Grafted In - Our Identity in Christ

Grafted In Our Identity in Christ

Grafted In Our Identity in Christ ©2014 Steve Gustine, Ada, Oklahoma All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Scripture quotations are primarily from the New American Standard Bible, © 1995, The Lockman Foundation, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Other scripture quotations are from the King James Version Bible, or from the Complete Jewish Bible, David H. Stern, © 1998, Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, MD, or from the New International Version Bible, © 2011, International Bible Society.

ISBN-13: 978-1503088061

ISBN-10: 1503088065

Acknowledgements I want to thank Connie Baten for allowing me to use her artwork, titled “Forgetting Not Our Roots,� for the cover. If you would like to see more of her work, go to: Art by Connie Baten

http://society6.com/artbyconniebaten/forgettingnot-our-roots_print#1=45

Also a special thank you to Ruth Pell for editing and also Nikki Gustine and Edwina Lowry for their valuable contributions.

Foreward

by Ruth Pell

Who are we as believers? We all know that we’re God’s children because we’re saved through faith in Messiah Yeshua, but is that all there is to it? Who is Yeshua that He can save us? For what purpose were we saved? Who were God’s people before Yeshua arrived in Bethlehem, and are they still His people today?

Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans: For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

Romans 11:24 NASB

We are the wild branches (Gentiles) grafted into the cultivated olive tree (Israel), whose natural branches are the descendants of Jacob (Israel), also called the Jews. We are grafted “contrary to nature” because we have not been raised to think of ourselves as part of God’s chosen nation.

Clearly, though, once we are chosen by Him to be forever

counted as one of His children, we are part of His holy nation.

Notice that even the natural branches, broken off for their unbelief, have to be grafted back into their own tree – not into a new tree. There is only one tree, one people, one nation of God, and only one Redeemer who can graft us in.

This concept sounds so simple, but in practice it explains the deepest mysteries of the human race and our relationship with our Creator. It explains why we were created, why we were chosen, how we are to worship our King and how we are to live with each other. In short, it’s the answer to every question, the solution to every problem, the reason why each of us is here.

This book will help you search out the truth of this mystery, so that you can find in the Scriptures the path to growing deeper in your faith and fulfilling God’s purpose for your life.

Table of Contents

 Introduction ............................................... 1 Foundational Principles ............................ 5 The Deception ......................................... 14 The Purpose of the New Covenant ......... 33 The Spiritual Seed ................................... 42 Who are Really the Children of Israel? .... 49 The Conclusion of the Matter .................. 58



Introduction

Today we have in our society many things we hold near and dear to our hearts—things that might not have their basis in truth but rather in traditions that have been handed down to us from previous generations. These are things we have been taught by our parents, grandparents, and so on.

We know that if a story is not passed down accurately from one generation to the next, the true story can be lost or perhaps twisted and all kinds of things that weren’t originally true start to creep in and distort what was, at one time, Absolute Truth. This is why God commanded His people to read the Word of God to their children each generation.

Tell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons, And their sons the next generation.

Joel 1:3 NASB

Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2 NASB

We know that as time passes, things change in our civilization and in our religious philosophies. We gradually lose some of the original foundational principles that God put down in His Word for us to live by.

What do we, being two thousand years removed from the days when Messiah walked the face of the earth, accept as truth? How does our truth compare to things that have been given to us from those who pioneered the trail of our faith, the Fathers of early Church history? Do we really have a firm grasp on the written Word of God, in order to be able to distinguish Truth from Tradition? Not all tradition is bad, but we

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must never put it in a position where it overrides the Truth of scripture, thus making the Word null and void as some of the early rabbis did in the first century, before and even after the time of Messiah.

While we consider this question, we also need to consider the passages in the New Testament where Paul is teaching about the Church being grafted in. Is this really the first time this principle was laid down? Is it possible that this principle has been true from the very foundation of the world?

Many would disagree and argue very strongly against the idea. But then, if we truly are seekers of God and His Word, if we truly only want to worship Him in spirit and Truth, then we must come down to the honest facts about this major issue, this “Great Deception,� that has been handed down to generation after generation over the last 1900 years.

The BIG question is this: Who is the Church? Is the Church really a new entity as we have been taught all our lives, or did the Church really start four thousand years ago? When we come to the conclusion of our investigation, this is probably the number one pivotal question that needs to be answered; the rest of our

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faith depends on us getting this question of the ages answered correctly.

You see, if we have been duped and deceived into believing a lie, everything we are in Him is not based on a solid foundation. For a sure and solid foundation, there needs to be concrete Truth of who we are, so that we can build our house one stone at a time.

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.

Isaiah 28:10 KJV

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Matthew 7:24 KJV

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Foundational Principles

Now before we get into what it means to be “Grafted In,� we must set some foundational principles.

First, we have to establish how many sets of rules there are for Israel and for the Gentiles who want to worship the God of Israel.

We have been taught through the ages that there are two sets of rule books: the Old Testament for the Jews and the New Testament for the Christians. Even the rabbis of old taught there were two sets for the Old Testament saints. Israel had to obey the whole law of God, the Torah, whereas the Gentiles only had to obey seven laws, called the Noahide laws. The trouble is that this idea came from rabbinic tradition; in other words, man-made traditions and rules.

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By doing a careful investigation of God’s Word, we find that He only gave His people one instruction book, one set of rules—one law for the native born Israelite, and the same law for the Gentile wishing to follow the God of Israel.

The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.

Exodus 12:49 NASB

Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 24:22 KJV

As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual (Olam) statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD.

Numbers 15:15 NASB

Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.

Numbers 15:29 KJV

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We see here that the Lord tells us that it is a perpetual statute. Perpetual literally means forever, without ever ending. The Hebrew word for perpetual is olam, which means to never cease, without end, and that includes up to the time of the end, when Yeshua (Jesus) comes back for His bride.

So we see here four different witnesses where the Lord tells us plainly that there is only ONE Law for the native born Israelite and the stranger that lives with them. That word stranger in the original Hebrew is the word ger, Strong’s #H1616, which means Goyim, or Gentile as we know it today. Nowhere in His Word does God tell us there are two sets of rules, one for native-born Israelite and another for those Gentiles who wanted to join in and become part of Israel and worship the God of Israel by following His rules.

You see, when Israel went into Egypt they were only a family of about 70 people, but when they came out with over two million plus people, they came out as a nation. They were now a country, but a country without a constitution and ultimately a set of rules. This is where they were delivered out of bondage by the blood of the lamb (salvation), then baptized through the Red Sea, and then brought to Sinai to be given the new nation’s constitution, the rules that would govern that nation and set them apart as a peculiar and set-apart people unto God.

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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.

Exodus 19:5-6 KJV

We see this same language in the New Testament from Peter when he tells the believers in Messiah:

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1 Peter 2:9 NASB

This God-principle of being grafted in was set down from the very beginning of time and continues to this day. You see, even Abraham wasn’t a Hebrew until he made a conscious decision to follow and obey the Creator of the Universe. It was at that point that he crossed over and became the first Hebrew. That is what the word Hebrew actually means: it is pronounced “Ivri” and means to cross over, in the spiritual sense, from darkness into light. This is what hap-

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pens to us when we accept the Messiah as our Savior.

We cross over from darkness into light.

Now something I find very encouraging about how this process of salvation and sanctification works is this: We know that Abraham was saved long before he followed the law, specifically the law concerning circumcision.

Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Righteous/Saved)

Genesis 15:6 NASB

It wasn’t until a bit later on that we see Abraham following one of God’s commandments to be circumcised, (Sanctified/set-apart/Holy).

Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Genesis 17:24 NASB

So this is the same pattern I see today of how we walk out our salvation daily with fear and trembling.

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So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12-13 NASB

We are saved by putting the blood of the lamb over the doorpost of our hearts (Justification), we then go through the Red Sea and get baptized, putting the old man to death and arising to a newness of life in Messiah. We then must continue on to Sinai to get the instructions on living a life holy unto our God.

This Royal Law given to us by our King is our road map, or owner’s manual, given to us by our creator, and details how to function properly in His Kingdom.

Not only is it the constitution of God’s holy nation, but it is also our wedding contract. In Hebrew it’s called a Ketubah, where the husband tells the wife that He will take care of her, provide for her, love her in sickness and in health and take care of her every need… all she has to do is say “Yes, I do.” This is what the children of Israel did when they agreed to the wedding contract.

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All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do!" And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

Exodus 19:8 NASB

Now concerning the issue of how many sets of rules there are for God’s people, where might we find this “one law” concept brought forth into the writings of the New Testament apostles? Let’s see what Paul tells us about the subject:

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Romans 10:12 KJV

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Yeshua.

Galatians 3:28 KJV

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew…

Colossians 3:10-11 KJV

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Not only is there no difference in God’s eyes between the Jew and the Gentile (Christian), but we also see there is only supposed to be “One Faith,” not 41,000 different denominations. For a list you can go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_Christian_denominations

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:4-6 NASB

Note that there is supposed to be only “One Faith,” called “The Way.” Yes, this thing wasn’t intended to be a whole new religion, but rather a sect of Judaism called” The Way.” I know that is a tough one for most believers to swallow, but it is true from scripture.

Even Paul confesses it when he says:

But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect (of Judaism) I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets;

Acts 24:14 NASB (Italics and parentheses are added for clarification.)

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So the point is that there is only “One Body” according to Paul and the New Testament. It seems pretty clear to me from scripture that there are not supposed to be two bodies: the Jews and the Christians. Now yes, both sides need Messiah, but both sides also need the constitution of God. That constitution is the five books of Moses, the Torah, which was given to His people, those He calls in His Word, “Israel.”

Paul was not teaching something new. It was the exact same teaching that was handed down by the Lord thousands of years before Yeshua walked on this earth.

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The Deception

So, if there has always been one law for the nativeborn Israelite and Gentile believers alike, how did we get so far off course? Well, it actually started with the Scribes (teachers of the Law) and the Pharisees. After Judah (the Jews) came out of the Babylonian captivity in 539 BC, they established their own set of guidelines and instructions, their own commandments for men to follow.

To be fair, I am sure they all meant well. They wanted to build a “fence” around God’s Law to make it more difficult for believers to transgress the law and risk another exile. But God never instructed mankind to build a fence around His Law.

Yeshua took issue with the Pharisees and teachers of the Law because they held their own man-made tradi-

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tions and commandments in higher esteem than God’s Law. These fence laws added to and took away from His word. We never see anywhere that Yeshua came against them for obeying God’s Law. He only came against their elevation of the rabbis’ oral law, their man-made traditions, when they used it to supersede or make null and void the written Law of God.

… thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.

Mark 7:13 NASB

We even see this to be a problem when the rabbis started trying to force their man-made laws on the early Gentile believers that were new to the faith having just come to Messiah.

Paul was constantly fighting this same problem with most of the churches that he established and continued to write to. These types of man-made laws show up over and over in the New Testament. For example:

And he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.”

Acts 10:28 NASB

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This is a fine example of how man-made commandments, the rabbinic Oral Tradition, continued to cause trouble for the early apostles and even Paul. There is no place in the written Law of God that states it is unlawful for an Israelite to associate with a Gentile, especially one that wanted to join the commonwealth of Israel and be grafted in (known as a “God-fearer,” which is what Cornelius was considered to be). This is why Peter said that God had shown him not to call any man unclean. That passage had nothing to do with food, but rather that Gentiles were not to be considered unclean.

The real issues had to do with the two major schools of thought in Judaism at the time. On one side you had the “House of Shammai,” which Peter was a part of.

Then on the other side you had the “House of Hillel,” under whose teaching Paul was brought up. This is why Paul stated:

I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

Acts 22:3 NASB

Paul learned at the feet of Gamaliel, the grandson of “Hillel the Great” who founded the “House of Hillel.”

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To make it simple, the followers of Hillel were sympathetic to the Gentiles that wanted to come into the Jewish faith, whereas those of Shammai were just the opposite. The House of Shammai did everything they could to keep Gentiles separated from the Jews and their religion. This is one of the reasons why God sent Paul to be the messenger to the Gentiles; he was brought up to be sympathetic towards them. This is another reason why Paul and Peter were always butting heads. Because Peter was part of the “House of Shammai,” his buddies were not too friendly to the Gentiles that were coming into the faith. This is why Paul rebuked Peter publically when he shunned the Gentiles when his fellow Jewish friends showed up on the scene. Peter was being two-faced and Paul confronted him over this issue.

But 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, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

Galatians 2:11-13 KJV

We find this concept of Gentiles being “grafted in” even back to the ancestors of the Messiah. Yeshua’s

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genealogy could be traced back to include Gentile blood intermingled with that of His Jewish lineage.

Ruth was a Moabite woman who chose to follow the God of Israel, and thus became “grafted in” and became part of Israel.

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

Ruth 1:16 NASB

Remember Rahab, the woman who helped the two Israelite spies sent by Joshua to Jericho? She not only became grafted into Israel, but, like Ruth, was also a part of Yeshua’s lineage as we read in Matthew:

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.

Matthew 1:5 NASB

The “joining in” of these Gentiles to Israel is evidence of God’s grafting-in principal, as seen long before Paul taught it in the book of Romans. As a Gentile, once you have been grafted into the “commonwealth of Israel,” you then become entitled to the same blessings

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and provisions the Almighty offers to the native-born Israelite, if you obey the terms of the covenant contract (i.e. the Torah).

But you might be asking yourself, what is it really that establishes us as part of the “chosen” people of God? Do we have to be part of the lineage of the Hebrews that goes all the way back to Abraham?

Even the Pharisees thought they were part of the children of God, because they had the DNA and were from the physical lineage of Abraham, yet what did Yeshua tell them?

Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil.

John 8:42-44 KJV

So even Paul taught us that just being of the physical line of Abraham wasn’t enough to get you into the club.

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…For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.

Romans 9:6 KJV

You see, just because one is of the physical line of Abraham doesn’t automatically mean he is also of the “spiritual seed” of Abraham; there is more to it. Even James, the younger brother of our Messiah, tells us that just believing in Yeshua is not enough, it has to be coupled with action. The Hebrew faith is a faith of action, not just intellectual head knowledge. This is the Hebraic thought pattern of what real faith is… doing what you believe. Even though believing is the first step, without the doing part, it means nothing.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

James 2:21-24 KJV

Those are tough words there, but I didn’t say them; James did. You see, if we don’t obey God and do what He tells us to do in His Word, we really don’t believe in

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Him. It’s that simple. There is coming a time when all of us will stand before Yeshua and to some of us He will say…

Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you!

Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!

Matthew 7:23 NASB

That term “workers of lawlessness” means those that don’t think they need to obey the commandments of God. Yes, I am talking about all the commandments that Yeshua gave to the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai.

Did you catch that? Yeshua (Jesus) is God. Yeshua is the Word made flesh. Every jot and tittle of our Holy Bible was given by His inspiration.

We all know there is only one Person that can save us and that Person is none other than Yeshua the Messiah, the Savior from Nazareth. James tells us that the One that saves us is the same person as the One who gave the law at Mt. Sinai.

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy…

James 4:12 NASB 21

So, right there we see plain evidence that the Savior is the Lawgiver as well. This shines the light a bit better on the words Yeshua spoke when He said to us:

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 14:15 NASB

He told the “workers of lawlessness” to go away from Him because He didn’t know them. So then how do we know that we know Him, and that He knows us?

This question used to haunt me as a young man growing up in the Pentecostal realm of the Assembly of God church that I was part of in my twenties. As a child I was baptized Presbyterian, and then got saved in the Baptist church at the age of 8 while going to a Catholic school. In my twenties I started going to our local Assembly of God church, then went on to be in a few other charismatic non-denomination assemblies. No wonder my friends thought I was so messed up.

But in all those different stages of my life, I knew that Yeshua was my Savior, even though at the time I didn’t know that was His name. I believe we are only accountable to walk within the light that He has given

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us. Each of those stages in my life were stepping stones. I started learning more at each level, but deep inside I always knew there was some piece of the puzzle that was missing. In each one of the levels in my spiritual walk with Messiah, there were always a lot of questions that no one could seem to answer.

I knew I was a New Testament spirit-filled, bornagain, full-gospel Christian, but what did the label “Christian” really mean? How do we know that the denomination we are part of is really the right one?

After all, all 41,000 denominations can’t be right when the Bible tells us there is only one faith and one body and one way. Of course Yeshua is the way, there is no disagreement there, but how we walk out our faith is where all the questions come into play for each and every one of us.

The passage that always haunted me is this one: Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Matthew 7:21-23 NASB

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This passage always bothered me because it sounded just like the Charismatic churches I was attending.

The gifts of the spirit were flowing and people were sometimes even getting healed, but something still was missing and for a long time I never could put my finger on it. We have to take note of something very important in this passage. It wasn’t the people receiving the miracles and healing that God was rejecting, but rather the people that were doing the prophesying, casting out of demons, and performing the miracles.

These were the people Messiah was rejecting, but why?

There are two key things we find out when we examine the Hebrew behind the words. A brilliant Hebrew scholar I know teaches that we can find the meaning of all the words in our Bibles, without having to look past the first few chapters of Genesis. All the words in our Bibles get their meaning from the beginning of the book and can be carried down through the rest of our scriptures, all the way to the end of the book of Revelation.

So let’s look back to the first time the word “knew” is used. We find it in Genesis concerning Adam and Eve.

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And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

Genesis 4:1 KJV

This Hebrew word is Strong’s #3045, “Yada.” The word means to have a strong intimate relationship with that person as in a husband and wife relationship. Doesn’t this make sense since we are to be the “Bride of Christ?”

'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Matthew 7:23 NASB

The second clue He gives us is the word “lawlessness.”

This word is sometimes translated as iniquity, as it is in the King James, but what does the word really mean? This word in the Greek is “Anomia.”

G458

ανομία

anomia

an-om-ee'-ah

From G459; illegality, that is, violation of law or (generally) wickedness: - iniquity, X transgression of the law, unrighteousness.

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So, we see that it speaks of those who are transgressing the law. What law do you think He is concerned with? It surely isn’t our city, state, or federal laws, is it? I don’t think so. This is a spiritual book, speaking of His own spiritual Royal Law, the Law of God.

He is telling those who confess the Messiah, calling Him “Lord, Lord,” and performing many miracles in His name, to go away because He doesn’t know them, because they didn’t have that strong, intimate relationship with Him as He so desired to have with them.

Could it be because they determined they didn’t have to obey all of His commandments?

We have to decide which of two groups of believers we want to be part of. Yeshua gives us the conditions of the two groups and what you have to do or not do to join one of those two when He says:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19 KJV

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And yes I know, we have all been taught as young children that Yeshua came to fulfill the Law for us so we don’t have to do it, but let’s think about it for a moment from a common sense perspective. If fulfill means to do away with or to destroy, was He telling us:

Do not think that I came to destroy (do away with) the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy (do away with) but to fulfill (do away with).

Makes no sense right? If fulfill means to do away with or to complete, that is what we are saying He said, and that makes absolutely no sense to me.

Let’s look at another time He uses this word fulfill, which in the Greek is “pleroo.”

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

Matthew 3:15 KJV

Now, we have to ask ourselves an honest question: Do we really think Yeshua is telling us that He came to do

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away with all righteousness? I don’t think so, and I don’t think you do either.

G4137

πληρόω

plēroō

play-ro'-o

From G4134; to make replete, satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), accomplish, after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.

So even though one of the meanings of fulfill can mean to complete and accomplish, we have to look at the context of how it is being used. The other meaning that seems correct, considering the context, is to “fully preach.” Let’s see how the Apostle Paul uses this word when speaking of himself:

…in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Romans 15:19 NASB

So we see this word “pleroo” can be and is used to mean “fully preach.” Now considering this possibility, is it possible that Messiah was telling the crowd….

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Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to (pleroo) fully preach the Gospel?

Matthew 5:17

I think personally this makes a lot more sense considering the context in which it is given, because if He really did come to do away with the Law, why would He then say:

Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19 KJV

There is so much just in these few verses to consider.

The first question I have is this: Have heaven and earth passed away yet? If the answer is no, then He tells us that not one jot or tittle will be done away with from the Torah until all is fulfilled (#G1096, ginomai, “come to pass�), which also begs the question: Has all been fulfilled yet? Has all come to pass? I am sure you all know that the answer is no, of course not.

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Yeshua came to fulfill the spring feasts of the Lord by fulfilling Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and even Shavuot, known as Pentecost. Yet, He still has to fulfill all of the fall feasts at His second return, which are Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur (day of Judgment) and finally Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles.

So ultimately only about half of the prophecies concerning Messiah have been fulfilled at this time.

So He describes the two groups we can be in. We can choose the one that is considered “least” in the kingdom, or one He calls “great” in the kingdom. He give us the choice as to which one we want to be in and what we have to do or not do to qualify to be in either group. He says the least are the ones who break even the least of His commandments, while those he calls great are the ones that do their best to keep and to also teach others to keep the commandments of God.

I finally got an answer to my age-old question of how to know that we really know Him. It was right there in front of me the whole time; I just had to see it. We are told simply:

The way we can be sure we know him is if we are obeying his commands. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

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but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.

1 John 2:3-5 NASB

Let us not forget that Yeshua is the Creator of us all.

He is the one that gave us all the commandments at Mt. Sinai to start with. He was the One who was with the Church when she was born in the wilderness after she left Egypt and went to Sinai to get her wedding contract, the Ketubah. Contrary to popular belief, the Church was not born at Pentecost. Let’s look at the book of Acts (parenthetical comments and emphases are mine).

This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet (Yeshua) shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he (the Prophet/Yeshua), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles (God breathed commandments) to give unto us:

Acts 7:37-38 KJV

So, we see here that it was Yeshua who gave us all the commandments at Sinai. We all agree that He is our Savior and the Word tells us the same one that saves us is the same one who gave us “The Law,” the Torah.

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There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

James 4:12 NASB

So once the Church realizes Her identity, that she is really part of the same Israel and not a separate entity created at Pentecost (which would be one that is outside of the covenants of Israel), then that realization becomes a game changer. She then realizes that all the covenants and promises that were made to Israel are really legally hers as well. She then will realize that the first part of the book (OT) is for her instruction as well as for those people who are native-born and live in Israel, the ones who have returned to the Promised Land.

A fundamental principle that most believers have not grasped hold of, one that was laid down from Creation, one that many believers still struggle with is this: What part of the book (Bible) is for them? Is it only the end of the book, the New Testament, or does the modern-day believer need to live by what is written in the beginning of the book, starting in Genesis? Most of us have been taught that the Old Testament has been done away with and is only for the Jews and not the Christians. This is a major theological error and has been perpetrated by the enemy of our souls for the last 1900 years.

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The Purpose of the New Covenant

So many of us—myself included—have been taught from early childhood that the Law, the Torah, has been done away with, as it concerns the modern-day Christian believer and that only the New Covenant was applicable to our lives. I had to take a second look at this New Covenant, seeing as how it is the foundation of our faith.

I started asking myself, how much did I really know about the New Covenant? Is it only where Yeshua told us about His blood being the down payment for the New Covenant? Were there any other places where the Bible describes the New Covenant, who it is given to, and what its purpose is?

I found the answer in verses within the book of Jeremiah. It blew my mind and changed my whole life when I read these words.

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"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law (Torah) within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

Jeremiah 31:31-33 NASB

Wow, I thought, how do I handle these verses as a Christian? How do I fit in if the New Covenant wasn’t given to the Church but rather to the “House of Judah” (Jews) and the “House of Israel,” (those that were scattered into the Assyrian captivity and called “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”)?

Then, that prompted me to ask even more questions about what Yeshua meant when He said:

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 15:24 KJV

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But we won’t get sidetracked onto a whole different rabbit trail discussing the answers to these questions.

I take great comfort in God’s word when He tells us:

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Proverbs 25:2 KJV

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 29:29 KJV

The main point that I took away from the New Covenant verses in Jeremiah 31 was not only who He gave the New Covenant to, but also the purpose of it. The purpose, He tells us, is this:

I will put My law (Torah) within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:33 NASB

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The purpose of the New Covenant was not only for us to have and to live by God’s Holy and Royal Law, His Torah, but that it was to become such a part of us that it would literally be written on our hearts. How can this happen if we are constantly told it was abolished, done away with, and nailed to the cross?

We know that the Yeshua put the down payment for the New Covenant with His blood, but we are not fully realizing the entire extent of the New Covenant as of yet, because Jeremiah goes on to tell us:

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:

Jeremiah 31:34 KJV

We know we are not there yet because we aren’t at the point where don’t have to teach our neighbor about the Lord…and for sure we can’t say that they all know Him, as it says, from the least to the greatest. When we walk into the Millennial kingdom and reign with Messiah (or rather fly over to Israel to be with Him, as we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye one day and be with Him forever more, but it won’t be in Heaven, it will be in Jerusalem), Messiah will be teaching all nations (Gentiles) the Torah from there.

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And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations (Gentiles) shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law (Torah), and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:2–3 KJV

Consider this verse where Paul instructs us concerning what part of the book is for our instruction and doctrine and learning how to walk a Holy life before our God:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

Now ask yourself a question and please try to answer honestly: What scripture do you think Paul was talking about? Is Paul talking about the New Testament?

Is it even historically possible for him to be talking about the New Testament? No, it was the same scriptures that Yeshua, His disciples, and Paul had in those days to study and learn to live by.

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The ONLY scripture they had was the Old Testament, called the Tanakh in Hebrew. There was NO New Testament at this point in time! So every sermon Yeshua or the disciples preached was preached using the Old Testament scriptures. Every one of them.

It would be almost one hundred years afterward that what we know now as the New Testament would come into being. The books of the canon of the New Testament were written mostly in the first century and finished with the book of Revelation around 95AD.

According to Wikipedia.com, “For the Orthodox Church, the recognition of these writings as authoritative was formalized in the Second Council of Trullan of 692, although it was nearly universally accepted in the mid-300s.�

Now, I am not saying that the New Testament is not the inspired Word of God. Of course it is, and we are supposed to obey all the commandments in there as well. But something that most people do not really understand is this: the commandments in the New Testament are not NEW! They are repeated right from the Old Testament. Plus, Yeshua expounded on them, not only retelling the written commandments

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but also explaining the sometimes hidden and expanded spiritual aspects of the Law, just like when He said:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5:21-22 KJV

So as I like to say, you can see right here that Yeshua didn’t come to do away with the Torah or the Law of God, NO…He came to make it tougher actually, if we really want to be honest with ourselves. Not only do you have to obey the written physical aspects of God’s Law, but now you have to obey its spiritual applications as well. You see, doing or not doing something in the physical realm is one thing, but even more important is what is in your heart!

All the commandments are not only to be observed in the physical realm but also have a higher level, the spiritual level, and that is when we obey them from our hearts, not just looking for the loopholes to jump through to get around them. That’s what Yeshua came to do, to expound and elevate the written Torah

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by fully teaching us the higher spiritual aspects of His instructions.

You see that is really the correct and full meaning of “Torah.” It doesn’t really mean law, as we think of it here in America. Torah does contain some laws, but the fuller, more complete meaning of Torah is “instructions.” The word Torah is derived from the Hebrew word “yara,” which means to hit the mark, like shooting an arrow. The root of the Hebrew word for sin is “Chata,” which many of you already know means to miss the mark. That is why sin is transgressing the Torah.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law (Torah): for sin is the transgression of the law (Torah)

1 John 3:4 KJV Just that one verse alone should make your jaws drop wide open. I know it did for me, when I read it with new eyes. Even the New Testament is stating very plainly that sin is transgressing, or not keeping, the Torah. How can anyone dispute that fact? Even James calls the Law the Royal Torah:

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If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law (Torah) according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.

James 2:8 NASB

Pilate asked the age-old question: What is Truth? It’s the Word of God that defines what Truth is. Let’s take a look at what the Lord Himself defines as Truth.

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law (Torah) is truth.

Psalm 119:142 NASB

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The Spiritual Seed

We know that scripture tells us that the Word is the seed, and if the seed is truly in us, then it can only produce one thing, and that is good fruit. That seed will only produce the same fruit that was evident in the life of our Messiah and that fruit was obedience to the law of God.

Most seed was designed from the beginning to do only one thing, produce like kind; apples seeds don’t produce oranges; like kind only produces like kind. So if the fruit was Messiah keeping the law, that same seed in us is supposed to produce the same fruit, which is that we too are supposed to keep the law of God. The evidence or proof of that seed really being in us is the fruit we produce, which is obeying and keeping His commandments. This whole thing has never ever been about physical lineage; it has always been about the faith in us that produces our walk. This is the seed that has traveled throughout time and seen in God’s

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people, including Noah, Abraham, Moses, all the way through to Yeshua and His followers.

When we go back to the beginning of the book, we will see God describe how we become part of “His people.”

He says:

That you may enter into the covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath which the LORD your God is making with you today, in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 29:12-13 NASB

Again, as we have talked about before, it has nothing to do with whether you are from the loins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; rather it’s all about the way you live and your faith and how you act out that faith by obedience to His Word.

He goes on to tell us that the ones that He calls His children are the ones that walk in His covenant. Let’s take a look:

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Now not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath, but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God and with those who are not with us here today.

Deuteronomy 29:14-15 NASB

Now this is something extremely important here that most people read right over, and that is the phrase: “those who are not with us here today.�

Who could that be talking about? Yes, you got it! It is talking about all those descendants that would come after that generation, even up unto the Last Generation. Yes, that is you and me, those of us that are alive even today and including the last generation.

In fact, Revelation tells us that we must keep the commandments to enter through the gates into the city:

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Revelation 22:14 NASB

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This is the reason that Messiah told us He didn’t come to abolish the Law, the Torah. Why? Because it is for you and me today as well as for the native-born Israelites, whether living in “the Land” or anywhere else we might live.

You see, if you want to look at it from a purely technical viewpoint, the Torah (God’s Law) was not really given to the Gentiles. In fact, the God of Israel has never made a covenant with a group of Gentiles. The Almighty has ONLY made a covenant with His Chosen People, Israel, and that my friend is not only Judah (the Jews) but also the “House of Israel” and those from the nations (Gentiles) that wanted to be grafted into Israel; all of which is the “Whole House of Israel.”

Let’s look at it from God’s perspective. He tells us when we become grafted into Israel that there is only ONE body, ONE Holy Nation (Israel), and that one body is to have only ONE Law, one set of instructions for that ONE body. This body, this nation, is called the Church, or more accurately, “The Assembly,” in the New Testament. In Greek the word is #G1577, “ekklesia,” which simply means “God’s called out Assembly.” In the Hebrew it is #H6951, “qahal.” So we see it is the same Church, the same “called out assembly,” in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

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Most people get tripped up because they think the Church is a new entity, a belief that became popular because the anti-Semitic church fathers wanted to separate non-Jewish believers from Jewish believers.

This was done because they were Gentiles and wanted to take control of the Church, so they came up with a lot of deceptions, including referring to believers as the “Church” rather than as the “Assembly” or “Congregation” as it is in the Old Testament. It all means the same thing. This is why in the book of Acts it tells us the Church was in the wilderness at Mt. Sinai. It is all referring to the same body of believers, the same “chosen people.”

So, with all that being said, one thing that makes me cringe is when a believer tells me they are a Gentile believer. You see that really can’t happen, because the term Gentile strictly means a pagan, one that doesn’t believe in the God of Israel. So even if we were Gentiles before we got saved, when we cross over or, in modern terms, “get saved,” just as Abraham did, we become not only a Hebrew and an Israelite spiritually, but also we become part of the spiritual seed of Abraham. Because once we are IN Messiah we are all on equal footing, both Jews and Gentiles are seen as equal in His eyes.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all

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one in Christ Yeshua. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.

Galatians 3:28-29 NASB

Right here is where Paul tells us that if we are in Messiah then we are heirs of all the promises that were made to Abraham. Paul tells us that the Abrahamic covenant is still standing today and not done away with or replaced by the New Covenant; likewise, the Mosaic covenant still stands as well. In fact, all six of the seven eternal covenants are still in full effect today, and one day we will walk into the last one that is the capstone of all the covenants, called the “Covenant of Peace,” the eternal covenant made with Phineas.

I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

Ezekiel 34:25 NASB

How do we know that a newer covenant doesn’t do away with the covenant that came before it? That is a good question, but let’s ask a Torah expert. Let’s ask Paul and see what he tells us; after all it’s Paul’s word that always gets brought up when discussing the mat-

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ter of whether the Law of God still stands today. Paul tells us:

What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

Galatians 3:17 NASB

One covenant does not invalidate, or do away with, the covenant that came before it.

Did the Davidic covenant do away with the Abrahamic or Noahic Covenant? Of course not. Simple logic would also tell us that even the New Covenant did not do away with the Davidic, Mosaic, Abrahamic or even the covenant made with Noah to never destroy the world with water again. We still see rainbows, don’t we?

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Who are Really the Children of Abraham?

Understand, then, that those who BELIEVE are children of Abraham.

Galatians 3:7

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" (gentiles) by those who call themselves "the Circumcision," (Jews) which is performed in the flesh by human hands--remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:11-13 NASB

Let’s see what our status is after adoption or being “grafted in.”

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For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household;

Ephesians 2:18-19 NIV

We see here that after the “grafting in,” we are no longer to be considered foreigners or aliens, but rather full-fledged Israelites, with all the same status and privileges as the native-born Hebrew. I am hoping this is starting to make sense. We thus become part of the “commonwealth of Israel,” just like Rahab and Ruth, who are in the very lineage of Yeshua.

From the time of the early church fathers up until these last days, most believers seem to struggle with this concept of who they really are. It really is an identity crisis of profound importance. It really is the foundation that has to be laid first before we can really start to build the rest of our scriptural understanding on solid ground, so let’s read it again one more time.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers (Gentiles), but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, (Israel).

Ephesians 2:19 NIV

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We hear Peter telling us the same thing as he is referring to the prophecies of Hosea concerning the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:10 NIV

God, through Hosea, called the rebellious house of Israel “not my people” before He scattered them to the uttermost parts of the world when He dispersed them through the Assyrian captivity.

And the LORD said, "Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God." Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to them, "You are not My people," It will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God." And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, And they will appoint for themselves one leader, And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel.

Hosea 1:9-11 NASB

This is what Peter was talking about. He was telling them that even though God cast them away in Hosea’s

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day and said to them that they were no longer going to be His people, one day they would be able to be “grafted in” to the Olive Tree and that Olive Tree is Israel, and this ability to be able to return to the Covenant of Yahweh was only accomplished through the death and resurrection of our Messiah Yeshua, Who sits on the right hand side of our Father in heaven.

This is what has always blown me away: the very thing that Yeshua came to do was to make available the way back into the Covenant. Yet it is the very same thing that we have been taught we no longer need to do. “We don’t need that covenant anymore; it’s all done away with.” The New Covenant in Yeshua’s blood did not do away with any of the covenants of God. Each covenant only builds upon the last covenant; each was given to us for our benefit.

In 738 B.C., almost before Hosea had ceased speaking, the Assyrian armies invaded and captured the northern kingdom of Israel, called Ephraim or the “house of Israel” and consisting of the ten tribes in the north.

Later their brothers in the southern kingdom, called the “House of Judah” and comprised of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin and some Levites, also went into the Babylonian captivity for 70 years around 538 B.C.

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When we read the word "Gentiles" in our Bibles it simply means "nations." It always has and always will.

We are called to come out of the nations (Gentiles) and into His holy (set-apart) nation which is Israel. It's really and truly that simple.

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1 Peter 2:9 NASB

I want you to take special note of something in that verse. You notice it says we are a “Holy Nation,” singular, and not “nations,” plural, nor did he call us “Gentiles” any longer. Let’s look at the scripture he was quoting, and yes believe it or not, it’s from the Old Testament (as are most New Testament quotes).

And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (singular) These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.

Exodus 19:6 NASB

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His “Holy Nation” is the same as the “sons of Israel.” So, if you consider yourself to be part of God’s Holy people, you should really start using His terminology. He calls us “sons of Israel.” You see, nothing has changed; it is as it was established from the very beginning. The New Testament is only telling us what Yahweh established in the Old Testament.

That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 NASB

When Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians somewhere around 60 to 61 AD, he reminded them they are no longer to consider themselves Gentiles any longer but rather citizens of Israel, just as Rahab and Ruth were considered full-blown citizens.

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:11-13 KJV

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This God-principle was established from the very beginning when we see the children of Israel delivered from their bondage in the first Exodus in Egypt.

There were many Gentiles that left with the Hebrews, and once they came out of their bondage (which is a shadow picture of our decision we make for the Messiah) then they went through the Red Sea (Baptism/ Mikvah), then to Sinai where, like us, they made their confession of faith and really entered into covenant with their creator. This is where the children of Israel agreed to the conditions of the covenant, which are the commandments of God at Sinai. They said, “Yes we will do all that He asks us to do.” They did this before they even knew what they were agreeing to; they basically handed over a signed blank check, if you will.

All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken We will Do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

Exodus 19:8 NASB

When the “natural-born” Israelites (Hebrews) left Egypt with the “mixed multitude” of the Egyptians, also called aliens, foreigners, or Gentiles, they collectively referred to themselves as “Israel,” the holy nation. This is what God and Moses called them.

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A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.

Exodus 12:38 NASB

You see it has NEVER been about two bodies, we are all ONE nation, ONE body, if we are IN Messiah.

And let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart's decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body. And be thankful —

Colossians 3:15 CJB

So, what body do we think that Paul is referring to?

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of ONE BODY, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:6 NIV

Scripture after scripture tells us that there is only ONE body. There is no such thing as “the Church and Israel” in the sense of two separate groups. We are grafted into the one Olive Tree. There are not two

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trees. An honest scriptural understanding tells us that we must believe Israel IS the church, the “Called-out Assembly of God,” and the Gentiles are grafted in this ONE BODY. This is what ALL the Scripture teaches from Genesis to Revelation. When we decide to join God’s camp of the righteous we see Him tell us He will not separate us from His native-born Israelites. The scriptures clearly say:

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people…"

Isaiah 56:3 NASB

He said, “don’t say it, don’t even remotely let it enter in your minds or even think it.”

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The Conclusion of the Matter

We are going to reiterate some of what we have already covered before, as it is something that is that important and we need to get this concept into our brains.

When we read passages in the Old Testament we don’t think we're reading anything about the “church.” Yet it is clearly there!

In the OT it was called the “Qahal,” in the Hebrew, which simply means an assembly. In the New Testament, that same word for “assembly” is the Greek word “ekklesia.” Both the OT word qahal and the NT word ekklesia mean the same exact thing, “congregation or assembly.” So, we find the New Testament again parallels perfectly with the writing in the Old Testament.

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We know that all the apostles of Yeshua considered Israel to be “the Church” or Assembly of the Old Testament. We see this evidenced in the book of Acts.

This is he (the Prophet/Yeshua), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles (God breathed commandments) to give unto us:

Acts 7:37-38 KJV

Throughout the ages since Messiah, many teachers of God’s word are considered to be dispensationalist, which means they believe in different dispensations where God deals differently with His people. They believe He dealt with the Jews in the Old Testament times, and then with the “new entity” called “The Church” in the New Testament times, and will next deal with the Jews who are “left behind” when the Christians supposedly get raptured out before the Great Tribulation. Even a casual search through the scripture will reveal that this dispensational theology is untrue.

These dispensationalists teach that “Israel is not the Church,” and that “The Church is NOT Israel.” This faulty assumption can not hold any water in light of our Holy Scriptures. When all of the tens of thousands

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of different Christian denominations build their eschatology (view of end-time events) on this false premise, the rest of their doctrines and beliefs are also built upon shaky ground.

When we examine the scriptures only by themselves, without referring to a bunch of man-made commentaries, and instead follow the example of the Bereans to prove what Paul was saying to be true and lining up with the scriptures, we will soon find out that it is a fact that the Church IS Israel! You cannot separate the two.

In Acts 7:37-38 the reason that Stephen refers to Israel in the wilderness as "the Church" (ekklesia) is because Stephen was a Jewish believer in the Messiah, and even though he was from the tribe of Judah he was also a Hellenistic Jew or a Greek Jew. He understood the Greek customs in calling Israel the "church" (ekklesia) because of the widespread use of the Septuagint (LXX).

The Septuagint was the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Holy Scriptures. This Greek version of the Old Testament regularly uses "ekklesia" to refer to Israel.

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There were many believers in Messiah during the years He walked the earth, who relied on the Septuagint, as many within Judea had become Hellenized.

That is the reason the New Testament is filled with quotations from it.

Because of the widespread use of the Septuagint, believers in the first century were well acquainted with the fact that true Israel was the "Church" in Old Testament times, and this concept was brought forth in the writings of the New Testament.

It would be a few hundred years before the early Church fathers started twisting the scriptures for their own devices as a way to be able to take control over believers and separate non-Jewish believers from the Jewish believers in the Church. This power struggle goes back thousands of years when the Northern Kingdom was always fighting with their brothers in the Southern Kingdom, the house of Judah. We still see this spiritual fight even going on today, with those in Judaism wanting to keep separate from the Church and the Church not wanting to embrace their older brother Judah.

But in these end days we see a restoration going on and there have never been so many Jews who are fi-

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nally seeing their Jewish Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth. The Church has been presenting a Greek Messiah instead of the Jewish Messiah. They have even given Him a Greek name by calling Him Jesus instead of what His momma called Him, Yeshua, which means “Yahweh’s Salvation.”

This little book will rock a lot of boats. It will unsettle the minds of many people who have lived their whole lives as believers and are now shocked to find out that they did not ever really know who they were.

It would be fully expected for you to want to doubt that any of this is true and trash this little book.

Yet, if you prayerfully consider its contents and go to the scriptures, you will discover some really great news.

Regardless of your race or nationality (European, Asian, African, Native American, Jewish, etc.), if you partake of the salvation offered by Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, YOU are “the chosen people!” You are not some latecomers that crashed the heavenly party. You are not some afterthought of the Creator because the original people who were intended to be the “in crowd” did not qualify. NO! You were in the Father’s mind from the very beginning. You are “set-apart.” You are CHOSEN to be HIS!

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Just remember also the words of Paul when he said:

Do not be arrogant toward the branches( Jews); but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root (Messiah), but the root (Messiah) supports you. You will say then, “Branches (Jews) were broken off so that I (a gentile) might be grafted in.� Quite right, they (Jews) were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches (Jews), He will not spare you, either.

Romans 11:18-21 NASB

For if you (a gentile) were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, (Israel) how much more will these who are the natural branches (Jews) be grafted into their own olive tree (Israel)?

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to (All Israel, Jew and gentile), Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

Romans 11:24-25 NASB

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB 63

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