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Is God truly calling ALL people into Christianity?
Why is it that after nearly 20 centuries Christianity is not evenly
spread across the globe? Why is it that we see nations which are
predominantly Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian.
Are Christian leaders mistaken in thinking that God intends to call
ALL Gentiles at this time.
Does the spread of Christianity have something to teach us concerning
the ancestry of the majority of Christians?
Is it important for Christian churches to send out missionaries to
the four corners of this earth?
Quite a few churches have invested significant resources and time
in trying to ensure the Gospel is presented to natives of distant
lands.
Has all this ministerial effort been what God desired? Or has this
labour been well intended, but effectively wasteful.
If indeed, God has NOT been calling ALL Gentiles equally what effect
does this have in respect to the predicted worldwide judgment (spoken
of in the book of Revelation).
How do we begin to understand biblical prophecy if all the nations
and people of this world have not been 'called'? When the bible
talks about famines and pestilences the 3rd world countries are
most at risk, and yet many of these nations having not been subject
to numerous centuries of witnessing.
Even within 'so called' Christian nations one finds Christianity
is seen more as a 'faith', than as representation of pure truth.
In academic circles the theory of Evolution is honoured, taught and
promoted more than any form of biblical thought on the topic of
human origin.
To make matters worse when one does examine the Christian scene one
does not find single minded unity. Christianity is rather a mixture
of many different denominational beliefs, each of which presents the
essence of God slightly differently. One could even describe the
Christian house of God as being in a state of internal conflict.
Given the imprecise message of Christianity how can it be said that
any effective witness has been provided to any of the nations of
this world.
Despite all these concerns it is quite clear from Scripture that
the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom and judgement upon
the unrepentant are central issues.
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature.
:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached
in all the world as a witness to all the nations,
and then the end will come.
:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in
heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth
will mourn, ...
How does one begin to explain this?
THE NEW TESTAMENT CALLING
The New Testament documents the initial calling of those of the
Jewish faith and then proceeds to the opening of the 'path' to the
non-Jews amongst the nations.
However, what the New Testament does not make perfectly clear was
that, at that time, the majority of the descendants of the ancient
nation of Israel were NOT Jewish!
About 1,000 years before the death of Christ the nation of Israel had
split into two kingdoms,
- House of Judah (tribes of Judah, Levi and Benjamin)
- House of Israel (remaining ten tribes).
(Refer; 1 Kings 11:29-35, 12:1-24 and 2 Chr 11:13-17.)
Then some 400 years later, 600 years before the death of Christ, the
rebellious and religiously whorish house of Israel had been cast out
of the Promised Land.
2King 17:17 ... and sold themselves to do evil in the
sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.
:18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with
Israel(house of Israel), and removed them
from His sight; there was none left but the
tribe of Judah alone.
While the house of Israel had indeed been dispersed beyond the
Euphrates, in accord with the prophecy of 1Kings 14:15, a remnant
was later present during the reign of King Josiah.
2Chr 34:9 ... from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim,
from all the remnant of Israel, from all
Judah and Benjamin, ...
:21 ... and for those who are left in Israel and
Judah, ...
The words of Jesus Christ show that His 'calling' was primarily
directed toward the house of Israel.
Matt 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them,
saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles,
and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.
15:24 But He(Jesus Christ) answered and said, "I was
not sent except to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel."
At first these verses appear to be saying that only the descendants
of the house of Israel were being called into Christianity. However,
the term 'house of Israel' does not always refer solely to the ten
tribes of Israel. It is a term which, at times, is also applied to
the people of Jacob, and so at times describes those of the house of
Judah when accompanied by a remnant of the ten tribes. Nevertheless,
use of the term 'house of Israel', and the absence of the term 'house
of Judah', in such contexts does suggest a link between the rising
Christian faith and the ten tribed house of Israel.
The book of Romans chapter 11 is one area of New Testament Scripture
which highlights the respective destinies of the two houses.
Rom 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are
irrevocable.
:30 For as you(house of Israel) were once
disobedient to God, yet have now obtained
mercy through their(house of Judah)
disobedience,
:31 even so these(house of Judah) also have now
been disobedient, that through the mercy shown
you(house of Israel) they also may obtain mercy.
:32 For God has committed them all(both houses) to
disobedience, that He might have mercy on
all(Israel).
This text picks up on the idea that God's calling of both houses was
irrevocable. While both houses would each in turn be cast aside, due
to their disobedience, they would also both in turn be extended God's
mercy.
In the prior Rom 11:17-24 verses, talking about the cultivated olive
tree and the wild olive tree, both are references to the descendants
of Jacob. The cultivated olive being the house of Judah and the wild
olive being the house of Israel. (NB: The house of Israel forsook the
law of Moses from its very conception, refer 1 Kings 12:26-33.)
The comments of Romans 9:24-26 also highlight that Gentile Christians
would be primarily sourced from the descendants of the house of Israel.
Rom 9:24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only,
but also of the Gentiles?
:25 As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them
My people, who were not My people, And her
beloved, who was not beloved.
:26 And it shall come to pass in the place where
it was said to them, 'You are not My people,'
There they shall be called sons of the living
God."
The above quotes from the book of Hosea were spoken to the house of
Israel! God viewed the house of Israel as a harlot which had given
birth to children of harlotry, Hos 1:2. (In Jer 3:8 God documents
His divorce from the house of Israel.)
The complete text of Hosea is;
Hos 1:9 ... For you are not My people, And I will not
be your God.
:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall
be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
'You are not My people,' There it shall be said
to them, 'You are sons of the living God.'
Hosea's harlot wife had given birth to three children and the above
comments were made in relation to the third child. The comments
directed toward the first two children clearly identify to whom the
three prophetic messages were directed.
1st Child
Hos 1:4 ... For in a little while I will avenge the
bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
And bring an end to the kingdom of the
house of Israel.
2nd Child
Hos 1:6 ... For I will no longer have mercy on the
house of Israel, But I will utterly take
them away.
:7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
...
In order for the bulk of the descendants of the house of Israel to
be 'called' it was essential for the gospel to be made available
to Gentiles. The majority of the house of Israel had, by that time,
for many centuries dwelt north of the Euphrates and lost sight of
their religious heritage.
[ Comment: The predominance of the Christian religion in the
modern day nations of British descent and in many
of the nations of western Europe tends to suggest
the bulk of their people may actually be descended
from the ancient ten tribed house of Israel. ]
By the time of Jesus Christ the prior nation of the house of Judah
had become a faith based organisation centred upon the laws of the
Old Covenant. It was no longer an entity defined entirely by
geographical borders possessing its own political leaders.
When Christianity arose it was also established as a faith. God had
chosen to form Christianity without geographic borders or political
leadership.
Therefore, in the New Testament era, the two houses which once
comprised ancient Israel were once again represented; not as
physical nations, but as faiths!
[ NB: Prior to the rise of Christianity the Jewish faith had
for centuries been the primary existing remaining form
of the ancient nation of Israel. This is the reason why
Paul at times referred to those still adhering to the
Jewish faith as 'Israel' (eg Rom 11:25). ]
Christian 'Calling' Conclusion
God had never intended to call into Christianity all the Gentiles of
this physical earth. God had always intended to predominantly call
the Gentile descendants of the former house of Israel.
The lack of awareness of this vital knowledge has led to many false
conclusions concerning the nature of the New Covenant commission.
THE END-TIME CALLING
When viewing prophecy people often approach the topic with a simple
physically orientated philosophy.
In doing so they revert back to the common view, that God in the
New Testament era was trying to convert ALL Gentiles. They therefore
envisage a global physical judgment and feel justified in criticizing
the decisions of governments.
The reality though is very different.
The end-time verses mentioning the 'earth', 'world' or 'nations',
are not talking about the physical world, but the spiritual!
God is coming to judge the spiritual houses of Israel and Judah.
Coming to judge the leaderships and congregations of Christianity
and Judaism!
So that both faiths may be judged together, God is going to graft
the Jewish faith back into the olive tree.
Rom 11:15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling
of the world, what will their acceptance be but
life from the dead?
:25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should
be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be
wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part
has happened to Israel(Jewish faith) until the
fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
To this spiritual, unified, end-time form of Israel God will send
the spirit of Christ, calling for appropriate reform.
So, the full gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached to all
the spiritual world in the end-time, as a witness to all the major
denominations of Christianity and Judaism, and then the end will
come.
End-Time 'Calling' Conclusion
The prophetic message does not refer to those of the physical earth,
but to the faiths of Christianity and Judaism comprising the end-time
spiritual world.
To this spiritual world will come the full gospel and after it has
been rejected by the leaderships of these faiths, God will unleash
upon them the prophesied spiritual destruction.
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