“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.” (Acts 10:1)
Cornelius manifested the most basic description of a godly man who seeks after God without the aid of the Temple or Levitical rites – exactly as demonstrated by Job.
It is inconceivable that Cornelius was praying to the God of Israel without having read the writings about how to approach and please this Supreme Being. His seeking after God’s righteousness is what triggered his meeting with Peter.
“He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him…And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter…he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” (Acts 10:3-6)
“James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me; Simeon [Simon Peter] hath declared [by reporting the signs and wonders] how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.” (Acts 15)
James’ acceptance of a Gentile into the people called by YHVH’s name was based on scripture, not modern casual segregation of the people of Israel vs all others.
“And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written [quoting from multiple prophets]
“After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
- that the residue [Israel / Ephraim scattered]...might seek after the LORD,
- AND ALL the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called…For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” (Acts 15)
“Israel is swallowed up / incorporated: now shall they be among the Gentiles.” (Hosea 8:8)
“Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law...will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not…and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
[But! upholding the covenant] behold, the days come…when it shall be said…
- the LORD…that brought up the children of Israel from…all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers…
- the Gentiles shall come unto thee [the LORD] from the ends of the earth.” (Jeremiah 16)
Paul the apostle to the Gentiles is a late-comer third witness to Peter and James’ apostles to the Jews authoritive acceptance of Gentiles as God’s people.
He packs a lot of concepts in his paragraphs, so when I leave out certain phrases I’m not trying to hide his true meaning but rather pulling one thread out of multiple trains of thought.
“my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites...
- not of the Jews only,
- but also of the Gentiles
Paul is without question saying that some of the Gentiles are also genetic kinsmen.
- As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people [i.e. the Israelites]…
- And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto THEM [the 10 northern tribes of Israel] ye are not my people; there shall THEY [the 10 northern tribes] be called the children of the living God.” (Romans 1, 9)
Hath God cast away his people? God forbid…at this present time also there is a remnant according to grace…
I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits…that blindness in part is happened
- to Israel,
- until the fulness / total group of the Gentiles be come in
What can account for the designation of “fulness of the Gentiles?” We must find the answer in scripture.
“Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth…the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations… God shall enlarge Japheth / the Gentiles, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; ” Genesis 9:27, 10:1-5)
- and then all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Israel.
A common Christian interpretation of this passage is that God striking Israel with blindness has condemned them to hell in order to allow the non-Jews to come to salvation “through Christ alone”.
Dispensational Christianity at least grants them The Great Tribulation for chastisement which beats enough of them into accepting Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for sin to uphold God’s irrevocable covenant with Israel – but only by returning to Old Covenant animal sacrifices for sin.
Seriously?
If you can believe this then you have no basis for faith in your own eternal salvation by a God who can’t be trusted to stay true to his Word.
What is clearly documented in scripture is that God followed the terms of his covenant with Israel.
- “if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day,
- that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
- And all these blessings shall come on thee…
- But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day;
- that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee…
- The LORD shall smite thee with…blindness, and astonishment of heart…“ (Deuteronomy 28:1-28)
Overlay this template onto the following statements from Paul in Romans 11 quoting Isaiah 43-44 and Psalm 69 and drawing prophecy from Numbers 24.
- Israel [under Jeroboam] hath not obtained that which he seeketh for [blessings and power]
- Isaiah: Thus saith the Lord the [actual] King of Israel…he [Jeroboam, king of Israel] maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.”
- but the election hath obtained it,
- This people have I formed for myself; THEY shall shew forth my praise. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel…Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen…which will help thee; Fear not,
- O Jacob, my servant;
- AND thou, Jesurun / Upright One, whom I have chosen…
- beside me there is no God. And who…shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming…have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God;
- This people have I formed for myself; THEY shall shew forth my praise. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel…Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen…which will help thee; Fear not,
- and the rest were blinded.
- and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
- (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. [In accordance with the trustworthiness of his word – he does what he says he will do for both blessings and curses.]
- They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand…and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
- And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway [as slaves in justice for bowing their backs to idols]
- Let not them that wait on thee, O LORD God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
- Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face…
- For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me…
- let me be delivered from them that hate me…for am in trouble: hear me speedily.
- Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it:
- deliver me because of mine enemies…Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness:
- I looked for some to take pity, but there was none…[So let justice be served] Let THEIR eyes be darkened, that they see not
- For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
- Let not them that wait on thee, O LORD God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
- until THE FULNESS of the Gentiles be come in [to dwell, i.e. permanently, i.e. granted eternal life] as promised through Noah] and SO ALL ISRAEL [which were amalgamated within the Gentiles] shall be saved…
- for thou art my servant: I have formed thee…O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
- as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
- I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me…
- for the LORD hath
- redeemed Jacob,
- AND [by so doing] glorified himself / triumphed over looming defeat in Israel [by achieving the the impossible] keeping his covenant in both separating and remaining unified forever, exactly as he did with the Adams.
- For THIS is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
- That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers;
- as touching the election, they are beloved for the father’s sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
- Balak…king of the Moabites…sent messengers…unto Balaam…saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt…I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me…for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed…And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
- lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his…
- God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?…he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them…according to THIS time [prophecy covers a lot of iterations] it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
- How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! [Everything from this point on is a battle cry – NOT the Seed of the Serpent but MY Seed of the Woman! –using the idioms of the nations who have with forethought and malice seized the land of the Garden East of Eden allocated to his sons / nation] they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side…[Tigris, Euphrates, Nile]
- HE shall pour the water out of HIS buckets, and HIS seed shall be in many waters,
- and HIS king shall be higher than Agag, and HIS kingdom shall be exalted…
- HE he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: HE shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
- He couched, He lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir Him up?
- Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. [standard proclamation of a king granting life to those who accept his rule and wreaking utter destruction on those who defy / curse him.]
- HE shall pour the water out of HIS buckets, and HIS seed shall be in many waters,
- I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh:
-
- there shall come a Star / Divinity Out of [the nation of Jacob [the stars, even all the host of heaven…to worship them, and serve them…the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven]
- and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite… Moab… Sheth…. Edom… Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies…
- Amalek was the first of [held primacy like the “first” lady] the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever…
- the Kenites…Asshur shall carry thee away captive…
- Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
- And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim [settled Mediterranean lands so over time includes Rome], and shall afflict Asshur / Persian Empire, and shall afflict Eber / Hebrews, and he [Chittim, Rome, the fourth empire] also [like the other three from Babylon to Persia to Greece] shall perish for ever.
-
- Balak…king of the Moabites…sent messengers…unto Balaam…saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt…I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me…for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed…And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
Paul is jumping around scripture with the lightening speed of his memory (which is why it’s so hard to keep up with him) and using some clever parallels and tightly knit logic here. It is only when we patiently unravel and line up everything according to the instructional manual that he was following that the lightbulb over our heads blazed on.
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify [increase in importance] mine office:
- If by any means I may provoke to emulation…
- might save some of them... which are my flesh [literally DNA, had lost track of their heritage and identity] ...
- For as ye [some of the Gentiles among the nations] in times past have not believed God,
- yet have now obtained mercy through their [Israel’s] unbelief [in Yeshua’s Savior] [which has once again dispersed Israel among all the pagan nations:
- Even so have these [currently unbelieving] Gentiles also now have not believed,
- they also [like you before] may obtain mercy…through your mercy [which dispersed the gospel throughout all the pagan nations.]
Paul is encouraging us other Gentile believers to have mercy on the unbelieving Israelites in the same manner that Paul had mercy following in the steps of Jesus’ mercy.
He was willing to give his life for them.
“the Jews which were of Asia [who knew Paul on sight], when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place…And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and…went about to kill him…he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.” (Acts 19:1-10)
You don’t think Paul was terrified? Like Peter whose confidence collapsed under those same circumstances to such a degree he denied the Christ? Of course he was.
This is why Paul adds “faint not” and ‘be strong” to the straight-up exhortation to “be willing to die for them.”
“we all…are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;” (II Corinthians 3:18-4:1)
“Thou therefore, my son [in the sense of the sons of the prophets of old], be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
- Commit thou to faithful men the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same who shall be able to teach others also…
- Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ…for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory….
- For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: IF we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us…
- Study…rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Timothy 2)
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
- Now if the… diminishing of them [the Jews through the loss of 10 brother tribes]
- be the riches of the Gentiles [into whom they were amalgamated, along with their promise of an eternal covenant with Almighty God]
- how much more their fulness?…
- if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world [through their spreading of the knowledge of God’s word beyond the bounds of geographical Israel,
- what shall the receiving of them be [by God],
- but life from the dead / RESURRECTION DAY!?”
- “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from…from one end of heaven to the other…(Matthew 24:31)
- with great mercies will I gather thee.” (Isaiah 54:7)
- Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (I Corinthians 2:9)
- Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down…For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” (Isaiah 64:1,4)
Well, now we know why it’s taking so long for John’s appeal – the last words in the Bible – to be answered: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
He is waiting for the restoration of all to the Prince of El / Israel – Jews and Gentiles united under YHVH’s Savior.
Kingdom Come 