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Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the Jewish people: "I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it" (Matthew 21:43).
No need for additional inserted commentary or persuasive external explanations.
THE CIRCUMCISED
A) Disobedient Israelites are not the Circumcised:
- "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit. Egypt, Judah, Edom, and the children of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert, that cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are circumcised, and unless all the house of Israel circumcise their hearts by loving Me to the exclusion of the world, your fleshly circumcision is a heathen rite like theirs" (Jeremiah 9:25-26; Romans 2:25,28; Philippians 3:2).
B) The OT Faithful Believers are the Circumcised:
- "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17:10; Judges 15:18).
C) The NT Faithful Believers are also the Circumcised:
- "He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, a spiritual observance rather than a mere literal observation of the Law. His praise comes not from men but from God" (Romans 2:29).
- "For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in what Christ Jesus has done for us, and put no confidence in the flesh, for we cannot save ourselves" (Philippians 3:3).
- "In Christ you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in stripping the worldly nature and past sins of the old man from off your soul" (Colossians 2:11).
ISRAEL
A) Disobedient Israelites are not Israel:
- "The soul, whether born in the land, or a foreigner, who reviles the Lord; and that person shall be destroyed from among His people" (Numbers 15:30-31; Acts 3:23; Romans 9:6).
B) The OT Faithful Believers are called Israel
Israel is an election to whom God has revealed His will. Initially it was drawn from a nation born of Abraham, through Isaac and through Jacob - individuals whose faith manifested the Light of God's revealed Word for their day. When the nation rejected that Light and killed the Light-bearer, God turned from that hereditary bloodline to call a people for His Name from an election whose flesh is born of the first Adam but whose soul is born by faith in the last Adam who is Abraham's Seed, Jesus Christ.
C) The NT Faithful Believers are also called Israel:
- "You do not consider that it is expedient for us, that one Man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish. Caiaphas did not speak of his own accord but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for Israel only, but that also He should gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad" (John 11:50-52; Deuteronomy 32:21; Isaiah 49:6; 55:5; Malachi 1:11; Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 1:10).
- Considering the Israelites as the spiritual ancestors of we Christians, Paul says, "I would have you to know, brethren, that although our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea . . ." (I Corinthians 10:1).
- "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but a new creation. Peace and mercy upon all of you who live by this principle, upon the Israel of God" (Galatians 6:15-16; Hebrews 8:6,8,10).
- "At that time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world . . . Now you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:12,19).
JERUSALEM
A) Old Jerusalem was God's only provided Place of Worship for natural Israel
- "You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates, which the Lord your God has given you: but at the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place His Name in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 16:5-6).
B) New Jerusalem will be God's only provided Place of Worship for the The OT & NT Faithful Believers
- "The nations of the saved shall walk in the Light of New Jerusalem, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Its gates will remain open for there will be no night there" (Revelation 21:24-26).
C) Heavenly Jerusalem is the Lamb's Book of Life, and mother of all of God's Elect
- "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all"
- "You have come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are written in heaven"
- "I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). (Galatians 4:26). (Hebrews 12:22-23).
THE NEW COVENANT
A) The New Covenant is with The OT Faithful Believers:
- "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. . . But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My Law in their inward parts, and upon their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Jeremiah 31:31,33; Ezekiel 36:26-27; 37:11-28).
B) The New Covenant is also with The NT Faithful Believers :
- "This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25).
- "God has qualified us to be ministers of the New Testament; not in a written Law, but in the Spirit: for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives Life" (II Corinthians 3:6).
- "Now Christ has obtained a ministry which is far superior to the old Laws as the covenant He mediates is better, since it is established upon better promises. . . Finding fault with them, God said, The days will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah . . . This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts: and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Hebrews 8:6,8,10).
THE OLIVE TREE
A) The OT Faithful Believers are the Olive Tree:
- "A green olive tree, fair, with goodly fruit, the Lord once called you; but at the roaring of the great tempest He will set fire to it and consume its branches" (Jeremiah 11:16; Hosea 14:6).
B) The NT Faithful Believers are also the Olive Tree:
- "If you have been cut from a naturally wild olive tree and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, then how much more readily will these natural branches be grafted into their own original tree?" (Romans 11:24).
No need for additional inserted commentary or persuasive external explanations.
THE CIRCUMCISED
A) Disobedient Israelites are not the Circumcised:
- "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit. Egypt, Judah, Edom, and the children of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert, that cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are circumcised, and unless all the house of Israel circumcise their hearts by loving Me to the exclusion of the world, your fleshly circumcision is a heathen rite like theirs" (Jeremiah 9:25-26; Romans 2:25,28; Philippians 3:2).
B) The OT Faithful Believers are the Circumcised:
- "This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17:10; Judges 15:18).
C) The NT Faithful Believers are also the Circumcised:
- "He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, a spiritual observance rather than a mere literal observation of the Law. His praise comes not from men but from God" (Romans 2:29).
- "For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in what Christ Jesus has done for us, and put no confidence in the flesh, for we cannot save ourselves" (Philippians 3:3).
- "In Christ you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in stripping the worldly nature and past sins of the old man from off your soul" (Colossians 2:11).
ISRAEL
A) Disobedient Israelites are not Israel:
- "The soul, whether born in the land, or a foreigner, who reviles the Lord; and that person shall be destroyed from among His people" (Numbers 15:30-31; Acts 3:23; Romans 9:6).
B) The OT Faithful Believers are called Israel
Israel is an election to whom God has revealed His will. Initially it was drawn from a nation born of Abraham, through Isaac and through Jacob - individuals whose faith manifested the Light of God's revealed Word for their day. When the nation rejected that Light and killed the Light-bearer, God turned from that hereditary bloodline to call a people for His Name from an election whose flesh is born of the first Adam but whose soul is born by faith in the last Adam who is Abraham's Seed, Jesus Christ.
C) The NT Faithful Believers are also called Israel:
- "You do not consider that it is expedient for us, that one Man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish. Caiaphas did not speak of his own accord but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for Israel only, but that also He should gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad" (John 11:50-52; Deuteronomy 32:21; Isaiah 49:6; 55:5; Malachi 1:11; Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 1:10).
- Considering the Israelites as the spiritual ancestors of we Christians, Paul says, "I would have you to know, brethren, that although our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea . . ." (I Corinthians 10:1).
- "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but a new creation. Peace and mercy upon all of you who live by this principle, upon the Israel of God" (Galatians 6:15-16; Hebrews 8:6,8,10).
- "At that time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world . . . Now you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:12,19).
JERUSALEM
A) Old Jerusalem was God's only provided Place of Worship for natural Israel
- "You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates, which the Lord your God has given you: but at the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place His Name in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 16:5-6).
B) New Jerusalem will be God's only provided Place of Worship for the The OT & NT Faithful Believers
- "The nations of the saved shall walk in the Light of New Jerusalem, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Its gates will remain open for there will be no night there" (Revelation 21:24-26).
C) Heavenly Jerusalem is the Lamb's Book of Life, and mother of all of God's Elect
- "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all"
- "You have come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are written in heaven"
- "I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). (Galatians 4:26). (Hebrews 12:22-23).
THE NEW COVENANT
A) The New Covenant is with The OT Faithful Believers:
- "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. . . But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My Law in their inward parts, and upon their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Jeremiah 31:31,33; Ezekiel 36:26-27; 37:11-28).
B) The New Covenant is also with The NT Faithful Believers :
- "This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25).
- "God has qualified us to be ministers of the New Testament; not in a written Law, but in the Spirit: for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives Life" (II Corinthians 3:6).
- "Now Christ has obtained a ministry which is far superior to the old Laws as the covenant He mediates is better, since it is established upon better promises. . . Finding fault with them, God said, The days will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah . . . This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts: and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Hebrews 8:6,8,10).
THE OLIVE TREE
A) The OT Faithful Believers are the Olive Tree:
- "A green olive tree, fair, with goodly fruit, the Lord once called you; but at the roaring of the great tempest He will set fire to it and consume its branches" (Jeremiah 11:16; Hosea 14:6).
B) The NT Faithful Believers are also the Olive Tree:
- "If you have been cut from a naturally wild olive tree and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, then how much more readily will these natural branches be grafted into their own original tree?" (Romans 11:24).