Does the church understand that they are part of Israel or they consider themselves separate entity?
In my previous posts, I have expressed my thoughts and doubts regarding modern Christianity which I believe to be based on lies, Apostle Paul being false apostle and the doctrine of Trinity stealing the proper worship of God. We can see that there are significant differences in believes and practices between Jews and Christians, even though we have been called to follow the same God and to observe the same Law. Throughout the history we know that early Christians were actually Jews that followed Jesus. When gospel started to spread out to the Gentiles, back then Gentiles also followed the Law and worshiped God. The differences started to come when Paul the Apostle, which I mentioned in my previous post to be a false aposttle, started to preach a different gospel that we are free from the Law and no longer need to obey the commandments. And the confusion started….
Christianity nowadays has nothing to do with what Jesus came to teach us about. We have replaced the Law with grace, created God as a sugarcoated God and people who go to church only hear motivational speaking preaching to lift them up rather than calling people to repentance. People are confused who we worship, because the God of the Old Testament is so different to the God of the New Testament preached by Paul. Most of the worship, if not all, is given to Jesus, who is the Son of God, and us forgetting about the Heavenly Father who we are called to worship.
When Christianity started to spread through the Roman Catholic church, we have been taught lies and have been indoctrinated through thoughts and believes that are not biblical. Catholic Church as an institution has been a political and economic move that held a lot of power over the people. People didn’t have access to their Bibles during the “dark ages” which only added people’s dependance to the church. This changed with the Protestant move and the church splitting over the differences in their believes, however that church was also heavily influenced by the Catholic church doctrines.
What is Christianity today?
Almost 2 thousand years from Jesus’ death and resurrection, Christianity doesn’t look how it was in the early days. When you say you are a Christian now, you say that you are attached to what the Roman Catholic church built, which is why you follow all their doctrines and your understanding of God is shaped by this indoctrination. You can’t separate yourself from the Roman Catholic church teachings, even if you follow Protestant church, because that church has also been influenced by the Roman Catholic church. The roots of the Catholic church are so strong that all the other denomination that has been created in one way or another are based on the Catholic church teachings.
However, the Bible teaches us that there will be a wild branch that will grow out of the olive tree, which we know is Israel, whom God established covenant with.
First of all, let’s look at the tree where the branches are coming from.
“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.” Psalm 52:8
“The Lord called your name,
Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.
With the noise of a great tumult
He has kindled fire on it,
And its branches are broken.
“For the Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.” Jeremiah 11: 16-17
“So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” Zechariah 4:2-4
“Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”
Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?”
And I said, “No, my lord.”
So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.” Zechariah 4: 11-14
“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.” Revelation 11: 4-5
Therefore we see that there are two olive trees that stand by the Most High God who are two anointed ones and from those olive trees branches are coming of, which are the tribes of Israel and also a grafted in branch – the Gentiles.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jeremiah 23: 5-6
‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A Branch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which She will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ Jeremiah 33: 14-16
This is still to come.
What was the purpose of Gentiles being “grafted in branch”? What does that mean? Does that mean adapting to the teachings of Jews or being completely separate and different entity?
Throughout the Bible, we can see examples of how God was open to anyone outside of the covenant He had with Israel and to be adopted and grafted in, however they had to follow the Law and adhere to the same principles:
“The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.” Exodus 12:49
Here the Lord is highlighting that the “foreigner” would be someone outside of the covenant with God and non-native born Israelite, therefore if they would like to be accepted and observe Passover, they would need to apply to the same law.
“But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.” Exodus 20:10
Again, foreigner is highlighted as someone outside Israel but residing with people, therefore they needed to adjust to the laws and practices of Israel, including the Sabbath. The foreigners were given equal rights and justice as native born Israelites, however the Lord was clear that they also had to adhere to the Law just as Israel did.
“You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born. I am the Lord your God.’” Leviticus 24:22
“The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’” Numbers 15: 15-16
The first example of being “grafted in” we can find in the story of Ruth in the Old Testament.
Ruth was a Moabite woman, which means coming from a pagan nation that did not serve Yah. During the famine times, Ruth lost her husband. Along with her mother -in law Naomi, they travel to Bethlehem in search of better circumstances.
“But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16
Ruth was redeemed by a relative of Naomi from her late husband’s side and she eventually married a wealthy man named Boaz, by whom she bared a son, Obed, who became the grandfather of David and the ancestor of Jesus. Obedience brought Ruth into the privileged lineage of Christ. The important factor is that Ruth was a pagan woman that married a Hebrew, which in those times was unthinkable. However, that marriage allowed Ruth to inherit all the privileges of the Hebrews, therefore making her a rightful heir of God.
This was the first message of God accepting pagan nations through obedience to the Law and this we can also see happening to the Gentiles through Christ:
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3: 26-29
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:17
We can see that it was God’s plan prophesied by Isaiah:
“Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” Isiah 49:6
When Jesus was on earth, his mission and teachings were focused towards the Jews. Jesus wanted to show Jews a different perspective to the Law, obedience through love rather that through an obligation. He showed us how to do it and asked us to follow in his steps. After His death and resurrection, Jesus’ disciples were appointed to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and teach them about the Law:
“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:16:20
In the Book of Acts we see that the transition of the Gentiles sparked some hostility of Jews towards Gentiles.
“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.” Acts 10:45
In Jew’s eyes, only “circumcised” were worthy of the Holy Spirit as they saw uncircumcised as unclean. However they were very much looking with their carnal eyes and through rituals and traditions.
“So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Acts 11: 2-3
“The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’” Acts 11:9
The voice of the Lord spoke from heaven highlighting that God calls everyone clean who believes through faith, therefore it doesn’t matter if someone is circumcised or uncircumcised, as this is just a fleshly ritual.
This resulted in some conflicts and separation of the Jews and Gentiles with Gentiles adopting some new traditions. Jews were critising Gentiles of them practicing the fests and the Sabbaths and their view was that only “seed of Abraham” could be under the covenant with God. However, they did not understand the “spiritual” birth and being a “grafted in branch” that would give the same rights. For God, it’s not about the label, the nationality, the land that matters but the faith and obedience towards God.
“As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” Acts 13: 42-48
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:28-29
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10: 12-13
What was being taught in the New Testament is the same as what was in the Old Testament. When Jesus was on earth, He rebuked Pharisees and all the religious concepts where they were putting limitations on people, excluding people from the right to be a child of God and putting traditions and rituals above the matters of the heart. He simply presented them a new perspective to the Law, the essence and intension behind, not the physical “doing” of the law to tick it of the “to do” list but still having unclean heart but by observing the Law out of love towards God.
Now that we know we are part of Israel and as Israel, under the covenant with the Most Hight God, should we not obey the Law and practice what Israel practices?
“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17: 7-8
“For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.” Isaiah 66: 22-23
Gentiles were supposed to be “adopted” and grafted in into the worship of Yah. We were not supposed to create a new and separate religion based on our understanding. We were supposed to adapt to the Law, observe the commandments that God ordained, worship God and observe the feasts ordained by God, not creating separate celebrations like Christmas and Easter… God, by adopting Gentiles wanted them to reject all those pagan traditions and accept all that God asked His people to do. And Modern Christianity failed God in that mission. They created everything new and different and drifted away from the original purpose of being grafted in branch…
By Dagmara Z.