@jeremiah1five
Jeremiah, I highlighted certain words above that we shall start with in this post.
First, there are two, and only two groups of people in this world as far as the word of God is concerned, Those that are Jews by nature, and those that are Gentiles in the flesh, or by nature.
I agree. Jews and Gentiles. And the official separation of these two groups began with the Abraham Covenant and the definitive sign of this separation was circumcision of those God made covenant with.
The Hebrew word "gôy" (translated "nations") DID NOT IMMEDIATELY refer to "Gentile" because the word was used in God's address to both Abram and Sarai in Genesis 17.
In Genesis 14:13 God identified Abram [the Hebrew] as "Hebrew" meaning, Abram was a descendant of Eber. And the Hebrews knew this identification of "Hebrew" also applied to Sarai, who was Abram's half-sister and wife (would that marriage be called "incestuous"?)
Galatians 2:15
“We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,”
Meaning natural Olive tree Israel and non-Hebrew Gentiles.
Here Paul makes a very clear distinction between himself and the Gentiles in the flesh, even though Paul himself was one of millions of Jews born and lived in these Gentiles nations, he still considered himself a Jews by nature/birth, as distinct from the Gentiles, who were not part of the Jewish genealogy going back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
That's right. Before the Abraham Covenant the children of Adam were all called "Adamites." But among the Adamites were two groups of people: obedient ones (those who "called upon the LORD") and those who were disobedient and chose to remain together (as in those in Genesis who built the "tower of Babel.")
Jeremiah, your third group you have invented of heathenistic, mixed heritage Hebrews living in the Gentile nations being heavily infused by Greek culture~you want folks to believe they were the only ones God sent Paul to be a light to them as though they are part of the promised seed~and leaving the true Gentiles nations as pertaining to the flesh, still any without hope, even in light of so many scriptures as we shall consider moving forward, the Lord willing.
That is correct.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was a well-established kingdom for about 200 years before its fall. It had a substantial territory and population, likely numbering in the hundreds of thousands, if not approaching a million across all ten tribes. The years leading up to the final conquest involved various conflicts and sieges by the Assyrians. These events would have undoubtedly resulted in casualties and population displacement. The Assyrian policy was to deport significant portions of the conquered populations and resettle the land with people from other parts of their empire. This was done to break the local power structures and integrate the conquered territory. The Bible (2 Kings 17) and Assyrian records mention the deportation of many Israelites. While a large number were deported, it's unlikely that
all the people were removed. Some would have remained in the land, either by evading capture or because the Assyrians didn't deport everyone. But for the sake of argument let's say one million Hebrews of the ten northern kingdom tribes were taken captured and Exiled.
The Kingdom of Judah was smaller in both territory and likely population compared to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Estimates for the population of Judah before the Babylonian conquest generally range from a few hundred thousand to perhaps half a million people. The Babylonian campaigns against Judah spanned several years, with significant events like the siege and capture of Jerusalem in 597 BC and its final destruction in 586 BC. These events involved warfare, sieges, and likely resulted in casualties and displacement of the population. The Babylonians also implemented a policy of deportation, though perhaps not as extensive as the Assyrian deportations of the Northern Kingdom. The deportations under Nebuchadnezzar primarily targeted the elite, skilled workers, and those who might pose a threat to Babylonian rule. The Bible (2 Kings 24-25, Jeremiah 52) and Babylonian records mention these deportations. Despite the deportations, a significant portion of the population likely remained in Judah, particularly those in rural areas and those of lower social standing. Therefore, before the final conquest and deportations around 586 BC, the population of the Southern Kingdom of Judah was likely in the range of a few hundred thousand people. During and immediately after the Babylonian conquest, the number would have been reduced due to warfare, famine, and the subsequent deportations of a significant segment of the population. Let's say half a million were taken captive and Exiled. Total Exiled: 1.5 million.
Question for you to answer directly: In light of Ephesians 2:11-22, some of the verses you quoted yourself ~ do you believe there are Jews by nature, (meaning by birth) and Gentiles by nature, each coming together to make one holy spiritual temple for the Spirit of God to dwell in as taught by Paul in Ephesians 2:11-22.
No. And for biblical and practical reasons.
The Scripture (Old Testament) is a history of the Hebrew people. This history records God dealing with this people in various individual and corporate ways. Their Scripture records their culture, politics, wars, religion, their families, etc., but mostly all that this people are is defined by the covenants God made with them at various times in their history. There are three corporate covenants: Abraham, Mosaic, and New. There are also individual covenant promises God made with individuals, like David, etc., very important but always covenants with a people identified by covenant and circumcision as the Hebrew people.
As far as non-Hebrew Gentiles go there is no covenant between God and these non-Hebrew Gentiles. None. There might be some corporate and individual histories or interactions of certain Gentiles but always in relation to the Hebrew/Jews. But we also see the divisions of how this Hebrew Scripture is laid out: there is the Law (or Pentateuch), the Psalms, and the Prophets. These are their "books." In short, these "books" also detail God's redemption, deliverance, and salvation of these people. This people called the children of Israel are alive today, and while a few million live in what's called the Nation (<--- does not mean "Gentile") of Israel. And Israel is the central theme in these "books" we call the Old Testament Scripture. Non-Hebrew Gentiles have nothing of the sort that would equal what the children of Israel possess. Israel has everything that goes to the importance of their existence in this life and the next. You can take a verse out of the New Covenant writings and try to make it fit a Gentile narrative, but when lined up against the totality of the Hebrew Scripture it (the Gentile narrative) falls extremely short when held up to God's Light. Every "book" of the Bible - Genesis to Revelation - is written by a Hebrew/Jew to and for other Jews and Jewish Christians. Even the two letters to Timothy were written to a mixed heritage Hebrew.
Jeremiah, Gentiles in flesh, is "not" the same as heathenistic, mixed heritage Hebrews living in the Gentile nations, which you want us to believe as a fulfillment of Paul's mission given to him of God, not even close.
I want to come back and address this separately.
The presence of people from such a wide range of locations at Pentecost in Acts 2 is indeed largely due to the historical scattering of the Jewish people during the Assyrian conquest in 722 BC (primarily the northern tribes) and the Babylonian captivity culminating in 586 BC (the southern kingdom of Judah).
These events led to what is known as the
Jewish Diaspora, where Jewish communities were established in various parts of the ancient world. By the time of the first century AD, there were significant Jewish populations living throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, as evidenced by the list in Acts 2.
These individuals, despite living in different lands and speaking different languages, would often maintain their religious traditions and make pilgrimages back to Jerusalem for major feasts like Pentecost. This gathering provided a unique opportunity for the Holy Spirit to descend and for the apostles to proclaim the gospel to people from diverse backgrounds, who could then take that message back to their dispersed communities.
Jeremiah's prophecy of a New Covenant doesn't contain much except that God actively forgives His people and does it through His Son and lamb of God, Jesus Christ, which isn't even identified in the text, but when it became identifiable after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, then Israel found itself at the beginning of the New Covenant era without any Biblical instruction or guidelines. And so Jewish Christianity had to muddle through the first two decades ignorant until people like Apollos, Priscilla, Barnabas, James, Peter, etc., were able to give outlines until Saul came and delivered more precise rabbinical and Pharisaic instruction to the Jews from their own Scripture which for fourteen to seventeen years he had disappeared (Arabia, etc.), and studied the Old Testament under the anointing who gave him Scriptural revelation by seeking New Covenant realities with questions that were answered by the Hebrew Scripture of Law, Psalms, and Prophets.
These newborn Jewish Christians returned to their homes in Gentile lands (Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, etc.), and to their synagogues with an outline of Peter's sermon, their experience with the Holy Spirit of Promise, and were at first welcomed by their Jewish brethren in their respective synagogues. In time Jews and Judaizers could not reconcile how their supposed Messiah and King could also be someone who "hung on a tree" which to them was "cursed" and beginning with arguments which led to ostracism and then excommunication from their synagogues, finally one Jewish Christian had "hands laid on him" and they killed Stephen and beginning in Jerusalem persecution began which travelled throughout the Roman Empire those people of "The Way" were persecuted by their own countrymen which led to more evangelism into areas not privy to the Christ-Gospel and this in time led to a couple of Jewish wars with Rome and eventual destruction of the Jewish Temple and Jews again dispersed from Jerusalem with laws passed by Rome restricting their return. WHO was left holding to the Jewish Christianity but mixed heritage Hebrews who were not knowledgeable of Hebrew history and were mostly cultured by Greek and Gentile ways soon allowed themselves to unmoor their religion from its Hebrew roots and that was enough for the belief of "Gentile" Christianity began.
Saul told the Jewish Christians at Thessalonia that God would send "them" a strong delusion that they should believe a lie.
What is that "lie"?
Something called "Gentile" Christianity.
With the destruction of the Jewish Temple the "ism" of Judaism ended and God continued to build His Church and populating it with not only tribal Jews but with mixed heritage Hebrews because the promise is to Abraham and his seed. As long as a presumed Gentiles has Abraham's blood/DNA in their veins, the Lord knows them that are His" the building of His Church now includes the "other flock" of lost sheep from the House of Israel - Mixed heritage Hebrews of Gentile descent. Timothy was one and he was saved. So was Luke. So was the Roman centurion, the Samaritan at the well, and other named individuals in the New Covenant writings.
