The "Sheep" and The Good Shepherd.

[praise_yeshua]

Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

There have been countless generations of faithful among humanity before and after Abraham.

Jesus speaks of these in John 10.

Notice the appeal to establishing "one fold" under "One Shepherd."

Many folds throughout all generations of humanity culminating in a single fold. Not many folds. One single fold. The Good Shepherd always STOPS aggression from those within seeking to dominate the sheep. In fact, this is one of the primary purposes of a good shepherd.

The faithful from among Ishmael. The faithful from among Keturah. The faithful from among Job. The faithful from among Seth. The faithful from among Enoch. All will come together one day in a single fold.

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

 

[TedT]

There have been countless generations of faithful among humanity before and after Abraham.

Indeed...a good essay.

...but I am intrigued by Peter's word of encouragement to all new converts to Christ:
1 Peter 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray: but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Well, to return, one must have been there before, at least, according to the normal use of the word. Therefore, in this verse, it would be normal to infer that the sheep that had gone astray, were, at one time part of the Shepherd's flock but had strayed away from HIS care. Since I am sure that the Shepherd was not negligent, the straying away from HIS care must have involved some rebellion, a prodigal son situation.

Therefore, it is normally obvious that Peter is writing to some apostatized (gone astray) Christians (people of the flock, sinful people of His kingdom). It is also normally apparent that what Peter was writing is intended for every new convert in every age.

Therefore, it seems normal that the Holy Spirit would have us believe that all of the Church has personally apostatized from Christ prior to their conversion in this life. Since we are conceived as sinners, it is easy to see that we apostatized from Christ before our conception and that is why we are sinners at our birth.

I think that Peter bore added witness to this fact in 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the GOD and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ...which ...hath begotten us again unto a lively hope...

Just when was the first time you were begotten by GOD? And when and how did you get unbegotten? Well, unless you are one of those earthly backslidden types, the only time such an un-begetting or rebellion could have taken place is prior to your conception. And since Peter is writing to the whole Church rather than to just the backslidden types, he must be referring to a pre-conception rebellion and the straying of HIS elect since that time, which straying or rebellion ends only upon conversion to obedience unto holiness to that Shepherd, that is, upon being born in Christ (begotten) again.

 

[jeremiah1five]

Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

There have been countless generations of faithful among humanity before and after Abraham.

Jesus speaks of these in John 10.

Notice the appeal to establishing "one fold" under "One Shepherd."

Many folds throughout all generations of humanity culminating in a single fold. Not many folds. One single fold. The Good Shepherd always STOPS aggression from those within seeking to dominate the sheep. In fact, this is one of the primary purposes of a good shepherd.

The faithful from among Ishmael. The faithful from among Keturah. The faithful from among Job. The faithful from among Seth. The faithful from among Enoch. All will come together one day in a single fold.

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

First, the sheep Jesus is referring are the family line of Abraham. Sheep always refers to those He has covenant with. There is one sheep: Abraham, and many sheep: his seed, or the children of Israel.

Second, Jesus' reference to "one-fold" is the "other sheep [I have]" and He means the Samaritans, those half-Jew, half-Gentile offspring that were the result of their (Israel's) conquest and exile. Whether through rape, slavery, concubinage, or reasons to stay alive under extreme situations and conditions, the Hebrew women were most affected by God's judgments.

And as the Abrahamic Covenant describes, although the Promise went through the seed of the freewoman (Sarah), Abraham's seed from the bondwoman (Ishmael) and later, Esau (through Isaac), all received the blessings of Abraham but NOT in his covenant with God.
Same with Gentiles since the cross. A Gentile can be born again but are not in covenant with Abraham since Gentiles are not his seed nor do they come from his loins and the covenant is with Abraham's seed. This is clearly stated in the text of Scripture.

In time Ishmael did not remain faithful to the 'theology' of Abraham but also descended into idol-worship and other unsavory practices, which in time, led to the false god Allah.

Revelation 5:9 is a passage that although the Jews were scattered throughout the world, God called them back to Himself taking them (Israel the redeemed) out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. 3 For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
Jer. 30:1–3.

and

10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations,
And declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
He that scattered Israel will gather him,
And keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob,
Jer. 31:10–11.

Here you see the reference of Israel as flock of sheep and the LORD his Shepherd.
No one else is sheep in the sheepfold of the LORD but Abraham and his seed, the children of Israel.
The Jews.