The true "Jew" in every born again believer
"What is a Jew?" was my question to a dispensationalist who asserts that Genesis 12:3 was the passage whereby God says he will bless them that bless modern Israel, and curse him that curse modern Israel, as in:
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: 2 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: 3 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."
A tenet doctrine in dispensationalism has been that God will eventually restore the earthly Kingdom of Israel to the Jews according to the Davidic covenant.
Matthew 22:41-46 "¶ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions."
According to this passage of scripture, the Pharisees already have in in their doctrine that the Messiah will be the “Son of David,” a physical descendant of David, but not the “Son of man” that came down from heaven (John 3:13). This is the same doctrine that was taught in the religion of the Jews:
"The concept of kingship of God appears in the Hebrew Bible with references to "his Kingdom" and "your Kingdom" while the term "kingdom of God" is not directly used.[1] "Yours is the kingdom, O Lord" is used in 1Chronicles 29:10-12 and "His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom" in Daniel 4:3, for example. It is tied to Jewish understanding that through the messiah, God will restore the Kingdom of Israel, following the Davidic covenant." ~ wikipedia, "Kingship of God (Judaism)"
The Messiah, according to the teachings of the scribes and the Pharisees is a triumphant Messiah. Moreover, Dispensationalism is supported by modern bible versions which changed the words of the Lord to suit the commandments of men, as in:
Zechariah 9:9 NIV "Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Zechariah 9:9 RSV (Catholic Edition) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass."
The NIV and Catholic bible teach a "Messiah" who will come "triumphant and victorious" just like how the scribes and the Pharisees believed him to be, whereas the true Messiah according to the King James Bible is not so, as in:
Zechariah 9:9 KJV "¶ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."
That was Zechariah prophesying of the Son of man Jesus Christ, just and having salvation, definitely not the triumphant and victorious Messiah the modern bible versions and Catholic bibles teach him to be. Moreover, when the scribes and Pharisees came to John the Baptist to be baptised of him, he rebuked them, saying:
Matthew 3:7-9 "¶ ... O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."
This goes to show that the scribes and the Pharisees had it in their doctrines that just because they were the natural descendants of Abraham, they were blessed above all men. Indeed, a cardinal doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadduccees (and of dispensationalism) has been that the purpose and result of the Messiah’s mission would be the reconstituting of the Jewish nation, the setting up again of the earthly throne of David, and the exaltation of the people of Israel to the place of supremacy. To this, Jesus responded in the trial leading to his crucifixion:
John 18:36 "... My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
This was when they rejected him as the Messiah and caused him to be put to death. False religious systems and false bibles usually go hand in hand. In dispensationalism, they teach that the heir to Abraham's covenant is NOT spiritual Israel, but natural Israel. Using modern bible versions (NIV, NKJV, ESV, NASB, etc), they are quite able to justify their erroneous doctrine. For example, in:
Genesis 12:7 NKJV “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”
Genesis 17:7 NIV "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you."
These are evidences of the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees being subtly inserted in modern bible versions. The King James Bible use the word “seed” in these verses, and “seed” is a reference to Jesus Christ and the body of Christ. Galatians 3:6-9 was Paul quoting from Genesis 12:1-3, as in:
Galatians 3:6-9 "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
Therefore, it is not to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that the promise was made. Moreover, Paul made also made it very clear in:
Romans 4:13 "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."
CI Scofield lied in his gospel add-on that focuses on ethnic Israel. The promise was never to the natural descendants of Abraham, but to spiritual Israel.
Galatians 6:16 "And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God."
Spiritual Israel is the "Israel of God", not natural Israel.
Genesis 17:1-8 "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
Abraham was the father of many nations according to this passage, and notice: "kings shall come out of thee". Kings is a reference to born again believers, and never to the natural descendants of Abraham, as in:
1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"
Revelation 1:5-6 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
This begs the question: "Who is a Jew?"
Esther 8:17 "And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them."
Notice: "And many of the people of the land BECAME Jews..."
How did non-Jews become Jews? The answer is found in the words of Apostle Paul:
Romans 2:28-29 "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
He is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God i.e. you were once a non-Jew, but you BECAME a Jew the day you were born again by the Spirit of God.
It is interesting that all forms of the word "circumcision" (circumcise, circumcised, circumcision, circumcising) are found exactly 87 times in the 1611 King James Bible. The same number of times is also this phrase "the truth" found in the same Holy Bible, and the same number of times the phrase "Son of man" (capital 'S') is found in the New Testament. What then is "the truth"? The Bible tells us in:
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Jesus is "the truth" according to his verse. The number 87 take us to the 87th chapter of the Holy Bible, to Exodus 37, where we read about the golden candlestick in verses 17-24. Notice the pattern of Pi (π) embedded in the configuration of the candlestick? The number π is a mathematical constant. It is used in the derivation of any mathematical equations that defines a circle in one form or another. The approximate value of π is 3.14 or 22/7.
Ephesians 4:22-24 "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
Paul tells us in Romans 2:28-29 that a Jew is not one which is outwardly, but is one inwardly, and the circumcision is that of the heart. There is a true "Jew" in every born again believer whose praise is not of men, but of God. This "Jew", created in the image of the living Word in righteousness and true holiness, is the new man who lives in the heart of every born again believer.