Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

British-Israel Doctrinal Problems

The whole premise shown in the British-Israel quotes are absolutely wrong, being based upon a superficial interpretation of a passage. This article shows that the exclusive nature of Israel is a continuing theme throughout both Testaments. If we do not want to accept all these references, then what is to be done with them? It is not difficult to conclude that the Bible is a book primarily about Israel (as a people) because YEHOVAH is consistently declared to be the God of this one people.

by Arnold Kennedy

Introduction

It seems that the entire Israel-Identity movement is corrupted in the UK, the traditional identity view held by most British-Israelites being supplemented by the following beliefs:

(a) That the Bible had a definite plan for the “restoration of all earthly things to the perfections of the Garden of Eden”.

(b) That the blessing YEHOVAH God made by covenant to Abraham, is also available to believers in Yeshua the Messiah from all other races.

(c) That Israel’s purpose is “to save the world”.

These views can be seen to be contradictory because the overall effect is that ultimately there is no difference between Abraham’s seed and the seed of all other peoples, in regard to YEHOVAH’s blessing. It is not proposed to consider points (a) here in any detail, or to discuss the universal reconciliation that belief (a) infers. We are not considering any doctrines such as the USA-Zion concept, and that is a separate issue. The latter two points are what we will look at in more detail.

Quotations From British-Israel Sources

To get a feeling for what is presented by British-Israelites, some of their quotations will first be given.

(1) "Through the blessing upon Jacob-Israel, YEHOVAH God will bless all the other nations of the earth."

(2) "When Israel should show some signs of becoming a colonizing people and company of nations, they would also show signs of bringing the blessings of the Gospel on a word-wide scale to the nations of the earth."

(3) "Only in the recognition of the Anglo-Saxon peoples as modern-day Israel, with the Throne of David in their midst, can a definite plan be seen for the redemption of all mankind, by YEHOVAH God from the original sin of Adam, back to the perfection which pertained in the Garden of Eden, prior to the 'fall of man'."

(4) "In the prophecies relating to modern-day Israel-Britain, the more it appears evident what a tremendous debt our nation and the world owe to Yeshua the Messiah."

(5) "The Messiah died for the redemption of the Israel nation, as well as for the salvation of every individual in the world who accepts him as the Son of YEHOVAH God and as their personal savior."

(6) "Israel is YEHOVAH’s servant nation to perform His will, so that through us blessing will be brought to all people."

(7) "This personal salvation is of course open to all individuals of all nations."

(8) "Yeshua the Messiah is the redeemer who, through his one great sacrifice, has ensured the eventual complete success of the Plan of YEHOVAH God, in spite of the sins of the Israel nation, and the sins of the world."

(9) "Israel’s purpose is to take the message to the very ends of the earth."

(10) "Israel is instrumental in the calling out of the Church -- those believers from all nations who are overcomers."

The Source of These Doctrines

British-Israelites, in tune with their churches, take their cue from the wording translators have given to what is often named, “The calling of Abraham”:

Genesis 12:1-3: "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

The majority of versions have something very similar to the phrase, “and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”. The Youngs Literal Translation reads, “And I bless those blessing thee, and him who is disesteeming thee I curse, and blessed in thee have been all families of the ground”.

So we need to review this traditional understanding as it contradicts many other passages. We will start with the same passage as quoted in the New Testament:

Galatians 3:7-9: "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached [proclaimed] before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."

This verse together with and the verses below, are favored by universalists because they seem to present a universal gospel for all races. “Nations” is sometimes translated emotively as “Heathen” to try to add weight to the universal argument. To understand any passage of Scripture it is necessary to look at it as a whole by going back to the prophecy behind it to see what it is fulfilling.

To Abraham:

Genesis 12:2, 3: "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and will curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

Genesis 18:18: "Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and a mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?"

Genesis 22:18: "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

To Isaac:

Genesis 26:3: "Sojourn in this land, and I will be with three, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath that I sware unto Abraham thy father."

To Jacob:

Genesis 28:14: "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."

To Israel:

Psalm 22:27: "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee."

Here are six important verses that are used to support the doctrine of universal racial salvation. Indeed, they do appear to give valid support on the surface. But do they actually say what the religious translators make them say? Is this the problem here?

The “Families of the Earth” Being Blessed in Abraham

The major source of error in these blessing passages is what we mean by certain words. We have different words translated as earth and ground, countries and the land, as also occurs with the words translated nations, families and kindreds. Although an extensive technical Hebrew language exposition is beyond the scope of this article, there are things that need to be pointed out. Originally Abraham was told to go from his father’s house unto a land (= eretz) that YEHOVAH God would show him.

If eretz here means the whole Earth, then Abraham must have gone to another planet! Abraham was told, “all The 'Earth’ which thou seeth, I will give thee”. He was told to arise and walk through that “earth”. Did Abraham walk across the whole globe? So we have to ask if this "earth" is the whole earth or the Promised Land. It is not all the ‘eretzs of all the races on earth, because each race had its own eretz, e.g. The Land of Egypt, the Land of Maob, etc. Abraham was told to get himself out of his present earth and to go to THE earth. There are many references that give confirmation of the meaning. “THE earth” does not mean the whole globe, but rather that portion belonging to the particular area or person under consideration.

Contrary to popular presentation, we must note that in Genesis 12:3, the "them" in “I will bless them” is plural, whereas the "him" in “I will curse him” is singular. The Hebrew allows for two possible translations of "be blessed", namely:

(1) may be blessed in, or by, association with thee, and

(2) may bless themselves [as the RV footnote says].

The latter translation on a grammatical basis rather changes the popular acceptance!!

Some awkward questions could be posed here if it was to be taken that “all nations” had the meaning of “every race on earth”:

(1) If those who curse Abraham are cursed, how could those so cursed be part of “all nations” which were to be blessed?

(2) Were the Egyptians blessed or cursed through Israel’s presence during their captivity and also in the Exodus?

(3) When the Children of Israel went into the Promised Land, they were told to exterminate all the Canaanite nations. Was not that an unusual way of blessing the Canaanites? After all, they were supposed to be part of "all nations." Likewise Amalek was to be exterminated.

(4) In Deuteronomy 23:6, YEHOVAH God commanded Israel that they should not seek the peace or the prosperity of the Ammonites and the Moabites right up to the end of the age. Ezra 9:12 indicates similar treatment of the non-Israelites in the land. This is hardly a blessing on those nations, is it?

(5) When The House of Judah was in captivity in Babylon, is there any evidence of Israel being a blessing to Babylon?

(6) When the House of Israel was in captivity in Assyria, did this make the Assyrians blossom?

(7) In prophecy why are all the forecasts concerning non-Israel nations always detailing them as being servants to Israel and for them to perish if they refuse this destiny? This is so right up to the end of the age.

(8) The promise to Abraham was to “ALL” nations without any exceptions. “All” cannot include those who are cursed and those YEHOVAH God says that He hates. Hence “all” means all the nations of Israel.

Throughout Scripture, Israel was “to dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations” -- (Numbers 23:9). Prophecy sustains this to the end:

Daniel 7:27: "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve him."

Isaiah 60:12: "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted."

Zechariah 14:16, 17: "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came up against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain."

Israel and Judah were scattered among all nations, but are these other nations to be blessed? Jeremiah does not agree. It is important to register how the phrase, “all nations” is used.

Jeremiah 30:11: "…though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee…"

Jeremiah repeats this in Jeremiah 46:28, addressing this to Jacob. Here “all nations” does not include Israel. In both Hebrew and Greek, “all”, “every”, “whosoever” are confined to all of the context, and include nothing outside of the context.

In all these Scriptures we can see the unique place of Israel among the other nations. This continues after the Messiah returns and reigns over Israel with YEHOVAH God over the other nations. Finally there will be no more death. What a blessing! The blessing is either given by this seed, or by the Act of YEHOVAH God.

A Further Look At the Exclusiveness of Israel

The British-Israel concept of ultimately including all other races is NOT VALID, but is a hangover from members’ church days.

The verses listed below are all addressed to Israel -- and not to anyone else! In reading them, please take note of the emphasized words in each verse to see that this is so.

Exodus 6:7: "And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be unto you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God…"

We start here with the separation of Israel from other peoples. YEHOVAH God, who is addressing Israel, is saying that He will be the God of this one people. Here it is YEHOVAH who is Israel’s creator. Throughout the Bible we cannot find any specific verse which says the God of the Bible is other than the God of Israel.

Exodus 19:5, 6: "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. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."

The words “above all people” immediately states that there is a different relationship established between YEHOVAH God and Israel that does not apply to other races. It was the Messiah who later said that unless a person was born “from above” he would not be able to see the Kingdom of Heaven, confirming they must come from the same people. The very Greek prefix “ano” suggests “upwards” or “superior”. Furthermore, the expressions “kingdom of priests" and “an holy nation” as a direct quotation is found in 1 Peter 2:9 ("a royal priesthood") showing the people are the same. No other race is spoken of in this same unique way. This rather eliminates the, “for the salvation of every individual in the world who accepts Him as the Son of God and as their personal savior” as given as a premise in the quotations taken from British Israel sources.

This racial separation is further stressed:

Leviticus 20:26: "Ye shall be holy [separate] unto me, for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine."

Here we find a clarity that witnesses the racial separation of Israel from other races. The Hebrew word “badal” means “to separate, distinguish, select, divide" and "to sever utterly”. The basic meaning of the words holy and holiness in both Testaments conveys the idea of being “separate" or "set apart”. YEHOVAH God Himself is spoken of as “The Holy One of Israel”, but NEVER as being the Holy One of any other race. Thus, in both Testaments, a “holy nation” means a “separated” nation. The holy spirit (no definite article) is also the spirit of separation upon the “holy nation”. In Scripture we can find reference to “the Holy People” (Daniel 8:24), referring to Israel. When YEHOVAH God severed Israel from the other races, there is no indication that the separation was to be for any limited period. In fact, it is the opposite that is shown!

Deuteronomy 4:7, 8: "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them…what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day."

This verse establishes that the Law was given to ISRAEL ALONE. Moses, speaking to Israel alone, declares in verse 13 that this involves the Ten Commandments. The Old Testament was made with Israel ALONE, even if there were a mixed multitude present with them at that time. The issue here is law and covenant relationship.

Deuteronomy 4:37: "And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them…"

The genetic relationship between "fathers" and "seed" cannot be avoided! This reference continues through the New Testament!

Deuteronomy 7:6: "For thou art an holy [separate] people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all the people that are upon face of the earth."

This is not a popular teaching, but it is one of the early Bible statements about the unique, racially exclusive, place of Israel among all the other races. If Israel were to disappear as a race from the Bible, prophecy would forecast this. In the New Testament, Paul asks the question, “Hath God cast away His people? -- No! -- God forbid” -- (Romans 11:1). At that point in time, Israel was separated into two Houses of whom “part” were blinded (v. 7), but Israel as a whole “hath not obtained”.

Deuteronomy 32:9: "For the LORD’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance."

There is not one Scripture anywhere that says any race other than Israel is genetically YEHOVAH’s inheritance.

Deuteronomy 33:29: "Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like thee, O people saved by the LORD…"

People are taught or like to think that YEHOVAH God is unbiased or unselective, but as a Sovereign God He can do whatever pleases Him. Paul says, “and so ALL ISRAEL shall be saved”  -- (Romans 11:26).

Numbers 23:9: "…lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations."

In the New Testament, the call is still to “come out from among THEM and touch not the unclean”. It is YEHOVAH God who made this sexual or physical separation for all time. Israel is not to interact with other races in any such common purpose or become unequally yoked with other races, particularly with their idols. This brings YEHOVAH’s judgment upon transgressors.

2 Samuel 7:23: "And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to Himself and to make Him a name…"

We must note the singular emphasis here that tells us the same story about Israel being the one people the Messiah came to redeem.

Psalm 78:5: "For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a Law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers…"

The triad, “Jacob", "Israel" and "fathers” is a three-fold bond that cannot be broken. Again we find here the confirmation that the Law was given to Israel. In the New Testament, we find the same expressions, “fathers", "Jacob" and "Israel” which show the New Testament is addressed to the same people -- those who had the Old Testament. That is, they are all ISRAELITES BY RACE.

Psalm 147:19, 20: "He showeth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgements unto Israel.…as for His judgments, they [the other races] have not known them."

This is a very clear statement that "His Word" is not given to other races! This is not a popular concept or teaching but it is confirmed in both Testaments. But if YEHOVAH God declares that "He hath not dealt so with any nation," we dare not question it! Israel is unique by YEHOVAH’s sovereign choice.

Psalm 148:14: "He also exalteth the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints, even the children of Israel, a people near to Him."

This Scripture defines who and who only are saints. “Saints” appears in the New Testament without any new definition. It is YEHOVAH God who made this separation for all time. Also, we do not find other races being “near” to YEHOVAH God.

Isaiah 41:8-9: "But thou, Israel art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend."

“The seed” -- this word is very important, as it defines which part of Abraham’s seed is continually referred to in both Testaments, as being YEHOVAH’s people racially. Not all the nations that spring from Abraham are regarded as his seed. Only the nation "named" or "called" “IN Isaac” is to be so regarded. Jacob and his descendants were accepted as this seed. To show this, Jacob was named "Israel" -- that is, he was given YEHOVAH’s name. Thus Jacob was the seed named in Isaac.

Isaiah 43:1: "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."

This verse includes the words, “created” and “formed” that are not the same. Jacob was “created”, but Israel was “formed”.

Formed: yatsar To fashion, form or make.

Created: bara In context, this is to create.

Redeemed: gawal Bought back, ransomed, recovered or avenged.

These things are NEVER said of any other race. If YEHOVAH God chose every race there would be no election, choosing or buying back. All mankind would be the same! These expressions continue through the New Testament. Do they sound familiar? There is a difference between the expressions "the sons of Jacob" and the "children of Israel" through Scripture, one being "created" with the other being "formed". Those "formed" by fully believing YEHOVAH God come from among those who are the natural descendants. We find a similar difference between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2.

Isaiah 45:4: "For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee…"

Note: the elect is an important term also which defines YEHOVAH’s selection of a people (singular) which is genetic (national Israel). Elect or bachiyr means “chosen one” (singular). The Messiah and the New Testament writers use the term in a way that does not change.

Isaiah 46:3: "Hearken unto me, O House of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb."

Note: This defines the racial origin of Israel as being from the womb of Sarah (see also Isaiah 51:1, 2, "the hole of the pit").

Isaiah 49:3: "…thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified."

This shows Israel is YEHOVAH’s servant people. This again is a continuing expression that is used of those fulfilling YEHOVAH’s purposes. “Servant” is sometimes applied to other races that YEHOVAH God is using to discipline Israel so that Israel might glorify YEHOVAH God. YEHOVAH does not say that He will be glorified in any other race but Israel. In the New Testament we will see that “and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matthew 15:31). They did not glorify the “God of all races that believed in Jesus” as the British-Israel quotes suggest.

Isaiah 53:8: "…for the transgression of my people was he stricken."

“My people” here are either YEHOVAH’s people or Isaiah’s people (who are the SAME people). It is popular to extend this limitation so that other races can be included. This is NOT VALID; they are Israel only. This much-loved chapter with its “all we like sheep have gone astray” speaks of the Messiah being wounded for our transgressions with mention of “we” and “our”. “My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there” in Isaiah 52:4 gives expression and positive identity of the people being addressed and this follows through to the following chapter. The “sheep” who had gone astray are the ones whom the Good Shepherd came to seek and to save.

Isaiah 59:20, 21: "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever."

It is impossible to spiritualize "seed" or “seed’s seed”; they are genetic terms which are on-going. There does not appear to be a single reference to any other nation than Israel to whom the Redeemer would come. He is always "The Redeemer of Israel" and it is, as stated, to be forever. The Messiah came to “visit and redeem His People” -- (Luke 1:68). The Messiah is the Kinsman-Redeemer of Israel. There is never any suggestion of any others than Israel being redeemed. From which broken Law-covenant would the other races need redeeming? Recall again how ONLY Israel was given the statutes and judgments and ONLY Israel needed redemption from that Law which they had broken. We see that the covenant is for all generations to "seed’s seed" of Jacob, and it is to those who turn from transgression in JACOB whom the Redeemer saves. Here again we have the spirit that is of the anointed race. Israel has, “My Spirit which IS upon thee”. This is not commonly taught today. We will see that this is the same presentation as that in the New Testament, believe it or not. This Scripture is not acceptable to tradition. Guess why? It is because racial Israel stays EXCLUSIVE as being “Jacob’s seed”. Of the end of this age we read:

Jeremiah 50:4: "In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the Children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God."

A much talked about subject is the regathering of Israel which is supposed to be presently taking place in Palestine, but “and at that time” is NOT the present activity in the Israeli state. What is being established is just who is to be regathered. Is it a multi-racial church or is it only the House of Israel and the House of Judah (that is, the Twelve Tribes of Israel)? The latter is the consistent and frequent Biblical presentation, as it is in the verse above (see also Ezekiel 37:15-28 in particular).

The picture painted is always of a still very exclusive Israel. The House of Israel and the House of Judah are exclusive from the heathen races all around. This shows that at the end of the New Testament age they are still exclusive. So they must be exclusive through the New Testament age, even until the regathering. Note that there is no pattern of prophecy that presents any non-Israel content in the regathering, so something must be WRONG with the traditional teachings.

Jeremiah 51:19: "The portion of Jacob is not like them [that is, Babylon]; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of His inheritance: the LORD of Hosts is His name."

This completely excludes “Babylon” from YEHOVAH’s inheritance. The timing of this event is at the end of the New Testament age. Again, national Israel must go through the age. Israel is to be the rod over the other races to rule with YEHOVAH God. If Israel means “Ruling with God”, we need to ask how all races could be Israelites, if all races are the same!

Ezekiel 37:26-28: "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them it shall be an everlasting covenant with them…and the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore."

This shows that YEHOVAH’s covenant is with Israel ALONE, and that the other races will be aware of this when YEHOVAH God comes to dwell with His People Israel. The timing, again, is the end of the age at the Messiah’s return and when YEHOVAH’s sanctuary is in the midst of Israel and nowhere else.

Daniel 12:1: "And at that time shall Michael stand up…which standeth for the children of thy [Daniel’s] people:…"

At the end of the age it is still only “thy people” who are delivered. Israel is still in existence as a people at the time of the end and through the New Testament age. Michael does not stand up for other races.

Hosea 1:11: "Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together…"

This and other quotations from the Minor Prophets are included to show the “unity of the Scriptures” that always presents the EXCLUSIVE nature of Israel. Hosea again defines who is regathered, and also the timing. We will see that the children of Judah and the children of Israel are not united until this time. There is no suggestion of there being any other race, or of a multiracial “Church” comprising of “Jews and Gentiles”, as being part of the regathering of the remnant of Israel in these minor prophets. It is always the two Houses who are regathered and come together.

Hosea 14:1-5: "O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God…I will be as the dew unto Israel:…"

This is at the time of the regathering when Israel as a nation returns to "the LORD Thy God." (Verse 9, "Who is wise…he shall understand these things"). No other race is being asked to return to Israel’s God.

Joel 2:27: "And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel…"

Joel 3:2: "I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshapet, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land."

Again, there is no change prophetically about which nation YEHOVAH God is in the midst of or which nation He will be in the midst of at this future time.

Amos 3:2: "You ONLY have I known of all the families of the earth:…"

The word used for “known” cannot be treated fully here, but it does not mean to acknowledge. It is used more as “to recognize as a fact, revelation knowledge” or “to discern” in an intimate and chosen way. Here there is the complete isolation of Israel from the other races.

Note: This is important when we come to the New Testament where it refers to those who were foreknown of YEHOVAH God. This identifies the people as being the same nation in both Testaments; those who were foreknown in the New Testament are those who were known in the Old Testament.

Micah 2:12: "I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel:…"

Are there still any lingering doubts that no other races are ever mentioned at this time of regathering?

Habakkuk 3:13: "Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy People…"

Zephaniah 3:13: "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity…"

There are a host of other Old Testament Scriptures that could have been quoted.

YEHOVAH God Places His Name On the One People

Numerous references refer to “My name” as being placed upon the Children of Israel. For example:

Deuteronomy 28:10: "And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee."

Numbers 6:27: "And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them."

Deuteronomy 26:19: "And to make thee [that is, Israel] high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy [separate] people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken."

The name of YEHOVAH (AV The LORD) is exclusive upon Israel as a race. “All the people of the earth” then does NOT include the Children of Israel, in this case. The name placed upon the Children of Israel who obey YEHOVAH God is that of YEHOVAH Himself. YEHOVAH God Himself decides just where He will place His Name, whether it be on a people or a place (Deuteronomy 26:2: “which the LORD THY God shall choose to place His Name there”).

This separation of Israel from all the other races is always distinct, but their blessing is conditional upon their obedience. We can now look at the New Testament in the light of what we have seen in the Old Testament.

The New Testament Scriptures show no disharmony or change of position from that which is written in the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets. In view of what has been written and shown from the Old Testament, this might be seen for the first time with new eyes. It will come as a shock for some people to realize that the exclusiveness of Israel continues throughout the New Testament, because this cuts across the traditional doctrine that Israel is now “The Church” and that this Church is multi-racial. Redemption from the broken Law-covenant can NEVER be multi-racial or universal, since ONLY Israel was given the Law as a covenant.

In the quotations made from the New Testament you will note many references to “the fathers” referring to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The people addressed in the Acts and the Epistles are the children (descendants) of these fathers, the fathers of Israel. It is not just to Abraham in isolation in the way most use this to try to say Abraham’s seed is a spiritual seed. The harmony mentioned concerning the law being given to Israel is amply confirmed in the New Testament:

Romans 9:4: "Who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;"

So, the promises, covenants and the adoption do not apply to any BUT Israelites!

Each Book in the New Testament

The New Testament Scriptures below are in direct contrast to the way, “Go into all the world” is interpreted as a doctrine. This may also be a shock and so we will look through some of these. We will quote from Gospel selections to save repetition and then comment from each book of the New Testament in order. Please note carefully the emphasized words, because this will help understanding.

Luke 1:16: "And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the LORD their God."

There is no suggestion that any other than the Children of Israel will be turned to YEHOVAH God. The “many”, rather than “all”, is found a number of times within the New Testament.

Luke 1:32, 33: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the LORD God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever…"

The Messiah is always spoken of as being the ruler of Israel nationally, the “House of Jacob” including all the tribes. The House of Jacob is still the very same entity in the New Testament as it was in the Old Testament. This Throne (indicating Kingdom) is to be restored TO JACOB. YEHOVAH’s promises will be fulfilled in those to whom they were made. Everything that offends will be gathered OUT of the Kingdom, the Messiah tells us.

Luke 1:54, 55: "He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever."

Mercy is always spoken of as being to Israel ONLY. This promise of mercy was to the Fathers and to their seed of Israel ONLY. Israel is the servant race as this verse says. “The Fathers” were not the fathers of all races. Scripture does NOT present YEHOVAH God as being the father of all peoples. Is there record of any other seed to whom YEHOVAH spake other than to the seed of Abraham? Some want to take the traditional position that the seed is now spiritual and not racial. But there is no suggestion of a “spiritual seed” in all of these Scriptures. They are too precise and specific! When we see that they are the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy we have harmony.

Luke 1:68: "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people."

There is NEVER any mention of redemption for any outside of Israel. Here they are described as "His People." The Messiah is always spoken of as being "The Redeemer of Israel." Israel in the Old Testament is a precise racial term. None of all these Scriptures provide evidence of any change in that fact in the New Testament.

Luke 1:73, 74: "The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,"

As in all Scripture, the pronouns cannot be generalized. "We" and "us" contrast with "enemies" as TWO defined groups. Here the pronouns define a racial origin. There is much more about this through the New Testament, as we will see.

Luke 1:77: "To give the knowledge of salvation unto his People…"

Again, is any other race included in the giving of the knowledge of salvation? Is it possible for any race but Israel to know salvation from the sin of breaking the Law -- since the Law was given specifically to Israel ALONE? This confirms the Old Testament prophetic Scriptures. This is a very specific statement of YEHOVAH’s purpose. Dare we meddle with YEHOVAH’s stated purpose?

Luke 2:34: "…this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel…"

There is no mention of races other than Israel.

Matthew 1:21: "…and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."

This again is confirmation of the Scriptures already quoted and is just as specific as to who would be saved. One of the major problems traditionalists have is to find any continuing pattern of prophecy in the Old Testament that would back up their position that "his people" now includes all races. As pointed out earlier, the people the Messiah saves from their sins here are already "his people" BEFORE they are saved! Note this well!

Matthew 2:6: "…for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel."

This defines the people of whom the Messiah is the Lord and the race of which he is King. This is a straight statement of the fulfillment of prophecy made many times.

Matthew 15:24: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

It is impossible for the followers of the present traditional teachings to cope with this Scripture so it is ignored. There is a translation difficulty in this verse also, the word "but" meaning "if not" and therefore it includes the House of Judah as well. The Messiah was then in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon but, as he says, he had other sheep which were not of the fold within Palestine. He dispatched his disciples to the HOUSE OF ISRAEL, the bulk of whom were scattered outside of Judea, mainly about Northern Greece and parts of the old Grecian empire. Note that the Messiah even confirms the separation between Galilee and Jewry (John 7:1 and John 11:54).

Why should we not do the same instead of calling both parties “The Jews”? This is an error of tradition. The House of Israel were not so “lost” that the disciples could not find them, were they?

Matthew 15:31: "…and they glorified the God of Israel."

This is a clear statement of whom He is the God.

Matthew 19:28: "…in the regeneration…ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

Dare we say “The Church” has taken the place of the Twelve Tribes of Israel at the "Time of the Regeneration," which is yet to come? The “Church” is not what we have been led to believe, as we will see.

Mark 12:29: "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God is one Lord;"

Is anyone other than Israel requested to “hear”? Only Israel can “hear”. Remember how the Messiah said in John 8:43 to the Edomite leaders of Jewry, "Ye cannot hear my words"? There is still the synagogue of Satan who call themselves “Jews” or Judeans (Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9) who cannot “hear”. These could not be of the House of Judah, as they claimed to be. Could this part of Jewry possibly be part of the Church of YEHOVAH God or of the Israel of YEHOVAH God? It is common to hear that "the Israel of God is the multi-racial church", and then to use this statement as the basis of argument! It is easy to say anything without backing it up and especially without the full Biblical basis of argument!

John 1:11, 12: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God…"

Yeshua the Messiah came to his own territory, wherein was the Temple, but all of his own people there did not receive him as having any authority over what was his. Those of his own who believed, received, accepted and recognized him were given the authority to once again become placed (that is, re-instated; AV: adopted) as the sons of YEHOVAH God.

John 1:31: "…but that he should be manifest to Israel…"

Can we find reference to the Messiah being manifest to others than Israelites? That is all men of Israel.

Acts 1:6: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

The restoration of the Kingdom to Israel is a subject which the traditional teachings REFUSE to emphasize, despite the Messiah’s instruction that this must be our priority prayer and the time to look forward to when His Will will be done IN EARTH, as it is in Heaven. This instruction is a statement of the Will of YEHOVAH God. Instead of preaching the Kingdom, and the remnant out of Israel who will find it, traditional teaching preaches that the “Church” will be raptured away from Earth! But, the saints (separated ones) are to reign on earth when the Kingdom is restored to Israel.

Acts 2:17: "…your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…"

The specific "your" refers to the children of those being spoken to and again there is, as usual, no mention of any who did not have "the Fathers" as their pro-genitors being able to prophesy! The people being addressed are described in verse 22 as being "men of Israel." And Joel’s prophecy which is the basis of this verse was ONLY to Israel!

Acts 2:22: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words…"

Acts 3:12, 13: "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this?…the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers…"

Can we pretend these "men of Israel" were from other racial stock?

Acts 2:36: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know…"

This is specifically limited to Israelites.

Acts 2:39: "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call."

Please note that this verse is post-Pentecost and again isolates to whom the promise is made. The many of Israel are called, but few of Israel are chosen. Those of Israel who were "afar off" and not dwelling in Judea were not excluded. It is still "our God," the God of "Ye men of Israel" (verse 22) who were being addressed.

Acts 3:25: "Ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers,…"

Since every one of the prophets were Israelites by race, their children must be of the same race. (Note: Nationality must not be confused with race. This is a mistake often made by traditional teachers who try to prove non-Israel stock by nationality or place of domicile).

Acts 5:31: "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and the forgiveness of sins."

Yet again, we have definition of race that is post-Passion, and post-Pentecost. It is a definition which carries on throughout the New Testament.

Acts 7:37: "…A prophet shall the LORD your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear."

The question that has to be asked here is, “Were Moses and Paul both wrong?” This is what the traditional teachers are saying when they say the Messiah was not raised up “UNTO YOU”, but unto all races. Their teaching is a blatant denial of Scripture and of what Moses and Paul have said. The "of your brethren" fixes very firmly to whom the Messiah came as being to Israel ONLY.

Acts 10:36: "The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ…"

This confirms the Old Testament teaching that YEHOVAH God gave His Word ONLY to Israel, as a race. The "peace" was proclaimed to those who were near (Judeans) and to those who were afar off (the dispersion -- called Grecians in Acts). This is still no different from Psalm 147:19, 20, "he showed His word unto Jacob," or unto all ISRAEL.

Acts 13:22, 23: "…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart…of this man’s seed hath God, according to his promise, raised up unto Israel a Savior, Jesus."

Is there any record of the promise of a Savior being raised up to people other than Israel? All the references refer to the promise that is made to Israel ONLY. This again shows this is fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy unto Israel.

Acts 13:32, 33: "And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children…"

Note to whom Paul was speaking and that he was speaking at Antioch. This apostle to the Gentiles was still speaking to Israelites -- to those among the stock of Abraham who feared YEHOVAH God (verse 26). For a long time it has been a traditional belief that the word “Gentiles” refers specifically to non-Israelites, but it cannot be avoided that the stock of Abraham is SPECIFICALLY mentioned in verse 26 of this passage! The word for “stock” is genos (race and offspring). The children are shown in relationship to “The Fathers”. The “us their children” is too explicit to bend to fit the mould of tradition. There is still no change in the New Testament as to the exclusiveness of Israel.

Acts 26:6: "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers."

This is a typical example of a Scripture that is commonly generalized to say that the promise made to “our fathers” is now made to everyone of every race. THE PROMISE SPOKEN OF HERE IS MADE TO ISRAEL ALONE.

Acts 26:7: "Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night hope to come…"

Some might not like having this Scripture pointed out, along with others in the New Testament that present the fact that the Twelve Tribes still feature in the New Testament, after Pentecost. The time of this quotation is about A.D. 59. All these Scriptures quoted from Acts onwards are post-Pentecost, after the Messiah had fulfilled the Law of Sacrifices. In traditional teachings the people being addressed are supposed to be a multi-racial church as presented in the popular teachings. Again this promise of the resurrection is still made to Israel. Remember that the Messiah had already been resurrected so this particular promise of resurrection could not refer to Yeshua. This promise of the resurrection is here shown as being made unto the Twelve Tribes. Can we find, in specific direct statements anywhere at all in the Bible, where this promise is shown to be made to non-Israelites?

Acts 28:20: "For this cause therefore I have called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain."

This verse, together with the previous one, speaks about “hope”. The subjects of this hope are stated to be Israel or THE TWELVE TRIBES. Hope is sometimes connected with election (for example, 1 Thessalonians 1:4) and this is connected with Israel in other passages, particularly in the Book of Hebrews where Law and Hope are contrasted (for example, Hebrews 7:19, "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did").

Romans 1:7: "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints,…"

Romans 1:13: "…brethren…and…even as among other Gentiles."

The people Paul is addressing in Rome are defined as those who are, “beloved of God" and "called to be saints”. The emphasized words can so easily be explained since Israelites are sometimes called Gentiles. These pin point the racial identity of those Paul was addressing. Called is kletos or appointed. These words CANNOT be found identifying non-Israel races!

Romans 3:19: "Now we know that what things soever the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law:…"

The Law is not saying anything to anyone else but to Israel. It is not said to others who were not under the Law. This whole epistle is written to Israelites in Rome at that time.

Romans 4:24: "But for us also to whom it shall be imputed…"

In context, "for us" does not refer to non-Israelites, but to Israelites who believe, as Abraham did, that the Law of Faith in the Atoning Sacrifice superseded the Law of Sacrifices contained in Ordinances.

Romans 7:1: "Know ye not, brethren…how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?"

The symbolism here is that of marriage under Israel’s law. When we consider this in the light of the Law having been given to Israel ONLY, we can see that Israelites are those being addressed. Paul confirms this by calling them “my brethren,” (adelphos) or “kinsmen of the womb”.

Romans 9:7: "Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but in Isaac shall thy seed be called."

The seed (zera in Hebrew or sperma in Greek), refers to semen product, that is, it refers to a line of people genetically. Throughout the New Testament, the sperma is used this same way. The much used expression "the Fathers" both implies and emphasizes the genetic line.

Romans 11:17: "And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them…"

Could other than Olive stock be grafted into an Olive tree? This was part of the House of Israel which had “become as aliens” rejoining part of the House of Judah under the New Testament. The House of Israel had become as “wild” Olive trees. This is in full accord with the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets. The popular teaching cannot be found prophetically on a proper foundation, or in fact.

Romans 15:8: "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers."

Here we have a statement that is important, because it tells us the people to whom the Messiah came, and why he came. These promises were not made to any but to Israel and this seed of Israel. The exclusive Israel content of this chapter (Romans 15) is extensive, as shown below. Verse 9 is a quotation from Psalm 18:49 which shows David praising YEHOVAH God within Israel:

Verse 9: "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name."

Verse 10: "Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people!"

This comes from Deuteronomy 32:43 where the people (called Gentiles by the translators) ARE ISRAEL. "With his people" is ALL the Israelites together -- the dispersed Israelites together with the Israelites in Judea.

Verse 11: "Praise the LORD, all ye Gentiles and laud Him, all ye people!"

Psalm 117, from which this quotation comes, again refers to Israel.

Verse 12: "Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust."

HERE ISAIAH WAS TALKING TO ISRAEL!

The ONLY nations (translated as Gentiles) who could trust YEHOVAH God were Israelites.

Verse 16: "That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.…"

In this verse Paul confirms the statement in Romans 11:13 that he is a minister to Israel. The word “Gentiles” in this section is a Latin word that is given a manufactured meaning; so do not be misled by it. It can be shown that the word “Gentiles” often refers to the House of Israel as opposed to the House of Judah. Again, there is no prophecy for the traditional view that arose from the Latin Vulgate and has carried on ever since. Rome made the word “Gentile” to support the view that the Roman church was the Israel of God. Let this sink in! Early translators carried on the Roman church word meaning because they were blind to their identity as part of Israel, and they thought that they might be missing out on YEHOVAH’s blessing.

Going on to the Book of Corinthians, we find that these so-called Gentiles could only be Israelites. The words, “brethren", "our fathers" and "Moses” confirm this:

1 Corinthians 10:1-4: "Moreover brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses…for they drank of that spiritual rock…and that rock was Christ."

“Our Fathers” gives definition in a most positive way. The children of "the Fathers" are those who are being addressed. Note: it does NOT say "and that Rock was Jesus Christ." (“Jesus” is inserted in some translations to change the meaning to make the verse comply with tradition). What is said is "and that rock was anointed."

Galatians 3:13: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law…"

ONLY Israel was given the Law so ONLY Israel needed redeeming from the curse of the broken law! The pronouns are so important! To understand that only Israel had been given the Law is most important. It is DECEPTION to believe to the contrary against all the clear statements of Scripture. “Us” in this context is still the same exclusive people of Israel.

Galatians 4:4, 5: "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

Paul here quotes Isaiah 54:1 which refers to the Redeemer of Israel. Again redemption only concerns "them that were under the Law," and these are the people to whom it is written. TWO parties had been under the Law. This is important to understand. These two parties are known as:

[a] Jews and Gentiles (the House of Judah and the House of Israel), or

[b] The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision (the House of Judah and the House of Israel).

BOTH PARTIES WERE ISRAELITES and could not be otherwise since only Israel had been under the Law. What is traditionally taught about Jews and Gentiles is simply not right and could not be right because of this.

Ephesians 2:12: "That at the time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."

Those to whom Paul was writing had become estranged from Israel. Examination of the highlighted words gives identification. The words "aliens" and "strangers" are not what they might appear on the surface. These particular "strangers" were the HOUSE OF ISRAEL. The exclusiveness of Israel in the book of Ephesians will be looked at separately. The “ye” refers to the saints as is found in the first verse of this book of Ephesians. In this verse we have the covenants of promise. Going back to identify to who these promises were made, takes us back to Israelites by race.

Philippians 3:1: "Finally, my brethren…"

“Brethren”, as we will see in James, refers to a brother or a near kinsman.

Philippians 3:5: "…of the stock of Israel…"

“Stock” is another genetic term.

Philippians 3:9: "…not having mine own righteousness which is of the law…"

Here, as usual, there is the association with the Law that was ONLY given to Israel.

Philippians 4:21: "Salute every saint in Christ Jesus.…"

“Saints” are always Israelites. For example, Psalm 148:14, "The praise of all His saints: even the Children of Israel."

1 Thessalonians 1:4: "Knowing, brethren, your election of God…"

Isaiah 45:4 defines Israel as being YEHOVAH God’s elect -- "Israel mine Elect." These elect are chosen by YEHOVAH God and so are of Divine origin. They are of the seed “from above”. Remember to keep in mind this word “elect. The “your” in “your election” is related to “brethren” (of the womb).

1 Thessalonians 5:9, 10: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us…"

In Scripture there are those who are appointed to wrath and vessels fit for destruction. That is their appointment. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 shows that this book is written to the Elect (Knowing, brethren, your election of God).

2 Thessalonians 2:13: "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation."

It is the “brethren” who are “chosen” and no one else. We will soon be looking at the definition of “brethren”.

1 Timothy 3:15: "…how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house [that is, household] of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

Examination here will define just who is “the Church”. The "household of God" refers to Israel, as does “the church” which is called out of Israel. This is the remnant which still comes from Israel only, according to the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets.

2 Timothy 1:3: "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers…"

Paul again will not discount racial origin ("my forefathers"). He says that he endured all things for THE ELECT’S sake and for the appearing of the Kingdom. Again, this Kingdom is the one of which the Messiah is to be the King. The Gospel of the Kingdom, or the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel, is not proclaimed any more. This is because the doctrine of a multi-racial church has taken the place of Israel. "My forefathers" and "the Fathers" do not signify all races as having come from the loins of Isaac.

Hebrews 2:16: "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham."

Why would it be necessary to specify "the seed of Abraham" instead of the seed of either Adam or mankind in general? Throughout this chapter we find many references to “brethren” (of the womb), together with Old Testament references to Psalms 8:18 and 22. These are Psalms of Israel among which we find, "all ye seed of Jacob glorify Him; and fear Him all ye the seed of Israel" (Psalm 22:23). The "ye" is absolutely specific and limited to Israel as the seed.

Hebrews 3:6: "But Christ as a son over his own house…"

So, there must be other houses (oikos) that the Messiah is not over! This chapter then goes on to talk about Israel and the fathers of Israel.

Hebrews 6:13: "For when God made promise to Abraham…"

There is no recorded promise to anyone else but Abraham and certain of his descendants.

Hebrews 9:28: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…"

We are not told that the Messiah would bear the sins of every race. “Many” is not “all” of every race. “Sin” is transgression of the Law that was given to Israel ONLY. Isaiah 53:11 and 12 agrees about this word “many” which is limited to “my people”. Compare:

Matthew 20:28: "…and to give his life a ransom for many."

Matthew 26:28: "…which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Romans 5:15: "…much more the grace of God…hath abounded to many."

1 Corinthians 10:17: "For we (those Israelites being addressed) being many, are one bread and one body."

So, with whom is the New Testament made?

Hebrews 8:8, 9: "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt…"

Of all the verses in this Book of Hebrews, this verse identifies clearly with whom the New Testament is made. If any one thing is clear, it is the continuing presentation through this book that the New Testament is made with those who had the Old Testament and there is never a statement to the contrary. The two Testaments are contrasted as they relate to one another, to the one people, through this book of Hebrews. Old Testament prophecy says exactly the same (Jeremiah 31:31), where Jeremiah prophesies to whom the New Testament would be made. “The Fathers”, again, gives racial definition.

The book of Hebrews begins, yet again, with reference to THE FATHERS. The immediate connection is made, "hath in these last days spoken to US by His Son" (“Us” being the children of “the fathers”; those whom the Messiah came to redeem; “The Hebrews” being addressed). These are the children of “the Fathers”. When YEHOVAH God said "I will put my laws into their minds, and will write them on their hearts," the Old Testament reference was, and is still, ONLY TO ISRAEL. The historical references through this book of Hebrews would have had no meaning to those without the knowledge of Israel’s history or of the Law given to Israel. (At this point it is better to forget all you have been previously taught or thought about “Israel”).

James 1:1, 2: "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren…"

For two excellent reasons, this possibly is the best statement to show who the “brethren” are. They are the twelve tribes of Israel by statement, and they are adelphoi in Greek. Adelphos is translated 346 times as “brother” or “brothers”. Dictionaries and lexicons give the prime meaning as a kinsman (racially related):

Strong's 80: "from the womb -- near or remote."

Vine: "Adelphos denotes a brother, or near kinsman: in the plural, a community based on identity of origin, or life."

Thayer: "From the same womb."

The words "brotherhood" or "brethren" are mostly used to indicate those having a kinsman-blood relationship, rather than some common belief. From the translations the common belief might sometimes appear to be the meaning but the proper meaning of "brother" should never be overlooked. The words are used in both the near and remote relationships. Because the words "brethren" or "brothers" are much used word in the New Testament books, it is important to know the common usage. In James it is given as being those of the Twelve Tribes (Israel). The remote relationship is given in James 2:21 as "our father Abraham." James suggests a spiritual origin in James 1:18: “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth”. This only confirms the word of truth being given to Israel. The wrong use of the words in a belief connection or a spiritual application does not eliminate this from its proper relevance to kinsmen of Israel.

In some of the post-KJV translations, either "the Twelve Tribes" or "brethren" are omitted, thus hiding the troublesome-to-them truth of Scripture. This book is addressed to "the Twelve Tribes." A glance at an interlinear literal Greek-English translation will immediately show the misleading translation in some versions. Sad to say, some modern, religious translators and teachers seek to insert or substitute their particular doctrine, especially when it comes to the racial issues in the Bible. The Living Bible is probably one of the worst in this respect. Paraphrases CANNOT be used to study the Bible!

James 2:21: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works…"

“Father” here is pater -- meaning an earlier member of the SAME family. When we look at these two quotations from James we have to admit or deny that this letter was written in this present age (A.D.). Anyone who wants to say this letter is written to other than the Twelve Tribes as well as to those whose father was Abraham, has to explain WHEN the transition took place to make it include everyone else. This explanation is required also for other New Testament books.

1 Peter 1:1, 2: "…to the strangers scattered…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit…"

Comparison of this verse and also "pilgrims and strangers" (1 Peter 2:11) with other places in the New Testament, and with the counterparts in the Old Testament (see Psalm 39:12), will quickly identify these particular strangers as being ISRAELITES who had been living apart from YEHOVAH God and the Temple system. These particular words are used of Israel when Israel is scattered among the other races. They were “elect”, a word covered lightly earlier on in the Old Testament texts. They were “holy” or “sanctified” by the spirit upon them (both are the same word in the original texts, meaning “separated” or “set apart”). They are holy in a way in which no other race is separated unto YEHOVAH God.

1 Peter 1:10: "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you."

The “you” here refers to the strangers etc. of verses 1 and 2. The prophets all prophesied about grace that would come to Israel. There is no prophecy about this grace being to others. Peter was writing to Israelites!

1 Peter 1:11: "Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify…"

This anointing spirit was "in them" (note this well because we will come upon this again later) and the Word goes on to say:

1 Peter 1:15: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation."

This is another quotation from the Old Testament which shows that there is no New Testament change in the separate nature of Israel. This separation is to be maintained. The KJV translates Leviticus 11:45 as, ”I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the Land of Egypt to be your God. Ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy”. It is YEHOVAH God who made Israel a holy people. YEHOVAH God is holy now. Israel also is holy (separate) to YEHOVAH now. This is what the verse is saying. “Holy” does NOT mean righteous, as some would lead us to believe.

1 Peter 2:9: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people…"

We have looked at this quotation from Exodus 19:5 which Peter quotes here. Israel is still "an holy nation" and not a “church” in the commonly accepted meaning of the word “church”. Peter goes on to show that this nation had a king that they were to honor. This nation must have been in existence at the time of writing. In a later chapter we will show that this king was not the Emperor of the Roman Empire, as some modern translations say in their footnotes.

2 Peter 1:4: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises…"

These promises are stated in Romans 9:3, 4 to be given to kinsmen of the flesh who are Israelites and that the promises pertained to them. Peter also wrote to Israelites!

1 Peter 2:17: "…honor the King."

In prophecy, the House of Israel would always have a monarch on the continuing Throne of David, whereas the House of Judah would not have a monarch in the last days. When the two Houses regather to the Holy (separate) Land, they will have one Head again (Hosea 1:11 and please note the timing of this). It has not happened yet!

1 Peter 2:24, 25: "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body…for ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."

This is under the New Testament which some of the House of Israel had come under. Yeshua the Messiah bare the sins of Israel and the Messiah describes himself as the Shepherd of the sheep, but never as the shepherd of the tares or the goats -- or of any other race. Again, the pronouns refer to those being addressed, again they are brethren, etc.

2 Peter 3:2-4: "That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy [that is, separated] prophets, and the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior."

These prophets were prophets of Israel. "The Lord and Savior" is the Lord and Savior of ISRAEL and never of others. The words of the apostles do not override the words of the Prophets. The apostles CONFIRM the Prophets. In this verse the apostles and Prophets are linked together. Peter had already written about the false prophets who would be “among you” and he describes their character.

In John’s letters there is much separation by pronouns:

1 John 2:12: "I write to you little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake."

1 John 2:19: "They went out from us, because they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us…"

1 John 2:20: "But ye have an unction from the Holy One…"

1 John 2:27: "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you…"

1 John 3:9: "whosoever is born of God [that is, from above by spirit and by water] does not commit [practise] sin."

1 John 5:18: "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not…"

“Your sins” refers to the sins of those to whom John is writing. The Messiah did come to save “HIS People” from their sins. John also refers to certain people who are false and by pronoun separation these are “they” as opposed to “ye” and “we”. "They were not of us" tells us that they were different in some way, even if they professed to believe in the Messiah! It becomes self-evident that the anointing “which abideth in you” could only abide because the anointed people are conceived with this potential. How else could it abide? This bears witness to the anointed race in the Old Testament. These ALONE have the capacity to “hear” and to “believe”.

The first chapter of John’s epistle speaks of hearing, seeing, looking upon and handling “that which was from the beginning”. These were Israelites to whom the Messiah was manifest. John the Baptist said, “that He might be made manifest to Israel” -- (John 1:31). In 1 John 2:7, he shows that he is addressing those who had the old commandment from the beginning. These can ONLY be Israelites. I John 2:24 indicates that what was heard from the beginning about the old commandment must remain in the hearers in order to continue in the Son and in the Father. These also can ONLY be Israelites.

Jude 3: "…the common salvation [that is, common to Israel and Judah] the faith which was once [that is, without change] delivered unto the saints – [that is, the separated people].

Jude 19: "These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit."

Amongst YEHOVAH’s saints are others who separate themselves from YEHOVAH God through their disbelief. They were not born in such a state -- they become that way by their own choice and their own actions. They are described as not having the spirit, that is, they may as well have been born outside Israel. They are in the same category as foreigners who try to separate themselves from other nations by living in Israel -- they are not begotten from above and hence are also not having the spirit.

Israel in John's Revelation

YEHOVAH is NOT the God of all nations! He is confined to one nation -- the sons of Jacob. No Biblical record can be found that YEHOVAH is the God of any people other than Israel.

In the book of Revelation, THE TWELVE TRIBES still feature! They have in no way become some non-Israel, non-twelve-tribed church! This book begins by speaking of the revelation, "to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass." This revelation is to His Servants of the twelve tribes ONLY and this is confirmed in many places.

Revelation 1:2: "Who bear record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ…"

This book does not bear witness to anything outside of what has been revealed in the Word of God or the Spirit of Prophecy. The testimony of Israel racially has been clearly revealed through the Word.

To Conclude

These Scriptures show the exclusive nature of Israel as a continuing theme throughout both Testaments. If we do not want to accept all these references, then what is to be done with them? The acceptance or non-acceptance of an exclusive Israel determines the prophetic stream one subscribes to. When exclusive Israel becomes the foundation of prophetic interpretation, much of the common conflicts in prophecy are found to disappear. But, above all, the acceptance or non-acceptance determines our ability to believe and to understand the Messiah’s words.

It is not difficult to conclude that the Bible is a book primarily about Israel (as a people) because YEHOVAH is consistently declared to be the God of this one people. We find other Biblical statistics, such as:

Israel as Yisra’el -- 2,514 times (Old Testament)
Israel as Israel -- 70 times (New Testament)
Jacob (KJV) -- 358 times (24 in New Testament)
Judah -- 813 times
Ephraim -- 172 times
Manasseh -- 143 times
Hebrews -- 21 times
LORD God of Israel -- 110 times
God of Israel -- 90 times
Holy One of Israel -- 31 times
LORD God of the Hebrews -- 5 times
Mighty God of Jacob -- 4 times
Hope of Israel -- 2 times
Congregation of Israel -- 160 times (as qahal); 173 times (as edah)
Assembly of Israel -- 21 times (as atsarah)

Ekklesia
-- 116 times in New Testament
Tribes (shebet) of Israel -- 190 times (Old Testament)
Tribes (phule) of Israel -- 31 times (New Testament)
People of Israel -- 19 times (KJV)
My people -- 231 times
Of Israel -- 1,692 times
To Israel -- 23 times.
For Israel -- 24 times

Then we find expressions like, "Israel’s God", "the Light of", "the Rock of", "the Redeemer of", "the Stone of", "the Shepherd of", "the Portion of", "the God of"; all of which refer expressly to Israel. Then there are expressions like "the God of your fathers" and "fathers of Israel" (“fathers” is mentioned 549 times including 56 in the New Testament).

There is the intimate word Jeshurun for Israel. There are about 5,000 direct references that isolate Israel as a people. Their personal God, YEHOVAH, is mentioned 6,528 times. In most cases the AV wrongly renders this as "LORD" -- and only four places as "Jehovah".

This article might well come as a shock to sincere dedicated Christians and there will be immediate reactions, all of which can be answered when we find out which “world” it is that YEHOVAH God “so loved”. The hinge-point Scriptures, “Go ye into all the world” and “God so loved the world” can likewise be answered clearly. We have articles on these topics.

Yeshua the Messiah said, “I lay down my life for the Sheep”. Israel is described so often as the “sheep of my pasture”. There is NO RECORD of the Messiah giving himself for “goats” or “tares” -- or anyone else! The whole premise shown in the British-Israel quotes are absolutely wrong, being based upon a superficial interpretation of a passage.

 

-- Edited by John D. Keyser.

 

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Proclaiming the Good News of the Soon-Coming Kingdom of YEHOVAH God Here On This Earth!

Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.
www.hope-of-israel.org

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