A Terrible Error Of The Mainstream Churches
By Pastor Don Elmore
What is one very important area that the mainstream “Christian” Churches never mention? Who are the main people that the Bible is addressed to? You could go to church every time they have a service and never hear this very important fact talked about—What happened to the majority (5/6) of the tribes of Israel after they were divorced, cut off from the covenant, cease to be a kingdom, became uncircumcised, were no longer referred to as “God’s people”, who were without hope, without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12)? In other words, what happened to the covenant people of God after they broke the covenant that God made with their fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [Israel].
Many assumed that after their “dispersa” they became assimilated with the native people that they were placed with in their captivity: But the law of God forbade interracial marriages and taught that they were to be a separate people. Many assumed that these people were forever cursed from God because they broke the covenant that He had established with them: But the scriptures are full of verses that teach the opposite -- Ephesians 2:13 is one of these verses—“But NOW in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were FAR OFF are made nigh [near] by the BLOOD OF CHRIST.” The covenant was an unconditional covenant---blessings and curses—but could not be broken forever. God made his promises and oath to Abraham and He made the covenant and promises unconditional; He would never break this covenant that He made with Abraham.
Notice that they were made near by the BLOOD of our Savior. That is why in the last issue the article that I wrote is so important—The death of Jesus Christ was a bloody massacre—He was marred and blinded by those who hated this innocent Man. His body was broken, but no bones; his blood was shed for the remission of our sins. It could not have been the death that the mainstream church teaches—practically a bloodless sacrifice. It had to be a blood sacrifice. And that was what it was.
Many of the mistakes that lead our people to the wrong, even opposite conclusions, are because of mistranslations or misidentifications of words in the Bible. For example, Galatians 3:8 says: "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [gentiles—House of Israel] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Doesn’t this contradict what most churches teach that the gospel was not taught until AFTER the death of Jesus Christ? And that is because their gospel is incorrect: Jesus Christ did not die to save the entire world from their sins; but His death and resurrection was for His sheep [covenant people--Israel].
If most churches teach that the gospel was not preached until after the death of Jesus Christ was true, then how could the gospel be preached unto Abraham? And what does it mean when it refers to the gospel saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.”? It doesn't mean that He died for every one of every race! One has to know what “nations” means in the Bible as well as “redeemed”, “scatter” and “justify”.
First, who were the Galatians that the apostle Paul was writing to? Does 1 Peter give us a clue? “Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." Who were these people that Peter was writing to? Who were the strangers that were scattered in Galatia? Israel was the people who were strangers scattered into Galatia.
Second, Paul continues by saying in verses 13 and 14: “Christ hath redeemed US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, being made a curse for US for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. That the blessing of Abraham, might come on the GENTILES through Jesus Christ: that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Who were redeemed from the curse of the law and who were the gentiles who received the blessing of Abraham? These were the Israelites who were living in Galatia—strangers scattered in the city in Asia Minor.
Who do the mainstream churches say these gentiles are—anybody of any race, except jews, of the earth? But how could this be? Given the blessing of Abraham? The apostle said in verse 13 that Christ had redeemed US from the curse of the Law—that means that Paul and the fellow “gentiles” who he was writing to. Let’s look at a couple of verses that teach to whom the law of God was given:
Deuteronomy 4:5-8 -- “But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”
What is the answer to these questions asked by the prophet Moses? Who was this great nation: It was certainly Israel who was so great because they were the only nation given God’s law to use.
Psalm 147:19-20 “He sheweth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his judgments unto Israel, He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD”
How much plainer can it be; God dealt with Israel in a unique way: He only gave to them His statues and judgments; that was all part of the marriage covenant that He made with them. He has not done so with any other nation.
So, how could the apostle Paul be referring to any other race or nation as being the Gentiles. How could he be meaning the black, brown, yellow and mixed races of the world to be JUSTIFIED by the blood of our redeemer—Jesus Christ? If they were not given God’s law then how could they be redeemed from the curse [disobedience] from that law? They couldn’t.
These verses are talking about the idea of the escape from the consequences of breaking God’s law; sin – transgression of God’s law. Both houses of Israel under the Old covenant were guilty—they were cursed from the Law that had been given to them—they needed to be justified from this curse.
How were both houses of Israel—Judah and Israel—cast into the dispersa and were still there except for a few from the kingdom of Judah who had returned to Jerusalem—to be justified? The House of Israel had been cut off from the covenant for about seven hundred years (1300’s in today’s time); what could they do to put themselves back into the covenant that they had broken by serving other gods? Absolutely nothing. How could the kingdom of Judah who was more treacherous than the House of Israel achieve their forgiveness? Absolutely nothing.
Here is where the Calvinists, in my opinion, get their view: It was all by God’s power—nothing the Israelites could do could undo the divorce that they had experienced. God, the Savior of His people, had to come and justify the House of Judah and the House of Israel—by shedding His blood for them.
In Galatians 3:16, Paul writes: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” The promises of God were made to one seed of Abraham not to all his seeds. Which one was that? Abraham had three different women who gave him eight seeds. Ishmael from the concubine Hagar; Isaac from his first wife Sarah; and six sons from the woman Keturah who he married after the death of Sarah: Zimram, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. The seed to whom were given the promises of God, was the seed from which Jesus Christ descended: The seed of Abraham and Sarah and their only [covenant] son Isaac--one seed.
Two apostles of God, Peter and Paul, both quoted the prophet Hosea and explained that what Hosea had prophesied had come to pass. Paul, in Romans, chapter 9 and Peter in 1 Peter, chapter 2, both explained who were the people who were referred to as being the ones who were “NOT My people” who would later be called “the children of the living God.” Hosea was talking about the future “gentiles” who were the divorced House of Israel. They would NOT be called the people of God for about 700 years; but God had made an UNCONDITIONAL covenant with them—a promise and an oath—there would be a new covenant made with the same people who had broken the first covenant—Israel.
How were they (both house of Israel) to be justified? By faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. What a terrible mistake to take away from the disobedient people of the old covenant the promise that their covenant was unconditional--for they were redeemed by the blood the lamb (of God) on Passover.
