Misconceptions by the Offshoots of the State, Compound Christianity
Misconceptions by the Offshoots of the State, Compound Christianity
Writer: Evangelos D. Kepenes (January 8, 2019)
[Compound Christianity is the mixing of the biblical Christianity with the Greek philosophy and the Jewish myths]
A brief historical retrospect for the comprehension of the 11th chapter in Isaiah, which is quoted by the millenarians, and of the 11th chapter in Romans, which is quoted by the dispensationalists.
The house of Jacob and the dispersion
The house of Jacob (12 tribes) was divided into two kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) and the kingdom of Judah (2 tribes). Eventually, both houses were dispersed to the nations and became identical to them.
“And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.” (Deut. 28:64)
“For, as it is written, The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Rom. 2:24)
The return of Judah from the Babylonian captivity to the land of promise gave an extension to the Jewish nation and the Law until the coming of Jesus, the seed of the promise of life that was given to Abraham for all the nations of people. The other dispersed tribes were cut off from the metropolis of Jerusalem, they were in constant rivalry with the returned Jews, and were treated as gentiles by them. (Ezra, Nehemiah)
The sheep
The term "sheep" identifies the Jews (Matt. 15:24, 10:16, Rom. 8:36, 1 Pet. 2:25, Mark 14:27, Heb. 13:20, John 21:17, etc.). They were the people of his pasture.
“Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.” (Jer. 50:17)
“You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations.” (Ps. 44:11)
“O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?” (Ps. 74:1)
Jesus, as the scriptures testify, was born under the law to redeem those under the law (the Jews), so that they might receive adoption as sons. He was active in the land of promise only, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." All of Jesus' conversations were with the Jews and concerned the law, its interpretation and its fulfillment. He chose Jewish apostles, and his first disciples (the beginning) were Jews. (James, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad 1:1,18)
“And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” (Matt. 2:6)
The first commandment to the Jewish apostles was: “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 10:6)
This word was given in order for the prophecy of Hosea and of other prophets to be fulfilled, who had said that God would re-gather his scattered sheep into one flock under one shepherd.
“For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will seek out my sheep, and will visit them. As the shepherd seeks his flock, in the day when there is darkness and cloud, in the midst of the sheep that are separated: so will I seek out my sheep, and will bring them back from every place where they were scattered in the day of cloud and darkness. And I will bring them out from the Gentiles, and will gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land, and will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, and in the valleys, and in every inhabited place of the land.” (Ezek. 34:11-13 LXXE)
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. (believers) So there will be one flock, one shepherd.» (John 10:16)
“And shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice, according to all things which I charge thee this day, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; then the Lord shall heal thine iniquities, (NT ) and shall pity thee, and shall again gather thee out from all the nations, among which the Lord has scattered thee. If thy dispersion be from one end of heaven to the other, thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and thence will the Lord thy God take thee.” (Deut. 30:2-4)
And through Jeremiah, he said: “For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, said the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah …. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Heb. 8:8-13)
And through Hosea, he said: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.” (Hos. 1:10-11)
“And I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’” (Hos. 2:23)
Peter, who had received the commandment "feed my lamps" (the house of Jacob), in his letter to the Jews of the dispersion who had received mercy, confirms the fulfillment of Hosea, chapter one.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the sojourners, dispersed through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by sanctification of the Spirit, that they might be brought to the obedience, and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ: grace unto you and peace be multiplied ……… who in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God; who had not obtained mercy, but are now the objects of mercy ……… having your conduct ornamental among the Gentiles ….” (1 Pet. 1:1-2, 2:10-12 Haweis)
Paul does the same: “And display his infinite goodness to such objects of mercy, as he had prepared for glory? to such as we, whom he has called, both from among the Jews, and from among the Gentiles. as he saith himself in Hosea, "I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her, beloved, which was not beloved. and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, (the Jews) ye are not my people; there shall they be called, the children of the living God."
Esaias also breaks out concerning Israel, " tho' the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant only shall be saved. for in ballancing the account, the Lord will leave a small remainder upon the land." (of Israel) and as Esaias said before, "except the God of heaven had left us a remnant, (the believers in Christ) we had been as Sodoma, and brought to the state of Gomorrha." (Rom. 9:23-29 Mace)
The wolves
The rulers, the judges, and the false prophets of Israel are identified as wolves.
“Benjamin shall shred as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” (Gen. 49:27)
“Her princes in the middle thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.” (Ezek. 22:27)
“Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.” (Zeph. 3:3)
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matt. 7:15)
When he sent the twelve apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he told them: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the middle of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matt. 10:16)
The oxen
The laborers of the first church are identified as oxen.
“For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.” (1 Cor. 9:9-10)
“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1 Tim. 5:17-18)
The beasts
The beasts, the four-footed animals, the reptiles, and the birds that God showed to Peter (Acts 11:5) identify the Gentiles in the flesh to whom Peter was sent first and who were strangers to the testaments of promise and expropriated from the state of Israel. However, those who accepted Christ became co-heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise of eternal life, and that was the mystery that was silenced for a very long time.
“For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles (in the flesh), If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me on your account. That by revelation he made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words; By which when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, Which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be joint-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.” (Eph. 3:1-6 Webster)
“Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” (Rom. 16:25)
So, in the original, primitive church of God (the spiritual Israel, the blessed seed of the Lord), oxen (the workers of the first church), sheep and wolves (believers from the house of Israel -10 tribes- and from the house of Judah -2 tribes- who had received mercy, people and rulers), and beasts (believers from the gentiles in the flesh who had received mercy) were feeding together. This all reveals the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah and Hosea as well as the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, who was the father of faith of uncircumcision (Gentiles in the flesh) and of circumcision (Jews).
“Thus shall they inherit the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head. For I am the Lord who love righteousness, and hate robberies of injustice; and I will give their labour to the just, and will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: every one that sees them shall take notice of them, that they are a seed blessed of God.” (Isa. 61:7-9)
“For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth: and they shall not at all remember the former, neither shall they at all come into their mind. But they shall find in her joy and exultation; for, behold, I make Jerusalem a rejoicing, and my people a joy.
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and will be glad in my people: and there shall no more be heard in her the voice of weeping, or the voice of crying ……… My chosen shall not toil in vain, neither shall they beget children to be cursed; (For those who are of the works of the law are under a curse) for they are a seed blessed of God, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, [that] before they call, I will hearken to them; while they are yet speaking, I will say, What is it? Then wolves and lambs shall feed together, and the lion shall eat chaff like the ox, and the serpent earth as bread. They shall not injure nor destroy in my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” (Isa. 65:17-25 LXXE)
“And in that day will I make a covenant for them (house of Israel + house of Judah) with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, (see Eph. 2:14) and will make them to lie down safely.
And I will betroth you to me for ever; yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies.” (Hos. 2:18-19)
Note: Testator and suitor is God himself
The promise of life was given before the Mosaic Law
“To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.” (Gal. 3:15-18)
“And we declare to you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made to the fathers, God has fulfilled the same to us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you.” (Acts 13:32-33)
Conclusion
The promise of life, which was given to Abraham, the father of the fleshly Jewish nation, and which made the ones in Christ heavenly citizens (spiritual Israel), required the union in Christ of the two houses of Israel (the union of the twelve tribes) and the participation of the Gentiles in the flesh (sheep + beasts) in order to be fulfilled; and, according to the scriptures, since the requirements were fulfilled, then the promise was also fulfilled.
The law, which was introduced after the promise, was unable to abolish or cancel it. The inheritance was not by the law, but by the promise, as a free gift by God; any thought of returning to the law is not true. Every nationalistic interpretation of salvation is rejected by the scriptures, every special covenant by reference to the biological origin is rejected, any other salvation plan apart from the New Testament is rejected, and every Zionist ideology is false.
“But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up to the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Why the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3:23-29)
The Mosaic Law was an addition to the history of the world with limited period of validity.
“Why then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” (Gal. 3:19)
The completion/end of the law, which is Christ, does not support antinomianism.
“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whoever does not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loves not his brother.” (1 John 3:7-10)
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