"ISRAEL" IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

"FOR I AM THE LORD. I CHANGE NOT; THEREFORE YE SONS OF JACOB ARE NOT CONSUMED" - MALACHI 3:6

There is a pernicious teaching abroad today which holds the view that the Lord has cast off His ISRAEL PEOPLE (whom most Christians today equate - quite erroneously - with the JEWS in any case!) because of their continual sin and backsliding and in their place has substituted a "Gentile Church" - as a type of "spiritualised Israel " - or, at least, so the proponents of this theory claim. This teaching is serious doctrinal error for a number of reasons:-

1. It undermines the faithfulness of the Lord to His word.
2. It denies His ability to bring His Will and Purpose to pass.
3. It also casts doubt on the Lord's integrity and trustworthiness.

Let us look at a few scriptures which point out ISRAEL'S place of special significance in God's plans and purposes:

1. "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant, whom I have chosen .…" (ISAIAH 43:10-12)
2. "Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel whom I have chosen……..……" (ISAIAH 44:1 & 21)
3. "And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified." (ISAIAH 49:3)
4. "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (DEUTERONOMY 7: 6-8)
5. "For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God." (1 CHRONICLES 17: 22)
6. "You only have I known of all the families of the earth………….." (AMOS 3: 2)

Now if the statements contained in the above scriptures are not true - or are no longer true - then, inevitably, we are forced to one of the following conclusions:-

1. The Lord never really meant them in the first place.
2. The Lord had originally planned to effect His Purposes through ISRAEL, but this turned out to be too difficult in practice.
3. The Lord could have effected His Purposes through ISRAEL, but changed His Mind.

Now, any of the above conclusions would cast a tremendous slur on the Lord's character and integrity, but what most Christians fail to realise is the inescapable consequence of any of these views -

NO FIRM BASIS FOR OUR SALVATION!!

- If the Lord, for whatever reasons, did not keep His word with regard to ISRAEL, how can we be sure, as Christians, that He will keep His word with regard to our salvation?

The underlying reasons for the ignorance and confusion in the minds of Christians concerning the Lord's Plans and Purposes - especially with regard to His Chosen People, ISRAEL, - are not too difficult to find:-

1. ISRAEL, the Chosen People, feature predominantly in the Old Testament scriptures - prophetically and historically - with the bulk of the narrative devoted to their national circumstances, their progress and their prophesied future. However, in the New Testament, there is no real mention of ISRAEL as such (at least, not as far as the greater number of Christians are concerned) and this, in turn, leads many to assume that somehow, with the ministry of JESUS, things changed.
2. Evangelism today lays emphasis on the "personal" and "individual" applications of our Lord's work and ministry, concentrating on the task of getting people to "heaven" and generally ignoring the national aspect of his ministry with its ultimate goal of establishing the "Kingdom of God" upon earth.

Most people, believing the JEWS to be ISRAEL and conscious of their rejection of MESSIAH, assume that the Lord has either actually shelved or temporarily suspended His National Program with ISRAEL for the time being, substituting a CHURCH comprising Christians drawn from many different races and nations.

Most fail to see that this CHURCH AGE is not a change of plan but merely the NEXT PHASE in the Lord's dealings with His Chosen People ISRAEL as part of His ongoing Purposes in the earth. And the Scriptures make this abundantly clear when properly understood.

However, let us assume for a moment that our opponents' viewpoint is correct in that the Lord has, for whatever reasons, cast His Chosen People ISRAEL aside and that with the First Advent of Jesus, His teachings and subsequent Death, Burial and Resurrection, either a new or an alternative plan has been implemented. One would think that such a major change to His Program, as originally conceived, would merit some mention in the Scriptures:-

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."...........(AMOS 3:7)

The prophets know nothing of such a departure from the Lord's original Plans and Purposes as vested in His Chosen People, ISRAEL - the Old Covenant or Testament was made between the LORD and ISRAEL, and the New Covenant or Testament is made between exactly the same two parties, the LORD and ISRAEL - all that has changed is the Covenant itself. The prophet Jeremiah makes this clear in his writings:-

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of ISRAEL, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of ISRAEL; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will fogive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: if those ordinancess depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of ISRAEL also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of ISRAEL for all that they have done, saith the LORD.".................(JEREMIAH 31: 31-37)

In several passages in the Book of Hebrews - Hebrews 8: 1-13; Hebrews 10: 10-17; Hebrews 12: 24 - the Scriptures equate The Death and Resurrection of Jesus with the fulfilment of this prophecy of Jeremiah which is quoted in Hebrews 10: 16-17:-

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

CF Hebrews 12: 24

"And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

CONCLUSIONS FROM THE ABOVE

1. The Lord intended to make a new covenant with the house of ISRAEL at some future time.
2. Various conditions are also listed - conditions which must exist before the Lord would cast off ISRAEL for their sins.
3. Since none of these conditions are yet in force - and -
4. If, as is claimed in Hebrews 12: 24, Jesus was "MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT",
5. It follows then, that if the Lord has kept His word, ISRAEL have not been cast off but must be in the New Covenant relationship with the Lord and still very much part of His Plan and Purpose.
6. Therefore, ISRAEL must also be found among the peoples which have nationally accepted "Christianity".

An overwhelming amount of evidence points to the fact that ISRAEL is to be found today in the CELTO-ANGLO-SAXON AND RELATED PEOPLES - many proofs exist to support this claim:-

• The history of these nations, the pattern of their national development and expansion and their national acceptance of "Christianity" - these are also the peoples where the Reformation took root and bore fruit as prophesied in the Scriptures.
• Their performance of the national tasks which the Lord had allocated specifically to ISRAEL and the fulfilment of the prophecies relating to ISRAEL by these same peoples.

However, our primary aim here is not so much to prove the identification of the Celto-Anglo-Saxon and related peoples with the ISRAEL of the Old Testament, but rather to refute the view point of those who insist that the Lord has cast aside this ISRAEL people and, with the ministry of Jesus and the New Testament era, has substituted a "Gentile Church". Those who hold this view claim to base their argument on the Scriptures and consequently any reply should also be based on the Scriptures. The Scriptures interpret themselves - careful study and rightly dividing the word of God will establish what is the truth of the matter.

JESUS

In this context it is obviously most important to find out what Jesus, the "Mediator" has to say Himself and also what the Scriptures say about Him.

"And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name JESUS for he shall save HIS PEOPLE from their sins" ( MATTHEW 1:21 )

The point to note here is that it is HIS PEOPLE whom the Scriptures say Jesus will save from their sins. The genealogy of Jesus recorded in Matthew 1 traces his ancestry back through King David to Abraham and demonstrates clearly that the expression "HIS PEOPLE" has reference only to those of ISRAEL DESCENT. The concept of "SIN" strengthens this argument as ISRAEL alone had been given the LAW OF GOD and consequently, in a sense, only ISRAEL could commit "SIN" which 1 JOHN 3:4 defines as "THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW".

"Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God TO CONFIRM THE PROMISES MADE UNTO THE FATHERS" (ROMANS 15:8)

This, again, emphasises the ISRAEL context as the "fathers" referred to in the above verse - ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB etc - were the ancestors and founder of the ISRAEL nation.

"These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL" (MATTHEW 10:5,6)

"But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL" (MATTHEW 15:24)

N.B. The Greek word translated as "lost" can also mean "put away in punishment"

"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (JOHN 20:21)

The above Scriptures prove conclusively that far from bypassing his Chosen People and abandoning His original plan of performing His Will and Purpose through ISRAEL, the Lord came specifically to REDEEM ISRAEL and to CONFIRM all the promises previously made to the patriarchs of this people. He also limited both His own ministry and that of His Disciples to this same Chosen People.

THE CALLING AND MINISTRY OF PETER

The calling of Peter by Jesus and the Apostle's subsequent ministry confirm this point again, giving further scriptural evidence of the Lord's continuing dealings with ISRAEL. In Jeremiah 16:16 the Lord makes the following statement:-

"Behold I will send for MANY FISHERS, saith the Lord, and they shall FISH them(ISRAEL); and after will I send for many hunters and they shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks"

In Matthew 4:19 the Lord Jesus uses these words when He calls Peter and Andrew to follow Him:-

"And he saith unto them, Follow me and I will make you FISHERS OF MEN"

Surely the Scriptures above demonstrate without a shadow of a doubt, especially when taken in conjunction with the Lord Jesus' own personal statement regarding the extent and purpose of His mission, that it was ISRAEL that He intended Peter and the other Apostles to FISH.

The Apostle Peter's ministry also bears this out. The Lord refers to ISRAEL as "SHEEP" - a designation which The Scriptures apply to no other nation. There are many examples of this throughout The Bible:-

Psalm 23; Psalm 100:3; Isaiah 53:6; Matthew 10:6; Matthew 15:24 to cite just a few of them -

So when, as is recorded in John21:15-17, the Risen Lord tells Peter - "Feed my sheep" - it is obviously ISRAEL to whom He is referring and this is in complete harmony with His statements elsewhere as to the identity of those to whom He was sent. It is also important to note that this statement by the Lord was made after His Resurrection - in other words the Lord's mighty work accomplished at Golgotha in no way changed or altered His original goal or purposes.

Peter, in carrying out his commission from the Lord, writes to certain people, to whom he refers in 1 Peter 1:1 as

"strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia"

In the second chapter of his First Epistle, he gives a further clue to the identity of these "strangers"

"But ye are a chosen generation, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, AN HOLY NATION, A PECULIAR PEOPLE, that ye should shew forth the praises of him, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." ( 1 PETER 2:9-10 )

Compare this with the Lord's statement in Exodus 19:4-6:-

"Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bare you on eagle's wings and brought you unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a PECULIAR TREASURE unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a KINGDOM OF PRIESTS and AN HOLY NATION. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL"

The table above demonstrates clearly that Peter, in writing his Epistle to these "strangers" scattered throughout various countries, was in fact quoting from Old Testament Scriptures with which he expected them to be familiar and which would only have had meaning for ISRAELITES.

It also supports the contention that, unless Peter was being deliberately disobedient, the SHEEP which the Lord had instructed him to FEED were indeed ISRAEL IN DISPERSION.

And this furnishes further proof that ISRAEL were the target of the Lord's mission.

Peter, too, would have been in no doubt concerning the Lord's Purpose and what He wanted him to do. Luke 24:45 records:

"Then opened he (The Risen Lord) their understanding that they (Disciples) might understand the scriptures."

Peter obeyed the Lord's instructions to him, wrote to the ISRAELITES IN DISPERSION and told them they had been REDEEMED.

THE DAY OF PENTECOST

It is also illuminating to consider the theme and content of Peter's address on the Day of Pentecost and to note what he told his audience to do.

ACTS 2:36

"Therefore let ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ"

There are two points to note here:-

1. Although Pentecost was a peculiarly Israelitish Feast, there is no denying that there may have been many of other races in Jerusalem at that time. However, the celebrations would have had real meaning and a special significance only to those of ISRAEL DESCENT and many such would have journeyed from far and near to be present at this festival as it was one of the three which the Lord had specifically commanded should be celebrated at the place He should appoint rather than at home.
2. Peter tells his audience to let ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL know - not to tell the whole world - for Peter and the other Apostles were, in effect, proclaiming the establishment of the NEW COVENANT to be made with ISRAEL as was promised and prophesied through Jeremiah centuries before. ( This is not to imply, of course, that people of other races will not benefit from the work of the Lord Jesus Christ - merely that the Lord is working to a plan in which He will use ISRAEL - His Bride People and National Instrument on the earth - as the means of drawing all nations to Him )

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FROM PETER'S WRITINGS

In 1 PETER 2:10, the Apostle describes the intended recipients of his letter in the following terms:

"Which in time past were NOT A PEOPLE but are now THE PEOPLE OF GOD: which had NOT OBTAINED MERCY, but now have OBTAINED MERCY"

In doing so, he is in fact quoting from the prophet Hosea's writings concerning ISRAEL in the first chapter of his book:

HOSEA 1:6

"And she conceived again and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name LORUHAMAH, for I will NO MORE HAVE MERCY upon the HOUSE OF ISRAEL, but I will utterly take them away"

HOSEA 1:9

"Then said God, Call his name LOAMMI; for ye are NOT MY PEOPLE, and I will NOT BE YOUR GOD."

Nevertheless, at the same time as declaring His impending judgements on the wayward HOUSE OF ISRAEL, the Lord also holds out a promise of national restoration:

HOSEA 1:10

"Yet the number of the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered, and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are NOT MY PEOPLE, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the SONS OF THE LIVING GOD."

The table above illustrates clearly that in his Epistle, Peter is in fact quoting from the OLD TESTAMENT writings concerning ISRAEL. Compare this with JEREMIAH 31:33, where the Lord gives details of the NEW COVENANT which He intends to make with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL:

"I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and WILL BE THEIR GOD and they shall be MY PEOPLE"

 status of being the "PEOPLE OF GOD" figures here again as in the writings of both Hosea and Peter.

This surely must establish beyond any shadow of a doubt that it is indeed ISRAEL IN EXILE to whom Peter is writing.

However, some claim that Peter, in his first Epistle, is merely writing to "BELIEVERS" and maintain that these are the "STRANGERS" to whom he refers. Let us examine this in the light of other Scripture.

ROMANS 8:14 - Paul the Apostle, dealing with Christian doctrine, makes the following statement:

"For as many as are led by the SPIRIT OF GOD, they are the SONS OF GOD."

But, the prophet Hosea has already shown that one result of the NEW COVENANT which the Lord intended to make with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL and which the LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF ratified by the shedding of HIS BLOOD, would be as follows:

HOSEA 1:10

"Ye are SONS OF THE LIVING GOD" - ie "CHRISTIANS"

The ministry of Peter, therefore, in no way runs counter to, but supports the evidence drawn from statements both ABOUT, or BY, THE LORD JESUS as to the purpose of HIS MINISTRY. This, in turn, strengthens the argument that there is absolutely NO CONTRADICTION BETWEEN THE LORD'S ORIGINAL PLAN AND PURPOSE AS VESTED IN HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE, ISRAEL, AND THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION, which can be correctly viewed as merely a FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OR PHASE IN THE PREPARATION OF ISRAEL to carry out the Lord's Purposes.

THE OLD COVENANT WAS MADE BETWEEN THE LORD AND ISRAEL

THE NEW COVENANT IS MADE BETWEEN THE LORD AND ISRAEL

The PARTIES to the COVENANT are still the same - only the TERMS OF THE COVENANT are different. Therefore, ISRAEL should now have come under the terms of this NEW COVENANT and consequently should be found among those peoples who, nationally at least, have embraced CHRISTIANITY.

(This also provides proof that the ISRAELI STATE, which has not come under the terms of THE NEW COVENANT, cannot be true ISRAEL but merely a counterfeit.)

PHILIP

ACTS 8:26-40 - Here we read an account of the meeting between Peter and the Ethiopian eunuch. Many claim that this is the story of the conversion of a black man! However, there are several points that should be noted:-

• The Ethiopia of the New Testament Scriptures was not the present land of Ethiopia but rather a general designation for the African continent as it was then known.
• Many Greek and Phoenician colonies - centres of trade and commerce - existed within this land area and of these, many were actually settlements of EXILED ISRAELITES.
• One needs to ask the question why this eunuch was reading the Scriptures - ISAIAH - in the first place?
• He must have been able to read and understand Hebrew as these Scriptures would have been written in Hebrew - there would have been none of the modern translations into other languages.
• One also needs to ask why this eunuch had come to Jerusalem to worship - unless of ISRAEL DESCENT - as only ISRAELITES had been commanded to do this at the time of the THREE MAJOR ISRAELITISH FESTIVALS - PASSOVER, PENTECOST and TABERNACLES.
• The fact that this eunuch listened to Philip's exposition of the passage in ISAIAH which he had been reading and responded in such a positive fashion would tend to suggest that he was, in fact, one of the "LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL" to whom Jesus claimed to have been sent Himself and to whom He had instructed His Disciples to carry their message - "My sheep hear my voice-----"

In the light of all this, the most reasonable conclusion that can be drawn is that this eunuch was one of the people from the EXILED HOUSE OF ISRAEL who had risen to political prominence in the land of his family's settlement and whose wealth and position enabled him to travel back to Jerusalem to keep the Feast Days as commanded by the Lord.

JAMES

JAMES 1:1 - provides further evidence that the target of the Apostles' ministry was primarily ISRAEL

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to THE TWELVE TRIBES which are scattered abroad, greeting….."

JOHN

II JOHN 1:1 -

"The elder unto THE ELECT LADY AND HER CHILDREN, whom I love in the Truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the Truth;"

There are a couple of points to note here:-

1. John had been banished to the Isle of Patmos by the Emperor Domitian during a period of persecution by the Roman authorities.
2. The expression - "ELECT LADY AND HER CHILDREN" - does not refer to an individual and her family, but is rather a coded reference to ISRAEL - (for John to speak openly of these things in the prevailing political climate at this time would almost certainly have meant his death)

Many other passages of the Scriptures corroborate this contention:-

ISAIAH 45:4

"For Jacob my servant's sake, and ISRAEL MINE ELECT, I have even called thee by thy name"

The word "ELECT" could also be translated as "CHOSEN". Compare the following words of Moses, addressed to ISRAEL, in this light:-

DEUTERONOMY 7:6

"For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath CHOSEN thee to be a special people unto himself, above all the people that are upon the face of the earth."

ISRAEL is also often referred to in the Scriptures as a WOMAN or WIFE -

JEREMIAH 3:20

"Surely as a WIFE treacherously departeth from her HUSBAND, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL, saith the Lord."

REVELATION 12:1

"A WOMAN clothed with the sun and the moon under feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars…."

In this last scripture, too, the references to the sun, moon and stars clearly hark back to Joseph's dream in GENESIS 37:9 and further strengthen the argument.

Again the conclusion here must be, as in the case of James, that John, too, directed his efforts to ISRAEL.

PAUL

Paul refers to himself as "THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES" and this word "GENTILE", which conjures up the idea of "NON - ISRAEL" (or NON - JEWISH, to be more exact) in the minds of most Christians today, has become a real obstacle to rightly dividing the word of truth. Again here, there are several facts concerning this word which need to be established right from the outset:-

• There is no such word in the original text of the Scriptures - either in the OLD or NEW TESTAMENTS - a fact which may come as a surprise to many Christians.
• The translators of our English Bible used this word "GENTILE" to translate the Hebrew word "GOI" and the Greek word "ETHNOS" - both of which, according to Young's Analytical Concordance, literally mean "NATION/S".
• To further compound the confusion on this issue, there is no uniformity in the translation of these words "GOI" and "ETHNOS" applied throughout our English versions of the Scriptures, as the table below will show.

• The intention of the translators was probably to differentiate between the ISRAEL NATION and NON - ISRAEL NATIONS. Despite the confusion generated and the subsequent theological error in the way this word "GENTILE" has been used, the position of the translators is understandable - particularly in view of the amount of light and truth that the Lord had been pleased to reveal at that time. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THE PERPETUATION OF THIS ERROR TODAY IN THE LIGHT OF REVEALED TRUTH!!
• The Latin root stem from which the English word "GENTILE" is derived, is "GENS" - a collective word, meaning CLAN, RACE, NATION - and not a description that could be applied to an individual. The idea that a person can be referred to as a "GENTILE" stems from an incorrect translation of the original text and the term a "GENTILE NATION" would simply mean a "NATIONAL NATION" and thus be senseless.
• If the translators of the Bible had set aside the religious bias and tradition of their day and uniformly translated the words "GOI" and "ETHNOS" - correctly - as simply "NATION", the context would have shown clearly whether the nation or nations referred to were ISRAEL or NON - ISRAEL nations. A couple of examples from the Scriptures should illustrate this point:-

MATTHEW 10:5-6

"Go not into the way of the GENTILES and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL"

In the above statement from JESUS, these "GENTILES" (NATIONS) are, from the context, obviously NON - ISRAEL nations.

ROMANS 11:13

"For I speak to you GENTILES inasmuch as I am THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES, I magnify mine office"

Paul here refers to himself as "APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES" (NATIONS) and in the light of his travels, ministry and letters, these "GENTILES" (NATIONS) are, in this instance, clearly ISRAEL nations.

Throughout all of Paul's epistles, he refers to those to whom he is writing as "BRETHREN" - the English translation of the Greek word "ADELPHOS" - which is only used in the sense of "BLOOD - BROTHER", "KINSMAN", "WOMB - BROTHER" and specifically denotes a person of the SAME RACIAL STOCK OR ORIGIN. Paul, as we know, was an ISRAELITE of the TRIBE OF BENJAMIN and his use of this particular Greek word indicates that those to whom he addressed his epistles were also ISRAELITES.

Bearing in mind Paul's statement in ROMANS 11:1 -

"For I also am an ISRAELITE, OF THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, OF THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN…."

the following passages of Scripture should be considered and seen as additional proof that Paul directed his ministry to ISRAEL IN DISPERSION in the lands where they had settled after the Lord had evicted them from their home in Palestine because of their continued disobedience and waywardness.

ROMANS 4:1

"What shall WE say then that ABRAHAM OUR FATHER AS PERTAINING TO THE FLESH hath found…."

1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-5

"all OUR FATHERS were UNDER THE CLOUD, and all PASSED THROUGH THE (RED) SEA, and were all baptised unto MOSES in the CLOUD and in the SEA"

GALATIANS 4:28

"Now WE BRETHREN, as ISAAC was, are THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE (ISRAELITES)"

EPHESIANS 2:12

"That at that time ye were without Christ BEING (HAVING BECOME) ALIENS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF ISRAEL, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and WITHOUT GOD in the world"

Compare the above description with the terminology employed by the prophet HOSEA and examined earlier in this article - "NOT HAVING OBTAINED MERCY", "NOT YOUR GOD", "NOT MY PEOPLE" etc

Add to this Paul's use of the Greek word "ADELPHOS" - translated as "BRETHREN" - (not in today's "spiritual" sense of the word but denoting the same racial stock) - in various passages of Scripture such as the following:

• EPHESIANS 6:10
• PHILIPPIANS 1:12
• COLOSSIANS 1:2
• 1 THESSALONIANS 1:4

The above evidence must surely prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that the ROMANS, CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS and THESSALONIANS to whom Paul directed his ministry were none other than portions of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL - cast off and scattered abroad under the judgements of Almighty God, but now REDEEMED by this same Almighty God in the person of the LORD JESUS CHRIST through the SHED BLOOD OF THE "NEW COVENANT" - which New Covenant He had promised through the prophet Jeremiah centuries before that he would make with His People ISRAEL.

The above brief examination of the theme of "Israel in the New Testament" demonstrates the faithfulness and dependability of the LORD GOD OF ISRAEL - both to His Word and to His Chosen People, ISRAEL. We can have confidence - both personally, for our individual lives and also nationally, for our people - in such a GOD - One Who is not only Omnipotent but also Trustworthy and Reliable.

"For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed"