The Rapture and Jewish Feasts

[OneLight]

15 hours ago, Keras said:

the two Greek words - 'nephetais' and 'aera' used in 1 thes 4:17, mean 'clouds and air'.  Just as translated.

Yes, the meeting is in the atmospheric clouds, but Jesus has departed from the Spiritual heaven and is about to arrive on earth, where He will dispose of the Anti-Christ and his army and commence His Millennium reign.

Your fanciful notion of going to heaven, is totally unsupported by scripture. But this is what we do look forward to:

I never said this is the third heaven, so why keep insisting I am?  I meant just what I said, the first heaven, in the clouds above the earth, where the birds fly.

I find it hilarious that you say we are going to be caught up to meet Jesus in the clouds, which you admit is heaven, yet you then call this a fanciful notion.  Isn't that a hypocritical statement?

Now, how about a more honest discussion?  As I stated before, I am not here to discuss or debate a false narrative.

[Keras]

Sorry, it isn't useful or fruitful to discuss issues with someone who makes accusations and incoherent statements.

[iamlamad]

N2thelight wrote,

Before His ascension, Christ prophesied that His church would be planted in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and then to “the ends of the earth.” This prophecy was not fulfilled by the early church and has yet to be fully fulfilled. Until the church has been planted in every tribe, tongue and nation, Christ's coming is not imminent.

In fact, if we read Revelation 14, we find that ANGELS take the everlasting gospel to every human in their own language about 3 1/2 years before Christ returns to the battle of Armageddon. But Paul and John together show us that Christ comes FOR His bride before the 70th week begins. So His coming is imminent RIGHT NOW. He could come tomorrow for His bride. when Jesus made this statement, "then the end will come" He was speaking of His coming as shown in Rev. 19.

However, a close study of scriptures shows us that Christ will come FOR His bride around 7 + years before His Rev. 19 coming. His coming IS imminent.

[Retrobyter]

On 2/28/2017 at 4:48 AM, n2thelight said:

1. Before His ascension, Christ prophesied the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Because of this prophecy, Christ could not come until His words had been fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Thus from His ascension to Pentecost, Christ's return was not imminent. (Lk. 24:49).
2. Before His ascension, Christ prophesied that Peter would grow old; he would then be captured and finally be martyred for his testimony for Him. Because of this prophecy, Christ could not return as long as Peter was alive. Peter had to grow old, be captured, and finally be martyred to fulfill the words of Christ. All the Christians knew that as long as Peter was alive, Jesus could not come. Peter died around A.D. 67. Thus from the ascension to Peter's death (67 A.D.), Christ's return was not imminent. (John 21: 18-19; 1 Pet. 1:13-15).
3. Having established that Christ's coming was not imminent until Peter's death (A.D. 67), none of Paul’s or Peter's Epistles can have any references to an imminent return of Christ because all of the epistles were written before A.D. 67 and both men knew the prophecies of Christ, and that His coming was not possible at that time. The epistles of Paul and Peter make no reference to an imminent return of Christ.
4. Before His ascension, Christ prophesied that His church would be planted in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and then to “the ends of the earth.” This prophecy was not fulfilled by the early church and has yet to be fully fulfilled. Until the church has been planted in every tribe, tongue and nation, Christ's coming is not imminent. (Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19, 20; MK. 16:15; Lk. 24:7f; Rev. 7:9).
5. Before His ascension, Christ prophesied the total destruction of Herod's temple by foreign armies. The temple was not destroyed until A.D. 70. Thus from His ascension to the destruction of Herod's temple (A.D. 70), Christ's return was not imminent. (Matt. 24:1; Mk. 13:1; Lk. 21:5, 6).
6. Before His ascension, Christ prophesied certain signs to precede His return. These signs were not present in the early church and are not fully present right now. They are still future. Thus until all these signs are clearly and fully fulfilled, Christ's coming is not imminent. (Matt. 24-, Mk.13, Lk. 21).
7. After His ascension, Christ prophesied that the apostle Paul would go to Rome and preach His gospel. Until Paul got to Rome, Christ could not come. Thus from His ascension to the time when Paul got to Rome (A.D. 61), Christ's return was not imminent. (Acts 23:11; 27:24). None of Paul’s epistles written before he got to Rome could possibly teach that Christ's return was imminent.-
8. After His ascension, Christ prophesied that the church at Smyrna would pass through a great persecution in the future. He challenged them to suffer faithfully. Until the Smyrna church had been through this trial, Christ could not come. Thus from His ascension to the trial of the church at Smyrna, Christ's coming was not imminent. (Rev. 2:10).
9. Christ in various parables connected His church and His coming with the end of the age. Until all the Biblical Prophecies leading up to the end of the age, and the prophecies concerning the end of the age have been fulfilled, Christ cannot come. Thus Christ's return cannot be imminent. (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50; 25:14-30)

 

Shalom, n2thelight.

You've never heard of the Hangman's Paradox, have you? The Hangman gives the guilty logician (who is sentenced to be hung by the neck until dead) a logical statement: "You will be hung sometime this next week, but you won't know the day when you are hung."

The logician thinks about this and says to himself, "Well, if I survive until Saturday, then I know I cannot be hung since I will know that I have to be hung on that day to satify the first part of the statement. So, I cannot be hung on Saturday."

"If I survive until Friday, then that is the last possible day I can be hung; so, again, I would know that I have to be hung on that day. So I cannot be hung on Friday."

He continues to reason away all the days until he has come to the conclusion that he cannot be hung on any day of that week, and so he cannot be hung at all.

The paradox is that he was hung on Wednesday!

The coming of our Lord is the same way: You can reason against a particular prophecy all you want, but when God says something is going to happen, it's going to happen. PERIOD.

You may not see it coming, but it SHALL come!

I find it ironically funny that it's so simple to understand, if you've got the eyes for it. (Shhhhh... I'll tell you the secret: We're already IN the Tribulation period and have been since the first century A.D!)

It's really quite simple: First, don't make the mistake of thinking that "the 70th Seven" and "the Tribulation" are in any way synonymous. Not even the last half of the 70th Seven is the "Great Tribulation." The underlying problem is thinking of the words "Seventieth Seven (or Week)" and "the Tribulation" as LABELS! When you reduce some words to a label, you've taken away the flexibility of the words.

Second, realize that half of the 70th Seven is already fulfilled, even though the second half has been delayed. Also, remember the six reasons for the 70 Sevens and contemplate how these six purposes are to be fulfilled.

Third, understand that the imminence of Yeshua`s coming is about just that: His COMING. The "rapture" event, described in 1 Thes. 4 and 1 Cor. 15, is INTIMATELY tied to the Second Coming. It's part and parcel of the SAME EVENT! And, understand that it's not that they are linked by a seven-year-long chain, either!

Imminence (not "immanence" or "eminence" - spelling is important) is defined as ...

Quote

Imminence is the quality of being imminent, i.e. about to occur.

And, "imminent" is defined as ...

Quote

 

imminent |ˈimənənt| adjective

1 about to happen: they were in imminent danger of being swept away.

2 archaic overhanging.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin imminent-  ‘overhanging, impending,’ from the verb imminere, from in-  ‘upon, toward’ + minere  ‘to project.’

 

The idea is that there is NOTHING between the now and the occurrence that requires fulfillment first. It's like the Swiss chalet sitting in the valley below the mountain with a build-up of snow and ice upon the mountain's heights. An avalanche is IMMINENT! Those within the Swiss chalet are in IMMINENT DANGER!

Peter tells us,

2 Peter 3:7-10
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
KJV

That is, as far as God is concerned, one day could be stretched to a thousand years (a millennium), OR as needed, the events of a thousand years could be compacted into a single day! The Lord is not delaying His coming, being lazy about His promise, but is infinitely patient toward us not willing that anyone should die but that all (or as many as may) should come to repentance. ...

HOWEVER, the Day of the Lord WILL COME (like a thief in the night), within which the skies shall rush by with a loud noise, and the orderly arranged parts will melt with excessive heat. The accomplishments of mankind established on the ground and the ground itself shall be burned up.

And, John tells us that this "day of judgment and perdition (sentencing) of ungodly human beings" is associated with the Great White Throne Judgment. Thus, this fire that will come on the Day of the Lord occurs at the END of the Day of the Lord, at the END of the Millennium. The Millennium is a time of RECONCILIATION and RESTITUTION, a time for coming to repentance! It will be a time for the One "wiser than Shlomoh (Solomon)" to judge the earth! He will be a "benevolent Tyrant" as He forces people at odds with one another to come to some form of reconciliation and make restitution for the wrongs done to each other. The Ireland/Northern Ireland conflict, the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian conflict, the Israeli/Arabian conflict, the North and South Korean conflict, etc. shall all be resolved on a grand scale, but also the smaller conflicts, like the Hatfield/McCoy conflict, shall all be resolved, as well. Those (whether believer or not) who have somehow hurt or brought harm to another, especially one of God's children, shall be forced to make amends with those whom they hurt or harmed! While the Messiah has paid the penalty for sins against God, one should not think that God will just make all the pain - all the results of one's sins - go away! That doesn't happen until the New Earth and the New Sky come. We read this about God's position on the Levites and priests who had forsaken Him:

Ezekiel 44:9-16
9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.
10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.
11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.
12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.
13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.
14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:
16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
KJV

Paul said,

Ephesians 4:28-5:14
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
KJV

and,

Colossians 3:5-17
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
KJV

and, 

1 Corinthians 6:1-12
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
KJV

Thus, we have a DUTY to reconcile with our brothers and sisters in the Lord! If we can't get it done here and now, what makes one think that it won't be done in the future?!

Anyway, that's what the Millennium is for.

Oh, and by the way and for the record: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50; 25:14-30 are NOT about the "church." They are about God's Kingdom He gives to His Messiah. The parables of Matthew 13 are about the KINGDOM from the sky! This is the very Kingdom that the Messiah was to inherit from His father David!

Luke 1:30-33
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
KJV

Furthermore, Matthew 25:14-30 has a companion passage, Luke 19:11-28. They may not have been said at the same time, but they are the same parable:

Matthew 25:13-30
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
KJV

Luke 19:11-28
11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.
27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
KJV

So, you see, according to the outside story, the King had already returned, having received His Kingdom! This occurs AFTER the Messiah Yeshua` has returned and becomes the King of the Jews and the King over the children of Israel.

[n2thelight]

Bottom line to me is Christ can't return until all that He said would happen before His return happens

 

He told us everything that will and must happen before that return in Matt 24

[n2thelight]

16 hours ago, iamlamad said:

N2thelight wrote,

Before His ascension, Christ prophesied that His church would be planted in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and then to “the ends of the earth.” This prophecy was not fulfilled by the early church and has yet to be fully fulfilled. Until the church has been planted in every tribe, tongue and nation, Christ's coming is not imminent.

In fact, if we read Revelation 14, we find that ANGELS take the everlasting gospel to every human in their own language about 3 1/2 years before Christ returns to the battle of Armageddon. But Paul and John together show us that Christ comes FOR His bride before the 70th week begins. So His coming is imminent RIGHT NOW. He could come tomorrow for His bride. when Jesus made this statement, "then the end will come" He was speaking of His coming as shown in Rev. 19.

However, a close study of scriptures shows us that Christ will come FOR His bride around 7 + years before His Rev. 19 coming. His coming IS imminent.

So according to your understanding of scripture,Christ returns twice ,correct?

[iamlamad]

4 hours ago, n2thelight said:

So according to your understanding of scripture,Christ returns twice ,correct?

Yes, first FOR His bride, and then over 7 years later WITH His bride.

[iamlamad]

4 hours ago, n2thelight said:

Bottom line to me is Christ can't return until all that He said would happen before His return happens

He told us everything that will and must happen before that return in Matt 24

And all that is certainly true. All WILL happen before His Rev. 19 coming.  What you are missing is that Matthew 24 is not for the church. That was for Jewish men that ask Him about the end of THEIR age, which end will be the 70th week of Daniel. The church age is like a parenthesis inserted into their age. It was started after Israel as a nation rejected Christ, and it will end before their final week.

[Keras]

  

The crucial question: who is a biblical Jew? The name "Jew" is derived from the name Judah, who was a son of Jacob through whose lineage the Lord Jesus Christ came. It was also the name of the southern kingdom during the divided kingdom period. By the time of Christ, the name became synonymous with everyone living in Israel.

In Scripture there are two types of Israelites: The physical descendants of Abraham and the Spiritual descendants of Abraham.  Romans 8:6-8

 God does have a special relationship with all Israel but what Jesus did and taught opened the Way for anyone who believes in Him to have eternal life.

This is a subject which is avoided because a lot of Christians believe in a pre-trib rapture, so they must maintain a separation between Church and Israel for their theory to work. They confidently believe that Israel in the New and Old Testament is the same Israel which exists in the Middle East at present. This is a tragedy because we will see from many Scriptures, that since universal salvation was offered by Jesus, the emphasis is no longer upon ethnic Israel, but upon Spiritual Christian Israel: The Israel of God.  God no longer has a single nation as His people but instead His nation is worldwide: people from every tribe, race, nation and language. Matthew 8:10-12, Luke 13:28-30, John 10:16, Revelation 5:9-10, Isaiah 66:18b

Before the Advent of Jesus, God called the ethnic nation of Israel the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joshua 24:3, Deut. 34:4  In this context God was dealing with Jewish Israel on a special favored status because from them would come the Messiah, so it was necessary for God to protect them and deal specially with them.

They served three functions:  First, they were chosen to bring forth the Messiah; secondly, they were a figure or a type of the worldwide church which was to come; and thirdly, their response was to serve as an example to the church today.

 

In the New Testament, we plainly see that God no longer dwells upon the subject of the physical seed but upon the spiritual seed. The physical seed was important up to the point of the cross. Since Jesus’ Advent, ethnic descent was no longer needed as a type owing to the fact the church would soon be born on a universal scale.

In John 8:38-40, we see the Lord in a hot debate with the Pharisees concerning their status of being Abraham’s seed: The Pharisees are claiming they are Abraham’s seed while Christ is saying they are not.  Keep in mind the ‘works’ of Abraham was faith.

Galatians 3:6-9: Even as Abraham believed God, so it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know therefore that those who have faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, preached before the gospel to Abraham, saying, In you shall all nations be blessed.

Here are some examples of how God views the body of believers:

1. Assembly of the Upright - Psalm 111:1

2. True believers in His Name - Jeremiah 12:16

3. The Lord’s delight - Isaiah 62:4

4. Pearl of Great Price - Matthew 13:45-46

5. His Workmanship - Ephesians 2:10

6. His priests - Revelation 5:9-10, 1 Peter 2:9

In these verses we plainly see that now a true Israelite is one who is a born again Christian because only through Christ are we saved and redeemed.

[iamlamad]

5 hours ago, inchrist said:

So the disciples is not the church?

Certainly not the church of today! Did you miss this?

Gal. 2:8  For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.

Acts 22:21  "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

Then the first Jerusalem conference:

Acts 15:

¹⁹ Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

²⁰ But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

The Jewish church died out. The Gentile church took over. Yes, I know that "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man," But this verse is speaking of the spirit. The fact remains, VERY FEW (in comparison) Jews or Hebrews have become born again. Most of the church today were Gentile before they were born again. Paul's message was the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation. Peter's (and the other 11) message was that Jesus was their long awaited Messiah: believe in Him and you will be saved.

They asked Jesus about the end of THEIR age. The end of their age will be the 70th week of Daniel which is for THEIR people, the Jews. Daniel told us this. Most, if not all of the Olivet discourse was pointed straight at the Jews, not the church of today.  For example, we don't go to synagogues.

The Jews and Hebrew people will be gathered and taken to Israel. The church will be gathered and taken to heaven.