel was preached. Let's say that of the 500,000 150,000 were adults. Three thousand embraced Christ. That is - 2%. Ninety-eight percent refused the gospel. (3) The ten northern tribes were defeated and deported because Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 called for it as part of the Covenant. Our Lord Jesus who "knew men" (Jn.2:25), said that Judah had refused Him BECAUSE they refused Moses (Lk.16:31). The ten northern tribes refused, and do refuse Jesus though they be scattered through all the earth. More later. God bless

Thanks for your reply. I gave four proofs that Israel and the Church are separate entities, (i) Origin, (ii) History from the Bible, (iii) The Olive Tree in Romans 11, and (iv) New Jerusalem. Let's just take the first - Origin. Israel come from the LOINS of Jacob. Genealogy is very important here because of the Covenant of "and everlasting priesthood" - the Levites, and the Davidic Covenant. Then, in sharp contrast to Israel, "brethren according to the FLESH" (), we have the Church which was raised up by the Holy Spirit. Surely this is worthy of comment because if Israel and the Church are one, then a terrible contradiction arises which says that the rebirth by the Holy Spirit is equal to sex between two Jews. It further says that the human nature conferred by a coupe producing a child is equal to the divine nature conferred by the Holy Spirit - the very God Himself. Next, if Israel persecuted the Church, and hated Jesus, labeling Him as an imposter, how could they be the same as those who have embraced Jesus and love Him. How could Israel have suffered all the curses of the Law and be the same as the Church that has found grace and salvation by Christ? Next, how could the Olive Tree be Israel when Israel, in UNBELIEF, is cut out. Surely a comment on that should be made. Finally, How could Israel and the Church be ONE when they are totally different entities in New Jerusalem - the final state. Even their symbolism is different. The Church is precious stones while Israel are pearls. I think that the case is more than established that Israel and the Church are SEPARATE entities. However, you spent much time on Ephesians 2 and "who are the subjects". I will answer this briefly. We see in Acts 19 that Paul spent two years in Ephesus, in which time "all Asia heard the word BOTH Jew and Gentile" (v.10). We also see from Acts 19 that the Jews hardened their hearts and refused to believe AND opposed Paul. We also see that because goddess Diana was so popular, the Gentiles opposed Paul. Without any long explanation it is clear that THREE entities existed in Ephesus. (i) The Jews of Israel who opposed Paul, (ii) The Gentiles who opposed Paul. And (iii) those Jews and those Gentiles who embraced the gospel and formed the Church - which was opposed by the other two. The grammar of Ephesians 2:15 says that God made a (iii) New Man FROM the other two - (i) "the CIRCUMCISION", and (ii) "the UN-CIRCUMCISION. That automatically gives THREE; The uncircumcision The circumcision The New Man The rest of Ephesians 2 shows how (i) this New Man, made with Jews and Gentiles, can be one because the Law of Moses hinders this. And (ii) how Gentiles are made heirs to Abraham's Promises WITHOUT becoming Israelites. They are made "partakers of a COMMONWEALTH". The Greek word rendered "Commonwealth" means how men "profit from a government WITHOUT being citizens". England has a commonwealth. Citizens of Canada and New Zealand profit from England's trade resources, but Canadians and New Zealanders stay citizens of Canada and New Zealand respectively. This problem of citizenship and the promises made to Abraham is again dealt with in Galatians. Chapter 3 ends with the New Man in verse 28 in which there is NO ETHNICITY, but because those of the New Man are "IN Christ" - Who in turn is a "seed of Abraham" - they automatically become eligible WITHOUT having been IN Isaac. Take your time to consider this. God bless

The approach to God's dealings with Israel can be approached in a number of ways. The best is most probably ... 1. Origin 1) From Adam to Noah the earth was one nation and one language. From Babel onward, because God divided them, we have THE NATIONS. They are offspring of Adam via Noah. 2) About 500 years after the flood, God called one man, a Syrian, and changed his name to Abraham, which means "father of many nations". From his various offspring God chose one, Isaac, and from him made a new NATION called Israel. From Jacob onward we have THE NATIONS and THE NATION OF ISRAEL They are offspring of Adam via Noah via Isaac 3) From resurrection day, when our Lord breathed His Spirit into His disciples (Jn.20.22), a New Man was born. Ephesians 2:14–15 reads; 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. In this scripture a number of things are revealed; God has created a "a New Man" This New Man is made from "THE TWO". The TWO are (i) THE NATIONS above in point 1, and (ii) THE NATION of Israel in point 2 above. The second one, Israel, has the Law of Moses. This Law forbade Israel to have relations with the NATIONS. Thus it created "ENMITY" and DIVISION. To combat this, the Law FOR MEMBERS of the NEW MAN is abolished by Christ's death. This New Man is born to the Holy Spirit - not mankind, making it NEW and UNIQUE This New Man has no human ETHNICITY (Gal.3:28). The members of the New Man are completely new and the old and past is GONE (2nd Cor.5:17) The members of the New Man had their ORIGIN in Christ (Jn.12:24) 2. Bible History The Romans, one of THE NATIONS, ruled Israel in 65 AD. The NATION ISRAEL hated and persecuted the NEW MAN. Acts of the Apostles gives THREE ENTITIES. Later, after 70 AD, the NATION of Rome dispersed the NATION of Israel and persecuted the NEW MAN. These THREE ENTITIES remain to this day. Today, ROME wears priests clothes, ISRAEL hates Jesus Christ, and the NEW MAN is persecuted for loving Jesus Christ. In the history of the Bible THREE PEOPLES ARE SHOWN. 3. The Olive Tree of Romans 11 2nd Peter 1:20 says that we may not interpret the Bible privately. That is, the Bible must be interpreted by the Bible. A Tree in the Bible in parable is a KING and his KINGDOM (Judges 9, Daniel 2, Ezekiel 31). Thus, the Olive Tree cannot depict the Church. It depicts a King and His Kingdom. (1) The Root is Holy. This can only be Jesus Christ - the King. (2) The natural Branches are presently in UNBELIEF and are cut out. When the ties of the Gentiles are full, that it, when Christ defeats the Gentiles at Armageddon, the natural branches will be grated in again - not into the Church, but the Kingdom. Christ will live in Jerusalem and so Israel will be His host nation. (3) The wild branches are grafted in because of faith. Their position is precarious for they may be cut out for ill behavior. When the times of the Gentiles are full, Christ will be (1) King of Israel, be (2) King of kings (those of the Church who prove worthy of it, and (3) King of the Nations. The Olive Tree is thus fulfilled with THREE entities - a KINGDOM - and ISRAEL is a SEPARATE PART OF IT. 4. New Jerusalem When all men have been resurrected and judged by the time of the White Throne (Rev.20), God will "RENEW" (lit. Gk.) the Heavens and the Earth. Jerusalem was for RULING Israel and the home of the KING. New Jerusalem is the HOME of the KING of kings. (1) The WALLS are the Church. (2) The GATES are Israel. (3) And without the City are THE NATIONS. Even in eternity future the three entities remain separate - THE NATIONS, ISRAEL, THE CHURCH. God bless.