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Titus 1:13, 14: “…Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.”

Explain Christian Zionism

Zionist Jews aren’t even true Jews. How in the world can so-called Christians support the modern pagan nation of Israel, when it has no spiritual, physical or geneological connection with the Israel of the Old Testament?

Not only that, but the Tamud teaches that Christ was the bastard son of a whore, and that he is now burning in hell, in hot excrement.

Even if the citizens of the modern state of Israel were true descendants of the ancient Israelites, it wouldn’t matter. For the Jews were cut off as God’s chosen people at the time of the stoning of Stephen. As a result of this, Jerusalem was invaded and sacked by the Romans in 70 A.D.

We will now take a close look, from the pages of the New Testament, at the warnings given to the Jews of both of these coming judgments that they were soon to face.

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To set the stage for the first warning we will look at, it is first necessary to read the following Old Testament passage, which contains a prophecy of Israel’s invasion by Babylon.

What we want to pay attention to here is the fact that the Jews were represented as a vine growing in God’s “vineyard”:

“Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching [regarding] his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? [W]herefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.” Isa. 5:1 7.

Now let’s look at an interesting prophetic parable that Jesus told, wherein the Jews are again represented as a vine growing in God’s “vineyard,” which gave a forecast/warning of the nearing end of the nation of Israel as God’s chosen people:

“Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They [the people standing by, listening] say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” Matt. 21:33-43.

The “nation” that Jesus here said the kingdom would be given to, after being taken from Israel, is clearly a reference to the predominantly-Gentile Christian church, which would bring forth good fruit by accepting and obeying God.

Similarly, Jesus said that many people from many different lands (i.e. Gentiles) would one day wind up sitting with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whereas the Jews themselves (or “the children of the kingdom”), as a whole, would be cast out:

“And I say unto you, [t]hat many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 8:11, 12.

To further show that the “nation” Jesus referred to is a reference to the mostly Gentile Christian church, and not to Israel, I Pet. 2:9 is an interesting passage to make note of:

“But ye [Christians] are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

It is important to point out that all of these titles which now apply to Christians–”chosen,” “holy nation,” “peculiar people” (or “peculiar treasure”), “royal priesthood” (or “kingdom of priests”)–were once applied to Israel, as we see in the following passages:

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed [said God to Old Testament Israel], and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Exod. 19:5, 6.

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God [said God again to Old Testament Israel], and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” Deut. 14:2.

Interestingly, the people that Christ was addressing in the above passage (Matt. 21:33-43) had actually pronounced, in the presence of the Jewish leaders, the very twofold judgment that was soon to come upon them, when they told Christ, “He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.”

Yes, the Romans did indeed “miserably destroy” Israel, and the “vineyard” truly was let out to other husbandmen–the mostly-Gentile Christian church.

In the proceeding passage, Jesus told another parable relating to Israel, using a somewhat similar analogy to deliver the same solemn message:

“…A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, [that will be] well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.” Luke 13:6 9.

Using the same fig tree illustration, Jesus again showed, in the following passage, how the Jews were to be cut off as the chosen people, due, once again, to their rebellion and their rejection of Him:

“Now in the morning as he [Jesus] returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.” Matt. 21:18, 19.

Employing a totally different analogy, Jesus told another parable about the Jews to illustrate, yet again, how they were soon to forfeit their honorable, God-ordained “chosen” status to the Christian church:

“…The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, [a]nd sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.” Matt. 22:1 10.

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Thus far we have talked primarily about warnings regarding the first judgment the Jews would receive for blowing their probation–being cut off as the chosen people.

But now let us look at some detailed warnings Jesus gave them about the second judgment that would befall them–the soon-coming desolation at the hand of the Romans. Notice how, in the first warning we will cite, Jesus made reference to Daniel’s prophecy of this event:

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? [V]erily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down….When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) [t]hen let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!” Matt. 24:1, 2, 15 19.

“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled….And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! [B]ut now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation….But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Luke 21:20 22; 19:41 44; 23:28.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not [have any part of me]! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Matt. 23:37, 38.

These warnings were intended to lead Israel to repentance, so that the coming Roman invasion could be averted. But, of course, Israel instead grew more and more cold. Thus, in the year 70 AD, Jerusalem was invaded by Rome’s General Titus, the son of Emperor Vespasian. At this time Jerusalem was completely destroyed, just as Christ and Daniel had foretold.

Recall how Daniel had said that “…the people of the prince [Prince Titus] that shall come shall destroy the city [of Jerusalem] and the sanctuary…and unto the end of the war desolations are determined….[A]nd for the overspreading of abominations he [the Lord, through Titus] shall make it [Jerusalem] desolate.” Dan. 9:26, 27.

This was the very prophecy Jesus was referring to when He said, as we saw a moment ago:

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,…[t]hen let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.” Matt. 24:15, 16.

Luke’s parallel account of this statement of Christ, also quoted a moment ago, is worded a little better, making it very clear what this “abomination of desolation” was:

“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out…” Luke 21:20, 21.

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Everyone is familiar with the rule in baseball of “three strikes, and you’re out.” But it would appear that this rule did not originate with this sport. For as it turns out, it was applied by God to Israel. The Roman desolation was not the second such tragedy that Israel suffered because of rebellion against God, but the third.

About two centuries before the Babylonian assault, the Assyrians had also ravaged Israel. The Bible describes this tragic event in II Kings 18:11, 12:

“And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria…[b]ecause they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.”

So please understand that God didn’t decide overnight to cut Israel off. Its persistent pattern of rebellion had gone on ceaselessly for century after century, ultimately driving God completely away from this nation, as a whole. The rejection of Christ and the gospel by Israel was its “third strike.”

Understand that God never gave the Israelites any guarantee that they would always remain His chosen people. On the contrary, He made it very clear to them, right from the very beginning, that remaining His chosen people was conditional upon them being faithful to Him.

Here’s what He told Israel, just before the giving of the law at Mount Sinai:

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation…” Exod. 19:5, 6.

Notice the mention of the words “if,” “then” and “shall” here. God was telling the Israelites that they SHALL be a peculiar treasure, a holy nation, and a kingdom of priests IF they would obey Him and keep His covenant–only THEN would they attain and retain these titles. But since all they did was rebel against Him, how could they possibly have expected to remain His chosen people?

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The true Israelites

It’s not enough to talk about the Israelites having forfeited their position as the chosen people unless we understand exactly what this honored position entailed–unless we understand what it was that God had chosen Israel for in the first place. Only when armed with such an understanding can we begin to truly comprehend why the title of “chosen” has been given to a people other than the Jews.

Speaking through Isaiah, God tells us that He picked the Israelites to be His chosen people so that they could be His envoys to the rest of the world, to spread His message of hope:

“Ye [Israel] are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me….This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise….I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; [t]o open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house….And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” Isa. 43:10, 21; 42:6, 7; 49:6.

Since God’s chosen people are those who “shew forth His praise,” sharing His salvation message with a perishing world, how is it that so many Christians today can believe that the Jews could still be God’s chosen people, when they, as a whole, completely deny Christ?

How could the Jews possibly be used of God when they themselves have rejected Christ? The simple truth is that no people, Jews or Gentiles, can be called God’s “chosen people” if they shun Christ. The following texts should help to clarify this point:

“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also….He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” I John 2:23; 5:12.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36.

Jesus Himself said, speaking of Himself in the third person:

“He that believeth in him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18.

According to the Bible, the only ones who qualify as God’s “chosen people” today are TRUE Christians, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.

We have already looked at some biblical evidence to show that this is indeed the case–that Christians are God’s modern-day “Israel.”

But we haven’t even yet scratched the surface. The truth is, the amount of Scriptural references that support this concept is quite overwhelming. So much so that it baffles the mind as to how so many have entirely missed it.

But before we look at more of such references, it is first important for us to recognize that being a true Israelite in God’s eyes NEVER had anything to do with genetic descendence. Instead, it had only to do with one’s spirituality–with one’s personal relationship with God.

For example, notice, in the following passage, how Gentiles who had accepted God through the influence of the Jews, way back at the time of Moses, were to be accepted as though they were natural-born Jews. In other words, being a part of God’s “chosen people” had nothing to do with physical birth, but with spiritual birth (being “born again”):

“And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude [Gentiles] went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle….And [said God to Israel] when a stranger [Gentile] shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you…” Exod. 12:37, 38, 48, 49.

So, as we can see, it was never a prerequisite for one to be a natural-born citizen of Israel in order to be recognized by God as a true Israelite. But it is also true, on the flip side of the coin, that if a natural-born Israelite rejected God or rebelled against Him, such a person was no longer considered to be a true Israelite in God’s eyes.

This is why John the Baptist, in the following text, warned the Jewish leaders of his day not to be self confident in thinking that they had special favor with God, just because they were natural born Jews:

“Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [or as] our father: for I say unto you, [t]hat God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Luke 3:8.

These same Jewish leaders were later rebuked by Jesus for claiming to be “sons of Abraham,” when all the while they were displaying a hateful, murderous spirit toward Him:

“They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham….Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:39, 40, 44.

Can there be any doubt, particularly from this last passage, that being a natural-born Jew, or a physical son of Abraham, means nothing to God unless that person’s heart is right with Him?

Jesus again brought this same point out in the following text:

“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” John 1:47.

Jesus was making the point here that Nathanael was a true Israelite because he had “no guile.” Once again we see that being a true Israelite has NOTHING to do with genetics.

Paul also tells us that being a natural born Jew, or a biological descendant of Abraham, is spiritually insignificant, and that the true, spiritual sons of Abraham, regardless of their genetic makeup, are those who have genuine faith in Christ:

“Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: [n]either, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Rom. 9:6 8.

“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham….For ye 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 ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:7 9, 26 29.

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom. 2:28, 29.

Paul further tells us that “circumcision” (or being a Jew) doesn’t amount to anything when one is living in rebellion against God:

“Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God….[But] the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you….For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law [obey God]: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?” Rom. 2:17, 25, 26.

“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God [is what matters].” I Cor. 7:19.

Paul, of course, was not introducing anything new here. Faithfulness (or obedience) was always a requirement for one who desired to lay legitimate claim to being a true Israelite. A passage that brings this out clearly is Exod. 19:5, 6, which we cited earlier:

“Now therefore [said God to Israel], if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation…”

Here’s another Old Testament passage along this same line, where God told Jeremiah:

“…Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of [my] covenant, [w]hich I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,…saying, Obey my voice…according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God.” Jer. 11:3, 4.

Yes, God’s true Israel has always been comprised of those who were true and faithful to Him. Today that Israel is comprised, once again, of faithful Christians–those who have been circumcised in the heart (or have cut out sin from the heart). As Paul told the Colossians:

“…ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” Col. 2:11.

As we saw earlier, Peter, addressing the Christian population in general, said that they had become a “holy nation” unto God:

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: [w]hich in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” I Pet. 2:9, 10.

This text, again, is almost a word-for-word quotation from Deut. 14:2, where God was speaking to Old Testament Israel, saying: “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.”

What God once said to ancient physical Israel, He is now saying to TRUE Christians–His true, modern-day spiritual Israel.

Paul talked about the Gentile Christians of his day as though they were no longer Gentiles, because they had become a part of the true Israel of God -spiritual Israel:

“Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” I Cor. 12:2.

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ….Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Eph. 2:11 13, 19.

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” Gal. 6:15, 16.

“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Philip. 3:3.

It’s interesting to read through to verse 8 in this Philippians passage, where Paul talked about how his “Jewishness” had no merit apart from his faith in Christ:

“Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”

Paul was not the only one who did this. Many other New Testament figures, including Christ Himself, talked of faithful Gentiles as being true Jews in God’s eyes. Here are a couple examples:

“I [Jesus] know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews [meaning spiritual Jews, i.e. Christians], and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan….Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews [again, spiritual Jews], and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” Rev. 2:9; 3:9.

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad [referring, of course, to the various Christian churches that existed in his day], greeting.” James 1:1.

A great many Christians today believe that God has a very special place in His heart for the Jews, more so than for any other people. But this simply isn’t true. The Bible clearly teaches that the Jews are not, nor ever have been, any more special than any other race of people. Here are a few key texts that bring this point out with unmistakable clarity:

“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” Rom. 10:12.

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” I Cor. 12:13.

“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” Col. 3:11.

“What then? [A]re we [Jews] better than they [Gentiles]? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one….Is he the God of the Jews only? [I]s he not also [the God] of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also.” Rom. 3:9-11, 29.

If God favored the Jews more than any other race, then He would have to be charged with being biased, or “playing favorites.” But as the following texts confirm, nothing could be further from the truth:

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Acts 10:34, 35.

“And [God] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; [t]hat they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” Acts 17:26-28.

So why is it, then, that God had originally picked Israel, specifically, to be His “chosen people,” when He obviously doesn’t “play favorites”? The answer is quite simple–because Israel, in ancient times, was the only nation that was open (somewhat) to His guidance. The rest of the nations had, as a whole, completely rejected Him. Of course, sadly, Israel eventually went the same route as the pagan nations, ultimately rejecting God as well, as we have seen.

Further insight into why God specifically chose Israel, instead of any other nation, is provided for us in Deut. 7:6, 7. We will begin by examining verse 6, where God told Israel:

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”

Here we see that the Israelites were “an holy people unto the Lord.” But why were they called “holy”? Was there something about them that made them naturally holy? Is this why God chose them? Of course not! The Bible teaches that only God Himself is holy. In Rev. 15:4 we read:

“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? [F]or thou only art holy…” No, the Israelites were not chosen by God because they were holy. The only reason God called them “holy” was because He sanctified them, or set them apart for a holy purpose, just like He does with Christians today, who, as we saw, are also called “holy” in I Pet. 2:9.

When God told the Israelites in Deut. 7:6 that He chose them “above all people that are upon the face of the earth,” He was not implying that they are better than all other ethnic groups. He was simply saying that of all the choices available to Him at the time, He chose them above all others, not only because every other nation had completely rejected Him, as mentioned above, but because, as He said in the next verse: “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of people: [b]ut because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers…”

Here we see that God specifically chose the Israelites “above all people that are upon the face of the earth” for two reasons: 1) He loved them, and 2) He swore an oath unto their fathers. Let us take a close look at both of these reasons.

When God told the Israelites that He chose them because of the oath that He swore unto their fathers, He was speaking in specific reference to the promise He made to Abraham, and thus to all succeeding generations, that all nations would be blessed through his seed (meaning Christ). As we saw earlier, this promise, which God is still faithful to, is now bestowed upon Christians–God’s present-day “chosen people.”

The other reason God gave (in Deut. 7:7) for choosing Israel might seem a bit confusing at first glance. When God said that He chose the Jews because He loved them, it may appear as though He was implying that He didn’t love other people, but this clearly was not the case. The explanation of what He meant is found right within this verse itself. Notice how God said that He didn’t choose the Israelites because they were more in number than any other people, for they were actually the fewest of all peoples. Here God seems to be suggesting that He prefers to work through the humble and lowly, rather than the exalted and popular.

The apostle Paul gives weight to this conclusion in the following passage:

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; [a]nd base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen….[t]hat no flesh should glory in his presence…according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” I Cor. 1:26-29, 31.

So when God said He loved the Israelites, what He really meant, obviously, was that He loved their lowliness, their humility.

Of course, as time went on, they lost this humility. Pride set in and they began to view themselves as superior to other people, and had thought that their “Jewishness” won them automatic favor with God. Eventually this pride led, as the notion of racial superiority always leads, to all sorts of fanaticism and hypocrisy. It was in reference to this very pride of the Jews that Jesus said:

“…whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 14:11.

Naturally, Gentile Christians can run the same risk of becoming prideful, thinking that they are somehow specially favored by God because they are His “chosen.” In the proceeding passage, the apostle Paul, addressing this very issue, made it clear that a Gentile believer who turns away from Christ can be cut off from among God’s people, just as the nation of Israel was, which Paul here represented as an olive tree:

“Thou [Gentiles] wilt say then, The branches [Jews] were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches [the Jews], take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?” Rom. 11:19-24.

Please notice how Paul mentioned here that, although Israel was cut off, as a whole, individual Jews can still become a part of God’s chosen people today (by accepting Christ, of course). This is the very point that Paul made in the opening two verses of this same chapter (Rom. 11), where he wrote:

“…Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people.” Further along this line, John wrote: “He [Christ] came unto his own [the Jews], and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [w]hich were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:11-13.

Most of what is believed about Israel by the mainstream Christian world came from the Scofield Study Bible. Scofield, by the way, received major funding by the Rockefellers to produce this “study Bible.” Go figure!

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“I will bless/curse those that bless/curse thee”

In Genesis 12:2, 3, God says:

“And I will make of thee [Israel] a great nation and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

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This is often misinterpreted by Christian Zionists to imply that we have to bless the pagan nation of modern Israel, lest God punish us.

But this is ridiculous! Again, modern Israel has NOTHING to do with ancient Israel, and “Israel” is no longer the chosen people anyway, even if there was a genetic connection between modern and ancient Israel.

This has got to be one of the most disgustingly misquoted passages in the entire Bible.

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Here’s the ultimate irony: Zionism, based on the Talmud, is the direct outgrowth of pharisaical teaching. This was admitted in the 1943 edition of the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia:

“The Jewish religion as it is today traces its descent, without a break, through all the centuries, from the Pharisees. Their leading ideas and methods found expression in a literature of enormous extent, of which a very great deal is still in existence. The Talmud is the largest and most important single piece of that literature…and the study of it is essential for any real understanding of Pharisaism.”

“In giving to us the land of Israel, God had done teshuva, repentance, and with the magnanimity of His gift of giving us victories over the Arabs, we forgave Him for all the evil He had done to us.” – Yossi Klein Halevi, Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist.