Who are “the elect” referred to in Matthew 24:31?
| By: Dr. Renald Showers, Dr. David Breese; ©1996 |
| Bible Prophecy Questions Answered by Leading Christian Scholars. |
Who are “the elect” referred to in Matthew 24:31?
Dr. Renald Showers: The question here is this: “Who are the elect that he gathers with a great sound of a trumpet from the four winds of heaven? Are they the Church saints?” I’m convinced that they are not. Let me tell you why. For one thing, if you’re going to say these are Church saints, you’re overlooking some extensive revelation that’s given to us in the Old Testament. What kind of revelation? There are passages in the Old Testament where God calls the whole nation of Israel “His chosen,” literally “His Elect.”
Then there are prophetic promise passages in the Old Testament to the effect that in the end times He would gather together His chosen ones, His elect, particularly the believing remnant of Israel from all corners of the earth, gather them together even from the four winds, gather them together again so that they could go into the Millennial Kingdom with the Messiah whenever He reigns.
Let me read to you a fascinating promise that God delivered to Israel through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 27:12-13: “O ye children of Israel, and it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria and the outcasts in the land of Egypt and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount of Jerusalem.” God here was promising toward the end times if you read the whole context that He’s going to re-gather His scattered people of Israel from many different places around the world and He will do that in conjunction with the blowing of the great trumpet. Matthew 24:31: “He shall send his angels with the sound of a great trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.”
In light of those Old Testament parallels, I’m convinced that the elect here in Matthew 24:31 are not Church saints but the people of Israel who have been scattered throughout the world, perhaps even more specifically the faithful remnant of Jews who have become believers in the Lord during the seven year Tribulation period and are still alive on the face of the earth at His glorious second coming back to the earth immediately after the Tribulation period. He will gather together this faithful remnant of Jews from all over the world back to the land of Israel with the sound of a great trumpet.
Now, there’s a second reason I’m convinced this is referring to the elect of Israel and not to the Church elect or Church saints. The whole context of Matthew 24 is a Jewish context, not a Church context. Jesus, as we saw in verse 15, speaking ahead of time to Jews of that future Tribulation period, said, “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in your holy place.” Well, who had the holy place? The Gentiles? No, the people of Israel did. That’s a reference to a temple of God in Israel, “standing in your holy place, then let them which be in Judea [these are Jews living in their own land of Israel] flee unto the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house,” etc., and then He says to them that they really ought to be concerned that their flight not be on the sabbath day, verse 20, “but pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.” He’s talking here about Jews and how this will affect Jews. The whole context is a Jewish context. And so I take it that the elect here are Jewish people whom He will gather together through His holy angels from the four winds, really the idea is from all four directions, under the heavens here on planet Earth back to their homeland of Israel in conjunction with His second coming.
4. When Jesus comes in relation to the tribulation indicates two events
- Rapture: Jesus comes to rescue Christians before the hour of trial
- Second Coming: Jesus will come after the Tribulation to rule the world.
Dr. David Breese: Well, the Bible teaches that Christ is coming at the end of the age (that’s at the end of the Tribulation) “in power and great glory” and He’s coming with “ten thousands of His saints.” And that will be the great denouement of history whereby He establishes His Kingdom. But the Scripture then teaches that preceding that glorious return of Christ there will be a seven-year period called “The Tribulation,” but it’s about the Tribulation the Scripture says to Christians: “…because you have kept the word of my patience, I will keep you from that hour of trial [temptation, tribulation] that will come upon the whole world to try them that dwell on the earth.” Therefore, we see in Scripture that the Bible says that Christ will come for His saints before the beginning of the Tribulation and take all believing Christians up to be with Him in Heaven. Spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God: the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” [1 Thess. 4:16-17].
Paul expands on this a little bit in 1 Corinthians 15 saying to the Corinthians, he says, “Behold, I show you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump: the trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.” So we can assure every believer within the sound of this voice that there’s coming a moment when they will be caught up in their physical bodies into the presence of Jesus Christ so as to ever be with the Lord. Perhaps in short we might say that Christ is coming at the end of the Tribulation with His saints but before that He is coming for His saints. We will then be formed into that army that shall return with Him to the conquest of earth.
For once western theologians begin to get it right about the Rapture.To understand why Rapture must happen.Study the Jewish wedding and how a groom comes for his bride.The Elect are always Israel who will come out of the tribulation because today Jews dont believe Christ is the Messiah but will accept a fake one the 666.
Yahawah tells you in Psalms 45:4 who the elect are, and it definitely is not those imposter Zionists Jews who are running the land called Israel. The reason Yahushua was always in confrontation with the Pharisees was because they were not Judahites but Edomites from the seed of Esau, that’s why they call themselves Jewish, and not Israelites. My question to you is who are the real chosen people/elect first born of the Most High that scattered throughout the earth? The Bible says that Satan deceiveth the whole world.
Welcome clarification on a much misunderstood term which has been used to challenge a lot of believers faith. It is important to understand who the elect are or we may find ourselves in error.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, the KJV says:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
This is generally accepted as a “Rapture of the Church” verse.
In addition, we talk about the Rapture occurring in a “twinkling of an eye” because 1 Corinthians 15:52, which is another generally accepted Pre-Tribulational Rapture verse in the KJV says:
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Matthew 24’s comments regarding the “Elect” are generally accepted as being the Jewish believers only by folks in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture camp (see Dr. Showers’ comment above where he says “… the elect here… are not Church saints but the people of Israel”).
In Matthew 24:31, which Dr. Showers says relates to the Jewish people, we see the KJV says:
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
However, looking at an ORIGINAL PRINT of the KJV, dated 1611, you will find a footnote in Matthew 24:31 which points directly to the generally accepted Rapture verses in 1 Thes and 1 Cor.
In other words, the TRANSLATORS of the ORIGINAL KJV DISAGREE WITH Dr. SHOWERS’ statement that the ELECT are ONLY JEWISH PEOPLE!
Please see this photo of the ORIGINAL 1611 KJV and look at the references for verse 31 in the left column…
http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611-Bible-KJV/Matthew-Chapter-24-25.jpg
Setting aside those footnotes, looking solely at what the Bible teaches, setting aside your traditions and what you have been taught about the Rapture of the Church, you will find the Pre-Tribulational Rapture is NOT what the Bible teaches.
Look carefully and you will find, however, the Church must be Raptured BEFORE the wrath of God begins… a Pre-Wrath Rapture, in spite of what Dr. Showers and other Pre-Tribulational Rapturists teach.
A few questions:
1) What has God promised His children, His believers, regarding suffering His wrath? What verse supports your argument?
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
2) Is there any verse in the Bible that calls the whole final 7 years “the Tribulation”? NO!
3) Is there any verse in the Bible that calls the whole final 7 years “the wrath of God”? NO!
4) So when does God’s wrath begin? What verse supports your argument?
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE the great and the terrible day of the LORD [NOTE: God’s wrath] come” (Joel 2:31).
5) Do we see God’s wrath approaching in Matthew 24? YES, AFTER the sign in the heavens!
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Matthew 24:29).
God’s wrath come AFTER the sign in the heavens… to the “tribulation of those days” is NOT God’s wrath.
The Tribulation of those days is referring to the earlier verse:
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).
This event begins at the Mid-Point of the 7 year period (erroneously called “the Tribulation”). This is Satan’s/Antichrist’s efforts to annihilate the Jewish people and the Church. BUT, for the sake of God’s children… believers… those days of persecution will be cut short… we will be removed by Resurrection and Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 like the KJV footnote says)… and then God’s wrath will begin.
So, we do not HAVE TO BE Raptured until just BEFORE God’s wrath begins… which begins AFTER the sign in the heavens mentioned in Joel 2:31 (and other verses as well).
6) Do we see this sign in the heavens anywhere before the 7 years begins, like at the beginning of Matthew 24, or before Revelation 4:1, which is the traditional Pre-Tribulation Rapture verse? NO!
7) If Matthew 24 and Revelation correspond regarding the end-times scenario, we should see the sign in the heavens show up in both places before God’s wrath begins. Do we? YES!
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Matthew 24:29).
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood” (Revelation 6:12).
In BOTH scenarios, we see the Rapture occurring after the sign in the heavens:
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31).
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-10).
So… bottom line… the Church alive at the time will undergo Great Tribulation at the hands of Satan and his Antichrist… but the Church will not suffer God’s wrath. The Great Tribulation of Satan and his Antichrist will start in earnest, culminating with taking the “Mark of the Beast” or being beheaded, starting at the 3 1.2 year point of the 7 year period spoken of in the chronology the prophet Daniel lays out (Daniel 9:24-27).
Be encouraged however! Notice these words to the Church at Rome…
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword [NOTE: See the first five seals of Revelation 6]? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter [NOTE: the Great Tribulation]. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39).
Please, study to see if the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church is BIBLICALLY sound. I’m confident that the Lord can and will reveal His truth on this topic… regardless of our desire to “be out of here” before bad things begin.
They are not from only Isreal, in revalations it states SAINTS from all 4 corner’s of the earth and ALL Nations!! The “Elect” are no longer God’s chosen people, they are Christian’s. The rapture is for the non believers, Christian’s who did not fallow the scripture right or have been left behind to continue the word of God, and for the Jews final chance for salvation! The Antichrist will come and the tribulations will begin, many Jews will fallow him because they do not believe Christ has came yet, and I know this because I knew one. Isreal is no longer God’s holy city, that is why when Jesus returns for his bride (Israel) God will make it new again. I pray you ask God for better guidance because you and the man who wrote this has everything all wrong. I will pray for you and pray you see the truth and do not have to endure the tribulations of the rapture to come. You can give all the verses you wish but your interpretation is very wrong.
Sorry I didn’t read that correct, I thought you were sticking up for him, please forgive my comment, you are exactly right and I ask for God’s forgiveness as well for not reading your whole comment, I didn’t see there was more to read. God bless you and thank you for pointing out he is wrong! Again I am very sorry!!
Have you read Revelations? The Jewish will be left behind, that was the old testament, they persecuted Jesus! The old law was done away with when Jesus Christ died. The Jews chose not to fallow him, the rapture is for the Jews, non believers, and Christian’s who either did not fallow the word or are left behind to keep preaching the gospel to save them. The great deceiver (Satan) will then send the Antichrist to deceive the Jews because they do not believe that Christ is alive. God’s chosen will be gone before those tribulations because they will have the seal of CHRIST! The eleventh hour 144,000 chosen people are Christian’s. You do not mix the old law with the new law, their what you call Revelations is not the same as our Revelations, they do not believe in Christ so I have no idea how you came up with that. I have been chosen by God as an 11th hour elect, writing this is my job as Saint Matthew states in Matthew 20 6-9. I have visions that God speaks to me through. People please be aware of false prophets, read the new testament and you will see my points and see his is wrong. May God be with you and point you in the right direction, pray for repentance, and God’s true guidance and not to be deceived by Satan! In Christ’s name I pray you head my warning and I will pray for those who read this Amen
Wow ! You believe that the 144,000 are Christian’s ? Talk about false prophets ! Have you looked in the mirror lately ?
Right, they are 144,000 virgin Jewish males. 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. Doesn’t anyone read the Bible anymore? Yikes!
[…] a thousand-year rule from a holy city (the New Jerusalem). Those who come to believe in Christ (the elect) during the seventieth week of Daniel (including the 144,000 Jews) and survive will go on to […]
Will professing christians who reject Jesus’ teachings and instructions “to be filled with The Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, and make fun of those who do – will they be caught up “raptured” or will they be like the five foolish virgins who did not prepare and be left behind?
I think the parable you are talking about is the parable of the 10 virgins. If you re-read the parable it talks about oil, and the lamps. You need to think on the word of God and read more. Doesn’t the Bible say “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” ? So naturally according to the Bible The “word” is the lamp that is spoken of in the parable of the virgins. What is oil??? Oil is a lubricant right? Or something that can create fire you need oil according to this parable right? Well if a virgins lamp is without oil at the coming of the Christ for the lamp or the “word” of God we will be turned away right? What I believe the parable is saying is that we need to keep reading the Word of God or keep it well lubricated or oiled or follow because if you profess that you are a Christian but have not read the word or followed it, that lamp will go out and it will be too late to go back and receive the gospel or “the lamp” “the word of God” and you will be shut out. And after reading and studying that is what the Lord revealed to me when I was by myself studying, the scripture, so what do you think? Maybe you should add more oil to your lamp and read more so the flame does not get snuffed out. I say this to everyone.
Speaking in tongues?there is no need for that for them days are over,that was a gift given to spread the word of Christ to all foreign tongues-so it was a UNDERSTANDABLE language to ALL hearing ears,it wasn’t the babble done in some of the Churchs today because if that was the case everyone would understand it.It was one language every language understands.
The elect in Matthew 24:31 are the 144000. In order to get the esoteric knowledge you must be in the KJV Bible and convert the letters into numbers using simple English gematria A=1—Z=26.
Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. = 1+14+4 + 8+5 + 19+8+1+12+12 + 19+5+14+4 + 8+9+19 + 1+14+7+5+12+19 + 23+9+20+8 + 1 + 7+18+5+1+20 + 19+15+21+14+4 + 15+6 + 1 + 20+18+21+13+16+5+20 + 1+14+4 + 20+8+5+25 + 19+8+1+12+12 + 7+1+20+8+5+18 + 20+15+7+5+20+8+5+18 + 8+9+19 + 5+12+5+3+20 + 6+18+15+13 + 20+8+5 + 6+15+21+18 + 23+9+14+4+19 + 6+18+15+13 + 15+14+5 + 5+14+4 + 15+6 + 8+5+1+22+5+14 + 20+15 + 20+8+5 + 15+20+8+5+18 = 1440 (English Ordinal)
(126 letters, 32 words)
Notice the value is 1440 to represent the 144000.
remember that the tribes of judah and benjamin are the ONLY TRIBES that are jewish. There are 10 other tribes that are NON-JEWISH!!The false doctrine of the Rapture theory is letting you be decieved by SATAN!
THE RAPTURE WAS INVENTED BY JOHN NELSON DARBY..DARBY TAUGHT THAT GOD HAD A LAW FOR THE JEWS,BUT ” GRACE” FOR THE CHURCH. NOWADAYS THIS IS TAUGHT WITHOUT QUESTION, AS IF IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE BIBLE.NOWHERE IN YOUR BIBLE WILL YOU FIND THE WORD “RAPTURE”. NOTHING IS TO BE ADDED OR TAKEN OUT OF THE BIBLE!!!JESUS CHRIST CLEARLY , DESCRIBES THE ORDER OF EVENTS PRECEDING HIS RETURN IN MATTHEW 24:3-33
Some of the early church fathers taught a Rapture and also pseudo-Ephrium. We’re talking from after the Bible to around 400 A.D. Way before Darby.
It has always been around. You have not done your research. This “Darby invented the Rapture” stuff is laughable and only shows yiunhav failed to dig into history and scrpipture. Stop with the Darby crap!!
this is factually incorrect
what Israel is He talking about the spiritual Israel, or the physical Israel? the one that loves Him! or the one that reject’s Him?
Israel is still his first love don’t get it twisted that’s why he said Jew first then Greek
Rapture doctrine did not exist before John Darby invented it in 1830 AD. Before it “popped into John Darby’s head” no one had ever heard of a secret rapture doctrine. What is the doctrine of the secret rapture? Simply put, it is the teaching that Jesus Christ will return twice! First there will be a secret, unheralded return in which He will whisk all Christians, both living and dead, off to Heaven to be present there during the time that the Great Tribulation is taking place on earth. This secret coming supposedly could occur at any moment and will come without any advance warning to anyone. Seven years later (or three and a half according to some) Christ will return openly in power and glory to destroy the wicked and to establish His Kingdom. The term “rapture” is used nowhere in the Bible. It is a term that has been invented by men and applied by them to what they term “the first phase” of the Second Coming. The Bible itself, however, nowhere says that Christ’s coming will occur in phases. Primarily through Dr. Scofield, Protestant evangelicals came to generally accept the teachings of both dispensationalism and the secret rapture. These two ideas go hand in hand to blind many sincere people to God’s real message to Christians in the end time.
Although I don’t believe in a Rapture, the idea has been around since the ante-nicene times. As early as 100 A. D.
I don’t neither it plainly tells you this with the parables of the stares in Matthew
Tares
If you truly believe that, you haven’t done any research or homework. There are at least a dozen founding church fathers who wrote about the rapture, from the first century and on…dig, pray, do your homework!
The word Rapture comes from the Vulgate or Latin Bible. The word is “raptus” from which we get the term Rapture.
The word originally comes from the Greek word harpazo, which means to snatch away with force as from danger.
Strong’s #726: harpazo (pronounced har-pad’-zo)
from a derivative of 138; to seize (in various applications):–catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:
̔́
harpazō
1) to seize, carry off by force
2) to seize on, claim for one’ s self eagerly
3) to snatch out or away
Part of Speech: verb
Relation: from a derivative of G138
Citing in TDNT: 1:472, 80
Usage:
This word is used 13 times:
Amen Cheryl 😉
He didn’t invent it he and others popularized it though
Do some homework. There are writings from the 1st century on about the Harpadzo/rapture. From Iraneus to Hippolytus, Cyperian…John Darby and others brought it back into light in the 18th century.
Jim, you seem to me an individual with bright mind in following christ. GOD bless you and Increase you mightily.
I am not sure if the rapture is before or after the tribulation but I do know that numerous passages predict that the Jews would be regathered as one nation at the end time. Dispensationalism Before Darby by Wm C. Watson is a scholarly review of the teachings long before Darby and decisively proves that Darby did not invent dispensationalism, philosemitism, premillianism, and the rapture were taught long before Darby.
Jim the Rapture theory goes back farther, during the 1500s by a Jesuit, this is a very dangerous belief. Millions of Christians in China and Russia and other countries were tortured and slaughtered when the Communists took over, these poor people were taught not to worry they would be raptured, many millions died at the hands of those Godless men. The last Trump to me means no more Trumps but some rapture believers say there are two last Trumps
Strange you say that, Jesus Christ revealed that to the Apostle Paul during his 3 years in Arabia before he went to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Could the prophecies of : Matthew 24:15 , Marc 13:14 , Thessalonians 2:3 becoming true with Trump setting up his home in the holy place (Matthew 24:15) of Jerusalem, the place where he shouldn’t be (Marc 13:14) ?
No one quoting & teaching from the FALSE APOSTLE PAUL is a child of God. Jesus warns specifically & repeatedly regarding child of the devil ‘masterbuilder’ of the lie you people of the world call Xianity. That’s why Paul the puke has let all the vile Xians know he’s a LIAR in 2 Corinthians 12:16 & THE ELECT (Revelation 2:2) know this as WE know who ALL PEOPLE ARE by watching their actions & listening to their words. “You shall know them by their fruit” understand? THE ELECT refuse to follow the voice of a stranger (FALSE APOSTLE PAUL & all his disgusting minions the Xians) because WE KNOW THE TRUTH. THE ELECT SUGGEST YOU PEOPLE OF THE WORLD REPENT of YOUR ALLEGIANCE to THE WHORE of BABYLON=ALL RELIGION or be destroyed with “her”. JESUS CHRIST IS A PREACHER & TEACHER OF TORAH. Xians along with those who were supposed to be God’s people, ‘Israel’ have committed BLASPHEMY the eternal unforgivable transgression by IGNORING & REFUSING TO FOLLOW TORAH in place of their “man-made” death cults the blind refer to as “religion”. The keys to the Kingdom are A COMBINATION the ELECT refer to as the TEN COMMANDMENTS. Only those who follow every command, who Love the Almighty FIRST can then Love their neighbors as they Love themselves. Torah is THE WAY, THE TRUTH & THE LIFE! Torah is Love. No Torah, no love & THAT IS WHY THE EARTH & ITS INHABITANTS ARE CURSED! Truth hurts but it’s the only thing that sets the captives (the religious) free.
Um, You have a huge problem, and need to repent. The Apostle Peter declared Paul’s writings were scripture:
2 Peter 3:15 And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother PAUL also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16 As also in all his (PAUL’S) epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also THE OTHER SCRIPTURES, unto their own destruction.
But God does not look at the outward appearance as man does, God looks at the heart. So whoever trust and has been Saved in the name of Jesus and delivered through Christ our Lord is a Jew in his heart.
Good for you, Daniel.
There’s something else to consider:
“Hear this, you of the laity also, the ELECT CHURCH of God. For the people were formerly called the people of God, and an holy nation. You, therefore, are the holy and sacred CHURCH OF GOD, enrolled in heaven, a royal priesthood, peculiar people, a BRIDE adorned for the Lord God, a GREAT CHURCH, a faithful Church.” (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book II, Sect. 4, xxv)
“But Israel, Your Church on earth, taken out of the Gentiles, emulating the heavenly powers night and day, with a full heart and a willing soul.” (Constitutions, Book VII, Sect. 2, xxxv)
“By Him You have brought home the Gentiles to Yourself for a peculiar people, the true Israel beloved of God, and seeing God.” (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book VII, Sect. 2, xxxvi)
“Assemblies that worship God in spirit and in truth are the Israel of God…” (Matthew Henry Commentary on the Revelation, Vol. 6, p. 1133)
“These, he declares, shall be the portion of all the Israel of God, by whom he means all sincere Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, all who are Israelites indeed.” (Matthew Henry Commentary on Galatians 6:16, Vol. 6, p.684)
Jeremiah 11:10 King James Bible
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have BROKEN MY COVENANT which I made with their fathers.
Many people falsely believe that the Jews are going to play some important role and somehow or another the temple is going to be rebuilt before Christ’s return. The Jews (Old Israel) as a whole have no place in prophecy. Every person whether Jew or Gentile has the freedom to come to Christ. It’s a personal choice.
Who are the saints??
King James Version Rev 14:12
Here is the patience of the SAINTS: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
I’d say that is a slam dunk.
Do you know what God’s sole purpose was in dealing with Israel(Jews) and making a covenant with them? To demonstrate how corrupted man is incapable of living up to God’s requirements and our need for a saviour. God did not create the Jewish community so that He could play favorites. He love’s us all and we all fall short. God’s desire is that no one will perish but rather come to Christ.
WOW……..another false teacher of Replacement Theology.
“Replacement Theology: A Lie From the Pit of Hell”
https://grandmageri422.me/2018/03/05/replacement-theology-a-lie-from-the-pit-of-hell-2/
Join the discussion.Replacement theology replaces Israel with the church. This article keeps Israel separate from the church. Perhaps I am misunderstanding your comment?..
The same old accusation of replacement theology. Few Christians believe in replacement theology, the belief that the Church has replaced israel. The Church has not replaced Israel. The Church is Israel. Unfortunately, those who accuse have no understanding of Scripture. They somehow equate the Church with Gentiles. No, the foundation of the Church is Israel, the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone. Israel has already been, and is being saved. They are the Firstfruits who have brought the Gospel to the nations (Gentiles). It is completely wrong to think Israel has been set aside and that the Church is a “parenthesis”in the midst of God’s dealings with Israel. The Church is God’s eternal purpose from the foundation of the world (Ephesians) and the Church is the culimnation of the ages (1Corinthians). At least that is what my Bible says. Dispensationalist don’t understand what happened at the cross. Jesus, as a representative of Adam, and of old testament Israel (all who were born in Adam) died on the cross, and with Him all died (according tho Paul). His death was the death of all, including Israel. His resurrection was the resurrection of all who were and are of faith. God never promised the salvation of the nation of Israel. He promised the salvation of a faithful remnant of faith. “Though they be like the sands of the seashore, only a remnant would be saved. That faithful remant has been and is being saved, and along with them, a remnant of faithful Gentiles who are grafted into Christ with them. They are one man, one body called the Church. The Redemmer has come to Zion and the Law of Christ has gone out from Zion. When Isaiah prophesied these words they were future. When Paul spoke them, they were present. Jesus’ death was a circumcision, when those of the flesh were cut off from Israel, and a new body of faithful Israel was raised up. Israel is the Firstfruits unto God, symbolized by the 144,000. If you understood the Feasts, then
you would know that the Firstfruits must first be harvested before the rest of the nation can be. If Israel is not being saved now, then neither are the nations (Gentiles). Israel and the Chuch are not separate, any more than the foundation of any building is separate from the rest of the building. Gentiles are now becoming part of the Olive Tree, the Commonwealth of Israel, and together they are one new Man, the Body of Christ, and apart from that Body, none can be saved. How many Olive Trees are there? There is one Israelite Olive Tree into which Gentiles are grafted. Obviously, this is the Church made up of Israel and the Gentile nations. Which Tree are the natural branches who had been cut off grafted back into? The SAME Tree that the Gentile nations have been grafted, which is the Church. Do you see two trees, one a believing Gentile Church tree and the other a believing Jewish Tree? No, there is one. ALL must come to the Father through Jesus. All must be a part of His Body. All must listen to Him or be cut off (circumcised) from the nation of Israel. Jesus is the Temple, the Holy Place where Israel must meet God. To believe that any of the nation of Israel will be saved by not being part of the Body of Christ is unscriptural. The Old Covenant is finished. A new covenant has been made with Israel. It is the same covenant announced in the Garden, when God declared that the Seed of the Woman (the Woman, symbolized by Sarah in the book of Galatians, Jerusalem above) would crush Satan’s head. It was the same covenant promisd the Abraham, when God said that the nations would be blessed through his Seed (symbolized by Sarah’s children, again, Jerusalem above, mentioned in Galatians). It was the same covenant, preached to Israel in the Wilderness, and according to the writer of Hebrews, that covenant is the Gospel which proclaims a righteousness by faith. The Law was a temporary mention given to Israel, and
those who failed to keep the Law were “cut off
from among the people.” How many failed? All but the One who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. He became the sole remnant of Israel because He was the only Israelite who please God and was not “cut off.” And now God deals with Israel based of a new covenant which was ratified on the cross, for it is only through blood that a covenant can be comfirmed. And since Israel is being saved by this new and living way, there will never be a return to the Old Covevant, except by those who are antichrist.
When a gentile gets saved, he joins the commonwealth of Israel. Most Christians don’t understand that when they got saved, they become spiritual Israelites, which is the Israel of God.
The Elect means who received the sonship by accepting Yeshua Messiah is the son of G-d ,you can call them saints of church or remenant israel whatever
Dear Dr. Renald Showers et al., Thank you very much for sharing your well-studied commentary.
AGREEMENT: Am much agreed that this “Gathering by the Angels” is of the Remnant of Jews, the “Elect”, at Tribulation’s end, to bring them to Israel (and a place of safety) when Jesus/ Yeshua comes to judge the Wicked at that time.
QUESTIONS:
A. It would seem this passage is focused predominantly on the surviving Remnant of Jews at the end of the Tribulation, but I have often thought that the rest of the gentile “Tribulation Saints”, who have also just survived the Tribulation, would likely also be included in this “Gathering-to-safety-in-Israel” by God’s Holy Angels… What are your thoughts on this possibility?
B. If this “Gathering” for safety, to Israel (while Jesus Christ judges the wicked on earth) does NOT include the gentile “Tribulation Saints”, who also just survived the Tribulation, what happens to them, and where do they go at that time, when Jesus Our King judges and destroys the wicked on the earth ?
Thank you, I look forward to your comments.
Curt Dallaire / Minneapolis St. Paul, MN
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The Bible ‘book’ is a compendium of fire side tales and fables,
recounted orally for generations by goat herders and primitive tribes from the stone age, until writing was invented,
and then again, many different sources, transliterations, and versions were copied and written down.
”The Bible was created during a time where stories were orally passed down over thousands of years.
Stories constantly morphed and changed over time, and the Bible is a collection of these.
This is why it has the nearly identical flood story from Gilgamesh, and why Jesus has the same characteristics as Dionysus, Osiris, Horus, Mithra, and Krishna.
The contradictions and immorality in the stories are not evidence that God is flawed or evil,
but rather that humans invented him, just like the thousands of other gods that we used to but no longer believe in.”
…and to answer the questions of the many fears and mysteries of our universe, like ‘thunder’ and earthquakes, since there was no science yet.
This is the old Testament.
The �new� Testes is also hearsay since these letters, �gospels� and stories were written by the loyal faithful, the camp followers,
not by objective historians at that particular time,
or by any contemporary writers,
and these tales were written many years after the supposed events of this mythical Jesus.
Thus, there is no verifiable evidence of a Jesus in real documented history.
Then, many of these stories, but not all, as many were not chosen,
[ There are more than just four Gospels but only these four were agreed on ],
were compiled for one self-absorbed converted Roman Emperor in his Nicean Council,
for his expressed purpose of conquest and
control of the people of Europe for his Holy Roman Empire.
He recognised that this was the perfect religion/mythology for the future domination of the populaces.
Half of the stories were ignored by the Nicean Bishops and none have been proven to be based on fact.
This �Bable� book is backed up by absolutely no facts and no evidence.
It is not proof for any god(s) ….(or of any jesus as a god…)
The fables are intertwined within historical places and people…
eg Egypt and the Pharaohs existed,
whereas Moses and the Exodus did not happen…!
It is a historical novel……
Only!
The Bible is proof of a book ONLY (certainly not evidence of any gods…)
Read Gal 1:8-9
Read Matthew 13:24-30 The tares was taken first. Don,t come with lies