“Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.” ( II Corinthians 11:22) “of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a [superstrict] Pharisee.” (Philippians 3:5-6)

Paul’s claim to be a Hebrew, and a consummate one at that, confirms that there is a religious significance to this identification, which precedes and is separate from the Israelite national identification, and is important enough for Paul to brag about.

The home New Testament Church was led by ultra-religious James the brother of Jesus in Jerusalem. I’m one of six daughters of a total of nine children and let me tell you the competition for recognition was intense. James must have grown up constantly attempting, and failing, to prove his worth against his perfect older brother Jesus. A perfectionist habit that stuck. It stands to reason that Paul was never made welcome at James’ home church.

Paul’s base was in Gentile Asia, but even Paul’s Gentile churches rejected him when at the end of his ministry he pushed for the Gentiles to identify themselves with Jews. Consider what Paul was asking them to do at this point in history! To share the Jews’ political status as hated enemies and enslaved losers of the 70 AD war. It was the equivalent of establishing a home-mosque in New York City right after 9-11.

With this in mind, re-read Paul’s exhortation to Ephesian Gentile believers.

Continue reading “SECTION XXXVI: Paul Identified As Hebrew”

The Epistle “to the Hebrews” is, completely against protocol, not addressed as such, nor signed off by the author himself anywhere in the letter. However, the traditional title “To the Hebrews” is very old. Clement of Rome seems to know the letter by this title late in the first century…In one of our earliest manuscripts…Hebrews follows Romans, indicating the book was viewed as part of the Pauline collection.

Continuing this tradition, the Council of Carthage (397) and also the Council of Carthage (419)…which took place under the authority of St. Augustine (354–430)… also declared by fiat that Epistle to the Hebrews was written by Paul, for a time ending all debate on the subject.

The significance of the authority of this document’s writer and subject matter is found in the arguments that have been continuously raised against them to this day. For a correct understanding of Paul’s doctrine of the New Testament Church we must recognize its place in the doctrine of the letter to the Hebrews.

Continue reading “179) The Letter To The Hebrews”

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles…he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law…I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles…

“Thus saith the LORD to his anointed / Messiah, to Cyrus the Great, the Persian / Iranian King of kings, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him…that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel…That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else!” Isaiah 42:1-10, 45)

Messiahship does not apply only to Jesus the Christ. The appointment / anointingt had already come to pass with Cyrus the Great, the Persian King of kings before “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen / Messiahed…I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.” (Matthew 12:18)

And after YHVH’s Savior made it possible for humanity to regain the connection to YHVH, it is up to us to accept it, or not.

“ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

• To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,
• and to God the Judge of all,
• and to the spirits of just men made perfect
• And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant…

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom /appointments of rulership which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:18-29)

Continue reading “180) The General Assembly”

“And [on the way to the Promised Land] the children of Israel…pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho. And Balak the son of Zippor [king of the Moabites] saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites…and sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the [Euphates river of the land of the children of his people [Mesopotamia] to call him, saying…Come now therefore, 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.” (Numbers 22:1-6)

The location and widespread fame of the children of “his people” point squarely at one man.

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram…I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great…And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”) Genesis 12:1-2)

Balack king of the Moabites recognized the children of “Israel / Prince of El” as Abram’s nation, and was simply playing the transactional religious game the only way he knew.

“And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth…God is not a man, that he should lie… hath he said, and shall he not do it?…according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion…he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain…Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!” (Numbers 24)

Despite being an outcast of Israel:

“Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword.” (Joshua 13:22)

Balaam is counted a true Melchizedekian prophet of Israel:

“O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.” (Micah 6:5),

As was the great prophet Daniel, despite being an outcast from Israel’s worship system, accepted as a Melchizedek of God. 

Continue reading “181) Outcasts Of Israel Qualify For Leadership”

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees…Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?…All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…how often would I have gathered thy children together…and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate…And Jesus went out, and…his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 23:33-24:2)

Knowing from Jesus’ prophecy that all this would occur on this generation of leadership in Jerusalem, Paul set about establishing a new base of operations. And the city to which all roads in the empire led presented the best option for evangelizing the whole world.

Rome had become home to a vast population of Jews who had been brought back to the capitol of the empire as slaves after wars, or as traders who had immigrated voluntarily for economic opportunities. In 59 BC, the social influencer Cicero noted their separatist tendencies from pagan Roman society. “You know what a big crowd it is, how they stick together, how influential they are in informal assemblies….the great section of Rome on the other side of the Tiber is occupied and inhabited by Jews…they have houses of prayer and meet together in them, particularly on the sacred Sabbaths when they receive as a body of training in their ancestral philosophy.”

Unfortunately, just as back in Judea, the religious leaders were opposed to accepting Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. In 41 AD, after 16 years of witness testimony of his resurrection could not be denied or suppressed even when met with punishment and death, in AD 41 the Emperor Claudius ordered the Jews not to hold meetings, and in AD 49 Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. “because in their resentment against Christ they were continually creating disturbances.” 

And by ~AD 61 “when about a decade later Paul arrived in Rome and called the chief of the Jews together “they said unto him…we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.” (Acts 28)

By the Jews.

Because by AD 58 when Paul wrote “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints…your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:7-8) he was writing to “Gentiles” (Romans 1:13) Continue reading “182) Paul Transfers Hebrew Kingdom Rule To Gentiles”

A prophesy by Isaiah on faithless Israel:

1. “Who raised up the righteous man from the east [Abram] gave the nations before him [Abraham], and made him rule over kings [as Melchizedek]?…calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD…
2. thou, Israel, art MY servant / slave in the sense of a permanent relationship, Jacob whom I have chosen [to fight with me], the seed / descendant / generation of Abraham my friend…and said unto thee, THOU art my [permanent] servant; I have chosen / Messiahed THEE, and NOT cast thee away.” (Isaiah 41:1-9)

Sooo, what happens when God’s Chosen rejects him?

“Thus saith the LORD…they

• • have chosen their own ways
  • delighteth in abominations
  • did not hear [when I spake]
  • did evil before mine eyes
  • shall be ashamed…not simply embarrassed,but brought to utter ruin…
  • and the slain of the LORD shall be many…that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves shall be consumed together, saith the LORD...

“I will gather all nations and tongues…

World War!

Continue reading “183) Israel Among The Gentiles”

Dispensationalism is a theological system of interpretation that makes a distinction between the church and the nation of Israel. Its roots are found in the earliest days of the apostate Christian church. 

Justin Martyr is an imposing figure in the days of the early church, a philosopher by trade, and very skilled in the art of rhetoric. Justin noticed “several different economies”, i.e. dispensations, in the Old Testament in which history is revealed. There was an age prior to circumcision, an age prior to the law, and an age after the law. 

Not according to Paul, there wasn’t.

Paul himself proved by his obedience to the law that he remained a law-abiding Jew to his death – as was Jesus the Christ. It is only Gentiles who are not required to follow certain elements of the law, such as circumcision, since these don’t apply to God’s people not living in the land of Israel.

Continue reading “184) God Has Not Cast Away The Jews”

Judas and Peter demonstrate the difference between “love waxing cold” like cold wax preventing adherence, and a lit wax candle “enduring to the end”.

From Matthew 27:

• Judas: “when he saw that [Jesus] was condemned” – he just wanted Jesus’ megalomania cut down to ordinary human status – “brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” Obviously he did not believe Jesus’ claims to be the Promised Savior from sin and death.
• Peter’s response to his own betrayal of the Christ is the opposite of Judas’ despair, and it is through his relationship with his rival John that he is restored to fellowship with the Christ.
  • “Mary Magdalene…cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved…” Get it? John didn’t repudiate Peter for his betrayal, and Peter didn’t run away from the fellowship of apostles like Judas did.
  • Peter and that other disciple came to the sepulchre” to face down Rome’s soldiers!
  •  Simon Peter, and…the sons of Zebedee / James and John and [four]other of his disciples go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee…Jesus stood on the shore… that disciple whom Jesus loved [sparking Peter’s rivalry] saith It is the Lord. Simon Peter [impetuously as usual] cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship…Jesus saith to Simon Peter, lovest thou me more than these? [More than John who you simultaneously compete with for dominance and bond with for elevated status as his closest friend, who you depend on for emotional and spiritual support?]
    • “He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” Didn’t I prove it when I reversed my denial of you by risking my life to go to the tomb?
    • “He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” In essence, stop focusing your attention on status with the big shots! Focus on the needs of the little people!
    • “He saith unto him again the second time, Lovest /bond with thou me? Feed my sheep”.
    • “He saith unto him the third time…Feed my sheep.” The best way I know how to understand this is the prophecy by Zechariah. “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd [Jesus], and against the man that is [promising to be] my fellow / partner [applying to Peter]…smite the shepherd [Jesus], and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones / lambs. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land…two parts therein shall be cut off and die…And I will bring the third part through the fire…they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”
    • “Verily, verily, I say unto thee…when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands…and carry thee whither thou wouldest not…signifying by what death he should glorify God.” The very crucifixion he feared so greatly that he denied Christ just a few days before. “And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.”  Get it? To the cross! “Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following…saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him…[What did I just tell you? Forget about the big people!] what is that to thee? follow thou me.”

Fortunately for Peter – and all the rest of us – one, or even many failures – does not doom us to an eternity separated from God. God gives opportunity after opportunity to get things right with him.

And that is true not only on a personal level but on the national. God’s plans are irrevocable.

• “And God said…and it was so.” (Genesis 1)
• “my word…that goeth forth out of my mouth…shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
• “all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet…This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (Matthew 24:6)

Continue reading “185) The Cycling Signs Of The Times”

When YHVH’s Savior told the rulers of Israel “Ye shall not see me [your King] henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matthew 23:29-36) he remained 100% consistent with the extension of timelines from previous scripture beginning with the establishment of the nation of Israel.

1. “if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments…that ye break my covenant…
   1. I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague…ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you
2. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me,
   1. then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
3. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me;
   1. I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
4. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things…
   1. I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
5. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me…
   1. I will chastise you seven times for your sins.” (Leviticus 26)

Continue reading “186) It Takes As Long As It Takes”