Pastor Bob
(17 Aug 2014)
""Compare and Contrast Israel and the Church""
All Doves:
The Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 10:32 offered an vital axiom that
provides more than anecdotal evidence that there is a distinction drawn
in the Bible on the behalf of the differences between Israel, the
Gentiles, and the Church. Biblically speaking, in God's Master Plan of
Redemption for the world, "Give none offence, neither to the Jew, or the the Gentile, nor to the Church of God." In
stating this out of context, let me just add that the entire 10th
chapter of 1st Corinthians buttresses this explicit distinction, that
many prefer to choose to ignore in order to protect their anti-Semitic
bias.
Israel
and the Church are "two distinctively and different entities", each
with a different framework of reference, purposes, goals, promises, and
blessings. This will be seen in the long list below that compares and
contrasts the entity of Israel and the entity of the Church.
The facts are indisputable in this regards, Israel is mentioned 2,566 times in 2,294 verses of the Bible, in both the Old and New Testament. In contrast, the Church is mentioned 77 times in 76 verses.
As noted in another post, the Church is not mentioned until Matthew
16:18. The Gospel of Matthew only mentions the Church twice.
Consider where we find the 77 references to the Church in the New Testament:
Acts - 19X
Romans - 3X
1st Corinthians - 16X
2nd Corinthians - 1X
Galatians - 1X
Ephesians - 9X
Philippians - 2X
Colossians - 4X
1st Thessalonians - 5X
Philemon - 1X
Hebrews - 2X
James - 1X
1st Peter - 1X
3rd John - 3X
Revelation - 7X
Consider which New Testament books do not mention the Church and ponder
why so? I'll let that task be your job to consider.
In another post I offered a "Compare and Contrast Between the Rapture
and the Second Coming". This will be well worth the reader saving for
reference. It like the other post will prove important when you have to
deal with explaining the difference between Israel and the Church, or
the Rapture and the Second Coming.
Israel:
Church:
1. Entered by physical birth. (Genesis 17:6-8; Romans
9:3). 1. Entered by spiritual
birth. (1st Peter 1:23).
2. Jesus is Israel's Messiah. (John 1:41;
4:22-25).
2. Jesus
is the Church's Head. (Ephesians
1:20-23; 4:15; and 5:23).
3. Under Law. (Exodus 20).
3. Under Grace. (Romans 6:14).
4. The Kingdom is to be set up. (2nd Samuel
7:12-16).
4. Church is to be built up. (1st
Corinthians
14:5,12,26; Ephesians 4:12,16).
5. Citizenship on Earth. (Matthew
6:10).
5. Citizenship in
Heaven. (Philippians 3:20-21).
6. Christ's death a stumbling block. (1st Corinthians
1:23; 6.
Christ's death a foundation. (1st Corinthians
Romans 9:30-33).
3:11; 1st Peter
2:5-8).
7. In a Theocracy. (1st Samuel 8:1-7; 9:12-17;
12:13).
7. In Christ. ((Ephesians 1:6;
Romans 16:7).
8. Never spiritually baptized by the Holy Spirit (viewed
as
8. Al believers are spiritually baptized by the
future event in the
Gospels).
Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5; 2; 11:15-17; 1st
Corinthians 12:13).
9. Holy Spirit would come and go selectively. (1st
Samuel
9. Universal indwelling and sealing of the Holy
10:9-10; 16:13-14; Judges
14:6; 16:20; Psalms
51:11).
Spirit. (John 7:37-39; 14:16-17; Romans
8:9).
10. Not blessed with all spiritual blessings. (Deuteronomy
28). 10. Blessed with all spiritual
blessings.
(Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 2:10;
2nd Peter 1:3-4).
11. Related to the Day of the Lord. (Joel 2; Zephaniah
2;
11. Related to the Day of Christ. (1st Corin-
Zechariah
12-14).
thians 1:8; Philippians 1:6,10; 2:16).
12. Earthly Temple. (2nd Samuel
7:13).
12. Heavenly Temple. (1st Corinthians 3:16).
13. The Temple is a building. (1st Kings
5-8).
13. The Temple is the believer's body.
1st Corinthians 6:19-20).
14. Select priesthood. (Leviticus
8).
14. Universal
priesthood. (1st Peter 2:5;
Revelation 5:10).
15. Many animal sacrifices. (Leviticus 1-7; Hebrews
10:11). 15.
One final sacrifice on the cross.
(Hebrews 10:10-14; 1st Peter 3:18).
16. Earthly promises. (Matthew
5:3-9).
16. Heavenly promises. (John 14:1-3;
Philippians 3:20; Colossians 1:5;
1st Peter 1:4).
17. Old Testament revelation. (Genesis 12 and
following).
17. Old Testament mystery. (Ephesians
3:1-12; 20-21; Colossians 1:24-29).
18. Jew-Gentile distinction. (Matthew 10:5; Romans
15:8-9).
18. No distinction. (Galatians 3:28;
Ephesians 2:13-16).
19. Involved human circumcision. (Genesis
17:9-17;
19. Involves circumcision without hands.
Romans 4:9-12; Ephesians
2:11-12).
(Colossians 2:11).
20. Will experience the Tribulation. (Matthew
24).
20. Will escape the Tribulation. (1st
Thessalonians 5:1-11).
21. Looking for the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Wailing
wall)
21. Looking for the Rapture of Jesus Christ.
(Joel 2; Zechariah
12-14).
(Titus 2:13; 1st Thessalonians 4:
13-18).
22. Started with Abraham. (Genesis 12, 15,
17).
22. Started at Pentecost. (Matthew 16:18;
Acts 2:47; 5:11; 8:1-3; Galatians 1:13).
23. Israel rejected Christ Jesus. (John 1:11; 11:47-53;
23. The Church has received Christ Jesus.
Acts
2:22-36).
Acts 2:41; 10:43-48; 16:30-33).
24. Involves one nation. (Psalm
147:19-20).
24. Involves many nations. (Matthew
28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
25. Mixed people (believers and unbelievers. (Romans
9:6). 25.
Only believers in the true Church.
1st Corinthians 1:2).
26. Out of favor with God. (70 AD).
26. Enjoying the blessings of
God.
(Ephesians 1:1-3).
29. Promised a land. (Genesis 15:18-21).
29.
Promised no land. (1st Peter 2:9-11).
30. Set aside temporarily. (Romans 11:1-16).
30. Grafted in presently. (Romans
11:17-25).
31. Had specific dietary laws. (Leviticus 11).
31. Can eat whoppers, ham
sandwiches,
pork chops). (Acts 10:9-16;
Colossians 2:16-17; 1st
Timothy 4:1-5).
32. Had special holy days. (Exodus 20:8; Leviticus
23;
32. Has no special holy
days. (Colossians
Numbers 28).
2:16; Galatians 4:8-10;
Hebrews 4:9).
Most importantly, the usage of the word "Israel" in
the New Testament needs to be noted. The term Israel is used 77 times
in the New Testament. Not once is it used, in relation to or of the
Church, including Galatians 6:16.
The wags at the "Pre-Wrath-Rapture-Babble" site are regular posters
of the anti-Semitic author, Joe Ortiz, who wrote two books on the topic,
'The End Times Passover' and 'Will Christians Experience Great Tribulation'. I
consider Joe Ortiz a brain-washed ex-Catholic. He is a prodigy of
Roman Catholic education, where the "Fear of God" is drilled into a
child. He has Roman Catholic demons in his psyche. Catholic education -
("AGR") is "Authority - Group Think - Ridicule " based. Catholic Jesuit education dictates:
++ Do not question the Catholic Church's authority!
++ Do not deviate from the Catholic Church "group-think"!
++ Ridicule all individualism or
independent thinking that goes against Roman Catholic Doctrine!
He left Catholicism during his teenage years, but Catholicism's demons
still hold him in the clutches of their bondage. He is, as the Jesuits'
state, "a Catholic for life". Mike Gendron is an Evangelical
Protestant evangelist (ex-Roman Catholic) who conducts a ministry, 'Proclaiming the Gospel' to Roman Catholics. He knows the methods of brain-washing conducted by Roman Catholic clergy and nuns.
The major perpetrators of anti-Semitism, in the form of "Replacement"
theology was Roman Catholicism under Constantine and then later under
Augustine, and it has prevailed in much of the non-Christian world ever
since. It began "Replacement" theology and has worked every angle
possible to wrest and take control over physical Jerusalem. There is
ample proof of how the Vatican is using its power to accomplish this
Satanic goal. It is the only avenue for the Antichrist to gain control
of the sacred Hebrew sites. In spite of the diplomacy and endearing
terms towards Israel today, Rome will continue to work its plan to take
over control of the locations revered and sacred to Jews and
Christians.
Until you understand the spiritual battle being waged that has existed
for control over Jerusalem for nearly 2,000 years, you will not
understand the larger picture, as to why nearly fifty wars have
been fought over the land of Jerusalem since long before Jesus walked
the land, or which is revealed in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, nor will you
understand why Roman Catholicism is such a curse on the world, and
particularly, Biblical Judaism. Satan's mandate is to destroy every
living Jew, even if he has to use his minions to provoke the world
against ALL Judaism, true and false.
As I noted, Joe Ortiz states in his book that he was raised and educated
(brain-washed) as a Roman Catholic but left Catholicism when he was a
teenager. Enough said about what I stated previously about Catholic
education. His very first chapter of the book has devoted close to 100
pages to "Replacement" theology or the theological term
"Supersessionism". He devotes nearly 100 pages of his book, 1/5th of
the book to the take-down of Israel. But he carefully couches his words
so as not to reveal specifically that term, or that he is against
Israel. His book is full of contradictions despite the fact he says
that it took him 20 years to write it. It is published by a vanity
press (which means to be self-published in the publishing industry).
Joe Ortiz is obsessed with his "Replacement" theology, as much if not
more than the pope himself. In spite of the fact that he is not a
theologian, and often he fails to back up his view with relevant
Scripture references, his bigotry is like an over-sized red traffic
signal light. He does not hesitate to tell his reader that he has
studied the Biblical text using common translator lexicons and
wordsmiths such as 'Vine's' and others. But from having read his
book online, his weakness in both the English text and the Biblical
languages is revealed by his lack of familiarity with Greek and Hebrew
in order to understand the nuances of the Biblical texts that are not
obviously explicit, but rather implied, inferred, and presented in the
form of typology and thematic literature. In Judaism, there is an
expression, "three Jews, means four opinions". This occurs because
Hebrew is a living dynamic language, which he obviously does not seem to
grasp.
I have taken the time to read Joe Ortiz's first book, available on line;
but if you read the "Pre-Wrath-Rapture-Babble" web site, where you can
read it, posted in segments, and in full, as a rebuttal to those of us
who hold a Pre-Tribulation Rapture position. Lacking a cogent, and
cohesive case for his diatribe, he hides behind "proof-texting", and not
always accurate at that. Joe is a P.R. man and knows how to hype his
book using blog sites and "proof-texting" as a way to support his
unusual theory, and yet claims his book refutes definitively the
Pre-Trib position. From the wags at the "Pre-Wrath-Rapture-Babble"
site, it is evident and quite obvious they have bought into his P.R.
press accolades, hook, line, and sinker. Read the Amazon.com P.R. blurb
for his book-hype and you will see what I am referring to.
Joe Ortiz claims Jesus was not a Jew. He mailed a video to a number of
Christian web sites that reflects his anti-Semitism bias and bigotry.
The video was titled "How the Jews Stole Christmas". He
mailed it out just prior to the Christmas 2012 season. The timing
could not have been anything more than a ploy other than to gain shock
impact with the recipients getting Joe Ortiz's gift video two days
before Christmas. The video was fallacious on a number of levels. Joe
believed that Jesus was Aramaic, a proof-positive indicator he didn't
know as much as he thought about Jews. Here is a quote just below, that
he made to one of those that disagreed with him about Jesus earthly
ethnic identity:
[[Joe: "He was? I thought he was Aramaic, but born in the
area known as Judah? Did he practice what is written in the Talmud?
Isn't that what it means to be Jewish?"]]
In this brief quote from a reply to a published Christian author and
scholar, Joe Ortiz revealed his total lack of basic Jewish knowledge
and understanding of what it means to be a Jew:
++ He [Joe Ortiz] didn't know Jews are people descendant from
Jacob, such as David, and Jesus, clearly told in the Matthew
and Luke genealogies.
++ Aramaic is a language, not a race of people.
++ The Talmud came into use after the destruction of the Temple many years later.
Jesus is even explicitly described as being from the Tribe of Judah - a true Jew even in the original usage of the term: "And one of the elders said to me, "weep no more; behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." -(Revelation 5:5).
To my recollection, all scholarly lexicons shows that the New Testament
used the word "Jew" for all 12 tribes that descended from Jacob. In the
New Testament era "Jew" was equivalent and interchangeable to the term
"Israelite" or "Hebrew".
The word "WE" in John 4:22 is inclusive, "We worship which we know, for salvation is from the Jews."
According to John, Jesus said that and His use of "WE" is His
identification as a Jew. Joe Ortiz's words confront us with a major
dilemma:
1. The Bible has an error and Jesus never said it.
2. Salvation comes from the Jews but Jesus was not a Jew.
3. Salvation is through Christ alone as the Jewish Messiah.
There is no doubt that Joe Ortiz believes that because Jesus' statement
in John 4:21-22 infers that God used the Jewish people to deliver His
Word and to incarnate Himself as the Jewish Messiah. Furthermore, the
New and Old Testament were written by Jewish people except for Luke who
penned Luke/Acts and of course, the primary dispute, that Jesus was an
ethnic Jew. So in that sense salvation was delivered to humanity
through the Jews.
One of the wags at the "Pre-Wrath-Rapture-Babble" site quoted a statement on their site, on August 14th, 2014, that "The Church DID NOT begin on the day of Pentecost." That
statement speaks volumes about the hosts of the
"Pre-Wrath-Rapture-Babble" site. It is such an absurd statement and a
reflection of profound Biblical illiteracy on the part of the wag over
there. The wag went on to quote Mr. Ortiz. The wag shows a regular
lack of basic Bible knowledge, but even more, a far greater egregious
proclamation of arrogance to call God a liar, and to defile the Word of
God. My post here was provoked by the wag's statement that the Church
did not begin on the day Pentecost! That is absolutely NOT true. It is
a boldface lie!
There is so much more that identifies Mr. Ortiz as a brain-washed
ex-Roman Catholic anti-Semite. To devote one-fifth of his book to
attacking Israel, in the first chapter of the book, truly reflects where
he stands on Israel. Today, there are so many that misinterpret the
Bible, misapply, misuse, or fail to differentiate the distinction
between Israel and the Church, and thus, they merely prove they are
either ignorant, illiterate, or bigots, or all of named adjectives.
Keep your ears tuned to listen for the trumpet call,
Have a blessed week in the Lord's presence.
Pastor Bob