Israel is NOT the church

Romans 11 clearly shows God will restore Israel when the
fulness of the Gentiles has come in. This entire
chapter makes a stark contrast between the fulness of Israel,
and the fulness of the Gentiles. There is no way anyone who
allows the words of this chapter to sink in, can confuse
"Israel", with the "Gentiles" and Jews who are now being saved
into the church. Romans 11 blows preterist heresy away, so
they try to confuse Israel with the church, so as to deny any
restoration for Israel. This couldn't be a more clear and
perfect contradiction to the plain statements of Romans 11.

That the Israel which will be saved when the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in, is not the church seems evident from the
following considerations:

1) At every point throughout Romans 11, the term "Israel" is
not only not a description of the church, or of Gentiles, but
is being contrasted to the Gentiles, and the church.

2) The "Israel" which will be saved when the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in, is the one that is an enemy of the
gospel (11:28). This is not referring to a group of people
who are getting saved during the time of the fullness of the
Gentiles, but who are "enemies" concerning the gospel. When
you're an enemy of the gospel, you're not getting saved, and
this is the condition of this "Israel" that "shall be saved"
(future), during the time of the fullness of the Gentiles.

3) It is for "your sakes" (Gentiles), that this "Israel", is
an enemy of the gospel (11:28b). If "Israel", here, were a
reference to all the church of both Jews and Gentiles who were
getting saved, not only would they not be the "enemies" of the
gospel, but they would not continue to be contrasted with the
"your sakes" who are being saved, in the very explanation of
why they are enemies of the gospel.

4) There is nothing in the context of this chapter, or
anywhere else in the Bible, which indicates "Israel" must be
understood as a spiritual reference to the "church", or the
time of the "fullness of the Gentiles" with which it is
constantly contrasted throughout Romans. Galatians 6:16 shows
that, although Paul condemned Jewish legalizers, he wished
peace on those of national Israel ("Israel of God") who were
truly believers (cf. Rom. 9:6) as well as (kai = "and") as
many others who walk according to the principle that
circumcision avails nothing.

5) The Israel which will be saved when the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in, is the elect Israel which God made
irrevocable covenants, gifts and promises to, and this is
national Israel (Isa. 11:11-16; 45:17; 54:6-10; Jer 3:17-23;
30:17-22' 31:31-37; Jer 32:37-41; 33:24-26; Eze. 34:22-31;
37:21-28; 39:25-29; Eze. 40:1-48:35; Ho. 3:5; Joel 3:16-21;
Am. 9:14,15; Mic. 7:15-20; Zep. 3:12-20; Zec. 10:6-12; Rom.
11:26; Rev. 7:4). This salvation will be fulfilled, when the
deliverer comes out of Zion (Rom. 11:26; Ps. 14:7; Isa.
59:20), which will not occur till the fulness of the Gentiles
"be come in" (past).

6) The contention there can't still be Jews, Gentiles, or a
national Israel, since Christ made the church, ignores the
plain, obvious statement of Scripture: "Give none offence,
neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of
God". --1 Corinthians 10:32. While it is true there is
neither Jew nor Gentile within the church, because all have
been made one in Christ, this does not change the status of
people who are not members of the church. Jews, Gentiles, and
the Church, are still three distinct groups of people.

7) There are 24 elders (not 12), and two sets of inscriptions
in New Jerusalem, one for the tribes of Israel (Israel), and
one for the apostles (representative of the church):

Re 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates,
and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of
Israel:
Re 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and
in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

That both national Israel and the church are part of the same
vine of faith (Romans 11), doesn't do away with the fact there
remain two branches on the one vine.

Some preterists argue that the phrase "And so", in Romans
11:26, should be translated "thus", or "in this manner", and
therefore means the fulness of the Gentiles coming in, is the
manner in which "Israel" (which they claim means the Gentiles,
or the Church), shall be saved. This couldn't be a more clear
and perfect contradiction to everything Romans 11 says.

In Romans 11:26, neither the interpretation "And so", nor "in
this manner" presents a problem to the interpretation this is
"Israel", not the church. It does not say "in the manner of
the fulness of the Gentiles coming in, all Israel shall be
saved". It says, "And so all Israel shall be saved", "as it
is written". The deliverer shall come out of Zion, to save
Israel, when the fulness of the Gentiles "be come in" (past),
"as it is written", not "in the manner of the fulness of the
Gentiles coming in".

©2007 www.pulpitfire.net www.pulpitfire.org www.pulpitfire.com

--
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself
up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ. †2 Corinthians 10:5

Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.
Rely on this work alone to escape hell and receive eternal
life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).

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Christ Will Rule From Earth For A Thousand Years

1) Zechariah 14:4 teaches Christ will return to earth: "And
his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,
which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives
shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward
the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of
the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it
toward the south".

2) the armies of "heaven" "followed" Christ to battle the
"kings of the EARTH" (why would the armies of "heaven"
"follow" Christ from "heaven" to heaven? If the armies of
heaven are following Christ, as the text plainly says, and
they are going to the place where they will battle the "kings
of the earth", then the plain, natural understanding is that
the armies of heaven, and Christ, came to "earth".

3) The "kings of the EARTH" gathered to battle against Him who
sat on the horse. The guy sitting on the horse is Christ. The
kings of the "EARTH" are gathering to battle against Him. That
means He (Christ) is on "EARTH".

4) The fowls of the air feed on the carcasses that Christ
sleighs. Fowls of the air do not feed on some heavenly
carrion, in heaven. This is "EARTH".

5) Christ will rule the nations that He smote with a rod of
iron. The nations are on "EARTH". Christ will "rule them".
He slew the kings of the "EARTH", now He reigns over the
nations of "EARTH".

6) The souls who were killed (Revelation 20) "lived again",
and were part of the first "resurrection". People are not
raised from the dead in heaven. Their bodies are on earth,
and that's where they're raised from (1 Cor. 15). This is not
referring to souls who remain souls in heaven, but to souls
who live again on earth because they were part of the first
resurrection.

7) The camp of the "saints" is surrounded by the "nations of
the four quarters of the EARTH". The only saints in the
immediate context, are the ones who were souls that "lived
again" because of the resurrection, which occurs on earth (1
Cor. 15). Dead bodies are not stored in and raised from
heaven. If the "nations of the four quarters of the earth"
surround the camp of these saints who "lived again", and will
"reign with Christ for a thousand years", that means the
saints are on "EARTH".

8) The saints reign "with Christ". "With" means "with", not
separated from. If the saints are reigning from a camp on
earth, and they are reigning "with" Christ, that means Christ
is reigning on earth. And why wouldn't we think Christ is on
earth, since chapter 19 says the armies of heaven (identified
in verse 8 as the saints), "followed" Him from "heaven" to the
battle against the kings of the "earth"? Is there some place
that says the saints followed Christ back to "heaven"? No,
there is not.

9) Christ will return in like manner as he departed, and that
was literally from earth (Acts 1:11).

Acts 1
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes,
and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was
going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside
them.
11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here
looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from
you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen
him go into heaven."

Christ departed from the earth literally, physically, and
bodily, in full view of those who stood there watching. He
will return in the same manner he went into heaven.

Yes, the plain statements of the Bible, which mean what they
say, and say what they mean, everywhere indicate Christ will
return to, and reign from "EARTH" for "a thousand years".

©2007 www.pulpitfire.org
--
Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.
Rely on this work alone to escape hell and receive eternal
life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).

The Good News

How Can You Be Saved?

1 Corinthians 15
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures,

This news reveals several important truths. First, that
Christ died for our sins, shows we are sinners. God is holy,
and cannot tolerate anything which falls short of His
character or will. The Bible teaches we inherited a sin
nature when we were conceived, that God puts the sin of Adam
to our account, that we have all committed personal acts of
sin, and that God has concluded we are all under sin. Nothing
confirms we are sinners, who deserve eternal separation from
God, like the fact Christ for our sins.

Second, that Christ died for our sins, reveals death is the
just penalty. The Bible teaches the wages of sin is death,
which includes eternal separation from God, in the lake of
fire. If Christ died for our sins, then that means the
penalty we deserve is to die, and be separated from God.

Finally, that Christ died for our sins, reveals that He paid
our debt. There is nothing more that needs to be done to
atone for our sins, since Christ has died for them. His death
has satisfied God's righteous demands, and God has shown us He
accepted this payment by raising Him from the dead.

That is the good news of the gospel. Christ died for our
sins, and God raised Him from the dead. God applies the value
of Christ's atonement to your account by grace, through faith
in His death and resurrection alone, so that He alone will get
glory for your salvation. Any attempt to work for your
salvation, to pay for your own sins, or add something to
Christ's finished work, is to reject God's free gift, and die
in your sins.

©2007 www.pulpitfire.org
--
Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.
Rely on this work alone to escape hell and receive eternal
life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).

The Bible Teaches Three Distinct Persons Are One God

1) The Bible teaches there is only one God:

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is
one.

Isaiah 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and
my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and
believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was
formed, nor will there be one after me.

Isaiah 44:6 "This is what the LORD says—Israel's King and
Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.

Isaiah 44:8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not
proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses.
Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I
know not one."

Isaiah 45:6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place
of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the
LORD, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:21 Declare what is to be, present it—let them take
counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it
from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no
God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is
none but me.

Isaiah 45:22 "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the
earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I
am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none
like me.

2) The Bible teaches three distinct persons are God:

A) The Father is God (Theos)

1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father,
of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all.

B) The Son is God (Theos)

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.

In this passage, Jesus did not become God after He ascended
and the Father seated Him at His right hand, but was already
God in the beginning. This verse uses the same exact word for
God, to describe both the Father and Son, and the absence of
the article does not necessitate or imply the word "God" means
two different things in the same sentence.

1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God, and eternal life.

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery
of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed
on in the world, received up into glory.

C) The Spirit is God (theos)

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the
price of the land?

Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou
conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto
men, but unto God.

That the Holy Spirit is a person, not just like the "soul" of
God the Father or Christ, is evident in that he is spoken of
with the personal pronoun "he", that he has a name, and that
he is distinguished from the Father and son at the same time
(see below).

D) These three are distinct from one another

Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to
pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven
was opened,
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like
a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said,
Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost:

When one blasphemes these facts, they are either promoting the
worship of more than one God, which is idolatry that results
in eternal damnation (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), or they are
rejecting the deity of two persons the Bible says are God,
which will also result in one dying in their sins (John 8:24,
58; Rom. 10:9-13).

Since these Bible facts are what is meant by the word
"trinity", or "triune", those who blaspheme the teaching God
is "triune", or a "trinity", are blaspheming these Bible
facts, and therefore the God they proclaim.

©2007 www.pulpitfire.org
--
Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.
Rely on this work alone to escape hell and receive eternal
life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).

The Bible Teaches There Is Only One God, Yet That Three Distinct Persons Are God

1) The Bible teaches there is only one God:

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is
one.

Isaiah 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and
my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and
believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was
formed, nor will there be one after me.

Isaiah 44:6 "This is what the LORD says—Israel's King and
Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.

Isaiah 44:8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not
proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses.
Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I
know not one."

Isaiah 45:6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place
of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the
LORD, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:21 Declare what is to be, present it—let them take
counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it
from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no
God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is
none but me.

Isaiah 45:22 "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the
earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I
am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none
like me.

2) The Bible teaches three distinct persons are God:

A) The Father is God (Theos)

1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father,
of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all.

B) The Son is God (Theos)

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.

In this passage, Jesus did not become God after He ascended
and the Father seated Him at His right hand, but was already
God in the beginning. This verse uses the same exact word for
God, to describe both the Father and Son, and the absence of
the article does not necessitate or imply the word "God" means
two different things in the same sentence.

1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God, and eternal life.

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery
of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed
on in the world, received up into glory.

C) The Spirit is God (theos)

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the
price of the land?

Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou
conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto
men, but unto God.

That the Holy Spirit is a person, not just like the "soul" of
God the Father or Christ, is evident in that he is spoken of
with the personal pronoun "he", that he has a name, and that
he is distinguished from the Father and son at the same time
(see below).

D) These three are distinct from one another

Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to
pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven
was opened,
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like
a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said,
Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost:

When one blasphemes these facts, they are either promoting the
worship of more than one God, which is idolatry that results
in eternal damnation (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), or they are
rejecting the deity of two persons the Bible says are God,
which will also result in one dying in their sins (John 8:24,
58; Rom. 10:9-13).

Since these Bible facts are what is meant by the word
"trinity", or "triune", those who blaspheme the teaching God
is "triune", or a "trinity", are blaspheming these Bible
facts, and therefore the God they proclaim.

©2007 www.pulpitfire.org
--
Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.
Rely on this work alone to escape hell and receive eternal
life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).

Favicon

For those who use web sites to promote the gospel, I found a
cool place where you can generate favicons online. It even
makes animated ones. Favicons are those little icons that
appear in the browser tab or address bar, to identify your
site.

http://www.html-kit.com/favicon/

©2007 www.pulpitfire.org
--
Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.
Rely on this work alone to escape hell and receive eternal
life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).