Not really for if this were the case for the usage by Matthew, Mark, John, Paul etc., then they would be speaking of Jesus and some of themselves, and I had qualified my meaning by when THEY refer to "the Jews"...
But yes you are correct and in the Bible it first occurs only after the Babylonian captivity and was a term for those of the Kingdom of Judah (which included some Levites and Benjamites) who had been captives there and had now returned to rebuild the Temple...but by Jesus time it had become generalized for all who practiced Judaism as members of the Covenant made at Horeb through Moses...
Paul
I don't understand. This guy was talking about something along this line where 100 years before Jesus came other people came from somewhere and it explained why Jesus didnt consider them Judah.. Something like that i cant remember. Then Paul implies it would be great for Judah to come back.. Something like 'what a homecoming this would be'. But it wasnt a future prophecy, he was discussing branches getting grafted in.
Hey wait a minute. Maybe the whole secret of salvation if from the secret of the 'Jews'. Think about it.. YES!! It just came to me. Ok.. Listen.. If people DON'T understand who is a Jew - they will be in heresy and have a 'perverted' doctrine that prevents salvation, or makes it alot harder.
Think about it. Salvation is of the Jews. But what is a Jew? It seems no one is clear. However, I'm suggesting, if we dont get tot he bottom of this seriosuly (im not joking), it will taint and threaten our own doctine, belief, and even salvation.
I've been a dispensationalist for years without even knowing why I was. I supported building the 3rd Temple and didnt know why. Thank God for me deciding to come on this forum, one of you guys kinf flipped the switch and helped change my life and salvation.
I cant remeber which one of you, but knowing truths of critically important issues effects my salvation, my wifes, and my two kids. My root was bad, and i was able to cut some of it off thanks to you guys.
This will affect my wife, kids, and their kids. This information could have saved my kids from future divorce and mistakes. Their still under 4, but growing up with bad theology of metaphysical dualism could have effected their choices in life.
Whoever took me out of the bondage of that bad theology will be rewarded in heavan. Not just me, but my children, and their children. You get held responsible for all of those blessings. Stats show that families who have no history of divorce, as soon as the first divorce happens, their kids, and their kids have a MUCH higher chance of divorce, drug abuse, depression, unemployment, criminal record, etc. All it takes is that one divorce to trigger the dominos down the generation.
Likewise, if you HELP people spot out their errors, it also has a massive effect on them, how they raise their kids, and their generations and humanisty as a whole. It just came to me thanks to you guys - if Jesus died for our sins, why am I supporting a 3rd temple so we can start animal sacrifices again? I never even thought about that blasphemy. I just supported it to fit in and be right wing. I used to run around saying 'the Jews bless any country they're in'. But honestly now i think that breaks a LOT of God's laws and creates a dualism. It also causes me to put Idols before God.
Here's a quick rundown of what almost all of Judaism says today:
-We were led out of Egypt and became Jews at Mt. Saini
-We settled in Judah, but God favored our tribe.
-Thus, only Judah lasted as Jews. The other tribes were idolaters and became goyim like everyone else.
-Everything was great until Jesus came.
-He caused a war to happen and for the temple to be destroyed.
-Thousands to 1 million Jews were slaughtered and killed at that time because of Jesus.
-We were persacuted all over for killing Jesus.
-We were driven from our land into exile.
-We seemed to live at peace through history wilth Muslims (a huge slap in the face to Christians).
-When the Bible came out, People accused Jews of killing Jesus. We were slaughtered and killed wherever we went (they call these 'pogroms' - a sort of mini genocide).
-We survived all of this because we have special favor from God. He protected us since Egypt, and now Israel has favor and protection.
While this makes for simplistic fan-fiction storyline, or a peasant folklore tale by the fireside, the DNA and common sense shows otherwise and
I feel we should be more serious about this topic because it really is at the core of things if salvation is of the Jews.
It could be CRITICALLY important to find out who Jews really are and get to the bottom of this. I'm talking about Judah, Hebrews, Jews, todays Jews, Yahuda, God Fearers. This topic could be far more important than we realize. Look, if we are shallow and silly enough to think that out of Egypt Judah was established until present day, with nothing else ever happening in Judah, then we're being silly and irrational. Maybe God is expecting us to figure this out because I'll tell you, the plans are under way to start animal sacrifices again.