NOTE: All comments in brackets [ ] or in parentheses ( ) as well as highlighted text (bolded and/or in blue) are from the author of this study.
Bible quotations are in maroon.
The Bible is a book about the nation of Israel, its coming into being, God’s purpose for raising it up, its failure to fulfill the mission for which God raised it up, God’s rejection and punishment of Israel for its disobedience and God’s restoration of Israel as His people in the end-time when it is brought back from captivity and resettled in the Promised Land.
Israel being chosen by God, then rejected for a time because of its disobedience and God choosing again Israel in the end time to fulfill the purpose for which it had been originally chosen is one of the central theme of the Bible found from Genesis to Revelation.
Saying this is not to deny the critical and essential role of God the Father and Christ without whom no salvation would be possible. God the Father calls men to salvation (John 17:12) and Jesus is the author and the finisher of the faith of God’s called out ones (Heb 12:2).
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
But God in His master plan of salvation for mankind includes the requirement that men be participants in the process.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
God would establish His Church and call men to be in positions of leadership in it:
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
And this authority given them is to be used:
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
God the Father and Christ are spirit beings invisible to flesh-and-blood human beings and salvation requires faith i.e., believing in the existence of God without in this life ever being able to confirm the existence of God through our 5 physical senses.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
This is why God after having accepted Christ’s perfect sacrifice for sin could found His Church which would exist from the day of Pentecost right on up to the time of the end of the Last Great Day. God in His master plan of salvation for mankind uses men to teach other men the spiritual truth He gave mankind through Christ. The Logos or Spokesman came as a man (Jesus-Christ) to teach those men chosen by God the Father to be part of the very foundation of God’s Church, a number of truths which are the foundational truths of the Church.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The Logos became a man to teach His disciples who became apostles on the Day of Pentecost and whose teachings to the First Century congregations of God’s Church were the very same truths they had been taught personally by Christ who was God in the flesh.
These truths given the Church by Christ constitute the very basis or foundation of God’s Church on which, those who God would call through the ages, are to build after having mastered them. In 1Cor 3:10 Paul who had received the very same truths as the apostles clearly says that these truths constitute the foundational truths of God’s Church.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. [Other men who have been called and chosen are to build on this foundation of truth i.e., the members of God’s Church.]
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
God the Father did not use angels or other spirit beings to teach those men chosen to be given the foundational truths of the Church. God Himself became a man to do so. God’s plan of salvation requires the use of men as God’s human level instruments through whom the foundational truths of God’s Church will be transmitted throughout the ages to those whom God the Father will call.
These foundational truths taught directly from the mouth of God in the person of Christ are to be taught to all newcomers to the faith who must as a first step in their spiritual development fully master them so as to then be able to enter in a two-way conversation with God where in prayer they talk to God and God talks to them as they study their Bible. In this conversation process, God reveals to individual Christians truth not forming part of the foundational truths given the apostles by Christ and, through them, to the Church. It is God’s way of manifesting Himself to those who are remaining faithful and comforting and sustaining them as they put forth personal effort every day to endure in their calling.
And so it is we read the following in the book of John:
Joh 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Joh 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Jesus would manifest Himself to the disciples through the Holy Spirit which would bring back to their remembrance all the foundational truths Christ had given them while He was with them. They would then have the complete foundation which they would teach to all new converts.
The foundational truths of God’s Church are the means provided by God the Father directly through Christ to His Church for true Christians across the ages to personally have growth in knowledge and understanding of truths not part of the foundational truths given the Church which God left in the Bible for true converts to discover through the action of the Holy Spirit in them. The source of truth is not the ministry but God’s Holy Spirit and the place where we can find God’s truth is in the Holy Bible which is Christ in writing. (See The Ministry and God’s Truth for a detailed explanation of this topic.)
God’s end-time Elijah was of course an exception as he was to be the means by which God restored to the Church the foundational truths given the apostles which got lost over the centuries (1260 years) of persecution that came upon God’s Church by the great false church that arose after the foundation of God’s Church.
Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (3 1/2 years with each year being 360 days is 1260 days which in fulfillment is 1260 years. (Num 14:34))
God’s saints over 1260 years of persecution would lose most of the foundational truth given it at the time of Christ’s First Coming. This is why Christ told the disciples that there would be someone that would come in the spirit of Elijah and restore all things (God’s Church foundational truths) to God’s Church prior to the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord.
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
The Holy Spirit teaches all things to true Christians as we have just read in John 14:26 and this is why Christ said that all true Christians would be taught of God. They are all taught by the Comforter or God’s Holy Spirit from the very beginning of their conversion when God first opens up their minds to understand some of His spiritual truth.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Those being called are first taught by God the Father “…. every man therefore that hath heard, and learned of the Father, cometh unto me….” and then they come unto Christ who continues teaching them through the Holy Spirit. God the Father’s teaching to those being called is the spiritual begettal process. If those called do not reject God speaking to them (they heard Him) and if they have learned what He was teaching them then they are spiritually begotten or conceived and Christ becomes responsible for continuing to teach them.
The role of God’s ministry is to teach new converts the foundational truths of God’s Church but the ability to understand what is taught them in its spiritual dimension comes only from the in-dwelling presence of God’s Spirit in the minds of the truly converted.
1Co 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
Newcomers to the faith are babes-in-Christ but they are not to remain babes. For a time they are fed by the ministry the foundational truths of God’s Church and if this spiritual food is absorbed as it should be by the babes, they grow in spiritual maturity to become adults spiritually speaking capable of feeding and caring for themselves; there is no longer a requirement for them to rely on the ministry whose role as explained by Paul is to be a supportive one to the members of God’s Church as opposed to continuing to have a teaching responsibility over them.
2Co 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
True Christians are not to rely on men for their salvation not even the ministry of God’s Church; they are personally and fully responsible for their own salvation and they must become capable of reading and correctly understanding their Bible and discovering in it truth not given the Church at the founding of God’s Church which provides them with the spiritual growth all true Christians need to have to remain spiritually alive. This occurs after having fully mastered the foundational truths of God’s Church. Individual Christians are the ones primarily responsible for their spiritual growth and development.
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Notice that Paul here was not telling Timothei that he was to rely on him to be able to rightly divide or understand the word of God rather, the responsibility was placed on Timothei to do so by him spending time studying the Scriptures. That same responsibility is placed on all true Christians.
And, was it considered unusual or unexpected that the lay (non-ordained) members of the Church would find truth not part of the foundational truths of the Church as they studied their Bible? Here is what God through Paul says about it.
1Co 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, [when you assemble] every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. [You all have something that you want to share with the group.] Let all things be done unto edifying. [Paul then tells them that they can share what they have with the group, this in itself is not a problem. What they have to be careful about is how they go about sharing their findings as obviously all of them were to be actively and attentively studying their Bible. It was understood they would find truth not part of the foundational truths as they were being taught by God through their personal Bible studies.]
1Co 14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. [If any of those having something to share with the group speaks in a foreign tongue as for example a French person wanting to address an English gathering, then unless there is an interpreter there, this person is not to speak to the assembly (see next verse)]
1Co 14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
1Co 14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. [Let no more than two or three speak; not together, but one at a time (see 1Cor 14:31) and while they are speaking, let the others of the assembly who are listening to them, judge i.e., evaluate if what they are saying can be supported or not with the Scriptures.]
1Co 14:30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. [If while listening to one of those who is speaking, one of the listeners suddenly understands something new he would want to share with the assembly, he is to remain silent until it is his turn to speak.]
1Co 14:31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. [They can all share with the assembly their discoveries from the Bible but one by one so that all those present may benefit from what they have to say.]
1Co 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. [Those members of the Church who have been given to understand as they pray and study their Bible, a new aspect of God’s truth not part of the foundational truths taught the Church by the apostles and, in this case, by Paul, are subject to review by the whole assembly (1Cor14:29) as a means of determining the validity and accuracy of their findings against the Scriptures. The Bible is the criterion of truth; not the assembly.]
I think at this point, I have to clarify what is a prophet as not having a correct and full understanding of what is a prophet is a major impediment to understanding 1Cor14. Whenever the word “prophet” is mentioned or read the mental image that comes up in people’s minds is that of someone proclaiming a message from God about events that are to occur some time in the future. But, this is only one meaning of the word “prophet.” We read in the Bible that Baal has his prophets (1Kings 18:19) but they are certainly not representing the true God nor have any message from Him. We also read that those supposedly appointed by Nehemiah to proclaim a message on his behalf are called prophets in Neh 6:7:
And thou [Nehemiah] hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.
Nehemiah was being falsely accused of wanting to become king by the enemies of Jerusalem who hoped to provoke him with this false accusation to come to them in person to refute it and they would then be able to kill him. These men who wanted to do evil to Nehemiah were saying he had appointed prophets to give out the message to the Jews that he was their king. The word “prophet” here is used to describe someone proclaiming a message on behalf of another man; not God.
A prophet can be a man bearing a message from other men or from God. A prophet is one speaking a message on behalf of another; sometimes it’s a message from God; sometimes it’s about future events; sometimes it’s truly converted Christians speaking to each other about the truth of God they have and sometimes, it is someone teaching the truth of God to other Christians. Every true Christian when having spiritual fellowship with other members of God’s Church is then a prophet as he is speaking on behalf of God.
In the book of Exodus, God gives us a very good example of what it means to be a prophet.
Exo 7:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
Exo 7:2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
Moses was not a good speaker and God made Aaron Moses’ spokesman to Pharaoh and Moses would then be as God unto Pharaoh i.e., Moses would speak to Pharaoh through his spokesman or prophet, Aaron. A prophet is someone speaking on behalf of someone else. Please read all of Ex 4:10-16 where this is very clearly stated. Baal has his prophets, men have their prophets or spokesmen and God has His prophets. When speaking on behalf of God, one is a prophet of God and what is said is not always and even, most of the time, not about the occurrence of future events as is the case when true Christians share with each other God’s truth.
I hope this is clear or clearer in your mind and if not, simply do a word search in your Bible on the word “prophet” or “prophets” and you will see the different meanings of what it is to be a prophet.
Now, keeping on with our review of 1Cor14.
1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. [God’s saints must do things in an orderly fashion so as not to create confusion in the assembly; doing things in a disorderly way which creates confusion is not of God.]
The next two verses make it clear that the context here is Church meetings; this is the time when they got together or assembled as stated earlier on in these verses.
1Co 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
1Co 14:35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
In the next verses, we have Paul saying something very interesting and which is something of a revelation to us today who have been taught that the truth of God only enters the Church through the Pastor General but if we read carefully the following verses, we can see that Paul was not saying that the truth only enters the Church through him who was the apostle to the Gentiles but also through the lay members of the Church.
1Co 14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? [Did the truth that you have come from God showing it only to you or did God show it to others too? In other words, are there not others who were also given the word of God and more specifically, did I not also receive the word of God. In the next verse Paul gives them a word of caution.]
1Co 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, [Someone speaking on behalf of God as they share with the Church a new understanding of the Scriptures not forming part of the foundational truths of God’s Church] or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. [Something very important here. Paul is telling all those in the congregations that he raised up who think themselves to be prophets or spiritual, that they have to accept that the things that he writes to them are commandments from God, they are not purely the words, desires or preferences of Paul. They are directly from God through Christ to Paul and are not simply of Paul. They are not up for discussion by the group and represents God’s very authority and government in the Church.]
1Co 14:38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.[If any man does not know what Paul just explained then the members of the congregation are not to try to explain it to them. This is a truth they should discover for themselves. Paul had persecuted God’s saints before his conversion and his past actions stood out in some true convert’s minds and it was best that pressure not be put on them by other members to accept that Paul was indeed, an apostle like the original disciples and whose teachings were directly from Christ and therefore not subject to discussion by Church members when they met.]
1Co 14:39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
Not only is it accepted for members to prophesy when the Church assembled, Paul tells them to “covet” to prophesy i.e., to have a strong desire to do so. It was not something he wanted them to stop doing nor was it something that he dreaded or feared. His main concern was that it be done in order so that all present would have a chance to benefit from what was being said by those prophesying; and by those who had something to share with the congregation but who did not speak the language of the majority of the congregation i.e., they spoke in a foreign language or “in tongues” as the Bible puts it. Whether spoken in the language of the majority or in tongues, what was prophesied by these men was to be evaluated by the whole assembly against the Scriptures to determine whether they supported or not their individual Bible study findings.
1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
A detailed explanation of these Scriptures as previously mentioned is given in the following study posted on this site: The Ministry and God’s truth. Before I leave this topic and to help you understand 1Cor 14, I would like to re-emphasize that a prophet is simply someone speaking on behalf of someone else. When it is on God’s behalf or about the truth of God, the person is then a prophet of God. When it is on behalf of a false pagan God like Baal, then that person is a prophet of Baal. Both men are prophets but not speaking the same things. And, some of the things spoken by God’s prophets have to do with future events while others are simply the truly converted speaking God’s truth to each other as is the case in Joel 2:28.
Joe 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Now going back to the main topic of this study.
The nation of Israel will yet accomplish the mission for which God chose it but until the actual physical descendants of Jacob — God changed Jacob’s name to Israel — and who is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, come to that point in time where God will again choose the nation of Israel, God is using those He calls from the Gentile nations to become part of His Church as His instrument in teaching the foundational truths of His church to newcomers to the faith.
For a time i.e., until Christ’s 2nd Coming, God’s Church principally made up of Gentile converts will be the means used by God to teach newcomers to the faith.
Present-day Church is Spiritual Israel
We who have been in God’s Church for a long time, know and understand that God’s Church since its foundation on the day of Pentecost is made up of individuals from all over the world who have been called, who have followed their calling (chosen) and who are remaining faithful.
Ancient physical Israel would have been God’s people i.e., God would have been their God and they would have been His people, if they had obeyed Him. They were not able to do so and God separated Himself from them but there is a time coming when they will be redeemed.
Until Christ’s perfect sacrifice for sin there was no means for men to satisfy the requirements of God’s law i.e., to be considered by God as perfectly following His law which is spiritual i.e., it is a law that only another God level spirit being can fulfill. The angels are spirit beings but many of them sinned but a God being cannot sin.
1Jn 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; [he who has become a glorified spirit being through a resurrection from the dead and who fully shares in the nature of God having become a God being as God is God no longer sin; the begotten or conceived children of God upon being born are God beings in the very same way that all the children of men upon being born are human beings] but he that is begotten of God [he who is only begotten or conceived and not yet born and who therefore remains a human being with all of the weaknesses of the flesh] keepeth himself, [this person remains a human being and tries to the best of his abilities not to sin; he keeps himself; he restrains himself; on becoming a God being, he will no longer be tempted to sin and will no longer have to keep himself.] and that wicked one toucheth him not. [as long as he keeps himself i.e., as long as he is trying to obey God in all things to the best of his abilities, no sin is imputed to him.]
Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Christ became a man, for among many things, to be God’s perfect sacrifice for sin which would then make it possible for men’s sin to be forgiven upon repentance and belief.
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
With Christ’s sacrifice having been accepted by God the Father, it became possible for God to call men to salvation by removing their spiritual blindness and for the first time in their lives, making it possible for them to know correctly the difference between right and wrong and to have the opportunity to choose to follow God’s righteousness as expressed in His law, the 10 commandments.
It also became possible for men’s sins to be forgiven upon their committing themselves to obey God in all things to the best of their abilities and for God’s Holy Spirit to dwell in them. An important distinction has to be kept in mind and that is that God’s Holy Spirit received at the time of baptism does not enable men to obey God; it only enables men to correctly know the difference between right and wrong and makes it possible for men to make the decision to follow good as defined by God’s law and avoid evil to the best of their abilities.
It has to be clear in our minds that committing to obeying God does not result in men being able to unfailingly obey God. The Holy Spirit does not make it possible for men to obey God if so, truly converted individuals walking among us would be perfect. A quick survey of truly converted men should make it evident that there are no such men. Men after their conversion remain sinners despite their best efforts and most sincere intention not to sin. They do have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them but continue to be sinners.
Here is what Paul had to say on the matter:
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
In the days of ancient Israel, there was no sacrifice that would actually forgive sin for Christ had yet to come and be God the Father’s perfect sacrifice for sin. Ancient Israel’s sins remained and God could not then use it to fulfill the mission for which He had called them. God grew weary of ancient Israel’s sinning and separated Himself from it until it would become possible for Israel — their physical descendants in the end time and ancient Israel in the 2nd Resurrection — through the forgiveness of sin made possible by Christ and their individual commitment to obey Him after having been called, to be used by God as His holy nation and kingdom of priests.
During the Millennium and the Last Great Day, spiritual Israel will be made up of those of the remnant of physical Israel returned from captivity that enter into the New Covenant and, of those of ancient Israel and of the Gentile nations who will rise up in the 2nd Resurrection as flesh-and-blood mortal human beings and who will commit to obeying God upon being called. They will become part of God’s spiritual Israel or Church in the same way that those who have been called, chosen and faithful in our days constitute spiritual Israel.
How can God who cannot co-exist with sin dwell in truly converted Christians who continue to be sinners?
The reason is that no sin is ever imputed to a truly converted Christian as long as he maintains his attitude of wanting to obey God in all things to the best of his abilities. Truly converted Christians remain sinless in God’s eyes despite being sinners which allows them to be God’s holy temple in which God and Christ dwell.
Psa 32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
God the Father imputes Christ perfect holy righteous character to the truly converted and this is what makes it possible for them to be God’s temple. For a detailed explanation of what “imputation” means I refer you to the following study: Salvation by imputation
Collectively, these men constitute God’s Church i.e., that group of individuals who have committed themselves to obey God and are every day trying to do so to the best of their abilities. They also are spiritual Israel because their obedience to God is made possible by God imputing Christ’s holy righteous character to them. Physical Israel would have remained God’s nation but because of sin, God for a time, has rejected it and until such time as He will restore physical Israel, He has His Spirit-begotten Church which He is using to do what physical Israel was called to do but did not i.e., they were to be God’s Holy nation and kingdom of priests or in other words, His Church.
Exo 19:5 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:
Exo 19:6 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.
God’s plan of salvation for mankind requires men’s participation in the process as God is a spirit being whose existence cannot be proven by flesh-and-blood human beings whose physical senses limit them to knowing the physical world. And, so it is that God has a Church, spiritual Israel made up of flesh-and-blood individuals who are mostly gentiles in whom dwells God the Father and Christ, fulfilling the mission that physical Israel could not fulfill until such time as physical Israel is restored or chosen again by God.
Isa 14:1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Isa 14:2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
Converted Physical Israel — God’s Millennial and Last Great Day Church
Ancient Israel went into captivity because of its sinfulness. After the death of Solomon, Israel split into a southern and a northern kingdom. The southern kingdom made up of the 3 tribes of Benjamin, Levi and Judah came to be collectively known in the world as the Jews and, the other 10 tribes of Israel kept the name Israel and for a while constituted the northern kingdom. The northern kingdom was the first to go off into captivity followed by the southern kingdom some 100 years later.
The tribes constituting the northern kingdom disappeared from history while the southern kingdom remained visible to the world as the Jews. However, there is coming a time when both the southern and the northern kingdom will be reunited into one kingdom and be resettled in the original Promised Land.
That will be the time when God after the Day of the Lord gathers His physical nation from the nations where they had been scattered in His anger.
Zep 3:17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Zep 3:18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
Zep 3:19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
Zep 3:20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.
Eze 11:17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
Eze 20:34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
Eze 20:41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
And how will God restore Israel in the end-time after the end of the Day of the Lord?
Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 32:38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
Upon making the new covenant with the remnant of end-time Israel returned from captivity, those of them that enter into the new covenant (not all of them will) become God’s people because they have committed themselves to obey God and God can then use them for the special purpose for which He had originally chosen Israel.
Exo 19:6 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.
A New Covenant Israel made up of those individuals from the remnant of end-time physical Israel who entered into the New Covenant and who are resettled in the Promised Land becomes God’s Church that will exist during the Millennium and the Last Great Day and which God will use to teach new converts coming into the Church.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
The purpose for the creation of God’s Church is to bring new converts who are babes-in-Christ to a level of spiritual maturity where there are no more children but adults spiritually-speaking whose knowledge and understanding of the truth is so complete that they are no longer susceptible to others putting doubts in their minds or for them to all of a sudden put everything they know in doubt on hearing some new doctrine from cunning and crafty men looking for an occasion to deceive them into believing lies and following after them.
The role of the Church is to raise God’s babes-in-Christ entrusted to its care to become spiritually-mature adults capable of sorting truth from error on their own using their Bible as the criterion of truth. Their salvation cannot depend on men.
God’s Church was given a body of truth directly from Christ who gave it to His disciples and these truths are the foundational truths of God’s Church which all newcomers to the faith have to fully master to become spiritual adults. The foundation of truth given the Church by Christ allows the individual Christian to achieve the spiritual maturity needed to study their Bible and correctly understand what it is saying, on his own.
This is what Paul said to Timothei in the following verse:
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Timothei was taught by Paul the foundational truths of the Church and now he was to keep on studying the Bible on his own and come to correctly understand other truths not part of the foundational truths. This is also what all true Christians have to be busily doing throughout their Christian lives.
Christians are not to rely on any man for their salvation no matter who they are or who they say they are. This is the road to being deceived as no man is fully trustworthy or can be relied upon to remain trustworthy.
The responsibility falls on the individual Christian to work out his salvation with his Bible where in prayer he speaks to God and God speaks to him as he studies the Bible; not books written by men about the Bible.
The modern day physical descendants of ancient Israel are to go into captivity and those among the returning remnant that make the new covenant i.e., who follow their calling and remain faithful will constitute God’s Church during the Millennium and the Last Great Day.
God’s current Spirit-begotten Church at the time of Christ’s 2nd Coming become glorified spirit beings and the Bride of Christ. They will no longer be on the earth but rather, they will be with Christ in the 3rd heaven as His Bride. That is when Christ will use those who convert of the remnant of the physical nation of Israel returned from captivity to be His holy nation and kingdom of priests or in other words, His Church which will exist during the Millennium and the Last Great Day.
Of course as time goes on, God’s Church during the Millennium and the Last Great Day will come to include converts from nations all over the world. Converted end-time physical Israel becomes spiritual Israel which is first and foremost a spiritual organism where becoming a part of the Church does not require for one to be a physical descendant of the ancient nation of Israel but rather to be one that God calls and who repents and believe from whatever nation that may be.
God’s Kingdom will be composed of men from all nations who were called, chosen and remained faithful and who then become spiritual Israelites.
God’s eternal kingdom will therefore be made up of spiritual Israelites from physical Israel and from the Gentile nations and as a whole, God’s Kingdom will be the heavenly Zion or Israel. In order to become a member of God’s Kingdom one must become a spiritual member of the spiritual nation of Israel.
Conclusion
Knowing and understanding how ancient Israel will eventually play a key role in the salvation process allows us to understand how God is working out His great master plan of salvation for mankind and the purpose of God’s Church in teaching the foundational truths to new converts to enable them to become spiritually mature individuals capable of studying their Bible on their own once they have mastered the foundational truths given the Church by Christ Himself. They can then have growth in knowledge and understanding of other Bible truth not part of the foundational truths of God’s Church and protect themselves from being deceived by the very many false prophets gone out into the world some of whom have made their way into the congregations of God’s Church and some of which have arisen right from within the Church.
Christians are to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling; they must become spiritually mature individuals capable of reading and understanding their Bible on their own so as not to become the victims of the many deceivers seeking to impose their beliefs on them and make merchandise out of them.
Salvation is between God and each individual Christian; not between God and some other middle man and him. God’s relationship is directly with each Christian through the Holy Spirit working in his mind.
Being a Christian is a process of growth from being a babe-in-Christ when first converted to becoming a spiritually mature adult that can read the Bible with comprehension. This adult-in-Christ can prove things out whether they be true or false using the Scriptures as his criterion of truth; not men or books written by men about the Bible.
The purpose of the ministry of God’s Church when there is one in existence is to teach to newcomers to the faith, the sure foundational truths of God’s Church given to the disciples by God-in-the-flesh, Christ. The ministry teaches newcomers but it is God’s Spirit that gives them understanding of what they are taught (1Co 3:6) as they, the new converts, verify the truthfulness of the teachings of the ministry with their Bible. It is Christians’ only sure way of never being deceived by men using religion as a means to make a living.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
God's Spiritual Nation 