How about this one then?
Acts 17:26-27 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, For we also are His children. Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
Zech. 2:11 Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
As a matter of fact, in the OT days, although Israel didn't assimilate their neighbors, it was granted to Gentiles to convert (i.e. Egyptians proselytes in the Exodus). Of course, it was conditional in those days as Aces High noted. You had to be circumcised.
But now it's unconditional (Acts 17:30, Acts 26:18)
God can (Job 34:14-15) and does (2 Kings 20:1-6) change His mind.
No, that's talking about His promises in relation to Israel. God does change in relation to Gentiles (Jonah 3:10).
Wherever you see the word Gentile in the Bible, remember the correct word is
nation,
race or people. Sometimes it is used when speaking of Israel nations or the Israelite race
The people of Jesus are Israel - - if it is the world it destroys the whole point of having a chosen people,James was writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad,so the people are the twelve tribes.
Why are the Apostles going to be ''judging the twelve tribes of Israel'' only and not the world?????
You have to read the context of gentile and nation to see how it would connect.
In Zech. 2:11:And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
Look at the context,nations means:
1471 gowy go'-ee rarely (shortened) goy {go'-ee}; apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:--Gentile, heathen, nation, people.
If it read ''And many ''
people'' shall be joined to the LORD in that day
It is the context and still implies ''Israel'' - -That is how Israel can also be gentiles and nations!
Regarding Acts 17:26-27, the word ''blood'' was never used in the Bible to convey the idea of one who is a relative or biologically related.Instead it uses the words ''bone and flesh'' to convey the idea of biological relations as in the following verses:
Genesis 2:23:And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Genesis 29:14:And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
2 Samuel 5:1:Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
1 Chronicles 11:1:Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
2 Samuel 19:12:Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
Ephesians 5:30:For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Now in modern day language those speaking in these verses might have said, ''you are of my blood.'' But that meaning did not exist in biblical times so they used the words ''bone and flesh.'' If Paul had said in Acts 17 that
God has made all men of one bone and flesh,the egalitarians might have an argument.But as it is with the word blood they have no argument.
Since we are not talking about genetics in Acts 17:26, we could say that all people do have the same or one blood.
That is,once we understand biblically,blood means the essence of life.
Ecc 3:18-20:18I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Here the Bible says that man and animal both have ''one breath.'' and that they both are made out of one and the same ''dust.''
Does that mean we are related to animals?
Now what did Paul mean in that verse(Acts 17)?
Acts 17:22-27:22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Paul was speaking to the men of Athens.These people had a lot of pride and ego regarding their culture and nation.They considered their culture to be the best,that they had the best religion and idols,the best academics,etc.
Paul thus addresses these problems of conceit,as one Bible commentator says:
The Apostle rebukes the narrow pride of the Greeks,who divided mankind into Greeks and barbarians,the latter being of no account
- J.R. Dummelow,A commentary on the Holy Bibl p 842
According to a Greek,you were either a Greek or a no count barbarian.Thus the two main issues of contention Paul has with the men of Athens are their idolatry and their conceited view of their nation.Paul was telling them that there is one God who made all things,including all nations!
The word ''nations'' is a key word here.Everyone reads Acts 17:26 as though it says, God had made of one blood all men.The book one blood quotes it as, ''God had made all men of one blood.'' But that is not what it says!
- Ham,Wieland,Batten,One blood p 122
It says God has made of one blood
all nations of men.
The issue is nations which consist of men.God made or established all nations,including Greece.This fact would tend to deflate the conceited view of the Greeks.So the issue is nations not individual men.Most have failed to see this because they have been conditioned by the erroneous interpretation of this verse and develop a mental block and unable to read it correctly.
Once we understand that the issue is nations we can see that the word blood does not fit in the verse very well.The better reading is this ----God made from one every nation of men.Also,the word from is more appropriate here than is the word of.So it actually read's from one.
But what is the ONE in this verse?
Looking again at the context and Bible as a whole,many authorities have said that the one in this verse could be Adam.
It would seem that the ONE in Acts 17:26g is a reference to Adam,or the dust of the ground.But remember,it would not read,God has made of Adam all men.Rather it would be saying, God has made from Adam all nations.
Paul then is stating biblical history.This verse is cross referenced to Deut 32:8 which reads:
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
When the most high divided to the nations their inheritance,when he separated the sons of Adam,he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
We can see the similarity of Acts 17:26 with this verse.Both talk about God dividing the nations within their own boundaries.
