New: Our Christian Life On Earth Is Not Improv Theater
During the apostle Paul's first ministerial mission, he explained to those assembled in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, both those of the House of Judah, the Jews and to those of the House of Israel, the monumental theological change from the old law covenant to the new covenant, the gospel, the good news we have today. However, not everyone believed him. We read, "And when the nations1 [those of the House of Israel, Mat. 15:24] heard this, they rejoiced, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many [though not all those of the nations] as were ordained to eternal life believed." [Greek, believe is pisteuō, to be persuaded of the truth; Acts 13:48]. As A.R. Fausset noted in his astute commentary, "A very remarkable statement which cannot be interpreted, without force, as anything lower than this, that a divine ordination to eternal life is the cause, not the effect, of any man’s believing." [A.R. Fausset, Book of Acts, Chapter 13, JFB Commentary, 1871, emphasis added]. Modern Christianity has it the wrong way around.
Individuals in the Christian age who are ordained to eternal life were chosen before the beginning of time, before the foundation of God’s plan being put in place, before the Earth was formed. This is what the word of God tells us as we'll discover below.
"Then the King [Christ] will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom [Greek, basileia, power and authority of a king, not a place, Rev. 1:6] prepared for you from the foundation of the world ....'" [Greek, world, kosmos, the ordained order of things by God, his plan throughout the ages, past and those yet to come, Mat. 25:34]. This incredible promise is magnitudes different than the false doctrine of flitting off to Heaven.
Note, it is the power and authority from God that is prepared for us. Think of it as being chosen to take on a new duty, say as a CEO of a major company, with the power and authority to execute that office. We will change from mortal to immortal, being kings and priests with the authority that goes with it ... on the new Earth. [Rev. 21:1-3]. He has "made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." [Rev. 1:6]. This is why we are believers in this life. This is the plan of God. for us. those ordained to it. It is not, "and as many as believed were ordained to eternal life." Salvation was promised to all 12 nations Israel before the beginning of time. All those of the nations of Israel will receive their promised divine inheritance, though not necessarily in the Christian age. [See Rom. 11:25-27; the mystery, the blindness in part refers to the Jews in the Christian age, see the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
This goes to the same point Paul made to the Ephesian ekklesia, namely, "According as he [Christ] has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world [Greek, kosmos, the orderly arrangement of God’s plan throughout the ages, past and future; think of it as having the blueprints, the plan, the chosen design for a building before its foundation is laid] that we should be holy and without blame [justified by the conviction of the truth] before him in love: having predestined [Greek, proorizō, predetermined, preordained, appoint beforehand] us to the adoption by Jesus Christ to himself [Rom. 8:14, 1 John 3:2] according to the good pleasure of his will." Obviously, being appointed beforehand occurred before our life here on Earth.
"… In whom [Christ], also, we have obtained an inheritance [Greek, klēroō, to allot a heritage], being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise [Greek, epainos, the good example] of his glory [Greek, doxa, the majesty of his saving grace], who first trusted in Christ." [See 1 Cor. 15:23]. This is to say, we who first trusted in Christ have received an inheritance, eternal life, in which we were predestined according to his purpose, to be the good examples of the majesty of his saving grace for those in future ages in the plan of God. It's just as obvious, then, that this act of trust on our part occurred before our predetermined life here on Earth in the Christian age.
"In whom you also having heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation: in whom [Christ] also you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest [Greek, arrabōn, good faith payment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, [1 Cor. 6:19, 20, Christ's return and the first resurrection] to the praise of his glory." [See Eph. 1:3-14, Psa. 82; also see the Sneakers article, Seven Prophecies, Seven Churches; also the Book Excerpt, The Duality Of The Autumn Harvest Feast].
It is in this life that 1: being pre-ordained to eternal life, and after we hear the word of the truth, 2: we are "activated" as believers, because we were ordained to it before the foundation of the world as part of God's plan, and 3: receive the Spirit of God, the good faith payment, which is the promise of eternal life at the redemption of the purchased possession [1 Cor. 6:20], by God. [See Mat. 24:14]. Remember, the Spirit of God was not available to men until our Father sent it to us after Christ's resurrection by the fulfillment of the annual holy day of Pentecost. [See Acts 2:36-38; also the Feature article, Is The Kingdom Of Heaven Here Yet?]. This marked the beginning of the Christian age. [See John 15:26; 1 John 2:27].
We are walking the path in this life that was chosen for us by Christ before this Earthly stage was made. Hearing the truth of the word of God triggers our belief [our persuasion of the truth], and joy. We are the chosen first fruits in this age. For others of Israel, including those who lived prior to Christ's first coming, it is the plan of God that the fulfilling of their salvation lies in the ages to come. The Roman church's 'going to Heaven' is a non-Biblical teaching. [See the Feature article, The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days.].
There is a reason why Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moses, David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Ezra, Micah and others didn’t live their lives in the Christian age. God’s plan is an orderly arrangement, the kosmos. Each age has its generations and its purpose, as does the present Christian age, and the ages yet to come. This is contrary to the Roman church "one and done" doctrine that "Heaven is the ultimate end." [See the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait II, The New Jerusalem]. There is much more to God's plan that lies in the endless ages ahead. Christ's return marks the gathering of the first fruits, not the ultimate end.
We only know what is in the Biblical record up to the coming of the new Heaven and new Earth. God's plan continues from there. "To Him be the glory (that is, the whole glory of the gracious dispensation of salvation just spoken of) in the Church (as the theater for the manifestation of the glory, Eph 3:10) in Christ Jesus (as in Him all the glory centers, (Zec 6:13) to all the generations of eternal ages," literally, "of the age of the ages." Eternity is conceived as consisting of "ages" (these again consisting of "generations") endlessly succeeding one another." [Eph. 3:21, A.R. Fausset, JFB Commentary, 1871]. For example, the Christian age has seven generations of the church from the time of Christ's first coming to his return, from the first century church, Ephesus to the Laodiceans, the last generation prior to Christ's return. Please note, generations overlap, one flows to the next. [See Rev. 2 and 3; again, see the Sneakers article, Seven Prophecies, Seven Churches].
While we do not know what this entails in its entirety, we were chosen, appointed before this life, to be where we are today for the purpose of his plan. We will be proof, the first fruits of Christ, as priests and kings [Rev. 1:6], the good example of the majestic promise of his word in the ages and generations to come. [See Col. 1:26, 1 Pet. 1:9-12, Eph. 2:7; also the Feature articles, Three Temple Ages Make A Plan and The Final Prophecy: It Is Done].
" … and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." The Greek word translated ordained here is tasso. It means to place in a certain order, to arrange, as in an organized plan. The word world, the Greek kosmos as used in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son …." as noted above, means an orderly arrangement, a plan, similar to tasso or ordained. As part of this predestined arrangement, while all Israel is saved, only a portion of those ordained to eternal life were chosen in the Christian age. This is the church, the ekklesia, individual salvation, as separate from those of the physical nations of the House of Israel, national salvation, during the Christian age. The first three annual holy days of ancient Israel were individual in nature, the sacred new year. The last four annual holy days are focused on the nations of Israel, the civil new year occurring in the autumn. [See the Book Excerpt, The Duality Of The Autumn Harvest Feast].
Again, God's plan was all arranged and set in order in advance before the foundation of our temporary universe. This is the principle Christ explained to Cleopas and Peter on the road to Emmaus in verse 31 of Acts 13. " … ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and entered into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself … Thus it is written [the script (ures) as it were], and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations [of Israel], beginning at Jerusalem." [Mat. 15:24; Acts 2:36-39]. The Christian church was established in Jerusalem, not Rome.
It's time we realize our Biblical ancestry as the House of Israel. Christ's redemption is that of the House of Israel. The plan, the good news, was to set the nations of the House of Israel back into the covenant relationship with God after their divorce from God. [Jer. 3:6-8], hence our Redeemer. [Isa. 48:17; Eze. 34:30]. And with those individuals ordained to eternal life in the House of Israel during this end time of the Christian age, we are the first fruits, those who first trusted in Christ, "So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many be called, but few chosen." [Mat. 20:16]. The new covenant is based on grace, not works as it was under the old law covenant. The entirety of the New Testament is written to and for the House of Israel, not gentiles of the world. It was arranged as part of the plan of God before time existed, and will continue in the ages to come.
We read in Paul's letter to Titus, "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith [Greek, pistis, conviction of the truth] of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in expectation of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time [Greek noun, chronos], without beginning or end." [Titus 1:1, 2]. As time had a beginning, the creation of our physical universe, so too, it will have an end. [See Rev. 21:22-25; also Isa. 65:17].
As noted above, "a divine ordination to eternal life is the cause of any man’s believing." This is a distinct and different narrative than that which has been accepted by modern day Christianity of "coming to Jesus and then going to Heaven for eternity." [See the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait]. Each believer was chosen in advance, ordained, for a purpose in God's plan.
Think of it this way. Before a sound stage is built [the foundation of the universe], before the actors step in front of the cameras to shoot a movie, they were chosen for their roles, pre-ordained if you will. The plan, the plot was determined before and written down in the script. Once the cameras roll, these are the actions taken and the words spoken. And as soon as those ordained to eternal life took our first breath in the flesh, the cameras started rolling. We need to realize our Christian life here on planet Earth is not improv theater. Each of us has been called and chosen to fulfill our role as predetermined before Gen. 1:1 according to his will and good pleasure for the future ages in his plan even though we may be unaware of what it is exactly. When it is time, we will know. [John 14:2, 3; see 1 Cor. 2:9; also Isa. 64:4].
We all have our parts to play in this age, be they great or small, roles that were determined before we were born, before the foundation of the world for God's future purpose on the new Earth. Perhaps most to the point, David wrote of our LORD, " ... and in your book [see Phl. 4:3; also Rev. 20:12], even the days of my life that were yet to be created, were written, when there were no days." [Psa. 139:16]. Before "the evening and the morning were the first day" [Gen. 1], all the days of David's life, including those as the king of Israel, had been ordained. [See the Feature article, Life In The 'hood]. David's kingship over all Israel, in the plan of God, extends into a future age as well when the House of Israel and the House of Judah are no longer divided into two houses, but are joined as one. This occurs after the return of Christ, the Millennium, 1000 years of peace. [Eze. 37:21-25].
So those born in the flesh of Israel, all the nations of Israel, all 12 nations were chosen as a special people to God despite the deniers of the word of God by some in social media. To them, the truth of God's word is foolishness. [Deu. 7:6-8;1 Cor. 2:14]. Please note, those chosen is not a reference only to the Jews, the House of Judah, as so many people erroneously believe. This is why it is so important for us to know our true Biblical identity as the House of Israel, our Godly heritage, rather than believing we are a bunch of theologically orphaned gentiles running around without any purpose in life other than avoiding going to Hell after we die. It is those of Israel, those called and chosen, ordained to eternal life, who are believers in this age according to the word of God. [Recommend again, see the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
What then of free moral agency, the freedom to choose? While we are unaware of our existence prior to and outside of our 4-D [3 of space, 1 of time] world we inhabit, the choices, "those who first trusted in Christ," were made prior to our physical life on Earth as David made clear, although the process by which this occurred remains unknown to us. But one thing is clear, the act of trust required action, a choice on our part. And as hard as it may be to wrap our heads around, for Christians ordained to eternal life, this experience we call life is about living the choices, made either by us, for us, or both, before Genesis 1:1.
Therefore, while those ordained of the nations of Israel are now in this world [Greek, oikoumenē, the inhabited Earth], we are not of this world. In a sense, to borrow a phrase from a popular television series, we are "ancient aliens." The apostle Paul wrote, "These all died in faith [persuaded of, and a conviction of, the truth] not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of, and embraced them, and confessed [Greek, homologeō, all agree, say the same thing] that they were strangers [Greek, ξένος xénos, adjective, a primary word, foreign, literally, alien] and pilgrims [παρεπίδημος, parepidēmos, adjective, properly, one who comes from a foreign place into a land to reside there by the side of the natives] on the Earth" i.e., terrestrial. [Heb. 11:13]. Or put another way, " ... they were, [and we are], aliens and foreigners on the Earth," which is the definition of extra-terrestrial. But it's not the common sci-fi understanding found in this world.
As Paul wrote to the ekklesia in Corinth, "Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world [aion, age] or to the princes of this world, who are soon forgotten. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God — his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before this world [age, the Christian age] began. But the princes of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." [1 Cor. 2:6-9].
As Paul continues, "But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not this world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, 'Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?' But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." [1 Cor. 2:10-16, NLT*; again see the updated Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
This is what was written of the nations of Israel, those called and chosen, before the foundation of the world. "For you are a holy people to the LORD [Jesus, Yehovah is salvation] your God: the LORD Your God has chosen you to be a special people to himself, above all the people that are on the face of the Earth." [Deu. 7:6]. Think about this for a moment. Israel, the House of Israel, was chosen, before the foundation of this world to be a special people, above all others. Yet, where is this knowledge among us today? We should be strong and mightily increased in the truth of the word of God, leading the world by our Lord and Savior's inspired example in Godly humility given the scope of the blessings that were bestowed upon us through the birthright. Rather, we have deserted this God-given heritage to become plodding minions following every evil deceit that comes down the pipe, duped into believing we are gentiles.
Now, by the hand of God set against us, we are increasingly trodden underfoot by our enemies, both domestic and foreign. The birthright has been ripped from our hands as our daily headlines show us. Our enemies control our birthright wealth and use it against us. We have been foolish, like the wicked and lazy servant in the parable of the talents. [Mat. 25:14-30]. In ignorance, we have chosen to throw our talent in with the evil godless elites of this Earth. We are duped into believing we are just another people in the "diversity" of this world. [See 1 Pet. 5:8]. We are attacked for our "whiteness," which in reality is our House of Israelness, "a special people ... above all the people that are on the face of the Earth," though we are oblivious to this fact. [See Zionist Led White Genocide; also the updated Sneakers article, Critical Reasoning And Thinking, What CRT Used To Be].
Fallen, we run after deceits showered on us by false prophets, given sham comforters, our adopted heathen gods, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny who have taken the place of the Spirit of truth, the Comforter given us by our Father. [John 15:26]. We have been the most stupid and foolish people on Earth, according to what Christ tells us. [Jer. 10:8; see the Feature article, Our Corrupted Compass]. The hirelings, our pastors of modern day Churchianity are ignorant as hell. [See the Feature article, Trust The Shepherd, Not The Hireling]. They have led us away from the truth of our heritage. [See Eze. 13]. And we are told, we will suffer the worst time in the history of the world, since there was a nation, because of it. [See the Feature article, The Princes Of A Plundered House].
So, we act as a choosing religion, rather than nations of God who were chosen to a higher calling, the promise of eternal life in the Spirit. All that remains are the few, the ekklesia of God who were predestined in the end of the Christian age as believers of the truth of the word of God, not true believers of the lies. The nations of Israel were chosen as a special people to our LORD and Savior. And out of the nations of Israel, there are those who are the first fruits of the promise of salvation, those ordained to eternal life in the Christian age. "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." [Rev. 3:9].
In Rev. 20:12 we read, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works." This is referencing the second, or great resurrection. [See Rev. 21:1, Luke 21:33]. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." [Rev. 20:15]. This is the second death.
The difference between Israel, chosen to be a special people to God, is that while "As it is written, all Israel shall be saved" [Rom. 11:25] by Christ's death and resurrection, all the other people of the Earth, gentiles, will judged according to their works. [Again, see the Sneakers article, What About Everyone Else?]. This doesn't preclude the hand of God put sternly against our nations with the first death as the prophecies, and Israel's history, tell us in great detail.
While our mortal bodies live and die in this illusion, our ultimate lives are eternal having been predestined before the foundation of the world because of God's merciful promise that all Israel shall be saved from the second death. [See the Feature article, Brown Paint: Quantum Potentialities]. However, this life is vanity, nothing more than a vapor. [Ecc. 1:2]. Our spirit returns to God when we exit from our mortal vehicles in this life. This is what sets us apart from creatures. [See Ecc. 3:19-21].
Remember, the entire Biblical record is one book, written to the same people from Genesis to Revelation. The key nations of Israel in Genesis 49 are there in Revelation 7. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men [individually of Israel], teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [Greek, aion, age]; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us [the House of Israel in this age, Mat. 15:24], that he might redeem us from all iniquity [see Isa. 48:17], and purify to himself a peculiar [Greek, periousios, that which is one's own] people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise you." [Titus 2:11-15]. Of course, as we read above in Ezekiel 34, the House of Israel are Jesus, Yehovah's own people. It's time for the nations to wake up, to get back on track with our heritage and calling. Now the time is near, the end of this age, for the return of Christ, and the fulfilling of the prophecies written to and for us. [Rom. 13:11-14].
Luke wrote down a divinely inspired point, "a remarkable statement," concerning the very nature of Christianity and life on this planet as we know it, "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." It opens the door to understanding what it means to be a true Christian in this age. It is so radically different from what is the common opinion, as to be revolutionary to our 21st century understanding. There is a greater purpose and scope to life. Paul made it known to our first century ancestors of the House of Israel. It is now known by you.
1 The key to understanding the word nations in the New Testament is thrown askew by the King James Version translators taking the Greek word ethnos, the Biblical equivalent of the Hebrew word, גּוֹי, gôwy, and again wrongly writing it down as Gentiles, rather than correctly as nations. They appeared not to have any scholastic connection with the history of Israel, much less all the nations of the House of Israel, even though the verses through verse 41 in Acts 13, originally spoken in Hebrew in a synagogue on the Sabbath no less, are all about the history of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Joseph, Samuel, David, John the Baptist, Christ the Redeemer, the Savior of Israel [Acts 13:23, 24], etc.
Translating the Greek word ethnos out of context as gentiles in the Biblical record, in place of the House of Israel, has been a colossal theological deceit of far greater consequence and destruction than "covid," which ironically is a result of this duplicity. Completely out of context, missing the big picture, the KJV guys popped the word Gentiles into verse 42, and those that follow, perpetuating the 5th century Roman church "saint"Jerome's intentionally misleading Latin Vulgate translation explicitly for the benefit of the emergent Roman church, replacing the birthright House of Israel with gentiles, sending the entire message from Paul off in the wrong direction. [For details, see the Feature article, Moving Forward]. The erroneous translation of these verses turns the entire meaning of the New Testament gospel upside down. [See the Sneakers article, Our History In Context].
So let’s put it back on track. As used in here the Biblical record, the Greek word ethnos is correctly translated as nations, which reference the nations of the House of Israel [see KJV, Gen. 35:10, 11, gôwy, used correctly as nation/s in referencing Israel] to whom Christ said he only was sent. [Mat. 15:24]. And when he sent out the apostles to preach, he told them, in no uncertain words, do NOT go to the gentiles, but only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. [Mat. 10:5, 6]. Christ's directive, and the context here, was completely lost on the Protestant KJV translators, and many others, but not all, who followed them.
See the public domain Darby translation that correctly uses nations. Mat. 4:15, "Land of Zabulon and land of Nepthalim, way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations." The KJV refers to it as Galilee of the Gentiles. However, reading Genesis 49 we see that both Zabulon and Nepthalim are sons of our patriarch Israel, not gentiles.
Again, the nations of the House of Israel in the last days are the Christian nations of the West. [For specifics, see Gen. 49]. When the Biblical record refers to Jacob as a people, it includes both the House of Israel and the House of Judah. When Jacob is mentioned in connection with Israel, as in Gen. 49:7 and other than referring to the patriarch Jacob/Israel, Israel refers ot the nations of the House of Israel, but not Judah, the Jews. And when Judah and Israel are mentioned together it references both houses individually. For example, Jer. 3:6-8, 1 Sam. 11:8 and Heb. 8:8.
Our unwavering focus, especially when reading and studying, is to remember that the Biblical record, from Genesis to Revelation, is written to and for all Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. [See the Feature article, We're Abraham's Seed And Heirs, Not Gentiles]. The Biblical use of ethnos, as in nations, refers to the divorced nations of the House of Israel, whom Christ came, in this age, to redeem, to restore our inheritance as our kinsman Redeemer. [Isa. 44:6; also the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
Unless context specifically dictates otherwise, ethnos or nations in the New Testament from the first century was never meant to refer to gentiles. It refers to the sons of Israel, excepting Judah, as mentioned in Gen. 49 in the last days. Levi, the priesthood, was not officially counted with either Judah or Israel under the law covenant made with Moses and the children of Israel as they were in service to our Lord. However, the priesthood was changed at the beginning of the Christian age, with the new covenant of faith made with Abraham and his Seed, Christ. [See Gal. 3:16 and Heb. 7:11-28]. The first century common use of referring to the divorced ten nations of the House of Israel as "the nations" is similar to referring to the fifty United States of America simply as "the States."
This revised and edited article is from the verse 48 commentary in the Feature article, The Good News Colour Revolution.
Italics, underline, bold and [ ] are the author’s.
NLT* Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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"According as he [Christ] has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world ..."
Individuals in the Christian age who are ordained to eternal life were chosen before the beginning of time, before the foundation of God’s plan being put in place, before the Earth was formed. This is what the word of God tells us as we'll discover below.
"Then the King [Christ] will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom [Greek, basileia, power and authority of a king, not a place, Rev. 1:6] prepared for you from the foundation of the world ....'" [Greek, world, kosmos, the ordained order of things by God, his plan throughout the ages, past and those yet to come, Mat. 25:34]. This incredible promise is magnitudes different than the false doctrine of flitting off to Heaven.
Note, it is the power and authority from God that is prepared for us. Think of it as being chosen to take on a new duty, say as a CEO of a major company, with the power and authority to execute that office. We will change from mortal to immortal, being kings and priests with the authority that goes with it ... on the new Earth. [Rev. 21:1-3]. He has "made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." [Rev. 1:6]. This is why we are believers in this life. This is the plan of God. for us. those ordained to it. It is not, "and as many as believed were ordained to eternal life." Salvation was promised to all 12 nations Israel before the beginning of time. All those of the nations of Israel will receive their promised divine inheritance, though not necessarily in the Christian age. [See Rom. 11:25-27; the mystery, the blindness in part refers to the Jews in the Christian age, see the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
This goes to the same point Paul made to the Ephesian ekklesia, namely, "According as he [Christ] has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world [Greek, kosmos, the orderly arrangement of God’s plan throughout the ages, past and future; think of it as having the blueprints, the plan, the chosen design for a building before its foundation is laid] that we should be holy and without blame [justified by the conviction of the truth] before him in love: having predestined [Greek, proorizō, predetermined, preordained, appoint beforehand] us to the adoption by Jesus Christ to himself [Rom. 8:14, 1 John 3:2] according to the good pleasure of his will." Obviously, being appointed beforehand occurred before our life here on Earth.
"… In whom [Christ], also, we have obtained an inheritance [Greek, klēroō, to allot a heritage], being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise [Greek, epainos, the good example] of his glory [Greek, doxa, the majesty of his saving grace], who first trusted in Christ." [See 1 Cor. 15:23]. This is to say, we who first trusted in Christ have received an inheritance, eternal life, in which we were predestined according to his purpose, to be the good examples of the majesty of his saving grace for those in future ages in the plan of God. It's just as obvious, then, that this act of trust on our part occurred before our predetermined life here on Earth in the Christian age.
"In whom you also having heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation: in whom [Christ] also you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest [Greek, arrabōn, good faith payment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, [1 Cor. 6:19, 20, Christ's return and the first resurrection] to the praise of his glory." [See Eph. 1:3-14, Psa. 82; also see the Sneakers article, Seven Prophecies, Seven Churches; also the Book Excerpt, The Duality Of The Autumn Harvest Feast].
It is in this life that 1: being pre-ordained to eternal life, and after we hear the word of the truth, 2: we are "activated" as believers, because we were ordained to it before the foundation of the world as part of God's plan, and 3: receive the Spirit of God, the good faith payment, which is the promise of eternal life at the redemption of the purchased possession [1 Cor. 6:20], by God. [See Mat. 24:14]. Remember, the Spirit of God was not available to men until our Father sent it to us after Christ's resurrection by the fulfillment of the annual holy day of Pentecost. [See Acts 2:36-38; also the Feature article, Is The Kingdom Of Heaven Here Yet?]. This marked the beginning of the Christian age. [See John 15:26; 1 John 2:27].
We are walking the path in this life that was chosen for us by Christ before this Earthly stage was made. Hearing the truth of the word of God triggers our belief [our persuasion of the truth], and joy. We are the chosen first fruits in this age. For others of Israel, including those who lived prior to Christ's first coming, it is the plan of God that the fulfilling of their salvation lies in the ages to come. The Roman church's 'going to Heaven' is a non-Biblical teaching. [See the Feature article, The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days.].
There is a reason why Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moses, David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Ezra, Micah and others didn’t live their lives in the Christian age. God’s plan is an orderly arrangement, the kosmos. Each age has its generations and its purpose, as does the present Christian age, and the ages yet to come. This is contrary to the Roman church "one and done" doctrine that "Heaven is the ultimate end." [See the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait II, The New Jerusalem]. There is much more to God's plan that lies in the endless ages ahead. Christ's return marks the gathering of the first fruits, not the ultimate end.
We only know what is in the Biblical record up to the coming of the new Heaven and new Earth. God's plan continues from there. "To Him be the glory (that is, the whole glory of the gracious dispensation of salvation just spoken of) in the Church (as the theater for the manifestation of the glory, Eph 3:10) in Christ Jesus (as in Him all the glory centers, (Zec 6:13) to all the generations of eternal ages," literally, "of the age of the ages." Eternity is conceived as consisting of "ages" (these again consisting of "generations") endlessly succeeding one another." [Eph. 3:21, A.R. Fausset, JFB Commentary, 1871]. For example, the Christian age has seven generations of the church from the time of Christ's first coming to his return, from the first century church, Ephesus to the Laodiceans, the last generation prior to Christ's return. Please note, generations overlap, one flows to the next. [See Rev. 2 and 3; again, see the Sneakers article, Seven Prophecies, Seven Churches].
While we do not know what this entails in its entirety, we were chosen, appointed before this life, to be where we are today for the purpose of his plan. We will be proof, the first fruits of Christ, as priests and kings [Rev. 1:6], the good example of the majestic promise of his word in the ages and generations to come. [See Col. 1:26, 1 Pet. 1:9-12, Eph. 2:7; also the Feature articles, Three Temple Ages Make A Plan and The Final Prophecy: It Is Done].
" … and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." The Greek word translated ordained here is tasso. It means to place in a certain order, to arrange, as in an organized plan. The word world, the Greek kosmos as used in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son …." as noted above, means an orderly arrangement, a plan, similar to tasso or ordained. As part of this predestined arrangement, while all Israel is saved, only a portion of those ordained to eternal life were chosen in the Christian age. This is the church, the ekklesia, individual salvation, as separate from those of the physical nations of the House of Israel, national salvation, during the Christian age. The first three annual holy days of ancient Israel were individual in nature, the sacred new year. The last four annual holy days are focused on the nations of Israel, the civil new year occurring in the autumn. [See the Book Excerpt, The Duality Of The Autumn Harvest Feast].
Again, God's plan was all arranged and set in order in advance before the foundation of our temporary universe. This is the principle Christ explained to Cleopas and Peter on the road to Emmaus in verse 31 of Acts 13. " … ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and entered into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself … Thus it is written [the script (ures) as it were], and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations [of Israel], beginning at Jerusalem." [Mat. 15:24; Acts 2:36-39]. The Christian church was established in Jerusalem, not Rome.
It's time we realize our Biblical ancestry as the House of Israel. Christ's redemption is that of the House of Israel. The plan, the good news, was to set the nations of the House of Israel back into the covenant relationship with God after their divorce from God. [Jer. 3:6-8], hence our Redeemer. [Isa. 48:17; Eze. 34:30]. And with those individuals ordained to eternal life in the House of Israel during this end time of the Christian age, we are the first fruits, those who first trusted in Christ, "So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many be called, but few chosen." [Mat. 20:16]. The new covenant is based on grace, not works as it was under the old law covenant. The entirety of the New Testament is written to and for the House of Israel, not gentiles of the world. It was arranged as part of the plan of God before time existed, and will continue in the ages to come.
We read in Paul's letter to Titus, "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith [Greek, pistis, conviction of the truth] of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in expectation of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time [Greek noun, chronos], without beginning or end." [Titus 1:1, 2]. As time had a beginning, the creation of our physical universe, so too, it will have an end. [See Rev. 21:22-25; also Isa. 65:17].
As noted above, "a divine ordination to eternal life is the cause of any man’s believing." This is a distinct and different narrative than that which has been accepted by modern day Christianity of "coming to Jesus and then going to Heaven for eternity." [See the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait]. Each believer was chosen in advance, ordained, for a purpose in God's plan.
Think of it this way. Before a sound stage is built [the foundation of the universe], before the actors step in front of the cameras to shoot a movie, they were chosen for their roles, pre-ordained if you will. The plan, the plot was determined before and written down in the script. Once the cameras roll, these are the actions taken and the words spoken. And as soon as those ordained to eternal life took our first breath in the flesh, the cameras started rolling. We need to realize our Christian life here on planet Earth is not improv theater. Each of us has been called and chosen to fulfill our role as predetermined before Gen. 1:1 according to his will and good pleasure for the future ages in his plan even though we may be unaware of what it is exactly. When it is time, we will know. [John 14:2, 3; see 1 Cor. 2:9; also Isa. 64:4].
We all have our parts to play in this age, be they great or small, roles that were determined before we were born, before the foundation of the world for God's future purpose on the new Earth. Perhaps most to the point, David wrote of our LORD, " ... and in your book [see Phl. 4:3; also Rev. 20:12], even the days of my life that were yet to be created, were written, when there were no days." [Psa. 139:16]. Before "the evening and the morning were the first day" [Gen. 1], all the days of David's life, including those as the king of Israel, had been ordained. [See the Feature article, Life In The 'hood]. David's kingship over all Israel, in the plan of God, extends into a future age as well when the House of Israel and the House of Judah are no longer divided into two houses, but are joined as one. This occurs after the return of Christ, the Millennium, 1000 years of peace. [Eze. 37:21-25].
So those born in the flesh of Israel, all the nations of Israel, all 12 nations were chosen as a special people to God despite the deniers of the word of God by some in social media. To them, the truth of God's word is foolishness. [Deu. 7:6-8;1 Cor. 2:14]. Please note, those chosen is not a reference only to the Jews, the House of Judah, as so many people erroneously believe. This is why it is so important for us to know our true Biblical identity as the House of Israel, our Godly heritage, rather than believing we are a bunch of theologically orphaned gentiles running around without any purpose in life other than avoiding going to Hell after we die. It is those of Israel, those called and chosen, ordained to eternal life, who are believers in this age according to the word of God. [Recommend again, see the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
What then of free moral agency, the freedom to choose? While we are unaware of our existence prior to and outside of our 4-D [3 of space, 1 of time] world we inhabit, the choices, "those who first trusted in Christ," were made prior to our physical life on Earth as David made clear, although the process by which this occurred remains unknown to us. But one thing is clear, the act of trust required action, a choice on our part. And as hard as it may be to wrap our heads around, for Christians ordained to eternal life, this experience we call life is about living the choices, made either by us, for us, or both, before Genesis 1:1.
Therefore, while those ordained of the nations of Israel are now in this world [Greek, oikoumenē, the inhabited Earth], we are not of this world. In a sense, to borrow a phrase from a popular television series, we are "ancient aliens." The apostle Paul wrote, "These all died in faith [persuaded of, and a conviction of, the truth] not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of, and embraced them, and confessed [Greek, homologeō, all agree, say the same thing] that they were strangers [Greek, ξένος xénos, adjective, a primary word, foreign, literally, alien] and pilgrims [παρεπίδημος, parepidēmos, adjective, properly, one who comes from a foreign place into a land to reside there by the side of the natives] on the Earth" i.e., terrestrial. [Heb. 11:13]. Or put another way, " ... they were, [and we are], aliens and foreigners on the Earth," which is the definition of extra-terrestrial. But it's not the common sci-fi understanding found in this world.
As Paul wrote to the ekklesia in Corinth, "Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world [aion, age] or to the princes of this world, who are soon forgotten. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God — his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before this world [age, the Christian age] began. But the princes of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." [1 Cor. 2:6-9].
As Paul continues, "But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not this world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, 'Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?' But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." [1 Cor. 2:10-16, NLT*; again see the updated Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
This is what was written of the nations of Israel, those called and chosen, before the foundation of the world. "For you are a holy people to the LORD [Jesus, Yehovah is salvation] your God: the LORD Your God has chosen you to be a special people to himself, above all the people that are on the face of the Earth." [Deu. 7:6]. Think about this for a moment. Israel, the House of Israel, was chosen, before the foundation of this world to be a special people, above all others. Yet, where is this knowledge among us today? We should be strong and mightily increased in the truth of the word of God, leading the world by our Lord and Savior's inspired example in Godly humility given the scope of the blessings that were bestowed upon us through the birthright. Rather, we have deserted this God-given heritage to become plodding minions following every evil deceit that comes down the pipe, duped into believing we are gentiles.
Now, by the hand of God set against us, we are increasingly trodden underfoot by our enemies, both domestic and foreign. The birthright has been ripped from our hands as our daily headlines show us. Our enemies control our birthright wealth and use it against us. We have been foolish, like the wicked and lazy servant in the parable of the talents. [Mat. 25:14-30]. In ignorance, we have chosen to throw our talent in with the evil godless elites of this Earth. We are duped into believing we are just another people in the "diversity" of this world. [See 1 Pet. 5:8]. We are attacked for our "whiteness," which in reality is our House of Israelness, "a special people ... above all the people that are on the face of the Earth," though we are oblivious to this fact. [See Zionist Led White Genocide; also the updated Sneakers article, Critical Reasoning And Thinking, What CRT Used To Be].
Fallen, we run after deceits showered on us by false prophets, given sham comforters, our adopted heathen gods, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny who have taken the place of the Spirit of truth, the Comforter given us by our Father. [John 15:26]. We have been the most stupid and foolish people on Earth, according to what Christ tells us. [Jer. 10:8; see the Feature article, Our Corrupted Compass]. The hirelings, our pastors of modern day Churchianity are ignorant as hell. [See the Feature article, Trust The Shepherd, Not The Hireling]. They have led us away from the truth of our heritage. [See Eze. 13]. And we are told, we will suffer the worst time in the history of the world, since there was a nation, because of it. [See the Feature article, The Princes Of A Plundered House].
So, we act as a choosing religion, rather than nations of God who were chosen to a higher calling, the promise of eternal life in the Spirit. All that remains are the few, the ekklesia of God who were predestined in the end of the Christian age as believers of the truth of the word of God, not true believers of the lies. The nations of Israel were chosen as a special people to our LORD and Savior. And out of the nations of Israel, there are those who are the first fruits of the promise of salvation, those ordained to eternal life in the Christian age. "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." [Rev. 3:9].
In Rev. 20:12 we read, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works." This is referencing the second, or great resurrection. [See Rev. 21:1, Luke 21:33]. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." [Rev. 20:15]. This is the second death.
The difference between Israel, chosen to be a special people to God, is that while "As it is written, all Israel shall be saved" [Rom. 11:25] by Christ's death and resurrection, all the other people of the Earth, gentiles, will judged according to their works. [Again, see the Sneakers article, What About Everyone Else?]. This doesn't preclude the hand of God put sternly against our nations with the first death as the prophecies, and Israel's history, tell us in great detail.
While our mortal bodies live and die in this illusion, our ultimate lives are eternal having been predestined before the foundation of the world because of God's merciful promise that all Israel shall be saved from the second death. [See the Feature article, Brown Paint: Quantum Potentialities]. However, this life is vanity, nothing more than a vapor. [Ecc. 1:2]. Our spirit returns to God when we exit from our mortal vehicles in this life. This is what sets us apart from creatures. [See Ecc. 3:19-21].
Remember, the entire Biblical record is one book, written to the same people from Genesis to Revelation. The key nations of Israel in Genesis 49 are there in Revelation 7. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men [individually of Israel], teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [Greek, aion, age]; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us [the House of Israel in this age, Mat. 15:24], that he might redeem us from all iniquity [see Isa. 48:17], and purify to himself a peculiar [Greek, periousios, that which is one's own] people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise you." [Titus 2:11-15]. Of course, as we read above in Ezekiel 34, the House of Israel are Jesus, Yehovah's own people. It's time for the nations to wake up, to get back on track with our heritage and calling. Now the time is near, the end of this age, for the return of Christ, and the fulfilling of the prophecies written to and for us. [Rom. 13:11-14].
Luke wrote down a divinely inspired point, "a remarkable statement," concerning the very nature of Christianity and life on this planet as we know it, "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." It opens the door to understanding what it means to be a true Christian in this age. It is so radically different from what is the common opinion, as to be revolutionary to our 21st century understanding. There is a greater purpose and scope to life. Paul made it known to our first century ancestors of the House of Israel. It is now known by you.
1 The key to understanding the word nations in the New Testament is thrown askew by the King James Version translators taking the Greek word ethnos, the Biblical equivalent of the Hebrew word, גּוֹי, gôwy, and again wrongly writing it down as Gentiles, rather than correctly as nations. They appeared not to have any scholastic connection with the history of Israel, much less all the nations of the House of Israel, even though the verses through verse 41 in Acts 13, originally spoken in Hebrew in a synagogue on the Sabbath no less, are all about the history of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Joseph, Samuel, David, John the Baptist, Christ the Redeemer, the Savior of Israel [Acts 13:23, 24], etc.
Translating the Greek word ethnos out of context as gentiles in the Biblical record, in place of the House of Israel, has been a colossal theological deceit of far greater consequence and destruction than "covid," which ironically is a result of this duplicity. Completely out of context, missing the big picture, the KJV guys popped the word Gentiles into verse 42, and those that follow, perpetuating the 5th century Roman church "saint"Jerome's intentionally misleading Latin Vulgate translation explicitly for the benefit of the emergent Roman church, replacing the birthright House of Israel with gentiles, sending the entire message from Paul off in the wrong direction. [For details, see the Feature article, Moving Forward]. The erroneous translation of these verses turns the entire meaning of the New Testament gospel upside down. [See the Sneakers article, Our History In Context].
So let’s put it back on track. As used in here the Biblical record, the Greek word ethnos is correctly translated as nations, which reference the nations of the House of Israel [see KJV, Gen. 35:10, 11, gôwy, used correctly as nation/s in referencing Israel] to whom Christ said he only was sent. [Mat. 15:24]. And when he sent out the apostles to preach, he told them, in no uncertain words, do NOT go to the gentiles, but only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. [Mat. 10:5, 6]. Christ's directive, and the context here, was completely lost on the Protestant KJV translators, and many others, but not all, who followed them.
See the public domain Darby translation that correctly uses nations. Mat. 4:15, "Land of Zabulon and land of Nepthalim, way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations." The KJV refers to it as Galilee of the Gentiles. However, reading Genesis 49 we see that both Zabulon and Nepthalim are sons of our patriarch Israel, not gentiles.
Again, the nations of the House of Israel in the last days are the Christian nations of the West. [For specifics, see Gen. 49]. When the Biblical record refers to Jacob as a people, it includes both the House of Israel and the House of Judah. When Jacob is mentioned in connection with Israel, as in Gen. 49:7 and other than referring to the patriarch Jacob/Israel, Israel refers ot the nations of the House of Israel, but not Judah, the Jews. And when Judah and Israel are mentioned together it references both houses individually. For example, Jer. 3:6-8, 1 Sam. 11:8 and Heb. 8:8.
Our unwavering focus, especially when reading and studying, is to remember that the Biblical record, from Genesis to Revelation, is written to and for all Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. [See the Feature article, We're Abraham's Seed And Heirs, Not Gentiles]. The Biblical use of ethnos, as in nations, refers to the divorced nations of the House of Israel, whom Christ came, in this age, to redeem, to restore our inheritance as our kinsman Redeemer. [Isa. 44:6; also the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].
Unless context specifically dictates otherwise, ethnos or nations in the New Testament from the first century was never meant to refer to gentiles. It refers to the sons of Israel, excepting Judah, as mentioned in Gen. 49 in the last days. Levi, the priesthood, was not officially counted with either Judah or Israel under the law covenant made with Moses and the children of Israel as they were in service to our Lord. However, the priesthood was changed at the beginning of the Christian age, with the new covenant of faith made with Abraham and his Seed, Christ. [See Gal. 3:16 and Heb. 7:11-28]. The first century common use of referring to the divorced ten nations of the House of Israel as "the nations" is similar to referring to the fifty United States of America simply as "the States."
This revised and edited article is from the verse 48 commentary in the Feature article, The Good News Colour Revolution.
Italics, underline, bold and [ ] are the author’s.
NLT* Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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"According as he [Christ] has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world ..."