Kingdom Come

From Romans 10:

“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

There we have it. End of Judaism, beginning of easy believe Christianity.

Or is it?

• For Christ / The Messiah / Anointed Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:25, 29) is the end of the law requiring a substitute animal blood sacrifice  
  • “My time is at hand; I will keep the passover And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of ME [instead of the Passover of Egypt with its yearly sacrifical lamb.]
  • And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26, Luke 22)
• for [establishing God’s] righteousness to every one that believeth…
  • For the scripture saith…there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 

“For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall…bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall…bring up Christ again from the dead.)”

Paul didn’t make up this scenario. Clearly, many Jews were rejecting the claims of Jesus the Christ being the only begotten son of God, proven by his resurrection from the dead, and therefore denying YHVH himself, and their need to be saved from their sin.

Back up a  verse to get the entire argument in view.

“going about to establish their own righteousness, [Israel] have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God…But I say, Did not Israel know?”

Paul doesn’t directly answer that question, but clearly implies “Yes, but rejected the offer.”

“First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.

But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.”

From Acts 18:1-11:

“Paul…came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila…with his wife Priscilla…he abode with them…And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks…and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles [in this city].

And he departed [from the synagogue] and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized…And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

Paul’s curse on the blasphemous Jews applied only to those blasphemous Jews in Corinth, not even all the Jews in Corinth as demonstrated by Crispus. At his next pit stop he again followed his standard procedure of starting a new work with the Jews.

“Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus…And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school [Greek institution, not synagogue] of one Tyrannus [Greek name so Gentile].by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 19:1-10)

Yes, but Paul did say he received special revelation from Jesus about his gospel to the Gentiles, didn’t he? Let’s examine that passage in Galatians 1 hermeneutically.

• “the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it”
  • he got from the Old Testament, as “the holy scriptures…are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ…Preach the word;” (II Timothy 3:15-17, 4:
• “but by the revelation of / revealed by / eyes opened by Jesus Christ…that I might preach him among the heathen;” Three times Paul gives a detailed account of Jesus revealing himself to him. He consistently reports that Jesus’ message was not doctrinal, what we call the gospel of salvation, but strictly marching orders. In Acts 9 and 22 “he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? I am Jesus…And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?…
  • The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
  • For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard…bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel…
  • I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.”

Paul’s vision is confirmed, as required, by a second witness.

“said the Lord in a vision [to] Ananias…enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for…he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake…” (Acts 9:10-16)

“Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” (I Corinthians 9:1)

The qualifications for being an apostle were clearly laid out as being one who “companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22)

This was accomplished by Saul / Paul being one of the Pharisees hounding Jesus during his ministry, therefore he did both “see that Just One…and hear the voice of his mouth.” How else could Paul verify his vision on the road to Damascus as being truly the Lord Jesus? And the third account supports this logical deduction.

From Acts 26:

“fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me…Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?…I am Jesus…I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of

1. these things which thou hast seen [in the past],
2. AND of those things in the which I will appear unto thee [in the future,]

Delivering thee from the people / the Jews, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee.

“when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in / through me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately

• I conferred not with…them which were apostles before me…
• after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter [clearly lobbying for the Gentiles against the Judaizer faction]…
• other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother…
• these who seemed to be somewhat…in conference added nothing to me [as we saw his testimony was brushed aside in the Acts 15 conference.]

James, Cephas / Hebrew translation for Peter, and John, who seemed to be pillars…gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship;

1. that we should go unto the heathen,
2. and they unto the circumcision.” (Galatians 1:15-20, 2:9)

Do you see the apartheid being established? The body of believers in Jesus Christ in its formative years was a Jewish sect desiring to maintain a distinctly Jewish identity.

And Gentile converts were being pressured to become Jews.

Paul’s letter to his first mission churches, established in Galatia during his first mission journey, relentlessly projects Paul’s ostracism from the main body of believers because he promoted Gentile spiritual equality with Jewish believers without conversion to Judaism by circumcision and keeping the entirety of law of Moses to the Jews.

It is easy to interpret Galatians as Christian doctrine versus Judaism which passed away at the cross, but the same passages clearly show that all the Jewish believers in Jesus, the apostles included – DID continue to require circumcision and keeping the law of Moses FOR JEWISH BELIEVERS.

“I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also…and communicated unto them [the Jewish leaders of the church at Jerusalem] that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain [be over-ruled by the majority rule].

because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty [from Jewish practices] which we [associating himself with his Gentile converts] have in Christ Jesus, that they [Jewish believers] might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you…

“when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself…And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him [pretended they never ate with Gentiles].

But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all [not only embarrassing him but disrespecting his high status in the group], If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:1-16

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:12-16)