@Victoria
I never said there was more than one elect body.
To remind you, you said this: The highlighted areas are mine for discussion.
The revelation of the mystery can only be found in Paul's epistles. Ephesians 2, & 3 alone won't reveal, in full, God's manifold wisdom. In my own words, I understand that God wants me to rightly divide "aka" to know the difference between the nation of Israel, & the Body of Christ. I learn that we're a spiritual body eternal in the heavens, & that born again Israel, in ages to come, will be a physical nation eternal on the earth. If we don't rightly divide, we cannot interpret the Old, & New Testaments consistently w/ accuracy.
So, dear soul,
you did separate the church from Israel ~ one being a
heavenly people, the other an
earthly people. And as you have said also, the church is
not the bride of Christ, Israel is, so by these
unscriptural statements you have two two bodies of people separated by
location and
identification. This is against the prophets, Christ, and his apostles. The mystery hidden in the scriptures is the
two (Jews and Gentiles) shall become one elect, holy spiritual temple, for God to dwell in the midst of forever, world without end.
Old Covenant promises to Israel, Fulfilled in New Covenant Israel The Old Testament (as understood by Premillennialists) is Israel-centered rather
than God centered. But the New Testament reveals that the history, ordinances, and indeed the very nation of Israel itself were
types and
shadows of spiritual realities that would come in Christ (
Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 8:1-5; 10:1; 1st Corinthians 10:18).
Not fully understanding this most basic of Biblical principles is at the root of most of the millennial errors of theologians. When God says something is fulfilled, then it is fulfilled. The types of Old Testament Israel (Prophets, Jerusalem, Feasts, Priests, the Law, Kingdom, Land, Sacrificial System, Temple, Deliverance, etc.)
were all fulfilled in Christ (
Luke 24:27). The problem is that many people,
whether consciously or unconsciously, refuse to accept the fact that these types were actually fulfilled in Christ. They may give lip service to understanding it, but in practice they deny it. In point of fact, the scriptures are devastating to such an unfulfilled approach to the Old Testament prophesy, for it would prolong what God has once and for all
abolished by the cross. Jimmy Swaggart SBN has no clue as to what
the message of the cross is since they deny just about every important truth of the cross!
The institutions and shadows that were of the nation Israel. These "types" were fulfilled.
Luke 24:44-45~"And He said to them, these are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things
must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me."
That all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms concerning Christ. It's not insignificant that national Israel rejected Christ for the very same reasons that some theologians today reject Amillennialism. They just refused to believe God's truth that
"He" was the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture that prophesied of a Messiah who would come and establish His government, rule and righteousness in the kingdom of Israel. Because their Judaic traditions put forth the idea that the prophecy was
of a earthly government, ruler, and a kingdom, and that didn't fit what Jesus came to do. That wasn't the Kingdom that the "true" Christ came to establish. Premillennialism, and in a sense Postmillennialism, looks for the very same worldly (carnal) or earthly fulfillment in prophesy. They do not discern or understand that this is the "very same" error that national Israel made. In fact, Premillennialism is 'nothing less' than the
old Judaic law bound earthly expectations. It is the age-old Judaic tradition that Christ's Kingdom is an earthly Kingdom taking a form just like the world's kingdoms. In other words, Christ coming to a geographical political nation on earth, to a earthly city, sitting on an physical literal earthly throne, in a literal Temple.
None of this was prophesied, and none of it is true.
Acts 7:48~"Howbeit the most High dwelleth
not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,"
Hebrews 9:11~"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;"
Hebrews 9:24~"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:"
Theologians have a hard time comprehending that Christ's Kingdom is not meat and drink, and His Holy place not made with hands. These Old Testament realities were "figures" or types pointing to Christ, their fulfillment. The prophecy concerning rebuilding the Temple and the reigning of Christ in Israel were not to be interpreted as the world defines terms,
but as God defined them.
We may come back and look at some of the basic Biblical foundations of Amillennialism? If the promises made to Israel were to the Church, Israel, rather than the
Middle Eastern political nation or people, then we should see the fulfillment of them
clearly delineated in scripture. And if we do, then
these worldly doctrines are found wanting, and once again Amillennialism triumphs Biblically.
Red, I sense some projection happening here. Did Jesus not plainly command His disciples, & later Paul, to go to a specific audience?
The book of Acts is in the New Testament.
Yes he did
until Acts 10, and
then it all changed and the man (Paul, a Jew by nature) who God gave the mystery to begin to unfold that mystery to us.
Peter is addressing unsaved Israelite's, in the flesh here.
As Jesus commanded the twelve, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel...
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
(1 Peter 1:1)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
(James 1:1)
The apostle John was one of the twelve disciples as well. Guess who he wrote to?
No one is rejecting the truth that the gospel went to the Jews
first, and then to the Gentiles. Neither do we reject that Peter, and James and the other apostles went to the circumcision and Paul to the uncircumcision. Even though they all (apostles) wrote to each other (saints, both Jews and Gentiles).
Galatians 2:9
“And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that
we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
But this does make them two separate bodies under NT, it shows the wisdom of God in taking the gospel to the Gentiles through Paul who was never an apostle to the circumcision, so they could not accuse him of of changing his position, by carrying out the gospel as the apostles did, proves
Christ's death revealed God's full predestination plan from the beginning, taught all through their OT scriptures, but hidden
until the time God purpose to reveal His eternal purpose came.
Again, Red, you're projecting your confusion onto me. You're not rightly dividing. The first resurrection speaks of priests in
Revelation 20:6. There's absolutely no mention of the Body of Christ being priests. Again, we're a body, not scattered tribes.
1 Peter 2:9
“But ye
are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
Revelation 1:6
“And hath made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him
be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 5:10
“And hast made us unto our God
kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
The earth in this verse is speaking of the
new earth where all of the elect Jews and Gentiles shall reign as kings and priest of God throughout eternity.
Christ is the head of one body, Jews and Gentiles, we shall sit down with our father Abraham in the kingdom of God.
Matthew 8:11
“And I say unto you, That
many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”
If one is confused here it would be you dear soul. I have ponder these things for over fifty some years, over and over again.